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>>“I…I know. I’m…I’m just so tired of all of this. And…I want to believe you. I really do. But you don’t know the power and fanatic followers my parents run with. If they could do ‘this’, to me, their only daughter? I hate to imagine what they would do to anyone who got in their way. I’m sorry, but the only person I can really trust is myself. And that means either I lock myself away in my room and never come out again, or I disappear into the city alleys again. I know how to disappear there. Either way…I can’t go back to them. I won’t.”

She truly was scared. Gemma bit her lips; seeing scared, hurt children, sadly, she was used to, even though Agnes was one of the worst cases she had ever seen. No, the thing worrying her was her own thoughts; her own feelings. Motherly instincts took over once again, and she felt like going out into the city and hunting those horrible people down to make sure Agnes was safe.
That was probably not a thought a guidance counselor should entertain.

Gemma sighed and put a hand on Agnes' arm.

"I have seen a lot of bad things, Agnes. I was hiding mutants during the registration. I saw, and heard... and did things I did not think were possible. I know it feels like there is no way out of this. I trust you more than to lie to you, do you understand that? It is going to be long, and it is going to be hard, but it won't last forever. I know there is many of them, the people who want to hurt you. Or me. Or any other person who is not like them, in any way. And it seems like they are everywhere, and they are unstoppable."

Turning the computer off, she sat down next to her.

"Look around, Agnes. We are in a place that was created by someone who truy believed that mutants needed each other. Not help, from someone above. Just a place. You think that your parents and their followers are dangerous? I have a gene that cancels out mutant abilities. I have seen Jorge use the powers of an ancient god. The school is run by a man who can make hell freeze over. Look at us. Look at your own friends." she smiled a bit "Look at yourself. I promised we will do everything to protect you. And if we need to put up a fight, we will do that. You are not going back to them. Ever." she looked into the girl's eyes "On the streets, you might be safe, but you would be alone. In here, you might feel like you are trapped, but you whatever comes your way, you don't have to deal with it on your own. You are grown up, Agnes. It is your choice."

"You should stop watching it" Gemma said softly, walking up to the girl who sat at the library computer, her features illuminated by the light of the screen "I think you have seen it enough."

Putting one hand onto her shoulder gently, she turned Agnes to make her look up.

"Yes, I saw." she nodded to the unasked question, and sat down onto a chair, turning Agnes away from the screen. It was better if she did not keep looking at it.

"...And I am glad you dealt with it so well. I heard it from Jorge... Detective Cervantes." she smirked a bit; that probably needed some explanation "He is kind of my boyfriend. I told him to look out for you. He is doing everything he can to keep you safe. It's going to be all right, I promise."

There was something going on downtown. Breaking news and all that jazz. Gemma could feel it in the pit of her stomach, like mothers do when their kids are in trouble halfway around the world. She just knew there was no breaking news without one of her kids being involved.
Sure enough, the phone rang. And rang. And rang. And rang.

Where the hell was Sam when there was work to be done?

>>“Hello? This is Detective Cervantes with the MRC. I believe I have a couple of your people that you need to pick up…”

"Do tell" Gemma smirked, rolling her eyes "I kinda had a feeling something was up. Is everyone all right over there?..."

>>“I’ll keep it as quiet as I can until she decides to come forward, okay? If you can get me her picture, then I should be able to recognize her if they are indeed putting up posters, maybe I can even find her in our missing persons database. In the meantime, maybe she’ll open up to you. I know we can’t force her to talk. We gotta hope this will be something she is ready to do on her own.”

Gemma nodded. "It sounds good." she agreed, a bit too tired to be enthusiastic, but honesty grateful for the help and support. "I can get you a picture from our files. And I'll keep talking to the girl, and I'll let you know when she is ready to... talk about it to anyone else."

She glanced at the clock; it was getting late. She leaned back against him with a sigh, and for a moment she just enjoyed the peace and comfort she always felt around Jorge.

"Thank you." she said quietly "I really needed this."

She was used to dealing with problems alone. She could have dealt with this one too; but still, it was good to have someone else around. Someone she cared about, and who cared about her enough to really help. Gemma smiled a bit, and turned her head to kiss him on the cheek.

"You should get some sleep."

>>“Thank you, for doing your job. But…I really don’t know what else I can do. Gemma…I can’t sit on something like this for long. Either that girl needs to stay in that mansion for an extremely long amount of time, she faces what happened, or we need to find another victim, or evidence, something…”

"She needs time" she said, thinking about the whole terrible issue for a while "She really needs time. Maybe one day she will be ready to face it, and make a statement, and all that. But not anytime soon." she sighed "And I know you can't keep it a secret. I can't either. There are other mutants out there with dangerous, or simply scary mutations, and those... people... could catch and torture any of them."

Gemma sighed again, and stood, wandering into the kitchen to make herself coffee.

"I really don't know, Jorge. I mean, I could talk to her... but you didn't see her. I have never heard a person cry so hard in my life, ever."

>>“I’m okay, just, tell me what’s gotten you so rattled. Can I help?”

"I really hope so" Gemma nodded, sitting back on the couch. She already felt better just being able to talk to Jorge. He looked half asleep, but she knew he was listening.

"One of the X-men trainees came to me to tell me that he... she... whatever, he's been training one of the new kids at school in the danger room, and happened to see that she's covered in scars." she begun the story "When somebody reports signs of abuse on one of the kids I'm responsible for, of course I have to go and talk to them, I can't just ignore it... even though, most of the time, they get really upset that I found out about it."

Always, not most of the time.

"Anyway, I went to talk to the girl, and... she broke down. She was really, really upset, and... she showed me the scars." Gemma shook her head, taking a deep breath to calm herself down "The girl was tortured, Jorge. Not beaten up, or pushed around. She was branded, and cut... and..." she sighed "She told me it was her parents. Some religious fanatics who thought she was possessed by a demon. They were trying to exorcise the poor child, because she is a mutant." she sighed again, and hugged herself "She ran away. She is safe in the Mansion, but she believes that they are still looking for her, to... finish what they started. And if they really think like that, it's not just the girl who is in danger, but other mutants too..."

She trailed off. That really was enough to say.

"What kind of people are capable of torturing their own child because they think she is a horseman of the Apocalypse?!..."