>>“The…X-men are here? You know the X-Men?”

Sveta blinked. She'd never thought about it like that. There were so many new and surprising things to learn when she came to the Mansion - the rumors were just another one of them. And she was not even sure she was supposed to tell Agnes what she was not sure she knew.

"Well... dey say, yes." she nodded "Dere is a lot of training. They use de Danger Room to let students practice with their powers safe. I... have never really seen the team. But you can kind of tell who is strong enough to be one of them..."

>> "Well... dey say, yes…Dere is a lot of training. They use de Danger Room to let students practice with their powers safe. I... have never really seen the team. But you can kind of tell who is strong enough to be one of them..."

Agnes listened intently, still too shocked to say anything. Apparently Sveta looked a little uncomfortable about what she had just revealed but she could not blame her. After all, she had always assumed that the X-Men were super secret and here this woman was pretty much telling her that they were based here. But she did not want the woman to think she was untrustworthy so Agnes did not spend too much time questioning her on the subject of the X-Men. Instead she just let her mind wander about them.

Was there really a Danger Room somewhere in the mansion? What went on there? Sveta said that there was where they trained mutants. She had to admit that that sounded very exciting but she doubted she would get to go there. For a list of reasons, actually:

#1) In Agnes’ wildest of dreams, she would never imagine herself running into an X-Man and actually befriending them at all, much less to the point that she could be trusted with going down into the lower levels to train.

#2) Her powers really were not that impressive. Sure, she could spew out a swarm of insects that could defend her should she be in danger, but she had no control over them. This bugs did whatever was on their minds to do. And even if she had them under control, what could she really learning in a Danger Room? How to spit bugs in people’s faces and run the other way?

#3) Lastly, these were the freaking X-Men! Why would they want anything to do with her?

Agnes slumped at little at that realization. It was all true. Her powers were no impressive enough to help people, and really how could they possibly be tested? No, she would be happy just know how her powers affected her physiology. It was a small thing to know, but at least that could be the most helpful in the long wrong. Maybe that nice DocProf could help her.

She sighed again and then smiled as she looked at Sveta. “Don’t worry, if is a secret, I won’t tell anyone that the X-Men are here. I promise. Scout’s honor,” she said with an encouraging smile.

>> “Don’t worry, if is a secret, I won’t tell anyone that the X-Men are here. I promise. Scout’s honor,”

Sveta smirked "I do not know much either" she confessed "But who ever runs the school, they are good. I mean... dey are good people, and dey are also good with running a school. So, it is a win, even if they are not superheroes."

She could tell Agnes was not all that sure about the superhero things. Somehow she just looked a bit uncomfortable with the idea.

"But it has nothing to do with de training" she added "Dat place is for practice, so if you have a mutation dat is not safe practicing outside, you go in dere. Or, if you just want to know how to defend yourself, dey teach you that too."

Sam did, anyway. He was looking out for pretty much everyone who came to the school. That had to include Agnes...

>> "I do not know much either…But who ever runs the school, they are good. I mean... dey are good people, and dey are also good with running a school. So, it is a win, even if they are not superheroes."

Agnes had to agree with that statement. The truth is that whoever it was that was ultimately running this place, they were doing a good job of it. For someone like her, who has known little to no real love in her life, she really felt protected and safe her. Especially considering how inconvenient her mutation was. No matter how nice and open minded a mutant supporter can be, she was sure that many of them would absolutely, positively draw the line at having a bunch of bugs suddenly appearing in their house. She knew this from experience.

Not long after she left her house, cold and starving, she managed to find a local homeless shelter to take refuge in. Many of the workers there wanted her real name and where she came from so they could help her, but she instead fed them stories about how her parents were dead and she was the only one in the state. They bought it for the moment but they still wanted to call social services…then it happened. While she had been in one of the bunk beds, trying to get a warm sleep from the cold night outside, a group of older homeless girls began to harass her. They pushed, shoved and tried to steal her duffle bag. Her anxiety it caused was enough to awaken the swarm inside of her chest. They had buzzed loud and before she knew it she released a thick cloud of wasps and flies in their faces. That did not stay hidden though.

The ruckus from the fight caused most of the shelter to awaken and have the volunteers run in to see what was the matter. All they saw were insects coming from her mouth and attacking supposedly innocent humans. They all organized quick to run Agnes out of that shelter. She did her best to gather her belongings and run while they chased her out with brooms and whatever other blunt instruments they could find. It was not a happy evening.

So yes, Agnes knew how lucky she was to be here. So few people would take the time to help out a homeless person, much less a mutant with the ability to release a plague of insects whenever she grew upset. She was definitely glad to be here.

