Hey hey, here I go again, a new chapter. Thanks to Luhverse who work faster than I write XD You're doing a hell of a job here, my friend.
The title of this chapter, 'One strange world' is the name of a song from the movie's OST of 'The Host' by Antonio Pinto.
IV. One strange world.
A knock on the door awoke Amalia in the middle of a nightmare. It was a simple sound but all of her senses were already sharp as the woman always slept with one eye open. She got up and opened the door in a violent move, ready to fight the enemy on the other side.
"Hello… Bugs bunny?"
Mr. Howlett looked at her long night gown with a raised left eyebrow. The slightly blue cotton cloth was imprinted with the well-known rabbit on a surfboard. He blinked and turned his gaze to her eyes.
"I'm here to give you the full tour, as Chuck requested me to."
He must have been referring to Professor Xavier.
"Okay, just let me get ready." she said before backing up.
He looked at her, detailing her thin and nervous body as she searched for something to wear into her bag.
"I'll be right back. You can come in, if you want." she said while going to the bathroom.
She heard him stepping inside the bedroom and walking to one of the beds as she got rid of her night gown and dressed in light blue shorts and a simple white tank-top. Heading back to the big bag containing all of their clothes, she took a pair of white socks before putting them on as well as the black skate shoes she had chosen with Odile a few days ago. They were nice to wear and light enough to fight with. She quickly tied her hair into a high pony-tail not to be bothered by it and let her coppery bangs fall on her forehead from the left side of her head to her right ear. She remembered Odile had shaped it that way on the first night they spent at her home. That part of her life seemed so close and so far at the same time, like a weird nightmare, and so were all the years she had spent in that creepy compound alone at first and with her brother later.
"Okay, I'm ready." she said while turning to face Mr. Howlett with a determined look on her face.
He averted his gaze from the teenager who was still sleeping, snoring softly. Liam always had been a heavy sleeper. She smiled at the younger boy and went to the side of his bed, under the eyes of Logan.
"Hey, sleepy head. It's time to wake up." she said to her brother while gently stroking his cheek.
He stirred in his sleep before opening his eyes.
"Mr. Howlett is here to give me the tour." she said, her voice as soft and smooth as a feather. "You'd better get up and ready to talk to Professor Xavier."
Logan watched her as she acted with the teenage boy. She was full of kindness and love when she spoke to him. It was entirely different when she addressed other people. Even if she was respectful of her elders, she was cold and sometimes sarcastic; not really the idea he had of a nice little lady. Only Chuck knew things about their past, but at the way she moved and reacted, he knew she hadn't been raised in a place like the mansion with a loving family. Something about her reminded of him a few years ago when he was still a stranger coming and going around this school without responsibilities. And he had found Marie. She had been the first step toward his settlement here. So many things had happened here, he thought as he rose from the empty bed to follow the young woman who had headed outside the room when her brother had gotten up from his own bed. And so many things had happened to him to make him come back after Japan. He took a deep breath under Amalia's blue gaze.
"Okay." he said before walking down the corridor. "This is the left wing's dorm of the third floor. It's usually for guests."
They entered a large room with a huge double staircase.
"In the main building you can find the cleaning ladies' section. On the right wing there are more unused and empty rooms like yours and the teachers' dorm." he told her while heading downstairs. "And this is the second floor. You can find the boy's dorm in the right part of the mansion with a study hall and showers and an automated laundry service. The girl's dorm is in the left wing and is the exact replica of the boy's one. Each dorm has larger rooms for the older students. In the main building you can find Chuck's bedroom."
He didn't stop, still walking down to reach the first floor.
"On this floor you have the dining room, if you want to call it that and a kitchen on the left wing, a living room and the music room. The right part is where Chuck's office is located as well as some of the classrooms. Behind that staircase there is a formal sitting room and the patio."
Amalia frowned. This was the full but quick tour. She would have to ask for a map if they decided to get settled here.
"Now we're going outside." he said while leading her through the formal sitting room to two big French windows.
Opening one, they stepped into the cool breeze of a summer morning. Pointing at different places he listed a lot of things. There was a garden, a greenhouse, a tennis court, a football pitch which was also a basketball court, a swimming pool and garage filled by what he described as 'a bunch of vehicles'.
"And far away from the swimming pool you can find Brakestone Lake."
"Is that all?" she said in a sarcastic tone.
The grin on his lips surprised her.
