Prologue

2012

2012. The year the world was supposed to end. People thought floods, or hurricanes. As if it would be that easy.
An American scientist named James Wilkinson invented a formula for the perfect soldier. The soldiers would have powers that no mere human could handle.
The Government found out he was testing it on humans, killing them in the process or just plain ruining them. They called it off and went to arrest him. The project was inhumane.
Before they could reach him however, he dumped it all in the sewer.
The rare 20% of humanity that already had what they now call a J chromosome, were infected with the virus, labeling them Freaks.

Chapter One

Saturday, June 19, 2020

It was the day of Ivy's fifteenth birthday.
She should be excited right? Wrong.

10:48 am.
Her Mother went out last night and still hasn't come home. Ivy didn't mind because it was her Mothers birthday on the 17th but the fact that she still wasn't home pissed her off.

11:30 am.
Ivy had a flashback of her last birthday on which she turned fourteen.

Ivy was sitting on the couch practically vibrating with excitement. She was waiting for her Dad to get home. She couldn't open her presents without him. Not that there was many. Ivy had always lived in poverty and in the back of her mind she knew she was probably going to have to sell them but she wanted to enjoy her gifts while she still had them.
Just then, the door banged open, revealing her Father.
"Hey, Honey." Her Mother greeted.
He didn't pay her any mind and instead looked over to Ivy. "I thought I fuckin' told you to put a Goddamn song on my MP3." He screamed as he set down his cooler and his tool bag. He was a drywaller.
Ivy was stunned. These things didn't happen on your birthday did they? "I-I-I forgot." She stammered quietly.
"No, you didn't forget! You did it on purpose. You're a disrespectful bitch." He spat before turning away and seemingly dismissing her.
Ivy turned around and padded softly to her room where she would stay the rest of the day, presents, balloons, and past excitement forgotten.

12:00 pm.
Her Mom finally got home.
Relieved from babysitting duty, Ivy was about to go try to sleep through the day in her basement when her Mom's voice stopped her.
She had come to hate her parents voice over the years. After her parents constantly complained about each other to her it got beyond tiresome. Her parents would come to her with their problems and she'd push away her emotions and give them a cold, logical solution. Something no ordinary thirteen year old year old, now eighteen year old, should be able to do. They should have known something was wrong with her but they were to busy fighting to listen to her silent screams for help... But that was a story for another time.
"Ughh! My head hurts! My stomach hurts! I feel like I'm going to puke!" Her Mother complained.
Well what did you expect going out, getting drunk, staying in a hotel with some guy, and going to get breakfast all on your daughters birthday?

She thought to herself.
What she didn't realize was that she accidentally muttered it out loud.
"Are you serious?" Her Mother asked in a nasally voice. "What the fuck do you do around the house? Huh?" Um, I don't know. Watch your kid, feed your kid, bathe your kid. Any of that ring a bell?

"Nothing. That's what!" She went on when I didn't answer. "I deserve to go out and get drunk once in a while."
Ivy may not have meant to say it out loud but she sure as hell couldn't take it back now. "Once in a while?" She repeated in a cold, patronizing tone. "You go out all the time! I wouldn't even mind if you weren't spending all our money on weed, alcohol, and cigarettes!"
"You better shut your fucking mouth, Ivy." Her Mother growled.
"No, you better!" Ivy yelled, getting worked up now. "You're just pissed that I'm making valid points!"
"Valid points? Name one of your valid points." Her Mother spat.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that you have no job yet you have kids to support. Is that valid enough for you?"
"So what?" Her Mother shrugged it off.
Ivy froze when something snapped inside of her.
So what?

The thought resonated through her mind
So what?

Her Mother spent all of the food money on drugs.
So what?

My sisters and I are a 'so what?' to her?

Ivy thought.
"So what?" Ivy repeated coldly.
Her mother didn't respond. Ivy's pupils were dilating, taking over her entire eyeball and the shadows around her became a solid black and started rotating around her waiting for her command.
"You're a Freak! Get out of my house you demon!" Her Mother screamed.
The scream seemed to knock some sense in to her. She wasn't surprised her Mother kicked her out. She's been waiting for a chance to kick her out of the house since Ivy was nine.
Ivy ran upstairs and threw some clothes and her birthday money into a backpack and got dressed. By the time she got outside, the whole neighborhood was standing with her mother throwing curse words at her. People she thought were friends stood now with her enemies.
"Freak!"
"Monster!"
"Demon!"
The humans now formed a tight circle around her. She was crouched, whipping around this way and that, trying to face everyone at once.
"Your kind should be wiped from this earth!"
"Animal!"
"Die!"
Ivy couldn't take it anymore. She's been verbally and emotionally abused her whole life. No more.
Her eyes went black.
Her canines sharpened.
Her nails grew in to claws.
Just as she was about to attack, she saw through a gap in the humans circle, a bunch of cops running full speed towards the circle with their guns drawn.
Instead of attacking, Ivy jumped into the nearest shadow not really realizing why but following her instincts.
As she jumped from shadow to shadow escaping the humans, Ivy changed her name.
The cruelty and bigotry of humanity steered her away from the path of acceptance and forgiveness and turned her from Ivy...
To Shadow.

