This story takes place after 'A Brother in Need' and before 'One'. I’d like to thank my betareaders for without them this story would stink. I’d also like to thank Kaylee for starting the Shades of Red story and allowing me to write a sequel that is the beginning of this series.

PART ONE

Sean Cassidy waited anxiously at the airport. A few days ago, a mutant teenager was spotted in a town somewhat distant from Snow Valley. He had virtually no past and his mind was inaccessible. Sean and Emma decided to accept him in the school. Neither of them knew exactly what powers he had, except that they were potentially powerful. Sean looked around the crowded area to see a teenage boy with a baseball hat and a pair of sunglasses with a small duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

Sean yelled out, "Excuse me! Over here!"

The boy saw him and walked toward him. He looked about fifteen years old. His skin was pale and his body was lean. "Mr. Cassidy?" He asked with slight uncertainty in his voice.

"Aye." He said smiling, "Ye must be the new student."

He nodded, "The name's Christopher Alexander."

They shook hands and walked toward the station wagon. As Christopher put his bag in the car, Sean asked, "I know. What's yuir power, Christopher?"

He looked up and answered, "Call me Chris, sir. And I'd rather wait a

little later to tell you."

Sean looked at him oddly. The strangest de'ja vu over came him. The young man looked almost familiar. "Have we met before?"

Chris shook his head. "Nope."

Sean drove the car out of the parking lot and onto the highway. He looked over at his side to the new student. The student looked anxious if not intimidated. But at the same time, he seemed almost calm.

*****

Jubilee and several other students waited anxiously for the newest student. Jubilee with a notebook in hand said, "Okay. We know about the new student and he will be here soon. So, it's up to us to give him our 'Welcome to Generation X' reception."

Paige exclaimed, "Jubes, this is so cruel."

"Yeah, yeah. Look, this is going to be fun!" Jubilee got out her list, "We got the water balloons... check... glitter... check...."

Ev added, "And I got the camera right here."

Jubilee grinned evilly, "This is going to be a blast."

Emma entered and said, "You will not embarrass our newest student. I expect all of you to be on your best behavior." She glared at Jubilee and Gaia.

Jubilee hid her list and the contents behind the couch. "Don't worry, Ms. Frost." Jubilee insisted, "We won't hurt him."

*****

Chris sat silently as Sean drove on. Sean said, "Ye could take off the sunglasses lad. We’re far from the airport."

Chris looked uncomfortably at him and said, "I... maybe later."

"I understand yuir hesitance." Sean said. He didn’t know much about the young mutant. Perhaps he had odd eyes like Gambit and is very shy to show them even to a fellow mutant.

**No you don't, Sean.** He thought as he looked outside. He waited

anxiously for the car to reach the school. In his mind, he could almost see Jubilee and the others waiting for him. Unfortunately, he wasn't used to being a teleporter and so he vanished in a bright light from the car.

*****

Jubilee and the others waited for Sean to enter. "Dude, what's taking him?" Jubilee asked as she pulled up a water balloon filled to perfection to explode on contact from a bucket that she hid from her headmistress.

Monet scowled and said, "Patience, Jubilee. You will get to play that

childish game soon."

She grumbled, "This is coming from a girl who has a treasured coloring

book."

Monet overheard the remark and said, "You are confusing me with my sisters as usual."

Jubilee ignored the comment and held the water balloon higher. A flash of light appeared behind her and Chris asked, "What are you doing?"

Jubilee answered, "Oh, I'm going to throw this water balloon at the

new...kid?" She turned and accidentally broke the balloon in her hand causing the water to splash all over her.

Gaia grabbed the glitter and flung it telekinetically at him. She missed and hit Jubilee instead.

Chris teleported onto the couch and smiled, "You were planning my reception eh?"

Jubilee scowled and said, "Shut up." She tried to get rid of the glitter from her hair

Everyone laughed. Ev slapped Chris on the back, "Thanks so much for

upstaging Jubilee like that!"

