A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you're having a good year. I want to thank all of you for supporting this little adventure, even if I don't update regularly. I am very grateful for each of you and the kindness that you have shared. This update is a quick one and I don't know when I'll get back to this story, but for now, here's your update.

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Scarlet walked into the Danger Room when the next practice session for the Junior X-Men was called. Her X-suit was more revealing than most of her fellow female classmates, but no one made a comment on it. Except for the approving eyes of some of the males, everyone seemed to ignore the clothes that she wore. And Wolverine didn't try to convince her to leave the room like he had the first time.

He's finally letting me use my powers against people in combat, Maria thought, crossing her arms as Storm went over what today's session would entail. He must think that I can control some of my powers enough now that I'm not a real danger to people here. Her eyes slid in the direction of Pyro. Well, not all of the people in this room are safe around me.

Pyro sneered at her from his position on the outskirts of the group. Scarlet was tempted to throw him down before the matches even started, but restrained herself. The last thing she needed was to get thrown out of a valuable training session for a bastard like him getting on her nerves. She could wait as long as she needed to give him the ass kicking that he deserved.

"All right," Storm said, finishing her usual talk about the rules and why they were doing this. "Who wants to go first?"

Pyro's hand rose before Storm had finished her question. "I want the first fight," he declared.

"I volunteer as tribute," Scarlet muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes.

"John," Storm said, motioning for him to come forward. "Who do you want to spar with?"

Pyro's lip pulled back to reveal his teeth. "Scarlet."

Scarlet shrugged when she heard the whispers of her fellow classmates. She bumped her elbow against Jubilee's and smiled as she came forward. "Someone is dying to get his ass kicked again," she commented, earning a small round of laughter from her friends.

"Language, Scarlet" Storm said, motioning for the rest of the class to step back.

Wolverine put his hand on her shoulder when she moved to square off against Pyro. "Remember to keep him out of your head. You can control your powers better now. Don't let him change that."

Scarlet nodded and moved past him, positioning herself several yards away from Pyro. A voice from the sidelines called out the word that Scarlet needed to hear to get her into fighting mode.

She twisted out of the way as Pyro threw fire at her and threw her own stream of water at him, borrowing the power of her sister for a moment. His fire doused by the water, Pyro flicked open his lighter and tried to gather more fire into his hands. He was too slow for Scarlet, even in the state of mind that she was in.

She wanted to make him a laughing stock.

She wanted to piss him off so that he got sloppy enough to embarrass himself.

She wanted to destroy him.

Calm down, Scarlet told herself, teleporting right into his face and kicking his lighter out of his hands in one movement. Keep calm and focus.

With her powers, Scarlet kept the lighter moving away from Pyro. His desperate attempts to get to his lighter told her that he wasn't that great at manipulating fire without a starting source. A smirk crossed her face as she threw him against a distant wall. He groaned as he slid down it, still reaching a hand out towards his lighter.

"C'mon Pyro," she called out to him, tapping her foot against the lighter. "Where's the fire?"

"Bitch," Pyro muttered, pushing himself to his feet.

"You're doing a sucky job at kicking my ass, Pyro," she taunted, kicking the lighter aside and rushing towards him. "What's your problem? Can't control fire without your little lighter, can you? Tsk, tsk."

Pyro's face turned a flaming red in color and he blocked her punches. "Shut up!"

Scarlet skipped backwards and crossed her arms over her chest, smiling. "Why don't you come make me?"

The fire wielder lifted his hands and a small ball of fire rested on his palm. Scarlet frowned when she saw that he had pulled another lighter from his pocket when she wasn't paying attention. She jumped backwards to avoid the fiery attack, but ended up getting knocked back by the second and unexpected fireball. Her body collided with the wall, knocking the air out of her lungs and causing her to see dark spots for a moment.

Pyro didn't let her rest long before letting out a stream of fire in her direction. Scarlet lifted her hand and caused the fire to split around her, allowing the wall to take the heat that she couldn't allow herself to take in. Her body trembled as the metal behind her heated up.

Can't let him do this! I can't let him burn me up and find out about my secret, Scarlet thought, grinding her teeth together as she pushed back against the fire. He's got to stop and he's got to pay.

Scarlet saw red and pushed hard against the fire, sending it back towards Pyro. She jumped to her feet and propelled herself forward, throwing lightning and swirling ice in Pyro's direction. Painful metal claws blossomed from her fingertips as she neared the fire wielder. He let out a cry of pain as the claws sank into his shoulders, but the fire in his hands never died. It only grew more intense upon Scarlet's body.

Die! Kill him!

Scarlet's body trembled and she forced the boy back against the wall, letting the fire wash over her though it hurt. Her powers tore at him, pulling out every single lighter that he had hidden away, no matter what blocked their way out. As she destroyed the fire starters, the fire that Pyro was using against her dissipated and left her skin glowing with the flames that she absorbed and endured.

"You're going to pay for that!" Scarlet growled at him, using his own voice.

She pressed her feet against his chest and propelled herself back away from him, tearing her claws out of him as she did so. Pyro cried out in pain as he was blasted back into the wall again and his body started twisting in a manner that it shouldn't.

"That's enough!" Storm's voice cracked like lightning through the Danger Room. "Scarlet, Pyro, stop!"

Scarlet landed on her knees and one hand as she called back her powers. Her body shuddered again and she closed her eyes, trying to get rid of the red that had flooded her gaze. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she could feel it trickling down the back of her neck. Someone touched her shoulder, asking her if she was okay, but it was like they were talking from a distance.

