There were many words that Lorna could use to describe Alex Summers. Trouble was one. Apparently the detention he'd gotten the night she met him wasn't the first. He had that bad boy attitude about him that suggested he was into wearing sleveless shirts, leather jackets, and dark sunglasses while riding a motorcycle. She had yet to see the sunglasses or the jacket, but already she had proof of his vendetta against sleeves. And she'd seen the motorcycle in the school garage.
Puzzling was another one. Despite his attitude his little brother and half the students at the school seemed to worship him. Alex and his two friends were the toast of their class and involved in several committees. There was something about him that inspired confidence. Even though she couldn't see the reason for it she felt it too.
Fun was a good one too. There was something exciting about him. He was in a position of authority but wasn't against some good-natured fun. Around the school there was a saying that at the end of every prank was Alex Summers. She guessed that was where his nickname, 'Havok' came from. Lorna hadn't heard it very often though; only from his two friends a few times.
Oh, and there was her all-time favorite, flirtatious. He had made it very clear that he was interested in her as more than a friend. And, despite his past as a criminal and his inconsistencies, she was interested too. Alex wasn't some sort of 'All-American boy' but he was still a good person. She was sure of that.
However, the one word she had never expected to hear used in relation to him was the one that Rahne's friend Doug had used a week beforehand.
"Pardon?" she asked.
Doug frowned at her.
"I said he's a hero," he said, "Really."
Her eyes slid over to where Alex had made a bet with a fellow classmate how many cartons of milk he could drink in a minute.
"What makes you say that?" asked Lorna.
He leaned forward over the table and lowered his voice.
"Mrs. Xavier got kidnapped once," he said.
Her eyebrows shot up. Next to her Rahne's ears became wolf ones as she leaned in.
"Yeah," nodded Doug, "Some real creepy people too. I was there and there was a lot of stuff crashing. And when I got back to the school and told them about it…"
Doug paused and looked around.
"Alex, Hank, and Sean gave the Professor this look and he said he'd take care of it. They thought I was upstairs but I snuck down later and saw them in these weird outfits," he said, "And they got into a plane. And a few hours later she was injured, but she was back. They're heroes."
He sank back. Rahne's ears returned to normal and she frowned.
"No one mentioned that in the tour," she said.
"Of course they can't," Doug said, "They'd get into trouble with the authorities. But I've seen them do it other times. And they go down a lot for 'extra training'."
Lorna bit her lip thoughtfully. She shot a look at Alex, who had just won and was being cheered by bystanders.
"You sure about that?" she asked.
"Of course I am," said Doug.
"I think you're making it up," frowned Rahne.
"Am not!"
After that it had devolved into childish bickering. For the past few days Lorna couldn't get what Doug had said out of her head. Was it possible there was some sort of secret organization in the school fighting crime? Obviously, if there was one, then the Professor would have to be involved in it. By proxy that meant that Moira was in on it too.
This was, of course, if there really was one. She only had the word of one of Rahne's friends on it. Yet, if there was one, then why were Hank, Alex, and Sean the only ones in it? Wouldn't the other students want to get involved? Maybe they did and there was some sort of code to get in.
If there was then she wanted to learn it. Maybe it was her newfound freedom that made her want to be a hero. She'd heard enough from her classes to learn that she could be a force for change the world. Rose had told her that mutants were humanity's next step. Lorna made the logical assumption that that meant that they should take responsibility for the world.
Or maybe it was all those stories she heard about her family. Her grandfather had attended to dying soldiers along with her mother, who'd only been fourteen. From the way the story was going it looked like her father had been a soldier of some sort. Why should Lorna be the only one in her family not to stand up for what she believed in? Why shouldn't she try to make a difference?
Over the past few days she'd made some discreet inquiries about the so called 'heroes'. She hadn't outright asked about it but she had danced around the subject. All she managed to learn was that those three were Charles' very first students. That would explain why they would be the only ones involved to a degree, but it supported very little evidence.
