"That was horrible," I moaned as I staggered out of the Danger Room.
"The first day of training is always hard," Kurt agreed.
I looked at my mangled glasses. "Yeah, that and the fact my glasses kept falling off. They're broken beyond repair now!"
He took them in his three-fingered hand and examined it. A couple of twists and three minutes later, he returned them looking like new. I blinked down at them. "Um… never mind."
"Just ask the Professor if you can fix your glasses into you uniform somehow. He'll come up with something."
"Do people normally file complaints for the Professor?"
"It's not a complaint, it's an adjustment," he said, winking.
I rolled my eyes.
My first full day at the Institute had passed quickly. Kurt and I had become fast friends. Everyone had accepted me into the Institute as if I had been there for years. This shocked and intrigued me. No one had ever accepted me as completely these mutants had. This place felt much more like home than my house ever had.
Saturday had been a day of rest and relaxation, but now that the Professor had secured me with a uniform it meant that I was a part of the team—which meant training.
Weekends weren't going to be as relaxing as they used to be.
"Where is the Professor now? Would he be in his office?" I asked.
Kurt shrugged. "He usually is. We can go check."
"Okay."
Teleporting was always as thrilling as the first time I had done it. Kurt had told me it made some people feel queasy and nauseous. This was a mystery to me. It was always exciting to me.
He held his hand up. I slapped it as if I were giving him a high-five and suddenly found myself in the Professor's office.
The Professor looked up when we appeared, not in the least bit ruffled. He shifted the papers he had been looking at and settled them on his desk. Without looking up, he said, "Hello, Kurt. Melody. Is something the matter?"
"Professor," I began timidly, "My glasses… they…"
"Keep falling off?" he finished for me, now looking up.
I nodded. "Can we… I dunno… somehow incorporate it into my uniform somehow?"
The Professor looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe…" he said, thinking aloud. Then, "Perhaps, Melody, if you absorb some of Logan's mutation you might never need glasses again."
"Ever?" I asked incredulously. The idea was quite foreign. I had had glasses ever since I could remember.
"Ever."
"What is Logan's mutation?"
"He has the Healing Factor," he said. Then, seeing my perplexed expression, added, "It means that, whenever he is injured in some way, it heals immediately."
"Oooh," I said.
Logan, the Professor called mentally, Logan, would you please come to my office?
I heard no reply, but only a moment later Logan came striding into the office. Like the first time I had seen him, he was wearing a navy blue T-shirt that was stretched over his muscles and ragged jeans. He leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms. "Yeah, Charles?"
"I would like to experiment with something. Would you allow Melody here to absorb some of your mutation?" the Professor asked.
"Absorb some of my mutation? Oh, so that's what the squirt does. Fine. As long as I'm able to fight afterwards." Logan replied.
"Go easy on it, then, Melody. Okay?" the Professor told me.
I nodded, preparing myself to take some energy off Logan. I took a few steps toward him and raised my hands. I froze, however, when I saw them pulsing with a yellow light. The air around them shimmered like summer heat off pavement. I rolled my shoulders and choked my cry of surprise down.
I took a deep breath and put my hands on his cheeks. The stubble on his face felt rough against my soft palms. I suppressed a shudder and looked up into his coal black eyes.
At once, I was swimming in a sea of darkness. Power flooded my senses. I felt his energy depleting. When it was about halfway gone, I pulled my hands away and staggered back.
Logan sagged against the wall. My head pounded. All my senses tingled. It felt as if every nerve in my body had pins and needles. I tried to move my fingers and experienced a shooting pain in every digit. I stumbled backwards and fell over the arm of a chair.
I closed my eyes and tried to stop the pain. This only made my nerves burn worse than before. I moaned and writhed where I lay.
"Melody!" cried Kurt, sounding panicked. I heard—not saw—him bound over to me and felt him take my hand.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" exploded from my lips. I thrashed wildly and nearly flung him across the room.
