First of September, 1944. Westchester, New York. Xavier Residence

At the age of twelve, Charles Xavier was what one could call a perceptive young man, who hardly let any small details or thoughts slip by his… Unique mind. For the boy was not simply confined to his own, he had been able to read the minds of others not quite as long as he could remember, but damn close. His power was something he tried to keep hidden, but not something he was ashamed of.

It was his perceptive nature which awoke him from his sleep when he sensed a distant, strange presence in the kitchen. Charles opened his eyes, pulled his covers away silently, revealing blue and white pinstriped pajamas, shifted to place his feet in their slippers which lied at the foot of his bed, and stood up, taking care not to bump his nightstand where three pictures, one of Charles Darwin, one of Hedy Lamarr, and another of Albert Einstein, sat quite close to each other, in such a way that if one toppled over, it would take the other two with it, in a clatter of wood, and potentially a shattering of glass.

Charles carefully withdrew a baseball bat from its position in a stand in the corner of his room, then exited into the hallway, taking care not to step on a squeaky floorboard just outside the room, and followed the presence down the stairs, through the house. Eventually, he found that he need not probe about with his mind, as he could hear the person the presence belonged to rummaging around in the kitchen. Charles drew the bat over his shoulder, and crept around the corner… Only to find…

"Mother?" He asked in disbelief. A middle-aged blonde woman in a red dress with a string of pearls at her neck snapped away from the fridge, closing the door quickly. His mother appeared somewhat flustered, and Charles withdrew his mental probing hastily as he approached her. "What are you-" He stammered as he allowed the bat to fall to his side. "I thought you were a burglar!"

His mother put on a smile as she leaned awkwardly against the fridge.

"I didn't mean to scare you, darling!" She replied. "I was just getting a snack. Go back to bed" She commanded.

Charles studied "his mother" intently, without so much as a word passing his lips. Her demeanor was all wrong, and she hadn't worn that dress in quite a while.

"What's the matter?" "Mother" inquired. "Go on, back to bed!" She insisted again.

Charles reached back out with his mind, gently feeling around in the woman's presence without probing directly into her brain. Everything about her was wrong, both in how she comported herself, and in her psychic presence.

His mother's doppelganger leaned down to his height, and gave him a warm-ish, but clearly feigned, smile. "I'll make you a hot chocolate!" She added, diplomatically.

Charles raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?" He asked incredulously. My mother has never set foot in this kitchen in her life! Charles exclaimed directly into the doppelganger's mind as he stalked forward. She retreated into the depths of the kitchen as she cowered away from his voice inside her head, seeking refuge wherever she could… But there was no hiding from Charles's power now. She's certainly never offered to make me hot chocolate! Not unless you count ordering the maid to do it! Who are you?

The doppelganger backed into the kitchen sink, and took a few panicked breaths.

"What have you done with my mother?" Charles whispered.

The doppelganger stared at Charles like a small, frightened child, and continued to shrink from him. Not just metaphorically, but literally. Her skin faded from his mother's pale pinkish color to a glossy blue. His mother's blonde hair shifted to strawberry, to blood red, and her eyes went yellow, with vertical slit pupils that reminded Charles of a cat's eyes. Her clothes faded away entirely, replaced by the featureless blue body of a small child.

Charles' eyebrows immediately shot up in amazement.

"You're-"

"Disgusting?" The girl said as she fell to the floor, cutting him off. She covered her face with her hands as she huddled into a ball.

"Blue!" He exclaimed. "A magnificent, royal blue!" Charles' mouth spread wide into a grin. "I've always wanted to be blue, it's my favorite color. Quite frankly, I'm jealous."

The girl was taken aback by his enthusiasm. "You're not afraid of me?" She inquired, timidly.

"Good god, no!" Charles replied in a hushed whisper. I'm different too, remember? Charles thought quietly into her head. "I didn't think I'd ever meet anyone else who was different. And here you are!" He extended his hand. "I'm Charles! Charles Xavier!"

The girl took his hand lightly, and he helped her up. She held his grasp, and shook his hand. "Raven… Just Raven."

Charles' expression softened as he gently probed Raven's mind. "You're alone, aren't you?" He asked, although he could have gleaned the answer from her reaction and expressions alone, much less what was in her mind.

Raven nodded, shyly. "Hungry, too." She added, looking away.

Charles gently turned her head back to face him. "We've got lots of food. You don't have to steal!" He said warmly. "In fact… If I have a few words with my parents, you'll never have to steal again!"

Oxford, England, 1962...

