A/N: Hey everyone! First off, I set up my profile. I would suggest checking it out if you want to hear about how I got into writing. It tells the full story. Also, last night, I stayed up writing a pretty long chapter. I think it was chapter 13, and I am really excited to share it with you. Again, I apologize for the shortness of the chapters at the moment. I know that I get very upset when authors only upload a chapter that is less than two thousand words. But I still hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: So... I was told to write one of these. I do not own X-men: Evo. I am not that awesome.

11.

Ravyn didn't know that she had fallen asleep until she woke up. Her face was leaning against the wall, her body sprawled across two chairs. Her muscles felt tight and cramped. Ravyn blinked tiredly, trying to get her eyes to focus. She didn't get herself drunk last night, but she had managed to gain a dull ache in the back of her head.

The sun had just begun to rise, spilling its rays into the kitchen. By the look of the light, Ravyn guessed that it was around seven in the morning. She turned her head away from the window and felt a satisfying pop in her neck. Her eyes landed on a figure, sitting on the chair beside her, his upper body slumped on top of the table. Ravyn smiled. Kurt didn't leave her. Her gaze was immediately drawn to the ends of his scars that were peeking out from behind his plain white tee-shirt.

No. She pushed the idea of healing him to the back of her mind. She got up silently, careful not to wake him, and left the kitchen. Once she had left the room, she began stretching out her muscles and bones. She was about to climb the stairs to get back to her room, when she heard the faint buzz of a television. Following the noise, she found herself at the door of the common room. Inside, there were two couches on a soft, rugged floor. Around the couches were cheap, fold up chairs. Opposite the couches and chairs was a big, fast screen TV. Sitting on one of the couches was Scott. He seemed to be watching news clips of a big room with many well-dressed business men and women, who seemed to be arguing about some issue. Ravyn entered the room and sat comfortably on the other side of the couch.

"Morning," she muttered to Scott in an attempt to be friendly.

"Hey…" Scott paused. "Are you still going by Ravyn?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, Ravyn." Scott smiled at her halfheartedly before turning his attention back to the screen.

The screen switched from a picture of an old man, passionately giving a speech about an unknown subject to a close up of a woman who stared defiantly at him. Ravyn felt a strange déjà vu when she saw the woman's snow white hair and piercing grey eyes.

"Wait… isn't that-"

"Storm. Yes."

The camera panned to reveal the being who sat quietly and calmly beside Storm. A large, blue animal filled the chair beside the dark weather goddess. He was heavily built with large muscular hands and arms. He had blue fur covering his visible skin and two fangs protruding from his lip. He looked almost comical, sitting beside Storm in his suit and tie.

Scott noticed her shocked expression. "That's Beast. He used to teach here when the institute was actually… running. He left immediately after the last student was picked up by their parents."

"Is he Kurt's dad?"

"No." Scott said bluntly. He raised the volume of the television.

"It is a danger to have mutants in our communities! They prowl about unchecked and unchallenged. It is a fact that crime rates are higher in the areas that mutants are known to live. We cannot have them in our communities until we know more about what they are. It is necessary for every mutant to be registered and their abilities thoroughly studied before even thinking about having them attend the same public schools that we send our children to!" The elderly man exploded before taking a seat. Throughout his speech, Storm continued to stare at him with a hardened expression.

A few more statements were given before the court convened and the people sitting at the desks stood up and began to talk with one another, taking care not to get close to the two mutants.

Scott lowered the volume and rubbed his eyes tiredly behind his glasses. "And at any moment a mob of people with torches and pitchforks could attack the institute."

"There are enough mutants to fight back. Why do you let people walk all over you?"

Scott chuckled wryly. "Typical assassin response. You don't think that would create a war? More innocent people would get hurt."

Ravyn's mouth was a tight line. She bit back the words she wished she could say.

Scott turned off the television and turned his body to look at Ravyn. "What?"

"Your glasses don't protect you from everyone."

Even though he had glasses, Ravyn could tell he was rolling his eyes at her. Scott Summers laughed. "What, do you have another hidden talent?"

