CHAPTER 10: New Dawn, New Day
Zoey woke with a start at the beeping of her alarm at 9 am, her arm flying out hard enough to knock it off the table and crashing onto the floor.
She peered down through droopy eyes as the beeping slowed to a stop, to find some unknown wires poking out of the speaker. She sighed, and dropped out of bed, expecting her usual hardwood floor on her bare feet, but instead feeling carpet.
She jerked her head around, and only after seeing the boxes and bags of her things stuffed in the corners of the room did she realize she wasn't in her apartment, but at the mansion.
Where she was to stay indefinitely, all because of Magneto.
She sighed, and looked down at her clothes, the same from the same from the day before. She hazily remembered walking to her bedroom after they returned from packing her condo and crawling into bed.
She threw a light sweater over her old top, and went to the kitchen, her stomach rumbling.
She heard Ori and Janie as she turned the corner and down the hall to the entrance.
"You told her how amazing it is, right? Using our powers freely?" Ori said.
"Of course I did, but remember how long it took us to get used to things? And we had a choice, remember that. She doesn't have that, She has no choice but to run for the rest of her life, or stay here. And she seems like the strong type that would never run."
Zoey smiled at that, and decided to make her entrance.
"Good morning," she said as she walked in.
Ori and Janie both sent her bright smiles.
"Good morning it is! I've made my special omelet's, have a taste," Janie said, pushing the cheeriness. Zoey only smiled.
Ori dragged her over to sit with them.
"So what were you guys planning to do today?" Zoey asked as Janie placed a plate in front of her, the dish still steaming. She took a bite and let out a sleepy moan.
"Damn that's good!" she said, tasting the bacon and sausage with tomatoes and cheese; great comfort to her wary attitude.
"Just catching up on studies, working in the garden, Ori will find a way to drag the others into playing with her, we practice our powers that way too. Charles will probably shut himself away from his study; the guys will catch up on their comics and TV. Just a usual day."
"I won't be shut in today, ladies," Charles said, wheeling himself in. He was still in his pajamas, plaid blue pants with a soft grey tee; his hair wasn't combed down as per usual, it looked messy and bedridden.
Zoey actually liked it, and decided to avert her gaze to the omelet as she took another bite, feeling weird about it.
"Really?" Ori asked.
"I just meant I will be with Zoey, helping her get accustomed."
"Sorry?" she asked, looking up.
"There are a few more… attributes to the house to show you."
His gaze wasn't wary- it was piercing.
She could only nod. He smiled.
"Meet me in the dining room, say in an hour?"
She could only nod again.
"See you then."
She was waiting in a comfy chair at the big table in the dining room, twisting her fingers. She saw small green veins appear under her skin, her feet tingling, a sign of Janie's power - but the clearing of someone's throat brought her out of the concentration.
"Zoey, how are you?"
"What do you mean?" she asked, looking up.
"This is still all new to you… unfair in your eyes."
"In my eyes? You think it's unfair, only in my opinion, for me that I have to give up my life? My home, my job-"
"But that's all you had, Zoey. Here, you can have more."
"More what? The feeling of being trapped? Having the same thing happen every day?"
"Wasn't that just like your old life?"
"It's not my old life, Charles! It WAS my current life, but Erik had to go and screw it all up!" she raised her voice, standing up and walking away.
"It was only in time that-"
"That what? You both would come into my life and change everything?" she asked, turning back to him, looking at him with anger. His speechlessness only drove her further.
"Why am I here, Charles?"
The look on his face as priceless, as if he would rather face his biggest fear as to answer the question.
Alex, Sean and Hank were all taken in after the Cuba crisis, forced into a life of hiding. Janie and Ororo had only stumbled upon them, so he took them in.
But Charles found her, and so did Erik. It didn't make sense.
"Why were you both there? How did you know who I was, what I could do?"
Charles took a deep breath, and looked away as he spoke.
"I should have seen this coming. Come to my study, let's talk there," he said.
Zoey only nodded as they went in silence.
Zoey opened the door to the big study, and Charles rolled in and she closed the door behind them. She glanced at the bear skin rug, hoping it was fake but knowing it probably wasn't - and sat down at the other side of the big oak wood desk, across from Charles.
"This was going to come up with the better tour of the house… but Hank has a creation, that is… beneficial to the mutant cause. He calls it Cerebro. With my power connected to the machine, I can access other mutants, all over the world. I can see what they are doing at the moment, and what their power is."
"So you… saw me?" she asked. How was that possible?
Charles could only smile.
"You were in the park with Simon, running around with him. He tripped you and you laughed for a while as you lay on the grass."
She smiled, and looked away again. That was a daily routine; or at least it used to be.
"Why am I here, Charles?" she asked again.
"Well another part of Cerebro is that I can sense their power, how strong it is. You have a power that's at a level Omega. With your rapid evolution to other's powers, it's too massive to ignore."
"Massive? Like a weapon?"
Charles stayed silent but still kept her gaze. She scoffed.
"So I'm a weapon?" she asked, trying not to raise her voice. "I'm a weapon, and you were lucky enough to get me?!
"Dammit, NO!" he yelled out, matching her attitude.
They stared at each other, both breathing heavily.
"Sorry, this is coming out all wrong," he muttered.
"Then at least try to say something right, Charles. What the hell do I have to do with all of this?" she asked, finding a sofa tucked at the corner of the study and curling up on it.
"Your ability is very powerful. With your denial of it, it makes you… dangerous. There are many mutants out there, who are also denying who they are, and they can also be a danger; but with your power… I mean, you saw what happened with Alex, it-"
"I get it," she snapped.
"I know you're thinking we planned this, to keep you in hiding, but that was never my intention, Zoey. I wanted you to have a choice. I would teach you certain affects of your power to help you control it, then let you go back to your life. Erik acts irrationally. He probably wasn't even thinking how it would affect others' lives."
Zoey sat up, and looked to Charles from across the room. She sighed, and stood up, wiping any remaining tears from her face and brushing any stray hairs away.
"You said there other things to show me. I'm guessing this house has more than one bunker," she said, taking in a rattling breath to calm her nerves.
Charles frowned, but nodded.
He showed her.
There were more bunkers for practicing powers. There was one with a very high ceiling and a pool for Sean. One with dirt in the ground, for Janie, another with torn punching bags and bent pieces of metal for Hank. Ororo practiced outside, though Charles mentioned he was soon going to try to see if her power manifested inside.
"Where will I practice?" she asked, kicking at a refrigerator door folded in half. It was Hank's practice bunker, her shoes crunching in the sand from a nearby busted punching bag.
"Everywhere," Charles said, grinning. "In each of these bunkers, practicing the specific powers. You have had physical contact with everyone, yes?"
Zoey shook her head as she turned to face him. There was Hank and Sean, and of course, Charles himself.
"Well, physical contact is needed for long range adaptation, right?" he asked. She nodded.
Charles nodded too, frowning.
She sighed.
"Charles, I've told you why-"
"Let's just rest for the day. I'll let the others know. We all could use some recovering time."
"Sounds good," Zoey said, stepping away from Charles.
He was different, with his anger showing so prominently.
"See you later then?" Zoey asked, now at the door, her hand on the door knob.
Charles only nodded, meeting her eyes with a regretful look.
She only nodded back, keeping his gaze until she closed door closed between them.