X-Men: The Gifted Ones

6. TRAINING ROOM, XAVIER MANSION, WEST CHESTER, NY

Jane accepted Professor Xavier's invitation to train. She had spent two weeks deliberating the decision in her mind. He had made her feel as if she could make a difference. She had thought that Vietnam would have been that chance. She had thought she had known what she was getting into, going to Vietnam. She had always wanted to be a nurse. She had even been a nurse at a pediatric ward before she joined the Army. She figured there would never be a problem finding nurses to take care of sick children, but finding nurses to take care of the worst wounds war could bring would be more challenging.

Jane loved challenges.

She accepted because the change made her family more at ease. They accepted her mysterious new assignment safe in West Chester. They worried about her less if she was in the United States where she could call them any time she wished, rather than tucked away in the jungles of Vietnam where anything could happen to her and they wouldn't know it right away.

She was certain this training would be unlike any training she had received before...

It was early in the morning and she was lined up in the training room with the other new recruits. They all wore matching sweat suits with the X-Men logo printed onto the front of the shirts. She looked down the line of recruits, all dressed the same, but under each sweat suit were untold abilities.

Standing in front of them was Charles Xavier in his wheelchair, dressed in a suit, flanked by two young men in the same sweat suits worn by the recruits. One was a cocky-looking young man with blonde hair and a young man with shaggy red hair who tried to appear more confident than he was feeling.

Charles cleared his throat. "Good morning!" he announced. "You are all here as part of my new group of recruits, training to be what is known as one of my X-Men. Each of you has a special gift that has recommended you for this position. These next few weeks you will be trained in using your gifts to not only benefit yourself, but also to benefit your fellow mutants and even the rest of humanity. Havoc," he pointed to the blonde-haired man, "and Banshee," indicating the red-headed man,
"will guide you through physical training while I guide you through the mental training. Are you all ready to begin?"

Jane nodded, along with the other recruits. Each one seemed to anticipate the days and weeks ahead of them.

Charles smiled approvingly, "First, let's begin by giving your first name, followed by the name I designated for you in our first meeting, and your gift. We'll start with you, Lorna."

A young, willowy woman with long blonde hair and brown eyes stepped forward confidently, "My name is Lorna Dane. My X-Men name is Polaris. I can manipulate metal and create energy blasts." She stepped back into the line.

A man with dark-brown skin, black hair, and brown eyes stepped forward with the discipline of someone trained to be a soldier, "My name is Samuel Guthrie. My X-Men name is Cannonball. I can create a force field around myself and also create energy blasts." He stepped back into the line.

Jane started to feel inadequate. Two people could create energy blasts. What could she do? She noticed the Professor looking at her as if he knew what she was thinking. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on what she could do, and what she would learn how to do. This was only the first day.

A young Asian woman stepped forward. She had chin-length black hair and dark brown eyes. She appeared confident and had the air of someone who would never feel out of place. "My name is Suzanne Chan. My X-Men name is Sway. I am able to look into a person's mind and see what they did in the past. I can also stop time briefly." She stepped back into the line.

Jane felt relieved that at least one other person could not create energy blasts, and did not seem too bothered that the others could. It gave her a boost of confidence.

The young man next to her stepped forward. He had short brown hair and green eyes. "My name is Lucas Bishop," he introduced himself. "My X-Men name is Impetus. I can absorb energy and create energy blasts from it." He stepped back into line.

Jane took a deep breath and stepped forward. "My name is Jane Tropp. My X-Men name is Mercy. I can...absorb pain in others and relieve it, and even heal...minor injuries." She stepped back into line, feeling embarrassed that she did not have stronger powers compared to the others. There was no hiding her lack of confidence.

She was almost mortified when the Professor seemed to notice. He looked directly into her eyes and Jane felt her heart race from the anxiety. "The power to relieve pain and heal is a great power indeed, Mercy," he reminded her. "Never forget that. Sometimes the strongest power arrives in a gentle disguise when a person needs it the most, as no doubt you learned while serving as a nurse in Vietnam."

Jane wondered if the Professor had hoped to make her feel less self-conscious by singling her out. She started to blush when she felt the others looking at her closely. She was relieved when Suzanne looked at her approvingly. After all, Suzanne could not make energy blasts, either. The men seemed to welcome her.

She did not miss Lorna looking at her as if she did not belong with them.

Charles didn't miss it, either.