Title: Bring me to Life

Rating: R

Genre: Drama/Romance

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody and I don't claim to know anything about Marvel in general, this is going entirely on what I glean from the movies and the Net, so nobody sue or get offended.

Summary: Not sure yet, we'll find out together.

Author's Notes: Okay, this is my first X-men fic and I'm rather nervous because I think everybody everywhere has similar feelings about the sappy girls with crushes who don't know their shit. (just to clarify, I don't even particularly LIKE Hugh Jackman, I detested that movie with him and Meg Ryan, though I WILL say… he's very grrr in this one) If you feel like I'm missing something or leaving something out that I should stick in there, or hey, if you just have a general suggestion I'm open to feedback and stuff like that, the main character's an OC just because I don't feel like I know enough about the other characters to make them a main focus. Like I said, if it sucks then feel free to let me know, I'd rather know than not, after all. That said (and if you're still reading I'm impressed) I hope y'all enjoy.

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            Leora Cassadine exited the taxi, staring up at the large mansion with mixed feelings as the driver stacked her various suitcases next to her. She smiled at him as he got back into the car, driving off with the sound of skittering gravel. She rolled her eyes, noting that she'd missed the chance to call him back and drive away from this place, this experience. She had a feeling it wouldn't go well, and seeing as how most of her feelings were startlingly accurate, Leora couldn't help wondering why she was still here. The doors at the top of the steps opened and a smiling woman in a conservative-yet-funky business suit exited, the suit was red with a burgundy top, the woman's hair brown and pulled back softly from her face, she was pretty, but Leora could tell they'd never really be friends.

            "Miss Cassadine? I'm Jean Grey."

            "Doctor," Leora acknowledged, extending her hand to shake the other woman's and nodding to her bags, "About those…"

            "Oh, no problem, there will be someone right out to take them to your suite. Right now I'm going to take you to meet Professor Xavier." Leora arched an eyebrow, o-kay… she'd hoped she'd get a few minutes alone to get used to all this. She decided to let it go, simply allowing herself to be led away without comment. She didn't say a word as Doctor Grey led her through the vaulted ceilings, marble tiles, sterling silver fixtures, ironically, she found that even with the almost opulence she was surprised to see so many teenagers running around. Well, not running, really, more like walking quickly to classes. She had to remind herself that this was a school as well. Doctor Grey opened a set of double doors and gestured for Leora to enter. She did, raising both eyebrows at a dark woman with white blond hair talking to a seated man at the desk.

            "Ah, Miss Cassadine, excellent. We were just finishing up, meet Orroro, also called Storm. Storm, this is Leora Cassadine." Leora smiled, her arms crossed and cradling her breasts. She was unsure of herself in this setting, actually unsure of everything lately. Doctor Grey had entered the room, followed by a model-perfect looking man with red sunglasses, the professor introduced him as Scott, or Cyclops. Leora wisely kept her sarcastic humor to herself. She bit her lip, cracking her knuckles nervously and taking the seat across from the desk. The wingback chair was comfortable and she brought her knees up, wrapping her arms around them, suddenly cold. Xavier looked at her keenly, his rich English voice filling her head. "You're here for help, Miss Cassadine, might I suggest you tell us your story?"

            "You received my files?" He inclined his head.

            "Yes, we have them, but we would still like to hear YOU'RE story." She sighed, looking down at herself. Usually she wore incredibly provocative clothing, but today, knowing she'd have to relive… that… she'd worn the baggiest pair of jeans she owned, along with a loose sweatshirt. She looked like some kind of war orphan and she knew it, though granted she looked like a rich one.

            "I guess it started really when I woke up in the hospital, I'd always been fairly intuitive, like I could look at a person I didn't know and guage their mood, I'd gotten strong feelings about things, stuff like that. Well, when I woke up from the coma… it was different. With people I could see this kind of shifting cloud around them, and it had colors that changed with their moods, I touch things now and I get flashes. Not like clairvoyant "this pen belongs to Sara" but like full out premonitions of what would happen next. Not with everything, but some things. And I can't control it. I'll be in a crowded room and I'll know what's going to happen to most of the people there. And it's getting worse, their feelings are like flies in my head, if I'm touching someone then it's ten times worse." She felt her eyes prickle, "I know it's unrealistic to want this to go away. But I'm afraid, it's getting worse, more profound. I'm afraid it's going to kill me."

            Professor Xavier looked at her, she could see an open folder in front of him, she knew it was her own. "When you experience the premonitions, what do you feel?"

