Author's Notes: First an foremost, Xmen is neither mine nor my co-writer's, and thus most of the characters are not ours. Fox is mine, Chameleon is Shimmer's, and then a couple originals come in from time to time. Other then that.. You can sue, if you really like pocket lint...

Next, this is pretty much a one-on-one instant message based role play between myself and a friend, Jessie Shimmer, that we eventualy decided to put up. Forgive formatting problems that may be due to this. And if any of the characters are messed up forgive us! (Most likely me...)

Anyway, enjoy, and if you don't enjoy, tell me why, I want to know!

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Chamille skidded around a corner, running faster, trying to get her powers to kick in. She could hear them behind her.. the humans who were 'hunting' her. Tears streamed down her face. "Work... damnit!"

Timing was such an ironic thing, for just as Chamille ran, so did Fox, granted, Fox was running for an entirely different reason. Pressed into his pocket by gloved hands was a wallet. He hadn't known the man was a cop when he'd grabbed it, otherwise he would have used a more subtle method of lifting it. He was fast, not the fastest but decently, and the cop's speed went with his waist-line, which showed signs of a few too many donuts. But the cop had called others, and so, he continued running, grinning back impishly at the heavy breathing of the cop growing steadily further away. Were he at least a little less focused on laughing to himself about the cop he would have heard, and probably seen the woman before he ran into her, but.. unfortunately... He didn't realize he was about to until he fell back from slamming into her...

She had turned back just as he did, and for a split second, they saw each other, before she screeched out, and they slammed into each other. The impact triggered her survival instincts, and her powers kicked in. She instantly disappeared, his bigger body shoving both of them to the ground as the punks and the cops came into the opening at the same time...

Fox had shifted as he heard cops coming around the corner, holding back a cry of pain at the impact, his sensitive nerves hating him. He rolled over, not even noting that he didn't see whoever it was for a moment as he pulled the hoodie close about his face, watching as the cops and punks met each other, waiting to see what would happen. Now, maybe if he was lucky the cops would think one of them was the street urchin who had stolen the wallet. Ah joyous observant cops, they did. If anyone could have seen his face the lopsided grin would have been first feature noted, even over the grimace of pain at the feel of gravel through the material of his pants and hoodie. He just stayed still, watching through the shadows of the hoodie as the cops charged towards the group.

The punks dropped the weapons they had in hand, and took off as the cops followed close behind. A few seconds passed, and he saw an odd light bend in front of him, like glass. She suddenly appeared in front of him, kneeling, staring into his eyes. Another shifter...? but his eyes didn't shift. How fascinating! "Who are you?"

Fox was shivering a bit, having trouble shifting the color of his skin back to normal, nervous. Maybe if he ignored the woman she'd go away, but then, he had seen her appear in the light. She wasn't leaving. He finally shifted back to normal, skin color a bit off, almost transparent looking at the edges. "Fox, I'm Fox, an' who the 'ell are ya?" He responded before standing, wincing as he rubbed small pebbles loose from where they'd virtually imbedded themselves in his clothing.

She stood up. "Chamille Diaz... But everyone calls me Chameleon."

Fox nodded distractedly, listening for sign of the cops coming back as he made for the weapons the group of punks had dropped, picking them up and storing them in his outfit. "So wha brings ya out here in da dead ah night Chameleon?"

The girl was MAYBE fifteen... "I was just out to get some ice cream... My power flickered for a tick, and those punks came after me."

Fox nodded lightly. "Well, if it looked like ya needed 'elp Fox'd 'elp ya, but," he paused, shrugging, "I can try an' escort ya fer ice cream, if ya wan'? It dun soun' half bad."

She smiled a bit. "Alright, I think I'd like that... not to mention appreciate it. I'd rather not run into a group of punks like that alone again." She ran a hand through her tangled blond hair, her emerald eyes cutting even though the darkness of the alley. "... By the way, you weren't hurt, were you?"

Fox shrugged, "Nah, 'ad worse 'fore an' come outta it aight. Duncha worry none 'bout Fox." He smirked, hoodie still up as he pushed his gloved hands into his pockets. "So where were ya gonna getcha ice cream?"

"Down Fifth Avenue They got a nice little shop where we can sit inside. Open 24/7, so I always got here when I get my cravings." She began to lead him out of the alley and back onto the main street.

Fox continued listening as he followed, blue eyes shifting about from the shadows of his hoodie. The cops had probably forgotten about him by now, who knows what they'd gotten from the punks if they'd caught them, that is. He was sure they had, he remembered hearing fat boy call for a virtual ambush, and those punks were probably running right towards it. "If is any comfort to ya those punks are prolly arrested by now," he said, grinning lopsidedly.

She chuckled softly as she glanced up at him. "You think those poor excuse for humans could keep up with them?"

