Disclaimer: Ok, so I suppose I need to have one of these things. In case you hadn't realized by now, I do not own the xmen or any concept surrounding it. I'm just borrowing it for a little while. I promise to return it (relatively) unharmed. If you don't recognize the character, they belong to me. If you do... that's rather frightening, seeing as I have all OCs in this chapter. Later on? Who knows. I really have no idea where I'm heading with this thing, if I'm going anywhere. Or if I should even attempt to continue this thing. So tell me, to continue, or not to continue, that is the question!

When people have mutant abilities that are extremely flashy and/or destructive, they go on to do one of two things: They join superhero teams, or they wind up with their own show on network television. I happened to do the latter, and life couldn't be better. Famous last words.

Ok so maybe I didn't have my own show. But I was on one. Worse than the reality show trend, I swear. A new batch popped up every season. It seems psychics, ghost hunters, pyrokenetics and the like are good for ratings. Which was how I found myself on 'Destiny Shores'. Cliché does not begin to describe the current plot. But national exposure like that? I would have been insane to turn it down. Not to mention the money wasn't too bad either.

Cut to the chase: We had just finished filming the last episode of our first season a week or so ago, and various talking heads had decided it would be a good idea to meet and talk about the future of my character, Grace DeVive. In terms of the entertainment industry, this was Not Good. How do I describe Grace... well by default, she had to look a thing or two like me. Curvaceous but fit (of course), long red hair and the ivory complexion that goes along with it, tall side of average. Then there where the eyes. The one clue that perhaps I was not as normal as I seemed. They where silver, through and through. We're talking chrome here, and I am absolutely convinced they where the reason I got hired for this job. On anyone else they would have looked intimidating. On me, they looked... dare I say it? Cute. Yes, cute. Which is also why I was playing the role of best friend to the heroine, and not the heroine herself.

Speaking of Rachel, she was not here. Of course not- it was probably too early in the morning for her. Rachel, who played the obnoxiously perfect Melody DeVine, never had to be. I suppose when you're a 110 pound, 5'11, blonde hair, blue eyed boobshell... pardon me, bombshell, you don't have to be. I'm sure she was scheduled to have her own meeting, in which she would discuss her pay raise and further wrap the team of directors around her little finger. Oh yes, we just adore each other, can't you tell?

The number of people present for our 'discussion' was actually quite small, which did not bode well for me. Potentially anyway. It didn't take psychic abilities to see that they were about to tell me something I didn't want to hear. They didn't hurt though. My agent, Robert Broadhead looked positively green. Director, his assistant... the head writer? Ok, so maybe I wasn't going to be canned after all. But their position on the long end of the boardroom type table was meant to remind me who was in the position of power.

"Amber. Hello, sit down please." Rob was being a bit too formal, to tentative, and the napkin in his hand was being twisted into shreds.

"Hey, nice to see you guys again. Good season, don't you think?" I dropped myself into a chair, crossing my legs with a grin. Relaxed, informal... confident sounding? I hoped so anyway.

"Yes, dear. Of course it was. How has your morning been?" Matt Stein, executive producer and procrastinator extraordinaire asked, almost meeting my eyes.

"Small talk at this hour? It's too early." I yawned and repressed the urge to roll my eyes. "Don't sugar coat it."

Honestly, they should have known better. It wasn't as though they didn't know I knew what they knew. Talking in circles is fun, but not before noon, thanks.

"Usin' the ol'..." Gary, the head writer tapped two fingers against the side of his head. Absently I wondered what he was doing here, he was WAY out of his element. This time I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I always wondered if anyone could tell if I had, having no pupils and all. Even if they hadn't, the exaggerated sigh would clue him in.

"No." I said, turning away from him. He was one of the 'mutants are SO COOL!' types... which I suppose are better than the 'Die mutie, die!' types, though equally as annoying. He had just become a window dressing in my mind. Effectively Not There.

"No reason to be rude." Stein actually seemed nervous. As though he expected me to read his mind, expose all his darkest secrets, then blow him up for looking at me the wrong way. Honestly... as if he were worth the effort.

"I'm not the one being rude. Now if you don't mind, I believe you called this meeting to discuss the my future on the show?" Oh yes, cute girls can get angry. Especially when it comes down to contract talk.

