Thanks so much to all of you who reviewed, favorited or subscribed to this story! You are my inspiration. :)

This chap is a bit shorter just because I got impatient and couldn't wait to post!

OxOxO

"It's a trick question, Charles," the young woman on the couch said, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose without taking her eyes from the massive stack of paper in her hands.

"No, my dear, I'm afraid it isn't," Charles Xavier lifted his head from his own stack to look at her over the rim of his own glasses. "You either believe one or the other, and I want an honest answer. So, which do you think is accurate, God or evolution?" Without moving his lips he added, I could always just look…

"And I can give you two very good reasons why you won't." She did sit up then, rising from where she had been lying on her back with her legs dangling over the arm of the couch. The paper stack made a soft slapping sound as she tossed it behind her quite carelessly. The glasses soon joined it and Charles was granted an unobstructed view of her face. Those bright green eyes, high cheekbones and nearly flawless complexion bore so little resemblance to the bleeding runaway she'd been thirteen years ago when she broke into his kitchen in the middle of the night. It still astounded him even today. She'd come so far in so little time that sometimes he wondered if she really was the same girl. Then he studied her hair, still the same auburn that fell nearly to her waist, and the thick, ropy scar that stretched from somewhere in her hair over her left temple down to her jaw, and he remembered.

She held up two fingers and touched the tip of each as she gave her reasons. "One, I'll go grizzly on your ass, and two, the first time you did, you were still out of it when I woke up." His smug expression melted and she knew she had him there. It was her turn to don a satisfied smile, and she cocked one eyebrow in an unspoken challenge.

"You'd better watch that eyebrow. It might try to escape," he said, turning back to whatever it was he was reading, poised defeat oozing from every pore. "You still have to answer me."

"Fine," she huffed, resuming the position and retrieving her own report and glasses from over the top of her head. "Honest answer, right?"

"Mmm hmm," he hummed in acknowledgment, those crystalline eyes with their many facets flicking up to glance at her then back at his work.

Her simple but no less contradictory answer was, "Both." That threw him for a loop.

"What?" His eyes peeked back over the rim of his glasses at her incredulously. She got him again! Man, she was on fire today! "You can't say both. Either you believe God created man or you don't." The giant paper stack migrated to the desk behind him with his glasses perched neatly on top. "So, I want your honest answer, Ellie." He pressed his fingertips together under his chin and leaned forward to stare her down with that unblinking gaze that said, 'I really want to read your mind right now'.

"If you'd let me finish, you might get it," she flashed him a tiny glare.

His hands went up in surrender. The fire in the famous Ellie glare in any volume could be deadly, and it wasn't just her eyes that held a ferocious spark. It always seemed to consume her, flickering over her hair in the sunlight, lighting up the gold sheen of her skin and illuminating that already dangerous attitude.

"As I was saying," she began with a warning glance his way. "I believe that both ideas are accurate to some extent. Do I believe that God actually said a few words and Adam materialized out of nothing? No. Could he have? Yes, but I've come to understand that much of what's in the Bible is symbolic. If he'd wanted to he could have made Adam the same way he made the world, but evidence pointing at evolution is undeniable and proves this theory impossible. However, everything else on Earth, the time, the environment, and various other factors that led to the evolution of the modern human lined up so perfectly that chance can be ruled out as well. How are we supposed to believe that with one shot at this particular end goal, the exact circumstances needed to give birth to what we are today miraculously fell into place all by themselves with no sort of divine intervention or plan in place? Therefore, it is my professional opinion that God created the circumstances required to lead to our evolution as opposed to just molding us out of nothing. Hence, both theories are accurate."

Again, thrown for a loop. Why had he never thought of it in that way before? Charles had never been the religious type, but the way she put it made the idea of a higher being almost plausible. "You know, I'd never thought of it that way before. You may be onto something, my friend," he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

She winked at him and stood up, raising her arms above her head and stretching languorously. The only flaw in her liquid grace was the way that her right leg didn't quite straighten all the way and the manner in which she tucked it in as if it pained her, which in fact, it did. He found himself struggling not to stare, but even when he looked away that fire flitted temptingly on the edge of his vision. The sweet tang of apples and electric pain that accompanied her mind heightened for a moment before settling back down the constant faint flavor he was used to.

