‘Life is a great adventure, but death is only the beginning.’

Wanna feel this hatred
Its what I need to drag me through this
I survive through nothing less
It tears me up as you calmly use it
Love abuse is just a test
Then sad old love songs
Stick the knife in deeper everyday
Twisting as you play-Deborah Ann Dyer, (Flesh wounds)





Why live when no one loves you…

It was her only thought as she prowled the streets and back allays of New York City. The moon shone high, casting dark eerie shadows belonging to the buildings themselves. You had to be careful when prowling these alleyways, just as she was, always cautious and always on her toes, as she never knew what might jump out from around the corner. Drug dealers and crack heads were almost always violent, and each one of them had ‘territory’ and leaving your own could sometimes get you killed, she knew, she had seen it happen countless times.

As she past the night policemen she hung her head low. Many of them had been taken away, even if it was only for a night locked up in a cell. She knew, she had been their, and sometimes they went too far when bringing them ‘comfort’, if you could call it that. Her breath came out in short uneven gasps, as the cold air entered her lungs. She pulled her tattered coat closer around her, even though it didn’t do much to fight the cold. Her legs carried her weightlessly as the winter breeze whipped through her hair.

“Hey you, stop!!” She heard one of the policemen shout, their footsteps quicken in pace as they turned and ran after her up the street. Everyone knew her face, it was unforgettable. She was a thief and pickpocket, had been all her life, ever since she smuggled herself from Cairo on a vacation plane, in the luggage compartment.

Not once did she turn back, she glided effortlessly along the tarmac, almost as if she was floating. “Turn left…” a voice said. She obeyed, skidding slightly on the icy pavement. She turned sharply finding her eyes locked onto the officers chasing her. She took hold of a garbage can, her arms twisting awkwardly as she threw it towards the floor. “Yes“ the voice hissed, “That’s it”. She smiled when one of the men fell, cursing as he hit the floor.

“Right, then sharp left, and over the roof tops, no one will see you…” the voice urged on. She followed, turning right into a thin alleyway, she ran, her footsteps echoing of the walls. Left… She turned again, losing her grip and crashed into the wall smacking her head on the corner. She picked her self up hearing the coppers making their way towards her, closing, fast, the gap that lay between them.

She came to a sudden halt then, her hands flat out on a brick wall. Dead end. Trapped. Can’t breathe. Help. she thought her claustrophobia creeping into her consciousness. “Do it, nobody’s watching.” she nodded hastily trying to escape the fit of panic that erupted in her brain, closing in on her lungs. She closed her eyes and listened to the noises around her, hearing the wind twist and turn around her. Her coat flapped open and was left ruffled by the strengthening wind. She snapped her eyes open, both glowing white, just like clouds and her hair. She relaxed as her fragile body lifted from the floor, her form rose above the cities rooftops, as she glided through the nights sky.


The two officers ran fast trying to catch up with her, this was the second time they’d had in trying to catch her, and as they reach the brick wall they realised the hunt was now over. Where and how she went was unknown to them, as to all the other officers who had been given night shifts. She always managed to disappear as if she was never there to being with. One of their female officers Betsy had sworn that she had seen her fly, denying the laws of gravity, they had brushed her off, but now maybe Betsy was somehow right.

---

She sat on a random apartment rooftop, looking out into the night sky, fiddling with the ring on her ring finger. She was not alone. Why live when nobody loves you? She thought looking down at her companion with blankness in her mind. Emotion was one of those things she had given up on, it had helped her especially in a world of pain and hurt.

“Because” her voice and companion said, “out there we our bound to find someone who cares. You should know that by now, Ororo.” The woman who spoke, was no person at all, she was not human at all, it seemed strange at first, but Ororo’s voice and friend was a simple black cat. A gift from the Goddess: along with her weather manipulation. Ororo drag her peaceful cat onto her lap and scratched it behind its ears. It purred. The animal looked up and saw how Ororo’s eyes were cast out onto the moon, she spoke again, “Come, we have work to do.”.

The thief stood and looked at her friend and pet. And I’m hearing this from a cat? She thought. “No Shinobu we don’t, I don't!" She said using her voice instead of her mind. She stood, and held Shinobu close. She named the cat, but the Goddess created the animal. The name meant ‘to endure’ and it was exactly what Ororo had to do in her company. Endure it.

