A Good Example

It had been passed. The Mutant Registration Act. Anyone in the United States with an active X gene was now required by law to register their power with the US government and if they didn't like it, they reserved the right to lock you up for however long they saw fit. No one liked it but at least Professor Xavier realized it was happening and there was no way around it. In an attempt to set a good example, he suggested the X-men be the first to be registered. The team as a whole disliked the idea but Xavier insisted.

So now they stood in a line in front of a desk at the newly formed Department of Mutant Affairs. A man sat behind the desk with a computer in front of him. He wore a black suit and tie and had black glasses which rested low on his nose. He turned from the screen to look at the line of mutants before him over the top of his glasses. Taking a deep breath and thinking to himself how he wasn't getting paid enough for this, the man spoke.

"Hello. My name is Agent Walker. Shall we begin? Full name please." He now looked at the first X-man in the line. Unfortunately for him, it was –

"Logan."

"Full name, please." Walker repeated.

"Logan."

Taking a deep breath, the agent tried one more time. "Sir, please. I need your first and last name."

Logan let out a low growl. "Listen, bub. You want me to spell it out for you?" Snikt! The man recoiled. Behind his ruby quartz glasses, Scott rolled his eyes. "See these, bub? See 'em?! These aren't natural. And when I got 'em, the crazy scientist who gave 'em to me also gave me a head full of fake memories. So I don't remember my real name. All I remember, is Logan. So just type that in and let's move on."

Walker stared at Logan for another second before turning to his computer and hitting five keys followed by enter. "Alright Mister…Logan. Mutant name."

"Wolverine." Logan snarled.

"And your – er – ability? The claws, and what else?"

Logan retracted his claws. "Like I said, these aren't natural. I got experimented on. These adamantium claws, and also got adamantium grafted to my skeleton. But my mutant power – I heal. Fast. Really fast. I can survive stuff most people wouldn't dream of. And I also have heightened senses. 'Nough for ya, bub?" Walker nodded. "Alright. You're up, Summers." Logan said as he walked away from the desk to sink down on one of the two large sofas in the office.

"Full name please."

"Scott Summers."

"Mutant name."

"Cyclops."

Walker looked up at Scott. He wanted to crack a joke about the man having just one eye behind those dorky red shades, but was still on edge from the previous nut job with claws. "And your power?"

"Solar charged optic blasts. But I can't fully control them." Scott adjusted his shades. "That's why I wear these. They block the beam so I don't blast things every time I blink."

The agent finished up the entry in the computer saying "Thank you." absent mindedly.

As Scott turned to walk away from the desk, he met Jean's eye. She beamed at him and he returned the smile, clasping her hand for a mere half second before she advanced.

"Hi." Jean said politely.

"Name."

Furrowing her brow she answered, "Jean Grey."

"Mutant name."

"Marvel Girl." she answered, blushing slightly at the old name.

"And, power."

"Telekinesis and Telepathy."

"Meaning…?" Walker asked.

"Meaning I can move objects with my mind. I can also read minds and speak with my mind, but nowhere near as well as Professor Xavier." Jean replied, keeping her tone calm and civil.

"Thank you. Next."

Jean moved to join her teammates on the couch as the next mutant stepped up to the desk.

"Full name."

"Katherine Pryde, aka, Shadowcat." Kitty smiled.

Walker did not return the smile. He simply entered the names then asked, "Power?"

"I can phase through anything."

"'Phase through'?"

"Yeah, like, pass though it. It's like I turn into a ghost – kinda."

"Ah." Walker said curtly. "And when you say anything…?"

Kitty nodded. "Anything."

Agent walker typed more into the computer while mumbling, "Next."

The next member of the team approached the desk as Kitty joined the others. "Name please."

"Rouge."

Walker looked up over the top of his glasses. "Is that your real name?" he inquired in an annoyed tone.

"Yes, it's ma real name." Rouge shot back in an equally annoyed voice.

Walker took a deep breath. "I mean, it that your human name?" Rouge said nothing. "Ma'am, please cooperate or –"

But Charles cut in, sensing the rising tension. "Rouge, please. We're trying to set a good example here for all mutant kind."

"Ah know, Professor." She turned back to the agent. "Anna Marie." she said after a short pause.

"Is that your full name?"

"It's all you're gettin'."

"Ma'am, I need your full name. Please."

"Too bad, 'cause that's all ah know."

Walker raised an eyebrow. First that crazed man with the claws and now this girl. What was it with mutants and names? "How can you not remember your name?"

