Chapter II: Facta Non Dicta+
"You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatsoever about the bird. So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing – that's what counts." – Richard Feynman
Ororo Munroe was, by nature, a very patient woman. She knew that it could take hours, sometimes days, for things to happen in nature. She also knew, as Charles Xavier liked to point out, just how quickly the winds could change. She was, simply stated, a force of nature incarnate. The weather shifted at her will, and often reflected her mood.
The flight back to the mansion had been exceedingly trying, for lack of a better word. Two of the three new recruits didn't take too well to flying, she noted absently. The girl who had attempted to penetrate her mind – she was reasonably certain that she was a telepath – merely sat serenely by a window and stared out at the scenery. She was definitely one of the quieter passengers she could remember seeing on the jet. The girl with light brown hair had been extremely reluctant to come, but with the telepath holding one of her arms, and the shadow controlling, streaked-hair girl holding the other, she really had little choice in the matter. She spent the entire first half of the flight with her eyes squeezed shut, mumbling something under her breath about "not liking flying" very much. And as for the girl with streaked hair – well, she proved to be a veritable test for Storm's patience. After the thirty-eighth, "Are we there yet?" Ororo felt her brow constrict, and felt, rather than heard the ominous rumble of thunder in the distance.
The dark-haired telepath immediately cringed as the thunder continued to rumble throughout the remainder of the flight, the girl with streaked hair didn't seem to notice (or perhaps she just didn't care), and the nervous girl only increased the frequency of her mumblings.
"They sure are a strange bunch, " Logan commented from the navigator's seat, turning his head slightly toward her.
Storm raised an eyebrow. "I'd say that that's an understatement, " she replied, quietly. "I don't think even Magneto would be able to make use of them at this stage."
He shrugged. "He'd find a use for them, I'm sure of it. They're still untrained. They'll do alright once they get enrolled and take a trip to the Danger Room."
Storm suppressed a grimace with difficulty. "If she asks me one more time if we're there yet, I swear I'll – "
"Hey, are we there yet?" the girl with the streaked hair was clearly heard calling, doing her best to hide the laughter in her voice.
Thunder cracked sharply in the skies, and Storm's eyes began to whiten, but the touch of Logan's hand on her arm made the weather goddess take due pause. "What, Logan?"
"Fasten your seatbelts, kids, " Wolverine had called back into the cabin as he followed his own advice. "We're coming in for a landing."
Storm shook her head as she escorted the three girls into the entrance hall of the mansion. Hopefully the next time that the girl with the streaked hair ended up traveling somewhere, she wouldn't be one of the adults doing the driving. "Welcome to the Xavier School for the Gifted, " she said, allowing the new recruits a moment for retrieving their jaws from the floor. "The residential rooms are on the second floor. Follow me, please. We'll get you enrolled after you're settled in."
Fifteen minutes later saw the three girls settled in a three-bed dorm room, and even after just unpacking the essentials of life, it was clearly obvious who had claimed which area. The bed farthest from the doorway was strewn with multiple pairs of black pants, a silver Nintendo GameCube, and several pairs of drum sticks. The bed in the middle currently had multiple hardbound books haphazardly piled on it, along with tons of jeans, t-shirts, and a notebook case bearing the Apple logo on the front. The bed closest to the doorway had some books on it, also, but not quite as many as the middle bed. There was also a black Nintendo GameCube, and a very worn, well-loved stuffed toy of Sonic the Hedgehog.
"When you've finished, " Storm said quietly from the doorway, "Professor Xavier will see you."
As the girls trouped down the hall following Storm, Natalie paused to stare toward a section of the wall that she could have sworn just swung shut, like an elevator. The girl blinked. Walls don't move on a daily basis. Glancing quickly around, she stepped closer to it, and pressed inward. As the wall turned, she found herself in an elevator, and before she had time to react, it swung shut in front of her again, and she began to descend toward the subterranean level of the mansion.
Jessica's brows drew together in concentration as she walked closer to one of the many magnificent paintings lining the walls of the hallways in Xavier's mansion, and gazed at it for a long moment. The artist had truly done an excellent job creating the image of the Siberian husky. He was absolutely beautiful. "Hey, Nat, " she said softly, turning around, "don't you think that this painting's -- "
There was no one behind her.
The girl gulped, and glancing ahead of her again, suddenly noticed that Kim and Storm had already navigated to a different hallway. Jess gazed slowly around her, hazel eyes roving from one door to the next. She was completely and utterly lost.
"I don't think we've been properly introduced, " Kimberly said after a lengthy silence of walking down hallways, dark gaze riveted on Ororo's snowy hair. "I'm Kimberly."
"Ororo Munroe, " came the response, "also known as Storm."
"Storm?" the dark-haired telepath repeated, confusedly.
"It's my code name, " she explained, "referring to the powers that have manifested due to my mutation. I can control the weather."
Kim's eyes widened slightly. "It was you that created the rumbling thunder during the flight, " she said, suddenly, with a flash of insight.
Storm nodded a little, acknowledging responsibility for the beginnings of what could have become a spectacular storm. "I did." She paused as they returned to the entrance hall, and turned toward the girl. "I'm sorry to have to leave you, but I need to go get ready for my next class. If you continue walking across this adjacent hallway, you should be able to find the professor's study." She blinked suddenly, and inhaled sharply. "What happened to the other two girls who were right behind you?"
Kim turned to peer behind her, and goggled. Jess and Nat were gone. "I … don't know, " she murmured, confused. Just when had they snuck off, anyway?
