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There was quite a chill in the air that morning as Christy walked to school with the rest of the students from the Xavier Institute. She reached up and tried to close the collar of her coat even tighter against the bitter cold. It seemed to help a little, but there wasn't much that could be done for her legs. Despite the tights she was wearing, it felt as though there was a layer of ice forming on her knees. Although she'd been wearing dresses and skirts for nearly two months now, it still took some getting used to in the colder weather. She glanced over at Jean and Rogue and noticed that they seemed to be much more comfortable wearing pants. Not for the first time she wondered why she'd allowed Kitty to talk her into wearing a skirt that morning.

It was now late November in Bayville, and although the brilliant fall colors had long since disappeared with the leaves on the trees, the scenery was still quite beautiful. Although winter had technically already begun, there had only been one or two light snowfalls so far which hadn't remained on the ground for very long. Along the route they usually walked to school, Christy noted that some of the Bayville residents had already started to decorate their properties with Christmas lights. She was really looking forward to seeing how Bayville would look once everything got blanketed in snow.

As they all approached the front entrance of Bayville High, Christy thought she caught a glimpse of Principal Darkholme in her office window, but the figure seemed to disappear just as she'd stopped for a closer look. That woman really gave her the creeps! After the encounter that the Principal had orchestrated between Christy and her 'special students' earlier in the semester, Christy couldn't shake the feeling that woman was watching her. Not that she’d actually seen the principal around. In fact, other than on her first day at Bayville High, Christy hadn't run into her in the hallways even once since then.

Christy and Kitty parted company with the rest of their group and headed towards their lockers. Christy had managed to get assigned a locker that was only two doors down from Kitty’s, so along with their similar class schedules the two of them were almost always together at school. Kitty was chattering away non-stop as usual while they hung up their coats in their lockers. Christy was getting a little better at following the speed at which Kitty liked to talk, but she still sometimes missed bits and pieces.

"... So, like, then Cassandra said, 'Like, no way! I'm totally not going out with him'... and then, I'm like... 'Why not?' and she's all, 'He's way too retro for my tastes', so I said..."

Kitty was suddenly interrupted by a large gust of wind which sprang up and hit her and Christy from out of nowhere. Instantly the girls dropped their books to the floor and grabbed the hems of their skirts to prevent them from blowing up and providing any bystanders with a nice underwear display. Christy and Kitty both frowned and exchanged knowing glances with each other. In this weather, there was no way that there'd be any windows open nearby, so that meant...

"Hey there, Hot Stuff!" said Pietro from behind Christy. "How's it going?"

Christy and Kitty both turned around to see Pietro leaning casually against a nearby locker and grinning stupidly at them. While he had no reservations about using his mutant powers in public, the Professor had made it very clear to the Institute's residents about how important it was to keep their abilities hidden. Other than the odd rumours or some ridiculous headline in the tabloids, mutants were still pretty much unknown to the general public and everyone at the Xavier Institute was in agreement that it ought to stay that way -- at least for the time being. The general public simply wasn't ready to learn about mutants, so they all had to be very careful about when and where they used their powers. Not that any of the 'Brotherhood Boys' cared very much about that, but at least in Pietro's case he usually moved fast enough so that other people wouldn't notice.

"Why don't you take a hike, Maximoff?" said Kitty irritably. "Or are you hoping that we'll do something so your favourite Principal can hand us another detention?"

"Hey, chill out, Mall-Rat! I only came by to see how Christy's doing."

In the blink of an eye, Pietro quickly scooped Christy's books up from the floor, arranged them in a neat stack and then presented them to Christy with an almost gentlemanly sort of bow with his head. He did not pick up Kitty's books, however.

"Uh... thanks, Pietro," Christy answered as she raised her eyebrows in surprise.

It wasn't really all that surprising, though. The Brotherhood Boys, the other group of teenage mutants at Bayville High, seemed to be paying a lot of attention to Christy lately. They kept turning up just about everywhere she went and at times it was kind of annoying. Scott and Jean had suggested that they might be watching her on orders from Mystique, Principal Darkholme's alternate identity, but Christy got the impression that it was a little more than that. Pietro and his somewhat repulsive friend, Todd 'Toad' Tolensky, both seemed to have developed an infatuation with her.

"So, you wanna come out and do laps with me sometime, Christy?" he asked in his usual hyper-sounding tone of voice. "Not that you have any hope of out-performing me, but you're probably the only other person around that can move fast enough to make it interesting."

"Gawd.. like, don't you ever quit?" said Kitty as she knelt down to recover her books from the floor. "After you and your pals attacked Christy, you expect her to forget it and start hanging out with you? As if !"

"Hey, don't get your panties in a twist. That wasn't my idea! We just wanted to see what your cousin here was made of. I was impressed to see that she had both the moves and the looks!"

"Well, thanks for saying so," Christy said with a slight blush, despite her best efforts not to.

"... but you guys quite openly trashed a large section of a public street and nearly got your friend killed in the process. You're all just a bit too wild and reckless for my tastes."

"Hey, lots of girls say those are some of my best qualities!"

He paused for a moment to quickly glance at his watch.

"Well, time for class. Gotta go! I guess we can talk about this another time..."

In a flash, he suddenly caught Christy in both of his arms and planted a quick kiss squarely on her lips. Before she could react, he gave her behind a playful squeeze and then made a mutant-powered exit down the corridor.

"Holy shit!" said Kitty as she covered her mouth with one of her hands in surprise. "Did he just do what I think he did?"

"Yes, he sure did," replied Christy as she blushed even harder. "I think his interest in me is definitely more than 'professional'."

"I wonder how he'd react if he ever knew that you were..."

Kitty caught herself and stopped before she finished the sentence. She gave a nervous glance at Christy and was relieved to see that she didn't seem to be upset about what had almost slipped out.

Christy, knowing exactly what it was that Kitty was about to say, chuckled a bit as she considered it.

"No doubt he and his pals would react a lot like the rest of you did when I’d told you. They probably wouldn't believe me, and these days there's only one way to prove it to them... and there's no way that I'd ever do that!"

Both girls had a quick laugh at that and then hurried off to class together.

Christy often found herself amazed whenever she paused to reflect upon how much her life had changed in such a short time. As she and Kitty sat through their classes that morning, she found that even a boring subject like Geography was even more enjoyable in her life as Christy than it had been when she was just nerdy little Chris. Back then, every aspect of her life was miserable. She wouldn't even be able to sit in class without being harassed or teased by the other kids whenever the teacher's back was turned. Now the only thing she usually worries about in class is if one of the boys gets her in trouble with the teacher by constantly trying to talk to her and drum up the courage to ask her out for a date.

At first, the mere idea of dating a guy freaked her out. There were a lot of years of living as a boy that were still influencing her psyche, but lately the idea had become a lot less absurd than it had been before. Mr. McCoy had mentioned that her hormone levels were bound to be having some influence on her and that she should just trust her feelings and go with whatever feels right. She thought back briefly to the kiss & grab she had received from Pietro in the hallway earlier that morning and blushed again. She'd been caught completely by surprise at the time, but now that she’d had some time to think about it... she realized that she'd actually liked it.

Not long after Christy had first come to the Institute and officially joined the 'team', the Professor and Mr. McCoy had a long talk with her about the possibility of surgery to correct the only remaining aspect of her old life that contrasts with her feminine appearance. Specifically, all that remains of her origin as a male. While she had accepted the truth of her rather bizarre physiology, it was still a big decision to make. After all, she'd been a boy for nearly all of her life. She knew that eventually she would have to have the surgery at some point, though. Perhaps after the end of the school year so she would have the entire summer to recover. There was no hurry for the time being, though. The Professor had arranged for her to be exempted from Phys Ed. class so that she wouldn't 'surprise' any of the other girls in the change rooms.

On the plus side, once she did have the surgery and became all-the-way female, she'd be free to join any of the school's teams. It wasn't something that she'd ever tried at her last school, particularly since she'd been so miserable then that it had never occurred to her. Ever since her mutant powers had fully manifested, she'd become a lot more athletic than she'd ever been in her life. On top of that, there was Logan back at the Institute who insisted that the entire team was in top physical shape. He tended to work them all harder than any Phys Ed. instructor ever would, so naturally they were all pretty well-toned.

She'd mentioned the idea about joining a school team in passing to Jean once or twice before and she'd seemed pretty enthusiastic about it and encouraged her to go for it. Aside from being a mutant, Jean was an all-American kind of girl that seemed to be good at everything. She was beautiful, popular, got really high grades and was also a star player on the school's soccer team. The entire Institute group usually came out to watch her play whenever there was a game -- including Rogue, surprisingly enough.

While it went without saying that Christy would do very well in Track & Field, she found herself leaning more towards the idea of joining Bayville High’s fledgling Gymnastics Team. Thanks to her mutant powers, she could imbue herself with amazing levels of speed, endurance, agility and balance. While it was a lot of fun to perform at those levels, she would feel guilty if she used her powers to compete against other school teams. She'd discussed it with the Professor during one of their mental training exercises and he'd agreed that it wouldn't be fair to use her powers at competitions, but joining the school's team would provide an excellent cover for her should anyone accidentally witness her using her powers in public. If she already had a reputation as a gymnast, then it might not look as strange if anyone were to see her using her enhancements 'off the matt'. All she'd need to do would be to use her powers sparingly to qualify for the team and then eventually she might not need them at all after she trained long enough.

At Lunchtime, all the gang from the Institute was gathered together for their usual noon-hour hangout session in the school's cafeteria. They were all feeling a little frazzled from the heavy school workload that always fell on them at mid-term, but for the time being they were focusing their attention on the upcoming Thanksgiving long weekend. For the most part, Christy was content to simply listen to everyone as they discussed their holiday arrangements.

The Professor and Mr. McCoy were planning a rather substantial Thanksgiving dinner at the mansion over the holidays for the Institute residents who were staying in Bayville over the weekend. It wasn't all that surprising that Scott and Rogue would be remaining at the mansion, but Christy was a bit intrigued that Logan had apparently decided to stay as well. According to the others, Logan usually took off during most holidays but this time Mr. McCoy had managed to convince him to stay. Apparently Logan was a big fan of football and it had been made clear that, aside from the big Thanksgiving dinner, watching the game on the big screen was going to be a priority event. Additionally, it was rumoured that the Professor might even make an exception to his 'no alcohol' rule and allow a few beers for the time-honoured tradition of watching the Detroit Lions game. Rogue wasn't entirely thrilled that she'd be the only female at the mansion for the duration of this testosterone-fest, but she’d confessed that even she had a bit of a liking for the game -- something she said she’d 'picked up' from someone right around the time her mutant abilities had first manifested.

As for everyone else, they were all returning to their respective families for the holidays. For Christy, this presented a certain amount of excitement and nervousness. While it had only been a couple of months since she'd last been back home in Michigan, so much had happened since then that she felt as though she were returning after an absence of several years. She had written home frequently during that time and had done her best to keep her mother up to date on everything that was going on, but she figured her mother would still be in for a surprise as soon as she returned. She absently glanced down at her slender, feminine legs; from the hem of her skirt down to her stylish 3-inch heels. While she'd done the ‘girl look’ quite effectively in those few days before she'd left home to enrol the Xavier Institute, now there was a lot more going on than just her appearance.

No doubt the neighbors will be a little confused trying to figure out who the new girl is, Christy thought to herself with a little smile.

While she was really looking forward to seeing her mother again, she was also a little excited at the prospect of seeing her home town again... and being seen by her home town. This would be much different than that one time she'd gone out dressed en-femme, because back then the fear of discovery had added a sense of danger which had made the expedition that much more thrilling. This time she knew she was not that same frightened young teen and cared very little whether or not anyone remembered that she had been a boy before. During the brief time she'd spent at the Institute, she'd developed levels of pride and confidence in herself that she previously would not have imagined in her wildest dreams. She had no intention of spending the entire long weekend hiding out at home and was determined to go out and maybe do a little shopping while she was in town.

She'd been shopping with the other Institute girls on a few occasions, but she was really looking forward to going out shopping for clothes with her mother. God, how she missed her mother! It would be their first mother-daughter outing together and Christy was looking forward to it so much that she wasn't even aware that her eyes had begun to moisten until Kitty spoke up.

"Hey Christy, like... are you okay? You look like you're about to ruin your mascara. What's up?" she whispered quietly.

"Oh! Sorry," Christy answered quickly as she fished a Kleenex out of her school bag and then carefully dabbed at her eyes. "I was just thinking about going home this weekend."

"You aren't, like, worried or anything, are you? Didn't you say that your Mom was cool with how you've, uh... changed?"

Christy smiled and nodded her head.

"Yes, she is. She is so anxious to see me again that she even offered to drive all the way out here to Bayville to pick me up on Wednesday, but I told her I'd be fine taking the train. I guess I'm just really happy that I'm finally going to see her again."

Scott, who had just picked up on the last part of the conversation, frowned slightly as he glanced across the table at Christy and Kitty.

"Uh, Christy, are you sure it's wise for you to be traveling back home alone? For your first visit back, I mean? If you were to accidentally run into..."

With a dismissive wave of her hand, Christy quickly cut him off. She knew exactly who Scott was thinking of and part of her was almost wishing that she would run into him again. It would be extremely unlikely though, and probably just as well since public displays of mutant powers were to be avoided whenever possible.

"Robbie probably wouldn't recognize me now. Even if he did, Mr. Logan has taught me enough about how to handle myself in a fight that I probably wouldn't even have to use my powers. It'd be his bad luck if I was to run into him again."

Rogue gave a quiet cheer and a 'thumbs up' salute from across the table.

"Ya! That's the spirit, girl! Ya'll don't have ta take crap from the likes of that creep, that's fer sure!"

Scott gave Rogue a disapproving look and mumbled something about how she shouldn't be encouraging Christy to be reckless, but decided to let the matter drop.

A few minutes later, the bell rang to announce the end of the lunch hour so the Institute gang all split up to return to their afternoon classes.

---

"I am very disappointed with you, Mystique," said the deep voice coming from the cloaked figure that stood in the corner of her office. "This new student of Xavier's has been right under your nose for nearly two months now, and yet you still have very little to report about her."

Raven Darkholme crossed the room to her desk and gracefully sat down in her large chair. She moved so smoothly that she was certain that her surprise 'visitor' couldn't tell just how nervous and intimidated she actually felt. She'd had a lot of harsh experiences throughout her life that had eventually toughened her up to the point where it was nearly impossible for anyone to instil fear in her. Eric Lensherr, otherwise known as 'Magneto', was one of the few exceptions.

"There hasn't been much to report since that incident on her first day here at school," she answered carefully. "I've got the boys keeping an eye on her, but as usual Xavier has her hiding her powers as much as the rest of his students do when they're away from the Institute."

Eric strolled purposefully to her large window and looked wordlessly down to the street below. He said nothing for several minutes while Raven held her tongue and waited for him to continue the conversation. Being that he was one of the most powerful mutants on earth, he wasn't someone whom she wanted to interrupt if he was having some sort of private reflection.

"What about her background, then? What do you know of her before she came here?" he asked in a quiet tone without even bothering to turn away from the window.

Raven swallowed nervously. Her efforts to date had been less than encouraging and she knew that Magneto wouldn't be terribly happy about it.

"Well... I've been having some difficulty with this one. It appears as though Xavier had fabricated her background information when he’d registered her for school here. She's supposedly a paternal cousin of the Pryde girl, but I'm not buying it."

She paused briefly in an attempt to gauge how Magneto was taking the news so far. The man, however, was still standing motionless at the window with his back to her and not displaying any body language whatsoever.

"Continue," he said tonelessly.

Raven shook her head slightly and tried harder to steady her voice so she wouldn't sound as nervous as she felt. Magneto was a real piece of work. He had a very dangerous and powerful presence that you could feel just being in the same room with him and that wasn't even taking his formidable mutant powers into consideration.

"There has to be something special about this particular mutant, because Xavier hasn't ever tried to make up a phoney background for any of his other students yet."

"As far as you know," Magneto added dryly.

Raven flinched slightly at the comment but continued on with what she hoped Magneto would find interesting.

"Clearly, all of Xavier's students are in on the deception regarding this girl because they're all maintaining that she's the Pryde girl's cousin. I've assumed the form of various anonymous students over the past several weeks in order to get close enough to eavesdrop on their conversations and they're all sticking to the same story. I did overhear something today that might present us with an opportunity to learn more about this girl, though."

She paused again to see if Magneto would show any interest or anticipation for her news, but he remained as still as a statue at the window. Damn him!

"Most of Xavier's students are returning to their respective families for the holiday long weekend, including the McGee girl. This will be an excellent opportunity to learn more about her without any interference from the rest of the X-men. I’ve already made arrangements for a couple of our boys to follow..."

"No," Magneto suddenly cut her off and finally turned to face her.

"I want you to follow her. If Xavier is keeping this girl's real identity hidden for some reason, he might be expecting us to try something like that. Those buffoons of yours are too careless and clumsy and will probably be spotted long before we can learn anything useful."

With a casual gesture of his hand, the arms of the chair in which Raven was sitting suddenly twisted themselves into restraints and pinned her arms down. Before she could even register her surprise, the entire chair then lifted into the air and settled itself down on the surface of her desk. Magneto then rose slightly into the air and hovered at eye-level, mere inches away from Raven's face. Despite her efforts to maintain her composure, she could feel a few droplets of nervous perspiration begin to bead up on her forehead.

"I shouldn't have to remind you that I'll be very... displeased... if you screw this up. A mutant with the potential for manipulating high levels of electricity would be of particular use to my future work, so be sure that nothing happens with this girl that might jeopardize that."

Magneto then glided across the room to the door and touched down onto the floor. Without so much as a backwards glance, he went through the door and closed it behind him, leaving Raven pinned in her chair.

It would be a considerable embarrassment to her if the secretary were to come in and find her like that, so Raven had to shapeshift to free herself. She then lifted her twisted chair down onto the floor and pushed it into her closet. She had been particularly fond of that chair and was more than a little annoyed that she now had to order another one. She seemed to be going through an awful lot of trouble over this McGee kid. From what little they'd seen of her powers so far, she didn't seem all that remarkable for Magneto to make such a fuss over her. Still, if that irritating Xavier went to the trouble of making up a bogus past for her, maybe there really was something special about her. Whatever the secret, she was determined to find out what it was.

---

Later that day, the Institute’s students were all relaxing together in the mansion's rec-room after a particularly exhausting martial arts class with Logan. As soon as they'd returned from school, they'd only just set their school bags down in their rooms when the surprise class had been announced. Typically, they had their martial arts training every other day. Since they'd already done their rounds on the mat with Logan the day before, it caught them all off guard when he'd summoned them down for yet another class. With the holiday long weekend approaching, Logan was concerned that the team might get too 'slack' if they missed their regularly-scheduled sessions in the Danger Room, so he decided that they'd make up for it on the mats before everyone took off for the long weekend.

Christy sympathetically looked around at her team-mates while she energized herself slightly to alleviate some of her physical exhaustion. While none of them were allowed to use any powers for those sessions on the mat, at least in Christy's case her abilities were ideal for restoring her stamina afterwards. She absently stretched out her arms and felt the familiar tingling in her limbs from her mutant power as it started to heal her aching muscles. She couldn't heal as fast as Logan did, but she knew that she'd be back to normal by the next morning -- which was a lot more than what could be said for the rest of the team. Everyone except for Rogue, that is.

She and Christy had a special arrangement that they'd use after particularly brutal workouts. Since Rogue could temporarily absorb other mutants’ abilities, Christy would let her 'borrow' hers later so that Rogue could completely heal herself by the morning as well. It would have to wait until the end of the night, though, since Rogue had a tendency to render people unconscious whenever she touched them.

Christy did feel a little guilty that she couldn't help the rest of the group in the same way, but they were all good sports about it. It went without saying that Rogue had a much more difficult time with her powers, so this wasn't an advantage that any of the team would begrudge her. Rogue was seated on the sofa across from her and gave her a knowing wink, which Kitty noticed and caused her to frown slightly and shake her head. Christy knew full well what Kitty was irritated about and managed to stifle a small laugh.

One aspect of Christy's mutant abilities was a noticeable glow around her that was sometimes difficult to conceal. The last time Christy had allowed Rogue to borrow her powers; she had returned to their shared room glowing like a neon lamp and kept Kitty awake for half the night. Rogue had claimed that she couldn't help it, but Christy suspected that she did it on purpose just to tease Kitty. Rogue and Kitty seemed to be a lot more like sisters than either of them would ever dare to admit.

"Oh man, I feel totally shredded," said Evan with an exhausted sigh. "I don't know if two days is enough time to recover before I head back home with Auntie O. this weekend."

"Ya... vhat vas Logan trying to do to us?" Kurt added, wincing slightly as he gently prodded his tail with his fingers. "Even my tail is aching!"

"You know how Logan is," Jean answered quietly. "He really enjoys the physical workouts and doesn't always remember that we don't have the same endurance that he does."

"... or Christy either," Kitty threw in softly with a wistful look at her.

Not knowing what she could possibly say in response, Christy simply shrugged her shoulders innocently and put on her best 'who, me?' expression. Kitty gave a small laugh at that and threw one of the sofa cushions at her.

Eventually the other students managed to find the energy to drag themselves back to their rooms so they could change for dinner. Kitty ended up walking the 'long route' with everyone else through the hallways, since she was too exhausted to use her phasing ability to take her usual shortcuts through the walls.

At dinner, the adults were mildly amused by how quiet the table conversation was that night. Thanks to Logan's gruelling workout, most of the students hardly had the energy to sit up straight, let alone summon up the energy to engage in any vibrant conversation. The Professor seemed mildly concerned that Logan might be pushing them a little too hard, but the physical conditioning of the team was Logan's department. Although the students were all exhausted, the workout didn't seem to do them any real harm so Xavier didn't feel the need to voice his concerns yet.

Later that evening, it was a very tired Rogue who had finally managed to drag herself to Christy's room before lights out. Christy practically had to help her move across the room to her bed, where she sat herself down at the end of it while Christy got under the covers.

"So, you're really goin' ta head back home fer the holidays?" Rogue asked. "Are you sure you're ready? It really hasn't been all that long since..."

She let her voice trail off without finishing the sentence, but she didn't need to. While she shared some of the concern that Scott had expressed at lunch that day, she typically didn't like to give Scott the impression that she agreed with him so she didn't say anything at the time. Rogue was also worried about what Christy might have to face during her return trip home.

"Don't worry, Rogue. I'll be fine," Christy quietly assured her. "It isn't as if I'm going to go looking for trouble while I'm back home. Besides, it's my Mom that I'm really dying to see again. I really miss her, so I'm going to spend just about every minute with her that I can."

"Well, you might not be lookin' fer trouble, but Ah've sometimes found that trouble can have a way of findin' you when you least expect it. You be careful just the same, okay?"

"Thanks Rogue, I'll be careful. Anyhow, you'd better tap me soon because you look like you're about to fall over yourself in another minute or so. Remember to turn out the lights for me on your way out... and try to keep the aura toned down this time! I don't think Kitty's buying it anymore that you can't control it well enough."

Rogue chuckled as she removed one of her thin satin gloves that she usually wore to bed.

"Ah think my roomie's so tired that she wouldn't even notice a truck drivin’ through the room, but Ah'll keep it turned down anyways. Thanks again, Christy."

Christy smiled back as she held out her arm towards Rogue, who then reached out with her own hand to touch her. Once again, Rogue felt the instantaneous rush as Christy's mutant power flowed into her. Christy quickly collapsed backwards onto her pillow and Rogue gently pulled the blankets up to cover her. She then turned out the lamp and headed back to her own room. Already she could feel some of the soreness of her aching limbs start to fade away as the tingling of Christy's mutant power began its work to repair them.

Damn, she thought to herself. Christy's power sure is useful!

---

For Christy, who was so anxious for her return trip home for the holidays, it had felt to her as though that Wednesday couldn’t come soon enough. When the day had finally arrived, she awoke feeling an excitement that reminded her of how she'd felt the day she'd left home to come to the Xavier Institute. She quickly jumped out of bed, donned her bathrobe, and then hurried out of her room to get what she hoped would be an early place in the morning queue for the bathroom.

When she got out into the hallway, she was pleasantly surprised to see that the only person waiting outside of the bathroom was Scott.

"Mornin’ Christy. Why are you up so early?" he asked her.

Being that it was a regular weekday, she was a little confused by his question until it suddenly occurred to her what he'd meant. Since most of the Institute's students were traveling home for the holidays, the Professor had gotten them all exempted from school for the day so that they could make their trips home. Everyone except for Scott and Rogue, that is. Since they were staying in Bayville for the holidays, the Professor didn’t feel it would be appropriate for them to miss classes if it wasn’t necessary. As the rest of them didn't have to go to school that day, they were all probably sleeping in a little longer since they didn't have to rush through their morning routine as much as Scott and Rogue would.

"Uh, I don't know. Force of habit, I suppose. Did Rogue beat you to the washroom again?"

Scott gave a small laugh and nodded his head.

"Yep. It doesn't seem to matter how early I try to get here. One of you girls always manages to beat me."

Inwardly, Christy felt a slight flush at Scott’s reference to her as one of the girls. While she'd become accustomed to this truth about herself over the past couple of months, it still gave her the occasional jolt whenever Scott or the other guys commented on it. Scott in particular was well aware that she hadn't started out as a girl, and in at least a couple of ways she still wasn't completely female... yet. All of the guys at the Xavier Institute had been really supportive of her and never once treated her as if she was anything other than the female that she appeared to be. Scott's casual reference was yet one more thing that reminded her how much the Institute and its people really meant to her.

At that thought, she felt her emotions surge to the surface again and she had to fight off the compulsion to throw her arms around him and give him a big hug. While she sensed that he probably wouldn't mind such an affectionate display, she suspected that Jean might be a bit miffed over it if she heard about it later. Even though neither Jean nor Scott would admit to or acknowledge the obvious attraction between the two of them, the rest of the Institute students and even a couple of the staff were starting to take bets on how long it will be before the two of them work up the nerve to finally go out on a date.

"So, uh... I guess it's just you and Rogue here with the adults this weekend, right? Mr. Logan won't try to make you two do any training without the rest of us here, will he?" Christy asked.

Scott shrugged.

"He doesn't usually hang around during the holidays. I doubt he'll try to get us into any kind of Danger Room workout, but he's probably irritated enough that our training schedule's been 'disrupted' by the holidays that he might treat Rogue and myself to another workout on the mat."

Just then, Rogue stepped out of the bathroom wearing her large bathrobe that was a couple of sizes too large for her (so that it covered as much of her skin as possible) and her wet hair wrapped in a towel.

"Ah hope yer wrong about that, Scott. If Logan tries ta work out his frustration with us on the mat this weekend, Ah think Ah'd rather hang out with my old Brotherhood pals where it'd be safer!"

Christy was speechless and could only stare back at her with a shocked expression on her face as Rogue continued strolling casually down the hall to her room. Surely Rogue wouldn't really leave the Institute to rejoin the Brotherhood, would she?

"Relax, Christy," Scott said aloud as though he could hear what she was thinking. "Rogue was only kidding."

He then excused himself and stepped into the bathroom for his own shower. After another minute or so, Christy was only mildly surprised by the familiar form of Kitty phasing through a nearby wall. She yawned and gave a short wave of greeting to Christy.

"G'morning, girlfriend. Why are you bothering to line up this morning? It totally sucks to be Scott or Rogue today, but at least the rest of us get to take it easy. C'mon we can have our showers later. Let's go hang out in your room."

Kitty then grabbed Christy by the wrist and abruptly pulled her in tow behind her as she led the way back to Christy's room. Predictably, she didn't bother opening the door and the two of them phased through it instead.

"So, like, are you all excited for the train ride back this afternoon?" Kitty asked as they sat down on the edge of Christy's bed together. "I totally love traveling by train! It takes a little while, but it's a lot more comfortable than a car or a bus... and a lot less freaky than flying in the X-jet."

Christy was in complete agreement. Except for the initial and nearly disastrous flight that had brought her to Bayville, she hadn't been on any other trips in the X-jet. With the Professor's help, she'd been able to develop some pretty decent mental control over her mutant powers since then. Now that she was less likely to endanger the aircraft's operations during a flight, she knew she'd eventually have to fly in the jet again at some point but in the meantime it was completely fine with her to stick with ground-based transportation.

Since Kitty's family lived in Illinois, the two of them were scheduled to travel together on the same train, with Christy getting off earlier in Michigan. From her very first day at the Institute it was obvious that she and Kitty would be good friends, so the long train ride together was sure to be a blast for the both of them.

"Yeah, this is going to be amazing!" Christy agreed. "I only wish that there'd be time for you to meet my Mom when we get to my stop in Michigan. I know she'd really love you."

"Hey… no worries, girlfriend. I'm sure I'll get to meet her some other time."

Kitty suddenly jumped off the edge of the bed and charged towards Christy's walk-in closet. As usual, she phased through the door and immediately started to go through Christy's modest, but growing collection of feminine clothing.

"Hey Christy," she called from behind the closet door, "have you decided what you're going to bring to wear home this weekend? You'd better not even think about packing any of your old boys' clothes!"

---

By late-morning, the homeward-bound students of the Xavier Institute were ready to depart. Jean's family lived in a town that was only a few hours drive away from Bayville, so she was the first to leave when her folks arrived to pick her up. Before she left, she went into her best 'big sister' routine and spent some time fussing over Christy and Kitty. With both Christy and Kitty being among the youngest members of the team, naturally there was some concern about the two of them traveling 'alone'. Normally Kitty bristled at such domineering attention from Jean but she simply went along with it, knowing that sometimes it was simply better not to argue with her. Finally, she gave them each a sisterly hug and wished them both a happy Thanksgiving before getting into the car with her parents.

As they were driving away, Christy noticed Kurt suddenly appear out of the corner of her eye. Always the jokester, he had reverted to his natural blue-furred form and was hanging by his tail from a nearby tree branch while making silly faces at Jean from where her parents couldn't see him. Both Kitty and Christy could see Jean's annoyed expression glaring back out at him from the rear window of her parents' car as they drove away, and they both burst into fits of laughter.

Jean's parents were a bit uncommon as far as relatives of Institute residents go since they were still unaware of the existence of mutants. Jean had been very successful in keeping her abilities hidden from them over the years. As far as they knew, the Xavier Institute was just another prestigious private boarding school. Needless to say, Jean was clearly quite annoyed by Kurt's little visual tease, which ended abruptly when the branch he was hanging from 'mysteriously' snapped and caused him to fall out of sight into some bushes below. Afterwards, it had taken Kurt nearly an hour to pick all of the burrs out of his fur, so the adults didn't scold him as much as they otherwise would have for earlier display.

After he'd gotten himself straightened out and had re-activated his image inducer, Kurt was the next student to depart. Originally, Kurt's adoptive family had lived in Germany, but shortly after Kurt came to the Xavier Institute they'd emigrated to America so they could be closer to him. Even so, they still lived a considerable distance from Bayville, so Kurt typically took a flight whenever he went home for the holidays. He got a ride to the airport with Logan, which made him more than a little uneasy after his recent tree stunt.

Evan and Ms. Munroe were spending the holidays with their relatives in New York City and as it was on their way, they gave Christy and Kitty a ride to the train station. While they were waiting for their train, Ms. Munroe took a few minutes to remind the two of them to keep out of mischief during their trip and to be careful. Christy got the impression that the latter part of that was directed more at her than at Kitty, and not for the first time she wondered why everyone was suddenly so concerned about her. Evan, who was only slightly older than Christy, had also assumed an uncharacteristically serious attitude and advised her to 'watch her back' while she was home. They waited with the girls right up until they'd boarded their train and then waved goodbye to them from the platform as the train pulled away. The girls waved back from their window until they were out of sight, and then settled themselves in for their long journey.

For the first little while, Christy simply sat quietly and looked out the window at the landscape passing by. Ever since she'd mentioned that she'd decided to go home for the Thanksgiving holidays, everyone at the Institute seemed to develop all kinds of serious concern for her. She got the impression that everyone felt she needed to be guarded or something and finally commented on it to Kitty.

Kitty simply shrugged and replied that since Christy was the newest and youngest member of the team that everyone felt a little more protective of her. She also pointed out that despite the training she's had so far, she's hardly had any real experience in dealing with trouble compared to everyone else. Christy conceded that she had a point and decided not to dwell on it any further. There were much better things to occupy her mind with, and lots of time to hang out and chat with Kitty in the meantime.

For the first few hours Christy and Kitty played cards and chatted about all sorts of things — or more accurately, Kitty did most of the chattering and Christy did most of the listening. Kitty sometimes got so caught up in whatever story she was telling that once she'd forgotten herself and used her mutant ability when she'd paused to retrieve something from her travel bag. She was a little embarrassed when Christy gave her an urgent wave and pointed to her hand while it was in the process of pulling something directly through the bag’s exterior. Fortunately, no one nearby noticed and they'd both enjoyed a bit of a giggle over it.

A while later, Christy was walking back to her seat after a trip to the washroom when she passed by a nice-looking couple who were traveling with their daughter, who Christy guessed was around six or seven years old. She slowed her walk as she noticed that the little girl had a few tears in her eyes and tried to listen to what her parents were saying to her. Apparently the little girl had a portable game with her that her parents had given to her to help pass the time during the trip. From what Christy had been able to overhear, the little girl's father had forgotten to properly charge the batteries for the unit and unfortunately there weren't any batteries for sale on board the train. Her father was therefore apologizing profusely to her and trying his hardest to cheer her up.

Christy looked at the little girl's sad expression and her heart went out to her. Then, an idea occurred to her -- one which she guessed that Professor Xavier probably wouldn't approve of, but she found herself unable to resist. It was such a small thing, anyways, and it would mean so much to that little girl. She casually turned back towards them and gently cleared her throat.

"Excuse me," she said politely. "I'm sorry for intruding, but I was just passing by and I couldn't help overhearing. Perhaps I can be of some help with your daughter's toy?"

The look of surprise on the young girl's parents was nothing compared to the wide-eyed hopeful look from the little girl.

"I think I have some spare batteries in my bag back at my seat that are already charged. If you like, I can exchange them with yours so your daughter's toy will operate."

The little girl's father looked up at her gratefully.

"That's very kind of you, Miss. If you're absolutely sure that you don't mind parting with them, we would be incredibly grateful!"

She assured them that it would be no trouble at all. The girl's father then removed the batteries from his daughter's game and handed them back to Christy.

When she got back to her seat, she picked up her own travel bag and pretended to rummage around in it while at the same time checking to see if anyone nearby was watching her. Other than Kitty, who was looking at her with a puzzled expression on her face, no one seemed to be paying any attention to her.

After one last careful glance around them, Christy held each of the batteries between her thumb and index fingers of each hand. She then drew upon a smaller portion of her energy that she was currently storing and used her mutant power to begin recharging them.

As the familiar blue-green aura began to form around her hands, Kitty quickly looked anxiously around to see if anyone nearby had noticed.

"Christy!" She said in an urgent whisper, "what the hell are you doing?!"

"Just a small favour for a little girl a few rows back," she answered quietly.

She paused as she sensed the current storage level of the batteries and frowned when she realized that it was charging far too slowly. She was concerned that if she took too long, the girls' parents might decide to head back their way to find her. Thanks to her extensive training at the Institute, she knew how to modify the amplitude of the energy wavelengths she was using so she could finish the job at a much faster rate, and without burning out the batteries in the process. Unfortunately, the level of concentration she'd need to do it was liable to cause more than just her hands to glow.

"Listen Kitty," Christy said quickly, "I'll explain everything to you in a few minutes. Until then, what I'm about to do might make me a little... noticeable. This will only take me a few seconds, so please keep an eye out and warn me if you see anyone coming."

Christy then closed her eyes and concentrated. Almost immediately, her entire body was completely surrounded by the soft, blue-green glow.

"Oh shit!" Kitty said and started to look around nervously.

She got out of her seat to stand in the aisle — partially to get better warning of anyone's approach, but mostly to obstruct Christy from view while she did whatever it was that she was doing. As she stepped into the aisle, she nearly tripped over something down by her feet. When she looked down, she was surprised to see a wide-eyed little girl staring back at her, or more to the point, slightly past her towards where Christy was sitting.

"Umm... hi," Kitty began awkwardly while she tried to pretend that there was nothing out of the ordinary going on right behind her. "You must be the little girl that my friend was just telling me about."

Upon hearing this, Christy immediately opened her eyes and her aura quickly disappeared. She looked at the little girl, who simply stared back at her with something of an amazed expression on her face.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, the little girl's tiny voice finally asked, "Are... are you an angel?"

Christy looked up at Kitty for some sort of visual cue, but Kitty only shrugged helplessly. Not knowing what to say, she looked back at the little girl, who had proceeded to climb into Kitty's empty seat.

"What makes you think that, sweetie?" Christy asked innocently.

"I've heard in stories that angels are really nice, very beautiful and sometimes have a glow around them, like you."

This could definitely be a problem, Christy thought to herself.

While she was certain that no one would believe a girl as young as this if she ever told anyone about what she'd seen, she also didn't want to screw around with whatever the girl's religious beliefs might be. She recalled reading somewhere that children can be far more logical and understanding of things than adults tend to give them credit for, so for a lack of anything better to say she decided that she'd tell the girl the truth — albeit a watered-down version of it.

"No sweetie, I'm not an angel. I'm an ordinary person just like you."

"But... how come you were just glowing like that?"

"That's kind of hard to explain. Can you keep a secret?"

The little girl nodded her head enthusiastically.

"I didn't exactly tell your Daddy the truth," Christy began carefully. "I don't really have any other batteries. What I'm really doing is putting the energy back into your batteries so your game will work again."

The little girl looked quizzically at the batteries in Christy's hands and then met her gaze again.

"How can you do that without plugging them in?"

"Well, that's the secret part. I'll show you, but remember you promised not to tell anyone."

Behind the little girl, Kitty was shaking her head disapprovingly but continued to keep watch down the aisle.

"Hurry up, Jynx!" she whispered urgently, falling back to using Christy's codename. "Her parents are bound to come looking for her any second!"

It was a standard precaution amongst members of the X-men that they would use their special codenames when any of their mutant powers were being used in public. Already, this was a little more 'public' a display of her powers than Christy had originally intended, but she'd deal with that after she took care of the situation with the little girl. She then closed her eyes and concentrated once more on finishing the task of recharging the batteries. The glow of her aura returned briefly for a few moments and then disappeared just as quickly.

"There," she said as she handed the batteries back to the little girl. "All done."

"How did you do that?" The girl asked with a touch of awe in her voice.

Here goes nothing, Christy thought to herself.

She took a deep breath and then continued in what she’d hoped was a serious enough tone in her voice.

"It's a special talent that I have, but it's a secret talent. Most people don't know about it and I could be in a lot of trouble if anyone did. If the wrong people found out, they'd take me away so they could try to find out how I'm able to do it. If that happened, I might never see any of my family or friends again. That's why it's very important that you never tell about what you saw, okay?"

Christy held her breath in anticipation while the little girl thought about what she'd just been told. After a brief but agonizing silence, the little girl solemnly nodded her head.

"Okay, I understand. I won't tell."

The little girl paused and continued looking into Christy's eyes. She then looked up at Kitty and back to Christy again.

"There's more people like you, aren't there?" she asked. "Like your friend here. She's like you too, right?"

Kitty abruptly turned around and looked down at the girl in shock, which only served to confirm the little girl's insightful assumption. She crouched down so that she was eye-level with the girl and gently took hold of one of her small hands.

"Yes, we both have secret talents." Kitty answered quietly. "Mine is a little different from my friend's, but I'd also be in the same kind of trouble if anyone ever found out."

By means of a quick demonstration, Kitty phased the little girl's hand so they could both pass their hands through the arm-rest of the chair and then back out again. As soon as she released the little girl's hand, she giggled and clapped her hands together with delight.

"In a few years from now, when you get a little older," Kitty said to the little girl, "you might discover one day that you also have your own special talent. Hopefully if and when that day comes, you might not have to keep it a secret like we do."

Both Kitty and Christy sensed that they'd gotten the point across and the little girl understood the importance of keeping their secret. Kitty lightened the mood a little by changing the subject and chatted the little girl up about other things. Christy found it both surprising and amusing that the little girl seemed to be almost as much as a chatterbox as Kitty was.

A few minutes later, the little girl's mother came over to see what her daughter had been up to. Christy introduced Kitty to her and they exchanged brief pleasantries.

"Look Mommy!" the little girl said as she showed her the batteries. "Now I can play my game, right?"

"Yes dear, you be sure to thank these nice girls for trading their batteries with us."

The little girl and her mother both thanked them again and then politely excused themselves to return to their seats. As they were walking back down the aisle, the little girl looked back over her shoulder at Christy and Kitty and gave a conspiratorial wink.

As soon as they were out of sight, Kitty breathed a sigh of relief. She sat back down in her seat and the two of them looked at each other in silence for a few moments.

"You know Christy," Kitty said quietly, finally breaking the silence. "We're probably going to have some explaining to do when we get back to the mansion on Sunday night. Cerebro is bound to have picked something up on both of us just now."

Cerebro was the name of the highly advanced computer system back at the Institute that the faculty used for a number of complex research projects studying human mutations. One of its primary tasks was to scan the world through a variety of satellite uplinks for mutant power signatures. That was how the professor had initially discovered Christy as well as most of the other residents of the Institute. Kitty's brief use of her mutant ability wasn't likely to cause too much concern back at the mansion because she was typically very subtle with its use and usually went unnoticed unless she did something really obvious right in front of someone. Christy's ability, on the other hand, was often quite a bit more noticeable than Kitty's.

"I know. I guess we'll have to deal with that when we get back. I know I probably shouldn't have done it, but I couldn't help it. It's a long trip and that little girl was so unhappy..."

Kitty reached into her bag and retrieved her emergency COM link to verify that it was still turned on. Each member of the X-team often carried one of these when they were away from the Institute for extended periods, but it was only to be used in emergencies.

"Well, they'd have tried to contact us by now if they thought there was a problem, so that's a good sign, I suppose."

She returned the COM link to her bag and added, "just the same, it's probably a good idea for us to keep a low profile for the rest of the trip."

Christy couldn't argue with that logic, so they changed the subject to more mundane topics. As usual, Kitty could always be counted on as a limitless source of distracting conversation. Within minutes, they were laughing together and sounding pretty much what anyone would expect of two young teenage girls traveling together. Neither of them suspected that although they appeared to be normal teenagers, they were both being carefully observed by someone nearby who knew otherwise.

