To the Reviewers:
Elemental Helper: I grew up in a farming community in which Allison's world is strongly based. Just as most of the Marvel Universe is based in real cities, I wanted her origins to be based in reality too. I also like the idea of elemental mutants having some kind of earthly connection. Doesn't make sense for an elemental to discover their powers in the middle of a skyscraper.

FYI:
I do not own the X-men. I do own Allison. And to me, that's really all that matters.

Chapter 2: Reaching A Melting And Boiling Point

Allison crouched low to the ground, her eyes narrowed against the bright sun and the dust that seemed to be billowing up around her. The runner was trying to come home, the ball was already secure in her glove, and she was just waiting. Come on, come on...just try it. She had been in this play situation countless times before. She had watched girls give themselves crushing injuries against her shin guards, helped them hobble off the field, but she had never allowed one to score on home as long as she was even close to having the ball in her control. This time would be no different.

Except it was. The girl lifted her leg in a flying, kicking slide; her cleat aimed closer to Allison's chest than the ground. Apparently she was channeling Ty Cobbs through her sixteen-year-old, limber, feminine body. As the cleat landed squarely on Allison's chest pad, she swung her glove around, tagging the girl in the side before either of the fell back onto home plate.

Allison was only vaguely aware of the umpire swinging his arms out to the side, signalling the out.

When she reopened her eyes, she felt as though her entire body had gone numb. The offensive runner was no longer lying on top of her but none of her limbs or head would obey her. She felt trapped inside the helmet that had so often protected her against bats, softballs, and on occasion, the ground. Through the grid of metal, she could make out her coach leaning over her waving a hand in front of her face and he smiled when he saw her eyes open.

Kelly was leaning over his shoulder and looked like she was nearly in tears. "Spanky!"

"Kelly, go get her some water," Coach Schneider directed. "Hopefully it's just dehydration." Allison's heart thudded. She was scared. She wanted to tell him she couldn't move but she also wanted to believe that he was right too. Kelly returned with the water and splashed it over her face. There was nothing cool about it. Allison grimaced as clay was washed into her eyes and finally her limbs seemed to react as she reached up and tried to pull on her helmet.

"Slow down, Spank," Kelly said kneeling down to help her. Once the helmet was removed, both Schneider and Kelly helped Allison back up to her feet where she swayed dizzily for a moment before regaining her balance. Kelly kept an arm braced across her shoulders as they slowly made their way off the field. "Why didn't you tell us that seven innings was pushing it? You scared us. All of us," Kelly admonished as she pressed a water bottle into Allison's hand.

Allison stared at Kelly trying to sort out what had happened for herself. She then tilted her head back and began to drink, occasionally tossing some of the water onto her face. She hadn't felt the symptoms of dehydration at all. She knew what that felt like, but this hadn't been it. And the water had not helped at all, and continued to not help unless you counted finally removing the dirt from her eyes. "I was fine. I felt fine...never better," Allison insisted as Kelly pushed her to sit on the bench. Allison watched with frustration as the sophomore catcher moved in behind the plate and took a couple of practice catches. The game would be going on without her.

"I've got to get back on the field. Are you sure you're okay?" Kelly asked as Coach Schneider returned and gently nudged Kelly away. Kelly glanced back once more before jogging back out to her position at third base.

"I want you to sit out the rest of the game. Sit down, keep drinking, and cool off," Schneider ordered.

"But I'm fine!" Allison insisted causing freshmen to scooch over and scatter in order to give her space.

"Look, take a walk and cool off. I'm not going to have your bad attitude on my bench," he said tossing her another water bottle and then went back to reorganizing the line up with the umpires.

Allison begrudginly tore off the rest of her catcher's gear, throwing most of it roughly against the fence with many satisfying clangs, before she snatched up the water bottle and walked away.

She was only as far as the outfield fence when someone spoke up from behind her. "Spank?" Allison spun to see Mark standing there, his blonde hair blowing about in the strong breeze, his shirt rippling against his chest.

