I ran again, there was no escape, no matter where I went I could not be trusted, why? Because I am a mutant. I thought again about the message I had gotten in my head about that place in New York. Was I really being pulled there without knowing it. That was when I was sure I was, I barley saw it out of the corner of my eye, a man hiding in the bushes with a teenager that looked like a blue elf hanging above him, I had seen them before. The X-Men. But did they want me to join them or where they making sure I didn't hurt anyone? I wasn't about to join a group that couldn't keep up with me, I'd make them run for the prey. I stood openly in the field and listened, they knew I was here and I knew they where here but did they realize I was on to them?

Suddenly there was a gun shot, I dropped. This hunter would not escape me, unless the X-Men stopped me. It must have been his lucky day. I hit something like a wall but it wasn't there. Then the battle began. The man I had seen before rushed me and I took a moment to glance over him seeing if he was a threat and none was there until six blades shot from his hands. I wasn't sure if I could beat that without a weapon. I made a fist and punched it into the earth, when I raised it there was a green brown orb floating in my hand. The orb flew at him but he was faster than it, it only nicked him but still made contact enough to explode in a wave of soil and pebbles, earth energy.

I fled but found my route was cut off by what I examined to be long irregular bones, I had seen these before when the news was covering mutants existence, another of the X-Men. I might be able to blast them away with more earth energy, but I'd get caught in the explosion…unless it was more highly concentrated. Not enough time, a red laser came from the side and knocked me against the bones. That hurt, I stood and ran towards where the blast came. Another shot out from the forest but I was expecting it. I dropped down again. Then the elf person appeared in front of me. He brought someone with him, she was about the same age, but she had red hair with 2 white streaks, I'd seen her too. She took off her glove and touched my face. I fell, unconscious before I hit the ground.

I awoke a few hours later in a bed, this was it, I was recruited. They had won. I would not fight anymore. I got out of the bed and looked around. Something wasn't right…no one was here. They wouldn't leave me unguarded without a good reason. I left the room and walked down a hall until I reached a window. I saw a flash coming from outside. A Sentinel was on the grounds and they where fighting it. I looked it over again, this was my fault. That Sentinel had been chasing me since I left my home. I recognized the rip in it's arm. I would not let them fight my battle. I back up a few steps and then dove out the window.

I should have checked before I jumped, I planed on landing but there was a bush I hit before I got to the ground. The one who shot lasers out of his eyes was holding it off while the others regrouped behind him. The I saw more of those spikes fly. They couldn't win like that. I ran forward, the Sentinel fired a missile. The guy with the lasers would never move fast enough. I tackled him and the missile hit the ground where he was standing, blowing a hole in the ground. I ran at the Sentinel's foot and latched on. My power is the ability to use absorb energy and use it as a weapon, electrical currents are energy. I started to drain him. It was almost to much. But his arms slowly fell then his head lolled over. He was out of power. He started to fall, but there was something in his way…me. I liked helping a team, a shame it couldn't last longer than this. But then the elf boy appeared next to me and grabbed me and we teleported back with the group.

They all looked at me as my eyes rolled back in my head and for the second time that day I collapsed but this was not peacefully like before. I was twitching as if having a seizure. I had absorbed to much energy and it was eating my body. I couldn't expel it from my body unless I could stand or at least raise my arm I couldn't do either. That was the second time I saw that hand take off it's glove. She took enough of the energy into her body to allow me to move again, so I raised on hand to the sky and shot a huge electric blast into the clouds. I felt the heat as she mimicked me.

I slowly sat up, "Hello, I'm Brendan, but you can call me Serge," I said. They all introduced themselves, then a man in a wheelchair came over and said he was Professor Xavier. He asked me if I'd like to join the team and stay at the mansion. I gladly accepted. Then Scott apologized for what they had to do earlier, but they thought I might be a harm to the public.

We all went back inside and Kurt showed me to my room, we would be bunking together. After that the Professor asked me to see him alone. I followed him into the study. "Tell me what is bothering you Brendan. I can tell that you are troubled and I would like to help." I was shocked, "Well Professor it's that Sentinel that attacked, I led him here. I put you all in danger and you saved my life and offered me with the first safe place I've seen since mutants where exposed. I can't help but feel guilty." "It wasn't your fault, but I already knew about that, Rouge told me. There is something else, with other mutants." I told him.

He told me where the danger room was, and to get the and have them all in the X-Jet after I got a uniform. I changed first then got them all. I was shocked at how many there where. "The Professor wants us all in the X-Jet…I don't want any of you to risk your lives for my problem so if you want to stay please stay. But this is a full scale alert." Kurt, Scott, Jean, Rouge, Kitty, Evan and Bobby came over, all of them.

We all got in the jet joined by Storm, Beast, Wolverine, and the Professor. There was a quick briefing given by Logan. They had been on a mutant rescue mission before…this made no sense, I had tried one before and that is why the Sentinel was only after me. The others where all taken but hopefully that would soon change.

We flew back into the center of the United States, in Ottawa, Kansas. I was amazed at how fast this X-Jet could go. But that was only in the back of my mind. Before all that was the mission on hand. I noticed the others where in there uniforms and some where joking around. Could these people really help save my friends?

