The original chapter 2 (formerly 3) was clearly a very poor filler chapter, so it has been combined with chapter 3 (formerly 4) and chapter 4 (formerly 5) to make it less pointless. I have also cut out as many of the clichés as physically possible because these early chapters were riddled with them, and, well, clichés suck. One more thing - for those of you who have read this story before, you will notice that a once major plot point - the beating and hint to her mutation - has been removed. This was done for a reason, I promise. The abusive jocks and emo dialogue were two of the many clichés that I decided to remove, trust me with this one.

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men, I'm just borrowing it.

Jade of the Night: Chapter 2: The Discovery

Gwen she sat quietly in her room as Bea called the school from the kitchen phone. Her cheekbone and jaw ached, and her head was throbbing like mad. The night before, her attackers had slammed some unknown, but heavy, object against the back of her head, probably in hopes of killing her. Her eyesight had gone fuzzy and gray, probably as a result to the hit to her head. The pain was worse than she had feared it would be. The last place she wanted to be was at school, where she would have to face those that had inflicted all of this pain upon her, those people that had once been her friends.

"Yes, this is Beatrice Simon, with the Bankor Group Home." Gwen heard Bea say into the receiver, "Yes, Beatrice Simon. I am calling about one of our children here, Gwen. Hm-mm, she is feeling a little under the weather today and won't be coming in. Yes, she will have a note when she comes back. Alright, thank you. You have a good day now, good-bye."

"How bad is she, Bea?" Jack asked from the kitchen table, clearly worried.

"Yes, she'll be fine. She just needs some time to rest." Bea reassured the heavy-set sixteen-year-old, "Now should hurry up or you'll miss the bus."

"Bye, Bea," he said, then popped his head in Gwen's room, "I hope you feel better."

"Thanks." she replied, rubbing her cheek.

He winked and ran off, grabbing his backpack and sprinting out the door.

"Well," Gwen asked as she waved good-bye, "What do I do now?"

"You are staying here and resting, nothing else."

"That's fine, I suppose."

"I am going to be running some errands and I don't want you wandering around. When I said you were going to rest, Gwen, I meant it." Bea said, her voice stern.

"You don't have to worry about me." Gwen replied quietly.

"I always do." Bea said, "For four years, I've spent every waking moment worrying about you. Nothing will change that, not if society has anything to do with it. I dread what will happen if that awful Senator Kelly gets that Registration Act passed in Washington."

"You have better things to do than worry about me."

Bea sighed; "You rest up. I won't be gone long."

"I'll be fine." Gwen answered, to which she received a hesitant smile. The old women left the room and closed the door. Gwen gently lowered herself onto her pillow, her mind racing with thoughts that refused to settle for the most immeasurable amount of time. She knew that Bea meant well, but that wasn't enough to erase what had happened, and had been happening for what felt like forever. Ever since the accident, ever since she'd been exposed as a mutant in front of all those people, she'd lived in fear. She was scared to go to school everyday, knowing what lie in wait for her there. Her lack of trust had helped her out before, but she did not know how long it would continue to do so. In spite of its helpfulness, learning not to trust anyone had taken its toll on Gwen. Her mentality made her very suspicious and had even sent her through anger management classes at the age of fifteen. She trusted one person and one person alone - Bea, the woman who raised her. Physically, she could inflict some damage if necessary, but was not strong enough to fend off anyone with an intent to kill.

She wanted out. She wanted to leave. She was tired of waking up and being too scared to get out of bed. She had laid out her options many times, and figured out where she might end up if she continued along that path. What she saw in her own future frightened her even more than her peers did - she saw herself becoming a wrathful, vengeful person when all she really wanted was to find peace. Peace, however pleasing to the mind, would never be possible, not while she was a mutant in this day and age. There had to be another way.

She did know of a place, up north, where she might be able to go, where she might find refuge. With her luck, though, the place would probably turn out to be an urban legend. Yet, there was a glimmer of hope in her mind that was tangible, that it existed, and that it was waiting, beckoning for her.

With that, she removed her sunglasses, rolled onto her side and fell asleep.

Gwen woke up several hours later, feeling significantly better. The pain had defiantly gone down, but her eyesight was still pretty bad - gray and fuzzy. Bea said that it would probably never go back to normal. As bad as it was, she could be grateful that she wasn't in the hospital or in a wheelchair or anything extreme like that.

She could hear Bea outside in the kitchen, roaming around, putting dishes away and stuff to that effect. By the sounds of Bea's rummaging through the cupboards, Gwen could tell that it would be little while longer until the kids got home from school, most of them wondering how Gwen was doing. Jack would be the worst. As the oldest boy, he had always felt that it was his duty to take care of everyone.

