Different

By: Kylie Oelberg

Prologue

Katy Evans isn't the talkative type of girl. To most people she's just a shy girl… Well things aren't always as they appear. She lives with her mom, dad, and little brother Peter. Her parents support the "anti-mutant " act ,and live in the suburbs just outside New York City.

All the kids at Katy's school make fun of her and call her weird, and unusual. Katy doesn't know it but because she's different her world will be turned upside down…along with everyone else she loves. This is her story.

Chapter One, Into Katy's Life

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Went off my alarm as I groggily sat up. I got on my clothes and put my hair into a ponytail. "Peter!" I yelled as I climbed down our stairs, "Get up the bus comes in an hour!" I heard him shuffle out of bed. Peter was my super cute six year old brother he was probably the one person I ever talked to in the whole world.

WhenI got into the kitchen I found my dad in his suit and tie ready for work( he was a lawyer), he always got up early," Are you ready for the first day of school?" I lied and pretended to be excited, "Yeah dad I'll get to see some of my friends again." The song ," Lairs! Lairs! Pants on fire!" crept into my head; the thing was I had no friends. I never talked to anyone, much less became friends with them.

If I became friends with anyone I might just let the biggest secret ever slip out. I could never let that happen it could hurt my family. The secret was that I was a mutant (my power's that I can control the elements; earth, water, air, and fire.) I've never told anyone that… not even Peter.

Dad had just turned on the news, the reporter; Lisa Herling announced," Scientists have just made the cure a law to take and if you don't you'll be arrested." See this is exactly the reason I don't tell anyone, it doesn't help that my dad supports it. If I told mom and dad I'm not sure if they wouldn't turn me in.

I'd finished my breakfast when Peter came down the stairs, "Am I late?!" He asked as he took to the stairs three at a time. I laughed, "No Peter you aren't late. Now come over here and eat your breakfast." Honk! The bus came around the corner, I grabbed my bag and ran out the door, "Bye dad! I love you, tell mom I said good luck with her big presentation!"

Out at the bus stop stood Tyler, he was my neighbor. He rarely ever notices me, but I've had a crush on him ever since he moved in. He had brown hair, green eyes, dresses casually and seems to make it look glamorous. Peter plays with him all the time but I never have the guts to talk to him. He turned around as Peter and I came out the door and our eyes locked for a second, but then I turned away blushing.

The bus pulled right in front of me. Yeah. I thought. Time for a whole year of getting picked on and made fun of. On the bus Tiffiny sat gossiping with her friends. She was the most popular girl in school, and a complete snob! I was just about to get past her without her making fun of me when I realized that her foot was sticking out.

I fell flat on my face and she laughed, "Oh sorry hon, I didn't see you there." I thought every vile thought about her as I heard somebody say mimicking her voice, "Oh stick a sock in it hon." I turned my head around and saw Tyler holding out a hand, he said nicely," Need a hand?" I let him help me up," Thanks." I said quietly. Before his friends call him over he said with a smile," I hope you didn't get hurt."

I stared out the window and sighed happily, maybe this year wasn't going to be so bad after all…I got to school and saw who was in my class. Oh great. Tiffiny. Then I saw Tyler coming in.

When the teacher had sat us in our permanent seats I was sitting right behind Tiffiny and her friends. All she ever did was talk, talk, and talk some more. I groaned, I won't be able to get any work done with them around. Tyler was the last one to be sat, and he was sitting right behind me. I walked up to the teacher and asked," Is there any way you can change the seats?" the teacher Ms. Pine said shaking her head, "Unless you want to change classes, no."

After that all we did was go over the rules, then the rest of the day us, if we were quiet, we'd have free time. I started to draw a wolf in my notebook. My favorite way to draw was with pencil you could draw different shades and it was easy to cover your mistakes. I was so caught up in drawing the wolf I didn't realize the person standing over my shoulder. I thought it was Tiffiny," What do you want? Are you going to make fun of me?"

I turned around and mentally face palmed myself, it was Tyler. He didn't seem offended he just laughed, "No why would I do that I was just coming over here to ask for a folder when I saw your drawing…" I looked around to make sure he was talking to me," But there are plenty of other people you could've asked." He leaned casually against a desk and it made him look way older than a sixth grader, "So do you want me to go?" I sat awkwardly in my seat, "No!... Well I'm just not used to somebody talking to me."

He ran his hand through his messy hair and he stared at me," Well you're doing okay so far." Tiffiny turned around, "Tyler! Why are you talking to it" I figured out that by it, she meant me. Tyler frowned," Three things Tiff." She hated being called Tiff. Tyler continued," 1) we broke up a long time ago so shut up. 2) I can talk to who I want you 3) her name's Katy not it." 'Tiff' looked outraged but Tyler looked calm.

I noticed that the whole class was watching. (Except the teacher who was in the lounge) Tiffiny's face had turned bright red when the whole class busted out laughing, and she ran out of the class. The seat beside me was empty so Tyler sat down. I said avoiding his gaze, "Thanks Tyler…" He shrugged, "What are friends for?" "You, the super cool and popular Tyler, would want to be friends with me?" I asked in confusion. "Awww. You really think I'm super cool?" he pretended to blush. "Well, yeah!" I said as I started to work on the wolf again. Then the teacher walked back in," Okay class! The other teachers were complaining that they heard you all the way down in the fourth grade wing! So you can sit in the seat that you chose but if I hear your conversation, no one will be able to talk."

