Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

12

The next morning, Kiara woke up early so that she wouldn't be late for the Danger Room demo.

"Do think I'll have to wear my uniform?" Kiara asked Rogue.

"Probably not since you aren't participating," Rogue said.

Kiara nodded gladly. She shuddered at the idea of wearing that god-awful outfit. She checked to make sure the harness hadn't come undone, even she had tightened it twice the night before. It hadn't so she dressed quickly in pair of faded blue jeans and a red tank-top. Then she waited for Rogue to get changed into her uniform, which was, thankfully, just as dorky as Kiara's was.

When it was time to go, they found Kurt and Kitty waiting for them out in the hallway.

"It's about time," Kurt said. "Tell me, why do all girls take so long to get dressed?"

"Because unlike guys," Rogue said, "we actually care about the way we look."

Kiara laughed as she followed the three of them down the hall and down the grand stairs. They turned a into one of the long hallways that branched off of the foyer and walked until they reached an elevator. Kiara thought it looked very much out of place in the mansion with its shiny, silver doors.

"Now, look, Kiara," Rogue said as they stepped inside the elevator. "We're going to third floor 'cause that's where the Danger Room is along with all of the other training rooms. You're going to be in the Danger Room's control center with Professor Xavier, so you're getting off at the second floor. Got it?"

"You know," Kurt said, pushing the buttons for the second and third floors. "I'm pretty sure the professor said that I was Kiara's mentor."

"Well, then why didn't you tell her all this yesterday?" Rogue snapped at him.

"What's your problem?" Kurt asked. Then he thought for a moment. "Have you been talking to Gambit again?"

"No, I haven't," Rogue said, scowling at him.

Kurt looked at Kitty, who nodded her head silently.

"Who's Gambit?" Kiara asked them in a whisper, not wanting to upset Rogue again.

"Rogue's boyfriend," Kitty told her. "Sort of."

"What did they fight about this time?" Kurt asked.

Kitty shrugged. "She won't tell me."

"I can hear y'all, you know," Rogue informed the three of them.

"Opps," Kiara said as the elevator doors slid open, and she left quickly.

Kiara walked down the hall until she came to a door. She went inside the room and found herself standing in what looked like a circular private seating box at a sports event. There was an enormous window, which overlooked what must have been the Danger Room. An even bigger computer with an expansive keyboard full of flashing lights took up most of one the side walls.

"Hello, Kiara. How are you today?"

Kiara looked up to see Ororo, Logan, Beast, and Professor Xavier standing in front of the window. Beast was punching some information into the computer.

"Hey," Kiara said, walking over to them. "I'm good."

"That's good," Logan said. "Because there's something I want you to see. Look down there."

Kiara looked out into the Danger Room. She could see Jean, Cyclops, Rogue, Shadowcat, and Nightcrawler standing in the center of the room.

Logan spoke into a microphone:

"Computer, begin simulation Blaze-One."

Kiara looked at him, shocked. They had named a simulation after her?

Why?

Then she watched as the Danger Room was transformed into what looked horribly similar to the field behind her house after a horrible downpour. There was mud everywhere and most of the field was partially flood with, at least, half a foot of water. At the end of the field there was a raised platform. It was easy enough to figure out what the objective of the exercise was.

Kiara felt her entire body go rigid. There was so much water down there. Too much. Just looking at it made the fire flare up inside her.

"What the hell is that?!" Kiara demanded, scowling at Logan.

"That," Logan said, "is the new training simulation we installed just for. A long few other new toys."

"Like what?" Kiara asked. She was almost afraid of the answer.

"Just a few pressurized water cannons and a couple of laser grids every few feet," Logan said. Then he saw the shocked expression on her face. "Come on, kid, you didn't really think this training was going be easy?"

"Of course not," Kiara said angrily. "Kurt told me about the hover bombs and lasers cannons, but you can't honestly expect me to run that." She looked from one X-Man to another.

"Kiara," Professor Xavier said after a moment of silence. "Part of being an X-Man is learning to face your fears and endure. It is simply something that has to be done. Do you understand?"

Kiara stared at him in disbelief. "Whatever," she said, and turned back to the simulation.

There was utter chaos in the Danger Room. They were running a course that they had never practiced before. Not only that, but someone -- Logan -- had forgotten to tell them about the newest pieces of the obstacle course. Pressurized water cannons and two very large laser alarm grids that they, apparently, had to avoid completely.

"Damn it," Rogue cried as she narrowly avoided being hit by a paintball.

Nightcrawler teleported on top of the paintball cannon and easily disarmed it, while Cyclops shot optic laser blasts at the nearest water cannons.

Meanwhile, Shadowcat had finally located the control box for one of the laser alarm grids. She phased her hand through it and shorted it out.

"One down," she said, smiling. "One to go."

"Shadowcat!" Cyclops called out to her. "Pay attention."

