A/N: I probably should have mentioned earlier that, as you might've already guessed, Claire hasn't been raised by the Bennett family in this fic. Her past will be better explained later on.

Disclaimer: X-Men First Class, Heroes, nor anything else in this fan fiction that you recognise, belongs to me. I own nothing. All rights belong to Marvel/ Tim Kring.

Chapter Five

Hank POV

The Professor rolls around to sit behind his desk, whilst we all stand around, looking at him expectantly.

"Elle, Peter, Claire, you've all met Alex, Hank and Sean already, so there's need for introductions, except you should know that these three boys were members of my first class," He pauses as we wave at the newcomers, "And that they are also a part of a team they call the "X-Men",".

Myself, Sean and Alex shoot conspirational looks at one another as we wonder whether the professor actually is recruiting.

"An experimental facility has come to my attention, boys," the Professor says as he passes us a file. I pick it up and begin to read the notes held within, my brows drawn together in concern as Alex and Sean read over my shoulder.

"My God, professor, please tell me this place has been taken down," I say in horror as Alex clenches his fists, "Because if not, we can take care of it,".

Sean cracks his neck, attempting to copy Alex's macho persona, "Yup, tell us when and where and we'll burn it down to the ground. Or rather, Alex will. I'll scream it down to the ground and Hank will tear it down and-"

"After we've freed the many prisoners there," I point out.

"Well yeah, that too," Sean says.

"Way to point out the obvious, Hank," Alex smirks and I glare at him before rolling my amber eyes in defeat.

Once Sean and Alex started something, there was no point trying to stop something. Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be just as effective for those two to talk the guards of these place to incapacitation rather than bothering to use their mutations. It would certainly be a lot less messier.

"Elle escaped from this facility two years ago, and Nathan Petrelli, Peter's brother and Claire's father, is one of the funders. They would also like to help take down this facility," the Professor says.

"You're related to the guy that funded this?" Sean asks in disgust and Claire glares at him, "One of the funders, yes. It's not like we can help who we're related to,".

Sean shrinks back, ashamed of his behaviour and Alex shoots him a look as if to say, What the hell are you playing at?

"Erik-" the Professor begins but Alex buts in, "You mean Magneto,"and Sean has to cough to hide his snort of laughter.

"Yes, well Magneto, Erik, however you wish to refer to him, knows of this and also wants to involve the Brotherhood," the Professor says, his wary tone knowing of how Alex and Sean will overreact. Which they do. Spectacularly might you add.

"There is no way we are working with those sons of bitches!"

"Professor, you can't be serious!"

"I am being serious Sean, and Alex, language if you please," the Professor looks at Alex warningly and Alex stares back defiantly.

"You haven't agreed have you?" Alex asks and the Professor sighs, "No,".

Alex and Sean whoop in relief, but the Professor continues, "I'm going to agree, boys. We worked with most of the members back in Cuba, if you remember correctly. I know you've crossed paths I the field before, but we could use their help-"

"Actually, we might not. Once I knocked out the guard near me and stole his key card, escaping wasn't too hard. I mean, their security system isn't all that great," Elle says.

"Elle, you escaped two year ago. Since then, they'll have boosted their security system, I'm certain. And besides, it appears we have bigger issues yet," the Professor gestures for me to pass him the file and he picks out a document from the back.

"Trask had the idea to do these experiments in order to produce these super weapons of his. Sentinels, he calls them. They're designed to detect and take down mutants. They appear to still be in their early stages, but it's worrying. For all we know, they could be up and running, as we aren't too sure how recent this file is," the Professor runs a hand through his hair once more, his brow creased with frown lines.

"I didn't see any other files like this one, but then again once I read it I kinda flipped out and saw red after that, so there could have been more files like this one," Peter shrugs, clearly annoyed with himself that he hadn't thought to check this.

"Okay, well this all very interesting, but anyone care to explain why Shoeless over here had a little episode back in the entrance hall?" Alex asks.

