Thank ya very much Jinxeh, I'm glad you like these stories!

Here's chappie two!

Ice Lynx

-

Steph took a deep breath as the Headmaster introduced her up at the microphone, his silver hair gleaming in the bright lights on the stage. Steph walked out in her X Man uniform as she always did, the black tights and top outlined with orange, a large silver X on her belt and both gloves, her black trench coat sweeping out behind her as she smiled at the sea of young faces, all of them looking curious, some amused and a few, as usual, disgusted. It was to be expected, and it didn't bother Steph at all.

"Thank you very much," she said to the Headmaster, who was smiling off to the side of the stage. Then she addressed the crowd. "And thank you for coming, each and every one of you, I hope that by the end of the hour you will not feel that it was wasted." Blinking once and trying to release the nervous knot in her stomach Steph began.

-

The wolf man watched as the woman walked up on stage. He was busy in the shadows in back of the room, but he paused. It was obvious this woman was mutant-kind, but the uniform she wore did not reveal her powers.

He had seen that signature X before; he knew what kind of people would possibly come to avenge the death of a teammate.

They had to be careful, but as the Members had earlier stated in the meeting, there was no turning back now.

He finished setting the explosives, and before any of the students realized he had been slinking around behind them he was gone as the woman on stage started a slideshow of some kind.

-

"-It is quite possible, actually more than likely, that there are a few mutants in this University," Steph said, watching as a hushed murmur went through the crowds. She saw eyes dart around, other's roll, and a few glares. All of it exactly like every other time she said these words, so she continued.

"It may be possible that a mutation will cause physical changes, such as the skin, eyes, hair, or even limbs of a person changing, they could sprout fur or gain a tail, or at times, transform into different shapes altogether," Steph thought about her friends as she listed some of the mutations she had seen before. "Other mutations are not as evident, such as the ability to read thoughts, control elements, the ability to fly, or enhanced senses. The inability to see these mutations makes identifying mutants difficult, because other than a special power or powers, even the visible ones, mutants are regular humans." A hand in the crowd went up, and when Steph nodded a lean girl with dark hair and eyes stood.

"But mutants aren't human," she said. Steph nodded.

"It is true that mutants are slightly different than the average human, with powers or looks," she said. "But these traits are like a person who is incredibly smart. If they had no genetic mutation, would he, for his intellect, be labeled non-human?"

"But that's different," the girl said. Steph smiled.

"How?" she asked.

"Well-" the girl paused, thinking. "His DNA remains 100 human, but mutants have the X factor, which is what causes the mutations."

"True," Steph said. The girl took a breath and spoke again.

"Besides, mutants look different," she said. Steph arched an eyebrow as she pressed a button, and behind her the slideshow screen flashed with the faces of twelve men and women, all looking straight at the audience. Steph motioned towards them. "I have talked to all twelve of these people, and with the help of a few experts, gave all twelve the same exact questions, reading situations to them and asking what their responses would be. All twelve answered the same way, and when asked how they felt about different things, they again answered the same.

"All twelve of these people are healthy, still living today the normal life of an average person, trying to make it in the world. They work, eat, sleep, move, an' they all have emotions, a few have children, and all are in relationships. There is only one difference, three of them have the X factor," Steph paused. "One can control electricity, channeling it into whatever they want. Another can read minds, the last can grow claws and fangs at will. Now, can anyone in this room point out these three individuals?"

Hands rose in the air, and Steph had a few of the students guess. After a moment she raised a hand, then hit the next slide. There was a moment of the shocked silence and Steph gestured to the three faces left up on the screen.

"As you can see, no one guessed any of these three," she said. The black haired girl blinked and Steph looked around. "None of you guessed, because you couldn't tell, could you? The women and the man looked completely normal, yet she can control electricity, he can grow fangs, and she can tell you what you're thinking about. And if you were to see me walking down the street, how many of you would think 'oh, that woman is definitely a mutant'?"

"What can you do?" a boy asked, raising his hand. "If you're a mutant, what are your powers?" Steph smiled.

"I have the ability to fly, an' before I learned to control it, my voice was a very, very bad thing to hear," she said. There were some more whispers as Steph waited for the request, which came almost immediately from another girl in the audience.

"Could you show us?"

"I cannot give you a vocal demonstration," Steph said, "But I can do this." With that she started to hover off the floor, watching amused as eyebrows shot up and gasps echoed around, the muttering intensifying as Steph drifted a bit further down the stage. The Headmaster was watching, and amused expression on his face as Steph landed again.

"How many of you thought I could do that?" she asked. No hands rose.

"How can you control your voice now if you couldn't before?" One boy near the front asked.

"Good question," Steph said. "It took me a long time to learn to control my mutation after it surfaced, luckily I was found by Charles Xavier a few years after I had t' resort to becoming a mute. With day and night help and careful practice I eventually learned to control my mutation, like many others who were self trained or found help at the Institute. That's why places like Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters are so important, an' should be available for all mutants around the world."

"And the American government allows this institute?" Another student asked.

"The school was the first of its kind," Steph said. "So it, and the mutants who live their, including myself, must constantly deal with suspicion and hate from everyone around us, though we have helped out country many times in the past and continue to do so. Such hate and fear, however, can drive many mutants to do the opposite, which is where the stereotypical 'evil genetic freak' propaganda comes from."

"Has anyone ever tried to kill you?"

"Ahem, I do not believe that is an appropriate question," said the Headmaster, coming forth for the first time. He looked at Steph. "It is your choice whether or not to answer that, Mrs. McCoy." Steph smiled.

"Many times," she said, nodding at the student.

"By humans?"

"And mutants as well. For some, the intolerance has set in so deep they believe a war is coming between mutants and humans, which, if intolerance and hate from both mutants and humans continues to grow, may be the unfortunate case. People like me, and Professor Xavier, and many, many humans, feel that this 'war' will only come if the facts about mutants remain hidden, allowing misguided thoughts an' ideas to take root, like that mutation-" Steph was cut off by an explosion coming from right behind her, hitting her in the back and sending her crashing forward as other explosions and screams echoed.

Steph groaned, holding her arm as one boy helped her up, the rest of the students had started screaming and running for the exits, but cut off after explosion after explosion went off. Steph looked around, her heart racing as she finally looked up, and saw the roof crumble and give way.

Time seemed to slow as Steph watch, motionless, as the heavy beams fell towards her. The faces of her family raced through her mind as the stunned question overlapped them. What was going on?