A New Home

�. . . and so, at this school, you do not need to hide what you are. In fact, we encourage all of the students to develop their powers.�

�But as well as teaching them to control their powers, we also provide them with an education, in the hope that they can re-enter society as a fully-functioning, proper individual.�

��Re-enter society�? Am I a criminal, or something?�

Throughout the flight to the school, Professor Xavier, along with Ororo Munroe and Scott Summers, had been trying to help me come to terms with my new status as a mutant, and to understand what this all meant for me.

Oh, I understood. My own DNA had condemned me to a life as an outsider. I had lost my home, my friends. . . my whole life was in ruins.

�Cyclops,� said Xavier suddenly, leaving off from me, at least temporarily, to speak to Scott Summers, who was flying the jet. �How much longer until we arrive?�

�Another two hours, at least,� came the reply.

I looked at Xavier. �What�s with the whole �Cyclops� thing? I thought his name was Scott Summers.�

�It is,� said Xavier calmly. �But mutants take a second name, a true name. A name that represents their power and their personality. Not that of a long-dead human ancestor.�

�Interesting concept.�

�Yes, it is. A colleague and I thought of it a long time ago.�

I looked at his sideways. �And so you except me to pick a name, too? Like Cyclops, or. . . or. . .� I gestured at Ororo Munroe, who was sitting across from me.

�Storm,� was the name she supplied me.

�Storm. A perfect name for a woman who can bring nature itself down on her enemies,� I said, not quite sure if I was being sarcastic.

�Thank you.�

�But what about Cyclops?� I asked. �Wasn�t a cyclops a creature from Greek mythology?�

�Cyclops� eyes project an extremely powerful force beam,� explained Xavier. �But he cannot control them, so he wears special glasses made of ruby quartz, the only substance capable of diffusing the quartz, and make them harmless.�

�Yeah?� I asked. �Well, Polyphemus there had better not take off his glasses around me, otherwise he�ll end up having Nobody hurt him.�

Xavier looked at me strangely. �You know your Greek mythology.�

I stared him down. �What of it? I like to read, okay? And I took Latin and Classics? Is that a crime? That I know of Theseus and Ariadne, and Achilles and Thetis, and Hector and Paris?�

Xavier was still looking at me strangely. �Thetis was a sea goddess.�

�And so was Amphitrite, but that does not mean I�m calling myself that.�

�Of course,� replied Xavier. �His calmness was really starting to unnerve me. �You have the right to choose your own name. We cannot force you to do anything.�

�You�re right. But you can put me in a situation where my options are seriously limited, thus forcing me to choose the option you want me to pick, and claim it was my own decision.�

�But in the end, the name you have will be your decision.�

�I�ll think about it. If you need me, you know where to find me,� I added, putting my headphones in my ears and pressing play on my portable CD player. The loud music drowned out everything that was going on, and allowed me to just lie back and relax, not thinking for the first time in what seemed like days.

A few CDs later, I heard a voice inside my head. It was Professor Xavier.

�We are nearly there. Just a few more minutes, Nicki.�

I pulled the headphones out of my ears. It was amazing how quickly I had adjusted to having someone else�s voice in my head. I began to pack the few things I had taken out during the flight back into my backpack. I checked to make sure my seatbelt was done up and secure, and then felt the familiar ear-popping feeling that comes with landing. I waited for the usual landing-shudder to travel through the plane. It never came, but the plane�s door opened, revealing grass and dirt.

�We�re here, Nicki,� said Professor Xavier. �Welcome to your new home.�

I picked up my bag and followed him out of the plane. Scott Summers was already there, waiting with the rest of my luggage.

�Thanks," I said to him. He smiled back at me.

�So where are we going now?� I asked, looking around. This place was huge.

And that was just the building!

It was a mansion, and the grounds were huge, too. I knew instantly that it was going to take me ages to see all of it.

�Wait a moment, Nicki,� said Professor Xavier. �We are waiting for someone.�

�Who?�

�Another teacher,� explained Professor Xavier. �Ah. Here she comes now.�

A very pretty woman with red hair walked over towards us. She kissed Scott Summers on the cheek, and then looked at me.

�I see your mission was a success,� she said. Her voice was pretty, too.

�Nicki,� said Professor Xavier. �This is Dr Jean Grey, she will be one of your teachers here at the school.� He smiled at me. �She is a mutant.�

I was shell-shocked. This Jean Grey looked so. . . so. . . normal! I was so used to the idea that mutants had to look different from humans (never mind that I looked as normal as everyone else I had met before this all began) that the idea that a mutant could look like her astounded me.

Dr Grey smiled. �It�s nice to meet you, Nicki.�

�Same here,� I somehow managed to get out.

�Where are the students?� asked Professor Xavier.

�Having lunch, and getting to know another new arrival,� said Dr Grey. �Don�t worry,� she said to me. �You�ll meet them soon enough.�

�Great,� I muttered under my breath.

