Disclaimer: The X-Men and Brotherhood are property of Marvel. Check out my profile for OC credit. Special thanks to HMMaster, who had helped me a lot with the original version of this. They have since melted into the shadows.

Author's note: Monthly update!

Yep. Stuff. Story. Yay.

I got dragged (by my own brain) into doing a Skyrim fanfic after a friend of mine suggested an idea. So if you get Author's Updates, you know I've been busy writing that. Go ahead and check it out if you want. I don't normally write in first person or in present tense, so it's been a fun exercise.

Enjoy. Read. Review.


Haunted

The Haven

Portia rubbed some cover-up over the bags under her eyes. She hardly slept the night before, and didn't want it to show. With a long night of planning, the squad had finally decided on a course of action for Portia on her visit to the Xavier Institute. She would show minimal amounts of her power, and Xander would keep an eye on things while taking advantage of the professor's preoccupation to spy on the X-Men. His experimental recon mission yesterday had been a success.

The X-Men are an even worse mess than we are. Portia had found much of Xander's report entertaining. Somehow the mutants still worked around their relationship drama. With Kitty dating the Brotherhood member Avalanche, the closeted New Mutant girls, and Leo's outbursts, Portia wished she had a subscription to the X-Men reality show. Nothing would ever get boring.

The door of the bathroom opened and Zendi walked in. She gave Portia a smile as she set her own toiletry bag on the sink next to Portia.

"Ready?"

Portia closed one eye to brush on eye shadow. "I guess. I'd rather just fight them, you know?"

Zendi chuckled, toothbrush in hand. "It would be easier."

"I'd feel better if Enrique was coming with me."

"Re told 'im 'ee couldn't." Zendi said through a mouth full of toothpaste. Portia cleaned up her toiletries as she waited for Zendi to finish. Spitting and rinsing her mouth, Zendi turned back to Portia. "Although it's just a matter of time until the X-Men figure us out, we aren't going to risk it. The only reason why Leo hasn't figured Cloak out yet is because he's a bit of an idiot."

Portia laughed. "We do have that going for us, don't we?"

"Thank God." Zendi clapped her hands. "Oh! Dusk's already here. He wants to go over the plan one more time before you head out."

"Of course he does." Portia muttered as the two of them left the bathroom. She spotted Dusk immediately; he stood in the center of the common room dressed in a T-shirt and running shorts. Somehow, the casual wear made him more intimidating.

Xander was there too, lounging on a couch. Since he didn't have to go anywhere, he was still dressed in his hoodie and fuzzy pajama pants. He looks positively smug seeing me like this while he gets to wear pajamas. He waved as she came closer and she did her best not to drop him through a portal.

Dusk greeted her warmly before turning to business. "Zendi already filled me in. You are to observe how Xavier runs training and how the other mutants handle it. Xander will keep an eye on things with his Astral projection, and if you get into any trouble, he will distract the X-Men for you.

"I doubt Xavier will offer you a one-on-one tour, but if there are others from school with you, he just might send you in a group." He pulled out his phone, showing Portia a list of names. "There will be six others coming in to meet with Xavier today. Four will arrive when you do, and two others will come later in the morning. I will arrive around ten to tour the mansion, but you don't have to wait for me. Leave whenever you'd like."

I'd like to leave immediately. "Yes, sir." Portia said. "I'll probably be gone before you arrive."

Dusk glanced at the time. "Speaking of gone, you best be going." Seth was giving her a ride from his apartment before he went to work, Portia couldn't be late.

"Just remember, Xavier didn't just invite you to help you… he's studying you." Zendi added. "He and anyone else you run into will be watching you, waiting to see just what you can do." She smiled, leaning forward to give Portia a quick hug. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Portia took a step back and conjured a portal beside her. She looked at Xander. "You got my back?"

"Please." He smirked. "Like I would miss out on messing with the X-Men."


The first half of the drive to the Institute from Seth's apartment passed by in silence. Riding with Seth always made Portia a little nervous. Because of his mutation, the man had tinted his windows and wore a baseball cap and hoodie while he drove. He tried his best to not draw attention to himself, which meant it took at least ten minutes longer to get most places. But Portia didn't complain. She'd been pulled over with Seth before, and it was not an experience she wanted to repeat.

Portia tried to fill the silence. "So… how's the Zoo?" Seth would always talk about work. "Any new animals?"

"New turtlesss arrived for the aquarium from Detroit. A few rattlesnakesss hatched lasst week." His tongue flicked out of his mouth. "And one of the lionsss iss pregnant."

"That's cool."

"Yesss," Seth said, "but it meansss my bossss will want to bring Leo Dyssson back. Maybe you didn't know, but he wasss the attacker back in June."

I remember. It started this damn mess. Portia clenched her teeth, the chaos of the last five months slamming into her. Not that she'd really loved Denver, where the squad had (for the most part) been stationed last. But things were simpler there. There weren't any goody-two-shoe X-Men or badass-wannabee Brotherhood.

Seth continued, undeterred by Portia's silence. "Leo wasss our go-to for the lion exhibit, and it hasss been a hassssle ever sssince he left." He smiled. "And everyone missesss him."

"Popular for a mutant, isn't he?" Portia smirked. "Everyone wants him on their team."

"He isss… ussseful." Seth muttered. She glanced at him, unsure if they were still talking about the Zoo or if Seth had a better idea of what the Haven's plans for Leo than Portia did. The man seemed out-of-touch with the Haven; he had only been there on Saturdays and a few odd weekdays over the past month. Though, Seth was one of the oldest members of the Haven… his seniority might make him privy to more information than Portia.

Before she could ask him about it, Seth posed his own question. "What happened yesssterday? I thought you weren't sssupposssed to draw attention to yourssself."

Portia clicked her tongue and sat on her hands. "I had a bad day, okay?"

Seth frowned, glancing quickly at Portia. "Your powersss aren't controlled by emotion."

"I am aware of that." Portia grit her teeth. "But sometimes my emotions trigger a change in my energy. Sometimes I get a little twitchy."

"Tell me: X-Men, Brotherhood, Haven… or Enrique?"

"All of the above." Portia grumbled as Seth's Malibu pulled up to the gates of the Xavier Institute. As he rolled down his window to speak to the panel next to the gate, Portia leaned over him. "Let me do the talking." She whispered as a chipper female voice came over the intercom.

"Hi! Welcome to the Xavier Institute. Like, what can we help you with?"

"It's Portia Manderson… from Bayville High? Mr. Xavier said I could come?" Portia shouted out Seth's window.

There was a pause, followed by a buzzing sound. A different voice, belonging to a male, answered her. "Professor Xavier and Ororo will meet you on the grounds in front of the mansion. Just drive up the circle until you see them, Portia."

