Ziva followed the men into the office with a good deal of trepidation. She had no idea what was going on or why they'd brought her here, she also didn't trust them after the way they brought her here. She shot a venomous glance at the teenage boy before focusing on the woman who sat behind the large desk that dominated the office.

"Logan, good you're back. I don't have to ask how it went since she's here with you."

"Oh yeah, it went fabulously. Miss. Attitude didn't want anything to do with us. The kid zapped her." He jerked a thumb at Craig.

Ziva watched the woman walk slowly around the desk with a grace she wished she could possess. The woman was as fluid as water over river stones. While her figure wasn't overpowering, being of average height and build, she generated an aura of power. When her piercing blue eyes hit Ziva, she wanted to run and hide. The bright, almost electric, blue of those eyes distracted you from the stark white hair that flowed to her shoulders. It gave the impression of wisps of lighter than air strands floating on the breeze.

"Welcome to Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters," she said to Ziva with a smile.

"Why am I here?" Ziva asked her with a good deal of attitude thrown in. Don't let them walk all over you even once or they'll do it forever. It was an old warning she had repeated on many occasions.

"For your safety. I'm Storm, Headmistress here."

"Safety? I was fine where I was. No one knows what I am. Save for these two bozos, it seems." She waved a hand at Snarly and the Sandman.

Storm cocked her head to the side. "That's where you are wrong, Ziva. We have intel telling us that something or someone is coming for you, and whoever or whatever it is, it's very powerful. We believe it's a mutant intent on taking over as Magneto once attempted to do. You should be grateful I sent Logan and Craig to fetch you here where you can be protected."

"I can take care of myself. I've been doing it since I was thirteen."

"Yeah and I've been doing it a lot longer than you, little girl. Get over yourself and accept the help we're offering before something kills you." Logan practically snarled at her before turning back to Storm. "Am I free to go now?"

Storm looked put out by Logan's bad temper but she nodded and waved him from the room. "Craig, can you show Ziva to her room, she's bunking in with Skylar."

"Sure, no problem." He held the door for Ziva as she stepped into the hall.

"What if I don't want to stay here?" she asked Craig as he led her up a set of stairs to the second floor.

"You can leave anytime you want to. I wouldn't suggest it though. If the rumors we've heard are correct, someone wants to get a hold of you in a bad way."

"Why? It's not like I run about putting my powers on display. Who would know about them?"

"Any telepath strong enough to read your thoughts and see what you are and what you're capable of." He pushed open a door about halfway down the hall and stepped back so she could enter first.

"Who's Skylar, by the way?"

"That would be me, roomie!"

Ziva froze just inside the doorway and stared at the girl sitting cross-legged on the bed across the room. Her head was crowned with a riot of red, wavy hair. The cheerful grin grated on Ziva's last nerve. If she had to stay here to live, okay fine. But did they have to give her Polly Sunshine as a roommate?

Skylar jumped up off the bed and rushed across the room to greet Ziva. Her hazel eyes were bright with welcome. Ziva only just managed to avoid the hug Skylar attempted to force on her. "Oh my god, it is so great to finally meet you!" she gushed.

Ziva sent Craig a look filled with loathing. "I will make you pay for this."

Craig held his hands up in front of him. "Hey, Storm decides who goes where, not me."

Skylar rolled her eyes. "Yeah 'cause if Craig decided I bet you'd be bunking with him, instead he's stuck with Lenny."

"Lenny?" Ziva's eyebrows lifted.

"Short, dark hair, slightly annoying, and controls water. Still, he's my best friend." Craig shrugged as if that explained it all.

"And he will flirt with any girl he gets near, which is why he's so annoying. Not as annoying at the Carpet Crawling Three, but still up there on the list. What's your power, Ziva?" Skylar crammed all that into one breath.

"She can control and manipulate electricity." Craig flopped down on the bed opposite Skylar's. "She packs a punch even when set on low, I don't suggest annoying her."

The bed was probably meant to be her bed, not that Craig seemed to care where he dropped his body. A really gorgeous, totally ripped body. Ziva cut off those thoughts. She wasn't going to be here long enough to get close to any of these people. She needed to get back to her life. Not this severely screwed up mutant happy camp.

"Thanks for the help explaining there, Sandman." As soon as the words had left her mouth Skylar's eyes went wide and she backed slowly away from Ziva.

"Ooh, bad idea," Skylar said in a near whisper.

"No one. No one calls me that. I'm not some glorified sand throwing creep who sneaks up on people and drops them off into dreamy happy land. Do not ever call me that again." Craig had moved in one lithe, swift motion and was off the bed in seconds. Made sense for him to move that fast, hard to drop someone with his power if he moved like a slug.

"Chill, oh grumpy one. I didn't mean any offense; the name just fit your power. You did put me to sleep."

"Well, don't do it again. It's a lame-ass name." He dropped back into his former slouch on her bed.

Skylar seemed to think the danger had passed because she started with the bouncy happiness again. "I can possess inanimate objects. Oh and teleport too."

Before Ziva coulds comment a voice sounded from the doorway.

"Dude, when did you get back?"

Ziva turned to look at the boy standing in the doorway. Slimly built, nowhere near as muscular as Craig, or as good-looking, his eyes flicked about the room as if he couldn't settle on one thing to look at. His dark brown hair was short and combed back off his face and his eyes were so dark they appeared nearly black.

Craig rolled to his side and propped his chin in a hand. "A little while ago. Hey, Lenny, this is Ziva."

Ah, the ever-annoying Lenny who could manipulate water. "Hey, nice to meet you," she said.