Chapter Two

Everything around you is a shadow at night. People fear it, and what it might hold when really, all it does is provide security for people like me.

Shadow thought to herself. The light could be equally dangerous. Maybe even more so because it provides people with a false sense of security.
Humanity baffled Shadow even when she was human.
She was now on a lone road. She took out the map of Canada and chose a direction. She then started walking with her thumb out. About 45 minutes later a car finally stopped for her.
"Where you headed Ma'am?" The large man in the drivers seat of the transport that stopped for me asked once she got in.
"Laughlin City." She said in a flat voice.
He slid her a sidelong glance but she was too busy trying to calm her nerves. She's never hitch hiked before and this guy looked just plain creepy!
Shadow observed him as he drove.
He had a beer belly, a small unattractive stubble spread over his face, and his beady little eyes kept glancing over at her, not knowing she was watching him. She fingered the pocket knife she stole from her Mother as she watched him watch her.
"So what's a pretty little thing like you doin' travellin' all alone?" The fat man asked.
"I don't really want to talk about it." She answered in a kind voice.
"Then answer this one. What'cher gunna pay me for this ride?" He asked.
"I'm sorry mister but I ain't got no money. If you could just drop me off here?" Shadow asked growing more nervous by the second.
The man pulled over but locked the doors. "I ain't talkin' 'bout no money Missy." He leered at her black corset, and fashionably ripped black shorts. He took in her eyebrow piercing and long hooded black coat as well. Shadow has always dressed in dark clothing.
"Well I have nothing to offer you!" She snapped.
The man pulled out a knife. "Take off your shirt."
Shadow could feel her eyes start to darken but she reigned it in. Her newly acquired powers were a last option.
She noticed that he only had a light grip on the knife. She made a quick second decision and made a grab for the knife. He was stronger, but she was faster. She grabbed his rusty hunting knife and pulled her's out.
She pressed her knife right below his belt buckle and his knife at his throat. "I politely said I had nothing to pay you, yet you wanted it the hard way. You will drive me to Laughlin City, and you will not speak again. I've had a really bad day and the sight of you is giving me a headache." She said softly and sweetly. She then yelled, "drive!"
Shadow didn't move or even blink the rest of the drive. Her hands didn't waver and she knew without a doubt that she could kill him. She hated rapists with a passion but somewhere in the back of her mind, she was worried. Worried about how she would become seeing as how she was only eighteen yet she could kill without a second thought. She wanted to kill.
She pushed that tiny voice away. She couldn't have doubt right now. Maybe later she'll look into it some more.
Once she got to her destination she hopped out of the truck and the man drove off as fast as he could.
Shadow snickered to herself and headed into the bar she was dropped off at. She needed to find herself another ride.
She buttoned up her coat that went just above the knees and pulled up the hood so she covered up most of her outfit. The black hood covered her boy cut blue hair that spiked in a small mohawk in the front and the top half of her face yet didn't impair her vision. She was wearing her converse so she was able to walk quietly and blend in to the darkness of the bar.
She watched the cage fight in fascination, realizing that the man that kept winning, was way too graceful for his muscle mass. It was like he was gliding.
He went by the name of Wolf and he won every time. She suspected that he was a Freak.
When the fights ended, Shadow headed to the bar and noticed a girl about her age sitting down staring at the tip jar. She saw the bartender tell the girl something that she didn't hear and drag the tip jar out of reach. Dick.
The bar was practically empty when Shadow headed over to the girl. "Looks like someone could use a drink." She said, standing behind the girl. Just then she noticed Wolf sitting just a few seats down from her.
The girl jumped. "Don't worry. I don't bite... But then again, all the creeps say that." Shadow flashed her a grin. "Two beers, please." She ordered after the bartender gave a beer to Wolverine.
"Um.. T-Thank you." The girl stuttered. She was definitely a runaway "What's your name?" She asked as the bartender gave them their beers. Doesn't he realize we're underage?

Shadow thought.
"I'm Shadow."
"Ah'm Magenta."
"What kind of name's Magenta?"
"What kind of name's Shadow?" She fired back with a grin knowing Shadow was just curious and not trying to offend.
"It's Ivy." She said while taking off her hood somehow knowing she could trust this girl and also very conscious of the Wolf watching them.
"Mariah." She said and took off her hood as well. She had long brunette hair with magenta streaks in it.
Shadow took a gulp of her beer easily seeing as how she grew up around it. Her Dad pretty much drank nothing but beer.
She tuned into the T.V when she heard it start talking about the 'Freak Phenomenon'. Ughh! Couldn't humans just get over it. They're as normal as humans. Well I guess it's we're as normal as humans now.

