Disclaimer: XME, no. Darcy Harper, yes.

Melt Me

Chapter Five: Another World

***

Oahu, Monday morning.

"You're absolutely sure about this?" Alex asked her for about the tenth time since she'd told him of her decision to go back east two days earlier.

The sun had barely poked above the horizon as Alex and Darcy sped along the highway out of town in Alex's old VW beetle, their surfboards strapped to the roof. Darcy huddled in the passenger seat, clutching her duffel bag to her chest and chewing her lip. She'd changed her mind at least two dozen times since she'd told Bobby she'd decided to attend the Institute.

"Do you have to keep asking me that?" Darcy demanded shrilly. "Besides, I thought you were all for me going." Nervousness – no, fear – was running full tilt through her veins now that the time for leaving was nearly upon her, making her short tempered.

Alex glanced away from the road to look at the tense girl beside him. Her hands gripping the large duffel bag in her lap that held her clothes – everything she owned – so tightly her knuckles were white. The poor girl looked terrified. He let go of the wheel and reached over, prying one of her hands away from the bag to give it a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm all for you going, if that's what you want to do, Wahine."

"I don't know, though!" Darcy cried miserably. "I keep thinking that I do, but then I chicken out. I mean, what if nobody likes me? What if I hate it there? What if—"

"What if you do like it, though?" Alex interrupted. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained, y'know."

Alex turned onto the dirt track that would take them up into the highlands where Scott and the others were waiting with the plane. Beside him, Darcy started visibly shaking.

"Alex, I'm scared," she whimpered softly. They were late already for meeting Scott, mostly because Alex's mother had insisted that the four of them eat breakfast together one last time like a family. Still, Alex pulled the car over to the side of the narrow dirt road and killed the engine.

"C'mere," he said, and pulled Darcy's upper body across the center console to hug her awkwardly, the emergency brake digging into her hip. But she didn't care as she pressed her face against Alex's loud Hawaiian print shirt and bawled. Crying like she hadn't done since she'd left her real family, she couldn't believe she was going to leave behind another.

"Don't be scared. It's really going to be okay. Scott's going to be there, and he promised me that he'd look out for you just like I would. He said you could borrow his laptop anytime to call home…" Alex told her reassuringly.

Darcy nodded half-heartedly, her tears spent. "I guess I'm being silly, worrying about nothing," Darcy mumbled. But she didn't let go of her death grip on Alex.

"No, you're not silly. You've been through a lot in the last year, sometimes I forget that, but I'm going to make you a promise…" Alex said seriously. She looked up questioningly.

"What?"

"If you are really unhappy there. I mean, if you really can't stand it another minute…then you call me, and I'll come and get you and bring you home. Don't feel like you have to stay there…that you don't have somewhere else to go. Mom and Dad will take you back in a heartbeat, Darce." Alex told her. Darcy sniffled loudly, emotion clogging her throat.

"Really?" she squeaked out, sitting up and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Of course! They love you," Alex informed her. Darcy looked up at him, the question unspoken in her pale, pale eyes. Alex grinned. "Aloha au ia'oe, ko'u kaikuahine. 'Oe makana mai kai." Darcy tilted her head to the side.

"My Hawaiian isn't as good as yours, lolo, I didn't catch all that. What did you say?" she asked. Before answering, Alex reached up and took off the puka shell necklace he wore – a gift from his adoptive mother – and leaned over. Fastening it around Darcy's slender neck.

"I said that I love you too, Sis. And that you were a gift from the sea," Alex teased her. Chucking her under the chin softly.

Darcy touched the necklace reverently, she'd never seen Alex without it, not once since she'd met him, and she understood what it meant that he was giving it to her as she tried to keep from crying again.

"You're the best friend I've ever had, Alex…ko'u kaikunane, mau loa." My brother, forever, she said softly in her badly accented Hawaiian.

Alex nodded and looked straight ahead, blinking rapidly as he started the engine. "We're late," he said gruffly.