Monet nodded, "Yes. She needed something like this."

"Nice teleportation." Paige commented. "You must’ve practice."

Chris blushed and said, "It's nothing. Really."

He looked over at Jubilee and apologized, "I'm sorry for humiliating you. I still have a little trouble controlling the power. I’m a teleporter."

"Cool." Jubilee said, "We need a teleporter on the team."

"A teleporter eh?" An Irish accent said as Sean came in. "Ye nearly gave me a heart attack lad. I thought ye have been abducted."

Chris smiled helplessly, "I'm sorry. I was so anxious to get

here...well...I kinda got carried away."

Sean introduced, "I would like to introduce Christopher Alexander. Chris, this is Generation X."

Chris removed his baseball hat and sunglasses to reveal his black

shoulder-length hair with white streaks and eyes that were mis-matched the left eye was white on black and the right

was black on white.

Jubilee walked up to him and said, "Hi, I'm Jubilee. I'm the most

experienced member here."

Monet added, "She is also the our most immature member."

"I heard that!" Jubilee yelled. She put her arm around Chris's shoulder, "I'm going to teach ya all the moves. I'll even tell you about my adventures with the X-Men since you seem so nice and that I’m willing to forgive you for what just happen."

**Don't ask her to start, Christopher.** Jono said, **It gets old fast.**

Chris looked at him and asked, "What’s your name? Oh and I want to be

called 'Chris'."

**The name's Jono Starsmore. My codename is Chamber.**

"My name is Paige Guthire. My codename is Husk."

"My name is Monet St. Croix. My codename is M."

"M?" Chris asked with a funny face.

"Yes, M. My sisters picked it out for me."

"Gaia."

"Gaia...."

"I have no last name."

"Angelo Espona, but everyone here calls me 'Skin' or Ang."

"Everett Thomas, a.k.a Synch."

"Me codename's Banshee."

Chris looked at him oddly and said something that he wanted to say for a long time, "Banshee? Isn't that a name of a female Irish entity?"

Everyone laughed at the comment, except for Sean, who was blushing

furiously. Jubilee exclaimed, "Chris, you have _no_ idea how long the X-Folks been wanting to say that!"

Emma came in and looked at him oddly. She frowned, "You have excellent shields. I can’t even sense emotion from you."

"And this woman in the white is our head mistress, Emma Frost a.k.a the former White Queen."

Chris looked confused and asked, "Shields?"

Monet looked at him and nodded, "I can't read his thoughts either."

"You're mind readers?" Chris asked as he looked at the two.

Emma nodded, "Yes, if you are blocking our thoughts without trying you must have some potentially powerful telepathy." She glared at him suspiciously. **Or maybe he’s working his hardest not to let anyone in.** she feared.

"I can't read minds." Chris admitted, "I could see things in a distance. Whenever I teleport, I could see the place before I arrive there and I steer to an appropriate spot."

Sean said, "Fascinating. What do you wish to be called lad? You will need a codename for this team."

Chris pondered, "Well, I have odd eyes. How about 'Cyclops'?"

Everyone frowned. Chris asked,"What?"

Jubilee said smiling weakly, "Er... that name's already taken."

"Oh." He pondered again and said, "How about um... Nightcrawler? Because I look like someone who walks the night."

"Taken."

"Cable? Since I can go long distances?"

"Chris, if Cable heard you use that name, he’d kill ya."

Chris put up his hands, "Is there any names that haven't been taken yet?"

Sean said, "Aye. Just keep on thinking."

"I was powered by the sun. How about Sunspot?"

"Taken."

"Damn."

"Don't use that language lad."

"Sorry, sir." he said. Chris frowned and said, "How about Solar...Shift? I could 'shift' from one place to another. And I'm powered by the sun. Is that taken?"

Everyone shook their heads. Jubilee said, "Nope. Solar Shift is a cool codename."

Chris smiled, "Solar Shift it is."

