Her body felt sore, her mind hazy. Beside her a continuous beeping noise sounded causing her to become increasingly annoyed. Where was she? And why was she so sore? She tried to sort through the haze that had overtaken her mind and answer these questions but she just couldn't. She just lay there, wherever there was, slowly moving the fingers on her right hand. Carefully she opened her eyes. The room around her was white, there were no windows. This is what I get for staying out so late, she thought to herself, I get kidnapped. They'll probably do strange experiments on me and make me into some half-man half-animal creature like in the Island of Dr. Moreau.
As her mind wandered further into thoughts of savage torture a door off in the distance opened and a man in a wheelchair entered. Aya, too lost in her own thoughts, did not notice instead focused on getting up. Her brain was slowly beginning to process her surroundings again. The man in the wheelchair noticed this, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Aya's head whipped around in surprise. "Wh-who are you?"
"My apologies, my name is Professor Charles Xavier. I run the institute here. Tell me, Aya, do you remember why you're here?"
Aya thought deeply but couldn't produce an answer the haze was still clouding her mind, "N-no. I don't."
"I see that's quite alright. I'm sure you'll remember in due time. I've already taken the time to notify your parents. I told them that you had been found unconscious by one of your fellow students. You don't seem to be hurt, do you feel alright?"
She absentmindedly rubbed her hands together, they no longer hurt when she touched them. Looking down, Aya saw that they had returned to their normal skin color and were no longer red or inflamed. She thought that strange, "I'm f-fine, just a little s-sore is all." the professor watched her as her mind slowly began to clear.
Her hands they, they had produced claws. She watched her hands thinking of the claws and slowly tried to make them show again. They did and this shocked her she looked over in surprise at the professor expecting him to look the same way. He didn't he stared at her calmly as she observed her new found ability. "I-I th-this, what am I?"
"You're a mutant Aya. Not unlike the other students here."
"I-I'm a m-m-mutant? I have b-bone claws?" Aya stared again at the claws and slowly drew them back in watching as they left small cuts on her hands that began healing. "Wh-what? H-how did that happen?" She looked over at the professor for some answers.
"You also have some regenerative powers which is why the broken bones you came with have already healed. You do remember having broken bones right?"
Aya thought back to the fight with the man, her mother's killer. She remembered being thrown against the tree and hearing the sickening sound as her bones cracked from the force. She felt her rib cage remembering that's where most of the force had been delivered and noticed it was fine, a little sore but other than that it was still in one piece. Aya looked the professor in the eyes, "That m-man the one who k-killed m-my m-mother, who is he?"
"His name is Sabertooth, another mutant though one's who has chosen a very different path than that of our own."
"He killed my mother," Aya's voice began growing dark the rage underlying her voice as she thought of her mother. Someone who was so innocent killed in the blink of an eye by a ruthless murderer, "He didn't even care.
"He said he tracked the wrong scent. Wh-who was he t-trying to t-track?" Aya asked her voice returning to its usual tone as she focused on the question that had bothered her since he uttered it from his mouth.
"He was after me," Came an all too familiar voice. Aya looked towards the door as the man from earlier today, Logan, walked in. "He mistook your scent for my own. I'm actually surprised he made such a mistake."
"Why would he have mixed my scent up with yours?" Aya asked looking at him confusion written all over her face.
"Think about this, Amaya. I'm sure you know the answer." Logan said going to lean against the wall.
Aya stared at him while thinking. He looked so familiar but from where? She took note of his clothes; boots, jeans, a t-shirt, a jacket...That jacket, Aya knew that jacket. Her mind raced back searching through the years she had been alive searching and stopping on one night in particular. A little girl a brown jacket draped around her shoulders looking up at the stars with her...
"D-dad?" She looked at him in disbelief.
He smirked, "Yeah, it's me. You've grown up a lot." He walked over and sat on the chair next to her bed.
Aya frowned suddenly feeling angry at the man who now sat in front of her, the man who had abandoned her and her mother. "You left us."
He looked on at the wall behind Aya, deep in his own thoughts. He breathed heavily before speaking, "Amaya, I had my reasons. I didn't want to leave you or your mom. It's just it's," He paused rubbing the back of his neck, "It's complicated."
Aya glowered, "It's complicated? What's so complicated you had to up and leave your family?!"
"Amaya calm down," Logan said calmly, "The reason I left is because I'd hoped to prevent the exact thing that happened, your mother's death. Your mother understood this. But it seems my attempts were in vain." He looked down remorse evident in his eyes.
Aya breathed heavily trying desperately to contain her angers, "Well look where that got her." She fixated a glare upon him anger seething from her every pore.
Logan looked up at her, "Kid, I didn't want any of this to happen. It was beyond my control!"
"No it wasn't! You could have controlled it perfectly if you had just stayed!" The rage Aya felt had reached an extreme causing her to cry in frustration and anger.
Logan looked uncomfortable at this, "Amaya, don't cry." Logan looked around awkwardly not too sure of what he should do. It was then that the professor spoke.
"Amaya it seems that your foster parents have arrived."
"I see." Aya said slowly calming herself down, "Why are they here?"
"We called them after you had gotten hurt. There's also another matter in which we need to attend to."
"Another m-matter?" She looked at him in confusion.
"Yes, I'll explain more when we meet up with your foster parents."
The silence as they left and walked towards the office was awkward. The man who had left Aya and her mother at a young age suddenly reappearing okay after all these years was hard for her to deal with. It felt like the walk went on for years when in retrospect it was only a matter of minutes. They had finally arrived and waiting inside the room was Aya's foster parents.
Mrs. Clark rushed over to Aya asking if she was alright and checking her over for any scrapes or bruises. Aya repeatedly told her she was alright but that didn't seem to matter to Mrs. Clark. Professor Xavier positioned himself behind his desk and claimed the attention of Mr. and Mrs. Clark.
"Mr. and Mrs. Clark there's another reason I called you over here besides your daughter's incident."
The Clarks looked at Professor Xavier. Mrs. Clark held a look of concern while Mr. Clark gazed on in curiosity. At this point it dawned on Aya what the other matter the wheelchaired man was referring to earlier.
"Aya is a mutant." It was a small statement but the impact it had was large. The Clarks stood there in disbelief trying to process what they had just heard.
Mrs. Clark spoke up first, "Now, by mutant do you mean she has an extra arm or what exactly are you saying?"
"Aya has special abilities that make her different from most other people." Explained the professor, "We can offer her help to train these abilities if you so wish."
"Are we allowed to have a few days to think this over? This is a lot to take in." Mrs. Clark said her voice fairly hollow as if she wasn't actually speaking consciously.
"Yes of course. Take all the time you need. You're free to go now." he said.
"Alright, let's go back to the house now Aya." Said Mrs. Clark gathering her things and, taking a hold of her husband's hand, exiting the room. Aya lingered slightly looking back at the professor and Logan, her...father. She still couldn't believe that he was alive. She felt the anger and hurt fill her veins as she walked out of the room, hurt that he had been alive all this time and had never told her.
