Golden Snitch and The Wolverine.

Four, Not Three

I opened one eye. I had a strange helmet on my head. I sat up and lifted it slightly. The minds hit me like a ton of bricks and I slammed it down onto my head, shaking as the sound abated into an echoing silence.

“Painful, isn’t it.” said a voice. I looked up. It was the Professor.

“Who are they?” I gasped out as tears filled my eyes. He sighed.

“The world.” he said and wheeled over to the small cot I was lying on. “When my powers came forth I was very young and have had a lifetime to learn to control them. If you ever plan to use powers such as mine, I will need to train you.”

“Then train me.” I said and he leaned back in surprise. “I came to learn and to grow. But so far all you’ve done is give me more tools. And tools are useless without directions.” I said. He nodded in thought and ran his thumb along his jaw in thought.

“You are a most singular case, Ginny. Perhaps.” he watched me carefully and I was worried he would read my mind. “Very well. I will teach you. But you must promise. No more attacking fellow students.” he warned and I nodded.

“Of course Professor.”

“Well then. Let’s begin.”

 

“It sucks.” I groaned to my friends a few days later. We were sitting in the quad eating lunch like old times and I had just been released. After two days of sitting in a room with a metal helmet blocking my new found telepathy I was managing to control it enough to read minds and block minds. Basics really, but at least I could walk around again. Ana nodded in understanding and adjusted her jacket. It was getting chilly.

“Powers bring pressure and responsibilities most people never have to deal with.” she said knowingly and I nodded.

“You’re telling me. I could hear the whole world and now...now I feel almost deaf.” I said.

“You don’t want to hear them again?” Chrystal said in worry.

“NO.” I said quickly, too quickly if I’m honest. “No, I just...the knowledge that I can use a power as strong as the Professors makes me feel like I could do anything. Go anywhere.” I said looking up at the sky. “Imagine all I could accomplish.”

“But the world hates mutants.” Pietro said biting into his sandwich.

“Yeah, but maybe we could change that.” I said looking at him. “I could show them, we could show them how good we can be.” I said and Ana shook her head.

“Remember the graduation? People were freaked at the mere mention of mutants. They were screaming for blood before he attacked us.”

“Well people are idiots.” I snapped and looked at my feet. Ana tensed and blushed and I peered over my shoulder even though I already knew who it was. Logan was stomping over, gnawing on a cigar as usual and Ana was slowly turning more and more pink. He stopped, glanced at her once and then fixed his eyes on me.

“C’mon, I need to talk to you.” He said in a dark voice and Ana trembled, sucking in her lips so she didn’t grin.

“Yeah, sure.” I said as casually as possible. Crystal and Ana were exchanging excited looks as I stood up. Rather than walking off and expecting me to follow, Logan actually waited until I had my bag and we started into the school.

“Quite a display the other day.” He said and I looked at my feet. “Broken arm, broken rib, broken hand, third degree burns and scarring on his left leg.” He listed casually as we walked to the elevator.  “And all because he offended your friend.” He said. I sighed.

“You don’t have to make fun of me, I already know it was stupid. The Professor has me under lock and key.” I flashed him the little bracelet that was around my wrist. It didn’t inhibit my powers, but the Professor would know when I used them.

“I’m not.” he said as the doors slid open on the lower levels.

“Should we be down here?” I asked nervously and he gave me a flat stare. “Right. You teach danger room.” I mumbled as we made our way down the corridor.

“What I’m getting at, is you’re a fighter, a damn good one.” he said as we reached the Danger Room. He pressed a button and the door opened. The huge metal room appeared and I shivered. It was cold. “But you’re wild.” he said and I glanced at him. He was glaring at me. “You’re untrained.” he said seriously and I looked at my feet.

“They don’t exactly teach Mortal Kombat 101 in college.” I said defensively and he shook his head.

“No. They don’t.” he chuckled and I looked up in time to see the ghost of a smile on his face. And it was nice. “So I intend to teach you.” he said and I frowned.

“Why?” I demanded and he looked at his boots.

“You said there were only three people who actually cared about you.” He said and I looked away. Having someone else say it made it sound a lot more painful. “You’re wrong.” I glanced at him. Was he turning pink? “You’re a pain in the ass, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like you fine.” He said and my jaw dropped. Wait what? He glared “Don’t gape.” he snapped. Oh he was definitely turning pink. I grinned widely.

“Aw, you like me.” I teased.

“Shut your trap.” he snapped and unleashed his claws. I squeaked and dropped my bag. “Get ready.” He snarled, and now he sounded feral, dangerous. I ran through a list of powers I could use against him. “Go!” he growled and with a scream I jumped up. On instinct I thought of Angel. Dragonfly wings sprouted from my back and I flew straight up. “Get down here! This is Melee!” He shouted angrily and I hovered over head, twisting in air.

“No way! Not until I make a plan.” He started pacing, waiting for me to figure something out. I ran through the list of possibilities. Well...I flung a fireball at him and he rolled out of the way.

“Try harder!” He snapped and hunched over, ready to run.

“This is stupid! I’m going to get in trouble!” I shouted.

“I cleared it with Chuck, now fight me!” He leapt up and clawed at my ankles. I squeaked and yanked my feet up. He missed by inches. I glared down and popped my neck.

“Alright you asked for it.” I said as fire leapt into my hands. I flung fireballs at him, but he always jumped away, dodging them. I cursed and shot a jet of fire from my hands at him. It hit and he shouted, but he just moved through it. I landed so I could plant myself better which is how he managed to punch me in the nose. I yelped, covering my face. The fires stopped and blood crept from my nose across my lips. I blinked away tears. He was in front of me, panting and his clothes were half burnt off.

“You rely on your powers too much. Hand to hand combat is one of the most important things you can learn. What if it wasn’t Chuck on the other end of that bracelet? If the government got a hold of you? the Friends of Humanity.”

“Who?” I asked through the nosebleed. He sighed and shoved me to the ground, kiking my bag over to me. I drew out a tissue and pressed it to my nose, tilting my head back.

“The Friend of Humanity are an extremist organization intent on eradicating mutants once and for all. They don’t know we’re here in Westchester for one reason and one reason alone. The Professor is keeping them at bay. Without him this place wouldn’t be safe. Not ever.” He said sitting next to me. I checked my nose. It hurt.

“Why is at any time I’m around you I get a nosebleed?” I demanded and he snorted. “What?” he covered his eyes and shook with supressed laughter. “What?” Oh. Nosebleeds. “Not like that, you ass!” I slapped his shoulder and he burst into laughter.