SPLAT!![/b]

Penelope jumped and winced at the sudden sensation of cold and pain as it struck her across the face, forcing her to drop her apple. It was such a sudden thing that the young girl had no idea what had happened until a couple of seconds had passed. Penelope winced, feeling the pain radiating as she reached up and started to wipe the frosty substance off of her cheek and palmed it in her hand. She looked down and saw that it was a bunch of crumpled up snow. A snowball? Who could have thrown a snowball at her?

She looked up. Most of the kids who were brave enough to face the snow outside were either staying as far away from her as possible, or were too busy wrapped up in their own lives to care. But as she turned she noticed that there was a trio of warmly dressed students who were all staring at her with obvious distaste. And amongst them…

“Alma?” Penelope asked as she started to move onto her two feet. “What’re you do—AHH!”

She jumped as suddenly the two girls at Alma’s left and right hurled another set of snowballs at Penelope. They were obviously aiming to hurt her, not to play a game. Their strikes hit perfectly around her face and sides, trying show that their intent was hostile. Penelope actually ended up dropping her lunch, spilling it out into the snow as she raised her hands to guard her face.

When the barrage seemed to stop, Penelope dropped her hands and glared over at Alma and her friend.

“What’re you doing?!” she cried out.

Alma was silent for a moment. Then she slowly knelt down, scooped up as much snow as she could, little realizing (or caring?) that there was a rock hidden within it, and began to ball it up. Packing it firmer and firmer, she glared at Penelope nastily.

“Freak!!” she shouted. And hurled the snowball with all her might.

Penelope actually cried as the snowball struck her across the face. She didn’t have time to raise her guard since Alma had thrown the icy sphere so quickly that Penelope barely saw it coming. But once it struck, the pain was intense. Caught across her left cheek, Penelope winced at the sensation of cold, but also at the feeling of something much harder within that dreaded snowball. It heavy, hard, and it scraped her deeply the second that it struck her skin and dislodged from the snow.

Staggering back a second, Penelope’s eyes teared up as she held her cheek and look down to see the heavy, grayish rock that was inside the snow. What made it worse was that a moment later, little drops of red were starting to stain the pristine snow at her feet. Feeling her cheek, she held her hand out and saw that it was stained with blood. Her eyes snapping back to Alma, she looked at her with a confusion of anger, confusion, and sadness.

“W-What’re you doing? Stop it!” she pleaded, watching as the girls were beginning to gather more snow. What made it worse was that other kids were soon joining her in the endeavor.

“You almost killed me!” Alma yelled, obviously letting her emotions getting the best of her. So loud was her voice that even Penelope had to take a step back. “Because of that stupid movie! Because you never said you were a stupid mutant!!”

Penelope sniffled. Each word that Alma said cut deeply into her. It was obvious now that her words back in class had been nothing more than an act to put on in front of the other teachers. This was a problem between students and Alma didn’t want to involve everyone else. Therefore, that was why Penelope was alone, in the school yard, becoming the target for a collection of students who wanted nothing more than to chase her off with pitchforks and torches.

But they had to listen to reason, right? Penelope watched Alma, and several other kids, gathered up more snow. She held up her hands defensively, hoping to make them calm down.

“Alma, guys, please,” she said through a forced whisper. “You’re going to make HER mad! Don’t! Don’t do i—AHH! EEP!!”

The snowballs flew.

“Freak!”

SPLAT!

“Monster!!”

SPLAT! SPLAT!

“MUTIE!!!”

SPLAT! SPLAT!

“Killer!”

SPLAT!

”Stop!! Please!!!!”

“Go away! Don’t come back!!”

SPLAT! SPLAT!

“MUTANT!!!!” “FREAK!!!!” “THING!!” “B****!!!!” “ABOMINATION!!!”

SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!

“STOP! STOP! ST--!!”

Hehehehahaheheheheehaha!!!

They seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. And maybe they were. Snowballs of all sizes and shapes were thrown at her, striking anywhere and everywhere at once. What made it the worst was that each one was so different that Penelope could tell each time she was hit. Some were more hard packed so they struck with a tougher bow, while others were soft and just exploded into a shower of snow the second they hit. Any and everywhere the snowballs hit, causing Penelope to turn away from one, only to be struck by yet another one.

It was hell. Penelope hated this and wanted nothing more than for it to end. But it just didn’t seem like it was going to. As a matter of fact, with every passing second, it felt more and more like these kids were not going to stop. Such thoughts turned into irrational beliefs. Suddenly Penelope actually believed that they wanted her dead. They wanted to kill her for being different!

Her heart rate up, her stress levels rising, Penelope knew that the inevitable was going to happen. Tears running down her cheeks from a mixture of pain, anguish and anger, she finally decided to just let go. She was tired and her body hurt. She could hold the dam up anymore.

Penelope fell to her knees, more snowballs pelting her across her back as she felt her mind black out. But instead of black…all she saw was red…

“HahahahaehehahahahaahehaehahH!!!!!!!”

The voice that fell from her lips, obviously, was not her own. And so familiar was its tone, its malevolence, that Alma paused and shook all over as she dropped the snowball she had just finished forming. Shakily she began to back away…and just in time.

All Hell would break loose next…

Alma was the first to start running. She knew what was coming the second that she heard that voice fall from Penelope’s lips. It was a horrendous sound, one that brought up memories of her own traumatic experience with Penelope only a few weeks ago and still haunted her nightmares now. There was no rhyme or reason as to why she organized an attack on Penelope. Even though it was obvious that the young girl was a mutant, Alma just felt herself boil over with anger when she saw her. She was hoping that the snowballs would have just shut her up.

But it didn’t. Instead, while it was satisfying to see Penelope suffer, it was a plan that obviously backfired. That was why she was running for her life back to the school, leaving her friends and comrades behind. They were not her problem now. Her own issue was making sure that she herself survived.

Cowards were all alike.

Ignoring the cries of terror from her fellow students, Alma dashed into the school, closed the door shut behind her and breathed heavily as she leaned back against it. But what could she do? An adult. She would get an adult and they would know what to do!

Not daring to looking out through the glass, Alma ran for the nearest office she could find. It wasn’t her fault. None of it was her fault! It was the freak’s! It was Penelope’s!!!

There was a collective gasp of shock amongst all the students who were circled around their target. The pelting of snowballs had slowly decreased. The majority of the students had watched Alma run off in a state of fear, while the others were simply losing interest in the game. After all, what was the point of keeping it up when it seemed as if the main accuser was running off? It was only a prank so long as the mastermind behind it was still there.

Oh well. Some guessed that maybe it was over and started to break away, while others were watching the mound of snow with concern. Penelope hadn’t moved yet. She had been struck so many times with so many snowballs that some of the students were actually beginning to worry that maybe she was actually hurt. With the fun and excitement of the prank passing, many were beginning to be filled with a sense of dread. Oh no, what if Penelope truly was hurt by what happened? Would they get into trouble?

“P-Penny?” one asked timidly.

“Sssh! She’s a mutant!” another reprimanded.

“But what if she’s hurt?”

“So? She shouldn’t come to school here anyways!”

The debate and arguments were beginning but not before one or two noticed at the mound of snow that covered Penelope Pepper began to move. There was the smallest of twitches at first but those gradually grew to be stronger and more visible the more than Penelope moved. Finally with a sudden jerk, Penelope tore herself up from the ground, piles of snow cascading down from her shoulders and hair.

Her eyes narrowed as she eyed the students who were watching her in surprise. There was so much anger behind Penelope’s eyes and yet the most disturbing was that her mouth twisted into such a devious grin that all their bloods ran cold. It was as they contemplated their surprise, that the first student noticed the drops of red all over Penelope’s exposed face. First there were cries of “That’s blood!” “She’s hurt!” “Get the nurse!” But those were quickly followed with screams of terror.

