The blackness ensnared Xavier and held him down. He was trapped inside Darius's mind and he couldn't find a way out. The concussive force from the tendrils pounded at his mind and made his current condition even more unbearable. The voice of Sabretooth could also be heard echoing through the darkness.

"What's wrong, runt? Don't you wanna see your mama? She screamed real nice like.I sure hope you do too."

Xavier cringed inwardly at the malicious sound. He tried his best to send out psionic blasts to break his way free. He had nearly given up hope when he saw a bright flash of light. A fiery figure appeared before him and he instantly recognized it as the astral form of Jean Grey. The soothing sound of her voice calmed Darius and Jean was able to break Xavier free from the child's mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~*************~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Charles? Charles! Are you alright?"

Hank shook Xavier, trying to revive him. He was relieved to see Xavier's eye's twitch then slowly open.

"We were scared for a moment we lost you, Charles," Jean Grey gently patted the professor's hand. "What happened?"

The professor wrinkled his brow and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath as he tried to find the words to explain the images he had just seen.

"The child's mind.it is a labyrinth of pain and sorrow. There were voices. Angry voices that taunted him. The voice sounded so familiar.If only I could.yes! Of course.

Hank, Jean and Liz all looked confused.

"What is it?" Jean leaned forward in her chair.

"Sabretooth. Sabretooth killed his mother. That's what all that pain was and that was why he lashed out at the sound of the voice." The Professor leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"Such pain for a young child to go through."

Hank noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked down and saw Darius squirm under the sheets slightly. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, then he bolted upright in the bed.

"Whoa! Slow down there, little guy. We can't have you hurting yourself."

Hank placed gentle hands across Darius's chest. The boy put his own hand over Hank's, which seemed like a giant's hand compared to his own. He jerked his hand back slightly as he felt the soft fur. Hank laughed slightly at the boy's reaction. Darius felt the hand again and smiled. He spoke in such a low voice only Liz could really hear him.

"You're fluffy."

Jean glanced from Darius, to Hank, and finally to Liz. She gave a questioning look and Liz had to stop giggling in order to answer.

"He thinks that Dr. McCoy is fluffy."

"Well, for all intents and purposes, I do have a rather fuzzy complexion." Hank grinned as Darius continued to feel his hand and smile.

The Professor wheeled his chair around to face Darius and looked at him sternly.

"Darius.can you tell us what happened?"

Darius immediately scrunched down into the covers of the bed. He made himself look very small and tried his best to hide. The Professor let out a sigh that was part sadness and part frustration. Jean reached out and touched the boys shoulder, but he jerked away from her hand. She also sighed, and then closed her eyes as she gently touched his mind. She pulled out quickly and met Xavier's gaze as she opened her eyes.

"He only wants to speak to Hank and Liz."

"Me? Why me?" Liz looked shocked and was thoroughly confused.

Jean smiled, "Because you're the one that saved him."

"But we all saved him.It wasn't just me."

"You're the one that pulled him out of the truck though, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well," Jean smiled again. "That's why."

Liz looked over at Darius and while he had no eyes to speak of, she could still sense that his attention was directed towards her. Jean and Xavier quietly left the room, leaving only Hank and Liz with Darius.

"Well!" Hank began very genially. "I suppose that now we have a chance, he can take a good look at you."

Darius tilted his head slightly at the sound of Hank's voice and slowly sat up.

"It's ok Darius," Liz started, "Dr. McCoy here is just going to make sure that you are nice and healthy."

Darius held his hand out, trying to search for something to grab on to. Liz glanced at Hank quickly, then reached out and took Darius's hand. It was trembling. She carefully helped Darius off of the bed and onto the examining table. He had calmed down slightly, and didn't seem so nervous around Hank and Liz anymore. Hank took some supplies out and laid them on a little cart next to the table.

"Ok Darius, listen carefully. We need to take your shirt off so we can check for any injuries. Is that alright?" Hank spoke with a quiet, friendly voice.

Darius gripped Liz's hand a little tighter, then nodded. Hank carefully pulled the boy's dirty poncho up and over his head, and then pulled off the ratty shirt underneath. Liz and Hank gasped together when they saw Darius's body. His arms were covered in scars from what looked like needle pricks. His back too, was covered in scars that looked like they came from being whipped. Liz gently touched the boy's arm, and the muscles in his forearm twitched slightly.

"Darius." Liz began, "Where did you get these scars?"

The boy was quiet for a moment then answered in a quiet voice. "I was born with them."

Liz turned and gave Hank a very confused look. Hank looked equally confused. He shrugged, and then began to go through some of his tools.

"Now," said Hank, "I'm just going to give you a basic physical, to make sure that you are in tip-top shape, alright?"

Darius nodded, and then tilted his head towards Liz.

"Liz here is going to get you some clean clothes."

Darius immediately began to fidget. He looked worried and frantic. Liz came over again and held on to his hand.

"Whoa kiddo.it's alright. I won't be gone for long. I'll be back before Dr. McCoy finished up your check-up."

Darius gripped his filth-covered poncho tightly. It looked very old and was tattered, but Liz could tell he wanted it.

"I'll wash that for you and give it back, ok?"

Darius nodded as he handed the poncho over to Liz. She smiled at Hank, then turned and left the med-lab. Hank meanwhile, took a damp washcloth and cleaned some of the dirt off of Darius. Once the boy was fairly clean, he treated some of the open sores on his body.

"You're pretty lucky these haven't gotten infected, Darius."

Again, Darius's only response was a simple nod. Hank shook his head slightly, and then continued on with the examination. He took out his stethoscope and held it against Darius's chest. The boy immediately tensed up and gripped Hank's fur-covered arm.

"C-c-cold." Darius managed to stutter out.

"Oh my stars and garters, you're right!" Hank held the cold metal tightly in his hand to warm it up some. When he went to listen to Darius's heart again, he didn't tense up as much. The boy continued to hold Hank's arm, stroking it a little bit and feeling the long, blue fur between his fingers. Hank laughed as Darius smiled.

About twenty minutes passed and Liz returned with some fresh clothes. Hank helped Darius off the table, and brought him to one of the bathrooms down the hall with the clothes that Liz handed to him. Luckily, there were a few students about the same size as Darius, and their clothes were close to fitting him. Hank helped prepare a bath for Darius, and got him cleaned up. Hank had to change the water once, only because of all the dirt that came off of Darius. They walked back into the med-lab together, where Liz was waiting for them. She smiled at Darius's appearance. He was much better looking now, and certainly smelled better. The clothes he was wearing however were still a bit big for him and looked very baggy.

"Well, now that we've had a good aquatic lesson, I do believe I am going to dry myself off before all this fur makes me smell." Hank grinned and laughed as he guided Darius over to Liz.

"Good idea." Liz smiled as Hank humphed at her. She looked down at Darius. "Alrighty then. Feeling better?"

"Yeah. Is Dr. McCoy all furry?"

Liz laughed and smiled. "Yeah, he's completely covered in blue fur."

"That's so cool."

"We all think so. Anyway, I stole these clothes for you till we get you some of your own, and your poncho is in the washing machine right now. We can get that later, but for right now, I'm going to show you around the school."

Darius smiled and nodded as Liz held his hand and walked with him out the door and down the hall.