FYI:

~Personal Thoughts~

~"Inner Voices"~

ESP

%The Written Word%

[Flashback]

"Normal Conversation (Duh)"

* Com Link or Telephone *

*Sound Effects (usually just Kurt's bamfing)

{Background noise--music, crowds, etc.}

SPANKY

~Come on, just try and plow through me!~ I stood in front of home plate defensively just waiting to tag out the opposing team's runner. The runner leaned back into a slide but I was ready and swept my glove low tagging her out.

In the next instant I was on my back seeing stars. "Spanky!" I felt like my whole body had just gone numb--I was paralyzed and couldn't move my head to look around at what was happening. ~Oh no! I'm to young…Softball's just beginning…I was going to be a senior this year.~ I couldn't understand what had just happened. I'd been through hundreds of plays just like this one in just my varsity career. There was no way one little knock could make me feel like this.

I saw coach Schneider hovering over me and my best friend Kelly, our third baseman, stood over his shoulder looking downright scared. "Kelly get some water, it could just be dehydration." ~I've been getting dehydrated a lot lately. Must be this heat wave.~ She disappeared and returned a moment later. I felt a splash of coolness yet there was nothing wet about it.

Someone tugged me up by my arm and someone steadied me as I swayed dizzily on my feet. "Spank, don't do that to us! Why didn't you tell us that seven innings was pushing it in this heat?"

I looked at Kelly trying to sort out what had happened. "It wasn't. Felt fine…never better."

"I want you to sit out the rest of the game. Sit down, get a drink, and cool off." I'd never hated Coach so much before.

"But I'm fine!"

"Look take a walk and cool off. I'm not having a bad attitude on my bench." He tossed me a water bottle then went back to reorganizing the line up. "Miranda you're in, get the equipment on." I slammed the catcher's helmet down on the ground grinding my teeth as it bounced back up and clashed against the fence. I tossed the chest pad down next to it and stormed off slamming a visor onto my head backwards.

"Spank?"

"What?!?!" I whipped around to find an extremely flustered Mark standing behind me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," I growled. "Now leave me alone." I started to walk away again but he caught up to me and grabbed my hand. He was strong and not without reason. You don't tote hay and feed without getting some muscles.

"Come on, stop this before you hurt yourself."

"I told you I'm fine." He didn't let go of me but rather pulled me closer so that I couldn't not look him in the eye. "Let me go, Mark."

"No way. Not until you calm down." I sighed and lost the tenseness hoping that this ploy would convince him release me. My hands were sweating like crazy inside the batting gloves even though I'd cut out all the fingers to air them out at the beginning of the season. "I care about you way too much to watch you go into a self-destruct mode."

"Great, now I'm suicidal."

"I didn't say that."

"You might as well have." He frowned in confusion, unsure of what else to say.

"Look cool off, and I'll meet you out by your truck at the end of the game." He leaned over and placed a quick peck on my forehead that left me more startled then when he'd stopped me dead in my tracks earlier by grabbing my hand. He said nothing else but left me standing there. By the way he walked off with his hands in his pockets I could tell he was unsure of himself. ~What just happened? What was that? Who's he and what have they done to my best friend Mark?~

I crossed the street next to the field and started walking along the railroad tracks. I looked out and saw the house that I used to live in and gnashed my teeth together when I saw that the people who'd moved in had taken down my basketball hoop. ~Couldn't take it with us because it would leave a big gaping hole in the ground, but it's okay for them to take it out.~ The sound of the shin guards click-clacking against each other marked my pace as I headed farther away from the field.

"Troubles dear?" I looked up surprised to hear another person's voice when I'd thought I was alone. A blonde woman stood before me in the middle of the tracks wearing a three-piece white dress suit. I snorted as I walked past her balancing on the rails. ~She doesn't belong here, not in this hick town where just about everyone is related and knows everyone else's business. Then again, neither do I. God what I wouldn't give to move back to the city.~ "I know about you, Allison, how you're different, special."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you do." I wiped the sweat off my forehead only to watch it be absorbed into the back of my hand. "The constant dehydration, waking up in a cold sweat, feel like you're in a constant heat wave. You know it's only seventy-five today."

