Storm led Ms. Bianchi into the 'teachers' lounge' to meet the other professors. Looking into the room, the woman asked, "There are only three teachers? Will I be doubling on subjects Ororo?"
Standing in the room was an old man and another man who had purple hair and skin. They both wore casual suits and were drinking coffee.
"Oh no. I'm the only one doing that. I teach both sciences and history. You'll be our English Professor, and this is Douglas Ramsey, he is the Language & Communications teacher."
Storm introduced her to the old man and they shook hands. She added, "He can speak any language; that's his power."
"Oh," the woman commented interested.
And then she shook the violet hand of the other man. He said with a thick Russian accent, "Hello, I am Arthur Maddicks, I am Math Professor."
"What's your power, hold your breath for a long period of time?" the woman joked. However, the purple man didn't get it and said with all seriousness, "I can project any image at any time I want to. It is helpful when explaining equations."
"Ah, right," the young lady said, a little uncomfortable with the whole conversation.
Moving her along, Storm said, "Let's get your bags and move you into your new room."
Later, she and Storm were walking through the halls again with her luggage. Curiously, the woman asked, "So, how long have those two men been teaching at Xavier's?"
"Not long at all. In fact, this will be their first year here. I hired you three because I knew you would fit the roles the best. Xavier recommended each of you. When he passed away, I knew I wouldn't be able to teach it alone."
"Oh I understand I can't picture wolfman trying to teach Shakespeare to a load of kids; let alone speak it!" she added.
Storm chuckled, but quickly stopped when she saw Logan pop his head out of his room just after they passed. He watched them walk away, narrowing his eyes and growling under his breath at the woman.
"Here we are," Storm said as she opened the door to the woman's room.
"This used to be my room; its one of the nicest ones on campus," she told the lady.
"I believe you," the woman walked in and put her bags on the foot of her queen sized bed.
It was the same wooden walls as in everyone else's rooms, only there was a larger closet, a private bathroom, and double doors leading out to a private balcony.
Turing to Storm, the girl asked, "And you opted not to live here anymore?"
"I'm in the Professor's room now. Trust me, it's an upgrade!"
"I don't see how it could be. But anyways, thank you Ororo; you've been more than hospitable and I appreciate the tour."
Storm went to the door, "Sure. Oh, by the way, this Saturday we're going on a camping trip with the students. It'll give them a chance to get to know each other, as well as our new faculty. It's a two day hike, so I hope you like the outdoors."
Sarcastically, she added before Storm left, "I don't know if I'll want to even be outdoors after staying in this suite!"
Storm chuckled and said, "Goodnight."
She shut the door, leaving the woman alone. A few minutes passed and she started unpacking everything. One of the last things she took out of her bag she placed on a nearby shelf.
They were pictures from all over. One of her in Spain, in France with some friends, in the Caribbean holding a giant Marlon, another in a beautiful garden next to her mother, and one in Italy with her deceased father. She sighed, and pulled out her last item. It was a small Scooby-Doo stuffed toy which she placed next to her and her father's portrait.
Looking at him, she whispered, "God I miss you Pop."
Late that night, the woman quietly left her room wearing plaid blue pajama pants and a black tank top. She turned on the light in the kitchen and opened the fridge. She looked around, but found nothing desirable enough to eat.
"What ya lookin' for?" a southern accent that came from beside her.
The woman closed the fridge to find a young girl of about eighteen sitting at the kitchen counter. She had long, straight brown hair with two white stripes at the tip of her head. She was quite a pretty girl, the woman thought.
"Umm, does this thing have a freezer?" the woman asked.
The girl pointed to the lady's feet, revealing that the freezer was a pull-out just below the fridge, "Oh! I swear the techies come out with new things every year; I just can't catch up!"
She pulled it opened and closed her eyes in pleasure. Then she turned back to the girl, "Are the items in here for certain people, or can anyone indulge?"
The girl smiled, "Go for it."
Feeling like a kid in a candy store, the woman reached down and pulled out a gallon of Ben & Jerry's. She shut the freezer and went over to the counter, finding the spoons in the drawer next to her.
She pointed a spoon at the girl, who shook her head shyly. But she groaned like a teenager herself, "I won't eat this by myself, I need to have a partner in crime! Come on, its cookie dough!"
