Of Snow and Ebony
By-CKWan
Part two of this series.
Only Ebony belongs to me. Everyone and everything else "famous" belongs to someone other than me.
As always, feedback of any kind is welcomed. :)
~`~`~`~
Ebony woke up confused. She was in a bed. She couldn't remember the last time she had woken up in a bed. The sun was shining through a window on the other side of the room. Her bag had been placed on a chair by the window. She sat up and remembered where she was. She walked over to her bag, and upon noticing the bathroom, ran in, excited.
She took a long, hot shower. She just stood there, letting the hot water run over her frail body. She wasn't very tall, only five-foot-four. As a petite, she was only 105 pounds, but she was sure to put on some weight once she starting eating regularly and putting muscle into her current combination of skin and bones.
When she stepped out of the shower, the steam was so thick, she could almost write her name in the air. She giggled at the thought and opened the door to let the steam out. She quickly dressed in a pair of ripped old jeans and an old black Queen T-shirt. She grabbed her sunglasses so she wouldn't have to worry about scaring people with her eyes and set out on investigating the mansion.
~`~`~`~
Bobby just happened to be walking by the rec room when he saw someone he didn't recognize. He'd been here for a while and knew everyone. She was looking at their extensive movie collection ranging from "Dumb and Dumber" to "Schindler's List" to "Aladdin". Her long black hair created a thick wall, which almost touched the ground because she was bent over, so he couldn't see her face.
"Hi," he said as he walked in. She jumped and turned quickly, hands clenched.
"Hah," she said quietly. She took in his short blondish hair and stunning blue eyes. He was of medium build and certainly taller than her. Don' take much fer that, she thought with a smile to herself.
"I'm Bobby," he said, extending his hand. She shrank back from him, hiding her hands behind her back, not in fear, but to protect him. He noted to himself the odd fact that she was wearing sunglasses in the house.
"I'm Ebony," she said.
"When did you get here? I would have remembered seeing you," he said with a small smile.
"Last nahght."
"Where are you from?" he asked, noticing her thick southern accent.
She lowered her head. "Somewhare in th' south," she said.
"You don't know?" he asked.
Her head raised sharply. Even though her eyes were hidden, he could have sworn they were narrowed at him. "I don', okay? Is it that big ova deal?" she asked defensively.
"No," he said quickly. "I was just curious, that's all."
"Oh."
"Hey, Bobby, have ya seen…?" Logan said as he walked around the corner into the rec room, stopping when he saw her himself.
"Hey Logan," she said quietly. She noticed his brow had been creased in what she could have sworn was concern. He had quickly washed the look off of his face though, she noted. She wasn't sure what to think of that.
"Hey," he said. "The professor wants you to take a few tests."
"Aiight," she said. "Nahce meetin' ya, Bobby."
"Yeah, you too, Ebony," as he watched her walk off with Logan. Definitely need to get to know her better, he thought with a small smile before going to watch "Lost & Found"…again.
~`~`~`~
"Hello, Ebony," the professor said. "I hope I didn't startle you yesterday."
"Nah," she said. "Ah thought 'as me that scart you."
He smiled at her accent. "I'm Professor Charles Xavior. I run the school."
"Seems ta be a nahce place," she said, surveying his office. The chair she sat in was very comfortable and in front of the professor's huge desk. The professor was seated in his wheelchair behind the desk. Logan was seated in the chair next to her. Jean, Scott, and Ororo were also in the room. Scott stood by the professor, watching her warily from behind his ruby quartz glasses. Jean stood next to Ororo to the right of Logan.
"I'm glad you think so," Charles said with a small smile to help make her more comfortable. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a series of questions, then have Jean perform some tests on you to evaluate the amount of control you have over your powers and the strength of them as well. Okay?"
"Aiight," she said with a shrug. "Ah don' care."
"Could I get you to take off your sunglasses?" he asked softly.
She seemed startled. "Ya sure?" she asked nervously. "Ah don' wanna scare ya."
"It's all right," he said.
Slowly she reached up and removed her sunglasses. For a moment, she stared at her hands in her lap. Slowly, she raised her head to look at Charles. If he was stunned, he didn't show it. Scott however, jumped. She turned to look at Jean and Ororo. Both shrank back a little. She quickly looked back at her hands.
