...Xavier stayed up for awhile longer to think about Chris McGee.

'Such a remarkable young person', he thought.

In truth, they were all quite remarkable. Each possessed of the incredible potential to be either an aid or a blight upon humanity. It would be the experiences of their youth more than anything else that would ultimately decide which path each of them would walk.

---

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I acknowledge Marvel Entertainment's ownership of the distinctive characters and names within this story for which they hold Trademark(s) and that the inclusion of said characters within this story does not imply any authorization, support or agreement with Marvel Entertainment. This story is purely written under the Fair Use Clause for the purposes of Fan-Fiction and is not to be sold or distributed in any way that would constitute an infringement of Marvel Entertainment's undisputed ownership of any relevant elements for which they hold copyright.

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"Uhhh.... what happened?" Scott said weakly as he tried to sit up.

"Easy Scott," Xavier told him gently as Ororo and Rogue each helped to prop him up. "It appears as though you've had a moderate electrical shock of some kind. Non-lethal, but incapacitating none the less. How do you feel?"

"I've got a pounding headache and I feel like my arms and legs are made of jelly. That was one hell of a jolt she... I mean he, gave me!"

"Indeed," Xavier said thoughtfully. "His power appears to be quite formidable, but completely involuntary at the moment. I don't believe that he stunned you on purpose, Scott. It is more likely that it was a subconscious defensive instinct."

They made their way towards their van that was parked nearby. Xavier boarded via the mechanized ramp as Ororo and Rogue helped Scott into his seat. He looked around questioningly for a moment.

"Where is she... I mean, he... and where's Wolverine?" he asked.

"The boy ran off immediately after stunning you. Mr. Logan is pursuing him..."

Xavier paused briefly as his expression took on a distant look for a moment. He then smiled and chuckled.

"... with a bit more difficulty than he'd expected, it seems!"

"Ah don't understand, Professor..." Rogue said as she settled herself into her seat. "How can this kid keep ahead of Mr. Logan? Ah can't believe he can move so fast!"

Scott narrowed his eyes a bit as he looked over at Rogue.

"Fast? You mean like Quicksilver?"

"No, not that fast," Rogue answered quickly, "but fast enough! Wolverine was able ta keep gettin' in his way so he couldn't run off, but he wasn't able ta grab him no matter what he tried! Finally, he got away by divin’ through that hole you’d made in the fence an’ then took off."

"Charles," said Ororo as she started the van. "This poor child must be terrified! While I have no doubt that Logan can follow him, it might be wise to use a gentler method to approach him."

"I would have to agree," Xavier replied. "Unfortunately we may not have the luxury of time. In his current state, this boy's abilities are rapidly growing out of control and could become a danger to him and public at large."

Xavier was quiet for a few moments as he initiated a telepathic link with Logan, who was still having difficulty keeping up with the boy. He got a general idea of their heading and would verbally relay directions to Ororo from time to time while she was driving.

Rogue was deep in her own thoughts at the moment. She found it ironic that this encounter was surprisingly similar to how it had been for her when she'd first encountered the X-men team.

Her own mutant power had activated without warning and had caused her a lot of anguish. She remembered being confused, frightened... and a desire to just run. When a newly-activated mutant goes haywire like that, the term 'rogue' is used to describe the situation. That was how she'd gotten her nickname, which she didn't mind after awhile. Now, it was kind of odd that she was looking at this situation from the other side of that particular fence. She knew all too well the kind of fright this kid was probably feeling.

"Rogue," the Professor said as he turned to look at her. "It would appear that my initial suspicions turned out to be quite accurate. You may very well be our best chance to get through to this boy."

She thought for a moment and then shook her head doubtfully.

"Ah don't know Professor... Ah remember what it felt like when it all happened ta me, an' Ah don't believe this kid will be much in the mood for talking."

She looked over at Scott who was still massaging his temples as he tried to ease his headache.

"Especially after what happened with Scott here... Ah think he'd be afraid of us right now."

Xavier nodded grimly.

"You're probably correct, Rogue, but I still want you to try. We'll catch up with him shortly, but if you can't get through to him, you may have to subdue him."

She raised her eyebrows in surprise at that.

"You mean, you want me ta... drain him?"

"Only if it becomes absolutely necessary," Xavier replied reassuringly.

"I guess that does make some kind of sense..." Scott said quietly. "Rogue is probably the only one who can touch this kid and not get dropped in the process."

---

Chris had made his way to a nearby park and was attempting to conceal himself amongst the trees. Although he couldn't see them, he had no doubt that those other people couldn't be far away. There was nothing he could do about it at present, though. He had been running for so long that he felt like he would throw up. It surprised him that he'd actually been able to run flat out like that for as long as he had. He was completely exhausted now, though. If that guy with the blades in his arms caught up with him... he only hoped that the guy would finish him off quickly. He was just too tired to care anymore. He crouched down out of sight and closed his eyes for a few minutes as he tried to catch his breath.

He was startled when he heard a voice nearby. Surely he should have heard the person approach? Had he fallen asleep for a few minutes?

"Listen, Ah know you're in there... Ah know you're scared, so Ah'll just talk ta you from out here, okay?"

"It doesn't matter now..." he said weakly. "I can't run anymore. You've won."

"Ah know you find this hard ta believe, but we want ta help you. The Professor, that guy you saw in the wheelchair, he has this place for people like us where he helps us..."

Chris spoke up curtly from the shadows.

"You mean that place for 'gifted' people? Isn't that just a nice way of saying freaks or monsters? Maybe I am a freak, but I don't think even that place can help me."

"Ah used ta think that too..." she answered softly. "But Ah learned that the Professor an’ the others really did want ta help me. It was hard at first — an’ still is a lot of the time -- but trustin' them was probably the best decision Ah'd ever made."

