Chapter 6: Weakness
The halls are quiet. Everyone seems to be in the Dining Hall eating lunch. Even so, I tiptoe up the staircase in complete silence. It is my first day of school here and I do not want to get into trouble. Now all I have to do is find Michael's room, or worse, end up being found myself. I look down the hallway and see that mostly all of the doors are opened. There is laughter and talk coming from most of them. So much for everyone being at lunch.I poke my head around the edge of the doorframe of the first door and look inside. A sigh of relief passes my lips, as I see no one is there. With an overdramatic spy air about me, I launch myself pass the room as quietly as possible, well, almost as quietly as possible. The mission impossible theme song is going through my head. Wait…is there a hand on my shoulder…I'm dead. I scream and half jump half turn around to face my finder.
"Michael!" I exclaim through a harsh whisper, "What are you trying to do? Kill me?!"
Michael smiles as a hearty laugh escapes his mouth. His wrist is in a brace at his side. No sling, which is always a good sign. Thank you God for keeping us safe through my stupidity.
"The question is, Miss Elizabeth," he says, "Is what are you doing in the East Wing? You know, there are no girls allowed unless authorized by staff."
"Is this the East Wing?" I ask, innocently, "Oh, you see, I thought this was the West Wing. I've always had a problem with my left and right. Then again, I was just exploring, you know, finding the secrets of the mansion and all that."
Now I see some of the guys coming out of their rooms and watching us. I guess they heard the scream. Oh, and there they go making stupid remarks about my being a girl and all that rubbish. Can't they keep their sick remarks to themselves? Please God, forgive them, I don't feel they know what they do. I believe I will simply have to ignore them.
"Right," he says, "You only wanted to find me and see if I wanted to hang out with you or something, like sharing songs we've written or playing guitar. By the way, I'd like to speak to you about your Christian views and stuff. That'd be great."
I frown, but he smiles.
"How did you know all of that?" I ask.
"It's really not that hard to see you have a very curious nature," he answers, "And if you haven't noticed, my wrist is sprained, so playing the guitar is out of the question. I would like to see some of the songs you've written though."
"I'm afraid you'll have to wait with the song writing thing, guys, it's about time for class," John cuts in, walking into the hallway.
"Hi," Michael greets him.
"Hey," John says.
"Elizabeth, you're supposed to go see Professor Xavier," John tells me.
"Busted!" Michael teases me.
"Shut up," I say with a half smile.
I walk pass them and down the stairs, guys whistling from behind. I hear Michael yell at them to shut up. I wonder why the Professor would want to see me?
SSsSsS:ThEpRoFeSsOr:SsSsSs
The team of X-Men all sit in Xavier's office. The Professor, who is currently sitting behind his desk, called them in for a meeting. He rolls out from behind his desk and rests his hands in his lap.
"I called all of you in here to discuss one of our newest students," he says, "Elizabeth Carter," he pauses, eyeing each member with the utmost seriousness, then continues, "Elizabeth is a very special mutant. She has the powers to create, manipulate, and control all of the basic elements of the world; earth, fire, water, and air. Elizabeth only knows of the fire, but she is beginning to sense water, air, and earth. Her powers are growing and maturing rapidly, more rapidly than any other mutant I have known. I have searched her mind and tapped into the unconscious part of her brain, and I have found there is even more to her abilities. If I work with her, Elizabeth will gain the ability to fly, and sooner or later, she will learn that she can turn invisible."
"Invisible?" Storm asks, "You mean she will actually be able to turn invisible whenever she feels like it?"
"Well, I'm not exactly sure. I believe invisibility to be a very minor power in her, so it might be tied to her emotions."
"You said she will eventually gain the ability to fly," Jean says, "I thought you said the night she left her home, her parents found her flying above her bed."
"Yes, that is true, but Elizabeth has not grasped that ability," the Professor answers, "Dreams can make your body do things you would not expect. For example, sleep walking. You might have a dream about doing laundry, and once you awaken, you find that you have already done the laundry."
"I understand," Scott says, "Elizabeth flying above her bed is connected to her dream where she was flying above the mansion."
"Why is all of this so important, anyway?" Logan cut in, seemingly annoyed with the whole thing.
"Because," Xavier replies, "Elizabeth is probably the only other mutant I know of being a class five mutant," with that his eyes flash at Jean.
"I don't see how this concerns me," Logan says back to him.
"Actually, Logan," the Professor corrects him, "It concerns all of us. We all have to help Elizabeth adapt to her powers. We must encourage her and not allow her to be afraid of her powers. Fear of one's powers can lead to great destruction, possibly death."
"Are you saying she could be more powerful than you, Professor?" Storm asks.
The Professor laughs, "No," he says, "She may be powerful, but she does have a weakness—"
sSsSsS:SsSsSs
I knock and open the door to the Professor's office.
"Professor," I stop and look around at everyone, "You said you wanted to see me?"
