Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men.  Nor do I own Burger King.  I don't know why I said that except to say that it really sucks, because then I would be rich.  And I need money…donations are welcome…

John ran his hand through his hair as he sat on a stone bench in the yard long past midnight.  Ali had come back.  But she was different. 

She didn't even remember him.

But something changed, and just before she had been torn away, she had remembered all about him.  Only that made his spirits rise slightly.  But the only question was would Ali choose to stay with her parents or come back to him?

He sighed and ran a hand through his fiery hair.  He needed to go to bed.  He had school the next day.  But at the moment, that didn't seem to matter much.  All he wanted to do was go take a walk around town.  But he couldn't.  It was forbidden.  He grinned suddenly, an idea forming in his mind. 

Who said that doing forbidden stuff wasn't his thing?

*

Ali was thrust forward into a black padded steel chair.  She whirled around, her eyes flashing dangerously.  They turned from her calm green to shocking blue instantly to alert the group about her anger and how much power she had.  She had learned to bluff through things if you particularly didn't want to fight.  And she could easily do that.

Too bad the adults already knew this tactic. 

"Ali, I never want you to go near that boy again!" her father commanded angrily.

"Why?" Ali demanded, the volume of her voice matching her father's.  "What is wrong with him?"

"He is the enemy!" her father screamed.  "You can not fraternize with the enemy!"

"Says who?  And he is NOT the enemy!" Ali screamed.  "He was nothing but nice to me!"

Her father looked like he was ready to strike Ali down.  He raised a hand into the air to strike her across the face, anger burning in his green eyes.  Ali saw this move and stood taller.  She could easily face her father, and he would know that. 

Ali's mother suddenly set a hand on her husbands shoulder.  "Stop it," she whispered softly.  She turned her hardened blue eyes onto Ali.  "Ali, the reason that we don't want you to see him is because he tried to hurt you before we rescued you," she explained. 

Ali's eyes widened in disbelief.  "Impossible!" she yelled.  "He wouldn't do that!"

Her mother shook her head.  "People act nice, but that does not mean that that is truly the way they are.  People lie on a regular basis, Ali," she said. 

Ali narrowed her eyes.  "I can't believe this!" she yelled.  And with that, she stormed off to her new room. 

Magneto suddenly stepped forward.  "Do you think she bought it?" he asked, his eyes still on the door that Ali had disappeared through. 

Her mother closed her eyes.  "I can't tell.  She's resisting my entry," she replied with a frown.  "Her mental power has become much more powerful since I wiped her mind."

Her father shook his head.  "It doesn't look like you wiped her mind very well, because she still remembers that stupid boy," her husband shot back angrily. 

Ali's mother glared at him.  "How was I supposed to know that would happen?" she demanded.  "I can't control everything."

"You're the worlds strongest telepath; you should be able to!"

Magneto suddenly stepped in-between the feuding couple.  "Stop," he demanded.  The two fell silent instantly.  He took a deep breath and began again.  "No one could have predicted that Ali would remember him," he said.  "Not I, nor you, Alice, or you, Mike.  So just calm down.  We will, apparently, have to alter Ali's memory once again.  But this time, I suggest we have Mastermind do it, as his specialty is memory altering."

Ali's mother narrowed her eyes.  "Fine," she replied curtly.  With that said, she walked briskly to the door and out.  Her pride had been wounded by Magneto's remark.  She was a powerful telepath, and yet a lower mutant was upstaging her.  There was no greater insult than that.

*

Ali clenched her fists as she started at her hands.  She charged her fists and de-charged them, finding the motion somewhat relaxing.  She took a deep breath, trying to sort through the jumbled thoughts in her head.  She had been lost in confusion ever since she had met John.  She didn't know what to think anymore.  She was so confused.  All she had known was what her mother had told her, and she had accepted the fact that she was always right.  Now, her mother seemed wrong, and she didn't know what to think anymore. 

Ali groaned and massaged her temples with one hand.  I've got to figure this out, she thought to herself.  John was innocent.  He had begged for her to remember him, to remember what she had shared with him. 