Hiding in plain sight was one of Mystique's many talents, for she had many years of experience in espionage. Add to that her mutant ability to shapeshift and she was virtually impossible to detect unless she actually wanted to be noticed. She took a noted interest in the incident with the little girl and continued to watch for anything else she could use. She still didn't understand why Magneto had such an interest in this new student of Xavier's, but for the time being she would do as he'd ordered.

---

By late-afternoon, the train had finally arrived in Battle Creek, Michigan. It was the closest stop along their route to Lansing where her mother would be waiting to pick her up. Christy was so giddy about finally seeing her mother again that she could hardly keep still in her seat.

"Oh wow! I can't believe that I'm almost home!" Christy bubbled with excitement.

Kitty had gotten uncharacteristically quiet during the ride through the city limits, but she gave her friend a warm, reassuring smile just the same.

"I'm sure that you and your Mom are going to have a great time together," she said quietly.

Christy eyed her quizzically for a moment.

"What's wrong, Kitty? Is there something bothering you?"

"Well... kinda. I guess I'm just a little worried about you, that's all," she replied.

Christy sighed wistfully and then leaned over to give her friend a reassuring hug.

"Listen Kitty, I really do appreciate the concern... but honestly, I'll be just fine. A lot has happened in the last couple of months and I'm not the same person that I was before..."

She paused as she released her friend from the embrace and gestured down at her attire.

"...in more ways than one!"

She winked slyly at Kitty, which finally broke her friend out of her sombre mood.

"Well, be sure that you keep your emergency COM link with you all the time, just in case."

"I will. I promise."

The train, which had been slowly coasting along the tracks as it was pulling into the station, now came to a gentle stop. For a moment, neither teen could think of anything to say so they simply looked at each other in silence. Finally, Kitty leaned forward to give her friend one last hug and wished her good luck.

As she was disembarking, Christy caught sight of her own reflection in one of the windows. Her winter clothes were still a touch on the androgynous side, but there was no mistaking her feminine appearance. She had learned her lessons of proper hair care from Jean very well, and as a result her hair was now silkier and shinier than it had ever been. Its auburn shade contrasted nicely with the soft, pastel-coloured beanie she wore and fanned out down her back slightly as it partially covered the top of her backpack. With her matching gloves and scarf set, she had every appearance of being the petite young teenage girl she had long since accepted that she truly was. She was still in the process of getting to know that girl, but she definitely liked the person she saw.

With a quick shake of her head, she snapped herself out of her momentary trance and stepped down onto the train platform. She walked back along the length of the passenger car to wave goodbye to Kitty, who enthusiastically returned it, and then she headed toward the passenger lounge where she knew her mother would be waiting for her.

As Christy came through the door, she saw her mother in an instant. Her mother was looking around at the various passengers that had disembarked along with her. Christy saw her mother's gaze sweep over her briefly, but then returned to searching the faces of the other passengers.

Have I really changed that much? She thought to herself.

With a gentle smile forming on her face, she walked slowly towards her mother and held in check the compelling urge she’d felt to run and throw her arms around her. As she approached, her mother took another brief glance at her and started to return to her scanning of the crowd when her eyes suddenly snapped back to Christy with an incredulous stare.

"Oh my..." her mother said as she raised a trembling hand to her mouth. "Chris, is that really you?"

"Hi Mom," Christy answered softly. "It's me, but I prefer to be called Christy now."

"Christy..." her mother said in a quiet voice as she tested the sound of the new name. Of course, she'd already known that her child had been using that name since Professor Xavier had kept her well-informed of her child's progress at the Institute. This, however, was her first opportunity to actually use it face-to-face with her neo-daughter. She then reached out and gathered her child into a tight embrace as a few tears formed in her eyes.

"Oh, my baby... I've missed you so much! I'm so glad that you're finally home!"

"I've missed you too, Mom," Christy answered in a choked whisper.

For Christy, the embrace had dispelled a background fear that, until that moment, she hadn't even been consciously aware of. The fear that her mother might reject her for some reason now that she'd changed into what she knew was her true self. Instead, she could feel her mother's intense love for her flowing out of her and washing any remaining doubts from her soul. She knew then that she really had come home.

That evening, Christy bubbled with enthusiasm as she talked about her experiences of living at the Xavier Institute in Bayville. Starting from the instant they'd gotten into their car at the train station, Christy had been chattering away with a speed that even Kitty would have been impressed with. As much as she wanted to divulge everything, she had already decided earlier that there were some parts of her life in Bayville that would be best left unsaid.

Generally speaking, the immediate family members of Xavier's students all knew the truth about the existence of mutants -- with Jean's family being among the few exceptions. As such, Professor Xavier left it up to each student how much information they wanted to share with their respective families. Although he didn't come right out and say so, everyone knew that he had reservations about disclosing the existence of the X-men and any of their related training. As a result, everyone tended to be pretty tight-lipped about that aspect of the Xavier Institute. Besides that, Christy had no desire to worry her mother needlessly, so she stuck to the more 'safer' topics.

"It's just so amazing there, Mom!" Christy said again for the umpteenth time.

"They're all such fantastic people there! Even after living there for just two months, I feel like I've known them for years!"

Christy's mother smiled as she continued to listen to her child chatter away. It was almost as if the girl was trying to condense the last couple of months into words and was relaying them as fast as she could. Eventually, her over-enthusiastic child began to calm her rapid speech down to the point where her mother was finally able to actually get a few words in.

"I've spoken to Professor Xavier several times by telephone about your progress there and both he and I are very pleased. Your school grades have never been higher, and this is the happiest that I've seen you in a long time."

She paused as she considered the astounding physical changes in her son since she'd last seen him. Professor Xavier had kept her fully informed about what had been discovered about Chris' unique biological makeup, so she knew that in truth her son was really her daughter. They had talked at length about the realignment of Chris' gender identity and they were both amazed at how well Chris had adjusted to his now-female psyche. Over the past few months, she'd read a number of case studies about parents with transsexual children. She'd even seen several examples of 'before’ and ‘after' photos, but nothing could compare to the image of her own child before her. Chris had always been a bit effeminate as a little boy, but now there was no denying the teenage girl that he'd become.

"And how about the... other things?" Christy’s mother asked delicately as she considered the other unique aspects of her child. "Your... mutant abilities? How do you feel about them now?"

"Much better now, Mom," Christy answered without hesitation

By means of a quick demonstration, Christy unlocked some of her energy and formed her blue-green aura around herself. She then held up her hand and beckoned for her mother to hold her own palm up against it. She hesitated only briefly and then gently pressed her hand against Christy's.

Nothing happened.

"I've learned how to focus and control the energy that I collect," Christy explained softly. "It was really hard at first because I was so afraid of it. But the single most important thing that helped me overcome my fear was realizing that I wasn't a freak and that I wasn't alone. Once I got past that, the rest was simply a matter of practicing. I can use the energy in many different ways, but most importantly... I've learned how to keep it from hurting others."

As she'd said the last part, Christy's voice had trailed off into a barely audible whisper. The memory of the one time she'd accidentally hurt her mother was what had made her decide to go to the Xavier Institute in the first place. While she had long since accepted that it had been an accident, it still brought a couple of tears to her eyes whenever she thought about it. Without a word, Christy's mother drew her child into her arms in a reassuring embrace and gently stroked her hair.

"Dear... you really need to stop fretting about that. We both know that it wasn't your fault, and it wasn't even all that serious," Her mother told her in a soft but firm voice.

After another minute or so, they both separated and Ms. McGee shook her head slightly in amazement as she looked back at her beautiful child.

"What's the matter, Mom?" Christy asked.

Wordlessly, Mrs. McGee reached over and gently caressed Christy's cheek.

"I've missed you so much over these past few months that I still can't believe you're finally home... even if it is only for a few days," she said with a deep sigh.

The thought of her child's inevitable departure at the end of the holiday weekend saddened her, but she was determined to enjoy every moment until then as much as possible. Her eyes brightened as another thought occurred to her. She got up off the sofa and beckoned for Christy to follow her.

"I have a surprise for you, dear. Grab your things and come upstairs."

As soon as they'd gotten inside their house, there was so much that she'd wanted to tell her mother that she didn't even want to pause long enough to bring her knapsack up to her room, so she'd simply dropped it in the front hallway. After she'd hastily retrieved her bag, she rushed up the stairs to where her mother was waiting just outside of her bedroom door.

At least... she thought it was her bedroom door. As soon as her mother had turned on the lights, Christy was a momentarily puzzled and wondered if they'd walked into someone else's room. It quickly dawned on her that it was her room, but it had been significantly re-decorated.

The first most noticeable thing was the large canopy bed that stood where her old one used to be. Next to it was a matching vanity table and chair set which occupied the place where her desk once sat. Her old dresser had been replaced by a slightly larger but shorter one that was painted in a soft ivory color. The entire room had been re-painted in a sort of lavender theme that matched the coverings for her new bed and she could even detect a slight scent of lilac in the air. It was a very beautiful girl’s room.

Christy had stood frozen in the doorway for so long that her mother started to worry that she might have actually pushed her child a bit too much with so drastic a change to her room. During one of her recent telephone conversations with Professor Xavier, he had recommended that she help reinforce her child's female persona while she was home for the holidays. She had started with only a few subtle changes to the room, but as she progressed she found that her enthusiasm seemed to take off and she ended up changing everything from the carpet to the curtains.

"Don't... don't you like it Christy?" Her mother asked nervously.

Christy turned to her mother with happy tears in her eyes and threw her arms around her.

"Oh Mom... I love it! Thank you so much!"

She held onto her child tightly, and with joyful tears forming in her own eyes, she softly replied,

"Welcome home, my daughter!"

---

To be continued in:

Chapter Two - Welcome Home, Christy!

---

Author's Foreword:

A combination of real-life priorities and my muse influencing me towards other writing projects has caused this story to remain on indefinite hiatus. Though this story hasn't been abandoned, I must apologize to my readers who have been waiting so long to see the next part of Christy's tale. I'm hoping that my muse will be a little more flexible in the new year, but for now... here's an early seasonal gift to you all.

Official Disclaimer:
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.

The author maintains creative ownership of the story itself and grants BigCloset TopShelf permission to post it online for free viewing by this site's visitors.

Author Note: Please message me for permission before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

---

After their heart-warming reunion of the night before, Christy and her mother were content to spend quality mother-daughter time together. Being that it was Thanksgiving Day, they stayed at home and spent a lot of time going through Ms. McGee's wardrobe. Both Christy and her mother wanted to get a feel for the sorts of clothing that they would be looking for when they went on their planned marathon shopping expedition the following day. Christy's Mom was so thrilled to see how well the female clothing suited her new daughter that she had Christy try on practically everything she owned.

In the early afternoon, they both descended upon the kitchen dressed in similar dress-and-apron outfits and spent the next few hours preparing dinner together. Ms. McGee noted with interest that in the past Chris had often helped in the kitchen wherever he was asked but hadn't really shown any interest in it. As Christy, her daughter now literally attacked every task she was giving with great enthusiasm. Her mother was amazed with the speed at which Christy could cut vegetables. It wasn't until she occasionally noticed the faint aura of blue-green light around her that she'd realized that her daughter was probably tapping her mutant abilities to move so quickly. And Christy hadn't even noticed until her mother had pointed it out to her. She blushed a bit and then for the rest of the afternoon she seemed to be making a conscious effort to slow down.

Though it was only the two of them sharing the holiday dinner together, when they finally sat down to eat, Christy was humbled by how much she found herself to be genuinely thankful for. In only a few short months, her previous unhappy life had been transformed into one filled with never-ending wonder and adventure. Where there had been scorn and rejection from others in the past, now she had true friends who not only cared for her but also accepted her for who she was. Her mother had always loved her, but now that love had become even more special since her homecoming and their bond seemed even stronger then it ever had been before.

Thus, when it came time to say grace, both mother and neo-daughter shed tears of happiness when Christy revealed those feelings aloud. For the McGee household, it truly was a time of Thanksgiving.

---

The next morning, both mother and neo-daughter enjoyed a quick breakfast before heading out for their long overdue mother-daughter shopping extravaganza.

Dressed in a stylish blouse and a pair of form-fitting denim jeans that displayed her curves nicely, Christy wanted to look as feminine as she felt. She had been mildly disappointed that the weather had turned too cold to get away with wearing a skirt, but after checking her appearance in the bathroom mirror she was satisfied just the same.

After they drove to the mall, Christy and her mother spent the morning exploring every clothing store they could find. Christy had begun to develop a little fashion sense thanks to the other girls of the Xavier Institute and some of their previous shopping excursions. She was eager to learn more about her mother's style and tastes. Sure, she'd gone shopping with her mother plenty of times in the past as Chris, but this time the feeling was almost magical. For her mother's part, she was probably enjoying the experience even more than Christy was. Together, they'd made several purchases -- including a few matching outfits -- and would repeatedly make trips back to their car to pack everything inside. By the early afternoon when they'd finally stopped for lunch, Christy found herself wondering how much of her new wardrobe she was going to be able to carry back to Bayville with her and how much she'd have to leave behind until her next visit home.

After lunch they had just finished browsing what had to have been the 7th or 8th shoe store when Christy spotted a certain establishment that she'd just as soon never have seen again. It was the electronics shop where she'd been attacked by a certain unpleasant, mutant-hating store manager. She glanced over at her mother nervously, but before she managed to vocalize her thoughts, her mother saw what she'd been looking at and a thoughtful expression formed on her face.

"That reminds me," she said to Christy, "I'd never gotten you a proper 'going away to school' gift when you'd departed so suddenly for Bayville. Maybe we should look into getting you a notebook computer for your studies?"

With that, she grasped her daughter's hand and started to lead her towards the store. Christy tried to gently pull her mother back and lead her away.

"Er, maybe it'd be better if we tried to shop somewhere else, Mom," Christy said nervously.

It occurred to her that although she'd told her mother the story of what had happened here just over two months ago, she hadn't actually told her mother which store was involved.

She leaned closer to her mother and said, "Do you remember that problem I'd told you about that I once had with a store manager? Well, let's just say that they don't like umm... my kind in that store."

With the other mall patrons around, it was a little too public a place for her to get into any more details and she hoped that her mother took the hint. She did, but unfortunately when the realization hit her, she started to overreact.

"Is this the place you'd told me about, darling?" Her mother asked in what was probably a little more volume than she'd intended.

The angry tone in her voice was apparent to anyone who happened to hear it. They'd stopped just in front of the store's entrance and she glared at some of the store employees that were in view.

"This is where that ignorant prick works? Can you point him out to me dear? I believe I would like to have a little chat with that gentleman."

Christy tensed as she saw her mother's temper start to gear up. She started to back away from the store's entrance and tried to gently coax her mother to come with her. Her training at the Xavier Institute had conditioned her to be cautious as well as to avoid any situations where being a mutant might be called into issue. While she wasn't about to start displaying her mutant powers in public, there was still a good chance that the store employees might recognize her. Undoubtedly a few of them remembered well what had happened the last time she was there.

"Come on Mom, it's not worth it. Please, let's just go, okay?"

Christy quietly pleaded with her mother while she continued to gently pull her away from the front of the store. Ms. McGee looked into her daughter's eyes and paused for a moment before her anger subsided. She gave a deep sigh and then nodded her head.

"I'm sorry dear, you're right of course. Well, that store certainly won't be seeing any of my business in the future -- or that of any of my friends either."

Christy was relieved that they'd managed to avoid a potentially disruptive scene, but her relief was only temporary. Just as the two McGee women had turned around and begun to walk away, Christy accidentally bumped into someone who was walking rapidly towards the store with a cup of coffee in his hand. Though the impact was relatively light, it was enough to cause the person to spill a little of his coffee onto himself and he cursed loudly.

"What the F... why the hell don't you watch where you're goin', ya idiot?!"

Christy took a step back and began to apologize to the guy but suddenly froze when she looked up into the face of someone she’d hoped she wouldn't ever see again, or at least not so soon. It was none other than Robbie.

He was wearing the uniform shirt and name tag of the electronics store, clearly indicating that he now worked there. As he'd been expelled from school for attacking her months before, it made sense that he had time for a job now. She thought wryly that he and that store's bastard of a manager probably got along quite well with each other.

"McGee?!" Robbie exclaimed as he stared incredulously at the person before him.

"Holy shit! The little mutie freak is back in town!"

Christy winced at his words and glanced around nervously as several nearby mall patrons suddenly looked over at them.

"I can’t wait to finish what we ... urk!!!"

Robbie suddenly gasped as he found himself mere inches from Ms. McGee's furious glaring eyes. For the moment, he hadn't seemed to notice Christy’s mother standing right next to them as he had been focusing all of his malevolent attention on her child. That changed quickly when she grabbed him by his necktie and yanked him around to face her just as he was about to shout more of his verbal abuse at Christy.

"So," Ms. McGee said through clenched teeth as she grabbed the knot on Robbie's necktie with her other hand and yanked it viciously tight. "You're that vicious little bastard who attacked my daughter?"

Robbie gave a strangled gasp and dropped his coffee onto the floor. He frantically reached up with both hands to free himself from Ms. McGee's grip on his tie but instead fell to his knees when she kneed him in the groin.

Christy was stunned by her mother's actions and could only stare with her mouth hanging open while her mother pressed her advantage. Though taken by surprise, Christy knew that Robbie was a tough brute and could quickly turn the confrontation around. She quickly snapped herself out of her temporary trance and started to coax her mother to release him so that they could get out of there. Already they'd attracted far too much attention to themselves and that was precisely what she'd hoped to avoid.

After a few moments of throttling Robbie with his tie and hissing expletives at him which Christy was surprised that her mother even knew, Ms. McGee finally came back to her senses and released her hold on him. With her anger somewhat spent, she suddenly became aware of the gathering crowd of mall patrons around them and decided that it would probably be better to leave as her daughter was frantically urging her to.

Glancing over her shoulder, Christy winced as she saw the manager of the electronics store come out to see what the commotion was all about. He took one look at his employee on the floor and then looked up at Christy and her mother. For a moment, he had a curious expression on his face which rapidly changed to one of recognition, surprise and then finally anger.

"You!!" he snarled through his teeth at Christy. "You're that mutant freak from before! Now you're even attacking my employees!"

His face turned a bright shade of red and he started to stalk menacingly towards Christy. Though she wasn't anywhere near as afraid of him as she had been that first time, she felt that retreat would be the better course of action at the moment. It also didn't help that he and Robbie had just announced to everyone within earshot that she was a mutant, and the last thing she needed was to be caught in some situation where she'd be forced to prove it.

"Time to go, Mom!" she said urgently and quickly led her mother by the arm as they fled the scene.

Since running would look too suspicious, they maintained a brisk walking pace as they withdrew from the scene before the confrontation could escalate. Fortunately, the surrounding crowd of people was a bit too stunned by the scene they'd witnessed to even consider stopping them from leaving. Mall security had probably already been notified, and a confrontation with them could lead to a bunch of questions that Christy wouldn't be able to answer.

Christy and her mother decided to take a roundabout way through the mall corridors before heading back to where they'd parked their car. Thanks to the spectacle in front of the electronics store, they wanted to first ensure that they didn't have an entourage or any mall security following them before they went outside.

Since they’d draw less attention individually as opposed to being together, at her mother's urging they temporarily split up to further throw off anyone who might try to follow them. After twenty minutes of occasionally ducking into stores to see if anyone had been tailing her, Christy met up again with her mother. They quickly left the concourse via an exit on opposite side of the plaza from their car. As they looked around to get their bearings, they discovered that they'd exited into what looked like the shipping & receiving docks for the mall which, due to the holiday weekend, had no activity at the moment.

They both breathed a mutual sigh of relief to finally be away from the crowds and outside in relative peace and quiet. Their brief calm was quickly interrupted by a series of angry shouts from behind them.

They both turned around to see that several of the electronics store’s staff had just come through the same exit from the mall. Most notably Robbie, the store’s manager and a few of the other salesmen. The group quickly fanned out and encircled the two McGee women, cutting off any opportunities for retreat. They slowly rotated around their trapped prey and gradually tightened their circle to draw closer.

Christy quickly took stock of the situation and noted the angry looks on all of their faces. That, unfortunately, was normal. What wasn't normal was that now they were all wearing what appeared to be thick, insulated gloves that extended midway up their arms almost to their elbows. On top of that, each of them was aiming small black devices at them that resembled small guns. Through her mutant senses, Christy could feel the high electrical charge that each was carrying and immediately deduced that they were probably stun guns. Thanks to the nature of her mutant abilities the stun guns didn't present any danger to her, but the fact that their opponents were also wearing those gloves indicated that they were prepared to raise the game to a physical fight as well.

Fortunately Mr. Logan had been training her well back in Bayville with the rest of the team. Additionally, after her infamous encounter with Principal Darkholme’s ‘Brotherhood Boys’, she had confidence that she could prevail against this group of normal humans provided that she kept her wits about her. They’d be a bit of a challenge for her by herself, but unfortunately she wasn’t alone. Now her mother was at risk as well and she had to make sure that her mother didn’t get caught up in the fight that was about to begin.

"Mom, I'm going to try to keep them busy while you get out of here. I won't risk you getting hurt because of me." Christy said quietly but firmly to her mother.

"Christy, no! There's too many of them for you to deal with. Besides, they're probably just trying to scare us. They wouldn't dare attack two unarmed women," her mother answered back.

"Mom.. they already know that I'm a mutant. By now they either think that you are too or they just don't care. You did try to strangle one of them, after all."

With that, Christy turned her attention towards the manager.

"I'm the one you want, so let my mother leave. There's no need for her to get involved with this!"

Several of their opponents just laughed in response. The manager growled back at her.

"If she's your mother, then she’s probably another mutie freak like you! And if she's not... well, maybe we'll just teach her a lesson for not drowning you like a rat when you were young as she should have, you mutant filth!"

"Besides," said a voice from behind them that Christy knew came from Robbie, "I got me a score to settle with that bitch, and here's some payback!"

In that instant, Christy heard and sensed Robbie's stun gun as it fired its electrodes. To her horror, she suddenly realized that she wasn't the target.

Before she could react, her mother let out a short, painful scream and then collapsed limply to the pavement. Christy was momentarily frozen in disbelief at the sight of her mother on the ground. She quickly knelt down next to her and verified that she was still breathing.

"You're partly right, freak," said the store manager with a maniacal laugh. "We aren't really interested in her, but we don't need any witnesses to the fun we're about to have with you. It’s too bad you freaks are still covered by the law, but that's gonna change real soon!"

The manager, who had circled around to stand closer to Robbie, continued to monologue like some two-bit villain from a bad sci-fi movie.

"The world's going to know about you freaks soon enough. This government cover-up that keeps you hidden won't last forever, and when the word gets out to enough people, we'll be able to cleanse the world of mutant filth like you! After we’re finished dealing with you here, we'll have what's left of you as proof of what you are and maybe then everyone will finally see the truth. They won't be calling us crazy anymore!"

Christy slowly rose to her feet with her hands clenched tightly at her sides. Her anger that had been building up had boiled over into rage over what they'd just done to her mother. She stood before them with her head bowed as she fought to maintain her self control.

"You're crazy anyways. Proof of mutants isn't going to stop anyone from saying that you're nuts. You people are psychotic." She answered in a quiet, icy voice.

"Brave talk, freak!" Robbie snarled in reply. "I don't see any of your mutie freak pals here to save your ass this time!"

"Yes..." Christy agreed, in a soft, faraway voice. "That is too bad... for you. If they were here, they would hold me back from dishing out the world of hurt that I'm about to unload on you."

Her voice changed back to its previous quiet, icy tone as she finally raised her head to look straight at the manager and Robbie.

"Let's dance," she said with a menacing glare.

They had been slowly advancing towards her and suddenly froze in their tracks as she displayed a pair of glowing eyes at them. Instantly, a bright blue-green aura of light surrounded her. She assumed a martial arts stance and electricity bean to arc angrily from her fingertips. In moments, she'd gone from a somewhat harmless-looking female to something extremely intimidating, and it caused everyone to involuntarily back a few steps away from her.

After they'd gained some distance, they seemed to recover some of their resolve and spread out again to surround her on all sides. Since Robbie had already used his stun gun, he backed off a bit and figured he'd let the others try to bring the little freak down before getting in closer. Though he'd only seen the kid use whatever his mutant power was once, his new boss and a few of the other sales guys had told him about how the kid was more dangerous than that. Hence the heavy gloves, as he sure as hell didn't want to end up feeling like he’d stuck his finger in a wall socket when he pounded the crap out of the sissy freak.

As Mr. Logan’s training kicked in, Christy’s mind began to analyze the situation tactically. She guessed that they'd try their ranged attacks on her first, so she calmly held position in the center of their group while she waited for them to try.

She didn't have to wait long, because at a signal from their manager the guys on either side of her simultaneously fired their stun guns at her. With her mutant powers ramped up to their current level, not only could she easily sense the electrical attack as it came in, but her enhanced speed and reflexes enabled her to easily back flip out of the way. The two unfortunate guys who'd discharged their weapons at her had stupidly aligned themselves in each others line of fire and promptly took themselves out of the fight.

Robbie, the manager and the remaining salesman stared at her with dumb looks on their faces for a moment before shaking themselves back to reality. The manager called the remaining salesmen over and whispered some quick instructions to him, after which the two of them separated and then took opposing positions around Christy. This time they took care not to stand in each others line of fire.

The sales guy shot his stun gun at her and again she jumped to avoid the electrodes, but while she was in the air the manager fired his own at her thinking that she’d be unable to dodge it.

Though dodging in mid-air was more difficult, Christy still had more than enough speed and reflexes to do it. Instead of dodging, however, she decided to play up the intimidation factor a bit more and give these idiots a taste of what they were up against. With that thought, she effortlessly caught the manager’s electrodes in one of her hands and absorbed the discharge. She landed perfectly on her feet again and then simply smirked at the astonished expression on the manager's face when she didn't seem to be affected by the stun charge. That expression quickly turned to panic when she sent a blast of energy back down the electrode lines at him and caused his stun gun to explode in his grip. Lucky for him he was wearing those heavy-duty insulator gloves or he might have suffered some lasting damage to his hands.

"Is that all you've got?" Christy asked in a bored tone of voice. "If so, please don't waste any more of my time.”

Her casual dismissal of them had the desired effect of enraging them further. As one, they all charged at her and attempted to dog-pile her. Since they had seen her demonstrate her ability to dodge, they tried to tackle her from different heights. What they didn't expect was for her to rush forward towards the manager before he could completely close distance with her and then use his body as a springboard just as he was diving towards her legs. The impact forced him face-first into the ground and knocked him out cold while she performed a back flip and landed harmlessly behind the pile of three guys. Robbie got up to his feet and noticed that he was the last of his team since he'd landed on the other sales guy and knocked the wind out of him.

"I guess that leaves just you and me doesn't it, Robbie? Are you sure you're up for this, or would you like me to wait for you to call in more of your thugs to help you fight me?"

Robbie growled and slowly advanced toward her. He smacked his fist menacingly into his palm, thinking mistakenly that it would intimidate his opponent.

"I don't need nobody’s help to handle you, freak! I beat your ass before and I'll do it again. After I'm finished with you, this time you won't be runnin’ off to the cops afterwards, neither!"

Christy narrowed her eyes a bit at his words and could easily see the murderous intent in his eyes. For the first time, she found herself wondering about the Professor's ideals of coexistence with humans. It was a noble concept, to be sure, but she found it difficult to imagine being able to reason with someone like Robbie. Was coexistence even possible with people like him? Time will tell if the Professor is right, she supposed. In the meantime, she had this sorry excuse for a human being to deal with.

A small, dark part of her mind briefly considered that the world might be a better place without Robbie in it, but she figured it was just her anger talking and brushed the thought away. Despite what that violent, psychotic son-of-a-bitch had done to her and now to her mother, Christy wouldn't bring herself to kill him. That wasn't the sort of person she’d allow herself to be.

She was going to hurt him, though. Nothing permanent, but she'd see to it that he'd remember this encounter for a long time to come.

"Bring it on then, Robbie," she finally said as she calmly dropped back into a defensive combat stance that Wolverine had taught her.

Due to her thin stature and light body weight, Logan had emphasized aikido in her training regimen as her primary martial art. Though Robbie had more weight and strength than she did, she could use her speed, reflexes and lower center of gravity to maximum advantage. Even though she'd only been training for a couple of months with Logan, he’d had her put in a lot of time on the mats to help her catch up to the others on the team.

Robbie wasn't much more than a clumsy brawler and she was fairly certain that she could probably take him with martial arts alone. Though she could easily just zap the asshole if she had to, it wouldn’t be anywhere near as satisfying.

Being a big, stupid brute as well as sadly predictable, Robbie charged towards her with a punch aimed for her face. She easily dodged around it, seized his wrist and then used his inertia to throw him several feet away where he landed painfully on his back.

That had to hurt, she mused to herself.

After a few moments, Robbie staggered to his feet and charged at her again. This time, he tried to throw a low punch to her stomach. Again, she dodged around his fist, reversed direction and seized his wrist to put him into a painful submission hold. While he was caught off guard by her maneuver, she stepped forward and dropped into a crouch while using his trapped wrist to throw him onto the ground again. That time, it looked like he'd landed on his face.

This went on for a few minutes as Robbie continued to throw clumsy punches and kicks at her, all of which were easily dodged or used to throw him repeatedly and painfully to the ground. He was getting progressively slower after each attack, though it wasn't certain if it was because of injury, fatigue or a combination of both.

Finally, Christy was actually starting to feel sorry for the big idiot since he obviously didn't have the sense to recognize that he was outclassed. She was certain that she'd dislocated one of his shoulders and cracked a few bones in his fingers and wrist joints. She'd decided it was enough, and on his next attack she put his wrist into a painful submission hold which she'd used to force him to the ground. She twisted his arm behind him and braced it against her knee. She then leaned forward to put painful pressure on his arm and held it for a moment before easing off slightly.

"Have you had enough yet, asshole?" She asked him.

He let of a series of alternating curses and painful grunts, which changed to yelps as she added more pressure to his trapped arm.

"Alright, I give! I give!! Lay off!" He yelled frantically.

With that, she released his arm and watched as it fell limply to the ground. Eventually, he rolled over onto his back and painfully pulled himself up into a sitting position against a nearby wall. In the meantime, Christy was relieved to see that at some point during the fighting her mother had recovered from the shock she'd received earlier and was sitting on the ground a few feet away looking at her with a wide-eyed expression on her face.

"Th..that was incredible, sweetheart!" her mother said as she accepted her daughter's assistance to stand up.

"I had no idea that you were so skilled a fighter. Was that part of your mutant powers?"

"Er, no... that was just some of the fighting techniques one of my instructors has been teaching me," She answered with a slight blush. "I'm not very good since I've only been studying for a few months now. I was able to beat Robbie so easily because he's a clumsy and stupid fighter."

Robbie suddenly shouted angrily back at her.

"Bullshit, you little freak! There's no way you could beat me without usin' some kinda mutie ability on me! Well, it won't help you this time!"

Christy had turned around just in time to see Robbie swing at her head with a length of pipe that he must have found lying nearby. She quickly pushed her mother out of the way of the swing and then ducked under it. She opened up some distance between them and then shook her head in disgust.

"You just don't have enough sense to stay down, do you asshole?" Christy snapped back at him.

"Let's see you try to beat me now! You can't use your powers on me if I'm wearing these gloves, and you can't get close enough to pull any of that sneaky Jap-shit on me while I've got this!"

Robbie swung the pipe through the air a few times to emphasize the point.

Christy was through fooling around with this guy. She used her powers to boost her speed and reflexes, and then charged under Robbie's guard. She delivered a point-blank shock to his solar plexus at roughly the same volts that his stun gun had put out.

Robbie collapsed instantly to the ground and managed to croak out, "H..how?"

"Those gloves only protect your hands, you moron. I could've taken you out anytime I wanted to, but I wanted to show you that I don’t need my powers to beat you."

Her expression changed from anger to one of pity and mild disgust.

"I'm done with this, Robbie. Do you hear me? You aren't worth the effort. You're just a pathetic bully... and to think that I actually used to be afraid of you."

She crouched down and extended an electrically-charged, sparking hand towards him and he tried as best as he could to cower away from her.

“You're stupid, Robbie, but even so I hope that at least you'll remember this lesson today. Don't force me to put you down permanently like some rabid dog. You lay off me, and you lay off my family. You got it?"

Despite the residual effects of the shock she'd given him, he managed to give a jerky nod of his head. In addition, Christy noted with some amusement that there was a growing puddle forming underneath him on the pavement. She was satisfied that she'd made her point.

Just as she was heading back over to where her mother was waiting for her, Mall security had finally managed to locate them and came charging into the area. Christy groaned and wondered if the day could possibly get any worse.

"Go, dear!" Her mother quickly said to her.

"I know you're fast, so just run as fast as you can and I'll meet you at home later. Don't worry about me. I'll stay here to talk to the guards and file assault charges against that group of self-righteous pricks," she said as she nodded towards the bodies on the ground that were slowly starting to move again.

Christy hesitated, uncertain about leaving her mother behind.

"It's okay, sweetheart. It'll be okay. Just go!"

"Okay Mom," Christy answered reluctantly. "If you're sure you'll be alright."

She gave her mother a quick hug, then charged herself up and took off in a speedy blur out of the area.

Just to be on the safe side, she'd decided to take a less direct route home to ensure that she wasn't being followed so she plotted an elaborate route through many side streets and a few parks before returning home.

---

When Christy finally returned home, she paused just inside the front door and finally let the floodgates loose. She was glad that she'd been able to keep her emotions in check for as long as she had, but now she was ready for a good cry. She remembered her conversation with Rogue earlier that week and conceded that she'd been right. Trouble does have a way of finding you, whether you go looking for it or not.

Even so, she hadn't imagined that it'd be this bad for her back when she’d originally been looking forward to her first trip home. The Professor's policy on the use of mutant powers in public not withstanding, Christy above all else had hoped that she wouldn't ever have to put on such a display in front of her own mother. She knew that her mother loved her regardless, but such displays were bound to make her mother feel uncomfortable around her and that was something that Christy wanted to prevent as much as possible.

She sat down in the living room and cried for a little while. It was such a great emotional release. Before she became Christy, she'd always been too afraid of the 'boys don't cry' stigma to ever properly take advantage of its therapeutic value. In the past she had a tendency to keep her unhappiness within her, but right around the time that her mutant abilities started to manifest, her emotions became much more difficult to suppress. Although she tried anyways, the other girls at the Institute had noticed this habit right away and chided her about 'still thinking like a boy'. Jean had explained to her that it was unfortunate how boys were conditioned not to show such feelings, because it often puts a large strain on them. Girls tended to be more emotionally balanced overall because it was more acceptable for them to let it all out when they really felt the need.

Already, Christy was starting to feel a lot better. She'd have a good talk with her mother when she got back and then the two of them could enjoy the rest of the long weekend without giving that day's mishap another thought.

Speaking of her mother... where was she? Christy wondered why she was taking so long to return to the house. She waited for a few more minutes before getting up and turning on the living room stereo for company. Over the past few months she'd gotten used to the general boisterous mayhem that was a daily component of life at the Xavier Institute. Now, sitting by herself in an empty house, she really missed it.

Just then, she'd heard her mother's car pull up in the driveway. She waited until her mother had made it into the house before she threw herself at her and gripped her in a tight hug.

"Oh Mom... I'm so sorry!" she said softly.

"Whatever for, dear?" her mother responded.

"For the trouble today... the things that I did. I'm really sorry. I wanted to have a normal visit with you this weekend and the last thing I wanted was to remind you that I'm a mutant."

"Christy dear, don't you worry at all about that. It didn't seem as though you had much choice in the matter. They got what they deserved. Besides, with a little luck those assholes might learn something valuable from the experience and keep their distance in the future."

Christy's brow furrowed a bit at her mother's words. She sounded a little harsher than she usually did, but perhaps she was still feeling some residual anger. After all, she had been on the receiving end of a stun gun attack earlier that afternoon.

Her mother's expression brightened and she changed the subject.

"Well! Let's not spoil the rest of our time together this weekend by dwelling on any of that. Let's unload the car, and then after that.. would you care to help me get dinner started?"

Christy smiled and followed her mother back out to the car. After they'd brought all of that day's purchases back into the house and put them away in their respective closets, Christy joined her mother in the kitchen, where they spent the next hour or so chatting while they prepared dinner together.

Her mother seemed to be really interested in the Xavier Institute and spent a lot of the time asking her all sorts of questions about it. While Christy was certainly eager to answer any of her mother's questions, she was starting to feel a little nervous. Some of the topics were coming uncomfortably close to the nature of the X-men and her own involvement as a member of the team. She had already decided earlier that she would only tell her mother what was necessary, but her mother seemed determined to hear more details. Christy deflected most of those questions by implying that the 'special' training at the Institute was simply a sort of sparring, but sometimes they'd use their mutant abilities to make things interesting. Still, the questions persisted and eventually Christy finally decided a change of topic would be safer.

"Say Mom," Christy said in what she hoped was a joking tone of voice, "I'm supposed to be on a break from the Institute, but I'm starting to feel as though I never left! How about we talk about what your life's been like for awhile? I haven't seen you in two months, after all!"

Her mother simply looked at Christy in silence for a moment with a totally unreadable expression on her face. Finally, she nodded gently and sighed.

"You're right, dear. I'm sorry. We shouldn't waste our time together on such things. It's just that I missed my little girl so much while you were away..."

She sniffed a bit and wiped away a tear that was forming in her eye before continuing.

"I guess I just wanted to know as much as I could about your new experiences at that Institute. Today, when those awful people tried attacking you, I got really worried. I don't know what I'd do if anything was to happen to you..."

Christy smiled back at her reassuringly.

"It's okay Mom. I promise that everything's okay. The professor and the others take really good care of me in Bayville, and they're also teaching me to take care of myself as well."

Her mother gave an amused laugh at that.

"Yes, you certainly proved that this afternoon! I'm quite impressed with how you're able to handle yourself now. Even so, try to remember that no matter how much you seem to grow up, you'll always be Mommy's little girl to me."

For a moment, Christy felt a brief… something, but it passed just as quickly. There was something strange about the way that her mother was talking to her, but Christy couldn't quite put her finger on it. In fact, she’d been having the sense that something was a little off with her mother since she’d arrived home. Perhaps she was still a little unsettled by what she'd witnessed that afternoon.

"... Tomorrow," her mother continued, "I was thinking we could spend the day together here at home. Since it'll be your last full day before going back to Bayville, I thought we could pass the time doing all sorts of fun things together like we did when you were a little girl."

Christy's heart skipped a beat.

Say what?! She thought to herself.

Warning bells started ringing in her head and she gave an uneasy glance at her mother who was working at the kitchen counter with her back turned away from her.

"You're awfully quiet all of the sudden, dear," Christy's mother said as she started to turn around. "Is there anything wr..."

She was interrupted by a powerful electrical jolt that caused her legs to collapse beneath her and she sank to the kitchen floor. She looked up to see her daughter standing over her with a grim expression on her face. She was holding one of her hands outstretched towards her and it was glowing with an intense blue-green light.

"Wh... Why?" She stammered weakly. "What did you do that for?"

"I don't know who you are, but you're not my mother," Christy told her evenly. "Who are you, and why are you here?!"

Her 'mother' started to laugh and she smiled back at Christy with an amused expression on her face. It was a strange, malevolent sounding laugh that gave Christy the creeps.

"Well, well... it seems that you are a lot sharper than I gave you credit for."

The person before her began to change and within moments Christy's 'mother' had become a lean, blue skinned woman dressed in a long, white form-hugging dress with open slits down the sides of the skirt to allow for plenty of movement. A really gaudy outfit, Christy thought to herself. Although she hadn't seen this particular form before, she had a pretty good idea who this mutant was.

"Principal Darkholme," Christy said flatly. "We're a long way from the hallways of Bayville High. Can I assume that you're not here on official school business?"

Mystique rose gracefully to her feet and Christy carefully retreated a few steps to keep some distance between them. She assumed her defensive posture and charged herself up. Her opponent took note of Christy's stance, as well as the bright aura of energy she was generating. Being a highly skilled martial artist herself, she sized up her smaller opponent with a smirk.

"This can go easy or hard, McGee. You caught me by surprise just now, but I'm really curious to see just how much Wolverine has taught you. And you can be sure that I won't be as easy to defeat as those fools you fought earlier today. I hadn't expected getting a workout when I came here, but since you insist..."

She suddenly lunged at Christy and started throwing a rapid series of punches and kicks that her quarry dodged with incredible speed. Mystique intensified her attacks, but she was unable to land a single blow against Christy's mutant-enhanced speed and reflexes. Christy continued to dodge her for a couple of minutes until Mystique began to tire, and then she moved in and landed a hard, open-handed strike to her midriff. Upon contact, she'd also discharged another hefty electrical burst which blasted Mystique out the kitchen door and sent her sprawling out on the dining room floor.

"This can go easy or hard, Mystique," Christy said in a deliberate parody of Mystique's own words.

Under any other circumstances she might even have enjoyed the irony, but Christy was in no mood for playing around at the moment. She wasn't sure how long Mystique had been impersonating her mother, but it was a good bet that she'd hidden her mother away somewhere in order to pull it off.

"I don't know why you're here, but I know you've done something to my mother. I don't want to hurt you, but you'd better tell me where she is or I'm likely to do something that we'll both regret!"

Mystique shifted her form into her Principal Darkholme identity and then slowly pulled herself up from the floor. Her hands were shaking slightly, but whether that was from anger or the residual effect of the last electrical shock, Christy didn't know.

"I guess you aren't quite the little mouse that I thought you were. I see those fools at Xavier's precious Institute have taught you well. Too bad you and the others insist on wasting your potential on Xavier's short-sighted ideals. You saw it yourself when you battled those barbaric simpletons this afternoon. Tell me, McGee... can you honestly see Xavier's notions of a peaceful co-existence working with ignorant fools like them?"

Raven Darkholme drew herself up into the familiar imposing figure that Christy knew well as the strict dictator of Bayville High. Christy almost laughed at such a petty display of intimidation, but she kept her face as expressionless as she could while waiting for Mystique's next move. Mystique might be a certified whacko, but she was also extremely dangerous and was not to be underestimated.

