The Xavier Mansion
�What?� he cried grouchily.
�Number 1041, the one that you told me to kill today, she�s gone!� she cried.
�What?!� he stood and followed the secretary to where the girl�s shell had been. Indeed the shell had been opened and the gooey substance that had protected her was all over the floor which the janitors were cleaning up. They didn�t look too pleased. The man�s expression grew fierce. �I want her found! If she reveals anything about our operation, we�ll be ruined! Find her! NOW!� the girl nodded shakily and turned to gather the material to search for the missing number.
When Victoria came to, she didn�t recognize her surroundings. She was in a nicely furnished room and there was another made bed across the room. She sat up and all of a sudden, all the memories of the night before came back. She knew she was in the Xavier mansion, which was a school for people like her. Mutants, the man in the wheelchair had called them. She got up and was surprised to find some nice clothes offered to her on the end of her bed. She quickly replaced the leather suit with the clothes and looked herself over. She now wore a red strapless shirt under a denim jacket and low cut, dark bellbottoms. She pulled her hair back with the hair pieces provided and headed downstairs. She explored a bit before stumbling into the kitchen which was alive and bustling with activity.
She walked in, trying not to be noticed when the professor in the wheelchair called her over. She shyly obeyed and looked at the people who were running about the kitchen. He was pointing out certain people that had been present last night like Kitty, Scott, Kurt, Ororo, Logan and a few others she lost somewhere in the jumble of words that were floating around the kitchen. She looked at the one he called Kitty. She seemed really sweet. She remembered her from last night. One of only two. Victoria remembered her and the guy the Professor called Scott.
Victoria almost screamed as the girl, Kitty, stuck her hand and head through the refrigerator door and pulled out a jug of milk before setting it on the table. Victoria walked over and poked Kitty three times in the shoulder before examining her closely. Kitty looked at her as if she had two heads.
�Like, what are you doing?� Kitty wondered, quite confused.
�How did you do that?� she wondered, poking her again.
�Do what? And, like, will you stop poking me?� Kitty waved Victoria�s hand away.
�Sorry, but I just saw you stick your hand and head through that door. How do you do that?� she wondered.
�It�s my power as a mutant. I can, like, phase through stuff. So, what�s your mutant power?� She wondered, pouring a glass for herself.
�Mutant power? What are you talking about? As far as I know, I don�t have any powers.� Victoria raised an eyebrow.
�Well, if you didn�t, like, have a mutant power, you wouldn�t be here. So apparently you�re a mutant just like all of us. Each of us has, like, a special power. All of them are different, but here we can, like, belong and stuff. So, like, we don�t, like, get ridiculed for what we can do and stuff.� She said smiling.
�Well, I don�t know. The guy in the wheelchair says that I have some mutant ability, but we don�t know what it is, so I doubt I have one.� Victoria poked Kitty one more time.
Kitty looked at the spot on her shoulder that kept being poked and then looked at Victoria. She smiled kindly. �I can see that you, like, need a tour guide to show you around and, like, tell you about the people and, like, what we do here. I�ll be, like, glad to help. If you, like, need extra help, another who�d be, like, happy to help is Kurt. He�s a-�
BAMPF!!! A pale skinned Kurt Wagner appeared behind Victoria who screamed and turned to face him. But the thing that surprised everyone in the kitchen, who were now looking at them, were the three claws that were extended out of Victoria�s knuckles. They were identical to the ones that appeared on Wolverine.
�...t-t-t-teleporter.� Kitty stuttered, finishing her interrupted sentence.
Victoria stared at the claws that came from her hands as if she had never seen them before. �W-W-What are these?! What�s happening?� she turned to the Professor.
Professor stared at the claws. After a few minutes of silence, Professor Xavier spoke quietly. �I think we found your mutant ability.� He smiled weakly.
Victoria looked, horrified, at the three extra appendages. �How did I get these? Why are they in my hands?� she asked the air.
Logan had walked into the kitchen right before Kurt appeared and had seen the whole thing. He walked up to the girl and knelt in front of her, studying the claws. She looked up at him with timid, frightened eyes. �Let me see.� Victoria held her hand up in front of him and Logan took her small hand in his own, running his fingers along the edge of the claws. �These are just like mine.� He stated.
