The young X-men were finishing getting ready in the locker rooms of the underground plans, Jean, Raven and Ororo were undressing for wearing the mission suits. Jean, wearing the gloves, had the look some lost in the void, thoughtful.

" Is everything ok, Jean? " Ororo asked while she's wearing a boot.

" Yes, I was... only thinking about Kurt "

" How had he taken? " asked Raven while she was wearing the corset.

" Eh.. at the beginning he became angry, however he understood and he resigned himself " " I understand him, to be excluded by his first mission must not have been simple to deal with " Ororo said.

" Yep, not at all " Jean responded " Well, is understandable, I would have reacted the same way too if I were in his same situation when I were at his age " Raven said.

" Really? " Ororo asked.

" Maybe yes, I think that we have.. almost the same temperament in certain moments " it said thoughtful Raven, letting a small smile be escaped.

Jean and Ororo exchanged a doubtful look to each other, not entirely clear on what their trainer intended.

" Come on, enough talk, let's move! " Raven exclaimed, having noticed the strange silence that had come to create in the room.
The girls reached the others that were waiting them in front of the ramp of entrance of the Black Bird.

" Jeez, it's about time! You girls are such a bunch of slugs! " Pietro exclaimed, mocking.

" Shut the fuck up! " Raven immediately said, dried .

" Well, since we're all here we can leave now. Let's go! " Charles said.

The X-men climbed on board and they finally departed for the rescue of the young feline mutant. Left the scholastic confinements, Hank bring the Cerebro's portable kit out of the bag and delivered it to Charles, who wore the helmet and he began the search the girl's mind.

" Where have you located her last time? " Raven asked.

" I've been able to touch her mind for only a brief of time, but I've succeeded in seeing the place where the jailers hold her confined: there were lots of trees and tropical plants "

" I found her! She's in a hidden point of the Amazonian forest! " Charles exclaimed.

" Hank, go faster as possible! The girl is in serious danger! " ha said concerned.

" Hay captain! " Hank responded sending the jet's motors to all power.

The sudden release of speed, the guys felt a strange thud and a strange pain noise coming from one of the superior compartments close to the seats.

" What the hell..?! " Raven took off the belt, she got up and she went to open the compartment, from which Kurt fell.

" KURT! What the hell are you doing here?! " exploded Raven.

" What's happening?! " Charles said.

" Look at who is here! " Raven said pointing out the blue boy.

" Kurt, if I am not wrong I told you to stay at home! " Charles exclaimed irritated.

" Yes I know, I'm zorry professor, however I could not stay at home doing nothing, I had to come.. I can help you! " he said with almost suppliant but tough tone.

" And what does make you think that today, in this determined mission, you can give a valid contribution without going crazy as you did a little while ago?! " he perhaps had been too much abrupt to ask him in that way, but Charles wanted to try him. Kurt lowered his look.

" I have been such a fool in the office, and I'm ashamed of it, however I zhink that I can be able to approach the girl during the rescue " he said with a serious tone.

" What do you have in mind? "

" I've studied her data clozely, her behavior and her mutation and I've reached the conclusion that she is more animal than human for the moment " Charles lifted a doubtful eyebrow; Kurt continued " With vhat she has passed she has had to zuppress her human zide and to be able to zurvive to the tortures of the fights and the exploitation I believe that her bestial side has had the upper hand " Charles rubbed his chin thoughtful .

" The usual methods of approach von't vork, believe me! Right now, she's not human and an animal needs it's zimilar to communicate with"

" What do you mean, Kurt? " Hank asked. For few second there was silence.

" Among all of you, I'm the one who resembles more naturally to an animal and vhen I practice in gym I let go the more bestial side of myself "

" Kurt.. don't say this things, you are not an animal! " Jean said with a sad tone.

" Ja, I know that I'm not it, I only just said that I resemble it, the tail proves it! " he said smiling jokingly.

" Why you? Why can't Hank do it? " Pietro asked.

" I'm excessively rational and when I turned into Beast I never have a lot of patience. Kurt is way more proper than me " he said ,giving his consent, while he was still attentively piloting the jet.

" He has a particular way to approach people, almost relaxing, this could play to our favor to calm down the girl during her rescue, in which she will reach the peak of stress " he added.

" Danke, professor McCoy " Kurt thanked him; Hank lifted the thumb up in answer. Charles observed him for a long time, uncertain on how to behave him with his student.

" I beg you, professor, trust me " Kurt said,at the end determined in his intent.

" Ok, Kurt. I will grant you this occasion, but let me be clear... exploit it to the best, don't make rash movements, neither silly things, or I won't let you to join in future missions, understood?! " Charles warned him.

