Sorry it took so long. Anyway, throughout this chapter Serena is going to be possessed. But until her split-personality gets her own name, we're going to label her 'she' for a bit.

Another Side, Another Story

She examined herself in the mirror. She noticed a few slight differences, barely noticeable but still there. The character held in her face was completely different. Instead of Serena's sweet, gentle, innocent face, her face held maturity, awareness, and daring. She said to herself, "So many things to do, but what to do first?" She thought a moment. Then she smiled as a thought came to her. She grabbed her wallet and headed out of the room. She quietly snuck down the hallway.

"This should be it." She said as she approached a door. She turned into liquid and slipped through the crack under the door. She was in Scott's room who was sound asleep in his bed. She spotted his wallet sitting on his dresser. "Why thank you Cyclops. I could use some money." She said quietly, picking up the wallet and sifting through it. She pulled out a wad of bills, stuffed them in her pocket, and put the wallet back on the dresser. "Sweet dreams." She whispered and slipped back out of the room. She went sneaking into the other peoples' bedrooms, taking random quantities of money but always leaving a fair amount left. The next room she went to was Rogue's. She found an extra pair of Rogue's gloves and slipped them on. "Need to borrow these from you. You don't mind do you?" Rogue made no sound. "Didn't think so."

She snuck into the garage where they kept all the cool vehicles. She spotted a sleek, dark blue motorcycle. "Wow." She approached the motor bike and ran a hand over it. "Nice." She slipped on a helmet and mounted herself on the bike and started it up.

"Let's see what this baby's got." She revved it up and it zoomed out. As she raced across the grounds the gates slowly opened up to let her through and she was off into the open street. What a thrill it was. To speed against the night wind that was blowing through her hair. After a few minutes of riding through the streets she started to wonder where she could go. It wasn't too late. Maybe she could hit a couple stores. She turned a corner and headed towards the mall.

In the clothes store she tried on a pair of five pocket leather jean pants, a comfortable, hip length, zipper leather jacket, and a pair of Harley Davidson Shylo boots. She stood looking at herself in the mirror. The clothing made her feel wild and bad. The sales woman stood behind her.

"You know you really pull that look off."

"I do don't I?" she said smugly.

"So will you be buying?"

"Consider yourself a sale."

After she walked out of the store in her new apparel, she climbed onto the motor bike and took off. Her wallet was lighter now but she knew she had plenty left. She mounted the bike and rode to her next destination.

She stepped into a bar. She knew that her new clothes and her matured features made her look at least eighteen, so she shouldn't get into trouble. She sat down at one of the tables. "What can I do for you young lady?" "Can I have a Daiquiri? Virgin of course." "What flavor?" "Strawberry." After a few minutes the man handed her a glass full of bright pink liquid. She took a sip of it. When the juice hit her tongue she felt a strange sensation in her mouth. A sensation that made her want to drink more. A brawny looking guy walked up to her.

"Hey doll. You wanna dance?"

"No thanks." She said nonchalantly.

"I don't take no for an answer." He said.

"Well then I guess you better start huh?"

"Ooh, feisty."

"Leave me alone." She said in a deadly voice.

"Come on girl, gimme a chance." He said brushing a hand down her neck.

"Don't touch me!" Several glasses shattered soaking there owners with their drinks before she turned around and punched him in the face.

He grabbed his face moaning like a baby. She glared at him and a keg of beer exploded shooting out a powerful stream that knocked him down to the floor choking and sputtering. Everyone was screaming as several other glasses and beer keg exploded littering the floor with glass and alcohol. She just sat there gazing around at the quickly flooded bar. Everyone looked shocked and confused. Beer was still pouring from the kegs and wine dripped from the tables.

"You must have terrible karma." She sneered at the guy who was lying on the floor. She set a five dollar bill on the bar table to pay for her Daiquiri and walked out making sure to step on him as she went. I am the Flood. She thought smugly as she mounted her bike and rode home.