"Don't be ashamed," Charles said softly. "You have beautiful and unique eyes."
She glanced up at him, clearly startled. Her eyes had been described as many things, but "beautiful" and "unique" weren't among them.
"Logan says that you have multiple powers. Is that true?"
"Ya," she replied in a quiet voice. "Ah'm telepathic an' telekinetic. Ah c'n control the weather an' Ah c'n absorb energy an' powers from people an' mutants. Ah c'n shoot laser beams from mah ahyes. Ah c'n heal mayself real fast. Ah've got claws lahke Logan. Ah've got strong senses, lahke seein', hearin', an' smellin'. Ah'm very strong. Ah've gotta long tongue an' c'n control metal. An', Ah c'n become anyone or anythin'."
For a moment, all was quiet. If one listened hard enough, or in Logan and Ebony's case just plain listened, the children in classrooms with the doors closed could be heard from across the mansion.
Scott was the first to talk. "You've got control of your optic blasts?" he whispered. He couldn't believe that it was possible to control his power. He had been condemned to his glasses and visor since a childhood brain injury.
"Yeah," she said, surprised that he was even talking to her after last night. "Wanna see?"
He nodded.
"Anyhin' ya won' miss if Ah blow it up?" she asked the professor.
He pointed to a lamp on his desk. She narrowed her eyes at it, and everyone except Logan jumped when an optic blast protruded from her eyes and destroyed the lamp. Scott's jaw dropped so far Jean found it almost comical and hid a small smile.
"Ah'm not sure if Ah c'n control the power of the blast, though," she said.
"We'll look into that later," the professor said. "How long have you had your powers?"
"As long 's Ah c'n remember," she said. "Ah 'as experimented on lahke Logan. My first memory is," she paused to think for a moment, "waking up on some kinda hard bed, lahke a hospital bed, ya know? Ah could hear voices from th' distance. Ah could only make out some 'a the words, though. Sumthin' 'bout me bein' able ta challenge all the X-Men and th' mutants in the Brotherhood of Mutants. Then it's black."
Everyone sat in silence, digesting the new information.
"Do you remember any other name then Ebony?" Jean asked softly.
"The only otha name that comes to mahnd is 'Renee,'" she said with a thoughtful look on her face.
"I think that's all for now, Ebony. Thank you," the professor said. "Jean, please escort her to the lab to perform the tests. Scott, Logan, stay here please. There are some things that need to be discussed."
Ebony looked at Logan nervously. He was the only one she somewhat trusted. She'd just met Jean last night and wasn't too comfortable being alone with her yet. Logan sensed her nervousness, and quickly assured her that things would be okay with Jean.
She still seemed uncertain. Logan understood her fear. He had once been afraid of those he didn't know and those he'd just met. He also knew Jean, and she would never harm the girl. After all, she'd taken care of him. That certainly showed she had some guts. Bein' engaged to Wonder Boy counts fer somthin' too, he thought.
"It's okay, kid," he said. "Jeannie won't hurt ya. She took care of when I first came here. That says something, don't it?"
Jean gave Logan a small smile. Scott saw the smile and frowned. Charles sighed at Scott's frown. Ororo rolled her eyes at Scott's jealousy. Logan ignored all of them except Jean and Ebony.
After taking into consideration what Logan had said, Ebony stood and allowed allowed Jean to show her the way to the lab.
"I'm gonna go tend to my plants," Ororo said as she walked out of the office, closing the door behind her.
"Logan," Charles said, "where did you meet her?"
"In a town by the old military base. I found 'er curled up in a ball in an old building sleepin'."
"Do you know how old she is?"
"Nope," Logan said. "She didn' say, but she looks like a teenager. Bein' she was experimented on like I was, she could be 50 and look young. Who knows?"
"Maybe we should enroll her in some classes here," Scott suggested. "Let her meet some of the students here. And depending on how much control she has over all of her powers, she should stay here to learn whatever control she needs."
"Put a lota thought into that one, One Eye?" Logan asked. If Logan hadn't known any better, he could have sworn Summers was narrowing his eyes at him. It was difficult to tell because one couldn't see through his ruby quartz glasses.
"That may be the best course of action," the professor said, ignoring Logan's remark as he did most of the barbs exchanged between the two. "Let's wait for Jean's test results before we make any decisions."
