"Yes, mom, I'm fine, I promise. I'll call you again as soon as I got a US cell phone, alright? And you'll have your money as soon as I figure out how to send it without anyone in Germany becoming suspicious."

"Will you stop about rent? I was already getting by before I met your father, you know. Do you really want to stay in the States? Are you sure you're doing the right thing, Katja?" Maria, unfortunately, was very hard to satisfy with platitudes, especially when it came to her only child being in trouble. "Just that they're looking for you here alone … Wouldn't it have been better if you tried to sort this out instead of going black somewhere foreign? You don't know these people from Adam!"

"No, I don't." Katja stopped outside the door of this Professor Xavier person, absently wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. The conversation was weighing down on her worse than she had feared. Her mother's longing for her hurt even more than her own homesickness, than every thought of her village, of her cat. And to know that this situation might last for years ...

Katja could not and would not even consider that. Her mother and she were far too close for that. More than ever, now that Maria had declared her unconditional loyalty to Katja – unlike her old friends, as she knew since spending a bit of time in front of that PC. "But here, no one is threatening me with jail just because my genes have been fucked up. I need to learn to deal with all of this first, you know? I'll be in touch as often as I can."

"You do that." Her mother tried in vain to suppress a sob. "Just remember that I love you, Katja. No matter what. Nothing can ever change that."

"I love you too." Before she could burst into tears herself, Katja quickly put her cell phone away and knocked.

"Hello. I'm Professor Charles Xavier. You're late." The greeting from an elderly, bald man didn't exactly turn out charming.

And here Katja had just got lost once again on the way. "Hello," she mumbled, hands clasped uneasily in front of her body.

This Storm woman – it was the one with the white hair who had welcomed her when she had arrived – looked nice enough, but the man just stared at Katja for a minute, so intensely that she felt more and more as if she'd messed up something around here on day 1 after all.

At least Storm gave her a tentative smile. But she kept silent; it was obvious that the Professor was calling the shots here.

Who finally shook his head in frustration. "You're like a silent movie to my gift."

At first, Katja didn't understand ... Then it hit her all of a sudden. The language! Apparently, Xavier was a telepath just like Jean. Therefore, he might be seeing the images in Katja's mind, but he probably didn't understand a word of German.

Somehow, she found that reassuring. She didn't like it when people invaded her thoughts without asking. That much she could tell, despite her limited personal experience with mutants. "Sorry?"

"Nonsense. It's confusing, but I'll get used to it."

Xavier bent over Katja's file, which lay open on his massive desk. "So. As Jean has told you, you're very welcome here, but I'll frankly admit, much about your mutation is peculiar. Getting used to this is easier when you're a child or a teenager. It's not often that genetic changes occur this late in life. Besides, the connection between your emotions and your powers is a mystery to me so far."

"Well, I didn't exactly choose any of this." Katja was still standing around like an order not picked up.

"Come on, sit down," Ororo demanded from her corner by the window. "Don't worry, the Professor is usually not half as grumpy as he's acting right now. He's just not used to being unable to figure people out immediately. You'll have to help us a little there. Jean has already passed on to us what you told her, but perhaps you'd like to tell it in your own words?"

So Katja told her story again, avoiding dramatizing the drama even more.

She was very relieved that the Professor and Storm, too, didn't seem to judge her for that accident that Katja would always have to struggle with anyway. They didn't even say much about it. That this was not a given, Katja had just had to learn firsthand for the first time.

All these negative messages in her e-mail account hurt more than Katja wanted to admit. The members of her old gang had apparently sat down and decided that now, they definitely no longer wanted to be friends with someone who was branded as a troublemaker in society.

Only the reassurance remained that her mother would have followed her to New York right away if it hadn't been for Maria's work and the financial issues. Knowing that there was at least someone at home who had her back was like a warm flame in the icy fear that still filled Katja's soul.

Here in the U.S., fortunately, nothing could happen to her for now. From how she understood Xavier's following explanations, the man not only had money but, above all, thanks to his powers, influence as far as certain formalities were concerned. Staying here would indeed be the least of Katja's problems.

And Xavier was not yet done with his speech. Soon, Katja was at least wiser than when she'd arrived here.

Apart from the promise concerning Katja's citizenship, there weren't many reassuring words. Xavier did not go easy on her regarding the role of mutants among people, or regarding the fact that being one of them, one had little chance of finding a job or even a place to live outside of mutant circles, once others knew what you were. The Professor also revealed that many people, fearing the powers of mutants, demanded that everyone different should be locked up and monitored. And that many were afraid of war because mutants would not put up with this rejection and hostility forever.

