Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When she was young, Maureen Shepherd knew she was different. Her grandfather had told her that, and it wasn't because she was the only one in her family that had dark hair and gray eyes while everyone else were blonde haired and blue eyed beauties. No. She was different because she had, what her grandfather believed, gifts. Her own natural talent that was different from the average or normal human being.

"You have special abilities that nobody else in this family has, Maureen," her grandfather had told her. He had always told his granddaughter that she was special but Maureen remembered his words most when he was lying in the hospital, fading away from the world. "You have very unique powers and you must learn to accept and control them. You must accept yourself for who you are. Otherwise, they will control you. If they control you, bad things will happen. No matter what happens, though, I will always love you."

Maureen was six when her grandfather had died. Despite not remembering him too well, he held a special place in her heart. She had taken his words, his very last words, by heart each and every day of her life.

I am special. I am unique. Grandpa said--says--so. I must accept myself for who I am.

At the time of his passing, Maureen was not aware on what her grandfather was talking about. When Maureen was nine, she had realized the meaning behind his words. When she was nine, her "special powers" appeared.

It had happened one day when she was walking home. It was after school, and there were boys playing basketball at the neighborhood park. Maureen always tried her best to ignore those nasty boys, but they never left her alone. They were mean. She had been told that they were mean because they were pulling pigtails...but Maureen didn't accept that. They were mean; the end.

"Hey, Maureen! Catch!" a boy shouted. He threw the ball at the back of Maureen's head. Before it could hit her, however, she had quickly turned around and threw her arms up and it looked like she was going to attempt to grab the ball. The ball never hit her but she never caught it, either. It ended up just mere centimeters in front of her face, frozen in place.

It was silent for a few good moments. Then the boys started yelling.

"She's a witch!"

Maureen started to inwardly panic. Witch? I'm a witch!? No—

As Maureen was panicking, the boys kept calling her names as they came closer to the young girl. Finally registering what was happened, the young girl smacked the basketball out of the air, hitting one of the boys. The ball bounced on the ground and Maureen darted home, not daring to look back.

Maureen hoped that was just some sort of...fluke of the imagination that happened. After all, it wasn't possible for something like that to happen, right?

Later that night, Maureen was having dinner with her family. The Shepherd family consisted of her parents, Thomas and Amelia and her younger brother, Tommy.

Maureen never really liked coming home. She loved and adored her mother and baby brother, but she was scared of her father. Her father worked a lot, drank a lot, and was abusive. He was not a very nice man, especially when he had a bottle in his hand...which was daily.

The night was like no other. Maureen's father was angry again and was yelling at her mother. Maureen couldn't tell you what it was about. It was something grown-up related, and she just couldn't remember what it was. (She had blocked it out, like any child and survivor would do.)

Thomas was about to strike Amelia, which caused Maureen great alarm. She hated when her father became physically abusive. Without thinking, the young girl threw out a wild hand gesture, as if she could prevent her father from getting violent.

When Maureen performed that specific hand gesture, the glass shard in Thomas's hand shattered. Everyone was dumbfounded for a moment and Thomas looked down at his hand in confusion. Maureen used both of her hands to cover her mouth, realizing what happened. As if knowing she had done it, Thomas slowly turned to look at his daughter with hatred burning in his eyes.

"You. Fucking. Freak."

Maureen's father dangerously stalked over to her. Maureen became figdety, taking steps back as her father came closer.

"Don't you dare, Thomas!" Amelia Shepherd cried. "Don't you dare hurt my daughter!"

Daddy's going to hurt me! Maureen thought horridly. Maureen crossed her arms in front of her face, as if it would protect her. It did. Multiple items in the kitchen started to combust. It made her father stop in his tracks.

"You fucking witch," Thomas spat. "I am not having a freak living in my house!"

"Then get out, Thomas! I will not kick my own daughter out of my home." Amelia told her husband. "She's nine years old, Thomas! She is your daughter, for God's sake!"

"This little bitch is no daughter of mine! Not while she's sick!" Maureen's father roared.

Despite not remembering what the argument between her parents were, those words were engraved in Maureen's mind. Her father thought she was a sick freak and that something was wrong with her. Maybe...maybe he was right.

After hearing his last words, Maureen watched her father walk out of her life. She would never see him again.

Four years after her first set of mutations kicked in, she received a new one shortly after her thirteenth birthday: she could get premonitions. Rarely have they been past, as most have been about the future. They had been about simple things too, like how her mother could have been late for a shift at a bad time, or how Tommy was going to have to get a cavity filled. Most of her premonitions were easy to decipher...most.

There was one premonition that she could not understand. The most Maureen could get out of it was that there were two men who were looking for her. One seemed passive, the other stoic and taller. That was the very first vision Maureen received and as the years went by it became more vivid and common.

A year later Maureen received yet another ability: the ability to feel and manipulate the emotions of others. This was perhaps her strongest and, ironically, dangerous ability she had. Sometimes it could be useful, sometimes it was not. Her mother suspected that she was always a natural empath but then something triggered and her emotions were amplified, now more than ever.

Maureen hated it.

Little did Maureen know was that about a year after her last mutation had presented itself, the two men in her vision would come to visit her.

It had now been six years since Thomas Shepherd left the family. Since then, life had been both hectic and normal. Hectic as Maureen had very special abilities, with one of them going off the rail as of late. Normal was only having the three Shepherd family members going about their daily lives. Maureen got out school about an hour before her brother did, leaving her to walk him home from school and watch him all by herself until her mother came home, usually between 8 or 9 o'clock in the evening. Today though, was Amelia's day off. She deserved it, in Maureen's opinion. She was always working.

Maureen was currently helping her now eight year old brother, Tommy, with his homework. His dyslexia made it very hard for him to read sometimes and seeing that Maureen was the excellent reader in the family, she was the one that usually helped him with his schoolwork.

It was mid afternoon. The Shepherd children had gotten out of school early, coming home at around three o'clock together. It must have been an hour later when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Maureen's mother shouted to her children, hurrying to get to the door.

Amelia Shepherd was the daughter of two immigrants and grew up being picked on for being Irish. Amelia had also married young, to a man who started out caring but became a monster when he had a bottle in his hand. They had Maureen young, and Tommy a little later. When Maureen first found out her abilities her father was...well, Maureen never liked to think or talk about him. He was a monster, hurting both her and her mother. He had also called her worthless, which no child ever wanted to hear from their family. (At least, family that mattered and Thomas Shepherd absolutely did not matter.) Now, Amelia was working on the clock to pay bills and had a freak like Maureen as a daughter all to herself. Maureen thought of her mother as a saint. She loved her and admired her. She was perhaps the bravest and strongest person Maureen knew.

"Maureen! There's some men here to see you. Did you get in trouble again?"

Maureen froze. She knew this could be two possible things: that the men came for her (she received more visions of them coming more recently, each with more detail than the last) or the fact that she was in fact, in trouble again.

Maureen had what you may call a temper. Sure, she was a quiet and generally described as a nice and sweet girl, but sometimes when she got picked on too much, she could snap. It happened more than she liked to admit. (This is also why Maureen hated her newly developed empath abilities. They made everything worse.)

The most recent incident happened last week. Maureen remembered because it concerned about her family; about Tommy. It did not end well, to put a long story short.

Maureen glanced at her brother, who was looking at her.

"I'll be right back," Maureen promised, ruffling his unruly hair before leaving him to go visit these two mysterious men.

Maureen walked into the living room where her mother and two men were sitting. They appeared to be having a conversation, judging by her mother's looks. Maureen didn't know what the men looked like, because their backsides were facing her.

"You called for me, mom?"

Maureen's mother looked up and the two men turned their heads to face her. One of them had bright blue eyes and dark hair that was a bit longer than the other man's, who appeared to be taller. Both of them could be defined as attractive, but Maureen wasn't interested in any way at all. They were too old for her.

"Hello Maureen. I'm Charles Xavier and this is my partner, Erik," the man with the bright blue eyes greeted the fifteen year old. "We're here because we want to talk to you about your mutation."

Maureen felt herself tighten up. They knew about her abilities? No one besides her mom and her brother knew about them.

"I...I knew you were going to come for me," Maureen admitted. "Are you going to take me away?"

"Sit down and we'll talk," said the man who introduced himself as Charles Xavier. Maureen did as what he suggested, sitting next to her mother.

"Now, Maureen, how did you know that Erik and I were coming for you?" Charles asked.

Maureen didn't know if she should tell them or not. She looked over to her mother questioningly.

Maureen's mother nodded in encouragement. "Go on, Maureen."

Maureen hesitated. Could she really tell them? If she did, what would they do to her? Would they take her away? Would they do things to her? Maureen shuddered at the thought.

There's no need to be afraid, Maureen. You can trust us.

Maureen's eyes widen. It was Charles's voice, but Charles wasn't speaking.

"Did you—?"

"I am a telepath, Maureen. We're just like you, Erik and I. You can trust us."

Maureen glanced over to Erik, still somewhat wary of him.  He had yet to speak and was a bit intimidating. 

"What can he do?"

Maureen heard her mother gasp, and she turned to see that her mother's necklace was hanging in the air.

"I can manipulate metal," came Erik's answer, Maureen looked backed at the men. She took a deep breath, ready to answer.

"Alright. I knew because...I received a vision of two men coming here," Maureen explained. "I didn't see their faces, but I can now assume that they are you."

"You had a vision of us coming?" Erik asked, seemingly intrigued.

Maureen nodded in confirmation. "I did."

"And can you do anything else?"

Maureen shrugged, but her mother coaxed her into telling them

"Yes. I can...freeze and make things explode and..." Maureen took a big gulp. "I can...sense and manipulate emotions."

"Really?" Charles looked intrigued. "That is quite fascinating. Did they all appear at once?"

"No," Maureen answered quickly, quietly. She saw Erik's mouth twitch. He probably found her quietness amusing as many often did. Her next door neighbor and perhaps only friend, said that she was like a little church mouse.

With conversation flowing smoothly, Charles and Erik explained that they came to Maureen because they wanted to recruit her and take her back to a place that involved the CIA. They were going after a man by the name of Sebastian Shaw and they were looking out for mutants, people like Charles, Erik, and Maureen. By the way Maureen could sense Erik's emotions, he was an enemy. A big one.

I wonder what he did. Erik seems to be connected to him somehow, Maureen thought.

"The government is involved?" Maureen's mother asked. If the government was involved, neither Shepherd woman knew how to feel about it. They were very...wary. Amelia was more so than Maureen and it didn't take an empath or a telepath to figure that one out.

"No," Erik answered. "Not for all of it."

"What he means is that while they're involved in recruiting mutants, we'll be handling Shaw alone," Charles explained.

"And you want to recruit my daughter in this?"

"Precisely," Erik answered. Maureen wasn't sure on how to feel on his answer. She stared at him, but turned away as soon as he looked at her.

"We will keep your daughter safe, I promise you that, Ms. Shepherd," Charles said. Maureen felt his curiosity, and how he genuinely wanted to help. "While she's with us, she can learn to control her mutations."

Maureen nodded to herself, thinking about it. As she thought about it, Charles listened in on her thoughts. He would later tell her that she's a loud thinker.

Charles could see how Maureen was reluctant. As he gently probed her mind—the young girl had given him permission trusting him to an extent—he wondered if the young girl was so reluctant and recluse because of her father. The man had made her feel so...insecure; weak. He wondered if any of those children that had picked on her made her feel this way. If Maureen accepted their offer, Charles was sure that the other recruits he and Erik had picked out would make her feel more...self-confident. He knew that Raven would. She would love to have Maureen around.

"You really want to help me?" Maureen asked. "If I went with you?"

"If you help us, we'll help you," replied Erik.

Maureen thought about it. She turned to her mother.

"Mom, what do you think?"

"I think it would be wonderful that you can learn how to control your abilities," Amelia told her. "I just remember that last week, the salad bowl exploded while you were making the salad!" she added half-heartedly. Maureen smiled at that. She did, and she got salad dressing and green lettuce all over herself. It was such a mess but her mother didn't mind—Amelia was used to the accidents by now.

"Besides, you've been saying you've been having a hard time on your emotion power?" Amelia asked.

Maureen sighed. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed as her mother let that slip. She looked at Charles and Erik, who didn't seem phased at all. "I guess I could go with you."

Maureen swore that Charles brightened up when she said that.

"Excellent."

Maureen only hoped that she made the right choice.

Chapter Text

Charles and Erik had explained to Maureen that they were going to pick up one more mutant, and that they needed her assistance. 

That's why Maureen was standing inside an aquarium at the moment, staring at fish in one of the exhibits. Most of the fish appeared to be clown fish. Sometimes, the young mutant wondered what it would be like to live in the water, as if she was an underwater creature. She always wanted to be a kraken or a siren.

"You seem to be staring at those fish hard."

Maureen flinched when she heard the voice, looking around for the source. She found to her left that there was a teenaged boy by her side. (Where did he come from?) He was taller than her by a good few inches. He had red hair and freckles, but you had to look close enough to see them. He could have been no more but just a few years older than her. She guessed he was around seventeen or eighteen years old.

Maureen swallowed. What could she say to this boy? Was this the mutant that Charles and Erik wanted to find? Her instincts told her to keep talking to the older teen.

Heart thumping, Maureen answered. "I find things underwater fascinating. I love the sea. I like fish."

Immediately Maureen wanted to kick herself. What kind of answer was that? She felt embarrassed.

"Hm. That's crazy," the boy began. "You like fish and I like fish too. Maybe we should get a bite sometime and talk about it," he ended, rolling his head and tilting it down to face her. She was short compared to him, as she was with everyone.

Maureen bit her cheek, trying not to laugh. That was one of the most...pathetic pick up lines she had ever heard. He was cute, though, she'd give him that.

"I'd rather go out with the fish," Maureen told the redhead, trying not to sound amused as she gave him a sincere look. Despite thinking he was cute, she wasn't interested in dating at the moment. Deciding that she had enough of this amusing encounter, she walked away. It was only mere seconds later when she heard a high pitched whistling sound. She had almost missed it, but she caught it just in time. It made her wonder....

"These fish?" the boy asked, and Maureen turned around. She found that the fish they were both observing just seconds ago had disappeared from view. The young girl couldn't help but grin figuring out that yes, this must be the boy Charles and Erik told her about.

"Is that what you like to do? Scare all the fish away with your...ability?" Maureen wondered. She watched the boy's face become pale, just as Charles and Erik came up behind her.

"Thank you, Maureen," said Charles, before he and Erik started to talk to the boy.

On their way to the CIA, Maureen found out that the boy's name was Sean Cassidy and that yes, he liked to scare the fish away. He was seventeen years old and he still lived with his family. Maureen thought he was funny and easy to talk to.

"So, how old are you Maureen?" Sean asked her.

"I'm fifteen," Maureen replied.

