Plot Summary: A new mutant, Alkali Ashford, is taken in by the X Men. Kurt quickly takes interest in her after discovering that her mutation is just like his. However, once Alkali learns that she has to try and fit in with the crowd, she wonders how much good Bayville would really do for her.

Takes place after Speed and Spyke

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The rain beat down hard on her scales as she scrambled through the forest, the blinding glare of the flashlights shining over her.

"Dont let it get away!" one of the hunters shouted. The raptor screeched as a bullet pierced the tree next to her. She hissed angrily at the hunters before jumping away.

She had to find an escape. She couldn't die here. Not now.

The grass crunched and squelched beneath her feet. Another gunshot went off, crashing just by her claws. The raptor jumped and ran off in another direction. The rain made her feathers feel heavy, but she couldn't stop. She had to keep running.

The raptor hissed as a bolt of lightning struck through the sky. However, she didn't notice the grass beneath her suddenly turning to slippery mud. The raptor screeched, quickly trying to turn around, but without warning, the ground dropped. The raptor tumbled down a hill of sharp rocks, falling back into the soft grass.

The creature grumbled, her body aching. Her nose stung as the rain pelted her snout. She opened her eyes, her vision blurry for a moment, and saw an endless forest in front of her.

"Where did it go?" she heard someone call out. "Dont lose it!"

The raptor quickly scooted into a small hole under the rock pile. She noticed a couple rays of light shining down.

"It must've gone this way.." someone said. She heard footsteps for a moment, but they soon disappeared. The raptor was hesitant to come out though. Perhaps one had stayed to keep watch? She couldn't be sure. She had to stay hidden.

The next thing she knew, she opened her eyes to the rain having let up some. She figured she had fallen asleep. The raptor crawled out of the hole and stood up. The hunters were long gone now, she assumed. But where could she go? She had no home, and who's to say the next town that saw her wouldnt chase her out as well?

The raptor started walking again, raindrops sliding down her scales and ruffling her feathers. The forest had an eerie calmness to it. There were no other creatures around except her. Perhaps they were all just afraid of her.

As the creature made her way through the forest, she came across a rather large puddle. Taking a glance at her reflection, she noticed her snout was stained with blood. The raptor huffed, pondering for a moment, before shifting back into her true, semi-normal self.

Alkali frowned. There was definitely a large scratch on her nose, the blood dried to her face. She got up, looking around. She had to find shelter somewhere. She had to.

Alkali didn't know how much time had passed, but the sky was barely starting to brighten up. Her entire body ached, but she couldn't stop. The rain was still pouring, chilling her to the bone. She just needed somewhere, anywhere, to rest up. Then she would be safe, at least for a short while.

Alkali soon came up to another cliff. It was rather tall, and she definitely didn't fancy taking another tumble. However, as Alkali looked up, she finally saw it. A large mansion in the distance, with a thin path leading up to it. It was definitely shelter, but Alkali was unsure whether or not she could trust the people here.

She had been walking so long, and she was sure she'd pass out soon. As much as Alkali hated turning to humans for help, perhaps this time she could make an exception.

Maybe it was worth a shot.

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The young mutant was dreaming. Not about anything in particular, just a bit of everything. However, in the distance, he could hear something calling their name. The voice was coming closer...

"Kurt..."

"Kurt."

"Kurt!"

Suddenly, a soft object came crashing down on his head. Kurt yelped, quickly shooting up and glancing around. Almost immediately, he spotted Kitty next to his bed with a pillow in hand.

"Kitty!" he whined. "What was that for?! I was having the best dream.."

"Sorry, but it's kinda important," Kitty said.

"What could be so important on a Saturday?" Kurt questioned, rubbing his eye.

"I'm not too sure. Scott just told me the professor wanted us to meet in his office." Kitty looked at Kurt. "I think someone showed up last night.."

Kurt's eyes widened slightly. Could it be someone joining the X Men? They hadn't had a new member in a while. Now Kurt was intrigued.

"Alright, I'll be down in a second," Kurt said. Kitty replied with a nod, before walking out.

It didn't take that long for Kurt to get ready. Within a couple minutes, he was already dressed and ready to head out. However, something felt missing.

Then, he remembered his image-inducer, which sat on the nightstand by his bed. Kurt hesitated. The person they were meeting was most likely a mutant, right? Why else would they be there?

