I'm so sorry it took me this long to update a new chapter!But I have a reason: My computer broke :(

I know, I know,but I'm working on it.

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews,it means the world to me!

This chapter wouldn't be possible without my super beta xStarletx and VioletYami. THANK YOU!

I hope you all like this chapter,I know I did ;)

Disclaimer : I don't own any of the characters you may recognize on this story,they belong to Stan Lee and Marvel.I only own Alice.

In my opinion, the best part of the day is when you wake up and can't remember a single thing that happened the day before. Even with the feeling that you're forgetting something and can't really tell what is, but you don't get sad about it because you don't remember. A little peace comes with it and you wish that you could stay like that for the rest of the day. For a minute you feel completely calm and you enjoy it.

And it lasted for two minutes until reality came knocking on my door to the tune of some alarm blasting a N'Sync song into the room and it was then that I realized that I wasn't in my old room.

Or my house

Or my country

I'll admit this place is not a concentration camp or a prison, but it's not what I was used to. I just couldn't get over the fact that I was different, and that I had to be separated from "normal people". Was I that unusual?

"Come on, get up sunshine. We have chemistry first period and we have to hurry and get to breakfast!" Jubilee threw a pillow at me while the other girls were fixing up their beds and deciding what to wear. Just like any normal teenager.

Breakfast was…well lousy. Lots of kids running around, some you'd think had never seen food in their whole life! I met Mr. Summers, Doctor Grey's fiancée, a very nice guy, but I really had to try hard to remember not to stare at his glasses so much. But hey, in my defense, he had the coolest pair of red glasses I had ever seen! Of course it was after that meeting that Kitty told me all about the "love triangle" between them and some guy named Logan. He wasn't in the Institution anymore, so I hadn't met him yet, and I was unsure if I ever would. I noticed that Rogue cringed a little when Kitty mentioned him. Maybe they were related.

I had Chemistry first, with Doctor Grey and it was probably the first time that I actually understood something about the subject! I'm serious; Doctor Grey really was a genius! Not that I had been failing in school or anything, but chemistry was always a hard subject for me. She explained it very well and was extremely patient with our questions. Unlike any of the other teachers I've ever had.

"The answer was hydroxide, of course! Why didn't I realize that?" Rogue murmured. It was clear that Rogue and the others took their education very seriously. Jubilee had told me before that most of students here didn't have anything else to rely on, and others had never been to a school, out of fear of being discovered. I guess I was lucky in a sense, I had a normal childhood.

"It's ok babe, you're the smartest of us in here. Lighten up; it's alright to make a few mistakes," Her boyfriend Bobby consoled her as he stroked her gloved hand. The two of them were extremely cute together! Like one of those Disney movies with the princess and the knight in shining armor. But I did notice that they didn't touch each other, like no skin to skin contact. Not in an inappropriate way, cause that's not of my business. But the only contact they had was with a layer or fabric between them and that must kind of suck.

I continued to work on my assignment while Kitty was trying to hide a magazine under her books. Like I said, typical teen.

"Alice, may I speak with you for a moment?" Dr. Grey asked me when the class had been dismissed. Kitty paused too; as she had offered to walk me to all my classes, the rest of students were all shuffling off to math class.

"I'll see you later, ok Kitty?" I told her. She nodded and went through the wall. I definitely had to get used to that, I constantly had this funny feeling that I was stuck in the twilight zone, especially when I saw something like that.

"How are you today Alice?" Dr. Grey asked as soon as we were alone. Rogue had told me that Doctor Grey could read minds, but she only did so with the other's permission, or in a dire situation. I found that really nice, respecting a student's privacy and all. So she wouldn't know if I told her the truth or not, right?

"I'm ok. Still getting used to everything, but I'm better condition than I expected," I told her. Her eyes flashed for a moment, but I don't think it was because she was reading my mind, I was hoping she was just worried about me.

"I see" She smiled and I gave her one back "As the Professor told you yesterday, we will help you to sharpen your abilities with physical and mental exercises a few times a day," I nodded, already knowing about today, "Ororo will help you today. She's expecting you on the attic." I thought this over, knowing myself I figured I'd get lost before I even found the stairs that led to the second floor.

Shyly I asked Dr. Grey if she could point me in the right direction. She smiled a little while pointing out the way and she assured me that this happened to everyone their first week here. Great, so at least I'm not the only lost freak.

I thought that an attic was something dirty and dusty, with spider webs and filled with furniture that you don't want anymore but you're not sure where to put it, so you just throw it somewhere else in the house. But for this attic, that wasn't the case. The attic of the Institution was large and clean, with so many plants that I thought for a second that I was in a greenhouse. Everywhere I looked, there were orchids, ferns, roses and even a few vases containing bonsai trees. I had never seen so many different plants in one place before.

But that's what this place is about, right? Diversity. I didn't know if that thought came from my mind or someone put there, either way I understood.

"Did you like it? They are my treasures" Miss Munroe was watering a very beautiful dahlia near the window, where a few rays of sun were shining through. The scent that came from this room was amazing. I even forgot what I was here for.