The next morning she stretched up from her bed and yawned. She had slept so comfortably what with the warm bed and the soft blankets. She threw off the covers and got dressed. She looked in the mirror and saw Serena looking a little confused and tired.

"Oh, it looks like you're strong enough to appear in my reflection." She said a little surprised. "So how have you been?"

Serena glared at her. "You monster. Give me back my body."

"Don't worry, I'll give it back… eventually." She grinned. "But I think I'll go another day or two."

"No, give me back control now!" Serena yelled angrily.

"Hey, you got your own body for fifteen years. I think I'm entitled to a couple days." She turned around and walked towards the door.

"No, you can't do this! Let me out!" she screamed banging on the mirror's surface. At the doorway Flood turned back and smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of our body." Then she left the room pleased at the sounds of Serena's cries for help.

At breakfast she had a little bit of everything sampling all of the delicious food. She had no idea that eating was so good. Everyone else made it look so boring. She stirred her juice around a bit before she made it swirl out of the glass and into her mouth.

"No showing off at the breakfast table Mermaid." Logan told her.

"Yes sir." She said.

After everyone had left she had to go to her classes. She quickly learned that anything Serena could do, so could she. During training with Logan she crept around the folage silently. She could hear footsteps and she quickly leapt into a tree. She waited until she spotted Logan and dove out of the tree throwing a kick at him. He was a little surprised but not enough to be caught off guard. He blocked her kick and she leapt back.

"What do you think you were doing?" he asked in an irritated voice.

"I wanna fight." She said.

Logan raised an eyebrow. "You can't be serious."

"I'm dead serious. I wanna see how strong you are."

"Alright but don't expect me to go easy on you."

She lowered herself into a fighting stance. "I'd be upset if you did."

"Let's see how you do without jumping your opponent from behind." Logan smirked. "Time to go to school little girl."

"I'm always ready for an education," She smiled. Soon the two were going at it.

As they fought she could feel the adrenaline pumping through her. It was exhilarating. She even managed to land a few punches on him. Although she put up a furious fight, Logan was obviously the superior fighter. Soon she was knocked to the ground.

"Hey," Logan held out a hand to help her up. "No hard feelings kid?"

"Are you kidding?" She began brushing herself off. "That was so…" she searched for a word to describe it. "…awesome." Awesome, a word she had heard a thousand times before yet never really knew what it meant, until now that is.

"Well you're not half bad Mermaid. A few more years and you could be a real fighter."

"You think so?" she asked.

"Yeah, but don't let it get to your head. You still have a long ways to go."

"Thanks." She said appreciatively.

Later she sat in Xavier's study concentrating her powers. "That's right Serena just keep focusing," Xavier spoke. She was currently focusing her powers on a small bowl filled with water. "Just think only about dividing the water." She kept focusing until the water in the bowl slowly started to divide. Soon the water was held up on both sides of the bowl leaving space in the middle.

"I did it." She said amazed. She released her concentration and the water sloshed back into place.

"I must say your progress is quite remarkable." Xavier said impressed. "Even your confidence seems to have taken a leap forward."

"Yeah well," she shrugged, "I'm just trying to improve myself."

"I'm glad to hear it."

She got up to leave. "Well, see you tomorrow professor."

"Remember to keep practicing your powers." Xavier told her.

"I will."

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She walked down a random street deep in thought. "Such new sensations… It's delightful." She had never been out long enough to enjoy these experiences. The scent of the air flowing through her nostrils, the feel of the breeze against her skin. She sometimes went into the green house at the mansion during the day just to smell the flowers. She had always seen things through Serena's eyes but she had never actually experienced them until now.

Her thoughts were interrupted by voices in the alleyway. She peeked and saw four guys harassing a scrawny looking kid. One of them held the kid against the wall.

"Where's the money kid?"

"I told you I don't have any!" The boy whined. The leader pushed him to the ground and put one of his feet on his back. "Please guys. Give me a break." He was almost in tears.

