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Chapter 3: A name, engraved in Chitin

*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*

"Natasha? Are you awake yet?" asked Julia Xander from behind her daughter's bedroom door.

Inside, Natasha let out a groan.

"Yeah Mom. I'm awake." she mumbled, barely able to open her eyes.

"Alright, I'm about to leave. You'd better hurry up! You don't wanna miss the bus!" she shouted back as she made her way down the stairs.

Natasha let out a sigh as she heard her mother shut the door.

She slowly turned her head and looked around her room.

"Maybe it was just a dream." she said.

Sitting up, Natasha lifted the covers off her body and gasped.

"Yes!" she shouted with glee, pumping her clawed fists into the air. It wasn't a dream after all. From the neck down, she still wore the suit. Gleefully, she leaped out of bed and attached to her ceiling, still grinning.

She crawled above her dresser and dropped down to the floor.

"Now where did I put the mask?" Natasha wondered, pacing about her room and looking for it.

After a few minutes, she finally checked under her bed.

"Aha!" she jumped, snatching it out with her tail.

"Now to get dressed. Or should I say, change skins." Natasha smirked to herself as she set the mask on her bed.

Natasha reached her claws behind her back and felt for a seam or anything that would help her remove the suit. She continued to feel for something, to the point that she tried clawing it off.

Her claws however, seemed to just slide harmlessly across her exoskeleton.

"Damn it! If only there were a simple zipper." she mumbled to herself.

As if on cue, she heard a sound and she felt a zipper rise out of the chitin. Going from her neck, to her waist.

Natasha got ahold of it and began to carefully pull it down between her spines. As the zipper descended, Natasha felt the suit gradually begin to loosen.

When it finally reached the bottom of the track, she was able to gently peel the suit of her body.

Natasha laid the suit beside the mask and glanced at her hand, pleased to see her actual skin once again.

She began to quickly get ready for school, first taking a quick shower, and dressing herself in another pair of black jeans and her long-sleeved black shirt.

She saw that it was cold outside so she grabbed her dark grey leather jacket, before going downstairs to fix herself breakfast.

As Natasha ate, she started to contemplate whether or not to bring the suit along with her.

It was possible that she might need it. Besides, she planned on telling Samantha about it, so she might as well show her.

Before Natasha could come to a decision, she saw the bus drive by the window. She could catch it if she wanted to.

But Natasha only smirked as she watched it roll away.

She had another mode of transportation. One that could get her there first.

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Natasha screeched in delight as she leapt across the roofs of Manhattan, now clad in the alien suit that she had worn last night. Her bookbag was hoisted over her shoulder with her human clothes inside, as well as her school stuff.

She had been trying new types of maneuvers to get from building to building. One time she tested how far she could jump by leaping diagonally across two streets.

Natasha took a very high jump and saw Nostromo High.

She was only about 4 blocks away already!

It wasn't long before Natasha landed atop the Library that was across the street from her school.

She quickly began to change into her normal clothes, shivering from the cold air.

As Natasha slipped on her leather jacket, she looked at the suit and grew nervous. How would this thing for in her bag?!

Although it was somewhat small, it still had a long and solid tail. Hell, the mask itself would take up half the space in her bag.

Natasha then remembered how the zipper on the suit appeared when she thought about it.

Gripping the suit between her fingers, she thought about the suit becoming lighter and more compact.

The heavy chitinous suit began to slowly get thinner as the head and tail became hollow and squish-able.

Natasha smiled and stuffed the suit and mask into her bookbag and zipped it shut.

She then carefully climbed down the fire escape.

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The halls of Nostromo High were crowded.

The students began to flood in as the buses arrived, one after the other. Natasha began to look for Samantha when she saw that most of the buses were there.

She soon ran into her in the commons.

"Nat! Where were you at the bus stop? I was worried something might've happened to you." said Samantha.

"Oh. Er... Sorry about that. I slept in and my mother drove me here. What do mean by something happening to me?" Natasha asked.

"Did you hear? There was a meteor that landed last night. It must have landed with some sort of alien creature attached to it. Because several people saw it between Central Park and your neighborhood." Samantha explained, seeming to believe the words she spoke.

