X – Men Mansion

Amy Jubilee Rose laid down on her bed unable to sleep. She felt quite elated in this place, this school, and yet at the same time she wasn't sure what that meant. Should she join the X – Men? Or integrate into society? She had picked up some odd job or two however they were short lived mainly due to the fact that it almost always ended with her getting fired literally and figuratively. She remembered that brief stint as a newspaper delivery person in Arizona to gain a few extra dollars, Sonic had the time of his life doing it, which raised some suspicion around the town, but the last straw came when Amy attempted to throw the newspaper at a front door of some rich guys house, resulted in creating a large fire cracker explosion. That was a sign to Amy and Sonic to run away from the town at once. Sonic had joked saying "We go and stay at a place; our mutant powers does something stupid; we runaway from it to go to another place; repeat"

Now, Amy knew that this is the place where she belonged, the place she had to be. The place where she belonged. A place where she can be accepted. She looked down at her hands. How much destruction had they done? Fireworks are pretty yes, however she can still remember burning off that pigs hand, and yes even though he was a major creep, that punishment was too harsh for her. Or that time when a simple homeless thief thought she had a ring and tried to steal it from her in her sleep? Now half of his face is burnt off. Or that time she nearly blew up lady liberty?

Amy tried to supress her wild thoughts. 'No.' She thought to herself 'Your safe here. People here know what its like. Rouge. Shadow. Sonic. Knuckles. Bunnie. The Prof. They all know what its like'.

She looked at her passed out roommate sleeping in the bed next to her. Her dorm room was simply furnished with two desks, a simple bookshelf, a closet that looks cheap and antique at the same time, a small bedside table with a tiny lamp and two beds that were neither hard as a rock nor a bed found in a 5-star hotel.

Amy stared at her roommate, Cream Sinclair, who had already installed her decorations on the walls. There was a large painting that looks like if it was stolen from a corridor in a small airport which shows a large assortment of (non – Mobian) animals, a photograph showing Cream's friends in the school and various other posters showing (non – Mobian) animals. Meanwhile, Amy's walls had yet to be decorated.

She thought about her meeting with her roommate.

A few hours ago:

"Erm hi…" Amy said, she just had dinner and she had found her way to her dormitory. She wanted to dorm with Sonic, however Knuckles said that it went against the student policy and insisted that she dorm with another girl, while Sonic dorm with another boy. Sonic was reluctant at first, but he accepted when Knuckles gave him the closest thing to a death glare that one who couldn't reveal their eyes can give. Sonic mumbled a dictionary worth of foul words when heading to their dorms. Sonic got a room with that 'Gambit' guy, while she got this rabbit that she saw once or twice in the classroom.

She saw the rabbit reading a book on her bed. When she looked up her eyes turned to gold and her mouth opened up to a grin so wide that she can swallow the Earth whole. "New roommate!" She squeaked and before Amy can even examine what Cream looked like she found herself in a rib crushing hug from the rabbit.

"Hello!" Cream said smiling goofily at the pink hedgehog. She sounded as if she had gone running and had breathed in a lot of helium and this didn't go well with her thick Scottish accent "How are yea? I am Cream by the way! Cream Sinclair. Some call me Wolfsbane, but I find that an inaccurate nickname for me. I can turn into animals, but they name me after the form I first turned into, the wolf, but anyway that's not important for now. Who are yea?"

Amy paused as if unsure how to respond to this, sure Sonic can speak fast without thinking much but this was something else "Uh fine thank you. I am Amy, but please call me Jubilee"

She extended her hand as if she was holding a bomb. Cream took it and shook it so violently that Amy was convinced that she had fractured every bone in her hand and had dislocated every bone in her arm. "So what can you do?" Amy asked curiously.

"Watch this!" Cream responded after a moments pause.

She stood back and in a blink of an eye the peach rabbit shifted into a large brown wolf. Amy couldn't believe what she had seen, and yet she had seen quite a lot already. Before Amy can even figure out whether to scream, or applaud, the wolf rapidly shifted into a fox, then a rabbit, then a hedgehog, then a tiger then back into Cream the rabbit.

"Amazing…" Amy said looking at the shapeshifter "Very impressive"

"I know" Cream said energetically "I can turn into any non – Mobian animal that I can think of. However, I…" Her face faltered as if she wasn't quite sure what to say next. "I…can have some problems. When I am in my animal form"

Amy knew and understood what she was saying and gave her a small hug "I know what you mean." Amy said calmly unsure on what to say "I can't touch anything."

