The school inside was dark and Miranda had to consciously keep herself from melting into it. The place reminded her of when she had visited an old manor when she was twelve. The wood there had smelt deeply or something indistinguishable but pleasant all the same, and Miranda had wanted to take the smell home to her carpeted house that smelled of air freshener and clean air and add this smell as well. Miranda could smell it again in this school and she wondered whether it was just a smell that places took on after a long time. Just another 'old wood' smell. It was comforting in some way, but it wasn't helping her relax. She wanted to say something nice to the woman who walked by her side up the corridor but blurted out the question that was at the front of her mind. "Where's Logan?"

Jean turned her head to look at Miranda. "I'm not sure. He'll-"

Miranda stood walking and stared at Jean, wide-eyed. "You're not sure?" Suddenly she felt nothing but exposed in that hallway. Logan wasn't there? Logan had to be there! She let the shadows drag her back into them and closed her eyes. "I want Logan," she said quietly, keeping her voice neutral. She opened her eyes and saw Jean looking in the shadows near her, and realised that she was not visible any more. She watched Jean as she spoke. "I'm sure Logan will come back soon. Until then…Miranda. Will you come out of there?"

Miranda didn't move for a whole but then stepped forward. Jean smiled gently and Miranda looked up at her. "This place is dark," she commented.

Jean nodded non-committedly. "Is that a problem?"

Miranda shook her head. "No. I like the dark."

*

An hour later Jean had performed a full check up on Miranda and made sure her stomach was healing okay. ("More than okay," she had said, "It's impressive.") And then she'd left Miranda in her office while she went to checkout a room for her.

The office was bright, with a huge window opening to a wide garden outside. Miranda scanned the bookcase along the wall. Most of the texts her were medical books of some sort, mostly about evolution and animal nature.

There was a man's voice in the hall and Miranda shrunk back to the wall. The door opened and a boy stood there, looking no older than she was. "Hello?" he looked around, his dark, scruffy hair falling across his eyes and Miranda watched him silently from where she stood. For a moment she thought he saw her, but then his eyes moved on. With a shrug he turned to leave. Before he could reach the door, Miranda spoke. "Who are you?"

The boy spun around, flicking out a lighter and opening it. Miranda thought he seemed far to practised at that to be healthy. "Who the fuck's there?" he demanded looking around. Miranda didn't move. She stayed still where she was, well aware that this room was rather bright for her to move too much. "I asked first," she finally said. The boy turned to look at where the voice came from and narrowed his eyes on her. By now he must have been able to see something there. Her body was straining to stay hidden, but the lights in here weren't helping that. The sun was practically shining on her. And when he smiled she knew he could see her. "You Miranda?" She nodded, forgetting that he wouldn't see that. "You want to come out so I can see you?"

"Not really," she said, staring intently at him. "You know my name, this doesn't exactly put us on equal footing."

The boy smiled as if she had a point and flicked the lighter again. "John." Then he shoved the lighter into his pocket and sighed. "Now would you come out? Logan wants to check on you."

Miranda pulled herself from the shadows immediately, ignoring the dull pull. "Logan?"

"Ah, I said the magic word," he said dryly, looking at her carefully. "Nice to see you," he said, cocking his head to the side. Then he straightened. "Come on," he said, and nodded toward the door. "Let's go get some lunch."

Miranda frowned. "I thought you said Logan wanted to see me?" she asked as he began to lead her out of the room.

"Yeah," John said, "I lied. Logan isn't here, but Jean wants you to come eat something." He smiled at her and she resisted the urge to pout. He once again had the lighter in his hand and was flicking it open. She eyed it carefully. "Do I even want to ask about your power, Fire Boy?"

"Probably not," he said, giving her a cryptic smile and leading her down the hallway.

*

The dining room was quiet with only a few people there. It was still too early for proper lunch. John waved at a couple sitting at a table by the window and they waved back as he lead Miranda toward them and slide into his seat. Miranda took the free seat next to him and looked at the two in front of her. The boy was taller that John, with sandy blonde hair and a nice smile, and the girl beside him had a streak of white through her dark hair and clothes that covered most of her body. John gestured to Miranda. "Guys. Welcome the newest mutant to school."

The tall boy gave her a friendly smile and held out his hand. "I'm Iceman."

She reached out and shook his hand but blurted out the first thing that came into her head. "Your name is Iceman?"

Again came the bright smile. She did notice that he has brilliant blue eyes as well. "Nah, my name's Bobby. Iceman's kinda of like a codename. We've all got them."

"Yeah," John said, looking at her coolly. "I'm Pyro." Then he smiled.

"Fire Boy," said Miranda, smiling slightly.

"And I'm Rogue," said the girl. She, unlike the Bobby, did not offer her hand to Miranda, but somehow she didn't think Rogue was being rude about it.

"Hi," she said, feeling slightly shy in front of these new people. "I'm Miranda. And I don't have any codename. Just Miranda."

Bobby took a drink of his soda. "Well, you'll have to get a codename. It's all the rage these days. So what's your power?" he asked, leaning forward across the table. "Fire? Electricty? Amazing Animorphing?" he laughed and Miranda smiled slightly, trying to work out what to say. She hated explaining her power, she'd realised. It never felt as simple as saying 'I control fire' or 'telepathy.' Firstly, she didn't control anything, it controlled her. And secondly, what was the name of this thing that controlled her. John, seeing her reluctance to answer, answered for her. "Miranda here is the Amazing Shadow."

Miranda laughed the loudest at that. "Please don't let that be my codename!"

Rogue smiled. "Well, you'd better find one or else someone might decide to 'label' you."



Miranda thought for a moment. Well, she lived in the shadows. But Shadow wasn't enough…What animals could disappear? She smiled as it came together. "Got it…Shadowcat!"

The three of them all began laughing and she blushed. "I didn't think it was that bad," she mumbled, looking down at the table. They just kept laughing and Miranda felt a tap on her shoulder from behind. She turned and saw a girl sitting there, long hair up in a pony tail. She held out her hand. "I'm Kitty," she said, and then leaned in closer to whisper, "My codename's Shadowcat." She smiled brightly as she pulled back and Miranda closed her eyes. This was going well. The Asian girl opposite Kitty was laughing too. Great. Wonderful. Perfect start to what would probably be a perfect week. Time to crawl under a rock because everyone already though she was an idiot.

"Miranda?" As she was the only one who was not still giggling to some degree, she was the only one who heard Jean speak and beckon her toward the door. Miranda slipped out from the table and left the group to their own devices. None of them seemed to notice her go.

"Where are we going?" Miranda asked as she walked down another corridor with Jean.

Jean nodded ahead. "To Xavier. He runs the school. We just need to run a few things by you before we can start you on any training."

"Training?" Miranda repeated, brightening at the thought of it. "You mean, so I can control my…thing?"

Jean smiled brightly. "Yes." They had stopped in front of an office and Jean had her handle on the door. "Come on. Promise he doesn't bite," she smiled.