Rolling Through

Posted on Mon Jun 7th, 2021 @ 12:07am by Kai Akana

1,910 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: X-Odus
Location: The Cask, Salem Center, New York
Timeline: June 26, 1990

The air was thick with smoke as weathered faces dragged on the ends of cigarettes. The bar was sparcely populated and 80s rock blared in the background. At the bar, a young man in an aged black leather jacket pulled a particularly greasy fried chicken leg toward his mouth and took a vicious, animal-like bite. Kai had always loved bars, ever since he was a child he remembered listening to adults talk in places just like this; he couldn’t wait for the day when he could buy his first beer, but now he had to settle for what he could get strangers to buy him on his journey.

The bartender approached him again, her eyes trained on his movements with an interest he was learning to accept as given. Over the past few years, he had grown into a man most women found appealing, and there were many indications of his good genes, including the muscular build beneath his jacket. The bartender looked like she was in her mid twenties with bleached blonde hair, a fit body, and a face that was pretty, but looked somewhat worn from a hard life. He didn’t want companionship tonight, especially not so close to his goal, but he’d be lying if he said he’d spent all of his nights alone the last few weeks.

She walked over to him with a glass in one hand and a towel in the other, her blue eyes staying with him the whole way. Her hands moved the towel into the glass with practiced precision as she stopped right in front of him.

“How’s that fried chicken, hun?” She asked, a slight smile crossing her features.

With a mouthful of food, Kai nodded, his nostrils flaring as he worked to breathe through his enjoyment. It was the perfect mixture of salty and crispy that only someone who really knew what they were doing could replicate. He seemed to be trying to hurry in finishing his bite and, when he was done, he gave the woman a sanguine expression.

“Hell yeah.” he said, pulling the rest of his food to the corner of his plate with his fork. “What did you do with that? Shit was amazing..”

She blushed slightly as she placed the glass down on the bar, watching as he took a massive last bite with no effort to be polite.

“Oh, I’ve got my secrets, for sure. Glad you like it, though.” she said, then leaned forward onto the wooden surface. “What brings you into town? You don’t look like you’re from around here.”

“That’s like the understatement of the year,” Kai responded, flashing a broad smile. “I’ve been rolling on the Old Lady since California.”

“California?” she asked dramatically, her red lips hanging open, “what the hell? We’re in New York.”

Kai pushed his plate aside, a smart-alecky grin on his face. He entered into a confident shrug of sorts, his black eyes locking on hers.

“Yeah, I know. Thanks for letting me in on the secret.”

The woman looked away, more than a little embarrassed by his response. Her mind raced visibly as she tried to move on.

“Sorry, yeah...Uhm, but you didn’t answer my question. What are you riding a motorcycle across the country for?” she asked, and then she paused again, turning her head to the side in a questioning move. “Wait, you’re not one of those weird-ass mutants, are you?”

Standing up, the comment hit him like a ton of bricks. He’d heard derogatory comments about mutants many many times before, but somehow he wasn’t expecting it at the moment. He gave no indication he was bothered, but instead he gave another cocky grin.

“Do I look like a damn mutant to you?” he asked, louder than she expected. He was practically dripping with charismatic confidence and his energy could be felt as he moved, opening his arms as if he’d practiced in a mirror. Perhaps that would throw her off the scent that he was a mutant and that he was indeed ashamed.

“No, you don’t.” she answered, her eyes moving over his form before she picked up the same glass she had just been cleaning and gave it another clean absent-mindedly. “You’re not leaving so soon, are you? I make some mean pound cake and I’ve got some in the back.”

“Those are the kind of magic words that just might get me back in here some time soon.” he said, his eyes moving toward the door to the kitchen. “But right now, I’ve gotta move on.”

He pulled out his wallet and gathered some bills, setting them directly into her hand.

“Keep the change.”

With that, he stepped out of the bar and onto the lighted side-street. A few cars moved both ways in the road and the smell of rain was in the air. He looked over at his motorcycle which was black and polished, far beyond what someone his age should be able to afford. He placed his hand on the seat as his mind raced over his rejection of mutant-kind. He felt a pang of shame at his weakness, but before he could linger on it too long, he heard a strange sound in the distance. It was high-pitched and full of stress, a wail coming from the alley beside the bar. Without thinking, he turned from his bike and looked down the dim alley. He saw three individuals standing over a fourth, their fists balled. He heard angry words and the sound of continued crying, but he couldn’t make out what was being said.

