Sierra groaned and rolled over, but the wetness followed her, not leaving her face alone. She shoved at it, groaning as the last bits of sleep were taken away from her. A loud panting filled her ears, and she groggily opened her eyes, a large face poised just above hers. With another groan, she pushed Antix off of her, and sat up. She rubbed her eyes, looking around. Pale sunlight filtered into the room through the shut drapes over the doors, and Antix scratched at the door. Sierra looked at her alarm clock. 5:30 in the morning. She should have time to walk Antix, get in a training session, and a quick shower, before she'd have to pull on some clothes and go with the Professor and the others to register for school in the fall. Antix scratched again, and whined, pleading with her to hurry. She pulled on a pair of shoes and grabbed his leash, quietly letting them both out of her room. She had only had the large dog for a few weeks, but it felt like she had known him forever, the way they both seemed to know what the other wanted. They quietly jogged down the stairs and out the front door, cutting across the lawn to get to the woods.
Once they were safely hidden by trees, Sierra knelt and unlatched the leash from Antix's collar, letting the big dog run around. She began to jog down the path, the dog dashing back and forth after birds and squirrels. She completed a lap of the curving path, coming out of the woods near where she had entered. She quickly snapped the leash back on Antix, walking back up to her room, breathing slightly heavier. She left the dog in her room, taking the elevator down to the Danger Room, where she changed into her uniform in the locker room. The tight black sleeveless top came up into a high Oriental-looking collar, but it kept the back open so she could still use her wings. The black cargo pants tucked into her black, flexible boots, and black fingerless gloves completed her outfit.
She walked into the Danger Room, and chose the program she wanted. All of a sudden, she was teleported to a forest, and she took off through the trees, listening for sounds other than her own breathing and footsteps. Finally, she heard them, making noise to her left. She didn't know what enemies the program would give her this time, but she was ready. They were crashing through the trees, making no move to hide their location. She nimbly scaled a tree, looking towards the noise. Three large man/beast things, covered in brown and black fur, and looking like gorillas crossed with pit bulls, on steroids, were lumbering through the forest, noses raised and sniffing. She had faced these things before, and felt her heart beat speed at the thrill of the coming chase, even if she was the prey. She clambered down the tree, her feet hitting the ground as the first thing let out a bellow, signaling that it had caught her scent. She took off, running at roughly a 135 degree angle to them, so the would have to re-find her scent when they reached the place she had been. She leapt over a shallow stream, her extra-strong leg muscles easily clearing the water.
She slowly began to curve her path on the other side, until about a mile of running later she was back at the stream. This time, she splashed right into it, running downstream over the loose rocks. She had just paused for a break when she heard them, about a half-mile upstream, snuffling and snorting. She looked down at her watch, which had the stopwatch of how much longer she had before the simulation would end, if she wasn't caught. She had fifteen more minutes. Cake. She stood and cut through the brush, leaving the beasts on the far side of the water. She climbed another tree, looking to see if she could find them. They were closer than she'd thought, less than a quarter of a mile away, though still on the other side of the creek. She slid down, taking off in the opposite direction. She heard them split up, coming at her from behind and both of her flanks. She sped up, trying to out-run them. Too late, she realized it was a trap.
They had been steering her into a small canyon, with only one exit. She turned, her back pressed against the wall, and watched as the three monsters lumbered closer. She looked at her watch, shouldn't the simulation be over by now? Her watch showed a big 00:00, but the program showed no signs of stopping. Why wasn't the program ending? Was it broken? Shizz! The only thing she could do was wait it out, and who knew how long that would take! Of course, she could see if calling an end would stop it. But then she would be saying she couldn't outlast a projection. But she still had the beasts to deal with. Her only option was to fight. She'd never had to fight these things before, but there was a first time for everything, right?
