Chapter 6
August 31st, 2003
At 8:30, Julia Friden awoke at hour she normally never would have since it was Sunday, sat up in bed, and scratched her mousy brown left cat ear. Julia peeked over the nightstand between the two beds in the sunlit room at her deeply sleeping friend, Olivia, and smiled. Does she ever move in her sleep, she asked herself, because Olivia was in the same mummy-like position that she had been the night before. She pulled the covers off and went to the suitcase Gwen Friden had brought with her last night. Upon opening, Julia scattered the many clothing articles about, not really caring if they landed on the floor or the bed, and selected her hat, a pair of jeans and a tank top for the day, then headed out of her dorm to the bathroom that Rogue had shown her the night before.
Across the hallway, Gwen was also waking up a bit earlier than she normally did. She heard the door across the hall open and Julia walking down the hall, and figured she wouldn't be able to get in the shower for a while. Instead she began doing push-ups and sit-ups on the floor of her single room, darker than Olivia and Julia's because of the lack of sunlight on that particular side of the mansion. Twenty minutes later, there was a knock and Julia entered, her hair in a wet ponytail.
"Hey."
"Hey, Julia. Is Olivia up yet?"
"Surprisingly, no. I would have bet she would've been up by 6:30. Anyway, how'd you sleep?"
Gwen stopped her push-ups there and stood up, full height, and said, "Good I guess. No offense but better than I ever slept in that old building outside of town."
Julia smiled. "It wasn't meant to be the Ritz, you know." She replied, laughing a little. "Anyway, hurry up and get dressed; Rogue told us we needed to go see the Professor ASAP."
Gwen went over to her own backpack, not as full as Julia and Olivia's, and took out a pair of jeans and a short sleeved black shirt, then brushed and put up her hair a best as it would go in the early morning. When she was dressed, the two friends exited the room and proceeded down the sunlit hallway and stairs to Professor X's office, which had also been shown to them last night; they passed Kitty's room on the way, and she bid them good morning. It was about 8:45 when Gwen knocked and they were both told to enter and be seated.
Professor X smiled amiably at them. "Good morning Julia and Gwen. Did you both sleep well?" They nodded polite responses, and he continued, "Good, good.is Olivia awake yet?"
Gwen responded, "Astonishingly, no. She's usually the one up before everyone else."
"Well she did have quite an evening.That aside, we can begin. Julia, you are currently in your sophomore year, correct?"
"Yes, Professor."
"Good, that's easy enough. The finals for Bayville High start on Tuesday. If you want, I can arrange for you to take them a little later on in the summer."
She frowned slightly and said sarcastically, "Well, I'd actually rather not take them at all." Gwen and the Professor smiled and shook their heads, and Julia continued, "But since I have to, why not take 'em now anyway."
"Alright, I'll arrange everything today and you and Olivia will be at school tomorrow."
Yay.Julia said to herself sarcastically. The Prof. gave her a sideways look and she turned her eyes towards the ceiling, staring at it intently. He then turned to Gwen.
"Now, Gwen, I understand that you are, or, rather, were a senior this year."
She nodded and said, trying to hide the pain in her voice, "I had to leave school in December, because of my mutation. But I have been schooling myself at home."
"That's very good. Lucky for you, there are no finals for senior students and Bayville." A wave of relief swept over Gwen's face while friendly jealousy spread over Julia's. "Now, seeing your mutation, Gwen, I can get you a cloaking device like Kurt has, so you can hide your wings."
She thought about this a moment, then answered, "Yeah.that would be really great. Thanks, Professor."
He smiled and turned to Julia. "If you would, Julia, can you remove your hat for a moment." Julia reached up and removed her light blue cap to reveal her burning brown cat ears. "I don't think there would be much need for you to have a cloak as well; you can just keep your hat on."
"Yep, too bad I can't go out public like this. These things are so cool." She giggled and began playing with her kitty ears, while Gwen looked at her awkwardly.
"Anyway, I'll need both of you and Olivia to stop by the infirmary sometime today to see Beast for a physical. Now, I must also see Toad, who is actually waiting for you outside Julia," her face brightened instantly and he smiled, "I'll be done with him in a minute, if you'd like to wait for him outside."
"Sure do! Thanks, Professor!" she shot out of her chair and practically ran out the door. Gwen got up a little slower.
"Thank you, sir; for the cloak, I mean."
"You're quite welcome, Raptor."
As Raptor walked out the door, she could have sworn she heard the Professor's voice in her head saying: "You don't need to be afraid here." she looked back at him and he smiled warmly. Gwen's eyes watered, but she kept her tears behind her eyes and continued out the door, exchanging hellos with Toad as he passed her into the office. Julia was looking after him, until the door closed, the Gwen asked, "What's the deal with you two anyway?"
Julia looked at her, alarmed at first, then said, "I dunno. I guess it's just one of those things that just clicks. It feels right. And he's really cute and funny."
Gwen leaved on the wall and thought, hmm, wish I had one of those.
A few minutes later, he exited, a bit less happy than when he went in.
"What's the matter, Toady?" Julia asked him.
"I've gotta take finals.bleh." He grumbled.
Julia agreed with him. "I know, but better taking them now than the summer." She was interrupted by a *bamph* and Kurt appeared in front of them.
"Guten morgen." The little blue devil greeted them.
