The taxi cab pulled up in front of the building, rocks crunching as it came to a stop. Out stepped a small girl, white blond hair pulled into a tight ponytail, eyes hidden by black sunglasses. She was wearing a neatly pressed dress, clean stockings, and an expensive looking watch. As she scanned her surroundings she pulled a pink suitcase from the back of the car and gave the driver his tip.

"Well, it doesn't look very impressive." She remarked doubtfully.

Evelyn was 7, with no memories of her previous adult years. Even the echoes couldn't fill in the blanks, but that didn't matter. Somehow, she felt unbothered by this fresh start. She was still more adult than most people she encountered and had the echoes to thank for that. A flawless memory, voices in her head to do her bidding. Seriously, she could make this work.

When her awareness started, she had been sitting outside the police station. She thought that had been the best place to get to work. With her skills, clearly, she needed to work in law enforcement. If only that police chief hadn't shooed her away on account of her not being over 4 feet tall. What type of prejudice regulations were those! Instead, they dropped her off here at this mutant daycare where she could apparently live and be safe. Like she needed that. Oh well. At least she wouldn't have to pay for food right?

Pushing open the door, she glanced around the entryway, calling out as she did. "Hello? Are there any legal guardians in this facility?"


[Footsteps, second floor. Movement, two doors to the left. Date of last dusting, estimated December 2014.]

Well, that confirmed it. She had been dropped off to hell.

Serena's cab pulled up to the exterior of the mansion and she yawned as she stepped out of it. She'd been playing catch up all weekend with university friends and it was exhausting. Most of them figured she was having some sort of breakup crisis and ran away. She was also amused by how many of them (those that knew she was a writer) assumed she was behaving like a movie star, running around sleeping with a different girl (or dude) every week and flying all over the US. They were firstly under some amusing notions about what the income of a professional writer was like, and she'd realised that she wasn't as open with her orientation as she maybe ought to be.

The blonde had been dropped a little walk away from the mansion so she could warm up a little on her way in. She was in her standard workout clothes, she was wearing a blue zip up hoodie with thermal lining, a blue tank top and black work out pants. She turned the walk into a light jog up to the mansion just to see a cab pulling away. Wait, had it picked somebody up she couldn't see anybod- Oh. It was a person, just a little one.

Serena's mind flickered with fond memories as she finished coming to the top of the drive seeing a distinctly surprising hair colour she blinked a little. It was very familiar somehow. She approached audibly with friendly, passive body language. "Hello there, were you trying to get into the mansion to see someone?" She asked with a sweet and warm tone.

Man, why did Serena meet so many little girls around here. It was strange. Oh well.

Evelyn heard the footsteps coming along behind her. Finally, she could have some assistance. She turned her head slowly, letting the echoes assess the stranger coming up. Exited cab, work out outfit. No bags, possible resident.] To say she was disappointed was probably the wrong word. She was unimpressed, and already doubted this 'adult' could do anything.

"If I was here to see someone, would I have a suitcase?" Evelyn said, lifting her sunglasses so her sharp silver eyes could peer up at this woman. For being in a seven year old body, she had a sharp tongue like a much older woman. Deductive reasoning felt so juvenile that she felt it ridiculous someone older could not follow such simple procedures. Folding her arms, she looked doubtfully at this individual. "I was looking for someone with authority here, but I suppose you'll have to do. Aren't you a bit old to be running around like a college freshman?"

She didn't wait for Serena to respond, and turn back into the building. "I already have doubts about this buildings security, given the ease to enter. But safety risk aside, I was only given this one option, so it'll have to do. I require a single room, I don't do roommates, and preferably something in the interior without windows. Oh, and no mirrors. Are you capable of helping assign this or should we locate someone with a higher standing in this facility?" She snapped her sunglasses back down, took the handle of her little suitcase, and walked deeper into the mansion, letting her mind sort out the blueprint. If this was a kitchen over here, that was a rec room, the stairs and dormitories were probably this direction, based on the heavy floor scuffs from frequent foot traffic.

Serena blinked slowly at the sharpness and eloquence of the response. Okayyy. That was not normal. Children usually didn't show remotely that much complexity in language, let alone that much wit or sharpness. She'd spoken softly and gently because she expected that a child arriving outside of the mansion would be extremely overwhelmed. As it turned out, she was definitely not that.

She cocked an eyebrow inquisitively. "It depends on how long you were planning on visiting I suppose, I know of several people who have visited the mansion for a short time." She admitted. It was perfectly natural when some students came from other corners of the US or even the world that relatives sometimes came to visit. "The people with authority would be inside the building, I'm well acquainted with a handful, I assume given your response you're a mutant looking for a place to stay then?"

