No other mall could match the energy of Westchester County Mall. Trendy pop music echoed throughout. Shining yellow lights beamed down on shoppers packed like cans of fish, pushing past each other to buy a new pair of shoes that much faster. There wasn't so much as a single tile or inch of escalator without a foot on it. One might think that this was Black Friday, Christmas, some special occasion. In reality, this was just another Saturday afternoon.
Elizabeth Braddock did not like all the hustle and bustle. She did not like having to constantly mumble "excuse me", nor did she like the noise from everywhere and everyone. Peace and quiet was what she liked, and the mall was the furthest thing from it. She'd be anywhere else if she had the choice. Wearing a purple cloak, she glanced behind her every few seconds. If they were there, she could easily dissolve into the crowd and disappear. Elizabeth sighed with a heavy heart as she passed by a sign plastered on the window. Mutants are not welcome here. Baseless anti-mutant rhetoric was everywhere, why she had to hide to begin with. It wasn't safe for her kind. For Elizabeth, every time she walked on the street, she was putting herself in danger. She wondered why all mutants were hated when only a few were bad. There are bad humans too, she thought. Another glance behind confirmed the worst. They were there.
She ran. She did not, and could not, look back again, nor could she stop. Elizabeth Braddock was running. Running for her life. She pushed past bewildered onlookers and bolted through the door. Her lungs were heaving, crying out, begging for her to stop. She ran even faster as the distance between her and the pursuers seemed to close, a driver screaming at her as she turned a street corner and almost had a fatal collision with a car. Its driver's angry screams turned to background noise as she continued to run. She was running without a plan, but she would surely end up...somewhere safe...before she slipped into unconsciousness...
Elizabeth awoke in somewhere completely foreign. The sky above was so cheerily blue that it couldn't be anywhere near the mall. How long had she been running for? Her eyes widened. In front of her was the largest school she'd ever seen, even larger than her father's manor. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters as it said on the mansion's surrounding fence. She knew what kind of gift they were referring to. Although as of late her possession of the X-gene didn't seem like much of a gift. Legs managed to work and she got up to knock against the door, holding her arm as she waited. She could feel cuts and scrapes. A feral-looking man emerged.
"Good evening, sir."
"Not anymore it ain't." The man put out his cigar and eyed Elizabeth. "What do you want?"
"My name's Elizabeth, sir. I apologise for the disturbance, but I'm terribly lost and being a mutant I doubt anywhere else will accept me. Please, can I stay here? Just for a bit?"
His foot was still in the door. Elizabeth noticed the man's unusual hairstyle; patted down in the middle with a large tuft on either end like slanted cat ears.
"Alright Betsy, what's your power?"
"I'm a telepath. Please, you've got to let me stay here!" She pleaded. "Don't you understand? Don't you know what it's like to spend everyday being feared and hunted down, never knowing whether your next fight for survival will be your last?"
He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Betsy could sense remorse in the man's gaze. Just then, a woman with dark skin appeared next to him in the doorway. Her cerulean eyes were almost as striking as her snow-white hair. She whispered something to the man whose name Elizabeth had overheard. Logan.
"Look alive, kid. Storm says You're up." His tone was markedly serious.
Betsy had no idea what she was up for. She was equal parts excited and terrified.
An uneasy silence fell over Manhattan's 16th Street. Police cars formed an apprehensive ring around the bank. Officer Reynolds attempted to calm his nerves with a cup of coffee. This was his first ride-out on the force. A man tapped Oliver on the shoulder and he nearly spat out his drink. He had never seen a man so tall and so burly.
"Sorry sir, we're asking civilians to stay clear of thi-"
"I got a message for your boys in blue. Tell 'em Juggernaut's back in town."
Part 2 coming Friday the 11th! Stay Tuned!