Sarah looked at the two people who had come to her door. One was an extremely tall woman with black skin and shockingly white hair. As if contributing to her strangeness she had bright blue eyes. The man next to her didn't put her at ease either. He was short and stocky with hair that stood up in points at the side of his head. He looked like someone Sarah wouldn't want to mess with especially not alone, at night, in a dark alley.

"Um...can I help you?" Sarah asked while attempting to keep her dog at bay.

"It's ok...you can let him out. I can handle him" Logan said with a smile.

"If you're sure." Sarah said skeptically moving aside to let her dog pass.

"To answer your question we are here simply to speak with you." Ororo said.

"About what? I don't believe I know you." Sarah replied.

"I am Ororo and my associate here is Logan." Ororo answered.

"We wanted to talk to ya about yourself." Logan said while petting Austin.

"About myself? What do you mean?" Sarah asked confused.

"May we step inside? It might be more comfortable." Ororo suggested.

"Uh...oh...right...of course. Please come in and sit down." Sarah said gesturing them inside.

Ororo and Logan walked inside and sat on the couch. Sarah crossed over to the green armchair in order to face them. She noted how well her dog was getting along with Logan. Even though he got along with most people, Austin was generally a good judge of character.

"Looks like he really likes you." Sarah joked gesturing over to Austin who had his head in Logan's lap.

"Yeah, guess he does." Logan said with a shrug.

"Now, what did you want to talk with me about that you couldn't mention outside?" Sarah asked.

"We are part of an institute for gifted students. We have done some research and feel that you would fit in well with our school." Ororo said.

"How did you know where I live?" Sarah asked suspiciously.

"Here...this'll explain a bit." Logan replied handing her a manila folder.

Sarah opened the manila folder and was shocked at what she found. Finally she began to laugh.

"What's so funny kid?" Logan asked.

"The only thing about me in this thing that's right is where I live." Sarah said after catching her breath.

"What do you mean child?" Ororo asked.

"I mean that my name is correct, and the address is right but everything else is false. I don't know where you guys found this but it's all wrong."

"Well why don't you tell us what the right info is kid?" Logan demanded.

"My name, as you know, is Sarah Summers. I'm twenty-one years old, just finished high school. I know...I shouldn't be just getting out of high school at twenty-one but there were circumstances beyond my control. It's a long story."

"It is alright. We have plenty of time to listen." Ororo replied.

"Ok. Well, I was only 13 when it happened. My parents never did anything that was too spontaneous but for some reason they decided to take a trip to Washington. They told me about a week before hand. My older sister was supposed to be in charge but that night she went out with one of her friends." Sarah paused not wanting to give them too much information at once.

"Go on." Ororo said wanting to encourage the girl.

"I was watching one of my favorite TV programs when I got the first call. It was from the airport authorities notifying me that there had been a plane crash and there were no survivors. I couldn't think of what to do so I thanked them. Can you believe that? I thanked them! For telling me my parents were dead. After I hung up I tried to call my sister on her cell phone but there was no answer. Then the second call came through. My sister had died on her way to the hospital. She had apparently been attempting to pick up a cell phone and had veered into the path of a semi." Sarah said endeavoring to control herself.

Ororo went over and hugged the girl trying to take a little of the hurt away from her story. Sarah shrugged and shifted so she was more comfortable.

"I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was in such a state of shock I almost didn't hear the doorbell ring. My aunt who, along with her family, is my only surviving relation had come to help me. At least that's what she called it." Sarah said bitterly.

"What would you call it?" Ororo asked trying to get more information.

