Earth Child Disclaimer: Characters and setting are the property of Marvel, I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun.

Thanks for the feedback: Risty, crazyspaceystracey, Raniatlw, DemonRogue13, Obsidian, Goofn1

Author's Note: Sorry about the delay, I've been busy reformatting my computer. Spyware is as bad as a virus, I've got so many pop-ups that my computer crashes every five minutes.

Leathery, bat-like ears flicked back and forth scanning the alley for movement as the girl dug through a dumpster in search of the food smell that had drawn her here.

Her hair was a long tangled main of gold that blended into the short, fine fur covering her face and arms. As she went up on tiptoes to peer into the dumpster the bottoms of her bare, heavily callused feet became visible. She snatched up a greasy bag then wandered off munching on the french-fries she'd discovered.

Her attention was drawn to familiar voices coming from a second story window. With a gravity-defying leap she came to perch on the windowsill. She spent a few moments shifting around, trying to find the best view of the television playing inside the apartment.

She'd missed and worried about the people in the box ever since she'd had to run away; they'd been her only company so much of the time. She'd loved going outside but Mommy and Daddy said she couldn't let anyone see her. She had to hide inside, alone.

Mommy and Daddy played with her as much as they could but they were always going away because of jobs. She didn't like jobs. But that was the way of things, year in and year out.

Then everything changed. She saw some people in the box fighting a giant robot and everyone got really, really mad. She didn't know why those people had upset everyone so much. There'd always been box-people with powers no one else had. People like her, who had adventures instead of going to school… only she didn't get to have adventures or go to school. Still she'd always felt a bond with the box-people who were like her.

Her family's neighbors acted like the box-people were something new. They broke down the door. She'd heard them yelling at Daddy; ordering him to give them the 'mutant'. She heard shots and Mommy told her to fly away. She'd been hiding and running ever since.

One of the people inside the room saw her sitting in the window and screamed in terror. She leapt into the sky, touched the natural forces that flowed through the world and gravity released her to soared over the rooftops.

She allowed the laws of nature to reassert their hold on her and returned to the earth several blocks away and returned to wandering.

A little group of people caught her attention.

"Bye guys. I'm going shopping." The girl was bright and shiny on the surface, like a bauble, underneath there was something bleak about her.

"Tabby don't go running off. I don't want you getting in trouble." That one was a smooth running river, wearing away all resistance as he sought his path. He was connected to and shielded by someone else.

"You let Fred go off by himself." Tabby complained.

"Fred's got some sense."

"Humph!"

The final member of the trio captured the observer's attention to her eyes he was one with earth beneath his feet. She hadn't spoken to him yet but she already knew she liked him. The earth had always been a friend to her and he was part of it. He was like her. Connected like her. Connected to her. She wasn't alone anymore.

She glanced at his feet and wondered how he could stand to wear shoes. Personally she couldn't stand them; they separated her from the earth besides they pinched her toes.

When the trio moved on she followed them in the shadows. For most of the evening she tagged along, silent and unnoticed. She followed them as they wandered through shops and a street market. She followed as they were joined by another teen; one who was hopeful and nervous over a solid and trusting nature. She almost lost them in an arcade. Loud noises, flashing lights, too many people; they forced her further from the object of her fascination.

They were already in a car driving away when she spotted them again. She told the earth to release her and leapt into the air to chase after them.

They drove out into the desert then disappeared into the ground and left her alone again; trapped outside of a locked door.

"Damn, I left the DVD in the jeep." Scott exclaimed. "I'll be right back."

He turned and jogged back toward the elevator. When he opened the outer door something pushed past him.

"Guys, incoming!" He yelled as the girl punched through the floor of the elevator and leapt into the shaft.

"I don't think she's hostile." Fred called back a few moments later. There was a hint of repressed laughter in his voice. There was nothing repressed about Tabby's giggles.

Carefully avoiding the hole in the elevator floor Scott rode it back to the base proper.

Lance stood backed up against the far wall, arms held out away from him in an attempt not to do anything that might be interpreted as encouraging. The girl was happily rubbing her temple against Lance's cheek as she clung to him. "I've never seen her before." Lance announced defensively. "I don't even know who she is."

"I'm Megan." The girl replied.

Scott almost laughed at her innocent answer. "How'd you find us?" He asked.

