"Ziva, you've got a table," her boss yelled from behind the pass that gave the wait staff access to the kitchen staff.

She sent him a wave before she turned and rolled her eyes. As if she couldn't see that. She crossed the diner, plastered a smile on her face, and approached the table. A young couple with a small child occupied the table. "Hello, I'm Ziva, and I'll be your server. Would you like drinks or are you ready to order?"

"We'll order," the father said while he pried a fork from the little boy's hand before he could manage to use it to rip the paneling from the wall. He rattled off the order while trying to calm the toddler.

"And coffee," the mother added. "Lots of coffee."

Ziva grinned. "Sure thing." She made her way back to the counter, grabbed crayons and a kid's coloring placemat, and handed it off to the dad, who looked grateful to have something to occupy the kid. She returned behind the counter and handed off the order to Enzo. As she turned back to pour coffee for the two guys at the counter, she felt the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck lift.

That meant one thing. Another mutant was close by. It was a side effect of her power; the extra electricity zinging through her body seemed to act as some kind of mutant radar. It let her know when someone was close. Hell, for all she knew, it could be a secondary power, not like she knew anyone to ask. Her eyes lifted and went to the door. Two men stepped into the diner and looked around.

The first man was intimidating, to put it mildly. The guy was tall, ripped, with shaggy deep blond-brown hair, and long sideburns. The man's face held a look that told anyone that messed with him that he could easily kick their ass. There was an animalistic aura surrounding him that caused you to think he might go feral on you any second. Her eyes went to his clothing. White t-shirt, leather jacket, and jeans. Pretty normal. He was scanning the interior of the diner as if he expected to find enemies waiting for him.

Her gaze slid to the second man. Feral's companion was a few inches shorter with hair several shades lighter than his buddy's was. His look was nowhere near as fierce, and he seemed much more relaxed. A smile tipped the corners of his lips upward, and she realized he was probably close to her age. The guy looked like a combination of a jock and a skater. He was built and good-looking, with shaggy hair that brushed his shoulders. His clothing consisted of a faded band t-shirt, a pair of well-worn jeans that hugged his body as if they had been made specifically for him, and a pair of beat-up sneakers.

It was possible they were father and son; they looked enough alike to make it a possibility. If they were related, it could mean they fight well together. She turned away and tried to calm her nerves. It wouldn't do to lose control of her emotions. She could end up shorting out everything in the diner or worse, blow the place sky-high. When she turned back, a groan slipped free. Of course, they had chosen a table in her section.

She released a sigh and plastered on her polite, I'm-here-to-help-you smile, and made her way over to the table. "Hello, I'm Ziva, and I'll be your server. What can I get for you guys?"

Feral gave her a grin that could stop a girl's heart. Damn. Why did the dangerous ones always have the sexy smiles? "How about a place where we can speak privately?" he asked her.

She propped a hand on her hip. "I beg your pardon?"

The teen smirked at her. "Please, ignore his lack of manners," he told her and leaned slightly closer. "Look, we know what you are, and we really need to speak with you. Alone." He kept his tone low enough that no one else would overhear the conversation.

She snorted. "Right. Not happening. I don't know you, and I have no idea whether you're going to haul me off and lock me in a cage somewhere. Kiss my ass and get out of here." She turned to leave them. Someone else could take their table.

Feral's hand snapped out, and his fingers wrapped around her wrist. "I wouldn't walk away if I were you, this is important," he growled.

She glared down at his hand that was preventing her from leaving before she bent down so they were almost nose to nose. "Let me go or I will put enough electricity through you to lay out an elephant," she told him in a hissed whisper.

He laughed at her. A full out throw his head back, laughed, and dropped her wrist.

The teen rolled his eyes and stood to move and stand beside her. "Again, please forgive Logan's lack of manners." He sighed and took a step closer to her. "This isn't exactly going as planned. If you don't come with us, you'll regret it. Very soon."

"Is that a threat?" she asked and narrowed her eyes on him. If she were honest, his buddy did threatening a lot better. The teen simply didn't have the right look to be threatening.

He shook his head. "It's a warning, not a threat," he replied as he raised a hand and placed it on her shoulder. "Will you come with us?"

She shook her head. "I suggest you leave."

He shook his head and sighed. "We don't have time for this discussion." His fingers flexed slightly on her shoulder, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed. He caught her and lifted her into his arms. "See, all it takes is the right bit of persuasion, Logan."

Logan snorted. "Great, kid, now I get to deal with her boss who is charging in our direction. I'll get you for this later." He rose and intercepted the manager.

"What have you done to Ziva?" the manager demanded while waving a large stainless-steel spoon at them, something that looked suspiciously like broccoli cheese soup was flying in all directions as he waved it.

"She's fine, I think she fainted. Could be she's coming down with something," Logan answered quickly.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, we'll take her home," the boy holding her added.

The spoon lowered slowly. "You ... know her?"

Logan plastered a serious look on his face. "Yes, don't worry, she's in good hands. No worries. Craig, let's get her home."

Her boss simply stood there and watched them go.

They made it outside to the ca,r and Logan pulled open the driver's door and turned to Craig. "Dump her in the back."