To her credit, Darcy didn't cry again when Alex dropped her off at the plane. And she managed to hide most of her fear of the unknown as she carried her bag on board the big black jet. Scott followed behind her, carrying the surfboard Alex had given her and insisted that she take. In her hand was a wad of bills that Alex had pressed into her palm at the last minute after she'd hugged him goodbye.

"Dad insisted," he explained, when she tried giving the money back. The Master's were good people; she'd been blessed the day they had taken her in. It was for the best that she moved on now, perhaps. So she'd no longer be a burden to them.

She looked around nervously as she hesitated in the center aisle of the jet, looking for an empty seat. The other students were already strapped in and awaiting their departure, and Darcy saw that the only free seats left were in the very back, where she'd be sitting by herself.

She slid into a seat quietly while Scott stowed her things and peeked out the window to see Alex standing by his car. She raised her hand in a wave and saw him return the gesture with a reassuring grin, making her feel a little better.

"Okay, Iceman…fire her up. Let's get home," Scott said, walking up the center aisle from the back to take the copilot's seat. Darcy craned her neck to see over the high-backed seats in front of her and caught a glimpse of the back of Bobby's head in the pilot's seat. She crushed her disappointment that she wouldn't get to spend the flight back talking to him, being around him seemed to make this whole idea somehow less overwhelming.

She heard the bump and screech of the intercom microphone click on and then Bobby's smooth voice came over the speakers. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I hope you all had a great stay in the Aloha State and that everyone had the chance to get lei'd—"

"Give me that!" Scott snapped. Darcy put her hand over her mouth and giggled as Scott snatched the microphone away from Bobby.

In the pilot's seat, Bobby smiled. Hearing Darcy's laugh over the groans of his friends at his corny joke. He leaned over and looked back down the aisle to see if he could see her, and was rewarded to see her smiling face as she stuck her head into the aisle to peek at him, too. He winked at her and turned back to the controls. Life was good.

"Everybody hang on, we'll be home in time for lunch!" Bobby called out cheerfully.

***

Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, 2:30 pm.

Darcy's first introduction to the Xavier Institute wasn't a conventional one. Most new students enter through the front gate, where they have the chance to appreciate the well-tended grounds of the estate. They enter the mansion through the large and impressive glass doors that open into a gracious and expansive foyer. They are treated to seeing the numerous and costly amenities of the living quarters before anything else.

Darcy's initiation to the Institute started at the lower levels. Something most new recruits don't see for several days at least. She stared with open-mouthed wonder at the sophisticated equipment she passed as she followed Scott and the other students out of the cavernous hanger the jet was housed in and past the many training rooms.

Her fingers clutched the handles of her duffel tightly and she felt every inch the unsophisticated country girl she was. Her jaw dropped even wider when they entered the foyer of the mansion's lower level and she could fully appreciate the scale of the facility. Her father's church and their house in Iowa could both easily fit inside any one of the massive metal lined rooms they passed.

"Huge, isn't it?" Bobby whispered in her ear. She nodded without looking at him. Her eyes too busy drinking in her surroundings. She jumped slightly when she felt Scott put his hand on her shoulder.

"Let's get you settled in, and then I'll take you for your interview with the Professor." Scott told her with a small smile.

"O-okay," Darcy said meekly, not really liking the sound of that 'interview' part. She put her bag over her shoulder while she waited for someone to lead the way. Before Scott could though, Bobby took Darcy's hand.

"I'll show her around," he said immediately. Tugging Darcy after him as he headed for the elevator, ignoring Scott's sputtering.

"You're always dragging me around after you like baggage," Darcy laughed nervously once they were on the elevator. Bobby dropped his duffel bag on the ground and grinned at her.

"I think its cause I'm always wanting to keep you to myself," Bobby told her. Darcy blushed a bit; she hadn't seen Bobby alone since they'd kissed at the hidden pool in Maui. The others had always been around, and then she hadn't seen him at all the following day, allowing her insecurities and imagination about the Institute to run wild.

Hesitantly, she stepped closer to Bobby; unconsciously craving the feeling of security he gave her. He put his arm around her slim shoulders, and it seemed completely natural to turn in towards him, resting her head on his shoulder as he hugged her. It had been a long time since anyone had held her, apart from Alex's brief brotherly hugs. It felt nice.