"Morning, Nightcrawler." Julia and Gwen answered.
"Is Olivia up yet?" he asked, a bit impatient.
Gwen smirked, but hid it, and answered, "Not yet. We were just about to go and see if she was."
"Can you ask her to meet me outside her room at 9:30? I offered to take her around the Institute and to see the Professor since she fell asleep last night." he requested.
"Sure can." Julia replied. "See you at breakfast, Kurt!" Gwen, Toad, and Julia all walked away down the hall, while Kurt *bamphed* away somewhere else.
A mid-morning sun flared through the window, and Olivia pulled the covers over her head in an effort to keep them out. Ugh, what a night, she said to herself sleepily. She reached for the alarm clock on the nightstand next to her bead, except it wasn't there. Thinking that maybe she had hit the small table and moved it, Olivia reached further and further out, until she lost her balance and accidentally fell with a thud on the floor.
".Ow." She said, face down on the hard wood floor. "Wait.I don't have a wooden floor." she turned on her back and opened her eyes to a ceiling that wasn't hers. Remembering her so called "dream," Olivia sat up, and reluctantly looked at her arms: they were covered in green leaf-like growths and her fingernails still had the permanent layer of morphing green polish. Fear and dread occupied a place in the pit of her stomach like a lead weight, but then Olivia said to herself, "oh wait! I must be at the Xavier Institute! I've gotta find Gwen and Julia."
Feeling a bit more comfortable in her surroundings, Olivia got up and looked around the room: there was another bed with messy coverings and an open suitcase with the contents scattered about through it and on the bed.
"Hmm. Guess I'm sharing a room with Julia." She said aloud. Finding her own suitcase beside her bed, Olivia opened it and selected an outfit for that day; at first she though of wearing long sleeves, but then realized she should save those for when she was outside the grounds. The door opened suddenly and she turned to see Julia entering the room, back first, talking and laughing with someone outside who sounded suspiciously like Toad.
"Morning!" Julia said happily.
"G'mornin'." Olivia answered, a little less happy. "How'd I get up here last night?"
"Oh, Kurt teleported you here. We didn't want to wake you since you'd had such a trying evening." There was a knock at the door and Gwen entered, her hair and wings still a bit wet, shining in the sunlight. "Shower's free. Hey, g'mornin Olivia! I never thought I'd be up earlier than you." She said happily. "How'd you sleep?"
"Good," she answered wearily, "I had a nice wake up call.falling on the floor." They all laughed and that lightened the mood of the atmosphere.
Julia said, "Well, it's about.9:15. You can go take a shower, then go and talk to the Professor. Gwen, Toad, and I have already talked to him. We're going down to breakfast. See you there!"
"The shower's down the hall to the left; can't miss it." Gwen offered. "Oh and by the way, Kurt was asking for you before. He said he'll meet you here at 9:30 to take you to see the Professor." She narrowed her eyes and smirked in a friendly way. Olivia blushed and wore a defensive look and manner.
"Well I-I- shouldn't see why not, he was very courteous to me last night. Is that a crime?"
Gwen smiled. "No one said it was. See you at breakfast." As the door closed, Olivia heard Julia's voice talking to Toad behind the closed door. Olivia smiled in spite of herself, then took her clothes and headed to the shower.
At 9:30 on the dot almost, there was small *bamph* outside Olivia's door, then a polite knock. Excitedly, she opened the door to an awaiting Kurt, and he smiled.
"Guten tag." He said happily. Olivia wore a short-sleeved green shirt and jeans; her hair was up in a tight bun in the middle of the back of her head, three pairs of small hoop earrings were hanging from her ears, and a faerie gothic looking necklace hung from her neck. She also had green eye shadow on to match the green leaves of her arms and intense green of her eyes. She smiled welcomingly at him and said, "Good day to you, too." He wore a shirt and over jacket with jeans, and he held out his arm for her to take. They walked like an old time couple down the stairs to Professor X's office.
Kurt knocked on the door and a friendly, "Come in, you two" was heard from inside. Olivia was surprised that her had known that they were there, but Kurt told her as they entered, "He's telepathic."
"Ah. I get it." She answered and went inside.
"Good morning, Olivia. I trust you had a restful evening?" the Professor asked courteously from behind his desk.
"Y-yes, sir. Thank you, I did." Olivia stammered a nervous response.
"Please have a seat. Kurt, I'm sorry to ask you this, but could you please wait outside? I would like to speak to Olivia privately if you don't mind." He looked hurt for a moment, then at Olivia, who nudged her head for the door, a bit sorry herself, too; she felt very exposed sitting in the chair with her leafy arms showing and all green eyes shining uncovered in front of a man she had never met. Kurt was the last comfort she had there, but she knew not to ask the Professor if he could stay, that might sound rude.he *bamphed* away to wait in the hall, and she looked at the Professor and he smiled.
"So, you lived in a region of New Jersey called Black Towers, in the Pine Barrens, correct?" she nodded. "Are you familiar, then, with a certain chemical company called Dory and Mills?"
"Yes, sir, my old boy-" she stopped there a moment, remembering Mitch for the first time since she had cried last night. The thought of him and the way he had acted made her livid, yet at the same time she felt a sort of.empty space in her chest where he used to be.The Professor said, "I'm sorry to bring up the subject of your old boyfriend, but I need to know, I'm afraid."