"It's all I'm allowed to tell you for now." were his next words. "You may want to attend some classes with Ms. Munroe to see what our students are learning around here."
Amalia nodded, curious about those classes. She never went to a school before so she was eager to understand the concept and to see how it could help them.
"And what are you teaching, Mr. Howlett?" she asked him, still curious. "I bet it's not Art."
He smirked as if remembering something that happened in his past and shook his head.
"No, I'm the self-defense and close quarter combat instructor. And you can call me Logan, as almost everybody here does."
The young lady nodded once more.
"So you're into fighting?" she almost innocently asked.
He smirked again.
"If you're staying here long enough maybe we'll find time to spar." he said, in an almost flirtatious tone. "I was impressed by your skills, yesterday night."
Once again she was taken aback by his words. He looked genuinely intrigued and she liked that. It gave her some advantage on him and she shrugged.
"Yeah, we could give it a try. But as you said it would require for Liam and I to stay here long enough."
A light nod of his head was his only answer. He seemed to be a man of small words and she liked that. He was a strait to the point kind of man, not really the type to beat around the bush at all. He hadn't proved himself worthy enough for her to tell him about the things Liam and she went through but he may be, one day. But again it meant for them to settle in here and she wasn't really thrilled about that. Something inside her was screaming for her to turn her back and run the farthest she could go with her brother by her side. Logan's deep and husky voice cut her from her thoughts.
"This is Ms. Ororo Munroe's class. Have fun." he said as they'd reached another door. "I'll be in the last classroom of this hall if you need something."
She thanked him and looked at his back as he made his way to the end of the corridor, his musky scent disappearing with each of his steps. She took a deep breath and turned her head toward the door. Her hand on the handle, she gently pushed the wooden panel and silently went into the room. There were a few students listening to a beautiful olive skinned and white haired woman. She looked up from the book she was reading without stopping her sentence.
"Who can tell me which Roman emperor legalized Christianity in 313 AD?"
Several teenagers raised their hand up and she pointed at a young boy with dark hair.
"Yes Peter?"
"It was the co-emperor Constantine the great along with Lucinius." the boy answered while playing with his pen.
"That's right." she said with a little nod. "Together they issued the Edict of Milan which reiterated the toleration of Christianity."
Amalia took a seat against the wall, listening to the class with a frown. She wished she had a pen and a paper to take some notes. She didn't know much about this world she was living in and to learn its history would have been good to understand how things worked out of this compound she was locked in for so long. She thought she would ask Liam as soon as they have some time alone. After almost half an hour, Amalia raised her hand, curious about the lesson that beautiful woman was giving them.
"Yes, my dear?" Ms. Munroe asked as she didn't know her name.
"Where is this Roman empire you're talking about, ma'am."
A few whispers followed her question as the students turned to look at her. She earned a smile for the teacher who answered her with patience.
"It's the former Italy." She told still smiling.
"Is it far from here?"
A new wave of whisper started and she felt her cheeks burn from embarrassment.
"Who can tell her where is Italy?" she said to her students, using Amalia's question to check on their progresses.
Almost all of them raised their hand up and she pointed at a young girl.
"Yes, Millie?"
"The Italian boot is between France and Greece, in Europe."
"Good. Do you know where those countries are?" the teacher asked Amalia.
"I came from France, at least my brother said so, but I don't know where Greece is."
Turning the blackboard she had written on since the beginning of the lesson, she showed her a map of the world.
"This is France, as you may already know." Ms. Munroe told her pointing at a brown hexagon. "And this is Italy just next to Greece."
The young woman nodded before thanking her. A new smile took place on Ororo's face and she carried on with her lesson until a bell ring. At the sound the redhead rose to her feet in a hurry, straitening her body, ready to fight, but no one entered the place. Instead she watched all the students gathering back their books, pen and notepad before living the room, chatting among each other and throwing questioning looks at Amalia as they passed her. Ms. Munroe took her book and walked toward the redhead, still smiling.
"You're the one Logan went to pick up at the airport yesterday night, right?" she asked while extending her hand for the newcomer to shake. "I'm Ororo Munroe."
The young woman nodded and took the hand of the teacher in hers carefully.
"I'm Amalia." she told her. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to disturb your class. It's just that… I don't know as much as I may want to."
But Ororo shook her head.
"No, it's okay. I'm always happy to teach things for those who want my knowledge. Are you here to join our school?" she said while opening the door.