But what if they weren't? And what if they were, but got scared of him? Kurt couldn't bare the thought of it. He made a grab for the watch, securing it on his wrist and switching it on. Taking a glance at the mirror, a small smile formed on his face. Now he looked normal.

Kurt headed out the door, but his heart still seemed to hurt. Truth be told, he hated his mutant form. It caused so much pain and fear. There were so many who were afraid of him, or tried to harm him, for the way he looked. And now that he had his image-inducer, he didn't think he would ever let go of it.

What made things worse was that there really wasn't anyone who he could relate to in the Institute. There was Marigold, but she didn't have it nearly as bad as him. One could assume she was just wearing some type of costume at first glance. Even still, she was almost always adored for her mutation. Those who did see her were amazed by her elegant wings. Of course they'd love someone who resembles an angel.

After all, no one could love someone who resembled a demon.

Kurt soon joined the others as they headed into Xavier's office. Charles, Logan, Ororo, and Markus were already waiting for them, as well as someone sitting in a chair. She turned to face the X Men.

"Woah," she said. "You weren't kidding."

"Of course not," the professor said. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Alkali Ashford. She will be joining us here at the Institute."

Alkali stood up, and Kurt's eyes widened. The girl's skin was an almost unnatural shade of orange, with dark stripes covering her face and arms. Her eyes were yellow like his, but with red irises and slitted pupils. However, the most noticeable detail about her appearance was the long, green, reptile-like tail that stuck out from her back.

She's just like me, Kurt realized.

"I found her outside in the rain last night," Markus said.

"Out in that awful storm?" Jean frowned.

"Oh, I've seen worse," Alkali chuckled. "That storm was nothing."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Alkali," Scott smiled, stepping forward. He offered his hand to her, and Alkali shook it. "Welcome to the X-Men. I'm Scott."

"So you guys all have weird powers?" Alkali asked.

"Pretty much," Scott shrugged. "If you think laser eyes are weird."

Alkali's eyes widened. "Yeah, that sounds pretty extreme."

"Well, everyone here has their own unique abilities," Scott smiled. "Like Jean. She can move things with her mind."

Jean smiled, levitating a book that was laying on Charles' desk over to herself.

"Woah-" Alkali said. Scott chuckled.

"Yeah, she's pretty cool. Anyway- That's Kitty. She can walked through walls. Evan can create spikes from his body. Milo is able to control water. Marigold--"

"I look weird," Marigold shrugged, spreading her angelic wings.

"That makes two of us," Alkali commented.

Kurt frowned slightly. Marigold was pretty compared to him. What did she know about looking weird?

"And that's Kurt," Scott said.

Kurt froze as Alkali looked over at him. Her expression was unreadable.

"He can teleport," Scott said. He seemed to pause for a moment, as if expecting Kurt to say something, before turning back to Alkali.

"You're not gonna show her what you really look like?" Evan whispered.

"Er.. not yet," Kurt answered.

"So, what's your power?" Scott asked.

"Well, uh. Nothing like yours, that's for sure," Alkali said. The girl suddenly morphed down, transforming into a dilophosaurus.

"Wow!" Evan exclaimed. "That's pretty cool!"

"Yeah. I turn into dinosaurs apparently," Alkali said.

"Can you be any dinosaur?" Kitty asked. Alkali nodded, turning back to normal.

"I don't really like being big dinosaurs though. They're too noticeable, and slow," she shrugged.

"Oh! I almost forgot," Markus suddenly interrupted. He went over to Charles' desk and rummaged through the draws until he grabbed a watch-like device. An image-inducer.

"This will hide your mutant form, so people wont fear you, or try to hurt you," Markus explained, handing Alkali the watch.

"Trust me, I've already had my fair share of that," Alkali huffed, putting the watch on. She messed with it for a moment, before her appearance changed completely. Her tail was gone, her eyes looked normal, and the stripes on her skin vanished.

"We keep these for those whose mutations affect them physically," Charles said.

"I have one too," Marigold spoke up, turning her own inducer on so that her wings and cat-like features vanished.

"Fun," Alkali commented, turning hers back off. Kurt raised an eyebrow. He imagined she'd be overjoyed about recieving an image-inducer, but Alkali seemed almost upset about it.

"If there's anything you ever need, you can always come to us," Ororo smiled.

"And don't go tearing things up, or whatever lizards do," Logan remarked. "That's my job."