There was a sound of rustling leaves as he approached carefully to where Rogue could see him. He looked down at the various stains on his skirt and a few of the rips in his sweater.

"It sounds really nice," he said softly. "I want to believe you, but... I can't risk going with you. I didn't mean to hurt your friend, but I couldn't help it! I don't want to hurt anyone else, so you'd best just keep away from me!"

He then hid his face in his hands and started sobbing. In the dim light, Rogue's eyes widened as she saw a faint glow around him begin to intensify.

This kid's outta control, she thought to herself. Ah have ta get through ta him fast before he takes off again!

She shook her head sadly at him.

"Ah'm sorry, but Ah can't do that. You're not thinkin' clearly..."

"Just go away!!!" He screamed at her.

His emotional outburst brought with it a surge of energy that was now causing sparks to jump from his fingertips.

'Rogue,' the Professor's voice sounded in her mind, 'there's no other way. He's building up a dangerous level of energy, so you have to neutralize his powers before something bad happens to him.'

Rogue nodded and removed one of her gloves. She walked towards Chris and held her hand out towards him.

"Ah know how you feel better than you realize. An' Ah know what you need most right now...."

She suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist, instantly feeling the power surge as her own mutant ability drew his out of him.

"... is a bit of rest!"

There had been a large flash of light the instant she touched him and then they were both enveloped in an aura of blue-green light. Chris felt the familiar tingling sensation flare up within him, and then just as quickly it faded away. He barely had time to notice before he felt himself falling... and then everything faded into blackness.

---

"Nice work, kid," Logan said as he stepped out from behind a nearby tree.

He bent down to where Chris had collapsed and cautiously touched his arm. Satisfied, he nodded to himself and gathered Chris up into his arms. He looked down into Chris' face and swept a few locks of hair aside to get a better look at him.

"She still smells like a girl," he said with a shake of his head. "Either I'm losin' my touch or there's somethin’ really strange goin' on with this kid."

He looked back at Rogue for a moment, who was taking deep breaths and gradually making the visible glow around her disappear.

"You alright?" he asked her.

"Yeah... Ah feel so full of.... energy!"

She paused as she spotted a tree branch just out of reach overhead. She leapt into the air and caught it with both hands, then started performing some quick gymnastic maneuvers on it. She spun around it several times then dismounted by performing a somersault in mid-air, and then landed perfectly on her feet in front of Logan.

He regarded her for a moment before continuing to walk back to where the others were waiting for them.

"I'll assume that little routine is part of what you just 'borrowed' from the kid here, right?" he asked. "You've never shown that kind of physical ability during trainin' sessions, so either you've been holdin’ back or..."

He let his words trail off as he watched Rogue darting about.

She did a few running handspring layouts along side of him as they continued along the path back to the parking lot.

"This is so much fun!" she exclaimed. "Ah wonder why he was havin' such a hard time with his power?"

"Maybe the kid didn't like showin' off," Logan grumbled as Rogue ran through a few cartwheels.

When they reached the van, Logan gently laid Chris down along the bench seat in the rear. Xavier looked at Chris with surprise for a moment and then narrowed his eyes slightly as he concentrated on him.

"It would appear that whatever he was able to do to block me has been transferred to Rogue for the time being. I can sense him now... and I can see into his memories."

He closed his eyes and everyone was silent as he continued to examine Chris' mind. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and looked back at the others with a sad expression in his eyes.

"It pains me to know how careless and cruel people can be in their ignorance," he said with a heavy sigh.

"We're all going to have to work to undo some of the damage to this child's psyche, but that will have to wait until we can get him back to the Institute. Logan, take us back to his mother's house. We'll need to have a talk with her about the boy's future."

---

As things turned out, Ms. McGee had only just returned home from work for the day when the group arrived at her house. She was quite panicked when she saw her son, unconscious, and being carried into their home by a bunch of strangers. The gentleman in the wheelchair, who was clearly the leader of the group, was able to calm her and reassure her that Chris was fine and that his condition was only temporary.

It was only then that she took notice of how Chris was dressed -- in her clothes, of all things! -- and that he looked, well... quite pretty as a girl. This was quite a surprising development, to say the least. She decided that she'd wait until after Chris had awakened to deal with that particular issue.

In the meantime, who were these people that had brought him home? She invited them all to come inside the living room. She asked the man carrying Chris to set him down on his bed upstairs and everyone remained silent until the man had returned.

"Ms. McGee," the gentleman in wheelchair began politely, "my name is Charles Xavier. My colleagues and I run a special school in a small town in upstate New York for gifted youngsters like Chris. These two fine teenagers here…"

He paused briefly as he indicated Scott and Rogue.

"…are a couple of my students. We came to talk to you about Chris and some of the changes that he's been going through recently."

She narrowed her eyes at them a bit as she thought about the revelation of Chris' cross-dressing. Surely, they couldn't have come all this way because of that!

"I'm not sure what you mean... what 'changes' are you referring to?" she asked cautiously.

"We learned of Chris the other day after the unfortunate incident at his school," Xavier explained. "When he was brought in to your local hospital for an examination, there was evidence of certain... unusual properties about him."

Ms. McGee nervously glanced down at her hand. She'd tried to forget about what had happened when she'd touched Chris' forehead that time, convincing herself that it was only her imagination; that she'd probably burned herself elsewhere and simply hadn’t noticed it until then.

She looked back to the gentleman in the wheel chair and had a strange suspicion that he had been aware of her thoughts.

"Did Chris do that, by any chance?" he asked gently.

"This?" she replied as she folded her hands defensively under her arms. "It wasn't his fault... I mean, it was an accident of some kind. I'm sure that he didn't have anything to do with it."

She winced as she heard the nervous tone of her own words. She didn't really believe what she'd just said and she was certain that these people didn't buy her story, either. The tall, gorgeous woman approached her and gently laid a hand on her shoulder as she guided them both to sit down on the sofa together.

