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Despite her want for friends, Venus McCoy had very few. Unsurprisingly, most kids would not like to listen to hour long rants about literature or ut literature. Her lack of social connection in the school made it surprising that she was the one showing around the new boy in the school. Due to this, Venus preferred to tinker away in her room or her makeshift lab. But it seemed life had other plans by pulling her outta there. It wasn’t unusual for mutant kids to just pop up randomly in Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, but something about this new kid seemed a little different. Venus glanced back at the boy who was close behind her. “So…” Venus awkwardly began the conversation, “your name is…Benjamin?”. Benjamin’s ears perked up slightly, moving his attention back to Venus after being distracted by all the glam the mansion had. He’d never been in a mansion before so this was all new to him. He smiled a little as he answered with a simple “yes”. Venus glanced away. Benjamin was not making this whole ‘conversation’ any easier. She walked through the halls that were just second nature to her. She showed him each room with plain boredom. She opened one of the doors. “And here is the library. Where…well, where books are obviously” Venus explained with slight difficulty since, from all she knew, libraries were just common knowledge to anyone. When she began to walk away in order to continue the tour of the mansion, her ear flicked, noting the lack of footsteps behind her, which made her turn to look back.Benjamin was still looking into the library with a curious look in his eyes. “You wanna go in?” Venus asked, and Benjamin turned to her, nodding eagerly. Venus and Benjamin would enter the library. It was not the largest in the world but it was no modest thing either. After all, this was a mansion, and a school on top of that!She would notice the boy looking at the covers of a few books, and she, with ease, climbed one of the bookshelves. “What would you like? I personally have been into reading Shakespeare in my spare time”.Benjamin tilted his head, the name foreign to him. “Shakes…Peare?”.Venus’s eyes widened ever so slightly when she realized he had no idea who the said bard was. The idea of such a thing was unimaginable in her eyes. Even the people who weren’t interested in literature knew the name. “Yeah! You know,” she cleared her throat, “To be or not to be. That is the question, whether it’s nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against the sea or troubles?” Venus quoted with ease that showed she was all too familiar with the quote. “You know! That Shakespeare”.“Woah” was all Benjamin could really let out, but then shook his head with an apologetic smile. “Sorry…not heard of ‘em”.Venus got down from the bookshelves with the Shakespeare book. “Wow. You’ve been living under a rock or something?” She asked, placing a hand on her hip. “Um…”. Benjamin thought back to his origins. He’d been living in a lab for nearly thirteen to fourteen years. He didn’t get to read much, books were already luxury. He did not even know how to speak until he managed to escape into the Canadian wilderness. “You could say that…”. Benjamin decided it was time to change subjects. “You really like that book, huh?”.Venus chuckled, suddenly a tad bit embarrassed. “Ah well, yes. It is a bit silly, though, isn’t it?”.“Why would it be silly?”.“People usually find quoting plays silly. Or ranting about things for too long dulling” Venus explained, glancing away as she recalled how she was treated for those little quirks. Especially when she was little. “Only person who can handle it is my dad. And he’s my dad, which doesn’t count”.Benjamin smiled a bit “I think it’s impressive”.Venus smiled back, a warm feeling in her chest. “Thanks”. She rubbed the back of her neck, deciding to change the topic herself this time. “But seriously, where did you come from? Don’t tell me you actually lived under a rock”. Benjamin’s smile faltered as Venus returned back to that topic. How was he supposed to even explain his origins? Not only was it…concerning, to say the least, but also it was a subject that he didn’t feel comfortable just sharing with someone he barely knows, even though Venus seemed quite nice.He hadn’t even noticed he had begun fidgeting with his slightly oversized shirt. But Venus did. She may not have been good at noting boundaries, but she was all too familiar with fidgeting gestures. She didn’t come it on it, however, instead proceeding to speak of something else once again.“Cmon. I have to show you outside” she told him, “That’s where the others are right now”.The two began walking down the hallway once again.“What others?” Benjamin asked.“The other students” Venus clarified, “this is a school after all”.Benjamin looked over at Venus and asked “Are you a student too?”.“Yeah obviously. But, I’ve been here longer than half of them”.“Why?”.“I live here” Venus answered as the two wandered outside. The rest of the students were indeed there, all mutants. Just like him. He’d never seen so many mutants in one place before. He looked around, eyes awestruck before it was interrupted by a loud voice he didn’t recognize, but by Venus’s annoyed expression he could tell she did. “Baby blue!” A kid, albino with a gray jacket, rushed over, pretending as if they hadn’t stumbled as they stood up. “Didn’t take you for a sunlight lover nowadays! Got rid of the hermit lifestyle?”