A/N: Tenth chapter's up! Finally! It's been hard. Trying to explain everything and stuff is difficult. Anyways...read on! I hope you guys like the story so far! There's a bit more explainin' to do and this chapter is an explaining chapter, but the action will come back very....very....soon....

Chapter 10: Change of Plans II

By: Galadeidre

Once everybody was in the office and the door closed, Cleo immediately spoke. "This is the last place I'd be if I could help it."

"Why do you hate this place so much?" Nightcrawler asked.

"I don't. But it's got too many people. As the Professor probably told you, we're a kind that value our solitude. It's in our blood."

"What I wanna know is what the heck happened back at your place. It was all over the news. And why don't you guys talk with your accents and stuff?" Wolverine growled.

"We don't have accents, dummy," Liz answered. "It's just a precaution, just in case you aren't who you say you are. Didn't you notice that, or were you just too much of a tin can to see? I swear, that adamantium stuff has leaked into your puny brain."

Wolverine growled and stepped forward, his claws coming out between his knuckles. "You want to say that again to my face, kid. Huh?"

"Logan, enough. I will not allow that in this room," Professor ordered. Wolverine growled in defiance but backed away.

Cleo sighed and rubbed her temples. "You two are more than a handful." She decided to change the subject before it was too late. "Anyway, yeah. That huge pillar of smoke on the news was our house. By some chance, did Magneto pick up any new allies or somethin'? I don't recall him with a mutant of fire. At least the last time I saw him and his gang that is."

The Professor's eyes widened for a moment. Then they turned sorrowful and he fell silent.

Seeing that he was unable to answer, Cleo gave a small sigh and closed her eyes. A few moments passed and then she opened them again. "John Allerdyce. Former student here in Mutant High. Mutant name, Pyro."

Xavier nodded. "He was always a bit troublesome here."

"A bit?" Bobby muttered under his breath.

"With the right guidance, he could have turned out to be a wonderful man," the Professor continued. "Maybe it's still not too late…"

"Save your breath, Charles," Cleo interrupted. "Sorry to say, but not that one. And again I'm sorry to say, but we have a 'Magneto Crisis' on our hands here. We came here for your help."

"And you expect us to help you?" Cyclops asked in wonderment. He gave a wry laugh. "After turning us down when we came to your place? I doubt that."

Cleo scowled at him. "We don't like working with others often. It's our last resort. We like to handle things our way and without others. It slows us down otherwise."

"Not unless you work together as a team," Storm argued.

Cleo lifted her hands up in bewilderment. "Don't you guys get it? We don't like working with anybody else! We're a lone race."

"You're mutants just like us," Cyclops put in.

"We are not mutants just like you!"

"What do you mean by that? Mutants are mutants! There's not much of a difference between our kind except some are good and some are bad!"

"Scott, please!" the Professor finally spoke. "This is much more complicated than you realize, Scott."

"How complicated could it be?"

"Very complicated." Scott saw that it was pointless to argue and kept his mouth shut. Xavier sighed and turned to Cleo. "What do you want our help for?"

"You're not actually saying we're going to help them?" Wolverine asked incredulous.

"You guys don't actually have much of a choice," Liz spoke up. Her hand was covering her chin, which was starting to bleed again.

The others noticed.

"We should wrap that up for you," Beast spoke stepping forward. His voice was filled with genuine concern.

Liz edged away from him a warning in her eyes. "I'm fine. I don't need any medical attention. We have a healer in our family anyways." She glanced at Cleo.

Cleo sighed. "Fine. Come here." Liz walked to her and Cleo held her hands under her sister's chin. Her hand started to glow and the gaping wound began to heal. "There." Liz backed away to the wall satisfied and Cleo turned her attention back at the Professor.

"Going back to our first topic before it went off course. And this time, I want to be able to talk about the whole situation through without any interruptions of any kind." She glared at the other mutants including her sisters as she said this.

"I have a feeling this may be a long explanation," Xavier spoke. "So, everybody should get comfortable where they are."

