She sat there thinking back on her life. It had been quite eventful, and on earth, quite short. She was planning on changing that soon. She was going home…
* * *
Her earliest memories were of her parents, Skye and Luke, but unlike most children’s first memories hers were of her parents fighting. She remembered hiding under things, like the bed or a table, in hopes of escaping from the yelling. Her father would yell about something. Many times it was her fault too, but mother would save her, she always did. She remembered one time in particular.
“Can’t you do anything right?” He screamed at Skye over dinner. She started to cry. “I’m sorry,” she choked. “I got distracted, I didn’t mean to burn your dinner.” “It was that little freak again, wasn’t it?” He demanded. “She’s always in the way! She’s a menace, and I doubt she’s even mine.” Skye sobbed, “Of course she’s yours...” He didn’t let her finish. “Just look at her!” He screamed pointing at the little girl. “No child of mine would be a freak.” At that point he took it upon himself to backhand Skye. She fell to the floor, looking up to catch her daughter’s eyes.
“Mommy…” The little girl started as she saw the blood gather on her mother’s lip. “Shhh baby.” Skye said gathering the little girl into her arms. “It’s ok, why don’t you go lay down now.” She took the little girl into the room and tucked her in bed. Placing a kiss on her forehead, Skye turned and walked back out into the living room, closing the door partway behind her.
The little girl got up and peeked at her parents through the slight crack between the door and the wall. He sat there drinking a glass of whisky, like he usually did. “It’s about time you got back. You’re no good for anything.” He said to Skye. Then he drained the rest of the whisky and threw the glass at her. It just missed Skye’s head and shattered on the wall behind her. She jumped slightly, looking at the floor. He got up and smacked her again. “Clean that up, You aren’t good for anything else.” And then he stormed out of the door.
You may ask what was so special about this fight? Why was this the one she remembered the most? Well the answer to that is quite simple; this was the last time she had seen her father. For after he left Skye had come in and packed a bag full of her daughters clothing, and then another full of hers. She took her little girl and left. She left that house, she left that man, she left that life and all those memories.
She and her mother had moved on with their life. They moved to a small apartment. It was just the two of them, well, except when Skye had a new man. She was always meeting new guys, maybe she’d marry one of them. Jack was one of such men. He had come to live with them when she was about 9. He had seemed like such a nice man too, he and Skye got along, except when he was drunk. He didn’t do that often, but he did it enough.
One night he started to do things. Bad things. He made her feel bad about herself. The first night it happened she returned to her room, thinking she had done something wrong. “He made me feel weird.” She whispered. “Should I tell mommy?” Anybody listening wouldn’t have heard an answer, but she nodded to her doll. “I don’t think so either. She wouldn’t believe me. I’m wrong. He wouldn’t do that…” It wasn’t until almost a month later when her friend had been spending the night, and her mother had been working late, did she admit what happened. And that was because he had hurt her friend in a worse way then he had ever hurt her.
So she and Skye had moved on again. She told Jack to hit the road and it was just the two of them again. She started 4th grade that fall. The kids had been meaner that year then ever before. She was termed “The Freak.” She didn’t have any friends. She loved school, loved learning new things, but she was so self-conscious that she hated it all the while she was there.
She’d never forget the day about half way through the year when her mother had dropped her off at school. Usually Skye just brought her to the bus stop, but this morning was different. “Good bye baby, you be good.” She said giving her daughter a hug. “Yes Momma, I will.” “Remember your Momma loves you baby.” She had thought that was a little strange at the time, but she had just shrugged it off and kissed her mother goodbye. She had no way of knowing this was the last time she would ever see her mother.
She had ridden home on the bus, and then walked the ½ mile to her house. When she had gotten home there were two elderly people there. They had told her they were her grandparents. “…. And you’ll be coming to live with us,” Grandpa Bert said. “We’re so happy to have you.” Said Grandma Alice. “But where’s Momma,” she had asked. Her grandparents looked at each other. “umm…” Started Grandpa Bert. “Well you see,” said Grandma Alice, “There was an accident this morning, and your mother was killed in a car wreck. So she had packed up all her belongings and moved in with her Grandparents. It wasn’t until years later that she discovered her mother had not died, but had thought her grandparents could provide a better life for her.