Sure enough, within twenty minutes, the sound of the front door opening and closing could be heard. Voices broke through the silence. Footsteps thundered up the stairs. Muffled conversations started up in the kitchen. The fridge opened. Glasses clanked. It was a daily routine, but for Gwen it was strange to experience it on the outside, listening in. She knew what would come next, though, that was out of the ordinary. In the anticipation, she closed her eyes, and waited.

It wasn't before long that a soft knock came at her door. By the sound of it, she knew it was Jack.

"Come on in." she said.

"Hey, Gwen, how are you feeling?" Jack asked, his worry sincere, as he closed the door behind him. The afternoon sun cast a slight glow through Gwen's curtains across her room to where Jack stood. Looking at him, she couldn't help but feel distanced from him. She'd known him since they were nine, when he came after the death of his parents in a car accident. Their bond was undeniable, yet he still did not know what Gwen was. She hated to keep it from him, but she knew that it was for his own good.

Gwen sighed; "Better, definitely better." she replied truthfully.

"That's good. I was worried about you."

"Did Bea tell you what happened?"

"She didn't have to."

"You can flick on the light, Jack, and sit down."

He reached over and flipped the light switch. The overhead light flickered on and off for a moment then stayed, illuminating the room with a yellow light. Jack grabbed a chair and pulled it closer to Gwen's bed as she sat up.

"So," she started, looking up at him, "did I miss anything terribly exciting?"

"And you suddenly care - why?" he replied, adjusting himself in the chair.

"I'm making conversation. Work with me here."

Jack looked up at Gwen to respond, but said nothing. He sat there, eyes wide, staring at Gwen. He attempted to speak, but found that that he could not formulate any coherent words.

"Jack?" Gwen asked, "What's wrong? What did I do?"

Jack pointed to his face in response; "C'mon, Jack," Gwen said with a wave of her hand, "the bruise isn't that bad. I've had worse, you know that."

"It's not your bruise, Gwen." he finally said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you want to explain those!" he cried, clearly angered. Gwen's hands shot to her face. To her horror, she realized that her sunglasses were not on their usual nasal perch. She had forgotten to put them on.

Due to her mutation, Gwen's eyes, once deep green in colour, had turned to a misty shade of mint green, including the pupil. They were enough to send a shiver down anyone's spine, which was partly why she hid them. They were also a sign of who, of what, she really was - a mutant. Those sunglasses had been one of her only defenses against the hatred and animosity that surrounded her. That seemingly insignificant pair of sunglasses had shielded the one thing that gave away her true self to everyone else. They helped to protect her from what was happening to her at that very moment.

Jack reached over to her nightstand and grabbed the glasses with a tight, though shaky, grip. He looked at the glasses in his hands, refusing to look into Gwen's fearfully pale eyes; "So this is why you wore these? To hide that?"

Reflexively, Gwen threw her hands over her eyes in a sad attempt to hide them, but it was far too late. She could feel the tears welling up, but did nothing to stop them. She was so ashamed, and Jack's anger only made it worse. After all that time, only to have her cover blown by something so trivial. She hated herself for it.

"Gwen," Jack said quietly, "how could you do this! Why didn't you tell me? Why, Gwen, why?"

"Jack - " Gwen started, but that's as far as she got. Jack hastily stood, knocking the chair over onto the floor. She had never seen him so angry. He was shaking all over. Gwen grabbed his arm, trying to find his eyes, but he turned away.

"Jack, please, listen to me!" Gwen cried desperately, "It's me, it's Gwen! The same Gwen you've known since you were nine! I'm not any different."

"Yes, you are." Jack said coolly, "You're one of them."

He turned to Gwen, his gray eyes narrowed into slits. He looked at Gwen with utter resentment. He ripped his arm out of her grip and headed for the door. As he turned the knob, he looked at the sunglasses once more before throwing them to the floor, as though they were a piece of garbage. He left the room, slamming the door behind him.

The tears cascaded over her lids and trickled down her ashen cheeks with no guards to hold them back. She let them stream down, knowing full well that it was pointless to attempt to deny them.

"I'm so sorry, Jack." she whispered to the emptiness that surrounded her, "I'm so sorry."

Bea came bursting through the door, but Gwen did not even flinch; "What's happened!"

Gwen did not have to answer for Bea to realize what had happened. With a gasp, she brought her hand to her lips, trying to find the proper words to console the young woman on the floor. Her search was in great vain.

"Gwen," she began, but did not know what else to say. She had tried to be with the girl ever since her mutation manifested, tried to console her, but it was in that moment, when she was needed most, that Bea knew that she could no longer help.

Gwen turned her sallow gaze towards Bea, and spoke only four short words, but it was those words that would sear through Bea like a hot knife. Four little words that would change everything.

In a quiet, hushed voice, Gwen said was all she needed to say -

"I can't stay here."

I hope all of you that have been reading this fic for a while approve of the changes. Any input is appreciated. Thanks for your continued reading.