She looked a bit shocked. "How-how did you-?"
"I'm telepathic, as Kurt informed you. I can read people's minds and their thoughts." Her eyes widened and she blushed at this, but Professor X said, "You don't need to worry, I respect people's privacy, unless it is a dire emergency of course. Now, do you remember anything at all that Mitch might have said about his job there?"
Olivia thought hard to remember. "I can't put my finger on it.he used to talk a lot about it. Getting a promotion here, firing someone lower than him there."
"Did he say anything about a chemical concerning mutants?" he asked seriously now.
"I.I can't remember.yes! Yes, he did, but I don't remember what.I'm sorry."
The Professor wheeled over to her and asked, "If you don't mind, may I take a look at your memories and see if I can find it? I promise to only look for that specific memory."
Olivia looked nervous a moment, then nodded her head and closed her eyes. Professor X put his hands next to her head and concentrated, searching in her mind for the memory.
In a small, cluttered and carpeted room, two teens sat talking, or at least one was, the other was doing a complex set of equations for homework. The girl was Olivia and the other boy was Mitch. He sat in a chair at the desk talking while Olivia was hanging over her homework on the bed.
".Yeah so I told the jerk, if you come in late again, you're fired. And, low and behold, he got in late again the next day, babbling on about how his car got a flat, and that it would never happen again and that he needed this job and blah blah blah.I fired him anyway." He laughed maliciously. Olivia turned her head to look at him, sadly. "Mitch, you should've given the poor guy a break. It sounds like he was having a bad day." "Nah, you can't let these wimps get to your soft spot. They walk all over you. That's the problem with you; you're such a softie." He laughed again. Olivia looked at him hurt, but he smirked, and then paused. "You know they're gonna promote me again. Manager of this new project they've got going." the Professor tuned into the memory closer now and listened intently. The Olivia in her memory just kept writing her homework out, not really listening to his bragging. "That's good, Mitch." "Yeah I knew it was only a matter of time.some new assignment designed specially for mutants. I guess it's like some killer poison, or something, they said they only trust a few people to the project. Anyway, I don't know where they've hidden it yet, they won't tell me, not until next week. My guess is somewhere underground. At any rate, it's something really sinister they've cooked up, really good stuff." He smiled evilly and his eyes narrowed. "Yeah, those freaks don't deserve to be with us normal people.whatever it is, I hope it's really as strong as they say it is." Abruptly, the memory was interrupted, and it became fuzzy like a static TV show. What appeared instead was something almost out of a movie: three girls who looked a lot like Gwen, Julia and Olivia were glowing and stood facing an unseen enemy. The dark shadow laughed at them, but they glow of the three became brighter and brighter until a flash of brilliant light exploded and the memory ended quicker than when it started. Professor X let go of his concentration at this point, and Olivia opened her eyes with a gasp. She breathed a little quicker at first, and then settled down; she looked very startled. "I-I can't believe that I didn't pay attention." she said weakly and ashamed. "I should've listened. I can't believe I just tuned something like that out." She seemed completely unaware of the memory interruption. The Professor looked at her amazed a moment that she didn't see the images of her, Gwen and Julia, but kept this bit of information to himself, and wheeled back behind his desk. "It's not really you're fault." The Prof. assured her, "I would've ignored someone who talked that much anyway, if it's any comfort." They giggled at this, and Olivia regained herself. "Now then," he returned to his desk, "we'll need to enroll you in the school here. You only have a few days left, and their finals start on Tuesday. If you want, I can arrange for you to take them later on, maybe during the summer?" She thought a moment, then decided, "No, I want to take them now. All the info from this year's still in my head, and I just really want to get them out of the way right now anyway. Thank you, though, Professor." "You're quite welcome, Olivia. Or should I say Persephone?" he smiled. Olivia returned it. "Either way is fine." "You can go now, but I must ask you to stop by the infirmary and get a physical so as to make sure that you're okay. And be ready for school bright and early tomorrow morning." "Yes, Professor, I will. I always am up early." As she turned to leave, a thought came into Olivia's mind: "That's the problem with you; you're such a softie.Am I really that weak? "Professor, do you have any-" "Training areas or programs?" he finished for her. "Of course we do. Kurt can show you them if you ask him. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Good day." "Good day." She returned, then left the office. Kurt was leaning against a wall, munching on a piece of toast when she exited, and he turned and smiled at her. "Hey, how'd it go?" he asked. "Good. I'm going to school with you tomorrow. And taking the finals with you." "You actually want to?" Kurt asked in disbelief. "Well, I want to get them done and over with. That way I can have the whole summer to just chill and adjust.and train. Do you train often?" "Sometimes." his stomach rumbled loudly. Olivia giggled and he said, "Ummm I haven't really eaten breakfast yet. Care to join me, my good lady?" he bowed dramatically. "Why most certainly, my good gentle-uh, mutant!" Olivia laughed with the mocking air of an old time rich lady and she took his hand. They smiled at each other and *bamphed* down to the kitchen. When they got there, Julia, Kitty, Gwen, Toad and Rogue were all sitting