Epilogue:

The four of us stood in the Professor's office, as he sat facing us from behind the desk.

"There is nothing I can say that will make it any easier for you," Xavier said. "Here we can teach you many important things, but nobody can teach or learn how to cope with the death of a friend."

Chloe held back a sob, and her hand tightened around mine. She was trying hard to keep herself under control, to save her tears until we were on our own. Chris was staring blankly at the carpeted floor in front of him; I wasn't sure if he was listening or not. Felicity, who hadn't known Jacqueline, was nonetheless upset, sad because the rest of us were. She put a tentative arm around Chris, and when he made no attempts to shrug her off, she held him gently, letting him know she was there.

"Where is Pyro, sir?" I asked. "How is he taking it?"

"He left with Magneto and Mystique an hour ago. I'm afraid he is feeling even worse than any of you are. His hatred of humans has been re-ignited."

Chris shook his head slowly, "I just can't believe it, sir. We were on our way home. There was no way she should have been killed."

"What happened to Lutowski?" Fliss asked.

Xavier said, "Pyro killed him."

"And Van Gaarde?"

"He has been sent to prison for life. You may not have been told yet, but our mission uncovered several military research projects involving highly illegal biochemical substances. The government has naturally denied all knowledge; they're using Van Gaarde as a scapegoat, saying the projects were his own private schemes. He'll never be able to trouble us again."

None of us said anything, too locked up in our thoughts about Jacqueline. I couldn't believe she was gone. She had only just come back into our lives; she couldn't possibly be gone. She was one of the few true friends I had ever had, one of the few people I had ever been close to. She'd had her troubles – mental problems, being disowned by her parents – and been irreversibly changed because of them. Her life had always been shaped by others; she'd never had the freedom to live the way she wanted.

She and I were not that different. Both of us had had our lives permanently altered by the actions of our parents. Both of us had become something we were never meant to be. As mutants, both of us had suffered hatred and prejudice from an early age. Both of us had felt the temptation to unleash our powers in revenge attacks against those who reviled us. Both of us had resisted. Jacqueline had sacrificed her sanity and her freedom when she had absorbed Mindstorm's consciousness. If she hadn't done that…if things had turned out differently…maybe she would still be alive…

No greater love has any man, except that he lay down his life for his friends.

Both of us had killed our parents. Jacqueline, as Psyche, had murdered hers in revenge for disowning her. I had killed my father to stop him doing to anybody else what he had done to me. My mother had died giving birth to me, so effectively I had killed her too. Both of us were orphans, orphans of the world, a world which hated us and all other mutants. However, I had found a new family: Chloe, who would be my wife; Chris, who was like a brother to me; Felicity, who was something like a cousin; the Professor, who was like a father figure to all of us; even Magneto – a bond of sorts had grown between the two of us. I couldn't explain exactly what it was, but I knew we were abstrusely linked in some way. He knew I had made my choice, and wasn't going to join him, but somehow I could sense that wasn't the end of it. I knew we would meet again.

"I know this isn't easy for any of you," the Professor was saying. "There are no words of mine that will heal the pain you are all feeling. But I will say this: do not dwell on the fact she is gone. It is only right that you mourn her passing, but instead concentrate on celebrating the good things she did in her life, and how she made a difference to each of yours. I wish I could tell you that the pain of loss will go away, but it won't. It's something you will have to cope with, and I know each of you will cope. I know that together you are strong and will help each other."

Chris looked up to meet his eyes, and nodded once, "Thanks, Professor."

There was nothing more to say, and each of us turned towards the door. Chris and Felicity walked out, and Chloe followed them. I was the last, and at the door I stopped, looked round and said, "Professor? Can I ask you something else?"

"Of course."

I walked back to stand in front of the desk, "I don't quite know how to say it, sir. I was talking to Magneto, and he said…he said I could become the most powerful mutant in the world. He said I was going to be a supreme being. In five or ten years, he said."

"I see."

"Is that true?"

For a moment, Xavier said nothing. Then he inclined his head in a nod, "Yes. I told you that after your father implanted your mutations, he tried to kill you. He saw how powerful you could become, and he feared you. He decided not to take any chances, that the safest option was to kill you while you were still a baby."

"You stopped him."

"Yes. I too foresaw just how strong you could be. I knew that when you became an adult, your power would have grown so immense that no other mutant could compare. I knew that if you misused your power, nobody, not even myself, would be able to stop you. I decided to take the risk. I sent you to live with your grandparents, and I have kept a close eye on you during the last seventeen years. Until I met you two months ago, I had often wondered if I had done the right thing, by risking the safety of the world on my hope that you would not be led into darkness."

"Magneto also said – don't be angry, sir, but he said that you'd been hiding the true level of my power from me, because…because you didn't want me to get arrogant and stop listening to your instructions. I was reading his mind at the time, Professor, so I know he wasn't lying."

Xavier sighed, "There is some truth in what he said. I have seen far too many people over the years, both humans and mutants, who have grossly misused the gifts they have been born with."

"I wasn't born with my gifts, sir."

"But the reasoning still applies. I am sorry if you feel you have been deceived, and I regret that I had to hide the full truth from you. But you must understand that I have a responsibility too. I took the risk that you would not grow up to destroy the freedom of the world, and I had to ensure that you did not."

"I think I understand, sir. I don't want to be all-powerful. I mean, I could do a lot of good with it, but like Magneto said, power corrupts. Eventually I'd stop using it for good, and start using it to my own advantage. With nobody there to keep me in check, to act as a moral compass and guide me, I'd lose my way."

"When you are older, you will be able to guide yourself. You will become the most powerful of all mutants, there is no question about that. There is no other quite like you."

Then he looked me in the eyes, and said slowly, "Actually, that isn't quite true. There is one."

"Who?"

"Somebody Magneto does not yet know about. I will tell you, but not today. You have too much on your mind."

"Yes, I do."

"I made the right decision, Neil, when I took the risk with you. I know that now."

"Thank you, sir."

I left the office, closing the door behind me, and leaned against the wall for a moment, letting it all sink in. It was all true. Everything Magneto had said. How many more secrets were buried in my past? When I was 12 years old, I had discovered I was a mutant. When I was 16, I had learned the truth about myself, my father's experimentation, and how I had become what I was. Now, at 17, I found out that I was destined to become the greatest of all mutants, peerless, with no equals…except one.

That was my future. My past had been controlled by others, all of them seeking to affect my future. My future was my own now. It was what I made it. If the Professor and Magneto were right, the day would soon come when nobody but me could decide the course of my life. I already knew parts of my future. Chloe was part of it. Her love was what had kept me going over the last two months, but now I had something more to live for: the knowledge that no evil could undo the good I used my powers to accomplish.

I sought out Chloe. I looked in the direction of our room, and pushed my eyes through the walls until I could see inside it. Chloe was not there, but Chris and Felicity were. They had their arms wrapped around each other, and were kissing passionately. I sensed both of them feeling the loss of Jacqueline, and clinging on to each other as a way of comfort, holding on to what they still had. I knew that Chloe and I would do the same as soon as we were alone together. Jacqueline was gone, and there was an empty space in our hearts where she had been. We needed to fill that gap, and only by increasing our love for each other could we do it.

As Chris and Fliss, still locked in embrace, sank down on to one of the beds, I felt a small smile spread across my face, and I pulled back my eyes, bringing my vision back to what was directly in front of me. Some things were not meant for me to see.