Hello again to all my friends. I don't own X-men, but regardless the original characters that I'll be using in here do belong to me.

Oh, I forgot to mention previously that this fic takes place after Xavier's death, new generation kind of thing, but I'll still mention or have some of the original ones show up periodically.

~surprise chapter :p couldn't sleep so it got done~

Chapter 2

Beast looked over at his slumbering niece, one of the coats she'd been wearing was covering her upper body, but he'd seen the deep black marks that twitched and shifted across her arms a few times before this. While even for a big blue furry mutant like himself it was just slightly discomforting to see them crawl over her arms. It was worse to see the bruises that were on her skin. Most of them had faded to different degrees, he couldn't see any fresh marks on the girls skin. He shook his head wondering if his brother was truly related to him. He sighed heavily hoping that the further she got away from that house the better it would be.

He'd never seen her being punished for being a mutant, but the few times he'd seen her outside that blacked out room she'd had various injuries covered by bandages. When she'd been younger she had given excuses for her injuries. Tripping down stairs that she'd never walked down before in her life, falling off a nonexistent bicycle in the garage. She had tried to convince herself, and him a few times that each time her father had hit her with his fists or with something else that it was cause he was scared, not because he was angry. He looked over at her again wondering if she'd forsaken that idea, and finally come to terms that what her father did to her was out of anger at her being what she was. Hank rested his head on one hand.

Naomi rolled slightly in her sleep and mumbled something. Hank looked at her again and smiled, "Naomi." He reached over and touched her shoulder, she immediately jumped awake; he regretted touching her, "We'll be there in another couple minutes."

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "What time is it?" She looked at the dashboard clock.

"Five-twenty." He said aloud, "Sleep well."

She smiled faintly, "Yeah, pretty well." She looked up at her uncle, "First time in a while."

"Good to hear."

"Uncle Hank... do you think they'll be mad?" She asked after a moment of silence, her voice far more timid than it had in her previous statement.

He thought about how to respond, "I'm sure your parents will be upset, but you're mother loves you and would want what is best for you."

She sunk into the reclined chair slightly, "Mom's still in denial about what I am, she thinks I'm perfect."

He sighed, "You are perfect Naomi, you're just a little more different from people." He tried to figure a way to best describe what they were. "No two people have the exact same DNA, so even if they were looking for the perfect human being there's no way to define that. Its like having blue or brown eyes, its all just a change in DNA sweetheart. You are perfect at being who you are, that's all that matters." He looked over at her from the road, she was staring out the window again, her arms crossed over her chest, he sighed. "You still don't understand?"

She shook her head, "Thanks for trying though."

Hank turned down a street and came to the rod iron gate with brick pillars. The glare of the headlights made it difficult for Naomi to read the sign on one of the pillars. Her eye sight was fine in both daylight and darkness, but having the two combined with lights in darkness she couldn't focus, shadows didn't bother her eyes, they actually often helped to define what she was looking at in the other kinds of mid-light. Hank rolled down the window letting a flurry of tiny white fluff blow through the car, Naomi shivered but didn't pull on the coat yet. She watched the flecks dance and land, several hitting her warm skin. When they landed on the blackened parts of her skin though they didn't melt. She immediately brushed them away and pulled the coat on.

Her uncle rolled back up the window after having punched in the number code. The gate groaned in protest of being suddenly used at such an early hour. She watched the gate while they pulled through then turned to watch them close behind them. Naomi swallowed feeling slightly caged in again already. "Uncle Hank..." she whispered.

"Its to keep people out, not to keep things in." He reassured, "I'm sure it's motion sensitive on the inside."

Naomi slowly nodded as they pulled up to a large cobblestone path leading up to stairs, and a building that was bigger than the library she'd been sitting by. There were a lot more windows, it had to be bigger. She stared at the dark windows while Beast climbed out of the car and asked her to wait for a minute. She nodded again and continued to watch the light less windows. From the angle they were at she could only see into the dark lower windows.

There were lots of chairs in some of them with desks, another had curtains drawn across it. Others had televisions she could see, they were off but they had that shape and the definition between screen and base. Her observance was cut short when the porch lights came on, she breathed in through her teeth, the sudden light stung her sensitive eyes.

A dark-skinned woman opened the doors, Naomi had to squint to make out her shape. White bobbed above what she was sure was a head, so white hair. The blue blur of her uncle gave this other shape a embrace, she could hear the murmurs of conversation between the two of them. The blue shape grew closer and opened the doors. "Come on Naomi, its warmer in the house..." He must of noticed her annoyed look, "It should be easier to focus inside." Naomi sure hoped so. She followed her the blue shape into the house.

Naomi closed her eyes and opened them again when the lights in the hall were turned on. Everything returned to a natural shape. She stared again, eyes wandering from the dark wood walls and stairs to the unknown to the white ceiling fan and pale colored furniture. She ran a hand softly over the back of a couch. She almost forgot she was in the company of two others when Beast cleared his throat. She turned back to the woman who had greeted her uncle.

"Aurora, this is my niece Naomi. Naomi this is Aurora, the headmaster at this school." Hank gave the introduction.

"I didn't even know you had extended family Hank." Aurora's voice was soft, but deeper than her mothers, she walked up to Naomi, "Welcome Naomi, it's a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Storm." She held out her hand to her. Naomi stepped back when the hand was offered. Storm dropped her hand back to her side and looked at the girl curiously.

"Nice to meet you." She said quietly. "What kind of school is this?" Of course Naomi had had some schooling, but it mostly consisted of home schooling, and then a few years ago schooling had faded away into a distant memory.

"Its a place where mutants can learn to control their gifts." Storm explained, "We also have normal classes as well, math, science, English I'm sure you'll enjoy staying here."

The girl looked past Storm and at her uncle, he nodded, she looked back to the headmaster, "I don't have anywhere else to go." she stated.