((It makes me sad to admit it, but I do not own X-Men.))

Before she met Kitty Pryde

"Man, if she doesn't hurry up and get down her now, she's going to miss the bus and I'll be stuck driving her to school again!" He was saying to himself, after he looked into the kitchen impatiently.

Daniela checked that her school bag was still hanging from the back of her chair. It was. "You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of madness."

She took another bite of her toast before asking, "Who are you talking about, anyway? I'm all set to go."

Her brother nearly jumped a foot in the air from surprise. "Oh sorry, Daniela I didn't-" He quickly turned around, but didn't see her anywhere. "Ok, Daniela. Are you playing Hide-and-go-Seek without telling me, or something?"

"What are you talking about, halfwit? I'm sitting right here."

"No your not."

"Yes I am."

"No your not."

"Yes I am!" She was starting to get a little aggravated with his childish tactics.

"No, I'm really serious! Daniela, I can't see you anywhere!"

"Yeah right." She tried to force her words out calmly, but she was getting really nervous now, and panic somehow found its way into her voice.

He could tell she was scared, which meant she was serious. He called out, "Don't worry! I'll figure something out." He racked his brains fast.

"How can you help me? You can't even see me!" Now she was getting hysterical. She was in the bathroom, peering at herself in the mirror, only to see the wall straight behind her. She shut her eyes tight, and thought about how she looked. 'I'm real, everyone can see me…' she thought over and over in her mind. She thought it about fifty times before she opened her eyes again. She stood in front of the mirror, her reflection peering back at her. She let out the air she had been holding in.

"Sam!" She called out to her brother. "I'm fine now! It's over. I don't know what happened, though."

Again, the brother nearly jumped a foot in the air, because now his sister's voice was coming from behind him. But when she walked out of the bathroom, perfectly fine, his heart gave a giant leap. He rushed over to her and enveloped her in a big hug that lasted a long time. It was like being attacked by a walking fridge, lifted in the air, and being crushed. "Sam… oxygen…. becoming an issue." Daniela gasped out with what was left of the air she had.

Finally, when he let her go, he began to ask "Are you-" but stopped in mid sentence. His sisters shoulder length, brown hair was slowly turning white, and her eyes were turning pitch black. Sam just stared at her in shock, but Daniela didn't seem to know what was going on.

"Sam, what's wrong?"

"Your…Your…." He couldn't seem to get the words out.

"My what, Sam?" She was on the verge of tears.

When he couldn't speak, he just shoved her in the direction of the bathroom. He heard a loud scream followed by a crashing sound (Obviously, she broke the mirror).

She ran out with tears pouring down her face. Her first instinct was to leave the house, get as far away from her brother as humanly possible. She wasn't sure if she could hurt him, but she didn't want to take the chance. She made a dash for the door, but was stopped by her brother.

She knew he wouldn't let her go anywhere, so she just broke down crying.

"Sam… what has… happened to me?" She said, in between sobs.

"I'm not sure." He replied, hugging his sister close. "It will be alright. We'll figure this out…. But first things first, you won't be going to school today. It may raise to many questions if something like this happens again."

She looked up at him. "What about mom and dad…. Please don't tell them."

"Why? They will find out eventually. You can't keep something like this a secret for too long. What if you disappeared during dinner?" He tried to make her smile, but failed horribly.

Daniela sat down on the couch, not saying a word, but her mind was screaming in panic. Red tear tracks were forming down her face.

"Look we'll take this a minute at a time. I'll call work and tell them I'm not coming in today. I'll stay with you until mom and dad get home. They will know what to do."

Daniela just nodded; she thought if she opened her mouth to answer, she might get sick.

Sam looked at Daniela still dressed for school that day. "Why don't you go change while I call."

