Eight years ago.

A large bowl was in seventeen year old Winona Martin's hands as she moved about the kitchen. She placed the bowl down on the counter and grabbed a bag of lettuce. She ripped open the bag and began pouring the contents into the bowl.

"Why do we have to make salad? It's not like anyone ever eats it," twenty one year old Elaine Martin complained. "That's not true, I eat it," Winona replied. Elaine scoffed, "Well aren't you like a vegan or something?" Winona's eyes narrowed at the older girl. "No, I'm not," she deadpanned.

Elaine shrugged her shoulders and continued to cut the onions. "We make salad so that people can have an appetizer to eat while the food is still being cooked," their mother, Carolina Martin, answered. She walked over to Winona and pressed a kiss to her head. Winona sent her a smile as she began mixing the salad in the bowl.

Carolina opened the oven and examined the turkey. She looked at the time and nodded, mumbling things to herself. "So, why exactly are we hosting Thanksgiving this year?" Elaine asked aloud. "Because," Warren Martin began. "It's our turn to host it." Winona's face scrunched up. "I'm pretty sure it's not," she said.

"Yeah, we hosted it like, two years ago. It's Aunt Melinda's turn," Elaine agreed. Warren looked at Carolina who glared at him. "You said it was our turn," she accused. "I thought it was," he muttered lamely. "Tonto," she snapped, turning away from him and angrily beginning to cook again.

"I've been under so much stress with this whole thing, which could've been avoided if you weren't so stupid. Idiota," she grumbled to herself. "Hey, it's not my fault that you didn't remember," he said. Winona's eyes widened and Elaine took a step away from him.

Carolina's head snapped up and she glared fiercely at him. She lifted up the knife in her hand and pointed it in his direction. He held his hands up and Winona stopped mixing the salad. "I've been a little too busy working to remember. I've had so many cases lately and my brain is mush. I ask you to remember one simple thing and you can't even do that," she said.

"Mom, relax. It's okay," Winona tried easing the tension. "Yeah, I mean you'll get so many compliments about your food," Elaine added. "It's amazing. You'll totally get praised," Winona said. "I mean, who can resist those tamales?" Elaine said. "And your tres leches cake," Winona said.

Carolina calmed down and nodded. "I suppose you're right. I am an amazing cook aren't I?" She said. "The best!" Warren said. Her eyes narrowed at him and he sent her a sheepish smile. They got back to work and Winona took the salad bowl out of the kitchen and placed it on the dining room table.

She walked back in to see her father's arms wrapped around her mother. He whispered something into her ear, which caused her to laugh. Elaine was sitting on the counter, typing away on her phone. The vegetables she was cutting completely discarded. Winona rolled her eyes before smiling at her family.

They were all together and they were happy. Winona didn't think that anything would ever change. But in four short years, she would learn that she was wrong.

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Winona's fingers tapped impatiently on the table. The zip ties around her wrists digging into her skin as she did so. Her eyes anxiously swept across the room she was in. She had grown accustomed to the silence of the room. The door opened and she kept her eyes trained on the ceiling.

The chair on the other side of the table was pulled out and someone took a seat. Winona's lips pursed in thought before she spoke. "I take it that this is one of those pretty collars that I heard so much about," she said in a bored tone. Her eyes moved to look at the person sat across from her. Agent Turner looked at her somewhat smugly as he spoke.

"I guess it is," came his reply. "Do you think that you have one in silver? I want something that'll match my hair," she said with a smirk. The smugness left his body and his face hardened. "You think this is some sort of game?" He questioned sharply. Winona shook her head. "No, no game. But I'm not sure why I'm here," she said.

Agent Turner placed a file down on the table and linked his fingers together, looking her in the eyes. "You and four other accomplices broke into a power substation. One that powers a government facility," he began. Winona feigned confusion. "Is that where we were? I could've sworn that it was an art museum," she said. "An art museum with no art?" He questioned.

"What a statement, am I right?" She replied. He pursed his lips in annoyance as she smirked at him. He opened up the file and looked over it. "Miss Martin, do you want to tell me what you and your friends were doing in that substation?" Agent Turner asked. "Like I said, we were looking for the museum. I had to use the bathroom so my friends were helping me look for it. Then we were gonna get something to eat," Winona responded.

Agent Turner leaned forward angrily. "Is that so? Because your accomplice, Sonya Simonson, said that you were looking for the aquarium," he replied. Winona's heart leapt in her chest at the mention of Sonya. She hadn't made it out.

