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>>“I…I was exorcized… M-My parents…t-they believe…all mutants just…demon possessed… W-When…the bugs came…t-they said I was corrupted. They…they called me a monster! So…one night…them…and their …damn zealot followers…did this… In an attempt to drive out the demon. The demon…they called Pestilence... the First Horseman...they were trying to save the world..."

"That's bullsh*t." Gemma noted, handing a pack of tissues to Agnes "That's complete, idiotic, narrow-minded, disgusting bullsh*t."

All right, so that was not something a school counselor should have said, but it sure as hell was how Gemma felt.

"There is nothing wrong with you, Agnes" she said more quietly, with one arm around the girl's shoulders "Being a mutant is part of nature. It is part of who you are. You might feel like it does not make sense, or that it is disturbing, and uncomfortable; but it really is just natural. Definitely not evil, or demonic, and absolutely nothing Biblical. You will have to deal with it, but it is really not that bad."

The girl looked exhausted from crying. Gemma walked to the bathroom and brought her a glass of water.

"Drink. Look, Agnes. You are a smart, strong girl. You got out of there, and no one can blame you for that. And I promise that they won't ever get to hurt you again. Okay?"

>>“What huh? Why don’t you get the hint? This is my past! It is MINE! It has nothing to do with you! But fine! You want to see the freak?! Here you go!”

Gemma did not wince as she yelled; she was used to kids yelling at her. Happened all the time. She remained silent as Agnes went on her mini-rant, and finally, lifted her shirt.
Gemma did not expect that.
She had seen scars before. Bruises. Visible signs of abuse. But the scars Agnes had... that was not simply angry physical abuse. It was torture. Cold headed and precise.
No. She had never seen anything like that before.

>>“Your curiosity satisfied? Now leave me the hell alone…”

She got as far as the door; Gemma could tell exactly when she stepped out of her aura; bugs, flies, roached erupted from her mouth and for everywhere else. She was still shocked from what she had seen; but something had to be done, before the Mansion got run over by creepy-crawlies.

Standing up, Gemma crossed the room in a few steps; Agnes looked like she was ready to collapse. She hugged her and held her close.

That was it. No 'I'm sorry' or 'It's gonna be okay', not even a soothing murmur. Those were all too simple to say at a time like this. She let her aura do its work; she'd deal with the pest problem later. Right now, she just needed Agnes to calm down. To hold on to something.
No tough love either. THe child was far too damaged for that. There were kids where she would have yelled, or argued; this time, it was not the case. This time, she just held the girl like she would hold her own daughter.
And really hoped she wouldn't get punched in the face.

>>“Um…in mind…dah…y-yeah. Yeah I know someone. G-Gawain. S-Such a cute…um…person…yeah…Goes to school here. You probably haven’t met him.”

"Actually, I have."

Agnes seemed more and more confused and embarrassed by the minute. Gemma did not expect that. If she really just wanted to change the topic, she should have been more comfortable with discussing something she only made up. But this, the way she talked about... Gawain?
Fact no. 1.: The Morris kid knew about Agnes' scars.
Fact no. 2.: The Morris kid had a black eye.
Fact no. 3.: Agnes had a crush on the Morris kid.
(Fact no. 4.: Didn't that kid have a girlfriend?...)

Gemma's eyes narrowed.

"Have you two... ahem." she sighed "Already 'explored' something? Because he seems to know a lot about your physical appearance." she looked into Agnes' eyes "He hasn't hurt you, has he?"

>>"Well, at least I know what the cause was. And I can create this. If I may ask, what potential powers do you have, Ms. Taylor?"

Gemma chuckled as he sturggled with his newl regained powers; it was really an interesting ability, creating things out of thin air. Even though he looked a bit confused, he also seemed to relax now that he got a hint about why his powers did not work before.

"I have an aura that nullifies mutant powers" she explained, walking closer again to let him feel when his ability disappeared "I ti snot really a mutation itself, but something very similar. It has its advantages" she smiled "I usually use it to help mutants who have problems controlling their abilities. I have been thinking about helping some of the X-tem in training to teach them how to act when they meet someone like me..." she glanced arund the Danger Room "I just did not hav the time to actually come down here for training... so, now, here I am."

Gemma walked down the corridor of the girls' dormitory. She was hoping to find Agnes in her room; she did not want to call the girl into her office. Some matters were better discussed in a private setting. She could tell the girl was already scared enough, about her powers, and about the fact that the mirrorwalker found out about the scars. Gemma knew this was not the best situation: letting a girl know that somebody else told her secred to the guidance counselor... never easy.

Knocking on the door, Gemma waited.

"Agnes? Can I have a word with you?"

Hopefully the answer would be yes. Whatever was in Agnes' past, she needed to know about it.

>>"No need to apologize, Ms. Taylor. You actually came at an interesting time as I was pondering how I should be talking to others more instead of sticking to my room or down here."

Gemma smiled. So that's why he did not look familiar. There were a few Mansion residents who hardly ever showed up; some were nocturnal, others just... secretive. Apparently, Mettaliar had been training here for a while now. It was about time she got to meet him.

She tilted her head, and bit back a smirk, as the young man tried and failed to demonstrate his mutation. Maybe it was cruel to do that to a person, but at the same time, it was also kind of fun. Even Mama had a wicked side, after all.

>>"Well, uhh... I CAN create wooden and metallic objects out of air molecules but... it seems I'm having a hard time showing you proof of it."

"No kidding" she chuckled, looking at him "I wonder why... has this happened to you before?"