All the more calming was it, knowing about persons like Xavier who, together with his people, tried to change something about these deficiencies. In an official way, in the shape of lectures and hearings, by talking to politicians and of course with this asylum here.

And unofficially with ... other methods, which at first sounded once more like taken from a bizarre science fiction movie.

"Let me get this straight," Katja said at some point, more than just a little baffled. "The employees at this institution in truth have some sort of ... secret superhero team?"

Of course, such concepts did not seem entirely impossible when growing up in a world that had had to deal with the species of mutants more and more by the year. In the course of this gradual coming to terms with supernatural phenomena, and not least thanks to the new possibilities of media coverage the internet offered, one would at some point automatically stumble upon oddities that had previously seemed to exist only in fiction. Like a team led by some guy in a flag costume, tasked by the U.S. government from time to time with some ominous missions. Or this freak with a bat mask in Gotham.

In a boarding school, however, the last thing Katja had expected was an encounter with such people. Especially when they had introduced themselves to her as simple teachers just a few hours earlier.

"A few of them. By far not everyone in this house is involved in battle activity or even knows about it. To the outside, we're just a school for gifted kids anyway. Except for the counseling center that authorities come across when they look up the phone number on that one homepage, we don't even have anything to do with mutants, officially. If someone's asking, that therapist is my secretary. She is a certified social worker. But we keep most of that away from our students. For them, anonymity is just as important as a stable, peaceful home. What a few of our adult residents get up to now and then, when there's a major emergency out there regarding mutants, only a small, selected circle of people knows."

And said circle included, of all people, the new roommate on her first day? Katja frowned. "Is there a particular reason for you telling me?"

"The team I'm talking about is probably about to face a very hard conflict." For the first time in this conversation, Xavier dodged Katja's questioning glance, staring at his computer monitor somewhat absently. Harsh lines surrounded the corners of his mouth.

"One of my enemies, Magneto ... He's a very powerful mutant who hates humans more than anything. From what I have recently learned, he and his own group of followers, the Brotherhood, are planning an attack on the entire world. I just haven't figured out yet what it is about. All his people are extremely capable, and all almost of them have a military background. Our team, on the other hand, is in many ways still finding its footing. Some of the older pupils here do train regularly to be able to come with us on missions like this someday, but they are still far too young for open conflict. You, on the other hand, are a late mutant, Flashwind, old enough to make your own decisions, and your powers are of a classification just as rare as mighty. I want you to know about these developments before other people become aware of you and can possibly try to get you on their side. That could have disastrous consequences for the safety of my people and the world. The weather is an extremely useful ally, and Jean and Scott have already told me that you are exceptionally physically fit for someone not even a professional athlete. Not many mutants qualify to be part of such a difficult endeavor. If such a potential candidate comes to me, I want them to at least know about this opportunity."

"You want me to stop these people," Katja stated with a stunned shake of her head. Not to mention that she found it a little disconcerting that without her knowledge, she had apparently been observed by some people in this house for quite specific purposes ... For her taste, all of this sounded like a story from a comic book. Weird, exciting, interesting ... But very far away from her own life.

And yet she had no doubt that she was being told the truth. After all, by now she knew what could happen when human genes got out of control. The fear that such historical developments within an intelligent species would provide fuel for trouble worldwide hadn't just come up yesterday.

And Katja was now right in the middle of it. A clueless beginner confronted with a little too much at that moment, to be immediately enthusiastic about it. Even though it certainly couldn't hurt, knowing how to feel safer in case of emergency, given these looming threats ... Some self-defense class would probably suffice for that. "I've never fought anyone before. I can't learn that in a couple of days."

"Nor should you," the Professor immediately objected. "We don't expect a major attack to outnumber us that quickly. I'm mostly trying to keep you from Magneto's influence right now. You're not forced to do anything, of course. This whole matter is just meant to be an offer, an aim that might help you get better adapted to your new situation. Extensive combat training was what has once taught all mutants, on which humanity's hopes now rest, to control their powers."

Now it was Katja, avoiding Xavier's gaze; those gray eyes seemed to literally pierce her. She had rarely felt such an authoritarian aura in anyone.

The man managed to make you feel intimidated in his presence, despite his disability, which Katja had only discovered at second glance, that had him in a wheelchair. And while he might not be able to understand Katja's thoughts, he somehow seemed to know exactly what was going on inside her head. That his offer scared her but also made her more curious than she wanted to admit even to herself.

Which little girl didn't dream of being a heroine? And keeping in shape had always been one of Katja's great passions, after all. Adding a little bit of judo or Krav Maga, which definitely might come in handy if a worldwide conflict was really about to start … She would have the time for that now.