"You know what we are referring to," she said softly. "It is quite natural that you might feel afraid and reluctant to talk about it. Changes of this kind in your son may be uncommon, but they do happen to some. All of us," she said with a graceful gesture towards the rest of the group, "are like Chris, but in different ways."

Xavier eased his chair closer to her and took her hand gently in his.

"Ms. McGee, your son is what we refer to as a Human Genome Mutation. He possesses a special genetic trait that grants him abilities which set him apart from most of humanity. This afternoon, we witnessed your son do some rather extraordinary things."

"But... he's just a young boy! Is there any kind of treatment that he needs? What is to become of him?" she asked with a touch of anxiety.

"There is no 'cure' for his condition. This is simply part of who and what he is. Usually those that possess this special genetic mutation discover their new abilities around this time; in early adolescence. It is often a very frightening experience for the individual since they often have little to no control over their new abilities. It is unfortunate that most people have a tendency to fear and reject anyone who appears to be different. What we try to do at our Institute is provide a safe and supporting environment in which these young people can learn to control their new abilities without fear of being ridiculed, persecuted or ostracized by others."

There was complete silence in the room as she considered everything the man had told her. After a couple of minutes, she looked over at Rogue and Scott.

"Is it true? Are you both... like my son?" she asked timidly.

"Well, not exactly like him," Scott answered carefully. "My abilities are different than his, but I am a mutant. We all are."

She looked at each of them in turn before turning back to Xavier.

"So, you want my son to go back to your Institute with you?"

"While I am confident that Chris will benefit greatly from what we have to offer him, that decision is up to you and your son. I'm hoping that as soon as he recovers he'll be much less frightened when he awakens in his own home. Perhaps then we could discuss it with him together."

"What happened to him, exactly?" She asked pointedly.

Now that she had gotten over her initial shock and surprise of what this group had told her, she felt she could handle hearing a few specifics.

"I'm a bit surprised about how he's dressed, but I suspect that didn't actually have anything to do with what happened today, right?"

Xavier briefed her about what they knew of the incident at the mall. Scott and Rogue added what they'd seen when they'd interrupted the other teen from beating the crap out of Chris. Since Chris had never shown much athletic ability in the past, she was quite astonished to hear of his apparent speed and reflexes.

"That isn't the only thing, though," the man at the back of the room finally spoke up as he looked pointedly at Xavier.

Xavier looked a little uncomfortable for a moment as Ms. McGee looked at him curiously. He cleared his throat as he tried to think of a way to explain this other development.

"Mr. Logan's abilities include keen senses -- his sense of smell in particular. He has detected some physical abnormalities in your son's scent. To put it rather bluntly, he doesn't have a male scent... he appears to have a female one."

---

Up in his room, Chris slowly began to awaken. He opened his eyes and found himself looking up at the familiar ceiling of his bedroom. He quickly glanced around at the walls in disbelief. Yep, definitely his room. How did he get back here?

The last thing he'd remembered was being in that park and talking to that girl... had it all been a dream? He looked down at himself and saw that he was still wearing the same skirt, blouse and sweater from earlier. Apparently it hadn't been a dream, then.

He looked out his window and noted the long shadows and harsh sunlight of late afternoon. His Mom was probably home by then, so she had to have seen him dressed in her clothes. He sighed wistfully to himself as he considered having to deal with that now on top of everything else. Come to think of it... wearing her clothes would probably be a lot easier to talk with her about than the other stuff.

He saw the familiar van parked out front of their house and deduced that those people had brought him home. He could make out voices down in the living room, so they were obviously still there. He remembered his resolve earlier that day to run away from home, but now there just didn't seem to be any point. No doubt his mother knew everything by then so it was probably best to just go down and face her.

He felt his eyes begin to water up as he thought of how ashamed and disgusted she would be with him. He knew he'd eventually adjust to the reality that he was some kind of sissy cross-dressing mutant freak... but being a disappointment to his mother was more than he could bear. He steeled what little courage he had left and braced himself to face the music.

He opened his door and creeped quietly to the top of the stairs, where he immediately heard a vaguely familiar voice speak up.

"We've got company, Chuck. Looks like she's...." the voice coughed for a moment. "I mean, he's awake now."

Curiously, Chris gingerly crept downstairs and peered around the corner into the living room. Everyone was seated around the room and the man in the wheelchair was parked right next to his mother. He seemed briefly surprised to see Chris peeking around the corner at them, but shrugged it off and beckoned Chris to come into the room.

"Chris, please... come closer. How are you feeling now?"

He took a deep breath and then stepped around the corner into full view. He braced himself for the laughter that was sure to come, but to his surprise it didn't.
He quickly looked at his mother and saw only concern in her eyes as well as a sizeable amount of relief. Puzzled, he cautiously walked towards his mother and sat down beside her.

"Chris, dear..." his mother said gently to him, "We have been discussing a number of important things while you were resting. These people want to help us and were just telling me about their special school."

Still extremely nervous, Chris simply swallowed and nodded his head.

"Tell me Chris," said the man in the wheelchair, "do you know what a 'mutant' is?"

Chris looked away from them as he felt his eyes start to moisten. Talking about this in front of his mother was going to be difficult. He felt his mother's touch on his knee, hesitant at first, but then it became more confident and reassuring.

"It's alright, Chris. I know all about it. You don't have to hide it from me and you don't have to feel ashamed."

Her words, spoken with the kind of love that he had been so desperate to hear, shattered what little hold on his emotions that he had left. He turned and threw his arms around her as he sobbed into her shoulder.

"Mom... I was so scared!" he sniffed as he gradually regained a bit more self-control. "I was out shopping... and then there was that guy at the stereo store... and then something happened... and... they said I was a monster!"