Dr Grey laughed. �Come on. Your room is all organised. We can put your luggage there. Scott? You know which one it is. Just leave it in there.�

With that, Dr Grey led me to my new room, which was to be my home for the rest of my time at this school.

*

�And this is your room, completing the tour.�

I stared blankly at the room. It was larger than my room at home, with a bed, desk and chair, a chest of drawers, a closet and a mirror, just to name a few things.

�This is my room? My own room? I thought I would have to share a room.�

�Most students do,� replied Dr Grey calmly. �But we discussed it, and we thought that someone with your powers would be better off having their own room.�

�You mean if I have an accident in this room, it�s only my stuff that gets ruined,� I said dryly.

�That�s one way of putting it. I�ll leave you here to unpack. Do you remember where the recreation room is?� I nodded. �Once you�re ready, just go down there. The other students will be down there. I�m sure you are capable of making your own introductions.�

Trial by drowning, I thought to myself.

Dr Grey smiled. �In a manner of speaking.�

�Are you a telepath, too?�

�I have some telepathic ability - nowhere near that of Professor Xavier�s - but I am a telekinetic. I can move objects with my mind.�

�Like that chick from �Charmed�?� I asked. �Cool!�

�I�ll leave you now,� said Dr Grey. �I hope everything goes well for you here, Nicki.�

�Thanks.�

*

I had just about finished unpacking when I heard a slight knock on the open door.

I turned around to see two guys my own age standing in the doorway. One was blonde and had a friendly smile on his face, while the other, who was standing behind him, was darker, and had a darker feeling about him, if that made sense.

�Hi,� said the blonde. �You must be new here.�

�The unpacking gave me away?� I asked, smiling. The two guys were cute. Things were starting to look up.

If only my friends could see this, I thought. Then my heart sank. That�s right, I only have one friend now, and she�s all the way back home.

�Maybe,� said the blonde. He extended a hand. �I�m Bobby.�

I took the hand. �Nicki. Bobby short for Robert?� I asked.

Bobby nodded. �Yeah. What about Nicki? Short for Nicole?�

I let go of the hand. �Nicoletta, actually.�

�Well, Nicki,� said Bobby, �welcome to Mutant High.�

��Mutant High�? Cool name.�

�You just arrived here?� asked Bobby. I nodded. �You must be the one Professor Xavier, and Cyclops and Storm went to get.� I nodded again. �You can call me Iceman, by the way.�

�Let me guess, ice powers?� I asked. �Not the hardest to figure out.�

�Okay, then, Nicki, what about you? What are you called?�

I grinned. �Nicki.�

�What�s your mutant name?�

�Nicki. I don�t have one. Yet. I only learned of all this on the weekend. It�s still a bit soon to pick a new name. I�ve already alienated myself from an entire country, so I�m taking a bit of a break.�

�Oh,� said Bobby. �I�m sorry.�

I put a brave grin on my face. �Nah. Don�t be. I learnt who my friends were, in any case. Downside is, though, it was only one person. Upside, seriously cuts down on Christmas shopping.� I looked at the other guy. �Does he ever talk?� I asked Bobby.

�Yeah. Artie is the one around here who doesn�t talk. This is John, by the way,� Bobby said, referring to Mr Silent. �Or Pyro, if you want go by the mutant name.�

�Pyro? As in pyromaniac?� I asked.

�Try pyrokinetic,� said John. �The ability to mentally control flame.�

�He speaks!� I said. �Seriously, though, that is not a good thing.�

�Why not?� asked Bobby.

�Because I�m a hydrokinetic,� I replied sheepishly. �I can mentally control water.�

Bobby looked at me with what seemed to be a new form of respect. �This oughta be interesting,� he said. �But enough of that. Come on, Nicki. There�s more people for you to meet.�

I shrugged my shoulders. �All right.�

*

By the end of the day, life as a mutant was beginning to look up. I had met a whole bunch of new people - Jubilation Lee, Kitty Pryde, Piotr �Peter� Rasputin, and Theresa Rourke.

Of the four of them, three of them had mutant names: Jubilee, Colossus and Siryn. Kitty went without, although she didn�t seem to mind.

But I had been thinking about the possibility of a name. Mythology, like Cyclops� name, seemed to fit best for me, and it left me with three choices: Neptuna, a feminine form of Neptune, who was the Roman god of the sea; Amphitrite, his queen; and lastly, Thetis, the mother of Achilles, and, compared with Neptune and Amphitrite, quite a minor sea goddess.

Well, Amphitrite and Neptuna were a bit too powerful for me - maybe later on, then, when I can control entire oceans - so that left me with one choice. And I thought that the choice fitted me quite well.

Although I was quite a minor mutant in the scheme of things, I was still powerful enough to cause a lot of trouble.

And like the choice, I had real potential.

�Hey, Bobby! John! I�ve got a name!�

�What?!�

�You can call me. . . Thetis!�

�That's great, but go to sleep! It's nearly midnight!�

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