Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the owner of X-Men Evolution, X-Men characters shown, or Marvel Comics.
Welcome friends, to take two at my story The Newcomer. If you come from the original, welcome back! If you are new to my page and this story, I welcome you as well.
This is a story about a character I created named Cassie Reeds, and her adventures in both trying to escape her past and her journey to find out who she truly is. Read along to join in on the fun.
Leave a comment if you want!
Cassie took a deep breath as she stared down the pay phone in front of her like it would bite her if she touched it. She had been standing in front of it for a good ten minutes, prompting a few suspicious looks from the workers and patrons of the subway station she was in. She took one more deep breath (probably the seventh one she'd taken while standing there) and took a step towards the imminent danger that awaited her in the form of a pay phone. She slid the coins into the slot, the *chink* sound they made as the hit the pile inside the machine was oddly soothing to Cassie as she built up her courage to dial the number on the faded business card she got many years ago.
She only hoped the number hadn't changed.
The harsh pitch of a ringing telephone filled the halls of the pristine Xavier Institute, joining the sounds of laughing teens and the chatter of the local news station on the kitchen television. Ororo Munroe, more commonly referred to as Storm, made her way to the source of the noise. With the grace that accompanied all of her movements, she lifted the phone to her ear, silencing the shrill ringing.
"Hello, this is the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, Ororo speaking. May I help you?" Her voice was smooth, and seasoned with the accent of her youth growing up in Africa.
The voice on the other end was less smooth, and more frantic. It was the voice of a young girl, and the only thing it seemed to be seasoned with was anxiety, "Hi! Um, I mean hello. My name is, uh, Cassie and I am calling to ask if you have any spots open for newcomers?"
Ororo raised a sculpted brow, "Yes, of course. We are always open to new students. How old are you, Ms. Cassie, was it?"
The voice paused for a moment. This pause was soon followed by a small voice and an answer, "16, ma'am."
Ororo searched quickly on the desk for a note pad and a pen, finding them with ease. She began jotting down the information she had received so far, which consisted of the girls name and her age. "May I speak with your parents, Ms. Cassie? You are a minor, so we need the consent of an acting guardian before taking you into our care."
There was another pause, this one much longer than the first. So long, in fact, that Ororo thought the call disconnected until the girl finally spoke again, "They're dead ma'am. Mom passed away when I was four, my dad passed away three years ago."
This time it was Ororo who paused, "Do you have a guardian of any sort?"
"No ma'am" was the girl's response, "I never knew of any other family, and my dad wasn't exactly the perfect man. He did a lot of bad things to a lot of people, so when he died it was covered up by the people he worked with. I've been on my own since."
Ororo took in what this young girl had just told her, adding the new information to her note pad. She cleared her throat, refraining from apologizing for her loss. She knew from comforting enough grieving children that apologies from essentially strangers did nothing to help. She spoke again, "Well we'd be happy to take you in, Cassie. When can we expect your arrival?"
There was an indiscernible sound of excitement on the other end of the line, "Tonight at the earliest, tomorrow morning at the latest. Thank you so much!"
"Absolutely, we cannot wait to see you." Ororo spoke with a smile.
She hung up the phone after the girl said goodbye, and finished making a final note in her notepad. She ripped off the now used page and left the room. She began walking through the hall to the recreational room where the professor spent most of his time. She was hoping to find him there so she could inform him of the soon-to-be new arrival. Her hope was rewarded as the room came into view, as did the professor.
"Professor," Ororo spoke, announcing her presence as well as gathering his attention.
Xavier rotated his wheelchair so that he was facing Ororo and he smiled warmly, "Ah, Storm. How may I help you?"
Ororo returned his smile and extended her hand, the note gripped softly in her fingers, "I just finished a phone call with a girl who just applied to the school. I jotted down some information that she provided, but she will still have to fill out some paperwork when she gets here."
The professor took the paper from Ororo, reviewing it, "I assume this was the call we received earlier?"
Ororo nodded, letting her eyes wander slightly as she lost herself in thought.
