Author's Note: Please be kind. I'm well aware that some of these mutants probably aren't supposed to be at the institute at this point in time as per the comics, but I'm taking author's liberty. :-)
I woke up the next morning when the sun came through the drapes and hit my eyes. I groaned and rolled over, but it was no use. I was wide awake. I laid in the bed for a few more minutes before making myself get up. I really wanted a shower, but I had no clothes to change into. I searched the drawers for any of Nesha's stuff, but she had left only pants and t-shirts. Both would be too short on me since she was so much shorter than myself. I sighed and decided to just go roam around and find the kitchen. My stomach was growling more violently than even I was capable of. It wasn't difficult for me to catch the scent of cooking bacon. It hit me the moment I opened the door. So, I followed it and found the kitchen. Xavier was in there along with a bunch of older teenage kids and young adults. Everyone stopped what they were doing when I walked in. "Good morning, Elena," Xavier said quickly. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah. Thanks." I looked around at all the others. "Um, hi, guys. I'm Elena," I said with an awkward wave.
Scott stepped up and said, "She's Nesha's sister."
"Oh, cool!" an African American girl said. She looked to be a couple years older than Scott, but not many. She got up and held out her hand. "Hi. I'm Ororo, but everyone around here calls me Storm."
"Hello. Storm, huh? What, do you control the weather?"
"Yep."
"Oh. Well, that's nifty."
A red-headed girl came up next. "I'm Jean...just Jean. I don't have a cool mutant name like everyone else yet."
"Hey, neither do I. Don't worry about it. Good to meet you, Jean." Honestly, it was the same with her as with Scott. There was just something about her that irked me. I jumped when someone appeared in a puff of blue dust. It was a blue guy.
He looked around, saw me, and jumped himself. "Oh! Hello. Sorry about that." He had some kind of accent that I couldn't quite place. It was sort of Russian...or German...or Romanian...or something.
I blinked a few times and answered, "That's quite alright. You some kind of teleporter?"
"Yes, I am. I'm Kurt. You can call me that or Nightcrawler."
"I'm Elena." I cocked my head a bit and quietly added, "I knew someone who had powers like you. He was a good friend of mine."
"Was?"
"Yeah...he died."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It's in the past." I silently added, 'And it still bothers me.'
One of the other guys came forward and I had to marvel at his huge, white wings. "Hi, Elena. I'm Warren. You can call me Angel."
"That's a fitting name. Nice wings."
"Thank you. I'm rather proud of them."
I glanced around when another blue guy entered the room. He was a little older than everyone else except Xavier. "Geez, Xavier. Do you just attract blue people or what?"
The newcomer saw me and smiled. "He is good at attracting many strange people. I'm Hank McCoy."
"Otherwise known as...?"
"Beast."
Again, it was a fitting name. He was a bulky fellow and quite hairy...but I wasn't going to tell him that. "Are you a feral?"
"No, not exactly."
Another young guy came slipping in the door on a sheet of ice. Storm was directly in his path and was quickly wiped out. "BOBBY!"
"Sorry!" the guy cried. He saw me and quickly composed himself. "Hi there. I'm Bobby Drake. Also known as Iceman."
I nodded and said, "Iceman. You all have such tell-tale names."
He just grinned. "It's easier to identify people like that."
"I guess. All the people I knew before with mutant names didn't really give away their powers like that. Wraith, Zero, Gambit...and the Merc with a Mouth," I finished with a smile to myself. Then I shook my head and asked, "So is this everyone?"
"No," Scott said. "Marvel Girl, Havok, and Polaris are away at a camp."
"I assume they have birth certificate names too?"
"Yes...but they're the kind who don't like to use them."
"Oh. I get it. Reminds them too much of home."
"Yup. Pretty much. Are you hungry?"
"Starving."
"Help yourself to whatever. We got lots."
"Thanks." Everyone in the room just sort of took that as a cue to start up individual conversations. I went to the fridge and looked over it's contents. Oddly, there was a box of blueberries in there and I was unwillingly yanked back in time to my first morning on the island. I just about lost my appetite, but then I saw the ham. I quickly grabbed a few slices and ate them before my stomach could tell me not to. I just sat, listening to the conversations that were floating around the room. These people were so at home with each other. I felt very much like and intruder to a private party. I really wished Nesha would come back.
Over the next couple days, I gradually grew a little more comfortable with everyone and opened up a little. I told them my powers which immediately led to how old I was which led to Bobby drilling me with WWII questions. "So, you were actually at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked?"
"Yes, Bobby."
"Well, what was it like?"
"Terrifying, bloody, and frustrating."
"Frustrating."
"I couldn't get in a freaking plane. I was stuck on the ground, watching my friends die, and I couldn't do I damn thing. So, yeah. Frustrating."
"I would think that would be a bit more than frustrating."
"Bobby! World War Two was one hell of a hard time for me. I struggled with depression after that attack. Watching that many people die changes you. And not for the better."
