Ziva pulled her pillow over her head with a groan.

Skylar was skipping around the room humming while she finished getting ready, and it was driving her insane. "Ziva, I know you're awake. Come on, time to get up. I convinced Storm to let us skip class so we can go pick up your stuff."

Ziva suppressed a shudder at her overly cheerful tone. "That's great, I need something else to wear." She frowned. "Hold up, when did you convince Storm to let us go?"

"When I got up this morning. You were still passed out, sleepyhead."

Ziva picked her phone up off the nightstand and frowned at it. So, Skylar had been up since God knew when, and she was still this cheerful at eight in the morning. She didn't need this in her life.

Craig appeared in the doorway with Lenny, her least favorite water gnome beside him. "Morning, ready for class?"

Ziva sat up. "Do I look ready?"

Skylar laughed. "We aren't going to class today. I convinced Storm to let us take Ziva to go get her stuff. I gave a very logical argument."

"Of course you did," Lenny said with an eyeroll.

"I told her it probably wasn't wise to allow Ziva to go on her own since someone is still after her and we should go along to protect her," Skylar said.

"Sounds like a good plan. I'll drive," Craig told her.

"Shotgun!" Lenny shouted.

Craig rolled his eyes. "Lenny, I think Ziva should ride up front so she can easily give me directions to her place."

Lenny scowled but didn't make any further argument. He slunk over and propped a shoulder against a wall.

"Let's get going!" Skylar said in her grating, cheerful tone.

"Can I at least pee before we go?" Ziva asked.

Craig laughed. "Go ahead."

"Wait a minute!" Skylar turned and dug through a drawer. "Here you go."

"You happened to have an extra toothbrush hanging around?"

"Skylar is a proper Girl Scout; she is always prepared for anything," Craig said.

"Right, should have guessed that. I'll be right back." She hurried down the hallway to the bathroom and got as ready as she was able to without the rest of her stuff. She was thankful for the toothbrush; brushing her teeth went a long way to making her feel sort of normal. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "Good enough." She returned to the room and sat on the bed to pull her shoes on.

"Well, are we going or what?" Skylar was bouncing on the balls of her feet, anxious to go.

Craig nodded. "Let's go before Storm changes her mind and makes us go to class." He turned and stepped out into the hall.

"You do know that I'm already eighteen, why do I still need to go to classes?" Ziva asked with a grumble.

"It isn't just regular school stuff; the Professor created a program that's more mutant-related. Philosophy and other things that are related to living life as a mutant. He believed in us being able to live in harmony with those who don't have powers," Skylar explained as they entered the garage.

Craig held up the keys he'd taken from the hook near the door. "We'll take the truck."

"Can't we take the MDX?" Skylar asked with a pout.

"You know that Storm would have a fit if we took her baby. We're taking the Escalade, it's bigger," Craig called out as he crossed the garage.

Skylar grumbled and eyed the MDX for a moment before she climbed into the back of the Escalade beside Lenny, who still looked less than happy that he didn't get to ride shotgun.

Ziva found herself wishing that Lenny had opted to stay behind; something about him rubbed her the wrong way. As far as she was concerned, Water Boy could drown himself. Whenever she turned around, she caught him staring at her ass. He needed to back off or she'd drop him with enough electricity to jump-start the Flux Capacitor in the DeLorean.

Craig backed the car out of the garage, and Ziva told him which way they needed to go.

The ride was less than comfortable for her; she didn't want them to see her tiny apartment at the shelter. She didn't want them to see how she was living or where. Not that she was particularly embarrassed about living at the shelter, it was just that ... she wasn't sure what it was. But she wasn't some loser who couldn't get her life together, it was just a temporary situation.

"It's on the right up here," she told Craig.

"This one?"

She nodded, and he parked at the curb.

Lenny snorted from the back seat. "Isn't this a homeless shelter?"

Ziva twisted around in her seat to glare at him. "You are just asking for me to fry you, Mutant Ice Cube."

He arched a brow at her. "Mutant Ice Cube?"

Skylar giggled. "That was a pretty good one. Let's go get your stuff so you can really get settled in at the school."

