I walked back to the mansion, for once with my head held high. I threw back my shoulders and strutted into the house. At this point, I had made damn sure that my four roommates were the only students who had seen my face; everyone else in the house only had the rumors to feed their curiosity.

Well, they had wanted to se me so bad, now was their chance.

I paused with my hand on the doorknob. Okay, this was it, if I didn't go in there now, I'd probably be in hiding for the rest of my life.

I didn't want that, I wanted to be respected and accepted like Warren had been.

I took a deep breath and stepped inside.

There were several students in the lounge, playing pool and just hanging out.

I went inside and crossed the room, fully aware of the whispers and eyes staring after me.

There, I had done it. I had let a room full of students see my real face, and emerged unscathed.

I felt a sense of accomplishment in that one small feat.

It wasn't much, but it was a start.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*

I went up to my room and sat on my bed, writing. I had made a short list of things I needed to improve on.

1). Strength 2). Speed 3). Abilities 4). Confidence 5). My past

I knew there were classes that the older students took in the underground area of the house; classes that helped them improve upon their powers and physical strength.

Alison had joined the class when she turned 17 and whenever she came back to the room, she gloated about how great it was. In every single lesson, her body and power was pushed to its limit.

She said it was the most difficult thing she'd ever had to go through, but she loved it.

I was older than everyone-including myself- had originally thought, old enough to join that class. I had to become strong, fast and useful if I were to become what most of the older kids wanted to be.

An X-men.

I wasn't sure exactly what an X-man was; I had only overheard the older kids talking about it. The X-men went on adventures, using their powers to help other mutants who were in trouble.

Charles had a way of finding those in need, and he would send his best out to help them.

That's how Eric came to me.

I would go to the class and become the best, I had to.

But first, I wanted Charles to read my mind. Eric had told me that Charles could read my mind and help me piece together my past.

I was ready to learn who I really was.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"You're sure about this?" Charles asked me from behind his desk.

"Yes." I said.

Charles glanced at Eric, who was leaning in the doorframe to Charles's office.

Eric shrugged.

"All right, the sooner the better I suppose." He said as he wheeled over to me.

His wheelchair stopped inches from my chair, and Charles put his hands over my temples.

"Just try to relax." He said.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

The first thing I felt was my brain starting to tingle a little, like when sleep steeled over you naturally and you can actually feel your brain shutting down for the night.

Then, memories flooded my head, all at once!

My mother, my house, my school!

The principal, Tim, the cellar, the cage, the carnival!

The bad men, the endless droves of viewers outside my cage, the biting electric sting of the cattle prod!

My depression, I refused to eat, refused to sleep, almost killed myself with the mirror!

"Agghh! Stop, stop!" I screamed at Charles with my mind and my voice.

My eyes snapped open and Eric was before me, holding my shoulders. Charles was behind him, sweat beading on his forehead, a tear tracking down his cheek.

I pulled out of Eric's hands and ran out of the house.

*^*^*^*^*^*

I cried under the shade of a large oak tree. Not because I had to relive my memories of the carnival, but because Charles now knew what had happened to me.

Being caged and abused isn't something I had wanted to advertise- it was bad enough that Eric knew. Given the change I would have pried the knowledge out of both their heads so that they would not know of my past.

Had it been a mistake going to Charles, to learn of my past? No.

I had suspected that some of the carnival memories would be brought up, and had prepared myself for them. I had got what I asked for: the past that was stolen from me.

My name was Raven Darkholme. My mother was Lana Darkholme. We had lived in Missouri, on a small farm. My father was dead. We weren't rich, but we weren't poor either. We lived comfortably until I started to change.

My mother didn't care that my arm was somehow becoming blue and scaly, she only cared that I was happy.

I had my past back- so why did I cry?

I wasn't sure I wanted it.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*

I stayed outside until nightfall, and then I went back inside. For the second time, I walked through the whole house, allowing the other mutants to see my real face.

A little hungry and feeling more than a little upset, I went into the kitchen. I needed a peach; I found they helped me think more clearly.

Warren, Sam and Alison were at the table, and stopped talked once I entered the room.

Alison was more accustomed to me, and gave a half-hearted wave.

I ignored her; she had gossiped about me the most, and now she's trying to be friendly?

Kiss my ass!

Probably just trying not to look too bitchy in front of Warren; I wondered what Theresa would say if she knew that Alison had eyes for her boyfriend.

"Hey, what's with the cold shoulder?" Warren asked.

I turned to him, "What?"

The wings poking through holes in the back of his shirt fluttered just the tiniest bit, careful not to knock anything over.

"What's with the silent treatment you give everyone? You never talk; you just sulk all the time."

