His stomach growled over and over. He had tried various combinations of plants and even tried to sift through left over fast food, but none of it had satiated his hunger over the past few weeks. He was absolutely foolish to have tried this without any help, but he heard it was a safe place for mutants, and that was all he wanted. He had heard about it in the news and on radio stations and had seen pictures in newspapers of the people who had gone to that school or who still resided there today. He remembered seeing the picture on various posters throughout the country; dozens of mutants all gathered in front of the school. His fingers twitched and his body grew tense as he padded alongside a road. He needed to look as inconspicuous as possible, but there was no specific qualities to him that outed him to the world. His powers were almost untraceable, but he knew exactly what they were. They had helped him escape, but now they could be of no help.

The day was beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, with a cool breeze coming off the trees. It was spring, and as soon as he took in a deep breath, he started sneezing over and over until he was a mess. School had to be in session about now, but he was unsure; the sun was just starting to come up, how early did kids even go to school? He needed food and medicine for his allergies and a place to sleep and a bath. There was no guarantee this place would give him any of it, but it was worth a shot, and soon he found the road that led straight up to a building in the distance. A smile spread across his face and he started up the road, too weak to bother running. He had to get there, his life depended on it. There was nowhere else he could go. No one would want to take in a sixteen year old kid, that was apparent from his first few weeks in the country.

He heard a shout from his left and started to veer right. Bushes began to rustle in all directions and suddenly he found himself cornered, under a canopy of trees. There were too many people, simply too many and he had nothing to help him fight them off, and now he could hardly tell what was up and down, left or right. He was about to feign death, but something about them caught him off guard. They were all in black, gold, and red, and when he went to push one away, he just went right through her. At least five or six were there, it was impossible for him to get anywhere without them pursing him. But he did not want to go anywhere.

"You're...you're from that mutant place right?" he asked weakly, reaching out a hand to the closest one. Everything seemed to become more a blur, his head felt funny. Finally there could be relief. "Do you have food? Can you help me?" One of them said something, he did not hear. He asked again, and one of them said yes. When he finally heard that, he let himself collapse to the ground. One of them appeared in front of him and caught him before he hit, draping him across his shoulders.

Grumbling, he pressed the palms of his hands to his forehead. He squirmed around until the blankets around him were loose and rolled onto his side, squinting his eyes against the bright light. As usual, his stomach growled. His first thought was to get up and walk around to see if he could find anything, but there was something severely unsettling to him, as if someone was watching him from afar. He gently pulled himself up and leaned back against the pillow, rubbing one of his cheeks with the heel of his palm. There seemed to be absolutely no one there. He let out a pathetic whine and started to pull the sheets off of him. He was perfectly fine, there was absolutely no reason for him to be in such a room as to resemble a hospital.

He swung his legs off, grimacing at the cold linoleum floor, and nearly jumped out of his wits as a man in a wheelchair came into the room. He slid off the bed in his confusion and slammed his head against the metal bed frame. "I didn't think I'd startle you, I'm sorry."

"Food." The boy crawled back onto the bed, his brown eyes wide. "Do you have food? Please tell me you do, I'm so hungry." He collapsed against the sheets and curled up, rubbing his fingers against his temples. "My head hurts and my allergies. You aren't going to kill me, right? You're the good guys?"

The man smiled. "No one will hurt you here, I promise. Lunch is ready upstairs, but first I'd like to ask you some things."

"Sure, sure, whatever. What...what do you need to know?"

"What is your name?"

He thought for a moment while he sucked on his bottom lip. "I...Taz. My name is Taz. Just Taz. I come from...somewhere in Mexico, I can't remember. I have a terrible memory." He sat up in a frenzy and reached out as if he was going to take the man by the front of his brown jacket and shake him around. "They think I'm dead. They think only she survived. My head hurts so bad."

The man was silent, pondering. "I am Charles Xavier, I teach here at the institute. Are you strong enough to walk? If not, I can have Jean or Kurt bring something down for you."

"No, no I'm fine. I promise." He sat up and slowly began to drag himself off the bed again. Bare feet touched cold tiles and sent shivers up his spine, but he gritted his teeth, set his shoulders, and followed the man out of the room. They went up an elevator and even brighter light stung his eyes. It had to have been the weekend, for dozens of kids and adults alike were running about the house. He passed a hunched man with cold blue skin and accidentally walked through a girl- the same girl as before, he remembered- and almost screamed bloody murder when one of the kids became pitch black and erupted in fire while standing in a ray of sun from the windows. The professor introduced him to a pretty red haired woman, a man with glasses, some intimidating guy who wore gloves and had black hair and looked like a wild animal.

The mansion was warm and welcoming. The carpet was soft, the stairs were beautiful, the creamy brown walls so much more inviting than the cold morning air and pale blue sky before a storm. He crossed his arms and shivered without meaning to. This professor beside him was kind enough, but some of the people in the mansion did not look at all inviting, like the wolf, or the speed demon with white hair, or whoever that man was with the floating powers and cape. He was even more stunned when they ran into a blue teenager with a tail, but he was so friendly and ran about the kitchen with such vigor, there was no way he could be in any way bad.