Instead of moving back to his seat where all of his friends were he stayed right beside me, watching me work on the wolf. Then all the sudden he whispered," Peter talks about you all the time." I kept on working on my wolf," What did he say?" Tyler had looked at me as if trying to figure out what I was thinking. "Well I'd never think that his sister would be you. To him, you are practically his mom and dad. He said that he wished that they were around more often but that if you were there he was always happy." I smiled," That's basically what I think about him."

The final bell sounded the end of the first day, Tyler headed to the bus with his friends, and me by myself. It was weird I was happy and Peter had practically nothing to do with it. I sighed; I was really going to enjoy this year.


Chapter 2, Fun Birthday

Three weeks into school, I woke up feeling better than usual and when I got down the stairs I saw Peter holding up cupcake," Happy Birthday!" I'd even forgotten today was my birthday nothing ever happened on it so it just felt like a regular day. "Thanks Peter." He pulled out a book," I got you a book." He got me the Hunger Games book! I had been dying to get the book and mom and dad never took me to the book stores.

I took the book in my hands, "Oh Peter. Thank you." I gave him a huge bear hug," Who's the best little brother in the whole world?" He gave me that super cute happy smile, "I am!" We walked over to the bus stop and Tyler was standing there as usual. Over the last couple of weeks we've became best friends (I still liked him) he walked over to me, "Happy birthday, Katy." He gave me a hug. "Thanks Tyler."

At school Tyler had managed to get our seats changed a little, so now I was sitting next to him. When we were working on a project and Tyler sent me a note,

Can you keep a secret?

I sent him back the note

Well it's not like I have anyone to tell a secret to except you and Peter.

His expression was hard as rock as he sent me the note

Please understand that this is serious, promise that you won't tell anyone!

Then I read the note and wondered what on earth could be the secret

Okay Tyler I won't tell anyone I promise, so what's the big secret?

He sighed as he gave me the note.

Don't freak out…I'm a mutant.

I avoided those piercing green eyes as I sent the note back

Same with me.

I found it hard to write these words but, I knew that Tyler wasn't lying. Tyler raised his eyebrows like to say," Really? I'd never have guess." I tried to keep my emotions under control; I was freaking out thinking that if somebody found out not only would I go under so would Tyler. He reached over and held my hand," I can tell you're scared but it's going to be fine." I didn't pull my hand away," Are you a telepath?" I whispered. He shook his head," Nope I can understand and change people's feelings… what's yours?" I took a deep breath," I'm an elemental mutant. I can control earth, water, air, and fire." Tyler smiled," Your powers is way cooler than mine." I cracked a smile.

I got home and waved to Tyler," Bye, I'll see you tomorrow!" When I got inside I was expecting my parents to throw me a lame party. Instead I found men in black army suits that paid no attention to me. "Mom?! ...Dad?!" One of the men directed me back onto the patio. I opened up the glass door," Uh… dad why are all these people in house?" what I found outside was mom crying with dad's hand on her shoulder. Peter was sitting on the far end of the patio with his hands cuffed and his eyes were red from crying.

"What is going on?!" I yelled. Dad noticed me and said through his gritted teeth," Peter is a mutant." No! That was my first thought. Dad said that sentence like somebody who was talking to a murderer. Peter had said through his tears," I told you the kids were throwing rocks at me! I didn't want to get hit." He had started crying again I walked over to Peter and sat down the men were paying attention to Peter like he'd somehow break out of the handcuffs and take me hostage. I wiped a tear from Peter's cheek. "Can you tell me what happened?" he nodded, "Okay Katy… It was at school during recess; some kids started making fun of me and threw rocks at me… I pulled up a rock wall out of the ground. I don't know how it happened-"

"We found him in the neighboring house. An anonymous person gave it to us." The first person that popped into my head was Tiffiny. The man threw Tyler on the ground," Who's the other mutant?!" Tyler spat on the ground and laughed," What make you think I'll tell you?!" I noticed that he had a fresh bruise on his head. The man looked outraged and punched Tyler," WHY I OUTTA-"" NO! Stop!" I screamed. I stepped forwards," I'm the mutant." Tyler was crumpled on the ground," Katy…don't." and pulled himself up. The man had seemed dumbfound that I was the mutant. The men in army suits had taken mom and dad inside. Which I was glad for because it would only make this harder

The man, whose name was Butch, called in some more men with guns locked and loaded. The whole world seemed to move in slow motion as they pulled the trigger, but I had fast reflexes. I made a wall of brick and made sure there was a little light I found Tyler was sitting up," Yup your powers are way cooler than mine." I might have blushed but I knew how this day was going to end," Tyler when I take down this wall you are going to have to be elsewhere-"" But Katy you're coming with us right?" said a pleading Peter. I shook my head," You guys are going, not me, I'll create a distraction." Tyler must have realized that this was our only option too," Peter I'll take care of you for now. Katy will catch up to us later."

I made a tunnel for them and said," It'll get dark but just follow it out." Peter was crying," No! You can't leave us!" I gave him a hug and then turned to Tyler," Keep him safe." He nodded and gave me a hug we stared into each other's eyes, just inches apart, and wished I hold onto this moment as long as could. The cave shuddered pulling us back into reality. "I love you guys." I said as Tyler pulled a screaming Peter deeper into the tunnel.

As soon as they were out of sight I pulled down the cave, and I put my hands up. Butch walked up to me and I don't why I did it but I punched him hard in the jaw. It surprised him and I said," That was for Tyler and Peter." Then I was put in handcuffs, and dragged into a vehicle. They didn't want me to figure out where their base was located because they shot me with a tranquilizer dart.


