"No one can see me standing there, I must be invisible.

"No one can hear me screaming at them, my mouth must be sewn shut.

"No one talks to me; I must be just a shadow."-S.R.

…

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

I groaned as I reached around for the alarm clock, knocking it off the nightstand. My face was buried in the white pillow with my dark hair wildly tossed all over it. I picked the alarm clock off the floor and slammed it down on the desk, making the beeping stop. It was six o'clock and I woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day.

My name was Samantha Smith and I was a history teacher at a local high school. I had long dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and I was often mistaken as one of the students because I looked younger than twenty-six. I didn't have any children because all of the boyfriends I had were total jerks, especially David.

I dressed in a simple, long-sleeved, purple shirt, black pants and black sneakers with purple laces. Before leaving with my backpack of work for the students-I was always prepared-, I put on a necklace my mother gave me. It was small and golden but it didn't matter to me, it was a small apple. It was what my mother gave me before she died. I smiled to myself in the mirror and went out the door to walk to the school.

So far, you may think I'm a normal, happy person…oh, how wrong you would be. Once I entered the wild classroom, no one even acknowledged my presence at all. They were throwing things, jumping off the desks and yelling LOUDLY. I screamed at them as loud as I could for them to sit down but no one even glanced at me. Then, the second the English stepped in, everything went silent and every student sat down calmly. I think a rumor went around that when someone starred at her dead in her eyes, the person had a heart attack and they thought it was because of her eyes. But I doubted that ever happened.

The teacher glared at them for a second before leaving. A few seconds walked by and that was when all hell broke loose again! I huffed and got an idea with an imaginary light bulb flickering on above my head. I walked over to the green chalkboard and dragged my nails across the flat surface. A loud, irritating screech sounded, causing them to cover their ears and groan.

"Sit your asses down now!" I screamed at them but they just shook it off and started talking again.

Sighing, I dropped down in my chair and waited for the light bulb to flicker on again.

During lunch, I ate quickly and headed to the principal's office. He was writing something down; it was usually something about the budget. I sat in a chair in front of him but he didn't even notice me.

"Mr. Romel, some thing's up with these kids, I tried everything to get their attentions but nothing worked. I yelled, slammed my fists down on their desks, scratched the chalkboard and I even wrote the two most dreaded words up there! But even faking a pop quiz doesn't work!" I threw my hands up but he never even glanced up at me.

I yelled his name and slammed my fist down on his desk, loosing it. I didn't gain his attention at all, why was everyone ignoring me! The second I slammed my fist, the door opened behind me and his assistant walked in.

She was a slender Hispanic woman with long black hair in a bun, low-cut blouses and a usual black, tight skirt that ended mid-thigh.

"Mr. Romel" he raised his head when he heard her voice. "The budget is going low and we can afford to pay all but one teacher."

"Oh, that's a shame, well, what about that history teacher in room 9B?" he asked as I gave him a look of 'you wouldn't dare…'

"You mean Miss…" she checked her clipboard for my name, "…Smith? The brunette woman that barely shows up for school?"

"Barely? I come everyday and work my ass off to tame these kids!" I yelled.

"Yeah, just fire her, if she doesn't want to work, we don't have to pay her." he shrugged.

She smiled at him to show she understood and headed out, probably going to print a letter saying I'm fired. What he said caused an outrage in me; I stood up and lashed my arm out to slap him. But my eyes widened and my jaw dropped once I tried. A panic rose in my chest as I finally understood what was happening to me. My hand cruised straight through his face! I stood there, shocked with my hand in his face. I must have been a ghost…wait, I never died, they would have said so on TV no matter who I was!

"No…no…NO!" I screamed as I looked at my fading hands.

I was vanishing and there was nothing I could do…I ran out of the building, out into the rain. Every water drop fell through me as tears ran down my cheeks and falling through my body. I collapsed to my knees, sobbing but since I couldn't be seen or heard, it didn't matter if I was screaming or softly sniffling.

That day, I walked home depressed and confused. With the little solidity I had, I lay down on my bed and cried myself to sleep with my shoes still on. Later, I woke up and remembered to get the mail. I dragged my body to the door and tried to walk through the door. Then, the door hit me as if rejecting me; I fell back on the ground, cursing and feeling disoriented. Hold on, I thought I was a ghost, how could I be solid all of a sudden? This just didn't make any sense to me.

Groaning, I stood up and touched the door handle. I almost went hysterical when I realized I wasn't a ghost…I was just something else. I walked out smiling and got my mail. I tossed the letter from the school into recycling and the rest was just advertisements except for a letter saying that my favorite author, Tina Clawn, was going to be in the town mall for book signing tomorrow. I thought, 'If I'm going to start looking for a job, I could start in the mall and get my book signed while I'm there.'

The next day, I went to the mall with my book, my favorite red-inked pen and a smile on my face but this time, I thought about experimenting. Maybe the fading-thing mostly depended on my energy or emotion so instead of walking, I drove there in my old black truck. I climbed out, wearing a nice blue, long-sleeved shirt, jeans and black shoes.

