A/N: Hey, everyone. So... here's Chapter Two, comin' at ya!
Chapter 2
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
On the eighth beep, Bane's eyes snapped open, and she gasped for air. Whatever she was laying on was very, very cold. She rolled onto her side, coughing fiercely. There was the fast clicking of heels on tile behind her. "It's okay, it's okay," a soothing voice said, placing a hand against her back. Bane opened her eyes, and turned back slightly to see a dark-skinned woman standing there with chalk white hair.
Her first and immediate reaction was a violent one. Bane rolled off of the thick, metal table, clutching the thin, white sheet that had been laid over her to her chest. "Stay away from me!" she shouted, throwing out her arm. A enormous gust of wind seemingly came out of nowhere.
The woman was pushed back only slightly. Her eyes became a milky, filmy white, and she countered Bane's attack with one exactly like it.
"That's enough!" she said firmly. Bane stared at the woman for a moment, and then slowly lowered her arm.
"That's better," the other woman said. Bane took another step back, and glanced down at herself. She saw she was only in her bra and underwear. Her hand flew to her throat.
"Trisha…" she whispered. Bane looked up again. "My clothes," she said hoarsely to the woman. She smiled warmly.
"Here," she said, striding to a white cabinet and opening it. As she did so, Bane took in her surroundings. Along with the table that had been serving as her bed, there were two more like it. Everything along the walls was white; the cabinets, the counters, everything. On the counters and stacked together on tables and wheeled trolleys were black machines that did everything from measuring heart rate to administering morphine.
Bane saw blue and black wires attached to her arms, and proceeded to pull them off. The strange woman didn't say anything when she saw what she was doing. She just set her clothes on the silver table; the necklace was on top.
"Come out into the hall when you're done," she said.
Bane slowly got dressed, and cautiously walked toward the door the white-haired woman had gone through. She saw no way to open it, but, after she stood there for a few seconds, they slid open on their own. The woman greeted her.
"There are several people who are very eager to meet you," she said, leading Bane down a brightly-lit white and circular-shaped hallway.
"My bag," Bane said to her, following behind. "Do you know where my bag is?"
The woman stopped in front of a panel of buttons on the wall. "Your things are already in a room," she said, pressing a button. It lit up, and then, with a tiny metallic ding, a door slid open before them to reveal a wooden-paneled elevator. They stepped inside, and it began to move upward.
"Room?" she asked softly. "Where am I?"
The woman looked at her. Smiling, she said, "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters," she said.
There was another ding, and the doors slid open again to reveal a beautiful foyer. The two women stepped out of the elevator and started walking forward. Handsome rugs were spread across much of the wooden floor, and comfortable looking furniture rested atop of them. Tall potted ferns sat everywhere, and Bane could see three wide staircases leading to upper levels.
"I'm in a school? How-"
"One question at a time!" the woman laughed. "It's a school for mutants," she explained. "A friend of mine and I found you collapsed in Seattle. We brought you here, to this school in Westchester."
Bane looked at her as she caught her arm, stopping her. A group of laughing teenagers passed in front of them, barely glancing in their direction. "Westchester?" she asked.
"New York," the other woman said casually.
Bane stopped short behind her as she went to a wooden door and started to open it. "New York?!" she asked, heart leaping into her throat.
The other woman turned her head to face her. "Yes. Now, in here." Bane hesitantly stepped to her side, and she pushed the door inward. "Professor," she said to someone in the room.
Peering around her, Bane saw an older, bald man sitting behind a large, dark wooden desk. He nodded slightly, and the white-haired woman gently pushed her into the room. She stepped to the side, and the woman stood next to her after she closed the door.
"For tomorrow," the man said, directing his class' attention back to him, "finish the equations we were just covering. You may be dismissed early today."
The buzzing drone of talk rose immediately as chairs were pushed back. Most of the class grinned at Bane as they passed towards the door. Some even flashed her a thumbs up. She reached over her shoulder to pull up her hood, writhing under the attention she was receiving, but the white-haired woman caught her arm and pulled it back down to her side.
Once the last student had left and the door had closed, the old man, the 'professor', came out from behind his desk. Bane gasped quietly, surprised to see he was in a wheelchair. He seemed like such a powerful figure.
