Schizophrenia

Author's Note: Hello one and all, I would just like to say that I do not own the X-Men, this is a first attempt at fanfiction in a long while, and I hope you all like it. Please remember, it's polite to review, but bad to flame. If no one likes the first chapter I won't be writing a second one. The setting is that it happens between X-Men and X-Men 2.

Summary: The Professor rescues a young mutant from the Asylum, will this Psychopath be able to adjust to life at the institute, and will the students be able to adjust to him?

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Chapter 1: Beginning
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It was a gloriously horrible day outdoors. The clouds were dark overhead, and the rain had been coming down all morning, finally granting relief in the afternoon, only to leave the ground as though it would be muddy forever. Outside the Xavier Institute no one could be heard, no one could even be seen on the grounds. They were all indoors. Even all of the adults were indoors. It was one of those boring days of late April. Everyone was either watching movies or television, or they were reading a book.

Everyone that is, except for a small group of people who were in the lower levels of the mansion. Jean Grey and Rogue stood outside the door of the Cerebro machine. Xavier was inside, he had been going down there every day this week. He said that something was bothering him, but who knows what it was.

Finally the professor wheeled out of the room as the doors opened and closed again behind him. He had a look of concern on his face and closed his eyes as his chair wheeled forward. "Jean. I think you should get Scott. We have somewhere to go."

"Are you trying to find Wolverine?" Rogue asked with a look of hope on her face.

"No child. He is free to do as he pleases, I have been trying to solve a riddle of a different sort." The professor answered.

"What do you mean professor?" Jean asked raising a brow as she and Rogue began to walk behind him as his chair moved to the elevator.

"There is a young man that I think we need to talk to. As soon as we can. Tell Scott to get the car. We're going to Saint Jude's Hospital for the mentally ill." The professor said as they entered the elevator and the door closed behind them.

It wasn't until they were in the car that the rain began to fall again. Rogue was left behind, but Jean sat next to the professor in the car while Scott drove. It started out small, but then began to pour down as if the very world was flooding. Xavier looked out the window with a puzzled look on his face, as if he was contemplating the most complex puzzle one had ever seen. At least it appeared so.

"So where are we going professor?"Scott asked looking in the rearview mirror to see the professor and Jean, before returning his ruby shaded eyes to the road.

"Saint Jude's Hospital for the Mentally Ill. It's an Asylum forty minutes from here." The professor answered without his eyes or face moving at all. He seemed distracted with the falling of the rain.

"An asylum? Why are we going to an Asylum?" Jean asked looking over to the professor.

"Because Miss Grey there is a young man... a pair of young men... there is... someone there that I must talk to. I've located them... him... with Cerebro a week ago. His parents put him there after he became a mutant." The professor answered.

"How could a parent lock away their own child just because he's a mutant?" Jean asked with a tone of disgust in her voice as she looked out the window, the rain was beginning to lighten up a very small bit.

"It is not all as it appears. According to Cerebro, the boy is human, and mutant." The professor responded, still not moving.

"How can that happen? Is there a glitch?" Cyclops asked as he drove the car along.

"I do not know, and that is why we are going there. I must speak with this young man. His case is... quite an interesting one." The professor said as he turned his face away from the window and looked to Jean. "However I fear his parents may have been right about locking him away. Any telepathic link I try to establish with him soon becomes... quite confusing."

"How so?" Jean asked curiously.

"You will have to see it for yourself I'm afraid. It's not something that is easy to describe." The professor said as the rain began to slow to a stop.

The car drove on for a while in silence, no one speaking a word, until finally Scott broke the silence with a simple question. "So what is the kid's name?"

"That is something I have not been able to discover. He refers to himself by different names. Lucas, or Markus, Luke, or Will, or Mike, or Jake, or JT. I can't discover much his mind is... a mess." The professor answered, looking towards the front of the car. "However I have been able to discover his patient number. He repeats it over and over in his mind when they bring him his meals. Patient Number 4976 he says, as if there is a catchy ring to it. It's as if he can't seem to make his mind about who or what he is." The professor said as his gaze returned to the outside world visible through his window.

"Do you think that he is actually insane?" Scott asked with a hint of concern in his voice. He couldn't say that he was looking forward to meeting this boy.

"You're not thinking of bringing him to the institute are you? He could be a danger to the other students!" Jean said looking to the professor.

"Calm down Jean. That is what we are on our way to discover. If possible. I cannot be sure of this boy's sanity or mutation until I speak with him face to face." The professor said with a nod.

