Author's note: I know it's been a while since anyone heard from me, but I'm back, and here's the new chapter! I'm sorry, but it won't be Jamila-centered. I had a lovely little idea for our resident fire panthress. I hope you like it! Thanks goes out to rolofreak, cuz she read this chapter and gave me her much needed feedback!

Summary: It's been four weeks since Pietro and Jendayi hooked up, and it's been four weeks since they started shacking up. So, when Jamila, who has just intensified her relationship with Remy, smells something very familiar on Jendayi, she loses it, and Jendayi runs away to the city, completely changing her identity. When Ororo loses her mind, will Jendayi be able to return?

Jamila was viciously attacking a punching bag in the weight room when trouble walked in the door. Remy was shirtless, slightly sweaty, sexy beyond all belief, and in the process of giving Jamila a heart attack, and he knew it.

"Bonjour chere."

Jamila averted her eyes and tried not to drool. Her tail waved behind her slowly. "Hi Remy." She continued hitting the punching bag. She was upset because Jendayi was keeping something from her, and she didn't know what it was. She blinked furiously, to keep the sweat and welling tears from spilling into her eyes and down her face. Finally, she stopped, gasping for breath.

"Somet'ing botherin' you, chere?"

Those four simple words made Jamila's tears spill over. "Jendayi won't tell me what's going on..." She whispered. She sat down and wiped her face with her towel. Remy sat down next to her, and wiped his face with her towel as well.

"Whaddya mean?"

"She's always looking at me funny, like she's scared of me, or she pities me or something. Ah just don't know what's goin' on." Jamila sighed helplessly.

Remy shrugged. "I dunno what to tell ya, Jamila."

Jamila shrugged. "There's nothing anyone can do about it. Every time Ah approach her, she just waves it off as nothin'." Jamila stood. "Ah'm gonna take a shower, maybe go into the city. Wanna come with?"

Remy wrapped his arms around Jamila's waist and pulled her close against him. "What, into de shower, or into de city?"

Jamila looked up at him sweetly. "Why not both? There's a shower down here that no one ever uses."

Remy pulled away slightly. "Don't play wit my mind, belle."

Jamila shrugged. "Who's playing? Haven't you figured out by now that Ah'm in love with you?"

Remy's eyes were stormy as they gazed down at Jamila's innocent face. "You shouldn't tell a man dat chere. Dey might try 'n' take advantage of you," he said quietly, tracing over her delicate features.

"Why shouldn't Ah tell you that? It's the truth. Ah am in love with you Remy LeBeau, whether you believe me or not. Now, are you going to join me, or what?"

Jamila's answer was a deep kiss that left her gasping. "Je t'aime, mon chere," Remy said, leading her into the shower. He turned the water on, and began undressing Jamila, kissing every part of her skin that he exposed. Just before they got in, she stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear.

"Je t'aime Remy."

Jendayi was quietly sobbing in the backseat of her car, having just left Pietro. All they ever did was agree to meet at a certain location, usually his apartment, have sex, and leave each other. God, I feel awful. The sex is great, but that's all there is! I wanted to get over Kurt, but this isn't helping! Why can't everything be okay again? Jendayi's sobbing increased. Finally, she calmed down and drove off, back towards the Institute. Once she parked her car, she transformed to panther and loped off. She ended up about five miles away, in a small clearing, where she changed back to human. Throwing back her head, she screamed, a panther's scream, scaring every bird for miles around.

"Vat vas that all about?"

Jendayi spun around to see Kurt watching her curiously. "It doesn't concern you."

Kurt moved forward and grasped Jendayi's arm gently. "Yes it does. You've been like this for veeks now."

"Kurt, it's none of your business. Why don't you just go back to Morgan and leave me the fuck alone?" Jendayi transformed to panther and loped away. Kurt stood where she left him, in shock.

Jendayi doubled back and headed for the Institute, treading quietly because she could still smell Kurt where she left him. She went straight up to her room, where Jamila was singing along to a CD, with a big grin on her face. Jendayi sniffed the air, just as Jamila did the same.

"What's that smell?" Jamila asked, her smile fading. Jendayi shrugged nervously.

"Ah could ask you the same thing. So you and Remy finally..."