"People can be easily frightened by that which they do not understand, child," said the tall, dark-skinned woman.

"All of us have been in unpleasant situations like that. It is an unfortunate fact that each of us must face every day of our lives. That will certainly not be the last time anyone is startled by your new gifts."

Chris looked around the room at all of them. They were a pretty unlikely group of people, he thought. Not exactly the kind of grouping you might expect to see unless they all had something really significant in common with each other. He thought about what the tall woman had just told him and wondered just what sort of future was in store for him now.

He noticed the man in the wheelchair looking intently at him. When Chris returned his glance, the man did not look away. Their eyes remained locked on each other for a few moments until the man broke into a curious smile and shook his head gently.

"Each of us was once where you are now, Chris. We all had to face that same uncertainty and anxiety that you are now feeling. We can never be sure of what the future holds, but we are dedicated to helping each other so that we may support one another through any difficulties that may arise."

All eyes in the room were now focused on Chris. He quickly grew quite uncomfortable under so many watchful pairs of eyes and started to fidget a bit. This day had just been way too weird and it didn't look as though it was going to get much better. Since no one spoke, he figured that they were waiting for him to say something.

"Umm... so, you're saying that there's others like me at this Institute, and you want me to go back there with you, right?"

He had a vague idea that he was going to be like some kind of live-in lab specimen, so he wasn't terribly keen on their invitation so far.

"The Institute's residents are all unique in each of their own ways, but we are all mutants -- just as you are. As much as we would like you to join us, we are not here to coerce you. The decision belongs solely to you and your mother."

Chris looked to his mother for some kind of indication of how she was dealing with all of this so far. She seemed to be coping with it much better than he'd expected she would -- and certainly much better than he was.

The last few days had been so overwhelming for him that he was finding it difficult to grasp exactly how much his life had changed in so short a time. No matter what he decided to do, he knew that he could never go back to the way things had been before.

"We are returning to Bayville in the morning," Xavier told the both of them. "You have the number of the hotel we're registered at in the meantime."

He gazed at Chris with a searching look in his eyes and it almost seemed as though he was trying to look right through him.

"I know this is difficult for you, Chris. A lot has happened in the last few days. You have much to consider before you can make a decision. Whatever you decide, I want you to know that you will always be welcome at the Xavier Institute."

The five of them then bid Chris and his mother goodbye and departed. Chris stood with his mother in their front doorway and watched as they all got into their van and drove off. After their van was out of sight down the street, they returned to the living room and sat down on the couch together.

Nothing was said by either of them for a while as each seemed to be deep in their own thoughts. Finally, his mother looked over at him with a bit of an amused expression on her face.

"Well, I must say... I never knew that I had such a fine-looking daughter," she said as she winked at Chris. "I'm jealous! Those clothes look much better on you than they ever did on me!"

Chris, who had now been wearing those clothes for most of the day, had completely forgotten his feminine attire. It had kind of slipped into his background thoughts while he was dealing with the more pressing matters that had confronted him. He supposed he ought to try explaining himself to his mother somehow. Although he felt a little embarrassed, it paled in comparison to all the other stuff that was going on with him.

"Um, well... it's a bit difficult to explain," he began carefully.

"I was feeling really uncomfortable for some reason after my shower this morning. My bathrobe was making me feel a bit itchy, so I got this crazy idea to try yours on. It was really comfortable, but when I saw how I looked in the mirror... I was a kinda surprised by how much I looked like a girl in it. After that, I experimented a bit with some of your other clothes and eventually..." he let his voice trail off as he gestured with his hand down at his body.

She nodded approvingly as her eyes swept over him again.

"Well, there's no denying that you have a bit of a knack for producing a feminine appearance. If you want to experiment and dress up every now and then, that's okay with me, but..."

She paused as she drew a deep breath.

"...I think you were taking too great a risk to go out like that. When those people brought you home unconscious, I was out of my mind with worry! They told me that someone in a laneway had attacked you. Can I assume that it was that nasty little bastard from your school again?"

Chris wondered what else they'd told her while he was passed out up in his room. He got the impression that they preferred to keep a low-profile most of the time, so they probably only told her what was necessary. He gently touched his face and then felt his ribs where Robbie had kicked him. A dull ache now, but not anywhere near as painful as it had been earlier.

"Uh yeah... it was him. Fortunately those people showed up right away and chased him off."

His mother seethed at that and then ranted for a few minutes about what she'd like to do to that 'young thug' if she ever managed to get her hands on him. Chris doubted that would ever be an issue now since Robbie looked as though he was prepared to run all the way to Alaska the last time Chris had seen him. That man with those steel blades in his arms was very intimidating!

Ms. McGee looked over at Chris with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Chris, you said earlier that you’d felt itchy and uncomfortable in your bathrobe. Can you show me exactly where it was bothering you?"

Chris blushed a bit and nodded as he carefully unbuttoned his blouse. She chuckled a bit when she saw the stuffed bra underneath. She helped him unhook it and then had him move closer to the lamp at the end of the couch so she could have a better look.

He winced slightly as she gently prodded the tissue around his nipples. They were still quite sensitive to the touch and he wondered if maybe he was getting a rash or something. When she finished examining him, she frowned slightly and shook her head in disbelief.

"That can't be it," she muttered quietly under her breath. "There has to be some other reason."

Chris asked what it was that bothered her, but she wouldn't say. In an effort to change the subject, she sent him upstairs to change out of her clothes and have a quick shower before dinner.

In his room, he carefully and somewhat regretfully undressed. He smiled to himself as he thought about the earlier part of the day when he was trying on various parts of his mother's wardrobe. He really had looked good!

In the back of his mind he kept having nagging thoughts about how he shouldn't have tried on female clothes at all, let alone taken so much pleasure in it. Then there was the fact that he'd gone out in public dressed like that. Until he'd run into Robbie, there hadn't been a single person that day who had guessed that he was anything other than how he'd appeared: a pretty, young teenage girl.

