Disclaimer: I don't own anything X-men related or Marvel related. If I said
I did, Marvel would own MY butt. So take that.
Notes: Umm, not much to say. Things will pick up in the second chapter, but I am not really sure if I should continue this anyway. I like the way it has started, but I just need to think of how to continue it. I hate it when I do this to myself; I know exactly what happens in the middle, but not the beginning or end. (Sighs) Oh well, hopefully I can think of what to do next, and I have a pretty good idea of what it is going to be. So have fun with some exposition, and look forward for character development in the next chapter! R&R! (I need the ideas O.O)
Chapter 1: Keep that Corporate Image
Rogue sat in her dorm room with Bobby, and she was pacing back and forth in a furious pace. Her brow furrowed deeper with every turn on her heel. Bobby was amused at this, to say the least, but he knew that calming her down would be the best option.
"Pacing a hole in the floor is not going to help much." He smiled gently while intercepting her path. Rogue sighed heavily and hugged him.
"I can't believe Kitty bailed on me, though," she frowned, "now the Professor won't let me go."
"He wants to make sure that you'll be safe," Bobby smiled, "if I liked that kind of music, I'd go, but-"
"Bobby!" Rogue's eyes glinted up at him, "You can go with me!" Bobby had been backed up into a corner, and he knew that fighting it was futile.
"Well I guess-"
"Great!" she beamed, and then tugged him out of the room and headed toward the common room, "besides, I'd be damned if I spent fifty bucks on tickets and then not go."
The common room was heavily populated that evening. Most of the students were glued to the action adventure flick on television, along with Logan who was making up for the school's lack of alcohol with a soda. Ororo was catching up on paper grading, and Kurt had dosed off on one of the lounges while reading a novel. Rogue looked around for Charles and found him deep in a game of chess with Scott. She grinned and clamored noisily over to him.
"Professor," she tried to turn up the charm, "sorry for interrupting."
"Nothing to worry about, Rogue," he smiled, having just ended his turn, "what do you need?"
"We-well I know you didn't want me to go to the concert alone," she said with hope beaming from her features, "but Bobby says that he will go with, so can we go, please?"
"Don't let 'em go, Charles." Logan's voice rang calm over their conversation. Rogue wheeled around, ready to protest.
"I don't know, Logan," Charles smiled, "I think they can handle themselves." Rogue hugged the Professor eagerly and thanked him, and then left with Bobby back to her room.
"I don't like the idea, Charles." Logan said quietly, amused that the students did not even notice the little drama because they were so focused on the movie.
"Don't like vhat idea?" Kurt had stirred from sleep and stretched out a little.
"I decided to let Rogue go to her concert with Bobby." Charles took his turn while answering. Logan looked over at Kurt, the wheels in his head turning.
"Hey, Elf, what are you up to tonight?"
"Reading." Kurt responded blankly to the nickname as he tried to find his lost bookmark.
"I think the book can take a rest tonight," Logan grinned at his cunning plan, "how would you like to go to a concert?"
"You mean spy on Rogue and Bobby?" Kurt shot Logan an accusatory glance.
"Naw, not spy," Logan defended himself, "just make sure they are safe. Besides, with how you move and blend into places, you could probably get the best seat in the house." Kurt weighed his options heavily. On one hand, he had never been to a concert before, and all of the students who have been to a show chatter on and on about how wonderful they are. On the other hand, Rogue and Bobby would probably be very upset about him being there for the sake of spying on them. The wish to keep them safe finally tipped the scales in Logan's favor.
"I will only interfere is zere is danger." He said sternly, staring Logan in the eye. Logan just sighed in relief. A couple minutes later, Rogue and Bobby came in to say their goodbyes. After they left, Kurt felt the quizzical eyes of his friends upon him. He shrugged, sighed, and then teleported outside, ready to track the two teenagers to their concert. After he left, Charles spoke up again.
"I don't know why you want me to limit Rogue so much, Logan."
"I just don't want anything to happen to her," he said, "and damned if she will listen to me about things lately." Ororo shot him a glance about the language in front of the children, but simply went back to her grading.
