Losing track of the tears I cry || Neglected batfam reader x Xaviers school for gifted children
You were 12 when your abilities manifested.
Damian's mother had sent assassins after him and found you outside his door. You had slept there, worried about him after a bad patrol.
The footsteps had woken you.
Then the blinding headache hit.
As far as you could tell, you could edit entropy. Slowing down or speeding up the decay of something.
You figured this out when you turned the assassins to dust.
You didn't know what to do. What to say?
You had seen your father. You knew he was putting together his own list of mutants to submit to the Justice League, just as a contingency. You also knew that he was scaring every mutant in Gotham out of Gotham.
He was trying to keep his city as it was. Even if they weren't harmful.
Because the unknown to him was more dangerous than anything else.
Anyways back to your abilities.
This was the first one that showed.
You had 3 different abilities you could figure out, first was, as you said, the entropy editing. The second was memory projecting.
Anything you had experienced, you could morph your room into a recreation of. Not necessarily changing the environment, but changing how it all looked.
Your final one was the most useful to you.
You had the ability to fold surfaces. You practiced this one often in your room.
It let you cross it in an instant.
You were 13 the first time you tried to tell your father.
But even as Bruce, he didn't have time for you.
You tried telling Dick, but he was too preoccupied with Kori, Damian, or the titans who were suddenly getting more calls because of the mutants everywhere.
Next, you tried going the opposite route, telling Jason.
You sought him out, made your way to Crime Alley.
The second he saw you, he gripped your arm, shoving you into an alley and out of sight. "It's not safe here, kid. There've been more mutants popping up around here; it's not safe for you; you're not even trained-"
"Jason, that's what I'm trying to say-"
"What do you know about a mutant? They're dangerous, you need to stay away from them-"
"No, you need to go home, right now. I'll call B to get you."
He wasn't much of a help either.
Tim was the next logical choice.
That was till you saw what he was doing.
When you approached him to talk about it, he was yelling on the phone.
Apparently, someone from the company had been found to be a mutant.
You heard him curse her, how difficult she made things, then he sealed his fate with a sentence, "I wish these mutants had never come about, things were fine before when it was less common, now there are too many of them, we need a way to regulate them."
Your last try was Alfred. Too afraid of going to Damian.
You had sat yourself in the kitchen while he was cooking.
"I have... I have something I need to talk to you about."
His eyes glanced back to yours with curiosity.
"Could this wait, young miss? Are there things to be done?"
Your shoulders slumped, curling in on yourself.
His eyes flicked back to the pot he was stirring, then to you again.
"Have you tried talking to the others? I'm sure they would be happy to make time for your concerns."
Your heart felt like it was cracking.
He let out a breath, "If it is so low on their list of priorities, maybe it isn't really that important then, young miss? Is it truly so important that you must disrupt dinner preparations?"
You had never felt so unimportant.
Tears brimmed in your eyes.
"Very well, miss, if you might excuse me."
You jumped up, making your way out of the kitchen.
Tears brimmed in your eyes.
That's when you ran into Damian in the hallway.
His gaze was harsh, "Why are you so weak?"
You wiped the tears under your eyes.
He scoffed, "Then why are you shedding useless tears?"
You tried to brush past him. "Why do you care?"
"Why should I? You'll probably just make fun of me or something."
"Guess we'll never know."
As he turned to walk away, you grabbed his wrist.
The room morphed into the day your abilities were awakened.
He stared with a mouth shut and quiet.
When it finished playing out, he looked back at you.
"You're one of them. How awful."
He pulled his wrist away, and you turned running to your room.
You slammed the door, locking it before running to your closet and packing a bag.
You threw several outfits in the bag, then grabbed the photo of your real family from your desk.
They had died when you were 7.
You shoved it in your bag carefully. doing a sweep of your room before rushing to your nightstand, where you had kept every cash present you had ever received.
Dumping them all into your bag, gift cards included, you zipped the bag, and tears fell from your eyes.
