Every Rose Has Its Thorns

By: CyborgAngel22

Author's Note: Yay! My very first X-Men: Evolution fic! I hope you like it! There's two OOCs in it, but they're not Mary Sue! Anybody who has ever read any of my other works knows that I'm a bit angsty. So, if you don't like angst, don't read this.

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution, it belongs to Marvel so don't sue me for it!

Chapter 1: Anxiety

Scott examined the picture that Professor Xavier gave him. It was a girl, only around the age of 16, African-American, with long brown hair and hazel eyes. In the picture, she was sitting on a swing set by herself. Across from them was a much older woman with short black hair and hazel eyes. "Miss Lewis, has Victoria always been like this?" asked Xavier

"No!" she answered, hastily, "Vicki's never run away before."

"Was there anything that could've made her run away?"

"My…my boyfriend…he didn't want to…be married to the mother of a mutant. Vicki never got along with him very much…that's probably why she ran away."

"I see…" said Scott, "Is there any place that Victoria would run away to?"

"There's not that many places that I wouldn't find her…I can't really say…"

Victoria leaned back against the tree. She was in the park, just trying to get some air. The fight she had with her mother's boyfriend made her think about a few things. For one, she wanted to know if her mother still cared about her like she used to. She remembered when her real father was with her. She couldn't remember why her father had left her, but she assumed it had something to do with her mother. Over the years, her mother had been a nice woman, but lately, she had been acting strange towards her, as if she had a different personality altogether. Over a week, she had been living on the street, but she didn't care, as long as she was away from her mother's boyfriend. She looked at the strands of her hair, and she remembered when it was fully brown, now it had strands of green in it, plus her eyes and nails were also green. She didn't realize she was a mutant, until she noticed the vines beginning to grow on her side of the house. They began to react to her feelings, and then she knew she had to run away. She didn't want to hurt her mother, since she knew that her powers were out of control. No matter where she ran, plants seemed to follow her. She was surprised that her powers were fine now, considering that she was sitting under a tree.

Scott and Jean's search was a very broad one. All Miss Lewis could say was her favorite places were the mall, arcade, and the computer café. So far, their search has been coming up empty. Jean kept looking, but this city had so many teenagers that it'll take them weeks before they find her. He stopped for a minute as he noticed people running from the park. There were roots and vines coming out of the ground and attacking people. Scott skidded sideways as a root almost slammed down on his car. Jean made a shield around herself as a vine attempted to wrap around her body. Scott shot his optic blasts to protect himself, but then was grabbed by his ankle and was hung high in the air. Blasting the root, fell on his side, not a great feeling. Scott and Jean had to work hard through the vines and roots to find out the cause of it all. In the middle, there was a cocoon of a large rose. The both of them heard screaming. From what they could see, someone was pushing at the rose petals. Jean used here telepathic powers to see who it was, and to her surprise, it was Victoria Lewis, the girl they were supposed to be looking for! "Scott, she's in there!" she yelled

"Who?" he asked

"Victoria! She's stuck in there!"

"Victoria, you have to calm down!"

"Wha?" she asked, "Who's there?"
"Listen to me, you have to concentrate. Your powers are based on your brainwaves, you have to concentrate and make the vines go back into the ground."

Victoria didn't say anything, but concentrated. The vine and roots around the two X-Men began to die down. The rose had lowered and opened up. Victoria dashed out and tumbled a bit. When she finally got up, her hair was a shimmering green, and she seemed to have gotten skinnier. Jean walked up to her. "Are you ok?" she asked

"Yeah, I'm just a bit shaken up." Answered Victoria

"Well your mother's been…been…" started Scott

He just stood there in a daze. Victoria and Jean put their fingers in front of their face, but nothing happened. "Maybe we should take his sunglasses off." Said Victoria

She proceeded to take them off, but her hands were snatched away. "You don't want to do that." Said Jean

"Why not?" asked Victoria

"Scott's eyes produce optic blasts, and that's the only thing that's protecting you from getting your head blown off."

Victoria immediately stepped away from him. Jean noticed her shimmering hair and then sneezed. She laid a hand on Victoria's shoulder. "Your mother's been looking for you." She said

Victoria immediately turned away from her and Jean sneezed again. "I'm not going back home!" she said

"But your mother-" started Jean

"Can die for all I care! She loves Rick over me!"

"That's not true! Your mother's been crying about your safety!"

"Oh yeah! Then why didn't she choose to defend me when Rick pulled my hair! He hates mutants! What makes things worse is the fact that Rick wants to marry my mom!"

"Why didn't you tell your mom about this?"

"She doesn't care! All mom ever wants is a husband, she doesn't even care about my needs!"

