Part 1

Did you ever wonder what it was like to be different? You don’t know the meaning of the word, compared to me. The name’s Grey, Nate Grey. For all intents and purposes, I’m what you might call an outsider. I’ve always been different, and it never really bothered me. But that was before I found out that the truth...before I found out I was a mutant.

I was too young to understand the first time my mother told me that. She said I would have certain powers that would allow me to read people’s thoughts, among other things. I actually thought I could handle it. That was before I started getting these huge headaches, on a migraine level. Mom said it was just my powers manifesting, and that she’d gone through the same thing at my age. She taught me nearly everything I know about my powers, and I love her even more for it.

The rest of my knowledge came from three very different people: Professor Charles Francis Xavier, Capt. Alexander “Sabre” Summers, and a beautiful young woman by the name of Rose.

The professor’s what you might call a permanent teacher, since he’s always got a lesson for anyone to learn. I appreciate everything he’s taught me, but the guy isn’t exactly nuts about having fun. He’s the strictest person I’ve ever known, but if he wasn’t, I might not be the person I am today. We don’t always see eye-to-eye, but we both know that teamwork has always been the key to success for his X-Men.

What can I say about one of the most infamous, yet wisest mutants I’ve ever met? Well, I’m glad that he saw the potential inside me that I myself never even dreamed of. Sabre’s one tough customer, but he knows what it takes to get the job done. He’s my uncle by blood, but we’re closer than brothers. He knows what tomorrow holds, because he’s been there and then some. Originally from the year 2023, Sabre has time traveled between our present day and his future many times, and he’s picked up a lot of wisdom in the process. He taught David and I everything he knew. In short, he taught us how to survive.

I can honestly say I’ve never met anyone quite like Rose. She’s my guiding light, my shining star, my beacon of hope when in despair. She’s never failed to care about me, even when I didn’t care about myself. Because of her, I realized that I couldn’t just face all of my problems alone; I needed help from time to time. Rose was always there when I did need help, and she’s never let me down. I guess it’s no surprise to anyone that we fell in love. My relationship with her is completely open and honest. No secrets, no shame. In fact there’s only one thing I’ve ever hidden from Rose: the fact that I, her best friend, was a mutant. I was afraid to tell her truth about me, so instead, I hid it from her. Luckily, my being a mutant brought us even closer. Perhaps I should tell you how it all began.

Picture a 5 year old boy with reddish-brown hair (with a streak of white down the front), an honest face, and bright blue eyes shining with a promise of power. You guessed it, that’s me. I wasn’t really aware of the effect my appearance (along with a subconscious assist from my mutant powers) had on others. I was immediately accepted into society as young Nathan Grey, the cute little son of Jean Grey (even after she was married, my mom still used her maiden name sometimes) and Scott Summers, younger brother of David, with a twinkle in his left eye (literally).

Because of his rapidly developing mutant power (not to mention its danger to others), David immediately began his training at Prof. Xavier’s school. I was sent to public school until I was old enough to enroll in Xavier’s Institute for Higher Learning with the rest of my family and friends. School was truly a learning experience. I learned my first lessons in love, hate, and just about everything else in the first grade. The teachers liked me, and I had my own little group of friends most of the time. Life was very good.