Without another word she gathered her things and padded silently out of his study on her bare feet. Today she moved like a cat, swift, fluid and silent. Quite a pleasant change from yesterday when she'd been channeling a crocodile. The hot flares of temper had nearly been too much for him to handle. Were it not for thirteen years of practice when it came to Ellie and her bizarre moods and his own iron determination and patience, he was fairly certain he would have snapped. With a small shake of his head and an affectionately annoyed smile he turned back to his report, but not before he received a thought from Ellie's steadily receding mind.

When are we going back up to school?

The day after tomorrow we'll start preparing. You and I both have lectures on Tuesday, he sent back. Her thoughts picked up in a whir of activity, already planning what to bring and considering the many places her notes and aides could have wandered off to. The poor girl was always losing something. She may have already lost her head by now if it hadn't been attached. Another shake of the head and another soft smile at her harmless antics and it was back to work. His eyes skimmed over the last few pages of his latest genetics report, seeing without really understanding. He'd been distracted a bit too much in the past few hours. It wasn't that he minded at all. He always seemed to have time for his sister and best friend (the first time he'd tried to refer to Ellie as his sister she'd decked him a good one. Never again). It was just that they always managed to derail his train of thought, no matter how serious and no matter how much he really needed to concentrate. Ah well, he could always finish it tomorrow.

He stood, filing the sheaf back in its proper place and neatly stowing his glasses away. God, he was not looking forward to his first lecture on Tuesday. He'd given dozens of lectures before while he was in school at the request of his less brilliant professors, but now, after he'd earned a Ph.D. in several fields, it just seemed too…real. Any moment now people would start referring to him as 'professor' and he would start to lose his hair. He was only twenty eight for crying out loud! He was in the prime of his life and already he was starting to feel senile.

In a sudden fit of rebelliousness, he yanked open the top three buttons on his light blue, perfectly pressed and dapper shirt. Tuesday night, after his lecture and the completion of his thesis, he'd have some fun no matter what it took. He may even take the girls out for drinks. Raven, of course, would have cola if he had anything to say about it, which he did (again, the first time he tried to keep Ellie from drinking, she'd done it anyway and given him a nice smack across the back of his head). Hm, now that he thought about it, Raven was the only one of the two girls that did actually listen to him. Maybe he should learn from the wild one and not follow so many of other people's rules. Yes, he quite liked the sound of that.

He'd just set off down the hallway, his enormous mind running through every possible law he could break without getting in any real trouble when the emerald flare down and to the right in his mind vision lit up and sparked with white-hot pain that had him blinking in surprise. Damn, that was Ellie.

Almost without thinking he reached out, connecting with her gently and seeing what she saw and feeling what she felt. He felt the hard flooring of the kitchen pressing against her back and a steady, powerful throb with its nexus in her right hip. He saw the distant ceiling through her eyes and knew what had happened.

That leg's paining you again isn't it? he asked gently.

No, not at all, Charles, she snapped as she lay on the floor, venom dripping from her thoughts as if he'd sprayed perfume on his tongue. I just decided to hurt myself and fall flat on my ass!

He said nothing. She was angry at herself and in pain. He knew he needed to just let her vent a little.

A heartbeat later she came back. I'm sorry, she said softly. It…twinges…from time to time, and when I…turn just so it tends to…just…fall away from me. The last part was a whisper so low he could barely catch it. She was hesitant to tell him about her weaknesses, but he understood why. In the animal kingdom, and therefore Ellie's mind, it was eat or be eaten. Admitting or showing weakness was as good as signing your own death warrant. It meant an easy meal for any predators for miles around, and he knew from her experience that they would come to collect if they sensed vulnerability. She was a shape-shifter and she carried the essence of all of her forms (they were still uncertain as to the extent of her abilities) around with her at all times. She was both animal and human and was constantly at war with herself, both sides vying for control. He knew how uncomfortable it made her to talk about her pains, and her trust in him filled him with a warm sensation that was not unpleasant. He loved her for it even if he felt sadly undeserving.

If you need anything…he let the last part go unspoken. She wouldn't take him up on it anyway and outright asking if she was alright or wanted help would only make her feel worse.