Amalia followed her in the hallway. It was buzzing with the life of many students coming and going from a room to another while speaking and laughing. She spotted Logan coming toward her as she bit her lips.
"I… I don't know. Maybe." the redhead said, embarrassed. "My brother and I… we never went to school and… even if he knows a lot, I don't."
Ms. Munroe nodded.
"Well, if you want to enroll yourself in this institute, I'll be more than happy to teach you and your brother about History and Geography." the beautiful teacher said with a genuine smile.
"Hey, 'Ro." Logan voice rang in the air. "I see you met our soon to be new student?"
The smirk shaping his lips intensified at the cold glare Amalia gave him.
"I didn't say yes, yet. I need to be sure Liam will be safe here."
Logan shrugged before asking:
"Why are you so concerned with his safety? You should let him defend himself."
The redhead's hands turned into fists.
"You don't know what these people are capable of!" she said as her voice became almost a yell. "You don't know what I watched them do to him without being able to help!"
A frown took place on both teachers face.
"What do you mean?" the strong man asked her, concern in his voice.
"I already told you I'll only speak with the professor about this." she spat with anger.
The frown didn't leave his eyebrows but he nodded.
"Don't worry, Amalia." Ms. Munroe said in a serious tone. "If you want to stay here we can keep you and your brother safe."
The redhead narrowed her eyes.
"And how will you do that?" she said, anger rising inside of her chest. "With rulers and chalk?"
Ororo and Logan exchanged a look and the tall man turned his gaze to the redhead.
"I think it's time for you to have a little conversation with Chuck." he said, as serious as his colleague. "Follow me."
Amalia bowed her head to the beautiful white haired woman and followed Logan to Professor Xavier's office. By the time they reached its door the anger in her chest had lightened. Once again Logan knocked one time on the door.
"Come on in." Xavier's voice answered him.
They both stepped in, only to find the Professor sitting next to Liam. The young boy smiled at his sister and she walked toward him before ruffling his hair.
"How was the tour?" his brother asked her, eager to know what she thought about the school.
She shrugged. She didn't want the two men to think she was ready to enroll here.
"It was okay, I guess. This place is impressive. The infrastructure looks good and I attended Ms. Munroe's class. It was quite interesting."
Liam nodded and let her continue.
"For average students it's a pretty good place. But as you know, we are not average people."
Her brother nodded once more and she turned her gaze to the two men.
"What if a battalion of soldiers break here and told you to give us to them or they'll kill everyone here? How will you react, Professor?" was her question to them. "Will you surrender to their demand or will you stand for us? Are you willing to risk everyone's life for two people you just met?"
The bald headmaster leaned in his wheelchair and nodded.
"Those are valid questions, my dear." he said and turned to face Logan. "What do you think we should do in this kind of situation?"
The words of Mr. Howlett were the one of a soldier.
"No one gets left behind. We stick together and take care of each other as every time we had been under attack."
"And how will you do that?" she carried on, frowning.
"Everyone in this school is learning how to control their power in order to join a special team." Professor Xavier said before heading to the door to go in the hallway. "It may be time for you to be introduced with some of its members."
Liam and Amalia followed Logan and the bald man to the dead-end of the corridor. His hand placed against a wainscoted wall he pushed it lightly. A small click was heard and the wall slide to the right to reveal an elevator. They stepped in and waited for a few minutes in silence.
"This mansion was built on a bunker several years ago, during the second world war. When I inherited it, I used it for other purposes." Xavier said as they got off of the elevator.
They entered a grey hallway whose walls were made of steel.
"I rehabilitate it into this." he carried on as doors opened on their path. "You can find an infirmary down the hall as well as a training room known as the danger room. There is also an airplane hangar and Cerebro, a machine a really good friend of mine and I developed in the late sixties."
As he led the way, Xavier explained them the purpose of Cerebro.
"This device amplifies my brainwaves in order to find other people like us. Once detected, I send my team to pick him, or her, and as I did with you two, I offer them a place in my school."
Amalia curiously looked at each opened door.
"And where is this team you're talking about?" she said, suspicious.
They didn't reply, instead Logan stopped at a door and stepped in front of it.
"Retinal scan initiated. Eye recognition is complete. Welcome back Wolverine." a synthetic voice told him as the round steel panel parted in front of them.
They entered another hallway, much shorter this time and took a turn to the left. Behind the corner was a massive and opaque glass panel in place of a wall.
"Welcome in the danger room." Xavier said before tipping lightly on different keyboards.