To her it seemed like what Doug had seen was probably a one-time situation, if that. Alright, the plane sounded weird. However, it probably wasn't a plane at all. Who could keep a plane at the school? Doug was young and impressionable after all. She found herself feeling disappointed and silly for believing him in the first place.
That was why she had been practicing her dance moves in her old ballet uniform. It calmed her down and helped her think. Unfortunately the only room big enough for it was one of the common rooms. She had to do it after curfew because generally the room was otherwise occupied.
Sighing she sunk into one of her chairs and adjusted her toe shoes. Despite her former dislike of her hair she liked green. That was why her shoes, leotard, headband, and tights were green. There was a black stripe running up her tights and a few black prints on the leotard but otherwise it was all green. With her hair's recent liberation she thought she looked a little nymphy in it.
Lorna got up again and stretched. With a small jump she did a handstand, flipping it into a cartwheel. She went until she got to the front of the room, her chin pointed to the ceiling and her arms raised. There was no audience to applaud, but she didn't mind. It was better without people making a big fuss around her. She'd never been one for the limelight.
That was when she heard footsteps down the hall.
"We need to do this at more reasonable hours."
She shut the lights off and flattened herself against the wall. The school was a good place and she didn't want to get a reputation for breaking the rules.
"Yeah, whatever Alex."
She frowned. It was them again? Rolling her eyes she went to turn the light back on.
"You know the need for secrecy," said Hank, "Besides, you know how the Professor feels about this. And weren't you the one who pushed for 'boy's only' training sessions?"
That stopped her. She let her hand hover over the light switch, frozen.
"Yeah, whatever. Come on, let's get going."
The three of them walked past. Biting her lip she slipped out of the room and hurried after them. She had to know. Her footfalls were muffled by her toe shoes. Once she was nearly caught when Hank turned around but she hid quickly. He turned back to the wall and slid a panel away. Lorna's breath caught. A keypad was underneath the panel and he jotted some numbers in. Another panel in the adjacent wall slid away to reveal a compartment.
The boys went inside and the doors started to close. Seeing her opportunity vanish Lorna ran forward and slipped in between the sliding door and the wall. Her momentum continued to propel her forward though. In the dark she was unable to stop, rocketing her into Alex's back. He fell onto the ground and Lorna crashed onto the floor.
Alex scrambled to his feet and his chest plate glowed with red light. He couldn't see her and her identifying words got stuck in the face of the threat. As the light increased she threw out her arm, sending him hurtling against the wall. Lorna winced; she hadn't meant to do it that hard. His chestplate must have had more metal in it than she'd htought.
Seconds later a wordless shriek filled the air. Lorna covered her ears and collapsed to the floor. Her head hit a metal chair as she did so. Again she turned her hand and sent the chair in the direction of the noise. There was a crash and the noise stopped.
"Hey guys-!" she tried.
Everything was going too fast for explanations though. Before she knew it a hand went for her wrist. She wasn't sure whose it was and she shoved her palm out. It hit something fleshy, she supposed an eye or a cheekbone. There was a disgruntled noise and she shoved herself back. A table toppled behind her. She pirouetted neatly to avoid crashing to the floor herself.
Two strong arms wrapped around her waist. They lifted her into the air and she felt the air rush out of her arms. She started struggling but she wasn't strong enough to break free. Whoever was holding her was in pain, certainly, but he wasn't letting go. Lorna tried to feel the air for metal but her oxygen starved brain didn't quite commute the command.
Then the lights went on.
"Lorna?" said Alex from teh floor, his eyes big.
She looked around, swallowing hard. The arms around her dropped her like she was a hot potato and she saw Hank. However, there were other things to see. Everything around her was metallic and shiny. Several work tables had been set up. Some had plans and complicated diagrams. In the corner an open closet showed yellow and blue jumpsuits with 'X's emblazoned on them. Above it all towered a silver plane. So Doug wasn't lying.
