**Author's note: Alright, I'll be blunt and get to all the points so that you don't have to get bored before you even start reading the story. If anyone reads this note that is. Which I hope you do so that I don't get reviews stating things that I'll hopefully be addressing here.

Okay, this story is experimental for me. I have never been amazing at writing, but I absolutely LOVE reading and being immersed in someone else's story. I have always wished that I could create a world that someone else could get lost in like I do. I want this story to be a place where I can receive criticism so that I may work to improve my skills and storyline developments. So please, please bear with me, as this story may seem as though it has no point, or as though it's going nowhere. I admit, there isn't really a clear story line right now, and I have no idea what the climax is. I will be focusing on building a relationship between the three (or more) characters that will be introduced and making sure that you, the reader feel as though they are believable people and want to know what their story is/will be.

Which brings me to my next point. As I am in the X-Men section, I will be introducing characters from the X-Men universe that are NOT MY CREATIONS. I am warning you now, I will be using characters that already exist and they most likely will be out of character. I am using characters that I have fallen in love with over my obsessive 10 year love affair with the X-Men and want to use them in my story, but I am afraid I will be focusing more on what will work for my story the best, rather than trying to make my story fit around them. So I am very sorry if this upsets anyone.

So here is it, if anyone has any questions feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to clear anything up. So, just to be painfully clear- DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE X-MEN OR ANY OF THEIR CHARACTERS OR STORYLINES, THEY BELONG TO MARVEL.**

Rising From the Ashes

CHAPTER 1

Lost, not forgotten. That is what her mother had told her she would be after she was gone. She had tried to sneak out during the night, but that damn last step on the stairs had been blowing her cover since her junior year of high school. By senior year she had learned to jump the step, but that night was a little more nerve wracking then slipping out to a party at 1 am had been, so the trick had slipped her mind.

It was time. She had known that for a while. Actually making the move on the other hand, that was a whole other story. Packing up the essentials and slipping away in the dead of the night without telling anyone had been difficult. Waiting until everyone was awake and wanting to know the reason why she was leaving would have been harder though. She chose the lesser of the two evils. She knew it was wrong, but she was a coward. There were a lot of things that she knew; to list them all would mean purchasing several spiral bound notebooks and wasting most her life doing so. Let's just face reality; running away equaled a whole easier of a time than facing them and their questions. Well, on the emotional side of things it was easier. The physical side did not scare her. Money could always be found somewhere, shelters were always scattered around. The necessities of life could be dealt with one way or another. It was people that were the hard part, family to be specific. You could always lose a friend and find a new one, but there was no replacing a mother or an older sister and so on.

It just seemed right. The timing was perfect, if there was a good time to ditch your life, that is. She had been working since she had turned 15 and had a pretty hefty amount sitting around in her bank account. She knew she was fortunate to have had her parents pay for most of her expenses, a lot of kids were required to pitch in their fair share when they had the means to do so, but her parents had told her to keep it all, saying that they knew she would need it more than they did down the road. Boy, were they right, she just had not known how right at the time. Now that she was 19 and felt as though she was her own person, she felt that familiar pull in the other direction that had been nagging at her for a good year and a half now. Not that it was anything that they had done, well, it kind of was. Okay, it could not exactly be pinpointed what the true thing was that got her going, but there was something, and now she was here, on the road heading in the opposite direction of home and no clue where she was headed.

After driving for about an hour she had had enough of driving and once she crossed the Bay into Bemus Point she pulled into the parking lot of a hotel. It had a name that she recognized, a chain that spread across the US that was fairly nice without blowing a hole in her pocket. The lobby lights were dimmed and there were few people around. The sun would be rising soon, so everyone was still in bed. She was not far from home yet, but this was good enough for now.

"Name?" The receptionist asked.

"Uh, Evelyn Mckowen." She replied distractedly. "What's that all about?"

The man glanced behind his shoulder at the TV hanging on the wall behind him. It showed footage of armed men charging into the White House. "It's been on all day, haven't you heard? A mutant tried to kill the president."

"Oh…" Evelyn took the room key from him, still distracted by the TV. Swinging her bag over her shoulder she took a step backward and bumped into the next person in line. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

The guy squeaked and balanced on one foot, "Don't worry about it, didn't need it anyway." He joked, his accent was thick. He straightened his hat and smirked at her.

Evelyn smiled weakly and released her grip on his arm once he regained his balance. "Thanks." She said to the receptionist as she made a beeline for the elevator.

