"These stairs are awfully dark." Grace commented as they turned the bend.

"The light bulb's burned out, that's all. It'll take two seconds to replace it." Jean reassured her.

"All right." Scott opened the door at the top of the stairs, and gauzy light flooded down.

Grace stepped out of the stairwell into…a cathedral full of junk.

It was the high, vaulted ceiling which made her think of a cathedral. It was really just an attic, the attic in the wing opposite from Ororo's, but the junk was certainly there. This is way too much work.

"We'd have to get the kids to help move this stuff and do some cleaning, some painting, but it's really not that bad. The wiring was redone three or four years ago, when the rest of the house was, and it's insulated. It used to be servant's quarters, so there is a bathroom down at the end. You won't get the same water pressure as in the rest of the house, but it should be okay." Scott informed her.

"I know I don't get the greatest pressure over in my bathroom." Ororo said. "It's the only downside to living up here. Look—." She showed Grace the view from the windows.

"I can see the reservoir from here." Grace said, and looked around the attic again. It might not be so bad… She laughed. "I'll be the madwoman in the attic!"


"Henry—welcome home," Xavier greeted the blue-furred mutant.

"Professor," the Beast said, with warmth. "It's good to be back." He nodded curtly in Magneto's direction, omitting any spoken greeting, before turning back to his former teacher. "What is it that you couldn't discuss on the phone?"

"A civil rights violation on a massive scale." Xavier outlined what Marine StarCare had done, passing Grace's file over to him. "If she were to proceed with this as a two-pronged case, citing her health provider for violating the Genetic Privacy laws, and against the Mutant Registration Act for having caused her harm by 'outing' her as a mutant, leading to the vandalism of her home, the attack on her life, the loss of personal and business relationships, and the loss of future income, what would be the chances of winning?"

Hank McCoy whistled. "This is phenomenal. Unprecedented. What are the chances, Professor? I can tell you I've never seen a stronger case—or one which will be a greater uphill battle. A great deal of it will depend on Ms. Engstrom herself—how she comports herself on the witness stand and in front of the media. The only impression I've formed of her is that she is attractive and has an obsession with natural fibers. What is your opinion of her?"

Xavier opined, "Intelligent, well-spoken, and unthreatening. She comes across as very sympathetic."

"Good, good." The Beast replied absently.

Am I not even in the room? "I would add that she has considerable warmth and charm." Erik put in.

"Really." said McCoy flatly, giving him a look which Magneto interpreted as 'I don't know why you're here, but I don't approve.' "What, if any, are her powers?" He addressed the Professor.

I am getting tired of being ignored. "She has a healing factor, if a lesser one, and a strong but unusual psychic faculty." Erik stated.

"She is receiving messages from some unknown but actively helpful outside source." Xavier explained.

"What sort of messages?"

Explaining that took some time. By the end of it, McCoy looked as though he had an untreated case of athelete's foot fungus which he couldn't scratch in public. "She won't start talking to inanimate objects in public, will she?"

"No. She's quite aware of how she comes across. However, if they tell her to do something immediately, she may respond…eccentrically." Xavier told him

"And you're sure she's sane?"

"Yes. She is coherent, she knows right from wrong, and is fully competent." Erik was actively annoyed by that time.

The professor nodded. "That is correct."

"That's a relief. Hmm," McCoy's expression grew thoughtful. "If there was nothing around with an animal face—you said it seems they only talk through animal faces—nothing could speak to her, could it?"

"One never knows when one will come across an animal face. In court, there are often eagles about—topping flagpoles, on seals and emblems. You could hardly remove all of them." Xavier pointed out.

"That's unfortunate."

"You're insulting her intelligence." Erik protested. "She wouldn't reveal what's going on with her voices—even unintentionally."

Hank was still ignoring him. "Well. Taking all of this into consideration, I will say, guardedly, that the outlook is good. I could hardly have chosen a better person to take this into court."

"Why do you say that?' asked the professor, curious.

"Demographics. She's female, over forty, college educated but from the central US, with the right background—father a blue collar worker, foreman of a Chrysler plant. That alone puts her in the majority. She's also heterosexual, has no criminal record, and although she is a businesswoman, it's in a traditionally feminine occupation—knitting. If she ran a mail order company selling 'adult toys' to the Sapphic community, we could never sail this boat., but people will look at Grace Engstrom and identify with her."

"I would think so." said the professor.

"She's attractive, which always helps. Nothing catches the American imagination like beauty—unless it's scandal. That's my one concern. It isn't the stigma it once was, but she is pregnant out of wedlock. Single mothers are a growing demographic, though…Where is the father in all this? Has he abandoned her in her hour of need?"

I will not be ignored any longer. "He has not." Erik stated, definitively.

For the first time, Dr. Henry McCoy looked directly at him, his eyes widening with horror as he realized what Magneto was implying.

"You mean?..." he asked.

"I am the most likely candidate, yes." Is it wrong to enjoy this so much?

The Beast let out a sound that was half-groan, half howl of despair, and started banging his head on the desk. "I knew this was too good to be true!" he agonized.