"Professor, I am very worried about this Carolyn," Storm said. She was seated in one of the large plush chairs in his office, along with Bishop, Logan, and Hank.
"I understand your feelings, Storm, but I am more worried for Carolyn. She does not know who hunts her," Xavier responded.
"And Grant can only provide so much protection," Bishop added.
"We cannot let Magneto have her, for that seems to be his purpose," Xavier continued.
"The attack against her home was only just drawn away by the greed of the attackers for blood, and Kurt was nearly taken. I had to do more to the elements than I would have liked, and very nearly alerted the girl to our presence," Storm said.
"And we had to send the frozen goons back to Magneto," Logan said, grinning.
"And the second attack would have surely found her if we had not acted first. I did not sense true fear in her while in her company, only anger. The lack of fear in her is a dangerous thing, but I believe that perhaps she has seen too much of her own power to fear ours. And she nearly put me completely out of her head," Xavier said in that charming, humble tone of his. The room was quiet for a moment, all-aware of how much this detail meant.
"Then she does have latent psychic abilities," Storm remarked solemnly. Xavier only nodded, his mind a blur with possibilities.
"And now Magneto is willing to attack the manor for finding this girl, Professor we must do something!" Hank said urgently.
"I fear that there is a link between Magneto and Carolyn that we have not yet discovered, but I believe that Magneto cannot sense it or he would have her already. It seems that he knows only her strength and wishes to control it. It also seems that Carolyn may very well be strong enough to face him on her own and at least survive, if she doesn't prevail." There was no hope in Xavier's voice, only cold truth. His brief connection with her mind had showed him more than he cared to know, but he realized that this knowledge was vital. What he didn't share with his colleagues was his fear of Carolyn. The girl had amazing control, but her power was so great that he feared for the day when she lost control. He was reminded of the disaster with Jean Grey, how he had tried to contain the entirety of her power so Jean could control it, but the power—that called itself "the Phoenix"—had been so great and recalcitrant that it had claimed Jean and driven her insane. Now, facing nearly the same magnitude of power, Xavier was reluctant to act as he had before.
"What should we do?" Bishop asked, steepling his fingers under his chin and regarding the Professor with level eyes. The room was silent, waiting for his decision.
"For now, we let her recover, and we keep a steady, unobtrusive eye on her. Grant is a wise personage and I have every confidence that he will warn us of perilous circumstances," the Professor said slowly, "but I want you all to recognize her as a person, not just a being of great power. Treat her as your own, as a new student, for this is what she is. Now, I do believe it is time for lunch."
Consenting grumbles answered his remark as the informal council filed out of the room, breaking off to their own business. The Professor, Logan, and Hank could all sense the wariness of the council as they left, but there was hope there, too. For the moment, it was all they had.