"What?" she snapped in irritation.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," she growled. "Now leave me alone." She turned on her heel, determined to get away from everyone.

He took a loping jog and caught up to her, grabbing her hand. He was strong from toting hay and feed for so many years. "Stop this before you hurt yourself."

"I told you I'm fine." But he didn't let go, rather pulling her in closer so that she could not do anything but look him in the eye. "Let me go, Mark."

"No way. Not until you calm down." Allison sighed, the tension leaving her body, hoping that the ploy would be enough to convince him to release her. Her palms were sweating like crazy inside her batting gloves even though the fingers had been cut off to allow more air flow. "I care too much about you to watch you into self-destruct mode," he said gently.

"Great, now I'm suicidal," she replied, her anger flaring back up again.

"I didn't say that."

"You might as well have."

He frowned in confusion, unsure of what else to say. "Go for your walk. Cool off. I'll meet you by your truck at the end of the game." He squeezed her hand before leaning over and placed a quick kiss on her forehead.

The kiss left her more stunned than when he'd grabbed her by the hand to stop her. Had he said nothing else, she still would have been left standing there, rooted to the spot, watching as he returned to the bleachers, his hands buried in his pockets. Finally Allison regained her consciousness and quickly walked across the road to the train tracks. She set her pace and stride to match the railroad ties and tried to make sense of her accident and also Mark's behavior.

"Troubles dear?"

Allison paused, surprised that someone would follow her even after they must have witnessed her blowing up on half of her team and Mark. She turned slowly and gazed upon the blonde woman before her looking terribly out of place on the railroad tracks. She was wearing a three piece, white business suit, her hair pulled back into a messy bun, and her posture was perfect.

"You're Allison, right?" Allison could only manage to nod as she stared at the woman. She was beautiful. More beautiful than anyone she'd ever seen in person before. "I know about you; how you're special."

"Are you from one of the universities?" Allison asked surprised that this is what a college scout would look like. She'd expected a man first off, but secondly, she'd never dreamt they'd be dressed so nicely.

"In a sense, but not for what you think. I'm not here about your softball playing. Although, you are quite good."

"Then what are you here about?" Allison asked wiping the sweat from her forehead only to watch as it was absorbed into the back of her hand. She blinked dumbly not sure she believed what she'd just seen.

"You haven't been feeling yourself lately, have you?"

"Are you some doctor from the city? I don't know what they told you, but my mother and I can't afford whatever tests or treatments you might be offering. It's just the heat and dehydration," Allison said, more so to convince herself than this woman in the suit.

"It's only seventy-five today." The woman barely blinked. Her gaze was steady as if she was studying Allison and it made the girl nervous as she wiped at her forehead again. Once more the sweat disappeared on the back of her hand.

"Feels a hell of lot hotter when you're wearing polyester," Allison muttered as she stepped up onto the rail and held out her hands for balance. She made her way back past the blonde woman and started towards the softball field. Suddenly her friends didn't seem so bad.

"When I was your age, I was just as scared and confused. But there are people who can help you, Allison. We want to help you if you'll let us."

Allison spun, looking back at the woman, her eyes flaring bright blue with frustration. "I don't want your help, okay? I don't need it. I've got my mom and my friends. Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested!"

Emma watched in amazement as the girl's form seemed to shiver for a moment before becoming translucent. And then like a large glass of water that had been turned upside down, the water pounded down to the ground, soaking the ties at Emma's feet. "Powerful, no doubt, Charles," she said to herself.

Allison blinked and realized that she was sitting on top of the pitcher's mound of the boy's baseball field-all the way on the other side of the high school campus. She couldn't remember how she'd even gotten there. She lowered her head down into her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. She had to have walked here, but why couldn't she remember? How'd I shake the doctor lady? Am I blacking out now because of this dehydration stuff?

"Hello."