"She is a very capable girl," Charles answered, taking another turn which was inching him closer and closer to victory, "and to deny her of little freedoms would not be good for her. She needs to get out of the school once and awhile and get a taste for life outside of these walls." Logan knew when he was beaten, at least temporarily. He asked one of the students what he had missed in the movie, and then fell silent.
There was a plethora of security everywhere at the concert, what made it a little harder was that it was indoors. Kurt found it funny that several young men and women were dressed in bizarre costumes. It made his life easier, because if he were to be caught, he could claim to be a fanatic fan instead of a mutant.
"Vhere to go, vhere to go?" he mumbled to himself quietly. The concert had already started, so most of the people were inside and out of view. He teleported inside and was able to sneak around the security. He caught a glimpse inside the doors to the amphitheatre and was able to find a place where he could watch Rogue and Bobby. He teleported onto the far right side of a light rigging that hung over the edge of the stage. It only took him a few moments to locate Rogue and Bobby, and they had seemed to be having fun. Rogue had been talking for weeks about the rock concert, and she was very upset when Kitty could not go with her as planned. Kurt was rather bored though; he did not see what Rogue saw in the music. He was doing what was asked of him though, and that was all that really mattered to him. Another song came to an end, and the guitarist announced something that made the crowd cheer. It shook Kurt from his dosing state. Rogue looked as if she was going to pass out from happiness, which made Kurt smile a little.
The announcement was apparently for a woman who came out on stage, seemingly carried by the energy of the audience. Kurt observed her as she took the mic from its stand. There was a lot of black running through the ends of her light brown hair that fell straight and past her shoulder blades. She had it done so that it covered her left eye, and the black ends of her hair melted into her mostly black ensemble. Kurt could not tell what color her eyes were. She began to sing with the band backing her up and playing along with her antics. She sang with the guitarist once and awhile too, and as her performance went on, her subjects made Kurt feel upset. Most of the songs were very troubled, songs about losing people and losing faith. Rogue was very much moved by them though, and Kurt saw her crying here and there.
"Such a sad thing zis is," he mumbled to himself, "such spite from a voman with the world open in front of her." Another song came to an end, and it was quite late as Kurt checked his watch. He heard another announcement over the speakers, this time it was from the woman with two- toned hair.
"I hope you all remember why I am here," she heard a smile in her convicting voice, "a lot of my friends are mutants, and because they are, they can't do the same things as I can, as my friends on stage can. I don't want to live in a world where people exclude other people just because they have something different about them. Truth be told, we aren't carbon copies, so why should we discriminate because we look differently? The world we are living in now is like America during the Civil Rights movement, only we cannot be sure that things will end up well for mutants. I only hope that it will, and my purpose is to help those I love in whatever way I can." She took a bow, and left with the rest of the band in a wall of sound from the audience. Kurt watched Rogue and Bobby leave, and then he left for home. He felt terribly guilty for spying on them still.
"So how did it go?" Kurt had not been paying attention and nearly ran into Logan.
"Oh, it vent just fine," he answered, "zhey had a good time, and zere vere no problems."
"Good," Logan smiled, "now go ahead and get some sleep." Kurt nodded and retrieved his book from the common room, and then returned to find that Bobby and Rogue were home. Rogue talked to Logan excitedly for a moment as Bobby left for bed. She said goodnight to Logan a couple minutes later and headed upstairs. The guilt in Kurt's heart was too much for him, so he teleported upstairs and knocked gently on Rogue's door. She opened it a moment later and gave him a surprised smile.
"Kurt, what's up?"
"I am zorry to bother you zo late," he apologized, "but I need to talk vith you about zomething." She let him in graciously and gave him the cair at her desk while she sat upon her bed.
"So," she was still ecstatic from the show, "What do you need to talk about."
"Rogue," Kurt answered in a regretful tone, "I have zomething to confess to you."
"Kurt, it's okay, you can tell me." The southern belle part of her emerged in her voice, and it made him feel a little relaxed somehow.
"Okay," he sighed, "I followed you and Bobby to ze concert. Logan vas worried about you two, and he asked if I vould go to keep an eye on you."
