There was a pile of clothes on her bed. No, not a pile, a mass of clothes on her bed. With a scowl, Fern yanked her dress over her head. For a few moments, the young mutant only stood there in her underwear, staring at the mess of unwanted fabric. It was certainly more clothes than she had brought with her, and most likely more clothes than she even owned. Not wanting to deal with the hassle of putting them away, Fern crawled on top of the mass. Muttering under her breath about boundaries, she settled down to sleep.

Meanwhile, Sean had taken a detour. He had been on his way up to the third floor, where his wonderful bed waited for him, when he passed by the lab. Or rather, the room Hank had taken to calling a lab. It was really just a library with a few tables inside. None of it seemed very private or professional, so the redhead didn't bother to knock. The door had been open and to Sean, that was basically an invitation.

Hank sat at a microscope with his lips pressed into a firm line as he peered into it. At first, he didn't notice the young man. Sean's feet were disturbingly quiet on the carpeted floor.

The ginger leaned over his shoulder, but couldn't make out what Hank was jotting down.

"What'cha doin', McCoy?"

Hank jerked. Glaring at him, the scientist blushed and covered his work with two shaky hands. "Nothing!"

"If it's nothing why are you hiding it? Come on, let me see."

With a sigh, the brunet offered the pad of paper.

Sean took it from him with a grin. His gaze flickered around the page, curious and a bit intrigued. "A costume? You're making a costume?"

"A standard one, for all of us." Hank cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. Despite his nonchalance, his pale cheeks were a fiery red. "Charles suggested it. Besides being modified to fit our individual abilities, they'll also provide some protection from any environmental factors we can't account for."

The Cassidy boy nodded. "Cool."

Hank shot him a wary glance. "You really think so?"

"Sure, I mean, at least they're not tights, right? Besides, all the cool superheroes wear costumes, why shouldn't we?"

"I wouldn't call us-"

"Man, don't even." The skinny boy's smile widened. "You have super strength and super speed! All you need to do is learn to fly and shoot lasers out your eyes and you're basically Superman!" Sean pointed to Hank's face with a chuckle. "You've even got the glasses! Clark Kent would be proud."

"Yes, well…" Hank bristled slightly, but an amused smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. It was subtle, as was the hint of embarrassed pink that colored the tips of his ears.

Leaning back against the table, Sean began to flip through the pad. There were sketches for each of them that showed where their powers stemmed from; his throat, Alex's torso, Fern's...body. He frowned slightly at the sketch, of the strange inverted crescents on her hips, the black smudges that ran down her sides. With a hum, he flipped to the next page. It was a standard uniform, simply titled Raven. The body was more curvaceous than the others and Sean didn't resist the urge to smirk at it as he commented, "Seems like you've been busy."

"Yes, well, during the flight I was able to get quite a bit done."

A thin ginger brow lifted in response to his all-too-casual tone. "Oh?"

"Well, the mansion holds more distractions that I originally anticipated."

"Distractions like…" Sean turned the drawing to him and made it dance by lifting either side sporadically. "Raaaaaaaven?"

The blush returned full force to Hank's cheeks. Flustered, the scientist stumbled over his words, "She's just...very curious, about her mutation. She wants to be involved-"

"With you?" The redhead teased, blue eyes sparkling with mirth.

"With the process." He held his hand out expectantly and Sean slid the notepad into it. Nodding, Hank told him, "I should be able to start the details of yours tomorrow, after your session with the Professor."

Cassidy faked surprise with a hand on his chest. "You're making me one of these get ups too? I'm honored, man."

Hank forced back a smile. "I'm making one for each of us."

Sean's features dropped accordingly, but his eyes still crinkled with warmth. "Aw, Hankie Poo, I thought we had somethin' special."

"You should get some sleep." Hank flipped the notepad back open and took a pen out of his front pocket. His blush had died, leaving him pale and composed once more. "I think Charles wants to start with you first thing in the morning."

"Ugh." The redhead knocked his hip against the table. "Why me?"

"I think he originally planned to start with Fern, but she spent the day out of state, so…"

As his voice trailed off, Sean picked it up. "So did you and you're fine."

