Mallory exhaled deeply as she pulled her hooded jumper over her head, her stomach churning with anticipation as she prepared herself to venture out in to the mansion. She pulled a small photograph out of her back pocket and looked down at it with a bittersweet smile. She was standing on a wall with her arms around Emma's neck, smiling enthusiastically, as did Emma. She could remember the exact moment it was taken, a week before she was forced into Eden and separated from her mother completely. The moment everything in her life was destroyed.
She shook the memories out of her head as she picked up a book from her bedside table. She opened it and placed her photograph inside the cover and closed it, brushing her hand over the book title.

The Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

As she opened her bedroom door, she instinctively looked around for any threats.
'Nothing, just fuckin' kids' she complained to herself, as she locked the door, pulled over her hood and made her way through the main corridor, making sure her head was kept down to avoid any unnecessary eye contact or conversation.

She eventually found the library, after making a few long winded trips into dead ends, and her mouth fell open as she observed the entirety of it, books covering every wall to the ceilings and a spiral staircase in the middle that lead to another floor. As she made her way towards the stairs, still looking up at the ceiling, she felt a sudden barge into her shoulder, which made her stumble and her hood fall off. She spun around to notice a girl with vibrant purple hair and bright green eyes with faint purple marks across her forehead and eyes.
"Sorry, I…er…" she began, as her eyebrows creased as she looked at Mallory up and down confused. "Sorry, aren't you the girl that just been transferred?"
Reluctant to reply, Mallory lifted her hood back up and walked as fast as she could up the spiral staircase to avoid having to answer any questions.
'Transferred?' she mumbled to herself. 'I shouldn't even be here…'
As she searched through the rows of books, she finally found the books she needed. She grabbed a couple from the shelves and luckily enough, found an empty bay window ledge to sit against. She sat down, took out a cigarette and lit it before opening up the first book.

After a few hours of frantic scanning through half a dozen books and coming across nothing that she desperately needed, she lit up her last cigarette before opening up the final book when suddenly a sharp cough occurred behind her, causing her to jump and spin around.
"Miss Howlett." Jean voiced, crossing her arms and glancing down at the cigarette.
"Oh, sorry." Mallory mumbled, looking for somewhere to put it down.
"No it's fine for now, just try and refrain from doing it in the library…some of these books are very old and prized possessions…although, I know someone who'd probably just do the same as you" Jean smiled, allowing a single laugh under her breath.
"Sorry, what?" Mallory asked, confused about Jean's small reverie, before Jean realised and attempted to quickly change the story.
"Nothing, what brings you to the library?" she asked, pulling up a chair, but making sure to keep her distance as she noticed Mallory become uneasy.
"Reading?" Mallory answered, unsure of what the sudden presence was for.
"Good" Jean smiled, tilting her head slightly as she read the title of the book.

Mutant Genetics within Ancient Egypt.

Jean frowned slightly, as well as noticing the titles of the numerous other books she had pulled out. Not wanting to interrogate Mallory straight away, she looked up and smiled comfortingly.
"I'm sorry, I didn't say who I was…I'm Jean Grey, I work in the medical labs and research facility downstairs. I've been here since I was a child, so if you need anything, any directions or…someone to let off steam to, just let me know" she informed.
"Thanks…" Mallory nodded, trying to force a smile.
"How are you finding it here?" Jean asked. "Have you gone through all the tests?"
"They want me to test my powers, show what I can do. Then the…Professor wants to try and do a telepathic thing to try and access whatever…they…did to me" Mallory stated, suddenly feeling vulnerable when mentioning the Asylum, her most hated emotion.
"The Eden Programme?" Jean asked, knowing that she was possibly prying too far, when Mallory nodded in agreement, Jean felt almost empathetic, as she knew what it felt like to feel contained; although she had come to accept why it had to be. Suddenly, Jean felt the urge to ask the one question that was completely prohibited.
"What happened to your family?" she asked, noticing Mallory exhale at the thought of having to reiterate her past to someone she felt unsure of. But as she felt reluctant to answer, she knew that at some point, the question would have to be asked.
"I don't have any family, most of my mother's relatives died before I was born. So it's just me." Mallory answered, honestly.
"And…what about your…father?" asked Jean carefully, watching Mallory's facial expressions intensely. "Did you know him?"
Mallory's eyes faltered as the word was mentioned, feeling her chest tighten painfully and the reoccurring pang of hatred.
"He left me when I was little." Mallory sighed, taking the final drag of her cigarette before putting it in the bin next to her.
"He left?" Jean asked.
"We lived in Vancouver, he walked out on me…us…" Mallory corrected herself as she refused to look at Jean in the eye. "We moved away, because I wasn't safe anymore, although…"
"Although?" Jean pressed.
Mallory began to put some of books she had found into a bag, and whilst rummaging, a picture fell out onto the floor beside Jean.
"No matter where I am, I'm not safe. He left me there, knowing I would die. He left…me" Mallory growled, holding back the pain that resonated from deep down in her heart, those raw memories that had made their way from her subconscious into her mind. With that, she yanked up her hood and paced away, desperate to disappear as far away as she could, back to her room; four solid walls of silence.

Once Mallory had left, Jean lent down to pick up the picture and looked at it closely, before letting a deep, moan escape her lips as she felt her heart sink in sorrow.
It was a tattered, but clearly treasured Polaroid picture of a slightly younger Logan, holding up a young child in his arms, and looking at her with complete admiration as the young Mallory smiled towards the camera.

So, Mallory is already aware of what she is, and Jean can't help but push for answers about Logan! This is the start of you becoming aware of the disassociation between Mallory and Logan, and her personal feelings towards it. She clearly remembers her father, but has no idea that she is the outcome of an alternate timeline, so has no idea that Logan had no idea who she is!

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