She lived with her grandparents for many happy years. She made some friends, and stopped feeling like a freak. Even with the strange marks on her face she was made to feel normal. It wasn’t until she was 16 that her Grandparents were brutally taken from her. She had run home from school, excited to tell them about the date she had for the junior Prom, and the dress she had all picked out. She ran into the house to see what could only be described as a monster holding her Grandparents. Something shattered deep inside her. And with a power that came from within she let loose with the newly manifested powers that made her a “freak.”
She heard screams, but had fallen into the awaiting darkness before she could see who had screamed. She awoke in a room, covered in blood. She barely contained a scream as she looked around. Her Grandparents were dead. Covered in blood. Pieces of the monster lay scattered all around the room. She let out a wail of agony. She had killed her grandparents. She vowed then and there to never use her powers again.
It wasn’t long until another “monster” came for her. She was defenseless. The monster took her and absorbed her inside it’s self. She was placed in a small room, in which one other person was also help captive. He was young, only a year or so older than herself, and he was quite handsome. She soon found out his name was Gregor, and that the monster was really the Phalanx. An evil invention made by an evil man, who despised all mutants.
The pair were soon joined by 3 others around their age. One of them… "M" she thinks, killed Gregor, revealing him to be part of the monster who had captured them. And this lovely young girl, who became her friend almost immediately started to be transformed by the Phalanx.
The four remaining hostages escaped from their prison and made their way towards freedom. But that was easier said than done, because they seemed to have leapt from the proverbial frying pan to the flame. They were confronted by the evilest off all, the mad inventor had been transformed by his own invention. He called himself Harvest. Even with the help of the late arriving X-Men and two young mutants they had no hope of defeating them.
She turned to one of the other older mutants. “Ma'am, Harvest can't be stopped, can it? I mean, even if we do get away today, it'll keep coming after us, won't it?” To which she responded, “ It will. We are simply delaying the inevitable.” She stepped in. She knew what she had to do, and the decision was made. “Then...it has to be stopped, right? I mean, right NOW, doesn't it?
Her friend begged her to stop, telling her no. But she turned to her friends and whispered in a small voice, “You know I can, Paige. Goodbye...my friends...I hope what I'm going to do makes a difference...somewhere down the road...I can stop this monster, here and now, and forever.”
Tears streamed down her face and she called on that power that belonged only to her. She banished Harvest from the earth, sending everything he was somewhere else. She was trapped in her powers though. And she too disappeared from the earth. Many had taken her for dead, what they did not know was that she had not died, but had been trapped in Limbo.
She had fallen there, weak and unconscious. A beautiful woman saved her. Her name was Illyana and Limbo was her kingdom. Like herself, many people thought Yana was also dead. But in truth she had been ruling in Limbo since she left the earth, and her younger self behind. The pair had become fast friends, and after so many ears together, she was loath to leave.
* * *
“Are you ready Clarice?” Yana asked.
“I’m not sure, but if I don’t do this now I never will.” Clarice said.
“I hate to see you go, I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll be back, besides you’re my sister in all but blood, how could I leave you for good?”
The two hugged one last time and Clarice called upon her powers. Behind her a portal appeared, spanning dimensions from Limbo to the Earth she had left so long ago. Clarice sucked in a breath and turned away from her dearest friend, a single tear sliding down her cheek.
She looked back over her shoulder and waved to Yana as she stepped through her portal….
She stumbled and fell to the ground, dizzy. It took her a moment to realize who she was and what had happened. But this was her first trans-dimentional jump, so it was to be expected. She got up and brushed herself off, looking around. There in front of her was Xaviers Institute for Higher Learning, which thanks to Yana she knew housed the X-Men. Right then she knew she would find Paige. She knew everything would be ok. And she knew she was home…