"Come on, team! With me!" Scott yelled from up front.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Rogue muttered. Everything was harder trying to keep an eye on the new girl. The kid was trying to keep alert, but she just hadn't been training like they had.
The simulation they were walking through was a warehouse scene on some docks. Storm and Wolverine were being 'controlled' by a beacon at the center of the warehouse. The goal was to get past them without injuring them, destroy the beacon and clear out of the area without getting hit by flying, barbed spheres and disks. With their normal team, it would have been tricky, but not too difficult. With having to keep a constant eye on Haddy to make sure she didn't accidentally get her head taken off, everything was ten times as hard.
Rogue looked up at the roof of the warehouse. "Guys... I found Logan."
He dropped down in front of them, claws out and snarling. He took a swipe at Scott, who leaned back and the claws struck air.
Rogue withdrew the glove from her hand and stretched her fingers. Just as she was about to rush forward, however, she felt a finger poke her shoulder.
"Huh?" she said, turning around.
Haddy pointed up at the sky, just in time for Rogue to see Storm gathering clouds around her.
"Look out!" she yelled, jumping back from a lightning bolt that split the planks of the dock they were standing on. "Storm's in the sky!"
Kurt disappeared in a puff of his sulfuric smoke and Rogue saw Storm start to struggle under the weight of the boy. Rogue reached out and grabbed Haddy's arm.
"Come on, let's find the beacon."
They ran ahead and Logan turned from Scott to chase after them. He leaped into the air just as Haddy stumbled backwards over a coil of rope.
"You've got to be kidding me," said Rogue, stepping in front of her. Okay, Logan, let's-"
Haddy shrieked and Logan rolled to the ground, stepping around Rogue and examining the girl.
"Stop the simulation," he said, and the thing powered down.
The girl shook and had her head covered with her arms.
"It's a simulation, kid," Logan said. "I wasn't going to actually hurt you."
"Yeah," said Kurt, rubbing a bruised spot on his upper arm. "Logan never hurts people in simulations." The sarcasm in his voice was thick and Rogue elbowed him in the ribs.
"Shut up, Blue."
"Jean, call Charles in here now."
Jean pressed two fingers to her temple. "He's on his way now."
Professor Xavier entered the danger room moments later. "Are you okay, Hadrianne?"
The girl put down her arms slowly and nodded, but her eyes were still squinted shut tightly.
"Open your eyes," said the Professor. "You're safe."
"I can't," she whispered. "I..."
Logan lifted the girl to her feet, but her knees crumpled and she fell to the floor again. "Come on, kid, you need to stand up." He lifted her again, and this time she managed to hold her balance, though she still shook quite a bit.
"What's wrong?" Scott asked.
"I'm afraid it's what I was afraid of. She's over-fueled."
Haddy sat up in the hospital bed, leaning against a pillow and drumming her fingers on the blanket. She was in an infirmary room at the institute, she'd been told that much. It felt like something was trying to break out from inside her head. The pain, while still intense, was not as severe, and she found she could now open her eyes.
"What happened in there?" asked Scott.
"I don't know," she said. "All of the sudden, it was just like... I an't describe it exactly. I heard a noise, like garbled voices when there are too many people talking at once. I tripped and fell, and then it felt like my head was going to blow up or something. That was the worst one yet."
"We need to figure out what your power is, and soon. In the meantime, you will be place in isolation. I will continue to monitor you remotely for any change, but until we can determine the cause, it would be best to cut you off as much as possible."
Haddy nodded. "Yes, sir."
The Professor turned and exited the room, the others following him. As Kitty walked past, Haddy reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Kitty, I need to ask a favor."
"What is it?" she asked.
"Can you... Could you tell my parents I love them? Tell them I'm sorry, and-"
Kitty pulled her arm away. "Knock that off."
"Knock what off?"
"Acting like you might die. You won't. You can't."
"But I might," Haddy said. "I just wanted to tell them, just in case."
"Tell them yourself," said Kitty. "You're going to be fine."
And with that, Kitty left the room, closing the door behind her.
"So, let's start by what we can rule out," said Beast, penciling down some notes in a composition book.
"That could take forever," Evan griped.
Beast looked up at him. "Well, then I suppose we had best get started, don't you? Now, I believe we have ruled out lycanthropy, teleportation, and most other powers found at this institute."
"We haven't entirely ruled out telepathy, have we?"
The Professor shook his head. "It is not telepathy. I have been inside her head. If it were telepathy, I would have been able to tell. However, she does seem quite sensitive to it."
Beast wrote that down as well. "Okay, sensitive to telepathy. What else do we know? Besides the migraines, which have been going on for how long?"
"If she saw the school nurse about the migraines it would be on record," said Jean.
"Good thinking, Jean. I'll get someone to check the records at the school," said the Professor.
"Perhaps Lance and the Brotherhood know something we don't," said Scott. "We could send someone over there to see if they've got any info."
Kurt made kissing noises. "By someone, you mean Kitty don't you?"
Scott smirked. "It was implied, yeah."
"Kitty, you've been very quiet. Do you have anything you wish to contribute?"
Kitty looked up. "She thinks she's going to die."
"She could very well be right," the professor stated solemnly.
"But she won't, right?"
Logan sighed and put a hand on Kitty's back. "Don't worry, half-pint. We'll figure something out. Soon enough she'll be running around destroying things just as much as you lot."
"I know that we really only just met her and everything, but she's a student here now. She's one of us. We get into all sorts of crazy stuff and come out fine. Maybe a bit bruised up, but... It's just... You know?"
Jean nodded. "I get what you're saying. If this can happen to this girl, it could happen to any of us."
Kitty gave a weak smile. "I was hoping you'd say something to prove my point wrong, not verify it. I suppose I should head over to the Brotherhood. Scott, can I borrow your car?" She held her hand out as if waiting for the keys.
Scott paled. "Um..."
"Kidding, Scott," she said, rolling her eyes. "Kidding."