Daniela ran up the stairs, and headed toward her room. She was still jumpy, and she almost tore her uniform as she took it off. She pulled on a dark blue pair of jeans, a black shirt she had just bought with white writing that read "Me. Just like you. Only better." She pulled on her tennis shoes and walked toward the door. When she placed her hand on the doorknob, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror that hung on the backside of the door. She didn't even recognize the girl staring back at her. Even her face seemed to become paler.

She walked across her room to where her black pull over hung. Thankfully, it had been bought for Sam, but he gave it to her because she liked her clothes baggy, and she liked the way it looked on her.

She pulled it on and placed the hood over her head. If no one saw her face, they couldn't see her eyes, but before she covered her face with her hood, her eyes landed on a picture of Sam and her together at the beach, on the family vacation. Her brown hair was tied back with a ponytail, and she was laughing at her brother.

She didn't know it, but Daniela had been standing there for a very long time. Her brother was standing in the doorway, watching her stare at the picture. Downstairs, the doorbell rang, which seemed to snap them both back to reality.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it." Sam said as he rushed down the stairs, and as he opened the door, he said, "Can I help you?'

There stood a tall man with red shades on. He was accompanied was a tall, slim red headed woman. They seemed to be having their own conversation, but stopped when the door opened.

"Hi. I'm Scott Summers and this is Jean Grey." Scott began.

Jean then spoke up, "We are hear to talk to a young lady named…" She looked at a small slip of paper "… Daniela McKenzie."

Sam didn't have the door open wide, so they couldn't see her sitting at the top of the stairs, listening to every word they said.

"I'm sorry. Daniela went to school today." Sam said, his eyes not meeting theirs.

Scott and Jean exchanged looks before Scott asked; "You let her go to school today? You didn't notice anything strange or unusual about her?"

"Yes, I let her go to school. She seemed perfectly fine." But you could see that Sam wasn't being truthful. His voice was shaky from the morning's events.

Jean spoke slowly and carefully, making sure not to say the wrong things. "It's ok. We're here to help her. We know what happened."

Sam was getting louder. "You don't know anything! Go away!" But before he could slam the door, a little hooded girl squeezed past him. She stood in front of Scott and Jean.

She looked to her big brother to find support, and to her relief, she found it. She turned back to Jean and spoke quietly, so no one besides the four of them could hear. "Please, both of you come in. We should talk."

They followed her into the living room, where Jean and Scott were asked to sit on the couch. Sam and Daniela sat in two chairs across from where Jean and Scott sat.

"So you say you can help me?" Daniela asked hopefully, from beneath her hood. She wouldn't dare take it down, at least not yet.

"Yes we can. Your gift is a special one and we-" Jean began, but was cut off by Sam.

"How do we know you can help her, and aren't trying to put her in a circus or something like that?" If Daniela didn't know he was trying to protect her, she would have thought this was rude.

"Oh…" Was all Jean said, before a piece of toast floated toward Sam.

"Toast?" She asked, politely. When he just stared in shock, she offered it to Daniela. She slowly shook her head no. Jean made it float back and slowly land on the plate.

"Wow." Daniela said, before letting out a smile. "What can he do?"

Jean looked over at Scott who was looking down at his shoes.

Jean responded for him, "Scott's powers aren't what you'd call 'indoor friendly.'"

Sam looked at his sister, before turning to Jean. "How can you help her?"

"We can train her. Of course, she'd move into the mansion, but there are other students with special gifts of their own. She would have classes at the local school, and she will be taught at the mansion on how to control her power."

Sam looked at Daniela again. She looked back at him, so only he could see her black eyes. "Maybe we should wait for mom and dad to get home, before we start making decisions." She whispered.

Jean smiled. "That would be fine. We'll stop by around 5:00 to speak with your parents. But if you need us in the meantime…." She gave Daniela a communicator "you can reach us on this." Both she and Scott walked outside and hopped into a little red sports car. Subconsciously, Daniela waved goodbye as they drove off.

When they were far down the street, Daniela shut the door. Sam turned to her and asked, "So, what do you think?"

