A/N: So... this is my first X-Men story ever, so please don't hate! I've had this idea in my head ever since First Class, and I just got around to posting it, so please enjoy! I've done a re-write, so some things will be different. But expect more updates to come! Rewrites didn't change much in these chapters, just some of the backstory to my OC Josie (Days of Future Past inspired, of course). ENJOY

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel characters, only my OC Josie! I simply am using all the other characters for my own personal reasons!

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"We are witnesses a new stage in human evolution. The mutations appear during puberty, and are often triggered during periods of high emotional stress," A strong, attractive woman in her early thirties - who had brown hair that had a faint red color in it and was known as Dr. Jean Grey - addressed the committee that was in front of us. This was an open hearing; behind the committee members were ordinary Washingtonians who I was mixed in with along with my dad, Charles Xavier.

An image of the human genome was closing down behind Jean. She was concluding her talk about what mutants are and how they came to be. As I stand beside Charles, I find it difficult to believe this was the girl I'd met all those years ago... Also I found it difficult to be around all of these people, in this light room. It was beyond irritating and I just wanted to be back home. I was a recluse.

Jean continued on speaking as thoughts of using my powers right now cruised my mind, my eyes finding Senator Kelly, "We are witnesses a new stage in human evolution. The mutations appear during puberty, and are often triggered during periods of high emotional stress."

Hearing this many times before (Jean wanted to get her speech perfect and recruited me to help her despite my many protests), I easily became bored and start twitching around. It's not long, though, before Charles gave me a look which I immediately still up, but my eyes still darted around the room. It was my ADHD.

As I looked around the room, I noticed a man in a hat and a trenchcoat looking at me. He had blue eyes and looked slightly older than Charles. He was looking at me with the strangest expression... I watched as his eyes moved to Charles. The way this man was looked at him was just so... odd. It seemed like they knew each other. Also, I could've sworn I've seen him somewhere else before.

My attention was brought back from the mysterious older man to the speech as a microphoned voice interrupted Jean. Bearing down on her was the... flamboyant Senator Robert Kelly, a conservative from Florida... and, unfortunately, he was the hearing's Chairman. Just behind him sat his not-so-dandy sidekick Henry Gyrich who was in his mid-thirties and was a typical government cog. I had hatred for them both, not only because Gyrich had tried hitting on me this morning, but I put that aside.

Senator Kelly spoke, "Thank you Miss Grey, very educational. But it missed the question that is the focus of this hearing. Three words: are mutants dangerous?"

Instantly I wanted to crush him, and I felt my anger rise. My fists and jaw clenched. "Only if you piss us off by addressing us in smarmy tones of voice," I muttered, which earned a look from Charles, but I whispered to him, "Oh, did I say that out loud?"

The lovely Jean - not affected by him whatsoever - answered his question. "I'm afraid, that's an unfair question, Senator. After all, the wrong person behind the wheel of a car is dangerous,"

"Well, we license people to drive," the Senator argued.

"Yes, but not to live," Jean countered and I smugly smirked. She would have never become good at retorts if not for me. She kept her focus on him. "Senator, the records clearly show that mutants who have chosen to revealed themselves to the public have been widely regarded with fear and suspicion, even violence."

Murmurs of dissent filled the room and I could see that Senator Kelly himself was only listening with half an ear. I watched as Gyrich passed some information into his hand that he was obviously happy to get.

Jean, not giving up, continued. "It is because of this violence that I urge you all to vote against mutant registration. Forcing mutants to expose themselves will only―"

Kelly looked back at her as Gyrich walked away and returned to to his spot at the back of the room. "'Expose themselves'? What is it the mutant community has to hide?" Kelly asked.

"Our plans for world domination and our fetish for black leather," I snorted with a bit of laughter, but it didn't wash away my anger any.

Charles looked over at me. "Josie," I heard his voice in my head. "Calm down, or I'll have to make you leave."

With a disgruntled sigh, I looked back at the political scene that was unfolding.

Jean started backtracking. "I didn't say they were hiding―"

"Well, let me show you what is being hidden, Miss Grey," Kelly took out a paper and started to work the crowd.

"Senat―" Jean tried, but Kelly wouldn't let her get another word in.

"I have here records of mutants living in the United States," He said. "Here's a girl in Illinois who can walk through walls. What's to stop her from walking into a bank vault? Or into the White House? Or into their houses―?" Kelly looked back at Jean. "And I have even heard, Miss Grey, that there are mutants so powerful that they can enter our minds and control our thoughts... "

I felt myself shaking because of all the cheering people surrounding Charles and I. How could they support this man? I looked over to Charles for some support, but he looked just as deeply troubled by the response Kelly was getting as I was. I reached over to the man in a wheel chair and grabbed his hand.

He glanced at me and held my hand firmly. "Everything's fine," He assured me.