�L-L-Like yours?� she wondered timidly.
Logan�s claws shot out of his hand and he showed her what he meant. She studied the claws for a moment before asking a question. �How do I get rid of them?�
�If yours are really like mine, they should retract on your thought.� He answered, pulling his back in.
Victoria thought about it, and soon she felt the claws pull back into her forearm. It was one of the most odd feelings she had ever felt in her life. Silence fell over the room as Victoria studied her hands closely, Logan watching her.
Finally, Kurt broke the silence. �Zat vas an interesting vay to start ze day.�
Victoria sat on the edge of the fountain in the front yard of the mansion. Her knees drawn up to her chest, her sea green eyes fixed on the rippling water. She absently rubbed her knuckles where the claws had shot out of her skin. She didn�t even hear Logan approach until he sat down next to her. �Hey, kid. How ya doing?� he wondered gently. Victoria shrugged her shoulders and continued staring at the water. She never made eye contact at all.
�So kid, what�s your name? I lost it somewhere in the jumble back there.� He asked of her. She still didn�t look at him.
�The man in the wheelchair told me my name is Victoria. But I don�t remember for sure. I go with that one.�
Logan nodded a bit. �But we don�t call him �Guy in the wheelchair�.� Logan smirked. �Most of us call him Professor.�
She nodded. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke timidly. �So, what�s your name again? I can�t remember.� She finally looked at him.
�Logan. Or otherwise known as Wolverine.� He smiled slightly.
Wolverine... Wolverine... Wolverine... The name echoed painfully in her head. She should know that name, but why? Where had she heard it before? Victoria gripped her head and nearly collapsed had it not been for Logan�s strong arm, supporting her.
�Hey, kid. You ok? What�s wrong?� he asked, keeping her from falling face first into the fountain.
Finally, the echoing name disappeared from Victoria�s mind and she calmed down. She straightened and held herself. She looked over at Logan and gave him a helpless look. �I don�t know what, but something bad is going to happen, Logan. I don�t know what it is, but Something�s going to happen to everyone at this school.� She said quietly, tears starting to flow down her pale cheeks. She felt so helpless. She knew something was going to happen. Maybe even a death, but she couldn�t remember!
Logan wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders and she laid her head against his chest, as tears continued to flow. They stayed like that for a while before Logan had to leave. He was told to go take some �Jamie� kid to the airport to visit his parents for a few days. Victoria stayed at the fountain.
Victoria wandered the mansion. It seemed empty. Today, everyone was off doing their own thing, and the only people left in the mansion were Scott, Kurt, Kitty, Rogue, Logan, the Professor, and herself. She wandered into the acres of land that lay behind the mansion and soon found the one called Scott sitting on the bank of a small creek, a longing expression noticeable even with his ruby sunglasses on. He heard her approach and looked up at her. �Oh, you�re the new girl. What�s your name again? I�m Scott Summers.�
�Victoria. I�m not... quite sure what... my last name is.� She shifted a bit as Scott turned back to studying the creek�s waters. Even with his sunglasses, she could tell what was wrong. �You�ve lost someone close, haven�t you?�
Scott�s sunglasses were immediately facing her. �How? How did you know?�
�I seem to have the ability to discern.� She smiled warmly.
More like read people�s minds. He thought. �I see. Yeah. She died about six months ago. Her name was Jean Grey. She was killed trying to save the Professor and a bunch of us.�
�Was she your girlfriend?� Victoria wondered.
�Uhhh... yeah. She was a telepathic mutant like the Professor. She was mainly telekinetic, though.� Scott sighed.
Victoria looked at his sunglasses. �Why do you wear those all the time?�
Scott looked at her. �If I were to take them off, if I opened my eyes, my optical beams would fry you. They are constantly emitted from my eyes. I can�t control it.�
Victoria didn�t quite know what she was doing, but she reached out her hands and put her middle and index fingers of both hands on his temples. He almost sat back. �What are you...?� Scott trailed off as he felt a cold chill pass through his head. Victoria gripped his sunglasses and slowly pulled them from his face, only to see his eyes squeezed shut.
