A Common Place
It quickly became apparent to all of the school's inhabitants that there were several things inherently different between their new teacher and Jean, Scott, and Orora. First, Sophia did not teach any regular school subjects like the others did. In fact, training and development seemed to be the only thing she focused on. Just a week after her arrival, all of the students at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters found a new class on their schedules, which included weekly group and individual sessions with their new "professor". Second, besides Dr. Grey, Sophia seemed to be the only other mutant who regularly did work in the human world. In the several years she was away from Charles' school, Sophia had attended college, law school, and had become one of the country's leading legal authorities on mutant law. And third, there was something about Sophia that all of their teachers seemed to be keeping from them. The fact that she only went by her first name wasn't so strange, as they were used to it with Logan. But something about the way she handled herself and how the professor, their other teachers, and even some of the older students treated her, led them to believe that she was not some random mutant who had come to the school by chance looking for help.
For her part, Sophia found herself settling into a comfortable routine at the mansion. By day, she spent her time working with students to master their powers, and pouring over recent legislation and case law, and by night she spent hours catching up with Jean, Scott, and Orora, or locked away with the professor. As the days turned into weeks, it began to seem to everyone as though she had been there all along. Everyone but Logan that was.
Ever since their first unpleasant encounter in the foyer the day she first arrived, Logan had remained constantly skeptical of Sophia. He was constantly plagued with thoughts about who she was and her motives for being there, and had made it his personal mission to find out. He had tried unsuccessfully to get information from Jean, Scott, Orora, and even Bobby, but they all seemed reluctant to give him the whole story. In the end, he was forced to resort to his own personal talents of sight and sound, by eavesdropping on conversations and following her around when he could. It just so happened that on one particular night of snooping around, Logan got more than he bargained for.
It was approaching 11:00 and being a school night most of the students were already asleep. Opening her bedroom door slightly, Sophia peered out into the deserted hallway. Satisfied that no one was around to stop her, she silently made her way through the mansion and down to the garage, clad in a black leather jacket over jeans. Engrossed in her mission, she was completely oblivious to the person trailing her from behind.
Stepping into the huge garage, she passed by her sleek black sports car, last year's Christmas gift to herself. Running a hand along the hood, she spoke to the car apologetically, "not tonight baby."
Making her way to the far wall of the garage, where Logan and Scott's motorcycles stood side by side, she moved them out of her way with a motion of her hands and looked thoughtfully at the bare wall. Raising her arms so that her outstretched hands faced the wall, she moved them apart and the wall did the same. A door opened, revealing a storage compartment. Pulling forward whatever was stored there, Sophia soon was standing in front of a black and chrome motorcycle. Grabbing a near by rag, she wiped the bike of the dust that had settled over it, then flung herself onto the seat.
"Did ya miss me?" she asked the bike as though it was going to answer. Smiling happily to herself, she wheeled the bike carefully out of the garage and down the drive before kicking it on safely outside of hearing distance. The engine purred and Sophia's smile deepened as she pulled up her feet and took off.
Logan, who had been the one following her, managed to stifle a gasp at the gorgeous bike he saw Sophia produce from the wall. Wish I had known that was there. I wouldn't have even bothered with Scott's.
Getting on his own motorcycle, which incidentally had only become his because after several months of stealing it Scott decided to buy himself a new one, Logan pulled out of the garage and followed Sophia. After following her for a few miles, on a route which he was all too familiar with, Logan slowed to a stop and observed Sophia from a distance.
Sophia pulled her bike to a stand still against the side of a brick building in the square of the tiny town that stood just a few miles from the mansion. Pressing her finger against a particular spot on the bike's engine, Sophia shot a current of magnetism into the bike, activating its security system. Satisfied, she turned and entered the building, The Dark Horse Tavern. It was a tavern that Logan had visited often, and he wondered how Sophia came to be there.
Stepping inside, Sophia made her way to the bar and waited for the older woman behind the counter to finish what she was doing and turn to her.
"Well I'll be damned, if it ain't our little Miss Lehnsherr," the woman greeted, giving her as much of a hug as she could over the wide counter. "I hear you're quite a success these days," she continued, "what brings you back to your humble roots?"
"Oh Ma, what do you think," Sophia answered with a sigh.
"I might have guessed as well," Ma Potter, the bar's owner replied. "Well what'll it be then, the usual."
