Thunderbird || X-Men

Chapter 4 ~ A New Home

It was the next morning. All of us sat side by side on a piece of concrete outside of the building. It had been almost complete destroyed. There were army men with guns walking around. It was all wreckage now from the attack last night. We sat in solemn silence as we saw Charles, a girl I  knew as Moira, and Erik drive by. They exited their car as soon as they rolled up. Charles ran to us, embracing Raven tightly.

"We've made arrangements for you to be taken home immediately." Charles told us.

"We're not going home." Said Sean. "And he's not going back to prison!"

"They killed Darwin!" Alex added, his voice cracking. I looked over at him then back to Charles. I couldn't imagine how the two of them felt. Knowing Charles, he probably blamed himself.

"All the more reason for you to leave. This is over." Charles finished.

"Darwin is dead, Charles, and we can't even bury him." Raven told him, looking him in the eyes. There was a pause.

"We can avenge him." Erik piped up, his gaze lingering over us. I looked over at him and our eyes met. I could tell we all had the same idea. Charles took Erik aside to talk to him. Alex and I exchanged glances.

"Erik's right, Alex. We need to show Shaw that he can't mess with our family." I told him forcefully. Alex nodded, looking back at Charles and Erik a few feet away. They both turned.

"We'll have to train. All of us. Yes?"
All of us looked at each other, then back to him, nodding.

"But we can't stay here, even if they reopen the department it's not safe. We've got nowhere to go." Hank pointed out. Charles looked back at him with a smirk.

"Yes, we do."

~

We stood on the lawn in front of a huge, beige mansion. It looked like a castle from the outside, with its large pillars and open windows.

"This is ours." Charles told us, looking it up and down. Raven went to go stand next to him.

"Time for the tour." She said, leading us inside the big double doors. The inside was luxurious. It had long, dark carpets and beautiful furniture.

"Go ahead, look around, find yourself a room. They're that way." Charles explained, pointing down a long corridor. I decided to go that way first, and Alex followed me. Over our time together we developed a friendship. We felt safe with each other when Charles or Erik weren't around.

I went looking through the rooms, even though they were all the same. This place seemed so easy to get lost in but I figured I'd get used to it. Alex followed me close behind.

"Hey, this is a nice one!" I said, walking into one of the rooms to the right.

"They all look the same, Kayla." He told me, following me in. I placed my bag on the bed and tried to remember the room number. 41. Alex spotted the room across from mine. 40. I saw him walk in and place his stuff down as I did. The others came walking down the hallway, Charles leading them. He looked at me in the doorway of my room.

"I see you two have made yourself at home rather quickly." He chuckled. The others waved as they passed. Erik was the last in the group, following farther behind, gazing at the decor. I decided to check out the rest of the mansion with the group. I joined Erik at his side as he walked.

"Oh hello, Kayla." He said politely.

"Hey. Why are you so far behind?" Erik looked over at me in confusion, probably surprised I asked, or even cared.

"Did you know in a wolf pack, the Alpha male stays at the end? They do this to make sure nothing tries to attack them from behind, and so nobody loses their way." He explained.

"That's pretty smart."

"I'd certainly say so. I'm back here just because I walk slow." I laughed a bit, enjoying his company. We didn't talk often, but when we did he was always the sweetest.

"We are going to begin our training soon." He added.

"When?"

"Probably today or tomorrow." Erik glanced down for a moment.

"What do you think he'll teach me?" I asked him.

"Whatever he teaches me."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to be the one to 'mentor' you." Erik finished.

I felt kind of special all of a sudden. Charles decides he wants his good pal Erik Lehnsherr to train me. It didn't make much sense to me though.

"Why me, out of all people?" I ask him. "Why not any of the others?"

"I don't suppose Charles's methods would work the same for you. I told him I'd be happy to train you myself." Erik placed a firm hand on my shoulder. "Is that alright?"

"I suppose."

"Then whenever you want to start your training, come find me."

"Tomorrow?" I asked.

"Of course."

I stood still, not following Erik anymore. He continued walking until he found a room at the very end of the hall. He opened the door and looked around. Then he turned back towards me, gave me a smile, and closed the door. I was now alone in the long, silent hallway. I looked behind me down the hall, deciding to head back to my room.

I laid down in my bed, taking out a few things from my bag and looking at them. It was so weird being back in a school. The last time I was in a dorm was the community college I went to. It was only a two-year college, and I left it almost 5 years ago. But now things were different, and college me would've never imagined being in a place like this. I would've never imagined more people like me either. Does every mutant think they're alone in the beginning?

I decided taking a nap would be best for me. I needed to calm down and process what I signed up for. I was going to start my training with Erik tomorrow. I felt that controlling what I can do as soon as possible was for the best. I was always so scared of hurting someone, always. Anytime I felt a lot of emotions at once was when it came out, but so far I've kept it under control. I curled up under the blankets, trying to get comfortable.

I had no idea what was going to happen tomorrow, but I was ready for it.