But according to her mother, John had betrayed her.  He had tried to hurt her before.  Her mother said that he was not one to trust, and that he would only betray her again in the long run. 

But if that was so, then how come whenever Ali thought of John, she thought of him with great fondness?  Was that it?  Was she fond of him?  Or was it something different?  She didn't know.  She suddenly gave a cry of frustration and slammed her fist into the nearby gray wall.  "Why can't I figure out what's right and wrong?" she yelled to no one.  The gray room didn't answer, as Ali had dearly wished that it would.  She knew that it wouldn't, but for once, she would like an easy answer that wouldn't confuse her.  It didn't even matter whom it came from.

She stood up.  So Xavier had tried to hurt her.  She knew that.  But when she had looked in his eyes, she had not found hatred and lust for pain.  There was something in his eyes that made her doubt the story.  It was surprise, anguish.  But what was he grieving over?  For the loss of someone?  For her?  Even if she didn't find out the answers to those questions, she would find other answers.  Answers to the unspoken questions that rested in her mind. 

She stepped out the door and left the base, heading to the place where she had been only an hour before. 

*

Kitty sighed and rested her chin on the back of a wooden chair that she straddled.  She had finally seen Ali, but the girl had been different.  Very different.

She had wanted to kill Xavier. 

And that thought made Kitty want to scream.  Ali had changed.  But what had caused that change?  Her parents?  Had her memory been erased?  Kitty didn't know.  She was too busy to try and analyze the questions.  She was dealing with the feeling of gnawing grief in her stomach.  Or was it hunger?  After all, she hadn't eaten all day.  It could very well be either. 

Meanwhile, Rogue sat at the kitchen table, resting her arms on the tabletop and her chin sat upon her arms.  The Goth had her eyes closed, replaying Ali's reappearance over and over in her mind.  Why had Ali attacked Xavier?  She knew that answer: Ali's memory had been altered.  But she didn't want to acknowledge that.  To admit that fact almost seemed like she would be accepting that Ali had changed into someone that Rogue didn't know and wasn't close to.  She wanted the old Ali back.  She wanted her best friend. 

John suddenly walked into the kitchen.  He had left the Institute about half an hour ago, just after Ali had left.  He knew that he shouldn't have gone, but he didn't care.  The adults knew that he had left, but they didn't care.  Or they just didn't mind.  But it didn't matter; John was back safe, and that was all that really mattered. 

John ran a hand through his hair and slumped in a chair.  He was tired.  Tired of fighting, of losing people close to him.  He just wanted it to end. 

Kitty seemed to sense this and patted his arm comfortingly.  John smiled weakly at her, silently thanking her.  Kitty nodded and slipped back into her own thoughts, allowing herself to be consumed. 

Scott stormed by the doorway, snatching his jacket off the coat rack.  The anger that flowed easily through him radiated off his body, warning anyone and everyone to stay the hell away.  He stalked through the now empty doorway and out to the garage, to his car.  His car was a sort of comfort item whenever he was really high-strung or anything.  All the students knew this, of course, and wondered why Scott wasn't in his car more often. 

As he was walking across the sidewalk, he spotted a dark figure making their way through the gates.  He stopped and squinted his eyes behind his shades, trying to decipher who it was.  Finally, it hit him: Ali was back.  But why?  Scott could only assume the worst, and grabbed his shades, ready to rip them off to defend his home and Professor Xavier. 

The figure stopped at this movement.  "Do not try to battle me," she suggested in a low voice.  "I do not wish to fight you."

"But you want to kill the professor!" Scott yelled.  "I won't let you!"

Ali smirked.  "Don't jump to conclusions, you fool," she spat.  "I only wish to speak with him."

"Like hell!" Scott yelled. 

The smirk was wiped from Ali's face instantly.  Her eyes narrowed and became hard again.  "Step aside before I make you," she suggested, her voice icy. 

Scott clenched his jaw and finally tore off his shades, firing an optic blast at Ali.  He had awaited her return painfully, and so attacking her almost made his heart shatter. 

