Welcome to Mutant High

I only held onto Scott's hand for about the first five minutes of the ride within the X-Jet, as he at last referred to it as. I started to look around and take in my surroundings of the beast of a vehicle, if it could even be classified as a vehicle...much less be classified as a beast. It was much more beastlier than beast.

"So how old did you say you are again Winter?"

Storm asked from the co-pilot's chair to make conversation with me for our couple of hour journey back to the X-Mansion. My nerves were still fairly jumpy but not as bad as previously. Sure it hadn't taken them that long to arrive there in my hometown from the school, only because they were on an immediate mission; but now that they had time to spare, it paid off to be a little leisurely. Gave time for Jean to steer the plane and also speak with Professor Xavier within her mind.

"I turned fourteen last week... I feel so young, next to you three. I really hope I won't be the youngest at the school." I commented with a bit of a giggle. Neither three of the X-Men took the comment hatefully. Storm was the eldest out of the three; she had been the Professor's student the longest.

"I assure you, you aren't the youngest. I believe our youngest is a six year old boy," Scott said, trying to think real hard about the youngest student at the Mansion currently. It was hard to keep up with all of them. He'd been teaching classes for the last six or so years--he was no longer a student, and he'd seen a lot of students come and go in that time.

Storm and Scott knew that Jean had taken an extra liking to the girl flying with them today. They were certain why she did, because her own home situation seemed to be similar to Winter's. Jean's story was no secret to Storm nor Scott. Especially not to Scott, since they were 'involved.'

Plus, Winter's power to freeze time... it seemed to be a psychic or telepathic type of gift as well. Perhaps, Storm thought, Winter and Jean are even more alike than Jean knows. Looking over to her red-headed friend, Jean must have heard that because she had a soft, humble, yet slightly troubling smile upon her lips.

Jean had already guessed that Winter would be a lot like her. Powers wise, strength wise, an uncontrollable power wise. But that's what the Institute is for, to help you learn to control it... to help you learn, not to let it control you. That thought within Jean's mind, the Professor when he heard it, realized, Jean knew more about her not so distant future than her conscious mind realized--more than he had thought previously.

"Uh, I have a question." I said quietly, breaking the somewhat awkward silence. It was something I had been thinking on for a while now. Something that first came to mind when they first told me of the Institute for Higher Learning.

"Shoot, Winter."

Scott said from beside me. He noticed my fidgeting and playing with my fingers a bit, nerves he guessed it was. He hadn't truly realized until just then they were still acting up. I looked about like any other overly stressed out teenager, I guessed. Acted much like Scott did even, just quieter... less temperamental.

"You three, coming and saving me like that... It's almost like you're superheroes. Is everyone else at the Institute superheroes? I know you said they all have powers but do they save people like you saved me?"

It was a good question but Scott didn't exactly know how to answer, so he did the best he could while Jean and Storm piloted the X-Jet.

"The Professor is who saved you, Winter. We were just acting in his place. The Professor uses a machine and, well, Jean knows a lot more about it than I do but.. I'll try to explain since she's busy."

Which was a good thing, I thought, I didn't want Jean to crash the X-Jet while trying to explain something extremely difficult or something she'd think I wouldn't understand whatsoever.

"The machine is called Cerebro and it locates mutants for the Professor. A lot of the time during the day when he's not teaching a class, he goes in there; the room that holds Cerebro and looks for distress signals, mutants in trouble with the machine. That's how he picked up on you. You radiated a signal of... new powers, uncontrollable and, plus, the fear he also could feel since he was connected to you through Cerebro. That's why he rushed us to you. It was an emergency."

It took a minute or two for me to be able to understand what Scott had just told me. A machine had found me, because of my distress signal? I didn't realize I had put off one. But perhaps the machine picked up on feelings that you yourself don't even understand?

"I'm just glad you came," I admitted in a quiet voice and noticed a smile upon Scott's face. "Do you rescue damsels in distress often?" I asked softly and the man couldn't help but cackle rather powerfully.

"I suppose you could say we do. We've been to the homes of many of the students when their powers are fresh just like yours. You also may think that yours was our worst case scenario but, trust me, I've had to get physical with some Father's before," he went on.

