Chapter One:

As the morning sun rose over Westchester, New York, streams of light coursed through the windows on the east side of Xavier's School for the Gifted. It was warm, friendly, announcing without question the presence of spring.

Kurt Wagner woke slowly as the sun began to shine through the curtains of his room. Stretching his five limbs sleepily, he sat up in bed and yawned. He glanced toward the partially covered windows and a small smile formed on his face as he looked out over the mansion's spacious lawns.

It had been nearly a month since the events in West Virginia, and Kurt was relieved that life at Xavier's school had begun to return to normal again. The unseasonably chilly weather they had endured seemed to end suddenly as March turned to April, and the pleasant temperatures had rejuvenated everyone's spirits. The students were starting to count the days until summer vacation (as were some of the teachers). Even though many of them would not be leaving the mansion to return to their homes, Kurt knew the Professor had been arranging a variety of school trips and holidays for them to enjoy while classes were not in session.

With a few quick movements, Kurt was out of bed and on his feet. He went about his normal morning routine, whistling a cheerful tune that had often been played during his time at the Munich Circus. The harpsichordist there had been a kindly old man who had chosen it particularly for the Amazing Nightcrawler's most death defying performances.

After he came out of his bathroom, he knelt on a pillow at the foot of his bed, and folded his hands together in humble prayer. This morning conversation with God was always to give thanks for all he had and to ask for protection for his friends and the students he lived with. Kurt raised his head after a moment, and stared up at the small crucifix hanging on the wall above his bed.

"Amen," he said aloud, and a smile returned to his face as he grasped his rosary and blessed himself.

Using his tail as much as his arms, Kurt dressed in a loose-fitting shirt and pants, knowing he would be changing again soon for training anyway. With another quick flip of his tail, he closed the closet doors behind him and then teleported out into the hallway.

When he reappeared, he was relieved not to see anyone else around. He had been practicing teleportation more often without the aid of a visual cue for his destination; through walls, up and down to different floors in the mansion, but it typically was not encouraged for him to do it alone. After all, there was always the chance of teleporting into someone else, but Kurt knew it was still too early for most of the students to be awake yet.

He waited until he reached the top of the stairs before teleporting down to the ground below to be sure no one was standing near the front doors.

BAMF

Kurt yawned again as he walked down the halls. Above him, he began to hear the rumbling footsteps of the students as they got themselves ready for their first classes. Kurt pushed open the kitchen door, and grinned when he saw Rogue leaning over a bowl of cereal and a textbook on the central counter. She greeted him happily, but Kurt could tell by the look on her face that she was doing some last minute cramming for today's history exam. Just because Rogue worked with the X-Men now did not mean Storm would be any easier on her when final grade came in.

If Rogue had been looking over at her friend, she would have seen that his face had flushed at little bit, his blue skin fading almost purple along his cheekbones. It happened whenever Kurt thought of Ororo...or talked to Ororo...or talked to someone else about Ororo. He could not help it. But he never called her Ororo to her face, it was always Miss Monroe, or Storm if they were in uniform. She had always intimidated him a little bit, her confidence, her poise, her unwavering friendship since that moment under Alkalai Lake when he had teleported them into the dark Cerebro.

I have faith in you, she had said, and that powerful comment still affected him deeply. She did not know it, but that statement had helped him find his own confidence, and for that he would always been grateful to her.

Storm was his friend, she was his teammate, so why couldn't he have a simple conversation with her without becoming Herrennerven? Kurt sighed heavily and crouched on a chair at the larger table near the window, leaning his head in his hand and squinting into the sunlight.

"Training today, Kurt?" Rogue asked, glancing back over her shoulder.

"Ya," he replied, "How did Peter do yesterday? That was his first real session, wasn't it?"

Rogue nodded, "Yep, and he'll be there again today. You should have heard Siryn when she found out the Professor's letting him use the Danger Room with us."

"I did hear her," Kurt said with a laugh, remembered the shrill shriek from the dorms, "Who broke the news to her?"

"Kitty did," Rogue replied with a grin, "Though she's regretting it. She was complaining of a headache all last night. Teach her not to gossip so much. Oh...wait, no it won't..."

Kurt chuckled and leapt up from his chair after he finished eating his own breakfast.

"I am going to head downstairs," he said and Rogue slammed her book shut with a sigh.

"So am I," she said, "There's no way I'm gonna be able to study with everyone around looking for food. I'm gonna hang out in the lab until class."

Kurt and Rogue wandered out of the kitchen and headed toward the concealed elevator near the back staircase. They were chatting and laughing as they turned the corner and spotted Scott and the Professor talking to one of the newer students. She could not have been more than fourteen or fifteen years old, but she looked happy enough, staring in awe at the mansion around her. Rogue waved to Scott as they approached.

"Good morning, Mr. Summers," she addressed him formally in front of the new student, "Good morning, Professor."

"Oh, hello, Rogue," the Professor said and smiled at Kurt, "...and good morning to you, Mr. Wagner. We have just been showing Jessica here the classrooms and introducing her to the other teachers."

Kurt glanced over at the girl with a friendly grin, but he could tell immediately from the look on her face that his appearance had startled her. The cheerful smile had faded from her face, and she would only look at Kurt with quick, nervous glances. It was something Kurt had grown accustomed to over his years in the circus, but he still felt awkward when addressing someone new for the first time.