Allison groaned loudly in displeasure. This was the third time in half an hour that someone had popped up behind her and half scared her in order to get her attention. Couldn't people tell she wanted to be alone? She turned to look over her shoulder to see a boy approaching her from second base. He was on the short side, lanky, and had long, blue tinted hair. And to top it off, he had a strong accent that she'd been able to pick up from just a word. "Are you a foreign exchange student?" she asked and he shook his head in response. "Then I think you're very lost."

"No, I came to see you actually." He was now standing over her, and Allison leaned back to look at him upside down. He had a heart shaped face, aquiline nose, and amber eyes.

"You too, huh? Lemme guess, one of their cured patients? How much did it cost, hmm? I can tell you, more than I have to pay."

He shook his head in the negative as Allison slowly stood up and turned to face him. "It doesn't cost anything to come to the institute, promise. And I'm not really cured. It's just a special hollographic watch. See?" He touched his sport watch and his image shifted for a second to look fuzzy and then he really was fuzzy...and blue.

Allison reeled backwards, tripping over the mound and fell back onto her butt. "You have a tail!" she cried out, pointing to his long tail that swished across the ground. "What are you?"

"I'm a mutant."

"Y-you're a freak! Just leave me alone. All of you!" she shouted rolling over until she was on her hands and knees and then she'd taken off at a sprint towards the dugout. She jumped down in easily and nearly choked on the sulfur fumes.

She turned to see that the blue boy was perched on the dugout bench and was trying to reach his hand out to her. "I won't hurt you," he promised. "You're a mutant too."

Allison's eyes widened to saucer proportions and she shook her head violently. "No! That's not possible. I'm just sick. I'm just sick," she mumbled backing away, her back pressed against the fencing until she'd edged past him and then she took off again, sprinting through one of the cornfields that surrounded the school.

Leaves and stalks smacked her face as she ran, but she didn't care. She tried to shield her face a little but she could feel the tears beginning to well up. She was tripping over rocks and clumps of dirt, but she ignored the pain that shot up through her ankle as she kept running until she'd run out into the middle of a clearing. She easily jumped over a fence and ran towards the familiar barn of the Frederick farm.

Allison ran inside the barn hoping that against all odds Mark came back home. Hell, she'd have settled for Mark's older brother at this point. She just needed to talk to someone she knew, to find out that she wasn't going crazy. Blue boys could not just teleport around baseball fields.

She skidded to a stop when she realized that the barn was empty aside from the few riding horses that the family kept stabled there. When she heard movement outside the barn, instincts took over and she quickly let herself into one of the stalls. She patted the horses neck trying to calm him from her sudden burst of movement and watched through a gap in the fencing. The horse continued to stamp nervously and Allison began to contemplate the very real danger of being trampled versus whoever was outside. As she was about to exit the stall, she saw someone enter the barn and heard a soft 'snikt'. She froze, but unfortunately the horse did not as it tossed its head and danced in a circle.

Allison was knocked to the ground as the horse turned and she lay, covering her head with her arms as the horse continued to stamp its hooves heavily into the dirt.

"All right kid, show yourself."

Allison's eyes snapped open at the sound of the voice and cursed inwardly. Yet another stranger who was looking for her. How many of these mutants were there? She slowly pushed herself back up and could see that he was practically outside the stall she was hiding in and she glanced around at what was available to her. Not much she decided. She moved into a crouch and then with suden speed, popped up, using bracing boards to help her climb up over the stall's wall quickly as she jumped and attempted to deliver a cleated kick to the gruff looking man's face.

He caught her foot, causing Allison to drop like a rock onto the ground as she groaned. "Bad move kid. Know you're opponent first before you attack."

"Thanks, I'll remember that for next time, old timer," she groaned before swinging her leg out to the side in a failed attempt to knock his feet out from under him. She winced as her shin connected with his and he had no reaction whatsoever.

"Like I said, get to know your opponent." He easily picked her up by the front of her uniform and set her back down on her feet, but he didn't let go. Allison frowned in confusion. She knew that most guys on the football team couldn't even begin to attempt to pick her up like that. She was a solidly built girl-all muscle. "Now don't make this difficult. We only want to help you."