Finally, the girl took the spoon from her and they dug in. As they ate, the woman asked, "What's your name?"
"Rogue," she replied, but then corrected herself, "Marie."
The woman gave her a curious look, "Oh, forgot your name for a second, since it sounds so familiar to 'Rogue'."
"No, Rogue's my mutant name. Everyone calls me that here. But, call me Marie. I don't really feel like a Rogue anymore."
"Why on earth not? I think it's a catchy name, unless you don't like it."
"No I do, but it's my mutant name, and that's um, not exactly me anymore."
The woman stopped eating, and put down her spoon, "You took the medicine, the 'Cure'?"
Rogue nodded.
The woman was a little disgruntled, but stayed cool, "Why? Were you ashamed of being a mutant?"
"No! Not at all; I just wasn't happy with the way I was."
Curiously, she woman asked, "What was your power?"
Still a little shy, Rogue told her awkwardly, "Whenever I touched someone, with my bare skin, I could take their energy; use their power but it made them very weak. If I touched anyone long enough, they could,"
She stopped her sentence; Rogue couldn't bear to say it. But the woman understood her, "That is a very brave thing you did. To be able to control that power for so long. I completely understand why you would want to give it up. I bet your boyfriend must be happy with it."
Surprised, Rogue asked, "My boyfriend? How did you know I had a-"
Knowingly, the woman leaned over and stated, "Honey, the boys here would be idiots it they wouldn't want to date you. Of course you have a guy! Tell me, what's his name?"
Smiling, Rogue said, "Bobby. He can make ice and freeze anything."
The woman smiled back and began eating again, "Nice. You guys excited about the camping trip this weekend?"
"Oh yeah, that should be fun. That's right; you're one of the new professors aren't you?"
"Yes I am; I'll be teaching Literature. Just call me Ms. Bian- I mean uh, Ms. B." The woman didn't want her students to know about her family's shady past; at least on her father's side naturally.
"Ms B, cool. So, what can you do?" Rogue asked interestedly as she ate more of the ice cream.
"Well, I can teach grammar, how to write essays and poems, sonnets, and give students an even better understanding of-"
"No no, I don't mean your teaching; I mean your power. What mutant powers do you have?"
She looked at Ms. B eagerly; Rogue knew she hadn't mentioned it to anyone yet and wanted to be the first to know.
Ms. B was hesitant, and then asked the girl, "Why do you want to know? My powers are not why I'm at this school; I'm here to teach you, not use what powers I may have to save the day or make balloon animals!"
Taking some more cookie dough onto her spoon, she asked Rouge, "How do you know if I even do have powers? Do you not think that a human can teach mutants as well as a mutant? Sweetie, you're a very nice girl but in the future when speaking to people, I recommend that you speak politely and don't ask questions that can be so personal. Got it?"
Uncomfortable, Rogue let out a nod of her head. Ms. B bug into the ice cream again saying, "Good."
After a moment of silence, Ms. B added, "I think I like torturing my upcoming students with my mystery and will hold that information as long as possible merely for my own enjoyment anyways!"
Rogue's mouth dropped, "What about all the stuff you said about speaking politely to everyone?"
Ms. B smiled, "Yeah, but I only meant that when you're in my classroom; I don't give a damn when you're just hanging out with your friends. Seriously, who wants to act grown up all the time? I know I don't!"
Rogue laughed at her. She didn't seem like she'd be a Professor. But, she didn't seem like a bore either.
Finishing the Ben&Jerry's, Rogue said, "I think you're going to be my favorite teacher."
Ms. B threw the empty bucket away, "Oh, don't say that until after the first day of class! I think it's best if you stick with 'friend'."
"Friends?" Rogue couldn't believe that a grown woman could be so young with her.
"Amigas, padres, Ben&Jerry pigs, whatever!" she grinned at the girl.
Rogue laughed and got off the stool, "Okay Ms. B. Well, it's late; I should get back to my room. See you tomorrow!"
"Goodnight Marie," the caused Rogue to turn back to Ms. B, who was smiling warmly.
She smiled at her and walked out of the kitchen. Who would've thought an English Scholar could be that cool?
The very next day, Rogue was telling Peter, Kitty, and Bobby about her chat the other night with their new professor.
Peter remarked, "Yeah, she has to be cool if she drives that mustang around; God I love that car!"