at the table eating and talking. They looked up at the sound of Kurt's teleporting and chorused "Good mornings" to the both of them. "G'mornin." Olivia answered, and sat down next to Gwen. "Aren't you going to eat something?" Gwen asked her through a mouthful of eggs. "Nah, I'm not really hungry right now.maybe a little later." Nightcrawler took to helping himself to whatever he could get his hands on in the fridge and sat down next to Olivia with a heavy plate of breakfast. She looked at him in a friendly way of disbelief, and joked, "You eat like Gwen. I don't understand how you two are so thin." Everyone smiled at that and then Kitty said, "Oh, sorry guys I've gotta go. I'm heading out with Jean, Scott, and Logan on a new mission. Hope you guys enjoy your first day here!" She said to the newcomers. They thanked her and Kitty left the kitchen, phasing through the wall. Olivia asked Rogue, "You guys go on 'missions?'" "Yeah, picking up new mutants, checking out some possible anti-mutant weaponry.that sort of thing." "Oh, I see." Olivia became a little cold inside at the reminder of anti- mutant weaponry.I hope what Mitch was saying wasn't true, she said to herself. Her kind was drawn from the topic by Toad, who had taken to showing off his eating abilities.a full plate of toast, eggs, and a few pancakes was gone in the blink of an eye, or rather the flash of a tongue, when Toad shot his tongue out and pulled everything into his mouth, including plates and silverware, at once. Julia, Gwen, and Olivia nearly fell on the floor laughing, Julia most of all, while the others looked on in a highly disgusted manner. Julia wiped tears from her eyes and said, "Anyway, when do you guys plan to go down for your physicals? We're supposed to go sometime today." "Why don't we all just go at the same time? That would make it a lot easier." Gwen offered. "Good for me." They replied. And when everyone finished, Kurt took them on a short tour of the Institute, then to the infirmary. Beast was sitting in a chair, reading a novel, when the groups entered. Olivia jumped at the site of him, while Gwen and Julia just stared amazed, as he began to talk. "Greetings, new recruits. My name is Beast. Shall we begin the physicals?"
The group checked out fine, but as they waved good-bye and headed out the door, Beast gravely put down on his report, "Gwen Friden: lacerations/cut marks to wing connections, old bruised marks. Olivia Bloomwood: marks and bruises to arms, legs, and back." At this point, Gwen announced. "I'm going to go to the weight room and lift for a bit. See you guys at lunch." And she headed off for that part of the Institute. "I think Toad and I are going to go look around for a bit. We'll see you at lunch." And the two walked off arm in arm down the hall. Kurt looked at Olivia and smiled. "Shall we finish the tour? We've really on got one more place to go." "Why not? Let's do it." She smiled. And they walked down the other hallway. When they got to the Danger Room, she looked around it very interested. "Wow." her voice echoed in the dome-shaped room. "It's huge. So what goes on in here?" Kurt began, "Well, the scenery can be changed and there are lasers and robots you can fight against. Logan's getting a bit too good to come in here, I think." Olivia turned to him, confused. "Who's Logan?" "Oh, he's one of the older, older mutants; his name's Wolverine. You should see him later-oh, wait, he went on that mission with Kitty, Jean, and Scott. Anyway, they should be back either tonight or tomorrow. You can meet them then." "Okay.in the meantime, is there any way I can start training? I want to get stronger as soon as possible. I-I'm getting a bit tired of being weak." she finished quietly, and a little embarrassed it seemed. Kurt looked at her. "You're not weak. You just haven't learned how to control and use your powers to the best of your ability yet. It takes time, you'll see." He smiled and so did she. "But since you want to, I'm sure Storm wouldn't mind watching you." "Thanks. I can't wait to start. Can we go find Gwen and Julia now?" "Easier done then said." He laughed in reply, and they *bamphed* away to find Gwen and Julia. Raptor, Soniker, and Toad were sitting at the table in the kitchen when they found them. Julia was still talking to Toad, as she had been doing all morning, and Gwen was eating a bag of Doritos and three empty boxes of cookies were spread out on the table in front of her. "Hey guys." Olivia said, taking a seat next to Gwen. "Gwen, where'd you get all this stuff?" she indicated the chips and cookies. "Oh, I found in the vegetable drawer in the fridge." She answered through a crunching mouth full of chips. "You wouldn't believe how good chips taste cold." "What?! Those were my cookies and chips!" Kurt said, exasperated, as Gwen dumped the rest of the Doritos in her mouth. Oh." she said, sounding slightly guilty, "Sorry, Kurt." He wore a pitiful look and looked like he was going to say something, when Storm walked into the kitchen; she looked a little surprised at first, then: "Oh, new recruits. Welcome. My name is Storm." The new recruits exchanged names and powers, and then Kurt said, "Hey Storm Olivia wants to know if she can start training today. Do you think you could watch her?" "Ooo, yay! That sounds like fun! Can I come?" Julia asked happily. "Me too. I haven't done a bit of sparing in a while." Julia added. Storm looked thoughtful a moment, then replied, "Given what all of your powers are, I think it would be best if you all went outside to train and not in the Danger Room. I'll talk to the Professor and see what he says. But I'm sure you can all start training today. Meet me in the lobby in half an hour. Good day." She left the kitchen to see the Prof. and Gwen left to watch TV for a while; Olivia and Julia went upstairs to sort out their clothes and other stuff from home, and Kurt decided to scavenge the fridge for something else to eat since Gwen had gotten to his stash of chips and cookies.
