I do not own or make money from anything from the Marvel universe; Isaac and Mimik are mine though. Don't forget to review and I hope you enjoy!

We trudge through the snow in silence.

He's shivering a bit in his thick black hoodie with the X-Men symbol on it and I realize that I'm in just a t-shirt and jeans. I really should start wearing a sweater or something to blend in a bit more, I mean it is December in New York…

We approach a bench that looks like it's been put there from another season; no snow anywhere and the grass was vibrant green with a few flowers scattered about.

"Someone must not like snow too much…"

He laughs, "Who does? I mean besides the obvious people. It's cold and wet and makes you sick."

"I dunno, it makes any place it falls on seem clean and new. I kinda like it…"

I sit down, "Look, I think we really need to talk. I mean besides Logan and me, you are the only other mutant I know who your father experimented on."

He frowns and plops himself down on the bench next to me.

"I also wanted to apologize for acting immaturely about the happenings in the danger room. As I told Kurt, I was frightened and I redirected that as anger towards both of you. I-"

"I get it; you don't have to explain things to me. I've seen what you've been through remember? It's gunna take a very long time before you can ever walk around here like one of the others and even then you will still have to deal with your past. My father was a sadistic man whose only goal in life was to make the perfect creation. We are the culmination of his entire life's aspirations. You can never change the fact that you were his prized experiment, but you can learn to make yourself into something more than that too."

I nod, "I just keep expecting this to be a dream; to wake up and find that I was just being toyed with."

"Me too, I mean I never endured the torture you did, but I'm still this…"

He waves a hand at himself, "I can't even feel emotions properly without remembering the fact that I'm not human anymore."

"Well maybe you will start reverting like I have."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm losing the ability to copy powers. You saw me on the Blackbird, every time I try to mimic an ability I get weaker and weaker. It's because I'm not being force fed the chemicals and drugs your father and his boys made. The feral part of me is coming out more and more too…"

"So that's what that is…"

"What?"

"I have been feeling different ever since I left and haven't been getting my monthly medications. My sense of smell has gotten better and my hearing has been increasing exponentially. Before, even with my huge ears I could only hear slightly better than a human, now it's as if my batty hearing has actually decided to kick in."

"Did Cornelius plan for you to be a feral mutant?"

"Not really, just a side effect of combining your DNA and that of a bat I guess. He wanted me to have the mutated senses, but not the unpredictability that most ferals have. Looks like that went out the window…"

"Why did he pick a bat?"

"He was bored with all the 'common feline and canine mutations' he wanted one that was more unique. He didn't pick a very unique species though… The common evening bat; Nycticeius humeralis. I'm lucky all I got was the wings, the ears, and pointy teeth. Could you picture me with one of those fuzzy muzzles? Blech!"

I couldn't help but laugh a bit, "How can you be so calm? Aren't you angry? Pissed off at him for ruining your life?"

"Well sure I'm pissed, but like I told you before I try to keep things in perspective. You hide your emotions but you weren't allowed to show them, I can't allow my emotions to rule me because I'll start hurting the people around me. Even those I care about…"

I lean forward, resting my forearms on my legs and we sit there in silence for a moment before he asks, "So are you really going to join these people and become an X-Man?"

I nod, "I've done so much wrong in my life I will never make it up. And yes I know a large part of it I didn't have control over, but I still did it. I figure maybe if I try to help them in their fight maybe I can find a way to forgive myself. I have been someone else's tool for so long it's hard to figure out what lies beyond that. But I want to find out who I really am or maybe who I could have been if circumstances were different."

"Am I the first one you've said this to?"

I nod, "The others just don't understand. I know they want to; that they want to be my friends, but…"

"They weren't there."

I look at him, "How are you not messed up like me? Why didn't they treat you like me? Why was I the only one they did all that to?"

He shakes his head, "I don't know, maybe because I grew up happy and normal for most of my life and my father did treat me somewhat kindly; outside of making me live in a cell and experimenting on me. As for why they didn't treat us the same, that's easy. I could never take the punishment you do. I don't have a healing factor or metal bones. I'm just as fragile as the rest of them. And you, you're strong. A lesser person would have given in and ended up like Sabertooth, an insane lackey."

l look at the ground and he puts a hand on my back causing me to flinch. "They said this place is a new start, but if you keep letting Wraith and my father keep you under their control you'll be stuck in the past forever."

I clench my fist, "You're right, I keep thinking about what they did to me, but they can't do it anymore. I'm free to go wherever and do whatever I want."

"That's right; and you have me and Logan and Kitty and Xavier all to help you. You don't have to do it alone."

After a few minutes of silence, I sit up and say, "Well I don't know about you but I'm pretty hungry."

He grins and stands, his wings automatically readjusting, "I'm up for some lunch."

I smile at him, "Thank you, it's good to have someone to really talk to."

He smiles back, staring into my eyes a little seriously, "No problem, I like finally getting to talk to you instead of watching all these years."

I go to question his look, but I stop when I notice Kitty walking up, a smile on her face and a bounce in her step. "Kim! Oh hey Isaac! What's up?"

He shrugs and says, "Nothing much just heading to lunch. I'll see you two around."

He walks away waving over his shoulder. Kitty watches him go and then and then turns her smile back to me, "So did you take my advice?"

I nod, "Yeah, I apologized to both him and Kurt."

