"And is your sister comfortable?"
"Yes, Professor."
"Very good. Please, take a seat Ashlyn. There are many more questions I would like to ask you. Have made your…"
Her face hot with an invisible flush, she nodded quickly. "Yeah, I apologized to…" She glanced at Scott. "Haven't figured out what to call him," she finished with a kind of mumble.
"I'm sure 'Scott' will do?" Professor said, looking at his first pupil.
He nodded.
"Yeah…so I apologized to Scott on the way to the Med Lab."
"And you've explained the nature of your mutant gift?"
"…Roughly."
Professor Xavier's eyebrow rose. Scott saved Ashlyn from answering: "She thought it might be better coming from you."
Fingers steepled together, the Professor said, "I see. Ashlyn here, beyond her obvious mutation, is a kind of empath. What is peculiar is that through this empathy Ashlyn modifies her own personality and behavior to compliment, or suit, whomever it is she is with. Is that accurate?" he asked Ashlyn.
She nodded.
"Unfortunately it would seem that because of the untutored nature of Ashlyn's gift, it takes her some time to weed through the emotional landscape of those around her, hence your fight earlier in my office."
Scott frowned. "I don't understand…"
Ashlyn half-turned in her chair to look at Scott. "I… When I… Can I ask you a question?" When he nodded, she continued: "Do you and Logan have something going on? A rivalry? Because his was the main flavor I was tasting and I can't think of any other reason I would attack you unprovoked like that." Flushing again, she added, "Verbally I mean."
A look passed between the three X-Men in the room. With a softly regal smile, Ororo answered, "You could say that, child."
"Yeah well, except for my sister I've never tasted anyone so casually angry."
"What about your master?" Professor Xavier asked her.
She turned back to him. "Not the Master. He was never angry. Not like that at least. The Master's anger was…cold."
"Ashlyn, can you describe your master for us? His physical appearance?"
She took a deep breath. Let it out. "Tall. Pale--"
Scott: "How tall?"
"If you're…not quite six feet then the Master was about seven? Pale like I said. And…cold. Everything about him was cold. Calm. Always in control of everything and everyone in the lab. But that's his flavor, not his appearance."
"Tell us, Ashlyn," Professor Xavier said, "was there anything particularly…striking about your master. Anything unusual?"
"You're asking a half-cat if there was anything unusual. Professor, everything was unusual."
Storm spoke her name in a low melody of admonition.
"Sorry…still defensive. Um, the Master had a red jewel in the center of his forehead. I asked him--"
Scott was immediately in the defensive. Relax, Scott, the Professor spoke into his mind. Jean and I had already conjectured that Ashlyn's mysterious master might be Mr. Sinister.
Although bereft of her empathic abilities, Ashlyn immediately sensed the change in the room. "There were a lot of weird things in the compound. I didn't think the jewel was all that special." Now that her sister was here, all pretense of bravado had faded and she felt extremely small and alone. Knowing that Cara was so close and yet beyond her reach… It wasn't the same as all three trips being together but it was better than nothing. "Please, can I go back downstairs to my sister?"
She sounded so pitiable, Scott felt twice as bad about the argument they had gotten into earlier. It was like talking to a different person.
"I would like to get you settled into a room first--" Xavier began.
Ashlyn rose quickly. "That won't be necessary. As soon as Cara's okay we'll be gone."
Eyebrows shot up all around the room. "And why is that?"
"My brother? Tarsus? We have to find him. That is, Cara and I have to find him before he kills anyone else. And before the Master finds him first."
Coming close to the short teen, Storm said, "The X-Men shall assist you, child."
"You don't understand--"
Xavier spoke again: "You called your brother a psychic vampire, yes? We have had dealings with such creatures. As Storm said, the X-Men will help you find your brother."
"But this isn't your problem."
With all the solemnity of a church benediction, Scott said, "It is now."
Glancing at the three faces in the room, Ashlyn saw that this was one battle she wasn't going to win. A weight she hadn't known she was carrying was suddenly lifted. She almost sank back into her chair, but just as her knees were beginning to buckle in relief she remembered: "So does that mean you're going to free my mind now?" she asked Professor Xavier.
"Ashlyn, dear, I--"
"It's like being blind! I feel like every time I meet someone new I'm going to walk into a wall or something. Or like I'm gonna trip over my own tongue."
"My dear, you nearly had a mental break-down."
"Because there were too many strong flavors all competing for my attention! All of them new, none of them sorted," Ashlyn insisted. "I've been on my own for a little over a year, Professor, everywhere from small towns to large cities, looking for my brother. But always I had a chance to set up…" she fished for the word for a moment, "filters! This time it was just everything at once."
"Ashlyn--"
"Professor, please! It's suffocating in here," she said, thumping her chest with her right fist. "I'm lost. Just… Just give me an hour to get myself used to the climate of this place and if after an hour I still don't have a handle on myself, you put up all the mental blocks you want. Please…" It was hopeless. She could see it in his eyes.