"Hmmm... Did this "Alien" attack anyone?" asked Natasha, trying to play dumb. Although she knew very well of what transpired the night before.

"Not really. But get this, it came across a rapist who was planning to rape Quinn. And it wrapped them both in incredibly thick cocoons! It took the paramedics half an hour to free them from the stuff!" she said.

Natasha's lips bent into a smile on the side of her face opposite of Samantha.

"I told you Quinn would get what she deserved." she snickered.

Natasha began to realize she should probably tell Samantha about her suit when Samantha said something that almost didn't register.

"How was your date with Bastian?"

Natasha's eyes widened.

"My date? Bastian...? Oh! Oh yeah! It was great. We had a delicious Italian dinner at that new place. And we finally kissed afterward." Natasha recalled, making Samantha stare at her with bug eyes.

"What?"

"You took 1 minute too long to recall your date with Bastian that you were so excited about. Something else happened that night. What was it Nat?" Samantha stated.

Natasha was cornered. She did want to tell Samantha her secret. But she didn't want to be cornered into revealing it!

She let out a sigh.

"Alright, come with me." said Natasha, grabbing her best friend by the wrist.

She dragged Samantha towards one of the corners of the commons, where they were out of earshot of everyone else.

After taking one last look around, Natasha unzipped her bookbag and started to spill her guts.

"You know that meteor last night? Well I saw it fall... And when I got to the crash site, there was this silver orb. When I touched it, it melted into a silvery slime that coated my body and created this... suit. The suit gave me all sorts of alien abilities, and with it on..."

Natasha pulled out a dark sleeve that ended with five sharp purple claws.

"...I am more than human." she finished with a grin.

Samantha's eyes widened.

"You mean- That alien creature was you?" she whispered.

Natasha smiled and did a curtsy.

"The one and only!" she said.

"Wow! So you did get revenge on Quinn."

Natasha nodded.

"Sweet!" Samantha shouted giving her alien-vigilante friend a high five.

"How is Quinn by the way?"

"Oh, she's been going on and on about how awful it was inside the cocoon. She claimed the only thing she could do inside was keep breathing. And that the doctors told her the resin had some sort of effect on her that kept in a sleeping comatose state." answered Samantha.

"Interesting..." said Natasha, mischievously stroking her chin.

"So, I take it you plan on entering the superhero business. As if we didn't have enough heroes with that other alien guy with the slime and that bug girl." she joked.

The pair of them laughed.

"What do you plan on calling yourself?" asked Samantha, earning a sigh from Natasha.

"I don't know yet. But I'm open to ideas." she replied.

"Hmmm... How about, "Alien Girl"?"

"Nah," shrugged Natasha. "to unoriginal."

"Well what are your abilities anyway?" she asked.

"Well... I have heightened senses, my suit allows me to seamlessly use a tail and the mask's two toothy maws as if they were my own." began Natasha.

"Two?" Samantha asked.

"Don't ask. Oh, and I am much faster and more acrobatic than any human being. I can crawl on walls. I can spit a resin from the mask's inner jaws that cocoons people. And there is a symbol on the suit's hip that seems to glow yellow when someone is in danger and guide me there." Natasha finished.

Samantha thought all the abilities over in her head.

She debated calling Natasha "Dark Cocooner", but she dismissed the title as corny.

Before either of them could utter another word, the bell rang and the frenzy of gossiping students started to filter into their classrooms.

"Okay, I gotta go Samantha. Don't worry we'll talk about this more at lunch." said Natasha with a wink as she left for her next class. It was a B-day, so Natasha had to go to different classes. Starting with English, sitting next to Bastian.

'This ought to be interesting.' she thought as she entered Mrs. Shaw's classroom.

She said "Hi.", as she sat down beside her boyfriend.

Bastian greeted her as he started preparing for the class, getting out his homework and sharpening a pencil.

Natasha started to do the same, but surprisingly to both of of them, she leaned over and gave Bastian a heavy kiss.

