"Where-Where am I?"
"You're safe. No one will harm you here." A soothing voice came from the right of where Sarah was lying. She opened her eyes to discover she was lying in what seemed to be a hospital bed. The crisp white sheets were wrapped coolly around her and a heart monitor had been placed beside the bed. She turned her head to see a bald-headed man sitting in a wheel chair, wearing a dark blue suit. He smiled warmly at her as though he were an old friend. "My name is Charles Xavier and this is my school for gifted children like yourself."
"Gifted? Mutants, you mean?"
Xavier nodded.
She'd never thought of her powers as a gift before. A curse yes, many times, but never a gift.
"How did you find me?" asked Sarah. The last thing she remembered was, well..she'd rather not remember it at all.
Xavier smiled at her again. "Well, my mutation is not unlike yours." Sarah raised her eyebrows and Charles blushed slightly, "Forgive me but your powers haven't gone unnoticed. When you were dreaming, you almost hit Ororo with a steel chair...You are a telekinetic are you not?"
Sarah nodded and apologized for her chair throwing.
"I also know that you have another gift but I sense that topic is not open for discussion just yet. I myself am a telepath and for over half my life I have dedicated my powers to finding mutants who are in need. As it happens I came across you by chance. I was in fact searching for another mutant by the name of Michael Danvers, have you heard of him?"
The heart monitor beeped as Sarah's heart rate peaked but only slightly, before returning to its normal pace. Xavier could feel walls going up in her mind. Rows and rows of steel barriers attempting to block everyone out. "No-no I've never heard of him."
Charles sighed before continuing, there was no point pushing her. Sarah trusted few people and pressing the matter would only alienate her completely.
"Well, we –meaning the X-Men and I-tracked him all the way to Dakota-"
"X-Men?" Sarah cut in, "Who are they?"
Charles chuckled slightly, "They're my students, at least, they were. They're adults now and often teach at the school. The X-Men help me to track down the mutants and also to protect humans from harm by some of those who think the mutant race is of higher class than our homosapian brothers and sisters. They started out just like you, lonely and lost. No one to turn to. So I took them in and taught them how to control their powers. They came up with the name..." he blushed.
"Anyways, what was I saying? Oh yes, we followed Victor all the way to Dakota. He seemed to be settling down there for a while so I sent out Logan and Storm to go looking for him. I gave them his exact location but when they got there, they found you instead. You'd been badly injured. Our healers have been working through the night to heal your wounds." He pointed to the white bandages encasing both her stomach and left leg. Some blood had begun to seep through just below her knee but it didn't bother her, she was accustomed to pain.
"Sarah, do you remember what happened that night? Do you know who did this to you?"
There was genuine concern in his voice and it surprised her. She wasn't used to having someone care about her. It felt slightly odd, she didn't think she liked it much.
Sarah did know one thing -she couldn't remember exactly what happened the night she was attacked. She only saw flashes, like when you're dreaming and you never really get the full picture, only snippets of it, all piled together and played over just a few seconds.
Whoever there was one thing she remembered very clearly. A face so real and fresh in her mind, it was as though he were standing before her. It was a face that haunted her since the day she realised what she was. What she was capable of.
"I may not remember exactly what happened to me Mr Xavier, but I know who did it."
The silence was her urge to continue, "My brother, Adam Grayson. My brother is the one who did this to me."
Again the silence swallowed the room. Sarah felt almost claustrophobic as Charles only stared at her in shock. This, he had not expected. An old boyfriend or enemy perhaps, but her brother? Her own flesh and blood? How could he do such a thing? Why would he?
She was grateful when the metal doors sprung open to reveal a tall, dark skinned woman with crackling white/grey hair. "Professor, I was wondering if you knew when Logan will be-" She stopped mid-sentence as she noticed Sarah lying in the infirmary.
She grinned at her, "Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling? I'm Ororo, but everybody calls me Storm." She held out her hand for Sarah to shake. Sarah obliged, "I'm fine thanks, nice to meet you. I'm Sarah."
Xavier turned to Storm, "To answer your first question, Logan is not due back until Sunday."
Storm looked disappointed, "Okay, but I'm going to need an extra volunteer for our danger room session."
"Why don't you ask Colossus? I'm sure he'd be happy to help."
Storm nodded in agreement, "Thanks Professor. I'll see you later Sarah, it was nice meeting you."
Sarah said goodbye and sighed. She was so tired.
Xavier seemed to notice this, "Well, I'll leave you to your rest. I hope our last conversation is not over completely however we will leave it until you're at least back up on your feet. Goodnight Sarah."
"Goodnight Mr Xavier."
He left the room as Sarah turned around in the bed to face the wall. She closed her eyes tight and could already feel the events of the past few days taking its toll. Within a matter of seconds she was asleep.