At 8:30, Julia Friden awoke at hour she normally never would have since it was Sunday, sat up in bed, and scratched her mousy brown left cat ear. Julia peeked over the nightstand between the two beds in the sunlit room at her deeply sleeping friend, Olivia, and smiled. Does she ever move in her sleep, she asked herself, because Olivia was in the same mummy-like position that she had been the night before. She pulled the covers off and went to the suitcase Gwen Friden had brought with her last night. Upon opening, Julia scattered the many clothing articles about, not really caring if they landed on the floor or the bed, and selected her hat, a pair of jeans and a tank top for the day, then headed out of her dorm to the bathroom that Rogue had shown her the night before.
Across the hallway, Gwen was also waking up a bit earlier than she normally did. She heard the door across the hall open and Julia walking down the hall, and figured she wouldn't be able to get in the shower for a while. Instead she began doing push-ups and sit-ups on the floor of her single room, darker than Olivia and Julia's because of the lack of sunlight on that particular side of the mansion. Twenty minutes later, there was a knock and Julia entered, her hair in a wet ponytail.
"Hey."
"Hey, Julia. Is Olivia up yet?"
"Surprisingly, no. I would have bet she would've been up by 6:30. Anyway, how'd you sleep?"
Gwen stopped her push-ups there and stood up, full height, and said, "Good I guess. No offense but better than I ever slept in that old building outside of town."
Julia smiled. "It wasn't meant to be the Ritz, you know." She replied, laughing a little. "Anyway, hurry up and get dressed; Rogue told us we needed to go see the Professor ASAP."
Gwen went over to her own backpack, not as full as Julia and Olivia's, and took out a pair of jeans and a short sleeved black shirt, then brushed and put up her hair a best as it would go in the early morning. When she was dressed, the two friends exited the room and proceeded down the sunlit hallway and stairs to Professor X's office, which had also been shown to them last night; they passed Kitty's room on the way, and she bid them good morning. It was about 8:45 when Gwen knocked and they were both told to enter and be seated.
Professor X smiled amiably at them. "Good morning Julia and Gwen. Did you both sleep well?" They nodded polite responses, and he continued, "Good, good.is Olivia awake yet?"
Gwen responded, "Astonishingly, no. She's usually the one up before everyone else."
"Well she did have quite an evening.That aside, we can begin. Julia, you are currently in your sophomore year, correct?"
"Yes, Professor."
"Good, that's easy enough. The finals for Bayville High start on Tuesday. If you want, I can arrange for you to take them a little later on in the summer."
She frowned slightly and said sarcastically, "Well, I'd actually rather not take them at all." Gwen and the Professor smiled and shook their heads, and Julia continued, "But since I have to, why not take 'em now anyway."
"Alright, I'll arrange everything today and you and Olivia will be at school tomorrow."
Yay.Julia said to herself sarcastically. The Prof. gave her a sideways look and she turned her eyes towards the ceiling, staring at it intently. He then turned to Gwen.
"Now, Gwen, I understand that you are, or, rather, were a senior this year."
She nodded and said, trying to hide the pain in her voice, "I had to leave school in December, because of my mutation. But I have been schooling myself at home."
"That's very good. Lucky for you, there are no finals for senior students and Bayville." A wave of relief swept over Gwen's face while friendly jealousy spread over Julia's. "Now, seeing your mutation, Gwen, I can get you a cloaking device like Kurt has, so you can hide your wings."
She thought about this a moment, then answered, "Yeah.that would be really great. Thanks, Professor."
He smiled and turned to Julia. "If you would, Julia, can you remove your hat for a moment." Julia reached up and removed her light blue cap to reveal her burning brown cat ears. "I don't think there would be much need for you to have a cloak as well; you can just keep your hat on."
"Yep, too bad I can't go out public like this. These things are so cool." She giggled and began playing with her kitty ears, while Gwen looked at her awkwardly.
"Anyway, I'll need both of you and Olivia to stop by the infirmary sometime today to see Beast for a physical. Now, I must also see Toad, who is actually waiting for you outside Julia," her face brightened instantly and he smiled, "I'll be done with him in a minute, if you'd like to wait for him outside."
"Sure do! Thanks, Professor!" she shot out of her chair and practically ran out the door. Gwen got up a little slower.
"Thank you, sir; for the cloak, I mean."
"You're quite welcome, Raptor."
As Raptor walked out the door, she could have sworn she heard the Professor's voice in her head saying: "You don't need to be afraid here." she looked back at him and he smiled warmly. Gwen's eyes watered, but she kept her tears behind her eyes and continued out the door, exchanging hellos with Toad as he passed her into the office. Julia was looking after him, until the door closed, the Gwen asked, "What's the deal with you two anyway?"
Julia looked at her, alarmed at first, then said, "I dunno. I guess it's just one of those things that just clicks. It feels right. And he's really cute and funny."
Gwen leaved on the wall and thought, hmm, wish I had one of those.
A few minutes later, he exited, a bit less happy than when he went in.
"What's the matter, Toady?" Julia asked him.
"I've gotta take finals.bleh." He grumbled.
Julia agreed with him. "I know, but better taking them now than the summer." She was interrupted by a *bamph* and Kurt appeared in front of them.
"Guten morgen." The little blue devil greeted them.