Lost in her thoughts, Evelyn sighed and threw herself rather unladylike on the bed. Even though she had been driving on her own all night she had not allowed herself to think too much about what she had done. Now that she did not have road to distract her, she found her mind straying to the last thing she wanted to think about. She knew people would think her crazy for leaving her comfortable home in Edinboro. It took all the energy she had left not to jump up and go back. She knew she would regret it though. Not only would it be embarrassing, but deep down Evelyn knew she was going towards something that she did not want to let slip through her fingers. Her intuition was screaming too loudly for her to ignore it.

Before she knew it, her eyes were closing and she was losing grip on consciousness. She could see the July sun rising out her window, my first day, she would sleep as long as she wanted, it's not like I have anywhere to be.

Evelyn awoke to the comforting feeling of heat on her face. The sun was high in the sky and its rays were intense as they shone through the glass door that led to her balcony. Smiling, she pulled her body up from the bed and lumbered through the doorway after she fiddled with the latch for a minute.

Wiping the sleep from her eyes she squinted up at the ball in the sky. The temperature could not be any more then 80, she sensed. The warmth comforted her as she stood with her eyes closed for a moment, soaking the heat in. The more heat she absorbed, the more energized she became. The one thing that she knew would never let her down, her friend the sun. As long as the fiery ball was around, she felt safe; it was her main source of power.

There was that word again; power. It was easily one of the most craved things in the world, yet one of the most feared if the tables were turned. It was something that she had been dealing with for close to three years. More like accepting cruel truth, not dealing with it. She had a power of her own, not one that she had asked for, but she had it regardless. Some people told her she was cursed, others were fascinated and examined her like a bug under a microscope. Either way it was attention she had not asked for. The spotlight was not the type of light that she thrived in. Her power had manifested late, by what she had gathered from extensive web searches. Normally a mutation manifests around puberty, which Evelyn had hit and recovered from years ago. It was not a dramatic reveal either. One web search had revealed that sometimes a 'mutation' would reveal itself during a dire situation, or a traumatic experience. She had been sick for a few days and sneezed out a thin layer of ash on her bed covers while she was sleeping. She was woken by her mother's screams as she dumped her mug of tea on her flaming bed sheets. She certainly had a power of her own. She just did not know how to control it yet. The two and a half years since she developed her 'power' she had mostly been doing her best to ignore it. That was what her family had agreed was her best course of action. It was not that she did not like her ability; she just did not know how everyone else would take it if they knew. Talk about the story of her life, what would everyone think? It had proven very difficult to conceal too. Evelyn had gone through her fair share of awkward situations and dumb explanations, just like everyone else. Her explanations just tended to be ten times more ridiculous then everyone else's did, which was how she avoided getting caught out most of the time, the excuse was so weird and unbelievable that most people just did not even bother asking.

After taking a long and unnaturally hot shower, she raked a comb through her hair dark blonde hair and put some clothes on. Her favorite comfy white Tee and grey track pants. She would have dressed more publicly appropriate had she thought she would do more than accidentally make eye contact with some stranger.

Down in the lobby, things had picked up their pace from when she had arrived in the wee hours of the morning. Business men and women bustled about, grabbing food from the complimentary buffet table as they talking to their Bluetooth and parents called to their kids to stop running around. Evelyn quietly made her way to the buffet table and set her sights on the bagels; her regular breakfast choice. Sticking it in the toaster oven she turned away to make a tea.

While her chai was steeping and her toast toasted, she leaned against the table and took a peek around. There was a guy beside her, just to her left, who held a bagel, waiting for the toaster too she presumed. He had oddly colored eyes. They reminded Evelyn of the ocean and how in some parts that was close to the surf the color of the water seemed as though it were a sort of glowing, turquoise color. They were beautiful, yet seemed mysteriously unnatural.

"Hey," He smiled awkwardly

Good god, she had been staring at his eyes. "Sorry." She immediately turned away.

"Uh," The sound he made was loud and urgent.

Evelyn turned and followed his sight line to the toaster; a small flame had formed on her bagel and was emitting a thin curl of smoke. "AH!"

Without thinking, she reached her hands in and blanketed her hand over the flame before it could grow any more.

"Jesus,"

**So I'm not sure about that ending, I wasn't sure where to cut it off. Too abrupt? Not dramatic enough? Don't understand anything that's going on? Let me know! :) xxoo**