"What do you mean?" Cream said looking at her curiously. "Are you like Miss Rouge? If she touches anyone, she drains their life force away"

Amy made a half-hearted attempt at a laugh "No. no. Nothing like that. I can make fireworks come out of my hands"

Creams eyes lit up "Really?" She said "No wonder. I can smell your firework musk when I am in my animal form"

Amy had no idea on what to say to this so she said nothing. Cream too also seemed to have no idea on what to say and brought up the first thing on her mind "Have you seen that weird black hedgehog? The one with a metal skeleton?"

"Shadow?" Amy inquired "What about him?"

"Well you see…" Cream said unsure if she should say what she really thought "he gives me the creeps."

"What do you mean?" Amy asked curiously

"I mean" Cream said as if she was about to say something she didn't really mean or hadn't had enough time to string together "That I don't feel really safe around him."

"I am afraid that I am going to have to disagree with you on that part" Amy said

"Why not?" Cream said "I mean I know that I haven't spoken to him much but I just feel a bit afraid around him"

"He saved my life" Amy said as if that resolved everything, she quickly summarized her encounter with Shadow in Canada. Cream nodded "I understand what you mean" Cream said "but I think I might be just as wrong when I first met Miss Rouge. I was afraid that she might kill me by her touch, but I got to know her better. Perhaps it's the same with him."

Amy nodded. She chose that it wasn't quite the moment to reveal about Sabretooth or Mephilius or about that 'Scourge' guy. Whatever is happening she had a bad feeling about it.

Later that night

Amy walked down the hallway quietly, trying not to wake anybody up. She still wore her large yellow rubber gloves that protected her from blowing up whatever she touched. She had difficulty sleeping and she had no idea what she felt abut being a mutant. She was afraid about the future and what it held for her.

She didn't know what she chose to go and sleep near Shadow of all people. She had slept near Sonic for over a year so she could be missing him. She could have chose and sleep near the Professor, a wise and understanding man, hell she could have chosen Rouge the only person in the school who had the closet thing that is close to Amy's 'problem', but no, she chose Shadow.

She reached Shadow's door and slowly opened it, peeking inside.

"Shadow?" she said softly.

She moved inside and closed the door behind her, staring at him. He was sleeping fitfully, grunting and talking some in his sleep. She couldn't understand what he was saying. She watched him, then she moved over to one of the big round chairs near his bed.

It was then when she noticed Rouge. She was sitting on a one of the chairs on Shadow's right side. Amy didn't need telepathy to tell that Rouge was put on night watch to keep an eye on Shadow and Rouge gave her a look that read her thoughts

'Can't sleep' Rouge mouthed

Amy nodded

'Let me guess feel 'safe' near him I guess' Rouge mouthed at Amy

Amy nodded again

Rouge made a gester at the chair on Shadows left side as if understanding how she felt. Amy threw herself into the chair. She watched Shadow for a moment and closed her eyes.

Rouge was right. Just being close to him made her feel safe.

After a few moments she too was asleep.

1 Hour later

Shadow hated the dream. It had always cursed him for as long as he can remember. Hell it is the first thing that he can remember. He remembered the pain. All of it.

Flash!

The military lab loomed over him, crazy instuments, older – looking stuff. Bottles, machines, tanks of fluid.

Bright lights fooded the cealing over him.

Belts held him down, secure to the bed.

Flash!

He was naked. Someone in a mask had drawn on his body with a white pen, showing every branch of his skeleton. The person was a man, but all Shadow can see was the cold, cold eyes.

Others came in as Shadow fought against the belts that held him.

Rubber gloves

Masks

White gowns and hats

Cold eyes

One rubber – gloved hand shoved a mask over his mouth and nose. He struggled but lost the fight.

The air from the mask tasted metallic

The images swarmed before him

He can no longer fight

His body no longer belonged to him

They picked up the bed and lowered it, with him still strapped to it, into a tank of liquid

It sloshed around him

Scalpels flashed around him

A black figure loomed in his vision

The Scalpels cut

Pain!

And cut

Pain!

And cut

Unbeatable pain!

Flash!

Two men, one looking middle aged the other very young. The older one looked almost like him, except he had no visible mouth

"Mephiles" it said, holding out a hand "and this is Saul"

Flash!