"That wolf!" she laughed.
"I understand if you are angry vith me." Kurt looked at the floor. Rogue stood up and hugged him about the shoulders, still laughing slightly.
"How could I be angry with a guy like you?" she smiled, "If anything, I should be angry with Logan, and he is going to get an earful from me." Kurt sighed in relief as she returned to her bed, flashing him a warm smile. He was about to leave when he noticed a poster of the ruddy and raven-haired woman on Rogue's wall.
"So, who is she?" Rogue turned and looked at the image fondly.
"Her name is Rane Lassen." She explained, "she writes music for herself and a couple other bands who are all really close to one another. They all performed tonight. Their platform is mutant equality, and they are trying to keep the good image of us in the public eye."
"The sound like vonderful people." Kurt studied the posters next to the one of Rane, and he assumed that they were the other bands.
"Some of them are even rumored to be mutants themselves," she resumed, "but that's probably just what they are, rumors." Rogue and Kurt talked casually about it for a few more moments before calling it a night.
Kurt was still thinking about those songs though. He stared at the ceiling for the longest time, wondering how someone as seemingly dynamic as Rane Lassen could have lost so much faith. He at least learned that behind that striking hair laid green eyes with large black centers, almost too large. Kurt slowly drifted to sleep, thinking no longer on mutant activists.
"Troy, what am I supposed to do?"
"Just stay here with us, please?"
"Troy," Rane turned and pulled herself unto her friend's direct vision, "the company knows about me. They just tolerated us before, what do you think they'll do now? They have just been digging for a chance to be rid of us."
"They are not that stupid, they would lose sales," Troy was calm and collected for Rane's sake, "just stay here with Annie and I." He watched his friend mull over to the window again like a trapped animal.
"I can't do that," she sighed, her fingertips tracing invisible patterns on the glass, "I just need to get away from the suits for awhile. I don't know if the fans will forgive me though." Her melancholy smile reflected in the smooth pane. Troy frowned and opened a desk drawer. He retrieved a slip of paper and an address book. He quickly wrote down an address and some simple directions, and then walked over and took her hand. He placed the paper in her palm and closed it with his own.
"If that is the route you are going to take," he hesitated, "then I suggest getting a car and your things, and then drive to the address on this paper. The guys and I will take care of the press until you can face them with something." Rane smiled bitterly at Troy then hugged him with some desperate need. She thanked him profusely and found herself on the road one hour later, feeling undeniably alone.
She arrived at a mansion in the late afternoon, and she wondered if she had the right place. She stepped up to the front door and suddenly heard a voice in her mind.
/"Greetings,"/ it said, /"just follow the directions I give you, and I shall see you momentarily."/ Rane followed the directions she heard. Right, left, left, right, and left again down several hallways and rooms in the lavish mansion. She opened the door she was instructed to and entered to see a man in a wheelchair in front of a group of children aging from very young to teens.
"Good afternoon, Miss Lassen," the same voice sounded just as the one in her thoughts from moments before, "you caught me in my last class, please take a seat, I will be with you in a few moments." She nodded in reply, and took a seat in the back of the classroom. The students were dismissed about fifteen minutes later, and as the kids left, their professor came to greet her again.
"Forgive the earlier intrusion into your mind," he smiled, "I didn't want you to get lost. I am Charles Xavier, founder of this school for mutants."
"I have heard a lot about you," Rane shook his hand, excited to meet this wonderful man, but her sadness was still ringing in her head, "please forgive the sudden visit though."
"Oh, do not worry about that," he reassured her, "your friends Ann and Troy already called me and told me a little about you." Rane sighed and sat down again.
"So, what did they tell you?"
"Just the situation," he tried to comfort her, "they felt that you would be able to stay here comfortably for awhile."
"I would feel guilty about it though," she started to stare at her shoe laces, "I can't just live here, this is a school for students."
"Well," Charles wheeled over to his desk and opened a folder, "I see from your college transcripts that you are an art major, and that you started on a teaching degree but stopped when you got into music. Would you feel better about staying here if you could teach?" Rane felt a little better about the idea when she heard that, and her slight smile showed Charles hope.