I glared at her. ~Coulda fooled me, feels like a hundred out here. Then again these uniforms aren't exactly made of silk.~ "What would you know about all that?"

"When I was your age, I was just as scared and confused. But there are people who can help you, who want to help you if you'll let them."

"I don't need help! I've got my mom and my friends. I don't need a freak like you." Before I realized what I was doing, I had the sensation of melting. Several minutes later I pulled myself together to find myself sitting on the pitcher's mound of the baseball field--on the other side of the campus. ~How'd I get here? Maybe she's right, maybe I am a mutant. But what does that have to do with my dehydration problem?~

"Hello zere." I spun around to see a boy behind me standing near second base. He was kind of short and had bluish hair that seemed odd. His accent is what threw me through a loop though.

"Are you one of the foreign exchanges?" He shook his head. "Then I think you're extremely lost."

"No, I came to see ja." I jumped to my feet and put my fists up in a fighting stance. He laughed a little. "Don't vorry, I von't hurt ja." He tapped his watch and I gasped as he turned blue and grew a tail.

"You…you're one of those freaks! Just leave me alone, all of you!" I turned and ran towards the dugout. I jumped down in and choked on sulfur fumes.

"I'm a mutant, and so are ja."

"No! That's not possible." I felt the tears squeezing out of the corners of my eyes as I pushed him hard so that he tripped over the bench falling onto his back and I ran up the stairs and back out of the dugout. I took off behind the field and ran through one of the cornfields that surrounded the school campus.

I ignored the pain that shot through my ankle every time I tripped over a mound of dirt or a piece of rock. I saw the Frederick farm up ahead and easily jumped the fence into the grazing field for their milking cows. I risked a glance behind me to see if the blue boy was following. I figured the woman in white wouldn't due to the fact that high heels don' t mix with a freshly manured field. I smiled figuring that woman was probably in a real lurch trying to figure out what to do in a town that constantly smelled like shit.

I ducked inside the barn hoping to find Mark. Even his dopey older brother Paul would have been a blessing. No one was there, at least nobody except the few horses that they kept for Missy's riding obsession. ~Duh, he's probably still at the game watching Missy.~ I heard someone curse from outside the barn and jumped a gate into the nearest stall. "Shh…not now." I patted the horse's neck hoping to calm him down but he continued to stamp his feet. ~Damn. Can't get down or I risk the spooked horse trampling me, stay standing and I'm bound to be spotted.~

*Snikt. My eyes went wide with fear. ~Somehow, I know that's not a good sound.~ I crouched down and cursed my luck as the snaps on my shin guards clicked. ~Damn, why didn't I take these off before?~ "All right kid, show yourself." I took a deep breath and prepared myself to kick this guy in the groin and start running again. ~Always make 'em SING--stomach, eyes, nose, groin.~ I smiled to myself as I jumped back over the gate planting a cleat in this guys face. He caught my other foot causing me to land on my back on the hay-strewn ground. "Bad move kid. Gotta figure out your opponent before you attack."

"Thanks for the tip old-timer." I swung my leg around connecting the hard plastic of my shin guard with his own shin causing him to only wince. ~Okay, what just happened? He's supposed to be in some serious pain right now.~

"Like I said, get to know your enemy." He picked me up by the front of my uniform and he did so with ease. I wasn't a small girl and most guys just laughed at the suggestion of even trying to pick me up. I frowned in confusion. "Now look, we only want to help you. Don't make this difficult."

"Difficult! You're following me! I've just run a mile and a half and still you freaks keep following me!" He shook his head as he moved his hold to my arm.

