When I came to the next morning, I had the worst migraine ever. My eyes stung and I could feel two lone tears trickled down my cheeks. The dream I just had had been horrible. I had strange, mutant powers and my mother hated me because of them…
I clutched my sheets in my fists. I buried my face in my pillow and tried to stop thinking about it. In fact, I wanted to stop thinking period. My head hurt sooo much…
I rolled over onto my back and rubbed my eyes. My eyelids fluttered. I squinted into the light. The world around me was hazy. I turned to my left to get my glasses, but my night table wasn't there.
I blinked in stupor. My heart leapt into my throat. "Where am I?" I whispered.
There was a knock at the door. "Melody! Hey, Melody!"
Who in the world was that?
I shakily got to my feet. I looked down to see I was wearing my usual pajamas: silken pink pants and a matching T-shirt. I found my glasses on the dresser and hastily shoved them on. The room I was in… it was just like the one in my dream…
I grabbed the dresser as the world spun. What was going on?
"Melody, rise and shine!" came the voice a second time.
I stiffly walked to the door. There was an odd buzzing sound in my ears. I swung the door open to find myself eye-level with Scott's chest. I tilted my head back and looked up into his sunglasses. I could smell him—a sweet mixture of vanilla and clean sheets.
I felt a flush rise in my face. My knees went all weak. My tongue seemed to disappear. My mind went blank. My heart skyrocketed and my stomach dropped out of existence. I gave him a watery smile.
He smiled back. "I was just coming by to tell you to get dressed. You're going to meet the others today."
"Others?" I asked breathlessly.
"Yeah. The other X-Men. We'll be down in the Professor's office in fifteen minutes. See you then?"
"Fifteen minutes?" I repeated.
He nodded, as if I were slow. "Yeah."
I nodded slowly. "Yeah. Okay."
He raised his eyebrows. "Yeah." He said, and left.
When he was gone, I returned to normal. I mentally kicked myself. What was wrong with me?
Then it slowly came dawned on me…
Did I have a crush on Scott?
I groaned. I knew the day would come when I got certain "feelings" for boys, but then, I hadn't expected it to be on a mutant boy who could blow me up by looking at me. And I didn't like to get emotional. Noooo. I hated it. I wrinkled my nose in self-disgust.
I closed my door and went to the dresser. I was surprised to find all my things here, all put away. I ransacked the draws and pulled on a baggy blue T-shirt and equally baggy khakis. I hastily ran a comb through my hair. I poked my black eye and winced. It was healing, but it still stung.
BAMF!
I jumped about a foot and yelped. I whirled around. "Don't do that," I howled at Kurt, who grinned manically back.
"Sorry," he said, "I forgot you aren't used to me 'porting. Anyway, I'm here to take you to the office. We figured you'd get lost otherwise."
I grinned. "Yeah. I probably would have."
He laughed and put a hand on my shoulder. His hand tensed, which was followed by a loud BAMF! I was suddenly lighter than air. My stomach seemed to disappear, but it felt more exciting than sickening, like riding a roller coaster. All the hair on my body stood on end. Thrills ran unceasingly down my spine. I was nowhere and everywhere at the same time. The smell of sulfur filled my nostrils. I felt heat press on my skin. My breath caught in my throat. I had never been flying before, but this sure felt like it!
Within seconds, there was another loud BAMF and it was over. Eyes shining, I turned to the fuzzy blue mutant and exulted, "That was the coolest thing I've ever done!" I grinned wider than I ever had before.
Kurt screwed up his face and buried it in his hands, shoulders shaking. For one startled moment, I thought he was crying. But then I realized, he wasn't crying. He was laughing.
"What?" I demanded. "What?"
He was laughing too hard to get any sense out of him. I rolled my eyes and, as I was doing so, caught a look at myself in the mirror. At first, all I could do was stare. Then I blinked a few times and groaned.
My hair was standing on end. Well, all right, maybe that's an exaggeration, but my hair was definitely frizzed. It looked almost as if I had gotten electrocuted. It wasn't as if any other part of me looked the least bit different. It was just my hair.
"Hairbrush," I demanded. "I need a hairbrush."
Now, I'm not vain… well, at least about my appearance. However, there was no way I was going to meet people with my hair like—like this!
Kurt teleported with a loud BAMF. He reappeared seconds later with a hairbrush. He was still snorting as he handed to me, flicking tears of mirth from his eyes. I flared my nostrils and brushed my wild locks down. Static electricity bounced off the brush like mad and sent shocks down my fingers.
He was still laughing as I finished. "Shaddup!" I yowled, throwing the brush at him. He ducked it and got back to his feet, a big stupid grin plastered across his face.