"I could probably teach drawing and painting if I had the supplies," she nodded, and then bit her lip, "maybe even a little history and theory. The supplies are expensive though, and I need to get a teaching plan together."
"There is only a couple weeks before new semester," the Professor put her transcript away, and then looked back up at her, "I am sure that would be enough time to order and receive supplies while you start to create a lesson plan. The only thing I wish to advise you about is that the students are here not only to learn about the world, but also how to control their powers. Come with me, I'll introduce you to some of them."
"All right." she followed him out, profusely thanking him for the opportunity to stay at the school.
"Everyone who lives and works here are mutants, all of whom have powers very unique," Charles escorted Rane down several of the hallways, peaking in at classrooms and then continuing on slowly, "some people here are very powerful, and luckily we can train them with proper use of that power. I remember your friend Ann being here. She was a very good student, but her gifts were out of control. Through training, she can now lead a very normal life." Rane was thinking bitterly on Ann for a moment, but was distracted by a young man running their way. A girl with a prominent southern accent quickly followed.
"Bobby! Get back here!"
"Be careful while running in the halls, Rogue." Charles advised while another girl came sprinting down the hallway. Rogue stopped in front of Charles, out of breath and a little dizzy.
"Hey, Professor, who's care is out- woah." Her vision had re-aligned and she caught sight of Rane. The other girl looked like she was going to crash into the dumbfounded teen, but to Rane's surprise she simply passed through her.
"What is all the excitem- woah!"
"Rane," Charles addressed her with a whimsical smile, "This is Kitty, she has the power to pass through great ranges of solid materials. Behind her is Marie, or Rogue as we like to call her, and she can assimilate other mutant's powers through skin-to-skin contact. That young man they were chasing a moment ago was Bobby, and he has the mastery over ice."
"Hey, I was not chasing him," Kitty protested, "I just wanted to see what the commotion was about." Rane laughed a little.
"It's very nice to meet you both," she chuckled a little, "hopefully I can meet your friend, Bobby, too." Rogue and Kitty quickly bombarded her with questions. Rane had never really gotten used the attention, and found herself blushing a bit.
"Well, why are you here?" Rogue finally asked. The Professor answered for her.
"She is going to be our new arts professor." The girls looked ecstatic for a moment, then they looked a little confused.
"So, you quit the bands?" Kitty asked.
"Wait, why are you even here?" Rogue interrupted, "you're not even a mutant."
"Actually, I am a mutant," Rane nodded, as if reaffirming it in her mind, "and so are several members of the bands, but we are able to be in the public eye because we don't look different. I am the only one who has an odd physical trait, if you can even call it that."
"What is it?" Kitty asked.
"My eyes always seem over-dialated." She had always felt proud to have something abnormal about her.
"Rogue, Kitty," Charles asked, "could you please show Miss Lassen to the empty room in the teacher's dormitory?"
"No problem, Professor!" Rogue beamed while Kitty gave him an answering glance.
"Oh, and Miss Lassen," Charles began.
"Please, call me Rane."
"There is a faculty meeting at six this evening, I will send someone to get you before we start." Before she could answer adequately, Rogue and Kitty were pulling her outside to her car, dodging students the whole way. Once outside, the girls helped Rane with her things and lead her back inside to her quarters.
"So, did you really leave the bands?" Rogue asked Kitty's question over again.
"No, I didn't leave them," she explained, "I needed to get out of public because someone inside our record company found out that I was a mutant."
"So what?" Kitty scoffed, "your message is pro-mutant anyway." The statement caught Rane off guard, and she agreed with it in so many ways.
"That is true," Rane responded, "but the company only tolerated us because we were all human to their knowledge. If one of us were a mutant, then they would find some way to cut our contracts."
"That would not be very smart of them," Rogue's brow furrowed, "the backlash would be huge."
"Troy says they won't do it," she said "and I am sure that they already have everything negotiated and covered up." A couple minutes later, they arrived at the empty room and left her alone for a time. Rane looked at the pre-furnished room that looked so warm, but she began to think of Troy, and everything became cold again.
