Salem Center, New York,
"That's all for today, class. I'll be expecting the final drafts of your essays on my desk on Thursday's class. If not, then I am sure Mr. Logan would be glad to keep you after curfew for a training session. I here his new lesson plan is quite…rigorous."
Charles Xavier chuckled as he heard a plentiful number of groans and shudders from his Philosophy students as they filed out of his office. As the principal of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, he had many obligations to his mutant students. He had to provide shelter for them, give them a safe haven from the harsh reality of humanity. But he also had to discipline them, and enforce the rules that would ensure their safety. And if threatening them with detention with the infamous Wolverine landed their assignments in before the deadline, then it was certainly worth the criticism.
"Professor? Do you have a moment?" Charles turned his chair around, looking up to see Scott Summers in his doorway. Scott was one of the school's younger students, being only eighteen, and the younger brother of Alex, otherwise known as Havok. In some ways, the two brothers were very similar – the standoffish attitude, the stubbornness – even if they would never admit it.
" Of course, Scott. What troubles you?" Long ago, Charles had decided that without permission, he would never invade the minds of his students and staff. However, even without using his abilities, Charles could still feel a wave of discomfort and hesitance emanating from Scott.
"Well…you remember Rahne?"
Charles nodded. Rahne was one of the students that he had paid extra attention to since she had joined the school. The girl was young and frightened many new students with her lycanthropic abilities, but to those who truly knew her, she was quite possibly the sweetest person to walk the planet. Still, the wolf form that surfaced every once in a while concerned her classmates and roommates. Not to mention the feral look she got in her eyes when she was angry.
"I was talking to Jean yesterday, and apparently, some of the younger girls have been acting uneasy aroundher. Especially the newer ones." Scott added. He'd shoved his hands in his pockets, and Charles could clearly see that Jean had most likely pressured him into talking about it.
"I see. And I suppose that their definition of 'acting uneasy' includes of exclusion and avoidance in the hallways. Otherwise known as bullying." Charles felt his mind ache at the thought of his students bullying each other. It was highly forbidden at the school, considering the pasts that some of his students came from, but it still happened. Scott nodded, and sighed deeply. He had taken Rahne up as a sister ever since Logan had brought her to the school, and he was deeply regretful that the girls had been allowed to carry their 'uneasiness' this far. When Jean had pulled him aside that day and told him that she'd found Rahne crying in an empty stairwell, he knew that he had to put a stop to it.
"Alright, Scott, I'll look into it. In the meantime, keep an eye on those – " Suddenly, a sharp, shrill scream pierced the air, quickly followed by frantic shouting from the gardens. Charles and Scott both jumped at the noise, unused to it at this time of night. A few seconds later, Ororo appeared at the door, followed by Logan, both of them looking very frazzled. They looked to him for instructions, as was protocol.
"Ororo, lock down, now. Logan, Scott, with me." Charles ordered sharply as he began wheeling himself out of the office with a speed rarely seen by students or staff. Only Logan and Hank knew that Charles would move faster than the speed of light to protect his students.
The night was cool and crisp as Charles burst through the doors into the courtyard, but his heart was pounding and his mind was everywhere as he searched for the students in distress. Another scream, even louder than the last, abruptly disturbed his search. It had come from the other side of the East wall, where there were hardly any lights, and Charles felt a sinking feeling in his gut as he led Scott and Logan over there in record time. The smell of burning brimstone invaded his senses, but he ignored it and pushed on.
"Who's there?" He barked into the night as he stopped, focusing all of his energy on searching the shadowed trees with his abilities. All of a sudden, two figures burst out of the trees, and Charles mentally sighed when he recognized Remy LeBeau and Terry Cassidy – two of his 'rowdier' students. He would have scolded them right there and then, but at the moment, there were more pressing issues.
"Professor! Ye have to come quick! There's something out there that tried to kill us!" Terry cried, her eyes wide with fear as she and Remy stumbled across the grass to Charles. He raised an eyebrow, skeptical, but stopped when he heard another frightened scream, coming from back at the school.
Professor! The courtyard! Jean's voice rang loudly in his mind, silencing the wave of confused thoughts his students were projecting. With a sharp glance at the two teenagers, promising a severe future punishment, Charles turned his chair around and headed back towards the school, even faster than before. Logan and Scott were right on his heels as they tried their best to catch up with him, with Remy and Terry close behind. As they approached the school and the path began to light up, Charles saw a crowd of students standing outside of the courtyard. When they heard him coming, the students parted, and he wheeled right up to where Ororo and Jean were waiting for him at the door.
"Professor, it's not good. We think it's a rogue mutant that somehow heard about the school and managed it's way in. There are several students trapped in there right now with it." Ororo explained as a small cry came from the other side of the door. Charles' face clouded over, and he glared darkly at her. Both women flinched, unused to the anger they saw behind those eyes at the moment, and Jean stepped forward to open the door.