"Still, I'm dying to know what her mutant power is!" Rogue told them.
"Well, she might not even have one at all, like you said she told you she could be human." Bobby explained.
"Or, she could have been a mutant, but took the medicine because she hated her powers, or was afraid of it. Who knows?" Kitty replied.
"Well, I can't just sit around and let her torture our minds like this; I have to know who she is!" Rogue stated.
"Or what she is!" Peter replied as they watched Professor B walk through the gardens outside.
They sat on the bench and thought for a moment. And then, Kitty piped up, "Oh my gosh! I've got a great idea!"
She leaned over and whispered it to the others. Just then, Logan walked passed them. He stopped, turned, and looked at them as they whispered.
"Hey guys," he startled them, "What are ya up to?"
Three of them had no clue what to say. However, Bobby smiled and told him, "We're talking about Professor B; man is she cool. I mean, have you seen her car? Oh, I heard that she's-"
But before Bobby could jabber on any longer, Logan, disgruntled, left without a word.
"How did you know to do that?" Rogue asked.
Bobby cracked his fingers and put his arm around her, "Oh, just something I've noticed in the past couple days. He doesn't like her at all."
"Really?" Kitty asked, surprised.
"Man, I figured he'd love her; I mean, look at her! She ain't the ugliest woman I've seen." Peter remarked.
"She is beautiful, but Logan isn't like that. He's still upset over the whole 'Jean thing' you know. These things take time; besides, I think he's just jealous." Rogue commented.
"Jealous? What? Would he kill for her thighs?" Bobby joked.
"No I don't mean like that! I mean, everyone's talking about her and saying how cool she is. I guess Logan thinks she stole his spotlight." Rogue explained.
"Hmm, interesting. Anyways, who are we gonna send to go through with Kitty's plan?" Peter asked.
They all looked at each other, and made the decision.
They got up and started walking back inside, but then Bobby remembered, "Hey, should we get Warren in on this?"
"Warren went back to the city yesterday. Who knows if he's coming tomorrow; he's too old to be a student here and he's too young to be a teacher here. Doubt Storm will even let him come she's been so strict lately!" Peter told him.
Bobby shrugged and let Peter and Kitty walk back inside. However, he and Rogue followed the pathway to the garden.
Holding his hand, Rogue asked, "You don't think this is cruel, do you?"
"Of course not; we aren't hurting her! We're merely testing her. Don't worry."
Finally, they found her gazing at some pink peony flowers. Closing her eyes, Ms. B thought of the blood dripping from her father's body onto the same flowers. She suddenly felt sick in the stomach.
"Ms. B?" Rogue asked, startling her a little.
She turned and looked at them, "Oh, hey guys. Can I help you with something?"
"No, I just wanted to tell you about the camping trip tomorrow." Rogue said.
"I already know about the trip; Storm said we are leaving at seven o'clock tomorrow morning. Excited?"
"Yeah, except," Rogue hesitated a little, "Uh," she didn't know if she could say it.
"Are you okay Marie?" Ms. B placed a hand on her shoulder gently.
Urgently, feeling the plan failing, Bobby piped out, "She just wanted to tell you the time's changed. For tomorrow. We're actually leaving at eight!"
"Really," Ms. B curiously asked, "Why?"
"A few students that haven't arrived yet are coming tomorrow morning. Storm wants to wait for them; she sent us here to tell you. No big deal, just an hour later." Bobby smoothly saved the lie.
"Oh," Ms. B nodded her head, "Cool. Thanks for the tip Bobby, see you two later!" and she walked away.
Curiously, Bobby leaned over to Rogue and whispered, "I don't remember mentioning my name to her. She must be telepathic!"
Rogue laughed at him and said, "No, she's not; trust me!"
In a peaceful rest, Logan slept soundly in his bed. But suddenly, there was an obnoxious banging on his door. He crawled out of bed, and opened it. Peter and Bobby were standing there innocent-eyed, saying, "Ten minutes and we leave without you, Professor!"
Logan looked at them, groaned a little, and slammed the door. They stared at the door another few minutes until they heard from within, "I'll be out in five; go away!"
The sun was just over the mountains as everyone met at the edge of the property next to the forest. Storm looked around and said, "Kitty, have you seen Professor B?"
