--Poe Note--

Firstly, I wanted to let you know that Fanfiction.net has been really slow, sometimes even down, lately, so my updates haven't been shown immediately. Possibly because a lot of people are posting now that school is out (at least on the East Coast and other parts of the northern US- schools elsewhere in the US finished in May, or as in certain spots of Nevada, have air conditioning and year- round schooling). I wish we had air in our schools, too (but the rumor is that our school board will only put it in if we go year- round). In that case, I'd much rather be sweating in school, thankyouverymuch.

Secondly, this is to my fellow fan fiction writers. I don't know how to put this nicely, but I'll try- Please, from the bottom of my heart, spell check and grammar check your work before putting it on. Sure, things will slip through the filter (I've noticed so many errors in my works, mostly forgetting to capitalize my I's) but try to look your stuff over. Please. I don't know how many stories I've read without proper punctuation. 'Lumps' are even worse- when someone forgets to separate out their paragraphs and it all is one large lump Without separation, especially when reading conversational paragraphs, it's almost impossible to decipher who is speaking! Now, I'm not saying ALL fan fiction writers do this; it's just the opposite, as very few do. However, I just cannot stand it when I'm reading what could have been an excellent story if it had just been checked over.

(Oh, did you know that I' is the most commonly used word in the English language? A little sad, if you think about it.)

On with the story! :-)

Identical?

Yes.

Impossible?

Obviously not.

Professor McCoy asked me. I see you've noticed something interesting.

This woman- Nerida Hellen- was attached to my back? I asked, though I already realized the answer. But how?

First, you are going to need to learn a little genetics to understand, Sara. The X gene, the one that determines mutancy, is attached to the X chromosome- hence its name. That's the gender chromosome.

Yeah, a girl has XX and a boy has XY. You get one from each parent. The mother can only give out X's and the father determines the gender because he can give out either the X or the Y, I said, still weakly, but my strength was beginning to return to me. I wondered exactly genetics had to do with a woman attached to my back and the fact that I was hearing voices, but knowing Mr. McCoy, he would take time explaining something to make sure the recipient understood completely before applying it to the real topic of discussion. After all, he was a science teacher.

Mr. McCoy continues with his genetics lesson. Right. But the entire gene is recessive. Which means that it is twice as easy for a man to be a mutant than a woman. A woman must get one altered X chromosome from each parent, a man only from the mother as the father gives the Y chromosome. The Y chromosome cannot contain the X gene; it is too small. It is the same with certain diseases, like hemophilia and color blindness- men get them much more often because they only need the problem on the X chromosome to have it.

But wouldn't that mean that any woman who is a mutant has a mutant for a father? After all, he gave out a copy of his only altered X to his daughter. And if he gives out the mutant causing X, he must have that mutant causing X, I said, thinking I'd caught his science in its tracks.

No. And that is a good question because it also explains why each mutant is distinctly different, but related ones have similarities in their looks or powers. Your father isn't a mutant because the way the X gene comes into the general populace- it is accidentally created during meiosis when a piece of chromosome 18 accidentally breaks off and fuses onto the X chromosome backwards. When this happens, the size of the piece differs form person to person. But meiosis does not affect a specimen; just its offspring. Once it is in the populace, this is true, however. For example, now that you have two of the mutant gene, one on each X chromosome, any sons you have will have to be mutants because no matter which of the two X's you give them, they will be affected. Those hypothetical mutant sons' mutant powers will be very similar, possibly identical to each other, but not to your own. They will only receive one of the two X's you have, which would each have different sized piece of chromosome 18 attached, causing different effects. Any daughters you have will only be carriers of your mutant gene unless you have children with a mutant. Then, your daughters will all have similar mutant powers to each other, but they will be unlike you, your hypothetical husband's, or your hypothetical sons. That's why Scott and his brother Alex can both shoot lasers, but from different parts of their bodies, yet both their parents were normal.

I pondered over this for a moment. This meant simply- you could tell if someone had the X-gene if their X chromosome was longer than normal!

Nerida Hellen- is she a mutant, too? I asked.

Professor McCoy pulled out four gene maps. This one is the map of two normal X chromosomes. This one, your two X chromosomes. This- the map of Nerida's. The last is my own single X chromosome.

I studied the four gene maps. The first map had two identically sized X chromosomes- the normal ones. Next came my two X's- one was longer than the other, but they were both longer than the ones in the first picture. Nerida's were much, much longer than my own, both also different sizes. Lastly, Professor McCoy's single X was the longest of all, but only barely longer that Nerida's longer one.

The longer the piece of Chromosome 18 that attached on, the less humanlike the mutant, Professor McCoy added. We don't know exactly what Nerida can do, but as you can see from the information Xavier has gathered, it seems as if her powers involve driving people insane- messing with their heads. Whatever she is, she won't look human. She also doesn't show up on Cerebro at all.

I held my breath for a moment, staring into space. So I wasn't crazy after all. It was her doing.

