Soreness reached her first as she woke. Along with her right temple pounding, she felt unbelievably stiff throughout her entire body.
The memory of the car wreck came next. Something popping a tire, crashing into a tree, Remy being taken by Nitall's men, and someone finding her flashed through her mind. Even though they longed to stay shut so she could rest, Lauren forced her eyes open to see where she was.
It took a few blinks for her to get accustomed to the white light—it wasn't so bright it hurt her eyes; the white walls just seemed to make it glow. The cabinets, tables, chairs... everything was silver; absolutely no color shined in the room.
Well, it didn't have the appearance of a hospital room... Where had that guy taken her?
Lauren lay on a simple slab with a pillow under her head and a light blanket to keep her warm. The air felt cool on her face and it smelled clean—not sterile like a doctor's office, but close to it to know this was a healing room. She looked over to find three other tables spaced out enough where four people could stand shoulder-to-shoulder between each one. She also found a man propped against the open door.
He wore boots, blue jeans, and a tight black shirt tucked into the pants. He clearly worked out with his sturdy, yet hairy, forearms and bulging, muscled biceps. The shirt outlined his narrow waist, and a defined chest. His dark, lush hair styled in a 'v' made him look wild, like he belonged in the outdoors.
"Good to see you awake, kid," he greeted.
He had the same rough voice as the man who found her. Her arms shook as she pushed herself up, body aching at the movement.
"Who are you?"
"Name's Logan; yours?"
"Lauren." She would keep her last name to herself for now until she discovered if she could trust him.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"I guess you can call it my home—Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."
She looked at him; her breath caught in her throat. "What did you say?"
Logan's dark eyebrows furrowed. "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters; why do you recognize it?"
Lauren wanted to cry. She had made it and Remy hadn't—the human instead of the mutant. What a cruel twist of fate. Since he lived here, did that mean Logan had powers? Maybe she could still convince the mutants here to help...
"Because she was hoping for refuge here," a new voice said, proper and slightly dry like an older man, as a bald man in a wheelchair appeared at the door. He wore a suit, had blue eyes, and drove his electric chair around with a stick mounted on an armrest. Logan got out of the way so the man could roll in.
"How do you know that?" she asked.
"I know everything about you, Lauren Binns." He stopped beside her and offered his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you; I'm Professor Charles Xavier."
She tensed at him stating her name but he wasn't judging her, just continued to look at her softly. Feeling at ease around him, she shook his hand. "So, you're a telepath?"
He nodded; she looked at Logan. "Are you a mutant too?"
He answered by lifting his fist and three blades slid out of his knuckles, like claws. The metal unsheathing she had heard before he cut her out of the car was that. With a shing, the claws retracted and Logan folded his arms again.
"You're not afraid..."
Lauren shook her head. "I've been around a mutant for a while."
"Only one mutant, though; a Remy LeBeau." Professor Xavier looked back at Logan. "The driver you smelled."
He grunted in either agreement or that he didn't care. Lauren couldn't tell—his facial features didn't change. "Along with two other scents."
The Professor turned back to her. "Logan here has heightened senses where he can perceive what has transpired. He smelled Remy LeBeau's powers, along with two other men; seeing him gone, Logan assumed he was taken by them."
She nodded. "We were being chased by Avaleyn Nitall—she's a mutant who can take others' powers and wants Remy's. I'm guessing those were her men."
"A mutant like that sounds dangerous," Logan said.
"Indeed." The Professor fell quiet as he thought. "I will look for Avaleyn Nitall and Remy LeBeau both."
"Umm, whatever you do to find mutants, it won't work on Remy," Lauren quickly said. "His ability lets him block detection from telepaths like you, sir."
He looked impressed. "Well then... I will look for Avaleyn Nitall and once I find her, she'll lead me to where Remy LeBeau is being held." He patted her hand. "Do not worry, Lauren; we will locate your friend and rescue him."
When he leaned back in his chair, he had a knowing twinkle in his eyes—he knew that she loved Remy. A blush rose to her cheeks.
"Thank you."
"I have mind-linked another mutant and she is coming down. Her name is Jean Grey; she will help you with whatever you need and get you a room while I search—I want you comfortable here." The Professor shared a look with Logan as he rolled out.
He headed over to a cabinet and retrieved a gray zip-up. "Here." He handed her the jacket. "I know it's cold down here."
