"You're telling me I'm a... mutant?" Katherine's Pryde voice was louder than she expected and several people looked their way. Embarrassed, the young girl lowered her face and the tone of her voice. "You mean… mutant mutant? Like those people in the tabloids with tentacle arms and blue skin?"
Lorna Lensherr could not help but laugh. Sitting in front of the young mutant, Lorna lowered her milkshake and answered. "Yes, but not like that, no, I can't see any tentacles or weird colored skin on you. From what we can tell, you possess the ability to re-align your molecules with other objects. To speak more plainly you can walk through walls, like a ghost or something."
"Oh… it's that what I do? Align my molecules to phase through objects? Cool… oh… I get it now! The other day I was sleeping and I woke up in the living room! I phased through the floor!" she shouted in excitement, once more calling the attention of nearly everyone present. She lowered her head between her shoulders and whispered. "Sorry about that… Hey… Is that why I have these awful headaches? Sometimes they last for days… it's really annoying."
"Well we have a doctor or two on the school, and Professor Xavier is the world's foremost expert in genetics so if anyone can figure it out it's him," said Lorna calmly wrapping her slender fingers around her glass. Her eyes moved slightly towards John, her boyfriend, who was standing outside the Malt Shoppe looking at her and smiling.
"And… you think my parents will let me go to this school?" asked Katherine shyly, sipping her milkshake.
"That's what my dad is trying to find out," added Lorna.
"A mutant? You claim I am… a monstrosity?" The skies roared in the response as the clouds gathered above them and lightning barely illuminated the hilltop.
Professor Charles Xavier could feel nothing but awe as the elements roared in response to the girl's emotions. "Yes. You are not a Goddess, but a mutant, a mortal; one of us."
Thunder broke more heavily than ever before. The white-haired African girl was furious. Wind erupted as she lifted her hands and she began to rise from the ground. Lightning flew from her hands surrounding her and clearly illuminating the even darker skies. At her command, the lightning moved at terrible speed and split into several bolts surrounding Charles Xavier, hitting the floor around him; and Ororo, Goddess of the Storm, spoke again; her voice more ominous than thunder itself. "Is that what mortals can do, little man?"
"I don't think the Prof is handling this one too well, isn't he?" said Wanda Lensherr with her arms crossed in front of her, as she watched the scene atop the hill from below in a small village.
Piotr Rasputin saw the villagers flee all around them as rain began to pour from the skies. Without a thought he changed his flesh to organic steel and lifted his arm to cover Jean-Paul Beaubier who was standing next to him, and answered Wanda's remark. "Da. Should we get involved?"
"Nyet," said Jean-Paul leaning against Piotr and imitating his voice, "the Prof said we let him deal with this; even though I'm starting to lose my patience here too. Anyway, what I don't get is how an African Teenage crazy girl can speak English this good; she'd give Henry here a run for his money, wouldn't she?"
"I think the Professor's translating her words, or he taught her English or something like that. Telepaths tend to do that without even realizing it," answered Wanda.
"She's very hot, isn't she?" said Henry McCoy suddenly as he crouched a couple of feet before his fellow students.
Piotr and Jean-Paul exchanged a strange look after McCoy's query.
"You must stop this! There is no need to show me your abilities, Ororo! I know full well the extent of your powers; I've been monitoring your situation for years!"
"Little human you test my patience!" said Ororo, her eyes glowing brightly white. Thunder broke once more and the pouring rain fell with even more intensity; such was the power of the rain that it began to scour the dry earth of the hill.
"Ororo I know all about your parents! I know how they died!" shouted Charles Xavier in the cacophony of the storm.
"My parents are the Wind and the Rain! I am the daughter of the Elements! I am the Goddess of the Storm!" Ororo shouted in anger and though everyone was watching her, none could tell those weren't raindrops falling from her eyes.
Jean-Paul Beaubier ran at his topmost speed through the hill reaching his teacher in a matter of seconds and he shouted, covering his face from the rain. "Use your powers Professor! Make her sleep or something!"
