Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sun was setting, the sky slowly turning orange, the leaves were falling in a flutter, settling on the cold, hard earth of the undergrowth. Autumn had arrived.

The crisp air penetrated her clothes; at that hour, it was advisable to wear a coat if you didn't want to freeze. She had a coat in her room, she could have picked it up before heading into the forest, if only the opportunity had allowed. Instead, she found herself barefoot, wearing only a white coat, or actually, it was. The sound of footsteps reminded her why she was there.

She held her breath, she absolutely mustn't be heard. The footsteps stopped right in front of the tree she was hiding behind.
The sky was blackening, as was her vision. She had lost a lot of blood, too much blood. She looked down at her hands clutching a gray flash drive: blood, her own blood, maybe even that of some men, she wasn't sure.

Everything was blurry, her head was spinning. She raised her eyes one last time to gaze at the almost completely dark sky. She didn't know the exact moment she lost consciousness. She couldn't distinguish the sky from the fog that obscured her vision.

A light made her open her eyes. Was it already morning? They didn't found her. For a moment, a great happiness filled her, but it stopped immediately when she realized she was in a laboratory bed.

Her heart was pounding, she panicked and large tears began to roll down her reddened cheeks. It had been no use, hiding hadn't helped, she was still there. No, she wasn't there. It wasn't the usual room, the laboratory room she had come to know so well, no, it was different.

She tried to get up, but her head was spinning. She had an IV in her arm, she tried to remove it.

“Good morning.”
She heard a voice and looked around, but there was no one there. Yet someone had spoken, she was sure of it. Had she gone crazy? Well, that wouldn't have been strange.

Before she could remove that damned IV from her arm, the door opened. That voice again, only this time it came from a man, a man in a wheelchair.
“Hi, Giuly. How are you feeling?”

She looked at him silently. She couldn't speak, in fact, she couldn't even remember how long it had been since she'd had a normal conversation.
“I'm Professor Charles Xavier, and you're in the X-mansion here.”

A faint whisper struggled to escape her lips. “Let me go.”
The man sighed and tried to speak, but was interrupted. “You won't use me for your experiments again. I'm not a fucking lab rat.”

“I don't intend to do this.” The man's voice was calm. Giuly couldn't look away from his eyes, it was as if he were reading her mind, she had the impression that this man already knew everything.
His words didn't surprise her as much as he expected.

"I know what those men did to you. You won't have to experience anything like that again. You're safe here."
She's not convinced; and he knows it.
"This, where you are, is a school." He said, turning in his wheelchair before moving a little closer to the girl. "I'd like you to get in."

His voice wasn't just calm, it was also very reassuring. If there was one thing Giuly had learned, however, it was to never trust anyone, especially someone who kidnaps you and takes you to a lab. The man, however, seemed sincere.

"I can't. I'm a-"
"Mutant? Perfect then, just what I'm looking for."

"Listen, you wheels, I don't want to be part of any stupid project!" She tried to get up again, but the pain in her head prevented her.

The man smiled slightly. "Giuly, we're like you." The girl frowned and heard the man's voice again. "Everyone here has special powers." Only this time, his lips weren't moving at all.
"How..."
"Telepathy." He replied, running a hand through his brown hair, almost as if he were bragging. "It's what makes me a mutant, like you."
"Ah, I thought you were just a good ventriloquist."

The man smiled again, but didn't respond to the provocation. "If there's one thing my mutation allows me to do besides this, it's mind reading."
At these words, the girl fell silent, she didn't believe him. Not because she didn't believe in the existence of other mutants, it just seemed strange to her that this man actually wanted to help her.

Charles became more serious, his eyes so piercing it seemed he was reading her mind and at this point Giuly was convinced that was indeed the case. "You have the ability to control your blood and use it as a weapon, right?"
The girl could only nod.

"That's very fascinating. Can you tell me what you can do exactly?"

"I can show you." She said softly. She was shocked by his answer, she was expecting him to stop her for fear she might escape, but the man merely nodded and watched anxiously. He trusted her, he didn't see her as a threat, as a monster.

Giuly looked at her hands, clean, no longer stained with blood, it felt strange.
With a grimace, she removed the crust that covered most of her palm, right in the center and pointed her open hand at the wall in front of her. In a flash, a large projectile emerged from it and slammed into the wall, slightly denting the plaster.

“Fascinating.” Charles observed.
“I can also make a shield.” Giuly whispered, dabbing her palm with her clean T-shirt.

The man watched her movements, sadness in his eyes falling on the girl's bare arm, several scars clearly visible. “And you need to hurt yourself in order to use your power.”
Again, the girl simply nodded.

"Giuly, in this school you'll learn to better understand your powers, to tame them, and maybe you'll discover new ones. You should stay."

"No, I don't know if-" the girl was interrupted by the man. "You don't trust me?"
"I'm not- I can't, I can't." Giuly concentrated as hard as she could to avoid looking the man in the eyes. What he said, however, brought her attention back to him.

"You're not alone. Others here couldn't control their powers either. Rogue, for example, her power doesn't allow her to touch any other human being, she learned to control it and use it to her advantage. Or Logan, an adamantium skeleton, he learned to control his claws, even though he still sometimes pulls them out by mistake at night. Everyone here was like you." His words were working, despite the girl's silent response.

"I can't force you to stay here, but I can assure you that you'll be safe. Giuly." Finally, the girl decided to look him in the eyes. "You're not alone." She felt him, entering her mind, he was not delving into her thoughts though, no, he was just watching, but it was enough to understand that there was something there.

"You still don't trust me, huh? There's something in your mind, something you're hiding. Giuly, do you want to tell me?"

She closed her eyes, the images flashing through her mind quickly, blurry, fragments of such bitter memories. She seemed to still feel the cold blade of the knife on her skin, the fear, the tears on her face, the bright red blood draining from her body. And that man, who was hurting her. It wasn't her fault, she only did it to defend herself, she didn't want to kill them. Maybe she wanted though, to see them dead. All of them, each and every one of those men with their torsos abruptly cut in half, lying on the ground, lifeless. They deserved it, it wasn't her fault, it wasn't her fault.

"Enough."

Giuly opened her eyes, her breath catching. Had it been that man? It didn't matter anymore, now he knew, he knew what she'd done.

"I've seen enough, I'm sorry for what happened to you. Don't worry, I won't kick you out for this." His words were sincere, for the first time Giuly believed them. "Now just think about- Oh, Hank, just in time." The door opened and a person entered carrying a tray. "Giuly, he's- "

"Blu." she said incredulously.
The newcomer looked at his body. "Oh, I didn't notice this morning, thanks for telling me." He smiled sarcastically.

"This is Dr. Hank McCoy." Charles continued. "He took care of you."
"Yeah, although you have Cerebro to thank for finding you." He said as he removed her IV. "You looked really bad. Okay, everything looks fine here. Eat these and with a little rest, you'll be as good as new."
Hank offered Giuly some cookies and milk, which she took without wasting time.

"So." Charles continued. "How about joining the school? You don't have to stay if you don't want to."
Giuly nodded, her mouth full, finally sure of her answer. She had nowhere else to go anyway. She only knew the orphanage where she'd grown up and run away from.

"Good." Charles smiled. "Now rest and-"
"I can't!" the girl exclaimed, sitting up. "I have to tell Miss Regh!"

The two men looked at each other in confusion and didn't have time to stop the girl, who ran out of the room.
"Giuly!" Charles called. "Giuly, stop!"

The girl was wandering down the corridor and when she found the elevator, Hank stopped her. "You still need to regain your strength, you can't just leave."
"I don't care, I have to go back there."

Giuly took the elevator up, put a hand in her pocket, and breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized the flash drive in her fingers. The doors opened and she found herself in a corridor with wooden walls that looked ancient. In front of her, dozens of kids were walking here and there. Was this the school Charles was talking about?

She exited the elevator and stood close to the wall, trying not to attract attention. As she looked for the exit, she saw a boy appear out of nowhere.
A girl rebuked him. "Peter! Stop doing that, you're scaring me. Use your super speed outside of here."
A super-fast boy? Just what she needed.

Giuly approached him. "Hey, Speedy Gonzales, nice hair, I need a favor. Can you take me to the Neil Orphanage?"
Charles and Hank finally reached Giuly. "Sorry, Peter." Charles spoke. "This is Giuly, a new student."
"Yes, pleasantries over, can you take me there?" Giuly asked anxiously.

The boy looked at Charles. "Yes, go ahead." The man replied resignedly. "I'll send you the location."
"Oh my God, you can do this via brain too?" Giuly commented, astonished.

"Hurry up and go. Peter, I trust you." He said not so convinced. "And come back here for lunch." Charles advised.
"Of course Professor." Peter said, then turned to Giuly and placed a hand on her neck. "Watch out for whiplash." And the two of them set off.

Chapter Text

The first thing Giuly saw after the X-mansion was the entrance to the orphanage.
As soon as Peter let go of her, she collapsed from nausea and almost threw up Hank's cookies.

She rang the doorbell, and Miss Regh opened it.
She was a young woman with large hazel eyes and reddish hair always tied back in a tight bun. As soon as she saw Giuly, she hugged her, almost crying.

"You're alive! You have no idea how worried I've been." Giuly couldn't let go of her, after that night, she didn't think she'd ever see her again.
"We can't stay here or Stewart will see us. Quick, come in."

The three remained in the hall, and Giuly stopped Miss Regh, who had offered to go and make some tea.
"No, we can't stay. Barry Allen here, brought me all the way here because I have something urgent to tell you."
The woman stopped to look at the girl.

“I have a place to stay. The X-Men found me and… They said I can stay with them.” She said excitedly.

“Oh my God, this is fantastic, Giuly.” Regh enthusiastically took her hands. But her smile quickly faded. “I have news too.” Giuly had an unreadable expression on her face, a mix of doubt and fear. “Stewart is looking for you. He lost your genetic code, he needs you. He sent some men. I don't think he knows anything about the X-Men, but please be careful.”

Peter, standing aside, intervened. “Excuse me, can I ask who this Stewart is? I think I'm missing important pieces of the plot.”

“Stewart is the headmaster of the orphanage.” Regh began.
“The piece of shit who stuck me in a lab room and played with me like a spoiled child... For two years. I was only 14. He's trying to create a serum to control mutants. He succeeded, but I ran away.” Giuly lowered her head, the memories of that distant day still vivid in her mind. “He'll do it again, right? Experiments on mutant children.”

Regh looked at her, almost in tears. “I don't know. I'm sorry, I can't stop him.”
“I'm not asking you to do it, I don't want you to risk your life. But if it ever happens again, we'll find a way to find out. And we'll help you.”

“I trust you.” Regh said, hugging her again. “Now you have to go.”

More than three hours had passed and Giuly was still in that damned bunker they called "training room."
To her right, Charles was watching her, to her left, Hank was writing something on some paper, and in front of her, that stupid dummy with that stupid face that seemed to challenge her.

“No, it's still not right.” Charles said after Giuly had fired another burst of bullets from his hand. The mannequin was still standing, only with a few scratches.
“Giuly, you're not concentrating enough.”

“Oh, I'm sorry Merritt McKinney, do you want to try?” She was really tired of being there. There was nothing she could do, she couldn't make that damn mannequin fall.

“Giuly.” Charles stood in front of her and clasped his hands on his stomach. The girl knew some life lesson was coming. “To fully utilize your power, you need to experience strong emotions. Anger and violence aren't enough, no. You have to dig into your memories, find a happy moment, the happiest you've ever had, and focus on that. Your mind,” he said as he returned to the girl's side. “Must be to the point between anger and serenity. Think of a happy memory.”

Giuly pointed her hand at the mannequin again. A happy memory, the point between anger and serenity.
She took a breath and fired. The mannequin moved slightly, but for Charles it wasn't enough.

He stood before her again, who was struggling to take deep breaths.
“Can I ask what memory you were thinking of?”

She looked him in the eyes and took a final breath. “A gift Miss Regh gave me for my birthday. A guitar. I wanted to be like George Harrison.” She said with an embarrassed laugh. “But I’m really terrible.”

Charles looked at her with a smile. “It’s a nice memory, but not intense enough.” He paused briefly, sensing something changing in Giuly. “Do you want to try again?” He asked, already knowing the answer, moving to her side.

Giuly closed her eyes. She let her mind wander, thinking about the last time she felt strong emotions. Images flashed before her, unable to stop them. The fear she’d felt that day. The anger that assailed her, the adrenaline rush as she ran through the leaves without looking back. The happiness of discovering they hadn’t been able to catch her. A shock ran through her, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the same mannequin before her, only this time with a large hole in the center of its chest.

"I did it." She said in disbelief, staggering on the spot. Hank grabbed her shoulder and handed her another cookie.
“Great! I think that's enough for today.” Charles commented.

“No, I want to continue.”
“You need to recover, you've lost a lot of blood.” Hank said worriedly.
“I said I want to continue.”

The two gave up. “Well, what do you want to-” Charles looked at Giuly, her eyes still fixed on the mannequin. “Giuly, no. You're not ready yet.”
“Why not? The point between anger and serenity. I've done it before, I can do it.”

Giuly wanted to try, she wanted to do the same thing she had done to those men in the lab.
Charles knew there was no way to stop her, so he gestured for Hank to leave the room.
The two men positioned themselves behind the door, looking in through the small glass window.

Giuly was alone, just her and the mannequin. She closed her eyes. A happy thought, anger and serenity. She took a breath, pointed her hand at the mannequin.

