After months of trying to find inspiration to write, the finale happened. And now I have plenty of inspiration and no chill. This is an idea that arose from contempt with both TVD and the X-Men film series (WHERE IS ROMY?!) so I decided why not combine my childhood OTP with my main OTP?

I'm thinking the story will mostly be canon with X-Men: Evolution but I'll probably be pulling from other universes as well. There's several characters that I'm doing face claims on so when you get the chance, take a peek at my fanfics link in my right navigation bar on tumblr (I have the same username). So far, the only people remaining the same as in the movies is Professor X, Wolverine and Beast. In order to ease some confusion, I won't be using codenames.

I'll be taking a lot of liberties with the plot and characters in order to give it a TVD feel but hopefully I can remain true to the essence of the X-Men. Thank you to damonxbonnie by the way for your valuable input and feedback.


Chapter 1: Don't Touch Me, Please

January

Westchester, New York

X-Mansion

Jesse landed heavily behind an overturned van narrowly missing a blast of red energy. He wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his equally sweaty hand which only served to smear the mess. Chest heaving from running, dodging attacks and inhaling smoke, he regarded his teammate.

"What's it looking like, man?"

Encased in steel, Piotr observed their surroundings from his hidden position. Several fires raged around them. The blazing light combined with smoke and dust from fallen buildings made visibility difficult. From his vantage point, though, he could scarcely make out several figures amongst the rubble.

He ducked back when an energy beam blasted off the corner of the car close to his head.

"Elena's handling Jamie and Caroline. Seems to have a good hold on them. Matt's got Anna but it doesn't look like he's doing so well right now. I'll try to distract Stefan and hopefully he won't blow your head off," the dark skinned man said with a charming smile.

Jesse gave him an unamused look in return. "Don't try, just do it."

Piotr sprung up running towards Stefan, dipping and dodging the mutant's energy blasts while Jesse ran in the opposite direction towards a burning apartment building. In his peripheral vision, he could make out Anna fighting hand to hand with Matt and seemingly winning. Not stopping, he shot several spikes from his hands at her feet thus allowing the ice mutant to gain the upper hand.

"Seriously, Elena? Seriously?!"

Standing near a pileup of crashed cars was Elena, Caroline and Jamie. The latter was suspended in midair. He kept poofing out only to reappear in the same spot hovering above the ground.

Red in the face, Caroline verbally attacked Elena in lieu of being unable to do so physically.

Trying to maintain her concentration, Elena didn't budge not one facial muscle though her eyes showed obvious amusement. The erratic blonde hated not being in control.

Her amusement abruptly turned into concern.

Jesse had made it to the steps of the apartment where several survivors were trapped before he disappeared in a cloud of indigo smoke. He landed right back to where he started. Discombobulated from the teleportation, he clumsily picked himself up off the cemented ground to find Jamie showboating.

"Are you done making a fool of yourself…or nah?"

Jesse was tempted to throw a spiked fist into his grinning face before Elena sprinted past catching his attention.

"What the hell happened?"

"Stop the program! Stop the program!" Elena had started running for the exit even before the simulation disappeared.

"See, she has the right idea," Jamie commented.

A confused Stefan yelled out asking the telepath what was wrong.

Elena skidded to a halt.

"It's Bonnie. She's awake."


You don't actually know what you look like. At least that's the word on the street. The mirror and camera are the greatest lies ever told. The giant zit on your forehead or your lazy eye would be less noticeable if you were able to look at yourself from outside your body.

But Bonnie looked exactly like she thought she would. Almost like a Picasso painting.

Her chin was more pronounced on one side and the rest of her facial features were crooked. Her cupid's bow did nothing to detract from the oblong effect. She loved her odd looks but when she was younger, she abhorred them. At one point, she set up a lemonade stand to collect money for surgery. Her grams had eventually surrendered knowing the revenue wouldn't event fill up her piggy bank.

Looking at herself through Jeremy's eyes was disconcerting. She wanted to reach out smooth out her long, wavy hair but her…or his hands stayed firmly planted on her hips.

Jeremy's mouth was moving of its own accord but she couldn't make out what he was saying over an annoying static sound. Regardless, she didn't need to hear him to know.

