The wind was picking up again, blowing violently into the girl's eyes; she wiped away the tears forming on the edges of the navy orbs. She looked down at the directions again, damn Google map for not making any sense! She looked up at where she was, at the corner of fifth… and some other numbered street. "Why the rutty hell does all the streets here have to be named after numbers!"

Man she really hated not knowing where she was going.

Just as she was looking up at the streets again, Icarus Madokks noticed a man with an arm full of gifts coming towards her. She pulled her acid green toque further down over her ears and grabbed the man as he neared her. The man, who seemed to be in his mid forties, nearly had a heart attack and dropped all his parcels on the ground, he looked Icarus up and down. Whether in surprise or disgust, Icky didn't quite know; it was a mixture in the man's mind.

"Love peace and chicken grease?"

Icarus stifled a laugh "ai, so you like my hat? Anyway not the point, can ya point me in the right way of this place." She put the paper closer to the man's face so he couldn't get away from the question. The man grumbled and pointed down the street. "Thanks man." She stooped down and picked up the gifts, she guessed for the man's family, and handed them back to him.

She watched him leave. "Damn that boy can walk fast for an old man." She shrugged and put her cold pale hands into the pocket of her black hoody. She cracked her knuckles, and headed in the direction the man had pointed to vaguely. Why do Normies have to be so… jumpy? She grumbled to herself as she walked aimlessly into traffic, receiving curses and horn honks along the way.

--

She hated the dark. She hated it with quite possibly every bone in her body. And that was a lot of bones.

So it was probably a good thing it wasn't totally dark or Tattoo would be totally engulfed in fear right about now. She hid in the corner of the alley, waiting for her little friend to come back.

Well, she thought, Maybe he isn't actually a friend?

Rubbing her gloved hands together, she narrowed her eyes as a tiny shadow emerged into her view. It tottered toward her, changing forms every second step. Tattoo held out her hand as it approached, and it climbed up into her palm. It felt cool and a little wet to the touch. Well, that was ink for you.

She brought it close to her face and gazed at it as it changed from a tiny human to a little blob made entirely from ink. "Is it there?" The thing nodded, pooling in her hands. She smiled slightly and cupped it gently. "How many guards?" It formed the number in her hands, and she nodded. "Thank you." The thing seemed proud of itself, and it dug itself into her skin, crawling under it to form a tattoo on the inside of her arm.

Tattoo winced. It was always uncomfortable to have the things crawling around, but it couldn't be helped. Standing up, she climbed the ladder onto the roof. She wasn't quite sure why the ladder was there in the first place, but she wouldn't complain if it got her what she wanted.

On the roof, she scanned her surroundings cautiously, finally looking over onto the windowed area of the roof. Pulling a tool from her belt, she picked the lock and dropped inside.

It only took her a few moments to locate what she was looking for. A small dark blue jewel, padded in velvet cloth and locked in its display case. She smirked, reaching into her belt for another tool.

And that's when everything went wrong.

A loud smash from the window on the roof made her jump, and she turned around, the tattoos on her skin already pushing from her body to protect her. A tall man, probably in his teens, stood before her surrounded by people of various heights. She sucked in her breath, letting it out slowly.

"You know, you shouldn't take things that don't belong to you." The tall man chastised, approaching her slowly. "How about you back away from the jewel and come with us?"

Tattoo snorted, placing her fists in front of her. "Yeah, like I'm gonna listen to you. Dude, I don't even know you." She kissed her teeth, and a small tattoo rolled away to secure the jewel. A young woman approached, and she waved her hand. The tattoo she had sent flew into the air, emitting a small squealing sound as it went.

With a yell, Tattoo ran toward the woman, only to be tossed back by a red light. She hit the wall, sliding into a slump on the floor. Her gaze wavered and she looked up with anger at the group.

"Don't... Even know... Why I'm doing that..." She muttered before her gaze went black.

--

"Lord have mercy!" Icarus cruised as yet another frigid gust of wind decided to assault her as she neared the front door of the rather large mansion. "Should have bloody well taken a taxi, but noooo Icky's not then damn smart!" she continued to mutter insults at herself and the weather as reached the glass doors and knocked. No answer.

She rolled her eyes "probably can't even…"

A boy around her age, came to the door and opened it slightly, cutting off another semi sarcastic complaint. He was taller then her, but that wasn't hard to begin with. He also had brown eyes, dark brown hair, and tanned skin. Icarus couldn't help but notice how warm his skin looked. She rubbed the corner of her left eye, dismissing the thought.

"Can I help you?" the boy asked, a some what smug smile on his face.

He sounded Brazilian. Icarus cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest "you think I'm standing here for the view?"

The boy's smug smile grew, and he pulled on the shoulder of his shirt "well it is a nice view."

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips, she liked this boy already, a little cocky, but amusing none the less "I'm here to see Professor Xavier."

"But of course." He opened the door and let her in "wait here I'll go get him." he ran off down a hallway to the right.

Icarus looked around, the place was extravagant. Tall ceilings, white walls, pillars from the Ionic era, marble floors. Just as she was doing another mental sketch of the scene a man in a wheel chair came into the room.

She gave a small bow of her head "good evening Professor."

"Good evening Miss Madokks, I see you've arrived safely." The bald man, fitted in a clean cut suit came to a stop in front of her, and folded his hands in his lap as he spoke.

Icarus bit her lip with an eye tooth and rolled her eyes "more or less Professor." She cracked her fingers in side her front hoody pocket. "So am I in?" she asked, with a shrug and a half smile.

Professor Xavier chuckled "yes Icarus you are, now come I'll introduce you to the rest of my students here."

--

Jean Grey watched the sulky teen they had encountered in the Jewelry store. She sat with her arms crossed over her chest, a small pout on her face. Across her left ankle was a piece of rope, tied to Kitty's right ankle. When she had first awakened, she responded to their gracious attempt not to tie her up by spitting in Scott's face and kicking Jean in the leg, not the reaction the team was hoping for.

After another knock out courtesy of Kitty, they had decided that things would be a lot easier if she had been tied down somehow. They needn't have worried, though. When she woke up, she seemed to have calmed down a little, albeit a little angry that she had been tied to the one who managed to knock her out and her bag of tools missing.

Tattoo sighed softly, eyeing the small group in the vehicle as they sped down New York's streets. "Gonna take me to the police?" She asked, a small smile on her lips. If they did take her, she knew her aunt would bail her out...

Tattoo's smile faded when Scott shook his head. "No, we're going to take you to see someone." Tattoo sat back in her seat, letting her hair frame her face.

"You guys ain't mobsters, are you?" She was a little worried she had tried to rob the wrong store. The small laugh from the redhead caused her to doubt her theory, however.

"No, we aren't." The redhead turned around, offering a small smile to Tattoo. "I'm Jean, and this is Kitty and Scott." Tattoo raised an eyebrow.

"Tattoo. Don't be askin' if that's my real name or not. It's the name I have, and the only name I be rememberin'." She tilted her head, almost amused by the shocked look on Kitty's face.

"Wow.. Like, rude much?" Kitty sighed and leaned back in her seat.

Tattoo stuck out her tongue, narrowing her eyes as she did so. "What, and I'm supposed to be happy that you knocked me out? I mean... I should be the one saying that you're rude!" She snapped. Kitty stuck out her tongue and looked out the window, muttering things out of her breath.

Jean shook her head. "May I ask what your power is?"

Tattoo raised an eyebrow, a small smirk playing on her lips. "On the first date? I'm shocked."

Jean sighed and turned to look back in front of her, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Scott, who shrugged.

They drove on.