The glass wall became clear as water in a mountain river. Behind it three people were fighting against robots in a building set on fire. There were two girls and a guy. The first girl was not as old as her but seemed to be well trained. Obviously as not trained as Amalia was but still, her skills were pretty much decent. She seemed to have the ability of being intangible. It helped her sticking some of her opponent inside the ground to beat the hell out of them. She didn't know the girl, but she liked her already. By her left side was a boy about the same age. He had dirty blond short and spiky hair and was turning things into ice, stopping missiles in the air and extinguishing the fire around them. Amalia thought he was doing okay, but he was relying too much on his gift. What would happen to him if his powers were cut off from him, at least miss intangible was more a fighter than he was. The last member was another girl. Her hair was brown with a white bang. She wasn't as good enough as the other young woman but she wasn't bad. She wore gloves that went to the middle of her upper-arm and didn't seem to have abilities. Maybe hers were too difficult to use in a battle or too invisible to be seen. It didn't matter. For Amalia powers, gifts, abilities or what-ever you called them were not meant to be the first thing you have to rely on. You could spit fire of puke acid it would still didn't matter. The things that did matter were stamina, strength and speed. How many blows would you be able to take before being tired? How far would your enemy land if you lifted him and threw him away? How fast would you be able to duck and rise before throwing a punch at your opponent? Those questions were what mattered to Amalia and they were the questions she had answered most of her life in the compound where she was born and raised. A hand took hers and squeezed it. Liam knew what she had in mind and he wanted her to know she wasn't alone with her thoughts. After a few more minutes she shrugged and sighed.
"I don't know. This is impressive but I'm not sure about them." she said in a cold voice as she pointed at the three young people behind the glass. "Are they good enough to protect everyone around here?"
She heard Logan scoffed behind her and she turned to see him.
"What? I'm not putting my brother's life inside of their hands until I'm totally sure." she spat angrily.
"What about you give it a try?" Professor Xavier said with a little smile. "Challenge them into some fight."
Amalia shrugged again. Why not?
"I could use a sparring partner." she said while nodding.
A smirk appeared on Logan's lips and she mimicked him. They waited for the three mutants to finish their training and the Professor talked in the microphone linked with the room beside them.
"Bobby, Kitty and Marie, we have someone here who would like to train with you. How does this sound?"
Their heads rose up toward the glass and they nodded.
"Yeah, why not." Bobby said with a smile. "I'm always up for a little one on one."
"Okay, perfect. She will see you downstairs." Xavier answered him.
Logan led her to the danger room's entrance and opened the door for her.
"Enjoy yourself." he joked as she passed him.
She didn't bother answering him and stepped into the big room. The building had given way to a bare room with steel walls, identical to the basement hallway. She walked toward them and bowed her head.
"Hello." miss intangible welcomed her with a friendly smile. "I'm Kitty Pride."
"Amalia." the redhead told her as she popped her knuckles. "Who wants to come first?"
The three mutants looked at each other and shrugged.
"I'll be first." Bobby said while taking a fighting stance. "Let's see what you've got."
Amalia smiled and raised her hands in front of her face.
"Okay. Bobby, right?" she asked. "I'm willing to try something. We do this without our abilities. What do you think?"
He shrugged again and nodded quickly.
"Works for me." he answered her, serious.
They started circling each other, looking for an opening into their defenses and Amalia felt adrenaline pumping into her veins. She launched herself at him as she was going to hit him with her fist but duck instead and passed him. Her elbow hit him behind the head. He turned quickly but wasn't fast enough to anticipate Amalia's right palm into his chest. The strength she had put in the blow almost made him tripped and he took a step back to regain his balance.
"If we were using powers, you'd be dead, Bobby." Amalia said with a smile. "You need to increase your speed."
He didn't answer and try to kick her in the stomach but she diverted his move with her wrist.
"Come on." she carried on. "You can't be serious? Are you fighting with full strength? I'm not a kid! Harder!"
His eyes were full of surprise and he stared at her with wide eyes. She took this opportunity to punch him in the shoulder. He tried to dodge but his move made him loose his balance and he fell.
"That's not fair." Bobby complained to the redhead. "Why don't you want to use our powers?"
Amalia let her hands drop along her body.
"I watched you from up there." she said while pointing at the room her brother where in. "You know how to use your abilities. But what if something happen and you can't use them? How will you save yourself or your teammates?"
Bobby rose on his feet.
