A/N: I don't own X-Men: Evolution. If I did, it wouldn't have been cancelled. I do, however, own Brian and Danny. They're mine, all mine!

Jean glanced over her shoulder one last time before moving to the Blackbird's cockpit. Brian sat in one of the passenger chairs, snoring lightly. Not that Jean blamed him. She knew that the last few days had been very hard on him. So hard that he had been unable to even speak to his mother and younger brother—not even to say good-bye.

Jean let out a weary sigh. Once it had become apparent that Brian did not want to go home, it had taken a lot of negotiation to secure his place in the Institute. Mrs. Knight had been sad, but she seemed to understand why Brian might not be able to face them. Danny, however, hadn't taken the news so well. According to Ororo, the boy had holed himself in his room upon hearing the news.

Jean shook her head and walked to the cockpit. Scott and Ororo were seated at the controls, guiding the plane back home. The professor was seated a few seats behind them, his nose buried in a book that Jean didn't recognize.

"What's that you're reading, Professor?" she asked, taking a seat next to Xavier.

"It's a study conducted by an old colleague of mine who specializes in child psychology. It is proving most insightful."

"How so?"

"The research deals with children who have just experienced a major traumatic event, much like Brian and Danny have."

"I see."

"Yes, I must admit that the full range of reactions surprised me. Anger, fear, and confusion are all common. However, some children experience a disassociation with the events."

"You mean, like not believing that something actually happened?" she asked.

"Or forgetting the event entirely," he said, finally looking at Jean.

"Do you think that's what happened with Danny?"

"I believe so, yes. His conscious mind seems to have blocked his recollection of the events surrounding his father's death. He may not even be aware that his father has died."

"How do we want to handle that, if he really has forgotten?"

"I am not sure just yet. I will have to think on the matter."

They sat in silence for several minutes. Finally, Jean spoke: "Professor? There's something else I wanted to ask you."

"You want to know how Danny's power was able to get past my mental barrier," it was not so much a question as it was a statement. Jean nodded. Xavier was quiet for several moments. "I wish I knew. Either his abilities function differently from any other psychic on the planet, or he is more powerful than we originally thought."

…

Brian had to admit, the place was impressive. The Institute was easily as large as his old high school, and the grounds were in much better shape.

"Careful," he heard Scott say. "If you keep that up you're going to get grass stains on your chin."

"Huh?" Brian asked, and then quickly closed his gaping mouth. He looked back at Scott with a sheepish grin. "Sorry. It's just that I've never seen a house this nice before."

"Don't worry, I did the same thing the first time I saw it too." With that, Scott began making his way up the front steps. Brian followed closely behind, though he did take a brief moment to once again marvel at the Institute's grounds. There was green everywhere: trees, bushes and a front yard as big as a football field. Around the back he could make out a garden, complete with a gazebo, a pool—and was that a basketball court?

As Scott opened the huge double doors, Brian realized that the interior was just as impressive as the exterior. The foyer was almost as big as his whole house, and each wall was adorned with a bust or large painting. Overhead was a chandelier that looked to be made of the finest crystal. Directly ahead was a pair of staircases leading to the second floor. And descending the staircase was what appeared to be the perkiest girl that Brian had ever seen.

"Scott! Jean! You're back!" the girl exclaimed as she bounded down the steps. "Like, how was your trip? Did you have a nice flight? How was the weather in San Diego, because I hear it's like, totally beautiful there this time of year. Is this the new kid?"

It was all Brian could do to keep up with her as she fired questions a mile a minute. Now that she was closer, he could tell that she was a slight girl, barely his own height. She wore her long brown hair in a high ponytail, and he had to admit that her blue eyes were very pretty. Those pretty blue eyes were now locked on him. Brian tried to articulate a response, but—thankfully—Jean came to his rescue.

"To answer, Kitty: good, yes, sunny, and yes. Brian, this is Kitty Pryde. She's been at the Institute for a little over a year now. Kitty, this is Brian Knight, our newest student."

"Um, hi," Brian said nervously.

"It's totally great to meet you, Brian," Kitty beamed. "Hey! How about I give you the tour? C'mon, I'll show you around." With that, Kitty took hold of Brian's wrist and began pulling him towards the stairs. Brian looked pleadingly back at Scott and Jean, but they merely smiled and waved.

"Have fun you two," Jean said. Brian could swear that she was holding back laughter.

As Kitty led him on his fast-paced (yet excruciatingly detailed) tour of the mansion, Brian found it harder and harder to concentrate. It wasn't that he was losing interest, as the building was rather fascinating. It wasn't that he disliked Kitty, though he could not figure out how she was able to maintain her almost inhuman positive energy. Brian was having trouble concentrating because he felt the tingle.

The "tingle" was a difficult feeling to describe. Ever since his powers had first emerged, he had had a strange feeling whenever he was near a power line or a light bulb. When he was under a power line, for example, he would get a tingling sensation on his scalp. The sensation would grow stronger the closer he got, and the feeling emerged again whenever he neared another. Here in the building, though, it was different. He could feel the tingling sensation in two places: on his scalp and his feet. He was sure that there was a generator of some kind underneath the complex, but he hadn't felt anything quite that strong before.

