Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men Evolution, Marvel, or even a car for that matter. I'm not making money off this, I'm simply getting some exercise in the world of creative writing.

Author's Notes: Sorry for how long this took, I just had a serious case of Writer's Block that needed a glob of C-4 to destroy.

Chapter 7

The Inner Workings of a Confused Mind

It just after lunch the following day when I met with the Professor and asked him to teach me how to create those "mental blocks". The clothes I had arrived in were starting to smell like sheer hell so they gave me some clothing that they had in-house. I dubbed it 'Xavier Wear' since every lick of it had an X on it somewhere. Shirt, pants, socks, and even the underwear. Frankly, I was disturbed by the fact that it looked like Xavier owned my ass in a literal sense now. I had to talk with someone about buying some clothes of my own.

When I entered the Professor's study, it seemed to have a much more serious mood than yesterday. The lights were on and the sun was shining in through the large window behind Xavier's desk, but the room seemed to have a much different aura than yesterday's introductions. There was no casual conversation being halted at the notice of me entering the room this time, because there was no casual conversation. It was just the Professor and I this time. He was seated behind his desk and there was another chair facing the front of the desk, obviously for me.

I sat down and rested my crutches against one of the arms of the chair.

"Thank you for trusting me to help you develop mental blocks, Alan." The Professor was being even more formal than yesterday. This was either to calm me down or prepare me for bad news. "Before we actually build the blocks, I first need to see what your mental state is like. To do this I will have to enter your mind, with your consent of course."

He was prepping me for bad news.

"Uh, how do I know you're not going to snoop around? I do have some things I'd rather keep private for now."

Like homicidal tendencies...

"Actually, Alan, you'll be along for the ride. For me to do this I'll have to put you into a trance-like state. You will be able to see your unconscious representation of your mind."

"...huh?"

"You'll be there to make sure I'm not 'snooping around'."

"Oh..."

They were going to need to start handing out manuals to new students if they all were as confused as I was at that moment. 'Your Psychic Teacher and You' or something to that effect. After about 20 more minutes of explaining and repeating the explanation so I would understand, the Professor wheeled himself over so he was facing me and put a hand on each of my temples.



I opened my eyes and saw before me a completely white opening with a small home a little bit in front of me. As my vision focused I could see that the house I was looking at...was mine. I couldn't believe it, my house was intact, but here.

"Xavier..what in the world is--HOLY HELL, YOU'RE WALKING!"

Xavier chuckled at that, "Not exactly, my physical body is still in my wheelchair in my office and yours is right in front of mine in the office chair. I assume you've noticed that you are no longer wounded?"

I actually hadn't, I gazed down and found something unexpected. There was no evidence of me ever being shot; no scar, no stitches, no bandage, nada. "Well, that explains why I'm not screaming in pain... Where are we, exactly?"

"We are inside of your mind, like I explained before. I entered your mind and put you into a trance so you could observe my actions."

"Now, what is my home doing here?"

"It's common for it to take a form that seems like a safe-haven to the person, such as a place they think of as 'home'."

I had a feeling that Xavier wanted to take a peek inside and to be honest, I wanted to see as well. I always thought my mind was just a scramble of memories that I could call to the forefront of my thought at any time. If how I saw my memories was anything near what my mind arranged them as then that place was going to look like a frat party just ended.

"So I guess we should start...."

Before my sentence ended, my mind did the work. Xavier and I were now standing outside of the door to my 'mental house'. Xavier gestured toward the doorknob as if what just happened was as casual as breathing. "It's your mind, I'll let you do the honors."

I slowly nodded and watched as my hand opened the door. I looked inside...then quickly pulled my head back in to see why the hell was going on.

Outside...siding, windows, porch, it's a house.

Inside, it's a ballfield that I used to go to when I needed to get my mind off my worries. Barely anyone ever went there since there was a newer, better kept one up the street. It was identical down to the very last detail, the paint was chipping off the bleachers, there was a dent in the cage behind the catcher's mound, and even half of a broken bat stuffed into the trash can. One day a kid had gotten really pissed that he couldn't hit a pitch that his dad was throwing him, he took his frustrations out on the cage and caused that dent. Stuffed the broken bat in the trash can, I had never seen such a little guy get so angry over something so trivial.

I went inside and brushed my hand on the 4th bleacher seat from the bottom in the left field, my usual spot. I just had to smile, it was a perfect replica of a place where I would go to let my mind wander, even down to the relaxing smell of the freshly cut grass that was mowed every Tuesday. It would make me fall asleep some times. The back fence was about 5 feet tall, give or take a few inches. It was covered in various advertisements for car dealerships and local video stores. The paint from most of them were fading, mainly on the top from where some kids would stretch their arms over the wall to give catching that home-run one last try.