"I love you."

Even while her own face brightened with joy, she felt panic settle in her stomach.

It was the perfect cliché setting for romance. Junior prom with streams of white LED lights strung above them and what she knew was soft music playing in the background. Jeremy in his crisp tuxedo and her in her $500 midnight blue gown. It was perfect and tragic.

She knew exactly what came after this.

With all her will she tried to move Jeremy's body but he continued to lean into Bonnie's embrace.

The only consolation was Jeremy closing his eyes before meeting her gloss covered lips. She didn't want to see the tell-tale sign of black veins underneath her own skin.

When she opened her eyes, she was looking at Jeremy's shocked face. His face was sunken in and red veins in his eyes were prominent from where they had popped. He croaked before dropping to the floor in a seizure.

Bonnie didn't stay to look at the horrified faces around her. She ran to a long row of doors on the nearest wall briefly catching a glimpse of her appearance in a nearby mirror. There was a white stripe in her hair that wasn't present just a minute ago.

She threw the first door open that she came into contact with. It took only a heartbeat for a new wave of panic to set in.

Bonnie was now in a large subway station with various amounts of fighting going on around her. A seismic wave resounded throughout the structure sending parts of the roof crumbling down. The strength of the wave combined with chunks of debris sent her tumbling to the floor.

A particularly large boulder pinned her to the ground.

Trapped in Vicki's body, Bonnie saw her semi-conscious body also pinned only several inches away. Any other time, Vicki would've been able to flick away the opposing object like a fly. Except her arm had come into contact with the exposed skin Bonnie's arm.

That would be Vicki's last memory. A memory that Bonnie had relived at least 20 times.

Bonnie had no choice but to lie there and watch her friend and teammate be drained lifeless.

She woke with a scream caught in her throat and her heart nearly beating itself out of her chest. Her eyes were met with blinding white lights. Tears spilled down her face into the sides of her hair. Whether they were from the exposure or her thoughts she didn't know but the pain that gripped her heart was certain.

A part of her knew she should be glad. How long she was under was a mystery to her but reliving every single memory…every moment…it was the most cruel and unusual torture. Now that she was awake, though, she couldn't pass the memories off as nightmares.

Overwhelmed by the rush of emotion, Bonnie clamped down on her bottom lip, clenched her wet eyes and curled into the fetal position.

That was how Elena and Professor Xavier found her.

Elena smoothed her hands down her still leather covered thighs. In her rush to get to the medical bay, she didn't bother taking off her suit.

Elena licked her dry lips while slowly approaching Bonnie's trembling body. "Bon?"

Hearing the concern in Elena's voice broke the dam. An inhumane sound wrenched itself from between Bonnie's gritted teeth. Hugging her knees tighter, she uncontrollably sobbed to the point of hyperventilation.

Not being able to watch her friend break, Elena placed a hand on her shoulder. What Elena didn't realize was that Bonnie had already broke.

"Don't touch me!" Bonnie screamed with despair lacing her hoarse voice. She had only meant to push Elena away but ended up pitching the telepath into the wall.

Elena's head painfully bounced off the wall before she slid to the floor. Stefan ran into the room from where he had been told to wait outside with the rest of the concerned team.

"I'm okay," Elena said letting Stefan hoist her up. There was sure to be a knot on her head later but right now she was more concerned about her hysterical friend.

The three mutants in the room along with the group standing in the doorway watched helplessly as Bonnie begged over and over not to be touched.


"Vicki was superhuman in every sense of the word. She had the strength to lift a tank without breaking a sweat, the endurance of a thousand marathon runners and the flight of an eagle. But her physical abilities paled in comparison to what she was capable of emotionally and mentally. Vicki raised us since she was a child. Even before her powers manifested, Vicki was strong. She endured. And she rose above all obstacles. I remember when-"

Matt took a deep breath. His Adam's apple bobbed in his bid to gain composure. For several heavy moments the grief stricken teen could do nothing but look into the clear blue sky. Many of the funeral goers turned their eyes away, either to give him some sense of privacy or to blink away the proof of their own sorrow.