She may not show up on Cerebro because she latches herself onto her target. She's a leech. Several times, it felt like I was trying to kill myself- I couldn't control it. The worst time was right after I knocked out Magneto, back in the fist week of May. There are certain parasites that can actually control their hosts. There's one that must reproduce in cats, but can only parasite off of a mouse. So it takes over the mouse's brain and makes the mouse host sit in front of a cat so it can be eaten- getting the parasite into the cat, I said, then realizing that my strength was returning rapidly. I could now sit up and stretch just fine.

Did you ever see her, Sara? Professor Xavier asked me.



Do you know anything about her?

Aside from the fact that she was trying to make me think that I was a schizophrenic- no.

Both professors had awkward looks to their faces. Brow lines appeared on both- deep in thought presumably. After all, Nerida just seemed like the kind of person who would want something. Why would she just latch onto people and make them go crazy? For the fun of it?

Somehow, after the eleven years I'd spent with her, and the information before me, it seemed unlikely. I had to sort this out on my own. More importantly, I had a date with the members of Operation: Save Kurt's Sleep- we still needed to find out the cause of Jean's relentless whimpering.

May I be excused? I asked, obviously breaking my professors' concentrations.

I- I don't see why not, Mr. McCoy replied, as he lumbered back to the far corner where the heavy equipment resided.



One hour later that afternoon, outside by the pool as the sun was setting, the four of us were deep in conversation as my friend Catie was challenging Wolfsbane to swimming races in the enormous inground pool and my brother and Scott were playing tennis as my parents watched. My family and Catie were staying until July sixth, to celebrate the holiday and make sure I was feeling better, complicating Operation: Save Kurt's Sleep plans a little.

I mused on what had happened the previous hour as I conversed- Jubilee was shocked to see me walk right out of the infirmary on my own, just as she was about to carry in a steaming pot of green tea- almost spilling it all over if it hadn't been for my force field (which for some reason, was no longer giving me a major throbbing headache, just a minor one that felt, almost... distant). All the while, we were all chatting away about what exactly had happened the previous morning.

After you fell unconscious, the mass that you cut off fell to the ground and shpt straight though the window.

It could phase- like Kitty?

At the sound of her name, Kitty grew more interested. As she never saw what happened, it probably would have been interesting if he found a mutant with an identical power. But then- wouldn't that mean they were related in some way? I shuddered at the thought of Kitty and Nerida being related, but my apprehensive thoughts abated at Jubilee's response.

No- it broke the glass, ramming into it and then slithering out. I was too scared to do anything, then you started mumbling something which Rahne informed me later was Scottish, and the window fixed itself.

Weird. That's not on my list.

Kurt looked perplexed. Your VHAT?

List. Of languages I know. That'd be English- well duh-, French, German, Japanese, Swedish, Norwegian, Hebrew, Spanish, and I study Egyptian hieroglyphics in my free time, too.

Do you, like, have a life? Kitty questioned jokingly.

Nah, not really. I sleep five hours a night. But going back onto the subject... Ju, what happened next?

You wouldn't stop muttering, then your language shifted. You started repeating Akuryo Taijan- or something like that- over and over again. When Professor McCoy went to sedate you, you started reciting poetry. Do you know what that other thing you were saying meant? It sounded like a warning to me.

Akuryo Taijan... Akuryo Taijan... that's it! By any chance could it have been Akuryo Taisan that I said?



That's a Japanese spell, said to ward off evil spirits.

You sounded like you'd cracked. You were flinging yourself all over the floor.

And I don't seem to remember any of it.

Kurt cut in again. Veird. None of zis seems to make sense at all. He shrugged, then added, Jean vas sobbing so hard at ze moment she vouldn't even leave her room.

She's still blubbering? I inquired.



Any ideas?

I, like, did overhear her talking with Duncan. A lot. Maybe they're, like, breaking up or something? Kitty statement- questioned. As much as I liked her, the way she talked was beginning to get on my nerves.

Nein- zey are in a band together or something. Zere's some big concert coming up.

What does that have to do with Duncan and Jean breaking up or not?

Kurt was caught, dead in his own tracks.

I didn't mean to snoop (--Poe- Note-- Notice something, folks? Just had to stick that in there. I loved the way Cunnings said the line in the movie. Man, I sound stupid.). Honest. Just, zat, ven Sara vas in ze infirmary, so vas everyvone else in ze school. Except Jean, of course. So, naturally, it vas a perfect opportunity.

I smiled. as I leaned back in my chair.

Like, you stinkbomb, save that for the judge, Kitty said, as she pushed a fully clothed Kurt into the pool.

--Poe Note--

My longest chapter ever! Over 2,000 words, and seven pages on my word processor! Wow! Next week's chapter will be about July 4, and some O:SKS infiltration of Jean's room, maybe a visit from the Brotherhood or Nerida...

You'll have to wait. Sorry!

Neener neener neener!

:-) Raven