Not much had changed in Professor Xavier's office, while she'd been gone. There were more gadgets laying around the place, no surprise there, but it was still as neat, clean, and dust free as she remembered it.
If the inanimate objects had remained the same, the people hadn't. Only Storm was left from the old gang, or team, as the Professor liked to call it. As she was a couple of years younger, she had been still in school and had never made the team. Some had left, others had died, and others had joined in. Like that Logan character, who had bruised her arms and ribs so well she was all black and blue underneath the clothes she was wearing.
She had spent a good part of the night reading their files, all but one, the one she could never get to. Funny, how her access hadn't been denied after all this time. The Professor must have really trusted her, either that or he was going senile, which she doubted. So, the new team leader was Storm which wasn't a surprise – she knew how lethal Storm could be – with the Wolverine as second in command. She had to admit, she admired his claws. Aside from them the rest were mostly kids. OK, teenagers, but since she was past that phase, she could call them kids. None of them had been attending the School by the time she had run away, during the last year of high school. Still the best decision she had ever made, she reckoned. There was Rogue and Iceman, interesting combination she thought, and then there was Angel. Oh, yes, and a girl who'd just entered the room, obviously late, Kitty, and another two whose names she didn't remember.
"Hello, everyone, glad to see you made it," the Professor looked pointedly at Kitty who didn't react, being used to it. "I want you all to meet Stardust," she nodded shortly when her name was mentioned, "our new team member."
Surprise was written on everyone's faces and, to some degree, on hers too. She should have known it was a trick, this was what the Professor had wanted for her all along, though what she could be good at, she had no idea. She kept her mouth shut, she had no right to protest, he was offering her shelter and, what was most important, protection when she needed it the most, and it was only fair to expect her to do something for them in return. She hoped the others would be against it though, and she wasn't wrong.
"No way." Logan shook his head and turned to say to her "No offence…"
"None taken," she smirked. Like any good team leader, he didn't want a new recruit who knew nothing about their operations and would only get in their way. She would have kissed him for that, but he wasn't the one in charge and, in spite appearances, Storm wasn't, either. The Professor was. She gave the Professor a look saying 'See? He doesn't want me. Not my fault.'
Storm didn't say anything but thought about it, tending to agree with Logan, though for different reasons. Again, she knew it wasn't personal. Storm might be cold towards some people but she wasn't unfair.
"She's new here…" Logan started to gather his arguments.
"Stardust attended our School a while ago… and was at the top of her class while she was here," the Professor informed them. "She knows the basics."
"She doesn't have the physical training required for our missions," Logan argued. He knew, because he'd fought with her the other night, and something had definitely been missing. He didn't realize yet that she hadn't used her powers.
"This is why she won't work on the field. She will collaborate with you from here." The Professor had an answer for everything, when he wanted to give you one. Too bad he didn't want to give her the one she needed the most. "She will be under my direct supervision, you have nothing to worry about."
Her grin turned into a grimace. He'd won. Logan could protest as much as he wanted, but she knew the Professor had won.
"I don't like it," Wolverine growled. For some reason it amused her. He still hadn't learned he wasn't the one who called the shots? The Professor was, always the Professor. Logan exchanged a glance with Storm, consulting her, and she eventually nodded. It could have been worse. "OK, she gets one chance. If she messes up, she's out." It looked like everyone agreed on that and it brought a bittersweet taste in her mouth, to see that things hadn't change one bit after all.
"She won't." The words sounded so final. It wasn't even a threat, it was pure conviction, there were too many lives at stake for her to mess up on purpose just to get out of the team. She was stuck.
"What's her power then?" Logan insisted.
She held her breath. What was the Professor going to say?
"It will all be revealed in time." Xavier smiled and she wanted to slam that bald head of his against the wall.
