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Y/n was raised a survivor. She had to be. Growing up in a mutant-phobic culture was hard enough with out the added pressured her father put on her.

Her father was a good man. He loved Y/n very much. He wanted to raise a daughter that would live long enough to see a better world. But often his good intentions didn’t translate.

Y/n’s mutation was dangerous – anyone could see that. She didn’t need a match or a lighter to create a spark; she could do it with a snap of her fingers. And a lot of unfortunate things had occurred because of this.

When she was five Y/n wanted to show parents how cool the leaf pile they had made one October day, would look if it was all lit up. As her mother and father watched the leaves burn with their daughter in the middle, playing happily, they realized what she was. Y/n’s mother left them the next day.

When Y/n was seven, a boy tried to kiss her (not listening when she told him to stop). That boy will have third degree burns until his dying day.

Her father knew that she could not continue like this, neighbors would talk, people would notice. So he uprooted what was left of their family and moved them far away from their hometown - to a place where no one would recognize them.

Y/n was taught from day one to keep sharp, both physically and mentally. She ran five miles everyday. Her dad taught her to keep track of all the cars that drove past their house - the make, the model, the color, and the license plate. Who walked their dog at what time and what time their neighbors left for work. He taught her to write it all down in a little green notebook. If them M.R.D ever found her, there would be some kind of sign. One of these patterns would be disrupted.

He taught her to stay alert when leaving the house, to always look over her shoulder. Her father taught Y/n; she had to be the best, just to make it the age of twenty.

Y/n had always been a kind person. She was loving, thoughtful, and trusting. But growing up in that type of household could do a lot to a person. She learned the hard way to be ashamed of her mutation, paranoid of others, and to hide who she was at all costs. It wasn’t a peaceful life. But Y/n had her father, and her father had her. It was just them against the world. They loved each other dearly no matter what the other one put them through.

So honestly it wasn’t a surprise how Y/n reacted when the incident happened. She really hadn’t meant to burn down their house. It was a stupid accident. Y/n had a nightmare, one that shook her to her core. She dreamt of her mother, of monsters and of fire. Y/n only woke when she smelt smoke and felt the warm heat of flames embrace her.

As it turned out, Y/n’s dad made it out of the fire with only minor burns. But that didn’t lessen Y/n’s guilt. She was a danger to everyone around her. She couldn’t bear the thought of hurting her father, even accidently.

The girl decided right then and there, standing on the front lawn watching their house go up in smoke, that it was time to leave and never come back. She kissed her father on the temple. He was lying on the ground, still coughing and wheezing. He was too disoriented to stop her. Y/n was gone before the first fire truck reached the house.

Y/n was strong, capable, and confident of her ability to think on her feet. She knew she would find a place to live again. It just might take some time.

Finally she did find a little neighborhood in the countryside. Fields surrounded her knew home. The smell of hay and freshly cut grass was part of her everyday life now. Y/n rented a tiny farmhouse right by a forest. It took a while to get used to the new area. To add to her stress level, this was the first time she had ever been on her own before. No mom, no dad, no safety net. Then again, being a mutant didn’t come with a safety net.

But after a few months she started feeling comfortable. She learned the neighbor’s schedule fairly quickly (she didn’t have many). And not many cars passed by so honestly there weren’t many threats. People knew how to keep to themselves around here.

Y/n grew her own food and kept her head down. Life was uneventful and stressful. That’s they way it always had been and that’s the way she hoped to keep it.

Charles Xavier sent Alex and Sean out to find Y/n. He found her through Cerebro. Usually he and Erik would go out to get new students but ever since starting up Xavier’s school for gifted youngsters, he was swamped. The young professor had teams out looking for mutants 24/7. So really, it was no wonder that he didn’t take a deeper look into Y/n’s mind - to see who she was, what she was like. Hank just jotted down a location and that was that. They sent Alex and Sean off without a second thought.

Someone’s following her; Y/n could feel it on the back of her neck. She was out for her morning jog - out on the dirt road by the woods. The hairs on her arms where standing up.

Y/n straightened up. Someone was defiantly following her. ‘Follow your instincts. Don’t look behind you. Don’t let them know you know,’ Her father’s words echoed in her brain. Every fiber of her being begged her to turn her head; to dart her eye. Her fingers itched to grab the knife that was strapped to her waist, hidden by her shirt. But she couldn’t risk it.

Y/n took a deep breath, making sure she didn’t change her pace. She listened to the footsteps behind her. The girl couldn’t be sure but it sounded like two people. And judging by the weight of their footsteps it sounded like men. Y/n swore mentally. Her heartbeat sped up. ‘They found me. How the hell did they find me?’ She thought.