"Hello," he said, inclining his head slightly at her. "I'm Professor Xavier, and this is my school for mutants." He turned his head towards the white-haired woman. "I see you've already met Ororo Munroe, or rather, Storm," he said. Storm turned and smiled at her, and the door opened again. Bane looked at the three figures that entered.
The first was a tall man who looked like he could be the all-American high school football player, minus the large black and red plastic eye gear.
"This is Scott Summers, also called Cyclops," Professor Xavier said. Cyclops nodded at you in recognition.
The second figure was a tall, redheaded woman. "This is Dr. Jean Grey," the professor said.
"Hello," she said, shaking Bane's hand.
"And this is Logan, also known as Wolverine." Bane stared at the man who had stopped in the doorway.
"You!" she gasped. It was the tall man with the spiked hair from Alberta.
"You're that mutant girl from up north, right?" he growled. "The one that got thrown outta that diner?" Bane fell silent, staring at the tips of her shoes. Storm cleared her throat next to you.
"What is your name, child?" she asked.
"Bane," she answered automatically, without looking up.
"Bane?" the other woman, Jean Grey, said. "Is that your real name?"
Bane looked up at her face. "My name is Bane."
The professor wheeled toward her. "Bane," he said deliberately. "Do you remember anything that happened in Seattle?"
She nodded slightly.
"Would you care to tell us?"
She shook her head.
Xavier wheeled closer to her. "Do you mind if I take a look?" Bane's eyes widened, and she looked down at him.
"You see, Bane, my gift is telepathy. If you permit me, I can delve into your memories and see what has happened to you, and you won't have to say anything aloud." Bane weighed the idea. "It's clear you've been through a terrible ordeal, Bane. However, we can't help you if we don't know what there is to mend."
Thinking a while longer, Bane silently relented, and sat down on a stool at one of the tables. Professor Xavier wheeled up close to her, and Logan, Storm, Scott, and Jean stood at his back. His face came very near hers, and he closed his eyes. Bane did as well, leaning forward slightly.
Everything he was seeing she saw as well. Trisha's grave. The daisies. The man with the pointing finger. The men in the alleyway. The blue woman. The tongue. The sand.
But then, he started going back further. She saw Alberta, with Rogue and the two men in the bar, and Wolverine, and then her parents, and then Christopher, and then her sister. All these images flashed by in no time at all.
Stop. That area of her memory hadn't been discussed.
Stop. He was prying; that was none of his business.
"STOP!" Bane suddenly shouted, opening her eyes. She watched in horror as the professor's wheelchair shot backwards to the wall, the professor falling forward onto the ground halfway there. Scott and Jean rushed to help him up. Bane stood.
"I'm… I'm sorry," she whispered.
"It's okay, Bane, it was an accident," Storm said, trying to soothe her, reaching for her arm. Bane jerked it away. "I'm sorry!" she burst, running for the door and throwing it open with such force it banged against the wall.
"Bane!" Storm called after her. She didn't listen. She was hurting people again, people who were trying to help her. She needed to leave.
She heedlessly veered left, sprinting, frantically searching for any exit, and collided with a blonde boy in a red shirt, nearly knocking you and him both to the ground.
"I-I'm sorry," Bane stammered as she watched him pick up the books she had made him drop. He straightened, and faced you.
"Hey," he said, familiarity dawning on his face. "You're that girl from geometry," he said wonderingly.
"BANE!" she heard Storm call from behind her.
"I'm sorry!" she said to him once more before pushing past him and continuing her frenzied run. He turned after her.
"Hey, wait! Come back!"
Bane found an empty horse stall, and opened it. The straw laid down on the bottom of the stall was clean and unused. She slid open the catch, and pulled the half-door shut behind her, reaching her arm over the top to latch the lock again. She sat in the far corner, knees drawn to her chest, arms wrapped around them, chin resting on top, tears in her eyes.
After Bane had found doors that led outside, she had seen the horse barn, and, realizing she was behind the school, chose it as her hiding place until she could regain her senses and methodically find an exit to leave the grounds altogether.
She heard the far door slide open and closed. She thought it was just a student come to visit one of the animals. No one would think to look for her here. She made no move.
"There you are," a voice above the stall door said. Bane started. She didn't need to look up to see who it was.
The boy slid open the lock and closed the door behind him, locking it in place again. "They're looking for you inside the school, you know," he said. She said nothing.
"Why were you running from them?"