Peter blushes and I feel bad for him; his mutation seems a little volatile.

"Peter's mutation allows him to mimic the mutations of others when he's near to them. As Hank is thinking right now, it's a little volatile," the Professor smiles and I gulp, suddenly feeling exposed.

"Volatile. You can say that again," Alex chuckles darkly and the Professor looks at him warningly, "Remember, Alex, that you were once 'volatile', but we've worked through that, haven't we?"

"Yeah Alex, remember that time you destroyed a statue," Sean points out.

"And the time that you almost set myself and the Professor on fire," I add.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Firstly, both of those times were at your requests, and secondly I was fifteen. No offence, dude, but you seem kinda older than me," Alex shrugs.

Peter sticks his hands in his pockets and nods, "Oh, don't worry about it. No offence taken. No, ya know, just call me volatile, I'm cool with it," he pulls a face, as though offended and Claire elbows him in the ribs again, "Idiot,".

"You love me," He grins and she rolls her eyes, "You tell yourself that, Petey, you tell yourself that,".

"Can we postpone the friendly sister-brother act, or rather the friendly uncle-niece act, for a moment, because I hate to interrupt and all, except that we're meant to be planning a prison break and plus, if I remember correctly, I was promised a tour?" Elle coos, a sardonic smile on her face.

"Right, yes you were. We'll plan the prison break in more detail after I've got into contact with the Brotherhood and you've met the rest of the X-Men-" Elle interrupts him sharply, "So there are the more X-Men besides the Golden Trio over here?" She points her thumb in the direction of me, Alex and Sean.

"Yes there is, you'll meet them later. But right now, I think it's best if we get to that tour. I need to get back to work, but the boys can show you around," the Professor smiles at us, though there's a warning glint in his eyes that screams behave.

"You know, we're not that much younger than you Professor, and we're hardly boys anymore," Alex points out and the Professor shakes his head, "Nope, you're still boys to me, sorry boys,".

"Well, this has been strange. Come on, we'll show you around," Sean says, nodding his head at the three newcomers.

Elle POV

Finally.

I was seriously contemplating setting everyone alight if they didn't quit with all their juvial conversations in there. I mean seriously, one minute everything is quite simple, it's just me finding a safe haven at the Institute. The next thing I know, this Peter guy is having meltdown, Erik has left and we're planning a prison break.

Don't get me wrong, I'm psyched to finally be taking down these monsters, it's just this all seems a little too crazy too soon.

My life went from being intensely painful to rough but bearable to tiring but wonderfully mundane. And now here I am, heading down a new path, not entirely sure of its direction nor the capability of those I'll be sharing the journey with.

The lanky ginger guy, Sean I think he's called, is pointing out rooms, with the others occasionally making inputs.

I take a mental note of the swimming pool, so I know which direction to avoid. After that, I try to remember where the gym and kitchen is, but aside from that I can't help but drift off.

I hate to admit it, but Erik has unnerved me, what with his cold demeanour and frosty eyes, the way he talks about his beloved Brotherhood, the way I feel all tingly when I'm around him. I hate that a man I only met this morning can make me feel so vulnerable. I mean, I barely know him, so why is that I can't seem to stop thinking about him? It's frustrating beyond belief.

But damn, when he looks at me with his piercing gaze, it feels as though he's looking straight through to my soul, even though it's not him that's the telepath.

I shake my head to clear the thoughts. Stop being so ridiculous, you only met him this morning. Perspective, Elle, perspective.

"So," I ask, feeling the need to get my mind off of him, "Where will be staying?"

Alex opens his mouth then closes it again as Sean looks at Hank, "Where are they staying?"

Hank shrugs, "There are some spare rooms upstairs,".

"The spare rooms!" Sean answers, triumphantly late.

I roll my eyes and he smirks at me, "So, you single?"

I stare at him, incredulous, "Hmm, depends. How old are you?"

He wiggles his eyebrows in a way that he must think is seductive but looks entirely ridiculous, "Twenty one, babe,".