"I'm sure you're aware that not all mutants share Xavier's views about normal humans. In fact, among the mutant population, Xavier and other mutants who think like him are in the minority. The rest of us work towards the promise of a future where all mutants can live without fear of these lesser humans and assume our rightful place as the next dominant species of the planet. You are young, but your mutant power has great potential — a potential that you will surely never realize under the tutelage of that fool Xavier!"

Christy shook her head slightly as she listened to Raven's tirade. She'd heard a much more watered-down version of this mantra a few months back when she'd had her initial encounter with the Brotherhood Boys, but she found it a bit unsettling to hear it spoken so clearly by a much more sophisticated and powerful mutant like Mystique. Although Christy was still pretty new to the world of mutants, she understood enough not to buy into the renegade philosophies of mutants like Mystique and her Brotherhood Boys. Just the same, a mutant like Mystique couldn't be discounted out of hand as she usually did with Lance Alvers and his cohorts. She needed to proceed carefully, especially since she didn't know what or if Mystique had done anything to her mother.

Mystique took advantage of Christy's seeming lapse of attention to jump towards her and launch another series of strikes. Despite the business attire she wore in her Raven Darkholme persona, her hand-to-hand combat skills were still extremely fast. The two combatants continued their high-speed sparring session for another minute or two until Christy disengaged by performing a gymnastic back-flip and landed in a defensive stance on the top of the dining room table.

"I'm sure you didn't come all this way just to give a speech and to spar with me. What do you want, Principal Darkholme?" Christy said evenly.

Raven gave a short laugh and replied, "I work with a group of mutants that has a greater interest in your development than Xavier does. My... 'employer' wants to meet with you personally, so I have come to invite you to attend an interview."

She then jumped up and attempted to sweep Christy's legs out from under her with a spinning kick, but Christy easily dodged by flipping over her. She landed just behind her, where she quickly spun around and hit her opponent with another electrical discharge. Raven immediately collapsed to the floor in a heap and groaned slightly.

"Thanks, but no thanks. You can tell your friends that I'm not interested."

She took a couple of steps back from her and added a little more intensity to the glow around her to make herself look more threatening to her temporarily winded opponent. The effect was mostly for show, but Raven wouldn't know that. Despite the fact that Christy seemed to be holding the upper hand in this little duel, she wasn't going to let her guard down for even an instant.

"...I'm afraid that wasn't a request." Raven answered once she caught her breath.

She slowly rose to her feet and brushed herself off, then withdrew something from her pocket and tossed it towards Christy. She caught it easily and felt her breath catch in her throat as she examined what she held in her hands. She was holding a photograph of her mother, who had been stripped down to her underwear and was lying hogtied and gagged on a bed in what appeared to be a typical hotel room.

"You.... you bitch!" Christy hissed at Raven.

She suddenly lunged at Raven in a blur of motion that would have impressed Pietro Maximoff. Before she could even react, Raven was shoved hard up against the wall and held at bay by a sparking hand that was held mere inches from her face. She noted the lights in the house started to flicker as Christy drew more power from her surroundings.

"WHERE'S MY MOTHER?!!" Christy shouted. "The last few shocks I gave you will seem like nothing compared to what I'll do next if you don't start talking!"

Slowly, Raven formed a wicked-looking grin on her face.

"That won't get you anywhere, McGee. She's hidden away where she isn't likely to be found for days. If you cooperate and come with me, then I'll make a phone call and have her released. If you refuse, well... we can continue our little match here until one of us wins, but it'll only make things worse for your mother."

There was a long, uneasy silence as Christy tried to consider her options. The truth was that she knew she didn't really have any options. She thought back to something that Scott had once told her about Mystique during her first week at the Institute. Mystique was like a kind of serious card player, and one that has no problems with cheating to win. Her mother was Mystique's trump card, and she'd played it well.

She sighed deeply and then took a couple of steps back from Raven. Her aura quickly dimmed out as she brought her energy levels back down and stored them away.

"You win," she said softly.

Raven gave a satisfied nod.

"Smart choice, McGee."

Raven carefully withdrew a small tube from her pocket and cautiously stepped towards Christy. It wasn't until she held it up that Christy could see it was a small aerosol device of some kind. Probably a tranquilizing agent, Christy thought.

"How do I know that you'll keep your word, Mystique?" Christy asked as she eyed the device with a bit of apprehension.

"Our interest is in you, not your mother. As an ordinary human, she has little value to us. We have nothing to gain from harming her, particularly since you'll have no reason to cooperate with us if we did. Now, hold still..."

Raven discharged a gentle mist into Christy's face which took effect almost instantaneously. She collapsed forward into Raven's arms, and was gently lowered to the floor by her sometime-school Principal. Raven casually withdrew a cell phone from her pocket and hit her speed-dial. A deep voice answered almost immediately.

"Well?" The voice asked expectantly.

"I've got her. She saw through me a little faster than I'd anticipated, but even so I'm sure she'll cooperate with us for the time being."

"Good. Bring her at once, then. We have to get her away from there before Xavier and his people can respond -- it's unlikely that Charles would fail to notice all of the recent 'activity' in the area. I'll be waiting for you at the municipal airport."

Without waiting for a response from her, the line went dead and Raven glanced at her phone in mild irritation. She sighed and made another call to the nearby hotel's front desk.

She placed a room-service order to the suite in which she'd left the girl’s mother and asked that the order be brought directly into the room, despite the ‘do not disturb’ sign she’d hung outside. She quickly ended the call and smirked a bit as she thought of the surprise that some hotel employee was about to get when he delivered that order. Maybe he'd jump to the wrong conclusions and assume that particular guest was interested in some kinky 'play' before being untied. Well, if that was the case, she wished her former captive lots of fun.

Shifting back into her guise as Ms. McGee, she gathered Christy up off the floor and quickly carried her out to the car. Magneto was not the sort of man you wanted to keep waiting.

---

---

To be continued in:

Chapter Three - Christy's Challenge

A lonely young boy tries unsuccessfully to cope with recent changes in his life until an odd group of strangers arrive in town and show him that maybe his curse is a blessing after all.

---

Author's Foreword:

I wrote this story several years ago during all of the hype for the release of the Xmen-2 movie. There is also a sequel to this story that I've been working on, but it has been on hiatus for quite awhile with the rest of my writing projects. I do intend to finish it at some point, though.

First of all, I would like to give full credit and express my appreciation for the writing talents of Babs Yerunkle for much of the inspiration that had initially fueled this story. I had thoroughly enjoyed her ongoing X-Man saga, but alas it seems that she too has entered a lengthy hiatus from writing that story. Even so, I still highly recommend it to anyone who has yet to read it.

Similar to her story, I have crafted this tale to be set in the X-men: Evolution universe. Likewise, the time index is similar for the story's characters (ie. at end of Season One), but with a slight difference in that I borrowed the character of Henry McCoy (aka: Beast) and worked him in earlier than he had been introduced in the series. What the hell, this is creative writing after all.

Official Disclaimer:
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.

The author maintains creative ownership of the story itself and grants BigCloset TopShelf permission to post it online for free viewing by this site's visitors.

Author Note: Please message me for permission before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

---

It was turning out to be the fitting end to yet another day where everything just seemed to go wrong. A solitary teenager sat alone on the floor beside his locker in an all but deserted school hallway. The joyful voices of other teenagers could be heard faintly in the distance through a half-open window in a nearby classroom that was being swept out by the janitor. Even as far away from the window as he was, he could smell the distinctive autumn scent of decaying leaves in the air and listened to the distant laughter of his schoolmates as they reveled in their freedom at the end of another school day. He thought wistfully about how much he wanted to be out there among them, but he knew it wasn't to be.

Chris McGee, a surprisingly tiny figure for his 14 years, looked up at the different posters and notices on the bulletin board across from him for the umpteenth time while he waited. He checked his watch to try and figure out how much longer he should remain there. With a sad shake of his head, he sighed deeply as he discovered that his watch seems to be dead, again. It was bad enough that most kids in school thought he was a major jinx, but lately he'd been having so much bad luck that even he was starting to wonder if it might really be true.

He was a social outcast amongst his peers and had been one for as long as he could remember. More recently, he began to rationalize the behavior of others towards him in an attempt to salvage some emotional sanity out of his situation. The fact of the matter was that he was a bit different from other kids, and kids are very rarely equipped to tolerate, much less understand, anyone who doesn't 'fit in'. He was getting a lot better at emotionally detaching himself from his disappointing reality, but the teasing and tormenting by the other kids over the years had taken its toll on him. He'd learned long ago that while being alone wasn't a lot of fun, it was much less of a hassle.

Unfortunately for him, there were always those that weren't content to leave him to his personal solitude. Some kids have a genuine predatory aspect to their personalities and will actively seek out and attack anyone whom they perceive to be 'weaker'. There had been the occasional bullies over the years that had singled him out and managed to make his life even less pleasant than it already was. In spite of his actual age, Chris still looked as though he was still around 11 years old -- and was now significantly smaller than any other boy in school. Heck, even some of the girls were bigger and probably stronger than he was too.

His Mom also thought it was a little odd that he'd hardly developed at all and had him checked out by the family doctor, who had simply told her that some kids are just 'late bloomers'. Well, that had been back in the summer and Chris was still waiting with fingers crossed that puberty would kick in sometime soon. Until it did, he was literally at the mercy of anyone who wanted to target him for his smaller size and build. At present, there was one person in particular, along with his usual group of cronies, who was making it his personal mission in life to ensure that Chris was as miserable as possible.

Almost on cue, his relative peace was suddenly shattered by a loud shout from the other end of the hallway.

"Hey Rob!! There he is!"

He grimaced as he glanced down the hallway and saw Jeff, Stan, and Robbie as they started to walk quickly towards him.

"I thought you'd try to hide out inside, you little geek!" Robbie shouted with a hint of sadistic satisfaction in his voice. "You now owe me double, and I think we're going to have to teach you a lesson so you'll learn it isn't wise to try and dodge me!"

Robbie, in his sophomore year, was a typical jock-mentality bully who had been tormenting Chris since the beginning of the semester. He had a reputation around the school for being hard on the freshmen students, but Chris seemed to be his favorite prey. More recently he'd been extorting money from him each week and Chris didn't have any money left to give him this time. He'd hoped that if he dropped out of sight and hid for a while after school that Robbie and his goons would assume he'd already gone home. That might have bought him a little extra time to try and convince his Mom to give him another advance on his allowance.

He knew he shouldn't be letting people like Robbie bully him, but the guy was a lot bigger than he was. Robbie had already pounded him on at least two occasions that semester for no apparent reason and each time it took over a week for the bruises to finally heal. He told his mother that it had happened in gym class, but he knew that she wasn't entirely convinced. If he turned up with bruises again, there would be little chance of him being able to explain it away and she'd undoubtedly get involved and probably make things a lot worse.

Reporting Robbie to the High School's administration wasn't an option, either. Even if he did, he knew that no one would back him up since most people were just as afraid of Robbie as he was. That would ultimately boil down to it being his word against Robbie's. Regardless of whether he was believed or not, Robbie would be sure to get him back for reporting him in the first place and Chris had no doubt that Robbie might seriously harm him then.

With Robbie and his goons advancing on him, Chris quickly deduced that he was in for a beating no matter what, so he sprang to his feet and ran in the opposite direction. He'd recently discovered that he seemed to be able to run a bit faster and had a little more stamina than he normally did. He hoped that it meant he was finally starting to develop some muscle tone. Without even a backwards glance, he ran down the various corridors as fast as he could and made his way towards the street exit. As he rounded the last corner and saw the exit just ahead of him, he felt certain that he was going to escape this time. Before he could even finish that thought, he was suddenly tackled from out of nowhere and sent crashing hard into a row of lockers.

He was momentarily dazed from the impact and looked up to see Stan standing over him with a triumphant grin on his face and Robbie slowing down to a brisk walk just behind him. Stan had apparently run in another direction to head him off and was waiting for him when he ran around the corner. His head was already starting to clear up, but he was still too dizzy to try to get to his feet. He was roughly seized by Robbie, who clamped one of his hands over his mouth and then dragged him into a nearby washroom.

Chris was frantic with fear and struggled to break free of Robbie's iron grip while his two friends made sure the washroom was empty and then stood guard at the door.

"Okay McGee," Robbie snarled menacingly as he pushed him to the floor. "Let's have what you owe me, and if you don't have it I'm going to make you really sorry!"

"I... I.... I'm sorry Robbie... I don't have any money! Please... I swear I'll get it to you tomorrow somehow!" Chris said in a choked whisper.

"You think I'm going to believe a wussy little geek like you? I know you're holding out on me... and if you're not, I don't give a shit. I think you need a little reminder about who's boss around here!"

He then struck Chris across his face with the back of his hand for emphasis. The blow practically rattled Chris' teeth and briefly stunned him. He then signaled for one of his friends to come over to hold Chris down. Chris struggled in vain as Stan pinned his arms behind his back and Robbie proceeded to strip his pants off of him. He searched all the pockets and seemed relatively unconcerned that he didn't find any money. His indifference suggested that he didn't really care about the money and was simply using it as an excuse to further torment the younger boy.

"I'm surprised that you actually wear boys' underwear. You're such a little sissy I was almost certain you'd be wearing panties," Robbie said with a sneer, to which his two friends laughed in agreement.

Robbie reached behind Chris' head and grabbed a handful of his shoulder-length locks in a tight grip.

"You look like a fucking girl, McGee! Why don't you tell your mommy to bring you in for a real haircut?" He said as he gave Chris' hair a painful tug.

Chris could feel his eyes begin to water and he frantically tried to maintain some control over his emotions. Crying in front of bullies was like bleeding in the water when there were sharks circling you. Chris knew that they'd only torment him harder if it happened, but as hard as he tried he could feel himself losing the battle and his fear and anxiety began to get the better of him. Lately his emotions seemed to be a lot closer to the surface than he was used to, but he'd assumed it was only because he'd been more stressed out than usual over the past few weeks.

"Awww look.... the little sissy is gonna cry now!" Jeff taunted from the bathroom entrance where he was keeping watch.

Stan, who was still holding Chris' arms painfully behind his back looked into his face as the first tears fell down his cheeks.

"I don't know, Rob... are you sure this is a boy? He sure seems to look and act a lot like a girl," he added with a chuckle.

Robbie, who was enjoying every moment of the tormenting, ran his hand along Chris' bare thigh. Chris tried to recoil from his touch but got a quick slap on the leg for it.

"Hmm... you might have a point, Stan. These legs are too soft and smooth for a boy. Is that what your problem is, McGee? Are you really a chick pretending to be a guy?"

Chris, whose emotional control had completely disintegrated by that point, was too distraught to answer and only shook his head. He could feel his lower lip starting to tremble and the tears began flowing in earnest down his face.

"Don't cry, honey..." Robbie said in a mocking sympathetic tone. "You make a much prettier girl than a boy, so I can't imagine why you're unhappy admitting that you're really a girl."

The three of them continued to laugh at Chris and verbally torment him for a few more minutes. Eventually Robbie began to get bored with the situation and decided to wrap things up. He stuffed Chris' pants into a toilet and promptly urinated on them, telling Chris he ought to 'show off his girlie legs' when he walked home. For a moment it seemed as though he was going to be satisfied with that and simply leave, but then he looked back at Chris with a strange and unsettling look that caused Chris' stomach to knot up.

"I don't beat up on sissy little girls like you, so instead you'll have to pay another penalty for trying to run away from us."

Robbie then motioned for Stan to force Chris up on his knees while he started to undo his pants.

"Uh, Rob... wait a sec..." Jeff said in a cautious tone from the doorway.

"Hey... I'm doing the little sissy here a favor," Robbie said casually as he pulled his penis out. "She's confused and thinks that she's a boy, so I'm helping to remind her of what girls do. Come on honey, you know what to do and you know you want to..."

Chris was momentarily stunned with disbelief that Robbie actually expected him to suck him off, but could tell from that eerie look in his tormentor's eyes that he was absolutely serious. He struggled frantically to break free from Stan's grip, but Stan only held him tighter and started to force his hands upwards toward his shoulder blades and in doing so pushed Chris' face closer to Robbie's waiting penis.

In the doorway, Jeff was definitely not amused by the turn that things were taking.

"Hey you guys, that shit isn't funny! Knock it off!" He said with some anger in his voice. "You said we were only going to have a bit of fun with the kid, you never said anything about this. Let him go right now, Stan... he's had enough and if we're smart we'd better clear out of here right now!"

"I'll decide when the little sissy here has had enough!" Robbie replied angrily as he glared at Jeff. "You can take off if you don't have the balls to stick around!"

Jeff looked at him in silence for a moment then simply said, "Fuck you, guys. This is total bullshit. I won't have any part of this, so I'm outta here!"

He kicked the bathroom door open with a loud bang and disappeared.

With the brief interruption passed, Robbie then turned his attention back to his victim and attempted to force Chris' mouth towards his penis.

By that point, Chris was in such a state of severe panic and desperation that he wasn't even able to think coherently. The combination of stress, fear and the intense pain in his arms all seemed to build up exponentially within him and then finally overwhelmed him. He felt a strange sensation running through his body and then... nothing at all. He'd finally fainted.

---

Far off in upstate New York, in a small town named Bayville, a lone figure sat before an elaborate computer console. His work in the computer's database was suddenly interrupted by a flashing indicator on a nearby screen. He quickly closed the file he was working on and transferred the information from the alert onto the main screen. He deftly navigated through a series of maps ranging down in scale through continental, regional, state and then finally to a street map complete with a flashing red dot showing the location of the alert. A soft, computer-generated voice recited the data now being displayed on the main screen alongside of the city map.

"Unknown mutant signature detected... Location: Lansing, Michigan... Identity: Unknown... "

The man frowned slightly as he read the data on the screen. According to the readings, it was definitely another manifestation of the types of power signatures often attributed to people with the X-gene. The system constantly monitors for any occurrences of such power signatures and brings an alert when it discovers anything not already in the databases. Usually there's more information to go on in tracking down the source of the manifestation, but sometimes the blips are vague and one had to resort to more time-consuming means of investigating. He took a long sip from his coffee and then got to work accessing various databases in Lansing via the Internet.

---

Chris slowly found himself returning to his senses. At first, he wasn't quite sure where he was and for a moment hoped that everything he'd remembered before blacking out had only been a bad dream. He became aware of the cold tile underneath him and realized with a sense of dread that he was still in the washroom at school. He cautiously opened his eyes, fully expecting to find Robbie and Stan still waiting for him to come to his senses enough so they could finish forcing him to blow Robbie.

He was surprised to see that the two of them were nowhere to be seen and he was completely alone in the bathroom. It was also kind of dark in there for some reason. He then noted that the lights were all off, leaving the late afternoon daylight from the window as the only light source. The garbage bins were overturned and some of their contents were strewn across the floor, looking as if they'd been bowled over by someone leaving in a big hurry. He deduced that his fainting spell must have startled Robbie and Stan enough that they had decided to take off. He winced at the pain in his stiff arms as he flexed them gingerly and noted the bruises starting to form on them. Almost immediately, he felt his eyes water up and begin to spill over again. Yep, this was definitely one of the shittier days he's had in awhile.

He remembered Robbie throwing his pants into the toilet and wondered how he was supposed to go home without any pants to wear. He slowly tried to get up on his feet, but immediately felt a wave of dizziness and a pounding headache that forced him to ease back down into a sitting position. It didn't look as though he'd be able to go anywhere for at least a few more minutes.

With a loud slam, the washroom door suddenly flew open and two teachers came barging in with Jeff right behind them. They momentarily took in the state of the washroom and then rushed over to him.

"Chris McGee, are you alright? Don't try to move and just sit still for a moment," said the first teacher that Chris recognized as his Geography teacher.

He quickly looked Chris over from head to toe and then helped him stand up. Chris was relieved that he wasn't overcome by another bout of dizziness, but that headache was still there and caused him to sway a bit as he took a few steps.

"Mr. Samuels here," the teacher said as he gestured towards Jeff, "told us that you were being assaulted in here. We're going to call your mother to pick you up and bring you to the hospital for a more thorough examination. We'll need a full account from you of what took place here, and I can assure you that those responsible shall be dealt with!"

They escorted him to the main office where they had him lie down on the small sofa in the Vice Principal's office. Someone had given him a small pair of track pants to wear that they'd brought in from the Phys Ed department -- the girls department, Chris noted sadly.

The teacher in question looked a little embarrassed with the selection but explained that it was all he could find that looked as though it would fit him. Chris couldn't really argue with that logic and was grateful just to have something to properly cover himself up with. They brought him a glass of water to drink, but he found to his dismay that his hands were trembling so badly he couldn't hold it properly. Instead, he lay back down on the small sofa and closed his eyes while they waited. The headache was a little more manageable now, but it was still quite uncomfortable.

Before long, his mother arrived and was escorted into the office where Chris and the Vice Principal were waiting for her. She immediately noticed the fresh bruises on Chris' arms and, after some fussing over him; she turned to the Vice Principal who told her what he knew of the incident. When he was finished, he prompted Chris to fill in any details that they didn't know. Chris guessed that Jeff had gone straight to the administration and told them what was going on in that washroom, so perhaps Jeff wasn't a complete jerk after all. He decided not to tell about Jeff's involvement or the part where the other two were about to force him to give Robbie a blowjob since it was evident that Jeff hadn't mentioned that in his story, either. They knew just about everything else anyway so he didn't want to make himself even more of a target for Robbie by adding anything else to it. He tried to avoid looking the Vice Principal in the eye and told him that he didn't have anything else to add.

He sat quietly on the sofa while his mother and the Vice Principal discussed things. It was agreed that Chris would be excused from school for the next few days to give him a chance to recover. In the meantime, Robbie and Stan were both being expelled and Jeff, who had already admitted his own involvement, would face a one-week suspension. Chris was extremely worried about what would happen if Robbie got his hands on him again. It wasn't even his fault that those two were getting kicked out of school, but he knew that Robbie would blame him for it anyways. He figured he'd be safe at school, but he'd have to be very careful going to and from school from now on.

His mother and the Vice Principal finished their discussion and then she and Chris headed to their car so she could take him to the hospital for an examination. The school had a zero-tolerance policy for people like Robbie (now that they were aware of the problem) and they were prepared to make a legal case out of it. Any injuries that he might have -- no matter how slight -- were to be carefully documented as evidence. The school's administration had already called the police, so at least in the short-term Robbie and Stan would have other problems to deal with. If nothing else, that should grant Chris at least a few days peace.

While they were driving to the hospital, Chris felt himself slip into a bit of a daze and was only partially listening to what his mother was saying as she drove. It was to be expected that she was incredibly worried about him and relieved that he appeared to be okay, but she was disappointed that he would try to keep the troubles he'd been having at school from her. Chris knew that she'd never understand because, like many adults, she just couldn't accept that another teenager was capable of being as vicious and sadistic as Robbie was. While they all mean really well, parents and teachers just don't understand that they can't be everywhere at all times. The instant their backs are turned is when people like Robbie will strike. Another encounter with Robbie was inevitable. The question was: when would it happen?

As they pulled up into the parking lot of the hospital, Chris started to feel a little nauseous. He'd always felt uncomfortable around doctors and going to a hospital was nearly enough to give him an anxiety attack. His mother, knowing his discomfort with such places, hugged him close to her as they entered the building and tried to comfort him. After a brief wait in admitting, Chris was brought into another room with his mother to be given a brief examination by a doctor. He poked and prodded Chris for a while and then told them that, other than the bruises to his arms, Chris seemed to be in good shape.

As part of the official documentation for his files, the doctor had a nurse come in with a camera to photograph the marks on Chris' arms. As soon as the first flash went off, Chris could feel that persistent headache he'd been feeling start to flare up. He winced and gritted his teeth as he tried to fight back against the throbbing in his head. After a few more flashes from the camera, Chris' headache had become so unbearable that he started to sway a little. It was fortunate for him that he was seated on the examination bench because he doubted he'd be able to stand at that moment. He desperately wished that everything would be over soon so he could go back home and lie down. He was feeling increasingly uncomfortable with each passing minute now and he was concerned that he might pass out again. That'd be all he needed, too -- fainting in a hospital in front of a nurse! They'd probably try to keep him overnight if that happened, so he was determined to try and hold himself together until they could leave.

The nurse had just told him that she was nearly finished when she suddenly stopped taking pictures and looked at the camera curiously.

"Oh dear, it seems that the batteries have run down," she told them apologetically. "I'm so sorry to have to keep you waiting, but I need to get some new batteries before I can finish up in here."

His mother told her that it was all right and sat down to read a magazine while the nurse left. Chris was having major difficulty trying to sit upright by this point and knew that he had to say something to his mother. He figured she'd be really worried if she knew just how uncomfortable he was feeling then, but he was starting to get a little scared himself. Just what exactly was wrong with him, anyways? He'd experienced bad headaches in the past -- come to think of it, more recently in the past few weeks -- but nothing as bad as this. If that wasn't bad enough, he could feel some kind of strange 'tingly' sensation in his skin and throughout his body.

"M--Mom..." he said weakly, "I... think I need an aspirin or something..."

At the sound of his voice, his mother quickly looked up at him from her magazine with concern in her eyes. She quickly jumped up from the chair and rushed over to him.

"Chris! Oh my god... you look so pale! What's wrong?!" She asked as she raised her hand to feel his forehead.

As soon as she made contact with his forehead, there was a brief flash of light followed by her loud shriek as she reflexively pulled her hand back. Just then, the nurse had returned and noticed Mrs. McGee rapidly waving her hand as if she'd burnt it somehow. She took a quick look at her hand and saw what appeared to be small scorch marks on her fingertips. She looked back at Chris for a moment and then quickly ran out of the room to fetch the doctor. Just as she was leaving, the headache overpowered Chris again and he felt himself falling back on the examination bench as blackness overcame him once more.

---

It was another 'normal' morning at the mansion as the various residents hustled about getting ready to meet the new day. Most of the younger residents had rushed through breakfast as many teens do and were all scrambling about at the last minute looking for their school bags. It was pretty much the same every morning, yet the adults of the Xavier Institute always found it amusing to watch. A bit of mayhem was always expected so they usually observed from the doorway of the dining room as their young charges rushed off to school.

"Damn it Kitty!" Shouted a shapely redheaded girl as she chased a smaller girl through the main hall, "I wanted to wear that blouse today! How about asking first before you borrow my clothes!"

"Wow... like, chill out, okay Jean?" The smaller brunette replied as she ran straight at the front door and passed right though it. From the other side of the door her voice could be faintly heard, "I'm sorry... like, I didn't know it was going to spaz you out like this! You can borrow anything of mine anytime you want, okay?"

Jean glanced at the front door and it opened for her just as she got near it.

"Great," She grumbled quietly to herself, "as if I could fit into any of your clothes, half-pint!"

She headed through the open door and down the front steps where she could see just about everyone else waiting for her. Scott and Evan were throwing a football back and forth and Kitty was watching them while also keeping a careful eye on Jean as she came outside. Rogue was standing by herself, as usual, listening to loud music through her Walkman headphones that Jean was able to hear even from over 30 feet away. She shook her head and wondered how Rogue had managed to avoid going deaf so far.

As soon as the door swung shut behind her, another teen appeared in the front hall in a puff of blue smoke.

"Jean! Kitty! Haf you left already?"

He paused for a moment as he heard familiar voices outside beyond the door and then promptly disappeared in another puff of smoke.

"I'm startin' to wonder if that blue elf even remembers how to use a door," grumbled a deep voice from behind the group observing from the doorway.

"Ah, Logan..." replied a slightly older-looking man seated in a wheelchair, "Kurt is usually very careful about when and where he uses his mutant abilities. There's really no harm if he chooses to indulge himself a little here at the Institute, is there?"

"I s'pose not," Logan admitted, "but it'd be nice if he could show as much enthusiasm for trainin' as he does when he's leavin' for school."

The group moved to the window facing the front of the mansion where they watched the last of the kids departing until they passed through the main gates of the Institute's grounds. Shortly thereafter, a large, blue-furred muscular man entered the room with a series of computer printouts in one of his enormous hands.

"Good morning, Hank," said a tall dark-skinned woman. "We missed you at breakfast. Have you been working all night?"

"I'm terribly sorry Ororo, but I was a bit caught up in my work and lost track of time. Charles, I think I have found some more leads on that unidentified signature you found yesterday."

"Indeed, please... do sit down Henry and tell us what you've found," answered Xavier as he maneuvered his wheelchair over next to a table and a set of comfortable sitting chairs.

Henry McCoy, the newest faculty instructor at the Xavier Institute and also a mutant is an accomplished scientist in his own right. Aside from being a professor of various sciences such as Chemistry, Physics and Biology, he is also extremely adept in the newer field of Computer Science. The four of them all gathered around as he passed around the new printouts and gave a brief lecture on his findings.

"It isn't much to go on, but I was able to get a clue as to a possible identity on this new mutant signature in Lansing, Michigan. Fortunately many medical facilities keep their patient records computerized and I was fortunate to be able to.... shall we say... 'encourage' their computers to share their information with me."

Charles Xavier chuckled a bit from his wheelchair

"Henry... I do hope that you were as careful in your... 'creativity' as you were thorough. It might be a bit difficult to explain to the authorities if you were ever traced."

"No need to worry, Charles. You can be assured that I was very careful. Anyhow, I discovered a file that was opened yesterday evening for a young teen who had been admitted first as an outpatient and then ended up being kept overnight. Apparently this boy had been the recipient of an attack of some sort at the local High School and was brought to the hospital at the request of the school's administration so that any evidence of injury could be properly documented."

"So... you think this kid was attacked by our new blip?" Logan asked

"Well, at first yes... but then, when I looked further into the file I noted a couple of interesting notations by the attending physician. The file states that the patient had collapsed just as they were finishing up with a routine examination. He was admitted and kept overnight for observation in case he'd sustained some sort of head trauma that they hadn't detected."

"Were there any X-rays taken? Did he have any head injuries?" Xavier asked pointedly.

"Ah... this is what I found to be rather intriguing. They weren't able to X-ray him at all. The hospital was reporting a series of system irregularities last night and their Radiology department lost all electrical power as soon as the boy had been brought in. Believing it to be a simple malfunction, they had the boy removed and re-scheduled for the following morning but as soon as he'd been taken from the room everything seemed to function normally."

Henry paused and looked over at Xavier, who had folded his hands under his chin and was frowning thoughtfully. After a moment he nodded back to Henry and encouraged him to continue.

"The overnight staff had a few interesting observations about the boy as well. He'd remained unconscious until shortly after being returned from the aborted X-ray attempt. When he was informed that he was being kept overnight, he got a bit hysterical and they had to sedate him. Two attending nurses reported receiving 'a painful electrical jolt' when they touched him but it was dismissed as being an unusual static discharge of some kind."

"You say that this boy had been the victim of an attack earlier that day?" Charles asked. "I'm guessing that incident coincided with the mutant signature we'd detected. If this boy does in fact possess the X-gene and was under severe emotional duress, then his mutant ability would likely have manifested quite noticeably. Was there any information as to the identity of his supposed attackers?"

Henry smiled and nodded his head.

"Great minds do think alike it seems, Charles! Yes, there was a police report on two older teenagers in connection with this incident. The police are currently looking for one of them, but the other one appears to have been registered as a patient at that same hospital -- and he was admitted only a half hour after the first boy was."

Ororo Munroe, a little unsettled by this news asked, "What happened to that other boy, Hank? I do hope that his injuries aren't serious!"

It was an all-too-common and unfortunate pattern that most people with the X-gene mutation manifest their abilities in early adolescence, and usually in situations of extreme emotional stress. Every so often an injury can result since the young adolescent typically has no knowledge or control over what is happening to them. This was one of the primary reasons for the existence of the Xavier Institute; so that such people might have a place to receive adequate reassurance and training to assist them in controlling their new gifts. It is very important to locate these new mutants and determine the nature of their abilities as soon as possible, since some of these young people can be a potential danger to themselves and those around them.

"He had what were reported to be moderate burns on both of his hands as well as symptoms that are consistent with one who has received a substantial yet non-lethal electrical shock." Henry replied matter-of-factly. "He was treated and released into police custody. The police report of the arresting officers states that the accused claimed the younger boy was some kind of 'monster' and tried to kill him."

There was silence as the four of them digested the news. After a few moments, Xavier looked around at the others seated about the table.

"We'll have to go to Lansing very soon to meet with this boy. Assuming that the hospital releases him today, he'll no doubt be kept home from school for a day or two. Logan, Ororo, we will go out there tomorrow morning... and I think we should bring a couple of our students with us. This boy will be more likely to accept help from us if he has a few people closer to his own age to relate to."

"Certainly, Charles. Whom did you have in mind?" Ororo asked.

He considered for a moment and then, with a slight smile on his face replied, "I think Scott and Rogue would be excellent for this trip."

Logan raised an eyebrow and coughed a little nervously, "Uh... Chuck, are you sure that's wise? I mean, Scott I can understand... the kid's a natural leader, but Rogue...."

"The nature of Rogue's mutant ability makes her perfect for this encounter," Xavier replied and then looked over at Henry. "Your research would seem to indicate that the nature of his mutation has something to do with physical contact. Rogue knows better than anyone what it's like to live like that and has the best chance of getting through to this boy in the event that we run into to any problems. Scott is the logical choice to counter-balance Rogue's somewhat... eccentric personality."

"That's puttin' it lightly," Logan grumbled to himself.

"We'll discuss it with the two of them when they return after school. I'll go and make the necessary arrangements to have them both excused from classes tomorrow and then we'll leave first thing in the morning. I have a strange feeling about this new mutant, though..."

Xavier paused to consider that thought and then shrugged it off. They'd get a clearer idea of what was going on when they met with the boy the following day. The meeting came to an end and the four of them returned to their various regular duties around the Institute.

---

Chris slowly began to become aware of background noise as he started to wake up that morning. Even before he'd opened his eyes he'd deduced that he wasn't in his bed at home from the types of sounds going on around him. He recognized the slight antiseptic scent in the air that is common to most hospitals... and suddenly remembered where he was.

More memories of the previous day began to return and he shuddered as he recalled being attacked by Robbie and his friends after school. He examined his arms and noted the ugly bruises from where Stan had been holding them. Involuntarily, his eyes watered a bit as he remembered what they were about to force him to do with Robbie before he'd blacked out that first time. Damn them... why couldn't they have just left him alone?

"Oh, good morning Christy! I'm glad to see that you're finally awake," said a voice from the doorway.

Chris glanced over to the empty patient's bed across from him and wondered whom the person in the doorway had been talking to. He looked to the figure in the doorway and saw an attractive-looking woman in hospital scrubs with a clipboard under her arm. She was looking right at him with a pleasant smile on her face.

"My name is Janet. I've come to bring you down to your re-scheduled X-ray appointment," she said cheerfully.

She disappeared briefly from the doorway and then returned, pushing a wheelchair in front of her. She parked the wheelchair close to the bed and then gently took hold of one of Chris' wrists to check his pulse. For a brief moment, Chris had a strong instinct to recoil from her touch as if he was expecting something bad to happen, but nothing did. After a few moments, she let go of his wrist and then readied her stethoscope.

"I just need to have a quick listen to your breathing, Christy." She said as she warmed up the receptor with her hands.

Chris was still wondering why this nurse kept calling him Christy, but said nothing while she gently loosened the top of his gown and placed the receptor on his chest. After a few moments of listening to him breathe, she seemed satisfied and withdrew the instrument.

"Dear, dear... what happened to your arms, sweetie?" She said as she noted the purple bruises on them. "I hope whoever did that to you gets suitably punished for it. Some boys just seem to think that girls are their personal property."

From the manner in which she was speaking to him, Chris finally started to put it together. This nurse thinks he's a girl! He glanced down and noticed some of his reddish-brown locks resting on his shoulders. Combined with his smaller frame and smooth skin, he could sort of see why he might look a bit like a young girl. He cringed as he had a quick flashback to the scene in the washroom the day before and remembered how they kept calling him a girl.

"Well, come on Christy," she said as she pulled the blankets aside and gently helped him climb out of bed. "I've got to get you down to Radiology."

"Uh..." he began in a hoarse whisper and noted how dry his throat was. "My name's Chris, not Christy, and why do I need to have an X-ray?"

She didn't react at all to his attempt at correcting her. She simply settled him into the wheelchair and then pushed him out into the hallway.

"Your file says that you had been attacked yesterday and were experiencing extreme headaches afterwards. The attending physician had ordered some X-rays to check for possible head injuries, but the Radiology department had some technical problems yesterday evening and had to re-schedule you."

Chris briefly recalled the searing headache he'd experienced the previous day and was relieved that it had finally gone away. Maybe a night's rest was all he needed to recover from the stress of the previous day. He was feeling a lot better than he did yesterday and hoped that they'd let him go home soon.

When they got to the Radiology Dept, the technician brightened up as soon as he saw Chris being wheeled in.

"Ah... Christy, you're looking much better this morning! I'm certain that you don't remember being here last night, but since we couldn't get your X-ray's done then that gives us the chance to meet while you're awake."

Chris took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Here was yet another person that had mistaken him for a girl. That seemed to be happening a lot lately, but he didn't feel like correcting them at that point. If they wanted to think he was a girl that was fine, as long as they got through with this X-ray business as fast as possible so he could get out of there.

Nurse Janet helped him climb up onto the large platform and had him lie down. The technician covered him from the neck down with a heavy lead apron and then started to position the arm of the X-ray machine over his head. Almost immediately, Chris felt his anxiety begin to build again. Hospitals had always made him feel uneasy, but large pieces of equipment like this really unsettled him. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine that he was back home in his bedroom to keep himself calm.

Even under the lead apron his trembling must have been obvious. The technician probably commented on it to Nurse Janet, because he could just make out her whispered reply, "she's really scared... try to do this as quickly as possible."

Chris listened to them walk over to where the personnel shield was and then heard the technician call out, "Okay Christy, I know you're a little frightened but try not to move, okay dear? This will just take a moment."

Chris drew a deep breath and waited. Nothing happened. After a few moments, he exhaled and tried to listen to what the technician was muttering about over behind the personnel shield.

"... can't understand... ...like last night... what the hell..."

He heard steps approach him and then Nurse Janet's soothing voice as she stood beside him.

"I'm sorry Christy, it's just a momentary delay... the technician is having trouble with the equipment again."

Chris thought again about how they kept calling him 'Christy' and was starting to get a little peeved. Due to the delay with the X-ray equipment, he decided that he might as well clear up this impression they had that he was a girl. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Um, Nurse Janet," he began, "I don't really want to make too big a deal out of this, but my name is Chris, not 'Christy'. I'm getting the impression that everyone thinks I'm a girl."

From the look of confusion and then shock on her face, it was quite clear that was precisely what she'd thought.

"You mean that you're... oh my! I'm so sorry dear!" She stammered as she covered her mouth with a hand to suppress a giggle. "It's just that, your hair and skin... your pretty face... are you sure you're not a girl?"

That ticked him off.

"Of course I'm sure!!" he said indignantly.

Realizing her mistake, she apologized and promised not to call him Christy anymore. Chris, while still a bit annoyed, noticed with some interest that at least he wasn't feeling quite as nervous anymore and went back to thinking about hopefully going home soon.

Almost immediately, the technician announced he'd gotten the problem fixed and called Janet back behind the shield with him. The X-ray machine hummed for a split-second and then the technician returned to load another plate underneath him while Nurse Janet had Chris roll onto his side. After that shot was taken, Nurse Janet was back to remove the lead apron and help him back down off the platform. She seemed to be looking at him a bit more intensely now, trying to decide how she'd been mistaken about his gender before.

Nurse Janet, still insisting that he ride in the wheelchair, made idle conversation with him as she transported him back to his room. She told him that his mother was going to be arriving in a little while to take him home and in the meantime they'd see about getting him something to eat since she assumed he must be hungry by now.

Until she'd mentioned it, Chris hadn't even remembered that he hadn't eaten since lunchtime the previous day. He knew that he ought to be famished but, other than a mild craving, he really wasn't terribly hungry. When he tried to tell this to Nurse Janet, she wouldn't hear of it and told him that she was going to personally ensure that he eat something before she allowed him to leave. Chris knew that she couldn't really stop him from being released, but he didn't want to fight her on it just the same. She'd been really nice to him and she was only doing her job after all, so why should he give her a hard time over it?

Try as he might though, he didn't really have much of an appetite. He could only make himself eat half of what Nurse Janet had brought for him. Although she was disappointed, she seemed to understand that he genuinely wasn't very hungry and didn't try to force him to eat the rest.

Not long afterward, his mother had finally arrived with a set of clothes for him. For a moment he was so happy to see her that he just grabbed her in a tight embrace and held on. Neither of them said anything for a moment as she gently ran her fingers through his hair.

"Dear... I'm so relieved to see you're feeling better today. You had me really worried yesterday!"

Chris slowly let go of her and sat back. He sniffled a bit and realized that he was even crying just a little. Normally he'd be a bit embarrassed from displaying his emotions so easily, but this time he didn't care. Lately he'd been feeling a lot closer to her and having her there was a comfort to him that he found difficult to put into words. He noticed some small bandages covering the fingertips on her right hand and looked at her questioningly.

Realizing what he'd been looking at, his mother only smiled and told him it was nothing -- only a mild accident with the teakettle that morning. She quickly changed the subject and urged him to get dressed so she that could take him home. Chris was certainly eager to leave, so he rapidly gathered up the clothes and stepped into the washroom to change.

---

Scott Summers knocked politely for the second time on the door and waited for a reply. He was starting to get impatient and wondered why it took them so long to come to the door. It was now the regularly scheduled time for the Institute’s residents to study and do homework, though he seriously doubted that either Rogue or Kitty were studying in their room. He leaned closer to the door and could faintly hear Kitty chattering away to someone on the phone. Probably to that Lance Alvers again, he supposed. Rogue was likely occupied at destroying her eardrums with that portable stereo of hers so she wouldn't be able to hear him... and Kitty seemed content to ignore him. This was really starting to get on his nerves.

"Kitty, come on!" He yelled as he banged loudly on the door. "I have to talk to Rogue!"

It would be a considerable breach of Institute courtesy if he simply opened the door to their room and walked in, but he was just about at the end of his patience. The Professor had told him that he needed to speak to both Rogue and himself down in his study and Scott didn't want to keep the Professor waiting. Just as he'd made up his mind and began to reach for the doorknob, he fell backwards with surprise as Kitty stuck her head right through the door and gave him an annoyed look.

"Like, hold your horses Scott! What do you want?" She said irritably.