"You're warm," Bobby murmured in her ear, holding her tighter when her arms stole around his middle. "Feels good."

Darcy smiled and said nothing, just enjoying the hug. All too soon the elevator reached the dormitory floor and opened. Reluctantly, Darcy let go of Bobby and followed him down the hall for lack of any other direction.

"Let's dump your stuff in my room until we figure out which one's gonna be yours and then I'll show you around," Bobby said over his shoulder. They passed a few other students in the hallway, Sam, talking to a young blonde haired girl that looked so much like him it didn't take a genius to figure out it was his sister. Then Ray, who stomped into his room farther down the hall ahead of them and slammed his door almost in Tabby's face.

"Rude!" Tabitha yelled at the closed door before continuing on to hers around the corner and slamming it with almost as much force.

"What's that about?" Darcy whispered to Bobby as she caught up to him. Bobby shrugged.

"Don't know, don't care…"

When it seemed they had walked forever – the Institute had more doors off its halls than a hotel – Bobby stopped and opened one.

"How do you remember which one is yours?" Darcy laughed. Bobby held the door for her and motioned for her to precede him into his room.

"Easy, third from the end of the hall," he told her.

Darcy stood in the center of the room and looked around, setting her duffel on the floor. It was neat, the Professor would accept no less she assumed, with a bed, a dresser, and a small desk. Bobby was unpacking, mostly taking his clothes out of his bag and stuffing them into the laundry hamper in his closet.

"Your room is nice," Darcy said to break the silence.

"Thanks. I used to have to share with Sam." Bobby told her.

Darcy wandered the small room, looking at the photo of the smiling family on his dresser. A mother, a father, and two boys – the elder of the two obviously being Bobby. Even though he looked much younger in the photo, she recognized that cocky grin. Her eyes fell to his bed and she felt her heart clench a bit.

Spread out over the surface was a star patterned quilt made up completely of different shades of pale blue fabric. She reached her hand out to touch it, completely unaware that Bobby had finished his unpacking and was watching her closely.

"My mom made it. She didn't want me to be homesick when I first got here, so she made me bring it along," Bobby explained with a chuckle. "She picked that pattern and those colors because she said it looked like ice."

"It does," Darcy said quietly. "I have – had – one at home just like it that my grandmother gave me. Only mine was darker shades of blue."

Hearing the sadness in her voice, Bobby pushed the bedroom door that he was standing beside closed to give them some privacy, only to meet the unmovable object of Scott's arm as he passed in the hall.

"Keep that door open, Drake," Scott warned him before continuing on to his room. Bobby made a face, and pushed the door mostly shut. Leaving it cracked open before he went over to Darcy.

She didn't seem to have heard Scott, so lost was she in her own thoughts as she stared down at his quilt. Bobby leaned over to see her face, and her eyes were a million miles away.

"Hey," he said softly, and smiled when she blinked slowly and focused on him.

"Sorry," she said blushing. "You were going to show me around."

"In a minute," Bobby said, and put his arms around her again. Giving her another much needed hug.

"You're being so nice to me," Darcy said. Trying to keep the tone of wonder from her voice. Bobby squeezed her gently as he hugged her tighter.

"Because I like you," Bobby told her. She looked up at him and gave him a small, somewhat tremulous smile.

"I like you too, Bobby," she replied softly.

Their gazes locked, and Bobby was lost in that pale ice blue color of her eyes, seeming even more brilliant in contrast with her tan skin. It made Bobby wonder if all of her was as evenly golden brown, and he blushed a little bit for imagining it. She tipped her chin up a fraction, but enough that Bobby recognized the subtle invitation for him to kiss her. He obliged, bringing his face to hers slowly and brushing his lips over hers in a feather light caress.

A knock on Bobby's door sent them flying apart as if they were similarly charged magnets.

"Time's up, Drake. The Professor wants to see Darcy in his office for her interview now," Scott called from the other side of the cracked door.

Bobby caught her fingers as she turned to go, delaying her. "I'll catch up with you later and show you around Bayville if you want," Bobby said.