"Melody, what is it?" the Professor asked in a loud and soothing voice, "We cannot help you if you do not tell us."
"Oooh," I groaned, "My nerves… they're on fire…"
"Aaah," Logan rumbled thoughtfully, "That's what it feels like whenever my Healing Factor kicks in."
I felt the Professor project soothing thoughts into my head. The pain gradually faded. My breathing slowed. I relaxed my tensed muscles.
"Ow," I finally managed.
"Feeling better now, Melody?" asked the Professor.
I nodded slowly. "Yeah."
"Good."
I struggled to sit up and was surprised to find the world was strangely distorted. My eyes were hurting, too. I squinted and blinked a few times, but my vision didn't clear. It took me a few moments to realize that it was my glasses causing the distortion.
I whipped them off and gasped. The world was as clear as it had always been with my glasses on. I examined the world through my renewed sight with a stupid grin plastered on my face. "I can see!" I exulted.
The Professor smiled. "As I had hoped you would."
I looked around the room. Everything seemed slightly unreal. I got to my feet and took a few wobbly steps. My legs still felt like they were asleep. Quite suddenly, my knees buckled. Kurt dove forward and caught my arm before I fell.
"Now, Melody, I want you to shut the Healing Factor off. I need to see something." The Professor said.
I shrugged. "Sure," I said, concentrating and closing my eyes. My nerves burned for a moment, but then all the pain left. I opened my eyes.
And found to my horror that the world was blurry again.
I said a string very impolite words.
Logan looked impressed.
"I'll be guessing that means your eyesight has returned to its former states," the Professor said lightly, shuffling through his papers again. Color rose in my cheeks and I nodded, sliding my glasses back on my nose.
"Why is that, Professor?" asked Kurt, unable to check his curiosity.
The Professor glanced up. "I think it may be because it is something she was born with, something that is a part of her. Undoubtedly, she will be able to heal her injuries, but this… no."
"So then can we incorporate my glasses into my uniform somehow?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.
"Sure," the Professor replied. "I actually have the design for a new uniform. I was wondering whether or not your glasses were a problem, so I drew up this as an alternative." He held out a piece of paper to me.
I took it and looked down in mild surprise. The picture showed a definitely feminine figure in a uniform similar but very different to the one I had worn before.
It was completely black but for the mauve "V" shape down the front and back. It stretched down tightly over the whole figure and up to the neck, including the hands. A yellow belt hung loosely from the hips with a square belt buckle that was shaped as an "X". Mauve work boots came up to about mid-shin. Two slanted bands of the same color circled the wrists, crossing each other to form another "X".
Those weren't the only modifications. There was also a mask to match it. It covered the upper half of the face, exposing the mouth and jaw and looking somewhat like Wolverine's mask. It was black, also, but for the two mauve protrusions that looked almost like sideways cat ears. The eyes were drawn so that the lenses were visible.
My breath caught when I looked at it. "Cool," I blurted, a grin stretching over my face. I liked this one much better than the other one. "When can I get it?" I asked eagerly.
The Professor laughed. "In about a week," he said.
"Thanks!"
"You are very welcome," he
replied.
I grinned at him again and gave the paper back, then turned back to ran to Kurt. He held out his hand, which I took, and suddenly we weren't in the Professor's office again. I grinned to myself.
I definitely loved this place.
~*~
"Melody, hurry up!"
"There's a line out here!"
"I need to take a shower!"
"You've been in there for ten minutes!"
"C'mon, Melody, it's only the first day of school!"
I checked myself in the bathroom mirror for the fifteenth time. My hair, clean and dry, fell in straight locks past my shoulders. The black eye I had gotten from the bullies had healed when I had used the Healing Factor. My teeth were as clean as they possibly could be. The skin on my face was pink from scrubbing.