Emma looked at him and suggested, "Will anyone give a tour of the Academy to Mr. Alexander?"

"I'll give ya a tour." Jubilee insisted before anyone else could react.

Everyone gasped and turned to her. She looked insulted and asked, "What? Can't a girl show a guy around?"

Monet mentioned, "It's not like you to..."

"What? Be considerate? Actually do something for my fellow student?"

Chris said, "I would love to take a tour with you, Jubilee. Maybe you can tell me some of your X-Men stories during the tour."

Ev synched with Emma and said telepathically, **You're asking for it.**

Chris ignored the comment and Jubilee led him out of the room. "And don’t teleport away from me." she said.

Gaia said as they walked off, "I think Jubilee is trying to make Ev

jealous."

*****

"This is the Girl's Dorm." Jubilee announced. They entered into her room. Chris looked at the shared room. She continued, "Now, this is mine and Paige's room. Don't teleport in here. Frosty wouldn't like that."

"Yes, she wouldn't." He said as he looked at some of her stuff. He looked at an old cowboy hat. It didn’t match any of the clothes that was scattered around and it seemed a little too big for Jubilee. "Who's is this?"

"That’s mine. It's... a... gift. From a friend."

Chris looked at her oddly. "A friend."

"Yeah." Jubilee said as she straighten out in a moment of seriousness. "His name is Logan. He’s the reason I joined the X-Men and Generation X."

"Really?" Chris asked stiffening slightly. "Is he here?"

"No." Jubilee said with an almost sad look in her eyes. "He’s out

traveling. As usual. I’ll tell you more about him."

She placed the hat back on the chair and smiled again. "Let’s go. We got so much of the school for you so see."

*****

"And this is the Danger Grotto." Jubilee showed Chris.

Chris looked around with genuine confusion, "This looks like a normal gym."

Jubilee winked, "It _looks_ like a normal gym. But trust me, in the X-Men things are not all that it seems. Like I remember back when I was an X-Man, Cable, the guy that I told ya about, is only four years old!"

"Four?" Chris repeated. "I saw his picture and he looked much older than four years old."

"It's a long story. Wanna hear about it?"

"Um...no thanks. I'm still recovering from the Thanksgiving football

massacre story."

"Oh." Jubilee said disappointed, "No problem. Tomorrow, we will get to practice with our powers. You will be our special vict- I mean guest."

"Swell. What is this Danger Grotto?"

"Oh, it's a wonderful place!" Jubilee exclaimed, "You see. We train with our powers in here. In the Danger Grotto, we can practice battling creeps in the privacy and safety of the school. It’s like the Danger Room at the X-Men base. We could find out how to use our powers in different situations."

"Sounds great!" Chris exclaimed, "I've been trying to practice with my

teleportation ever since I got the power. But, I haven't been able to use it in certain situations."

"This is your chance, Shifty."

"Shifty?" Chris repeated uncertain.

"Yeah, Shifty. That's my nickname of you, it sounds way cooler than

'Chris'. Wha'cha think?"

"I like it." Chris said nodding, "It does sound cool."

*****

"And this is the attic, where Artie and Leech lives."

"Artie and _Leech_?" Chris asked.

"Yeah. They’re the ‘junior members’ of the team." Jubilee explained as a pair of kids run up to them. Jubilee introduced, "Artie, Leech, this is Chris Alexander a.k.a Solar Shift."

"Hi." Leech said shyly as Artie create a picture of a smiley face. "Artie said hi too."

"Can Artie talk?" Chris asked Leech.

"No, Artie can only make pictures." Leech explained, "What is your power?"

"I can teleport. What about you?"

"Leech drain powers. But Leech don’t do that unless Leech have to."

Chris smiled and said, "It’s nice to meet you two." He shook hands with the two small mutants.

"Want to play?" Leech asked as Artie created an image of a ball.

"No. I have to get settled down first." Chris explained, "But I promise as soon as I could get ready. I’ll try to play with you."