"Morning, Nightcrawler." Julia and Gwen answered.
"Is Olivia up yet?" he asked, a bit impatient.
Gwen smirked, but hid it, and answered, "Not yet. We were just about to go and see if she was."
"Can you ask her to meet me outside her room at 9:30? I offered to take her around the Institute and to see the Professor since she fell asleep last night." he requested.
"Sure can." Julia replied. "See you at breakfast, Kurt!" Gwen, Toad, and Julia all walked away down the hall, while Kurt *bamphed* away somewhere else.
A mid-morning sun flared through the window, and Olivia pulled the covers over her head in an effort to keep them out. Ugh, what a night, she said to herself sleepily. She reached for the alarm clock on the nightstand next to her bead, except it wasn't there. Thinking that maybe she had hit the small table and moved it, Olivia reached further and further out, until she lost her balance and accidentally fell with a thud on the floor.
".Ow." She said, face down on the hard wood floor. "Wait.I don't have a wooden floor." she turned on her back and opened her eyes to a ceiling that wasn't hers. Remembering her so called "dream," Olivia sat up, and reluctantly looked at her arms: they were covered in green leaf-like growths and her fingernails still had the permanent layer of morphing green polish. Fear and dread occupied a place in the pit of her stomach like a lead weight, but then Olivia said to herself, "oh wait! I must be at the Xavier Institute! I've gotta find Gwen and Julia."
Feeling a bit more comfortable in her surroundings, Olivia got up and looked around the room: there was another bed with messy coverings and an open suitcase with the contents scattered about through it and on the bed.
"Hmm. Guess I'm sharing a room with Julia." She said aloud. Finding her own suitcase beside her bed, Olivia opened it and selected an outfit for that day; at first she though of wearing long sleeves, but then realized she should save those for when she was outside the grounds. The door opened suddenly and she turned to see Julia entering the room, back first, talking and laughing with someone outside who sounded suspiciously like Toad.
"Morning!" Julia said happily.
"G'mornin'." Olivia answered, a little less happy. "How'd I get up here last night?"
"Oh, Kurt teleported you here. We didn't want to wake you since you'd had such a trying evening." There was a knock at the door and Gwen entered, her hair and wings still a bit wet, shining in the sunlight. "Shower's free. Hey, g'mornin Olivia! I never thought I'd be up earlier than you." She said happily. "How'd you sleep?"
"Good," she answered wearily, "I had a nice wake up call.falling on the floor." They all laughed and that lightened the mood of the atmosphere.
Julia said, "Well, it's about.9:15. You can go take a shower, then go and talk to the Professor. Gwen, Toad, and I have already talked to him. We're going down to breakfast. See you there!"
"The shower's down the hall to the left; can't miss it." Gwen offered. "Oh and by the way, Kurt was asking for you before. He said he'll meet you here at 9:30 to take you to see the Professor." She narrowed her eyes and smirked in a friendly way. Olivia blushed and wore a defensive look and manner.
"Well I-I- shouldn't see why not, he was very courteous to me last night. Is that a crime?"
Gwen smiled. "No one said it was. See you at breakfast." As the door closed, Olivia heard Julia's voice talking to Toad behind the closed door. Olivia smiled in spite of herself, then took her clothes and headed to the shower.
At 9:30 on the dot almost, there was small *bamph* outside Olivia's door, then a polite knock. Excitedly, she opened the door to an awaiting Kurt, and he smiled.
"Guten tag." He said happily. Olivia wore a short-sleeved green shirt and jeans; her hair was up in a tight bun in the middle of the back of her head, three pairs of small hoop earrings were hanging from her ears, and a faerie gothic looking necklace hung from her neck. She also had green eye shadow on to match the green leaves of her arms and intense green of her eyes. She smiled welcomingly at him and said, "Good day to you, too." He wore a shirt and over jacket with jeans, and he held out his arm for her to take. They walked like an old time couple down the stairs to Professor X's office.
Kurt knocked on the door and a friendly, "Come in, you two" was heard from inside. Olivia was surprised that her had known that they were there, but Kurt told her as they entered, "He's telepathic."
"Ah. I get it." She answered and went inside.
"Good morning, Olivia. I trust you had a restful evening?" the Professor asked courteously from behind his desk.
"Y-yes, sir. Thank you, I did." Olivia stammered a nervous response.
"Please have a seat. Kurt, I'm sorry to ask you this, but could you please wait outside? I would like to speak to Olivia privately if you don't mind." He looked hurt for a moment, then at Olivia, who nudged her head for the door, a bit sorry herself, too; she felt very exposed sitting in the chair with her leafy arms showing and all green eyes shining uncovered in front of a man she had never met. Kurt was the last comfort she had there, but she knew not to ask the Professor if he could stay, that might sound rude.he *bamphed* away to wait in the hall, and she looked at the Professor and he smiled.
"So, you lived in a region of New Jersey called Black Towers, in the Pine Barrens, correct?" she nodded. "Are you familiar, then, with a certain chemical company called Dory and Mills?"
"Yes, sir, my old boy-" she stopped there a moment, remembering Mitch for the first time since she had cried last night. The thought of him and the way he had acted made her livid, yet at the same time she felt a sort of.empty space in her chest where he used to be.The Professor said, "I'm sorry to bring up the subject of your old boyfriend, but I need to know, I'm afraid."
