Henrietta Braun hadn’t had contact with her teacher Lenna for quite some time. She was wondering if she had done something wrong or something had happened to her. The brunette sat in her room for hours, trying to work everything out in her head. Does Lenna dislike me? Did she get in an accident? Is she even in New York anymore? What should I do? Do I call? If I do, and Lenna’s just avoiding me, I’ll be super embarrassed. There were a few hours spent on the jumbling thoughts, when she finally decided to get herself out of the house.
--

The teen was now walking around downtown New York looking for something she could use to take her mind off things. All she saw were people walking quickly from place to place, scooping up after-Christmas sales. Henri wandered up to a store window and gazed inside at the beautiful, expensive dresses that were on display.

In her mind, the brunette pictured herself and Van dancing, but not mosh-pit jumping. Real dancing, at a prom or beautiful party. Her favorite dress was a dark green one, with a crinoline making the skirt that was supposed to come to the wearer’s knees, poof up. It had sparkles that looked like flowers down the skirt. Henrietta gazed at it lovingly and put her hand on the window gingerly. It was almost her favorite color and it looked like a silky material, which would wear amazingly.

Pulling herself out of her daydreams, she quickly turned away from the window and let out a small sigh. It wasn’t going to happen. Something like that wasn’t in her price range and besides, she needed training, not fancy dresses. Where was she going to find another teacher if Lenna never got back to her?

The short answer was, 'in a minute'. The long answer was, in a minute, because their paths had just so happened to cross in a city as big as New York. Luck and miracles happened every day, it seemed. Most often when nobody was looking for them to occur. Just by chance, Lenna's path happened to brush by this store's general area, and just by chance, she spotted a familiar face.

"... Henri." She stopped, box held under one arm. She didn't know what else to say.

The brunette was feeling a bit sad about not having seen her boyfriend for a while, now that she was thinking about him. She jumped when she heard her name and instantly looked at the person it had come from. “Oh.” It wasn’t a very surprised sounding ‘oh’, just one that meant she was taken a little off guard. “Hey, Lenna. It’s good to see you. I was just bored and out walking when I found these pretty dresses.” She glanced over her shoulder at the beautiful pieces hanging in the window.

When she turned around again and made eye contact with her female teacher, her face had a red tint to it. She was blushing slightly. For some reason, she felt all girly and dumb and was embarrassed she was showing this day-dreamy side of herself to the person who was teaching her self-defense.

A change of topic was in order. “Uhh, so, what bring you out and about? And, if you don’t mind my asking, when are we going to practice again?”

Dresses.

Lenna wasn't interested in dresses. Her and Henri needed to have a serious talk. She'd just remembered. It had taken a bit of her wind from her sails. The girl would be fine. It wouldn't be that serious, if any of what she'd said to Amber could still be believed, but... well... it was still serious. More serious than dresses.

Henri turned to face her, cheeks a hint crimson. For a second, Lenna thought the girl wanted her opinion on the dresses that she'd been admiring. Lenna shrugged noncommittally. She didn't say a thing.

Henrietta changed the subject. Finally, a topic. "We need to talk." A topic she could dismiss. "Can we go some place more private?"

Henrietta felt nervous all of a sudden. Lenna looked upset, or maybe just stern. Whatever the look, it made Henri’s stomach flip. She nodded her head when asked if there was someplace private they could go. “I think there’s an alley around the corner, or I don’t know. I don’t know many places where we can be alone. I-“ Her blue eyes looked to the ground. What was going to happen? Had she done something wrong? Her mind raced as she stared at a chunk of snow lying on the sidewalk.

“Follow me.” The brunette began walking towards a park. There wasn’t really anyone there, considering it was so cold. When she arrived near a park bench, she nervously glanced at her female teacher. “So, what’s up? You look pensive. Are you upset with me over something?”

A small park. There weren't many people. It still didn't feel as safe as she would have liked, but... Lenna sighed. It would have to do.

Gathering her thoughts, she began talking. "You need to remember not to share information like it's unimportant. Your friend, Amber, told me you spoke with her about things. Are you familiar with spy stories?" Lenna paused to let her catch up. "They have covers. They lie, to protect people from their true mission or organization. You can't go around talking about it... sorry. Slate was kind of an idiot for not making that clear. He does that."

She watched Henrietta to see her reaction. The girl seemed worried, from her body language. Maybe she thought she was in troulble, just like Amber had thought? Good.

"I..I'm sorry." Her eyes were trained back on the ground. She had forgotten about Amber and her's discussions. Did that mean she wasn't allowed to tell any of her other friends? Or maybe it wouldn't be a problem if they never told anyone else. How was she supposed to keep secrets from the people you aren't supposed to keep secrets from? Her eyes started to sting a little and her gaze fell back onto her teacher.

"What can't people know about? I have nothing to tell! I don't know much myself, so what is so bad about the Kabal that they can't know?" Her eyes were narrowed slightly in suspicion and she no longer felt embarrassed, just a little angry. "I wanted to help people, so I thought I'd give the Kabal a shot. I just want to feel like I'm not useless and like somebody wants me!"