I sigh, "Damn, I was hoping you were younger,".

Claire laughs, "Nope, you can still use that excuse,".

I fist punch the air, "Alright then, Blondie, I'll take your advice. Sorry Sean, but you're too young for me,".

He looks crestfallen as his eyes flicker between us, "How old are you, then? And you know what they say, age is just a number,".

"I'm twenty two, and anyways, I prefer older guys, so don't waste your time, Freckles,".

"Freckles? Damn, that's patronising," Sean sighs as we enter what appears to be the kitchen, which Hank then confirms that yes, this very obviously a kitchen is in fact a kitchen!

"Don't worry about it, she calls me Blondie even though she's also blonde," Claire smiles warmly and I heave a deep sigh, "Still don't see what your point is, Blondie,".

By now, however, Sean has already sidled up to Claire, a sly smile on his face. "So, how about you? You seeing anybody?"

"You mean aside from you breaching my bubble of personal space? Nope," She grins and Hank chuckles softly.

"So you're available?" He says smarmily whilst his friends pull faces at one another.

"Yeah, just not to you," She says with a sickly sweet smile, her brows raised.

"Damn, it is not my day," He sighs and Hank asks, "Why is it that you feel the urge to flirt with every blonde female you meet, Sean?"

"Don't you mean every female he meets?" Alex laughs and Sean sighs, ignoring Alex, "I don't know man, I'm just really into blondes,".

He winks at Claire who looks at him in disgust, meanwhile Alex looks at him dubiously, "Um, dude, I'm blonde. You trying to tell me something here?"

Sean strolls up to Alex and caresses his face, "Yes Alex! I love you,". Alex makes a vomiting sound and shoves him off whilst Hank and Sean burst into peels of laughter. Claire giggles softly, damn she's inhumanly perky, and Peter has a confused look on his face, as though deep in thought.

Claire pokes him in the side. I can hear her murmur softly to him, "You okay?" to which he replies despondently, "Yeah, I'm fine... why?" She rolls her eyes, clearly not believing him and I turn away.

I can't help but feel extremely alone whenever I see them interacting, clearly comfortable around each other. Family is a foreign thing to me; I don't even really know what it would be like to get close to somebody, anybody; to let someone in. It's been just me and my thoughts for company for so long.

I'm tired of feeling lonely, but as much as I hate to admit it, I'm awfully terrified to let someone in. Damn, I hate feeling weak.

I fling my bag onto the floor and flop down on what has to be the comfiest bed in the history of forever.

I lie down on it for almost an hour, making angel-shaped creases in the duvet with my arms and lugs, just trying to soak up the soft sensation.

I mean talk about wow. I have never realised just how soft a bed could be until now. My prison bed wasn't actually all that bad, but wasn't that great either. In my old apartment I used an old mattress pushed up in a corner as a bed, which was bound to feel comfy after having spent weeks sleeping on street floors, under bridges, in parks.

But this. This is the softest bed. It's decided, screw the Brotherhood, I am not leaving this bed. Ever.

Of course, rationally one shouldn't make life choices based on the comfort-level of the bed available. But to heck with rationality, because I really like this bed!

The room itself is neither too large nor too small, with pale blue walls and a single bed, a set of drawers, a mirror and dressing table complete with a cushioned chair pushed underneath it. The floor is carpeted and before I was admiring the bed, I was wriggling my toes into the soft surface.

"Elle? Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes," A voice calls through the door. It sounds like Alex, gruff and low.

"Okey-dokey," I reply, as I sluggishly pull myself away from the bed.

With a quick look in the mirror, I quickly braid my long hair so that it's more out of the way and straighten up my striped jumper before heading off in the direction of the kitchen. That bed may be amazing, but my stomach is roaring like a wild animal.

Peter's bedroom is on another floor near the rooms of the other boys, whilst Claire's is directly next to mine.

She walks out at the same time as me, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, dressed as she was before, in frayed bell-bottom jeans, brown sandals and a light green sleeveless t-shirt.