>> "But it has nothing to do with de training…Dat place is for practice, so if you have a mutation dat is not safe practicing outside, you go in dere. Or, if you just want to know how to defend yourself, dey teach you that too."

She nodded appreciatively. “Maybe that won’t be so bad. I would not mind trying to learn a few moves to keep myself protected. Better than always having to rely on them,” she said as he touched her own chest where the swarm lived. “Plus it would be nice to practice my powers without having to be in front of everyone. Don’t need to gross everyone out,” she added with a sad chuckle.

Agnes then turned to Sveta again and offered her the warmest of smiles. The look on her face was as equivalent to any hug the runaway could offer. She was truly thankful for Sveta to take the time to help her.

“Umm, I want to say thank you.” she said with a nod. “Honestly, I don’t know where I would be if you had not had taken the time to help me back in the mall when you did,” she sniffled a little, wiping an appreciative tear from her eye. “You were the first person in a long time that really seemed to care. I can never thank you enough for that.”

>>“Maybe that won’t be so bad. I would not mind trying to learn a few moves to keep myself protected. Better than always having to rely on them. Plus it would be nice to practice my powers without having to be in front of everyone. Don’t need to gross everyone out,”

Sveta chuckled "The definition of gross is very different here. But it is safe. Dere are a few peole who have access to the DR, I can tell you who to ask."

>>“Umm, I want to say thank you. Honestly, I don’t know where I would be if you had not had taken the time to help me back in the mall when you did. You were the first person in a long time that really seemed to care. I can never thank you enough for that.”

She smiled, and was really sorry for a moment that her mutation kept her from touching people. It would have been so nice to hug Agnes right now. She was finally smiling, and she felt good living in the Mansion, and, at least partly, that was thanks to Sveta. It was a nice feeling, having done something that good.

"You are welcome, Agnes" she smiled "I am glad I could help."

Sitting back, she was silent for a moment.
All right, sharing time.

"I lived on streets too, when I was as old as you are now" a few years ago "I run away from home with my little sister. It was very hard times. And then, a very rich lady picked us up, and helped us, and she did not ask for anything in return. She was de one who taught me to speak English, and... sent me here, to start over." she chuckled "I can't thank her enough, never. But now I kind of see why she was doing it."

>> "You are welcome, Agnes…I am glad I could help."

It was Agnes’ turn to blush a little as she heard the well felt thankful from the woman whom sat next to her. The runaway had meant everything she said. She did not know in what direction her life would be going right now if it were not for her. Sveta had taken the time to show her compassion, to save a girl she knew absolutely nothing about and show her to this wonderful place. It was a rare gift to meet someone that open and caring and Agnes could never fully thank her for that.

Then…there was nothing. Only a long moment of silence that seemed to hang over the two of them. It was uncomfortable for Agnes, though. As a matter of fact, there were many times that she absolutely preferred the comfort of silence rather than the awkward, empty talk that most people attempted to dredge up to fill the void. But as Sveta spoke again…it turned out to be something more than empty words…

>> "I lived on streets too, when I was as old as you are now…I run away from home with my little sister. It was very hard times. And then, a very rich lady picked us up, and helped us, and she did not ask for anything in return. She was de one who taught me to speak English, and... sent me here, to start over…I can't thank her enough, never. But now I kind of see why she was doing it."

Agnes sniffled a little as she heard the story that her friend had just related to her. It was personal, deep and wrought with emotion. For such stories, they are not told simply for the sake of filling in gaps between conversations; they were said to people when a trust had developed. Trust was hard to develop in this day and age, Agnes knew that, so it no small thing to say that she was honored that Sveta decided tell her so much.

“I’m glad she took the time to help you and your sister,” she said as she looked across to her. Part of her wondered where this ‘Bo’ was, but she did not dare overstep her boundaries. Instead she had to assume that the girl was somewhere safe, at least she would convince herself that is what was going on.

A sister. Agnes knew that having a sibling to depend on you could be a big responsibility. She used to fill that role with her own brother before all this madness happened. He was always her protector, her savior, the one person in that whole house that, even though he was different, tried his best to be there for her. Her parents disliked him, but she did not care. She could see the better side of him that everyone else was too afraid to look closely at. That made her feel good. It made her feel special.

She sighed as she relaxed back into the bench as well.