Her strong legs propelled her forward, towards the one in front. She spun in midair, and hit it straight in the face, feet-first. She pushed off before gravity could claim her, knocking it back a couple more steps. The other two leapt at her as one, sharp talons raking the air, casing her to leap backwards. She landed and stumbled, falling to her knees. All three began to converge on her again, the one she had kicked moving more slowly than the other two. She reached out her hand instinctively, looking for anything to help her or use as a weapon. She could find nothing besides some loose gravel, which she knew would be ineffective against the monsters. But she threw it anyway. She was right, the only thing it did was enrage them, causing them to come faster. She knew that she could call an end to the program any time she wanted, but refused to give up. She also wasn't sure it would work; the programming had already failed to shut it down after the set amount of time. Then the first one leapt into the air to attack her again. Just before it could sink its talons into her, the forest, the canyon, and the monsters fizzled out of existence. Would the beasts have actually hurt her, or would they just be projections? She lay on the floor of the Danger Room for a moment, panting, before looking up at the Control Room. Logan was standing there, looking down at her. The speakers crackled to life.
"It's not weakness to call end if you can't do it," he said, the usual no emotion showing in his voice. She growled deep in the back of her throat, pushed herself to her feet, and walked out. Who was he, to scare her like that? She thought that the program was malfunctioning; she didn't know what was going to happen, if she could escape the simulation. She fumed her way into the locker room to grab her clothes, up to her room, and into the shower. Then she had to admit to herself that he was right. Since that day at the mall, when they found out she'd been hiding stuff from them, everyone stopped talking to her, and pretty much even looking at her. She got commands in training from Scott, and the usual 'pass-the-butter' requests at dinner, but other than that, everyone ignored her. Well, almost everyone. Evan still hung out with her, playing video games in his room, or trying to teach her how to skate on the ramp Logan and Ororo had built for him in the backyard. She found that somehow, when he was able to make me laugh so hard she was in danger of peeing my pants, or make her want to hit him so bad it took all her willpower not to, he managed to make up for the rest of the team ignoring her, at least a little. He was her best, and only, friend here. Even Scott and Kurt had become cold towards her. This, in turn, had made her pull back into myself, and not ask for help from anyone. Logan was right, she could have called end to the program. But she wouldn't have, because that would be a form of asking for assistance, and admitting she couldn't do it.
She didn't have very long to think about any of this, though, because she still had registration to get to. She quickly climbed out of the shower and dried off, pulling on some clothes. She and the Professor had programmed all of her favorite outfits into her Inducer, and she made sure that she was wearing the same clothes as the ones that would be projected; she learned the hard way that the closer the clothes matched up, the less likely someone would see the other clothes underneath. She hurried as fast as she could, and was still the last one to the foyer. She silently followed the rest of the kids registering to the X-Van, and sat in the back, making sure to not cause the awkwardness of looking someone in the eye. She heard the nervous chatter of "do-you-think-we'll-see-_" or "do-you-think-_'s-gotten-hotter?" She rested her head against the window. School. Another place to be a pariah. She felt someone fall into the seat next to her, which surprised her. Scott was driving his car too- even though he had graduated, he was being chauffeur- so there were enough seats that no one would even have to be on the bench with her, much less next to her.
"I'll show you around, later," Evan offered after a moment. She made a non-committal noise in the back of her throat.
"You don't have to be nice to me because your aunt or the Professor said to. I can do it myself," she snapped, still looking out the window. "I don't need your pity either." She was still rather snappish because of what Logan did.
"Fine, be that way. Not my fault you're in a bad mood." He made a move to slide up to the seat where he had been sitting, in front of her. Without thinking, her hand shot out, resting on his thigh and stopping him.
"I'm sorry, you're right. I had a bad morning, I shouldn't take it out on you," she mumbled, sitting back when she was sure he wasn't going to move. She couldn't make her one friend mad at her. He stayed perched on the edge of the seat, debating, then scooted back next to her. "And if the offer still stands, I'd love to have a tour later. I suck at finding my way around." He smiled a small smile.
"Of course!" They chatted idly the rest of the way to Bayville High, laughing together as he helped her out of the Van. They followed the rest of the team into the school, the Professor and Ororo leading the way. They all registered, Evan and Sierra finishing first. "Come on," he called to her, leading her out into the almost-empty hallway. They walked around the school, Evan pointing out things and telling her about places. "This was Mr. McCoy's old room," he said, motioning to a chem. classroom. She smiled and looked inside. It looked like all of the other classrooms; she could imagine Hank in here, allowing his students to make stink bombs for class.
