Sean Cassidy sat watching the young mutant train. The look on his face was intense and full of worry. Sean knew how important it was for the child to succeed. There had already been too many failures, and another one might defeat her totally. Emma sat next to him. He knew she was trying her best to be supportive, but her frustration was obvious. Sean rarely knew what to think of the ever opinionated Emma Frost. One minute she was demanding excellence from the students and the next she was being supportive of thier failures. He shook his head in disbelief at her constant contradictions. He honestly did not know if he would ever understand her. Not that he wanted to, for he believed that by doing so he would lose some interest in her. That thought led him to think of his one true love, Moira. No he could not think of her. Not now at least. Sean decided to concentrate on the young trainee.

"Well it is about time that you put your mind on the task at hand." Emma gave him a slow wink.

"I tell ye woman that if I ever catch ye in me head I ye won't live ta regret it! Besides me mind was on the "task at hand" I was just thinkin' o' other things also."

"Like contradictions and love?"

"Wha!!! Emma don't ye have any self-respect in that blasted body o' yours? It is not polite to invade one's thoughts."

"I was not invading your thoughts Sean. You see you were just thinking so loudly that I could not help but overhear."

"Damn ye woman." Sean paused for a minute before adding, "How do ye think the lass is doing?"

"Not very well. In the five weeks she has been with us she has not responded to us at all. That does not mean she is not trying. She is just constantly failing."

"Emma we must be supportive o' her. Negativity will not solve anything."

"I realize that Sean it is just..." Emma's words were interrupted by a sudden laugh of joy. She and Sean looked up to see the young girl's beaming face through the window. "Well maybe I was wrong. Maybe there is hope for her after all."

"O' course there is hope woman!", Sean stopped and pushed the intercom button before speaking again, "Well lass it seems that ye have finally succeeded as we knew ye would. And I might add that that plant appears to be mighty healthy for just having it's energy drained and all." Sean ended his short speech with a smile.

"Oh Mr. Cassidy and Miss Frost I cannot believe it! I finally did it. Wait till I tell Bobby he will be so proud of me. Oh my gosh and everyone else. Angelo told me I would never get it right! I'll show him! Ha!"

Emma spoke up much quieter than normal. "Yes Aphelia I do imagine that you will show him the error of his ways."

Morton Thomas was a man of his word. He spoke with confidence, and always told the truth. His life was one that centered around schedules. Everything was a schedule. The past, the present, the future. All schedules. Some of the schedules were not made out yet, but they were there. Morton believed that his claim to fame in life was the fact that he planned his own schedule. Most people allowed their schedules to be planned for them, but not Morton. He made out his schedules daily. Very few times in his life had those schedules failed him. Only twice now that he thought about it. Only twice. The first time his blessed schedule failed him was when his wife Teresa died. Although he honestly believed that the reason she did die was because she was not in enough control of her own schedule. Now for the first time in years his system had failed him again.

Morton spoke his next words aloud. "Aphelia why? Why did you have to to betray me?"

The backyard at the Massachussettes Academy was alive with play. Thanks to Bobby everyone was enjoying a snowball fight in the middle of July. Jubilee pretended to watch the game with little or no interest. She believed that she was convincing until Artie and Leech ran up to her.

"Whaddya want squirts?"

"Leech jus' want to say that he is sorry that you look so sad. We wish you could play too 'Lee." With that Leech granted her a smile and nudged Artie. Suddenly a picture popped up in Jubilee's mind of her throwing snowballs with her broken leg.

"Sorry guys I am totally out of commission for the time, but no need ta worry I will be back at em in no time at all! This is just like that time when I was with the X-Hmmphh!"

Jubliee's speach was brought up short as snowball after snowball landed on her

head. Aphelia ran up to her side to make sure she was ok.

"Jubilee are you all right?" Aphelia had to strangle the words out because she wanted to laugh at the sight of the snow piled on top of the young girls head.

Angelo spoke up before Jubilee could start screaming. "Don't worry 'bout her none chica. None of us can stand to hear about those lousy "When I was with the X-Men stories anymore. We have to be on alert ya know." Angelo granted her a charming smile.

"Yeah sure Aphelia", Paige spoke up, "those stories can really rake on our nerves."

*I think the whole mess is bloody stupid! Who ever 'eard of snow in the blasted middle o' summer anyway?!?*

"Actually Jono I thought it was kind of nice of Bobby to go out of his way to do this for us. I mean we were all complaining about the heat early. Now it is as far from hot as we can possibly get"

*Yer right Everett, but I think when we were complaining about the bloody heat most o' us meant that the air conditioner needed fixin.*

Jubilee finally got to get a word in. Actually she got an ear piercing scream in before she got a word in. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!! Hello doesn't anyone notice my condition? Like I mean I have been sitting here piled down with snow that I didn't ask for and you guys are holding a conversation about how hot it WAS!"

