Disclaimer: Not mine, Marvel's. I just messed up the universe, that's all.
Note: Another alternate reality gig I'm doing, except that the X-men really do exist. But they are mutants, but their ideals are slightly different. Plus, I might've altered some things here and there as I go along. So if you think it's kinda inaccurate, it's probably not a mistake, just one of the differences in this alternate reality. Ah, back to basics.
All comments to southern_efx@hotmail.com

A Place in this World
by Vicki Lew
August 1997

Chapter 2

The man dressed in a black Armani suit strode briskly down the carpeted corridor, not pleased at all. He turned round the corner and knocked sharply on the expensive oaken door. Upon receiving a muffled permission to enter, Randolph Gedrick set foot into the lushly-furnished office.

"Sir." He bowed his head in respect to his superior.

"How did it happen?"

"Apparently, she figured her powers out, and didn't want to stay home anymore."

The other man sitting at the polished desk took in a deep breath and shook his head. He clenched his jaw and gave his order.

"Get her back, Ran. Quietly. She's been nothing but trouble since her mother died. Martha and I never deserved this. I don't understand it. We don't deserve a mutant..."

Randolph took out his cellphone and punched some buttons, instructing his men to get ready for the search. He turned to make his exit, but not before he said, "You can't keep her locked in here forever, Jack. You know that."

As the door closed after the agent walked out, Senator Jack O'Connor downed a stiff glass of whiskey and started to make plans.

"Dere. Dat should do it."

Sure enough, the lights and power came back on again, thanks to Remy LeBeau's technical expertise. He was quite grumpy by then, having to crawl and stretch around to connect the powerpoints correctly.

"I shall check the security server," Storm announced and went to the War room.

Remy nodded and wiped the sweat off his brow. Just as he stepped outside the power storage room for a smoke, Storm appeared and waved him into the War room. His mouth twitched in mild annoyance but he followed anyways.

"What?"

She pointed to a red dot on the screen, standing out amongst the computer lay-out of the mansion blueprints.

"It appears we have an intruder in the men's dormitory wing, Remy. He must have come in when the power was down,"

"Oh yay, Stormy. I so happy." Casually, he pulled out a couple of cards and flipped through them. "Let's go catch us a bad guy,"

"Gro-wwwll!"

She clamped her hand over her stomach and tried to muffle the sounds of hunger. Where was the darned kitchen anyway? She'd looked in all the other rooms, there was nothing edible. She stole down the big staircase; the lights came back on and she nearly fell off the steps in fright. Regaining her balance, the young woman darted all the way back upstairs and fled round the corner, back into the room she first broke into.

Her heart pounded fiercely and her arm throbbed painfully. As she calmed down, she laughed silently at her cowardice. Fancy being scared by lights. But the fact that they were back on bothered her. The darkness gave her cover; now she was out in the open for everyone to spot. She'd better get her food fast and make a mad dash out of here. The girl turned around and was about to exit the room when she collided with something quite warm and solid.

She looked up, and nearly fell away in a dead faint at her shock. A man and a woman were standing directly in front of her, ready to make a grab at her.

The man spoke in an annoyed tone, "Hey, dat's my stuff you got dere!" and reached for her.

It proved to be a very bad move for him. She utilized her powers again and swung her fortified arm towards him with startling speed. The man hardly had the opportunity to grunt before he was sent reeling into the wall behind. The woman, however, was forewarned and took to the air, mist and wind surrounding her instantly; their little intruder gaped at the spectacle in a mixture of fear and awe, didn't bother to defend herself and just raced out of the room.

The girl's legs were weak with shock and she stumbled as she ran down the stairs. Her body pitched down the staircase and she cried out as she hit the landing hard, her broken arm further agitated from the jolting. Pain numbed her already bruised body, she couldn't move even as the two people approached her.

"By the Goddess, are you alright?" The coloured woman bent down and touched her shoulder. She just winced. "It's alright, child. We will not hurt you."

Through bleary eyes, she saw the man looming over her, his features softening as he saw the pain she was in. He rolled up the sleeves of the sweater gently as he could and examined her arm.

"Broken up, girl. Gotta get you to de infirmary, it swellin' up bad."

Her head spun as he slung her good arm round his neck, but she didn't protest. Or rather, couldn't, because of the pain. She blinked rapidly, trying to fight the darkness that threatened to overwhelm her, but in vain. The world went black as he picked her up.

Gedrick examined the ground and looked up at his two companions.