Daniela took a few deep breaths before answering him. "I don't know. They do seem like they want to help me. Maybe I could go for awhile, and just see how it works out."

Sam smiled at her before someone else knocked at the door. "Are we that popular today?" Daniela groaned, as she checked that her hood was covering all of her face. She opened the door and looked down at her shoes. "Yes?"

Someone placed a finger under her chin and forced her to look up at them. He lowered her hood. An older man's voice spoke low and forcefully to her. "My child, you shouldn't hide yourself. You were given a special gift and you shouldn't be ashamed of it. At the Brotherhood House, you will be taught to control your powers and use them proudly."

Daniela blinked a few times, before hearing what he said. But when she turned to Sam, and back again, he was gone. Sam came running up to her, "Who was that?" Before he got an answer, he noticed her hood was down. "Daniela, your hood!"

As Daniela scrambled to pull it back up, Sam placed a hand on her shoulder and said "Too late. Look." Daniela did, and she saw her mother and father parking the car, with Jean and Scott pulling up behind them.

Daniela's father was the first out of the car. He looked at Scott and shouted, "Who are you people?" Not waiting for a response, he looked at Sam and the girl next to him. "Who is she?"

Daniela looked at Sam then back at her father and calmly said, "Daddy, we all need to talk." Then she walked back into the house and sat down, thinking about what she would say. He father nearly ran into the house. He embraced Daniela while she was in mid thought. He sat down on her right side and her mother sat down on her left. Her mother was nearly crying over her when Daniela noticed neither Scott nor Jean had come in. Daniela looked outside. There they stood, standing patiently outside, giving Daniela the option of turning them away. Daniela spoke up, louder then her mother or father. "Please come in."

Both Jean and Scott sat down opposite Daniela's family. Then the conversation began.

Daniela wasn't entirely excited about moving, but if it meant keeping her family out of harm's way, then she would do it.

In that same night, she found herself standing between Scott and Jean, in front of a large glass door.

"Are you ready?" Jean asked her.

The thought of bolting in the nearby woods crossed her mind, but she decided against it. Daniela took a few slow breaths before saying, "I think so."

Together, the three of them walked into the house. There weren't many people there, because it was already so late. (It was well past midnight.)

Daniela was slightly nervous and wished her brother were there with her.

Scott seemed to realize this and put his arm awkwardly around her shoulders in the form of moral support. When she was feeling more confident, she walked up to them slowly. Jean introduced them one at a time.

The first one to greet her was a tall woman. She was really beautiful, and she had white hair also. Jean introduced them.

"Daniela McKenzie this is Ororo Munroe. Ororo is also called Storm. She is a very tough lady, but she is very easy to talk to. You'll like her." Daniela smiled at Storm and shook her hand.

Next was a large moody looking man. Scott introduced him. "Daniela, this is Logan. You can also call him Wolverine. This is the man that will be working with you in the mornings, once you have control over your power." Daniela shook his hand and spoke up. "Pleasure to meet you." Logan raised his eyebrow slightly. "Oh no, the pleasure is all mine, little lady."

Next to greet her was….a man? She wasn't sure, but something about his face seemed familiar. "This is-" Jean began but was cut off by Daniela, herself. "I know you! You Dr. Hank McCoy!" He looked surprised by this recognition, but his face seemed sad. At first she thought she said something wrong, but he said, "So it seems you have seen me on the news?" Daniela didn't fully understand, but then remembered something about a high school teacher turning into some kind of monster. It was on every news channel a month after, warning everyone to be on full alert. "Sorry, no. Actually, you taught one of the girls who transferred to my school. She showed me your picture in her yearbook. She spoke highly of you. She told me all the little tricks and secrets you taught her, to remember the chemistry formulas. She seemed to like you, and I'm sure I will too." He smiled and grasped her hand. She smiled and shook his hand.

