A/N: Sorry it took so long for this chapter. On the plus side, I finished my NaNoWriMo novel in the month and I'm working on self-publishing it. XD I was so happy. Then followed two incredibly busy weeks in which I practically got no writing done. This chapter isn't nearly as long as I would have liked it to be, but it's crazy late here and I'm freakin' exhausted and couldn't think of anything else to write. Still, I think it turned out well enough despite those facts. Enjoy!

Chapter XIII

It was four days before I saw John again. When he came into Charlie's he was different. His face was serious, solemn. Almost scarily so. I watched him warily as he approached the counter. I was surprised by his directness. I was also surprised at how pale he looked. I almost thought about asking what had happened after the raid on the armored trucks that had been carrying Mystique and those two other Mutants, but decided not to.

"We're setting up camp in the forest," he said to me flatly. "All of the Brotherhood. Magneto expects you to come as well."

"Why?" I demanded, frowning slightly.

"He's planning something," John said and his fingers fingered the device on his hand that gave him his fire. "Big. He needs to get us all in one place."

"I can't just up and leave," I protested. "I have bills to pay, you know."

"Magneto didn't get you this job because he wanted you to be selling drinks the rest of your life," John sneered. "You needed a stable living environment if you were ever to get out of that self-loathing bubble of yours. He thinks you're ready now. You have to come. He's already squared everything with Charlie. You're free to go."

"How am I going to live if I just up and leave?" I asked through gritted teeth, not liking the way John and Magneto were running my life as though I had no say in it at all.

"Once Magneto gets what he wants, you won't need a crap job like this. The Brotherhood is your family, Shard. We take care of our own."

"Unless they happen to accidentally be hit by a cure dart while saving another Mutant from the same fate," I said flatly. I was pleased to see his face flinch slightly as my words smacked him harshly.

"We can't afford to have anyone defect to the other side," he said finally. "Her loyalties would have been in question if she had been allowed to stay. Besides, it would look bad if we had humans in our midst."

"I guess I just don't understand," I said with a shrug. "I mean, we have rights now, we have freedom. Heck, we even have a mutant as Secretary of Mutant Affairs. Why are we still fighting?"

"Because we're better than them, Shard," John said earnestly. "And we don't deserve to be rubbing elbows with their kind. We deserve to be superior."

"Right," I said with a slight sigh. I tried to forget that part of my training. It gave me dangerous thoughts. Standing there, looking over the counter at John, his signature smirk on his face, I realized that if I did not go with him to the forest where Magneto had set up camp, I would regret it for the rest of my life. Not because it was the right thing to do, but because Magneto would make sure my life was absolutely miserable. He had gotten me the job; he had made sure I had a roof over my head and food to eat. All that would be taken away from me as soon as I refused an order, I was sure.

"When does he want me there," I asked finally, giving in to my fate.

"Now," John said with satisfaction.

"Now now?" I asked, dumbfounded.

John rolled his eyes. "You won't know where it is so I've got to take you there. And I've got about ten other Mutants to recruit today so if you're coming we've got to go now."

I grumbled but untied my apron and checked to make sure my wallet and my cell phone were in my pockets.

"You won't need those," John said. "But if you want to keep them for sentimental value, I won't stop you." He shrugged.

I clenched my teeth but said nothing as I slipped my wallet and phone back into my pocket. I was keeping them. It was a small thing, but they helped remind me that, no matter what Magneto said, I was still human. I thought about saying goodbye to Charlie, and thanking him for the job, before I remembered he had never really had a choice in hiring me.

I followed John out the door and secretly hoped I would never see the place again.

We boarded a bus that took us out into the forest preserve of New York. The ride was silent. It was childish, but I made sure my elbow did not touch his the entire time. If he was annoyed by my ignoring him, he did not show it. He was uncharacteristically quiet. He did not even taunt me about my necklace, which I was wearing outside of my shirt for once.

When we got to the camp, Magneto greeted me warmly, like a father would greet a long-lost daughter. He wrapped his arms around me in an embrace and kissed my forehead lightly.

"My dear, it is so good to see you again," he said with a gentle smile. "It has been some time since your last training lesson."

I pulled away as soon as I could and stepped back behind John. "Yeah well, I've been busy." I glanced around at the camp and observed with some disappointment that there were a lot of mutants there. And when I say a lot I mean a lot. The X-Men didn't stand much of a chance against these. They were what? Five maybe? While the numbers here . . .

"I see you've been busy too," I said.

"Yes, our numbers have grown substantially," he said, pride evident in his voice. "Soon we will be ready for the war to commence."

"The war . . . against the humans," I said slowly for clarification.

Magneto nodded as John walked up to stand beside him. "Of course, my dear. The humans and their pesky cure. Once we have destroyed it, our advancement in creating a world free of persecution will continue without delay."

"And the cure is . . . ?"

