If she hadn't been in such a good mood, those words might have set off another crying spree, but instead now they just made her determined to share this part of her life with him. She needed for him to understand... and she needed to be sure that he wasn't wrong about his running away.

"Thank you, Steve," she told him, her own voice quiet but serious. "I want you to know. There are some things about me that won't make sense otherwise, so it's important that you know."

But where to start? At the beginning was usually best. Taking a deep breath, she dove straight into the deep end with a memory that still haunted her. "When I was seventeen, I kissed my first boy. I was so nervous and excited and... Mutations usually manifest during puberty, at times of extreme stress. For me, it was that kiss, and he ended up in a coma for three weeks."