"They are all so beautiful," as I touched the tulips that were within my reach. The tulip had been my favorite flower since I was a kid.

"This is my personal refuge." She turned to me and I noticed that in her hands wasn't a watering can, but a small rain cloud that came from her hands. Now that was cool.

"I like it here. It's quiet and gives me space to think clearly," She confided to me. The attic really did seem like a very special place, unlike the constant noises and screaming from the students coming downstairs, there was almost dead silence. You couldn't hear anything up here.

"That's why I asked you to come see me here Alice. This is where we'll work with your abilities today," She explained, suddenly against my will my hands started to shake. I was nervous; I wasn't used to my powers yet, so I didn't know how to turn them on or off. If I could even do such a thing?

"What can you do?" Her tone was calm and patient. But then again, she was a teacher. It gave me some comfort to know that I could talk to her about what I could do. Nothing like when I tried to talk to my parents.

"Just small things actually. Some flowers sprout from my hands, and like I said when you were in my house, I made a tree rise from concrete, but that was a one time thing." This conversation reminded me of the cartoons I watched on Saturdays, very surreal. "Is that a bad thing Miss Munroe?"

"It's ok Alice. No one is judging you," She motioned for me to sit on the chair near the windows and I put my books on the floor. I sat down and took in the view, it was beautiful; lilies were growing next to me, I was the one who did that. It was nice to hear that I wasn't being judged by what abnormal things I could do. Maybe that's what made this place so special for people like me.

"What we are going to do today is simply try to work with what you have, and try to teach you a few new things. Can you handle that Alice?" She also noticed the lilies and smiled "Looks like I chose the right place for us to start"

"I can try," I nodded, looking around all the plants that surrounded us.

The worst thing about bad news is not when someone tells you; it's when you realize that it's real. It was then that it hit me. I could hurt someone. Like really hurt someone. Miss Munroe told me how important it is to have control over your powers because the tendency was for them to grow stronger.

I don't wanna hurt anybody! Ok, I maybe I wanted to once; when those fake blondes mocked my braces. I really wanted to smack their redone noses right off their faces. But that was different. That's nothing compared to what I could do now, according to Miss Munroe. That's just great! As if having to worry about pimples wasn't problem enough.

"I have to go now. I have Roman history in ten minutes. Will you be ok here by yourself?" Miss Munroe asks me. I looked at my hands once more. Today we did a few simple exercises with breathing and mentalization. It was pretty easy, pretty basic stuff, but I have the feeling that it'll get more complicated as I go on.

"I'll be ok. Thanks for letting me stay here Miss Munroe," I assure her. She smiled, patting the daisies that I managed to make blossom. "Just take care of my babies, alright? They're worth everything to me." She waved goodbye and closed the door, leaving me to sit by the window next to the lilies and take everything in.

The same way I could create one tiny daisy with my bare hands, I could make a dozen of thorns. How come a gift that can create such beauty can also create something so dangerous? And I'm responsible for it. Why me? I could barely take care of my gold fish. And the most important question is: How do I not loose control over it? That's why Miss Munroe was helping me. I just hope that it will be enough.

"Ah, so here's where you've been hiding" I looked up, still with the vase in my lap and saw the boyish smile from my newest favorite cook.

"Hi Pete! What are you doing here? I thought you were in class"

"It's lunch time, don't you remember?" He gave me a confused look from the door while I stood up with the vase still in my hands.

"I was practicing with Miss Munroe, I guess I lost track of time," I tell him. He shrugged and walked in, the room suddenly seemed so much smaller now that he was in it. I guess it was because he was so big.

"And how's it working out for you?" His face seemed to lose its innocent smile; he looked at me very seriously, like he was worried about me.

"I'm…getting used to it." I told him, picking my words very carefully. He nodded, walking to where I had been just a few minutes ago, near the window.

"Come on, I want to show you something" He was smiling again while pulling me towards the door, when I stopped him.

"First, here for you. I just made it. It's not a delicious sandwich or anything, but I hope you like it," I gave him the daisies.

"So, you thought my sandwich was delicious?"

"Oh shut up" I was going to smack his arm again, but I remembered the strength he had and the pain I felt when I had playfully hit him the first time.

"You know I'm a guy, right? And this is not manly at all," He teased, indicating to the flowers. I put a hand on my heart, pretending to be offended.

"Well, think of it this way: These will definitely get rid of that nasty smell in all of the boys' rooms," I teased right back. Now this time he pretended to be offended.

"You are such a bad actor Pete."

"I didn't say anything!" He started to laugh.

"With that face? Like you needed to."

"Now let's go before Miss Munroe finds me here." He rushed me downstairs "I'm not allowed to be there."

"Why not?"

"Because once, just once, I might have broken one vase with begonias and she was so angry she deliberately tried to hit me with lightening. How unfair is that?"

We were both laughing as he dragged me down the stairs and suddenly I was feeling much better.

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