“I’m sorry you had a hard life,” she whispered to Sveta. “It really is not easy. At least it is good to know I am not alone in the world in experiencing such things.” She rubbed her palms across the coarse fabric of her jeans. “I’ve had only been on the streets for 6 or 7 months. I loved my parents…or at least I thought I did. They were all I had and told me that I was god’s gift…so long as I don’t fill myself with sin. Then, my mutation happened. I used to go to…” she winced as if the memory were too hard to bring up, but she had to share…it was time. “I used to go to Abraham High School. One day…during lunch…I dunno what happened. All the kids in the cafeteria just…they developed powers. Everyone around me just…started to go nuts. Growing…giraffe necks…sprouting feathers…shooting beams from their eyes…nearly every type of power you can imagine…everyone suddenly had them.”

Agnes closed her eyes as she tried to hold back the tears. The memory was still a painful one. One that she rarely ever told anyone because so few people knew that she managed to leave that place alive…unlike so many of her other students. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could still hear the screams, the alarms, the fire blasting, all of it forever burned into her mind…

“It was just…mayhem. That was when my powers developed. Whether it had something to do with what happened at the school or not, I don’t know. All I know is that that day, I watched nearly half of my classmates die by their own powers…and I walked out alive.” she muttered as she stared off into the distance.

>> “It was just…mayhem. That was when my powers developed. Whether it had something to do with what happened at the school or not, I don’t know. All I know is that that day, I watched nearly half of my classmates die by their own powers…and I walked out alive.”

Sveta listened. She could tell it was not easy for Agnes to talk about that day; it happened with events one would rather not remember. It also sounded like a horrible experience. Sveta remembered the day when Garrett's powers went haywire on New York; for a split second she felt a pang of guilt, what if that... she didn't even dare to think.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, looking away "Dat must have been horrible."

She could have told Agnes about her experiences... but that would have soon turned into a pity party. They were all kind of horrible too.

"I came here to get married." she confessed instead "I tought having an American husband would be all I need to have a good life." she smiled a bit "It turned out, he was a mutant, and den I find out I am too. Dat... was not a good start for a relationship."

It did sound pathetic, but at least it was not depressing.

>> "I'm sorry…Dat must have been horrible."

To say the least, Agnes thought as she crossed her arms over her chest and sat back, letting the violin balance on her legs. She was quiet now as the memories of the event seemed to completely flood over her without taking care to stop. She knew she was opening a Pandora’s box by remembering that day, but it she had to face it. Yes, it was traumatic and yes it was life altering, but still…it was a part of her. It was something that helped shaped who she was today…whether that be a good or bad thing…it would always be something deep inside her subconscious.

That day still gave her nightmares but it was slowly getting easier to deal with what had happened that day. For a long time her nights were sleepless as she only dreamt about that day: hearing the vivid screams of her classmates, watching as they burned up and became consumed by their powers, witnessing as they turned upon one another in boundless anger. She would never forget that day…

At least until her parents attempted to exorcize her. For the longest time she felt that her nightmares about that school were bad…then her parents cleansing ritual changed all that. That had to be the worst of it. While most people only had nightmares every now and then about abstract or unknown things…Agnes’ mind had memories in order to weave her disturbing night terrors. And something those could be the absolute worst kind of nightmares to have.

But…she could not dwell. Not right now, not when she had Sveta were beginning to have a deeper and more profound understanding of each other. This was not the time to be sad.

>> "I came here to get married…I tought having an American husband would be all I need to have a good life…It turned out, he was a mutant, and den I find out I am too. Dat... was not a good start for a relationship."

Agnes smiled a little. The American dream: marriage, white picket fences, two and-a-half kids, family dog, it was all so clichéd but she could not tell that to Sveta. To most people that is exactly what they want. She escaped her old life to attempt a better one, there is nothing wrong with that. Unfortunately it did not seem to work, at least that is what Agnes thought. After all, if it did, she would not have looked as sad as she did when she mentioned that her marriage was…not a good start for their relationship. That must be hard for her.

The runaway nodded as she turned and smiled to Sveta. “It’s okay. I’m sure all things will work out for the best.” she said with much more sureness then she was ever used to giving. Finally she glanced at her violin, picked it up, and set it upon her arm, ready to play again. “I think I’ll cheer us up with a little bit of music…” she announced, plastering a smile on her face. It was the least she could do to help. So…without really waiting for Sveta’s approval, Agnes played for her a more cheerful tune, than what she was playing previously.

>>“It’s okay. I’m sure all things will work out for the best... I think I’ll cheer us up with a little bit of music…”

Sveta smiled, and listened to the music. It was more cheerful; Agnes looked more relaxed too. Even with all the bad memories, she manage to find a safe place, and hopefully, she was starting to make friends too. The past will always be dark for her, just like there were times Sveta herself did not like to remember; but the future was still up to them.

And sitting in the Mansion garden, playing the violin and listening to the music, was quite a good start.