He frowned slightly at that thought. That group of people obviously knew who and what he was, but he was nearly positive that he'd even managed to fool them at first. All except for that tall, dark-skinned woman, that is. He remembered the strange look she'd given him at his front door just before they'd left that first time. She had seen through his disguise somehow, but for whatever reason she'd kept it to herself at the time.

Noting the irritation he was still feeling in his chest area, he decided against donning his bathrobe and instead wore a towel into the bathroom. He paused in front of the mirror and noted the bruises forming on his face and abdomen.

That Robbie is such an asshole! He thought angrily to himself.

His reflection suddenly disappeared as the bathroom light bulb burned out with a soft 'pop' sound.

"Shit," he muttered to himself. "This is really getting annoying!"

As he was changing the bulb, he considered some of the other things that he'd discovered that day. The revelation that he wasn't simply a jinx but was in fact a mutant of some kind was only slightly comforting. Things were breaking down around him because he was causing it somehow... but he still had no idea how he was doing it. It was essential that he find some way to get whatever it was under control.

After the light was fixed, he got into the shower and relished the feeling of the warm water on his skin. It felt so good that he was almost able to forget all of the nasty unpleasantness from earlier. Almost.

He thought about that guy from the electronics store and then saddened a bit when he thought of whatever similar thing he’d done to his mother. She still wouldn't talk about it with him.

He remembered his resolve earlier to run away, but dismissed the notion now. He knew that he couldn't run away from his problem, because his problem was part of him and it would follow him wherever he went. Staying at home with his mother wasn't the best solution, either. Until he found some way to control this problem of his, he knew it was possible that he might accidentally injure her again.

Of course, there was still that group of people and their Institute in New York to consider. It did seem like the most logical solution to his problem, but he still felt a bit uneasy about it. The very fact that it was called an 'Institute' made him feel nervous. It brought all kinds of images of medical research to his mind which, to Chris, was a little too close to a Hospital for his tastes.

For the most part they'd seemed nice enough, though. That Xavier guy had made quite an impression on him. He had what Chris supposed was a 'Father-figure' kind of personality. That in itself was probably what made Chris take such a liking to him since he'd never known his own father. The woman seemed friendly enough, but kind of mysterious. The guy with the steel blades in his arms scared the hell out of him, though. He was fast, dangerous and gave the impression that he thoroughly enjoyed kicking ass whenever the opportunity presented itself. He definitely wasn't someone that Chris would want for an enemy. That was for certain!

Then there were those two teenagers. He regretted not having learned a bit more about them when he'd had the chance. He knew that all five of those people were mutants, but they’d mostly kept whatever their abilities were under wraps.

The guy with the sunglasses seemed much like most other boys that age that Chris had ever met. He seemed brave enough, but a little impulsive. He'd confronted Robbie all by himself, just in time to save Chris from getting pulverized, but ended up taking a bit of a beating himself. Chris hadn't seen him use whatever his mutant ability was, but he remembered the hole that had been blasted through that fence.

The girl was a bit more of a mystery. Unfortunately for Chris, most of what he could remember about her was a kind of hazy since he’d been so upset at the time that he couldn't think straight. She'd caught up with him in the park and was talking to him for a few minutes, trying to convince him of something. He couldn't recall the details, but he figured it was something about going back to their Institute with them. He remembered feeling very upset... then she came towards him, and then... nothing. A complete blank. The next thing he knew, he was back in his room. Whatever it was that she did, at least he didn't seem to be any worse for wear from it.

Chris finished his shower and started to towel himself off. He was slightly surprised that the towels felt a little rougher on his skin than he remembered. Perhaps he'd stayed in the shower a bit too long and now his skin was a bit sensitive. He resorted to gently patting himself dry with the towel instead of rubbing himself down as he usually did.

When Chris returned to his room, he was surprised to see that his mother had laid out one of her other bathrobes on his bed. He gently picked it up and ran his fingers through the satiny fabric.

Very nice!, he thought.

He glanced briefly at his own robe hanging up on the back of his bedroom door, then made up his mind and put the new one on. Curious to see how it looked, he went back into the bathroom to look in the mirror.

Like the other one he'd worn that morning, this one was much shorter than what he was used to wearing. It only fell to about halfway between his waist and his knees, and it tied shut with a very thin belt. He was going to have to be more careful of how he sat down while wearing it if he didn't want to accidentally flash anyone. It was extremely comfortable, though.

"Chris... come downstairs for dinner, dear!" his mother called up from the kitchen.

He paused at the mirror to take a lingering look at himself. His hair definitely seemed a bit longer, but perhaps that was only because it was wet. Even so, he definitely looked like a female. Even if the other kids at that Institute were all mutants, he doubted any of them were cross-dressers. Even in a place like that he'd probably still look odd. He took a deep breath and exhaled as he took one final look at himself in the mirror before heading downstairs to dinner.

If I can't help looking like a girl, at least I'm a pretty one, he thought to himself.

---

Later that evening back at their hotel, the group from Bayville was making some attempt to relax for the evening before making their return trip the next morning. Since they had to stay in town overnight, they'd booked additional rooms to accommodate the five of them. Rogue and Ororo had both been booked together into their own room, likewise with Logan and Scott. Xavier had kept the larger suite for himself since he needed more room to accommodate his wheelchair.

Xavier was once again looking over Chris' X-rays that they'd recovered from the local hospital. He paused for a moment and then looked over at the door to his suite.

"Come in, Logan," he called over his shoulder. He chuckled softly to himself at the expression on Logan's face when he entered, followed by Ororo.

"You know I hate it when you do that, Chuck" Logan grumbled quietly.

