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Words in italics are telepathic conversations, thoughts, or dreams.
Chapter 8
It was still early in the morning when Rally finished eating an English muffin for breakfast, but by that time, everyone in the mansion was up and about. Not knowing what to do, the young girl made her way outside to the tree by the ocean cliff. The sun was just coming up creating a beautiful array of pinks, purples, yellows, and oranges. She sat down and let her mind drift away with the crashing waves against the rocks.
"Rally."
The young girl quickly sat up and glanced around. Thinking it was just her imagination; she leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes.
"Rally." An audible voice called.
This time, Rally stood up and turned around. "Oh, good morning, Professor." She greeted.
He smiled sitting in his wheelchair and said kindly, "Good morning, Rally. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you." The young girl politely answered.
"Did you have another nightmare?" His voice was filled with such sympathy that Rally felt compelled to share it with him.
She lowered her head, remembering the frightful experience. "Yes."
The Professor came closer in his wheelchair. "Would you like to discuss it?"
Rally stood silent for a minute before responding. "I was standing in a dark room by myself and I heard voices. Then Sabretooth came out of the blackness and I woke up." She paused, pondering it; then asked, "Do you know what my dreams mean? I've been having the same ones every since his first visit."
"My guess is that Sabretooth is haunting your mind. You have been frightened of him ever since your first encounter and you subconsciously worry that he will come back during your sleep and take you."
The young girl contemplated his theory. "How do I get rid of this subconscious worry?"
"By not being frightened anymore." The Professor answered.
"I don't feel frightened anymore, though. I feel safe here at the mansion."
"You think of your…father often, though, and that makes you frightened and angry, does it not?"
Rally turned her gaze away from the Professor and out to the rolling waves of the ocean. "Yes."
"There is your answer then. You dream of your father because you think of him frequently, but you also think of Sabretooth frequently which is why he is also in your dreams." The Professor explained with gentleness.
"I want him out of my head." She stated with a bit of harshness.
"Rally, give it time."
"Professor, I've given it time. Isn't there anything you can do to help me?" The young girl pleaded.
"I could erase all traces of him from your mind but I would never do such a thing."
Her face saddened. "Why not? Wouldn't that solve my problem?"
"No, Rally. It would only bring more problems to you."
"How?"
"If I would erase him from your mind, anything involving him would have to go, too. Your memories would be scattered and in pieces which would leave you feeling lost and hopeless. I would never willingly choose to do that to any of my students, Rally. Do you understand?" The Professor inquired.
Rally thought about what he said for a moment. "Yes." She replied. He was her only hope and now, that was gone, too.
"Good." He said. "Would you like to come inside?"
She nodded.
The two headed back inside the mansion and to the living room.
"I need to go check up on how the students' training is coming along. You may stay here and watch television if you would like." The Professor informed the young girl and continued down the hall.
Rally sat on the wrap-around sofa for a few minutes before deciding to switch on the TV. She turned to an episode of Energy, not exactly her thing, but it would keep her occupied for the time being. It mansion was strangely quiet. It made the young girl feel almost uneasy. It wasn't long, though, because life began to fill the mansion once again. She figured training must be about over, at least for some of them.
"There you are, Rally. I've been looking for you." Jean's familiar voice said as she walked into the living room and made her way to the sofa Rally was seated at.
"Hey, Jean." Rally greeted happily.
"Where were you this morning? I went to your room to get you up but you were not there." The red head asked curiously.
"I was probably outside. Shouldn't you have known? You are a telepath." Rally quizzed.
"I can only locate using Cerebro, and even then, it is difficult for me. Only the Professor has mastered the use of Cerebro."
"Oh."
"So why were you outside? We have a rule about leaving the building and we have a rule prohibiting leaving the building after dark." Jean informed tactfully.
"I'm sorry." Rally said. "I didn't know." She felt ashamed for breaking a rule even though she was unaware of it.
Jean smiled. "It's alright, Rally. We'll give you a break this time because we didn't inform you, but be warned, next time will have consequences, okay?"
"Yes ma'am." The young girl saluted jokingly.
The older woman laughed and noticed Rally's arm which reminded her of what she came for. "Oh, I need to check on how your arm is recovering. I might want to put new bandages on it, depending on how it looks. How does it feel?" Jean asked, gently starting to unwrap the white cloth from Rally's upper arm.