I caught a fleeting surface thought from him as he put on his best burocrat smile 'If we turn Grace into a shape shifter, we can fire Amber and hire a human to play the character.'

"Excuse me! You can't do that, I have a contra-"

"Yes, and your contract says-"

"You have no right!"

Rob cleared his throat quietly. "Actually he does have the right. You contract states that you are not allowed to utilize psychic abilities of any sort during formal discussions with creative staff, executives or talent." He was actually blushing. The energy around him had darkened. He was embarrassed. But not embarrassed enough.

"I question the legality of that condition." My tone more deadly than I had intended it be.

"Yes sweetheart, but you signed on the dotted line." Stein's sarcasm was tangible, he knew he had the upper hand.

And of course, so did I. Blushing slightly, I found myself examining the plush gray carpet. I was embarrassed by my own lack of conviction. Picking up on Rob's embarrassment certainly didn't help things. At times I felt bad for him- having to represent a mutant actress with a temper. He took a lot of flack for it, made sure I never got too much trouble from FOH and the like. But then he let these awful clauses slip into my contracts. Such as 'no display of mutant abilities unless necessary for filming'.

It wasn't fair, he knew it and I knew it. Hollywood makes a big deal about being open minded when it comes to mutants, but no one ever bothers to read the fine print. At least I had a job, something more than a passing gig. And I did have to hand it to Robbie, I was a tough case.

"Speaking of contracts..." I drew out in my sweetest tone, smiling my most innocent smile. "I believe I mine stated that I would continue to play Grace if the network agreed to sign for another season. So unless I missed something, I believe we were discussing Grace's future on DS?" I projected good will. Just a little. That little 'no powers' clause didn't count if they didn't know I was doing anything.

Matt shook his head and grunted. Gary spoke up from his spot... near the door? Must of moved over there during the argument. "Um yes... well we were thinking maybe it was time to explore another aspect of Grace's personality." He cleared his throat, looking decisively shifty.

"Change is good, I like change. Hit me with it, what where you thinking?" He had me genuinely curious.

"What if Grace" He paused dramatically. "Where to go bad?"

I blinked at him. I stared at each of the three men in the room. Then promptly bursting out in laughter. "Was that?" I took a deep breath, giggles threatening to overtake me. "Was THAT what you where so nervous about?"

Nervous laughter broke out between the three men. "Well..." Gary stepped further back into the room.

"It was his idea." Matt nodded towards the other man.

Seeing as he was the writer... but I choose not to comment on that. "So, are we talking naughty school girl bad or torrid love affair with the villain bad?"

"We where thinking both. You know, naughty Goth school girl who wants to explore her sexuality." Well what do you know. Gary had grown balls again.

Of course I had been left speechless. Momentarily. "We're not... you know... turning this into porn or anything, are we?" God help me, had I actually just said that?

"Well no. We expect the rating to go up of course, along with a later time slot- smack in the middle of prime time! And a nice bonus for the cast" Stein was somewhat amiable again. Good on him.

"How much of a bonus? And.. er... how much.. ummm...?" Was I considering this? Did I really have a choice?

"Now, now, we still have to be able to show this on primetime cable. And enough to make it worth your while." He replied, as if I could refuse.

We all looked up to the sound of the door clicking shut. We were down one head writer. Weird one, that Gary. I figured I might eventually regret signing over creative control of my character, but at least they were kind enough to inform me of any major character changes before dropping off a wonker of a script. Not that it would have made one bit of difference in the long run. Legally I had no right to protest.

"Well then, if that's all." I stood up- it was only 10:30am. If I was lucky, I could still get back to my place and crash for a few hours.

Stein took a deep breath, and notably stayed planted in his seat. The energy around him shifted, and suddenly I knew what he had to tell me was something potentially much bigger. "I'm afraid it's not. Now I don't want to get you alarmed."

I had made it to the door frame, turned around and stopped dead in my tracks. I knew what he was going to say before he said it, but I prayed I was wrong. Even as he spoke I could feel my heart drop into the pit of my stomach.

"The network is considering a move to fire all mutant employees. Nothing is set in stone, but I thought you should know."