"How can they follow him?" I thought back to him.

"They're only afraid of what they don't understand, Josie. Don't blame them for being fearful,"

"Will they try to kill us, Charles?"

"No, not yet,"

My stomach churned. No, not yet. That scared me beyond words and Charles squeezed my hand tighter at getting my unease.

"Taking away our God-given free will," Kelly finished his speech during Charles and I's exchange, but decided to add on after that to make a point. "I think the American people have a write to decide if they want to send their children to school with mutants. To be taught by mutants. Ladies and gentlemen, the truth is that mutants are very real. And they are among us. We must know who they are, and most importantly, we must know what they can do!"

The crowd reacted loudly in support of the Senator and I couldn't stand it in here anymore.

"Go," Charles whispered to me so I stood and calmly left the room so as to not draw attention, but I did not realize I had been followed until I was already outside in the cool air. I leaned against the railing and looked around at the busy streets. I wondered what it would be like if they knew what was happening in here.

"Troubling, isn't it?" I heard an older voice say from behind me.

I turned to see a figure in a hat and trenchcoat. It was that older man that had been staring at Charles and I. I could see that he taken aback by me. I just didn't know how to respond but I did my best. "Uh, yeah, it is, I guess." I scratched my neck and looked down.

"You guess?" He took a step towards me. "Why are you troubled by Senator Kelly, little one?"

'Little one'? Did he seriously just call me 'little one'? I at least looked in my late twenties... Jeez. Now I was going to worry over using my powers. But, there was a memory my mind recalled. One of a man when I was younger, but I only saw him once myself. He called me little one though... No, surely this man wasn't him.

"I guess it just scares me that one man can have so much power to turn a whole room against a group of people... " I shivered at the thought and I could see the clear agreement on his face.

"Are you a mutant?" He asked. I bit my lip, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy. I mean, what if this man was going to attack me for being a mutant? I didn't know if he was a mutant, but he didn't appear volatile and I knew he wouldn't be successful in taking me down, so why not? Slowly I nodded to the man. "You are among friends." He said, holding his hand up. Suddenly the metal bars behind me bent seemingly all by themselves.

I instantly felt sick. "Magneto," I whispered, looking back at him. "You're Magneto... "

"Yes."

I folded my arms tighter around me. "I should go, someone will be looking for me,"

"Did Charles not tell you to go?" He took a step towards me. "I could see your anger at the Senator, little one. What is your name?"

I stared at him hard for a long moment. "Josie,"

"No, your real name,"

"That is my real name," I clenched my fists.

"That is not your real name, that is your slave name."

I snorted. "Um, yeah, my mom named me Josie so I'm going to stick with it."

"Your mother wouldn't happen to be Jessa Draven, would she?"

I stared at him in shock. "Y-Yes, that's her name... Or was. Did you know her?"

"Yes, I knew her very well. You look much like her." His eyes went over my face. "Of course, there are differences."

I pushed my hair behind my ear. "Well, she died giving birth to me and I only have one photo, so I couldn't agree. But thanks?"

Magneto seemed shocked at hearing that. "Only one? Does Charles not have more?"

"Why are you so curious?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "Surely it doesn't matter whether or not he does." Right then I noticed that - behind Magneto - Charles rolling up in his wheelchair. "Charles!" I said in relief and walked around Magneto to get to him.

"Go back, Jean was looking for you," He instructed with his serious look.

I nodded, and started to leave, but looked back to Magneto. It just didn't feel right to walk off without saying something else. "It was nice to meet you," I said before walking around a corner. Instead of continuing on, I hid just around the corner to hear what would happen between the two.

I guess now would be a good time to explain that, biologically, Charles wasn't my father, but he had raised me as his daughter. With that said, I always knew growing up that Charles' main... adversary, so to speak, was a man named Magneto and I also knew their history wasn't bitter at the beginning. If I heard right from my many eavesdropping endeavors, they were actually friends. And by what Magneto had just said to me, they apparently had known my mom who indeed had died giving birth to me, but I wasn't exactly sure of all their history together.

Through all of my childhood and most of my adulthood, I was never allowed to meet Magneto in person, though Charles and him had met up in the past for chess and other things. Why I wasn't allowed to meet him, I had no clue because there was no way he could take me down with my powers, and I pressed the matter with Charles because I could just get rid of him. Charles didn't like me using violence, though, so I reframed for his sake even though I was curious why he wouldn't let me meet this one person. Now was my opportunity to learn some things.

"Erik. What are you doing here?" I heard Charles ask Magneto.

"Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answers?" Magneto - whose name was evidently Erik - answered.

"Don't give up on them, Erik."

"What would you have me do, Charles? I've heard these arguments before."

"That was a long time ago. Mankind has evolved since then."