The gate creaked as small wheels pulled the metal bars from the car's path. With a shudder, the gate came to a stop. Portia took a deep breath, willing her heart to stop pounding frantically in her chest. This was enemy territory… every wrong move would be a landmine.

Seth tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "I'm not sssure I ssshould drive you up there."

"Oh relax, they aren't going to attack you on sight."

"Wolverine might."

Can't argue with that. "Okay, you have a point. How 'bout you drive me up and if he's there I'll teleport both of us before he can gut us?"

He rolled his eyes, but drove forward. Portia sat back and tried to calm herself as they approached the mansion. Two figures came into focus in front of the building, sunlight reflecting off the metal of the professor's wheelchair. Ororo Munroe, AKA Storm, stood next to him, a hand protectively on the back of his chair.

Here we go. Portia took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. The two adults smiled and greeted her, beginning the game. Portia turned around, "Thanks for the ride Seth, I'll find something to do until you get off work." Lies.

"Be sssafe." Seth hissed, giving her a smile. And with that, he pulled away.

Taking a deep breath, Portia turned back to the X-Men. Storm's eyes followed Seth's car, her hand on her shoulder… the shoulder that Seth had bitten a few weeks ago to distract the X-Men. Though it had been dark when Portia and the others faced off against their X-Men opponents, Portia still recognized the clothing Storm wore as the woman's uniform.

And here I am, woefully underdressed. Portia looked down at her attire, now unsure about her choices. The boots had seemed like a good idea this morning. Sure, running in them was a pain, but they were comfortable to stand in for long periods of time. She could always ditch her jacket, too, if it restricted her mobility. Maybe I should've just worn my spandex.

"I hope you do not mind, Miss Manderson, but we are going to wait for a few of your classmates to arrive before we begin." Xavier said, breaking Portia out of her thoughts.

She shrugged. "Fine by me." Her eyes shifted to Storm. "Uh… should I have worn something… sportier?"

Xavier chuckled. "No, no. What you have on will be fine."

"We thought we would do some exercises outside, take advantage of the warm weather while it lasts." Storm said. The woman spoke each word as if she were speaking to a stray pit bull. "That is, if you are okay with it. We would not want you getting too chilly."

Alright. Cue passive-aggressiveness. Portia doubted Storm cared about her comfort, it was clear she regarded Portia as a threat. But they were all acting. Today was nothing more than a game of improv.

And Portia would not be the one to break character.


Kitty typed away at her laptop, composing her weekly email for her parents. Their last email contained a lot of restrained worry, she knew after the murders in Bayville her parents were worried for her safety. She did her best to explain the situation to them, assuring them she wasn't at risk.

while I know you're worried, there really isn't any reason to be. The victims lived in a different area of town, and we're very safe at the Institute. You know how great our security is, and if all else fails, we've got Mr. Logan…

She glanced at the man as she typed his name. Just seeing him there, reading his newspaper, gave her a sense of comfort and security.

"If you keep starin' at me every time you mention me in an email, I'm gonna get paranoid." Logan growled, without turning to look at her.

"Sorry!" Kitty said quickly, returning to her email.

In other news, Xavier started a partnership with Bayville High. There's a decent number of mutants at school now, many of them new transfers this year. I guess Bayville High has become the flagship school for mutant and human interaction. The new club we're sponsoring meets every Friday, and we just had our first meeting yesterday. The Institute is offering training and advice to the mutants at school, and maybe some of them will be good recruits for the X-Men. It's a neat idea, but I'm not sure if we can handle any more recruits if they're as big of trouble makers as Leo and Benj are.

Kitty paused for a moment, wondering how to let her parents know about the Haven. There wasn't much Kitty knew herself about the mysterious home of the mutant Clay Dune, but she wanted to give her parents a heads-up that there was a new mutant group in town. Maybe the Haven was a national group… her parents might have heard of them.

At a loss, Kitty decided to write more about the latest Xavier Institute gossip. She could come back to the Haven later.

As she typed, the door to the kitchen swung open and Leo stepped through. He had learned since the summer, and kept the door from slamming into the wall. Leo nodded at Logan and took a seat next to Kitty. She quickly signed her email and sent it off.

"Morning." Leo said, leaning over to look at Kitty's computer screen.

She gave him a playful shove. "Didn't anyone tell you to, like, mind your own business?"

He smirked and backed away. "Tellin' your parents about my latest adventure?"

"You wish." Kitty laughed. She frowned for a moment, unable to shake the creeping suspicion that she'd forgotten to tell her parents something in her email. I can always send them another one. She reminded herself, closing her laptop. "So, like, what are you doing up so early?"

Leo shrugged, one of his goofy grins breaking across his face. "I got a call from the Zoo."

Kitty raised an eyebrow, glancing over her shoulder at Logan. The man looked over the top of his paper, skepticism etched on his face. Leo had worked at the Bayville Zoo before coming to the Institute… before he'd lost control of his powers on-the-job and assaulted two visitors. "Really?" She asked, turning back to Leo.

"Yeah! Seth says that my boss will call sometime today to 'officially' let me know."

A rumble came from Logan. "That the same Seth that attacked Storm?" He snarled.

Leo rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, yeah… I forgot about that."

Logan growled, but the words that came out of his mouth didn't match his tone. "Well that's… nice… tell him hello for me." His eyes widened, an expression mimicked by Kitty. She glanced at Leo, who looked more terrified than shocked. Her eyes were drawn to his chest, where a faint blue light glowed under his white shirt.

"What's—" Kitty started.

"I gotta go talk to Chuck." Logan announced.

"I'm coming, too." Leo said, standing up.

Logan crossed into Kitty's line-of-sight, his finger jabbing at Leo's chest. "No. You stay here." Leo swallowed hard, his jaw clenched tight. Kitty glanced between the two, Leo looked ready to cry while Logan gave the teen a fatherly look Kitty had only seen Logan have around Rogue.

"'Kay." Leo muttered, sitting back down.

"It'll be fine. There's nothing you can do right now, runt." Logan said softly, patting him on the shoulder and walking out the door. "Eat some breakfast!" His voice called from the hall.

Leo put his head in his hands. Kitty, thoroughly confused, put a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want something to eat?"

He waved her off. "Give me a minute."

Kitty stood and rummaged through the cabinets for two bowls and a box of cereal that wasn't empty. She glanced at Leo periodically as she searched. Kitty could tell the boy was upset, he swiped at his cheeks and ran his hands through his hair several times. The two of them weren't incredibly close, however, and Kitty had no idea how to talk to Leo about whatever was bothering him. Stalling, Kitty opened the fridge to look for any milk. She lucked out, finding a partially-filled gallon on the top shelf. Her arms now full, she returned to the table and set down the cereal, bowls, and milk.