. Venus grumbled, her blue ears lowering ever so slightly, a slight growl escaping her. “…Why do you keep calling me that?”. “Well, you’re blue and-“ They placed a hand on top of Venus’s blue hair, “you’re the youngest and small” they smirked.“Cmon, Asher, leave her alone” a girl, dirty blonde with purple highlights in her hair, walked over, playfully punching Asher’s shoulder. The girl was the first of the two to packnowledge Benjamin, who was just shyly standing behind Venus. “You must be the new kid, huh? Raegan. Rae is fine” she introduced herself.“Benjamin” he replied, awkwardly. “Hm” Asher leaned closer to Benjamin, leaning down to the small boy’s height. They examined him before snapping their fingers. “I’m nicknaming you Benji”.“Benji?” Benji tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. “Mhm!” Asher nodded, smiling proudly. They placed their hands on their hips. “You’re welcome!”.Venus just sighed, shaking her head. She was too accustomed to Asher’s antics. And that reaction from Venus made Rae chuckle. “Aye!” Another girl’s voice called out from afar. There was a girl sitting on her lonesome, holding cards. “Ye can’t just leave me hangin’ here!” She waved the deck in her hand, “I was chewin’ ye out!”. “I’ll make you eat those words!” Asher shouted back and ran over to continue their, seemingly extreme, game of UNO. Rae stayed put where she was as she turned back to the younger two. She pointed back to the other girl and Asher. “Wanna join?” She asked with an inviting smile.Benji could not see a reason to deny so he just nodded. He hadn’t played any type of card games before. He began following Rae to the others, but he was quick to notice Venus wasn’t.Venus could not understand if Rae was just talking to Benji or to the both of them. Rae was nice, but a part of Venus just thought she’d better just stay behind. She could go ahead and get some extra reading done. Before she could walk back inside, she looked down to see Benji offering his hand. She had taken his hand to lead him there, so he figured he could just grab her hand and make her join them.Venus seemed a tad surprised by the offer, but ended up accepting, Benji and Venus joining the hare girl, Rae, and Asher.The hare-looking girl’s name turned out to be Isla. Isla Bell. An odd name but Benji was not to judge. She was Scottish. Very Scottish. While playing their game, she would yell competitively at Asher in such Scottish that Benji had no clue what she was actually saying. Rae had to translate. Being around other mutants his age was something quite new for Benjamin. He would lie if he said he didn’t enjoy having their company. Though he would also be lying if he said he didn’t find the whole experience a tad bit overwhelming. Especially with how high energy Asher was. They could possibly even run on sugar for all he knew. Speaking of Asher, they turned out to be Benjamin’s new roommate. Asher had told him they were something called ‘nonbinary’ but that they didn’t really care for rooming with guys. So, that’s how the two ended up together. Benji placed his beanie on the edge of his new bed, showing off the two little hair tusks that had been hidden underneath.He was taking the room in. It was bigger than he had expected but, then again, this was a mansion. He was content he wasn’t sleeping alone in a sterile white, cold room anymore. His short train of thought was interrupted when Asher just threw themselves into their own bed, before quickly sitting up. “Pretty nifty, huh?” They asked with a grin, “I’ve been dying to get a roommate! And now you’re here!”.Benji blinked “uhm…yeah, I’m here now” he replied matter of factly. Asher chuckled, laying down, placing their contoured mask over their gray eyes. “Now if you excuse me…it’s late and I need beauty sleep” they blanketed themselves “good night!” and promptly fell asleep.“Yeah…g’night” Benji responded, a bit distracted at the foreign feeling of sleeping in an actual bed. It was very comfortable but he remained restless as the silence was, ironically, quite loud to him. The dark of the room didn’t add much to the feeling of sudden unease. He stirred in his bed and, after what felt like hours, he was beginning to give up on catching much rest when the sound of loud buzzing began echoing in the room, making him sit up immediately.It came from the humbly small bag he had brought with him. Benji got off the bed and began rummaging through it, taking out a cellphone. He had totally forgotten he had been given that. He could see there was someone calling and he tried to answer, though he struggled a little with the buttons of the phone. In his defense, this was his first phone ever.He had managed to answer the call, though on facetime, not managing to get a word in before the caller spoke.“Ben! Hi!”