I didn't wake up until the next morning. My head was resting on a fluffy, soft pillow and I could tell a warm blanket was draped over me. When I finally opened my eyes, I was greeted by the room I had first woken up in when this week had begun. The same golden blanket puffed into my sight line and the thin, red curtain draped over the small porthole.

My body hurt as I tried to sit up, the bruises that covered my body aching as I twisted onto my side and slowly sat up.

My locket bounced against my skin as it moved with me. I grabbed the heart in my hand and opened the locket. I stared at the picture, a lone tear rolling down my cheek.

I took a long moment of silence as I remembered the day exactly ten years ago that I had looked at my mom for the last time. I exhaled deeply as I ended the moment of silence.

Then, almost on cue, the door opened. My back was diagonal to the door; I was sitting with one leg on the bed and the other with my foot on the floor so I couldn't see who was there.

"Good morning, my daughter."

I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was smiling. I cringed as he said "daughter".

"I'm not your daughter," I scowled.

I let my locket drop back onto my neck. Shaw walked up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders and rested his knee on the bed. My shoulders shot up involuntarily and my heart began to beat frantically.

"You know, I never wanted to hurt you Rebecca," he said.

"I never would've guessed," I said softly.

He ignored me. "I never did. I want to help you unleash your full potential. The two of us- we could create a whole new world together. This world could be ours. You wouldn't have to hide your strength anymore- there would be no more holding back."

I closed my eyes, holding back tears and waited a moment to give a response. His words slowly seeped into my brain and I felt myself beginning to believe him. I had this sudden feeling like I was going to throw up, and yet I felt my shoulders relax.

"I think…" I swallowed back tears. "I think you may be right."

I couldn't believe how weak I had become; that I had let myself down. Yet, I said my statement without my voice wavering or a feeling of doubt in my mind. I turned around to look at him and Shaw was smiling, his white teeth gleaming.

"We have yet to unleash your lightning," he said. "But it will be much easier now."

He squeezed my shoulders and headed for the door.

"Come to the deck when you're ready," he said.

When I heard the door finally close, my head collapsed onto the pillows and I just laid there and bawled.

X.X.X

After twenty minutes, I finally gathered myself and walked into the hallway. I took a long, deep breath and then climbed up the two ladders to the deck. My head filled with confusion as I noticed the wooden platform the boat was docked to. The other end of the dock was attached to a huge island where hundreds of palm trees lined the shore. A beautiful, white beach was to our left.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Welcome to my private island," said Shaw proudly. "My own island deep in the Pacific. We docked last night while you were asleep.

"Oh."

I cracked my neck, trying to shake the remaining fog out of my system. "So are we leaving the boat?"

"Oh no," said Shaw.

"There's no house on the island," commented Emma. "Just a few cabanas."

I nodded and my stomach began to growl intensely. Shaw chuckled behind me.

"Would you like some breakfast?" he asked.

"If none of your sidekicks poisoned it, then sure."

I heard chuckles from behind me.

"Why would we have poisoned you?" asked Azazel.

"I don't know. Bad mood…practical joke."

Azazel scoffed and I walked over to the bar Shaw was standing at.

"Do eggs work for you?" he asked.

"Fine."

"Shaw, what happened to 'she turned to our side'?" asked Riptide.

I glared at him. "It wasn't because I wanted to." I held back from adding 'you moron' to the end of that. "I did it for my life."

"She'll soften up over time." Shaw glanced over at me. "I promise you."

He put a plate of eggs in front of me and I wanted to just attack it without mercy. But knowing that my stomach held nothing but rolls twice a day for the last six days, I ate slowly.

After I finished off the eggs and licked the plate, I retired back to my room, claiming that I was tired. I laid on top of the bed and stared at the ceiling for the majority of the two hours. I dozed off occasionally, but not for long.

About two hours after I had come down, it was around noon and the water gliding against one of the walls was becoming very warm. I heard the door open and I shot up from my lying down position. Shaw came in, casually cracking his knuckles.

"It seems some of your old friends have arrived," he said nonchalantly.

I gulped as I absorbed what he said. "The X-Men are here?"

"Indeed they are. Get dressed; it's time for them to see the real you."

He began to leave.

"Wait!" I took a deep breath.

"Yes?"

"Do you which ones are here?"

"I do."

"Is there a kid who looks about nineteen? He has short, blond hair; around five-eight."

Shaw looked at me, concerned, but he shook his head. "No."

I nodded. "Thanks. I'll get dressed."

Shaw left the room and I saw he had left an outfit for me. I put on the white Capri pants, black t-shirt and the long, flowing, gray vest that Shaw had left. I stared at myself in the mirror and I could barely recognize who was standing there. My eyes were empty and my face seemed very pale compared to the rest of my body which was covered in dark new bruises and yellow fading ones. My clothes covered the worst ones on my abdomen and I was thankful for that. The bandage that had covered the gash on my arm was no longer needed so my forearm was bare to the cool air. I stood there staring, hoping that I knew what I was doing. Then the door opened and Shaw stood in the doorway.