She just barrled past the obnoxious comment. She might have well developed language, but clearly manors and complex consideration were not part of the thought yet. That was fine, she could deal with a brat.

Whoa. She had a mouth on her.

"People tend to assume that children aren't that much of danger to enter on their own. I suspect there will be a greeter somewhere nearby shortly, staff and some students volunteer to greet newcomers." She explained as the sharp witted brat began entering. Serena mentally rolled her eyes. This was going to be fun.

Serena glanced at the girl as they entered the building, she buzzed them inside as they did. There was something so eerily familiar about the girl but she just couldn't place her finger on what it was. "Whether or not you are assigned roommates depends on how much space is currently available. Typically there is enough, but I'm not familiar with the current number of residents so I can't comment with any specificity."

She was waved at by a member of staff she knew, glancing at the small girl and apparently deciding to leave it to Serena. Was that a teacher? She actually couldn't remember, but she knew plenty of people at the mansion. "I'm not a full time staff member so no, but I know of the people that can help you get settled. This way." she led the white haired brat towards the offices, smiling and very briefly greeting a few people who stopped to say hi.

The girl pointed out that visitors sometimes stayed for longer periods of time. Evelyn considered this, and found the reasoning valid. She would allow the girl a little leeway for not assuming she was here to stay. After all, unlike most adults, this one seemed to at least be ready to defend herself and show she had the capacity to problem solve.

As they walked, she was greeted by several people. This suggested two positivities to Evelyn: the woman had been here for a length of time, or she was respected based on her mutation. For some reason, Evelyn was inclined to suspect both. The lack of annoyance and patient nature seemed to show a long practice of keeping emotions in check. She wanted to explore the posibilities more, but other problems were demanding her involvement.

”Frankly, I’m sure you’d find a roommate unwilling to share their space with me anyway. I don’t like to waste much of my time sleeping. There are other tasks to address, and unless there are other studying spaces, I believe there would be a, for lack of a better term, disagreement.” she tested a different approach this time, subtly studying her companion. Some adults would quickly assure someone they were no bother. Lies and fluff would work on many children. Others would try to avoid confrontation and give into her demands. Someone, Evelyn was doubting any of that would happen. The way this woman carried herself, spoke, and reasoned made her suspect she would form her own counter argument.

Evelyn was town between her desire to get what she wanted, and the small rush that came from having someone smart enough to test her.

”Still, what if I were sent here just to cause harm? Assumptions based on appearances could endanger those in your care. Although, the welcoming arms to mutants approach would be ruined by too much red tape, I would think?”[/b] her eyes did pick up some security cameras, but it was possible mutants themselves left unknown monitoring behind.

Serena took them toward the offices, dispelling Evelyn’s hope she could quickly claim a room and be rid of supervision. She pulled her suitcase, trying not to chew her lip in frustration. It felt like she was getting registered for school, something so lower class she almost shuddered. Wait, this was a school after all....mother of...did that mean she was getting enrolled in a PUBLIC education?!!!

Well, the building itself was private, but her eyes narrowed as she glanced into a few passing doors. No, this was by no means up to standard with her previous tutorage.

Serena wondered what considerations the mansion actually had towards potentially dangerous children? Certainly this one seemed fine, and even if she wasn't Serena was pretty confident in her ability to handle those that were particularly dangerous, but she wondered how they approached these other cases. The staff were pretty well trained and confident in dealing with the kids for one thing, and for another they had Gemma around.

A smile flickered on her face. There were plenty of students like that. She'd opted not to have one after Liz totally vanished. "I'm sure if you look hard enough you will find plenty of students that don't spend too much time sleeping. I can't make any promises, but it's likely that you can get your own room." She was not going to be held accountable if she couldn't with a girl this prissy and entitled.

She actually did smile at Evelyn this time. "It's funny I was just thinking about that a minute ago. I came to the conclusion that generally the mansion's response time to any sort of problem or crisis is impressive, there are enough trained staff on hand, X-men and an adapted to deal with most combinations of problem that I can think of." It was afterall, basically a school for troubled mutants.

Evelyn was learning quite a bit about her companion just from their conversation. For one, the girl seemed to have a somewhat optimistic outlook to things. Despite Evelyn’s rather aggressive greeting, she used words to deflect the initial arguments and logic to attempt to work through things. When Evelyn argues she would disturb a roommate because of her insomnia, the adult was quick to offer solutions. Fair enough. Evelyn was not entirely surrendered to this type of attitude though.

