"Siku! We're gonna miss the bus!" Cameron Quinn yelled from the foot of the stairs. School mornings at Xavier's School of Higher Learning was always, at best, a mad-house. The grade-school X-Kids, Rachel & Charles Summers were tearing around like mad trying to get book-sacks, homework, breakfast (and sometimes combinations of any two of the three) into their proper places before the bus came, approximately 30 minutes after the high-school bus. Various members of the full-fledged X-teams were either trying to help the kids, or were sitting calmly at the kitchen table, trying to ignore the pandemonium. The two dogs, three cats, and a guinea pig (all of uncertain origin) that had somehow become integral parts of the household in the last couple of years were providing their own brand of help, which mainly consisted of amusing themselves and hindering everyone else.

"Siku! The bus passes in five minutes!!"

"It's Dhani!" yelled sixteen-year-old Sikudhani McCoy from the top of the landing. "And you don't have to shout!" She raced downstairs, past Cam, and snagged an apple from Rogue, who was standing by the door, just waiting for the budding young track star to rush past.

"Ya'll have a good day!" she called to the two figures retreating along the walk to the main gate. "And remember t'call if ya have track practice!"

"We will!" the pair shouted in unison, still high-tailing it for the bus-stop.

Six minutes later, Cameron and Dhani skidded to a stop and watched the bus start to pull away from the curve.

"Oh, no you don't!" The young, blue-furred mutant tossed her books to Cameron and sprinted after the bus. Cam grinned and set out after her at a quick jog. This wouldn't be the first time.

Legs and arms pumping, Dhani caught up with the bus so quickly, that it almost looked easy. She reached over and tapped on the glass windows that took up most of the door.

"HEY! Mister Ren! You forgot us again!" The bus driver looked over, blanched, and braked the bus abruptly.

"Dammit, kid!" he snapped as the door hissed open. "One of these days, you're gonna give me a heart attack doing that!"

"Sorry." panted Dhani, smiling and looking anything but. "Cam's coming..." Sikudhani wasn't just one of the brightest kids in her school, she was also the fastest. She was becoming what her grandfather called "the next McCoy sports legend", though for track, instead of football like her father, Hank.

Cameron ran onto the bus a second later, giving his long time friend a quick smile before letting her shepherd him to an empty seat as the bus started moving again.

"I hate it when we have to do that." he panted, once they were seated.

"Are you kidding?" Cierra and Cindy, two of Dhani's best friends were in the seat right behind them. Cierra was speaking. Cindy, a cute little red-haired sophomore, tended to be much more quiet. "I love it when you do that Siku! Talk about a break in routine!"

"It's nothing..." Dhani started. Apparently her friends could get away with calling her Siku.

"I know. 'I was born that way.'" Cierra grinned. "and when you wreck the grading curve, it's 'I just study hard.' You're way too modest Siku! If I were as smart and special as you are, I'd shout it from roof-tops."

"No, you wouldn't." Cameron joined in, giving Dhani a little back-up. "You'd just hire a sky-writer."

"Now you're thinking about Bethanny." Dhani chimed in, casting a glance over to the blonde girl an her clique. As soon as she had, she was sorry for what she'd said. Though Bethanny had been giving Sikudhani a hard time since kindergarten, and had even been particularly nasty for the past couple of months, there was something about the brat that made Dhani feel sorry for her. Maybe it was the slightly greenish tent to her skin or the fact that she was starting to look really stressed... but something about her made Siku think of her Aunt Jean of all people. Siku was quiet and thoughtful for the rest of the ride to school, and didn't notice the way Bethanny was looking at her. It was an odd look; half-revulsion, half-hope... and maybe more than a slight trace of jealousy.

The day progressed quietly until lunch. Cindy marched up to where Cierra, Dhani, and Cindy's boyfriend Todd were seated. Cameron ate on a different lunch shift.

The normally quiet Cindy, banged her tray down on the table. "This is the last straw!"

Dhani looked over at Cindy's tray.

"Fish-sticks, lima beans, blueberry pudding, and milk." she observed. "Not really appetizing, but not the worst that cafeteria's morgue has ever come up with."

"It's not the Pepto special, for once." Cindy snapped, taking her usual seat by Todd. "It's Bethanny!"

"Uh-oh..." Cierra sighed. "What has our favorite fashion queen been up to?"

"Todd wrote me a poem last week... and I was thinking about it in English class. Next thing I know, Sovereign Snot has an exact copy of it pinned up on the bulletin board, complete with editorial!"

"Oh, hell..." groaned Todd.

"Not quite my reaction." Cindy said, her eyes smoldering. "More like 'You will die a slow, painful death by my hands. Make your peace with God now.'"

"So what happened?" Dhani asked, interested for more than one reason. This was starting to sound very familiar.