Even before the door closed behind him, the scent of burning brimstone overwhelmed Charles, making him cough and gag. The entire courtyard was filled with dark smoke that seemed to grab at him, and he heard sobbing in the corner. The thought of one of the students being hurt by this new mutant angered him greatly, but he pushed aside his anger to focus on the center of the problem. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Charles opened his mind to everyone in the courtyard. Fear and pain filled his mind, mostly coming from the trapped students, but across from him, near the fountain, he could feel something else.
Pain. Anger. Hostility. Confusion. Desperation.
Suddenly, something in front of him snarled, and Charles' eyes snapped open. He let out a shaky gasp when he saw two bright yellow eyes staring at him through the smoke, filled with a violence he didn't think was possible. Vaguely, Charles was reminded a young girl he'd once thought of as a sister, but the pain in his heart forced him to suppress those memories.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" He asked gently, prodding the mutant's mind with his own to let it know that he meant no harm. Instead of a response, Charles received an angry guttural mix of words that made no sense at all. When he did not respond, the yellow eyes narrowed and the same string of words were repeated.
"I'm not here to hurt you." Charles spoke clearly, keeping his voice level so as not to anger the person.
"Geh weg!" This time, the words were much clearer, and Charles felt a shiver run down his spine when he heard the mutant speak fluent German. Again, a close friend came to mind, one he had been separated from for years, and Charles pinched the bridge of his nose as unwelcome memories threatened to overtake his thoughts.
He turned back to the mutant, but the yellow eyes were no longer there. Swirling around to search the courtyard, Charles finally located the mutant again. Only now, it seemed to be hovering at least as high as one of the second story windows, and the eyes were daring him to come any closer. Charles sighed; this was a waste of his time. The mutant was causing far too much trouble at the moment, and knowing that he had no choice, he struggled to remember the German he knew.
"Ich werde nicht. Sie müssen diese Leute gehen zu lassen." Upon hearing his somewhat shaky but comprehensible German, the yellow eyes widened, almost resembling shock. Slowly, they descended back down to ground level, and began to approach him. Charles reached out a placating hand, but it backed up quickly as soon as he did. He restrained another sigh, and bent down farther, so that he was almost eye level.
"Ich werde nicht, Sie zu verletzen." He assured as best as he could in another language, and the eyes softened. The mutant came closer, close enough to be within arms' reach of Charles, and stared up at him with uncertainty.
"Versprechen? Promise?" Now, Charles felt his own eyes widen. In German, the mutant had sounded so angry and much older, almost like an animal. Now, without the anger and with the promise of safety, it sounded so much more like a child, a frightened child.
Again, Charles reached out his hand. This time, the child did not back up.
"Versprechen. Promise." He said. For a few moments, the yellow eyes did not break contact with his. Then, there was a soft hiss, and the smoke began to clear. In the corner, the students started to cry out in relief, and the tight grip on Charles' heart relaxed, allowing him to breathe easier. The doors burst open, filling the courtyward with sound, and the freed students rushed towards their teachers and classmates with cries of relief. However, the reunion halted abruptly when everyone saw what – or who – exactly had caused them so much trouble.
In a different time period, humans would have called the child the devil's spawn. Ironically, today they still would have.
She was red. Not bright red, but a deep, vibrant red, likening to the colour of blood. A forked tail, not unlike the devil, swished back and forth on the ground behind her, as she crouched in front of Charles like an animal ready to spring. If Charles looked close enough, he could have sworn that her incisors were quite sharp, and noted that her ears were pointed. Like an elf's. But what shocked Charles the most was how young the girl seemed. She was small, and mostly definitely a child. If he hadn't detested guessing, then Charles would have guessed she was somewhere between the ages of seven and ten.
Despite the fact that she was not moving away any longer, the girl still watched him warily from her crouch. Charles saw that various scrapes and bruises marred her skin, and her white dress was ruined, torn in several places and stained with a dark red liquid. No wonder she was so hostile; she had been attacked, and brutally. His jaw tightened, but he had to focus on gaining this girl's trust.
"My name is Charles. I know what it is like to be afraid. Erschrocken. But this is a safe place. I can help you. Schützen Sie. All I need to know…is your name. Can you tell me your name?" With bated breath, Charles watched as the girl's eyes flickered over him and his chair. He wondered if she was going to try and escape, considering what she had just been through, until he blinked and she was by his side, looking up at him with a silent plea to not hurt her. It did not take telepathy to figure out the meaning of that look. He smiled down at her, and the girl bit her lip, before standing up on the tip of her toes to reach his ear. In a whisper, she said:
"Kata…Katarina."