"Yes... Into us." I glanced around the corner to see Charles looking sad, but had that look on his face... as if he was looking inside Magneto's mind. Magneto seemed to notice this as well, and tapped his own temple. "Are you sneaking around in there, Charles? Whatever are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for hope," Charles responded with.

Magneto turned and gave Charles a warm smile. "I will give you hope, old friend. And I ask only one thing in return. Don't get in my way," He started to walk away then turned back. "Josie has grown up significantly from the last I saw of her, Charles. She looks like her mother, but she's a little paler. A trait, I suppose, bestowed by you?"

Charles had a straight face, giving nothing away to the man who was obviously trying to pick some information out of him. "Do not pretend Sarah loved me more."

Erik, not looking very happy with that response, looked over at me. I just stared back at him with my brown eyes until he turned on his heel and strode out, leaving Charles more troubled than ever, but he did speak as he left, "We are the future, Charles, not them. They no longer matter,"

Something in his words spoke to me, but also it troubled me to have those words do that. I mean, what he said went against everything I was brought up in and went against everything I had adopted as my own morals. Maybe the thing that was appealing to me was the fact it was different from everything I'd ever known in life. New things had always been exciting for me.

Once the man was out of sight, Charles turned towards me. "It's rude―"

"I know, I know, it's rude to eavesdrop, but it's also rude to hide things," I said as I stepped out from my hiding spot. "You won't tell me a thing about the infamous Magneto so I kinda gotta investigate myself nowadays."

"You are very much like a child still, Josie," Charles said as he rolled towards me. "You need not know some things yet, and the relationship that is between Magneto and I is one of them."

"Why does it matter? How does it play such a big role in this?" I rubbed my temples and sighed before continuing. "And what about my mom and you? My mom and Magneto? You can't deny it to me, I heard what you said about my mom Sarah a second ago," I said blatantly. "Even if you did deny it, I wouldn't believe you, Charles Francis Xavier."

He stared at me a long moment before moving past me. "I will explain to you each of those things when you're ready,"

"I've been asking for twenty-seven years now, I think I'm ready! I-I just want to know who my father is and why you won't let me see him," I said as I followed after him. "I get your fears of me leaving you, but I would never be able to... Jean, Scott, Ororo, Hank, and you are my only true family, Charles. I could never leave you all because of one man."

"You don't know the man." Charles said quietly, not bothering to even look at me which I think was him saying it more to himself than me. "Let's not speak of this here, not when all these strangers are around."

"Fine," I sighed, hanging my head. We walked back into the building and were greeted by Jean. "That bad, huh?" I said with a frown as I looked at her beat face; I could see the fatigue on her face.

"I think I just want to go home," Jean sighed and I put hooked my arm through hers.

"It's okay, Jeanie. If you want, I can use my powers on him."

"Josie," Charles's strong voice caught my attention.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm just picking, unless Jean actually wants me to... "

"No, don't, Jo," Jean said quietly and leaned her tall body against my side. Jean was all leg at her height of 6' 0" while I was only 5' 7". She was all leg and curves while I was a beam pole all over, though I did like to think I had nice legs too. She was just beautiful and I was, well, I considered myself plain, maybe kinda pretty at most.

"They were too cruel about everything," I shook my head. "They're insensitive jerks who are too closed minded to see that we aren't the bad guys."

"Mind your tongue, Josie, they're just afraid of what they do not understand," Charles said from my side as we begun to leave.

I looked down at him with a scowl. "They're afraid of what they can't control," I didn't miss the dreadful look that passed over Charles' face.

I recalled the moment I discovered Charles wasn't my father. I had learned when I was nine that Charles was not my father and I stopped calling him father when I found out. When my mutant powers came in, I was fourteen and had no clue how to use them. It was messy for a while after that because then I felt like I didn't belong with any of the X-Men and I was growing into my powers at that time so it was my rebellious stage for quite a while. It ended when Jean, Scott, and Ororo arrived at Xavier's School for the Gifted. I became very close with the three of them because they, too, had just came into their powers. Charles was relieved when I found people my near age to hang out with - with my abilities, it was hard to keep friends.

My powers were complex. I controlled dark matter and could tap into people's greatest fear. Charles said that our powers expand over time, and the fear thing has just been a recent branch. Anyways, it was hard to keep friends because I was able to move shadows and other things normal people weren't supposed to do.

I didn't like using my powers for anything because I felt like it was an unfair advantage, so I learned how to fight. Mainly martial arts, but I did learn some other fighting styles. This being said, I mainly taught defense classes at Charles' school because I just wasn't interested being a doctor like Jean or a teacher like Ororo. I mean, I was a teacher, just not a core class. I interacted oddly with others and was more interested in reading Fantasy than History.

We got in the car and prepared for a long ride home, all of us purposely ignoring the figure in the trenchcoat watching us from across the street.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and tell me if you think I should continue!

~ The Onceler's Unless