" Sure! Thanks, professor, I von't disappoint you! " Charles made a positive sign with the head and returned to his station, while Kurt reached the others and assured him to the seat.

In the meantime, in a lost angle inside the Amazonian forest, another illegal fight was just finished, in the arena there was a panther, surrounded by five Pitbulls. The poor panther was by now exhausted, hardly she still held up herself standing, bloody in different points of the body, the match could be defined concluded, the carcasses of the five dogs were recovered and burn, while the panther was forced to reenter in her cold and filthy cage. The panther, returned by now in her human form, she lay down sleepy, but suffering; one of the collaborators of her jailers, few time ago had sedated her to take care of her wounds in a rudimentary way, more over he applied her a strange metal collar around her neck.

It became evening soon and in the field arrived a group of soldiers with a huge truck that followed them. From one of the smallest trucks, a young soldier with a higher degree than the others, went straight to a man that was standing close to the cage of the young mutant, still stunned by the sedative.

" With this machine she shouldn't change, you won't have problems along the journey, colonel Striker "

" It would be better for you, if anything should happens do you know what could happen to you, right? To your beautiful company of clandestine fights of your and of course to you " the colonel said, threatening.

" Sure " the other man answered with a subdued tone.

Striker passed him an envelope, probably flood of cash and with a gesture he gave the order to some of his soldiers to transfer the girl in the huger truck. In that moment, a strong noise coming from the sky captured around the attention of the soldiers and of the other men of the field, it was the X-men's jet that was about to land, accompanied by Ororo who, thanks to a powerful storm with thunders and lightnings, succeeded in putting in escape part of the men, while some soldiers were ready to fight. These last ones began to open fire against the jet, landed by now. Opened the ramp, Pietro raced out immediately and in a beating of eye, thanks to his super speed, he disarmed all the soldiers, to allow his companions to defeat them without problems: Hank transformed himself into Beast and with a pair of powerful swipes he spread out three soldiers; Kurt with a strategic combination of teleportation and acrobatic agility, with a kick and a hit of tail he spread out other two soldiers; Jean with her telecinetic powers succeeded in dashing far in the middle of the foliage four of them; and Mystique with a martial arts kick defeated the colonel.

That whole fuss made to gain back the senses to the young mutant, which cause of frighten and cause of stress she began to roar and she put herself on four legs, in position to attack, but she wasn't able to transform: for how much she could try, the electric system of the collar prevented her to do it and this made her go even more on panic, making her roar fiercely even more and she started to scratching the iron bars in the attempt to escape.

While the X-men faced the soldiers, professor Xavier, after he had already cancelled the memory to the defeated soldiers, with Jean and to Kurt he drew near to the cage of the girl.

" Jean, use your power, get ff of her that object, but with delicacy, please " Jean nodded and in only alone hit she dismantled the collar in many pieces. The girl noticed it, she touched her neck and she began to turn into many different felines.

" Perhaps her human part is not entirely lost, she understood that it was the collar to prevent her transformations " Jean said.

" We will see it, I will try to communicate telepathically with her " professor Xavier said.

" Be careful " Kurt warned him.

" Don't be afraid, my dear "
The girl returned to the human form, caught off guard by that strange voice that was echoing inside her head, cause of nervousness and cause of the uncertainty of where that voice came from her ears made frantically movements from all the parts, also rotating on herself to individualize the source.

" Look in front of you, I'm the one who is speaking to you "
The mutant immediately pointed her ears toward Charles, which went over near to the cage with caution. She slowly walk on four legs near to the bars, snarling in sign of warning, her eyes were always threatening, the feline pupil for how much it had become thin, seemed it had disappeared.

" Easy, we are here for helping you, you're safe now " At those words, the girl seemed to relax, but not very much, her animal instinct of survival was holding her on the "who's there!" mode.

" My name is Charles Xavier, I'm a mutant, just like you, that's why you can hear me speak even if you don't see me move the mouth, it's my telepathic power " The girl moved back the ears intimidated and she shaken the head with a doubtful expression. Jean and Kurt remained to observe with anxiety the whole time.

" Vhat is he telling her? " Kurt asked, curious.

" He is saying the usual things: he introduced himself and us to her and he's trying to reassure her "

" It zeems that she understands him "

" Yes, it is, however I wouldn't count a lot on that. Animals mainly react to our language thanks to the voice tone. So, perhaps she's reacting only to the kind tone of the professor " Kurt moved the look from Charles to the girl, which was attentively observing the blue boy with enormous curiosity. Kurt gasped, feeling a bit uncomfortable to be observed in that way, however she didn't seem to be disturbed from his physical aspect, rather she seemed fascinated of it, in fact she sit down, with ears pointed right toward Kurt, which dissuaded his look from her for few seconds, feeling his cheeks strangely warm and they assumed a particular purplish color, he bringing his hands behind the back and his pointy tail began to wag nervously; Jean noticed him, unintentionally read his thoughts, and she started laughing.

