Tears of the Innocents Chapter Five: The Anomaly, a x-men: the movie fanfic

Gemini had been embraced by her father in the hallway of the school the moment she returned. Pyro held her tightly, thanking God that she was safe, that his worst fears hadn't come to pass, that his curse had not returned to strike only the second girl he had ever loved.

"Dad," she giggled, a little surprised by the sudden show of affection. "What is it?"

He smiled at her, "I saw the terrorist attack on the news. I saw you – your twin – getting shot. For a few terrible seconds I thought I'd lost you, just as I lost – well, you know."

"I'm OK, Dad."

"I'm glad. I wouldn't have let you out of my sight if I'd realised you were going to take chances like that."

She looked at him. He was only half joking. Then she noticed that he was wearing his coat and was clearly on his way out.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"We're flying over to Scotland," he told her. "There's something Oculus wants us to check out. Oh, he wants to see you too. I should be back this afternoon. I'll see you then."

"OK. Love you."

He kissed her lightly on the top of her head, then they broke apart and he went with the other two adults. Love you. The words echoed inside his head. He didn't think anybody else except Jacqueline had ever said those words to him.

Gemini watched him go, then she began to feel a little uneasy. So Oculus wanted to see her. What could he want? The two of them hardly knew each other, and she never felt at ease with him. She had never seen the man laugh or smile; he always seemed to be perpetually gloomy and pessimistic, as if the end of the world lay just around every corner. He only taught classes for the older students, i.e. Gemini and her friends. She suspected this was because the younger kids simply couldn't relate to somebody so discouraging. She looked around for Vertigo, hoping he might accompany her, but she had left him behind in the garden and now he had disappeared. Gemini sighed and headed for Oculus' room.

On the way she passed one of the classrooms, and out of curiosity glanced inside. Gaia, Gladiator's mom, was standing at the front of the class, a group of small children in a semi-circle around her. Little Acceleratus was among them. Gemini stopped to watch. She liked the way Gaia taught her classes, typically showing the children an animal, and letting them touch it and stroke it if the creature was harmless enough and placid enough. Sometimes she would show them how to feed it or how to build a replica of its home, thus letting the kids learn from a more practical, hands-on experience. Gemini thought that was much better than being lectured to out of a textbook. She watched as Gaia reached into a box on her desk, and lifted out a snake. The children let out a collective gasp, some of the boys whispering, "Cool!" while most of the girls were backing away nervously.

"It's OK, he's only a baby," Chloe said, letting the small python wind around her wrist. "He's not poisonous. He won't hurt you. You can touch him if you like."

She knelt down in front of the children. Eventually one of the kids plucked up the courage to run his hand along the snake's back, keeping away from its head.

"Wow, it's not slimy at all!" came his surprised voice.

"Hey, it's sticking its tongue out at you," one of the other children giggled.

"That's how snakes hear," Gaia explained. "They don't have ears like we do, so they put out their tongues to sense the vibrations that noises make."

"Cool," said the boy.

"They don't have ears?" another kid said. "Weird."

It was a pity Gaia's class for the older students wasn't quite so much fun. At the moment she had them doing an essay on how climate change and human factors affected animals' habitats – or something like that, anyway. Nevertheless Gemini smiled, and continued on her way. Once she had reached Oculus' office, she raised her hand to knock on the door, but before she could do so his voice came from within, "Come in."

Damn telepath, she thought in annoyance. Even if he could sense her approach, he still ought to do her the courtesy of letting her knock on the door. She pushed it open and walked inside. Oculus looked up from the papers on his desk, and regarded her with the gold-centred eyes that still made her feel uncomfortable, since she knew that he might well be looking through her clothes. Gemini was used to people ogling her body and she hated it. It made her feel so dirty.

"My dad told me you wanted to see me," the girl said, hoping this would be over soon.

"Yes. Sit down, Alexandra."

Alexandra. They always insisted on using the name her parents had given her. Alexandra Cartëasis. That was what it had been. Gemini had left that name behind years ago, and she didn't understand why the X-Men still called her that. She sat down in front of the desk, and took a quick glance around Oculus' office. It was boring and drab, as she might have expected. There were no posters or anything, and definitely not enough colour. The door that led through to the adjoining room – Gaia's – was open, and Gemini glanced through there too, hoping it might be more interesting. She'd never been in Gaia's room before, and she was intrigued to see a number of boxes, cages and aquariums that clearly housed animals. Something was strange about them, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Then she realised what it was. None of the cages was locked, and none of the boxes had a lid. Whatever animals might be in them, were free to roam about as they wished. She hoped none of them were dangerous. She assumed Gaia had them under control.

"What can you tell me about Mystique?" Oculus broke into her thoughts.

The girl shrugged, "What do you wanna know?"

"Is she alive?"

Gemini didn't answer right away. Mystique had made it clear to her that she didn't want to be made known to the others. Actually, she had only specified that she didn't want Pyro to know about her, but Gemini assumed it applied to the other adults as well. She tried to sound casual as she said, "Why do you ask?"

"Because I sensed something unusual this morning when I was using the Cerebro machine. Something I couldn't explain. Your father said it might have something to do with Magneto's helmet technology. We thought Mystique was a likely candidate for somebody who would have access to it."

"I've no idea who might have access to it."

"But you do know something about Mystique."

"Why don't you ask my dad? He knew her better than I did."

Neil knew the girl was evading the question. He guessed she wanted to protect Mystique, who had been something like a mother to her. He would have told her just to answer him directly, but there was no need, not when he could simply read her mind. He did so, and found what he was looking for. So Mystique was alive, or at least she had been a month ago, when she had helped Gemini and her friends locate the Horsemen. It was unlikely that anything had befallen her since then. Could she have been the anomaly he had sensed? What would she have been doing in Glasgow? And what would she be doing with the helmet technology? Could she simply be trying to remain hidden? If so, why? What was she trying to hide?

The teenager was looking at him, waiting for him to respond. He said, "Maybe I'll talk to Pyro. I also want to ask you about what happened earlier today."

"The terrorist thing?"

"Yes."

She shrugged, trying to convey a sense of indifference, "Fire away."

"I assume you're not hurt."

"I'm fine," Gemini said, like you care.

"Good. From what I've been able to tell, the police still haven't identified the terrorists, though it seems clear their intention was to die along with their targets in the explosion – "

"Suicide bombers?" she interrupted.

Neil looked at the girl. He knew she wasn't comfortable being here, and he knew she found him too cold and aloof for her liking. Some adults had the gift of being able to talk to children on their own level. Neil did not, and it was clear to him that most of the teenagers didn't like him much. He wasn't sure what to make of Alexandra. It was obvious she had suffered badly as a child, but she was coping well. She was angry, proud, and never afraid to speak her mind or stand up for what she believed in. Although she no longer saw the X-Men as mutant-killing monsters, her opinion of them was still not high. As a teenager she naturally assumed that since they did not agree with things that seemed so obvious to her, then they must be stupid. The rest of her friends – Pyro's former students – were the same. Neil wondered, as he often had, whether it had been the right thing to do, to try and integrate them into the school. It hadn't been his decision to make, and he was glad of that, and it was too late to turn back the clock now. For better or worse, Alexandra, Vertigo, Cassandra, Atlas and – Neil sighed inwardly – Gary were now pupils here. And in honesty, they had adapted fairly quickly and fairly well. Children usually did. They tended to get on better with the younger X-Men – Iceman, Rogue, Shock, Gaia – but perhaps that was only natural too.

