Chapter 14:
Mary rinsed her face with cold water in the small sink and breathed deeply.
Airsickness, she thought queasily, Damn visions could've warned me about that...
She had been in the cramped bathroom for about fifteen minutes before she heard a light tapping on the door. A kind voice called to her.
"Mary..." she heard Ororo Monroe say, "Are you alright?"
She did not respond right away, just focused on breathing.
"Um..." she began, "Yeah, I'm...ok. Just need...a minute."
"I have some water when you're ready," Ororo called.
Mary cringed at the thought of putting something else in her stomach, but decided it would help get the nasty taste out of her mouth.
Moving slowly, Mary opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out. Ororo was waiting patiently, and gave her a hand to one of the back passenger seats. Thankfully, they were a little more comfortable than the front chairs.
Mary took a bottle of clear, cold water from the other woman gratefully and leaned her head back against the wall after taking a few uneasy sips.
"Feeling any better?" Ororo asked with a sympathetic smile.
Mary chuckled in a shaky voice, "Yeah, I guess. I think I'm safe as long as there's nothing left to…oh, I'm sorry, that's gross. I won't go there."
Ororo grinned, "Don't worry about it. I actually had the same thing happen my first time on this jet…I guess I've just gotten used to it. It's not quite like first class on a big passenger plane."
"I'll take your word for it," Mary said, sitting up, "When I decide to visit home, I'm taking a train."
"There's actually a station not far from the school," Ororo replied, then thinking back unpleasantly on a previous experience there, she added, "They actually renovated it about a year ago. The new roof has several new very beautiful skylights…"
Mary nodded as the woman spoke, appreciating the small talk amidst all her serious decisions today. Ororo's voice had a quiet accent that Mary could not place, and her voice was confident and soothing. Although there was still a certain aloofness about her which Mary figured could make her quite commanding in difficult situations.
There was a moment of silence and Mary looked down at the cold bottle thoughtfully.
"When did you first know about your powers, Ms. Monroe?" she asked, followed by another quick swallow of water.
"Please call me Ororo…" the other woman replied, and then added with a teasing smile, "…or Storm."
Mary grinned as Storm continued.
"I was twelve…" she began, "Some of the children in my village were playing a game…which I wasn't very good at. They started teasing me and I got angry. Suddenly, it started to snow and hail and that scared the other children away."
"How did you know the snow was your fault?" Mary asked, "I mean, that could have happened anyway, right?"
"Not in Kenya in the middle of the summer," Storm said, "That's what frightened them. Imagine a sudden July snow storm in Arizona. Not a typical event."
"How did you know it was you?"
Storm shrugged, "I just knew. From then on, whenever I was upset or angry, something would happen, whether it was wind or snow or rain. It didn't take long for my parents to notice the connection. Luckily, the Professor contacted them shortly after, and he brought me to the school, to learn how to control that power."
"So…" Mary said, "You were a student of his, too."
Storm nodded, "Yes, myself and Scott and…a few others…"
"So, he's been doing this for a long time then," Mary said, and then her eyes widened and she stammered, "Um…not that I mean it's been a long time since you were a student of his…I just mean, you all have been doing this for a while…but not that long of a while…"
Storm smiled with amusement, "Longer than you think. We've tried to help many children over the years…although it's not always children. Many mutants don't recognize their powers until they are much older. And then there are some that are obviously mutants from birth."
Storm looked at Mary curiously for a moment, and Mary knew what her next question would be, even without any precognition.
"When did you first learn of your gifts?"
Mary sighed, "It's a long story. But the Cliff's Notes version is just as confusing…"
Storm waited for the girl to continue. Mary again studied the half-empty water bottle with feigned interest, trying to figure out where to begin. She decided to follow Storm's lead.
"I was ten," she began, "My parents had died a few years before, so it was just me and Nana. The town had a few more families then, but still only enough to have one real classroom. My friends and I were playing in an empty part of the school, when I thought I saw an..."
Mary hesitated a moment, giving Storm a nervous glance.
"Well, I had my first vision. But it wasn't like a dream of the future, it was more like a flashback…someone else's flashback. Like I was seeing something from someone else's past…"
Mary took a deep breath before continuing, shuttering a little from the memory.
"It was horrible…it was a war, and I was this vicious and cruel soldier. I went into a kind of trance. Nana said I had a fever for days and she took me to the Elder members of our tribe when the doctor couldn't tell her what was wrong. The next thing I remember after blacking out in the school is waking up in one of the ceremonial caves. Ever since I've had visions. But more often since…since the attacks eight months ago…"
She glanced up at Storm, whose gaze was kind and understanding. Though, inwardly, Storm was contemplating what Mary said with concern. This girl had been affected by the attacks, as had many others, but had never been sensed by Cerebro before, despite saying that she had been having visions for years. Storm wondered why the Professor had not identified Mary Sloane previously.
"You really think the Professor can help me learn to control them?" Mary asked, shaking Storm from her thoughts.
"I believe he can…" Storm said, and then added with a grin, "You know, the first training session I had with him and the other students was a snowball fight. Challenge of it was, I had to make my own snow…"
Mary laughed, "I don't think mine will be quite the same…"
"It's only March," Storm said, "I may be able to arrange one last snowfall before spring. Although I should warn you…we do have one student who can split into several different copies of himself. He's usually the toughest player to beat."
Mary blinked in surprise, "Copies of himself? Wow…what else can the other do?"
"I'm sure they'll all be more than willing to show off when you arrive," Storm said, "You feel well enough to join us again? I'm sure the Professor would like to answer any questions you have. I should get back to the piloike to fill you in on the details of what we do. been sense by Cerebro before ny precognition.
tionst's seat…Scott usually hits more turbulence than I do."
"Sure…" Mary said, standing, "The less of that the better."
The two women walked to the front of the jet to join the others.
The rest of the flight was pleasant and uneventful. The four companions chatted on about the school and the children, and as Mary spoke to Xavier specifically, she knew more and more that this was where she was meant to go.
She only hoped that, be it the visions or the angels or anyone she might meet, someone would eventually tell her why.