Up ahead there was a trail leading into the woods. Y/n studied this forest as a possible escape route. She could lose them in there. Thoughts of the M.R.D and the experiments they did on mutants flitted around Y/n’s mind, adding to her panic. The girl kept up her pace, not increasing it however much she longed to. Her running shoes barely made a sound on the gravel-strewn path, just like Dad taught her. She was almost there. ‘I can do this,’ Y/n prepped herself. ‘Don’t think. Just go. One. Two. Three. GO!’

Y/n darted to her right, down the narrow path in to the forest. Branches from gnarled old trees and tall wispy grass shrouded the path’s entrance. It was extremely difficult to see if you didn’t already know where it was.

“Where the hell did she just go?” Sean asked Alex. They had been walking several yards away from the girl, so as not to draw attention. But she seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Sean’s brain didn’t even have time to process what happened.

“Into the woods,” Alex said as he began to run after her. ‘Goddamn that girl is fast,’ He thought. “Let’s go,” Alex shouted back to Sean.

Y/n tore through the forest, wind whistling in her ears and her heart in her throat. She heard crashing behind her. They followed her. She whipped her head around to look. Just as she thought, it was two men. Looked like a redhead and a blonde. The redhead was falling behind. He didn’t stand a chance. She smirked. But the blonde was gaining. ‘Not good. Not good. Not good!’ Y/n thought.

Y/n put on a burst of speed. She wouldn’t go out like this. She wouldn’t die by the hands of the M.R.D. She didn’t get this far for nothing.

The girl jumped over logs and around rocks as gracefully as a deer. Wet leaves, slick with morning due, slipped dangerously underneath her feet. Y/n’s breath hitched as she came close to falling more than once. But she was a quick thinker with even faster reflexes - she could do this. Y/n navigated the twists and turns of the trail with ease, not slowing down even for a moment.

Up ahead Y/n saw a pound, that’s where she’d lose them for good. Her legs were burning and she had to fight hard to control her breath. Exhaustion was setting in but Y/n clenched her fists and pushed herself to go faster.

Alex’s breathing was labored as he struggled to keep up with her. Sean had already fallen far behind, doubled over and gasping for breath. He lost sight of the girl as she ran around a corner. Alex swore under his breath and sped up.

He ran around the turn in the trail and found himself in a large clearing; there was a good-sized pound right in front of him with a rundown fishing hut on his left. The smell of algae and decay it him hard.

Alex looked around for the girl, but she was nowhere to be seen. He scanned the area again, gasping for breath. He was very thankful for this small break.

There she was. Alex spotted her. She was on the other side of the pound. ‘How the hell did she get over there so quickly? Christ I must be out getting out of shape,’ He thought.

The girl looked right at him with an intensity in her eyes he recognized. She looked like a cornered animal about to go for the throat. He put up his hands to try and convey that he only wanted to talk but it was too late.

Y/n saw the blonde boy burst into the clearing. The redhead was nowhere to be seen. ‘This is it. This is my chance.’ Y/n lowered her hand to the surface of the water, she glanced that her pursuer. He looked like he was going to say something. ‘Let’s not give him the opportunity,’ She thought.

Y/n felt fire burning in her veins, sparks flew from her fingertips scattering across the pond. She forced all the flames she could from the palm of her hand, throwing it across the surface of the water. Instantly steam billowed up from the chilled pound, more and more fog filled the clearing obscuring the outline of the man completely. If she couldn’t seem him, he couldn’t see her. The water beneath her hand began to bubble; it was close to the boiling point. Y/n lifted her hand and stood up fully. She listened. There were twigs and leaves crunching to her right. He was there.

‘Time to end this,’ Y/n thought. She grabbed the hunting knife she kept strapped to her waste at all times and crept forward towards the noise. The girl much rather have used her mutation, but what if she lit this whole forest up? What if she couldn’t control it? She’s have to move again and Y/n really like it here. So fire was out of the question.

As Y/n grew closer she could see the outline of the man. She couldn’t tell if he had heard her or not. Either way it was time to finish this.

Y/n leapt forward, a branch cracking underfoot as she did so. The man whirled around just in time to block her blow with his arm. He was much stronger than Y/n and that was saying something. The man grabbed Y/n by the arm and flipped her to the ground.

All breath left her body as soon as she hit the hard forest floor. Y/n scrabbled backwards making sure she still had her knife. As soon as she was a reasonable distance away she picked herself up, breathing heavily. ‘There goes the element of surprise.’

The fog was slowly disappearing making the two mutants more and more visible to each other.

Y/n felt like crying. How would she ever get out of this one? If her father were here right now he would be so disappointed. He would be yelling about how screwing up this badly could get you killed. Apparently he was right.