We neared the base and I went toward the cockpit. We started heading towards nothing until the radar started to blink as if there was an object there. Logan landed it and we approached the rest of the way on foot. I noticed how focused the group became and how they started to just look more like the people I had thought they where. The only thing I didn't get is how they managed to do this all without hurting anyone. Xavier had told me to not hurt anyone more that absolutely necessary.

Finally we made it. The was a small hill then below you could see the smallest glimmer of metal, it was almost nothing but it was the door of the base I'd used the year before. I raised my hand palm down to the metal and a small white orb appeared but Kitty pushed it down and Scott shot the hatch clean off. I saw Wolverine move and in a second he went from the back of the line to down the hole. I quickly followed. He was busy destroying security cameras. I ran farther down the hall, losing any caution I had. The I saw it. Four floors down there was a large room and in the middle was a small girl about the age of seventeen. The energy gather in my right fist continued to grow until I shot a hole in the wall and ran toward her.

She was bound to a metal table with all sorts of odd machines around her. I shook her for a moment and she turned and looked up at me, her face was pale, she had not seen sunlight in nearly a year, and it showed. She smiled for a moment the started crying, "Brendan…you came…I knew you would. But your too late. Tobias, Lee, and Stacey all ran. They thought they'd fight there way out. It was months ago. I would have been with them but they had taken me into the lab for more experiments. They where all killed. By the same one who captured us. He's running it…he knows all about how every mutant's powers work and for most, how to neutralize them."

The others had all made the way to the room during her speech. I realized all to soon it was a trap. The 'door' I'd made was suddenly filled with security personnel. The I saw there leader Marcello. The rage I felt was over powering as he spoke to me as if I was an old friend," Ah if it isn't Serge. Back again...and with new friends. No one I don't know of course. Only the X-Men. We'll have you come for that pitiful mutant? You know I was so upset when I was forced to kill your other friends. Although it was the greatest rush I've had in years. I'll think I should get the same from destroying you. Then again you will be to strong to cry wont you? You know that was the greatest part was watching them cry as they tried to stand in fight on there last breaths."

I didn't notice it but I was shaking. My whole body was in spasms but my eyes stayed locked on Marcello. Then my hands raised and I fired two energy blasts at him. He raised a small scepter and my blast where absorbed along with an optic blast from Cyclops. The he shot all three blasts back at me knocking me to the wall. Then I saw an image flicker above his head. It was the security camera's tape of my friends deaths. I also saw Wolverine lunge at Marcello but was stopped half the way there and blown back by a gust of wind that held him back. The girl on the table had used her mutant ability to create and direct wind to move him back, knowing I would want this to be my battle. I saw her tell the others but by this time I was up again. He shot another blast and I recognized the origin, it was one off Lee's power kicks. I was again launched. I blinkingly again got to my feet only to realize everything was red. Blood was freely flowing from a gash in my head into my eyes. I fell again. Cyclops was trying to fire an optic blast but Jean's power was blocking it from going through. I heard a scream and looked high onto the view screen and saw Stacey, my sister, screaming and twitching as she died.

I stood again, but I didn't stand. The blood in my eyes slowly disappeared and my vision flared as my eyes turned white. My rage had turned itself into energy and was holding my 6 inches of the ground and causing my hair to flare wildly toward the ceiling. Then I raised my arms. I didn't mean to, my body was doing this all by instinct. Then I felt something. Much like when I used earth energy it was manifesting into physical form. Two large red metallic objects appeared and slowly moved until they became somewhat of a cylinder. Then black lines like those seen on machines formed as they locked into place. Then the object floated down and rested centimeters above my fingers and aimed it at Marcello. He was shocked and yelling but I wasn't listening. Then he help the scepter in front of him and the ball on the end opened and grew. I knew he was going to absorb this new energy. But there was nothing I could do as I pulled the trigger in my head and shot.

All I saw was a glow of blindingly white light until it was cut. His scepter was doing it's job but it slowly started to glow. The metal it was made of was melting and Marcello screamed louder than everything else in the room as he tried to drop it but it was melted on his flesh. But that didn't last. It exploded and the energy crashed into the wall behind him burning through his body. Then I blacked out.

When I finally woke up I was back in the hospital at the institute. Xavier came to visit as soon as he found I was awake. He first told me how proud he was that I had managed to save a life. Then his tone darkened as he punished me for killing Marcello. I tried to argue that it wasn't me as much as it was a instinct that had controlled my body. I tried to stand but an unseen force pushed me back down but caught me just before I hit making it a soft landing. I passed out again.

This time when I woke Scott was sitting in a chair next to my bed. I had figured Xavier had sent him to tell me my punishment. Scott saw that I was awake and helped me to sit up. Then he said what he came to say," Brendan, we all know the professor has probably given you more work than you can handle as punishment. And he knows you are to weak to do it in your sickened state. He is hoping to get you kicked out. You just acted to far out of his control, he has hidden motives to control us as if we are his puppets. He can't break you like he did to all of us. Logan and I will help with the work until you get well. You are needed to help us break free." With that he turned and walked away.

I laid my head back down. This would not be the end. The professor will be stopped.