"Where are we going?" she asks again.
"You have to meet Raven! She´ll be overjoyed."
"Raven? Who is Raven?"
"She is my friend. Like a sister."
They are still running down the streets. While she is getting out of breath he seems to be perfectly fine which makes her wonder for how much longer they´ll have to run like that. Just when she is about to stop to catch her breath they turn a corner and come to a halt in front of a huge gate. It shines bright and silver in the dim light of a street lamp nearby. A huge iron-forged X flaunts in the middle and the bars end high above them in golden spikes. As soon as they approach the gate swings open and the two of them walk up a path which is surrounded by neatly trimmed grass and flower beds in every colour. An old willow stands aside a great mansion at the end of the driveway. They walk up to the porch to find a blonde girl sticking her head out of the front door.
"Raven! This is Victoria."
"Oh, it´s all right. I was just about to go to bed anyway." Raven answers with a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"No, no. It´s not like that! She is one of us!"
Raven looks at Victoria in confusion, Victoria guesses Raven just assumed her to be one of Charles's one-night-stands.
"You are what?" she asks her.
"Well, hello I am Victoria, nice to meet you. And yes, he´s right. I´m a mutant."
Raven says nothing while Charles starts to nervously rock back and forth on his heels.
"Let´s all go inside!" he proclaims with a great gesture towards the door.
Raven steps aside to let them in and Victoria follows Charles inside. They pass the staircase in the hallway to find the library behind an oak door to their left. While Charles goes to make some tea the two women sit down opposite each other. Raven just openly stares at Victoria making her very uncomfortable.
"Ehm, how…how long do you live here?" she nervously asks the blonde.
"Since I was a child. Charles found me stealing food in the kitchen."
"Ah."
They sit in silence a little while longer and Raven proceeds to stare at her and it makes Victoria wonder when Charles will be back. But this time Raven starts talking and it nearly startled her.
"So what can you do?"
"Excuse me?"
"What can you do? What is your mutation? What makes you special?" she accentuated that last word in particular.
"Well, I can, I mean…"
"She can control the temperature of her skin and I guess she can also make you feel whatever she wants you to, just by her touch." Charles has returned with a tray in his hands.
"I never did that!" Victoria contradicts.
"No. But the fact that you can shield your mind from telepaths makes me think there is more to you than just hot and cold."
"You can´t read her mind?" Raven is very surprised "And how does that temperature thing work?"
Victoria smiles and walks over to her. "Give me your hand."
Raven hesitates and looks to Charles, he gives her a reassuring nod so she stretches out her hand to Victoria. She takes it and makes her feel first hot, then cold without making it hurt, like she did when the guys touched her. Raven shivers and takes her hand back looking in awe at Victoria.
"That is so cool!"
"I know that Charles is a telepath, but was is your power?"
Charles looks up from the cup he was just pouring tea into. He forgets to stop pouring because of his anticipation for what will happen, so he spills the tea on the tray and on his trousers. While Victoria is honestly confused Raven laughs.
"I´m sorry for the mess. It´s just…. It´s just that I know that Raven doesn´t like to show off her powers."
Victoria, now very intrigued, looks back at Raven.
"He is right, I don´t like to show myself … to strangers. But you are one of our kind, I´ll show you if you like."
And with this words Raven turns blue, her eyes go from blue to bright yellow and her hair changes the colour to red. She smiles brightly, then she changes her appearance again and a second Charles stands in front of Victoria. She turns around to the real one which is sitting on the sofa, trying to wipe off the tea stain on his leg. When she looks back at Raven she looks into a mirror. Or she thinks she is because Raven changed again to look like her.
"Wow! That is amazing! Can you take on every look you like?"
"Yes!" She answers proudly while turning back into her blonde and blue-eyed human form.
Charles gives up wiping and looks very pleased when he sees the two women getting along. They all sit down to have a cup of tea and talk. Victoria tells them the story of her childhood and the two of them tell her everything about finding each other and growing up together. Victoria envies them for having each other for all this time. She was alone most of her life. After some time they decide it´s getting late and they should go to bed. When Victoria nods and gets up to bid them goodbye Raven grabs her arm.
"Where do you think you are going?"
"Home?"
"We won´t let you go home at night, all alone. We have so many spare bedrooms, I´ll show you one and you can stay here."
"That is a good idea, Raven." Charles agrees.
So Victoria has no other choice than to follow Raven upstairs and make herself at home in the bedroom she shows her. Before leaving Raven hugs her.
"I´m really happy you are here."
"Thanks for having me." Victoria answers unsurely.
"No. I mean it. It was about time we meet another one. You are like a missing part of our family."
"Wow, Raven. I don´t know what to say. Just this: It feels good not to be alone for once."
"See you in the morning!"
"Good night."
Raven leaves and closes the door silently behind her. Victoria is very moved by what she just said and wipes away a little tear before putting on the pyjama Raven left for her on the bed. When she finally lies down she is far too excited to close her eyes. Then she feels something she felt earlier in the bar for the first time. Like someone grabbed her head with both hands and is holding it now. She knows it is Charles and lets him in. Immediately after she lets her guard down she hears him speaking inside her head.
Thanks for letting me in.
I have nothing to hide. She answers in her mind but immediately regretting it because the pictures of his bottom in the bar are popping into her mind as soon as she thinks it. He either doesn´t see them or is gentleman enough to ignore it because he makes no mention about her thoughts.
Do you trust me?
I let you in, didn´t I?
Will you try something tomorrow?
What?
Try to make me cry.
Excuse me?
Or make me laugh for no reason. I don´t care. But try to make me feel something.
Why do you think I can do that?
Because, as I already said earlier, I think there is more to you than hot and cold.
Good night, Charles.
Victoria seals her mind again and soon the feeling of someone holding her head is gone, too.
After that conversation Victoria is even more excited. Can she really make people feel what she wants them to feel? How will she do this? And wouldn´t she make a fool out of herself if it didn´t work? When she starts wondering if Charles saw her thoughts about his backside she decides to stop thinking. After a while she succeeds and falls asleep.