Crystal and Scott, Friday

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

Crystal meets the headmaster.


Crystal stood in front of the office door, wearing a light blue top and matching skirt, an outfit which had been custom-made for her. She hesitated for a moment, then lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in," Scott called, and smiled as their newest student stepped into his office. "Hello, Crystal," he said, standing up and coming around his desk to offer her his hand. "I'm Scott Summers, the headmaster. Alex's brother."

"Greetings," said Crystal. She curtsied before shaking his hand. "I am... well, you already know who I am." She smiled and laughed lightly. "The mansion and the outside grounds are beautiful."

"You've come at a good time of year," Scott said, gesturing to the couch and chair, letting her pick whichever seat she preferred. He didn't want to have this conversation from either side of his desk. "Not that it's not beautiful in the winter, but I prefer it in the summer."

Crystal settled into the couch. "Your brother seems nice," she said. "He must be very useful at recruiting new students."

"Actually, this is a first for Alex," Scott said with a brief smile. "I'm usually the one that does the recruiting. Are you settling in all right?"

"Oh, yes, pretty much. I suppose I brought too many clothes. I brought everything I could, but there's really not enough room for everything, especially when there are two people in the same room."

Scott smiled, thinking of Monet. "You'll find that questions of space and whose stuff goes where will settle themselves out eventually," he told her firmly. "I know that these living arrangements aren't what you're used to. Probably the best way to deal with anything you're not certain about, or any problems, is just to ask for advice. I don't know if you've met Marie, yet? She's our residence advisor."

"Yes, I will keep that in mind," Crystal answered. "I knew that the accomodations here would be different than those I have at home. The, ah, having a roommate concept did come as a bit of a suprise, I will admit. Although I have not yet had the opportunity to meet Ms. Marie, she did send me an e-mail to arrange a time to meet."

"Summer is a more relaxed time around Xavier's, obviously," Scott said. "There aren't any formal classes, but you can arrange independent studies, if you'd like. And of course, you're here for powers training and we'll be seeing to that." He smiled. "I'm going to introduce you to Ms. Munroe, our headmistress. Her power's not precisely like yours, but she does control the weather."

Crystal smiled. "Terry mentioned Ms. Munroe. Yes, I'm looking forward to the powers training classes. I've been trying to practice making rain, but it's not very easy. I can always work on strengthening the force and speed of my air blasts."

"I'm sure Ororo will introduce you to her greenhouse. It's benefitted a great deal over the years from her ability to produce rain on cue - it'll probably be a good place for you to practice," Scott said with a chuckle.

"That sounds great," Crystal replied, beaming. I could help Mom with her plants if I could make it rain any time I wanted. "My family didn't take too kindly to me trying to practice inside the castle. My mom told me to stay away from her plants because I ended up drying up the soil in the process."

"Experimentation has its place," Scott said amiably. "So does practice. Part of what you'll learn here is the time and place for both. We want you to grow in your use of your powers, but we want you to do it safely, first and foremost."

At the mention of the word "safely," Crystal's eyes widened a bit. She pushed away the unbidden thoughts and images that attempted to take hold of her mind. "Of course," she said in a slightly quieter voice. "We have to be careful and make sure that no one gets hurt accidentally."

"We do our very best to ensure that doesn't happen," Scott said reassuringly, not missing the change in the girl's expression. "Mutant powers are volatile, but we've been helping young mutants for a number of years now. We like to think we've got it down to something of a science." He gave her his best crooked grin, the one that tended to put skittish new students at their ease.

Crystal forced a smile. "I'm sure you've managed to work out what works best and what would result in the destruction of the mansion."

"I can say with honesty that none of our students have ever destroyed the entire mansion." Scott reflected that he was choosing his words very carefully, there. "And we've had some pretty volatile and unusual powers gathered here in the past."

Crystal raised an eyebrow. "Never... entirely... destroyed. Interesting. What exactly constitutes an 'unusual' power, if I may ask? I was under the impression that powers from mutation vary greatly from individual to individual and therefore even similar powers are, in their own way, unique."

"Let's see, the most unusual power we have... we have large numbers of various types of energy projectors, obviously. Ferals and other physically enhanced types. Shapechangers. Probability manipulators, psis - telepaths and telekinetics, and a few more esoteric varieties. Our assistant groundskeeper can duplicate himself."

"Probability manipulators?" Crystal's voice expressed her surprise. Although the use of the term "feral" to describe a mutant was new to her, she could guess as to what what a mutation by that name would be like. That was not a surprise. A probability manipulator, well, that wasn't a power possibility that had ever crossed her mind.

"One in residence, and a couple more we see quite a bit of. So I suppose that's not our most unusual power. We have two long-range teleporters, as well. One of the students projects pheremones..."

"Pheremones," Crystal repeated, her mind still trying to wrap itself around the idea of a probability manipulator. "That sounds... interesting."

"You'll find that most people here are willing to talk quite freely about their mutations," Scott said easily, "although there are exceptions. I'd reccommend not pushing if anyone seems uncomfortable. And..." He paused for a moment. "I know that even mutants can be uncomfortable around telepaths, but let me assure you that all of ours are very scrupulous about their manners."

"That's good to know. I know it must be hard to have to wonder whether or not someone is poking about in your head. You can't guarantee privacy around telepaths. I'm sure the ones here are scrupulous, as you say, but as a member of the royal family I have been trained to recognize when an unwelcomed visitor is trying to peer into my head."

Scott smiled a bit faintly. "You won't need to practice those techniques here," he said, then quite deliberately changed the subject. "What are your favorite subjects?" he asked, more amiably. "Maybe we can set up an independent study for you this summer. Powers training won't take the whole time."

"I'm interested in science, particularly genetics," Crystal answered, paying little attention to the abruptness in the change of topics. "I should probably learn more about chemistry."

"We should probably point you in Doctor MacTaggart's direction, then. Oh," Scott said, remembering. "Her daughter... hers and Mr. Dayspring's, our languages teacher. Rachel is ten months old and telepathic and telekinetic. She flies, just to give you fair warning so that you aren't startled by the flying baby."

"A flying baby?!" The look that came over Crystal's face was a mixture of shock and mirth. "I didn't know anyone could have and use powers as a baby!"

Scott was relieved by the birth. "She actually manifested in the womb," he said with a broad smile. "She's our little prodigy. Absolutely adorable, too."

Nodding, Crystal offered a small smile. She had previously believed that she had manifested fairly early, but this? In the womb? Like the idea of a mutant who could manipulate probability, this was a thought that had never before entered her mind. She hadn't thought it was possible.

"There are lots of surprises around here," Scott told her. "Most of them are good ones." He maybe wouldn't explain the jet under the basketball court just yet.

For the second time, Crystal raised an eyebrow at Scott's choice of words. "Most of them. Well, I'll try to stay away from the not-so-good ones."