Only Katja wasn't naive enough to believe that life as a so-called heroine would be like running a marathon. This story might be something she had always been looking for in her dreary life so far ... But as soon as she even considered it, the thought of her mother immediately entered her mind. Could she do this to her, willingly expose herself to danger? To risk getting hurt – or worse? That was not an answer, Katja could give so easily.

"It's your choice," Xavier repeated. "If it comes to what I fear, your mutation could be helpful to us one day. But that's just one of the paths that might be waiting for you."

"But the most useful one, right?" That, Katja could tell without any more words. There had been attacks by mutants on humans in the past, she knew that. If this Brotherhood was as dangerous as Xavier said ... What if it really did come to war at some point?

It wouldn't only be the case in the US then, but also in Katja's beloved home. And who would then make a difference between people like her alleged friends and her loyal mother, who didn't care whether Katja was a Homo Sapiens or a Homo Superior?

To be able to make herself useful in such a crisis then, sounded like something Katja could well imagine. But that wasn't a decision to make within a few minutes. "I can try, but I can't promise anything yet."

Ororo flashed an enchanting, wide smile that made her look even more like a fairy, an elf. "That's more than most think themselves capable of already, Flashwind."

"We'll see." That was all Katja could and would commit to at the moment.

But the hint of longing that Xavier's offer had triggered remained. A longing for something that would give her life real meaning. A task that wouldn't bore her to death like an office job that had hardly ever been more than the least bad alternative anyway. A nagging voice in the back of her mind seemed to chuckle that she had already made her decision, despite all reason and uncertainty about what was to come.

When Katja returned to her room, Jean and Scott at the end of the hall were just closing the door to their apartment behind them. Right. It was true then.

She sighed silently at the small, stupid pain like a bee sting in her heart. Why was she always attracted to the wrong men? That guy over there was not only moody as fuck, he was also, more importantly, taken. In a rather binding way, even, if Katja didn't misinterpret those slender golden rings. So why did she keep seeing in her head that weird smile he'd given her in her room?

Scott seemed to feel her watching and stared at her over his shoulder for a moment too long and decidedly too seriously. Apparently, he knew exactly what was going on inside of her. Perhaps even better than she did.

Shaking her head, Katja entered her room. That was the very last thing she needed right now. As if she didn't have enough problems already.

She quickly sat back down at her computer and wrote Maria what Xavier had told her. All that stuff about murder and war, she rather discreetly left out. Instead, she told her mother that Xavier would get provide her with a long-term visa, maybe even U.S. citizenship someday, and most importantly, that she could live with him for free. Hopefully, that would provide enough reassurance for now. Everything else, Katja had to figure out on her own anyway.

After that, she briefly browsed some files in the institution's internal network. Fortunately, Scott had already set up an account for her.

There was an extensive database with entries about all of these so-called X-Men and about the members of the Brotherhood. Plus mission logs, equipment, weapons ...

Katja was too tired to read through everything right away, but at least she no longer felt completely clueless.

The notes on Scott's mutation startled her. Now she finally understood about these sunglasses, too. The thought that the man had to wear them continuously to control the deadly laser beams from his eyes – Katja could only imagine how difficult life was with such a downright disability. And still, Jean's partner was so passionate about mutant safety that he even served as the leader of this team of heroes. Admirable, actually.

Maybe even a role model ... Yes, Katja was gradually starting to wake up. Real life was waiting for her, including reentering school. And she could help out Xavier a little in the office, too, she'd offered that of her own accord at the end of that conversation a minute ago. By that, she could at least return the favor of free accommodation.

Everyday life would soon have her back. At least on the outside ...

Katja carefully grazed the black leather uniform with the silver "X" on the collar and belt, that someone must surely have left on her bed by accident. Ororo had told her before she'd left that it was better if she got used to such clothing right away during training. It gave Katja a certain sense of belonging already. Could this X in this precious shining circle really be her fate?

Katja didn't get more than a few hours of sleep before the stressful life at Xavier's institution began to take hold of her. At a quick breakfast in a very busy, noisy dining room, when Katja accepted Ororo's entirely natural-looking invitation and sat down at a table with her, Scott, and Jean, she earned a few more inconspicuous glances from the many young people around her. So now, she was officially the new girl.

There wasn't much more time than for another sandwich before a first lesson in physics awaited her. Mutation-specific compulsory STEM tutoring, just as Bobby had already warned Katja.

Katja decided five minutes in, that she was not made for this kind of mere theory. These subjects had already been far too dry for her at school.

