Disclaimer: Sadly I only own Willow.

The room was large, but crowded. To her left, there were multiple women scantily clad and her right wasn't much better. A few rows away there was an older woman handcuffed to a chair yelling profanities to anyone who would listen. She couldn't believe she was here, waiting to be processed; she had hardly broken the law. Her night had started out normal enough with a few beers and a hit off her roommates joint. However, anytime she was under the influence, she had trouble with her mutation. Trouble didn't cover it; it was more like she began to malfunction. She sighed and tilted her head back. Well, fuck.

"Andrews, Willow" an officer called out, glancing around.

She raised her hand up and smiled ruefully at the guard. He approached her before ordering her to stand up and turn around. This time, instead of cuffing her he simply wrapped a firm hand around her wrists, propelling her forward. What an ass, she thought.

"We're ready to process and book you. Make it easy on yourself and just listen to our instructions." He addressed her before taking her into a room with an eyeball painted on the outside of the door.

Willow was tempted to make a smart-ass comment but decided to hold back. She was exhausted and the events of her night were beginning to catch up with her. Honestly, she just wanted to sleep. She didn't care if it was on a cot in a room with 20 other women. She surveyed the room, her eyes landing on a female guard waiting against the far wall. It was time to 'squat and cough'. The woman was looking at Willow in a way that made her feel like she was missing out on something. Her red hair was pulled back in a bun and she had her arms crossed staring intently at Willow. No, actually, her attention was focused on the guard behind her who suddenly left the room without another word. She was incredibly confused by this. Shouldn't there be more than one guard in here? What the heck was going on? Suddenly the woman smiled and took several steps forward reaching out her hand towards Willow.

"I'm Jean," she finally said. "It's Willow, right?"

"Look," Willow began, running her hands through her tousled brown hair "I've never been arrested before, but I'm pretty damn sure this isn't how it goes." Her confusion was clearly evident on her face. Jean sighed and retracted her arm.

"Right, well. I'm a mutant, you're a mutant, and my team and I are here to quietly escort you out of this jail and back to our school." She spoke in a tone that made it hard for Willow to decipher if she was trustworthy or not.

"… So naturally you'd play cop and ambush me in the processing room instead of bailing me out once I was booked, like a normal person. Did you say mutant?" The last thought had finally caught up with her and she was more than a little unnerved. "Like, you can do inhuman things, too? How did you know about me?" she asked. Jean smiled before responding, her voiced laced with humor.

"Well, if I hadn't known before, you just told me." Willow could have cursed herself out. How could she have been so stupid? Oh, hey, look at me! I'm a mutant, please come experiment on me! Her cheeks burned and she remained silent. "Look," Jean began "we don't have much time left. They're going to know something is up soon. If you come with me I'll explain it all at the school."

"Okay." Willow agreed, more curious than she would ever let on.

Willow sat in the van Jean had taken her to after her jail break. She was quite disappointed, actually. She figured escaping from jail would be more dramatic but Jean simply walked her right out of the front door without any questions. No "hey, aren't you stealing an arrestee?" or "who do you think you are, walking out of here with an unprocessed criminal?"

The Jean lady had taken a few minutes before starting the car to introduce her to her two comrades. The man was slight with brown hair and the start of a 5 o'clock shadow. He wore a pair of Oakley's with red lenses. The second female was intimidating to say the least. Her skin had a bit of a chocolate tint but her hair was white. Weird. The guy's name was Scott- that much she could remember. The female's name was harder. Willow decided on Oreo. She glanced at Willow several times offering a smile, however, after the introductions no one made an effort to speak. The ride back was long and silent, eventually Willow folded up in her seat before falling asleep.

After arriving at the 'school', Jean kindly took Willow aside to speak with her while the others went off doing who-knows-what.

"How are you?" the red-haired woman asked.

"Tiered… confused…cold." It was nearing august and Willow's clothes did little to warm her. "Where are we, exactly?" She asked, looking around a bit.

"New York," Jean replied easily. "It's getting late… did you feel like talking to the professor tonight, or does tomorrow morning sound better?"

