X-Man Diaries: Shatterglass (Prologue)
School had let out and I was left free to wander the burbs with my friend Ross, The blockhead wouldn't shut up.
"If I ever met a Mute," He'd been ranting, "I'd fuck him up. Hey, you know that I could tell right away if I ran into one right?"
"As if, dipshit!" I said.
*...If only he knew..*
"Besides, HOW would you know? Maybe YOU'RE a Mute and that's your gift."
"Gift! Jeez , Dude! Curse or disease more like!"
*...Idiot...*
Idiot! I turned to call him one to his face but stopped short. I caught his blue eyes with my own grey ones. The jock talked and acted as much like a meathead as any of his varsity teammates. His brown hair shimmered and despite myself I brushed my fingertips through it, from temple to the back of his neck.
He broke out in a blush. "J-Julian...? Wh-what're you...?" he stammered but began leaning forward.
*Yea, Julian. What ARE you doing...?*
Ross slipped his big hands around my waist pulling me closer. I could feel the heat from his breath on my lips as he as he spoke. "Julian... I've wanted... for so long... b-but how'd you know I was-?"
"A fag?" I snarled and pushed hard against his chest. He stumbled bacwards in a shocked daze and sat down hard. As he sat there I ran home. The whole time I called after Ross: "FAGGOT! PERVERT!! HOMO!! FUCKIN' QUEER-TARD! ASS EATER!!" and other things I wished I could forget. And all the while for as long as I could see him... he just sat there...
I was practicing my Tai-Chi stances to calm my mind. I needed it. How could I do that to Ross?! I wanted to kiss him too. I knew that! but i knew that was wrong! None if what I said was for Ross! It was all for me! to me! about me! So what if Ross was a homo! I'm one too! But I can't be!! Homosexuality is wrong! Ross and I can't-!
That was when I heard my parents bustle in my direction. These weremy parents as they should have been, as they were befor; modest, hard working.
"Julian!" my mom said clutching my ratted old jacket. "Oh, Jules, I just picked up your coat and-!" She looked worried.
*...wait... I know this one...*
"Julian!" my father yelled, "We found these in your pocket!" He thrust a fistful oh gemstones in my face. "Where did you get these?! Did you steal them?!"
"N-No! I didn't steal them!" I say, "They're mine! I-"
"Then where did they come from?!" Pop seemed to deflate in despair, "What did you do to get them...!"
"I ... I made them..." I turn my back on their confused faces and take my stance to demonstrate my point.
*...No... they don't... need the truth...*
I relax and summon the power in me and focus on the rocks and gravel at my feet. I open my eyes as my power fills the stones and find them, as I knew I would, completely crystalized.
"There... y'see?" I ask as I turn around.
"Yes, Julie, and as always; its wonderful," my mother said, this is the mother I resent: all dolled up in expensive cothes and laiden with my jewels...
"Now..." my equally changed father says gesturiing to the other stones in the quarry: "do the rest."
*...You don't have to... you- no I.... I can always say*
"N-no..."
"What did you say to me...?" Father says in that dangerous tone he's developed.
I falter- a little... and only for a minute. "I told you... I said NO!!!" I yell the last word and run for it
"...Julian... wait..." I didn't even notice that the female voice wasn't mother's
"NO!!!" I yell. God it felt so good to say. I've never been able to do it before!
"Jullian! STOP!!!" the strange male voice in my mind makes my skull ache.
"Wha-Who's there?!" I stop and look around, the scene had changed to a forest of diamond spires.
"Julian, I am professor Charles Xavier. And you my friend are in danger"
"...D-danger...?" I was suddenly exhausted and so rest against a glass stalagmite. "how...?"
"How are you feeling?" the Xavier voice asks
"Tired... Depressed...why?"
"Well I knew you were depressed but did you know you were suicidal?"
"Heheh... huh? I don't wanna die... just... rest here kay?" The spire felt warm and oddly fluid... in fact I think I was sinking...
A pair of hands gripped my fore arms and pulled. "No! Don't fall asleep! Do you not realize what's happening to you?! you are killing yourself! You will die if you don't WAKE UP!!!
The last word was loud enough to rouse me from my dream and I immediately found that I couldn't move! My bones felt so HEAVY!!! I could move my eyes and looked at my body as far as I could and saw that my arms had crystalized and the encroachment was spreading, reaching for my head.
I immediately began to panic, and since I couldn't move I made more than enough noise to compensate.
"Ah, good! You're awake!" said a bald man in Xavier's voice. "Now, stop the crystals!"
I can't! No one ever wanted me to STOP making gems! I don't know how!!!
"I'll help you," Xavier said reading my mind, "relax and concentrate..."
Concentrate...
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A few days had passed since meeting professor X and I still wasn't back to normal. My arms and legs were still petrified and I wasn't as convinced as the good professor that I could be returned to normal. In all of that time I avoided sleep when I could. Whenever I dozed off I was forced to relive that day... It was all too much too soon... Ross... My parents... It was a hell that I wsorsened but never changed each time... and there's nothing that I can do about it... stuck as I am...
"You're making astounding progress," cooed the red-headed Jean Grey, "most gifts like yours that I've seen are irreversable."
She looked over my med charts and added updates on my conditiion.
"I wonder though..." she said after a moment, "If you could do better if you believed you could..."
'And why should I believe that?' I thought bitterly
"Because Professor believes you can," she answered (mind readers, urgh...), "And you're already doing it."
I felt no different but then I couldn't see myself...
The Professor himself entered the room then accompanied by a young, blonde haired man. "Jullian Clayton, this is Bobby Drake." He said gesturing to blondie.
"Hey," he said. The idiot put out his hand expecting me to shake it! "Oh. Ah sorry..." He said, realizing his mistake way too late.
"Now there's no need for that." X said in response to the flurry of anger feuled thoughts that shot through my mind. "He just made a mistake. An easy one as well considering your skin shows very little crystalization."
'What? So why can't I move?'
"Because your bones have petrified completely and permanently." He said solemnly.
'Oh, god! I'm stuck here! X! Kill me now! No I will!' I started to concentrate.
"Julian! Enough!!" X ordered, "That isn't necissary!"
"Prof?" Bobby asked, "Why am i here?"
"I need an ice crystal. A small one; dime-sized."
Drake dipped a napkin from Jean's lunch into her water and squeezed a few drops into his own hand. When he held out his hand a clear gem of ice glittered in his palm.
"Thank you, Robert. Jean, Put a few drops in Julian's palm."
"Yes, sir," she said, curiosity behind her eyes.
I took the hint and crystalized the water.
"Good." X said, "Now do as I do."
He took both gems and placed them on the table beside my head. As I watched, the ice one shook and rattled.
'No way, dude, I can't -can not- control them!'
"You sell yourself short, Jules" he said.
'Tph... Alright... I must be losing my mind...' I visuallized the stone moving and immediately felt a tingling somewhere in my skull.
"There! concentrate with that." X said.
My stone twitched, then shook more so than X's did.
"Excellent! Now follow the leader..."
Spins adnd flips became hovering and light bouncing became zooming wiith more and more stones.
One day I decided it was time to move.
I found that I could do it, but it was like moving a puppet! so uncoordinated. I moved like a zombie. Sitting up. Opening my mouth. flexing my muscles.
"Very good!" I was so startled that I lost control and fell forward and landed with a perfect face-plant. "Allow me to help." X said. I felt that I could move normally and did so to get back up to my bed.
"Now we build your muscles back up so you can move normally," X said, "With follow the leader..."