He returned his attention to the girl in front of him. Neil had known plenty of people who'd been the same at Alexandra's age. The only thing that made him uncertain was her incredible devotion to her new father. She saw Pyro as a saviour, a man who could do no wrong, and Neil knew that wasn't the case. Some day Alexandra would have to find that out.

"Yes, suicide bombers," he had responded to her. "We're very fortunate that you and Vertigo were able to incapacitate them before they could set off an explosion."

She knew that was as close to praise as she would get. She said, "So what else do you know about them?"

"They don't seem to belong to any known terrorist group, and nobody has come forward to claim responsibility for the attempted attack. That in itself is quite strange."

"So what do you make of it?" she asked, her curiosity aroused despite her determination not to show interest.

"Well, either they were working alone – that seems unlikely since their group and their beliefs would have died with them when the bomb had gone off – or they're working for somebody who wants to remain anonymous. That's very rarely the case in a terrorist incident such as this, and I'd like to look into it. When something unusual happens, it makes me curious."

You mean paranoid, she thought to herself.

"That's a possibility as well," he said, and Gemini gasped as she realised she'd forgotten about his telepathy.

"Hey, I didn't mean to, like, offend you," she said quickly.

It wasn't that she cared about his feelings – she wasn't even sure he had any – but she was afraid that he might get angry, and Dad wasn't around to protect her…

"I'm not easily offended, Alexandra. What I need to ask you is if you saw or heard anything today, anything at all, that might give us an idea where this attack came from."

She thought for a moment, then shook her head, "No, I can't think of anything."

"Hmm. Well, if you do remember anything, be sure to let me know."

"Yeah. Can I go now?"

"Yes."

Gemini gladly left the room, closing the door behind her and standing in the corridor outside, allowing herself a sigh of relief. She didn't know what it was about Gladiator's dad that made her feel so creepy. Maybe it was just the permanent sense of doom and foreboding that he carried about with him, looking for enemies that weren't there and seeing danger in every change of the wind. How could anybody be so negative? Gemini didn't understand it at all. While her life had never been particularly happy or easy, she had always had a positive outlook, determined that whatever her future would bring, she would make the most of it and lead the happiest life she could manage. She couldn't fathom somebody who would rather think the opposite way, that things were always going to get worse and there was nothing to look forward to in life. Is that what you turn into when you become an adult? she wondered.

Seated in his office, Neil was pondering the same thing. Was he looking too deeply into this terrorist attack? Was he assuming the worst straight away, looking for a conspiracy that wasn't there? Couldn't it just have been three deranged hotheads who decided to blow themselves up? Was he wrong in assuming that the terrorists had to have been taking orders from someone, someone who wanted to remain hidden? Was he jumping to conclusions too quickly, accepting theories simply because he wanted them to be true? In some perverse way he felt as if he actually wanted to have a new enemy to fight. Since the demise of the Horsemen, his initial sense of relief had turned into an ever-growing feeling of unease. He didn't understand it. He didn't enjoy fighting, had sworn himself to a pacifist's life, and only used his powers to protect himself and other mutants when there was absolutely no other choice. So why was there this odd desire inside of him to have a fresh foe to do battle with? Was it because he wanted to have an enemy who was clearly defined and out in the open, instead of having to worry about shadowy forces working their plots from the middle of their webs of deceit? Or was he just being paranoid, like everybody said, assuming that because he couldn't see any enemies, they had to be hiding? Maybe there weren't any. Maybe he was just looking for things that didn't exist, seeing connections and conclusions that didn't add up.

Gemini walked hurriedly away from his office, towards her dorm. Hopefully Cassandra or Crusader would be there. Or Aqua, though she didn't speak much. Gemini wanted to compare notes for that essay they had to write for Gaia's class. On the way she passed Shock, who gave her a friendly smile. Gemini automatically smiled back. It was hard to dislike Shock. The young X-Woman was bubbly and fun-loving…and she wasn't actually all that young. She was Dad's age, wasn't she? Maybe she just seemed younger. She also didn't try to talk down to Gemini as if she was a kid. Gemini hated it when people didn't take her seriously. So what if she was only fourteen? That didn't mean her brain didn't work. It didn't mean she was incapable of thinking about difficult stuff. It made her so angry sometimes. People didn't magically turn into adults on their 18th birthday. It was a gradual process. Fourteen was an age when you were almost an adult, she decided, and you should be treated that way.

Walking quickly, she passed one of the classrooms, glancing inside out of idle curiosity. Cyclops was in there, sitting up front reading something. He was alone, and Gemini stopped. There was something she'd wanted to ask him for a long time, but had never found the right time to do so. She didn't like him, didn't trust him, and tried to avoid him whenever possible. But this was a question that she desperately wanted to know the answer to, even if it meant approaching a man she was still uncomfortable with. She entered the room.

"Cyclops?"

Scott looked up. In the doorway he saw Alexandra, Pyro's foster daughter, making her way towards him. He remembered it hadn't been that long ago when she had been locked in battle against him. He remembered grappling with the two of her, amazed by the anger and passion with which she fought. He remembered several times trying to get a lock on one twin, only to find himself attacked from behind by the other one. He had never been entirely comfortable fighting her or the other children, but a child in Pyro's hands could be as dangerous as any weapon. Pyro had proved masterful at harnessing these children's anger, building it up, and then releasing them on a target. Scott hoped it was not too late to bring Alexandra and the others away from that way of thinking. Right now he wasn't sure what she wanted, but he was willing to listen.

"Can I ask you something?" she said.

"Go ahead."

The girl twisted a strand of her long, dark hair around her fingers, and he could tell she wasn't comfortable with whatever she was going to ask him. He waited, and after a moment or so of hesitation, Alexandra began, "Look, you know what happened to me, don't you? Someone must have told you. I was sold by my own mother and kept in a laboratory when I was only, like, eight."

"Yes, I know," he said quietly.

"And I was stuck there until my dad rescued me, well, before he was my dad. But the thing is – "

She seemed unwilling to go on, but he guessed what she was going to say, "You want to know why we weren't the ones who came to rescue you?"

"Yeah!" she said, a hint of accusation creeping into her voice. "I mean, like, your professor guy was supposed to be able to sense every mutant everywhere when using that machine, right? Why couldn't he see what was happening to me? Or was it that he just didn't care?! Huh? Is that it, Cyclops?!"

Her anger had spilled over and she was practically screaming by the end. He waited a moment for it to subside, then he said, "The only answer I can give you is: I don't know. I don't know whether the Professor knew about you. I can only assume he didn't, or he would have done something about it. Unless – "

"Unless what?" she said impatiently.

"Well, if the Professor couldn't find you, it's surprising that Magneto was able to. Did he ever tell you how he found out about you?"

