Charles Xavier suppressed a yawn as he wheeled himself through the east wing of the research facility. He had decided it would be a good idea to wipe the minds of the few remaining CIA agents who had been a part of the "mutant division." He knew that the government would catch on again eventually, but for now the school and students were safe. Hank was still in contact with some of his old coworkers inside the CIA's genetics research division. He had heard of a new scientist who was working on mutant DNA. Charles needed to know what this new scientist had found out. His credentials had gotten him through the front door and a little mind prodding had gotten him the rest of the way. He sent a tiny poke through the door when he reached it and knew there were three people in the small lab. He opened the door slowly and peeked in. Too many times he had accidentally barged through the door of Hank's lab and had things thrown at him.
"Professor Xavier." An old, balding man greeted him.
"Yes," Charles extended his hand but pulled back when he saw the man wore protective gloves.
"I'm Doctor Ian Brent. I was a little surprised to get your call." The man said as a younger man left the lab carrying a stack of folders. The third person, a female, stood looking through a microscope with her back to them. "I believe the person you want to speak to is my newest assistant." The female turned around and quickly tucked a stray lock of brown hair behind her ear. Green eyes flickered up and met his face for a spilt second before skittering away to stare just over his shoulder. He grinned slightly at her shyness. "Doctor Alexandra Jance meet Professor Charles Xavier." She held out her hand and forced a smile onto her small face.
As he took her hand and gently shook it he let his eyes sweep over her entire body. Her slender 5' 5'' body was clothed in a basic black skirt with matching jacket. The jacket was open revealing a lilac colored blouse. Her lab coat nearly swallowed her tiny frame and went bellow her knees. Shoulder length brown hair was pulled into a quickly assembled bun.
"Please call me Charles." He said trying to sound as charming and casual as he could. He stretched out to her mind trying to read her mood.
"Ah!" She snatched her hand back and touched her forehead. Charles immediately pulled his mind back from hers. "Sorry." She blushed furiously. "I just got this sudden pain."
"Staring all day into a microscope has been known to do that." Dr. Brent said pulling off his gloves and tossing them onto a nearby table. "Well I guess I can leave you two to talk. I'm going to lunch. I'll see you back here in an hour." He smiled and nodded to Charles before leaving.
Charles turned his attention back to the still blushing woman in front of him. He caught her staring at him and she hastily turned around and started removing the slide from the microscope.
"Dr. Brent said you wanted to discuss my research into mutated DNA strands." Her voice was all business but he could hear a nervous tremor pass through. He put his fingers up to his temple and tried to read her again. "Ah!" She cried out and her knees buckled. She gripped the table to keep herself from falling. Charles pulled back immediately. Why was this hurting her? He wasn't reading anything from her. It was like there was a force field around her head not letting him in. He tested her one more time, promising himself he would stop if he hurt her. This time she fell butt first onto the tile floor nearly howling in pain. He pushed his chair until he was right next to her.
"I'm so sorry." he exclaimed reaching to help her up.
"Why?" She looked at him as she gripped his chair with one hand and his arm with another. She pulled herself up and openly stared at him with a bewildered expression. Her chin length bangs had fallen onto her face and she tucked them back.
"Are you alright? Do you need to sit down? I can call for someone." He babbled trying to cover his mistake. It worked. She immediately started shaking her head and held up her hands.
"No please, I'm fine really." She swallowed heavily. He could tell she was still feeling some pain by the way she squinched up her face. He felt guilt roll over him. "But if you don't mind I would like to get some lunch. We can talk in the cafeteria downstairs."
"That sounds perfect." She turned and quickly put away her microscope slides. She shed her lab coat and threw it over a chair before opening the door and waiting for Charles. As he passed her he caught the subtle scent of vanilla mixed with some kind of flower. He heard the door shut and the small click clack of her shoes as she followed him. Once they reached the elevator he let her in first. For three floors the sweet scent of her perfume was all he concentrated on trying to avoid the temptation to try and read her again. They both remained silent while they gathered their trays of food. Once through the short line, Charles set his tray on his lap and was about to push himself to a table when the tray was promptly lifted out of his reach.
