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"DIE!" Rahne shouted as she throttled Lance with both hands.
"Why…are you…choking me?" Lance wheezed as he feebly tried to defend himself against the enraged Scotsgirl.
"The Coyote's from your mind! If I kill you, the Coyote goes with you!" Rahne seethed as she kept choking him. The Misfits hung back, clearly not wanting to get in her path.
Rahne had been rescued from her humiliation in the mess hall by a quick thinking Scarlet. She tossed a table cloth over the young girl and quickly escorted Rahne to her office to give her some spare clothes. Rahne, furious and mortified, stormed back to the Manor intent on killing the Coyote, who had disappeared when Freakazoid did. Undeterred, Rahne turned her attention to Lance.
"Rahne, maybe you might want to take it easy…" Angelica suggested, but quickly stopped when Rahne turned an angry eye on her.
"Take it easy? Take it easy?! I'm angry, I'm embarrassed, and I have mustard in very personal places!" Rahne shouted. "I'm not going to take it easy! I'm allowed not to take it easy! An entire room saw me naked!"
"Well, actually from what the security cam showed the ketchup and noodles really obscured anything, though the potato salad was pretty suggestive…" Pietro snickered. Rahne's face went red.
"You die too!" She snarled as she took one of her hands off Lance's throat and around Pietro's as she started to choke them both simultaneously.
"Arggh!" Pietro gasped.
"Ahh!" Lance agreed.
"Kids, destroy the security tapes." Cover Girl groaned. "All of them!"
"You're the boss." Brittany shrugged, "It's not like it's of Jean or anything."
"Rahne, I think the message has been received let them go." Althea sighed. When Rahne made no move to let go Althea nodded to Wanda and the two had to physically pull Rahne off them, giving the boys a chance to flee to the basement.
"I think Rahne needs a break." Wanda grunted as she held on to her.
"I think we all could, after recent events." Althea agreed. "Rahne, why don't you take a shower and we'll call Xavier's, see if we can arrange something fun with the X-Men?"
"Ach, fine. I'll kill the spalpeens later." Rahne grumbled as she went upstairs to shower.
"And they say I have a temper." Wanda noted as Althea called the Institute.
"Hello? Hey what's up? Say again? You guys have new students? Well that's—WHO'S THERE?!"
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A Short While Ago:
"Well that was certainly exciting." Scott groaned as the X-Men stumbled off the X-Jet and back into the Mansion.
"I have never been so embarrassed." Lina moaned as she clung to the drape wrapped around her like a toga. "Maybe I should've stayed back at the Pit!"
"Hey come on now," Amira said as she squeezed Lina's shoulder. "Look at the bright side."
"What bright side?" Lina asked incredulously.
"At least now you have something to give Fred for his birthday." Amira grinned as she held up a photo of Lina in the Princess Leia outfit. Lina's whole face turned red.
"Give me that!"
"Nope," Amira said mischievously as she ran up to her room.
"Get back here!" Lina yelled as she chased after her, dropping her make-shift toga as she ran.
"At least today can't get anymore strange." Remy groaned. The doorbell rang.
"You never learn, do you?" Rogue asked him. Bobby went to the door.
"Hello? Aaah! A ninja!" Everyone rushed to the door to defend Bobby against the ninja but stopped short at the doorway.
"Bobby, you're an idiot." Kitty groaned. Standing in the doorway was a girl in a black burkha that covered everything but her eyes.
"Hello." She said softly. "My name is Sooraya. Is this the Xavier Institute?"
"Ah, welcome Sooraya. You were expected." Professor Xavier greeted her as he and Storm made it to the door. "Students, I was hoping to tell you before, um, recent events intervened but we have two new students joining us. This is Sooraya Qadir."
"Hold on a second." Jean said. "Amira! Get down here, there's someone here we want you to meet!" She called telepathically.
"I thought I told you not to do that!" Amira shouted as she made her way down the stairs. "I hate having you in my mind!" Lina was right behind her, still intent on grabbing that incriminating photo back. Amira stopped short when she saw who their visitor was. "Hi." She said after a brief pause.
Lina stopped short as well as Sooraya looked at her. Lina felt her face heat as Sooraya glanced over what little she was wearing.
"Heh, heh hi." Lina flushed as she discreetly made her way behind Amira.
