Shift

Professor Xavier met Logan in Cerebro's room. "What is it you wished to search for?" He glanced at Logan briefly as he picked up the helmet. Logan shoved his hands in his pockets and slouched against the wall.

"I met a girl last night who claimed to have invented a device that could mask a person's mutant status. I want to know if she was telling the truth." He gave Charles the address of the bar and watched as he scanned the area.

After a while he removed the device and shook his head. "Extraordinary," he murmured. "I'm not picking up any traces of mutant activity within a five mile radius of the building, and that's a pretty populated area. It would seem that your new friend has quite a talent for technology... What did you say her name was?"

While Logan was responding, they were interrupted by the arrival of Hank McCoy and Scott Summers. "Have you had any progress on tracing the Spooks?" Scott asked the professor, completely ignoring Logan, as usual.

"The Spooks?" Logan asked Hank.

"They're a group of thieves who seem to be targeting less than scrupulous businesses and laboratories and stealing equipment from them. So far they've managed to evade being captured, or even sighted. The police are at a loss to explain how they're doing it. Scott thinks they might be mutants. If they are mutants, we should stop them before the public gets wind of it and there's a storm of anti-mutant hysteria." Logan nodded and looked back towards the professor.

"I haven't found anything around the targeted buildings that would suggest a mutant's presence. Why are you so certain that they're mutants?" Charles questioned.

Scott shrugged and rubbed the back of his head. "Just a hunch, I guess." He glanced at Logan, as if he had just realized he was there. "Forge, Beast and I are trying to put together a map of areas the Spooks are likely to strike next. If we can figure out their next target, we might be able to intercept them. We're short a few team members, though."

"I'll see if I can rustle up a few extra hands." Logan stated.

"Very good. And I'll look into this girl's background more. She could prove to be a very valuable resource, if we could get her to work with us." Charles looked at Logan pointedly. Logan smiled. He had no doubt that the professor was right. Tonight was going to be fun.

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Eva sat on the edge of her bed, staring across the room at her new roommate. After a brief introduction by the guidance counselor, Miss Pryde, the new girl had been left to unpack her meager belongings. Now she lay on her bed, studying a faded photograph. Bored, Eva spoke up. "What's that?" She didn't really care, she just wanted to fill the silence.

The new girl, who was named Sophie, twitched a little. "Just a picture of my sister." She put it down quickly.

"Your sister? What's she like?" Eva questioned, sitting down next to her. She had become determined to make friends with this girl. Most of her other classmates simply ignored her. In a school for the stranger outcasts of society, it was hard to stand out.

Sophie bit her lip, before speaking very hesitantly. "I wish I knew. She died when I was a baby."

Eva gave her an encouraging smile. "Rough break. My family died a few years ago in an accident, so I know how you feel."

Sophie's eyes widened. "You're an orphan too?!"

Eva nodded. "I'm glad I found someone else my age who understands what that's like. I think some other kids here might be too, but they don't really talk to me." She sighed.

"You're lonely." Sophie said this plainly, like she was commenting on the weather.

Eva stared at her, shocked. "How did you know that?"

Sophie managed a thin smile. "It's what I do. I'm an empath," she explained.

Eva grinned again. "That's cool. All I can do is levitate a little. She showed her, before purposely falling backwards onto the bed. Sophie laughed for what seemed to be the first time in years.

The girls talked for quite some time about everything that crossed their minds. They were both ecstatic to find they had so much in common. Finally, though, the subject of family came up again. "So why do you keep your sister's picture with you all the time? No offense," she quickly added, seeing Sophie become a little embarrassed and ashamed.

"Promise you won't tell anyone or think I'm crazy?" Her voice was very quiet now, her timid personality creeping back up.

"Of course!" Eva promised. Now she was almost bursting with curiosity. Sophie took a deep breath and began:

"When I was an infant, my father was brutally murdered, and my sister disappeared. The police thought my mother was responsible, but she never confessed, and the murder was so gruesome, she was put in a psychiatric hospital. They never found my sister's body, either. They just assumed that she was killed and dumped somewhere." Sophie paused and shuddered. Eva gave her a comforting pat on the back.

"You don't have to continue," she told her gently. Sophie simply shook her head and went on.

"Ever since I was little, I've always been able to sense other people's emotions. Adults always thought I was simply very perceptive, but I knew it was something else." She picked the photo up again. "For some reason, I've never really believed that my sister is dead. I've always has this feeling that she's out there somewhere. It's like I can feel her presence in my head all the time. I tried telling people, but they just said I was imagining it or something. The last time I tried, they thought I was delusional so they put me through therapy and on medication for a while."

She looked at Eva worriedly. "You don't think I'm crazy, do you?"

Eva shook her head. "No, but if it is real, maybe the professor can help you. I've heard he can read minds and stuff." Relieved, Sophie thanked her new friend for understanding.

Then the bell for lunch rang, and Eva took her to her favorite place to hideout and eat, in the shady branches of a tree outside the garage. It was so tall no one ever bothered to look up at the top. Eva had found it to be the perfect refuge, and with the use of her powers and a bit of camouflage, she had managed to craft a makeshift treehouse. It was small, but Sophie loved it. As she was eating her lunch and gazing out over the mansion's massive lawn, she felt a sudden sense of belonging. The feeling warmed her, and for once, she let herself be happy.