"What?" Shadowcat said, looking up. Then she quickly phased through a horde of circular hover bombs.

Jean stopped the bombs in their tracks and forced them to clutter together. They exploded on contact. Nightcrawler teleported away from the last paintball canon, and managed to get to Rogue, who was dangerously close to where the bombs had been, before the explosion could get to her. He teleported her to the platform at the end of the field.

"Don't move," Nightcrawler instructed her.

"Why would I?" Rogue called after him.

He teleported to where Shadowcat was and landed in a waist-deep puddle of water. "Where's the control box for the second grid?" he demanded.

"I don't know," Shadowcat said, shaking her head. "I haven't been able to find it."

"There!" Cyclops called, pointing to small black box in the far corner of the room near the very top of the ceiling.

"How do you expect me to get way the hell up there?" Shadowcat asked, splashing water angrily.

Cyclops shot an optic laser beam at it, but missed as he was sent flying backwards when a hover bomb exploded in his face.

"Jean!" Shadowcat called out suddenly.

"I'm on it," Jean called to her, catching on quickly.

Jean gestured to Shadowcat and levitated her up to where the second control box was. Shadowcat phased her hand through it and shorted it out. Then she was sent flying when Jean lost her concentration and was hit by a paintball seconds later.

"I thought you got all of them," she called to Nightcrawler.

"So did I," Nightcrawler said as he teleported and caught Shadowcat in mid-air.

He teleported her to the platform where Rogue was.

"Hurry up, guys," Rogue called to Jean and Cyclops.

There were only thirty seconds left on the clock, and they all had to make it to the platform. That was the objective.

Cyclops leapt to his feet and ran to Jean. He pulled her to her feet and began to drag her across the flooded field towards the platform. But Jean knew they weren't going to make it in time. There were fifteen seconds left on the clock and they weren't moving fast enough. That meant that they only had one option.

Jean tightened her grip on Cyclops's hand. Then they began to rise into the air. Jean flew through the air as fast as she could, but they were running out of time.

Jean threw Cyclops onto the platform. Then she landed beside him, panting.

The buzzer rang. They had made it.

By the time the X-Men got on the elevator, they were soaking wet and very, very irritated. And much to their great annoyance, Kiara was laughing so hard that she had lost her balance and was holding onto the wall for support. Watching the others run the course had helped her to temporarily forget about her hydrophobia.

"You know," Kurt said to Kiara as she retreated away from him and the others. "I thought I hated that field because of what happened to you, but I was wrong. I really hate it because of what just happened back there."

This comment only made Kiara laugh harder.

"You know, Kiara," Scott said, "I really don't see why you're laughing. You have to start your training first thing tomorrow morning."

Kiara fell silent for a moment, which made the others laugh. Then she looked at the professor and said, "You wouldn't really make me run a course like that on my first day of training, would you?"

"Of course not, Kiara," Professor Xavier assured her. "It would be much too difficult for you."

"Yeah," Logan said. "We'll start you off on something easy. Like immobile target practice."

Kiara smiled at the others triumphantly.

"Lucky," she heard Kitty mutter under her breath.

Kiara laughed as the doors of the elevator slid open.

"Kiara," Professor Xavier said as she made to follow the others down the hall.

Kiara stopped when she heard his voice, though. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue stop to wait for her. Jean and the others just kept on going.

"Yes, professor?" Kiara said, turning to face him.

"I would like you to meet me in my study this afternoon at three O'clock," Professor Xavier told her. "An old student of mine is coming to visit and I want to introduce you to him."

"Oh," Kiara said. "Um, okay. I'll be there."

"Good," Professor Xavier said, smiling. "I'll see you then."

Ten minutes later, Kiara, Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue were all sitting on the floor in the middle of her bedroom. She was so unnerved that she didn't even care that they were still soaking wet. They made sure to sit a good distance away from her, though.

None of them wanted her to have an episode like the one she had had in the field.

"Who do you think he wants you to meet?" Kurt asked her.

"How am I supposed to know?" Kiara said. "I've only been here for a few days. I don't even think it's been a week yet."

"Good point," Kurt said, frowning.

"Well, we know that he's a man," Kitty said thoughtfully.

"And he's one of Professor Xavier's old students," Kurt added.

"Right," Kitty said, nodding. "So, like, how many of the professor's old students have come back to visit so far?"

"Hmm," Rogue said. "Let me think -- tons. Besides, what makes y'all think he's a repeat visitor?"

There was a short silence, during which they all considered that comment.

"You know," Kurt said, "if he's one of the professor's old students, then he might be one of the original X-Men."

"The original X-Men?" Kiara said, confused.

"You didn't seriously think we were the originals, did you?" Rogue asked her.

Kiara shrugged. She had thought that, actually.

"You know," Kitty said, "if this guy is one of the originals, then he's probably, like, really strong and important."

That was all Kiara needed to hear.