A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in so long: I had writer's block, and I'm still not sure where to go with this, but I'll give it my best shot.
The next morning, Rogue and I slept through first period, and then during second period, we went to the lower levels. I felt a thrill of excitement as I stared at all the closed doors that I would soon gain access to. What awaited behind them? Danger? Adventure, perhaps?
Rogue pressed her hand to a fingerprint scan and it identified her. She typed in a command and a female computer voice announced, "Ready." Rogue turned to me. "Okay, Kitty," she said. "Place your finger here. I'll tell you when you can let go."
As I pressed my pointer finger to the pad, blue lights flashed as it read my hand and a few seconds later, it said calmly, "Fingerprint saved in main memory banks." "Okay," Rogue said.
"Now, for voice identification," Rogue said. "Ready," the computer said, and there was a beep. I looked at Rogue in some confusion. "Cancel," Rogue said. "What?" she said to me with irritation. "My real name or Shadowcat?" I asked. "Both," Rogue replied. "Real name first. Ready to try again?" I nodded, and repeated my names slowly and calmly.
"Okay, retina scan," Rogue said. "Look right in here. It may blind you a little bit, but don't blink." I leaned down and blinked a couple of times and then it memorized my retina. "Retina scan saved," the computer said. I stumbled away, trying to stop the flash.
"Now we're going to need some basic information," Rogue said as she pulled up a chair and sat down at the computer inside the main room. "What's your full name?" "Uh," I said, awed once more by the main room, "Katharine Christina Pryde."
Rogue typed in the information, and asked, "Age?" "14-I'll be 15 next month, October 15," I said. "Parents?" I stirred uneasily. "Um...what parents?" Rogue stared at me for a while, and then she understood. "Oh, okay, I'll just put...unavailable," she said. "Thanks," I said.
She asked me several questions like this, some that I hesitated to answer, but eventually that part was over. "Okay, now that we have the basics taken care of, I'll have to tell you some of the information you'll need to know," Rogue said as we walked into another room where several X-Men suits were hanging on the walls, waiting to be worn on the next mission.
"What size are you?" Rogue asked me. I told her, and I tried on the suit: it fit perfectly. So, Rogue hung it up next to hers, and we sat down on two chairs. "Okay, you have access to the lower levels whenever you need to, but if the retinal scan and the fingerprint scan deny you access, it's only because either Professor Xavier or Jean have denied you entrance."
"Why would they?" I asked. "Um, suppose they directly said you couldn't come down, but you did anyway. They would lock you out on purpose, which could make you miss a mission, which is, believe me, one of the worst feelings in the world. It's punishment if you do something you shouldn't," Rogue explained. I nodded, and she continued.
"You must never, ever enter the room that holds Cerebro. It's way too dangerous for us. Only Professor Xavier and sometimes Jean are allowed in there, and no one else unless the professor invites you in. Just so you know, that's never happened before."
Rogue stood up to walk around while she talked. "You now are able to use the equipment down here, so that's covered: just make sure you know what you're doing." "How will I?" I asked.
"Oh, don't worry, if you ever need to use the computer for anything, I'll show you how," Rogue assured me. "If you're called out of class or if you're called from your room or free time for any reason by one of the teachers, don't waste time. Go with them immediately, because they wouldn't interrupt your class without a good reason. You'll be having one, maybe two or three at first, extra classes per day, to learn more self-defense and about enemies and how to use your powers to your advantage. On weekend mornings, the X-Men meet in the main room, which we were just in, from 9-11 A.M. to discuss various things. Sometimes it's as insignificant as the weather, sometimes we're planning strategies to use against Magneto. Once, all we did was fool around with each other. Also, as an X-Man, on Sunday afternoons you'll get an automatic approval to leave the school grounds for an hour. Trust me, there are lots of perks to this job."
Rogue sat down again, taking a deep breath. "Well," she said. "I think I've covered everything. You have it all?"
"I'm pretty sure," I answered, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "Okay, well-" Rogue took a look at her watch and drew in a deep breath, closing her eyes and wincing. "What?" I asked.
"Take a look at your watch," she grimaced. I snuck a look and gasped. "Oh! We've missed third period? How could we miss third period?? Professor Xavier's gonna kill me!"
"Well, Jean's gonna kill me!" Rogue retorted. "Come on, we have to get out of here: we might still be able to make fourth period before the bell!" And so we split up with a hasty "See ya," to each other.
But I couldn't concentrate on fourth period, nor on Professor Xavier's lecture about using my time wisely. I was still way too excited about being an X-Man.
A/N: This chapter didn't really get us anywhere, did it? Oh, well, I don't mind. I'm still trying to find out where I should head. I'm thinking...deception! Yes, deception, most definitely! Now the only question is, what kind? AGH!!