Chapter 3, the Base

When I woke up I was surrounded by children all a lot younger than me and I heard a lot of yelling and an invisible door opened and a guard shoved a boy in," Let me out of here! We're humans too!" He kept on banging on the door and then finally realizing it was useless he stormed off to an empty bed. All of the kids backed up and a little girl whispered to me," Can you calm him down?" I whispered back," I'll try."

The boy had black hair and purple eyes, so dark they looked black. I walked over awkwardly even in a prison I was still too scared to talk to guys." Uh… Hi how are you?" His eyes bore into mine," Please go away." I said defensively," There's no reason to be rude about it!" He rolled his eyes," I said please." "Fine, sit in the corner by yourself and rot for all I care!" I was just about to storm away when he muttered, "Sorry." I turned and knew I'd won the argument," What was that?" I smiled and he said sighing," Okay, I said I'm sorry."

The kids had started to go back to their beds and quietly chatted. I sat down next to him and asked," So what's your name?" He said with his mind clearly on other things," I'm Garret, what's yours? "Katy." He asked and seemed to try to make small talk," So what's your power?" I said rubbing my arm," I can control all four elements… What's yours?" He said calmly like he'd said it a million times," I can talk and sometimes control the dead."

"So how'd you wind up here?" I asked him. Garret who was previously sitting on his bed had sat up," Well I used to live in Michigan, I was always an outcast. One day one of the kids at school saw me talking to a dead person. These army dudes came the next day I put up fight and almost had them beat when my father had knocked me out…"

I didn't know what else to say except," That's rough." Then I found myself blubbering on about how I got here. Not mentioning that I liked Tyler… Garret hadn't said anything when I was talking he just nodded and listened-Bang!

I'd heard a gunshot and before any of the children could see through the little window (that you could see out into the hallway) I'd pushed them away from there. A guard said that it was lights out and that there was to be no talking. He had closed the window and turned off all of the lights. Garret who was now in the bunk below me whispered so that only I could hear," There aren't any camera's in here." I nodded.

The kids were probably scared out of their minds, what with the gunshot and all and some of them were defiantly scared of the dark. I decided just this one time I'd try this. I made a bird made purely out of flame and guided it across the bunker so that the kids could see some light in this darkness we knew as life.

After they went to sleep I extinguished the flaming bird and tried to find sleep. Finally after tossing and turning for lord now how long I found sleep of course the sleep were nightmares. I dreamt of Peter and Tyler Being picked up by the army men and being dragged into this place.

When I woke up, I luckily wasn't screaming my head off. I looked down and saw that Garret wasn't sleeping either." Couldn't sleep?" He asked in a hushed voice. I silently lowered myself down," how could you tell?" He chuckled quietly," Because you're awake."

I plopped down beside him on the bunk," hey Garret when you said you talked to the dead did you mean-"" They look like ghosts except they are wispy and bend with the wind. The have sort of a faraway voice when they talk." Before recently I didn't use my powers much, he sounded like he used them all the time. Garret had sounded sad when he talked as if he were trying to mimic the way the ghosts had sounded.

I said sadly," All of the people I love might as well be ghosts…I'll probably never see them again." Garret said giving me a light pat on the back," Aw come on that's no way to be thinking, I bet somebody like the X-men or something are planning on rescuing us right now." The X-Men are a team of mutants who banded together for the good of all humanity. "I'm sorry but the odds of getting out of here are a zillion to one." Garret smiled," There's still that one little chance." I rolled my eyes and crawled into by bed. For the rest of the night I actually had a good night's rest.


Chapter 4, the Experiment

A guard banging on the door woke us up," Breakfast is in one minute make a lie to go there. When you get there you will eat in silence." I jumped down just as the guard opened the window. Everyone had gotten in a line with Garret in the front, me behind him and all of the kids behind us.

The guard led us through a maze of hallways and I whispered to Garret," Hey we're the only mutants here." He whispered without looking back," When I first got here I overheard that they had tons of facilities." We walked the rest of the way there in silence.

The cafeteria looked like a regular cafeteria. I got my lunch and it looked like watery oatmeal. Gruel. I thought, that was from Oliver the musical. He got gruel in the beginning and when he asked for more he got on the way for an adventure. I smiled at the thought of it. Another guard came in and led us back.

Halfway back to the bunker he turned and saw one of the little girls with bread." You were given food, so why do you have more!" He zoned in on a little boy who was in the back. He was shaking the guard was raising his fist. I ran and grabbed his arm," Back off can't you see he's scared?!" the guard turned around and smacked me so hard it knocked me over. The guard growled," That was a warning." His slap gave me a bloody nose. Garret helped me up and when we got to the bunker he helped dry up my nose." Thanks." I managed after he cleared up most of the blood.

A little boy, probably the oldest of the little kids, came over to me and said nicely," Thank you for helping my little brother." I said shacking my head," I couldn't just stand around while he got hurt." The little boy with the bread came over and gave me a hug. I just sat there hugging the little boy for I don't know how long.

When he let go he said," I won't do it again." After he left Garret looked at me with what was it, admiration? "Katy you're the best of us, if the X-Men came they'd come for you." I laughed," I highly doubt that." I heard a voice in the hallway," Did you hear about those two boys that got cornered by tat brotherhood?" Another man's voice, "Yeah wasn't it those kids that Butch didn't catch?" The first guard said, "I think so." The second guard said," I heard that a little boy died…" I didn't hear any more than that.

I had to let the information sink in before I knew what it meant. "What's wrong?" It would be no use to lie Garret, even though we just met, could read me like a book. "Peter's dead." I was still too shocked to cry. "Who did it?" He wasn't going to say something like," It's going to be okay." Or," Are you sure?" I replied," The brother hood."