            "You mean after?" He nodded, she shrugged, furrowing her brow, "There's… nothing after. It's like I crash. I usually have a bad migraine and I pretty much pass out for a while." She sighed, "at first the premonitions were small, not very involved, but they're getting bigger, and the times that I spend blacked out are getting longer. The last one I was out for a full day. I know that you deal with… mutations… or whatever, but like I told you on the phone, professor, no one else can help me. People either think I'm nuts or that I'm a witch." The professor nodded.

            "Actually from what I've read, this very well could be a mutation, you said that before the incident you were very intuitive, there's no reason to believe that that's something that would have progressed naturally, but because your body was traumatized it… kicked it up a notch, to use the vernacular."

            "I imagine you've changed considerably since the incident anyway," Storm put in quietly, she was leaning against a window ledge, her hands shoved into her pockets. Leora arched an eyebrow, they were saying 'the incident' because they assumed that she wouldn't' want to discuss it.

            "Don't mince words on my account, please. I was raped, that's all there is to it," she spat bitterly, digging her fingernails into the chair's arms. Storm winced, Xavier simply looked at her, Scott turned abruptly to look out the window and Doctor Grey bit her lip.

            "Okay, you were raped. And I doubt you'll deny that it was traumatic." Leora snorted.

            "Yes, it was. The man did enough that I was in a coma for two weeks, when I woke up…" she sighed, how could she explain this in ways they could understand? "Before… I was… well, I wasn't slutty, but I had experience. Afterward…" she looked down at her clothes, "present wardrobe notwithstanding," she rolled her eyes, "I became the nightmare that that man accused me of being." She shivered, sometimes the memories of that night were so intense that it actually took her a minute to realize that it WAS a memory.

            "Do you remember how you got to the hospital?" Professor Xavier asked quietly, she was covering it well, but he could feel this woman's pain in his head, the way she 'took control of her life' by becoming a seductress, being the dominant rather than submissive. He could also feel her fear in the visions. It was one thing to close off one's emotions; it was another thing entirely to close off one's emotions and be forced to deal with everyone else's.          

            "No. One of the nurses told me I was brought in by a man, but that he hadn't wanted to be involved. Like he'd dumped me on a gurney and walked back out again." She bit her lip, if she closed her eyes she could remember a silhouette in the alley, rain bringing the smell of motor oil and whiskey, but she couldn't remember his face. He had been strong. But she couldn't remember if he'd said anything. She remembered hurting. That was all. The shadows and the pain. She knew she was a shell of what she once was, she knew that she felt nothing other than the superficial when it came to her own emotions. But she wanted this to be over. She wanted a way to control the premonitions, maybe even figure out a way to work backward as well. Seeing into the future was all well and good, but what if you couldn't even remember your past?

            Xavier hit a switch on his chair, Leora realized that he was in a motorized wheelchair and he stopped at the side of his desk, obviously deciding that the meeting was pretty well over. "We'll help you Miss Cassadine, obviously I can't promise you anything, but if nothing else you'll learn how to control your talent, to turn it on and off at will. And of course I want to pay attention to your reactions to your premonitions, as well as start discussing in detail the rape and afterwards, I have a feeling you haven't really delved into those emotions. There's a very good chance a part of your control will stem from those." Leora ran a hand through her hair, it was no surprise that they'd want some form of therapy for her, but she didn't have to like it. She rather liked that she couldn't remember all the details of the incident.

            "Thank you, Professor." He nodded his assent, then turned to Jean.

            "Doctor Grey will show you to your rooms, we'll start tomorrow." Jean rose with Leora gesturing towards the door.

            "Right this way."

            Leora followed the woman out, tossing her shoulder length, berry colored hair. It was dyed of course, but she liked it anyway. There was some kind of commotion in the hallway, but she ignored that, choosing instead to simply follow quietly behind the woman. Jean turned to look at her, "You'll have to excuse the students, they get a little riled whenever the Wolverine comes back." Leora arched an eyebrow and Jean grinned, slowing down so that Leora wouldn't have to talk to her back, "Wolverine is one of us, though he tends to pop in and out. You probably won't see much of him, but the kids are fascinated by him." Leora shot Doctor Grey a keen look, the way she said the name made Leora think the students weren't the only ones that were fascinated by this 'wolverine'.

            They reached the top of a set of stairs and then stopped in front of a pair of double doors, Jean opened them with a flourish. "This will be your suite," Leora saw that her bags were stacked neatly next to a large armoire. She heard a door open behind her and turned with Jean, the other woman was already talking but Leora was too surprised to do anything more than stare. "And that's Wolverine, Logan, this is Leora."

            Logan stared at her in stunned silence, Leora's ice blue eyes widened, her lips parting as her breath hissed out of her lips. "You!"  

            And then there was blackness.