Mission: Epic Fail

Meet Danielle "Dani" Jenson. Also, see how she handles having an intruder in her house...or not.

Believe it or not, about one-third of Earth's population is inhabited with mutants. You're probably one too, but just haven't realized it yet. But if you're reading this, you're either a mutant with a love for tragic stories about us or a human who's about to have a whole different view of life. But I guess that's okay, since it's not your fault.

Allow me to shed some light on this topic for you. See, there are three types of people. First, there's the kind that are afraid of their own abilities or someone else's power, and they want to put an end to it for good (a.k.a., the Mutant Police). You fall under this category if you would not only freak out if you saw a little girl burst into flames, but you would ultimately wish for her or any of her kind to have never been born. Harsh, no?

Then there's the kind of person who chooses not to be afraid of their power, but embraces it and uses it to help people.

And lastly, there's the kind of person who wants to use their mutant abilities to do the whole "take over the world" thing, and all that cliché, villainous crap.

You see, us "super-humans" are pretty...unique, I guess you could say. Most of us are born that way, and some of us realize it when it's too late. It's like one day you're a normal kid, free as a bird; and the next you're sprouting gills and a tail in front of the public. And then there's the Mutant Police, hunting you down like prey"which you are in their eyes. To them, you're an it; a creature, no longer considered a human being. It's kind of hard to talk about them without having my blood rise, let alone get carried away by my feelings and accidentally wipe out an entire forest of life with my semi-controlled powers.

Heh, I lost you there, didn't I?

Well, like I said, I'm a teenage mutant, and proud to be one. And when I say "mutant", I'm not talking about those insulting ogres you see in "Fairy Land". Far from it, actually. I'm pretty easy on the eyes, I assure you, with long, black hair with shades of brown in it, dark tan skin, and icy-blue eyes; the kind that could warm a heart when smiling, or bring a foe to their knees in an intense glare. I'm tall in my opinion, about 5'7”, but about the size of any sixteen year old girl. Now, I know what you're thinking; none of these descriptions sound very mutant-like. Well, I was getting to that.

Right, my powers. Well, my powers definitely fall under the "mutant category". I have the power to control natural elements. Yep, I'm all about nature. I've got the power to make winds fast enough to strip a tree of its bark, to start a fire to burn for thousands of miles, create an earthquake that could split Mt. Everest in two, conjure up enough lightning to strike down an elephant with one blow, cause a flood to drown hundreds of people, and strangle you, making it look like a simple unattended vine did it. And let's not forget my handy skills with a sword.

Of course, it's not like I would actually do any of that.

Nope, I'm the second kind of person I mentioned before. I'd choose to use my powers to help people rather than for world domination any day. Well, except to get to the front of the line at Veggie Burger, but that's not the point.

The name's Dani Jenson, and I'm one of the good mutants. But you can call me Stormy.

---

Raindrops pelted my window sill noisily, but I didn't mind since I loved sleeping in the rain. The precipitation lured me into peaceful slumber, basically like a soothing lullaby. However, it's sleeping during thunderstorms that I can't handle. I'm so jittery and put on edge that at the slightest cackle of lightning or thunder I bolt upright, panting heavily. It's different when I'm the one who causes the storm, because then I know exactly what to expect. But not this time.

BOOM!

I immediately snapped out of my sleep, already on alert. I instinctively reached for my necklace; and sure enough, it was there, since I never take it off. The thing is, it wasn't just a fashionable necklace"it was my handy-dandy sword/twin swords that I named Vine Whip. It was given to me by my mom as she lay dying, which makes it a trusty weapon and the only thing I have left to remember my mother by. It was basically a vine with a mixture of a silver earth metal, which I could alter at will to form one single sword; or two if the situation called for double the force. It was functional for killing and chopping vegetables. It did it all!

I quickly glanced at my door, which was shutting quietly. My eyes narrowed suspiciously. The last time I checked, doors didn't close on their own. I then glanced at my clock, which read six thirty-five a.m. I could've groaned right then and there, if I wasn't so focused on finding my intruder.