"Tomorrow, I'm 'bout ready to pass out." Willow glanced down at her body before grinning sheepishly. "Is it possible for me to shower… and borrow some clothes?" Jean nodded before turning and walking through the garage to a door in the far corner.

"You're twenty-four, right?" The question caught Willow off guard, reminding her that the woman also knew her name in the processing room. She glanced suspiciously at Jean before answering.

"I will be in a few months… how did you know? And how did you know about my mutation? How did you know where to find me?" The questions continued on in Willow's head, but she quit voicing them. Jean began walking up a set of stairs smiling at Willow before answering.

"There are a lot of things I know about you. I can explain them tomorrow. For now," Jean stopped in front of a door and turned fully toward the other woman, "this is your room. You'll find a bathroom inside. I'll be back in a few minutes with a change of clothes for tonight and tomorrow. I think we're about the same size…" the woman paused as if debating something. "Willow, you're safe here." With that she turned, leaving a very unsettled woman behind. What. The. Heck.

Willow turned, opened the door and walked into the room.

The light shone right in her face. Willow grunted before turning her face the other way. What time was it? Her phone read 11:32 am. Why am I awake? She heard a knock at her door. Without thinking, she responded with the first thing that came into her mind.

"You had better be dying, or at least bleeding profusely." She heard a laugh on the other side of the door. A man's laugh. Not the laugh of Samantha, her roommate. It was then she realized this was not her bed, her room, her home. And it sure as hell wasn't a jail. The night's events caught up with her and she groaned louder this time before heaving herself out of bed and stumbled to the door.

"Who is it?" she stupidly called out. Chances were if this guy gave her a name- she wouldn't have the ability to place a face with it.

"It's Scott." The man replied. Well, she could definitely place a face to this name. Let's just say, seduction had a whole new meaning when she was around. She opened the door, ready to use her mutation. However, behind a handsome looking Scott, there was a Jean, with a tense smile on her lips. Her stance screamed territorial. Ah. Willow thought, as it clicked. They were together. But how did Jean know what she was going to do?

"Get dressed; it's time to speak with the professor." Jean spoke in a clipped tone. Well, shit, Willow thought. The first friend I make here and it only took 13 hours for me to piss her off. She stared at the couple for a few more moments before shutting the door and getting dressed in the clothes Jean had given her last night. They might have looked like the same size, but Willow had a few more curves leaving the pants very uncomfortable. She'd need to get some clothes if she was going to stay here. Eventually, she'd have to call Samantha, but that could wait. She wouldn't be missed for a few days, at least.

She emerged from the room a few minutes later, wiping under her eyes with her index fingers to remove any traces of last night's' eyeliner. She followed behind Jean and Scott not really paying any attention to where they were going. Jean eventually stopped in front of a large pair of oak doors, focusing intently on them. A beat later she opened them to reveal the 'professor' sitting behind a desk.

"Ah," he began before rolling his chair around the desk toward Willow. She did her best not to stare but she couldn't help but wonder how he managed a school from the confines of his chair. "I have my ways." His voice rang clear in her head and she couldn't help but burst into laughter. While Scott looked a bit offended at her outburst, Jean wore a small smile and the Professor had a huge grin on his face. She whirled around to Jean before voicing what she had just discovered.

"You can read my mind! Of course you can! I can't believe I didn't realize it before." She turned back to the professor and stuck out her hand. "It's great to meet you, Professor…" She trailed off, expecting him to pick up where she left off.

"Xavier." He responded while taking his hand in hers. He looked behind her to the other mutants before releasing them from the room.

Willow sat down in a chair a few feet from the Professor, unable to contain her shit-eating grin.

"I know you're wondering why we brought you here… especially the way we did. Get comfortable, and I'll explain a few things..."

My up-most thanks to Spirit Speaker for editing this chapter and giving me my inspiration.

I am a few chapters ahead in this story, and while I'm not going to beg for reviews, they are greatly appreciated and give direction for the following chapters.