"Sorry Logan, I just couldn't resist," Charles said lightly and winked at him.

He placed the X-rays back down onto the desk and then invited his two visitors to sit down.

"It seems that this Chris McGee is quite surprising, isn't he?" He said as he wheeled himself over to them.

"Indeed," Ororo quietly replied. "Do you think he'll decide to come back with us tomorrow, Charles?"

Xavier considered for a moment before replying.

"Yes, I'm fairly confident that he will. In the brief look I was able to get into his memories I saw a fair amount of fear and confusion, but a lot of loneliness as well. He also has a deep love for his mother and he's afraid of accidentally causing harm to her with his uncontrolled abilities. That in itself is probably what will motivate him the most."

Logan glanced briefly over at the X-rays on the desk and then looked back at Xavier.

"Did ya find any more clues in there about the kid?" he asked.

"I'm afraid not. If the boy does end up returning to Bayville with us, I'm certain that Henry will make better progress."

He looked away from them for a brief moment as he concentrated on something.

"I see that Scott and Rogue seem to be back to normal again,” he said as he focused his attention back to them.

"I expect Scott is done for the night,” said Logan. "He said he was still feelin' wiped out from that jolt he took earlier so he'll probably want to hit the sack early. As for Rogue, she’s finally stopped bouncin’ around like a Russian circus acrobat. If she got all that just from touchin’ this McGee kid, I can't wait to start the kid's physical trainin'!"

"That is a bit premature, Logan," Ororo pointed out. "We do not yet know for certain if the child will return with us. Even if he does, it will take a certain amount of acclimating before he'll feel comfortable enough among us to undertake any formal training."

"Yeah, yeah... I know," Logan grumbled. "I was just thinkin' a bit ahead. The kid's got some pretty good moves. If she does decide to join the team, she sure won't have any trouble keepin' up with the rest of us."

"It's interesting that you keep referring to the McGee child as a girl, Logan," Xavier said. "Although I could only manage a brief look into the boy's mind, I didn't see any long-term patterns in his memory that would indicate a disposition towards cross-dressing. In fact, what I did see indicated that he had only just discovered his aptitude for female impersonation. Combined with the fact that he's producing a realistic female scent, I'm beginning to suspect that his feminine appearance could very well be fully biological."

Logan and Ororo briefly exchanged glances and then looked back at Xavier with confused expressions on their faces.

"Are you suggesting that the child might be a girl after all, Charles?" Ororo asked quietly.

"I'm not certain what I'm suggesting. We'll need to run a series of tests on her... ah, him, if we're going to find any answers. Unfortunately that will all depend on whether or not he'll be returning with us."

There wasn't much else to be said for the time being about Chris. They all agreed that he had great potential as a possible new addition to the X-men team. With a little luck and a lot of patience, they were confident that they'd be able to convince him of their genuine intent to help him.

They placed a long-distance conference call to Henry back in Bayville to see how he was doing with the rest of their young pupils. Usually there was more than one adult at the mansion to help keep track of their often over-enthusiastic young charges. With Henry holding down the fort by himself, it sounded as though he had his hands full at the moment. They tried their best to keep from laughing as they listened to the various noises in the background while Henry tried to make himself heard.

"Kurt, Evan... while I'm sure Mr. Logan would be quite impressed by your sudden enthusiasm for calisthenics, even he would agree that it's far too late in the evening to..."

They heard a loud crash in the background, followed by some hasty apologies.

"Oh my, that was unfortunate..." Henry was saying to someone.

"Henry, is everything alright back there?" Xavier asked while attempting to keep a serious tone to his voice. "You aren't having any problems with any of the students, are you?"

"No, not really. Nothing I can't handle. They seem a bit eager for your return, though. Perhaps Logan can think of some useful ways for them to put all their exuberance to better use when he returns."

Immediately, the background noise died down. Ororo covered her mouth with one of her hands to stifle a laugh. Even Logan seemed to be trying to maintain his composure.

Without any further interruptions, Xavier was able to properly bring Henry up to date on everything that had happened so far in Lansing. Henry had a few theories of his own that he wanted to test with regards to Chris' physiology, but conceded that it would remain to be seen whether or not he'd be able to.

They spent the last few minutes of their call attending to minor administrative matters for the Institute and then everyone said goodnight to each other. Ororo and Logan each returned to their assigned rooms to turn in for the night, but Xavier stayed up for awhile longer to think about Chris McGee.

Such a remarkable young person, he thought.

In truth, they were all quite remarkable. Each possessed of the incredible potential to be either an aid or a blight upon humanity. It would be the experiences of their youth more than anything else that would ultimately decide which path each of them would walk. This truth was at the very core of why he'd founded the Xavier Institute in the first place. For young people like this Chris McGee, the Institute was possibly even more important to his future than for most others.

---

Chris awoke the next morning feeling a lot better than he had when he'd gone to bed the previous night. As he sat up in his bed and stretched his arms towards the ceiling, a slight tension in his side served to remind him of his injury there. He gently touched the area and noted that although it wasn't quite as tender as before, it still caused him some discomfort. He thought briefly of how quickly the bruises on his arms had healed the other day and wondered if he could do the same trick with his bruised ribs.

He glanced over at the early morning light streaming through his window and surmised that it was still quite early. He didn't know exactly how early since his bedside clock was still dead. After everything he'd discovered about himself the previous day, he thought it more than likely that he was disrupting the clock somehow. He'd only noticed these problems with electrically powered things, so perhaps he could find a simpler solution for getting up in the mornings. Maybe he'd see if his mother could get him one of those older clocks that you needed to wind up every couple of days.

He slipped into the satiny robe that his mother had given him the night before and smiled to himself as he felt the smooth fabric gently caress his skin. He remembered her saying that it was all right with her if he wanted to ‘dress up' now and then. Although it was only the following day, he hoped that she wouldn't think it was too soon for him to try dressing up again. It wasn't just that he was eager to further his experiments with his feminine appearance but more that he was discovering that female clothing felt a lot better against his skin.