A jet of dark red blood, almost black, began to flow from her palm. It wasn't strong enough. She concentrated harder, she needed to make it as sharp as a blade. The jet was slowly lengthening, growing stronger, thicker. Suddenly, she couldn't see anymore.

The last thing she remembered was falling into a pool of blood and the door swinging open.

The sun beat down hard on the asphalt of the basketball court.
The children were outside playing, some jumping, some dancing, some chasing a ball.

Giuly was on the ground, next to a boy.
“I told you to leave him alone!” She kept yelling at another boy, slightly older than her, who was standing in front of them with some friends. They were holding rocks. “I told him not to tell Miss Regh. He deserves it.”

“Stop, can't you see he's hurt?” She said as the rocks pelted her skin. “Stop it!” The boy wasn't listening. He kept throwing rocks at her, hurting her.
She was angry, very angry. She couldn't see anymore, and not just in a metaphorical sense. Her eyes turned black, she couldn't calm the anger that was gripping her, and she had no intention of trying.
It all happened suddenly. The boy fell to the ground, pushed by a mysterious force. His shirt was stained with blood, but he seemed fine. The blood wasn't his. Giuly was pointing a hand at the boy and a trickle of red flowed from the center.

"You're- you're a..." The boy, still on his bottom, crawled backward. "A mutant. A mutant!" The boys ran away. Giuly remained on the ground, unable to calm down.
A mutant? No, it wasn't possible.

She turned and saw the boy she was protecting looking her straight in the eyes. He was afraid, afraid of her. He ran away, leaving her alone in a corner of the garden.
What had happened? How was it possible? She... a mutant?

She felt her heart pounding in her chest, like it was going to explode. Her vision became blurry again, her chest continued to rise and fall irregularly, she was sweating. What was she?

She looked at her hands, they were covered in blood, her blood, so red. Her head was spinning, she could barely breathe, she felt like vomiting, as if a hand were clutching her stomach. She pulled her legs to her chest, wrapped herself in her arms, her body covered in cuts and burning. She wasn't able to calm down, she couldn't, she didn't know what was happening to her, her heart was pounding, head was spinning, she couldn't see anything, she wanted to scream.

Finally, she managed it, she screamed, she took the weight off.

When she opened her eyes, what she saw sent her into even greater panic.

Everything around her was tinged with red. The wall, the trees, the grass, her own clothes.
She couldn't move, but she looked at the leaves near her, punctured, corroded by her blood.

She looked up. She saw her. Miss Regh, slowly approaching. She had a tight hand on her arm. "How are you, baby?" She struggled to speak.
Giuly's eyes widened, she tried to move Miss Regh's hand and saw a bruise on her arm. "Don't worry, love. I'm fine."
It was her fault. She had hurt Miss Regh.

She couldn't speak, it was as if she had no air left in her lungs. Not even enough to scream when two men carried her away like a garbage bag. She couldn't see anything anymore, only Miss Regh's muffled screams as she tried to stop those men. It was all in vain.

Giuly opened her eyes and saw Peter's face looming over her.
"Oh, you're finally awake. I'm going to tell the professor." He left the room and was back to her in no time.

"What happened?" She asked as she took the cookie Peter was offering her.
"You passed out in the training room. You were almost drowning in your own blood. They told me to come by every two minutes to see when you'd wake up."

"I dreamed something... or rather, it was more of a memory." She said softly. "I can't stay here, I'm a danger. I have to leave."
"And where do you think you'll go?" The boy held her shoulder on the mattress. "This is your home now. You may be a danger to those out there, but not to us." The smile on Peter's shrewd face somehow reassured Giuly.

Just then, Charles came through the door with a tray in his hand. “How are you? I brought you lunch.”
Giuliy thanked him and immediately began eating.

“You did good today. You'll make progress, I'm sure of it, but don't overdo it.” He said with a slight reproachful tone. “We'll have another training in a couple of days. In the meantime, you have to start attending class. I put you in Peter's, he'll tell you everything. Well, I'll leave you two.” With that, he left the room.

“Ah, I'm happy you're in my class, but I feel sorry for you. Tomorrow morning we have lesson with Logan.”
“Is he a bad teacher?” Giuly asked, her mouth full.
“He's not bad, he just doesn't know how to teach. But his classes are the most fun, trust me.”

“Logan's the one with the adamantium skeleton, right?”
“Yes, do you know him?”
“Professor Xavier told me about him.”
Peter's eyes widened and he placed a hand on his chest. "And he didn't tell you about me?" he said dramatically. "That's not fair. I hope his hair falls out."

Chapter Text

The next morning, Giuly woke up early, excited to meet the other students.
The sun hadn't fully risen yet, and the cold was really starting to set in.

She chose her favorite sweatshirt from the closet, a red one with the words "All things must pass" printed on it. Before putting it on, she stopped in front of the mirror. Her eyes roamed over her exposed body. Her fingertips delicately touched the scars on her skin. She still wasn't sure if this was the right choice.

As soon as she finished getting dressed, she heard a knock on her door.
She opened it to find a pile of books with Peter buried beneath it.

“You'll need these. So, are you ready for your first day?”
“Yes, absolutely.” She replied, bending over under the weight of the books she had just picked up.

“Well, let's go, I'm so hungry.” Peter placed a hand on Giuly's neck and in no time they were in the cafeteria, sitting at a table with their trays already full in front of them. Giuly was still getting used to this new method of transportation.

“Hey, don't skip the line!” A voice shouted from behind them.
“Sorry, Kitty!” Peter replied before pointing to the boys sitting at the table. “Giuly, these are Scott, Jean, Ororo, Rogue, Remy, Jubilee, and Kurt.”

“Oh, you introduced me to the whole cast right away.”

The guys greeted her and began eating their breakfast.

Giuly looked at her plate filled with every possible item from Peter's cafeteria. She held back a retching sensation when she noticed and smelled the banana slices neatly placed next to the pancakes.
She hated bananas. She ate them every day in the lab. Even the smell of them alone brought back unpleasant memories.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the girl with short hair and rose-colored glasses. “Did Professor Xavier wake you guys up too?”
Remy threw back his head with a sound of disappointment. “Oh God, yes, I can't stand it when he does that.”

Giuly was still a little confused. “What do you mean?” She said as she passed her banana slices to Scott sitting next to her. The boy didn't even seem to notice and ate them along with the rest.

“Sometimes,” Kurt began with his mouth full, “The professor projects himself into our dreams to wake us up.”
Giuly's eyes widened. “That's why I dreamed about him!”

“What was he doing in yours?” asked Rogue. “In mine, he was singing Mariah Carey fantasy songs in a dress and a wig.” Everyone laughed.

“Oh in mine,” Jean continued, “ he was going on a mountain bike trail in his wheelchair.”
“He must have had a blast.” Said Peter. “As for me, his face appeared on my mother’s body! I’ll never recover.”

“I’d rather a thousand times dream of his face than what happened last time.” Scott admitted, his mouth still full of cake.
“You absolutely have to tell me what happened.” Giuly was too curious to know.

Ororo laughed. “Scott pissed him off, he accidentally cut a painting of one of his ancestors in half with his laser vision.”
“And so,” Kurt continued, “as punishment, the professor woke him up every morning with the song he hates.”

“Never gonna give you up. I was going crazy.”
“Hey polyphemus, how dare you insult Never gonna give you up?!” Giuly shouted.
“You’d do it too after the one hundred and fourteenth time!”

“Giuly’s right.” Said Peter, standing up with the now empty tray. “It’s a classic piece of music, and there’s no point in arguing about it now, the lesson is about to begin.”

“Oh, by the way. What does Professor Logan teach?” Giuly asked as they walked to class.
“The first thing that comes to his mind.” Ororo said. “He doesn’t know how to teach, but since he doesn’t pay the rent, Charles forces him to.”
“Get ready.” Rogue came up beside her. “It’s going to be fun.”

“No. How many times do I have to tell you? If the ninja master is in front of you, it means other ninja will attack you from the sides and behind. A ninja master doesn't engage in direct confrontation unless he's protected by other ninja. That means you shouldn't engage in direct confrontation with a ninja master unless you're covered on all other fronts, and even if it were the case… Jubilee! What are you doing?”
“I'm drawing a ninja master.”
“You better pay attention, this is serious stuff.”

Meanwhile, in the back of the classroom, Kurt and Giuly were playing tic-tac-toe.
“So,” he whispered, “What do you think of Logan?”

Giuly watched him draw little ninjas on the board and smiled. “I really like him. But did something happen to him with ninjas?”
“He must have some unresolved issues.”
“They must have stolen his girlfriend.”
“Or they injected a parasite into his blood.”
“Or they built a samurai with robotic adamantium armor who destroyed his claws with a sword.”
“Or they gave him detention for talking too much.” Logan was in front of the two students, and they instantly fell silent.

“If you’re not interested, you can go. Not you Peter!” He said without even turning around. Peter returned to his seat. “Don’t make a racket.” He reassured himself before returning to the board.
Kurt and Giuly looked at each other. “Smash.” They said in unison and couldn't help but laugh. Logan glared at them and they stopped.

Luckily, it was well known that Logan didn't like giving out punishments, unlike Hank.

Lunch break finally arrived.

Giuly was stopped right at the classroom door by Jubilee. “Hey, I really like this sweatshirt, where did you get it?”
“Oh, this one?” Giuly looked confused. “It’s an old sweatshirt that Regh, one of the teachers at the orphanage where I grew up, got me. I don’t have many new clothes. It fits me perfectly now, but years ago I drowned in it.” She said with an embarrassed laugh.

Jubilee looked at her even more confused. “Don’t you have any new clothes?” Giuly just shook her head.
“Than we have to go shopping right now!” She said excitedly, taking the other girl by the arm. “The others and I go shopping all the time. The professor always lends us money. Oh please, let’s all five of us go shopping this afternoon.”
“But we have class in the afternoon.”
“Oh, who cares! What do we have?” She said, closing her eyes to try to remember the schedule. “Oh well, we’ll skip it, whatever it is. Let’s go tell the others!”

Jubilee wouldn't take no for an answer. She grabbed her hand and as they ran across the hall, Giuly heard her name being called.
She stopped in front of the front door and out on the patio saw Professor Xavier talking to a man.

"And can she control her powers already?" The man asked with a small smile on his face.
"We're working on it."
"Great! I can't wait to meet her. I'd love to talk to her."
"Oh, there won't be any need to wait. Giuly, don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop?" Charles said, turning around. The girl didn't know he could do that, she made a mental note.

Giuly arrived in front of the stranger.
“This is Erik Lehnsherr, an old friend of mine.”
Erik held out his hand and she took it confidently. “Giulia Russo.”

“Nice to meet you, Giuly? Can I call you Giuly? Charles told me about you. I wanted to meet you.”
Giulily glanced at Charles, he didn't seem very comfortable.

“Charles, can you leave us alone for a moment? I'd like to talk to the girl.”
Charles, more than a little reluctant, went back into the school.

“Your power is truly extraordinary. Blood manipulation, I've never heard of it before.” Giuly still wasn't convinced by the man. She didn't answer, just stared at him.

“Charles told me about you. About your past.” At those words, Giuly froze. “You were brutal, you know?” The man continued, leaning down to be face to face with Giuly.
“But it was the right thing. Those men didn't deserve to live. They made you suffer. Do you remember what you felt that day? Were you happy?” He stopped and watched Giuly nod almost imperceptibly.

“These people, who mistreat us, marginalize us, see us as enemies, don't you wish they'd disappear? Don't you wish you could live in a world where you no longer have to hide?” Giuly didn't answer, she was beginning to understand the man's intentions. “Like Charles, I'm recruiting mutants, mutants who no longer want to live in the shadows, who won't bow to the decisions of a less evolved and therefore inferior race. Giuly, there's going to be a war soon, we have to be ready. You wouldn't want to be on the wrong team.” Erik held out a hand to Giuly and she looked at him intently. He was right, she had felt happy once she escaped that lab, but she wasn't proud of what she'd done that day.

“It’s true.” She said looking him in the eye. “Mutants are mistreated by humans, but if they’re afraid of us it’s only because of people like you. Peace between humans and mutants isn’t impossible. I believe in it. There are good people in this world, willing to fight with us. And I don’t have the right to decide who should or shouldn’t die.”
Erik simply smiled, withdrawing his hand. “Good then. I think we’ll see each other again soon.” With a nod, he walked away from the school and Giuly returned in.

Charles immediately approached her. “So, what did he say?”
“Something about joining his murder gang. Obviously, I didn’t accept. You are really good at choosing your friends, am i right Professor? He’s handsome, but he’s a complete lunatic.”
Charles didn’t reply. He simply sighed, closing his eyes. Then he turned to Jubilee. “You’re not skipping class to go shopping. You’ll go on Saturday.”
With that he creaked away in his wheelchair leaving Jubilee sulking.

Chapter Text

Giuly was with Ororo and they were heading toward the danger room, simply because Giuly was curious to see it.
Once they arrived, Ororo stopped the other girl. “There’s someone inside. Follow me.”

The two went up some stairs and found themselves in the control room. Below them, they could see the room. It looked like a battlefield. In the middle, Kurt was busy training.

“He's good! But how does it work?” Giuly asked, without taking her eyes off the boy.
“Holograms.” Ororo said and turned on a microphone as soon as Kurt finished. “Thanks for the show.”

