Rebekah

I sigh.

"I thought I said that he had a point, not that he was right."

Isaac just looks glumly into the distance.

"Well, if it's any consolation, at least you're alive here."

He turns and looks at me.

"What?"

"While Professor X was fixing Cerebro, I decided to look us up. I found your Facebook page and everything. I'd say you're almost identical here as you are there."

"And you…?"

I slip over the printed page and watch as Isaac's eyes widen. Let's see if I can guess where he is from the look on his face. I didn't expect to find a Wikipedia page on me.

I think he's at the bit about the mutant rights campaigns. Now he's reached the bit about my alternate self dating a mutant boy. And bingo, he's read about the attack. The words still ring in my head, surgically clean and painful.

During a visit to Glasgow, she was attacked by an anti-mutant gang for helping a mutant girl who was later identified as Erin Smith. Both girls were rushed to hospital from where Erin was later released. Rebekah died the night afterwards. The Trust was later set up to help human-mutant couples and mutants with severe physical disfigurements.

Isaac looks up.

"Are you certain that's you?"

"Dates match up and everything. It's me alright."

He seems transfixed on the photo.

"Your hair's long."

"I only had it cut this short two years ago."

Unconsciously my hand moves through my short hair. Practicality and hatred of spending thirty minutes brushing only to look like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards, forwards and through a rift in the universe five minutes later mean it's now in a pixie cut. The only problem is people mistaking me for a boy in my loose Scout uniform.

"So you're dead here?"

"I guess so."

"And you aren't angry that you were killed for helping a mutant? Don't you want revenge?"

"No."

"WHAT!"

"I'm a pacifist. Violence should always be a last resort. Anyway, justice was dispensed. That's all the vengeance I need."

"You sound like Xavier."

"No. I don't. He actively turns children into fighters."

"So you don't like him?"

I shrug.

"Rebekah…"

"Bekah. It's Bekah. I'm sorry about earlier. I was just scared and a cat had started talking to me."

Isaac smiles oddly.

"You don't like the Professor?"

"I feel…I feel he sometimes hides things that should be in the open."

"Like Deadly Gen- whmph!"

The whmph is because I've slammed my hand over his mouth.

"Don't. Just don't."

"How are you keeping your thoughts safe? Surely Phoenix must have picked up those thoughts."

I consider for a moment and then decide.

"Imagine one thing and one thing only. Allow it to fill your mind. Concentrate on all the tiny details. And that's all they see."

He doesn't respond but I see a tiny crinkling around his eyes. He's planning.

"Do you want to go back now?"

"Okay."

"We have to stop somewhere first though."

"Where?"

"Supermarket. We need cat food."

He finally cracks a grin.

"You're keeping him?"

"Oh yes. I need to 'be able to enhance my understanding of my mutation'. At least, that's what I told them. Really I just want a cat at the foot of my bed again."

He offers me his hand.

"Want to get there faster? Bekah."

I grasp his arm.

"Oh yes. Scott will just have to drive home without us."

"How do you plan to tell him?"

I allow an evil smile to flit across my face and now completely green eyes.

"Who said I was?"

Isaac

A couple of minutes later we were outside the supermarket. Rebekah went in, came out and we made our way back to the mansion. Logan stood outside his arms crossed. He didn't even look surprised to see me. He mumbled a welcome back and went back inside. Kitty greeted us as we entered the house. Nightcrawler appeared beside me. I opened my mouth to apologize but he gave me look that told me he had already forgiven me. A voice inside my head informed me to come to the office. Leaving Rebekah with Kurt I trudged up the stairs. Every fibre in my body told me to turn back but I marched steadily on. I opened the door and walked in without waiting to be invited. I sat on the couch with my head bowed. There was a long silence.

'I'm glad you're back,' the Professor said. I looked up. He seemed genuine.

'Thank-you,' I replied.

'Have you got Colossus' strength yet?'

I nodded solemnly. 'I'm sorry Professor.'

'There's no need for that. So what have you been doing while you've been away?'

I felt a probing in my mind. Time to test out Bekah's technique. I focused and a second later I heard the Professor gasp. I stood up and walked towards the door. I stopped and looked back smiling.

'Rebekah may respect your choice to keep secrets, but I won't. Don't push me.' I walked out.

I had been reading the Deadly Genesis saga a couple of weeks ago and the faces of Vulcan, Darwin, Petra and Sway were still fresh in my mind. I had simply projected their images into my consciousness. I almost laughed out loud with the wickedness of it. I walked downstairs casually.

'How'd it go?' Rebekah asked.

'It was uneventful,' I said. Scott stormed in. He scowled at Bekah as he walked upstairs.

'We're all going to have a picnic outside, you coming?' Kurt questioned.

'Actually I'm just want to talk to Bekah for a sec. We'll be right there.' Kurt nodded and disappeared.

'Magneto came to me.' I said.

'When!' Bekah exclaimed.

'Right before you showed up in the park. He wants us to join him.'

'I don't think so.'

'What happened to all that stuff you said to me about Charles being misguided and Magneto having a point?'

Bekah shrugged. 'This place is almost like home to me. And the people here are like my family. That's something you'd never get in the brotherhood.'

'So basically, you've got a crush on the blue guy and you can't leave him?'

'Isaac!' Rebekah said punching me good-humouredly. 'I'm going outside.'

I followed close behind. I had made my decision whose side I was on. I just had to wait for the right moment.