What the hellllllll why is this so long? This was 6 fucking pages. Enjoy this, as it will be the last update in a while. I shall return sometime next week with another update.


Lee had arrived early at the bust station to pick up Robin. She had borrowed one of the cars in the garage at the mansion, and hoped it wouldn't get damaged in the parking lot as she waited inside the building for the bus from Providence to pull in.

When the bus finally pulled to a stop in front of the building, Lee walked through the front doors and waited for Robin to get off. She greeted the shy girl with a kind smile and warm hand shake.

"Glad to see you've made it! We're so excited to have you at the mansion," said Lee, taking Robin's duffel bag from her and leading her towards the car. To her delight, the shiny black luxury car was spotless.

The drive back to the mansion was silent, save for Lee's few attempts to start a conversation. Robin really wasn't very talkative. Lee pulled the car into the garage, where Charles was waiting, leaning against another car with his hands in his pockets. Robin eyed him warily.

Charles opened the door for Lee and took Robin's bag, leading them into the mansion. Robin's gaze wandered all over, taking in the lavish setting.

"Let's take you up to your room," he said with a charming smile. He bounded up the stairs, clearly excited about having new blood in the mansion. Lee found his good mood to be infectious. She encouraged Robin to follow him with a grin, and followed the reluctant girl up the stairs. The two girls followed Charles into an empty bedroom located in the same wing as the others. Unlike Lee's move-in, they were prepared with a clean room. Charles still wasn't emotionally ready to clear out Raven's old room, and refused to let anyone else do it. As a result, Robin's room was between Hank's room and an empty bedroom.

It worried Lee a little that Charles still wasn't completely over Raven, but she understood why. They had been together since they were small children, they were brother and sister. Lee knew that it would take Charles a while to let go and move on, though she hoped he would get over it soon. She hated to see him hurt over someone so vain and selfish.

"Dinner will be soon. We can give you a tour until then, unless you'd like to rest," Charles offered, hoping Robin would agree. He wanted to draw the girl out of her shell.

"No, I'm a bit tired. I ate on the bus, so if it's alright, I'll just go to bed early. I've been up since four," Robin spoke softly, looking around at the room. Charles glanced at Lee, then back to Robin.

"Alright then. We'll see you in the morning. You're welcome to sleep in as long as you'd like, but we're usually up around eight. Or at least Hank and I are. You can meet everyone in the morning," said Charles, a little disheartened. Robin nodded, and waited for Lee and Charles to leave.

"She's just shy," said Lee as soon as the pair were in the hallway, Robin's bedroom shut tightly, trying to excuse the girl's behavior. Charles ran a hand through his hair and sighed. His hair was getting a bit long, almost shaggy, and he needed to shave.

"Do I look that bad?" he asked with a humorless laugh.

"No, you look rugged. Not at all unattractive," Lee laughed, amused that he misread her thoughts. Charles allowed himself to smile and grabbed her hand to lead her to the kitchen. She held her ground as he tried to walk off, and pulled him back to her by his arm. She placed a hand on the side of his head, her thumb just in front of his ear, her fingers in his hair. Charles' free hand found its way to her waist.

"I have a favor to ask you," said Charles, his voice almost a whisper. Lee smiled.

"And what would that be?" she asked, prompting him to continue.

"There's a mutant in New York City. I want you to try and find the girl. She requires our immediate attention, but I'd really like to spend time with Robin. Would you mind going into the city tomorrow?" he asked hopefully, laying out all the facts so that she could make an educated decision. Charles didn't want to pressure her into the role, but hoped that she would seriously consider it. He had a feeling that she would be good at that sort of thing.

"Of course," she answered almost immediately. She was wonderfully loyal to Charles, and he was exceedingly grateful for it. Lee was making his life easier, more than she could know.

She leant forward and kissed him quickly, then pulled on his hand, dragging him downstairs to help the others with dinner.

Lee left the mansion early the next morning in an effort to beat the morning traffic into the city. Charles woke early to have a quick breakfast with her and to see her off. He gave her a few last minute instructions, wished her luck, and gave her a parting kiss. Lee promised to call if she had any trouble, and Charles promised that he would check in on her every few hours. The idea comforted her. As invasive as his telepathy could be, it comforted Lee to know that Charles was with her, even though they would be miles apart.

Lee parked the car on the side of the road somewhere in Brooklyn. She put a handful of quarters into the meter, buying herself the maximum amount of time. She had three hours before she had to return and feed the machine more money. She hoped she would find the mutant girl by then. Charles had given her an address, giving Lee a place to start.