Leo cleared his throat and stood. "I'll grab the spoons and glasses."

"Thanks." Kitty poured them both cereal and waited for Leo to return. He set down two glasses, each with a spoon in it, in front of their bowls. "So… like, what was that? Why was your crystal glowing?"

Leo shoved cereal in his mouth and gave her a muffled answer. "Psychic attack."

"What?" She stared at him, unsure if she'd heard him right.

"Someone messed with my head yesterday… and now it seems like they're back." Leo kept his eyes focused on his cereal. He seemed oddly… calm.

"An attack? Wouldn't… wouldn't the professor, like, have told us about it? Why didn't you, like, say anything?" Kitty asked.

"Everyone was busy. With the meeting at school, and Tabitha and Amara-"

"Wait, what was going on with them?"

"Not important," Leo said, brushing past the question. "Then after dinner it was practically Friday date night." He scoffed. "No one was around for Xavier to say anything to." Leo laughed as he spoke, but sounded angry rather than amused.

Kitty opened her mouth to ask him more when Scott walked in the kitchen. Leo slurped milk out of his bowl, taking his dishes and standing. As he passed Scott, he clapped him on the shoulder. "Mornin' Scott."

"Uh, good morning Leo." Scott furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes clearly following Leo beneath his shades. "Is Benj always such a delight in the morning?"

"What'd he do?"

"He slammed me into a wall."

Leo snorted, and Kitty giggled. "Like, that's what you get for waking him before ten."

"What were you doing at our room?" Leo asked, coming back around the counter.

"Looking for you." Scott glanced at Kitty. "Both of you, actually. I'm rounding up everyone who's interacted with the Haven. We're going to try to match up school photos to the Cerebro photos we have— Leo, I thought you could sketch the ones we don't."

"Sure." Leo nodded. "I actually already have a couple sketches."

Scott raised an eyebrow.

"Well, hem…" Leo's cheeks flushed red. "I sketch what I see. And I've seen them a lot."

"That works out in our favor then, come on." Scott gestured for them to follow.


Scott led them down to one of the planning rooms in the basement. The room had a large, oval conference table in the center ringed by chairs. Against the far wall, someone (probably Scott) had pinned Cerebro photos of the Haven mutants on the corkboard. Nine photos, in two rows of five and four, stared back at Kitty as she entered the room.

The main X-Men team sat around the table, some more alert than others. Jean had turned her chair around to look at the photos on the board. She held another stack of pictures in her hands and she shuffled through them, frowning. Rogue slouched in her chair, arms folded over her chest. A black baseball cap was pulled low over her eyes and she wore an oversized, gray sweatshirt that was clearly Benj's. Kurt dozed with his head on the table, his tail waving sleepily above his ear. Kitty couldn't help but smile. Hopefully the weirdness between them would pass and she could go back to being friends with the goofball.

Scott said something about waiting for Tyler, and walked over to talk to Jean. Leo shrugged and took a seat opposite Kurt while Kitty sat next to a disgruntled Rogue.

"I didn't know you, like, wore hats." Kitty teased. In their years at the Institute, Kitty had only seen Rogue wear a hat maybe twice. As she looked at Rogue, she realized Rogue wasn't wearing any make-up either. No wonder she's wearing the hat. The shadow the bill cast on her face hid her absence of eye-liner quite well.

Rogue shifted in her chair to glare at Scott. "Ah dinnit want ta be awake, but someone decided he knew bettah than me. Ah had at least an hour more of peaceful sleep before Ah needed to be up." She growled. Scott didn't even look at her, despite her rising voice. Grumbling under her breath, Rogue sunk lower in her chair.

Kitty stifled a laugh. "Late night with Benj?"

Rogue narrowed her eyes and turned to Kitty. "Ya're one to talk."

"Hey, I was back before you."

"We were back by curfew."

"Yeah, but, like, after that." Kitty pressed. Rogue didn't respond. "You know, Benj slammed Scott into a wall this morning."

Rogue groaned. "Ah tried ta warn that boy."

"Which one? Benj?" Kitty asked, trying to tease Rogue enough to give her details. The more annoying she became, the more likely Rogue would be to talk.

"Ah know what ya're doin', Kitty."

"Then you know what will get me to shut up."

Rogue rolled her eyes, and Kitty grinned in victory. "He tried kissin' me again, is that what ya wanted to hear?"

"Yes!" Kitty grabbed Rogue's gloved hands. "How was it?"

"Fine." Rogue smirked, knowing it wasn't the answer Kitty wanted. "Ah did say 'tried'. Put 'im right out."

"But it was, like, 'fun while it lasted', right?" Kitty asked.

Rogue shrugged, but she didn't hide the smile on her face. Limitations or not, Kitty could see how happy she was to have someone at least try.

"Gettin' him back to his room was less fun." Rogue said, glancing at Leo. Kitty followed her gaze to see Leo sorting through his sketches, his earbuds in and a pencil clenched between his canines. Rogue turned back to Kitty and lowered her voice. "Leo wasn't there. Spent the whole night in Tabitha's room."

Kitty's eyes widened. "You're kidding."

Rogue shook her head and smirked.

"Maybe that's what Tabitha and Amara were fighting about…" Kitty muttered.

"What?"

Kitty glanced at the others, and content that no one but Rogue was listening, continued. "Apparently something, like, happened with Tabitha and Amara yesterday."

"Ah was wonderin' why Amara spent the night in Jean's room." Rogue glanced at the redhead at the back of the room. "Leo had me drive the truck back yestahday, Tabitha and Leo in the truck bed."

"Amara wasn't at the meeting yesterday." Kurt's sleepy voice chimed in. Rogue spun around to look at him. He slowly opened his eyes. "Vhat? I've been vondering too, you know."

"Information exchange. Now." Kitty demanded, pulling her chair behind Rogue's so she sat in between the two mutants. After a few moments of exchanging what they knew, Kitty presented her theory. "So Leo and Tabitha are dating now?"

"It was Tabitha cryin' in the truck, not Amara." Rogue countered.

"But Amara and Tabitha both ran out of the school meeting." Kurt said. "I saw them in the hall. Tabitha chasing Amara."

"And none of the New Mutants are saying anything." Kitty groaned. "The one time we want Bobby to talk, you know?"

"Jean ain't talkin' eithah." Rogue added.

"Are they gay?" Kurt whispered. He looked horrified to have suggested it.

"No. I doubt it." Kitty shook her head and glanced at Rogue, who looked down at the carpet. Frowning, Kitty studied Rogue's face for a hint of what she thought of Kurt's new theory. Rogue avoided her eyes entirely and became fascinated with the leather on her thumb. "Oh my god, Rogue."

Rogue hushed Kitty. "Ah don't know anythin'… Ah just… well ya suspect things when ya've absorbed people's psyches."

