"I hope you will feel at home her and open up to us eventually." Bobby heard the professor's voice through the door as he approached, John at his side.

"Not likely." an unfamiliar female voice replied as they entered.

"Bobby, John." Xavier greeted them. "This is our newest student, Danica."

She was beautiful. Flawless, lightly tanned skin, deep blue eyes, fiery red hair, and an attractive, lithe body.

"These are going to be your roommates, dear." They'll help you get settled here."

Silence.

Why is he rooming a girl with two guys? Bobby wondered.

Her mind shows a degree of fear and hostility towards other females. She has gotten along with boys with John's attitude in the past for as far as I can gather. the professor replied.

What does that mean? Can't you just read her mind?

She has been blocking my attempts since she felt my presence the first time.

So she's a telepath?

No. I don't know what her true power is, but she's shown a degree of regeneration and telepathic ability. She refuses to say what her power is.

"Can we go now?" Danica asked suddenly, eyes focused only on John. "I've been awake for three days."

"Follow me." John smirked.

"Why am I suddenly frightened of the thought of them together?" Bobby asked the professor once the pair had left.

"You are not the only one."

A few months after her arrival, Danica had made it perfectly clear that anyone other than John and-to a lesser extent-Bobby was not worth her time. Rogue especially was subject to Danica and John's wrath.

A couple weeks later, Bobby noticed that John was flipping a new lighter in one of the rare moments when Danica wasn't with him. Later, he saw that Danica had picked up the annoying habit and was fidgeting with a familiar shark Zippo. And the next week, the ice mutant chose not to comment on the fact that when he left for class in the morning, the pair were cuddled up together in John's bed, asleep.

"That's it." John snapped as the lighter he was toying with closed with one final click.

"We were told to stay ehre." Rogue stated.

"Do you always do what you're told?" Dancia hissed.

"What is your problem?" she demanded, crossing her arms. "You act like your'e so much better than the rest of us, but we've never even seen you use your power."

In an instant, without Bobby seening how really, Danica was inches away from Rogue's face. "That's because none of you are worth the effort." she growled. "Besides," she added, stepping back to John's side. "John knows."

"Come on, babe, let's get out tof here. The Ice Royalty seems idifferent to if his alleged 'best friend' leaves." John muttered as he wrapped an arm around Danica.

True to her nature, the mystery mutant gave them thefinger as the pair exited the ship.

Bobby winced every time he saw a burning building on the news. Guilt rattled him despite the teachers all telling him that it wasn't his fault that John and Danica had left. The ice mutant knew it wasn't true. If he hadn't been so blinded by his relationship with Rogue and paid more attention to his best friend . . . mad ehim feel like he belonged . . .

He knew that John and Danica would never click with the rest of the mansion. That he was the only thing holding them there, but he abandoned them anyway. Danica would follow John to the end of the world, and John wanted to stop being taken advantage of once and for all.

"Getting the cure so you can go back home to Mommy and Daddy?" a horribly familiar voice taunted.

Turning, Bobby saw John and Danica standing beside him. John was . . . blonde and the ever-present lighter was missing. Danica now had a few black streaks in her red hair and her formerly blue eyes now danced in a gleaming red. His fist clenched and froze before he realized what he was doing.

A mere flexing of his thumb caused a fireball to materialize in John's hand. Bobby then noticed the contraption on his wrist that presumably provided the source of the fire. "Make a move, Iceman." Pyro taunted.

Danica smirked from her place behind him. "If the popsicle dares."

Bobby clenched his jaw and turned away from them. Could I have stopped them from becoming these people?

"Same old Bobby!" John shouted. "Still afraid of a fight!"

Had he turned around, Bobby would have seen the ouple lash out at the building together, twin fires entwining as they met the wall before it exploded.

"Think you can handle your old friends?" Logan asked.

Bobby glanced at the bridge where Magneto was throwing cars at the old prison. John was igniting them while they were in midair while Danica watched, face blank as she stood beside him. She still gave no clue what her power was, but, if Magneto had allowed her and John to stay together for this fight, it had to be powerful.

"Yeah." he responded at last, though not exactly sure he could.

When Bobby froze the car, he could see the anger on John's face. Danica said something to him that caused the fire mutant to kiss her before leaving to confront Bobby.

As Bobby froze John's hands to cease the flow on fire, there was none of the fear that Iceman expected to see . . . only the ever-present smirk.

"Danica, now!" Pyro yelled.

Bobby didn't have the time to look confused as a monsterous wave of fire washed over the island, incinerating all humans caught out in the open but not so much as touching the mutants. An instant later, he was getting knocked off his feet and pinned by a pissed off tiger.

John smirked cockily down at him. "Bobby, I believe you've already met Danica."

You always wanted to know what my powers were. Danica's smug voice drifted into his head. She snorted, sending a small tongue of fire in his face.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Pyro asked as Danica switched forms again.

"John, Magneto has been cured." Danica said quietly.

The trio glanced over and saw him fallen before Wolverine and Beast. This battle is over. all surviving occupants of the island heard Danica's voice rip through their minds.

"We're leaving." Danica stated before she and John vanished.

"I knew he would betray us all." Rogue snarled. "I never trusted him."

"He never trusted you, either." Bobby sighed. "Don't talk about him like that; he's been through things you couldn't imagine."

"Bobby, stop beating yourself up. He made his choice at Alcatraz." Logan tried. He had liked Pyro. The kid had had a hard life and he could relate. The Wolverine wanted to protect the firestarter.

"If I had been more understanding of Danica and not ignored him for Rogue, he wouldn't have left, and you now it." Bobby sighed.

"Maybe someday we can get them back." Logan sighed.

Ended for now.