Professor Xavier rolled out from behind his desk. "Storm, show Ashlyn to an unoccupied room in a relatively quiet wing of the house."
Smiling the white-haired goddess replied, "So as far away from Jubilee and Kitty as possible."
"Precisely."
Refusing to hang her head in defeat, despite feeling whipped, Ashlyn followed Storm out of Professor Xavier's office.
"So," Scott began, "which is the biggest threat: this brother of theirs or the possibility that Sinister will come here looking for them?"
Frowning, Charles could only tell his student that he wished he knew.
"Does this hurt?"
"Nope."
"Or this?"
Cara shook her head as Hank poked her somewhere else.
"And this?"
"SSS!" She scooted back so fast, the sheets came off the bed. Her fur was standing on end and her back was arched.
"Fascinating!"
"For who, Doc?" she said through gritted teeth. "That was the burn," she accused.
"Yes, I know."
"You knew?"
"Most assuredly. I was curious about your healing ability." Pushing his glasses up his nose he continued: "In my experience, feral mutants tend to heal faster than the more humanoid counterparts. In the case of Logan, that tendency is greatly accelerated."
Reflexively licking her down fur, Cara said, "Maybe next time ask, huh?" She looked up from her meticulous washing. "What about you, big guy? You're not exactly a humanoid either."
"Indeed I am not and I too have noticed that I recovery time is, at times, half that of my teammates."
"And do you find yourself fascinating in that respect, too?"
"Quite."
Cara took a deep breath. "I guess you're okay then." She loosened her muscles and slid back down to Hank's end of the bed. "But no more curiosity pokes. I've had more than enough of that for one lifetime, thank you. 'Sides…I'm the cat."
Tarsus found it nearly impossible to monitor his sisters' activities without opening up his mind to theirs. And not just their minds, but the Master's as well. So he didn't.
"Remy see Stormy finally meet de newest addition to de X-Mansion."
"Hello to you to, Remy. And do not call me by that name," she said by way of greeting as they continued up the stairs past the first landing.
Remy only grinned.
"You have met our guest then?"
"Oui. The petite chat not tell Storm how she hang on Remy like he de only safety dere is?"
Wondering how many this was, Ashlyn blushed again. "I seem to be doing a lot of apologizing. I-- I'm sorry. My ability got away from me."
"Oh, Remy not mind if a belle femme decide to hold onto him tight," he said, gracing her with a winning smile.
Shaking her head, Storm warned Ashlyn that, "Remy is a consummate flirt."
"Remy takes offense to dat."
Raising her eyebrows, or what would have been eyebrows on a humanoid, Ashlyn asked, "So you're not a consummate flirt?"
"Oh, oui, oui cherie. What Stormy say is true…it how she say it."
Despite all her former frustration, Ashlyn felt herself being charmed by this lanky red-haired man and his peculiar eyes. No, not by his physical appearance, although that was charming enough, but by him. By this Remy's personality.
The reached the second landing. Storm led them down the hall. Brow furrowed, Remy asked where they were.
"We are going to one of the more unoccupied halls of the girls' dormitory."
"Ah, Remy understand. Away from Kitty an' Jubilee, nuh?"
"Precisely."
Ashlyn frowned. Who were these Kitty and Jubilee people? And why was everyone trying to steer her away from them? Ashlyn was about to ask Storm just that when the Professor released her.
She missed a step. Gasped. Grabbed the wall. Professor Xavier hadn't completely taken down the mental shielding he'd put in place, but even the small window of release he'd allowed her was completely unexpected. It was like a glass of icy water being poured over her head.
"Chere is alright?" "Yes, are you well Ashlyn?"
She shook her head. "I mean, yes," she said backpedaling quickly when she saw that they were going to come to her rescue. Storm's mental flavor she could stand, but the moment the Professor had opened her up Ashlyn had been inundated with Remy. It didn't help that she'd already tasted his mind. The flavor was tickling the back of her throat. She knew that if she allowed him to touch her before she got a handle on herself, it would come crashing up with all the power of a tidal wave.
"Cherie…"
"No, Remy," Storm ordered, "do not touch her." She slowly made her way to Ashlyn's side. "Tell me what has happened, child."
Ashlyn straightened, leaning against the wall. "Professor Xavier has lowered some of the shields around my mind. I can feel you know."
Storm's eyebrows rose gently. "And how do I feel?"
Eyes drifting closed, Ashlyn focused on Storm, on the almost tangible field of emotion surrounding the noble beauty. A throbbing began behind her eyes as she actively tried to use a talent that was usually passive. A wave of calm passed through her. "You feel like a pool of cool water."
"Then let your focus be on me, child," Storm said, taking Ashlyn's hand. She turned to Remy. "All is well."
He passed a fingerless gloved hand over his eyes. "You are done with your feminine bonding, then?"
Storm frowned at Remy as she passed him. He imagined he could feel imperial robes sweeping past him as the goddess walked her charge down the hall. He grinned. "Les belles femmes not pleased with Remy."
"More like too pleased," Ashlyn mumbled archly.