Rebekah
I sit in the library, curled up with a book, just for appearances. I'm actually just sitting, thinking, but I have a book I've already read, so if anyone asks, I can spout off the basic plot straight out and comment on a few of the finer details. Inside the leaves is a note.
Sorry. But this is the way I chose. I'll try and stop our paths colliding again. The optic blasts were an accident. Isaac
I snarl and look at my hands. Isaac is lucky. His power is purely mental, nothing that could stop him from going home. I'm a cat-human hybrid. I'll never be able to live a normal life at home, not without an image inducer on all the time. And even then, it will severely inhibit my chances of a relationship, not that I want one anyway. What guy would like to be with a girl with a tail, razor sharp claws, fur and the ability to turn into a panther that could take their head off? I doubt anyone in this universe would like that in a girlfriend. Wolfsbane had to fall in love with an Asgardian wolf prince. So what chance do I have? Most cat gods are girls and I would probably annoy them by saying that they aren't really gods, just immensely powerful anthropomorphic personifications. (Read Discworld to understand. Death is the best known one) Oh well. I have always told my parents that I frankly don't want to ever get married or have kids so now I have a real reason not to. But now it's been taken from me, I suddenly feel a sense of loss. Why? Is it because the choice was taken?
I shake my head. I have to stop wallowing in self-pity and go back to my original idea. Getting out of this place. If Isaac isn't here, then he's lost his chance to ever get home. I'm in the same building with one of the eight smartest men, with links to four others. HAH! Beat that Isaac!
I place the book back and walk along the shelves before pausing. An old leather-bond book is tempting me. I grin then pull Felines of the Worlddown from the shelf and start to read. It's…fascinating. I read more and more, determined to know everything I can about cats. If I can, as Beast hypothesises, turn into any feline I can understand, then these are all options for me. A low cough makes me start and I realise I've been reading for over an hour.
Kurt smiles and throws me a blanket.
"Cold?"
"Not really. I'm…well insulated."
He laughs.
"You know, you look just as good now as you did when you first arrived."
"Thanks."
"I mean it. At least you can look human with a bit of effort. I never can and will look human."
"You can. Just give Rogue mouth-to-mouth and you'll permanently swap powers. Of course, that means she looks like you do now."
"Will that happen?"
"No. It's an alternate reality where Storm kills Wolverine, only it's not Storm but a clone, and the real Storm is only a teenager called 'Ro and Jean and Logan fall in love."
"Logan says you know about his past."
"I do. Don't tell him, but he used to lisp."
"Logan? Lisp?"
"Yep. Can I have my hoop back pwease? I love Wose. I swear, he actually said that!"
"Logan?"
"Yes. Logan."
"Logan as in Wolverine, the grumpy killer?"
"With a heart as big as the great outdoors. Well, that's the tagline on the trade paperback."
"Logan?"
"Yes."
"What did he look like?"
"Well you know those Victorian suits with the ribbons and lace and stuff? The ones they use to illustrate Little Lord Fauntleroy?"
"No. Way."
"Yes way."
"Logan?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a photo?"
"I have the trade paperback. I am not cutting it up, just so you have blackmail material."
"What's this about blackmail?"
I instantly blush as Logan walks into the library. Kurt beams.
"Did you know you used to have a lisp and wear Little Lord Fauntleroy suits?"
"Don't forget the allergies."
"Oh, and apparently allergies."
Logan's face is priceless.
Isaac
I wandered the mansion for the tenth time. Again I was starting to get bored with staring at four walls all day. The good thing at the X-mansion was there was always someone you could talk to.
I sat down at a computer. I booted it up and went onto Google. I typed in my name and sure enough all my social networking pages came up. I typed in my password and user name and I got in straight away. My other self even used the same password! I looked over the pages. My counter-part was exactly like me down to the smallest detail. He was homeschooled. He loved to read and write. He loved playing football and he was a violinist. Then I looked at his friends. They were all identical to mine except one. I clicked on the person and read the name out loud to myself.
'Anna Marie,' I was sure I'd heard that name before.
I typed it into Google but nothing came up. I shut down the computer. An intriguing scent wafted by. It was so strong I felt I was almost choking.I followed the scent into the mansion lounge. It was so over powering here that I thought I was going faint. Magneto and Mastermind were talking together when I walked in.
'Is it you making that frightful scent?' I asked. I was so dizzy I could just about stand up.
'What's wrong with him?' Magneto said. Then I blacked out. I woke hours later. I looked out the window. The moon was the only light. This time I didn't smell the scent. I felt it. It was like a build up in my body. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse Magneto walked in. The pain in my head flared up immediately. I screamed him to get out. He backed out of the room quickly. Again I felt a scent within me but this time it was different. I couldn't put my finger on it but it was somehow different. Mastermind walked in slowly looking ready to flee at the slightest sign my discomfit. But I was able to stand his presence. The pain was still there, dull and constant, but at least I was able to stand it. I tried to concentrate but the ache in my head made it hard. When I concentrated I could feel all kinds of different scents in the house. I followed them curiously, my pain all but forgotten. The first scent lead me to Toad in the kitchen. He was licking grease out of the oven with his absurdly long tongue. The scent stopped here and I realized the scent was Toad. The next scent led me to Quicksilver who looked at me with distain. I shied away from the next scent. Magneto's smell was already making my head spin. The next stench led me to Blob. He was a guy who didn't hold grudges and he punched me good-naturedly. It was a shame he broke my arm. A couple of painful minutes later my arm was back to normal and I assured Blob there was no hard feelings. I was glad I had Sabretooth's healing factor as well or that would have been longer and more painful than it was.
I let my mind reach out to a greater distance. I could detect a few other mutant scents. Wanda in the back and Magneto in the sitting room. His smell was so strong I could probably detect it from miles away. I stretched my reach as far as it would go. I couldn't detect anything. Maybe the less powerful mutants were more difficult to detect? I stretched even further out and I got a little flash of power. I allowed my mind to reach out to even greater extents and I could feel an aura I recognised.
It had to be Rebekah. Only her omega-level mutation would be potent enough for me to feel her presence from half-way across the world. I was suddenly exhausted. I withdrew my mind and dragged myself up to my bed. I dropped into bed and and just before I fell asleep a thought popped into my head. I smiled.
'You're not the only one evolving Bekah.'