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.

To firewhisperer: you're one of my favorite reviewers. Yep, she's a charmer that Chameleon.

To Jinx of the 2nd law: Of course beast will be back, and yeah, I know that Beast is originally an only child, but I though, hey, if the brother really didn't like mutants and didn't like to be around him then maybe it would be okay. Rune's tattoos get explained a little bit more later on.

Chapter 5

Sitting around the kitchen were five people she didn't know. Chameleon just walked in and took a seat. Crossing her legs at the knees, and acting to pick something off her mid-calf length boots. Naomi didn't make a move to approach them, she stood back from the table, observing each of them.

One of the boys had bleached blond hair, he had a narrow face and a pair of wire framed glasses in front of blue eyes. The eyes were busy looking in a book, he turned the page and continued. Naomi looked at the girl sitting next to him, she had darker skin, like Storm's, her hair was braided in various places, some of them not even reaching the top of her head, she was playing cats cradle with a child beside her. The child couldn't be more than six, her eyes were yellow and feline, they were squinted in concentration while she tried to take the string off the previous girl's fingers, her hair was short and a kind of light brown. There was an older boy sitting in the window sill, deep in an argument with Chameleon about how terrible orange looked with pink. His hair looked like he'd just woken up that morning, it stuck up at odd angles and was a darker brown. Rune wasn't there, neither was Storm.

She finally approached them and quietly took a seat. They continued what they were doing as if she wasn't there, or like she was a usual thing at this hour. After a moment Chameleon looked over at her. "You introduced yourself fast enough to me, do they not get the same privilege, Naomi?" She went back to filing her nails and arguing with the boy.

Naomi bit her lip and raised her head, "I'm Naomi McCoy."

The boy in the window jumped down with a grin on his face, he slid into the seat beside her, "I'm Hart." He held out a hand to her, she looked at it but didn't take it. "It's just a hand, not like its going to bite."

The area around Naomi darkened slightly, then returned again. "I don't like being touched." The boy's mouth turned to an 'o' then he dropped his hand flat on the table.

"Well, I'll give you the intros of everyone else then." He pointed to the other boy, "That's Flicker, he's a speedy guy." The blond's eyes narrowed and peered at him over the book. Hart winked at him, "That's Terri, but she likes to be called Curse for some strange reason."

The girl grinned, "Nice to meet you Naomi. Are you related to Hank?" Naomi nodded slightly before turning to look at the next person.

Hart continued, "The squirt is Cathrine, she's a shape shifter." The child's eyes watched her curiously, Naomi quickly looked away. The door opened again, "Oh, and that's Rune, he likes to play with gravity."

Naomi turned to look at him coming in with Storm, plates in hand. "If you plan on eating the food we've been working on, then help." Naomi moved to help, "Nope, you sit there. New students get their first day off from help."

"I don't know..." Chameleon's hair changed again to almost match Rune's. "If Rune was cooking I don't know if I want to eat."

Naomi turned back to the table to find a small tabby cat sitting immediately before her. It began to change shape back to the girl, Cathrine. "Her eyes are different." She stated, her voice was childish and slightly whiny. Naomi immediately looked away.

Chameleon chuckled, "Someone left their manners in the litter box this morning."

"You wouldn't be talking about yourself now would you Cami?" Rune stated then put a plate of pancakes on the table, "Cat, off the table." He looked to Naomi, "She's a kid, she's not judging you, just stating the obvious you know."

Cathrine went back to her seat next to Curse and continued talking to her, "They're not like Chameleon's or mine, but they're pretty, they sparkle when light hits them. Did you see?" Hearing this Naomi blushed brightly.

"So, where are the other students?" She asked quickly trying to take the attention off her.

Chameleon snorted, her hair turning an icy blue along with her eyes. "Mostly off with parents, don't understand why. Its not like they mean anything to them, just another tax deduction if you ask me."

Curse leaned across the table, "Her twin brother went to see their dad this time, she was suppose to go with her mom but got blown off for her mom's new business partner." She whispered. Chameleon shot a glare almost as cold as the color of her eyes at the girl.

Naomi's hands were in fists under the table this wasn't so safe a subject either.

Curse continued, "I'm an orphan myself. So this is my home and my family."

"I prefer here to the empty house I would of been going to." Hart said semi-whimsically, "My mother took off to the Caribbean this Christmas, she wanted away from the cold."

Cathrine had a grin from ear to ear, "I went to see my mommy and daddy last week, cause they wouldn't be able to be here for Christmas."

Rune simply rolled his eyes, "No comment on parents."

Attention returned to Naomi again expecting her reason she wasn't home for winter break. She was staring rather intimidatingly at the plate that sat before her. Her eyes even darker than the black they normally where. Her hands tightly balled on her lap under the table.

There was the sound of tearing skin as the flesh across the bridge of her nose divided and revealed the blackness that had been there not hours before. Blackness bubbled around her feet, the others too occupied with looking at the area immediately surrounding her suddenly growing darker even with the light from above the table.

Storm reached out to her and grabbed her shoulder, "Nao-" Something lashed out and pushed Storm away from her. Naomi was swallowed in blackness.

It vanished as quickly as it had appeared taking with it Naomi and the chair the girl had been occupying.

That can't be good now can it?