Pursing his lips, Hank fixed his glasses. His gaze down, he cleared his throat. "Yes, well…"

"You are fine, aren't you?" Sean crossed his gangly arms over his chest. "Fern said the whole thing was a total downer."

"It wasn't fun."

"I'm sorry, man." He clapped the scientist on the shoulder. It was then he realized the bespectacled young man had known the agent the longest and felt compelled to add, "Sullivan was a good guy. Real proud of you, you know?"

With a nod, Hank cleared his throat again. Head down, he was quiet a moment before he agreed, "I know."

"Good. He'd want you to know." His thin brows perked up. A grin cut over his wide mouth and he offered him a playful punch on the shoulder. "And then he'd want you to put the moves on Raven."

With a roll of his blue eyes, McCoy made a point of turning back to his microscope. "Goodnight, Sean."

"Goodnight, Hank."

"Morning," Raven greeted her, disgustingly cheerful for the time of day.

"Morning," the grey girl replied as she opened the fridge. Her voice was still raspy with sleep, her eyes half lidded and heavy and she was vaguely aware that the older woman was not only dressed, but impeccably. Fern found that incredibly obnoxious. Pulling out a bottle of milk, she sniffed, flipped the lid off it with her thumb nail and took a long swig from it.

The blonde wrinkled her nose, but didn't comment. Instead, she moved over to the island. Once seated, Raven put her hands in her lap and continued to be perky.

Much to Fern's dismay.

"So, did you like the clothes?"

"Yeah, they're great, thanks." Too bad I'm never going to wear them, Ailey thought to herself. Tank tops and shorts might be practical for her mutation, but she couldn't imagine running around in some of the rompers and skirts Raven had gifted to her. Still, it was nice a gesture and she appreciate the thought. Wiping he mouth with the back of her hand, the taller girl leaned against the fridge. A smirk flashed sharp teeth. "Not sure about some of the colors though."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, the sweats, I mean."

"What about them?"

"They're all grey." Fern moved around to the other side of the table. "If I wear 'em I'm gonna look naked."

The older woman offered her a weak, uncomfortable chuckle. "Oh, right, I hadn't thought of that."

"It's fine." Grabbing an apple from the bowl in front of them, the Ailey girl shrugged. She was still a little miffed about being deceived, but she had decided life was too short to be mad about something so trivial. Blake would've wanted her to make friends. So she put on a warm smile for the woman in front of her, and for herself too, a little bit. "I'm just teasing, Rav."

Raven beamed. Obviously very pleased with herself, she nodded and tucked a strand of long, butter blonde hair behind her ear. "I just thought since you didn't pack a lot…"

"The dog was a nice touch too."

"The dog? Oh, right, that wasn't me. That was Sean." The shapeshifter raised her brows and pursed her lips. Her smile was ill-contained in both her expression and her voice as she went on, "He said you'd like it."

"He was right." Fern shrugged. While she refused to give into Raven's teasing, her skin had other ideas. It rippled with embarrassment, over her cheeks and chest, but her tone was even when she continued, "It's cute."

"He's cute."

The brunette rolled her eyes and took a bite of her apple. Mouth full, a bit of spittle escaped her as she chided, "You're biased."

"How am I biased?" Raven asked. Pouting with annoyance, she wiped a bit of spit from her black, long sleeved shirt.

Fern chewed and swallowed before she bothered to answer. She did this mostly to wind the older woman up, as every second that ticked by seemed to put the blonde before her a little more on edge. Or maybe just more indignant. It was hard to tell, especially because Fern really didn't care. "Because you just want to turn me into someone more pathetic than Hank. Or you. Or either of you when you're in the same room and mooning at each other."

"We do not moon."

"You moon. Frequently and pathetically." Fern sniffed, smirked and fiddled with the skin of her apple. "Even when you're not around he moons, which is impressive. And a little weird."

Visibly pleased by this, Raven straightened up. "Well. Maybe he moons."

"Yeah. Just him." The grey girl rolled her eyes. After taking a few unladylike chomps of her fruit, she sniffed and rubbed her left eye with the back of her hand. "So. What're we up to today?"

"I think the Charles wants to start on your mutations today. While he's having one on one time the rest of us will either be working out or doing bonding exercises."