"Who?"

"Ah ain't sayin'."

"Come on, Rogue!"

"It ain't somethin' ya tell people!" Rogue yelled. Jean, Scott, and Leo all turned their heads to stare at Rogue. She immediately turned bright red and pulled her hat down over her face.

Leo yanked an earbud out of his ear. "What are you guys talking about?"

Rogue shot a killing look at Kitty. "Nothing."

Sticking out her lower lip, Kitty folded her arms and pouted. It's gonna come out eventually. Why does everyone have to keep secrets in this house?

Leo quirked an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak. Instead, his eyes caught sight of something over Kitty's head and he grinned. "Hey Ty! Whatcha got there?"

Kitty turned to see Tyler, his image inducer creating his human appearance, holding a long white cardboard box. The man gave a tight-lipped smile and set the box down in the center of the table. "Xavier had me pick up some donuts for the Bayville High kids so I snagged us an extra box."

"Sweet!" Kurt and Leo cheered in unison, both diving for the box.

Scott smiled. "Thanks, Tyler. We're about to get started if you want to take a seat." As Tyler complied, his form flickered, the image inducer giving way to Tyler's normal appearance. Scott stepped up to the head of the table. "Alright, I've talked with you all individually, but just to recap: We're here to figure out who we're up against. I've collected school photos of everyone who was at the meeting yesterday for comparison against the Cerebro photos we have," he gestured at the board behind him, "and Leo will be adding his more detailed sketches since most of these photos are low-quality."

"Speaking of…" Leo held up a few pieces of paper, "Here are some of them."

Scott gestured for him to pass the sketches around. "Great. Thank you, Leo."

"Let's start with what we know," Jean said, retrieving a picture out of her stack of photos. She held it up: it was the school picture of the boy who identified himself as Callen Sean the day before. "Despite his alias, we know this mutant is Sionnach Fae. Also called Kitsune." Standing, she turned to the board and pinned the photo alongside a screenshot of Sionnach Fae's arrest in Phoenix.

"Greeeat. The obvious one down." Rogue grumbled.

Ignoring her, Jean returned to the table and passed around several stacks of school photos. Tyler held up a photo immediately, announcing: "Portal!"

Kitty leaned over the table to look at whose picture he held. A girl with wavy brown hair with purple extensions, hazel eyes, and a cocky smile sat framed in the picture. Portia Manderson. "Oh! She's, like, in my Spanish class. Portia Manderson." She squinted, laughing. "Like, I don't know how I didn't see it before, you know?"

"Ah mean, ya only ran inta her at the Brotherhood House. And she knocked ya out pretty fast." Rogue shrugged. "But she basically proved who she was in the meetin', openin' portals like that."

Kitty nodded. "Two down…"

Scott picked up a photo and placed it in front of Tyler. "You said she was Haven, right?"

Tyler took the photo and nodded. "Yeah. She's the one they call 'Knife'." He stood and pinned her and Portia's photos on the board.

Kitty found her own copy of Knife's photo, the name "Zendi Idnez" scribbled across the bottom. The girl had short, messy hair, elf ears, dark brown eyes, and tan skin. Her smile was wide and bright in the photo. She looks just like a normal kid… minus the elf ears… Kitty mused, setting her photo aside. I guess that's what people probably thought about us.

A few minutes passed without identifying another mutant. The air filled with the sounds of ruffling papers, and as the minutes stretched into half an hour, Kitty stood up to look at the board. A scrap of paper with "Seth Severus" scrawled on it was pinned underneath a picture of a mutant with a head like a snake. So that makes four out of nine. She looked at the picture next to it, which had a mutant in a gray hoodie in it. Though the picture was clear, the mutant's hood was pulled low over their face and obscured most of their features. She plucked it from the board and walked back to the table.

"I've never seen this one before." She said, holding the picture so everyone could see.

"I haven't seen him since the Sionnach recruitment." Tyler said.

Leo frowned. "Yeah, I don't know how much of his face I caught."

Tyler took the picture from Kitty's hands. "Hmm, you did a lot of sketching that night, though. Any chance you have one of him?"

Leo searched his sketchbooks before coming up with a drawing of the mutant. Leo's sketch was minutely better, capturing the mutant's pinched face, dimples, and black eyebrows. He tore it out of the book and handed it to his brother.

Tyler looked at both photos while poking through his pile of school photos with his other hand. "I don't know…" He froze, frowning. Suddenly, his fingers twitched and flames spiraled to life around the mutant's pictures. "Ack!" Tyler gasped, dropping the smoldering ruins of the former papers.

"Dude…" Kurt sighed.

Leo scooped up the remnants of his sketch. "If you didn't like it…"

Tyler stared at his hands, the flames dwindling into smoke. "I… Lo siento… No… no sé…"

Looking up at his brother, Leo frowned. "¿Pero fuego? Tuviste que malograr la foto, ¿verdad?"

"No quise—"

"English, please." Scott interrupted. "What happened, Tyler?"

Shrugging, Tyler turned to Scott. "No sé. Tuve…" He stopped. "¿Qué esto? Leo, estoy hablando español."

"Yeah, ya are." Leo rolled his eyes. "Knock it off. No one else can understand you."

Tyler shook his head. "No. Leo, no pienso poder hablar inglés. Abro mi boca y estoy hablando español."

"That makes no sense." Leo frowned.

"Makes less sense to us!" Kitty said. "I'm getting, like, every third word."

Tyler continued to mutter in Spanish as Leo translated. "Ty says he can't stop speaking Spanish. He also says something told him to burn the picture." Leo swallowed and glanced at the ceiling. "Uh, okay so now Tyler says he'll just do charades for the rest of the day until he can figure this out."

Tyler elbowed his younger brother. "Lo puedo hacer." Leo held up his hands in defeat, while Tyler gestured, putting a finger to his lips and pointing to Leo.

Leo shrugged, glancing at Kitty. She saw the same worried look in his eyes that he had earlier at breakfast. The crystal on his chest glowed beneath his shirt. Whatever had messed with him yesterday just messed with Tyler.

Scott sighed. "Okay, moving along…" He held up another photo, one of the boy in the brown cloak. "Next objective: this guy. I never caught his name, but he can turn invisible."

"Cloak." Tyler stated. "Clay se llamó Cloak."

Out of the corner of her eye, Kitty saw Leo's hand freeze over the sketch he was working on. His pencil snapped. "Damn," he swore, shaking the broken shards out of his hand.

"Is something wrong, Leo?" Kurt asked.

"Nah, it's just…" Leo frowned. "Just something someone said to me…"

"Care to share?" Rogue asked.

