Okay, this chapter may not be the best. I apologize but it's been hectic. The normal end-of-the-year festivities and whatnot. At my school, they make a huge deal out of it with a promotion ceremony for the 8th graders and whatnot. And there was the pool party! Woohooo! Anyway, enjoy!

Aalene rose with the dawn. Kitty was still asleep. In fact, it seemed that not even the birds had yet awoken. Their silence was unnerving, almost, filling the entire school with absolute quiet. But it was alright with Aalene. She liked it that way because it gave her a peaceful environment in which to think. It was something she had missed dearly upon leaving home.

With a yawn, Aalene sat all the way up in her bed and swung her legs over the side of it. She wiggled her toes in front of her and sighed with content. It would be fairly easy to get used to these conditions. A warm bed. A good night's sleep. Things people often took for granted were the things that Aalene treasured the most.

Sleeping in a park of bus station is cheap but not the safest option. With the prospect of being robbed, murdered, or raped to keep you company in the dark, sleep never really comes easily. Now, caught up in the luxury of safety and relative assurance, Aalene was almost happy-almost.

"So this is how the other half lives." Aalene muttered to herself. She quietly rose from her bed and walked to the door with the soft, hushed footsteps of bare feet.

Kitty stirred and Aalene paused, with everything in her that Kitty would not wake up to discover the early bird. The moment of panic faded as she sighed in her sleep and rolled up, most likely having an active dream.

Relief washed over Aalene as she opened the door and slipped silently into the hallway. Her suspicions were confirmed as she realized she was the only one awake. At least on the second floor. Aalene quietly made her way down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. In a school this size, it would probably be a good idea to eat before the mad rush.

Halfway to the kitchen, Aalene stopped. She heard a familiar voice floating through the hallway. Following it, she came to a door, open slightly. She put her ear against it and tried to listen to the soft voice speaking on the other side.

"Are you sure, Doctor? It's really him?" It was good ol' Stormy. Her voice sounded tense, as if she was trying not to get too excited but was having trouble with it. "Can I talk to him?" There was a long pause and Aalene wondered if Storm had hung up. But then the voice came again. "Professor?" Aalene thought she heard tears in the woman's voice. Not the bad kind. It seemed bittersweet to her. Realizing that she was intruding on a personal call, Aalene quickly got up and went to the kitchen.

There was a lot of cereal. Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Trix, and Corn Pops seemed to fill all of the cabinets. Aalene wrinkled her nose at every choice. That sugary crap was disgusting. She finally settled for a granola bar that was hidden in the back, probably by someone who shared her view on the sugar-coated sugar cereal the other children seemed to enjoy.

"It's not polite to eavesdrop, you know."

Aalene jumped and whirled around to face the speaker, dropping her granola bar in the process. Storm was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, hands on her hips. By the woman's words and body language, the younger mutant could tell that she had been caught in her act of listening in.

"How'd you know?" Aalene bent down to pick up her fallen breakfast, and then rose to meet Storm's eyes, chagrined.

With a roll of her eyes, the woman explained. "I could hear you breathing on the other side of the door. When I found you in here, I just deduced it'd been you. No other students are usually up this early on a Saturday."

"Oh?" Aalene opened the wrapper of her granola bar and looked back at Storm. "Then, I guess I'm sort of an odd ball. Surprise, surprise." She rolled her eyes before taking a bite of her breakfast and chewing, thoughtfully. As she swallowed her first bite, Aalene sighed. "I don't get it." Her voice sounded a little like a child wandering in the woods, sad, lost, and alone.

Despite herself, Storm felt empathy for the girl. "You don't get what?" She reached out to put her hand on Aalene's shoulder and was a little surprised that the girl didn't pull away. Whether it was because of a change of heart or distraction, it was hard to determine.

Aalene studied the granola bar in her hand, needing something else to look at. Anything but into Storm's insightful eyes. "Me. Us. I don't know. We're all odd balls, I guess. But," She paused. "Doesn't it ever get to you? Being called horrible names and looked down on? The way they treat me…I just can't help but hate them."

It was surprising to Storm how familiar those words were. She, herself, had once felt the same way. "Aalene," Storm knew she was going out on a limb by calling the mutant by her real name. "It's perfectly normal to feel that way."

Green eyes full of questions, Aalene looked up at the older mutant.

"But someone once told me that we shouldn't be angry with them but pity them." Storm noticed the strange look that she received but continued. "He said that most of them will never believe anything beyond what they see with their own two eyes. And look at what we get to experience every day." She wondered if it would be going too far to give Aalene a hug, then realized she should probably draw a line somewhere. "You are an extraordinary girl. You're just a little different. That's all."