"You're pathetic, ya know that?" One of the other guys said kicking him in the side. He yelped in pain. As Flood watched this, her insides burned. A similar memory of this flashed before her eyes and she remembered the beatings, the derision, the misery.

A third guy grabbed him by his hair and lifted his head up. "You know what happens when we don't get our payment.?"

The forth guy cracked his knuckles menacingly. "We tend to get very upset." They started to move in on him.

The boy shielded his face. "No please don't!"

"I suggest you step away from him right now." They all turned to look at her standing in the opening of the alleyway.

"And what if we don't feel like it?"

Her green eyes flickered. "Then I'll make you feel something else."

"Ooh hoo hoo. Somebody needs to be taught a lesson. Boys…" The three others guys sauntered towards her.

"Normally I don't hit girls," one of the guys said, "but orders is orders."

He swung his fist at her. She grabbed his arm and twisted it around flipping him over. She delivered the second one a kick hitting him against the wall. The third charged at her but she used his momentum to her advantage by leaping to the side and shoved him with her foot into the other guy. The leader grabbed a pipe and tried to hit her with it but she took it out of his hands went behind him and tugged it against his throat.

"You full of nothing!" She threw him into his other cronies. They back away from her.

"W-we're sorry." He stuttered.

"You're pathetic." She said disgusted. "Get out of my sight, and don't let me catch you harassing anyone else."

"Y-yes ma'am." They ran off.

The blonde boy got up trembling. "Th-thank you." He said to her. She looked at him then walked off without saying a word.

The next day in the afternoon she was walking around the grounds admiring her surroundings when someone called to her.

"Hey you!" She turned to see Ray followed by the other new students. "We have a score to settle."

"You're not seriously challenging me are you?" She asked amused.

"You bet I am."

"Oh please, you'd just be wasting my time."

"What's wrong? Are you afraid?" He taunted.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm afraid that I might accidentally end up hurting you too badly and getting kicked out of this institute."

"You seem pretty sure of yourself."

"Tell you what? I won't even use my powers."

"Whatever. Do what you want."

"Let's see what you got."

"You got it!" He shot a bolt at her. She rolled over and dodged it. He shot another one at her. She dodged that one too. "Hold still!" he said angrily. He shot several bolts at her but she dodged them easily. Ray started to loose his temper and he shot a wide range of electricity. "Can't you do any better?" She asked before flipping over his attack and over him.

"Ray behind you!" One of the kids shouted. Before Ray could turn around Serena had him in a head lock. She had wrapped one arm around his neck bending him backwards while her other fist was shoved into his back to ensure he didn't bend forward to put her off balance.

"Give up." she said into his ear. He struggled but he couldn't get loose. He tried to shock her but she forced her fist into his back even harder. "Give up already." She hissed.

"What's going on over here?" somebody shouted. She dropped Ray onto the ground and turned to see Logan.

He crossed his arms and looked at her. "You wanna explain what you were doing to Shortfuse here?"

"I was just showing him how to do a headlock during battle." She said casually.

He looked at Ray and then at the other New Recruits. "Is that true?" They all nodded not wanting to get into trouble. "Well next time take it easy got it?"

"No problem." She reached out a hand to help Ray. "Hope I didn't hurt you."

He didn't take it. Instead he got up on his own. "Of course not." He said bitterly. She leered at him as he sauntered past her.

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She sat in her room concentrating. The water lifted out of the glass and she shaped it into a flower bud. The bud slowly opened into a fully bloomed flower. She was pleased with herself. For the past couple of days she had been practicing her and Serena's powers. She had learned how to use them extremely fast despite having hardly ever used them before.

"I wonder…" She concentrated her mind on what she wanted the water to shape. The water gradually stretched out thin and long until it formed a chain whip. She took a hold of the handle. It felt cool and flowing under her grip. She lashed it around a bit. I was just like the real thing. She grinned and thought, this power was hers. Serena could never do this. But she had complete and absolute control.