Fox's head tilted slightly, at that, "Eh?"

"Well, those punks were pretty fit... and the cops... well... weren't."

"But 'dem cops 'ad an ambush waitin,'" he smirked, "trus' me, They dun take ta kindly ta lil punks liften' der wallets. Especially when da wallet 'as dis." His gloved hand came out of his pocket empty, and he glanced at it worriedly before looking to her, eyes narrowing. "Ya lil sneak," he grumbled teasingly, reaching behind her ear, hand coming back with a card for free donuts at one of the local bakeries.

She gasped a bit, surprised, then smirked at him. "That's pretty smooth of you, Fox... How'd you pull that one off, hmm?" Her eyes glittered with amusement.

Fox shrugged slightly, smirking, "Ruh' one, ne'er give yah secrets." He shoved the card back into it's respective pocket, falling silent, for at least the moment.

"Probably a good rule, for the most part." She grinned and elbowed his side a bit jokingly. "So, where do you come from..?"

Fox winced, half jumping away, just barely avoiding yelping. "E'erywheh," he said then, doing his best to gain his composure. "Ya?"

"Maine... Tiny town on the seashore... Got chased out when I disappeared at a school function."

Fox's head tilted just slightly. "Who chased ya out?"

"The whole frellin' town. Even my parents... They didn't want a mutant around to... spoil the purity of the town."

Fox winced slightly, his mouth forming an O. "But," he began, "yer notta mutan'. Mutations is 'armful, causin' death, accordin' to dah books I read. Peeps, like ya, me... evolved, is deh only explanation I could see."

She looked at him oddly. "What?? What are you talking about? Of course I'm a mutant... Like you are. You saw me disappear..."

Fox shook his head, forehead furrowed, "I musta missed somethin' in da books, or need betteh' ones, only been through 'igh schoo' le'el. But I only saw three kindsa mutations, all of dem 'armful. We ain't 'urt, ain't dead, we're betteh' den we were, so we evolved. At, least, daz whah I got..." He looked down, eyes on the ground, feeling like an idiot.

She looked at him very oddly. "... What ARE you talking about?? We're mutants and we aren't anything like that!"

Fox shrugged, looking dead set at the ground, "Jus' quotin' books, I been tryin' to 'splain this ta myself, but, ne'er found one dat fit right. Not e'en wha' the books say on mutation. Closes' I came was evolvin'."

"... Maybe we're both." She shrugged a little. "Sometimes evolution comes through mutations."

Fox's forehead furrowed and he shrugged, "I'm still los', 'ill jus' look fer better books nex' time I find a library an' 'ave time."

She just shook her head. "What does it matter anyway? The point is, we're here... There are a lot more of us than we think."

Fox nodded in agreement, glancing directly at her with soft blue eyes. "Yer the firs' un I've met," he said roughly, wondering if she knew others.

Her own green orbs looked surprised. "Really!" she said in surprise. "There are a lot out there... I know lots of them myself."

He blinked a bit, not having expected a yes. "Wow," he said softly, pushing the hood back, revealing the unruly blond hair beneath. "All I 'ad ta help aftah I started changin' was Stone. An' he ne'er knew what ta think either."

"Stone...?" she asked softly, cocking her head.

"My frien'," he answered simply, "saved my life."

"Oh." She smiled a bit, crossing her arms over the table and leaning on them. "All of my friends are at the school."

Fox tilted his head slightly, "Wha' schoo?" Surely not the one she'd mentioned that she'd disappeared at a function of.

"Xavier's school for gifted youngsters... It's a school for mutants. Dr. Xavier and the other teachers teach us cool stuff, and how to use our powers to help us survive."

Fox just blinked a few times, leaning back into his chair. "Didn' know theh were places like dat...."

"Well, Xavier's is the only on in the world... Mutants from all over come there to learn and sometimes, if they're good enough, stay to become teachers, or X-men."

Fox tilted his head fully, just listening. He had nothing to say, even if he wanted to try for it, no school run by someone in their right mind would take him in. If they ever got past the fact that records showed him as deceased, there would still be the criminal record to deal with.

"There's Jean and Logan and Scott... All of them are X-men. They think like Dr. Xavier... that humans and mutants should live together in peace."

Fox just nodded, head tilted, considering him and Stone, he most definitely shared that opinion, and he saw how people wouldn't. Stone had been scared of him.. at first, though he'd been having to take care of him. It was all very confusing, but then, nothing he had ever been stuck in the middle of had been simple.

"... You wanna come with me back to the school?"

Fox shrugged, having to force back the first answer he wanted to give. "Nah," he said, "dun think I'd do well wit' a schoo'."