The brunette huffed and raked a hand through her messy hair. Voice tight, she muttered, "Great."

"They could be fun!"

Fern arched a doubtful brow. "How did yours go with Moira?"

Raven's expression tightened a touch around the mouth. "It was fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine," the blonde repeated firmly. "I heard how things went between you and Erik."

With a huff, Fern reached for the bottle of milk. Before she took a drink from it, she muttered, "Of course you did."

"I don't get why you hate him so much."

"I don't hate him. I just don't trust anyone who sees the world in black and white like that." She winked at the woman across from her. "If you haven't noticed, I kind of live in a shade of grey."

Raven pointed at her with a pristinely manicured fingernail. "You're the one who doesn't trust the government."

"Yeah, well, my history with the government isn't exactly the best." Leaning back in her seat, she sighed as Hank slipped into the room. He was still dressed in his pajamas. Ignoring him, she kept her gaze locked with Raven's. "I have a reason not to trust them, or doctors or skinny boys in lab coats." She pointed to the bespectacled boy behind her and offered him a weak smirk over her shoulder to let him know she meant no harm despite her sharp words. "Humans aren't scary or bad, Rav. He just likes to think they are to fluff his own ego." Fern's clawed fingernail tapped against the glass of her milk bottle. "And I've been at the mercy of men who think they're better than me before. And I never will be again."

The blonde set her cheek on her hand and regarded the girl across from her a moment.

Fern was very composed. Her skin still and her features mild, if not stern, and she seemed very at ease with her words. A statement made off the cuff with deadly seriousness and Raven was impressed with her composure. Shaking her head fondly, the shapeshifter teased, "It's like peeling an onion with you, you know that?"

Fern blinked. "You never asked before. Why would I tell you something you didn't ask?"

"That's all it takes to get something out of you?" Raven shook her head, amused and a bit incredulous. "Asking nicely?"

"Respect goes a long way with my family. It's why Erik hasn't gotten very far." She stood, cracked her back and let out a grunt before she grabbed her milk. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go wake everyone else up."

"Why?"

"Because if I have to be awake at seven in the morning, so do they." Apple in hand, she gestured toward the young man who was sleepily perusing the cupboards. "And because now that Hank's here, you're going to start your lunar cycle and it's too early to deal with all that."

Groggy, Hank took a moment before he repeated, "Lunar cycle?"

The grey mutant didn't bother to answer him and instead left the kitchen.

After finishing her apple, Fern made a beeline for the bedroom closest to her. Several of the ones she tried were empty, with Alex being the lone exception in the wing she had chosen to sleep in. Knocking bristly on his door, she peeked her head inside.

Alex was staring at the ceiling, completely absorbed in his thoughts. He didn't even notice the grey girl knocking, or glaring, or even calling his name, until an apple core smacked him dead in the face.

"What the fuck?!" The young man yelped, flipping over in his bed and tumbling to the floor.

The young woman scoffed at his dramatics. "The Professor says it's time to get up."

"You could have just said that!"

"I did. Several times." Fern crossed over to him and picked up the core. She then opened the window and tossed it into the yard before she looked back at him.

Alex looked woefully unimpressed from where he was glaring at her on the floor. Legs and hips tangled in his sheet, he was naked from the waist up. She wasn't terribly impressed with what she saw, and merely arched a brow when the blond boy sneered at her. "Thanks for the wake up call."

"You're welcome." A bit hesitant, she relayed what Raven had told her, "We're supposed to be working on our abilities today. I just...want to get started, as soon as possible." She gave his naked shoulder a prod with her toes. "Sorry for being so eager."

With a huff, Alex fell back on the floor. Covering his eyes with his hands, he grunted. "What time is it?"

"Time to get your ass up."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," Fern drawled. Offering him a hand, she nodded toward the door. "Come on. You can help me wake up the rest of them."

Sighing, he grabbed her hand. Without her usual leather glove, her fingertips were prickly and strange. Still, he thought of how she and Darwin had gotten along. How the taxi driver had related to her and tried to keep her safe and Alex nodded, more to himself than her. He could pick up where Darwin left off. "Alright, Ailey. Let's do this."

She beamed at him. Her canines and bicuspids were sharp; disturbingly so, but her tone was pleasantly surprised, "Really?"

