Hayden scrubbed the wooden table, desperately trying to get rid of the bloodstain from a bar fight the night beforehand. She turned the ragged cloth over and placed it on the table, finally giving up on the table that her boss had assigned her to clean about a half hour earlier. She quickly wiped down the table with a paper towel, deciding that if she couldn't get rid of the stain, she might as well make it look a little presentable. She'd tell her boss at the end of the night when he was content with the money they made that night at the Starstruck nightclub.

Hayden had worked at the StarStruck nightclub for about a year and a half, and still hadn't been promoted up from waitressing and bartending. She had come down to New York City about two years prior because of the mess her life had become. Roughly two years and three months ago, Hayden's family had been murdered by the one and only Magneto when he collapsed her house on top of her family while looking for her. Apparently he had wanted to recruit her to the Brotherhood, a group of mutants that apparently despised humans, which she obviously did not join.

Yeah, you got that right. She's a mutant. Hayden had known she was a mutant ever since she was six and had set her Barbie on fire with her hands before quickly extinguishing it with water that had flowed from her hands. Unlike most parents of mutants, Hayden's parents had been entirely supportive and let her use their huge backyard to control her powers. Hayden and her family had lived near a suburb on a big piece of property that did not have neighbors for miles, which helped Hayden hide her powers from the rest of the world. Hayden had two older brothers, who both effectively hid her from the opposite sex, taught her about sports, and marveled over her powers, which they seemed to have missed out on.

When her family was killed, Hayden fled to the city to hide from Magneto, but also from her memories. She originally got a job at a café near her grungy apartment, but it didn't pay the rent. She ended up at the StarStruck nightclub, where Robert, her boss, offered her a job as a waitress. As much as she was thankful that he gave her a job, she couldn't deny that he was a scumbag that probably only gave her a job because of the size of her….assets.

Hayden sighed and slid off of the stool where she had been cleaning the table, and put the cleaning supplies under the bar. She went to go to her spot behind the bar counter when she saw Marie, another waitress who had always looked after her, waving for her to come over. She walked over and stopped in front of Marie, raising one of her eyebrows.

"I need you to cover one of my tables, Rob's got me working every table and he doesn't seem to realize that I don't have clones of myself." Marie told her, sounding extremely exasperated, and extremely annoyed with Robert.

"Yeah, no problem. I didn't want to bartend anyway, too many old creepy guys hitting on me," Hayden answered, smiling easily at Marie, who grinned at her and patted her on the back to thank her. Hayden made her way over to table 15, a booth that was near the back of the club. When she got there, there were two guys sitting there. One of them had blonde hair, big muscles, was wearing a leather jacket and jeans, and it seemed like a smirk was permanently plastered on his face. The other one seemed to be her age, had dark brown hair, bright blue eyes, and was dressed in slacks, a blue button down, and a pea coat. They both seemed slightly out of place here, where girls wore strips of cloth and called them clothing, and guys wore t-shirts and jeans.

"Can I help you guys with something?" She asked, pulling her notepad out of her pocket, and pulling the pen from her messy bun that held up her dark red hair.

"Actually we were thinking that we could help you," the older one replied, smiling at her. Hayden rolled her eyes at his reply, used to guys using cheesy pick up lines.

"Sorry, but I'm just here to take your order. For food and drinks, don't expect anything else," she said, placing her dark blue eyes on his light blue ones, daring him to make another move. He chuckled.

I'm sorry but you've seemed to have misread me. Alex and I, we're like you. The mystery man responded, but this time his smooth voice seemed to be in her head. Hayden jumped, her blue eyes widening as she realized what was going on.

"What do you want?" She growled at, making both of the men look slightly startled.

"My name is Charles Xavier and this is Alex Summers. We're both mutants, like you." He said, his smile coming back onto his face. She let out a breath of relief, recognizing Charles's name from talk among mutants in the city and realizing that he was against Magneto.

"Okay. What's that have to do with me?" She asked, raising her eyebrow at them. This time Alex was the one who smiled.

"We were passing through town when we found you. We were wondering if you'd like to join us with other mutants in England to go against Magneto," he said, and Charles sent him a look at the mention of fighting against Magneto.

"Most definitely," Hayden breathed, making both men look up at her in shock. Charles and Alex glanced at each other. They had never had someone agree so easily.

