Greer wondered if she was hallucinating when a huge black jet landed silently in the tiny alleyway, followed by its doors opening and a staircase folded out. She felt terror instantly when a large blue beast ran down the steps and bounded straight towards her. Greer whimpered in fear and she actually felt her fur stood at their ends as he approached her with something behind his back and before she knew what she was doing, she realized she was snarling and baring her fangs at him in warning... Like an actual animal...
"Whoa, easy easy I won't hurt you..." the beast said in a gentle voice before revealing that the thing behind his back was a first aid kit. With a reassuring look from Jean, Greer mumbled an apology before allowing the strange beast to examine her. She was genuinely surprised by how painlessly and professionally he had removed the two bullets lodged in her gut and how quickly he bandaged the wound. As she was helped onto her feet, she muttered what she hoped sounded like a sincere " thank you" to him. As Greer boarded the jet, a man in a wheelchair wheeled himself to the opening.
" Hello Greer, my name is Professor Xavier, it's a pleasure to meet you." "Pleasure's all mine" was all Greer could muster.
"Are you ready to leave?"
Greer nodded before sitting down only to feel a searing pain at the base of her spine. Standing back up, she realized she had sat on... her tail... and that sent a whole new type of self-loathing to wash over her. Taking great precaution not to sit on her tail again, she strapped herself in and hugged her knees as the jet took off. The professor wheeled himself next to Greer and with a concerned look on his face, he asked
" Tonight must have been incredibly difficult for you... Do you... want to talk about it?" Greer forced herself to meet his dark gaze before shaking her head embarrassed.
"That's alright, if you don't mind I have to speak to Jean in private."
Greer shrugged before watching them disappear behind a black curtain. She knew they were talking about her...
"Probably about how much of a freak I am..." she thought miserably.
Holding back a sob... she hugged her knees and rested her head on them before drifting into sleep.
Greer felt herself being shook and a voice in her ear saying "Greer...Greer! Wake up! We've reached the mansion!" confused, she opened an eye only to see Jean smiling at her. Hesitantly, she smiled back only to see Jean recoil slightly and then she remembered... She had fangs... monstrous fangs... Quickly she looked away and at the window instead.., Shame welling up painfully in her chest. Jean on the other hand kicked herself mentally, she hadn't meant to react the way she did but those sharp teeth were nothing short of intimidating.
" No such thoughts Jean. She is just as human as any of us." A voice rang in her head.
"Yes professor, I'm sorry".
"So, what do you think?" Jean asked as cheerfully as she could, trying to repair the damage she had done.
"It's huge... " Greer admitted in awe as she peered through the windows of the blackbird. Jean laughed,
"I know, I was shocked by how big the place was but now it seems necessary considering the amount of mutants living in there..."
Greer felt her stomach do a summersault...
"Mutants..." she didn't exactly know what to think about them... Worse... She didn't want to know what they would think of her...
The jet descended slowly and Greer watched in amazement as the basketball court split into two revealing a chamber underneath where the jet slowly lowered itself into. Greer hugged herself nervously as she they exited the jet only to freeze when the Professor Xavier wheeled up to her.
"I'm sorry Greer... I know you must be exhausted but you have to see Mr. McCoy for a medical examination. Just in case your recent... changes left you with any unwanted side effects." Greer nodded weakly before asking who Mr. McCoy was.
The beast that had tended to her wounds raised an arm before gesturing for her to follow him.
"So he's Mr. McCoy..." Feeling a little guilty about how she had reacted towards him, Greer made a mental note to herself to be more polite to him. She followed him through an array of corridors and rooms when they finally arrived at what looked like an infirmary. Mr. McCoy signaled her to sit on one of the beds he then placed on a lab coat, followed by some rubber gloves. Greer stiffened when he started asking her questions.
"So how old are you Miss..."
" Nelson, Greer Nelson. I'm sixteen."
Nodding, Mr. McCoy started taking her height and weight...
"5ft 11 you're really tall for a sixteen year old..."
Greer did not know what to say so she stayed silent.
" Right, please open your mouth". Greer felt her ears press against her head, she felt self-conscious showing her monstrous fangs. Reluctantly, she opened her mouth and tried to stay still as Mr. McCoy gently started to prod her new teeth with a dentist probe.
"Hmm...Very good... Strong, white and healthy with no cavities. Please keep it that way... Alright you may close."
He carried on his examination, checking her ears, reflexes, and eyesight followed by some blood tests. Slowly, Greer started to relax.
"Mr. McCoy's actually quite nice..." she concluded, her initial fear of him subsiding rapidly.
"You're not much of a talker are you?" Mr. McCoy asked as he glanced up, his strange golden eyes questioning but his tone was gentle, prompting Greer to reply.
"It's not like that... I love talking, it's just... I'm still just taking in how much I... changed... that's all..." she said honestly while rubbing her shoulders, still not used to the alien feeling of having fur instead of skin… It was freakish… Unnatural… Monstrous…
" Like I am…" She thought hatefully I bringing her hands up to bury her face in..
Mr. McCoy must have noticed this as he patted her gently on the back
"Well look on the bright side my dear... you're fur is orange, blue just makes me look extremely tacky..."
