It became clear quite quickly that, when Logan had said she would love the 'sessions', he was lying. The sessions were grueling periods of hard training in places where you were nearly certain to have a run with death. The area they were now in seemed to be one of the safer ones. It was hard packed dirt ground with not a speck of shade. Logan was currently having them do some push ups and other exercises while he shouted insults or sarcastic praise for their exhausted attempts at the rigorous training.

Haddy was the sorriest of all of them. The most training she'd been doing that year was Phys. Ed at school, which nowhere near compared to the boot camp Logan had set up in the Institute's yard.

"Is it... Too late... To take back... What I said about staying?" She said between push ups, only half joking.

Kitty moaned. "If that were the case, all our recruits wouldn't last the first week."

"Save your breath, princesses. You're running laps next," Logan said, then went off to the other recruits to give some more constructive criticism on their techniques.

Haddy glanced over at Kurt, who was busy doing jumping jacks. "Why doesn't he just teleport himself out of here? Couldn't he sneak out of these sessions." She finished with the push ups and started doing some stretches.

Kitty laughed ruefully. "You only say that because you're new here. You stay a couple weeks and you'll see why he doesn't. Recruits only make that mistake once. Trust me, you don't want to see Logan on his bad side."

"He has a good side?"

"This is his good side."

"So, when you say 'don't get on his bad side'..."

"There will be injuries," she said seriously.

"Ah, I see."

Logan shot them a glare. "Did I say you two could sit around chatting? Go, now, five laps."

They began running in a loop around the dirt area with the other recruits who had finished the exercises. Each person in the group wore dark blue jumpsuits with red and yellow decals. She was lucky enough to still be in her own clothes, which included a short sleeved tee shirt. Scott, the guy with the glasses, fell into step alongside her and Kitty.

"Don't let Logan get you down. He's mean to you 'cause he likes you."

Haddy smirked. "He must like lots of people in that case."

"You'd be surprised, behind his gruff demeanor, the Wolverine is really more of a pussy cat." He glanced nervously over his shoulder, as if expecting Logan to be behind him. "Don't tell him I said that. He'd probably kill me on the spot."

"But I thought he was just a sweet old pussy cat that wouldn't hurt a fly?" said Haddy.

"Sh!" Scott said. "Are you trying to get me killed? We just met, do you already hate me that much?"

"Come on!" Logan shouted. "One more lap."

They all increased their speed with renewed vigor. A couple minutes later and every one of the recruits had finished their laps and were panting for breath.

"All of you shower and change. Danger room sessions are today. Don't be late." He looked pointedly at Evan; perhaps the boy had a record. "New girl, your suit's in your room upstairs."

"Along with a hairbrush," Kitty said, wrinkling her nose. "I put some other stuff in there I thought you might need as well, along with some of my clothes until you can get your own here. They're probably a bit too small, but they'll be fine for a few days until you get settled."

Haddy looked at the clothes Kitty had laid out for her. Sure enough, they were quite small and looked far too short for her. Kitty was probably a good five inches shorter than her, so that was only to be expected. Also on the bed was one of the dark blue jumpsuits the other recruits had been wearing. She lifted it up and was surprised to see that the material was a lot lighter than what she had expected. She draped it over her arm and picked up a brush and some of toiletries Kitty had brought; a toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner... The basics.

After a five minute shower, she brushed her teeth, then set about combing through her tangled hair with the brush. She pulled it back out of her eyes in a braid and left it wet.

She held up the suit again. The thing seemed to be a perfect fit, like it was tailored especially for her. She slipped into the outfit and fastened the large belt around the front. There were also a pair of boots that she pulled on as well after chuckling at imagined reactions if she went down wearing her converse.

She stepped out into the hall and waited for the others. Most of the boys were waiting in the hall as well, but not so many girls. Apparently, time had been allowed for this, though, because no one came up to yell at them to get moving. About ten minutes later, Everyone was all set for the 'danger room sessions' whatever they might be.

The woman that she had seen the other day with the white hair came down the hall with the Professor.

"Hello, everyone," said the Professor. "Storm will be taking groups of you down to the danger room while the other groups will be with either me or Beast, as normal."

Haddy could see that the explanation was more for her benefit than for the others. Everyone quickly divided themselves up into groups while she stood there awkwardly with no clue of what was going on. Kitty grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the group she was in. The group consisted of Scott, Rogue, Kurt, Kitty, Evan, and Jean, who seemed to be avoiding eye contact.

"We're group A," Kitty said. "Over there is group B, and group C is over there. It's our turn in the danger room, so we're going with Storm."

"Um... Stupid question, but what's the danger room?"

Scott smirked. "You'll see."

Scott had been watching Haddy closely the entire time, as if she might disappear into thin air. There was only one reason the Professor was having her train with them instead of with the other new recruits. He wanted her to be observed at all times, and by people who would know what to do if anything happened.

"So, what do you think of the institute so far?" Scott asked her.

"Makes me think of a high tech boot camp. Is it always like this?"

He shrugged. "Some days we get lighter loads, some days they're harder. Today's about average. You get used to it eventually. How's your head?"

"It hurts, but not too bad. I'm fine."

Scott paused. "You know you can trust us, right?"

"You guys did just abduct me yesterday," she pointed out, then sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I can. Maybe it's stupid to think that, I've only just met you all and not really under the best of circumstances. It's just going to take me awhile."

"It's no problem. Trust isn't something you rush into. Just remember, we're here if you need us."

She smiled. "Thanks."

The door ahead of them opened into the danger room with a mechanical whir.

Haddy gasped at the sight.

"Well," said Scott, "Here we are."