I grabbed a pointed ear faster than he could react. He jumped and winced as the static electricity passed from my hand to his ear. "Ow!"
I ran over and picked up the brush, pocketing it for later use. There was no counting how many times I would be teleporting in the future.
Kurt gingerly rubbed his ear and swung the door open. He gestured for me to go in. "Your Majesty," he said with a mock bow.
I ignored him and walked past him into an office-like room. Professor X sat behind a desk, smiling a warm smile. Scott was standing by the desk, with his hands clasped behind his back. I felt my insides melt and sternly told myself to stop it.
I looked around the room. A girl with long, brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail sat in a chair. Her blue eyes sparkled as she eyed me up. I could tell she was tall and skinny, even though she remained sitting. She bobbed her head in acknowledgement, two loose pieces of hair swinging down by her face.
Another girl sat by her, arms on her knees, propping up her face. She wore heavy makeup, with mauve eye shadow and matching lipstick. Her auburn hair fell loosely down by her shoulders. Two stripes of white hair—bleached?—framed her face. She was pale beyond belief. She looked at me out of deep, depressed brown eyes.
She dressed like a Goth. For some reason, my attention was drawn to the black gloves on her hands. They looked heavily worn in, as if she never took them off.
I watched an African-American boy scratch the back of his head. His hair was dyed yellow and cut oddly in the back. His boxer shorts, like Kurt's, were pulled up way past his waist so that they showed visibly. He looked slightly puzzled, as if he were still wondering what he was doing here. He had a skateboard tucked under his arm. He eyed me up in a way that made me flare my nostrils.
The last girl in the room also stood by the Professor. Her flaming red hair tumbled down her back in wavy locks. She took me in with bright green eyes. The aura around her practically screamed, "POPULAR!" However, she looked kind. She beamed as I edged into the room.
"Please sit down," the Professor said, motioning to a chair next to Goth Girl. I half sat down on it, or, rather, I sat on the edge. I felt all eyes on me, measuring me up. So? I asked silently, What do you think of me?
"Melody, this is Kitty Pryde," —he motioned at Valley Girl— "Evan Daniels," —he pointed to Skater Boy— "Jean Grey," —he gestured to Miss Popular— "and Rouge." He nodded at Goth Girl. "Everyone, this is Melody Becker. She's the newest edition to our team."
Everyone mumbled their hellos.
"What can she do?" asked Jean. Her red hair flounced in a way that made me squirm. Scott looked at her with eyes full of longing. That didn't improve my situation.
"To my understanding, she can copy other mutant's powers and abilities."
"Like me?" spluttered Rouge, jumping instantly to life. She had a very southern accent.
"Yes, and no," the Professor said, "You see, she can still touch people. She can take the powers when she wants. The effects seem to be permanent."
I laughed dryly. "I didn't exactly want to absorb Mystique's powers," I said, looking down at my hands. "I—I just did. I mean, I didn't mean to."
"You absorbed Mystique's power?" gasped Evan.
I flushed. "I didn't mean to!"
"Would you mind doing a demonstration?" the Professor asked lightly.
Blink. Blink.
"You don't have to if you don't want to." He added.
"No, it's fine. But I won't do it unless someone volunteers."
The Professor smiled. "Right, then. Any volunteers?"
Cree, cree.
"Don't all jump up at once!" I said.
"She did it to me, and it didn't hurt," Scott said with a shrug, "All I got was a headache. That and my powers came back this morning. Believe me, I know."
"I'll do it," Jean said hesitantly. She slid around from behind the desk and stood in front of me. I tipped my head back to look into her face. She was quite tall.
I took a few deep breaths and put my hands on her face. I stared into her green eyes, which dilated. My pupils shrunk. Suddenly, I seemed to pitch forward. I tumbled through a green abyss. I felt power flooding my veins. My brain seemed to grow, pushing against the walls of my skull. I gasped and let go.
I looked down at my hands. For about one second, I saw them glowing with a yellow light. I blinked and it was gone.
And then my headache began.
My head throbbed. I groaned and put my head in my hands. My stomach seemed to be doing various acrobatics. I sank back down into my chair.
When I finally looked up, Jean was rubbing her temples. Other than that, she looked fine.
"I—I can't use my telekinesis," she said a little shakily.
As if by instinct, I brought two fingers to my temple. I concentrated through my headache and motioned one of the vacant chairs to rise. To my complete surprise, it lifted and hovered a few inches above the ground.
There were a few "oooohs" and "aaaahs." I set the chair down with a heavy thump. "Now I need an Advil," I complained, rubbing my forehead. I unconsciously turned the telekinesis off and shoved it to the back of my mind.