She smiles at me and waves, as annoyingly perky as ever, and I smile back, feigning enthusiasm.

"Sardonic as ever?" She asks as we make our way to kitchen and I reply, "Yup,".

"Hungry much?" To which I reply, "You bet, Blondie,".

She rolls her eyes at my brusque behaviour, "So what's with this whole tough girl front of yours-"

"Not a front," I interject and she pulls a face at me, "Yeah, but you know what I mean. You don't have to act like you're above everybody else all the time, you know,".

"Gee thanks for the advice on how to live my life, Blondie, but do you mind if I ignore it?" I quip back and she huffs, "Can you please stop calling me Blondie!"

"Well then, what else am I meant to call you?" I ask.

"I don't know, how about my name?"She says in a tone that screams d'oh!

"Which is…?"I trail off and she rolls her eyes again, exasperated, "Claire. Just call me Claire,".

"Nah, too boring. How about Cheerleader? You look like a Cheerleader to me," I grin as she blushes. Bingo. "Looks like I scored the big bucks, Blondie, I bet you actually were a Cheerleader!"

She glowers at me, "So what if I was?"

"I knew it! Looks like you've got yourself a new nickname, Cheerleader," I smile at her as she groans and she strides forward, gaining a headstart on me. Which doesn't last long, given that my legs are a lot longer than hers.

We pass several students on our way to the kitchen, who shoot curious looks in our direction, before finally reaching the kitchen.

"Hey," Peter greets Claire warmly, hugging her quickly before pulling her in the direction of the another room.

"Hello to you too," I say dryly and he startles before blushing, evidently embarrassed by his rudeness, "Hi, err, sorry Elle. They've set out dinner in the backroom. The other X-Men are there too,".

He flashes a quick lopsided grin at me before linking his arm with Claire's and pulls her in the direction of the mystery backroom, which as it turns out, is just a dining room that happens to be in the back.

Charles, Hank, Alex and Sean are already sat down, the latter two boys helping themselves to hearty portions of some pasta dish. Alongside them sits a bunch of people I have yet to meet, which I have no doubt are actually mutants.

"You had your weird freaky reaction to mutants yet, Bangs?" I ask Peter who nods, either oblivious to my mocking tone or ignoring it.

My eyes trail across the new faces. Soon enough, we find ourselves being introduced to Lorna*, a twenty year old green-haired girl with an ability akin to Erik's, Eden, an eighteen year old girl with a brunette pixie cut and the power of persuasion and Micah, a nineteen year old technopath with a highly impressive afro.

Soon enough, I'm sat down and tucking into what appears to be spaghetti Bolognese and they're telling me about their "codenames".

"Okay," Sean says, "So I'm Banshee, for obvious reasons. And then this fine young man here," he pats Alex on the shoulder, "Is Havok,".

Lorna sends a spoon flying in Sean's direction, "I'm Polaris, Micah's Rebel and Hank is Beast,".

Sean swats the spoon away and it lands on Eden's plate, much to her distaste. She sighs and plucks it out, "I'm Wrath,".

Sean smirks, "Because you wouldn't want to deal with her wrath,".

She promptly throws the spoon at his head, at which point Charles has no choice but to intervene with a curt, "No throwing cutlery at the dinner table!"

Sean sticks his tongue out at Eden who winks at him as she says, "Hit yourself in the face," which he does.

Charles sighs. "No mutations at the dinner table," he says in a defeated tone.

"Well, anyways," She turns to smile at us newcomers, "The professor is Professor X,".

Peter looks at Charles in surprise, "You have a codename too?"

"Yes," He sighs, "Unfortunately,".

"So, you guys thinking of any for yourselves?" Lorna asks us, her green eyes twinkling.

"I know what you should be called," I say to Claire and she glowers at me, "Don't you dare-"

"Cheerleader!"I cry and Peter bursts into laughter, "Why did you tell her that? That's just asking for trouble!"