So she was very glad to have Bobby sitting right next to her, re-explaining things in a low voice while the other students were already two chapters ahead.

His company was at least more pleasant than the lewd glances of a dark blond boy one row ahead, who obviously mistook Katja for a pining teenager. St. John Allerdyce, Bobby told her with a half-annoyed, half-indulgent sigh. His best friend and the school's wannabe womanizer.

Katja was quite glad when she could escape the classroom again. For this kind of ridiculousness, she was definitely too old.

Instead, a text message on the brand-new cell phone with a corresponding U.S. number that Ororo had handed her earlier, told her to show up at Scott and Jean's apartment. The note didn't say what for, but when Katja reached her destination – this time without getting lost –, she promptly felt out of place.

The doctor and her partner stood outside the apartment, on opposite sides of the hallway, both with folded arms, staring dully at the floor. When Katja hesitantly approached, Jean glanced back and forth between Scott and her, backing into the wall a bit more almost imperceptibly, narrowing her eyes as if she had seen something in Scott's impenetrable expression that had escaped Katja ... or perhaps heard it in his mind.

Before Katja could turn on her heel, Jean forced herself to put up a sincere-looking smile and came toward her, letting her know that she at least didn't resent Katja for whatever might be going on between these two right now. "Hey. Looks like you survived class. Did the kiddos behave?"

Happy that Jean hadn't forgotten Katja's uncomfortable comment yesterday, Katja hurried to nod. "You probably won't believe me, but this is the most normal school I've ever been to."

"That's what you think now." Jean's eyes glittered with amusement. She nodded back to her partner without turning around. "Don't let him get to you. He's always unbearable before his third cup of coffee."

With that, she was gone, presumably to return to the piles of files in her lab.

Scott's face was still not moving. This straight stiffness never left his body, but after her research on the network yesterday, Katja thought she could at least understand this distanced attitude a little better. If one had to constantly live with the fear of destroying all surroundings, of hurting other people if you lost your glasses at the wrong moment, you probably started to move with extreme deliberation automatically at some point.

Nevertheless, this impassive coldness was in stark contrast to the warmth that Jean and Ororo, too, were meeting Katja with. Unlike his teammates, the guy didn't seem to know what to make of her yet.

Whatever he wanted from her right now anyway, Katja could think of more pleasant things to do than being grilled by looks she couldn't even return half the day. "I didn't mean to disturb Jean and you ..."

"We were just done." That came out a little too choked and quick to avoid inevitably thinking further about the strange scene, but now Scott at least gave himself a jolt and motioned Katja to follow him to the elevator at the end of the hall. He, of all people, unexpectedly offered Katja a tour of the institution's vast basement, a part of the mansion that Jean had deliberately left out yesterday.

Katja couldn't say no to that. And there was plenty for her curious eyes to see. The hangar with the jet that the X-Men often used for their missions, the infirmary's ultra-modern laboratory ...

But what left the most impression was a simulation room with three-dimensional computer programs, a futuristic holo-technology originating with very special partners of the X-Men, as Scott revealed to Katja in a chatty tone ... An alien species living on planets light-years away.

Extraterrestrial life, and life that Xavier was in constant contact with no less – just one of the many top-secret information from the mutant world not accessible to most people and which left a corresponding impact on a completely innocent mind like Katja's. She was pretty sure, though, that the Professor couldn't have liked how much Scott was telling her here, or he would have done it himself yesterday.

Well, who was she to complain? If, after the initial troubles between the two of them, Scott trusted her that much, she didn't want to disappoint him. She wouldn't have known who to tell any of this to anyway. Who would have believed her? After all, she wasn't even sure she shouldn't think the whole thing a silly joke. Maybe Scott just wanted to make fun of her ...

The fact that not even a minute later she was standing, open-mouthed, in this so-called Danger Room with said holo-projectors, staring at a couple of artificially created elephants and giraffes strolling past her, however, proved otherwise. She probably would have believed it was a dream for the rest of the day if a baby giraffe hadn't curiously escaped its mother's watchful eyes and run up to Scott and her. It was the sensation of warm, soft fur against Katja's hesitantly caressing hand at last that allowed for the realization of what kind of world, shaped by overwhelming, foreign technology, she had been stumbled into in this mansion. The fact that the young animal, apparently in search of food, then had almost licked her face, if Scott hadn't pulled her back with a surprisingly charming, quiet laugh, only rounded off the surreal experience. Before the worried mother animal could approach them next, menacing with its impressive size, Scott preferred to deactivate the program, and Katja was not entirely unhappy about it.

