Chapter 6

"Who were you talking to?" Eli asked as Ellie sat next to him at the lunch table once more.

"My friend Fred Dukes," she replied angrily. Jean and Scott exchanged nervous looks.

"Why so grumpy sunshine?" Eli taunted as he poked her in the shoulder. Ellie swatted his hand away.

"I'm not grumpy," she replied. "I just hate that stupid silver-haired boy." The X-Men all groaned in unison.

"You mean Pietro?" Evan asked, now awake. "Yeah, he's a total loser." Ellie raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yah, why did you even go talk to him?" Kurt asked.

"I just said that Fred was my friend," she reminded him. "I just didn't realize Pietro would be there." Ellie felt strange saying his name.

"Well, what did Blob want?" Kitty asked. Ellie gave her a confused look.

"Oh, sorry. That's Fred's codename," Kitty explained. "You see, he's like part of the Brotherhood, a group of delinquent mutants. Pietro goes by Quicksilver, Todd goes by Toad, and Lance goes by Avalanche."

"Yah, Laaaance," Kurt taunted Kitty as he said his name in a dreamy tone. Kitty nudged his shoulder.

"Well then that explains a lot. They thought that I was the new X-Men member," Ellie told them. Scott leaned forward onto the table and turned to Kitty.

"I wonder how they found out we even had a new recruit," he said in an unhappy tone. Kitty blushed and looked at the table top.

"Ellie, what did they want from you?" Jean asked.

"They wanted me to eat lunch with them. They weren't interested once they found out that I was normal though." Eli glanced at his sister with a small smirk.

"I bet they want to try and steal Eli for themselves," Scott told Jean. She nodded in agreement.

"Listen Ellie, those boys are bad news," Jean told her. "You should stay away from them." Ellie scoffed.

"Yeah well, I'll decide who to stay away from on my own thanks," Ellie replied before leaving the table. Rogue watched her intently as Eli went after her.

"Hey, Jean's just trying to help you out," Eli explained. Ellie turned to face her brother.

"Well I don't need Jean to help me out," she told him. "I'm just having trouble getting adjusted to all of this, okay?" Eli gave her a sympathetic smile.

"I know you are. You're doing fine Ellie, just try and be a little nicer to people, okay?" the bell rang and everyone in the cafeteria started gathering their things.

"Listen, meet me out front after school. I'll walk you home," Eli told her. Ellie nodded before leaving the cafeteria.

School had let out nearly ten minutes ago and Ellie was still waiting outside for her brother. She pushed her hair behind her ear and looked around. A few girls passed her but Eli was nowhere in sight. Ellie looked at her communicator to make sure that she hadn't missed Eli trying to get a hold of her. She jumped out of her skin when someone put a hand on her shoulder.

"Whoa, sorry Ellie, didn't mean to scare you," Eli laughed. Ellie scowled at him.

"Don't ever do that again!" she yelled. "What took you so long anyway?"

"I had trouble with my locker." Ellie nodded in understanding.

Eli threw his backpack over his right shoulder and shoved his hand into the pocket of his jeans. Ellie held onto her backpack straps as she walked next to him. She was happy to finally be spending some time with him.

"So, what can all of your friends do?" Ellie asked.

"Well, they can do a bunch of things. Kitty can phase through anything, Kurt can teleport, and Evan can grow huge spikes out of his body. Scott shoots this insane laser from his eyes, Jean is a telepath, and Rogue can steal anyone's powers just by touching them," Eli told her.

"Well be sure not to get too close to her." Eli laughed at this.

"It's really nice being around so many other mutants. I never realized how many powers there actually were. There's a girl who can transform into a wolf, and another girl who shoots fireworks from her hands."

"That sounds like a pretty useless power."

"I suppose. Oh! A girl named Amara has a power similar to you actually. Her whole body turns into lava though. One of the professor's named Ororo can fly and control the weather too which is kind of similar to you. Minus the weather part I mean." Ellie sighed.

"What do they think that you can do Eli?" They both stopped walking.

