"Dr. Mccoy, I have two questions on the nature of the mutant genetics. First, why is there so much variation between mutant powers and abilities? Second, how can the activation of this genetic process turn someone visibly human one moment, then something completely different the next?"
"In five words or less? The Celestials cook very slowly."
Hank gave the newest addition to the X-Men a smile, dismissing the holographic projection of his latest project with a wave of a paw and bringing up a painstakingly mapped model of the mutant genome as casually as normal people showed off their Candy Crush scores.
"The potential for radical mutation was added to the human genome some one million years ago, through careful seeding and experimentation with a tribe of Homo erectus by the Celestials. One of these experiments resulted in the nascent form of what we now know as the X-gene, which survived through Homo neanderthalis, Homo sapiens, and then came to fruition in Homo . . ."
He cleared his throat, looking somewhat upset.
"Well, the most widely known term is Homo superior, a term I soundly reject and refuse. I prefer Homo mutantis. But, at any rate, the X-gene has been cooking very slowly for thousands upon thousands of years, interacting with a billion other chromosomes, alleles - every bit of junk in the human genetic code, every leftover strand from every evolutionary step, interacts with it on some level."
"When it manifests, most of the time in puberty but sometimes at birth, that individual, unique combination of genetic material working in concert with the spark that is the X-gene results in that wide variation of mutant powers and abilities that you remarked upon. It's almost never the same for any two individuals, even in the same family."
He waved his paw, the genome map suddenly changing, large blue spots now appearing all over it.
"The blue spots you see are what is known, simplistically, as Mutant Growth Hormone. It's a very potent cocktail that includes simple hormones like adrenaline, neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine, and a great many other ingredients. It forms naturally in the mutant body when the mutation process is about to begin, and catalyses the genetic process when the X-gene 'fires'.
So.
You have a young mutant walking around, a pressure cooker of biological processes. Something happens. Stress, pain, frustration, an emotional peak, all very common at puberty. And - snap!"
He snapped his fingers, the genome erupting in jagged spikes and strange shapes, mutating before their eyes.
"Humans grow fur, they begin to shoot fireworks out of their fingertips, they walk through walls. The X-gene is the spark - but MGH is rocket fuel. If you thought normal human hormones were a trip, well, they're nothing compared to what mutant teenagers have firing off in their bodies."
He gestured at Adrian.
"Does that go some of the way towards answering your question?"
