Jean

It was Jean, who smiled at her and began helping her load up the car. Ashley was surprised to see Jean lifting even the heaviest items with ease, until she realized that they were actually floating less than an inch above her hands. Ashley considered trying this herself, but decided that a very public airport wasn't the best place to experiment with mutant powers.

Ashley waited until Jean started driving, and then said "Can I try my telepathy on you?"

Jean smiled. "Of course, see if you can use it without my help."

Ashley focused, remembering how it felt to speak with her mind instead of her mouth. After a few minutes of silent concentration, and the occasional mental "Hello?" she felt it go through.

"Hello." Jean said back, out loud.

"What will the school be like?" Ashley continued her telepathic half of the conversation.

"Well, it will be very different to a normal school. There are a number of students of all ages, and you will be taking classes in your powers, and to deal with other situations that commonly arise for mutants."

"Other situations?"

"Well, the reality is that being a mutant is dangerous. All students learn self defense."

Ashley thought privately for a minute, and then asked "Can I talk like this with everyone there?"

"The professor frequently uses telepathy to communicate with the teachers and the students, so I don't think that would be a problem."

"The professor? Who is the professor?"

"Professor Xavier. He founded the institute in order to protect mutants and humans alike. Really, he's who we have to thank for all this. We're here."

Ashley stared at the iron gates as they swung open. "This is a mansion."

"It used to be. We remodeled it so it can be used for our purposes."

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.

Jean drove them up to the mansion, and parked in the garage. Ashley was silent as Jean led her into the mansion. There were more mutants than she had ever seen before, and they seemed to be waiting for her.

"This is Profess-" Jean began, but Ashley couldn't hear the rest of what she said, because it was drowned out by a scream burning through her mind like a jet of flame.

"HIM!"