A/N: Sadly I have to say that this is the last chapter of Part I of These Broken And Misguided Things. I'm going to post another Interlude after this and then I'll post the next chapter after the summer vacation. It's been incredibly fun to publish this story and receive such a positive feedback and I hope you'll come back in September!


Part I, Chapter 7: A Change Might Do You Good, Afterall


Jamie Madrox was a remarkably happy child, considering his upbringing.

He rarely let anything bring him down. His father didn't let him attend a school trip to the local museum? He liked to spend time in the library reading comics anyway. His mother couldn't afford an enormous chocolate cake he saw on display for his birthday? He didn't think it really tasted that good. His sister ran away from home? She'll have a lot of stories of incredible adventures that she'll tell him when they see each other again. When will that be? In the future. There was no way they wouldn't find each other, because even if they were continents apart, he knew she wouldn't give up on him.

That thought kept him running.

He knew what was going on in his house. He knew what his mother and sister were doing for all these years. He knew they were putting themselves in the harm's way, to keep his father away from him. They tried so hard for him to get out unharmed, he couldn't repay them with being naughty and moody.

His mother was proud of him. Every six year old in his place, with very little toys, cartoons only on Saturday mornings and almost no sweets at all, would have been throwing fits at any given moments, but he was thankful for everything he had.

On his seventh birthday, few months after Violette's escape, he opened his birthday present, expecting his mother's old, blue backpack – his own bag fell apart a week earlier and his mother gave him not always the newest gifts, but rather ones he needed – but to his surprise, he found a shiny and new, green, 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' one, with a couple of new comic books inside. Confused, he looked at his mother, concerned how much she sacrificed to buy it.

"Your dad bought it" She smiled, the bruise on her cheek showing beneath her make-up. She tried so hard to pretend everything was normal during the day, he had no heart to tell her how weird the fact his father acknowledged his existence was. "I hope you like the comic books. He chose them."

Jamie bit his tongue before saying something stupid.

That night, instead of sitting in his room and pretending he didn't hear the fight downstairs – or rather, the beating – he was standing in the kitchen, cutting a small cheesecake, while his parents sang happy birthday. His father smiled and ruffled his hair.

It was the worst birthday he ever had.

Some would say that it was a change for the better, but it didn't change anything at all. His sister was still gone. The next night his father came home drunk and beat up his mom. He remembered the birthday only because it was so weird, as if it was only a dream.

He spent years not getting what made his father behave that way on that one particular birthday. Maybe it was that he thought after Violette left they would all change? That maybe Darlene would somehow stop angering him with whatever it was that he was angry about? That they could all pretend she didn't exist and that they were a perfectly normal family?

It didn't work.

It was his thirteenth birthday when his life turned upside down.

It wasn't a really extraordinary day. He woke up, his mom gave him his bowl of cereal and a kiss on the forehead, whispering 'Happy Birthday', her blonde hair tickling his neck. He smiled at her and thanked her, happy to see her bright eyes shine with something different than fright. She always tried so hard to hide it.

He caught the bus to school and spent the day there, playing with other kids. He didn't really have any close friends, but it didn't bother him as long as his peers were still willing to include him. After school he caught the bus home and went over to the kitchen, where his mom was waiting with diner. She made his favorite dish, a French thin-crust pizza the name of which he couldn't pronounce. His father may have banned anything non-American from their house after Violette left – 'The fact that you're here is bad enough' – but his birthdays were an exception. His mother didn't care about Daniel and it wasn't like he had any idea. The pizza was so small she made two just for herself and Jamie.

After he helped mom clean up, she gave him his present – a pencil case and a scrapbook already filled with photos.

"Hide it in your room, okay baby?" She brushed his hair out of his face, smiling. "I… Just felt like you need to have this" She kissed his forehead. "You need a haircut."

"Thank you, mom" He hugged her, biting his lip. "I love you."

"Love you too" She hugged him back. "Now, go do your homework."

"Yes, ma'am."

He went upstairs and did as he was told. He was in the middle of math when he heard the front door bounce off the wall and his father's screams. He tried to ignore it, but he heard his name.

"Leave him out of this!"

"Oh, he's old enough now! He needs to toughen up, you know? See how he should treat whores like you! James!"

"No please, don't do this-"

"James!"

Jamie walked out of his room, his hands shaking. He was scared, so scared.

They were shouting at each other. His father was holding mom by her hair. Her face was swollen.

He started to talk, but Jamie couldn't hear a word he said. He just looked straight into his mother's tear filled eyes. He saw Daniel raising his hand to lay another blow on her.

Jamie had no idea what happened, but he found himself between them. He felt the blow land on the side of his head and he fell due to the strength of it. Then something weird happened. He felt like he was there, but at the same time, he was next to himself. As if he split in half after the hit.