Finally came the last man. Daniela looked from Scott, to Jean and back to the bald man in the wheelchair. "You must be Professor Charles Xavier." Daniela smiled as he nodded at her. "While I packed, I looked you up. I have to say, the work you have done with genetics is simply amazing." He smiled at her and stretched out his hand. "It's very nice to have you here." He said. "We will be putting you in a room by yourself for now, until we find another living space for you."

The professor asked, "Jean would you please show Daniela to one of the guest rooms? She will have classes here until she learns to control her powers slightly, but she will meet us tomorrow morning for breakfast and to meet the other students, she should also watch the others complete the danger room course from the Observation Room."

"Will do, professor." Jean and Scott said goodbye to everyone, before they lead Daniela down a hall. Scott was the first to leave. Scott told Daniela good night before turning to Jean. Something about the way he spoke to her, or the way she blushed slightly gave them away. (Or maybe it was the fact that every other word he said was accompanied by the words 'Well' or 'Um'.)

Daniela and Jean walked quietly up the stairs and down the hallways past many doors.

"How many other students did you say lived here?"

"Many. There are to many to count, but you'll get to meet some of them tomorrow."

"When?"

"Either at breakfast or after school."

That was when Jean opened the door, which lead to her new room. Daniela was simply awe struck when she saw the massive size of the room. She was so excited, yet so tired at the same time. Daniela simply collapsed onto her new bed and didn't wake until Scott knocked at her door.

"Yes?" Daniela asked, still wiping sleep out of her eyes.

"Daniela, it's Scott. The professor asked me to show you were you can watch us in the Danger Room." She was reaching out to open the door when she heard Scott say, "Kurt, get off of my foot! Yes, you do still need to do the Danger Room Session."

"Scott, who's Kurt?" But her question was answered when a fury blue boy fell into her room through the now open door. He jumped off the ground and looked at her. "Sorry 'bout that." He rubbed the back of his neck, fiddled with his watch, and turned into a human looking boy. He stretched out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Kurt Wagner." Daniela took his hand in her own. "Daniela McKenzie." Even though his hand looked like a human's, she could still feel the soft fur beneath her fingers. She smiled at him. Daniela asked Scott if she had time to take a shower, he said sure.

The bathroom was larger then the one back home. It had a large mirror hanging by the sink. There was a door that separated the bathroom (the toilet and the shower) from the sink.

It didn't take her long to shower and change. Soon, Daniela walked between Kurt and Scott down the halls for the entire walk. It was very quiet which made her a little uncomfortable. So she asked, "So, what's this Danger Room thing?"

Scott answered her first. "It's a room where we train."

"Well, wouldn't it be easier to train outside?"

"It would be easier for us, but Logan wouldn't like it very much. In the Danger Room, there are machines that react to what we do. It's quite a work out."

Daniela looked at Kurt. "So where is this school I'll be joining soon?"

"It's the local high school. It's called Bayville High." He seemed to be German. At least, that's where he got his accent.

They were at a large metal door within minutes. When the doors slide open, there were two pathways, one, which lead to an elevator, and another, which lead to another room.

"The professor is already upstairs waiting for you. We, that is, Kurt and I, need to go this way and suit up." With that said, they both took off at full speed, leaving her to make her way to the elevator.

Daniela looked at the wall next to the elevator doors and saw two arrow buttons, one pointing up, and the other pointing down. Scott did say the professor was waiting upstairs, so lets push up. It was almost like the elevator was waiting for her to push the button. It opened automatically for her. When she walked in and turned to push another button, there were none to push. Daniela noticed the doors close only a moment to late. She began pounding on the door, and then she began yelling, "Hello? Can anybody hear me? I think I'm stuck!" She didn't even feel the elevator going up. She hyperventilates when she's alone and doesn't know what's happening around her. When the doors finally opened they showed a slightly worried Storm, Wolverine, Beast and professor.

"…Sorry." Daniela mumbled, now looking at her shoes. That was so embarrassing for her.

The professor seemed to understand how she felt, and pretended nothing happened.

