There was no question about it. I was different. I could set things on fire by just looking or touching them. I usually kept it under control but when my temper flared, so did the flames.

It happened when I was walking down the street. I stabbed the end call button on my phone. Why did Mack have to get himself arrested again? Was it so hard for him to stay out of trouble? Anger swept through me. I was going to have to bail him out again. The bail was a two week's worth of my paycheck from the grocery store I worked at.

The building exploded, sending me flying several feet away. I looked up at the wreckage, I was thankful that it had been after hours. I still needed to learn to control my new ability. Would I ever get used to being a freak-or mutant, as they had so eloquently labeled it in "X-Men"? Fire fell from my fingers, leaving a trail of smoke and ash in my wake.

A block from the building a van pulled up next to me and the side door slid open. Warning bells clanged in my head then there was a prick on my neck and a pair of hands grabbed me as I crumpled to the ground.

As I woke up, I was aware of voices near me. Something told me that what the people were saying was important so I kept my breathing regular and my eyes closed. "Bill, when the building blew up she seemed shocked; scared even."

"I know, Rachel, but did you see state of the building when she was done with it? She's obviously dangerous."

"She just didn't seem dangerous. I don't think she belongs in Binghamton is all."

"She has to go. I didn't make the choice. Clay did."

I opened my eyes and looked toward the people. There was a tall black man and a petit woman. "Are you guys going to send me to jail?"

The woman jumped and turned. The man did the same. He said "It's not jail really. More like an institute."

I felt close to tears. "When is my court date? I'm only sixteen I get tried as a minor."

The woman left the room and the man replied "It's not that kind of charge. There is no trial. You just go there."

I laughed. "I guess that makes me a hypocrite."

"What?"

"I was just lecturing my brother on getting arrested and sent to jail again. Now here I am in the same position."

A tear escaped and I tried to swipe it away. When my hands didn't move I looked down at them. There were tied to my chair. I started crying in earnest then. Sobs racked my body. I looked up at the man. "Please don't send me to jail. It was an accident. I didn't mean to do it. I didn't mean to. It was an accident." I repeated the phrase over and over, even after the man left. "It was an accident."