"What?" He asked, taking the bottle of milk from her and downing a third of it before giving it back.

"Nothing. Come on, You can do Erik while I do Moira."

The blond groaned and covered his face. "Don't say it like that."

"Like what?"

"Just...don't."

Fern rolled her eyes at him, but said nothing. Instead, she asked if he knew where Moira's room was.

"How would I know?"

She shrugged and accepted the milk back from him. "I don't know."

"She's probably with Charles." He threw her a roguish smirk. "Erik, too."

Her brow furrowed. "They're sharing a room?"

"No, it's just- never mind. Come on," He pulled a white t-shirt over his head and steered her toward the door. His hand on her shoulder blade was awkward for both of them.

As they began the trek up the stairs, she glanced at him. Alex offered her a stiff smile in return. Squinting at him, she asked, "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine."

"Then why were you up so early?"

"Why were you up so early?"

"Because I slept on a pile of clothes and woke up with a stiff neck."

His blue eyes narrowed on her. "Why didn't you just put the clothes away and go back to bed?"

"I hadn't thought of that." Fern shrugged. "Too late now, I guess. May as well make everyone else as miserable as me."

The man let out a huff of laughter.

They reached the next floor and broke off in separate directions. The first couple rooms were empty before Alex came across Moira, who answered the door with surprise but not annoyance. The second was Erik, who was considerably less amicable.

Mouth puckered with distaste, he arched a brow at him. "Can I help you?"

"Time to get up," Alex replied, already on his way to the next door.

On the other side of the hall, Fern hadn't bothered with waiting to see if anyone would answer. She simply banged her fist on every door, then took a lap and repeated the process. She then listened to any kind of response (Charles had the decency to let her know the door was open, where Sean had simply yelled some nonsense that she didn't even bother to try to understand).

Satisfied with everyone being awake, she and Alex shared a nod, then went back downstairs.

Raven and Hank were still in the kitchen. Sitting side by side, the blonde was spinning a lock of her hair and the scientist was fiddling with his glasses. They were both blushing and smiling and fucking mooning, but Fern merely smirked and put the milk bottle back in the fridge. Neither of them noticed, but Alex did and he let out a snicker.

The couple, thinking it was directed at them, broke away from one another. Hank cleared his throat, his cheeks going from a soft pink to a sable red as Alex gave him a playful shot in the arm. "Smooth, McCoy. Real smooth."

Raven scoffed at him but before any snide comments could be made, Charles strolled into the kitchen. He was dressed in dark blue pajamas and a matching smoking jacket, with his hands in the pockets. He seemed to have no qualms about being woken up (or perhaps more accurately, interrupted, given his casual greeting in response to the less than gentle knock Fern had given). In fact, a smile lit up his pale features.

"Good morning. I take it you all slept well?" At their affirmant, his grin widened. "Splendid. And you've all had breakfast?"

"I have." Fern jumped up on to the counter.

Charles pursed his lips at the sight of her toes clinging to the marble, but instead nodded his approval at her words. "Glad to hear it. Once the others have eaten, we'll start the day."

"Is there anything I can do in the meantime?"

Alex snickered. "Damn, Ailey, never pegged you for a teacher's pet."

"Damn, Summers, I never pegged it as any of your damn business." She scowled as he passed her by, ruffling her hair as he went. Teeth together, the young brunette glared after him before looking back to their mentor. "Well?"

"I suppose you could get an early start on your strength training." Charles slipped by her to put the kettle on. "I'm afraid I won't be getting to you until this evening."

Perturbed, Fern blinked. "Why?"

"Because if all goes well, you'll be out of commission for the rest of the night."

Again, Alex cut between them with a laugh. Still smirking, he slid into a seat at the island. Hank frowned, but merely huffed with annoyance as the blond reached across from him to grab a banana. Crooked grin in place, Summers leaned back on the stool and jeered, "Well, damn, Charles. You're gonna make Moira jealous."

Raven scoffed at him while Hank blushed.

The Professor's blue eyes narrowed on the smirking younger man. Thankfully, Fern didn't seem to understand the innuendo, at least, if her furrowed brow and curious glance was anything to go by. With a roll of his eyes, Xavier chastised him gently, "Tasteful as always, Alex." His gaze returned to the grey mutant's. "If we're able to activate your mutation on the first try, we wouldn't want to have it rendering you...uncomfortable, for the rest of the day."

