It was cold and dark outside, which was strange for mid-July. She was walking quietly through the streets, not really knowing where she was going, but her arms were huddled around her shivering frame and she thought about the things that had happened to her in the last year. She shivered both from the cold and from the angry memories that floated across her mind's eye. In her journey she walked down unfamiliar roads unaware as to the dangers that surrounded her, one being that she was a young woman, two being that she was a mutant. Before long she looked up from her sneakers, and gazed wondrously into her unknown surroundings. "Shit," she muttered under her breath. By her own mistake she wondered into an alley. Something seemed to be moving at the end of the alley, encased in darkness. "hello?" she called out tentatively, of course receiving no answer. She took another step closer and a loud band sounded beside her. She jumped and heard the mew of the cat that fell on top of the dumpster next to her. She sighed and looked over to examine it, but it ran out of the alley, and disappeared around the corner. Kitty turned her back to the darkness in the hopes of following the stray cat; unfortunately a police swat car stopped her from moving closer to the street. The City curfew was nine o'clock for mutants and it was way past that time. Therefore Kitty retreated slightly into the alley.

"going somewhere, mademoiselle?" a thick Cajun accent called from behind her and Kitty whirled to see who it was. He seemed to appear out of thin air wearing a tan trench coat and from what else she could see tactical boots. But what scared her most were his red demon eyes and how they seemed to glow in the darkness that lay behind him.

Gasping she turned and went to run for the exit but was deterred from there as well.

Languidly Mystique, her blue scales shimmering in the night air, came around the corner from where the stray cat had disappeared.

Fearfully, Kitty skidded to a halt and backed more until she heard the twirling of the man's staff.

"You-you can't touch me!" she said shakily. Breathing deeply for a second, trying to calm her nerves as two members of the Brotherhood of Mutants closed in around her.

"Wanna bet?" a cocky voice called before something sped past her. Running around her so quickly that she couldn't see what or who was doing it.

Shaking Kitty closed her eyes and held her breath.

"Hey! That's not fair!" the person running around her said stopping, standing a top the dumpster, before he quickly moved next to Mystique, Kitty had barely registered that he had moved until she felt the whoosh of wind past her and she saw him next to her. He was tall, lanky and had silver hair, but he didn't look much older than her, nor did he sound any older.

"You can't touch her Quicksilver," Mystique said in her unique and mystifying voice. "Not unless she wants you to."

"She," a booming and authoritative voice called chilling Kitty to the bone, "is a little girl I know that can walk through walls," Magneto said floating down from the sky landing in front of his highest general and his son.

Kitty said at him in shock. "But, but you were cured!"

"Cured?" Magneto scoffed, "my dear there is nothing to cure, as always we mutants evolve and will always survive over humans."

"What are you doing here?" Kitty summoned the courage to ask.

"Checking in on you, of course," Magneto replied.

"You know, just seeing how your summer is going, Kitten," a final voice called from behind her before moving past her to stand next to Magneto.

Kitty glared naturally, "stop calling me 'Kitten', JOHN," she stressed.

Mystique laughed, "oh I nearly forgot that you were once one of them."

"Yeah, but I'm not now, am I?" he quipped, his burning gaze never leaving Kitty.

"So what exactly are you here for?" Kitty said directing her attention to Magneto.

"Well we just wanted to see how you were," he grinned.

Kitty paused before answering, "so you cornered me in and alley just to ask how my summer is going?"

"Well, yes-"

Kitty couldn't help but start laughing.

"Are you excited to return to Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters?"

Kitty's laugh stopped and her eyes met angrily with the ground.

"Ooo, my dear, why the scowl of hatred? It does not suit you well," Magneto said clicking his tongue.

Kitty's brow furrowed and she looked up before away. "It's nothing."

"Not as excited as I expected you to be."

Kitty shrugged and kicked a pebble with her toe.

"Would you be interested in attending a different academy for mutants?"

Kitty looked up confused, "but there aren't any."

"Oh, yes. Yes there is: The Brotherhood," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Kitty bit her lower lip looking around at all of the mutants surrounding her. "What id I don't want to?"

"Well then we leave you here. But the offer will always be on the table."

"I'll go," Kitty replied hastily, shocking the all but one of the mutants around her.

Magneto's eyes gleamed with joy, "good."