Knock!-Knock!-Knock! Somebody banged on the door. It opened and what looked like an old general walked in," I'd like Katy Evans to come here." Garret patted my back and I walked over to him. He smiled coldly at me," Hello." I said simply, he said guiding me to the exit," Hello Katy, my name is William Stryker. You need to come with me." I caught one last glimpse of the bunker before he shut the door behind me.

There was a long silence and I worked up the courage to ask him, "Am I in trouble?" He chuckled darkly," Oh, you aren't I trouble. The real reason we have you here is not so we can keep humanity safe…No I it were up to me I would kill you all on sight, but we need you for an experiment."

I felt the life drain out of me, and an incredible to want to escape. I knew better though, there were probably guards just waiting around the corner. I kept my face clear of emotion as we stepped into a lab, not one you used in school, one people used in horror films. I caught a sight of what looked like three claw scratches on the wall…I stammered," What's the experiment?" Suddenly guards came in and strapped me to a chair. I struggled against them but they forced me down. I screamed out for help, but nobody would come.

Stryker held up a needle and said," You see the cure isn't doing what we need it to do. The first cure only cured them… We want it to exterminate them." It made sense now, my eyes widened," You want the cure to kill us…" He smiled and whispered," This will hurt you a lot more than it will hurt me." Then he stabbed the needle into my arm.


Chapter 5, Escape

The first thing I felt was a tingling sensation. Then a raging fire burst on my on my arm. I looked down to see my arm which looked fine but the pain was getting too much to bear. White spots danced before my eyes as I clung to my restraints.

I heard the door bust down but it seemed far away. I looked up but even this small movement seemed to make the world move in waves around me. Wolverine was standing there and he was stabbing people left and right but I knew that he wasn't going to hurt me. What do you know Garret was right, he earned the right to say, I told you so?

Stryker had gotten away and Wolverine came over to me. "What happened?" I gasped and said while trying not to scream," Cure, He put something in it." He picked me up and ran through the hallways and outside the base the sun was shining bright on the fight between the X-Men and base people. I didn't see the kids…Garret. "What about the other kids?" I reached as if trying to grab my friend's hand. A jet was on the side of the battle and we got there with no problem.

He set me down in the back and said gently," They're here in the jet. None of them are hurt." He went back out into the battle and the kids came over. Garret shoved through them," Katy!? What happened to you? You're hurt…" The other kids were crowding me and Garret made them go away," She needs space." He told them.

He sat down next to me and leaned my head on his shoulder and murmured," Oh Katy I'm so sorry." I held onto his hand and said," It's okay. I'm glad it was me and not you." The X-Men walked in and told Garret to go away. There weren't any more seats on the jet so Wolverine sat next to me.

My breathing was becoming ragged and I was struggling to stay awake. Wolverine noticed," Storm hurry it up! She's fading!" He said urgently," Stay with me, uhh… tell me your name." I said trying to focus on the question and not the fact that I could barely see anymore," My name's Katy…Katy Evans."" Logan." I heard a woman yell," We're almost there."

My arm felt like it would explode. I can't hold on anymore, and what's the point everyone I love is either dead or doesn't care about me. I thought miserably.

I felt the jet shutter, apparently we were there. Logan picked me up, and I let go. The last thing I remembered is seeing the sun.


Chapter 6, the School

I groaned, I sat up and saw a bald guy in a wheel chair," Uh…Hi." I said trying to stand up, but my legs didn't like that. There bald dude wheeled up to me," Don't stand up, you're still weak." I stammered," How am I still alive?..."" That needle that he injected into you was a brain virus; I'm a telepath so I was able to get it out of your system."

I said scooting over to the end of the bed which I was on," So you looked in my mind?" The guy said chuckling," You're taking this unusually calmly."" I guess with all that's happened it's a little easier."

I looked out of the window and then I remembered," Peter…" I whispered. Then I thought of Tyler, maybe he was still alive somewhere. I wouldn't count on it. I ran out of the room and got outside I saw Garret sitting on a bench, alone, in the garden. As soon as he saw me he ran up to be," Thank god you're alright!" he said as he gave me a hug.

I burst into tears," Peter- he's…" He just kept me in his hug. After I was done crying he said nicely," Do you want me to show you around the gardens?" I nodded wiping away the last of the tears and said managing a small smile," I feel like a baby, crying like this." He said with some light in his eyes," Don't worry if I lost somebody I loved it would be a lot worse."

Garret showed me around the most beautiful garden, and I noticed something," Garret you look happier." He shrugged," Well we got out that death trap, and now we have three meals a day actual beds…Shall I go on?"" Peter would have loved this."

After the amazing gardens we walked around the school. It had a tennis court, pool, a river that ran right next to it, a gym, a full size cafeteria, many classrooms, dorms, and then some training rooms. We turned around the corner and a familiar crowd was there. I could tell just by the way they acted that they were going to be a pain in the butt.

There was one difference between now and then, I wasn't afraid of them. One of the girls, that was obviously the leader of them snorted," Oh it's them." She snickered to her friends," The Professor thinks they are so special." I felt Garret's arm on my shoulder," They aren't worth it."

I shrugged of his arm and walked up to them, electricity crackled around me, and she walked up to me and frowned," What do you want?" I felt my hands on fire," You better shut up about my friend and me." She backed up and snarled," Come on girls let's go!" Garret walked up to me and said grinning," Katy that was freaking awesome!"

Over the next couple of months I started talking to people less and less; Garret was the only person who talked to me. I normally sat in my room thinking about Peter and Tyler. The river was one of my favorite places to go; it was always peaceful and quiet.

