Raina was surprised to find the pool of the mansion still intact. It was a little green and full of debris but hidden down a little path from the main entrance. She found it before she found Neena and started helping with the cleanup. It was where she had been spending her time before she found any of the others- cleaning it up- with the help of Naveed and Flloyd when they had the chance.

The Pool was becoming a refuge for her these days in the heat. She was used to the extreme cold and unlike her brother who seemed to be adapting well she needed to cool off on a regular basis. Though the mansion clean-up was still taking place, no one had really been down to this end of the property besides Raina and her brother- at least no one that she knew of. That wasn't to say they wouldn't either. But for now she was content to have it to herself.

It was on one of these days during the cleanup that Raina seperated from the others (snuck away) for a dip. She didn't like having a huge crowd with her- or anyone with her for that matter- because of her mutation growth since the camps. Raina wasn't exactly proud of turning into a part fish. Sure, they made it look cute on TV but they never showed you how much dead scales itched until you shed them off or how slimy and heavy a fish tail could be. It was also overwhelmingly powerful and Raina often smacked her head on the sides of the pool from propelling herself too fast.

Today when she'd gotten up she knew it would be a scorcher so she had come to the school prepared. Sitting her bag of sunscreen and a towel next to the pool steps Raina took one more look around to be sure no one was watching and stripped off her clothes. It was easier to swim without the clothes, especially when the gills slit her throat. If she wore anything when she hit the water she felt like she was being strangled.

Wearing nothing she stepped into the water to her ankles and then to her knees. Her feet started to tingle and her bones started to shift. By the time she was submurged to her waist the twisting of bones was too great a pain and she hurled herself under just in time for the gills.

Being under the water for the first time was always disorienting. Raina always felt for a few moments that she might drown mid-transformation but Flloyd had been helping her learn to stay calm. While everything was still shifting she opened her eyes and let them adjust to the underwater light. The chlorine stung her gills and the scales itched like always but finally the transformation was complete.

She'd forgotten all about needing to cool off during the tense moments but now that she felt more at home in her skin she gave a flick of her powerful tail and began to enjoy the briskness of the water.

She experimented with making noise under the water starting to understand that she could freeze it from beneath. She was beginning to learn how to hold her air above water by closing her gills. They didn't want to close on their own and she'd often need to hold them shut with her hands but little by little she was learning not to do that.

Her red hair flowed around her and change the colour of the water a little as the dye came out. She stretched her arms and practised swimming and turning, adjusting her weight and boyancy, coming up and going down.

The minutes were slipping away rather quickly but she was in her own little world unknowing if anyone from the group was around or looking for her.

Iris slipped away from the rebuilding efforts to walk around the grounds. No one seemed to mind her presence. In fact, she was surprised to find some actually wanted her there. But she still had troubles connecting with them. Even growing up she'd been shy, so it would simply take time to adjust again.

In the meantime though, she needed space to think at times.

Eventually she found herself down by the pool area. From her vantage point, she didn't see anyone around. And the water reminded her that she had the perfect way to achieve some momentary balance.

She closed her eyes and visualized the gems on her back, specifically the pale violet tanzinite. Immediately a wave of tranquility flowed over her.

"That's better," she sighed aloud. She yawned reflexively, and continued on toward the pool. As she neared, a small blob of water floated off of the top, hovering over the rippling liquid. It began morphing into random shapes; things and people she had seen in the past few days on the property.

It wasn't until she was nearly to the edge of the pool that she realized someone else was already in the water. The little blob lost shape and plopped back into the pool, as her concentration was distracted by what looked like a fish tail. A very large, very not-belonging-to-any-fish-she'd-seen fish tail.

"Whoa.... that's new...."

Raina had been floating on her back just below the surface of the water with her arms outstretched. She was letting the water cool her but was enjoying the brightness of the sun. Her hair floated around ghost-like in the water and the light sent prisms glittering off her scales. She was focusing on her breathing and thinking back to a year ago when a shape moving caught her eye. She quickly submurged herself completley and silently sending small ripples throughout the pool.

She coudln't see who or what it was from her perspective- chances were it was either a deer coming 'round to take a bitter drink or a mansion resident. She tried coasting closer to the pool's edge casting a dark form in the water seen from above. Nope- she still couldn't see who was peering over the edge. With a mental sigh and shrug she pulled her head above water silently peeking her eyes out and flaring her nostrils looking comedically like an alligator. It took her eyes a moment of adjusting to realize what was looking back at her.