"Well, everyone just thinks I control water. I even got a nickname El. They call me Hydro, kinda like hydropower. I'm thinking about telling them about my real power though." Ellie frowned.

"Eli, I know you're making friends and all but can you really trust them with that information? Honestly, I'm a bit shocked that you told them about your modified power instead of your original power, but still. What if Xavier wants to send you back to HYDRA?" Eli rubbed his neck.

"I said I was only thinking about it. Don't worry, I'll talk it over with you first." A red convertible pulled up to the twins.

"Hydro, get in! We have a Danger Room session in half an hour," Scott, who was driving, yelled. Eli and Ellie exchanged glances.

"Sure thing Cyclops. Hey, can we drive Ellie home first?" Eli asked. Scott frowned.

"There's only room for one, sorry," he replied. Eli turned to his sister.

"It's fine," she told him. "I'll walk, it's good for the body anyway." Eli gave his sister a small smile before nodding.

Ellie smiled back at him as he climbed into Scott's car. Her smile faded as the car sped off and she continued to walk home. Her sneakers scuffed against the cracked ground as she walked alone. Ellie narrowed her eyes as she looked to the sky. The sun was a bright red hue and hung halfway into the sky, ready to fall for the night. She knew that if she continued at this pace that it would be sunset by the time she got home. Ellie started to pick up her pace when someone stopped her.

"Where's your bodyguard, blondie?" Duncan Matthews yelled as he walked behind Ellie. Ellie glanced over her shoulder to see that he had two other boys with him.

"Why don't you go bother someone else?" she yelled as she continued walking. Her heart started to beat faster as she heard them running.

Before Ellie knew it, the three boys had her surrounded. She tried to weigh her options, and she knew that she could easily take them on with her powers, but she had to keep being a mutant a secret, so that was out the window. Her only other option was to run, so that's what she tried to do.

"Don't think so!" Duncan laughed as he grabbed her and pushed her back. Another boy ripped her backpack from her back and threw it to the ground. Ellie gritted her teeth together.

The Brotherhood House

Toad had just made his way into the living room where Fred and Lance were watching television when he caught site of the fight through the window. The greasy boy jumped over to the window and furrowed his brow together. His eyes widened as he watched one boy push Ellie forward and another push her backward.

"Hey, ain't that the girl you're friends with Blob?" he asked, his index finger pressed against the glass of the window. Fred furrowed his brow before going to the window. Lance joined.

The boys stood quietly as they watched Duncan Matthews shove Ellie to the ground. Lance could feel his heart racing as he watched the scene unfold and he looked to Fred. His face had turned red and his fists were balled at his sides. Pietro entered the living room to see his housemates in this position.

"What are you goons gawking at?" he asked as he approached the window. He stopped dead in his tracks as he watched Ellie fall to the ground, a group of boys standing over her.

Without saying anything, Fred stormed out of the living room, tore open the front door and headed for the street. Lance and Toad exchanged an awkward glance before looking to Pietro.

"Alright! Time to party!" Toad yelled as he hopped out of the room in pursuit of Blob. Lance and Pietro hesitated.

"If we help her, her brother would owe us," Lance pointed out. Pietro nodded.

"Then let's go," he replied before the two ran out of the room.

"Now say that you're sorry for getting in my way all day," Duncan told Ellie as she got off the ground. She replied by flipping him off and he grabbed her by her shirt.

As he hoisted her up, Ellie kicked the air, struggling to pull out of his grip. The thin material of her t-shirt was starting to rip under his hands and she grabbed onto his wrists. Her attention was redirected at the sound of a yell.

"Let her go!" Fred yelled as he slowly ran toward the boys. Duncan smirked before tossing Ellie to the ground once more.

"What are you gonna do if I don't?" Duncan taunted the large boy. Ellie pushed herself onto her hands and knees.

"You just did you goon," she pointed out as she wiped her bleeding lip with the back of her hand. Duncan nodded at the boy nearest to her.