A loud noise in the hall behind him drew their attention. Lenny turned and they all watched as two small girls and a slightly smaller boy came racing down the hallway, screaming at the top of their lungs, slowing slightly as they drew even with Lenny. The girl leading the group skidded to a halt. In one hand, she held a TV remote, in the other a large can of whipped cream. Her hair was a tangled mess of auburn hair that looked as if it hadn't seen a comb since the day she'd graced the planet with her presence. Her clothing looked like she'd picked it up off the floor, sniffed at it, shrugged, and decided it was still fit to wear despite the wrinkles.

"If you see Logan don't tell him that you saw us. Got it?" she told Lenny quickly, looking up at him with wide green eyes that were going for innocent, but missed the mark by a wide margin.

Skylar rolled her eyes as she moved to the door and stood beside Lenny. "Mellissa, are you guys teasing Logan again?"

"Umm, maaaybe ..." The little girl stared up at Skylar still trying for the innocent look and still failing.

"Give him back the remote before he kills the three of you," Skylar told her seriously.

The boy, whose index finger was crammed up his nose to the second knuckle, shook his head. "No way, do you know what we went through to get it from him? My plan was executed to the second. To the second!"

Craig leaned as far off the bed as possible without falling off to address the kid. "Stevie, if Storm sees you like that she'll give you the Kleenex lecture again!"

The boy snorted. "Like I care!"

The third girl rocked back and forth on tiny feet clad in pink sequined ballet slippers that matched her sequined tutu. Her blond curls bounced and her cherub face was scrunched into a smile. "Logan will never catch us."

"I see you, you little cretins!" Logan roared as he came barreling down the hallway toward them. The three munchkins took off at top speed.

Ziva turned and looked at Craig where he lounged on her bed. "What in the world were they?"

"That would be the Curtain Climbing Three," he replied.

Lenny came further into the room. "Mellissa was the one with the remote and the whipped cream. She can become invisible. The blond is Angela, she shoots energy blasts from the palms of her hands, stay far from her, her aim is atrocious. And the boy with the finger up his nose is Stevie; you don't want to know what his power is."

Ziva scrunched her nose. "Why? How bad can his power be?"

Skylar plopped down on the bed beside Craig's feet. "Oh trust us, it's gross. You're better off not knowing."

"Please, I was a waitress. I cleaned up peoples' leftover food. I'm good."

The three of them eyed one another a moment before Craig answered. "It's his boogers that have the powers."

"Boogers? Really? That's gross." Ziva shuddered.

Lenny chuckled. "Yup. We haven't figured out how he knows what each one does, but they have some pretty interesting powers. Gross, but interesting."

"Wow, okay then. So what exactly were they up to?"

"Stealing the remote from Logan. They do it pretty much every day. It's a game with them. I guess to see how angry they can make Logan. Gonna get them killed one day," Craig told her.

"Aren't they a little young to have powers already?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Younger kids get their powers, not often but it happens. Mellissa and Angela are both six. Stevie is nine. He may not look it, but he is. I suggest you steer clear of them if you want to continue living."

Mellissa went running back down the hall yelling "Whoooooo" at the top of her lungs with Logan hot on her heels. There was no sign of either Stevie or Angela.

Ziva shook her head. This entire place was insane.

Lenny sidled up next to her and his eyes swept over her from head to toe. "Sooo, you got a boyfriend?"

Ziva put a hand on his chest and shoved him back a step. "Back off, Stir Stick, you are so not my type."

Craig burst out laughing. "Stir Stick? Nice one."

Lenny sent her a disgruntled look before he headed for the door. "You'll give in eventually. You'll see." He winked at her.

"Doubt it. You do know that water conducts electricity. Right?"

He froze and looked over his shoulder at her with a frown. "What?"

Skylar giggled. "She can control electricity."

Lenny scowled at Ziva. "Don't even try it. I'll drown you."

"Try it and I'll electrocute you!" Ziva snapped at him with narrowed eyes.

Craig rolled off the bed and stood. "All right you two that's enough. Lenny, let Ziva get settled in."

Skylar stood and went back to her bed. "Yeah, we've got classes tomorrow."

"Classes? No one said anything about classes." Ziva glared at Craig.

He gave her a nod. "Yeah, we all have to take classes. It's a requirement to stay here. Listen, get some rest and we'll see you tomorrow."

Skylar was humming. "Go on you two get out of here before Logan shows up and tells us lights out and yells at you two for being in here."

"Good plan, he's probably still in a rotten mood after the curtain climbers' little joke. Night, you two." Craig grabbed Lenny's arm and hauled him out of the room.

Ziva walked over to her bed and sat down heavily. "I just realized that I have none of my stuff."

Skylar made a tsking sound. "We can ask Storm about going to get your stuff tomorrow morning. I am sooooo glad that we're roomies! Night, roomie!"

"Yeah, night. My name is Ziva, not roomie."

With a giggle, Skylar reached up and snapped off the light above her bed plunging the room into darkness. Ziva sighed, kicked off her shoes, and crawled beneath the covers fully dressed.

She was in a new place. A crazy new place, full of crazy new people. A really cute boy. An annoying, slightly cute boy she'd love to crush into dust. A roommate who was way too cheerful. A very frightening, um she wasn't certain what Logan was. Teacher? Oh lord, she hoped not. And three very small evil little munchkins who seemed to enjoy poking bears or whatever Logan was.

Yup, her life was looking up.

Ziva closed her eyes and forced her body to give up on consciousness and get some sleep.