It did make me feel a little bit better that my parents hadn't given them their worst experience of picking up a newly activated mutant. Although I'm sure some of the words my Mother said in front of them--those would probably haunt the three of them. I knew they were going to haunt me.

When and if I got to meet this Professor Xavier man, I would quite enjoy asking him the very same questions for myself. After all, according to these three, he was my real savior--not them.

"We're not far,"

Storm commented a couple of moments later and I smiled; though my stomach was in absolute shambles. I was nervous, nervous to be away from home and my parents for honestly the first time in my entire life but yet... anxious to arrive at the Institute. I had so many worries running through my head like the cost of this place.

My parents weren't going to pay, who would? It's not like a fourteen year old girl could get a job, could I? What would the other mutants think of me? Did they not have as strong of powers as I did? Would I be the one everyone else is jealous of? Or would I be the one jealous of everyone else? Would my powers be nothing compared to the rest of them? Would I be so far behind that I'd never catch up?

I sighed and heard a soft whisper coming from Jean to Storm who immediately took the pilots chair to handle the landing. Jean and Scott switched places as well, Scott taking Storm's previous co-piloting chair and Jean taking a seat next to me. She placed her hand over mine, that was firmly attached to the arm rest like it had been made to be there.

"You have so many worries to be your age. I can't say I didn't either when I was fourteen. I was already at the Institute though by the time I was twelve. But before then, I can remember thinking the very same things you are thinking right now. But believe it or not... your powers are already more controlled than mine were. You're less smug about them, too, than I was."

Jean smiled in my direction which in turn made me smile as well. Jean knew that there were powers within herself she knew nothing about but she didn't know how much had been locked away by Professor Xavier. No one knew just how much, except Xavier himself.

Jean buckled herself in and made sure I was as well as the X-Jet began its descent towards its landing pad underneath the school gym. I closed my eyes tightly after seeing that it looked as if we were going to nose dive into the school...but after counting to one-hundred, with Mississippi at the end of every number; I heard the engine go silent and my seat belt loosened automatically.

I sighed in relief as I opened my eyes and unbuckled my seat belt the rest of the way. Unbuckling was so much easier than putting the damned thing on, I thought. Xavier had of course been listening to Winter's mind through Jean at that very moment, accessing the thought patterns and chemicals in Winter's brain when she was afraid. If it weren't for Jean holding Winter's hand, Xavier thought to himself, she very well might have frozen time again; of course Jean had heard this thought as well.

"Wow.... where are we?" I asked as the four of us; myself, Jean, Scott and Storm stepped out of the X-Jet and into the underground area, below the basketball gym that contained all of the special X-vehicles it looked like.

"Underneath the school gym. It's the only area big enough on the outside, to conceal a fighter jet on the inside."

Scott explained to the newest arrival to the Xavier Institute. The three experienced X-Men led me out of the 'gym basement' so to speak and down the long hallway that led to an elevator back up to the main floor of the school. Naturally, when the doors to the elevator opened to the ground level, an elder bald gentleman in a wheelchair met us with an eager grin upon his face.

"Winter, I'd like you to meet our professor, Professor Xavier."

Storm introduced her teacher, mentor, colleague and most of all, her friend. Xavier chuckled softly at the humble introduction and took my hand as I stepped out of the elevator, Scott and Jean behind me.

"Welcome to the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Also known as the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning."

"I-I take it you know I'm a gifted youngster then, huh?" My voice was soft, almost quivering. Would he be rude to me like my Father was? No... not from what I'd heard from the three X-Men as they called themselves. Scott, Jean, Storm. No.. This man, he was a God-send to me. He had to be.

"You're safe here, Winter. As long as you're here, you'll always have a family."

The Professor's words were calming to me and somehow, it was like he answered the biggest question within my head at that moment and I at last smiled quite the genuine smile, causing the Professor and the three senior X-Men to let out hearty chuckles. This was home, I thought to myself as I looked around; the Professor leading me and the others down the hallway. Not too shabby, I thought. Not too shabby at all.