Frowning, I eyed my attire. I was wearing camouflage green, baggy pants with a lot of pockets and an equally baggy, maroon shirt. Holding back my hair, I debated on whether or not to keep it that way.
"Melody?"
I jumped and whirled when I saw the upper half of Kitty's body sticking through the door, unable to contain a shriek of terror. I clapped my hands over my heart. "Don't do that!"
She grinned. "Sorry," she said, stepping completely through the door, "I forgot you're not used to me doing that. And don't worry about school, you look fine."
I sighed and closed my eyes. "Okay, okay. Fine. I'll come out."
Striding forward, I reached past Kitty and pulled the door open.
Cheers erupted. My cheeks flushed and I rolled my eyes, carefully skirting past everyone so I could pick up my backpack. When I got to my room, I strange boy I had never seen before leaned against the wall.
He was taller than I was, with shoulder-length blue-black hair. His dark blue eyes glinted when his saw me and he grinned widely when he saw my confusion. I frowned at this sallow-skinned stranger and walked past him without saying anything.
"Whassamatter, Melody? You don't recognize me?" asked a very familiar voice.
I jumped and looked up and down the corridor for Kurt, but saw no one but the boy who leaned against the wall.
Finally, I turned to the boy and demanded, "Who are you?"
Which caused him to laugh hysterically.
My face flushed. "I don't see what's so funny," I said irritably.
"That's because you're not 'seeing' straight," he said, lifted his arm, and pressed a button his watch. His visage flickered and shimmed. I jumped back with a cry as the kid became Kurt.
I couldn't help the way I stared. "You—but—how—what was that?" I demanded.
He laughed. "It's my holographic inducer. When I have it on, I can go to school because I look like everyone else." He turned it on again.
I shook my head. "That was mean," I told him bluntly, swinging the door to my room open. My room was a complete mess, even though it had been only a few days. I rummaged through the wreckage for my backpack. When I found it, I slung it over my shoulder and strode out of my room with great dignity.
"Awww, c'mon," he said, plodding after me, "It wasn't that bad."
I raised a brow. "For your information, that was very bruising to my pride."
"So? What's so bad about that?" he asked.
I closed my eyes as I opened the door to the garage. "My pride is the only thing I have left."
He pouted. "No, it isn't," he said
sulkily as we walked through the door, "You still have us."
I blinked in surprise and
looked at him. He chose this moment to look carefully away. I bit my lip. We
didn't speak again until we got to Scott's car.
"We're going in this?" I said finally.
Kurt nodded. "No finer way to travel—except by X-Jet."
"There's a jet?" I asked, mystified.
"Jean, hurry up! We'll be late again!" Scott yelled over his shoulder as he ran into the garage. My insides melted. He yanked the door open and jumped in. Kurt rolled his eyes at me and jumped in over the door. I pulled the door open and sat down quickly, for my knees were weak.
Jean came running, her hair flouncing over her shoulders. She was quickly pulling a comb through her hair. Running around the car, she used her telekinesis to open the car door and sat down.
That's when Scott put the pedal to the medal.
"SCOTT!" Jean screamed.
I laughed hysterically as we literally flew out of the garage. Kurt moaned and clutched the door tightly, so as not to slide across the seat into me. I grinned manically at him. He sank further into his seat.
The ride to school was nothing short of exciting. It was as exhilarating as the Danger Room exercise!
When Scott pulled up in front of the school, my happy feelings melted away. My heart began to pound. All ready the students were looking at me, deciding who I was. They were all ready classing me into clichés by my clothing and looks. Once I tried to talk to them, they would all ready have my personality stored away and they wouldn't give me a chance. I would never fit in, like I hadn't at Albright's.
Kurt saw my change of expression. "What?" he asked jokingly, "Too scary for you?"
"Yes," I muttered, sinking down in my seat.
He blinked in surprise. "I saw you face the Danger Room like it was nothing. Fitting in to a new school can't be that bad. I mean, other kids can't be that scary."