It didn’t help that the girl also tried to encourage her by giving half-formed promises. Evelyn saw through those. An easy technique often seen in customer service, the less negative ‘let me ask someone else’ was an appeasement strategy. Evelyn was smart enough to know this. She was also smart enough to hide any outward sign of annoyance. Maybe Serena couldn’t get a room for her and was being honest, but the sunny side up direction still stoked her nerves.

At the office, Evelyn caught sight of a rather tired looking woman sitting behind a desk. Her hair was a shade of lime green, her nails painted bright blue, her makeup only half done. She blinked in surprise, a pair of fox ears on her head twitching at their arrival. Wow, green and orange did NOT mix well.

“Serena! Gosh, I’m sorry, I got called in to help cover the office last minute, things are a little dishwveled around here. Who is your friend?”

Evelyn blinked once, frowning. ”Really? This is what passes for a responsible adult around here? And how late were you up drinking?” she scoffed sourly. The girl turned crimson, clashing horribly with her green hair. Actually, her skin almost looked green before that.

Funny, Serena hadn't caught too many actual staff around. Not ones that worked on the administrative side of things. She guessed maybe some of them were still on holiday or something? She always found a nice little surge of nostalgia walking through these halls. Pretty much all of the negative associations with the mansion were gone from her mind. She was truly over it, and just respected and appreciated the place for what it was now.

There was something about the way the girl looked around the building, the way she spoke. Surely Serena couldn't have met her before? Did she remind her of someone then?

Her train of thought was interrupted by a cute girl sitting behind one of the desks, looking very disheveled. And Serena could embarrassingly not remember her name. She looked like a mess, but the place was also unusually quiet, so she was probably dealing with a lot more than she normally had to, poor thing. When she spoke it clicked, she'd probably had the day off and not expected to have to cover today, that explained her state. But it spoke to her character that she was hungover or something and still came in to help out on her own time when she had no obligation to. Serena liked her. For sure.

She was about to open her mouth to respond when Evelyn shot out a venomous observation. The flustered girl was about to stammer a response when Serena gently held a hand out. "It's alright." She was about to give Evelyn a verbal lashing before reminding herself that all kinds of kids ended up here, with lots of varying circumstances, some quite traumatic.

"How she spends her free time is quite frankly none of your concern or business, this is an unusual circumstance, usually there are more staff around to help out. But it is the holidays, and flu season so either of those could be why." The cute mutant girl was nodding in agreement. "On that matter, what is your name?"

Evelyn had a sour look. For some reason she couldn't quite understand why Serena would defend such unprofessional action. Her long lashes flicked once, and she crossed her arms. She looked up at the taller girl, obviously not backing down. "So just because someone was called into work last minute should excuse the fact that they arrived at work in disarray? If a medical professional went to work hungover and made a mistake, is that equally forgivable? What if someone entered the school and your lax security failed to stop them, is she really going to do her job adequately?"

The fox-eared girl looked like she might cry. Evelyn could feel the echoes lashing out, picking up on every insecurity. [Guilt, frustration, regret.] "See? She even knows she shouldn't have drank so much. Why do you have to be so nice all the time? I've seen people like you plenty of times, who just want to solve everything. You make excuses for her, but you hold back even talking to me because you want to make excuses for me too. It's like you try to believe everyone can be understood with patience." Evelyn said the last line with a mocking manner. Memories flooded the back of her mind, crystal clear and washing through her in waves.

"Who is more guilty, the man who steals food to feed his family, or the world for failing to give him another option?" Jensen looked down at her, and leaned over to brush a hand through her hair. "The world has good and bad in it, no one is perfect or exempt. Just because your echoes can understand what is happening, or they can decipher someones secrets, is not enough. You need to learn to understand someone and connect with the things you cannot see."

Where had he ended up, anyway? He left her, abandoned her, just like her parents, with a set of useless ID's, and a tiny body set back to childhood. She probably spent her past life trying to understand, trying to justify. But she looked around, and the world was just as messed up as ever. People were wrong. They were full of mistakes and problems and made endless excuses for what they did.

"Serena, really, it's okay. She's young," the girl was saying. She obviously recognized Serena, even if the other woman was unfamiliar.

Evelyn turned cold eyes back her way. "Age has nothing to do with it. I'm just tired of people with power who think they are exempt from consequences."

Serena blinked a little, curious about the way the girl spoke at such a high level and the way she analysed everything... It reminded her so much of someone. Then it struck her like a slap. It reminded her of Evelyn Summers, she'd not thought about that particular person in a long time. And then several more, amusing and disturbing thoughts crept up on her wasn't Evelyn dating Mirror when she lived here? And Serena hadn't seen her in maybe 6 years? The child didn't look that old. Maybe between 6 and 8?