"I'd like that," Darcy smiled back at him.

Around the corner, Jubilee pressed herself against the wall when she heard Scott knock on Bobby's door. She didn't want to seem as eager to see Bobby as she was. It had been a long summer, one she had spent most of at home nursing her broken heart after Bobby had broken up with her. But now that she was back, and he was back from his trip to Hawaii, Jubilee hoped that they could talk and maybe work things out. She just wasn't ready to accept that they could be over, not before they'd ever really given their relationship a chance.

She peeked around the corner to see if Scott was still there, and her mouth fell open to see a girl come out of Bobby's room with him. Jubilee narrowed her almond shaped eyes as she studied the other girl, reluctantly tearing her gaze away from Bobby. The new girl was slender and petite, with long dark brown hair that fell in a straight fall midway down her back. She wore a sage green sleeveless top, knee length black skirt and calf high black leather boots.

Jubilee hated her on sight.

Mostly because of the way Bobby was so familiarly holding her hand as they followed Scott down the hall toward the main staircase and away from Jubilee's hiding spot. Jealousy twisted her gut as she watched Bobby squeeze the girl's hand, reluctant to let go as they parted at the junction between the girls and boys wings of the mansion. Bobby continuing on toward the girls' rooms with the duffel bag he had slung over one muscled shoulder. Her bag no doubt.

Jubilee shut her eyes tightly, willing the hurt and anger away. She shouldn't be surprised that Bobby would find someone else. He was handsome, charming, funny and a total flirt.

"But he's my flirt," she whispered miserably. She looked around the corner again, hoping that no one had overheard her; luckily the hallway was clear. Jubilee eased around the corner and strode purposefully down the hall and back to the girl's wing where – it just so happened – Bobby had gone.

Jubilee flipped her long black hair back off her shoulders, a determined look on her face. She may have some competition for Bobby's affection now, but Jubilation Lee never gave up without a fight.

"Come in, Darcy."

Darcy's knuckles came to a stop a fraction of an inch from the heavy half opened door she was about to knock on. Surprised, she peeked around the doorjamb into Professor Xavier's office. How he'd known she was there was a mystery to her, considering her quiet approach from where Scott had left her, and the fact that the occupant of the room was facing the window.

As she peered into the room owlishly, Professor Charles Xavier turned his wheelchair around and rolled it toward her, a gentle and welcoming smile on his face.

"Please, do come in. There is nothing for you to fear here."

Of course not, Darcy thought to herself as she forced her feet to take her into the room to greet her benefactor. He wasn't what she had expected, even as she realized she hadn't been sure what to expect. Scott and the others had painted a rosy portrait of the man who had founded the Institute.

Professor Xavier gestured for her to sit after they had shaken hands, and Darcy slipped into the large comfortable chair nervously. She'd never been on a job interview before, and she could only imagine this had to be something like it, only with higher stakes.

"I trust you had a good trip back?" Xavier asked. Darcy nodded readily.

"Oh yes. That's some plane you have," she said admiringly. Professor Xavier smiled, seeing the X-jet through Darcy's eyes almost as her thoughts broadcast themselves loudly. He would never actively read her mind without her permission of course, but he could catch glimpses of her most transient thoughts and emotions just by remaining open and empathetic to the girl.

"I'm delighted that you have finally decided to accept my invitation to come to the Institute. I'd hoped it would have been sooner, but Alex didn't think that you were ready to join us until now." Professor Xavier said, once their pleasantries were over.

"He looks after me, he's a good friend," Darcy said loyally. "But I'm still not sure that I'm ready for…all this." Darcy finished with a vague wave of her hand. Then biting her lower lip, forged on before she lost her nerve. "Professor Xavier, sir, before we continue, I just wanted to say that while I appreciate what you are offering me here, I really do. I just want to make sure that it is understood that I…do not have the support of my family any longer."

Darcy dug into her pocket of her skirt; fishing out the roll of bills that Alex had given her before she left. Yet another generous gift from his family, and she held it out to the Professor. "This, and the clothes I brought, are everything I have in the world, and every bit of it was given to me by Alex's family. I-I just want you to understand that."