Ziva shoved open her door, stepped out of the car, and led the way to her tiny apartment. It was a small, one-room studio with a little kitchen.

"This is home," she announced as she waved a hand to encompass the tiny space.

"Yay, let's get packing!" Skylar skipped across the room and promptly possessed Ziva's suitcase.

Ziva stared as it 'walked' its way over to jump up on the bed and flip itself open. "Don't do that, Skylar, that's creepy," she told her when Skylar popped back out of the suitcase.

Craig nudged her with an elbow. "Don't worry about it, you'll get used to it."

"How do you even do that?" Ziva asked Skylar.

"It like took me forever to figure it out. When I first got my powers, possessing something was easy; remaining inside once I was there was a problem. I would just pop back out. It's all about concentration. It took me a while to find something to help me."

"So, what's your secret?" Ziva asked her.

"Meditation and yoga. Lots of yoga. I'm very, very Zen now. I clear my mind, and I can possess anything, big or small."

"Right, got it."

Ziva sighed and crossed the room to the small chest of drawers near the bed. "I don't have a lot to pack. The furniture belongs to the shelter." She looked at the others. "Can you guys pack the stuff in the kitchen?"

"I can pack the kitchen stuff!" Skylar skipped into the kitchen, and seconds later, Ziva's large skillet skittered across the floor.

"Skylar, stop it!" she yelled.

Skylar popped out of the pan and gave her a disappointed pout. "I'm just trying to help."

"Can you please help like a normal person?"

Lenny snorted. "As if any of us are normal."

"You, least of all, Slip 'N Slide," Ziva replied snidely.

"Can you two please get along until we get back to the school?" Craig snapped.

"No," they replied simultaneously.

"Fine, then let's just get this done," Craig said in a weary voice.

The rest of the packing was completed in silence. Though there was a moment when Lenny let out a squeal after Ziva sent a little shock his way when he attempted to pack the roach motel from under the kitchen sink.

"Let's stop at Button's and grab something to eat before we head back," Craig suggested.

"Button's?" Ziva frowned at him.

"It's this cute little family diner. We love it and we go there quite a bit!" Skylar gushed.

They carried everything down to the car and packed it into the back. Ziva sighed as she eyed the small pile of boxes. A visual testament to how little she had. She stepped back, and Craig slammed the tailgate shut.

The diner was closer to the school, which made sense since Skylar said they went there a lot.

"Cute place," Ziva commented as they entered the place.

"It is. Very retro, without being cheesy," Craig replied and slipped into a booth.

Ziva took a seat beside him, and Lenny and Skylar sat across from them.

"Hey, don't look so worried, Storm isn't gonna care that we stopped to eat," Craig told her.

She sighed because she wasn't as certain as he was. "I don't know, I mean, she did say someone is out there gunning for me. She might not be pleased that we took a little side trip."

Lenny harrumphed and slouched in his seat.

Ziva grinned, he was probably still pissy about the electric shock. "Don't look so put out, Swizzle Stick, you'll be fine. The shock I gave you wasn't that bad," she told him.

"Shove it, Voltanna," he grumbled.

Skylar burst out laughing. "That was a good one, Lenny. Did it take you all day to figure that one out?"

"Go possess a menu, Skylar," he snapped at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "I don't need to possess a menu because I already know what I want!"

"Right, because you're so boring, you always get the same thing."

"Hey, at least I know what I like," she told him.

Ziva grinned. "Want a glass of water, Tide Pool?"

There was a pause when the waitress arrived to take their order and returned with their drinks.

Lenny opened his mouth to snap a reply to Ziva over her Tide Poll comment, but Craig cut him off. "That's enough, you guys, stop it. Seriously, why can't the two of you get along?"

"We simply don't mix. You know, like oil and water?" Ziva shrugged and took a sip of her soda.

"Right, I'm not buying that." Craig nudged her. "Come on, what is really wrong?"

"Hey, that's the truth."

Lenny nodded his agreement and then shot Ziva a glare loaded with venom. "She is deliberately annoying."

Craig rolled his eyes. "As if you aren't annoying."

"I am not!" he protested.