Xavier cleared his throat.
"Sooraya, this is Amira al-Batani. She's also a newcomer and with your mutual consent, your new roommate." Xavier gave Amira a tiny glance to see if she minded. Amira shook her head. She was tired of being alone. If Sooraya had a problem when she found out that she was bisexual…well, then that would be that. "Since the two of you are co-religionists I thought it might make the adjustment easier for the both of you."
"Salaam aleikum," Sooraya said shyly. "I am pleased to meet you."
"Assalemu alaiku,." Amira returned. "Likewise. Come on, I'll show you to our room and point what direction Mecca is from here."
"Thank you." Sooraya said as she took her bag and headed upstairs. Lina hurried back to her room to change.
"What's she doing here?" Kurt asked. "I thought she was a student at Sky High!"
"There were certain…difficulties." Xavier said. "The climate at Sky High is not too friendly towards mutants right now."
"But there are tons of students with super-powers at Sky High." Kitty protested. "Why would they care if it came from an X-Gene or from a radioactive bug or whatever?"
"For one thing, the fact that mutants in service of the Hellfire Club attacked the school—assisted by certain mutant students—has damaged relations between the mutant and non-mutant populations." Xavier explained.
"But Sooraya fought against them!" Peter said. "She was one of the few who held her own in that fight."
"Which, let me guess, made them dislike her even more right?" Rogue asked. Storm nodded sadly.
"Unfortunately many students resented her actions, feeling that her successes made them look poorer by comparison. Additionally her religious and cultural beliefs made her something of an outcast and made it hard for her to adjust to Sky High."
"Let me guess: she wouldn't take the classes that teach how to instantly change your clothes by walking into a telephone booth or wear her underwear on the outside?" Scott asked shrewdly. Storm nodded.
"Okay, I get all that but why bring her here?" Remy asked. "What are we, a dumping ground for mutants no one else wants?" Rogue smacked him.
"If we were that would certainly explain why you're here swamp rat!"
"At any rate it's because Sooraya requested it." Xavier said. "She feels that going someplace where she alredy knows one of the teachers would make her adjustment easier."
"Who does she know?" Bobby asked.
"Care to explain Logan?" Jean grinned, she and Scott having already been briefed.
"Not one word Red." Logan grumbled.
"What's his problem?" Remy asked. Jean shrugged and gave a grin.
"Oh don't mind him he's just annoyed that she had a little crush on him when he rescued her."
"WHAT?!" The students exclaimed in disbelief as they looked at Logan.
"Thanks a lot!" He growled at Jean. Jean just smiled back.
"Why don't you tell them about how you rescued her from those mutant slavers at the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan?"
"Mutant slavers?" Kitty asked. "Like, there are people who capture and trade mutants as slaves?"
"They used to do it to Africans." Storm reminded her. "It's not that surprising."
"But Logan saved her and brought her to Mumbai." Jean continued.
"I knew someone who would find a place for her. He was a recruiter for Sky High." Logan shrugged. "That's all."
"Well she seems like a nice girl." Rogue shrugged.
"Good, we could use more of them." Bobby muttered. "Do you think she'll ditch the burkha?"
"I've said it before and I'll say it again: Bobby, you're an idiot." Kitty groaned.
"Professor I thought you said that we had two students joining us." Kurt asked. "Where's the other?"
"He ought to be here any time now…" The Professor said as a taxi pulled up. "There he is."
Everyone waited and watched as their newest arrival made his way to the door of the Institute. He was about seventeen or so, with brown hair and green eyes. His skin had a Mediterranean look, a sort of golden-tan sun bake. He looked around at his welcoming committee.
"Hello everyone. My name is Gilaad Rotherot." He said warmly. "Shalom."
"You're, like, Jewish?" Kitty asked excitedly, not noticing Peter's annoyance.
"Israeli, actually." Gilaad said. Rogue winced.
"Amira's not gonna like this…" She moaned quietly.
"Hello Professor Xavier, it's a pleasure to meet you." Gilaad said. "Mom's told me a lot about you."
"Your mother?" Xavier asked uncertainly. "Who is your mother?"
"Gabrielle Haller. You're former wife." Gilaad gave a weak smile. "I guess you're kind of like my step-father."
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A/N: Gilaad Rotherot (and Amira al-Batani) is © to me.