"Really?" Sean seemed surprised.

"Really," Maureen repeated.

"Wow," Sean said. "I was hitting on a fifteen-year-old?"

"You weren't doing a very good job at it," Maureen admitted. "Is that how you talk to women? If so, you need to do better."

Maureen could hear Charles chuckle softly and could feel that Erik was a bit annoyed at her and Sean for chattering so much, as time went on.

"What can you do?" Sean asked.

"I can freeze things in place and blow stuff up," Maureen answered simply. She's already seen what he can do (sort of); she thought it was fair enough that she share, too. "I also get visions but not as often as...my other abilities."

"Can you show me?"

"Maybe later," Maureen promised, as they continued to play their game of twenty questions. She found out that Sean was also of Irish descent, was an only child, and somewhat of a class clown. Overall, Sean was nice with a goofy streak. She liked him, despite not knowing him for long.

The mutants arrived at the government facility late that night, so Maureen and Sean wouldn't meet the others until tomorrow. That was okay, Maureen thought. She could wait.

Maureen had a feeling that she and Sean would become good friends, and that she would make new ones. For the first time in her life, she would have friends and they would accept her for who she was. She couldn't wait.

Maureen didn't get much sleep that night.

After Charles showed her where she would be staying, she thanked him and got ready for bed when he left. When Maureen finally laid down at twelve, she just stared up at the bleak ceiling. She thought of her mother and she thought of her brother. Who was going to help her mother and watch Tommy while she was away? Mrs. Roberts from next door? Maureen shuddered at the thought. Tommy would make the old woman go bald.

Maureen probably did fall asleep for about an hour or two, but then she was wide awake once more and got ready for the day. She was anxious, really anxious, about meeting the others. Would they like her? The only other person she knew here besides Charles and Erik was Sean, but who knew? Sean might not want to be her friend anymore after they meet the others. The thought made her sad.

Just as Maureen gathered up her courage to go out there to meet the others, there was a friendly knock at her door.

It's now or never, Maureen thought to herself. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door, revealing a pretty blonde haired girl. She was bubbly and Maureen didn't need her empath ability to figure that out.

"Hi! I'm Raven, Charles's sister," the blonde greeted.

Maureen blurted the first thing that came to her mind. "Charles has a sister?" Then she flushed in embarrassment. Maureen really needed to work on her filter and her mouth. She really hoped that she didn't offend this girl who appeared to be nice and genuine to her. Maureen mentally face palmed her self. God, you're so stupid!

Raven didn't appear to be offended by Maureen's outburst as let out a small laugh. At first, Maureen thought she was laughing at her but she didn't get the feeling her Raven being nasty to her. Despite just meeting her, Raven didn't seem like the type of girls who would pick on others. 

"Yes. Technically speaking, I'm his foster sister," Raven explained, her bright smile never fading away. Maureen smiled back at her, her nervousness beginning to ebb away.

"My name is Maureen. Maureen Shepherd," Maureen introduced herself, offering Raven her hand who took it...and dragged Maureen with her down the hall. It wasn't a forceful gesture; Maureen could feel the friendliness coming off of Raven. She was excited. Maureen couldn't help but feel excited, too.

"Charles told me about you. He mentioned how terrified you felt, too. You don't need to be scared, we're all nice," Raven assured the young teenager. "Well, Alex can be a little moody but I think he was in confinement."

"Oh," is what came out of Maureen's mouth, and she wanted to slap her palm against her forehead. Oh? Really, Maureen? Oh?

When Raven took her to the recreation room, there were no occupants. It was Raven and Maureen.

"The others are coming soon, and Charles, Erik, and Moira already left," Raven explained.

Maureen nodded, even though she didn't know who Moira was. As if she sensed this, Raven told her that Moira was an agent who was helping the mutants. Maureen only nodded again as an answer.

"Are you hungry?" Raven asked. "We'll have breakfast once everyone is up and ready but you can eat now if you want."

"No, I'm good," Maureen answered. She couldn't even eat if she tried, she was so anxious. "But thank you though. You're very kind."

Raven smiled at that. "Thank you, Maureen. You're really sweet, yourself."

Maureen looked down, blushing at the compliment. Then, realizing that she didn't know who exactly Raven was, Maureen looked up again at the blonde.

"Raven, are you a—a..." Maureen trailed off, not knowing how to ask.

"Am I a mutant?" Raven guessed Maureen's question, who nodded. "Yes, I am. All of us here are. Well, except for the agents, but they won't bother us. Do you want to sit down?" she asked her new young friend, who nodded. Raven assumed she did that a lot, and it reminded her of Hank.

The two girls sat on one of the sofas and talked. Well, Raven did most of the talking, while Maureen nodded yes or no, or replied in short answers. She did build up courage while they talked, and asked Raven a few questions of her own. Raven didn't mind at all, which Maureen was thankful for. Raven was very kind and sweet.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad here, Maureen thought.

It was a little later when more people started to file in. Maureen took note of how everyone was young, though they were older than her. 

One by one, Maureen observed each and everyone of them. The one with the glasses that had dark hair must have been Hank, who worked in Division X. Raven talked about him a lot. (Maureen suspected that her new friend had a crush on the young doctor.) Then there was a dark skinned man who looked like he could be the oldest out of everyone in the room. His eyes shone with kindness. There was a blond haired boy with a black leather jacket on, and Maureen assumed it was Alex, the one that was apparently in confinement. There was another woman here among her and Raven. She had wings tattooed on her body and was very pretty. The last mutant one was Sean, who waved at his young friend. Maureen gave a small wave back. She could feel her palms becoming clammy once more as they all took in her appearance.

"Who's this?" Hank asked, checking out Maureen. Maureen could feel her stomach dropping. She opened her mouth to speak, but Raven beat her to it.

"This is Maureen, she came here last night with that one," Raven told the group, pointing towards Sean.

Alex snorted. "She came here with the redhead?"

"Yes," Maureen snapped immediately, scowling. She felt like she was being mocked, and she didn't like that. "Is there a problem with that?"

A few of the mutants in the room laughed. Maureen felt her face burn and she looked away from the group. She felt like an idiot.

"Hey, Maureen, it's alright." a male voice said, and she looked to see that it was the dark skinned man talking to her. She felt like she could trust him.

"Alex can act like that sometimes when he's jealous," he continued, joking, which made Alex snap his head at him. "I'm Darwin, by the way."

"Hi," Maureen answered quietly, not sure if there were tears threatening to come out of her eyes or not. She was just so terrified of the thought of this whole meeting! She took a couple of deep breaths, reassuring herself in her mind that everything was alright. No one would hurt her here. Charles promised her that, and the others showed no signs, either.

"And so she speaks!" cried Sean, which made Maureen smile just a bit.

"I'm Angel," said the girl with the tattoos. If Maureen's mother was here, she wouldn't like that and if her father was still in the picture, she would be terrified of what he would think about her talking to both the girl and Darwin. Her father was just a nasty man....

Maureen was terrified yet again, but she reminded herself that her father wasn't here. He abandoned the family years ago when she discovered she was a mutant, as Charles and Raven have said to her before. She liked that word. Mutant. 

"I'm Hank McCoy," said the final one, that Maureen already recognized.

"I know who you are," Maureen said to him, her voice louder this time. Her eyes flickered to the various faces in the room. "It's so nice to meet all of you."

After they all had lunch, the six mutants all sat down together. Alex and Sean sat in separate chairs, Darwin, Angel, and Maureen sat on one sofa together while Raven and Hank sat across from them on the other sofa. For the first time in her life, Maureen felt like she belonged somewhere and she could feel that the others felt similar emotions.

"We should think of code names," said Raven. "We're all government agents now, we should all have secret code names. I want to be called Mystique."

"Damn, I wanted to be called Mystique!" Sean complained. Some of the mutants in the room chuckled, recognizing his humor behind it.

"Well tough, I called it," Raven retorted. Then suddenly before Maureen's eyes, flashes of blue scales flickered throughout Raven's body and...Sean was there. The Sean that sat near Maureen flinched back in his chair, startled. The others seemed to be in similar states, taking in Raven's ability.

"And I'm way more mysterious than you," said Raven, imitating Sean's voice.

"You can shape shift," Maureen stated her smiling, as everyone in the room clapped. "Raven, that's really cool."

"Thank you," said Raven who changed back into her original form, which made Maureen wonder if she was still shape shifting but she didn't ask. It would have been impolite. "What can you do Maureen?"

"Oh, um..." Maureen scratched the back of her head, suddenly nervous. What could she show? She glanced down at her cup of cola on the table, and smiled. She had an idea.

"Well, I can do this," she started, and tipped her glass. Before its containment could spill, Maureen threw out her left hand and the cup froze. The soda, too.

"You freeze things?" Darwin asked.

"Yup," Maureen answered. She liked Darwin, thinking of him as some sort of big brother figure. She moved the cup back to its base because after a short while, the spell would break and the glass would eventually fall, spilling its containment on the table. She then glanced at Sean who picked up his bottle and started to drink out of it. A mischievous smile stretched on Maureen's face.

"And I can also do this," she added, throwing her right hand out towards Sean and evidently blew his bottle up, his cola splattering on his shirt, and on Maureen just a bit as well. Everyone in the room laughed.

"No fair," Sean pouted. Maureen offered him her glass and he took it, taking a swig from it.

"I can also get visions," Maureen added. "It's not fully developed yet, so I don't know what all I can do with it."

Maureen thought about adding in her empath ability, but she wasn't sure if she should share that quite yet. Maybe at a later date she could tell them.

"That's cool," said Alex. "You're like a little witch."

"Thank you, but I really don't know what to call myself yet. My little brother calls me "Freezer Burn" sometimes while my mother called me "temperamental"," she explained, before looking over towards Darwin. "Darwin, what can you do?"

"Well, Darwin's already a nickname, 'adapt to survive' and all," the former cab driver explained. "Check this out."

The others watched Darwin as he strutted over to the fish tank that was in the room. He looked back at them, then in to the fish tank, before dunking his head in. Maureen thought that was a bit gross, but then she saw that gills grew on the side of his head, and he opened his mouth. He was breathing underwater!

"Whoa!" Raven exclaimed, as everyone clapped for Darwin. Darwin lifted his head out of the tank, smiling at the mutants.

"That's incredible," said Hank.

"Thank you, thank you," Darwin bowed, before pointing towards Sean. "Alright, what can you do?"

"I'm going to be...Banshee."

"Why would you want to be named after a wailing spirit?" Hank wondered but Maureen had a feeling as she sort of knew why her friend picked the name.

"You might want to cover your ears," Sean warned them all first. Maureen immediately obeyed while some hesitated and were confused before covering their ears as well.

Sean got up from his seat and bent down low to the low table. He glanced up at everyone to see if they had covered their ears before he let out a low, high pitched whistle. Sean's intention was to affect the glass cups on the table but instead he broke the window that allowed the young mutants to see the courtyard. By the look on his face, you could tell that it wasn't Sean's intention to break the big glass window.

"So that's what you did at the aquarium!" Maureen exclaimed, looking at Sean who only grinned at her enthusiasm.

"What did he do at the aquarium?" Angel asked.

"He scared all the fish away," Maureen cut her answer short. "Angel, what can you do?"

Angel gave her a grin before standing up. "Well, my stage name is Angel, and it kind of fits."

Angel took off her jacket—which Sean wolf whistled at—and her tattoos peeled off to reveal themselves as wings. Maureen thought it was fascinating. She didn't see something like that every day.

"You can fly?!" Raven was amazed.

"Uh huh," Angel nodded. "And um—"

Angel turned towards the direction for the blown out window caused by Sean and she spat. Her spit was like a small fireball and it scorched the top of the statue that was in the courtyard.

"That's amazing, Angel," Maureen complimented her friend as they all let out a laugh of awe.

"Thank you," Angel smiled at the young teenager, before nodded her heads towards Hank in acknowledgement.

"What's your name?" she asked him as she put her black leather jacket back on, her wings disappearing from view. Hank looked uncomfortable with all eyes on him. Maureen could feel his uneasiness in waves, and she was about to tell him that he didn't have to share but Alex beat her to it.

"How about "Bigfoot"?" he suggested, before taking another swig of his drink.

Maureen shot him a dirty look (but was curious as to why Alex would say that) while Raven retorted, "Well you know what they say about guys with big feet," she glanced down at Alex's own two feet. "And yours are kind of small."

That made everyone chuckle in the room. Maureen didn't miss the glance or spark of emotion that Hank and Raven shared.

"Okay now. Alex, what is your gift? What can you do?" Darwin asked the blond, before anything got out of hand.

That was when Alex got nervous.

"Uh—it's not um...um, I just can't do it. I can't do it in here."

Maureen looked at him. "Can you not control it?" she asked.

"It's complicated," Alex answered.

"Can you do it out there?" Darwin asked, gesturing to the courtyard.

That was when everyone started to chant for him to show his mutation. Maureen didn't join in, only staring at him in concern.

Finally, Alex caved in. He put his bottle of Cola down and jumped over the ledge of the broken window.

"Get down when I tell you," he advised, as he walked to his position.

The group of six mutants he left behind leaned out of the window frame to see what Alex would do.

"Get back," Alex warned as he saw the group. They all disappeared behind the wall but leaned back out again a moment later.

"Get back!" Alex tried again, more forcefully, but the mutants just stayed in their position, wondering what their new friend can do.

"Whatever," he muttered to himself, warming up.

Maureen and the others watched as Alex started to rock his body in circles, three red discs appearing around him in different angles. Maureen watched as the discs launched themselves in different directions. One of them sliced through the statue and the other two causing damage in other places. The six mutants had ducked down for safety, but they saw it all.

They all cheered for Alex as he walked back over.

"That was amazing," Maureen told him sincerely, but she received a grim smile in return. Something in her told her that Alex didn't believe that his ability wasn't all too good.

Maureen watched her new friends act wild while she stood behind the bar. She messed with the radio as her friends partied.

After the others decided it was time to have fun, Maureen found herself next to Hank. The young girl had built up the courage to ask what Hank could do, after Alex was so rude to him. Hank, who could tell that they were both kindred spirits and that Maureen wouldn't tease him, kicked off his shoes and proceeded to hang upside down from the lights. He explained what all he could do as he was hanging upside down.

So this is why Alex called him Bigfoot, Maureen thought, as she stared up at her new friend, who was explaining what all his mutation included.

Angel was in the air with her wings fluttering casually; as Raven was on the sofa dancing. Alex and Sean were hitting Darwin with chairs and other items to see how indestructible he really was. From her observation, Maureen concluded that Darwin was very indestructible.

"Maureen!" she heard Raven cry as he ran over and grabbed her wrist. "Come on! Join the fun! Dance with me!"

