Summary: Cerebro detects a new mutant signature at the site of a plane crash outside New York. Just who is this stranger from places unknown?

PS: I left the 'Clue' scene in for everyone's enjoyment :)

---A Beautiful Stranger---

"Okay, I know who did it," said Kurt excitedly. "I'm telling you, I know who did it!"

"Well, like, hurry up and tell us so we can finish this," said Kitty impatiently.

It was a quiet Saturday night at Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters, and since they had nothing better to do, the X-Kids were playing a game of Clue. They'd been at it for over an hour and everyone (except Kurt of course) was getting pretty tired of it.

"It was Mrs White in the Ballroom with the Revolver!" said Kurt triumphantly.

"I still say it was Professor Plum in the Kitchen with the Rope," argued Tabitha.

"You're, like, both wrong," said Kitty matter-of-factly. "It was Miss Scarlet in the Dining Room with the Dagger."

"No, it was Colonel Mustard in the Conservatory with the Lead Pipe," Jean insisted. "It was Miss Scarlet last time."

"Were you peeking at everyone's cards?" asked Bobby, casting a suspicious glance at Jean.

("No, I was,") came Professor Xavier's voice before Jean could answer. ("It was Reverend Green in the Study with the Wrench.")

"Awww!"

"That's not fair," Kurt pouted. "I was about to win!"

"Yeah right Blue," Tabitha muttered, throwing her cards down.

("I interrupted this game because we have an emergency. Jean, get the team together and to the Blackbird immediately.")

----------------------ten minutes later-----------------------

The team listened to the news story that Xavier had monitored as the Blackbird roared to life and soared though the waterfall and out of the hangar.

"Breaking news tonight, a 747 crash landed in a field twelve miles south east of the New York airport less than an hour ago," the news reporter read. "According to emergency personnel at the scene, there is no explanation for the crash at this time but it is believed to be the result of an engine failure which occurred during flight. Miraculously, no one was killed, or in fact, injured at all. Passengers claim that they were surrounded by a strange blue light which protected them from the impact of the crash and flames from the damaged fuel tank. Police are currently searching for a teenage girl who mysteriously disappeared from the scene of the crash soon after impact. She's described as being around 15 years of age, 5 feet 6 inches tall with blonde hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is encouraged to contact poli---"

Scott, who was piloting, pressed a button on the console and the stereo speakers went silent.

"So the kid the cops are looking for is a mutant?" asked Jean.

"It seems likely," the Professor answered thoughtfully. "According to Cerebro the girl's name is Starina and she's from Australia. We've had detections from that area before but haven't been able to identify them until now. The only trouble we'll have is finding her."

"What kinda powers does she have?" asked Scott, turning his head slightly to listen.

"I'm not sure yet, but if she's frightened she won't be taken so easily," Xavier went on. "From what I can get of her brainwave patterns she's instinctively defensive and can hide herself to great effect. It's important that we find her before the authorities do. I have a feeling that people won't take in her appearance so easily."

A half hour later Scott landed the Blackbird in the woods about a mile away from the crash site. By now it was nearly ten o' clock and it was a moonless night and very dark. The team was supplied with flashlights to make the search somewhat easier.

"These woods go on for miles, we're lookin' for a needle in a haystack," said Rogue grumpily. "We'll be here all night."

"She won't have gone far, not while she doesn't know her way around," growled Logan knowingly, sniffing the air. "About a quarter of a mile that way," he added, pointing directly into the thicker part of the woods.

"You'll need to be careful, the girl's confused and she'll scare easily," the Professor warned. "Storm, if you fly overhead you might spot her from the air and be able to direct us to her. The rest of you can follow Wolverine's lead."

Storm nodded once and was away in a heartbeat. Logan lead the others in the direction he'd indicated while Xavier waited with the jet. The dense woods and thick undergrowth made it difficult to move quietly, if at all. Their uniforms kept getting caught in brambles and tearing.

"Next time we go on a nature hike, remind me to a bring a chainsaw," Kitty grunted as she got stuck for the third time in five minutes. "Or maybe a bulldozer."

"C'mon Kitty, it's not that bad," Kurt said as he helped pull her free. "It could be worse. We could be doing a level 4 in the Danger Room right now."

"Who forgot the insect repellent?" asked Scott, slapping a mosquito on his neck, then he lifted his com-link. "Any sign of her, Storm?"

"Nothing yet, Cyclops," Storm's voice responded.

Logan sniffed the air again. "We're gettin' close," he growled softly, then he noticed some tracks in the dried dirt and bent down to take a look at them. "She was here, just minutes ago. Looks like she heard us comin' and bolted."

"Aw great," Rogue muttered. "We will be here all night now."

"Wait a second," Jean put her hands to her temples. "She's stopped, not far from here. I'll go in first and see if I can talk to her."

"Alright Jean, but remember what the Prof said," Scott warned. "We'll wait here."

Jean nodded and went on ahead, keeping her flashlight to the ground so she could see where she was going. As she walked she noticed a shred of material caught in some brambles and bent to have a look. There was blood on it. The girl must have cut herself as she ran by. That was why she stopped. Jean continued for about another thirty feet before she spotted someone sitting at the base of an old pine tree. The figure was curled up into a little ball and shaking like a leaf. The poor kid must be terrified, Jean thought as she went closer.

"Hi there," she greeted.

The girl leaped up as though someone had brandished a whip at her. "Who are you?" she demanded, keeping to the shadows and backing away. "What do you want?"

"It's alright, I'm not gonna hurt you," Jean put her hands up quickly. "I'm a friend, I'm here to help."