Before them, Penelope was soon covered in the red ooze that seeped out of her pours. A torrent flowed out that quickly wrapped and squeezed around her body, piling on top of itself until Penelope completely disappeared. It only took moments from there for this safe ooze to define itself and solidify into the shape of a muscular, powerful woman with red skin and flowing black hair. Her lips twisted into a despicable sneer, she giggled madly to herself as she eyed the children.

“Well…well…well…”[/b] she whispered as she cracked her knuckles and glared at everyone gathered. “Who wants to play first?” [/b]

Scarcely little of what happened next could be recalled by either Penelope, students, or staff at the middle school. Students were too traumatized, Penelope couldn’t remember anything except for bits and pieces, and the staff could barely find words to describe any, if anything that they saw. But a few things were gathered from the events, piece together by detectives and passerby’s who happened to catch a glimpse here and there:

1) Penelope Peyton Pepper was a mutant who turned into a giant, red Amazon after being pranked by students and assaulted with snowballs.

2) Students began to scream and run and scatter as the red woman shouted out threats and laughed uncontrollably.

3) There were no deaths, but several students were harmed by the throwing of debris, including: 1 trashcan, several broken tree limbs, five broken benches, and several other unidentified items.

4) When staff tried to intervene, two janitorial members and one teacher each received broken limbs when trying to contain the giant red woman, and several others were cursed at and had derogatory comments thrown in their directions.

5) At some point the red woman seemed to weaken and staggered around the snowy area in vain.

6) The red woman’s last action was breaking in several windows and one door of the school as she attempted to climb back inside. It proved to be too late as the red woman finally passed out and was replaced by the young Penelope Peyton Pepper again who was unconscious.

Those were the events as they occurred, witnessed and pieced together by staff, students, and passerbys…

You shouldn’t have done that, Mrs. Tickle! You hurt people!!

They deserved it! They almost killed us!

No! That’s never the answer! You’re just going to get me into trouble!

So? What do I care if you’re in trouble. I only need you alive until I can escape.

Escape? Mrs. Tickle, you’re not locked in a room. You and I—

Are trapped together. So deal with it. I don’t protect you out of love, Penelope. I protect you because I still need you. Once I’m free…all bets are off.

…

Truth hurts, doesn’t it?

…

Whatever. They all should have died.

No. You…You shouldn’t have done any of this…

When her eyes opened, Penelope Pepper was surprised to see the familiar ceiling of her bedroom. But probably what was most surprising was how dark it was. The last she remembered it was still the afternoon so shouldn’t that still be the time? Judging by the ceiling, however, it looked like it was late, maybe 8 or 9 o’clock at night. Did she knock out again after Jezebel had her fun? She hated it when that happened because she lost so much time, but most importantly, it made her feel terrible because she feared what Jezebel did.

What Jezebel did…

With a gasp Penelope sat up and immediately felt around her body. She winced at the sensation of the welts and bruises that were underneath her pajamas and instantly she began to remember. The snowballs…the students attacking her…and, worst of all, the shift. Penelope remembered letting go, letting Jezebel take over after she was done with being attacked…but she didn’t remember much else after that. Students screaming, staff members trying to tell her to leave, not realizing who she was. In the end, though, Penelope didn’t know if anyone died during the attack.

She couldn’t have that on her conscious. She just couldn’t. Even if it wasn’t Penelope herself that harmed anyone, she was responsible, wasn’t she? Jezebel was her responsibility!

Sitting up, she quickly attempted to jump out of bed so that she could look for Lilith. She had to make sure she hadn’t done anything bad. She couldn’t live with herself if she did!

But, just as she sat up and began to maneuver herself to climb out of bed, she felt a soft hand gently touch her shoulder. She turned, her eyes teary, and looked into the remorseful eyes of her own sister, Lilith, who was sitting in a comfy chair next to her.

