The Empathic Wind Rider
by: Savannah
Chapter 3: Emotional Dispute
“Where could she be?” Annabelle asked shading her eyes from the sun and scanning the school grounds. Becky leaned against Savannah’s car and sighed. She heard rustling and look towards some bushes. A figure emerged from it, and walked towards Anna and Becky.
“Savannah! What took you so long?” Annabelle asked her as she picked up her backpack form the ground.
“Oh I just got caught up in something. Sorry to make you wait.” Savannah said as she opened her car trunk and dumped her book bag in it along with Becky and Anna’s. She shut the trunk door and started to get in the drivers side. Before she got in she glanced over to the bushes she had come from and saw Matt and Sharla (for the first time in a while) smiling at her from a distance. She smiled back.
“And you were telling me to hurry it up.” Becky mumbled as she got in the back seat behind Savannah.
“What was wrong?” Annabelle asked.
“Nothing really. I took care of it.” Savannah asked backing out of the parking lot and driving off.
*********************
The gates to the Xavier Institute opened and Savannah drove in. She opened the garage door and saw the X-Van, Logan’s motorcycle, Scott’s car, and Jean’s SUV already parked inside. She parked next to Jean’s car, got out with Annabelle, got her’s and Annabelle’s school bags, and headed inside to the Institute.
Savannah opened the door and immediately was pinned down by a huge brown Labrador retriever. It licked her face and its tail wagged vigorously.
“Oh! Gracie!! Knock it off will ya!!” Savannah shouted trying to pry the 85 pound animal off of her. The dog stopped licking her and it morphed back into a teenager with brown hair and flaming green eyes. She wore a uniform similar to the new recruits although she had green knee high boots, and green plated “x” logos on each of her shoulders.
“Hey Savannah!” greeted Gracie.
“Thanks for the welcome Gracie, but I prefer it if you greet me as yourself not some animal.” Savannah commented as she got up and whipped the dog hairs off of her.
“Sorry, couldn’t resist.” Gracie laughed.
“New recruit training?” Annabelle asked Gracie.
“Yup. Run 13 level 7 this time.” Gracie said rather dolefully.
Savannah gave a smile to Annabelle as she pushed her backpack up on her shoulders.
“I remember doing that run. Too bad you can’t use your powers.” Savannah remarked. Gracie frowned at the both of them. She loved using her powers and hated doing sessions where she couldn’t use them.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have a Danger Room session to attend. My team needs me.” mocked Gracie. Flipping her hair, she morphed into an eagle and flew off towards the Danger Room. Savannah and Annabelle laughed. They walked up the stairs and started heading down towards the girl’s dorms. Ororo caught up to the two and stopped to talk to Savannah.
“Wait! Before you say anything, please tell me you didn’t discover Becky becoming a mutant with Cerebro and the Professor needs me to recruit her.” Savannah asked. She knew it all too well. Savannah would come home from school, Storm would be there to tell her of a recent mutant who was discovered by Cerebro, and the Professor wanted Savannah to get them. It had happened in the past with Annabelle and Gracie.
“No Savannah its not.” Ororo responded, “This time Cerebro detected you.” Savannah stood there puzzled.
“Uh, Anna why don’t you go on ahead to my room. I’ll be there in a minute.” Savannah requested. Ororo watched Annabelle leave before she spoke.
“Savannah, are you... alright?” Ororo asked her.
“Sure I’m fine. Never better.”
“That’s not what Cerebro indicated.”
“What do you mean?”
“ Cerebro monitors all the X-Men, and it detected some unstable emotional balance with you when you where using your powers.” Ororo explained.
“Unstable emotional- wait. Are you saying Cerebro detected me having trouble controlling my emotions?” Savannah asked.
“Yes.” Ororo replied.
“No, I have complete control over them. I feel fine. I feel rather calm right now in fact.” Savannah said.
“That’s not what Cerebro showed today after school, Savannah.” Ororo said raising an eyebrow at her.
“Oh that. Well, uh, see there was this-“
”Savannah, you should always remain calm even in a situation like the one you faced today.” Ororo interrupted.
“Yeah I know. I don’t know what happened. Look Ororo, I am fine really. Nothing to worry about.” Savannah said. Ororo looked at Savannah for a minute and nodded, “All right. I trust you young windrider.” said Ororo. Savannah smiled and started walking off when Ororo said one more thing.
“But please if there is anything wrong don’t make an excuse for it. Tell us. That is what we are here for.” Ororo explained.
Savannah turned around and nodded, “I promise if there is anything wrong, you’ll know.”
*********************
“All right. See you tomorrow Anna. Good luck on the test.” Savannah yelled back at Annabelle as she watched her drive off. She shut the door and turned on the security alarm for the institute.
“You going to bed?” asked Scott as he came walking out of the kitchen with a huge sandwich in his hands.
“Yup. That studying with Annabelle has made me really tired. Goodnight.” Savannah said yawning as she started up the stairs.
“Goodnight.” Scott replied heading into the X-Men’s tv room to watch some late night tv.
Savannah put on her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. As she turned out the lights to the bathroom she felt a sharp pain between her temples. She rubbed her head for a second and the pain left. She went into her room, got into her bed, and under her covers. She laid on her back for awhile and listened to the wind coming from her opened windows. Her white laced curtains moved in a synchronized fashion. It moved up and down and little flaps from the curtains could be heard from time to time.
