Hayley scooped up her bag and tossed it over her shoulder, not bothering to pull her long, dark, silver-streaked hair from its confinements, a choice she'd soon regret. She was dressed in her typical gym uniform, a gray t-shirt and darker gray basketball shorts. Her sneakers were clumsily laced up, her thick hair piled into a messy ponytail. She cursed herself for not keeping track of time.

Sprinting down the stairs, easily dodging a few handfuls of students, and leaving a trail of frost that'd soon melt into water in the warm May weather, Hayley made it to the outdoor gym class with seconds to spare. Coach Logan looked up from his clipboard.

"New record for how close to late you can be, Hayley," he said scowling, looking back down and scribbling something down. Hayley shrugged with a small smirk, looking around at her classmates. A pair of girls were whispering and giggling to themselves. With a few casual, frosty steps in their direction, Hayley could make out what they were saying.

"Mr. Logan is our gym teacher!"

"That's so cool!" Hayley rolled her eyes.

"Not really," she scoffed softly, muttering to herself. Although it appeared that one of the girls had super hearing, as she turned to Hayley with an indignant glare.

"Oh? And why not?" She spat, putting her hands on her hips.

"Because he's a know-it-all. Let me guess. First -- noo, no, second year here? Hmm. Wolverine was your celebrity crush for a long time, and when you found out you were a mutant, you practically exploded with joy. Although, from what I can tell, your mutations seem pretty minor -- compared to some people. Heightened senses, maybe something else pretty easy to hide. Born with it, but it didn't really develop until a year or so ago. How am I doing so far?" The girl gaped at Hayley's words, earning a winning smile from the dark haired girl.

"Oh, now who's a know-it-all?" The other girl growled, scowling. Hayley simply shrugged.

"I never said I wasn't a know-it-all. But let me share some sage advice: The novelty wears off. So you can either get over it now, or you can revel in it and keep it to yourself." And with that, Hayley whirled around and spied a girl with very pale, almost translucent skin -- making it easy for one to see the dim light in the middle of her chest -- and nearly white hair. Oddly enough, the two scars running over her left eye didn't change her elven features. The scowling girl followed her gaze and made a small horrified squeak at the humanoid. Hayley grinned and ran over, bringing with her a frosty wind and a touch of dying grass.

"Heya Flame Brain," she said, still grinning. The girl spun around, startled, but smiled when she saw her best friend.

"Hey, Frost Face! I heard you were almost late, again," she said, folding her arms and looking down at her smaller friend; of course, lightly touching the ground and mostly floating made the silver-eyed girl seem even shorter.

"You didn't hear that, you just assumed, yet again, Chrome."

"I'm right, aren't I?"

"I plead the fifth." Hayley shrugged, earning an over exaggerated eye roll and a small teasing scoff from Chrome.

Before she had a chance to respond, a pair of twins popped into the middle of the group. One of them was wearing a basketball uniform, and the other wore a large beanie and a vest with many pockets. The one wearing the basketball uniform had a large number 1 in white color on it; he had an aura that seemed to suggest a loose-minded and humorous boy. The boy with the beanie made loud clinking sounds when he walked, most likely coming from the miscellaneous objects in his many pockets on his cargo pants and vest; his aura seemed rather withdrawn, especially so with his hands in his pockets. Otherwise, they managed to blend in pretty well; except when the shirtless guy turned around, it was revealed that he had enormous, dark, leathery bat-like wings. The scowling girl seemed to perk up when she saw them, and made her way over. With a flirtatious giggle and flip of the hair, she began her -- what Hayley and Chrome liked to call -- "mating ritual". The boys looked her over, spotting their true targets. They brushed her off, walking over to none other than Hayley and Chrome. The girl glared daggers at them, and Hayley saw what made her a mutant.

The girl's eyes turned into bright ugly yellow slits and her nose melted into her face as it stretched out, making her look like a deformed human-snake. A long slithery tongue poked out of her mouth, extending to what was far beyond human level. The boys, of course, were oblivious to the odd transformation, and didn't understand when the girls looked at each other in calamity. The snake girl blinked in confusion, used to people immediately bending to her will and begging for forgiveness. Chrome turned to her, the odd light in her chest seemed to glow.

"I was wrong, very wrong," Hayley snickered, staring at the girl who was oblivious to Chrome's power against cold blooded creatures. "Well, sorta right, in the sense that you were hiding something. But, here, you don't get everything you want from a small mutation." Chrome shut her eyes, then quickly opened them as her ever-floating hair caught on fire. With a small you're-trapped grin, she puffed out her lips and blew; her clothes and hair seemed to angle towards the girl -- like seaweed in a current, her ever-floating appearance seemingly blowing towards her. The girl immediately began to sweat, her cold blooded reptilian side giving in to the intense heat. She wiped her brow, sweating and teetering a bit. Chrome stopped and smiled before winking, making the snake-girl realize that here, her mutation was just all bark and no bite. Her face shrunk into its natural form, contorted in fear and vulnerability at the true mutants here. The boys stared at the two girls confused, then they smirked.