"Wouldn't want you dropping this. It's lasagna day." Her voice was less tense than it had been in the lab. He smiled up at her thankfully. She let him lead her to a table on the far end of the cafeteria next to the big windows that looked out onto the front entrance lawn.
"So what exactly is your interest into mutant DNA?" She asked as she settled into her chair. All business again. He was beginning to think this was some sort of defense mechanism.
"Well, Doctor, I…"
"Please, just Lexi, Professor. It's what everyone calls me."
"As long as you call me Charles." He laid on the charm again and she diverted her eyes away from his face before she nodded.
"I'm sorry, you were saying." She kept her eyes on her food while she ate and waited for him to speak.
"Well, Lexi…" He took a bite of the lasagna and was slightly impressed at how good it was. "I was hoping you could tell me what you've found in your research into the origin of mutant DNA."
"Oh." She chewed and swallowed. "I uh, I haven't been here long but at the lab back in Denver I got as far as you did at Oxford." She looked up at him. "I read your papers on mutant genes. Something tells me you may know a little more than you let on…" She sounded as if she was trying to press him for information. But he wanted to know what she knew.
"I suppose there are some things people just aren't ready to hear."
"Like the fact that mutated people walking among us today is a very real possibility?"
"And you know this how?" He almost reached up to put his fingers on his temple but stopped himself.
"Well mutation was bound to happen eventually. Human kind has been mutating and evolving since time began. What I'm trying to do is find out exactly how it happens."
"And that brought you here?"
"This is one of the best facilities in the world. And I like New York." They ate in silence for a few minutes. Lexi kept looking at him like she wanted to ask him something but just when he thought she would speak up, she just smiled and went back to eating. Charles was more frustrated than he had been in a long time. His telepathy had almost never failed him. He needed to know if this doctor was a threat to mutant anonymity. Or was she a mutant herself? How was he supposed to find that out? He couldn't really just ask. Maybe the headaches she was getting had nothing to do with him trying to read her. He slowly moved his hand towards his head. She was looking down just now, staring at her food as she chewed and swallowed. He touched his temple and tried to gently press her mind. Her eyes squeezed shut and she dropped her fork. That was it. He wouldn't be doing that anymore. There had to be some kind of protective barrier up around her mind. And judging from her surprise at the pain, she had no idea it was there.
"Are you quite sure your alright?" Charles wheeled himself around the table until he was right next to her. She looked at him with a dazed expression.
"I don't know what's wrong with me." He knew she was telling the truth. "This has never happened before. I keep getting these… Awful pains. Like a hot knife stabbing my head." Charles backed his chair a little.
"Perhaps you should request the rest of the day off."
"I don't think a headache is gonna cut it for Ian. He'll probably just complain about how fragile women are." Charles got the impression that Ian had given this lecture before. That agitated him.
"I'm sure I can convince him it's all in the best interest." Charles smirked.
Back in the lab…
"Of course you can take the day off. Don't bother with clocking out I will make sure you get paid for the entire day. You go home and get some rest. In fact, if the headaches persist, you can take tomorrow off as well. I don't want my prized assistant feeling uncomfortable." Ian spoke with a genuine smile on his face. Lexi gaped at him. She looked at Charles who had his hand to his temple. He looked for all the world like he was trying not to burst out laughing. Lexi's eyes shot back to Ian who was still smiling.
"Um, alright. Thank you." Something in the back of her mind told her she should be thanking Charles. "I'll just get my things then…" Clearly flustered, Lexi went to the back of the lab where her bag hung on a rack. She pulled the bag over her head so the strap went across her chest leaving her hands free. Charles was already waiting for her just outside the door. She was a little surprised he had stuck around.
"I can offer you a lift home if you like." His intense blue eyes looked up at her innocently. "One of my students drove me here. I'm not in any real hurry to get back to my school."
"Alright." She felt it would be rude to blatantly object even though she was slightly tempted to. Something about Charles made her nervous. Not just the fact that she found him very attractive. Though that also helped put her on edge. But cab fare wasn't cheap in New York and she did live a ways off. Taking the subway had always made her nervous. She hated being crammed in with a bunch of strangers.
