Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men.
This was it. If the team won this game, they'd be in the finals. And their best player was up to serve.
Temperance Bellview stood, the cool surface of her volleyball resting gently in her left palm. She looked over at the other team's players and took delight in the expressions on their faces. Fear.
The opposing team had seen and experienced Temperance serving earlier in the game. With only one point left for Temperance's team to win, this would be an easy victory. Unless she screwed up.
Her heart began to beat incredibly fast and she felt hot all over. Very hot. Temperance just blamed this on nerves as she tossed the ball high into the air, hitting it into what would have been the perfect serve.
But instead of hearing the opposing team groaning because of their loss, Temperance heard screaming. Then, she heard a loud popping noise. Temperance looked up just in time to see the fiery and melted remains of her precious volleyball flying straight at her face. She moved out of the way, but not entirely. The left side of her face was drizzled with melted rubber and faux leather. The pain was excruciating. She screamed out for help, but no one seemed interested in going near her. In fact, everyone was running away from her as fast as possible.
Soon, everything was quiet except for her own pained moaning and sobs.
"Come on, Iceman. You can punch harder than that!" Logan barked as he surveyed the class of mutants training in the Danger room. Bobby looked grouchily at him before turning back to the punching bag he had been sparing with.
Logan grinned at his annoyance.
"Rogue, if you hit someone like that in a real fight, they'd skin you alive." Called Logan, moving over to her.
"Oh, yeah? Well, show me how it's done, Professor." She put a sarcastic emphasis on 'Professor', which made Logan laugh. Probably for the first time in a week.
Storm was moving down the hall to the kitchen when she heard the phone ring in the lobby. She quickly backtracked and picked it up echoing the perfectly pleasant, "Xavier's School for Gifted Children. How may I help you?"
"Yes, my name is Jennifer Bellview. My husband and I are interested in enrolling our daughter at your school. May I speak with the Headmaster?"
Storm answered a quick and polite, "Of course. Hold, please." Before pressing a button on the keypad and speaking into the mouthpiece.
"Professor Xavier? There is a parent on the phone wishing to enroll. Would you like to take the call?"
The calm voice of the Professor answered, "Yes. Thank you, Storm."
"Professor?" asked Jubilee, looking up from her English textbook.
"Nothing to worry about." Assured the Professor, "We have a new student on the way, that's all."
The class was immediately interested. "A boy or a girl?" asked Jubilee, excited.
"A girl." Answered the Professor. This was followed by immediate groans from the girls in the class, which in turn was followed by curious glances from the Professor and the boys.
"We never get any new boy students." Explained Jubilee sheepishly.
It was a sunny day, September first, in fact. The Bellviews' silver SUV began to make it's way up the mansion's drive.
"Now, you'll be extra polite and help out with anything, dishes cleaning, anything." Mrs. Bellview was saying, "And keep your grades up, too. You were a freakin' genius before the X gene kicked in and you're still a freakin' genius now."
Temperance had to laugh. Her parents were characters and she loved them very much. Even more so since she had developed her mutation.
Mr. and Mrs. Bellview had been surprised and angry when they found their daughter lying, alone and burnt, on the floor of the community center's volleyball court. They had been even more surprised (But not at all angry. Well, with Temperance at least.) when they had found out why she was lying alone and burnt.
Her family had been so very accepting of her "special abilities" especially her cousins. They had thought she was some kind of super hero, not a freak. Though, there had been incidents.
Temperance shuddered and blocked the fear from her mind.
"Come on, Bun." Said her father, "Let's go see that new school of yours.