"Geez Kitty! You nearly gave me a heart attack! I really hate it when you do stuff like that!"

He picked himself up off the floor and brushed himself off.

"Can you please tell Rogue that the Professor wants to see her down in his study right now?"

"Okay, whatever..." she replied and withdrew herself back through the door.

A few moments later, Rogue came out and gave Scott her usual grumpy stare.

"What did Ah do this time?" She asked in her peculiar Southern accent while placing her hands on her hips. Despite her sullen demeanor, it was a rather striking pose; one which reminded Scott that Rogue was definitely a girl under all her tough and standoffish exterior.

"Uh... nothing, I think. Whatever it is, the Professor wants to see us both."

Rogue shrugged and trudged off towards the stairs without even waiting for him. Scott shook his head slightly and followed. He reminded himself that Rogue wasn't actually as rude as she tried to make people believe, but only acted that way to keep people at a distance. The unfortunate nature of her mutant power had forced her to adapt her behavior like that for the general safety of those around her. Before she came to the Institute, she had lived a very solitary existence and had no friends at all. Even after all the time she'd spent living at the Institute with them, she was still a very hard person to know. Even so, he was glad that she was there and was a part of the team. She may be a bit abrupt at times, but she was fiercely loyal to him and the others.

When they arrived in the Professor's study, he motioned for them to sit down as he wheeled out from behind his desk to join them.

"Scott, Rogue... I apologize for interrupting your evening studies but there's a matter that I need both of your assistance with."

Scott and Rogue looked briefly at each other, somewhat puzzled, but neither said anything and turned back to the Professor.

"Tomorrow," Xavier continued, "I would like you both to accompany myself, Mr. Logan and Ms. Munroe on a trip to where we're hoping to meet with a newly-discovered young mutant."

They each exchanged glances again, but this time it was Rogue who actually decided to speak up.

"Ah can understand why you asked fer Scott here," she said as she waved her hand towards him, "but why me, Professor? Ah thought that you normally brought Jean with you fer these things."

"Normally, yes... but this situation is a little different. There are indications that the boy we'll try to see tomorrow may have some difficulties coping with the nature of his new abilities. Although our findings are inconclusive so far, it seems that he may have accidentally injured a few people simply by touching them. Your own experiences in dealing with your mutant abilities make you the ideal candidate to talk to him should he be reluctant to speak with the rest of us."

"Uh, Professor..." Scott interjected, "do you mean he might be another mutant like Rogue?"

"I'm not certain of anything as of yet, Scott. There are a number of un-answered questions, but I'm sure that we'll be able to find many of the answers tomorrow. I've arranged for you both to be excused from classes for the day, so we'll be departing shortly after the rest of the students leave for school in the morning."

He then dismissed them and urged them both to get a good night's sleep. After they'd both left, Xavier returned behind his desk to continue looking over the data that Henry had provided about the new boy. He was concerned about the alleged circumstances behind the manifestation of this boy’s new abilities. The boy would undoubtedly be in a state of confusion and possibly depression for a few days. In such a state of mind, he would be un-predictable, nervous and fearful. That could make convincing him of their genuine desire to help him a bit difficult. Still, they would try their best and with a bit of luck the Xavier Institute may yet have another student enrolled within the next few days.

---

Chris was so relieved to finally be home that he'd almost forgotten his ordeal of the day before. For the rest of the day, he simply shut himself up in his room and only came out when his mother called him down for dinner. He knew that she was worried about him and he felt a little guilty that he was distancing himself from her so much. He and his Mom had always been close since it had always been just the two of them living together. His parents had divorced when he was very young and now he hardly remembered what his father even looked like. Not that it mattered all that much since his father never wrote, called or came to visit. Over the past few months or so he'd been feeling especially close to her, so he knew that shutting her out for the time being was hard on her. Sometime soon he'd try to make it up to her, he knew, but for the time being he needed to sort things out by himself. As things stood, even the briefest memory of the incident with Robbie and his friends, especially the part after Jeff took off, was enough to bring tears to his eyes. He knew that if his mother saw him so emotional she'd guess that there was a lot more about the incident than he was telling and she'd demand that he fess up the rest.

There was something else gnawing at the back of his mind, too. She had acted a bit peculiar when he'd noticed the bandages on her fingers and he wasn't buying her story about accidentally burning them on the teakettle. He had the vaguest of impressions that he was somehow responsible but couldn't quite remember why.

A soft tapping at his bedroom door interrupted his thoughts.

"Chris, dear... may I come in?" his mother called gently from outside his room.

"Uh... sure Mom." he quietly replied.

For a moment, just as she was coming in, she looked at him in that same strange way as she had before. It was gone just as quickly, but not before Chris noticed and it troubled him. What is it that she wasn't telling him?

She sat down beside him on his bed and put her arms around him. Neither of them said anything for a few moments as they each seemed content just to sit there together.

"Chris... you've been up here all alone for practically the entire day. You can't stay inside forever and brood over what happened at school. Although you're excused from classes until after the weekend, I don't want you spending the next few days up here hiding from the world."

He knew she was right, of course. There was no real reason to stay hidden in his room for the next few days. He didn't know how he was going to work up the courage to return to school on Monday, but at least he could try and enjoy some relative peace and freedom until then.

"I was thinking of going out for a bit tomorrow afternoon anyways, Mom," he said softly. "I've been feeling kind of odd since yesterday and maybe the fresh air will do me some good."

Again, that momentary flash of... something in his mother's eyes. Again, she quickly changed her expression back.

"That's probably a good idea, dear. It's important for you to try to get past this. Your school's principal tells me that those two delinquents have been dealt with so you won't have any more trouble from them when you go back on Monday. It's unfortunate what happened, but let’s try to put this behind us."

She then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and told him to wash up and get ready for bed. He watched her as she let herself out of his room and closed the door behind her. She was right, he had to try and get past everything that had happened and move on. At least he wouldn't have to worry about Robbie bullying him at school anymore.

He changed into his pajamas and then went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He paused as he glanced at his reflection in the mirror. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but for a moment something looked a little... different. He quickly shrugged it off and reached hopefully for his electric toothbrush. Once again, it failed to operate. He sighed deeply to himself and reached for his regular toothbrush. Over the past few weeks the damned thing just wouldn't hold a charge no matter how long he'd left it in its stand. He supposed that even rechargeable appliances had a life to them, but he'd had that one for only a couple of months and it was already dead. It was no wonder that everyone thought he was a jinx.

After he'd finished up in the bathroom, he turned out the lights in his room and got into bed. Normally he had little difficulty falling asleep but this time he tossed and turned for a while trying to get comfortable. He felt oddly restless and uncomfortable. For some reason his pajamas felt a bit abrasive and he was starting to feel itchy. Maybe he was coming down with a rash or something, he thought to himself. He stripped off his pajamas and tossed them on the floor, then tried to settle in under the covers again. A considerable improvement, he thought.

He closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep. Unseen to Chris, the display on his battery-powered clock radio flickered slightly. After a moment it began to dim, and as Chris fell into a deep sleep, it went out entirely.

---

To be continued in:

The XX-Factor: Chapter Two - An Ill-Fated Day at the Mall

...He knew that he was supposed to be changing around this time in his life and he had expected a voice change... but he was pretty sure that his voice was supposed to go deeper in pitch, not softer and slightly higher! None of his changes so far were anything like what he'd been taught in Health class to expect. He gave a slight shake of his head and watched as his hair bounced with a bit more body than he thought there should be.

"Damn..." he muttered to himself, "with a touch of makeup and the right clothes I'll bet no one would ever guess I was really a boy!"

---

Official Disclaimer:
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.

The author maintains creative ownership of the story itself and grants BigCloset TopShelf permission to post it online for free viewing by this site's visitors.

Chris dreamed that he was walking down a long hallway and soon recognized that he was at school. It was completely empty except for him, but he could hear the regular sounds of students at work in each of the classrooms as he walked by. At one point, he passed a display case that held some of the school's trophies and caught a glimpse of his reflection in the glass.

Looking back at him was a rather attractive-looking teenage girl wearing a white blouse, a knee-length denim skirt and a pair of modest two-inch heels on her feet. She had a simple black purse slung over one shoulder and was cradling several school books in her arms. Above her books he could see the gentle curves of modest cleavage appropriate to a girl her age. He looked down at himself and was strangely contented with the realization that he was that girl. He became self-aware that he was dreaming, but willed himself to stay within the experience and continued to admire his reflection. He looked really good!

The bell rang and several classrooms full of students began to empty into the hall on either side of him. For a moment, he was worried what they would say when they saw him standing there dressed as he was. He anxiously waited for someone to shout something like, 'Hey look! It's Jinx McGee all dressed up like a sissy!’ but no one said a thing.

Usually most students tended to ignore him, but now there were a surprising number of them that would wave and smile in his direction. At first, he'd looked behind himself to see whom they were waving at, but there was no one there. A few girls that he'd recognized to be part of the 'popular' crowd waved and said, 'Hi Christy!' as they passed by him. It really was him that they were waving at... but now he was Christy, and Christy seemed to be popular! One girl stopped and urged him to hurry or they'd be late for their next class, then she promptly took hold of Chris' arm and pulled him along down the hallway with her.

He became aware of the eyes of just about every male in the hallway following him as he made his way to his class. Many of the faces he saw belonged to guys who would usually walk right over him as if he were either invisible or beneath their notice. Now, these same guys seemed to follow his every move as he walked and if he returned any of their stares, they'd blush and avert their eyes. He was much more popular as a girl, that was for certain!

He had arrived at his next class, which turned out to be Gym class. His companion was pulling him towards the girls' locker room, but before he had a chance to feel odd about entering he found himself out on the mats dressed in standard girl's Gym attire and doing warm-up exercises with the other girls. He felt brief disappointment that he'd missed what must be every teenage boy's fantasy, but reminded himself that it was just a dream. He wouldn't normally be taking part in a girl's Phys-Ed class in the waking world. In fact, as a boy Gym was usually his worst class.

In this class, however, the teacher seemed to dote on him. After the warm-up exercises, the teacher had explained a series of gymnastic maneuvers that she wanted everyone to try. Some of the routines sounded to be pretty complex and Chris wondered what he'd do when it was his turn. He hadn't done gymnastics like this in his entire life! One by one, each of the girls would take a run across the mat and would do various layouts involving tumbles, handsprings and cartwheels. Some of them were actually pretty good!

He was so fascinated watching them that he was caught off-guard when the teacher called out, 'Christy! Come on dear, you're next!'

He was frozen in place for a moment as he wondered what he was going to do, but to his surprise, he suddenly found himself running forward. As soon as he’d reached the edge of the mat, he instinctively propelled himself into a series of elaborate jumps, handsprings, back flips and somersaults. He ended the routine with a perfect landing and arched his back with one arm held low and his other extended high above his head in an elegant pose.

There was a moment of stunned silence and then everyone burst into wild applause. All of the girls in the class ran towards him and shouted things like, 'Wow Christy! That was amazing!', 'Incredible!' and 'You're the best, Christy!' He smiled as he reveled in the strange new sensation of feeling acceptance and admiration. It was the last thing he held onto as he felt the dream slip away and he slowly began to awaken.

---

He opened his eyes and looked over at the daylight coming in through the window. It puzzled him that it seemed a little later in the morning than it should have been. He listened for the familiar sounds of his mother moving about as she usually does in the mornings as she got ready to go to work, but the house was quiet. With a quick glance at his alarm, he realized why he'd slept in. Dammit! Now that thing is on the fritz too! It was a good thing that he didn't have to go to school that day, because half of the morning was already over.

He got out of bed and stepped where he'd discarded his pajamas from the night before. Remembering his previous discomfort, he inspected his arms, chest and legs for any indication of a rash but his skin looked completely clear. As a matter of fact, it looked perfectly clear. He ran his fingers along his arms and noted that his skin felt a lot smoother and softer than he'd remembered.

As he was looking at his arms, he suddenly realized that the bruises were gone! He touched a few of the areas that he remembered being badly discolored the previous night and there wasn't any trace of pain or discomfort. Could he really have healed that quickly overnight?

He went into his bathroom to wash up and was transfixed by his reflection in the mirror. Something was definitely different. His eyebrows seemed to have thinned out a bit and his shoulder-length hair now tumbled past his shoulders!

"Holy shit..." he said in a soft voice.

Was it just his imagination, or did his voice sound a bit different too?

He knew that he was supposed to be changing around this time in his life and he had expected a voice change... but he was pretty sure that his voice was supposed to go deeper in pitch, not softer and slightly higher! None of his changes so far were anything like what he'd been taught in Health class to expect. He gave a slight shake of his head and watched as his hair bounced with a bit more body than he thought there should be.

"Damn..." he muttered to himself, "with a touch of makeup and the right clothes I'll bet no one would ever guess I was really a boy!"

He laughed at that and tossed the idea aside. He was being ridiculous. He'd been dwelling on that notion ever since Robbie and his friends had put those doubts in his mind the other day. He considered all of his recent changes and rationalized that it was probably just his imagination working overtime. His hair had obviously been getting longer lately and since he usually liked it to reach his shoulders it must have simply grown longer and he'd failed to notice. He'd never paid much attention to his eyebrows in the past, so they were probably the same as they'd always been and he was only kidding himself. The same was probably true for his skin, too. As for the bruises disappearing... well, maybe he wasn't as hurt from that incident as he thought he’d been. The slight change in his voice, well... maybe at last he really was entering puberty and things were getting temporarily shifted around in his throat.

He hopped into the shower for a quick wash-up and thought about what he would do for the rest of the day. He made a mental note to pick up more batteries for his clock radio so he wouldn't be late for school on Monday. His Discman had been acting up lately as well, so maybe he could drop it off to get checked out while he was at the mall. He closed his eyes and smiled at the sensation of the warm water spray on his skin. He was feeling really good -- perhaps better than he'd felt in weeks. He was optimistic that he might actually be in for a good day for a change. What the heck... after so many bad ones, he felt that he was entitled to a least a few good ones.

When he'd finished his shower, he put on his bathrobe and went downstairs to the kitchen to make something light for breakfast. He was a bit surprised that he didn't feel as hungry as he usually did. Come to think of it, he hadn't had much of an appetite the day before, either. He poured himself a small bowl of cereal after deciding against having toast. Although he knew that he was just being silly, he was sure that the damned toaster had its own personality and it didn't like him. Lately, whenever he'd tried to toast anything in it, the bread would come out barely warmed. He'd mentioned it to his mother, but she simply assured him he was only imagining things since she never had any such problems with it.

As he was eating his cereal, he began to notice that same itchy sensation from the previous night. He smelled the sleeve of his bathrobe and noted the fresh scent that was indicative of it being recently laundered. He supposed his Mom could have changed laundry detergents or something and perhaps he was having some kind of a reaction to it. He put it out of his mind and finished eating his breakfast.

As he was walking back upstairs, that itchy feeling in his skin was notably worse now. In his chest area in particular, he winced each time the fabric of his bathrobe swept across his nipples. On a whim, he wandered into his mother's bedroom and saw her bathrobe hanging on the back of her bathroom door. Hers was considerably shorter in length than his and a lot silkier. He found it really pleasing to the touch and wondered what it would feel like if he tried it on. Sure, it was a little odd... but she'd never know.

As soon as he’d slipped it on, he understood immediately why his mother preferred it to the terry style one that he wears. It felt incredibly luxurious against his skin and when he moved the material felt as though it were caressing him ever so gently. Even the slight breeze of air across his legs when he walked felt exhilarating. He paced around her room a few times and suddenly stopped as he caught his reflection in her full-length mirror.

"Omigod! Is that really me?!" he said out loud.

He had a momentary flashback to his dream from the night before as he saw what appeared to be a pretty young teenager looking back at him. He turned in profile and then grabbed a hand mirror off his mother's vanity table so that he could see how he looked from behind.

The way that his mother's robe clung to his waist made his hips look a little rounder. He wasn't imagining things this time and this was certainly no dream. This girl was real, and she was definitely him!

The memory of his dream came back in full and he thought wistfully about how popular he had been when everyone thought he was a girl. For the briefest of moments he wondered if he could really try going out like that, but quickly dismissed the idea. There was no way he'd be able to pull that off. He looked longingly at his reflection for a few moments and then smiled as a wonderful idea came to him. His mother had plenty of clothes, and she wasn't much bigger than he was. She wouldn't be home for hours and if he was careful to put everything back exactly as he'd found it... well, maybe he could try being Christy for a little while.

He spent the next hour trying on various pieces of clothing and posing before the mirror. Much to his delight, he'd discovered a denim skirt that was very similar to what he'd remembered from his dream. He found a white blouse to go with it but when he'd tried it on it didn't seem to sit properly. What he needed was a bit of artificial cleavage. He experimented with one of his mother's bras and some wadded up socks. Before long he had a modest pair of breasts. As soon as he'd buttoned up the blouse, he felt his legs go weak when he saw himself in the mirror. The girl in the mirror was now an exact replica of the one he'd been in his dream. He was absolutely delighted! He decided to get even further into this role he'd created for himself and went downstairs to the living room to play some music. Since he now looked like a teenage girl, why shouldn't he act like one?

He found a radio station that played a lot of the more popular dance songs that he'd noticed a lot of girls seemed to enjoy. He brought his mother's full-length mirror downstairs so he could watch himself as he began to dance to the music. As a boy he hadn’t ever attended a dance so he had no idea how. He closed his eyes and listened to the beat of the music and could feel himself beginning to sway with it. Before long, he began to work in some hip gyrations as well as arm and head movements. Within a few songs, he was dancing up a storm and felt confident that he moved almost as well as any girl he'd seen. He felt the energy of the music and surrendered himself to it as his body seemed to move with a will all of its own. He couldn't remember ever feeling such an incredible rush and wished it could go on forever.

In an ironic twist, just as he was finishing that thought the stereo suddenly shut off. Chris caught himself in mid-step and looked over at the stereo in annoyance.

Now what the hell is wrong? He wondered.

He fiddled with the controls for a moment then checked the back of the stereo. It was still plugged in, so why wasn't it working? And why did it stop like that so suddenly? This was very annoying! He knew it was probably something logical like a blown fuse in the unit, but the more he thought about it the more he wasn't so sure. There were a lot of those types of things happening around him lately. If not for the fact that he didn't believe in ghosts, he'd think he was being haunted.

He jumped with a start as the front doorbell rang. He almost laughed out loud when he realized how much he’d been stressing himself out. He strolled across the living room to the front door to see who it was and just as he was opening the door he suddenly remembered how he was dressed. He had gotten so comfortable with his 'Christy' look that it had slipped into the background of his mind and he'd gone and answered the door out of habit.

He had a strong urge to quickly slam the door and run upstairs to his room, but that wasn't a real option. He couldn't very well do that since he'd already started to open the door so he mentally crossed his fingers and hoped that he'd done as good a job on himself as he thought he did. As long as no one he knew was at the door, he should be able to pass as a girl so he might as well just get this over with.

He was taken aback slightly as he sized up the three people at his front door. The first person was a distinguished-looking man seated in a mechanized wheelchair. Standing to one side of him was a tall, slightly dark-skinned woman with long white hair. On his other side was a shorter but very lean-looking man, with very noticeable muscles in his biceps that were barely hidden under the sport coat he was wearing. All three were dressed semi-formally, but with more of a lean towards casual. Further behind them, Chris could see two teenagers waiting down by the sidewalk, standing next to what he presumed was their van. A strange bunch, Chris thought to himself, but he couldn't imagine what they wanted at his house. Perhaps they needed directions or something.

"Yes, can I help you?" he asked in that same soft voice he'd become more aware of since that morning.

"Good morning!" The man in the wheelchair said pleasantly. "My name is Charles Xavier, and I'm looking for Christopher McGee. Is he your brother?"

Chris was dumbfounded. Who the hell were these people and what did they want with him? Fortunately his disguise seemed to be holding up so maybe he could find out what they wanted without giving himself away.

"Um... yeah he is... but.... he's not home right now. What do you want with him?"

"Oh, he's not in any trouble if that's what you're worried about," the man said with a smile and a slight wink.

There was something about this guy that Chris couldn't help but to like.

"We have something very important that we'd like to discuss with your entire family that I'm certain would be a great opportunity for him. Perhaps we could return this evening when both he and your mother have returned?"

"Uh... sure. I guess that'd be okay," Chris replied carefully.

Just at that moment, the living room stereo suddenly came back to life again.

Chris winced, as he knew that was bound to raise some suspicion. The man in the wheelchair regarded him carefully for a moment and frowned slightly as he appeared to be concentrating on something. After a moment, he lifted his eyebrows in surprise and looked up wordlessly at the woman beside him. She pulled a small card out of her purse and handed it to Chris.

"That is the number of the cellular phone we are using while we are in town for the day," she told him. "Should anyone wish to get a hold of us before this evening... for any reason, please don’t hesitate to call us."

For a moment, Chris was sure she’d had a very curious look in her eyes. It was almost as if she'd seen through his disguise, but if she had she wasn't letting on to her companions at the moment. The three of them politely said goodbye and then returned to their van. Chris watched as the man in the wheelchair boarded via a mechanical ramp and then the others got in and they drove away.

"That was really weird," he said to himself. "What could they want with me?"

---

"Logan, please pull over just up here," Xavier asked quietly.

Logan shrugged and pulled the van over to the side of the road. He regarded Xavier carefully for a moment.

"What's wrong Chuck? Is something botherin' you?"

"Yes... it's that girl back at the McGee residence. Did you notice anything odd about her, Logan?"

He thought about it for a moment and then shrugged.

"Not really. She seemed like a pretty ordinary kid to me. A little uptight about somethin’, but maybe we'd just caught her at a bad time. Why’d ya ask?"

"I found it odd that their stereo should suddenly turn on at that moment and thought that perhaps her brother might be hiding inside. I did a quick mental probe, but I didn't detect anyone in the house."

"Do you think she's hiding something, Professor?" Scott asked from his seat in the back of the van.

"Well, that's difficult to say. You see, when I said I didn't detect anyone with my probe, I meant that I didn't detect anyone. Not even her. She may have some inherent natural resistance to telepathic probes. It's rare, but not entirely un-heard of. The other possibility would be that she was actively shielding herself from me somehow."

"D'ya think she's a mutant, then?" Rogue asked. "But Ah thought we were lookin' fer a boy!"

Ororo, who had remained strangely quiet since they'd left the house, spoke up in her regal-sounding voice.

"Indeed, we are... and I believe we have just met him."

---

Chris had returned his mother's mirror to her room and was in the process of tidying up the evidence of his early afternoon fashion activities. His mind kept going back to that group of people that had come to the door. He walked over to his mother's vanity table and picked up the card that the woman had given him.

It read:

Xavier Institute for Gifted Youth
Charles Xavier -- Founder

The address and phone number were for some town called Bayville, somewhere in New York State. Whoever they were, they'd definitely traveled a fair distance just to see him. He wondered again what they wanted with him that they would come all this way. Would it not have been a lot simpler just to call instead? He absently tossed the card back onto the table and went back to straightening his mother's bedroom.

Chris smiled to himself as he thought back to his extraordinary success at passing for a girl when he'd answered the door. He was really anxious at first, but as soon as that Xavier guy mistook him for his own sister, he knew he could pull it off. In fact, he was having such a good time as 'Christy', that a really crazy idea had occurred to him. He had originally planned to change back to his regular clothes and go shopping at the mall, but now he was thinking... why should he change? It would be even more exciting if he went out as Christy! He wouldn't be likely to run into anyone he knew since everyone else was in school at the moment. Even if he did, no one would recognize him as Jinx McGee now. He knew that he might never have a better opportunity so he decided to throw caution to the wind and go for it.

Except for the clothes he was still wearing, he was satisfied that he'd put everything back in order in his mother's bedroom. He rummaged about on the floor of her closet to see if there were any shoes he could try with his outfit. He found her bag of workout clothes that she usually wore to her health club and retrieved her running shoes. That ought to do nicely, he thought. He donned a pair of her short white socks and then slipped the shoes on. Nearly a perfect fit!

Noting the distinctive lack of pockets in his current outfit, he realized he'd need a purse to carry his keys and wallet in. Fortunately his mother had a few smaller purses in different styles hanging from a post near the back of her walk-in closet. He selected a relatively simple one that was made of a blue denim-like material and slung it over his shoulder.

He checked his reflection in the mirror and nodded to himself with satisfaction. This was really going to work! All he needed now was something to wear over top of his blouse for warmth. Although it was still early enough in the fall that the weather was still pleasant, the blouse was much thinner than the shirts he usually wore. He tried on a couple of his mother's button-up sweaters and finally settled on a slightly cream-colored one. Just to be on the safe side, he slipped on a pair of sunglasses and took one last look at himself in the mirror. He whistled softly to himself as he looked at the stunning figure in the mirror. He was absolutely gorgeous! He laughed and blew a quick kiss to his reflection, then headed to his own room to grab his keys and his wallet.

Once downstairs, he paused at the front door and took a few deep breaths. He was really going to do this.

"Look out world," he said out loud. "Here comes Christy!"

---

"You say this young person appeared to be a female, Logan?" Henry asked in a surprised tone of voice. "That's interesting... all current Federal, Educational and Medical records on this Chris McGee clearly indicate his gender as male. Although highly unlikely, if it's a clerical error of some sort it's certainly a large one. I should also add that the records indicate that the boy is an only child."

"What's really troublin' me, Hank..." Logan said as he scratched his chin thoughtfully, "is that even I was convinced this kid was a normal teenage girl. I could smell female pheromones coming off of her... er, him."

"Really? My... how extraordinary!" Henry replied.

Logan could hear the unmistakable enthusiasm in Hank's voice -- even through all the bad static he was getting through his cell phone. The damned thing had been acting up for some reason ever since they'd left the McGee house.

"Tell me Logan," Henry continued, "Did Charles find out anything at the hospital the boy was in yesterday?"

"I'm sittin' in the parking lot of the hospital right now. Chuck and Storm are inside tryin’ to see if they can get a look at the kid's records. Knowin' Chuck, they'll be back here shortly with whatever they're lookin’ for. We dropped the kids off a few blocks away from the McGee kid's house and they're keepin’ an eye on it for the time being until we can find out a little more about what we're dealin’ with."

"A sensible course of action, to be sure," Henry agreed. "Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance on this end."

"Will do, Hank. Gotta go, this damned cell phone is about to die on me."

He ended the call and looked irritably at his cell phone. He frowned as he noted that the battery indicator was showing it was nearly drained. He wasn't much of a fan of such technological devices, but they did come in handy sometimes. He typically kept the phone fully charged and was positive it had been working properly earlier that morning. He had a strong suspicion that this new kid had something to do with it. He looked up as he detected the scent of Xavier and Storm approaching. Hopefully they'd discovered something useful in the kid's medical records that could shed a little light on the situation. He got out of the driver's seat and leaned up against the side of the van while he waited for them to make their way across the parking lot to him.

"How'd it go, Chuck?" he asked while eyeing the large envelope that Ororo was carrying. "Did ya find out anythin’?"

"Another piece to the puzzle, Logan" Xavier replied as he signaled Ororo to pass him the envelope. "These are X-rays of the boy that were taken yesterday morning -- with a certain amount of difficulty, according to the technician."

He withdrew the two images and handed them to Logan.

Logan held them up to have a look at them, but since at most he'd only ever trained as a field medic he wasn't sure what he should be looking for. X-ray analysis wasn't exactly his forte. As soon as he got a good look at them, however, he frowned and looked back questioningly at Xavier.

"I'm no expert, but these X-rays don't look right. What am I lookin’ at here, Chuck?"

"A lateral and cranial X-ray of Chris McGee. Quite interesting, don't you agree?"

Interesting wasn't the word for it. Bizarre came closer, he thought as he held them up for another look.

"There's only a large white blob in the shape of someone's head. Where're the details?"

"That's the mystery. The X-ray technician told us that he'd had trouble with his equipment and figured that perhaps he'd accidentally set too fast an exposure. He was going to throw those out, but with a little... 'convincing', he was quite obliging to give them to us instead."

Logan noted the label on each image clearly read 'Chris McGee' and then remembered his conversation with Hank. He told Xavier and Storm that Hank had confirmed all records for this kid clearly indicated he was a boy, as well as the fact that he was an only child. Obviously the kid didn't want to give himself away when they'd mistaken him for a sister that didn't exist.

"How are Scott and Rogue doing? Have they checked in yet?" Xavier asked him.

"Not yet, but I'm not sure they'll be able to reach us when they do,” Logan answered irritably as he showed them his nearly depleted cell phone. "I have a sneakin’ suspicion that this girl... er, boy, drained my phone somehow. Then there's the thing about her blockin’ you, Chuck. Under most circumstances, I'd say there's a good chance that she already knows about us and is tryin’ to throw us off."

"A reasonable hypothesis, Logan, but I'm not convinced of that yet. While I couldn't read his thoughts, I could read his expressions. There wasn't any evidence of apprehension or recognition when he'd first answered the door. He only seemed a bit anxious, which is understandable considering how he was dressed when he came to the door."

"Well, he had me fooled. I know now that this kid is really a boy, but he certainly didn't smell like one."

"That is no small task for him to fool your keen senses, Logan. His female appearance was nearly perfect," Ororo said quietly.

Xavier and Logan both looked at her thoughtfully for a moment.

"Ororo," Xavier asked, "you said, 'nearly perfect.' You were also the first one to suspect that the girl was not what she appeared to be. How did you know?"

"It wasn't his physical appearance, for that had me convinced at first as well. It was subtle things like his mannerisms and the way in which he moved. Another male would find the difference hard to spot, but a female would notice that something wasn't quite right. It's possible that even Rogue would have been able to see that there was something different about this 'girl'"

"It will undoubtedly be an interesting conversation this evening when we meet with both him and his mother," Charles said with a slight chuckle. "From the way he was acting earlier, I suspect that she will be just as surprised about her 'daughter' as we were."

He looked away from them and closed his eyes for a few moments.

"I've just contacted Scott and Rogue," he told them after opening his eyes. "They've told me that the boy went out to a nearby shopping mall and they're both following him at a discreet distance. It's a bit curious that he still seems to be dressed as we'd seen him earlier. I've asked them to stay with him for a few more hours and then meet us for dinner back at the hotel. They'll call us at the suite if they need to get a hold of us since Logan's cell phone is inoperative."

"Are you expecting trouble of some kind, Charles?" Ororo asked.

"I sincerely hope not," Xavier answered as he rode up the ramp into the side of the van.

"It's just a precaution, but this child's power is still very much an unknown. I want Scott and Rogue close enough to see if he demonstrates any of his abilities and to come to his aid if necessary. We all know the dangers of mutant abilities running un-checked."

As soon as his chair was secured, Logan and Ororo climbed into the van and they drove off back to the hotel that was serving as their temporary base while they were in Lansing.

---

Chris was having the time of his life. Not only did people notice him for a change, but also everyone seemed to be going out of their way to be especially polite to him. Guys in particular were even more eager to give him attention. This was a lot more fun than his usual status as a social leper. When compared to his normal life, being Christy seemed to be full of limitless possibilities. Deep down, he knew that this walk in the limelight would be a short-lived. Eventually, he'd have to get back home before his Mom finished work for the day and put her clothes back where they belonged. He was a bit saddened by the knowledge that he'd have to return to being geeky little Chris the Jinx, but at least for the time being he could live in the moment. Even if it was only temporary, he was determined to get as much enjoyment out of it as he could.

He felt extremely out of place at the video game store he normally liked to browse in. He started to feel quite uncomfortable from all the stares he was receiving from the rest of the patrons in the store. It seemed as though everyone had dropped whatever he or she were doing as soon as he'd strolled in so they could leer at him.

It finally occurred to him what the problem was: girls were seldom seen in stores like that, and certainly not really pretty girls like the one he appeared to be. Girls like to look in clothes stores, he reminded himself. Although he remembered how much fun he'd had with his mother's wardrobe earlier that day, he thought he might be pushing his luck if he tried clothes shopping. Besides that, he hadn't brought a lot of money with him so he doubted he'd be able to buy anything even if he did find something he liked.

Still, it couldn't hurt to do a little browsing, he supposed. He looked at some of the outfits on display in a nearby store window and decided to have a quick look around inside.

Unknown to him, two teenagers had settled themselves down on a bench a short distance away and waited for him to reappear.

"Ah can't believe that's really a boy!" Rogue said in her typical Southern drawl. "That girl's got looks that many of us real girls would kill ta have! Well... maybe not literally," she hastily added as Scott's mouth fell open in surprise.

"Quite a surprising kid so far," Scott observed. "I wonder if that's his mutant ability... to charm the socks off of people with her... sorry, his looks."

"That and bein' able ta block the Professor from readin' him," Rogue pointed out. "He seems harmless enough, though. Ah wonder why the Professor wants us ta just follow him? Ah thought that we came all this way ta get him ta come back ta the Institute with us?"

Scott shrugged. "I don't understand it either, but I'm sure that the Professor has his reasons."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, but Rogue was starting to get impatient and restless.

"Ah hate just sittin' here and doin' nothing!"

She observed a music store a bit of a way's down the mall corridor.

"Ah'm gonna head over there for a bit," she said as she pointed to the store. "Come and find me when we're ready ta leave."

Before Scott could protest, she took off and disappeared through a crowd of people. Rogue could be quite impulsive at times and it can sometimes make being around her pretty frustrating. He reflected thoughtfully and realized that this trip to Lansing was likely the most time that anyone from the Institute had been able to spend with her at once. Maybe Rogue was conscious of that as well and it was making her uncomfortable. She was still accustomed to being alone, so if she wanted a break to gain a little breathing space he supposed that would be all right. It isn't like they were doing anything but watching the kid anyways.

Speaking of that kid, what was taking her... or him... so long in that store? He decided to casually walk by the entrance and have a quick look inside to see what was up. As he passed the entrance, he didn't see any customers in the store and certainly not Chris McGee. He was feeling a little nervous and decided he'd better go in to see if he was near the back of the store.

He wasn't.

Scott walked briskly up to the sales desk, where the attractive woman behind it looked at him approvingly.

"May I help you, sir?" She asked politely.

"Uh... I'm looking for a young girl who was just in here. Is she trying anything on in the change rooms, by any chance?"

The sales lady looked puzzled for a moment, and then her face lit up as she recalled whom Scott was talking about.

"Oh! You mean that pretty young girl with the long brownish hair? Is she your girlfriend?"

Scott blushed a bit at that thought, but quickly regained his composure.

"Er no, actually. I'm just a friend of hers. Is she still here in the store?"

"No dear," the lady replied with a slight shake of her head. "She’d said that she was just browsing so she left after only a few minutes."

Damn it!! Scott thought. The kid must have left the store right about the same time that he was distracted by Rogue taking off. The Professor will be disappointed in him for losing the kid, so he'd have to pick up his trail again. He politely thanked the sales lady for her help and then sprinted down to the music store Rogue had gone off to.

Rogue was hanging out near the back of the store, checking out various import releases from bands he'd never even heard of. She looked up at him as he was running towards her, slightly out of breath.

"Whoa, Scott! What's the rush?" She asked.

"I lost the kid. He must have slipped out of that store right when you and I split up. We have to find him or the Professor's liable to be irritated with us."

"Calm down," she admonished him. "Ah'm sure he can't be that hard ta find, lookin' as he does. Ah'll go check the restrooms nearby ta see if he's in there. Why don't you start lookin' in the nearby stores?”

As soon as they were out of the music store, they paused for a moment as they looked up and down the main corridor.

"If you don't see him in the restroom, Rogue..." Scott told her, "Keep looking in these stores. One of us is bound to find her... I mean, him. If one of us spots him, that person will stay with him like the Professor asked us to. We'll meet up back at the hotel in a few hours."

Rogue gave him an annoyed look and made an exaggerated salute.

"Yes SIR!! Ah'll be sure ta follow yer orders ta the letter!" She then took off towards the restrooms, leaving Scott frowning as he watched her depart.

---

Chris had decided to head to one of the stereo and electronics stores to inquire about getting his Discman repaired. The novelty of being gawked at by every male in the place had long since worn off and now all the extra attention was starting to grate on his nerves. He'd quickened his pace and was acutely aware of many sets of male eyes watching his rear as he briskly strolled down the main corridor. He decided that this was one part about being a girl that he wasn't too keen on. He wondered how real girls put up with this crap without hauling off and slapping some of these idiots.

It was pretty busy in the store when he'd entered and all of the salesmen were currently with customers, so he decided to wait until one was free. Practically all of them had taken notice of him as he'd entered, so he knew that he wouldn't have to wait for too long.

He passed the time wandering around near the back of the store and looking at various pieces of computer and stereo equipment that were on display back there. A couple of stereo units caught his eye and he wondered if his Mom would go for the idea of an upgrade. He reached out to run his fingers along some of the controls and suddenly saw a quick flash of light, accompanied by a soft 'pop' sound. Smoke started to waft out of the air vents in the side of the unit and he immediately backed away in surprise.

"What the hell did you just do, girl?!" A stern voice said from immediately behind him.

Chris turned around and saw one of the older salesmen, possibly the store's manager, glaring at him with a none-too-pleased look on his face.

"N...nothing..." he stammered nervously, "I barely even touched it!"

The man reached out and snatched his wrist in a firm grip.

"We have a 'break it and buy it' policy here," he snarled at Chris. "It's posted at the entrance to the store. I hope you're prepared to pay for that unit you just destroyed or I'm calling mall security!"

"Please mister," Chris begged, "I swear... I didn't do anything. And I don't even have nearly enough money to pay for it! Please let me go..."

The man was gripping his wrist so tightly that it was starting to hurt.

"No way, you little brat! I'm sick and tired of you teenage twerps thinking you can treat this place like some kind of playground! If it isn't shoplifting, it's breaking things! Well, if you don't have enough money, then I'll just have to call your parents."

The commotion in the back of the store was starting to attract a lot of unwanted attention. Not only that, but if the guy tried to call his mother he didn't know how he'd ever be able to explain to her why he was out shopping while wearing her clothes. He desperately tried to pull his arm free but the man seemed to take delight in his desperation and only squeezed harder.

"No you don't! You're not getting away. You're in a lot of trouble, Missy! We're going to keep you in the back room until Security comes for you!"

"Please... you're hurting me!" he whimpered as tears started to well up in his eyes.

"Save the waterworks for someone who cares, kid."

He turned his attention back to the growing number of customers who had clustered around to watch.

"Okay folks, show's over. Remember this if there's ever any doubt in your minds about our 'Break it & Buy it' policy!"

He then began to drag Chris behind him towards the storeroom door.

Chris was beyond panic now. This guy had no interest whatsoever in listening to him. He had to get away somehow before the bastard managed to trap him in the storeroom. No matter how hard he pulled, though, the guy just kept squeezing his wrist. It was almost as if the guy knew that he was hurting him and was enjoying it. Chris was suddenly very fearful about what this guy might do to him once he was out of sight of all the customers in the store. His mind quickly flashed back to Robbie and Stan... and what they tried to do with him.

No, he thought. That can't happen... I won't let it... I WON'T!!!!

All of the sudden, he felt a peculiar tingling sensation run through his entire body. Instantly, the man holding his wrist screamed in pain and quickly released him.

"God damn it!!" the man yelled as he grasped his arm with his other hand and screwed his eyes shut in pain. "What'd you do to me, you freak?!"

Chris was very confused. He hadn't done anything at all... or had he? He cautiously took a few steps backwards away from the guy and looked around for an opportunity to make a break for it.

"You're one of those freakin' muties, aren't you! Well, I'll teach you not to come into my store and break my inventory!"

He quickly reached behind the counter with his remaining good hand and pulled out a baseball bat.

"I'm going to make you very sorry that you ever came in here!"

"Believe me, I'm already sorry!" Chris said as he tried to dash through the customers and escape out into the mall.

Unfortunately, a number of the other salesmen had moved in from various positions around the store and surrounded him.

Chris was really frightened now. If he didn't get away immediately, there was a good chance that these guys might beat the crap out of him, as well as turning him over to mall security. They'd formed a close circle around him, but for some reason none of them seemed eager to actually touch him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the asshole with the baseball bat closing in. No doubt he wouldn't have any problem 'touching' him with that bat.

He felt his fear and desperation growing out of control when the store's lights suddenly went out. Not only the lights, but also all of the stereo and computer equipment along the walls were inert as well. It seemed as though the entire store had suddenly been drained of all electrical power. There were confused shouts from the salesmen as well as the various patrons in the store as they bumped around in the darkness. This was as good a chance as he was going to get to make a break for it, so he decided to take advantage of it. He quickly charged through the various bodies around him and pushed his way to the front of the store.

As he was pushing his way though, he saw something quite surprising that he might not have noticed if the lights hadn't gone out... his hands appeared to be radiating a faint bluish-green light! Unfortunately for him he wasn't the only person who had noticed it.

Someone near him, an older woman he guessed, shrieked.

"My god! She's some kind of monster!"

He tumbled out of the store and fell to the floor of the main corridor as a larger crowd of people was gathering. A number of people were shouting and pointing at him and some looked like they were ready to lynch him. His emotions were way out of control as he scrambled to his feet and ran incredibly fast towards the nearest exit. He didn't know where he was running to and he didn't care... he just had to get away from there.

In his wake, one certain person was staring hard at him with his jaw hanging open. He quickly recovered his composure and started to sprint down the corridor after Chris.

This time, Robbie thought to himself as he clenched his fists, I'm going to get that little sissy but good!

---

Scott and Rogue had both arrived at the Stereo and Electronics store at the same time. Each had heard that there was some kind of commotion at the store and headed towards the disturbance. Ironically, they'd only missed Chris by a couple of minutes. They casually blended amongst the onlookers and started to ask around about what had happened.

"It was one of those mutant freaks that we've heard about in the news!" One of the salesmen had said to Scott.

"She looked normal enough, but then she suddenly destroyed something in the store and then attacked the manager when he'd asked her to pay for it. The guy now has some kind of burns on one of his hands!"

Scott frowned at the man's words but said nothing. He looked at the dark store which still hadn't had power restored yet.

"What happened after this... 'freak' attacked the manager?" Scott asked, cringing at his own words.

He hated having to pander to the narrow-minded bigotry of people like this, but he needed information quickly. Well, when in Rome... he supposed.

"We tried to grab the girl, but she blacked out the entire store and got away. The little freak was even glowing in the dark as she took off!"

