Archive of Our Own ^beta

Stephen always thought his last name was a great descriptor of himself. As a child, his parents and teachers would always say that he was so quiet that he could melt into the shadows.

They weren’t wrong.

Stephen had first heard the term mutant when his family went into town one day and there was a tv report on something happening all the way in New York City. Some unfortunate person had powers they couldn’t control and caused a bunch of damage.

“Those damn mutants are always causing trouble for good folk out there.” The shopkeeper grumbled as his dad and mom brought their goods up to the counter to check out. Holding Donna’s hand tightly, Stephen didn’t dare say a word about how he had realized the week before that he could be absorbed into shadows and appear somewhere else entirely. He never would admit it after that. Did he use his mutation to his advantage? Of course, but he told no one his entire life. Not when his family fell apart, not when he was trying to survive med school, not even when he got in the car accident. His shroud of safety and secrecy was always draped over him, keeping him one barrier away from the rest of the world.

(The fact that it was too dark for shadows was not lost on him. It explained his mental state as well.)

His weird ability was never much more than a pair trick or an easy way to travel without spending a ton of money unless he had to visibly be seen traveling somewhere. He appreciated the darkness and the silence it brought when traveling through. 

Introducing magic into the mix is where things became interesting.

At first, Stephen did as he always did and only truly embraced his mutation in the quiet of his room when he was truly alone. As the days and weeks went on, however, instead of him reaching for the shadows, they seemed to be reaching back.

Fascinated by the slow and gradual change, instead of spending his nights studying books like everyone seemed to think he did, Stephen experimented. It seemed that the shadows around him were growing sentience and would follow his commands. It finally gave him the confidence to be able to protect himself if people finally turned on him like he always expected. Stephen could finally reveal slowly who he’d been all along.

Kamar-Taj had no idea what was about to hit them.