"Difficult? You're the ones who've been following me. I just ran a mile and a half and you freaks keep following me!"

He just shook his head as he switched his grip to hold Allison's arm. He tapped his ear and Allison watched as he seemed to turn on a communicator device. "Frosty, Elf, I've got her in a barn a mile and a quarter from the school. Someone want to try and talk sense to her?"

"Good. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"That's great! Be there soon."

"Aren't you Mr. Exact," Allison sneered up at the gruff man and he gazed back down at her stoically. She had a lot of fight in her for just a kid. He just hoped that they'd be able to convince her to join them. It'd be a shame for Mystique to get her claws into this girl. Allison just smiled back up at him and then she was gone.

His hand closed around nothing and he blinked before jerkily turning to look around. She was completely gone. He tapped his ear once again in frustration and snapped, "Frosty, what exactly was this girl's powers again?"

"I believe that she's able to take on the form of water."

"You sure it ain't air? She sure as hell didn't melt out of my grip."

"Perhaps she can evaporate as well as melt," Emma said thoughtfully. "Can you sniff her out, Logan?"

"You're kidding me, right? All I can smell is horse and cow shit. My nose'll be fouled up for a week." He could hear a sigh on the far end as he stepped outside of the barn and then smirked. He could see a row of corn shifting as someone ran through the field about a half mile south. "I do have a visual though. She's now a half mile south of me heading for a residential area."

"I'll try and catch up with her," Kurt interjected.

"Don't think that's such a good idea, Elf."

"They're all afraid of the blue fuzzy dude, then they get to know me. Don't worry, I'll talk to her."

"I've heard you say that before. Last time it landed you in a brief coma.

"This is different. What's she gonna do? Splash me?"

"Let him go, Logan," Emma said giving an air of final authority.

Kurt teleported to the edge of the neighborhood that Logan had described. It was one of the kinds that usually older couples lived in, the houses spread out over hills with large, sprawling lawns. It was completely different from what he was used to seeing in Bayville. Here the lawns were nearly as large as the entire grounds for the institute, while the houses were much smaller.

Looking around, he couldn't see Allison right away. Then gazing over a nearby orchard, he could see her zigging and zagging between the trees. Kurt teleported out of sight into a tree just behind her. "Hello again."

She stopped short and turned around to stare at him. "Do you guys ever give up?"

"Where would be the fun in that?" he asked. He jumped down to stand next to her and realized that she was a few inches taller than he was, probably five ten. Her hair was auburn with natural streaks of blonde and dark brown going through out the waves, but her eyes were no longer as bright a blue as when he'd first seen her. They'd paled to a steel blue color.

"What?" she asked suspiciously as he continued to stare at her.

"Your eyes. They changed colors."

"Yeah, I know," she admitted after a moment. "What about it?"

"It's a really cool mutation. Much better than being blue and fuzzy."

She glanced up at him and he was surprised to see her eye color change yet again to a steel green. You had to look closely to notice the change, but it was definitely happening. She shrugged as if she didn't quite believe him and then pointed to a white and blue house that was settled down into a small valley. "That's my gram's house. She always told me that my eyes made me special. Guess she just didn't know how special."

"We won't hurt you," Kurt said gently. "We just want to help. Help you understand the changes that have been happening. It doesn't mean you're a freak-just special like your grandmother has always told you."

Allison sighed gazing at her grandmother's home and when she looked back at Kurt she managed a weak smile. "You guys got softball where you're from?"

"The high school has a team. But at the institute, we have something even better-Mutant Ball." When he saw her confused look he laughed. "It's just like softball but with powers. It's fun and you'll get to see for yourself if you come with us."

"Another question. They got football?"

"Of course, all schools do."

"Any girls on the squad?"

"I don't think so."

Allison smirked as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I guess I'll just have to come with you and stir things up a little."