"Iris?" she said underwater causing herself to choke. She pulled her head out of the water coughing then clasped her hands around her throat. It wasn't easy holding herself upright- it wasnt like she could easily stand in the pool. She was constantly wriggling her tail the way she'd normally tread water with her feet.

Happy to see the young woman, but also mortified that not only had she been caught topless- but caught with a tail she looked up at the woman rather sheepishly with red cheeks. "Uh..." she started knowng that Iris wouldn't know about her mutation- but thinking if anything would understand extreme mutations she would- "Coming in for a swim?" she gave a goofy grin knowing at this point there was no hiding. Afterall, she was lucky it was Iris who came for a walk and not Ted or someone else ....

The fish tail disappeared, and a head popped out of the water in its place.

"Iris?"

"Raina?" She blinked in surprise. But that was definitely the redheaded ice chanter she'd met so long ago. But.... she didn't remember Raina saying anything about being a mermaid....

"Uh... Coming in for a swim?"

Iris chuckled and shook her head. In her normal mind, she might have been embarrassed by Raina's lack of clothing, and her cheeks did turn slightly red. But the Liquid Gem made her easygoing and carefree, so it didn't bother her much.

Besides her attention was focused on the whole mermaid thing.

"Wow, I though you just sang ice out of the air. Is this new?"

Now that she knew who she was talking to, Iris crossed her legs and sat at the pool's edge easily. Another blob took shape and floated out of the pool. Like the first, it randomly changed appearance as they spoke.

"It's good to see you're all right. I was worried I wasn't going to see any of you again, after hearing about the Camps, and seeing how badly the place was torn up." She frowned slightly, a bit of her guilt cutting through the gem's tranquility.

Raina breathed a sigh of relief and Iris's warm responce. She lowered her frame back into the water and reached her arms over the pools edge and hung on the side. The sun was peeking through the trees and finally a breeze picked up. It had been a while since she'd seen Iris- she was looking considerably well! Raina wasn't sure if she'd been in the camps or not, but knew Naveed had mentioned meeting someone that fit her description when he was scowering the place.

"Wow, I though you just sang ice out of the air. Is this new?"

Raina gave another sheepish grin. "Yah, I'm a madame narf" she joked. "There wasn't much in our old native legends about fish people... So I dont think this part can be explained away." she gave a laugh. "I think the extreme conditions and stress in the camp forced my mutation to go furthur. It was probably set to happen all along but at a slower pace. Still I guess all at once is better than shaving fish scales off my legs every morning." She was doing her best to sound funny and make light of the situation- she was growing used to the tail thing- but it didn't change the fact she hated herself for being even more of a mutant than before. Rupert could never love a mutant. If she wanted to be with him she'd need to find a cure.

"It's good to see you're all right. I was worried I wasn't going to see any of you again, after hearing about the Camps, and seeing how badly the place was torn up."


"It wasn't a good scene." Raina admitted. "I'm ashamed to lump myself in with some people. Sadly, even some here. Xavier's school used to stand for peace and tolerence... I know we all felt victamized at the camps- I even had my moments- but what mutants were doing... It reminded me so much of the brotherhood of mutants. Just another extreme opposite of the church of humanity. " She thought about how Streak had behaved and some of the others. She'd never be able to whipe out those memories. "But you're safe. And home. That's good. Where were you? I didn't see you at the camps did you manage to evade?"

Her heart was pounding as she was really nervous. It was a blank what happened these past few months and it sucked. Not one sign of Geo and she missed you. He was the guy who she talked to and he showed her a good time. He brought her out of her shell somewhat and it helped her become a better mutant. Stepping outside she had on a white T-shirt and blue jeans. As she took a step forward she realized at the pool was Raine and Raina. Deja had decided to chat with the two amybe they could tell her info about Geo or help her just feel more comfortable. A smile was on her face,as she nodded at the duo. ''Hi guys,seems like forever since I've been here.'' Deja soon sat on the ground,next to the water when she noticed a fish tail. ''I see I missed some stuff. Your like a siren.''

"I think the extreme conditions and stress in the camp forced my mutation to go furthur. It was probably set to happen all along but at a slower pace. Still I guess all at once is better than shaving fish scales off my legs every morning."

Iris smiled a bit. "Saves a fortune in razors."

"It wasn't a good scene. I'm ashamed to lump myself in with some people. Sadly, even some here. Xavier's school used to stand for peace and tolerence... I know we all felt victamized at the camps- I even had my moments- but what mutants were doing... It reminded me so much of the brotherhood of mutants. Just another extreme opposite of the church of humanity."

