How odd… Erik thought silently to himself. Standing before him was a very willing, partially nude Emma Frost. Only moments before Erik had watched her strip herself of her skimpy outfit, and yet, he felt nothing. Not even the slightest twinge of real emotion. He was attracted to her physically, there was definitely no denying that, but something was missing. His thoughts quickly drifted to a few weeks ago. That fateful day on that god forsaken beach. Things could've gone so differently, he wondered how things would have been if Charles had gone with him. If that bitch hadn't shot him… If I hadn't… His eyes darted back up to Emma as she moved forward, a frown settled on her lips.

"You aren't even paying attention!" She whined.

His eyes narrowed as he stood up, pushing past her. "I'm going out." He growled, speaking again before she can get a response in. "And I expect you to be in your own quarters when I return." He turned to look at her once more, eyes still narrowed. Making it obvious they would not share a bed tonight. He briskly exited the room, slamming the door as he went.

~Not five minutes before any of this happens. ~

Great, just great. A young girl sat at the back of a bus, staring at her empty wallet. She'd have to get more money. She almost falls forward as the bus halts to a stop. "Last stop people, please collect all belongings and exit at the front." Barked the bus driver. She sighed, standing up, slipping her backpack onto her shoulders as she made her way to the front of the bus.

She walked behind an older gentleman, trying to concentrate on lifting his wallet from his pocket. It floated for a moment behind the man before she snatched it from the air and ran off in the other direction. Once she was certain no one had followed her, she ducked down an alleyway and opened the wallet. One… two… She counted silently in her head, there had to be over three hundred dollars in this wallet. Pleased with herself she walked out the other end of the Alleyway. She looked up at the bright lights of a bar a block away and decided to try her luck there.

She pushed through the door, avoiding eye contact with the workers. She sat herself on one of the bar's stools and caught the attention of the bartender. "Scotch, please." She said confidently, not wanting him to ask for id. He looked at her for a moment before shrugging and placing a glass on the bar, filling it with ice and an amber liquid. She emptied the first glass almost instantly. She'd come to New York to escape. Her family, her life… Everything.

An hour or so passed in what felt like minutes. The frustrated Erik found himself in front of a bar he didn't recognize. He looked around as he walked in, for any sign of where he was, quickly realizing he wasn't far from the Brotherhood's home. He was really only ten minutes or so away, yet his watch claimed he'd been wandering about for over an hour. He walked over to the front of the bar, perching himself on an empty stool. A young girl, brunette, no older than eighteen sat beside him. He tilted his head, shifting so that he faced her, a smirk played at his lips. "You don't look old enough to be in here." He murmured softly, so only she heard him.

Her right eyebrow immediately arched as she peered over at him. "Whatever, old man. Not interested." She waved a hand as she responded, causing a small pile of glasses behind the bar to fall over. "Shit." She muttered, quickly putting her hands down.

Intrigued, he pressed on, leaning towards her as he spoke. "What an unfortunate accident." He nodded.

"Yeah, they should be more careful." She muttered as she emptied what remained in her glass and pulled out her wallet, placing a few bills on the counter. "Goodbye." She murmured softly as she began to walk away.

He followed, he was certain she made that happen. There was definitely something different about this girl, and if she was a mutant, he was determined to get to her before Charles. She rolled her eyes, hearing his footsteps behind her. "Wait… hold on a minute." He called out to her as he closed the space between them in a few long strides. Erik reached for her arm, feeling his hand get pushed away by an unseen force. He grinned, moving to stand in front of her.

"May I help you?" She sneered, annoyance apparent in her tone.

"No, no, my dear… It's actually I who can help you." He was still grinning as he stepped forward. "That's an interesting ability you've got there."

She rolled her eyes, quickly turning on her heels. "Piss off. I'm not buying whatever you're selling, mister."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Erik, Erik Lehnsherr. And I'm not selling anything… but freedom from whatever it is you're running from."

Frustrated now, she turned to face him. Only intending to push past him, she placed a hand on his chest, sending him flying backwards, without moving an inch. "Aurora…" She said quietly as she walked over to Erik, who was now on his back. She sat upon a rock, which Erik's head had narrowly missed colliding with. He sat up, bringing his gaze to meet hers. "Like the fairytale? How old are you anyway?"

She chose not to answer his questions, but instead asks one of her own. "What makes you think you can help me?"

He quickly shot back with another question. "What makes you think I can't?" He reached into his pocket, pulling out a coin, but not just any coin the coin... The coin he'd used only weeks ago to end the life of that bastard Shaw. "You see, I am actually more like you than you'd think. However… my… ability… is restricted to metal."

She leaned forward as the coin began to lift from his hand. There are others? She thought silently as he showed off. He quickly dropped it back in his hand and moved his other hand to face a car a couple hundred feet away. "You're crazy!" She sounded surprised and excited all at once, wondering if he could move it. She'd never tried anything so large herself. He lifted the car a few inches off the ground and allowed it to drop. She let out a soft gasp as the cars alarm began to go off before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"We should go now." He spoke quickly as he rose to his feet, grabbing her hand as he dragged her away.

"Hey, let go of me!" He rolled his eyes as they continued on. By the time anyone exited the bar to investigate, they were long gone. She swatted at his hand as they approached the home of The Brotherhood. "Where are we going?" She narrowed her eyes at him, pulling at her arm.

"Why do you ask so many questions?" He raised an eyebrow, looking back at her.

"Why don't you answer any of my questions?" She quickly shot back.

His eyes dropped to her large overstuffed backpack. "How long have you been on your own?"

Her mouth dropped. "T-that… Is no business of yours! Now, Let. Me. Go. "

Again, the unseen force pushed him away. He smirked, his teeth showing slightly. "Fine, whatever you want." He nodded, looking back towards the house. The smirk still pasted smugly on his face, he begins to walk towards the house.

She stood there for a moment, convincing herself, well attempting to anyway, that she wouldn't give in and follow him.

It didn't take very long before she started tip-toeing after him. He slowed his pace until he was walking beside her.

"I think you're going to like it here, Aurora, was it?"

She took a step away from him. "Anyone ever tell you, you're kind of creepy?" She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "And besides… I won't be staying long." She insisted she'd be out before the week was over.