WOLVERINE

I tapped my ear and spoke into the com link while keeping a hold on the girl. * Frosty, Elf, I've got her in a barn about a mile and a quarter from the school. *

* Good, we're on our way there. *

* Zat's great. Meet ja zere. *

"Aren't you mister exact." She sneered at me as she squirmed to get loose. She had a lot of fight in her. ~Guess, that's a good thing if we can convince her to join us.~ She then smiled and then literally evaporated into thin air. ~What the hell!~

* Frosty, what were this girl's powers again? *

* She has control over water. *

* Can she evaporate? Cause she literally disappeared into thin air on me. *

* I suppose it's possible, she did melt on me. * ~Great.~ * Can you sniff her out? *

* You're kidding right? All I can smell is horse and cow shit. Got my nose all fouled up. * I heard her sigh on the other line as I stepped outside the barn. I heard a constant click clack and saw her running across another cornfield about a half a mile away. ~Well, at least I can still hear.~ * I've got a visual. She's heading west through another cornfield. Looks like she's heading for some neighborhood or something. *

* I'll try and catch up vith her. *

* Don't think that's such a good idea, Elf. *

* Zey're all afraid of ze blue fuzzy dude, zen zey get to know me. Don't worry, I'll talk to her. *

* Last time I heard you say that you ended up in a coma. *

* Zis iz different. Vhat's she gonna do? Splash me. *

* Go for it then. *

NIGHTCRAWLER

I teleported into ze neighborhood zat Logan had described. It vas one of zose kinds zat had a bunch of older couples livin' in it after zere kids had already grown up. I glanced around looking for Allison but didn't see her. Instead I kept seeing decent sized homes vith yards nearly az big az de institute's grounds. ~Zis iz definitely different from Bayville.~ I zen spotted her cutting across an orchard tovards me. I teleported out of sight so zat she vouldn't run avay immediately at seeing me again. I ported into a tree and called down to her. She stopped and stared up at me in shock. "Do you guys ever give up?"

"No, zat vouldn't be any fun." I jumped down to stand next to her. She was tall probably five ten or eleven vith brown hair zat vas streaked blonde and red pulled back into a ponytail causing for an interesting appearance. She had steel green eyes zat flashed a bright blue az she stared at me. She vas vearing a gray uniform vith red pinstripes and 'Central' running across ze front, a number eleven adorned ze back. I took in ze red vizor and shin guards quickly zinking she'd be good at mutant ball if I could convince her to come vith us.

"See somethin' you like?"

"It's zat ja eyes, zey changed."

"Yeah, I know." She glanced down at ze ground zen tovards a vhite and blue house over ze hill. "That's my gram's place. She's always told me that my eyes were different. Guess I just didn't know how different."

"Ve von't hurt ja. Ve just vant to help." She smiled vistfully.

"You guys got softball where you're from?"

"No, but ve've got somezing better--mutant ball." She shot me a confused look. "It's softball vith powers. It's fun, ja'll see if ja come vith us. Zere's also ze high school team."

"How about basketball?"

"Ja."

"Another question. They got football?"

"Of course, all schools do."

"Any girls on the squad?"

"I don't zink so."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to come with you and stir things up a little." She broke out into a grin az she started valking tovards ze blue and vhite house. "Guess I should talk to my mom first. Umm…can you go back to normal looking? Like back at the field?" I nodded and tapped meine image inducer until my human form came up. "Okay, my gram's a real gossip. So you're a foreign exchange student who I'm showing the sites to. If she asks, the game ended early because we creamed 'em. Don't say a whole lot or you'll dig your own grave. Got it?"

"I zink so." ~Wow she talks fast! ~

"Good." ~She seems to zink on her feet vell. Zis could get interesting zough.~

* Elf, have you found her yet? *

* Ja, I'm vith her now. Ve're going to her grandmozer's to talk to her family. *

* I'm on my way Kurt. *

"What was that?"

"Miz Frost iz going to meet us."

"Oh…um…is that the lady in the white suit?"

"Ja."

"She's going to look more outta place then the guy with the claws." I laughed at ze zought of Miz Frost sitting down vith zese down to earth people.

"Um…quick…what's your name again?"

"Kurt Vagner."

"Vagner? That's odd."

"No, Vagner." She squinted and seemed to think it over.

"Oh, Wagner! With your accent it was hard to understand."

SPANKY

I sat at Gram's cluttered dining room table and kept shifting in my seat nervously. ~Could Mom just hurry up and get here already?~ Gram had taken to quizzing Kurt about Germany. I knew she was mostly German and partly Irish like the rest of our family but I didn't think she'd do this. ~God, this is emabarrassing.~ "Gram, maybe Kurt would like to not talk for a little while."

"Now, Ally, I'm just being polite to your guest."

