A/N: -whimpers- No reviewers!! –sobs- Pwease review!! Pwease?

The jet landed at the school, and Lizzie leaned back in the chair and heaved a sigh of relief. Now she knew what she had to do, before anyone came back in. She leaped up and hugged Gordo, breathing hard, trying to control sobs. The surprising thing was, he hugged her back.

"I'm so glad I got to you!" Lizzie said into his shoulder. He didn't answer, just patted her back. She pulled away and smiled weakly. He smiled back. "I missed you," he said. "I missed you, too," Lizzie answered truthfully.

They didn't notice as the Gordons and Shadowcat exited the jet. "Think we can save Miranda?" Gordo asked grimly. Lizzie snapped back to reality, away from her imaginings, and answered, "I don't know. Hopefully. Saving you was a victory, really, that I didn't expect to win."

"And yet you did," Gordo said. "Yes, I did," Lizzie said proudly. She laughed, and then drew in another breath. "Ooh. I forgot. I have to compensate someone." She closed her eyes, and sent the information she had stolen flowing back to Jean, and finally, returned Scott's borrowed strength to him.

As a result, however, Lizzie fell to the floor, weak once more, and breathing heavily. "Lizzie!" Gordo said in alarm, falling beside her and trying to help her up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm...I'm fine," Lizzie answered, her head spinning. "I had to borrow strength and...well, you don't need to know." Jean, Scott, and Professor Xavier came into the hangar, and Lizzie groaned, knowing that she was in serious trouble.

"Young lady," Jean said sternly to her. "What you did was wrong." "And dangerous," Scott put in. "And it's against the rules to steal information or powers, even for a while," Jean added. But finally the professor spoke to a sincerely humbled Lizzie. "But..." he said. Then he smiled. "Good job."

Lizzie stared at them for a while, and then giggled. She couldn't help it. It was just so hilarious...she had never really expected to actually become a part of the school, and beating Mystique and Magneto...it was a little too much to comprehend. "Thank you," she managed to choke out, and then blacked out from exhaustion.

..................LATER..........................

Lizzie awoke later, her head feeling a little hazy, and her brain fuzzy. The first sight she saw when she fluttered her eyes open were her concerned parents. "Oh, Lizzie!" Jo sobbed, throwing her arms around Lizzie. "Oof!" Lizzie groaned in slight pain as her mother hit a sensitive spot.

Then, Jo straightened up and shouted, "How dare you, Elizabeth Brooke McGuire!" "Gordo was-"Lizzie started, but then Sam started in on her: "You will never, I repeat, never do that again!" "But-" Lizzie protested. "The whole reason we enrolled you here was because we thought it was a safe school, and-""Silence!" Lizzie shouted, sealing their mouths shut telekinetically, and then groaning from the shouts.

"Like it or not, you have to accept that I am different," Lizzie told them. "I have powers, and I need to learn how to use them for good. If we get me out of here, and go back to our house, then Magneto will know where to find me, and I'm as good as dead! I only went out because Gordo needed me, and I wasn't about to let something happen to him, like it did to Miranda...Anyway, if I do join the X-Men, live with it! It's for good, and I am strong enough to do it."

She yawned, and said, "Good night." She ushered her parents out the door, and locked it shut before falling asleep once more.

..........................LATER...................................

She awoke several hours later to see Shadowcat sitting on the edge of her bed, staring into space with a strange look on her face, just swinging her foot. She glanced over to see Lizzie looking at her quizzically, and the look vanished as she smiled.

"Heya!" she chirped, crawling over to where Lizzie lay motionless on the pillows. "How'd you get in here? I locked the door," Lizzie said. Then she smiled. "Ooh, right. You can go through things." "Yup!" Shadowcat answered, flashing another smile.

"Gordo's been worried about you," she said. "So have Jean and Scott, and your parents." "Why?" Lizzie wondered. "Because..." Shadowcat said, with mild surprise. "You've been asleep for four days, but have kept your mental lock on tight. So, I would bring others in and we would constantly check on you. When Jean tried to probe your mind, it was like she hit a mental wall. She was thrown clear off the bed. Let me tell you," she laughed, "she won't be poking around in there again anytime soon. She nearly slammed into the wall!"

