A/N: OK the main story starts here. From now on the story will be in 1st person, narrated by Neil Rosiçky.

MAY 2003

Chapter One: Mutant Registration Act

If I'd known, that morning, that today would be the one day that defined the course of the rest of my life, what might I have done? Run away and hidden from fate? Done nothing, and accepted it? Fought against it, and tried to change the way things might have gone?

It had been an ordinary school day, just as dull and mundane as any other. The sky was overcast and it had been raining on and off all morning; typical Scottish weather. My alarm clock had failed to go off, and I'd had to skip breakfast in order to get to school on time. I'd endured the usual taunts from the mutant-hating contingent of my class. I'd gone to the school cafeteria and eaten alone as usual. After lunch I'd entered my maths classroom and settled down in my chair for another hour of the teacher droning on in his usual vacant way about co-efficients, divisors, factorials and differentials. My head resting on one hand, I was half-asleep when the message that would change my life came over on the school tannoy system.

"Would the following pupils please report to the Headmaster's office: Jacqueline Cartier, Christopher Garcia, Neil Rosiçky – "

I looked up and my eyes opened at the mention of my own name.

" – and Chloe Scott."

I glanced up at the teacher. He nodded to me, indicating that I could go. Stuffing my books inside my schoolbag, I stood up and headed for the door. Two or three people in the front row tried to trip me up as I passed, but I managed to avoid them.

"Freak!" my ex-girlfriend Claire Stewart hissed at me, her face twisted into a mask of hatred.

"Neil?" the teacher said. "If you don't get back before class is finished, the homework for Tuesday is to do questions 6 to 12 from the chapter in the textbook."

"OK."

I left the room, closing the door behind me, and walked in the direction of the Headmaster's office. Idly I wondered why I was being summoned there. I thought I recognised the other names who'd been called. I knew who Jacqueline Cartier was: the most unpopular girl in the school, which was quite surprising considering she was rather attractive. A year older than me, she wasn't in any of my classes and I'd never really spoken to her.

Chris Garcia, well, everybody knew who he was. Probably nobody else in the history of the school had been given quite so many punishments or detentions. It was just as well the cane had been done away with, or he'd probably have been dead by now. I knew him a little bit; he was in my physics class. He was one of the few people who didn't care that I was a mutant, though to be honest, we hardly ever spoke.

Chloe Scott was a name I knew but a person I'd never met. She'd brought herself to everyone's attention with her attempts to enforce a vegetarian only policy in the school cafeteria. Apparently she was a staunch animal-lover, and opposed any product or attitude that involved the suffering of animals. Other than that, I knew nothing about her. She was only 15, a year younger than I was, and I didn't really know anyone from the lower years.

I reached the top of the staircase, turned left, and found myself at the Headmaster's office. The three people I'd just been thinking about were standing outside. Jacqueline, looking calm and emotionless, leaned easily against the wall, and turned her head to nod in my direction. Chris, slouched down in one of the easy chairs outside the Head's office, sighed loudly and looked bored and indifferent about the whole affair. Chloe stood off to one side, looking nervous, endlessly clasping and unclasping her hands. It was the first time I'd ever seen her, and I thought she was cute, in a little girl kind of way.

"Hey," I greeted them. "Any idea what this is about?"

"Could be anything," Chris replied before either of the girls could say a word. "I get called up here every fifteen minutes, so who knows."

Jacqueline shrugged. Chloe looked at the floor and a blush came to her cheeks, "I haven't done anything wrong. I've never been sent to the Head's office before, ever."

"Little goody-goody, are you?" Chris drawled lazily.

Chloe knew all about Chris' reputation, and nervously turned away from him. I sat down on one of the chairs, leaving two between myself and the other boy.

"Don't you ever talk?" Chris was saying to Jacqueline. "You haven't said a word since we got up here."

She gave him a disinterested glance, then turned to look down the corridor to her right.

"Huh. Don't any of you talk?" Chris demanded, turning to face me. "What's with the shades, anyway?"

I reached up to push my sun-glasses back up on to the bridge of my nose, "They protect my eyes."

"You need them indoors, do you?"

"Everywhere I go."