She gathered the winds around her. The winds grew strong and lifted both the weight of the girl commanding them and her ‘pet’. Once in the air, Ororo rode the winds above Manhattan, landing on Bow Bridge in Central Park. She stood there hugging herself as Shinobu wrapped herself around Ororo’s legs.

Shinobu jumped out of the way as Ororo’s old stolen Russian coat fell to the floor around her feet. “Ororo…” Shinobu jumped up on to the wall of the bridge next to where Ororo was now standing. The teenager was once again looking up towards the moon.

And finally she spoke, “How long will it take until my new life starts?”

“Not long.” Shinobu answered stretching her cat like form and opening her jaw to yawn. Ororo smiled up towards the moon.

“They’ll help me, wont they?” she asked in a near whisper, her head turning downwards towards the water.

“They will try, though; they shall not be like you.”

“Will you be there?” She asked with a smile.

“I will guide you, but you shall not know it.” Shinobu jumped from her perch on the bridge and landed as all cats do on all fours. “One more thing…” she said before turning around, “You will remember nothing of this life.”

Ororo jumped as the cat disappeared into the shadows of the night, That’s all I needed to know. she thought before the water consumed her, and entered into her lungs. She didn’t struggle, she couldn’t, she already felt dead inside, though not empty, never. The water took her then, her world slowly blurring out and going black, lifeless…still.

I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake a smile, a laugh
Everyday of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with-Kelly Clarkson


Alison Blaire sat at her normal desk, her feet resting upon the table top, her head bobbed up and down as her music blasted out of her head phones. Pink, her favourite artist could be heard by her best friend and side kick Jubilation Lee sat next to her popping the gum she had in her mouth. They were a strange duo and both in their own way trouble makers, but you would never see one without the other.

Alison’s hair and appearance could gather stares, she had a pretty face but her short freshly dyed and cut pink hair did raise a few questions. Though she wasn’t one to care. Their teacher Mr. Madrox was, at the moment, blabbering about world war two or Africa, she wasn’t sure but then again she wasn’t listening.

She turned to jubilee and gave a curt nod. Jubilee nodded back, and from her pocket produced a red striped straw. She took out the gum she was chewing and stuck it on the underside of the table and immediately replaced it with a fresh piece. Using her teeth and gums she created and separated small balls in her mouth from the gum. She placed the straw to her lips and after three seconds blew through it hard, causing the gum ball to land in Mr. Madrox’s hair.

Their teacher stiffened but didn’t attempt to remove the gum now lodged in his hair. Another one landed, but he simply ignored it hoping to bore the hooligan responsible, of course it just ended up with him having three more of the gum balls fired at his person. The whole class laughed at jubilees actions, as always.

Nothing ever changed in this school, it was always dull, and slow moving. You had to find your own ways of entertainment, and this was one of them.

“Look out side Alison, what do you see?”

Alison turned her head to the left and looked out of the window, at first she saw nothing; trees, the ‘river titch’ as the students called it, a small black cat, and small stripe of white. White? She did a double take, and slowly removed herself from her seat and moved over to the window. Heads turned.

“Alison!” Jubilee whispered sharply, looking between her wondering friend and the teacher. Alison’s head tilted to the side slightly as she tried to get a better look.

“Sir, what is that?” She said pointing out side to the white that lay on the grass. Mr. Madrox looked out side quickly, not really caring about his students fascination, and taking it as another prank.

“It’s a cat.” he said plainly, going back to the chalk board.

Jubilee got from her seat and peered over her friend’s shoulder, “Sir, that ain’t a cat!”


---


Ororo woke up felling like she’d been hit on the head with a baseball bat. She sat up quickly, too quickly. She held her head in her hands as if it was about to fall off, wincing at the harsher pain. Her eyes widened as she took in her surroundings, her breathing accelerated, and the room started spinning. She grabbed the mattress of her cot, not remembering anything of how she got here or even when.

The room was pretty plain, she noted. The lights were dull, and the smell of disinfectant put her senses on over drive. She had to admit she terrified. When had she become so afraid of hospitals? How? Why? Nothing registered in her mind. To her, it felt like being born again, leaving one world to enter another. She’d even forgotten how to speak.

Ororo took a deep breath, and sat there in silence, except for the buzzing of generators and light bulbs. She tried to relax, but found herself becoming tenser than she already was. She started to fiddle with the ring on her ring finger, not truly understanding how it got there.