But she pushed the fountain of tears down and focused on the desperation in her heart. She tapped into that fear. And with that fear came ferocity

Y/n started circling the man and he matched her movements. They walk in one big circle, each one waiting for the other to make the first move. Their eyes never left each other.

Y/n’s arms were in a defensive position - the knife held sideways in front of her - ready for the man to pounce.

Alex watched her warily, trying to think of what he could say. He had never been a people person. How the hell was he supposed to talk this girl down?

Their steps were synchronized, graceful, and tense. Y/n’s hands were shaking. Her fathers voice rang out in her mind. “And what ever you do… don’t let them take you alive.” Her knees felt like giving out at that thought. He told her what to do if she there was no way out. Tears swam in her eyes and she had to blink them away to keep her eyesight clear. ‘I don’t want to die. Oh god I don’t want to die.’

Y/n stopped suddenly, her grip loosening on the knife. She placed a hand to her head and sniffed - fatigue hitting her like a bag of bricks. She didn’t want to do this anymore. The fire in her chest that kept her running for so long had finally burnt out. The desperation was gone. She was done.

“Why won’t you guys just leave me alone?” Tears slipped down her rosy checks. “I just want to live. Why won’t you leave me alone?”

Alex stopped in his tracks, raising his hands. Charles and Erik didn’t say anything about calming down crying girls in fieldwork. He wasn’t prepared for this. “Hey I’m not going to hurt you-”

Y/n laughed. It was a desperate, excruciating sound. It tore Alex’s heart. This girl was in so much pain and he didn’t know what to do. He wanted to fix it.

“What, you think I’m stupid? Not going to hurt me!” She scoffed, salty tears cascading down her face. “What’s next, not with the M.R.D?”

“Honestly, I’m not. My name is Alex,” He pointed behind him. “And that panting pile of clothes behind us, is Sean. We just want to talk to you.”

“Stop lying. Why are you lying? Dad said people always do, but I don’t understand why.”

“I’m not lying. I swear. We come from a school, just up the road from here, Xavier’s school for gifted youngster. Stupid name I know. But it’s for people like us. For mutants,” Alex paused. “It’s safe there… We want you to join us,”

She didn’t say anything, mulling it over. He was most defiantly lying. But on the other hand he hadn’t killed her yet… so maybe he wasn’t. She could almost hear her father now. ‘Don’t trust outsiders Y/n, they’ll get you killed. Or worse,’ Her grip tightened on her knife.

Alex noticed and saw she was at the tipping point. So he took a risk. “Look, I know what it’s like. Running away from everyone because you could hurt them. Because you don’t trust yourself,”

Y/n started sobbing, her hands shaking and her resolution weak. “I’m so tired of running. I’m s-so tried.”

“I know. I know,” Alex soothed, taking a tentative step forward. “I was too. But this school… you don’t have to constantly look over your shoulder anymore. We’re a family over there. We look after each other there,”

Y/n raised a hand to her head. Her whole body was shaking. Every part of her being told her to run or attack or do something. But she couldn’t- she just stood there, frozen. What if she did get away? What then? Moving to a new place, starting again. She had been doing this since she was a kid. She was so tired.

Alex saw her hesitation. At least she wasn’t attacking him anymore. But he needed to fix this crying thing ASAP. Honesty, Alex just didn’t know how to handled tears. Especially from a beautiful girl. “Look I know you don’t trust me. That doubt is what kept you alive this long, am I right? But I can prove I’m a mutant. I can prove you can trust me,”

Y/n looked at him with wary eyes and then slowly nodded her head. She brought her knife up again, just in case.

Alex turned to the side and took a deep breath. The Professor had been working with him on control - more importantly on staying in control. The last thing he wanted was to make a mistake and cut this poor girl in half.

Suddenly rings of light developed around his body, Alex focused on maintaining their momentum as they swung around his torso. They shot out, dancing across the water of the pound and slicing a tree on the other side. Y/n could smell the sent of scorched wood and smoke. Thankful Alex didn’t cut the tree down. It was still standing. Only now several large slashes decorated it.

Y/n looked at the tree in a sort of daze. The girl wasn’t sure if that was the most amazing thing she had ever seen or the scariest. She took a shaky breath.

Alex turned at looked at her, praying that she wouldn’t run again. He watched as a smile stretched across the girl’s face. It was the most stunning smile he had ever seen. She looked at him.

“Wow,” She murmured. “You are like me.”

Alex smiled back relieved she wasn’t scared off.

Y/n paused as she weighed the consequences of going with him. On the one hand it could be trap. She could die. On the other hand she could run and live out a boring fear filled life. She would die without ever having lived.

“Alright,” She said quietly. “I’ll go with you.”