DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the x-men characters (but how cool would that be?!). The only characters that are mine are Selene, and some of the extra characters that have no real purpose.

She could smell something on her, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Turning to get a look at the girl, she tried to think of what the smell was. Fully clothed and hiding behind her hooded coat, the girl barely looked around as she found a seat at the end of the bar. Trying not to be too obvious, she moved down the bar a few seats.

"You don't look old enough to be getting drinks at a bar," said the bartender.

"Can I just have some water, please?" the girl asked in a very low voice.

"Sure." The bartender looked confused, but he got her the water all the same.

Selene watched the girl take down her hood to drink. She was young; younger than Selene would have guessed. Her long, brown hair seemed to be dyed white on both sides in the front. She looked like she was scared, but Selene didn't need to see her face to know that she was frightened. The girl reeked of fear.

The girl finished her water in record time, put a dollar in the small tip jar next to her, and got up to leave. Selene was determined to figure out whatever it was about her that she recognized, so she got up to follow the girl. They must have been walking on the side of the road for a mile before the girl realized she was being followed. She turned off the road and into the woods, hoping to evade her stalker.

Selene decided to keep walking on the road for a minute, just to make the girl think nothing of her. It wouldn't take long to find her again. She counted to ten, and turned off the road after her. Quietly, she moved through the trees listening for footsteps, and sniffing the air for a scent. It didn't take long to find her scent, and soon Selene was following her towards the river.

The girl was sitting on the riverbank with her coat tightly around her and her hood covering her face. Selene came into the clearing expecting a fight, but the girl remained still.

"What do you want from me?" the girl asked. Her voice sounded desperate, but Selene did not answer. "Please, I don't want any trouble. I just want to go home so if you could leave me alone, I'd really appreciate it."

"It's rude to speak to someone while hiding your face. I think you should take your hood off."

The girl nodded her head and took off her hood. In the light of day Selene could see the girls face for what it really was. While young, it was obvious that the girl appeared more experienced in life that it seemed. There were noticeable stress lines about her face, and her eyes told of a pain all too familiar to Selene.

"My name is Selene. I wasn't trying to frighten you, I was just curious," she said very sincerely, and then she turned to go.

"Wait!" she could hardly believe she was asking this stranger to stay, but there was something different about her. "I have to ask you something, but I don't want you to get mad."

"Well...if you answer a question for me, I'll answer yours anger-free. What is your name?" asked Selene, now intrigued by the girl's boldness.

"My name is Rogue," she replied, "now here's my question: are you a...a...well, a mutant?"

"That is a very risky question for you to ask, Rogue," she said. "After all, if I am a mutant, and I see you as a threat you're in big trouble. On the other hand, if I'm not a mutant and I think it suspicious for you to be asking that question, what's to stop me from persecuting you for what you really are? And don't think for a moment I can't tell what you really are."

"Well if you already know than why don't you just tell me if you're here to kill me or help me!" Rogue was starting to get upset. She had no idea what this woman wanted from her, and she wasn't getting a friendly feeling.

"Well, if you want to know the truth I am a mutant. I could smell that you are one too, but you're so young to be out on your own like this. I'm not going to hurt you, but if you need help there may be something I can do for you."

"I just want to find my way back to Westchester," Rogue said, feeling a bit more relaxed.

"New York? Westchester, New York? I can't go there. It's complicated, but I can get you on your way." Selene was starting to get unnerved.

"Okay," Rogue was confused, but she wasn't about to argue.

Selene took her on a path along the river. She said it would be a safer walk than going straight through woods and across highways. Rogue was very talkative on their way. She told Selene about how she discovered her powers, how she was almost a victim to an awful mutant called Magneto, and how she now went to a school for mutants where she felt very safe. Selene participated in the conversation with a sort of distance that Rogue didn't seem to notice. She could tell that Rogue was just happy to have someone to talk to.

"So, what about you?" Rogue asked, with an honest curiosity.

"What do you mean, what about me?" Selene wasn't really confused; she just wasn't interesting in sharing her life story with anyone.

"Well, how did you find out about your powers?"

"I don't really want to talk about it. Why don't you just tell me more about this school?"

They had been walking for what seemed like ages, under bridges of highways and seeing fishers here and there. The sun had nearly set when they decided to take a break. They rested on the edge of the trees, watching the water from the river flow around the bend they had just walked around. Selene noticed it was very quiet, but she was so tired it didn't seem to bother her as much as it should have.

"Why won't you tell me anything about yourself?" Rogue asked timidly.

"There just isn't much to say."

"There has to be something."

Selene hesitated. There were many things that she could say, of course most of what she could say would probably scare Rogue away. She tried to think of something unrelated to being a mutant, but there really wasn't anything. She didn't have much of a normal life, and whatever normal life she may have had before becoming a mutant she couldn't remember.

"Well..."

Before Selene could say anything she heard a noise pierce the evening sky, and what sounded like trees being ripped from the ground. At first she thought it was a roar, but what in these trees could make a sound like that?