Disclaimer; I don't any of the original characters of the X-Men franchse. Just Elsa, Tobias, Marie and John.

Chapter 1

-Arrival-

'From today and from this place there begins a new epoch in the history of the world.'-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

New York city. Where dreams are made and more often shattered. Late 1961 and things were going nowhere but up. A bright city that shed both inspiration and danger. Purity and grit.

It was eight o'clock in the evening, but there was still considerable light.

Lights flashing, fluorescent signs beaming their various images and messages, families hustling about struggling to finish up their Christmas shopping. Bright, busy and not stopping for anyone.

Standing at the taxi depot, she felt insignificant. A tiny blimp in a big bustling city where families would get together and celebrate the festivities, whilst everyone else had to make do.

Her luggage was at her feet, her coat wrapped tightly around her slender figure. It was not cold enough to slug on a thermal Santa suit, but enough to completely cover up.

She tugged at her scarf and watched out for the sky blue Ford Country Squire, which she had been informed would be her pick up vehicle. Amongst the zooming blur of yellow taxis and primarily black cars, the Squire should have been easy to spot.

Not so.

Amongst the grey tones of the sky above her, and the even duller hues of her surroundings, seeking something so pale in shade was quite difficult.

She began to give up, wondering if her uncle was ever going to turn up.

Had he forgotten?

No. No, he can't have.

After all, it was he in the first place who had suggested her re-location. He had organized everything.

She had done her part, flown over three thousand miles, across the pond and beyond. She could only hope he had not changed his mind. That he had not been convinced otherwise.

For a brief moment, she looked back to the interior of the terminal.

It gave the impression of warmth with its yellow lighting and closed glass windows and because of this, she was seriously considering going back in.

The entire airport had been decorated with every Christmas decoration known to man; Christmas trees, oversized baubles, tinsel. No available surface had been left untouched from the craze of the holiday season, nothing was left looking dull and out of spirit.

There was even the occasional taxidermied reindeer.

She chuckled bitterly.

That creature, now so still and lifeless had once lived. It had once leapt into the air, filled its lungs with the scent of winter and lived on the land, grazing and raising their young.

Now, it stood statue still, glazed in the middle of an airport, miles away from any wilderness whatsoever, as humans passed and pointed.

Perhaps that would happen to her some day?

Perhaps they would capture her too, sedate her, slaughter her, her internal organs gone and replaced with stuffing and sawdust and maybe they'd hang her on a wall somewhere in her mutant state or in a glass cabinet in a museum somewhere.

'Here,' the curator would explain to the school children, 'Here we have one the most despised creatures Man has ever come across; the mutant. This one had called herself Elsa Muller, a feeble attempt at normalizing herself one might add, but we know her to be nothing but mutant scum.' The children would smile, laugh and applaud their adults, at what a good job they had done, ridding their world of such evils.

Elsa chuckled. That was a far more probable fate than the one her Uncle had planned for her. A plan that entailed returning to school in a foreign country, graduating, receiving a PhD, finding a job, perhaps a partner and lots of children, all the while blending with a society who did not want her.

All of that seemed farfetched and intangible. In comparison to being captured and slaughtered anyway.

Her eyes still upon the creature, the reindeer slowly faded, fading into nothing. It dissolved into the walls, any indication of its former presence now gone.

From the disappearance, black fuzzy figures emerged. The edges were blurred, shapeless blobs that looked rather demonic. At first, it was puzzling and she was wondering whether she was losing her mind.

But it slowly, and rather painfully, dawned on her.

A family; a man, a woman, three boys and a girl.

All dark haired and doe eyed.

All smiling.

All happy.

All beautiful.

Each member sported their distinctive features, the mutations that defined them. Mutations that should have been a gift, but looking in retrospect, had been more of a curse.

She heard a car approaching and turned back, wiping away tears. Spluttering and spurting out fumes, she smiled as she saw the Country Squire chugging, lagging behind a taxi.

She picked up her luggage and prepared herself.

The vehicle parked up beside the pick up area, creating a rather horrid noise as it halted.

Plump, round and a little red, Tobias Muller certainly looked a little worse for wear from the last time she had seen him.

He slammed his door, cursing under his breath at the inefficiencies of his vehicle.

He was still scowling, even as he came round.

But his expression soon turned soft, broken from its hard lines as he saw his niece.

Overwhelmed with relief, he broke into a jog and spread out his arms. "Elsa!"

Elsa responded immediately, taking her overweight uncle into her arms.

That proved to be a little troublesome, her arms barely fitting around him.

He was still just as tall, still as built and sturdy, but he had been much slimmer when he had lived in England.

She blamed the American culture.

Still holding her to him, he repeated over and over again; "Elsa! Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…"

She held onto him as tightly as she could.

She didn't want to let go, she didn't want anything anymore.

She didn't realize it, but she was crying too. The exhaustion and certainly the reality of the past week hadn't truly sunk in until now. Everything that had been pent up inside of her was now bursting to escape the fiery internal inferno of its confines.

