Another night with little sleep and Rebecca was roaming the halls of her school once again. She was beginning to feel the effects of going weeks plagued by the nightmares. A night or two, she would get a break, but they were mostly constant. Sometimes, she would toss and turn with anxiety that kept her awake. Her sleep would not be deep, and she would feel tired by morning. Other times, she would fall asleep quickly and then wake up before her alarm with a jolt of adrenaline, as if she just escaped a chase. Olivier asked her how she was sleeping, and she did not want to explain it. She knew he did not want to push the topic of Sinister. If Rebecca was honest, Sinister was not the part of her nightmares she feared telling Olivier. Her mother came to her in her dreams and she did not want to admit her feelings about her. She would lie each time to her brother. Now, she would get an occasional sensation of the world tilting and spinning. Once she almost fell asleep in her English class but that was a normal thing most students did. The only thing keeping her awake this time was the anticipation of her and Oli riding the newly discovered dirt bikes. He promised to have them fixed and ready when they were done with school. The thought kept a smile on her face as she exited her first period class.

"You look nice today," a compliment came from behind her. Rebecca turned around and saw the James. He was wearing a leather jacket even though it was much too cold for it today.

"Are you following me or somethin'?" Rebecca teased. James shrugged.

"Something like that like. I told you I would show you my powers, right?" James said. Rebecca's ears perked at that as she was naturally curious. James offered her his open palm and Rebecca only paused for second before giving him her hand. She was quickly pulled to the side and to a side door that led outside.

Rebecca was chilled to her bones at the gust of wind that swept by. She pulled her arms in towards her core to stay warm. It was never this cold in the south. James gestured over to a decorative flower bed that had been destroyed by the winter. A few grey and black stems lay on the frozen dirt. Rebecca frowned at the sight. She wondered what he was going to show off that she had to be taken to the side on the school building in the cold. James quickly did a few glances to the side to make sure they were alone.

"Do you know what these plants are?" He asked. Rebecca could hardly call the sad excuse of dirt a flower bed. When she shrugged her shoulders, he gave away the answer, "perennials. They grow back in every spring."

James waved his fingers over the still ground. A few seconds ticked by and then the dirt shifted. A green leaf had sprouted from the dirt as fresh as spring. It broke out into the frosty air and, if it could, would have shivered. Rebecca leaned down for a closer look and saw the small plant continue to grow taller and taller. She blinked. It was like watching a science video in 3x speed. She looked back up at James, whose eyes were sharp and focused. Back down at the plant, a little blue bud had appeared. It unraveled itself like a present and its vibrant colors came to life.

"It's weird. I can like command them to grow and move. Only works with plants. Trust me, I've tried with people too," James explained. Rebecca reached out and touched the cold plant. She thought to herself: It'll die out here, and suddenly felt a heavy sadness. She did not look at James, afraid he would notice the water to her eyes. She blamed it on her sleep deprivation.

"Now, show me yours," James said, with a beaming smile. Rebecca stood up straight and rolled her shoulders back. She considered it for a moment as it was only fair to do so.

"Mine is...well, school ain't a good place to show it off," Rebecca admitted, looking bashful, "I manipulate the kinetic energy of objects. They explode. Pretty simple."

"Wow. Bet you can do a lot of damage with that. No wonder you didn't want to do it right here," James chuckled. He reached down and plucked the blue flower from the ground. Twirling it between his fingers, he handed it to her. Rebecca smiled and now began to question the intentions of his actions. The way he smiled at her seemed flirtatious, but Rebecca did not want to say anything. If she were wrong, she would look egotistical and lose a possible new friend. James added, "I wouldn't mess with you with those powers. I wonder…what's the biggest thing you've blown up?"

Rebecca found something off about him when he said that, but she could not put her finger on it. She shrugged her shoulders and acted as if she did not know. However, she did remember the tests that Sinister had asked of her. He wanted her to display her powers and prove to him his theories on how mutant powers are developing down generations. The memories were still fresh. But she could not tell James that. He did not need to know that.

He offered to walk her to class, but she declined. He insisted and she let him.

)0(

At the end of the school day, Rebecca was anxiously waiting for her friends so they could return to the institute. Rebecca, Marissa, and Ben were just outside the front steps of the school waiting for Julian. Ben was sitting and the girls were huddled together like penguins to keep warm. Rebecca was telling them all about the dirt bikes she had found while at her parents' old house. It was cold and Rebecca was wearing her heaviest coat, but it was not enough. She could see her breath in the air and did not like it. When Julian did come down the steps, he came down in a huff. His face was red, and his jaw was locked.