Aalene longed to ask another question. If it was normal to feel a growing tumor of darkness inside her heart and soul. She wanted to know why she felt so cold and indifferent towards so many things. She wanted to know if there really was something wrong with her. But she just held her tongue.

Pyro looked down at the mechanisms hidden by his long sleeves. He loved how easy it was to flick them on and produce flames to wield. But, and he hated to admit it, he missed his old lighter. He was longing for the moment when he would claim it back from the strange girl named Aalene.

Aalene.

The girl that could possibly solve Magneto's problem, therefore solving most of his.

Aalene.

The girl who he had met that night in the bank. Her wit had been biting, her power beautiful. She was like fire to him. Captivating and entrancing. But he knew getting too close could burn him. And that was a pain that might not be healed so easily.

"Pyro?"

Pyro looked up from where he sat on the hotel bed. It was Mystique. He couldn't help but let a smile slip. She had only been given one dose of the Cure so her abilities had recovered wonderfully. As soon as they returned, she had run back to Magneto, despite his obvious betrayal. And he had always thought her so strong and independent. "Yeah?"

"Just making sure everything is in order. I just talked to Prophecy and she thinks she knows where your girl is." Mystique answered, referring to one of the four new Brotherhood recruits.

His girl. He liked the sound of that.

"Yeah?" Pyro wondered how long he could keep the conversation going with monosyllable responses.

Mystique let a smile slip. "She's at the school."

That made Pyro stop for a moment and look up at Mystique with an unreadable gaze. Then, his face broke into a wide grin. "Perfect."

It seemed like Aalene was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or the right place at the right time. It really depended on how you looked at the situation. To Aalene, the strange things that always seemed to happen around her were very inconvenient and time consuming.

She was walking back to her room when she heard the scream.

Driven by instinct, Aalene ran towards the direction of the cry. "Man, why does this always happen to me?" She muttered. Turning a corner, she came onto a horrific scene and had to swallow hard to keep from gasping or worse, screaming.

Marie was kneeling over her boyfriend, Bobby, in the middle of the hallway. They were both still in their night clothes, and had most likely been partaking in "extracurricular activities" frowned on by the school. Marie was completely hysterical. Upon seeing Aalene, she looked up, tears overflowing from her eyes. "They're back. I just kissed him. I just thought…oh God, they're back."

Aalene ignored Marie's endless stream of babble and knelt down beside Bobby. She shoved the crying girl aside and checked his vitals. They were weak. "What the hell did you do?" She demanded.

"I just…I just." She still wasn't making sense.

"Marie?" Kitty had arrived on the scene. "Oh God, Rogue." She quickly wrapped the girl in her embrace. "I'm so sorry."

Aalene thought they were all crazy. "Marie-or Rogue is fine! I think Bobby is the one we need to be thinking about at the moment!" She noticed Peter running toward the group. "Peter! Go get Storm! Bobby needs her help!" She looked down at the fallen mutant and shuddered. "Or anyone's."

"Chill, Marie. Storm said he'd be out of the coma in a few days. What's the big deal?" Aalene led her classmate back to her room. She noticed Kitty giving her a look and she finally let a sigh out. "Okay, something is going right over my head and I want to know what it is, dammit!" She stopped and looked from Marie to Kitty and back to Marie again. "Well?"

Kitty looked at Marie and figured she was too fragile to answer. "Marie's power is…hindering, to say the least. When she touches people, she takes their life force."

"Oh my god! Are you kidding me? Then why the hell was she sucking face with him in the hallway?" These people were really starting to annoy Aalene. Her earlier vulnerability and remorse was quickly fading into irritation and anger.

"Well, she took the Cure. It was working. She thought it was okay." Kitty was on the verge of tears, now, herself.

Aalene couldn't take it anymore. She got right up in Marie's face and glared at her. "Face it. You're one of us. You're a freak. Get over it or go take the swan dive but stop crying." She turned on her heal angrily and walked back down the hallway, leaving Marie and Kitty in shock.

Halfway to her room, Warren bumped into her in the hall. "Hey, Aalene. I wanted to apologize for last night. I realize that-,"

"Save it." Aalene cut him off and kept walking.

Warren tried to block her path. "Okay, you're angry. I get it. Just let me-,"

"Get out of my way!" In a complete fury, Aalene stole energy from the lights around her and blasted Warren all the way across the hallway. It took a moment for the anger to fade and the horror to set in. She could already hear people coming. Fearful for herself, she ran and ran and ran. There was nothing else to do. She didn't stop until she was well into the expansive grounds. She was still in so much shock, she didn't notice the person standing behind her.

"We meet again, Aalene. I came back for my lighter."…

Well, there it is. I wrote most of it last night, and to be truthful, it was more impressive last night. Ah well. I just wanted to get something up since I've been slacking off the last few days.