“Oh Lily!” she cried softly and suddenly wrapped her arms around her sister’s shoulders. Sniffling onto her shift, Penelope cried as she hugged her tighter. “What…did I…do?”

“Oh…baby…” Lilith whispered gently and started to stroke her sister’s hair. She needed her to be calm…

Lilith took her time explaining everything that happened. She needed to be upfront and clear that what Jezebel did was extremely bad. Even though she hadn’t killed anyone, she caused enough damage to both the school and the staff to make them never want the young girl there again. It took a lot of arguing over the phone but eventually Lilith got her point across that none of this was Penelope’s fault and why was she attacked with snowballs and the staff do nothing about it to begin with?

In the end, with shouting from both sides and cries of discrimination, a balance was met. The staff themselves wouldn’t sue Penelope’s family…so long as Penelope was removed from the school system forever. It was harsh. It was unfair. But it was the only option that Lilith could accept that wouldn’t result in long, expensive legal battles, or paying unfair lawsuits.

Begrudgingly, Lilith took the deal. But breaking the news to Penelope was not all that great either. Over hot chocolate, some fresh cookies, and a in a warm room, Lilith explained everything. Penelope took it in stride, understanding that Lilith had no choice…but she was still hurt on the inside. Everyone betrayed her at school. Those people whom she thought were her friends had betrayed her. She could never trust the again because even if they weren’t the ones who threw those snowballs, they didn’t warn her, nor did they try to stop the event from happening.

Penelope was without friends at that school. Good riddance to them. It was a horrible thought, but in the end, it was the right one.

With a sniffle and a sigh, Penelope nibbled on her cookie, trying to wrap her head around not going to school anymore. What was she going to do? Didn’t she need school? She had posed the question to Lilith and only received a soft smile, a kind eye, and a muttered:

“We’ll figure it out.”

The rest of the evening descended into more warm cookies, more milk, and watching some of her favorite cartoons on TV. Despite the horrors of the day, it turned out to be a pretty good evening. At least that was how Penelope had to look at it.

It was not long after her and Lily’s descent into the pleasantries of cookies and milk that she fell asleep on the couch. Though she always feared sleeping because she didn’t want Jezebel to ever take over when she wasn’t conscious, there was little to no alternative tonight. After her eventful day and an evening full of thinking and sweet treats, the young girl was simply ready to crash and sleep for a week if she could.

But even the allure of sleep didn’t stop her mind was wandering on about everything that had happened. As she attempted to snuggle into the couch for sleep, Penelope muttered to herself, her mind racing as she tried to make sense of what to do next. She couldn’t let Lilith think of everything after all, right? She loved her sister but she has done so much. It was about think that Penelope did some thinking for the both of them. But what could she do?

The school said that Penelope couldn’t go back to ANY[/b] school. Even though her parents taught her that school amongst humans could be dangerous, they knew that education was important. Sadly, Lilith didn’t have the time to home school her and tutors cost a lot of money, didn’t they? Lilith most definitely didn’t have a lot of money.

So what was she to do? If she couldn’t go to any school, who else could she learn from? Maybe she could ask Chase. That was at least ONE friend that she knew she ha—

Chase. School. Mutants!

The thought woke her up as she suddenly made the connections. Sitting up right and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Penelope turned and found Lilith sleeping on the couch as well. Quickly, and urgently, she began to shake her awake. It took only a few nudges but eventually Lilith woke up with a start and eyed Penelope sleepily.

“Penelope? What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Chase’s school!” she suddenly replied.

Lilith arched a brow. But Penelope smiled in response as she nodded.

“The school Chase goes to,” she said with a nod. “They can take me in. Lilith, they accept all mutants. I can go to school there!”

Penelope smiled. She helped. She knew that she figured out a way. It was perfect! A school just for mutants! Not only would that solve both Lilith and her problems, but even her parents would be ecstatic about Penelope going to a school just for mutants. It was a win-win sitation. And, not only that, Penelope would be among real friends.

It was perfect.