"I followed you. I saw box-people like me before but never here-people; people who could talk to me, who were like me. And you're all nice. I like you, 'specially you." Megan smiled brilliantly at Lance. He blinked in surprise; she'd changed. His first impression of her had been golden fur and huge leathery ears, now she reminded him of Kitty. Her ears were still pointed but not so noticeable, almost elven and all but lost in waves of suddenly brown hair. The fur was gone and even the shape of her face seemed to reflect Kitty's.

Lance tripped over his own feet as he tried to slide away from her. Megan's eyes filled with hurt and alarm. "I'm sorry." She squeaked.

"You're a mutant?" Scott asked.

Tabby muttered something about stating the obvious.

Megan shrugged.

"You said you were like us."

"Uh-huh."

"Especially like Lance?"

"Lance." Megan repeated with a silly grin as she committed the name to memory.

Lance groaned.

"How are you like Lance?" Scott encouraged.

"Part of the world." Megan stared curiously at Lance. "Why are you only ground tied? No air ties."

"I only make earthquakes. What do you do?" Lance asked as he moved further away from her.

"Fly! I tell the ground to let me go and it does."

"You're pretty strong too." Fred said gesturing to the elevator.

"And you shape-shift." Lance added with some irritation. She wasn't his Kitty. He didn't like her trying to manipulate him by taking her form.

Megan stared at him in hurt confusion.

"You didn't look like that when you came in here." Lance snapped.

Megan wilted at his harsh tone. "I did something wrong. I'm bad." She said as she reverted to her earlier form. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"You're not bad." Lance sighed hopelessly at the sight of her misery. He winced when she changed back to her Kitty-look. "Could you just please not look like my girlfriend?"

Megan stared at him uncomprehendingly. Lance's head thudded against the wall as he let it drop back in defeat.

"Hey what happened to the elevator?" Logan yelled.

"We found a new mutant," Scott explained.

"Thanks Caliban," Ray said as the hulking gray skinned mutant led him to the Morlock's current camp.

"You are welcome." Caliban said in his slow, deliberate way.

"Are they still hunting us?" Calisto demanded.

"Yes." Caliban reported.

"The cops are embarrassed." Ray elaborated. "We showed them up on the evening news. Now they have to do something. They're systematically searching the sewers; I've been dodging them for hours. Is Daniels with you guys?"

"Back there." Calisto said. She pointed toward a subsidiary tunnel.

"Thanks." Ray said. He turned and shuffled in the direction indicated. The young X-Man frowned in confusion as he stared down at his teammate. The flickering torchlight illuminated a figure that barely looked human. "Cal, what the fuck is wrong with Daniels?" Ray demanded as he glared at her over his shoulder.

"The humans' poison. He's lucky to be alive." Calisto replied.

Evan! Ray!

Ray winced at the mental yell. "Jean?" He asked.

Ray, I saw the news.Jean continued at a more normal volume.

"If you're going to scold me save your breath." Ray said.

He received the mental image of an irate scowl. I've already contacted Scott. You two are in way too much trouble; you can't stay here want more. I half-way think you did this on purpose because Scott didn't let you go with him.

"I'm not going anywhere without the Morlocks." Ray said. "They're in more trouble than Daniels and I are."

I won't argue with you about that. I've already emailed Gambit. He'll guide you to Scott's new base.

"We're not going anywhere." Calisto stated despite having heard only Ray's half of the conversation.

"You're going to stay here and be hunted like animals?" Ray demanded angrily.

"What other choice is there?" Calisto demanded.

"The same one you've already made." Ray replied. "We take ourselves out of their world and make our own. These tunnels don't have to be your last refuge."

"I'll discuss it with the others." Calisto replied. "You'll get a chance to present your case but I won't leave any of my people behind."

"Jean, could you get someone from the Institute to bring Torpid here?" Ray asked as he met Calisto's eyes.

I'll have someone meet you with her when you're ready to leave. It'll be at least a week before Gambit can get here. If you can't talk them into leaving I'll try.

Tabby watched with fascination as Scott and Logan interrogated their latest stray.

When Megan focused on Scott her face became more oval and her hair took on a bright red color. When she focused on Logan her hair turned dark and her features gained an oriental cast.

Tabby grinned. "Megan looked like Kitty for Lance, Jean for Scott and Logan gets letters from Japan every now and then…" She thought then exclaimed. "Oh my gosh! You're a walking crush detector! Megan go talk to Forge."

