Chapter Three

I met Xavier and Lensherr in the hotel lobby the next morning at eight o'clock precisely, rather pleased that they were on time. After all, Nonno had always told me that punctuality spoke volumes about a person's character.

Xavier greeted me warmly, then eyed my two suitcases with amusement. "That's a bit more than we're used to seeing," he said, taking the bag from me in a show of chivalry.

"Three pieces of luggage is a lot?" I questioned, noticing Lensherr speaking with Paul, one of the valets.

"The rest of our team has come with only a small bag, if that," he replied. "Some haven't really had much to pack."

"What sort of people are on this team of yours?"

"We have a stripper, a felon, and a recovering drug addict."

Lensherr's voice in my ear surprised me, but I forced myself not to jump. That was clearly what he was going for, so I refused to give it to him. "He's not serious, is he?" I asked Xavier, doubting my decision for the first time.

Xavier's face twisted, like he was fighting what he wanted to say. In the end, he simply said, "Yes, but they're good people. We'll tell you about them on the road, yes?" I found myself in the car rather quickly after that.

"You're the last person we'll pick up," Xavier told me once we were on the road. "The rest are already in Langley. Now, we've got the two of us, obviously, and my sister, Raven. She can transform into whatever form she wishes, look like anyone in the world." I could hear the pride, tinged with worry, in his words. "Oh, can't forget Moira, Agent MacTaggert, our official liaison with the CIA. She's the one who got us all started on this path, well, except for Erik, of course. Then we've got Hank. He's a genius, certifiably."

"He's also got ridiculously huge feet and incredible agility," Lensherr informed dryly.

"Yes, well, his intelligence is what really intrigues me. He graduated Harvard at the age of fifteen, can you believe that? He's the one who built Cerebro, the machine that helped us find you. And he's nearly completed an incredible jet, one that's better than any currently in use by the military. And he's-"

"Then we've got Angel, our former stripper. She can fly, hence the name," Lensherr butted in, giving his friend an annoyed look over his shoulder, before cutting his eyes back to the road. "Sean can scream at terribly high pitches, though Charles thinks he can use it to fly. Some sort of supersonic sound waves or something. He's the recovering drug addict. Darwin was a cab driver. He can apparently adapt to survive any situation. And lastly, we have Alex, our convicted felon. He emits energy blasts, but he can't control them."

Xavier spoke up, sounding slightly annoyed. "That's what we'll be working on. Actually, you'd probably be the perfect person to help him learn to control it, Bianca. He couldn't possibly hurt you, not with your powers. Would you mind helping him?"

I was a bit overwhelmed at the information overload I'd just been given, not too mention surprised at the fact that it sounded like most of them couldn't really control their powers. "Just how old are these people?" I asked, instead of answering Xavier's question.

"Sean, Angel, and Alex are still teenagers, while Raven, Hank, and Darwin are all early twenties," Lensherr replied, looking over at me like he knew exactly what I was thinking. And that he agreed with me.

"Moira, I mean Agent MacTaggert is older than that," Xavier interjected, rather insistently.

"So that's why my singing didn't affect you," I said, understanding dawning. But both men looked confused. "I've concluded that my singing doesn't affect men under about forty or so only if their affections are already engaged elsewhere."

Xavier spluttered. "I'm not- No, I would never- My feelings are not engaged anywhere, let alone with Moira. That would be terribly unprofessional of me."

"Charles, lying to yourself isn't healthy," Lensherr reproved with a smirk.

"Well, what about you?" Xavier deflected. "You were affected by Bianca's singing. You had to have been."

Lehnsherr shrugged nonchalantly, passing a slow van. "I'm not denying that, Charles. But I simply felt content, relaxed. It was a rather nice break, thank you." The last was aimed at me.

"Of course. That's how I get my crowd to come back every night. And they might feel just the tiniest bit lucky, and head to the casino afterwards," I said, grinning.

"That's not terribly ethical," Xavier complained.

"And reading girls' minds to find out what they like so they'll sleep with you is?" Lehnsherr asked sardonically.

I laughed at Xavier's uncomfortable shifting. "And after the first night, they knew. They all knew. They just didn't care. Especially since the house took care of them. After all, you both received a voucher for one hundred dollars if you had chosen to go to the casino."

"Yes, thank you for that," Lehnsherr grinned. "I made a tidy sum last night."

"So that's where you went last night!" Xavier exclaimed. "You went gambling?"

"We can't all be the sole heir of a large fortune, Charles. Some of us have to earn our living."

