Chapter 3

Everyone is seated in the front room, shuffled either close together (mostly around Raven and Charles) or far apart. All eyes are on the boy with messy raven hair and bright blue eyes. They are all calm and quiescent, though earlier it was pretty obvious that Raven was excited about meeting a new Mutant and Sean had been pleased that he would no longer be the baby of the group.

He had been adamant that everyone realize this as well.

"Jim," the boy, standing on the carpet in the middle of the room, introduces himself, "Jim Barrons." He has a self-confidence about him that lures Alex in. He had been just as confident a couple of years earlier. But then he had gone and ruined everything and been placed in solitary confinement. He'd gone and screwed everything up.

A part of him hopes that this 'Jim' person will trust him enough to tell him his real name, but another part of him wants the kid to stay as far away from him as possible so he doesn't have to face his past mistakes and see the person he used to be, before the accident. He doesn't want to see the person he could have been.

Charles is speaking pleasantly about how happy they all are that he has joined them and how they go about studies in the institute and yada yada yada. Alex tunes the conversation out and rests his cheek on his fist, leaning toward the side that Sean is at, sitting on the floor beside his chair. Sean doesn't really seem to be paying attention, either, instead fiddling with the strings of his sweater as he stares at Jim's changing expressions.

He waits until he has Sean's attention and then rolls his eyes, feeling victorious when Sean snorts. But one irritated look from Erik has dread pooling in the pit of his stomach and he quickly glances outside, pretending to be captivated by some fighting pigeons.

When the Professor's speech is finally over, he suggests,

"Alex, why don't you show Jim to his room?"

Him? Wouldn't Hank be a better candidate for this task? Obviously the first person Jim is going to be truly acquainted with will most likely become a close friend of his. The best person for Jim at this moment would be Hank or perhaps even Sean. Not him.

"Yeah, sure," he says anyway, knowing he could never voice these thoughts aloud.

"I could kill for some paprika chips right now," he hears Sean announce as he leaves the room with the new kid. Ugh dang it. He could kill for some paprika chips, too.

"So, this is your room. Right now we've each got our own rooms but pretty soon we'll have to start sharing 'cause there will be more new recruits and all that. You can choose how you want to decorate your room but just make sure not to break anything 'cause there are some really valuable paintings on these walls. Don't ask me why, though, 'cause they were obviously left unused by anyone. Ah well."

Alex seems a little tense. He wonders why. Obviously, the blonde teen has nothing to fear from him. Unless he thinks he has some kind of awesome power or anything. Maybe he should unveil the truth to allow him to find peace.

"So what's your mutation?" he asks.

"Huh? Uh, well... I can shoot bolts of fire at people. You?" For some reason it seems as though Alex already knows the answer to this question. Still, it takes him quite a lot of unnecessary anxiety to push the words out of his mouth.

"I can drink alcohol and not get drunk." There. It's out. The most unimpressive power ever had.

"You mean intoxicating drinks don't affect your brain?"

"Uh.. yeah, I suppose."

"Sweet! That probably means that poisons don't affect you, either. 'Cause if it doesn't affect your brain, it probably also doesn't affect any of your other organs. How about smoking? Have you ever had your lungs checked out by a doctor before?"

He doesn't know how to reply to all this incredibly biological input so he simply states, "I don't smoke."

"Well, that's good - you shouldn't. But still, it'd be cool to see if it would affect your lungs or not."

"I don't think it works that way."

"How do you know? I never thought I'd be able to aim my blasts at a target before the Professor and Bigfoot found a way to make it happen."

"Who's Bigfoot?"

"The scientist, Hank. He's got mutated feet that look like hands."

"You mean the dude that walked into the bar and spoke with me?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Why don't you just call him Hank?"

The question seems to catch Alex off-guard and the boy sneers,"Because I don't feel like it."

"'Kay." His meagre response seems to take the chip off Alex' shouder and he explains,

"And because we all have codenames. Only, Hank hasn't really got one, yet. So I call him Bigfoot."

"What's your codename?"

"Havok."

"Sounds fitting."

Alex once again doesn't seem pleased with his remark. He makes a note not to push his free speech boundaries with this one.

"Sean's is Banshee. 'Cause of the screeching thing."

"Cool."

"Raven is Mystique." Alex seems to be remembering something funny before sobering and looking sort of melancholy and weary. The blonde clears his throat quickly and finishes up, "And then there's the Professor and Erik, whose codename is Magneto 'cause he controls metal."

"Awesome." He knows he doesn't sound sufficiently awed, but he truly doesn't have the energy to express anything other than fatigue and mild curiosity at this very moment.

"We're probably going to have dinner at six thirty, so you might want to unpack and settle in beforehand. You should really enjoy this free time, because starting tomorrow, no matter how green you are behind the ears, you're going to be stuck with our sucky training and studying schedule as well."

"Sounds horrific."

"It is. So, I'll leave you to it, then. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask Hank. He generally knows everything about everything."