"Child, I don't need advices from my students. Now return with your companions and wait until I tell you what to do," answered Xavier.
"We're all going to die," said Wanda ominously.
"Once more you attempt to sound like dear old Professor Adler, Wanda, and you fail miserably at it I must add," said Henry McCoy removing his glasses and cleaning them with his shirt, as he returned to the side of Piotr and Wanda.
"And you look like an ape," she said sticking her tongue out. "Hey… look at that!" she said, pointing towards the top of the hill.
"Oh my stars and garters," whispered Henry McCoy putting back his glasses and following Wanda's command.
"In our school Katherine will learn how to control her powers, yes, but she will also learn under some of the best scientific minds of this century. I took the liberty of perusing Katherine's school records and I was very surprised. Your daughter is a genius. She will find in Xavier's more than enough classes to stimulate her cognitive abilities, as you can clearly see in the brochure," explained Erik Magnus Lensherr calmly sitting in the living room of the Pryde household.
"Reed Richards is a regular lecturer in your school?" said Terri Pryde with clear surprise in her eyes, her hands wrapped in one of Mr. Lensherr's brochures.
"Indeed. He was a friend of my colleague during college, the children simply adore it when he arrives with his family for a day or two," smiled Erik.
"You know, there was a Charles Xavier in a nearby unit when I was in 'Nam… you think he's the same guy?" asked Carmen Pryde with interest leaning back on his sofa.
"I will ask him. Charles is a very reserved about his past, I am not entirely sure he was in a war," said Erik.
"We can't really decide. It's up to her, isn't it? If she wants to go… then I'll guess she'll go," said Terri Pryde trying to remain steady and calm, even though she was clearly distressed.
"It's not that far honey, we will visit her every weekend we can," said Carmen Pryde wrapping his arm around his wife.
"You expect young Katherine to accept the offer?" asked Erik Lensherr.
"I have no doubt Kitty will jump at the possibility," answered Mr. Pryde.
"I don't know, it does sound cool, and I hate these headaches… but what about my friends? Won't I ever see them again? And I have a chemistry test next week which I'm really looking forward to," said Kitty Pryde tightening her coat around her neck as she and Lorna left the Malt Shoppe.
"Katherine… father told me I shouldn't tell you this, but there is more to our school than just learning how to control our gifts," said Lorna standing behind Kitty and placing her hands in her shoulders. "Look across the street, right there… in that alley."
Kitty Pryde squinted. Across the street, in the darkest alley possible, she could see a band of thugs mugging a couple of teenagers. She counted at least eight muggers, all tall and muscular and all of them had either knifes or chains or weapons of some sort. "What am I looking at?"
"Shhh. Just watch," said Lorna.
Suddenly, a massive shadow fell from the nearest building into the alley. Kitty could see it was a very tall, very fat, teenage boy who laughed at the muggers, some of which had fallen to the floor in surprise.
The muggers moved to attack the fat boy, but a blur ran between them and suddenly they found themselves without their weapons; and Kitty saw another teenage boy with short white hair holding them in his hands. She then saw a tall muscular young man, with long black hair tied in a ponytail behind his head flexing his muscles. Atop his shoulders Kitty could see yet another teenager crouching and showing an extremely large tongue, brandishing it menacingly to the muggers.
"The tall guy is my boyfriend, his name is John and he's an Apache. The one on his shoulders, we call him Toad he's a riot that one. The one with white hair is my brother, Pietro; he can move at super speed, he's very annoying sometimes. And the other one it's Freddie. Don't let his size fool you, he's a teddy bear," said Lorna.
Kitty saw as Lorna's friends easily disbanded and shackled the muggers, using their own weapons and even a garbage container, while helping the teenagers escape and retrieve their belongings. And she could not keep her mouth shut. "Are you telling me, in that school of yours… they teach you how to be a superhero?"
Lorna Lensherr did not answer; she merely looked into Kitty's eyes and smiled.