The professor sensed her uneasiness and cleared his throat, lowering the paper to look up at the tall woman, "Is there something else you need to tell me?" He questioned her, one thin eyebrow raised on his otherwise hairless head.
Ororo redistributed her weight onto her right foot, meeting the professor's gaze, "Something about her story seems off. Too rehearsed, too vague."
The professor met her worried gaze with a warm and reassuring smile, "We are no strangers to people with hidden pasts. Let us see how this one pans out, shall we?"
Almost immediately after she ended the call with the school, Cassie gathered her things and began her trek to the manor. The business card had a location on it, and she assumed that if the number was still the same, there was a good chance the address hadn't changed either. Cassie had been in many cities in her travels the last two years, and she had gotten lost many times. Luckily, the subway where she had placed the call had a map and she discovered that the street the card had claimed the manor was on was only a few blocks north. If the map hadn't been there, she would have gotten lost again. Her large duffle bag was growing heavy on her back, and the smaller bag she held on her shoulder was starting to cause her discomfort. But she couldn't think of any of these pains as, just a few feet in front of her, the manor came into view and a smile broke out onto her face.
She made it.
Kitty was changing into her pajamas in the room she shared with Rogue when there was a knock on her door. She pulled her nightgown over her head and yelled, "Coming!" to whoever was on the other side of the door. She jogged over to the wall connected to the door and phased through casually, seeing Storm standing on the other side of the door. She smiled cheerily, "Hi Ms. Munroe!"
Storm gave her a soft smile in return, "Hello Kitty. The professor has asked me to request that you show a new student around the premises. He said you're the best candidate for a good first impression."
Her smile still glued to her face, she said, "Of course! I'd love to! When are they getting here?"
"She said she would arrive either tonight, or early tomorrow morning. We will fetch you if she arrives tonight, so please continue with your normal nighttime routine." Storm said before giving a curt nod and continuing down the hallway.
Kitty was excited. They hadn't gotten anyone new in a very long time.
Cassie paused at the gate, taking in the breathtaking view of the enormous mansion in front of her. It truly was a sight to behold. Shaking off her admiration for the view, she reached out and pressed the buzzer, the abrupt noise causing her to jump slightly. There was a pause before a voice riddled with static came through the speaker, "Hello, who is here?"
Cassie cleared her throat, "Cassie? I spoke with someone earlier on the phone?"
"Oh, we were expecting you! Please, come in!"
No sooner than Cassie heard the speaker's response, did the giant metal gates creak open, allowing Cassie entrance to the beautiful mansion. She took her time walking up the winding pathway to the door, admiring everything she saw along the way. The trees, the grass, the flowers, and especially the fountain. Cassie had a certain attraction to water based artwork.
She made her way to the door finally, taking a deep breath before knocking on the looming structure. The door swung open to reveal a lively looking young girl in a night gown. She was grinning excitedly and Cassie felt slightly intimidated by her energy, but also extremely happy that she was being greeted in such a way. The girl stuck out a hand as a way of greeting and said, "Hi! My name's Kitty, nice to meet you!"
Cassie took her hand in her own and shook it once, "Cassie."
Kitty beamed brighter, "That's a pretty name. C'mon inside, I'll show you around!"
Cassie obliged and entered the grand foyer, still in awe of how simply beautiful everything was. The doors shut behind her and Cassie looked toward Kitty, "Where do we start?"
Kitty grabbed her arm, paying no mind to any personal space Cassie previously had, and pulled her along to the first room, "So, like, this is the kitchen, where we keep the food and drinks. By the way, do not come in when Kurt's in here alone or you'll lose your appetite for, like, a month. He's my best friend, but the man cannot cook."
Cassie giggled slightly, "Who's Kurt?"
Kitty shrugged away her question, "Oh don't worry about people's names, you'll meet everyone sooner or later." She continued leading them from room to room, asking her questions every now and then.
"So is your name just 'Cassie' or, like, is it short for something?"
"It's short for Casanova, but for obvious reasons I prefer Cassie."