"What happened to you?" Ben asked, unceremoniously. He stood up from his seat on the steps and hooked his arm around Julian's shoulders. Julian shook his head and gave a grunt.

"Just some assholes," Julian explained. Marissa gave him a pat on the back and then signaled them all to begin their walk.

"They aren't worth your time," she comforted.

"Who?" Rebecca asked.

"Orion and whatever idiot he rallies behind him," Julian explained. Rebecca could not recall meeting anyone in the school named Orion. Then again, this school was much larger than her last one. As they walked, Rebecca felt the ground sway under her feet. Luckily, she stayed upright, and the feeling passed. She was reminded her exhaustion and suddenly wished she were in bed and a peaceful slumber.

"Orion has been revved up lately," Ben examined. He put his hand up to his chin in a thinking pose and Marissa rolled her eyes.

"Just keep your distance, Jules," Advised Marissa. She held her head high. Rebecca tried to think of something encouraging to say but came up short. She did not know these people. In New Orleans, Rebecca had no trouble at all among her peers. She knew everyone and everyone knew her. She may not have been close friends with them all, but she felt very connected among the social webs of school. Here, she was an outsider. She had to admit that this was sometimes annoying but also thrilling. They did not know who she was and could be anyone she wanted. The downside to this was that she needed to learn who everyone was all over again.

"They can't claim I'm a cheater whenever I am better than him!" Julian flailed his arms in a gesture that was almost comical. Rebecca had an unexplained feeling of dread from within her. The three continued their walk. The whole time, Rebecca shivered and thought about New Orleans. She wondered what her friends there were doing. Or so she assumed they were still friends. No one had called to ask how she was. Louis was here and her family chatted with her on the phone nightly. Her dance troupe? Silence. Elijah and her peers from school? Nothing. It was like she was still a missing person.

"Someone should do something," Julian grumbled. Rebecca silently agreed and looked up at the blue sky. A daytime moon was out and bright.

)0(

"So, how was school? Anything interesting?" Olivier asked. He was holding a helmet in his hands. When Rebecca reached for it, he pulled it away with a smile.

"Its fine. Boring," Rebecca sighed as she mounted the pink dirt bike. She would have probably picked a different color now. A pink one seemed a bit less serious. However, she understood the sentiment of her parents' all those years ago. Besides, a pink dirt bike was better than no dirt bike.

Rebecca could not tell if she was trembling because of the cold or her excitement. Olivier was rambling on about safety, but Rebecca was staring down the trail around the woods with her hands gripped on the handlebars of the dirt bike. Olivier shoved a helmet on her head. Her hot breath fogged the glass, so she pushed it open and gulped at the fresh air.

"Smells weird" She complained.

"You smell weird," Olivier shot back, immaturely. He grinned and then clarified, "I got them at a yard sale. You are lucky I found this stuff. And that I made time to go get the stuff."

Rebecca did like the gloves. When she pulled them over her hands, there was an odd sensation of power. She was beaming. Olivier had suited them both up with proper equipment from a local yard sale that they were fortunate to find.

"OK, so just start slow at first. Take a lap around. When you get back, we will speed it up," Olivier explained, as he made sure the green light was on. The battery was on and warmed up. Rebecca nodded and revved the machine. She flicked it into first gear and Olivier opened his mouth but had no time to speak as Rebecca had rolled back the throttle and sped off. The bike tires made heavy tracks in the dirt. Rebecca leaned forward and the bike roared to life as it increased speed.

"Beccca!" Olivier called out her name, but she could no longer hear him. Rebecca's heart was thudding in her chest. She was grinning wickedly. She came to a bend on the trail. She turned sharply and felt the bike jolt. She almost hit the ground but managed to get the bike back upright when she gasped and jerked her body the other way. She felt fear in her veins. It was the kind of adrenaline she got from a roller coaster. It was not the same kind of fear she got from her nightmares. Rebecca sped up.

She did not even think that her brother was watching. She only wanted to feel the increase of speed and see the trees rushing past. This was no dirt bike trail. It was meant as a hiking/mountain biking trail but rarely was anyone on it this time of year. Rebecca swerved back and forth. The ground was bumpy, and it jostled her. Her teeth chattered. The last rays of sun were filtering down and through the trees. A sharp breeze came, and Rebecca's mind seemed to go blank.

She was not thinking about anything. It was like she forgot who she was and where she was. Her head was floating. When she did recall, she looked straight ahead and realized a sharp turn was coming up. Rebecca reacted a little too late. She jerked the handlebars and the front tire hit a bump. Perhaps it was a rock or a tree root. Rebecca did not get a chance to see as she left the seat of the bike. Her whole body was floating. In the air for but a moment. She was still moving forward. Her voice was stolen by the shock. She faced the ground and crashed into something hard. The solid impact stole the air in her lungs. She went to scream but only a strangled whimper came out. Her spine arched and she heard a crack. Rebecca fell into the brush below.