Scott raised an eyebrow. Now that was interesting! He excused himself from the man's company and went to find Rogue. She was standing far off to the side by herself, not surprisingly, and impatiently tapping her foot on the ground.

"Come on!" she told him urgently as he got within earshot. "A couple of folks said she ran off this way a few minutes ago!"

She then turned and ran off without waiting for his reply.

Shit, he thought to himself. The situation was getting a whole lot stickier than he'd imagined it would. The Professor wanted to be informed if anything out of the ordinary happened and he guessed that this definitely qualified. He quickly ran to a payphone and dialed up the number for the hotel they were booked in at. Within a few moments, the front desk re-directed his call to their suite.

"Yeah?" Logan answered in his usual gruff tone of voice.

"Uh... it's Scott. I need to talk with the Professor! It's urgent!"

There was a brief pause and then he suddenly heard the Professor talking to him, but directly in his head!

'What's wrong, Scott?'

'Professor, it's the girl... er, boy... I mean, the kid we were following!' he thought back.

'Calm down. Just tell me what happened.'

In much less time than it would have taken to explain it, Scott was able to relay everything to the Professor via the temporary link between the two of them. He felt the Professor shift into private concentration for a moment.

'Rogue is outside the North entrance of that shopping mall,' the Professor's words sounded in his head.

'She was unable to determine which direction the boy ran off to, so I told her to wait there for you. Mr. Logan, Ms. Munroe and I are on our way to help locate the boy. Stay with Rogue and the two of you can search as a pair.'

He felt the link with the Professor disengage, so he quickly hung up the telephone receiver and hurried to the North entrance.

---

Chris wasn't sure exactly how long he'd been running, but he was now feeling a painful stitch in his side. He headed into a laneway behind some houses and sat down on the ground with his back against a wood fence. He was several blocks away from the shopping mall and felt momentary relief to be away from all of the madness back there. Now that the adrenaline was starting to ebb away, the anxiety and fear he'd been suppressing from earlier fell on him like a ton of bricks. He drew his knees up to his chin and hugged his legs close to himself as he burst into tears.

He sobbed for a few minutes until he was able to think coherently again. Those people back there had called him all sorts of things, including 'freak', 'monster' and 'mutie'. Mutie... mutant? Him?

He'd heard of mutants before; lots of kids at school would tell stories about them, but he'd always just assumed it was some urban myth. Sort of like the over-grown alligators in the sewers stories.

He looked at his hands and remembered the faint glow he'd seen coming from them. He thought back to how that stereo unit suddenly self-destructed on him as soon as he'd touched it. At the time, he’d thought it was just some defect in the unit and was sure that it hadn't been his fault. Now he wasn't quite so sure. He was starting to see a pattern over the past few months. A lot of things had been breaking down around him or simply stopped working for no apparent reason. It was what had earned him his 'Jinx' title at school. What if it wasn't all just bad luck? What if all this time he was actually doing... something to things that screwed them up?

Then, there was what happened to that guy who wouldn't let go of him. He remembered that funny tingling feeling and then the next thing he knew the guy had let go of him and was screaming in pain.

That wasn't the first time he'd felt that sensation, though. The first time was... in the bathroom at school! When Stan was twisting his arms the other day after school, the feeling had come then too... and the next thing he knew Stan and Robbie were both gone and he was alone on the floor in a dark bathroom. What had just happened at the mall was remarkably similar, only he hadn’t fainted this time.

A vision of his mother's bandaged fingers quickly flashed in his mind.

That's right! He thought to himself. She claimed that she'd burned herself on something but she was hiding the truth from him. His memories of that evening in the hospital weren't nearly as clear. He could only recall an excruciating headache while some nurse was taking pictures of the bruises on his arms, then... nothing. He probably did something to her without realizing it and that's how she'd burnt the tips of her fingers. No wonder she had been looking a little oddly at him every so often!

That was pretty much the icing on the cake for Chris and he started crying again. It was bad enough he now knew that he truly was some kind of freak, but he'd even hurt his own mother. That thought alone was probably more upsetting to him than anything else. His Mom had always been there for him and she always did her best for him. It wasn't fair that she had to suffer like that because of him! He was thankful that it appeared she'd only suffered minor burns to her fingers, but what about the next time? He felt a wave of depression sweep through him as he came to the realization that he was a danger to her the longer he was around. For her sake, he had to run away.

He looked down at himself and thought again about how well he was able to pass himself off as a girl. Maybe he could try living as one while he was running. At the very least, it should keep him from being recognized by the authorities until he could get far enough away.

He finally stood up and brushed some of the dust off his rear. If he was going to run away, he knew he had to do it before his mother came home or he might lose his nerve by the next day. After all the excitement at the mall, he figured it would be wise to keep off the main streets as much as possible as he made his way home.

Just as he started to continue his walk through the laneway, he heard rapid footsteps approaching from behind him. He turned towards the sound just in time to feel the back of a large hand strike him hard across the face and send him reeling into a couple of garbage cans.

"Well well, McGee," Robbie said he stood over him with an evil smile on his face.

"Don't you look precious? I guess you've finally decided that you're a girl after all since you're going around dressed like one."

Chris tried to stand, but received a sharp kick to the ribs that knocked the wind out of him.

"That," Robbie told him matter-of-factly, "was for whatever you did to Stan the other day."

Chris fell on his side and tried to force some air into his lungs as Robbie paced slowly around him with a bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

"It seems that you and me have some unfinished business, McGee," Robbie told him as he slowly began to crack his knuckles.

"Now that you're a proper-looking girl, maybe I'll let you do a little more than just blow me. First things first, though... I believe I owe you something for getting me kicked out of school."

Chris covered his eyes and whimpered in fear. What had he ever done to deserve all of this? He thought miserably to himself.

Just as he had resigned himself to the severe beating he knew was imminent, he heard a loud explosion and the sound of scattering debris.

He opened his eyes and saw that Robbie had picked up a large stick and looked as though he was getting ready to start beating him with it. Robbie's attention was not on him at the moment though. He was instead looking at a rather large hole that had just been blasted through the wooden fence right next to him.

"Okay tough-guy, you want to try your little dance with me, or can you only take on people smaller than you?" A stern voice said from behind them.

Chris and Robbie both turned towards the direction the voice came from. Behind them, a vaguely familiar-looking teenager was standing there with his arms folded defiantly across his chest. The guy was wearing denim jeans, hiking boots and a denim jacket over a T-shirt, but it was the red-tinted sunglasses that brought full recognition back to Chris. This guy was one of those people who'd come to his house that morning.

"What's it to you, four-eyes?" Robbie snarled at him. "I was just about to teach this little sissy-faggot a lesson, but if you want some action I can educate you too!"

He stepped around Chris and moved towards this new guy.

"You another mutie freak like the little faggot here?" he sneered as he glanced briefly towards the new hole in the fence. "You think that shit scares me? Think again, asshole! You want a piece of me, then come and get some, freak!"

Robbie then moved suddenly and hurled the large stick he was holding directly at the other teen. It caught him by surprise, but he was able to duck out of the way. Unfortunately, Robbie used the distraction to his advantage and rushed him. Chris watched in horror as Robbie quickly landed a series of vicious blows into the guy's stomach; temporarily winding him. He then got to his feet and began to lay into the fallen teen with some heavy kicks.

"You're not so tough are you, freak?!" Robbie jeered as he went over to retrieve that large stick from where it had landed. He looked briefly back at Chris with a sick grin on his face.

"Don't worry McGee, I'll get to you in a minute!"

As Robbie turned his attention back to the other teen, he was momentarily startled to see a man with extremely muscular arms standing between him and the guy he was about to beat into oblivion.

"Glad to see that you enjoy fightin' with 'mutie freaks'," the man growled at Robbie.

He then lowered his arms towards the ground and there was a strange metallic sound as three mean-looking blades sprung out of the knuckles of each hand.

"... 'cause you know what, Bub? This is one 'mutie freak' that's goin' to really enjoy fightin' you!"

With Robbie's attention now decidedly elsewhere, a slender girl wearing Goth-style clothing sprung out from behind a parked car and rushed over to Chris. She got a hold of him under his arms and started to pull him to his feet. Chris recognized her as the other teenager from the group that had come to visit that morning. What the hell was going on? As grateful as he was that they'd come along right when they did, he still didn't know what they wanted with him. He glanced over at the guy with the blades sticking out of his hands, who was just standing there glaring at Robbie.

Robbie sized this other guy up pretty quickly. While he may not be terribly bright, he seemed to recognize that attempting to fight this guy could very well be the last thing he'd ever do. For added emphasis, the guy with the claws made a fast swipe with his arm and sliced that large club Robbie was holding in two.

"Why don't you run home to your mama before you get hurt, little boy?" The man growled at him through clenched teeth.

That was more than enough for Robbie, who had turned tail and ran in the opposite direction without so much as a backwards glance. With that same metallic sound, those blades quickly disappeared and the man turned to help his friend up off the ground.

"Looks like you need some remedial trainin' on the mat, kid," the man said with a chuckle and a gentle shake of his head. "That piece of trash could've done some pretty nasty damage to you if I hadn't gotten here when I did."

They both walked back towards where Chris was standing with that strange girl who had helped him to his feet. Chris, who by this point was more than just a little bit freaked out, involuntarily took a few steps back from them.

"Wh... who are you people?" He stammered, "Why are you following me? What do you want?"

"Whoa, easy there..." the man said as he brought his hands up gently. "We're not goin’ to hurt you, kid... we just want to talk to you."

Chris looked fearfully at the man's hands, remembering the blades he'd seen sticking out of them only moments before. He backed up against the fence and slid down to the ground as he felt all the strength in his legs evaporate.

"Please, just go away," he whispered as tears started to form in his eyes. "I didn't do anything... why won't everyone just leave me alone?"

The guy with the tinted sunglasses approached him cautiously and crouched down beside him.

"Hey, listen... believe it or not, I completely understand how you feel."

In spite of how bad he was feeling, Chris managed an amused snort through his tears.

"Hardly," he said as he stared hard at the guy. "You couldn't possibly know how I'm feeling! I'm not even sure I know myself! You don't have any idea what I am!"

"Well, for starters... I know that you're really a boy, although I must admit that I'm finding it hard to believe," he replied softly.

Chris let out an involuntary gasp and hid his face in his hands. Just when he’d thought that he couldn't feel any worse!

The girl, who until that moment had been trying her best to make everyone forget that she was there, stepped forward and gave her companion a quick kick to his behind.

"Oww! What'd you do that for, Rogue?" he exclaimed as he rubbed his rear.

"Nice goin', genius!" she replied in a strange Southern-sounding accent, "Ah swear, you men can be so thick sometimes!"

She moved to crouch down on the other side of Chris where she regarded him carefully for a moment.

"Y'all make a pretty convincing girl though, Ah must say."

As bad as he had been feeling, he was now getting quite angry. Whoever these people were, they knew a lot more about him than he knew about them. That was as creepy as it was irritating and he didn't need to deal with that crap on top of everything else that had been going on. He felt strength return to his legs and he quickly jumped to his feet.

"I don't know what you want and I don't care! Just leave me alone!!" he shouted at them.

He made a quick move to dash past them, but the guy with the glasses reached up and caught him by the arm.

Almost immediately, he felt that tingling sensation again. There was a sudden flash of light that came from where the guy was holding onto his arm, and then just as quickly he was free again as the grip was released.

"Scott!!" shouted the girl as her friend collapsed to the ground.

Oh shit, Chris thought to himself. Here we go again!

He took a quick look down at the guy sprawled out on the ground and then at the man with the claws. Chris didn't mean to do whatever it was that he just did, but he found it hard to believe that they'd be terribly sympathetic towards him now that he'd just injured one of them. He didn't want to face the wrath of that guy with the blades in his arms, so it was time to go... and right now.

As he began to run away from them he saw the man moving towards him in what seemed to Chris as slow motion. Chris easily dodged past him as the guy lunged at him in a flying tackle.

Even in slow motion, this guy still seemed to get back on his feet pretty quickly and made several more attempts to grab him. Although Chris was able to keep the guy from actually catching him, the guy kept barring his path and made it impossible for him to get away.

Looking about quickly, Chris spotted an alternative option and circled back towards the large hole in the wood fence. He raced towards it and dove through it before his pursuer was able to stop him. He quickly tumbled into a roll and then back to his feet, resuming his run without losing any momentum. In an instant, he’d disappeared up the side of the house and then took off down the street.

---

To be continued in:

The XX-Factor: Chapter Three - Discoveries & Decisions

...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.

---

Official Disclaimer:
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.

The author maintains creative ownership of the story itself and grants BigCloset TopShelf permission to post it online for free viewing by this site's visitors.

"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!

"Life is never simple, child," said Ororo. "The other students here at the Institute know that better than most. You will find all of them to be very understanding and accepting of you -- no matter which gender you appear to be."

---

Official Disclaimer:
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.

The author maintains creative ownership of the story itself and grants BigCloset TopShelf permission to post it online for free viewing by this site's visitors.

Chris looked through the window of the van and watched his mother waving back to him as they drove away. He fought the urge to cry as her figure shrunk away in the distance. He looked around at the familiar scenes of his street and found himself wondering when he'd see any of it again.

He was feeling the normal levels of excitement that one feels in anticipation of the start of a long journey, but also a certain amount of anxiety. If anyone had told him a week ago, or even a couple of days ago, that he would be doing what he was doing right then he'd never have believed it. Yet there he was; leaving his home and going to live at a strange place with a group of people he'd only just met the day before.

The ride in the van seemed normal enough, he supposed. The others seemed to be making surprisingly normal conversation around him. For the most part, he said very little and only answered when someone spoke directly to him. He was starting to come down with a bad case of nerves, and even though he tried to sound cheerful he doubted that he was fooling anyone. Still, they persisted and kept trying to make him feel more at ease. Although he already knew Xavier's name, the rest of them finally made their formal introductions.

Initially, Chris had been dreading the thought of the long drive to New York State. He was surprised that so far no one had asked him why he'd been wearing girls’ clothes the day before, but figured it had to be brought up sooner or later.

He looked back at Rogue, who was leaning back in her seat with her eyes closed and apparently listening to music through her headphones. It didn't appear as though she enjoyed idle conversations either.

He was trying to think of a polite way to ask them if it was all right if he tried to doze off for a while when he noticed that they were pulling into the local airport. Instantly curious, he leaned over and peered though the window while they drove around past a number of administration buildings. Chris noticed a number of smaller private planes and jets parked just off the tarmac and wondered what the reason for coming there was. The answer was apparent as soon as they came to a stop before a black, impressive-looking private jet.

"Here we are folks," Logan announced. "Express flight to Bayville. Take-off in 10 minutes."

Logan and Ororo proceeded to help Xavier out of the van and onto the jet, while Scott and Rogue grabbed some of the bags out of the back and carried them towards the waiting aircraft.

Chris was stunned. He'd never been this close to an aircraft before, much less ever flown in one. While he was impressed at the resources these people had at their disposal, he was none-too-thrilled about the prospect of flying. Scott and Rogue returned for more bags and saw Chris frozen in place as he looked up at the jet.

"What's the matter, Chris?" asked Scott. "You aren't afraid of flying, are you?"

"I... I'm not sure. I've never flown before," he answered shakily.

"Well, it's definitely exciting but nothing to be afraid of. Grab your bags and come onboard. Our jet is pretty cool and I'm sure you'll really enjoy it."

Still feeling a bit unsure of the situation, he picked up his bags and followed Scott and Rogue as they climbed up the ramp into the plane.

Inside, it was actually a little bigger than he'd expected. The layout was kind of strange, too. Aside from the pilot controls at the front, there were also various electronic instruments situated around some of the other seats. While Chris admitted to himself that he didn't know much about planes, this one didn't seem like an ordinary private aircraft.

The jet was completely loaded within minutes. Once their luggage had been properly stowed away, Scott helped Chris settle into one of the passenger seats and showed him how to properly buckle up. He took a seat across the aisle from Chris and gave him the 'thumbs up' sign as soon as he'd belted himself in. Chris watched the adults up at the front of the jet while they ran through their pre-flight checks. After a few moments, he glanced back at Rogue who was seated by herself a few rows back and once again listening to her music. She seemed pointedly unconcerned about the imminent takeoff and he found himself envying her calm.

The entire jet began to vibrate and Chris immediately felt his pulse speed up while he listened to the growing whine of the engines. There was a slight lurch and the jet began to roll forward as it started to taxi its way out onto the tarmac. He looked briefly over at Scott, who had reclined a bit in his seat and started to read a book. It was becoming readily apparent to him that he was probably the only one who was feeling uptight about takeoff. He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths and made a conscious effort to calm his nerves. There really wasn't anything to be afraid of, he reasoned. These people were far more experienced with air travel than he was and if they weren't nervous, why should he be? Slowly, he started to relax a bit.

His briefly won calm was quickly shattered when he felt a powerful force push him against the back of his chair. He felt the jet shoot forward and then a curious instant of weightlessness as it lifted into the air. Through the window at the front of the plane he saw the horizon drop away, leaving only a few clouds and a clear blue sky. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he closed his eyes and tried in vain to calm himself down. He was starting to feel a little light-headed and wondered if it was too soon to be airsick.

A few moments later, he heard an alarm buzzing from somewhere in the front of the jet. At the same time, he noticed that the powerful sound of the engines began to subside. He opened his eyes and saw Ms. Munroe hastily unbuckling herself and then run towards him.

"Chris!" she shouted as she held him by his shoulders and shook him. "You're draining the electrical power! You must stop or we'll crash!"

Oh shit! Chris thought to himself.

"I don't know how to stop!" he answered desperately. "I don't even know how I'm doing it!"

At the front of the jet, Chris could see the horizon begin to drift back up into view. If he'd thought he was nervous about flying before, it was nothing compared to how he was feeling at that moment. He began to notice that strange tingling sensation running through his body again. He held up his shaking hands in front of his face and saw a soft glow emanating from them. Remembering the power blackout in the electronics store, he started to freak out as he imagined the same thing happening to their aircraft.

Damn it!! He thought, Why do disasters keep following me around?!

Chris looked up at Ms. Munroe, but she wasn't looking at him. At that particular moment, her attention was focused on someone just behind him. He started to turn around just as he felt someone lightly touch the side of his face. There was a bright flash of light and he briefly caught a glimpse of Rogue looking down at him with a worried expression on her face. Once again, the both of them were enveloped in that same blue-green glow. The strange tingling sensation quickly faded away, and Chris felt himself falling into the comforting darkness of unconsciousness.

---

Hours later, a somewhat subdued group were gathered in Xavier's study. The flight back from Michigan was decidedly less-than-ideal and they were still feeling a bit on edge because of it. Everyone except Rogue, that is. She'd taken a large amount of energy from the boy to keep him unconscious and ensure their safety for the rest of the flight. Apparently she was still feeling the after-affects of drawing the new student's mutant ability, so she'd been working out in the gymnasium for a while and thoroughly enjoying herself.

Chris had been brought immediately to the Institute's infirmary upon their arrival so that Henry could make a thorough examination. Xavier was hopeful that Henry would be able to discover some means of helping the boy in the short term until he could learn to better control his powers.

The door opened and Henry's large, blue-furred form ambled into the room, carrying a file-folder and a few computer printouts.

"Good afternoon, Hank," said Ororo in a quiet greeting. "How is the child?"

"Still unconscious,” he replied. “I needed Rogue to neutralize her powers again so that I could properly scan her, but undoubtedly she'll awaken soon. I must say, her physiology is quite remarkable."

Xavier raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Her, did you say, Henry? I know that the boy has a bit of a feminine appearance, but..." he let his words trail off as he looked inquiringly at Henry.

"Well, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that at present she is neither male nor female, but somewhere in between."

He paused as he looked at the surprised expressions of the others.

"... at least for the time being," He quickly added.

Looking pointedly at the file folder and printouts, Xavier nodded towards them.

"Tell us what you've found then, Henry."

"From what I've been able to ascertain, the girl's powers allow her to draw and store electricity. My theory is that she is able to manipulate her bioelectric field to varying levels of strength for drawing power from nearby sources. Every cell in her body has an incredibly high potential for storing bioelectric energy. In a sense, she functions like a living capacitor. From what you've described of your Michigan experiences, once she draws the energy she is then able to re-direct it to different purposes such as speed and agility, for example. When she is holding a sufficient charge, her bioelectric field can be strong enough to prevent the passage of certain wavelengths of energy through her tissues. This might explain why she sometimes appears to be impervious to X-rays and telepathic probes."

"That explains why you've been havin' problems with her, Chuck," Logan said with a glance at Xavier. He then looked back at Henry with a fixed stare, "but why does she have a girl's scent on her?"

"The answer is in her DNA," Henry answered. "Genetic analysis of the girl confirms the presence of an extra 'X' Chromosome. Essentially, instead of a normal 'XX' for a female or an 'XY' for a male, she is an 'XXY'. On the genetic level, she carries the potential for both genders. I do not believe that is entirely the cause for her condition, though."

"Do her mutant abilities factor in somehow as well, Henry?" Xavier asked.

Henry nodded.

"Excellent Charles, yes... as a matter of fact, the combination of her mutant abilities and her base genetic structure has resulted in this rather unique situation. It appears that the higher levels of energy she is able to hold have been neutralizing her testosterone levels. As you know, all human embryos are female in their base form, with males being determined by different hormone levels later in the gestation period. Chris was born male only because his mother's physiology was dominant while she was carrying him to term. Through her, Chris was completely insulated from exterior energy sources until he was born and then no longer physically connected to her. After his birth, his bio-electric potential would have immediately begun to affect his hormone levels, but only to minimal effect until adolescence."

"So... the kid's turnin' into a girl, then. Kind of odd, but at least I know I'm not losin' my touch," Logan said with a satisfied nod of his head.

"Is this true, Henry? Is Chris McGee actually changing into a female?" Xavier asked.

"I agree that it is rather difficult to believe, but it would certainly seem to appear that way."

He opened the folder that he'd brought with him and handed a few X-rays to Xavier.

"Thanks to Rogue's assistance, I was able to get a proper set of X-rays done on Chris. They clearly show that her bone structure is entirely that of a female of her age. Her hormone levels are consistent with a pre-adolescent girl and perhaps even more remarkable..."

He paused as he handed a digitized computer image to Xavier.

"... is what I found in this scan."

Xavier looked briefly at the image and then back to Henry with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Is this correct, Henry? This is truly remarkable!"

Ororo and Logan came over to have a closer look at the image that Xavier was holding. Ororo wasn't sure what it was they were supposed to be looking at and even Logan shook his head in confusion.

"I don't get it Hank," Logan said while scratching his chin. "What is it that we're lookin' at here?"

"Ovaries," Henry replied.

---

Chris opened his eyes and felt a brief wave of panic pass over him as he looked around the completely unfamiliar room. It looked like he was in some kind of lab... and he appeared to be lying on some sort of examination table. He had been covered by a light blanket and underneath it he discovered that he was wearing another white patient's gown.

He thought back to his last memories of being in the jet when it started to lose power. Had they crashed? Perhaps he was in a Hospital.

No, that couldn't be it. It was too quiet to be a Hospital. It was more likely that he was in that Xavier Institute. That girl, Rogue... she did something to him when she touched him. They probably had her knock him out because he was endangering the flight.

So now he was there, but where was everyone else? He supposed that he should probably just wait patiently for someone to return, but he was starting to feel his old phobia of medical facilities beginning to settle in again. Although he suspected that he was probably only in the Institute's infirmary, he was still feeling uncomfortable just the same.

He looked about briefly for any sign of his clothes and wasn't entirely surprised to see no trace of them. Pushing the blanket aside, he hopped down off the examination table and noted with some discomfort the feel of the cold floor on his bare feet. The room appeared to be very precisely climate-controlled, but with what little he was wearing he found it to be slightly chilly. He definitely needed to get something else to wear.

Chris padded over to the door and gently eased it open. He found himself looking into a long, empty corridor with an assortment of doors staggered along its length. Taking a deep breath, he cautiously stepped out into the corridor and pulled the door closed behind him. He paused at a few of the doors and listened for any sign of activity, but heard nothing.

Finally, he found what appeared to be an elevator at the end of the corridor. Was he underground? Just how big was this Institute, anyways? After briefly debating whether or not he should just go back to the room he'd awakened in, he made up his mind and hit the call button for the elevator. As soon as it had arrived, he involuntarily jumped back as the door opened. Damn, he was nervous!

The control panel confirmed his suspicions that he was definitely on some lower level of the facility. He opted to go to the 'main' level to see if he could find any of the people he'd already met. Although he didn't really know them very well, they were still the only familiar faces he knew of at present.

The elevator rose gently up to the main floor and its door opened onto a nicely decorated room with several sofas, chairs, a wide-screen television and a pool table.

A recreation room, he thought.

He peered out cautiously and saw that it was completely unoccupied at the moment. The daylight streaming in through one of the large windows of the room suggested it was mid-afternoon. He wasn't entirely sure how long he'd been asleep, but he guessed that it was still the same day. He was a bit puzzled why there wasn't anyone else in the room since it was a Saturday, after all. Weren't there supposed to be other kids like him living at this place?

He was startled by the sound of the elevator door sliding shut. Shaking his head slightly at his own nervousness, he looked back towards the elevator and noted with interest that it appeared to be completely hidden when viewed from this side. That was pretty odd, he thought. He looked around the rest of the room carefully, not daring to touch anything.

When he approached the doorway, he could just make out someone's voice in the distance. Following the sound, he edged along the wall of another corridor that opened up onto a very large room, which appeared to be the main entrance hall for the building.

He whistled softly to himself while he took in the splendor of the large room.

To his left was a double-set of large, nicely finished wooden doors. Bracketed on either side of them were several large windows that practically ran from the floor all the way up to the high ceiling that Chris guessed was nearly three stories high. There was more than enough daylight pouring through them to flood the entire hall with natural light. He noted several chandeliers high above that probably did just as effective a job at night. On his right was a grand staircase that led up to the second floor. From somewhere up there he could hear the voice that he'd been following a little more clearly. He felt his pulse quicken slightly and slowly climbed the stairs.

Not exactly the most ideal way to meet new people, he thought to himself.

Once on the landing at the top of the staircase, he began to have second thoughts. He could make out several doors along the hallway that led away from the landing. A couple of them were open and he could now clearly make out what sounded like one end of a telephone conversation. It looked as though he'd found the student residence rooms. As anxious as he was to find someone to explain what was going on, he didn't exactly want to barge in un-announced, either.

Looking down at the rest of the main hall, he saw another corridor that was opposite from the one he'd originally come through. Perhaps he could find that Xavier guy down that way.

As he began to descend the grand stairway, he thought he'd heard a strange 'Pop' sound from just behind him. Startled, he quickly turned around, and then breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see anything.

Great, I'm so pent up that now I'm starting to imagine things!

He shrugged off the thought and turned back towards the stairs.

Of course, that would be a logical assumption for just about anyone under normal circumstances. Chris quickly discovered that 'normal' has a completely different set of guidelines at the Xavier Institute.

"Ach... Guten tag, Fraulien!" said a voice from just above him.

Chris felt a chill run down his spine and the hairs on his arms stood on end as he slowly turned around and looked up. Hanging upside down from one of the chandeliers was a strange-looking youth with pointed ears and a long tail. As if that wasn't shocking enough, he appeared to be covered with short, bluish fur. If it'd had wings, Chris might have thought he was looking at a large, blue fruit bat or something.

He was momentarily paralyzed with fear, then he caught his breath and let loose a very loud, shrill and quite girlish scream.

---

In Xavier's study, the Professor and the others were still discussing the results of Henry's recent examination of Chris when they heard the shrill scream resounding through the walls.

"Dear me!" Henry said as he looked up from one of his printouts. "That sounds like Kitty!"

Logan shook his head as he rose to his feet. "Nope, that wasn't the half-pint. It wasn't Jean or Rogue, either. I'm guessin’ it was the new kid."

They all exchanged quick glances with one another and then hastily exited the room towards the direction the scream came from. They entered the main hall just as Kurt appeared in front of them in a puff of blue smoke.

"I didn't mean to frighten her! I only vanted to say 'hello'," he said nervously.

"It's alright, Kurt. Our new student seems to have a tendency to startle easily," Xavier replied as he quickly glanced around the main hall. "Where is... she now?"

"She can run really fast! I think I saw her go that vay," Kurt answered as he pointed across the main foyer towards the opposite corridor.

Before anyone could say anything else, he'd promptly disappeared again.

"Dear, dear... it seems our new student has awakened much sooner than I had anticipated." Henry said with a gentle shake of his large head. "I was going to ask either Rogue or Scott to sit with her so she wouldn't be confused when she awoke."

Xavier concentrated for a moment and then shook his head slightly.

"I can't seem to locate him... or her... within the mansion. It is unlikely that he would go outside with so little to wear so he must still be nearby but has re-energized enough to block my telepathy. We should probably all split up."

Xavier paused uncomfortably as he looked at Henry.

"Henry, perhaps it would be best if..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but he didn't need to. Henry nodded in understanding and turned back towards Xavier's study.

"I agree, Charles. I imagine our young friend would be ill prepared to meet me at present if she was frightened by Nightcrawler's appearance. I'll continue working on my analysis."

In spite of his large size, Henry McCoy was incredibly agile and moved soundlessly down the hall towards Xavier's study. Logan and Ororo each went off in separate directions and Xavier drove his chair towards the opposite corridor.

---

Chris had returned to the recreation room and was desperately searching for a way to get back into the concealed elevator. There seemed to be no way to open it, so he gave up in frustration and dropped himself into one of the large chairs in the room.

After a few moments of deep breathing, he was able to calm down a bit and think a little more clearly. He thought about the blue-furred individual he'd just met and realized that he had been more surprised than frightened. In fact, it was very likely that he'd just met another one of the Institute's resident mutants and he'd just acted like an idiot by taking off like that. This wasn't exactly the best way to make a first impression, he thought. Leaving the infirmary to go wandering around the building by himself was pretty stupid.

His thoughts were interrupted when he detected movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking in that direction, he gasped as he saw a petite young girl in the process of walking right through the wall! Chris just stared at her open-mouthed as she passed by him, completely oblivious to his presence.

She picked up a remote control from a nearby table and turned on the wide-screen television. As she was settling herself into another chair, she finally realized that she wasn't alone in the room. She looked at Chris for a moment with a puzzled expression on her face, then smiled and waved to him.

"Hey there! You're, like, the new student right? Christine, isn't it?" she said in a bubbly tone of voice.

Chris, who was still amazed by her rather stunning entrance, could only swallow and nod nervously.

"Hey, what're you wearing?" She asked as she rose out of her chair and strolled over to him.

She frowned slightly as she got a better look at Chris' meagre attire.

"Aren't you, like, a little cold going around dressed in just that?"

Chris found his voice but he could only make it come out in a bit of a squeaky whisper.

"Uh, I... I don't know where my clothes are. I only just woke up in your infirmary a little while ago."

She dropped herself unceremoniously into an adjacent chair and cocked her head while regarding him curiously for a moment.

"Oh yeah!" she said with sudden recognition. "Scott said something earlier about you fainting or something on the flight back. Don't worry too much about it, Christine. I always feel a little freaked out myself when I have to fly in that thing. By the way, my name's Kitty."

Chris was a bit surprised by how fast this girl could talk. It was probably her voice that he'd heard on the telephone a little while ago.

"Uh, thanks. I'm Chris, not 'Christine'."

She turned off the television with the remote and shrugged her shoulders absently.

"Whatever. So, like, you're a mutant like the rest of us then, right? Where do you come from? Michigan, right? I'm from Illinois, myself. What do you think of Bayville so far? Oh yeah... I guess you haven't had much chance to see anything yet..."

Chris felt a little overwhelmed as he tried to follow the speed at which this girl carried on the one-sided conversation. He kept missing a lot of what she was saying, but he nodded from time to time so she would assume he was keeping up with her. From her style of clothes to her manner of speaking, he guessed that she was likely a big-city suburb girl. There were lots of girls like her at his school back home. Lansing was a lot more like a large suburb all by itself than a city.

"... so then I was, like, totally weirded out. Then, Jean and the Professor came by to talk to my folks and... you haven't met Jean yet, right? She's okay, but a little too uptight sometimes. She’s kinda like a big sister to everyone. So anyways..."

"Ah Kitty, I see that you've met Chris," interrupted a voice from the doorway.

Chris and Kitty both turned to see Xavier wheeling himself towards them. He came to a stop right next to them and regarded Chris with a bit of a concerned expression on his face.

"How are you feeling, Chris? It's been something of an overwhelming day for you so far, hasn't it?" he asked.

"I'm... I'm sorry about what happened before," Chris said quietly. "About the plane, I didn't mean to do... whatever it was."

"That's quite alright, Chris. That wasn't your fault. That is one of the reasons that you're here in the first place, so that you can learn how to better control your abilities."

"Oh yeah," Kitty jumped in, "I was meaning to ask you about that. What is it that you can do?"

"Vell, she can definitely move really fast if she vants to!" said a slightly familiar voice from the opposite end of the room.

Chris looked over and saw a boy that appeared to be about his age sitting on one of the sofas. He was surprised that he hadn't noticed this guy come in, but that was understandable since his attention had been occupied by the little chatterbox for the last couple of minutes.

"Um... hello," Chris said politely. "Your voice sounds familiar, but I don't believe we've met."

The other boy looked at Xavier with an anxious expression on his face. Wordlessly, Xavier beckoned him to come closer.

"Chris, this is Kurt. I understand that in fact you have met him already, but not as he appears now," Xavier told him carefully.

Chris looked at Kurt for a moment, not quite comprehending what Xavier was trying to tell him and then all at once he clued in. His eyes widened as he stared at Kurt in disbelief.

"That was you?!" Chris asked incredulously. "You scared the hell out of me!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I usually only look like this," he said as he gestured down at his appearance "...outside of the Institute. My real face can be a bit... surprising... if you aren't used to it."

"Kurt's present appearance is an illusion," Xavier explained. "He wears a device that projects this image so that he can fit in a little better amongst the general public. As you have already discovered for yourself, Chris, many people are fearful and intolerant of anyone who appears to be different."

Remembering his recent experience at the electronics store, Chris suddenly felt a little guilty about how he'd reacted to Kurt earlier.

"I'm sorry," he said softly to Kurt. "You really startled me when you appeared so suddenly, but I shouldn't have run away like that."

"Ach... think nothing of it," Kurt said with a shrug and a dismissive wave of his hand. "I really should verk on my introductions anyvey, right Kitty?"

"Ya, like... no kidding, you blue-furred jerk! I told you that you freak people out when you pop out of thin air at them!" Kitty said while slightly glaring at him.

"Oh? How about vhen you jump through doors all the time?" Kurt retorted indignantly.

"Kurt, Kitty... please," Xavier interrupted them.

He momentarily looked over at Chris who was still looking a bit dazed from trying to adjust to everything.

"Why don't we get our newest student settled in first? I'm sure that Chris would like to change into some proper clothes before dinner. We can all get better acquainted then."

"Sounds good to me," said Kitty. "See you at dinner then, Christine!"

Kitty quickly rose out of her chair and sprinted towards one of the walls. Without slowing down, she passed right through it and disappeared.

"Kitty likes her shortcuts," Kurt explained to Chris, "but she still can't beat the fuzzy dude! See you later, Fraulien!"

With a quick bow and a mischievous smile, Kurt promptly disappeared in his trademark puff of blue smoke.

"As you can see, Chris," Xavier said with a bit of a chuckle, "except for a few eccentricities, the other students are not much different from yourself. All of them are normal teenagers who also happen to possess unique abilities. They have each been exactly where you are now -- new to the Institute and struggling to cope with the enormity of their situation. You will find that they can be very understanding and supportive as you work to gain control over your abilities."

"Umm, Professor?" Chris asked, calling him by the title that he'd heard Kitty use. "They all think that I'm a girl, don't they?"

Xavier looked a bit uncomfortable for a moment as he tried to think of a way to sidestep that topic for the time being.

"We'll get to that in due time. There are a number of other matters that need to be attended to first. Ororo..."

Chris turned around quickly to see whom the Professor was addressing. Sure enough, Ms. Munroe was standing just inside the doorway.

"Would you mind showing Chris to his room? He's probably eager to change into proper clothes."

"Certainly, Charles," she replied.

She extended her hand towards Chris and beckoned to him.

"Come, child. I believe you will be quite pleased when you see your new accommodations."

Chris gently raised himself out of the chair and gingerly walked over to her. She flashed a brilliant smile at him and then led him from the room.

Xavier shook his head slightly as he watched Chris leave with Ororo, noting how graceful and feminine the boy's stride was. He was already extremely effeminate and it was evident from Henry's research that he would become even more so in the near future.

He wasn't looking forward to having to break that particular bit of news to Chris. The boy needed to know, though, and the sooner the better. The other students would undoubtedly ask him many questions that evening so it would be best to have a good talk with him beforehand so that the boy might be better prepared to answer them.

Xavier wheeled himself out of the room and headed back to his study to discuss the matter further with Henry.

---

The room that Ms. Munroe had brought him to amazed Chris. It was huge, for one thing. Like the rest of the mansion that he'd seen so far, it also had huge windows along the far wall to allow plenty of daylight in. A door next to them led out onto a small balcony that provided a nice view of the Institute grounds.

The trees looked brilliant in their fall colours and in the distance, over the tree line, he could see various buildings that he assumed was Bayville. It was an incredibly beautiful sight.

The room was furnished with a huge bed, a desk and a set of dresser-drawers. In the corner of the room, a pair of paneled doors opened to reveal a modest walk-in closet and a full-length mirror fixed to the back of one of the doors.

He found that to be a little surprising. It kind of reminded him of his mother's room back home. Had they assigned him to a girl's room by mistake? He looked at his feminine reflection and nearly laughed out loud.

Perhaps it wasn't a mistake, he thought with a touch of humour.

He noticed something else in his reflection and leaned in a little closer to get a better look at his face. The bruising on his face had completely disappeared! He quickly felt his ribs for the injury he'd received the day before, but found no trace of it. With a smile, he looked back at the rest of his image in the mirror. Perhaps that was something else that his new mutant abilities were doing for him.

They had already moved his bags up to his room for him and placed them on his bed, so he quickly unpacked and put his clothes away in the chest of drawers. When he got to the fine satiny robe that his mother had given him, he opted to hang it up in his large closet. The sight of the closet with only the one item hanging up in it looked a bit odd to him. Maybe that would change in time, he thought absently.

He was glad to finally be able to dress in real clothes again. Normally he preferred a straight, no-nonsense jeans and T-shirt look. He selected a plain white shirt, but frowned a bit when he pulled his jeans on. Something wasn't quite right with the fit. They seemed a little tighter around his hips than he thought they should be. They'd probably just shrunk a bit in the wash, he decided.

He returned to the full-length mirror to gaze at his reflection. He thought it was kind of odd but also sort of cool that he still looked a lot like a girl -- even though he was wearing typical boyish clothes.

A few minutes later, Ms. Munroe had returned and told him that the Professor had asked to see him before dinner. She led the way back down the grand staircase and into that other corridor that he'd intended to explore earlier. They stopped outside of an elegantly finished door and she paused before opening it.

"Before we enter, Chris," she said as she regarded him carefully, "I want to prepare you for whom you're about to meet. I know that you were startled by Kurt's appearance earlier. Henry McCoy is one of the faculty members here at the Institute but, like Kurt, he has an unusual appearance. Regardless of how he might appear, you have no reason to be afraid. Are you ready to go in, child?"

Chris felt a bit apprehensive, but he took a deep breath and prepared himself for whatever he was about to face. He trusted Ms. Munroe completely and if she told him that there was nothing to be afraid of, then he had no reason to doubt her. He nodded wordlessly to her, and then she opened the door and led him into the room.

The Professor’s study was very tastefully furnished. Much in the style of the rest of the mansion, the furniture was exquisitely finished but in more of a darker rosewood colour. There were various bookshelves along the wall that were filled with all sorts of texts with titles that Chris probably would have difficulty pronouncing if he tried.

Xavier was seated in his wheelchair behind a huge antique desk and seated on one of the sofas in the room was a very large, blue-furred creature. Despite Ororo's earlier reassurances, Chris gasped involuntarily. He tensed up a bit, but forced himself not to recoil or back away.

"Chris, allow me to introduce Henry McCoy," Xavier said as he gestured towards some chairs for them to be seated in. "Henry is the Institute's resident scientist and medical technician. He is also a very talented teacher whom you will find quite helpful if you need any tutoring with your schoolwork."

"Uh, P..Pleased to meet you," Chris squeaked nervously.

Henry bowed his head cordially to Chris.

"And I'm very pleased to meet you now that you're finally awake. You are quite the remarkable young... ah, lad."

Chris narrowed his eyes a little and looked questioningly at the Professor.

"Henry performs routine examinations on all of our new students," Xavier explained. "His examination of you earlier this afternoon yielded some very, shall we say... interesting results. I wanted to take this opportunity to discuss with you what has been discovered."

Chris got the distinct impression that whatever it was that they'd found out about him was either very odd or just very difficult to talk about. That was kind of strange for people who were not only used to mutants, but were in fact mutants themselves. He took a deep breath and braced himself for a possibly shocking revelation. Seeing the look on his face, Henry quickly spoke up to try to ease his mind a little.

"It isn't anything terribly serious or life-threatening, Chris," Henry told him gently. "Though, it does indicate that you may very well have to accommodate a significant shift in the way you perceive yourself."

Chris blinked at Henry, completely confused by whatever it was the blue giant just tried to tell him. Xavier chuckled a little and tried to clarify things a bit for him.

"Chris, when we first met you yesterday, you presented a very convincing illusion that you were a young teenage girl," Xavier said.

Chris looked down at his hands that he'd folded in his lap and blushed.

"Uh... that was just, well... sorta fooling around," he replied nervously. "I don't normally do that sort of thing. That was the first time that I'd ever tried dressing up like that and I was only curious... I'm not really weird or anything if that's what you're wondering."

"No, no Chris, that isn't it at all," Xavier said gently. "Let me put this another way: were you not a little surprised at how well you could pass as a female without any previous experience of dressing like one?"

Chris looked thoughtful for a moment. Now that the Professor had mentioned it, maybe it was a little strange that he was able to do it so well. At the time, he'd been having way too much fun to consider that possibility. He thought back to his reflection in the mirror a short while ago. Even in boys’ clothes he still looked like a girl. What was up with that?

"I guess I hadn't really thought about it," he admitted. "I was just having some fun and it seemed so easy..."