~`~`~`~
"Professor, the girl's right," Jean said hours later in Charles' office. "She's got all of our powers along with the Brotherhood of Mutants' powers. She's got control over most of them, except her absorption power and the strength of her optic blasts."
"Is she dangerous to herself and others?" Scott asked.
"Only when she's mad," Jean replied. "She's very careful to not narrow her eyes, but I think it would be safer to have her wear ruby quartz glasses like Scott's. Also, she should wear gloves like Rogue's."
"Does she have good vision?" Charles asked.
"Very good. 10/20. She's got excellent depth perception and peripheral vision. She can focus on objects straight in front of her more if she wants to, like focusing a lens of a camera. Her eye seems to be on big pupil."
"What about light sensitivity?" Charles questioned.
"She can adjust to almost any amount of light, or lack there of, with a blink of her eyes. She's got excellent night vision, also."
"Sounds like a fully equipped fighting machine," Scott murmured.
"Except she's got a conscience," Jean said. "She seems to be a very sweet girl, just very untrusting. I don't blame her, with all she's been through, that she remembers anyway."
"Any luck finding anything on her past?" Charles asked.
"Nothing so far," Jean said. "But we're still looking. She only remembers a few years, so it's possible there's still a record of her somewhere."
"Unlikely though," the professor said. "I want to know how they got the resources to create a mutant like her. Obviously, they had enough of our genes to create her."
"That would take forever to create a gene pattern like hers," Jean said. "Unless they had an expert in genetics working for them. Even then, it would take a while to create something so precise."
"Could they have given her injections or some kind of pill that gave her our powers?" Scott asked.
"I don't know," Jean said. "It's a possibility. This is pioneer work in the field of genetics. I can't think of how many times it must have taken them to perfect the genetic code to create her."
"I think it's best she stay here for now," Charles said. "She's safe here from anyone who might be looking for her. Someone put years of research and a lot of money into her. They aren't just gonna let her be."
~`~`~`~
Severe writer's block is hitting me and it hurts (corny I know :) ). I've kind of hinted of Beast/Henry McCoy being involved in this part, but I don't know where I'm going with this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. ")
By-CKWan
Part two of this series.
Only Ebony belongs to me. Everyone and everything else "famous" belongs to someone other than me.
As always, feedback of any kind is welcomed. :)
~`~`~`~
Ebony woke up confused. She was in a bed. She couldn't remember the last time she had woken up in a bed. The sun was shining through a window on the other side of the room. Her bag had been placed on a chair by the window. She sat up and remembered where she was. She walked over to her bag, and upon noticing the bathroom, ran in, excited.
She took a long, hot shower. She just stood there, letting the hot water run over her frail body. She wasn't very tall, only five-foot-four. As a petite, she was only 105 pounds, but she was sure to put on some weight once she starting eating regularly and putting muscle into her current combination of skin and bones.
When she stepped out of the shower, the steam was so thick, she could almost write her name in the air. She giggled at the thought and opened the door to let the steam out. She quickly dressed in a pair of ripped old jeans and an old black Queen T-shirt. She grabbed her sunglasses so she wouldn't have to worry about scaring people with her eyes and set out on investigating the mansion.
~`~`~`~
Bobby just happened to be walking by the rec room when he saw someone he didn't recognize. He'd been here for a while and knew everyone. She was looking at their extensive movie collection ranging from "Dumb and Dumber" to "Schindler's List" to "Aladdin". Her long black hair created a thick wall, which almost touched the ground because she was bent over, so he couldn't see her face.
"Hi," he said as he walked in. She jumped and turned quickly, hands clenched.
"Hah," she said quietly. She took in his short blondish hair and stunning blue eyes. He was of medium build and certainly taller than her. Don' take much fer that, she thought with a smile to herself.
"I'm Bobby," he said, extending his hand. She shrank back from him, hiding her hands behind her back, not in fear, but to protect him. He noted to himself the odd fact that she was wearing sunglasses in the house.
"I'm Ebony," she said.
"When did you get here? I would have remembered seeing you," he said with a small smile.
"Last nahght."
"Where are you from?" he asked, noticing her thick southern accent.
She lowered her head. "Somewhare in th' south," she said.
"You don't know?" he asked.