Except the ride did not end there. The ground was slopping downward, and she tumbled after it. She reached out at anything to stop her decent. Rebecca tried to suck in air but found her lungs no longer worked. Her body began to roll, and she could no longer tell up from down. Twigs and branches scratched at her. Rocks seemed to be pummeling her or perhaps she was falling onto them. Finally, she managed to dig her hand into some softened dirt and stop her decent down. Rebecca lay facing up at the sky. She finally got air in.

It felt like breathing through a straw at first. Panic rose in her mind. Finally, she was able to get a large gulp of air. She swallowed it whole. A moan involuntary escaped her lips. Only then did she notice her helmet was gone. It had fallen off at some point. She stayed frozen on the ground in fear.

Olivier came rushing down to save her. He was telling her not to move. She was too scare to do so. Her back was pressed against the ground. Her body felt heavy.

"Hey, are you ok? What hurts?" Olivier asked. Rebecca thought back on what happened. Her head was dizzy. She took a moment to mindfully feel her body. There was a light ache in her muscles, but there was no sharp stabbing pain. She could still feel her legs. Nothing was wrong.

"I'm...ok," her voice did not sound as sure. Olivier looked down at her and she noticed dark circles under his eyes. Rebecca slowly lifted her head. Nothing was in pain. Olivier helped her move at an agonizingly slow pace. He checked her over with his eyes. Rebecca patted herself with her own hands. No pain.

Olivier's eyebrows furrowed.

"What are you indestructible or just lucky?" He asked. Rebecca let out a breathy laugh. Olivier helped her stand. Although her legs felt wobbly, it was not a challenge. Olivier let out a sigh of relief, "you never said your skin was adamantium. Did you pick up invulnerability powers while at school today?"

He was laughing. Not hysterical but that kind of nervous laugh. Rebecca brushed a stray white strand of hair from her face. Then a pit in her stomach formed. She stared at the trees around her.

"Hey?" Olivier touched her shoulder. Rebecca flinched and then returned her attention back to her brother. He helped her stand and she noticed that she was covered in dirt and dead leaves.

)0(

Olivier had driven them both back to the house. Not the institute but their old house. Rebecca knew that this stop would mean shorter drive time than if they went to the institute. Olivier was too stubborn to let her walk around like she had not just had a terrible dirt bike accident. He had borrowed a pickup truck from the institute to put the dirt bikes in the back and any other items left over in that house. He was insistent that they finish clearing out the stuff they do not want. Olivier kept reassuring her that the hard work would be worth it. Once they sold the house, they would have the money, but Rebecca could see the delayed gratification.

They pulled into the steep driveway and Olivier quickly parked the car. He rushed outside of his door and around to open the passenger door. Rebecca swatted his hands away as he helped her out of the tall truck. She did feel a little sore, but nothing she had not felt when she stubbed a toe. Still, Olivier was sure that she should lay down. He explained that the adrenaline might not allow her to feel injuries, but she would eventually. He rushed her inside.

The house was emptier this time. They had worked hard stuffing items in boxes and shipping them back to the institute. Either they would find use for it or they would sell it. All that was left was large furniture that could be sold with the house and some last boxes Olivier still needed to pick up. Olivier led Rebecca over to the couch. She leaned back into the pillows and stared at the ceiling.

"How are you?" Olivier asked.

"Fine," Rebecca answered. Resting then, she did feel the urge to close her eyes and rest. However, she knew that would worry Olivier even more. He would think she had a concussion. She kept her eyes straight ahead and resisted the urge to close them.

"I don't get it. You would have definitely felt that. I mean, you ran into a tree," Olivier took a seat on the carpet, "Got a secret you'd like to share?"

"No!" Rebecca said too quickly. She had interrupted Olivier's laugh, that would have indicated he was joking. The two siblings stared at each other. Rebecca sat up on the couch abruptly and prompted, defensively, "Do you?"

It was meant to be a joke, but Olivier's eyes widened. He looked guilty. Rebecca could not tell why. She could have sworn she had been the one caught hiding. The two sat perfectly still, as if they were statues. The house was filled with deafening silence as they waited for the other to speak. Rebecca wished Olivier would say something, but then his expression relaxed. He looked at her like he could read her mind. She shivered.

"I… I guess it was jus' adrenaline like ya said," Rebecca offered.