Then you made your escape.
Walking out your door, head down, you made swift work of the house till you got to the door.
Opening it, a hand clamped down on your shoulder.
Your eyes shot to his tears falling.
You threw open the door, bending the space between here and the end of the driveway before beginning to run.
You could only make it so far each time.
Street after street, neighborhood after neighborhood.
By the time you made it out of Gotham, it was dark out.
You spent the next week drifting.
Till one day you ran into a girl, she was close to your age.
She was doing light shows in a mall.
You had stopped there to scour a food court when you saw her, and something told you she was a mutant.
The next few days were fun; you and she got along very well.
She did her tricks, and you sat on the sidelines ready to make a run with her if needed.
She often shoplifted, telling you to save your money for a real emergency while you both bonded.
You trusted her guidance to a fault.
Which eventually had you end up in this situation, after being chased by mutant hunters, saved by a woman, and going through a portal.
You found yourself curled up against a wall, sneaking behind Jubilee through a strange building.
She poked her head through one door, and I followed suit as we pushed past.
"How do we get out of here?"
My eyes flickered between her and the next door way.
Peaking in, I saw a man watching TV before he started to... shapeshift?
We're in a mutant hideout or something.
We made our way into a different room, this time I pressed myself back up against one of the walls, taking a deep breath.
It looks like the incident in the mall was caught on camera. Jubilee and I were allegedly 'kidnapped' by the mutants or something.
We're in a mess of our own making.
"I think we're in some kind of mutant hangout."
You narrow your eyes at her, "I hope they're not dangerous."
"As opposed to the mutant hunters?" Jubilee whispered.
Another. Someone knew you were here.
Jubilee reached for your wrist.
You held her hand tightly, backing up against a wall, preparing to use your ability and bolt through a door.
A deep voice spoke from the hallway.
There was no anger in it.
"No one's actually supposed to sneak into the mansion."
Jubilee squeezed your hand tighter.
A massive man stepped into view.
Small round spectacles perched neatly on his nose.
He looked between the pair of you before slowly raising both hands.
"I realize I may appear... startling."
"A little," Jubilee admitted.
Your eyes flickered past him to the hallway.
"My name is Dr. Henry McCoy."
He put his hands down carefully.
"You've wandered a rather long way from the front entrance."
"...Is this... your gang?"
The blue man's eyebrows climbed.
Jubilee nodded cautiously.
"I'm afraid we're rather lacking in gang qualifications."
"You have a secret base."
"I assure you, it truly is a school."
Your eyes went to Jubilee behind you, then to Hank in front of you.
A woman stepped into view.
White hair flowed over her shoulders.
Her cape drifted behind her almost as though the air itself carried it.
Her eyes settled on the two of you.
"I was beginning to wonder where our guests had disappeared to."
"...You knew we were here?"
Storm's smile widened ever so slightly.
"My dear, you arrived through the front lawn in quite spectacular fashion."
"There was very little sneaking involved."
"...You said nobody saw us."
"I thought nobody saw us."
Leaning against the wall stood a man with wild black hair and sideburns that looked sharp enough to cut steel.
"Kids thought they were invisible."
"We were being careful," Jubilee defended.
"You walked past three security cameras."
"...Four," Beast corrected.
Jubilee looked horrified.
Storm shot him a look before he sighed.
The question caught you completely off guard.
"I asked if you're hungry."
You hadn't expected your first interrogation to be about food.
"...That's it?" you asked.
"No handcuffs?" Jubilee added.
The three adults exchanged brief glances.
Storm's expression softened.
"You're free to leave if that's what you wish."
"But..." you hesitated. "What if we don't have anywhere to go?"
Storm stepped aside, opening the hallway.
"Then perhaps," she said gently, "you might stay long enough for us to introduce ourselves."
"Why are you helping us?"
Beast answered this time.
"Because you appear to need help."
The three adults exchanged another glance.
Logan scratched the back of his neck.