"I can read between the lines. I know for a fact that you hate me. Wait, no. You're too much of a good guy to hate someone. You greatly dislike me. You also wish you didn't have to wear your stupid glasses all the time, but above all-" Ravyn's voice dropped to a low whisper, "You wish to look into Jean's eyes with your own without blasting her head off. You wish you weren't a mutant. Am I right?"

Scott smirked, surprising the younger girl. He spoke calmly. "Aren't you the little Sherlock Holmes. Here's the thing. You're reading between the lines is all what they seem: guesses. You think you know all about a person just by looking at them when in fact, you see what you want to see."

Scott glanced triumphantly at Ravyn when she sighed and turned her attention back to the television. The courtroom was still on break; the people walked around, seemingly aimlessly. Her silence bothered Scott, who was used to seeing her fight back with an animalistic passion. "Something wrong?"

Ravyn smirked halfheartedly. "You didn't answer my question. Let me rephrase: Would you take a cure if it came around?"

Scott didn't have to think. "Yes." He paused, and then added, "Wouldn't you?"

"No." She met Scott's stare, and laughed. The eerie sound echoed throughout the mansion. "Look. Nothing can kill me. Why would I want to get rid of that?"

"I wouldn't get too cocky. People are very creative in their methods of killing."

Ravyn stood. The rising sun reflected off her flawless skin. "When you think of something, let me know. Otherwise, I have a right to be unbreakable."

"Oh, everyone had a breaking point. One light push and the person can collapse." Ravyn stared at Scott skeptically. She didn't know how much his words would mean to her in the future.

It didn't take long before Ravyn left Scott Summers and exited the mansion. She sat motionless on the steps. The sun had peaked the mountains, casting a luminous glow on the dead grass and bare trees of autumn. The chill bit through her thin t-shirt and her breaths came out in thin wisps of smoke.

Unexpectedly, Ravyn whipped her head to her left, towards a clump of bushes and trees clumped beside the stairs. "Who's there?" She thought she heard breathing.

She placed her hand behind the hem of her pants, feeling the warm, familiar steel of her gun. She had remembered to take it with her when she left her room. She reached out her hand to pull the tangled branches aside.

"Ravyn?"

Ravyn jumped at the sound of the voice and turned to see Evan peering quizzically at her, his head peeking out from the door of the mansion.

Ravyn's hand, which was mere centimeters from the bushes, fell to her side. "Shouldn't you be in the infirmary?" She asked, breathing heavily from the cold and surprise.

"I'm fine… Thanks to you." Ravyn didn't respond to him, glancing causelessly at the bushes behind her. Evan continued. "I saw you through the window. What're you doing?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired, I guess." Ravyn gently pushed past Evan to get through the mansion door.

Evan stared at the girl as she entered the mansion. It must have been ten degrees outside. "You are so unbelievably strange."

Ravyn turned and smiled. "And you're not?"

Evan returned her smile and looked at the floor. "I was convinced you were leaving."

"Is that what you want?" Ravyn took a seat on the winding mansion stairs. Evan followed, sighing loudly as he sat beside her.

Evan shrugged. "Well, you don't seem to like it here. You're free from the assassins, so it makes sense if you want to be free from us, too." Ravyn clutched her hands tightly, keeping her eyes on the tile floor. Evan continued slowly. "But… I just got used to you." He smiled and playfully nudged her. "And besides, I still haven't perfected the art of sharpshooting."

Ravyn made a sound that was a cross between a sigh and a laugh. "I don't know what I want to do." She caught Evan's eyes. "But if I leave, I'll be sure to say 'bye'."

"You'd better." Evan gently pushed her face away from his, breaking their eye contact. For the first time, Ravyn felt the familiar pressure created by her gun uncomfortable. She felt safe; the same feeling she had felt when Kurt held her in the Danger Room returned. She let her guard down and nothing happened: no explosion, no chains.

So relaxed was she, that she failed to notice a dark figure slip from the bushes, outside the mansion.