"It could be dangerous." Scott said. "We don't even know what his mutation is." Scott pointed out as the car made a turn.

"Which is why I brought you and Jean along." The professor pointed out. "And we shouldn't have too much to worry about. He is on medication, and in restraints. If he had any true powers of destruction he would have used them to escape three months ago when his parents placed him there. No. I don't think we have much to fear, so do not act as though he is any different from you or I." The professor looked in Scotts glasses through the rearview mirror.

"Understood." Scott said with a nod as the car rolled along it's way.

It was thirty minutes later that they reached their destination. It looked a lot like a prison. A sign above the large doors, a payphone in the lobby across from the front desk. Xavier wheeled in with Jean seemingly pushing his chair and Scott walking not too far behind.

"Can I help you?" The nurse asked as the three approached the desk.

"Yes I was wondering if it might be possible to get an audience with a patient you have here, a young boy named Lucas I believe, patient number 4976." Xavier answered with a pleasant smile.

The nurse tapped at a few computer keys on the keyboard in front of her, and then shook her head. "I'm sorry sir, but that patient is under security lock, family only." She said as she got out from behind the desk. "Follow me."

Neither Jean nor Scott acted unnaturally, they both understood that the professor was busy pulling some strings so that they could see this boy. It was always interesting to see the Professor work, one was never sure quite where he drew the lines ethically, though they always stayed the same.

They were taken to a room where all they could see through the door was a bit of light through a small window in the door, a very, very small window. The nurse unlocked the door, and opened it for the professor and his two guests as they went inside. This wasn't what they had expected. There knelt in the middle of the room a very young, scrawny-looking, African American boy. He was tied in a straight jacket, strapped, with ropes going to the four corners of the room. His face was down so that his shoulder length dread locks covered his face from their view. He didn't even look up as they came in. He just knelt there as though he didn't even notice them at all.

The professor wheeled right in front of him, as Jean and Scott stood on either side of the professor while the Nurse closed and bolted the door behind her, leaving them and the boy alone in the room.

"Hello there Lucas." The professor said, in his usual gentle voice, his kind smile gracing his face as though he and the boy were old friends.

"Is it morning? Or is it evening? Or is it afternoon? Or is it midnight? Is it dark, or is it light? Who knows? Who can tell the difference? You can." The boy spoke as though to himself, but quite suddenly his head jerked upwards and his calm blue eyes met with the professor's. The movement was so sudden that Scott had already placed his hands on his shades, just in case.

The professor glanced to jean, a concerned look covered his face for a brief second, before trying again. "What is your name young man?"

"Our name. OUR NAME!" The boy yelled as he stood up on his feet. "We have no name, but we have many names." His hands were still tied in the straight jacket, but even Jean was bracing herself just in case.

"What are your names then?" The professor asked as though waiting to see what would happen.

"Lucas. Markus. Jack. Though the nurses and doctors call us Patient Number 4976. Our name is Patient Number 4976. That is OUR Name." The boy responded as he seemed to be calming down a bit, putting an emphasis on the last 'our'.

"Lucas. I believe that you may be what is known to the world as 'mutant.' I myself am a-." The professor was cut off by the boy.

"NO!" The boy yelled falling to the ground and getting back up. "Lucas is human! Lucas is human! It is Markus and Jack who are mutant. They are mutants!" He seemed to be getting upset.

Scott moved forward as if to try something, but the professor restrained him.

"Nothing wrong with mutants." The boy mumbled. "Nothing wrong with humans either. Best of friends."

Jean looked to Scott, clearly she thought this boy was crazy, as did the Scott from the look on his face. Despite his glasses, it didn't always take a Psychic to tell what he was thinking.

"Why are you here?" The professor asked in a calm tone.

"Lucas' parents put us here! They think we are insane! Traumatized. Traumatized! Traumatized! But we know better... yes we do. We know that something happened in the accident. The car... It wasn't Markus' fault. They lived. They lived indeed. We still live." He rambled, not making much sense at all.

"What accident? What happened?" The professor asked calmly.

"We were driving. That we were. Markus was driving. JT was in the front seat. Lucas had his seat belt, but he was in the back, yes he was. They truck swerved in front, Markus didn't hit the brakes fast enough. Impaled. Glass... Lucas lived... We lived... What have they done with the bodies?" His head had been bent back down, but now it shot up, looking at Jean. "WHAT DID THEY DO WITH THE BODIES?" He yelled as she took a step back.

The professor put out his hands as if to try to calm him down. "What bodies? Calm yourself. Try to clear your mind."

