Whispers slice through the assembly hall like razor blades wrapped in gossip. I sit near the back, rolling my newly healed jaw and taking in the sea of mutant teenagers packed into uncomfortable chairs. The mansion's grand assembly room hasn't seen this much tension since I got here.
"Can you believe Xavier would harbor someone like that under our roof?" A girl with lizard skin hisses to her friend, not bothering to lower her voice. "With all those male students too?"
Her friend, whose hands periodically dissolve into water, nods vigorously. "My roommate said Sabretooth has killed over three hundred people. Just ripped them apart for fun."
I shift uncomfortably in my seat, hyper-aware of the empty chairs around me.
"Hey, Jack," Jubilee slides into the empty seat beside me, her yellow coat still singed at the edges from yesterday's battle. Despite the casual greeting, her eyes won't quite meet mine, and she's sitting with a careful inch of space between us.
The memory of her beneath me flashes through my mind, followed immediately by the explosion that took half my face off. Not exactly the afterglow I'd hoped for from my first time.
"Hey."
"Um... sorry again about your face," Jubilee mumbles, finally glancing up at me.
"It's cool. I'm just glad we got to finish before the..." I make an explosion gesture with my hands.
Her cheeks flush crimson. "Oh my god, can we please not talk about this right now?"
I'm about to tease her more when the room suddenly hushes. Professor Xavier rolls onto the stage, her wheelchair humming softly against the polished wood. Scotty and Morgan flank her like bodyguards, their faces set in identical masks of determination.
Xavier raises one hand, and the last whispers die instantly. Even without using her telepathy, her presence commands absolute attention.
"Students," she begins, her voice carrying effortlessly to every corner of the room. "I understand there are significant concerns regarding our newest... resident at the institute."
The tension in the room thickens like smoke. I can practically taste the anxiety.
"Please, settle down," Xavier continues, though nobody's actually making noise. "I recognize you have questions about Sabretooth's presence on campus, and I intend to address all your worry's transparently."
Morgan shifts her weight beside Xavier, her jaw clenched so tight I can see a muscle twitching in her cheek. Her hands flex at her sides, adamantium claws itching to emerge.
"First and foremost," Xavier says, leaning forward slightly in her chair, "I want to emphasize that we would not be housing Sabretooth at this facility if I wasn't absolutely certain it was safe to do so. Your security remains my highest priority."
A brave student near the front raises her hand. "But Professor, she's a murderer! Everyone knows what she did to those hikers in Colorado!"
Xavier nods solemnly. "Victoria Creed's past actions are indeed reprehensible. However, and this is crucial for you all to understand, she has voluntarily sought our help. This wasn't a capture or an arrest. She came to us."
Morgan makes a sound that's halfway between a snort and a growl. Xavier shoots her a warning glance before continuing.
"For the past month, I've been developing a revolutionary neurological recalibration technique," Xavier explains, her fingers resting lightly against her temple. "Using targeted telepathic interventions, I believe I've been able to isolate and suppress the specific neural pathways responsible for Sabretooth's predatory impulses and bloodlust."
A ripple of murmurs spreads through the crowd like wildfire. The girl with lizard skin twists in her chair to face her friends behind us.
"Bullshit," she stage-whispers. "You can't just rewire someone like Sabretooth. That's like trying to rehabilitate a great white shark."
"Maybe it's some kind of trap," another student suggests from a few rows ahead. "What if Sabretooth is working with someone that hates us? Get inside, kill us all in our sleep."
I glance at Jubilee, who's chewing nervously on her bottom lip. "Is Sabertooth really that bad?" I whisper.
"Worse," she murmurs back. "She's like Wolverine without the conscience or restraint. Just pure animal instinct and bloodlust."
Xavier raises her hand once again to silence the growing murmurs. "I understand your worries. They're valid. But I want to be clear about something, we're making remarkable progress with Victoria."
Her confidence seems to steady the room.
"For the first time," Xavier continues, her voice taking on that professor-like quality that makes you feel like you're witnessing something historic, "Sabretooth has gone thirty-seven days without a violent episode. Her brain scans show decreased activity in regions associated with predatory behavior, and increased function in areas governing impulse control."
A girl with beak scoffs loudly. "So she's what… Domesticated now?"
Xavier's smile remains patient, but I catch the slight tightening around her eyes. "Think of it more as rehabilitation. Just as we've helped many of you learn to control destructive impulses tied to your mutations."
"Yeah, but we weren't serial killers," someone mutters behind me.
"The point is," Xavier presses on, "I truly believe we're witnessing a breakthrough in mutant psychology. Victoria is demonstrating genuine remorse for her actions, something previously thought impossible given her psychological profile."
I lean closer to Jubilee, keeping my voice low enough that only she can hear me. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see if Xavier's right about Sabretooth."
"I guess so," she whispers back, her voice tight with anxiety. Her fingers nervously trace the edge of her yellow coat, and I can feel the tension radiating from her like heat.