"You look like you've slept under a bridge."
Jubilee looked down at her jacket.
To your surprise, the corner of Logan's mouth twitched.
"I ain't sayin' it to be mean."
He nodded toward the hallway.
"I'm sayin' it because people who look like that usually need a hot meal."
"You showered four days ago."
She looked personally offended.
Eventually, you and Jubilee agreed to join them for a meal.
As the group started walking, your eyes never left the exits.
"You always count exits?"
Your shoulders stiffened.
Teenagers talked over trays of food.
A television played quietly in the corner.
A girl with white streaks in her hair flew a spoon across the room with her mind.
Another student caught it without looking.
"They didn't even scream."
You watched as a tray phased through a girl's hands, before it reached your feet, you bent the floor in half, and were very quickly with Jubilee at the front of the group.
A wheelchair rolled quietly into the room.
Conversations didn't stop.
Students simply smiled as he passed.
The bald man stopped a respectful distance away from you and Jubilee.
His expression was kind, but there was something piercing about his eyes.
He already seemed to understand far more than he said.
"You must be our unexpected visitors."
"My name is Charles Xavier."
"I understand you've had... a difficult few days."
"You don't know anything about us."
The answer surprised you.
"I know only that two frightened young women arrived here seeking shelter."
His gaze drifted briefly to the backpack still clutched against your chest.
"And that one of them hasn't set that bag down for a single moment."
Your grip tightened instinctively.
"I imagine," Xavier continued gently, "that whatever is inside is precious."
Your hand unconsciously shifted over the pocket containing your family photograph.
"I won't ask you to show me."
Your eyes flickered to Jubilee.
"You've had quite enough people demanding things from you."
"So you've already been inside our heads."
"You'll simply have to decide," Xavier continued, "whether I earn your trust."
You slowly shifted your backpack onto your back again.
"There is, however, one thing I would ask."
Your shoulders immediately tensed.
"There it is," you muttered.
"I'd like to know whether either of you have abilities that could unintentionally endanger yourselves or others."
"It isn't a test," Beast added gently.
"If one of our students accidentally freezes an entire hallway, we'd rather know before someone slips."
"Or if someone blows up the kitchen."
"...That happened?" Jubilee asked.
A red-haired boy at another table shrank lower in his chair.
Xavier looked back at the two of you.
"We simply wish to understand how best to help."
Jubilee slowly raised a hand.
"...Mine aren't dangerous."
"They're still worth seeing."
She hesitated before holding both hands out.
Tiny sparks danced between her fingertips.
They crackled like colorful fireworks.
Yours could be dangerous.
You'd killed assassins with yours before.
Beast adjusted his glasses.
"Remarkable plasma generation."
"You can do more than that," Logan said.
"I watched you blind three hunters."
"I thought they just had sensitive eyes."
"I suspect your abilities are stronger than you realize."
Jubilee stared at her hands.
You waited, then attention shifted to you.
Your eyes flickered up then down.
Fear coursed through you.
Jubilee would be safe here at least.
They might not keep you, though.
Not when they see what you can do. What you've done.
Beast's expression grew thoughtful.
Xavier rested his hands on the arms of his chair.
You sighed, face contorting, eyes closing tightly.
"You already saw me fold the floor. It allows me to cross distances quickly, which would be hard to travel across on foot. I can't teleport."
You quickly corrected yourself.
"I just... shorten the distance."
He stepped closer, fascination replacing surprise.
"You're not traversing space in the traditional sense."
"It feels like... pulling two places together."
Beast looked absolutely delighted.
"Spatial manipulation through localized topological deformation..."
Your eyes went down to your hands.
"I can use my memory projection to show you the last of my abilities."
"It..." You swallowed. "It shows people things I've lived through."
"A psychic illusion?" Jean asked from one of the nearby tables.
You rubbed at your sleeve.
"It isn't always on purpose."
"And you wish to show us?"
"...But it's easier than explaining."
"Only if you're certain."