"Oh, I don't—" Maureen began, but Raven wasn't hearing anything that the young girl was saying. She dragged her out from behind the bar, pulling her up on the sofa and swung their arms together as "The Hippy Hippy Shake" played. After awhile, Maureen found herself enjoying it. Raven liked to have fun, and she was cool about it.

Until Charles and Erik returned.

"What are you doing?!"

Maureen and Raven and everyone else halted in what they were doing, turning to see a woman with auburn brown hair staring at them in disbelief, as Charles and Erik stood behind her.

Raven jumped down from the sofa, immediately sober, as Angel fluttered down. Darwin, Alex, and Sean stopped what they were doing as Hank landed on the ground. The six young mutants all stared at the three adults, who did not look happy.

Maureen felt ashamed, and she wasn't the only one who felt that way.

"Who destroyed the statue?" the woman demanded.

"It was Alex," Hank immediately ratted the blond boy out.

"No, Havok! We have to call him Havok," said Raven, as she moved towards Charles, Erik, and the woman Maureen did not recognize.

"And we were thinking you should be Professor X," Raven continued, pointing at Charles, "and you should be Magneto," she declared, pointing at Erik. Maureen found that her eyes were darting between the three adults in the courtyard, seeing how they would react.

"Exceptional," said Erik, who kept his emotions masked but Maureen knew better. He, Charles, and the woman were displeased.

As the woman followed Erik who had just walked away, Charles looked at Raven.

"I expect more from you," he told her sternly. "Much, much more."

They all watched as he walked away, and Maureen didn't enjoy seeing the disheartened look on her friend's face.

Chapter Text

Maureen sat in between Raven and Angel as Hank and Sean sat across from them; Alex and Darwin were busy playing pinball. Maureen could hear them saying things such as, "Jesus, man, you're killing me!" from Darwin and Alex replying with, "Don't beat yourself up; I had a lot of spare time." (Maureen wanted to know what Alex meant by that, even though she had a theory or two.)

After Erik, Charles, and Agent Moira MacTaggert—Hank had informed her who she was— left, all of the mutants pitched in and helped clean up the destruction they had made. It was only right, since they were the ones that caused it. Many of the agents gossiped about them afterwards, Maureen was sure of it. Some people would say she was paranoid but wouldn't you be too if you saw people staring and pointing at you, then whisper to their friend about it? Maureen found herself in that situation a lot when she was in school, and it felt like it was happening all over again. It was a vicious cycle in life.

Maureen found herself comforting Raven after Charles had left, reassuring her that her brother wasn't really mad at her. He'd forgive her, Maureen was sure of it. That's how siblings worked. 

Maureen sighed, her brother coming to mind. She missed him and their mother.

Before Maureen could get more homesick, she saw from the corner of her eye that two agents appeared at the newly replaced window. Great.

"Oh, I didn't know the circus was in town!" One of the agents said. Oh no. Maureen was feeling dread and then there was that empty feeling in her stomach again.

"Hey come on honey," he acknowledged Angel (did they even know their names?); doing a poor imitation of what she could do with her wings. "Give us a little. No? Come on let us see the foot," he directed the latter to Hank. His partner was standing by him, saying nothing. He was as bad as the agent who was speaking, if he wasn't doing anything. He wasn't trying to stop his partner from calling out the mutants, which made him bad.

Maureen felt her anger rising as those men were standing there and making fun of her friends. Before she could get her anger under control, something in the courtyard she couldn't see blew up. Alex and Darwin turned around at the noise and everyone stared at her.

Great, oh great, Maureen started to panic and if she panicked, something would blow up again or she would end up freezing everyone. Or blow up everyone. Now that was bad. She couldn't revive them if she did that. How would she explain to Charles that she killed everyone because she got angry?

Keep control, keep control, keep control.

The agent that could just not keep his mouth shut looked at her.

"Oh, you're blowing things up now? That's fantastic!"

That tone of voice the agent had used reminded her of her father and she could feel herself turning red in anger. He was mocking her.

Hank noticed the tears that threatened to come out of the angry teenager's eyes. He got up from his spot and walked over towards the big window where those two agents were.

"There it is, come on Bigfoot!"

Maureen felt sorry for Hank. These were people that he had worked in the same building with, and this was how they treated him? It was disappointing. She watched the brilliant young man pressed a button that allowed green curtains to block their view from the courtyard, where those jerk agents were standing in.

"Hey. Hey, come on! Hey."

Hank walked back over to the group that was sitting down.

"Thank you Hank," Maureen said quietly, her voice hoarse.

"You okay?" Sean asked with concern in his voice.

Maureen angrily wiped away a tear that slipped out. Everyone felt sympathetic for her. She could feel it and she didn't want it.

"It's...I need to control my temper. He reminded me of my father," Maureen's admitted quietly. She hated her father and how after all these years, he still affected her.

No one in the room knew what to say to that, sensing it was a sore subject for the girl. Maureen glanced over towards Alex and Darwin, who were watching her. Alex saw in her eyes that she didn't want the attention so he turned back to the game, Darwin following suit

"They're just guys being stupid," Raven tried comforting her friends, placing a hand on Maureen's shoulder as she noted the look on Angel's face as well.

"Guys being stupid I can handle, okay? I've handle that my whole life," Angel said, "but I'd rather have a bunch of guys staring at me with their clothes off than the way these guys stare at me."

"At us," Raven added but it was useless. No one was going to feel better any time soon.

A moment later, there was a distant thud sound. Sean, Raven, Hank, Angel, and Maureen all shared a look with each other to confirm that they had all heard it.

Thud.

"What was that?"

Maureen turned to look at Darwin. He had heard that one, but Alex's eyes were still glued to the pinball machine. He hadn't noticed it yet.

Then was another heavy thud.

"Something doesn't feel right," Maureen nervously informed her friends.

Darwin gave the girl a look and walked away from the pinball machine, getting Alex to join him. The mutants that were sitting down got up and all of them walked over towards the window that the agents were bothering them from just moments earlier. Darwin pushed a button and the curtains swished away so the mutants could see the courtyard once more.

The loud thuds continued as they mutants peered through the window to see what was going on, but they couldn't see anything.

Suddenly, there were two figures that were in the starry sky and appeared to be in front of the moon.

"What is that?" Darwin asked, but no one knew the answer.

They all watched as one figure let the other one go, as it too flailed to the ground with a loud scream and thud!

It was an agent; the one Hank had said that he supported mutants.

And now he was dead.

Raven, Angel, and Maureen screamed as everyone except Maureen jumped back from the window when they saw his body hit the floor, Maureen was the loudest. They all realized that those thuds were the sounds of agents—people—dying.

There were more thuds, more bodies falling from the sky and hitting the floor, the rooftops, whatever surface there was. It scared Maureen and the others. She and Raven were starting to hyperventilate, or were going to soon.

"They're dying!" Maureen cried, stating the obvious. "They're dying because of us!"

Then there were more agents running in front of the window, having large guns in their hands.

"Get back! Get back! Do not leave that room!"

Someone went up to Maureen and roughly pulled her back. She gasped and she received a vision.

Alex was using his ability, red rings appearing around his body.

He aimed one of them at a tall man that Maureen could not identify—she did not recognize him.

The man seemed to collect Alex's energy ring in his hand changing it into a small red sphere in his hand.

The man said something to Darwin, who was caught in the man's hold, and pushed the red ball of energy into Darwin's mouth.

Darwin turned and held his hand out, but he seemed to be frozen in his spot, unable to move. Maureen could feel his fear even in the premonition.

The young man seemed to change into some type of metal and he exploded as if Maureen blew him up.

Maureen snapped out of her vision and clung desperately to Darwin. He was the one that had pulled her back. There were tears streaming down her face, and Darwin kept a tight grip around his young friend. He thought she was just scared. Everyone did when they noticed the young distraught teen. But then again, who wasn't scared at that moment?

How could Maureen tell them that she just saw their friend dying? She tried but no words came out of her mouth. Then out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a man that suddenly appeared behind the men that were trying to protect them. The man had deep red skin with black hair and he appeared to have a tail, but Maureen couldn't be so sure if she was seeing correctly or not as her tears were blinding her.

All of the mutants desperately pointed the men who were trying to help, trying to warn them of the man that just appeared out of nowhere.

"Behind you! Behind you!" they all cried desperately.

"Shoot! Shoot!"

The men started to shoot at the man with the dark red skin, but he disappeared and reappeared behind one of the agents. He turned the agent towards the rec room and every mutant got behind one of the sofas for protection as the bullets broke the newly replaced window. Darwin was squatting and deflected a few bullets. He was protecting them, and Maureen couldn't help but think about his death that she had foreseen. She desperately wanted to warn him but before she could, she heard the sound of a whirl. All of the mutants looked towards the other side—the one with its window still intact—and they saw a tornado whirling in. Maureen couldn't exactly recall that they were under a tornado watch.

Darwin glanced at the door that was near them all. He needed to get them out of there.

Maureen heard a poof! sound, and she turned around to see that the red man (who she was sure that he could teleport by this point) murdering the people who were desperately trying to protect them. She felt her blood boil as she and Raven both watched in terror of what that terrible man was doing.

"Stay here, my ass!" Darwin shouted, taking charge. "Let's go!"

The others followed his lead as they ran out of the room and down the hall, where more guards were in.

"Get back!" one of them yelled and continued to.

"We can help! We can help!" Darwin protested, but the guards were holding them back.

"We can help!" the mutants were yelling at this point, but it was no use. The agents would not let them.

Then suddenly there was a loud, bright and fiery explosion from the end of the hallway. The mutants all let out screams and shouts, running back to the rec room that they had just escaped from.

When the mutants returned, they all saw that the red skinned man—mutant, Maureen silently corrected herself—was still killing agents. Maureen was terrified out of her mind, was he going to kill them to?

Of course he would, or one of them will, a voice whispered in the back of Maureen's mind. They kill Darwin.

Maureen suddenly found herself that she could speak. "Darwin, I got to tell you something..."

"Not now!" Darwin interrupted her, as they all straightened themselves, bracing for whatever it was to come. They watched as the red skinned mutant killed one more agent, when they heard a scream and the whirling of wind.

The tornado, Maureen remembered, as the mutants turned just in time to see an agent caught in it. He went through the remaining window and it shattered, his body falling to the ground.

There was a groan and the mutants turned back to where the red skinned mutant and one remaining agent was, and he stabbed him in the back. Maureen felt the hot tears streaming down her face as she and Raven clung to one another, terrified.

There was a crunch of glass, and the mutants turned back to the other side to see a young man who seemed to have a Hispanic heritage in a blue suit walking in on them.

Oh, God.

Maureen's eyes flickered to see the other red mutant walking in on them too.

Oh, God.

Maureen was shaking; she realized it after a long while. She was shaking and she was scared. She was going to be sick. She wanted to throw up. They were going to die.

Then there were more gunshots, and every (good) mutant turned their eyes to the door that was shut.

"Wait! Wait!" the last remaining agent on the other side cried. "You want the mutants? They're right through that door. Just let us normal people go..." Maureen felt her heart shatter in heartbreak and disbelief. "We're no threat—"

There was one more gunshot, and Maureen knew the agent was dead. After a moment, the door opened and a man with a helmet came in.

It was the man that had murdered Darwin in her vision, she was positive about it.

Maureen's eyes widen even more if it was possible. Everyone in her group was all frozen in fear, most likely. That was what was radiating from them, as much as Maureen could collect as she had one hand tightened around Sean's arm, gulping.

"Where's the telepath?" the man asked the other two mutants. Maureen assumed he was talking about Charles.

"Not here," the mutant that could teleport answered. He had an accent, but Maureen didn't know it was Russian until very much later.

"Well, at least I can take this silly thing off," said the man in the helmet, who Maureen or the others never took their eyes away from. No one in the room could read his mind, but one of them could read his emotions and she knew that he was bad news. Maureen was certain that this was the man Charles and Erik had told them all about.

The man took off his helmet. Maureen had to admit, he looked ridiculous in it. Why was he wearing it? Was it to protect himself? To protect his thoughts from telepaths like Charles?

"Good evening. My name is Sebastian Shaw," he introduced himself. The man was tall and thin. He was old, possible in his forties but edging more towards the fifties. He had brown hair, and there was danger radiating from him; anyone could feel that. No one needed to be an empath to know that. "And I am not here to hurt you."

Maureen's eyebrows knitted into a scowl as he took a couple steps closer to the group, closer to her. She didn't like him at all. She wanted to hide behind Sean, Hank and Alex, the ones closer to her, but she wasn't going to. As much as Maureen knew that she was fidgeting and shaking (hopefully no one noticed), she would not let that man or his cronies scare her. She needed to be brave.

"Freeze!" a voice yelled. It was another agent. Maureen didn't have the heart to look over to where he was, because she knew that he would be killed too.

"Azazel," Shaw commanded. The red mutant disappeared and Maureen heard him reappear in front of that agent, taking his sword and stabbing his victim. The agent's lifeless body fell to the ground.

Shaw, who was watching the red mutant who he identified as Azazel, grinned and turned back to the group.

"My friends, there's a revolution coming," Shaw began, as he handing his helmet to the mutant that could create tornadoes. "When mankind discovers who we are, what we can do. Each of us will face a choice," Shaw looked over at all the mutants, who seemed to be standing their ground. Maureen told herself she will not falter when he looked at her.

"Be enslaved," Shaw continued. "Or rise up to rule. Choose freely, but know that if you are not with us, then by definition you are against us."

Shaw stared at Maureen. Maureen stared back in response. She wasn't going to let him manipulate her.

"So, you can stay and fight for the people who hate and fear you, or you can join me, and live like kings," he looked at the group altogether once more before staring down directly at Angel and offering her his hand, "and queens."

Angel hesitated for a long moment before putting her smaller hand into his larger one. Maureen felt like she was about to be sick as she watched them walk away.

"Angel," Maureen heard Raven's voice that was filled with disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?" Sean couldn't believe it either.

"Come on," Angel tried to persuade them. Her voice was filled with hurt. She felt hurt. "We don't belong here, and that's nothing to be ashamed of."

Darwin offered her his hand as if he was trying to get her back, but she ignored it and continued to walk away with Shaw into the courtyard, the mutant that held on to the helmet was behind them.

As Maureen watched them walk away. She didn't know what to think.

"We got to do something," Raven insisted.

Darwin watched Angel and Shaw walk away from them for a moment before turning back to Alex. He had an idea.

Oh no. Maureen knew what he was planning on doing. She watched as Darwin hit Alex. Alex hit him back. Darwin hit Alex again before Alex gave one last shove Darwin walked away.

"Stop. I'm coming with you."

Maureen's eyes widen. She had to act fast. She couldn't let Darwin die. She had to try.

"Darwin, before you do anything—" she tried to warn him, raising her hand in caution, but Alex hushed her.

"We're leaving," he whispered to her very quietly, glancing at the rest. "Now."