"No," she shrugged. "But he had ways of finding stuff out. He wasn't as dumb as you people seemed to think!"

"Ahem – I can assure you nobody ever accused him of being stupid," came the dry response. "I've wondered this on occasion myself. I think the only explanation is that the Professor discovered your plight, and told Magneto where to find you."

"Why would he do that?" she retorted. "Like, I thought they hated each other."

"No."

"Well, that's what my dad said."

"Yes, well – "

He stopped. He knew the girl idolised her new father, and directing any criticism at Pyro would make Alexandra resentful, and she would refuse to listen to anything else. He suspected Pyro had been more than a little guilty of corrupting the truth to try and manipulate his students. There was no doubt he had a talent for it. He didn't tell Alexandra his suspicion either: his theory of why Xavier might have told Magneto where the girl was held. It was obvious that Pyro's fiery and volatile attitude had been calmed by his adoption of the girl. Had the Professor foreseen that this might happen? Had he directed Magneto towards Alexandra, guessing that Pyro would be sent to rescue her, predicting that the bond would form between the two of them, gambling that it would quench Pyro's desire to kill humans? It sounded implausible, although Xavier had proved before that he was capable of this kind of thing. Was it possible? Could the Professor have looked inside the minds of Pyro and Alexandra, and seen that they would love each other as father and daughter? Scott couldn't be sure. In his heart, he doubted it. Despite his immense faith in the Professor, this seemed too much. It wasn't as if he could have known for certain that the two of them would bond together the way they had. And it seemed like a risky gamble to take with the girl's safety in mind.

He saw that Alexandra was waiting for a response, her arms folded across her chest, her small figure defiant, her expression and her demeanour showing exactly what she thought of him, or his beliefs at any rate. An angry teenager who thought that the adults around her knew nothing. Scott was not greatly fond of her attitude, but given her troubled past, he was prepared to give her a bit of leeway in terms of expressing herself.

"Would you have preferred if we had found you?" he asked. "You might never have met your father that way."

"I should never have been there in the first place," Alexandra snapped. "If you morons would open your eyes for once and see how much humans want to hurt us, I might never have been taken there! You're so dumb, all of you!"

She had crossed the line now.

"All right, Alexandra, if you're going to speak to me like that, you can leave this room right now."

"My name's Gemini, not Alexandra! And you can't talk to me like that, I'm not a kid!" she retorted angrily, her small fists clenched at her sides.

"Actually, you are. Now if you don't mind, I'm rather busy."

Still angry, she spoke, "My dad says you used to treat him this way, telling him to shut up whenever he asked a question you couldn't answer, and you wouldn't take him seriously because you didn't think he was old enough! At least he treats me like I've got a mind of my own!"

Without waiting for a response she stormed from the room. Scott the teacher instinctively made a mental note to talk to the girl's father about her attitude. Then he tried to imagine how such a conversation might go. Pyro thought the world of his daughter, and would be unlikely to respond positively to any criticism of her behaviour, certainly not if it came from Scott. Alexandra seemed to be following in her father's footsteps in many ways, unfortunately. She was stubborn, disrespectful, and didn't seem to appreciate the fact that Scott and the others were giving her a home and an education. Pyro had been exactly the same as a teenager.

But still, Scott knew that his own feelings towards the girl were irrelevant. It was his duty to guide her and help her towards making her own future. It was the same for all the students. It didn't matter if he liked them or disliked them, or if they were receptive or unreceptive to his teaching. The school's duty, indeed its purpose, was the future of these young mutants. Scott knew he couldn't let his own prejudices get in the way of what was still the Professor's work. Xavier had made a policy of opening the school's doors to anyone who needed his help. That ideal would never change.

Gemini tried to put Cyclops out of her mind as she climbed the stairs to the main dormitory corridor, and walked along to her own room. He's so dumb, she thought furiously, I totally can't believe these idiots made him their leader! Well, I guess it's because they're idiots. Like, maybe you have to be the dumbest one around to become leader. No wonder Dad left this place as a kid. Dad should be in charge around here, he's way smarter than Cyclops.

Her mind wandered slightly, as a teenager's was prone to do, and she forgot about him. She was nearly at her dorm now. Atlas tried to catch her eye as he went past, but Gemini didn't look at him, instead concentrating on holding her dress against her hips tightly, suspecting he'd try to sneak a look at her panties. He'd probably kneel down to 'tie his lace' or something, and look up her dress as she went past. In the end he didn't. Turning the corner and leaving him behind, she relaxed once more. Running her hand along the richly wooden-panelled wall, she reflected on how strange it still felt to call this place 'home'. This had once been the most dangerous place on Earth, the lair of her enemies, and it had never entered her wildest dreams that she and her father might one day be living here. How things changed. Somebody's life could change drastically in the blink of an eye. She of all people ought to know that.

When she got to her room, Cassandra was there, sitting on her bed with one of the little children on her lap. It was one of Accel's friends: Turtle. Gemini could see the small boy had cut himself, and Cassie was gently administering some antiseptic and putting a plaster over the cut. Cassandra loved children, anybody could see that, and it was sad that she'd never been able to start the family she'd wanted to have with Gladiator.

"Hey," said the duplicator.

Cassandra looked up and smiled, "Hey, Gem."

Returning her attention to the child, she pulled his sleeve down over the plaster and said, "You'll be all right now. Just don't run too fast in the kitchen any more, OK?"

"OK," said Turtle.

He left, and Gemini said, "Where's Crusader?"

"Oh, she's taken a little trip down south. To Florida."

"Hey, that's where I used to – I mean, uh – no, forget it. She on her own?"

"No, she took them with her."

No detective work was necessary to deduce who she meant by them.

The two people in question stood in the kitchen of the ransacked house, doing their best to prepare an evening meal in the midst of the chaos. Annie was elsewhere in the house, trying to tidy up. They'd found some food still in the freezer, and with the small amount of supplies they'd brought with them, were putting together what was going to have to be called dinner. Gary allowed himself an ironic smile. With Annie having inherited their mother's refusal to eat animal products, and Marina declining to touch any kind of sea food, it was hard enough already to produce something all three of them could eat.

"Good thing I'll eat just about anything," he muttered to himself.

Mum had tried to bring him up as a vegetarian but he'd never seen the value in it. As far as he saw it, people were intended to eat meat. We had the teeth and the digestive system to handle it. Going against what God had designed seemed pointless to him. He smiled at Marina as her hand brushed against his.

"I want to say sorry about earlier," he told her quickly. "I know you aren't ready to make love. I'm really sorry. I guess I lost control."

"You – you mean we lost control."

"But I was the one who – "

"No, we – we both did. Gary, y – you didn't force me into anything. What happened between us only h – happened because we both wanted it. If I hadn't w – wanted it, it w – wouldn't have happened. As it is, I'm just glad A – Annie stopped us before we – before we really lost control."

He held her hand, and sighed, "Oh, Marina…I feel so ashamed of myself. I almost – you – you're so pure and unspoiled, and I almost took that away from you…"

"Gary…"

He stroked her cheek, his touch feather light, and said, "This will sound stupid, but sometimes I'm almost scared to touch you. You're so beautiful and delicate, and I'm so big and stupid and clumsy – I just feel as if I'm bound to hurt you no matter what I do. It's like giving a crystal statue to a rhino – as gentle as he tries to be, eventually he's going to break it. Do you see what I mean?"