Later that evening she stood out on her balcony looking up at the stars. She breath in deeply and let out a sigh. She had really lived these past couple of days. She had felt, smelt, and tasted things she had never known before what they were like. She finally knew what it was like to have a body. A knock on her door alerted her and she turned to see Rogue step inside her room.

"Hey." Rogue said. She just stared at her. "I haven't really gotten to talk to you the past few days." She replied by giving a slight shrug.

"Is something wrong Serena?" Rogue asked a little worried.

"Please, don't call me that." She said softly.

"Huh? Why not?" Rogue asked.

"Because I'm not Serena." She said turning away from her.

"What do you mean?" Rogue said a little confused.

"Hasn't she told you?" she askedinquiringly.

Realization hit Rogue as if someone had slapped her. "You're that evil thing she was talking about."

"I'm not evil, just misunderstood." She looked back towards the sky. "I was trapped inside. I was never able to say anything, do anything, feel anything. All I could do was sit back and watch as she enjoyed all of this. I don't even know what it's like to touch another human being." Rogue looked down at the floor a feeling of understanding rising inside her. "All I wanted was just a little time to know what it's like to actually live instead of merely existing." She turned to look at Rogue. "Is that so wrong?" Rogue didn't answer. "You seem to understand what it's like."

It took a second for Rogue to find herself. "You can't fool me. You tried to kill me, and you hurt several others."

"I was desperate. I would have done anything to get out."

"That's no excuse."

"Isn't it?" She walked slowly towards Rogue. "Do you know what it's like being unable to taste, smell, or feel anything? I couldn't even breathe." She stood face to face with her. "Watching her love and be loved, while I knew nothing but hate." Rogue looked at her feeling slight pity for the girl. "But now I have actually lived. I know what it's like to feel the wind on my skin, to taste the flavors of food, to smell the varieties of flowers. Think what you want about me, but I'm sorry for what I did to you."

Rogue looked away from her. "Well, I guess if it was really that bad…" The girl in Serena's body walked over and sat down on the bed. "So if you're not Serena, then who are you?" Rogue asked.

"I don't have a name." she said forlornly.

"Well what do you want to be called?"

She thought for a moment, and then it came to her. "Flood."

"Well then, it's nice to meet you Flood." Rogue said pleasantly.

"Likewise." Flood smiled. The two sat there for a moment.

"Well, I think I'll go to my room." Rogue said starting to leave. She stopped at the door and looked back at Flood. "Serena will come back right?"

Flood nodded. "Of course."

"Okay. Just making sure." She said before she left.

Flood went to bed and got up early the next morning. She headed downstairs into the kitchen. She opened a drawer where they kept the knives and pulled one out. She took the knife and sliced a shallow gash into her hand. Flood gritted her teeth. She could feel it. She could feel the pain. Blood had decorated the edge of the knife. She clenched her hand into a fist and the blood seeped out between her fingers and dripped onto the carpet.

"I can feel it. Little by little I am feeling more." She smiled to herself in triumph. "Slowly this body is becoming mine." She heard somebody coming. "I shall withdraw for now. But I will be back." Her medallion flashed and Serena grabbed her head.

"Oh wow, what happened?" She opened her eyes and gasped at the blood all over her hand. She realized she was holding the knife and dropped it backing away as if it were a poisonous spider. She stared wide-eyed at the gash in her palm. She clutched her wrist and dropped onto her knees.

Logan came in. "Mermaid, are you… What in the?" He stared in shock at the knife on the floor, the red stains on the marbled floor, and the blood all over her hand. "Kid, what are you…?" Serena raised her head to look at him with an expression worse than pain. She raised her hand and showed him the wound.

She gave a hoarse whisper. "I can't feel anything."

Man, I am loving this! I hope all of you readers are too. Stay tuned for the next chapter, when Toad causes trouble at school.