Shadow thought bitterly taking a large swig of her beer while remembering she was now a Freak.
She saw Mariah glance over at Wolf and freeze. There were two humans confronting him about money. One of them pulled a knife.
"Look out!" Mariah screamed.
Wolf spun around super fast and he pinned the human to the wall with his hand which along with his whole body, turned to metal.
The human friend was about to get involved and hit Wolf when Mariah decided to play hero. She put her fingers to her temple and the human somehow dropped unconscious.
The bartender along with a two of other people at the bar pulled out guns. "Freaks should all die!" One of them screamed.
While Wolf quickly attacked the two customers, Shadow solidified the bartenders shadow and made it throw the bartender across the room. He fell unconscious.
The rest of the patrons were staring in fear so Shadow grabbed Mariah's arm and dragged her outside.
Mariah faced Wolf. "You mind if we hitch a ride? Just to the next town where no one knows we're Freaks?" She asked.
"Yes." He said gruffly and continued walking.
"We saved your life!" She said indignantly.
"No you didn't." He replied.
"But-"
"No, Mariah." Shadow said softly. "Don't beg. We may be temporarily homeless but in no way does that mean we can't have pride."
She nodded and turned away from him.
He looked back and met Shadows eyes before driving away.
"What are we going to do now?" Mariah asked.
Shadow sighed. "I'm 95% sure that we can travel through the shadows if I hold on to you."
"95%?"
"I just found out about my Freakishness yesterday."
"Ah'm sorry, Ivy."
Shadow smiled. "It's all good, Mariah. You willing to take that chance though?"
"Sure."
Instead of concentrating, Shadow let her instincts take over and jumped from one shadow to another with Mariah in tow passing cars on the road easily.

Chapter Three

Derek/Wolf was back at the building for two minutes when he heard the bosses voice over the intercom.
"There is an meeting in my office right now Derek. It's Important."
Derek worked in place that poses as an insurance company but is really a haven for Freaks that try to protect other Freaks and keep the peace with humans. We still had no qualms about killing humans though if we had to.
He headed to John's office and turned to metal as soon as he got near the room. He could smell the SHP. Super Human Protection. They killed humans. Hated them with a passion. If you weren't a Freak you were an insect.
He walked in. Sitting in the room was the boss John Grey (controls stone), Blink Johnson (turns invisible), Kai Sato (turns in to a ball), Dylan Brown (runs really fast), Noah Simons (teleports), Scott Bradley (turns in to stone), Leah Carter (telekinetic), Adalfrid Thomas (Climbs anything), Nabila Hodo (Shifts in to any human), Boyde Miller (X-ray vision), and SHP, the boss Victor Smith (controls muscles through the mind), Tabitha Winfred (shifts in to any animal), Henry Jackson (half-cat), Jacob White (controls plants), and Loki Sampson (jumps really high).
"Calm down, Derek. We need to talk." Said the boss.
"What about, Johnny?" Derek growled.
"There is a war coming, Derek. A war against the humans. They're using the 'cure' as weapons now. What they lack in power they make up for in sheer numbers. I didn't want it to come to this and I'm not sure if we can prevent it. I'm not even entirely sure we will win." The boss admitted sadly.
The others gasped.
"How sure are you?" Noah asked.
"About 80% sure that we'll win."
"There is one way..." Victor trailed off.
"One way to what, Victor?" John asked.
"One way to up our chances about 15%."
Derek growled. "Well spit it out, Man! We don't got all Goddamn day."
He was getting sick of them beating around the bush.
Victor glared and pulled three papers full of pictures out of his pocket. "These mutants would help a great deal. They would make powerful allies and terrifying enemies."
When Derek saw the pictures he gasped. "Shit!"
"What is it, Derek?" Leah asked.
"I seen them!"
"Maybe you should start from the beginning, Derek." Noah demanded.
"I went to the bar in Laughlin City instead of coming back to the building with you guys after our last mission-"
"We already know that, Derek." Noah said impatiently.
"Shut it Noah and let me say my Goddamn piece!" Derek growled letting his fists turn into metal.
"Continue Derek." John said.
"As I was sayin', I went to the bar and fought in the cage before sittin' down a gettin' a beer. Those two girls were there a couple seats down from me. That one," he said pointing to the one with the blue hair, "goes by Shadow or some shit, and that one," he said pointing to the one with the pink streaks, "goes by Maroon or Magenta. Yeah, Magenta. Anyways, Shadow walks up behind Magenta and offered to buy her a drink. She was wearing all black but it suited her y'know? Magenta was wearin' a long dark pink coat and they both wore their hoods. They got to talkin and I'll admit I was eavesdroppin' but they were out of place."
"Go on."
"A couple humans walked up a started somethin' with me. It was clear that Shadow was gunna' stay out of it but when Magenta did something with her head and one of the guys dropped unconscious the bartender an' two others pulled guns on us. I attacked the two patrons but Shadow already did somethin' to the bartender." Derek said looking confused.
"Can you describe what she did, Derek?" Victor asked gazing at Shadows page.
"Her eyes turned black and she grew claws. Kinda like Henrys' only nicer and more feminine. Her canines even sharpened. Well I think they were naturally that way. I'm not sure. But anyway, the bartenders shadow somehow became solid and threw him across the room! We went outside and Magenta asked for a ride. I said no. I didn't want to bring some dangerous kids along disruptin' my peace an' quite."
"Nice, Derek. Real, nice." Noah mocked.
"You might wanna' shut yer' trap Asshole." Derek growled.
"Enough!" Victor yelled. "Shadows real name is Ivy Higgins. She just found out about her powers on June 19. Her Mother then kicked her out. She was then screamed at by the humans until she just disappeared. The humans said she had black eyes, she growled, she had sharp claws and teeth. They say she looked like a monster from their nightmares. All I could get for Magenta was that her name was Mariah Anne. She discovered her powers when she accidentally scrambled the brain of her boyfriend Andrew Collins who is now in a permanent coma. Shadow can control all darkness and shadows. Magenta is only a level three telepath but still very dangerous in one on one combat."
"Who's the guy with the swords?" Blink asked.
"Ryder Storm. He's a mercenary. Can shoot lasers out of his eyes, super fast reflexes, and has regenerative abilities that rival even yours Derek. He can survive decapitation." Victor listed off.
"And has." Henry threw in.
"His mind is also so warped that even the most powerful wouldn't be able to get in his mind."
"Well, that certainly can come in useful." Leah said.
"But what are we going to do? Go up to them and say, 'hey, there's a war coming that we may or may not even have a chance in Hell at winning. Wanna join?' I don't think that'll work out too well. All three of them would probably kill us though Magenta looks like she'll at least give us mercy if we beg. Ryder and Shadow look as if they'd laugh." Dylan said with a shudder.
"Yeah, they do look like people that would work with the eviler Freaks but we have to remember we're all on the same side right now." Scott said reasonably. "Besides look at Adalfrid and Boyde. They would be described as scary even though one's a doctor and the other one is a church go-er." Adalfrid was blue. Boyde had fangs and was purple.
"I guess.." Blink said uncertainly. "But they don't look like doctors or priests to me..."
They all stared at the three pages.