"Okay." Leech said as the two teen mutants walked back down the ladder.

"Nice kids." Chris commented. "Any other kids here?"

"Actually, yes. There’s Nicole and Claudette. Monet’s younger twin

sisters. They got trapped in the same body as Penance after they freed Monet, until just a couple of days ago. That is until they just appeared as two kids again."

"How?"

"I don’t know. Nicole said that a girl appeared in a purple flash and

separated the two. She couldn’t remember what she looked like or how they got separated. They’re at the med lab now getting checked by Hank."

Chris wondered if his friend was responsible for freeing the two sisters. She’s capable of many things. Even his own transformation.

"Will I get to meet them?"

"Sure. Later though. First, you have to go to your room."

*****

"This is your room." Jubilee said as she opened the door. The room was bare with only a bed, a dresser, and a mirror. "I know that it looks kinda bare. Frosty and Sean want you to decorate. Got anything?"

Chris looked down and shook his head, "Sorry, I really don't have much on me. All I brought with me are a few pairs of clothes and some school supplies."

Jubilee grabbed him, "Come'on, dude."

Chris confused asked, "Where are we going?"

"First, we’ll get Ev, and the others. Second, we’ll get Sean to take us to the mall. And third we’ll get you some needed stuff."

"We're going shopping?"

"No we're going out to fight some sentinels, of course we're going

shopping!"

*****

At the mall, Sean along with Chris, Jubilee, Paige, Ev, Gaia, and Jono stood at the entrance. Monet and Angelo stayed at the Academy. Sean asked Chris, "Do ye have any money?"

Chris looked in his wallet. "Yeah, some friends of mine loaned me some money before I left but I spent a lot of in on food and transportation."

Sean got out his wallet, "Here's some more money to spend. Only use this for decorating yuir room."

"I'll give you the receipts, sir." Chris said as he put the money in his wallet.

"I like him." Paige remarked, "He’s polite."

*****

The group went to the various stores. Jubilee showed Chris all of the

decoration stores.

"Ooh... Prodigy!" Jubilee yelled as she got a poster from the bin. Chris looked at the various posters on the wall. She frowned as Chris looked at a poster with a picture of a mountain, "A mountain?"

"Yeah. A mountain. I like mountains." Chris asked as he turned the page. "How's this?"

"Ying-Yang?" Jubilee observed, "That's better. I guess. Matches your

eyes."

"Thanks." Chris said as he adjusted his sunglasses. He got out some more posters. One of them was the special 3-D pictures that often hides the true picture in illusion. "I always wanted to see one of these hidden pictures." He confided.

Jubilee asked, "Could never see the picture. Eh?"

"You...could say that." Chris said smiling.

*****

Jono met up with Chris and Jubilee and he asked, **May I take him next?**

"No way, English." Jubilee said as she wrapped her arm around Chris's, "We still need to see some wardrobe."

**With your fashion sense, I am doing him a favor.** Jono said as he tugged Chris toward him.

Chris pulled himself away, "Maybe, I should go with Jono."

"Sure go ahead. Then we’ll see two men in leather."

"But, later we could meet at the fountain and shop some more."

"Sure!"

*****

"Meatloaf!" Chris yelled as he grabbed a CD. "I love that guy ever since he made his first hit."

Jono looked at him confused and said, **Meatloaf had been a successful

singer ever since the 1970's.**

"Er... I mean his first _comeback_ song." Chris fumbled a little.

Jono raised an eyebrow and nodded. **Yes. Of course.**

"So, what's it like in Generation X?"

**Why are you asking me? Why didn't you ask Jubilee?**

"She'll just sugarcoat the situation. I want to hear your viewpoint."

He pondered and answered, **It's dangerous. Supervillians constantly attack the school and the pressure is enormous. But, you will be in a place where you don't have to worry about being a freak. You could show off your powers as much as you like.**

"Teleporting is a fun power." Chris whispered as they looked at a TuPac CD.