"She's been through here alright. Fell into that ditch there and headed north," He dusted his hands clean from the dirt and stood up. "Scoot over there and see if there's a residence or something."

The two men nodded and went off to carry out their orders. Gedrick took out his silver cigarette case and drew a stick out of it, proceeding to take a smoke. He drew his coat closer; it was freezing cold tonight. However did Sabine survive out here without a stitch of clothing on?

The man watched the clouds of smoke disperse in the wind.

He'd seen it all, how O'Connor the good senator locked his mutant daughter up in her room, hidden away from the public eye. She was almost twenty, for God's sakes. How long did he intend to keep her hidden; a family secret? Sabby looked normal, she could've easily passed off as an ordinary human being. Perhaps people might give her a second look because of that streak in her hair, but that wasn't really bizarre or anything, compared to those punks in the underground.

Gedrick wasn't too happy about seeing a beautiful and intelligent girl like her being imprisoned, held against her will. In his eight years working for the senator, she'd been buried under wraps ever since her powers first emerged five years ago; she threw a tantrum and took out a large chunk of her room. Jack, fearing for his run for senator, faked her death and locked her up. For five years she didn't go to school, didn't get to see her friends, didn't get to go outside freely except for the occasional walks around the mansion compounds. It was amazing she didn't go insane. No one who worked for him dared to say anything, of course, for fear of being fired. And with the power and influence the senator had, he could easily ruin their lives.

Sometimes he wondered how Jack could possibly do that to his own daughter. Maybe he harboured something against Sabine because his wife died while bearing her. What he was sure of was the fact that Jack found his daughter to be nothing but a burden, something he wished to be rid of. Every night, to keep her from escaping, the maids had to take Sabine's clothing from her. Gedrick found it such humiliation. Part of him was glad that she escaped despite her father's efforts; part of him was angry at himself. Angry because he had to get her back and put the walls back up around her. Who knows what O'Connor would want to do to her just to protect his precious reputation. That son-of-a-bitch.

He wished he could break away from this job, but he couldn't. He was bound by honour. After all, Jack did save his father from bankruptcy, provided jobs and financial assistance for the Gedrick family until they got back on their feet. It was this blasted debt he had to fulfill, and the promise he made to his late father.

"Protect Jack with your life, help him, work for him; we all owe him that much and more..."

At times he wished Jack had just left them alone to survive. This debt was such a handicap. He couldn't betray Jack or his family would suffer for sure.

"Drop dead, Jack."

With unnecessary force, he threw the cigarette to the ground and snubbed it out.

The gentle humming of the generated force field reverberated throughout the empty corridors, accompanied by soft sobbing. Behind the bluish glowing bars, she lay huddled in the darkest corner, retreating into the darkest corners of her mind.

Not again.

After all that she'd been through just to be free of her father's cruel imprisonment...She was back to square one, trapped as before. She wrapped her arms around her knees and pressed her cheek wearily against the cold steel wall. Her tears poured down her pale cheeks, her eyes dead with defeat.

Footsteps echoed through the immediate surroundings, but the young woman hardly noticed. The rhythm of the steps slowed down, stopping finally. Remy LeBeau peered into the cell before placing his bare hand on the scanning hatch; the central security system found a match in its database and granted him entry. He stepped harmlessly through the force-field, which only allowed authorized entry from the outside, and stood a distance from the intruder. In his hands he held a mug of warm cocoa, which he slowly set to the floor. He slowly stooped down to appear less intimidating, but the girl still refused to look in his direction, let alone come closer towards him.

"Hi." If she heard him, she didn't show any signs of acknowledgment. He tried again. "Brought ya a drink. If'n ya want anythin', I could get it for ya."

Her sudden gaze startled him. Those emerald eyes bore such sadness and desolation; Remy felt his heart reach out to her. And her tears...

It came out as a rasp at first, her voice rusty from little use, but he could just make out her plea, "Y-ya could give m-me my freedom."

The Cajun blinked stupidly at her.

"Your freedom? Ya ain't a prisoner here, p'tit. We jus' wanna make sure you don't hurt y'self any further," He pointed at the cast on her arm and the various treated scrapes and bruises on her body. "We gonna let you out soon enough; jus' need t'find out more 'bout your condition. S'okay, no one gonna hurt you here."

Picking up the mug, he placed it in her cold hands. She flinched slightly from his touch and presence, but wasn't really too scared. She looked at the beverage and then at the man beside her; she took a small sip and he smiled warmly. Awkwardly, she smiled back.

She didn't feel so alone anymore.

Continued in Chapter 3

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