"That's not true…Scott, say something!"
Scott still stood there with a daze. Jean nudged him, but nothing happened. "Why don't you go get in your car or something." Said Victoria

Scott merely turned and walked back to his car. Jean looked back at Victoria in slight awe. "How did you do that?" she asked

Victoria just shrugged. "I dunno." She answered, "For some reason, guys just obey me when I walk past them."

"That can't be the reason." Said Jean

"Well, I don't know then."

Miss Lewis paced back and forth in the rec room of the Xavier Institute. She wanted nothing more but to apologize for letting Rick get in the way of her own daughter's feelings. She had been desperate in getting a father, that she forgot her own feelings. She had brushed them off as mere jealousy, and it, in the end, cost her daughter's trust. She had run away after fighting with Rick about her mutation. She had noticed herself Victoria's transformation. She had thought at first that she had green lipstick and green nail polish for a fashion statement. But then, she remembered the school's policy on nail polish and makeup. The private school she went to was very strict, trying to show the girls inner beauty. "Mom…" started a voice

She turned to see her daughter, with green eyes and green hair. "Vicki…" said Miss Lewis

"Sorry…" she said

"You gave me a scare!"

"Well, I wouldn't have to run away if you get rid of him!"

"Rick's a good man!"

"He hates me! He hates mutants!"

"Rick is going to be apart of this family whether you like it or not!"

"FYI, I hate Rick! I can't believe you're choosing him over me!"

"I'm not making any choices yet! I'm not even sure if I'm going to accept his marriage proposal!"
"Marriage proposal! Rick is an anti-mutant person! For all we know he could be part of the FOH!"

"Don't you say that! Don't you ever say that!"

"I feel safer living at the Xavier Institute than being at home! You don't even know who his parents are!"

"I do so! Their names are Julia and Mark Boulavardez! You know what! I'm not even going through this again with you! If you feel so safer away from home then fine! You can stay here at the institute!"

"I wish dad was alive! If he were here, you wouldn't be such a drunken bitch!"

Miss Lewis slapped her daughter and Victoria just stood up, rubbing her bruised cheek. "Don't you ever speak to me that way again…especially when it comes to your father…" she said

Vicki sighed as she unpacked the last suitcase. The goodbye that was between her and her mother was a cold one. The last thing she wanted to see was her mother, or even worse, Rick. Something about him made her skin crawl, despite the fact that he was anti-mutant. He seemed to be smirking as she left in Scott's car. Something inside her wanted her to just strangle him, but she knew that wasn't the way to handle things. Vicki glanced over at her roommate, Jubilee. Taking first glance at her, she knew this person was going to be trouble. Her cell phone began to ring and she looked at the caller ID: Tom Sloane(1). She sighed as she answered it. Tom was her best friend since birth. When he came out as gay, she was there for him. Now he was the drummer for a rock band, and he dyed his hair blue to match his blue eyes. His hair was down to mid-back, and he didn't mind it much. His step-father wished that he would cut his hair, but this was his sign of rebellion. Vicki stood there for a moment, thinking whether to answer the phone on not. Put the receiver, she put out a bored 'hello'. "That's a great way to greet me." Said Tom

"Well, it's you."

"Why didn't you tell me that you moved out?"

"Uhh…because I didn't…"

"I had to hear it from your mom's racist boyfriend."

"Oh, what did he say this time?"

"The bitch's at the school for freaks. Now buzz off, fag."

"Ouch…did you kill him?"

"No, I was on the verge of it. So you're really in the Xavier Mansion?"

"Yup, just unpacked."

"Cool, so is it a zoo up there?"

"Haven't checked. Just moved in."

"So what's your powers?"

"Plants…"

"Plants?"

"Yup."

"Wow, if I needed you to grow me some weed, can you?"

"Shut up, I might kill you in the process, I still need practice."

"I just wanted to call and see if you were ok."

"Just fine."

"If there's anything you need…"

"I know. I gotta go, something about a meeting with the dean, bye."
She hung up the phone. "You get a band and I'm stuck here…" she muttered

The next morning was a bit annoying for Vicki. First, she had private lessons with Logan, which gave her brusies and a codename: Ceres, a codename that Ororo had given her herself. Then she had to get a quick shower before breakfast and school. There, she got suspicious stares and a few laughs from the other girls at school. She had to restrain herself from hurting another girl in gym for blaming her for a sprained ankle. She had nothing to do with the fall on the track, but the other girls blamed her for the incident. Coming out of the girl's locker room, she was confronted by Principal Kelly. "Don't let me catch you injuring other students." He said

"But I didn't-" started Vicki

"You start one riot or incident at this school and you'll be expelled."
Vicki was about to give him a reason to suspend her, but the school bell rang. With squinting eyes she walked away from him. She just wanted to go home, knowing this day was going to get worse as the day went by. Lunch was no better, considering the fact that people alienated her, plus the food was cold and sticky. As she sat at a table by herself, she could hear the students whispering behind her back, and girls snickering at her green hair. Fed up with the nasty taste of a cold hamburger, she threw her lunch in the trash and got out of lunch period early. Vicki was walking back to her locker when she noticed a white-haired, blue-eyed student walking up to her. He had this sly smirk on his face that she really didn't like. "Hey." He said

"Yo." She answered

"Having a bad day?"

