Warning: The soul purpose of this chapter is to get you to understand Jackie's pain of losing her mother and her irrational fear of using her mutation to it's full extent. I'd love it if in a review you told me if I did a good job of it or not writing it.

The first night of Jackie's stay at Xavier's school for gifted youngsters couldn't have been better, but she wouldn't be able to say the same thing about the first day of training.

The second the driver had found his window of opportunity, he drove off. A large, blue, fur-covered man met them at the front door. "Hey guys!" He'd frozen up when his eyes laid on Jackie. "Oh… um, hello, I'm Hank." Trying to look cool he leaned against the door frame. As Alex strolled passed Hank, he jabbed him in his barrel-chest. "Glasses are crooked." He muttered. Quickly Hank fumbled to fix the position of his glasses, which hadn't been ajar in the first place. The group chuckled as they pushed passed Hank and into the mansion, leaving Jackie alone with the big blue mutant. She couldn't help but stare, but felt like she was being rude. "Sorry," Looking to the ground, she blushed, "My name's Jackie." Hank straightened his lab coat. "You're being quiet, you find me scary don't you?" Seeming disappointed, Hank shifted his weight. "No, no!" Jackie met his gray eyes, "No, I'm just amazed. My brain's fried after the events of today." Hank's frown turned into a smile. "That's okay. Why don't I show you around?" He extended a furry hand. Grinning, Jackie took the leap into the rabbit hole.

Jackie spent most of her time before dinner engaged in a tour lead by Hank. He'd informed her that the 'school' only consisted of her, himself, Roxanne, Jeanie, Alex, and Sean since it was just starting out. Professor had a hard time recruiting students since parents usually called the police on him or chased him away. Jackie's brow had furrowed when he'd said his. Was this why the professor said he was surprised to find her at the aquarium? Her, an orphan herself, since the age of four? When Hank noticed her distraught expression, he laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder and told her most of the people attending the school where orphans also. It didn't make her feel any better.

Dinner time came quickly. To her surprise, no one ate at a dinner table. People walked in and out of the kitchen, rummaging through drawers, cabinets, and the refrigerator. Jackie had long since left Hank and was now wandering aimlessly through the mansion. She'd been admiring a portrait of a mother and her young son when she heard a voice behind her. "How do you like it here so far?" Jackie turned to see the professor a couple feet from her in his wheelchair. For a mere moment Jackie thought he was looking at her, but soon realized he was gazing passed her at the portrait. His eyes where full of longing. Her lips parted, "This is you, isn't it? You and your mother?" The professor nodded, his eyes not leaving the picture. Jackie felt sorry for him, she didn't need telepathic powers to tell he had suffered a great lost. "Yes, this mansion was my childhood home," He read her thoughs. Finally his eyes broke from the portrait and met hers, "But still, you did not answer my question, do you like it here so far?" Jackie bit her lip. He doesn't want to use his mind on this one… She thought. Neither wanting to disappoint him nor to seem too eager, Jackie sucked in air, "I'll grow to like it." Turning her head, she looked back at the portrait. "Yeah, I'll defiantly grow to like it." The professor's wheelchair squeaked as it wheeled next to Jackie. "I apologize for bringing you here under such circumstances, it's just when I saw you," His voice trailed off, "You have the potential to become a level five mutant." He chose a different path of words. Before Jackie could question what a level five mutant was exactly, the professor was already half-way across the room, but he still managed to leave her with a smile. "Tomorrow is Sunday, so be ready to train. Oh and there's Campbell soup in the refrigerator."

If he was a telepathic, he was a damn good one.

With a hot cup of tomato soup in hand, Jackie was directed to her new room by Hank. To a normal person, it wasn't anything special, a 12' by 15' room resembling that of a hotel with a bed in the middle of the room, a night stand with a lamp on it to the side, and a closet on the opposite side of the room. To Jackie, it was better than any of the numerous orphanages she shifted around in her whole life. There was even a bathroom! Jackie gulped down her soup on the bed, imagining what Donald and Counselor Watson would say if they saw her now. Soon she was warm under a series of covers, sound asleep.

Faint light seeped through the window and into Jackie's room. Her eyes opened slightly, but she didn't want to wake up just yet. Blankets wrapped around her like a cocoon.

"I don't feel right doing this."

Hank's voice made Jackie open her eyes. What was Hank doing outside her room, and what wasn't he comfortable doing? "Trust me, Hank, she needs this push." That accent could not be mistaken. Jackie heard Hank's heavy footsteps as he walked away.

She propped herself up on her elbows.

This wasn't her room.

Light didn't seep through a window, it seeped through cracks. Four steel walls surrounded Jackie's bed. Jackie almost tripped as she scrambled from her resting place. "Get me the hell out of here!" She screamed, pounding against the wall. Claustrophobia set in. "I know what happened to your mother." Tears fell like a waterfall from Jackie's eyes. Her hands slid down the wall as she sank to the floor. "You know nothing." She croaked. As Jackie closed her tear streaked eyes, a vision became clear in her mind.

A smile.

A warm face beamed down at her.

Heat.

Hotness emanated from a nearby room.

Panic.

There was a scream. A woman held her protectively in her arms, shielding her from the nightmare ahead.

Fire.

It engulfed her in its arms like her mother had, but it soon became uncomfortable. She had cried.

Numbness.

The fire became distant as she melted into the floor. It no longer hurt.

"You couldn't have saved her." The professor's voice was once again prominate in the back of her mind. "I'd saved myself. I could have saved her." Jackie protested weakly. "You were four. You had no idea how to control your mutation; you only acted off of instinct. There is only one way out and you know it." She knew it, to her dismay. "No," Jackie shook her head vigorously, "No, I'm not doing it; I promised myself I would never do it again." Deep down she knew she had no choice. "You let your mutation control you in your anger. There's so much more to you, you know, not just pain and anger. There's good in you too, and you can harness that." Her mind tried to paint the image of her mother. "Pain, happiness, you can do this, Jackie." She forced herself to chest rose and fell steadily.

Numbness.

The steel cage melted away. She crept towards the light and reformed when she felt grass touch her dewy skin. The professor stared, his jaw hung open. Jackie was, in simpler words, gorgeous. Water replaced her fair skin. She was barely defined in form, but prominate features stood out making her recognizably human. Numbness faded away. The professor cleared his throat. Jackie looked down at her body, noticing that her cloths were still in the cage. When he handed her a towel, she snatched it up immediately. Her whole face turned the color of her dinner the night before. As soon as she could wrap the towel around her soaked body, she bolted. When Jackie found her room, she slammed the door. She felt naked, exposed, her deepest fears torn from the abyss of her mind and put on display to the world. There was no more bed to dive into, so she opened the closet and grabbed some sheets. To her surprise, there where cloths in the closet already. Jackie grabbed a pair of torn jeans and a Rolling Stones concert t-shirt and threw them on. Tucking herself in the sheets, she plopped down on the floor and cried. Jackie didn't know how long she sat there, neither her body nor mind where aware of the passage of time. She heard several knocks on the door but answered to none of them. All she wanted was to once again feel her mother's embrace.

Jackie must have fallen asleep, for when she opened her eyes she was on her back, Sean looming over her. Jackie sat up, confused. Sean sat across from her, studying her face. "You are pathetic." Jackie managed at smile. "You're a loser." She retorted, half-joking. Sean grinned. "Tell me about the fish." He whispered after a moment.

She told him of the fish.

I made an edit version but had problems uplpoading it so I apologize if the first read is suckish.

More interactive story-telling! The next chapter takes place two weeks after Jackie's first day. The professor brings in one of the students to train with Jackie, but who? Tell me your idea in a review!