Jake was only twelve when he was abandoned at the orphanage. He was practically thrown out of the car by the man who he had once called Dad. The man seemed like a stranger to him now, looking angry and uncaring as he chucked Jake's only belongings on the sidewalk, he would have thrown his goldfish too if Jake hadn't managed to grab them from out of the car before him. The man said nothing as he got back into the car next to his mother, who hadn't even looked at her son the whole time. The car roared to life and a moment later was gone, leaving Jake behind with tears streaming down his cheeks.

A woman, tall and fat with a wart on her top lip, marched out to him from the dilapidated building. Her expression was harsh and uncaring; she didn't bat an eyelid at the small, skinny little boy weeping before her. She simply told him to follow in a deep, prudish voice and lead him inside. The orphanage was dark and dirty, with tiled floors and walls. It seemed more like an asylum than a place for children, not even the sounds seemed childish. Crying and screaming were the only sounds the children were making, from that moment Jake knew he was likely in for a hellish time.

The woman hurriedly showed him to his room, little more than a closet with two bunk beds on either side. He was practically shoved inside and the door slammed shut behind him and locked. The place was definitely not a normal orphanage. Three hours later and the door burst open and three boys, around his age, marched in. They began inspecting the new boy the way a pack of wolves stalk a lone deer. They never laid a finger on Jake, not the whole time Jake was there, but they intimidated him.

At first Jake's time there was lonely; he was ignored by everyone, including the staff. Meals were at eight a.m. two p.m and seven p.m. If you didn't get there on time you would not be served. The cook seemed to enjoy it when she could refuse the kids, and any complaint was met with the punishment. There was only one way they discipline you in that orphanage, you would be locked in the 'recreational room', or, to give it it's true title, the cellar. It was an unsanitary, damp, dark cage with an 'out of order' sign on the door. Jake had found himself in there for days on end for little or no reason.

What he didn't know was that the staffs were steadily becoming aware of his 'true nature', and were punishing him for it. Soon, not just the staff, but the other kids were aware of it to. Whereas his roommates didn't give damn, many other kids did. He spent his thirteenth birthday locked in a closet under the stairs after he had been thrown in there by a mob of kids.

He was finally released by a staff member, a tall man in his early thirties. He seemed to like Jake, and it was as if his life got better for a while after that. The bullying seemed to lose its severity and he could at last talk to someone who didn't act like he cared about what Jake was. Jake didn't know it, but the man was being friendly for a reason. Jake found his roommates were suddenly quiet when ever he was around, but it wasn't until a few months later that he finally found out why.

Jake never slept well even before he had arrived at the orphanage, so he was awake when the door opened and the man walked in quietly. He crept over to his bunk, but never even looked at Jake, instead he climbed on top. The sounds he heard shattered him. Pleading, crying, worse. The next morning Jake tried to speak to the boy to be nice, and was nearly punched as a result.

He quickly found that he was not the only one the man visited, all three suffered at his hands. They seemed so angry, but at the same time he felt like they were resigned to their fate. Then Jake made the biggest mistake of his life, he went to the woman he had met when he first came and told her everything. The result was a week in the 'recreational room'. But once he was out his life seemed became unbearable. Suddenly the man who he had once trusted started to insult him, he would punish him for nothing and torment him whenever he was alone. Suddenly, when he entered their room he would and beat him then blame the injuries on his roommates. At the same time he seemed to be tormenting them even more as well, in more horrible, disgusting ways. He was torturing all of them, and nobody did anything to stop them.

Then one day, an old man in a wheelchair visited the orphanage and asked specifically for Jake. He wasn't alone; a blonde headed man in his twenties was with him, the man Jake only ever knew as 'Frostman'.

The old man said that Jake would be coming with them, that he would be safe where he was going. Jake couldn't believe what he was hearing; he nearly fainted there and then. They left so Jake could pack his things, only for him to be joined by his tormentor. Jake had never been as scared as the man ranted and threatened him. But neither of the realized that Frostman was standing by the door, listening and waiting. When the man realized that he had been revealed he launched himself as Jake, ready to kill him. But he was yanked back the mysterious stranger and collided instead with his hard fist.

Jake felt the world begin to spin, exhausted and overwhelmed, and fainted in the arms of his savior. When he woke he was in a warm bed, the bed he had slept in ever since. He was safe, though it took a while for him to accept it. He didn't know what happened to the man, he could only hope that he was arrested, or at least fired, and that the other boys were safe too.

XxXxX

As Jake finished reciting what had happened Mark sat back and breathed out heavily. He was bombarded with a mix of emotions, sadness, sympathy, anger, but also relief.

"So, he never, did anything to you." Mark strained to say, hoping Jake would understand despite his vagueness.

"Like the others, no, he viewed more like an animal." Jake said, he had surprised himself by the way he had managed to keep it together. "Because I was a mutant he didn't treat me like a human."

"I'm sorry, what happened was just awful. But the thought of him, argh, I don't think I could bare it if he had." Mark said looking away, trying to control his emotions. "I'm so sorry, I, I shouldn't have made you go through all that, and I hope you don't hate me."

Jake didn't say anything; Mark finally looked up to see him smiling widely.

"I'm glad I said it. I don't have to hide anything anymore." Jake said happily. "Thank you; you're the best friend ever. I was scared you wouldn't want to be friends if I told you, that you would think I was dirty or being stupid, I was wrong. Now I've told you, I don't feel scared anymore. I feel like I have someone to talk to."

Jake leapt forward and threw himself around Mark, who simply smiled as well.

"You should have told me in the first place." Mark proclaimed. "I was always there for you to talk to."

"Thank you, just thank you." Jake said back, not letting go of his vice like grip.

"Ok Kitchie, I'd like to have my head back now." He said. "You're making it hard for me to breathe."

Jake let go and stood back, still smiling. "Sorry. I think the alcohol might be wearing off, can we go to bed now." He said coyly.

"Ha-ha, yeah sure. Err, there's one more thing we need to talk about." Mark said as he got up to follow his friend.

"In the morning or whenever we get up. I think the suns starting to rise, so were up really late. It's a good thing it's a Saturday or we'd be in big trouble. Though, since were recovering from our mission still, they wouldn't have expected us to go to lessons would they?"

Mark sighed, which quickly turned into a yawn. He was still shocked by everything Kitchie said, but he was too tired to take it all in. Right now he was content, Jake was happy, that was all that mattered. They could now face his demons together, with Quinn and Caim's help of course.

XxXxX

The Institute was asleep, with the exception of Jake and Mark and one other. Quietly, in his room, Lars was still awake. He was building something resembling a crossbow, whilst scribbling something in a notepad.

Suddenly, his computer in the corner flashed. He instantly leapt up and hurried over to it. As he expected it was a new message. He clicked on it and the message appeared on his screen.

"B.L. move to stage two. X-men getting close."

He smirked to himself, a sinister glint shone in his eye. At last, he thought, he would be able to kill the morons he had come to despise. It was only a matter of time.

XxXxX

A/N Ta da, happy birthday Mystery Hunter, dat was my pressie, sorry, I know it's not a very good one but I made Jake happy especially for you. This is the end of part one, I hope you liked it. Jake's going to be happier from now on, he's facing his demons, but that's not the end of his problems.

Frostman is no relation to Iceman, though has similar powers. He will be explained when a few new (old) faces turn up, some because they want to cause trouble, others because their forced to. Wait and see.