"Alright." Fern hopped off the counter and waved them off. "Call me when you need me."

"I had planned-"

"Can't hear you, too far away, bye!" The grey girl replied, quickening her steps before she could be roped into any kind of team building exercise.

It would be hours until anyone found her. Fern had managed to avoid them for most of the day, sneaking into the kitchen sometime after dinner to make herself a quick snack. Her brows rose at the sight of Sean's back. Curious, the young woman watched from the doorway as he spoke into the phone.

His voice was tight and his posture anxious, gangly shoulders drawn up as he rushed, "No, Ma, I just- I know, I know but-"

She watched him rake his fingers through his red hair with a frown.

"But- okay. I didn't- I know you did." Sean cleared his throat and covered his face with a shaky hand. "I can't. I- it's hard to explain. I just can't go back right now."

Fern bit her bottom lip. Maybe it wasn't right to be listening in on what was clearly a very private conversation. The young man flinched and the grey mutant slipped into the kitchen. Arms crossed over her chest, she kept her head down.

"Ma. Ma, don't-okay. Goodbye." Sean let out a long breath as he hung up the phone. Unaware of the eyes on him, he was still a few moments.

The girl swallowed and considered her options. Unsure what to say, Fern moved to put her hand on his shoulder.

He startled at the touch. His bloodshot eyes shot to her face. Her features were receptive and a bit sad and Sean forced himself to smile. Voice rough, he greeted, "Hey, Fe. We were wondering where you got off to."

The brunette pursed her lips. Wiping his wet cheek with the backs of her fingers, she opted to hug him. Sean seemed to be a rather tactical person, and frankly it was the only thing she could think to do that wouldn't seem completely awkward. She had initiated it to be gentle, but he gripped her tight.

Face buried in her shoulder, he sighed. As she ran her hand down his back, over his spine and back up, Sean closed his eyes. "I'm...I'm not a narrowback, am I?"

Unsure of what that was, Fern shook her head. She couldn't think of anything derogatory that would apply to Sean (except maybe clingy at that exact moment). "You're a good guy, Sean." Running her fingers through his shaggy hair, she set her temple against his. "Your mother should be proud of you."

Sean closed his eyes. He pressed tightly against her, one hand sliding up her back to rest against the space between her shoulder and neck, and the other hand pressed firmly against her hips. He let out a shaky breath. "Thanks."

"Don't dismiss me." Setting her hands on his shoulders, she pushed him back. Still, she kept her grip on his shoulders as she shook her head. "I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true."

He tried, and failed, to force back a smile at her ferocity. "No, you wouldn't, would you?"

"I don't know what she said to get you this upset, but whatever it is, she's wrong."

They were close enough that he could see the slight scars on the edges of her bottom lip, to notice the lack of scales on her eyelids and see even the faintest pigments in her eyes. Her expression was firm, but not hard and a kinder smile crossed his lips. Sean shook his head and thumbed her bottom lip. "Thanks, babe."

Clearly surprised by the touch, Fern blinked, but didn't fight him. Instead, she just offered him a puzzled smirk. "How was your training?"

"Loud."

The young woman smiled at him. It was bright, flashing her fanged teeth, and her laughter light. "I heard."

"Did you now?" His grin grew devious as his hands fell to wrap around her waist. He kept his hands respectfully on her waist, so she let him hold her. "'Cause no one's seen you all day. What kinda trouble have you been gettin' up to, Ailey?"

"That's really none of your business."

"Come on." Sean gave her a light shake. "Share with me."

Fern rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I've been keepin' busy."

"Without me?" The redhead arched a brow at her. "Where's the fun in that?"

Shaking her head, she thumbed a piece of his bangs from his blue eyes. He shuddered at the sensation of her setae, but leaned into her palm as she cupped his cheek. "What was your mom so upset about?"

With a sigh, he rubbed his brow. He could still feel her touch. It was a curious, but certainly not bad, thing. "I'm the first in my family to go to college...and the first to drop out."

