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eliyes*
When she was thirteen years old, Jeanne-Marie Beaubier climbed out an attic window onto the roof of Madame DuPont's School For Girls, prayed to God for forgiveness, and jumped. She was a Catholic -- the school was run by nuns, and she had been there since infancy -- and she had been taught that suicide was a certain ticket to Hell, but she honestly could not see how Hell could be any worse than her life. So she jumped.
She did not hit the ground.
She plummeted down, and then instinct and genetics kicked in, and she swooped into the air. It was a turning point in her life. It was a miracle. God had saved her! And not just from impact and death; for now she believed that God loved her. He had given her this gift to save her life and to set her free. God loved her.
It was the first time in her life that she had felt loved by anyone.
In later years, she would get into heated discussions with scientists who studied the genetics of mutation, and stand by her belief. Mutation was a gift from God, Jeanne-Marie would insist. That it was caused by the activation of some mysterious x-factor in the human genome was proof of this, because God had created humanity in the first place. It was part of His divine plan. That mutant powers typically manifested in puberty in response to situations of high stress was more proof, for God gave His children the means to save themselves -- and others. It was part of His plan, and no one could prove to her that it was not.
But that came later. The first night -- her first flight -- changed her life in so many ways. She was soaring high in the air, gazing in wonder at the night landscape of Quebec below -- so many lights -- when she felt an urge to fly southward. She did. She flew right over the Canadian-American border, where the province of Quebec abuts the state of New York. She was very fast. No one saw her pass by overhead -- no one would be looking for one small girl flying through the air in a pink nightdress.
Flying was a joy, but also tiring, and so she she landed in what looked to her to be a safe place. Some kind of park. She drank from a fountain, and then sat on the grass.
"You have a very impressive gift, young lady," said a voice, but she was curiously unafraid. A man in a wheelchair propelled himself towards her from the shadow of a large tree. He was a stranger -- and a man -- but she could fly away, and anyway, she felt certain he meant her no harm.
They spoke. He explained that she was not in a park but on his private estate, and assured her that she was welcome to his hospitality. He summoned a woman named Mrs. MacTaggert to show her to a guest room, and Jeanne-Marie went with her, and slept, and woke in the morning to a delicious breakfast with them both. The man's name was Charles Xavier, and she spoke with him about many things: of flight, and the power to read thoughts, and the future of humanity, and the nuns at Madame DuPont's.
She was Xavier's legally adopted daughter within a week.
When she was older, Jeanne-Marie realised that Papa Charles must have used his powers to keep her calm during those first days, but decided that he had done the right thing. If she were faced with a child of thirteen who had been driven to suicide by the harsh, unloving wardens of her life, she would not let that child go back, either.
Her life from then on was so much better. In the years that followed, she gained so many things that made her happy. Xavier adopted another child, a boy named Scott. He took on students to train in their mutant gifts, and one of them -- Jean Grey -- became Jeanne-Marie's best friend. She had never had one of those before. She had never had any friends at Madame DuPont's, because the other girls had been warned away from her "bad influence". As the school grew, she had more friends, and teammates, but Jean was steadfast and true.
And then, one day, Papa Charles found her twin brother.
*
When she was thirteen years old, Jeanne-Marie Beaubier climbed out an attic window onto the roof of Madame DuPont's School For Girls, prayed to God for forgiveness, and jumped. She was a Catholic -- the school was run by nuns, and she had been there since infancy -- and she had been taught that suicide was a certain ticket to Hell, but she honestly could not see how Hell could be any worse than her life. So she jumped.
She did not hit the ground.
She plummeted down, and then instinct and genetics kicked in, and she swooped into the air. It was a turning point in her life. It was a miracle. God had saved her! And not just from impact and death; for now she believed that God loved her. He had given her this gift to save her life and to set her free. God loved her.
It was the first time in her life that she had felt loved by anyone.
In later years, she would get into heated discussions with scientists who studied the genetics of mutation, and stand by her belief. Mutation was a gift from God, Jeanne-Marie would insist. That it was caused by the activation of some mysterious x-factor in the human genome was proof of this, because God had created humanity in the first place. It was part of His divine plan. That mutant powers typically manifested in puberty in response to situations of high stress was more proof, for God gave His children the means to save themselves -- and others. It was part of His plan, and no one could prove to her that it was not.
But that came later. The first night -- her first flight -- changed her life in so many ways. She was soaring high in the air, gazing in wonder at the night landscape of Quebec below -- so many lights -- when she felt an urge to fly southward. She did. She flew right over the Canadian-American border, where the province of Quebec abuts the state of New York. She was very fast. No one saw her pass by overhead -- no one would be looking for one small girl flying through the air in a pink nightdress.
Flying was a joy, but also tiring, and so she she landed in what looked to her to be a safe place. Some kind of park. She drank from a fountain, and then sat on the grass.
"You have a very impressive gift, young lady," said a voice, but she was curiously unafraid. A man in a wheelchair propelled himself towards her from the shadow of a large tree. He was a stranger -- and a man -- but she could fly away, and anyway, she felt certain he meant her no harm.
They spoke. He explained that she was not in a park but on his private estate, and assured her that she was welcome to his hospitality. He summoned a woman named Mrs. MacTaggert to show her to a guest room, and Jeanne-Marie went with her, and slept, and woke in the morning to a delicious breakfast with them both. The man's name was Charles Xavier, and she spoke with him about many things: of flight, and the power to read thoughts, and the future of humanity, and the nuns at Madame DuPont's.
She was Xavier's legally adopted daughter within a week.
When she was older, Jeanne-Marie realised that Papa Charles must have used his powers to keep her calm during those first days, but decided that he had done the right thing. If she were faced with a child of thirteen who had been driven to suicide by the harsh, unloving wardens of her life, she would not let that child go back, either.
Her life from then on was so much better. In the years that followed, she gained so many things that made her happy. Xavier adopted another child, a boy named Scott. He took on students to train in their mutant gifts, and one of them -- Jean Grey -- became Jeanne-Marie's best friend. She had never had one of those before. She had never had any friends at Madame DuPont's, because the other girls had been warned away from her "bad influence". As the school grew, she had more friends, and teammates, but Jean was steadfast and true.
And then, one day, Papa Charles found her twin brother.
*
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-17 06:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-17 05:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-17 05:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-12 07:13 pm (UTC)(Oh man, this is awesome. XD)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-12 09:04 pm (UTC)(Thank you! I just, I wanted to save her from the crazy and the evil nuns.)