"Sorry about that," I sighed, walking over to Professor Xavier and Erik who had moved into the foyer. "Alex is a bit…hot headed sometime."
"Tell me about it," scoffed Erik.
"So, when do you want to get started with this whole training thing?"
"As soon as possible."
"Great, I'll leave you two to it." The Professor smiled at me before wheeling himself towards the cafeteria.
Erik and I stood for a second in silence, him staring at the floor and me at the wall.
"Let's go."
Erik turned his back suddenly and walked out of the front door. I swiftly followed him and we ended up in the same place on the front lawn where we had spoken the last time- staring out at the satellite dish.
"So, how do we do this?" I questioned.
No words came as a response, but instead another metal marble flew toward my head. It was significantly smaller than the last one, and I reached out to stop it, but its path didn't falter and it bumped into my temple.
"What was that?" I picked up the marble from next to my foot and chucked it back toward him, aiming at his head. But, instead of hitting him, it stopped an inch away and began to levitate in the air. His hand sat at his waist, controlling the ball's every movement with the tiniest twitch of his pinky.
"The number one thing you need to work on is your senses. You control the earth inside it, not the magnetic field like I do. You need to be able to sense the tiniest amount of earth in the smallest metal object around if you're going to be able to use it to your advantage."
"You're talking as if you're training me for war." I crossed my arms and chuckled.
"Isn't Xavier doing the same thing?"
"What?"
"Don't be so stupid."
"Hey!"
He ignored my outburst. "Everyone knows a mutant/human war is going to break out one day, but no one knows when. Charles may be excellent at hiding it, but he's training you all so you can survive."
"I think you're a caught up with your past." I held my ground.
"Do you not agree with me?"
"Do I think there's a possibility a war could happen, yeah. But do I think that's the only option, no. The Professor isn't turning us into soldiers. He's helping us so we can control our powers and make our environment safer for ourselves and the people around us."
He scoffed. "It sounds like you're talking straight out of a political ad."
I scoffed as well. "So do you."
He turned his body so he was looking at me face to face. He stared at me for a minute with piercing eyes before his shoulders relaxed and he faced the satellite again, a small, nervous smile appearing on his face.
"Sorry," he said, putting a hand through his hair. "I don't mean to be…curt, but you just…you remind me of someone."
"Really? Who?"
"No one…it's nothing." His shoulders became tense again.
"No, really, you can tell me. I won't bite…unless you tell me it's Shaw. Then I might kick your ass."
He laughed. "No, it's not Shaw. It's…you remind me of my daughter, actually."
I almost choked on the amount of air I inhaled. "You have a daughter?"
"Yeah. I haven't seen her in years, though; for all I know, she may not even be alive. But until a couple years ago, we were pretty close."
"Oh…you have a daughter?"
He laughed lightly. "Yes. But, like I said, we're not exactly buddy-buddy."
"Why not?"
He bent his head toward the ground and a small metal marble began to rise out of his pocket and orbit two of his fingers. I watched in fascination as he easily worked the rock through the air, not even glancing at it; it was like he was doing nothing at all.
"We uh…we disagreed on certain principles."
"Principles? What kind of principles?"
"Wanda was-is-a bit less sympathetic than I am."
I almost choked again. "You're not serious."
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, you're not exactly the epitome of compassion."
"Yeah, well, think of me and add a bag of psychosis. She didn't want to just rid the world of the humans. She wanted to get rid of anyone who disagreed with her ideals. That includes Charles and everyone else that follows him."
"That's…harsh."
"Which is why we went our separate ways. I believe the world would be better human free, but fighting against our own kind- that's stepping over the edge."
I blinked several times, making sure I wasn't dreaming. But no matter how many times my eyelids shut and reopened, Erik stood in front of me, levitating the marble and pouring his heart out.
"I never thought…"
"You never thought I could have a heart?"
His eyes rose and met mine, and he let out a smirk.
"I've heard that before."
I released a small smile as well.
"And I thought I was being original."
Suddenly, his palm flattened and he shot the marble toward me again. I closed my eyes and directed my senses toward the marble flying through the air. I fisted my hands, catching hold of the earth in the metal and clenched my muscles. Opening one eye, I saw the marble had stopped just an inch away from my nose. I couldn't help but let my smile increase, showing off my teeth.
"Good job," praised Erik. "Soon, we'll get you to the point where it's effortless. No closing your eyes or ridiculous amounts of concentration; it'll be completely natural."
"Why are you doing this for me?"
He let out a breathy laugh. "I think it's time I made up for some bad things I've done."