One day on the way back I heard Professor Xavier, the bald guy, Storm, and Logan talking. Professor X said," I'm getting worried about to her the only person she ever talks to is Garret." Storm sat down and flung her hands up," Well I'm all out of ideas I've tried talking to her." More like a therapy session. I thought. Logan shrugged," Maybe I can try talking to her. I'm just throwing out ideas-"" No that's perfect." muttered Professor X.

I headed back to the room and dried off. I sat on my bed and listened to some radio waiting for Logan. This is going to be fun. I thought sarcastically to myself. I didn't even notice but he was standing in my doorway, geez that guy can sneak up on you! I almost said that but I managed to keep a straight face," What do you want let's just get this over with." He walked in;" Believe me I don't want to do this anymore than you do." I rolled my eyes and walked over to the window," Gee thanks."

I got over there and said clutching the window still," Logan I get that you don't want to talk to me, nobody does-""Except for that kid." He stated. I turned around and replied," That kid's name is Garret, and yes he does talk to me but he understands that I want to be alone." Logan stood up and said," Now why would want to do that we got you guys out of there so you could live a life with friends…Something happened in there, didn't it?"

He's smarter than people give him credit for," Yeah…Well I got in that death trap because of Peter and one of my friends." He arched an eyebrow," Did they rat you out?" I sighed," I gave myself up so they could escape…Then in the organization I overheard some guards talking about a little boy that got killed… That little boy was one of the only people in this world that I loved."

I sat down and felt the tears in my eyes, no! I am not going to cry. I commanded to myself. Logan sat down and looked at me with what was that? Worry, or pity I couldn't tell which," Well that explains a lot." I managed a weak laugh," Yeah." I looked up at him and noticed he also had a pained look in his eyes," What happened to you?" I asked, he looked at the floor and clamped his eyes shut," A living nightmare…Better not talk about it I might flip out cut your bed." Oh yeah. I am talking with one of the most dangerous mutants in the world. I patted his shoulder," Join the club. As you can see I've done that a couple times too." I accidentally scorched my night stand and broke one of the vases. Opps.

He stood up and said obviously wanting to change subject," Well I think we've made a major breakthrough." I laughed the first natural and genuinely true laugh since I left the organization. He left and I went to go find Garret, which surprised even me considering for the last months he's been coming to see me. I found his room and saw him sitting on the bed reading a comic. He looked up and almost fell out of the bed," Katy?!" I smiled and walked in and mimicked his hilarious expression," Garret?!"

He put down the comic," Oh my god-how-but-"" Let's just say that I got a visit from somebody." He gave me a huge hug," So, are you done being a loner?" he whispered, and gave me a small smile," Because being stuck in my room all by myself, reading comics gets boring after a while."

Somebody walked past the room," Oh, Garret I didn't-"I held up a finger," It's not what you think." He gave me a mischievous smirk," Just because you said it's not what you think, I know it's exactly what I think it is." I gave Garret a blank look," Brain fart." We both burst out laughing.

Garret's eyes had a playful glint in them, despite being almost a dark black they started to look more like a deep brown. He smiled and said," Do you want to watch a movie with a couple of my friends and me?" I nodded eagerly.

We walked back to my room and Garret said with a smile," They've actually wanted to meet you for a while." He gave me a playful punch," But you wouldn't come out of your shell." I smiled with an arched eyebrow," You're comparing me to a turtle?"" Would you rather be a snail?" I saw my room," Well here's my stop." He said pretending to tap a watch," 7:00."" Got it."

I noticed that my door was opened," Weird I thought I closed that…" I murmured. I walked in and saw a suitcase on the extra bed, "Hello?" I said. A girl's head popped out of the closet," Oh hi, Storm said you might not be back for a while."" Did she now?"

She walked out," Hi I'm Lila Cassidy." Lila had raven hair with a fuchsia pink strip in the front of her hair on the right side. Her eyes seemed to be such a bright brown they were golden. She held out her hand, and I shook it," I'm Katy, Katy Evans."

She jumped on the bed," Oh I know, well frankly everyone here does." I sat down next to her," What?" She started to unpack her pillows and a stuffed animal," Yeah Garret was telling everyone how brave you are…" I laughed," I'm not brave I just don't like to see people get hurt." She set her pillows on the bed," That's not the way I heard it."

Maybe having a roommate won't be so bad." Hey Lila I'm going to watch a movie with Garret and a couple of his friends, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you came." Lila's head shot up," Really?! It's only my first day here and I'm already invited to a movie!"

The movie was a horror movie, Chucky; it was about an insane doll that tried to kill this family, but honestly I wasn't paying attention. I realized that this is something a normal girl would do, with normal friends. I was glad that Garret was with me and didn't desert me.

Lila was sitting next to the guy who thought I liked Garret. Whenever something scary would happen in the movie she would yelp and scoot over a little closer to him. I wondered if I'd ever find a boyfriend, Lila would defiantly. She was so easy at navigating these waters I could tell.

After the movie we headed back to the room and Lila said happily," This the one time I've actually liked scary movie, and guess what?! He asked me out!" She squealed with delight and leapt onto the bed. I said sighing," I'm going for a walk, okay?"" Fine with me… I can't believe you're friends with Garret he's creepy." Before I walked out I replied," Try looking past the first layer…" I left Lila staring at me in confusion

I didn't know where I wanted to go, so I just wandered the halls until I was too exhausted to walk anymore. When I got back into my room I saw Lila was asleep. I decided that was a good idea. I crawled into bed and fell asleep in seconds.

Of course nightmares are what I had. I dreamt that how Peter died, and Garret dying of the cure. Then me having to go through that again-"Katy! Katy, wake up!" called a familiar voice, I woke up and I saw Logan.