"This place is so huge, much bigger than my old school," she said softly, not sure if she was talking to him or to herself.
"Hey, it's not so bad, once you get used to it," he said, coming up behind her. "You'll fit in here. Trust me." She trusted him, but she wasn't popular-girl material; she hated shopping, would rather be playing the sports than cheering on the guys playing them, and trivial conversation about who was with whom was...well, trivial.
"Yo, Daniels!" someone called from down the hall. Evan and Sierra turned to see who was speaking, and saw a group of guys, all holding skateboards. "It's been forever, man!" Evan ran down the hall, fist-bumping and back-slapping with the guys in greeting.
"Yo guys, what's up?" she could hear him ask. She smiled for a brief moment at him and his friends, then turned to walk up the hall in the other direction, that they'd been heading in before. She turned the corner, and found the doors to the courtyard. She pushed them open and stepped outside, looking around at the plants growing. She loved the place already, if not the rest of the school. Without thinking she bent over and smelled one of the roses, inhaling the sweet scent.
"Hey, babe," a voice said behind her. She whirled, and came face-to-face with a tall guy, broad and blond. "Haven't seen you around, are you a new freshman?" She could almost smell the cockiness and over-confidence of this boy rolling off of him.
"Sophomore, transfer," she answered. He took a half-step forward, his friends spreading out around them. They were all in letterman jackets, even though it was almost 85 degrees.
"You're too beautiful to be a sophomore. Besides, I don't date sophomores," he said, giving her a chance to change her answer.
"I'm Sierra," she said, sticking her hand out. He looked at it for a moment, then shook it.
"Duncan. I'm the star of the football team." He grinned, like this was some great achievement.
"Well, I have to go, my friend is waiting for me," she said, trying to slip past him. Now that she knew who he was, she could avoid him.
"Hey, don't hurry away so fast. We're just getting to know each other," he said, one of his friends coming up to block her escape.
"I really have to go," she said again, trying to duck out the other way. One of his other friends came up, and blocked her again.
"Come on, stay. I can guarantee you'll be glad you did." A seductive note crept into his tone. His hand slowly inched its way to her waist, pulling her closer. She shoved him off and stepped back, using one hand on his chest to keep him at bay.
"I can guarantee you'll be wishing I hadn't stayed," she said, pushing him back farther.
"Don't be like that," Duncan whined. She rolled her eyes. Now he was just getting annoying.
"Too late. Now move, or I move you," she said, dropping all nice-girl acting. She was still upset from that morning.
"Look, doll-face. You are getting the honor of my attention. Don't make me rethink giving it to you," he said, grabbing the hand that was still on his chest. She smirked.
"I warned you," she snapped, and punched him in the jaw. He didn't stumble as far as she would have liked, though he did fall on his butt. But it was far enough. With one powerful jump she was over his head and on the other side of him, standing with her arms crossed and one toe tapping. "Oh, one more thing. If I ever see you again, don't talk to me." And she turned on her heel and walked out. She was glancing behind her without moving her head, so she didn't see Evan standing in the doorway until she ran into him.
"Duncan Matthews," he growled, sounding agitated.
"The blond prick who couldn't keep his hands to himself? Real charmer," she replied, grabbing Evan's wrist and pulling him into the building. They walked in silence until they re-joined the others.
"Did he touch you?" Evan asked, stopping abruptly. Amara ran into him at his sudden halt, and glared as she picked herself up off the ground, but he didn't even seem to notice. Sierra just looked at him. "Duncan. Did that idiot touch you?" he repeated, louder. Sierra blushed and looked down.
"Not really. Just harmless flirting," she said after a moment. She could feel the gazes of the entire team on the top of her head as she watched the toe of her shoe scuff the floor. "I dealt with it. Really, it's okay Evan," she reassured him. He just shook his head, growled in the back of his throat, and stalked to the X-Van. She kept her head down as she followed him, clambering into the back again. The ride back to the Institute was filled with girly chatter from the front, and brooding silence from the back, where Evan had joined Sierra again.