Slowly, the group walked towards the center of the room, observing the scene in the courtyard. Shaw and Darwin were now face to face.

"Good choice," Shaw was happy with Darwin now. "Tell me about your mutation."

"Well I adapt to survive, so I guess I'm coming with you," Darwin explained.

"I like that," Shaw nodded, gesturing for Darwin to stand next to Angel. Darwin nodded and took his spot.

"Alex!" he yelled, grabbing Angel and he shifted.

"Get out!" Alex yelled at the group and they all ran out of the room, except for Maureen.

"Alex, no!"

"Do it!" Darwin shouted.

"Get out!" he yelled at her, roughly pushing her back. She stumbled and Hank caught her. She watched in horror as Alex took a few steps toward the antagonizing party.

"No!" Maureen yelled as she struggled in Hank's arms as he was pulling her away.

"He's going to kill him!" Maureen shouted. "Let me go!"

"We have to get out of here!" Hank said, not registering what Maureen was saying.

"I said no!" Maureen shouted back, as Hank dragged her along. Trying to act quickly, she bit Hank's hand hard and he let go as he let out a yell.

"Ow!"

"Maureen!"

"What the hell are you doing?"

Maureen quickly slipped out of Hank's grip and ran back to where Alex was.

"Maureen!"

"Get back here!"

Maureen wasn't listening as she skidded to a halt when she entered the rom. Alex was frozen in his spot.

"No..." Maureen whispered to herself and ran up towards the blond. "Alex?"

When he wouldn't respond, Maureen looked out to into the courtyard. She too froze in terror as she saw that her vision was becoming very real.

"Adapt to this," Shaw said, and he popped in the red ball of energy into Darwin's mouth. He walked over towards Angel, Azazel, and the other mutant that were watching this all happen. The four of them clasped hands together and they vanished. The teleporter had took them away.

Alex and Maureen both watched in horror as Darwin turned to face them. His body was rapidly changing, trying to survive to what was happening to him.

Darwin reached out for them—for Alex—before he combusted in to ashes.

Darwin was dead. Maureen's vision had come true. She started to cry as Alex stayed still next to her, most likely in shock. She could feel his guilt, anger, and sudden grief that was hitting him all at once, and at her too. Then suddenly, Alex sprinted out of the room, not looking back.

Maureen didn't follow. She knew that he needed time for himself.

"Alex? Maureen?"

It was Raven's voice. She had came back into the room along with Hank and Sean.

"What happened?" Sean asked.

Slowly, Maureen turned around to face her friends. She was crying freely with her eyes rimmed red, her face must have been covered in blotches of red too. Her cheeks felt itchy and she was trying to calm herself down before she gave her answer.

"Darwin's dead."

Chapter Text

It had been hours since Darwin's death.

It was two o'clock in the morning, if Maureen was reading the time right. Her vision was blurry, seeing as she was tired. She couldn't sleep. The only one who was sleeping was Sean, who was snoring away on the couch.

Darwin's death had shaken everyone up. Maureen sat at one of the tables in the rec room, staring into space. Hank sat near her, his hand wrapped in gauze that Maureen had found in a first aid kit. She felt bad about biting Hank's hand. Her mother always called her a biter, and a hard one at that. She bit Hank so hard that he was bleeding and she left deep puncture marks in between his forefinger and thumb.

"I'm sorry I bit you," Maureen apologized for what seemed the twentieth time that night. She felt bad about it. Hank was only trying to protect her.

"It's fine," Hank shrugged it off. It looked like he had more to say, but he fell silent once more. He was probably going to say something about Darwin.

Raven was laying down on the couch, her eyes trained on something in the distance. She hadn't spoken, either. No one has. For the first half hour after Shaw's attack, the mutants were all trying to calm Maureen down who felt anger, pain, and guilt. She was angry that Darwin had died. She felt his fear as he was dying, and that was something she never wanted to feel again. She felt so guilty for not being able to save him.

Maureen knew it just wasn't her pain she was feeling. Everyone was distraught, but not as bad as Alex has been, or was. No one has seen him since the incident but Maureen knew he was hurting. He needed to let it out, he was bottling it up.

It had been hours since any of them had seen Alex, and they were all starting to worry. Maureen was worried, afraid that Alex might do something he regret. He's also been isolating himself for far too long and that wasn't good.

Maureen decided that she would look for Alex.

"Excuse me," Maureen said quietly, standing up. She looked around. If she wanted to get away from everyone, where would she go?

Outside.

Slowly, Maureen went through the door and walked down the halls, finding her way out of the destroyed building. While she was walking a moderate pace, she looked around at the destruction that has happened. She noticed men staring at her, but she ignored them. These were the people who all the dead agents had called backup on, but they had come too late. They always do.

Maureen exited the building (which really didn't look like a building anymore, since Shaw and his henchmen wrecked the place.) and she was out in the early morning sky. She glanced around; the stars and the moon were out, allowing her to see in the dark.

"Where's Alex?" she whispered to herself. She had hoped that he hadn't run away, but as she walked further away from Division X, she more could feel him. He was nearby somewhere. He hadn't left the grounds, which Maureen was thankful for. She wouldn't need to venture out too far.

"Alex?" Maureen called, as she took cautious steps out into the night. She could feel herself getting closer, the grief unbearable to handle, but she had to for now. She needed to make sure her friend was okay.

As she was further away from the building, she could see a silhouette of something—or rather, someone—slouching on a bench. She smiled grimly to herself in triumph as she went over to him. She had found Alex.

"Can I sit here?" she asked when she found herself standing in front of him. He had his face buried in his hands and it sounded like he was trying so hard not to cry.

Alex didn't answer her, but Maureen sat next to him. It was silent for a couple of minutes before Alex slowly looked up at her; his blue eyes were rimmed red. His face looked blotchy and there were tears streaked down his cheeks. He looked like hell.

"Aren't you going to say something?" he snapped at her, feeling embarrassed that a fifteen-year-old girl was watching him cry.

"I didn't want you to be alone, you've been out here too long by yourself," Maureen answered softly. "It's okay to cry, you know. It won't make you any less of a man. Everyone cries, you should let it out."

Alex couldn't help but find himself nodding. Maureen reminded him of someone who he once knew. "Thanks, I guess. I just...I didn't want anyone seeing me upset."

"That's understandable," Maureen told him. She has once been in his place. Alex continued to sniffle. It was quiet between them for a while.

"This is why I don't like using my powers," Alex finally admitted.

Maureen found herself hesitating. "Has it...has it happened before?" She felt like it was a very personal question.

Alex was quiet for a few minutes. Could he tell her what he's done in the past? But the look in the young girl's eyes told him that he could trust her.

"Yes," he admitted, calming down enough to tell the tale. "It happened years ago, I was probably a few years younger than you, give or take. One day, I was walking home from school with my cousin, Haley. To make a long story short, I killed the man who was trying to abduct us."

"Someone tried to kidnap you?" Maureen asked. Alex nodded. "But, you didn't mean to kill him, did you? You were only trying to protect yourself and Haley. It was self defense, wasn't it?"

Alex nodded again. "I didn't mean to, yeah, but I still killed him, Maureen. Afterwards, my cousin stared at me in horror, she was scared," Alex was choking up again. "She was scared of me. I'm a bad person. I'm a monster."

Maureen stared at him. "Why would you say such a thing?"

"Because I am, don't you get it? I've killed people. I killed Darwin."

Maureen shook her head. She turned her body towards him. She took his hands into her own small ones.

"Alex," she began, as if she was soothing someone. As if she was soothing her little brother, a small whisper in the back of her head whispered. "You are not a monster; you are not a bad person. If you were, you wouldn't feel remorse over your actions; you wouldn't be so upset over Darwin's death. If anyone would be the monster, it would be Shaw. He was the one that killed him, not you." Maureen gave him a soft smile, squeezing his hands. "Stop blaming yourself, Darwin made a choice. Allow him dignity for it. He sure as hell deserves it, he was so brave in his time of dying," Maureen gulped. "He was so afraid, as well, but I think everyone would in a situation like that. God, I never want to feel such a strong fear like that ever again..."

"You keep saying you feel these things. Emotions," Alex observed. "What do you mean by that? Can you feel someone's emotions?"

Maureen offered a shrug. "I think it's safe to say I can. That's how I found you, sort of." A shiver traveled up and down her spine. It was chilly out. Maureen stood up. "I think we should head back in, don't you think?"

Alex nodded and Maureen offered him her hand to take. He took it got himself up.

"If you don't want anyone to see your red eyes, you can borrow my shades if you want. Or Sean's, I don't think he'd mind. Not now, anyway. He's out like a baby."

Alex chuckled. "I'm good, but thanks for the offer."

Alex and Maureen walked inside together, back to where the rest of the remaining group was. Hank was still up, but it looked like Raven had falling asleep while Maureen was out. It was either that, or she was resting her eyes.

Maureen guided him to where she was sitting with Hank before. Hank saw them coming towards him and he perked up. Maureen wondered if he thought Alex was going to make a jab at him, but she knew he would be safe from Alex's teasing. For now, anyway.

"Do you want anything?" Maureen asked Alex and Hank as Alex sat down. "A drink? Something to eat? Professional counseling?"

The boys shook their heads, and Maureen sighed and turned to where Raven was laying down.

"Raven, do you want anything?"

"I'm good," came the reply back. There was a pause, and Raven spoke again.

"Actually, is there anything left to eat? I'm kind of hungry."

Maureen sat in between Alex and Sean, once the sun came out. The mutants watched as the men in black and men in military uniforms try to clean up the debris from the destroyed building. It would be a long time until Division X opened back up, Maureen mused to herself.

No one really said anything as they waited for Charles and Erik to return. How were they going to explain Darwin's death and Angel's betrayal? Maureen's throat tightened up at the thought. She still couldn't believe what had happened to them the night before.

She hadn't slept. She's been drinking coffee and cola to keep herself awake. She feared that she would have nightmares if she went to sleep. She was afraid of the monsters appearing in her dreams. It seemed like when she shut her eyes, she saw Darwin dying. (She saw her father, too, but no one needed to know about that.)

Maureen saw with blank eyes that a car had pulled in a couple of yards away from them, and she saw that Charles and Erik had gotten out quickly. They came back. A part of Maureen said they would never come back, that they would abandon her and the others.

But they didn't, Maureen heard her conscious. They're not like your father, they're good men. You know that.

"Raven!" Charles called out to his sister, who stood up when she heard her name. Charles ran to meet her and gave her a quick embrace before letting her go. Erik walked up behind him, with Agent MacTaggert trailing behind.

Charles took a look at the four mutants that were still sitting "We've made arrangements for you to be taken home immediately."

Maureen perked up at this. They were going to be sent home? She didn't want to go home! Sure, she missed her mother and brother, but she needed to be here. She needed to be with her friends.

"No," Maureen gave Charles a hard, determined stare. Charles, although not showing it, was taken aback by the young girl's tone.

"We're not going home," Sean chimed in.

Charles looked back and forth between the two. "What?"

"He's not going back to prison," Sean gestured towards Alex.

"They killed Darwin," Alex added.

"All the more reason for you to leave," Charles explained. "This is over."

That was when Raven cut in. "Darwin's dead, Charles, and we can't even bury him."

"We can avenge him." Erik spoke, and all heads turned towards the metal bender.

Vengeance? Maureen thought. Could they do it?

"Erik, a word please," Charles requested as the two walked just a few feet away from them, whispering to each other. Maureen didn't know if Charles and Erik had failed to realize that they couldn't whisper as quiet as they thought they could. They were very loud whisperers, but Maureen wasn't going to tell them that anytime soon.

"They're just kids," Charles tried to reason with his friend.

"No, they were kids," Erik disagreed. "Shaw has his army, we need ours."

Charles paused before turning back to the young mutants.

"We'll have to train," he told them. "All of us. Yes?"

"Yeah," Alex spoke for them all as Maureen and Hank both started to nod in agreement.

"We can't stay here," Hank pointed out, speaking up for the first time since Charles, Erik, and MacTaggert had returned. "Even if they reopened the department, it's not safe. We've got nowhere to go."

Maureen felt like she was sinking as her friend spoke. He was right. The building was demolished, and who said Shaw wouldn't be back for them?

"Yes we do," Charles said, as if he was reading Maureen's thoughts. He and Raven shared a look, but Maureen couldn't read it.

Maureen found herself staring up at the home Charles and Raven grew up in, taken in its beauty.

As it turns out, Charles owned a mansion. A mansion! It was...huge barely described what it was. To Maureen, the mansion looked liked a castle on the outside. Maureen loved architecture, but she had never told anyone that. Overall, it was very beautiful and the young teen had never seen anything like it.

"This is yours," Sean stated. He couldn't believe that Charles was allowing them to stay in his home. Maureen couldn't, either. Alex was in the same boat.

"No, it's ours," Charles corrected the young man, glancing back at him.

"Honestly Charles, I don't know how you survived, living in such hardship," said Erik in a dry tone, turning his head to face his friend.

"Well it was such hardship softened by me," Raven stalked up towards the men, allowing Charles to kiss her on her temple. Maureen couldn't help but smile at the interaction. It was clear that Charles and Raven cared for each other very much.

"Time for the tour," Raven stated, leading the group inside the mansion. She pulled Maureen up with her, who was stuck with Sean and Alex. "Follow me!"

Chapter Text

The Xavier mansion was huge.

Raven had dragged Maureen everywhere in the house. She showed her every level of the home, Maureen was almost positive about it. Maureen had never been to a mansion before, and she didn't really live in a large house before hand. She had lived in a small apartment complex with her family, but it was big enough for the three of them.

Maureen was sure that Charles could fit in an entire school in his home if he wished.

After Charles had sat everyone down for some ground rules, he let them go and he and Raven helped their guests to their rooms. Raven and Maureen's rooms where across from each others and the boys were further down the hallway from them. Charles and Erik were in a different corridor away from the young mutants. Maureen thought that was smart of them to do.

Sean and Alex had helped Maureen with her things, carrying them up to her room, sometimes dropping things in progress. Maureen didn't get angry with them; she just had an amused smile plastered on her face.

"Your stuff is too heavy!" Sean complained. "What do you have in here?"

Maureen didn't answer, but only opened her door so the boys could just waltz in and drop her stuff on her bed. She grinned at them cheekily. They mumbled to themselves and left her alone afterwards so they could settle in their own rooms.

As Maureen put some clothes in a drawer and placed a book she was reading on her bedside table, she wondered how life would be different here. She wouldn't have to go to public school for awhile at least, she'd have to train to strengthen her abilities. Maureen found herself not minding at all. School was hell and she had no friends. Here, she had friends. That was better than nothing.

When Maureen finished settling in, she let out a heavy sigh and laid down in her bed, on top of the sheets. After a couple of stressful days, Maureen found herself having a moment to relax. It felt good.