"What happened?" I asked feeling the sweat on me. He sat down on the bed," You nearly woke the whole school up and, Lila said you looked like you were about to burst into flames." I put my face into my hands," It's the nightmares they've been getting worse… Hey where is Lila?" He said absently," She's staying with Rouge tonight, now you said something about nightmares?"" I keep seeing everyone I love die and I keep going back to the organization…"

" Yeah, if it helps I get nightmares too." "How do you get rid of them?" He got a distant look in his eyes," I don't." He got up and was about to the door and he said," Somebody would like to see you." He walked out of the room and Garret stepped in," You okay?" I was so happy that my nightmare wouldn't come true" I'm better now."

I heard what sounded like a helicopter in the distance and, I ran over to the window," Garret…" the helicopter was a lot closer than it sounded." Garret!" he ran over to me I opened up the window," Uh-oh." Was all he got to say before pandemonium broke out.


Chapter 7, the Fight

People burst down the door" Put your hands behind your head!" one of them yelled. These guys are the people that manned the organization! First they take away my little brother now they take way my home?! I felt adrenalin pump through me and shot a column of white hot fire." Garret, do you trust me?" He smiled mischievously," With my life."

I love how Garret was like," Okay let's do it if you said to jump of a building I'd do it." Jump off a building…staying here we're sitting ducks…," We're going to jump off the window still!"" Let's do it!" I grabbed his hand and ran for the opened window still. I saw some more guards but they weren't afraid to shoot," JUMP!"

Time seemed to go in slow motion as we jumped, the morning rays of sunlight burst through the clouds and lit up Garret's face. Then I remembered the ground," Hold on Garret!" I yelled over the wind in my ears. I held on to Garret and we gently landed on the ground.

"We have two choices." He said urgently," 1) we can go back in there, or 2) we can go." I heard screams and I nodded. He said with a smirk," You might want to step back." I did.

The ground started to shutter and break, waves of darkness rolled of him, but he also seemed to have an excited energy around him. Skeletons burst through the ground that got the attention of oncoming guards. They rushed over to Garret and He said smiling to me," Go!"

I knew I was so lucky to have him as a friend. I ran into the school and risked a glance back; Garret was fighting off people left and right.

I got into the lobby where surprisingly nobody was. Even though I didn't see anybody the screams of children escaped into this room where they crashed and collided. When I saw one person on the upper level," Lila!" I yelled. She looked down and asked," Katy!? I don't know what to do." She saw a guard, changed into a lion, and slashed at me. When she changed back she looked at the railing at me.

She expects me to know what to, can she be serious? I can't just let her wander around in this chaos," Find Kitty and storm!" she nodded and ran down the corridor. Then people, guards, flooded all around me. From there I just let my instincts take over, shooting people with water from the fountain, lighting up the room with fire, and shooting them back down the hallway.

The guards just kept on coming and coming, like a hydra, you cut off one head and two more pop in its place. When I saw Logan, but right now I think he was more in a Wolverine mood, he jumped down from the second floor and killed three people! He walked over to me and a bullet came out of his left shoulder. I said lightly," Remind me never to get on your bad side." He laughed," That's a good rule."

When there weren't any more guards, we headed to the garage and I turned around, Stryker was standing there. He shot me in my leg and when I was on the ground he said," Logan, Katy I can't believe of all places you'd come here." Logan stepped back," How do you know my name?"" Don't you remember?" he shrugged," I guess not."

My leg was seriously bleeding now and all Logan was doing was standing there like an idiot," Logan! I'm bleeding to death over here!" that snapped him back into the reality like. Oh yeah there's a bleeding girl over there that I'm supposed to save. Opps I phased out there for a little.

I pulled used what little strength I had left to make a wall of rock to separate us from him" Come on." He picked me up and we headed to the garage," Do you think everyone escaped?" Logan had that faraway look in his eyes again,"I don't know."


Chapter 8, what's the Destination

Geez, how many cars do these people need? I looked around and saw every different expensive car you could think of. Logan sat me down next to a Porsche," Ok think we have a little bit of time to look at your leg." He rolled up my jeans (the bullet was hit just below my knee.) "You're going to need a doctor, it's lodged pretty deep."

Suddenly a memory hit me, long ago when I was like five; I fell and got gravel stuck in my knee. I didn't want my mom to worry, so I got some water. My hand started to glow and when I pressed it against by skin the gravel had fallen out.

I spotted a fountain," Maybe I don't." I murmured. I pulled some water from it and Logan looked down at me," What do you need that for?" I smiled," You'll see." I pressed it to the wound and the pain melted away, leaving only a faint tingling sensation.

"You never told me you could do that." Said Logan, I pulled myself up," I forgot I could do that." Logan opened up a red mustang," Whose is that?" I asked, he replied," I think its Cyclopes." The way he said Cyclopes, I knew these guys were like Harry Potter and Voldemort. Not sure who was which I never really met Cyclopes.

I hopped in and buckled up, what safety first. Logan had already gotten in and started driving when I realized something," Garret..." Loganlooked over at me, "Who?" I stared out the window and looked at the school fading in the distance," My friend." Logan kept looking at the road and then a thin smile formed," That kid who you talked to last night, wasn't that him?" I nodded and felt tears in my eyes, all that work to keep us alive and now he has to go back to that organization. Lila also popped into my head, she just got there and now she might not even see tomorrow.

Logan gave me a light punch on the shoulder," He's a tough kid, if anyone could make it out he could." I felt a tear run down my cheek," I hope you're right."

