August 12th, 1999
"So most mutant develop their powers at the age of 11?"
"Usually yes, but they can manifest them later or earlier in life. It depends on various circumstances."
"Like what?" Inquisitive brown eyes stared at the man sitting across from her.
"Well for example, if something traumatic happens then it can cause the mutation to activate. It also depends on the kind of mutation," two clawed fingers slowly and carefully removed a piece from the tower.
"Yeah, you explained all the categories of mutations... What was it like for you? You mentioned once that you showed signs of mutation since birth so it must have been hard to hide it," small but steady hands removed a piece from the bottom of the slowly tipping Jenga tower.
"It wasn't for a while, to be frank. I was part of the football team while at Bard College and hid in plain sight. You see my mutation wasn't as obvious. I had no fur or claws or fangs, all I had were large hands and feet, enhanced strength and agility. But I was outted as a mutant and asked to leave the college. Luckily the Professor contacted me and offered me the chance to finish my undergraduate at this very school," while the blue haired man was recounting his story, his claws were gently and slowly taking out a Jenga piece from the centre of the tower. As soon as the piece was out, the tower tilted until it resembled the leaning tower of Pisa.
"So how did you get your fur?" she blurted out without thinking. A bead sweat ran down the side of the pointy-eared girl's face as she concentrated on removing another piece from the middle. After almost two weeks, Amelia had gotten close to her guardians at the institute. She and Hank often had conversations about their lives and experiences. Even though she had only lived a mere nine years, the blue haired man was interested in her life and stories. It was refreshing to talk to someone that didn't treat her like glass. Which, truthfully, neither the Professor nor Logan did.
Amelia Korra Rider grew to love these three men so easily it was kind of shocking.
She didn't want to lose them like she los-
A deep chuckle drew her away from her spiralling dark thoughts.
"Well, that is a long story little one."
"I'm a good listener and we have time," she pleaded, "ple-eease?" Her wide puppy eyes implored him, as hands gestured towards the Jenga tower that Hank was staring at, thinking of which piece to remove next. The smile on the mutant's face never falling as he took out a piece from the bottom. The tower shook slightly but didn't fall over.
As she contemplated the tower, Hank started explaining the origin of his peculiar characteristics.
"After I finished my undergraduate studies, I decided to further my knowledge. I have 6 PhDs at this moment-"
"That's amazing!" came the excited squeal of the nine-year-old, her jerking hand had sent the falling tower down and proclaimed the clawed man the winner.
There was a shocked silence before a giggle escaped the half-Atlantean's mouth and soon both of them burst out laughing at the unexpected end to their game. Looking at the clock, the mutant noted that their game had been going on for at least an hour, which- considering how tall the tower was- wasn't a surprise.
"As I was saying, after gaining my last PhD, I was offered the position as a genetic researcher. Long story short, I was doing research into mutations and I overheard one of my colleagues talking about how he was planning to steal my serum for his own research. I burned all my papers and drank the only vial of the serum. It was the catalyst of my second mutation and well-" the man spread his arms wide as in 'this-is-the-result' kind of way.
"That was mean," the girl in question had the most unimpressed look on her face that Hank had ever seen on a child and he barely smothered the laugh that escaped his lips.
"Yes, stealing other people's work is very mean. But I must admit it was reckless of me to just drink the serum and not pay attention to the time. Because of that, I didn't drink the antidote within the hour and made this second mutation permanent."
Looking at the blue-eyed man in front of her, Amelia couldn't help but admire how calm he is. He looked...
"Content is the word you're looking for. He accepted the consequences and has moved on with his life."
It was a testament to how accustomed the young brunette had gotten to the voice in her head, so much so that she didn't even twitch in surprise when he would suddenly inserted himself in the conversation. Or rather, her thoughts. She just hummed in acknowledgement and continued examining the beast in front of her, while started cleaning up all the Jenga pieces and returned them to the box.
Ever since she came to Xavier's Mansion, Hank was the most open person to talk to, the easiest to interact with. With Charles there was always a professional aspect to their talks, since he was her therapist, though on occasions, he would share some details about his life outside of their sessions. Usually, while he was giving her advice about her powers after training in the Danger Room. Such as how he had a friend once upon a time, a friend named Erik that had a very powerful mutation and it took him years before he mastered it.
