X-Men: The Next Class

"Hope, may I come in?"

I had been towel-drying my long, highlighted hair when the knock came on the door. A muffled female voice was calling from the other side but I could tell it was Maura. Wherever her voice carried, I could hear it. A gymnast is trained to catch the voice of their trainer, just as any athlete always listens for their coach.

"Yeah," I called out, hanging the towel hastily on the rack behind the bathroom door. When I stepped out, I found Maura standing square in the doorway, watching me.

"Please, come in," I said, walking over toward my new room's bed and taking a seat. She followed suit. I didn't want things to be awkward between us but I couldn't help but feel awkward around her now that she was technically my legal guardian. I was still trying to wrap my head around my abandonment– was it even legal?

"I just came to say goodbye. I leave for California in a few hours," Maura said, studying my facial expressions. I nodded but said nothing.

"The Professor said he would arrange for you to use a room in the facilities to continue your gymnastics training, so you won't fall behind," Maura continued, looking at the suitcases which I still had yet to unpack. "I know this is hard for you Hope, it's hard on all of us, but… you are an incredible person. If anyone can make it through what you're going through, it's you. You know that, right?"

I looked into Maura's eyes and saw a genuine expression of concern. Hesitantly, she reached over and began stroking my hair, as she had been doing when I was bawling my eyes out on her shoulder just yesterday. Though I hated to admit it, Maura had a definite mother's touch. It was comforting. At last, I spoke.

"What's going to happen to me?" My voice broke somewhere in the middle of the sentence.

"Oh, honey," Maura cooed, pulling me into her shoulder again. I resisted the urge to cry so hard that Maura must've felt as though she were hugging a breathing rock. "You will be absolutely fine. The Professor is an extraordinary man and this school is a godsend. I wouldn't let my best gymnast go if I didn't think she'd have it better somewhere else, would I? No, I wouldn't. You will be great here, Hope. You will be okay."

Despite Maura's reassurances, I still wasn't convinced. Minutes later, Maura stood from the bed and left after saying another quick goodbye. I was alone. Having nothing better to do, I began to unpack.

***

"Do you think she's–"

"Mr. Turner, Hope does not even know what her power is, much less how to control it. She will need to learn as soon as possible and the best place to do it is at this school, don't you agree?"

Aiden nodded his head and followed Professor Xavier down the hall toward my room. I watched them from an armchair in the common room area that was facing the hallway. I finished unpacking ten minutes after I started and made my way out of the room to escape the claustrophobia that had been closing in. That was an hour ago. Now I just lay in the armchair with my phone on my lap, texting Travis and Jenna.

I raised an eyebrow as the pair approached my room– couldn't the professor tell I wasn't in there? Aiden opened the door and looked inside, emerging seconds later and shaking his head.

Hope?

Right behind you, Professor.

The Professor scanned the various couches until he found me sprawled across my corner seat. Before he could maneuver his electric set of wheels all the way over to me, I sprung out of my chair and met him halfway.

"Come with me, Hope. It's time we figure out what exactly your x-gene has made you capable of."

Without hesitation I followed the professor and Aiden down a few hallways. I didn't pay much attention; I was texting Jenna and Travis that I had to go and I'd catch them later. By the time I looked up again, we were standing in front of a wall just like all the others. It was dark brown with panels outlined in a lighter shade of brown. The only thing different about this wall was that it opened into an elevator that was much more futuristic then its surroundings.

I tried to hide my surprise but Aiden still had to hold the elevator doors open for me considering I was frozen to my spot. I thought that I would recover from my surprise by the time the doors opened again, but I was wrong. When the doors opened, they revealed long hallways plated in chrome. The walls seemed to be hovering above the ground; there was no traditional moulding connecting the walls to the ceiling or the floor. Instead, the chrome plates were illuminated from above, behind, and below by bright white lights that made the metal of the wall seem darker.

Yeah, I thought to myself, definitely futuristic.

We passed several circular doors before entering a room near the end of the hallway. It was a metallic version of the infirmary that I was staying in upstairs. The professor had me lay on the cold metal table while he had Aiden connect me to the medical monitoring machines. I wondered why they needed to monitor my vitals at all– what would they be doing to me?

"Your body has been under a lot of stress lately, Hope. We are just taking precautions," the Professor reassured me. "Normally, I am removed from this process but you, you are a special case Hope. Your powers are appearing so late that I am, naturally, curious. With my powers I hope to find out why they are coming around now. Aiden's powers, among other things, allow him to sense other mutants' powers. With him here, we'll figure out your abilities in no time. Just close your eyes and try to relax."