"Sorry. I'm just curious."
I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "I know. Sorry for snapping at you. I'm not used to people asking me about that. The people I spent time with before didn't have to ask because they were there. Nesha was there. Haven't you asked her about it?"
"No. She won't talk."
"My point exactly. It wasn't all glorious. We were caught off our guard and we paid dearly for it." He left me alone after that.
I spent most of my time alone wandering the grounds. I was surprised to find that they had a stable and a couple horses. Very tentatively, I went in. Other animals weren't very good at dealing with me. Most of the horses shied away from me, but there was one who simply glanced up at me and went back to chomping hay. I stopped by his stall. He was a big black stallion and very intimidating. "Hey, big guy," I said quietly. He stopped eating and looked up at me. "What's with you, huh? Don't you find me a threat?" He just snorted as if I was the most unimportant thing to him in the world. "I could get used to you. What do you say? Give me a chance?" He stared back at me with deep brown eyes. "I'll take that as a yes. You and I have an appointment with destiny. Tomorrow, same time, same place." I felt like a fool standing there talking to that horse, but he really seemed to understand. He tossed his head as if in confirmation. I smiled and pat his broad neck a few times before leaving.
The grounds were quite extensive. If I had been less equipped, I could've gotten lost in the woods that surrounded the place. It was very peaceful and it made me miss Canada. The quiet, the blanket of peace, and the general sense of well being had been very good for me after Africa. On my wanderings, I found an extremely tall tree. It was taller than almost all of the surrounding trees and stuck out above the canopy. So, naturally, I climbed up it. I got as far up as I could and was amazed by the view it offered. I could see the entire mansion and many many miles beyond it. With the wind blowing through my hair, I felt like the queen of the world. But, the euphoria faded quickly and I climbed back down and headed back to the house.
I kept my appointment with that horse the next day, and every day after that. It proved to be very therapeutic. I could tell him whatever I wanted and I knew he wouldn't judge me, or question my logic, or tell me how evil I could be. He eventually became my personal confidant. Finally, someone told me his name: Onyx. This place ran rampant with fitting names.
It was about a month after I arrived, on a muggy night in July when I suddenly caught a whiff of two very familiar scents. My head snapped up and everyone in the room looked over. "What's up?" Bobby asked.
I smiled and answered, "Nesha's home!" I leapt off the couch and ran towards the front door. I burst out into the night. Gambit and Nesha were just dismounting a motorcycle. "Nice ride!" I called.
Gambit looked up and a huge smile split his face. "Elena!"
Nesha was in the process of getting off and nearly fell. "What? Where?" She yanked her helmet off and spun around to look.
I waved and said, "Hi, sis."
She stared at me for what felt like a normal person's lifetime. "So...NOW you come find me. Like, seven years after you promised to find me...you come and find me. And I'm supposed to be happy to see you."
"Well, that's what I was hoping, yeah."
She looked extremely pissed off, but she suddenly cried, "And you were damn right!" She ran to me and jumped into my open arms, laughing the whole time. "ELENA!"
I laughed and responded, "NESHA!"
She let me go. "WHERE in god's name have you been?"
"Canada. Me and Victor went up there after the island incident."
"Really? Where is Meow Mix?" I softly smiled at the nickname, but it faded. "Elena, what is it?"
"Nesh, we need to go have a long conversation."
So, we went up to our room and I told her the whole story. Every little bit. When I was done, and crying again, she simply sat there, trying to take it all in. "E, why didn't you tell me I had a nephew?"
"I don't know. I just didn't feel that the time was right."
"And now it's too late. Elena, you should've told me! I could've come up and watched him for you!"
"Nesha, I'm sorry! You can't even imagine how bad I feel about this!"
"Oh, I know! Come here." She held out her arms and I fell into them. I cried on her shoulder while she simply stroked my hair.
"I miss him, Nesha. I miss him so much."
"I know, baby." She held me for a little bit longer, then pulled me back so she could look me in the eyes. "You do know what we have to do, right?"
"What?"
"We have to find that guy...and we have to kill him."
"...what?"
"What do you mean what? Surely you aren't going to let this guy get away with this! That is not who you are! He killed your son and you seriously haven't thought about revenge?"
"Well...I mean, I have no idea who he is! And I tried to fight him before."
"You tried alone...well, with Victor, but that doesn't count. You need a group."
"Like who?"
"Like the people around here. Scott and Bobby have been dying for any kind of action. They will definately help."
"I can't ask them to fight my battles."
"You need help! I know you hate that, but stop denying it. Victor isn't around to help, and we need some muscle."
"What about Xavier?"
"He won't stop them from going. He won't be happy about it, but he won't stop them. He's the key to finding this guy too. He has this thing, it's called Cerebro, and he can locate mutants with it. Describe the guy to Xavier. He'll find him."
I looked away and sat there, unable to speak for a bit, then sniffed, looked back at her and growled, "Let's find him."
