The New Fenris

Chapter One: The Darkness

"I look inside myself and see my heart is black. I see my red door. I must have it painted black."

~ "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones

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Some people say that no one is born a monster. That they are turned and created into one due to others. They were being tortured and tormented until they finally snapped, but other people say that some people are in fact born monsters. Somewhere in their family, evil rested, creating and expanding its dark seed. Only a matter of time before the darkness is truly revealed. She never knew what to believe until now.

Lauren Strucker could have been your perfect teenager. Except she was a mutant. Yes, a mutant, with the ability to create and manipulate shields. And she wasn't the only one in her family who was a mutant.

Her brother, grandfather, and great-grandparents. How did she never know? Maybe because her grandfather had tried to suppress the dark seed that slithered its way into her family. The Strucker's never knew their name was cursed. Not until it was too late.

Lauren never felt that darkness before. She could feel it twinge inside her whenever she used her powers, but that was it. It wasn't until she and her brother, Andy, first held hands and combined their abilities.

The sudden rush of darkness that flooded through her body nearly took her breath away. She could feel their power together, the wind blowing through their hair, the beautiful golden light emitting from their hands. It felt to good, it terrified her. Terrified of her family, of Fenris, of who she and Andy could become.

Andy seemed to embrace their true name with pride. He called himself a Von Strucker and deep down, Lauren wanted to be as proud as he was. But Andreas and Andrea were monsters, mutant terrorist who had the ability to cause complete chaos. The thrill of the darkness excited her, making her feel almost like she was high. She wouldn't admit to anyone that she read the book that talked about Fenris whenever no one was around, never. She knew Andy would understand but she wasn't quite ready to give him that satisfaction.

She despised fighting with her brother. They were meant to use their powers together, not against one another as they did just that day. And then Andy's harsh words still rang through her ears: "You denied your abilities and nearly destroyed our family. Why would you want to do that again?" She knew he was right. She was so damn tired of hiding or running away. She kept denying it and she knew she shouldn't. It was wrong. Her great-grandparents would be ashamed.

There were times Lauren would think she was going crazy. She would be in the bathroom and look in the mirror, suddenly seeing her great-aunt Andrea appear. She would be smirking down at her, as if to taunt the darkness inside the younger girl. She would splash water on her face and then Andrea would be gone, but she could still feel her presence within her.

She had never felt this much fear and excitement all at once until Sentinel Services were about to break into the mutant underground. She and Andy both knew what they had to do so they could never find any of them....they had to destroy the building. They had fully unleashed their powers before, in Dr. Campbell's lab, but it was protected so in a way she felt like she was being held back.

The hounds had entered the building when Lauren and Andy held hands. The beautiful glow started, filling her with such a rush it made her head spin. She and Andy were seeing out of the same eye and they didn't even see the Hounds in front of them, just everything they needed gone. They raised their hands and screamed with power and range, the golden light sprouting from their hands.

The light surrounded the entire building and it should have blinded Lauren and Andy, but it didn't. A few moments later, the light was gone.... along with the entire building and hounds.

Suddenly Lauren could feel it. The soft silver line that was protecting the black darkness from coming inside suddenly snapped, and the darkness rushed over her, consuming her. Lauren looked around her, and everything was gone. It had completely disintegrated. Nothing was left.

She and Andy were breathing heavily, but slowly a faint and wicked smile grew on her face. The darkness had finally taken over the light. And damn, it felt so beautiful. Andy tugged Lauren's hand, telling her they had to go, but she could barely hear him. Lost in the darkness that made her feel powerful.

She followed after him into the woods, still holding each other's hands. As they ran, she only know one thing: Lauren Strucker was gone. And this was only the beginning of Fenris.