"Well, she'll have to forgive you when you save the world, right?" The young brunette offered him a grin.

He chuckled. "We'll see."

After a moment, the young woman offered his arms a rub and stepped out of his embrace. Just in time to, as she had barely let him go when Charles entered the kitchen. He arched a brow at their close posture, but merely smirked. "Evening."

The duo murmured their acknowledgements. Sean quickly took a seat at the island and Fern busied herself in the fridge. The Professor fought a grin from his lips at their awkwardness, but didn't address it. Instead, he asked if Fern was ready to start her training.

She slammed the fridge door and spun to face him. "I've been ready all damn day."

"So sorry to keep you waiting. If we had been able to find you, perhaps I would've gotten to you sooner."

Her big eyes narrowed on him. With a hum, she glanced at Sean, who winked at her. Skin fluttering with embarrassment (and maybe a bit of mirth), she shook her head. "I was busy."

"Doing what?" Charles asked with genuine curiosity.

"Avoiding you."

The redhead snickered at Xavier's disapproving hum. He quieted, and hid his smirk behind the back of his hand when the Professor frowned at him.

"Well." Charles' gaze slowly returned to the girl's. "Now that you've finished with that, why don't we begin?"

Fern nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"Splendid." Charles nodded to the boy. "Sean. I suspect you'll find a way to amuse yourself in Miss Ailey's absence?"

"I'll try my best," the mutant replied with a cheeky grin. He nodded to Fern, who rolled her eyes at him, and told her, "I'll see you upstairs, okay, Fe?"

"Great."

Her sarcasm earned a smile from their mentor, who slipped a hand over her shoulder.

He ushered her into his study and closed the door behind them. Fern went in, took a seat behind his desk and looked expectantly at him. Xavier offered her a warm smile. Knowing how eager she was, he got right to the point, "Now, compared to the others, your mutation is going to be more difficult to explore. It's also the only one I haven't and most likely won't, be able to witness personally, god willing. Unless you would mind if I took a gander into your mind?"

Fern rolled her shoulders. Restless, embarrassed, and a bit wary, her skin spasmed as she offered him a cool, "Let's try something else first."

With an incline of his head, Charles slipped into the seat across from her. Leaning forward, he kept calm and composed. A natural contrast to her obvious discomfort. "By and by, it is a defense mechanism first and foremost. It should only trigger when you're under extreme duress."

"So I've noticed." She tapped her sharp inhuman nails on the pristine mahogany desktop.

"With that in mind, I'm going to need to know what would cause you to enter such a state." Expression and posture open, he eased back in his chair. "Please. Spare no details. This is a safe space, what we talk about in here won't leave this room."

The grey girl arched a brow at him. "Alright." With a sniff, she crossed her arms and lifted a foot up to rest on the edge of the desk. "I don't like being around strangers. Especially not being alone with them." Swallowing, she ground her teeth together. "Or being touched. Or, like, doctor stuff."

"And to what extremes do these situations have to be to get your mutation to react?"

"It varies."

"Varies how?"

Nails digging into her arms, Fern hummed. Her toes clenched. Eyes on them, she ignored the tightness in her throat as she shrugged. "It's...hard to explain. I mean, I can be scared and have it not kick in. It kind of has to think there's some kind of physical threat or it just stays off."

"Physical threat?" Charles repeated with interest. "What do you mean by that?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "It means I have to think there's a threat to me physically, to my physical body."

His gaze swept over her form. For a moment, the man was quiet, simply taking in her tense body language and flickering skin. With a hum, he asked, "Why are you so afraid of Hank?"

"I'm not."

"You were. What changed your mind?"

"I could take him." She lifted a glib shoulder and offered him a crooked smile.

Xavier chuckled. "Yes, well, I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that."

Her gaze sharpened on him. "I thought this was confidential?"

"It is, I was merely-"

She waved him off. "I get it, sorry." Lifting her other leg to sit on the edge of her chair, the younger mutant rocked in her seat. "I guess I'm just not scared of him because he hasn't really tried anything...sciencey on me. I mean, he asked a lot of questions but he never tried anything like they did."

"They?" Charles repeated. His voice was gentle, his eyes sincere and Fern kind of wanted to punch him in the face. She decided ignoring him would probably be the best option, but the Professor would have none of it. "Fern? Who are they?"

