Chapter 31: Surging in a Glass Box

As Kurt and Alara flopped onto the floor of the helicopter, Xavier sighed.

"I hate it when this happens."

Logan, in the driver's seat, nodded in agreement.

"Me too. It's almost enough to make me feel bad for those two."

They rode in silence the rest of the way to the institution.

When Alara woke up, Kurt was just outside of the room Alara was laying in sleeping. Alara looked around in disbelief. No door was visible.

"What the hell is this?" she roared. She walked over to the wall and pounded on it gently. Nothing happened. She tried to turn into Kurt but her powers short-circuited and she turned into Kitty. She kept trying to morph, turning first in to Logan, then Pietro, then Wanda, Jean, and many others, but the Kurt form never came. She sighed and finally stopped when she turned into a grotesque combination of Scott and Logan. Exasperated, she changed back into her normal body and looked around the room. It reminded her so much of her bedroom, with the furniture and the small bathroom leading off, except for the fact that it was painted white and there was no door.

Kurt woke with a start when Alara started screaming, "IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIR! LET ME OUT! I WANNA GET OUT!" and pounded loudly on the walls. He got up and walked over to where she had been pounding and looked at her. She didn't seem to notice him. He looked through the wall as though it wasn't there.

"Alara?"

She looked at the wall, still not seeing him. She looked all around the walls. Kurt looked at her curiously.

"Kurt? Kurt? Where are you?"

She walked around, looking under the bed and in the bathroom.

"Alara! I'm right here!" he shouted.

She looked to where she had been pounding and walked back over to it hurriedly. She put her hands on the wall and started feeling around frantically.

"Wh-where are you?" she whimpered. "I can't see you. I can hear you. I can't see you."

Tears formed in her eyes as she felt the wall all over for him but couldn't find him.

"Alara," Kurt said, calmly. "You're in a glass room. How come you can't see me?"

She slammed her fists against the wall about where she thought Kurt's head was, causing Kurt to stumble backwards in surprise. Tears fell from her face as she sank to her knees. Her head drooped and tears fell onto her plaid skirt. The top of her head and her fists were pressed against the wall.

"I don't know," she sobbed. "I don't know anything. I can't think of anything."

Kurt put a hand on the spot where her fist was pressed against it and she sniffed quickly, raising her head to look at the hand he had touched. She lifted her hand off, looked at it, then put it back. She smiled and traced the outline of his hand.

"If you can't see me, then vhy can you trace my hand?" Kurt asked.

She pressed her cheek against his hand as a tear fell from her green eyes.

"I can feel the temperature change," she replied sniffing.

"Alara," a voice called out from behind Kurt, who spun around.

"Professor?" Alara asked, raising her head.

"Yes Alara. It's me," Xavier replied, wheeling into the room Kurt stood in.

"Professor! Where am I?" she asked.

"You're in a safe place for now. Just relax," he replied.

Alara nodded, sniffing. Xavier smiled. She sat on her feet, kneeling at the glass. Kurt kept his hand where her hand remained.

"What's wrong with me being outside?" she whimpered.

Xavier looked at her with extreme sympathy.

"You can't control your powers. We don't know what your powers are yet, so we can't take the necessary precautions to protect you and the others. You'll stay in here until we can find out how to protect you and the others, and then we'll gladly let you out. But until then, whatever you desire, we'll get it and you can have it."

Alara tipped her head to the side.

"You can see me?" she asked.

"Yes Alara, but you shouldn't be able to see us."

"Why not?" she pouted.

"Because some mutants have powers where they can control people just by looking at them and since we don't know what your powers are, we have to protect ourselves."

"Can't I have a friend in here occasionally?"

"I'm sorry, Alara," Xavier replied, hanging his head slightly. "Safety issues. You understand. But we can have who ever you want to come in and speak to you."

"Can I have pictures of everyone so I can look at them when I speak?"

"Sure," Xavier chuckled.

"Life-sized pictures?" she asked hopefully.

"Not if you are going to hang them on the walls."

"Oh," she muttered, pouting again.

Xavier smiled.

"I'm sure everything will work out just fine," he called out to her. "But I must go and inform the school. They'll wonder where you and Kurt are."

She looked at her hand and smiled sadly. Kurt felt overwhelmed with sympathy for her that tears almost came. Xavier started wheeling out of the room and a tear fell from Alara's eyes. Just before he left, Alara called out, "Professor?"

Xavier turned around and looked at her.

"Yes Alara?"

"Ummm," she murmured, chewing on her bottom lip. "I know what one of my mutations are."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," she replied, still chewing on her lip.

"Besides transformation?"

She nodded.

"And what is that?"

She smiled and looked at her hand.

"I can control people's emotions when I touch them."

Xavier looked at Kurt, who had turned from severely sympathetic to looking like he had just won a million dollars. Xavier raised his eyebrows and put a stronger mental block on Kurt, who turned back to normal quickly.

"Interesting," Xavier murmured. "That would explain the absorbing emotions part…Do you know of any other powers you possess?

Alara nodded and replied, "The only reason I can do the emotions thing-y is because I saw it done to someone a long time ago. I can copy people's abilities if I know what their abilities are…"

Xavier thought a moment before he had a thought.

"Alara?"

"Yes Professor?"

"How much did you know about your mother before she, and your father, died?"

Alara's eyes snapped forward, almost as if she could see Xavier.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked shortly.

"Because it maybe that you actually inherited your many mutations from you parents instead of someone like Logan or Kitty."

She looked nervously around the room, trying to see what was outside.

"Who's in that room?" she asked slowly.

"It's just Kurt and me."

She nodded.

"Okay then. I'm not supposed to tell a lot of people this because my mom and dad told me when I was younger to never ever tell people outside of those who I trust what happened inside the house."

Xavier nodded.

"I'll respect that if you wish. I won't tell anyone. Neither will Kurt."

Kurt smiled and said, "Ja. If you want to tell me a secret, I'm all ears and no mouth."

She smiled.

"Okay then. Well, my father could transform into things and he could also make things appear."

"Things appear?"

"Yeah. Like he would imagine an apple in his hand and it would appear there. He never used it for anything bad though."

Xavier nodded, while raising an eyebrow.

"Go on."

"And my mother… Well, she…"

"Continue…"

Alara leaned forward and grew very serious and quiet.

"She never wanted me to tell Dad because he would have gotten mad for not telling him sooner, but she was a mutant too. My mom could control people's emotions and transform as well."

"Uh huh," Xavier said thoughtfully. "That explains a lot of things. Thank you." Alara smiled.

"Glad to help, Professor."