Chapter Two: New Surroundings

Once inside the mansion, the five mutants made their way to where Warren would be staying. Bobby kept a little too close as Scott opened the bedroom door and waved the newest arrival inside. His room was certainly the largest; it stretched to almost twice the width of Bobby's and he wasn't afraid to air his complaints about it.

"Whoa, your room is huge, man!" Bobby's mouth gaped as he entered the large bedroom, "I mean, mine is twice the size of my room at home but jeez, this is gigantic!" he leaned up towards Warren's handsome face, "Is this because you're rich? Did you bribe the Professor?"

That earned Bobby a smack around the head from Scott, silencing the youngest mutant. Warren placed his bags on the bed and ran his hands through his blonde hair, which hung just below his ears, and sighed. Moving to the window, he quickly opened it as wide as it would go, physically relaxing as the fresh air encapsulated his new room. He turned back to face his new friends only to find them staring at him, each with curious eyes.

"What?"

Before the other four mutants could respond, the Professor's voice echoed through their minds. Bobby and Warren physically jumped whilst Hank tilted his head, fascinated by the psychic connection. Jean and Scott remained still, like they were utterly used to someone else's voice inside their heads.

"Dinner will be ready at eight, students." The Professor's British tones seemed to wrap around their brains like strands of silk, "Please gather in the dining room shortly."

Bobby turned to Scott, "Does he always do that?"

Scott nodded, "You'll get used to it."

They entered the huge dining room and took their seats at a long, mahogany table in the centre of the room. The Professor was already seated at the head of the table in his wheelchair and he smiled pleasantly as the students each took their seats. Scott made sure to sit beside Jean, almost shoving Bobby out of the way as he tried to sit. The younger mutant settled for sitting at the other side of her, next to the Professor. Hank and Warren sat opposite them, separated only by a very elaborate and fragile-looking candelabra that Bobby was precariously close to knocking over with his elbow. Hank turned to Warren, who was still wearing his long, beige anorak, and whispered discreetly,

"You should take that off, it's bad manners to wear outdoor clothing at dinner."

Warren's ears flushed a deep red and he opened his mouth to speak but The Professor's voice interjected him.

"I'd like to officially welcome you all to my institute. I know you're all probably quite confused as to why you are here. I have chosen you five to be the first students of my academy. Here, you will learn how to use your powers to the best of your abilities and use them to show the world that mutants and humans can coexist peacefully. You will work as a team and help to promote our peaceful message wherever you go." The room was silent, save for Bobby's loud gulp and then all seriousness seemed to fade from Xavier's face, "Now, let's enjoy some good food!"

Two waiters brought out broccoli gazpacho and set it down in front of the diners. Hank wolfed his down in a matter of seconds whilst Bobby took a tentative sip and tried not to gag. He leaned closer to Jean and whispered,

"My soup is cold."

Jean's smile lit up her face as she swept her spoon through her own soup, "It's supposed to be, Bobby."

Bobby curled up his nose and pushed his soup discreetly towards Hank, who devoured it too. Every time a new dish was brought out, everyone but Warren seemed in utter awe. He, however, was used to such lavish delights and didn't quite understand the reactions of his peers. The main was more to Bobby's taste; steamed vegetables and a piece of steak that was almost bigger than his head. Silence fell upon the room as they inhaled the wondrous food, Hank finishing off any leftovers, and then dessert was served: brownies with honeycomb ice cream. Of that there were no leftovers.

"I hope you all enjoyed your meals," Xavier knitted his fingers together in front of him, "I'm afraid you won't be eating like this every day. But I thought you might enjoy something wholesome on your first night with us."

Bobby gave him a well-deserved thumbs-up as he manoeuvred his chair towards the door, encouraging the students to leave.

They stepped out, each thanking the Professor quietly and then, when it was Warren's turn to pass him, Xavier took his hand and shook it warmly.

"We haven't officially met. I'm Charles Xavier, welcome to the Xavier Institute."

Warren smiled, "Thank you. It's nice to finally put a face to the voice I've been hearing all this time."

The Professor chuckled and pushed the small stick on his armrest to move his wheelchair, so as to keep pace with Warren as he exited the room. He looked up at him before Warren got to the stairs,

"Is your room spacious enough?"

"Yes, thank you for accommodating my… needs." Warren's cheeks pinked a little.

"Of course. And, Warren, there is no need to hide who you are here. Everyone is a little different. Don't cause yourself pain just to hide who you truly are." With that, Xavier rolled towards the drawing room, leaving Warren to return to his room.