"Ah, good morning Daniela. I trust you slept well?" The professor seemed to be waiting for her.

"Yes, thank you." Daniela said, trying to pretend.

"Daniela, if you come stand over here you will see the obstacle course we set for the others." Storm said.

Daniela walked over slowly, not exactly understanding yet.

Storm turned on the intercom and spoke loud enough for the others downstairs to here. "Daniela, I would like you to meet your new class mates." As she called each persons name, the raised their hand or shouted out greetings. " Of course you know Scott and Jean." They looked up and smiled at Daniela, who returned one. "Then there's Rogue, Spyke, Boom Boom, Magma, Sunspot, Wolfsbane, Jubilee, Multiple, Nightcrawler, Cannonball, Berzerker, Iceman, and Shadowcat."

Daniela waved to them all.

The Danger Room seemed to take hours, but in reality it didn't. There were many explosions and Daniela constantly found herself wondering if everyone would be all right. However, Logan seemed to be off in his own little world, mumbling things like 'Not that way, elf.' Or 'Stop showing off, ice cube.'

When it was all over, the professor led her downstairs, where she could meet everyone in person. Some had to leave in a hurry, but Daniela got to meet those who were left. Rogue, whose real name was Marie, but she preferred to be called Rogue. Iceman, whose real name was Bobby. Multiple, whose real name was Jamie. Shadowcat, whose real name was Kitty. Spyke, whose real name was Evan. And Nightcrawler, whose real name was Kurt.

When they all left for school, she was left with Jamie, Storm, Beast, Wolverine, and the Professor.

She was working with The Professor on control first.

"I need you to tell me how your power first began."

"Well, I was at the kitchen table when I heard my brother coming down. That's when he claimed he couldn't see me."

"But why did you vanish? Do you remember thinking anything before he saw you?"

"Well of course. I thought about going to the mall after school. About what classes I had. About how much time I'd have before school started. About whether or not I had to go to my locker. And about when the bus would arrive."

"No. Did you think anything about being seen?"

Daniela thought hard. "I think I did. Yes, I did. I remember because we got new school uniforms. We had to wear knee high socks with our regular skirt. With our regular white blouse we had to wear a blue and black tie. Then we had to wear a blue or black blazer over it. It was absolutely hideous! I thought 'I don't want Sam to see me like this! He won't let me live it down.'"

"That must be the key!"

Daniela's brows furrowed together. "My uniform?"

"In a sense, yes. The fact that you didn't want to be seen in it must have altered your physical visibility. How did you become visible again?"

"Well I focused on what my face looked like."

"Good. Now that we understand how it works we can begin training." They practiced for the whole time. The other students were getting back, when the professor allowed her to leave.

But before she could leave, the professor said, "If you don't mind. We'd like to place you in Rogue and Kitty's room. It's quite large, so you will have your space."

Daniela just smiled at him and said, "No problem" before turning and walking into the elevator.

'Roommates. No problem. How bad could it be?' She thought as she walked back to her old room to pack. Still, she was slightly worried. She never had a roommate before. Even when she was growing up with her brother, they had separate bedrooms. Just as she finished packing, she heard a knock at the door. She walked over to answer it. It was a young girl from the Danger Room.

"Like, hi! I'm Kitty Pryde and I'll be your new roommate slash guide."

"Hi. I'm Daniela." She wasn't sure what to say, but that didn't seem to matter.

"Do you need help carrying your bags?" Kitty took hold of one, leaving Daniela to carry one.

"So, are you, like,coming to school tomorrow, or are you staying here?"

"I think I'm going to school. The professor said we figured out what activated my power, and as long as I'm careful in public, I should be able to go."

"Great! I'll show you around Bayville tomorrow."

"That sounds nice, thank you."

((I'm not good at all with their accents, but if you are and would like to do them for me, then send me a reply saying so, and I'll send the next chapter to you. It would be greatly appreciated!))