Leo looked down at the table, his fingers drifting over the school photos arranged in front of him. His hand stopped over one and he picked it up like it was a viper. He tossed the photo into the center of the table where it landed neatly on top of the donut box. His jaw set, he glared at the offensive object.

With a glance at Kurt, Rogue picked the photo up and gasped. "Oh… Leo…"

"What? Who is it?" Kitty asked, peering over Rogue's shoulder.

Enrique Oculto's school photo stared back at her, his dark blue eyes shining under white hair that brushed his eyebrows.

"Enrique? But he's—"

"His mutant name is Cloak." Leo growled. "Told me so himself. And he can turn invisible."

"Well that would explain him and Portia…" Kitty mumbled. Rogue bumped her, and Kitty fell silent.

Scott reached over and took the photo from Rogue. "This makes five," Scott said, pinning Enrique's photo. Scott tapped the first picture on the left side. It was an old picture of the mutant Clay Dune, Kitty figured she had to be eight or nine in the picture. "Do we even want to try with Clay Dune? Leo, do you have any sketches?"

"She's always wearing that mask." Leo replied. He flipped through his sketches.

Tyler said something in Spanish and waved his hands. Greeted only with blank stares, he sighed and tapped his image inducer. His human form flickered into being and he tapped the device again to return to his normal demonic look.

"She's a shape-shiftah." Rogue groaned. "Well that's fantastic."

"Can you confirm this, Leo?" Scott asked.

Leo nodded. "That's what Tyler was saying, and I've seen it."

"Maybe ve can ID her by her eyes?" Kurt suggested, one of the Clay Dune sketches in his hand. He looked at the others. "I mean, it's the only feature ve can see."

Kitty squinted at the sketch. She'd never seen Clay Dune in person, though Logan had made sure everyone at the Institute was familiar with what she looked like. Clay had gray skin, green eyes, and wore a tan mask and uniform.

Leo must have seen Kitty trying to get a better look at Kurt's sketch, because he passed one of his notebooks to her. The sketch on the open page depicted her face, masked, and several sketches of wrist bracers. Ornate, swirling patterns covered the bracers, reminding Kitty of the ivy on the west wall of the Institute. She traced her fingers over the sketch, wondering how Leo had gotten a good look enough at Clay to draw such detailed sketches.

"¿Sus ojos? Verdad, son…" Tyler trailed off. "No."

"Tyler's right," Leo said, "we aren't going to get anywhere with her. She can look like anyone she wants."

"She could've been at the meeting and we would've never known." Scott agreed. "We could bring Wolverine next time and see if he can sniff her out."

Rogue laughed. "Oh yeah, the new kids would love that. 'Don't mind our mutant-sniffing instructah Logan, he's here to figure out which one of ya is a mutant terrahist'."

Kitty laughed along with the others. She tried to imagine Logan walking around the classroom, casually sniffing each teenager. "I don't think that's going to work. Can you, like, imagine Mr. Logan just going around sniffing everyone?"

"Alright, alright." Scott said over the laughter. "Clay Dune is a lost cause. Let's see if we can identify one more, then let's take a break."


Portia munched on a donut as she trailed behind the other Bayville mutants. Xavier led the group of high schoolers through the mansion, pointing out basic features and describing the training facilities in the basement. Portia took note of everything he said, while also trying to study the others with her.

Six more mutants to learn and observe. She mused, glancing at the sophomore girl who walked beside her. The girl's pale blue eyes drifted over every ornate feature of the Institute's hallways. Julian Hans (if Portia remembered her name correctly) had skin as white and thin as parchment, her blue veins visible on the undersides of her arms and neck. Her oil-slick hair was tied back in a braid, and it swung like a pendulum every time Julian turned her head. She hadn't said a word since arriving, but her energy was calming. Portia liked her already.

Some of the others she liked less. Freshman-boy-Tyrell ran his mouth constantly. The girl with pink hair had a voice that grated on her nerves. Thomas Tames, who she knew others at school called Taz, was a Native American boy with a fauxhawk and healing bruises around his eye. He bantered with the others with cruel, self-deprecating humor. Or he flat-out insulted the others, there was no in-between. Xavier had called him out twice already, but Portia doubted the man's comments would curb Thomas' tongue. The other teenagers found him hilarious.

"And here we have the kitchen," Xavier said from the front of the group. "With the number of students we have, the space is generally too small to accommodate everyone, so be mindful of any flying food."

There was some nervous laughter, and Portia rolled her eyes. Portia had seen the Haven's kitchens on a banquet night, nothing the Xavier students could do in the kitchen would frighten her.

When they entered, they found the kitchen empty. Storm chuckled. "I guess they listened to you, Charles."

Xavier turned to the Bayville mutants. "We asked the Institute students to be up before you all arrived, or to remain in bed until after you had left."

Portia laughed. "So they're all still sleeping?"

"Quite possibly." Xavier remarked. "Now, this completes our tour. What did everyone think?"

"Really cool."

"Yeah, I can't believe people live here."

"I really loved the greenhouse." The girl beside Portia, Julian, said dreamily.

"I dunno…" Thomas rubbed his chin, "it seems kinda small."

The others laughed, and even Xavier smiled. "We will let you know when we decide to add onto the mansion." He clapped his hands together. "For now, let's head outside. I have asked some of our younger students for help in an activity. Ororo, would you mind seeing if you could round up the other students?"

"Of course, Charles." Storm nodded.

As the woman left the room, Xavier led the way outside. Portia hugged her jacket closer to her body as the wind cut through the fabric. The sun had ducked behind a cloud, taking its warmth with it. She glared at the sky, wishing she had chosen something a bit more sensible.

They walked along a narrow cement pathway that arced toward a flat open space behind the Institute. Portia examined the area, looking for escape routes should she need them. Trees flanked the open space, creating a wooded 'U' around the field. If she ran fast enough, she could reach the tree line from the field before any of the X-Men caught up. As they approached the field, several figures came into focus.

These must be the younger students. Portia observed. She recognized them from debriefings mostly, as she didn't have any classes with them. She picked out Amara and Tabitha quickly, a smirk on her lips. The two girls stood extremely close to each other. Portia had caught a brief moment of Tabitha kissing Amara at school the day before, and Xander had reported more of the teenage drama. With one look at them, Portia could tell they'd kissed again. Amara was smiling like a four-year-old with a puppy and, though she had her arms crossed, Tabitha couldn't take her eyes off Amara. It's fun knowing the X-Men's business when they can't even guess at ours.

Xavier came to a stop alongside the field, where the mutant Beast lumbered up to him. He wore a pair of navy pants and a yellow belt with the X-Men's obnoxious red 'X' in the center. The breeze stirred his blue-gray fur as he spoke to Xavier, his voice too low to hear. Xavier gave a quick nod before Beast turned to smile at the Bayville mutants.