"Tired of us already, Reindeer?" The shirtless one spat, his smile curling into a devious sneer. Hayley rolled her eyes, placing on hand on her hip.

"Not quite yet, St. Nick, but keep talking like that and I can guarantee I'll tire of you very quickly," she retorted, smirking in victory. He smiled, as if happy that she hadn't lost her fighting spirit. Then an almost infinite cycle of comebacks and snarky replies started as did another between Chrome and the boy with the hat.

She grinned, the smile crawling up her face eerily, the effect so heightened by her fangs. "Did you fail the test?" She chirped happily, earning a smirk from the boy.

"Depends, what was question fifty two?" He asked, pushing up his glasses cockily. She chuckled and turned back to him.

"The Cold War, obviously," she jittered, earning a glare from the boy. Then their own infinite cycle of asking test questions and giving answers to each other began.

Coach Logan shook his head. "Okay, everyone, line up for the five mile run." He said, his eyes glossing over the crowd until he saw the arguing group in the back. He loudly cleared his throat, gaining him their attention. "No powers allowed." He clarified. Hayley glared at him.

"Then how am I going to run?!" She muttered, crossing her arms but glaring at the shirtless boy, who was basking in her distress.

"Ah, a wonderful day!" He chirped, looking around. "The birds are chirping, the sun is warm..." His dark brown eye slid over to Hayley, resting on her as he smirked. "... the Reindeer is complaining..."

That one sentence earned him a swift kick in the chest, adding to the already red mark there. He scowled at her, making her grin in delight. She tossed her hair sassily and walked off towards the track. "Why so upset, St. Nick?" She mocked.

Chrome leaned over to the boy she was arguing with. "Hand over that five bucks," she whispered, a small I-told-you-so smile danced on her lips. With a groan from the boy, he slapped the paper in her hand and glared at his brother. Nick threw his hands up in mock surrender as a smirk contorted his face. He ran swiftly after her frosty footsteps.

Coach Logan looked back over at the last two left in the gym: the boy with the hat and Chrome. He rubbed his eyes and walked up to them, making sure to keep far away from Chrome. He coughed, gaining the two arguers attention. Chrome, upon realizing hers and the boy's close proximities, jumped back and became extremely flustered. "Hunter, out on the field," he barked, scowling. The boy -- Hunter -- quickly nodded, jogging out to the field. Chrome turned back to him hopefully. The coach shook his head. "Not today, Chrome. You still can hardly gain a grip on the floor." He said, covering up his real reason for not wanting her to run with a lie. If she ran, the students would become scared that she would burn them accidentally with her uncontrollable inner fire. He didn't like it; in fact, he was one of the teachers whom had voted against it. With a huff, Chrome walked to the bleachers and sat down, watching them.

Hayley cracked her knuckles, grinning eagerly. "Even without my powers, I bet I'll still beat you."

"Let's test that, shall we?" Nick sneered, his eyes glowing in anticipation for the looming competition. She grinned.

Coach Summers whistled, gaining the students' attention. He pointed a gun at the sky. Hayley and Nick got into their starting positions; the entire front line open to them for their crazy antics. Logan fired off a blank, starting the competition. The two mutants dashed off, the only thing behind them a cloud of frozen water particles. The students walked, knowing that Coach Logan would be busy keep a collective eye on Chrome -- as she would sometimes try to sneak in -- and the two speeders.

~&~

As the students filed into the large room packed with computers, the teacher explained that day's assignment. "Today you will pair up in teams and prepare a cyber attack for another team." As the room grew louder, friends looked at each other in anticipation. The teacher coughed loudly, quieting the room down again. She looked over them. "This is how this will work: I will be picking the partners. However, the team you are up against is completely random." She took a fedora off of the desk and began shaking it, revealing that there were tiny scraps of paper inside. "Now the teams are..." She read off the teams, pairing each mutant up with another. Only one team fully caught the entire class's attention. "... Chrome and Hunter..." The teacher continued to read off the names, secretly relishing the despair of her class.

Chrome and Hunter eyed each other questionably. Hayley knew that they had good reason, too. They were both two of the best in the world of electronics, and she challenged anyone to say otherwise. Her eyes slicked over Chrome, dawning on her face a proud smile. Meanwhile, Chrome and Hunter were looking around, confused. Whichever team they went up against was screwed, that they knew. Then the team-picking began, their faces fell deeper into confusion as their name had yet to be called. When all the names were gone, the teacher finally turned to them.