"Have you noticed a lot of people assuming you to be a female lately?" Henry asked.

"Kinda, I guess."

He looked up at Henry curiously, waiting for that proverbial other shoe to drop.

"Does that have anything to do with whatever it was you found out about me?"

"Very intuitive of you, Chris. Yes, you are quite correct," Xavier said with a bit of a smile. He nodded to Henry who proceeded to explain the results of his findings to Chris.

Due to Henry's rather substantial intellect, Chris was often confused by a lot of the terminology that was used. Henry paused repeatedly and attempted to re-phrase parts of his speech whenever he got the impression that he'd lost Chris somewhere along the way. When he'd finished, they all sat quietly and waited for whatever Chris' reaction to the news would be.

"So... what you're saying is that I'm actually turning into a girl?" Chris finally spoke up.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Xavier answered as he summarized Henry's scientific analysis for Chris.

"Henry's research indicates that you were born a male only by the narrowest of margins. Until recently, you were genetically androgynous -- neither male nor female, but a mixture of both. Now that you have begun to enter adolescence your hormone levels have increased, but your elevated male hormones have been systematically neutralized by your mutant power, leaving only the female ones. This is why your body has such a feminine shape and will likely become even more so over the next few years."

Of course, Xavier knew that wasn't the only reason for estrogen being dominant in the boy's system. The fact that Chris actually had a set of ovaries as well was something that they would have to discuss with him at a more appropriate time.

"Wow..." Chris said softly as he shook his head slightly in amazement. "That's really deep. At least now I know that I wasn't just imagining things."

He paused and was deep in thought for a moment.

"Is there any way of treating this condition so that I might become a male instead?" he asked.

Ororo, who had been listening quietly the entire time, turned to Chris and gave him a searching look.

"Is that what you truly want, child?" she asked him in a gentle tone of voice. "The changes you have been undergoing, while out of the ordinary, are a natural part of your development. If it were possible, would you want to change who you truly are?"

Chris thought long and hard about that. After a minute he smiled slightly.

"I suppose I wouldn't. Won't everyone else find it a bit odd, though? A boy-girl turning into a girl?"

"Perhaps," Xavier answered him. "However, you must not let the opinions of others affect how you see yourself and how you decide to live your life. That is one of the strongest tenets that we live by here at the Xavier Institute."

"Life is never simple, child," said Ororo. "The other students here at the Institute know that better than most. You will find all of them to be very understanding and accepting of you -- no matter which gender you appear to be."

Xavier glanced at a clock on the wall, and then cleared his throat.

"Speaking of which," he said as he wheeled himself out from behind his desk, "it is time for dinner. There are a couple of students you have yet to meet, as well as the others that you've only met briefly. All of them will be quite curious about you and eager to get to know you. We wanted to have this discussion with you beforehand so you would be more equipped to talk about yourself with them."

"It is highly probable that they'll be more interested in discussing your mutant abilities than your gender, however," Henry added with a slight chuckle.

They all paused as they heard what sounded like a thunder of feet pounding down each step of the grand staircase in the main hall. The unmistakable sound of enthusiastic conversations could be heard in the distance as the rest of the students headed for the dining room.

"... or perhaps the evening meal is more pressing on their minds at the moment!" Henry added as he strolled over to open the door.

"Come on then," Xavier said as he started towards the door. "The natives sound restless... we'd best be seated quickly before there isn't anything left!"

For Chris, who had been accustomed to being alone for so long, the idea of sitting down to dinner with such a large group was a bit frightening. He usually avoided such occasions whenever possible since so often in the past they had often developed into unpleasant situations. At school, he'd quickly discovered that eating lunch in the school's cafeteria was a painful experience that was best avoided since it was there that the various social strata of the student populous was most evident. Everyone always had a clique, gang or group of friends to cluster together with, except for him. He didn't fit in with any of them.

He painfully recalled one of the few times he did try to join a group of people in the school's cafeteria. It had been more crowded than usual that day. Chris had already been in the habit of trying to sit unnoticed somewhere off to the side, but at the time there were very few available seats. As soon as he'd sat down at the table, all the other students gave him an unfriendly stare and then made a big show out of getting up and leaving. No one wanted to be seen sitting with 'Jinx McGee', it seemed.

As he followed the Professor, Ms. Munroe and the large form of Mr. McCoy to the dinning room, he felt as if his stomach was tying itself in knots. He doubted that he'd be able to eat very much feeling as he did and wished that there was a way he could be excused. He knew it wasn't possible, though. He didn't want to appear rude and sooner or later he would have to sit down with them all, so it might as well be now. To his surprise and delight, what awaited him when he entered the dining room was more than he'd ever dared to hope for.

Kitty had spotted him first and waved excitedly at him.

"Christine! Yo girlfriend, over here! I saved you a seat!" she said as she indicated an empty chair next to her.

Chris was so surprised that he'd barely even noticed that Kitty had feminized his name again. He was practically in a daze as he slid into the seat next to her.

"Uh, th..thanks, Kitty," he stuttered softly.

She gave him a curious look.

"What's the matter? You look a little pale. Are you feeling okay?"

"Um... yeah, I'm okay. Just feeling a little tired, I guess" he quietly replied.

She made a quick assessment of his clothes and then frowned slightly.

"Well, it's better than what you were wearing before, but what's with the tomboy look? Girl, you gotta dress for success if you want the boys to take notice!"

Across the table from them, Scott coughed nervously and exchanged a knowing look with Rogue, who was seated further down the table. For a moment, Chris half-expected Scott to fill Kitty in on the truth about his gender, but he didn't say anything. Neither did Rogue.

The adults seated themselves near the Professor at the head of the table. As soon as they were settled, the Professor cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Good evening everyone. As you all know, we have a new student joining us today here at the Institute. Some of you have already met Chris, but for those who haven't, I'd like to introduce Chris McGee." Xavier said as he smiled at Chris.

Everyone offered their formal greetings to Chris and welcomed him, including the ones he'd already met. The two others were the Jean Grey that Kitty had mentioned to him earlier and Evan Daniels, who Chris later discovered was Ms. Munroe's nephew when he'd referred to her as 'Auntie O' at one point during dinner. He was relieved that the Professor didn't ask him to stand up and introduce himself to everyone else. He suspected that somehow the Professor knew that he was incredibly self-conscious and shy.

The dinner conversation that evening wasn't at all what Chris had expected. In truth, Chris hadn't been sure exactly what to expect, but considering who and what these people were he'd imagined there would be some pretty bizarre discussions. Instead, Kurt and Evan were shooting the breeze with each other about soccer, which Kurt kept referring to as 'football'. Jean and Kitty were taking playful snipes across the table at each other; something about Kitty raiding Jean's wardrobe. Ms. Munroe and Mr. McCoy were having a mild intellectual debate about some current news item. Scott kept talking about 'training exercises' with Mr. Logan and the Professor, and Rogue sat quietly by herself and looked bored. Chris said very little himself, but more out of amazement for how normal all of these people appeared to be.

After dinner, the Professor excused everyone to enjoy their free time for the evening. Kitty made Chris promise to come up to her room later for some more 'girl talk', and then she disappeared through a nearby wall. Predictably, Kurt took that as his cue to make his own flashy exit and he disappeared.

Evan, who appeared to have made some after-dinner plans with Kurt, shouted, "Hey, no fair man! No shortcuts allowed in this race!" then he promptly charged out of the room to wherever it was that Kurt had gone to.

On his way out, he nearly plowed into Rogue who stumbled and lost her balance. Just as she was about to fall, one of the dining room chairs slid away from the table and caught her before she fell to the ground.

"Thanks Jean, Ah owe you one!" She said gratefully as she looked back at the tall redhead.

Chris, who had nearly fallen over himself when that chair moved on its own, looked at Jean in amazement.

Rogue picked herself up out of the chair and shouted out the door, "Evan, ya'll won't be runnin' so fast once Ah catch up with you!”

She quickly glanced back at Ms. Munroe, who had a worried expression on her face.

"Ah'm only kiddin'," she reassured her before she left as well.

Jean appeared to be oblivious to Chris' incredulous staring at her. She had turned her attention back to Scott, and the two of them spoke to each other quietly for another minute before they both left together. Chris got the impression that there was some kind of chemistry between the two of them. Maybe they were dating each other.

"What do you think of your fellow students so far, Chris?" asked Xavier from behind him. Chris turned around and considered the question.

"I guess they weren't at all what I thought they'd be like. They all seemed really friendly," he answered truthfully.

"Friendly, yeah... but they can sure be quite a handful sometimes," Logan grumbled.

"Except for Scott and Rogue, they don't... know about me yet, do they Professor? About the things we were talking about just before dinner? No one told them?" Chris asked.

Xavier shook his head.

"That is entirely up to you when or if the others are to know. If you wanted to keep it a secret for a while, then you can be assured that neither Scott nor Rogue will say anything. I hope that you'll feel confident enough to share the truth with them eventually, though. I know something of the difficulties you've had in trusting others in the past, but you have nothing to fear here. They are all good people and you will find them worthy of your trust."

"You should also be prepared for the possibility that they might learn the truth on their own as I did," said Ms. Munroe. "At least, the girls might. You might very well be successful at keeping your secret indefinitely from the boys if that is what you choose."

Chris nodded and considered what they'd told him. He really did like these people and he wanted to trust them, but he was finding it difficult to let go of the fear that they'd turn on him if he told them the truth.

Xavier suggested that Chris go and relax for the rest of the evening, but not to stay up too late as they wanted to begin testing his mutant power in the morning. Each of the faculty members then headed off to different areas of the mansion to attend to whatever various tasks they had to complete for the end of the day.

As he passed through the main hall on his way to the grand staircase, Chris could hear Evan and Kurt talking excitedly to each other about some sports event that he could hear being played on the big television screen. Although he didn't really care for sports, he had a brief urge to go in and join them. They seemed like a couple of nice guys and he suspected that they'd probably even welcome his company. He didn't quite feel ready to attempt it yet, though. There was still so much he had to think about that it was a bit overwhelming. He needed a distraction and a bit of a break for a little while, so he decided to return to his room and start writing a letter to his mother.

---

A little while later, Chris was in the middle of a small paperback that he'd brought with him when he heard someone knock quietly at his door. Curiously, he set his book down and went over to answer it. Maybe it was one of the Institute's faculty members coming to check up on him.

He was mildly surprised when he answered the door and saw Kitty standing there, instead. From what he'd seen of her so far, it seemed a bit unusual that Kitty would even acknowledge a door as an obstacle.

"Hey Christine! Like, c'mon over to my room for a minute... I want to show you something!" she said in her bubbly voice. "You can't spend the evening in there by yourself… it's Saturday night, you know!"

Chris eyed her carefully for a moment. Years of experience with people playing jokes on him tended to make him abnormally suspicious. Back home, a girl like Kitty wouldn't bother to speak to him at all unless she was setting him up for some kind of cruel joke at his expense. Still, Kitty had been really nice to him so far and there wasn't really any reason to doubt her. He quickly decided that he would actually welcome some friendly company.

"Uh, okay..." he said as she grabbed his hand and literally dragged him down the hall with her.

She paused at her door and fumbled with the doorknob, which seemed a bit funny to Chris. He supposed that with her mutant ability it wasn't something she was required to do very often so maybe she was out of practice.

As soon as she'd opened the door, he saw that it was completely dark inside. That seemed really suspicious to Chris if she'd only just left her room to come and get him. Maybe she was setting him up for something after all! His heart started to pound and he braced himself for the worst as they stepped inside.

The lights came on suddenly and he saw that he was surrounded by the rest of the Institute's students.

"Surprise!!!" they all yelled simultaneously.

Chris was sure that his fears had been realized and they were all about to play some cruel trick on him. In his anxiety, his power flared up and suddenly Kitty let out a loud shriek and quickly let go of his hand.

"Oww!!!" she yelled and waved her hand through the air rapidly.

Knowing some of the abilities that the others had, he figured he'd be in serious trouble if he hung around. He turned and made a dash towards the open door, but Kurt appeared in a flash and blocked his path. Without even slowing down, Chris instinctively vaulted over him in a flying somersault and landed perfectly behind him. He started to sprint through the doorway when he suddenly felt an invisible force seize him. It lifted him into the air and brought him back into Kitty's room. Jean Grey, Chris thought to himself. He realized the futility of trying to escape from them and curled up into a fetal position while he awaited the beating he was sure would follow.

"Whoa Chris!" Scott said to him gently while he held his hands up in the most non-threatening gesture he could manage. "Take it easy! We didn't mean to scare you!"

"Ah told you this was a bad idea," Rogue said from the corner of the room. "Maybe she fried some of your common sense back in Michigan, Scott. You most of all shoulda known what'd happen if... uh, she got scared."

Chris could feel tears starting to flow down his cheeks before he had any chance to stop them. Great, he thought. On top of everything else, now he was crying in front of them.

"Please," Chris said miserably. "Just let me go... I promise I'll leave. I'll go back where I came from and I won't bother any of you again!"

"Leave? What are you talking about, girl?" said Jean, who was starting to show some signs of strain on her face. Apparently she couldn't keep her power running continuously for very long.

"We don't want you to leave and we aren't going to hurt you."

She grimaced as the effort in maintaining the hold on Chris was starting to become too much for her.

"...I...I need to put you down. Will you promise not to run away until we've had a chance to talk?"

Chris nodded in agreement. He didn't imagine he'd have much luck getting away from the rest of them even if he did try to run again. He still had no idea what Evan's mutant power might be and wasn't all that eager to find out under unpleasant circumstances.

Jean guided Chris above Kitty's bed and started to lower him onto it, but her power finally gave out and Chris ended up falling the last couple of feet. Fortunately for him, the mattresses at the Institute were really well made and absorbed the impact nicely.

"Sorry..." Jean apologized weakly as she gently rubbed her temples with her fingers.

Chris backed up against the headboard of Kitty's bed and hugged his legs close to himself. The rest of the students all sat down quietly around him, except for Rogue who opted to stay standing a few feet away.

"I'm sorry..." he said softly as he looked over at Kitty. "I didn't mean to hurt you. It was an accident."

Kitty looked at her hand carefully for a moment to see if there were any marks and breathed a sigh of relief when she'd found none.

"Ya, well... that's okay, I guess." She frowned at Scott and added, "You could have warned us, you jerk!"

"I'm really sorry, Chris," he said apologetically. "The Professor told us that you're very shy and had a lot of... bad experiences... in your past. I thought it would be a nice surprise if we all officially welcomed you together. I had no idea that we'd frighten you so much."

In an effort to lighten the mood, Kurt made an attempt to change the subject.

"You got some really good moves, Fraulien! I knew you vere fast, but you move like a gymnast! Maybe ve can verk out together sometime?"

To emphasize his point, Kurt leapt up into the air in a back flip, disappeared in mid air and then suddenly reappeared right next to Chris with a big, goofy grin on his face. This brought a small giggle from Chris despite his current mood.

"So, just what exactly is your power?" Evan asked. "Kurt's right. You've got some great moves, girl! What about what you did to Kitty?"

Chris swallowed nervously as he tried to think of a way to explain it to them.

"I'm... not sure. I don't have much control over it. It only seems to happen when I'm really scared or upset. The Professor told me that it has something to do with how I store electrical energy."

"Wow! That sounds, like, totally cool!" Kitty said enthusiastically. She'd apparently already completely forgotten about the painful shock Chris had given her.

"Can you, like, show us something?"

Chris frowned slightly. It was the first time since he'd been aware of this power that anyone had asked him to purposefully 'do something' with it. He wasn't really sure what he could do, either. Everything that he'd done with it so far had been purely reactionary, with little to no control over how it worked.

"I don't really know how," he said quietly. "The Professor said that he wanted to start testing me tomorrow, so maybe then I'll be able to figure some of it out."

He noted the look of disappointment on Kitty's face. He couldn't help feeling a little guilty since he'd just shocked her, even though he didn't do it on purpose. He thought back to earlier that morning when he'd done those things with the battery and the fluorescent bulb. He glanced over at Kitty's bedside lamp and noticed it was using one of those new 'energy saver' bulbs. Maybe there was something he could show them after all.

He reached over and picked up the lamp, then reached into the shade and unscrewed the bulb.

"This may not work, but... could someone turn out the lights?" he asked quietly while he set Kitty's lamp back down on the table.

Jean glanced over at the light switch on the far wall and instantly the lights went out, leaving them all in darkness except for a bit of moonlight that could be seen coming through the window. Chris took a deep breath and then grasped the bulb by its terminal. Immediately it began to flicker and then it lit up and cast a bright glow on the entire group.

"Hey, not bad!" Evan said.

"How much energy do you store?" Jean asked him curiously. "I mean, how many of those do you think you could power if you had to?"

"Uh, I'm not exactly sure... but I know that I've carried a much bigger charge than this on at least one other occasion," he answered quietly as he cast an uneasy glance at Scott. "No matter how much I'm carrying, though, I don't have much control over how it's released. Kitty's lucky that I wasn't storing very much when she was touching me."

"She was holding onto you all the way down the hall an' only got shocked when we'd startled you," Rogue spoke up. "You have ta have some control over it -- even if you don't know what it is yet."

Scott glanced over at Rogue and nodded. It wasn't all that surprising that Rogue would be the first to notice those sorts of things due to the nature of her own mutant power. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't found a way to turn hers off yet.

"Good point, Rogue. Say, you’ve absorbed Chris' power a couple of times. Do you have any insight how it might work?"

"Not really," she said with a quick shake of her head. "Ah will say that her moves are definitely connected ta her power somehow. Ah had a lot of fun in the gym today before it wore off."

Chris had been thinking a lot about his two encounters with Rogue since yesterday. She'd apparently used whatever her mutant power was on him both times, but he still had no clue what had happened. She was really mysterious.

"What do you mean she 'absorbed' my power?" Chris asked curiously while he returned the bulb back to Kitty's lamp. "Is that what you were doing when you touched me both of those times?"

"Actually, it was more than twice," she answered. "Mr. McCoy had me do it again earlier this afternoon so he could take proper X-rays of you. He said something about you havin' some kinda special shielding around you."

While that was certainly interesting news, Chris was still confused about how Rogue's powers worked. He continued to look at her with a curious expression on his face. Rogue, sensing his confusion, decided to clarify things a bit for him.

"The Professor says Ah'm kind of like an energy wraith. Ah absorb memories from people when Ah touch them... an’ with other Mutants, Ah get their powers as well -- but it only lasts fer a short time. It usually knocks the other person out fer a while, too."

Now Chris understood what had happened the day before in the park, and then again that morning during the flight. It seemed to be a bit of an extreme measure for them to use on him, but he reminded himself that he had very little control over his power and it had already shown itself to be quite dangerous. He thought back to what Rogue had just said about her powers and his eyes grew wide as he considered something.

"You said that you get people's memories when you touch them?" He asked her nervously. "Did you get any of mine?"

He winced at the memory of Stan and Robbie trying to force him to give Robbie a blowjob. He wouldn't be able to look any of them in the eye again if they knew...

"No, Ah didn't," Rogue answered. "Ah found that really surprising, too. Ah have no idea why Ah was able ta pick up your powers, but not your memories. The Professor was almost as surprised by that as Ah was. Apparently you're able ta block him most of the time as well!"

"Wow, really?!" Kitty said with a touch of awe in her voice. "I didn't think that anyone could block the Professor's powers. You're really full of surprises, Christine!"

Upon hearing the feminized version of his name again, Chris thought about the ironic truth in her statement. There was at least one other surprise that he still had. Despite their earlier misunderstanding, Chris decided that what the Professor told him about the other students was absolutely correct. They really were good people, so he decided to take a chance and trust them with his other secret.

"Um, Kitty, my name is 'Chris', not 'Christine'," he said shyly.

"Hey, no worries girlfriend," she replied casually. "Chris is cool too -- but I think Christine suits you better.”

"In many ways it probably does," Chris admitted.

He took a deep breath as he looked first at Scott, then at Rogue. Sensing what it was that Chris was about to say, she gave him a subtle nod of encouragement.

"... However, Chris isn't short for 'Christine'. It's short for 'Christopher'."

There, he'd said it. It was now out in the open and no matter what happened next; at least he didn't have this secret weighing down on him anymore. It was kind of a relief, actually.

There was a brief silence where Chris was certain he would have been able to hear a pin drop at the far end of the room.

"You mean... you're not a girl?" Kitty asked in disbelief. "No way! You're too pretty to be a boy!"

"Hey, vhat's that supposed to mean?!" Kurt asked in mock irritation. "Some of us guys have both the looks..."

He quickly teleported over right next to Kitty and draped an arm across her shoulders.

"...and the charm!"

Chris got the impression that Kitty wasn't very pleased when Kurt surprised her like that. He didn't appear to be doing it out of malice, but rather to tease her once in awhile. In many ways, it seemed to him that they acted a lot like they were brother and sister.

"Damn it, Kurt! You totally freak me out when you do that!" She said as she folded her arms indignantly across her chest.

Jean looked over at Scott and Rogue.

"Since you both went on the trip to Michigan to pick her up, did you already know that she was really a boy?"

"Well, not at first," Scott admitted. "Chris was able to fool everyone initially. Even Wolverine thought he was a girl. Storm figured it out first, but Chris was so convincing that we had a hard time believing it."

For a moment, Chris wasn't sure who Scott had been referring to, but eventually realized that they must be nicknames for Ms. Munroe and Mr. Logan. No doubt they probably had one for Mr. McCoy as well.

"So, what's your story then, man?" Evan asked as he looked Chris over, still not entirely convinced that he was really a guy. "If you really are a guy, why do you look like such an amazing chick?"

They certainly seemed to be dealing with this a lot better than he thought they would, Chris thought. He doubted he would have gotten this level of acceptance from a group of 'normal' teenagers anywhere else. Perhaps the fact that they were all mutants had a lot to do with it.

"It's kinda difficult to explain," he answered carefully. "I don't really understand it much myself, but Mr. McCoy said it has a lot to do with my mutant power."

He thought about the rest of what Mr. McCoy and the Professor had told him and hesitated only briefly before deciding to tell them the rest. He felt that things were going really well so far, so he saw no reason to hold anything back.

"They told me something else too. They said that even though I may have started out as a boy, I'm not exactly a boy anymore -- but I'm not a girl either... at least, not yet."

"You're turning into a girl?" Jean asked with mild surprise. "I've never heard of anyone's powers doing that to them before, but I suppose anything's possible. What kind of... uh, 'changes' have you had so far?"

The guys in the room suddenly looked very uncomfortable and the girls all exchanged knowing glances with each other. Chris guessed that Jean was referring to some female-specific changes, but he wasn't all that sure what they might be. It was probably some kind of un-spoken girl thing that he wouldn't really understand until if and when it happened to him.

"Well... I guess my hair and skin are a bit different now. I'm not sure, but I think my clothes don't quite fit me properly anymore, either."

"Uh... no offense, but if this is becoming a chick conversation, I'm so outta here!" Evan said as he got up and headed for the door.

"Ya, this is a good time for the fuzzy dude to bow out. Race you to the TV, Spyke-meister!" Kurt said, and then quickly disappeared.

"Oh, man! He did it to me again!" Evan groaned as he broke into a run and took off down the hallway.

Scott took that as his cue to follow suit. He stood up and looked around nervously at Chris and the girls.

"I, uh, really should go too. I have an essay due next week that I should probably get to work on. See you later, girls."

He paused for a moment and then awkwardly added, "Um, you too Chris," then he left as well.

After he'd gone, Jean used her powers to close the door after him. They sat in silence for a few moments, until Jean and Kitty both burst out laughing. Chris didn't understand what was so funny and started to wonder if he should have left as well. Even Rogue, who always seemed so serious, eventually joined in on the laughter. It was probably another one of those un-spoken girl things and he was either still too much a boy or not enough of a girl to understand it yet.

"Gawd, like... guys can be so lame sometimes!" Kitty finally said when the laughter began to die down.

"Yeah, one would have thought we'd started talking about our monthly cycles or something from the speed at which they took off out of here," said Jean.

She looked over at Chris thoughtfully for a moment.

"Chris, when you said you were turning into a girl... did you really mean that you were actually turning into one?"

Chris shrugged in response.

"I'm not sure that I completely believe it, but that's what Mr. McCoy and the Professor think is happening."

He paused for a moment and looked down at himself then added, "It sure would explain a lot of things though, wouldn't it?"

"That's for sure!" laughed Jean. "You're probably going to find High School life to be a little challenging looking the way that you do, though. The other kids at school will probably wonder why such a pretty girl keeps coming to school in boy's clothing. Did you bring any girl's clothes with you from home?"

"No, I don't own any," he said with a slight shake of his head. He noticed Rogue looking skeptically at him and said to her, "Those were my mother's clothes!"

Realizing that Kitty and Jean probably had no idea what he was talking about, Chris blushed slightly and proceeded to tell them about his brief adventure as 'Christy'. The girls all enjoyed a good laugh when Chris described how all the guys at the Shopping Mall seemed to go out of their way for him. By the time he'd finished with what had happened in the Electronics Store, however, there was complete silence. Without a word, Jean leaned forward and drew him into a gentle hug. It wasn't until she'd reached up and carefully wiped a tear from his face that he'd realized he'd started crying at some point during his recounting.

"That must have been just awful for you!" She said with genuine sympathy in her voice.

"No wonder you'd gone and run off like that," Rogue added quietly. "It was like that for me too, at first. At least you didn't seriously hurt anyone."

Jean glanced at Rogue and softly said, "You didn't either, Rogue. That boy recovered and so did Kurt and Storm. Besides, none of that was your fault. Mystique had you confused and scared out of your wits."

"Mystique?" Chris asked.

"Uh... maybe we should talk about her later," Jean said a bit dismissively as she released Chris. She glanced at her watch, frowning slightly.

"Listen, it's getting kinda late. The Professor won't be happy with us if we keep you up too late tonight, Chris. Tomorrow is your first day of testing and they usually prefer you to be well-rested for it."

"Total bummer, but you're probably right, Jean," Kitty answered sullenly. She looked hopefully at Chris, "We'll hang out afterwards though, right?"

"Uh... sure," he answered.

He still felt a little off-balance from the fact that they were all being so friendly towards him. Especially now, after learning the whole truth about him.

They all said good night to each other, then Chris and Jean each went to their rooms.

Once inside, Chris was again taken aback by the splendor of his room. It was still difficult for him to accept how much things had turned around for him in such a short time. He still knew very little about these people, but they had gone out of their way to help him and to make him feel welcome. He felt a little anxious about these 'tests' that he was supposed to do in the morning, but was pleasantly surprised that it was based more on curiosity than fear.

Whatever the next day was to bring, he felt both hopeful and -- much to his surprise -- confident that he could face it. He smiled at that thought as he settled himself into bed and quickly fell asleep.

---

To be continued in:

The XX-Factor: Chapter Five - Practice Makes Perfect

...He found it really odd but also quite exciting that the guys knew he wasn't really a girl, but still reacted towards him as if he was. It was a different kind of attention that he was completely unaccustomed and unprepared for, but it also felt really nice too.

---

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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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As promised, early the next morning Chris found himself being gently shaken awake. With his foggy, half-asleep mind he experienced a brief moment of confusion upon opening his eyes while he tried to remember where he was. Above him, the smiling face of Ms. Munroe greeted him.

"Good morning, child. I trust that you slept well?" she asked him gently.

He nodded mutely in response and smiled at her. Actually, he had slept well. Very well, in fact. He sat up and gave his arms a comforting stretch.

"Mr. McCoy and the Professor are waiting for us in the lower levels. I've brought you something to wear for the first part of the testing."

She placed a small bundle of clothes at the end of his bed and then told him she'd wait for him outside while he changed.

As soon as she'd closed the door behind her, Chris threw the covers back and moved to the end of the bed to examine what she'd brought him. He had been half-expecting to find another white patient's gown but, much to his surprise, he discovered that he'd been given a loose-fitting T-shirt, a small pair of track pants and running shoes. Not wanting to keep Ms. Munroe waiting for too long, he quickly grabbed a pair of white socks out of his drawer and got dressed. Everything fit him perfectly!

Curious, he paused for a quick look at himself in the full-length mirror. Other than his hair looking a little dishevelled, he looked a lot like a young girl ready to go out for her morning jog. He didn't really have the time to brush his hair out, so he opted to simply tie it back into a ponytail. His hair was definitely getting quite long!

He joined Ms. Munroe out in the hallway and she complimented him on his appearance while she led him to the main foyer.

"I am pleased that those clothes fit you so well. I apologize if they seem a little embarrassing, but you will find them to be very practical for this morning’s tests."

They were descending the grand staircase when he casually asked, "Why would I find these clothes embarrassing?"

Ms. Munroe flushed slightly before answering, "Well... they belong to Kitty, actually."

Chris surprised her with a small laugh.

"I thought that they looked a bit feminine, but figured I was just imagining it. They do seem to fit really well, though."

He followed her back into the recreation room and watched her open a small, concealed panel in a wall nearby the hidden elevator. She entered a code onto the keypad and the door slid open to reveal the elevator waiting for them.

They entered and rode the elevator down in silence. On the lower level, she led him down the long hallway in the opposite direction from where he'd been the previous day.

"Uh... Ms. Munroe?" he asked tentatively, "I meant to ask before, but why is everything down here hidden? Is there some secret government research going on down here?"

She glanced at him and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Of course not, child. The government has no knowledge of this aspect of the Xavier Institute. Much of what is hidden is done so out of necessity, but Professor Xavier will explain more of that to you later."

Finally, they arrived at a set of heavy steel doors that opened for them as they approached. Beyond them was a huge open room with metal plating all along the walls. High above, Chris could see what appeared to be an observation room set just below the ceiling. The room had been set up with an assortment of gymnastic equipment including rings, uneven bars, a balance beam and a large tumbling mat. Awaiting them near the center of this large room was the Professor, Mr. McCoy and Mr. Logan.

"Ah, good morning Chris!" Xavier said cheerfully. "Are you ready for some exercise?"

"Uh...I guess," he answered quietly and glanced around the room at all of the apparatus. He was a little concerned about what they might be expecting from him. While it was true that he'd performed some pretty fantastic physical manoeuvres over the past few days, he wasn't really very athletic.

"Professor, I'm not really a gymnast. I don't actually know how I did those moves before..."

"That is one of the things we're hoping to find out, Chris," Xavier answered him reassuringly. "We're not going to have you do anything that you aren't comfortable with. Essentially, we want to measure your performance while Mr. Logan directs you through a few simple exercises."

Mr. McCoy, who was wearing the largest lab coat Chris had ever seen, summoned him over to a side table that was loaded with all sorts of strange-looking equipment. He had Chris remove his T-Shirt and then proceeded to attach a series of small sensors to various parts of his body. As soon as he was finished, they were ready for him to do whatever it was that they'd planned for him.

Mr. Logan began the exercises by first having Chris do a few laps around the perimeter of the large room. Each time Chris passed him, he was told to try running a little faster. Eventually, Chris' lap times got slower as he began to tire out. Mr. Logan seemed satisfied by the results and allowed Chris to sit down on the mats to catch his breath while he discussed a few things with the other faculty members.

Next, he had Chris try some simple tumbling exercises, followed by some work on the balance beam. He didn't do nearly as well on the latter and fell off a few times. Chris was finding the exercises extremely difficult to accomplish and was worried about what he was going to be asked to do on the more complex equipment. He was relieved when Mr. Logan told him that it wouldn't be necessary for the time being.

Mr. McCoy summoned Chris back to his table and took a series of readings from him: temperature, blood pressure, reflexes and a few others that were a complete mystery. When that was finished, he apologized that he required a blood sample from Chris before they could continue with the next phase of the testing. Chris absolutely hated needles, but managed to hold still long enough for Mr. McCoy to draw a small amount out of his arm. Despite his huge hands, he was incredibly gentle and Chris hardly felt any pain at all.

Just as he was finishing up, the Professor wheeled himself over to them and simply looked at Chris in silence for a moment.

'Chris, the next thing we're going to do will undoubtedly seem a bit unorthodox to you, but I assure you that it is perfectly safe.'

Chris heard the professor's voice, but was surprised that his lips didn't seem to move. Suddenly Chris clued in -- the Professor was talking to him in his head again, just as he had the day before!

"Wow... that's really amazing how you can do that," Chris said aloud with a touch of awe in his voice.

'While you are still able to hear me in this manner, I would like to guide you through a few simple mental exercises,' the Professor’s voice in his head continued. 'I am hopeful that we will be able to raise your awareness of your mutant abilities to your conscious mind. Close your eyes, take deep breaths and try to relax...'

Chris did as he was told and immediately felt an odd buzzing sensation in his head. It felt weird, but not entirely unpleasant. He found that he was physically spent from the exercising Mr. Logan had him do so it was very easy for him to allow himself to relax. With each breath he could feel himself drifting into a near trance-like state.

Without warning, his tranquility was abruptly shattered when a very distressing memory re-surfaced and forced its way into his conscious thoughts. In his mind's eye, he was replaying the entire incident at school earlier that week when he'd been attacked and beaten by Robbie and Stan. He found himself reliving the pain, anguish and shame of the last few moments when Robbie was trying to force Chris to give him a blowjob. He felt ill and tried to recoil from the memory.

'Chris, this isn't real,' he heard the Professor's calming voice echo in his mind. 'This is in the past. It can only harm you as long as you keep it buried in your memories. You must see beyond the fear and the pain and discover what you've been unintentionally hiding from yourself.'

In his mind, Chris looked back at the frightening memory to see what it was the Professor was trying to show him. He cringed as he remembered the pain in his arms and the terror he'd felt about what Robbie was trying to force him to do. Just as it had been before, the sensations built up and threatened to overwhelm him, but then suddenly there was something else he'd overlooked: it was that tingling sensation he'd felt throughout his body. He'd felt it a few times since then, but it was only at that very first time, woven into this painful memory, that he'd remembered exactly where that sensation had come from.

In his mind, it suddenly felt as if a large switch had been thrown. That sensation flooded through him again and at the same time Chris was aware that the Professor was no longer in his mind with him. He opened his eyes and saw the Professor and the other adults standing next to him staring intently back at him.

"Did you find it, Chris?" the Professor asked him verbally.

Chris took a few more deep breaths to calm himself down. Facing that memory so abruptly was almost enough to make him start to cry again. Oddly enough, he was able to keep his emotions in check. The unpleasant memory was already beginning to fade, but the awareness he'd discovered seemed to be growing stronger by the minute.

"I... think so. Something's different now. I can't really describe it, but... I can feel it." Chris answered slowly.

Xavier nodded to Henry, who then handed Chris a small device. It looked similar to the battery & meter combination that the Professor had shown him the day before back at his home. As soon as he'd touched it, his hand glowed for an instant and the meter on the device dropped to zero. Mr. McCoy nodded and muttered something to himself as he took the device back and starting making notes on a clipboard.

"How are you feeling at this moment, Chris?" the Professor asked him.

He closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated on all of the strange sensations he was feeling.

"Actually, I feel pretty good," He answered.

"That's good. If you feel ready, Mr. Logan would like you to run through a few more exercises."

With a small groan, Chris returned to the center of the mat with Mr. Logan and resumed the same exercises he'd completed before. This time, however, he noticed that he seemed to have a little more spring in his step than he’d had before. He wasn't sure, but it also felt as if he was running faster than he had the first time. After a few laps around the room, he was directed through some more tumbling exercises on the mat. They felt a lot easier this time, and when he tried a few walks on the balance beam, he didn't fall even once. On a whim, he dismounted the beam with a back flip and landed perfectly on his feet, which earned him some applause from the adults -- except for Mr. Logan who only seemed to nod his approval.

He was summoned back to Mr. McCoy, who handed him a long cable and told him only to hold it for a minute. It looked a lot like a heavy-duty power cable of some kind, which made Chris a little nervous. Sure, he knew that his ability had something to do with electrical power, but wasn't this over-doing it a bit?

"What we have been able to ascertain," said Mr. McCoy's deep voice, "is that your physical stamina and reflexes seem to increase when you absorb electricity. The first device I gave you was only a capacitor with a moderate charge. Now, we'd like you to try to control your ability to absorb energy from a continuous source. Specifically, this power cable."

Chris looked doubtfully at the cable he was holding. While the idea sounded logical enough, the fact remained that it would still be him who had to put the theory to the test. What if he wasn't able to stop and drew too much power? Would he then explode or something? Still, he supposed if it got to be too much for him, he could always just let go of the cable. He looked back at Mr. McCoy and nodded silently to him. He reached back into himself and mentally turned his ability 'on'. Nothing ventured, nothing gained as the saying goes.

Mr. McCoy turned on a control unit at the other end of the cable and Chris momentarily cringed as he imagined a large flash or a 'zap' sound of some kind. Surprisingly enough, nothing obvious seemed to happen outwardly. Internally though, Chris could feel his own power as it interacted with the energy he was drawing in. It felt really good! He extended his awareness back through the cable he was holding into the unit that was generating the power. It was working too slowly, Chris thought. He wanted more. For an instant, the unit, the cable and Chris were all emitting an aura of blue-green light... then there was a soft 'pop' sound and the unit shut down.

Probably blown a fuse, Chris thought to himself.

He let the inert cable fall to the ground and looked down at himself. He was awestruck as he examined his arms and the visible blue-green glow that was now surrounding his entire body. The feeling was just... incredible. He felt so alive... so full of energy, which was probably true both in the literal and figurative sense. He wanted to... no, he needed to do something with it.

He looked quickly at the un-even bars and without a second thought he ran extremely quickly towards them and leaped up to the top bar. Purely on instinct, he performed an impressive series of alternating spins on both bars and then dismounted in a spinning somersault to a perfect landing.

Without pausing for a reaction from the adults, he charged towards the balance beam and propelled himself up on it. He performed a few cartwheels back and forth, some backward walkovers and some back flips. He dismounted in another back flip when Mr. Logan approached and beckoned him to come down.

"Pretty good, kid," he said with a satisfied nod of his head. "Now, try a few more laps for us and then ya can call it quits for now."

Chris took off like a shot and easily ran several laps around the room. He guessed he'd performed three times as many circuits around the room as he had before, and in much less time. Before long, he was being waved back to Mr. McCoy and the others. Reluctantly, he slowed his pace to a walk and returned.

After all that exercise, he noted that the glow he was projecting around himself seemed to be a little dimmer. He could still sense that he was holding a significant amount of power, though. Something then occurred to him that made him a little worried.
"Uh... Mr. McCoy," he said nervously, "I'm still feeling 'charged'. What happens if someone accidentally touches me? I could seriously hurt them!"

"Perhaps at present, that could very well be true," the blue giant told him gently. "In time, we are hopeful that training will enable you to control your power so you'll be able to control the discharge of your energy. In the meantime, we'll find safer methods for you to release it."

Chris noted with some interest that Mr. McCoy had donned a pair of heavy-duty insulator gloves. He carefully drew another blood sample from Chris and then offered him another cable to hold onto. This one ran into what appeared to be a large battery of some kind. Mr. McCoy explained that they were going to try to collect and measure his output, so they wanted him to try and release his energy gradually through the cable until he felt comfortable enough to stop.

Unfortunately, once he started to allow himself to 'let go', most of the energy poured out of him and fried the battery at the other end. Chris looked nervously from the smouldering battery to the faces of the adults. Much to his surprise, they actually started laughing.

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly. "It kind of got away from me."

"That's quite alright, Chris. I'm sure that you'll get better with practice," the Professor told him with a bit of a chuckle in his voice. He glanced down at his watch and then added,

"In the meantime, the other students will be waking up soon. If you want to have a shower before breakfast, you'd best hurry so that you can go first."

Chris peeled off his T-shirt so Mr. McCoy could remove the various sensors that had been placed on him. As soon as that was finished, he hurriedly put the shirt back on. Oddly enough, he found himself feeling really self-conscious about having his chest bare.

Ms. Munroe offered to escort him back to the elevator, but he politely declined her offer since he already knew the way. Besides, he was still aware of a residual 'charge' remaining within him and he felt a desire to run some of it off. As soon as the professor dismissed him, he sprinted off towards the door, taking the opportunity to tumble across the mat on his way, and then disappeared down the hallway.

"Well Henry," Xavier asked after Chris left, "what do you think of our newest student?"

"She's quite remarkable," he answered without realizing he was still referring to Chris in the feminine. "She managed to burn out some of the sensors I'd placed on her during her high-energy workout. I expect the data they had collected up to that point should make for a fascinating study."

"The kid's not outstandin’ physically until she... uh, I mean, he... energizes himself," Logan pointed out. "His reflexes, runnin’ time and sense of balance got pretty impressive after that."

"Now that our young Chris has found the control for his mutant power, we can start his training. I see no reason why he shouldn't be able to master it before long." said Xavier.

He paused as he thought of what he'd found in the boy's memories while he was helping him to find that control.

"The boy has had some particularly bad experiences that threaten to undermine his control, though. We'll get him past them eventually, but we'll have to proceed carefully in the meantime."

---

Chris had returned to his room after his brief shower and was carefully patting himself dry while thinking of his recent session in the lower levels. Out in the hallway, he could hear some of the other students' voices as they opened their doors and made a mad dash to the bathroom. He laughed out loud as he listened to their muttered curses when they'd discovered the door was already locked. It seemed that Kitty had taken a special shortcut through the walls and beat the rest of them to it. Well, almost everyone. Apparently Kurt didn't know that she was already in there when he’d teleported in, but the loud shriek that Chris heard all the way back to his room had probably sent Kurt on his way in a big hurry! Chris was thankful he’d followed the Professor’s advice and showered when he did.

He looked over his clothes that he'd packed away and was a little dismayed at the limited selection. Although it had never really bothered him before, he was now a bit irritated that he only seemed to have jeans, T-shirts and a few long-sleeved shirts to wear. He grunted with discomfort as he pulled on a pair of jeans. It was not his imagination -- they definitely didn't fit him properly anymore. He pulled and stretched the fabric as best as he could to try to make them a little more comfortable. He pulled on another T-shirt and then spent a minute combing out his long, wet hair. There certainly seemed to be a lot more of it now. It was considerably longer than he'd ever worn it in the past, but he found that he really liked how it felt.

He stepped out into the hallway and noted some of the other students waiting for their turn at the shower. They immediately noticed his wet hair and realized that he must have been up for awhile already. Rogue, who was next in line, briefly paused her impatient pacing in front of the bathroom door to look Chris over.

"Ah guess you've already been down fer your first tests," she said to him. "How did it go?"

