Somewhere I Belong
Chapter 4
Outside the office's windows, the sun had set long ago, the sky now filled with a large full moon and thousands of stars. Inside, three of the four adults in charge of the students at Xavier's Institute were discussing the afternoon's strange events.
"It was odd Charles. I turned to look at Kitty and this girl was kneelin' over her, like some kinda saint."
Professor Charles Xavier sat behind his desk in his wheelchair, listening to Logan. The Professor, head of Xavier's Institute for the Gifted, was an older man, though still spirited. Bald with blue eyes, Xavier was a highly experienced telepath, able to search the globe for a single person with the help of Cerebro.
"Cerebro has not picked up any new signs of mutants in the area. How old was the girl?"
Logan's brow furrowed. "17, maybe 18. Not sure, but if she's been out and about, we woulda heard about it a little earlier then this."
"Why is that?" Ororo Munroe, alias Storm and aunt to Evan, asked from Logan's left. She stood by the far wall, next to Xavier's desk.
Logan looked between her and Xavier. "She had silver skin, a tail and wings, not somethin' ya see everyday, even in New York."
At this time, outside the Institute, Shay dropped to the ground a few feet away from the main doors. The sun had set a few hours ago and she had traveler under the cover of night. She would have arrived earlier, but the cool air had been to inviting, causing her to take a few seconds to drink it in, perched in a dark alcove of one of New York's higher buildings.
Now, she stood in the long drive infront of the Institute, looking up at its size, wondering what in the hell she was doing here. Callisto's last words echoed in her mind. Would they shun her, kick her back out on the streets? Having regular mutants was probably trouble enough, but one with blue skin and wings?
But, that was one thing that Shay always wondered about. Who were the other mutants that Xavier's housed? Evan was about the only one she'd ever heard of, besides Charles Xavier. Perhaps there were mutants living in the school that looked even odder then herself. Shay laughed at the thought, but didn't dismiss it. Maybe she wouldn't be so weird, so abnormal.
In the end, with no invitation, no bags, only the clothes on her back and a broken watch, Shay took a deep breath, walked up to the door and knocked loudly.
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Charles thought silently for a moment. "And you're sure she didn't say anything else?" Logan nodded his head and Charles looked over at Ororo. "Hank's done examining Kitty, correct?"
"Yes. I spoke with him before I came in. He said Kitty seems fine, in perfect health actually."
Xavier took a few moments to put his thoughts in order about this girl. Logan's story was odd, especially the appearance of the girl. Logan had described the scene to Charles, noting the white light that appeared when the girl touched Kitty.
"Well, if Hank says Kitty is in good health, then the girl must not have meant any harm, which goes along with Logan's story. Adding to that, her physical mutations would make her a good candidate for the Morlocks."
Ororo averted her eyes from Charles', looking instead to the window beside her. Not holding the Morlocks in the highest regards in her mind, Evan still would not tell her of the short time he spent in the sewers beneath New York. The leader of the group, Callisto, was, to Ororo, not the most trustworthy mutant.
"I would much rather know what pushed that car over in front of the van," Logan growled as he crossed his arms. "The guy was dazed, but I believe him. Something made it move over."
"If you're speaking about Magneto-" Logan's eyebrows raised "-then that wouldn't make much sense," Xavier said with a frown. "Why cause a small accident? What purpose did it serve?"
"You're asking the wrong guy, Charles."
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Back outside the doors, Shay closed her eyes, waiting for an answer to her knock, and took another deep breath. The pain from earlier was gone, though she still remembered the feeling. She wondered how the girl was doing, and hoped it was better then herself.
That's just when the door finally popped open, revealing a teenage girl. The other girl wore dark clothing, covering her legs, arms and even a pair of gloves. Shay couldn't help but notice the bright streak of white hair that highlighted the front of her face. The rest was a dark brown.
"Can ah help ya?" A strong Southern accent was the last thing Shay would have imagined to come out of the girl's mouth. Shay watched the girl's eyes widen when she finally looked at Shay. Her mouth dropped open slightly, the normal reaction Shay got.
"Whoa," the girl said softly.
"I'm, um, here to see Professor Xavier," Shay finally spoke.
"Aa, right," the girl said and stepped back, letting Shay slip in.
"Like, on my god!" a sudden cry caused Shay to turn quickly.
"What the -," Shay said to herself. It was the girl from the city. She came bouncing into the foyer, stopping beside the other girl.
"That's her, Rogue, the girl I was talking about," she said quickly to this Rogue. Then she looked to Shay. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk with the Professor," Shay replied. "What are you doing here? Are you a student?" The girl nodded. "I guess I should have just asked for a ride earlier," Shay muttered to herself.
"Hey Kitty!" another shout caused all the girls to turn. This time, Shay's eyes widened at the boy that walked in. Covered in blue fur, two bright yellow eyes shined out at her, the boy stopped in the doorway when he saw Shay. A sudden feeling of happiness and fright filled Shay. Happiness at the fact she now knew Xavier did take in mutants in physical mutations, and fear because the boy looked like some sort of demon.
The bubbly girl, Shay was guessing was the 'Kitty' the boy had shouted, motioned him closer. "Kurt, this is Shay, the girl from this afternoon."
Shay was getting a little sick of the phrase 'girl from this afternoon,' but kept quiet. She just needed to talk with the Professor.
"Hello," Kurt said with a genuine smile. His eyes had not widened when he first saw Shay and she smiled at him for it. His voice held some kind of accent, but she wasn't sure what it was.
She nodded her head at him, still smiling. "Is the Professor here?"
All three of the kids nodded, Kurt stepped between the two girls and jerked his head towards the hall. "This way, I'll show you."
"Thanks," Shay nodded at Kitty and Rogue, then followed Kurt down the hall. She smiled to herself when she saw his tail.
"So, you saved Kitty then?" Kurt said over his shoulder. Shay decided his accent was foreign, maybe German or Russian.
She moved up beside him, falling into step with him. "I guess. I mean, no."
Kurt laughed, easing Shay's tension. "Don't worry. Kitty's already told everyone everything."
"Oh well, that's one less thing for me to do."
Kurt suddenly stopped outside a large wooden door. He turned around and looked at Shay."
"The Professor?" Shay asked with a half smile. Kurt nodded. "Any advice?"
"What do you want from him?" Kurt quizzed her.
Shay thought for a second. "His help."
Kurt smiled. "Show him really big puppy-dog eyes. Gets him every time."
****Notes****
Yeh, I know. Sudden ending suck, but I couldn't help it. Seriously, this whole 'short chapters' thing is really driving me nuts. Hardly any of my chapters are staying under 3 pages. Grrr. Anyways, once again, I don't really like this chapter. I can't write a Southern nor German accent, so you can just make 'em up in your heads, I guess. You all know what they should sound like anyways.