Serena leaned against the wall and listened while the girl went on her little tirade and then took a quiet breath. "Are you done for the moment?" She sighed. "I don't ridicule her because although what she's doing isn't professionally acceptable, not only is it a mistake countless people could make, and not only do most of the staff here dedicate so much of their time, energy and love into helping young mutants, but beyond that I'm sure she's already embarrassed and annoyed with herself enough already." The woman blushed again.

"As for being so 'nice' all the time. If I believed that, I'd suggest it's because there is enough hatred, anger and vitriolic behaviour in the world already. Why would I add to that? Kindness costs you absolutely nothing." She paused for a moment before lowering herself slightly, looking Evelyn in the eyes. "And unless I'm mistaken I've made absolutely no excuses for your behaviour, I don't believe there are any." She thought for a moment.

"As for the age not being important, I suppose in your case you're absolutely right. Even if your emotional maturity is still limited, your cognitive reasoning is quite high. Fair point. Now are you going to give us your name, so we can get you settled, or did you wish to continue your rudeness and dodging of the question?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Evelyn had come to learn that everyone had a breaking point, and she saw the tipping balance when she seemed to cross Serena. It was, odd, to watch. Serena was stern, authoritative, and yet still seemed to hold back. There was a dark side, wound up tight and buried with training, but the woman did not snap.

Evelyn had seen adults blow up at her. They had screamed, and thrown things. She had nasty things said and there were one or two slaps. She had not succeeded in generating that level of response today, however.

Had she been trying? Maybe not knowingly. The echoes liked to find weaknesses, give her openings to attack and sometimes she jumped after them. She may have baited Serena initially, but there was a stern warning building in the room. [Withheld anger, unhappiness, annoyance, pity.]

The last reading made Evelyn feel confused. Pity? Was that right? She didn't question what the echoes said very often, but this time she wondered if she was really seeing the right thing. It was something in the combination of words, the look, the way she bent down and looked Evelyn right in the eyes. There is enough hatred, anger and vitriolic behavior in the world already. Evelyn knew that very well. She saw it walking outside. She saw it in her parents, in doctors, in the party guests that used to sit there and sip champagne and pretend they had the world on a platter, while secretly hiding all the skeletons in a closet. Evelyn knew there was darkness in everyone, and more often then not, that darkness spun out of her control. She didn't know who she was, or what she really wanted. All she knew was she saw things, she heard things, that given enough time, could drive her absolutely crazy.

"My name is Evelyn," she said it with an empty face. She would not apologize. She had no regrets for what she said or how she acted. Why should the world expect pity and excuses for their own mistakes? Rudeness? She felt a tiny muscle in her jaw twitch once, giving away her own resentment.

The resentment on Evelyn's face was pretty plain to see but both Serena and the desk girl were relieved when she responded. Only a second later Serena froze. "Evelyn." She repeated, blinking. Her thoughts slowly formed together into something resembling a conclusion. "Is your last name Summers?" She ventured. There was no way this was Evelyn's kid, the similarities were just too stark. Was she a clone or something, was that even possible?

The girl behind the desk had pulled out some paper work to get things started, noting down the first name before pausing at the second name.

Evelyn had known one day someone would recognize her from her adult years, but had not planned on it being quite this fast. When she heard her last name, she blinked, eyes a, quite frankly, normal blue. She pushed the echoes back in her mind, suddenly much more interested in where she was. ”Yes, actually. Wait, have I been here before?” She unzipped the front pocket of her luggage suddenly, digging out a plastic ID card. After a somewhat torn glance, she held it out to Serena.

Evelyn Summers, Birthdate 10/10/1988.

”I assumed I was still living on my own, given the rental records. I never expected I would have come to a school, of all places.” she hated school! What would have possessed her to move here as an adult? Surely by then she would have learned everything she wanted to learn? With the playbacks and the echoes, it was practically like she was downloading information from her surroundings. Did something change? How frustrated she felt to remember nothing!

“Ah, wait, I may have your old records. We keep rooming assignments even for adults...Summers, Summers... here! Oh, you... you were a trainee.” The girl glanced at Serena as if trying to keep herself professional, but Evelyn still saw the unspoken question. She wanted to roll her eyes. Obviously her current behavior left some doubt of her qualification as a trainee. Heck, she had a lot of doubts about that. Why would she ever want to be a super hero? Why not a cop? Why not a detective?

”Adult me feels like a letdown.” she muttered unhappily.

