Coming to Terms

"There is no good and evil-
There is only power, and those too weak to seek it..."
[Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]

Summary: A new mutant has just shown up at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, but she's definitely no stranger to the place. Is blood thicker than water when it comes to choosing sides in a war?

Author's Note: Alright, I must admit that this is my first story in the X-men fandom, though not in fanfic in general. This is just a little thing that's been sitting around my computer for awhile collecting dust while I attempted to muster up the courage to post it. At present it's just a beginning, but if all goes well I'd like to add a middle and an end. Feedback is, of course, always appreciated. I would very much like to hear your thoughts and even criticisms, as I have no idea what to expect writing in an area other than my usual. So please read, review, and hopefully enjoy!


An Unexpected Arrival

Coming to a stop along the side of the road, Sophia Lehnsherr opened the door to her car and stepped out. Turning around, the sight of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters loomed before her, and she was instantly filled with a feeling of contentment – the feeling that she was home. Long gone were the days when she had carelessly roamed the halls with Jean and Scott by her side as some of the Professor's first students. Since then she had moved on past the safety the school's iron gates had once offered and out into the real world. And though she had always intended to come back, Sophie silently wished she could be returning for any reason other than the one that brought her there.

Shaking her head slightly, she walked to the gates of the grounds, expecting to find them unlocked, and was surprised when she found them closed fast. Hmm, that's strange, she murmured silently to herself and without a second thought, raised a hand, forced them open, then stepped onto the mansion lawn closing the gates behind her.

Back in the mansion, Rogue sat looking out one of the rec room windows. As she stared off into the distance, she noticed someone walking towards the house, someone she definitely did not recognize. Immediately she ran to find someone to tell. Sprinting down the hall making for the Professor's office, Rogue was almost knocked completely backward when she ran right smack into Logan.

"Whoa kid! What's gotten into you?" Logan asked with a laugh as he grabbed her arm to keep her from falling over.

"Logan, there's someone coming towards the mansion," Rogue replied as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Where at?"

"The front door."

Without a response, Wolverine ran back to the foyer, locked the door, and waited.

Sophia was again surprised upon finding the front door locked. This sure is some one hell of a welcome home, she thought with a sigh of annoyance. After a moment's consideration however, she decided it must have something to do with recent mutant legislation. Shrugging, but still not worried, she unlocked the door and opened it. Stepping inside she looked around, taking everything in. Charles' school was exactly as it had been when she had been a student many years ago. Unfortunately, her trip down memory was cut short when she soon became aware of a powerful metallic force somewhere close to her, and turned to find Wolverine staring at her with contempt. Her first thought, after giving him the "once over," was that the man standing in front of her wasn't too bad on the eyes. After all, she had always been a fan of the rugged, dangerous look. Sophia soon changed her opinion of him though, when she caught the nasty glare he was giving her.

"Who the hell are you?" Wolverine quetioned her in a threatening voice.

With a single raised an eyebrow, she paused a moment before answering and shot him a menacing smile. She had been raised by one of the most powerful mutants on the earth, and trained by another, just who did this guy think he was.

"Excuse me?" she asked with complete demeanor.

"You heard me. Who are you?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business."

"Yeah, well I'm making it my business," he sneered as metal claws shot from the back of his hands.

Tsk tsk. "I don't think so," she replied with a smirk, raising her hand and trapping him in a magnetic field. Stepping toward him, she forced his arms down by his side as she approached. Just as she was almost to him, she pushed him aside with the turn of her hand and gave a quick wink as she passed. Keeping Logan within her control, she walked to the steps, but before she had the chance to take even one step up, she heard someone yelling her name.

"SOPHIA!" the cry sounded as someone ran down the upstairs hallway and pounded down the stairs.

"Hey kiddo," she greeted Bobby Drake as he flung himself at her in a hug. "Did you miss me?"

"You have no idea."

Off to the side, Rogue and Wolverine exchanged a look over this newcomer.