"It was kind of weird, but also a little fun," he answered. "Mr. Logan had me work out on some gymnastic equipment. I didn't do very well at first, but it got really easy after I’d energized myself a little."

He thought about the battery he'd fried when he tried to safely discharge the excess energy.

“I still have a long way to go for controlling how I release the extra energy, though."

The other students started to get into the act and asked him all sorts of questions about the kind of things that went on during his test. He still found it hard to believe that anybody would ever find him interesting enough to talk to for longer than a few seconds. More to the point, none of them seemed to be behaving any differently towards him since they'd discovered the truth about his gender the night before. He'd half-expected them to be a little repulsed and want to keep their distance but they now appeared to be even more interested in him.

After a few minutes, Kitty phased through her bedroom door out into the hallway. She suggested to Chris that they both go hang out in the rec room for a while until everyone was called down to breakfast.

He had no sooner agreed when she abruptly took him by the wrist and phased him directly through a nearby wall. Kitty always seemed to prefer taking the most direct routes possible whenever she went anywhere. Although it was exciting, it definitely caught him by surprise and he let out a gasp when they suddenly found themselves on the upper landing of the grand staircase. For a moment he’d felt his power begin to surge up, but he was able to stop it and lock it back down before he accidentally zapped Kitty again. He was suddenly stunned that he'd actually managed to exert control over it.

Kitty was completely oblivious to the daze that Chris had temporarily fallen into and continued to prattle on about all sorts of things as she led the way to the rec room.

As he had the day before, he let Kitty do most of the talking. It wasn't as if he really had much choice. Internally, though, he was feeling an immense amount of pride and relief over his progress in gaining some control over his new abilities.

After a few minutes, some of the other students began to trickle into the room. Everyone seemed pretty relaxed and laid-back, so they lounged about on the various chairs and sofas in the room and talked amongst themselves for a little while until they were summoned to the dining room for breakfast.

The adults were already seated and waiting for the rest of them when they'd entered the room so they all simply found their seats and began passing the various trays of food around to each other. Everyone assumed the same seats as they had the night before, so Chris opted to sit next to Kitty again.

Kurt arrived a few minutes later in his trademark puff of smoke, whereupon he looked over at Kitty and mumbled an apology to her for his 'intrusion' earlier. She nodded in acceptance and gave him a small wink before turning back to Chris and continuing her one-sided discussion.

He tried his best not to laugh and keep an otherwise straight expression on his face, which was considerably difficult with Rogue rolling her eyes and making funny gestures from behind Kitty where she couldn't see her. Much to Chris' relief, she discontinued when the Professor narrowed his eyes at her in silent reprimand.

As before, the table conversation was varied and relatively light. A few of the students brought up the topic of Chris' first testing/training exercise and were eager for some details. Chris knew that there was more to those tests than he was aware of, but until the adults shared their findings with him he didn't know much more than he had the day before. The other students had all seen his enhanced physical abilities, though -- Scott and Rogue in particular, so he talked a little about that part of the test. He decided to hold off on discussing his attempt at discharging his energy since he wasn't very confident about his ability to control that yet, despite his brief success with Kitty a little earlier.

After breakfast, the rest of the students quickly dispersed. Chris, who had quite a few questions on his mind, decided to stay behind to try talking with the Professor. The adults were still seated together over coffee and seemed to be discussing a general assortment of things regarding the Institute and scheduling for the students. Chris hesitated, as he didn't really want to interrupt them. He quickly changed his mind and decided that his questions could wait. Just as he turned to leave, the Professor spoke up.

"Chris, was there something you wanted to ask?" he asked in his usual friendly manner.

"Uh... yes, I was kinda curious about a few things," he answered as he tried to think of the best way to put what was on his mind into words.

"I've been wondering about why there's all that space hidden underneath the mansion. Ms. Munroe told me this morning that it was a necessary secret. I guess what I'm asking is... who exactly are you people? What's really going on here at the Institute?"

The Professor regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before answering.

"I must apologize, Chris. I should have discussed this with you a little sooner. Perhaps it would best explain our purpose if you were to observe the other students in one of their training exercises."

"They should be finished suitin' up shortly,” Mr. Logan said with a quick glance at nearby clock. He looked over at Xavier and raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to have 'em prepare for a full simulation?"

"No, I doubt that should be necessary today, Logan."

He looked over at Mr. McCoy and added, "Henry, perhaps you could program something a little more diverse into the equipment today. The students are used to improvising and it should make for an impressive demonstration."

The large blue giant nodded politely and then left the dining room. Mr. Logan got up and followed him out, leaving just the Professor, Ms. Munroe and Chris.

"We'll give them a few minutes to get everything prepared," said the Professor. "While we're waiting, I'll explain a little more about us."

They adjourned to the recreation room where the Professor explained a little more about human mutations and the difficulty that the greater numbers of 'normal' humans had in understanding or accepting them. Chris, who’d had first-hand experience in that regard, definitely understood that problem. For comparison, Ms. Munroe spoke of a few examples that she'd been aware of that had resulted in serious injury -- both to the mutant in question and to several bystanders. Chris was starting to get really concerned. As frightening as his own experiences had been, it hadn't occurred to him that they could have been much worse.

After a few more minutes, they entered the hidden elevator and rode back down to the lower levels. This time, the elevator opened on a different level that Chris hadn't seen before. They stepped out into a shorter hallway with only a few doors staggered down its walls. At the end of the corridor was a large steel door that slid open as they approached.

Inside, the room was filled with the most sophisticated computer equipment that Chris had ever imagined, let alone ever seen. There were consoles and monitors along just about every wall, except for the far wall which had a large vista window down its entire length. Mr. McCoy was seated in a large chair in front of one of the consoles nearby and tapping deftly at a keyboard with his large fingers. He turned towards them as they entered and addressed the Professor.

"Everything is ready, Charles. Shall we begin?"

The Professor gave a slight nod back to Henry who then leaned forward and spoke into a microphone.

"Team exercise: 'Gauntlet', begin!"

The Professor and Ms. Munroe moved over beside Mr. McCoy and beckoned for Chris to join them. Curiously, he looked out the window and saw that he was looking down into the large room that he'd been in earlier that morning. The mats and gym equipment had been cleared away and replaced with an assortment of strange-looking pieces of machinery. The large door to the room opened and Chris saw the other students walk in. They were all wearing strange, form-fitting, dark costumes.

It appeared as if everything had been arranged to form an obstacle course of sorts around the perimeter of the large room. The students were expected to make their way through it all to where Chris could see Mr. Logan waiting for them. As soon as the door behind them closed, the lights dimmed slightly and strange machinery in the room came to life and started to attack them!

What the hell is this all about?! Chris wondered.

Some of the machines were shooting various projectiles at them. A few others shot nets and others still had long, mechanical tentacles that reached out and attempted to ensnare them. As he continued to watch, he was amazed as the students worked together as a team to bypass each of the obstacles. Jean used her powers to levitate herself and Rogue past one obstacle, while Kitty and Scott phased through another together. Kurt and Evan teleported ahead to the next obstacle, then Evan shot a line of bony spikes into it to form a ladder to the top.

It went on like that through the various obstacles, with each student using their abilities to help the others get through. Rogue was surprisingly agile in dodging some of the flying projectiles, but then Chris figured she needed to be since her own powers wouldn't be of much help to her unless she encountered an actual opponent. Much to Chris' surprise, Rogue got the opportunity to do just that when Mr. Logan suddenly appeared and started to attack them. From the looks on all of their faces, it was evident that they hadn’t been expecting that.

They seemed reluctant to use their abilities against their instructor, who took advantage of their hesitation to knock a couple of them down with a few martial arts manoeuvres. Finally getting the idea, they used their powers to keep Mr. Logan distracted and gave Rogue the opportunity to get close enough to touch him.

Chris was fascinated as he watched Rogue's hand and arm glow slightly, then Mr. Logan dropped to his knees. So that was what it looked like when Rogue used her powers. The other students worked their way past the last obstacle that was firing large spheres at them and Rogue, who now appeared to have assumed a more aggressive posture, jumped and tumbled through after them with significantly greater agility than she had shown so far. Scott made an impressive display by blasting a few of the projectiles with energy beams from the strange visor he was wearing and Evan deflected the others aside with more of his flying spikes.

As soon as they'd reached the finish line, all the machines in the room went dormant. All in all, the entire exercise probably took less than two minutes. Chris was very impressed!

Professor Xavier moved his chair forward so that he could speak through the microphone.

"Well done, everyone! Good teamwork! Mr. Logan will continue your instruction for the next two hours, after which you will be free for the rest of the day. Try to use your free time wisely, as I understand a number of you have essays due this week at school."

Chris was surprised to see that Mr. Logan was already back on his feet again. He approached the students with a scowl on his face that Chris was able to see even from way up in the control room and presumably began to give them evaluations on their performance during the exercise. Didn't that guy ever smile?

"As you can see, Chris," said the Professor from behind him, "the students are trained not only to control their abilities, but also to apply them constructively under trying circumstances. This combative approach is regretfully necessary and I suspect will be more than justified in the future. Human society's acceptance of us will be slow in coming, but I strongly believe that it will happen one day. In the meantime, this team has been formed to meet whatever challenges may come. I call them, The X-men."

Wow, Chris thought. A teenage gang of super-heroes!

As impressed as he was after seeing them in action, he had serious doubts that he'd ever be able to do the sorts of things that he'd just seen them do. They were all so... cool, and he was just plain old nerdy Chris. Chris the jinx and, with a quick glance at his faint reflection in the observation window, Chris the freak.

"What is wrong, child?" asked Ms. Munroe's kindly voice as she gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "Does all of this frighten you?"

"No, it's just that... I could never do any of that! I'm not like the rest of you..." he answered with a slight quiver in his voice.

Damn it, he thought to himself. Why is it that I always seem to be ready to cry so easily?

"That is something that only you can decide, Chris,” the Professor said meaningfully.

"Each of those students you see below have all felt the same as you now do. They each had their fears and doubts, but in time they learned to overcome them."

"And," Ms. Munroe added purposefully, "Never doubt that you are like the rest of us. With a little faith, you may surprise yourself with what you can do."

---

Later that afternoon, Chris sat in the recreation room with his book but made no real attempt to read it. Some of the other students were lounging in the room with him and he couldn't help but to stare at them. It was truly amazing the sorts of things that they were capable of, yet one wouldn't know it to look at them. They certainly seemed to act like normal teenagers for the most part.

"Hey Chrissy!" said Kitty's voice, seemingly out of nowhere.

Chris glanced quickly around the room and was only mildly surprised to see just her head and shoulders peeking out of a nearby wall.

"Oh, hi Kitty," Chris answered softly.

It didn't appear as though Kitty was going to completely enter the room, so he got up and went over to see what she wanted.

"Just 'Chris' will do, thanks. What's up?"

"Come on," she said while beckoning to him with an arm phased through the wall.

"Jean's waiting for us upstairs. We need to put a few outfits together for you for school."

Without waiting for his response, she seized him by his wrist and pulled him through the wall with her. Although Chris still found this to be a rather odd way to travel, he was starting to get used to it.

He allowed Kitty to lead him back up the grand staircase and then directly through her closed door into her room. Laid out on Kitty's bed, Chris saw an assortment of different clothes and Jean was currently in the process of sorting through some of them.

She waved at them as they entered and looked Chris over again in an appraising manner. Kitty dove back into her closet through the closed door and Jean began to hold up various articles of clothing against Chris while she tried to visualize how they'd look on him.

"If you really are changing into a female, perhaps you should consider letting the Professor register you at school as one. It would probably spare you a lot of hassles from the other kids at Bayville High -- especially if you're going to keep wearing Kitty's clothes!"

Chris flushed a bit as he thought about the clothes that Ms. Munroe had him wear that morning.

"Um... that wasn't really my idea, you know," he said quietly.

"Hey, like... no worries, Chris!" came Kitty's slightly muffled voice from somewhere inside her large closet.

"Once you start building up your own wardrobe, you can let me borrow some of your stuff from time to time and we'll call it even."

She phased back through the door with some more clothes in her arms and deposited them on her bed.

Chris thought briefly of his experience the other day when he'd gone through his mother's closet. As enjoyable as the experience had been, he felt a little uneasy at the thought of doing more dressing up for an audience. However, it didn't look as though he had much of a choice since both Jean and Kitty were acting as though the possibility of him saying 'no' hadn't even occurred to them. Besides, there was a certain amount of logic to it considering his already-feminine appearance.

It turned out that both Kitty and Rogue shared the big closet, which was logical since both of the girls were roommates, but it was pretty clear that Kitty laid claim to most of it. She had a lot of clothes! Remembering some of the dinner conversation from the night before, Chris wondered why Kitty needed to borrow any of Jean's stuff when she already had such a large wardrobe herself.

Jean seemed to be taking the lead in that 'big sister' sort of manner that she had. She selected a few blouses and some pairs of Capri pants, then piled them into Chris' arms and sent him off to the bathroom to try them on. Still feeling a bit odd, Chris simply complied with her request and tried not to think too much about it.

As before, Kitty's clothes fit him extremely well. The girls were quite impressed with his appearance and adjusted each look slightly with various accessories such as necklaces, bracelets and a touch of makeup. After a few more changes of clothes, they had selected a modest assortment of items for him to use that week in school. They weren't the most 'femme' clothes that Kitty owned, but on Chris they made any assumption that he was really a boy impossible. Despite everything that the Professor and Mr. McCoy had told him about his gender changing, he was still amazed by his appearance in the mirror.

It was getting close to dinnertime, so Chris helped Jean and Kitty straighten up everything in the room. Just as they were finishing up, Rogue returned and nodded with approval at how Chris looked. Jean and Kitty had even teased his hair slightly, so the image that was presented to Rogue was quite astounding.

"Not bad at all," she finally said. "Ah think you probably look even better in those things than Kitty ever did."

Kitty only frowned and stuck out her tongue at Rogue in reply.

"Why don't you come down to dinner like that instead of changing back into your other clothes?" Jean asked. "That look really does suit you much better."

Chris thought it over for a few seconds. He really did enjoy the look and feel of the new clothes, but he was worried that he might be rushing things a bit. It was still only his second day at the Institute and only three days since he'd tried dressing up for the first time.

"Uh, won't everyone else think it's really weird? I mean, I may look like a girl but everyone knows that I'm not one… at least, not exactly."

"Weird? At this place? We're all mutants, remember? The whole point of this place is to learn more about ourselves and to be comfortable with who we are. At least, that's what the Professor keeps telling us," replied Jean in her best-sounding 'big sister' mode.

"Besides," Kitty piped in, "since you are changing, you'll have to get used to seeing yourself as a girl sooner or later."

That had pretty much settled the issue for Chris. He had already decided earlier that it would be far more practical to be registered at the local High School as a girl. He'd learned a fair amount of stuff from Jean and Kitty that afternoon about dressing like a girl, but he still had to work on acting like one. He was going to be spending most of his time with the other students of the Institute for the next few years, so it made the most sense that he should start practicing his 'look' with them first.

The girls were looking forward to seeing the reaction of the boys when Chris arrived in the dining room that night. They decided to wait upstairs until everyone else was seated and then go down together to surprise everyone.

Before long, they could hear the boys' voices in the hallway and down the grand staircase as they made their way to the dining room. Chris and the girls waited another few minutes to give the Institute's staff time to settle in and then finally headed down together.

As they reached the main floor at the bottom of the grand staircase, Chris felt another wave of anxiety surge through him. He could feel himself starting to tremble, so he quickly grabbed hold of the railing to steady himself.

"Um, Chris... do you know that you're kind of... glowing, right now?” Jean asked him gently.

"S..sorry!" he stuttered. "That happens sometimes when I'm really n..nervous!"

Jean stepped in front of Chris and crouched a bit so she could look into his eyes.

"Listen very carefully to my voice Chris. First, close your eyes. Next, take a couple of slow, deep breaths and let them out gently."

She paused as Chris did as he was told. Slowly, the glow from his face and hands faded until there was no trace of it.

"There's no reason to be nervous. We are all a family here and you are one of us now. No one is going to make fun of you, I promise. When we walk in there together, you'll see that I'm right. Please trust me, okay?"

He opened his eyes and looked deep into hers for a moment. Those large, doe-like eyes of hers continued to silently entreat her request: to trust her. Chris was awestruck by the level of sincerity that he saw.

Internally, he fought a decisive battle with his emotions. She was probably the first person in years to actually ask that of him. Most people usually behaved as if Chris' trust wasn't an issue so long as he simply complied with whatever they wanted of him. The few exceptions were his mother, the Professor and Ms. Munroe. Each of them had earned his trust to varying degrees, but Jean was the only one who'd actually asked for it -- and she'd asked as though she understood just how hard it was for Chris to give it.

In an instant, his inner turmoil subsided. He felt his spirits lift a little and nodded to Jean, who promptly put a reassuring arm around his shoulders. Kitty and Rogue joined them on either side and they all entered the dining room together.

Just as they'd planned, everyone else was already seated and patiently awaiting them. There were a few quiet conversations making up the bulk of the ambient background noise of the dining room that abruptly stopped the instant that Chris entered with the girls. For a moment, no one said a thing but simply stared at the image before them. The boys were not only staring, but also allowed their mouths to hang open a bit.

Xavier cleared his throat loudly to break everyone out of their temporary enchantment.

"Ah, there you are girls... we were just starting to wonder what was keeping you. Please, take your seats."

Chris noted with surprise and a certain amount of satisfaction that the Professor had grouped him in with the other girls. Still, he was reluctant to make eye contact with anyone as he followed Kitty to their usual seats. So far Jean had been right about how everyone else would react, but he was still afraid he’d lose his nerve and bolt back up to his room.

As things turned out, dinner was a pretty normal affair as much as any other gathering in the dining room. Everyone seemed to take Chris' overtly feminine appearance in stride and didn't act as though there was anything out of the ordinary -- except for Scott, Kurt and Evan, that is.

The three teen boys were uncharacteristically quiet through dinner and spent much of their time gaping at Chris. Whenever Chris asked for something to be passed to him, the three of them practically fell over each other in their eagerness to fulfill his request. It was all Chris could do to maintain a straight face and not laugh at their foolishness. He found it really odd but also quite exciting that the guys knew he wasn't really a girl, but still reacted towards him as if he was. It was a different kind of attention that he was completely unaccustomed and unprepared for, but it also felt really nice too.

After dinner, the Professor reminded everyone about school the next day and advised them not to stay up too late before dismissing everyone. He suggested the same to Chris, even though he wasn't going to be joining the other students at school until probably the following day. They hadn't had the opportunity to properly register Chris as a student at Bayville High yet and they wanted to use the next day to run some more tests on him while the other students were all off at school. That was perfectly fine by Chris, who wasn't looking forward to being the 'new kid' at a strange new school.

The official plan for the remaining hours until lights out was for all the students to lounge around in the rec room and watch some movie from the video library. The girls had made it very clear that they were expecting Chris to join everyone, so any attempt he might make to bow out would be futile.

As they were all filing out of the dining room, the Professor asked Chris to remain behind for a quick discussion.

"I must say Chris, I'm very pleasantly surprised," Xavier said with a kindly smile. "You really do make a beautiful young girl. I was surprised that you had allowed the others to persuade you to dress like this so soon."

"I'm kind of surprised too," Chris replied with a small laugh "but it didn't seem as though Kitty or Jean would take 'no' for an answer!"

"It does bring me to my main question, though I suspect that I already know your answer. How do you wish to be registered at school, as a male or a female?" Xavier asked carefully.

"Definitely as a girl," Chris answered without the slightest hesitation.

"I've been thinking about it for a while and after the way that things have gone today, I know I'd be a lot happier as a girl. Besides, it's hard enough convincing people that I'm a boy right now and I'm guessing it'll be nearly impossible in the future."

Xavier nodded his head in approval.

"Well, if you're absolutely certain then I'll make the necessary arrangements. I'll see to it that you'll be exempted from physical education classes at school, as that would likely be the only place where your apparent gender might be compromised. In the meantime, enjoy your free time with the other students. Remember not to stay up too late and I'll see you for testing tomorrow morning."

Chris flashed a radiant smile back at Xavier and then hastened off across the grand hall towards the rec room.

Xavier noted with some interest that Chris' stride seemed to be developing a very feminine sway as he walked. He watched until Chris was out of sight and then turned his wheelchair towards his study. He was pleasantly surprised to see Henry waiting at the opposite end of the dining room.

"It appears that she can move like a female as well as look like one. Has she decided to register as a girl for school?" Henry asked.

"Indeed, 'she' has," Xavier replied.

"I'm quite relieved at his decision as I wasn't looking forward to having to suggest that it was the best option if he'd decided to go the other way. He does seem to be taking his gender shift quite well."

Henry nodded in agreement.

"That is fortunate. It will make her transition and subsequent acclimating much easier, particular since it appears that her recent changes in behaviour are likely biologically motivated."

"Have you made any more discoveries from your test data?" Xavier asked.

"The presence of her ovaries was a particularly surprising and intriguing part of the puzzle, so I did more extensive DNA testing with the blood samples from earlier today. The results indicate that Chris is actually a Tetragametic chimera."

Xavier raised his eyebrows in surprise at that revelation, but said nothing. It went without saying that the Institute’s newest student was even more unique than they’d originally thought.

"Additionally, I discovered something interesting when I compared the two separate blood samples I’d taken from her this morning. The sample I took from her after she'd energized seemed to confirm my theory of her bioelectric charge neutralizing her male hormones. When the charge is high enough, her white blood cells are just as empowered as the rest of her and they become very efficient at eliminating foreign agents in the blood. This condition would suggest that she is probably highly resistant to illness and infections. Judging from the speed at which her tissues seem to heal themselves, it is also likely that her regenerative processes are enhanced as well."

He paused as he noted the look of surprise on Xavier's face. He didn't need to be a telepath to guess what he was thinking.

"...Not quite like Logan. His mutant ability in that area far exceeds hers and in her case, her healing factor is likely dependent upon the level of charge she is holding."

Xavier smiled and gave a subtle shake of his head.

"Despite all the work that we do working with human mutations, I still find it amazing at times some of the abilities that these young people possess. I only hope that in the case of our newest student, we'll be able to guide, ah... 'her', to use them properly."

---

Early the next morning, Chris awoke to the sounds of the other students moving about through the hallway as they got themselves ready for school. He was grateful that he didn't have to go to school with them that day so he wouldn't have to rush out to join the usual long queue for the shower.

He got out of bed and walked over to look at himself in the mirror. He noted with a touch of amusement that he'd been taking a greater interest in his appearance as of late and seemed to be spending a lot of time in front of mirrors. Frowning at the dishevelled state of his hair, he retrieved the chair from his desk and sat down in front of the mirror to work a comb through the tangles.

He was convinced that it wasn't his imagination: his hair definitely seemed to have a lot more body than it used to.

After he'd worked the tangles out, he picked up a brush that Jean had given him and decided to give it a try. Normally he'd never bothered with a hairbrush since it had always seemed too impractical in the past, but with each stroke through his hair, he was surprised at just how good it felt.

After a few minutes, he noticed that the sounds of the other students outside in the hall seemed to be diminishing. Undoubtedly they were now starting to head down to the dining room for breakfast so he tossed the brush aside and went to select some clothes to wear so he could join them.

Although he'd only known them for a couple of days now, they'd all been very nice to him so far and he wanted to spend at least some time with them before they had to leave for school. The staff at the Institute was really nice as well, but he felt more of a sense of belonging with the other students. That in itself was both new and thrilling to a boy who had spent most of his life being treated like a social reject. Besides that, most of his day was going to be spent wrapped up in further tests so he suspected this would probably be his only chance to relax until the end of the afternoon.

Out of habit, he grabbed a pair of jeans and one of his T-shirts. He frowned as he noted the slightly uncomfortable fit around his waist and hips. With a glance in the mirror he confirmed his suspicion that not only the jeans didn't fit quite right, but now they also didn't look right. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something looked a bit... off. He made a mental note to bring it up with the girls when they got back from school later and quickly donned his running shoes before rushing downstairs.

On weekdays, breakfast at the Institute was a much more casual affair to accommodate the relatively tight schedules of both staff and students. The dining room was set up like a buffet and the students were in the process of filling up their plates with typical morning fare when Chris arrived. The seating arrangements at the large table weren't as formal, either, and they simply grabbed whatever seats were closest.

Ms. Munroe was the only faculty member in the dining room at the moment and she seemed preoccupied by some paperwork that she was working on; pausing only to take a sip of her coffee now and then.

Despite her presence, it appeared as if the more casual atmosphere of weekday breakfast was the accepted rule so a few of the students would often use their mutant abilities in an effort to get through breakfast a little faster. Kitty would phase right through the table instead of walking around it, Kurt would teleport between his seat and the buffet (which he did often!), Jean would often levitate objects instead of physically passing things around by hand and Evan would sometimes use long quills from his fingertips to serve himself instead of the provided serving utensils.

It almost looked like a small circus was going on in front of him and he found it much more fascinating to watch instead of eating his own breakfast. He was a little surprised that he didn't have much of an appetite anyways. Come to think of it, his appetite had been really low for the last few days. He made another mental note to bring that up with the Professor and Mr. McCoy later.

At the pace they were going, it took very little time at all for the rest of the students to finish up breakfast before they stampeded out of the dining room in a rush to retrieve their school bags. Chris went to the door of the dining room to watch them as they all came back down through the main hall and headed out the front door. They all waved and said goodbye as they passed by him and then they were gone.

"Quite a crazy bunch, aren't they?" said Logan's deep voice from behind him.

Chris turned to see Logan shaking his head with only the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

"They may seem odd, but you'll get used to 'em. Maybe before long you'll be just as quirky as the rest of ‘em, eh?"

The Professor and Mr. McCoy arrived a few moments later and they all went over to the window to watch as the other students left the grounds via the main gate. Chris got the impression that they did this often. It was very similar to how his own mother often watched him leave for school each day. It was a very... parental sort of thing.

"You have hardly touched your breakfast, child," Ms. Munroe spoke up at last. "You really should try to eat something as I'm certain today's tests are bound to be exhausting for you."

"Well, I'll try. It's really weird, but for the last few days I haven't really been all that hungry." He looked over at Mr. McCoy's large blue form and added, "I wanted to ask you if my 'changes' might have something to do with it."

Henry looked thoughtful for a moment before replying.

"Intriguing. It's possible that your metabolism has realigned itself to accommodate your mutant abilities. I'll run a few tests later that might shed a little more light on the matter."

Chris was sent back upstairs to have a quick shower and to change into more suitable clothing for the physical aspects of the tests that were scheduled for that morning. He was pleasantly surprised to see that big-sister Jean had laundered the workout clothes of Kitty's that he'd used the day before. As he was changing into them, he thought about the strange costumes that he'd seen the others wear during their team exercise. They looked pretty cool. Maybe they'd have something like that for him one of these days.

After getting changed, he hurried down to the recreation room where he found the elevator already waiting for him with its door wide open. As he rode down to the lower levels he realized that he was feeling a sense of eagerness to start the testing. In fact, he was actually looking forward to it. At some point over the past few days he'd not only gotten past being scared of his abilities, he'd now become quite comfortable with them and accepted them as a part of himself. It had probably happened when the Professor had entered his mind and helped him to discover his mental 'switch' for controlling his power. Now that he knew where it was, he was constantly aware of it and his awareness made him eager to experiment with it.

He'd entered the large training room to see that it was set up nearly identically to how it had been for his tests the day before. He looked a little more carefully at the various closed panels in the floor and around the room while remembering the sorts of machinery that he'd seen come out of them during the team's workout. Clearly, the room was full of many interesting surprises.

The adults were all waiting for him over by the workstation that Mr. McCoy had set up with more of his strange pieces of monitoring equipment. He waited patiently for the few minutes it took for Mr. McCoy to attach more sensors to him, and then he was finally ready to go.

As it had been the day before, Mr. Logan had him run through a series of physical 'warm-up' exercises before sending him back to Mr. McCoy so he could re-energize. He was given only a limited amount of energy to draw at first and then sent out to the exercise apparatus to work it off. When he'd run himself down to 'normal' levels, he was sent back to charge up again.

The cycle repeated itself several times and each time he went back to absorb more energy, the Professor would connect with him mentally and try to help him focus his awareness of how he was drawing it. With the growing awareness also came a limited amount of control and after a while he found that he could do it with surprising ease. Once he had demonstrated reasonable control of his drawing ability, the Professor began to work with him on using the energy more efficiently.

When they all took a break for lunch, they talked about some of the data that Mr. McCoy had been getting on Chris during the tests. Apparently he was showing a tendency to use up the stored energy he was collecting practically all at once. This was probably why at first he'd been subconsciously drawing and storing larger amounts of energy so that it would last longer.

For the rest of the afternoon, the Professor had him practice holding smaller charges and trying to get the most mileage out of them that he could. By the time the other students were starting to return from school, he'd made some progress but found that the mental effort was pretty exhausting. The Professor assured him that it would get easier with time and lots of practice. For the time being, the best that Chris found he could manage was to store the energy and simply keep it locked away. It didn't seem to do anything at all when stored away like that, but it did allow the Professor to communicate with him telepathically. He also felt much more confident that he was less likely to shock someone accidentally when he touched them.

Due to his extensive physical activity throughout the day, he was excused from that afternoon's martial arts training with Mr. Logan. All the students usually had such training scheduled every other afternoon and were starting to arrive in the training room wearing Judo dougis just as Chris was finishing up. He was invited to stay and watch their class for a while, but he left shortly before they finished so that he could beat everyone else to the shower.

He was surprised at just how stiff and stretched out he felt. All of his limbs and joints were aching, but not too painfully. He had never been very athletic, but Mr. Logan had made it clear that all of the students, including him, would need to be in excellent physical shape to better prepare them for their 'special' training. By that, Chris had assumed he'd meant the dangerous stuff that he'd seen the rest of the students doing when all that strange equipment started attacking them. He thought about his own abilities and wondered just what he might have been able to do if he'd been down there with them. Initially he'd had his doubts, but after the two training sessions he'd had so far he was a bit curious. What could he do, exactly?

---

A smartly dressed woman in a business suit stood at the large window of her office as she often did and looked down at the now-empty front entrance way of Bayville High. Except for a few stragglers, the majority of the students had long since departed to undoubtedly engage in the various disreputable things that teenagers often did.

She really despised her job. However, it was necessary to keep up appearances and also to keep an eye on her 'special' students. While she didn't particularly care for them one way or another, they served their purpose. They were especially effective in keeping that meddler Charles Xavier and his group of students on their toes; even though her own students often ended up getting bested by Xavier and his X-men.

She scowled as she thought about Xavier and his altruistic ideals. He and his students were such short-sighted fools. They were completely dedicated to wasting their time trying to promote acceptance amongst normal humans. It was not only futile, but also unworthy of such talented mutants. These 'normal' humans were nothing more than sheep. Their acceptance of mutants was not only unlikely but also unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Mutants were the future of this planet and were destined to rule over it. People like Xavier were only delaying the inevitable.

She sat down at her desk and glanced through a new file folder. It seemed that Xavier had another late-registration transfer student he was enrolling at Bayville High. Undoubtedly another mutant.

Xavier had too much of an advantage with that special computer he called 'Cerebro'. With it, he seemed to always be one step ahead of her when it came to recruiting new mutants. Well, finding them first didn't necessarily mean that they'd automatically join his team. She winced inwardly as she thought of her initial success with the girl Rogue and then her subsequent failure to keep her amongst her own students.

There was very little in the file that would give any hint as to what sort of person this new student was, let alone what sort of mutant abilities she had. 'Christy McGee'... the name sounded pretty hick. She was probably a really simple and naive girl. If she couldn't be persuaded to join her special group, then perhaps she could be intimidated enough so that she wouldn't be of much use to Xavier and his people, either.

Principal Darkholme smiled to herself as she ran though a few scenarios in her head. The first day at a new school can be really difficult on new students. Perhaps tomorrow it will be interesting to see how Xavier's newest student will cope when it's especially difficult.

---

Later that evening, the girls were having Chris model some more outfits for them in Kitty & Rogue's room. Jean and Kitty were especially excited that Chris would be registering as a girl for school; whereas Rogue only casually commented that it would be 'neat'. Still, she insisted on having some input into the sort of look that they were making Chris over in. Rogue was adamant that Chris not be made out to be another preppy little mall-rat like Kitty, which prompted Kitty to throw a large pillow at her head. The reality was that until they were able to take Chris out shopping for clothes, the only choices he had for feminine attire would mostly come from Kitty's wardrobe since they were both very close in size.

It finally took Jean to settle a compromise in which they fashioned an image for Chris that was a cross between both Kitty and Rogue's styles. Chris said very little throughout the entire ordeal and found it hard enough just to keep from laughing. His situation was so absurd that it was pointless to question it. Here he was, a boy, and being argued over by a couple of girls who are trying to decide how to best turn him into a girl. He caught himself in that thought and tried to keep the advice that the Professor had given him earlier in mind.

Just after dinner, the Professor had taken him aside and confirmed that he was now registered at Bayville High as Christy McGee, a freshman transfer student from Michigan. He would be going to classes with the rest of the Institute's students the next morning... and he would be going as a girl. It was suggested that he try to start thinking of himself as a girl so he could get himself into the proper mindset. While it was true that he was changing into a girl, he had been living as a boy for his entire life. There was a lot more to being a girl than simply looking like one; he also had to learn how to think like one.

That would take a little while for him to do comfortably, but in the meantime the girls seemed more than eager to help. As soon as he'd confirmed his registration status at school with them, they immediately started to refer to him with female pronouns. It was a little weird at first, but as the night wore on he got used to it.

The girls had finally settled the issue over Chris' clothing and were now starting to argue about his hairstyle. On this topic, even Jean seemed to be unwilling to compromise and the debate would have surely lasted until morning if the Professor’s telepathic reminder that it was a school night hadn’t interrupted them. Chris, who had kept his mutant ability locked down since the end of the tests that afternoon, jumped a bit when he suddenly heard the Professor's voice in his head. The other girls were already accustomed to hearing the Professor in their minds, so they'd looked at him curiously.

"You heard that?" asked Rogue. "Ah thought that your power blocked the Professor out."

He told them about the sorts of things he did that afternoon and how the Professor had helped him figure out a way to lower his 'shield'. Apparently it drew a lot of his stored energy to keep it up all the time, so he was trying to find a way to do that shielding thing only when it was necessary. Needless to say, he was still unaccustomed to having someone speak directly into his mind without any warning.

"Wow, thanks for the tip!" said Jean. "I wouldn't want to try to project into your mind and accidentally scare the crap out of you. We've seen what happens when you get startled."

They all enjoyed a quick laugh at that and then Chris and Jean each returned to their own rooms. Before they parted company, Jean told him to set his alarm an extra hour earlier so that she and the girls could make sure he looked 'just right' for his first day at school.

Chris carefully hung up the clothes that Kitty had given him in his closet and glanced over at the bedside table. The Professor had thoughtfully provided him with a wind-up alarm clock to ensure that he wouldn't accidentally make himself late for school.

After setting the clock as per Jean's instructions, he turned out his bedside lamp and crawled into bed. He was both excited and nervous about facing his first day at school, so he stayed awake for a while. He thought back to his strange dream days ago when he had been a pretty girl that was liked by everyone. Now he had a chance to start over at a new place where no one had known the geeky little misfit that he'd been before. He had originally dismissed that dream as fantasy, but now it seemed that he had a chance to actually make his dream come true. For the first time in years, he actually felt a sense of hope for the future and finally drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

---

To be concluded in:

The XX-Factor: Chapter Six - The Evolution of Christy McGee

...He'd spent a lot of time thinking about the sorts of things that he'd seen the other students do during their team exercise and had more than once wondered what it would be like to join them. He'd had his doubts about whether or not his powers were even in the same league as theirs, but today's events had proved that he really could do it.

---

Official Disclaimer:
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.

The author maintains creative ownership of the story itself and grants BigCloset TopShelf permission to post it online for free viewing by this site's visitors.

The next morning, the girls came by Chris' room to retrieve him within seconds of his alarm going off. Chris had become something of a project for all of the girls and they ran him through that morning's preparations with great enthusiasm. Jean had immediately marched him off to the shower with strict instructions on how to wash his hair, while Rogue and Kitty brought even more clothes in from their room to select from. Apparently there had been more debates on the sort of clothes they thought Chris should wear after he'd left their room last night.

As soon as he'd finished his shower, he'd barely had enough time to cover up with a towel before Kitty strolled through the wall to bring him back to his room via her personal express route. It was a good thing that he'd gotten up the extra hour earlier, because the girls had used up nearly all of that time fussing over him. When they'd finally finished, he hardly recognized himself.

They made Chris up into a sort of stylish rebel look. His clothes were a touch on the preppy side -- understandable since they were mostly Kitty's -- but his hair and slight touches of makeup gave a suggestion of a 'bad girl' potential, which had obviously been Rogue's suggestion. The result was a rather stunning young girl who looked as though she might be Kitty's wild-child cousin from her hometown. Although Kitty had tried to push for a stylish skirt and blouse combo that morning, they had eventually decided that Chris would probably be more comfortable in designer jeans and a peasant blouse. Although, after he had finally managed to squeeze into the tight-fitting pants, Chris wondered if he might not have been better off in a skirt after all.

Breakfast was the same sort of organized confusion that it had been the day before. Everyone rushed around in all directions to cram in a quick bagel or a bowl of cereal before the mad dash to school. The guys had made a few whistles of approval as soon as he'd entered the room and started to follow in the girls' example by using feminine pronouns when referring to Chris. The Professor and the rest of the adults had turned up to see them all off as usual, and sent Chris off with an additional 'good luck' as they all departed.

While they were walking to school together, they had all agreed on a cover story for Chris to tell everyone else at school. Since he sort of looked like Kitty, they decided that he could be a cousin of hers from back home. His schedule had placed him in a lot of the same classes as Kitty, so they would sit together and Kitty could cover for him in case something unexpected ever came up in conversation.

"I should probably warn you about Principal Darkholme," Scott said as they approached the school.

"Since you're a new student, you're bound to run into her sooner or later. I can't really tell you too much, but I will say that she knows about mutants and has probably guessed that you're one too. She isn't all that fond of our group from the Institute, so we usually try our best to keep out of her way."

"Yeah... her and the reject squad," Evan threw in. "Otherwise known as the 'Brotherhood of Mutants'. They like to cause a lot of trouble around school. Principal Darkholme lets them get away with just about anything and if any of us happen to be nearby, we'll get blamed for it. Man, that lady really has it in for us!"

"Uh, perhaps we shouldn't be laying this on Christy all at once," Jean advised them. "This is only her first day and I'm sure that she already has enough on her mind."

Although he didn't say so, Chris was in complete agreement with Jean. He was already freaked out enough as it was without having to consider that there would already be people at the school who might be targeting him. Since he still didn't have reliable control over his mutant power yet, he concentrated harder on trying to lock down any energy he might be carrying. It certainly wouldn't help his efforts to make a good first impression if he accidentally zapped somebody or shorted something out on his first day.

As soon as they were inside the main doors of Bayville High, the Institute group all went their separate ways to their various classes. Chris was relieved that his first class was one that he shared with Kitty and stayed close to her as they made their way through the halls. Kitty knew a lot of students and made several stops to talk with some of them.

A lot of them were bubbly, clothes-obsessed mall-rat types just like Kitty and Chris was fascinated by the amount of times the words 'like' and 'totally' came up in their conversations. They had taken notice of Chris immediately, or rather how he was dressed, and immediately sized the new girl up for style potential. Fortunately for Chris, the Institute girls had done a reasonable job on him so that he didn't appear too ordinary that he'd be considered a 'plain Jane', or too stylish and invite some catty behaviour from the other girls at school. He was polite but said as little as possible whenever the girls asked him questions. Kitty usually jumped in on his behalf and tackled most of their questions, anyways.

The girls seemed to take an instant but probationary liking to Chris. No doubt it was standard procedure that was used for all new kids. As long as he didn't do anything that the other girls thought was un-cool, he'd probably be accepted into that confusing strata of teen-girl social life.

In class, Kitty and her friends always sat together in a group. Chris habitually preferred to sit in the back of the class where he wouldn't be noticed, but the girls wouldn't have any of it. They usually avoided sitting near the back of the class ('Ugh! That's where the losers always sit!'), so Chris found himself literally in the center of the class. That was pretty much the norm for all of his classes that day. It was a much higher profile than he would have preferred on his first day in a new school. It made him feel like he was being put on display for everyone and that made him feel a little self-conscious.

At lunchtime, he felt a momentary wave of anxiety when they'd entered the cafeteria. Too many years of unpleasant experiences in such a place still weighed on him a bit, but he managed to get a hold of himself and prevent any trembling. He was relieved to see the other Institute students waiting for Kitty and himself to join them at a table.

"So, how'd your morning go so far, Christy?" Scott asked with a quick wink. "Has Kitty turned you into one of the Prep Squad yet, or do we still have a chance to rescue you from that fate?"

"God, like... you can be such a jerk sometimes, Scott!" Kitty answered a little irritably.

For added emphasis, she tossed an orange peel at him and stuck out her tongue. Everyone enjoyed a quick laugh at that.

Since coming to join them at the Institute, Chris had seen many such examples of playful banter between the other students. It was as Jean had told him the day before: they were all a family, which often included playful teasing between siblings. It gave Chris a really warm feeling inside to see how much his fellow Institute students really seemed to care for one another.

As the lunch hour progressed, everyone took turns giving Chris their own interpretation of all the 'important stuff' that he should know about the school. Topics like where the best water fountain was, where the best place to skateboard was, which vending machine had the best brands of soda and where the best ladies' room was all got thrown at him in rapid succession.

"Don't forget to tell her where the biggest losers in school sit at lunchtime... oh, wait... I guess she already knows," said a quick, nasal-sounding voice from behind them.

Immediately, the guys at the table tensed up as if they were getting ready to jump into action and the girls all seemed to shrug it off. Chris turned around in his seat and was surprised to see a huge, hulking teenager standing just behind their table. With him, stood three other guys who all wore identical sneers on their faces.

"So, here's the newest addition to the X-dweebs," said a slender teen with white hair. He spoke very rapidly and made Chris wonder if he was some kind of serious caffeine addict.

"You shouldn't start off at a new school with such an obvious handicap, girl,” he said as he waved at everyone else at the table. "You may be stuck living with these losers, but that doesn't mean you have to look as dumb as the rest of them by hanging out with them."