"Now, that sounds like a lie," Olivier replied, in a voice that reminded Rebecca of their father's. It was cool and smooth. Yet it still commanded her to tell the truth. Rebecca pulled herself into the corner of the couch and looked down at her hands. She saw little scratches from the roll down the hill. She studied them and noted that they did not hurt. Only little red lines that reminded her that what had happened did happen.

"I think…I have powers from mom," Rebecca mumbled. Olivier leaned forward to hear her better.

"Like?"

"Like strength and durability. No absorption powers. Jus' these little ones," Rebecca admitted. She quickly buried her face in her hands to avoid Olivier eyes. She did not want to see his face. He would probably be confused and concerned. Maybe he would not believe her or maybe it would be a look of fear on him. He did not speak for a while. Rebecca slowly opened her fingers to see what he was doing. Olivier wasn't even looking at her.

"Those aren't really her powers," Olivier said.

"I know. I know the story!" Rebecca cried. She felt a tightening of her throat.

"I didn't know that could happen. To absorb someone so that…a piece of them is in your genetic code…? To be able to pass it down," Olivier finally looked over at her. His face was pale, like he was going to be sick. Rebecca bit down on her tongue. She was relieved to feel pain. Not indestructible. Olivier pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Why didn't you tell me? You didn't think I should have known that when you came to the school? You were asking for danger room sessions and we did not even know your full capabilities."

"Sorry," Rebecca mumbled, "it's a sorta new thing."

"New? Does anyone else know?"

Rebecca shook her head. She felt guilt choking her so much so that she could not find words. She looked over at the boxes that they were going to take back to the institute. One was open and clearly things left her by their mother. She noted a few items on the top like a perfume bottle that was half empty. There were old pictures of all four of them. Some jewelry sparkled in the light.

"Not even dad?" Olivier asked.

"Just you," Rebecca said, "And Sinister."

Olivier's expression softened. He moved to sit on the couch next to his sister, who instinctively moved closer. They were not touching but just the nearby presence of each other were enough to be calming. Olivier rubbed his palms on his jeans.

"It feels like a ghost," Rebecca spoke up, "It's like…somethin' hauntin' me. When I got my first powers, it made me feel alive. These ones…they don't belong t' me. They weren't hers in the first place."

Olivier turned so that he was facing her and place a hand on her shoulder. He paused and looked down. He gave off a younger appearance when looking so sad.

"I get it. Really, I understand. I'm probably the only one who does," Olivier said, "It's like something foreign inside of you. These powers of absorption…you steal things you don't mean to."

Rebecca leaned closer so now her shoulder was pressed against his. She tilted her head slightly, so it was not resting on his shoulder but like she was thinking about it. Olivier closed his eyes and took deep breaths while his sister counted them. He did ten before he spoke up again.

"You know what's honestly great about being back in this house? There's no one around. Except you but…I can't read your mind," Olivier said. Rebecca looked up into his eyes.

"You can read minds?" She questioned. Olivier gave a nervous chuckle, and she could see he was struggling to maintain his usual calm demeanor. There was a tug in her chest and, before he could speak, Rebecca pulled her brother into a hug. This time, it was she was holding him, and she made sure to do so tightly. To make up for all the times we couldn't, she rationalized to herself.

"I cannot. Klaus could. He was my friend. We were on a mission together. I didn't mean to do so but…I lost control. I held on for…for too long," Olivier explained. He pulled away and grabbed onto his sister's hand. She clung to him and the lack of fear in her warmed his heart. He smiled at her and added, "I am probably the only one who knows what you are feeling. With everything. The split, the mutant powers, our mom. But you gotta talk to me, ok?"

Rebecca nodded and she had not realized but some tears had escaped her eyes. She looked away quickly and wiped away the tears. She wondered how Olivier was not crying. She looked over at the boxes of their mother's items. One necklace on the top of the box stood out. A gold chain with a small emerald gem in the middle. She tried to remember a time her mother wore it.

"I keep sayin' she's like hauntin' me but nothing's happening. I just…I think I'd like to see her ghost, ya know? Just to see her," Rebecca confessed. Olivier gave her a pat on her knee. He followed her gaze and saw the necklace she was staring at. The two stared together for a moment before Olivier reached over and picked it up. He untangled the chain and then held it out for her.

"Here. You like it? You can have it. I'm certainly not gonna wear it. She'd like you to have it. Dad would too. He bought it for her. A birthday present, I think," Olivier said. Rebecca gingerly picked up the jewelry. She did not put it on. Just held it in her hands and mumbled her appreciation to her brother.

)0(

I apologize for claiming I was going to get this updated chapter earlier than I actually did. I will make no such promises from now on. However, I can promise that I do enjoy writing this story and will continue to do so. More action coming soon. I appreciate reviews and I wish you all a healthy and happy day.

-Kit