Sierra couldn't understand why Evan was so upset, it wasn't like she had been raped in the middle of the school! She had dealt with her share of creeps and dirtbags before, and knew how to handle them. So why was a little part of her quietly happy that he was protective? She kept thinking about it as they pulled into the garage, and all climbed out. Hank was waiting for them inside, with a closed box, a grin on his face.
"I seem to have made a small ordering mistake, and ordered four times as many test tubes as I meant to," he began. Sierra understood where this was going, and cheered.
"Yes! Thanks Hank!" she yelled, hugging him. He had done this for her when she was little, though not on quite as large a scale. The rest of the team was looking at them in confusion as Hank gently put her down from scooping her up and returning the hug. She laughed at her teammates expressions. "Each tube comes wrapped in bubble wrap!" she said, childish delight morphing her usually sullen elven features into ones resembling a mischievous pixie. The rest of the team finally understood, and let out their own cheers. Scott rolled his eyes and went to go find Jean, who had gone with Jamie to register at the middle school. Hank grinned and opened the box, which was full of the bubble wrap coverings. Soon, the popping sound of bubble wrap could be heard all over the Mansion. All of the kids were laughing with child-like joy, dancing around and acting about three years old.
Eventually, all the little air pockets had been popped, and all the mess had been cleaned up. Sierra began to go up to her room, but was stopped by a telepathic summons from Charles, to his office. She knocked lightly before pushing the door open. She took the seat he silently indicated, across the desk from him. She sat there as he just looked at her for a bit, studying her like a test subject in a lab that had grown a third ear or something.
"I heard you had a run-in today," he finally said. She looked down and rubbed the back of her neck.
"Let me guess, Evan told you," she muttered.
"He was concerned for your safety. There is nothing wrong with that," he said gently.
"Really Professor, I can take care of myself. It was okay." She was getting tired of everyone always either questioning her, her abilities or her motives, and manipulating her.
"I understand that, Sierra, I really do. But, I have talked it over with Logan, Storm, Beast, Jean, and Scott, and we all agree; it would be best if you do not go to school, at least for a while." She sat there, soaking this information in. She was just starting to get angry when he spoke again. "This is not because of anything you've done. You simply have a habit of reacting with anger to any unknown situation, and this could be dangerous in a place where everything is unknown. Hank has told us that you dropped out of school after the sixth grade, and continued to educate yourself at home. He has also told us more of your abusive foster-father and you yourself have told us about Hydra taking you. I feel, we feel, that until we are sure you will not pose a danger to yourself and other students, and your emotional issues have been worked through, you should remain here, and have Hank teach you." She leapt to her feet.
"This is about my powers, isn't it? You're mad because I didn't tell you right away, so to punish me you're taking away my first chance at a normal life, in years!" she shouted. The Professor looked taken aback at the rage contorting her features. "Hank told you, didn't he?" she demanded, leaning across the desk towards him.
"Told me what?" Charles inquired, keeping calm.
"Where to hit me to make it hurt the most! He's the only one I ever told that a normal life is all I want! He's the only one that knows I'm willing to do anything to be normal again! You even turned him against me." The last part was whispered so quietly the Professor had to strain to hear it. Hank had warned him the girl might react with anger, but he had never expected this much of it. It practically rolled off of her in waves; so much even without his telepathic abilities. He had not expected the sadness, nor the betrayal, though. She didn't wait for him to respond, simply fled the room. There was a small group of students standing at the end of the hall, but they all did that have-to-act-natural-so-we-strike-the-most-unnatura l-pose-ever thing when she ran by. She pounded her way up to her room, collapsing on the floor with Antix as the tears started. All she wanted was the normal life she would never get. Was that too much to ask?


Hey guys! I know I promised this for you like, a week ago, but...yeah...I have no excuse. I just was working on other stories, and generally putting this off. Sorry! But, anyway, you know the drill. Review! Please! Thanks guys! Love ya'll!
-IceQueen2196