Aphelia said the only thing she could think of to calm the girl down. "Well Jubilee I have almost forgot how hot it was."

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Ok my leg is broken..."

Paige spoke up, "You shouldn't have tried that double twist flip off the roof into swimming pool! Might I mention that you were wearing your skates at the time!"

"They are not skates! They are rollerblades! 'Sides whats it matter? I almost made it! If the pool had been a little closer I would have had it! You can only wish..."

Angelo cut her off, "Yeah chica the one thing I want most in this world is to be able to jump off of a roof in my rollerblades into a swimming pool. Yep it is my dream alright." Angelo put one hand to the sky and the other on his chest. "I have a dream. You guys know what? This is way better than that Xavier guys dream! Man I can make millions!"

M made her first statement of the conversation. "Jubilation you really could have been hurt. That was very irresponsible of you. That is why everyone is constantly yelling at you. We all thought that you were hurt much worse than you were."

"Oh whatever Monet pleeeaaaseee break up the sappy "We care about you" crap. I am not going for it! Neither is anyone else! Right guys?" Jubilee looked at everyone to find them staring at their shoes. "Wha..."

Monet smiled triumphantly. "See Jubilee I win. We do care about you."

"Wow that is some battle you just won M," everyone turned to see Bobby approach them, "although I think that I just heard the most pointless arguement I have ever heard in my whole life. And trust me that is a big deal when you consider me."

*Well if it isn't the fool who created this whole mess! Hey Bob 'ave you seen all the snow that on the ground? Want ta get rid o' it?*

Paige spoke up first. "Jono you were having just as much fun as we were playin' in the snow and you know it! Thankyou Bobby this day was horrible until you decided to change it!"

"Thankyou I think, Paige. Actually I was coming to ask Aphelia if she wanted to go for a walk." Bobby turned to the young woman in question. "Well do you?"

"I uh...well I don't...I mean I think...I uh um....uh...well yes." Aphelia looked obviously agitated by Bobby's presence.

"Hey chica look if you don't want to go walking with this ice pop we will protect you! Yeah Angelo and the others protect the damsel from the evil wiles of the cruel and heartless snowball!" Once again Angelo gave a dramatic finish.

"Hey Skin you tryin out for some Shakespear thing or somethin?"

"No Jubes I was just trying to impress all of you with my overwhelming talent. Besides Aphelia seems to want to stay and take part in another game of "throw the snow"!"

Everett gained everyone's attention with his next words. "Well if that is true Angelo then why have they already walked away?"

Bobby and Aphelia had walked to the opposite side of the property. As opposed to where the members of Generation X still remained this part of the grounds remained grassy and warm.

"It is amazing Bobby that you are able to do these sort of things. I still cannot believe that on the other side of the property it feels like it is like 10 degrees, but here..."

"Yeah well it is not a big deal. Although I must say that it is a good thing you decided to shed your winter clothes."

"Bobby I think it is a good thing that I have any winter clothes. Especially in July. Mr. Cassidy made sure that I was not wanting for anything.

Silence followed them for a few moments before Bobby spoke up. "Aphelia I am glad that you could spare a few minutes." Bobby for some reason felt like an awkward school boy.

"Its no problem Bobby. Besides I have been wanting to talk to you. I have some exciting news!" Aphelia stopped and turned to Bobby a genuine smile playing upon her lips. "Well are you going to ask?"

Bobby grinned at her before he said, "Nope."

"What? Why not?!"

Bobby almost fell out laughing at her downfallen expression. He decided it would be mean to laugh at her. Besides he already knew the reason for her excitement.

"Actually Aphelia I asked you to come out here for two reasons. The first was to congratulate you on your breakthrough with your powers."

"Oh my gosh you brute! You knew didn't you?" Aphelia pretended outrage.

Bobby smiled at her. "Yep. I knew."

"Well I am mad. You should not have tried to trick me like that!" Aphelia paused before she added. "Oh Bobby it was so wonderful. For the first time since I came here I actually felt like I was accomplishing something! And all the tips you gave me really helped. Ever since you told me to think of the life forces as a meter I started gaining a little more control. And finally today I got it right! Miss Frost told me that I only drained twenty-five percent of the energy from each plant!"

"I am very happy for you Aphelia. I knew that it would not take you long. Now all you have to do is practice a little more and you will show all of us up."