"You wanna know whai?!" Rouge asked as she ripped off the glove on her right hand. Just as she got it off, Ororo, who was behind her in line, grabbed Rouge's arm just above the elbow.

"Rouge, don't." she said calmly.

Rouge scowled and pulled her arm out of Ororo's grip, putting her glove back on. Then she turned and made for the door of the office.

With an apologetic glance at Walker, Ororo went after her. Walker sighed.

"Rouge, wait. Rouge." She again caught Rouge's arm, gently pulling her back.

Rouge turned to face Ororo and it was clear from the redness of her eyes that she was on the verge of tears. "It ain't raight. Them treating us laike this."

Sighing, Ororo nodded her head. "I know but there's no avoiding it. And as much as we may not like it, Charles is right. We need to set a good example both for other mutants to follow and for the world so they might understand that we are not a threat."

Reluctantly Rouge turned and walked back to the desk. Ororo followed her with a hand on the girl's shoulder the whole way.

Seeing the two arrive back in the line, Walker continued. "Power?"

"When ah touch people, ah absorb a small part of them into me for a short whaile. Ah get their memories, their physical abilities, an' if they're a mutant, ah also absorb their powers. How long tha power stays with me depends on how long ah touch 'em for. But if ah touch anyone for too long, ah could kill them – suck up all their laife force."

Walker looked up in disbelief. He knew some mutants' powers could be dangerous and deadly, or so he had been briefed. But this girl, this teenager, could kill someone by touching them. Inwardly, he shuddered as he typed the information into the computer. "Next." he said a bit more quietly than before.

Ororo patted Rouge's shoulder as she took her spot in front of the desk and Rouge sulked out of the room, Kitty going after her.

"Full name."

"Ororo Monroe." she replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Mutant name?"

"Storm." And there was a hint of pride in her voice.

"Powers."

"As my name suggests, I can create and control all elements of weather. My body is also hyper resistant to extreme hot and cold temperatures and can channel electricity without any negative effects."

Walker said "Thank you," as he finished the last bit of typing.

"You're welcome." Ororo said, stepping aside so that the next X-man could approach the desk.

"Name." Walker asked the normal looking boy in front of him.

Pushing a button on his watch, the boy answered "Kurt Vagner," with a heavy German accent. Walker then watched in amazement and horror as the boy before him faded and a blue, furry, pointy eared, tailed creature appeared in his place. "Nice to meet you." Kurt said.

Walker looked on, dumbstruck at the transformation.

Realizing an explanation was in order Kurt said, "I use this holoprojector in public so people von't be afraid of me. The Professor made it for me." Then after a pause he added, "This is how I really look though."

Forcing himself to focus, Walker asked as he had so many times now, "Mutant name?"

"Nightcrawler."

"And your power?"

"I can teleport anyvhere, as long as I can see or know vhere I'm going."

More typing then amongst it a muttered, "Next."

The final member of the team stepped up. Walker glanced up at the mutant and was again shocked to see a large blue-furred beast before him.

"No relation." Hank joked, referring to Kurt. But Walker either didn't hear it or didn't care.

"Name."

"Doctor Henry McCoy."

Walker subtly rolled his eyes, not believing for a second that a mutant could have a doctorate. "Mutant name."

"Beast."

Walker struggled to keep in a cruel chuckle. "And power?"

"I have super human strength, agility, endurance, and speed. I also have increased senses."

"Is that the last of you."

"Not quiet," said Professor Xavier as he rolled up to the desk. "I'm assuming I need to be registered too.

"Uh, of course, Professor Xavier." In truth, the agency had already collected as much information as possible on the leader of the most prominent mutant group in the U.S. but Walker didn't want to raise suspicions. "Full name please." he said, using more courtesy now that he was speaking to such an influential man.

"Professor Charles Xavier." he responded confidently.

"Mutant name."

"None."

"And power."

"I am one of the worlds strongest telepaths and also posses a small amount of telekinetic skill. I believe Miss Grey has already defined those terms for you."

"Yes." he finished typing then stood, extending a hand to Charles. "Thank you for your and your team's cooperation. I hope this can be the start of a new era of human – mutant relations." In the corner Logan gave a gruff laugh of disbelief.

Charles took the proffered hand and shook it. "I can only wish for the same. Thank you for your time, Agent Walker. And thank you for keeping your views on mutants to yourself." He turned his wheelchair and followed the team out the door, starting up a conversation with Scott and Jean as they made their way down the hall. Walker was left standing there, slightly dumbstruck that Charles could so easily access his thoughts and genuinely scared of this "new era of human – mutant relations."