A/N: 'Ello lovelies. It's that random time that I decide to put up a new update for this story. The Plot Bunnies are getting to be hard to catch these days, but I'm working on it. I promise. Let's just enjoy this small update for now, shall we?

OOOOOOOOO

Scarlet was assigned to keep Leticia close to her through the girl's first couple weeks at the school. She had protested it, but in the end, Professor Xavier had won. And the copy mutant knew that it was fruitless to try to ignore the responsibility that she'd been assigned. The little mutant really did need her help it seemed and she'd attached herself to Scarlet ever since the day that Scarlet had returned her beloved toy to her.

Leticia held onto Scarlet's hand as the teenager moved through the halls of the school, her stuffed animal tucked safely in her arm. People smiled at Scarlet and called out greetings, sharing a little small talk like they hadn't before. It didn't take her long to realize that her kindness to Leticia had made her monstrous background a little less prominent and brought her down to the friendly level.

Why did it take me taking care of a scared little girl for them to talk to me like that? Scarlet wondered, brushing back a tendril of dark hair that had fallen in her face. I've gotten better at controlling my powers and I've gone out of my way to hang out at the social events that Chuck set up. Why did it take so long and a tiny child for them to accept me?

"Scarlet?" Leticia asked, tugging on the teen's hand.

The coup mutant looked down at the girl. "Yeah?"

"Why's that man looking at us?" she asked, pointing her toy at someone as she spoke in her broken Spanish. "He's a bit scary."

Scarlet's red eyes lifted and she saw that Logan was standing across the hall, watching her. There was a little smirk on the man's face and she felt a small tug on her heart. It had been a week since she'd last seen him and by the feeling of new powers that filled the mansion, she knew that he'd been collecting newer students. She squeezed Leticia's hand and smiled down at her.

"He's not that scary," she whispered. "He's more of a big, overgrown puppy."

Logan made a small sound and looked away from her for a moment.

Scarlet crouched down next to Leticia and held the girl's gaze. "Leticia, I've got to go now. It's time for me to get some practice in and you can't be there with me." She frowned. "I know that you want to be around me, but this is something that I have to do alone. You've got some homework to do anyway. I'll see you again at dinnertime, okay?"

The little girl's bottom lip jutted out in a pout, but she nodded. She wrapped her arms around Scarlet's neck and rested her chin on Scarlet's shoulder. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Startled, Scarlet pulled back a little. Leticia stared at her, waiting.

"He's not." Scarlet straightened to her full height. "Like I said, he's an overgrown puppy. Now, go on. Get out of here."

She pushed the little girl away and watched her until Leticia disappeared into the mess of students in the hall. Once sure that Leticia was gone, Scarlet turned and looked at Logan.

"Overgrown puppy?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Yep." Scarlet crossed her arms and moved closer to him. "How was your week long vacation away from me?"

"Well, the school isn't destroyed and I haven't heard Scooter asking for your immediate expulsion, so I guess it was fine, darling." Logan scratched his chin. "Did you miss me?"

Yes. "I missed our training sessions," Scarlet said, poking him in the chest. "Those are going to start back up tonight. So, let's go down to the Danger Room and have a good few rounds of Kick the Wolverine."

She didn't miss the smirk on his face as she turned and led the way to one of the secret elevators. It was one of the smaller ones, making them stand a little closer than she wanted to be at that moment. She breathed in slowly and her lungs filled with the musky scent of the feral mutant, causing her head to swim and strange, unwanted thoughts to come to her mind.

Easy girl, she thought, crossing her arms over her chest again and pointedly staring at the silver walls of the elevator. There's nothing going on here. He may be attractive, but he's an ass. He's the babysitter that was assigned to you – not by choice. If he had his way, he'd be out there, chasing Red and never look twice at you.

"I see that you and that munchkin are getting pretty close," Logan commented, bumping his elbow against hers.

"Don't." Scarlet shook her head and focused her eyes on the silver doors. "Just don't."

"You still mad about me for commenting on how motherly you were when she first got here?" Logan asked.

Scarlet cast a sideways glance at him. "No, but thank you for bringing that back up. That just gives me something else for me to focus on when I'm kicking your ass around the Danger Room, Funny Hair."

"Sorry, but you have to admit that I was right."

"I don't have to do anything. I just want to beat you around the Danger Room for a couple hours and then get something to eat before hanging out with the guys." She shrugged. "Unless there's a mission that pops up and takes you away…and not me. Again."

Bitter acid laced her last words and she did nothing to disguise the dark look that passed over her eyes. The lights overhead flickered and the elevator shuddered slightly.

Calm down, Scarlet. You're better than this, she thought, closing her eyes and focusing on pulling her powers back inside of her. You know that you'll get your chance at facing the world soon. Chuck just has to give you the green light and you get out there. Freaking out over a little slight isn't going to get you anywhere.

The female voice spoke over the intercom, telling the two of them that they had reached the level that they needed to be on. Scarlet slipped out of the elevator first and marched towards the girls' locker room. She hardly glanced back at Logan as he headed for the men's locker room.

I'm going to kick his ass for leaving me practice free for a week.

OOOOOOOOO

Scarlet stepped away from Logan after two hours in the Danger Room, sweat beading down her face. Her chest rose and fell as she fought for air. Her red eyes saw that he was doing the same from ten feet away. The scene around them flickered and faded, taking the burning woods away to reveal stark metal walls. Scarlet lifted a hand and used a power to mend their X-suits, even though the effort made her hand shake slightly.

