Chapter 2
Nightcrawler:
I tossed and turned in my bed, but I couldn't get comfortable. I wasn't used to this room yet, and I was too excited to sleep. Slowly, I got out of bed and put on a jacket and pants. Then zap; I was in the hallway. I looked up and down the dark hall and swished my tail nervously. There was nothing but an old clock reading one in the morning, a sleeping gray cat, and some classy furniture. At least, a lot classier than I was used to.
"Coast is clear," I said to myself. The gray cat awoke and looked around as I moved stealthily down the hall. I continued down the hallway and started down a flight of stairs when I heard a voice.
What's up?
I looked around to try to pinpoint where the voice had come from. It had seemed to come from no where, like it was inside my own head.
"Who is there?" I asked quietly, hoping not to wake anyone.
Down here, said the voice. I suddenly realized who, or more like what was speaking. The cat. It walked towards me slowly, then stopped and looked up at me with smiling eyes.
"Okay, this must be some strange dream." I pinched my arm, and flinched. "Or maybe not. Who are you?"
My name's Sharon, I go by the name Phorm. I morph into different animals, it usually takes people by surprise. Sorry if I startled you with the whole telepathic communication thing.
"So you're not a talking cat?"
Nope, she said, I'll prove it to you if you promise not to freak out.
"Okay," I said, not sure what to expect.
She began to grow larger, and the fur shrank back to reveal human skin. Her cat ears traveled down the sides of her head to become human ears. It was fascinating to watch, this transformation. I had never seen anything like it. One minute she was a gray cat, the next minute the girl with jet-black hair and silver-gray eyes.
"Wow," I said. "That's amazing! I saw you in the hall today, didn't I?" Duh, what clever observation skills. I could feel my cheeks burn.
"Yup," she said with a smile.
"Eh, sorry for being rude. I would have said hi if it wasn't for the wall of people."
"Don't worry about it. So, what brings you out here tonight?"
"I couldn't sleep," I said. I hoped she wouldn't tell the professor I was running around the mansion at night. Then again, so was she. "How about you?"
"Ditto," she said. "It's easier to sleep as a cat, and if I don't sleep it's just more fun."
"Sorry I woke you up," I said, although I didn't really regret it. I'd wanted to talk to Sharon before, and now I had my chance. She was interesting, a little peculiar, but interesting.
"Oh, I don't really mind," she said. "Since I'm up, why don't I show you around?"
"Okay." We walked around the dark hallways of the school, always careful not to make too much noise. I found out that Sharon had run away from home and joined up with the X-Men a little while ago. She didn't go into details and got quiet for a while.
Then she smiled and said, "Well that was awkward." I laughed and she started talking again. Then there was a noise down the hall, and we thought someone had heard us. Sharon morphed into a cat and hid under a chair and I teleported twenty feet down the hall. We just sat there hiding for a few seconds until Sharon spoke up.
I'm gonna' go check it out. She walked confidently up the hall and looked around. The noise turned out to be just a cricket, but it was very exciting. Sharon changed back into herself and picked up the tiny bug.
"What are you doing with it?" I asked. She let it go.
"Just getting an extra morph. Although I don't like morphing small animals, especially bugs." We got on to chatting and when we'd thoroughly exhausted ourselves talking, laughing, and running around the mansion we decided to get some sleep.
"I guess I'll see you in training tomorrow," she said. "Maybe you wanna' meet here tomorrow night?"
"Sure," I said, the excitement in my voice evident. "I'll see you then."
"Goodnight," she said. She turned away walked down the hall, morphing back into a cat as she turned the corner. I walked back to my room and found my bed. I don't know when I fell asleep, but I remember wondering what it would be like training with the X Men. One thing I knew at least. With Sharon on the team it wouldn't be boring.
Phorm:
Usually I don't get much sleep, but last night I'd only gotten around two hours. I woke up sore and cranky from running around, and on top of that my hair was impossible. Let's just say I'm not a morning person.
Anyway, I made it out of bed and managed to get ready for the meeting. Usually there is no strict training schedule. All the X-Men pretty much just meet once in a while and have practice sessions maybe once a week with the only exceptions being emergency meetings. The practice sessions are cool. They're held in the danger room; a huge holographic gymnasium that can be set to simulate any sort of situation. It gives us a chance to practice our fighting skills, and for us to test new members. Sometimes I got in there to test my morphs too.
I walked into the conference room before it was time for the meeting and took a seat. Kurt was standing next to some of the other team members, shaking ever so slightly from nervous energy and lack of sleep. He saw me and smiled but was busy talking to Cyclops. Cyclops acknowledged me with a neutral glance. I sat staring at nothing at all, thinking to myself.