Savannah laid there reflecting on her life and the things that happened in the past. Every thought that sank into her head seemed to give her strange feelings. She thought about Gracie and she began eagerly excited in her mind. Then she thought about Becky and felt lonely. Thinking about Annabelle made her really depressed. She thought about each of the X-Men and felt different emotions every time. With Ororo she felt calm, with Amara she felt determined, and she even thought about Mystique who made her feel angry. Slowly she began to drift off into slumber.
“Freak!”
“She cheated!”
“Man Ah hate Mr. Burns!”
“Aw how cute! Savannah’s got a boyfriend!”
“Why does she have to be so mean to me. Just because she’s a-?”
“I hate this session. I want to use my powers!”
“I’m so stressed with this test coming up tomorrow.”
“Just because I’m a-“
“I hate-“
“so stressed”
“Why”
“How sweat-“
“No!” Savannah screamed in sweat. She was dreaming a terrible nightmare. Everyone’s thoughts filled her mind. The X-Men, the students at school, and her friends. All of their emotions billowed up inside. Dreaming of her past memories, she could hear everyone’s thoughts as if she were reading their minds while she tossed and turned. Their faces appeared in her head while their voices echoed over and over. Each one in her head made her emotions inside run haywire.
“I...I..AAARRG!” Savannah’s head pounded as her hand clinched together. Awaking from her nightmare, her eyes jerked open and glowed a ghastly blue. In a flash she raised from her bed as wind began to blow everywhere making the curtains rip from the window, and her bed sheets fly off of her. She put her hands on her head trying to make the pain stop.
“Uhgg...no...feelings...can’t...aaarrrg!” Savannah yelled. She threw her hands out and demi’s formed. They where flung across her room and shattered her mirror across from her bed. Shards of glass spewed everywhere like tiny snow flakes falling from a winter sky. The howling winds picked Savannah up as she hovered above her bed. All sorts of loose ends, including the broken glass, flew everywhere hitting the walls and breaking apart. Too much for Savannah to control, she gave in and collapsed on the floor.
Where am I?
“Savannah.”
Inside your mind.
I want out.
No.
“Savannah please I can help you.”
Why not?
Don’t know how.
“Savannah, please.”
Who are you?
Your mind.
Please help me.
I can’t.
You must!
“I’m too confused. I do not know you anymore. All these feelings, are they yours? Are they others?
“Savannah, listen to me.” a voice called in the distance. Her eyes opened. The vision was blurry and all she could see where two blurry faces in front of her. Slowly the blurs cleared and in front of her stood a bald man, and a woman with white hair.
“What? Where?” Savannah said slowly waking up.
“Easy child. Your mind is troubled.” Ororo said.
“Clearly yes, and you shouldn’t put strain on it.” Charles added. As Savannah came to she realized that she was not in her room anymore. Instead she laid in a room filled with medical utensils and lab equipment. The infirmary. With the Professor and Ororo standing (or sitting) at her bedside, Jean was sitting in a chair near the clear glass doors. When she saw Savannah rise she got up from he chair and walked over to her.
“What happened?” Savannah asked lifting her self up so she would be sitting upright.
“Why don’t you tell us?” Ororo said raising her eyebrow slightly.
“All I remember was being asleep. I remember having a dream where my room was being torn to shreds by me. I wanted to wake up and stop it but I couldn’t. That’s the last thing I remember.”
“I heard you screaming from my room.” Jean started to say, “ I heard glass shadering and that’s when I knew you were in trouble. So I ran into your room to see you lying on the floor unconscious. I flew you over the glass and debris with my powers because I couldn’t get in, and then Ororo came running up to see what was the matter. When she saw you she told me to take you to the infirmary and ran off. I Brought you here. Then, not soon after, Ororo showed up with the Professor.” Savannah looked at her for a minute and gave a brief smile of thanks to Jean.
“Savannah, I went inside your mind and what I saw was not good. Your emotions are too unstable, or off balance because your powers are mutating. I noticed that you are having trouble trying to harness these emotions.” the Professor explained in a monotone voice.
“Savannah, I thought I told you if you where having trouble to let us know.” Ororo said in disappointment crossing her arms. Savannah didn’t know what to say to Ororo so she lowered her head and shrugged her shoulders. Starring at the bed sheets wrapped around her, she was trying to find the right words to say, but drew a blank.
“There is something I do not understand Professor.” Savannah finally spoke, “ You say I’m having trouble controlling my emotions because my powers are mutating ?” The professor nodded and unfolded his hands, “But I think there is more to it Professor. I feel like I can control my emotions, but there are emotions inside my head which confuse me and I cannot control those.” Savannah explained. She looked at the professor and then to Ororo and Jean.
“Well your mind was a bit chaotic for me to see what was going on completely, but I sensed some other power inside you, something that I haven’t seen before.” the professor explained.
“I think that it would be wise if we keep you home tomorrow until we can figure out what is happening with you.” Ororo suggested. Savannah’s eyes got wide and she quickly responded with a no. “I can’t! I have a huge test tomorrow, and I spent all night studying for it. I can’t miss it!”
“Ororo’s right, Savannah. I think we need to know what is going on before we can allow you to go to school. We don’t want to think about what would happen if you went tomorrow and caused a mayhem there. We need to run a Cerebro scan to you first thing in the morning.” the professor ordered. Savannah lowered her head again and managed to let out a quiet “ok” from her lips. The professor motioned for them to leave so Savannah could get some rest.