**You might find some friends in there. Jubilee seems to like you.**

"Well... maybe it's because I was willing to listen to her stories."

**Maybe.** They continued to look at the music. **I never saw the gel so happy before...** Jono stopped and shook his head.

Chris went to him and asked, "What’s a matter?"

**Nothing. Nothing that concerns us.**

Chris remained quiet as Paige came up to the young men. "I thought that you two were clothes shopping." Paige said.

"I am." Chris said, "We’re just... looking for inspiration."

"Yeah right." Paige said, "I talked to Mr. Cassidy. He said that we have to leave soon. Have either of you seen Ev and Gaia?"

"No." Chris said.

**I did.** Jono said, **They were at the book store.**

"Is Ev and Gaia a couple?" Chris asked.

"Not really." Paige remarked, "But, Ev had been paying a lot of attention to her lately. Jubilee’s jealous of her." She smirked and continued, "I think she’s trying to make Ev jealous of you."

"Of me?" Chris asked, "Jubilee’s nice. But... I’m not ready for a

relationship."

**Past girl troubles?** Jono asked.

"You... might say that."

*****

Sean and Emma talked in the office. "Christopher Alexander is a very unique mutant." she stated.

"Aye." Sean agreed, "Ay have the funniest feelin' that we met before."

"With his teleportation power and his virtually inaccessible mind, he could be very dangerous. We must be cautious of him." Emma warned remembering the unfortunate incident involving Mondo. Solar Shift could be anyone. Even a supervillian.

"We have done a though check on the lad's records. He's just an orphan, run away."

Emma nodded, "I know. Something isn't clear. I do not know what it could be. But, we must be courteous to him. We must have Cecillia Reyes check on him. Find out how powerful his telepathic potential is, tomorrow. We also have to do tests on his intelligence. He seems to show a degree of maturity. But perhaps it’s due to his orphanage experiences."

"Perhaps he’s a latent telapath like Jubilee."

"Jubilation does seem to like Chris. It’s good to see her so happy after the incident with Jean and Logan. She had been masking it so well. But now I sense true happiness in Jubilee."

"Aye. The girl seem ta relate to him. The same age, the loss of

parents...."

"I just hope Christopher is just an orphaned mutant. Because if he’s a plant or a spy, I don’t think Jubilee can handle it."

"Jubilee’s a strong girl, Em."

"I know. But even the strong ones have their breaking point."

*****

As Chris Alexander did his decorating, Jubilee entered, "Knock, knock! Hey, Shifster!"

He smiled as he put up a poster. "Great, Ms. Frost and Mr. Cassidy have been nice. They offered me some of this great stuff!"

Jubilee looked around. The covers were clean and there was a lamp and a computer for homework. Chris had gotten a few posters and put them up on the walls. She noticed that he had gotten the mountain poster, the yin-yang poster, and a poster with a big X on it. It said in bold letters 'Generation X rules!'

"Where did'ya get that one?"

"It was the last one. I wanted to surprise you."

"That’s the bomb!"

"Thanks."

Sean entered and asked, "Hello there, lad. How are ye adjusting?"

"I'm adjusting just fine, sir." he said as he put his clothes away.

"Good. I suggest that ye rest up for tomorrow. It will be a busy day."

Jubilee said, "Oh, well. I better go. Wanna come with me and the others to watch some movies on the TV. Got some scary classics."

Chris pondered and shook his head. "Sorry, but I better rest up for that test tomorrow. Later."

"Later."

Jubilee and Sean left him alone. Chris lay on the bed tired. "Being a teenager is tougher than it looks." he muttered to himself. He looked out of his window to see an unfamiliar setting outside. He would be living a lie and deny the life he once had.

He pulled out his lamp and put it next to the window. It was a signal for his contacts whowere staying at a nearby town. Chis knew that his contact’s clairvoyance could tell her how he's doing. The signal is that if the lamp is on at the window at 10:00 PM, it means

that he is fine. If their is no light, then he is in trouble.

