Gail Donovan

The two men who were sitting in front of Gail's desk when she arrived back at her office didn't look too menacing, she supposed. She'd never seen them before but judging by their age, they couldn't be that far up the Bureau's ladder.

They turned towards Gail as she entered; the youngest of the pair flashed a smile and stood up, extending a hand. The other man stood up next to him, but didn't speak.

"Charles Xavier. This is my associate, Erik Lensherr."

Gail shook their hands warily, unsure of how they got past security. Still, she put on her happy, professional face. "What can I do for you two?"

Gail rounded her desk, where she sat on her chair and set down the stack of files she'd been gathering to pore over.

Charles clasped his hands on his lap. His friend didn't seem too keen on the talking aspect of life. "We're here to ask something of you, Ms. Donovan. Before we begin – Erik?"

A paperclip lifted off of Gail's desk and spun around in the air before coming to rest on Erik's outstretched palm.

Gail narrowed her eyes; all pretenses of professionalism vanished. "How did you do that?"

Erik shrugged. "How does your brain see patterns everybody else misses?"

Her face went red. They knew, and she was screwed. Gail considered the possibility of escaping the room unscathed, but with a metal manipulator and God-knows-what at his side, escape would be virtually impossible. She was suddenly aware of the necklace around her neck, and how it resembled a noose.

Charles smiled faintly, trying to allay her fears. "We're not the enemy, Ms. Donovan. We need you to trust us. Simply put – we are mutants, just like you. Erik and I are assembling a task force to combat a mutant threat known as Sebastian Shaw. He plans to start a nuclear war between Russia and the United States. We believe you would be an asset to the team."

Gail's fingernails dug into the armrests. "So I help you, and then what? My superiors realize I'm a freak and ship me off to some remote prison for experimentation? Or, maybe, this fails and I'm killed? "

Charles winced at the word 'freak', but didn't comment on it. "If you help us, your superiors will have no idea you were involved. Yes, there is a lot of risk associated with this specific assignment, but it's vital that this pan out in our favor. Besides, your day job has quite enough risk anyway."

Still, Gail shook her head. "No way. I can't sacrifice my life for this Shaw freak. There are people I need to protect here, things I can't just leave hanging. As much as I would love to put my life on the line for a wild goose chase, I can't." Not to mention that the metal bending guy was really starting to remind her of a henchman.

Charles sighed. "You would forsake your duty of protecting American citizens? I honestly expected more from somebody in your office."

Gail shot him a disparaging look. "Using my patriotism against me won't work. This thing you're planning is going to end in blood. Besides – " She took a hard look at Erik – "Lensherr, isn't that a German name?"

He snorted, breaking the henchman façade, a smirk curling onto the edges of his lips. "You caught me. Ms. Donovan, we believe that with your help, there will be less bloodshed. Please consider joining us."

She sighed, sitting back in her chair. It was a while before she responded.

"I can't. Like I said, there are too many people relying on me to just get up and leave to save the world. Mr. Xavier, Mr. Lensherr, I hope you find some mutants with time on their hands. "