"Well, no. I – I'm not a crystal statue. The sooner you realise that…" she stopped uncertainly, and looked away. "I thought you said I was – I was strong."

"You are strong. I didn't mean – "

"That's not what you just said," she swallowed nervously. "Sometimes you sound just like – just like everybody else, acting as if I'm – I'm going to go crazy on you if – if you say the wrong thing, as if I'm just a total basket case who – who doesn't even know where she is."

"No, no, you're looking at it the wrong way! I didn't mean to say you were crazy! I didn't mean to say there was anything wrong with you at all! I was trying to say there was something wrong with me. My big dumb brute strength doesn't treat your beauty the way it should."

"Well…OK…you don't think I'm crazy. But – but still, I get that a lot. People think that because I – I have mental problems, then I'm not worth knowing. I've seen the way p – people look at me. They – they try to keep their distance in case I – I start frothing at the mouth or – or something."

"Yeah, well…some people are stupid."

"No, Gary, they aren't stupid. They – they just have a p – preconceived notion of mentally ill people, and they aren't willing to – to make the effort to start any kind of – of relationship. They don't think I'm safe to be around. They – they think my mind doesn't work and like I won't remember their name if they tell it to me."

"Then you have to prove them wrong," he said. "Show them who you really are. Show them how stupid their prejudices are. It's – well, I suppose it's like being a mutant all over again. Force people to see past the surface. Show them there's a person behind the illness."

Marina brightened. It had taken a lot of confidence for her to tell him her fears, and she was reassured by his response. Sometimes she worried: what if I really am crazy? What if I do really strange things without realising it? What if I'm getting worse and I'll never be normal again? Do people talk about me behind my back? Do they just pretend to like me? Do people actually dislike me and I just can't see it because I'm crazy? Will Gary and Annie stop liking me because they think I'm crazy?

She told herself to relax. Gary was her boyfriend and he did love her. Annie was her best friend and loved her too.

He believes in me, she told herself.

Yes, Gary believes in me, she agreed, and that's why I love him.

And Annie does too. If both of them believe I'm strong, then I'll believe it too.

I'm not crazy.

No, I'm just a little bit…ill.

Yes, that's right. I have a mental illness is all. I was hurt by what happened to me. I'm just taking time to recover, that's all.

I mean, I'm doing better than I was, aren't I? A few months ago I could hardly eat or sleep and I couldn't talk to anyone…

Yes. I'm better now.

Some day I'll be OK again.

She smiled at Gary, and they kissed. She knew she loved him. It was Gary's attitude towards her that had first brought them together. He didn't treat her differently because of her problems. He didn't try to patronise her or treat her as if her brain didn't work. If he had a question about her condition, he would just ask. He wouldn't try to sweeten his request in nice, inoffensive, 'politically correct' language. He was blunt and straightforward, and Marina liked that. She wanted to get over her mental illness. She wanted to be normal again. But she could only feel normal if people treated her that way, and…well…most people didn't. That was why Gary was special. Well, one of the reasons.

When they drew apart, she smiled again, looking happy and carefree. Within an instant the smile was gone, as her troubled mind shifted and she struggled to keep her terrible memories from rising to the surface. Forcing herself to concentrate on something else, she turned back to preparing the evening meal.

Gary watched her, and he pondered as he did so. It's amazing how different a person can be on the inside from what they are on the outside. When somebody looks at Marina and me, somebody who doesn't know us, they automatically assume I'm the strong one. Because I look big and powerful and protective, and Marina looks small and weak and fragile, they think she's just a pathetic little shadow and I'm only with her because I feel sorry for her, or because she's pretty and I want to take advantage of her. They don't see what she's like on the inside.

He massaged her back gently, and she sighed with contentment.

She's strong, incredibly strong. She's lost her entire family and everything she loved. Everything she built her life on was snatched away in a moment. Her foundations disappeared and she was left with nothing. How can she possibly keep on going? I can't even begin to imagine how she survives. How can she wake up in the morning and dress and eat and talk and smile and live as if everything is OK? Could I have done the same? No. No way. I'd have lost my mind and gone crazy. I'd have turned into a psychopath like Recyclo, and gone around killing everyone. In fact, I almost did do that, back when I thought Marina had been killed by the humans. Marina's not like that. She's different. She's taken the worst that life could possibly have thrown at her, and she's shrugged it off and kept going. She's incredible.

I respect Marina. People don't see it, maybe she doesn't even see it, but I respect her. I respect her as someone who's survived an ordeal I never could have lived through. I respect her as someone who doesn't need big muscles and lots of mutant powers to make her strong. I actually think she's stronger than I am, a lot stronger. Without my powers, what am I? Just another human being. Without her powers, Marina is still strong. I never realised it before, but it's more than just our mutations that makes us the people we are.

He looked at Marina's small, physically fragile form. It was incredible that such strength could exist inside someone who looked so weak.

People just don't understand the bond Marina and I have. They think she only likes me because I'm big and strong, and they think I only want her for sex. The truth is the exact opposite. I love her and I like being with her because I don't have to be strong to impress her. She loves me because I can see through the mental illness and find the person on the inside. I never let her condition affect the way I think about her. To most people she's 'the girl with the mental problems'. To me she's just Marina, and I love her. It's as if we've made all the old clichés come true, about opposites attracting, about people having perfect soul-mates, and that sort of stuff. Nobody believes in soul-mates until they find their own. Well, I've found mine, and our love is going to last forever.

He gently put his hands on her shoulders, and kissed her softly on her lips.

Nothing is ever going to take her away from me.

Keeping low, the boy ran on, ducking and twisting around tight corners and through narrow streets as if he was dodging the very raindrops that cascaded down all around him. Casting a glance behind him, he could see nobody, but that didn't mean his pursuers had gone. They knew these streets just as well as he did. For all he knew they could be creeping into a circle around him, blocking off his escape routes.

"There he is!"

Someone had seen him. He fled away down the nearest alleyway, away from the source of the yell.

"Come here, ya wee bastard!" he heard a shout. "Come here, freak!"

Panting hard, the boy kept running, turning left at the first opening he came to, looking for an open door or window that he might duck into to throw off his followers.

"He went this way! Come on!"

Pounding down the narrow street as fast as his legs would carry him, the boy followed the sharp left turn at the end of the alley, and came up against a twelve foot high brick wall. There was no other way to go.

Moments later, four or five bigger lads turned the corner, grinning triumphantly, expecting to see their prey cowering helplessly at the foot of the wall they knew was unclimbable. To their dismay and disbelief, the alleyway before them was empty.

Sinking down on to his knees on the other of the wall, holding his chest and catching his breath, the boy knew he'd had a lucky escape. He thanked whatever guardian angel might be watching over him, and once he had got his breath back, stood and began to walk in the direction of his home. He'd thrown off the pursuit of the bullies yet again, but he knew it wouldn't be the last time he'd have to call on his powers to save him.