"Ahem!"

"What?"

She puts her hands on her hips and looks at me, eyebrow raised.

"What- oh… I'm sorry."

She grins and says, "Forgiven! And just so you know, Scott scheduled training for us after classes."

"And he wants me there?"

"Well duh, you're part of our team right?"

Before I could answer she grabs my arm and drags me back towards the building, "Come on! It's lunch time."

They're all acting like nothing has happened… I can't believe Cyclops agreed to allow me back in the danger room after all my amazing fiascos.

Then again for those who knew me before it'd also be hard to believe that this killing machine is going around saving small children, apologizing for hurt feelings, and allowing herself to be pushed around a school by a bubbly teen who can walk through walls.

.

"So let me make sure I understand this… You are a trained assassin that was part of a top secret government group, you're now training to be a X-Man, and you're also related to some of the strongest mutants I've seen; and you've never been to a movie theater? Girl, we gotta get you out more."

DJ shakes his head in mock disappointment before taking a bite out of an apple.

"Well I was outside of one once. I was waiting for a target to emerge to be- removed…"

I take a bite out of my sandwich and cringe, "What is that?" Isaac leans in from his seat to my right and sniffs, "Ham, lettuce, tomato, bread, and mayo?"

"Mayo? What is that and why does it make my food taste of oil and fat?"

The others all stop and share looks before laughing. I glare at each of them and push my plate away; removing the orange I collected with it.

My table mates are Isaac, Kitty, DJ, Bobby, Tabitha, Rictor, (Julio), and Cannonball (Sam).

After they all stop laughing, Cannonball passes me a plate with small brown circles smelling of bread and modified chicken, "If ya drown 'em in ketchup ya can't tell they're tasteless."

He passes the bottle of ketchup as well and I thank him.

Bobby leans in and quietly asks, "So is it true that you threatened to eat Sammy?"

I roll my eyes and flash my adamantium teeth at him, "Do you really believe every rumor you hear?"

Isaac smirks and shakes his head, "She told him she'd invite him to a fish fry and he'd be the main course."

Bobby laughs, "Serves the punk right."

Tabitha points a french-fry at me and asks, "Don't you think you might have traumatized the poor kid?"

"Tell me, which lessons do you learn faster; the one that you were taught passively or the one that causes some form of fear or pain? If you allow a child to touch the fire it is almost guaranteed they won't do it a second time."

DJ shrugs, "She's not wrong."

Isaac mentions quietly, "He also pissed himself."

Bobby purses his lips and looks a bit concerned now.

Rictor pipes up from the end of the table, "Kitty you have been unusually quiet. You have been dying to sit Kim down and gossip with her during a meal. Why the sudden case of silence?"

Kitty looks away from the door she had been staring at, startled, "What? Oh… I was just waiting for someone to show up."

She eyes the door and then me, and the others seem to suddenly understand her motives. Well, everyone except Isaac.

Tabitha grins and asks me, "So what are you doing tonight?"

"Well Kitty informed me of training and then Kurt requested that I eat dinner with him again."

A sharp screech from my right causes me to jump and then glare at Isaac who was looking intently at his plate. "Sorry my fork slipped. Like nails on a chalkboard right?"

Bobby eyes Isaac, "You aren't going to get all big and bad again right?"

Tabitha smacks him upside the head, "You ask him that every time, shut up!"

Isaac smiles and shrugs, "No biggie, it's a legitimate fear. But no, Beast made it so I can't for now. Hence why I've been skipping gym... I have a reduced adrenal response now, basically making me almost hypoglycemic. Whatever works right?"

"Anyways, Rictor why are you not part of our team?"

He grins, "I'm new and only 17 and so apparently until I get older I'm stuck in the school group. James, Sam, Jamie, Tabby, Jubilee, DJ, Dani, Amara, myself and a few others who come and go with other teams and what not."

"Dani… Who is that? The name sounds familiar."

Bobby cringes as if recalling something, "I think you met her downstairs outside the danger room. She kinda freaked you out with her powers."

Oh! She was the one who made me look like a fool by becoming Wraith. "Ah, I recall that."

DJ looks over his shoulder and then back to me, "It's not her fault though; she can't control her powers that well. She keeps accidently showing people their fears."

"She can't be the only one who has issues."

Kitty nods, "Yeah, but until she can get a grip on her powers she's been avoiding you like the plague."

I frown and suddenly the bell chimes and then the entire room starts to bustle with students heading to class and what not.

Kitty throws her bag over her shoulder and asks, "So what are you going to do until we're done? Even Logan is teaching again so…?"

I shrug, "Try to find something nonviolent to entertain me until this evening I suppose. Maybe I'll paint a mural or start up sewing…"

They're all shocked silent until Isaac picks up on my humor and begins to laugh.

Bobby especially, "I can picture it now, you and Logan sitting by the fire place sewing and chatting like grannies. HAH! That's just too amazing!"

He nearly falls over from laughter as he exits the room. Kitty rolls her eyes, "So really, what's the plan?"

"I dunno… I'm sure I'll find something to do."

"Okay, just don't threaten to eat any more kids. It's really hard to stop the rumors that you're a vampire or whatever."

I grin and nod and she leaves the room with the others, Isaac following close behind.

I leave as well heading upstairs to the library in search of the book that I was reading before.