I forgot this in the first chapter: I don't own any of the characters or X-Men: Evo and am unfortunately not turning a profit on it either. It's fanfic. In case you didn't know.

Chapter 2

"Over here, please, Laura," Ororo said from a corner. "Come learn what this soil you spilled is for."

Laura returned to the burlap sacks they had just hauled up, finding Ororo sitting majestically next to two trough-like pots. Under careful supervision, Laura helped pour the soil into the rectangular pots and dig small holes a few inches apart. After a quick demonstration, seeds were planted, the holes were filled in, and before Laura could sneak off a water bucket was set in her hands and she was gently directed to a large sink on one wall.

"There's still plenty of work to be done, and I'm glad for your assistance. If we both work expediently we will be done before supper," Ororo said pleasantly. Laura shrugged. It meant nothing to her, she hadn't had any plans anyway other than evading the annoyed teenagers downstairs and perhaps destroying the Danger Room later.

She learned how to water various plants, which were edible and which weren't (the troughs they had planted were for carrots, which apparently grew indoors quite well under the right circumstances), and what the futures for certain plants were- once it warmed up a little more, Ororo was going to transplant most of the flowers outdoors, but it wasn't quite warm enough yet. She was currently searching for helpers and was shocked that no one had volunteered for the backbreaking work.

"Silence is pleasant, however I am curious about something," Ororo said eventually from atop a ladder, where she was cleaning the glass ceiling panels. "What are your goals in attending the Institute?"

Laura paused. She had been expecting something about her past life as X23, or about Logan or how she was adjusting. Her prepared replies did not match this question. "My…goals?"

"Yes. For example, most of the residents are here to learn to control their powers. Scott is learning leadership and strategy. Hank is here to continue being an excellent educator, which he can't do out in the world anymore. Is there anything you feel you should be improving about yourself, or a particular personal mission you would like to achieve?"

"I'm just here because I have nowhere else to go," Laura said irritably, spraying nutrients onto vegetables with a bottle.

Ororo descended and moved the ladder out of the way. A quick, sudden downpour cleaned the outside of the glass, and the room got slightly brighter. "Please actually think about the question. I'll give you some time to think about it if you want, you don't have to answer right now. I believe it may help you if you know what you would like out of your residency here."

Laura harrumphed, and wandered back to the big pot in the center of the room that she couldn't identify with a slight feeling of jealousy. The small green buds probably didn't know what they wanted either and they weren't questioned about it. They got sunlight and plant food and left alone anyway.

"You're ugly," she told it quietly. "A bunch of scrawny twigs I could shred in a second if I wanted to."

The plant didn't say anything. She hadn't expected it to. It just sat there in the early spring sunlight. She squirted it with the nutrients, and waited.

"You're welcome," she said crossly after a moment, and returned to the supply corner. The squirt bottle was tossed onto a pile- and immediately removed and thoroughly rinsed at the request of Ororo- and then tossed back onto the same pile. Laura was slightly surprised to discover upon looking up through the glass that the sun was beginning to set. The room had begun growing dim and the daylight plants were closing for the night.

"Thank you for your help," Ororo said, coming to happily survey the room beside the younger girl. "However I'm glad to say that is enough for today. I don't know about you but I'm quite hungry."

"You told me I had to help," Laura muttered, glancing aside at the dirt full of carrot seeds.

"Not at all. You agreed to help me with the soil in exchange for my help with alleviating your punishment. Any work you did after that was your own choice." Ororo smiled, having revealed the design of her plan.

Laura turned and looked up at the white-haired woman she'd unintentionally helped for the best part of a day. "What? It was a test?"

Ororo's smile grew even wider. "No, not a test. It was an opportunity, one I am glad to see you have taken."