He rewards Alex with a chuckle. "Alright, will do." And after that, he is left alone with his thoughts.

"You're moping."

Raven looks up quickly, embarrassed at being caught in her cross-legged, face-cradling, lip-pouting position. "Am not," she responds instantly when she realizes she's speaking to Charles.

"Yes you are. You forget, little sister, that I have known you long enough to recognize that particular shade of gold," Charles teases her, knowing that her eye colour changes when she's agitated or tired.

She smiles at him as he sits down beside her and wraps an arm around her shoulders. "What is it, darling? What could possibly be bothering that pretty head of yours?"

She doesn't take too kindly to the compliments. "It's just that. This head is pretty. Some might call it beautiful, even. If I wanted to, I could walk around as someone who looks like Angelina Jolie. But that's not me, Charles."

"Of course it isn't. The only you there is is you. It's about who you are on the inside that counts."

She stands up, huffing. "Don't you get it, though? I don't want to have to change my appearance! I don't want to wake up in the morning and see something in the mirror gazing back at me that -"

"Raven! How dare you refer to yourself as a 'thing'! You happen to be my little sister, whom I love and respect an awful lot. So quit feeling sorry for yourself and try to see the amazing qualities you have which we can all see but you, somehow, can not."

"That's such an easy solution."

"Why should it be hard? Sometimes the best solution is the easy one."

"I knew you wouldn't get it."

Before he can argue any further, she exits the room with an impatient and irritated huff.

Hank is immersed in his personal study of Copernicus when suddenly a mop of black hair enters his vision. He shoves his desk chair back a little and sees Jim leaning over his desk, trying to read his findings upside-down.

"Hello," he greets uncertainly.

The boy looks up, not so interested in his paper anymore, and says, "Hey. Alex told me that if I had any questions, I should go to you, so, at what time does class start?"

Hank can't help smiling. The youth may be a boozer who can't get drunk, but he's still a bright young spirit who wishes to learn. "You won't have class until tomorrow, and even then only Charles and I teach."

"You teach?"

"Yeah."

"You're so young, though."

"Thanks... I guess."

"What do you teach? Physics?"

"And Chemistry. Charles handles Biology, History and Math. Once we find good teachers for the other classes, though, I'm sure many other subjects will be taught here."

"There aren't many of us in this Institute. When you told me about it, I was expecting a drabby old grey building filled with rowdy children climbing on walls and coughing up fur."

Hank chuckles. "You do like to indulge your imagination."

"It's a skill. So what's up with Alex?"

"Hmm?" Why did he have to bring up blondie? He sees enough of the idiot during the day.

"He seems a little weird around me."

"Don't worry about it, Alex is just a weird person. If he's insulting you, just ignore it. It's the one thing that really pisses him off."

"No, he's not insulting me." Jim actually looks baffled that he would suggest such a thing.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Well, he just seems... I dunno'... mildly insecure around me. Like I'm some rabid dog or something."

"Alex? Insecure?" Maybe he confused him with Sean.

"Yeah. I'm probably wrong and he just ate something bad or somethin'. Forget about it. What'cha doing?"

Hank wants to ask him to return to the previous subject, but realizing that he would be putting too much interest in blondie's personal life, he refrains from doing so and replies, "I'm writing a paper on Copernicus."

"Is it homework or something?"

"No. This is for personal educational reasons."

"This shit actually interests you?"

Hank can only barely control the urge to scold the boy for his language and threaten to soap out his mouth. "Yes, Barrons, this stuff really interests me."

"Crazy, dude."

"Well, in any case, you should head on up. We're probably going to eat in about five minutes and I'm sure you're hungry."

"How can you be so sure?"

"You're fifteen."

"Ah. Point taken."

Dinner actually explained absolutely nothing about Jim, except for the fact that he likes green beans. Charles knows he could easily slip into the boy's mind and find out what his real name is and whatnot, but seeing as that would be a major breach of etiquette and respect for his privacy, he decides not to. It was funny to watch Jim and Sean interact, though. They shared light-hearted, witty remarks with each other, and Sean seemed to be getting along with Jim better than anyone else in the mansion. The funny part was that Jim often didn't realize that Sean was being sarcastic or ironic. In turn, though, Sean didn't catch the deeper meaning of many things Jim said. On the whole, though, it was good to have them engage in smooth, easy conversation, seeing as it would no doubt have been an awkward meal had Sean not been around to save the day.

No doubt Alex was thinking the exact same thing, having not been able to so much as look at Erik as he passed him the pepper. In turn, Erik had given the boy such an icy glare that he could probably feel it without even having to look up. Charles had groaned inwardly.

Now though, as Raven stacks the dishes in the dishwasher and Hank swipes leftover crumbs off the table, things are peaceful and quiet. And just as he wonders how long the peace and quiet will last, the phone rings and he rushes to the den to answer it.

"Xavier residence."

-"Hello, this is Bill Cassidy speaking."-

"Mister Cassidy! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

-"Please put my son on the phone."-

"Uhm, right, of course... Just a moment."