"You need to work on you strength, stamina and speed." she carried on and pointed at Kitty. "She's a better fighter than you. You may learn things from her."
"Who do you think you are to come here and criticize us like that?" Bobby shouted at her.
But Amalia ignored him; instead she turned to face the girl with the white bang.
"Marie, right?" she said with a frown. "It's your turn. I hope you'll be better than Icy."
Marie eyes turned to the glass hiding Logan and Xavier, waiting for them to say something but they didn't. So she raised her fists in front of her and focused on her opponent.
"Come on, Marie!" she heard Amalia encouraged her. "I'm not your friend. You can hit me as hard as you want. Don't mind me. I'll heal."
Without blinking, the young brown haired woman took a step back and launched herself at the redhead and threw a punch at her. Amalia dodged it, ducking but as she was about to turned herself she felt the girl's right shoe hit her back.
"That's great." the redhead said as she rose from her feet and face her. "Again. You need to be stronger this time."
Marie nodded and tried to kick Amalia in the knee. The redhead jumped back and made a left spin to kick her opponent in the stomach. Marie dodged it quickly and threw another punch at Amalia's face. Before she could see it the redhead blocked it with her palms. But the blow was too strong and the back of her hands hit her nose. Amalia grunted and robbed her nose.
"I-I'm sorry." the brown haired woman said, concern in her eyes.
But Amalia smiled.
"Don't be. This was pretty good. Work on that and you'll be at your best. Kitty, you're up."
Miss intangible nodded and took a fight stance.
"From my perspective you're the best fighter, girl. Let's see what you have in store."
Kitty smiled lightly and waited for Amalia to initiate the fight. Their exchange started with a kick and a punch that Kitty dodged and answered by a kick of her own. She hit Amalia in the arm and threw some other fighting moves at her. This time the redhead didn't move, taking all the blows one after another.
"Stronger!" she shouted. "You can do it!"
A shower of kicks and punches fell on her but she didn't flinch, taking it all.
"Again! Faster now!"
Kitty did as she was told and threw a series of uppercuts and elbows blows. At some point, Amalia dodge her moves and made a right spin to be in her opponent's back. She hit the girl with her elbow in the small of her back, cutting air from her lungs and Kitty tripped, losing her balance before falling.
"That was pretty good." the redhead said as she extended her hand for her opponent to rise on her feet again. "I surprised you to get into your back. You need to be ahead of your enemy. Your Achilles' heel is strategy, but you can get over it by watching video of fights and training with an equally skilled sparring partner."
Kitty nodded and Amalia turned to the long and massive window.
"I made up my mind." she said to the bald headmaster. "I think we can help each other. I'm willing to co-train your team with Mr. Howlett, if he is okay with that, if you give to my brother and me the knowledge we need about this world."
A few seconds later Logan, the Professor and Liam stepped into the danger room. The self-defense teacher was smirking and the bald headmaster smiling genuinely. He was about to answer when the air cooled quickly. Amalia activated her molecules to heat them up and Bobby attempt to freeze her failed, the ice melting before touching her body. She closed her eyes and disappeared from their sight. Without losing a second, she ran, slide on the floor and got up in Icy's back before putting her hand in front of his throat, melting her fingers molecules into a blade before appearing again.
"I wouldn't move if I were you." she said, voice deep and low, almost growling.
The young man gulped loudly and raised his hands, palms opened in a surrender stance.
"Good boy." she said before releasing him. "It was bold but brave of you to try to surprise me."
She faced him with a friendly smile and punched him lightly on the shoulder.
"But as I said, you are relying too much on your abilities." she carried on. "Try using your body skills more often and you'll be better."
He nodded, respect in his gaze as he looked her in the eyes.
"I would be thrilled to accept your offer." Professor Xavier said as wheeling toward her. "But I need to know a little more about you two before agreeing."
Amalia nodded and turned her eyes to Liam. The smile on his face was the best answer he could give her and she smiled at him.
"I have few documents you need to see, then." she told him. "But I think you'll want to hear our story, am I right?"
The bald man nodded and led the way back to the first floor.
"I think my office will be a better place to talk about this." he said as they stepped into the elevator. "Kitty, Bobby and Marie, I think you and Logan would like to hear this as well. You'll work with Amalia from now and you may want to learn a little more about her after all."
They all nodded their agreement and followed the bald headmaster into his office. As they finally arrived, they took seat in the warm room and Amalia started her story.