It wasn't until he reached the end of this new alleyway that he noticed the three figures standing at the end of the road, watching, as if they were waiting for him. Then they began to move towards him. His first thought was I'm in trouble and he turned to look for a way to escape. There wasn't one. The bullies were on the other side of the wall. Faced with the certain beating he'd receive from the mutant haters, and the potential danger of these others, he decided to take the risk.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Getting closer, he could see they were adults, two men and one woman, probably in their thirties. He had never seen them before. They looked too well dressed to be around here. What did they want?

"We're here for you," said one of them. "We know you're a mutant."

Had they been watching his escape? They must have been. How else could they have known he was a mutant? What did they mean, we're here for you? Were these guys government? He'd heard rumours that mutants were abducted secretly and put into cages in laboratories. Was that was these people wanted? He tensed, and looked around for a way of escape.

"Hey, hey, relax," said the woman – an American or a Canadian, he couldn't tell which – in a soothing kind of voice. "We're not going to hurt you. We want to help you."

We want to help you. As far as the boy knew, nobody ever helped anyone unless they were going to get something in return. What precisely did they want from him? Was it just a ruse to try and gain his trust? Would they wait until they got close to him, then knock him out cold with a drug or something? Something in the woman's voice made him want to trust her, but that was probably a trick too.

"Who are you?" he asked, trying to buy some time so he could think of a way to flee.

"We're mutants."

They were lying. They had to be lying. He'd never met anybody else like him. He'd never known any of his own kind. He didn't know what these people wanted, but he could be pretty certain it wouldn't be good for him. They were simply trying to gain his trust. Trusting these people might well turn out to be the last mistake he ever made.

Unless…if they were telling the truth…if they really were mutants…

"Oh, aye," he challenged. "Prove it."

The second man suddenly reacted, a smirk of sorts appearing on his face, as he opened his hand to reveal a ball of flame, hovering impossibly just above his palm, suspended in mid-air and not appearing to be causing him any harm. The boy kept his surprise from showing on his face. As a lifelong target of bullies, he had trained himself to keep his feelings from showing. Was this real? Did the man really possess some power over the fireball, or was it just another trick? He wanted to get a closer look, but that would mean getting closer to the three adults. That was not a good idea. In fact, that was probably their plan. They wanted him to get closer, so they could grab him and take him away.

"What's your name?" the woman asked.

Which one? The one his parents had chosen before abandoning him at the age of six, or the one he had chosen for himself? The name he had never mentioned or spoken to anybody, the name that he had kept to himself as he tried to keep his powers secret from those who would try to hurt him. Should he tell them his name? Inwardly he shrugged. It wouldn't make much of a difference. If these guys really were government agents – or Suits, as he preferred to call them – then they would already have a file on him. They would already know his name, and where he lived, and everything about him.

"Ian."

"What's your real name, Ian?" asked the man with the fireball.

He hesitated before answering, "Chronos."

Damn it! Why had he told them that? That was a secret that nobody knew! You didn't give information away to the Suits just like that! Something about these people was making him automatically trust them! No! I have to concentrate! He guessed that being Suits, these people had special talents for extracting information this way.

"So what do you want?" the boy asked again – that should give me a few more seconds to plan out my escape.

"We're here to help you. My name's Felicity," said the woman.

Help me? Nice try, Suit. I don't classify helping me into a lab cage as 'help'. Ian knew he had no choice now. Having just used his powers already, it was a supremely bad idea to use them again so soon. But he had no choice. He had to escape the Suits.

"Oh, aye? And what if I don't want any help?" he said, to distract them while he called on his power.

The man with the fireball flicked his fingers impatiently and the flame vanished. The woman was speaking once more, but Ian wasn't listening. He just had to keep them busy for a few more seconds until his power was ready…almost there…just a few more seconds…good, the female Suit is still talking…right, I'm ready…goodbye, Suits…

And in the blink of an eye, he vanished.

"What the f – " came Pyro's surprised voice. "Where'd he go?"

"He disappeared…" said Shock.

Iceman fired a short burst of ice into the alley's interior. It hit nothing. The boy really had disappeared; he wasn't just standing there invisible.

"Oh well, that's good," said Pyro sarcastically. "We never really factored in the possibility that he wouldn't listen to us, did we? I mean, we're the universally loved X-Men, who wouldn't want to listen to us?"

"Do you think he's a teleporter?" said Shock. "That might explain why he could disappear from Neil's mind."

Iceman shrugged, "Dunno. Kurt could probably tell us."

"So what do we do now?" asked Pyro, absent-mindedly flicking another fireball into existence from the lighter held loosely in his right hand.

"Let's split up and look around a little bit. I have a hunch he hasn't gone too far."

It seemed as if he had lost them. For a second, Ian wondered if he really had made the right decision. What if they really had been mutants? There had to be some more in the world somewhere. He'd never met any – that he knew of – but it seemed logical that he would meet some of his own kind one day. Should he have trusted those people? No, of course not. Don't be stupid. They were Suits. He could smell a Suit a mile off. They were everywhere. Whenever something happened that the government didn't want people to know about, they sent the Suits out to cover up. Destroying evidence, abducting witnesses, distorting the truth, it was all in a day's work for a Suit. At this moment in time, they were presumably turning their attention towards mutants. Ian guessed that was why those three Suits had come for him. Maybe they had decided his powers were too dangerous to have out on the loose. Maybe it was time to make him conveniently disappear. He had decided not to take any chances, and had used his power to escape. Perhaps it hadn't been such a great idea. Using it twice in such quick succession was never a good idea; he felt drained, exhausted and spent. Hopefully he had enough to strength to stumble back to his foster home where he could only hope he would have enough strength in the morning to outwit the bullies again. Of course, the bullies were the least of his worries now he had the Suits to contend with. What if they came for him? What if they came to his foster house and took him? He had to run. He didn't know where, but he had to run. Maybe he could flee the country. Yes. That was the only option. The Suits might lose track of him if he fled abroad. He had to get home now, pack what he could, and run.

Breathing hard, feeling pain in every muscle, bone and joint of his body, he staggered on as best he could, every movement bringing a fresh onslaught of agony. He knew that using his power too much would kill him. It almost had on more than one occasion. The longer he used it in one go, the more time he displaced, the worse the pain would be. As he grew older it seemed to be getting easier, though. He could displace time for longer periods with less pain afterwards. Either his body was growing stronger or he was simply becoming more experienced at doing it; probably a combination of the two.

Chronos. Master of Time. That was what he wanted to be. He desperately wanted to find out just how much his power would grow until he reached full adulthood. Now at the age of thirteen, he knew he had to be careful. He wasn't ready to use his mutation to its full extent at the moment. Too many young mutants had probably been in this situation, discovering their awesome abilities and using them too much too soon, burning out quick and fast. He suspected that was the main reason why mutants had yet to overthrow the humans and take their rightful places as rulers of the world. There were no guiding hands, no grown mutants who could teach children to use their powers gradually until they were ready. It should be like Star Wars, he decided. He'd always been a fan of that old film. The guy who made it had probably got his ideas from hearing about mutants and their powers. The master and apprentice thing was what intrigued him the most. That was the way mutants ought to handle things. Chronos knew he was young and didn't have enough experience with his power or with life in general. He needed a guide, a master, someone who could protect him from the Suits until he was ready to make his own way.