"Huh. Whatever. Honestly, you lot are so – "

He was interrupted by the door opening behind him, and the Headmaster sticking his head out into the corridor.

"Right, you'll all here. Come in," he said.

Chris remained in his seat, making it clear to the Head that he would get up and enter the office in his own good time. Chloe was far too scared to be the first to go in, and Jacqueline didn't appear to be paying any attention, so I stood up and walked into the Head's office. Chloe followed my lead; I could see that the poor girl was trembling with fear. After her came Jacqueline, and finally Chris lifted himself from his chair to saunter in behind us. We stood in a line in front of the Headmaster's desk, and he went to sit behind it.

"Now," he said, looking up at us. "I don't know whether or not you realise why you have been called here, but two things have just been brought to my attention."

Chris had his arms folded and was looking out of the window, refusing to pay attention.

"First of all," said the Head. "There was an emergency meeting of the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood today, the outcome of which will affect all four of you."

Chris yawned loudly enough that he could be heard, and glanced at his watch. Jacqueline looked at me, then turned back to face the Head teacher.

"The reason being," he continued. "That all four of you are mutants."

I didn't react. My mutation was common knowledge around the school, and I suspected the same was true of Jacqueline. Chris and Chloe, however, had obviously done a better job of keeping theirs a secret.

"How did you know?!" both of them exclaimed simultaneously.

The Head ignored the question, instead going on with his story, "A new Mutant Registration Act has been pushed through the Parliament, coming into effect immediately. As a result, all Scottish schools are required by law to submit a list of all mutants attending the school. Furthermore, you yourselves are required to register as mutants by the end of the week."

"That's totally insane!" Chris exploded. "If we're mutants, it's our own damn business! The Scottish Parliament can shove that Act right up their – "

"Christopher!" the Head snapped.

Although I didn't really pay attention to the news, I'd been aware that there had been such an Act put forward and backed by many politicians. I knew there was a similar process going on in America, but it hadn't as yet been passed by their Congress.

"Don't you realise what this means?" Chris was saying to the rest of us. "This is just the first step. Once we've registered, they've got us. Next thing you know, they'll pick you up off the street for some made-up offence, and lock you away for the rest of your life, because they hate mutants!"

"Christopher, be quiet!" the Head demanded.

"Screw you. Sir," Chris said angrily. "Come on, guys, this is stupid. Let's go."

He turned to leave the office, but found the doorway barred by two huge, black-suited men who were waiting outside.

"Are these the ones?" one of them asked.

The Headmaster nodded, "You can take them now, but don't do anything to them. They're only children."

"What's going on?" Chris demanded. "Who are these guys? I'm not going anywhere!"

Jacqueline's eyes suddenly snapped wide open and she yelled the first word I'd heard her speak, "Run!"

Chloe and I looked at her in confusion, "What?"

"Run! It's a trap! I can read their minds! They – "

She was cut off as one of the two men hit her over the head and she lost consciousness.

"Don't hurt them, I said!" the Headmaster shouted nervously.

"What the f**k is going on?!" Chris yelled. "What did you hit her for?"

"Shut up," the second man said. "Unless you want the same."

He grabbed Chris by the arm and held him still. Then he pointed to Chloe and I and said, "Get them."

The other man walked across the room towards us. Instinctively I felt myself moving in front of Chloe to protect her, but it was to no avail as I was grabbed by the collar and yanked forwards. I lost my balance and fell on to my hands and knees, my sun-glasses slipping off to land on the floor. The afternoon sun poured through the office window, directly into my eyes. I screamed.

The two men turned in surprise at the sound. I managed to pick up my shades and put them back on, then realised I had provided just the distraction Chris needed. With his captor's attention elsewhere, his arm somehow – slid – out of the man's grasp, and he ran for the door. He wasn't fast enough. The man turned to clip him around the skull, knocking him out cold.

"Now that's quite enough!" the Head yelled. "You said they'd be sedated, but you didn't say anything about hitting them about the head! They could be given permanent brain damage!"

"They'll be fine. Get the other two."

Before I could react in any way, or think of some escape plan, there was a blinding pain in the back of my head as the man struck me. I collapsed forwards and lapsed into unconsciousness.