Ali's eyes narrowed even more, almost to slits.  The emerald green color had almost vanished between her eyelids.  But as soon as her eyes changed color, the piercing blue was immediately evident.  She brought up her hands and fired her own energy at the blast, canceling out Scott's mutant power.  He continued to fire his beams at Ali, as she continued to feed electricity through her body to counter his attack. 

Logan suddenly burst through the doorway behind Scott.  His eyes widened as the two teenagers continued to wage battle, fighting for dominance over the other.  He unsheathed his claws, ready to step forward and help Scott.  As much as he liked Ali, he couldn't allow her to attack the professor. 

Ali spotted Logan out of the corner of her eye.  She channeled the majority of her energy through her left arm, never once lessening the output of electricity.  She then outstretched a hand towards Logan. 

The older mutant froze where he was.  Ali's hand was pointing right at him, ready to fire her electricity at him at any given moment.  He knew that he could quickly heal, but the thought of such powerful energy continually coursing through his body was not appealing.  He quickly re-sheathed his claws and stood, watching Ali and Scott. 

Professor Xavier suddenly appeared on the doorstep, his eyes wide.  "Ali!  Scott!  Stop!" he yelled. 

Ali seemed reluctant to do so, especially since she didn't know if Scott would stop firing.  But she quickly brought back her power and stepped to the side, Scott's optic blasts whizzing past her and striking a tree.  She seemed unfazed by this, though. 

Scott quickly replaced his sunglasses upon his nose and looked at Xavier.  "Professor!  Why?" he demanded.  He was convinced that Ali was only there to attack and harm Xavier. 

Professor Xavier's eyes never left Ali's.  He couldn't read them at all.  They were just blank pools of green.  "Ali did not come here to harm me, Scott," he replied.  "If she had, she would have killed you long ago."

A gasp was heard from behind the professor.  Standing in the foyer were John, Rogue, and Kitty.

John's eyes were wide with astonishment.  Ali had returned?  But why?  What point was there in her return?  He suddenly realized that it didn't matter.  She had returned to them: to him. 

Rogue felt numb.  Ali was back.  How was that possible?  An hour ago, she had been siding with her parents and wanting to kill Xavier, and possibly the rest of the X-Men.  So what was going on?

Kitty's eyes welled up with tears.  She knew that Ali didn't remember her, but she didn't care.  Ali was back and safe, and Kitty couldn't have asked for more.  

Ali's eyes never wavered from Xavier's.  "He is right," she acknowledged.  "Xavier, I need to talk to you."

The Professor nodded.  "But Ali, even I do not know the entire story.  I will need the rest of the students to assist me in answering you," he replied. 

Ali nodded.  "As long as they do not attack me, I will allow it," she said, as if she was in control of what was happening. 

And in a way, she was.  Everyone was too overwhelmed by her presence to really object to anything. 

"Alright, Ali.  Follow me," Xavier said.

******************************************************************

haha, another cliffie!!  I know, you all probably hate this (or me) but if I put in the whole questioning thing, this chapter would be 10 pages long and you'd have to wait for almost another week for it.  So here you go.  I hope you all like it.

Reviews:

supergirlhv: yes, he is sweet.  It's been a long time! Good to hear from you again!!

o scorched eggy: I get that you think its sappy.  I understood that after the first time.  I'm working on it, ok?  That's just the way the story's going.  If I write a sequel, it wont be as sappy.  More action, more humor, stuff like that.  But that's only IF I write a sequel.  I'm debating whether or not to end this soon.  I dunno. 

damien455: you are probably my most faithful reader.  Thank you!  I hope you like this one, too.

Ok, just to warn you all, I have a pretty busy few weeks coming up.  My band teacher is having me play three different pieces for a solo/ensemble clinic that coming up in May.  I have to play a Solo, play in a quartet, and in a Brass Choir.  Then, I have track practice.  I am running long distance, and I've never run it before.  I have the first meet on Thursday.  So I'm going to be doing a lot of after school stuff and pray that you will all forgive me if I don't update quickly.  I will try my hardest to.  Wish me luck in everything at school.  I'll need it.

I just want to thank you all for continuing to read this.  You are all wonderful!!  Thank you!  I love each and every one of your reviews!!

R&R!!  Much love,

~Jojo~