In the bathroom, he gasped as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. There was an ugly bruise visible on his face where Robbie had hit him yesterday. He noted with a touch of macabre that, along with his girlish appearance, he now looked like a poster for domestic violence.

He shook his head slightly at the ghastly reflection. That wouldn't do at all if he wanted to try and look like a girl again today. He hadn't given any real thought to experimenting with makeup, but until the bruising went away it would probably be a good idea for him to start. Fortunately it was a Saturday, so his mother wouldn't have to go into work that day. She could probably give him some basic makeup tips, but it was still going to embarrass the hell out of him to have to come right out and ask her. He went down to the kitchen to fix himself a bowl of cereal as he tried to think of how to best bring up the subject with her.

Just as he'd finished eating and set his bowl in the sink, he heard a knock at the front door. It was still a bit early for visitors so he was curious who it could be.

Through the peephole in the front door, he wasn't altogether too surprised to see the three adults from that group he'd met the day before. He paused as he considered how he was dressed, but shrugged it off and decided to open the door anyways. They had already seen him in a skirt and blouse, so he doubted that his current attire would seem any more unusual to them.

"Good morning, Chris." Xavier said politely. "I must apologize for the early hour, but we are returning to New York shortly and I wanted to be sure to see how you were doing this morning before we left."

Chris could see genuine concern in his eyes and recalled his earlier impression of the 'father-figure' personality. He found it quite comforting and smiled shyly back at him.

"I'm feeling a bit better now, thanks," he answered.

The tall woman narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at the bruise on Chris' face.

"Dear child, that looks absolutely dreadful. Does it hurt much?" she asked him gently.

He reached up and absently touched his cheek. It was a little tender, but not too painful.

"Not really. I suppose it must look a lot worse than it feels."

He suddenly felt awkward and remembered his manners.

"Please, won't you come in? I'm afraid my mother is still sleeping, but..."

"Well, perhaps we can delay our departure for a short while," Xavier answered as he looked over at the other man. "Logan, please tell Scott and Rogue that Ororo and I will be few minutes."

"Sure thing, Chuck," he said as he promptly turned on his heel and strode down their front walk towards their waiting van.

Chris was momentarily surprised by the abrupt departure, but he supposed that the guy was not much of a sit-down-and-talk kind of person.

He invited them into the living room and sat down on the sofa near the tall woman. In doing so, he made sure that he kept his knees together and angled his legs slightly towards the other woman so he wouldn't accidentally flash Xavier with a view up the short hem of his robe. It was effective in preserving a reasonable amount of modesty, but he suspected the action appeared quite feminine to his two guests. He sighed inwardly as he knew it couldn't be helped at the moment.

"Chris, I have spoken at length to a colleague about you and he and I have come up with a few interesting ideas about the nature of your new abilities. Would you mind if we tried a brief experiment before we go?" Xavier asked him.

Chris was slightly taken aback by his request. It caught him off-guard to hear someone come right out and refer to his 'new abilities' -- whatever they were -- so plainly.

"Um... yeah, sure... I guess it would be okay,” he said a little nervously. "What do you want me to do?"

Xavier nodded to the tall woman, who removed something from her purse and handed it to Chris.

Chris looked curiously at what she'd handed him. It appeared to be a large battery of some kind. Not unlike the sort of thing that you might buy in any hobby or hardware store. It had a small voltage meter attached to it that was secured in place with black tape. A simple enough device, but Chris was confused as to what he was supposed to do with it.

"Tell me Chris," Xavier asked him, "what does the meter currently indicate?"

"It says 'full'," Chris answered.

"Excellent. What I want you to do now is to close your eyes and try to relax. Try to breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Do this a few times until you feel comfortable."

Chris was a little puzzled by his request, but followed Xavier's instructions. After a minute or so he felt himself entering a really calm state of mind. He tried to avoid any conscious thought and simply drifted a bit.

This is actually kind of cool, he thought to himself.

'Yes, true relaxation is beneficial in so many ways' said a voice inside his head.

Holy shit! His eyes flew open and he looked nervously at the man in the wheelchair.

"W...was that you?" he stammered as he felt his pulse quickening.

"Yes, I'm sorry if I startled you. As I'd mentioned yesterday, I am also a mutant just as you are."

He narrowed his eyes as he stared a little intently at Chris.

"What does the meter say now, Chris?" he asked.

Chris glanced down at the device in his lap and was shocked to see that the needle seemed to be steadily dropping. What kind of test was this, exactly? He turned the battery around so both Xavier and Ororo could see the indicator. They all watched as the needle quickly dropped to 'zero'.

"Did I do that?" Chris asked a little nervously.

He looked at the two of them with a little apprehension. Xavier smiled back at Chris reassuringly.

"Indeed you did, Chris. You have just confirmed at least one of my theories."

He nodded to Ororo again and this time she withdrew a short fluorescent tube from her bag. As soon as Chris took it from her hands, it immediately began to glow and cast a soft, diffused light on the three of them.

While Chris knew this was probably just as odd as the thing with the battery, it was certainly a much more impressive display. It would sure be quite an eye-catcher as a party trick, he thought with a touch of amusement.

"It appears that your mutant ability involves gathering and storing electrical energy,” Xavier told him. "As you've also discovered, you're able to release it as well... but unfortunately with little control over the quantity."

Chris nodded slowly as the information sunk in. All this time, he was actually shocking things and sometimes people when he touched them. He was fortunate that so far no one had been seriously injured, but he knew that it could easily be quite dangerous if he'd stored up enough energy.