"Are you ready?" he asked, not looking up from his collar that he was creasing.

I stepped away from the mirror and moved in front of the door. "I think so."

"Now these people are going to try and get you to crack. You can't let them get to you."

"Relax. I said I was on your side. And like I said this morning, maybe you were right all along."

He smiled and I tried very hard not to throw up the bile that suddenly raced up my throat. After l swallowed back the phlegm, the two of us walked up to the deck. The rest of the group was already there, each of them stretching and getting ready.

"Their jet will be landing on the beach," informed Emma.

"Alright," said Shaw, "we'll come out from the trees to the center of the beach; face them head on."

No one acknowledged his command by everyone heard it and everyone was going to follow it. Each of us hopped off the boat and onto the sturdy dock. It was odd to be standing still and not be gently swaying to the rhythm of the waves that rocked the boat.

Shaw led our group down a small pathway into the trees. We walked for a couple of minutes until we reached the point where a second pathway intersected ours. I looked down the new route and saw the clear, blue ocean ahead of us. Then, a large, black jet took over the view and it landed on the soft sand. Doors opened from the belly of the plane and four people came out of the cabin of the gangway. The man leading Storm, Cyclops and Wolverine rolled down the metal plank in his wheelchair.

I took a long, deep breath.

"Get in formation," said Shaw sternly.

I let out a wet laugh. "Formation?"

"You can stand in front with me," he said, ignoring my taunt.

I gathered my laughter when I realized he wasn't kidding and took my place at his side. Emma stood behind us and Angel, Riptide and Azazel stood behind her.

"You're one of us now," said Shaw. "It's time to show them."

Shaw began to walk forward and we all followed. I marched in rhythm with his footsteps as we reached the edge of the line of trees.

The sunlight shined brightly into my eyes, reflecting off the perfectly white sand. Shaw stopped with about twenty feet in between us and the X-Men.

The X-Men's eyes were all fixed on me. Their pupils were like open doors and they didn't try to hide their pain, regret and sense of betrayal toward me.

Most of their eyes lingered down to my right forearm where the bright red scar was beginning to fade to a less potent color. I knew what they were all thinking and I agreed with them- I would probably have that scar for life. The others that weren't staring at my arm scanned the rest of my body, taken by the amount of bruises that dotted my skin.

"Rebecca." Professor Xavier came to the edge of a metal platform that allowed him to maneuver on the sand. "What happened?"

I swallowed. "I'm sorry," I said, sincerely. "I had no choice.

I took a pause. "But maybe this is for the better."

All of them stared at each other as if to confirm that they heard me right. Logan scoffed, stepped forward and held his hand out.

"Come on," he said in his gruff voice. "Let's go."

"No."

He stared at me blankly, his hand still outstretched.

"You're too late," said Shaw proudly. "You had your chance but you let it slip away."

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. I looked up at Shaw.

"Rebecca, would you like to show them what you can do?"

I looked back at the X-Men and smiled. "My pleasure."

I took a couple of steps forward and stomped my right foot down. A snake-like form made of sand raised from the ground and I fisted my right hand, taking the mixture of crushed earth and shells into my control.

I planted my feet and pushed my hand forward as hard as I could. The sand raced toward the X-Men and they crouched, getting ready to defend themselves. Right as the sand was going to hit Logan, I whipped my hand around and the sand raced behind me. Before anyone knew what was going on, the sand slammed into Emma, throwing her into one of the trees. She slid to the ground unconscious.

The Hellfire Club stared at me, wondering what possessed me to do that.

"What was that?" asked Shaw, his voice loud with anger and confusion. "What are you doing?"

I turned to my left and looked at him straight in the eye. "I was so tired of her being in my head," I said, dryly.

"Shaw, what have you done?" asked Professor Xavier. "She is out of control; she's out of her right state of mind. She's attacking her own side now."

"Are you calling me insane?"

I glared at the professor but his bright blue eyes didn't back down. As we continued our stare down, I failed to notice that Storm was rising in the air. By the time I saw her figure raise into the sky, two large waves followed her path upward. The waves turned to large columns of water and they began to rush toward me.

"Rebecca, move!" screamed Shaw.

"I can't…"

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I can't move, God dammit!"

My limbs were frozen rigidly and my gaze stayed locked on Professor Xavier.

The waves came down toward the beach, aligning themselves for a direct hit with my chest.

Then when the waves were a foot away from my chest, my limbs were released back into my control. I threw my hands in front of my chest and the water hit me. I flew back backward and as I soared, the water collected into a giant ball in front of my chest. With one hand, I directed my trajectory by taking charge of the air behind me, but I kept my hand in front of me and made it seem as if the water was just throwing me wherever it wanted.

I hit the ground and released the water, letting it fall to ground around me, making it look like I never touched it. I slid back and my head made contact with a large rock.

My body came to a stop as I pushed the air against my back and I released the rock from my grasp. It returned quickly to its normal form, instead of looking like a large clump of a play-dough/jell-o mixture that had been molded around my skull. I stayed lying on the ground, playing unconscious.