Snow. Bright white Snow. He, Mephiles and Saul were all running naked in the snow

Flash!

Saul's dead body in Shadows arms. Mephiles appeared out of nowhere looking livid

Flash!

A beautiful pink hedgehog woman looking on at Shadow

Flash!

Mephiles holding the pink hedgehog's dead body. While eating a birthday cake with the words 'Happy birthday Shadow' on it

Flash!

He screamed.

Beside him he saw two figures looming out of the shadows.

He reacted. Instantly. Instinctively.

His hands weren't belted down like they were in the dream. Yet he thought that he was still in the nightmare.

Snikt. His claws buried itself into the right figure while his left in its attempt to find the figure sliced and diced in the air, and by what he felt he had deskinned their hands or gloves.

Silence.

Then the explosion.

The bright light was so big that he felt his face on fire. He felt the horrific pain of his skin on his left side getting melted, but at the same time he felt a touch on his right. He felt as if he was getting toched by a long lost lover, light and wonderful.

Then he felt as if a blast of an electric current had been shot through his body. Throwing him back into the abyss.

Knuckles had heared the scream of Shadow. Sure it wasn't that loud but long experience told him that this kind of noise doesn't always end well, and the explosion that followed seconds after that was more than enough to send him running into the corridors.

"Knuckles?" Tikal yelled as she dashed to catch up with her lover. "What is it?"

It was as if all the students in the class had woken up by the sound of the explosion and in a matter of seconds Knuckles threw open the door to find himself in a war zone.

Half of the room had been completely and utterly destroyed, as if someone had fired a tank into the room. The strong smell of fireworks smothered the air.

On the bed was Shadow who had completely passed out and on his left was a speechless Rouge and a traumatized Amy.

"What happened?" Someone shouted

"Let me pass!" shouted another

Almost all the student were attempting to see what had happened all of them were crammed in the corridor.

Tikal glanced at the crowed and as if they were puppets almost all of them marched back single file back into their rooms that they all vanished as soon as they arrived. Only a handful of students stayed behind.

Knuckles looked back at Tikal "The Professor won't be happy" he said grumbling.

"I know. I know! I shouldn't have done that but they could cause some problems you know!" Tikal said, sounding like one of their enemies, Zeena Frost.

"Yes, the Prof would have a word or two at you, but I don't think he will be happy at this mess!" Knuckles said walking up to Rouge.

"What happened?" He said kneeling at Rouge's side

Rouge looked at him inquisitorially "He had a nightmare, he stabbed me near the heart and well I had to do something to save me life!" she said in her old southern accent, Knuckles knew she used it whenever she gets annoyed "I know that I used me powers irresponsibly but I don't want to die!"

'If you are done arguing perhaps, we should take Mr. Shadow to the medical bay! He would die without that healing factor. Also, we need someone to console Miss Amy Jubilee Rose! She just blew up the school when Mr. Shadow here ripped up her gloves! Also, we need some care to the wall otherwise the whole school would collapse!'

The few students that stayed behind, Sonic, Mighty, Cream, Pyro, Booby and Jet. Mighty turned into his organic steel form and lifted Shadow like a rag doll taking him to the medical bay, with Jet running right behind him. Sonic and Cream went towards Amy who was hugging herself in utter despair, Sonic gave Amy the hug that she would need whenever she had a bad experience, while Cream shifted into a small kitten and attempted to cuddle her leg,

The cat boys, Bobby and Pyro did an strange move. First the fire cat closed his eyes and made an strange had gestor around the air as if trying to sense every atom in the air.

"Fire's out. Your move Bobby." He said as if he sensed something from inside the walls themselves "If it had been 45 seconds, we would have been a goanna"

Another cat, this one Ice blue withdrew a giant water bottle that could have contained all the water in the ocean out of thin air and opened it.

Water came flying out from it as if fired from a cannon, a large cold chill entered the room as if a portal from the North Pole had entered in and in a matter of seconds the large hole in the wall was replaced with a giant ice sheet.

Knuckles saw Bunnie Rabbot looking at him with an unreadable face. "Knuckles" she said walking towards him. "What?" Knuckles said in a false calm voice looking at her. He knew that he sounded completely out of charcter. His visor was almost a bright red. However, he wouldn't dare fire. The alternative would be disastrous

"You want to talk about it?" Bunnie asked

"That depends on what the subject is" Knuckles said "Which one, Rouge, Amy or Shadow?"