Then she heard a knock on her door.

"It's open," Maureen yawned, not realizing how tired she was until then.

Raven came bouncing in. "I'm just checking to see how you're doing," she said. "You doing okay?"

"I'm great, thank you," Maureen replied, sitting up. "I'm really tired, though."

"You look tired, there are circles under your eyes," Raven observed. "Charles wants us to come downstairs. It's dinnertime."

"Already?" Maureen asked, glancing at the clock. The time was almost 5:30 PM. "I guess it is. Could you take me downstairs? I don't know where anything is."

"Of course," Raven smiled, taking Maureen's hand and dragging her off the bed, locking arms with her. "Let's go!"

Dinner wasn't bad, even though Maureen was sure she was about to fall asleep. Sean kept pinching her on her bicep. Eventually after a few times of him doing it, Maureen slapped his hand away, getting a yelp out of her redhead friend.

"Ow!" Sean cried. "Hey!"

Alex laughed at their interaction. "I wouldn't mess with Maureen if I were you, Banshee."

Charles gave all three of them a look, but Maureen couldn't tell what he was feeling.

Overall, it was a semi-quiet dinner. Maureen wasn't sure if it was because no one knew how to start up a conversation, or if they all didn't feel like talking. She knew she didn't feel like talking, she just wanted to go to bed.

It was around two o'clock in the morning and Maureen had woken up, going downstairs into the kitchen. It was dark and she got lost once or twice, but she had finally made it to the fridge to get something to quench her thirst.

Maureen had woken up suddenly, feeling so...angry, thirsty for vengeance; haunted by her past if that meant anything. She didn't understand what it meant but she did understand that if she didn't get something to drink, she was sure to die from a dry mouth.

After she took deep, long gulps out of the milk cartoon she found in the fridge, Maureen hastily wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before she put the jug away. (She told herself that she would not tell anyone about what she just did nor will she think about it and get scolded at by Charles as a result.)

Maureen couldn't move from her spot, or so she thought. She couldn't go back to sleep, she was hurting too much emotionally, almost physically, and that frustrated and frightened her at the same time. She had no reason to be so bitter, she thought to herself. It had to be someone else who was also up. Who could sleep at night feeling like that?

That was when someone grabbed her roughly on her upper arm, and Maureen gasped loudly as she was drawn into one of her premonitions.

A young boy in ragged, muted color clothing.

There was a woman who was possible in her middle ages, but she looked so much older than that. She was filthy and she too was in ragged clothing, more ragged than the boy's.

The boy had a frustrated and concentrated expression on his face but there was gunshot and the woman fell to the floor. Dead.

The boy was angry and he destroyed the room. He was bending metal. It was Erik Lehnsherr.

Young Erik Lehnsherr was being experimented and tortured on by a man, a man who looked all too familiar...

"...I said, what are you doing up?"

The voice was harsh and cold as Maureen snapped back into reality. She found herself not in the small nightmare no more, but stuck with Erik as he gripped her by her arms. It scared her so bad that she started to shake, but Erik either didn't notice or care. Then she blurted possible one of the worst answers she could have given.

"He hurt you, didn't he? Shaw did."

If looks could kill, Erik could have butchered Maureen right then and there. His anger rose, which seemed to suffocate Maureen. Erik had very, very strong emotions.

"Don't you ever speak of that," Erik hissed, teeth bearing. It made Maureen think of a shark. "How did you know about that?"

"I can get visions, in case you've forgotten," Maureen bit back. "I can also feel emotions, remember?"

Erik continued to give her a mean look, and Maureen was afraid he would hit her. Then suddenly, he looked confused.

"What are you doing?" Erik asked the young girl as he took a step back, letting her go in the progress. "I'm not...I never felt like this."

This time, it was Maureen who was confused. "I'm sorry?"

"Don't lie to me," Erik warned. "You're doing this to me. You're making me feel like this."

Feel, Maureen thought. Her mutation must be allowing her to reflect emotions inside another, the subject being Erik.

"What are you feeling like?" Maureen asked but as she did, she found her answer. She could feel the serenity between them both, but there was also fear. Maureen couldn't recognize where the fear was coming from.

"Well this is what you get for waking me up," Maureen added quickly with a bit of attitude in her voice, as she backed away from him, exiting the kitchen. "And leave me alone."

Maureen didn't trust Erik.

It was the next morning when Charles told them that they should begin their training. Sean moaned in his bowl of cereal. Hank looked nervous. Raven appeared excited by the aspect.

Everyone had to wear gray tracksuits, which matched Maureen's eyes in an odd way. It was Hank that had told her that, and Maureen couldn't help but blush. No one had really complimented her eyes before and she thought that they were dull looking. It was nice to know that someone thought differently, she supposed. Alex rolled his eyes at the young scientist's compliment, calling him a bozo. Hank flushed, not happy with Alex's nickname for him. Maureen could feel the annoyance flash through Hank.

"Thank you, Hank. That was very kind of you to say," Maureen told him. She glanced at Alex with a  mischievous look before turning back to Hank. "Someone is just jealous that you beat him to the punch, I think."

Alex let out a guttural sound of disbelief, not believing what Maureen had just said. Sean and Raven only laughed as Erik rolled his eyes. Charles smiled, glad to see that the young girl was starting to grow used to the others—and that Hank felt acceptance and gratitude towards the young girl.

Maureen was starting out small, doing physical training with Raven. Maureen was far from lazy but she wasn't as active as some of the others could be. She needed to build up physical strength if they were up for a physical alteration of some kind.

Maureen had just finished a workout in the makeshift weight room. She was in the kitchen, grabbing herself a drink when Alex had came stomping in the room from wherever he had just came from.

"Are you alright?" Maureen asked her friend, concerned.

Alex grumbled. "I set the bunker on fire."

That way Alex had said it made Maureen chuckle. She found that her friends could be funny without actually meaning to be, and Alex was no exception.

"You set the bunker on fire?" Maureen checked.

"Yes!" Alex was getting agitated by the second.

Maureen held up her free hand in surrender, while the other held her drink. "Alex, I'm sure it's alright. Charles isn't mad is he?"

"No," Alex sighed, as he sat down. He was incredibly frustrated with himself; it didn't take someone like Maureen to figure it out.

"Don't be frustrated with yourself, it won't help," Maureen advised her friend, sitting across from him. "You'll get it eventually. I know it."

"You sound like Charles," Alex told the young girl. He was actually feeling better already, but he couldn't figure out why.

"I don't want to be like him," Maureen responded. "But it's only the first day; you'll get it in a few weeks. I'm sure of it. If you think about it, you already have some control over it."

"Stop reading my mind," Alex said.

"Not my power, remember?" Maureen reminded him. "I am probably affecting your emotions...sorry about that."

"It's fine. I need the control over them," Alex waved off her concern. "Speaking of which, has Charles talked to you yet?"

"Not yet. I'm not sure when, though."

"Well, be warned: he's overly optimistic and bozo will be there to figure out the science behind it."

"Thanks for the warning, and stop calling him that. He doesn't like it."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Okay, mom."

The training sessions usually ended before dinner and all the mutants where thankful for that.

After dinner, the mutants had free time. Sometimes, they all hung out with each other. Other times, they all went to their rooms, or did something on their own. Hank was often in his lab, studying and trying to create a "cure" for physical mutations. Maureen didn't ask about it but she would let Hank talk her ear off about it if he desired to.

Right now, Maureen was on the phone with her mother. It was past eleven o'clock, and Charles had insisted that everyone should be sleeping but Maureen didn't care. Besides, Charles didn't follow his own rules anyway. She's noticed that the past couple of nights after lights out Erik would often...sneak into his friend's room. Maureen wasn't sure and she didn't want to know why he did that.

"And you're alright? They're treating you nicely, yes?" Maureen's mother was asking on the other line. Amelia Shepherd wasn't too keen on the idea of having her daughter being trained for a possible World War III and stopping a mutant terrorist. However, Amelia knew she wouldn't be able to stop her daughter. Maureen was too stubborn.

"Yes, mom, I'm treated well here," Maureen replied in a casual tone. Her mother was always worried about how she was treated. Maureen knew all the reasons why, so she tried to understand. Sometimes, it annoyed the teenager. "I even made friends here."

Maureen could hear the smile in her mother's voice. "That's great, dear. I'm glad you're not so lonely there. Have you practiced your...abilities yet?"

"No, not quite. Charles says he wants to work on them tomorrow, I think. I'm scared though," Maureen paused before adding, "but he has been making me do school work. He says I shouldn't fall behind on my education."

Ms. Shepherd chuckled at her daughter's expense. "He only wants to help you, Maureen. Don't be scared. He's kind and will do anything to help you."

Maureen knew that her mother was right that. Charles just wanted to give back to the world, it seemed. Maureen didn't understand it. Shouldn't he want something in return?

"I think you're right about that," Maureen reluctantly agreed with her mother. "How's Tommy doing?"

"I don't want to die!"

Raven and Maureen glanced at each other in confusion as they could hear Sean's cries from where they were sitting in Raven's room. Maureen quickly jumped up from her friend's bed and ran towards the bedroom door and quickly stepped out of the room, Raven behind her. 

What was going on?

When the two girls looked down at one end of the hall, they saw Hank and Charles strapping something onto Sean, the colors in blue navy and yellow stripes. Neither girl knew what was happening.

"Charles?" Raven called down to them as she and Maureen walked closer to them. "What are you doing?"

"They're trying to kill me!" Sean insisted. Maureen felt sorry for her friend. Usually, Sean's face had bright, happy features but now he looked scared. In fact, he was scared.

Maureen's eyes studied the three young men, and then glanced at the window. Then, she noticed that Erik and Alex were lounging nearby at a different window.

She wondered...

Alex whistled for the two girls' attention, waving a hand as if to say come over here. Raven went but Maureen stood back for a moment.

"Charles, Hank, what are you going to do with Sean?" she wondered, eyeing them both. Hank fidgeted under her gaze.

"Well you see," Hank began, but Sean frantically cut him off.

"They want me to fly!"

To fly? What did that—

Charles and Hank dragged Sean to the nearest window, which made Maureen jog over to the closet window where the others were. She was leaning out of the window, in front of Raven and Alex while Erik was in the back. It was safe to say that they were all amused by what was about to happen, to see if Sean could fly or not.

The mutants watched as Sean sat on the windowsill, clearly afraid. Charles and Hank stood beside him, standing inside the mansion hallway.

The mutants all heard Hank mutter something to Sean, which the redhead replied with, "Should carry me. That's reassuring."

Sean briefly turned away from Charles and Hank and looked at where the other mutants where at, watching him getting ready to fly. He locked his eyes directly on Maureen, who looked like she was stuck in the middle of being afraid for him or to be amused with the others. He found that comforting, seeing as at least one person cared enough.

"Do you think you could give me a good luck's kiss?" he asked, and everyone turned their heads on Maureen. They all knew he was directing that line towards her. Like hell he would have tried it on anyone else.

Alex gave him a look that was mixed with annoyance, disgust, and protectiveness while Erik rolled his eyes. Raven still had a grin on her face and Maureen shook her head and gave him a small, sweet smile. "No."

"Worth a shot," Sean muttered to himself, facing forward, spreading his arms out. He looked back towards Charles and Hank, who reminded him to scream, and he pushed himself off the edge.

Sean fell from the second story floor of the mansion and into the shrubs below. Everyone started to laugh, saving Charles, Hank, and Maureen. Maureen stared down at her friend's figure, a hand covering her mouth in horror while the rest laughed. Charles and Hank ran away from the window quickly to go to Sean's aid.

As they did, Sean slowly lifted himself off the ground. He turned his head back up to where the guffawing mutants were and gave them a dazed look.

"How did I do?"

That made them laugh even harder as Maureen shook her head.

It was finally Maureen's turn to spend time with Charles. She was terrified. She didn't know what to expect at all.

It seemed as if all the mutants could feel her anxiety rolling off of her while they ate breakfast together. Charles, Erik, and Moira MacTaggert had yet to enter the room. Maureen couldn't help but feel thankful for that.

"Charles won't force you into anything that you don't want to do," Raven assured her young friend, who was visibly shaking. Raven didn't understand why Maureen was so scared. None of them did.

"Are you sure?" the girl asked back quickly.

"I'm sure," Raven offered the teenager a smile. Maureen gave a smile back. Raven grew up with Charles, so she knew him best. Charles had been taking care of all of them, never pressuring any of them to do anything. Maybe Raven was right. Maureen had nothing to worry about.

She still felt scared about it, though.

It wasn't as bad as she thought it would have been.

Charles had her lessons outside, which wasn't bad. At least Maureen wouldn't have accidentally blown up anything priceless. She would have been in big trouble.

Maureen did however, accidentally shattered a couple of first story windows of the mansion. Charles had told her not worry when he could see that the young girl was about to panic but Maureen knew that Charles should have been just a bit upset over it.

Charles has asked her to use her freezing ability (he called it molecular immobilization), and she ended up freezing Hank, who was with him, watching quietly. Maureen's eyes widen but as soon as her power worn off on her friend, he didn't mind it at all.

Hank had said that when he was frozen, he said he had felt like his eyes were shut, and none of his senses were working. It was as if he was dead to the world.

"This could be a great advantage," Charles said, taking in the information. "It would stop all movements from your opponent. They wouldn't able to do anything."

Which was kind of the point, Maureen thought, but she didn't know if Charles had paid attention to hear that thought.

"Now, we are going to work on your premonitions next but I want you to meet me in my study after dinner. I think we need to have a chat."

Maureen suppressed a groan. That was the one thing she didn't want to do.

Charles was sitting in his study, waiting for the teenager to enter. Eventually, Maureen did come to him. It was his telepathic messages that weren't leaving her alone, and she decided to finally go talk to him. She needed to at least apologize for shattering the windows and charring some of the shrubbery.

"Hello Maureen," Charles greeted the young girl. Maureen noticed how he was sitting on a sofa; one leg seemed to cross the other. He patted on the empty spot next to him. "Please, have a seat."

Slowly and nervously, Maureen sat next to the man. She tried to read him, to see if he was displeased with her. As far as she could tell he wasn't, but that could easily change.

Charles must have heard her thoughts. "Don't worry dear, you're in no trouble. I just wanted to talk to you."

Maureen was a little taken back from his words. "Talk about what?"

"While we were doing our little exercises, I was reading your mind. You were mainly thinking about the past and I wanted to talk to you about that. I want to discuss with what could happen to your abilities if you dwell on them too much," Charles admitted. "I know you have troubling thoughts, mainly it's about your father, correct?"

Maureen tensed at once. She wanted to lie and say no, but then she reminded that she was speaking to a telepath. "I suppose so."

"You've had a bad past with him," Charles guessed—no, he stated it.

"Yes," Maureen grumbled, her mood darkening already.