"Rebecca!" I heard Shaw scream and I felt the sand shifting under his feet as he ran toward me.

Through the professor's thoughts that he projected to me I saw Shaw run over and fall to his knees next to me. Right as he got close enough, I whipped my hand forward.

My hand, which was red from the heat I had been radiating in my palm, reached out and took hold of Shaw's throat. I opened my eyes.

His usually confident, fearless eyes were now wide with shock. I smiled and with the force of my fire, I threw Shaw across the beach and his grunt echoed across the water as he crashed into a palm tree. The tree he hit was now on fire.

I stood up and brushed some of the sand off of me. Then, I began to walk across the beach.

X.X.X

Each member of the Hellfire Club stared at me as I walked past them. None of them tried to stop me; they had no idea what was going on. In the corner of my eye, I saw Shaw stand up and walk back over to the center of the beach. I walked toward the professor and he smiled at me with pride.

"Well done," he said telepathically.

I nodded and took my stance next to him. I gave everyone a subtle smile and them to me. Then I turned to Shaw.

He and Emma stood next to each other, both of them equally as confused.

"What…I…" stammered Shaw. "Last night you were telling me the truth; Emma made sure. You had finally cracked."

I looked at the professor and smiled at him. I closed my eyes and felt the barrier in my mind shatter. All of the memories that had been barricaded now floated freely in my brain. I felt Emma lock into my memory center. She watched every conversation we had, listened to Professor Xavier explain the plan to me and she even felt the professor's influence on me when he helped me convincingly give in to their torture.

I opened my eyes and saw Shaw staring at Emma, disbelief spread across his face as she projected my memories to him.

I felt her leave my mind and Shaw's gaze left Emma and turned to me. His stare was hard and cold, no emotion in him. But the betrayal he felt was palpable.

"Kill her."

The Hellfire Club turned to look at him.

He stared back at them angrily. "You heard me; kill her!"

They all nodded to each other and turned to me. Angel began to rise in the air when a red energy blast hit her and she flew across the island, splashing into the water on the other side. I looked behind me and Cyclops had his fingers next to his glasses.

"Work as a team!" he shouted. "Now go!"

"What about the professor?" I asked.

I heard him laugh in my mind. "I can take care of myself," he said.

I looked at him and he nodded. I smiled and then turned to the action. Logan and Azazel were popping all over the beach, grunting as each of them attacked each other. Angel had recovered and her and Cyclops began to square off. Emma and Shaw stood next to each other and it looked as if he was whispering to her. Riptide was standing directly in front of me, and funnels began to expand from his hands. Though my focus was on him, I saw Storm beginning to rise in the air and head toward Shaw.

"Storm!" I shouted. "Don't attack him; he'll just absorb it! Just stall him!"

She nodded at my comment, but her gaze stayed fixed on Shaw. When I looked away, Riptide began to twirl at a rapid pace and a giant whirlwind formed around his body. He began to race toward me and I felt the winds beginning to push me back. But I planted my feet and pushed my right hand down toward the ground. A ripple effect ripped through the sand and Riptide was knocked off his feet. The air around him dissipated and he fell harshly on his back.

I stopped the ripple before it could affect anyone else and took the excess sand and raced it toward Riptide. I threw it on top of him and grunted as I cemented him into the ground.

Then, my vision began to blur. I looked up and Emma stared at me with her cold, icy blue eyes. She began to walk toward me.

"What are you doing?" she said. "He is on your side. We all are."

I fell to my knees as an acute pain shot down my spinal cord. Nothing was hurting me physically, but she was making me believe something had plunged deep into my lower back. As I struggled to look up, I saw her stop dead in her tracks. Her presence vanished from my mind. I looked to my right and Professor Xavier sat there, staring intently at Emma, two fingers pressed against his temple.

"Take your shot," he said to me.

It took me a second to gather myself, but once I did, I began to run toward her. I collected air in my hands as I rushed forward and slammed my hand into her chest. The hurricane force wind I had made crashed into her chest and she flew back. She hit several palm fronds before falling on top of a cabana. I looked over at Professor Xavier and he was rubbing his forehead. I ran over to him.

"Are you ok?" I said.

"Yes, I'm alright," he assured me. "She's tough to keep a hold on."

I sighed with relief as he assured me and then I turned to see if anyone else needed help. But as I turned, Logan, Cyclops and Storm were coming back. Each of them had knocked out their aggressor except for Storm, who took my advice and just held Shaw off.

The Hellfire Club was strewn across the beach, tired and defeated. Azazel teleported and helped Riptide out of the sand and then teleported back behind Shaw, as far away from us as possible. When they were both behind him, they collapsed to the sand. Shaw was the only one left standing, however I saw Emma beginning to stand herself up and climb down from the roof of the cabana.

"Cyclops, Storm, get Rebecca onto the jet," ordered the Professor.

I looked at the back of his head with a mix of questions.

"We'll take care of him," he said, answering me. "You've done enough."

I nodded and Cyclops, Storm and I began to walk up the gangway.

"Wait!" shouted Shaw. I didn't turn around. "Your mother's death was a lie!"