Disclaimer: "Liking is probably the best form of ownership, and ownership the worst form of liking."

― José Saramago

Summary: Guess who's back! She's survived living with the Acolytes. She's survived mutant haters, paintball wars, evil hypnotizers, creepy apothecaries, terrible food poisoning. But she's not out of the woods yet! Teammate drama, boys and the one, most difficult journey that all teenagers must suffer! Read "Animation" first.

The only beta for this story is you!Any mistake found, please report to me. Grammar, plot, character…any flaw, I want to know and fix. (Almost) nothing is too small.

This entire fanfic is dedicated to FivePhoenix. Without her, "Animation" wouldn't have even gotten off the ground and she has helped me a lot with this too.

How do you like that? Action, right off the bat. Wow, I could be a poet.

Chapter 2: Busted

"Oh," Jean said. "This is bad."

Acting as fast as thought, Jean yanked back herself, Scott, Colossus and Anima. At that very second, Pyro hurled a fireball at his fellow Acolyte who lay prone on the ground.

"She must have read his mind," Ariel realized.

"Very astute," came a voice in her head, "Ariel, is it?"

"Yeah, I—ohmigod! Remy!" Her eyes shot to the brawling mutants. By some miracle, Pyro's fireball had missed Gambit. Now the agile man was on his feet, flinging explosive cards at his former friend.

"What's this about?" the red-haired girl asked telepathically.

"A girl," Ariel replied, wrinkling her nose in disgust. The X-Woman seemed to share her disgust.

"Alright guys, break this up!" Jean shouted, trapping both of the angry Acolytes in telekinetic bubbles. This didn't stop them from whaling against the walls of the mental prisons, trying to tear each other to shreds.

"Ariel, stop," Colossus blocked off the teenage girl who was trying to get to her fellow teammates.

"But they're trying to kill each other!" she cried. "That's not like them!"

"Jean! Drop them!" Cyclops shouted. She complied and he lowered his glasses to blast them.

"NO!" Ariel shouted. She thrust her hands at him. His shirt yanked to the left, sending the optic beam instead into the restrooms.

As if the situation couldn't get any worse, the rest of the X-Men arrived. Wolverine unsheathed his claws and growled. Next to him, a dark-haired girl did the same. Storm, Beast, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Rogue, Iceman, Cannonball, Magma, Jubilee, Wolfsbane, Multiple, Berzerker, Sunspot…she could name them all. The simple fact that they were all here was not a good thing.

"You're coming with us," Wolverine snarled. "Got any questions?"

"Just one," Ariel smirked. "Are you gonna try and make us?"

Purple balls of light crackled around her clenched fists. She looked up when she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"We should go with them," Piotr said, armoring down. "They outnumber us, and this time we were in the wrong."

Ariel hissed, but her hands dropped and the light faded. The X-Men seemed to relax as well.

They were scared of her, Ariel realized. Jean began to float Pyro and Gambit out the door.

"I can take them myself," Ariel snapped. She probably should have been nicer to someone who had saved her life and kept her friends from killing each other, but she was too angry to care. She snapped her fingers and the two began to stiffly walk behind her, immobile by her power over their clothes. She discreetly pressed the button on her throat, sighing as her energy boosted. Magma looked distrustfully at them, especially Pyro, who was able to glare at Gambit the whole way to the X-Jet.

"What a bunch of nerds," Ariel thought sourly.

"Perhaps," a man said. "But it is so much easier than calling it the SR 77 Blackbird whenever referring to it."

Charles Xavier himself wheeled down the ramp, stopping when he came to a rest in front of the assembled Acolytes.

"Come aboard," he said, turning around and going back up the ramp. "We will talk more at the mansion."

The entire flight, the younger (and older) X-Men stared at her and the others. Mostly just her though. After all, who knew big bad Magneto would recruit a girl? Ariel just gave them the cold shoulder.

Pyro struggled in his seat, but Ariel had a firm grip on him. Gambit noticed this too and began to squirm, trying to break free of her grasp. She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated. A bead of sweat drop from her hair and landed with a splash on her shirt. Stupid boys. She liked that shirt. Piotr finally noticed. He turned around and smacked both of the young men, knocking them out. Iceman flinched and little Multiple let out a squeak and cuddled closer to Rogue. Gambit and Pyro slumped in their seats. Ariel let out a gasp as she released her hold on their clothes.