The tingling on his scalp was strange. For one thing, it seemed just as strong as the feeling in his feet—perhaps even stronger. Second, as the tour went on the feeling would move to other parts of his head. It was almost as if whatever was causing the tingle was moving around the mansion. As Kitty and Brian made their way down one particular corridor (Brian had long since lost track of where they were) the feeling became more intense. In fact, the sensation had become almost painful.

Then he heard it: "Give it back!" Brian came to an immediate halt. In one of the side rooms he could hear voices, one of which sounded like a young boy in distress. As Brian listened, he realized that whatever was causing the sensation was in that room. Kitty, blissfully unaware that her subject had stopped, continued down the hall and around a corner.

Brian made his way into the room, which appeared to be some sort of rec room. Inside, two boys were arguing rather heatedly. One boy, who appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen, was holding a small book far above his head. The other boy, who looked no older than twelve, was trying desperately to grasp said book.

"Give it back Ray!" the younger boy yelled. He jumped, but the older boy merely lifted the book higher. The little boy seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"No way, Shrimp! I found it, so it's mine now," the older boy sneered. Brian's eyes narrowed. The older boy was easily a head taller than the younger one, and held the book high above his head. The boy looked like most of the tough-guy punks that Brian knew from his old school: piercing, ragged clothes, and a strange two-toned spiked hairdo. He looked like the classic bully. Brian didn't like bullies.

Brian was across the room in three steps. With a quick motion, he hopped up and snatched the book out of the older boy's hand. Surprised, the punk spun around and came face to face with Brian. "I don't think this belongs to you," Brian said sternly.

"Who the hell are you? This doesn't concern you," the other boy spat. He glared down at Brian, who realized that this boy was almost three inches taller than himself.

"Yeah, well I'm making it my concern," Brian replied coolly. The spiked-haired boy merely smirked.

"Big mistake, newbie," the punk sneered as he moved closer to Brian. Suddenly, there was a flash, and both Brian and the bully flinched. They flinched again as they saw the source of another flash: a bolt of electricity had jumped from the spiked-haired boy to Brian. Already Brian could feel his muscles tense as the energy raced through his body. The bully took a step back, a confused look on his face.

The two boys stared at each other for several long seconds. Brian did not know what his next move should be, and he could tell that "Ray" didn't seem to know either. After what seemed like an eternity, the silence was broken by another voice calling from the hallway: "Hey Ray!"

"Not now, Bobby," Ray replied without turning. The boy named Bobby poked his head through the doorway.

"C'mon, Ray, Dr. McCoy's almost done with dinner and Mr. Logan wants the two of us to set the table." Ray seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then, with one last icy stare at Brian, he followed Bobby out of the room. Brian waited until he was sure Ray was gone before he let out a long breath. He felt the boost of energy leave, and felt a light pain in his chest. It was then that he noticed the small hand tugging at his sleeve.

"Um, can I have my book back now?" the little boy asked quietly. Brian had almost forgotten that he was there. Brian took the book and looked at it more closely. The small book was in fact a diary or journal, and a high-quality one at that. The cover was made of leather, and it bore an engraved title: The Private Life of Jamie Madrox. Clearly, this had been an expensive gift—no wonder the boy wanted it back so badly.

"Sure," Brian replied. He handed the journal back to the boy, who tucked it protectively under his arm. "That looks like an expensive journal; you should try to find a better hiding place for it." Brian smiled as he offered the boy his hand. "Name's Brian."

"Jamie," the boy replied as he cautiously shook Brian's hand. "Thanks for helping me out."

"Don't mention it," Brian replied with a smile. "I have a brother about your age, so I'm used to helping kids in need." Jamie smiled at that.

"Brian, there you are!" Brian turned to see Kitty entering the room, a flustered look on her face. "I was halfway across the mansion before I realized you weren't behind me."

"Sorry about that," Brian replied, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I got a little turned around. Luckily, Jamie here found me, or I might still be wandering the halls. In fact, he was just volunteering to take over for you, weren't you, Jaime?" Brian looked at Jamie pleadingly. He was sure that Kitty was a perfectly wonderful person, but he really, really needed a break from her blindingly sunny disposition.

The younger boy looked at Brian quizzically, then smiled. "Um, yeah. So, uh, this is the Rec Room," Jaime motioned. "There's the TV and, um, there's the couch." The two boys smiled as widely as possible. Kitty raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, OK," she said after a pause. "Hate to break it to you, but I just ran into Storm, and she wanted me to tell you that dinner is ready, so it looks like you'll have to cut the tour a bit short. Oh, and Jamie," she said, "Ororo wants to make sure that you got washed up before we eat."

"Aw," the boy whined. "Oh well, maybe we can do the tour after dinner?" When Brian nodded, Jamie brightened considerably.

"Hurry up, Jamie, or you'll be late," Kitty said as she shooed him out into the hall. Turning to Brian, she flashed him a mischievous grin. "C'mon, let's be the first ones at the table! I know a shortcut!" Brian barely had time to raise an eyebrow before Kitty grabbed his hand. Then—to Brian's astonishment and horror—the pair began sinking through the floor. With a panicked yelp, Brian tried to pry himself from Kitty's grasp, but her grip was surprisingly strong. The last thing he heard before his head sank beneath the carpet was the sound of Jamie's laughter.

The Private Life of Jamie Madrox is the title of a fanfic by the talented and very funny Pirate Kit. Do yourself a favor and give it a read.