I don't. She let irritation seep back into her thoughts. But thank you, she added a bit more gently, picking herself up off the floor. He withdrew from her mind and tried not to notice the painfully obvious limp that had shadowed her for years.

Raven, he called. Do you think you could bring up some lunch? I'm trying to put the finishing touches on this thesis and really can't put it down. Perhaps we can go out later, just the two of us? Ellie wouldn't be happy about that, but she would have to get used to it.

By the time Raven entered the room, he'd successfully found his study zone again and tried not to lose it. He should have known it would be a losing battle. He looked at the clock. Eight. Well, it wasn't lunch so much as a late snack. That was good, losing time meant he'd gotten a lot done.

"After I've finished, we can go," he mumbled around his delicious sandwich. Raven really was a delightful cook. Or at least a delightful stacker of cold meats, cheeses and condiments. For just a moment, he allowed himself to close his eyes and just enjoy his sandwich. He hadn't known just how hungry he really was until the food had touched his tongue. A soft moan of pleasure escaped his throat before he could stop it, but then again, he hadn't really wanted to.

"What's this?" Raven's voice and a gentle tug on his still unbuttoned shirt jerked him out of his reverie. She was grinning at him slyly when he started babbling like the idiot he really was deep down.

"I-what? No, it's not-I mean-I was just…ah…" he just sort of trailed off when he realized that he was getting nowhere with his not-so-explanation. Raven laughed whole heartedly and moved to help him when his shaking and frantic hands failed to redo the buttons on his shirt. So much for rebellion.

"You should have left it," she laughed, weaving her arm through his and leading him out the door. "Your prospects might actually respond to the whole mutant spiel." His sister just enjoyed causing him pain and humiliation. That's what it was.

"Have fun!" A voice floated down to them from Ellie's upstairs suite (they gave her more space for all of the…things she needed to keep the beast happy). Damn! He'd been caught! His mind cringed away slightly, bracing him for the wave of fury he was expecting. Instead, all he felt was warm amusement. Curious. "I'm a cat today, remember? I hear everything. Go out with your sister and stop worrying about my opinion so much. Besides, I don't think picking up women works too well when you already have two of them with you. Raven as your sister's ok, but add another and call her your friend and that's it. Get out of here you two!"

And so they did.

A few hours later, Ellie was roused from her sleep by the sounds of a very irritated Raven slamming the door and stomping around like she tended to do on gorilla days. Charles entered a bit more gracefully and shut the door with a bit more care. She didn't hear a third person so he must have struck out again, poor guy. When exactly was he going to figure out that women do not like being called mutants unless they can just zap you with their incredible mutant powers? Comment on the mutation in her eyes or her hair and you may have just scored a good slap to the cheek, but that isn't really what he was looking to score, now was it?

Effectively barred from sleep for now (cat naps were never very long anyway) she rubbed it's aftereffects from her eyes and tugged on her favorite silk robe, heading down stairs. "Nothing, huh?" she called as Charles came into view. As usual, she felt a tiny shock deep in her chest when those shards of sky landed on her. And as usual, she hid her feelings expertly.

He sent her a sad smile and shook his head. "Nothing but a not-so-happy Raven, I'm afraid."

"Ah, well. You can't win them all I suppose, or some other silly cliché that might make you feel better."

His soft laughter sent another small thrill through her veins, turning them to ice. "Did we wake you?"

"Nah, I was just cat-napping." Small lies came so easily when she was channeling feline. "You going to finish that thesis tonight or wait until tomorrow?"

"I think I'll try to get it done tonight. You should go back to bed." Fat chance now, pal. He probably heard that, but she didn't really care. What she did care about was getting a little something to eat. She was suddenly starving. She vanished into the kitchen as Charles vanished into his study.

Ellie struggled to resist craning her neck around to watch him walk away. There would be no way she could keep thoughts that loud from reaching him, then she'd be in for some humiliation. If only she were confident or beautiful like the women he tried to chase so ineptly. She might actually respond to him if he at least tried it on her, but that was just a silly dream. Besides, he was too much of an old fart sometimes. He had his endearing moments, yes, but when all he thought about was his school work and their mutations it left little time for him to be anybody else.