Kurt looked in their direction and appeared next to them. “Hello meine Damen.”
Giuly was still speechless. “You were awesome. Your power is so cool!”
Kurt smiled awkwardly. “Do you have to train?”
“No, I was just giving Giuly a tour.” Ororo said. “But if she wants to try…”

They both looked at the girl. She wasn't yet skilled enough to use her powers, but they were only holograms, what could go wrong?
"Okay, let's try, but I don't want to go in alone."
Kurt offered to accompany her and together they entered while Ororo activated the easiest program.

The room transformed into a half-destroyed street and a man, to say the least, enormous, with pieces of metal on his body, appeared before the two. He looked like a cyborg.
"Show me what you can do." Kurt said.

Giuly began shooting at the enemy. The shots were effective, but not powerful enough.
The man threw a pole at Giuly, but she managed to protect herself. From the wound on her hand, she created a shield with her own blood.

"I did it!" She shouted enthusiastically to Kurt as she staggered a little.
"Are you okay?" The latter asked. The girl nodded and continued shooting at the enemy.

"You have to find his weak spot!" Kurt shouted as he dodged the cyborg's shots.

Giuly looked him over carefully. He had several metal parts attached to his body, over his eyes, on his forearm. She also noticed one on his neck with a wire coming out of it, connected to his head.
"I think I understand-"
Giuly was knocked to the ground by Kurt, who helped her avoid a blow to the head.

The girl was lying on top of him.
He looked at her with a smile. "So? Have you understood how to do it?"

"I think so." She said as she stood up. "He has a device attached to his neck. If we hit that, maybe-"
"Okay, keep your hand out and ready to shoot." Kurt said as he grabbed her hip.

Without even realizing it, Giuly found herself in the air behind her enemy.
"Now!" Kurt shouted. Giuly shot at the piece of metal, short-circuiting it. In an instant, the two teleported to the ground and saw the cyborg fall at their feet.

Giuly was breathless. She still couldn't believe she'd been teleported.
The hologram faded and Ororo's voice came through. "Great! What a team!"
Kurt smiled and high-fived Giuly. "Not bad for a beginner."
"Not bad for an elf." She countered.

The three were leaving the room. Kurt bent down to grab something. "Giuly! Is this yours?" In his hand was a gray flash drive, it had fallen out of the girl's pocket during practice.
"Yes, thank you very much Kurt." She said, relieved, grabbing it and putting it back in her pocket.

One evening, after a long, tiring day training and studying genetics with Charles, Giuly was in her bed, candy wrappers scattered around her, a Monster in one hand and a cell phone Charles had gotten her in the other.

The girl was watching videos of funny Beatles moments to try to stay awake.
By now, she had become used to sleeping little or not at all. In fact, she did it on purpose. She didn't want to fall asleep. She already knew that if she closed her eyes, the images of those nights would come back to her. She didn't even want to think about it.

Her eyes felt heavy as she tried to focus her thoughts on Paul McCartney's face to avoid falling asleep, but fate found her a new way to spend the night.

She heard a light knock on the door. She slowly got up and opened it. Remy stood before her, his smile almost malicious. "I knew you'd be awake. Join us."
Rogue and Ororo appeared behind him and with a sudden rush, they grabbed the girl's arms and carried her out of the room.

Giuly didn't resist and found herself in the X-Mansion kitchen. Kurt and Peter were sitting at the table, the latter holding a bottle. "Hey Giuly!" he shouted, then stopped and repeated, this time in a whisper, "Hey Giuly."

"What are you guys doing? Alcoholics Anonymous club?" She replied, noticing the bottle in Peter's hand and Scott in the corner of the room, clearly tipsy, yapping something to Jean.

"Come on, don't be boring." Remy said, taking the bottle of beer from Peter. "Want some?"
"Where did you get it?"
"From Logan's locker." Jubilee spoke.
"But it's locked. How..."
Kurt raised his hand. "Teleportation. He keeps the key in his room."
"I didn't expect that from you." she commented, laughing. "Captain America wouldn't be proud of any of you guys." Still, she sat down next to Peter.

The bottle passed from hand to hand until it reached Giuly's. She hesitated and the others noticed.
"Have you never drunk?" The boy next to her asked. She shook her head and Ororo grabbed her arm. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

Giuly, however, decided she wanted to try. Maybe because she felt intimidated, or simply because there was nothing better to do. Anyway she took a sip and then grimaced in disgust immediately afterward.
The others laughed and she passed the bottle to Remy. "Yuck! How do you even drink that stuff?" She wiped her lips as she watched the boy take a long sip.

"Guyyyys." Rogue complained. "I'm bored, let's play a game."

A few people cheered and were quickly silenced by Jean, the only person besides Giuly who seemed sober, as she stroked Scott's hair with one hand, his head slumped on the table. "Don't make any noise or you'll wake up the whole school."

"Shall we play beer pong?" Jubilee asked.
Kurt and Rogue went to get the supplies and returned in no time with paper cups and a ping pong ball.

"Come on, let's play boys against girls. Whoever loses, penance." Rogue said.
"It's unfair, you're one more, Scott is out." Peter complained.
"What? Are you afraid of losing?"
Of course they were, but they absolutely couldn't act cowardly in front of the girls, God forbid.

"Okay, but what's the penance?"
Everyone thought about it and suddenly Jubilee raised a hand. "Whoever loses has to remove the wheels from Professor Xavier's chair and... exchange them with something."
"With two float rings," said Ororo.

"And where do we find two float rings?" Kurt asked.
Jean, from the corner of the room, mentioned that there were some summer things in the warehouse and that she remembered seeing some.

Peter complained about the penance. "This is crazy, guys."
"Oh well, if you're scared..." Rogue didn't even have time to finish her sentence before the boys were ready to play.

The seven of them began. Giuly realized she was better than she thought.

They tried to control their laughter to avoid making too much noise, but it was really difficult. Every now and then one of the boys would use their powers to score or distract their opponent. It was truly impossible not to laugh when, on the boys' last throw, Ororo used her powers to move the ball Remy had just thrown. "Hey! That's not fair!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, but it looks like you've lost." She laughed.

Rogue and Jubilee looked at each other and began repeating, "Penance, penance."
The three exchanged reluctant glances. Remy sighed and looked at Jean. "Where are the keys to the warehouse?"

Kurt was leaning over the wheels of Charles's wheelchair. "Can you explain to me why I have to do this? You guys were worse at beer pong than me."
"You're the one who can escape the fastest if he wakes up." Remy repeated as he finished another can of beer.

Everyone else, including the girls, was standing at the door watching their friend.
"Hurry up." Peter said.

Kurt finished his task, but one of the wheels slipped from his hand and ran across the room toward the nightstand. Kurt ran after it, but wasn't fast enough. The wheel hit the nightstand, knocking over a photo. Charles moved, the others had already run down the stairs, but Giuly remained at the door, worried about Kurt. When he saw her, he grabbed her arm and teleported away.

Charles woke up in the dark room, but hearing nothing, he went back to sleep. He only noticed the next morning the photo of him, Raven, and Erik on the ground, the wheel next to it, and finally the state of his wheelchair.

Meanwhile, Giuly found herself on the roof of the X-mansion, still panting and her arms wrapped around Kurt's.

He looked at her and suddenly pulled away. "Sorry, I was scared." He said, laughing.
She laughed back. "At least he didn't got us."

Giuly approached the parapet and looked up at the sky. Winter was upon, the biting air made her shiver, but the sky was clear and the stars could be clearly seen. The two remained silent for a while.
"I wonder how they're doing at the orphanage." She wondered.

Kurt approached and folded his arms on the parapet beside Giuly. "Do you miss home?"
She nodded, lowering her gaze. "And you?"

He met her eyes and smiled. "No. This is my home. And you all are my family."

Giuly smiled back. "You've found your place." she said, then returned her gaze to the sky. But he didn't move.
"I hope," She continued, "That I too can find my place."

She felt a lock of hair covering the side of his face tuck behind her ear. She turned, meeting Kurt's gaze. "You've already found it." He smiled.
Giuly felt her face burn and with a shy smile she lowered her gaze.

She still wasn't convinced, Erik's words couldn't leave her mind. For that evening, however, she chose not to listen to them.
She raised her eyes to the sky again and the two remained silent, close together, gazing at the stars.

The next morning, Charles was inexplicably late.
Hank entered the classroom door, his eyes serious behind his glasses. As soon as he entered, he stopped to look at the blackboard and sighed, trying to suppress a smile. "Guys. There was some immature behavior the other night, and I'd like to know the names of those responsible."

The class remained silent. "I'll ask more clearly. Who stole Professor Logan's alcohol, replaced the wheels on Professor Xavier's chair with float rings and wrote..." He paused, trying to suppress a laugh, failing miserably. "Who wrote "Wolverine is furry" on the blackboard?"

At that moment, Charles entered the class. "Easy, Hank. It's just kids' pranks." He said, looking at the faces of all the real culprits. "Some of them are already paying their punishment." He approached the desks. "Mr. LeBeau, Mr. Summers, how are you felling today?"

The two, sunglasses on, looked up from their desks. Both hungover, struggling to keep down all the alcohol they'd consumed the night before. "Great." Remy replied with a fake smile before Scott got up and, with one hand pressed against his mouth, ran out of the classroom, probably to the bathroom

Giuly had finally perfected her main move and was now in the training room with the usual mannequin, practicing other attacks.

The exercise of the day was hitting and blocking. Hank stood next to the dummy, throwing tennis balls at Giuly, who had to block with her shield and then immediately hit the mannequin, faster and faster.
This training was tiring her like never before.

"And two hundred. Let's take another break." Charles announced, handing Giuly something to eat.

"I can't take this exercise anymore. Can I do something else?"
"You need to practice your speed, you didn't block all those balls."
"But I did with all the last ones! Come on, I want to try again with the blade.”

"Giuly." Charles stood in front of her. "I've already told you that it takes the right situation, it's a very complicated move."
"Listen, James McAvoy, I told you I can do it! I'm sure of it."
Charles still couldn't persuade her and took Hank out of the room with him.

Giuly took a deep breath, remembering Charles's words. A happy memory, mind caught in the point between anger and serenity.

But she still wasn't successful. She stopped before passing out again, a dark puddle soaking her shoes. She couldn't do it, she was making a fool of herself. Would she ever succeed again? She couldn't take this stupid training anymore, always the same thing, over and over again for days and days. She couldn't help but get angry, with herself and with this whole thing. Why couldn't she be a normal girl? Why wasn't she like everyone else?

Her chest began to pound, she again felt that horrible tightness in her stomach. She put her hands on her head, she had to calm down, but couldn't.

Outside the room, Charles watched her carefully.
Hank tried to enter, but the other stopped him. "It's dangerous, let's wait for her to calm down."

Giulia screamed and suddenly everything went red. It was as if she had exploded. Charles rushed into the room, seeing Giuly kneeling on the floor, covered in her own blood. All the wounds on her body were open, the walls were completely stained red and some parts were even corroded.
Giuly left the room before the two could stop her.

She went outside and into the garden. She absolutely had to calm down, but the tears on her face weren't helping her catch her breath.

There, she saw her classmates in the distance.
Ororo and Remy were showing off their powers. The first was creating a small tornado, while the other was aiming at leaves and sticks and making them explode with his cards.

They were heroes, capable of controlling their powers without fear. Giuly had nothing to do with them, after all this time she hadn't managed to improve. What did they have that she didn't? Why had she been born this way? Why had she had to suffer instead of having a normal adolescence?

In the distance, she heard the sound of an explosion, louder than the others and then felt her arm burn. One of the sticks Remy was exploding landed on Giuly's forearm, directly in one of the already open wounds.
She screamed, both from pain and exhaustion.

Everyone froze and Ororo ran over to apologize, but she stopped, frightened, seeing the amount of blood covering her friend.
Giuly looked into her frightened eyes.

Other boys approached to see what was happening and they all stopped to look at her. Ororo tried to say something, but when she tried to get closer, Giuly stopped her. "Leave me alone!" The girl closed her eyes and waved her hand, trying to push Ororo away. She heard a scream, it wasn't her friend's voice.

She opened her eyes again and, in front of her, Kurt was clutching his hand to his chest, he was bleeding.

Giuly panicked, her heart pounding. She didn't understand what was happening. Then she looked down. A blade was sticking out of her forearm, red and sharp. It had never happened before.
She didn't know what to do, everyone was looking at her. She didn't want to be looked at.

She ran away, left the garden, and locked herself in her room.
She had hurt Kurt. She didn't want to, she shouldn't have run away, but she couldn't bear it. Those looks. Looks of fear. Just like the ones of that day.

Chapter Text

The room was dark, her blurry vision didn't help at all. She looked around in fear, her heart pounding as if she'd just finished running a marathon.
Her clothes were torn, her skin covered in blood.

She saw a hand on the ground, her eyes traveled down the arm and landed on the face of the unconscious person before her. She recognized that red hair immediately.
She turned around, frightened. Another clue to a person, but this time she didn't have to struggle to figure out who it was, that thin blue tail was indistinguishable.

She staggered, walking backwards to try to get away from that scene. Around her, the entire team, all her friends, lay motionless and covered in blood.

She heard a voice in her head, a faint whisper. “Look what you've done. You don't deserve to be here. You're a monster.” The professor's voice. “You bring only destruction, no one will ever accept you.” Giuly put her hands over her ears as if it would do any good. She wanted to scream, but all she could manage was cry.