The next morning, Rogue and I slept through first period, and then during second period, we went to the lower levels. I felt a thrill of excitement as I stared at all the closed doors that I would soon gain access to. What awaited behind them? Danger? Adventure, perhaps?
Rogue pressed her hand to a fingerprint scan and it identified her. She typed in a command and a female computer voice announced, "Ready." Rogue turned to me. "Okay, Kitty," she said. "Place your finger here. I'll tell you when you can let go."
As I pressed my pointer finger to the pad, blue lights flashed as it read my hand and a few seconds later, it said calmly, "Fingerprint saved in main memory banks." "Okay," Rogue said.
"Now, for voice identification," Rogue said. "Ready," the computer said, and there was a beep. I looked at Rogue in some confusion. "Cancel," Rogue said. "What?" she said to me with irritation. "My real name or Shadowcat?" I asked. "Both," Rogue replied. "Real name first. Ready to try again?" I nodded, and repeated my names slowly and calmly.
"Okay, retina scan," Rogue said. "Look right in here. It may blind you a little bit, but don't blink." I leaned down and blinked a couple of times and then it memorized my retina. "Retina scan saved," the computer said. I stumbled away, trying to stop the flash.
"Now we're going to need some basic information," Rogue said as she pulled up a chair and sat down at the computer inside the main room. "What's your full name?" "Uh," I said, awed once more by the main room, "Katharine Christina Pryde."
Rogue typed in the information, and asked, "Age?" "14-I'll be 15 next month, October 15," I said. "Parents?" I stirred uneasily. "Um...what parents?" Rogue stared at me for a while, and then she understood. "Oh, okay, I'll just put...unavailable," she said. "Thanks," I said.
She asked me several questions like this, some that I hesitated to answer, but eventually that part was over. "Okay, now that we have the basics taken care of, I'll have to tell you some of the information you'll need to know," Rogue said as we walked into another room where several X-Men suits were hanging on the walls, waiting to be worn on the next mission.
"What size are you?" Rogue asked me. I told her, and I tried on the suit: it fit perfectly. So, Rogue hung it up next to hers, and we sat down on two chairs. "Okay, you have access to the lower levels whenever you need to, but if the retinal scan and the fingerprint scan deny you access, it's only because either Professor Xavier or Jean have denied you entrance."
"Why would they?" I asked. "Um, suppose they directly said you couldn't come down, but you did anyway. They would lock you out on purpose, which could make you miss a mission, which is, believe me, one of the worst feelings in the world. It's punishment if you do something you shouldn't," Rogue explained. I nodded, and she continued.
"You must never, ever enter the room that holds Cerebro. It's way too dangerous for us. Only Professor Xavier and sometimes Jean are allowed in there, and no one else unless the professor invites you in. Just so you know, that's never happened before."
Rogue stood up to walk around while she talked. "You now are able to use the equipment down here, so that's covered: just make sure you know what you're doing." "How will I?" I asked.
"Oh, don't worry, if you ever need to use the computer for anything, I'll show you how," Rogue assured me. "If you're called out of class or if you're called from your room or free time for any reason by one of the teachers, don't waste time. Go with them immediately, because they wouldn't interrupt your class without a good reason. You'll be having one, maybe two or three at first, extra classes per day, to learn more self-defense and about enemies and how to use your powers to your advantage. On weekend mornings, the X-Men meet in the main room, which we were just in, from 9-11 A.M. to discuss various things. Sometimes it's as insignificant as the weather, sometimes we're planning strategies to use against Magneto. Once, all we did was fool around with each other. Also, as an X-Man, on Sunday afternoons you'll get an automatic approval to leave the school grounds for an hour. Trust me, there are lots of perks to this job."
Rogue sat down again, taking a deep breath. "Well," she said. "I think I've covered everything. You have it all?"
"I'm pretty sure," I answered, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "Okay, well-" Rogue took a look at her watch and drew in a deep breath, closing her eyes and wincing. "What?" I asked.
"Take a look at your watch," she grimaced. I snuck a look and gasped. "Oh! We've missed third period? How could we miss third period?? Professor Xavier's gonna kill me!"
"Well, Jean's gonna kill me!" Rogue retorted. "Come on, we have to get out of here: we might still be able to make fourth period before the bell!" And so we split up with a hasty "See ya," to each other.
But I couldn't concentrate on fourth period, nor on Professor Xavier's lecture about using my time wisely. I was still way too excited about being an X-Man.
A/N: This chapter didn't really get us anywhere, did it? Oh, well, I don't mind. I'm still trying to find out where I should head. I'm thinking...deception! Yes, deception, most definitely! Now the only question is, what kind? AGH!!