Rain Mitchell was only 5 when she noticed that she wasn't like the other kids. She had just started school and she could tell when someone was going to throw a tantrum, or if they were confused, or overwhelmed. Her teachers said that she was just very aware of her surroundings, that she was very empathetic to the other children and that was a good thing. Her grandfather, being a police officer, said it was her gut. That she had inherited his ability to just know things in a situation.

But her father knew, she was mutant, same as he and that she needed to hide it. That was the first time Rain was ever told to hide something from adults. She had always been told to tell the truth and that she could trust her family and teachers. But she was told and shown differently by her father when they went away on a 'father-daughter fishing trip' one weekend. She could feel that he was serious, that he was afraid for her and what could happen if they found out that she was different. No one knew that her father was different like her, that he had never-ending stamina. He told her just enough about what could happen to her to make her slightly afraid and able to understand why she had to hide.

When they returned home they told her mother and older brother they were unable to catch any fish before they just went about their lives like normal. Rain keeping her powers a secret, never telling anyone about them other than her father. She had just reached puberty when she found out that she was able to push her powers onto people, cause them to think faster, calmer, to come to a conclusion that would defuse a situation or better their own outcome, she was so happy to tell her dad. Yet this only seemed to scare him more than her empathic abilities. People could use this, it wasn't safe, and she was to NEVER speak of this power again, to never use it again.

So Rain did as she was told, another secret to add to her lies and hiding. Once she was done with high school she decided she needed to get away from her small town, where anything anyone did was watched closely by everyone. She needed room, space that she could hide in, maybe work on controlling her mutation better. So she went to school to be a counselor, hoping she could use her powers to help others that were just as lost as she was.

That's how Professor Xavier had found her, she had just graduated from college and was looking for a job when he contacted her. He had an opening at his school and they were all like her. All young mutants that just wanted to learn in a safe environment and work through their powers. He told her they would be able to help her with her own powers as well as employ her and she would have lodging taken care of while working for the school. It was like a dream job for someone like her, she instantly felt skeptical of someone this nice but she quickly realized that they were a legit group of people that just wanted to help people like her and try to make the world coexist with mutant and humankind.

So, now at the age of 23, she found herself walking through the polished halls of Xavier's School for Mutants, a smile on her face as students rushed past her.

"Rain! What ya up to?" John asked, rushing up to her side. She looked up at him, a real smile lighting her face as they stepped outside. He was one of her favorite students, Rain knew she shouldn't play favorites but she had somehow found herself making more friends with him than some people would tell her she should have.

"Was thinking about going on a walk about the grounds. Why? What's up?"

John shoved his hands into his pockets as he looked down at his feet.

"The whole house is freaking out over Logan coming back."

Rain blinked at this, her mind running through all the names she had been hearing since she started at the school.

"And Logan is…" She finally prompted, giving up on placing the name. John's walk faltered for a moment.

"I keep forgetting you haven't always been here."

They walked along for a little while longer before he let out a sigh. "Rogue has a crush on him."

"Ah." She didn't press any further. She already knew about John's crush on Marie and how he hated Bobby, a once good friend, for dating her. Having another obstacle must have destroyed the only hope he had left.

"Wanna go blow things up in the Danger Room?" She asked him. John smirked as he looked at her sideways.

"You may be my favorite person."

Rain bumped shoulders with him before turning to go back to the mansion.

"Rain!" Marie called out happily, running up to the pair as they walked in. John's face twisted into one of annoyance as he moved partly behind Rain.

"Hey, Marie. I'm kind of with John at the moment, could we talk later?"

Marie's face fell slightly as she looked back at the one mentioned.

"Oh, yeah. I just, uh, wanted to introduce you to Logan real quick." She said, her face lighting up once again as she looked over her shoulder. Rain followed her line of sight to see a large man leaning against the door frame for the kitchen, a soda in hand. She could see why Marie had a crush on him, he was quite handsome and just secreted testosterone.

"Great. Why don't you all go out together?" John mumbled, snapping Rain out of the staring contest she had found herself in.

"Nope. We're going to blow stuff up, sorry Marie." Rain said, linking arms with him and promptly walking away.

"I-I'm sorry Logan. I don't know what's up with them." Marie said, turning around only to see he was no longer there.

/././

"It's just-" John threw fire at a rusted out car in front of him -"what's so great about ice boy?"

The car shot into the air as it was engulfed in flame.

"Nice shot! Hit the phone booth next." Rain said. She was currently sitting cross-legged on top of a metal newspaper stand, watching John get out his frustrations as he tried to find the words to articulate them. This was why Rain knew she was made for this kind of work, her powers helping people work through their emotions if not push them aside so they could reach the best conclusion made her feel as though she was helping people, that she was making a difference. She had learned that it was best to let them work it out on their own though, that if you just tell them the answer they never seemed to listen.

Most of the students stayed away from her, deciding she was like a guidance counselor at their old schools and therefore some lame emotional hippy. But not John, he seemed to like the clarity of mind he gained from being around her. It also helped that she liked to watch him blow things up.

"Holly shit!" Rain called out, being brought from her thoughts by the sight of a phone booth shooting over 50 feet into the air. John turned and looked at her, a large excited grin on his face before his dark eyes looked over her shoulder, his face falling.

"I don't think you should use that kind of language around the students." A voice called behind her. Rain sighed as she looked back, already knowing who it was.

"Hello, Scott. We're kind of in the middle of something here."

"Trying to burn to death, yeah, I see." He said a look of disapproval on his face as he looked around.

"I trust John not to hurt me." Rain said, her tone sharp and warning.

"He's still a child. It will take time for him to master his powers. Look, you already have a sunburn." Scott said, walking up to her, hand outstretched towards her face. Rain scrambled off her perch as fire as fluid as water ran between the two.

"That's enough." Jean's voice rang through the air before their surroundings flickered then faded to an empty grey room. The trio looked up to the large overlooking window to see Jean sternly looking down at them.

"Great. See what you did?" John asked as he walked up next to Rain, hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"What I did?!" Scott hollered, disbelief lacing his words. Scott took a deep breath before turning his attention to Rain. "Come on, the Professor needs you."

She looked back at John who had turned away, kicking at the ground.

"Go ahead. We'll catch up later." He told her with a weak smile.

"Don't blow anything up without me." She said with a smirk before Scott grabbed her arm and started to drag her away.

"Hey!" John called out, causing them to stop moving as Rain pulled her arm away. "Sorry about the sunburn!"

Rain beamed a large smile at him before Scott put a hand to her back and steered her from the room.

"You need to be more careful. You could get hurt doing things like that." Scott lectured her as they walked.

"He has his powers under control. You need to trust him more." Rain countered.

"You are too important to the team to be making those decisions. We can't afford for you to be injured."

"You mean you couldn't afford it. You have been making better tactical choices since I showed up. You don't want to lose that."

"And? I make better decisions, which keeps my team safe, which means we are winning more. What's so bad about all of that?"

"I am not a tool to be kept on a shelf for your personal use Scott Summers."

Scott stopped walking as he watched her walk away in shock.