Rebekah

I watch as Isaac leaves my room. Brilliant. I'm stuck as a freak mixture of cat and human, I can't walk without toppling over, and I'm in the Marvel Universe, with the X-Men, possibly the most hated of the heroes. Should I just commit suicide to save everyone else the hassle?

Sighing, I drag myself over to the wardrobe and open it to see the full-length mirror. I suppose my new form isn't too bad. It's sleek and graceful. I hold out a hand and watch as razor sharp claws slip out of my fingers, my previously bitten fingernails now sharp. I frown. Keratin. They're proper claws. I sniff the air and get a sudden explosion of scent. Everything is so vibrant! I look around the semi-dark room and see everything in glorious Technicolor. It shocks me so much I let go of the end of the bed and prepare to topple. I don't. Frowning, I look down. My feet, now bare, are shaped almost like I'm on tiptoes. My feet are cat-like. I take a few tentative steps and relax. It's just like tottering around on tiptoes. My ankle is now where my heel would be if I had normal feet. I walk a bit further then catch a scent I don't know. Wolverine smells earthy, with metal. Storm smells of soil after a rainstorm. Phoenix is fiery. Nightcrawler has a sharp, brimstone stench. Beast smells surgical. Colossus of steel. Each X-Man has a unique smell I memorised as a cat. But this smell is new. Not trusting my new-found balance, I decide to go cat. Halfway there, I have a brainwave. What if I keep my size? As a cat, I was small and able to be stepped on easily. I allow my body to shift slowly through the changes until I realise it's different from last time. I let the change run its course, wiggle out of my now too big clothes then pad over to the mirror. And freeze.

I'm larger than a normal cat. Slender, but muscular, long legged, with a short, bushy tail. I'm nearly two metres in length. I'm walking on two legs, but only just. Thick reddish-brown fur, twice as thick as the fur I had previously. Whereas before, I was a human with cat features, now I'm a cat with human features. I walk to the door and pad out. There's someone coming so I hide in the shadows.

"Rebekah, I know you're there."

I step out and watch the look of shock on his face. I'm comfortably standing on two-legs but I know what I look like.

"Is that really you?"

I nod then decide to try an experiment. Isaac's sniffing the air, even if he doesn't realise he's doing it.

"You smell it too?"

My voice is deeper and more gravelly than before. At least I can talk. I stop and sniff the air then relax. Just Beast and Wolverine. Logan steps out.

"You'd both be dead by now if I had been an enemy."

I shrug. I knew he wasn't an enemy. He's just…Logan.

"It's like all the people with heightened senses are here."

I blink at Beast. Well duh. Isaac doesn't seem to think it's such a stupid comment.

"Do you smell it?"

"Yes. I don't know what it is but let's investigate it just to make sure it's not a threat."

I grin, knowing my teeth are sharp and threatening. Beast looks at me.

"The look suits you."

I grin even wider and pad out with them. Logan looks at us.

"Isaac, with me. Hank, will you take Rebekah?"

"It will be a pleasure."

I flash him a grateful smile. Not to put too fine a point on it, when Wolverine's like this, he scares the hell out of me. Beast… well, Beast's the sort of person I get on with. I'm a scientist, want to study particle physics. Beast's the X-Man I'm closest to personality wise. I follow him deeper into the grounds. My eyes pick up all the slight shifts in light, pick up every tiny movement. I'm totally focussed, totally absorbed in the hunt. Then I hear Isaac scream. Instantly, instinctively I drop onto all-fours and shoot through the woods. I'm running faster than I ever have before, instinctively ducking branches, leaping fallen logs. I hear Beast trying to catch up. Then I find Logan, lying on the ground with a huge bruise already fading from his head. Unconscious. Only three, four people are capable of that. Colossus, Moses Magnum Magneto and Warhawk. A little treacherous voice in my head adds Isaac to the list. But he screams again and I leap away from Logan who can more than look after himself and charge into a clearing, leaping at the person towering over Isaac. Magneto! I snarl as he throws me off and I skid across the clearing. I leap again, leaving claw tracks across his arm. He catches my throat and I bite down, fighting instinctively. Bekah's just sitting in the back seat, watching the Cat fight. I claw him, leaving deep bloody tracks across his arm. Then something heavy crashes across the back of my head and just as the blackness crowds in, I see Isaac standing over me, hand in a fist.