"Well, I don't have time to chase them all over the mansion, " Ororo rejoined, impatiently. "The professor will be able to find them once you locate him. Have a good afternoon, Kimberly. I'll see you in class tomorrow, I expect."
As Storm hurried off toward her classroom, Kimberly stood uncertainly in the middle of the entrance hall, gaze straying briefly toward the heavy, front doors. They were lovely doors, really, and seemed to be the tip of the iceberg to the opulence that was clearly prevalent throughout the mansion. Dubiously, she began walking toward the hallway indicated by the white-haired weather goddess, stopping suddenly as she heard footsteps pursue her. Whipping her head around, she saw that no one was there, and edged glances to the left and right. She was certain that there was someone else standing there next to her. Maybe the mansion's haunted, she thought to herself, continuing down the hallway with some trepidation.
As she drew near a stretch of what appeared to be well-paneled wall, a strong feeling of anticipation suddenly overtook her. Her pulse quickened. Something good was about to happen, her mind seemed to say, drawing her thoughts steadily to the wall. Perhaps if she just pressed on it, utilized the passage that it afforded …
The wall swung open as she leaned on it, and she found herself spun into another room as the door shut behind her. It blended in seamlessly with the pale, golden wall of the richly furnished study that she suddenly found herself in.
"Good afternoon."
Somewhat startled at the greeting, she turned, only to find a pair of pale eyes intently meeting her own, darker gaze. Instantly, the anticipation died away, replaced by a sense of calm tranquility. The gardens were quite lovely during the spring. She should stay to watch them blossom. Walking down the paths when the trees were in full bloom would be such a luxury to have.
A gentle nudge on her shoulder drew her from her reverie, and the girl blinked several times, gaze shifting slightly toward the polished desk, and then back to the awaiting figure behind it.
"You're a telepath, " Kimberly said, suddenly.
He smiled. "Yes, " he acknowledged with a small dip of his head, wheeling out from behind his desk. "And so are you."
She didn't look terribly surprised by that proclamation.
"I am Professor Charles Xavier, " he said by way of introduction, "and welcome to my school."
"For the gifted, " Kim added, briefly thinking of Storm's first words as she showed them into the mansion.
Xavier watched her expressions for a long moment, smiling inwardly as they suddenly flickered from confused, to tranquil, to anticipatory, and then settled into obvious confusion once more.
She lifted her hands to her head, pressing briefly at her temples. "What -- " she began, but was interrupted by Xavier's quiet, "You're an empathic telepath, as I suspected."
"Those thoughts about the gardens were yours, " she murmured, slowly. The pieces began to fall into place. "You led me here after Storm left to get ready for her next class."
He opened his mouth to reply, but glanced toward the doorway, instead, as a blue form appeared in mid-air with a loud BAMF!
Kimberly turned toward the sound, startled, and coughed, fanning the thick, sulfuric smoke away from her with one hand, staring at the golden-eyed creature standing before her.
"There's someone in the Danger Room, Kurt, " the professor said without preamble. "I need you to go in and get her. She's still untrained, and she doesn't need injuries on her first day here."
As Kurt nodded once and vanished in another swirl of dark smoke, Kim's eyes widened, and her expression grew fearful. "Nat, " she whispered.
The floors located beneath the well-furnished mansion bore no resemblance to the opulence displayed above them. Natalie marveled at the shiny walls as she stepped out into the hallway, gaze shifting from one shiny, metallic door to the next. They didn't resemble any doors that she had ever seen – save for the ones in science fiction movies. They looked more like cargo bay hatches on space ships. Curiously, she began to walk down the polished hallway, casting glances to the left and right, uneasily. It was too quiet, down here. She paused as she passed an area bearing several neat, leather suits, and stared at them for a long moment. They looked like combat suits, and appeared as though they would certainly be skin-tight on their wearers.
She turned to continue toward the immense hatch directly ahead of her, but her attention was caught by a door off to the side, complete with a little number pad attached to the wall. As she approached the door, it automatically opened, and the keypad lit up, with each of the numbers backlit with a bright, green light. Eyebrows knitting in a puzzled manner, Nat pressed the first button, and stepped inside, peering into the empty room with some disappointment. Oh, darn, there's nothing here.
The doors shut behind her with a soft click.
Nat spun around and hastily took a step toward them, but couldn't help noticing as she did so that the room was – changing. She blinked, confused. Suddenly, she was standing in the middle of a large, open field. The sun was just about to set, and clouds were darkening the horizon. Loud clunking sounds announced the arrival of an immense robot, which took its time scanning the room.
"Danger Room sequence one, activated," a mechanical voice said.
The robot finally caught sight of Natalie, and its red eyes glowed as it repeated, "Mutant detected. Mutant detected. Standby for attack."
The girl groaned, inwardly. Crap.
As the colossal robot stomped closer and raised its weapon, there was suddenly a loud BAMF!
"Hurry, grab onto me!" a voice yelled in a thick, German accent. "We've got to get out of here!"
"That sounds really wrong, " she shouted back, struggling to see through the thick smoke that was briefly obscuring her vision, "but okay, if it gets me out of here alive!"
She caught a glimpse of amused, yellow eyes and felt strong arms wrapping themselves around her before sulfurous odors assaulted her nostrils, and a horrible pressure surrounded her body on all sides.
"I got her, Professor, " the creature carrying her announced.
Natalie groaned, feeling as though every inch of her body had just been squeezed through a tiny tube, and pulled back out again. She barely registered Kim's gasp of relief or a well-modulated voice saying, "Ah, good, " before everything went black.