"Mrs. Snovers came back in and took it down, thank God. But..."

"But we still owe Bethanny a big, fat payback!" Cierra finished. "So what's appropriate? Itching powder in her gym shorts?"

Todd grinned. "I've got a better idea. She's eyeing one of they guys on the softball team for her next true love."

"So?" asked Cindy, feeling much calmer as she looked over at Todd's lunch to see if he had anything better.

"So, he's also my cousin. I think that it's about time her Highness got stood up for a change." The suggestion was met with the appropriate stunned silence.

"Pure genious," Cierra congradulated him.

"Love it," Cindy agreed.

Dhani looked thoughtful. "Not to rain on anyone's parade, but I think I'd rather have a little chat with Bethanny durning phys-ed."

"Where else could you chat with her?" asked Cindy, battling with Todd over posession of his pudding. "You're taking classes that have teachers hanging their heads."

"There's always now." suggested Cierra, giggling as Todd gallantly defended the honor of his lunch.

Dhani thought about it. There were ten minutes left to lunch, and she'd consumed just about everything edible on her tray (which really wasn't much). Still... ten minutes just wasn't enough. It'd have to be last hour. Mind made up, Dhani broke up the pudding war between Cindy and Todd by offering her own as a peace-maker. She couldn't eat the stuff anyway.

All through last hour, Dhani kept a close eye on Bethanny during the basketball game.

She's improved, she thought, recalling years past when Bethanny couldn't have made a basket if her life was at stake. Now she was handling the ball like a pro. It all but confirmed what Dhani suspected.

As the rest of the girls trooped into the locker room to change, Dhani managed to corner Bethanny in one of the stalls.

"So, how long has it been since your powers kicked in?" she asked the blonde girl almost casually.

Bethanny's voice was whisper low and trembling. "Three months..." She seemed relieved, actually.

A late bloomer,Siku thought.

"You been keeping it a secret all this time?" Bethanny nodded. Dhani gave the girl a closer look. It certainly explained why she looked so strained all the time, but Dhani doubted that was all. She'd seen too many young people come to Xavier's while trying to control their powers. A closer look revealed that the greenish tinge wasn't Bethanny's skin, it was the roots of her hair. Apparently not even strong bleach could get all of the color out of it. "Even from your parents."

Bethanny shot the taller girl a look that was pure poison. "Yes, 'even my folks', Bigfoot! What, do you think I'm stupid enough to think that if I tell them, love will conquer all? Huh? They'll forget that they hate mutants because I'm their kid?" She shuddered. "Dammit, Siku, I can hear people's thoughts! Unless I keep myself on guard all the time, I know what they're thinking! And I know what my folks think about mutants. So they aren't going to know that I'm a mutant!"

Siku tried to put a hand on Bethanny's shoulder. The angry girl slapped it away.

"Beth-"

"Don't touch me, you freak!" Bethanny was nowhere near hysterical, just hateful. Angry that Siku's mutant genes were so much more obvious than her own, yet Siku didn't have to try and hide. Hating that Siku had it so much better. "And don't think about getting me to go to that stupid institution that you have to live in! There are things out there... microchips, surgery..."

Sikudhani broke in. "None of that's 100% effective, Bethanny. Some of it's illegal. Not to mention dangerous."

"Just shut up!" The young telepath tried to reach into Siku's mind and find some secret to reveal, something to make the other girl's life more miserable. But Dhani had been trained in mind-shielding by Professor Xavier and Jean Grey. Bethanny was getting nothing from her. Bethanny swallowed and regained some sort of control. Barely. "I hate you..." she snarled. "And I hate what you've done to me."

Even with the knowledge that she herself was a mutant, Bethanny refused to accept it. Mutants were freak. Mutants were mistakes of nature. Bethanny couldn't bring herself to admit that it was no one's fault that she was a mutant. And the person readily available to take the blame was Sikudhani McCoy.

Bethanny spun on her heel and left. Dhani went to the locker room and got her clothes on just before the bell sounded.

"Dad?"

Henry "Hank" McCoy turned from his computer screen to see his daughter standing in the doorway to his lab.

"Yes, S... Dhani?" Dhani rushed up and gave him a tight hug. A little surprised, but not at all displeased he returned it.

"I just wanted to tell you that I love you."

"Why... I love you too, Sunshine. You know that." He almost asked what had brought on the sudden display of affection, but decided against it. Siku might then remember that she was a teen-ager with an image to maintain.

Dhani nodded. "I know." She still felt sorry for Bethanny, but there wasn't a thing she could do until the girl wanted help. And right now, she was just content to hold on to her father and know that he'd always love her, no matter if her hair turned green overnight, if she developed telepathy, or anything else.

The End.