Chapter 7- Welcome to the X-men
When the couple walked in, the first thing that Rogue thought –– well, perhaps the second thing she thought. The first was that if this girl hurt Kurt, who was close enough to almost be a brother, she would pay for it. So Rogue’’s second thought was that they made a colorful picture.
Kurt wasn’’t gaudy by any means, but he had blue fur, yellow eyes, and red and black on his uniform. Standing next to him at about the same height, Amanda seemed rather plain. Medium brown skin, brown hair streaked with different shades, and brown eyes so dark they were almost black. Even her clothes were conservative; certainly not up to Rogue’’s rather showy standard. There was a single tense moment; this was the first time anyone who wasn’’t a mutant had been brought into the fold.
Then Bobby ruined the moment by sliding down the stairs on an ice ramp, right past Amanda, and out the front door. Following close on his heels was Jubilee, hair dyed an obnoxious shade of pink and paffing him for all she was worth whenever he came within range. Neither of the New Mutants seemed to notice Amanda.
Kurt blinked once, then sighed. "That was Bobby Drake, and the firecracker on his tail is Jubilee.””
Amanda stifled a giggle. "I take it her hair wasn’’t supposed to look like that?””
"Oh, it was. She just didn’’t know it,”” at this the poor girl burst out laughing, and the tension ceased.
Where ever Kurt and Amanda went that day, they seemed to be followed by the various members of the Xavier Institute, who were almost always using their powers. Jean was studying in the yard while holding her history book up with TK, Kitty fell through the kitchen ceiling (and the kitchen table), Sam whacked Jamie on the head, producing a dozen copies of him, Beast in his lab wandering around on the ceiling ("What is it with you blue people and walls?””) and Amanda discovered what she thought was a pet to be Rahne Sinclair, Wolfsbane.
Amanda also met Logan at his most nonchalant, popping off the top of a beer with one of his claws. Ororo rolled her eyes at him, but did nothing more. "Oh, good morning. You must be Amanda?””
"Somehow I doubt that I would be anyone else. This is definitely an –– interesting –– place,”” she replied. "Do you teach here?””
"Yes, both Logan and I assist, although in very different areas. Tell me, where do you come from, Miss Sefton?””
Oh, bad . . . loaded question alert! Amanda thought of half a dozen different answers and decided to go with a half-truth. "Germany. I’’m here as an exchange student with my cousin, Cassie.””
““Germany?”” Ororo asked, one eyebrow raised. ““You are aware that’’s where Kurt is from, correct?””
““Of course!”” Amanda stuttered. Kurt raised his eyebrows. He’’d forgotten about her usual shyness, especially after they had fallen into the habit of teasing each other. She wasn’’t shy with her friends, either -- he’’d seen her get into what looked like some pretty heated arguments with them. But she never raised her hand in class, or ever talked to anyone else -- and Kurt felt like slapping himself on the forehead. At least Logan’’s shut up! ““It’’s the accent.””
““Well, most of us around here have some accent or another,”” Ororo pointed out. Amanda nodded. ““That’’s almost as weird to listen to as --””
““ROBERT DRAKE, IF THIS IS PERMANENT YOU WON’’T BE ABLE TO STAND FOR A WEEK!!!”” Jubilee screeched from somewhere nearby.
““Well, that,”” Amanda gestured to the ice slide that had appeared across the kitchen door, with Iceman riding it for all he was worth. Kurt snickered.
““He’’s worse than me,”” he commented, smirking. ““Nice not to constantly be the one whose blood they’’re after.””
*
““So . . .””
Amanda and Kurt ended up perched on one of the peaks of the roof, Kurt with his toes curled around the edge and Amanda dangling her legs over the three-story drop. Amanda had been introduced to the entirety of the Institute, and been greeted differently by each person. Rahne and Beast, who’’d been the most worried about her reaction to their appearance, only grinned when they heard her getting into another argument with Kurt over his image inducer.
Of course, it startled Amanda when Kurt gave a wolf a long-suffering look, and the wolf turned into Rahne.
““Well, this is probably some of our favorite spot to be alone. It doesn’’t help when two or three people come up here, all at once.””
““How many times have those who can fly had to catch people?””
““Several.””
Amanda studied his face. It was drawn beneath indigo fur, and his amber eyes were distracted. ““Hey. Elf. There’’s something you’’re not telling me, and after all this, I’’m not sure I’’d even be surprised.””
Kurt sighed. ““You have yet to meet the Professor, and he’’ll tell you. I think he just wanted to gauge your reaction to this,”” Kurt gestured, encompassing the grounds and all that implied. ““beforehand.””
Amanda stared ahead, almost not noticing that Bobby and Jubilee (who were still at it), were coming rather close. ““I’’m not going to say that this doesn’’t bother me, Kurt. One of you was okay, but it’’ll take me a little longer to adjust to this.””
““But you’’re not afraid of us?””
Amanda raised an eyebrow, and turned her attention back to Kurt. ““I’’m afraid that Bobby’’s going to run someone over, but other than that -- no. This place is a good idea. I mean, despite the fact that I know you group have used your powers at school more than once, the worst reaction being those ‘‘blue demon’’ stories, and I think they’’re a little off,”” she teased.
““Of course! No one’’s looked long enough to see my roguish good looks,”” he grinned.
““I’’m not sure roguish is the right term, oh fuzzy elf. By the way . . . That girl is over-protective of you. What’’s with her?””