�Open your eyes.� She suggested.
�No! I might kill you!� he protested.
�Then look up at the sky and open them, I wanna see your eyes.� She pushed.
Scott saw no point to it, but he looked heavenward and slowly opened his eyes, expecting to see a red sky dotted with pink puffs that were the clouds. However, nothing happened. He saw the light, clear blue sky mottled with white clouds. He looked at Victoria to see her clearly smiling at him. The optical beams were absent. Apparently he could control it!
He felt around under his eyes and looked, shocked up at Victoria. �How...?�
�I don�t have a clue. I told you, I don�t know anything about my abilities and I haven�t the foggiest as to what I just did.� Victoria shrugged carelessly.
Scott looked back to the creek, his thoughts wandering back to Jean. He longed to see her clearly for the first time. He wanted to see her so badly. But he couldn�t she was gone. Tears welled in the sides of his new royal blue eyes. As a single tear made its way down his cheek, he caught it on his finger. For a few short minutes, he stared in wonder at the salty droplet.
Victoria stopped examining his sunglasses and looked up at him. �What are you doing?�
�It�s the first time I�ve ever shed tears in ten years.� He answered, still staring at the tear.
�What do you mean? Didn�t you cry when... you know...?� Victoria cautiously pointed at the creek, signaling that she meant Jean.
�Oh, I cried, but I didn�t shed tears. I couldn�t. My eyes were constantly on fire, so to speak, so tears would dry up instantly even if they could be created.� Scott explained, a bit whistfully.
Victoria smiled. She wasn�t sure how she had done it, but she was glad she had. Scott�s eyes roamed the campus, looking at everything with a renewed energy that radiated its own excitement. He was so distracted by all the colors to notice The Professor and the newly returned Logan walking (or rolling) up, wondering about the blast they had seen from what were apparently Scott�s optical beams. Victoria noticed, however, and turned to face them.
The professor looked at Victoria, then asked the question that spoke for both himself and Logan. �Victoria, why do you have Scott�s sunglasses? He does need them to see, you know.� The Professor smiled warmly.
�No he doesn�t.� Victoria stated simply.
�What are you talking about? Of course he does.� Logan agreed with the Professor.
Victoria pointed at Scott as if that alone was proof enough. Scott turned to see the Professor and Logan who quietly gasped at the sight of his royal blue eyes. Logan was speechless, but the Professor wheeled over to Scott and motioned him down. Scott knelt down in front of him, and allowed him to closely examine his new eyes.
�How...?� the Professor mimicked Scott�s earlier reaction.
Scott pointed at the girl. �She put her fingers on my temples and the fire went away.�
The Professor looked at Victoria. She shrugged. �I don�t know how I did it. It just sorta happened.�
�So apparently you have the ability to transfer your own healing powers to others, though you don�t know how.� The Professor, well, professed.
Scott rubbed his eyes as the two conversed. He felt his eyes begin to sting and burn as they had so many years before when he had first found out that he was a mutant. Finally, he closed them entirely and covered them with his hand. Victoria noticed and asked him what was wrong. �My eyes sting.�
Victoria knelt down in front of him. �Do you think it�s a side effect of my healing abilities? Open you eyes and let me take a look.�
Scott opened his eyes and a flash of brilliant red light was the last thing Victoria remembered. Scott�s optical beams were back, and Victoria had been sent flying through the air, flipping before landing, unconscious on her stomach. Scott closed his eyes tightly, and began to blindly feel around for his sunglasses until the Professor handed them into his searching hand. He stood, and joined Logan beside the fallen girl. Logan hadn�t touched her, and simply stared at the back of her head. �Charles, i think you�d better come see this.� He called shakily.
The Professor rolled over and looked down at the limp girl. �What is it, Logan?�
Logan pointed at the back of Victoria�s head. Implanted at the base of her skull was a small black plug. The Professor stared at it for a long moment before motioning Logan to bring her inside.