The Thief of Hearts

Emma clutched the wound in her side as she stumbled up the stone steps of the mansion. She had to make it. She needed help or she was going to die. She could feel her own heartbeat slowing as she finally reached the oak double doors.

“Answer, please answer,” she muttered as she pounded on the door.

“Hello?” A gentle voice asked. Emma looked up but couldn't make out the persons face; she only knew that this person was a girl.

“Help,” she whimpered before falling into the strangers arms.

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“She knocked on the doors and when I answered she said help and passed out,” a soft voice explained. Emma groaned, the pain in her side throbbing.

“She’s awake,” a rough, manly voice growled.

“Can you hear me Emma?” An older voice asked.

“Who are you? How do you know my name?” Emma groaned. Emma heard whoever was with her mutter between themselves, her name mentioned once or twice.

“Answer me!” She growled, her body humming in anger.

“Calm down Emma, everything will be explained,” the older voice spoke. Emma cracked open one eye, then shut it quickly. Wherever she was, the lights were insanely bright.

“Where am I?” She demanded.

“Tell us who did this to you and where you’re from,” the rough voice demanded. Emma felt a hand on her wrist and violently jerked and rolled off whatever she was lying on. She fell onto a steel floor and let out a scream, her side flashing with pain.

“You okay chère?” Someone asked, something vaguely French about their voice. Emma cracked her eyes open again and found herself staring into the most unusual eyes. Where there should have been white there was black, where the iris and pupil should have been, there was only a circle of red.

“Who are you?” She whimpered, her hand clutching her side.

“Gambit, ma petite, and you?” The man asked, his eyes crinkling in the corners.

“Emma, just Emma,” Emma frowned. Gambit hooked his arm under her knees and propped her back up with his other arm. He hoisted her up and placed her on the bed she had rolled off. Emma looked around, trying to see how many people were around. There was an older looking, bald man in a wheelchair, a tall, muscular man with black mutton chops, a young looking woman with long brown hair, and then there was Gambit. Emma looked past the man in the wheelchair and saw an open door. She had finally found her escape route.

“That wouldn't be a good idea,” the man in the wheelchair frowned. Emma turned her eyes back to him and frowned.

“I don’t much like when my mind is probed,” she snarled. The muscular man snarled back and took a step toward her. Emma’s eyes flashed to him and suddenly he froze. Six inch knives flew out of his knuckles unexpectedly; everyone looked down at them curiously.

“Logan, what are you doing?” The girl asked.

“I didn't do that,” Logan frowned. The wheelchair man looked at Emma, his mouth forming a small smirk.

“She did,” he chuckled. Everyone looked back to Emma in surprise. Emma looked away from Logan as his knives retracted.

“She a psychic like you?” Gambit asked the wheelchair man.

“Sort of,” the man replied.

“It’s much more complicated than that,” Emma said calmly.

“That’s an understatement,” wheelchair man smirked. Emma leaned back against her pillows and flinched. Gambit’s hand instinctively reached for her, but he froze about three inches from her arm.

“That wouldn't be smart,” Emma warned. Gambit’s hand retreated, a look of worry on his face.

“What exactly can you do? It’s fairly obvious that you’re a mutant, I just can’t pinpoint what you can do,” Wheelchair asked. Emma could feel him probing her mind again so she threw up a mental shield to block him out.

“Let me help you,” he offered, his hand reaching towards her. Emma panicked and flinched. All of a sudden everyone flew against the wall, stuck there like nails to a magnet.

“Emma don’t!” Wheelchair ordered. Emma jumped up and while clutching her side, ran out of the room. Emma ran down a long hallway and stopped, she had no idea where she was going. All she knew was that she had to get out of there. She heard shouting from the room she had just escaped, they wouldn't be stuck for much longer. Finally, a steel panel moved to show an elevator door. Two younger kids stepped out and paused when they saw her. They gave her strange looks but continued to walk away. Emma ran into the elevator and pushed the first floor button. Gambit came running out of the room and looked right at her just as the elevator doors closed. Emma sighed and leaned back against the wall, letting her hand slide away from her side. She looked down and was discouraged to see that it was covered in blood. Emma then noticed her attire, tight, black yoga pants, a black tank top, black and yellow striped running shoes, and a large white bandage wrapped around her midsection. She certainly wasn't dressed like this last night.

The elevator doors opened and Emma ran out. She nearly ran into two identical looking girls only to realize that they were one girl who had split into two people. The girls glared at her before becoming one person again. Emma closed her eyes and focused on what she had just seen. She opened her eyes and managed to split herself into four Emma’s, each one running in a different direction. The one thing that Emma had managed to keep secret was that she could mimic any mutant’s powers. All she had to do was concentrate on that persons powers and she would be able to use them whenever she wanted.

Emma stopped running when she found herself in a large living room full of teenagers playing video games on a giant flat screen TV. One of the boys looked up at her and smiled.

“Hey, you lost?” He asked. Emma inhaled sharply and started running again.

“Wait! Where ya going?” He yelled after her. Emma slowed to a walk when she realized that no one was following her. She let out a deep breath and leaned against the hallway wall.

“Who are you?” A Southern accent laden voice asked. Something brushed her forearm, startling her. Emma jerked backwards out of habit and felt her elbow touch someone’s bare arm

“Watch it!” The person screamed. Emma felt as if her entire soul was being sucked out through her elbow. The last thing she saw before she passed out was someone’s bright blue boots and the end of a leather trench coat.