"Hello! In case you've already forgotten, I am Hank McCoy." Beast announced, waving the Xavier mutants over. "I'm glad you all could make it. We'll be showing you one of my favorite training exercises, mutant ball!"

The young X-Men cheered beside him. Portia raised an eyebrow. "Is that some kind of game?"

"In a way," Beast said. "I like to look at it as a way to use your powers with strategic flourish."

"AKA: how can we use our powers to hit Bobby with a ball?" Tabitha added, to more laughter. Amara grabbed her arm for a moment before quickly dropping it. Though no one except Portia was paying attention to the two, they exchanged a panicked glance.

Oh, they are doing a terrible job. I almost feel sorry for them. Portia turned away from the two girls before either could catch her watching them.

"The rules are pretty simple: we're going to play softball… but with our powers." Beast said. "This is just a way for us to have fun with our powers in a controlled environment. Don't worry about messing up. Loosen up. Experiment a little."

"My powers don't even do anything." Thomas complained.

Beast smiled. "I'm sure we can figure out something. And we'll mix up the teams so you get a chance to play with the more experienced students."

"While we wait for the others, why don't you introduce yourselves?" Xavier prompted, nodding toward the X-Men.

Portia waited for one of the others to make the first move. Freshman-boy-Tyrell went forward eagerly, shaking hands with several of the X-Men. The others followed suit and Portia tagged behind Julian as the Xavier mutants tried to make small talk with the Bayville mutants.

She ended up facing Amara and Tabitha as the others chatted around her. Tabitha smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "You're Portia Manderson, right?"

"Correct. And you two are Amara Aquilla and Tabitha Smith." Portia smirked. "Just so you know, I saw what happened yesterday."

Tabitha narrowed her eyes. "And just what do you think you saw?"

"Tabitha…" Amara warned.

Portia held up her hands. "I'm just trying to help. You might want to be more… discreet, if you don't want everyone else to pick up on it."

"Pick up on what?" Julian's voice sounded over Portia's shoulder as the girl stepped into the conversation.

"Tabitha was just talking about getting a tattoo," Portia lied smoothly.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about one of those big flowy scripts that reads 'Mind your own business'." Tabitha growled, not taking her eyes off Portia. Unshaken, Portia returned the glare.

"Um, okay." Amara glanced between the two. "It's really nice to meet you… both of you." She tugged on Tabitha's arm, dragging her away from Portia.

"Uh huh." Julian shrugged and rejoined her conversation with Bobby and Sam.

Portia watched Amara and Tabitha's whispered argument, their eyes flitting back to her every few seconds. She just grinned.

The X-Men are too much fun.


Kitty pushed the photos on the table in front of her around to form a circle. Her chin rested on the table a short distance from where Kurt dozed in his seat. After identifying Cloak, they had hit another roadblock. Rogue was confident she could pick out the one she'd fought the night of the Kitsune recruitment, but had so far made no progress.

"Ah got it!" Rogue yelled. Kitty turned around to look at the girl. Rogue stood from her position on the floor and slapped a photo onto the table. "Ashley Wolfe. Ash. An animal shape-shiftah like Leo."

"Really?" Leo picked up the photo and crossed over to the board.

Rogue shrugged. "Somethin' like it. She was a cat humanoid… Ah think…"

"So… does that mean we're, like, done?" Kitty asked, looking at Scott. He nodded. "Yes!"

"Mmmm, vhat?" Kurt muttered, dragged out of his sleep by Kitty's cheer.

She rolled her eyes and nudged him. "Come on, sleepy head. Go sleep in your own bed now."

"Five more minutes…"

Kitty exchanged an annoyed look with Rogue, but Rogue just shrugged. She started cleaning up the table, and Kitty joined her. Before they could finish straightening the photos and sketches, Storm walked in. The woman paused in the doorway, and scanned the room.

"My, you have made some progress."

"Thanks, Storm." Scott said, as Storm approached the board. "This is probably as far as we'll get today."

Kitty watched as Storm studied the board, the woman's jaw tightening as she looked at the photo of the snake man, Seth. Not for the first time, Kitty regretted not being there that night. I might have been able to do something. She shook the thought out of her head. There was nothing she could do to change the past.

"Truly, good work." Storm said, turning to face the room once more. "The professor wishes to see you all. He and Hank are introducing the new students to mutant ball."

"Oh, sweet!" Kurt cheered, apparently awake now. He grabbed Kitty's shoulder. "Anyone vant a ride?"

Kitty smiled at him, grateful he felt as though he didn't have to ask. It felt like he was forgiving her a little bit. Maybe we will be okay.

As the others surrounded Kurt, Rogue shook her head. "Ya'll have fun. Ah'll join the second game."

"Oh, come on Rogue!" Leo teased.

Rogue glared over her shoulder at Leo. "No. Ah want to showah and look halfway presentable." She left before anyone could argue, her voice calling down the hallway. "And Ah'll get Benj outta bed."

Kurt poked his head past Kitty to look at Storm, who still stood on the opposite side of the room. "Are you coming?"

"I… I will meet you all up there." Storm replied, her eyes focused on the board of photos. "Go on without me."

Kitty felt Kurt shrug behind her, and a moment later they were outside. Kitty stumbled forward, disoriented by the teleportation. As she regained her footing, she turned to look at the mansion, her mind wandering to Storm. Something felt… off.

She looked for Leo, sure the boy felt the same thing. A chill creeping up her spine. The others dispersed, walking toward the clump of New Mutants and Bayville students by the small baseball field, and there was Leo, staring at the mansion. His bottom lip was caught between his canines, and his fists were clenched. Kitty put her hand on his shoulder.

"Is it—?"

"Yeah… yeah I think so," he said, turning. Leo shook his head. "I'll tell the professor. Can't let the newbies see us freaked."

Kitty nodded, suppressing the nervous giggle that threatened to bubble out of her throat. For all I know it's the power of one of the new kids, she assured herself. Professor Xavier probably has it under control.

"Ah! You've made it!" Beast shouted, forcing Kitty to focus on him. She smirked to herself as she saw that Storm had convinced him to wear pants. The crowd of students fell silent as he clapped his hands together. "Now we can explain the rules and get started. There will be two teams: Scott, Tabitha, Tyler, Leo, Ray, Roberto, Portia, and Thomas as the red team, and Jean, Amara, Bobby, Kitty, Kurt, Sam, Julian, Tyrell, and Megan as the yellow team."

Kitty looked for the new kids on her team. Tyrell was a freshman and Megan was a girl with pink hair. She'd met both of them briefly during the meeting yesterday. Julian, on the other hand, Kitty had seen around school before, and she was happy to finally have a name to the face. Her eyes went to Portia unbidden, now curious about the Haven girl. Portia stared ahead at Beast, one eyebrow quirked to show interest, but her foot tapped the grass impatiently. Does she know we know her secret?