Gulping down air as if he had been deprived of it, Matt continued. "I remem-"

One of his hands came up to squeeze the corners of his eyes while other gripped the podium. It could've been minutes but it was only seconds before his face crumpled.

Feeling Orora's hands on his back, Matt turned to bury his head in the crook on her shoulder. They stood there for a beat with the sounds of whimpers and soft cries filtering from the crowd before she led him back to his seat. The weather goddess walked back to the podium to deliver the finishing speech.

On a balcony above the garden where Matt's last surviving relative had been laid to rest stood a black covered figure. A velvet hood pulled over their head, the person looked ominous from a distance. Like Death itself come to claim another soul.

In Bonnie's mind that's exactly what she was.

It was two days ago when she rejoined the land of living. She found out from Caroline that she had been under for almost a week. After absorbing Vicki, Bonnie fell into such a frenzied state that the team was concerned for her safety as well as others.

The psyches she absorbed were usually simple enough to suppress but, then again, she had never absorbed someone to the point of death. Completely draining a mutant, especially one of Vicki's caliber, caused the remnants of the memories and abilities she had suppressed to return full-force. Bonnie couldn't recall anything that happened after the incident but apparently it was enough for her to be forcefully rendered unconscious.

With no choice left, Professor X used his telepathy to mentally incapacitate her until her own psyche finally resurfaced. With the help of the Professor along with Elena, her barriers were back in place. The echoes still emerged sometimes though.

Like now.

'Seriously? Vicki was kind of a bitch. No, actually, she was a raging bitch. But you up and die then everyone conveniently forgets you weren't shit.'

That was most definitely Caroline. And now she and Vicki were having a mental catfight.

Bonnie massaged her temples with gloved fingertips. It was enough of a headache when the prim donnas were in close proximity and now she had to deal with them in her head. With a great deal of concentration, Bonnie managed to push them into the back of her mind for the time being.

Down below, Orora had just finished speaking. The crowd stood to give a moment of silence prior to lowering the coffin six feet under.

Bonnie looked on with a heavy heart.

She wasn't sure if it would ever stop hurting. With every exhale, she felt like she was releasing the guilt and with every inhale, she felt like she was breathing in a more potent form of it.

The insistence of her companions did little to ease her guilt. Their intentions were good but they failed to understand that "don't feel guilty" was easier said than done. To be honest, for all their wishes and support, Bonnie simply wanted to tell everyone to fuck off.

She felt even guiltier for thinking such negative thoughts. They tried. They really did and they didn't have to. But poisonous, untouchable skin and the vault of baggage that came along with it was something they couldn't deign to understand.

Feeling a presence behind her, she looked over her shoulder to see a gruff looking man leaning against the doorframe. Bonnie gave him a slight smile not being able to fully meet his inquisitive eyes.

He quirked an eyebrow at her. The message was clear: "Are you okay?"

The untouchable slightly inclined her head to answer yes. It was really no use since the both of them knew it was a lie but Wolverine decided to let it go. He wasn't the one for pulling teeth which was why Bonnie didn't mind his presence all that much. She and the cigar smoker had never bonded like she had with the others but there was a sense of camaraderie in that they were both loners. It was nice not having to worry about carrying on a conversation without choking up.

They had just finished lowering the coffin into the ground when Matt stepped up to toss in the first white rose. His mouth was moving but she couldn't make out the words. The teen let the rose drop and stared at the spot before slumping to the ground.

Bonnie turned away.


Later that night, Bonnie lay in bed staring at rotating circles of neon lights that traversed the room she shared with Caroline. When Bonnie first arrived at the institute, the perky blonde threatened to phase her into a wall if she ever told anyone about her fear of the dark. Bonnie softly snorted at the memory.

With her laidback and often judgmental disposition and Caroline's over-the-top attitude, the two of them had initially clashed. Now, they couldn't stand the thought of being separated. This was one of the reasons Bonnie struggled to climb out of bed.

Even though her green duffel bag contained only a few articles of clothing and basic necessities, it felt like it was stuffed with lead weights.

Bonnie glanced at the clock on her nightstand. 1:00 a.m. There was a restaurant a couple of blocks from the mansion where she could hail a cab from to get a ride to the subway station.