She looked a bit shocked. "How-how did you-?"
"I'm telepathic, as Kurt informed you. I can read people's minds and their thoughts." Her eyes widened and she blushed at this, but Professor X said, "You don't need to worry, I respect people's privacy, unless it is a dire emergency of course. Now, do you remember anything at all that Mitch might have said about his job there?"
Olivia thought hard to remember. "I can't put my finger on it.he used to talk a lot about it. Getting a promotion here, firing someone lower than him there."
"Did he say anything about a chemical concerning mutants?" he asked seriously now.
"I.I can't remember.yes! Yes, he did, but I don't remember what.I'm sorry."
The Professor wheeled over to her and asked, "If you don't mind, may I take a look at your memories and see if I can find it? I promise to only look for that specific memory."
Olivia looked nervous a moment, then nodded her head and closed her eyes. Professor X put his hands next to her head and concentrated, searching in her mind for the memory.
In a small, cluttered and carpeted room, two teens sat talking, or at least one was, the other was doing a complex set of equations for homework. The girl was Olivia and the other boy was Mitch. He sat in a chair at the desk talking while Olivia was hanging over her homework on the bed.
".Yeah so I told the jerk, if you come in late again, you're fired. And, low and behold, he got in late again the next day, babbling on about how his car got a flat, and that it would never happen again and that he needed this job and blah blah blah.I fired him anyway." He laughed maliciously. Olivia turned her head to look at him, sadly. "Mitch, you should've given the poor guy a break. It sounds like he was having a bad day." "Nah, you can't let these wimps get to your soft spot. They walk all over you. That's the problem with you; you're such a softie." He laughed again. Olivia looked at him hurt, but he smirked, and then paused. "You know they're gonna promote me again. Manager of this new project they've got going." the Professor tuned into the memory closer now and listened intently. The Olivia in her memory just kept writing her homework out, not really listening to his bragging. "That's good, Mitch." "Yeah I knew it was only a matter of time.some new assignment designed specially for mutants. I guess it's like some killer poison, or something, they said they only trust a few people to the project. Anyway, I don't know where they've hidden it yet, they won't tell me, not until next week. My guess is somewhere underground. At any rate, it's something really sinister they've cooked up, really good stuff." He smiled evilly and his eyes narrowed. "Yeah, those freaks don't deserve to be with us normal people.whatever it is, I hope it's really as strong as they say it is." Abruptly, the memory was interrupted, and it became fuzzy like a static TV show. What appeared instead was something almost out of a movie: three girls who looked a lot like Gwen, Julia and Olivia were glowing and stood facing an unseen enemy. The dark shadow laughed at them, but they glow of the three became brighter and brighter until a flash of brilliant light exploded and the memory ended quicker than when it started. Professor X let go of his concentration at this point, and Olivia opened her eyes with a gasp. She breathed a little quicker at first, and then settled down; she looked very startled. "I-I can't believe that I didn't pay attention." she said weakly and ashamed. "I should've listened. I can't believe I just tuned something like that out." She seemed completely unaware of the memory interruption. The Professor looked at her amazed a moment that she didn't see the images of her, Gwen and Julia, but kept this bit of information to himself, and wheeled back behind his desk. "It's not really you're fault." The Prof. assured her, "I would've ignored someone who talked that much anyway, if it's any comfort." They giggled at this, and Olivia regained herself. "Now then," he returned to his desk, "we'll need to enroll you in the school here. You only have a few days left, and their finals start on Tuesday. If you want, I can arrange for you to take them later on, maybe during the summer?" She thought a moment, then decided, "No, I want to take them now. All the info from this year's still in my head, and I just really want to get them out of the way right now anyway. Thank you, though, Professor." "You're quite welcome, Olivia. Or should I say Persephone?" he smiled. Olivia returned it. "Either way is fine." "You can go now, but I must ask you to stop by the infirmary and get a physical so as to make sure that you're okay. And be ready for school bright and early tomorrow morning." "Yes, Professor, I will. I always am up early." As she turned to leave, a thought came into Olivia's mind: "That's the problem with you; you're such a softie.Am I really that weak? "Professor, do you have any-" "Training areas or programs?" he finished for her. "Of course we do. Kurt can show you them if you ask him. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Good day." "Good day." She returned, then left the office. Kurt was leaning against a wall, munching on a piece of toast when she exited, and he turned and smiled at her. "Hey, how'd it go?" he asked. "Good. I'm going to school with you tomorrow. And taking the finals with you." "You actually want to?" Kurt asked in disbelief. "Well, I want to get them done and over with. That way I can have the whole summer to just chill and adjust.and train. Do you train often?" "Sometimes." his stomach rumbled loudly. Olivia giggled and he said, "Ummm I haven't really eaten breakfast yet. Care to join me, my good lady?" he bowed dramatically. "Why most certainly, my good gentle-uh, mutant!" Olivia laughed with the mocking air of an old time rich lady and she took his hand. They smiled at each other and *bamphed* down to the kitchen. When they got there, Julia, Kitty, Gwen, Toad and Rogue were all sitting