The first page was of Magenta.
Pic #1:

She wasn't looking at the camera and her body was covered from head to toe in clothing with her head down and hair covering her face.
Pic #2:

She was surrounded by yelling humans. She looked scared but determined. She was in the process of raising her hand to her temple.
Pic #3:

She was at a protest fighting for Freaks. Her face was uncovered by her hair and she looked angry.
Pic #4:

She was reaching towards the camera with her hand and her other hand on her temple, a faint smile playing at her lips. You could practically see the aura of power around her.
Derek could see the sympathy, awe and fear that covered the faces of the people in the room.

The next page was of Ryder.
He wore a black wife beater and some black jeans with two swords on his back along with two guns on his hip. The pictures looked as if they were taken from a security camera.
Pic #1:

He was posing like superman. With bloody bodys behind him.
Pic #2:

He was showing off his muscles. With more bloody bodys behind him.
Pic #3:

He was blowing a kiss. With even more bloody bodys behind him.
Pic #4:

He was giving the peace sign. The room was then full with decapitated bodys and blood everywhere.
Again, Derek could see the fear on the faces in the room only this time it was tinted with humor and disgust.

The last page was of Shadow.
Pic #1:

She had long curly black hair and looked like a happy 13 year old girl.
Pic #2:

She still had long black hair but instead of looking happy, she had a split lip and the picture was a mug shot.
Pic #3:

She was staring up at an older man. She held a knife behind her back but he was unaware of it. Her hair was cut like a boys and spiked in the front like a small mohawk and her hair was blue. She had an eyebrow piercing and tattoos on her back and arms. A cruel smirk graced her lips.
Pic #4:

She was crouched low and surrounded by humans. She still had the blue hair and piercings and tattoos but this time her eyes were black and filled with fear and rage. Her teeth were sharpened and so were her nails.
The room filled with sympathy, confusion, and absolute fear.

Chapter Four

It was daylight out when Magenta and Ivy finally got to a motel. They passed several but they wanted to be far way from the humans that knew what they were. It took about two hours and Shadow travels about 500km/h.
That's pretty fast.

Magenta thought to herself.
As soon as they stopped though Ivy dropped to her knees gasping for breath.
"Oh shit! Ivy, what's wrong?" Magenta asked frantic. She didn't kill her did she?

Ivy let out a wheezing laugh. "You try running and jumping full speed for two hours straight and see if you don't run out of breath. Although I didn't feel anything while running..." She mused to herself.
"You had me scared. Ah thought ah killed you." Magenta sighed.
Ivy chuckled. "You can't kill me, Mariah. Trust me. I've tried."
With that happy comment, Ivy got up and started walking towards one of the rooms. Magenta walked next to her tiredly. She didn't get to sleep all night. She couldn't wait to get into the bed.
"Don't we have to like, check in?" Magenta asked.
"I don't know. I want to try something first." Ivy said distantly. She got a look of concentration on her face before gasping. "It worked!" She sounded surprised. "I didn't think it would."
"What worked?"
"I tried to use the shadows to feel if there was someone in the room and it worked! Gave me a huge headache though. Lets go."
Ivy jumped into a shadow and then into another shadow that was inside the room in a corner. Magenta made sure the room had no sign of life before setting her bag down and taking her coat off. She saw Ivy doing the same. When Ivy turned around though and put her back towards Magenta, she gasped softly. Ivy continued on, not hearing her.
There was a tattoo of a lion baring it's teeth in between her shoulder blades with red eyes. Along with that were thin jagged scars crisscrossing on her arms and lower back as if she was whipped. Magenta couldn't see the rest of Ivy's back and she wasn't sure she wanted to.
"Ivy?" She asked softly.
Ivy sighed and ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "We're both tired, Mariah. We can talk about it tomorrow."
Magenta smiled. "Okay. But ah was thinking, since your power works with darkness, we can start sleeping during the day and moving around during the night. It's safer that way."
"Smart." Ivy said with an appreciative grin. "That way we'll always have a quick getaway."
Magenta then looked around the room. It had two queen sized beds along with tobacco stained walls and a rusted mirror on top of a dresser. The tiny bathroom had a tiny shower with a rusted sink and another rusted mirror. It wasn't the nicest but Magenta could deal with it.
Ivy came out of the bathroom after a shower in her black bra and underwear, her blue hair wet. She had a tattoo of a tribal crow dipping down her hip and she had her belly button pierced. When she turned around Magenta saw the full extent of her scars. She had scars on her wrist that looked as if she did them herself but also had scars along her back. It definitely looked as if she was whipped. She climbed into bed.
Magenta stripped into my dark green bra and underwear as well. If Ivy wasn't modest neither was she.
"Goodnight, Mariah." Ivy said softly with a yawn.
"'Night, Ivy."