"Trying to get my parents money that's what. It was all she was interested in. I had to move in with her since she was my godmother. She insisted that the money that was left to me be put in a trust fund, managed by her of course, to be given to me when I turned twenty-one. Since I was only a minor I couldn't really do anything but accept it. It was ok while the court was still watching to make sure I shouldn't be in a foster home or something like that. As soon as the court stopped watching what she was doing it all went downhill. She started to spend my money on herself and forced me to wear my old clothes even while they were too old and too short. I was still in the same school when I found out I was different. But anyway, we moved away to Michigan, so she could avoid the courts. She changed my name...falsified my information. She renamed me Elizabeth and told the school that I was only 12. I looked it so the school never bothered to ask any questions. I didn't know a lot about what was happening to me at the time. All I knew was that I could somehow sense the ground. I accidentally damaged my school when I got angry one day. I was lucky that no one was injured. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before. I had been angry all the time but my connection with the earth wasn't strong enough for anything to happen I guess. I still don't really know what exactly it is I can do. Anyway, I got angry when some older girl pushed me to the ground and I caused a moderate sized earthquake. Part of the school was damaged. My aunt pulled me out of school. By then I had had enough and ran back to Massachusetts. I stole the money from my aunt while she was out. My aunt was mad about the money but she never tried to find me. I suppose she knows where I am and all but probably is glad to get rid of me. I decided it would cause less confusion if I just stayed the age I was and went back to school. Since I was a minor with no known relatives I had to stay in foster homes until I was eighteen. Fortunately for me they weren't too bad. I just got out of a foster home this year. Sometimes having falsified information is a pain in the ass." Sarah said hoping she hadn't spoken too much.

"What'd ya do then?" Logan asked mind busy processing all the information she was telling them.

"I found out that my parents had left the house in my name. My aunt must've thought it wasn't worth it to try and sell it. I graduated college about a month ago and haven't gotten into any colleges. I didn't want to apply. It didn't seem like the right thing to do somehow." Sarah said softly.

"How have you managed to support yourself?" Ororo asked.

"I get money from the state and that's really all I need to survive. Now I've told you almost everything about me that I can think of. So why are you really here?"

"To help you with your powers." Ororo answered.

"You can do that? You might wanna see what my powers are first." Sarah remarked.

"Yes. That would be most helpful." Ororo commented dryly.

Sarah led them outside to the back of the house. She explained that any changes wouldn't be as evident as they would be on the front lawn. She then proceeded to crouch down and placed her hands on the ground.

She felt her whole body convulsed as her power went to work. She lifted the ground a few feet and placed it back down gently. Then she concentrated bringing herself to an almost meditative state. She was still unable to fully control this facet of her powers but she knew she didn't have to worry about an earthquake or something like that. Slowly but surely the grass beneath her turned brown dying under the weight of her sorrow. When she was done she leaned back tired from the effort.

"Um...all I know about my powers is that I can move the ground and it seems to absorb my emotions. What I mean by that is that it changes with my emotions. If I'm sad I can make grass die. If I get really angry I can cause a moderate disruption. If I'm extremely happy I can make flowers grow where I walk. It gets kind of noticeable if it happens too often so I try and avoid the extreme emotions that it takes. I'm not sure if I can do anything else. Um...how can you help me?" Sarah asked.

"We can take you to a place where there are people like you. You are a mutant, your abilities stem from your genetic makeup. The stress you were under after the death of your immediate family most likely triggered your mutation. We would like you to come with us to our institute." Ororo replied.

"Can I take my dog with me?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, sure. He'll fit in there too." Logan said with a smile helping Sarah to her feet.

"Alright then. Let me get my things and I'll go." Sarah said with a small smile.

Ororo helped Sarah pack while Logan got Austin ready for the journey. When they got to Sarah's clothes Ororo had to stop herself from gasping, the only good set of clothes Sarah had was on her.

"You do not need to pack any clothes. We can go shopping for some new ones when we arrive." Ororo informed the smaller woman.

"I don't have the money to buy new clothes." Sarah replied flatly.

"The school will pay for them." Ororo replied.

"What? Are you serious?" Sarah asked excitedly.

"I would not say it if I was not." Ororo remarked smiling at Sarah.

"I guess I'm ready then." Sarah replied.

Sarah shouldered her bag and found Logan who had found Austin's leash and was clipping it on his collar. They called a cab and went out to the airport. Once they got there Sarah was confused. The airport was supposedly closed but she had figured that they had phoned ahead and gotten permission to use it for the day. When she couldn't see a plane or anything like that, she became a bit concerned.

"Um...how are we going to get there?" Sarah asked with concern.

"Don't worry, we got that covered." Logan replied bending down a bit.

Suddenly, where there had been nothing before, there was a very large helicopter.

"Wow." Sarah breathed.

Laughing Ororo and Logan climbed in and gestured for her to join them. She climbed on, with a little help from Logan, and soon they were off.

Hope I'm doing the right thing. Sarah mused. Can't believe this is happening to me. She watched the city fall away and couldn't help feeling that this was the best thing that had happened to her in a long time.