Cyclops's real name is Scott but I usually just call him Cyclops so I don't get confused, plus the whole respect thing. That's so weird, how "young people" are not supposed to call adults by their first names. I mean, who really cares? Anyway, he always wears sunglasses because he shoots red beams from his eyes, which is pretty cool to see unless you're standing in front of him. He introduced Kurt to Jean Grey and Rogue. Jean's got telekinetic and telepathic powers and Rogue can drain people's powers. They sat down, but there were still more empty seats in the room.
Then Professor Xavier came in along with Storm and Beast. Beast (whose real name is Dr. Hank McCoy) had returned from a research trip a few days ago. He was surprised to hear about what had happened while he was gone. He'd missed the whole fight with Magneto, and me and Rogue joining the team. You should have seen him when he heard about my powers. I guess it's unique that I can change into animals, because whenever I see him he asks to run some more tests. It's like I became his next science project.
Storm's power is that she can control the weather. When I first met the X-Men at the UN Summit Meeting she'd almost unintentionally zapped me with a bolt of lightning, but I didn't hold it against her. She had always been kind to me, talked with me when I was down and all. Sometimes you need someone like that around.
So that's our little party, enough with the background info. I was still sitting and staring at nothing as the whole group sat down. Cyclops finished up the intros and went over some official stuff but I was pretty much tuned out. I looked at Kurt and made a 'blah blah blah' expression. Kurt stifled a laugh. Then I looked at my watch (or at least where a watch would be if I wore one) and yawned, which caused him to laugh again. This time Cyclops noticed. He looked from Kurt to me and my expression went quickly to serious. Ha! I'd gotten away with another one, and Cyclops was none the wiser.
"Well, that's everyone," said Cyclops, giving me a stern look. "Professor."
"All right," said the professor, "Sharon has brought to my attention that not all of the Brotherhood members have been accounted for." Everyone looked at me. Oh goody, I got to be the center of attention!
"Mystique was on TV a little while ago so we know she got away, and there was no trace of the others on Liberty Island," I said. "Seems they all got away."
"I will use Cerebro to try to locate them," the professor said, "but if that fails we must perform a manual search." Cerebro was this big room that the professor used to detect mutants. It amplifies his psychic powers and lets him trace mutant brainwaves.
"Should I take out the Blackbird?" asked Cyclops. The Blackbird was our very own stealth jet. Pretty spiffy looking too.
"No Scott, not just yet," answered the professor. "First I will try using Cerebro. Until then I want everyone preparing. I'm not sure if we'll have to take action any time soon. Before any of that Kurt must take the test."
Kurt looked more than nervous as our little party traveled down the underground halls to the danger room. I overheard Cyclops talking to Kurt again.
"So, have you met Phorm before?" asked Cyclops. Uh oh, Cyclops was getting snoopy.
"Um, yes," said Kurt. I could tell he didn't want anyone to know he'd been out last night. It wouldn't exactly make the best impression on the professor.
"When?" inquired Cyclops.
"We met when I arrived," he said. Well, that was pretty true. I walked up to them and cut in on the conversation to make sure Cyclops didn't get too inquisitive.
"Yup," I said, smiling a big dopey smile. "Kurt's first time in the danger room, oh the memories!" Cyclops looked annoyed, but the distraction worked.
"Wait! Let me get a camera," I persisted in my big dopey smile, "this is a Kodak moment!" That was one of my typical quirky comments (an especially used one at that) so everyone just acknowledged with a sigh, but Kurt found it funny and laughed. It was refreshing to have someone actually laugh at my joke, but the important thing was Kurt's questioning was over. Save made. Finally we arrived at the danger room entrance. I guess Cyclops had explained to Kurt what he had to do while I was spaced out.
"This is it," Professor Xavier said to Kurt. "Now is when you must use your skills to overcome the threats in the danger room. Remember the danger room simulations are very real. This is a sort of test and we will judge your abilities to confirm your team membership."
"No pressure or anything." I added to lighten things up. Kurt seemed to relax a little, but Cyclops shot me a look saying 'this is serious.' I rolled my eyes in exasperation.
Sometimes I think old Cyclops doesn't trust me. He seemed sort of reluctant at first to my joining the team, and after that being on the team. Who knew that two orphans could become such different people? There was Cyclops, the loyal and accountable leader of the X-Men, and then, well then there was me. I had to admit I could be childish sometimes, and I guess Mr. Responsible has a reason not to trust a runaway like me, but it gets sort of annoying. Anytime I goof off the slightest bit he shoots me one of his dirty looks.
"Yes," said the professor, "There's no need for you to worry about the test. I'm sure you'll do fine."
"Are you ready?" said Beast, who was at the outer controls to the room.
"I think so," said Kurt.
"Good luck," I said with a smile. Then Beast opened the door and the rest of us watched as Nightcrawler entered the danger room.
