The next day Xander knelt with his hands on his knees and slowly tried to clear his mind with the breathing techniques Mystique had taught him the day before.

Tried being the operative word as the bruises he gained that morning in training slowly rose to the surface.

"Focus, Alexander." The blue mutant whispered as she walked quietly around him. "Clear your mind of all your troubles and focus totally on your heartbeat." She whispered as she saw Xander's body start to relax.

"Now focus on Piotr, Search for him, tell me what he's feeling."

"He's… upset about something." Xander muttered as he slipped into the bright chrome image of the Russian. "Something about his pack… no his family."

Dipping deeper he saw color representations of the man's family.

The Brown earth color of Piotr's father next to the bright Amber color of the Russian's mother.

Looking at them he felt a slight longing. Homesick Xander thought to himself before moving on in search of the sadness.

Next came a bright white of an older sibling that although it was almost too bright to see clearly was shadowed.

After several Xander finally placed the feeling. A dead family member. he realized before moving from the old pain in search of the newer.

Bypassing the cold blue, wild yellow and almost imperceptible green of His parents and himself Xander finally focused on the main source of the larger man's sadness.

This one was also the white of a sibling, but the difference was astounding. Instead of a simple color this was a crystalline form of perfect formation while remaining totally unique.

Snowflake. Xander thought silently even as the word rang correct in his/Piotrs mind.

A sharp blinding light and a headache the likes of which he had never felt ripped Xander back to his own body.

Daring to open his eyes from his place on the floor Xander saw the almost elderly form of Eric Magnus removing his helmet from Xander's head while Mystique held him carefully.

"Well, Alexander it seems you have more surprises then I first expected." Eric said with a smile before looking up at Mystique. "I want a report on this as soon as you have the time." He said quietly before leaving the two alone.

Rubbing his temples for several seconds Xander forced the headache away with long practiced ease.

After being hit most of my life a little headache is no bother. he thought silently before trailing off as he stared at his hand.

Carefully bringing the second one up as well, Xander stared mutely at the shiny metal coating his body.

"What the HELL!"

"BUFFY, BUFFY!"

Buffy Summers looked up as the red-headed torpedo rushed through the crowded halls of Sunnydale High.

"Didja hear?" Willow asked as they walked the halls towards their next class. "We have a substitute gym teacher." Willow said bouncing slightly at the thought of something new happening.

"Willow, I hate to break it to you but you and gym are never gonna work well together."

"Yeah, you should stick with me and leave Jim alone." Oz said as he walked up behind the two and caught the last of the conversation.

"Oz." Willow said as she smiled at her boyfriend. "We were just talking about the new gym teacher."

Nodding at the revelation, Oz listened as the girls moved on to other topics.

It had taken a full fifteen seconds for Mystique to hack into the city records and implant the new information.

As such, one Dominic Petros now 'Dominic Costello' followed the trio carefully.

Great, I finally get out of Bayville and I end up in Sunnydale. he grumbled silently before shaking off the thought and following them into the class room.

Victor was not happy as he walked out of the gym and stormed down the now empty halls.

Fifty years of fighting in everything from black ops missions to one on one primal wars and where does he end up.

Babysitting a bunch of smelly, snot nosed brats, trying to get them to climb a rope. he snarled at the thought before shaking it off and continuing on his way.

He had an overdue conversation to get to with the town snitch. Who the hell names their bar the Alibi Room anyway? he grumbled as he exited the school and disappeared into the night.

'I'm telling you Giles he's evil." Buffy whined as the Librarian slowly massaged the bridge of his nose before returning his glasses to that spot.

"Buffy the fact you claim every single new staff member is evil aside, what makes you say this about the new gym teacher?"

"Well... he's big, and he made me climb a rope." Buffy said as if it explained everything.

Forcing the dark instincts of Ripper back, Giles stared blankly at his slayer for several seconds before nodding. "Of course the mammoth rope climbing demon of gymnasium how ever could I not see it?" He said before picking his book back up from the table. "While they are a nuisance I would recommend your time be better spent helping me research the upcoming ascension."

She pouted for a moment at the lack of understanding from her watcher. Picking one of the books up, Buffy focused on that for a surprising forty five seconds before interrupting the research yet again.

"Hey Willow, is Xander okay? I haven't seen him in class for a while."