"The hill's coming down upon us!" shouted Piotr Rasputin as he ran uphill, trying to catch Professor Xavier's attention.
Wanda Lensherr felt the time had come and she lifted her arms towards the hill. Her eyes were fixed on the large mass of mud, rock and earth that was about to fall towards the village due to the excessive rain and wind and she concentrated. Her hands shone brightly and she attempted to control the probabilities of the hill not falling on top of them, while Henry McCoy jumped around trying to catch as many people as possible in his strong beast-like arms and removing them from harm at topmost speed.
"Now will you use those powers of yours?" asked Jean-Paul clearly irritated.
"Go down, help Wanda and Henry remove the people from the village," said the Professor dismissively. Jean-Paul threw one last look at his teacher and then ran downhill crossing Piotr on the way, stopping for less than a second to smile at him and then running back down to help the villagers.
Professor Xavier didn't want to use his powers in this way; it was not his preference, but once again, circumstances forced him to do so. He sighed, as Piotr Rasputin shouted something at him and stood a few feet uphill from him, bracing himself. Charles Xavier let loose his mutant power of telepathy; his mind reaching Ororo's and, to his surprise, her mind was closed to him. He tried harder, he had to enter her mind. And then he heard her.
"You old fool! I will not allow you to enter my mind!" she shouted, directing a gigantic bolt of lightning towards Xavier.
Piotr Rasputin did not think; he merely threw himself between the lightning and his teacher. The force of the impact was such that he felt no pain as he fell into unconsciousness, his body regaining its natural shape, the flesh once more replacing the organic steel.
"Piotr!" shouted Jean-Paul from below seeing the scene. With clear anger in his eyes he began to run and, as he did, he found himself running in the air; soon everyone could see he was flying towards the Storm Goddess, even though at the moment, he could not realize it.
"Is there no end to your annoying ilk?" said Ororo with anger, creating a strong gust of wind to stop Jean-Paul in his place. "What is your name? Why do you answer when I strike at the Xavier one?"
"Girl, you are really messed up," said Jean-Paul. His body began to glow, and in an instant it created a massive burst of light powerful enough to light the entire area with the same intensity as the sun.
"By the Bright Lady!" shouted Ororo, the burst of light had clearly blindsided her. She stopped the winds holding Jean-Paul in place and clutched her eyes, unable to see. It was all the opportunity the speedster mutant needed to hit her in the face hard.
"I can't stop it anymore," said Wanda at last, lowering her arms as a trickle of blood fell from her nose. As she did, the mountain roared and the landslide started at last.
"Enough!" shouted Ororo, wind and lightning erupting around her, removing Jean-Paul from her side. Her vision was slowly returning and she saw a most strange sight. Xavier's head was floating like a ghost, in front of her and it spoke.
"Is this what you want, 'Goddess'? You want to kill your own people? To harm these children who accompanied me? Look at the devastation you have wrought upon your people, merely because my words angered you. Is that how Gods behave?"
Ororo looked below, and saw her precious villagers, a very small portion of her worshippers in pain and fear; running around, leaving their belongings, and she saw the landslide falling through the hill, seconds away from engulfing Xavier himself who was kneeling next to his fallen student. Ororo did not hesitate and moved her hands towards the hill, flying in its direction, creating winds to increase her speed and to stop the landslide. "Take Xavier and the young one to safety while I settle this," ordered Ororo to Jean-Paul who flew next to her.
Jean-Paul Beaubier opened his mouth, but there was no time to argue and he followed her orders, trying to lift both Xavier and Piotr though it was not easy.
At her command, the rain stopped and the clouds opened, allowing the sun to shine through. Her winds kept the mud and earth in place, but she did not know how to fully stop them.
"Ororo, allow me to enter your mind, I can teach you how to stop the landslide. How to dry the earth and hold it in place," said Professor Xavier in her head, his voice was faint and strained.
For a second, Ororo doubted what to do, her mind was her own. But she knew there was no other chance and, ever so slowly, she lowered the shields around her mind created by the electrical forces she controlled and allowed Xavier to communicate with her more easily.