"Would you like to grab your stuff before we depart?" Charles questioned her, making her nod.

"Yeah, I just got to persuade my boss to let me go," she said, moving toward where Roberts was at the bar. Charles lay a hand on her arm, making her stop.

"Don't worry, I got this," he said with a tiny smirk. Hayden sent him a questioning glance but motioned for him to go ahead of her. He smoothly moved forward, and tapped Robert on the shoulder. His pupils dilated and he put two of his fingers to his temple.

"Hayden is going to come with us and you're going to let her. You're not going to stop us or make a commotion, and you're going to completely forget my face. When someone asks where she is, you will tell them that she is visiting relatives in Philadelphia" Charles spoke calmly to Robert, who nodded with every word he spoke. When Charles was done, Robert turned to Hayden with a smile on his face.

"I hope you have fun in Philadelphia!" He said to her with a grin so wide it looked like it hurt his face. She smiled at him uneasily and quickly followed Charles and Alex out the door of the nightclub.

"Philadelphia?" She asked Charles, an amused grin on her face. He looked at her from over his shoulder and flushed slightly.

"I had to think quickly," he said, before falling back in line with her and Alex. "Now where do we get your stuff from?" He asked, looking around at the intimidating neighborhood.

"I'm about two blocks away," Hayden answered, gesturing for them to follow her as they walked down the street. Finally her apartment was in view and she cringed slightly, not really feeling comfortable with them seeing how much of a shithole her living situation was. They didn't seem to be affected by the apartment, though, and followed her up the stairs to the outside door. On the outside door of the building was a bright pink piece of paper, stating that Hayden had to be moved out of the apartment in two days time or her stuff would be moved outside. Charles and Alex sent each other a glance, but decided not to bring it up.

Hayden tried to open the door, but was suddenly aware of a big lock around the doorknob.

"Shit," she cursed, before swiftly pulling a bobby pin from her hair, making some of the shorter pieces fall from her bun. She stuck it into the lock and then pulled another bobby pin from her hair, jiggled it around a bit with the other one until they heard a click. She grinned and swung the door open, gesturing for Alex and Charles, who both looked impressed, to follow her.

They walked up two flights of stairs before they reached apartment 24, where she had been living for a while. "I just have some clothes," she said to them before opening the door and letting them follow her. Her apartment really should have been called a closet, as it was one room, with a shower curtain to separate the bathroom. There was a cot with plain blue sheets, a dresser that had one drawer missing, and an ancient stove with a mini fridge and microwave that passed as her kitchen.

She quickly grabbed her big black duffel bag and started shoving her clothes and shoes inside. She then went into her bathroom and threw a few toiletries inside. When she left and closed the curtain behind her, she could see Alex and Charles looking slightly uncomfortable in her apartment, well, room. Alex seemed to be looking at the broken guitar stand in the corner.

"You play?" he inquired, nodding in its direction. Hayden nodded.

"Yeah, but I had to sell my guitar," she said, not even sparing a glance in the direction of where her beloved guitar used to sit. Her parents had bought it for her in fourth grade along with piano lessons, and that's where Hayden's love for music came from. She didn't, however, want to bring up unwanted memories and looked towards Charles. He seemed to be looking at her in interest, as if studying her every move. "You ready?" She asked him, and he seemed to break out of a trance. He smiled and nodded quickly, ushering them all out

They walked down the street, and Hayden seemed to notice that they were headed towards the park. As they walked along, many guys of all ages seemed to be leering at her. She was used to it, having lived in the city for two years and having waitressed at a club where it was very common to see strippers and pimps interacting normally.

"Hey baby, why don't you ditch these losers. You come with me and I'll make you scream my name until your voice is hoarse," he jeered, smirking at her. She glared at him, crossed her arms over her chest, and felt Alex and Charles stiffen and move closer to her and pushed her farther away from him. "Aw don't be like that baby. I sure know how to please a woman," he said, getting closer.

"Well then please leave me alone," she answered, flashing him a sarcastic smile.

"Why you—" he started, and before Alex or Charles could get to him, a dark-skinned arm shot out and held the man against the building. Hayden looked up to find John, one of her friends, holding the man up against the wall. John was around forty years old and had become friends with Hayden when she fixed his television in his apartment that was down the street from hers. Hayden majored in engineering and math, so it wasn't too hard. Ever since then, John and his friends looked out for her.