I shrugged. "I don't have anything to say."

Warren ran a hand through his hair. "I could think of a few things we could talk about."

"Like what?"

"Well, we're both classified as physical mutants-"

"So what? We may both have the x-gene that makes us that way, but I don't see how we could possibly relate to each other."

"Listen, we have plenty in common, we can't hide what we are, we've both had a hard time with-"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh yes, I'm positive you've had such a hard time with your mutation. Being able to just fly away from those who want to hurt you; having a hundred friends; having Theresa, Jubilee, Alison and who knows how many other girls fighting over you; yeah, I'm sure it must be horrible." I snapped.

"You bitch!" Alison yelled and she stood up from her chair.

"Give me a break." I said as I left the kitchen.

I probably shouldn't have done that, Warren might have had a hard time in the beginning, dealing with normal humans; but he hadn't been shunned by his own kind, in the "safe haven" for mutants of all types.

I didn't want to go back to my room, Theresa, Jubilee and Alison would not be pleased that I had shed light on their infatuation with Warren.

I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth, splashing water on my face when I looked hard at my reflection.

My eyes had changed.

They weren't blue anymore, they were yellow.

The white part had changed to a bright, chrome yellow; the irises had become as black as my pupil.

I wasn't horribly alarmed; when I learned to change my skin color, I had also been able to change my eyes, but this time they had changed on their own, I hadn't even felt it!

I stood back from the mirror, taking in the image I saw there.

Blue dragon in a t-shirt and jeans.

Weird.

I came closer to my reflection and blinked, changing my eye color a few times. Red, purple, green.

I changed them back to the normal blue, but just like when I changed my skin color, it didn't feel natural.

I let my eyes slide back to yellow and black.

It felt natural. I stood back to look at them for a little longer. It wasn't so horrible; with my entire body covered in dark blue skin and scales, the yellow eyes didn't really make me look any more bizarre.

They actually helped to break up the monochromatic color scheme of my body. They certainly stood out more than my old blue eyes had!

I looked around the bathroom and found that I could see better, everything seemed brighter and in better focus.

I turned off the light and I could see in the dark.

"Cool." I said out loud.

Wait.

"Hello?" I asked.

My voice had sounded strange. I turned on the bathroom light and said 'hello' three more times.

It was my voice, but it wasn't alone. Other voices were twisted up with mine, like a group of people were specking at exactly the same time. Deep and high, man and woman, adult and child.

Again, it wasn't frightening, just strange, even for me.

I talked to myself for a little while, actually starting to like the sound of my new voice. It echoed on the air, and seemed to fit me better than my old voice had.

I concentrated on my old voice, and I began speaking like I had just a few minutes ago; I could change my voice just like I could change my skin and eye color!

I walked out of the bathroom and roamed the mansion some more. In every glass window pane I went past, I could see that my eyes were still yellow.

It was confusing, and frustrating, being what I was. I now knew my past, but I didn't feel any better about it. Knowing my name didn't give me strength the way I thought it would, it still didn't seem to fit me.

Raven? No, not me.

It was the little girl Tim stole away from Lana, not the young mutated woman I was now.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

I had been walking blindly, but some noise downstairs had snapped me out of my thoughts. I went to the ledge and looked down into the foyer.

Warren and Theresa were down there, sneaking out again. I smiled; they would get caught one of these days.

Looking over, I saw that Eric's room was right behind me. I needed to apologize for how I ran away that afternoon. Carefully, I went into his room.

Like always, he was lying on his side, but not asleep yet. He looked over at me, and patted the side of his bed, motioning me to him.

Without a word, I came over and lay down on my side next to him.

Silence stretched for a time.

Eric broke it, like he usually did, with a question.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yes."

"Your name?"

"Yes."

Silence again. Eric breaking it again.

"What is it?"

"Raven Darkholme."

"That's lovely."

"I don't want it."

"You mean you don't like it?"

"No, I mean I don't want it. Raven was who I was, not who I am. Raven is not my name anymore."

"Then what is your new name?"

"I don't know yet."

"You don't have to choose one immediately, but you should choose one soon. The new semester is almost here, and new students will arrive, and they'll want to know who you are."

I took a deep breath. "You should do it."

"What? You mean name you?"

"Yes, you rescued me; I think it'd be only right if you were the one to name me."

Eric turned to look at me. "That's a big responsibility. What if I chose something that you didn't like?"

"I'd still use it."

Eric chuckled low in his throat and stared at me for awhile. I was facing the window, moonlight was pouring in from outside; no doubt he could see the delicate pattern of scales on my face, and my new yellow eyes.

He didn't mention the eyes, but he looked right into them and said one word:

"Mystique."