Professor Xavier rolled closer to the girl and took her hand in his, closing her fist around the roll of money she was offering. "This isn't about what you have, or what you can offer," he said gently. "I created this school as a safe haven for mutants. A place where they could learn to develop their powers."

"Now that the world knows about us, it's more important than ever that we maintain a positive image to promote good relations between normal humans and mutants. Not all mutants believe as we do, Darcy, that humans and mutants will one day live together peacefully. That is why we train, and why I formed the X-Men."

"X-Men?" Darcy asked.

"Yes, the X-Men. My students. We teach those here to control their powers, to allow them normal lives. But we also teach them control so they can use them for a better good... namely... saving normal humans and fighting against those who threaten them. Learning that control isn't always easy, and we've found that some mutants can be, er…particularly destructive, even by accident. Thus the construction of what the students affectionately refer to as the Danger Room." Professor Xavier chuckled, and templing his fingers under his chin, he gauged the girl's reaction. It was always interesting to him how potential students reacted differently to learning what the X-men were.

Darcy blinked at him, a memory bubbling to the surface of her mind. Of Alex mentioning that he had been asked to come and join the X-men. And then of Amara beside the fire, telling her that Bobby was an X-man too. Her stomach fell.

"But…" Darcy began, her eyes wide. "I thought I was here to learn to control my powers, that you were going to help me," Darcy said plaintively.

"And I will," Xavier said soothingly. "By training you to master your potential, you control your powers before they control you."

"But…" Darcy said again, her eyes turning navy with sorrow. "I don't want to master them. I don't want to use them at all! I want them to go away…I thought you could…cure me," she finished in a near whisper.

Professor Xavier rolled closer to her again, resting his hand on her shoulder when she dropped her face into her hands. "Darcy," he began patiently, sensing the torrent of emotions running through her slender frame. "Mutation isn't a disease. It isn't something that can be cured; it's the way that we are born. Some of us are no different outwardly than anyone else, and others – like Hank and Kurt – can't hide their mutations from the world. But we're all the same inside in that we possess an advanced X-gene. Making us different from normal humans at the genetic level."

Darcy sniffed loudly. This wasn't what she wanted to hear, not even a little bit. "It isn't fair," she whispered miserably.

"But it is something that we have to live with. What I am offering you is the chance to learn to live with it, to accept your difference as being part of what makes you, you. Just because you are a mutant, doesn't mean that's all that you are, or all that you can be. Give us the chance to show you the good in all of this," the Professor said.

"What good is there when people hate you? Just for being who you are?" Darcy asked.

"I won't lie to you, Darcy. We have troubled days ahead. As I said, not all mutants think as we do, some feel that a war is coming. With the growing anti-mutant sentiment, and the new mutant registration initiative, it's becoming a hostile and dangerous world out there for us. Much different than the days when we kept our powers hidden. I wouldn't want to see you out in that world unprepared and unable to handle yourself."

Darcy raised her head slowly, the weight of the world in her eyes and on her shoulders. Especially at the mention of the mutant registration initiative, something the Reverend was a vocal supporter of. "So what you are saying, is that just because I'm a mutant I have some kind of bizarre responsibility to use my powers to protect the people that hate me?" Darcy asked incredulously.

Professor Xavier tried blocking the fast and furious images that played over his mind's eye, projected by the girl who didn't know any better that she was dealing with a telepath. Water, Bobby, Alex, a sailboat in a storm, a man's face twisted with fear and loathing all danced across the surface of the girl's mind. Xavier plucked the one thought that would influence her most like a ripe fruit from a tree.

"Power carries with it responsibility. Even those mutants that choose to remain unbiased about the mutant debate still have a responsibility to it. A few years back, we battled an ancient mutant who held the future of every being on this planet – mutant or otherwise – in the palm of his hand. If he had succeeded, life as we knew it on this world would have ceased to exist in favor of this new order; and it was us – mutants – that stopped him. And not just the X-men. Those who didn't take sides were there, too."

Darcy looked at him questioningly, and he smiled. His fatherly expression oddly comforting to her.