"Clear our minds." The boy muttered. "The bodies! Markus' and Jack's! They should be there! Lucas still has his. Yes we do... We can switch."

"Who can switch?" The professor asked.

"We can. Lucas' parents thought we were mutant, and crazy, but we know better..." He said shaking his head.

"Can you... can you show me what you mean?" The Professor asked raising a brow.

"We... Don't know... It usually happens when we sleep. We can try..." The boy stood up on his two legs and closed his eyes, straining, as though he was trying to break out of his restraints.

Scott was ready for anything, and Jean had her hand on her temple ready to put up a shield in case he tried to attack the professor.

Suddenly the boy's hair began to change, from the tips of the dreads to the head his hair became red instead of black and his eyes turned green instead of the blue they had been. "We did it!" He yelled as he jumped up a bit, his restraints held him down. "We have to get out of here!" He said looking to the professor.

The professor smirked ever so slightly as he moved a bit forward in his chair, this boy definitely seemed to be a mutant, perhaps he was just in denial.

Then he changed again, his hair became blonde instead of red, and his eyes turned brown. Little bolts of static electricity jumped to him from the padded floor beneath him, from the fabric, and from the professor's chair which was closer to him then anything else other then the restraints. You could hear the crackling of them as he moved. "We... we can do it... we just need to think... Lucas wants it back... Get us out..." He looked to Scott as his hair changed back to it's black color, and his eyes back to a blue. He knelt down as though nothing had even happened. "Please..." He said. "Have mercy on us."

The professor sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, as if thinking. "What do you think Scott?" The professor asked mentally via his telepathy.

"I think he's unstable. Insane. Clearly dangerous." Scott answered mentally.

"What do you think Jean?" The professor asked her via telepathy.

"I think he's... He's probably a mutant who can change the pigment of his hair and irises. Possibly even his skin if he were to try, but he associates the mutation with his alternate personalities. He has a clear case of Multiple Personality Disorder. Possibly even Schizophrenia." Jean answered mentally.

"Is he a danger to the other students if we bring him to the Institute?" The professor asked mentally, as if actually considering it.

"I... I don't know... He certainly is an interesting case. It's possible that his mental disorders are brought on by post-traumatic stress and that they'll go away with time. From what he said it sounds as though he was in some sort of accident and his two friends were killed. That's when the Multiple Personality Disorder began." Jean answered telepathically.

"Lucas, Markus, Jack." The Professor said out loud after a few moments of audible silence. "I'm going to try to enter your mind. This won't hurt. I just want to help. I want you to relax, okay?"

The boy nodded. "Okay."

The Professor wheeled forward a bit, placing his hands on either side of the boy's head, closing his eyes and concentrating.

The world went to a void. There was one light, coming from above, and there, in the twilight, stood three young men in front of the professor.

The first was the young, seventeen year old, African American boy that was there in the Asylum with them, in the straight jacket, but here was wearing a pair of carpenter jeans and a blue t-shirt. His hair was the same, in the dread locks that reached his shoulders.

The second was different. He was a young man who was obviously in his mid twenties. He was larger then the young African American boy, about six foot four inches while Lucas was about five foot ten inches, and clearly he was of a different background. He was Caucasian, and his red hair, freckles, and green eyes made it clear that he was of some Celtic Background. The one thing that stood out about him the most was a scar that ran along his left arm, from his shoulder to his wrist. He wore a pair of nice pants, dress shoes, and a button down collar shirt. He was dressed nicely and smiled nicely too.

The third was different even then the other too. His hair was blonde like gold, and his eyes brown. He looked German more then anything. He was younger then the second guy, but older then the first, probably eighteen, or early twenties. He was taller then Lucas was, but shorter then Markus, probably about six foot even. He wore a pair of swimming trunks, without a shirt, and had a crimson brand on his chest in the shape of an R in a C. He stood with his hands at his side as if perfectly okay with everything.

"Where are we?" The young African American boy asked.

"Inside your mind." The Professor said. "Who are you?" He asked looking to the other two.

"I'm Markus." The red haired one answered.

"I'd be Jack." The blonde haired one answered with a small laugh.

"I see... Lucas..." The Professor said looking over to the young African-American boy. "I want you to think back to the accident. Think. Remember it. I want to be there. I want to see what was happening." The Professor said as he walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. There in the void, they were all as they wished to be.

Flashback

The day was bright and sunny, the smell of ocean water wasn't far off, you could almost taste it and hear the waves. In the jeep there sat Markus, the red haired one, Driving just as he looked in the void. Next to him sat Jack, wearing just his swimming trunks. In the back sat the young African boy, Lucas, with a large smile on his face with only one difference then the boy that the Professor had seen before, this Lucas was bald.

