Change will come
Change is here
Love fades out
Then love appears

Now my water's turned to wine
And these thoughts I have
I now claim as mine
I'm coming home

Change has been
Change will be
Time will tell
Then time will ease

Now my curtain has been drawn
And my heart can go
Where my heart does belong
I'm going home

Ed Roland--[Collective Soul]--Reunion

She looked out the window into the night, wondering if it was always night here. She could see the stars, but she was awful tired. It seemed like she'd been forever in the graveyard, then coming here, she supposed it might very well be daylight back on earth, but she wasn't sure.

She turned away from the window and looked around the room. It was much nicer than the basement was, as nice as her room at the mansion was. And she wasn't really alone here. There were a few other people, she hadn't really had the chance to meet them yet, but she hoped she'd like them and they would like her.

Best of all, Magnus promised to visit her whenever he could. It wouldn't be quite the same as having him in the same house with her, but it was close enough. He also told her the next time he came, if it was possible, he'd bring her a kitten. A very young kitten who would probably live a long time.

"This is nothing like before," she murmured. "Before I was locked up, here I'm free to walk around. Before I was in the darkness, here..." she stopped, remembering that she wasn't sure if there was a source of natural light, then shrugged. "Here there are more lights. I have books to read. There are people who I can talk to, people that will know what I am and won't think I'm evil. There will be no Blackness, no Darkness to come down and hurt me. I am safe. I am safe from the world and the world is safe from me. This is not like being in the basement." She swallowed hard, knowing it would look really strange if anyone did see her, all this talking when no one was here to listen. "This is different... Isn't it?"

Except for her, the room was empty, there was no one to answer her question.

It was mid-morning when Magnus returned to the mansion. He went directly to the study and sat down. It had been a very long night and to be honest, the only thing he really wanted was to be left alone for awhile to think. He knew that wouldn't happen though.

The knock came as he knew it would. Drawing in a deep breath, he called out for them to come in. He knew Logan would be one of them, but he didn't know if Logan would be alone or if he would bring others.

Logan walked in the room, with Kurt behind him. "Is the kid okay?" Logan asked, sitting down.

Magnus offered a weary shrug. "When I left her, she seemed all right. Time will tell more."

"Where is she?" Kurt asked innocently, looking around as if he expected Justine to pop out from behind the desk.

"She's someplace safe," Magnus answered. He wanted to let it drop with that, but he knew neither of these men would accept that statement alone. Am I really surprised? he thought. "I have taken Justine someplace where she is ... isolated, but not alone. There are a few ... people whom I know and trust. People who will watch out for her. She will be cared for, she is free to go where she pleases, but she is far away enough from .... earth that she won't be tempted to use her power, nor can anyone get to her to harm her."

His pet asteroid, Logan thought immediately. Supposedly it was destroyed, but he must have re-built it. The man still has his secrets. He looked over at Kurt, who was about ready to ask specifically where Justine was and shook his head quickly.

Kurt took the hint and shut his mouth abruptly.

"Does it have to be like this?" Logan asked.

Again, Magnus shrugged. "She can't handle what she can do. You saw that Logan. Perhaps after being alone all those years, having so many people and situations thrown at her in such a short time made her snap. Perhaps with time she will be okay and she can return here. I cannot say for sure. All I know is that something had to be done, so I did something."

Kurt tipped his head to one side, looking thoughtful. "Well, if she's safe ... perhaps you did the right thing."

"I did the only thing I could think of," Magnus said. He knew Kurt was trying to justify his actions, but Magnus wouldn't allow that. He didn't feel he deserved it either. "I don't know if it was right or not. It wasn't a matter of right or wrong, good or bad. It was a simple matter of solving a problem."

"I understand," Kurt said softly. "I'm just saying, well, you shouldn't ... feel bad about this. Justine can't handle the real world, so you brought her some place safe, some place where she'll be looked after, without having to worry. You say she can walk around freely, that someday she might even be able to return here. This is different than what her parents did."

"Is it?" A bitter laugh rolled off Magnus' lips. "I wish I could feel that way." He turned in the chair, looking out the window, stroking his chin thoughtfully with his right index finger. "I thought I was so right, so noble. I never questioned why Justine's parents locked her away, I just assumed they were wrong and I could do better. I was so sure that they were the bad ones and I could be the good one." His voice wavered slightly as he spoke. "I played the role of savior to Justine and I failed. She's in a nicer place now, but she's still cut off from most of humanity. In the long run, I did exactly what her parents did to her. I just made sure my prison was a lot nicer."

He spun the chair around again to face the two men, who were looking at him. He drew in a deep breath, trying to sound completely unemotional. He knew he would fail. "For all my intentions, I'm no better than they were," he said softly. "And that is something I have to live with for the rest of my life."

The End.