Tomorrow. He thought as he kept the light on for the entire five minutes, before turning it off.

PART TWO

The alarm clock rang at his bedside. Chris grabbed the clock and flung it at the nearby wall. He groaned and stretched. Today, is his first complete day at Generation X. He had to be as unlike himself as possible. Everyone seemed suspicious of him already. Of

course the truth is so bizarre, even to him, that no one would figure it out. He hoped.

*****

Emma entered in the kitchen as chaos reigned.

"Shifty! Not on the table!

"I'm sorry, Jubilee. But, I kinda lost control whenever I teleport at close range. Besides, it’s early in the morning. I need my soda."

"Your foot is in my pancakes."

"Oops! Sorry, Monet."

"That is alright."

"AAhhh!"

"Paige, why is Chris on the refrigerator?"

"Don't worry, Leech. I'll just teleport off..."

"Allow me."

"Thanks, Ev. But where did you get the ability to telekinetically lift objects?"

"I synched with Ms. Frost."

"I didn't know that she's a telekinetic."

"I'm not. But, Everett could use other mutant's powers in more various ways than the mutant he's synching off of."

"Wow."

"Now, meet me in the classroom in an hour. I want to test your

intelligence."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Shifty, I'm going to teach you how to be disrespectful to your teachers."

"Don’t listen to Jubilee."

*****

Chris sat nervously at the desk. He knew that his mental skills would be tested. He had to be careful on what to answer and how. He wanted to seem more naive than the average person.

Sean showed Chris the computer and said, "All right lad. We want to know all of yuir mental knowledge. This is not a grade test. This will only tell us what level to start you from. Relax and do the best ye can."

"I will, Sir." Chris said as he stretched his fingers and started to do the test.

*****

The test was various in both levels and types. Some like spelling, he had no trouble but he misspelled a few extremely difficult ones. Oddly enough the math part he had difficulty in since it was so simple that he couldn't remember how to solve it. Science was both

difficult and easy. The parts like Space and air he had no problems with due to all the knowledge of flight in his mind. Biology was hard for him as well as Geology. Chris thought chuckling, **At last Alex was better at something than I was.**

Chris got out of the classroom stretching his arms and Jubilee, Paige, and Angelo was waiting with the others. "So, Shifty. How was it?"

"Tiresome." he admitted.

"Yes, Miz Frost’s tests tend to be a tad taxing." Paige said.

Angelo asked, "Wanna do some hoops?"

"Sure." Chris said smiling, "I haven't played any one-on-one for a long time."

Jubilee said to Angelo, "Careful, Ang. He’s a teleporter."

"No powers rule." Angelo pointed out.

"Okay, no powers." Chris said as he nod his head.

*****

"So, Chris." Angelo asked as he tried to block a shot from Chris, "Where are you from?"

"Earth." he answered as he dodged the arms and attempted to make a shot.

Angelo grabbed the ball and said, "I mean where on Earth? New York? The Burido? Canada?"

Chris grabbed the ball back and answered, "From an orphanage. I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh, I understand." Angelo said as he tried to get the ball back. "It's just that we don't know much about you."

"I'm not a plant." Chris said as he threw the ball toward the net. "I just want to be part of something important. I want to learn about my powers."

The ball flew into the net and Angelo nodded. "Okay. But if you ever turn out to be a plant or a spy, I will kill you."

Chris smiled as he walked to the ball. "Okay, if I am a spy or a plant then you can kill me. It's your turn to make the opening shot."

*****

It was the late afternoon, when the Generation X gathered into the Grotto's control room with Chris in the gym wearing the Generation X uniform. He seemed somewhat uncomfortable in the outfit. Yet, somewhat at ease in the uniform. Emma asked over the intercom, "Are you ready, Solar Shift?"

He nodded and crouched down. Sean explained, "I created a simulation battle for ye. The goal is to keep your package away from your opponent for ten minutes."