He grinned at Taz and waved with his strange, three fingers. "You're awake! Hungry?" He held out a sandwich which the boy took gingerly. He nibbled it, trying to keep his manners, and sat at the place at the table that the professor pointed to. "I bet you're going to love it here! But you look a little familiar."

"I don't think so," Taz said lightly. "I come from very far away! Mexico. But I was born somewhere in Europe, I think. I'm...Taz."

"I'm Kurt! Nice to meet you. Also, don't eat those cupcakes, Kitty made them." He whispered it so quietly Taz almost did not hear.

When he walked out of the kitchen, Taz dropped his sandwich on the table and held his face in his propped up hands. "You know everything, don't you? You're one of the telepathic ones."

The professor gave a weak smile and shifted so he was sitting next to Taz. "I did not look too far, only enough to understand what you were mumbling about and give you peace But if this is about your powers, you can show us when you're ready. I know someone who'll be able to help you."

"Not now," Taz breathed. He looked up in desperation. "Please. Do you have Tylenol or allergy medicine?"

"Yes, I'll get you some."

Now he stood in front of a small group of adults. There was the huge intimidating brute with black hair and gloves, the guy with blue fur, the professor, the red haired woman, and the man with sunglasses who he kept shying away from; of all the powers he remembered these guys having, it was his, and he did not want to get caught in the lasers. But these guys he knew were safe, and he tried to relax; after five minutes of almost pure silence, his muscles were still tense, his hands wringing together. The sun from the window was warm and his head felt clear now that he had been given medicine and food.

He tried to give a wide, happy smile, but it felt forced. They went through quiet introductions even though he would most likely not remember their names and when silence grew in the room again, the woman with red hair- Jean- inquired about his mutant powers. After all, he had to have them if he was there, right?

"Well I um..." Taz glanced at the professor, who nodded to him. Go on and say only what you need to. He froze up again. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "They're really dumb and useless. I can control the liquids and hormones in my body. If I want to, I can slow down my pulse so it's like I'm dead, or I can force the adrenaline if I need to, or I can make myself depressed or stupidly optimistic on a whim." He gave a smile, this time a beautiful, genuine one. "They aren't helpful much, but they have helped me! I can sometimes even trick myself into thinking I'm not hungry. I think I can control some internal body functions, too. It's...it's all over the place."

She rested a hand on his shoulder. "That's fine, that's what we're here for, to help you figure this out."

"Yeah, don't worry," said Scott, his arms crossed. "I'm sure the kids would love to meet you if you're honest about wanting to stay here and check it out. We can get you introduced and have a costume ready for you by tonight's lesson."

"He just came out of the infirmary after three days and you want to throw him into training? Tryin' to kill him?"

Taz's gaze snapped to the huge brute and started to back away. "I- I feel fine, I promise. I'll join in with training, it shouldn't be that hard, right?" He sucked on his bottom lip and looked away. "Can I take a bath, maybe? I haven't had one in a long time."

Two dozen kids stood around him now. Introductions had been short; he would learn their names eventually, and they were too busy mucking around and screwing with the teachers to bother stopping and saying hello. A few girls and a boy had taken a liking to him and wanted to show him around, but before they could do anything one of the teachers walked out of the little group off to the side. Taz stood behind the other students, watching the clouds pass by overhead. His stomach growled, dinner could not be too far away. He was so distracted that suddenly the entire group broke and they started scrambling to a nearby forest. With a horrified look, he started sprinting after a girl on fire. They met up with some kid who could multiply himself and started off in some other direction. For a moment he thought of just going back to the beginning and waiting it out- even risking getting in trouble for not participating- but something held him back. No one would like him if he did that, he would just be seen as a coward if what he had seen of other children this age was true.

The bushes behind him began to rustle. He spun around, his heart beating faster than usual, and a wolf leaped out. Screeching, Taz turned and ran, stumbling over roots and discarded tree branches and even some of the traps that had been sent out.

His screams echoed through the forest. On impulse, he dropped to the ground. The wolf grumbled and nudged his shoulder with her nose. He then felt slender hands take hold of his wrist and then a gasp. When she fled, a smile spread across his face and he jumped up, feeling his wrist; his pulse was back to normal. He took off in one direction, opting to find the girl and the boy he had been chasing after instead the wolf girl. He was on their tracks when he was tackled down by a girl, two metal claws pointed straight at his throat.

She stared at him intensely, nose scrunched, teeth bared.

"Hi, bye," Taz said, throwing her off into a nearby bush. He hauled himself to his feet and brushed off his new uniform. "What is it, attack Taz day or something?"

"Were you not listening? You're on the blue team. You're in the red team's territory."

