Chapter 8 – The Training

"You're so lucky." Rogue commented as she ran a brush through her hair. "You've only been here for a few weeks, and already the Professor is asking you to go into the training room? Most of us have to wait for about a year before that even remotely happens."

"I guess I'm one of the lucky ones." Shamira did not stir from her bunk bed.

"So," Rogue eagerly continued, a twinkle in her eye. "I know that you've been seeing Warren a lot. Or rather Warren has been visiting you a lot."

Shamira smiled to herself. "Indeed, for it seems a day does not pass when Warren comes just to say hello."

There was a soft knock on the door. "That's probably him now." Rogue rolled her eyes and put the brush on the dresser. The door was pulled open a second later. "Cyclops! What are you doing here?"

"Professor sent me here to pick up Shamira for her first training session." Cyclops replied shyly. "Is she ready?"

Shamira jumped off of the top bunk and landed gracefully on the floor. "Let's go."

Closing the door behind her, Shamira followed Cyclops several steps down the hallway before she stopped short. "I sense that you're here a little earlier than you should be." Shamira said.

Cyclops turned around. "You know?"

"I could know everything that goes on inside of your head. But I choose not to."

"I thought about what you said awhile back, and how I've been acting." Cyclops began.

Shamira lowered her gaze, refusing to look him in the eye. "I was out of line." She said. "I should have never interfered like I did."

"But I'm glad you did." Cyclops held the girl gently by the shoulders. "It made me realize how foolish I had been acting. I promise that I will try to change so that Jean and yourself will be proud of me."

"Do it for yourself, as well as Dr. Grey." Shamira almost laughed. Her eyes suddenly grew distant again. "Why should I be involved in this matter?"

"Because..." Cyclops' mouth suddenly went dry.

"Yeah well, the Professor will be expecting us." Shamira lowered her eyes once again and walked past Cyclops. Not another word was spoken between them. His mind could not focus as he watched Professor Xavier escort Shamira into the training room. A few minutes later Professor Xavier rejoined Cyclops in the control tower.

"You didn't explain to her how the room works." Cyclops found himself saying.

"As there is a reason behind that." Professor Xavier calmly took up the controls. "I want to find out in reality just what she is capable of."

"Breeze are you ready?" Professor Xavier spoke into the loudspeaker. Shamira nodded, looking nervous but determined.

Within seconds, trap doors slid open to reveal huge machine guns on revolving arms that immediately spat out round after round of bullets. Caught off guard for a split second, Shamira dived and rolled, bullets missing her by mere centimetres. The guns stopped as Shamira slowly stood up, a weird and mysterious glow in her eyes.

"Amazing." Professor Xavier observed. "She seems to have overridden the main controls."

All around the room, the machine guns exploded one by one in a dazzling show of lights. The arms retreated, soon being replaced by ones that bore laser guns. But by that time Shamira had sprouted wings and taken to the air, dodging the laser beams with mind blowing speed and accuracy. Catching two of those beams magically in her hand, Shamira threw them back, and the lazer guns erupted in a sea of fire.

Cyclops only vaguely noticed Wolverine enter the control room and stand quietly by the door. Only the Professor was moving, trying to find the limits of the young girls' powers. But whatever obstacles he put up, she seemed capable of overcoming them within seconds. There was just one more thing that he hadn't tried. A single button was pushed, and all the walls and the ceiling of the training room slowly started coming together.

Shamira soared to the ground and landed gracefully, her angel wings disappearing within an instant. She looked at the closing walls, her forehead wrinkled in thought. Then Cyclops saw something in her eyes, something that he had never seen before. Fear.

The realization clicked in his mind.

"Professor!" Cyclops cried. "You've got to stop it! Shamira, she's claustrophobic! This is her limit!"

"I am sure she will be alright Scott." The professor said calmly, watching the walls squeeze in tighter and tighter. "She has proven herself many times over."

"Not this time!" Cyclops nearly screamed. "She's had enough for one day, she can't take this! Encountering your phobia is one of the worst nightmares possible!"

"You know as well as I do, that nothing will happen to her." Professor Xavier still remained in his state of calmness. "You have my word on that."

Cyclops tried to lunge at the Professor, though he could feel Wolverine's grip hold him back. He struggled anyway. There was no telling what might happen if Shamira was scared beyond all belief.

"Scott!" Professor Xavier wheeled around to face Cyclops. "I am ordering you to calm down this instant!"

There was a loud screeching sound as the walls slowly came to a stop. Cyclops felt sick as he realized that there might not be enough room for Shamira in what tiny space remained.

As the trio stared on, the walls began to shake and shudder. It was slow at first, but quickly built up the momentum. In one instant, the walls were blown back. The force was so great that the glass windows shattered and the whole mansion shuddered. Cyclops could feel shards of glass scraping along his face and arms, but that seemed like a small matter.

"Shamira!" Cyclops raced to the training room as the smoke slowly began to clear. "Shamira!" He spotted a heap lying on the ground, motionless. It was her. Making his way through the rubble, he soon reached her.

"Shamira, are you all right?" Cyclops could feel tears coming to his eyes. "Speak to me, please!"

Slowly, the girls' eyes opened. There was a flicker of a smile. "I did it Cyclops." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I did it." Her eyes closed again.

Hurry Scott. Cyclops could feel the Professor's voice inside of his head. Get her down to the medical wing. Dr. Hank McCoy has already been notified.

Picking Shamira up in his arms, Cyclops raced out of the training room as a crowd slowly started to gather.

In the confusion, nobody noticed Wolverine slipping out of the mansion, his eyes slowly changing from a brown to a golden yellow.

Author's Note: Sorry for another huge gap in between chapter postings, but it's really packed now that school's back. Please comment if you can...hopefully you liked this chapter and this story in general! My apologies once again to hardcore X-Men fans if I have not been 100 accurate in the portrayal of any details.