I wish I knew what was happening; back there I wish we could go back there. Because if we did, I would give Stryker a serious slap in the face. Out of the window the woods became more dense, when Logan said," So where do we go from here?"

Then it hit me, if the brotherhood hadn't had become so dangerous, then people wouldn't have been afraid of mutants. If that hadn't had happened then Stryker wouldn't have made that organization," We go after Magneto." Logan looked like he wanted to say something but he held himself back.

But there was a weird feeling that this feud went back to before my time. I looked over at Logan," Hey how old are you." He raised an eyebrow," Do you mean how old do I look, or how I am?" I scratched my forehead," Uh…what?" He sighed like I was the dumbest person alive," Well, my healing powers come with a catch. I can't age."

I was confused," So how is that a bad thing?" He pulled over the car, and looked at me," Can you imagine watching everyone die, while you live on and you can't do anything. I probably won't ever be able to live a normal life." I understood where all of the sadness, anger, and hurt in his eyes came from now.

"Oh." He opened his car door," We'll top here for a while." With that he climbed out of the car and slammed it shut. It made sense though, something happened to him, something to do with his claws. I mean it would be cool to have claws, but not if it came with the drawback of losing your memory and going through the torture of having to get adimatium injected into you bones.

When I got out of the car I saw Logan had already put up two tents. I went out to look for Logan; I found him standing by a river. The sun was setting and it glittered off the river," Are you okay." He didn't look at me," Yeah just thinking." I pulled some water from the lake and started playing with it," About what?" He clenched his knuckles," My memory, wondering if I do want it. I know it has something to do with Stryker."

I patted him," I wouldn't ever trust Stryker. Especially with telling me my memory." Logan looked down at me," Now I've told you some things about my memory, you have to tell me about this other kid that ran off with Peter." I sighed, it's no use not telling him," Well he was my first friend. It was nice how he first talked to me. There was this girl Tiffiny she used to make fun of me, Tyler was the first person to stick up for me.

He was really cool and had a lot of friends, so I was a little shocked when he wanted to be friends with me. Don't laugh at me but I had a slight crush on him. Well then came my birthday… those people came into our house because Peter was a mutant… They came to take him away, and then one of them dragged Tyler into the yard." He nodded," You don't have to go on."

I stared out across the lake," I know Peter's dead, but Tyler… I don't know. He could be alive but I wouldn't bet on it." Logan sighed, "That's rough." I managed a weak laugh," Tell me about it…At the organization, what was your mission?" Logan scratched him head," We were sent on a retrieval mission, for a powerful mutant."

"Garret said when we were there, that if you guys came you would come for me." When I said Garret, my stomach flipped. Logan gave me a brotherly hug," I bat that when all of this is over you'll be a living legend."

That night I made a fire and sat there in silence. Logan eventually fell asleep. I didn't want to go to sleep; if I did I knew what would await me. For the night I just sat there and thought about Garret and Tyler for some reason. I thought about whether they were alive or not, and if I would ever see them again. Then I remembered Peter, I never actually said good bye to him.

He was so young and innocent. I hated Magneto and the brotherhood for taking him away from me. I would go through that cure a thousand more times to keep him alive. I mean I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true.

Around 4 o'clock the next morning I heard a call on my cell phone. I picked it up and was so tired I automatically said," Hello you have reached Katy Evans voice mail please leave-"" Okay I may not be a genius but I know that's not a voice mail." Dang it," Who is this it's four in the morning?"

"Who I am isn't important." Then I recognized the voice, "Stryker."" I made a trade with the brotherhood; they'd give the coordinates of the school, and I'd give them a few of the mutants… But they were specific mutants." I replied carefully," So what are you getting at?" Stryker, I could almost imagine was smiling," If you want to see your friends again then go back home by the end of tonight you aren't far from it. Oh and Magneto wanted me to tell you that Tyler's there too."

The line hung up, home… He didn't mean the school. He meant my old house! They were holding my friends hostage. I dropped the phone. There was such an eerie silence I could hear every drop. I felt anger bubble up inside of me. I am so sick and tired of people pushing me down. They don't play fair, and it's time they play by my rules. I will never let them win. I made a silent vow.

I shot a column of fire at the diming fire. It shot into the sky and lit up the woods. I hoped I didn't wake up Logan because a tired and angry wolverine was the last thing I needed.

I should be happy they are alive, especially Tyler, but instead I think wouldn't it be easier if they were dead? I know it sounds dark but it would be, because if they were I wouldn't have to worry about them getting hurt…


Chapter 9, the Final Stand

I fell asleep on my rock and got startled when Logan woke me up," Sleeping Beauty, wake up." When I was finally awake I glared at him. He started to pack up the tent and half mindedly asked," So did anything interesting happen when I was asleep?"

"Uh… well I heard on the radio that they've spotted Magneto near where I used to live." Logan shrugged and had already packed up one tent," Okay. You tell me where to go then." I sighed with relief, he didn't suspect a thing.

The time pasted considerably fast when we were in the car, and before I knew it we were coming up the drive way," Logan I need to check on something." Before I opened the car door Logan grabbed my wrist," There's something you aren't telling me, isn't there?" He stared at me with those piercing brown eyes that were almost as scary as the wolverine.

"Please just stay in here and if I'm not back in eight minutes then you can come in." I climbed out of the car and took what I hoped not to be my last look at him.

I looked up in my old room's window and saw Lila. I urged myself up and flew up to the window, and tapped on it," Lila, open up." I whispered. She opened it hastily and as soon as a got in she gave me a huge hug. I looked around and saw Garret sitting on the couch casually, "I knew you'd make it."