Her head raised sharply. Even though her eyes were hidden, he could have sworn they were narrowed at him. "I don', okay? Is it that big ova deal?" she asked defensively.
"No," he said quickly. "I was just curious, that's all."
"Oh."
"Hey, Bobby, have ya seen…?" Logan said as he walked around the corner into the rec room, stopping when he saw her himself.
"Hey Logan," she said quietly. She noticed his brow had been creased in what she could have sworn was concern. He had quickly washed the look off of his face though, she noted. She wasn't sure what to think of that.
"Hey," he said. "The professor wants you to take a few tests."
"Aiight," she said. "Nahce meetin' ya, Bobby."
"Yeah, you too, Ebony," as he watched her walk off with Logan. Definitely need to get to know her better, he thought with a small smile before going to watch "Lost & Found"…again.
~`~`~`~
"Hello, Ebony," the professor said. "I hope I didn't startle you yesterday."
"Nah," she said. "Ah thought 'as me that scart you."
He smiled at her accent. "I'm Professor Charles Xavior. I run the school."
"Seems ta be a nahce place," she said, surveying his office. The chair she sat in was very comfortable and in front of the professor's huge desk. The professor was seated in his wheelchair behind the desk. Logan was seated in the chair next to her. Jean, Scott, and Ororo were also in the room. Scott stood by the professor, watching her warily from behind his ruby quartz glasses. Jean stood next to Ororo to the right of Logan.
"I'm glad you think so," Charles said with a small smile to help make her more comfortable. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a series of questions, then have Jean perform some tests on you to evaluate the amount of control you have over your powers and the strength of them as well. Okay?"
"Aiight," she said with a shrug. "Ah don' care."
"Could I get you to take off your sunglasses?" he asked softly.
She seemed startled. "Ya sure?" she asked nervously. "Ah don' wanna scare ya."
"It's all right," he said.
Slowly she reached up and removed her sunglasses. For a moment, she stared at her hands in her lap. Slowly, she raised her head to look at Charles. If he was stunned, he didn't show it. Scott however, jumped. She turned to look at Jean and Ororo. Both shrank back a little. She quickly looked back at her hands.
"Don't be ashamed," Charles said softly. "You have beautiful and unique eyes."
She glanced up at him, clearly startled. Her eyes had been described as many things, but "beautiful" and "unique" weren't among them.
"Logan says that you have multiple powers. Is that true?"
"Ya," she replied in a quiet voice. "Ah'm telepathic an' telekinetic. Ah c'n control the weather an' Ah c'n absorb energy an' powers from people an' mutants. Ah c'n shoot laser beams from mah ahyes. Ah c'n heal mayself real fast. Ah've got claws lahke Logan. Ah've got strong senses, lahke seein', hearin', an' smellin'. Ah'm very strong. Ah've gotta long tongue an' c'n control metal. An', Ah c'n become anyone or anythin'."
For a moment, all was quiet. If one listened hard enough, or in Logan and Ebony's case just plain listened, the children in classrooms with the doors closed could be heard from across the mansion.
Scott was the first to talk. "You've got control of your optic blasts?" he whispered. He couldn't believe that it was possible to control his power. He had been condemned to his glasses and visor since a childhood brain injury.
"Yeah," she said, surprised that he was even talking to her after last night. "Wanna see?"
He nodded.
"Anyhin' ya won' miss if Ah blow it up?" she asked the professor.
He pointed to a lamp on his desk. She narrowed her eyes at it, and everyone except Logan jumped when an optic blast protruded from her eyes and destroyed the lamp. Scott's jaw dropped so far Jean found it almost comical and hid a small smile.
"Ah'm not sure if Ah c'n control the power of the blast, though," she said.
"We'll look into that later," the professor said. "How long have you had your powers?"
"As long 's Ah c'n remember," she said. "Ah 'as experimented on lahke Logan. My first memory is," she paused to think for a moment, "waking up on some kinda hard bed, lahke a hospital bed, ya know? Ah could hear voices from th' distance. Ah could only make out some 'a the words, though. Sumthin' 'bout me bein' able ta challenge all the X-Men and th' mutants in the Brotherhood of Mutants. Then it's black."
Everyone sat in silence, digesting the new information.
"Do you remember any other name then Ebony?" Jean asked softly.