It would take her a while to come to terms with all this, that much was certain. That her new life would hold surprises should have been obvious to her, of course. Mankind still was trying to deal with all these wonders and dangers that the new evolutionary stage had brought completely unexpectedly over a technically and socially in many respects still underdeveloped society. But the certainty that there really was alien life in the universe and that at least from this manor, there were some quite real connections to it, would occupy Katja's mind for a long time to come. In any case, it was certainly never boring in this house ...

For normal training, there was a simple but all the more enormously sized gym, and that's where Scott and she ended up soon. Katja could have guessed that the guy had not played tour guide without ulterior motives. At least Katja was able to face this challenge optimistically – after all, she really believed she was in good physical shape.

All the bruises and minor strains these two following hours in the room left, which was fortunately lined with dark blue mats everywhere, proved her wrong. She was pretty sure, that bastard Scott had enjoyed hurling her onto said mats time and time again. At least she was able to push him back a few times, and even more often, to dodge him with a few well-trained elements from her experiences with floor gymnastics, like somersaults and flips. But to actually hold her own in close combat, she would have to practice a lot.

Katja was surprised to find that she suddenly wasn't all that averse to actually doing that with this man. The ice had melted more and more over the course of the day. When it came to physically, playfully putting someone in their place, Scott suddenly wasn't so pedantic about keeping his distance. And as unconventional as these massive glasses with their thick red lenses looked at first glance, they seemed to do their job. In any case, they stayed perfectly in place, even when Scott occasionally somersaulted over Katja himself to attack her from behind.

Katja's well-trained eye in this regard had not deceived her at their first encounter: As far as athletics went, the guy also had a thing or two going for him. He was lacking the elegance of someone who had spent nights in the gym before they could even walk, of course, and his training was too upper-body-centric for aerial acrobatics. But Katja couldn't deny that she was having more and more fun competing with this weird guy.

Still, she'd had enough for today.

Holding a water bottle of much-needed electrolytes, she let her gaze glide through the hall once more from the long bench on its sidewall. This, at least, an extremely familiar, reassuring sight after all those surprises that day. Far better equipped than that ramshackle school hall that Katja had spent so many evenings in, in the last few years, after things hadn't worked out with the national team. The impeccably maintained gymnastics apparatus at the other end of the room inevitably drew her attention again and again. Why not? Spending at least a few more minutes with something, she didn't feel so completely unskilled and bumbling with, might help her settle in further in this house.

"Mind if I get in the ring with the uneven bars for a while, Scott? I'm afraid I'll get withdrawal symptoms soon."

"Be my guest."

Disgruntled, Katja watched out of the corner of her eye as Scott also made himself comfortable on said bench, making no move to leave her alone. Apparently, his voyeuristic kink from yesterday had returned.

"I could have sworn, by now you've been staring at my ass long enough."

"Don't worry, when it comes to training, I'm interested in entirely different physical aspects of my people."

Scott turned his attention to his own water bottle, completely unaffected by the small dig. By now, Katja could properly judge this amused-ironic tone, even without being able to make out the accompanying good-natured twinkle in the man's eyes that would have revealed sympathy, not the opposite. When you gave it a real try, even the facial expressions of one Scott Summers were easy to read. Without knowing much about him, however, Katja was afraid that there weren't that many people who had come up with that kind of patience so far.

Another reason why Katja didn't want to just throw him out, but she couldn't help a certain retaliation for that secret army physical yesterday. "Oh, of course. I'd hate to keep you from reporting right back to the Professor about my shape."

"That won't be necessary anymore." Scott's definitely still slightly suggestive grin was already slipping from his lips. "Once Charles and I agree on a potential candidate for the team, the final decision is up to me anyway."

"So, what does the trend say?" After all that effort this afternoon, that certainly did interest Katja. Scott wasn't the only one with a sometimes extremely annoying ambitious gene.

"Ask me again in a few years." With this assessment, a quite sobering one, after all, Scott left Katja to one of her routines at her favorite apparatus, which had become second nature to her for years.

She must have lost track of time so much about that at some point that he was no longer there when she finally sauntered towards the exit, on trembling knees, all sweaty. Which she wasn't entirely unhappy about anyway. One day hadn't even been remotely enough to begin to decide what to make of this man, much less what to make of this whole superhero thing.

The aspect of having to fight people possibly to the death above all else was still making her stomach turn. Katja had strength in her body, but no idea how to use it against anyone. Unfortunately, if she really wanted to do something useful with her mutation, it would be necessary soon enough. In a possible fight, she would not only be able to use lightning.

How concretely she was thinking about just such a situation by now was still on Katja's mind long after she had turned off the light in her room.