What in the hell had she gotten into? Xavier's little speech yesterday didn't do Essex justice. No, wait, his name was Sinister. It fit him; all devils needed ominous names. Kyler rubbed her burning eyes. She had left Charles' study determined she to prove her worthiness as a team player. She didn't understand why it was so important to her. She had always worked alone in the past. It was confusing but she needed these people to look at her as an equal. Well, as equal as she could get without having mutant powers.

She stood up stretching out her legs. The clock on the wall read 3:30 PM. She had been at it for hours. No wonder her back ached and her stomach growled. She left the library and bounded for the kitchen. She needed food. It felt a little funny pawing about someone else's kitchen. She was too hungry to wait around for someone to show up so she could ask. She grabbed some bread from the pantry to go with the ham she had found in the fridge. She leaned against a counter munching on her sandwich while she made a mental list of everything she learned thus far.

Sinister's work evolved around homo-superiors. As far as she could tell, he had no conscience about what he did or whom he hurt. He just wanted the bottom line. Now we insert the X-men, prime genetic material there. The Summers' clan had been targeted several times for his experiments. Horrible, yes, but she could comprehend Sinister's fascination with this group. What she didn't understand was how she fit into the matrix. She was human. She had no special abilities. Her intelligence was above average but she wasn't a genus by any definition. Why involve her? What was his angle?

Kyler dusted her hands of crumbs and headed for the meeting. She stopped in front of the closed door of the War Room. Was she supposed to knock first or just walk in? When in doubt use manners, she knocked. If anyone was in the room she couldn't hear them. It must be soundproof. Waiting for someone to answer her summons stressed her nerves even more. She had to get a grip. The door opened to reveal Remy. She hadn't talked to him since he had stormed out of Xavier's office. She searched his face for some sign of his feelings but his expression was unreadable. That didn't help her anxiety any. She followed him into the room.

So this was the War Room. It sounded like an arsenal. Instead she walked into a Star Trek episode. Massive display screens covered three of the room's walls. Computers she had never seen the likes before flashed and whined with their assigned tacks. The X-men sat around an enormous table in the center of the room. Kyler looked down at her body half expecting to find herself dressed in spandex.

Kyler snapped herself back from her gaping. She received several amused glances as she walked to table. Remy pulled out a chair for her and then took the seat next to her own. She drew a deep breath and found her focus. It was time to get down to business.