Author's Note: I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this, it was just a spur-the-moment thing.

PROLOGUE

Location: Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters

Time: 4:30 am

The remnants of night spread about the sleepy land like a dark veil, clouding the vision of all with illustrious dreams and fancy. Soft gales of wind rushed warmly, curling in contortion about the thick branches of trees, and making waves in the bushes. Crickets chirped monotonously among the freshly-clipped grass, ensconced amongst the statues composed of marble and stone that litter the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. The aforementioned structure stood amongst the obscurity of the night, its inhabitants slumbered, wrapped within their blankets and secure living quarters, unobstructed from their rest.

The warm oak halls of the establishment glowed with fresh varnish, small lamps led the way down the empty corridor with their illuminated presence. Each side of the hall was flanked with doors, each housing a snoozing body within. It was silent; so silent, one could hear their ears ring.

A small bead of light made itself present amid the plethora of habitations, slowly morphing and growing into an immense disc of illumination. It swirled and swerved about, seemingly unstable. It hovered with a soft whirring noise in the middle of the tired hall. Within a matter of minutes, the gargantuan disc reached critical mass, spanning almost to the lofty ceiling. As though unceremoniously, a small, lithe body was thrust from the light, a tail curled like a ribbon trailing after it. The portal suddenly diminished, reducing itself once again to the size of a bead, and then vanished.

Alone, marooned, the eyes of the child blazed a yellow color, pupils absent. The small figure suddenly felt choked with an onslaught of loneliness and fear. Tail clutched within a small fist, the unfortunate creature was left little recourse, but to huddle into the darkness and weep.

The soft sobbing was brought to Ororo Munroe's attention. The woman many know as Storm, stifled a long luxurious yawn. Swaddled amongst her covers, she split her eyes open to perceive the early morning. Her blue eyes were shadowed by cascades of brilliant white hair that splayed across her vision. She lifted a slender hand to push away the hindrance, keeping it in place with a black headband. The small whimpering sounds emanating from the hallway drove her to don a green robe of soft fleece, tying it about her slim middle. It did not take long for her to discover the source.

A young girl, no older than ten, covered in blue fur sat wide-eyed in fear at the new stimulus. Her hands seemed unfinished, with only three fingers, and two toes per foot. Atop her head, a mop of royal blue hair fell to her shoulders. Behind her, a swiveling tail adorned with a pointed end like a spade, tucked itself behind. A nightgown littered with flower prints covered the child's middle.

Ororo gasped. Not in shock or horror, but in surprise. "Oh. Where did you come from?" she queried softly. "What is your name?"

Tears continued to stream down the face of the young one, seemingly disoriented.

"Don't worry, I don't want to hurt you."

The devilish-looking girl looked forlornly at Storm

"I…I'm TJ…who are you…where am I? I just want to go home!" more tears slithered down the unfortunate creature's face.

*****

CHAPTER 1: WHEN DEVILS CRY

"Please calm yourself. Your answers will come TJ." she attempted to place her hand upon the whimpering devil, only to have TJ recoil at her touch. The young girl retreated toward the wall, eventually beginning to ascend its edifice. Her eyes gleamed through the darkness of the early morning, and her tail convoluted menacingly about.

Ororo made her best effort understand how the girl must have felt; alone, scared, abandoned perhaps. The newcomer was thrown headlong into a world she knew little about, where everything seemed alien to her, and everyone could be a potential enemy. Still, the child called TJ, reminded her of someone.

"I'm not here to hurt you, little one" she coaxed. "I'm Ororo, but you can call me 'auntie' if you want. I just want to talk, if you'll come down that is."

The ten-year-old refused, vehemently shaking her head from side to side. She clung to the smooth oak that composed of the wall, a lamp giving her face an iridescent glow. A great amount of fear manifested itself in her eyes, her straight hair hung down over her neck.

Storm didn't want to upset her any more than she already was, however, she couldn't very well have a little girl stuck to the side of the wall, now could she?

"I don't want to have to do this the hard way, but you can't stay there." with that statement, she raised her hands to summon powerful gales of wind. TJ only adhered herself to the edifice even more vehemently, seeming to have lost all but the slightest bit of trust in the woman opposite her.

"Storm, calm yourself." a voice, strong, yet composed, commanded. The voice seemed to have no owner, only bearing down on them from the high rafters of the ceiling. TJ swiveled her head about in all directions, trying to discern the unknown source of the sound, but her mind could perceive nothing. Ororo closed her eyes in understanding.

"Yes, Professor"

"Hey! What's going on here? Like, can't a girl get some sleep?" a tired, yet irritated, voice called. A face dissolved through the oak blockage. A teenage girl with brunette hair tied tightly in a ponytail appeared like a trophy mounted on the wall, being that only her head was visible. The head of Kitty Pryde turned to view the astonished devil.

"What is that thing!?"

She pushed herself from the warm, wooden surface, her whole body suspended in motion for what seemed a prolonged amount of time. The others looked on as the small child's spine twisted and convoluted in an unnatural manner, very much like a cat's natural sense to right itself. Her feet flew above her head, tumbling in a back flip, only to land upon her toes, unharmed.

"She also has excellent flexibility it seems. Most interesting. She's just like him" the wheels of a wheelchair, operated by a bald man with a seemingly stern look upon his face appeared from down the hall. He sat straight, with resolve and intention.

"Oh no…they're everywhere!" she exclaimed, commencing to dart and sprint down the narrow hallway.

"No, stop." the voice of Charles Xavier almost commanded. "We can help you. I'm professor Xavier, and none of us here have any intention of hurting you. What did you say your name was?"

TJ stopped and turned toward the strange man. Her eyes softened as she timidly returned toward the group. "Me?" the child placed a blue finger toward herself "I'm TJ. Talia Josephine Wagner."

TO BE CONTINUED…

All characters © Marvel