Jamila would have blushed, but she walked up to her sister and grabbed her by the shoulders, taking a deep breath. "You've been sleeping with Pietro..." Jamila said dully.

"Mila, it's not what it seems like."

"It's not what it seems like? My nose is never wrong, Jendayi." Jamila's eyes were furious. The room began to grow cold.

"Mila...Ah..."

"NO! You've been screwing Pietro Maximoff behind mah back! Why, Jendayi? You saw what he did to me!"

"Ah couldn't help it!"

"Oh, so his dick just slid up there?"

Jendayi looked terrified. "No, that's not what Ah meant..."

Jamila laughed humorlessly. "You've been screwing Pietro behind our backs. How do you think Mom and Dad will feel?"

Jendayi sat down on the floor, and buried her face in her hands, and began to rock back and forth slowly. "Yes, okay, Ah've been sleeping with him! You try breaking up with someone and not knowing where to turn! At least you have Remy. Ah didn't have ANYONE! Do you have any idea how that feels?" Jendayi was screaming.

"But did it have to be him?" The room was now half red and half blue, as well as pulsing.

Jendayi was sobbing. "Ah needed someone, and he was there! What else do you want me to say?"

Jamila turned her back on her sister. "Ah never wanna see you again."

Jendayi's eyes widened, and the red half of the room brightened in intensity and heat. "Jamila, Ah..."

"Save it, Jendayi. Ah have nothin' to say to you."

"Jamila please!"

"There is no please about it!" Jamila left, and the room's color faded slowly. Jendayi grabbed a few items and put them into her bag, and transformed to panther, putting the bag in her mouth. She took the keys, and leapt from the window. She changed back to human, and sped off the Institute grounds.

Jamila was sobbing in the kitchen when Logan walked in. He looked taken aback. "What's wrong, Blondie?"

"Daddy, Jendayi's gone, and it's mah fault!" That said, Jamila flung herself in Logan's arms and began to sob.

"Whaddya mean 'Jendayi's gone'?"

"Ah told her Ah never wanted to see her again."

"Why?"

"She's been sleeping with Pietro behind everyone's backs."

"WHAT?"

Jamila nodded from where her face was buried in Logan's shirt. "Where would Jendayi go?"

"I dunno, Jamila, I just don't know. I'll get Chuck to do a mental scan of the surrounding area. She couldn't have gone far."

"Ah can try to reach her, but Ah'm not sure if Ah'll be able to." Jamila concentrated for several minutes, and then sighed. "She's blocked herself off. There's no way to reach her, not while she's like this." Jamila sighed again. She rested her head on her father's broad chest. "Ah'm sorry, Jendayi."

Jendayi was currently on her way to New York. She sighed. "Ah'm sorry, Jamila." Jendayi sighed again, and turned up the radio, hoping that the bass would pound away her troubles. Her phone, the one she kept specifically for Pietro, rang.

"Yeah?"

"Jendayi, I need to see you."

"For what?"

Pietro sighed. "Not that. We need to talk. Could you come to my apartment?" Pietro had an apartment in a nice part of Manhattan that his father had given him, just because.

"Ah'm on mah way to the city now. Give me about two and a half hours."

"Okay. See you."

"Bye." Jendayi turned the radio up louder, making the windows rattle. Luckily for her, the Navigator could handle it. She emptied her mind completely, concentrating only on driving to the apartment. When she arrived, she hopped out of the car, and ran up to Pietro's fifth floor apartment. She let herself in. "What do you want?"

"We need to talk."

"Ah agree completely."

"You first."

"Why are we doing this to ourselves? There's nothing between us, besides good sex. It's driving me crazy, and Jamila found out, and she never wants to see me again."

"I was going to say something kinda like that. Okay look, why don't we just be friends? You can stay here for as long as you need."

Jendayi looked up at him hopefully, unshed tears shining in her eyes. "Really?"

Pietro nodded. "Yeah."

Jendayi hugged him gently, and brushed her lips by his cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Ah'm gonna cut mah hair, get some contacts. If Ah try, Ah can change my skin color a little bit."

"Why?"

"They're gonna come lookin' for me, and Ah don't want them to find me. Do you know how much having your twin sister hate you hurts?"

Pietro nodded somberly before thinking of something. "How can you change your skin color?"