"I think it's time to call the Professor," said Sean, cradling half of his face.
Hank nodded and pressed a button on the side of the wall. Feeling awkward Lorna walked over and held out her hand to Alex. He took it, staring at her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked as she helped him up.
Lorna dipped her head.
"Investigating?" she ventured.
Alex continued to look at her, only his gaze was different. He looked at her like she was something rare and exotic. Lorna had to fight the urge to blush.
"And now that you're here?" he asked.
Her shoulders shrugged.
"Don't know quite yet."
Alex smirked and his gaze lowered before meeting hers.
"Might I say that you look great in whatever you're wearing?" he said.
"God, Alex, stop flirting!" Sean moaned, "This is serious!"
The blush solidified and she let go of his hand. Luckily for her the doors opened and Charles came in, pushed by Moira. Both were in their pajamas and looked tired.
"Once again I find myself awake to handle something you three have done," Charles said as Moira pushed him in, "And you know I'm not my best at this time and-good grief."
He stared at Lorna. She swallowed as his eyes roved from her to the disorderly room.
"I wasn't expecting to see you here Ms. Dane," he said, "And I'm horrified to ask this, I truly am, but what happened?"
She swallowed.
"I was practicing ballet."
"That explains the outfit," said Charles, holding up one finger.
"And and I saw them in the hallway and followed them," said Lorna, "And it was dark and no one could see. So I ran into Alex. He turned to attack me, he was wearing metal, and it kind of spiraled out of control."
Lorna gestured around her. Charles sighed and held up two more fingers.
"And that explains the chaos and the injuries. Go back upstairs Ms. Dane," he said, "Detention is in order I suppose and you should-"
"-keep silent about your secret superhero club?" she demanded.
His eyebrows shot up. Lorna wished she hadn't said anything, but she felt the opportunity slipping away from her again. She couldn't allow that.
"I don't want detention Professor," she said boldly, "I want in."
Dead silence blanketed the room.
"Pardon?" asked Charles.
"I want to make a difference," she said, putting her hands on her hips, "and I know I'm untrained and new at casually using my powers, and it was only in the dark, but I held my own against these three for a while. And that was in my ballet outfit."
She heard a few coughs and shufflings from behind her.
"She is fast," Hank said tentatively.
"Lorna does put up quite a fight," Alex said, wincing, "And she did kick us around to be fair. We could use more people."
"Yeah, but we're the X-men, not the X-girls," said Sean irritably, still rubbing the bruised side of his face, "I know you like her but she's still a-"
"Still a what?" demanded Lorna, whirling on Sean and trying not to think about what he said to Alex.
"Yes, a what?" asked Moira.
Sean's facial expression went from annoyed to terrified.
"Um-"
"As I recall, the Civil Rights Act was passed last year," said Moira, "Under that act Title II officially bans sex-based discrimination."
Charles turned his head and stared at his wife. She rolled her eyes.
"I was a CIA agent. I keep track of these things, minutely," she said, "And as I recall I was involved in using that CIA training to help train you in hand-to-hand, which apparently you weren't listening to."
Sean swallowed and looked down. Lorna saw her cause wasn't hopeless and jumped in.
"All I'm asking for is a chance," she said, "I just want an opportunity to show what I can do."
With her heart in her throat she watched Charles' torn expression. Moira's hand went to his shoulder and she looked at him with sympathy. Her heart dropped. This was like her first day there when they'd looked at her uncertainty in the office. Then he sighed and gave her a small smile. Hope rose in her chest.
"Well, we're all about giving opportunities here," he said, "This is a school after all."
A/N: I tried to make Lorna's ballerina outfit look a little like her original costume. Seriously, it's like they decided she had green hair, so let's give her green everything else. It could also be, in theory, be a sign of her acceptance of the most visible sign of her mutation. Who knows?