It was just about sunset when Mariah awoke with a scream, waking Shadow up as well.
"Andrew!" Mariah screamed.
Who is Andrew?

Shadow thought to herself.
"Mariah, Mariah! It was just a dream, it isn't real." Shadow soothed while wrapping Mariah into a hug.
"Ah'm okay. Ah'm okay. God, I'm so embarrassed." Mariah said, putting her head in her hands.
"Hey, everyone has nightmares." Shadow offered just before someone knocked on the door.
Shadow and Mariah looked at each other in alarm. No one was supposed to know they were there!

"Grab the bags and hold my hand." Shadow mouthed. Mariah did as she said.
Shadow opened the door. There were three women in what looked to be full body swim suits standing on the doorstep. One was a red head and had a warm smile, the other African one had dark brown hair and a calm smile, and the other was a Korean teen with black hair and a nice smile. It would have been a dream come true for a bisexual Shadow if she didn't do a quick scan using her powers and giving herself a major headache in the process and find out that there were about nine more people hiding in the shadows. Dumb asses.

Shadow smiled. "Thanks but no thanks. Toodles!" She said with a cheeky smile and disappeared into the shadows that hid her.

Derek watched from the shadows as Leah, Nabila, and Kai knocked on the door. He thought that this was a stupid idea but he wasn't the one in charge so he had no say. Fuckin' Noah! He thought.
He watched as Shadow opened the door. Her and Magenta stood there in their bra and underwear holding hands.
Shadow wore a black set of bra and underwear while Magenta wore a deep green bra and underwear. Derek loved green. While Shadow was tanned and marked with tattoos and piercings, Magenta was pale and pure. Yes, Derek was lusting after the target. Sue him.
He watched as Shadow said, "thanks but no thanks. Toodles!" And with a cheeky smile from her and a sexy smirk from Magenta, they disappeared leaving behind no scent and nothing but a wisp of black smoke.
Everyone stood there in there places for a moment, stunned. How were they supposed to catch the girls if they didn't even get a chance to speak before they disappeared.
"...Maybe we should go after Ryder first..." Blink suggested.
Everyone else just nodded.

Chapter Five

Magenta and Ivy stopped in a town called Terrytown in America near New Orleans because the sun was up. Ivy thought it was a good idea to change countrys. Magenta asked her why and she said she watched too much C.S.I to not know that they probably won't expect two eighteen year old girls to get to America in one night. Magenta agreed although they'll have too make a trip back to Niagara Falls. It was beautiful especially when they jumped into the shadows in the water. They could even breath underwater! Well, in the shadows at least.
Ivy again checked which room was empty in the Americas Best Value Inn. When they got inside, Magenta really hoped that this wasn't the best value America had. The building was very old. The room didn't appear clean though Magenta was sure it was. When Magenta got into a shower first, the towels were very rough and thin and she couldn't close the bathroom door. The ceiling tile was peeling off. The hotel provided soap but no shampoo and the carpet was not vacuumed.
Ivy checked the other rooms while Rogue was in the shower but they were all like that.
Once Magenta and Ivy were both showered and sitting in bed quietly, Magenta got up the nerve to finally tell her story.
"Ma name is Mariah Anne from Mississippi." She started softly. "Ah had two loving parents and a pretty much perfect life until ah discovered my Freakishness when ah kissed my boyfriend, Andrew, at a school dance and scrambled his brain putting him in a permanent coma. Ah was bullied constantly after that and one day three kids wanted to fight me. Ah knocked them all out cold but it put me in a coma for about three weeks because I over used my power." Ivy nodded sympathetically but didn't interrupt.
"Anyways, when ah woke up, I was in a place where they experiment on Freaks. They would make us use our powers so they knew what we could do and they'd jab us with little fuckin' needles that weren't so little. Gawd, It hurt so much." Ivy looked horrified.
"Ah lead a breakout and headed North in a boxcar. Ah got picked up by a truck driver and then ended up in Laughlin City." Magenta finished.
Ivy frowned. "That must have been one hell of a year for you, huh?"
Magenta laughed.
Ivy smiled then sighed.
"Well, my name is Ivy Higgins from Toronto, Ontario. I've lived in about eleven different cockroach, rat infested Welfare places. Two rundown motel rooms, and two homeless shelters. I've been forced to sell all my birthday and Christmas gifts. My parents were verbally and emotionally abusive. At some times even physically abusive. My Dad was a drunk pothead and my Mom was a chain smoking pothead. When I was nine my Mom started to threaten to kick me out. When I was thirteen I started hoping she would." She stated with a bitter smile. Magenta was horrified. How could parents be so cruel?