"Huh?" Forge said. Tabby grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over to where Megan sat.

"Talk to her!" Tabby ordered.

"Um hi." Forge stammered.

"Hi." Megan answered brightly.

"You've gotta do better than that." Tabby prompted.

"So, um, Megan, what do you like doing?" Forge asked.

"I like going to the park on bright moonlit nights. I like when my Mom and Dad come home. I like watching the people in the box." As Megan spoke to Forge her hair turned a pale blonde, a metallic sparkle appeared at her temple.

"You've got a thing for 7 of 9." Tabby squealed.

Forge glanced at the floor. "She's hot, okay? Not to mention part machine."

"Megan, it would have been so fun to have you around the Mansion." Tabby said.

"Why?" Megan asked curiously.

Tabby just laughed.

Megan stared at her, her hair and skin darkened.

"Tabby is there something you haven't told us about you and Amara?" Forge asked.

"Geeze, we're just friends."

"Tabby, you're the one who called her a crush detector." Fred said.

"Okay, so I was wrong."

"I'm always a girl." Megan offered.

"That's interesting." Scott said. "Do you know what color your eyes are?"

"Green, Mom always said I had pretty green eyes."

"And you're hair?"

"Whatever it wants to be. Sometimes it's fur, especially when I'm cold or when people are mad at me."

"So you don't control your shape-shifting." Scott concluded. "I'll tell Lance you weren't purposefully looking like Kitty and that he shouldn't get upset."

"Thank you." Megan replied with a happy smile. "I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I like Lance."

"Remy, y're deeply stupid. Y' know dat don' y'?" Gambit asked himself as he stood across the street from Wanda's home. "Mon cherie already hates your guts an' for good reason. Actin' like some sort of stalker ain't likely to win points."

Gambit sighed and shook his head. The fact remained: He wanted to see Wanda. He was grateful for the updates in Silver's emails about his sister but it wasn't the same as seeing her alive and well.

Gambit surrendered to his impulses and walked up to her door. The lights had been out for two hours; he trusted that everyone within was asleep. Gambit finessed the lock and deadbolt in a matter of heartbeats then walked inside as if he belonged.

He glanced around the cozy front room with curiosity then headed upstairs. Wanda's room was predominately a child's. Remy guessed that the Maximoffs had left it untouched after Magneto locked Wanda away. There were a few recent additions that reflected Wanda's teenage-self but the ghost of the little girl she'd been still held sway here.

Wanda slept curled around a pillow, her lips slightly parted, her face open and vulnerable. Remy's expression softened. He moved across the room as if dealing with the most sensitive of motion detectors then reached out to brush her bangs away from her forehead. Of it's own volition his hand slipped down to cup her cheek. Still fast asleep, Wanda turned into his touch with a soft sigh.

"I love y' cherie." Remy whispered to the sleeping girl. "Dat's de simple truth. I hope y' find it in your heart to forgive me someday."

Reluctantly Remy stepped back then crept back through the sleeping household. He locked the door behind him then walked to a payphone several blocks away.

"M'selle Grey, y' needed to talk to me?" Gambit said.

"Where's Lance?" Megan asked as she poked her head into the kitchen on the third morning after her arrival.

Everyone at the table bit back laughter. Megan's determined, naïve pursuit of Lance and his frustrated attempts to gently discourage her attention were quickly becoming the primary source of entertainment for the rest of the group.

"I think he's hiding in the garage." Forge volunteered.

Megan smiled thankfully. She basked in the warm amusement filling the room although she didn't understand its source. "I'll tell him hi for you." She said.

"Oh you don't have to do that." Tabby said with a negligent wave. "I'm sure you've got much more important things to discuss."

The teenager in Scott dearly wanted to go along with this but the team-leader demanded that he say something. "Megan, I know you don't consciously control your form, but try to stay in your neutral state okay?" He suggested.

Megan tilted her head to the side and peered at him like an overly serious child. Scott sighed; the simple act of listening to him had caused red highlights to appear in Megan's golden hair and had turned her heart-shaped face more oval.

"Just try, please." Scott repeated as Megan turned to leave.

"Should I go faster?" Pietro asked as he twisted to share a grin with the little girl riding piggyback.

Torpid giggled. She was wrapped in an outsized raincoat both to protect Pietro from an accidental touch and to shield her from the winds created by his passage.