"Sonya had the crazy idea that there would be one in the museum. I told her that it was highly unlikely and didn't make sense but she was so adamant on finding it. I told her that we'd look for the aquarium after I found the bathroom. It's unfortunately that time of month. Then I got hungry," Winona answered.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that?" Turner asked her. "Believe what you want sir," Winona replied. "You are so smug aren't you?" Came his reply. "Smug? No sir I think you make up all of the smugness in this room," Winona replied. "Oh, so you're a comedian now?" He asked. "You could say I dabble in the arts," Winona joked.

He chuckled, though it wasn't genuine. "Let's see how long you'll be laughing when I send you to Trask," he said, leaning back in his chair briefly. "What do you know about Trask Industries?" He asked, sitting up straight. Winona shrugged, "Not much. I've heard my parents talk about it once or twice. Wasn't it shut down or something?" She said.

He ignored her question and asked another one of his own. "Ah, how are your parents?" Winona's demeanor dropped and she glared at him. "Oh, that's right. You haven't seen them in years, have you? I recall them saying that they wanted nothing to do with you and your adoptive sister. Uh, Elaine Martin," he continued. Winona didn't say anything. Agent Turner decided to get back on task.

"So, since you know nothing about Trask, I take it you don't know about the Hound Program," he said. "Does it have something to do with dogs?" Winona asked, her tone bored. He smirked, "You could say that." Winona shrugged her shoulders. Agent Turner stared at her intensely before closing the file folder. "Well, since I'm not going to get anything out of you now, I'll just wait," he said, pushing his chair back and preparing to stand.

"There's nothing for you to get out of me. And if there were, you would never get it," she said, her angry eyes trained on his. He settled back into the chair and leaned forward slightly. "Oh, I disagree, Miss Martin. You see, once I introduce you to Dr. Campbell and he introduces you to the Hound Program, I'm gonna have everything I need on the Mutant Underground," he said.

Winona's heart beat rapidly in her chest as she grew panicked but she just glared at him as he stood. He noticed the brief look of panic on her face before she masked it. "What, are you scared?" He asked. Winona shrugged her shoulders. "What's there to be scared of?" She asked in a strong voice, which contrasted how she truly felt.

"That's what I'm wondering. It's not like you know anything about Trask Industries or the Hound Program, right?" He asked. Winona dropped her act then, scowling at him. "I hope you rot in hell," she snapped. "Have a nice day, Miss Martin," he replied back, walking to the door. She remembered something that she had learned about the man as he reached for the door knob.

"Your daughter would be ashamed of you," she muttered. Agent Turner stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face her. Anger engulfed his entire body. "Don't you ever talk about my little girl again. Do you understand me?" He snapped, pointing a finger at her. Winona leaned forward in her chair. "What happened to her, was the doing of one mutant. And yet you blame us all," she said quietly.

"Because you're all to blame," he seethed. "No. You have no idea who caused your daughter's death so you blame all of us," she said. "You don't know what you're talking about and you're way out of line," he said, taking a step closer to the table. "Maybe you're right. But you don't even know what happened that day. The events that led up to it all," Winona responded.

"I don't care. My daughter, still died. And nothing will change that," Agent Turner said. Winona looked down at her hands, which were clamped together on the table. He turned to leave the room but her voice stopped him. "I'm sorry. About what happened to her. I can't imagine what you must have gone through," she began. He said nothing.

"But, what you're doing is wrong. And I think deep down, you know that it is. Mutants are people too," she pressed. He scoffed loudly. "You classify yourselves as a completely different species! Homo superior," he said. Something in her snapped then. "No! You classify us as a completely different species. You humans. You treat us like garbage. Like we're not even human. Do you think that we're gonna constantly try to prove you otherwise? When we're constantly told that we're not one of you and that we never will be, what do you expect us to do? Beg? All of the things that we do is because of you!" She exclaimed.

"You keep thinking that," Turner replied. "And you keep thinking that every mutant is evil," Winona spat. He turned to the door. "Were the X-Men evil?" She asked him. He sighed in annoyance and turned to look at her again. "The X-Men? The X-Men are gone! And they may not have been evil but there sure as hell were groups of mutants that were. The Brotherhood. The Hellfire Club. Face the facts, Miss Martin. No amount of 'good' mutants, outweigh the bad." And with that, he turned and walked to the door.

"You're wrong," she said loud enough for him to hear. He ignored her and exited the room. Winona's face contorted with anger as she leaned back in her chair. She was screwed. They all were. If only the others had listened to her when she said that the plan was risky. Then none of them would be in this mess.

Winona shook her head. She wasn't gonna blame her friends. It wasn't their fault. If anything, it was Esme's.

°°°°

That was quite the showdown. Winona vs. Jace. Boy was this fun to write. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please be sure to comment and vote. See ya later!