Overhead, a light blew out and the room trembled as Scarlet opened her eyes. She saw the concern in the eyes of her fellow classmates, but saw something else that she hadn't wanted to see ever again.

Fear.

"Maria," Wolverine said in his weird drawl, his hand still pressed against her shoulder.

"…" Scarlet pushed herself to her feet quickly and headed for the nearest exit, sliding through the door when it was just open enough for her to get through.

She managed to get several yards away from the Danger Room before collapsing against the wall, panting heavily. Her body shuddered violently and she wrapped an arm around herself. Scarlet looked at her free hand and watched the coloration of living fire move under her skin, which was beading with sweat. Scarlet closed her eyes with a hiss, wishing for a way to cool down before someone could see her in that state.

"Maria," Wolverine's voice made it to her ears once more, sounding very close to her. "Darling, are you all right?"

Scarlet slowly opened her eyes and hoped that they weren't completely filled with angry sadness. The last thing she needed was to cry when she was already in a weakened state. She swiped her tongue across her bottom lip before answering.

"Do I look like I'm okay?" she asked, watching the sweat on her skin begin to steam. "I almost just killed that bastard for the second time since coming here. I lost control, Logan. Again. I lost control of my stupid powers and this, this is what happens."

She slumped further down the wall and drew her knees to her chest. Breathing was getting uncomfortably harder to do. Scarlet rested her forehead against her knees and tried to get a hold of herself.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped, feeling the close pull of Logan's presence get closer. "Or you're going to be doing some major burn healing."

"What's going on, Maria?" Logan asked, keeping his hands to himself. "Why does your skin look like it's made of fire and you're shaking like a leaf. What's happening?"

"Isn't it obvious, Funny Hair? I'm not a big fan of heat," Scarlet muttered. "I took too much in and had too much thrown at me. And this is what that kind of stupidity looks like." She winced as a painful spike of heat passed down her spine. "A normal person would be dead right now…and I consider them lucky. At least they have a reason to be in this condition. Me? Not so much."

"Your weakness is fire?"

"Heat. Very intense heat." Scarlet admitted, lifting her face up to the light once more. "It's one of those weaknesses that I possess that can't be changed." She furrowed her brow. "I should have just wiped the floor with that bastard before he could get all of those shots at me. I won't be making that mistake again. Next time, he's getting blasted until he's seeing stars."

"There won't be a next time, Maria," Logan announced. "We can't let you go against Pyro again in the Danger Room."

"And why not?" Scarlet demanded.

"Look at yourself. There's no way in hell that anyone's going to let you face him again if this is what happens. It's far too dangerous."

"What about me becoming a part of the X-Men? How can I do that if I don't get the opportunity to train?"

"I didn't say that you won't get to train. You just can't go against Pyro and until we get some control on your powers, you can't go against your friends." Logan smirked. "You're going to get some one-on-one training until Chuck thinks that you can handle playing with others."

"So I get you and the Danger Room all to myself?" Scarlet asked, letting her legs stretch out. "Wonderful. I bet the adults never batted an eye when they chose you to train me. You can heal faster than they can…Man, do you always get the short end of the stick, Funny Hair?"

"Go do what you have to in order to cool down, Maria," Logan ordered. "We're going to train again tomorrow, as long as you're up to it."

"Oh I will be," Scarlet promised, rising shakily to her feet. "Scout's honor."

"Good."

Scarlet watched Logan walk back over to the Danger Room entrance and disappear through the doors. She braced herself against the wall and took a shaky breath. As she headed into the girl's locker room, she heard a faint buzz in her head.

"What do you want now, Chuck?" she asked out loud, slipping out of her X-suit and reaching for her regular clothes.

"Maria, I want you to come to my office," Chuck said in her head. "I need to have a word with you."

"Can the talk wait?" Scarlet asked, staring at her reflection in the mirror. "I have plans that I think are more important than you scolding me for what happened in the Danger Room."

"This is important," Chuck said calmly. "There's someone here that wants to talk with you."

Scarlet sighed. "Fine. I'll be in your office in a few. Now get out of my head."

The feeling of someone being in her head faded away, leaving her with her own thoughts. Scarlet scooped up her shoes, choosing to go barefoot to the elevator. Any way that she could help her body cool down faster, she was going to pursue. She hummed to herself in the elevator and leaned against the cool metal walls, moving around as she chased the cool spots.

"I need to visit a pool," she muttered to herself. "Or a pond. There's one behind the mansion and nothing lives in it…I could go there. After my chat with Chuck and the other person…I wonder who it is."

She stepped out of the hidden elevator and moved down the halls, ignoring the looks that she got when the students noticed her weirdly glowing skin. Her body tensed up as she approached Xavier's office, though she didn't know why until she stepped into it.

"I'm here, Chuck," she announced, stepping into it only to pause at the sight of the other guest. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Now, now, Maria. Is that any way to greet your father?" Magneto asked, looking at her.

OOOOOOOOO

A/N: Yep, that's where I'm going to leave this story at for the moment. I had to bring Magneto in somehow and I thought that there was no time like the present, especially since Scarlet is getting so hotheaded at the moment. Please let me know what you think by dropping a little comment or two in the review box. I will do my best to get back to you in a prompt manner and will try to work on another chapter update when the Muses hit me again with inspiration. Thanks! -Scarlet