"What the-"

Jamie blinked a couple of times and sat up, coming face to face with… Himself?

'What just happened?'

"Another freak?" Daniel looked at his mother. "Another one, huh? You filthy slut, giving birth to some abominations, I should just-"

He let go of Darlene and went over to Jamie, ready to strike. She crawled over, protecting him with her own body.

"No, no, please do anything to me please don't hurt him-"

"You slut! I gave you a home, I married you, I let your stinking kid live here and that's how you fucking repay me? Bet that little freak isn't even mine!"

"Daniel, please, be reasonable-"

"Reasonable?!" He spat out. "I'll give you reasonable, you fucking cunt!"


Jamie blacked out.


That was the last time he saw his mother. The nurse calmly explained what happened.

Someone, after years of knowing what went on in the Madrox house, called the police.

They found him lying next to his mother. His dead mother, with Daniel's fingers still holding her throat.

'He's going to jail', she said. 'That bad man's going to jail and he won't hurt you anymore.'

The problem was, he already hurt Jamie. He took away his sister. Then, he took away his mother, the only person he had left.

She said that he legally had a house now. That he could come in and take anything he wanted and go live with his guardian.

"What guardian, miss?" He asked her. He didn't have any family left and even if Violette found him, she was too young to have any legal power over him.

She asked someone to come in.

That's how he met Professor Charles Xavier.


He took the scrapbook and some of his clothes. Asked Professor if they could get rid of the rest. He didn't want that house. It wasn't home. Home was where his mother and sister were.

Someone bought the house. They gave the furniture to charity. He decided last minute that he wanted to take some of his mom's stuff.

He took her perfume. Her blanket. Her wedding dress. He fished the old engagement and wedding rings he knew she had from the bottom of her nightstand drawer.

After his mother's funeral, he packed his things and went to Bayville with Miss Munroe.

Miss Munroe was a very nice woman – she treated him like a child, but not out of spite, no, she was genuinely concerned about his well-being. It brought out the best memories he had of his mother, of her smiling, still young and beautiful as ever face. It made him feel at ease with the whole situation.

He started to think about the Professor and what he said about the computer that helped him find mutants. Maybe it could help him find his sister. He'll have to ask when they land.

Miss Munroe woke him up when they were in the hangar. He met the whole house and a very pretty brunette showed him to his room, phasing out the door after telling him that she'll get him when dinner's ready.

So this was it. His new home.

It was pretty usual for a mansion filled with mutant teenagers – that is, until he came home one afternoon to see most of the windows smashed and some furniture casually lying around the yard. And while he was sure it wasn't a doing of any of the X-Men, he wasn't sure why anyone would do that.

He came in, walking past frozen Jubilee and Amara. Both of the girls stood there with their mouths open, their eyes glued to the shards of glass sprawled all over the floor.

'Jamie, could you come into my office for a second?'

Obedient as ever, he walked upstairs and knocked onto the right door, proud of himself for not getting lost again. After hearing the invitation, Jamie walked inside, an uncertain smile on his face.

"You wanted to see me, Professor."

"Yes, sit down, please" Jamie followed the instruction, making himself appear as small as possible. "I've got… Quite the news for you, Jamie."

"Does it have anything to do with the mess? Cause I swear, it wasn't me or any of my dupes-"

"It does, but not exactly in the way you'd think" Professor smiled warmly, wheeling over to him. "Actually, we know perfectly well who did this."

"Really?" Jamie raised his eyebrows. "Who was it, then?"

"A young mutant, one you know very well" Professor put a hand on Jamie's shoulder. "I fear there is no gentler way to say this. She goes by the name Violette Girard."

'Violette Girard.'

'Violette.'

"What do you mean she did this?" Jamie took a deep breath, letting the words spill out. "Is she one of the bad guys? Did she try to destroy the Institute? Is she the incarnation of all that is evil?"

"I wouldn't say that" The Professor chuckled. "She had a power surge, triggered by the revelation of your whereabouts. The emotions she struggled with triggered hormone release at a rapid pace, a pace her body wasn't used to. All the chemical changes in her body summed up with the slight troubles she had with her mutation the last few weeks. It caused her to, well-"

"Blow up?"

"In a way, yes."


Jamie once again looked at her face. Each time it made him feel even more lost than before.

She obviously looked very different. She wasn't a child anymore, although he doubted that she ever really was. He could see some faint scars on her hands, one of which he held for the past week. There was something oddly comforting in maintaining physical contact with her, it made her seem more real.

Because the whole thing felt unreal. The chance of finding her here of all places was almost non-existent.