Bastian blushed, as did Natasha. She had no idea that she had that in her!

Sure she loved him, and they kissed last night. But Natasha tended to be a very reserved and shy person.

Just giving Bastian a peck on the cheek would be more than she would dare.

Now that Natasha thought about it, she had been acting different ever since she made contact with the suit. She began to wonder what effects the suit might have on her.

Trying to ignore those thoughts, Natasha rested her head on her arms, threw on a smile, and prepared for the class.

Mrs. Shaw took attendance and started writing words on the board. Natasha started to take interest when she saw the words being written.

They all seemed to be variations of the word Alien! The gears in her head started turning, as she looked at all the words, searching for the one that would serve as an alias.

"Now class, I'm sure you all heard about the reported alien creature that cocooned on of your fellow students. So today, we're going to talk about this word "alien", and where it comes from." began Shaw.

"Our earliest recorded version of the word is "xeno", which comes from the Greek root xenos-"

Natasha's brain clicked with that word. She watched the teacher write it on the board, almost in slow motion.

X...E...N...O

Natasha whispered the word to herself. "xe...no."

That word slithered out of her mouth, like it was written for her, or rather, for her suit.

She was about to make her alias "Xeno", but that wasn't enough. It needed an add-on. Something to describe her, something that defined her.

'XenoGirl...' she thought.

'That's it!' Natasha realized.

Her lips curled into grin. She had found a name for herself. A name that would become her!

XenoGIrl!

Redheaded high-school student by day. Swift, sexy, unearthly protector of New York by night.

A Chitinous Teen!

"What are you smiling about?" asked Bastian, who was a little taken aback by her maniacal grin.

"Huh? Oh nothing. Just thinking about a way to get my brother back for a prank he pulled on me." Natasha lied.

Inside her head, she was shaking with eagerness, to reveal her name to the filth that scoured the dark alleys, to the mobs who think they run the darkness.

Before Natasha could further daydream about this, a voice came over the intercom.

*NATASHA XANDER, PLEASE REPORT TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE.*

The other students let out the cliché "Oooooooh".

But Natasha remained calm. She hadn't done anything wrong, and therefore had nothing to hide... almost.

She gathered her stuff and gave Bastian a short peck on the cheek, before leaving Mrs. Shaw's classroom.

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As Natasha made her way through the school halls, towards the main office. Eventually, she started to have an urge to feel the suit. While walking, she unzipped her bag and stuffed her arm in. She grabbed ahold of the suit and started rubbing the material between her fingers. It felt nice.

Natasha quickly snapped out of her trance when she opened the door to the main office.

"Excuse me?" she asked, peering her head over the woman's desk. "I'm supposed to see the Principal ."

The old woman looked up at her through unnaturally large glasses. Her gaze made Natasha uncomfortable, so she pulled her arm out of the bookbag.

"Oh, you must be Natasha. Go right in, Principal Ripley's expecting you." she said with a smile.

Natasha thanked the woman and proceeded into Ripley's office.

As she pushed open the door, Natasha was startled by a loud buzz.

"Oh, don't mind that. It's a sound that many find unpleasant. But my ears say otherwise."

Natasha stepped inside and looked at Ms. Ripley.

She was a middle-age woman, probably in her mid 40's, with lightly tanned skin, and brown hair.

"Please have a seat Natasha." the Principal requested in a fairly serious voice.

Natasha sat down in one the brown leather chairs and set her bag down beside it.

"Principal Ripley, whatever I did, I didn't mean to-" she blurted out, barely believing what she was saying.

"Calm down Natasha. Don't worry you're not in trouble. And by the way, call me Ellen. The more people say "Principal" before my last name, the more I feel like it's a military position." she laughed, leaning back in her chair and shutting the blinds.

This movement made Natasha nervous.

"Well then, why did you ask for me... Ellen?" she asked.

Ellen folded her hands together on her desk and gazed at Natasha.

"I want to tell about something." she said.

"About what?"

"Well, it happened last night. I was on a bench in Central Park, when I saw a meteor crash. You know, the one in the news."

