"What is your name?"

"I…I don't know."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"It's strange. My powers give me the ability of a photographic memory, because of the focus involved. But none of the memories make sense. I don't remember hitting my head at all, where I was, anything. I remember a lot of people and cameras, though. And then there was a man. It was weird; he somehow knew about my powers. I think I was scared of him much of the time."

"This man—do you remember anything about him specifically?" the Professor pressed, gently but urgently. "His name? What he looked like?"

The girl shook her head. "Not really. He was older, like you. He had a curious accent, and kept talking about getting back at 'them' a lot. Sometimes there were things…things I had to do…" Her entire body tensed up, as if bracing against a cold wind.

"What kinds of things?"

"I must have found out what the preparations were for, and he—he—"

Her eyes were returning to their normal color, and welling up with tears. The lights above them shook for a moment.

"It's alright; calm down," the Professor said gently.

"But I don't know! I don't remember!" the girl burst out. She drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly. "There was a mission—something important to him. I think I tried to run, and he found out. Now I just remember making my way up here. I don't even know why…I wasn't supposed to, though…"

Bobby sat down and put his arms around her. She was smaller than he thought, and flinched at his first touch. He could see why she was so distraught. It had to be terrifying to wake up not knowing who or where she was, not to mention finding her few recollections to be just as disturbing.

Professor X's face was grave; he must also have deduced who "he" was. Magneto, or, as the Professor knew him, Erik Lenscher, harbored a deep-seated resentment towards anyone who feared or disliked mutants. Whether Magneto was involved or not, however, the interview had continued for longer than necessary.

"Professor, we've got a hit." Scott burst through the door, waving a printout. All eyes were on him, including the girl's peeking over Bobby's arm. "Jordin Holly, a sixteen-year-old actress working in the independent film industry, disappeared eight months ago and is presumed dead. Take a look at the picture." He held out the paper.

Aside from shorter hair and deep blue eyes, it matched the girl's features exactly.

"So, Jordin, does that ring any bells?" asked the Professor. The girl was beginning to calm down. There was no mistaking her expression the longer she stared at what Scott held out to her.

"That's my headshot, the last ones I got done, I think," she mused form behind Bobby's arm. "So, my name's 'Jordin Holly.' That's one fact down, a million more to go."

"We'll figure it all out, don't worry," said Bobby, rubbing her shoulder. "One step at a time."

Just then, Dr. McCoy strode amiably into the room, or as amiably as one can look when one is nearly twice a normal man's size and covered in blue fur. But his light mood turned to shock to find it already so busy. "What's the meaning of this?"

We were simply trying to piece together this young woman's past," the Professor said smoothly. "I'm afraid Jordin here is experiencing amnesia, and became overwhelmed."

"I see," grumbled McCoy. "Well, I must say you've improved greatly with the round of antibiotics. Let's see how that gash looks. If it's starting to heal up, I don't see why she couldn't move up to a room in the mansion."

Jordin sat deep in thought while the formidable-looking mutant doctored her head. So much was happening; she couldn't keep up with it. Even so, she couldn't keep her attention from wandering to the only other teenager in the room—Bobby Drake. She didn't remember much companionship, or even the security of knowing someone was there for her. Only disembodied fear. Now comfort came in full force from a complete stranger. All of them, in fact, seemed to want her to feel safe here.

"Well, it's looking much better, even this early on. I'd say you're fit to be released, just check back in a couple of days to make sure it continues to heal," McCoy concluded.

"You'll have to give us some time, but we'll have accommodations for you by tonight," added the Professor. "In the meantime—"

"I could show you around, if you want," Bobby finished. Then he glanced back at the Professor, who nodded both approval and forgiveness for the interruption. "Come on."

Jordin followed curiously. "This doesn't look much like a school. More like a high-security vault."

"Oh, this isn't part of the school…well, technically," Bobby explained. "The students aren't really allowed down here."

"What about you?"

"I snuck down here to see how you were doing. Gave us a scare last night."

"But you don't even know me," Jordin argued. "For all you know, I could turn out to be a danger to you all or something. And anyway, what reason would you have for caring?" She didn't mean to be so critical. Even so, her outburst startled Bobby so much he stopped walking.