Isaac

Me and Logan were sneaking through the woods. Logan suddenly growled and raced off into the trees. I followed and we both stepped into a clearing. An unnatural force swiped us to the ground and we were held there. Then I was released and I turned to face Magneto. We stared at each other for a while but no words were needed. I nodded silently and Magneto cracked a rare smile. He held Logan up in front of me. Logan held my gaze steadily. He didn't look angry or surprised. There was no true emotion in his face at all. Just disappointment. I gritted my teeth, raised my fist and struck Logan in the head. Logan's head jerked back slightly but he didn't pass out. I hit Logan again and again I failed to knock him out. Suddenly Logan's hand shot out and his claws plunged into my stomach.

I screamed with pain. Logan's hand was wrenched out of me by Magneto and held steady. I growled and called on all the strength of Colossus'. I punched Logan again. His eyes rolled up inside his skull and then closed gently. As much as I felt terrible a part of me liked the feeling of being invincible. I laughed quietly.

'It only gets better,' Magneto said. I bent over as a spasm of pain tore through me. The wound was healing slowly but the pain continued to increase. Logan's claws must have stabbed my organs. They would take longer to heal. There was a rustle of leaves and Rebekah burst out onto the scene. She looked around and then launched herself at Magneto. I sniffed and realized Beast was approaching fast. I slipped into slow-time and met him half-way. I stood tall in front of him. For a moment he looked at me with surprise. Then his eyes hardened into steel and he threw himself at me. I phased and he went straight through me. Hearing Rebekah yowl with rage he abandoned the fight and tried to help her but before he made three paces I was in front of him. He didn't even see the punch as it connected with his jaw. He slumped down onto the ground. I raced back to Magneto just as Rebekah left a scratch on Magneto's arm that would probably scar him for life. She bent down to attack again but I swung my fist heavily. It connected accurately and Rebekah dropped like a stone. She saw me and her eyes widened just before they closed gently. I sat down, breathing hard. My head was spinning. I couldn't believe what I'd just done. Rebekah was my friend. And I had knocked her out.

I could see her now being examined by Magneto.

'This one is strong. It would be an achievement to get her on our team. We'll bring her along.'

Magneto let out a sharp whistle. As if by magic his gang of mutants appeared from out the woods. There was one I had never seen before among them.

'Who's he?' I enquired. Magneto glanced over at the guy I was looking at.

'That 's Mastermind. He can create any illusion to fool the five senses. In your cases, the nose.'

'So that was that intriguing smell.'

Magneto nodded. 'The scent of menace.' We watched as the Brotherhood went about making sure any signs of a fight were indistinguishable.

'Why'd didn't they help you in the fight?' I asked.

'I told you, I don't always let them fight my battles for me.'

The Brotherhood started gathering up Dr McCoy, Logan and Rebekah.

'Why are you taking them?'

'They'll be less trouble with us than not.'

I nodded. 'Where are we going?'

'To my place,' Magneto replied.

Less than an hour later I was sitting in a smaller version of Genosha. Although I wasn't sure if that existed yet in this universe. Outside the place was swarming with persecuted mutants. Logan, Dr McCoy and Rebekah were dragged off underground to some place. I forced myself not to watch. My wound was healing nicely and I could manage to drink some water. Magneto sat on a couch across the room from me.

'How do you feel?' He asked.

'Who cares?' I mumbled. Magneto glared at me.

'Well it's not every day I betray my friends,' I added.

'Tell me about you. How did you get here?'

I explained to Magneto how he was just a comic book character in my world.

'Interesting,' Magneto said after I had finished explaining. 'Whose side were you on in your world?'

I paused for a second. 'I always thought you were evil cause that was the way the artists depicted you. But then I realized you were just trying to protect yourself. The humans don't stop. And no matter how many lives the X-men save, the world will still hate them for what they are. They're so ungrateful. And then there was you. Instead of taking the persecution you stood up for yourself and although I don't agree with all your methods, I think it's necessary until the humans leave the mutants alone. And if the X-men stand in the way, then they have to be removed.'

Magneto smiled and gave a single nod. 'Welcome to the team...Thief.'