Chapter 8

"You broke up with him?"

"Yes."

"You broke up with my brother and expect him to just forget you?" Raven pointed out for the fifth time in a row.

"Yes." Bella huffs.

"Are you insane?"

"No. I'm realistic."

"Your delusional."

"Maybe so, but at least this way he'll be safe."

"If you think Charles is gonna give up on you just like that, then your very much in for a surprise." Raven says pursing her lips.

They were currently sat in the lounge area of the base while the rest of the group were off doing their own thing.

"You know normally when a girl tells a guy's sister that she just broke up with him, it leads to either a shouting match or a slap in the face." Bella clarifies.

"Are you asking me to slap you?"

"No!" Bella practically shouts making Raven laugh. "I mean I don't wanna get slapped. Not that I don't deserve it, because I do. It's just that…your so calm about this. How can you not hate me for what I did?"

"Because anyone with a good set of eyes can see that you and Charles are meant for each other. I get your just trying to protect him, and I am as well. But Bella, you have to understand something. I've never seen Charles like this with anyone before. That spark I saw in his eyes yesterday…you put it there. The way he looks at you, it's like a man seeing the sun for the first time in his life."

"It's like that for me too. From the minute I saw him at my door yesterday I haven't been able to take my eyes off of him. I don't know how to explain it exactly. But all I can say is that when I'm with him, I feel…" Bella then manages to smile as the word she was looking for sprang to mind. "…Safe. I feel safe."

"Then what are you doing just sitting here? Go find my brother and tell him how you feel." Raven encourages her.

"I can't. Not until this is all over. As long as Shaw's out there, none of us are safe. If he wants a fight he's got one with me. But I won't let him hurt anybody else I care about. Not again. I'll die before that happens, and I'll drag that bastard to hell with me."

The following day Bella had to fill in a shift at the hospital. Apparently one of the staff had called in sick at last minute, and so she was having to cover from three thirty in the morning till about one o'clock in the afternoon. Oh, she'd be pissed. But honestly nearly every single one of her patients were worth the exhaustion. It was currently around nine forty-five, and upon entering little Alice Cullen's room a smile broke out on Bella's face.

"Bella!"

The 10-year-old greets her with a wave.

"Hey there Alice. How are you feeling?"

Bella approaches her bed with a tray of sustenance in hand.

"I'm good. My tummy feels a lot better now." Alice assures her as she sat up to eat her morning meal.

"I'm so happy to hear that Alice." Bella smiles at the little girl.

Two weeks ago Alice had been called in for surgery on the count of the poor thing having stomach cancer. The surgery itself had gone well. However, to be on the safe side Bella had provided that extra nudge by injecting her blood into Alice's system.

"Thanks Bella." Alice smiles.

While the little girl was munching down her cereal Bella went about her duty's around the room.

"Doctors say you may be able to go home next week. I bet your parents are thrilled about that."

"I guess." Alice mutters.

Seeing the crest fallen expression on her face Bella set aside what she was doing and went to sit beside the little girl.

"Are you okay Alice?"

The girl shakes her head.

"What is it?" Bella asks taking note of how the 10-year-old looked to be in two minds about something. "Hey, it's alright. Whatever it is you can tell me."

Alice bites her lip and looks to the woman beside her.

"You promise not to laugh?"

"I cross my heart." Bella vows drawing an invisible cross above her heart.

"I have a special kind of power. I see things in my head before they happen."

Bella sucked in a breath at this.

"What kind of things do you see?"

"Stuff. Like how it's gonna hail in five seconds."

As if bang on time the two turned to the window as a sudden heavy down pour of hail flooded the streets of New York. Bella then looked back to Alice astonished.

"And how your sad because it's your heaven mommy's birthday today."

Bella's breath hitched.

"H-how did you…"

"Bless you."

"Wha… Achoo!" Bella sneezes.

Again, she was dumbfounded.

"Thank you. So wait a minute, you can see the future?"

"You believe me?"

"Of course I do. Your gift is amazing Alice. Believe me, you're not the only one with a secret."

"What do you mean?" Alice asks her.

Double checking that there was no one around Bella used her ability to turn invisible for a minute causing the little girl to gasp in amazement, before she reappeared again.

"How did you do that?!"

"We all have our talents sweetie." Bella smiles and winks at the girl.

"So you're like me?"

Bella nods.

"People like us are known as mutants."

"There's more?"

"Yes. You're not as alone as you think Alice. There are many more of us out there, believe me."

"So it's okay to show off my power?"

"Only to people you feel like you can truly trust."

"Like you? I trust you."

Bella smiles.

"Yeah, like me."

Alice then slumps her shoulders.

"I told a girl in my class once and she called me a freak."

"Your far from any such thing. Sometimes people just don't know what to say because they don't understand. So I'm sure that girl meant nothing by it." Bella says feeling her heart break as she wiped away a tear that had fallen down the girl's cheek.

"I'm scared my mommy and daddy won't believe me and will send me away."

Just then Bella had an idea.

"I'll tell you what..." she pulls a pen and a clean tissue from her pocket to quickly write something down. "If you ever feel like you need help and have nobody else to turn to, then I want you to call me on this number. Day or night."

She hands over the tissue with her number on it.

"Really? Thank you, Bella."

"You're welcome Alice. Just remember, your never alone. There is family amongst blood. Your mutant brothers and sisters are all around you, and we'll stand by you, always."

Bella leans over to give Alice's forehead a kiss and provides the girl with one last smile before departing from the room. It wasn't often she could relate to someone, but Alice really did remind Bella of herself when she was a child. She remembered what it was like to have no one to confide in after losing both her parents and Chris. The isolation was deadly and depressing. The only true friend she'd ever had before Charles and co had come along was her own shadow. Her powers had made her feel that abnormal that she felt like she didn't even have a soul. And truth be told, in some ways it still felt like she didn't.

Why would any god grant a person with a whole other DNA structure that made them stand out above humanity? It didn't make sense in her mind, none of it did. Being a mutant didn't make her special, if anything it made her feel like a walking project. She half expected the government to come knocking at her door one day and drag her off for experimentation, not that she would go quietly. The CIA maybe currently on their side, but how long would that last? How long before the world turned on them?

Sighing Bella strolled down the corridor to go check on her next patient. However, just as she turned a corner Bella instantly found herself overcome by a bizarre amount of exhaustion that seemed to hit her like a ton of bricks. Unable to fight it she felt her legs give way and the last thing she remembered was a set of arms catching her before she could hit the ground.

50 Year's Forward

"Are you absolutely certain this will work?" Charles asks laying down on the lab table.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Kitty says, positioning herself behind him.

"You sure you wanna do this? I mean I know you say you can handle it but…"

"It has to be me Logan. I'm the only one who knows what to expect. She trusted me the most." Charles tells his friend.

He appreciated Wolverines concern by suggesting to go in his place, but this was his mission alone. If he was going to save Bella then he needed to do it himself. He needed to show her what was going to happen, it was the only way to change everything. He lost her once, there was no bloody way he would let it happen again.

Logan nods in understanding, admiring the man's bravery.

"Good luck."

"Good luck Professor." Dr Grey smiles down at her tutor.

"Thank you, Jean."

"Bring her back to us Charles."

"I will Raven." Charles nods to his sister.

"Remember, we don't know how going this far will affect your mind. So you may only have three days... Two at the least." Kitty says placing her hands at the sides of his head.

"Two days is all I need."

"Ok, just relax. This may hurt a little bit."

Charles then screamed and arched his back slightly as a horrible pain shot through his head.

Here went nothing.

Author's Note: Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's future Charles to the rescue! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. See ya next time.

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