As they exited the building she decided to be nice and push his chair for him. "Which way are we headed?" he pointed the way and made some careless remark about the crisp weather. Lexi loved when it was cool like this. Just cold enough for a light jacket or sweater. They reached a shiny black car and a young man, maybe only twenty quickly got out of the driver's seat.
"Lexi, meet Alex Summers." She held out her hand and greeted him. Alex helped Charles into the back of the car while he explained that they would be taking Lexi home before heading off for the school. Lexi then faced what she would call a great dilemma. Should she sit in the front or in the back with Charles. Leaving Charles by himself felt rude so she once again gave in and slid in beside him.
The backseat was quite spacious. She pulled her bag off her shoulder and set it between herself and Charles. It was then that Charles caught sight of a strange looking bracelet on her left wrist. A string of tiny macaroni shells dyed purple held together on a blue cord. It looked like something a child had made in art class. There was no wedding ring on her hand. Charles wondered who the child could be. Lexi followed his eyes to her wrist and quickly busied herself with adjusting the collar of her blouse. She gave directions to her apartment building to Alex and resigned herself to just staring out her window. But Charles was not to be ignored.
"So how long have you been in new York?" He asked causing her to spin her face around to him.
"Just a few months now."
.
"And you are from Denver?" He pressed the conversation on.
"I only lived there for a few years because of my work at the lab."
"And before that?"
"I grew up in a tiny town in Oklahoma called Bright Oak with my mom. When I was fifteen, I moved in with my father's parents who lived in Kansas. I got a scholarship to NYU to study genetics. And my first job was at the lab in Denver." Her straightforward answers left something to be desired. "What about you?" She pointed the conversation away from herself. "You run a school?"
"Yes, for… Gifted youngsters. People with special abilities who wish to study in a place where they feel comfortable."
"So you're constantly surrounded by geniuses. Must feel nice." She laughed a little.
"It does actually." He smirked at her. For some reason she needed to stop looking at him.
"Are you a genius Alex?" She called to the front of the car.
"Nope." He replied happily. "I'm a menace." Lexi's hand flew to her face to suppress the noise she knew was trying to escape. Every time she laughed hard she made a noise in her throat that was halfway between a snort and a gargle. One of her friends had once jokingly called it a snargle. Lexi found it horribly embarrassing. But the memory of that particular friend brought a smile to her face.
Charles desperately wanted to know what she was thinking. When her hand fell away from her face she smiled warmly to herself. Her eyes zoned out for a few seconds as if remembering some long forgotten thing. Her head cocked to the side and she stared at nothing and her smile widened. She let out another smaller laugh and let her eyes drift back to the passing scenery outside her window. What was she laughing at? Why did that smile make him feel so… He wished she would smile at him in that warm comfortable way. Before he even knew what he was doing, Charles already had his fingers pressed to his temple.
"Ahhhh!" The scream made Alex slam on the brakes. Luckily, he had already been stopping for a red light. Charles reached out to Lexi and put one hand on her shoulder and the other on her wrist. She let herself lean towards him.
"Are you alright?" Charles was kicking himself mentally.
"What was that?" Alex turned in his seat.
"I'm okay. I'm fine. Please, I'm sorry I just…" She turned and looked Charles in the eyes. "I guess it's a good idea I took the rest of the day off." She managed a weak smile. Charles returned the smile and Alex slowly turned back to face the road.
"Are you certain you're alright." Charles' voice was very serious and it took Lexi off guard. She pulled herself away from him. He let his hands slide off her slowly.
"Yes, I just…" She swallowed. "I just need some rest." A red blush was creeping up her neck and face. Why is she so nervous? Charles had never had the urge to read someone's mind as strongly as he did right now. He watched from the corner of his eye as she smoothed back her long bangs with shaky hands. She was breathing heavily as if she's just run a marathon causing her chest to rise and fall. Chares felt guilty again. He had caused this. He'd have to be more careful around her... His mind screeched to a haut. More careful? Does that mean you plan on seeing her again. Yes, he answered his own question silently.