A hand touched her shoulder. She turned and saw a man in his fifties, tall and slender, with a hint of a beard and graying hair. “Mr. Stewart.”

The man towered over her and spoke to her in a calm, gentle tone, accompanied by a compassionate smile. “Oh my little Giuly. It took you a while, but you figured it out. You weren't cut out to be an X-Men. You can't control yourself and you never will be. You're a danger to all of them, but with me, you'll be safe. I'm not afraid of you. I'm the only one who accepts you just the way you are. Come home, Giuly. No one else will ever love you.”

A noise woke Giuly. She sat up and instinctively patted her pocket, calming herself when she felt the usual flash drive in it.
Someone knocked, she didn't answer, but the door opened anyway.

"Hi kid." It was Logan.

Giuly put a pillow over her face to hide her tears. She didn't turn around even after feeling the weight on her mattress.
"How are you feeling?" He tried to ask, sitting next to her.
"Like shit." She replied in a muffled voice from the pillow. "I hurt Kurt and I can't control my powers."

Logan sighed and removed the pillow from Giuly's face, meeting her teary eyes.
“Everyone has a bad day sometimes.”

“You don’t understand! The only thing i can do is hurt the people I care about. I’m a danger.”
“You’re not.” Logan had to squeeze her shoulders with both hands to keep her still. “You can’t control your powers, so this is the right place to be. We’re all here to help you, Giuly. We’re family.”
“Families don’t hurt eachothers.”
“Yes, they do, all the time! And do you know what else they do? They apologize. And they forgive each other.”

Giuly stopped arguing. He was right.
“So now go down and apologize to Ororo and Kurt. Okay?” Logan held out a hand to Giuly, which she grasped weakly.
“Good girl, but first let me heal those wounds, not everyone has a healing factor such as myself.”

With heavy steps and her body covered in bandages with a large one around her forearm, Giuly made her way toward the living room where some kids were watching Bobby and Peter play PlayStation.

Logan's words echoed in her mind, but suddenly Stewart's crept in too. "You're a danger to all of them." She couldn't deny it to herself. But if that wasn't her place, then what was? She couldn't go back to the orphanage, not to Stewart. She had to stop him, she wanted him dead.
"These people, who mistreat us, don't you wish they'd disappear?" Erik was right. She couldn't deny the satisfaction she felt in killing those men, as well as the frustration of not being able to do the same to Stewart.

She couldn't bear the fact that other mutants at the orphanage, her friends, were now suffering the same things they'd done to her. Erik was right. She didn't want to live in a world like that anymore, and as more time passed, the more she felt like she didn't belong among the X-Men, she felt it was not her place.
She wasn't up to them, but what worried her most was the fear of hurting her friends again. The images of the dream she'd had earlier flooded into her mind. She couldn't bear it.

She shook her head in a vain attempt to free herself from those thoughts and found herself in front of the guys, a small group intent on playing the Playstation, others watching them.

“Ororo.” The girl sitting on one of the armchairs turned to her. Her eyes immediately softened. “How are you?” Ororo said in a worried tone.
“Good… Sorry about before, I didn't mean to hurt you. Or yell at you.”

“Oh, don't worry. I'm sorry for cutting you. Are you sure you're okay?”
“Yes, yes, Logan helped me.”
“Good, still friends, right?” She said, opening her arms. Giuly dove into them. “Forever.” Then she looked around. “Do you know where Kurt is?”
“In his room.” Ororo replied.

Giuly climbed the stairs and stopped in front of his door. She took a breath and knocked twice.

“It's open.” The girl entered and saw Kurt sitting on the bed with his hand bandaged. He looked at Giuly's arm. “How are you?” They said in unison.

“I'm fine.” Giuly spoke as she sat down next to him. “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sorry.” Tears began to well up in her eyes, and Kurt stroked her head in an attempt to calm her. “It's nothing, don't worry.”

Giuly huffed and ran her hands through her hair. “No, I can't. I'm a mess. I'm only capable of causing trouble. I can't control my powers. I'll hurt you again and-”
“What are you talking about?” Kurt interrupted her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “It was just an incident. Do you think you’re different from the rest of us? No one could control their powers at first.”

Giulia had heard this phrase many times, not that she didn’t believe it, but she still had the conviction that she was a danger to the rest of the kids.
Kurt saw no difference in her gaze and tried to convince her.

“You know...” He paused briefly, as if he were considering whether to really say that to her. “It’s embarrassing, but… One time I was sleeping in my room and I dreamed I was in the living room of the X-mansion. When I opened my eyes, I had teleported there without meaning to! I was in my underwear! Luckily, Logan was there too, watching TV, and he immediately grabbed me and took me back to my room.” He said with an embarrassed smile.

Giuly smiled back. He hadn't made her worry go away, but she still found the boy's confession admirable.

"Logan watching TV?" Giuly asked. "He never does."
"He always stands behind us and says he's not interested, but he's lying." The two laughed. For a moment, the tension in the room seemed to disappear.

Kurt noticed Giuly's gaze change and he searched her eyes, which were trying to avoid him. "What happened to me was embarrassing, but much more serious things have happened."
Giuly finally looked him in the eyes.

“A while ago, Rogue wanted to wake Logan, who was having a nightmare. He accidentally pulled out his claws and hit Rogue. And she took Logan's powers to heal herself. She could have killed him.”

“Oh God, are you serious?” Giuly said incredulously. Kurt nodded. “All this to tell you…” He said, turning to her and taking her hands. “Your place is here. It doesn't matter how many times we have to tell you. Or… how many times I cut off my arms again.” He laughed, placing a hand on her cheek, wiping away a light tear.

She whispered another apology. “Giuly. We will never leave you behind.” She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. Kurt stroked her hair. “Everything will be okay, I promise.”

A few days had passed, Giuly trained for hours with Charles and Hank and finally the big day arrived.
“Guys, guys.” Giuly ran into the living room of the X-mansion where her friends were watching TV. “How do I look?”
Giuly finally had her superhero suit and everyone was thrilled.

“Did Hank make it? How does it work?” asked Jean.

“Oh well… There are like needles in here.” She said, pointing to some metal pieces on her arms and palms. “They prick my skin, blood comes out and… I can do this.” With a sharp movement, two blades emerged from her forearms. Everyone started clapping. “And…” Giuly looked at the glass on the table, pointed at it, and in an instant it shattered thanks to a blood bullet.

“That’s so cool!” commented Rogue. Ororo nodded. “It looks great on you.”

“Now that you have a suit you also need to find a real superhero name!” Peter exclaimed.

Everyone gathered in a circle and started calling out every name they could think of. The loudest, however, were definitely Kurt and Peter.

“Bloody Mary." Suggested the latter.
Giuly shook her head. “I’m neither a Queen of England, nor a ghost, nor a cocktail.”

“Bloody Guardian.” This time it was Kurt who spoke.
“Too dark.” The girl immediately commented.

Scott meddled in the conversation. “Guardian shoots blood”
“Too dumb.” She replied.

Crimson Guardian!” Peter exclaimed.
“I think we should stop with the guardians, guys.” Jean, who was enjoying the show from his armchair, stopped them.

“Bloodseal.” Kurt suggested.
Remy looked at him strangely. “Seal? Like the animal?”
“No, idiot, like a signet." Kurt said, giving him a push.
“Nah.” Giuly spoke up. “Too confusing.”

“Red veil.” Peter said as if it were the coolest name ever.
“But she doesn’t have a veil.” Rogue commented.
“She could always wear one.”

“Bloodstrike?” Kurt said uncertainly.
Giuly pointed to the boy and nodded. “Oh, I feel like we’re getting somewhere.”

“Blood cherry!” Scott exclaimed.
“I was kidding, we're getting nowhere." Giuly gave up, but the others were having fun.

"Cherry bomb."
"Peter, that's a character from Hazbin Hotel." Jubilee pointed out.

"Oh!" Kurt shouted suddenly, actually standing up. "I have it, I have it." Everyone looked at him impatiently as he paused for effect and then said in slow motion: "Red Cell."
The room fell silent.

Giuly stood up as well. “You know what? It’s not that important to have a name right away.” She said, patting Kurt on the shoulder. “I’ll think about it.”

“Kids!” Logan’s voice echoed through the room like a chant. “Don’t you have class?” He said, pausing in the kitchen doorframe with his arms folded.
“Yes, Dad.” Remy teased.
“Hey, I’ll tell Charles you were the one who oiled the wheels on his wheelchair.”
With that, Remy quickly apologized and everyone went to class.

Kurt was calmly taking notes when Remy's voice forced him to turn around. "Hey Kurt." He whispered. "You're really into her, aren't you?"
The boy looked at him, confused.

"Come on, you've been staring at her for twenty minutes." He said, pointing to the girl in the row opposite to them.
"Who? Giuly? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I know love when I see it. I'm the king of love."
"Says the guy who's been chasing Rogue for years."
"Hey, every heart has its time. And I'm making progress."
"Sure, right." He said with a wry smile, going back to writing.

What I'm saying is, if you keep looking at her like that, she'll soon report you for stalking. You need to throw yourself out there, mon ami.”
Kurt pretended not to hear him, hoping he'd stop talking, but that didn't happen. “Declare your love to her. You know what you have to do? Invite her to dinner. Oh, and give her flowers, women love flowers. Oh, and chocolate, unless she's allergic, you have to ask her, but don't seem weird. You know, it can be weird if out of nowhere you ask a girl if she likes chocolate.”

Kurt sighed loudly and looked his friend in the eye. “Remy, please stop this nonsense. This isn't a fanfiction.”

“Remy, Kurt. Do you want to share your discussion with the class?” Hank's voice echoed loud and booming throughout the classroom.
“Chocolate." Remy replied mockingly, while Kurt simply lowered his head in embarrassment.
“Well, you guys will have plenty of time to discuss this in detention while you rewrite the chapter I'm explaining by hand.”

That evening, Giuly was sat at the large table in the X-mansion's foyer with a book heavier than her open in front of her. Her eyes ran over the words, but took in none, her thoughts were elsewhere.

The sound of footsteps made her look up and they met Kurt's, who, with Remy behind him, trying to feign disinterest, was approaching.
Giuly, happy to have found an excuse to close the book, started to wave, but was interrupted by Jubilee and Rogue, who, out of nowhere, grabbed her by both arms and carried her outside, muttering some excuse to the blue boy.

Giuly tried to resist, but against Rogue it was all useless. She let herself be dragged to the bottom of the school's entrance stairs.

"Girl, we have a news." said Rogue.
"Two pieces of news, actually! You'll like them!"

Giuly continued to look at them confused and didn't even get to ask what it was because they immediately started talking again.
"So, first things first." said Rogue. "Christmas is coming soon."

"It's November 18th." Giuly pointed out.
"Exactly. Christmas is coming soon. Anyway, rumor has it that Charles is throwing a party!"

"Yes, not a real party, more of a formal evening with a buffet to celebrate Christmas Eve." Jubilee added. "The dress code is evening wear for everyone."
Giuly's eyes widened, she didn't have an evening dress. She was already thinking about trying to ask Jean if he had a spare, but Jubilee continued. "And that's why Charles finally gave us permission to go shopping!”

Giuly's eyes lit up, she loved shopping.
"We'll go in the next few days, oh, and we also have to buy presents for everyone."
"Don't worry." said Rogue. "We'll help you choose presents for everyone else."

"Thanks girls, I can't wait!" said Giuly, hugging them.

"Oh wait!" Jubilee pulled away. "We haven't told you the second piece of news."
Giuly looked at her friend with anticipation, whose expression changed into a small smile.

“Someone told us Kurt wants to ask you to the party." She said, her eyebrows moving up and down at an inhuman speed.

Giuly was incredulous. She remained silent for a while, looking at her friend, until Rogue woke her up from her trance. “We're sorry to ruin the surprise, but we wanted to know if we should help you make up an excuse to stand him up or not.” She said laughing and couldn’t stop herself when she saw Giuly’s red face. “Well, I guess we don’t need an excuse.” Rogue confirmed.
“Then we have to get the most beautiful dress ever.” Jubilee said excitedly. “You’ll be the most beautiful at the party.”

Chapter Text

Charles was in his office. He was correcting some research on cellular biology in the genetics field. He knew it was a rather difficult subject, but he hadn't imagined he'd have to use the red pen so often. A faint knock on the door interrupted him from giving yet another bad grade to the unfortunate student.

"Come in, Giuly."

The girl walked through the door, her gaze lowered. It didn't take a telepath to realize something was wrong. Charles put down the papers and approached the girl.

Giuly looked at him worriedly. "I had another nightmare." She said weakly, trying not to let her voice tremble, but failing.
"Was it like the others?" The man asked at wich she nodded. "I'm afraid I'll end up hurting you all."

Charles' gaze fell on Giuly's hands, which were busy picking at their cuticles. "I've already hurt my friends. I don't want it to happen again. But I can't- My powers, I try to control them, but I don't-" Tears filled Giuly's eyes, blurring her vision. She didn't notice the blood seeping from her fingers, which began to pool, ready to hurl itself like shards of glass at Charles, who quickly took her hands in his.

"Giuly." He spoke calmly, caressing the backs of her hands. "Take a deep breath."
Giuly closed her eyes and did as she was told, her body trembling imperceptibly.