"I think I'm just gonna head to my room for a bit," Alkali said. "To settle in, and all that."

"I'll come get you when breakfast is ready," Milo offered.

"Thanks," Alkali replied. After that, the professor dismissed everyone, but Kurt couldn't seem to get his mind off the girl. He had to know more about her.

As everyone left the professor's office, Kurt watched Alkali head up the large staircase in the front of the mansion. He took a quick glance around, before slowly following her up the stairs.

Kurt stayed a distance away from the mutant, keeping his eyes on her. He watched her stop for a moment, and he quickly froze. Had she noticed him?

However, Alkali just picked up a magazine from a nearby desk and kept walking. Kurt let out a quiet sigh before following after her. The girl seemed focused on the magazine, unbothered by anything else around her. But after a couple moments, she came to another stop.

"I know you're there," she called out, "and I'm not interested. I like girls."

Kurt's eyes widened. "Oh! Uh- I'm not- I'm not into you like that-" he started. Alkali turned to face him, which only made him more nervous. "But that's something we can agree on," he smiled. "Girls are pretty."

"They are," Alkali agreed, closing the magazine. "You're Kurt, right? The teleporting guy?"

"That's me," Kurt said proudly.

"Cool," Alkali answered. "Soo.. did you need something?"

"Well, actually- I wanted to show you something," Kurt said. Alkali gave him a confused look.

"Alright.." she said.

"It's just.. we're not really so different," Kurt said. He switched off his image-inducer, revealing his true form to her.

"Oh wow," Alkali started. "You're blue."

"Yeah.. I was pretty much born like this," Kurt said.

"Weird," Alkali commented. "This just kinda happened overnight." She motioned to her body.

"That's how it's supposed to work for most mutants," Kurt sighed. "I'm just different."

"But that's a good thing," Alkali said. Kurt looked at her. "Being different, standing out from the crowd," Alkali explained.

"Oh no, not for me," Kurt said. "I'd rather be normal like everyone else. That's why the professor gave us our image-inducers." He turned his back on.

"Right, these," Alkali sighed, looking down at the watch. Kurt frowned.

"You don't like it?" he questioned.

"No, no, it's just-" Alkali paused, looking for the right words. "Why should we have to hide ourselves for other people? We should be able to just- exist without being judged, or feared, or hurt. It shouldn't matter what everyone else thinks of us."

Kurt never thought of it that way. She did have a point, he supposed. Why should they have to fit in?

"And I know why we have to use these things," Alkali sighed, staring down at her watch. "So we can go to school, and live normal lives, and just go outside without any issues. But I still hate it. I hate having to hide myself. I want to be proud of who am."

"I guess I never saw it like that," Kurt said. "But so many people have hated me for looking like this.. it's not something I can just be proud of."

"People hated me for looking like this," Alkali said. "Hell, people have tried to kill me for it. But that never made me hate myself for it."

Kurt sighed. "I wish I had your confidence."

"It'll come to you eventually," Alkali shrugged.

"Probably not," Kurt frowned. Alkali sighed.

"Look, the world can't be cruel to us forever," she said. "At some point, people will have to see that not all of us are here to hurt them. But we shouldn't be ashamed of ourselves because of what others think."

Kurt couldn't keep the smile from forming on his face. "I guess you're right," he said. Alkali chuckked.

"You go back to the others, now. I'll be down in a bit," she said.

"Alright!" Kurt smiled. "I'll come get you when breakfast is ready." With that, he disappeared. Alkali jumped slightly, but smiled to herself.

Entering her room, Alkali set the magazine on her desk. She still couldn't wrap her head around how fancy the place was. She never had the luxury of even stepping inside a building like this, especially when her home town was so run down.

Alkali went to her bathroom to grab a brush and a hair tie, but froze when she saw herself in the mirror.

There was a small scar running across her nose. Alkali leaned closer to the mirror to examine it further. She prodded at the scar slightly, causing it to sting. She huffed.

Alkali tried to figure out where it came from, when she remembered how she fell down that rocky hill. She lashed her tail angrily. Those stupid hunters.

The scar wouldn't stay there forever, right? Surely it would heal eventually. She did just get it overnight, after all.

Alkali sighed. What did it matter if the scar stayed? It could've been a lot worse.