Music was blasting, and the car was going fast. Faster then what was legal. It didn't matter, they were having fun. Lucas was singing along to the music, tapping the strap of his seat belt as though his fingers were drumsticks. Markus bobbed his head up and down to the beat of the song as he drove, and Jack played the air guitar. They were the perfect pretend band.

Suddenly, the fun was over. A large eighteen wheeler pulled out in front of them. The Jeep rammed into the back of the side of it at over eighty miles an hour. It was gruesome. The car flipped upwards, the back end going up the front end going down. Jack had been thrown against the trailer of the truck and crushed by the car, Markus had been stuck to the driver seat by the piece of window-shield glass that went through his chest cavity.

Lucas was pinned in the back of the crumpled up jeep and wreckage. It was about ten minutes later that he saw light again, after he had been unconscious, the rescue crew was trying their best to dig him out. They succeeded, though it would be a long road to recovery.

End Flashback

They were all back in the void, the Professor, Lucas, Markus, and Jack. The professor shook his head. "So you're..."

"I don't know how." Markus said walking forward a bit, into the light. "But what you see is what you get. All of us. Here."

They were back in the padded room. The professor sat back in his wheel chair as the young man in front of him stood on his two feet.

"Did we show you what you wanted to see?" He asked. "Can you get us out?"

Scott looked with alarm to Jean who put an arm on the Professor's shoulder.

The professor nodded. "I want to bring you to my school. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. You can stay there with us, live there, and learn to use your... talents."

The young man shook his head so hard that his dreads twirled and hit him in the face. "Markus has been through school. JT is in college. Lucas is in highschool."

"We'll work the details of the schooling part out later. Right now however you can either live there, or here." The professor answered.

"Professor." Scott started as if in protest. He was stopped by the professor raising his hand. The professor knew what he was doing... but did this guy do something when the Professor was in his mind? Could he do that? Scott didn't know what this guy's powers were. This whole thing was just... weird.

"Done. Get us out of here." The young man said quickly.

"And you'll meet with Jean once a week. To help you adjust to life now." The professor added.

The young man looked up at her and back down the ground. "Is she Jean?" He asked.

"Yes..." The professor answered.

"Fine." Lucas answered. "Jack will do it."

"Good enough." The professor said with a slight smile. "Now. We must talk with the administrator. We'll be back in a few minutes."

"Hurry. We want to get out." The boy said in a hushed tone.

"I know. Just wait a few more minutes." The professor said with an apologetic tone.

"Fine." The boy answered as the professor, Jean, and Scott exited the room, leaving the boy alone once again in his restraints.

Once they were outside, it was Scott who voiced his opinion first. "Professor, are you sure about this? That boy seems..."

"Odd? Different?" The professor asked looking up to Scott. "Yes. He... They are."

"They?" Jean asked stopping.

"They." The professor answered. "I want you to enter his mind the first time you counsel him. They will explain it." The professor said as they resumed traveling down the hall.

They arrived at the door for the administrator of the Asylum, Dr. Laurence Byrd. Scott opened the office door and the secretary met them with a smile. It was a small outside area with a few seats along the wall, and the secretary's desk next to a door, that led into the administrator's office.

"Professor Xavier. I need to speak with Dr. Byrd." The professor said as he wheeled up to the desk, Jean and Scott in tow.

The secretary smiled. "Just wait one moment please." She said with a smile as she pressed the intercom button. "Dr. Byrd, a Professor Xavier here to see you."

"Send him right in." The Dr's voice came back over the intercom rather quickly. The professor must've been doing his thing again.

"I'll take this one alone." The professor said looking to Scott and Jean as the Secretary opened the door for him.

"Are you sure?" Scott asked as Jean took a seat.

"Yes. Dr. Byrd and I know each other quite well." The professor said as he rolled into the office, and the secretary shut the door behind him.

Scott took a seat next to Jean glancing to the door and then to Jean. "He knows this guy?"

"Dr. Byrd taught Biology at the institute, along with a few other sciences." Jean answered.

"How come I never met him?" Scott asked raising a brow.

"He only taught for about a year." Jean said looking to the door. "When he left he said he was going to France for a job there. I wonder what he's doing here..."

Inside the Office

"What are you doing here Larry?" The professor asked with a smile.

"My projects in France failed, I took a job here, got promoted, and am now here." The Doctor said with a smile. "I actually was just relocated here last week. I was going to call you up, but I suppose that you've just saved me the trouble. What can I do for you Charles?"