That sarcastic comment made my day," Good to see you to." I turned around, and saw," Tyler." I ran and gave him a hug," You're crushing me." He choked out. I let go," Sorry." He said," Garret told me all about the adventures of that organization. I still stick to thinking that your powers are way cooler than mine." He gave me that smile that I fell in love with," Okay let's go, we don't have much time." The door opened. Tyler was holding a picture," I thought you might want this."

He handed me a picture of me, Tyler, and Peter. That was one of the last times I remember actually being happy. I just told a really corny joke to Peter to make him laugh and the picture caught him in mid-laugh. Tyler was shaking his head, smiling, and I was the only one looking at the camera. I handed it back to Tyler. He took out the photo, folded it up and put it into his sweatshirt pocket.

I smiled and then I heard shouting downstairs," Logan…uh-oh." I grabbed Garret's hand and pulled him down stairs. We got down there and I saw Logan he was fighting off tons of mutants. When he'd stabbed the last guy, for a while, I said shacking my head," I thought I asked you to stay in the car." He healed a nasty cut above his right eye," How many times do I listen to orders?"

I frowned," Come on-"" Leaving so soon?" asked Magneto. Tyler laughed," You know that is like the cheesiest line villains have ever used." I gave Tyler a look like, seriously? Magneto flicked his wrist and Logan, Tyler, Garret, and Lila were flung against the wall! Lila said quietly," Yeah we might have forgot to mention that he put these metal bracelets on us."

I face palmed myself," You know, that would have been helpful information before now!" Magneto laughed," I knew you'd come every hero has a weakness. Yours is that you can't watch any innocent person get hurt." I stared daggers at him," Let's cut to the chase, what do you want?"" I wanted to personally ask you to join the brotherhood." Ha said smiling.

I shook my head," What makes me so special? I mean why not Garret, Lila, Tyler, or Logan." Magneto arched an eyebrow," Because I know you are the strongest, Logan would never join me. Now you stand at a decision, die with your friends, or live with the brotherhood." A man stepped into the living room," This is Avalanche, he can make earth quakes."

I looked at Tyler and he had his eyes clamped shut," I can't change his emotions." He said. Guess who stepped out then? Tiffiny. "Because of me." Then she whispered over to Magneto," To tell the truth I think we should take Tyler, and even though that kid over there isn't smart and stuff he pretty strong."

I crossed my arms," And why are you so important?" my hands exploded into my fire, and the ground began to shake. I managed to deflate the flames and the shaking stopped. Tiffiny smiled but her eyes were colder than ice," Because hon I can erase people's memory and tell what power mutants have."

Logan was very mad now," Magneto, when I get out of here I am going to kick your-"" That's enough Logan there are kids in here." smirked Magneto. Then he looked over at me," So what's your decision? The good of all mutants or, fighting for the people who shunned you?"

I heard a chorus of Garret, Lila, Tyler, and surprisingly Logan screaming. Then I saw it their bracelets were digging into their wrists and already blood was trickling down their wrists. I didn't have a choice," Okay! Stop it! I'll join the brotherhood!" I heard the bracelets fall on the ground and I ran over to them.

Logan was still on the wall (probably because he can heal himself.) Garret mumbled when I got over to him," Why'd you do that?" I got some water and started to heal his hands," I couldn't watch you guys get hurt for me." He said sighing," I don't want this to be the last time I see you, promise you will come back and fight with us." I nodded," I promise."

After I got done healing I moved onto Lila," I have to say this is probably the coolest thing I've ever done." I heard her say, managing a small smile. I whispered," Same here. I want to say, Lila, that I'm glad that you're my friend." I gave her a hug and squeezed her hand.

Last was going to be the hardest, Tyler. I took a look at his hands, they were the worst, he looked into my eyes with those stunningly green eyes, and said gently," Katy-"" Don't make this harder on me there's only one way out of this we all know it." His voice became more serious," No Katy. I can not lose you again. I kept thinking when Peter died how much you gave up for him. I am not repeating that day but thinking it was you who I'd never see again."

Garret and Lila were being escorted out by Avalanche. Tyler's hands were almost healed," Tyler I am not going to fight for them, I don't care what they do to me." I felt a tear trickle down my cheek, "Katy whatever happens I just want you to know that I-""Okay their hands are healed they have to go." Said Magneto. Tyler gave me a hug, just like the day that I'd given myself so that they could escape. He looked at me one last time with those beautiful green eyes that I fell in love with.

I couldn't believe how fast I'd gotten and lost him again. Then it hit me, when I was talking to Garret and Lila they were saying their good byes. Tyler was the only one that actually believed I was going to come back. My situation was so hopeless that I don't think I'll make it back.

Magneto had taken Logan out, and to make sure that they wouldn't come back he'd controlled the car so that they were out of the city before he let the car out of his control.

"So what now?" I asked Tiffiny. She smiled coldly as Magneto walked back in. Magneto nodded to her and she walked towards me, "Oh I'm going to enjoy this." She cooed. I made a break for the door but Avalanche was standing there. I was cornered nowhere else to run, I am as good as dead. That was the last thought before Tiffiny touched my head.


Epilogue

My name is Katy Evans; at least that's what I've been told… Well it may sound stupid but, I don't know who I am. Magneto told me that I'm a special mutant, that's why people and other mutants, called the X-Men killed all of my family. They've been really nice to me but I feel out of place like I'm not supposed to be here.

Every time I try to remember myself I end up getting a splitting headache. All in all, my life pretty much sucks. I hope that eventually I'll remember who I am, but until then I have to fight for the brotherhood.

The End

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