It was Gabrielle's first day in Bayville High and she was terrified. She had decided to wear a salmon colored mid thigh length dress and her signature steel toed black leather boots with the very sharp silver stiletto heels. The dress had wrist length sleeves but the shoulders were left exposed. There were three gold chains that linked across the exposed skin to the other side to hold the sleeves together. She had her auburn hair tied in a bun with a stand of hair framing either side of her face. She wore small gold hoop earrings and a single gold ring on her right little finger. She had wanted to blend in with the students but she accomplished the opposite, earning several stares before she had even stepped through the doors of the place.

She'd never attended school before since she was home schooled, which meant she hadn't been sure what was appropriate to wear. She'd actually finished her studies when she was twelve and the equivalent of them transferred as high school completion. It had been tedious to handle all those school years within a span of seven years on top of other extra curricular activities she actively engaged in. She had juggled ballet, gymnastics, fencing and mixed martial arts along with her school life. It had been a handful to deal with but it was something her parents believed she would need in order to make it in life. She spoke three languages fluently and lived a very active lifestyle but she had to stick with the script. According to the records, Gabrielle Beauchene was a gymnast from France who had come to Bayville as a part of a sports foreign exchange student program. Fingers snapped beside her ear, startling her to the point she abruptly stood up and thrust her arm out, grasping the wrist of the finger snapper. She narrowed her eyes and hissed through gritted teeth.

"Don't snap your fingers at me, Mystique."

The woman's eyes narrowed behind her glasses and she yanked her arm free. "It's Principal Darkhölme. I've told you this five times now. Do you want me to strangle you again?" She threatened and sneered, confident that her words would silence the young mutant.

"Do it. I dare you." Gabrielle retorted as she balled her hands into fists. They began to glow violet as she started to harness the energy.

She could see the older mutant weigh her options and narrow her eyes at her. If they were to fight, it was bound to end in chaos. Mystique's abilities allowed her to alter her form but that was it. Gabrielle could harness energy and project it. She could manipulate the energy to be her grand weapon. Not to mention her telepathic touch she'd been keeping under wraps along with another power. She had more cards than her to lay on the table. This fight was won before it started and they both knew it: Gabrielle would be victorious. She straightened herself up and dismissed the young girl with a wave of her hand before standing by the window, overlooking the small domain she ruled. Gabrielle smirked and grabbed her black backpack, using a single shoulder strap to carry it by and exiting the office.

"Well... time to figure this out, I guess." She mumbled to herself as she stared at the slip of paper in her hands.

She took one glance at another slip of paper with a few numbers written on it. Mystique had explained it was for her locker but heaven knows what that meant. She nervously chewed on her lower lip, tasting the cherry Chapstick she'd applied to them. She glanced around, searching for someone who could assist her. A tall young man with brown hair was walking down the hallway alone, waving at a few students and giving small smiles. He wore a blue sweater over a pale yellow shirt, tan pants with a brown belt and light brown shoes. His entire outfit seemed to have been ironed before he decided to dress in the garments. He had the vibe of a natural born leader with his strong square jaw and broad shoulders. He wore red sunglasses, a little odd given the fact they were indoors but it added a sense of wonder to his persona. He would be the perfect person to guide her with this locker business so she wasted no time in walking over to him.

"Excusez-moi, monsieur!" She called out as she waved her right hand in the air, struggling to rush towards him while the floors proved difficult to run on with her boots.

The man stopped and glanced around, noticing very few students nearby now, which could only mean she was yelling at him. "Uh, yes? Can I help you?" He asked a bit softer than she would've thought his voice to sound like.

"Oui!" She stopped right in front of him and extended her hand to him. "Je m'appelle Gabrielle Beauchene. I am an exchange student from France. It's very nice to meet you."

"Oh, exchange student, huh? Well it's nice to meet you too, Gabrielle. I'm Scott Summers. Welcome to Bayville High." He stated as he shook her hand, flooding her with a few weeks of information with the simple handshake.

She had to blink a few times before she slowly retracted her hand. She then smiled and dipped into a light curtsy. "Thank you so much for the warm welcome, mister Summers."

"Oh please, call me Scott." He stated with a light chuckle.

"Very well then, Scott. Would you mind if I asked for your assistance?"

"Not at all. What can I help you with?"

"I do not understand this locker thing. In France, I never saw such a thing on campus."

"Oh, really? Wow." He scratched the back of his head and then glanced at his wristwatch. "Well, we've got a few minutes before class starts so I don't mind. Come with me, let's to find your locker and I'll show you how to open it."

Gabrielle walked beside Scott as he guided her to her locker, which he explained was down the hall. They made small chatter as he gave her the rundown of Bayville High but she paid little attention. She was processing the information she'd received from him. He was Scott Summers, leader of the X-Men and known amongst them as Cyclops. He could fire powerful blasts from his eyes like she could from her hands but he had no control over his power. His power was the reason behind his sunglasses and that he was older than her. He loved his car almost as much as he loved... SLAM!