"It is very nice to meet you," Kurt said politely, "Welcome to our school."

Rogue looked between her friend and the new student, and continued the conversation with civility, even though she hated how the girl was acting.

"I hope Mr. Summers isn't too tough on you during your first class," Rogue said, trying to ease the girl's tension by throwing Scott an amused wink, "He never goes easy on me and Kurt..."

The girl did not smile but continued to look fearfully between them. Xavier sighed, and glanced over at the others.

Give her time, he sent to them telepathically and Kurt nodded knowingly.

"Well, Jessica, why don't we show you some of the other dormitories before classes begin," Xavier said and lead the new student and Scott on down the hall.

Kurt watched them go sadly and sighed. When he looked over at Rogue again, he could sense her barely contained anger and he grinned.

"And I though Logan had left," Kurt teased her and Rogue took a deep breath before replying.

"Sorry," she said, "I just don't have patience for people like than anymore. What does she think you are? Some kind of monster or something? You're a mutant...just like her...just like all of us..."

"I've been mistaken for such things in the past," Kurt said softly, reflecting on his time in the abandoned church in Boston, "Both purposefully, by my actions, and not..."

Rogue sighed again, "Well, you shouldn't be mistaken for those things here. This is a place for mutants."

"And that child is probably just beginning to learn what mutants are," Kurt said simply, "I wonder how long she has known she is a mutant. Probably only a matter of weeks. She cannot be blamed for her attitude."

"I guess," Rogue replied, but then pointed a warning finger at him, "But, if she's rude to you again..."

Kurt grinned, "Then she will be rude. I will not try to force her to change her opinions. There are her own to choose."

"Dammit, Kurt, stop being so understanding!" Rogue exclaimed, "I'm trying to be enraged over here!"

"Save it for the Danger Room, böses Fräulein," Kurt said, and they continued on toward the elevator

As they waited for the doors to open, Kurt noticed Mary walking past them with her eyes downward in thought. When she spotted them, Mary walked over to them quickly. She had a strange look on her face, worried, almost anxious.

"Morning," Mary said quickly, and pointed at the closed wall, "Down?"

"Yep," Rogue replied and then frowned, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered quickly, "I'm just...I need to talk to Dr. McCoy..."

"Are you sure?" Kurt asked and Mary gave him a strange, measuring look. Kurt shifted uncomfortably and wondered why everyone was so unnerved today.

"Yeah," Mary said, and then as the elevator opened she spoke again, "Maybe I won't go downstairs...I should talk to the Professor first...maybe...but...well...Kurt? Has anything strange happened to you today?"

Kurt blinked in surprised and shook his head.

"No, why do you ask?" he said and Mary shrugged.

"Um...no reason...just..." she said, almost mumbling, "Just be careful today..."

Mary suddenly spun around and headed back in the other direction. Kurt and Rogue exchanged confused glances as they walked into the elevator.

"Everyone's so jittery this morning," Rogue said, "Maybe someone put caffeine in the water supply..."

"That should be interesting for the school day then," Kurt replied with a grin, but inwardly was still more than a little surprised by Mary's strange behavior and vague concern.

Oh, well, he thought, At least if I'm nervous around Oro...Miss Monr... Storm... maybe no one will notice...

--------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note: Um...nothing really to say. :-) Just review responses...hooray!

To XanyKaos: Can't get too blasphemous, yo. I don't wanna be struck by lightning or anything. The almighty has a sense of humor but only puts up with my crap for so long. (I have a Celtic cross emblazoned on my shoulder so I get some leeway.) :-) But seriously the real question I'm looking at here is Kurt's strong convictions about his religious faith versus his own faith in himself. I don't think his character has any doubts about God and his spiritual beliefs, but does have doubts about himself. He has patience for other people's faults but little patience for his own. Makes a good contrast with Storm, who believes in herself and those around her but has doubts about the rest of the world. :-)

To WolfKyr: Thanks for following on to book 5! This one's going to be a little more challenging to write, but what fun would it be if it was easy! Keep up the grammar watching too! LOL. You catch what MSWord grammar check doesn't!

To Sheera: Buffyverse mixed with X-menverse makes for one insanityverse. Considering there's a few more otherverses that will be mixed in too, it's gonna be one funky fan fiction smoothie once I'm done. :-)

To Liz, the capitalist madhatter: I always thought Faith's character was interesting. I'm going from season four I think. I wasn't able to watch the later seasons, and probably won't be able until the DVDs are out. :-) After coma...after body switching with Buffy (I'm not sure when that was exactly), Faith is out on her own, but unable to deny her need to do what Slayers are born to do. I imagine she has some doubts about herself as well.

To DemonRogue13: I've come to find that Mary's gift of seeing the future is a great lead in for stories. Question is...will she be able to change what she saw. (enter dun dun dun music here :-)

To ManniElf18: Many more crossover characters to come. :-) My sis has been buggin' me for a Giles scene since Book 1...but I leave her in terrible suspense but not telling her anything that's gonna happen. William the Bloody (awful poet) will definitely be making an appearance, though probably not in this book. This one's gonna pretty X-Men-centric, but who knows. I certainly don't know. I'm a surprised as anyone when the words appear on the page before me. Then I look back over the text...and realize I should be thanking God for MSWord spell checker or else the whole series woould loooke lyke theiiis.