They only roused the rest of the X-Men and Silverwing, who was in charge of the Newark mutants, to inform them about the attack on Victoria White. They gathered in a small medical room. The room's lights were bright fluorescents, shocking Emmaline's eyes after the previous darkness. They sat around the circular table as Storm patched Tori's wounds.

Emmaline couldn't look too closely at the proceedings. It wasn't the blood that made her queasy—in fact, she had been the one slapping Neosporin and band-aids on Jamie's childhood scrapes—but the idea of being attacked by mutants who were willing to kill. Her gratitude for her shield increased as the night progressed. The team was silent until Tori was bandaged and Storm declared her out of immediate danger.

"You're very lucky this cut wasn't an inch over," Storm told her, gesturing to the bandage wrapped around her stomach. "Important organs might have been sliced." Tori shuddered.

"What happened?" Scott asked her quietly.

"I was in my apartment, finishing up some bills, when I heard the crash. I remembered what you had said about Magneto, but still assumed it was something else." She shook her head at herself. "So stupid. I suddenly realized that the crash had been the window in my kitchen and that they were in my apartment. I turned off all the lights and slipped past them. They knew I was there though. I don't think Magneto was one of them, but they made me the offer. I was right by the window, so I thought I'd be able to answer and still get out." She laughed, slow and self-mocking.

Storm smiled, sitting next to her. "You did make it out."

Tori looked down at the bandages covering her wounds and spoke like that, not looking up at them. "It was a close thing. I told them I would never join the Brotherhood. He was faster than I expected. He threw knives at me, hitting me in my shoulder and stomach. I panicked and botched the jump out of the window," she said, gesturing to her leg. "I had memorized the best path from my room to the ground—not on purpose. Like I said, I memorize things automatically—and the quickest way to get here. I was just lucky my apartment was so close to the YMCA."

Storm nodded, patting her unwounded shoulder sympathetically. "You're safe now," she told her.

Tori groaned. "I should have listened to you earlier today," she said. "I was just too cocky."

"Don't beat yourself up," Scott said. "Besides, I think the problem was you didn't have enough confidence, in your powers at least. All that matters is you survived. Not many can say that."

"How did you make it when so many other mutants didn't?"Logan asked, watching her closely.

"I guess my power is sort of useful. I've watched a lot of movies. I had memorized some moves from them that I never tested out, but my muscles just knew what to do. I used my memories of ninjas to get by them and jump out of the window," she explained, not offended by Logan's suspicion. She blinked, looking over at Scott. "Do you have a pencil and some paper?"

Silverwing said, "I can get you some," and left the room.

"Why?" Scott asked.

"I can draw the mutants that were in my apartment so everyone can keep an eye out for them," she explained.

Logan raised an eyebrow at her, never relaxing though Emmaline thought it was obvious she was an enemy of Magneto. "Sounds like your power is a lot more useful than you led us to believe. You had to have known its helpfulness." His dark eyes were challenging.

Unlike Emmaline, Tori rose to the argument. "With a brain like mine, I don't see how I couldn't," Tori told him coldly. "I knew what I could do, but I also knew—from experience—that other mutants completely underestimate my ability, especially if I degrade it myself. I don't see any reason I should have been truthful to you all, just showing up in my library like that."

Logan growled at the implication that they were not as intelligent as her, but Storm shushed him. Emmaline was surprised when he didn't argue back, settling back into a glare at Tori. Storm spoke to Tori. "If your memory is as you say, then you should have remembered that Magneto will go to any lengths to make the Brotherhood succeed. You shouldn't have taken the chance."

"But I was serious when I said I wanted to go on living how I was. I honestly didn't think Magneto would understand the uses of my power—from the news I pick up the pattern that he underestimates anyone not in the Brotherhood. Like I said, it was stupid of me to think I could slip by him," she said.

"I wish we knew how Magneto was finding you all," Scott muttered, sighing.

Silverwing came back in the room with pen and paper in hand. "I couldn't find a pencil," she said, handing the librarian the supplies.

"That's fine, I don't need an eraser," Tori shrugged, then bent over the paper and began sketching.

Logan turned back to Emmaline, who hovered at the back of the room, secure separately in her shield. An hour before she had been at least attempting to sleep in the stuffy gymnasium, though with little success, but now she was even more set on edge than before. Weariness dragged at her, but there was no chance of her sleeping that night with a victim of Magneto so fresh on her mind. He looked over her and she wondered what sort of figure she cut. Her dark hair was messy from nervously fidgeting with it and she was in her casual camisole and shorts pajama set. She must have looked as tired as she felt because Logan said firmly, "You need sleep."

"I'm fine," she said, crossing her arms.

Scott looked over at his words and also gave Emmaline an once-over. "We don't need either of you here," he said. "Go on back to the gym. Storm, Silverwing, you can also leave if you'd like."

"I'm already awake," Silverwing said, shrugging.

Storm shook her head. "I want to see what she draws." Tori had already finished drawing the majority of the first face and was steadily shadowing the features. "I already slept a few hours anyways."

"I'm really not even tired. I'm a member of the team too, now, so I should be able to see what she draws too," Emmaline protested.

"You can see it in the morning," Logan told her.

"This is—" Emmaline began, annoyed.

"Emmaline," Scott said sharply, clearly speaking as the team leader, not as her friend. "You look exhausted. You're no help to us if you're too tired to function. Go back to the gym."

"You're not in charge of me," Emmaline snapped.

"Actually, on this mission I am." Seeing she was about to argue, he pulled his ace card. "Dr. Reyes told me to make sure you got enough sleep or you're off the team. Now, go back to the gym."

