Chapter Two
America, New York, The Xavier Institute for the Extremely Gifted, Midday 2:13 PM
Kitty hadn't been sure what to think, exactly, when she'd first come to the Xavier Institute. Everything had been so sudden. She'd fallen through her own floor and had woken up in the basement, staring up at her blanket, which was halfway through the floor... ceiling. She'd been terrified out of her mind. And then, the Professor had come and told her everything. She hadn't known what to think at all.
Then she'd met all of her new friends. There was Kurt, who she wasn't sure about at first—he seemed a little too out-going once he knew you didn't mind his... blue-ness—and Jean Grey. There was Scott, who she might have a small crush on—and Mr. Logan, who she looked up to—he was just so cool! The Professor of course, and Storm—Ororo, she had such a cool name.
Then, Rogue came along, and they all went on a small adventure. Eventually the girl became her roommate, and they got along well enough. But now? Now, Kitty was one of the senior students in the manor. There were so many other kids here, now. Bobby—Iceman, he said—and his friend Pyro. They stuck through everything together, even though they were walking opposites. There was Jubilee, who was pretty fun to hang out with—and many, many others.
They lived in secret... Well, not really. More like, they were hiding out in the open, but still. Living almost normal lives, hiding their powers from the world in fear of being casted out of society...
But still, it wasn't so bad. In fact, she actually liked living here. All her friends in one building; sure, it did get noisy, crowded, and really annoyed her at times, but she didn't really mind all that much. They were like one big family. The only thing missing were her parents—all of their parents, but the Professor and Storm somehow... kind of substituted for them while they were here. And Mr. Logan was like a really... rough uncle or older cousin... And she still sent her parents letter and emails about her life now. It wasn't so bad.
Right now, though, was one of the parts she didn't necessarily like. The extra homework. She'd rather be in the Danger Room than doing this! Oh, and she was in one of those meetings that everyone had to come to, in the living room. Professor X was talking... She should probably listen.. But the sooner she finished this homework, the faster it would be gone!
Ah, Kathrine, would you might paying attention? Kitty jumped, shoving her homework under her left thigh and blowing up her cheeks in frustration and she slipped the mechanical pencil behind her ear. Darn! That man can see anything!
Professor Xavier smiled kindly, a hint of amusement at the corner of his lips, before continuing on. "As I was saying, the finals are coming up at Bayville High—are you all ready to take them? Mrs. Munroe and myself are always willing to provide extra tutoring to anyone who needs it."
The teens chattered amongst themselves, asking about missing homework or failed tests.
"You did finish your half of the project, right?"
"It would have been way easier if we'd worked on it together!"
"I don't remember if Mrs. Vencile assigned page 184 or 165 for homework last Friday... I only have until tomorrow to finish! Did you catch which page it was?"
"Sorry, bro. Her voice is soooo boring, it just drones on and on. I never wake up in time to hear the important stuff."
"I really hope I at least got a semi-passing grade in Biology. Everyone knows I'm horrible at it!"
"I wish we could go outside... These meetings are so boring!"
Kitty looked around. She wasn't too worried about passing the finals. Her grades weren't too terrible, she was actually pretty proud of them. So she decided not to take part in the whispering and study the room they were in. the architecture of the mansion was really cool, sometimes.
The drawing room was big enough to be a lobby of an important building. It's walls were painted a nice cream color, and the windows were fairly large, letting in plenty of sunshine. Many of the teens around her were looking longingly out, and she had to sympathize with them.
Over the fireplace and mantle hung a very long, and large mirror. There were two more, tall ones, on either side of the hearth. Together, they mirrored almost the entire room and it's occupants, and Kitty amused herself by comparing the reflection with the real thing.
"Alright, alright, everyone. Settle down, please!" Mrs. Storm called out, but she was interrupted before she was able to get the teens under control.
Beep-beep-beep!
They all quieted down, and the Professor blinked. He reached into his suit pocket and slowly brought out a small device. "Hmmm... It seems that there is a new mutant... Nearby?" He frowned. "It doesn't say the location. That's strange..." He looked up. "Logan, the location is acting off. It keeps changing. Could you run up to Cerebros and see what's the matter?"
Kitty turned to see Mr. Logan blink. "Uh, nothing against you, Prof, but I don't think I'd know if anything was actin' weird or no." He shrugged. "It's your machine..."
Professor X looked back down. "That's quite strange... It doesn't even give me a name." He went on to say more, but suddenly, Kitty wasn't listening, because—
"Professor!" She called, voice slightly risen. Heads turned toward her. "There's something wrong with the mirrors!"