"I met a guy named Kevin and fell in love. I was 13 he was 21. It was stupid but I was naive. I found out he was a crack head and left him. I didn't want my kids raised the way I was raised when I had them. I thought it would be like in a movie y'know? He'd kick the habit and beg for me back. We were engaged. It didn't happen like that. Him and his friends cornered me one night when I was 14 and he smashed my face up against the wall of an elementary school and molested me telling me that if I told anyone, he'd kill my family. He stabbed me above my right breast and made me give his three friends head before walking off." Ivy showed Magenta her scar from his knife. Magenta thought she was going to puke. Ivy had tears running down her face and Magenta was now hugging her from behind.
"From then on 'till I moved to Sudbury, He would whip me, beat me, burn me, molest me, humiliate me, and degrade me. He made me crawl around in my bra and underwear in a choker for dogs and a leash. He would let his friends touch me. He made me snort cocaine and take ecstasy unwillingly. The one thing he didn't do though was rape me. Until I told him my parents were splitting up and I had to move six hours away that is. He had his friends hold me down while he took away the one thing I wanted to save until marriage. I then killed him but his friends are still out there." Magenta was now crying while Ivy started getting angrier by the second.
"I hated my parents at the time. Obviously while all that was happening I withdrew from them but they just blamed me instead of figuring out what was wrong! Anyways. I got into a fight with my Mom a few days ago and found out I was a Freak when her and the whole neighborhood was calling me a Demon and saying I didn't deserve to live. I hitched a ride and ended up in Laughlin City."
By the time Ivy was finished her eyes were black and the room was a shade darker.
"It's okay now, Ivy. Those stupid humans are dead to us now." Magenta soothed.
Ever so slowly, Ivy's eyes and the room turned back to it original colour.
"I'm glad I have you as a friend, Mariah." Ivy admitted softly.
Magenta filled with pride. "I'm glad I have you as a friend too, Ivy."
That night the two girls fell asleep each taking comfort in their friends arms. Their problems could wait until tomorrow.

Chapter Six

Ryder was sitting alone in his apartment watching Sex in the City and eating peanuts.
"Did you ever think that, to the nuts inside, the peanut shell is like their whole universe?" He asked out loud for no real reason as he gazed at the peanuts. "I mean, they could fall in love and never be together because the shell separates them. So close, but their cruel prison - the shell - keeps them apart. It's so sad!" He said analyzing the peanut. "How they must hate their cruel, cruel master, The Shell, uncaring despoiler of legume romance!" He was getting angry now and cracked open the nut. "And then one day, they're free! And it's like, 'let's dance you hot, salty nut!'" He went on to act as if the nuts were dancing together.
His door was then broken down by a bunch of people in diver suits. Including some pretty hot chicks. Didn't matter though. He grabbed his Katanas and was about to start killing when he saw Derek.
"Derek! Buddy! I've missed you. Nobody calls me Man anymore." He greeted.
"Do I know you kid?" Derek asked.
"Oh, that's right! You can't remember didly squat. Too bad."
"We're here to recruit you." The African one said calmly.
"For what? Sorry but I'm not into the whole bondage and submission get up you got going on."
"There's a war coming. You can kill people without having the law enforcement on your back." The red-head said. Heheh I rhymed.

"Hold the phone and the mayo! A war? Hmm. I guess. I don't have anything better to do. Besides, Killing people legally, in anyway I want? That's like going into a candy store and being told it's all mine for free. When do we start?"
"Well," The African one went on. "From what a seer told us, the war is in approximately a month but we need your help catching these two girls first. I contacted Antoine and he said he'd meet us in New Orleans." She added towards the geeks that wanted peace.
Ryder looked at the pictures of the two girls. There was a cute one with weird stripes in her hair and a super hot one with blue hair. He whistled and noticed Derek tense up. "The blue haired one is hot!" He said and Derek relaxed again. Hmm, so he had a crush on Stripes? Loser. "Why can't you guys just catch them?"
"Because Shadow," The red head pointed at the hot one, "can travel through shadows so she just grabs Magenta," now she pointed at the cute one with the stripes. "And they disappear leaving nothing behind. Not even a scent."
"So the next time we catch up with them all we need to do is hold on to Shadow for dear life so even if she jumps in to a shadow, she'd bring us with her." Ryder said. "Duh."
The dorks then started talking strategy while Ryder started watching Sex in the City again before he left with them. He somehow doubted they watched enough Sex in the City.
"So what do we do when we catch them?" Ryder asked as everyone was quiet again. "Can we wrap them up in duct tape? Man, I love duct tape. I love the way it tapes. I love the sound it makes. I love saying it. Duct tape, duct tape, duct tape."
Derek growled "Do you ever shut up, Man? Lets go."
If you were out on the street that night you would see a rather strange sight.
A bunch of silent men and women in full body suits walking down the street towards a sleek white jet along with a man with swords walking with them repeatedly saying, "Duct tape, duct tape, duct tape."