"Yes. Your friend, Alex Masters was there. Because even though he has never chosen to come here and train formally, he knows that his powers carry with them an obligation, if nothing else than to his own kind. Do you understand?"

Darcy nodded slowly, finding herself swayed by the Professor's conviction and beliefs. Perhaps this was the place for her, even if she wasn't sure about this whole X-men idea. It couldn't hurt to give it a try, after all, Alex had promised to take her home if she didn't like it here. What did she have to lose?

"What do I have to do?" she answered quietly.

After placing Darcy's bag in her new room - thankful that if she were staying at least for the term she'd be Amara's roommate and not Jubilee or Tabby's - Bobby had tempted fate. Taking the quilt his mother had made for him off his bed and spreading it out over Darcy's new one in a gesture of friendship. Hoping to persuade the cosmos to let Darcy stay. He liked her a surprisingly lot, considering he barely knew her, and the idea of watching her leave without ever knowing what might have been between them was just…unacceptable.

"That's really sweet of you," Amara told him, watching as he spread the quilt out over the other bed in her room. Bobby straightened and fisted his hands on his hips and gave her a cocky grin, keeping his real feelings inside as always.

"Well, I am a really sweet guy, after all," he replied smugly. Amara rolled her eyes knowingly.

"Sell it down the hall, Bobby…nobody in here is buying it," Amara laughed. Bobby didn't reply, there was no need, Amara's built in Bobby-bullshit detector was foolproof. It was one reason why they were better as friends.

"I just wanted her to feel welcome," Bobby told her with a little shrug. Amara stepped up beside him and squeezed his arm lightly.

"Your secret is safe with me, you know that," she told him. They headed out of her room together to go downstairs to the Community room and Amara leaned her head toward Bobby to speak confidentially. "But I think you should be warned…Jubilee's back."

Amara had no more than said the words when Jubilee appeared in the hall ahead of them, leaving her room to head downstairs as well. She kept her back to them, but Bobby didn't doubt for one moment that his ex-girlfriend knew they were there.

"Speak of the devil," Amara murmured. Bobby elbowed Amara lightly to shut her up before the two of them overtook Jubilee.

"Hey Amara, Hi Bobby," Jubilee smiled as she fell into step with them.

"Hey Jubes, how was your summer?" Bobby said neutrally. He didn't want to lose Jubilee as a friend, but he was still cautious around her, they hadn't parted on the best of terms when they'd broken up.

Jubilee gave Bobby her best smile. "Pretty good, it was nice to see my folks and stuff," Jubilee told him and rested her hand on his arm. "Say, Bobby, do you think we could talk…privately?" she asked quietly. Bobby glanced over at Amara out of the corner of his eye when he heard her give a choked little snort, the most bizarre expression on her beautiful face, like she was trying to hold back a sneeze. But Bobby knew better and he gave her a look, telling her she'd better not abandon him now.

Not surprising to him one bit was Tabitha's timely appearance at the top of the rotunda. "Amara! There you are! I've been looking all over for you, you have to come and see this thing." Tabby said gaily, looping her arm around Amara's waist and leading her off.

"What thing?" Bobby could hear Amara ask warily before the two disappeared. Bobby cursed mentally. The girls of the Institute were in league against him, had to be. There just couldn't be any other explanation for how he constantly got manipulated by them.

"So talk," Bobby said resigned, continuing on downstairs to the Community room. He wanted to be there for Darcy when she came out of her meeting with the Professor, the first person to congratulate her and welcome her to the team. Jubilee trailed along beside him like a shadow.

The Community room was practically deserted. Dorian Leech sat in front of the large television set playing a video game and didn't even give Bobby and Jubilee a second glance when they entered. Rahne Sinclair was curled up in the window seat and she smiled at them in welcome before burying her nose back in her book.

Bobby flopped down on one of the many couches scattered around the room on the opposite side from Leech and Rahne. Jubilee sat at the other end, carefully maintaining her distance from him.

"I really missed you this summer, Bobby," Jubilee told him, getting right to the point. "I had a lot of time to think while I was back home…about us…"

Bobby shifted uncomfortably. He really didn't want to get into it with Jubilee about their relationship again. Especially now that Darcy was rapidly becoming a factor in his life.