"She isn't a sack of potatoes." Craig shook his head, managed to get the rear passage door open, and carefully climbed in with Ziva in his arms. He wasn't about to dump her in the back of the vehicle like a thing they'd found on the street. She was a person.

Logan climbed behind the wheel. "Same as far as I'm concerned. I can't believe I let Storm talk me into running this little errand for her," Logan grumbled.

"Hey, come on, if it's true this evil person wants her, then we needed to get to her first," Craig reminded him as the truck peeled away from the curb.

"If that little girl thinks she can bring me down, then she needs to be set straight," Logan harrumphed from the front seat.

"Drop it. She obviously doesn't know how hard it is to drop you. Let's get her back to school. I don't have any clue how long she's gonna stay out for," Craig told him.

The only answer that came from Logan was a snort.

Craig rolled his eyes. Logan could be difficult to deal with on a good day, downright impossible on a bad one. At least he seemed to be in a mostly decent mood today, despite the grumbling. Though, as the Wolverine, Logan was downright deadly. And nearly impossible to kill. He healed quickly too. Craig had no desire to tangle with him if the claws came out. For the most part, Logan was a loner because he didn't play well with others. How he'd ended up as a part of the X-Men team was anyone's guess. No one knew exactly how old he was, except Logan himself, and he wasn't telling.

He decided to ignore Logan and dropped his eyes to the girl cradled in his arms. The whole package she put together screamed rebellious. He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. The brown of her hair was so dark it appeared nearly black in a certain light. Purple highlights streaked through her hair. She wore a loose-fitting, faded t-shirt, artfully ripped jeans, and Converse high tops that had been black at one time but were now faded and tattered. Everything about her screamed hands-off.

His eyes remained on her face when he spoke to Logan. "What exactly can our new friend here do? You never really filled me in."

"She can control electricity," Logan answered casually.

Craig had a sudden urge to drop her. "Electricity? Like what, she's a walking electric chair? Man, she's gonna fry my ass if she wakes up right now!"

Logan chuckled. "Hey, I told you to dump her in the back. Not my fault you didn't listen, kid."

Craig swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the innocent-looking girl in his arms. She may appear innocent, but she was also deadly. He held back a snort at that thought. Weren't they all similar to her in some way? He thought of the three curtain climbers back at the school, yeah, those three could level a building if they chose to. He didn't want her to wake up and fry him, so he subtly willed her to remain asleep. When his powers had first manifested, he had no control over them. A simple touch could put a person out for the rest of their life. That wasn't a guess either. It had been a relief when his parents stumbled across Xavier's school. It helped him learn to control things. He could now touch someone without affecting them unless he wanted to. He was also able to control how long he put someone out for. Well, at least for a normal human, it worked. It was more difficult with mutants; there were times when their powers interfered.

When she stirred and let out a little groan he went stiff. "Logan, she's waking up!"

"Relax, kid, we're nearly there."

"We damn well better be. I do not want to be a charred memory."

"If she ruins the upholstery, then you get to explain it to Storm."

Craig scowled at the back of Logan's head. "That's gonna be hard to do if I'm dead." He remained quiet, his eyes fixed on Ziva as Logan pulled the truck up the driveway and parked in front of Professor Xavier's school for Gifted Youngsters.

"There, we arrived," Logan told him as he exited the car and stepped over to open the door for Craig.

Ziva regained consciousness as he stepped out of the vehicle. The fierce anger in her eyes didn't bode well for him.

"Put. Me. Down. Now!" she snarled.

"Um, that might not be such a good idea. Sometimes my power can make people a little wobbly," he replied.

"Down. Now," she demanded.

Craig gave Logan a pleading look for assistance. Logan shrugged. Great, no help from the Wolverine. "Ow! What the hell?" Despite the shock she'd just given him, he somehow managed to keep from dropping her.

"I told you to put me down. Either do it, or the next one will put both our butts on the pavement," she snapped.

"Wow, kid, you're such the charmer." Logan chuckled as he turned and headed for the front door of the school.

Craig sent Logan's back a glare as he set Ziva on her feet and waited a second to make certain she wasn't going to topple over. "Come on, follow us. Storm will want to speak to you." He started after Logan and looked back once to make certain she was following and not making a run for it. She trailed after them, though she didn't look pleased about it. He stepped through the door that Logan had left open. When he turned, he gave a start when he realized Ziva was right on his tail. The girl moved fast. He shut the door and led her down the hall to Storm's office.

"Where are we anyway?" she asked.

"This is a school for people like us. A place where we can live in peace while learning to control and use our powers," he told her while walking backward down the hallway. "We're taking you to see Storm, she's the headmistress. She took over as the head of the school after Professor Xavier passed. He's the one who started this place."

"Name sounds familiar. But I'm not exactly a part of the whole mutant community."

Craig chuckled. "I'm not sure there's much of a community. We're too scattered. But this place is sort of a haven for those who want it." He shrugged.

"You two coming?" Logan asked from where he had stopped outside the door of Storm's office.

Craig could feel the animosity rolling off Ziva, despite her curiosity over the school. It was obvious she didn't want to be there. This probably wasn't going to be fun. He supposed that knocking her out could have a bit to do with her anger.

Logan shoved the door open and stepped inside.

Craig took a deepbreath and allowed Ziva to go first before he stepped through the doorway.