"Who are you?" Starina repeated.

"I'm Jean Grey," said Jean, lowering her hands slowly.

"I know you're not alone," Starina warned. "You're here to arrest me, aren't you?"

"No, we're not here to arrest you," said Jean gently. "You're not in trouble. We just want to help. You know my friends are there because you can smell them, can't you?"

"How d'you know that?" asked Starina, coming forward a little but staying in the shadows.

"Because I have a special ability, just like you do," Jean explained. "That's why we're here. We just want to help you understand it, that's all."

"You mean I'm not the only one who's had an accident involving Bilonium oxide?" Starina asked.

Jean wasn't prepared for this. "What're you talking about?"

Starina emerged from the shadows in answer. If Jean had never met Kurt, the sight of the girl would've seemed more like something out of a horror movie. Starina was covered in fur the colour of beach sand, had dog-like ears, elongated clawed feet and a six-foot long striped tail. Jean also noticed that her right arm was bandaged.

"This happened about three weeks ago," Starina explained. "All I know is that it has something to do with a chemical called Bilonium oxide."

Before Jean could answer, she suddenly sensed someone coming, and it wasn't any of the other X-Men. Starina must have sensed it too, because she pricked her ears and sniffed the air frantically.

"Oh no, they followed me here…" she said in a trembling voice.

"Who? Who followed you?" asked Jean.

"Leg it Jean! They'll catch you!" Starina yelled, and she dropped down to all fours and tore off through the scrub.

"Starina, wait!" Jean called.

She heard dogs barking and used her TK to lift herself up into a tree out of harm's way. There was a scrunching of footsteps and three men with Rottweilers now took up the space where she and Starina had just been. The men wore tan uniforms with brown around the hems on the sleeves and collars. The dogs strained on their leads in the direction that Starina had gone and barked more viciously.

"Sir, we've located the girl in the woods, she's headed your way," one of the men spoke into a radio.

Then they let the dogs off their leads and like bloodthirsty war hounds took off after their target.

("Jean, Scott and the others are coming, Storm will help you follow the girl,") Xavier's voice rang through Jean's mind.

As if on cue, there was a blast of red light and one of the men fell to the ground. The other two whipped out pistols and started firing.

"Ambush! Send backup!" one of them shouted into a radio, then Wolverine sprung out of the bushes and sliced the gadget in three.

Jean saw Storm fly overhead and flew up to join her.

"Which way did she go?" Storm asked quickly.

"She went that way, she's headed into a trap and she's got three dogs on her tail," Jean spoke in a rush.

"Then we've got to find her quickly," Storm nodded.

Down on the ground, Starina couldn't run for much longer. Her legs ached and her muscles seized up and stiffened and her feet were cramping. Behind her the dogs pursued relentlessly, Starina could almost feel their hot breath on her neck. She had to keep going or she'd be ripped to shreds. Suddenly she tripped over a tree root and hit the ground so hard it knocked the wind out of her. Her limbs shook as she staggered back up and continued running. By now her chest was hurting so badly it felt like she was having a heart attack.

"Aha! Gotcha!" a man jumped out from behind a tree.

Starina skidded to a halt and turned to run the other way, but the dogs had caught up and now had their hackles raised. Starina turned around again to face the man, panting heavily.

"You've nowhere to go Starina, don't make this any harder for yourself," the man said, coming towards her.

"You won't take me," Starina snarled, raising her own hackles and showing her fangs. She had barely the strength to hold her stance, but if all else failed she wouldn't be taken alive.

"Come along quietly and you won't get hurt," the man responded in a soft, dangerous voice. "You might've escaped us once, but you won't escape again."

Then suddenly there was a blast of wind so powerful that both Starina and the man were knocked over. Thunder rolled overhead and forked lightning flashed menacingly. Then

BAMF!

Something grabbed Starina's arm and

BAMF!

Next thing she knew she was in a clearing surrounded by strange people. She recognised their scent immediately and sprang up, looking around at them all. Then she saw Kurt and screamed.

"AAAARGH! Get away from me!" she shrieked, backing away as fast as she could.

"Starina, it's okay, we're gonna hurt you," Scott put his hands up in alarm.

She kept backing away until she bumped into Logan. She screamed again and tried to jump away, but Logan firmly grabbed her wrist to keep her from falling over backwards as the ground was covered in rocks.

"Don't touch me! Let go!" Starina shrieked at him, struggling for all it was worth.

"Calm down kid, we're here to help," Logan tried.

Starina's reaction was to bite his hand. Logan snarled with pain and released her. She stumbled over a large stone and Scott only just caught her before she hit the ground.

"NO! Get off me!" Starina yelled, trying to free herself.

She gave a powerful swing of her tail and knocked him off his feet, but she was in such a state she had no strength left in her to fight anymore. She staggered back a few steps and promptly fainted. This time Logan caught her.

"Like, what was all that about?" asked Kitty, looking confused. "She took, like, one look at us and totally freaked!"

Just then, Storm and Jean returned, flying overhead and then landing in the clearing.

"Scott, what happened?" Jean asked in alarm when she saw the girl unconscious.

"I dunno, she tried to run and just fainted," Scott explained.

"We've gotta get her back to he Institute, she's in shock," Logan growled loudly.

"Kurt, teleport her to the jet," Scott ordered. "Tell Professor X we're right behind you."

"Aye, aye captain!" Kurt gave a mock salute, took Starina from Logan and was gone with a BAMF.

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That's chapter two rewritten, what'd you guys think? Please R/R and let me know.

PS: Any suggestions or helpful tips would be very much appreciated, thanks all!