Skylar snorted. "You are, Lenny. You go out of your way to be annoying."

"I'm suddenly not very hungry. Can we just go home?" Lenny sent them all a glare.

"Come on, can't we all be friends?" Craig looked from one of them to the other.

"No, we can't," Lenny replied.

Ziva gestured to Lenny. "Hey, I'm willing to try. You'll have to discuss it with the walking water balloon."

Lenny stabbed a finger at Ziva. "See, she's trying to provoke me!"

Craig rubbed his temples. "I should put both of you to sleep for a couple of hours."

"Touch me and die, Rip Van Winkle," she told him.

"I suppose that one is better than Sandman, but I still don't like it," Craig muttered.

The waitress returned with their food, and they started eating.

Ziva fiddled with her straw for several minutes before she finally spoke, "Craig, you guys said that someone is after me. Do you have any clue who it is?"

Craig sat back and slumped slightly in his seat, so his head was resting on the top of the seat. "No, not really, all that we know is that it's another mutant. A very powerful one who is probably trying to take over and rule, or whatever it is evil people do. That's all speculation on our part, though; we're going mostly on rumors."

"How did you find that much out?"

He shrugged. "Like I said, rumors. Snitches on the street and the like." That came from Lenny.

"Yeah, we have a network of informants who let us know when they hear things," Skylar told her. "Actually, it's more like the X-Men have a network."

It was probably the most serious tone she'd heard from Skylar since meeting her. "Okay, so someone told you that I was a target?" She stared into her glass and swirled the straw around.

Craig sighed. "Yes, it seems it's your power they're after. Even though you've had no formal training, you have exceptional control of your power. To the right person, you'd be very dangerous. According to Storm, you're an Alpha-level mutant."

"What the hell does Alpha level mean?"

"Very powerful. Like, seriously high-level power," Skylar answered her.

Ziva fidgeted. "I've never considered myself a high-level anything."

Craig smiled. "I suppose that is why you make a good target for someone like this. A little flattery about how wonderfully powerful you are, and they probably have hope you'll be seduced over to their side."

"I suppose it makes sense for someone to believe that. I don't like using my power because I don't like the potential for what it can do."

"That is exactly why we wanted to get to you before they did. You're a good person, and we didn't want you to get pulled into some war that you didn't want to be a part of. You'll be safe at the school." Craig's look was sincere.

"And if there's a war coming and I don't want to fight, what happens? Do I have to leave?" Ziva asked.

"You don't have to fight if you don't want to. Storm would never make you leave. The school is a sanctuary for mutants," Skylar replied quietly.

"Sure, like I believe that," Ziva snorted.

"It's the truth," Craig replied.

"I've always wanted to be a part of the X-Men and fight for the freedom of all mutants. It's been a dream of mine since I came to the school," Skylar told her.

"The X-Men? They're real?"

"Yup, they're the ones who fought Magneto's army when he attempted to take over. Storm and Logan are both members of the team. I'm hoping that one day I can be a part of it. It would be awesome to fight alongside them," Skylar gushed.

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Oh, right because putting yourself in the line of fire for people who don't give a crap about you sounds like tons of fun."

"Finally, there's something we can agree on," Lenny said.

"Ziva, not everyone hates us," Craig told her quietly.

"I almost believe that. My mother threw me out of the house when she found out I was a mutant."

Craig sighed and threw his napkin over his plate. "Are we done?"

Everyone agreed, and he went to pay the bill. "Great, let's go," Craig muttered when he met them outside by the Escalade.

Ziva spent the ride home silently contemplating things. There was a lot to think about. The trouble coming after her, the X-Men team, and her dislike for one waterlogged idiot sitting behind her, and occasionally kicking her seat. Her glance went to Craig beside her. She didn't really want to go there. She twisted around to glare at Lenny.

"What?"

"Kick my seat one more time and I swear I will fry you, Toilet Water."

"Shove it, I didn't do anything."

"Both of you shut up or I'll leave you on the side of the road and you can walk back," Craig shouted.

Ziva slumped in her seat. Maybe she'd let the curtain climbers kill her when they got back to the school. After all, how bad could death by boogers be?