.Benji smiled a little when he realized who it was. “Hi, Noelle”. Noelle was a good friend of his. He was very fond of her, much like a little brother would be with an older sister. She had basically taken him in alongside her mother when she found him in the Canadian wilderness. He didn’t know where she would be without her. Most definitely still surviving in Canadian wilderness, dying from cold from the intense Canadian winters, or perhaps taken back to the…facility. Noelle waved hello through the screen. “How’s mutant school?” She asked excitedly, “Tell me anything and everything!”.“It’s…” Benji struggled to find the words, “a little overwhelming”. He then thought for a second, a bit doubtful of his word choice. “It’s that the correct word?”. Sometimes he still felt confused over some words.Noelle nodded, her smile softening. “Yeah” she confirmed.“I just…haven’t been around mutant kids before” Benji admitted, “other mutant kids, I mean”.“Yeah, I get it” Noelle replied, “must be pretty cool though, huh?”.Benji nodded. “A little, yeah”. “Have you been taking care of my baby?” Noelle asked playfully.“Baby?”.“My phone.” Noelle clarified.“Oh! Yes! I have! At least I think I have” Benji answered. “Young lady!” The voice of a woman very familiar to Benji, spoke sternly on the other end of the line. “What are you doing up so late? And why do you have my phone?”.Noelle turned to the woman who was barely out of frame. “Sorry, mom” she apologized and handed the phone back to her.Noelle’s mom, Felicia, was about to hang up when she noticed Benji on the other end.“Oh hi, Ben” Felicia softened up from her stern demeanor with Noelle, “you should try and sleep too, sweetie”. “I know…just couldn’t” he glanced away. Felicia sighed “just try, okay? I’ve gotta hang up now”.“Okay” he was about to try and hang up but Felicia spoke again.“If you need anything, you can call, you know that?”.“I know, Mrs. Sato”. . “Just wanted to make sure. Goodnight, Benjamin”.Benji hung up and placed the cellphone away to actually try and sleep. Eventually he did, his eyes finally closing as he curled up in bed. The back of his mind, however, would not let him rest. After all, his past was always there for him to remember.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Benji knew something was wrong when his short legs began catching up to the woman who was holding his hand. That feeling only grew when the strong smell of iron filled his nose.
With her free hand, the woman- Dr. Zareb as Benji simply knew her- gripped her stomach and Benji quickly noticed the crimson liquid seeping through the clothes and the white lab coat.
Zareb pulled the boy in front of her by his arm, making him yelp but he didn’t mind. The two had much more worries to attend to.*
The two had managed to outrun some guards for now, but they both knew they’d catch up at this pace. However, when the woman would look down at her bullet wound and saw all the blood, her mind already decided that only one of them should escape.
“Kiddo.” she opened the back door, leading into Canadian woods, “Go”. Zareb tugged him to turn to her.
Benji’s eyes widened in surprise and shook his head frantically, a quiet form of arguing against it.
Zareb’s dark gray eyes softened as she looked down at Benji. He could see the pain behind the reassuring look.
“I’ll only slow you down” she told him firmly, “run. And don’t look back” she pushed him out. Shouts and loud footsteps began to be heard and she ushered him out “Go! Now!”.
Though still very much against that idea, Benji began to run, his ears able to pick up angry shouts. “Aim for its head! That’s the weak point!” was among one of them and the bullets zooming by began again, making him cover his head as he ran off, nearly tripping but managing to scurry up to his feet again when-
A shot. Not like the other missed bullets. The sound was horrible, it sounded like a splatter. Against his better judgement and the last words Zareb told him, Benji couldn’t help but look back.
Despite the fact everything else felt blurry and fuzzy, the look in Zareb’s face was something that he could still see vividly. The blood, the bullet wound on her head, the eyes that no longer had light in them…
As he felt himself grow overwhelmed, shutting his eyes tightly…
Benji jolted awake. He was covered in cold sweat and he was breathing like he had run a marathon. He felt like that too. It took him a few seconds to realize where he was. He tried to move a little, only to hear a small ripping sound that made him look down and frown. Two bone claws had unsheathed from his knuckles, stabbing his new bed. Having shifted around, he accidentally ripped the blanket which made him feel a tad guilty. It was his first night and he’d already screwed something up. He retracted the two claws back inside his arms with a barely noticeable wince. He looked over at Asher, who snored loudly and slept in a nearly impossible position that just made Benji’s back ache looking at it.Benji got off the bed, deciding that some cold, fresh air would help get his mind off his nightmare. He walked quietly through the dark, empty hallway. He was light on his feet, making little to no sound as he approached a back door and walked out. He took a deep breath, enjoying the nightly breeze. For a moment, everything cleared out and his mind was clear. The only smell being trees, nearby animals and…someone else?