Notes: Umm, not much to say. Things will pick up in the second chapter, but I am not really sure if I should continue this anyway. I like the way it has started, but I just need to think of how to continue it. I hate it when I do this to myself; I know exactly what happens in the middle, but not the beginning or end. (Sighs) Oh well, hopefully I can think of what to do next, and I have a pretty good idea of what it is going to be. So have fun with some exposition, and look forward for character development in the next chapter! R&R! (I need the ideas O.O)
Chapter 1: Keep that Corporate Image
Rogue sat in her dorm room with Bobby, and she was pacing back and forth in a furious pace. Her brow furrowed deeper with every turn on her heel. Bobby was amused at this, to say the least, but he knew that calming her down would be the best option.
"Pacing a hole in the floor is not going to help much." He smiled gently while intercepting her path. Rogue sighed heavily and hugged him.
"I can't believe Kitty bailed on me, though," she frowned, "now the Professor won't let me go."
"He wants to make sure that you'll be safe," Bobby smiled, "if I liked that kind of music, I'd go, but-"
"Bobby!" Rogue's eyes glinted up at him, "You can go with me!" Bobby had been backed up into a corner, and he knew that fighting it was futile.
"Well I guess-"
"Great!" she beamed, and then tugged him out of the room and headed toward the common room, "besides, I'd be damned if I spent fifty bucks on tickets and then not go."
The common room was heavily populated that evening. Most of the students were glued to the action adventure flick on television, along with Logan who was making up for the school's lack of alcohol with a soda. Ororo was catching up on paper grading, and Kurt had dosed off on one of the lounges while reading a novel. Rogue looked around for Charles and found him deep in a game of chess with Scott. She grinned and clamored noisily over to him.
"Professor," she tried to turn up the charm, "sorry for interrupting."
"Nothing to worry about, Rogue," he smiled, having just ended his turn, "what do you need?"
"We-well I know you didn't want me to go to the concert alone," she said with hope beaming from her features, "but Bobby says that he will go with, so can we go, please?"
"Don't let 'em go, Charles." Logan's voice rang calm over their conversation. Rogue wheeled around, ready to protest.
"I don't know, Logan," Charles smiled, "I think they can handle themselves." Rogue hugged the Professor eagerly and thanked him, and then left with Bobby back to her room.
"I don't like the idea, Charles." Logan said quietly, amused that the students did not even notice the little drama because they were so focused on the movie.
"Don't like vhat idea?" Kurt had stirred from sleep and stretched out a little.
"I decided to let Rogue go to her concert with Bobby." Charles took his turn while answering. Logan looked over at Kurt, the wheels in his head turning.
"Hey, Elf, what are you up to tonight?"
"Reading." Kurt responded blankly to the nickname as he tried to find his lost bookmark.
"I think the book can take a rest tonight," Logan grinned at his cunning plan, "how would you like to go to a concert?"
"You mean spy on Rogue and Bobby?" Kurt shot Logan an accusatory glance.
"Naw, not spy," Logan defended himself, "just make sure they are safe. Besides, with how you move and blend into places, you could probably get the best seat in the house." Kurt weighed his options heavily. On one hand, he had never been to a concert before, and all of the students who have been to a show chatter on and on about how wonderful they are. On the other hand, Rogue and Bobby would probably be very upset about him being there for the sake of spying on them. The wish to keep them safe finally tipped the scales in Logan's favor.
"I will only interfere is zere is danger." He said sternly, staring Logan in the eye. Logan just sighed in relief. A couple minutes later, Rogue and Bobby came in to say their goodbyes. After they left, Kurt felt the quizzical eyes of his friends upon him. He shrugged, sighed, and then teleported outside, ready to track the two teenagers to their concert. After he left, Charles spoke up again.
"I don't know why you want me to limit Rogue so much, Logan."
"I just don't want anything to happen to her," he said, "and damned if she will listen to me about things lately." Ororo shot him a glance about the language in front of the children, but simply went back to her grading.
