"Be careful making wishes in the dark, dark,

Can't be sure when they've hit their mark, mark,

And besides in the mean, meantime I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart...,"

-My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark; by Fall Out Boy

"I'm sorry, but this isn't going to work."

"There's gotta be something we can arrange..."

"This isn't going to work out, I'm sorry."

Arabella just outside the door, listening in as the latest family returned her. As if she could be traded in for something better. Bringing her knees up, Arabella wrapped her arms around them and hugged them tightly to her chest. Why did she even bother trying? None of the families she ever went with really wanted her, granted she didn't make it easy for them, but at sixteen, it seemed pointless to even try. Arabella wasn't going to get adopted. She knew that since an early age; no family would want her.

It became even more evident the day Arabella realized she was a mutant. Ordinary humans didn't really know about the existence of mutants yet, but a majority of those who did weren't exactly friendly. So when Arabella started telling her previous families things she shouldn't have known about, she was sent back. When Arabella started having violent outbursts that led to things moving without being touched, she was returned almost immediately.

As Arabella's powers began to grow, so did her disappointment and anger; her loneliness and sadness. Her powers eventually intertwined with her emotions, the telekinesis exploding during deep, intense emotional outbursts — it became even stronger if those emotions were negative. Arabella's telepathy was complicated — she could do the basic necessities that came with it, like reading minds, but she could do so much more than that. As her telepathy grew, Arabella began to realize that if she really pushed herself, she'd be able to create vivid, almost lifelike, hallucinations on someone's deepest fear. That took more concentration than she was willing to give most of the time, but it was helpful when needed.

That had been another reason she was unable to get adopted. Arabella's emotional outbursts would lead to her recreating her foster family's deepest fears along with destroying their home. And...Arabella thought it felt great. She was allowing people to feel the same kind of pain she was experiencing every day.

When the door opened, the couple hurried out, not even throwing a look the young girl's way as they left. When the front door slammed shut, Arabella unconsciously flinched.

"This is the fifth family this month, Belle." Miss Adalyn's voice filled Arabella's ears. Adalyn Schmidt was a woman in her mid-forties; she had known Arabella since she was a baby, had practically taken care of her. So hearing Adalyn's voice filled with pity and sympathy filled the young girl with irritation. "I don't understand why you're making this difficult for yourself."

"You and I both know I'm never getting adopted."

"You would if you'd give them a chance."

"At what? Being disappointed in me? Taking me back once they realize I'm a mutant?"

"Not all people are like that," Adalyn said firmly. "There are so many people out there who are kind and understanding towards mutants."

"Not from what I've seen."

Sitting down next to her, Adalyn let out a sigh. Neither of them said anything for a minute, just enjoying the peace and quiet. "I remember the first time I saw you," Adalyn said, her voice quiet. "You were so tiny, crying."

"The day my parents abandoned me."

"Have you ever thought that they couldn't afford to take care of you?" Adalyn looked at Arabella solemnly. "It happens, Belle. Families sometimes can't take care of their children and have to give them up." No response. "They wanted you to have a better life," she went on. "That's why you're here. It may not be the best solution, but it could've been the only one they had."

"Like it matters now."

O.O.O.O

That night, Arabella laid in bed, unable to sleep. Her mind was wandering, thinking up ideas. Ideas that had been occupying her mind for months. What if she just left? Being in foster care was bringing her nothing but pain and stress. She could leave. All she needed was the right opportunity. Tapping her fingers on her blanketed stomach, Arabella let out a sigh.

"You need to get some sleep." The whispered reply made Arabella's gaze go over to her roommate, Joanna. Joanna Gurzsky was only a year younger than Arabella, but was a genius when it came to technology. From what Arabella understood, Joanna's Polish parents had lost custody of her for reasons unknown — whenever the subject would be brought up, Joanna would get a distant look in her eyes and shut down. Even hinting at her parents brought on some kind of episode where she'd go so far into her head it would be near impossible most days to get her out. Which meant it was probably a good thing Arabella had some experience with minds.

"So should you, Jo." The response had a hint of humor in it, but was filled with seriousness.

"I had a nightmare," she responded.

"What was it this time?" Arabella looked at her roommate solemnly. "Or do you not want to talk about it?"

"I'd rather not," Joanna sighed. "Are you thinking about leaving again?"

Scoffing, Arabella rolled her eyes. "I should've never told you that," she exclaimed.

"But you did anyway." A smirk spread across Joanna's lips. "I'm pretty much your second-in-command. If you're going, I am, too."

"Second-in-command?"

"We're unadoptable, Bellie," Joanna pointed out. "How many people want to adopt someone our age? Zilch. No one."

"I know."

"So if we leave together, we'll be able to make a life for ourselves. We don't need these people."

"What about Adalyn?"

"She's nice, but she'd try and stop us." Joanna looked Arabella's way, a determined look in her eyes. "Bellie, c'mon — we've only got so much time."

Arabella's gaze went back to the ceiling. Joanna had a point, they were in no way going to be adopted, and they weren't going to be wasting anymore time in a place where they'd be continually rejected. Tapping her fingers on her blanketed stomach, a slight smirk came across Arabella's face.

(A/N):

May not be the best first chapter, but I hope you guys enjoyed it anyway.

Do I own anything in this franchise? No. No I don't.

This is the first time I've written a story in this fandom, so if you guys could be a little patient with me, that'd be awesome. Don't hesitate to give some constructive criticism, and if I'm getting any of the canon characters wrong, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? That's important to me.

I had been watching Megamind when I got the idea to write something like this. Hopefully you guys enjoy it to some degree. If you don't, whatever, I can't change your mind.

Leave a thought on anything I can improve on.

Thanks.

Judith W