"Ororo this is Henry McCoy, one of my most brilliant students, he will guide you through the process," said Xavier inside her mind as she continued to hold the landslide in place with her winds.
"Hello my most belligerent and beautiful adversary, I am honored to be in the presence of a Goddess," said an unfamiliar voice in her head.
"Speak now and tell me what to do, mortal, I will not remain like this forever," said Ororo hiding a smile.
"Very well, the effect I propose is simple, have you ever heard of a magnifying glass?" said Henry McCoy.
Slowly he guided her to shape the droplets of water in the sky, creating a gigantic, natural magnifying glass through which the sun's rays increased its intensity drying the mud and earth and binding it atop the hill, forcing it to stay in place. Eventually Ororo removed her winds, and the land stood in its place, and threatened the villagers no more. After a few minutes she flew towards the center of the village and as she did all the villagers bowed close to the ground, praying in silence.
"Is your ward all right? I did not mean to harm him," she said looking at Piotr who was being tended to by Jean-Paul who was sitting besides him, grabbing the back of his head.
"He will be all right. He thought he could dissipate the lightning, but the force of the attack surprised him," said Xavier smiling, his suit wet and muddy.
"What can you offer me Xavier? I am a Goddess. My people love me and need me. Here I am useful and there is nothing for me to do in a school. Especially a school filled with skeptics such as yourself who do not believe in my Godhood."
"Ororo you are a girl with tremendous power; a power you can control, yes, but you still need to learn how to properly harness it. Witness firsthand the destruction you wrought without even wanting to do so. I offer you a place to learn how to properly use your powers to benefit your… worshippers. If you wish to continue to believe yourself a Goddess, that is your wish, but I know the truth," Xavier removed a small card from his pocket and handed it to Ororo, "come to the school. Let me help you."
Ororo looked at the card for several seconds without answering. When she spoke, she did not lift her eyes, and she began to levitate. "You have an hour to leave my lands. If you do not I will rain my fury upon you again, and this time you will never anger a Goddess ever again." And she flew, her figure disappearing in the sunlight.
Henry McCoy approached his teacher, looking at the skies. "She didn't believe you then?"
"So it would seem," said Professor Xavier his eyes fixed on the departing mutant, a clear sense of disappointment in his voice.
"YES! I mean… yeah… I'd like to go," said Kitty Pryde barely able to control her enthusiasm.
Erik Lensherr smiled at the exclamation of the young mutant. "You certainly know your daughter, Mr. Pryde."
"Indeed. I should have placed a bet or something," added Carmen Pryde.
"We shall be expecting you at the school next Monday then, young Katherine," said Erik extending his hand to the girl.
Katherine Pryde was frightened at first, but slowly she moved her hand and shook Mr. Lensherr's slowly. As she did she felt a sudden tingle of electricity coming from the Headmaster, a chill running down her spine she could not identify.
"She will be there Mr. Lensherr, and we will be there at the crack of dawn the next Saturday," added Terri Pryde on the brink of tears.
"Father we should be going. I don't want to skip Ms Adler's class," said Lorna clinging to Erik's arm.
"We shall speak on the matter of paperwork later Mr. Pryde," said Erik shaking his and his wife's hands one after the other. With a curtly bow, he began to move away while Lorna hugged Kitty goodbye.
Soon after, Erik Lensherr found himself arm to arm with his daughter, approaching their luxurious car while the driver opened the door for them.
"Those people were far more polite than I expected, when we first arrived I thought they were going to bring the torches and pitchforks," said Lorna.
Erik Lensherr laughed. "My child you still have so much to learn about your powers and about the way the human brain works. That is why I make such strong case of you studying anatomy and chemistry."
"You're telling me you… influenced them to accept?" asked Lorna with surprise in her voice.
"My child I would never admit to using my powers on a poor defenseless human being," said Erik Lensherr catching his daughter's eye across the roof of the car. And after a brief second of silence they both began to laugh.