"You don't understand," I said, heaving a sigh, "I know what machines do. I know how they act. They never break routine. They are controlled. They never change. They don't have an opinion of you. People—shallow people—do before they even meet you."
He looked mildly shocked. "I never
thought of it that way."
"I do."
"Well, forget about it. You have us from the Institute. We should really go to Mr. Kelly's office now, though. You'll be late on your first day of school. It won't look very good."
I nodded and, looking ill, got out of the car. Kurt led me into the school and up to the principal's office. He stopped before the door. "Well, here you are," he said, nodding, "I can't go with you. Good luck."
He turned and walked away.
I held my breath and turned to the door. Raising a shaking fist, I hesitated but rapped loudly on the door.
There was no immediate answer. I glanced around. The secretary met my eye and smiled kindly. I gulped and smiled back. She must have known I was coming today.
"Come in, come in," called a voice that sounded vaguely irritated.
I timidly eased the door open and slid inside, taking in my surroundings. A man sat at the desk directly across from me. He had mousy brown hair that was swept neatly to the side and a thin mouth. Blinking at me through large eyeglasses, he stood when he saw me. I realized he was tall.
"Ah, you must be the new student," said who I presumed to be Mr. Kelly.
I nodded meekly.
"Melody Becker, right? From Albright's School for Gifted Children?"
I nodded again and ventured quietly, "Yes, but I'm transferring here now that I'm living at the Xavier Institute."
Mr. Kelly had a drastic change of facial expressions. I looked very taken aback, so he carefully controlled it. "Yes, yes, of course," he said, suddenly cold, "I have a student who will show you around. She is in all of your classes."
"Yessir," I said.
He pressed a button on the intercom and said, "Ashleigh Giovanni to the office," he said curtly.
Moments later, an Irish looking girl—all red hair and freckles—walked into the office. I blinked in surprise. Wasn't Giovanni an Italian name?
"Hey, new kid," Ashleigh said brightly, grinning an ear-to-ear grin, "I'm Ashleigh, and I'm supposed to show you around. Don't call me Ashleigh, though, I hate that name. Call me Ash."
I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. She stuck out her hand, which I took, and shook my hand so vigorously that my glasses slid down my nose. "I'm Melody," I said shyly.
"Oooh, man, you're so lucky!" Ash cried as she led me out of the office, "I wish I had a cool name like Melody, instead of Ashleigh." She wrinkled her nose in disdain. "Why did my fool of a mother name me that, of all the names she could have chosen?"
She led me down the corridors and stopped in front of a locker. Pointing to the one beside the one she was opening, she said, "That's your locker. I've got you're combination right here." She stuck her tongue out as she fumbled for an index card and paper that was stuffed messily into her backpack. "Uuuum… six, twenty one, zero. Oh, and this is your class schedule."
I looked at the paper she gave me, studying my classes. All honors classes. I winced. "Are the honors classes different than the regular ones?" I asked as I fumbled to open my locker.
"Yeah," she grunted, pulling a book from a haphazard pile that looked ready to topple, "They have nicer teachers and they give you more points than the college prep." She winked.
I grinned.
As I was putting away the books I didn't need, Ash said, "Look, I have to go pass in this extra credit paper for my—excuse me, our—English teacher. Do you mind if I meet you there?"
"Nope, as long as you remember I exist," I joked, surprising myself.
She cackled. "I can't guarantee that. Take a left and go down five doors and you're there. See you." She flounced off, waving at quite a few people as she passed. Half of her gave her strange looks.
I stood in a stupor. Had I just made a friend? And that quickly?
Maybe this public high school thing wasn't as hard as it seemed.
I shut my locker and fiddled with the zipper on my backpack. It got stuck halfway up. To my utter frustration, it refused to budge either way. Frowning, I glanced up and down the corridors. No one was watching. If I just…
I eased my telekinesis to the front of my mind, activating it. Using it, I managed to zip and unzip the backpack several times. I smiled to myself.
