Chapter One

Diana Bailey entered what had been her home for the longest time, a small house near the coasts of Maine. Today may have seemed like an ordinary day to anyone else, but to seven-year-old "Dee", it was the proudest moment in her life. Quickly dropping her book bag to the floor, she ran into the kitchen to find her mother at the table. Dee immediately embraced Sarah Bailey, even though she didn't look as bright and happy as her daughter had.

"Mom! I won! I even got a trophy!" Dee exclaimed, running back to the entrance of the living room to snatch up her backpack and return to the kitchen. Unzipping it, she seemed to have no patience at that moment, but little children the age of seven had more patience than Dee did. She pulled out a golden trophy with a blue stand, her name on a plaque at the bottom. The girl at the top had her arms thrown back, her face held proud into the air. That was just how Dee felt right now.

"Good job, Dee! You can put it next to your others on the shelf in the living room." Though she sounded a bit less than excited at the moment, she had her reasons, which had just become considerably worse. She placed a hand on her stomach, lightly gagging in the back of her throat. She was starting to feel sick again. Running to the bathroom, Sarah had to expel her current nauseated feeling, which had been better just an hour before.

Dee frowned a bit and went back into the living room, staring down at her new trophy. There was one for every year on the shelf, as she had one every competition since she was five years old. She was a born gymnast with excellent balance, or so her instructors told her, and a child prodigy who could make it to nationals if she tried hard enough. She felt a bit of comfort when her father, David, came through the door, smiling as he saw the trophy sparkling in his daughter's small hands.

"Hey, you won! Great job. Where's your mother?" Suddenly regretting the question as her large, pale blue eyes looked toward the ground, he kneeled, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Sick again? Don't worry, Dee. The hospitals will find out what's wrong." He grimaced a bit, knowing that his wife had been sick ever since Diana was born, and they were running out of money fast. He was a businessman, but he hadn't found his big break yet, leaving them out of money. He stood and walked upstairs, heading to his room because of the sudden weakness he felt. He knew she felt guilty about their illnesses, seeing as she was the only healthy one in the family, but he could always feel her thoughts in her head as if she were speaking to him. The same went for his wife and every other person out there, but David had known since he was fourteen years old that he was a mutant.

David had telepathy, or the ability to read minds as if they were his own. He had enrolled in a school to help control them in his teenage years, and succeeded in becoming a businessman without any question. Of course, now that Xavier's was getting more popular, he wouldn't doubt that they'd find out eventually from a background check that he wasn't fit for public work. He wondered if his little girl was one too, his perfect gymnast who hadn't fallen once in her life, but quickly put the thought out of his mind. If she was a mutant, it would damage her chances at a future. He knew she was worthy of the Olympics even at this age, but he knew not to push it. After all, she needed to grow up a normal child in order to live a normal life.

As her father ascended the stairs, Dee looked back to her shelf, placing the new trophy next to the other two. A strand of her raven locks had fallen from the bun at the top of her head, staying next to one of her pale cheeks. She was an odd child and had always been that way, but she had gymnastics to strive for. For a seven-year-old, she was already mature and aware of the family's hardships, and that's why she had to go on with being a happy child. She was the ray of sunshine in their lives, and that brought a small smile to her heart-shaped lips.

Diana Bailey was now eleven years old. She had still won every local competition in gymnastics, even continued on to state last year and won that as well. The newspapers had featured her on the front page that day, smiling proudly, a little girl emerging into a young woman. David had found his big break, and now they were much better off financially than ever before, even planning on moving someday. She was blossoming fast, but her mind was sharp enough to keep up with her body. The trophy shelf now had eight trophies upon it, including the one she won from the state competition.

David had seen the changes in her daughter both physically and mentally, and he was wondering why he hadn't seen it sooner. His hand moved to remove his glasses and set them on the table, rubbing his eyes afterwards and waiting for his daughter to enter the living room after practice. They had some serious things to discuss, and he could only hope that she was ready for it. His wife had been in the hospital all day for tests, and he had already known the answers. They thought it would have something to do with her equilibrium, but when they had checked, they said it was normal, although it showed significant damage before.

Dee entered through the front door, lightly sighing at the hardships of her day. She had been ridiculed at practice, even though she did perfect as usual. She was being isolated because of her determination, and she knew at once that she wouldn't be popular at all from now on. Everyone was tired of hearing about her in the paper, tired of their parents telling them that they should work as hard as she did, and tired of Dee in general. The day had worn the girl out, but she wasn't one to be down for long. She greeted her father automatically, turning on the light in the darkening living room. "Hey Dad."

David looked up, barely even hearing his daughter enter with the grace and silence of a cat, placing his glasses back in their rightful position. "Hello, Diana." He suddenly stiffened, feeling like an old man calling her that, and noticing how much she had grown right in front of his eyes. Dee looked slightly confused, perking a dark brow at her full name and setting her book bag down, joining him in his seat on the couch. Thoughts were racing through her mind at a mile a minute, almost unbearable for the telepathic David.

"Your mother's in the hospital today. She got some tests done. They say she has taken severe damage to the equilibrium, or the part of her brain that controls balance. They're keeping her overnight because they can't seem to find the source. But that isn't the only thing that I sat down with you here to tell you." He took a deep breath, searching his mind for the correct words that could be explanation for what he was going to tell her, but instead of prolonging it, chose those most fit. "Diana...I'm a mutant." Now feeling a large burden lifted, he waited before speaking again. "And you might be one too."