So deep in thought was he, that he didn't notice the dark figures shadowing him until it was too late. He wasn't far from his foster parents' house, but he turned the next corner to find himself completely surrounded. The bullies had picked up reinforcements from somewhere, and seven or eight of them hemmed him in from all sides, blocking off all possible exits. Chronos looked for any way of escape that they might not have noticed, but there were none. The only way to avoid a beating now was by using time displacement, but he knew he hadn't the strength to do it. How he'd laughed when he'd used his power earlier, freezing time for the few seconds it took him to scramble over the twelve foot wall. When time was stopped, gravity too had no power over him. And how he had laughed at the expressions of surprise on the faces of the three Suits when he had frozen time again. How he was not laughing now…

The first punch caught him on the jaw, knocking him into the grasp of the ned behind him. His arms were held tightly behind his back as the rest of them, laughing, closed the circle, and began delivering kicks and punches from all sides. Chronos spat blood as someone's fist smacked into his mouth, and he doubled up in pain as a boot connected with his ribs.

"Think he's had enough?" a voice sneered.

"Well, he's still alive, isn't he?"

"Fucking mutant. Let's kill the freak!"

Laughter and agreement. Another blow to the jaw. A boot to the kneecap, and he stumbled and fell forward on to his hands and knees. Blood dribbled from his mouth into the muddy puddles, as he struggled to get to his feet. Strong hands grabbed the back of his neck and held him down, pushing his head into the puddle, forcing his face beneath the water.

"Yeah, kill the freak!"

His head was lifted again and Chronos gasped for air. I'll kill you, he thought furiously, when I'm Master of Time I'll kill every last one of you. He was pushed under the water again, and this time they did not let him back up. He struggled frantically, desperate for air, but had no strength to escape them. He lost consciousness.

Shock turned the corner to find them, the six or seven older boys holding the smaller boy's head under the water. It was the mutant, the boy who had somehow disappeared from them earlier. At the moment it didn't matter who he was. Felicity would have done the same for anybody in this situation.

"Hey!" she yelled.

The neds looked up. Seeing only a blonde woman who posed them no apparent threat, they ignored her. Felicity grew angry. She had been bullied often as a child because of her mutation, and this incident recalled several similar occasions from her own past.

"You've got one last chance to let him go!" she told them.

Their response was dismissive, "Piss off or we'll have you on your back."

Felicity's hand was out in an instant, individual lightning bolts leaping from each finger to hit the youths. They had been relatively small shocks; she certainly hadn't intended to injure them, yet still she felt a little guilty when the neds screamed in pain and clutched at their burned skin. It didn't feel right to be using her power to hurt those weaker than her, those who couldn't defend themselves. Then she cast those thoughts out of her mind as she ran forward to help the nearly drowned boy. The bullies had fled, running as fast as they could to avoid any more lightning bolts, and Fliss was now alone with the unconscious figure of the boy – what was his name? – Ian.

Gently rolling him on to his front, she put her ear to his mouth and felt him breathing. That was good. But he was weak and there might be water in his lungs. She decided the best thing was to take him back to the school with them. Leaving him here at the mercy of these bullies was not an option for her. Flipping the switch on her communicator, she said, "I've found him. He's in a bad way. One of you go get the jet ready. I'll be there soon."

Lifting the child's unmoving form Fliss wondered, as she had starting doing often, what it would feel like to have a child of her own. In truth she'd never really considered it over the years, not until recently anyway. She'd had a brief relationship with Shapeshifter when she was very young, but since then she had not found any man with which she might like to have anything more than friendship. She'd fancied Oculus once, but then who hadn't? He was cute, he was powerful, yet he had that sense of uncertainty and vulnerability that made a woman want to stay with him and comfort him. Of course, he was forbidden territory. He had loved Chloe always. Fliss sometimes felt a little resentful of the fact that she'd never even had a chance to try and win his heart.

Other than that there had been nobody. It wasn't as if she didn't know any men. The trouble was, the ones she knew she either didn't like much, or she liked but were already spoken for: Iceman, Oculus, Nightcrawler, they were all taken. The one guy who didn't fall into either of those two categories was Shapeshifter. It was strange really, to adopt a child together when they knew they were never going to be husband and wife. Fliss couldn't explain why she knew they'd never fall in love again. It just felt obvious, like the way a person knew they would never fall in love with their brother or sister. She often worried that Marina might be suffering from having foster parents who weren't married, but so far they had encountered no problems.

Brushing the boy's damp, dirty hair from in front of his eyes, she said softly, "It's OK, honey, we won't let them hurt you again."

Then she left the alleyway and walked the short distance to where they had left the cloaked aircraft.

The second he woke, Gary knew something was wrong. His tired brain couldn't quite pin down the feeling, and he opened his eyes to painfully greet the early morning light. He found himself lying under a blanket on the bedroom floor beside the bed, on which he could see Marina's sleeping form, rising and falling in time to her breathing. Wait a minute…Annie told me to sleep downstairs…

Then it hit him.

"No…" a girl's voice moaned from his throat.

Pushing the blanket aside, he gingerly got to his feet, struggling to balance in a body that was the wrong shape. Looking into Marina's bedroom mirror, his heart sank.

Oh no…

He was Annie. He was in her body. During the night, their minds had switched places. Annie was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and he was thankful for that. She usually took care to wear night-clothes that he wouldn't be uncomfortable with if their minds happened to switch when they woke up. The experience was terrifying enough without having female underwear to contend with.

"Why does this keep happening?" Gary in Annie's body sobbed, tears of frustration and terror forming in her eyes.

She was afraid to move. The sensations were just too strange. The extra weight on her chest, the way her hips swayed, the different shape of her body…it was too frightening for somebody who was already in tears. The girl's body sank down on to her knees, her hands over her face, and cried hysterically, tears pouring through her fingers. Her hormones were going crazy, with a mind that didn't know how to deal with them.

I'm not a girl! Let me change back! Let me change back! Please let me change back!

Marina was beginning to stir. Through a blur of tears, Gary looked through Annie's eyes at the clock on the wall. Shit, how long has it been? It never normally lasts more than a few minutes. What if this time I don't change back? What if this time I'm stuck forever? Oh, please God, no-o-o-o-o……

For a moment there was nothingness, then Gary opened his eyes. Breathing hard, he found himself lying on the living room floor downstairs. He jerked upwards, looking down at his body, breathing hard. Relief flooded through him as he found himself in his own form once more. Oh God, thank you. Thank you for letting me change back. He stood, and looked in the living room mirror. Yes, he was Gary again. He wasn't his sister. He wasn't a girl. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, he turned to see his sister hurrying down towards him.

"Annie…"

"Oh, Gary…"

They sank to their knees in each other's arms, holding on tightly and letting their relief flow through each other.

"Why does this keep happening?" he said again, this time in his own voice.

"I don't know, I don't know," she said breathlessly. "It's getting worse. I lose control every time it happens…"

"Annie," he began. "I don't know how to say this, but…we're supposed to be the most powerful mutants in the world. We're supposed to be able to face up to anything and protect the world from any danger that comes along. How are we supposed to do that when this is happening to us?"