"I just wanted to say that I was sorry about the way that I acted. I was totally stupid and wrong and I don't blame you for freaking out at all. I'd hoped that maybe we could work things out…" Jubilee said.

"I dunno, Jubes…I've kinda met someone…" Bobby interrupted hesitantly.

"So we could stay friends," Jubilee finished, like he hadn't spoken. Bobby blinked at her, surprised, and Jubilee smiled inwardly. He was playing right into her hands. But then he was just a guy after all.

"Well, sure," Bobby replied relieved. "Of course we'll stay friends. I never wanted not to be."

"Great," Jubilee gritted out with forced brightness.

**Students, please assemble in the Community Room.**

"Yes!" Bobby exclaimed excitedly upon hearing the Professor's mental summons, knowing what it meant.

Jubilee hung back when Bobby got up and joined the other students as they filed into the room, trying to quell the bitterness inside at how readily Bobby had jumped at her offer of them just being friends. Didn't he care at all about what had happened between them?

She watched as the new girl followed the Professor into the room, hating how pretty the new girl was, hating the way that Bobby was so quick to give her one of his easy sexy smiles. Smiles that Jubilee still wanted for herself.

I'm not giving up on you, Bobby Drake…not by a long shot. Jubilee thought darkly.

Like she'd been by the bonfire, Darcy was overwhelmed by the warm and enthusiastic response that awaited her when the Professor told the assembled students of her enrollment. Bobby and Amara were right there in the front, congratulating her and welcoming her, and it was all Darcy could do to not get choked up again.

"This is so great! We're going to be roommates!" Amara beamed, taking Darcy's hand and squeezing it.

Bobby stuck to her side like glue, introducing her to so many people; Jean, Kitty, Kurt, Rogue, Jubilee, Paige… Darcy was certain she'd never remember them all. And then, as if that wasn't bad enough…everyone had a codename too, she soon discovered.

"Did the Professor give you your codename yet?" Jamie asked eagerly, squeezing Bobby over on the couch to sit next to Darcy.

"Yes," Darcy replied, blushing a little.

"Don't tell us!" Kurt said. "Let's see if ve can guess." Darcy smiled at the dark haired young man as he rubbed his hands together. "You control the vater?" he asked in his softly accented voice. Darcy nodded. "Hmmm…Vave?" he guessed. Darcy shook her head.

"Wave? Lame guess, Kurt." The attractive brunette named Kitty said. "It's probably something cool like Tsunami, " Kitty said confidently.

"Zat's de same thing!" Kurt cried indignantly.

"Riptide?" Ray speculated. Darcy shook her head.

"Flood?" Jamie guessed, and promptly got thumped on the head by Bobby. "Heyyyy!" Jamie complained, rubbing his skull and twisting around to look at the older boy. Bobby jerked a thumb at him, suggesting silently that Jamie vacate the space between Bobby and Darcy if he knew what was good for him.

"Undertow? Tempest? Current?" The guesses flew around the room quickly.

"Drip?"

Darcy turned her head to see who had made the insulting suggestion, but with so many people talking at once she couldn't tell. She thought it might have come from Tabby, who was laughing loudly as she stood with a exotic raven haired girl in a yellow jacket - Jubilee, if she remembered correctly - but she couldn't be sure.

"So tell us," Bobby said grinning and nudged Darcy gently with his elbow.

Before she could respond, Professor Xavier – who had been watching the banter with benevolent amusement – rolled forward with a pleased smile and held his hand out to Darcy. She let him pull her up to stand beside his chair as she smiled nervously.

"My X-men…I give you…Torrent."

***

Next Chapter: Training begins!

AN: Thanks go out to Rurouni Tyriel for "channeling" Professor X when I was horribly stuck with writing his dialogue. You saved me. ^_^

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed (in no particular order): Brandon B, Ashley, Hippiechic, Arsenal, lordanhur, Mercurial1, Namek Kaia, chocolateblood, and Raining Star. I appreciate your words of encouragement.

Until next time! Keep that feedback coming. ^_^