Bane slowly held up a gloved hand in front of her face. "I could kill you right now, if I wanted to," she said. The boy said nothing.
"I don't want to, but sometimes I can't control what happens. Everything seems connected with my thoughts." She looked up at the blonde boy. "Why would you want to be near someone who could do that?" she asked.
The boy slowly reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a small, blue plastic lighter. "My gift is that I can manipulate fire," he said, creating a spark with the lighter and then holding a tennis ball-sized flame in his hand after the flame in the lighter had gone out.
"Fire is an element that has no self-control. I guess that's why I'm drawn to you," he said, curling his hand into a fist and squelching the flame. He crossed the straw-covered floor and sat leaning against the wall next to Bane, cross-legged.
"My curse is immense," she said. "It has no limits I can find. If I can picture it in my head, I can do it. It's so simple, and yet so complex."
The boy turned his head to her. "Why do you call it a curse?" he asked. The tears threatened to spill over.
"I hurt people I love. I can't do anything with it except hurt people. Something like that is not a gift, such as what you possess."
The boy laughed slightly. "What can I do with fire other than burn things?" Bane didn't answer. "Exactly. So I guess we're pretty alike, huh?"
Despite herself, Bane smiled, and laughed a little.
"There, see? You're not completely alone," he said. He crossed his body with his right arm, and held his hand out to her. "I'm John."
Shyly, she shook his hand. "Bane."
With some encouragement from John, Bane finally agreed to go back into the school and meet again in the professor's study. After John closed the door and left, she started to apologize, but the professor held up a hand, stopping her.
"The blame falls entirely on me, Bane. I had no right to dig deeper into your memories without first consulting you." She nodded. "Good," the professor said with a slight smile. He turned his chair, and started wheeling himself toward his desk.
"The people who attacked you were two mutants named Mystique and Toad. They work for another, very powerful mutant named Magneto."
Bane arched an eyebrow. "Magneto?" The professor nodded.
"Yes. Now, Bane, do you know what it is you have the power to do? That is, do you understand it?" She shook your head.
"I didn't think so," the professor said. "Your mind is the source of your power. I believe you told John, 'if I can picture it, I can do it'?" She nodded.
"Well, that's exactly it," the professor said. "Like myself, and Jean, your mind is incredibly powerful. I believe your gift is a form of telepathy that can focus on the external as well as the internal."
He started again after a moment's pause. "The power your mind possesses far surpasses my own," the professor said.
Several heads turned to face Xavier. "Professor," Scott, or Cyclops, started to say. Xavier held up a hand.
"However, you are still very raw around the edges. I also believe you told John that you couldn't control your talent?" Bane looked him squarely in the eye.
"It is no talent," she said firmly.
"Not yet," the professor replied. "My mind is trained, while yours is not. That is why you cannot control what you can do, and sometimes your emotions speak for you." The professor leaned forward. "Bane, if you would permit me, I should like to enroll you in this school. It is the only one of its kind, and here you can learn alongside those like you in a normal learning environment, while also learning to control and contain your ability. What do you say?"
Bane looked at her hands. She knew she should say no. Did these people not understand that she hurt anyone near her? But… Xavier had said he could help control that so it wouldn't happen anymore.
She looked at the faces around her, Storm's, Wolverine's, Jean's, Scott's. Storm and Jean smiled encouragingly. Scott gave a slight, definitive nod. Logan's face was blank. Strangely, she found herself agreeing, under one condition.
"Do you promise?" she asked softly. She looked at the professor. "That you'll help me control it?"
The professor nodded once. "I promise, Bane."
She nodded in return. "Alright, then."
"This is your room," Storm said, opening one of many oaken doors. "You don't mind sharing, do you? The mansion is quite large, but we do have a lot of kids here," she asked. Bane shook her head, surveying the room. It had two other beds in it besides the on her black backpack was on.
"No. I used to share a room with-" Bane stopped yourself.
"With your sister?" Storm finished, following you into the room and sitting on her bed.
Bane stared at her. Storm smiled. "The professor told us."
"Oh."
Storm patted the bed, and Bane sat next to her. "It was not your fault, Bane," she began soothingly.
