Disclaimer: I do not own and am making no money from the X-Men. Vixen belongs to her creator Corrinth. Blaze is mine. That is all.

Scene One

The large, saggy armchair dwarfed the frail little girl who sat stiffly in it. There was a shadow of fear in the back of her mind that if she relaxed into its folds she might never make it out again. Her matchstick thin elbows braced themselves against the arms of the chair. Her fingers with their scruffy, bitten nails unconsciously traced the swirling patterns of the fabric. She wore a shapeless grey cotton dress that hung to her ankles and flat black shoes. Her eyes were albino pink and her lank hair hung in grubby white bangs almost to her shoulders. The very tips of her hair were dark brown, testament that her mutation had only recently occurred. A heavy fringe covered two stubby goat-like horns that protruded from her forehead.

The mutant girl's chosen name was Morose, and she was the newest addition to the Xavier Institute. As she stared down Professor Xavier across the lush confines of his private office, Morose realised that she detested being here. Hated it, loathed it, and would do anything to get out of this stuffy office and away from this whining old man. Outside the wind was howling. A tree branch tapped an irritating rhythm against the glass of the office's window. Clouds slid bleakly across the sky, strewing rain in bursts and flurries. The mansion's gutters were filled to overflowing. The burble of running water added its own melancholy notes to the screaming wind.

Through their psychic connection, Morose felt the Professor's hurt that she thought of him as a whining old man. She refused to be repentant, thrusting her hatred outwards from herself like a wall. In the room, the electric lights went dim. Sound distorted and a black miasma seemed to flutter around the wan figure of the girl. Charles Xavier frowned deeply, touching his fingertips together in front of him as he considered the child.

"Morose, you must try to make an effort to control your powers." His voice was stern, much sterner than he had meant it to be.

"Don't want to," spat the girl, scowling at him. The lights flickered menacingly and her black aura pulsated. Charles refused to be intimidated.

"It isn't a matter of wanting to or not, young lady. You have proven that you are a danger to yourself and to others. We are trying to help you. It is time you accepted that."

"No," said Morose.

"Don't you want to be allowed to go to school with the other children? Jamie and Omara have both been nagging me to enrol you. They are very keen to show you around classes and…"

"I hate school," Morose cut him off. "Multiple and Magma can keep their stinking classes. I'm not going."

"No, you are most certainly not," Xavier agreed. "At least not for the moment. Let's try again to find a memory from before your mutation, one where you can remember being calm and contented."

"Oh yes," the girl smirked. Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she said, "I want to go to my 'happy place'!"

"That is enough!" Charles snapped, raising his voice. "Young lady your attitude is intolerable! You are fortunate to be here, many young mutants do not have this opportunity. It is about time that you showed some gratitude to us for taking you in and trying to teach you to control your powers before you do any more harm."

Charles instantly recognised that he had crossed the line. He had allowed Morose's empathic powers to impose her bleak mood upon him, and he had reacted to it in the worst possible way. As soon as he had finished his tirade, he saw Morose's pink eyes fill with salty tears. Her bottom lip was trembling. She was suddenly a shy child rather than the savage-tongued creature she had been moments before. He had been riling against the girl's mutation, not the girl herself. She was nothing but a helpless passenger trapped within her powers.

"You all hate me!" Morose wailed. Before Charles could speak, Morose had leapt out of the chair and ran for the door. He tried, but he couldn't find the words to stop her from fleeing into the corridor outside. The door slammed shut, and left Xavier alone with his troubled thoughts. What was he going to do with this girl?

Roll titles…………………….