Kurt bounced up behind Kitty and gripped her shoulders. "He split Tabitha and Amara up!" He whispered.

"Yeah? So?" Kitty hissed back while Beast explained the rules.

"So ve can vatch how they act with each other."

"Oh, right…" Kitty had already forgotten about the two girls, her mind preoccupied by the Haven mutant and the mysterious force floating around the Institute.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Is everything okay?"

"Like yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Kitty shivered and pulled her jacket closer.

"Vell… are ve—"

"Shh, Beast is finishing up." Kitty cut him off. Now he wants to talk about the way he's been acting? Like, nice timing, fuzz-ball.

"So to recap," Beast said, "normal softball rules. Stealing is allowed, underhand pitching, and Jamie and I will be the umpires." He pointed to Jamie, who sat in the bleachers, his chin in his hands. Kitty smiled, happy to see him out of the building. "The main objective is to have fun! Don't be afraid to try new things out today."

A coin toss determined that Kitty's team would be batting first. As the team gathered around the small bleachers, Kitty saw Jean pull Amara aside. Bobby launched into a speech on strategy almost immediately, but Kitty tuned him out, choosing instead to focus on Jean and Amara.

Jean usually talked with her hands, but as she spoke with Amara, she tucked her hands under her arms. Amara refused to meet Jean's eyes, and the muscles in her jaw twitched. Kitty strained her ears, hoping to catch a snippet of their conversation on the wind.

"…you shouldn't have." Kitty overheard Jean whisper, her voice carrying concern.

At this, Amara became angry, and she threw a finger in Jean's face. "You don't… I'm not… back off!"

Jean grit her teeth and tossed her head over her shoulder. All Kitty caught her say was "I tried," followed by the haughty scoff that Jean made when she was frustrated. Kitty turned away hastily, pretending to watch Bobby as he and Kurt argued about what order people should bat in. Amara stomped up to them and shoved a bat at Bobby.

"Just go first." She growled. Bobby raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue.

As he approached the plate, everyone else fell into a random order, and Jean stood beside Kitty. Looking up at Jean, Kitty asked, "What was that about?"

Jean clicked her tongue. "Don't act like you weren't listening."

"I wasn't—"

"Kitty."

"Alright, I was." Kitty pouted. "But, like, we're all worried about Amara, you know? She and Tabitha got in a big, like, fight yesterday." Not exactly a lie, but outright begging Jean for information wouldn't get her anywhere. This drama is a mystery I can actually solve… unlike the Haven and the ghost in the mansion.

Jean eyed Kitty as if she was trying to discover her motives. "I can't say."

"Oh come on!" Kitty flung her hands up. "Like, what is with everyone in this house? It doesn't matter. We're all gonna know in, like, two days, you know?"

With a laugh, Jean rounded on Kitty. "You're such a child, Kitty. You don't have to know everyone's business."

Stung by her friend's words, Kitty took a sharp breath. She's just stressed by whatever Amara told her. Don't rise to her bait, Kitty.

No such luck.

"Oh, but everyone gets to know mine?" Kitty demanded. "Everyone's had something to say about Lance and me, so, like, why don't I get to ask about Amara and Tabitha?" The next words died in her throat, and her eyes widened.

"Are they gay?" Kurt's comment came back to Kitty with such suddenness that her thoughts ground to a halt. Rogue hadn't denied it… Everything made sense. Amara and Tabitha.

Oh my god. The closeness of the two of them had always seemed like just another friendship, but in the last few months they'd become inseparable. Kitty had figured that was just how their dynamic was, but maybe she'd been ignoring little signs because they were both girls. And thinking about it… it just became so obvious. Amara blushed all the time around Tabitha, and the two were always touching. Tabitha wouldn't do anything without Amara. If anyone said anything negative about either of them, the other would pounce. "They're… oh my god."

Jean glanced around them, gesturing for Kitty to lower her voice. Kitty's eyes widened and she had to put her hands over her own mouth to prevent any sound from coming out.

"I'm sorry I said those things," Jean whispered hurriedly, not looking at her, but at those around them. Luckily, it seemed no one was paying them any attention. Bobby had just hit a triple. "I shouldn't have, I'm sorry. It's just… you can't tell anyone."

Kitty shook her head, lowering her hands. "The professor—"

"Would not… necessarily approve… since, well, you know. They're roommates."

"We have to—"

"I'm not." Jean sighed. "I don't think Amara would ever forgive me. But surely, the professor will pick up on it…" Her eyes strayed to something over Kitty's shoulder.

Kitty followed her gaze to see Amara sitting on the second row of the bleachers, looking straight at them. Amara met Kitty's eyes, the same cold fury she'd seen in Leo's eyes radiating outward.

She had heard the whole thing.


Despite her best efforts, Kitty couldn't get Amara to talk to her (not even to apologize) during the game of mutant ball. Every time Kitty got close, Amara would step away. The New Mutants picked up on this, and soon began running interference with Kitty. Even when Kitty was third base and Amara shortstop, Sam came flying in from the outfield to completely miss a catch and slam into Kitty "by mistake". The New Mutants were fiercely protective. Kitty gave up about halfway through the game after Roberto sabotaged his steal to second, resulting in his team's third out, just so Amara could get away from Kitty.

By the last inning, Rogue and Benj joined the game. The red team claimed Benj immediately, leaving Rogue on Kitty's team. Rogue sat beside Kitty as she pouted on the bleachers, waiting for her turn at bat. After a few tense moments of silence, Rogue laughed. "Alright, what's wrong?"

Kitty grumbled under her breath. I can't even tell Rogue. "Give it, like, a day." Rogue raised an eyebrow, and Kitty huffed. "I've been sworn to secrecy."

"Ahh, Amara and Tabitha stuff."

"Yeah, I figured it out." Kitty fell quiet as Jean (who was batting) stopped the softball in midair and whacked it into the outfield. Julian, standing on third, reached her arm out toward Tyler as he maneuvered to catch the ball. Grass ensnared his ankles and he toppled backwards. A cheer went up as Julian sprinted home.

Rogue nudged Kitty with her elbow. "The new kid is pretty good." She offered, redirecting the conversation. Sometimes Rogue knew Kitty too well.

"Yeah, I guess." Kitty said. "Though you missed it when Julian, like, buried Beast in daisies."

Rogue laughed. "That Ah wish Ah saw."

"Hey Kitty!" Kurt called, a bat in his hand. "You're up!"

Kitty rolled her eyes, muttering to Rogue, "He forgot about spying on Amara and Tabitha, like, the second the game started."

"Boys."