Yet there she was, Violette Girard in all of her glory, unconscious and so familiar, although he felt as if she was a stranger, the six years he spent without her weighting him down.

She was his sister, for God's sake, how come he knew so little about her?

Jamie felt it even more so when strange boys would come visit her throughout the day.

The one who introduced himself as Todd would hop onto the chair on the opposite side of the bed and take a hold of her hand, talking about his day and what happened at their house – 'their?' – and how he couldn't wait for her to wake up because 'We kinda need ya, Violette. It's so hard without ya, yo.'.

There was Fred, who struggled to fit in the chair. He would always bring some kind of flowers with him, more often then not daisies. Instead of talking to Violette, he'd turn to Jamie and ask him about how his life was. What he liked to do, his favourite colour, that kind of stuff. After a while he would squeeze Violette's hand and say his goodbyes, walking out with tears in his eyes.

Another guy, Pietro, would just pop up every few hours, check everything and run off in a blur.

But the weirdest one was a boy whose name Jamie didn't even know. He'd come in every evening and just sit with her hand between his in silence. His thumbs would draw circles on the back of her hand and he'd just stare at her face. After an hour or so he'd stand up and kiss her forehead, leaving without a word.

It frustrated Jamie that he didn't really know these boys but they seemed to be a big part of her life, such a big part that apart from him, the Professor and occasionally Kurt they were her only visitors.

On day eight, when the silent guy was sitting in Violette's room for over twenty minutes without saying a word, Jamie decided that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

"I'm Jamie."

The guy looked up from Violette's face.

"I know" He sighed, one of his hands letting go of Violette's. He offered it to Jamie. "Lance."

He shook it.

"So, are you her boyfriend or something?"

"God, no" Lance chuckled. His voice was less gruff than Jamie expected, going by his looks alone. "We're just… Friends."

"Okay" Jamie bit his lip, trying to keep his own voice even and cool. "Are any of the other guys…?"

"Nah, she's not dumb enough to go out with any of them."

"So going out with you is the sensible thing?"

"For her? We're not really each other's types, you know. Too dark and not nice enough for the other."

Jamie nodded and sat back in his chair.

"So, you two are the bad guys?"

"I wouldn't call us that, not in that sense" Lance went back to drawing circles on Violette's hand. "The world's not nearly as black and white as you X-Men seem to think."

"The misunderstood ones, then."

"Closer, but I was joking. We are the bad guys. Have you seen us? Bunch of thugs and hoods."

"Maybe I don't know you all well enough, but I think I still know Violette" Jamie sighed. "I know what she's like. And I think that while maybe she's not misunderstood, she for sure understands the whole workings of the mutant cause less than you'd think."

Lance raised his eyebrow.

"And since when do you understand the whole mutant cause?"

"Since I came here and talked to the Professor for a while."

"So, like, two weeks."

"…Maybe."

Lance just laughed and kissed Violette's forehead.

"Take care of her, Jamie."


"You have to get out of here, Jamie" Miss Munroe ran a hand through his hair. He didn't lift his head from his hands, one of Violette's tightly held between them. "I'm sure your sister wouldn't want you to wither away at her bedside."

He didn't answer. Miss Munroe sighed and put down beside him his lunch – two PBJ sandwiches and a juice box. He hardly ate anyway.

"Some new students arrived" She tried once again, sitting on the bed. "She'll still be here when you come back" The woman bit her lip, placing her hands on her lap. "Please, Jamie, just for an hour or so."

Jamie licked his lips and looked at Violette's face, before nodding.

"Okay."


"Jamie!"

He didn't expect that the first thing that would happen after he came out of the institute would be Jubilee running towards him. She tightly wrapped her arms around him, successfully suffocating him.

"How are you holding up?"

He swallowed the bile that rose to his throat and forced himself to smile. She at least seemed to care.

"I'm fine, really. No need to worry."

The other girl he knew for just over two weeks, Amara, ran up to them and also gave him a hug, one significantly less tight.

"Come on, let me introduce you to the rest!" They dragged him towards mayhem and destruction. "Guys, this is Jamie!"

A girl not that much taller than him introduced herself in a weird accent – 'Rahne' - and elbowed a blond boy next to her.

"I'm Sam" Everything about the boy screamed shy, from the soft tone of his voice to his posture, trying to appear as small as possible.

A humongous ice slide appeared in front of them, with a chuckling boy gliding down, a shouting blonde on his back.

"Bobby Drake" He put down the girl and shook Jamie's hand.

"Well, aren't you a cutie" The girl put her finger under his chin, smirking. "I'm Boom Boom."

"Stop it, Tabby, you'll scare the little dude off" A tall guy put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm Ray."