She didn't have an answer. Exhausted and scared, the two of them continued to clutch each other. That was how Marina found them when she came downstairs a few minutes later.

It seemed to be one of the unbreakable laws of the universe. Whenever a guy wanted to speak to a girl alone, he could guarantee that he would never find her without at least two of her friends thrown in. In this case it was Vertigo and Gemini; they hadn't left Cassandra's side all morning, or so it had seemed. Dominic sighed and looked at his watch. He only had limited time to work up his courage before he had to leave.

He looked up. Something was happening. Maybe this could be his chance. The ninja and the duplicator were moving off somewhere else, and Cassandra was alone. This was it. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He moved forward, trying not to appear too fast or too eager. As he approached, however, Cassandra was already turning to greet the arrival of another of her friends. It was the fast-running little girl whose name Dominic couldn't remember. The child was showing off the new pink dress she was wearing.

"What do you think?" she asked proudly, performing a little twirl.

"Ooh, very pretty," Cassandra smiled. "What's the occasion, Accel?"

"There isn't one; I just like wearing it."

"Well, if you're going to look so pretty, maybe we should have an occasion."

The child was about to reply, when she saw Dominic approaching. She looked up at him innocently, holding Cassandra's hand, "Hi."

"Hi," he said, then turned to Cassandra. "Um, can I talk to you?"

"Sure."

He struggled for words, his confidence slipping, "Um, my parents phoned me this morning. I'm going to go home and visit them for a few days. D'you – d'you wanna come with me?"

Surprise crossed her face, "What, you mean – to London?"

"Yeah. They, uh, they're always saying I should bring one of my friends with me from the school."

"And you're asking me?"

Dominic hated this now. He wished he had never started this. He wished this wasn't happening. He wished he could be anywhere else in the world right now. What had he been thinking? He'd come up and asked her straight away without even trying to work up to it subtly. This was just not the way to ask a girl for a date. For all he knew, she had no feelings towards him whatsoever. He hated being here with the child looking up at him uncertainly and Cassandra probably thinking he was nuts. He couldn't bring himself to say anything, and she eventually said, "Well, I'm flattered, I guess…but why me? I mean, I don't really know you. Why not one of the guys? Vertigo maybe."

"Well, 'cause – " he hesitated.

Maybe he should just forget it. Maybe he should just say 'Yeah, Vertigo would be a better idea' and back off. It was obvious Cassandra wasn't interested. Maybe he should wait until she had been here a little longer before he tried to talk to her again. He didn't know exactly what had come over him. She was driving him wild and he couldn't control it. She was also waiting for him to finish. Oh, what the hell. If he was going to be turned down, he might as well get his feelings out.

" – 'cause I think I'm in love with you," he blurted out.

Cassandra sighed. She patted the little girl's hand and said, "Accel, you run on and find Gemini, OK honey? Tell her I'll be there in a minute. Ask her to help you with your math homework."

"OK, Cassie."

The girl hurried away, giving Dominic a last curious glance as she went. What had he been talking about, she wondered? How could he say he loved Cassie? Acceleratus didn't want anybody else to love Cassie. She wanted Cassie to love her. She'd never had parents or a family or anyone that loved her. Cassie had been the first person to show her any kind of affection. She was somewhere between a mother and an older sister, the seven year old had decided, and Accel knew she wasn't willing to share Cassie with anyone else.

"Listen, Helios – " Cassandra began uncertainly.

"Call me Dominic," he said.

"I prefer mutant names. Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not looking for a date. Let's leave it at that."

"Well, it doesn't have to be a date. We could just be friends," he said hopefully, encouraged by the lack of an outright dismissal.

Cassandra sighed once more. She had given up on men. During the previous two months of her life, she had had no less than two guys tell her they loved her and wanted to stay with her forever. First was Overlord – always charming, always smiling, he of the silver tongue and the angel eyes – and she'd believed him. Two minutes into their first 'date', however, before she even knew what was happening, her panties were already on the floor. It had taken all of her willpower and pride to pull away from the magnetic power of those angel eyes, and escape from his serpentine lust.

Then there had been Gladiator. He too had confessed his undying love, and again – like a stupid, blind idiot – she had believed. In the back of her mind she had always known, or at least suspected, that he was still pining for Aqua, but she had allowed herself to ignore it, since Aqua was dead. Then it had turned out the water-whore was still alive, and Gladiator had suddenly forgotten Cassandra existed. Typical male. And he had seen her naked…she felt so ashamed every time she looked at him, remembering all the times they had lain together in bed, coming so close to making love but never quite feeling the time was right. She hated Gladiator and she hated Aqua for ruining her love and her hopes for the future. And it was that, more than anything else, that suddenly changed her mind.

"Sure. I'll come with you."

Helios looked surprised.

"But only as a friend," she added.

No more dating. Men weren't worth it. She had already been suckered into having her heart broken twice. She'd have to be majorly stupid to allow it to happen a third time. But still, she wanted desperately to be away from here, just for a few days, away from Gladiator and Aqua. She hated seeing them looking so happy together; that happiness and that love should have been hers. It had been hers until Aqua had stolen it away! How she longed for revenge on either of them, preferably both. Maybe a disaster would come along and she wouldn't forewarn them about it. Then she thought: No. I can't think like that. They're not worth it. I can lead my life without feeling jealous. Because I'm not jealous. That's right, I'm not. I don't care. They can kiss and fuck each other all they like and I won't be missing a thing.

Helios was saying something. She smiled at him, "Sorry?"

"I said I'm leaving in about twenty minutes; you'll need to get your stuff together."

"Sure. Sure. I'll meet you here when I'm done. It's just for a couple of days, right?"

He grinned, "Right."

They turned and headed for their separate rooms, when he heard her say, "Helios?"

"Yeah?"

"Just friends, right? That's my condition. Just friends."

"Whatever you say."

She sighed. When guys heard the words 'I just want to be friends' they interpreted it as 'I like you but I need some more convincing if I'm going to date you'. It just made them even more eager to impress. But she reckoned Helios wasn't as bad as most. Perhaps he would come to respect her request. They'd both taken part in helping with the kids' swimming lesson earlier, and he hadn't tried to touch or ogle her swimsuit-clad body once. But that didn't mean she wanted to date him. She would go with him to London because she desperately wanted to get away, and because she liked seeing new places. Not because she liked Helios in particular. Certainly not as anything more than a friend.

Felicity gently laid down the child in the infirmary. The boy's breathing was shallow and lacked any kind of rhythm. Perhaps he had taken injuries from the beating. Pyro watched from the entrance as Oculus laid his hands on the boy's chest, and passed his healing power into the child. After a few moments, Fliss smiled. His breathing was now strong and regular, and his skin seemed healthier and less pale.

"So this is the anomaly," said Neil.

"I guess so," Fliss said. "He calls himself Chronos. We think that means he has some power over time. His real name is Ian."

"He disappeared in front of our eyes," Pyro added. "My guess is he altered time in some way to give the illusion that he'd vanished. Maybe he can freeze time altogether. It explains the name he's chosen."