Seeing that arguing was hopeless, Emmaline turned on her heel and left the small room. The darkness in the hallway was complete after the brightly lit room and she paused to gain her bearings. Logan came out behind her. "Follow me," he said.

"Why?" she snapped.

"I can see in the dark," he told her, heading off to the left. Emmaline followed the sound of his footsteps, fuming to herself. "What did you think of Victoria White?" he asked her, a few steps in front of her.

"What I think is that you need to stop trying to make decisions for me," she replied.

He stopped and turned back to her. She couldn't see him well, but his voice was incredulous. "What?"

"You're treating me like I'm three, not twenty-three. I'm a member of the team too, so Scott obviously thinks I can take care of myself," she said.

"Scott's the one who told you to get some sleep," he reminded her.

"Only because you brought it up! You should just let me be," Emmaline argued.

"What's your problem?" he asked, voice lowered into a dangerous growl.

"What's your problem?" she returned. "Yeah, I asked you to guard my room a few times but that doesn't mean you can start setting my bedtime. I've been living on my own for years and I can make my own decisions about things like sleeping and joining the team." She took a deep breath and lowered her voice so she wouldn't wake up the rest of the building. "I'm on this mission so I can help, not hide back in my shield or sleep the night away."

"You're on this mission to shield. That's it. No one in there needed that, which means none of them needed you. If it wasn't for your power there's no way the Professor would have said you were 'ready' for this job," he growled at her.

"That's not true," Emmaline argued, offended though they both knew it was true. Even though she hadn't been on the team very long, she was confident in her own abilities. Her shield, at least, would see her safely through all situations.

"And I'm treating you like a three year old because you obviously can't be trusted with your own safety," he continued, voice rising.

"You care about my safety? Really? I seem to remember my first night at the mansion being attacked by you. You know, what, Logan? Whatever. You're not in charge of me."

He growled, an angry, feral sound. "Well then, I'll just go back to talk with Scott and Storm. Sleep, don't sleep, I don't care." He stalked past her, back towards the room. He shouldered her shield on the way past, resulting only in him grunting in pain before leaving her alone.

She stood locked in indecision in the middle of the hallway. At first she turned to follow Logan—they couldn't keep her out. But she really was tired and she didn't want to prove Logan right that she was acting like a child, she thought, turning back to the gym.

Then again, if those three could handle a night without sleep, wasn't she the child for wimping out? She pivoted on her heel and took several steps, and then threw up her arms in extreme frustration and stumbled her way through the black hallways back to the gymnasium.

The gymnasium was even quieter than when she had left it an hour before. She curled up, surrounded by the empty sleeping bags of the rest of the team. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off. She'd sleep all right, just not how Dr. Reyes advocated. She just needed to close her eyes, not drop her shield and dream. There was no EEG here to monitor her sleep.

Emmaline hovered near unconsciousness, in such a light sleep that she was woken every time someone shuffled near her. She double-checked her shield was still in place, and then would close her eyes once again. She heard Logan, Storm, and Scott come in a few hours later and feigned deep sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Emmaline had already been awake for several hours when Scott and Storm joined her in the small cafeteria. It consisted of a variety of food and drink vending machines. Since Emmaline had no money with her, she was sitting at an empty table at the edge of the room, watching the rest of the mutants. She had stayed in her pajamas rather than put on the stiff leather uniform but had combed her hair with her fingers and looked awake.

"I'll grab us some food," Storm told her, walking over to the vending machines. Like Emmaline, she was dressed her pajamas, a silky purple nightgown. She walked with confidence despite the amount of strangers in the room.

"Good morning," Scott said, sliding into the chair next to Emmaline. He had already changed into his uniform. "How did you sleep?" he asked her.

"Fine," Emmaline said shortly. She had never allowed herself to fall into a real sleep, and had been awoken often. Still, it was how she had slept for the past few years. She wouldn't show them how tired she felt.

Scott nodded. "Good. Tori drew us the mutants who attacked her. There were three of them, less than we expected. She said that she had seen the one who could throw knives before."

Emmaline gasped. "The one we talked to?" she asked.

"We think so," Scott said. "Almost of the mutants we spoke to yesterday have disappeared from the Professor. We're not sure how many of them joined him and how many were killed. Magneto has found a way to block the Brotherhood from the Professor," he explained.

Emmaline nodded. "Are we going to go back and check the locations again then?" she asked.

He shook his head. "We need to focus on those we can still save. There are about a dozen more we can still check in on today, plus five from yesterday that are still around," he said.

Storm sat down next to Scott, setting four waters and several packs each of honey buns, powdered donuts, chips, and cinnamon Pop-Tarts. "Dig in," she encouraged. "We've got a long day ahead of us."

Logan entered the room, also clad in his pajamas. He scanned the area and then joined the small group. He sat on the other side of Storm, which put him directly across the table from Emmaline. He didn't say anything to them as he grabbed several packs of food and a water bottle.

"Are we going to tell everyone about Tori White?" Emmaline asked Scott, voice slightly lowered so the other occupants in the room wouldn't hear her. Logan didn't even look up at her to acknowledge that she spoke. She assumed he was still mad at her from the night before—she didn't care. She was mad at him too, even if she knew it was childish. Well, he was the one who had told her she was a child.

"Not specifically. Tori asked us not to put her in the spotlight, but we'll tell them there was another set of attacks here last night to remind them why it's a good idea for them to stay put here," Scott replied.

Storm added, "As you could tell, people are starting to get antsy hiding away here. We don't want them leaving before the coast is clear."

Please review! Lots of action next chapter!