"I know it's difficult. You're new and still inexperienced, you don't feel like you're in the right place." He said as he reached for a desk drawer. "But I can assure you that there's no better place for you than this. You've made great progress, really great. I wouldn't have given you that suit if it hadn't been for that." From the drawer he pulled out some bandages and began placing them on the girl's fingers. "I understand your fear. I've only seen the surface of what you've been through, but I comprehend your pain."

Giuliy looked him straight in the eyes. She couldn't find the words, she didn't want to say it out loud, but she knew he already understood it.
"If this is what you want, I won't stop you. But think carefully first. I don't want you to make hasty decisions." He released her hands. "When you're ready, I'll call Erik."

Giuliy nodded and turned to leave the room.
"Remember Giuly." Charles's voice made her turn. He looked into her still-tealing eyes. "Revenge is never the solution."

Finally, the students' favorite time of the year arrived: Christmas break.

Everyone at the X-Mansion was excited. During the last few classes, the festive atmosphere was already in the air. Hank even decided to skip one to do what he called "cooking workshop" with the class, where everyone baked cookies. Needless to say, by the end of the class, the kitchen was a mess, and there were more chocolate-stained faces than cookies. While the kids were kneading dough, Giuly couldn't help but glance at Kurt and then lower her gaze as soon as he looked back.

The day of the party arrived and while the boys gathered in the living room to play Mario Kart, all the girls of the X-mansion were gathered in large groups in their rooms getting ready. Giuly was in Jean's room and they all took turns putting on their dresses and doing a mini fashion show to show off them to the others.

The room's owner was first, wearing a long green silk dress with a gold necklace that looked decidedly heavy.
"Wow, so hot!" Jubilee exclaimed.
"Can Scott fight?" Asked Rogue, making the others laugh.
Ororo agreed. "He's a really lucky guy.”

Jubilee wore a short blue dress with lace sleeves, but they were covered by her usual yellow jacket.
"Honey, please, do you also have to wear that today?" Ororo commented. Jubilee looked at herself in the mirror. "Of course I do, it's my mark." She said with a superhero pose, making the others laugh.

Rogue wore a purple dress that faded to black at the bottom, paired with elbow-length gloves.
"It looks amazing on you." Giuly said.
"You know who else has a purple outfit? Remy." Jean said with a smirk.
"Oh really? I didn't know." Rogue replied.
"Stop with the lie! You got it purple on purpose." Jean continued, throwing her a pillow.
"I swear I didn't know, and don't throw pillows at me." She said, throwing it back.

Ororo came out of the bathroom in her dress.
"Oh, it's... unique." Jubilee said, looking at the black leather pantsuit her friend was wearing. She'd completed the look with several band bracelets and a gold choker.
"It really suits you." Jean smiled at her before turning to Giuly. "It's your turn."

Giuly suddenly felt nervous. She looked at the red dress in her hands for a moment, then entered the bathroom. She came out and saw her friends' eyes widen, as they had with all the others. "You're beautiful." Jubilee said.
Giuly stood with her arms folded across her chest. Suddenly, she felt uncertain about her choice of the dress. She turned to look at herself in the mirror. Her gaze fell on her bare shoulders and arms.
"Is something wrong?" Jean slowly approached.
"I'm not sure I want to wear it."

Rogue slammed her hands on Jean's bed where she was sitting. "What? You liked it so much when we were at the store."
"I know, I like it, it's just..." she slowly ran her hands over the red fabric of the dress, its dark color matching some of her still-unhealed wounds.
The scars contrasting with her pale skin. The ones she'd gotten used to. The ones that night she hated the sight of.

"Giuly." Ororo appeared behind her. "Is it because of your scars?"
"Of course not." Jubilee said confidently. "They've never been a problem for you, have they? And they weren't even when we chose the dress."

Giuly lowered her gaze. It was as if she'd only just become aware of how her body looked. "No, you're right, it's just that…”
"Oh, I know, now I get it." Rogue got up from the bed and approached Giuly, squeezing her shoulders. "You're nervous about Kurt." At his words, Giuly's eyes widened and she turned to her. The others laughed as they noticed Giuly's face flushing pink.

"Don't worry, it's normal." Jean said. "You won't have any problems with him. Scott tells me he talks about you all the time." At these words, Giuly felt her face burn and covered her face with her hands, embarrassed.

"And Kurt is definitely the last person you should feel embarrassed about how you look." Jubilee said and all the others fell silent and stared at her. "I mean... He's blue."
Ororo laughed. "Well, she's not wrong. Don't worry, Giuly, everything will be fine.”

In the lobby, Charles and Hank stood in front of the line of boys, all ready in their suits.
"We look like toy soldiers." Peter complained, displeased with Charles's requirement to wear tuxedos.

"As soon as the girls arrive, you'll go in pairs to the buffet room. Remember, it's a formal evening, no silly conversations, no antics, and especially no hot sauce on the sandwiches."
"It only happened once." Peter complained.

At the top of the stairs, Logan's voice boomed through the room. "The ladies are ready." With that, he stepped aside to let all the girls down in a line. The boys were excited, some with wide eyes and mouths, others with shy smiles on their faces.

Jean walked quickly and confidently toward Scott, who suddenly felt small in his dark blue suit and just couldn't close his mouth.

Following her, Rogue walked unsteadily toward Remy, who didn't take his eyes off her and waited with an outstretched hand. She grabbed it, and with a smile, they headed into the room.

It was Giuly's turn. She hesitated to move toward Kurt, who was standing before her in a black dress and a frilly shirt. She noticed a flower in his pocket that matched her dress.
"Go ahead." Ororo and Jubilee pushed her and in no time she found herself arm in arm with Kurt.
"You look great." He smiled at her. "You too." She smiled back.

As soon as the two entered the room, they noticed that the tables all had two or four seats at most. Before they could even choose a seat, Jean called them over and they saw Remy push the tables together so everyone was close.

At the sight, Charles let out a deep sigh, he figured someone would do that. Logan looked down at him with a smirk. "Come on, let them do it.”

The group of ten, which Piotr had joined, was followed by many others who began to push their tables together.

The first part of the evening was quiet. Perhaps too quiet. Hank went from table to table, shushing anyone who was making too much noise and eventually they all started whispering.
The only thing that made the evening enjoyable, besides the chicken and potatoes, were the jokes Remy and Giuly started making about their classmates' clothes.

"He looks like a magician." Giuly commented to one of them.
"Have you seen Bobby?" Remy said. "He looks like he stepped out of the 19th century with all those frills."
The whole table turned to look at him and burst out laughing, earning a dirty look from Hank.

"I didn't expect the evening to be so boring." Scott spoke.
"This classical music is getting on my nerves." Ororo added.

"Come on, guys." Pater stood up as if about to make a speech. "Let's remember that there's always the buffet to fill our empty spirits and stomachs- Hey, I wanted those!" He complained, looking at the set table in front of which John Allerdyce was standing, filling his plate with the last of the canapés.
Peter didn't think twice, in an instant, the plate in John's hands was empty, and Peter sat down in his place with all the canapés left on his plate.

"Peter!" Charles called back, but Logan still held him back from going to the group.
Peter and Scott burst out laughing.

"Finally some fun." The latter said. "Can you do something about the music, too?"
Peter looked at the small radio that had been playing nothing but classical music for hours.
Jean stretched her fingers. "I'll take care of that."
Unnoticed by the teachers' table, Jean changed the channel on the radio. Suddenly, the violins were replaced by an electric guitar and "Don't Stop Me Now" resounded throughout the room.

Charles slammed his cutlery on the table in annoyance, but before he could go and change stations again, Logan grabbed his wheelchair, preventing him from moving.
"Come on, Wheels, let them have fun."
Charles looked around the room.

The first to move were Remy and Rogue, followed closely by Jubilee, Ororo, and Peter.
In an instant, all the kids were on their feet dancing.

Kurt turned to Giuly. "Will you offer me this dance?" He said, laughing. She reciprocated, taking his hand and dragging him along.

Everyone was dancing in their own way, no one was coordinated except for the smiles on their faces.
The more students stood up, the tighter the space became.

When the strains of "Can't Buy Me Love" came from the radio, Giuly's face lit up. She caught Peter's eye and together they moved dancing toward the next room, followed by all the kids.
The party continued in the large foyer, playing songs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Hank tried in vain to calm everyone down, while Logan watched from a corner and laughed at his colleague's constant failures to make himself heard. Through it all, Charles gave up and remained next to Logan, who was shrugging his shoulders in rythm, watching the kids.

Giuly found Kurt's gaze again in the crowd as "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" began to play.
The two of them moved closer together, like magnets, until they met right in the middle of the room. Her hands moved to his shoulders as if they had been created for this precise moment. His hand, previously unsure, found its place her hip and they began to twirl among the students who were also intent on dancing.

The song ended and Giuly only then realized the closeness between her body and Kurt's. He didn't move away or take his eyes off hers, even when, leaning even closer if possible, he whispered, "Follow me."
Giuly grabbed his hand and Kurt led her into the next room. Jubilee noticed and followed them, but as soon as she entered, the two of them were gone.

As soon as the cloud of purple smoke cleared, Giuly realized where she was. On the roof the music was muffled but still audible and the stars shone brighter than ever on that cold night.
Kurt moved toward the railing and looked at Giuly, waiting for her to move.
She followed him, resting her elbows on the surface beside him.

"Are you having fun?" He asked, looking at her. She turned to him, her cheeks red from the cold, her hair slightly tousled and a big smile on her face. "I've never had so much fun."
The two remained silent, side by side, gazing at the sky. Kurt's tail wouldn't stop moving. Giuly sometimes felt it brush her hips faintly.

The latter shivered, and the boy didn't hesitate for a second to take off his jacket and offer it to her. She accepted it with a smile, her eyes wandering to him, to his frilly shirt, barely unbuttoned, his messy hair, and his embarrassed smile. Her heart wouldn't stop beating, she couldn't tell if it was because of the dance or Kurt.
Giuly put on the jacket and her gaze fell on the flower securely fastened to his pocket.

"How did you know the color of my dress?"
Kurt laughed. "Jubilee told Jean, who told Scott, who told me."
He said, making her laugh in return. He stared at her for a second too long.

"It really suits you.”
"You think?" She asked, looking at herself. "Maybe I should have gotten it with long sleeves." She joked.

"No, otherwise how would I have offered you my jacket?" He said, getting a little laugh from her, but not the way he'd expected. "Yeah, you're right."

Giuly couldn't help but look at her hands and run her fingertips over the crust in the center of her palm. The crust she couldn't get rid of. The one that allowed her to use her powers, but that burned every time it broke. Like the rest of her skin. She didn't want to suffer, she didn't want her powers. Did that make her selfish? You're a superhero, Giuly, you can't be selfish. But was she really? A hero? She felt like she was wearing someone else's clothes. Was that really her place? It had to be. She had nowhere else to go.

Kurt's hand rested on hers, interrupting her thoughts. She didn't want to look up, didn't want to meet his eyes.

"Giuly." His voice was faint, a whisper, as if raising it even a little would shatter the intimacy of the moment. "You don't have to hide them." She still couldn't lift her head, feeling her breath catch in her throat. "Giuly." His other hand reached her chin, not forcing her to move, but at the mere touch, Giuly turned toward him.

She didn't notice the tears in her eyes. He smiled at her. "You're beautiful. You would be beautiful even without these scars, but then you wouldn't be you anymore. They're part of you, they tell your story." A story she didn't want to be a part of.
"They show how strong you were." She didn't want to have to be strong.
"And they're what allows you to use your power." Did she really want that power?
"You don't have to hide them." He said, slowly moving his hand to her shoulder and pulling down the jacket, exposing her skin.

A breath caught in her throat as Kurt's skin touched hers. She suddenly felt a burning sensation.
"I know it hurts. But scars make us who we are today, they're part of us, they must be accepted. After all, we are heroes—"
"I don't know if I want to be..." she interrupted him. "If I can be one."

He remained silent. "I'm scared, Kurt. Scared of being in the wrong place, of hurting you again..." She tried to hold back the tears filling her eyes. "I'm scared of losing the only family I've ever had." A tear slipped from her eye and she quickly wiped it away. She looked away, but Kurt's voice brought her attention back to him.

"Giuly. You know that whatever you do, we will always be by your side." He said, coming closer. "I will always be by your side."

The warmth of his breath collided with her face. "You're in the right place, I'll never tire of repeating it." He said with a smile. "And you're beautiful. I'll tell you and repeat it every day if necessary, forever."
Their eyes moved up and down, from eyes to lips, as if following an invisible thread that connected them.

The sound of the music had disappeared, the only rhythm remaining was that of their hearts beating in unison.
Time seemed to have stopped, she could hear a ringing in her ears, their breaths were now mixed. Their noses brushed, she felt Kurt's tail brush faintly against her side.

"There you are!" The door to the stairs opened. Scott emerged, his tie tied around his forehead and a glass in his hand. "Charles opened the champagne!" He called, inviting the two of them to come down.
Giuly and Kurt quickly moved away, hoping he hadn't seen too much.

Scott didn't seem to notice and left as he'd come. The two remained in an awkward silence until Kurt held out his hand to Giuly. She looked at it for a second, then took off the jacket with a smile, draped it over Kurt's arm, took his hand, and dragged him inside.

The X-mansion woke up early, and by early I mean noon. The students, still in their pajamas, gathered in the living room to exchange Christmas presents.
There was a lot of noise and chaos, but for the first time Hank didn't seem to care, still sleepy and with a cup of coffee in his hand.