But if they were going to send you away...
They deserved to know why.
Students looked around in surprise as the cafeteria dissolved.
The polished wooden floor darkened into expensive marble.
Portraits climbed the walls.
A grandfather clock ticked softly somewhere down the hall.
Beast adjusted his glasses.
"It isn't real," you murmured.
"It's just... how I remember it."
The projection continued to grow clearer.
Night settled outside the towering windows.
A much younger version of you came into view.
Curled in a blanket outside an ornate bedroom door.
"...You slept in the hallway?"
Your voice was barely audible.
"Damian came back injured."
The younger you shifted in her sleep.
Several dark figures climbed through shattered windows with practiced silence.
Logan's expression hardened instantly.
"They were after Damian," you whispered.
The younger you woke with a start.
The projection made everyone hear it.
A piercing, unbearable ringing.
She collapsed against the wall, fingers digging into her scalp.
Storm took an involuntary step forward.
The assassins exchanged confused glances.
Another raised his weapon.
Your breathing became uneven beside Xavier.
"I didn't know what was happening."
In the memory, the first assassin lunged.
Armor rusted in an instant.
He didn't even have time to scream.
His body collapsed into drifting ash.
Silence consumed the dining hall.
Another assassin stumbled backward.
He reached for his radio.
His arm decayed before he could touch it.
Dust scattered across the marble floor.
His body aged decades in seconds before collapsing into powder.
The projection didn't exaggerate.
It simply replayed exactly what had happened.
The last assassin dropped his sword.
Of the crying twelve-year-old standing in the hallway.
Your younger self couldn't hear him.
She had both hands over her ears.
Ash drifted through the air like gray snow.
The little girl looked around wildly.
Then down at her own shaking hands.
She backed away from the piles of dust.
Surrounded by the remains of four people.
Still too frightened to understand what she'd done.
The cafeteria slowly returned.
"…That's why they're scary."
Your eyes stayed fixed on the floor.
No one answered immediately.
Logan finally broke the silence.
"...Yeah. You did. But that ain't the part I was looking at."
Your head lifted slightly.
"I saw a kid having the worst day of her life."
"I saw a frightened child awaken to a gift she did not understand."
"A curse," you whispered.
Storm shook her head gently.
"It didn't feel different."
Beast crouched until he was closer to your eye level.
"What you demonstrated was not malice."
"It was an uncontrolled mutation triggered by acute stress."
His voice never became defensive.
"And that tragedy deserves acknowledgment."
He folded his hands together.
"But responsibility and intent are not identical concepts."
"You did not choose them."
"You reacted before you even understood what was happening."
"...How can you know that?"
Jean, who had quietly walked over during the projection, spoke next.
"You never looked relieved."
She looked toward the place where the illusion had shown your younger self.
Across the room, Jubilee slowly inched closer until she bumped your shoulder.
"...I thought I was hiding stuff."
"When mutations first manifest..."
His voice carried through the room without becoming loud.
"...they often emerge under circumstances of profound emotional or physical distress."
"We have students whose abilities first appeared during house fires."
He looked directly at you.
"You are not the first child to arrive believing themselves to be a monster."
"And you will not be the last."
"...You're... not afraid of me?"
"I shook Mr. Logan's hand the first day we met."
"Still got all ten fingers."
A few nearby students chuckled.
"Your mutation is undoubtedly dangerous."
Storm's eyes flicked toward Logan.
Storm looked back to you.
"The measure of a person is not whether they possess dangerous abilities."
"It is what they choose to do once they have learned to control them."
"...I don't know if I can."
"You can," Xavier said simply.
"It is now our responsibility to ensure your control catches up with it."
"If I may ask one admittedly scientific question..."
"When your entropy manipulation activates..."
His eyes gleamed with academic excitement.
"Can you affect inorganic matter intentionally?"
"The kid just relived the most traumatic night of her life."
"...Perhaps after dessert?"
"...After dessert," Beast admitted.
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