In a pub named The Eagle, just outside of Oxford University, a long-haired blonde young woman leaned against the bar by her lonesome. She was clad in a beige jacket over her black, short sleeved dress, but her attire was the least interesting aspect of her appearance to anyone with a keen eye for detail, for the woman's eyes were two different colors. One green, the other blue.

"Heterochromia..." A voice whispered from her right. She turned to the source of the voice. It belonged to a short-haired brunette man who looked to be in his thirties. The man sported a black blazer, matching pants, with a blue dress shirt underneath. His hair was kept to a medium-short length, and combed back neatly.

"A gentleman would offer to buy me a drink first." The woman replied, drolly.

The man chuckled at the woman's remark, then pressed the index and middle fingers of his right hand against his temple, and addressed the bartender. "Norman, a pint of bitters for me and a brandy for the lady, please."

Seated at the bar, to his right was another woman with long hair, but, unlike the one to the man's left, hers was a bright blood red. She wore a black dress, cut low enough to tease some cleavage, with matching boots and a maroon scarf. The red-haired woman rolled her eyes at the man's attempts at flirting.

"How did you know that?" The blonde questioned, surprised.

"Lucky guess." The man answered with an unconvincing shrug. The redhead raised an unimpressed eyebrow in response, and scoffed as she swigged the last sip from her own drink.

"My name is Xavier. Charles Xavier. How do you do?" He introduced, extending his hand..

"Amy." The woman responded as she took his hand, out of courtesy.

"Heterochromia was in reference to your eyes." Charles continued as he pulled up a seat next to her. "Which, I have to say, are quite stunning. One green, one blue. It's a mutation. A very groovy mutation." Charles added, with a suggestive tone in his voice. "I've got news for you, Amy. You are a Mutant." Charles explained to the woman, with the faint hope of gaining additional interest from the woman.

"First you proposition a girl, and then you call her deformed. How is that seduction technique working for you?" She retorted.

"I'll tell you in the morning." He answered with a confident grin.

Try as she might, she couldn't help but find his response somewhat amusing.

"No, seriously though," he added, taking his glass from the bartender. "You mustn't knock it. Mutation took us from single-celled organisms to being the dominant form of reproductive life on this planet. Infinite forms of variations with each passing generation. all through mutation.

Impressed with how he explained the positive side of her apparent mutation, she took the drink Charles bought for her from the bartender, and raised her glass. "Then let's reclaim that word." She replied with a cheeky smile.

The redhead sighed in response, grabbed her hand bag and stood up from her seat. As she approached the two, both Charles and Amy tapped their glasses together in cheers.

"Mutant and proud." Amy said.

"Chin chin. Hey." He responded in agreement as they both took a sip of their respective drinks.

"I guess I have to buy my own drink." The redhead commented dryly as she sidled closer to Charles.

"I'm sorry." Charles said to the redhead. He turned to the bartender and signaled with one finger. "One cola." He addressed Norman.

"Charles here was just telling me that I'm like one of the first sea creatures that grew legs." Amy explained as she turned to the woman in question.

"A tiny bit sexier." He added while gesturing with his index and middle finger. The two then shared a small laugh.

"I'm sorry." Charles said apologetically, and gestured to the redhead. "This is my sister, Raven." Charles said by way of introduction. Although it was obvious that Raven didn't feel similar sentiments to Charles, she played along with a fake smile.

"Hi." Raven said as she shook Amy's hand.

"Amy." The other responded. "What do you study?" Amy asked.

"Waitressing." Raven answered. Amy gave a nod of understanding. In an almost imperceptible instant, before Amy noticed what color Raven's eyes were, one of Raven's eyes turned a bright yellow as the redhead looked into the blonde's eyes.

"Oh, look, you have heterochromia too." Amy excitedly pointed out to Charles, who choked on his drink in response.

"Sorry, what?" He asked as he wiped his mouth and attempted to regain some composure.

"Look at her eye." She added, gesturing to Raven's now yellow eye.

Charles cleared his throat uncomfortably, and said "Right. Raven, get your coat, please." He set a five-pound bill on the counter, and walked out of the bar with Raven in tow.

"Don't talk to me," He chastised Raven. "You did that on purpose." Charles said, a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

"I did not!" Raven replied indignantly.

"Yes you did!" Charles exclaimed, disbelievingly.

"Why would I do that on purpose?" She demanded. "You know I can't control it sometimes if I'm stressed or tired." Raven complained.

"You seem to be doing a good job of controlling it right now." He said with a sneer.