"Whoa! Hey! Are you alright?" Scott asked as he knelt down in front of Gabrielle. He extended his hand to offer help.

"Ow... Yeah, I'm fine." She replied as she rubbed her forehead with left hand, taking his hand with her right. "I should've been paying attention. I got distracted with my thoughts. I didn't even see you open my locker for me."

Maybe reviewing the information gathered from the enemy right beside them wasn't a good idea. This locker door incident could have been intended or accidental. There was no way she could know now because she'd completely missed out on various key points. She had failed to realize they'd made it down the hall, that he opened her locked and instructed her in how she could do it herself and had been attacked by the door. He'd helped her up and apologized, which is when she realized it had been accidental. She'd seen the situation through his eyes. She inhaled a deep breath and saw Scott start to walk away from her.

"Sorry, Gabrielle, I gotta grab my stuff from my locker. Class starts in five. See ya around!" He called as he waved then took off.

Gabrielle waved a little as Scott ran off then turned her attention to the locker. Her presumed textbooks were there already. There was also a uniform there and it puzzled her. She read the slip of paper and noticed there was a mixed martial arts class she was enrolled in. She realized the uniform was for her to wear for the class and most likely this had all been curtesy of Mystique. She had mentioned something about helping her ease into this lifestyle. She read the slip of paper again and pulled out the appropriate book, tucking it into her backpack. She then closed the locker and secured the lock, turning around just in time to see a boy appear with a puff of smoke.

"What the—?!" She stumbled back, bumping against the lockers behind her and staring wide eyed at the blue haired boy.

He turned and stared at her, half a burger trapped in his mouth and hanging out. His eyes widened before he too fell back against the lockers behind him, pointing at her and shouting muffled words. "Mmmmhhhhmmphhhh! Phhhhhaaaaamphh! Ooooomphhh! Mhmhmhmp!"

"You... You just teleported here..." Gabrielle whispered and glanced around, noticing there weren't students in the hallway. She then stared at him again, uttering the one word that made any of her kind's skin crawl. "Mutant."

His eyes widened more and he swallowed his burger, lunging towards her and flailing his arms over his head. "Shhh! Don't say such things so loud! Someone vill 'ere us!" He hissed and Gabrielle caught an accent amongst his words.

"Don't tell me that! You teleported here!" She silently screamed, it was a whisper but much louder than a whisper should be. She then saw this moment as she opportunity to gather information so she reached out to touch his face.

He immediately pushed himself away from her so Gabrielle didn't get to receive much information. The little she received had been more than enough though. He tentatively looked her up and down before he whispered. "You... You saw me port in here and you're... you're not frightened?"

"Frightened? No." She stated then quickly added. "Intrigued? Yes, very much so. I've never seen someone do that before." He gulped and looked ready to teleport away before she extended her hand to him again, hoping to gather more information out of him. "Wait, I can keep a secret. Please don't leave."

He looked very uneasy. His eyes reflected shame and guilt. She knew his appearance was a disguise. She'd felt fur when she touched his face and her touch confirmed what he really looked like. He was a mutant alright, in every sense of the word. A blue demon looking thing. His power was valuable for infiltration and espionage. He could be a very powerful ally if she played her cards right. She clasped her hands together and looked at him, giving him the best sincere and understanding look she could manage under these circumstances.

"My name is Gabrielle Beauchene. My parents were mutants. That's why I'm not scared of you."

"Does... does that mean that you're...?" He began to ask as he struggled to maintain eye contact with her.

"No, I'm not a mutant but I know that mutants can look very different from humans and do extraordinary things. I also know that humans fear what they do not understand, which is why I will keep your secret. No worries."

The school bell rang and he took that as his cue to teleport away. Gabrielle was left alone in the hallway, smiling to herself as she realized how easy it had been for her to gather information on two X-Men. She'd even managed to do this before her day officially begun. Scott Summers and Kurt Wagner, two mutants she'd learned so much about with a little touch. She began to make her way to her classroom, already knowing the school thanks to those two. Perhaps this school thing would be the best way for her to gather information from her enemies. As long as she played her role of a student, they were all sheep ready for slaughter.

To Be Continued

Author's Note

Well then, that got sort of dark pretty fast, huh? ^_^" I decided to split this chapter into a few parts because I feel that it'll turn out to be quite a bit of reading. Also, just a few quick notes, the dress Gabrielle is wearing is modeled after the dress Rogue wore at the end of the Spykecam episode, for those who were having trouble trying to figure out how it would look like. Gabrielle will be speaking in French a bit from now since she is actually French and she's posing as French. Frenchception much? The title for this chapter is due to the fact that I always pictured Scott as the sort of princely type while Kurt is in his shadow, a polar opposite to him but they see each other's perspective and respect it at times. It's also a reference to Mark Twain's novel by the same title. As always, feel free to pitch in ideas you'd like to see for future chapters or any feedback you might have.