Natasha nodded, and starting to sense what was coming, she quietly slid her bag under the chair.

"Well, when I saw it crash, I was far away. So I got up to go see where it landed. And when I got there..."

Ellen didn't need to finish. She saw the suspense in Natasha's eyes.

"Yes Natasha. I saw what happened to you last night."

The redhead began to cry and started pleading for Ellen not to turn her in. Ellen simply smiled.

"It's okay Natasha. I have no intention on turning you in. I can see it in your eyes, and I could see it in your actions last night. You want to help people. I won't tell anyone Natasha."

The teen wiped the tears from her eyes and thanked Ellen.

"But I have one condition." she began.

Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"Right now, there is a hostage situation at Narcissus Elementary School. A handful of Android gang members have taken over the school and killed many of the staff. They are demanding $25 million or they will massacre all the children, whom they have secured inside the gymnasium."

Natasha had heard of the infamous "Androids". They were a criminal gang that claimed to be led by an actual android.

To honor their leader, the men of the gang paint white emotionless robotic faces on their faces.

"Because of the situation, I have been told to let school out early today. But I have waited so that I can talk to you. My daughter Newt is one of the children they have captured. Rescue her and all the other children, and I will keep your identity a secret." she finished.

"Deal?" asked Ellen, holding out her hand.

Natasha walked up to the desk and clasped Ellen's hand in her own, giving it a firm shake. "Deal."

"Alright. I will announce the early release in 90 seconds, you have that much time to make it outside without anyone getting in your way."

"Okay, thank you so much Ellen." said Natasha, as she picked up her bookbag, and started to open the door.

"Wait, what are you calling yourself when you wear the suit?" Ellen asked with curiosity.

Natasha simply grinned and said,

"Don't worry. I'll save those kids and my name will reach your ears.", before shooting out of the office.

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Natasha sprinted down the halls, quickly pulling off her leather jacket and putting it into her bag. She was in a hurry, and thus, needed to start disrobing early if she was to get into the suit quick enough.

After she got to the door, she quickly pulled off her shoes and put them inside the bag as well. She shoved the door open and continued running, hearing her feet slap against the pavement.

As she ran across the street, she yanked her shirt off, leaving her in a purple bra and black jeans. Some men stared at her as she ran into an alley. Natasha hoped they wouldn't follow.

She stuffed her shirt into her bag and pulled out her suit.

Hugging it to her chest, the suit began to expand out of it's compact form. As soon as it did, Natasha unzipped the back and pushed her arms through, feeling each of her fingers slip into the claws of the suit.

After both her arms were through, Natasha pulled the suit tight to her chest and started scaling the alley wall.

While she climbed, the suit zipped itself shut along her back. Getting closer to the top, Natasha quickly used the suit's tail to pull off her jeans, but she left her socks on, remembering that the suit's feet were extensions over her own.

Pulling herself onto the roof with her claws, she felt the suit's legs split open and swallow her own.

As she stretched her new legs, Natasha felt glad to be back at a height surpassing most humans. But her transformation from teenage girl, to alien hero was not done yet.

Natasha folded her jeans and gently placed them inside her bag, before retrieving her mask.

At her slightest touch, the mask began to expand out of it's compact state, just as the suit had.

Holding the mask under her arm, Natasha hid her bag under a pipe on the roof.

Her spiny tail flicking wildly, Natasha carefully pulled the mask down over her head and neck. After removing her claws, the mask fused itself to the neck of her suit.

Her change was complete.

Natasha rubbed her clawed hand down her leg, loving the sensation of touch that she felt within the suit.

'I'll call you my "Xenosuit".' she thought to herself.

'But not that I'm wearing you, I am no longer Natasha Xander. As far as anyone will know, I am not anyone wearing anything. I am not human. I'm more than that.

I am XenoGirl.'

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XenoGirl crouched at the ledge of the building, turning her long head to listen for the large entourage of sounds that could only rise from a hostage situation. Determined she knew where the school was, XenoGirl let her instincts guide her and leapt to the next building. It was only a matter of time before they would execute a child.

And the Chitinous Teen would not let that happen.