"She is a very capable girl," Charles answered, taking another turn which was inching him closer and closer to victory, "and to deny her of little freedoms would not be good for her. She needs to get out of the school once and awhile and get a taste for life outside of these walls." Logan knew when he was beaten, at least temporarily. He asked one of the students what he had missed in the movie, and then fell silent.
There was a plethora of security everywhere at the concert, what made it a little harder was that it was indoors. Kurt found it funny that several young men and women were dressed in bizarre costumes. It made his life easier, because if he were to be caught, he could claim to be a fanatic fan instead of a mutant.
"Vhere to go, vhere to go?" he mumbled to himself quietly. The concert had already started, so most of the people were inside and out of view. He teleported inside and was able to sneak around the security. He caught a glimpse inside the doors to the amphitheatre and was able to find a place where he could watch Rogue and Bobby. He teleported onto the far right side of a light rigging that hung over the edge of the stage. It only took him a few moments to locate Rogue and Bobby, and they had seemed to be having fun. Rogue had been talking for weeks about the rock concert, and she was very upset when Kitty could not go with her as planned. Kurt was rather bored though; he did not see what Rogue saw in the music. He was doing what was asked of him though, and that was all that really mattered to him. Another song came to an end, and the guitarist announced something that made the crowd cheer. It shook Kurt from his dosing state. Rogue looked as if she was going to pass out from happiness, which made Kurt smile a little.
The announcement was apparently for a woman who came out on stage, seemingly carried by the energy of the audience. Kurt observed her as she took the mic from its stand. There was a lot of black running through the ends of her light brown hair that fell straight and past her shoulder blades. She had it done so that it covered her left eye, and the black ends of her hair melted into her mostly black ensemble. Kurt could not tell what color her eyes were. She began to sing with the band backing her up and playing along with her antics. She sang with the guitarist once and awhile too, and as her performance went on, her subjects made Kurt feel upset. Most of the songs were very troubled, songs about losing people and losing faith. Rogue was very much moved by them though, and Kurt saw her crying here and there.
"Such a sad thing zis is," he mumbled to himself, "such spite from a voman with the world open in front of her." Another song came to an end, and it was quite late as Kurt checked his watch. He heard another announcement over the speakers, this time it was from the woman with two- toned hair.
"I hope you all remember why I am here," she heard a smile in her convicting voice, "a lot of my friends are mutants, and because they are, they can't do the same things as I can, as my friends on stage can. I don't want to live in a world where people exclude other people just because they have something different about them. Truth be told, we aren't carbon copies, so why should we discriminate because we look differently? The world we are living in now is like America during the Civil Rights movement, only we cannot be sure that things will end up well for mutants. I only hope that it will, and my purpose is to help those I love in whatever way I can." She took a bow, and left with the rest of the band in a wall of sound from the audience. Kurt watched Rogue and Bobby leave, and then he left for home. He felt terribly guilty for spying on them still.
"So how did it go?" Kurt had not been paying attention and nearly ran into Logan.
"Oh, it vent just fine," he answered, "zhey had a good time, and zere vere no problems."
"Good," Logan smiled, "now go ahead and get some sleep." Kurt nodded and retrieved his book from the common room, and then returned to find that Bobby and Rogue were home. Rogue talked to Logan excitedly for a moment as Bobby left for bed. She said goodnight to Logan a couple minutes later and headed upstairs. The guilt in Kurt's heart was too much for him, so he teleported upstairs and knocked gently on Rogue's door. She opened it a moment later and gave him a surprised smile.
"Kurt, what's up?"
"I am zorry to bother you zo late," he apologized, "but I need to talk vith you about zomething." She let him in graciously and gave him the cair at her desk while she sat upon her bed.
"So," she was still ecstatic from the show, "What do you need to talk about."
"Rogue," Kurt answered in a regretful tone, "I have zomething to confess to you."
"Kurt, it's okay, you can tell me." The southern belle part of her emerged in her voice, and it made him feel a little relaxed somehow.
"Okay," he sighed, "I followed you and Bobby to ze concert. Logan vas worried about you two, and he asked if I vould go to keep an eye on you."