She turned to the room’s only door, and listened to the sound of footsteps and occasional voices that echoed down the halls. Ororo glided the ring up and down her finger in frustration, even though she didn’t know why she was frustrated. She had no need to be.

The door burst open and she jumped slightly as it hit the wall from the force. The nurse who entered through had brown hair with two white locks framing each side of her face; she was small in size and had emerald green eyes and from an angle seemed grey. The nurse gave a shrill shriek and placed her hand over her heart.

“Oh my! I thought you’d be out for much longer, sugah.” she said, her accent slightly southern. “How are you feeling?” she asked nicely, a smile forming on her face. Ororo didn’t answer, but her hands started to shake, as did the rest of her, “I’m sorry. How stupid o’ me, you must be terrified.” Ororo nodded. The nurse continued, “Well, anyhow I’m nurse Darkholme, but you can call me Marie-”

“That is enough thank you nurse Darkholme!” A voice sounded behind them. The nurse froze and held her shoulders up high. She sighed and let her shoulders drop. Turning sharp on her heels she quickly and quietly left the room, not speaking a word until she was out of ear shot.

Ororo was left there, staring into a pair of cold blue eyes, of a relatively tall woman. Her hair was a striking blonde and her figure was one of a teenager, but her face told others differently. Her nose was pointed: her mouth a thin line and wrinkles had formed in the corners of her eyes. Probably from too much frowning, Ororo thought as she turned away from the woman. Who is she. Ororo became fearful, and nervous. She much preferred the nurse to this slut.

As if she could read minds the woman said, “I’m Miss Emma Frost, and vice principle of this school, ‘Xavier’s school for child runaways’. Of course Xavier past away not too long ago, so the name wou-should be changing soon.” She said in a dull tone, obviously bored as she looked down at her nails, “If it wasn’t for his son!” She mumbled for her own ears. Damn that boy, she thought, Charles! She shuddered.

“Yu can stay here for a while, but when the principle gets back, you’ll have to remove yourself!” She said sternly. Ororo’s chin quivered. “Oh, come now don’t cry,” Emma said walking up to Ororo’s bed, her teeth ground together, “a five year old would then be proven to have more balls than you!”

Ororo bit her lip so hard she ripped the skin; a small trickle of blood ran down her chin. Emma rolled her eyes. Her newly manicured fingers wiped away the blood, and she brought her hand to her mouth, removing the red liquid as if it were chocolate.

“That’s enough Emma!” Emma turned sharply, licking her lips as she did so. She gave a pathetic excuse for a smile. This is just getting daft. How many more people are going to be popping in, it’s like a soap opera? Ororo thought, looking at the new arrival.

“But, sir, I-” he raised his hand in the air and she stopped. Silence. A nasty, uncomfortable silence swept the room. Only to be broken by a sneeze. Emma left the room, followed by her minions other wise known as students, Ororo hadn’t actually noticed them before. She relax the moment the clank of Emma’s high heels faded.

“You must excuse Miss Frost’s impatience.” he paused. Is that what you call it Ororo thought. He held out his hand, she hesitated for a moment, wondering what the hell he was going to do, before she shook it. The man smiled. “I’m the principle of the school, a great friend of the deceased, Mr. Wagner, and it’s a delight in meeting you.” He yawned, “You must excuse me, I’ve just come back for a meeting. Slightly early too, no one was expecting me, but I had to come when they phoned me and told me about you.” His accent was German, she realised that now. She laughed quietly. “Do you have a name?” he asked

She frowned, and started to fiddle with her ring again, “I-I. C-can’t. R-r-reme-ember.” She said, as if she was trying to speak for the first time. Her chin quivered again. Mr. Wagner’s hand held up her face so he could look into her eyes.

“Don’t cry liebling, it is alright. Take your time.” he whispered. She turned her head away, and looked out of the window. The rain fell hard on the glass. “Strange, “he said, “the weather was glorious before.” he looked at her and said, “Please, ignore what Emma said, feel welcome to stay here if you wish, for as long as you like. We will make room for you.” Ororo nodded. “if you ever need me just task for Kurt. And remember,” he walked over to the door, and stopped as he stood under door frame, “not many people get privileges to call me by my first name.”

“Ororo…” Ororo looked around the room and saw a black cat sat on the window sill.

He was just about to leave when she blurted out, with a smile on her face, “Ororo,” the principle look at her confused,

“My name is Ororo.”