Angel Salvadore

Last night.

Wyoming, USA.

On the fringes of the woods, an old town miles away from civilization stood still, eaten away by rust, dust, and a sense of slow decay. A forgotten corner of the American Midwest.

Abandoned since its coal mine closed its people clinging to rotten homes or fleeing

On the east side of town stood an elevated, small old house. Its siding was rotten and withered; the paint that had been bright and pleasant years ago was fading, peeling off the chipped planks.

The old dirty window barely allowed the light from inside to escape, a similar sight across town. 

The evening ushered in the time to relax and break from the day's hectic pace, but this particular house seemed to do the opposite, as blaring TV volume escaped through the dilapidated house's frame.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome with me, Mr. John Sublime, the author of the bestselling book, The Third Species, which took New York by storm only a day after its release."

"Thank you, Ms. Joane. It's nice meeting you all."

"Mr. Sublime, your book speaks about becoming something more than human through grafting organs from donor mutants, but don't you think that your book risks radicalization against mutants, and is it even possible to do it surgically?"

"Well, Miss Joane, I didn't expect you to come at me with such intensity right from the start." A deep, charming male voice echoed

The interviewer chuckled, but this time it was covered by the sound of smashing and women screaming coming from the house.

A few loud dull smacks followed, and then the creaking door to the house swung open. A heavyset black man stepped out, dragging a screaming fourteen-year-old girl by the neck. A black woman stepped right after him, weeping as she smacked his hand.

"Let her go! She isn't your daughter, she's mine!" she cried and pulled against his hands.

Her yelling seemed to irritate the man as he smacked her with a loud slap that sent her stumbling back inside the house.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP," he barked, loud enough for the entire street to hear.

"I'LL SUE YOU, I'LL HAVE YOU LOCKED UP AS A CHILD MOLESTER," the teenage girl screamed as she struggled against his firm hands.

The man paid no attention to her declaration. He tightened his hold around her neck and sent her stumbling down the stairs until she planted headfirst into the old dirt road.

"Like I would want to molest a damn mutant," he spat at her, turned around, and loudly closed the door behind him.

Her stepfather's rage had festered since her mutation surfaced, a secret she hid until tonight.

The girl lay there just like that for several seconds, exposing the countless blisters on her back, which looked like they were about to burst at any second. 

"Ugh..." The girl struggled to her feet. She wore black tight gym shorts and a green sleeveless top that exposed her midriff. She was a bit chubby and looked disgusted as she smelled herself.

"Maybe I'm a freak." A chemical stench spread from her, and she wasn't oblivious to that fact. After wiping her tears, the girl took to the woods, stumbling and crying at times. Her soles bled and were sliced numerous times as she trudged through the dark forest, all the while bracing herself against the night chill.

She walked a long distance; the grief and the sense of loss gripping her made her lose her sense of time, until she reached a flat, low-rising boulder in the middle of a clearing.

She reached out, touched its rough surface, and it was chillingly cold and crawling with ants. But the girl didn't seem to mind as she got on top of it, lay down, hugged her knees, and trembled as she broke down sobbing, until she cried herself to sleep.

A couple of hours into the night, something strange happened in the clearing; a foul smell spread, chasing away most of the hooting owls and the nocturnal animals.

That came from the girl; her skin secreted a green sticky substance that soon enveloped her whole inside a cocoon. Once that formed, the stench vanished, and calm returned once more to the forest.

At the foot of the rock, moths, ants, butterflies, and small insects gathered, their antennae gently swaying, welcoming the birth of a queen.

"U-Man Bell, how far are we?" A muffled voice came from a black, tightly sealed hazmat suit. There were three of them, wearing the same outfit. On the back and front of the suits was a drawing, an outline of a man with three heads and two wings, all in green.

One of the men lifted a small tablet close to his helmet, which was similar in shape to the one used in diving, albeit more tightly fitting and surrounded by a circular collar where another glass protection capsule would be inserted.

Light reflected off the round glass on the man's head; the visage behind that was barely visible, staring at the X gene detection device.

"Close... keep examining the vicinity," he replied, his voice rough and distant.

No words were exchanged after that, as they continued to move silently, accompanied only by the beeping from the device and their rough inhales.

As the U-Men closed in, Adam and Rogue emerged from the shadows, unseen.

"Why isn't that device detecting us?" asked Rogue, her voice loud enough for the U-Men to hear, but they remained none the wiser.

"Because I willed it," replied Adam, while following the three men from a close distance that would have alerted anyone's senses.

"Is there anything you can't do..." Rogue muttered. It hadn't been a long time since they left the mansion, a few minutes at most. The portal Adam conjured opened right behind these men; they exited undetected and followed their trail.

This wasn't the first time she saw him do something like that. The first time was with the dogs in New York, and the numerous times when he loved to play a prank on her.

But how did he know their exact whereabouts, when even the professor has to use Cerebro? She thought, glancing at Adam. She had asked this question before, when they had been discussing what to do a few days ago. His response was an irritating smile.

"It's a hive mind... I invaded the link between the cells; that's why I know their exact location." Adam's sudden voice startled Rogue, who looked at him suspiciously.

"Did you read my mind?" she asked.

"No." He shook his head, glanced at her full lips that seemed ready to pout, and smiled. "You wear your emotions on your sleeve, Rogue... Something I find to be very endearing..."

Rogue stared at him, blinked a few times, then pointed at the men walking ahead. "Hon, we are stalking a bunch of transhuman terrorists through a dark wood... And you decide to flirt?"

"It makes it more exciting, doesn't it? Besides, there's no danger..." He waved his hand dismissively and overtook Rogue, who stared at his back for a second before following and nudged him playfully

''Keep your eyes on the mission, hon.''

She liked his growing confidence compared to the day he first stepped into the mansion, disoriented, asking for help; it was still a fresh memory. Rogue didn't detest what he once was; she had a similar experience.

Adam turned and looked at Rogue beside him. Light flickered in his eyes, then he smiled. He reached for her ungloved hand, something she only does when she's with him, because he was the only one immune to her touch.

She felt his fingers weave between hers. His hand was warm, steady as it gently tightened around her palm. A slight smile tugged at her lips, and a warm feeling immediately spread through her body. She didn't look at him, but she knew he was taking in the view and always keeping her in his sight.

She wasn't weak; she was far from that, but she didn't mind the feeling.

Eyes staring ahead, thoughts swirling, hearts budding with affection, they stared ahead, following the U-Men who were only a few meters away from them.

A few minutes later, after dodging snagging branches and slapping away the flying insects that increased as they walked deeper into the forest, they finally reached the clearing.

In the middle, atop the rocks, there lay a girl inside a withered, broken cocoon. She had dark skin, an athletic body, and two translucent butterfly wings folded behind her back.

The moment the men drew near, her wings twitched, as she yawned and pushed herself to sit up. She took a moment to rub her eyes. Once she opened her eyes, she froze.

"Who are you creeps?" she said, terrified, her wings equally sharing her fear as they flapped, picking up wind.

"This will take years to sterilize..." said one of the men as he approached, disgusted by the dry green cocoon.

"Morning, freak," U-Man Bell sneered, unstrapping the gun hanging off the circular breathing machine on his back.

"I need you to cooperate," he said as he inched closer slowly. "See the wings on your back... bet you don't want them. Why don't you let us help you with that, huh?"

Angel Salvadore felt her body get weak, as it refused to move. The men drew closer, hands stretched in a deceivingly nonthreatening manner, while their other hand never left the trigger on their machine guns.

She felt something softly tap against her back. Startled, she turned her head, horrified at the sight of her wings. Her actions served as a distraction, as the U-Men swiftly closed in.

Angel turned around. On instinct, she curled her tongue and spat a toxic green liquid at the men who had no time to dodge as it splashed on them and immediately ate at their suits, revealing their skin.

"EUAA!! KILL IT!!" One of them screamed, clutching his burning hand.

The others had minimal damage; they took a step back, staring at the vigilant Angel.

"Don't! We need the wings and the blood!"

"We'll have time to sterilize, get her first!"

They managed to stop the man. A moment later, they turned to the terrified Angel, who backed away.

"Don't hurt me," she whimpered, terrified, her wings flapping wildly as she unsteadily flew a few inches then fell.

The men took a step, then stopped. Their guns fell from their hands as they stared at nothing in a daze.

"Did you have to let her experience all that?" Rogue had a complicated look as she turned to Adam.

"Her fear will teach her," he said, his voice low. "She needs to understand the danger around her identity... the things I've seen are much worse."

She sighed. At least the girl was safe and he had control over the situation, she thought, not realizing the blind confidence she put in him.

"Angel," Adam called as soon as he lifted his psychological invisibility.

The girl flinched, eyes widening at their sudden appearance. She watched warily as Adam drew closer with Rogue; they harshly kicked the U-Men out of their path right into the dirt, and stopped a few feet before her.

"We're here to help," Rogue gave her a nonthreatening, gentle smile.

"Like hell! Who're you?" asked Angel, eyes darting between the fallen U-Men and them. She could clearly distinguish that they weren't from the same group. But her experience from last night left her wary.

"We're just like you," Adam knelt beside her, and she stared at his eyes. For a moment, she thought they were glowing. Her racing heartbeat slowed down, and she felt much calmer than before as she stared at him.

"Look here," he said, lifting his hand that soon grew silver ashen scales, glowing under the sunlight; the sight of them made Angel stare in wonder.

"Beautiful," she murmured to herself.

"I'm just like you, a mutant, and we came to help." He smiled, and Angel stared at him, tears slowly dropping from her eyes.

"So I'm not a freak," she asked with hope in her voice.

"No, hon, you were never a freak." Rogue knelt before the teenage girl. "You're just like us, gifted..."

"Now, how about I tell you about a place where you can live safely with people just like you?" Adam asked softly. He was subtly placating the girl, nothing like mind reading, but calming her so she could see reason.

Angel looked at them, bit her lip, and hesitation gnawed at her. She was lost with no home. Her stepfather had kicked her out, and her mother was helpless before him as she had her stepsister to take care of.

She bit her lip until it trembled. Then the tears came, hot and fast. She lowered her head, allowing her curly hair to cover the strained look on her face. She clenched her fists and nodded slowly.

"Take me, please... I have nowhere to go..." She broke down in tears.

Adam and Rogue exchanged a sympathetic glance before they stood up, determined.

He lifted his hand and created a portal, while Rogue supported Angel up, held her closer to her chest, and then passed through the portal. A few minutes later, she came back.

Adam was leaning on a tree, staring at the three fallen men.

"What did you do to them?" she asked.

"They're trapped in time inside their mind; once they wake up, they won't notice anything." Adam closed the portal and pushed himself off the tree.

Rogue stared at him. There was something about him she couldn't put into words, how he puts people to sleep, how he sneaks without anyone noticing him, and especially his knowledge about the U-Men and their movements.

"What should we do now?" she asked, nudging one of the men with her leg.

Adam flashed her a mysterious smile. "Now, we wind back time."

Rogue's brows drew closer, wondering what nonsense he was going to come up with now. But she held her words, as another exact copy of Adam walked out of his body.

The two identical men nodded to each other. 

The new Adam walked to the rock Angel was on. Each step he took, he changed shape until he became exactly like her, same face and clothes.

Rogue stared wide-eyed at Angel, who played a few times with her features before adopting a fearful, terrified one.

From the side, the U-Men who had fallen down got up, dusted themselves, picked up their guns, and walked back to their original position.

Narrowing his eyes, Adam examined the scene properly before nodding to himself.

"And... action..." he murmured, enough for Rogue to hear. 

She wanted to say something, but froze because the U-Men moved.

They lunged at Angel, who screamed in terror, and one of the men unstrapped a weapon with an unknown chemical capsule.

"Hold her tight," he roared at his companions, who were struggling against Angel and her strong wings that almost lifted them off the ground.

"We got her!!" one of them replied.

"Move faster, her taint is a mess to sterilize."

''Inject!!''

The man with the pistol rushed, grabbed her hand, and injected the serum. 

Angel's struggles grew weak until she fell, passed out in their hands.

"Wow, that was tough," said one of the men as he stood up.

"Let's move out to the truck... need to patch my suit up. I can't stand it anymore."

"We'll harvest her. Blood, wings, gland secretions. Don't damage the payload."

"Alright, let's wrap this up quickly."

They moved swiftly in unison, picked up the girl, and trudged back to their starting point.

Rogue hadn't said a word all this time, seemingly lost within her thoughts. Once the men were gone, she turned to Adam.

"Is the first part done?"

"Yes," he nodded, his eyes focused on the U-Men and Angel's body, which hid his madness.

"Let's move," he said, opening a portal. "We have several locations to go to; once we finish this, we can relax and watch the show."

He stretched his hand in her direction and stared at her green eyes. 

It was an open invitation. Perhaps it wasn't what she expected she'd be doing a month ago, before she met him, but Rogue had changed.

Although she doubted some of his methods, she knew that he wanted nothing but good for her, or her kind.

She reached for his hand, and they vanished inside a fiery ring.

Their next target awaits.

_________________________

Thanks for reading, everyone.

Question: Do you think a mutation could truly hold the power of a sequence 0 Visionary, or is his mutation different? For example, its nature might not be about being visionary at all, but more about accommodating the power of a visionary.