Claire elbows him irritably and grumbles, "She guessed, and you know how bad I suck at lying. It's not that big of a deal anyway. And I was thinking that I should be called Invincible Girl, or something like that,".

"And why is that?" Alex asks, his curiosity peaked.

Claire shrugs before she picks up Peter's discarded knife and rakes it down her arm.

"Holy shit!" Alex exclaims just as Sean cries, "What the hell is wrong with you?" and Charles sighs, "What did I say about no mutations at the dinner table?"

Their shock dies down as they see the skin heal up, leaving only a light trail of blood behind. She smiles as if it's nothing, ignoring the looks of awe aimed in her direction. Hank is staring at her arm in wonder- I guess the whole instant healing thing must really appeal to doctors.

Peter sighs, "Jesus Claire, did you have to do that whilst people are eating? And you used my knife!"

"You don't need a knife to eat pasta," She says, nonplussed, and he sighs, "Yes, but it's the principal isn't it? I mean, you don't just use someone else's dinner knife to slice up your arm,".

"Don't be such a baby, just come up with codename already," She grumbles before stabbing a strand of spaghetti rather violently.

"I guess Mimic** fits quite well, so I'll go with that," He shrugs.

The other X-Men must have encountered his mutation when he was in here before, as they nod in agreement.

"What about you?" Micah asks me and I grin wickedly, "Sparks. Because of my sizzling personality,".

He raises an eyebrow and I wiggle a finger as it lights up with blue sparks of electricity.

"Cool, another electrical mutant!"

"Yeah, cool,"I say snidely, but he seems unhindered. "Do you often revert to sarcasm to hide how you really feel?" He asks and I glare back, "Nope. Sometimes I use violence, I like to mix it up, ya know?"

Claire laughs and I nudge her, "Glad you find me amusing, Cheerleader,".

Claire shakes her head and stabs another piece of spaghetti.

"So, any news on the prison break plans?" I ask Charles and he shakes his head, "I'm going to contact Erik after dinner,".

"Fun stuff, Wheels," I say and Charles frowns, "Did you just make a derisive comment concerning my disability, Elle?"

I nod, undeterred, "Yup,".

"You know most people would usually consider that rude and inappropriate?" He points out.

"Yeah, I guess. But I'm not most people. Besides, the creepy guys back at the facility prescribed me as being, what was it they said? Oh yeah, a sociopath! Apparently, I'm a sociopath; go figure, right? A mutant and a sociopath, aren't I just a bag of surprises?" I smirk and Charles regards me with concern in his eyes before sighing and looking away.

"We'll start training you three tomorrow in the Danger Room, which I'm sure the boys showed you to earlier on," Charles says and they nod simultaneously.

A day training with Cheerleader and Bangs? What wouldn't be fun about that?

A/N: Hi, so just some things to clear up:

*I know I was debating as to whether or not Lorna should be in due to the whole continuity thing, but I couldn't help myself. Let's just pretend she's not Erik's daughter, hey?*

**Yeah, so I know there's already a Mimic in Marvel, but oh well…I was struggling to come with a name for him, because Mimic just really fits. So other Mimic will not be in this story, as that would be very confusing**

More Heroes characters! I really like Eden and Micah so I slipped them in, just to bulk up the X-Men team, seeing as the school's been running for nearly 5 years.

Sorry if I was mentioning pairings a little prematurely in the last chapter! The soonest pairing will probably be Erik/Elle, but I prefer relationships to happen after characters have been friends first. I just think things work out best that way, ya know? So I can't see anything happening with anyone until they've trained together, gained trust, taken down the facility and so on. I just got a little overexcited about everything, sorry!

Anyways, hope you're enjoying it so far (it's a little slow at the moment, but when the Brotherhood come to town it'll pick up pace a little bit hopefully!)

P.S I'll be going through editing past chapters to neaten things up a bit in terms of Elle's nicknames, so that they have capital first letters, and so that when they reference the professor it's as the Professor.