Cleo snorted. "It's shorter than you think, Charles, 'cause you already know most of the facts." She sat in a chair and Ana climbed onto her lap, snuggling close.

"True," Xavier nodded. "Let's see how much I've been able to figure out." He leaned back in his chair. "You have assumed that Magneto was the one who destroyed your cottage in Northern Alberta."

Cleo nodded.

"Assuming that Pyro has allied himself with the Brotherhood, he was probably the one who burned your cottage."

Again, she nodded.

"Now, you ask yourself why?"

Cleo spoke this time. "Why did he burn our home? How did he quite find us? And why did he wait for us three to be out of the house so he could destroy the only member of our family who could still be bended to his will?"

"What do you mean 'bended to his will'?" Cyclops asked. "You're all strong mutants. You could have withstood him."

"We're still practically kids, Summers," Cleo explained. "In time, as Lex grew, Magneto might have been able to use him against us if given the chance. Lex didn't have any mutant powers yet. Who knows what he could have had in a few more years time."

"So," Beast spoke up, "I presume that you've had a few encounters with Magneto that are similar to the idea you just spoke of?"

"Two or three times."

"That is a bit odd," Storm replied. "Him killing Lex instead of you three when you already know him and he already knows your powers."

"Well, I have quite a good assumption for that second question of yours, in how he found you," Xavier replied.

Cleo looked back at him. "You're thinking Morrey, right?"

"Precisely."

Cleo nodded. "I had that assumption, too. It's probably true. Pity that he's dead, though."

This shocked everyone else in the room.

"He's dead?!" Cyclops asked.

"You never told us this," Ana said, looking up at her big sister.

"I didn't really want to scare you guys for no reason."

"Well, good riddance to him," Liz muttered. "He was no good at all."

"He could have been our only lead to Magneto," Beast muttered.

"How did you know that he was dead, though? Did you kill him or something?" Wolverine asked.

"I try keeping a clean slate, Logan," Cleo answered. She sighed. "It was Magneto who killed him. I saw it."

"And how?" Cyclops asked.

"Duh," Cleo muttered, tapping her head. "Mutant powers."

"Well, if you're mutant powers are that strong, can't you pinpoint where they are for us?" Cyclops asked.

"It's not that easy," Cleo muttered. "I can't do everything. Magneto's helmet works for all telepaths pretty much. I don't know if I have enough energy to penetrate his helmet and figure out his plan or where he's located."

"There goes our stroke of good luck," Wolverine muttered.

"No matter," Charles replied. "They'll leave a trail, I'm sure. But for now, it's getting late, and I'm sure you three would like some rest. You've been through quite the ordeal. Once the reporters and officers have left, I'll have Beast, Storm, and Cyclops go to your cottage and check the debris for any remains or any clues."

"Good deal." Cleo gave the Professor a glance. "So, I guess this means you'll help us?"

"We've always been allies, whether you like to work alone or not," Charles replied, holding out his hand.

"Yeah…I guess we have been." She gave the Professor a small smile and shook his hand. She then turned to leave the room. "Come on, girls. Let's find our rooms." She and her sisters left.

"So we're helping them?" Cyclops asked.

"Don't hate them, Scott," Xavier remarked. "They live a hard life. Harder than you would expect. As she said, they may be mutants, but they're not mutants like us."

"What does that mean, Professor?" Storm asked.

The Professor sighed. "You have to ask Cleo for that explanation. I cannot explain it to you. Just believe me when I say this. Her family has had many troublesome experiences. Their lives are filled with so much sorrow. Coming to us for help is quite tormenting for them, but they do appreciate it. Just give them a chance."

"Easier said than done, but sure," Beast remarked.

"Whatever," Wolverine growled. He was still mad at the young werewolf.

"Well, anyways, it's getting late. I'm ready for a good night's rest. Good night, everyone." He wheeled himself around his desk and out the door. The others soon followed.

A/N: As I said...a lot of explaining. You probably already knew a lot of those facts, but did ya'll catch all the unanswered questions and non-explained answers here? It'll all be revealed soon...I hope...:)