I embrace Lex in a hug. It's been so long since I've seen her last. Just the fact that she's alive brings tears to my eyes.

"How did you...?" I ask as she looks at me, electric blue eyes wide with excitement. Her red hair covers her left eye as it always has.

"It's not that hard to find someone Raven," she begins, "especially when the person I'm looking for has neon green eyes." I look down, I knew my eyes were unique, but I didn't know they were that bright. "Anyways, is he your boyfriend?"

I feel my face flush a shade of red, "I'm sorry, who?"

"The boy you were with, Raven do you have a boyfriend?"

I shake my head and proceed to tell her about Steve and Bucky, while remaining a shade of pink. When I'm done, she nods her head.

"And Bucky got into the military, and Steve was so upset when he found out that he's been lying on his application forms," I finish.

Lex looks at me, "that's illegal."

"I know."

"Do you know who took him into the room?"

I immediately think of what she said in the wrong way, and stifle a laugh, "n-no."

"That's Dr. Erskine, I work with him. He's been working on a chemical serum to create a super being for military. He's been watching your friend for a while now. I think he might use him as an experiment."

My eyes widen, this could go terribly wrong. Even if it's a success, he could die in war. I don't think I would be able to live without Bucky or Steve. "Is there anything I can do?" I finally ask Lex, who looks at me with a concerned look on her face.

She shakes her head, "not really Raven. I mean women are not allowed onto the battlefield so you can't go in as a girl." I then get an idea in my head.

"No, you will be discovered very quickly if you do what you did with James. You are crazy, you know that? You would have to magically become a man, like manipulation of the genes to change you physical form like I can but that requires being advanced genes and chromosomes and-"

I stop her, "wait Lex. Did you just say you can shape-shift?"

She looks at me, "the scientific term is physical manipula-"

"I don't have time for science, do it right now."

"What? Why? Raven Bailey Howlett, you better have a good explanation for this!"

I pin her to the wall, lowering my voice to a whisper, "listen, in 1810, when James and I ran away, Victor and him got in a fight. He has claws in his hands. I have them too."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I want to see what caused me to get them. If you expose me to your power, maybe I can learn my power too."

Lex looks at me, "I question your logic, but alright, I'll do it."

I smile at her as I set her back onto the ground. She takes a deep breath and begins to change her appearance. Her eyes turn a bright green and her hair goes a dark blonde. As she does this, I feel a sharp pain in my head, as if someone has stabbed me. I close my eyes and wince at the pain as it grows stronger as Lex continues. It's not long before I collapse on the ground, seeing black circles in my vision. I then feel my eyelids close as Lex crouches beside me.

"Raven! RAVEN, OH DEAR LORD PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD!" She screams as I open my eyes again, I quickly sit up to see Lex...or myself? I stare at Lex, unable to speak. She looks exactly like me, even the dress she was wearing has changed into my skirt and blouse.

'Did it work?' I ask myself as I stand up carefully. I think of Lex's usual appearance: red hair, electric blue eyes, tall and skinny frame. I feel a tingle in my brain, like a migraine just beginning to pass. Just as fast as the feeling came on, it stops. I open my eyes, looking down at Lex now, who stares in disbelief.

"Holy sh-," she says as she catches herself just in time, covering her mouth, "it worked." I smile as I unshift (if that's what it's called...Thanks a lot author!) into my regular form. Lex smile turns serious as Steve opens the door to the office he was in. I turn to see Dr. Whats-his-face motioning for Lex to talk to him.

"I've got to go Raven, we'll chat. I'm guessing Steve is going to be used with how long that took. I'll help you with a plan, so it's not stupidly dangerous." I nod and she walks towards the doctor, who takes her into the room.

I turn to Steve, who has a small grin on his face, "well? What was that about?"

He looks at me, "I have a chance, Raven, thank you for helping me!"

"That's great! Congratulations Steve," even though my thoughts disagree 'now what?'

I need to talk to Lex, and fast.

-A very Merry Timeskip-

Months have passed since Steve was accepted for the Super Soldier Project. Him and Bucky are now off in the military fighting. Today is December 24th, Christmas Eve. As I walk home from work in the early hours of morning, a new layer of snow crunches under my shoes as I walk through the dawn. I look around to see the nearly empty streets, there is no light of sun yet and no one is out in order for gatherings tonight and tomorrow morning. Howard has given me the next few weeks off for the holidays so today was my last uneventful work night until January 4th. I unlock the door to the house I am renting and see someone in my kitchen.

Lex. She said she as coming over today to plan with me. I have gotten much better at changing my shape so now I don't throw up every time.

"Morning Raven," she greets as she takes a sip of her milk, "how was work this week?"

"No different than the last few, some jerk tries to break in once and I hand them their ass; other than that, very quiet. I think I should continue being a night guard, just maybe somewhere more exciting."

"Oh watch your language Raven," Lex laughs, "anyways, you sure you want to do this?"

I turn to her, "save the whole language thing for Steve, he does it better than you. And yes, I want to do this."

She sighs, "alright, I have your application form, I just need your appearance and your health difficulties."

I shift into what I want to look like, I keep the green eyes, but my hair turns a dark brown, almost like Bucky's. The length remains the same due to me liking the long hair. I grow to 6 feet tall and I develop a ton of muscle on my arms. I look at Lex who stares at me, "you didn't throw up."

I shake my head, "no, I didn't." My voice is a little deeper than before but I still sound almost the same. "I still have asthma."

"Got it," Lex says as she writes on the paper, "what's your name? Raven doesn't work."

"That's where I need help," I say, shifting back, "I want to keep my initials the same but I can't go in with a similar last name."

"I agree," Lex says, "did you have any ideas?"

I think for a minute, thinking of names that start with 'R', "How about Richard?"

Lex nods in agreement, "Now the hard part, last name?"

"Hamilton?"

"No,"

"Hilton?"

"Worse,"

"Howlett?"

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Hilfiger?"

"Already have one enlisted."

"I'm out of ideas," I say as I stand back up to stretch out my shoulders. Lex jumps up, startling me.

"I've got it!"

"Tell me?"

"Hamburg, Richard Baylen Hamburg." I nod in agreement as she scribbles it down. "Alright, I'll tell Dr. Erskine that I think you need to be enrolled immediately, and hopefully, you're accepted."

"Great! Thank you so much for doing this Lex, I appreciate it."

"You're my sister, I'm supposed to help you. I just need you to promise me one thing."

"What?"

Lex looks me in the eye, "try not to go hunting for trouble like you usually do."

"I'll try,"

"Thank you Raven."

"When you're around at least,"

"RAVEN HOWLETT!"