Nightcrawler:
I tossed and turned in my bed, but I couldn't get comfortable. I wasn't used to this room yet, and I was too excited to sleep. Slowly, I got out of bed and put on a jacket and pants. Then zap; I was in the hallway. I looked up and down the dark hall and swished my tail nervously. There was nothing but an old clock reading one in the morning, a sleeping gray cat, and some classy furniture. At least, a lot classier than I was used to.
"Coast is clear," I said to myself. The gray cat awoke and looked around as I moved stealthily down the hall. I continued down the hallway and started down a flight of stairs when I heard a voice.
What's up?
I looked around to try to pinpoint where the voice had come from. It had seemed to come from no where, like it was inside my own head.
"Who is there?" I asked quietly, hoping not to wake anyone.
Down here, said the voice. I suddenly realized who, or more like what was speaking. The cat. It walked towards me slowly, then stopped and looked up at me with smiling eyes.
"Okay, this must be some strange dream." I pinched my arm, and flinched. "Or maybe not. Who are you?"
My name's Sharon, I go by the name Phorm. I morph into different animals, it usually takes people by surprise. Sorry if I startled you with the whole telepathic communication thing.
"So you're not a talking cat?"
Nope, she said, I'll prove it to you if you promise not to freak out.
"Okay," I said, not sure what to expect.
She began to grow larger, and the fur shrank back to reveal human skin. Her cat ears traveled down the sides of her head to become human ears. It was fascinating to watch, this transformation. I had never seen anything like it. One minute she was a gray cat, the next minute the girl with jet-black hair and silver-gray eyes.
"Wow," I said. "That's amazing! I saw you in the hall today, didn't I?" Duh, what clever observation skills. I could feel my cheeks burn.
"Yup," she said with a smile.
"Eh, sorry for being rude. I would have said hi if it wasn't for the wall of people."
"Don't worry about it. So, what brings you out here tonight?"
"I couldn't sleep," I said. I hoped she wouldn't tell the professor I was running around the mansion at night. Then again, so was she. "How about you?"
"Ditto," she said. "It's easier to sleep as a cat, and if I don't sleep it's just more fun."
"Sorry I woke you up," I said, although I didn't really regret it. I'd wanted to talk to Sharon before, and now I had my chance. She was interesting, a little peculiar, but interesting.
"Oh, I don't really mind," she said. "Since I'm up, why don't I show you around?"
"Okay." We walked around the dark hallways of the school, always careful not to make too much noise. I found out that Sharon had run away from home and joined up with the X-Men a little while ago. She didn't go into details and got quiet for a while.
Then she smiled and said, "Well that was awkward." I laughed and she started talking again. Then there was a noise down the hall, and we thought someone had heard us. Sharon morphed into a cat and hid under a chair and I teleported twenty feet down the hall. We just sat there hiding for a few seconds until Sharon spoke up.
I'm gonna' go check it out. She walked confidently up the hall and looked around. The noise turned out to be just a cricket, but it was very exciting. Sharon changed back into herself and picked up the tiny bug.
"What are you doing with it?" I asked. She let it go.
"Just getting an extra morph. Although I don't like morphing small animals, especially bugs." We got on to chatting and when we'd thoroughly exhausted ourselves talking, laughing, and running around the mansion we decided to get some sleep.
"I guess I'll see you in training tomorrow," she said. "Maybe you wanna' meet here tomorrow night?"
"Sure," I said, the excitement in my voice evident. "I'll see you then."
"Goodnight," she said. She turned away walked down the hall, morphing back into a cat as she turned the corner. I walked back to my room and found my bed. I don't know when I fell asleep, but I remember wondering what it would be like training with the X Men. One thing I knew at least. With Sharon on the team it wouldn't be boring.
Phorm:
Usually I don't get much sleep, but last night I'd only gotten around two hours. I woke up sore and cranky from running around, and on top of that my hair was impossible. Let's just say I'm not a morning person.
Anyway, I made it out of bed and managed to get ready for the meeting. Usually there is no strict training schedule. All the X-Men pretty much just meet once in a while and have practice sessions maybe once a week with the only exceptions being emergency meetings. The practice sessions are cool. They're held in the danger room; a huge holographic gymnasium that can be set to simulate any sort of situation. It gives us a chance to practice our fighting skills, and for us to test new members. Sometimes I got in there to test my morphs too.
I walked into the conference room before it was time for the meeting and took a seat. Kurt was standing next to some of the other team members, shaking ever so slightly from nervous energy and lack of sleep. He saw me and smiled but was busy talking to Cyclops. Cyclops acknowledged me with a neutral glance. I sat staring at nothing at all, thinking to myself.