"That wolf!" she laughed.
"I understand if you are angry vith me." Kurt looked at the floor. Rogue stood up and hugged him about the shoulders, still laughing slightly.
"How could I be angry with a guy like you?" she smiled, "If anything, I should be angry with Logan, and he is going to get an earful from me." Kurt sighed in relief as she returned to her bed, flashing him a warm smile. He was about to leave when he noticed a poster of the ruddy and raven-haired woman on Rogue's wall.
"So, who is she?" Rogue turned and looked at the image fondly.
"Her name is Rane Lassen." She explained, "she writes music for herself and a couple other bands who are all really close to one another. They all performed tonight. Their platform is mutant equality, and they are trying to keep the good image of us in the public eye."
"The sound like vonderful people." Kurt studied the posters next to the one of Rane, and he assumed that they were the other bands.
"Some of them are even rumored to be mutants themselves," she resumed, "but that's probably just what they are, rumors." Rogue and Kurt talked casually about it for a few more moments before calling it a night.
Kurt was still thinking about those songs though. He stared at the ceiling for the longest time, wondering how someone as seemingly dynamic as Rane Lassen could have lost so much faith. He at least learned that behind that striking hair laid green eyes with large black centers, almost too large. Kurt slowly drifted to sleep, thinking no longer on mutant activists.
"Troy, what am I supposed to do?"
"Just stay here with us, please?"
"Troy," Rane turned and pulled herself unto her friend's direct vision, "the company knows about me. They just tolerated us before, what do you think they'll do now? They have just been digging for a chance to be rid of us."
"They are not that stupid, they would lose sales," Troy was calm and collected for Rane's sake, "just stay here with Annie and I." He watched his friend mull over to the window again like a trapped animal.
"I can't do that," she sighed, her fingertips tracing invisible patterns on the glass, "I just need to get away from the suits for awhile. I don't know if the fans will forgive me though." Her melancholy smile reflected in the smooth pane. Troy frowned and opened a desk drawer. He retrieved a slip of paper and an address book. He quickly wrote down an address and some simple directions, and then walked over and took her hand. He placed the paper in her palm and closed it with his own.
"If that is the route you are going to take," he hesitated, "then I suggest getting a car and your things, and then drive to the address on this paper. The guys and I will take care of the press until you can face them with something." Rane smiled bitterly at Troy then hugged him with some desperate need. She thanked him profusely and found herself on the road one hour later, feeling undeniably alone.
She arrived at a mansion in the late afternoon, and she wondered if she had the right place. She stepped up to the front door and suddenly heard a voice in her mind.
/"Greetings,"/ it said, /"just follow the directions I give you, and I shall see you momentarily."/ Rane followed the directions she heard. Right, left, left, right, and left again down several hallways and rooms in the lavish mansion. She opened the door she was instructed to and entered to see a man in a wheelchair in front of a group of children aging from very young to teens.
"Good afternoon, Miss Lassen," the same voice sounded just as the one in her thoughts from moments before, "you caught me in my last class, please take a seat, I will be with you in a few moments." She nodded in reply, and took a seat in the back of the classroom. The students were dismissed about fifteen minutes later, and as the kids left, their professor came to greet her again.
"Forgive the earlier intrusion into your mind," he smiled, "I didn't want you to get lost. I am Charles Xavier, founder of this school for mutants."
"I have heard a lot about you," Rane shook his hand, excited to meet this wonderful man, but her sadness was still ringing in her head, "please forgive the sudden visit though."
"Oh, do not worry about that," he reassured her, "your friends Ann and Troy already called me and told me a little about you." Rane sighed and sat down again.
"So, what did they tell you?"
"Just the situation," he tried to comfort her, "they felt that you would be able to stay here comfortably for awhile."
"I would feel guilty about it though," she started to stare at her shoe laces, "I can't just live here, this is a school for students."
"Well," Charles wheeled over to his desk and opened a folder, "I see from your college transcripts that you are an art major, and that you started on a teaching degree but stopped when you got into music. Would you feel better about staying here if you could teach?" Rane felt a little better about the idea when she heard that, and her slight smile showed Charles hope.