"Hey man," Evan spoke up, "even if it were true, it's better to look dumb than to actually be dumb. How'd you do on that math test today, Pietro? Did you finally manage to break 30% or is the teacher still docking you for spelling your own name wrong?"

Pietro didn't take kindly to that remark and suddenly moved with blinding speed around the table where he tipped Evan’s tray onto his lap. Fortunately for Evan, he'd already finished most of his lunch so it didn't make too much of a mess. Pietro moved back to his position beside the huge giant just as quickly and if anyone had blinked they might have missed it entirely. Obviously a mutant, Chris thought. This must be the infamous 'Brotherhood of Mutants' that the others had told him about earlier.

"You ought to be more careful, Daniels," Pietro laughed. "You don't want this new girl here to know what a clumsy nerd you really are."

Evan raised his arm and it looked like he was about to retaliate, but Scott put one of his hands on his arm in a restraining gesture and then glared at the other four.

"Hey, if you guys really want to have it out, we can do that. Why don't we take this outside someplace where you can't hide behind Principal Darkholme when we start beating your asses?" Scott said.

Before any of them could respond to Scott's challenge, an imperious sounding voice spoke up from somewhere behind them. The four troublemakers instantly developed smug smiles on each of their faces and parted to allow Principal Darkholme through.

"Is there some kind of problem here? Mr. Summers, fighting on school property is strictly forbidden and attempting to arrange such things elsewhere while here is also discouraged. Perhaps you and your group of troublemakers need some time in detention today to remind you not to stir things up with other students."

From behind her, the four Brotherhood teens were silently laughing and making faces at Scott and the others. Chris could tell that Scott was getting ready to lose his temper, but Jean headed the impending outburst off by gently kicking him under the table and shaking her head at him.

"We're very sorry, Principal Darkholme," she said. "Scott didn't really mean it. We wouldn't even think of causing any trouble."

"Save it, Miss Grey," Principal Darkholme said flatly.

"I think Xavier gives the lot of you far too much leeway. Well, this is not your precious Institute and here you are expected to behave accordingly. I'll see you all in detention today after school."

She swept her eyes over the table and focused on Chris for a moment. Her stare gave Chris the creeps and made him feel as though she was studying him or something.

"Ah, this must be our newest student. McGee, isn't it?" she asked coolly.

Chris silently nodded.

"Well, perhaps we might make an exception in your case. Being that you're new to the school, it would be a shame for you to face detention on your first day. You are excused, but I hope that you will take this opportunity to learn from your companions' example how not to behave here at Bayville High."

She abruptly turned on her heel and marched off in search of some other students to torment, leaving Chris and the rest of the group fuming. The four Brotherhood guys all waved mockingly and moved away while laughing amongst themselves.

"Man, this totally bites!" Evan said irritably. "Principal Darkholme is always down on us! We didn't even do anything and we still got a detention!"

"Yes, everyone except Christy," Jean added quietly.

She glanced over at Chris with a curious look.

"That's kind of strange, even for Principal Darkholme. Why would she nail us all with detention but suddenly decide to let Christy off?"

"Probably just so that we'd sit here an’ wonder about why she did it," Rogue piped up. "You know how she loves ta mess with people's heads. Ah'll bet that she's just tryin’ ta make us paranoid or something."

The others all nodded thoughtfully at Rogue's suggestion. It did make a certain amount of sense.

The bell rang to signal the end of the lunch hour, so they all tidied up their table and split up to go their classes. For the rest of the afternoon, Chris noted that Kitty was much less animated than she'd been that morning. No doubt she was a bit bummed out about the detention she got stuck with. He replayed the recent cafeteria incident back in his mind and shook his head at the unfairness of it all. If this was the sort of uneven treatment that the Institute residents could expect from the Principal, then it was a safe bet he'd be spending some time in detention one of these days as well.

At the end of the school day, he walked with Kitty to the room where the rest of the gang was waiting to serve their detention. He noted with interest that they seemed to be the only students in there. Considering how strict the Principal was, Chris had expected to see the entire room filled with students instead of just the six from the Institute.

He felt a bit weird about returning from his first day at school without the rest of them and offered to stay behind and wait with them anyways. While Kitty seemed to perk up at his offer, she was over-ruled by Scott and Jean who politely declined. They told him that he might as well take advantage of skipping this detention because the Principal wouldn't be likely to exclude him from the next one. Ironically, Principal Darkholme had suddenly arrived and echoed Scott and Jean's advice: which was basically to leave while he still could.

Chris found that he was in no hurry to get back to the Institute. Without any of the other students around to talk to, he'd probably only end up back in his room reading so he thought he'd walk around and see a little of the town of Bayville. It was a reasonable walk back to the Institute, but Chris didn't really mind. He'd had a lot on his mind for the past several days and this gave him a good opportunity to think about things.

The High School was located in a fairly residential district of the town. Chris noted a lot of houses and a few parks, but no commercial areas like shopping malls or movie theatres. He guessed that those would be either downtown or on the outskirts of town and he'd probably need to take a bus or get a ride from someone to get there. Jean and the girls had already planned his next Saturday for him with a day shopping for clothes so he figured he'd wait until then to see what else Bayville had to offer.

He decided to take a small detour through one of the nearby parks to admire the splendid fall colours. He was amazed at how beautiful everything was. He thought back to the dreary life he'd been living not even a week before and smiled as he considered how much things had changed for the better since then.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sight of four familiar teenagers stepping out of a nearby cluster of trees.

Uh oh, he thought to himself.

A wiry, unkempt-looking guy with greasy hair was the first to speak up.

"Hey sweet-thing! You never introduced yourself earlier. That's not very polite, you know. Have you already spent so much time with the rest of those Institute snobs that you think you're better than everyone else?"

"Yeah," said the massively huge teenager. "What's the deal with you, anyways? Aren't we cool enough for you to talk to?"

"Cool it, guys,” said a dark-haired guy. He seemed to be the leader of the bunch of them.

"I'm sure Christy was only being shy, this being her first day at school and all."

As soon as Chris had heard his name mentioned, he got a very unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach. How did these guys know his name? None of them were in any of his classes and the Principal had only mentioned his last name during their brief encounter at lunch. When he thought of the Principal, it suddenly became clear: She'd set him up! No wonder she'd stuck everyone else in detention while excluding him; she wanted to keep them out of the way.

He started to carefully back away from them, but the white-haired guy suddenly zipped behind him and blocked his path.

"Relax, kid," the dark-haired guy said to him. "We're only here to check you out. Obviously you're some kind of mutant if you live with the rest of the X-losers over at Freakshow Manor... so what kind of powers do you have?"

Chris was starting to get a little panicky. He knew that he couldn't deny it to these guys but he had a strong suspicion that no matter what he told them, he wasn't going to be talking his way out of this encounter. They had casually but deliberately surrounded him on all sides in a loose circle, making any attempt to escape from them very difficult.

"I'm sure they told you all kinds of crap about us," the dark-haired guy continued, "but you should really hear our side before you start makin' up your mind about us. See, that bunch of nerds you hang with all think they're a bunch of super-heroes or some crap like that. Anytime something so much as a cat stuck up in a tree happens, they come rolling in like big heroes to show off their powers. If any normal humans happen to be around to see it, that Professor guy will fix it so they don't remember anything. Just because we don't happen to agree with how they do things, they get on our case all the time."

A short distance away, a jogger was making his way along one of the paths through the trees. The dark-haired guy interrupted his speech and watched the jogger for a moment. A mischievous smile started to form on his face as he extended both of his hands towards the guy and appeared to concentrate for a moment. Up ahead, the path suddenly started to buckle under the jogger's feet, causing him to lose his balance and fall into nearby puddle. The four teens laughed at the spectacle for a moment and then turned their attention back to Chris.

"See? Just a bit of harmless fun. We have these powers, so why shouldn't we use them? That guy over there has no clue that I just did that and even if he did, what could he do about it?" he said in a smug tone of voice.

"Yeah," the big guy threw in. "Even if he did try something, I'm stronger and tougher than anyone. He'd never know what hit him!"

"...If he manages to even get this close to us, that is!" the white-haired guy added.

He suddenly took off in a speedy blur toward the jogger who had just gotten to his feet and was trying to shake some of the water off of himself. In the blink of an eye, the speedy kid had run up behind him, pulled the guy's pants down to his ankles and then ran back to re-join his friends. The jogger frantically pulled his pants back up and then ran as fast as he could back up the path he'd come from.

The dark-haired guy shook his head at the man as he ran off.

"Pathetic. These are the kind of people that do-gooder Professor and his team of social-rejects are wasting their time trying to help. Anyhow, since we're all getting to know each other, I suppose some introductions are in order. I'm Lance Alvers, but I'm also called 'Avalanche'."

He walked around to each of his companions and introduced them in turn. The scrawny guy was Todd Tolensky, otherwise known as 'Toad'. The speedy kid, who’s name Chris already knew was Pietro, had the nickname 'Quicksilver' and the really big guy was Fred Dukes, also known as 'Blob'.

Chris had a pretty good idea what each of their powers involved. In the big guy's case, it was pretty obvious what he could do. He'd already seen Lance and Pietro in action, so that only left Todd. He was curious as to why this kid was called 'Toad', but quickly got his answer when Todd shot a six-foot long tongue out of his mouth and grabbed a fly out of the air with it. Yee-uck!

Lance continued with his little speech.

"You see, we don't bother much with ordinary humans unless we're looking to have a little bit of fun with them. We do things our own way and live by our own rules. We have a lot more freedom than you'll ever have if you stay with the geeks at that Institute. What they haven't told you is that you have a choice. You don't have to live with them and get stuck playing by their rules. We have our own place, and you could live there with us and be free like we are."

Chris was quite unimpressed with Lance's attempt at winning him over. The guy would make a lousy used-car salesman and if not for the guy's powers, Chris would have bet money that's exactly the way he'd end up one day.

"So, now you know about us," Lance said to Chris. "Now, why don't you tell us about you. What can you do?"

Like it or not, Chris realized that he wasn't going to be able to get away from these guys without some use of his power. He had kept it shut off all day and had no idea how much energy he had stored up, but hoped it would be enough to get him out of there. Being that he was in the middle of a park, there were no sources of electricity nearby for him to recharge with. Whatever he was going to do, it had better work the first time or he'd be in serious trouble when the energy runs out.

"I can't really do too much," Chris said nervously.

He decided to fall back on the cover story that the other students had helped put together for him.

"I'm Kitty's cousin from Illinois, I can't really do things like she and her friends from the Institute can. I don't have that level of ability."

"Well, let's see what you can do, then! Quit stalling, already!" Lance said irritably.

Suddenly, the ground under Chris' feet started to shake and he ended up falling on his ass.

"Consider this your 'audition' for the Brotherhood of Mutants. Let's see if you've got what it takes to be one of us."

"No thanks," Chris said dryly. "I think my future looks much more promising living with the 'geeks' at the Institute than with you guys."

Lance's face contorted into a very unpleasant expression while he brought his arms up and started to focus his power again. At the same time, Chris mentally reached down into himself and unlocked his stored energy. Instantly, he felt the familiar tingling running through his entire body. Just as Lance started another large tremor in the ground, Chris quickly picked up his school bag and tumbled under the huge legs of Fred Dukes. Before Fred could react, Chris had gotten to his feet and took off as fast as he could for the street.

He could sense that he was moving pretty quickly -- possibly enough to keep the other three off his back -- but he knew he'd never be able to outrun Pietro. He had the element of surprise in his favour at the moment, but as soon as Pietro caught up with him it would be a different story altogether. Though speed may be Pietro's specialty, as soon as Chris could get to a larger source of electricity he'd have access to a specialty of his own. As it was, he was using all of the energy he'd been carrying just to move at his current speed and he was already starting to feel himself slow down.

He had just reached the street when Pietro ran by him so fast it felt like a large gust of wind had blown past him. He suddenly realized that he was no longer holding his knapsack.

"Not bad, girl," said Pietro's voice from up ahead of him.

He was reclined on the hood of a parked car with his foot resting on top of Chris' knapsack.

"You've got a little bit of speed, but you're gonna have to do a lot better than that!"

Chris glanced back over his shoulder and saw the other three running to catch up. Todd seemed to be way out in front of his two friends and was making large leaps that propelled him forward much faster than his two companions could run. At that rate, he'd catch up in moments and then the odds would just keep getting worse. He lunged forward to try to grab his knapsack back, but Pietro moved away with it too quickly.

Chris gave serious consideration to abandoning his knapsack and just getting the hell away from there, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn’t have anything terribly valuable in his bag; certainly nothing that couldn't be replaced with little effort. It was the principle of the situation that bothered him.

He'd been in situations like this more times than he cared to count and he was really sick of being victimized. He had come to this place to have a new beginning and he was determined not to allow himself to become a target for bullies again.

He made another attempt to get at Pietro, if nothing else but to prove that he wasn't giving up, but he was stopped abruptly by something that had seized him around the ankle and he fell to the ground instead.

He rolled onto his side and saw that Todd had caught up with them and had ensnared his leg with that grotesque tongue of his. Just behind him, Lance and the big lumbering form of Fred were approaching. In a quick burst of speed, Pietro ran back to them and tossed Chris' knapsack to Fred. If he wanted his bag back now, it wasn't going to be easy trying to get it from that big giant.

Okay, he thought to himself, enough is enough.

This was the sort of confrontation that they'd been after right from the beginning, so he had little choice but to play it their way for the time being. Back at the park these guys may have had a huge advantage over him, but now he had a chance to level the playing field a little.

"So, is that all you've got?" Lance asked as he got closer. "I'm disappointed. I was expecting something a little more challenging from a resident from Freakshow Manor."

Chris closed his eyes and focused his remaining energy to the surface of his skin. It wouldn't be enough to seriously harm Todd, but it would be more than enough to make him release his leg. A blue-green aura of light suddenly snaked down the length of Todd's tongue back to his mouth and briefly lit him up. Todd made a strange squealing noise and quickly retracted his tongue before collapsing on the sidewalk.

Now it was three against one.

"Holy shit!" Lance said as he quickly took a step backwards. "Well, it seems you do have a few more tricks up your sleeves. Get her, Pietro!"

Pietro looked down at their fallen comrade and then back at Chris.

"No way, man! I'm not touching her. I've had my fun so I'm outta here. See you guys back at the house!"

In a flash he was gone, leaving just Lance and Fred.

As the other two advanced towards him, Chris reached back and touched the side of the nearby car. He sensed the battery power from within the engine and quickly absorbed it. Not a lot of power to work with, but it was better than nothing.

"Okay little miss lightning-bolt, let's see you try that on me," Fred taunted. "Nothin' hurts me, but you're welcome to try!"

Despite his large size, he managed to charge towards Chris fast enough that he’d barely dodged out of the way in time. Fred plowed into the parked car that was just behind him and flipped it over onto its roof from the force of the impact.

Lance used the distraction to cause some violent tremors that cracked the sidewalk and sent a spray of water gushing up into the air. It felt to Chris as if he was caught in a full-scale earthquake and he had to fight to keep his balance.

He looked over at Lance and was stunned to see the look of pleasure on his face. The guy was actually enjoying this!

Chris looked around at the damage they'd caused and shuddered when he thought about what could happen if there had been any people around. They could easily be injured and he doubted Lance would even care.

Fred seemed to feel that another demonstration of his strength was in order, so he picked up the car that he'd just totalled and threw it towards Chris. Fortunately, Chris had seen it in time to re-direct his energy to his reflexes and easily tumbled out of the way. Behind the spot where he'd just been standing was a Hydro pole, which snapped like a twig when the large projectile plowed through it.

Instantly, the overhead wires broke loose and fell to the street. They jumped and sparked around on the pavement looking like menacing snakes and just as deadly. With all the water now flooding the street, the entire area was quickly turning into a high-voltage deathtrap.

Lance and Fred suddenly looked a bit frightened as they clued in to the fact that they might have gone a bit too far. Without so much as a backwards glance, they quickly turned tail and ran off back into the park.

Chris went to retrieve his knapsack and was just about to follow their example when he stopped and looked at Todd's limp form on the sidewalk.

The coolness of the water that was flooding the street had started to bring him around, but in moments that same water would probably kill him when the expanding puddle connected with the live Hydro wires. Whatever kind of idiot this guy might be, Chris wasn't going to leave him to get electrocuted. He knew that he wasn't strong enough to lift the guy and he wouldn't be able to pull him clear of the water in time. He only had mere seconds to act and there seemed to be only one choice open to him.

He quickly threw his bag clear of the area and then ran towards the fallen Hydro wires. The only chance that Todd guy had was if Chris could somehow reach through the wires as he had during his training sessions and overload a nearby fuse or circuit breaker. There were three of them sparking angrily on the pavement and he didn't have enough arms to pick them all up at once.

He grabbed two of them in his hands and felt the rush of high voltage coursing through him. He reached out with his powers and traced the energy back through the cables and then used it to blow out the circuit breakers on a pole one block down the street. He dropped the two dead cables onto the wet pavement and turned towards the last one an instant before the water reached it.

In that split second before the contact was made, Chris knew he wouldn't reach it in time. Out of desperation, he instinctively sent his awareness though the open air to the cable and back through it to its nearby circuit breaker. In the brief moment before the circuit breaker shut down, a large arc of electricity had shot through the open air to Chris as though it were traveling via an invisible wire. It disappeared as soon as the circuit was broken, but not before Chris realized with a certain amount of amazement about what he'd managed to do.

He looked down at himself and saw that he was brightly generating the blue-green aura again. He'd never drawn this much energy before and he was a little frightened at the implications of it. Just how much could he hold?

Behind him, Todd had come to his senses enough to shakily rise to his feet and stagger away. Although he was still really out of it from the jolt he'd received earlier, he paused long enough to look back at Chris. Something in his eyes seemed to relay an un-spoken 'thank you', and then he trudged away without a word.

By then, the action in the street had caught the attention of a few people who had come out of their houses to see what all the commotion was about. No doubt a few of them had probably seen the whole thing, and they were pointing at Chris while talking excitedly to each other. He felt a little sorry for them about the destruction on their street. That demolished car had to belong to someone, but it wasn't as if the damage was his fault and he wasn't about to stick around for anyone to pin the blame on him.

He moved at high speed back to where he'd thrown his bag -- no sense in leaving any clues about who the strange glowing girl was -- then ran back through the park and disappeared through the trees.

---

With the amount of energy he was carrying, it didn't take Chris very long to make it back to the Institute. The high charge enabled him to run incredibly fast, but it was also causing that really noticeable glow around him. He didn't want to attract too much attention to himself or to the Institute, so he made his way through several parks and wooded ravines before finally reaching the main gates.

As soon as Chris had returned to the mansion, he was fortunate to meet Mr. McCoy right away. It was plainly evident from the bright glow around him that he would need to discharge a significant amount of energy, so he brought Chris back down to the testing area to see what could be done.

Chris still needed to work on his control over the rate at which he discharged any energy he was carrying, because he fried a number of high yield rechargeable power cells before he was able to feel his power level drop to more manageable levels. He decided to hold back a larger level of energy than he'd been keeping over the past few days in the event that he might suddenly need it. His experience that afternoon with Lance Alvers and his gang was very effective in proving the need for him to be better prepared.

He had just finished burying the power levels within his 'reserve' area when the Professor and Mr. Logan came into the large room.

"I understand that there were some problems today after school," Xavier began. "Would you care to talk about it?"

Chris explained as best as he could about how the Principal had railroaded the other students into detention after school but had deliberately excused him from it -- setting him up to be confronted alone by the Brotherhood gang.

"Huh, that's typical of her. That Mystique doesn't miss a trick, does she?" Logan said with a bit of a growl.

Chris looked at him with a shocked expression on his face.

"She's Mystique? She's the one that was messing around with Rogue in the past?"

Xavier and Logan each exchanged surprised glances and then carefully took a moment to consider how to best explain the situation to him.

"I see that you've heard of her from the other students," Xavier began. "We didn't want to burden you with too much information so soon after your arrival here at the Institute, but I hadn't anticipated that Mystique would show an interest in you this quickly, either. Raven Darkholme, your School's Principal, is also known as 'Mystique'. She's a shape-shifter who is often closely tied to other factions of mutants whose views on co-existence with normal humans are quite harsh, to say the least."

"She's one of the reasons that we're trainin’ you kids to use your powers in a combat environment," Logan added.

"She and other mutants like her. They don't care who they hurt to get what they want -- and that goes for other mutants as well as for normal folks. To them, anyone who gets in their way is fair game."

Xavier nodded in agreement.

"She'd undoubtedly arranged this afternoon's encounter with her special students to see what sort of mutant you are and whether or not you might be useful to her. Cerebro had detected excessive mutant activity nearby, but I had no idea that you were involved since your power signature hasn't been fully integrated into the databases yet. Christy, will you allow me to probe your memory of the events so that I may have a clearer understanding of what happened?"

Chris was a little surprised that the Professor felt he needed to ask. With his own power locked down, he knew that his shielding from the Professor's telepathy was also turned off, but he nodded his consent.

Instantly, he felt a strange buzzing in his head. It was over within moments, after which the Professor rested his chin on his hands while he considered what he'd just seen.

"I am quite impressed with the way you handled yourself in that situation, Christy," Xavier finally said. "That is precisely the sort of unpredictable circumstances that we are training the students to be prepared for. Now that you have seen what sort of events can and often will unfold, would you consider joining the team?"

The question was so straightforward that it surprised him into silence. He'd spent a lot of time thinking about the sorts of things that he'd seen the other students do during their team exercise and had more than once wondered what it would be like to join them. He'd had his doubts about whether or not his powers were even in the same league as theirs, but today's events had proved that he really could do it. Add to that the fact that this Mystique person and her gang of powered misfits were targeting him along with the other students, what did he have to lose by joining the X-men? At the very least, the safety in numbers rule certainly seemed to apply here.

"Okay, I'll give it a try," he finally said. "I hope I won't let you down."

Xavier smiled and patted him on his arm reassuringly.

"Don't worry, I know that you won't. Welcome to the X-men, Christy!"

---

In another part of Bayville, far away from the Institute, Raven Darkholme was furiously pacing around the living room of her large boarding house while she occasionally glared at her four students.

"I don't believe this! I'm surrounded by incompetents! How could you let that mousy little girl get the better of you? No matter what her powers were, she was just one girl against the four of you! Are you all stupid or just incredibly careless?"

Lance started to explain, "Uh... it wasn't actually our fault. She kind of surprised us and..."

"Save it, Alvers! I gave you four a simple task and not only did you fail, but you've probably guaranteed that girl will now join Xavier's team!"

She paused as she looked at Todd, who was cringing in the corner of the room. She grunted at him disapprovingly and turned her attention back to the other three.

"Your clumsiness nearly got one of your team-mates killed today. If that girl hadn't done what she did, I suspect Mr. Tolensky would be a very public news item right now. Up until now, there’s only ever been rumours and unsubstantiated mention of mutants in the tabloids which most people don’t take seriously. Try to get this into your heads: we can't afford to have our cover blown to the general public yet!"

Lance and Fred exchanged uneasy looks with each other, knowing full well that they'd screwed up. Despite having powers of their own, they were afraid of Mystique and were especially nervous around her when she was angry.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we are at quite a disadvantage compared to Xavier's team," she continued in a slightly calmer tone of voice.

"They already outnumber us. I'm trying to increase our ranks so that we can properly deal with Xavier and his people. We have to take whatever advantage we can when any new mutants show up so that we can get them to join us. Clumsy demonstrations and Neanderthalic threats don't make a very convincing recruitment pitch."

"What do you want us to do about it, then?" Fred asked sullenly. "Why don't we just grab this new girl and bring her back here? Maybe you'd have more luck trying to convince her."

"We don't know enough about her to risk a full confrontation with Xavier's people by kidnapping her," she said dryly. "Just keep watch on her and try to find out more about the extent of her powers. If she shows enough potential to be useful to our cause, then perhaps we'll resort to cruder methods of recruitment."

Without another word Mystique stomped out of the room, leaving the four teens in her wake to breathe a collective sigh of relief. They all remained seated in the room quietly, each seemingly immersed in their own thoughts. Finally, the silence was broken when Todd spoke up.

"The girl was kinda hot, wasn't she?" he said.

"Definitely!" Pietro agreed. "I loved her moves, and I don't just mean her speed."

The lecture from Mystique was already fading from their short-term memories while they gleefully discussed their appreciation of the new girl's figure. Even Lance, who had a bit of a thing for Kitty, couldn't help but notice that this new girl had definite babe potential. They didn't need Mystique to tell them to watch her; they were already eager enough to do that on their own.

---

Later that evening, Xavier's students were all gathered together in the recreation room after dinner and discussed Chris' recent encounter with the Brotherhood Boys. They'd been suspicious that something might have happened because Principal Darkholme had released them all from detention after only 20 minutes, saying that she had some important matters to attend to.

"She probably changed into a bird or something so she could watch the whole thing," Kitty spoke up. "That woman really likes to spy on people... she totally gives me the creeps!"

"If she was there, why didn't she show herself when the fighting was going on?" Chris asked.

"That's not her way," Scott answered. "She rarely gets involved in fights herself. She prefers to let others do that for her while she watches from a safe distance and looks for weaknesses that she can exploit later on. Besides, she never tips her hand unless she's ready to trump you. She likes to be mysterious. That's probably why she calls herself 'Mystique'."

"I guess after this little mix-up with the Retard Squad you have a pretty good idea what the score is, right?" asked Evan. "Are you gonna join the team and train with us?"

Chris nodded his head affirmatively.

"Yes. The Professor already discussed it with me before all of you got back from school. Mr. Logan thinks I should have a few more solo training sessions before I start joining the team exercises, though."

"That's, like, totally awesome!" Kitty bubbled excitedly. "Have they picked a codename for you yet?"

Chris looked back at her blankly. "A 'codename'? What do I need a codename for?"

"Everyone on the team has a codename," Jean explained. "We use these names whenever we're doing any official X-team stuff. The idea is to keep our real identities separate from whatever work we do as X-men. Scott is known as 'Cyclops', Kitty is 'Shadowcat', Kurt is 'Nightcrawler', Evan is 'Spyke' and Rogue is... well, she's just 'Rogue'."

Chris looked over at Rogue who smiled briefly and gave a single 'thumbs up' sign.

"What's your codename Jean?" he asked her.

"Uh, well... mine's..."

"Jean Grey! The rest of them all said at once and then broke into fits of laugher.

Jean sheepishly explained how she was one of the first students at the Institute and the concept of codenames didn't come up initially. When Scott and the others started to arrive, she'd meant to think up a codename for herself but never got around to it.

"With the exception of Jean," said Scott with a friendly wink at her, "the codenames usually have something to do with whatever your mutant power is."

Chris scratched his head slightly.

"That could be kinda tough for me. I just draw energy and sometimes zap people and objects when I'm not careful. How do you make a name out of that?"

The others thought about it, but none of them could come up with any decent suggestions. Finally, Scott suggested that they ought to just leave it up to the Professor and then changed the subject.

They'd spent most of the night talking and since they all had school in the morning again, he suggested that everyone turn in for the night. The group grudgingly agreed, so everyone headed back upstairs to their rooms -- with Kurt and Kitty taking their usual shortcuts.

Before getting undressed for bed, Chris spent a little longer in front of his mirror and admired his appearance. The girls had really done a great job on him that morning. Eventually he was going to have to learn how to do the hair, makeup and clothes coordinating by himself, but they all promised that they'd help him until he got the hang of it.

Reluctantly, he took off the feminine clothes and hung them up in his closet. Thanks mostly to Kitty, there were a number of other clothes hanging up in there for him to experiment with until the girls took him out shopping for his own things.

He was quite pleasantly surprised to find that someone had placed a very silky nightgown in his top drawer. He held up the garment to his chest and relished the feel of the material against his bare skin. Over the past few days, he'd been sleeping in little else than his underwear since his pajamas still made him feel itchy. When he slipped the new garment over his head and let it gently fall into place, it almost felt as though he was in seventh heaven. A glance in the mirror confirmed that it looked as good as it felt. It was a modest-length item that fell down to just past his knees. Its gentle green shade seemed to set off the colour of his eyes and made them appear as though they were shining. He looked absolutely gorgeous!

A quick tapping on his bedroom door brought him back to his senses. He felt as though he was practically floating as he moved across the room to answer the door. He was a mildly surprised to see Jean standing out there by herself, dressed for bed in her own nightgown and holding a small bag. Her eyes widened in surprise as she took a good look at what Chris was wearing.

"Wow! That looks amazing on you! I thought you didn't bring any girls’ clothes with you?"

"I didn't," he said as he invited her in and closed the door behind her. "Someone put it in my top drawer for me. I figured it was one of you girls."

Jean shook her head.

"Nope. It wasn't me, that's for sure. If I got my hands on something like that, I'd want to keep it for myself -- and that goes double for Kitty. Rogue never wears anything like that, so... maybe Storm gave it to you. She has really good taste in clothes."

"Storm?" He asked.

He was momentarily confused, but then remembered whom it was that Jean had been talking about. They seemed to be pretty liberal with those codenames at the Institute!

"Oh... Ms. Munroe. Why would she give me something like that? I mean, isn't it a bit weird... me being a boy and..."

"Whoa Christy, stop right there," Jean interrupted him. "I know it’s a little confusing for you since you've grown up mistakenly thinking that you're a boy, but you are really a girl. You have to stop thinking of yourself as a male or eventually you'll drive yourself crazy."

Chris nodded in agreement. He supposed that did sort of make sense.

"...Anyhow, your hair was a bit difficult to work with this morning. I'm betting that you don't have much experience with properly caring for longer hair so I came over to show you what you should be doing with it before going to bed each night."

They both sat down on the edge of his bed while Jean explained about brushing the hair out properly and then either braiding it or just carefully spreading it out evenly on the pillow when getting under the covers. Jean's hair always looked perfect so Chris took her at her word, even though he thought that perhaps she might be going a little overboard. Was it really necessary to do 200 strokes with a brush?

Now in full 'big sister' mode, Jean sat behind him and took it upon herself to gently brush out Chris' hair for him while they casually chatted about school things. Although he'd never really known what having a brother or sister was like, he closed his eyes and couldn't imagine that it could possibly be any different than how things were with Jean and the girls. They were truly like sisters to him. They hadn't even known him for a week yet and they'd already welcomed him into their lives as one of them: as a part of their family. A week before, he never would have thought that he could feel such an emotional bond with anyone other than his mother. The more he thought about how happy he was, the more the emotion started to overwhelm him.

Jean stopped her brushing when she sensed his emotional state shifting and moved to sit in front of him.

"Christy? What's wrong sweetheart?" she asked softly as she reached over and gently wiped a single tear from his cheek.

"Nothing's wrong," he sniffed. "In fact, everything is wonderful! I never thought there could be a place like this or people like you anywhere in the world! Before I came here, it was so awful... you don't know how hard it was... "

He started to cry harder and then finally broke down in Jean's arms. She held him gently and spoke soothingly to him while he let his emotions run their course.

The many unpleasant memories of being shunned and ridiculed flooded through his mind in a confusing jumble. It was almost as if his entire life up to nearly a week ago was flashing before his eyes. He'd often heard that sort of thing can happen just before a person is about to die. Perhaps in one sense a part of him was dying: the miserable, unhappy part of him that had been Jinx McGee. The stream of memories started to slow down and finally stopped with the infamous incident in the washroom at his old school.

In his mind, he felt as though the incident became a dividing line between all that he had been and all that he was destined to become. It was still an incredibly painful memory, but it was that incident that had finally opened the door to his future.

He'd thought about it a few times since then and had always assumed it was an important event because it had been the first time that his mutant powers had fully manifested. In truth, the incident was really so significant because it was the precise moment that Christy had been born.

When Robbie was trying to force Chris to blow him, in his mind it wasn't a boy that he was attempting to assault, it was a girl. It was a girl's sense of fear and vulnerability that Chris had felt at that moment, and it was her emotions that triggered his mutant power. That was when he'd truly become a girl and hadn't actually realized it until that moment sitting there with Jean.

Jean, sensing that something really important had just happened within Chris, gently lifted his chin so she could look into his eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

Christy nodded her head and flashed a dazzling smile back at her. She wrapped her arms around Jean and gave her a sisterly hug.

"Yes. Everything's just fine now."

---

Over the next few days, Christy quickly adjusted to both her school schedule and her training at the Institute. At school, she had started to fit in really well with Kitty and her group of friends, but she absolutely refused to start talking like them. She'd even gone as far as making a pact with Jean and Rogue to give her a quick swat on the arm if she starting saying 'like' and 'totally' too often.

The Brotherhood Boys seemed to keep turning up practically everywhere she went, but she refused to let it bother her. After her last encounter with them she had a lot more confidence in herself and her own mutant powers so she felt more mentally prepared for anything that might come up. They didn't really say too much to her, but always seemed to be following her every movement with hungry looks in their eyes. She conceded that she couldn't really fault them for that since, at Kitty's urging, she'd started to wear skirts to school. Lance and his gang certainly weren't the only guys who had noticed, either.

At the Institute, the guys had all gone out of their way to let Christy know how much they appreciated her new look. Evan and Kurt would occasionally compliment her with a few wolf-whistles while Scott tended to be a little more reserved, particularly after receiving stern looks from Jean. Any notion that Christy had ever been a boy seemed to be completely forgotten.

She'd had a few more solo training sessions, both with the Professor and with Mr. Logan, where she'd gained more mental control over her abilities as well as picked up some basics in martial arts training. She'd gotten a little more adept at focusing her stored energy to different tasks, such as enhancing her reflexes or building up a surface charge on specific parts of her body so that she could deliberately 'zap' something.

For physical training, Mr. Logan gave her a hard workout both before and after she'd energized herself so that she wouldn't become entirely dependant on her mutant enhancements when it came to defending herself. By the end of the week, she was finally ready to join the rest of the group in her first team training exercise.

The rest of the students were suited up in their specialized costumes and were waiting outside of the training room for their cue to begin the exercise.

"Vhere's Christy?" Kurt spoke up. "I thought she vas going to be joining us today?"

"Yeah man," Evan said to Scott. "I was looking forward to seeing her in her new team uniform. What's the deal?"

"Hey, don't look at me!" Scott replied defensively. "The Professor assured me that she'd be here. I hope for her sake that she gets here soon or she's going to find out how much Wolverine hates it when anyone shows up late for training."

Suddenly, the large doors in front of them began to open and they heard the Professor's voice speak within their heads.

'Come in everyone. Before today's group exercise begins, I've arranged a brief demonstration to introduce you to your new team-mate. Please stay well back against the wall while the demonstration is in progress.'

They all entered the room and found a place against the wall to settle down. They chattered away to each other in excited whispers, while they took note of the gymnastic equipment that had been set up amongst the rest of the usual machinery that was used during their own exercises. There was still no sign of Christy yet, though.

A few moments later, Mr. McCoy's voice could be heard over the loudspeakers, "Training exercise: 'Alpha', begin!"

The team all looked over at the main door and simultaneously gasped when Christy entered. She walked gracefully over to the starting area and extended one arm into the air while placing the other on her hip in a magnificent pose. She looked like a professional gymnast, waiting for the cue to begin her routine.

Like the rest of the team, she was wearing a similar style of black, form-fitting uniform. She had a few points of yellow trim on her collar and sleeve cuffs, as well as on the belt that fit snugly around her tiny waist. The black & red 'X' symbol that was common to all of their uniforms was situated in the center of her belt where the buckle would be, as well as on each of her shoulders. Along each of her arms were a couple of intertwined green and blue lines that gave just the right amount of colour without looking too flashy. On her feet, she wore black boots with a low heel that extended mid-calf up her legs. Her auburn hair was tied back into an elegant ponytail that suggested style and a little bit of playfulness. She was truly a vision of beauty!

As soon as the large doors to the training room had closed, the lights dimmed slightly and Christy sprang into action. She charged towards the tumbling mat and made a series of handsprings and tumbles across it, then vaulted up onto the balance beam where she performed a few perfect back-flips. When she'd dismounted the balance beam, she moved towards the uneven bars but was stopped in her tracks by one of the pieces of team equipment that suddenly came to life and tried to grapple her with long, metallic tentacles.

The rest of the team could tell from the look of surprise on her face that she hadn't been expecting that. They knew that Wolverine often set stuff up like that to keep them on their toes, but Christy didn't.

Her surprise was short-lived, however, because within moments she was moving again. They were amazed as they saw her speed increase while she tried to dodge past the tentacles. Unfortunately for her, they also sped up accordingly and were very effective in blocking her path. Eventually, a couple of them managed to snare her and quickly coiled around her to hold her down.

For a few moments, it seemed to the others that the exercise was over. Each of them had been caught by those things at least a few times themselves and they knew it was almost impossible to get loose without help. Christy had stopped struggling and it seemed that she had accepted her defeat, but then she started glowing. Rogue immediately recognized the blue-green light and had a pretty good idea of what Christy was about to do.

Christy was using the metallic tentacles as a conductor back to the machine that was controlling them and was drawing energy through them. She found that she wasn't able to interrupt the power source as she had with the Hydro wires, so instead she channelled a burst of energy back through the tentacles that were binding her. Instantly, a shower of sparks erupted from the back of the machine and the tentacles released their grip on her.

Now that she was free, she moved with incredible speed to the uneven bars and performed a dazzling series of pivots and turns before finally making a triple-somersault dismount into a perfect landing.

The rest of the team wildly applauded from their position along the wall. It was every bit as impressive a demonstration as it had been entertaining.

Christy, believing the demonstration to be over, started to walk back towards the rest of the team when Wolverine suddenly jumped out at her from behind one of the other machines. In a swift motion, he'd extended the blades out of his knuckles and charged at her while roaring at the top of his lungs. The rest of the team was stunned. Had Wolverine completely flipped?

He made a number of quick slashes at her with his blades, but she was able to avoid them thanks to the power boost to her reflexes from the extra energy she'd absorbed. While he wasn't able to actually touch her, he was moving fast enough to keep her on the defensive. She knew that at her present power level, she'd probably be able to keep dodging him for quite awhile, but questioned the logic of continuing to do so. She’d been taught that being held up by a single attacker for too long was tactically dangerous. If the attacker had any friends with him, she could find herself in a bad situation very quickly. If nothing else, his attacks were preventing her from going back or moving forward, so she had to put an end to them.

Using some of the techniques the Professor had helped her to develop during her solo training sessions; she charged the surface of her hand with what she hoped was enough energy to stun Wolverine without damaging him. She then slowed her movements down just enough to allow him to get closer to her and then she moved with as much speed as she could to grab his arm. There was a brief flash the instant she touched him, and then he collapsed in a heap onto the mat.

Christy became aware of the intense silence in the room, save only for the rapid pounding of her heart. The other students were staring at her with shocked expressions on their faces and didn't utter a sound.

She looked over at the damaged machinery that was still spewing smoke from its vents and then down at the prone form of Wolverine. She started to worry about the damage she'd caused to the equipment and possibly to her instructor as well. Had she gone too far?

The lights in the training area suddenly returned to their normal level of illumination and the large doors slid open with a big, heavy rumbling noise. The Professor entered, flanked on either side by Mr. McCoy and Ms. Munroe. Christy was surprised to see him smiling proudly.

"Well done, Christy! Well done!" he congratulated her. "I was reluctant to allow Mr. Logan to add his 'surprises' to your demonstration run. I was concerned that you might not be ready for that sort of thing yet, but you performed spectacularly!'

"I told you the kid was a fast learner," said Wolverine's strained voice from behind Christy.

She turned around and was amazed to see him slowly rising to his feet. The guy was a hell of a lot tougher than she thought!

"I'm... I'm sorry about the machine, Professor," she said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I didn't mean to damage it like that, it was an accident."

"Such things are commonplace here in the 'Danger Room', child," Ororo told her with a slight laugh. "You would be surprised to see how much damage Wolverine often inflicts on the equipment during his own exercises."

At the mention of his name, Christy turned towards him, still amazed at how quickly he'd recovered from the shock she'd given him.

"I'm really sorry if I hurt you Mr. Logan, but... I didn't see any other way and..."

He held up a hand and quickly interrupted her.

"Whoa kid, hang on a sec. First, it's just 'Logan' or 'Wolverine'. Second, don't worry about that little jolt. I was testin’ you to see how you'd react and you did exactly what I hoped you'd do. Good thinking, kid."

Xavier signaled the other students to come over and join them. As soon as they had all gathered around, he formally introduced Christy to the team.

"X-men, I am pleased to present to you the newest member of the team, codename: Jynx."

Everyone then turned towards Christy and began to applaud. She blushed and bowed slightly in return. For a moment, she had a quick flashback to the dream she'd had the week before. It was truly amazing... her dream really did come true after all. Though she felt reborn, she would not forget the person she’d once been. Her deliberate choice of codename would always serve as a reminder to her of those who are oppressed just for being different. She was determined to do her part in helping others in the same way that the X-men had helped her. She was proud to join alongside them as a member of the team.

She and the rest of the students were quickly snapped out of their jovial mood when Logan loudly cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Okay kids, fun time is over. Now it's time for the team exercise -- and don't think for a minute that I'm going to go easy on any of you."

They all groaned simultaneously and headed back towards the starting area. Xavier, Ororo and Henry all returned to the control room to watch as Logan explained to the team what was expected of them in the upcoming exercise.

"She is an excellent addition to the team, Charles," Henry said after a few moments of silence. "In time, she will undoubtedly develop into a fine young woman. Have you had a chance to discuss any surgical options with her yet?"

Xavier shook his head.

"Not yet. She had a lot of internal battles that she needed to fight on her own before I felt comfortable enough to talk to her about it. Now that she has fully accepted the truth about her gender, she may finally be ready to hear about the possibility of corrective surgery."

They looked back through the large vista window and watched as Christy and her team-mates worked together through the obstacles that Logan had set up for them. Christy was as beautiful in her actions as she was in her appearance. Where there was once a frightened and fearful young boy nicknamed 'Jinx McGee', there was now a beautiful and confident young teenage girl full of hope and determination. She shone with an inner glow that was completely separate from any of her powers, and was truly a wonderful sight to behold.

---

Author’s note:

Thus ends the XX-Factor.

If you, the reader, have been even a little entertained by my tale, then I am pleased to have succeeded in my goal. That said, I hope you’ll forgive my pretension as I conclude with some parting words by the immortal Bard of Avon:

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.