Serena waited to respond until Evelyn had actually provided the ID to look at. After several slow blinks she replied. "Y- You used to live, and work here." The woman sitting behind the desk basically confirmed what Serena was saying, she took a minute for that to sink in, and another for Evelyn to process it. The girl looked most definitely more pensive than Serena had seen her, but she supposed if she was suddenly a kid and could not remember most of her life she'd be freaked out too.

Serena shrugged. "I didn't know you that well admittedly, but you were a member of the X-men team, and you were actively dating one of the members. So I suppose you were working here, in come capacity."

She definitely felt more pity for Evelyn now, she didn't know how she would have dealt with this situation but it was probably a complicated thing for a child, even one with cognition as advanced as this ones.

"She may have been to you, but I always found her to be quite an interesting and stimulating person to converse with." She admitted. Evelyn was one of the only people to piece together one of Serena's best kept secrets.

The blonde and the woman behind the desk sighed. "Well the good news is there shouldn't be any problems setting you up with a room here. You will have plenty of time to work out whatever direction you want to take your life now, perhaps one you find less disappointing?" She ventured.

"I don't suppose you have any idea how this happened to you then?"

For the first time, the room had an energy that was not angry. Evelyn took her ID back, staring at the details and the photo, wondering if she felt a sense of loss. How could she miss things she didn't remember? It was like another life was entirely erased, gone forever except for in the memories of the people she had known.

In some ways, it was almost symbolic to her. This was what it was like to die. What was life except an experience, to fade once the memories were gone. She looked at the date, trying to imagine any time before waking in this young body. To her, everything just melded into one cohesive string, with a tiny black bar in the middle where a life had vanished.

She went to school one day, woke up the next in a bed at an apartment she didn't remember. She looked around a room where she was surrounded by clothing that didn't fit, found cards and IDs for a her that she did not know. She would never admit the feeling of nausea she felt facing down all of that information, a tunnel of uncertainty for her small frame. Not remembering things was a feeling she had never faced. She did not go through denial, she did not try to ignore the situation, she just tried to push forward as fast as she could.

Evelyn tried calling her parents, but their number would not connect. Her cell phone was blocked, and the contacts were empty at best. Even as an adult it appeared she had few friends. Instead, she went to the police station hoping for some clues to her past life, but all she found were traces of a criminal record 6 years ago, and then she was shipped here to the mansion. In some ways, she had not had time to really panic over what she felt. Hearing the slight tremble in Serena's voice got to her. It frickin' got to her.

"I was dating someone...and I worked here," she repeated, finally zipping away the plastic card. "Something must have happened though, because I had stuff in my new apartment. I don't think I was with that person anymore. Obviously, I chose a new path." Why? What had she wanted to do? What would make her leave this, and go back to solitude if she really had accepted this life first? Why did her parents have her blocked, and how had no one known she was seven years old. How had no one...missed her.

Her jaw locked, a rebellious vein reigniting. It flared and rolled inside her, and she felt angry, so angry. "If I was quite interesting, then it wouldn't have been so easy for me to be forgotten. Just, give me the room." She turned, and the girl at the desk seemed to feel pity now, retrieving rooming information and handing it to her. She didn't offer to walk Evelyn, as if sensing the implosion of emotions Evelyn was facing. As she yanked her suitcase to leave, she hooked her foot on the wheel and tripped. She dropped the papers, snatching out for the closest thing. She caught Serena's hand, and the playbacks took the moment to jump the bridge between them.

She was back in school, arguing with another girl with dark brown hair and a massive amount of freckles on her slim face. The cold eyes glared at her, and the girl crossed her arms firmly across her chest, her skinny little legs spaced evenly apart like a barrier from the rest of the lunch room. Evelyn was cornered, and glanced from side to side for somewhere to go. Different escape routes offered their echoes, but the girl interrupted them. "Get lost freak." She demanded.

Evelyn shook her head and frowned stubbornly up at her. "No! I'm not a freak and I didn't do anything to you. Professor would have noticed you were cheating anyway, you always look---"

There was a crack of fist to face and pain exploded from her cheek as the girls punch connected with her cheekbone. Evelyn cried out in pain, falling towards the floor and landing in an awkward heap. She felt like a puddle of white hair and clothing as she burst into tears---

Evelyn wrenched away cutting off the feed. She landed on her backside, hand to her face and eyes stinging with tears, the pain so real... She...she did not remember this side of her powers. This unbearably vivid memory. Maybe that was the reason she had come here in the first place, and the reason she ran away.

What else could you do when the things you were running from were right there inside your mind?