She winced at the mention of those fanatics. The midnight mobbing, passed off as a cleansing ceremony, still burned fresh in her mind.

"But you're safe. And home. That's good. Where were you? I didn't see you at the camps did you manage to evade?"

The frown returned and she began fiddling with the water bubble.

"Yeah. I had a close call with a Stalker bot, but got away all right." Unconsciously she reached around and scratched at her side, and the scar underneath. "I was.... trying to help from the outside. Things didn't quite go as planned though. Sorry."

The blob of water briefly took on the shape of a ranch house, in response to Raina mentioning 'home'. Then it began twisting and bobbing, going from recognizable forms to geometric shapes and zigzags.

"It's still kind of hard to believe it happened. Not that I blame them though. The humans, I mean. For being scared of us. I think I'd give almost anything to be normal again...."

''Hi guys,seems like forever since I've been here.''

Iris glanced up to see an unfamiliar girl approaching. She seemed to know Raina though. ''I see I missed some stuff. Your like a siren.''

She sighed. "That's what we need. A siren to convince the humans we're not monsters. Not all of us, anyway." She didn't include herself in that group, because she was still fighting her mutation, rather than accepting it. She wished she could embrace her differences, like Raina seemed to have done.

Remembering her manners, she introduced herself. "Sorry. I'm Iris. Nice to meet you."

"It's still kind of hard to believe it happened. Not that I blame them though. The humans, I mean. For being scared of us. I think I'd give almost anything to be normal again...."

"Truer words were never spoken." said Raina with a disdainful look. She laid her head on her arms. "It's not so bad I guess... turning into a fish everytime I get wet... it's not fun like they make it look... no little mermaid jokes kay? Or i'll need to dye my skin and hair green."

She looked up when another approached, she recognized the woman as Deja, someone she'd met briefly when first moving in. She wasnt exactly liking all this attention... but if it was only her brothers and these two girls for now who knew... then she could keep Rupert from ever finding out.

"Hey." she said a little less enthusiastic. "Yeah, lots has been happening apparently." She gave a half hearted laugh at the siren comment.

Deja just pulled her hair back,her thoughts were runnig to fast in her head. She thought about her mom,dad,her boyfriend. Nothing in her world was going right and it literally sucked. ''So..how fast can you swim?'' Deja looked at her trying to occupy her time as of now. Being so bored beyond belief is never easy to get over. ''Hey! Have you guys seen Geo in the past couple of months?'' Deja just waited for a response maybe they knew something.

"Truer words were never spoken. It's not so bad I guess... turning into a fish everytime I get wet... it's not fun like they make it look... no little mermaid jokes kay? Or i'll need to dye my skin and hair green."

Iris chuckled and held up her hand. "No jokes. Got it."

"Hey. Yeah, lots has been happening apparently."

Now that was a monumental understatement. Her water bubble became a shimmery little smilie face, sporting a shocked expression. (Like this: )

''Hey! Have you guys seen Geo in the past couple of months?"

"Sorry, I don't know a Geo. Was he captured too?"

Iris shook her head. She had no way of knowing the girl spoke about one of the mutants who had tried to help her, when she went Haywire. Nor would she be able to connect the earth elemental with a face, as she'd never met him after she'd calmed down.

"I haven't seen Geo in a while, but sticking around here is probably your best bet." she said meeting Deja's eyes. "I think this would be the first place he'd go." she flicked her tail at the speed comment.

"I haven't really gone all out yet." she chuckled. "I get around pretty fast in the pool but i'm clumbsy. Like I newborn deer trying to run around on those wobbly legs. The potential for speed is there once they grow into it. Plus, I don't spend a lot of time in the water."

she thought back to her first encounter with DeathStar when she fell in the lake. That was the last time she ever got wet before changing.

She watched Iris's bubble with an amused look on her face. She made a deal that if Iris got too fancy with the thing she'd tease her maybe by freezing it. Then again, Iris could freeze her right in the pool like a fish-sicle!

"Well, I was wondering where you'd gotten off to..." Naveed emerged through the woods looking not unlike a mountain man. "Heya Sis? How's the water? Without waiting for a reply he walked right next to the pools edge by Iris and dunked his feet in." M'am" he said tipping an imaginary hat to Iris- whom he recognized from back when he was checking out the mansion.

"I came to return something to you, but I can see you've found much more interesting things to do." a smirk fell on his lips. His eyes traveled across to Deja, he tipped the imaginary hat again. "Hello, don't believe we've met. I'm Naveed."