Title: Intricate: Kitty's Story

Author: Felidae Silvestris

Chapter Eleven: DNA

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or the X-Men. Get over it.

Author's Note: I know nothing about DNA except that human DNA has two helixes. Please excuse the incorrect and improper DNA talk.

A tinny rendition of the Charmed theme rips through the air. I flip my phone open immediately. "Willow!"

"No, but good guess," Kennedy's voice came over the phone. "Will's got some magic system-thing to find where you are. You someplace she can teleport us to?"

"Um?" I glance around my guestroom. "Sure. I'll have to apologize to the X-Men about bringing someone in unannounced. But yeah, I'm good."

"Okay. I'd stand against a wall if I were you." She hangs up and I have about a minute to back myself against a wall before a flash of green light blinds me. "Hey, Kitty. 'Sup?"

"Hi, Kitty. Hope you don't mind that I brought Kennedy along." Willow grins at me, green eyes sparkling.

I cough, having breathed in the sage-scented smoke that had accompanied their teleportation. "No problem, Willow."

"Okay, so, urgent things you needed me to see?"

"Yeah, they're in Hank's lab. We weren't exactly expecting you to pop in like this." I cross the room to the door. "Come on."

I was just my luck that Emma waylays us on our way to the lab. "Miss Pryde, I wasn't aware tat you had guests. I don't seem to remember your guests being cleared to come on campus."

"So long as they don't start yelling anti-Mutant sentiments, it really doesn't matter, Frost. Besides, they're actually here to see Hank, not me."

"Regardless, Miss Pryde, your guests need to check in with the front desk."

"Working on it. As you can see – "

"Miss Frost," Willow interrupts. "I'm Willow Rosenburg of the Watcher's Council in Cleveland. This is my partner, Kennedy. There are actually several reasons we're here. First and foremost, we need to see this Hank person. We weren't aware of the rules you have in place for the safety of your students. We were just on our way to the front desk."

Emma blinks, focusing on Willow. I won't pretend to know how to read Emma, but I swear she looks surprised. Her brow furrows just a bit and she nods as Willow smiles sweetly. "Well, in that case, I suppose I can let you off the hook just this once." Emma shoots me a glare before walking off.

"How did you do that?" I ask, absolutely amazed.

Willow's grin widens. "Magic."


"Okay. So, what am I looking at here?" Willow asks, studying the computer screens in Hank's lab.

"The first image is human DNA. Double helix," Hank replies, typing on his modified keyboard. "The next is Mutant DNA, taken from myself."

Willow nods. "Triple-helix. I thought the Mutant part of Mutants was only in the genes."

"That's what we originally thought. We actually were only studying the genes until recently. As you can see, the Mutant X-gene has affected our DNA as well."

"Do you understand a word they're saying?" Kennedy asks, nudging me.

"I get it on a very basic level. The pictures help." I lean back against one of the few empty lab tables, feeling much calmer now that Willow and Kennedy are here.

"Okay, now this is the sample I took from Kat." Hank keys up the image of Kat's DNA.

Willow's eyes widen. "Four helixes? Why does it look like that?"

"Well, I've only been working on this problem for a few hours. All I've come up with so far is that the amino acids aren't lining up correctly. At the same time, Kat doesn't appear to be having difficulties. It seems as though she's a mutated Mutant, but those unpaired amino acids should be giving her specialized difficulties. Besides that, I an mutated beyond my original mutation myself and my DNA doesn't look similar to Kat's."

"Mr. McCoy, I'm by no means an expert in DNA, any biology, really. Have you tried stringing a few strands together? Maybe they fit together like… like a puzzle."

"Would it help to look at normal Slayer DNA?" I ask.

"I could try both. Granted, that means a bit more work." Hank grins at his understatement, showing fangs.

"Workaholic," Kennedy mutters good-naturedly with a grin. "You've got human DNA, Mutant DNA, Mutant/Slayer DNA, and Slayer DNA. I'm thinkin' you're going to want Demon DNA next."

Hank's yellow eyes shine. "Demon? You could get me demon DNA?"