Ororo led me to Xavier's main office, and as we strode in through the doors, he looked up at us. "I see you're ready to find out what happened at Alkali," he declared before we were even fully over the threshold.
I stood up to my full height, suddenly taken with the idea that it was time for me to stop behaving like a child. Since I'd been awoken from the coma, and freed of William's control, I had, in a strange way, reverted to the mindset I'd carried as the young girl who'd tagged along on her father's business trip. I'd been sweet and gentle, polite and so well-mannered that one might have thought I'd never learned words beyond "Thank you so much," and "You are so very kind."
I'd done so much bowing and scraping in trying to be accepted by these people that I was beginning to remind myself of a timid little geisha. It was time for that to end- I had to somehow meld the two parts of myself together.
I didn't want to be the cold-blooded murderer of Lady Deathstryke, nor the naïve little Yuriko. I wanted…I just wanted…
"Yuriko, are you ready to know the truth?"
Xavier's deep voice jolted me. "Oh, yes, it's time I understood what happened."
"Very well. It's an involved story, and involves more people than just you and I. Have a seat, and we'll get started."
I moved forward and sat down before his wheelchair. Ororo stepped out of the office and closed the door behind her, while Xavier leaned toward me. "I could just tell you what went on while we were there, but it might be easier if I should just show you."
I understood what he meant; Xavier could use his power to show me through his own eyes what happened at the base. I nodded only once and my eyes fluttered as I felt his fingertips brush over my temples.
It began slowly, and I realized that Xavier was not showing me what had happened through his eyes, but he was bringing my own memories up to the forefront of my mind. I was back in the murky tank, the adamantium slowly hardening within my body. I heard voices coming closer, and I relived the supreme effort it took from me just to lift my hand against the glass.
Darkness faded in and out as I struggled to keep conscious while my healing factor desperately tried to keep me alive. I heard a man's voice, a woman's voice.
"I've seen her before, her name is Yuriko. Stryker's personal assistant-"
"I know who she is. I've seen her before. Come, she has little time. I can save her but we must leave the base."
The images spun through my mind until I remembered the name of the man that had saved me. Magneto.