Wildfire: X-Men Evolution Fanfic

Chapter 15- Searching

Nikki had been pretty shaken up over what happened two weeks previously. She looked over her shoulder more often and was careful about where she went after school. She wasn't paranoid, she was just extra cautious.

She didn't want to be caught off guard again.

She didn't have any nightmares either. Not one nightmare had plagued her since. But she did have the strangest dreams. They were always voices in the darkness, whispering. They weren't bad; she knew that.

Then whenever she woke up, she found vines and flowers decorating her bed. It was as if nature had wandered into her room and decided to stay there. But she didn't mind. She really liked the plants.
Rogue didn't mind the plants either, as long as they stayed on Nikki's side.

Evan had started to call her Garden Girl. She didn't really mind; it had a nice ring to it. But what did bother her was that Bobby started to call her Freak of Nature. It had meant to be a joke, but Nikki got so mad that she lit his pants on fire.

After that, Garden Girl became the only nickname she would have. It was also kind of sad; no one had come up with a code name for her. She just accepted it as it was.

Despite being a telepath, Nikki had no idea that everyone was avoiding her. She didn't really pay attention; she was lost in her own little world. Ever since she discovered her connection to nature, she had been hearing plants and feeling them more and more. She was distracted by the plants' constant need for attention.

So she definitely didn't notice when her birthday was almost upon her. She would be turning seventeen this year. In another month it would be Maddy's fourteenth birthday. As Nikki wandered aimlessly around the mansion one morning, she noticed that everyone was gone.

"I wonder where everyone went." She thought out loud. "It's not like it for them to all just disappear." Frowning slightly, she headed towards the library. Passing through the open doorway, she selected a chair and fell into it.

She sat there for several minutes, trying to figure out what was going on. They certainly couldn't have all just disappeared. They only need a small team for a mission, so that couldn't be it. Sighing, Nikki turned her attention to the desk and gasped.

Sitting on the desk was a bouquet of daffodils, and a letter in front of it. Opening up the letter, her eyes went wide as she read it:

                                   ***
Nikki,

Happy birthday. I love you so much. You're my best friend and the greatest sister I could ask for. I know you've been a bit distracted lately with your training and other things, but I thought that this little activity might cheer you up.

I can guess that you have that suspicious look on your face whenever you know I've done something. Well here it is:

I have set up a scavenger hunt throughout the mansion. At each point, there will be another clue. All the clues will eventually lead you to me and everyone else, plus a special surprise. Here's your first clue:

I look flat, but I am deep,
Hidden realms I shelter.
Lives I take, but food I offer.
At times I am beautiful.
I can be calm, angry and turbulent.
I have no heart, but offer pleasure as well as death.
No man can own me, yet I encompass what all men must have.

Good luck sis. See you at the end.

~Maddy

                                  ***

Nikki sat there, dumbfounded. So that's why she couldn't find anyone in the house; they were all hiding! Reading the clue again, she started thinking about the answer. I look flat but I am deep...

"Hidden realms I shelter...Lives I take but food I offer...hmmmm..."
Nikki wondered aloud. "It would have to be something or some place I could get to. It could be a million things!" She plopped down on the couch, slightly frustrated.

"I encompass what all men must have...well, what does man need? Man needs food, air, and...water. Water!" Nikki jumped up and rushed outside. Opening her wings, she flew to the cliff edge that Logan often used for rescue exercises. At the edge was a rock with a little note under it. Opening the note, she read it out loud:

Nice job with the first clue Nikki. Here's the second: Glittering points, that downward thrust, sparkling spears, that never rust.

"Sparkling spears that never rust? Hmmmm. Well, all spears are either made of metal or wood, but wood doesn't sparkle. But metal always rusts. So, what could it be?" She stood in thought for a moment. Glitters but never rusts...What else glitters?

While she sat concentrating, Nikki made a little snow figurine in her hand. She smiled as she inspected the little snowflake she had made. It sparkled in the sunlight.

Thinking of something, Nikki made a long, sharp point of one of the edges. "An icicle...Oh! An icicle! But, it's Spring. All the snow has melted...the rec room!"

Nikki ran back into the mansion. Exiting the elevator into the basement, she ran full speed to the empty storage room that the Professor had given to Nikki and Bobby for ice practice. Taped to a fresh icicle was another note. That note led her to the garage.

The series of notes led her all over the property. The second-to-last one led her to park down the road from the mansion. It read "The one place in the mansion that you love most."

Simple. The library. Running back to the mansion, Nikki thought about how wonderful it was that Maddy and the others had done this for her. She loved them all so much.

Reaching the library, she threw open the doors to be met with cheers of "Surprise!" and "Happy Birthday!"
Nikki giggled at all of her friends. Streamers, balloons, and snowflake stickers were everywhere.

"Happy Birthday sis!" Maddy ran up to her. "So, how did you like the scavenger hunt? I tried not to make it too hard, but I thought it was tricky enough."

"It was great! I had a lot of fun solving all the riddles. You did great Maddy" Nikki replied with a huge smile.

The rest of the day they partied, played games, and ate a lot of cake. That night, as she went to bed, Nikki felt so happy and right at home among everyone at the Institute. Other people might have a problem with her, but at least she felt accepted by the people that really mattered. It was the best night of sleep she had ever gotten.

Peaceful as can be.

************************

Hey guys! Another chapter, kind of a filler. It's alright, but I will update again soon!