"Wow..."

I turned my head to see Xavier smiling and looking over the ball park. "I can see why your mind chose this place as a starting point. Very relaxing, nothing to worry about... Most people also have the same reaction that you just did."

The scene before me then began to change, like a television losing it's signal. The background twitched and blinked out of existence, the bleachers dissolved, and the grass pulled itself back into the ground. The entire scene warped into what appeared to be a mail room. Envelopes on top of envelopes, packages stuffed under desks and on the floor, and what must have been a hundred faceless drones sorting it all at a lightning pace. One stood out though, he even made himself known.

"Hey boss, whatcha need?"

I looked from side to side, none of the other drones seemed to have stopped to react, and he wasn't looking at Xavier.

"Me?"

"Who the hell do you think I'm talking to? Baldy over there? I don't even know why he's here!"

I just closed my eyes at that moment and hoped that the Professor didn't take offense. The last thing I need was to annoy the guy who could hop out of my head and proceed to brag the contents of my brain to the entire school.

After opening my eyes and looking back at what looked to be the 'head drone' I spoke up.

"So, where are we?"

"This is your brain, 'course the fact that I had to tell you that makes me wonder why we're still working. Do you have ANY idea how much new shit we've had to sort and organize in the past 3 days? Hell, the section we have on daydreams has been going on overtime ever since you met that southern girl..."

"Shut up, now."

Normally I don't interrupt people, but normally people aren't going to be blabbering things I'd rather keep private either. I looked over the head guy's shoulder and noticed something very odd. A rather hyper individual was blindfolded and throwing small letters from a black garbage bag into an incinerator.

"What the hell is that guy doing?"

"Oh," the head honcho began, "that's why you forget memories, it's completely random what you forget and it's never about the same topic, we give him a new bag of random crap every hour and he starts tossing stuff. He's getting really good at tossing in where you last left your keys. He's not gonna need to worry about where you put your wallet till you get a new one."

"Alan, we can get you some new supplies later today. I'll have a few of the students take you to the mall to replace your things after the session if you'd like," Xavier offered.

I nodded to Xavier and just kept looking around the mail room. For some reason, I had a hunch as to what each letter and box contained. What was stranger was that I was right every time. I looked up to talk to the head guy and the scene started to shift again. My vision was scrambled and everyone and everything besides the Professor and myself started to dissolve again.

Over the static I heard the head guy say, "Seeya kid! Keep your head on straight!"

That phrase, something was very familiar about that phrase he said. To me it didn't sound like a pun, it sounded like a comforting gesture. I didn't have time to think it over till the scene shifted to something very odd...

I felt alone in this place. It was cold and dark, the floors felt like stone and the air that moved through the room howled like it couldn't find a way out. I looked in front of me and through the darkness I could see something glinting on the back wall. A metal ring, it was even with my shoulders in height. It resembled a door knocker but the positioning was wrong. It was a door handle. As I got closer I saw that it was sealed shut with chains and there were multiple locks, but nearby there were the remains of an identical door. It was heavily dented and there were claw marks from what appeared to be the inside. Irractic and frantic marks, like a trapped animal. I looked back and was relieved to see that Xavier was still with me.

"Where are we now, Professor?"

"I don' t know, only you and your mind would, how do you feel here?"

"Cold, alone, afraid...trapped."

He nodded at my description of the room. "Afraid? This may be where you hold your fears, it does explain the door. It means that you've been confronted by them before."

I slowly nodded as I looked down at the crumpled sheet of metal that Xavier was referring to.

"Um, Professor...could we go somewhere else?"

"This is your mind, Alan. I am merely a passenger along for the ride."

I realized he was right as he ended his sentence. I didn' t know how to move from area to area since I didn't even know how my brain was set up. I just waited for the scene to do it's normal automatic shift, when it did I let out a sigh of relief. I really didn't want to know what was behind that door. If just standing on the outside made me feel powerless then the inside was probably sheer hell.

After the static cleared a new section of my psyche came into view...

****

Well, thanks for taking the time to read this. Please review. Flames aren't looked highly upon since I can't better myself from a simple "This is worse than the lies I've told teachers to get out of tests." Now constructive criticism is VERY welcome.

Thanks to those who beta read and helped me figure out story problems. The next chapter will be up shortly.