I jumped when the doors behind me swung open, slammed against the wall, and then shuddered forward. I whirled around to see who had entered and gasped.
A man stood in the doorway. He was incredibly short; he was probably an inch or two over my own five feet. His strange, blue-black hair flared out to the side in an unnatural way. My eyes slowly got rounder as I took in how much muscle this short dude had. He was beefy.
His coal-black eyes roved the room and stopped on me. He scratched one of his sideburns and flared his nostrils, sniffing as if to take in my sent. "Who's the squirt?" he asked in a deep, growling voice.
"Logan, this is Melody, codename CopyCat," Professor X introduced me, "Melody, this is Mr. Logan. His codename is Wolverine."
"You look more like a bear," I blurted. I immediately clapped my hand over my mouth.
To my great relief, Logan gave a rumbling chuckle. "Yeah, girlie, I probably do, but Wolverine sounds much better."
I relaxed and even offered him a smile. Logan took a few, bowlegged strides to the desk. His mouth stretched into a thin line and he glared at the rest of us. "I'm talkin' to Charles now. Alone."
Talk about your subtle hints. I got up and scurried to the door. My head pounded and my ears rang by the time I was out the door. I groaned and leaned against the wall.
"Do you want something for your headache?" asked Kurt, strolling around the corner after me.
I nodded fervently and immediately wished I hadn't.
He grinned, exposing his larger-than-normal eyeteeth. "Don't worry. The Prof has a special remedy for headaches." He put his hand on my shoulder and tensed his hand. Suddenly, I wasn't in the corridor anymore.
I coughed when we reappeared in what I was guessing was the infirmary. It certainly looked like one. Kurt loped over to a cabinet in the wall and pulled out a bottle labeled, "For extreme headaches". He tossed it to me. I caught it, surprised.
"Jean usually uses it," he explained, "When she gets a headache from her telekinesis."
I opened it and took one. Within moments, I felt it soothing my headache away. I blinked in surprise. "Wow, this is fast!" I said.
He winked. "Only the best for the X-Men. C'mon, let's go catch breakfast before the others eat it all." He reached for my shoulder again.
I caught his wrist, receiving a thrill as I felt his fur. It wasn't every day I was near a fuzzy blue mutant. "Doesn't all this teleporting tire you?"
"Usually," he said with a shrug, "But it's different with you. For some reason, when I 'port with you I seem more energized than drained."
I released his arm. "Then let's go."
He 'ported us to the kitchen where I was shocked to find more students than those I had met. The room was teeming was people. How Kurt had managed to 'port without landing on someone was a mystery to me.
"Someone pass the milk!"
"Sam, throw me a muffin!"
"Can you eat like a normal person, Rahne!?"
"Don't phase through the table, Kitty! I can't see the bacon!"
"WHO SET THE TOAST ON FIRE!?"
"Oh, no, not again!"
"Someone put it out! Drake, use your ice!"
"Hey! I like my toast crisp! Don't get it all soggy!"
"Kurt, you just got fur in my eggs!"
"Oops! Sorry, Ray!"
I was completely overwhelmed. I grabbed the back of Kurt's shirt and yanked him back against the wall. "Is it all this hectic?" I asked, watching a tall boy with brown hair pointing at a flaming piece of toast and freezing it. A girl with long black hair and chocolate colored skin grabbed the plate of flaming food and picked the pieces up with her hands, munching on it (fire and all) contentedly.
"Oh, of course," Kurt said, "You should see it on Mondays. Meet you in the hall."
And, without further ado, he launched himself into the havoc.
I took a deep breath. "God save my poor, broken, little body," I said and dove into the sea of students.
I managed to get a plate of bacon and eggs. This was no easy feat. I was pushed and shoved and phased through (strange feeling, that). However, I was able to fight my way out of the kitchen and into the hall.
I looked around for Kurt, whom I didn't see. "Kurt? Where'd you go?" I called.
"I see you've managed the kitchen," a voice said, floating down from the ceiling, "Congratulations on passing your first major test."
I jerked in shock and snapped my head back. Kurt hung from a light on the ceiling by his tail. He had his plate balanced on his foot and was eating from it upside down. "So how do you like the Institute?" he asked.
"I don't know quite yet," I said, a grin spreading across my face, "But I think I'm going to love it."
A/N: Er… Sorry that took so long. I've been working on my other story, "Aniwizard Adventures 2: Wizards and Controllers" and my original story. It's been such a long time but, heh, better late than never! I'll try to get them out faster, I promise! And don't yell at me, my Aniwizard fans, because I've been working on this story. I'm in an X-Men mood tonight.
Stay tuned for "Chapter 4: This Means War!" (Hey, it rhymes!!) And this is Padfoot, over and out.