| "Kai take the afternoon off. You deserve it," Cell had said an hour ago. I immediately came here, to the spot that over looks the ocean. Where your peace can spread like the waves spread across the sand. Like the others I live with, I am a mutant, someone who can never find lasting peace. Some say gifted and some say cursed with powers that set me apart from the rest of humanity, but whether a gift or a curse, I am who I am; Kai Long. Part First Nations, part Inuit British cross. In my village I was an outcast because of my tainted blood. In the boarding school I did not fit in because I was too strong willed to give in to their wants. Even here, in a place where outcasts belong, I do not. Don't get me wrong I belong with those in the house; I just don't fit in with the places that surround it. Yes, here in the house I belong, I have a place where I can be me, a mutant, without fear of harm. I have found a place where I am safe, and it is because of that I can help others attain the same sense of security. Here I have a family, and relationships that can never be tainted. To Cell I am a confidant, someone who shares his dreams of equality. I am one of the few people, mutant or human, that have ever seen what lies beneath the dependable, strong air he projects. I guess that makes me feel special because I do know him better than the others. He and I have a special bond, which is because he and I were the first Guardians; we discovered the truth of the world's hatred and fear of mutants together and have faced every obstacle that stood in our ways together. That is a bond that time and distance will never break. Then there is Genesis; to him I am a debater on the world politic scene and I seem to know when something is bothering him and when he's trying too hard. He was the first recruit, next to Cell and myself, and he has never let us down once. His wide vocabulary and jolly disposition clashed with Cells reserved projection. But neither of them let that stand in the way of becoming the best of friends and brothers. Together we became a tight nit team, extensions of one another. Our tight nit group didn't unwind with the addition of Serenity. She was so scared when she first joined the team, not that I blame her. I felt as though she needed someone to look out for her. She not only had one protector, she had three. Genesis became her big brother, Cell her protector during battle and I became her best friend and sister. I was there on the nights she cried, when she wanted to dash the world or when she just didn't want to be alone. Although she never came to me with her problems (which she took to Genesis) she came to me for strength and Cell for inspiration. Giving it to her, the strength that she needed, not only helped her, but it also helped me. It made me feel needed. Although she doesn't come to me so much now I know she still needs me around. I understand and accept that, after all Serenity is growing up. But now I have someone else to give my strength too, Ruse. He has had a rough childhood, I could relate with his troubles and offered him everything I could to make him feel better. He views me as his second mother. It is because of that that I take care not to hurt him. His real mother wasn't there for him, she hurt him, Ruse deserves more than to be hurt and let down again. The other team members feel the same and all of them in some way have taken him under their wings. Genesis is his friend and who Ruse turns to for education and help with matters dealing with life. I think Ruse sees Cell as a father figure, stern but loving. It was he after all that rescued Ruse from his prior life and gave him a home, a future, but more importantly he gave Ruse a family and hope. Hope... she has given Ruse a goal, a heart to win. Although she doesn't co-operate, it gives him a chance to act like a kid, something he had been denied. With Ace, she gives him a view into the way things are in the real world and although he's scared of her, he wishes he could be a little like her, strong and brave. She has also given him reasons to keep his humanity. And finally Renegade. Renegade is Ruse's partner in mischief and is his confidant when it comes to matters like woman or mechanics. Ruse thinks of Renegade as a brother and friend, and someone Ruse wants to be like. Renegade... he is something else. He was the first to turn down joining the team. It was only after saving his life did he finally accept, although it was only suppose to be for a limited time. He is honorable even if he is reckless. While most women see Renegade as a handsome rogue I see him as a lost boy denied a childhood, parents and happiness. While he annoyed some members of the team, he intrigued me. He used wit and lines combined with his undoubted charm to cover his real self. Over time he and I became close friends and connected on a level that neither of us talk about. And while he still uses his charm and lines on me for game, I understand the private message and emotion he really conveys. Now we come to one of the few reasons Renegade stayed on the team, Ace. She and I have an unspoken bond, one not easily understandable. Although we don't talk with one another about ourselves or what's wrong, we know that if we wanted to the other would listen. And sometimes just knowing someone's there is enough to get you through the roughest of days. And while I may not belong in the outside world, it's belonging with those people on the inside, those who share the same dream and faces the same destinies, fears and understanding. All of us have had different pasts but together we have a single future to protect mutants and to help humanity understand that besides for our powers, our gifts and because of the isolation they cause our curses, we are like them. Come to think of it, maybe humanity knows it... maybe that's why they hate us. Maybe that's why they fear us. If that is the case maybe my peace isn't so far away after all. |
| Reflections |