"It's called harassment, Gram." She ignored me and still continued to talk to him. I zoned out staring about the room I'd practically grown up in. Well, kind of. The last ten years maybe. ~What I wouldn't give to go live in a big city again. I miss the havoc and chaos of D.C.~

"Yoo hoo, Earth to Ally."

"Huh?" I looked up to see my mother leaning over the table waving a hand in front of my face. ~Sometimes, I don't know who's the parent--her or me?~

"How was the game, sweetie?"

"Creamed 'em. Ended early."

"That's good. So who's your friend?" She had a mischievous look, which she got every time she saw me with a guy. I rolled my eyes. I'd never had a boyfriend and couldn't understand why my mom though I could over night. I was one of those girls that fit in and became one of the guys, but was never recognized as being a girl. That's what happened when you could talk football.

"This is Kurt Wagner, he's gonna be a foreign exchange student."

"Sweetie, I've told you before, that we can't afford another mouth to feed."

"Moooommm…I know that. I'm just showing him around."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Kurt." She shook his hand in a formal manner. It was sometimes hard to believe that this woman in overalls had once worked for the senate. But she'd given that all up when my grandfather had died so that we could move back to be near Gram.

'Ze pleasure is mine." My mom flashed me that 'he's a keeper' smile. I rolled my eyes before she started talking again.

"Where's your stuff?"

"Um…" I realized that in my running, I'd left all my equipment at the field. "Coach is taking it for me. The helmet needed some fixes and so did the chest pad."

"And your pappy's glove?"

"Needed relacing." I groaned realizing that the hundred dollar catching equipment would land me a grounding if it got lost, but Pappy's glove would get me killed. I flashed her an innocent smile as I tried worming my way out of the bad situation. *Brinnnggg. ~Saved by the bell.~

"That's odd, everyone knows that my door's unlocked and that they can come right on in."

"I'll get it Mom." My mother jumped up and answered the door for a formal looking lady in white. "We're not buying whatever you're selling." She went to shut the door again but Miss Frost's hand shot out and caught it before it latched shut.

"I'm not asking you to buy anything Miss Steele. I would like to speak to you about your daughter, though." This caught my mom off guard and the woman walked into the dining room where she finally introduced herself. "I'm Emma Frost of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Students. We'd like for you and Allison to see what we have to offer her."

"Unfortunately, I'm going to have enough trouble sending my daughter to college in two years. I can't afford a private school now. I'm sorry for your trouble."

"I don't think you understand, this will be of no cost to you. The institute is completely self-sufficient and has no tuition costs. It's more of a safe house where Allison will be able to learn control over her gifts. She'll be able to interact with students with similar abilities who will accept her for what she is."

"I don't know what you're insinuating, but my daughter isn't anything special other than the fact that she's extremely intelligent." I grimaced at this. I always hated it when my mom had to point out the fact to everyone that I was gifted.

"Mom, listen to her. I'd really like to check this place out."

"Lyss, please be quiet and let me handle this." I was on my feet now feeling a boiling anger at my mother's stubborness.

"But they'll understand me! They'll be able to help me with my illness. No more dehydration, no more doctors who don't know anything. They can help!"

"You're not ill. It's a mutation that gives you control over water and gives you many of the same properties of water. However, she's right about the fact that the institute can help her. Once she's learned control, she'll be able to lead a normal life."

"She already has a normal life. Some children have strange illnesses…this is one of them." My mom was starting to turn red and was reaching her stress point. I placed a hand on her shoulder hoping to calm her down and realized that the woman whom I'd always looked up to was slowly graying and was no longer a towering force over me. She was now at least three inches shorter and I'd never noticed that I'd surpassed her. She began crying and I sat back down feeling bad for yelling at her. "At least I'd hoped so. Where did I go wrong?"

"You haven't gone wrong at all, Miss Steele. We'd only like for you and Allison to visit our school. There is no pressure to enroll her and absolutely no cost to you if you do."

"Please, Mom, I'd really like to at least see it."

"Miz Steele, ze professor iz very nice. He takes care of everyzing such az schooling, boarding, food, everyzing." Kurt's input seemed to have an impact with Mom as she slowly nodded.

"I suppose we could check it out."