Giuly was the first to scream as she opened the gift Peter had given her. "The Red Album!" She exclaimed, looking at the Beatles album in his hands. "You're crazy! How much did it cost you?"
"Basically everything the professor gave me." He replied.

"Oh, so is that why you gave me socks?" Said Scott.
"Are you by any chance insinuating that you don't like the beautiful sushi socks I gave you?" Peter said, offended. "Anyway, no, I stole those."

Giuly thanked him again and opened Kurt's gift. He stared at her anxiously, and as soon as he unwrapped it, the girl's jaw dropped. "Oh my God, it's beautiful!" She said, turning in her hands the box containing a Captain America action figure. Kurt was pleased with her reaction and happily welcomed Giuly's hug.

"It's your turn!" She said, giving Kurt his gift. He opened it and was equally happy.
"I love it. I'll wear it right away." Giuly watched the boy put on the Spider-Man T-shirt she'd given him over his pajamas. She laughed at the moves he made to imitate the hero. "How do I look?" He asked.
"Really good."

Charles' voice interrupted the celebrations. "Guys, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Lunch's ready, you can open the other gifts later."
The school cheered and everyone gathered in the dining room. It was the best Christmas Giuly had ever experienced.

She hoped this feeling would last forever. But fate had other things in store for her.

Chapter Text

Giuly was in the living room with Rogue, both of them consulting various books, trying to complete the assignment given by Professor Xavier: a twenty-page paper on acquired and hereditary genetic mutations, both somatic and germline.

Neither to say, the two were in a serious bind. Sure, Charles had given the class a month to work on it, but for some unknown reason, they found themselves doing it at the last minute.

While Giuly was consulting the enormous Manual of Genetics: The Revolution of the Species, her attention was caught by a letter that landed under her nose. She looked up to meet Hank's. "Someone sent you this letter.”

Giuly took the envelope, puzzled. She glanced at Rogue, who moved closer to her, curious. "Who sent it to you?"
The girl read the return address. "Miss Regh." She said, even more confused.

As she opened it, the conversation they'd had earlier at the orphanage came back to her. Her heart pounding, she let her eyes wander over the paper and, having finished reading, she stood up abruptly.
"So? What does it say?" Giuly didn't know how to respond to her friend. "Follow me." She said before running towards Professor Xavier's office.

The two entered without even knocking. Charles was filling out some paperwork and even though he knew the two were about to enter the room, he still lectured them. “Girls, is it not cool to knock anymore?”
“Excuse us, Professor.” Giuly began, but was interrupted.
“I hope you’ve finished your research, you’re the only ones who haven’t turned it in yet.”

“Professor, I think some people are in danger.”
The man’s expression changed radically. He looked at the letter, then back at Giuly. “Is it about the children at the orphanage?”
She nodded. “There’s not much written on this letter, it almost seems like it's in code. Can you by any chance…” Charles stopped her, he knew what Giuly wanted him to do. “Come with me.”

Giuly and Rogue followed Charles, who led them to the basement where Cerebro was located.
The man put on his helmet and in no time managed to find not only Regh, but also four mutants in the Neil orphanage.

“I’m sorry to tell you, Giuly, that you’re right. I can sense the thoughts of five mutants, four of them are children, they’re scared.”
“And the fifth one?” asked Rogue.
Charles turned to the two of them. “The fifth is a man.” He looked Giuly in the eyes, feeling that she knew, but it was as if she didn’t want to accept it.
“Giuly, it’s Stewart.”

The rain pounded heavily on the roofs of the houses. The already damp ground became soaked, giving off a strong smell, the smell of rain, Giuly called it. She loved the rain and she loved being curled up in a soft blanket, watching the drops crash against the glass. The way her suit was enveloping her was nothing like a blanket, but she wasn't complaining.

She walked down the corridor in the basement of the X-Mansion to join the others.
When she saw them standing there, all wearing their suits, ready to fight to help her, she couldn't help but smile.

She walked toward them, but the closer she got, the heavier the air became.
She had a strange feeling, the furtive glances of the others certainly didn't ease the tension that had suddenly built up.

Charles approached her, slowly. He let Giuly feel each firm push toward her until she was right in front of him.
He looked at her for a long moment and then sighed. "Giuly, you're not coming with us.”

What does that mean? Giuly didn't understand. They didn't want her to participate in the mission?
She looked at the man in confusion, then at her companions, who silently avoided her gaze.

“What are you saying? I'm coming with you.”
“We think it's best if you stay here. You're too involved." Charles continued.

“Exactly! I'm involved, you can't leave me behind.”

“Giuly, Stewart is looking for you. He needs you to complete his plan. You can't risk that much, and it's your first mission-”
"We're talking about the place where I grew up and the headmaster of my orphanage who's hurting my friends." She felt her blood boil in her veins, which wasn't a good thing considering her powers. "I won't just stand here and watch."

She didn't take her eyes off Charles, she could feel him, in her head, he could see her fear, her anger and her determination.
The man frowned, worried for her. "Are you... Completely sure?"

Giuly nodded decisively and the man sighed heavily once again. "Okay, you come too, but you won't leave my side for even a second. Understood?"
"Understood." Giuly said seriously before following him toward the others.

Peter wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "For many of you, this is your first mission. Don't be afraid, luckily you're here with an expert. Follow what I do."
"Peter." Charles called back. “This is your second mission.”

The black bird stopped in a field not far from the Neil orphanage.

Charles had to stop Giuly, who was already leaping from the vehicle. "Guys, what we know is that our subject is a mutant, a very powerful telepath. According to Hank's research, he's able to create scenarios at will, altering perceived reality."

"In plain English?" said Kurt. "In plain English, he hypnotizes you and decides what you see or feel. And as if that weren't enough, he also has telekinetic abilities, but they're inferior to what he can do with your mind. He's an enormously dangerous subject, guys. Stay alert and united.”

The plan wasn't really a plan. While one group was responsible for getting all the children safely to the Blackbird and then to the X-Mansion, the other would sneak into the basement, into Stewart's lab. Once there, they would improvise. The main goal was to free the children.

Giuly was the first to get out and run toward the entrance of the mansion.

Miss Regh immediately opened the door, as if she'd been perched behind it, awaiting their arrival.
As the X-Men ushered the children out, Miss Regh turned to Giuly. "The flash drive, do you still have it with you?" The woman was relieved to see it in the girl's hand.

"Be careful. Stewart is looking for it. It's what he needs to complete his plan. If you lose it-"
"Take it." Giuly interrupted. "I have to get in there. I think it's best if you keep it safe." Giuly handed her the flash drive and Regh took it. "Take it to the X-Mansion. Without it, Stewart won't succeed."
Regh nodded decisively and gave the girl a hug before following the children out of the orphanage.

Scott led the group, followed closely by Jubilee and Kurt, and Charles and Giuly just behind.
They found themselves in front of a large metal door. Scott wasted no time in forcing a path through it. The five mutants entered the enormous room.

Against the opposite wall were large chairs to which the mutant children from the orphanage were tied. Scott was already rushing toward them, but Charles stopped him.
From the shadows emerged the tall, slender figure of Stewart, dressed to the nines, with polished shoes and graying hair slicked back. "You've finally arrived." He said, adjusting his tie. "We've been waiting for you.”

A noise behind them made them turn, the gap in the door Scott had created moments before had been closed.
Charles's voice trembled faintly in the air. "Erik."

He himself appeared in front of the group. The man stood expressionless, wearing a helmet.
He seemed to look at Charles longer than the others, but his expression remained the same.

"Magneto offered to help me, we knew you nosy X-Men would be here in a flash. Well, a little late, if I may say so. The children are already under my control."
The five of them looked at the four mutants lying helpless, tied to the chairs.

"Let them go!” Giuly shouted and the man laughed in response.
“Oh, my little Giuly. Dear, sweet Giuly." He said, slowly approaching her. “I missed you, I looked for you like crazy.” The girl’s fists were clenched, her teeth as well, desperately trying not to explode with rage. “Do you remember? The good old days. We were together all day, you and I. The little misunderstood girl who turned out to be such a help.” The man leaned down slightly to be face to face with her. “Without you, I never would have made it.”
Jubilee looked at her. “Giuly, what is he saying?”

“Thanks to you,” the man continued, turning to Giuly, “I finally managed to create the serum that would allow me to control all the mutants in the orphanage.” He paused, his face changing dramatically, the crazy smile he’d had on his face replaced by an angry expression. “But you had to ruin everything. You made, BOOM, the lab explode!” He shouted in the girl’s face.
He stood up and ran a hand through his greasy hair, as if regaining his composure. “And you ran off with the flash drive, you thought I had no way of doing anything else without it, ahaha.” He stopped and looked Giuly in the eye. “Well, you were right.”
The girl was confused. What did he mean by that?

Everything became clearer when Miss Regh appeared from the corner of the room, holding a USB flash drive.

Stewart took it. "In here there's the key to completing my serum, your genetic code." He said mockingly waving it in front of Giuly. "And you gave it to me personally."

Giuliy couldn't believe it, she trusted her, she would never hurt her. And she was right about that, because in an instant, Miss Regh's appearance changed, morphing into nothing less than Mystique.
Giulia's anger grew, she had deceived her and she had been stupid enough to fall for it.
From a shadowy corner of the room, Mystique brought to light the senseless, bound body of Miss Regh.

Giuly could not see clearly anymore. In one moment, she found herself rushing at Mystique, and the next, she was against a wall, slammed violently by Stewart's telekinesis.
Kurt lunged at the man, but was also held in place.

"Professor X, I thought you'd taught your students better." He said, looking at the man and letting the two fall to the floor.
"Now it's my turn." He waved his hand and Mystique inserted the key into the machine. The bound children received an electric shock. Their eyes went white. With a push of a button, the machine released them, and they stood up, like zombies.

"Get them." At Stewart's words, the four children rushed at the X-Men.

Giuly stood still for a moment. A little girl was in front of her. She pointed her hand at her and fired, but missed. She couldn't hit her, she didn't want to.
Charles distracted her. "I can't get inside their minds!" Giuly was hit in the face. "There's like a shield preventing me!"

Giuly turned just in time to see her three friends also being immobilized. Another blow to the face and she fell to the ground. She looked up to see Erik pass her and stop in front of Charles.
"My friend." The latter said, looking him in the eyes. "Don't do it." Erik hesitated, Charles noticed. "Those children are like us, and they're suffering." Still no response. "Please." He almost didn't finish his sentence before he was hit in the head with a board. Stewart threw the tool to the ground and looked at Magneto. "You're not here to waste time. Do your job."

He turned and noticed Giuly's eyes still open. He crouched beside her and smiled. "Now go to sleep." And with a kick straight to the face, the girl's vision went black.

Chapter Text

Giuly opened her eyes, unable to move, chained to the machine. She couldn't even speak, a blindfold covered her mouth.
Her chest rose and fell frantically, each breath painful due to the tight bonds binding her to the chair. She turned with difficulty. Jubilee's still senseless body lay beside her.

"Oh, you're awake, my little Giuly." Stewart's voice made her turn. The closer he got, the more she moved, but to no avail.

The man arrived in front of her. He bent down until he was face to face with Giuly. "Do you remember the days we spent together in here? I bet you do. If it weren't for you, we would never have gotten to this point. Yes, you're right, it took me a while, but now everything is ready!" He said excitedly.

Giuly looked to her side. Charles was awake, but his full concentration was focused on one specific spot in the room.
She followed his gaze to notice Magneto in the corner, staring at him with the same intensity. He didn't stop staring at him even at Stewart's words.

"I will create an army of mutants under my control and you, my dear X-Men, will be the first." He declared, then turned to the girl. "Giuly, you were my first lab experiment. I should give you a special treatment, don't you think?" He said with a crazed smile on his lips.

Giuly tried to scream in vain. Stewart abruptly moved Mystique away from the machine and turned it on, never taking his eyes off Giuly.

A long electric shock ran through her, she felt her body stiffen, burning, as if a fire had ignited directly under her skin. She felt weak, her head spinning. Her eyes wandered around the room, desperately trying to hold on to something to keep from fainting.

Charles still didn't even look at her. His student was suffering beside him, but he continued to stare at Erik undaunted, his gaze hard, angry, and somehow pleading.

Before Giuly's eyes rolled completely back, she met Erik's gaze for a brief moment. Something had changed imperceptibly in his face.
The man looked at Charles one last time, and suddenly the machine shut off, freeing them.

“What-” Stewart turned. Magneto, his gaze dark, lowered his hand and slowly approached the X-Men.
“No.” He said, stopping in front of Giuly’s body. She was awake, but unable to move, struggling to breathe.

Stewart, behind him, continued to look at him, dazed. “No? What are you saying?” He asked with an almost hysterical laugh.

Magneto didn’t turn around, cautiously reached out a hand toward Giuly, who flinched slightly. He remained still, as if waiting for confirmation.

Giuly turned, still trying to catch her breath. She met Charles’s gaze, who nodded.
She turned back to Erik, his eyes still locked on hers. “Let me help you.” She still didn’t move. “I won’t let him hurt you. Please.” At those words, Giuly nodded.

Erik, very carefully, took the girl, frail and tired, into his arms. He turned to Stewart, still confused. “I said no, I won’t let you do it. I will not allow others of my kind to suffer like this. Like I suffered.” Erik looked down at Giuly’s pale face, who was looking at him like a helpless puppy. He saw himself again, the experiments performed on his body, the pain caused by men like Stewart. “You’re no better than them.” He said to the man, continuing the conversation that had been going on in his head. “You used children as lab experiments, mutants… Like you and me.”