"I could probably teach drawing and painting if I had the supplies," she nodded, and then bit her lip, "maybe even a little history and theory. The supplies are expensive though, and I need to get a teaching plan together."
"There is only a couple weeks before new semester," the Professor put her transcript away, and then looked back up at her, "I am sure that would be enough time to order and receive supplies while you start to create a lesson plan. The only thing I wish to advise you about is that the students are here not only to learn about the world, but also how to control their powers. Come with me, I'll introduce you to some of them."
"All right." she followed him out, profusely thanking him for the opportunity to stay at the school.
"Everyone who lives and works here are mutants, all of whom have powers very unique," Charles escorted Rane down several of the hallways, peaking in at classrooms and then continuing on slowly, "some people here are very powerful, and luckily we can train them with proper use of that power. I remember your friend Ann being here. She was a very good student, but her gifts were out of control. Through training, she can now lead a very normal life." Rane was thinking bitterly on Ann for a moment, but was distracted by a young man running their way. A girl with a prominent southern accent quickly followed.
"Bobby! Get back here!"
"Be careful while running in the halls, Rogue." Charles advised while another girl came sprinting down the hallway. Rogue stopped in front of Charles, out of breath and a little dizzy.
"Hey, Professor, who's care is out- woah." Her vision had re-aligned and she caught sight of Rane. The other girl looked like she was going to crash into the dumbfounded teen, but to Rane's surprise she simply passed through her.
"What is all the excitem- woah!"
"Rane," Charles addressed her with a whimsical smile, "This is Kitty, she has the power to pass through great ranges of solid materials. Behind her is Marie, or Rogue as we like to call her, and she can assimilate other mutant's powers through skin-to-skin contact. That young man they were chasing a moment ago was Bobby, and he has the mastery over ice."
"Hey, I was not chasing him," Kitty protested, "I just wanted to see what the commotion was about." Rane laughed a little.
"It's very nice to meet you both," she chuckled a little, "hopefully I can meet your friend, Bobby, too." Rogue and Kitty quickly bombarded her with questions. Rane had never really gotten used the attention, and found herself blushing a bit.
"Well, why are you here?" Rogue finally asked. The Professor answered for her.
"She is going to be our new arts professor." The girls looked ecstatic for a moment, then they looked a little confused.
"So, you quit the bands?" Kitty asked.
"Wait, why are you even here?" Rogue interrupted, "you're not even a mutant."
"Actually, I am a mutant," Rane nodded, as if reaffirming it in her mind, "and so are several members of the bands, but we are able to be in the public eye because we don't look different. I am the only one who has an odd physical trait, if you can even call it that."
"What is it?" Kitty asked.
"My eyes always seem over-dialated." She had always felt proud to have something abnormal about her.
"Rogue, Kitty," Charles asked, "could you please show Miss Lassen to the empty room in the teacher's dormitory?"
"No problem, Professor!" Rogue beamed while Kitty gave him an answering glance.
"Oh, and Miss Lassen," Charles began.
"Please, call me Rane."
"There is a faculty meeting at six this evening, I will send someone to get you before we start." Before she could answer adequately, Rogue and Kitty were pulling her outside to her car, dodging students the whole way. Once outside, the girls helped Rane with her things and lead her back inside to her quarters.
"So, did you really leave the bands?" Rogue asked Kitty's question over again.
"No, I didn't leave them," she explained, "I needed to get out of public because someone inside our record company found out that I was a mutant."
"So what?" Kitty scoffed, "your message is pro-mutant anyway." The statement caught Rane off guard, and she agreed with it in so many ways.
"That is true," Rane responded, "but the company only tolerated us because we were all human to their knowledge. If one of us were a mutant, then they would find some way to cut our contracts."
"That would not be very smart of them," Rogue's brow furrowed, "the backlash would be huge."
"Troy says they won't do it," she said "and I am sure that they already have everything negotiated and covered up." A couple minutes later, they arrived at the empty room and left her alone for a time. Rane looked at the pre-furnished room that looked so warm, but she began to think of Troy, and everything became cold again.