Disclaimer - I do not own X-Men: Evolution or X-Men. They all belong to their very respected owners. I will not make any money from this story.

A/N - sorry for the wait. I keep getting writer's block. I hope you are all still enjoying it. Thanks.

Chapter five

The girl walked calmly along the street trying not to look obvious but she knew that she was being followed. She had thought for a moment that she had lost her stalker but there he was still following like a lost puppy. She felt fear rise up in her body but pushed it away. She had to get away and if she let fear get a hold of her she would not make it.

She had her hair securely hidden under a baseball cap; it was the only physical trait of her mutant gene. She assumed that no one knew that she was a mutant but as of late everyone was looking for mutants and they all had a similar agenda.

She pulled the collar of her jacket up further hoping that the guy would just give up and leave her alone. But in the corner of her mind she realised that he wouldn't. Not after what she had been hearing through her sources. Apparently he had found people who were willing to hunt mutants.

She had even heard talk of the Sentinel programme being reinstated, which terrified her more than could be imagined. She looked around again and saw her stalker getting closer. Things weren't going well and she almost broke into a run but thought better of it. She had to get to a crowded place. Hopefully it would be safe.

She jogged out into the road, not looking.

~*~

Music blared from the speakers as Scott drove through Bayville heading towards the mall. Jean was sitting next to him which he as grateful for but he was angry as well. He was supposed to be responsible for his team-mates. They were his responsibility and he had failed.

"Scott, don't be so hard on yourself" he heard Jean say.

He smiled slightly but it didn't help, he mentally berated himself for his failure.

"Look out, Scott" Jean had suddenly screamed.

Scott had seen the girl rush out into the street and swerved the car. At the same time Jean had cast out her hand and mentally lifted her but she was too late. The car slammed into the girl and Jean closed her eyes.

"Oh my god" Scott cried, not sounding sick but surprised.

"Jean look" he had said.

A crowd had begun to form as Jean opened her eyes. The girl was still standing and the front of Scott's car was bent in as if it had hit a pole or something.

"Help me, please" the girl cried.

Scott and Jean had jumped out of the car and rushed over to the girl.

"Stop. Mutants. Stop you freaks" a harsh voice called.

Scott turned and saw a guy running towards them and Scott frowned.

"Scott, no. This isn't the time. We have to get away from the crowd. The Professor is sending Logan in the jet" he heard Jean.

"Come on" Scott sighed grabbing both of the girl's arms and they ran away from the car. Scott looked back at his car, feeling the sentimental attachment break as they left it in the middle of the road.

~*~

Lance awoke and found himself strapped down on a table. He was beginning to feel scared but he wasn't going to show it. He strained his head and looked around the room trying to see anything that could help him. It was standard hospital white and it made him feel slightly claustrophobic.

"Good evening, Mr. Alvers" a patronising voice said.

Lance just swore spitting out any insulting words that came to mind.

"Now, now, Mr. Alvers that's no way to talk" the voice mocked him.

"I don't care you..." but before he could finish he noticed someone else was in the room.

"Kitty" he choked out.

She was standing in the doorway but her eyes were blank and unseeing.

"You bastards, what the hell have you done to her? You'll pay" he yelled empty threats at his unseen tormenters.

"Kitty, it's me, Lance. Do ya remember?" he said to the girl.

She blinked but otherwise stood still. Lance didn't know what to do, he was trapped and he didn't have his power. He felt weak and it scared him but not as much as seeing Kitty in this state.

~*~

Rogue sat in the jet along with Kurt, Bobby and Amara. They were all silent, which for Bobby and Kurt was very unusual but no one commented on it. Nerves were frayed and all of them were on edge.

Logan was in the pilot's seat, concentrating on what he was doing but Rogue knew that he was as on edge as they all were. We everyone disappearing even the Professor was at a loss as to what to do.

"There they are" Bobby shouted, which resulted in Rogue jumping up with fright followed by her glaring at Bobby.

All of them got geared up for a fight because there were people following Scott and Jean and they did not look friendly.

Logan landed the jet not far from where Scott was. Rogue, Bobby, Kurt and Amara all jumped out, ready to fight if necessary although they didn't want to hurt anyone. Bobby was fully coated with ice and Kurt was not hiding under his hologram. Rogue saw one of the men take aim and felt a horrible surge of deja vu.

Screaming a warning she rushed towards them but Bobby was on it and the gun was coated in ice.

"Where the hell did they all come from? There was only one before" the girl swore.

Rogue looked at her with surprise but said nothing. She must be a mutant if these guys were following her.

"Are you okay?" Rogue asked them as they rushed back towards the jet.

"We're fine" Jean replied.

Rogue had never gotten along well with Jean because they were two completely different people but she had always respected her in some small way. Now that it was open mutant season Rogue had gained a newfound respect for her. Jean was no longer the perfect person she tried to be. Rogue could see the anger in her eyes and knew that it was present on many. It was not a conscious thing but it was there, Rogue knew this because she felt it. She had felt it for a long time.

Bobby and Amara were bringing up the rear and Rogue could hear Bobby yelling at the people. She turned and for a brief moment she thought she was going to lose her footing and fall back into the crowd but a hand steadied her. She looked up as the mystery girl dragged her back into the jet. Bobby and Amara were close behind.

"Go Logan" Scott said as he jumped into the co-pilot's chair.

Logan grunted and they took off.

"This isn't getting any better. Someone needs to talk to the press again or something" Bobby muttered under his breath.

Rogue watched all of her team-mates collapse into the seats before copying them.

She had believed that the fear of mutants would never get this bad but it had. It was only by luck that Jean and Scott were driving to the mall. Various new mutant signatures had overwhelmed Cerebro so the Professor had not known about the new mutant they had picked up. Rogue didn't really care, she wanted her memories to become focused so she could remember anything about their attackers and maybe find out where Kitty was.

"Thanks" the girl said before removing her cap.

A wealth of brilliant green hair fell down her back.

"I'm sorry about your car" she apologised to Scott.

"Who was after you?" Rogue asked.

"They call themselves Friends of Humanity or some such crap. Their leader was a Graydon Creed or something like that but he disappeared awhile ago. Their new leader is a guy named Aidan Kale" the girl replied.

"How do you know all this?" Jean asked.

"I have my sources. Well I did until they turned me in" she sighed, pushing a lock of hair out of the way.

"What do you mean?" Rogue asked, glad to know that Kale was behind it and disturbed at the same time.

"I'd heard about mutants disappearing in my hometown so I decided to investigate. I found out a lot. Apparently they have several mutants held captive and they want more. I was tricked and nearly got caught myself so I ran. Now I'm here" she said, simply.

"Who are you, kid?" Logan growled.

"My name's Lorna. Lorna Dane."

To Be Continued...