Chris looked down to see a small package on the floor. He picked it up and Jubilee yelled, "Good luck!"

Chris smiled confidently and clutched onto the small parcel. Sean clicked on a few buttons and a figure appeared before his eyes. His jaw dropped and he nearly let go of the package.

Standing in front of him was Cyclops.

"Whoa! Talk about a serious challenge." Jubilee yelled out.

Chris stood there with his feet apart and his hands clutching on to the package.

*****

In the distance, many miles away from the school a girl was in a motel room apparently staring out into space.

Burst looked at her brother in the Danger Grotto and muttered, "Great.

Chris's in the danger room with... Cyclops."

Alex who was watching TV turned it off and asked, "What?"

"It's a simulation." she explained, "I don't know if he can handle it."

"Link me up." Alex ordered, "We have to watch him."

*****

Chris felt a twinge in his stomach. He knew that he had to face this sort of situation sooner or later. He was hoping for the later part.

Cyclops attacked him. Chris teleported away from optic blasts and right behind him. He ducked an oncoming fist. Cyclops attempted to blast the package away from him and Chris felt the package fly from his hands. He teleported in mid-air to catch it. "Nice try." he commented as he teleported back down. Cyclops ran toward him and Chris ducked.

He looked up at the clock. Three minutes had passed.

His breath became ragged. Scott ran toward him, his optic blasts firing at him. Chris teleported to the distant corner of the room. He had to keep at a distance. Then he remembered that Cyclops could fire at a distance and in a way he was at an advantage being at a distance. Chris did a multiple teleport keeping at arms length of his opponent.

The exchange lasted for three minutes. He had only four minutes to go. Chris was getting tired. He had used up a great deal of his solar reserves. Cyclops looked like he was not going to slow down. "Have to try a different approach." he muttered to himself. He laid down and Cyclops look at him in astonishment. He came closer to Chris with one hand on his visor's side. Chris lept up and ran. Cyclops ran after him. They ran as everyone watched in anticipation.

Chris tripped on his feet and looked up at the clock. Two minutes left to go and Chris had enough energy for one last teleport. "Okay, I'm supposed to keep this package away from him. I will do that." he said as Cyclops grabbed the package. Cyclops was much stronger than Chris. Chris did something that Cyclops would never do. He bent the

rules. Chris shoved his foot into Cyclops' um... sensitive area.

*****

"Ouch." Alex said grimacing.

Burst looked at him and snickered. "Would this world's Scott ever do that?"

"I don't think so." Alex said, "I would never think that he would ever do that to himself."

"Unless he had the power to duplicate I don't think he could've done it to himself."

"Good point." Alex pointed out.

*****

Cyclops groaned in pain and let go for a second. Chris looked at the clock. One minute left and the holographic figure lunged at him. Chris clutched his package and teleported out of the danger room.

*****

"That was sneaky." Jubilee commented as Chris lay on the couch tired. He was still in his Generation X uniform. She leaned closer to the young teleporter and continued, "I like it."

Sean said, "Ye should nea worried us so."

"I only teleported to the living room. Nobody said anything about me not teleporting out of the room to get away from him."

"Very effective fighting style." Paige pointed out, "Sure it was low, but effective."

Angelo said, "I like the part where you kicked him in the-"

"Angelo!" Emma yelled. She turned to Chris and commented, "It is clever of you to teleport out of the situation. But, in real life escape is harder."

"I can't always follow the rules." Chris said as he put his hands behind his pillow. "What matters is that I won."

"True." Sean said, "That solution of yuirs is bending the rules. But,

battle is all about survival. Just don't fight that way in front of the X-Men. They well...except for Marrow would object."

"Yes, sir." Chris said smiling. He had won the battle against Cyclops. To everyone else, it was just a holographic battle to see how Chris would fight. But to Scott, who is now Chris, it was the ultimate battle against himself. The ultimate win and the ultimate beginning.

The end to the beginning