With several applications under my arm, I stood in the line that led to Tina Clawn, who sat at a table with extra books next to her incase if someone wanted to buy one. I hummed softly in my head as the man in front of me was getting impatient. I wasn't fading one bit so I was just plain happy so I had a smile plastered on my face but the smile on my face fell when I started getting a weird feeling. It was my 6th sense telling me to look in a certain direction. I looked and that was when I saw a Korean man hiding in the plant store with something in his hand. Was it a weird dark leafed plant? Then, the man collapsed to the ground for some reason. My head whipped back to see him on the ground with a pool of blood spreading in front of him!

I bent down and turned him onto his back, seeing a small hole in his chest. I dropped my book, dropped the applications and screamed at the top of my lungs. He was dead! At that moment, people started running for cover or the exit incase if the shooter was going to fire again. Finally, I realized what the Korean man in the plant store was holding, it was a gun. I glanced down at my hands again, seeing almost completely through them.

I figured that since no one could see me, I followed the man out with his gun tucked away in his black jacket. I ran with him to a random plane on the roof, really trying hard no to fall through the floor. I had to stop for a second to catch my breath as he jumped into the plane but one man stopped them from leaving.

He had short dark hair that looked like he had a buzz-cut a month or a few weeks ago, dark eyes, frightening claws and fangs. I stood completely still as he walked up to me, sniffing the air. A smirk grew on his face as he spoke.

"Zero had a little bird following him" he growled as my heart raced in my chest. "Found you" he whispered as it felt like my heart busted open.

In a swift motion, he kicked my feet out from under me and held me down by the back of my neck. The side on my face was pressed into the flat roof as I could see my hands become corporeal. A man stood up in the plane, starring straight at me.

"Please don't kill me" I cried, "I swear I won't tell anyone!"

"She's a mutant" the man in the plane with a red vest and swords said.

"Hey!" I called, feeling insulted. "I'm not a mutant, I'm just a history teacher, well...I was until they fired me yesterday."

"You think Stryker wants to talk to her?" another man said in the plane.

"Yeah, Vic, she could be helpful" a black man appeared behind the animalistic one.

"Fine, but I still don't trust the bitch" he pulled me to my feet and shoved me towards the plane.

"You don't have to trust her, just don't kill this one" the black man replied.

The guy with the red vest and swords asked me what was my name as he hand cuffed my hands behind my back.

"My name is Lily Spencer" I lied.

"Well, Lily, call me Wade, I will be your flight attendant this fabulous evening" he said in a feminine voice with a grin.

I sighed, "This is going to be a long ride, isn't it?"

Every minute felt like an hour but when we landed, I practically ran out of the plane. The only thing stopping me from accidentally slipping off the edge of a building was the animalistic guy grabbing me by the back of my neck, pulling me back and catching me. He held me in his arms, his fiery eyes meeting my hazel ones. Mentally shaking myself, I rolled out of his arms and landed on my knees.

"So, I'm supposed to see Skyker?" I asked.

"His name is Stryker and unless you want to plummet to your death, I suggest you follow me." the guy's snarl looked a little less…snarly.

Cautious, I walked with them through a door on the roof that led to stairs and a large dark room. The one who caught me ordered me to sit down on a metal table and wait for Stryker as they left. I sat there alone in the dim-lit room for a few minutes until I heard a stern voice speak.

"What's your name?"

"Lily…Spencer" it took me a second to remember the fake name I was using.

"You hesitated, you're lying".

"No, I'm not just sure if I should tell my name to someone who I can't see." I replied.

The brighter light turned on and I saw a gray-hairing man with dark, old eyes.

"My name is William Stryker, would you please hold out your hand?" I raised an eye brow at his request.

I turned and hopped on my butt so he could see my cuffed hands. He disappeared from sight for a second as I felt something pinch my right index finger hard. I recoil my fingers toward my palm as a reflex. He walked toward a machine with a small needle in his hand that had a little blood on it, my blood. He dropped the needle into the machine and turned on a large screen to my right.

'SAMANTHA SMITH' it said at the top. It said everything about me. It even listed my powers. 'INVISIBILITY, DENSITY SHIFTING (she can walk through solid objects), CAN'T BE HEARD WHEN INVISIBLE'.

"So, looks like I was right" he rose his head, pointing his nose high like the leader of a wolf pack would.

"You try trusting a bunch of murdering strangers while being the only female among men." I felt a random spike of anger.

"Well, since you have been fired from your job as a history teacher and your powers are still difficult to control, how about you work with a mutant mercenary team I call 'Team X'? You could be a great asset and who else would help a mutant?" he asked as I frowned sadly.

It was silent for a minute as I thought over my options, keeping my eyes on the floor. Go home, try to control my powers without help, look for a job while I have to sell my car to pay for the rent? Or stay, be around other mutants that could understand me and possibly have a home? My choice was obvious.

"Okay, I'm in" I raised my head and smiled.