Bearing her teeth at him, she sneered at his attempt at a soothing tone. At his attempt at nonchalance and naiveté. "Don't act like you haven't already been in my head and seen it."

The man had the audacity to look almost offended by the accusation. "I assure you I haven't."

"Bullshit," She scoffed. Sniffing, she ignored how the membrane flicked over her eyes. "You knew I was adopted, you knew who Casten was. I know you know. Don't play dumb, Chuck, it doesn't suit you."

"Fern-"

"Don't," The grey girl snapped at him as she jerked out of her chair. Long legs carried her around the room in a hurried, ungraceful movement. "I know you probably can't help it, but there's some things that are private. If I wanted you to know, I'd tell you, but I don't, so don't push it, okay?"

He nodded. "Of course." As she prowled around the room behind him, Charles kept his head forward. "Is that a trigger for you? My invasion of your privacy?"

"No. I mean, it's rude as fuck and it pisses me off, but it doesn't scare me."

His blue eyes skirted over to where she circled the desk. His gaze followed her fingernails as they drummed along the top of it as she moved. Tone light, almost disinterested, he offered, "Like Hank does."

"I told you I'm not scared of Hank!" The girl shrieked at him, spinning on her heel and stalking away from him.

"But you don't trust him."

Her voice fell, "I didn't say that."

"But you haven't let him run any kind of experiment on you." The man arched a brow, but didn't look at her. "Any kind of diagnosis of your mutation, like he has the others."

"Well, excuse me for not wanting to be some kind of lab rat!" Fern bristled but kept her back to him as she pretended to be interested in his large bookcase. Running a sharp nail over one, her mouth puckered as it sliced through the thin spine. After a moment, she sliced through another, then one more for good measure. It was a cathartic, sinful little touch, destroying his belongings, but she hardly cared if it came across as petty.

Behind her, her mentor went on. His tone casual, Xavier told her, "He has no intentions of hurting you."

Like she didn't already know that. Huffing, she slammed the book she had been pretending to look at back into place. "I know!"

"He just wants a blood sample."

"He just wants my foot up his ass!"

Charles rolled his eyes at her, but a smirk crossed his mouth at her dramatic huff. "Fern. There's no need for vulgarity."

"Yes there is!" She raked her hands through her hair and fisted the dark strands before she pointed at him. Her finger shook. Her teeth bared and her skin wavered as the membrane covered her eyes. She blinked it away, but couldn't keep her voice from cracking as she sneered, "And there's no need for that self-righteous tone either!"

"Why won't you just let him-"

"Because it won't stop there! First they want blood and hair and skin and then what?! I've given them enough! They can't have any more!" The girl screamed at him, her skin spasming and scales shifting as the dual glands at the base of her neck started to pulse. She slapped a hand over them and winced as black goo began to seep out of them. It coated her palm in a sticky mess, but the poison didn't affect her.

The Professor stood, righted the bottom of his brown vest and moved to stand before her. She jerked back. He stopped, put a hand between them and nodded. "I suppose that's enough for this evening. I'm sorry to have pushed you so far."

Fern shook her head. Annoyed, her skin bristled as she rolled her shoulders like an agitated barn cat. "I came here to learn how to make it stop. I don't need to learn how to make it start, it does that on its own. That's why I don't need to worry about fighting Shaw. I'll get scared the moment I see him and it'll flair up on its own." Her bottom lip quivered. The membrane flickered over her eyes as she shook her head. "I need to learn how to stop it before it starts. I don't want to hurt anyone."

He nodded once more. "I understand. Next time, we'll focus on that."

Hopeful, her brows perked up and her spine straightened. "We will?"

"I promise." Xavier gestured to where a bit of her poison was seeping through her grey t-shirt. "Is there anything I can do?"

Fern sighed and shook her head. "It's already stopping. I just...need to recognize you're not a threat."

"And have you?"

"Kind of." Tossing a thumb over her shoulder, she asked if she could go. When he nodded his consent, the grey mutant slipped out of his study.

Charles watched her go with a sigh.

a/n: thanks to the always fantastic Linda Ku for betaing this! Hope the narrowback line didn't offend anyone.