"No Bobby. I know what you are talking about and it is not true. Mr. Cassidy said that you have already proved yourself to be invaluable. I don't understand why you can't see that. Has everyone for so long just told you that you were not any good so no matter what you believe them? Bobby look at the things you can do with your powers! It is amazing. No one here looks down upon you. Not even the kids even though you have become a favorite target of thier insults." Aphelia gave him a serious look before she continued. "Well Bobby what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I don't know what brought about this outburst Aphelia, but trust me when I say that I no longer regret this decision for me to come to Generation X. I cannot always help it if I tend to insult myself. Just one of my two character flaws." Bobby knelt down in a mock bow.

"Oh Bobby I am so sorry. I did not mean to explode on you or anything. It is just that I care about you and I want you to be happy. You sometimes seem so forlorn, and even I know that is out of character for you. By the way what is the other character flaw? You did say that you had only two."

"Perfection. I am perfect. I sometimes tend to overshadow everyone around me. Just one of my two character flaws."

"Perfection Mr. Drake. Well at least you are modest. So lets see you tend to insult yourself to a fault and you claim that you are perfect. That seems like a contradiction to me."

Well thats me, Mr. Contradiction! Besides you know that is a talent. Not many people could pull it off ya know." Bobby teased.

Aphelia laughed out loud and pushed Bobby. He tripped over a branch that was lying on the ground and fell on his backside. That made Aphelia laugh all the harder. Suddenly she took off running. Bobby hopped up and started after her.

"I am going to catch you Aphelia. Just wait!"

"Yeah yeah Bobby catch me if you can!" Aphelia yelled as she continued to sprint ahead of him.

She saw the patch of ice a moment too late. The next thing she knew she was flying feet first into the air, screaming bloody murder. Bobby caught her in his arms a second before she hit the ground.

Bobby set her down before speaking. "Sorry I couldn't think of any other way to catch you."

Aphelia looked at him a second before giving him another shove that once again sent him to the ground. He appeared to be slightly disgruntled.

"Well Bobby it is the least that you deserve for putting that ice patch down."

"YOU pushed me first!"

"That is beside the point. Besides I had already forgot that happened." Aphelia said those words as she helped him to his feet.

Out of nowhere a booming voice interrupted their conversation. "Hey you two what do ye think your doing? Didn't I say earlier that we would be havin' a training session this afternoon? Ye're both a half an hour late!"

Bobby and Aphelia looked at Sean with attempted puppy dog faces.

"We are sorry Sean. Aphelia and I we actually on our way to the uh...training session. We were just taking the long way. Isn't that right Aphelia?"

"No."

She no longer seemed to be paying attention to the two men though. Aphelia was staring through them it seemed. Bobby and Sean turned to see what she was staring at. Emma was walking toward the trio with two men at her side. They were dressed in suits and appeared to have stoicism down to an art.

Sean spoke up first. His voice was very calm. "Emma what is the meaning of this? Who are these men?"

"I am sorry to interrupt you Sean, but Agents Walker and Reik would like to speak with Aphelia. They have a few concerns that with our help could be adjusted." Emma stated the last with a knowing look upon her face.

One of the men spoke up then. He spoke to Aphelia in a monotonous voice when he asked his questions.

"Are you Aphelia Loraine Thomas?"

"Yes." Aphelia's expression was one of confusion and surprise. "I'm sorry. Who are you? What do you want with me?"

Bobby reacted to the fear he heard in her voice and put his arm around her possessively. "Yes exactly what do you want with Aphelia? She is a student at this school."

The agent payed Bobby no attention and went on with his next question. "Is your father Morton William Thomas?"

"Yes."

"Are you familiar with a man named Roy Todd?"

"Oh no. I mean yes. What is this about?" Tears started to run down her face.

Both men turned to Sean and Emma. "Agent Walker and myself would like to question Aphelia alone please."

Their tone left no room for arguement. Unfortunetly neither man had ever had a chance to argue with Banshee and the White Queen. Both teachers were about to kick the men off the grounds when suddenly Aphelia stopped them. She had pulled away from Bobby and reluctantly began to speak.

"Mr. Cassidy and Ms. Frost? It is ok. I will speak with them. It is fine." With that she began to walk away with Agents Walker and Reik.

***Two days ago.*** Morton Thomas stood staring at the man. He was frightened. No that was not an accurate describtion of exactly how Morton Thomas felt. He felt terrified. The man standing before him with his back turned was by far the most powerful presence he had ever had the displeasure of being in. Morton stared at the man's stark white hair. It was neatly trimmed. He wore some kind of suit that was not quite a suit. Morton did not know what to do. He thought to himself about whether or not he should be the first one to speak up. He quickly decided against the idea. No he would wait for this powerful man to speak to him.

He was left to wait for fifteen minutes before the man began to speak.