"You can say that."

"Listen, don't let these humans bother you we're-"

"Mutants, I get it."

"You don't have to act so bitchy around me, you know."
Vicki growled and slammed her locker shut. "Listen, you're name's Pietro Maximoff, right!" she snapped, "If you're that terrorist mutant I thought I saw, then why don't you take your little zippy powers and take it someone else! Because frankly, I'm tired of your little sauvé talk!"

With that, she left Pietro there to brood about what just happened.

Kurt did a cannonball into the water and splashed Kitty in the process. The brunette squealed and began yelling at him. The others laughed. In a corner of the pool area laid Vicki, listening to her iPod. She wore a pink swimsuit that contrasted with her hair, which was tied back in a ponytail. Bobby passed her and gave her an awkward look. Not once did she attempt to join the group. He poked at her, but she motioned for him to go away. He then poked at her again and she took off her earphones. "What do you want?" she asked, flatly

"Come join us." He said

"Forget it. I just need some space."

"Please Victoria…"

"It's Vicki! Now go away!"
She put on her earphones and turned away from him. Bobby smirked and iced up his arm. She was about to find out why Bobby didn't get denied too often. He put his frozen on her back and she squealed, falling out of her chair. The iPod fell on the grass, earphones and all. She growled and looked back up at him. "Didn't I tell you to go away!" she snapped

He smirked and Vicki backed up from his ice hand. The ice had a nasty effect on her, making her weak and tired. Bobby chased after Vicki and she ran terrified for her life. She felt sick from touching the ice and she had no wish of feeling it again. Unfortunately, Bobby was faster than her and she was thrown into the pool with his icy hands. She screamed out in pain and fell in. "Bobby!" scolded Jean, "Leave her alone!"

Vicki came out of the water, spitting out the chlorine and her nails got sharp. The chlorine in the pool began to make her itch and her skin got pale. She began scratching her skin, making it red. "Vicki, calm down!" said Scott

"It's so itchy!" she said, standing up, "I need fresh water!"

She ran inside the mansion, feet padding against the carpet. She ran into Ororo and yelled sorry as she ran past her. She quickly peeled off her swimsuit and got under the warm, fresh water from the shower. Her skin pigment turned to normal and the itching went away. Outside, Bobby was getting the third degree from Scott. "You had no right to start messing with her!" he yelled

"Hey, she clearly asked to get thrown into the pool!" chuckled Bobby

"That's not funny! Vicki's powers are based around plants! Your powers are ice! Ice can possibly kill her since she has no resistance to it!"

"Well maybe if she interacted with the rest of us, we could've avoided all this!"

"She just got here! You have no right to talk about her because she's not like you!"

"She's some weirdo who stays in her room all day, I know that!"
Above the scene stood Vicki in a window. She knew that Bobby wouldn't understand her. At a young age, she had to grow up. With a drunken mother at home, she had to be the one to take care of her. Vicki walked back to her room, clad in nothing but a robe. Ororo watched as she stared out the window. The African knocked and Vicki didn't even bother to look. "Come in." she said

"Victoria?" asked Ororo

"Hi Miss Monroe."

She sat next to Vicki and looked at her. Her eyes were a bit strained, and her hair was plastered to many places. "Is everything alright?" she asked

"I had a bad day." Vicki sighed

"Oh, I see…"

"Right now, I just want the others to leave me alone. I just need some sleep."

"Victoria, what happened between you and Bobby was an accident. I know you were terrified of what happened, but you have to learn to overcome it."

"How…how do you know?"

"When I first used my powers, many things kept me from getting stronger, especially the upcoming weather around me. Being a weather witch was hard. Plus, I'm claustrophobic, so I hated being in small spaces."

"How did you overcome your weakness?"

"I worked hard at it, and Professor Xavier helped me get better at it."

"Oh."
Ororo smiled and patted her shoulder. "Get some sleep." She said, standing up, "I'll tell Tabitha not to bother you."

1. Tom Sloane is a character from Daria. I don't own him, but he makes the coolest friend (in a fictional world) to me. I just made him gay because…well…you'll have to read on in the fic to find out why.