Chapter Three: Switch's Story

Chapter Three: Switch's Story

"Now that has to be the weirdest thing that I've ever heard."

"Well, coming from someone like you, I find that a little hard to agree with."

"Both of you stop it." Mystique snapped irritably. She was not in a very good mood, from a combination of the ordeal with the bathroom and the process of trying to get Lance and Switch both calmed down shortly after. "Now Switch, can you explain that again? I don't think I understood that myself. It certainly is…"

"Weird. I know." Switch said from her chair in the corner of the room. She seemed to be keeping as big of a distance in between her and Lance Alvers as possible. For the most part, it was working, as he was trying to do the same thing. She sighed, running a hand through her short black hair. "Okay, let me try this again, but I'll explain it as best as I can. Okay, so you've all seen my powers, and I know that it's strange, but yes, my powers do allow me to turn into a guy, and as far as I know, that's all I have so far."

"You mean like…everything?" Todd asked.

"Yes, everything." Switch said shortly. "Ask Alvers, I'm sure he can tell you." Lance only snorted in response. "Anyway…" She turned back to the rest of the waiting group. Pietro was sitting on the edge of his seat, waiting for her to spill. Fred looked as if he really could not care less, as long as he had some food on hand, which he had plenty of. "I discovered it when I was about fourteen years old. But, then again, that's as far back as I can remember. The furthest memory I have was waking up on a hospital bed. I don't even remember what my name was, and no one ever told me. For a long time I was passed around from foster home to foster home, but I never got settled anywhere and no one ever gave a damn about me. They always just called me "Girl" and never bothered to try to think of my real name. So one day I got fed up with the whole thing and started yelling at the current people who had me in their home. Then…it happened. I turned into a guy for the first time. They were real freaked out, of course, and so was I. At first I thought I was breaking down and going crazy. I ran away from the home, and once I got clamed down I turned back into a girl, so I assumed that it must have been only my nerves going psycho.

"I wandered the streets then, not bothering to return to the house or the agency that kept putting me into them. One day a mugger attacked me, and when I panicked, it happened again. Scared the guy away real good, too. Only this time I knew that I wasn't going crazy because a few days before I saw a news report while passing by a television store about mutated humans that lived among regular people. I came to the conclusion that I might have been one too, but it wasn't until I spent more time on the streets of the bad side of New York that I realized what it was.

"When I transformed for the first time, I thought it was because of nerves, but after a while I realized that that was the true cause. Every time I got excited or scared or really upset, every time my heart starts pounding and my adrenaline is up, I change into a guy."

"Adren…" Fred began.

"It's what Pietro has plenty of, from what I've seen." Switch told the big guy. "Anyway, I lived on the streets for another three years until I met Mystique."

"And how did that happen?" Todd asked. Switch frowned, and adverted her eyes.

"She tried to grab my purse." Mystique said. The Brotherhood winced, and decided not to ask for details. It probably had not been anything pretty. "In her girl form of course, but when I held on and she kept trying to pull away, that's when it happened. Luckily it was not a very busy street. Scared me so bad I lost control of my form as well."

"And damn near scared the hell outta me too." Switch said, crossing her arms in front of her. "Immediately she decided that I was a mutant too, so she offered to take me in. Had to do some stuff though, so she would pick me up later that night. While she was gone, I decided to grab a bite to eat, where I ran into you goobers, and here I am."

There was silence in the living room. Pietro spoke first. "So, do you have any other powers that can help us to defeat for X-freaks?"

"I don't know who these X-guys you keep talking about are, but not as I know, no. However, I do seem to have some memories from before I lost all of them. I don't know where they come from, but they were probably part of my life before I woke up in the hospital. I do know some martial arts. Black belt, I think."

"Well, that's a start." Fred said, licking the last few crumbs of doughnut off of his fingers. "Hey Boss-Lady, if she could use her powers so openly, then why do you think Cerebro didn't pick her up first?"

"That I don't know, but we can be grateful for it. At least we got to her before Xavier ever did."

Sitting in the chair across the room, Switch frowned. She did not know who these X-guys were that they were always talking about or who Xavier was, but she did not like it how they were referring to her as some prize at the end of a race. "I don't know who or what you guys are talking about, but it sounds to me like there is some conflict going on here. But whatever it is, I have no part in it. Like I said, I have no other powers except for my instant sex change. The only reason why I'm here is because I was offered a place to crash for a while and because she offered me a chance to learn how to control my powers. I'm not here to do any other fighting against any other people."

"That would be perfectly fine with us." Lance said suddenly, speaking for the first time since the happening in the bathroom. "We couldn't care less if you sat off to the side and just watched. Besides, I don't know what a presto-chango transvestite will do to help us out in battle anyway."

Switch went bright red in the face. She jumped up from her chair, both her feet under her on the cushion, in an unmistakable ready-to-spring position. "Take that back!"

Lance was on his guard too, also looking ready to spring on a moment's notice. "Make me." He said with a hard smirk.

With a low snarl Switch launched herself from the chair, sending it flipping and Todd and Pietro running as she hit the coffee table with a loud thud, heading straight for Lance. Lance jumped straight up from where he was seated and out of Switch's way as she crashed into the sofa, possibly able to knock that down as well if Freddy had not been sitting on it. "Come and get me, Fem-boy!" Lance called over his shoulder as he made a dash into the kitchen.

"Get back here, you jerk!" Switch yelled back as she pushed away from the couch, ignoring Mystique's shouts for them both to stop and the encouraging hollers of the other members of the Brotherhood as Switch took off after Lance in hot persuit. It was not long, though, before they heard Lance holler in horror and came tearing back into the living room, where he dove onto the couch.

"She did it again!"

"What did you expect?" A male voice shouted back as Switch came stomping back into the living room as well, only this time in her male's body. "Didn't I say that it happens when my blood pressure and adrenaline reaches a certain point?"

"Yeah, but I actually saw it happen! That was…God, it was weird!" Switch only snorted.

"All right, both of you, calm down." Mystique snapped, and all of the commotion came to a slow but steady stop. "I think that's enough excitement for one day, not everyone upstairs. It's late, and there is school tomorrow." Switch gave one last angry glare at Lance, but nonetheless stomped up the stairs and slammed his door closed.

"Moody…I can see where her power comes to be a problem." Pietro said, ignoring the still-fuming Lance. "I wonder what school's going to be like now?"

Oh yes, certainly a most memorable experience. Mystique thought with a grimace. If that power leaks out during school, we may loose her to Xavier. And after what happened here, she might think about going. I can't afford to loose another one…she may not be Rogue, but it would be nice to have another girl around the house. She caught herself, and sighed inwardly before heading up the stairs too, massaging her temples from the headache that suddenly sprang on her. In a matter of speaking…

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To Be Continued…

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Sorry that took so long guys, and sorry it was so short, but I got a lot going on right now. I'm not exactly sure when the next chapter will be out, then…

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