Lizzie laughed as well. "I didn't know I could do that," she said in wonder. "Can you get up?" Shadowcat asked. "Yeah," Lizzie nodded. She slowly stood, wobbled a bit, but then strode purposefully across the room and spun around with a look of triumph on her face. "Aw right!" she cheered. "I can totally walk again!" Shadowcat laughed and clapped her hands. "Hey, you wanna do something, Shadowcat?" Lizzie asked.

"Oh..." Shadowcat twisted her hands in the blankets. "That's another thing. My name is Kitty in the school, and Shadowcat on a mission. Try and remember." "Okay," Lizzie nodded, and threw open the curtains of her window.

Sunlight streamed in and blinded her momentarily. She caught her breath as she gazed out over the school grounds. "It's a great school," she commented. "Yeah, I know," Kitty said.

"Do we ever get to go home to our parents?" Lizzie asked. Kitty cast her eyes down. "Yeah, if you've got 'em," she answered. "What do you mean?" Lizzie asked. "A lot of the kids here are runaways," Kitty answered her. "They ran away because they were afraid of their powers, or because they were forced by their parents."

"You mean..." Lizzie said, horrified. Kitty nodded emphatically. "Yes. Their parents kicked them out because they were afraid of their kids. So, Professor Xavier eventually found them. The few times we haven't gotten to them in times ended in catastrophe. Like Toad and Sabertooth."

"Oh." Lizzie said awkwardly. "Oh!" Kitty snapped her fingers. "The professor wants to see you by the way. He said as soon as you woke up. So, let's go!" she said cheerfully.

"All right," Lizzie sighed, dreading the meeting. "Will he be too harsh?" she asked meekly as they stepped outside. Kitty shrugged her shoulders. "The professor always surprises you," she said evasively.

..........................IN THE PROFESSOR'S OFFICE.........................

Lizzie sat with her hands folded in her lap, studying an invisible dust bunny with her undivided attention. The professor gazed at her, and Lizzie could feel slight pinpricks in her mind. Despite everything, her instincts were stronger than her will, having been through a lot, and they shoved him out. The professor's wheelchair rolled back several feet as if he had been violently shoved.

"Oh!" Lizzie cried with horror, leaping up to help him regain his balance as the chair started to tip over. "I'm...I'm sorry!" she cried, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

"No, no," the professor answered awkwardly, motioning for her to sit down again. "I didn't realize you were so strong. You are, perhaps, stronger than I," he murmured, more to himself than her.

Then he stared her in the eye. Lizzie stared back, a bit nervously. "What you did was against regulations, you understand," he said presently. Lizzie nodded her head humbly. "But you had the right motives," he continued. "Which means, I suppose, that you will stop at nothing to save someone your heart dearly loves. Am I correct in that assumption?" "I...I don't know," Lizzie answered. "I guess."

"Do you hate the humans?" he asked suddenly. Lizzie's head shot up at the strange question. "No!" she answered quickly. "My parents, brother, and best friends are humans. How could I hate them?"

The professor nodded, as if adding something to memory. "So...you love them, then?" he continued with the interrogation.

Lizzie blinked. "Well, if the opposite of hate is love, then yes, I love the humans," she answered truthfully. The professor nodded once more, thinking. "Thank you, Lizzie," he said abruptly. "That will be all." "That's...that's it?" Lizzie cried in astonishment, eyes wide. "No punishment?" The professor raised his eyebrows at her. "Would you like me too?" he asked dryly.

"No, no," Lizzie said quickly. "I mean...well...thank you, Professor," she mumbled, and quickly exited his study.

Kitty was waiting for her outside. "How did it go?" she asked. Lizzie shrugged her shoulders. "Well, he didn't give me a punishment, but it was almost like...like he was giving me an examination," she said, puzzled.

"Hmm," Kitty said. "That's curious, isn't it?" Lizzie nodded. "Can I go see Gordo?" she asked. "He's in class," Kitty said. "What?" Lizzie asked. "Well, since he can't go to his regular school, he still needs to keep up his grades, so he's learning here," Kitty explained. "Oh," Lizzie said. "Should we go to class?" "No," Kitty answered. "We have the day off. What do you want to do?"

"Anything!" Lizzie answered eagerly. "Show me the school!" "Okay," Kitty said, and they headed off to see the school.

A/N: Interesting chapter to write. My fingers hurt. Agh! Please review.