Lauren eased it on, careful not to rake it across her bandaged arms. She just thanked him when a woman with green eyes, a slim face, and wavy red hair walked in. Her hair was that beautiful, deep-red Lauren wished she had. At her arrival, Logan left.
"Hello, Lauren; I'm Jean. Let's go find you a room." She had a pleasant, soothing voice.
As they stepped out into a silver and white hallway, then got into an elevator, Lauren asked Jean about her powers. She was a telepath like the Professor, but she also possessed telekinesis. Jean filled her in on the actual school, the people she would meet, and what kind of abilities she would see.
The so-called 'school' they entered wasn't anything like the school she had gone to: it just looked like someone's lavish mansion had been turned into a boarding school. When they ascended, she stared wide-eyed out the window at a man with white wings, like an angel, flew over the pond. In the long hallway Jean said was the dormitory section, Lauren couldn't keep her eyes off an extremely tall and muscular man, whose entire skin was metal.
Jean opened a plain dark-oak door, and they went into the room to find two other girls. The one called Kitty Pryde, a short brunette, could walk through walls and the other, Jubilee, a Chinese American with short black hair, could shoot pyrotechnic plasma from her hands—she called them fireworks. The girls—in their late teens—were excited to meet Lauren and chatted with her nonstop. Jean said that she would share their room, then the two mutants enthusiastically pulled Lauren out to give her a tour.
The two mutants and the human walked around Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, with the former giving commentary on everything they saw. There was a massive library, dining hall, game room, multiple classrooms, a 'battle arena' where the X-Men train, and outside had tennis courts, a basketball court, and sprawling gardens. The girls also named the 'cute' guys in the school and who had their eye on who.
When they asked her about how she got there, Lauren told them about her run from Chicago with Remy and the wreck. She said that now she was waiting for the Professor to locate him through Nitall. As with all teenage girls when told about a guy, they wanted to know everything about him: from his physical description to his personality, and since he was a mutant, what he could do.
Giggling, Kitty and Jubilee said it sounded like she was in love. Lauren told them that she was—which they sighed over—but she didn't get a chance to confess to Gambit before the wreck and he was taken. She also told them that it had sounded like he had thought the same about her. Both said they had to be present when Gambit came to the mansion so they could see what happens.
"Lauren," Jean's voice suddenly spoke in her head. "The Professor has found Gambit; ask the girls to show you to his office."
She did as the telepath instructed and the mutants took her to a closed dark-oak door, happy about the news that Remy had been found. Lauren just walked up to knock when the door opened to a stunning black woman with blue eyes and long white hair. Ororo, or as Jean said, she went by Storm.
She smiled and held the door for her. "Come on in, Lauren."
Lauren thanked Kitty and Jubilee for the tour, then stepped in. Inside was Jean standing beside her fiancé, Scott Summers, or Cyclops, wearing a red eye-gear shielding his eyes; Logan—also known as Wolverine—leaning against a bookshelf with his arms crossed, and the Professor behind a desk.
"I am glad you joined us, Lauren," he greeted.
"So, is Remy okay?" she asked.
The Professor nodded. "Yes, he is not hurt. He is just under sedation until Avaleyn can reach him. She is on a flight right now for Secaucus, New Jersey. Gambit is being held in a warehouse there."
"A flight to New Jersey in the X-Wing takes less than an hour," Cyclops mused. "So, we'll probably be back in two hours, then."
"I have to go," Lauren declared. "Remy knows me; he doesn't know any of you. He won't trust you."
"You have no powers, kid—no way of defending yourself," Logan said. "As we're fighting to rescue Gambit, we'll have to also protect you. You'll be a liability."
She opened her mouth to continue giving reasons for why she needed to go when Storm stopped her. "Wolverine's right, Lauren. You will be in danger if you go, with no way of assisting us; only here are you guaranteed safety."
The Professor lifted his hand to stop Lauren or anyone else from speaking. "Lauren will go."
His X-Men all turned to stare at him incredulously—except for Jean.
"Professor..." Scott began.
"No; Lauren is right, and I believe she will be needed. From what I saw in Nitall's mind, she will induce a mind-altering power on Remy LeBeau to lessen his resistance to her taking his abilities. He will need a familiar face to bring him back."
He looked at each of them. "This will not be a simple rescue. Gambit himself is powerful and skilled, and Nitall is dangerous. Go expecting a hard fight. Be safe."