He slumped against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes as he considered his potential for accidentally harming... or maybe even killing someone. No... he couldn't ever let that happen. He would rather die himself before he ever got into a situation where he might kill someone else. A few tears trickled down his cheek as he looked back at his two visitors.

"I don't want to hurt anyone. I never did,” he whispered softly. "If I can't control this thing, I'll be a danger to everyone around me. Please..." he looked at them desperately, "you said yesterday that you could help me. Is it too late for me to give your Institute a try?"

"Of course not," Xavier answered gently. "If this is what you and your mother both want, then we would be glad to have you."

Chris hadn't even realized just how badly he needed to hear those words. His emotional barrier collapsed again and he hid his face in his hands as he sobbed with relief. The woman seated next to him gently gathered him into her long arms and held him while he let his emotions run their course. The mere fact that she wasn't afraid to touch him was of great comfort to him. Perhaps what set these people apart from so many others wasn't the fact that they were mutants, but because they had incredible levels of compassion for others.

By then, the voices in the living room had awakened Chris’ mother and alerted her that there were visitors at the house, so she came downstairs to investigate. She was a bit surprised by the scene that greeted her: her crying son being held in the embrace of a woman they'd only met yesterday, but calmly sat down next to them on the sofa and waited for Chris to rein in his emotions.

No one spoke for a few minutes, but in the silence she could sense that Chris had made an important decision. Before long, the tall woman gently released Chris and wordlessly rose from the sofa. She exchanged a brief glance with Xavier and for a moment it appeared as if something unspoken passed between them. She nodded politely to Ms. McGee and then left to rejoin the rest of the group waiting with their van outside.

"Mom..." Chris eventually said as he turned towards her, "I know it's really sudden, but I think I want to give that Institute a try."

She nodded thoughtfully as she put her arm around him.

"Well, if you're absolutely sure that's what you want to do, then it's alright with me."

He hugged her tightly in response for a few moments before she sent him up to his room to pack some things. As soon as he'd left the room, she regarded Xavier in silence for a minute. So much had happened in so short a time... and now it seemed that she was going to lose her son to these people that she hardly knew anything about. Still, she understood that this was what Chris really needed -- even if it meant parting with him for a while.

"You mustn't feel as though you're losing him," Xavier replied aloud to her unspoken thoughts. "Many of our young pupils have families that they make return visits to on holidays or whenever else their schedules may permit. In many ways, the Xavier Institute is no different than a private boarding school."

"But... it's just so sudden!" she replied as her eyes started to moisten. "I know this is what's best for him, but he's my only child..."

Her voice broke into a soft sob as a single tear gently rolled down her cheek. Xavier wheeled himself closer to her and gently took her hand in his own.

"I understand how you feel. It is unfortunate that better preparations couldn't have been made beforehand. In some cases, like your son's, it is vitally important to start training the youngster immediately. Chris' mutant abilities pose a certain amount of risk to himself and the general populace, so it is as much for his sake as well as for everyone else that we proceed quickly."

She nodded in understanding and wiped off her cheek with the back of her hand. Chris might come back down at any moment and it wouldn't do for him to see her crying. She had to put on a good face for his sake.

She decided to shift the topic of the conversation and for the next few minutes she and Xavier discussed a few of the formalities for Chris' enrollment. She was pleased to hear that Chris would be enrolled in the local High School with the other teen residents of the Institute. While she understood the necessity of the 'special' education he would get at the Institute, she also wanted him to have an otherwise normal teenage experience.

She and Xavier were just finishing arrangements to have Chris' school and medical records transferred when Chris stepped into the room wearing a backpack and carrying a small suitcase. In spite of her earlier resolve not to get too emotional, she still found herself on the verge of crying.

"Are you sure that you want to do this, dear?" she asked softly. "It's not too late to change your mind, you know."

Chris stood there quietly with an expression that suggested that he really wasn't sure, but after a moment he shakily nodded his head.

"I... I think so. I need to do this, but..." he paused as he looked sadly at his mother, "I'll miss you so much, Mom!"

She rose from the sofa and rushed to embrace him in a fierce hug.

"I know you will, dear... and I'll miss you too. You're very brave to face all this as well as you have. I'm very proud of you!"

After a few more minutes of tearful goodbyes, Xavier gently reminded them that they needed to be on their way. He wheeled himself out to the waiting van while Ms. McGee followed with her arms around her son.

While Xavier was boarding via the mechanical ramp, Chris whispered quietly to his mother, "I hope it’s alright, but I packed the new bathrobe you gave me."

She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment

"That's okay. Somehow I doubt that these people will find that strange. After all, they did meet my pretty young daughter yesterday, right?" She replied as she playfully tweaked him on the cheek.

"M-oommm!" He groaned in gentle protest, but smiled and hugged her back.

The burly-looking man with the muscular arms loaded Chris' bags into the van and then with a quick nod of acknowledgement to Ms. McGee, he climbed back into the driver's seat. Everything and everyone was now packed away and settled in. Everyone but Chris.

The van's engine roared to life, further emphasizing their imminent departure.

"It's time, Chris," Xavier said gently as he beckoned for Chris to get in. "We're a little behind schedule so we really do need to be on our way."

Chris threw his arms around his mother's neck and gave her a kiss on the cheek before he climbed in and took a seat just in front of the other two teens inside.

Ms. McGee waved as they slid the panel door shut and the van started to drive away. She fought back the urge to run down the sidewalk after them and was slightly taken aback by a similar memory from Chris' first day at school. She stood and watched the van as it drove out of sight, smiling slightly as she remembered that day from years ago.

She'd often thought that it had been harder on her than it had been on Chris as she’d watched his tiny hand waving goodbye to her from the window of that yellow school bus. Chris wasn't so little anymore, but that feeling was still the same.

---

To be continued in:

The XX-Factor: Chapter Four - Welcome to the Xavier Institute!