"He hurt your mother. He hurt you."

Maureen just glared, angry tears started to build up in her eyes.

"And what about it?" she shot at the older man in front of her rather angrily.

"I can understand where you're coming from, I didn't exactly have the nicest stepfather in the world," Charles admitted.

That caught Maureen's attention. She thought—well actually, she hadn't really thought about Charles' childhood at all. He had a rough life, too? Did Raven's comment about softening hardships relate to his own childhood?

"Did he hit your mother in front of you?" Maureen asked in a quiet voice, as if she was that little girl again when she first experienced her abilities.

"No," said Charles. "But he had done things to me. The same can be said for my stepbrother."

Maureen never knew that Charles had a stepbrother. She was learning a lot from her mentor, today.

"But Maureen, you must forgive and forget about your past relations to your father," the professor continued. "If you don't, your powers will grow nonetheless, I promise you, but you will also be unstable."

That thought scared Maureen. If she was unstable, she could hurt people, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. She did not want to turn into her father.

"Unstable?" Maureen checked.

Charles nodded. "Yes. I believe your emotions are connected with your abilities of you combustion and freezing abilities, and possibly both your premonition and empathy abilities as well," he stated. "You're very powerful, believe it or not."

"You think my emotions are connected to my abilities? That would explain a lot, actually," Maureen confessed. She ignored the comment on her being powerful. "Can we talk about this some other time? I'm really tired."

Charles thought about it momentarily, before nodding. "Of course, it's been a long day."

"Thank you, Professor," Maureen stood up, taking her leave.

Charles watched the young girl leave, and Maureen turned back to him, a thought lingering in her mind.

"Charles? Are we going to be in a war?"

For a moment, Charles didn't answer. He was trying to figure that one out himself.

"Possibly. Don't fret on it too much, Maureen."

Maureen was jogging around the mansion by herself. The others were out too, but they all went at different paces.

After Maureen and Charles had their conversation, Maureen had been trying really hard to not end up being unstable. She needed an anchor to keep herself in check, she figured. But who would be that anchor for her? Her mother? Her brother? Someone else? Maybe all of the above? She had no idea, and it scared her.

While she was pondering on her thoughts, still running, something whizzed by passed her, making her halt. She looked around, one arm extended slightly away from her body, the other near her chest. What was that? 

Before Maureen could make any more speculations, she heard heavy, fast steps on the ground again. She looked behind her to see one of the boys running. When she realized who it was, she couldn't believe it.

"Hank?" she called out to her sweet, shy friend, who grinned at her in response. Maureen was taken aback from this a little, but she gave him a small smile of encouragement back. He was actually listening to Charles! Maureen knew that Hank had little self confidence about himself. She and Raven had tried to talk to him (Maureen was sure that Raven tried to flirt with him more than not), and Charles obviously was too, but not a lot was really working with the young man. Maureen supposed that if her mutation also affected her physically on the outside, she would be even more insecure about herself than she already was.

"Hey Maureen," Hank greeted when he had stopped in front of the youngest member in the household, panting. "Did you see what I just did?" He sounded so giddy and happy it just had to make Maureen smile for him even more.

"You running around very fast? I did," Maureen responded, as they started to run again. Hank kept a slower pace for his slower friend.

"How are you doing with Sean and Alex?" Maureen asked, trying to keep conversation. She knew Sean had trust issues with Hank since the "flying" incident and she knew that Hank was currently making a third or fourth prototype for Alex. Nothing was working for either boy so far.

"I'm still working on them," Hank explained. "Sean doesn't trust me and Alex keeps getting frustrated and calling me bozo."

Maureen's neutral expression had fallen when Hank mentioned the latter. "Don't mind Alex. He has issues. Between you and me, I think he has the same problem as you: he doesn't have much self esteem about himself, either."

They both stopped in their tracks and Hank gave her a look. "You think he has doubts, too?" he asked quietly. The way his voice sounded made Maureen think of Tommy, her little brother.

"Yes. You may not have the same issues exactly, but...Alex has had problems in the past," Maureen worded her answer carefully. She was sure Alex didn't want anyone to know about his incident when he was younger. "I think his time in prison affected him too. And while it's not okay for Alex to take his frustration out on you and being mean to you, it does give an explanation; if it helps."

The two said no more, Maureen's words sinking into Hank's mind.

Charles thought Maureen was ready to train again. From what she had told him, her freezing and combusting powers were coming along quite well. Now, he wanted to see how she can handle premonitions. Maureen had explained that most of the time, her visions came to her unexpectedly, whether she liked it or not.

"I had a premonition of Darwin's death, minutes before it happened," Maureen admitted. "And I couldn't have done anything about it. What good is it being able to foresee the future when you can't do anything about it?"

"You can learn from it," was the answer that came from Charles.

Charles had Maureen move around the house, touching objects to see if she could get a vision from anything. She had when she had touched a baseball bat. She had seen Charles and Raven first meeting in the kitchen. It was a sweet scene to see. She had also seen visions of Charles's other relatives; his mother, stepfather, and his stepbrother. She promised she would never tell anyone about it without his consent.

One vision in particular, made her wonder. She saw many children in the Xavier mansion, all having different abilities as if they were too mutants. (Maureen was positive that they were mutants.) She knew Charles always wanted to have a school for mutants, was that dream going to become a reality?

She saw other snippets too, such as herself when she was older with what appeared to be her family. There were plentiful of children drawn to her and it was just...it was all so overwhelming but in a good way.

Despite all the hardships that were to come, it appeared that Maureen's future would be a good one.

Chapter Text

Maureen had been working on her empathy powers with Alex outside of the mansion in one of the gardens. Charles had suggested that since the two were rather close with one another that they could perhaps help each other out. Currently, Maureen was trying to manipulate his frustrations.

"Are you feeling anything different?" Maureen asked.

"Not really," Alex grunted, which made Maureen slouch her shoulders in her own state frustration. She just was trying so hard but she couldn't do anything.

"Hey, it's not you. It's me, alright?" Alex could see how frustrated Maureen was and he felt bad about it. "I just have so much built up inside me that it's hard. I bet it's even more difficult when you're frustrated, too. Come on, let's take a break and grab something to eat, alright?"

"Well, I am hungry," Maureen murmured more to herself. She allowed Alex to help her up and together the two friends started to walk back to the mansion. It was a nice day outside, Maureen thought to herself as she looked around. She knew that she and Alex weren't the only ones out here. She remembered that Sean was out here working on his "flying" with Hank, Charles and Erik. Sean has kept trying many times after the first attempt but so far it hasn't been working. Charles had said that he needed a "bigger push" or something similar to it.

Alex and Maureen were walking back together, talking about anything that came to mind. Alex opened up more around her than with the others and Maureen had told him about her own family. Other than Charles, Alex was the only person to know about her father. When Maureen had told him about her father, Alex was angry at her father and the abuse he had given to his family. Maureen knew that Alex was very protective of her and frankly, she felt the same way about him. The two saw each other as a sibling that they never had.

"And then I said to him..." Maureen continued to tell a tale on how a boy had been picking on her when she used to go to school but she never finished. Maureen and Alex had stopped in their tracks when they heard a piercing scream. A sonic scream. The two friends couldn't help but cover their ears as they looked up at the sky. Maureen's eyes widened as she saw who was in the air. She subsequently let her hands fall from her ears as she stared at Sean.

"Alex, look! Sean's flying!" Maureen smiled, watching their friend fly through the air. 

"That's the way to do it, Banshee!" Alex whooped, clapping for their friend.

Maureen continued to smile, cheering on their friend herself but stopped abruptly.

"Does he know how to land?"

There were nights when all of the mutants (excluding Charles and Erik) hung out with each other. They usually ended up in one of the many extra rooms and they would casually hang out. They would either talk, play games (Maureen would never playing spin-the-bottle ever again.), or drink. At least, that's what the others did. Maureen would rather stick to her soda, thank you very much.

Tonight was one of the nights where the others were drinking. They were playing truth or dare. It was going right along smoothly, until it was Sean's turn.

"Truth or dare, Maureen?" Sean sat right across from the youngest mutant at the mansion.

"Truth, I guess. We all know that I won't do your dares," Maureen said, which made the others in the room snicker.

"Alright. Why don't you drink?"

That question stunned Maureen into silence. She didn't know why that question had shocked her like that, but she knew why she didn't drink.

"I don't think that's any of your business," Maureen said quietly. From the corners of her eyes, she could see that Alex had straightened himself up while Hank and Raven looked confused at her statement.

"What do you mean by that? He's only curious. We're all are," Raven told her.

"Not really," Alex interjected.

"I just don't drink. I'm fifteen, alright? That's underage."

"Well I drink..." Sean said.

"It's a one year wait for you..." Hank murmured but no one said anything to him.

"I just don't drink alright?" Maureen was getting uncomfortable by the second and Alex could tell she was starting to get upset.

"Sean, just shut up and stop asking her," Alex tried to stop it. 

"But why?"

"Because I don't want to be like my dad! That's why!" Maureen belted out, which surprised everyone in the room. Maureen never yelled at anyone. They all watched as Maureen became looked down, a gloomy feeling washing over the room. "I don't...I don't want to be like him..."

"What happened?" Raven asked. "Is he dead?"

"No. I don't think so..." Maureen was trying to keep herself cool. "He just...he wasn't a very nice man and he drank a lot. He...he used to hit my mother and...and..."

Maureen felt Raven wrap her arms around her and Maureen couldn't help but bury her face into her friend's shoulder. She started tearing up.

"And he said...he said that I was sick. He said he didn't want a freak of a daughter..."

"You're not a freak, Maureen," Raven said through gritted teeth. She could feel her eyes flashing yellow. If anyone was a freak, it was Raven. "You're one of us. You're a mutant. Mutant and proud."

"Thanks, Raven. I'm not sure if it helped but I appreciate it."

The room was quiet, with the boys feeling rather awkward.

"Man, I feel like a total dick now," Sean said. "I'm sorry I pushed you like that."

"It's okay. You didn't know," Maureen accepted his apology as she pulled away from Raven's hold. "I just...we never really talked about our families and I didn't want you to think of me differently, you know?"

"Maureen, we would never judge you like that," Raven told her. "If it makes you feel any better, my parents abandoned me."

"Mine are afraid of me," Alex added in half-heartedly. Maureen couldn't help but give him a small smile, which he returned.

"My parents were ashamed of how I look," Hank added in. Raven made a comment on how cute Hank was, which made him blush. Maureen told him that was true and that any girl would be lucky to have him. Hank only flushed more.

Awkwardly, Sean admitted that he still had his parents and they were pretty okay with him being a mutant.

"Except I can be too loud," Sean added. That made the teens laugh. Yes, Sean could be very loud but they all loved him for it.

Maureen had just finished with a very emotional session with Charles and she needed a break. A nice, long break. He had heard from Hank that Maureen could affect others pretty well but she needed help in projection and rejection of emotions from others. It had helped a lot but it had drained Maureen.

Currently, Maureen was sitting on one of the couches in one of the smaller living rooms with Agent MacTaggert. Maureen didn't know the woman very well except for the fact that when she yelled, it could be scary. Agent MacTaggert was nice enough to the mutants, so Maureen thought she was okay.

While the older woman was doing paperwork of some sort, Maureen was watching the television. Maureen was watching Leave It to Beaver when it suddenly got cut off to the local news station.

"Good afternoon. We are sorry to interrupt your program, but the president is going to be making a speech here shortly..."

Maureen's eyes grew wide as she stared at the anchorman. Agent MacTaggert had looked up from her work.

"We need to get the others."

Without replying, Maureen ran out of the room in a heartbeat.

Sean was in the kitchen when Maureen burst in, scaring the hell out of him. 

"What the hell?"

"Sorry, but Kennedy is about to make a speech! Moira said we all need to be in the room. We think it's very important." Maureen explained. Before Sean could say anything to her, she sped off. She had found Hank and Raven in Hank's makeshift lab while Alex was in the bunker room.

When Maureen returned to the living room, she collapsed on the floor in front of the couch where Charles and MacTaggert were sitting, breathing heavily.

Maureen listened intently as President John F. Kennedy made his speech. That man had a way with words.

"It shall be the police of this nation to regard any nuclear missile crossing the embargo line that surrounds Cuba as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States. Requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union..."

"That's where we're going to find Shaw," Erik said aloud. Maureen turned away from the screen to look at Erik, who was pointing his gun at the television. Maureen didn't like that.

"How do you know?" Alex asked.

"Two superpowers facing off and he wants to start World War III," Charles was the one to answer. "He won't leave anything to chance."

"So much for diplomacy. I suggest you all get a good night sleep."

Uh oh, Maureen thought as she felt the emotions stir up within Erik and everyone else.

"...ultimately leads to war."

Maureen had a feeling, a very bad feeling about the upcoming future.

It was nearing eleven o'clock, and Maureen was on her bed with back against the headboard, reading. She knew she should be sleeping but she found that she couldn't. Maureen was deep into her book when she heard a familiar knock on her door.

"Maureen?"

"It's open," Maureen called out to Raven. Maureen could feel Raven's reluctance before she entered Maureen's room.

"Do you need something, Raven?" Maureen asked, setting her book down.

"Yeah. Sort of," Raven replied nervously. "I've been...I've been such an idiot lately."

"What happened?" Maureen asked, looking at Raven in concern. She thought Raven was going to burst, but she didn't. Not yet, at least.

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

"Yeah?" Maureen's answer came out more like a question. "Why?"

"Even if I looked different?"

Maureen gave Raven a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"You know how I can shape shift?" Raven asked her young friend. Maureen nodded her head. "Well...this, this isn't my true form..."

True form?

Before Maureen could ask her what she meant, Raven abruptly stood up. While she did, she started to change how she looked. With blue scales flashing throughout her body, Raven turned into a woman with blue scaly skin, deep red hair and yellow eyes.

"...this is."

Oh. So, Maureen was right about her theory so long ago back at Division X. Maureen said nothing though as she took in her friend's appearance. How she truly looked. She didn't know what to say at first.

"Raven..." Maureen started quietly as she got up. "This...this is..." she couldn't help it. She found the tips of her small fingers hovering over Raven's scales. She was intrigued. "This is amazing."

Raven's feelings shifted and her eyes became glassy. Acceptance. She was feeling acceptance.

"Really?"

Maureen nodded. "Yeah, I do! I love the look on you. You pull it off really well. I mean it. I feel like this is most definitely you. The true you, and you should be proud of it."

Raven started to tear up at her friend's words. She caught Maureen by surprise when she pulled the young girl into a hug. Maureen returned the gesture.

Raven pulled back. "You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I mean, Charles has always told me to hide. Then Hank wanted me to take the cure with him, so we could hide. I'm tired of it, Maureen. I'm tired of hiding. No more hiding."

