A/N: I think I need to clarify some things after last chapter.  While this story is set in the X-Universe, it is NOT an X-Men fic.  It's not one of those 'kid discovers they have powers and runs off the school' bits.  It is a timeline story showing what mutants endure in the present and future as a result of the registration act.  If this is a disappointment, sorry, but I hope you'll still stick around 'cause this is gonna be interesting.  Just an FYI, now on with the story…

Rothstein:

            I am NOT a morning person.  So you can imagine how pissed I was when I woke at 6am and found myself unable to go back to sleep.  Groaning, I stumbled down the hallway to the bathroom, where I splashed my face with cold water, drenching the floor in the process.  'Man!' I thought, 'I shouldn't be up for another twenty minutes.'  But I guess it was just one of those morning…

            I hit the power button on my TV and began rifling through my drawers, looking for something presentable that I could wear to school as the way too perky news anchor droned on behind me.

            "Hello and thanks for choosing channel 12.  It's six am on this lovely Tuesday morning…"

            "There's no such thing as a lovely Tuesday morning at six a.m," I muttered darkly, moving on to the closet, digging for a matching pair of shoes.

"…and I'm your anchor, Hugh Jass.  Topping today's stories, the Mutant Registration Act passed Congress yesterday with a ¾'s majority.  The government has taken immediate action, setting up registration facilities in all major cities across the United States…" 

The shoe dropped from my limp hand with a dull 'THUNK' as it bounced against he floor.  How could the Act have passed?  It wasn't scheduled to be voted on for another month?  'God!' I thought, 'I really should watch the news occasionally.'

            "…Anyone exhibiting signs of mutant abilities is being ordered, by penalty of law, to present themselves to the nearest registration facility immediately.  And I think we have a map…yes, here we go, of the nearest local registration area.  Now…"  But that's when I completely stopped listening.  I turned and grabbed for my phone, thrown half-hazardly on my desk, except I forgot that he bed was in the way.

            "God forsaken piece of shit!" I hissed, rubbing my shins where I'd slammed then against the baseboard.  Hobbling slowly, I made it to the phone with no other mishaps.  Dialed, waited…one ring…two rin-

            "Unnnghhhhh," was the only sound on the opposite end of the line.

            "Britt?"

            "Mnnnnnnnhhhhhh."

            "Britt, for God Sake, knock it off and wake up!" I ordered.  The next thing I heard was what I believe to be the sound of Britt putting the phone on the bed rolling over it.  There was silence for a few seconds, but just as I was considering hanging up and calling her back,

            "Unnnn…'Stein, I'mmmm gonna kill you for thissssssss, uhh," she half ranted, half moaned, but I was far from frightened.

            "Britt," I glanced at my watch, "you're getting up in two minutes anyways (bit of advice for you: you've been friends with someone way to long when you know what there alarm clock is set to), so save it."

            "Why the hell are you calling so early?" she demanded, and I had to hide the satisfaction in my voice when I heard her alarm clock go off in the background.

            "Just turn on the news," I ordered.  More shuffling in the background, then footsteps.  I tapped my foot impatiently until-

            "Holy shit," Britt mumbled.  Even though I wasn't there, I could picture here balancing on the edge of the counter in her kitchen, watching on little white TV, palm pressed against her forehead like she did when she was worried. 

            "Britt?"

            "Yeah, I'm still here…but Jesus!  Can they do that, just move up a date…'Stein, did you try her house yet?"  Britt wasn't forming coherent sentences anymore, but I couldn't blame her.  Our team was close, and losing a member…well, we all felt it.

            "No, I called you first.  Do you think it's too early to call over there?"  Mental slap on the face

            "No, you idiot!  I think the least of our problems right now is accidentally waking her mother up.  Call on the third line, I'll wait."  I followed Britt's instructions, and clicked the button on my phone once…dial tone.  Okay 5,6,3,3,7,6,1…one ring…two rings…three rings…no answering machine picked up.  The phone just kept ringing in my hands.  I clicked back over to Britt's line.

            "B?"

            "Yeah, what's up?  How is she?"

            "There's no one home," I declared.  This was bad, I could feel it in my bones.  This was really bad.