They pulled apart and Tobias took her face in his hands. "Elsa…thank God."

He smiled through his tears and whispered, "Look at you. Look at you,"

"There's not much to look at," she sobbed.

"You were just a child last time I saw you," he said, stroking her hair.

Elsa laughed. "You were a lot slimmer,"

"Yes I was," Tobias chuckled, as he slapped his beer gut, "The wife's cooking I'm afraid. Not that I'm complaining."

The two chuckled as they stood there in each other's arms.

What had been a brief moment of joy, turned blue and solemn as Elsa snapped back into reality. Coming to senses of her situation, as she slowly began to close back into herself.

Seeing his niece's face fall, Tobias kissed Elsa upon her forehead and motioned to his Squire.

"Come on, let's get home."

The journey had been a quiet one. Neither of them spoke, both lost in their own thoughts. Tobias had not had time to grieve for his brother and family; he had had to be quick.

As soon as he heard from Elsa, that desperate phone call in the middle of the night, he had done everything in his power to bring her to the United States.

Away from there.

She was the only family he had left now and he needed to keep her safe.

Without knowing it, tears began to well up in his eyes.

He wiped them away with an age old hanky, as they waited for the lights to turn green.

"I'm sorry," muttered Tobias, "I just-"

"It's alright, Uncle," Elsa muttered, "He was your brother after all,"

"And your father,"

Elsa sighed.

She needed to change the topic. If she allowed him to drive in such a state, he'd probably kill them both and all of this would have been for nothing.

"Where is Marie by the way? I thought she would have come with you."

Tobias lit up; the topic of his wife always brought him great joy. "Oh she's at home. Sprucing it up to welcome you. And she's cooking dinner and everything and-ahem."

"Oh,"

Tobias turned to Elsa, seeing that she was staring out the window, her eyes unmoving in her reflection.

"How…how are you?"

"I don't know," she whispered. Her shoulders shrugged pathetically, as if even that minute action caused her great fatigue.

"It's lucky we got you out when we did," he blurted, "Another day or so and they'd be onto you,"

"I know,"

Tobias placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm just glad I got you out,"

"I know,"

The car turned into Dome Street and then into Leakey Crescent. A typical suburban street, with typical houses with typical roofs and typical driveways parked with typical cars.

Even Tobias' home had not broken from the typical scenery. A large, double storey home with wide windows and Christmas lights hanging from the gutters.

Just like in the pictures.

Elsa could see that Marie was sitting on the porch, rocking back and forth on an old rocking chair. As soon as she saw the car pull up, she got up from her seat and rushed forward with her arms open.

Elsa had barely gotten out of the Squire when Marie latched onto her.

"Elsa! Oh my goodness, thank the Lord you're alright," she cried in her New Jersey drawl, "Oh, let me see you! You look so much like your moth…" Marie stopped, suddenly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I didn't…""

Tobias attempted to save the situation. "Marie, darling, why don't you take Elsa's things inside and I'll show her in?"

"Of course," gushed Marie, as she unlocked the boot, "You won't hear a peep from me."

"Sorry about that," laughed Tobias, as soon as they headed inside, "She's got her heart in the right place."

"It's alright," said Elsa quietly, slipping off her coat.

"Come on,"

Tobias led her upstairs, to the second floor, to the door on the right. She had not stepped foot inside her new room yet, but Elsa could see that Marie had attended to decorating it.

An elaborate wooden panel hung on her door. Stuck on it where the wooden letters E-L-S-A, which were surrounded by hand painted flowers and fruits.

It was a lovely gesture, though Elsa was a little old for such things.

"Yes," began Tobias slowly, "Marie insisted on doing that. I hope you don't mind,"

"No of course not," smiled Elsa. Nodding, Tobias placed his hand on the wood of the door and pushed it open.

What greeted her was not exactly what Elsa had expected. Her room had been painted a bright apricot. A large, pretty wooden desk occupied one wall, a single bed occupied the other. The bed itself had been adorned with various toy animals and dolls, wire butterflies hanging from the window.

It was a stark contrast to her old room; filled with souvenirs from her trips around the world rather than teddy bears and butterflies.

Even if she had butterflies, they would have been the dead and preserved kind. Not mass produced, plastic ones.

"I told her not to," explained Tobias, "I told her you were too old for such things. But…you see, never having any children of her own took a toll on her. She practically planned out your future on a billboard when I said I was bring you here."

Elsa laughed as she ran her fingers along the desk. "No, I understand. I'll be glad to be the daughter she never had."

"Thank you," Tobias cleared his throat, "Well, um, I'll leave you to it. Dinner will be ready in about half an hour."

Tobias made to leave, before Elsa's voice stopped him.

"Thank you, Uncle. For everything,"

Tobias smiled as he closed the door behind him. As soon as he did, Elsa felt sick. Sick to the stomach. Her head began to spin a little. She slipped off her jumper and threw across the floor. Following that came her cardigan, her shirt and her skirt, until she was standing in nothing but her singlet and underwear.