"The only otha name that comes to mahnd is 'Renee,'" she said with a thoughtful look on her face.
"I think that's all for now, Ebony. Thank you," the professor said. "Jean, please escort her to the lab to perform the tests. Scott, Logan, stay here please. There are some things that need to be discussed."
Ebony looked at Logan nervously. He was the only one she somewhat trusted. She'd just met Jean last night and wasn't too comfortable being alone with her yet. Logan sensed her nervousness, and quickly assured her that things would be okay with Jean.
She still seemed uncertain. Logan understood her fear. He had once been afraid of those he didn't know and those he'd just met. He also knew Jean, and she would never harm the girl. After all, she'd taken care of him. That certainly showed she had some guts. Bein' engaged to Wonder Boy counts fer somthin' too, he thought.
"It's okay, kid," he said. "Jeannie won't hurt ya. She took care of when I first came here. That says something, don't it?"
Jean gave Logan a small smile. Scott saw the smile and frowned. Charles sighed at Scott's frown. Ororo rolled her eyes at Scott's jealousy. Logan ignored all of them except Jean and Ebony.
After taking into consideration what Logan had said, Ebony stood and allowed allowed Jean to show her the way to the lab.
"I'm gonna go tend to my plants," Ororo said as she walked out of the office, closing the door behind her.
"Logan," Charles said, "where did you meet her?"
"In a town by the old military base. I found 'er curled up in a ball in an old building sleepin'."
"Do you know how old she is?"
"Nope," Logan said. "She didn' say, but she looks like a teenager. Bein' she was experimented on like I was, she could be 50 and look young. Who knows?"
"Maybe we should enroll her in some classes here," Scott suggested. "Let her meet some of the students here. And depending on how much control she has over all of her powers, she should stay here to learn whatever control she needs."
"Put a lota thought into that one, One Eye?" Logan asked. If Logan hadn't known any better, he could have sworn Summers was narrowing his eyes at him. It was difficult to tell because one couldn't see through his ruby quartz glasses.
"That may be the best course of action," the professor said, ignoring Logan's remark as he did most of the barbs exchanged between the two. "Let's wait for Jean's test results before we make any decisions."
~`~`~`~
"Professor, the girl's right," Jean said hours later in Charles' office. "She's got all of our powers along with the Brotherhood of Mutants' powers. She's got control over most of them, except her absorption power and the strength of her optic blasts."
"Is she dangerous to herself and others?" Scott asked.
"Only when she's mad," Jean replied. "She's very careful to not narrow her eyes, but I think it would be safer to have her wear ruby quartz glasses like Scott's. Also, she should wear gloves like Rogue's."
"Does she have good vision?" Charles asked.
"Very good. 10/20. She's got excellent depth perception and peripheral vision. She can focus on objects straight in front of her more if she wants to, like focusing a lens of a camera. Her eye seems to be on big pupil."
"What about light sensitivity?" Charles questioned.
"She can adjust to almost any amount of light, or lack there of, with a blink of her eyes. She's got excellent night vision, also."
"Sounds like a fully equipped fighting machine," Scott murmured.
"Except she's got a conscience," Jean said. "She seems to be a very sweet girl, just very untrusting. I don't blame her, with all she's been through, that she remembers anyway."
"Any luck finding anything on her past?" Charles asked.
"Nothing so far," Jean said. "But we're still looking. She only remembers a few years, so it's possible there's still a record of her somewhere."
"Unlikely though," the professor said. "I want to know how they got the resources to create a mutant like her. Obviously, they had enough of our genes to create her."
"That would take forever to create a gene pattern like hers," Jean said. "Unless they had an expert in genetics working for them. Even then, it would take a while to create something so precise."
"Could they have given her injections or some kind of pill that gave her our powers?" Scott asked.
"I don't know," Jean said. "It's a possibility. This is pioneer work in the field of genetics. I can't think of how many times it must have taken them to perfect the genetic code to create her."
"I think it's best she stay here for now," Charles said. "She's safe here from anyone who might be looking for her. Someone put years of research and a lot of money into her. They aren't just gonna let her be."
~`~`~`~
Severe writer's block is hitting me and it hurts (corny I know :) ). I've kind of hinted of Beast/Henry McCoy being involved in this part, but I don't know where I'm going with this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. ")