"Alright Bobby," Sophie laughed peeling him off of her. "As much as I want to hear everything about your stay here at school, there are a few things I need to take care of first. I'll come find you after I'm done."

"Ok, see you later."

Bobby headed off in Rogue's direction allowing Sophia to continue her ascent. At the top of the stairs stood Cyclops, who was waiting to greet her "Sophia."

"Scott."

"Welcome home," he said with a quick hug, taking her by the arm.

As they turned down the hall toward the Professor's office, Sophia looked down over the railing and released Logan from her grip. "It seems the Professor's hospitality has lessened as of late."

"Oh, don't mind him. He's just the new guy."


When Logan had heard Rogue's news, he quickly sprinted to the front of the house to head off whoever was approaching, and locked the door, although he guessed that it was likely it wouldn't really stop anything. He was right, the mutant outside had the power to open the door, and did. Standind still, he watched as a woman stepped into the house, and without noticing him looked around as though she had been there before. Still, Logan would take no chances. The woman eventually seemed to notice he was standing there watching her, and she turned to face him. Logan was stunned, she was beautiful. Long curly blonde hair and bright grey eyes, for a single fleeting moment he could not even remember Jean's name. Quickly though, before getting too off track, he collected himself and asked her who she was.

What happened next did not go exactly as Logan had hoped it would. Instead of preventing the stranger from entering the house, he found himself bound by some force that emanated from her. Unable to move, Logan was forced to watch everything without being able to act. Over head, he saw Iceman running down the hall and then down the stairs. He jumped at the new mutant, giving her a huge hug, and Logan shot Rogue a questioning look. After talking to Bobby for a minute, Sophia, as she seemed to be called, made her way up the stairs. She greeted Scott as though she had known him for years, and the two went off to find the professor. After being released from her grip, Logan scoffed audibly when he heard Cyclops address him as "the new guy" to someone who had just waltzed in off the street.

"Who was that?" Wolverine growled at Bobby who was now standing off to the side talking to Rogue.

"That's Sophia. She's a mutant too."

"Yeah I kinda gathered that. How bout telling me something I don't already know."

"She used to go to school here, then she went to college and law school. Now she's like the country's leading attorney in mutant law," he answered with pride.

"How do you know her?" Rogue interjected suspiciously.

"Oh, umm, she used to baby-sit my brother and I when we were younger. Actually, it was kind of set up by the professor to help me make the transition to come to school here."

"Transition?" Logan asked skeptically.

"Well you know how the Professor tries to help out young mutants by bringing them here. When it came to me, he knew my parents were really conservative so he sent Sophia to watch us for a few years so I'd have someone to turn to when my abilities showed. She's really great at training people to use their powers."

"What's does she do?"

"She can manipulate metal. Couldn't you tell?"

"Manipulates metal? What, you mean like Magneto?"

"Umm, yeah something like that I guess, I don't really know," Iceman stammered in reply.

Somewhat satisfied with the information he had managed to get from Bobby, Logan let the two younger mutants go on their way without any further questions. He himself continued to stand in the foyer, evaluating everything he had just learned.

After some time, he saw the professor and the new girl making their way down the stairs. Logan marveled at the fact that the professor seemed to be allowing Sophia to float him down the stairs by holding his hand. This action seemed to require a certain amount of trust that he had never even seen Charles extend to Jean.

"Sophia, this is Logan."

"Ah, the welcoming committee. Yes, we've already met."

Logan was not amused with her little remark. "What, are you two related or something?"

"You could say that," was her short reply.

In order to avoid a conflict between the two of them, the professor interrupted and offered and explanation. "Sophia is the niece of one of my closest friends. I've known her almost since birth."

"Well then Sophia, it's nice to meet you," Logan replied smartly, and with that he turned on his heel and was gone.

"You'll have to excuse Logan my dear. He's a bit rough around the edges. Although I'm sure that won't bother you too much," Xavier added with a slight grin.

"I'm sure it won't," Sophie replied as she watched Wolverine's figure receding down the hallway.