"On Alcatraz Island," John spoke up, eager to be included in laying out the mission statement. "We're going to make sure it's destroyed for good. They won't be able to use any other method. They'll be helpless against us." He grinned suddenly, a sinister sort of grin that made the hair rise on the back of my neck and on my arms. I rubbed at my goosebumps.

"But Alcatraz is in the Pacific," I protested. "How are we supposed to get there?"

"I shall explain the details at a later date," Magneto said, waving his hand in dismissal. "In the meantime, practice what I have taught you. We shall be met with resistance, I am sure."

"The X-Men are going to try and stop you," I informed Magneto, trying not to sound as though I were rooting for them. As it was, John's eyes narrowed and Magneto did not say anything for a moment.

"Yes, unfortunately they will try," he said finally, and his expression seemed slightly sad. "We must not let them stop us from reaching our goals. You must put aside your feelings toward them and pledge yourself to our cause fully and completely." He stared down at me intently.

"Right, of course," I said with a slight, and completely fake, smile. I was glad his power was not the ability to read minds. John stared at me skeptically, but Magneto turned away, satisfied by my response.

"Over the next few days you must train hard," Magneto said before moving on. "I shall call a meeting when I feel the time is right. Then we shall make our move." He glanced sidelong at me. "I hope you will not let me down."

"I'll do my best not to," I said, eager for him to move on. Finally, after one last long look at me, he did. I breathed easier when I could no longer see him, and my neck felt oddly stiff as though I had been tense the entire time.

I rubbed it in an attempt to loosen the muscles. "So . . . I just grab a tent and settled down for the . . . week?" I asked John bitterly. Suddenly I missed my tiny apartment. At least there I had had a bed and food to eat.

John shrugged. "Do what you like. There's bound to be someone here who you won't hate. Get them to help you. I've got more Mutants to recruit." With a dismissive wave that looked remarkably like Magneto's, John scampered off somewhere, leaving me frustrated and annoyed behind him.

I trudged my way through the camp, looking for any kind of familiar face. A few Mutants looked as though they had been at Charlie's before, because I vaguely recognized them, but not enough to recall their names. That is, if they had given me any.

Suddenly I stopped short, my gaze fixed on a single figure that stood near the edge of the campsite, her back to me. She looked so familiar and yet . . . it couldn't be who I thought it was . . . could it?

My heart started racing even before I broke into a run. I stumbled over a couple blankets and even a plate full of soup as I hurried toward the woman, the goosebumps on my arms rising once more.

"Dr. Grey?" I called hesitantly. "Dr. Grey, is that you?"

I touched the woman's shoulder, careful not to pull on her long, red hair. The woman turned around so quickly she caught me by surprise and I stumbled back. Her eyes glistened black for a moment before the regular brown of her irises returned and she regarded me with slight disbelief.

"Madison?" she said in a small voice. "You're here?" Her face flooded with disappointment. Reaching up, she touched my cheek lightly with her cold fingers, before moving back to finger my short, black hair. "I had hoped for so much better from you."

I swallowed hard, unable to believe my eyes. How could she possibly be alive? I had heard the story of what had happened at the dam, and nobody could have survived that. Nobody . . .

"It's Madelyn now," I said through a dry mouth. "Madelyn Shard with short black hair and a new allegiance." I smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, I really am. But I couldn't stay with the School. I hurt too many people there and Peter . . ." I swallowed hard. "It was just better for everyone that I left." I frowned.

"But how can you still be alive? I had heard you were dead. I mean, Professor Xavier said—"

A sharp, harsh laugh cut me off and I stared in shock as Dr. Grey's eyes darkened and she shook her head in derision. "He thought he knew everything, didn't he?"

I blinked blankly. "Wh-what do you mean?" I stammered.

Jean Grey shook her head slightly and the soft brown returned to her eyes. She rubbed her head wearily. "I'm so . . . tired," she muttered. "I'm sorry you have to be a part of this." She looked up at me with a sad smile. "You were so full of potential for good." She ran her hand over my hair. "But people use you, try to control your powers, and they turn you into a killer. A monster."

"I'm not a killer," I protested, but I suddenly got a feeling that she was no longer talking about me. "Dr. Grey?"

But her eyes and grown distant and she turned away. Moving slowly as if through molasses or honey, she made her way up a small slope where she stood facing the east, her expression a mixture of pain, rage, and grief. It was an odd combination. I had to turn away after a moment, not understanding a single thing that had just happened.

I found a tent to share with a girl who called herself Arclight. She did not say much, but simply grunted whenever I asked a question of her. Her clothes resembled those of a punk rocker or something of that sort, and I realized she probably was not very sociable.

It ended up being a very lonely night.

Yay it's Jean! Or is it Phoenix? And yes Arclight is the silent Hispanic girl who can generate shockwaves by clapping her hands together. And ugh, writing Magneto was hard. The story is pretty much following the third movie now, and then will keep going a little while after the movie. Review and tell me what you think of this chapter! XD