"Mr. Thomas I understand that you have a few things to say. Actually I understand that your life has become quite interesting as of late. Is it not true that you just recently found out that your daughter of nineteen years in nothing other than a freak of nature? Oh yes. I know about that you need not be surprised. Yes Mr. Thomas I know exactly why you are here."

The man turned around to face Morton. Morton could feel his face pale under the scrutiny of this man. His eyes seemed to be made of ice.

"Do I frighten you Mr. Thomas?" He smiled. "Good that is the way it should be. Now Mr. Thomas I would like for you to tell me something. You see I know that your daughter, the mutant, has escaped. She left. Well we would like to help you find her. Of course, you realize that we do need your assistance in this matter. So as I was saying I would like you to tell me something. Mr. Thomas where is your daughter the mutant?"

In those moments Morton Thomas finally realized that he had made a mistake. His life was a mistake. The FOH was a mistake. And this man who terrified was definitely a mistake. The only thing in his life that was not a mistake was the one thing that was no longer in his life. Aphelia. He thought of her with remorse. He had betrayed her with the thought that she had betrayed him. He no longer knew what to do. He had no choice.

"Well Mr. Thomas do you have anything to say?" The man stared at him with a satisfied smirk on his face.

Morton finally found his first words. "I don't really know sir. I just have a few leads as to where she might be."

"What are they?" His voice was calm.

"Well I talked to one of her friends that she happened to be staying with. And um...she well the girl said that Aphe..."

Morton was interrupted when the man stated his next words. "She has no name. She deserves none for her crime against humanity. Go on."

Morton was scared. Very much so. Yet it was that fear that made him continue. "I think she was headed to Massachussettes. Her friend said she was going to a school there. That is all I know."

"You have done well Mr. Thomas. Very well indeed. Your loyalty to the Friends of Humanity is commendable. Do not worry your daughter will be apprehended within no time at all."

"What will you do with her?" Morton's voice shook with fear.

"That is none of your business Mr. Thomas"

"She is my daughter!"

"You gave up that right when you birthed her as a mutant."

"I don't want her hurt. Please sir I am concerned."

"Concerned Mr. Thomas? Hmm you have an interesting way of showing it. Well because you seem so bound and determined to find out the fate of your daughter I will tell you. First we will capture her. Probably with some federal agents who are investigating the butchering of the man Roy Todd. Yes that will work out just fine. Then she will be brought here where she will be put through many tests. Some of them will be excruciatingly painful." He smiled at that thought. "Yes then after we have learned everything about her that we can then we will kill her for her betrayal against you. Yes you will be present at her death. Indeed if you like you can perform the act yourself." With that he turned and left.

Morton Thomas fell to his knees with tears falling down his face. He knew that he had just sacrificed his daughter to the devil. He knew that she would undeservingly suffer his Hell, and there was nothing he could do about it. He watched the demon named Bastion walk away to destroy his daughter.

Sean, Emma, and Bobby watched Aphelia walk back towards them. She appeared to be calm but quite upset at the same time. When she spoke to them her voice was but a whisper.

"Bobby, Mr. Cassidy, Miss Frost I am sorry. I have done something wrong. I should have gone to the authorities after I killed Roy Todd. But I didn't. I should have but I didn't. Now I must pay for that crime."

"Nay lass there was no crime in defending yourself."

"Absolutely child you cannot think that you have done something wrong. You do not have to leave with these men."

"No you don't understand. They said that they know that I reacted in self- defense. They said that I was in no real trouble, but Roy Todd's family is raising an uproar. I need to be brought in for questioning." She said that with a nod of her head. Then she turned to Bobby. "Bobby I am sorry, but I feel that this is right. Can you understand?"

Robert Drake looked at her with a crestfallen expression. "No I cannot. But I want you to promise me something."

"Anything."

"Come back."

"Come back? Oh Bobby of course I will be back. How could you think that I would leave...?" She did not finish her sentence, but threw herself into his arms. "I will miss you Bobby."

"I lo...I will miss you too."

Bastion stood in front the screen when the soldier entered. "Well?"

"Sir they have her and will be here within two hours."

Bastion smiled. Oh yes he thought. This would indeed be pleasurable. "Good work. You are dismissed." Bastion stood alone for a long time before he turned to leave.

"It seems that the girls nightmare has just begun."

The End

Author's Note Ok I bet some of you are wondering why Emma Frost did not detect malice in the two Federal Agents right? Well here is the answer. They did not know what they were being sent to do. They only knew that they had come to take Aphelia Thomas into custody. :)

Well what did you think? :) Personally I don't want Aphelia to die at the hands of Bastion, but hey who knows? Email me at ShardNAtl@AOL.com. I love E-Mail and your responses have been great so far so...