- What a shy fur ball, he becomes red, actually purple, with nothing - Jean thought.

" I introduce you my students, Jean and Kurt... " Charles said mentally, pointing out with a gesture of the hand his companions. The girl was still observe them, quite impassive.

" Also they are mutants like you, and we are all here to rescue you. Trust me " Charles said at the end.
The young mutant began to walk on four legs back and forth, as if she was deciding to trust or less, at the end she made a gesture with a hand, scratching against the bars, with a desperate look, as to say " set me free from this nightmare ". Charles made a sign with the head and told Jean to remove the padlock of the cage and she opened it.
Charles, with a kindly hand gesture, invited her to get out of the cage, but as soon as the mutant put out one paw, her look returned fierce, she restarted to roar and she turned into a jaguar, she quickly jumped out of the cage taking out of guard the X-men, that were fallen down and they saw the girl run toward the thick jungle.

" My goodness, I should have expected! " Charles exclaimed, frustrated .
In that moment, some other soldiers start to attack again.

" Professor, the girl...! " Jean said, undecided between chasing her or fight the soldiers.

" I'll chase her, don't vorry! " Kurt exclaimed.

" All right Nightcrawler, go! We will join you as fast as possible! " professor Xavier said; Kurt started racing on four legs: for his bony structure it was very simpler and faster to run in that way. And he plunged in the dense foliage of the forest, searching for the feline girl.

Kurt crossed a notable distance from the camp and there still wasn't any trace of her; he tried to teleport himself on the top of trees to have a best visibility of the landscape and neighborhood, but still nothing.

" But vhere did she go?! She can't already have gone zo far ! " he moved on another tree, he grabbed a vine and with an acrobatic flip he landed an on a big branch, from which he was able to individualize something that was moving among the dense bushes: it was a jaguar that was walking careful around the trees and plants.

" There she is ! " Kurt exclaimed, teleporting down in front of the animal, which gasped and immediately put itself in a defensive position, roaring threatening.

" Easy, fraulein , I'm here for helping you, don't be afraid " he said reassuring, lowering to its level to not result aggressive because of his height. But the jaguar seemed to didn't have intention to listen to him and it began to advance straight toward him, keeping on roaring fiercely.

" Hei, vhat's vrong? I don't vant to hurt you! " he said with alarmed tone, beginning to step backwards. Then his amber eyes noticed that on the animal breast there wasn't the cat eye mark with which the mutant had been born and from that he understood that he found the wrong jaguar.

" Oh.. holy... heaven.. " Kurt only said, by now fallen in panic. He more quickly stepped backwards and he tried to teleport far away from that place but the jaguar jumped on him before he could do it and got him down hurting him to the right shoulder. The jaguar was about to attack again when another big feline dives on top of it and dashing it away from Kurt. This last one, stood up, trying to understanding what it was happening: a second jaguar, full of injuries, had just saved him.

- It's her ... - he thought, seeing the mark on the animal breast .

The young mutant began to encircle the other jaguar, roaring threatening, and studying the adversary and the same did the other one. Then, as if a bell of beginning match was played for a boxing fight , the two felines cast the one against the other, clawing and biting each other violently, while their roars echoed for overall the jungle; Kurt was still to observe the scene, horrified and impotent. He would have wanted so much to intervene for stopping them, the girl was seriously risking her life, but how he could be useful in this situation? He couldn't just teleport her away from the fight, she would have massacred him! He felt completely useless in that moment, and to be forced to assist to that massacre it was really agonizing for him; he had never gotten used to see so.. so much violence. The clash between the two felines finished with a last powerful swipe that the mutant gave on the adversary jaguar's eye, putting it in escape. Kurt stood up and began to moving forward very slowly to the girl, who, still under animal form, turned to him, intensely observing him. Then, she transform back into human, but she was still where she was, on the defensive again, snarling against him.

" Eh eh.. it's evident that you don't trust me yet, right? " The girl started to slowly advance toward of him .

" Oh boy.. " Kurt said intimidated, stepping backwards.

- You really asked for it, you dumb! -

* Here I am with the second chapter ^ _ ^ I usually wrote longer ones, but with this history I want to try a new strategy.
I hope that this history is beginning to pick up your interest ;) Bye bye!