So the truth was out. She wanted someone to accept her and need her. She wanted to feel like she wasn't some freak who's own family didn't want her. Henrietta shook her head and took a deep breath. "Again, I'm sorry. Forget I said anything." Her blue eyes focused on something farther away now. Something to make her feel like she wasn't going to cry.

Oh boy. Waterworks waiting to happen. The girl was getting emotional. And teen-angsty. She felt useless, unwanted. Wanted to shout about it. Maybe, cry?

Lenna's face was placid, serious. Beneath the mask of calm, she was thinking. Thinking of what Henrietta'd said, and whether the Kabal was a good place for emotional teenage girls or not. It wasn't. There really wasn't much to think about.

"Calm down," Lenna said. "Get ahold of yourself. Letting your emotions control you isn't good. Let's talk this over. Henrietta," Her voice softened, replacing the calm hardness that had been there before. "Don't freak out and cry on me. We can talk. Like adults." She added the last part, seriously. Because she was not used to 'talking' with emotional teenagers when they had their fits.

Lenna looked calm, but didn't seem fond of the teen's emotional outburst. The brunette closed her eyes and clenched her fists while taking a few deep breaths. She didn't want to have a fit in front of such a strong, grown woman. It wouldn't leave a good impression of her and she really wanted Lenna to like her. She wasn't sure why, but she wanted someone to be proud of her.

"I-I'm sorry." Her eyes opened and she put a serious expression on her face. "I'm fine. I'm just learning to deal with some stuff and it's a little difficult." She glanced away for a second before smiling and shaking her head. "There's not much to talk about, but I still want to learn to defend myself. That is, if you're still willing to teach me."

"Alright." That was better. Her arms uncrossed themselves. The girl was working at controlling herself. "I can train you. But you have to realize, this isn't a game." She glanced off for a moment. "And if I train you, it can't be at Mondragon anymore. It'll have to be some place else."

Lenna didn't give a reason. This wasn't a game, and she couldn't go to Mondragon. That was explanation enough.

"Maybe we can find a self defense trainer or a martial arts school for you to go to." Her tone was flat.

"I know this isn't a game, Lenna. I never thought it was." Her gaze was stern and she was completely composed. It was obvious that her teacher seemed fed-up or something along those lines. It made Henrietta a little angry. Didn't she understand the girl at all?

When Lenna said they couldn't train at Mondragon labs, she almost questioned it. The brunette thought better of it however and jut kept her mouth closed. Part of it was so she didn't say anything, and part of it was because she was a little angry.

Her tone was respectful when she finally spoke up. "Whatever you think is best..."

>>"Whatever you think is best..."

The line echoed in her mind, on each echo growing worse. Yeah. Henrietta may have calmed down and stopped being a child, but she was still a teenager. Lenna knew that tone. She'd been a teenager once, too. Maybe she would have to explain her decision... this argument had to stop.

Lenna took a deep breath, composing herself and her thoughts.

"Look. I'm sorry." A good start. "It's not like I'm barring you from the labs... and it's not like I'm refusing to train you. It's just... I can't go back there. Not without causing a lot of trouble. And... it might be safer for you to avoid playing around with Slate's organization too. You could probably get more out of the X-men... If I'm being helpful. Slate really didn't get my aim when I brought you to him. I wanted him to sign you up for Humanitarian work, but... he completely misunderstood."

An apology was nice. It was very appreciated and the brunette smiled. When the woman added that Henrietta may fit in better with the X-Men, she nodded. "I appreciate what you're saying and I'm glad you're trying to help me. You're probably right about me being with the X-Men instead of the Kabal."

The girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that had started to get in her face. "I guess I'm just not sure what to do with myself. Almost all my friends are trying to become X-Men if they haven't already. I feel angry so much of the time when I think about how so many people would hate me if they knew I had a mutation."

Her gaze slid to the ground and she shrugged. "I suppose it doesn't really matter, huh?"

Henrietta accepted her suggestion. The Kabal really had never seemed like the right place for her, she rationalized. Maybe starting out, Lenna had spotted something of herself in the girl? Probably not. It was more her desire to help others that she'd seen... she'd thought Slate would be able to understand that. He hadn't. He was irresponsible. She'd been irresponsible, bringing the girl to him.

At least Henrietta was seeing the light now, before it became too late.

Lenna truly hoped the girl found a way to do what she wanted, and be with friends. Henrietta was a sweet kid. She deserved better than an irresponsible leader who tossed lives around like a dice at a craps shoot.

Lenna didn't say anything while Henrietta reasoned with herself. She only smiled understandingly, and let the girl reach her own conclusions.

The brunette glanced at Lenna's face and recognized the smile. She could relate, or at least understand, that Henrietta was starting to think for herself. The girl was realizing that she didt have to be in the Kabal. Actually, she didn'tnhave to be in the X-Mem either, although the X-Men suited it her much more for the time being.

Henri smiled back at the woman who had helped her through a few things now. She wondered if Lenna's knew how much all of her help had meant to her, but sensed that Lenna wasn't a very emotional person. She was't quite sure what to do, but Henrietta decided to tell her anyway.

"Um, Lenna? Thank you. I appreciate you helping me so much. You're a good person and I'm glad I got to meet you." The girl dug around in her pocket and pulled out the cell phone Slate had given her. "Could you tell him thanks anyway?"