It was quiet between the two before Maureen spoke up. "When did all of this come from, Raven? I can feel your...defiance. For the lack of a better word," Maureen quickly spilled out the last sentence, not wanting Raven to get the wrong idea.

Raven suddenly gave a mischievous looking smile. Oh, she was smitten with someone, Maureen could feel it. "Erik...he kissed me in this form."

Maureen felt as if her face was paling. She didn't let on to Raven on how she really felt about Erik. She knew deep down, he had the best intentions but his methods? She knew he was vengeful and had the right but sometimes he seemed almost...radical.

Maureen said nothing about it, though, Instead, she gave her shapeshifter friend a smile.

"That's wonderful, Raven. Really."

Maureen had barely slept that night. She was too busy tossing and turning in bed. Sure, she did that while she was asleep but it was different this time. A voice inside her head was telling her that something terribly wrong was going to happen. Unfortunately, Maureen had no idea what was going to come. It had made her irritated and was just a little moody when she had to get up.

Maureen got dressed and she walked down with the others to go find Hank. No one has seen him since the night before and everyone was worried about him. When the group had reached to Hank's lab, the double doors were closed. It was a little odd to Maureen, because Hank normally had it open. They saw that Hank had tacked a note up on one of the doors. It read:

Gone to the airbase, bring the crate marked X.

Hank

"Do all scientists have sloppy handwriting like that?" Maureen asked. She was trying to lighten the mood. No one said anything as Charles tore the note off the door and he opened the doors, stalking into the lab almost immediately.

The others followed suit, allowing surprise and confusement to cross over them. Hank's lab was completely trashed. It was as some beast had came and destroyed it. Erik spoke for everyone when he had said, "What the hell happened here?"

No one said anything as Charles went to go fine the crate that was marked X. Everyone went over to him and stood by each other. Maureen stood on one side with Sean next to her and Erik next to him. Agent MacTaggert, Alex and Raven were on his other side. Everyone watched as Charles opened the crate.

"Hank has been busy," Erik said. Maureen eyed what was inside it warily. All of the measurements Hank had been taken of her suddenly made so much sense now.

"Do we really have to wear these?" Alex asked in disbelief.

"As none of us mutated to endure extreme g-force or being riddled by bullets, I suggest we suit up."

Maureen couldn't help but groan. She had to change her outfit again.

"I don't know how I feel about wearing this," Maureen told Raven. The girls were changing in the bathroom together. Raven was already done checking herself out and was now helping Maureen and her insecurity in what they were wearing. Everyone had to wear a blue and yellow uniform of sorts, fit to adapt to their powers. Maureen was fine with it, actually. It was just the zip up part that made it awkward for her...

"Don't worry about your chest, Maureen. You look fine." Raven assured her young friend. This was really the first time Raven had appeared...bubbly ever since she decided to stay in her true form. Usually, Raven was stoic. Maureen wondered if she acted like that because she wanted to act like an adult like Charles, Erik, and Agent MacTaggert.

"Thanks, Raven. I just need...to get used to this is all."

Raven rolled her eyes. "You're fine! Come on, the boys are probably wondering where we are."

Maureen took a deep breath before she and Raven walked out of the bathroom together and out to where the jet was. Maureen had never seen anything like it. Charles, Sean, Alex and Erik were already lined up, studying the large aircraft. She assumed that they had never seen anything like it, either.

"We're here," Raven announced. Everyone turned their eyes away from the jet and looked at the girls. "Maureen's a little shy about what we have to wear."

"You look great," Sean told her and Maureen could have sworn that he was eyeing her. That had somewhat made her uncomfortable, but Maureen couldn't help but blush at his comment. She smiled when Alex told him to shut up.

Now that Maureen was feeling better about herself, Raven asked the question that everyone had.

"Where's Hank?"

"I'm here."

Everyone turned to see that something was walking towards them with heavy footsteps. Maureen couldn't help but feel scared, because that did not sound like Hank.

"Hank?" Charles asked. The silhouette came closer. It was large and furry with golden eyes and animal like features. Maureen would have never guessed that it was Hank until she saw the glasses. Those were Hank's glasses. Her jaw dropped in astonishment. She could feel everyone's shock as well.

"The serum didn't attack the cells. It enhanced them," Hank explained. He bowed his head in shame. "It didn't work."

"Yes it did, Hank," Raven told him. Hank looked back up. "Don't you see? This is who you were meant to be." Hank was caught in her trance, slowly walking to her. When he was close enough, Raven let one of her gloved hands caress his face.

"This is you," Raven told him. "No more hiding."

"You never looked better, man," Erik bumped him on the shoulder.

Maureen felt the sudden flash of anger coming from Hank. He did not like that at all. He shot out his arm and grabbed Erik by the throat, lifting him off the ground.

"Hank!" Charles warned. Hank only snarled in response.

"Don't. Mock. Me." Hank warned Erik. He was beginning to choke him now. As much as Maureen didn't like Erik too much, she didn't want him to get killed.

"Hank, please. He didn't mean anything bad by it," Maureen tried to tell Hank (Erik really was trying to be nice this time), but he ignored her. "Hank, please!"

When Hank didn't response, Maureen decided to try something. She quickly stood next to him and place a hand on his arm. She thought of positive emotions and tried to send them into Hank. She had learned with her trials of empathy practice that touching someone was one of the most effective ways of changing or harming them with emotions.

"Put him down, Hank," Charles instructed. Hank finally listened and dropped Erik.

Erik looked up, regaining his breath. "I wasn't." He was referring to what had Maureen had said earlier. Yeah, Erik owed her big time now.

"Even I got to admit you look pretty badass," Alex piped up. "I think I got a new name for you. Beast."

Hank snarled once again.

"He doesn't mean anything bad by that, Hank," Maureen soothed her friend. Hank listened to her.

Thank you for that, Maureen, Charles said to her telepathically. Maureen gave him a small smile in return.

"Hey, Maureen, you know who you should be?" Alex asked. 

Maureen shook her head. "Who should I be?"

Alex grinned. "Sprite."

Maureen thought about it. "Okay."

Sean, who was looking up at the jet, looked back to Hank. "You sure you can fly this thing?"

"Of course I can," Hank answered. "I designed it."

"What haven't you done?" Maureen couldn't help but ask him.

Hank was piloting the jet. Agent MacTaggert was watching the radar. The rest of the group were passengers for the most part. Charles, Sean and Raven sat on one side while Erik, Alex and Maureen sat across from them.

Hank was flying them to Cuba. The closer they got to it, Maureen could feel her anxiety build up. This was it. This was the big deal. Fate would be in their hands. 

"It looks pretty messy out there," Hank commented. They must be near Cuba, judging by all the United States and Soviet Union military ships. Maureen did not like that one bit.

"The crew of the Aral Sea are all dead," Charles suddenly informed the group. Maureen looked up from the area that her eyes zoned out on and looked at Charles. At some point recently he must have gotten into a crew member's mind and scoped out on what was happening. "Shaw's been there."

"He's still here, somewhere," Erik said to Charles.

"He's set the ship on course for the embargo line."

Oh, yeah. Shaw. The closer they got to Cuba, they were also getting closer to Shaw and his own team, the Hellfire Club. Shaw had really left a mark on Maureen, especially since he had killed Darwin. She wouldn't let him and his cronies scare her, not this time. Not again.

Everyone is depending on you, Maureen reminded herself. You're doing this for mom and Tommy. You're doing this with and for your friends. You're doing it for those who are like you and you are doing it for those who cannot protect themselves from dangerous people like the Hellfire Club.

"If that ship crosses the line, our boys are going to blow it up. And the war begins." Agent MacTaggert added her two cents in.

"Unless they're not our boys," Charles said. That earned him a look from everybody. What was he going to do?"

Suddenly Charles put his fore and middle fingers up to his temple. He was doing something with his telepathy, alright.

Moments later, the alarm in the jet was beeping. Maureen felt her stomach drop. Suddenly the jet was turning, and everyone was screaming.

"Hold on!" Charles yelled. Raven was the one who was freaking out vocally. Maureen kept her mouth shut and clung on to the whatever she could get her hands on. She felt Alex putting an arm out against her abdomen so she wouldn't go flying out of her seat. Maureen was by far the smallest and lightest person there, and she was the only one that seemed to be falling from her seat. Hank had turned the jet into a complete 360 degrees, which really wasn't fun for anyone else.

In the distance, an explosion went off.

Then Maureen realized that it was a missile that had gone off and it was Charles that had done it.

When Hank finally got the jet to level out normally again, Maureen couldn't help but glare at Charles.

"A little warning next time, Professor?" Hank asked, but had an advisory tone more than anything else.

"Sorry about that," Charles apologized. "You all right?"

"Yeah," Sean breathed out. He didn't like it too much, either. In fact, everyone was a little peeved with the stunt that Charles had pulled.

"That was inspired, Charles," Agent MacTaggert commented.

"Thank you very much, but I still can't locate Shaw."

"He's down there. We need to find him now," Erik bit.

Charles looked up to Hank. "Hank?"

Hank looked back to face Charles. "Is there anything unusual on the radar or scanners?"

"No. Nothing," Agent MacTaggert answered.

"Well then he must be underwater," Hank theorized. "And obviously, we don't have a sonar."

Sean suddenly spoke up. "Yes, we do." Maureen looked at him, realizing what he meant. They could use him as the sonar.

"Yes, we do," Charles agreed. Hastily, he unbuckled himself from his seat. Sean and Erik followed suit. The three men got up.

"Hank, level the bloody plane!" Charles shouted over the engines. Hank did as he was told. Charles and Sean went to the bomb bay doors.

"Hey, Maureen?" Sean yelled over to her. "Could you give me a good luck's kiss before I go?"

"No!" Maureen couldn't help but laugh. Leave it to Sean to ask her that at a time like this.

"Stop flirting!" Alex yelled at him.

"You back right off!" Sean wasn't yelling that to Alex, though. He was talking to Erik this time, he was walking towards him. Maureen started to giggle because she remembered the day that Sean had actually mastered his flight. Erik had pushed him off the satellite dish. 

Erik respect Sean's wishes, putting his hands up in a surrendering manner.

"Beast, open the bomb bay doors!" Sean yelled to their furry blue friend, who complied. The doors opened and the wind was making everything harder to hear. Everyone watched Charles and Sean.

"Remember!" Charles yelled so Sean could hear him. "This is a muscle. You control it!" He then gestured to his head. "You will be in here the entire time! We'll see you soon! On my mark! Three! Two! One! Go!"

Sean let out a loud whoop before dropping out of the jet and into the sky and water below.

"Wow," Maureen breathed. She doubted that any of them could hear her. She had to admit, she was very impressed.

A few minutes later and Charles informed them that Sean had found Shaw.

"Are you ready for this?" Charles asked Erik.

"Let's find out."

The two mutants on the ground shared wide-eyed looks with each other, before turning back to Sean who...gracefully fell to the ground...face first. Maureen and Alex winced at the sight.

"That's gotta hurt," Alex said before he and Maureen ran to their friend.

Chapter Text

After Erik had lifted Shaw's submarine out of the water, Riptide had sent one of his tornadoes at the jet. As a result, the jet began to spin out of control. Everyone on board held onto something as the jet spun. Erik had lost his concentration on the submarine, which led to it crashing onto Cuba's shore. Moments later, the jet had crashed into the sand as well, on its' roof. This led to everyone being suspended in the air, as they were still strapped in their seats.

Maureen could feel the fear and adrenaline from everyone. It was overwhelming her, if truth be told. Maureen felt like she was going to be sick and that she was going to vomit if she was still going to be upside down any longer.

"I read the teleporter's mind. Shaw is drawing all the power out of his sub. He's turning himself into some kind of nuclear bomb," Maureen could hear Charles say, as Alex was helping getting her down. When she was on her feet, she looked outside of the window. The submarine was hundreds of yards away from their crashed jet.

"Moira, this is what we're going to do. Get on the radio and tell them to clear both fleets out immediately," Charles told MacTaggert.

"I'm going in," Erik told Charles.

"Beast, Havok, Sprite, back him up," Charles ordered the three young mutants. Maureen wasn't going to lie, she was terrified of going out there but she couldn't back out now. She had to do it. She's come too far to not.

Maureen and the boys all shared a look with each other before they exited the submarine. Maureen looked back towards Raven, giving her a small, sympathetic smile. She knew that Charles wouldn't let his sister go out in the field, she could feel the protectiveness and control from him. Maureen now understood what Raven meant when she felt smothered by her brother.

Erik, Alex, Hank, and Maureen all exited the jet, their feet finally touching the sandy beach of Cuba. As they stood, the mutants could see their opponents that had exited the submarine. They were Azazel, Riptide, and Angel. The rivals all stared down at each other. Riptide had formed two small tornadoes in his hands, and that was when Alex fired an bright, red energy beam at him. Riptide had been thrown back and his friend had disappeared.

Before Maureen could do anything, she heard a poof! behind her, and she saw Azazel's red tail was wrapped around Alex's neck. Before Azazel could disappear with him, Hank had grabbed onto the teleporter's shoulder and all three of them were gone.

Maureen glanced around her quickly, realizing that she was the only one around. Hank and Alex had vanished while Erik must have ran off during the altercation. She looked back to the submarine, seeing that Riptide was the only one still standing there. He was smirking. He had something up his sleeve, Maureen could feel it.

Slowly, Maureen began walking towards him. She wasn't going to let him scare her.

"Where did your friend take my friends to?" Maureen called out to her rival, who only looked smug at her question.

"I will never tell," Riptide informed her, creating two new tornadoes in his hands. Before he could set them off and away, Maureen threw out a hand. Maureen saw that Riptide was screaming and was clutching his hand but she couldn't tell why because the mutant had sent out his tornado and she got caught in it. She began to swirl around in the air, but with quick thinking she was able to freeze the tornado and she promptly fell out of it, landing in the sand. She couldn't help but clutch at her left wrist, feeling pain there. What had she done?

Maureen looked up, to see what was wrong with Riptide. As she studied him from the distance she was at and from the intense agony that she was feeling, she had realized what she had done.

She blew up one of his hands.

Maureen gasped, holding a hand up to her mouth to cover it. She had felt bad about doing what she had done, but then remembered that Riptide was her rival, after all. With another explosion Maureen sent Riptide backwards, hitting the submarine. He was unconsciousness by the time he hit the sand.

Maureen.

Maureen looked back to where MacTaggert and Charles were.

Charles?

Do you sense Erik anywhere?

Maureen looked around. She could see no one on the beach, except for an unconscious Riptide. The young girl ignored him and continued on trying to sense Erik. She couldn't.

No, I don't. What is—?

Before Maureen could finish her question, she heard the yells of Alex and Sean. She looked out to where the water was and she watched as her two friends hit the sand.

"Sean! Alex!"

