xxxxxMercy's biological parents were teenagers and were not have the support they needed or the desire to take on the responsibility of caring for a child. Instead of putting her up for adoption, however, she was eventually acquired by the Department of Child Services during toddler-hood and was set up with different foster families before finding the most appropriate one when she was seven years old. Her foster parents were human and knew she carried the X-Gene though neither of her birth parents had ever manifested. She got along very well with them and the family loved one another. When she was twelve, Mercy' parents delivered their own infant into the world. Unfortunately, it was soon apparent that the child was ill and needed ample medical attention and services. At the age of fourteen, Mercy decided to leave her loving home behind, feeling guilty that her parents' needed to spend money on her that could go to her younger brother and worried that her mutation (just beginning to manifest) would be too much of an additional stressor on them. It wasn't long before she was out on the streets.
xxxxxWhile growing a second set of arms wasn't too bad, the complete reconstruction of her musculoskeletal system was not only painful, but nearly debilitating. Her attempts to be admitted to hospitals were met with rejections. She refused to make use of her parents' insurance and the human staff did not see her pain as real or valid and instead wrote her off as an opioid-seeking mutant teenager and was told as much. These incorrect assessments were also propagated by human-run shelters who, akin to the hospitals, refused her access on the basis that she clearly had no interest in ceasing her drug-seeking behaviors. Unfortunately, Mercy bore witness to the same shelters granting space to human teens who she determined to be in less need than herself. As her physical pain progressed and increased, it mixed with her frustration and feelings of discrimination and not being understood. By the time her manifestation had completed, she was left bitter towards humans and had found the Morlocks.
xxxxxAt the age of seventeen, Mercy decided to stop living on the kindness of strangers and whatever she could scrounge around on her own and look for a job. She was largely discriminated against on the basis of being a mutant and a physical one at that, but she did manage to find some work. One such job was as a dishwasher - surely four hands cleaning is more efficient than two - but she was let go when the human owner replaced her with the human child of a friend of the family. She was likewise replaced in some other positions - apparently the business-owners did not stop looking for people to fill the role after she had started. Her pay was also less than those of humans. Mercy eventually stopped seeking employment and developed a greater disdain for humans on whole.
|
|