"As you know, I'm Amalia and this is Liam. We are different from all of you." the young redhead started. "First of all, our names are code names. There are recursive acronyms."
Silence fell on the room and all people in it, except for Liam, frowned.
"Okay, Amalia actually means Advanced Mutations All Lie In Amalia. And Liam stands for Liam Is A Mind Mutation."
Surprised filled Xavier's eyes as well as his students' and concern took place into Logan's gaze.
"We are mutants grown in tubes." the redhead carried on. "I was made twenty seven years ago, in France. Our parents were the same as us but didn't have names, they were only numbers. Once my genetic code was made as the scientists wanted me to be, they placed my fetus into a big test tube filled by water and let me being developed as a baby would. I stayed in it during four years until they started to experiment on me. I was trained with various fighting styles until I was thirteen. Around that time they filled another big test tube with water in the other side of the room I was staying in during tests. I watched Liam growing in front of my eyes every day. I didn't know what was happening at first but something pulled me toward him and I looked at him while resting in my glass pod. The tiny point turned into a baby and then into a boy. We used to stare at each other for hours between my training and testing sessions. And one day, five years ago, I finally heard him. As Professor Xavier has already known and as his code name says it, Liam is a telepath. Well, we don't know if he has other mind related abilities, but right now he can read minds and talk to people into their heads."
Amalia took a deep breath and felt her brother's hand squeeze hers into his.
"So, as I say, five years ago, Liam talked to me for the first time through his brain. I wasn't really clever at that time. I barely knew how to speak and couldn't understand other feeling apart from love and hate. My brother helped me with that, searching answers for me into the scientists' brains. We both learned how to speak different languages and how to count. Liam taught me not to hate every one that lived outside of the compound, as I had been trained and brainwashed to think and feel. We had a lot of discussions during the month before they started to throw him into the arena. It is some kind of danger room but with soldiers and guards for me to injure or to kill. Those fights were tests and they recorded every move I made for scientific purpose. I don't know how much data they stored during all those years but once they finally decided to put Liam into the arena things changed for me. Before this event, I was willing to wake up every morning, to train and to go to the arena without complaining. During almost twenty five years of my life it was the only thing I knew and I thought it was normal. But then, they stopped experimenting on me and turned their looks toward Liam. They did things to him I…"
Her brother's hand squeezed hers again and he put his head on her shoulder to give her the strength to carry on.
"They did ugly things to him." she repeated before carrying on with her story. "They made him scream and hurt him so badly he stayed silent for days, not even speaking into my head. The worst thing wasn't the scream escaping his mouth actually, because in my glass pod filled with water the sound was muffled. The worst thing was the screams he shouted with his mind. It was ripping my heart apart. And one day, I couldn't take it anymore. I broke my glass pod, knocked down the scientists, grabbed Liam's hand and some papers I thought could be useful before escaping the compound. We ran as far away as we could, cutting through every defense the place had and we hid into a little village. It was a week ago. Luckily my path came across Marc's mother, Odile and she helped us. She bought us some clothes and stuff, helped us to get French IDs and put us on a plane to New York. Mr. Howlett picked us up with Marc at the airport and we were attacked by some soldiers. They are linked with the program that made us and is called 'X-Weapon: Third Stage'. I think you know the rest."
Amalia throat was hurting. She wasn't used to speaking this much. Her gaze slid on every face of the room. The three younger people were speechless, as if they were glued to their seat by a huge acceleration on a plane flying at Mach 3. Professor Xavier was frowning, really concerned and Logan's face was as white as a sheet. The silence deepened until the bald headmaster finally opened his mouth.
"I will have to read those documents you took from this compound." he said in a concerned tone.
Amalia nodded and asked:
"If your offer still stands, my brother and I would like to stay"
He sat back in his chair and nodded.
"Yes. Yes of course, my dear. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need and want to. I'll do all I can to help you with the things you need." he told her. "And if Logan doesn't mind I will agree to your request. You will assist him during his self-defense and close quarter combat lessons."
Behind him, Mr. Howlett nodded.
"Of course." he said. "I saw you fight those soldiers yesterday night, as well as our young X-Men in the danger room. You're good and you can give good advice. As long as it doesn't interfere with your other classes, it's okay with me."
Amalia and Liam thanked them and Logan and the Professor told her and her brother they could leave.
"Logan and I are going to discuss other matters. But feel free to come if something is bothering you."
They nodded and left, soon followed by the three young X-men.