Sophia nodded and the woman pushed a large frosted mug of lager at her. From where he stood watching in the corner, Logan was puzzled. Sophia downed her glass within minutes, and another one was placed in front of her only to be finished off just as quickly.
"Well, its nice to see some things never change," Ma commented lightly at her.
As Sophia began on her third mug, a little more slowly this time, and lit up a cigarette, a large, beefy man came to sit beside her.
"How ya doin doll face," he greeted her with a toothy grin.
In mid sip, she ignored him momentarily, then turned in his direction and blew a large puff of smoke into his face.
"I don't think so pal."
Angered, the man grabbed his beer and got up and went to sit at a booth along the wall.
"Asshole," Sophia muttered to herself under her breath. Finishing her third glass, she picked up the fourth and took it with her as she headed to the pool table in the center of the room. Three men were playing there.
"You want in baby?" one asked her with a sly grin.
"You any good," she asked in response.
"50 bucks says Buck here'll wipe the floor with ya," he answered.
"50 bucks it is," she answered, then walked to the far wall and surveyed the pool sticks. Settling on one she liked, she picked it up and proceeded back to the table. The game, if you could call it that, might have been one of the shortest in pool history. Within minutes, Sophia had every one of the solid balls in the pockets and nailed the eight ball without a second thought. Holding her hand out, palm upward, she grinned cockily as the money was slammed into her hands.
"Call me baby again, and I'll shove this stick so far up your ass you'll be pulling out your nose," she threatened before returning to her seat at the bar.
"Ah Sophia, how many times have I told you to take it easy on the big boys. You know they can't handle a woman like you," Ma scolded.
"Sorry Ma, I couldn't resist."
"Well, I dare say you'll meet your match yet one of these days."
"We'll see," Sophia responded. "Now how about another drink," she continued pushing forward a fourth empty mug. "And why don't you send one to my friend over there lurking in the corner."
"You know Logan?"
"Unfortunately."
"Unfortunately?" Ma repeated with raised eyebrows. "I bet," she chuckled to herself while handing Sophia her next drink and hobbling over to Logan.
"The woman at the bar sends her regards love."
Logan, who had no idea his guise had been broken, took the mug then made his way to sit next to Sophia.
"If you had made an effort to come out earlier, you'd be 25 bucks richer right now," she commented without looking at him.
"Looks like you did just fine on your own," he replied gruffly.
Sophia shrugged.
"What are you doing here anyway," Logan went on.
"What am I doing here? You forget pal, I've had a vested interested in this place a lot longer than you."
"You come here often," he asked skeptically.
"Used to. And you?"
"As of late," he retorted.
Sophia pulled out another cigarette.
"I never knew you smoked," Logan commented at the sight.
"Apparently there's a lot you don't know."
"How bout giving me one of those."
She slid the pack over to him.
"So…," Logan searched for conversation. "You used to come here a lot. Indulge me."
Sophia gave him a look out of the corner of her eye. "Not much to indulge really. Started coming here while I was still in school. You'll soon find it's a favorite spot among the students to come and experiment. Ma and Uncle X, sorry I mean the Professor, sort of have an unspoken agreement that they can come down here for a little taste of rebellion, and she'll keep them safe until someone comes to retrieve them. Scott, Jean, and I were the first. Came down here one night and got ourselves good and drunk. Well, they did anyway, ended up being their first and last visit."
"And you?"
"Well I wasn't old enough to drink, not that that stopped me, and I came back anyway. This is where I learned to play pool. The Professor knew well enough, and since Ma kept me out of harm's way he didn't do much to stop me. Besides, I don't exactly think he was worried about anyone messing with me all things considered."
"Why did you keep coming?"
"I don't know about you, but I don't exactly consider Jean and Scott the most exciting of company. And at the time, there weren't many other students up at school. So I came down here just to have a little fun on my own."
"How did you end up going to school here in the first place?"
"What is this, twenty questions," Sophia shot back, suddenly growing defensive.
Logan shrugged, "just curious."
For a moment Sophia was silent, turning over in her head just how much she wanted reveal to this guy.
"Look, I'm not stupid ya know. I know you've following my every frickin' move trying to figure out what my deal is, alright. So here it is. I'm a Lehnsherr.
"A Lehnsherr?"
"Yeah, you know, like Eric Lehnsherr. Magneto."