Mutation. What an odd word. Mutant. She was a mutant. The words tasted a bit like vinegar, even in her own mind. It meant deformed, not right. It meant imperfect. Was she imperfect? Was she flawed? Well, yes for obvious reasons. She would be flawed even if she was a normal human. Her bad leg and myriad of scars made sure of that. Maybe the real reason that Charles always used the mutant line to talk to women wasn't that he actually thought it would get him a date. Maybe it was because he was trying to prepare as many people as he could for their kind 'coming out' so to speak. Perhaps he was just trying to convince everyone that the word 'mutant' didn't necessarily mean imperfect. He called their mutations sexy and beautiful and in the end had them believing it. Ellie liked to think that that was the real end game. That he was already fighting for them before the conflict had even been thought of, and there would be a conflict, of that she was certain. She hoped to God that his plan-if that was the plan-was working. She prayed that at least one of the girls who had fallen for it really did end up believing it. Maybe she would see other, more potent mutations as beautiful too. Then they would have one more to fight for their cause.

A sudden and unexpected hopelessness came over her, catching her up in bitter despair and turning the sandwich in her mouth to ash. Suddenly she wasn't so hungry anymore and she found herself fighting tears. She was strong, she didn't cry. Tears meant weakness and weakness meant death.

Couldn't he see that it was hopeless? Mankind would never accept them for what they really were. It feared what it didn't understand and moved to eliminate everything that didn't fit into its narrow view of the universe. They'd seen it with the Africans, they'd seen it with the Jews and the gays and the gypsies. They'd seen different cultures doing it to their own people, selling rival tribes into slavery simply because they were a little bit different. Wherever they were, whatever color they were, man was always trying to dominate everything. Even each other. If not even the mutants understood mutation, how on God's green Earth could they expect the rest of the world to? It was only a matter of time before they were headed for the slaughterhouses and camps of their own. The American people, their countrymen, would turn on them and become the very thing the claimed to so despise. It was only a matter of when.

Raven's voice from down the hall echoed her own morbid thoughts. "Mutant and proud!" Her voice dripped with disdain. What was there to be proud of? She was blue for crying out loud! She had to spend half of her effort every day just trying to look normal. Why? Because society would rip her to shreds-possibly very literally-if she showed her true skin in public. Raven was the only one of the three of them who truly couldn't pass in public well. Maybe Ellie could do something about that, something that would make her feel a little better? What if she wore her wings in public? What if she wore tail-feathers? Feathers could be worn beautifully as opposed to…say, an alligator tail or a wolf snout. Of course, no one would see them as beautiful. All they would see is a freak. Charles would never approve. He may compel her to change, but she would still try. Raven deserved a little consideration now and again.

With that thought and her steel determination shoving aside all other negative thoughts or feelings, she dumped the sandwich remains and trekked off to bed before she heard any of the very private conversation that was going on in the other room.

The next few days passed by in a blur, both Charles and Ellie scrambling to make last minute preparations and changes to their presentations. Charles also had his thesis to publish so he was under double the pressure. She would have tried to help, but she was an anthropologist who would be talking about the emergence of anthropomorphic religions and was sadly incapable of understanding him when he started to talk all geneticist-y. The only time she'd tried to help out on some homework of his, she'd wound up with a massive migraine for three days. Insides just weren't her forte.

So she stuck to her own little world where things made sense and let him stick to his. She managed to find her notes (in exactly the same place she'd put them) on top of the filing cabinet under one of her artifacts, and managed to lose the most important artifact she had at the same time. She spent several hours scouring her suite for the damn thing only to realize that it was the same artifact that she had moved from on top of her notes to the desk and then laid a jacket over. Then she spilt her coffee all over her notes and had to type out an entire new copy on the horridly slow mimeograph she had on the desk as well. It wasn't as if she had a better mode of getting her notes on paper, but the task still took about four hours of being hunched over the machine and pounding the keys to make sure they stuck. By the time she was finished, she had a massive neck cramp that refused to leave her alone and the sun had dipped below the horizon. So she got up, rubbed her neck a little, took a shower and went to sleep.