With a swift kick to the ribs, Ellie fell to the ground once more. The four boys of The Brotherhood were now in the street and they were not happy. Fred charged at Duncan but due to his slow start Duncan easily dodged him. He didn't dodge Toad's leaping kick to the gut however. The blond boy gripped his stomach before looking up to see Pietro's cold eyes.

"You picking on girls, Matthews?" he asked. Duncan coughed before answering.

"Why do you care loser?" he asked. Pietro smirked.

"I have a real problem when a guy attacks a girl," he told him before round-house kicking him in the face. Ellie groaned before looking around.

She wasn't sure why these boys weren't using their powers. Granted, she had no idea what their powers were, but with nicknames like Avalanche and Quicksilver, she assumed they were able to inflict more damage than simply punches. These boys were familiar with the X-Men, so why were they holding back? That's when it hit her. Duncan and his friends were just simple teenagers and maybe they didn't know about mutants.

One of the boys rushed Lance but he quickly threw him over his shoulder and slammed him into the pavement below. Pietro gave him a thumbs up before elbowing Duncan in the face. Blob grabbed the other boy by his arm and hoisted him into the air. Toad jumped up and down, egging him on, and Blob threw the boy into the street. Two of the boys ran off in retreat and Duncan stood up, his hand cradling his stomach.

"This isn't over!" he yelled before running toward Ellie. Duncan jumped over her, his knee slamming into her forehead, and he took off. Ellie had been knocked out cold.

"Oh crap!" Toad yelled before leaping over to her. Blob approached her slowly, fearing for the worst.

"She's still breathing," Lance told the boys as he held his ear above her head. Blob exhaled in relief and Pietro kneeled down beside her.

He scooped his hands beneath her knees and under her shoulders, lifting her slowly from the ground. He positioned his arm so her head and neck were secure until he could position her more comfortably. He stood up with Ellie resting in his arms, her head now resting against the crook of his neck. He slowly walked back toward the house.

"Watch her head man," Lance warned as he followed Pietro.

"I know what I'm doing," Pietro replied as he entered the house. The three boys followed him into the living room.

Pietro gently placed her onto the couch and kneeled next to her. Blob stood over her, looking down at her bruised and bleeding face. Toad and Lance stood at the opposite end of the couch as they examined her. Her hair had bits of gravel matted into it, her bottom lip was bleeding, her forehead was bruised, and she had a cut above her left eyebrow. Pietro zoomed out of the room and returned with peroxide, cotton balls and bandages.

"What are you doin' Pietro?" Blob asked. Pietro poured peroxide onto a cotton ball.

"If she isn't cleaned up her wounds will become infected," he explained before dapping the small piece of fluff onto her cut above her eyebrow.

Blood soaked the cotton ball and Ellie's fresh wound bubbled up. Pietro lightly blew on it, causing the bubbling to go down a bit. He continued to disinfect and bandage her wounds as his housemates watched in disbelief.

"I had no idea Pietro could be kind," Toad whispered to Lance who nodded, just as shocked. Pietro pushed Elie's t-shirt up, exposing her bruised ribs.

"Hey, watch what you're doin'," A red-faced Blob warned as he looked away. Pietro scoffed as he began wrapping a bandage around Ellie's torso.

As he was pinning the bandage together, Ellie started to open her eyes. She caught a hazy glimpse of people standing over her and she instantly reacted. Pietro fell back onto the floor and the other boys starred at Ellie in disbelief. She had pushed herself into the air above them and starred at them while she hovered there. Her eyes finally adjusted and she recognized the faces of the boys around her.

Her heart skipped a beat as she looked down, realizing she had just used her original power. To make matters worse, she used it in front of The Brotherhood. Afraid and confused, Ellie zoomed through the air and out of the house. Pietro shook his head and ran to the door using his super speed. He stood with his mouth open as he watched her fly through the air as fast as he could run. The other three boys joined him in the doorway but Ellie was out of sight now. Pietro turned to his housemates.

"Boys," he started. "I think little Miss Ellie has some explaining to do."

A/N: Sorry for the wait on this. I see a few more people are reading now, so a big thank you to them =] I hope you're enjoying it and I appreciate you reading/reviewing!