"You have a very... unique patient here." The professor started. "Patient Number 4976 I believe. Lucas Serf."

"Ah yes. The Schizoid." The doctor said with a small laugh.

"Schizoid?" Professor asked.

"A nickname the Nurses gave him. He is certainly an interesting case, he seems to have a combination of Multiple Personality Disorder and Schizophrenia." The doctor answered.

"Is he dangerous?" The professor asked.

"Why are we discussing my patient Charles?" The doctor asked in return.

"I want to bring him to my school." Charles answered.

"Charles. His parents have sent him here. They believe he's a danger to himself and others, so do the courts, and so do I." The doctor replied. "He's attacked four nurses, breaking the leg of one, and another nurse came out with burn marks on her arms. He's in the jacket for a reason."

"So you're aware that I've already visited him." The professor stated.

"Yes. The Surveillance cameras showed me that you were here. I was hoping you would stop by." The doctor responded.

"Then you've seen that he is a mutant." The professor said it more as a statement then a question.

"Which is even more reason to keep him here. Imagine if the media got a hold of the fact that he existed. The headline: X-Gene causes insanity! It would be a nightmare. Besides that, we haven't been able to discover exactly what his mutation is. We would need to run more tests." Dr. Byrd said standing up from behind his desk and standing by his window.

"I entered his mind Larry. He's not insane, he's confused." Charles said as he moved his chair a bit so that he was looking straight at the doctor.

"What do you mean? What did you see?" Larry asked.

"I saw three people. An accident, where two of those people died. I think it might be possible, that the boy is a mutant whose body acts as a vacuum. He absorbed the life-forces, the souls, the minds, of his friends." The professor said.

"Or it's possible that the stress caused by the trauma forced his mind to break, creating two alternate personalities within his mind, which he personifies as his lost friends." Larry argued.

"Then how do explain the changing of the hair, of the eyes, how do you explain the non-related mutations?" Charles asked.

"I don't know Charles. Perhaps he is just a very powerful mutant. That is why he needs to be kept under care." Larry said sitting back down behind his desk.

"Then perhaps he should be put under my care. Who better to treat him then with someone with the facility to hold a mutant with unknown abilities if necessary? Who better to treat him then the man that can enter his mind and talk with him man to men?" The professor asked.

The doctor fell silent for a moment. "His family has no visitation. The father died shortly after he was admitted, and the mother moved to Jamaica to be with her sister. He'll be placed in solitary , private room, no visitors, until further notice."

"Thank you." The professor said with a knowing smile.

"Don't thank me yet Charles, you're going to have your hands full with this one." The doctor said standing up from behind his desk. "If things get bad, promise me, we'll bring him back here, and he does not leave the grounds of the Institute. He is to be under watch at all hours."

"Of course friend." Charles said with a smile as the two began walking out the door.

Outside the Office

"What if he..." Scott was cut off by the office door opening up. The professor and the doctor came out one behind the other.

"Thank you for stopping by Charles." The doctor said with a nod. "We'll have staff follow you to the Institute with Patient number 4976 and assist you with moving him in. After that he is under your care Professor Xavier."

"I understand Doctor Byrd." The professor said with a nod. "Come." He said looking to Scott and Jean. "We should wait in the car."

Scott and Jean didn't say anything, they just stood up and followed the professor out the door, down the hall, into the elevator, out of the elevator, out the doors, and to the car. Scott was the first to speak.

"Professor, do you really think it's a good idea to bring him to the school? What if he attacks one of the students?" Scott asked.

"He MIGHT, be insane, but he is not stupid. He knows that if he messes up, he'll be sent back here, and he doesn't want that." The professor answered. "Besides, I do not believe that he is purely insane."

Scott nodded, taking the professor for his word as he got inside the car and started it up. This was going to be an interesting day for sure. Although Scott wasn't entirely sure what he thought about it all, he was sure that he was nervous.

A white van pulled up behind them, Scott could see them in the rearview mirror. Four men clad in white led the young man into the back of the van with four long poles. They were keeping out of reach of him. He was still in the jacket, and he wasn't struggling, he was just walking with his head down. Obediently going as they hoisted him into the back of the van.

"Are you sure about this professor?" Jean asked looking from the boy to him.

"I'm sure Jean. Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be fine." The professor said with a nod.

"I just have one question." Scott said looking to the professor via the rearview mirror.

"Yes Scott?" The professor asked, looking up.

"Who is he rooming with?"

End of Chapter 1