"We are getting paid by the CIA," Xavier reminded.

"It never hurts to have a nest egg."

After far too long in the car, we finally arrived at the facility in Langley. "There you are," a bubbly blonde greeted us, practically the moment we stepped out. She wrapped her arms around Charles. "I thought you might have forgotten about us."

"Never," he laughed, hugging her, as well. Then he turned to me. "Raven, I'd like you to meet Bianca. Bianca, this is my sister, Raven."

"Hi!" she squealed, moving toward me like she was going to hug me. But, as I straightened and pulled back slightly, she stopped. "It'll be so nice to have another girl around. We're so outnumbered."

"Mmhmm," I murmured, slightly shocked by her exuberance. Xavier had been ridiculously optimistic, but this seemed to be an entirely new thing.

"Raven, why don't you show Bianca to the room next to yours?" Xavier suggested heavily. "The two of you can get to know each other a bit that way."

He studiously avoided the glare I send his direction, but Lehnsherr smirked. But apparently he had a shred of honor, buried deeply. "I'll show her. You and Raven can catch up. After all, it's been what? Three days since you last saw each other," he said, eyebrow raised mockingly at his friend.

Raven, however, didn't catch the slight dig. "Yes, I haven't seen you in forever!" she squealed. "I've missed you!"

Lehnsherr and I walked into the compound and the other two headed to what Xavier had pointed out as Cerebro. "Are you sure those two are siblings?" I asked, feeling slightly confused.

"Technically, they're not related, even legally," he explained with a quick grin, before growing serious. "Charles caught Raven breaking into his kitchen when they were children. She had run away from home because her parents abused her, claiming she was a demon. Charles took her in, using his powers to convince his mother and stepfather that she belonged with them. But neither adult was terribly, shall we say, good at being a parent, so Charles practically raised them both."

Well, that shed new light on the perpetual optimist. "And what about you?" I asked softly.

Instantly, Lehnsherr's face shuttered. For a long moment, I didn't think he would answer. In fact, I was ready to move on to another subject when he did begin to speak softly. "You noticed my… tattoo last night. My family lived in Dusseldorf, until the S.S. came knocking. Or rather, broke the door down. I was nine. My power manifested when the guards at Auschvitz separated me from my parents, and I tried to pull the gate between us down. Doktor Schmidt saw it all happening and… tested me."

After another long moment of silence between us, I spoke. "Your mother was part of it, wasn't she?"

A grim smile crossed his face as we entered a hallway with several rooms off it. "I couldn't move a coin, so he shot her. After that, I spent nearly every waking moment with him, trying to harness my power to kill him, to escape. But the war ended, and somehow he managed to evade justice, so I will bring justice to him."

We came to a particular door and he stopped, opening it for me. "For what it's worth, I am sorry for what happened," I said. "We'll find him, and he will pay for what he's done."

Lehnsherr looked at me, and an understanding passed between us. We each knew that the other was willing to do what needed to be done, and that we had an ally in doing it. It was a nice feeling, especially since I was pretty sure that Xavier wasn't on the same page about that.

"Come meet the others." Xavier's voice in my head broke through our silence, and I scowled. I really didn't like telepaths.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Lehnsherr said wryly, setting my suitcases further in my room.

"Or he'll just have to learn to stay out of my head," I replied, sugar coating every word.

"I think I would like to see that," he admitted, grinning.

The others were waiting for us in what seemed to be a recreation room of sorts. And the moment we walked in, the entire room turned to look at us. It felt rather like when I was on stage, so I slipped into my stage persona, mostly without even realizing it. A tiny pout formed on my lips, and I stood a bit taller, with one hip cocked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lehnsherr smirking again.

"The fox is who you got last night?" A scrawny teenager with rather unfortunate orange hair and more freckles than apparent common sense was ogling me, jaw dropped and everything.

"The fox has a name, and could probably turn you into a gibbering idiot without much effort," Lehnsherr spoke coldly in my defense. "So I'd suggest you keep any unflattering thoughts to yourself."

The boy nodded, looking suitably censored, and Xavier quickly introduced us all to cover the awkward tension that followed. Just as Darwin, the tall quiet African American, shook my hand in welcome, a serious looking woman in a suit came into the room. Since I'd already heard about Agent MacTaggert, and there couldn't be that many female agents, I guessed that was her. "Charles, could I speak with you a moment?"

"Ah, Moira!" he exclaimed, joyfully proving my earlier theory on his feelings correct. "Come meet Bianca, our newest recruit."