Cyclops's real name is Scott but I usually just call him Cyclops so I don't get confused, plus the whole respect thing. That's so weird, how "young people" are not supposed to call adults by their first names. I mean, who really cares? Anyway, he always wears sunglasses because he shoots red beams from his eyes, which is pretty cool to see unless you're standing in front of him. He introduced Kurt to Jean Grey and Rogue. Jean's got telekinetic and telepathic powers and Rogue can drain people's powers. They sat down, but there were still more empty seats in the room.
Then Professor Xavier came in along with Storm and Beast. Beast (whose real name is Dr. Hank McCoy) had returned from a research trip a few days ago. He was surprised to hear about what had happened while he was gone. He'd missed the whole fight with Magneto, and me and Rogue joining the team. You should have seen him when he heard about my powers. I guess it's unique that I can change into animals, because whenever I see him he asks to run some more tests. It's like I became his next science project.
Storm's power is that she can control the weather. When I first met the X-Men at the UN Summit Meeting she'd almost unintentionally zapped me with a bolt of lightning, but I didn't hold it against her. She had always been kind to me, talked with me when I was down and all. Sometimes you need someone like that around.
So that's our little party, enough with the background info. I was still sitting and staring at nothing as the whole group sat down. Cyclops finished up the intros and went over some official stuff but I was pretty much tuned out. I looked at Kurt and made a 'blah blah blah' expression. Kurt stifled a laugh. Then I looked at my watch (or at least where a watch would be if I wore one) and yawned, which caused him to laugh again. This time Cyclops noticed. He looked from Kurt to me and my expression went quickly to serious. Ha! I'd gotten away with another one, and Cyclops was none the wiser.
"Well, that's everyone," said Cyclops, giving me a stern look. "Professor."
"All right," said the professor, "Sharon has brought to my attention that not all of the Brotherhood members have been accounted for." Everyone looked at me. Oh goody, I got to be the center of attention!
"Mystique was on TV a little while ago so we know she got away, and there was no trace of the others on Liberty Island," I said. "Seems they all got away."
"I will use Cerebro to try to locate them," the professor said, "but if that fails we must perform a manual search." Cerebro was this big room that the professor used to detect mutants. It amplifies his psychic powers and lets him trace mutant brainwaves.
"Should I take out the Blackbird?" asked Cyclops. The Blackbird was our very own stealth jet. Pretty spiffy looking too.
"No Scott, not just yet," answered the professor. "First I will try using Cerebro. Until then I want everyone preparing. I'm not sure if we'll have to take action any time soon. Before any of that Kurt must take the test."
Kurt looked more than nervous as our little party traveled down the underground halls to the danger room. I overheard Cyclops talking to Kurt again.
"So, have you met Phorm before?" asked Cyclops. Uh oh, Cyclops was getting snoopy.
"Um, yes," said Kurt. I could tell he didn't want anyone to know he'd been out last night. It wouldn't exactly make the best impression on the professor.
"When?" inquired Cyclops.
"We met when I arrived," he said. Well, that was pretty true. I walked up to them and cut in on the conversation to make sure Cyclops didn't get too inquisitive.
"Yup," I said, smiling a big dopey smile. "Kurt's first time in the danger room, oh the memories!" Cyclops looked annoyed, but the distraction worked.
"Wait! Let me get a camera," I persisted in my big dopey smile, "this is a Kodak moment!" That was one of my typical quirky comments (an especially used one at that) so everyone just acknowledged with a sigh, but Kurt found it funny and laughed. It was refreshing to have someone actually laugh at my joke, but the important thing was Kurt's questioning was over. Save made. Finally we arrived at the danger room entrance. I guess Cyclops had explained to Kurt what he had to do while I was spaced out.
"This is it," Professor Xavier said to Kurt. "Now is when you must use your skills to overcome the threats in the danger room. Remember the danger room simulations are very real. This is a sort of test and we will judge your abilities to confirm your team membership."
"No pressure or anything." I added to lighten things up. Kurt seemed to relax a little, but Cyclops shot me a look saying 'this is serious.' I rolled my eyes in exasperation.
Sometimes I think old Cyclops doesn't trust me. He seemed sort of reluctant at first to my joining the team, and after that being on the team. Who knew that two orphans could become such different people? There was Cyclops, the loyal and accountable leader of the X-Men, and then, well then there was me. I had to admit I could be childish sometimes, and I guess Mr. Responsible has a reason not to trust a runaway like me, but it gets sort of annoying. Anytime I goof off the slightest bit he shoots me one of his dirty looks.
"Yes," said the professor, "There's no need for you to worry about the test. I'm sure you'll do fine."
"Are you ready?" said Beast, who was at the outer controls to the room.
"I think so," said Kurt.
"Good luck," I said with a smile. Then Beast opened the door and the rest of us watched as Nightcrawler entered the danger room.