"Since when do I have to know someone before I can care?" he countered quietly. "You were hurt, you looked lost, you're a fellow mutant. Now especially is when we need to learn to join together regardless of similarities or differences."

Now it was Jordin's turn to be surprised, but it was accompanied by a heartfelt desire to believe what he said. "I think I understand. It's just, no one's ever done that for me before"—she pondered her own statement—"that I know of, I think."

"There's a first time for everything," chuckled Bobby. It wasn't a mocking sound. He was inviting her. She answered with the first genuine smile in her shortened memory.

The afternoon was given over to touring and introductions. Jordin was surprised at the number of mutants in one place, let alone how many of them welcomed her into their little community. She would be sharing a room with a girl who called herself Jubilee. Storm would help her get settled into classes. Then there were the people she'd already met. The Professor mentioned a one-on-one appointment to explore what her powers were and their extent. Bobby, of course, was present whenever possible. And Scott, oddly enough, seemed to have taken a big brother-guardian sort of interest in her; he was very reserved with most of the others. By the end of the day, Jordin didn't feel nearly as overwhelmed as she thought she should be.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Bobby asked when they stopped in front of Jordin's new room. He reached for her left hand as if by habit. Jordin flinched at the contact. "Sorry," he hastily corrected himself. The slightest hint of disappointment had appeared, however.

"It's…okay," Jordin muttered, attempting to smile. "There's just so much I'm still unsure of."

"Yeah," agreed Bobby. He still seemed embarrassed. "Uh, goodnight, I guess."

Jordin smiled a little more confidently. "Goodnight."

Unexpectedly the door opened, causing them both to jump. Jubilee's face peeked out, framed by her outrageously-streaked black hair.

"There you are. Some of the girls and I were about to start a game. Wanna join?"

"Um, sure," Jordin glanced momentarily at Bobby before following her roommate inside. The door shut.

"Have fun," Bobby whispered to the empty hallway. "You deserve to have some."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Tell me again; what happened?" Magneto asked the trembling mutant in front of him.

"Sh-sh-she-sh—" the mutant struggled, "She's gone. I was t-testing the chip just like y-you told me t-to. Suddenly she s-started to f-fight it. I h-h-hit 'er over the head before she could-d-do anything big. Did-d-dn't mean to hit so hard. Almost got'er back to her room when she w-woke up. Freaked out with'er p-powers on me…an' now she's d—d-disappeared."

The older former-mutant closed his eyes, as if praying for patience.

"B-but I have some better news!" his terrified minion stammered. "I just found out where she ended up."

Magneto raised his eyebrows. "Well?"

"I was snooping around for anyone who might've seen'er, when I almost ran smack into a couple 'a Xavier's flunkies. Nothin; outta the ordinary—until they mentioned a 'new student.'" The young mutant grew bolder as Magneto seemed to become more receptive to his story. "Yup. Alone, troubled, appeared to have been attacked. But obviously powerful, except for having lost her memory."

"What?"

The young mutant jumped backward, all confidence lost once more. "D-doesn't mean it was me! That's a lota ground to cover, gettin' all the way to Xavier on'er own. At least we know where she is, right?"

"Yes, but now so does Charles," Magneto replied evenly.

"Yeah, I guess…wasn't she supposed to end up there anyway, though?"

"In time. In order for the plan to move forward, however, she needs to be capable of carrying out what I require of her. Her loss of memory runs the risk of a meddler like Charles discovering the plan.

The girl's presence will be suspicious; he won't have allowed her to stay without making sure she's not a possible threat, not after everything that's happened." All pretense of patience had now dropped from the older man's voice. "If he uncovers information the girl doesn't know she has, then it would have been better if she'd not made it there at all. Charles won't stand for a venture such as this, least of all from me."

The young mutant's quaking had returned. "D-d-do you want me to t-take care of-f-f her?"

"No," Magneto growled. "We need her. She's the only one capable of completing the plan short of Charles himself." He sighed, as if weariness was a physical weight upon him. "We need a spy. Someone they already trust who can manipulate things from the inside, undetected. I can't exert enough control from here. Someone will need to be in place to perform the necessary tasks."

The young mutant watched nervously as Magneto fingered a couple of metal balls, out of which he once made a stringless pendulum. The supposed 'Cure' had changed a lot of things…