Release

She was scared. She was backed into a corner, and once again, she didn't know what to do.

As Cassy dropped to her knees, she gripped her head, screaming. She didn't know what to do anymore. Xavier rolled closer to her, "Cassandra, please, calm down. I know it's hard to control, but-"

"NO!" She screamed, sending a wave of force at him. He let out a grunt as he stopped it from hitting him. He rolled closer, but she looked up, eyes full of fear and anger, "NO! Leave me ALONE!" This time, her face was concentrated, aimed right for Xavier. It knocked him back, his chair clattering to the ground.

She looked at what she'd done, eyes wide in fear. She turned for the door, but before she could touch it, the metal broke away, ripping from the hinges. For a moment, she wondered what happened, but she shook it off and ran. racing for the door of the facility. She was scared. She didn't know what to do. She let out a scream as she burst through the doors, into the cold night air.

She was terrified and didn't know what else to do. She started sobbing uncontrollably. She could hear alarms going off, and she knew they were looking for her. In a moment of sheer terror, she took off, running. She didn't know where, but she just ran. She had no one this far away from the city. Nobody to comfort her or help her. Nickie was back home, Lilly was with Gen X. Her parents probably didn't care if they dumped her here.

She was panting as she raced for the woods. Her shoulder hit a branch and she let out a scared scream, thinking someone hit her. She slashed her arm at it, destroying the entire tree. She let out an even more terrified yell, running faster. She just needed quiet. No people, no thoughts.

She didn't know how long she had run, but she made it to a quiet spot. She couldn't hear any cars. Or thoughts. She must be pretty deep in the forest. Maybe as far as New Jersey. She collapsed, crying into the pine needles and dirt. She had stopped her path of destruction a while ago, but she felt tired, drained. It hurt her to move. It hurt her to even lift her head.

"I don't know what Magneto sees in you, kid." Cassy didn't bother looking up. She felt her eyes getting heavy. In an instant, she felt her body being lifted. No arms were touching her, and as she was raised up, the tanned young man walked into her vision. Alex smiled at her. "He already has one powerful telepath. You're kinda like second place."

Cassy realized that she was trapped. Again.

She didn't plan on doing it again.

With a sudden burst of energy, she started screaming. Her powers came out, the world skewing around her. The ground started to crack and crumble around her, and trees that stood for years started to crack around her. Alex seemed unphased until she broke his control over her. As she dropped to the ground, her eyes went from a soft glow to a bright light. She looked up at him, her breath ragged and angry. "I'm finally free. If you try to take that away, I'll rip your throat out." She flicked her hand, sending Alex back into a tree.

He let out a laugh, coughing as he stood, "What, don't you want to control your powers? Like professor X wanted?"

Cassy didn't like his humor. She made the tree crack and threaten to fall, "I won't be controlled!"

From the trees, there were growls. Cassy ignored them, assuming it was an animal. In an instant, Vic was on her, tackling her and pinning her to the ground. "Will you LISTEN, Wilson?"

Cassy let out a scream, flailing under him. She was careful to not harm Vic, seeing as Nickie might dislike her impaling his father, but she hit and scratched at him. "No! NO, I'm alone out here! I'm FREE!"

Vic gripped her arm tightly and slammed it into the ground. "Shut UP! We aren't trying to control you!"

Cassy slowed her struggle, eyeing him, "You... You don't?"

Alex struggled up, "No. You can be free. And you can be with people at the same time."

Cassy looked back to Vic, no longer seeing him as her lover's father. She was looking at an opportunity. "Can I ever be free if I'm with people?"

Vic let out a snort, "Like I care." He noticed the storm of debris start up again, and he quickly back-peddled, "But it's worth a try, right?"