Shadow and Mariah were walking down the deserted streets of New Orleans when out of nowhere, the people in body suits appeared in a puff of smoke behind them and pushed Shadow and Mariah away from each other. Mariah automatically put her hand to her temple and dropped a man running really fast and a girl that turned in to a ball unconscious before anyone could blink. She then started fighting a girl who looked like she kept going invisible.
Shadow couldn't pay attention any longer because she quickly spun a kick to the head of guy who was starting to turn to stone from his feet up. Then in a puff of black smoke, she phased through the Wolf who was with them and punched the blue guy square in the jaw quickly following it up with a punch to the back of his neck knocking him unconscious. She looked over to see Mariah being knocked out by that invisible girl.
That split second of distraction cost her though. Wolf grabbed her tightly by the arm just as she was about to jump in to the next shadow to get Mariah. She then started to fight him but only got a split lip and a sore hand in the process. What was he, made of metal?
"Donkey Balls!" Shadow yelled.
It had the desired effect. The people left conscious, (Invisible-girl and Wolf) froze and looked at her with a bewildered expression and Wolfs grip loosened. She ripped her arm out of his grasp and went to jump in to the closest shadow to get closer to Mariah when she felt something dull jab her behind her ear knocking her to her knees.
"I can't believe you actually fell for that." An unknown male voice said.
"I thought I told 'ya to stay in the jet with Leah, Antoine, and Nabila." The Wolf replied before her vision went black completely.

Chapter Seven

Magenta awoke in a white room strapped down to a hospital bed. She looked around trying to find a way to escape but only saw Ivy on a bed beside her with her legs covered in... Duct tape? What the hell?
"Ivy, wake up." Magenta whispered. "Ivy. Come on, wake up. Ivy, wake the fuck up!" She ended up yelling.
Ivy groaned. "Did you get the number of the bus that hit me? Geeze."
The hot man in a white wife beater and swords strapped to his back that just entered laughed. "Nope, that was all me. I cold cocked you."
"Dick." Ivy replied staring at him with black eyes.
"You're hot." He said.
"Yeah well you're..." She paused. "You're pretty hot yourself." She shot him a fanged grin.
"Enough flirting." Said a gruff male voice. Magenta looked around to see The Wolf had walked in also with the red head, the African woman, an old man, creepy looking woman, a purple guy, a huge hairy cat looking guy, a guy that looked like he had a large stick up his ass, and a guy in a wheel chair.
"What do you want?" Magenta asked.
"And why the fuck am I duct taped?" Ivy asked incredulously.
"Guilty as charged." The sword man said.
Ivy looked as if she were about to say something when she was interrupted by the bald guy in the wheelchair. "Hello. I'm John Grey. We brought you here to recruit you. It could have been a lot more civilized if you would have listened before disappearing."
"We could have also been killed if we would have stayed around to listen to a bunch of trained fighters in full body suits before running as well." Magenta interrupted.
"All we wanted-" the stick-up-the-ass guy said before Ivy interrupted.
"We don't care what you wanted. All we saw was the guy that fought in a bar along with his merry bunch of Freaks in full body suits knocking at our door. Obviously the two teenage runaways are going to try to get away."
He didn't have anything to say after that but Wolf did. "When we showed up at the motel you only saw Leah, Nabila, and Kai before you pulled your disappearin' act."
"Sure we only saw

the three women." Magenta said meaningfully.
Everyone looked confused.
"You guys hid in the shadows

." Ivy said.
Everyone started to look sheepish while the sword-guy just laughed. "You guys really hid in the shadows from a girl that has complete control over shadows? And people call me stupid."
"Listen here, Man-"
"How about some introductions?" Old man interrupted.

This is pretty much how it went.
Wolf -

Derek Wilde (Hot.)
Sword guy -

Ryder Storm (I see the way Ivy and him are eyeballing each other.)
Red head -

Leah Carter (Looks like shes with stick-up-the-ass dude.)
African Woman -

Nabila Hodo (Poised. Elegant.)
Old Man -

Victor Smith (Creepy looking.)
Creepy Chick -

Tabitha Winfred (Evil.)
Purple Dude -

Boyde Miller (Is a doctor?)
Cat Man -

Henry Jackson (DANGER! DANGER!)
Stick-Up-The-Ass -

Noah Simons (Has major stick in ass.)

So we're all best buddies now.

Magenta thought to herself. Not.

Although she would like to be closer to a certain Wolf...

"I think it's time for you to explain." Shadow growled. She was perched under the arm of Ryder so she couldn't get away. John thought it was unethical to strap the teens to beds so he decided to have Derek hold Mariah and have Ryder hold Shadow. While Derek held Mariahs arm, Ryder took his responsibility to the next level.
She still saw the way Derek and Mariah practically drooled over each other.
"Explain? Okay. Well you see, the We-Kill-Humans campaign and the We-Want-Peace-Not-War campaign over here are involved in a war that they decided to involve us in. We get to kill humans and Freaks alike! But only the Freaks with a mind chip thingy in them. That's why I decided to help. Also we get to prevent the apocalypse yada yada yada." Ryder said. Shadow was beginning to think he was utterly mad. She liked it.
"Well I want to help fellow Freaks and I'm not exactly ready for the world to end so... I'm in as long as Shadow is." Mariah said. Yeah and as long as Derek's in your pants.