"What's your last name, Casanova?"
"It's just Cassie. My last name is Reeds."
"Where are you from?"
"Indiana, a small town."
The questions seemed never ending until finally Kitty said, "Oh! This is the last place; your room! I'm right down the hall if you need anything at all. I hope you like living here, Cassie."
Cassie gave Kitty a warm smile, "I'm sure I will Kitty. Thank you for showing me around."
"No problem! Get some rest; we'll introduce you in the morning. Night!" Kitty spoke as she walked away, waving. Cassie watched her until she disappeared through a door. Literally, through the door. Cassie chuckled and walked into her new room in her new home.
After sitting her things down in the chair in the corner, she got her pajamas and headed to the bathroom down the hall where Kitty had showed her. Armed with her (more or less) fresh clothes and some toiletries that she may or may not have stolen, she braved the empty hall and walked into the bathroom. Locking the door behind her, she disrobed and turned on the water in the shower. It had been a long time since she had a proper shower. One not surrounded by equally nude strangers and lukewarm water running through the pipes. She couldn't wait for the essentially scalding water to hit her skin and make her feel truly clean again. She took her time in the shower, making sure to thoroughly massage her scalp, clean every crevice of her body, and exfoliate her face. She then turned off the water and donned her towel, wrapping it around her figure. She stepped out, and wiped off the condensation off the mirror, taking a look at herself. The image staring back was clear, which was a change from the dirty and spot covered mirrors from the public bathrooms. She felt as though she hadn't seen herself in a long time.
Her hair was longer than it had been in a while, past her shoulders by a few inches. Her tips were still blue from when she saved up her money to color it herself in a YMCA bathroom in the middle of the night. Her bangs were choppy and uneven due to the fact that she cut them herself to keep the hair out of her face, and it covered all of her forehead. Her hair was dripping wet, so she didn't really know what it looked like dry, but she assumed it was as much of a curly mess as normal. Her face was riddled with blemishes. They seemed to be focused on her forehead, mid-brow, and chin and they looked to be quite angry. She hadn't really had access to the best products hygiene wise, and she was actually pretty surprised that she hadn't gotten a staph infection, or worse. She had a small scar on her right eyebrow, and freckles on her cheeks and nose, but other than that she had a blank canvas. Her face was round, but her cheeks were hollower than they should be, considering the fact that her diet the last two years had been anything but regular or healthy, and she had giant bags under her eyes.
She stood there for a minute, taking in the person she saw before her, before dressing herself in her blue sleep shorts and yellow t-shirt. She then gathered her things and left the bathroom. Without paying attention, Cassie bumped into someone on her way back to her room. She stumbled back a bit before regaining her balance, and then looked to her collision partner. It was a boy with blonde, shaggy hair. He wore a shell necklace and a tank top, the combination giving off the impression that the boy before her enjoyed the beach or at the very least the outdoors. Cassie's eyes found their way to the ground immediately, her cheeks flushed, "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."
The boy chuckled, "It's all good, man." Even his voice sounded like a surfer, "I'm Alex, you must be new."
Cassie nodded, slowly looking back up to Alex's face, which held a welcoming grin, "Yeah. I'm Cassie. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, Cassie. You done in the bathroom?" He asked, gesturing behind them.
She nodded, "Yeah, it's all yours."
He gave a small wave and a smile before heading inside, and Cassie continued on into her room. Once in her room, she put the dirty clothes and towel in the corner to deal with the next day. She then held out one hand, flicking her wrist away from her. All the water on her body moved towards her hand in tendrils. She rotated her wrist so that her palm was facing the ceiling and the water swirled around above it, creating a small orb of water. Once all of the water was off of her, she spread her fingers and lifted her palm slightly, the water evaporating immediately. She yawned, suddenly ready for bed. She chose the bed on the left and got comfortable, falling asleep soon after she lay down.
I am so much happier with this than I was reading Chapter One of the previous adaptation. I hope you enjoyed reading, and I will post chapter two as soon as I finish editing it. See you soon!
-Catmandu22