Maureen ran over to Sean, since he was the closest to her, as he tumbled away from Alex. She knelt down beside him and turned him over onto his back side.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sean nodded, as he started to get up. Alex was with them now. "It was—" he stopped what he was saying. He was looking up at something. Maureen looked up too and saw Angel, their former friend. She had the intent look of attacking.

Without thinking, Maureen shot her hands out towards the flying mutant. However, Angel was flying no more, as Maureen had froze her wings. She look terrified as she began to fall out of air. Alex took  the opportunity to shoot one of his red beams right towards Angel, hitting one of her wings. Angel lot out of a sound of shock and hurt as she landed on the beach.

Sean laughed. "Yes!"

Maureen and Alex couldn't help but smile and laugh along. It was short lived, however, because suddenly Maureen could feel the malice, horror and frustration radiating in the air. It was so intense that Maureen could have suffocated from it.

Suddenly, Maureen was in searing pain. She was kneeling in the sand, hands clutching to her head tightly as it felt like her brain was being ripped apart. It had lasted for about ten seconds. The worst ten seconds of her life.

After the horror was over, she fell to the ground sideways, still clutching to her head. Tears were welling in her eyes and when she blinked they escaped. Oh, it hurt so bad.

"Maureen? Maureen!" someone was shaking her. "Are you alright? What's going on? What happened?"

"I don't—I—" Maureen was lost for a few seconds. She had no idea what had just happened. She was still trying to register it.

"Maureen, you need to breathe, okay? Breathe in, breathe out..."

The young girl began to take deep breaths, listening to whoever was telling her to do so. It was helping her. Her mind was becoming clearer, albeit  still in incredible pain. Her thoughts were beginning to organize again. As Maureen was trying to recollect what had happened, it hit her.

"It's Shaw," Maureen began, as one of her friends propped her up. "He's—"

Maureen was not able to finish what she was about to say. There was the loud sound of metal creaking, and then her favorite person in the whole entire world spoke:

"Today, our fighting stops!"

Maureen looked up to see Shaw's corpse floating in the air, looking as if he was Jesus Christ himself post crucifixion. Erik himself was mere yards behind him. Without realizing it, both of Shaw's and Xavier's remaining members moved closer to Erik and the now dead Shaw. They stopped when Erik dropped the lifeless mutant to the ground.

"Take off your blinders, brothers and sisters," Erik started once he, too, was on the ground. "The real enemy is out there," he pointed to where the ships of the USSR and the US were at. "I feel their guns moving in the water, there metal targeting us." He walked forward, not directly to the Hellfire Club or Xavier's team. Maureen turned her head to see that Xavier and MacTaggert were yards behind them all, and that's were Erik was heading to.

"Americans, Soviets, humans," Erik spat out the last word in disgust. "United in their fear of the unknown. The Neanderthal is running scared, my fellow mutants!" Erik looked over towards Charles, he was walking alongside him out to the shore. "Charles, tell me I'm wrong." Maureen watched as Charles made his infamous gesture, his pointer and middle fingers reaching up to his temple. Maureen watched as Charles did what he did best, before he slowly dropped his hand. He looked at MacTaggert, nodding at her. She ran off.

Maureen and her friends all exchanged looks to each other, knowing that Erik was right. Before anything could be said, they all heard the shots being fired, and watched as the missiles were heading straight for the beach. Everyone got into a stance, preparing for the worst.

So many thoughts were running through Maureen's head. She thought about how this was going to be her final moments, her mother and brother, the Prayer for Acceptance, and her very own abilities. Wait!

Before Maureen could act upon her powers, she watched at how Erik had stopped all the missiles from hitting the beach. They hovered in the air and stayed that way for a moment, before he began to change the direction in where they would hit. Maureen's eyes widen as she realized that Erik was directing them to the ships. He was going to kill the US and Soviet militaries.

"Erik, you said so yourself, we're the better men, this is the time to prove it." Charles began, but it was hopeless. The missiles were now locked and loaded for their new designation.

"There are thousands of men on those ships. Good, honest, innocent men! They're just following orders."

That set off the wrong mood for Erik.

"I've been at the mercy of men just following orders," Erik stated calmly. He paused, before looking directly at Charles and said: "Never again" and with a flick of his hand, the missiles were off to the ships.

"Erik, release them!" Charles exclaimed. Erik ignored his command. Everyone watched as the missiles were inching closer and closer...

"No!" Charles yelled, before tackling Erik. They were on the ground now, wrestling. Erik had lost concentration on the missiles and they began falling, some blowing up in the process. Maureen took this opportunity to try to blow up some of them as well. She was succeeding so far, but soon Erik realized what was happening as Alex, Sean, Raven, and Hank were walking towards the two fighting men.

"Stay back!" Erik growled, shoving a hand out. The boys flew back, away from Erik and the others. Erik then saw what Maureen was doing.

"You," he growled again, his eyes narrowing at her. She, too, was flung back into the sand by Erik, landing by her friends. As the four mutants began to stand, the fighting continued. Agent MacTaggert was shooting at Erik, who deflected the bullets.

Then....

At the same time, Charles and Maureen screamed. They both fell into the sand. They were both in absolute agony. One of them was shot in the spine. As Maureen's friends grabbed her, she screamed again. Something was being pulled out of her spine and a moment later, she couldn't feel her legs. Oh no.

"Charles!" Maureen gasped, as she pushed herself off the ground. She realized what had happened. One of the deflecting bullets had hit Charles in the spine; he was the one shot and in absolute agony. It was Charles that was losing the feeling in his legs. 

Oh no, oh no, oh no. NO!

Together, Xavier's team inched forward to where an agonized Charles and regretful Erik were. Sean was helping Maureen, supporting her as they walked as Erik was holding onto Charles, who was laying in the sand.

"I said back off!" Erik yelled. He gave a murderous glare to MacTaggert. "You. You did this."

Maureen watched in horror as MacTaggert was being choked by her own dog tags, thanks to Erik. She wanted to help the agent but she felt so drained, so hurt.

"Erik. Please," the faint voice of Charles could hardly be heard. "She didn't do this, Erik. You did." Erik looked down to his friend, letting go of MacTaggert. She fell on her knees, struggling to breathe.

"Us turning against each other, it's what they want," Erik reasoned. "I tried to warn you, Charles. I want you by my side. We're brothers, you and I. All of us together, protecting each other. We want the same thing."

As if, Maureen thought, as she looked on.

Charles gave a sad laugh. "My friend. I'm sorry, but we do not."

It was silent. Maureen wasn't sure how long, but it felt like an eternity. Erik looked away from Charles and motioned for Agent MacTaggert to take hold of Charles. She did, and was apologizing profusely. Erik walked away from them, towards the two groups that stood by and watched everything unfold.

"This society won't accept us," Erik pointed to MacTaggert and Charles. "We form our own! The humans have played their hand...now we get ready to play ours. Who's with me?"

No one made a move, but Maureen could sense the ones who wanted to, and one of them was her dear old friend, Raven.

Erik stuck his hand out, gesturing for anyone (but specifically for Raven) to join him. "No more hiding."

Raven nodded, moving forward. As she walked, however, Maureen could feel her conflict rise within. She wanted to join Erik, but she was worried for Charles. Everyone watched as the shapeshifter bent down to her brother.

"You should go with him," Charles said. "It's what you want."

"You promised me you would never read my mind," Raven told him.

"I know," Charles agreed. "I promised you a great many things, I'm afraid. I'm sorry."

The two siblings held each others hands, before letting go. Raven kissed Charles' forehead before looking up to MacTaggert.

"Take care of him," Raven told the agent. She then got up, looking at her group of friends, looking at Maureen.

"I'm sorry, Maureen," Raven's voice was breaking at this point. Maureen could only give her friend a smile, despite everything she was currently feeling.

"It's alright, Raven. I promise."

Raven gave a watery smile to her friend, before officially joining Erik's side. Azazel, Riptide, and Angel joined too. They all joined hands.

"And Beast," Raven called out to Hank, who looked up to her. "Never forget. Mutant and proud."

Hank had to look away from Raven, his heart dropping. His heart breaking.

There was a poof! and the new team of mutants were gone. As soon as they vanished, Maureen and the boys ran to Charles and MacTaggert.

"Help me, out! Come on," MacTaggert pleaded. Hank got to them first, taking hold of Charles. "I'm gonna get you to a hospital."

"Wait, don't move him!" Maureen interjected as they began to lift him and he was yelling. "He can't–"

"I-I-I can't—" Charles was having trouble coming up with the words. "I can't feel my legs. I can't feel my legs. I can't feel my legs. I can't feel my legs...."

Chapter Text

Maureen was sitting in the waiting room, staring into nothing. 

It had been hours since the incident in Cuba. The team was eventually able to transport Charles to the hospital. It's actually rather strange as to how Charles and the rest were brought to the hospital.

Azazel.

It was odd, yes, but the red mutant had appeared back on the beach minutes after teleporting Erik and the others away. He offered no details as to why he came back but he said he would take the group wherever they needed to go. At first, the others were suspicious but Maureen had read him and could feel that his intentions were good. The teenager vouched for Azazel and MacTaggert had told him that they needed to take Charles to the hospital. 

After telling him the details, Azazel took them. Maureen and MacTaggert were at each side of Azazel, holding one of his hands. Alex and Sean were at either side and Hank held onto one of them, while one of his arms held Charles. With a poof they were at the entrance of the hospital, and then Azazel left without goodbye.

That's where they were all at now. Charles was in one of the hospital rooms, Alex and Sean were down in the cafeteria. Maureen suspected that MacTaggert was with Charles while she and Hank sat in the waiting room, ignoring the incredulous stares that people gave them.

Let them stare, Maureen couldn't help but think. She knew they must have looked like a funny pair: tiny little Maureen sitting next to the big, blue, and furry monster. She knew their suits must have looked funny too but...let them stare. They've just gone through a lot. They had prevented World War III, for crying out loud!

They may have preventing World War III but there were consequences to that. Charles had gotten hurt and they lost friends who were close and dear to their hearts.

Maureen hadn't really spoke since the doctor supervising Charles had came out to the group of mutants to inform them that Charles would be paralyzed from his waist down for the rest of his life. Maureen's heart had sunk at the news. Everyone else was in disbelief too but Maureen took the news hard.

Maureen couldn't help but think it was her fault...and that it wasn't fair. What did Charles do to deserve this? Nothing, it was absolutely nothing.

"What are we going to do?" Maureen found herself saying. Hank had perked up, looking at her. He hadn't heard her say a peep since the doctor told them of their mentor's condition.

"I'm sorry?"

"I know you heard me, Hank," Maureen couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I said, 'What are we going to do'? Charles, he..." she gulped. "He can never walk again. They left us. What do we do?"

It was silent between the two before Hank responded, "I don't know, but I do know Charles wouldn't want us to beat ourselves up over this."

Maureen did not respond. Hank did not take offense to this, noting that Maureen looked absolutely drained. He watched as the young teen leaned against her furry, blue frame and closed her eyes. She needed to rest. They all did.

It was late November Charles was discharged. While he was in the hospital and MacTaggert kept him company while Maureen and the boys were back at the mansion, going to work.

Charles had always said that he wanted to turn the mansion into a school for mutant children. He had said while they learn how to control their abilities, they would also be able to continue their studies. Not only that, but the mansion would also be a safe haven for them. Maureen couldn't help but tear up at the thought. As her mother once said, Charles Xavier was probably one of the most kindest people she had ever met.

Speaking of Amelia Shepherd...

Maureen had called her mother, needing help. Maureen decided that Charles needed a "welcome home" slash Thanksgiving type of celebration, and who was the best cook in the whole world? It was Amelia Shepherd Maureen always loved her mother's cooking, and she knew that her mother was missing her eldest daughter, so she had invited her to come to the mansion. This was the first time the boys met Maureen's mother and brother, seeing as Tommy had tagged along as well.

The Shepherd family was busy tidying up the mansion and helping the boys renovating the mansion to help it make it more accessible for Charles. It turned out that together, they were all a pretty great renovation team. When Charles and MacTaggert finally returned to the mansion, it was needless to say that they were both shocked.

"Welcome home, Professor Xavier," Amelia Shepherd was the first to speak. For the first time in his life, as he read each of their thoughts, seeing what they had done, Charles Xavier was speechless.

"You-You all did this for me?" Charles looked as if he was in near tears. His very first students all gave him expressions of joy and gratitude.

"We owe you everything, man," Sean said. "And we want to help you in every possible way."

"So we started by making it easier to move around in the mansion for you," Alex added.

"And I went out to find lawyers, people we can get to have the academy up and running..." Hank informed.

"I called in my mother, here, and this squirt too I guess," Maureen ruffled her younger brother's hair, who groaned out "Maureen!" in response, "to help get this place a little tidied up...and for some great cooking. You must be tired from all that hospital food."

"I will admit, it smells absolutely delicious," Charles gave a smile. "I have to thank you all, you have done absolutely so much in the past few months...I don't know how I can ever thank you all."

"Then don't."

Once Charles calmed down, everyone gathered around at the dining room table and dug into the meal Amelia, as well as Maureen and Tommy, had made. It was delicious.

It was a few days after Charles had returned to the mansion. Despite everything that had happened, his students seemed to be up in spirits...for the most part, at least.

Charles was currently in his study with his students, calling for a meeting with them.

"I want to thank you for all you have done, truly," Charles told the small group. "I could never thank you enough."

"We can never thank you enough, Charles," Hank said. Sean, Alex, and Maureen all nodded in agreement.

"You've done so much for us, this is the least we can do for you," Maureen added. "We want to help you in any way that we can."

"I know, and that leads me to what I am about to tell each and every one of you," Charles said, taking a deep breath. "You have done so much and have come so far. You're no longer children and as of now, you are no longer working for the government—"

"I hope not," Alex scoffed. "They almost killed us."

"Yes, they almost did," Charles agreed. "However, as I was saying...if you want, you can stay here at the mansion for as long as you want. If not, that's alright, too. I know some of you have families that are out there and if you want to return to them, you can. You are not trapped here, and I don't wish for any of you to feel as if I'm tying you down—"

"You're not tying us down. We already talked about it. We're staying," Sean informed their mentor.

"This is the only place where we belong. We want to help you, and we don't want you to be alone. Our place is here, with you," Maureen added.

For the second time since meeting Charles Xavier, the older man began tearing up again. It took him a moment to compose himself.

"Thank you all, so very much. You have no idea what that means to me," Charles eventually said.

"You're our family," Maureen told him sincerely walking over to him. She bent down and she hugged him, which he returned. "No one should be alone."

And alone they would never be. 

"In this week of Thanksgiving, there is much for which we can be grateful as we look back to where we stood only four weeks ago. The unity of the hemisphere, the support of our allies, and the calm determination of the American people. These qualities may be tested many more times in this decade."

-John F. Kennedy