The mutant ignored the scar as she combed out her hair, putting it up in a pony tail. Her mind wandered back to the people she was living with as she did so. They seemed nice and accepting, although she wondered how long it would be before they inevitably ran her out, just like everybody else.

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Monday had arrived, and so far Alkali was hating every second of it.

The girl had been homeschooled for so long that she practically forgot was public school was like. Yet here she was in a school full of way too many people. Alkali always half-expected people to give her dirty looks, or point out her mutations, but they never did, and she hated it. She hated feeling ordinary.

Alkali was making her way to the cafeteria when she spotted a familiar face out of the corner of her eye. Kurt! Alkali quickly glanced around, before rushing over and grabbing him. The boy yelped as Alkali pulled him near one of the vending machines.

"Dude, you gotta help me!" she started. "I have no fucking clue what to do here- I dont know where I'm going- There's too many people!-"

"Alkali, calm down!" Kurt exclaimed.

"Right, right, calm down--" Alkali sighed. Kurt chuckled.

"I didn't expect you to be the nervous type," he teased. "That's usually my job."

"I literally have not been out in public in years," Alkali huffed. "Under normal circumstances I'd probably have things under control."

"Trust me, it's not that bad once you get used to it," Kurt smiled. "You just have to blend in, and no one notices you."

"Rrrghh, but I hate blending in," Alkali frowned. "I don't know how to be a normal person. I'm not a normal person."

"I know, but that's just what everyone expects of us," Kurt sighed.

"It shouldn't be," Alkali huffed. "Anyway-- how do we get lunch?"

"Just through the lunch line," Kurt shrugged, motioning to the crowd of a people waiting to get their food. Alkali frowned when she saw this length of the line.

"This fucking sucks," she huffed.

"Don't worry, it goes by quick," Kurt smiled, grabbing her hand. Alkali's eyes widened slightly, but she soon calmed down and allowed him to take her to the lunch line.

Once the two got their food, Kurt lead Alkali to where the rest of the mutants normally sat. Alkali sat somewhat away from the rest, but Kurt sat right next to her. Alkali sighed, but stayed where she was. It didn't bother her too much.

The girl was mostly zoned out from what everyone else was saying. Jean said something about a guy named Duncan, which seemed to upset Scott. Milo was flirting with Marigold, which he was successful in. Kurt was flirting with Kitty. Not so successful. And Evan was complaining about some other kid name Pietro. Alkali couldn't be bother to care about any of it.

"Alkali?" Jean asked. Alkali looked up.

"Huh- Yeah?" she asked.

"So, how are you liking it here so far?" Jean asked, a warm smile on her face. If Alkali could lash her tail right now, she would. Everyone was facing her.

"I hate it here," she huffed. "I haven't been to public school in years, and now that I'm here, I have no idea what I'm doing."

"How long has it been?" Evan asked.

"Well, my mutation happened when I was 12, so it's been a couple years," Alkali said. "My parents homeschooled me after that, but they probably didn't do a good job."

"That sounds awful," Kitty frowned. "I couldn't imagine not being able to go to school."

"Oh, it gets worse," Alkali smirked. "I was never allowed to go outside. Ever. I was basically imprisoned there for years."

"That's horrible.." Kurt said.

"That's how I got chased out," Alkali said. "I snuck out one night, and was seen almost immediately. I was then chased out of every town I came across by people who wanted me dead for being a mutant, or by people who wanted to stuff me and put me in a museum if they saw me as some sort of dinosaur. But it's fine. I hated that town anyway."

"I'm glad I never went through that," Kurt sighed. "I grew up in a circus that my parents owned, but I guess I still had my fair share of discrimination," he frowned.

"People never wanted to hurt me," Marigold commented. "Well, most people. But it still makes me sad for others who aren't so lucky."

"Well, you guys are safe here," Scott reassured them. "As long as we're careful, nobody will figure out about us for a long time."

"And what happens the day we're not careful?" Alkali asked. She was met with silence for a moment.

"Then we'll stick together," Jean said, holding Scott's hand. He smiled at her.

"And until then, everyone will continue seeing us as normal people," Scott said.

Alkali looked down at her food. Normal. She didn't want to be another face in the crowd. She didn't want to pretend she was something she wasn't, because Alkali was not normal.

The mutant zoned out once again, this time completely blocking the others out. She had been hidden away for so long. At some point, she had to tell the world who she really was.