"Well... you can at least come to meet the doctor. He's always willing to meet a new mutant. Besides... The Xavier school for the gifted isn't the only group of mutants around... though you want to avoid the other."

Fox shrugged softly, "I like bein' on my own, well, wit' jus' Stone 'n me. Lotsa freedom, ne'er in one place longer den a month er so."

"... Don't you ever get lonely...?"

Fox tilted his head lightly, "I got Stone. 'Sides, what'd 'e do if I lef'?"

"... Why don't you bring him with you to the school? Dr. Xavier would help him..."

Fox's eyes narrowed a bit, "He dun need 'elp, and I wouldn' do well wit' the schoo'. Can take ya back when yer done, but, I dun think I'll go in."

Her eyes saddened a little. "... A... Alright... Well... I'll.. at least give you the phone number... so we can keep in touch..." Her voice was much softer now

Fox nodded slightly, "Yeah, 'n take some un wit ya nex' time ya wan ice-cream. I wouldn' be 'appy if I called 'n somethin' had 'appened ta ya."

She smiled a bit. "I'll bring Syren with me next time." She stood up. "I'll get it... What kind do you want?"

He shrugged, forehead furrowed for a long moment. "Jus' 'nilla, I think," he said roughly, "But I cin pay, got 'nough fer both ah us.."

"Naw, I'll pick up the tab this time... Just come through town again, and you pay next time." She smiled a bit, and moved to the counter.

Fox shrugged, carnal rule of the streets, forget chivalry when free food is involved, "Kay, I'm make a note ah dat."

She returned with two bowls of ice cream, his vanilla, her own, chocolate peanut butter. She sat across from him again, and began to eat.

"Thanks," he said taking the ice cream and working at it with the spoon to where it was more of ice cream soup then ice cream before he started on it.

She watched him as she ate, slowly narrowing her eyes a bit. "How can you stand that?"

He smiled just slightly, "It's too col' startin', out, hurts my mout'..."

She shuddered a bit. "Yuck. Too wet for my tastes."

He just shrugged again, eating his ice cream, grinning widely. "Wha' cin I say, I'm somethin' specia'..."

She smiled a bit at that, her eyes sparkling a little, but she didn't say anything, content to eat her melting ice cream

Fox's grin shifted to a smirk and he remained silent then, just working on his ice cream.

She finishes quickly, and sits back, stretching a bit. "Ah. I think I needed that."

He grinned, finishing up his 'soup' shortly there after, "'Twas good, thanks 'gain." He looked down at the table then, falling silent.

She smiled a little bit. "You're welcome... We're going to have to do it again sometime soon..."

"I'll call if I'm back 'ere e'er, fer suh." He went silent again, still looking at the table, "Cin, cin I ask ya a favah?"

"Sure, Fox... what is it?"

"Cin ya hold yer han' out, like dis?" He held up his gloved hand, fingers outspread, palm facing towards her.

She blinked a moment, than did as he asked.

He slid off his glove and just lightly put his fingertips to hers, holding them there, and then he pressed his whole palm against hers. His expression a mixture of pain, sorrow, and some happiness as he slid his hand down and away from hers.

She watched him closely, somewhat confused. "... Fox...?"

He pulled his hand away, cradling it a bit as he slid the glove back on, "Sorry. Jus wan'ed ta know watcha fel' like. So I could 'membeh'..."

Her cheeks turned pink, and she smiled softly. "... I'll remember too, Fox."

He nodded softly, looking down. "Thanks fer not gettin ta weirded ou'..."

She touched his cheek slightly with the back of her knuckles. "I think you're pretty cool, fox..."

Fox held back a small wince, gaze shifting up to meet hers. He just smiled, he had no idea how to respond. "Yer coo' too," his gaze shifted down again, knowing how stupid that had probably sounded.

She blushed a little and smiled. "I need to get back to the school..." She stood. "... Do you want to walk me back?"

He shifted in his seat, pulling his hoodie back up and over his head, "Nah, I think... I think I'm gonna stay 'ere, unless ya wan me ta?"

She shrugged a bit, realizing how awkward he must feel. She pulled out a piece of paper form her pocket and wrote down the phone number on it, handing it to him. "Call me when you're back in town... okay...?"

He nodded roughly, "Yeah, I will, dun ya worry 'bout dat." He grinned, "Was nice ta' meetcha Chameleon."

She smiled gently, and touched his shoulder. "It was nice to meet you, too, Fox..." She let her hand slide away, and she left the shop, stepping into the dark alley ahead of it to head back to the school

Fox grinned as she left, sitting still in the ice-cream shop, thinking, listening. The owner was cleaning a counter, watching him in hidden disdain. He was obviously a punk kid and the owner probably suspected he'd try to steal something... he probably shouldn't stay here alone. But oh well.