For a moments, everyone was frozen, staring. At her, though. Something wrong with the mirrors? What could be wrong with the mirrors? Ever? They were mirrors—but, slowly, they all twisted around to look at the fireplace, and, sure enough, the mirrors were rippling, like gentle waves running across the surface of a glassy lake.
Mr. Logan slowly, warily, stood up, ushering the teens behind him. "Prof?" He turned his head a little toward the professor, but still kept his eyes on the mirrors.
Professor Xavier frowned, fingers to his temples. "I can read nothing. There are no signals..." He wheeled his chair back slightly, and Storm, who stood next to him, looked on with a worried expression.
Mr. Logan slowly approached the mirrors, arms held out in a defensive position in front of him, first clenched, ready to unsheathe Wolverine. But, just as he got three feet away from the rippling mirrors, they stopped rippling.
Everyone stood frozen, watching as a glowing light blue line started from the top of the mirror closest to Mr. Logan and began to run down it, like it was scanning or something. Once it got the the bottom, it started up again, and it wasn't until it reached the middle once more that it spread out, growing large until the entire mirror glowed blue, like some computer screen in Professor Xavier's lab. They all watched as something—someone, fell through.
A person had just emerged form the mirror.
Mr. Logan gave a surprised grunt as he dove forward to catch the mall, lithe form before it hit the ground. Kitty leaned forward as shocked murmurs and surprised shouts erupted around her. It was a boy, looking to be about thirteen or fourteen. He had an exotic look, like some sort of mix between Italian and Japanese. He was small, and wore tight cosing. She held in a breath—he was really adorable! Delicate features, lush black lashes caressing his cheeks, eyes closed as if he was sleeping. The sleeves of his Japanese-looking shirt were too long, going past his finger-tips. His jeans hugged his slender legs and were tucked into boots that Kitty had once seen in a horse-riding TV-show, before her X-gene had activated or whatever. His ears were small, the tips covered by his silky bangs, and the rest of his smooth pitch-black hair was tightly tied back in a long French brain that started low at the back of his head and went down to his waist.
"Wow!" Spyke—Even, he was Mrs. Storm's nephew—breathed. "He came out of the mirror!"
"That's a pretty cool power," Jubilee agreed. "Travel by mirror?"
Kitty turned to the Professor and watched him tilt his head in thought. "Somehow," he told them, " I'm not sure that is all of it."
Mr. Logan gently—Kitty was impressed—lifted the tiny boy into his arms, adjusting his hold as he stared down at at the unconscious—and adorable, Kitty mentally squealed—boy. He had a strange look on his face, and then the man looked up at the Professor. "Prof?"
Professor X opened his mouth to speak, but a small groan from the unknown boy turned all attention toward Mr. Logan. The gruff man snapped his head down to look. The boy was stirring. He moved his head, and suddenly, Kitty found herself staring into beautiful green emeralds. They were captivating. She couldn't look away.
She wasn't sure how long she stood there, completely paralyzed, but she was shaken out of her daze as the green eyes blinked, and Kitty felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking it. She turned to see Rogue, and some other kids, looking at her. They were slightly concerned, but she smiled. "I'm okay."
They all turned back to the boy, who had twisted around to look up at the one who held him. Green eyes blinked.
"...Mr. Logan..." A beautiful voice rang out into the silence. Everyone froze.
Kitty's eyes widened a bit. Mr. Logan.. usually, she was the only who called the Wolverine that. Mr. Logan turned to stare at her. She shook her head. "I-I don't know..."
The boy began to cough, and his emerald—Kitty wasn't even sure there was a word to describe the shade of green that justified them—eyes squeezed shut. Mr. Logan blinked, before looking back at the Professor, who was staring at the boy with a strange look on his face. "...Prof? What do you wanna do?"
Professor Xavier blinked, looking at Mr. Logan. "Take him up to the infirmary. He looks a bit exhausted. Also, I'd like to ask him a few question when he is able. I can't enter his mind."
Everyone's eyes widened, even Mr. Logan's—which, to be fair, were already wide in surprise before the revelation. Kitty was shocked. Professor? Couldn't read someone's mind? Who was this boy?
But Mr. Logan nodded, after a few seconds. "Right, then." He turned around. "Oi, Miss Kitten," Kitty's head snapped up to look at him. "Mind opening the doors for me?" He gently lifted the boy in his arms as a gesture. "Hands are full."
Kitty blinked, before nodding quickly, again and again. "Sure thing, Mr. Logan!" Everyone paused, thinking about the name she'd called him, and Kitty sucked in a breath. Mr. Logan.
How did that boy know?
Who was he?
Kitty dashed over toward the door and held it open, mind swimming with guesses and possibilities.