Meanwhile, trouble was already starting to brew. The Brotherhood was huddled nearby, whispering amongst themselves. It wasn't until Todd noticed Alkali sitting with the X Men that their conversation switched to something other than how much they hated this place.

"Yo, anyone ever seen that girl before?" he started, pointing to the mutant. The others glanced over.

"Come to think of it, I don't think she's ever been here before," Lance said.

"Must be a new girl or something," Fred commented, his tone giving off an 'I don't care' kind of feeling. A smirk formed on Pietro's face.

"You know, it would only be right to give her the good old Bayville welcome," he suggested.

"Oh, I like this sound of that," Lance agreed. After all, it would be rude not to introduce themselves to the new girl in town.

Alkali was eating her food, still ignoring the conversations around her, when a pair of hands suddenly crashed down on her shoulders, causing her to make a choked noise.

"Well, isn't this a surprise!--" Pietro started. Alkali turned and elbowed him in the face, knocking him to the floor.

"Oops," she commented, looking down at him.

"Now that's no way to greet a new friend, yo," Todd smirked. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Ignore them," he grumbled.

"What do you want?" Scott sighed.

"Just wanted to say hello to the new girl, Summers. No need to get defensive," Lance replied.

"I have a name-" Alkali started. "Its Alkali."

"Isn't that a type of metal?" Fred questioned.

"... maybe?" Alkali shrugged. "I didn't pick my name, take that up with my parents."

"You're pretty strong," Pietro smirked, suddenly at her side again. "I like that. Maybe we could hang out sometime? I'm Pietro, by the way."

"I'm a lesbian, by the way."

Pietro's smirk faded within an instant. "Oookay- nevermind-"

"Can this wait?" Kitty groaned.

"Kitty, sweetie, we're trying to make friends," Lance smiled, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"Leave her alone," Kurt frowned.

"Mind your business," Lance huffed

"I would, if you weren't such an árschloch," Kurt muttered.

"What was that?" Lance hissed, starting towards Kurt. He quickly stood up. "Say it to my face!"

"I would, or was it your rear end? Its very easy to get the two mixed up," Kurt smirked. Lance growled.

"Hey, hey," Alkali interrupted, grabbing Kurt's shoulder and pulling him back down. "I'd like to enjoy my food in peace, please. Can we do that?"

Lance grumbled to himself. "Come on," he sighed, walking away.

"Just remember, if this little clique isn't working out for you, you always have us," Pietro half-whispered to Alkali, before heading after Lance. Todd and Fred quickly followed.

"What just happened?" Alkali asked.

"That was the Brotherhood," Scott sighed. "Our rivals."

"We have rivals? Fun," Alkali commented. "Do we get to kick their asses all the time?"

"Oh, definitely," Evan smirked. "It's really their fault for causing problems all the time, anyway."

"Cool," Alkali said.

"Let's not think about that right now," Scott interrupted. "It's been a long day. I just want to get home and relax."

"Same," Kitty sighed. "I'm sick of the stupid Brotherhood."

"We all are," Milo commented. Alkali rolled her eyes. What was the good of having rivals if you never wanted to face them?

"Kali?" Kurt asked. "Uh- can I call you Kali?"

Alkali froze for a moment, but quickly snapped back to the conversation. "Er- yeah. That's fine."

"Great," Kurt smiled. "Well, I was wondering; Did you want to go to the park later? Since you said you haven't been outside in forever- I thought you might like it."

A strange feeling was starting to set in Alkali's chest. It wasn't pain, that was for sure. More of a warm feeling. She didn't understand it, but it felt nice.

"Yeah, we can do that," Alkali smiled.

"Alright," Kurt said, excitement in his voice. "It'll be fun! We'll go see everything. It's beautiful out there."

"Yeah," Alkali said. "That sounds good."

Kurt smiled. "Alright."

Alkali smiled to herself. That feeling in her chest was still there. It was a familiar, sort of nostalgic feeling, like visiting a school you once went to. But what was that feeling?

Alkali figured she'd sort it out later.

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The wind was sweeping through the trees, causing the leaves to rustle. Alkali looked up, feeling the soft breeze brush against her face. Kurt was right. This place was nice.

"Come on, I'll show you the lake!" Kurt smiled, grabbing her hand and running off. Alkali yelped slightly.