“Couldn’t sleep?” a voice suddenly asked, making Benji jump and turn to the source of the voice. He looked up to see a bat hanging upside down from the mansion looking directly at him with grayish blue eyes that Benji found eerily familiar. Noticing Benji’s confused and startled expression, it spoke again. “It’s just me”. With a poof, the bat shifted into a girl. A girl Benji recognized. Dirty blonde with purple. Benji stared at her with a blink before speaking up. “Rae” he said, as if trying to make sure that he had said the correct name and when she didn’t correct him, he took it as a confirmation. “Why’re you here?” He asked curiously.Rae smiled, stretching. “Couldn’t sleep either. And…” she leaned closer and whispered “there was also supposed to be this cool meteor shower tonight”. She sighed with disappointment. “But, it’s too damn cloudy to see much of anything”. “Oh” was all Benji managed to say about it, “sorry ‘bout that”Rae waved dismissively with a smile. “Not your fault!” She reassured, “Things happen sometimes. I can always wait four years” she added optimistically. She looked down at Benji, asking with curiosity “what are you doing out here?”.Benji was tempted to lie. Say it was for the same thing or just say because he felt like it. But for some reason, his mouth decided to be truthful. “Bad dream…”.Rae’s eyes softened with sympathy. “Nightmare, huh? Been there”.“Really?”. He didn’t know why, but Rae just did not look like the type to have any bad dreams.Despite that, she nodded. “Yep. Happens to everyone at one point” she told him, “don’t tell anyone, but mine usually revolve around the orphanage I used to live in. Terrible place. Do NOT regret getting outta there”. “You’re not bothered...” Benji pointed out. He could relate…in a weird way. Being out of a place you hated. But Rae didn’t seem bothered. Not like he was.Rae shrugged. “Not really. My new parents are amazing” she said proudly, “and they’ve been taking me to this super nice therapist”. The two fell into silence. Benji’s gaze fell to the grass in front of them. “I came from a place I don’t like too” Benji told Rae, feeling safe enough to actually speak up on what was bothering him. “They were…” he struggled to find the words as his pointed ears lowered, “horrible people”. He used the same words Noelle had told him when he had explained it to her. Back then he said it so casually too…. “The guards were the worst…”.Rae perked up at that. “Guards…?” She repeated under her breath. That did stump her but she wouldn’t pry. “O-Okay…? Okay then”. She noted Benji’s sudden mood shift to a somber one and noticed how his hands were clenched into fists. She didn’t know exactly how to comfort this, or if he was even comfortable with physical touch, but she did have an idea. “You know what I like to do to get my mind off things and get tired?” Rae asked. “What?” Benji asked quietly, meeting Rae’s eyes again.“A good old run” Rae smiled brightly. With another poof, Rae had shifted into a gray wolf. Her tail wagged. “C'mon! It’ll be fun!”. Benji looked around nervously. “Adults won’t be mad?” He asked.Rae grinned. “Nah! It’ll be fine!” She reassured, “the teachers are asleep, and Professor X ain’t here” she bent down, her wolf tail wagging, “and Mr. Howlett isn’t out, which means this place is ours tonight”. Rae motioned with her head for Benji to follow. “C'mon! It’ll be fun!” And ran off into the trees next to the mansion.“H-Hey, wait!” Benji called out, stumbling a little before running behind Rae. Rae moved fast, clearly having experienced dodging the trees. She’d definitely done her rounds multiple times. Benji was struggling to keep up, to the point that he had to run close behind on all fours to catch up, and it felt natural as he dodged better and moved quicker.The duo would get to the outskirts of the school grounds, trees no longer surrounding them as much. Benji caught up to Rae, but fell face first on the grass.“Benji, look!” Rae shifted back to her human form, standing looking up at the night sky. The clouds had cleared and now showed a clear, starry sky. Benji stood up, taking the grass off his mouth and then looked up. His eyes widened in awe. The meteor shower Rae had previously mentioned. It was so pretty. He couldn’t help but let out a “Wow” before saying, “so this is what a…meteor shower looks like?”.Rae looked down at Benji and smiled. “Pretty cool, huh?” She asked, placing a hand on her hip, “first time seeing a meteor shower?”. He nodded, making Rae chuckle. Benji then said “Wish your friends could see this…”.“Yeah” Rae responded, “but hey! At least I saw it with one!”. That made Benji look up at the blonde and then he smiled to himself. That…that felt nice. Rae then smirked. “Race you back?”.Benji giggled, nodding eagerly and the two ran back to the school laughing.
He glanced over at Asher as he walked back into his new bedroom, who was still sleeping but now in another nearly impossible position. Benji got on his bed, wrapping himself on the blanket, not bothering with the fact that it was torn due to his own claws. He could ask for help with that tomorrow. Rae was right, he was exhausted now which he really needed. Though his mind still wandered back to the nightmare. To the blood, the yells, the dead eyes…thankfully he was too tired to stay in those thoughts too long because as soon as his head hit the bed, he dozed off. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad…