Gabriel 'Gabe' Adams, HP 2/2
A.M. Officer said:
"Scared, aren't ya kids. Don't worry, they all go through that. All that damage and destruction that happened today, that's the reason you need to register those powers. There are lots of mutants living pretty normal lives. But you have to do it legally." He held on as the truck turned and picked up speed. "You're going to a holding area. You're gonna be booked in and scanned so we can see if your type of powers are on file. You will be officially registered at that time. From there you're either going to a camp or to a training facility. I want you to remember one thing though. Today went well. There aren't too many times we show up to a mutant tearing up the town that the mutant leaves in one piece. So don't get no ideas about getting away. It's not gonna happen."
At the officer's words, Gabe clenched his teeth and something flashed in his eyes. He half-opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by..
Eleyna said:
"Oh, please! Give me a f*#%^n' break! What mutant in this country gets the chance to live a 'normal' life? Yeah, we'll be scanned and registered. But only just before being shipped off to an internment camp and either brainwashed or killed. 'Today went well,' my @$$! You just... you can take your sagelike advice and shove it up your @$$! And, honestly? Yeah, let's be honest here... cuz' the only reason YOU'RE still in one piece right now is because he and I didn't want to hurt you. Don't forget that, you ignorant, racist bastard!"
Gabe ducked his head as Eleyna spoke (well, yelled) to hide the sudden fierce, almost feral, grin that crossed his face.
'You tell him, Eleyna.'When he looked up, his face was serious again, but his eyes were narrowed dangerously.
"I'll just *bet* there are lots of mutants leading
normal lives." The sarcasm Gabe injected into the word 'normal' was venomous. "They're sitting in their little houses, checking out of the window every so often, wondering if that man they've seen twice already today is someone from the government checking up on them; for their own good, of course. And you people can sit here and lecture us, all smug and secure, because you know you're
normal. You've never had to wake up in the night with voices in your head that aren't your own and not know how to get rid of them, or accidentally killed a cat because you didn't know that you could shoot fire from your hands. Do you think we chose to be mutants? We've got as much control over whether we're mutants or not as we do over what colour our eyes are, or how tall we grow. And we're coralled, regimented, deprived of our basic rights as humans, for something we have no influence over. Because, naturally, we're too dangerous to be allowed to make our own choices."
Gabe's tirade was delivered in a level tone of voice, a sharp contrast to Eleyna's impassioned shouting, but contained a deep and abiding anger seething behind every word. His face was hard as he glared at the man.
"Did you ever stop to think that the way this works just alienates mutants even further? That by using the tactics that you do, you cause more mutants to react in a hostile fashion to you? It's a vicious cycle, and you people propagate it. You talk to me about things going well. I'm pretty damn sure that if your response to a mutant manifesting was to try and talk to them rather than shoot and collar them, you'd have a lot more mutants walking away rather than being taken away in a body bag. But, of course, why would you stop to think? You're just 'doing your job'. It doesn't matter if another freak gets killed, right? One less to worry about. You people make me sick."
Gabe finished his scathing speech and angrily looked away from the man, fighting back the urge he had to try and hurl himself at the officer, restraints be damned.