"All of them." Bunnie said "First, which statement is true, are you jealous of Shadow or do you not like his 'demeaner'?"

"The second one" Knuckles said "You know that I would be happy for Tikal no matter what path she chooses if you are implying what you think I am implying but I digress. Did you see what he did to Rouge and Amy? He slashed at them and he could have killed them. Imagine if it had been another person sitting at where Rouge was sitting, they would have died! He is a danger to the school! Which also makes him useful for Magneto! If I had it my way and if Magneto wasn't involved Shadow would be on the streets by now, perhaps for a week if I was generous. But I respect the Professors decision, even if he had harmed Rouge and Amy"

"Which brings us to the next topic. Are you upset at Rouge or Amy?"

"No." Knuckles said a bit too bluntly "Rouge has had incidences like this before, so she knows that she did what she had to do, but Amy is another matter. Perhaps we can talk to her in the morning or something like that. Perhaps we can make her do something to get it out of her mind or something like that."

"Like what? Amy and Rouge going out somewhere or something like that? Maybe bring a friend or two?"

Knuckles paused for a bit and nodded "Yes I suppose that might work. I will let the professor know in the morning. Anyway, we need her out of the school for a bit to…let her guilt down about almost blowing up her new home"

With that he went back into his room. Had he not had a visor on, had he not have eyes on the back of his head, he would have seen that Bunnies eyes had turned bright yellow.

Tikal and the Professor observed Shadows body, a good distance away. His face was still half burnt off but it was clear that his healing ability is slowly stitching it up. The professor had said that they will try to wake Shadow up, to see if he was alright. Tikal had came in to volunteer her efforts with Knuckles giving a cryptic OK.

"Ready?" The two tailed fox said

"When you are" She said

'You are perfectly safe now' The Professor was allowing Tikal to hear what he was thinking to Shadow.

Shadow stirred and moaned, twisting on his bed like a child about to awake from a bad dream in a movie.

'I want you to stay calm, and tell me if you understand what I am saying'

Shadow opened up his eyes and again moaned like if he hadn't had any sleep for a long time.

'Do you understand me?'

"Would you get out of my head, you two tailed cue ball!" Shadow snarled

Tikal laughed; the Professor smiled at this rude retort.

"Well" Professor Tails Xavier said out loud "I would say you are recovering nicely"

The Professor moved up closer to the bed, Tikal moved up closer to Shadow.

"How's Amy? And Rouge? What have they done to me?" Shadow asked, holding his head, trying not to touch the slowly healing burnt part of his face, the smell of fireworks still choked at his lungs. "I feel like if I have been on a ten – day bender as well as swallowed a fire work and I feel like half my face is gone."

"Rouge 'borrowed' your power" Tikal said

"I beg your pardon?" Shadow said blinking rapidly

"Rouge is like a conductor" The professor explained "Any physical contact can cause unconsciousness, seizures, or even death to the one she touches."

"Sounds fun" Shadow said

"It's not" The Professor agreed "With mutants, she is able to take on their gifts for a short while. In this case, your ability to heal"

"Well" Shadow said, feeling his almost fully healed face as if he was touching a bomb detonator "It felt like she almost killed me"

"If she had held on for any longer, she would have" Tikal said

"And what about Amy?" Shadow asked seriously "What about her?"

"As you know Amy has the ability to, put it simply, make fire works out of her hands" The Professor said "and she wears those gloves to protect herself from blowing up anything she touches."

"In this case my face" Shadow said as if completing the Professor's sentence

"Correct" Tikal said

"She had blown up parts of the wall but I guarantee that it will be fixed and back to normal before the sun sets tomorrow" The Professor said "She has a highly destructive capability, possibly more so than Rouge"

Shadow nodded "I see. I have one small question though"

"And that is?" Tikal said

"What were they doing near my bed? It was too early for breakfast"

"For Rouge" The Professor said "She was there to keep you watch unless if something happened during the night."

"As for Amy…" Tikal said as if unsure how to answer Shadow's question "All I got out from her mind was that 'she feels safe near you'"

Shadow raised an eyebrow unsure how to respond to this revelation, so he said nothing.

The Professor looked on at Shadow like if he was an interesting lab specimen then said "You should get some sleep."

"Yeah. Night Bub"

And with that Shadow closed his eyes, and Tikal wheeled the Professor out of the room.