"'Mutant and proud.'" Raven mocked, even mimicking the woman's accent.

"What?" Charles asked, incredulous. "Are you suggesting something?"

"I'm 'suggesting' that only applies to pretty mutations, or invisible ones like yours!" Raven retorted. "But the second people call you a freak, you'd better hide!"

Charles took a breath and said "You're being ridiculous."

They stopped walking and Xavier looked at Raven's eyes and added "I don't mean to sound like an old fart."

"Which you are." Raven interjected.

"Sometimes." Charles admitted, before he placed his hand on Raven's shoulder and added "But we've talked about this, Raven. A small slip-up is one thing. A big one does not bear thinking about."

"I barely even remember what I used to look like before I turned blue!" Raven replied. "I have to imagine what I might've looked like from a fuzzy memory! It's hard to keep everything… Stable, sometimes."

"Oh, Raven…" Charles replied. "I'm sorry. You don't have to stay like this if it's a problem. You can… Ease into something easier, maybe?"

"It's easier to remember someone real." Raven said. "I've tried it before. I can hold on longer if I really know what I'm going for."

"You can't just copy someone we'd see around town." Charles admonished.

"I could do it from a photograph instead." Raven replied "Probably last longer, too. I could be anyone I want… Or anyone you want."

Charles laughed. "Please, you don't have to do that. We can work on some exercises tomorrow."

Raven groaned. "Come on! What if I went around looking like Wonder Woman?"

"Raven, we both know how many eyebrows that would raise." Charles replied with a chuckle. "I don't want Captain America kicking down our door."

Raven sighed in defeat. "Charles, I was kidding."

"Look, we'll talk about this in the room, okay?" He suggested, and she nodded in agreement before they continued toward their shared room.

In the bathroom of their shared dwelling, Raven changed out of her clothes, and allowed herself to relax out of her imagined self, and into her…. Regular self, for lack of a better word.

Raven looked herself over in the mirror. Every inch of her was blue, except for her eyes, which were yellow, and her hair. Her hair was the only aspect she shared with her "normal" self.

"'Mutant and proud.'" She repeated, sadly. She picked her toothbrush out of the cup on the side of the counter, and squirted a bit of toothpaste onto it. She brushed her teeth, showered, then changed into her bathrobe. She didn't change out of her regular form.

Charles was seated at his desk, hard at work on his paper. He'd removed his blazer, and hung it from the coat rack.

"Would you date me?" She asked. She wasn't sure if the question was rhetorical or not.

"Of course I would." Charles replied without looking up from his writing. "Any young man would be lucky to have you. You're stunning."

"Even looking like this?" She questioned further, with a gesture at her current state.

"Like... What? Blue?" Charles responded while he turned to look at her. "Absolutely, if you weren't my oldest friend." He added with a smile as he turned back to his desk.

"I'm your only friend." She replied somberly.

"Thank you for that." He responded, bemused.

"Well, why not?" She asked. "If it's not that-"

"I'm incapable of thinking of you that way." Charles stated as he closed his book and stood from his seat. "I'm responsible for you." He added as he walked past Raven. Once he sat down on the couch he further said "Anything else would just feel wrong."

"What if you didn't know me?" Raven asked. "Just… Hypothetically?"

"Unfortunately, I do know you." Charles replied as passed her on his way to the couch. "I don't know what's gotten into you, lately. You're awfully concerned with your looks." Charles reopened his notebook, and returned to writing.

Raven sighed, and walked over to the couch, where she flopped down, and rested her head against Charles' chest. "I'm sleepy. Will you read to me?" She requested, finding comfort in her position.

"I can't!" Charles replied, somewhat aghast. "I have my thesis coming up. I have to study." Charles responded. "We're getting a little old for this kind of thing, aren't we?"

"Read me your thesis, then." Raven commanded with a yawn as she closed her eyes, and nestled deeper into his arms. "You're never too old for a bedtime story, and this kind of thing always sends me right off."

Charles resigned himself to his fate with a small laugh, and held his notebook straight out from his eyes.

"'To Homo Neanderthalensis, his mutant cousin, Homo Sapien, was an aberration. Peaceful Cohabitation, if ever it existed, was short-lived. Records show, without exception, that the arrival of the mutated in any region was followed immediately by the extermination of their less-evolved kin.'" As Charles read, Raven drifted away to sleep, soothed by his informative, if dry, writing. He looked down at her, and he gently placed her head on a nearby pillow, before leaving the couch. "Good night, Raven." He said, then returned to his studies…