"Oh, yes," she said, adjusting her sitting position, "you two will be going up against a..." She seemed at a loss for the correct word. "New opponent." Chrome's smile became a smirk, her excitement exhibited by the soft orange glow in the middle of her chest brightening. She squeezed her hands in anticipation as she unbuckled herself from the chair and walked over to a pair of black frames. She tapped in the middle of one, a screen appearing and asking for a login. Hunter followed her, and they soon were in a corner of the room, surrounded by translucent screens. She nodded towards them, confirming their comfort. "You two, today, will be going up against a powerful company. Once I allow you access, you will be in an actual cyber war." The two nodded in understanding, getting their fingers poised in the position they preferred to type with. It was deadly silent in the room; no one caring about their own projects. Everyone's eyes were on them, which would usually fluster Chrome. But in her current state of hyper-focus, she didn't seem to notice. Hayley's smirk turned into a proud grin. "Ready? And--" She clicked, a loud siren pounded throughout the room once, startling everyone.

Everyone, it seemed, but the two surrounded by screens. They each became a blur of themselves; working so fast that it was hard to make them out. They yelled things at each other, things like "Code line 333!" or "It switched from the offensive!" or "I got defense!" In the whir of excitement, Chrome's hair caught on fire, but the girl was too occupied by the screens to notice. The class watched, confused by what they said.

Suddenly, the room went quiet; the pair immediately went frozen. The two just stared at the screens in front of them. Their eyes scanned for something. Something that seemed to suddenly disappear on them. They focused and stared at the screens boxing them in. They were inhumanly still, not moving a muscle. Then Hunter tensed up, and Chrome noticed, following his gaze. Her hair became a bonfire as they both lunged for the screens, tapping and scrolling through the thousands of lines of code. A string of curses danced through Hunter's mouth.

"Shit," he mumbled. Hayley's brow furrowed in confusion. What was wrong? It seemed normal to her.

Chrome's eyes suddenly widened as a sly smile came onto her face, revealing her fangs. "Got it!" She announced, quickly and expertly hitting a few more buttons until another loud siren resounded throughout the room.

"Access granted," a robotic british voice announced. "What may I do for you?"

The room was speechless, completely confused by the voice that had appeared. Then, Chrome shrieked in excitement, making many heads turn to her. She whispered into Hunter's ear, making a large grin replace the confusion on his face. He laughed.

"By god!" He yelled, putting his hands in the air. After a moment in that pose, he turned back to Chrome, sneering. "Let's do it."

She nodded eagerly in anticipation as they looked towards the teacher, whom waved them off, accepting whatever the crazy idea was. They looked at each other, both sporting a devious grin. Within a few more moments of typing around, bells around the academy chorused. With a swift gesture from Chrome, the screens shrunk back into the frames.

Hayley ran up to her with a questioning smile. "What happened?" Chrome gave a mischievous look to her friend.

"Let's just say that Hunter and I left a hilarious message for a powerful man." She snickered. Hayley smirked, giggling with her.

"Oh? Will we hear about it tomorrow?"

Chrome nodded, her grin turning into a smirk. "Probably, considering that his particular personality will drive him to show." Hayley grinned in anticipation for whatever would happen in the next 24 hours.

~&~

A man in a very polished suit walked through a large lobby, carrying with him a briefcase. His eyes were hidden by sunglasses, and his never disappearing smirk was on his lips. His smirk was matched with a cocky walk, which presented him with a high standing social status. Turning down a hallway, hidden scanners examined him for anything suspicious. Finding him clean, they allowed his walk through the hallway undeterred. He stepped into a lavish elevator, where a voice greeted him.

"Hello, sir," it said. The man took off his glasses, handing them to an outstretched robotic arm.

"JARVIS, call Pepper," he smugly commanded, not bothering to greet the voice back. There was no verbal response, only a ringing phone posed as an answer. The elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened for the man. Seeing a large living room overlooking a city, he walked through.

As soon as the smug man took a step out of the doorway, robotic arms tossed large circular objects at him, allowing him no time to realize the harmless attack. Within seconds, the arms disappeared, leaving a very sticky and dirty man behind. He looked at the blueberry flavoring that dripped down his arm in surprise, licking the sticky substance. A large sneer slid onto his face.

"Blueberry pie..." He mumbled. The ringing on the phone stopped, and a woman's voice answered.

"Yes, Tony?" The woman asked, a hint of smugness and exhaustion rang through her voice. Tony stood there, as if weighing the pros and cons of something in his brain. After a few seconds, his internal debate was over.

"I would like to reschedule something." The man, Tony, said in a way that suggested that it was not up for debate. You could practically hear the woman roll her eyes.

"And what would that be?" Pepper asked, a bit of her voice betrayed her mocking attitude.

"Whatever was going on from ten in the morning to two in the afternoon," he said, taking out a pocket kerchief and wiping his hands with it. There were the sounds of a few clicking buttons over the phone.