Despite her misery, Greer couldn't help but smile a little, deeply appreciating how he was trying to comfort her. Suddenly, a new thought dawned on her... Was Mr. McCoy human once too? It must have been so... painful …to be human one day and not the next… Greer frowned, realizing something… Normally if she saw anyone who looked remotely like mr. McCoy… She'd stay the hell away… and that suddenly, for the first time, she felt a wave of shame wash over her… Who was she to judge people who looked different? It was just… Wrong….
" and this must be my punishment …" She thought miserably, not noticing how mr. McCoy was staring at her intently. She only looked up when he suddenly pressed something into her clawed hands… It was…
" Chocolate… To ease you up a bit… First nights are always the roughest… Believe me, I know…" Mr. McCoy said gently before helping her off the hospital bed...
"Thank you…" Greer said sincerely before bringing herself to look Mr McCoy in the eye. "Thank you very very much…"
"My pleasure my dear. Oh yes, before you go off, Xavier wants to see you, his study is the third door to your right… "
Greer left the infirmary hesitantly with her spirits slightly uplifted…. Slightly...
"At least I'm not bleeding to death in an alleyway…." She thought to herself as she wrapped her arms around her bandaged middle…
"Mum… How could you?" She whispered as her hand made contact with the cloth...Feeling a sudden drop in her mood… The urge to cry becoming very tempting… Greer forced herself to take a bite from the chocolate bar… Steeling herself to focus on that and nothing else for the moment… At least until she got to the professor's office… Looking around, she found the door Mr. McCoy was referring to and hesitantly knocked. Gently wrapping the rest of the bar and shoving it into her shorts pocket…
"Please be the right door…" She prayed silently… Feeling that bumping and probably scaring a stranger would completely shatter her now paper thin self esteem….
There was a pause, before the professor's kindly voice replied.
"Come in Greer…"
Pushing the door open Greer peered in nervously .
" I heard you wanted to see me Professor?" She asked, noting for the first time how… frail and vulnerable she sounded…
"Yes Greer, please take a seat."
Walking towards the comfortable looking armchair, Greer again took great care in not trying to sit on her tail again... before looking at the professor expectantly.
She recoiled slightly as he approached her but stopped when he smiled gently…
" Don't worry Greer, you are among friends now… No one here is going to hurt you… alright?"
There was a pause…
"Alright…" Greer nodded.
"Excellent." The professor said encouragingly. "So... Greer… I know tonight must have been extremely… difficult and painful for you…."
"You have no idea…" Greer thought bitterly only to look up in surprise when the professor's voice rang in her head.
"Yes I do Greer…"
Greer recoiled further… This time quite violently and looked questioningly at the professor.
"Did you just… Were you…"
"Communicating to you telepathically… yes. Reading your mind… No. Although it is one of my abilities… I don't do it unless it is really necessary for the most basic of ethical reasons…"
"If that's so… What do you mean you know what I'm going through ?" Greer asked suspiciously before she noticed she was curling her lip… Like a cat would before it snarled. Quickly, she stopped herself… Although horrified that she was doing it in the first place…
" You don't need to read someone's mind to know they're in pain…" The professor said seriously. Before touching her hand gently, making her look up.
" I just wanted you to know it doesn't matter who you are here, anyone with gifts as special as yours is welcome to my institute. As long as you need safety from the outside world that doesn't understand you and you're gifts, Xavier's institute for gifted youngsters will always welcome you." Greer felt her ears perked up… This man… did he just offer her a home… Even when she… Even when she looked…
"No he can't be serious…" Greer thought before searching his face for any trace of sarcasm, malice or General ill content. There was none… And suddenly, it felt like a heavy load was lifted from her shoulders… For the time being anyway…
"Thank you Professor…" she stuttered. "Thank you so... much... You won't believe how much this...this means to me..." Greer admitted truthfully.
"My pleasure... Now I believe Mr. McCoy has already given you something to eat so its best that you go get some rest…"
Greer nodded. That idea suddenly very appealing... She was about to ask where she could crash but stopped when Jean suddenly appeared in the doorway.
"Jean will be your roommate for now, you'll fine some clothes on the bed we have prepared for you..." The professor said formally before wishing them both good night and wheeling off…
It was an awkward walk back to the room, with Jean leading and Greer silently following behind. Jean noticed Greer didn't dare to look her in the eye and wondered guiltily if it had anything to do with how she reacted to Greer's smile on the plane... Shutting the door she put on her best smile and handed Greer her clothes and a couple of blankets.
"So did you get anything to eat? You looked really hungry on the plane..." Jean asked trying to strike up a conversation
"Huh? Yeah, Mr. McCoy gave me something just now… Oh and thanks for the clothes and blankets…". Greer replied shyly in a closed lip smile.
"No problem… " Jean replied, before gesturing at the direction of the restroom when Greer held up her clothes... It was half an hour later when Greer emerged from the restroom… and by then, Jean had unintentionally fallen asleep. Greer bit her lip; she hadn't meant to take so long… but upon catching sight of herself in the mirror… She couldn't help but study herself in sick fascination…
"And I'm hideous…" Greer thought miserably as she pulled the blankets over herself, hating how her new tail curled itself around her leg…. Closing her eyes…she allowed herself a silent sob before drifting off into much needed, forgiving sleep...