"Yes, it was." Bane paused, and then suddenly found herself spilling the entire story. She couldn't help it. "We were on vacation, and she was swimming in the lake. I was sitting on this tree that had fallen into the water, and watching all fish in the shallows, and I was wondering what it would be like to talk to fish. I was only twelve; twelve year-olds think stupid things like that. Then I found this stick and started swirling the water with it, like the lake was a huge cauldron, and I was a witch who could make magic potions. It was a game I used to play with Trisha; she would always be the captive princess and I was the evil witch. I guess I was mad I never got to be the princess. All of a sudden, though, there were these huge waves coming from every direction. They all landed on top of her, and when the water settled, she didn't come back up. Dad went nuts; he dived in after her, with all his clothes on and everything. Mom started screaming and crying."
Bane paused, swallowing. Her face was completely calm and smooth. "They eventually had to drag the lake to find her. The nets brought up her body three days later. It was horrible; she was all bloated and swollen. It didn't look anything like her. I never got over it. That's why we moved the Canada; my parents thought I was depressed." She reached into her shirt, found the chain with Trisha's ring on it, and pulled it out. "This was hers."
Bane looked at Storm. "If there was any way I could bring her back, I'd be the witch forever," she said. "I already am."
Storm touched her shoulder. "Bane-" She stopped, and Bane heard two girls' voices out in the hall. They stopped in the doorway.
The first was a tall girl with long, black hair in a white shirt, yellow jacket, and blue jeans. Bane recognized the girl following her, despite the fact she no longer had a green hood over her face.
"I was wondering who this other bed was going to," the first girl said, crossing to the far side of the room and the bed closest to the other wall. She dropped her books on the bed, and then walked back to the door. "See you later," she said to Rogue. The girl turned to look at Bane. "I'm Jubilee, nice to meet you." She left before Bane could say anything.
Rogue stood motionless, staring at Bane. Bane slowly stood. "Uh… hi," she said to Rogue. "Long time no see." Storm looked back and forth between the two girls.
"You two know each other?" she asked. Apparently, the professor hadn't had a chance to tell all before Bane had returned to his study. Rogue nodded.
"How did you get here?" the two girls asked each other at the same time. Rogue laughed a bit. "Um, I hitched a ride with a guy named Logan. He's here too," Rogue answered.
"Yeah, I saw him," Bane said.
"Then Storm and Scott brought us here after some guy named Sabertooth attacked us."
Bane nodded. "I was in Seattle, and Storm and…" She looked to Storm for the other person's name.
"Dr. Grey," she supplied.
"Storm and Dr. Grey brought me here," she finished.
Rogue nodded, and glanced at Bane's bed, then the middle one, which Bane supposed was hers. "Then I guess we're roommates. Cool," she said with a smile.
"Yeah, cool," Bane echoed, slightly wary of such a commitment. Storm stood up.
"Well, I'll leave you two to it, then," she said, starting for the door. She stopped beside Bane. "If you need anything, my room is just upstairs, with Scott's and Jean's, and Logan's, and the professor's." Bane nodded, and Storm left. Rogue looked at Bane.
"Well, I guess you want to unpack, but… would you like to eat lunch with me and a few friends of mine?" Bane took a step back.
"Um, well…" she started, a bit unsure of what to say.
"Don't feel like you have to," Rogue said quickly.
"No, I want to," Bane suddenly decided. If she was going to try to stay here, and go to school, it would be better to have friends, other mutants, who might understand her. Rogue's disposition at the diner told Bane that she was running from something terrible as well. Perhaps she would be one of the best people to be around.
"This isn't at all what I expected," Xavier said.
"What do you mean?" Scott asked, leaning against the professor's desk, arms crossed.
"Well, I thought perhaps Magneto wanted Logan for whatever it is he's planning to do, and that's why Sabertooth attacked him and Rogue. However, with Mystique and Toad showing up in Seattle and trying to kidnap Bane, I think maybe that isn't the case."
Jean crossed the room, and stood next to Scott. "She had multiple hairline fractures when we found her, but there seems to be no trace of them left on her skeleton. She moves normally," she said.
"Healing isn't excluded in her gift. My best guess would be that she healed herself subconsciously. With the broad range of and brute strength of her powers, she is easily a high-ranking Level 4 mutant. With training, I would not be surprised to see reach a Class 5," the professor said.
"So what do we do now?" Logan asked. The professor wheeled towards the door.
"I'm going to try to use Cerebro to locate Magneto again."
Thanks for reading!