The two soon stopped at a large body of water that glistened in the evening sunlight. Alkali looked over the lake, almost hypnotized by its beauty.

"Wow," she sighed, sitting down. Kurt sat by her.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" he asked. Alkali nodded. "I sometimes come here when the Institue gets a bit too chaotic," he continued. "It's so peaceful here."

Alkali looked around, her hair gently flowing in the cool breeze. There weren't that many people around today. Just a couple scattered around. She liked it that way.

However, something caught the girl's eye. She glanced over and noticed a boy with white hair and some weird costume walking behind a nearby building.

"Hey--" she started. "That's one of those weird kids. The one with the white hair-"

"Pietro?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, that's him!" Alkali said, getting up.

"Alkali!" Kurt yelped, getting up.

Alkali rushed to the building pressed herself against the wall. As she got closer, she realized the building next to this one was in ruins. It looked as if it had burnt down some time ago.

"Alkali, what are you doing?" Kurt whispered.

"I don't trust them," Alkali huffed, getting closer to the ruined building. The ground seemed to dip into a somewhat small ditch, where the Brotherhood was gathered. Alkali dropped to her knees, spying down on them. Kurt quickly joined her.

Todd was setting down a piece of debris, glancing over at Lance. "I still don't get what we're doing here," he commented.

"That's because you don't listen," Lance hissed. "Under this building is a large sewage system. A bit of it was exposed when the place burned down." He prodded at the later of debris on the ground with his foot. "We'll lure the X Men here by pretending one of us is hurt. When they get here, they'll fall through this pit, then I'll make part of the ground collapse so they'll be trapped."

"I like where this is going," Pietro smirked.

"They're trying to kill us!" Alkali whisper-yelled.

"Let's go back and warn the others," Kurt started.

"Where's the fun in that?" Alkali asked. Kurt gave her a look, but before he could asked, Alkali turned to the Brotherhood.

"Good evening!" she shouted. The group looked up.

"Kali!" Kurt hissed.

"Oh, would you look at that? It's the new girl and her pet rat," Lance smirked.

Alkali noticed a hurt expression on Kurt's face. She huffed.

"Hey now," she started. "Rats are cool. They're small, and they run fast, and they can steal things-- What are you doing down there?"

"Shouldn't matter to you. Not like you guys can do anything about it," Fred answered.

Alkali growled, edging closer to the drop.

"Kali, whatever you're thinking, it's a bad idea," Kurt frowned.

"Who's gonna know," Alkali hissed.

"Kali!" Kurt started, trying to grab her. But the mutant was already too late, as his friend was beginning to transform.

Todd was hunched by the edge of the sinkhole when he noticed a few pebbles topple down into the ditch. He looked up, only to see a large raptor jump down at them, aiming her jaws for Fred.

Todd threw himself into the creature, sending them both crashing through the layer of debris.

"No!" Lance yelped. Alkali screeched, quickly shifting into a pterodactyl. The mutant frantically beat her wings, sloppily making her out out of the sewage system, Todd latched on her.

Fred quickly grabbed a large piece of debris and launched it at them, sending both Alkali and Todd flying off away from the sinkhole. Alkali transformed back into a raptor and scrambled away.

"HEY! Watch it, yo!" Todd whined.

Alkali turned and jumped at Fred, but barely managed to knock him back. She clung onto the mutant, snapping her jaws on his shoulder. He cried out and grabbed at the creature, managing to yank her off of him. Fred turned and slammed her into the ground, earning a cry of pain from Alkali.

Fred smirked. "Too easy," he bragged. Alkali braced herself against the ground and kicked at him, knocking him away just enough for her to escape. However, she didn't make it very far before Pietro sped into her, knocking her back to the ground.

Alkali screeched, trying to make it back to her feet, but Fred grabbed ahold of her jaws, clamping them shut. She thrashed and hissed in response. Pietro seized the creature's tail, making sure they had a tight hold on her.

"Bring her over here!" Lance shouted. Alkali snarled as the two dragged her to the opening in the tunnel. "We gave you a chance to join us," Lance smirked. "Maybe this'll teach you a lesson."

Alkali flailed her legs, making one final effort to escape. However before they could raise her over into the tunnel, Pietro suddenly let out a screech of surprise and released Alkali.

The mutant looked over and saw a fuzzy blue creature on Pietro's back, his arm locked around his neck. Kurt!

