Scott

Ashley was glad to see that it was Scott who had come to pick her up, and she was also happy when he helped her carry her bags. He lifted the heaviest one with ease, and she was surprised at how much stronger he was than he looked. He said he had to wear sunglasses to control his power, so it wasn't strength, she was sure, even if she didn't know what it was. She wondered if he could have two powers. A part of pointed out that it was probably more realistic that he just exercised a lot, and his clothes didn't really show off his figure.

He loaded her bags into the back of the car. "How are you?" she asked.

"I'm fine." he said, "How about you. Nervous about moving in?"

Ashley nodded. She didn't think that would be enough to get him to reveal some problem she could help solve, but it was worth a try.

"Oh, I just remembered, there's something I probably should warn you about." he scratched his ear. "Really, I probably should have told you before now. One of the classes here is combat training."

"What? Why?" she remembered her worry that he was from a government organization. What if he was taking her to a facility that turned mutants into secret agents? Really, her power would be perfect for a spy, all moral considerations aside.

"Mutants face a lot of discrimination in the world, and can be attacked by humans and mutants alike. Not every mutant is good, after all. We find it's generally best that students learn how to defend themselves."

Oh, that made sense. "Maybe instead of combat training, new students would be less alarmed if you said self defense classes?"

"Uh, yeah. I think I was supposed to. Here we are."

"What? This is the school?" Ashley stared at the iron gates as they swung aside. "Don't you think it looks kind of like a mansion?"

"Well, it used to be one. We've built more onto it as we got more people, and made some changes." She had never seen a house with so much space around it, that you kept driving once you reached the address. She supposed if someone had a loud or flashy power, it made sense to keep a healthy distance from the road though. There was probably no point in asking Scott if he had money problems if he lived here.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" she tried.

"Sure do. Jean Grey, she's a telepath, and teaches here too. I'll introduce you, you'll love her."

Damn, so much for romance. Maybe it'd be easier to use her power on him to get him to tell. A part of Ashley says that the whole reason you're doing this is because it was wrong of her to use your power on him in the first place, but another part says that if she can get him to tell you a big problem he has, she'll make up for both times.

She was still making up her mind when there was a strange sound from the backseat. "Dammit Kurt!" Scott swore, almost jerking the car off the path.

"So this is the new girl?" a voice with an accent she couldn't place said from behind her.

"Don't freak out," Scott started to say as she turned around. Ashley gasped, but was proud to say she didn't scream. In the backseat was a person, at least she thought it was a person, covered with dark blue fur. His eyes were yellow, and his short hair, an almost black blue, was cut short enough to show pointed ears. "Some mutants have unusual appearances."

"Blue fur is surprisingly common," the furred boy Scott had called Kurt supplied. "Scott said you weren't much of a talker, but don't worry, I can talk enough for two people." She cracked a smile at that.

Well, if they could accept her, she could show the same courtesy. "How'd you get here?" she asked. Could he have teleported? Or maybe he had been in the back the whole time, invisible.

He disappeared with a faint puff of smoke, and a moment later reappeared in front of her, supporting himself on her seat. She looked at his hand, and realized that it only had three fingers. "Tada! Does this answer your question?"

She nodded. Her face felt a little warm, she'd never been this close to a boy before, even if he didn't exactly look like one. She wondered what his fur would feel like to touch. Before she could ask if he'd be okay with her touching him, he disappeared. "I'll go tell the others you're here." He said from the backseat, before vanishing again.

Scott sighed. "Sorry, about Kurt, he can be a little," he hesitated, "well, like that." She just nodded. Soon, he parked the car in the garage. "We'll deal with your bags later, let's see who's around."

He led her into the mansion, and she gasped. She had never seen so many mutants in one place. The institute seemed to be divided into faculty, a bald man in a wheelchair named Professor Xavier, Scott, and his girlfriend, Jean, who was a gorgeous woman with red hair, a woman named Rogue who seems to have dyed her bangs white, and a few more who Scott said were "out", and a whole host of students, most of which she was surprised to learn were her age or older. She was sure she'd have trouble remembering their names in the morning. She was barely listening to the conversation, simply enjoying being treated like she was normal, when somebody mentioned her roommate.