A New Home

Honey

I woke up oddly…I suppose "un-groggy" would be the best way to put it. Normally, my waking-up process involves a lot of yawning, but I didn't feel tired when I woke up. What I noticed right away that seemed off, though, was that I couldn't open my eyes!

I started lifting my hands to my face and hesitated. Wait…is there a reason that you'd have your eyes forced shut right now? I ran a quick personal analysis. Oh. That laser power. I'd better deal with that before I take off whatever's on my head.

"So you're awake," an adult male voice came from my left.

It made me twitch, definitely, but I decided not to worry about it. Instead, I focused the laser power into a token under my right hand. Then I sat up. "Moving does entail being awake, I'll grant you that. How do you take this blindfold off?"

"Sorry for having to have that done to you," the voice went on as I set my palms against the metal surface around my head, "but you weren't in any shape to listen to instructions on Scott's lasers."

"Yeah…I was kind of panicked." My fingers found the switch, and the circlet came off.

Blinking my eyes open, I found myself in a room that reminded me of my room without any real decoration. The walls were a different color than mine, and every piece of furniture was in a different place or different style. The only real sign that this wasn't a hotel room was the fact that my dorky piggy bank was sitting on the dresser next to Mom's cookbook.

And next to my bed was a bald man in a wheelchair. "I am Professor Charles Xavier, Honey Jackson."

I didn't recognize his name, but that last one gave me a start. Just saying "honey" could have been just an endearment or something, but he said my last name, too! How'd he know my name?

My hands gripped the blankets, I felt a kind of burn at my eyes, and quickly released my right hand, jerking it away from my token. "Ah…and where am I?"

He smiled, folding his hands. "You're at my school for gifted youngsters. The X-Men brought you here after you helped them defeat the sentinel."

"Um…oh?" Is that what that thing was called?

Xavier nodded. "Yes, and I understand you don't have any place to stay right now."

Understanding dawned. "You're a telepath, and you're reading my thoughts right now."

"Just enough to understand your current situation," he reassured me. "And in light of that, I'd like to extend an invitation to you. You may stay here for as long as you wish, at least until you fully understand your gifts." Then he held out his hand.

That was the point where I hesitated. And, of course, he noticed. "I'm well aware you can't turn off your powers." He just left it at that, and left the hand extended.

That settled me. "Professor, you have yourself a deal; I'll stay here, at least until I find my feet." And I returned the handshake.

And…discovered that he had a spinal injury that disabled his legs, hence the wheelchair, and became a telepath myself.

Glancing at my hand, I focused the power into a token and set it next to the laser token. "Um…I ended up leaving my house in a bit of a hurry, and it's kind of…broken, now, so I couldn't retrieve my clothes…"

He smiled again. Had he ever really stopped? "I'll have Jean buy you some new clothes, and a couple pairs of gloves."

"Thanks." I got up, grabbing the tokens and shoving them in my pocket. "Is there anything I should know about this place?" And, knowing what little I did about him, he'd tell me exactly what I thought I should know.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Most of the people here will allow you your space. Possibly the only people who will give you any more attention than normal are Kitty, Jubilee, Warren and possibly Bobby, though he saw you on the last town."

Bingo. "Thanks again."


A/N: This chapter's kind of short, but her other acts of the day will be enough to fill up a whole chapter in and of themselves, so I decided to leave this one at her deciding to stay.