Logan never said much about his past - mostly because he didn't remember it. Now that was an interesting revelation. Mind you, she never asked but after she mentioned how her mom once lost her memory after fighting alongside her uncle against an enemy, Logan simply responded 'know what that's like, glad that at least your mom got her memory back'. It wasn't hard to figure out what he meant but the Amelia didn't quite catch it until Worldmind explained it – much to her embarrassment.
Hank on the other hand was always open to her. He always talked about his life and never shied away from questions – unless they had to do with things that children shouldn't know about.
Bleh, it was annoying being out of the loop. But she could deal with it for now.
I'll find out one day what he meant by 'her parents must have had a lot of fun making her'. She had merely mentioned that her mom had chains in her closet, why Hank and Logan thought that had anything to do with her was confusing, although they looked close to panicking when she questioned them...
The doctor also never shied away from asking her questions and the young girl found out that she didn't mind answering truthfully to him either.
"Do you ever regret it?" Cobalt blue eyes snapped from the recently closed box of Jenga towards curious almond-shaped orbs.
"Hm? Do I regret what?" his husky voice answered in return. Pointy ears burned scarlet-red in embarrassment and Amelia hesitated. But, it was Hank and he always appreciated honesty.
"Do you regret taking the serum and causing your second mutation?"
A pause and a thoughtful look crossed the twenty-six-year-old's face.
"I did at the beginning but... I accepted it soon after it happened. I had Charles and the rest of the X-Men by my side and they helped me accept my new appearance and abilities. So no, I don't regret taking the serum - not anymore." There was a genuine smile on the man's lips as he said that and the little girl couldn't help but beam in happiness. She hated seeing her close friends feeling downcast.
"Now why don't you tell me about one of your crafty adventures with your godbrother?"
August 17th, 1999
It was 7 P.M. and Amelia was exhausted.
Logan decided to randomly test her reflexes in the Danger Room, so he expanded the stage and sent all kinds of objects flying at her. From robots flinging rubble, all the way to lasers being shot from the walls.
It was hell.
Worldmind had been laughing at her disastrous plight since the beginning.
How do I give him the middle finger in my head?
If her mother found out she was flipping off people, she would be punished and the blonde woman would have surely blamed her father. Unbeknownst to her that her little hellion had seen her give the finger to uncle Mar-Vell once hetold her to stop buying chocolate because he was getting fat.
The thought of her beautiful mother always brought on a special kind of pain, right in her heart.
But it wasn't as all-consuming as it was at the beginning. There was still lingering pain but this time, the ghost of genuine smile stretched her thin lips at the happy memory of her mother and uncle arguing over sweets.
A hand landing on her head brought her out of her melancholic thoughts and the girl immediately knew it was Logan's.
Looking up she noted he had a cigar in his mouth, not yet lit, as his light brown eyes were inquiring while looking down at her own dark-chocolate ones.
"You okay, shrimp?"
"Yeah…" she paused, gathering her strength, "just remembering my mom."
He hummed in response and she knew that he would listen if she wanted to talk. He always listens.
"You know, my mom always joked about how my dad probably loved my godfather more than her," were the only words that came out in that eventual statement, she sniffed as her eyes watered in remembrance. The youngest Rider felt an arm wrap around her shoulders in comfort. The Canadian had a calming presence around him whenever she talked about her past and she hoped he found comfort in her whenever the topic of his past came up.
The two were sitting in the teacher's lounge on the couch, still deciding on what movie to watch. She wanted to watch Mulan and he didn't want to watch a cartoon.
Well, you should suck it up because we're watching Mulan.
"Your dad and godfather that close?"
"Yeah, it was embarrassing watching them interact in public sometimes... In those times, mom and I acted like we didn't know them," she couldn't hold back the giggle while the feral mutant chuckled in amusement. It was nice remembering the good stuff, even if it was embarrassing.
"Has the Professor managed to help you recover some of the memories?" Amelia asked hesitantly.