“Why?” Charles spoke this time, making Erik turn his head. “Why did you choose to help him?”
Magneto returned his gaze to the man. “He promised me an army. But he didn’t tell me how he was going to build it.”

Stewart took a step back, trying to hide his fear.
“We shouldn’t make other mutants our slaves.” Magneto continued. “Instead, we should unite against the common evil.”

Giuly felt the man’s grip tighten around her.
“And what would it be?” Stewart asked.

The chairs, the walls, everything in the room began to vibrate slightly.
“I thought it was humans.” Magneto spoke. “But the ones that have to be exterminated… Are all the ones like you.”

“Oh, noble of you to say that.” Stewart said with difficulty, trying to maintain his composure. “I thought you hated the X-Men.” Magneto didn’t respond to those words. His gaze had changed. Anger was the only thing filling him.

“Children!” Stewart shouted. “Get them!”
The four mutant children were tied together, unable to move. A deafening noise drew the attention of everyone in the room. Wolverine was standing in front of a gap in the wall he had opened with his claws, and at the children's side was Peter, holding them tightly with a rope.

They didn't even have time to realize what was happening before Logan lunged at Magneto, seeing him with Giuly in his arms.
The man easily stopped him with his powers, leaving him floating in the air. He returned his gaze to Stewart and pointed a long, sharp piece of metal at his face.
“Surrender.”

Stewart didn't know what to do. He raised his hands in the air and knelt on the ground. "Okay, okay."

Scott hurried to help Peter hold the children in check, while Jubilee went to untie Regh.
Kurt stepped up to Magneto's side and looked at Giuly. She nodded, as if to indicate that everything was okay.

She was still shaken and felt weak, but as she finally looked at Stewart kneeling before her, she felt relief, as if the boulder that had been crushing her for years had finally lifted.

Logan's voice broke the silence. "Can you let me go now?" He said exasperatedly before falling awkwardly to the ground.
"Fuck you." He whispered in a broken voice as he stood up.

"What are you going to do with him?" Charles asked, still sitting in that chair.
Erik knew what he wanted to do. He was the enemy. The one who had to be eliminated.
"Erik." Charles's voice again. He turned.

They looked into each other's eyes. There was no need for words, they both knew what the other was thinking.
Suddenly, Scott started screaming.

He covered his eyes with his hands as he leaned forward.
Peter tried to get closer to his friend, but he wouldn't let him.

Still screaming, he took off his glasses, two red beams hitting the walls of the room and reaching the machine, causing it to explode.
Giuly felt Erik's grip tighten and turned, shielding her and Kurt with his body.

Charles managed to calm Scott, who collapsed to the floor. "It was Stewart." The man said. "Where is he?" He looked around. "Where did Stewart go?!"
There was no trace of the man in the room. Stewart had disappeared.

Giuly broke away from Erik and walked toward Scott. She stroked his head, his forehead was sweaty and burning.
"We have to find him." Charles continued as he climbed into his wheelchair, helped by Logan.

Giuly raised her face to the man. “I know where he went.” She locked eyes with Erik. Still angry, full of memories, resentment, revenge.
Giuly jumped up and ran out of the room. Kurt was right behind her.

“You two.” Charles spoke hastily. “Take Scott and the kids to the X-mansion. Logan, go with them. Call the others. Erik, you come with me.”

Kurt struggled to keep up with Giuly's brisk pace as she dashed through the institute's corridors. He went up and down more stairs than he could count.
Meanwhile, Charles and Erik were in the lobby, all trace of Giuly gone.

"Did you see where they went?" Charles asked.
The other looked at him in disbelief. "No. Use your fucking powers and find them!"
Charles snorted. "There's no need to use that tone." He closed his eyes. He quickly located Giuly.

"So?" Erik asked impatiently, earning a glare from the telepath.
"She's going up some stairs..."
"That's no help."
"Shut your mouth. She stopped in front of a wall."
"This is also not-"
"No, it's a door. A secret door." Charles interrupted.
"Oh great, we'll never find her."

“Wait. Outside the window, I saw a building.”
He quickly exited through the front door and began going around the structure until he found the building he had seen.
“The room is over there. We have to hurry.”

Giuly and Kurt entered the room. The door closed behind them and a large wooden wardrobe was moved in front of it, blocking it.

The room was a small study and Stewart stood right in the center. He adjusted his jacket and ran a hand through his hair, as if tidying himself up.

In a flash, Kurt was behind him, and Giuly had her arm pointed at the man. A force moved her arm and shot it at the wall. She couldn't move anymore.
Kurt was also stopped, floating in the air in front of the man.

"Oh, you're a bit reckless, my dears." He smiled mockingly. "Giuly, you should stop trying to be a hero." He said, looking at her with a wicked smile. "After all, you're not cut out to be one. Are you?"
Stewart clenched a fist and Kurt screamed in pain.

"Stop!" Giuly shouted.
"Let's see if you can save your little friend." The smile on his lips didn't fade as he watched Giuly try futilely to move. "Can't you? Aren't you strong enough? You're not a hero, Charles only felt sorry for you, the only thing you can do is hurt the ones you love."

"Don't listen to him! AAAHHH!" Kurt screamed again in pain, feeling as if Stewart was crushing his organs.

“Kurt! Let go of him!” Giuly, overcome with rage, managed to pull the blade out of her forearm. Red, like the blood boiling in her veins, but she was still immobilized.
Stewart was shocked, but his smile showed he had expected it, he hadn't underestimated her.

“Oh, you want me to let go?” The man asked innocently. “If you say so.” With a hard clasp of the hand, Kurt twisted in on himself, screaming in pain. He was then pushed against the wall, hitting his head and sliding to the floor, unconscious.

Giuly's eyes filled with tears, she couldn't scream, she couldn't move.
Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted off the ground. Both of Stewart's hands were now pointed towards her.
“Now it'll be harder for you to move.” He said, watching her struggle.

“Fuck, I can't feel my legs anymore. Like in X-Men First Class, it was a great movie, have you seen it? No?”
He clenched a fist, receiving a cry of pain in return.

“Let's play a game, shall we? Like old times.”
“Sorry. Mom told me not to play with crazy psychopaths!”

The man stopped listening to her taunts. “Do you remember when you first used your powers? You used them to protect, but you only ended up scaring everyone.”
“As if I don't dream about it every night. Tell me something I don't know.” She said mockingly.
“Okay then.” With a smile, he clenched his fist again, and Giuly screamed. Her head tilted back, feeling him forcefully entering her mind.

“Giuly!” Charles and Erik were standing in front of the door. “It’s locked.” Erik said, agitated.
“Use your powers!”
“They’re not working.” Erik said obviously.

Charles closed his eyes and tried to reach Giuly with his mind, but Stewart wouldn’t let him. “He’s in her head. Giuly!” He tried to call out to her, but got no response. “Giuly, I know you can hear me. You have to resist him. Don’t let him control your thoughts.”

Giuly was walking. She looked around, recognizing the long corridor with walls so white they hurt her eyes.

On either side of her, two men also dressed in white held her arms tightly, preventing her from wriggling and in front of her was the tall figure of Stewart, who occasionally turned to her with a smile. "Trust me. We'll have fun here." He kept repeating. Giuly, however, knew that was a false promise.

Walking down the corridor, she passed several doors, inside which she could see equally white rooms, with only a bed and other kids, all so different, but all united by one thing.
Stewart led her toward the large room at the end of the corridor. Giuly struggled with all her strength, to no avail.

She entered the room. A laboratory, the laboratory she had come to know so well.
Memories of that distant day returned to her mind, unable to stop them.

“Let's do another test. You're not tired, are you?” Stewart looked at her, now wearing a lab coat and a mask.
Giuly screamed in pain as the cold metal of the scalpel opened the wound on her right palm for the umpteenth time.
She watched the blood gush from it. It was just a dream, just a dream, the pain she felt though, was real.

For a moment, she realized where she really was. Kurt was still unconscious in the corner of the room where Stewart had trapped them. She had to concentrate.
“Bastard.” She said, gritting her teeth. “Your games aren't working with me.”

Stewart's mouth dropped open. “Are you serious?” He said, almost offended.
“Don't you have anything better?”
The man smiled maliciously. “Well, if you insist.”

From far away, a faint knock on the door reached her ears. A voice shouted, “Giuly! Giuly!”
Then darkness.

Chapter Text

“Giuly!”

She opened her eyes. She was sweaty, her heart was pounding. Her hair was plastered to her forehead, the sheets crumpled in a corner of the bed.

She was in her room at the X-Mansion. A nightmare?
Could this all have been just a nightmare?

She couldn't believe it. She pinched herself and instantly winced in pain. It was real.

Cautiously she stood up, dazed, as if she'd just been catapulted to another planet.
She tried to remember what she'd been dreaming about, but she couldn't recall it.

She left her room, at least she was sure she recalled this place, the X-Mansion was always too quiet in the morning for her liking, she loved the noise of the students much more.

She went down the stairs still in her pajamas. On the way from her room to the kitchen she passed a couple of her classmates who didn't return her greeting.

She entered the kitchen and was relieved to see Scott and Jean sitting at the table having breakfast.
“Hi, guys.” She sat down at the table with them. Scott didn’t say hello, and Jean didn’t even glance at her.

“Is something wrong?”
“No, no.” Jean replied with a half smile, then looked at Scott and both of them got up from the table, leaving Giuly alone.

She turned and saw them giggling with other students in her direction.
Giuly was confused. She stood still, looking around.
Suddenly, all her classmates started looking at her sideways and laughing at her.

She didn't understand what was happening. Why was everyone suddenly acting like this?
She didn't like the attention on herself, she didn't like the way her friends looked at her, with the eyes of the children in the courtyard that day.

It was as if she could hear what they were thinking. “She's not as powerful as the others.” “She only knows how to cause trouble.” “She'll never be an X-Men.” “She'll never be a hero.”

Giuly tried to cover her ears, but the voices were louder.
“This isn't your place.” “You're just a lab rat.” “No one will ever love you.” “Go away, you’re scaring us.”

“No, stop, please.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “It’s not my fault.” Her voice was broken.

Those words only brought back Stewart’s. He was right. She was a danger to the people she loved. This wasn’t the place where she belonged.

She looked up to meet Kurt's. He just stood there, watching, saying nothing, not intervening.
The girl looked at him pleadingly. She knew she could trust him.

He approached her, looked her in the eyes. "Go away, monster, the X-mansion isn't your place."
Giuly could physically feel her heart shatter into a thousand pieces.
Her eyes began to water.
She watched Kurt laugh at her along with her friends.

Giuly shifted her attention to her hands, blood filling them. Dark red blood gushing from them.
"No." She felt it boiling in her veins. "No, please, no." She knew she couldn't stop it neither control it.

"Go away!" She screamed. "Please go away!"
She didn't want to hurt them, she didn't want her nightmares to come true. She wasn't a monster. Right? But if not a monster, then what was she? She wasn't a hero, she couldn't be one. A hero doesn't hurt his friends.

No, they were right. She was a monster, she was wrong, she was inept, she was incompetent, she was alone. Without a family, without friends, without ideals, without purpose, without... Love. Why? What had she done to deserve this? Why her? Why was she born this way? With a power that seemed more like a condemnation, a power she didn't want and that made her different even among those who were different. She hated those looks, looks of hatred, of fear, of derision. The only ones she had ever seen. She couldn't stand it. Not anymore.

She clenched her fists so hard she ended up cutting the palms of her hands.
"Stop it."
Laughter filled her ears.

"Stop it!" they mocked her, they insulted her.
"I said stop!" Her wounds exploded in unison.

A whistling sound filled her ears, for a moment she forgot where she was.
The laughter that had previously filled her ears had turned into screams, screams of terror.

Blood stained the walls, her clothes and some of the students, abraded by the mutant's corrosive blood.

Her labored breathing showed no sign of calming.
Hatred filled her eyes, the hatred she'd been fed since her first day in that lab.

But everything vanished the moment she met Kurt's gaze again. Motionless. Glassy.

Giuly collapsed beside him. The boy's expression didn't change, he continued to stare at her with those distant, lifeless eyes.
Kurt lay on the ground, part of his abdomen melting, as if acid had been poured into it.

"Kurt..." Giuly whispered. A cry for help, a confirmation of remorse, an overwhelming sense of guilt.
“No, no, Kurt!” She couldn’t touch him, it was a surreal vision. Reality struggled to hit her, but when it did, it was worse than anything.
Kurt was dead. She had killed him.

A solitary tear ran down her face.
“Kurt.” She kept repeating, crying, like a broken record.

Suddenly, that feeling of sadness and fear transformed into a muddy rage. She cried. But as she did, she turned to the remaining students. “It’s your fault!” She screamed, pointing her hand at them. “You killed him!” Large drops fell from her lashes.

Her ears were ringing, so much so that she thought she heard a distant voice.
“You have to resist him.”

Giuly tried to ignore it, but to no avail.
“It’s just his plan. What he’s making you think isn’t real! Wake up and fight!”

Giuly turned around. Kurt’s body had disappeared. She looked back at her classmates, even them had vanished into thin air.

Darkness. Around her, total darkness stretched for miles.
In the distance, she saw a crack, like a door.

She couldn't move, she didn't know if approaching was the right choice. Did she want to open it? She wasn't sure.
But the door came to her, opened in front of her, forced her to look.