Lee walked down the empty sidewalk, her nose in a map. She had to stop every once in a while to check the street signs, but eventually found herself on the correct street corner. The apartment complex was right across the street from where Lee stood. It was an old red brick building with black iron bars on the first floor windows. Lee wasn't sure if it was a decorative statement or a means of security.

Lee walked up the front steps and went to open the front door to find it locked. Only residents had keys, but Lee hadn't needed a key for anything in years. The lock clicked open and the door swung open on its own, allowing Lee to walk into the foyer. She was met by a overgrown potted fern and a menacing set of stairs. The building as about six stories high, and Lee had been informed by Charles that the girl lived on the fourth floor. As she ascended the stairs, Lee hoped that the girl was home.

Before she left that morning, Charles had told her what to expect. Unlike Robin, he had more information on the mutant Lee was searching for. She was thirteen years old and lived with her eldest sister. As far as Charles could tell, she was the only mutant in the family, and the girl kept her quality a secret. Her name was Savannah, and she lived in flat 4E. As far as Charles could tell, her mutation was quite simple, though it had gotten her into loads of trouble. The young girl possessed extreme physical strength, and a slight healing factor.

Due to her training, Lee wasn't as winded as she normally would have been once she reached the fourth floor. She followed the sign pointing her to the correct wing of the building, housing flats 4A through 4F. Lee walked down the hall until she reached 4E. She took a deep breath and knocked loudly on the door.

Not seconds later, the door was thrown open, revealing a short little girl, dressed in a pink pajama set with a bit of juice splashed down the front of her top. The girl was short, but was unmistakably the thirteen year old that Lee was in search of.

"Hello," said Lee, a bright smile on her face. "Sorry if I'm interrupting your morning, but my name is Lee Bohman, and I'd like to have a word with you." The girl, Savannah, eyed her suspiciously.

"What for?" she asked, scowling up at Lee. She was wary of the strange adult standing in her doorway.

"You're Savannah, aren't you?" Lee asked, ignoring the girl's question.

"Who wants to know?" Savannah crossed her arms over her chest, hiding the juice stain from view. She had an attitude.

"Would it be alright if we talked somewhere a bit more private? I have a very important thing to speak to you about. It concerns your special abilities," asked Lee, hoping to sound both kind and trustworthy.

"What abilities? What have you heard?" she asked defensively. Before Lee could answer, the girl threw the door shut. Before it slammed completely shut, though, Lee caught the metal of the knob with her power and held it open a crack. The girl gasped and threw herself at the door to shut it completely. Lee struggled to keep hold of the door knob against the girl's strength, but was eventually able to slowly push it open, forcing the girl back.

"How did you do that?" cried Savannah, realizing that Lee never even touched the door. Taking a calming breath after her exertion, Lee stepped forward into the flat, uninvited.

"I'm like you. We're called mutants. We both have very special abilities that other people do not. You realize that you're not like all the other children, don't you? You're quite spectacular," said Lee. Savannah looked up at Lee, taking in her words with mild interest. She had been called a lot of things- freak, weird, loser, but never special or spectacular.

"What do you mean?" Savannah asked, moving further into the flat, signaling to Lee that she was no longer unwelcome. However, she stayed close to the door, not wanting to push Savannah's trust.

"You are very strong. Abnormally strong. Not that it's bad! No, not at all. It's quite amazing," Lee had to choose her words carefully so as not to offend the sensitive girl. "You see, we're called mutants not because we're different or freaks of nature, but because our genes, our DNA, are ever so slightly different from other normal people's. It's completely natural, and much more common than you may realize."

"So there's others?" Savannah asked, taking a seat at a table set with a half eaten bowl of cereal and an almost empty glass of apple juice. Lee glanced around the flat. It was small. The kitchen could hardly be called that. It was combined with the living room. There was a single window on the wall with a tattered couch pushed up against it. There were two doors in the room. One was slightly open, revealing a bathroom. Lee assumed the other door lead to a bedroom.

"Oh yes, there are tons of us. In fact, I live in a house with six others. But of course, there are loads more," Lee explained, snapping her attention from the cramped living space to the thirteen year old sitting at the table, shoveling soggy cereal into her mouth while watching Lee expectantly.

"So why are you here?" she asked between bites.

"Is there anyone else home? I have an offer for you, but it requires your guardians consent," Lee didn't want to get Savannah's hopes up of going to the mansion if her sister was just going to refuse. But she hoped that wouldn't be the case. Savannah's attitude had changed drastically once she realized that Lee was like herself, and Lee knew that the child belonged with her own kind, with people that would understand her. Lee got the feeling that Savannah was a loner and lacked a person in her life that really, genuinely understood her.