"You getting tired, princess?" Logan asked, staring at her with the hint of a smirk on his face.

"Heh, not a bit," Scarlet shot back, swiping the back of her hand across her brow. "I can go on for hours, Funny Hair." She smirked back at him. "How about you?"
"Just getting warmed up, darling."

"Forest scene start –" Scarlet began before the doors to the Danger Room opened up and revealed Jean and Storm.

"Sorry to cut into your practice, but we've got a mission," Storm announced, already dressed in her specialized X-suit. "Magneto's attacking –"

Logan didn't wait for her to say anything else before he turned and headed for the doors. "We'll practice again later, Maria."

Scarlet crossed her arms and glared at the far wall, chewing on her tongue rather than speaking her mind.

"Logan, wait," Jean said, placing a hand on his arm. "The Professor said that Maria can come with us on this one."

The feral mutant's eyebrow quirked up. "Really? You ain't kidding, Red?"

"I'm not."

"You hear that, Maria?" Logan said, causing Scarlet to look over at him and the two women. "Get your ass on the X-Jet if you want to prove yourself."

"You don't need to tell me twice." Scarlet hurried out of the Danger Room and into the hall where Bobby, Pete, Rogue, John, and Kitty were coming out of the locker rooms. "Hey guys."

"It's about time they let you come," Kitty commented, wrapping her arm around one of Scarlet's. "It just sucks that the person you have to go against is someone so close…"

"I'm okay with that," Scarlet said with a small smile. "The only thing that's going to bother me is Scooter complaining the whole time about me being there."

"Ditto," the group agreed, following after the adults.

OOOOOOOOO

Scarlet stepped out of the X-jet after the others and looked out at the gathering that Magneto and his new followers were attacking. Normal humans were screaming and running around, some trampling others as they tried to get away from the mutants. Her body tensed up when new powers flooded into her and people bumped into her, trying to get away from the mess.

"You ready for this, Maria?" Logan asked, standing near her.

The copy mutant swiped her tongue across her bottom lip and nodded. "Yeah." Her eyes narrowed as she saw her father floating overhead. "Yeah, I am."

Without looking back or waiting for directions, Scarlet surged forward and moved through the crowd of humans, seeking out the mutants that had joined her father's forces. She knocked through them like they were weightless, only slowing down when a particularly tough mutant stepped into her path. Lightning cracked across the sky as the rest of the X-Men moved through the crowd, but Scarlet's eyes were focused solely on her father.

He's going to pay, Scarlet thought, grabbing a mutant by the throat and throwing them as hard as she could into a distant building which cracked in the collision. He's going to pay for all the blood that he's spilled. It's his fault that people think that I'm a monster. I'm his daughter. I'm the daughter that he cultivated into a weapon that grows and grows more dangerous with each power that comes nearby. It's his fault that I can't fall in love with someone and have them fall in love with me. He is going to pay.

"Ugh!" Scarlet doubled over when a mutant threw a ball of acid at her stomach and her body trembled as her body copied and absorbed the power. "Little bitch!"

Scarlet's eyes turned completely red and she reached out, throwing her hand at the other mutant. The mutant screamed as she was burned from the inside out, dissolving into gray ash.

"Maria!" someone called out, but Scarlet paid them no attention as she moved further into the crowd.

Three mutants stepped into her path, each two times larger than she was. Scarlet snapped her hands out, revealing long silver claws from her fingertips.

"Who wants to go first?" she demanded, glaring at them.

As one they all surged forward. Scarlet rolled out of the way of their attacks and slammed her claws into their bodies. She looked down at them as they lay on the ground at her feet, covered in their blood, fighting to fill their lungs with air. Her body stiffened when something brushed against her mind.

Something's wrong, Scarlet thought, lifting her gaze from the mutants that she had injured. Logan!

Her red eyes widened when she saw the feral mutant being lifted into the air by the one person that she hated the most. Magneto had his hand out, spreading his fingers and spreading out Logan's limbs at the same time. A look of angry agony was on Logan's face as he struggled to get out of Magneto's control.

"Logan!" Scarlet screamed, her eyes turning bright gold.

Someone reached out and laid their hand on her shoulder, but Scarlet blasted them away. She moved through the crowd, not touching anyone even when they charged at her. The mutants were thrown aside by an invisible force and the remaining normal humans were left alone.

"Magneto!" Scarlet roared, her voice echoing.

Her father turned his gaze on her and his face paled. Logan fell to the ground as Magneto released him and stepped back. Scarlet moved over to Logan and then stepped over him, lifting her hand.

"She's going to kill him!" someone hissed.

"Maria," Magneto whispered, stepping back and holding his hand out as if to ward her off.

"Maria…no," Logan's voice floated to her ears as she started to slowly close her hand.

Scarlet heard a loud buzzing in her head and then her mind was overcome with a sudden blackness. Her body felt weightless and she found herself falling into the abyss.

OOOOOOOOO

A/N: Thank you for all the support that has been given to this story and to me. I really appreciate it and I'll appreciate any reviews or suggestions that you may send my way. So please, read and review and I'll try to get another update up as soon as the Plot Bunnies are nice to me. Thanks! -Scarlet