"A panther has peach skin. If Ah just concentrate on bringing in a little of that, Ah can make mah skin lighter. Watch." Jendayi's skin slowly turned a creamy peach, a lot lighter than her natural skin tone. "Ah just have to concentrate on it, but after a while, it'll be second nature. Jamila doesn't even know Ah can do that."

"You can use my car." Pietro said in reference to his silver Maybach, another gift from his father.

"Thanks. Ah'll be back soon." Jendayi grabbed Pietro's keys and headed out the door. Her first stop was a bank, where she withdrew all of the money she had in the account her 'grandmother' had started in Decatur.

Her next stop was a hair salon on the good side of town. "Do you take walk-ins?"

"Yes ma'am, we do. If you'll have a seat, someone will be with you shortly." Jendayi sat, and pored through a magazine, and found a style she loved. It was slightly below the shoulders, and very curly. Jendayi opted to change her hair color to cinnamon brown, and get hazel contacts, and change her style from urban to something a little darker and more risqué.

"Ma'am, Jacques will see you now." Jendayi was led to a chair by an energetic, openly gay man. He chattered to her happily while doing his best to make her hair look completely natural, as requested. The end result was absolutely gorgeous. Jendayi thanked him profusely and left him a big tip. Her next stop was the eye doctor, where she was fitted with a pair of hazel contacts. After that, a quick trip to the mall was in order. Jendayi wore one of the many outfits she purchased out the door. The outfit consisted of a pair of black patent leather stiletto boots that came up to the bottom of her calves. With the boots were a black knee length skirt with slits up both sides and a purple top with long bell sleeves that was ripped in several places to show the cleavage baring black tank top underneath. The end result was a dark looking Caucasian woman.

After stopping for a quick Italian ice, Jendayi headed back to Pietro's apartment. He was surprised, to say the least.

"Damn, you don't even look like you anymore!" Pietro smirked. "But would it be wrong of me to say that I'm regretting the fact that friends don't fuck?"

Jendayi rolled her eyes. "Save it, Pietro." She worked on eliminating her thick accent to the point where it sounded only slightly Southern, and more Latin. She had several friends from Decatur that spoke fluent Spanish, and she had picked up on the language very easily. "Take your sexual frustrations elsewhere."

Pietro laughed. "I was joking, mostly." Jendayi rolled her eyes again. "Hey, do you want to go out to dinner, see if your new look's got anyone fooled?"

"Sure. There was this restaurant I used to go to all the time. They know me on a first name basis and everything."

"What, are you changing your name as well?"

"Pietro Maximoff, meet Alejandra Vasquez, a Madrid native new to the city."

"Nice name. Come on, let's go."

The restaurant Jendayi had in mind was a nice little Italian restaurant a few streets over. The hostess looked over them. "Welcome to Gianni's. Two for smoking or non?"

"Non smoking, please." Jendayi said in a low Spanish accented alto. The hostess led them to a nice little table and left them. "She was my favorite hostess too. She didn't even recognize me."

"Wow. I mean, I barely recognized you when you walked in, except for your walk."

"What's wrong with my walk?"

"You can't change the fact that you're basically part panther. Your walk is really graceful and damn sexy."

Jendayi raised an eyebrow at Pietro. "Pure physical attraction, hmm?"

Pietro smirked, and kissed her hand. "Damn straight."

"Hi, I'm Alicia, can I start you off with something to drink?"

"I'll have a root beer please, Alicia."

"I'll have a Sprite."

Alicia left, and was back shortly with their drinks. "Are you ready to order?"

"Yes, I'll have the grilled chicken Caesar salad."

"I want the veal Marsala."

"Okay, your orders should be out shortly."

"Y'know, this is working better than I thought." Jendayi gasped, her eyes widening in surprise. "Oh no."

"What?"

"Don't look, but Kurt and Morgan just walked in."

Naturally, Pietro turned to look, and he and Kurt met eyes. Kurt narrowed his eyes imperceptibly and his gaze slid to Jendayi, who was trying her best not to break into a sweat. Kurt spoke briefly to Morgan before making his way over to Pietro and Jendayi's table.

"Whaddya want, X-Geek?"

