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"How's she doing Logan?" Jean looked up from the pot she had just placed the pasta in.
He got a beer out of the fridge and leaned back against the counter. "Sleepin'. Need any help Red?"
"You can cut the tomatoes if you want."
Kitty came in with a grocery bag. "I hear we have a visitor."
"Hey punkin. It's a little girl." Logan told her as she pulled out something wrapped in foil.
"Neat. I found the bread you wanted Jean."
"Great. Put it in the oven to keep warm."
Kitty placed the foil wrapped items in the oven and closed the door. "Need anything else?"
Jean looked around before shaking her head. "I don't think so."
"Okay. I'm gonna go work on a paper the professor gave me."
Suddenly, the three of them cried out, holding their heads. Ashby was terrified of something and she was projecting loudly, trying to find Logan.
"I guess our visitor is a telepath, too." Jean managed to say. Logan nodded and stumbled out of the kitchen heading for the stairs.
He made it up to his room with Jean closed behind him. Ashby was thrashing around on the bed. Logan's T-shirt had ridden up and he could see long jagged scars running from her left thigh diagonally up and disappearing under the shirt. He gathered the little girl into his arms, trying to quiet her.
"Shh, darlin', shh."
Ashby woke up, sobbing quietly. She buried her face in Logan's shoulder scared the dream would follow her.
"Ashby?" Jean called to her softly. "Honey, look at me." Ashby raised her head and looked at Jean.
//Can you hear me?// Jean asked telepathically. Ashby nodded. //Will you show me the bad dream?// This time she shook her head no. //Please honey? Nothing will hurt you.//
Reluctantly, Ashby nodded and held out her arms to Jean. Jean picked her up and sat down on the bed. She held one hand over Ashby's forehead and closed her eyes.
"She's in a diner. With, mom and dad?" Jean sounded uncertain but Ashby nodded so she continued. "Something crashed through the window, it's heavy landing on the table next to theirs. Mom pushes her under the table. There's a lot of noise and mom and dad fall to the ground. She climbed out from under the table. Something picked her up from behind. Hot breath against her neck, something sharp cuts her arms." Jean stopped speaking, watching the scene playing out in her head.
When she opened her eyes, Logan was looking at her anxiously.
"Whaddya see, Jeannie?"
"It was Sabretooth. He killed her parents and was going to kill her." Jean's eyes were wide with amazement as she looked at the little girl in her arms.
"What stopped him?" Logan asked.
"She did. He gave her those scars. She opened herself up and threw her anger at him. Probably gave him a huge headache. He must have decided she wasn't worth the trouble." She hugged Ashby tightly before letting her go.
"Unbelievable." Logan said as he tucked her back into bed, giving her a drink of water.
"I'm gonna see if Charles is alright. He's going to want to test her." Jean watched the child for a moment before turning to go.
"I did tell her if she needed me to yell loudly." He chuckled.
Jean smiled. "She certainly did."
Jean knocked softly on Professor Xavier's door. He bid her inside and she shut the door behind her.
"Are you alright Charles?" She asked softly, concern evident in her voice.
He rubbed his temples. "Was that the child?"
She nodded. "Ashby was having a nightmare. She was trying to call for Logan."
"To have telepathic ability at such a young age and have no training, it must be very hard for her. Do you know what the dream was about?" He inquired.
"Her parents were killed by Sabretooth a year ago. She barely escaped the attack herself. This may have been the first time she really used her powers."
"Drove him away?"
"Sort of. She does have physical scars left from the encounter."
The professor nodded. "When she is well, I would like to test her."
"Of course." She rose to leave.
"One more thing, Jean." He called to her.
She turned back to her teacher. "Yes, Charles?"
"I want you and Scott to go to Middlebrook and see if you can find anything about her foster parents. Or her real parents for that matter. Who she is and where she came from."
"I understand. We'll go tomorrow."
A week later, Hank and Professor Xavier were coming out of the med lab. Ashby bounded along after them, her strep throat all but gone. Logan and most of the rest of the X-Men waited for them in the hall.
"Well?" Logan smiled as the little girl slipped her hand into his.
"Why don't we go into the war room and discuss our findings?" Professor Xavier suggested. They all moved down the hall to the war room, taking seats around the large table.
Hank began. "First off, I want to say that Ashby has amazing telepathic abilities."
"We know that already." Logan remarked. Everyone around the table chuckled.
"Yes, well, Charles and I originally believed her, uh, volume was simply because she was untrained. However further testing revealed a huge amount of power inside this little girl. She can fly and there is some measure of telekinetic ability as well as possible other powers that may develop further when she reaches puberty."
"I will begin to work with Ashby so she may develop control over her gifts. In time we may even begin work in the danger room." Professor Xavier told them. "Jean, Scott why don't you tell us what you found?"
Scott sat up straighter. "Sure Professor. Ashby's originally from a small town upstate called Saugerties. Her parents, Dana and Kevin Rivers, also mutants, moved to Middlebrook when she was three. A year later they were killed by Sabretooth in a diner. There was an investigation but no motive was ever given for their deaths. Ashby somehow escaped and was found by neighbors who turned her over to child services. They placed her with a foster family, Phillip and Mary Causa."
Jean took over the narrative. "This is where it gets fuzzy. The Causa's took her on vacation to Vermont and proceeded to abandon her there without reason. My only guess is that they discovered she was a mutant and could or did not want to deal with her. We tried to track the Causa's but they have disappeared completely. Child services in Middlebrook have no interest in trying to find her a new home because of her powers."
"Because of this I have made the decision that Ashby will stay here with us." Professor Xavier announced. Most of the team looked relieved and happy. The little girl had worked her way into their hearts during the week she had spent at the mansion. "Now, may I suggest a trip to the shopping center. Ashby still doesn't have any clothes of her own."
Everyone agreed and they filed out of the war room. Logan hung behind, just mulling over everything that had been said. Ashby looked at the brawny man who had brought her to new family.
"Logan?" She said softly, not wanting to disturb him.
He shook himself out of his thoughts. "Yeah darlin'?"
"Thank you."
He picked her up and settled her on his shoulders. "Yer welcome darlin'. Yer welcome."