Again, before he could process what he was experiencing, Kai’s legs were carrying him down the darkened alleyway and out of the light of the night-time street. He was drawn by an unconscious desire to protect the weak, or to prove that he wanted such things. As the darkness engulfed him further, he was able to see who his company was. The three men standing above the third were well into their adulthood and were dressed casually like three friends having a guys-night-out. Their faces were full of satisfaction, all looking at the fourth person on the ground.

“What’s going on here?” he asked loudly, drawing the attention of the three men. “Leave him alone.”

“Hey, screw off,” said one of the men, a thin fellow wearing a red button-up shirt. “You don’t even know what’s going on around here; mind your own business.”

“Did I stutter or are you deaf?” Kai retorted,, his voice indicating greater irritation. His heart began to pound louder in his chest, adrenaline beginning to do its job, “I said leave him alone and get the fuck out of here.”

“Or what?” answered a man in a green t-shirt and a tan baseball cap. “Are you telling me you’re going to betray your own kind and help this mutant freak?”

Mutant Freak? The man’s words echoed in Kai’s mind along with those of the bartender as he turned his gaze, finally, to the victim of this attack. Laying among trash bags and the rejected filth of the bar, lay a man whose skin was a sickly green and drooped in places like it was melting. His eyes were filled with fear, though he seemed mostly blind. He was a monster made by the same mutation which had gifted so many with magnificent powers. He had no power at all, however, and his filthy clothes indicated that he lived far on the margins of normal society.

Kai’s stomach sank as he looked at the disgusting man who was bleeding from a cut above his eye. A bolt of anger ran through Kai, then. He looked at the mutant and nodded; his choice was made.

“Run.” he commanded with authority, and then he turned his glare to the three men. His eyes locked on them, even as the green man stood and hobbled down the alley toward the street as quickly as he could. His heart was beating like a drum and he felt like he was about to leap out of his own skin with anticipation.

“Big mistake, kid!” came the angry voice of the third man, dressed in a blue jersey. Then he and his friends descended on Kai, fists raised. Kai collapsed the man in the blue jersey with the element of surprise alone, putting into action some of his mixed martial arts skills and knocking him to the ground with a sweep of his leg. Remy had taught him not to use his powers in a fight unless he had to, and he was pretty sure he didn’t need them for this battle.

As the man in the jersey hit the ground, he felt the hands of the other two men clasping tightly around his arms and he felt himself being dragged toward the ground by them. For a brief moment, he wondered if he could still get through the fight proving that he didn’t need his powers, but then something within him relented. With two simultaneous thrusts of his arms, he shook loose of the men's’ grasps like they were children. Sweat formed on his tan brow and his white teeth bared in aggression.

Reacting on instinct alone, he threw two rapid-fire punches at the man in the red button up, hitting him in the gut, then he slammed his elbow right against his jaw, knocking him to the ground. The man in green, now less confident than when the exchange began, threw a punch right at Kai’s head; the boy bobbed to the left. When he threw another, Kai bobbed to the right, and then he kicked high and knocked the wind of the man, smashing him against the wall.

“What the hell?” one of the three asked as they all scurried back into fighting position. “All of this for a mutant? Why, kid?”

Suddenly, the ground in the alley started to rumble slightly, setting all men on edge. They looked around, confused, before they realized that Kai was the source of the rumbling. Random trash in the alley way began to lift from the ground and become suspended in the air.

“You’re one of them, aren’t you?”

A moment passed where the only sounds were cars and the rumbling of the ground. After a beat, Kai opened his mouth and gave his answer.

“The hell do you think, genius?” he asked and then gave a quick and severe lunge of his head toward them. As he did, the air between him and the three men rippled and the three of them shot back against the wall with shocking speed. A series of crunches sounded and the three men clashed into the garbage heap with a sickening thud.

All was silent now as the gravity in the alley returned to normal and the objects which had been floating descended to the ground naturally. Kai looked at the unconscious men with a blank expression, and then he turned to return to the street. As he climbed onto his bike and put the key in the ignition, he decided he understood why people like that hated mutants; they were the new great power, and normal people weren’t ready to be overpowered or forgotten.

Kai Akana
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