Tegan shifted uneasily in her seat.

Her brother noticed. "Come on, Tegs! You don't have to worry about anything. The professor guy we talked to sounded cool. I think this is the place for you."

Tegan looked out the window. "But, why can't I live with you?"

Jake, Tegan's older brother, was twenty and had his own apartment. After Tegan's powers started showing, her mother had kicked her out of the house and she had been living with her brother ever since.

Jake sighed. "Tegan, I would love to keep living with you, but we have to face fact: I can't help you with your powers the way these people can. And you'll be living with a bunch of other mutants! You won't feel weird anymore."

"I'm still gonna feel like a freak," Tegan muttered.

"Yeah, but not as much."

They pulled up to the front doors of the mansion and stepped out of the car. There was an African American woman standing there.

She walked up to them. "Hello, my name is Ororo. Welcome to the Institute. I can show you to your room now, if you'd like."

Tegan looked at Jake, who said, "Give us a minute."

Jake took Tegan aside. He pulled his sister into a hug. "Listen Tegs, these people look nice. They're going to take care of you. Now stop that shaking."

Tegan was about to protest, but he was right. She was shaking. Softly, and you couldn't tell from afar, but she was shaking like she always had if she was afraid or nervous.

"Now," Jake continued, "even though you're name means doe, doesn't mean you're a scared little deer. I want you to promise me to try your best to fit in with these people, and not to be intimidated by them."

Tegan nodded. She was too nervous to speak.

Jake ruffled her brown hair. "It's okay, Tegs. Call me whenever you want."

He got into his car, waved one last time, and then drove away.

Tegan swallowed hard and forced herself to stop shaking. She looked up at Ororo who told her to fallow her.

The mansion was big and Tegan found it hard to remember where to go. Her mind wandered as she wondered about the different mutants that she would meet. What would they be like? Would they be nice to her, or would they shun her?

Like my mother did, Tegan couldn't stop herself from thinking. She sighed and willed herself not to think about it.

Tegan gasped as someone phased through the door next to her.

Kitty nearly bumped into Tegan. "Wow! I'm, like, totally sorry! I didn't see you there. Oh, you're, like, new right?"

When Tegan didn't say anything Ororo nodded. "Yes, she is. I'm showing her to her room now, but maybe you and the others would like to give her a tour when she's done unpacking."

Kitty smiled. "That would be totally awesome! I'm Kitty, what's your name?"

Tegan hesitated but said, "It…uh…Tegan."

"Whoa, that's, like, totally unique. Glad to meet you, Tegan!" Kitty waved as she phased through the floor.

So, Tegan thought, That's one power I didn't expect to find. Wonder what other powers people got here.

When Ororo showed Tegan to her room, Tegan waited for her to leave before she unpacked. She looked around her single room, wondering what she should do next.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Her curly hair was slightly tangled, her blue eyes looked tired. She frowned at herself. She didn't like her blue eyes, since they seemed so mismatched with her brown hair.

Tegan was thinking about taking a nap when she heard a knock on her door. "Hey, it's Kitty. Can I come in?"

Tegan opened the door. Kitty was smiling. "So, like, everybody's in the pool. I was wondering if, like, you wanna come and meet them."

Tegan took a step back and hid her shaky hands behind her back. "Uh…okay." She walked out of the door.

Kitty looked confused. "You don't, like, have a bathing suit?

Tegan shook her head.

Kitty smiled. "Oh well, we can, like, go to the mall with the others than! Come on."

--*--*--

Tegan looked nervously around the pool.

Kitty took her hand and whispered. "Come on, they're not gonna bite."

Kitty introduced everybody. "Hey guys, this is Tegan. She's new here. Tegan, this is Jean, Scott, Rouge, Evan, Bobby, and Amara." Kitty looked around. "Hey guys, where's Kurt?"

Tegan heard a BAMF and than blue guy was standing right in front of her. He was tall (well, taller than her at least), blue, furry, and just a little older than her.

Tegan took a step back. She got so startled her hands started shaking a little and tried her best to stop. She didn't want him to think she was afraid of him. He was actually pretty cute.

Tegan blushed at her own thought.

He smiled. "Hey Kitty, who's this?"

Tegan spoke up. "I'm Tegan…is that you're power?"

"Vhat? Being blue? Nein, I can teleport. Watch," Kurt BAMFed to the diving bored than back.

Tegan smiled. "That's amazing!"

"That's nothing!" Evan hollered. "Watch this." He pulled a spike out of his back and threw it into a tree.

Tegan walked over to the tree and pulled it out. She examined it. "That's cool, what else can you guys do?"

"Well," said Jean, "I can move things with my mind, and I can read people's minds." Tegan took a step back. "Oh, don't worry! I don't do it unless I need to."

Amara got out of the pool. "And I can do this," She made a little fire-ring around her finger.

"That's not as cool as this" said Bobby, who turned a flower to ice.

Pretty soon Tegan learned all their powers. She was a little unnerved at Jean's, but she decided to trust her.

"Like, what about you? What's your power?" Asked Kitty.

Tegan blushed. "I…uh…it's nothing special."

"Oh, come on. I bet it's something cool." Evan said, smiling.

Tegan sighed. I would have to show them sometime, I guess. She thought

She took a deep breath. "I can…do this…" Tegan put one foot forward and one foot back. She breath in and out.

Then she sent an air current towards Kurt, knocking him in the water.

"Whoa! That's, like, amazing."

Tegan shrugged. "I guess so,"

Jean got out of the pool. "We should show the professor,"

Kitty took Tegan's arm. "But right now, we need to take this girl shopping!"

----

End Chapter One

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Sorry about the first chapter, I know it's kind of uneventful, but it'll get better.