Pietro stumbled around, trying to shake the mutant off his back. But Kurt had no intention of releasing him. Finally, Pietro collapsed onto his back, knocking the air out of the boy holding onto him. Pietro turned and grabbed at Kurt, but the mutant quickly kicked him away.

Fred tossed Alkali to the side and barreled after Kurt. However, the mutant hastily teleported away, sending Fred crashing into Pietro.

Kurt appeared on the other side of the sinkhole from them, but was instantly jumped by Todd. He yelped and, in a rush of panic, started teleporting all over the place.

Alkali raised her head, only to see multiple puffs of smoke scattered around the ditch, Kurt and Todd occasionally appearing in them. She watched them, mesmerized for only a moment, before she heard footsteps behind her. Alkali turned and snarled at Lance, who had been sneaking up on her. Lance glared at the creature, backing away as she stalked towards him.

Alkali launched herself at the mutant. Lance quickly ducked down, avoiding the attack. But despite his efforts, Alkali threw herself off the wall of rubble behind them and crashed into him. Lance yelled out, quickly throwing a punch into her snout. Alkali hissed in pain.

Todd clung to Kurt, who was still teleporting around the ditch. "Alright, ALRIGHT! Cut it out!" he whined. Kurt managed to cease his teleportation, right over Alkali and Lance. The two crashed down on the others, causing Alkali to let out a screech. Todd yelped as he tumbled away from them. Lance scrambled away before anymore harm could come to him.

Fred was already back on his feet, yanking Pietro off the ground. He winced. "Careful!" the mutant hissed.

Lance huffed, turning to the two X Men. Kurt and Alkali were already on their feet. Kurt had his teeth bared, while Alkali hissed and growled, lashing her tail.

"Screw it, let's go!" Lance called out, jumping at the side of the ditch and starting to climb out.

"We're bailing already?" Todd huffed, although he followed after his teammate. Fred attempted to follow them, but it seemed to be a challenge for him.

"Move it!" Pietro hissed, trying to push him along. Eventually, the Brotherhood was gone, leaving only Alkali and Kurt in the ditch.

Alkali said nothing, only making her way to the slope to climb. Kurt simply teleported to the top, looking down at her.

Alkali hooked her claws into the rubble, hosting herself back up to the street. Kurt grasped at the back of her neck once she was close enough, pulling her up. The creature collapsed onto the ground.

"Let's never do that again in a million years," she panted.

"I thought you said having rivals was fun," Kurt smirked.

"Did I? I take it back. I hate them," Alkali huffed. Kurt chuckled lightly, patting her head. Alkali made some sort of purring noise in response.

The moment was cut short when the two heard police sirens in the distance. Alkali's head jerked up in an instant.

"Shit!" she yelped. "Go! Run!" She nudged Kurt to his feet as the two ran into an alleyway. Alkali glanced behind herself, before turning to Kurt. "Get us home."

Kurt wrapped his arms around Alkali's neck. The world around her shifted so suddenly, and in an instant, the two were back in her room. Alkali pulled away, transforming back to normal.

"Huh.. that was something," she commented, resting her hands on her hips.

"I can't believe we actually chased them off," Kurt sighed. "They always seemed a lot harder to beat.."

"Them? They suck," Alkali shrugged. "My first fight with them, and I already kicked their ass."

"They were sort of kicking yours first," Kurt pointed out.

"Hey. We don't talk about that," Alkali huffed. Kurt chuckled.

"Come on! The others will want to hear about it!" he squealed, rushing towards the door. He turned back, but Alkali hadn't moved. "You coming?" he asked.

"Huh?" Alkali looked up. "Oh- you go ahead. I'll be down in a second." Kurt smiled and nodded, running off. Alkali smiled. That kid didn't have a care in the world.

The mutant wandered over to her balcony, sitting up on the railing. She gazed out at the sunset, which cast an orange glow over the seemingly endless valley of the Institute.

She understood the feeling in her chest now. The feeling she got when Kurt offered to do something nice for her. When Scott taught her everything about the Institute and how it worked. When Jean was there to talk to her about her struggles. The feeling was love. It was trust. It was something she didn't feel for her parents, but she felt for her new friends. Her family.

Alkali watched the sun slowly sink below the city in the distance. Maybe Bayville would be different after all. Maybe the people would allow her to stay and cherish her abilities.

Maybe she had finally found a place to call home.