Bobby stared at the broken glass covering his new bedroom's floor. Back home his mother had removed every bit of glass or crystal from the house for just this reason. He'd been looking at himself in the full-length mirror that was attached to the oak wardrobe in his new room, inspecting his face for any new pimples that may have cropped up, when he'd leaned a little too far and frosted up the glass. Before he'd had a chance to step back, his temperature dropped and the glass smashed outwards. Not only was there now shards of glass all over the floor and his bed, some of it had slashed his arm as it exploded. Too embarrassed to ask for help, Bobby poked his head out of his room and crept downstairs in search of a broom.

Scott was in the kitchen drinking a steaming cup of coffee when he saw Bobby sneak past the doorway like some sort of terrible cat burglar. He grinned and left his drink to follow the younger teen down the hallway. It was only 9:30pm and the mansion was dark. Bobby almost tripped a few times before finally reaching the broom closet. He opened it and found exactly what he was looking for: a broom and a trash bag. Thinking he was the sneakiest sneak to ever walk the Earth, he grinned widely and turned and closed the closet door.

There was something different about the dark hallway, however; a dim red glow seemed to be throbbing from behind one of the long curtains against the window and Bobby rolled his eyes at Scott's failed attempt at stealth.

"I can see you there, Scott."

Shocked and a little embarrassed at his discovery, Scott scooted out from behind the curtain and squinted into the darkness towards Bobby.

"How did you know I was there?"

Bobby tapped his temple, "Spidey-sense, man." He heard Scott's confused 'huh?' and laughed, "Dude, your eyes are like big glowey UFO lights."

Scott's hands automatically shot to his shades, "They are?"

Bobby nodded smugly.

"What are you doing, anyway?"

Scott's question knocked the smugness from Bobby's face and he tried, unsuccessfully, to conceal the broom behind his back. He soon gave up and told Scott what had happened to his mirror as they made their way upstairs.

"You should have said! I know just the person for the clean-up!"

Scott almost skipped towards Jean's room and knocked on her door with a lively rhythm. When she answered in her pyjamas, the young man almost choked on his own words.

"Jean, we, er that is, Bobby, er… He-"

"I smashed my mirror and Scott said you could help clean it up." Bobby saved Scott from his word vomit smoothly and received a thankful nod from the red-shaded teen.

The redhead's hand snapped to her hip and she glared at Scott, "You thought I would help clean up because I'm a girl?!"

Behind his shades, Scott's eyes bugged out, "What? No! I just thought, with your powers…"

Jean smiled and lifted Scott's chin so that he was forced to look at her, "I'm kidding, Scott."

Bobby smiled at the blatant flirting between the two and showed Jean to his room. She easily lifted all of the shards of glass without touching a single piece and placed them into the trash bag. It was cleaned up in a matter of minutes and Bobby couldn't conceal his embarrassment at his mistake. Scott, however, was extremely understanding and told him that he'd had more than his fair share of 'mishaps' whilst living at the mansion, including blowing the front door off.

"Hey, you're hurt!" Jean lifted Bobby's arm and looked at the cut.

It seemed pretty deep but she had no knowledge of first aid. They decided to ask the only member of the group who seemed like he might know at least something about how to patch Bobby up.

Hank answered his door with his glasses perched atop his shaggy black hair; smudges of ink dotted his cheek and he was holding multiple sheets of paper like he'd been researching something.

"Something wrong?"

Bobby held out his arm and Hank sighed, "It's not really my area of expertise."

"Hey!" Bobby suddenly seemed much more animated, "Maybe Warren's mutation is like a healing power or something!"

Jean shook her head, "I don't think-"

"Yeah, it can't help to ask!" Scott was already pounding on Warren's bedroom door.

After almost a minute of knocking there was still no answer and so Bobby pushed open the door. Jean and Scott both tried to pull him back but he insisted that they should check on him, in case something bad had happened. What he was actually thinking was that he might get a glimpse of Warren's mutation if he caught him off guard. The room was dark and chilly, the window still wide open, and clothes were scattered across the floor. It was immediately obvious where Warren was as his snoring figure lay under his duvet.

"Can we go now, please?" Jean stage-whispered and they each backed out slowly.

Bobby managed to snag a t-shirt before closing the door behind him. He wanted to know what type of big brands Warren wore and he wasn't surprised to find that the shirt was a known name. What confused him, however, were the huge holes cut out of the back of the t-shirt. He shrugged it off as 'fashion' and followed the others downstairs to find the first aid kit.

After patching up Bobby's arm, Hank poured everyone some tea and they sat around the small kitchen table, chatting about their new home and past experiences. It was obvious that they were all a little shocked at Xavier's plans for them to be some sort of peacekeeping team but more than anything, excitement seemed to be at the forefront. Scott was just finishing off a story about accidentally vaporising his breakfast when something clanged in the hallway.