"My sister's at work. She gets home around three," said Savannah just before bringing the cereal bowl to her lips and drinking the leftover milk. She smacked her lips once she was done with the milk, then gulped down the remainder of her apple juice. She stood from the table and placed the dishes on top of a pile in the sink.

"Well, I can come back when she's home. Would that be alright?"

"What do you want to talk to her about?" Savannah asked as she put the cereal box away in a cabinet.

"Well, I'm here on behalf of a very special school. It's for people like us. We teach mutants how to control and use their powers, give them a safe place to live, and be with others like themselves," Lee explained.

"What's it called?" Savannah asked curiously. Lee's eyes widened. She didn't know the answer to that. There really wasn't a name for the mansion. Everyone always just called it 'the mansion.'

"Xavier's," Lee sputtered. She threw the name out in desperation, not sure how else to answer the girls' question. It would sound stupid if she said they didn't have a name, and she couldn't tell the girl 'X-Men', either. That was just a joke between Sean and Alex.

"'Xavier's' what?" Savannah asked skeptically.

"School. Xavier's School for… gifted… for gifted youngsters," Lee stammered. Savannah eyed her warily, but accepted her answer. Lee could have smacked herself. The name was stupid, but she couldn't go back on it.

"You can tell me about it, if you want. I was gonna go to the library today, but Christine doesn't like me leaving the apartment by myself. If you come with me, she can't get mad. Will you wait while I get dressed?" Savannah asked.

"Oh, sure," Lee agreed. She didn't want to risk losing her opportunity to gain Savannah's interest by leaving her for the entire day, giving her a chance to rethink the situation.

Savannah dashed into the bedroom, hastily changed out of her dirty pajamas and into jean shorts, t-shirt, and trainers. She ran a brush through her hair and tied it back. Savannah left the single bedroom that she shared with her sister, walked past Lee to the door.

Lee followed Savannah out of the building, down the street, and to the library. It was cool and quiet inside the building, a welcome reprise from the summer heat. Lee spent the rest of the morning explained what she knew about mutants, and what the mansion was like to Savannah. Around noon, Lee bought them both sandwiches and Cokes at a deli on the corner, and returned to the library after lunch. Savannah pointed out all of her favorite books, and the ones that she hated. Savannah asked Lee questions about where she was from, asked her to say different phrases in Swedish to hear what the language sounded like, and talked about general topics until the time Savannah's sister was to be home neared.

Lee had forgotten to call Charles, and she hadn't really felt him inside her head. Though, she couldn't always tell when he was reading her thoughts. She amended that she would call him after she spoke to Savannah's sister, who she learned was named Christine. She worked as a nurse.

Lee and Savannah were sitting on the couch back in her flat, leafing through one of Christine's fashion magazines, making fun of the absurd things it said, when Christine walked into the flat.

"Who are you?" she demanded as soon as she noticed Lee. Christine was dressed in pale blue scrubs, and was carrying a large shoulder bag. She looked exhausted.

"My name is Lee Bohman-"

"She's from a school in Westchester! They want to offer me a spot! It's for special kids, like me!" cried Savannah excitedly as she leapt from the couch.

"Special?" Christine asked warily.

"Mutants! I'm a mutant! My DNA is different than yours and normal people's. That's why I'm so strong! And I heal faster than normal kids. Lee is one, too. Everyone at the school is. It's called Xavier's School, and they teach kids how to control their powers!" explained Savannah excitedly.

Christine was hard to persuade, but Lee stayed strong and held to her conviction. She remained adamant that the right place for Savannah was the school. It took nearly an hour for Lee to get Christine to agree. She had to explain her own credentials, as well as the other's, to prove that Savannah would be educated in not only her mutation. The fact that they were offering what Christine called a "full ride" helped persuade her.

Ten o'clock that night, Lee was driving back to the mansion with Savannah asleep in the front seat, the girls' bags taking up the trunk and backseat.

After guiding a sleepy Savannah into an empty bedroom, where she immediately fell back asleep, Lee was greeted by a more than please Charles.

Without saying a word, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. He was incredibly happy, and proud. He had been right about Lee's potential, and couldn't contain his joy.

Lee pulled away from him for a quick breath and asked, "I take it you're pleased?"

"Very much so," he replied, kissing her again. Wanting to get out of the hallway, Lee broke away, and led him into her bedroom.


So, yay, more mutants! And now we know where the name of the school came from.

Wah, this is almost over! Sad face :(

Oh, and feel free to make assumptions about the end, there. It's a bit suggestive, eh?