Pietro veered suddenly, he darted up the side of a building and reached the second story before gravity started pulling at him. Torpid shrieked as if on a roller coaster. On his own, at full speed, Pietro could have gone much higher but when his only goal had been the amusement of his small passenger two stories was plenty. When his feet were back on solid ground he executed a Viennese Waltz turn, three hundred and sixty degrees in six precise steps, and was rewarded with a breathless, delighted giggle.

A few minutes later they arrived at the meeting point. "We're the first ones here. Wow, imagine that." Pietro said with a laugh. He knelt down and let Torpid slide to the ground. Impulsively she threw her arms around Pietro's neck. For a moment she hugged him tightly when she stepped back Pietro was blushing. "Glad you enjoyed the ride." He said. "So I bet you'll be happy to see your friends again, huh?"

Torpid nodded and beamed.

"The mansion's nice but it's no substitute for friends… speaking of friends, when you get where you're going there's a couple of mine I want you to annoy for me: Lance and Fred. Fred's the biggest guy there and Lance, well you can recognize him cause he'll talk a lot about Kitty." Pietro said. "I'm sure Tabby's keeping them on their toes but you'll pester them just for me won't you? I'd never tell them, but you know I really miss those two."

Torpid climbed up on a park bench, crossed her legs Indian-style and peered at Pietro with her best 'I'm listening' expression.

"Rogue wants to go, well maybe less now when she's spending so much time helping with the newbies and developing her own X-Team. Sure she inherited the original X-Men when Scott left and Jean was going to leave for college but that was different; Scott already had everyone trained to work together. The new team is hers."

Pietro paused. He plopped down on the bench beside Torpid. Her silence encouraged him to fill it with whatever was on his mind. "Rogue complains about every flaw in their performance but I can hear how important it is to her in her voice. Leading a combat team suits her. Me, I'm more of a lone operative type and I really do like college. It took signing up for thirty credits but I'm not bored anymore… I know this is going to sound totally weird, but I hope I can graduate before Rogue starts feeling claustrophobic at Xavier's. See what I mean about weird: me worried about not having enough time. But Rogue belongs out there with Cyke and the others, doing what she thinks is right and not having to pay attention to what the morons think. I'm thick skinned enough to stick it out here and make them except me, but I'm going with her when the time comes. I'm not putting myself through this long distance relationship crap Lance and Kitty are suffering."

Pietro glanced at Torpid then blushed and forced a laugh. "Gah, listen to me ramble. Geeze, the next thing you know I'll develop megalomaniac tendencies and start wearing a bucket on my head… Not that I ever listened to Dad when he got on his soapbox and you're probably not listening to me blabber about my love life either. Hey, I hear an engine, those slow pokes are finally here."

Pietro darted away to see who was coming. After assuring himself that the approaching van was full of the mutants he was waiting for he moved on to play chicken with Gambit's motorcycle.

With a quick flick of his wrist the auburn-haired Cajun tossed a lightly charged card in Quicksilver's path then stood his bike on its rear wheel for a hairpin turn as the speed demon darted out of the path of the explosion. Gambit cut off Quicksilver's retreat, wrapped an arm around the younger mutant's waist and hauled him on to the bike. "Y're fast Mon 'Silver but predictable." Gambit tsked.

"I'll show you predictable." Quicksilver exclaimed as he grabbed one of the breaks on the bike. While Gambit fought to keep the bike under control Quicksilver slipped free.

Pietro stuck his tongue out at Gambit as the mutant thief brought his bike to a stop. "Y're insane, y' know dat don' y'?" Remy asked with a shake of his head.

Pietro grinned. "Hey Remy. Stole anything interesting lately?"

"Jus' money." Gambit replied. "I'd get more entertainment from a video game dan de FOH's security system. Still de idea of dem unknowingly contributin' to Cyke's cause was too enticing to pass up."

Pietro grinned appreciatively.

"Come on kid, let's see what de other are up to." Remy said with a nod toward the rest stop.

They found the Morlocks fussing over Torpid.

"Y' counting her toes to make sure de X-Men haven' taken dem?" Remy asked Callisto sarcastically. He softened the comment with a wry grin.

Callisto frowned at him.

"Alright mes braves dere's no reason to be standing 'round out here waitin' for de cops to show." Gambit announced. "Lets get dis show on de road. 'Silver, it was good seein' y' again."