Neil said, "If that's the case, it might also explain why he disappeared from my telepathy. If he can manipulate time, then it's possible he was there one second and somewhere else the next."

"So this has nothing to do with Magneto or the helmet material?"

"It would seem not."

"So what do we do with him?" asked the fire mutant.

"Doesn't that depend on him?" said Fliss. "If he wants to stay, I guess we look after him. If he wants to go home, I suppose we try to teach him how to defend himself before he goes."

"Let me know when he wakes," said Neil. "I'm curious about his power."

"Sure. I'll watch over him," she said. "John, can you take my class this afternoon?"

"Me?" came the surprised response.

"Yeah, my notes are on my desk."

"Well…OK…I guess…"

Part of Neil's feeling of uneasiness was relieved. The anomaly had been explained, and it wasn't the devilish hidden threat he had thought it might be. It was a child, albeit one with a potentially awesome power. Like he himself had been once. He remembered the care Xavier had taken to ensure that Neil did not end up on the wrong path. Could he ensure that he did the same for this child? He didn't know. Still feeling uncertain, he left the infirmary.

"I still can't get used to the heat in this country," Gary panted, as he plucked his shirt away from his skin to cool himself down. "And the sunlight…ugh…"

He and Annie were both wearing powerful sunglasses to protect their mutant eyes from the intense glare of the morning sun. Gary hated it; he'd never had any problems with bright lights before 'inheriting' his sister's powers. Marina smiled at him, smoothing down her skirt, her hand loosely holding his, "It gets pretty cold in this country too, you know."

"Any time soon?"

"No, I – I'm afraid not."

"Ah, well. Sleep OK last night?"

Marina nodded, "You?"

"Yeah," said Gary and Annie together.

They didn't tell her about the terror of waking up in each other's bodies. They were trying to forget it had happened, even though they knew it was only going to happen again. Annie hefted one of the bags of food they had bought at the local store, "The sooner we get this back to the house, the better. I'm starving."

"I second that," Gary agreed. "You know, Marina, I was thinking about the missing computers again, and what might be on them. Your family didn't have any criminal records or anything, did they? I know that's not a nice question but, well, it might give us an answer."

Marina shook her head, "No, they had nothing like that. They were – they were just normal people, Gary. All right, they spent a bit more time in the water than most, but that's the only unusual thing about them."

"And you're sure your brother didn't have some more secretive role in the navy that nobody told you about?"

"Of course I'm sure! My brother didn't have an ounce of deceit in him! There's no way he could have lied to us about that!"

"OK, sorry. It's just…that seems to be the only lead we have to go on. I can't think of anything else."

Annie frowned, and was about to say something when they noticed a man in front of them, walking in the opposite direction, about to pass by.

"Morning," he smiled pleasantly, and the teenagers returned his greeting.

As the man was passing Marina, he stopped and said, "Miss Forrester?"

"Y – yes?"

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the man, lightning fast, pulled a gun from a hidden holster inside his jacket. A red laser dot appeared on Marina's forehead as he aimed. Gary reacted fastest, knocking Marina to the ground and throwing himself on top of her, shielding her with his own body. The man saw Annie's hand rising, assumed she too had a weapon, and he brought his gun to bear on her, his hand squeezing the trigger once, twice, three times.

One down, two to go, he told himself confidently, already turning his attention to the two kids on the ground. It was a brave and selfless gesture for the boy to protect the girl the way he had, but ultimately meaningless. She would just die a few seconds later than him. It was about then that the man realised something was amiss.

Annie lowered her hand, and the suspended bullets dropped to the ground.

"What the f – " the man gasped.

His gun did the rest of the thinking for him, as he aimed it at Annie once more and fired, kept firing until he had emptied the clip. To his disbelief and horror, the bullets bounced off the girl's outstretched hand and fell harmlessly to the floor. He was instinctively reaching for more ammo when an arm gripped him around the neck. He turned his head; it was the boy, on his feet once more. The other girl, the Forrester girl, looked on nervously. The grip around his neck tightened.

"Who the hell are you?" the boy demanded. "What do you want?"

The arm around his neck was beginning to restrict his breathing, and Watcher Delta desperately slammed a fresh clip into his pistol. Before he could raise it, however, the boy twisted his wrist and the gun fell to the ground. Damn it! The man struggled to escape from the impossibly strong grip of the teenager. He managed to twist round and punched the boy's jaw, then raised his knee into the boy's groin, but to no effect. The kid gave no sign of pain.

"I said: who the hell are you?"

Watcher Delta gasped as the grip around his neck tightened further. There was no escape. There was only one way out of this. He bit down hard with his upper right molars.

The man fell limp in Gary's grip, and Marina gasped in shock, "You killed him!"

Gary instinctively let go, and the dead body dropped to the floor.

"I didn't! I wasn't squeezing him that hard!" he protested.

Annie hurried over and knelt beside the dead man.

"I promise you I didn't!" Gary said, appealing to a frightened Marina who was looking at him uncertainly.

"You're right," said Annie. "He poisoned himself. Look."

The fourteen year-olds crouched down beside her to look where she was pointing.

"Fake tooth," she explained. "Loaded with some lethal substance, I'll bet. He bit down on it himself."

"But – but why would he do that?" Marina asked in bewilderment.

"I have no idea," said Annie. "I didn't have enough time to read his mind."

"He tried to kill us," Gary said.

Marina shook her head, "No – he tried to kill me. He – he said 'Miss Forrester', remember? He was trying to kill me."

"But why would anyone want to do that?"

"I – I have no idea. Like Annie said last night, m – most people probably don't even know I'm alive."

Annie looked up from where she was still crouched over the dead would-be killer, "Well, obviously somebody does. Somebody must have been watching when we came to the house yesterday."

"But why would anybody want to kill Marina?" asked Gary. "What's she ever done to hurt anyone?"

His sister didn't answer the question. She looked down at the corpse once more, "This guy must have killed himself to keep something secret. I reckon he committed suicide so that nobody could capture him and force any information out of him. Maybe he saw me blocking the bullets, figured out I was a mutant, and guessed I might be telepathic, or decided he just couldn't take the risk."

"I don't get it," Gary went on, as if he hadn't heard her. "If somebody wanted to kill you or me, I could understand it. We're the world's strongest mutants, and some people would obviously want us out of the way. But Marina…I don't understand. Why would anyone want to kill her?"

"What if there's a connection between this and the mess at the house?" Annie said thoughtfully. "We already established that somebody turned the house inside-out and stole the computers because they were looking for information. But what if it wasn't information that somebody wanted to find, but instead information that somebody wanted destroyed? What if they stole the computers to prevent anybody else finding what might be on them? What if they tried to kill Marina because they thought she might know this 'information', whatever it is?"

"And – and who are 'they' exactly?" Marina asked.

Brother and sister exchanged glances. Neither of them could think of anything.

"We have no idea," they said together.

"So what do we do?"

"Let's call the school," Annie decided. "If somebody is after Marina, we have to tell the other X-Men. And maybe they can help us take a look at this guy and try to work out who he is and what he wants with her."