Hayden let out the breath she had been holding and smiled at John, who just pressed the guy harder against the brick wall. The rumbling of motorcycles could be heard as John's friends pulled up, looking over at Hayden.

"You okay?" Ricky, one of the guys, asked her. She nodded.

"Yeah, he was just being a scumbag," she said, nodding her chin towards the man who was trying his best not to look like he was going to shit his pants in fear. He was failing. "You don't have to do anything too drastic," she added, not wanting to be responsible for a murder of a random guy off the streets of New York. "This is my cousin Alec and his friend Charlie, we're going to the movies," She said and waved her hand in the direction of Alex and Charles, who both looked a bit tense. John looked a bit hesitant but nodded and turned his attention back to the guy hanging from his hand.

They kept on walking, and once they hit the park Charles turned to look at her.

"Does that happen a lot?" He asked, looking at her with concern in his eyes. She nodded.

"Yeah, it's bound to happen in any bad neighborhood of New York. Don't worry though, John and his buddies aren't going to let anything happen to me," she said, not knowing why she felt the need to add the last part. Charles nodded, still looking a bit unsure.

They kept on walking into the trees until Hayden could see a faint outline of something in the distance. Her jaw dropped and she swiveled around to look towards Charles. "Is that a jet?" She asked, being able to see the sleek exterior now that they were closer. Charles smirked and nodded.

"Yes, Hank designed it," he answered. She was about to question who Hank was when a hulking blue fuzzy creature stepped out and walked towards them.

"Hi, I'm Hank," the man said, smiling at her timidly. She sent a wide genuine smile at him and stuck out her hand.

"Hayden," she said, shaking his hand. He looked a bit surprised but smiled bigger towards her.

Charles looked towards them, a bit miffed that Hank got the first big smile from her.

They all piled into the jet, and got into their respective seats. Hayden was next to Alex and across from Charles. She looked down at the seatbelt system with furrowed eyebrows. She heard a chuckle from across from her, and Charles leaned over and buckled the intricate safety system. She resisted the urge to blush when his fingers trailed across her stomach.

The engine roared to life, and Hayden's head shot up.

"What engine do you have in here?" She asked Hank, yelling a bit so that he could hear her.

"It was originally a rotary, but I put in all new parts," he said, and his smile got even wider when he realized that she spoke engines. She nodded and turned to look at Charles and Alex, who were both looking at her with even more interest. She blushed.

"I mastered in engineering at MIT," she explained, making both of them nod and Hank grin when he found that he could now talk genius with someone besides himself, and someone who also graduated college in the same area. It was then that Hayden realized she was in a private jet with three mutants, one of which looked like a giant blue teddy bear. "So what are your guys' powers?" She finally asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. They all smiled at her, though with Hank it was a bit harder since he was flying the jet.

"I'm a telepath, which I'm sure you've already figured out," Charles said, smiling at her. She nodded and looked towards Alex.

"Umm, I can't really do it here, but I shoot energy-laser beam things from my chest," he said, making her involuntarily look down at his chest, which seemed normal enough. "It doesn't show," he added, making her blush and look towards the front of the plane where Hank was.

"I have a greater brain capacity and I'm also huge and blue if you hadn't noticed," he said, making her chuckle. Charles looked up at her when he heard her laugh and smiled at the sound. Alex leaned forward and grinned at her.

"So what is it that you do?" He asked her. She smiled back.

"I control the elements," she explained. They all looked a bit shocked.

"All of them?" Charles asked, looking impressed. She nodded.

"Yeah, ever since I was little I've known what I can do," she said, making them nod.

"So how does one control earth?" Alex asked, looking at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"Well basically anything nature-wise I can move, like trees or roots. Telepaths also can't read my mind because my connection with the earth makes me grounded, like with electricity," she explained, and Charles's eyes widened.

"So that's why I couldn't read your mind!" He exclaimed, making Hayden jump a bit.

"Yeah, I can imagine that might have been a bit confusing for you," she said, sounding a bit apologetic.

"No need to apologize Dear, I was just fascinated by why I couldn't enter your mind when we met you," Charles said, smiling at her. Hayden was about to ask about how many people were going to be at the destination when she felt the plane lurch a bit.

"Sorry about that," Hank said. "Thought I'd let you know that we're here," he finished, turning around in his seat and smiling at her.