"Hello, nice to meet you." She smiled briefly, but instantly went back to business. I couldn't blame her. After all, being in the CIA as a woman would be rather difficult, even without the added stress of stopping a megalomaniac intending to end the world. "I really do need to speak with you, Charles."

"Yes, of course," he said, guiding her toward the door. The rest of the "team", excluding Lehnsherr and me, soon fell back to talking among themselves, along with shooting anxious looks our way. Though I wasn't sure which one of us they were aimed at.

"I think I'll unpack a bit," I murmured, ruthlessly squashing the tiny uncomfortable feeling of being out of place.

"Mind if I join you?" Lehnsherr asked. "They can be… a bit much, at times."

So we went back to my room and spent the next half hour talking, mostly about our powers, as I unpacked my suitcases. I took probably more amusement than necessary when it came to my undergarments. Shaking out each slip, bra, or panty before refolding and placing them in the drawers, I watched Lehnsherr's reaction out of the corner of my eye. He watched my actions intently at first, until he caught on. Then, he smirked. "I must say, I think I enjoyed the slip you wore last night better. Black is more your color."

I heard the admiration, with more than a hint of suggestion, in his voice and started to respond. But a knock at the door stopped our flirtation short. "Moira has-" Xavier said, barging in without waiting for my answer to his knock. He stopped short, however, and turned back around when he saw what was in my hand. "I am terribly sorry," he continued, back to me. "I should have waited. I did knock, but I should have waited for your answer."

"It's just a slip," I said wryly. "I'm sure you've seen a few of them before."

"Possibly more than one in a night," Lehnsherr added with a grin.

"Well, yes," Xavier said, starting to turn around. But he saw my slip again and faced the door once more. "But it's, it's a- It's a bit different."

"When you haven't seduced me first?" I supplied helpfully.

Lehnsherr chortled as Xavier floundered. "Moira has something for us. We're to meet her now."

Lehnsherr sobered instantly, ready for battle. "What are we waiting for?" he asked, heading to the door.

"You, too, Bianca. If it's what I think it is, we'll need you," Xavier told me.

Agent MacTaggert met us in a nearby hallway. "Plane leaves for Russia in an hour," she said, heading toward the rec room.

Lehnsherr argued, "I'm telling you, these kids are not ready for Shaw." I nodded in agreement, thinking of the teens I'd met. There was no way I would be comfortable sending them into a situation like this one would probably turn into.

"I think they'll surprise you," Xavier shot back, faith-filled hope coloring his words. "They're an exceptional bunch of young people."

But even before his words left the air, we could hear the sounds of a party. "What the hell?" MacTaggert asked incredulously.

The place was a mess, to put it lightly. The statue in the courtyard was now in two pieces, smoking slightly. The large picture window was shattered, with little glass shards littering the ground. Music was blasting, and Raven, Charles's sister, danced on a couch, with Angel dancing in the air next to her. Hank hung from the chandelier, while the two youngest boys took turns beating Darwin with the remnants of what appeared to be a chair. And beer bottles littered the tables.

"What are you doing?" MacTaggert yelled.

All six of them instantly turned to her, stopping their actions guiltily. "Who destroyed the statue?" she demanded angrily. I couldn't help but think that she sounded a bit like the mother of small children.

"It was Alex." Hank seemed a bit eager to not be in trouble, but by the looks of betrayal the others gave him, he would be in a different kind soon enough.

"No, Havok," Raven said, looking a bit too eager to be sober. At least given the circumstances. "We have to call him Havok, that's his name now. And we were thinking, you should be Professor X," she added pointing to her brother. Somehow, she was oblivious to his dismay. "And you should be Magneto." Another point, this time to a very unimpressed Lehnsherr.

"Exceptional," he said, before walking away. MacTaggert and I followed, heading toward the plane.

Xavier followed, as well, but not without a parting shot at his sister. "I expected more of you."

AN: And we have another chapter! It's been forever, I know, but lately it's been like pulling teeth to write. I won't abandon this story, though, I promise! Thanks for reading, following, and favoriting, and a big thanks to syed, CrystalVixen93, brigid1318, and A.D. Tellen for your reviews. And brigid, I know Bianca sorta came across as a wino, but she's not, I swear! She's just Italian :D And I did change the year in the last chapter when Bianca's family meets Schmidt to make her a bit older. I'm not entirely certain that it fits with actual history, but this is fanfiction. It'll be okay.