"Burglars?" Bobby's eyes widened but Scott shook his head.

"Not with our security system."

Jean closed her eyes and silently searched for another brain but came up with nothing. She looked at the others with confused eyes, "Maybe it's an animal?"

Another crashing sound echoed down the hall and Scott jumped to his feet, ready for action. He looked like one of the action figures Bobby used to play with as a kid and he snorted in an attempt to keep his laughter in. The four of them stepped into the hall and Hank swiftly clicked on the main lights. There, standing in the centre of the corridor, was a half-naked man with wings.

His chest and torso were bare but he had pyjama pants on and his huge white wings were twice the length of his body. They flapped now and then and stretched awkwardly in the cramped space, like a bird trapped in a cage.

"An angel!" Bobby turned to Hank, face mortified, "Did we die?!"

The bird-man turned then and the group finally understood. It was Warren. His muscled torso and toned arms were almost loose as his wings did all the work. Now and then they gained enough leverage to lift him off the ground but he mainly just flapped awkwardly. That's when Jean realised that his eyes were closed. She turned to Hank and the others,

"I think he's sleepwalking. That's why his thoughts were so muddled."

"Sleepflying you mean?" Scott's eyes remained glued to Warren but he continued speaking to Jean, "Did you know this was his mutation?"

"I saw it, yes."

"Called it," Bobby grinned smugly and then ducked as one of the powerful wings swept by his head.

The other wing flapped wildly and knocked a vase to the wooden floor. It shattered loudly, waking Warren from his slumber. He stared with a vacant expression for a few moments, completely dumbfounded, and then hastily tucked his wings behind his back with a movement so fast it blew Jean's hair around her face.

Scott stepped forward, "You okay, buddy?"

"Sorry. I- I'll pay for that." Warren's face was a deep shade of scarlet and he looked almost in pain as he stood there facing his housemates. His left wing kept twitching like something invisible was tugging at it.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Jean stepped towards Warren and held her hand out towards his twitching wing but he held it back, seemingly ashamed. Jean simply rolled her eyes and stepped closer, "Come here, we've already had the first aid box out tonight."

Warren's eyes bulged and he quickly looked closely at his new friends, "Why? Did I hurt someone?"

Bobby waved his hand dismissively, "Nah, I got a bit… cold."

"He looked into a mirror and broke it. Go figure." Scott grinned and avoided Bobby's attempted thump in the arm.

That seemed to relax Warren a little and he followed the others into the kitchen, carefully manoeuvring himself around the various fragile-looking things so as not to knock them off with his exposed wings. Jean floated the first aid kit down from the counter and told Warren to turn around, which he did after only a slightly apprehensive glance in her direction.

"Hmm…" the redhead gently took Warren's twitching wing and pulled it outwards, not to its full span as it wouldn't fit in the small kitchen but far enough so that she could see what was causing Warren's discomfort.

A piece of porcelain was wedged between some of the feathers, shattered from the vase he'd knocked over earlier. Jean's fingers brushed gently against the wing, causing a spasm so strong that the force of the flailing wing almost knocked her over. Warren mumbled an apology but was somewhat distracted by the fact that Hank was staring at him so closely that he wondered whether he was in fact the one with the mental powers. The dark-haired man pulled on his glasses and hovered his huge hands around Warren's shoulders. For a moment Warren was scared that Hank might touch his wings with those beastly hands but the intelligent young man simply examined him like a new species he'd discovered.

"Um…" He was about to ask Hank if he needed some sort of explanation but was immediately distracted by the sudden sharp pain that shot through his wing and down his spine. Resisting the urge to flap wildly like some sort of trapped animal, Warren spun, wings tucked back, and glared at Jean who simply smiled at him as she held up the shard she'd just pulled from his wing.

"Got it." She plopped the shard into the trashcan and sprayed some antibiotic spray onto the small cut before sitting down at the kitchen table, beside Scott.

The red-shaded teen pointed at Hank, who was still hovering around Warren like a worker bee, "Hank, give it a rest."

With an expression that looked like he'd only just figured out what he was actually doing, Hank stopped inspecting Warren and took off his glasses, "My apologies, Warren. Your mutation is just so… unique. I've never seen anything like it!" He stepped aside to let the blonde man have some space and tilted his head quizzically, "Do you sleepwalk often?"

"Only when I'm somewhere new," the winged mutant folded his appendages as far back as they would go and shivered, suddenly aware of the fact that he was half naked in front of a group of strangers, "I'm going to… Sleep. Yes."

As Warren turned, Bobby spoke up, "Hey, Warren," he turned to look at the younger boy, "Your mutation is so cool!"

Warren stepped out of the kitchen and smiled as he made his way back to his room.

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