OxOxO

She came downstairs the next morning with her bag slung over her shoulder, dressed conservatively in a simple, emerald green dress with long sleeves and a modest hemline. Her shoes were simple black leather pumps and she wore her favorite necklace, and emerald set in gold. Her hair was down and lightly tousled. "How do I look?" she asked, spinning around to give Charles and Raven the full picture.

"Professional."

"Lov-."

Charles choked a little bit on the air when he saw that she'd completely removed the back from that dress. What on Earth was she thinking? "Ellie, what have you done to that dress?" he asked, gaping at her as if she had grown a second head.

"Oh! That reminds me!" She'd nearly forgotten.

Charles felt her decision before he saw her start to shift. "Dear God, you are not-"

But she was and she did. Her face scrunched up in concentration and she actually started to tremble with the enormous effort she was having to exert. For some reason, partial transformations were always harder for her. Her face was nearly purple by the time her russet colored hawk's wings were complete. Charles thought about stopping her, but breaking her concentration would get her stuck halfway between and that could be disastrous.

"There," she said, panting heavily as her face regained its usual color.

"What-"

"The hell-"

"-are you-"

"-doing," Charles and Raven said at exactly the same time. His expression of shock and horror slightly lessened the effect of the dashing little suit and poised aura he was trying to exude. Raven was staring at her with her mouth wide open and her eyes gleaming with both shock and pleasure.

"I should think that that's painfully obvious," she said-still a little breathlessly-and stuck her hands on her hips. "I'm wearing my wings to work today." And that was that. She adjusted her bag and set off for the door of the small house.

"Wait a moment, you are not going out to give a lecture looking like that!" She didn't even stop to listen to Charles get angry. She could picture his face as the lines grew steadily deeper and the skin got a little redder.

"Oh, yes I am. Try to stop me, Charles," she shot back, her hand hovering over the door knob. "If Raven can't go out in public as herself without being ostracized, neither can I. It's time the world knew what I am and what I'm capable of. If that changes the way people listen to my lectures, so be it." With subtle lift of the chin in defiance, she opened the door and stepped out. She didn't see the look of awe on Raven's face or the tiny sparkle of a tear in her eye.

Charles, on the other hand, was practically fuming. She would expose them all and get herself killed! Couldn't she see that this affected the rest of them and not just her? Sure, his thesis and presentation were about genetic mutation and the affect it could have on human beings, but the world certainly did not need to know that they had already happened. It would be genocide, and it would start with one of his best friends.

He reached out to her mind, probing for the train of thought that had led to this decision. He swore to her that he would never use his ability against her, but this was about more than just her. It had to be done for the sake of their kind. He followed her into the yard, reaching farther and farther in until…there is was. He just had to seize that thought and…BAM! A solid steel wall slammed down on the connection so hard and fast that it snapped, throwing Charles back at himself with the recoil.

"What the-?" Caught off-guard and startled beyond belief, he stumbled backward and fell right on his bottom. Hard. What the bloody hell had that been?

A hand reached out to help him up. He took it-not really knowing what else to do-and found himself face to face with a very smug and very angry looking Ellie.

"I've been practicing," she practically snarled. "You swore that you would never do that, to either of us! How dare you, Charles Xavier? Did you really think I wasn't expecting you to try it anyway? Did you really think that I wouldn't be prepared for it?" The inferno that blazed in her eyes was so bright and burning hot that he had to look away. It wasn't just in her eyes, it was in her mind too. She'd let up the wall for now, but he knew that if he tried to compel her again she'd slam it back down and give him a nice whack to the back of the head for good measure.

With a low growl rumbling deep in her chest she whirled around and stalked off for the car, Raven close behind. Those wings (he would never admit it to her but they were quite possibly the most marvelous things he had ever seen) fluttered behind her like some sort of majestic cloak. They looked slightly out of place with the moderate dress but amazing all the same. Even so, he couldn't shake the feeling that something truly awful was about to take place. Something they may all live to regret.

And that concludes the second chapter of The House That Xavier Built. It is a little bit shorter than the last one but that's just cuz I'm really impatient and couldn't wait to get it out there to you guys!

I really, really appreciate all of the favorites and subscriptions, but what really keeps me going people are your reviews! I would sincerely love it if you would send me some actual feedback. Do you love it, do you hate it, what needs work, etc? It doesn't hurt. Really.