"Nah, just some flashes."
"That sucks."
"Tell me about it," came the huffed out response.
Logan wouldn't have expected talking to a child so easily but then again, traumatised children always grew up faster. It was a shame how a child's light could be snuffed in a blink, so the man was always content when he saw the childish wonder in Amelia's eyes. He remembered the first time he saw it, it was three days after coming back to the X-Mansion and it had been his first spar with the shrimp. He wouldn't usually use his claws in spars, as to not hurt the kids, but learning that the elfin girl's skin couldn't be penetrated at all made him pop them out. She squealed in delight, that light, a child's wonder, twinkling in her eyes when she saw his claws.
It wasn't often that he got those kinds of looks from people, nothing other than fear; fear and dread.
But not her.
And it was refreshing.
While Logan was deep in thought, Amelia took her chance and popped the movie in and soon enough Mulan was starting and all the feral man could do was grumble and take a handful of popcorn from the bowl.
They watched the movie in a comfortable silence – interrupted by the nine-year-olds singing – and soon fell asleep on the couch. The small girl curled up by the larger man's side.
Neither had nightmares that night.
August 20th, 1999
It was Amelia and Charles' last session.
She would be leaving the very next day and she was truly going to miss this place. Especially the three men that helped heal her broken heart.
"How do you feel now?" it was a simple question, rather cliché but it didn't need to be a deep and philosophical answer.
They already did that.
This was the end.
"I'm feeling... better. Much better than when I first came here."
"And how do you feel about living with your uncle again?"
A pause ensued as she contemplated how to answer.
"At the beginning I just kept seeing my dad when I looked at Uncle Robbie. While they may have different eye colours, they still look alike and I-" the hesitation was clear but there was no fear. In this office, during these sessions, there was only trust and warmth.
"It's easier now. I know it. Last time he visited I only saw him, I didn't see my dad's face at all." With a smile, the half-Atlantean couldn't be prouder of her achievement. She loved her new guardian and she truly couldn't wait to live with him.
The telepath hummed while watching the young girl in front of him. The smile she had lit up her entire face, no matter how small it was. He was glad that he was able to help the child in front of him.
"And what will you be doing once you go back home?"
"Well, tomorrow I'm just gonna spend time with uncle Robbie but the day after Tony's coming to pick me up and take me to Disneyland for a week!" The thrilling answer brought a chuckle out of the bald man's lips.
"And after that, is it not time for you to go to school?"
"Yeah... Speaking of which, what's Earth school like?"
Amelia had never attended school on Earth or any other planet for that matter. She was home-schooled for the most part. When her family travelled the universe in their spaceship, her mom and Worldmind taught her everything she needed to know. They followed Earth's curriculum but added Atlantean classes, teaching her about her lineage as well and some other stuff about Xandar and other galaxies.
Her dad only finished high school so he never tried educating her, however, he did teach her how to throw a proper punch.
And he made sure to teach her as much as he could about certain races and their histories.
Starting school on Earth, where a bunch of people would intrude on her life, didn't appeal to the young girl. Unfortunately, it wasn't her choice.
"You will find out for yourself, all experiences are different." Amelia couldn't help but groan at the vague non-answer which prompted another chuckle from the Professor's lips.
He may have been a telepath but he only read her mind when they discussed serious topics. Even then, he never dwelled deep, always being respectful of both her and Worldmind.
There was a comfortable silence between the two individuals, no need for words when everything that needed to be said had already been said.
Except...
Will I be able to visit whenever?
The Rider knew that he answered that question before, but she couldn't help that it popped into her head again.
"Yes," her eyes snapped back up and locked with warm blue eyes.
"You will always have a place here. If you wish to meet the students or other professors, or even if you wish to speak to Hank, Logan or I, you are always welcome to stop by."
Overwhelming emotions of reassurance washed over her, eliciting tears from her doe eyes. Staring at Charles Xavier's sky blue ones, Amelia couldn't help but think: This feels like home.
Exam's are finished and the semester started so I'll have more time to write now :)
Thank you for your patience, I hope you like it!
Reviews are appreciated :D