"What?" He turned around. The girl who had been on fire and the multiplying boy stood with their arms crossed. "Is that your team, then?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "Come on! We're supposed to get the flag. Bersker's somewhere around here. Can you fight or anything?"

"I don't know. I don't really fight. I just...drop dead on the ground."

"What?"

Taz gave a halfhearted smile and looked around sheepishly. "Let's go get that flag. Do you know where it is?"

They crept through the bushes. Amara and Jamie- Taz slinked away, for suddenly there were actually three of him. Well, he watched them motion to someone else, all with a grin on their face. Someone was nearing- someone from the red team- and he started to back away when he was tackled down by the same girl as before. She dragged him away, throwing him around without mercy, and eventually dropped him in an open clearing, her foot pressing down so hard on his chest he was unable to move and hardly able to breathe.

He tried to flail his way out. She grabbed him by the front of his uniform and stood nose to nose with him. "You're supposed to be dead," she snarled.

"Well yes about that-"

She threw him into a tree. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"Ah yes, but let me explain-" Taz started coughing rather violently. He pulled himself to his feet, clinging to the tree, and sweat started to build on his forehead. This girl was not going to listen, at least not when she had those claws of hers. "Just don't kill me yeah?"

They looked together to his right, her left, and saw a huge man coming toward them. Ah it was Logan, Taz remembered, though during training he heard they called themselves by their code names or whatever it was. Taz began to back off, but the teacher snapped at him to stay still and he grabbed the girl's outfit collar before she could lunge again. She started snarling and yelling about how he should be dead. He tried to pull off a smile and alter himself to stop being so scared, but his mind was frazzled, and now he was being asked questions. Out here, his allergies were worse.

Again he had no idea which was was left or right or up or down. He dug his hands into his hair and tried to get away, in fact /begged/ to get away. Logan put a hand on his shoulder. "Kid?"

"No, no, no, no, no, please leave me alone I'll hurt someone- I-" He yanked himself away. Just as he did, he let out a violent sneeze. His hands felt like they were on fire. He tried to get the claws back, tried to retract them and forget that ever happened, but everything was spinning. He dropped to the ground, buried his face in his knees as the girl erupted.

Logan's jaw tensed, but still he knelt down and held out a hand. "You have a lot of explaining to do, kid."

"I faked my death," he breathed. The teacher told him to just stop and calm down, but he was ignored. "I was eight, like number eight. Like she's twenty three. And, they didn't think it worked until they tried it again on her and it did work and the only reason they thought it didn't work with me is I just played dead I figured out my mutant powers then and they didn't notice at all and..."

It was too much for him. Just as he did a few days ago when he was found, he fell to his side, and blacked out. Once more, when he felt himself able to move again, he covered his face and curled up on his side. He felt someone watching him again and rolled over, seeing the four or five teachers outside the room and talking quietly to themselves. He heard that the girl from earlier was gone- she never stayed for long anyway, only one or two days sometimes. He heard one of the men mumbling about being able to sense metal. The professor nodded slowly. 'When he's awake I will approach him,' Taz heard him say.

He laid on his back now. His hands did not hurt anymore, thankfully. When the teachers had gone, Xavier came in. Taz let out a quiet chuckle.

"Secret's blown."

"Not exactly. Only Logan and the girl had seen, you're still good. Would you be willing to explain what exactly is going on?"

Taz grumbled quietly. "What they tried on her they tried on me first. They didn't think it worked, thought maybe it was because I was male or something, but really I just learned of my powers and feigned death until I was off the site. They were going to send me back to my parents, but I just kind of...got up and walked away. They wanted nothing to do with me since I was dead and all. The program's shut down now, I don't think it betters." He rubbed his arms. "It hurts, so I don't use that power. I just stick with my normal ones."

Xavier nodded. "People here are still eager to help you. We don't turn anyone away. You can stick with your true powers, or you can learn to hone your newer ones, whatever will make you comfortable. There's a bed ready for you in one of the boys' rooms, so you can sleep there if you wish. As far as I can tell, you're perfectly fine. Maybe using your powers a little...too well?"

The boy just laughed and pulled himself up. "Told you they were all over the place." He pulled his dark red jacket from the nearby table and yanked it on. "I'll go sleep in that room, I guess. This room gives me the creeps." And just like that, he sounded spunky and lighthearted and as if everything in the world was right. As he passed Xavier, he gave a smile. The professor smiled back, but frowned almost immediately after.

Shinzu: Well, I have no idea what I'm doing and I haven't written anything for this fandom since I was like 11 years old and made terrible, terrible characters. Taz is completely revamped and I'm so glad literally none of you remember his first form, god bless. But lay on the commentary, I really need it; I only go off the cartoon canon and lol yeah what a CONVENIENT power for Taz okay I just fucking wanted him to have the claws like his old version and that's all I could figure out to do. If you can figure out a cool code name for Taz that'd be really cool too because I have literally no idea.