Kurt rolled his eyes. ““You remember Principal Darkholme?””
““Yes.””
““She’’s a mutant, too. A shape shifter. That wasn’’t her real form. She’’s -- blue. With yellow eyes.””
““Mein . . .””
““Ja. I’’m adopted. She’’s my birth mother. And Rogue’’s foster mother. She’’s kind of like a sister.””
““Oh, good. For a moment I thought I had competition.””
““Not likely,”” Kurt muttered. When he was around Amanda he usually forgot that he was a monster to the rest of the world. He’’d been moody all day, and Amanda rolled her eyes.
““Fuzzy, if any decent girl saw you I would have competition. It’’s almost enough to make me grateful for that watch,”” Amanda said the word with loathing, and Kurt laughed.
““Come on. It’’s a bad thing to keep a telepath waiting.””
*
You have the most amusing expression on your face, Chuck. Something wrong?
*I don’’t know. It could be a problem. Some people are naturally guarded against telepathy. Amanda is one of them.*
Amanda was sitting across from Xavier, while Kurt sat calmly on the ceiling. Logan leaned against the door, ignoring the dozen or so ears pressed against it. ““Professor, I mean -- I’’m -- I mean, I happy that you trusted me enough to tell me about this place, but I get the idea that it wasn’’t any proof of my sterling character that made you tell me.””
Xavier sighed. ““I’’m afraid not, Miss Sefton. We have a rather large problem, and no way of dealing with it ourselves. You warned Kurt about an attack made on a mutant named Angel two days ago -- not one of us, but an acquaintance of ours. You said that you believed it was carried out by the Friends of Humanity.””
Amanda shook her head. ““Candy. My friend, Candy, was there, with W-- Angel. It was them.””
““Then we need your help.””
*
Brown eyes ringed in yellow watched the spectacle at the Institute from afar. There was a hill the clever psychic leader of the Freaks hadn’’t counted on. A small, nondescript building had seemingly miraculously appeared there overnight. The building, much like the one it had been built to watch over, wasn’’t everything it appeared to be.
Graydon Creed watched the mutie activity with little interest -- although the antics of the ice-freak were entertaining at times. Hmm. Sis’’d look entertaining if she had pink hair . . .
He had watched the muties who infected his school for weeks on end, noting everything about them and their powers. Many -- too many -- were altogether too dangerous to ever be allowed to live, even though their destructive powers might be helpful -- say, in construction projects. Two were scheduled for caged confinement, as they were more animal than human anyway. He wondered briefly if the nearly-extinct gene for fur in humans was coded as blue, or if it was another aspect of their inhumanity. None of the other adults would live, their mutations were too powerful -- telepathy, weather, and those astonishing claws . . . His skeleton could be scientifically useful.
Once removed from his body, of course.
He’’d figured all this out weeks ago. His companions had abandoned the lookout post, using instead the other useful aspects of the base of the core Friends of Humanity. But Graydon had a hunch about these. He was sure they held the key to getting to most of -- if not all of -- the active mutants in Bayville.
That they’’d been foolish enough to allow a human into their midst had been a surprise.
Ever since finding out about his parents, Graydon had loathed mutants. How dare his mother do this to him, drop him off and leave! Giving him only a description and a name to go with his father, a man he’’d never met. Leaving behind only a harsh memory of realizing his mother was a mutant as she left him. Traded around until adopted, Graydon had harbored a prejudice against both his parents as well as to mutants in general, his young mind making the connection parents bad-parents mutants-mutants bad.
When he had been adopted, he was delighted to discover his new parents, who gave him a brand-new last name, Brent, and more fuel to add to his childhood aversion to mutants. Mutants could control people. Mutants could hurt people. They were like wolves, hunting to bring down other, innocent, normal people. His new parents first taught him to fear mutants, then they coaxed his antipathy into hatred.
““Anything interesting on your ‘‘watch’’, Graydon?”” his father asked, highly amused that his son had been staring out the window at the same old scene for so long.
Graydon paused before answering. ““Actually, this time, yes. They’’ve admitted a human into their sanctuary.””
““A -- human? Are you sure?””
Graydon smirked. ““Yes.””
““You’’d better be, because the last time when Harold thought they’’d admitted a human it was that ghastly Rogue --””
““She’’s human. Foreign exchange student, and she’’s been to the nurses office to ask for a bandage for a paper cut. We got blood, tested it, and there is an X-factor gene, but only one instead of the required two, and recessive to boot. Like me.””
““She’’s more human than you, Graydon, genetically speaking, but not all humans are angels. And that one has stepped in far deeper than she could ever have imagined.
*
The extensive complex beneath the unkept house above would have impressed -- and frightened -- Xavier. Community centers, meeting rooms, day care, lounges, target ranges, training centers, a huge network of computers and every type of scientific lab created by man, all underneath the small house that was merely a disguise for an observation deck and heart of the original Friends of Humanity. All lavishly decorated with the finest of materials and the best and most high-tech equipment money could buy, much of it illegal.
Within steel walls and sitting around a table were four men planning an enticement, an abduction, a hostage, a ransom, and eventually --
The beginning of a Great Purge.
*
Kurt had offered to drive Amanda home -- Charles only hoped he’’d at least ask Scott to borrow the car, or he’’d have to give the elf more punishment work when he really didn’’t need it. ““Ororo, Logan -- Did we do the right thing? Enlisting a child when none of us can do the job?””
Neither answered.