"I didn't vant to talk to you; I vanted to talk to her. Do I know you?"

"I don't think so. Why do you ask, Señor..." Jendayi paused for Kurt to insert his name. "Señor Wagner?"

"You look familiar."

"I'm new to the area. I'm originally from Madrid."

Pietro interrupted before the conversation could go any further. "Look, Elf-boy, she doesn't know you, and you don't know her, so why don't you let us eat in peace?"

Kurt glared at Pietro and walked off. Jendayi let out a sigh of relief, but tensed up again as Kurt came back to their table. "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name."

"Alejandra. Alejandra Vasquez." Kurt smiled at her and walked off. Jendayi sighed again. She looked down at her trembling hands, and folded them together. "This is gonna be hard."

Pietro shrugged. "You'll be fine."

Jendayi shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. I don't know if I can handle all of this. I just lost my best friend and my family all at once." Jendayi giggled

humorlessly. "And the sad thing is, she has every right to be mad at me."

Pietro squirmed in his chair. Feelings made him fidgety.

Morgan sighed impatiently. "Kurt, you haven't stopped looking at that girl ever since you went over there to talk to her boyfriend. She's not even that pretty."

"She just looks familiar."

"Yeah, whatever. You're on a date with me, not her."

"I shouldn't even be here."

Morgan pouted. "So you'd rather look for that stuck up bitch than be on a date with me? It's not your fault she's a slut and probably ran off with some guy."

Kurt pounded the table. "Jendayi is NOT A SLUT!"

Jendayi looked up at the mention of her name and turned towards Kurt's table. Her fists clenched slightly at the notion of Morgan calling her a slut. "Ah oughta..."

"Remember where you are, Alejandra."

Jendayi swallowed hard, and whiskers began to grow out of her face. Pietro kicked her under the table. "Your whiskers are showing, Alejandra."

With a supreme amount of effort, Jendayi calmed herself down, just as Alicia the waitress arrived with their food. Jendayi stabbed her salad with her knife and fork.

"Calm down."

"I am calm," Jendayi shot back tersely. Dinner continued in silence, and Jendayi and Pietro paid and left. In the car, Jendayi leaned back in the seat and sighed deeply. "God, I never wanna do that again."

Pietro shrugged. "You did fine."

"Easy for you to say." Jendayi ran her fingers through her newly shortened hair. "You didn't have to change your identity." She looked at a curl of hair sadly before sighing in resignation.

Xavier slowly took off Cerebro. "I'm sorry, but I can't find her. It's as though she disappeared out of the country."

Ororo grasped Logan's shirt, and buried her face in it. Jamila swooned, and Remy helped keep her upright. "Do you think we could ever find her?" Ororo asked quietly.

"Yes, but only if she wants to be found. It's like she's become a whole other person. Until she relinquishes who she has become, we won't be able to locate her."

"This is all mah fault, isn't it." Jamila said flatly. She turned and walked out of the room. Remy followed, while Ororo struggled to maintain her composure. Xavier wheeled himself to Ororo, and placed his hand on her arm.

"Ororo, everything will be fine."

"Fine? Fine? FINE! Don't you DARE tell me everything will be fine." Ororo's eyes became brilliant white, and her hair began to stand on end from the electricity gathering around her. "Your daughter hasn't run away; your daughter was never kidnapped. You haven't any children, so how in HELL can everything be okay?" Ororo flew through the window, shattering it. Logan ran to the shattered remnants of the window, and watched the black clouds gather around his fiancée's slender form. A lightning bolt struck her body, filling her with power.

"Uh, Chuck? This don't look too good." Xavier wheeled himself to the window.

"She has lost control. If we don't find Jendayi, she may destroy this mansion and everything in it."

Remy was comforting Jamila, when a loud peal of thunder sounded. Jamila looked out the window and saw her mother floating midst storm clouds. She raised a hand to her mouth in shock. "Oh God."

Jendayi was standing on the balcony when she noticed the clouds. They were big, black and accompanied by huge bolts of lightning. Her eyes widened as she heard a familiar voice being carried by the wind. "JENDAYI!"

"Mom?"

Well, that's that, for this chapter anyway. I know I said I would focus on Jamila and Remy, but this idea was too delicious to pass up. I hope everyone likes it!