I did as I was told and felt an oxygen mask being placed on to my face. Then, I saw my life flash before my eyes.

I saw my first gymnastics class at four years old and my first competition two years later. I was noticeably nervous, but with Jenna or my mom by my side, I got through it. My trophy shelf filled up fast, with each shot showing an aging me placing a new medal or trophy onto it.

I saw my family dinners, vacations, pool parties and barbecues over the years. Birthdays were celebrated and anniversaries and other milestones were commemorated. Years upon years passed by until we arrived at my very last day at home, when the cut on my wrist healed itself. The last scene in my head that I saw was Jenna's terrified face after she asked, Hope, what have you done?

I woke up with a start. At first I couldn't see the professor but then I realized he was seated in his wheelchair behind me with his hands hovering over my head. When he moved into my field of sight, I saw that he was troubled by what he had seen.

"Perhaps you had more luck, Aiden, with your search?"

"The hole in her stomach is a sort of portal, that much I'm sure of. I can feel the dimensions. Her body's attachment to it suggests that it's a defensive weapon but I can't," he faltered, reaching to scratch the back of his head. "I can't tell what comes out."

The Professor nodded. "Maybe you can't tell what comes out because it changes each time."

"Professor?"

"I once knew a mutant who had tattoos on his body of different animals. When he wanted to, he could dispatch their living forms straight from his body to do his work for him. Hawks, snakes, you name it. They were very useful, but he was on the other side."

"You think she can call up animals from her stomach?"

I've had enough. I sat up and swung my legs over the bed. "Hello, I'm right here. Could one of you please tell me what the hell is going on?"

Neither of them was speaking. They were both probably trying to gather their thoughts.

"In most cases, mutations surface during puberty or during extreme cases of emotional duress at younger ages," the Professor explained. "However, you're used to extreme cases of emotional duress– in fact, you've been used to nerve-wracking, heart-racing situations since you were six years old. Therefore, your x-gene didn't register those stimuli as an abnormal event that required your mutation's activation."

He continued, bringing the fingertips from both of his hands together. "I don't know why your x-gene surfaced so late, but I do not doubt that it was making up for lost time with such a jarring transformation. Try speaking to your body, Hope. See if it responds."

I squinted my eyes at the old man. Was he kidding? I looked over at Aiden who met my disbelieving eyes and shrugged slightly. He knew it was a weird request, but I'm willing to bet he wanted me to oblige it anyway.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered under my breath, shaking my head. Out loud, to my body, I sighed and said, "Send me a sign."

Nothing happened.

"Try saying an animal," the Professor suggested. "Say your favorite animal that might fit in this room and not cause us any trouble."

I raised my eyebrow but did it anyway. I didn't have to think on any animal because I always had this one on my mind.

"A mockingbird."

I felt a slight tug in my stomach. Out of my navel area flew a mockingbird. It flew around the room quickly a few times before coming to rest on my shoulder. Cool.

"Now send it away."

I scrunched my nose and listened to the professor, though I bet he could tell I didn't like his orders from the tone of my voice. Unfortunately, my 'go' command didn't work and the bird stayed perched on my shoulder.

"Send it back where it came from, I meant."

I smirked and quoted Fat Bastard from Austin Powers: "Get in my belly!"

Aiden choked down a laugh. The bird nuzzled into my neck before diving straight down my chest and into my stomach. Not bad.

"Well I guess that answers our most pressing question. Aiden, would you please show Hope back upstairs."

With that, he circled his chair around and left the room.

"Well, that was abrupt."

"He does that a lot. He keeps his mind on the whole mansion so he must've sensed something else going on more pressing than this."

I quirked an eyebrow. More pressing then discovering what in the world was happening to me? "Right."

Aiden offered his hand to help me down from the table and I gladly accepted it.

"So, this is a defensive thing I have going on here?"

"Yeah."

"Did you stroke my body to figure that out or what? How does your power work?"

Aiden laughed. "I kept my hands to myself, I promise. I can hover my hands above your body like the Professor did, but most times I can just focus and distinguish things that way."

"That's awesome."

"Like right now, I can tell you're distracted."

"What?"

"You're only half here; the other half of you is probably with your cell phone which is shut off in your pocket."

He was spot on. "Fair enough."

The rest of the walk to the elevator was silent. It was only when the doors closed that Aiden spoke again.

"So can you summon me some snakes? Ryan hates snakes."