"Ah yes," he answers, remembering, "I did."
Everyone begins to walk out of the room. I, of course, am left standing there all alone. Please don't let me be in trouble!
"Please sit down," he says to me.
I do as I am told and sit down on the leather sofa.
"Elizabeth," he says, "I would like to set apart an hour of your time each day to work with you. Your abilities are maturing quickly, and I would like to help you control them."
Relief sweeps over me. I am not in trouble.
"Cool," I say, "Can it be during art? I need my after school time to work on my music, and art is an easy class for me."
"Yes, of course," he answers, "But I don't believe you understand what I'm trying to tell you."
Wheeling over closer to me, I begin to sense something coming. What is it that I am supposed to understand? God's soothing voice enters my mind, Don't worry Elizabeth. I have something wonderful in store for you…
"Elizabeth," the Professor says, "You are a class five mutant. Now, I know that may not sound very important to you, but it is. Class five is the most powerful of all. It means this is only the beginning of your powers, you have much more to learn, and a much greater length to grow. It means you can do more than just put on a fire show."
I laugh at this, but quickly shift to a serious mood. I can hardly believe what he is telling me. Is this that wonderful thing, God?
"You have abilities inside of you that are just waiting to come out from hiding, and you need to learn how to control them. Like the earthquakes, for example, and the rainstorms, and…the ability to fly."
My eyes open wider at every word. The Professor smiles, softening the fear that was beginning to grow inside of me.
"But you do not need to be afraid," he comforts me, "I can help you, and I will."
I give him a soft smile and take a deep breath.
"So…can I go now?" I ask.
"Yes, I will see you tomorrow," he answers.
"Great," I smile and get up to leave.
But just as I open the door, the Professor speaks.
"I better not find you in the East wing again without permission," he warns me.
I slump my shoulders and walk out the door. Darn those telepathic abilities! I head to my next class, which is Chemistry with Dr. Grey. I'm not exactly sure where this is, but I spot Michael walking, so I catch up with him.
"Hey," I say.
"Hey," he says, "How much trouble are you in?"
"I'm not, I have to start taking classes with the Professor. It has something to do with my powers," I say, purposely not telling him I am a class five mutant, "Do you have chemistry next?"
"Yeah, do you?" he asks.
"Yeah, do you know where it is?"
"Kind of, Bobby and John gave me a little tour of the mansion," he answers, "Also, I'm taking the same kind of classes with Dr. Grey, about my abilities I mean. They just want to know how the entrancing bit goes and how I'm doing when it comes to controlling it. They also want to know what I can control."
We come to an open door labeled, "Chemistry Lab," and walk in. We take a lab table with two chairs, thinking it best that we should be partners. Friends must stick together, you know. Dr. Grey stands in front of the class and waits as three more students walk in to take a seat.
"How was lunch everyone?" she asks.
"Good," the whole class answers.
"Did everyone like that Poutine?" she asks.
Poutine? What the heck is Poutine?
"What's Poutine?" I whisper to Michael.
"A French delicacy," he answers.
"What's in it?" I ask.
"Fries, mozzarella cheese, and gravy," he answers smiling, "You can get it at about every restaurant in Canada, even the fancy ones."
I smile and hide a laugh, "It sounds…delicious."
"Class, I would like to introduce two new students," Dr. Grey says, "Michael L. Goren and Elizabeth W. M. Carter."
We both kind of wave as everyone turns around. I give a happy wave when I see Rogue and Kitty looking back at us and waving.
"What does the 'W' 'M' stand for?" Michael whispers.
"Why should you know?" I whisper back, avoiding the question, "What does 'L' stand for?"
"Alright," Dr. Grey says, "Today we will be studying pure, liquid mercury," she takes a tray out from under her lab table which contains many vials of liquid mercury, "Kitty, will you pass these out to everyone. One for each table will do. Now, you will find rubber gloves in the left hand drawer of your lab table, along with lab aprons."
"Now which one's my left?" I ask Michael.
He just smiles and answers, "My side, I'll get them."
Michael gives me mine and begins putting on his. Kitty comes with the mercury, and Michael takes it. Immediately a sharp pain shoots through my head. I wince and hold the side of my head.
"Liz," Michael asks, "Are you okay?"
"Oh yeah," I answer, "I'm fine, I'm just getting a headache."
"Now you will take the mercury given to you and pour it into the beaker in front of you. Then take a dropper and put one drop on a slide for the microscope."
"You may do the honors," Michael says, handing me the vial of mercury. As soon as the vial touches my hand, unimaginable pain surges through my entire body. I drop the vial and fall to the ground.
"Dr. Grey!" Michael calls.
My body starts to convulse and I scream in agony. There is so much pain, God, why is there so much pain? Jean races to my side and focuses on the mercury. It flies up into the air and back into the vial from which it had come. Michael is crouched over me. It looks as if tears are coming towards his eyes. My eyes blur and slowly close.