Chapter 8

It had been a long day, Elizabeth decided as she slid into her bed. She loved the arrangement here at O'Toole's place: two bedrooms to a common living room, and there were so many rooms here that she was able to have her own room. Smiling, she thought back to all that they had done that day.

The first thing had been lunch. It had been served picnic-style on the lawn, and hot dogs, hamburgers, salad, potato chips, fruit salad, ice cream, soda, lemonade, cookies, and cake had been quite welcome. Kurt had dived in with both hands and his mouth wide open, coming up only for air or to talk. She grinned at the memory: Kurt, chewing on a cookie, a burger in one hand and a hot dog in the other. She could well imagine him using his feet and tail to hold more food, but he had wished to blend in with the other kids more, so he hadn't taken the chance.

The kids' powers were many and varied: one boy grew armor, a girl could do anything with fire, another blew things up, and a young man (obviously one of the senior students) seemed to have come into his powers rather late since he had trouble controlling them: they were a form of telepathy. A pair of twins were super-strong, and a boy who was their older brother could move the earth.

After lunch, O'Toole and his staff had given them all a tour of the school, and everyone had been impressed with the library, computer lab, and gymnasium. Kurt, unable to resist the high ropes course above their heads, had 'ported up and began going over the course like a monkey.

"How. . .is he doing that?" O'Toole asked, surprised at Kurt's athletic ability. "He doesn't have enough limbs for the job he's doing, it seems like!"

Elizabeth had smiled then. None of O'Toole's students or his teachers knew what to look for—a skinny blue prehensile tail that was doing a lot of the work. The Professor had only smiled and said that Kurt would explain it when he felt ready.

After that, the kids had been allowed to socialize or run wild, whichever suited them better. One boy had more energy than even Kurt, and had proved it by running circles around everyone. It seemed he had super-speed just like Pietro, but he lacked Pietro's annoying arrogance, according to the other Xavier kids.

Dinner had been fun: Pizza, salad, and breadsticks, but of course, everyone forgot about the salad and breadsticks. When Kurt had gotten into a burping contest with Billy (the super-fast kid), the teachers had called a halt to dinner and socializing and sent the students off to the dormitories. Once in the dormitories, chaos ensued, but the teachers were far removed from it, which was the way they liked it.

Still thinking about this, Elizabeth was startled when she heard a voice inside her head.

I don't believe this. . .

She sat up, listening hard, hoping that it was just her powers and not encroaching delusions as she feared.

Here I am, and I'm stuck with just walking like a normal person! Oh, I am so getting Magneto back for this!

Elizabeth started to shake, frightened by the word "Magneto," but she forced herself to listen. As she did so, other voices entered her head, holding her where she was. Where were they coming from?

A young man's voice. We ah in some major trouble now, c'est vrai. Mon Dieu, how we escape from this?

Another kid's voice. If I could, I'd shake this place until it was nothing but rubble!

A slimy-sounding voice. Man, did they have to give me a bath? I didn't smell that bad!

An Australian accent. If only I had my flame thrower. . .

A deeper, more sophisticated voice, one that Elizabeth would recognize anywhere. I never would have believed that one man could imprison me so easily. . .

Elizabeth got out of bed and left her room, following the voices, praying that they weren't who she thought they were.

Space

"Excuse me?" someone whispered.

Magneto looked up, startled.

The girl jerked away from the window, frightened at the sudden movement.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

"Me," he heard a tiny voice say. "I heard all of you in my head, but you're the first one I've seen. What are you doing down here? What happened to you?"

Magneto rose from the chair he was sitting in and went to the window. "You!" he said, recognizing Elizabeth. "So you are here, after all!"

"Only today," she said, looking at him solemnly. "What made you think I was here?"

"We thought that Dr. O'Toole had you, so we came to get you," Magneto explained. "He even told us he had you, but before we realized it, he had us in a trap."

Elizabeth watched his mind, seeing how it had happened: They had heard that a man called Dr. O'Toole had taken on a new student called Elizabeth, so they had staked the campus out to see if it were her. They had even seen a girl that looked like her running around outside of the school building, so they had moved in that night, determined to take her. What they hadn't counted on were O'Toole's defenses—they were better than Xavier's, and when they had all woken up from the battle's aftermath, they were in these rooms down below the school, feeling weak and literally powerless. O'Toole came every now and then, promising them their liberty if they promised to work for him.

"He took your powers?" Elizabeth gasped, shocked. "How?"

Magneto shook his head. "I don't know, child. I wish I knew. Do you think you could open the doors?"

She looked at him. "I haven't forgotten the trash can, you know."

He groaned. "I promise you, all I want is to get out! I swear it!"

A door opening somewhere startled them both, and Elizabeth looked for somewhere to hide.

"Listen," Magneto said, whispering urgently. "At least warn Xavier for me! Tell him to get all of you out of here, himself specifically! O'Toole wishes powers like his!"

Elizabeth nodded, stepped back, and teleported straight to the Professor's room. Scurrying to his bed, she shook him, hissing his name in her hurry.

"Professor! Professor, wake up!" she said, close to tears. "Please, wake up!"

A hand grabbed her wrist, startling her.

"Hello, Elizabeth," she heard O'Toole's voice say. "The Professor is downstairs. How about we join him?"

She screamed and fought, lashing out with all of her powers, but something else covered them and rendered them ineffectual, leaving her helpless. That same something invaded her mind, crowding all things but the thought of sleep out. Slowly, she slumped to the floor, and O'Toole took her downstairs to lock her up with the rest of the Xavier kids.