It seemed that the string of new people was never ending when a fiery figure landed in front of Jamie, quickly turning into a grinning boy.

"I'm Roberto da Costa" Jamie could clearly see Ray mocking the boy behind his back.

To be honest, Jamie felt a little bit crowded with all the new mutants around him. He spent a week sitting in his sister's hospital room with little to no company, being surrounded by eight people was something he felt uncomfortable with.

"Um, hi?" He waved his hand before turning to Jubilee. "I think I'm going to take some of my comics and just, you know, go back."

"Oh, that's okay Jamie-"

"Dude!" Sam sprang from behind Rahne, suddenly appearing much bigger than before. "Maybe I can lend ya some of mine?"

Before Jamie could protest Amara pushed him towards the blond boy, encouraging him to do so.

Just as suddenly as it dropped, Sam's shyness came back with a full force.

"Um, so, the girls talked to me about ya sister" He guided Jamie up the stairs and to his room, one he shared with Roberto based on the photos hanging up on the walls. "And I thought that, ya know, I could to talk to ya or somethin'" Sam started to rummage through a pile of comics underneath his bed. "Ya see, one of my brother's currently in a coma" He fished out a couple of the newest issues of Captain America and handed them to Jamie, scratching the back of his head. "Hate crime caused by his physical mutation. Prof made sure the story didn't blow up, but the damage was done. Ya see, Joshy was born with those cute tiny wings. My ma would smother him to a point of frustration, he's the third oldest of us ten, just turned twelve last January. Those… Monsters beat him to a pulp when a tip of his wing slipped out of his shirt. Grown men against a child" Sam swallowed and wiped his left eye. "Thing is, ya shouldn't just sit at her bedside day after day, hardly eating, almost not sleeping at all. It's not healthy. And no matter whether she'll wake up in two hours, two weeks, two months, or two years time, you should never give up hope" Sam smiled. "If she's perfectly healthy and only not responding, then it means you should wait for her. That she needs some time. And the best way to wait for her, is by enjoying life."

Before Jamie could say another thing, a smell of sulfur hit his nostrils. He turned around, surprised to see a smiling Kurt right behind him.

"She's awake."

He grabbed the blue boy and the whole world disappeared from underneath his feet.

"Two seconds it is" Sam chuckled, picking up the comics Jamie left behind. "Damn, that girl's got a timing."


The darkness surrounding her felt a little less overwhelming. The sounds floating around it started to make more sense, forming into words, sentences. The weight crushing her body seemed to lift itself, enabling her to move her fingers, toes, hands. She felt like a fish out of water, trying hard to open her eyes.

When she finally succeeded, she was met with a pair of blue ones, staring at her in wonder.

She felt as if she was dreaming once again, hit with the past she was cruelly ripped from, the look in those eyes making her feel even more guilty.

"Hey."

The voice was slightly less childish, but still not deep enough to be considered a grown man's. It made her feel slightly better. He didn't change that much.

"Hi."

She could perfectly see how her father abandoned his family for a city full of people who butchered the French language because of these baby blues.

'Just like mums.'

It felt almost natural to slip into French upon seeing that colour. It reminded her of home, of the warmth of the family she lost.

"Je vous ai manqué."

"What?"

It felt like a blow to her stomach.

'Right, Daniel forbid French.'

"I missed you."

Jamie threw himself at her, squeezing himself as close to her as he could.

"I missed you too."


Within a span of two hours, she was ready to go, with Lance's jeep parked right outside the mansion. She felt cheated when Jamie waved to her team. How come they already knew him, while she still struggled with the awkwardness six years of being apart brought on them?

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?"

She turned to Jamie, still unused to the idea that she didn't have to crouch to be on an eye level with him.

"I'm sure" She smiled sadly, taking a hold of her bag. "Those guys back there are my life, basically" 'Just like you, but you don't really need me as much, you have them.' "I-I love you very much, Jamie."

"I know" He wrapped his arms around her middle, burring his nose in her hair. "Me too."

She turned to the Professor, licking her lips.

"I don't know how I can repay you" She choked out, swallowing the bile in her throat.

"You don't have to" The Professor smiled, offering her his hand. "Remember, you're always welcome here."

She nodded, shouldering the bag and going down the front steps. When she got close enough to the jeep for him to reach her, Todd hugged her with all his might, saying how he missed her.

She reciprocated before throwing her bag at Freddy and giving him a kiss on the cheek, astonishment showing on his face.

She did the same for Pietro and Lance, before jumping in and buckling her seat-belt.

"You've changed" Said Lance, turning on the engine. "How come? You were mostly asleep."

"I don't know" She waved to her brother as they rode away. "I think I started to value you guys a lot more. Or maybe just started to value life as a whole."