Hopping down from the bleachers, Kitty sprinted over to the plate, snatching Kurt's bat as she went. She reached the plate and took her stance. Roberto, the pitcher, smirked as he powered-up and threw the ball.

Somehow, Kitty managed to connect with the ball. She didn't wait to see where it was going and took off. Before she could reach first, however, the ground gave way beneath her. And then she was falling, her vision blurring with greens and browns that made her feel close to the ground. But she continued to fall without hitting the dirt. After what felt like forever, Kitty slammed into the ground, her knees buckling under the force. She fell face-down into the dirt and someone tapped her with a ball.

"You're out, Valley-girl."

Kitty groaned and looked up to see Portia crouching in front of her, a smirk on her face.

"And that's three!" Beast yelled. "Looks like that's game. Let's take a short break before we start the next one."

Portia stood, the ball dropping beside Kitty's face. She didn't even offer Kitty a hand up. Kitty grit her teeth and pushed herself up, glaring at Portia's backside as the Haven mutant walked to the mansion.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kitty looked over to see Julian approach her.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Kitty assured her, forcing perkiness into her voice. With a nod, Julian fell into step next to Kitty as they walked back to the mansion. Kitty glanced at Julian out of the corner of her eye and saw the girl nervously ring her hands. "You know, you did, like, really well out there."

"Really?"

"Yeah, totally." Kitty said, smiling. "I wish I was that good when I started out."

"Oh, well… I sometimes play around with my powers in the park by my house. When… when no one's there."

"Well, ya're a natural." Rogue added, coming up beside Julian. "Ah'm Rogue, by the way."

"Julian."

As Rogue talked with Julian, Kitty's eyes fell on Amara, who was walking a little ways in front of her. Alone for once. Before Kitty could jog to catch up, Tabitha dropped back from the group ahead of Amara. Tabitha was grinning, but Amara had a frown on her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kitty heard Tabitha ask. Amara shook her head and increased her speed, quickly outpacing Tabitha and the group in front. Kitty saw Tabitha clench her fists and take off after her. "Not again… Amara!"

Kitty glanced across Julian to Rogue, who gave a quick shake of her head. With a sigh, Kitty looked for Kurt, hoping he would get them close to the couple. They walked through the rear entrance of the mansion, which opened into a large sun room. Some of the other mutants had stopped to point out things to the visitors, but neither Kurt nor the girls were anywhere in sight.

'You're such a child, Kitty.' She froze in her tracks, hearing Jean's voice in her head. Though, something felt different. The thought was nothing more than mimicry: it sounded like Jean, but lacked her mental touch. This telepath was cold, their mind a whisper.

"Uh, hey Rogue?" Kitty called, jogging to catch up with Rogue and Julian. Rogue looked over at her. "Can I, like, talk to you for a minute?"

"Um… sure." Rogue frowned. She waved Bobby over and told him to show Julian where the restrooms were. Kitty grabbed Rogue's arm and pulled her down a side hallway that went to a staircase that led to the basement. "Kitty, where are we going?"

"I have to check something." Kitty muttered, her mind going to the conference room they had spent a chunk of the morning in. The way Storm acted when we left… and now with the voice… With everything going on, it was easy to get distracted. Too easy. And Kitty felt like that's what it, the voice, the whisper, wanted.

Halfway to the room, Rogue pulled Kitty to a stop. "Ah don't think we should go there." When Kitty turned around to question her, she saw Rogue's eyes widen with panic. Rogue spun around as if she expected someone to be behind them.

There wasn't.

The whisper said something to Rogue… Kitty thought. Rogue didn't like telepathy on the best of days, and certainly didn't want another voice in her head without her permission.

After a tense moment, Rogue nodded to Kitty, gesturing for her to continue. They ran the rest of the way to the planning room and barely stopped themselves from rushing in.

Ice coated every surface of the room, everything from the chairs to the ceiling. The photographs of mutants, both Haven and Bayville, stuck out from the ice at odd angles or were trapped inches below. The chairs were strewn to either side; one had frozen to the wall, with icicles stretching toward the back of the room rather than the floor.

Kitty took a cautious step forward onto the ice, ready to throw herself to the side if needed. She ran a hand over the table, her fingers gliding over the ice. A photo stared up at her, half-buried under layers of ice. The frosted portion covered his forehead and eyes, but his chin remained exposed.

"Rogue!" Kitty yelled, looking around the room. Rogue was padding her way forward, clinging to the frozen chairs for support. She looked up at the sound of her name. "Find me a picture of that mutant we couldn't figure out."

Rogue nodded and Kitty turned back to the picture in front of her. Dimpled cheeks and a pointed chin. That's all she could see. Rogue crashed into the table, her feet slipping on the ice, and thrusted a picture in front of Kitty. It was torn, and the edges curled around the spots Rogue's body heat had melted the frost, but the image was mostly intact. Kitty laid the picture beside the one in the ice and compared them.

The cheeks and chins were identical.

"Oh my gawd." Rogue muttered, pulling herself upright. She smiled. "Kitty! That's it!"

Kitty brushed her thumb over the name on the school photo. Xander Green. "And that makes seven."


The Haven

Xander bolted upright in his spot on the couch. Zendi sat in the armchair nearby, a book in her hands. She looked over the pages and quirked an eyebrow.

"Clay can't be seen with any of us anymore." Xander said.

Frowning, Zendi dropped her book to her lap. "And why not?"

"They made us. They made all of us."


Fun Fact #84: We had some Spanish in this chapter that wasn't translated, so here's what you probably are curious about:

Lo siento - I'm sorry

No sé - I don't know

¿Pero fuego? Tuviste que malograr la foto, ¿verdad? - But fire? You had to ruin the photo, right? (Leo uses some sarcasm here. Malograr is a verb for 'to ruin' that is a bit more harsh)

No quise - I didn't want (to)

¿Qué esto? Leo, estoy hablando español. - What's this? Leo, I'm speaking Spanish.

No. Leo, no pienso poder hablar inglés. Abro mi boca y estoy hablando español. - No. Leo, I don't think I can speak English. I open my mouth and I'm speaking Spanish.

Lo puedo hacer - I can do it.

Clay se llamó Cloak - Clay called him Cloak.

Sus ojos? - Her eyes?

Fun Fact #85: Xander/Whisper's powers allow him to "possess" others through strong suggestion when he navigates the Astral Plane. He is also capable of flight, or at least his mind is.

Fun Fact #86: This chapter had A LOT taken out of it... and added. The old version is kinda terrifying. Missing is a scene where Leo talks with the professor about the possession event. In this, Xavier likens the incidents to a past event Storm and he had experienced in Egypt with the "Shadow King" (a character from the comics).

Thanks for reading everyone! Drop a review to let me know what you thought.

Until next time,

~Keep writing strong.