Once again, she saw all her friends, the X-Men, lifeless.

She looked at herself, her hands stained with blood. It had been her, it was her destiny.

Frightened, her face covered in tears, she took a step back and ran into Stewart.

The man took her by the shoulders and looked at her with what he would call love, but in reality it was the look one reserves for a stray dog, with pity and disgust, as he had always looked at her.
"I told you to listen to me." He said reproachfully, gently stroking her hair. "That's not your place."

A distant voice crept into her mind. “Don't listen to him!”
“And nothing,” the man continued. “Nothing in the world will separate us. You have to stay here, not with them.”
Giuly looked at his smile and nodded.

Another scream, louder this time. “Giuly, don't give up, fight him!”

The girl turned fully toward Stewart. He was offering her his hand. She looked at it intently.

“Fight him.”

He was right, for them she was only a danger, they were better off without her. She reached out her bleeding hand to his.

“Fight him like a true X-Man.”

The distant words echoed in her mind. Memories, like flashes, filled Giuly’s head.
The breakfast table waiting for her with all her friends around, Professor Logan’s classes where they played tic-tac-toe or Battleship, the nights spent with Rogue doing research for Charles, shopping with Jubilee, Mario Kart games with Peter, the jokes that only she and Remy understood, the evenings in Jean’s room talking about the future, the training sessions with Ororo, the homework copied with Scott, the nights spent stargazing on the school roof with Kurt. Her friends, true friends, whom she had searched for so long and finally found. The X-Men who were like family to her. The one who were her only, true family.

Giuly fell to the ground with a thud. She had returned to the orphanage's study.
In front of her, Stewart was holding his head in his hands and panting as if he'd just emerged from the water.

Giuly managed to get back to her feet. She looked down at the man, tired, proud.

The man whimpered, like a child. "No, it's not possible. You should be under my control, what- Nobody loves you! You don't have and never will have a family!"

The girl smiled weakly. "You're wrong." She said with difficulty, breathless. "I found that family." She slowly approached him, still kneeling on the ground. "And people who love me, who believe in me."

The man began to laugh, his laughter quickly turning into an almost hysterical scream and he jumped up throwing himself at the girl. Giuly, with a sharp movement of her arms, revealed the two blades that slashed Stewart's chest. With a cry of pain, he fell to the floor.

He looked up at Giuly, her expression stoic, mixed with disgust.
“Haha… That exact face. That’s the face your friends look at you with. The one everyone has always looked at you with.” He coughed, spitting blood onto the parquet floor. “You still don’t understand? You’re alone, Giuly.”

The girl remained still, finally regaining her breath. "My name isn't Giuly for you." She pointed her hand at his face. "I'm Red Cell."

She watched Stewart beg her not to kill him. She felt powerful, in control of the situation for the first time in her life. It was an intoxicating sensation, it made her happy.

Doing what he did to her, revenge. It was as if Erik were there with her, she could hear his voice, his words from that distant day. He was right, she wanted revenge, she wanted to kill him.
But unfortunately for her, those two always went together, whether in reality or in Giuly's head, and Charles's words also reverberated in her mind.

It was wrong, revenge was wrong, it wasn't worth it. Or maybe it was? Maybe she wanted to see him dead, killed by her hand. Cut in half like those men in the laboratory.
Giuly took a deep breath, she needed to calm down, she needed to think and stop listening to the angel and devil named Charles and Erik who were sitting on her shoulders.
Slowly, he lowered his hand.

Stewart suddenly stopped at the girl's action and smiled.
"Have you changed your mind? Charles is such a fool, he doesn't even teach you how to kill, does he? You're weak, Giuly, as weak as the X-Men. You'll never find a place in the world, you're weak. Weak-" Stewart was silenced by a kick in the face from Giuly, knocking him unconscious.
"You give me a headache." She said wearily to the limp body on the floor.

As if awakened from hypnosis, she turned her gaze and immediately ran to Kurt. Seeing him in that state couldn't help but bring back images of that vision.

She collapsed beside him and took his face in her hands, a trickle of blood staining his lips and running down to his chin.
"Kurt!" The boy didn't answer, his eyes closed.

Giuly held him close, her eyes now filled with tears and felt calm as she heard his breath, weak but present.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, stroking his hair. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault."
At that moment, a shrill noise made her turn around.

The closet that had closed the door moved, revealing Rogue and, behind her, the rest of the X-Men.
In a flash, Logan was at Giuly's side. "Hey, kid." He greeted her with a smile, hugging her close.
Only after feeling Logan's grip on her, Giuly noticed how she was struggling not to fall to the ground.

Charles and Erik slowly approached Stewart's senseless body. They both couldn't help but smile.
"Erik, do you want to have the pleasure to care of him?" He said, turning to the man who finally took off his helmet. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at the other, nodding.
Charles stared at him for a second too long before realizing it and darting toward the others.

"How is he?" He asked Hank, busy picking up Kurt. "Not well, but he's not dying."
Charles nodded. “We have to get them to the X-Mansion as soon as possible.”

The students were the first to leave, followed by Hank and Kurt, Logan and Giuly, and finally Charles along with Erik, who was effortlessly carrying Stewart on one shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Giuly clutched Logan's tracksuit and he looked down at her. "Kurt. How is he?"
"He's fine. Now focus on resting." The man said in the most reassuring tone he could, so as not to further worry Giuly.
The girl, lulled by Logan's pacing, closed her eyes and finally, after a long, long time, slept.

Chapter Text

The sun was shining dimly through the windows, shielded by the curtains.
The biting cold outside contrasted with the warmth emanating from the blankets.

Giuly woke up. A hand was slowly stroking her hair.
“Kurt.” She whispered, slowly opening her eyes and meeting those of Jean sitting next to her.

“Good morning. How are you feeling?”
Giuly yawned and sat up. Her muscles still ached and she struggled to lift her right arm, now covered in bandages and plasters.

Giuly looked at her friend wide-eyed. “Where’s Kurt?”
She smiled in response. “He’s fine, but he’s still sleeping. He’s in the infirmary, Hank is taking care of him.”
Giuly nodded again and remained staring blankly at the sheets.

“The children.” She said, darting toward Jean. “How are they?”
“They’re fine.” Jean continued. “They’re safe here at the X-Mansion, along with Miss Regh. You saved them.” She squeezed her shoulder. “And Stewart’s in prison. He’ll never get out of there again. It’s all over.” She said with a smile. Giuly, however, couldn’t bring herself to do the same.

She felt she should be happy, but showing it was too much effort. Her mind wouldn’t stop racing. What would become of her? Stewart was finally in prison, but what was her purpose now? She’d spent more than the last two years of her life waiting for this moment, now that it was over, what was she supposed to do?

Giuly decided she needed to get some fresh air, her muscles were sore and she needed to stretch them, despite Jean's endless reminders to make sure she was truly okay and didn't need any more rest.

The infirmary door was closed, Hank was taking care of Kurt and Giuly sensed that Charles didn't want her to see the boy's state. Keeping the doors closed was supposed to reassure her, but in reality, it only made her more nervous, despite Charles's constant "Everything's fine."

The girl was wandering around the garden when, in the distance, she saw a tall figure standing in front of the pond. She recognized him immediately.
"You really can come in here whenever you like?" She asked, approaching Erik, who looked from the water to the girl.

"Of course, I helped build this school. And besides, I'm Charles's best friend, whether he likes it or not." He replied with a grin.

Giuly watched the pond water form small concentric circles with every fly or dragonfly that landed on the surface, it was somehow hypnotizing.
"You fought well, kid." He spoke, focusing on the surface before them. "You saved the children. And you made your choice. That's what it means to be a hero."
Giulia remained silent, still staring at the water.

"You know." The man continued. "It doesn't matter whether you feel like a hero or not. What we do, we do for ourselves, to feel good about ourselves by saving a life, or..." He paused and gestured a little with his hands. "To try to create a better world for our species. Without those horrible people who think they know what's best for everyone and only end up making our lives worse." He watched her nod, but still didn't look up at him.

Erik sighed and knelt down to be at her level. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, forcing her to look at him. “Down in that lab, when I held you in my arms, I saw myself again.” Memories flooded back and he struggled to continue without rambling. “It’s people like them, like Stewart and Shaw, we must fight against, anyone who threatens our freedom.”

Giuly opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. She couldn’t think, she was confused, she didn’t know what she wanted. After a moment, she managed to form a sentence.
“I don’t know if I’m capable. Of fighting… Of being a hero.” He looked at his hands. “Of wanting these powers.” She whispered.

“Hey.” The man spoke softly, wiping away from her cheek a solitary tear. “You should be proud of being a mutant, of having these powers, because that’s who you are and it makes you special.”
Giuly took a deep breath. She still couldn't believe she'd managed to defeat Stewart. For her, it was all still a dream, she was just waiting for the moment when she'd wake up and find herself trapped between those same white walls.

She had to accept that this was reality, she had to accept the fact that now she didn't know what to do.

Erik seemed to read her mind. "I don't know what you're going to do now." He said. "But if you want to use your powers to fight, then don't give up. And if you feel like you're not in the right place, know that my brotherhood is always open. I would need a determined girl like you on my team." He said with a smile and a little pat on her cheek.

Giuly smiled back and watched him get up and turn toward Peter, who suddenly appeared at her side. "Kurt's awake."

Giuly entered the room accompanied by Peter, she immediately threw herself on her knees beside Kurt's bed.
He looked at her with a smile on his face. "Giuly, you're okay."

The girl took his hand and squeezed it so tightly it almost hurt. "Sorry, it's all my fault." Kurt shushed her and lifted her chin so he could meet her eyes.
"You saved me, Giuly, you saved all of us." He said weakly with a smile.

"It's not true, I put your life in danger, you could have died." The words came out of her mouth less and less clearly as she tried to hold back the tears in vain.
"Stop saying that-" He was interrupted by the girl.
“And now I don't know what to do. I don't want to be a danger to you all and”
“Giuly-”
“I've finally found a family, and I couldn't bear to hurt you again”
“Giu-”
“But I can't even think of leaving you, you're so important to m-”
Kurt finally silenced Giuly, cupped her cheeks in his hands, and kissed her.

It was sudden. It took Giuly a moment to understand what was happening. The warmth of Kurt's skin against hers made her melt and she closed her eyes gently, as if hypnotized by his touch. When their lips parted, they didn't completely move away.

He kept his forehead pressed against hers and looked at her with a smile. She was still dazed, eyes wide and incredulous as she took deep breaths to try to calm the pounding of her heart, which she swore was about to leap out of her chest.
She finally returned the smile and caressed his face.

"Hem hem." A cough interrupted them. They turned to see Ororo at the door, a small smile on her lips. "I'm very sorry to interrupt, but Charles wants to see you and said Kurt needs some rest."
Giuly nodded, the two said goodbye to Kurt and left the room.

As Giuly reached the doors to Charles's office, she recognized a familiar voice. She threw open the door and ran toward Regh, who was sitting there talking to the man.

The woman immediately stood up and took Giuly in her arms.
“Regh! How are you?” The girl asked, not letting go of her. The other smiled.

“I'm fine, we're all fine. I wanted to thank Professor Xavier, who kindly offered to take care of the children, and all the X-Men who helped us. Now the orphanage will be a happier place for everyone.”
Giuly was thrilled. To think that thanks to them, none of the children in that orphanage would ever have to go through what she went through again.

Regh said goodbye and returned to the orphanage. Giuly was about to leave, but Charles stopped her.
“Giuly.” She stopped, sighed, and turned toward him, watching him laugh.
“Why the snort?” He asked.

“Because I already know you know, and I also know you know I don’t know what to do.” She sat down and ran her hands through her hair. Charles looked at her, head tilted and hands on his stomach, as if waiting for her speech to begin, which didn’t take long to arrive. “It’s just that I don’t know where I belong. Here or with Erik. I can’t figure out who my ideals are more aligned with. I’ve decided not to kill Stewart, but well… I don’t know, if I had the chance again, I don’t know what I’d do.” She looked up and met Charles’s. “What should I do?”

The man smiled at the girl. “Whatever you want.” He replied simply, earning a groan from Giuly. “I can’t tell you. If you want to stay, stay. If you want to go, then go. I hope these months at the X-Mansion have given you the critical thinking to make these kinds of decisions, don’t you think?” He said, laughing.

Charles was right, as always. Giuly stood up with determination, nodded to her professor and left the room. Charles was left alone, the smile on his lips showing no signs of fading. He already knew what the decision would be.

It didn't take Giuly long to find Erik, still wandering around the garden.
As soon as he saw her, he came toward her, as if he were waiting just for her.

"So?" He asked, hands in his pockets, back straight, a small smile on his lips. "Have you understood which side you're on?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer as well.
Giuly nodded. "I've had a hard time here, but I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for my friends. They reminded me what it means to be part of a group, and what it means to have a family. I can't leave them."

At her words, Erik smiled and held out his hand, as if it were the end of a professional meeting. She grabbed it.
"We'll see each other again soon, hero."

“Of course, every evening outside Professor Xavier’s room.” She said with a small grin.
The man shook his head in return and finally disappeared, leaving Giuly alone in the garden.

She turned toward the X-mansion, suddenly feeling all her muscles relax. It was as if for the first time in a long time she was finally able to breathe.
She had found her place, she was sure of it now, and it was right before her.

With a breath that made her straighten her shoulders, she walked toward the entrance, certain of what she wanted to do and what she had to be, what she wanted to be.

A hero.