She ran through to the ensuite bathroom she had noticed on the way in and collapsed beside the toilet. Resting her hands on the seat, she heaved the contents of her stomach until she sure that one more heave would take out every organ in her body.

She slowly rose to her feet, almost stumbling sideways. She steadied herself on the bathroom sink and with much effort, turned on both the HOT and COLD taps. The sound of gushing water comforted her as she washed her face clean of her pain. Coughing, she looked up into the mirror.

She was not necessarily happy with what she saw. Her black hair had turned brittle and dry, pinned up with about a million bobby pins in a style that her mother could have pulled off with a stitch. Her pale skin was waxy and almost yellowing in hue, her lips curled back. The whites that surrounding her dark iris' were bloodshot and veined in appearance.

Any semblance of beauty was now gone and only replaced with misery and pain. Still clutching the sides of the sink, she began to weep. The last several days had been hellish and in all honesty, nothing had truly sunk in.

She sobbed uncontrollably, her shoulders quivering. The pain in her heart became physically excruciating. She struggled to breathe as she wiped away her tears.

Sinking to the floor, she wailed silently, making sure that she released every tear in her body. Never again would she allow herself to feel pain, to love, to cry. Never again would she put herself in such a place.

The three Mullers sat at the dining table, quietly eating the food Marie had so laboriously prepared. Chicken, potatoes, peas, carrots and beans.

They ate in silence, the only sound of their existence was the clattering of their forks upon their plates. Eager to break the silence, Tobias spoke.

"So, uh, I organized it with the Principal. It's the Christmas holidays right now, so you'll be starting up school again when the rest of the kids do. Settle in at the beginning you know?"

"Great," muttered Elsa, shoving her mouth with peas so she wasn't available for conversation.

"I know how much you've been through," sympathized Marie, "but we need to normalize quickly. We can't rouse any suspicion. They may be still looking for you-"

Elsa looked to Marie. "Of course,"

Marie was a slender middle aged woman. If she didn't look so tired all the time, Elsa would have called her attractive. Blond haired and blue eyed, lips pink with bright lipstick she very much resembled a doll. She and Tobias had met whilst he had been studying as an exchange student at Yale University. A PhD in genetics. Marie had been working at the university as an assistant to one of the professors. Her occupation had been menial, but her pretty frame had been enough to catch Tobias' eye.

Perhaps if she had seen them in their college days, Elsa might have understood why they had gotten together but as it was, Elsa didn't like Marie so much. She couldn't understand the appeal.

"It won't take long to adjust," continued Tobias, "You'll find the American system is quite similar to the English one. I know you were about to take your A-levels, but I think you'll find this year will be quite exciting-"

Elsa couldn't take it anymore. All this talk. She needed to rest. To sleep.

"May I be excused?" she asked abruptly, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"Well…of course," stuttered Marie, "What's wrong sweetie? Is the food? Is it school? I understand you might be feelin' completely nervous about the whole thing."

Elsa couldn't help it. Her sarcasm rolled off her like waves. "I'm sorry. I know I should be concentrating on school and getting all the pencils I need and uniforms and making new friends. But," she let out a dry chuckle, "huh, I just can't get the image of blood and mutilation out of my head. Crazy huh?"

Her uncle and aunt sat in silence. With a few simple words, Elsa had managed to turn a quiet family dinner into an awkward and uncomfortable gathering. Tobias placed his fork upon his plate and sighed. Marie looked like she was on the verge of tears, but Elsa didn't have the time or patience to comfort her.

Pushing her chair out, she got up and left the dining room, muttering "Excuse me," along the way.

She had only just reached the foot of the stairs when Tobias came after. Elsa ignored him, but Tobias was not having any of that. He took her elbow and swung her round.

"Elsa," he said sternly, "We're trying. Ok? We're really trying-"

She pulled her arm out of his grip. "Then try not to pile all of this on me." She waved her hands manically in the air when she said 'this'.

Tobias placed his hands on his hips. "All of 'this'? And what exactly is this?"

Elsa sighed. She didn't know what she meant. Half the things she had said hadn't really made sense. It was like she had a jumble of words struggling to leave her mouth and once they had, they had struggled to arrange themselves properly.

"I know how much you've done for me," she said quietly, "I know how much the both of you are sacrificing to keep me here…but I lost everything. In a single night. Forgive me if I'm still a little lost."

Tobias sat down on the foot of the steps, running his hands through his hair. "I can't imagine what it would have been like for you, seeing all of that. But remember, when you lost your family…I lost my family too. You're not the only one suffering here. If I could, I'd take it all from you. Your suffering, your pain, but I can't. You can't change what's past, only the future. A future I hope you'll be able to build here."

Elsa sat beside her uncle. "It's the same all over Uncle. They don't like people like me, they think we're dangerous."

Tobias leaned back and smiled, glad that their argument had calmed down. He cracked a grin. "Well, maybe you should prove them wrong."