Everyone looked towards Shadow. Including Ryder so his mouth was pretty much in her ear. It wasn't entirely unpleasant.
"Killing people without worrying about the law? That's like hearing chocolate bars are free. I'm in." Shadow said with a wild grin.
Ryder licked her face. "I think you are my dream girl."
"You just licked my face." Shadow said, shocked.
"You taste like tacos." He said with a serious face. "I love tacos." He then broke out in to a grin.
Mariah laughed. "This is going to be interesting."

Chapter Eight

Ivy and Magenta were showed to their room in an insurance building by Derek, Ryder just followed. Derek was the hottest man Magenta had ever seen! Ivy kept sending her sly glances and winks. That is when she wasn't flirting with the sword guy. That guy is a weirdo. I mean absolutely nuts.

What ever floats her boat.
Dereks gruff voice pierced her thoughts. "Your rooms right here."
"Mine is right next door." Ryder said to Shadow while pointing to the door to the left of ours.
"Mine's right across the hall if you need anything

." Derek then said while looking meaningfully at Magenta.
"I'm sure I'll have to take you up on that." She flirted back.
"All right kids," Shadow said even though the men were most definately older than her. "Magenta and I will go change and be down for dinner. Adios!"
"Okay." Ryder sulked and walked away with a playful grin.
"See'ya then." Derek said before entering his room.
Once we got inside the large room and started changing, Ivy started talking.
"So... You and the dog seem to be getting along, huh?" She asked cheekily.
"Well it's no licking of the face but it'll do for now." Magenta said with a serious face.
Ivy burst out laughing. "The guy is crazy. But your hunk of metal on the other hand..."
"Yeah, he is pretty... Manly. But he probably sees me as nothing but a kid." Magenta replied feeling dejected.
"Then consider him a pedophile." Ivy replied with a soft smile that she reserved just for Magenta.
Magenta and Ivy were sitting at the table. Magenta sat with Derek on her left after he bullied some kid out of his seat, and Ryder on her right. Ivy sat across from them all between a blond kid named Jacob that kept making flowers, and a kid named Loki.
Dinner was kind of awkward to say the least. All the other mutants except for Ryder and Derek were staring. The girls were jealous, and the guys were... Well, guys. This is how it went down.
Random boy Freak stares at Magenta.
Wolf growls.
Random boy Freak looks away quickly.
Magenta blushes.
Random boy Freak number two winks at Shadow.
Ryder laughs manically.
Everyone tries to hide their shudders.
Random boy Freak number two looks away quickly.
Shadow laughs.
That's pretty much how it went. No one really tried anything after that. Magenta ate some more of the amazing food. She hadn't eaten in about three days. Normally she would have better table manners but really, she was hungry.
So hungry in fact, that she didn't notice Shadow slipping the food onto a napkin in her lap rather than eating it.

Shadow sat back and watched as everyone ate their food without a care. She tried to keep the jealous look off of her face. She couldn't eat in front of people. They'd call her fat, that much she knew. Her parents warned her that was going to happen so she'd do her best to avoid it. If her own parents called her fat, just imagine what everyone else would think.
The voices of her elementary school classmates and her parents ran through her head.
Fat ass.
Whale.
Fatso.

No one noticed her not eating. At least she didn't think anyone did.

Ryder watched inconspicuously as Shadow made it look like she was eating but really she was hiding the food. Why wasn't she eating?
He watched as everyone left the room with him, Derek, Shadow, and Magenta trailing behind.
Shadow stopped abruptly.
"What's up?" Magenta asked.
"I forgot I had to talk to John. See you in the room."
"Is that an invitation?" Ryder asked with a wink, not letting on that he would be eavesdropping on her and the boss man.
Shadow laughed while shaking her head and walking back towards the kitchen.
Once she was out of site, Ryder immediately turned around looked at Magenta and Wolf. "Well, me and Mr. Winky need a cold shower now." He said with a wink towards Magenta and a nudge towards the hunk of metal. Derek growled, Magenta grinned, and they both walked away to live happily ever after. Yeah, right.
He followed Shadow into the kitchen and saw the old man in the wheel chair sitting there with a plate of food. He handed her the food quietly and she nodded thankfully to him and waited until he left out the back door before looking around suspiciously and to start eating.
What the Hell? Even Ryder in all of his awesome glory, could not understand what just happened.
He walked off trying to understand what he just saw.
"Hmmm... I got it- Nope that's not it... Hmm..." Ryder thought out loud.
"Umm, are you okay mister?" A girl asked as he walked past her.
"Yeah. Shouldn't you be in bed?" He replied.
"U- Umm, yes?" She stammered.
"Then goodnight. Don't let the bedbugs murder you with chainsaws!" He stated cheerily and walked off whistling to himself as the little girl gasped and ran away crying.
"What the Hell was the person that discovered milk doing to the poor cow?" He went on shaking his head and forgetting about what he just saw.

Impressum

Texte: The cover was from Google Images. Not mine. There are some quotes in there that aren't mine also. The editing and story is all mine though.
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 05.08.2010

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