Lost for words, my mouth opens and closes, and not breaking eye contact with the man who had just spoken, I take a small step back.

"It's okay, we're not here to harm you," says Erik, probably not hearing what Charles had said to me. Looking around the room, he raises his arms and opens his hand towards the back corner of the room. I turn around and see the speaker starting to scrunch up without anything being pressed against it. I look back to see Erik concentratedly twisting and turning his arm, before yanking backwards, causing the speaker to be ripped off of the wall and hovering inches from his hand.

"Now Erik, let's not get too ahead of ourselves, we're not here to scare the poor girl," Charles said, rolling his eyes and taking a step forward. "As I said, my name is Charles Xavier and this is my friend, Erik. We have come to offer you a position to work for the government."

"The government? What would the government want with me?" I take multiple steps back, starting to be afraid of the two men who had seemed so trustworthy for the past minute. I thought they had wanted to rescue me, not put me straight into a different lab, this time run by the government with specialist scientists. After being kidnapped, I had come to the conclusion that the scientists testing on me were not professionals, but amateurs trying to sell my mermaid self to the circus.

"I'm sorry, I worded that wrong. Erik and I would like you to be in our team, which will be working with the government. You see, we are like you. You and us both, are an evolved species of the human race. We are what you call mutants," Charles explained easily. Judging by the way the words rolled off his tongue, I could tell that he was a smart man. He knew things that I didn't, which means I can learn things from him. Things about myself and what they call mutants.

"If I do join this team, what exactly will I be doing?" I question, half confidently and half incoherently mumbling.

"Fighting." Erik took a step forward. Charles looks at him as if he had said something wrong, before he too takes a step forward.

"Fighting- to stop World War III, and for our kind," he starts. "There is a man who goes by the name of 'Sebastian Shaw', and he thinks to be human is an abonination. He plans to destroy man kind with the power of a nuclear war. With your help, we plan to prevent this and hopefully be accepted by others; what you have wanted your whole life."

For a moment I try to imagine myself doing exactly that. A mermaid out of water, flopping around and about on land whilst my fellow team members fought the enemy with laser beams and telekinesis powers. It didn't sound very appealing, but the thought of going home safe to my family whilst knowing more about the world, did.

"Okay, I'll do it," I announce. Erik grins whilst Charles walks over to me, sticking his hand out for me to shake.

"Welcome to the team."

•••

Hours later, we arrive at the government building. It was dark out, which made it quite difficult to tell, but from what I could see the building was big. It was modern, with many windows of different sizes. We walk through the entrance and I notice how big the room was. It was empty, only filled with armed men standing alongside the railings on the second story, which had two stair cases leading up to it. I could feel their eyes on me as Charles and Erik escorted me through the room and through a hallway with many turns.

Eventually, we reach a door and Charles opens it, revealing a large room with lounges, a bar, some pinball game type machines and a large window, showcasing an open courtyard covered with grass and a golden statue in the middle. Sitting on the lounge was a group of people looking directly at me, some possibly in their teens and some early-mid twenties.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, the newest and last member of our team," Charles introduced, trying to break the awkward silence we had walked in on. After weeks of being alone, I had also found it awkward meeting new people. Especially seeing as before hand, I was always cooped up in my house besides the occasional popping down to the shops or for a walk through the park.

"Hi," I managed to say, smiling shyly. If I had been locked in that lab for another week, I probably would have blushed. The two girls and four boys' introductions were mixed between waving and saying 'hi' or 'hello'. One guy even raised his beer bottle towards me along with a nod of his head.

"Okay Amelia, go sit down with the others, get to know each other, have fun," Erik very slightly pushed me forward using the small of my back. "Charles and I will be discussing our plans but we'll be back shortly," he gives me a friendly wink before exiting the room. I hear both of their heels clicking away. I slowly and awkwardly turn around, facing the group of people who happened to be looking straight at me.

"Hi," I say, once more. The blonde girl was the only to greet me that time, saying only a hello. I stay standing for a few moments until a boy with red hair, probably in his teens, says, "aren't you going to sit?", and so I walk over to the lounge and sit beside the blonde girl who had greeted me, who was sitting beside a smart looking guy with glasses. We sit there for a while until a tall, dark skinned male broke the silence.

"So, what's your name?" I had a feeling he was talking to me, so I turned my head towards him and saw he was looking in my direction. I was right.

"Amelia," I smiled at him.

"Amelia," he nodded, "well it's nice to meet you, Amelia, my name's Darwin," he seemed very friendly.

"It's very nice to meet you too," and suddenly, I felt much less uncomfortable.

"I'm Sean," the redhead spoke up. "What's your name, gorgeous?" he winked at the brunette sitting across from me. Rolling her eyes, she had said her name was Angel. Once again we were surrounded by silence. I looked around the room to try and make myself familiar with my new team. In a one seater chair beside me was a blonde boy in a leather jacket, the boy who had raised his beer to me as a way of saying hello. He looked like a typical bad boy, with an amused look on his face. Beside him, also in a one seater, was Sean, the redheaded boy who seemed kind of funny. Angel was beside him, her knee high boots catching my eye, and Darwin was beside her.

"Are we seriously going to do this all day?" The blonde girl beside me said out of nowhere, making me jump. "We are going to be a team and we'll have to get to know each other sooner or later. I'm Raven and this is Hank." Hank, the guy with glasses, gave a smile and a wave from beside her. Now beer boy was the only person left to introduce himself. Everybody looked at him, and I, feeling slightly awkward, took a short glance of him. He took a sip of his beer and when he noticed everyone staring he raised an eyebrow. "I'm Alex."

"Okay, we're all cool then?" Raven looked around at everyone. Hank nodded. "So Amelia, where did Charles and Erik find you?"

"Uh, it's kind of a long story I guess. They found me in a lab where a group of people were testing on mutants," I had said mutants, not myself, because I knew they would start asking questions.

"Oh that's terrible, what sorts of things did they do to you?" Angel's eyebrows furrowed, her voice full of pity.

"Not much; take blood, DNA, etcetera, etcetera," my voice stays strong and confident, trying to make it seem like no big deal.

"That would be so scary," Raven put her hand on my arm in a comforting way, I nodded my head. For almost an hour, we all began exchanging stories of our past until we became no longer acquaintances, but almost friends. I began to feel more and more comfortable with these people as time went by.

•••