"It feels fine. I hardly notice it." She answered.
"Well, we'll see how fine it really is." The red head stated with a smirk as Rally's arm was revealed. The shock was clearly evident on the woman's face at what she saw. "Rally," She paused, looking up at the young girl, "Your wounds have completely scarred over. Did you do anything to your arm, like put on a special medication of some kind?"
"No, I haven't done anything at all. I've haven't taken the bandages off since you put them on." The young girl replied with confusion. "What is the problem with scars?"
"It's not a problem with scars, but a problem with which how fast they formed. Rally, in order for a scar to form, the injuries must completely heal first and new scar tissue grows in its place. This process would take months for the injuries you received in your arm." Jean paused and shook her head slightly, staring at Rally's perfectly created scars, perplexed. "I don't know how this could have happened. It's impossible…." The woman's eyes sudden lightened up, "Unless this is somehow connected with your mutant abilities." Jean bit her lip in wonderment.
Rally raised her eyebrow. "So my mutant ability is that my injuries turn to scars faster than normal?" It was disappointing to her. She expected something much more amazing and mind blowing.
"I don't know how else to explain it." The red head answered, still baffled.
The young girl's expression saddened. She really hoped this was just a freak of nature and not her mutant abilities. What good would scarring abilities do? How would she be able to fight with the rest of them?
"We need to talk to the Professor about this right away. Come on, Rally." Jean stated, grabbing the bandages lying on the end table and heading for the door.
Rally quickly got up, glancing at her arm one more time, and followed Jean out the door towards the Professor's office. As they walked, the students that passed them by gave Rally funny looks. Most of the kids in the mansion still had no idea who she was even though she had been there three days now. Because of her quarantine, so to speak, only a select few who went out of their way to speak to her knew who she was and her story. That was one good thing that would come if this was indeed her mutation. She would finally be able to interact with other mutants her age and not feel like she was putting their lives in danger or breaking some rule.
They finally reached the Professor's office door and Jean barged right in. There was some obvious telepathic conversations going on between Professor X and the red head as the walked up to his desk.
"Nice to see you again, Rally." He smiled. "Now what is this about your injuries?"
The young girl hesitated. "Well, uh, they kind of became scars in less than three days."
He slightly scrunched his forehead, then asked, "May I see?"
Rally nodded and lifted up her sleeve and held out her arm to him. He gently gripped her lower arm and slowly twisted it so he could see the wound on the bottom. When he was finished, he let out a thoughtful hm.
"Those are definitely scars." He stated and scratched his head in thought.
"I don't understand it, Professor. There is no medical condition that explains it, besides mutations, of course." Jean informed.
Immediately, it hit the Professor like a bullet and he now understood. Of course Rally would have healing abilities. Her father, Wolverine, had them, so naturally they would be genetic. Her mutation was only scaled down, so much so that it didn't even show up in scans or through Cerebro that a mutation was in fact present. How could he have been so blind?
"Rally, would you mind stepping outside for a bit?" The Professor asked politely.
She looked puzzled but agreed. Without wasting anytime, the young girl stepped out of the room.
Jean curiously gazed at the Professor. "What was that about?" She asked.
Charles sighed. "I need to inform you of something. I would call Wolverine in to tell you himself, but he is still training."
"You two know something I don't?" She asked.
"Yes." He answered.
"Keeping secrets, huh?" Jean tried to lighten up the atmosphere.
The professor did not return the smile. "Jean…" He paused, tasting the words on his tongue, "Rally is Logan's daughter."
The red head looked at him like she didn't hear him right. "What?"
"Logan is Rally's father, her biological father." He repeated.
Jean was taken back by the words. "How? How is that possible?"
The professor began to explain. "Rally was born before Logan lost his memory so therefore he doesn't remember it at all. From his flashbacks, I assume the child was given shortly after birth to the man we found her with, the man she believes was her father. I cannot give you an exact reason as to why her real mother did this, but I assume it was because Rally would be in danger if she stayed with her real mother, Wolverine's former wife."