"Is that all?" Pepper sarcastically asked.

"No, also ask your mom if you can bunk over," he said, earning a scoff from Pepper.

"I'm in California," she said.

"So? Book a plane ticket and bunk over," Tony's tone sounded like a whining child, earning a lady-like snort from the woman on the phone.

"Good night, Tony." She stated.

"Sir, Pepper Potts has ended the verbal conversation," the robotic voice said. Tony groaned, the voice he heard was not the one he wanted to hear.

"Okay, JARVIS. Let's find out who did this." He said, fixing the suit's cuffs. After a shower and an outfit change, he was typing on a screen, mumbling things under his breath. Pausing, he leaned back in his chair. "Project all messages from the past twenty-four hours for me," he demanded. JARVIS obliged, and the first screen was overlapped by a second. He scrolled through, occasionally stopping, shaking his head, then progressing forward.

A message finally caught his eye, and he pressed on it.

Dear Mr. Stark,

I would like to make you aware of a small, insignificant cyber attack that will be launched onto your AI known as JARVIS. I am just testing the limits of two of my star pupils and have picked your company because of the knowledge that it adapts from hacks and further defends itself against them; much like it learns.

Sincerely,

Kitty Pryde

Tony scoffed and rolled his eyes, a calculating smirk announced itself on his face. "JARVIS, prepare a trip tomorrow."

"The coordinates, sir," the british AI requested politely.

"Its address is 1407 Graymalkin Lane, -- part of the town of alem, located in the very northeast corner of ." He said. There was a small silence.

"Coordinates marked and trip is planned."

"Perfect."

~&~

After a handful of classes, the quartet were finally able to relax and make fun of each other in peace. Until a shy-looking little boy ran up to Hayley, appearing to want to ask her a question. She had barely gotten her English homework out of the way before the boy puked acid-green slime that made suspicious sizzling noises all over the speedy girl and himself.

Groaning softly to herself, Hayley stood up, took the boy's hand, and walked away with him, presumably to go clean them up.

After a good half hour, Hayley came back with pajamas on, the boy no longer present, a hairbrush, and her hair down and wet with a slight curl. Nick put a hand to his chest and made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a disgusted noise. Hayley simply rolled her eyes.

"Now what's wrong, Santa Claus?"

"Your hair! It's... it's... curly!" He shrieked, acting as if she had wounded him.

"News flash, numbnut. It's what happens when my hair gets wet," she said sarcastically, sitting down and beginning to brush out her hair. The texture brushed out quickly, and her hair straightened out pretty fast after it was nearly dry. "It relaxes pretty fast, but it's still annoying to have to brush out all the time. Dumb long girl hair," she added, punctuating her sentence by smacking herself on the head with her hairbrush, causing herself to yelp in pain. "Okay, I deserved that one," she muttered to herself, before speeding out of the room and returning seconds later, without her hairbrush. The rest of the night was filled with playful banter and homework.

~&~

Hayley groaned in boredom; her silver eyes flicking over to the clock every few seconds. She was done with listening to the teacher babble on and on about something that she wasn't even remotely paying attention to. However, her ears snagged onto one thing.

"Now onto a different type of mutation: Would anyone care to explain our mutations?" The biology teacher asked, his eyes searching the room. He didn't have to look for long, as Hayley suddenly jumped up and immediately raised her hand. "Yes, Hayley?"

"Mutations like ours can be split into a handful of categories. Minor enhancements, major enhancements, and physical changes to the point where the mutant may as well be a different species. All of these mutations can occur in several ways. One, they can be in your DNA since birth, and always have been active. Two, they can have been in your DNA since birth, but were activated by either your age or some outside force, and then there are the mutations that were hardly existent in your DNA to begin with, but were activated and had completely changed your DNA, and would have killed you had you not had some manner of genetic flaw allowing you to survive the forced change. For example..." Hayley looked around the room, then settled her gaze on a boy in the back corner. "Kayden has minor enhancements that were in him since birth. He's always been able to do the fingertip suction cup thing, at least as far as I know. Am I wrong?" She said, looking at the boy, who shook his head, face flushing at the sudden attention. "Chrome has a mutation that makes her appear as if she were practically another species, and her mutation was either around since birth, or activated by an outside force. My mutations are major enhancements forced into my DNA through an outside force, and the only reason I didn't die with my family is because I possess a recessive gene that allowed me to gain the power of a comet rather than just be obliterated." Beast nodded in approval. Oh, but Hayley wasn't done there. She continued to ramble on, "And for another exam--"

Chrome, Hunter, Hayley, Nick, please report to my office, a voice said, filling up Beast's and the four teens' heads. Beast raised an eyebrow at the four of them, as if asking "what did you do". All four of them shrugged in response and stood up, walking to Xavier's office.

Can you imagine their faces when they saw who was in the room with Professor Xavier?