at the table eating and talking. They looked up at the sound of Kurt's teleporting and chorused "Good mornings" to the both of them. "G'mornin." Olivia answered, and sat down next to Gwen. "Aren't you going to eat something?" Gwen asked her through a mouthful of eggs. "Nah, I'm not really hungry right now.maybe a little later." Nightcrawler took to helping himself to whatever he could get his hands on in the fridge and sat down next to Olivia with a heavy plate of breakfast. She looked at him in a friendly way of disbelief, and joked, "You eat like Gwen. I don't understand how you two are so thin." Everyone smiled at that and then Kitty said, "Oh, sorry guys I've gotta go. I'm heading out with Jean, Scott, and Logan on a new mission. Hope you guys enjoy your first day here!" She said to the newcomers. They thanked her and Kitty left the kitchen, phasing through the wall. Olivia asked Rogue, "You guys go on 'missions?'" "Yeah, picking up new mutants, checking out some possible anti-mutant weaponry.that sort of thing." "Oh, I see." Olivia became a little cold inside at the reminder of anti- mutant weaponry.I hope what Mitch was saying wasn't true, she said to herself. Her kind was drawn from the topic by Toad, who had taken to showing off his eating abilities.a full plate of toast, eggs, and a few pancakes was gone in the blink of an eye, or rather the flash of a tongue, when Toad shot his tongue out and pulled everything into his mouth, including plates and silverware, at once. Julia, Gwen, and Olivia nearly fell on the floor laughing, Julia most of all, while the others looked on in a highly disgusted manner. Julia wiped tears from her eyes and said, "Anyway, when do you guys plan to go down for your physicals? We're supposed to go sometime today." "Why don't we all just go at the same time? That would make it a lot easier." Gwen offered. "Good for me." They replied. And when everyone finished, Kurt took them on a short tour of the Institute, then to the infirmary. Beast was sitting in a chair, reading a novel, when the groups entered. Olivia jumped at the site of him, while Gwen and Julia just stared amazed, as he began to talk. "Greetings, new recruits. My name is Beast. Shall we begin the physicals?"
The group checked out fine, but as they waved good-bye and headed out the door, Beast gravely put down on his report, "Gwen Friden: lacerations/cut marks to wing connections, old bruised marks. Olivia Bloomwood: marks and bruises to arms, legs, and back." At this point, Gwen announced. "I'm going to go to the weight room and lift for a bit. See you guys at lunch." And she headed off for that part of the Institute. "I think Toad and I are going to go look around for a bit. We'll see you at lunch." And the two walked off arm in arm down the hall. Kurt looked at Olivia and smiled. "Shall we finish the tour? We've really on got one more place to go." "Why not? Let's do it." She smiled. And they walked down the other hallway. When they got to the Danger Room, she looked around it very interested. "Wow." her voice echoed in the dome-shaped room. "It's huge. So what goes on in here?" Kurt began, "Well, the scenery can be changed and there are lasers and robots you can fight against. Logan's getting a bit too good to come in here, I think." Olivia turned to him, confused. "Who's Logan?" "Oh, he's one of the older, older mutants; his name's Wolverine. You should see him later-oh, wait, he went on that mission with Kitty, Jean, and Scott. Anyway, they should be back either tonight or tomorrow. You can meet them then." "Okay.in the meantime, is there any way I can start training? I want to get stronger as soon as possible. I-I'm getting a bit tired of being weak." she finished quietly, and a little embarrassed it seemed. Kurt looked at her. "You're not weak. You just haven't learned how to control and use your powers to the best of your ability yet. It takes time, you'll see." He smiled and so did she. "But since you want to, I'm sure Storm wouldn't mind watching you." "Thanks. I can't wait to start. Can we go find Gwen and Julia now?" "Easier done then said." He laughed in reply, and they *bamphed* away to find Gwen and Julia. Raptor, Soniker, and Toad were sitting at the table in the kitchen when they found them. Julia was still talking to Toad, as she had been doing all morning, and Gwen was eating a bag of Doritos and three empty boxes of cookies were spread out on the table in front of her. "Hey guys." Olivia said, taking a seat next to Gwen. "Gwen, where'd you get all this stuff?" she indicated the chips and cookies. "Oh, I found in the vegetable drawer in the fridge." She answered through a crunching mouth full of chips. "You wouldn't believe how good chips taste cold." "What?! Those were my cookies and chips!" Kurt said, exasperated, as Gwen dumped the rest of the Doritos in her mouth. Oh." she said, sounding slightly guilty, "Sorry, Kurt." He wore a pitiful look and looked like he was going to say something, when Storm walked into the kitchen; she looked a little surprised at first, then: "Oh, new recruits. Welcome. My name is Storm." The new recruits exchanged names and powers, and then Kurt said, "Hey Storm Olivia wants to know if she can start training today. Do you think you could watch her?" "Ooo, yay! That sounds like fun! Can I come?" Julia asked happily. "Me too. I haven't done a bit of sparing in a while." Julia added. Storm looked thoughtful a moment, then replied, "Given what all of your powers are, I think it would be best if you all went outside to train and not in the Danger Room. I'll talk to the Professor and see what he says. But I'm sure you can all start training today. Meet me in the lobby in half an hour. Good day." She left the kitchen to see the Prof. and Gwen left to watch TV for a while; Olivia and Julia went upstairs to sort out their clothes and other stuff from home, and Kurt decided to scavenge the fridge for something else to eat since Gwen had gotten to his stash of chips and cookies.