"H-e-e-e-ey! It's new kid in the geek squad!"
At first, I thought this comment wasn't directed at me, so I ignored it. But, as I turned, I realized that it was about me.
I blinked in surprise. Five kids stood gathered around me: four boys and one girl. The girl was tall with bleached blond hair that stuck out to the side, many piercing, and a wide grin on her sassy mouth. She grinned at me, filing her nails as she did so. I stared.
"Yeah, we mean you, X-nerd," laughed one of the boys, talking so quickly that it seemed to be one word. Leaning against the locker beside me, he studied me with dark eyes. His white-blond hair was slicked back and he had a face that made girls that passed eye him.
"Look, I don't know who you are, but leave me alone," I said, trying to shoulder my way past.
A boy with shoulder-length brown hair and wicked brown eyes put a hand on my shoulder. "And why should we?" he asked.
"Yeah, why should we?" asked the stupidest of the lot. At least, that's how he looked. He was as wide as he was tall, with an electric-yellow Mohawk on his squat head.
A boy that looked uncannily like a toad snickered. "You can't get by us without a fee, X-kid," he said, holding out his hand.
My telekinesis was still on. I furrowed my brow and imagined the brown-haired boy staggering back to let me pass. To my amazement, he did. I strut past, but the boy who talked fast grabbed the back my shirt. "Hey, no one rejects the Brotherhood."
My eyebrows lifted. So this was the infamous Brotherhood. "Yeah, no one but the X-Men," I said, smirking, and walked away again.
The brown-haired boy opened his mouth to speak, but someone interrupted him. "Leave her alone, Alvers," said Scott, who stood down the hall but was approaching quickly. I nearly sighed, but caught myself. My knight in shining sunglasses!
"Yeah? And why should I, Summers?" the kid asked.
"Lance?" I glanced to the left. Kitty stood near us, too, clutching her books to her chest. "Lance, stop it." She paused, then added, "Please?"
Lance's expression softened. He looked at Kitty with a strange yearning on his face. Hesitating, he finally backed away.
"Why should we?" continued the fast talking-boy.
"Because she's with us, Pietro," said a new voice with a German lilt. Kurt was suddenly there too. He glowered at Pietro and clenched his fingers on his books, looking as if he were wondering whether or not to throw them.
"Who's going to make us? You?" laughed Pietro.
"Us," growled Evan, appearing at Pietro's shoulder. Bone spikes grew on his arm. "Now let her go."
I clenched my fists and concentrated like I was going to absorb their mutations (for they had to be mutants). My hands shimmered and glowed yellow again. I felt energy—from where I didn't know—seeping into my body. The toad boy, who had been closest to me, backed away nervously.
"If you don't let me go, then you can kiss your powers goodbye," I growled softly, shifting my hands so that they were visible to the Brotherhood but not to anyone else. We were attracting enough attention as it was.
"You're bluffing," said Lance nervously.
I cocked my head. "You want to try me?"
Lanced backed down. "C'mon, guys, this ain't worth it," he muttered, leading his friends away.
I shut off the absorption. "You do know what this means, right?" I asked.
"What?" Pietro sneered, "That this only the beginning?"
I grinned. "Yeah, that," I said, "And that this means war."
The Brotherhood ignored me and walked away. I quietly thanked Scott, Kitty, Kurt, and Evan for their help, thinking over what had just happened. Yeah, this was only the beginning.
The beginning of a war.
A/N: And that, ladies of gentleman, is the cryptic sentiments of Padfoot. Heh, heh. Well, I got the Brotherhood in there. There wasn't really any action though. I'm saving that for the next chapter. Bwah! Big battle! Melody's first. Now, that's gonna be fun! That and her special new uniform! Thanks for your reviews!
Stick around for my next chapter, "Chapter 5: Fire and Ice"!!