She hesitated on her way to the door. Looking between her sleeping roommate and the door, Bonnie walked the small distance to Caroline's bed. Softly placing a soft hand on her friend's pale cheek as to not wake her, Bonnie pressed a kiss on the back of her covered hand.

"Bye, Care Bear," she whispered. Cracking open the door, Bonnie looked back one last time giving the slumbering figure a watery smile.

Had she been paying closer attention, in the dancing lights of the disco ball she would've seen the faint trail of tears that leaked from the corners of Caroline's eyes. A faint whisper echoed in the quiet room.

"Bye, Bon."


One Month Later

Salem, Virginia

After the bell above the door rang, it was as if a hush fell over the room. The blaring of country music reverberated through the bar but it couldn't hide the cease in conversation.

Two figures strolled into the quaint bar but it was the one in the front that caused the change in atmosphere.

The light skinned black woman's attire covered little skin. The black dress hugged her figure and revealed a toned back, legs and arms. Several finely detailed tribal tattoos covered the expanse of her skin.

The attention she received ranged from lust to envy but there was one common emotion: disgust.

The tension was palpable but she continued striding forward as if she owned the room. Sweeping her long, jet black hair behind her shoulder, the woman languidly slid onto a bar stool while her companion stood planting his large hands on the counter. Muscles rippled beneath his beige flesh. He was fairly handsome but the feral look in his eyes made his looks less welcoming.

A poorly whispered conversation was taking place in the corner behind the counter. Two older, salt-and-pepper-haired men seemed to be arguing over which one would approach the odd looking pair. After a bout of swearing, one of them finally walked up.

"What can I get fer ya, sir?" he said looking specifically at the burly man. It was clear his services were only open to one of the individuals; however, the ink covered woman didn't look the slightest bit disturbed. If anything, she looked entertained.

Her partner threw a grin her way as if they were sharing an inside joke. Turning back to the uncomfortable bartender, he extended his hand out to the woman who placed a photo in his palm.

"You seen this girl?" he said sliding the photo across the counter.

The bartender briefly studied the image. It was a 5x5 prom picture of a petite black girl standing in the arms of a white boy. He sucked his teeth.

"Maybe."

For a brief moment, the young man's eyes glinted causing the bartender to backtrack. "Er, yeah. She came in here 'bout two-four weeks ago. Odd little thang. Couldn't miss her lookin' the way she did."

The people in this town didn't have extreme variations in appearance so when a tiny black girl with a startling white stripe came stumbling in, it was hard to miss her.

The woman reclined in her seat glancing around the bar as her partner grilled the man on the teen's whereabouts. She knew he didn't have any more information. No way would they allow someone like her to even have a glass of water in this Podunk town much less stop to find out why someone as young as her was doing hitchhiking.

She rolled eyes stopping to catch the eyes of an irate man a couple seats down from her. He sneered into his mug soaking his mustache in cheap beer. She slid from her seat. Switching her hips, the woman seductively made her way down the row of stools until she reached him. Several sets of eyes followed her movements.

She leaned her elbow on the counter appraising him for several tense moments.

"Is there a problem?" she asked with the tone of someone talking about the weather.

Her question was met with silence. Grinning she leaned even closer to him. For a brief moment, his eyes shot to her cleavage before glaring angrily ahead. Her grin spread.

She tilted her head forward trying to catch his eyes. "Is it my skin you have a problem with?"

Finally forgoing his attempt at the cold shoulder, he slammed the mug down causing beer to slosh over the rim. Her eyes trailed to the counter before moving back to his face in mock surprise.

"Look, girl, I ain't no racist. This is a good town filled with good folks. We just so happen to do thangs a certain way here an' yer kind ain't welcome."

She lifted an eyebrow. "My kind, huh?" He gave an imperceptible nod.

Moving so close to the point where her breasts brushed against his plaid shirt, she chuckled.

"Well, sweetie, if it's my skin that troubles you then you're really going to hate this."

The man stared in horror as her amused eyes flashed yellow. A bloodcurdling scream from behind the bar was heard at that exact moment.