"Oh yeah, she's behind everyone; so no one wanders off!" she lied.
There were quite a few kids, so Storm couldn't see through the heads of them. Nodding, she checked her off and they started the hike.
Then, at eight o'clock that morning, Ms. B had a bag packed with blue sneakers, cargo shorts, and a grey t-shirt on. She pulled her wavy gold hair back in a bun and left her room. She walked down the stairs, and went outside. She headed towards their meeting point at the edge of the forest.
However, when she noticed the empty field, she raised one eyebrow. Then suddenly, she laughed as hard as she could, "I don't fucking believe it; those sneaky little brats! They really got me didn't they? Ha,"
Ms. B realized that Bobby and Rogue were behind this, probably with a few others. They were testing to see how she would get herself to catch up to everyone else. They think she would use her powers.
"Wow, they're good!" she admitted to herself, "But, I hate to disappoint them. Man, it's a good thing I was on the track team!"
Tightening her backpack, she ran into the woods.
Around the same time, Rogue was walking next to Bobby along with the rest of the group. They were the last ones in the group, at the end of the line. Every minute, Rogue would look back for Professor B.
Concerned, she said, "You don't think she'll get lost, do you? I mean, she'll be okay won't she?"
Just then, a kid in the group exclaimed, "Hey! Look up there! Do you see that?"
They all looked up seeing a pair of wings flying over them. Warren flew down onto the side of the mountain and came up towards Storm.
Smiling, she said, "You made it!"
Loosening his pack back a little, Warren replied, "Sorry I'm late; I had an unexpected visit from my dad."
A few of the girls nearby them smiled and whispered to each other about the cute winged Angel.
Bobby sighed, thinking it might have been Professor B. Then, Rogue caught his attention by repeating, "You do think she's alright, don't you?"
"She's fine," Bobby comforted her, "You said how smart she is; I'm sure she can find us easily!"
Running through the trees, Ms. B thought to herself, 'I am so fucking lost!'
The forest around her grew even thicker, making it hard to see anyway at all. She stopped, and took an aggravated breath, "I'm so fucking lost!"
She listened for any kind of commotion; hoping to hear the pack as they hiked up the mountain. However, she didn't have superhuman hearing, so she groaned and pushed her way through the thick leaves.
A few thorns hit her face as she struggled just to get through this difficult path she was trying to make. Suddenly, a long twinned branch smacked her right in the face, "Ah God!"
She walked further blindly to get out of the brush. She felt her face; she was alright. However, she took one more step forward, and found no ground to hold her up!
"WHOA!" she slid down the side of the cliff, but grabbed hold of the edge just in time.
She dangled there with her one left arm keeping her from a severe fall. Looking down, she saw that she had to be at least thirty stories from the next patch of grass.
"This is not good!" she said aloud to herself.
Then suddenly, the root she was holding onto began to rip slowly from the cliff, "Oh God no!"
She couldn't believe it; first her hiking outfit was covered in dirt, and now she was going to fall thirty stories down to the valley. As she tried to reach her free hand for something else, the root gave way and she fell and she whispered, "Oh shit!"
"AHH!" she screamed as she fell.
On the same mountain, but on the opposite side, the group heard her scream.
Rogue recognized the yell and cried, "Oh no! We've killed her!"
Bobby, Peter, Rogue and Kitty began running, "We'll never make it in time!"
Back in the free fall, Ms. B looked below her at the ground that grew closer and closer. Taking a deep breath, she knew what she must do. She would use her power. It's all she could do now.
Closing her eyes, Ms. B took a deep breath. She felt the power surging inside of her, and then the feeling of strong arms overtook her.
'Wait, that doesn't feel normal!' she thought to herself.
Opening her eyes, she saw herself flying up, "What?"
But then, she saw him. It was the guy with the things. He caught her just before she tried using her own powers. Relaxing, she sighed with relief, "Wow!"
He flew down to the mountain, landing on the ground causing everyone to run over. Like a fragile eggshell, he let her down.
"Are you alright?" Storm asked, coming up to them.
Still surprised at the rescue, she brushed herself off, "Yes, thanks to umm," she couldn't believe she forgot his name.
"Warren, Warren Worthington," he shook her hand politely.
She smiled and said, "Hi, I'm Professor B. But just call me Helena."