A shocked silence filled the room. "I…I don't believe it
"Connect the dots, Jean. Wolverine can heal very rapidly. Rally can also heal fast. Do you think that is coincidence? It is a rare mutation." The Professor tried to convince her.
She thought on this. "It's so hard to wrap my mind around the concept of Logan having a child….a wife." She said with a tad of jealousy.
"It was difficult for me at first, but I believe he was a different man than what he is now. I've seen how Rally has begun to restore his past self. Did you know that he trained with her this morning and that he stayed by her bed side the night she awoke screaming? He would have never done such a thing."
Jean gave a small chuckle. "So he does have a caring nature hidden beneath that tough exterior."
"Yes." The professor chuckled. "I believe he will make a decent father given a period of time."
Jean smiled, trying to picture Logan as a father. It just wasn't working, though. "Rally isn't aware then? That is why you sent her out of the room?" She asked.
"Correct. I don't think Logan will mind that I divulged this information to you, but to Rally, that his duty and his duty only." The Professor stated.
"So if she is a mutant and has her abilities, why were you not able to detect her through Cerebro?" Jean inquired with confusion.
"She gained this mutation through genetics which is much more different than having an X-gene itself. As you can see, her version of it is much weaker. It takes days and turns into a scar, unlike Wolverine's ability that completely regenerates the part of his body that was injured in seconds or minutes."
The woman pondered this. She had never known any of this information because not many mutants had children. They were all too busy protecting themselves against humans to even think about offspring. "This is interesting, Professor."
He nodded. "I also must inform you that I do believe Rally is still dormant with another mutation, her x-gene mutation. Her healing is just a genetic mutation."
"How are you aware of all of this?" The red head asked. She was bewildered.
Charles chuckled. "I am a well rounded person, Jean. I have studied in many fields and I found mutations most interesting, considering I am a mutant."
The red head rolled her eyes and smiled. "I should have known."
"Yes, well, Rally is growing more worried by the second. Would you bring her back in?" The Professor asked kindly.
Jean nodded and found a very bored Rally waiting patiently outside the door.
"You can come back in now." She smiled.
The young girl bit her lip and stepped back in the Professor's office.
"Rally, don't look so worried." Professor X assured the young girl as she met him at his desk. "It turns out healing is your mutation." He stated and watched as her expression went from worry to sadness.
Jean put her arm around Rally to make her feel more at ease. "That's not so bad." The red head told her.
"How can I fight with the x-men if all I can do is heal and its not even fast." Rally stated with disappointment.
"It's not all you can do, Rally. Your x-gene is still dormant which when active, will produce a powerful ability." Jean explained.
"Really?" The young girl asked with growing hopes.
"Yes." The Professor answered.
She looked at both the mutants with confusion. "How?"
"Um," Jean glanced at the Professor. What would they tell her since she didn't know Logan was her father?
The Professor cut in. "That is just how mutations function in some cases." He knew the explanation was simplistic was it was not false.
"Oh." She smiled. That brightened the girl's mood. She no longer had to think she would be boring and dull, but there was a downside. She would still be on restrictions.
"Well, ladies." Charles interjected. "I must be off to teach a class." He rolled his wheelchair from behind his desk and headed for the door with Jean and Rally following close behind.
"See you later, Rally. Jean."
"See ya, Professor." Both girls stated as he wheeled away.
Jean sighed. "I'll soon have to go teach my morning class as well. Will you be okay if I left now?"
"I don't think so." Rally joked and grinned. The red headed mutant could definitely see a change in the young girl's mood. Jean laughed and rolled her eyes.
"Stay out of trouble, Rally." She teased and began down the hallway the Professor had gone.
Rally watched Jean a little bit walk down the hallway and then wondered what she should do now. She could go outside again, but Jean had told her there were rules about leaving the building. The young girl could go up to her room and….do something. She wasn't even sure what to do if she went up there. Slowly, the brunette began to take steps down the hall, not even sure where she was going. She thought she would just wander for awhile until she found something she to do. As she rounded the corner at the end of the hall, Rally hadn't even been looking and she ran right into someone.
End Chapter
Please review :) I know its a weird ending and I didn't plan it, but, if I wouldn't have ended there, this chapter would be so long. Hope it turned out okay. Thank you for all who read and encourage me to keep writing :)