She briefly realized that she could have recalled the energy that she used to power her Lego mansion, but quickly shrugged that idea away. She wouldn't let some cat-fighting jerks rule her life. She scanned the jet, now relieved of her burden. She mentally counted off all the X-Men.

"One's missing," she thought.

As soon as the Blackbird stopped moving, Cyclops stood.

"Follow me," he said stiffly. The Acolytes complied. Or, at least Ariel and Piotr did; Remy and John were towed by Ariel, their limp heads lolling back on their shirts.

"Where are we going?" Ariel asked.

"Holding cells," came the brusque reply.

"Heck no," Ariel growled. "I'm not going to—"

"I'm sure we can find some more homely accommodations for our guests, Scott?" Xavier said. Ariel sneered at him.

"I see no need for us to stay here," she growled. "You flatscan sympathizers act like you're better than us, but you're just like the flatscans themselves!"

There was an audible 'snikt' as Wolverine sauntered down the hallway towards them. Piotr stepped subtly blocked Ariel from the feral mutant.

"Now Ariel, I—" Charles Xavier was cut off as the entire ceiling was torn open. Like a cavernous mouth, the roof of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters became a gaping hole. Plaster and wood rained down and a vertical tunnel all the way to the group of Acolytes and X-Men was formed. Magneto hovered down like an avenging god, flanked by Sabretooth and Mastermind.

"I believe you have two of mine, Charles," he said primly. "And I would like them returned."

"Erik…" Charles said pleadingly. Ignoring him, Magneto waved his hands. Metal molded itself into seven metal spheres. Soon, the Acolytes were swept into the sky.

"What did you imbeciles think you were doing?" Magneto growled. Ariel liked to think he did not include her when he said that. The rest of the Acolytes thought the same. She was always his favorite.

John was snarling at Remy. He was still restrained and all his pockets had been pilfered of lighters.

Remy just smirked at him. He was also restrained, held in mid-air by Magneto.

"I do not think that they thought at all," Piotr rumbled. Magneto rubbed his head.

"What was this about, anyway?" he asked. Ariel snorted, as if she still couldn't believe it.

"A girl."

Dead silence.

"YOU TWO IDIOTS DESTROYED A STORE, FOUGHT TWO X-MEN, AND WERE CAPTURED FOR A GIRL?" Magneto bellowed. John sniffed.

"I'd do it again."

"I would too," Remy stated, not wanting to be outdone. Arrogant, stupid little poopface that he was.

"You two," Magneto hissed. "Are grounded."

At first, they laughed. Grounded? What were they? Teenage kids? Well, John was eighteen, so he technically was a teenager.

"You think I'm joking?" their boss asked. "Your technology privileges have been revoked. I can see to that. You're salary has been cut. And you will not leave the base except to drive Ariel to Bayville High."

"I still have to go?" she complained. Magneto's eyes glittered dangerously.

"You and Colossus are free to go," he said. They exited silently.

"I can't believe I still have to go!" Ariel fumed as she stalked away.

"Did you really think that his mind would change?" Piotr asked carefully.

"No," she admitted. "I just thought that he'd grow start thinking, once John and Remy were out of his hair."

Ariel was in her room, talking to a stuffed animal when Remy stumbled into her room. No, she wasn't crazy. The stuffed animal was talking back to her.

"Oh cherie," Remy groaned. "This is truly a hard life."

"Get your filthy, stinking , smoky trench coat off of my bed," she told him coldly. "And I don't care about your problems. It's your fault that you have to be a pig-headed boy who cares more about girls he just met than some of his only friends."

"It was more than that," Remy grumbled. "You wouldn't understand."

"You're right," she replied. "I still don't. And I never want to."

Suddenly, the door opened. "Hey, luv, I—" John and Remy stared at each other.

"I'll leave," John said. And walked out the door. Remy smirked.

"Get the heck out of my room, you jerk," Ariel said. Before the silver-tongued Cajun could reply, his trench coat pulled him into a headlock and dragged him out the door.

So…much…boring…drama! So little humor, I know. It just wouldn't come out! Maybe tomorrow, when I'm more awake.

—Jangling Bacon