When I got out of bed and crept to my door, it felt like de ja vu…

Flashback

An eleven year old girl creeps out of bed and makes her way to her mother's room. She shakes her mother urgently to wake her.

"Mom!" she whispers frantically, "I think there's someone in the house!"

End Flashback

The sight of two shadows descending down the staircase snapped me out of my reverie. I tip-toed soundlessly, trying not to explode with adrenaline. As a precaution I took off Vine Whip, and with a couple of twists and loops, it was a sharp sword with a carved symbol of a cloud and a lightning bolt through it in the shape of an "S" on the handle. Now tell me that's not something every kid who dreamed of being a Power Ranger would want.

The shadows were getting further away, so I picked up the pace. There were five bedrooms in my house; my room, a guest room, one for my six year old boy cousin, Aaron, one for my twelve year old girl cousin, Cassey, and one for my Aunt Wendy. All were lined up, each on a separate side of the hallway in the order of left, right, left, right, left.

Please let them be okay...please let them be okay... I chanted to myself.

I peeked into the guest room and found nothing, as I’d guessed. Aaron's room was the next room on the right, so I tried to keep my breathing silent and steady. I braced myself against the wall, gripping Vine Whip in front of me tightly for defense. Then, ever-so-slowly, I peeked in and saw…

Nothing.

Okay, I told myself confidently. Stay calm. He probably had a nightmare in the middle of the night and went to bunk with Wendy again. Keep focused.

I took a deep breath and continued my trek down the hallway to Cassey's room. It was closed as usual, since she wants her "privacy". She was already at the rebellious age. Hmph, pre-teens these days…

Once again, I braced myself against the wall, and then turned the doorknob and swung it open with a soft creak to find…

Squat. Absolutely nothing. The only thing I noticed were the sheets splayed across the bed, indicating that someone had recently slept there.

I almost screamed with anxiety, but was able to cover my mouth in order to make a silent, mmmph!

Trying not to think about the dangers that could be lurking in the house, I kept up a mute walk to Wendy's room"the last one. Naturally, her door was shut, too, but I was beginning to lose reason to keep up the stealthy act. Instead of using my "all-out ninja" skills, I chose to take the "all-out karate master" approach; I kicked the door right off its hinges.

I know, I know. Smooth. Like sandpaper.

But just like the previous bedrooms, it was empty. Whatever was going on, I wasn't liking it one bit.

A loud crash came from the kitchen downstairs. I kicked it into high-gear, rushing down the rest of the hallway and down the stairs. It was time to bash some skulls.

I rounded the corner of the wall beside the steps, through the living room, and into the dark and creepy kitchen. I never noticed how eerie it was in there, but that was probably because I was always busy stuffing my face.

Abruptly, the lights came on. Before I knew exactly what I was doing, Vine Whip came down on the wooden table swiftly, breaking it in two.

And as it happened, three people yelled, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Author's Note

I like the chapter, but it needs improvement. I wrote this about two years ago and plan on editing soon...when I'm not feeling so lazy. :P

Reviews

[A. L. Allen]

Wow. D. Jay, I absolutely LOVE this!!!!! Dani is so vibrant and full of life. You've already very firmly established her character in this one chapter, and she's freakin' AWESOME!!!!!!!!! :D

The sarcastic humor is great. Kept me grinning throughout. ;)

Okay, just things to point out really quickly.

I've already talked to you about the indenting thing, so... yeah. :P

"...hunting you down like prey; which you are, in their eyes." I would get rid of the comma after are. It just seems a little awkward.

"Heh, I lost you there, didn't I? Well, like I said..." I really liked this little comment, because that's TOTALLY what I was thinking as I was reading the sentences before. Very nice touch. I would make that one little interjection its own 'paragraph', though. It gives it more emphasis, and also better illustrates that it's leaving the plot-line for a brief moment (if that makes any sense). ;)

Also, for the flashback thing, I would indicate that it's a brand new, small little section (like with ***) and then I would italicize it to show that it's a memory and not happening in real time.

Again, fantabulous write, m'dear! I can't wait to see where you go with this!