Chapter Twelve
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for my own personal character.
Author's Note: I like reviews. They make me happy. ^_^ This semester's coming to an end, so I'm hoping I'll be able to write some more in this chapter as well as my Marauder Era story for the HP world.
I'm not overly happy with this chapter, but I needed it to get the story on the path that I want it to go down. I apologize for the crappiness. ^_^
I decided it would be better if I kept my head down for the next week or so. I didn't talk to too many people besides Hank, Ororo, and Logan. The Wolverine was a bit nervous around me at first, and I around him as well. Day two after the incident, he had just entered the kitchen when I was making myself a sandwich. I had glanced up when he entered, and I immediately felt the tension rising.
He shifted uncomfortably. "Hey, Rebecca," he said.
I nodded in recognition.
He scratched the back of his head as he watched me for a moment more. "I'm sorry again," he said. "I have… a bit of a temper problem."
"I know, Logan," I said, forgetting my sandwich for a second so I could meet his gaze for the briefest of seconds. With my nerves being on edge, it was harder for me to control my abilities, especially my telepathy. "It's okay. Don't mention it, really."
After that, things seemed to ease between us. He even invited me to go work out with him at the local gym.
"Whenever you feel comfortable, of course," he had added quickly.
"Why d'you want me to go with you?"
Honestly, I was a bit curious.
He shrugged. "It gets boring going alone," he said. "Hank doesn't like to go for, well… obvious reasons. Ro's not really into that kind've stuff. The kids are outta the question to take with me." He snorted. "Plus, all the guys there are pretty into themselves. I'm not much of a people person to begin with, so let's just say there's not much chatting happenin'."
I chuckled a bit. "I'll let you know when I wanna come with you, Wolverine."
When I spent time with Ororo, it was mostly talking about things. Girl things, the people around the mansion, my feelings on a number of different subjects (the part where I usually stopped talking so much), as well as helping me to learn control over my powers.
Sometimes I felt like I she wanted me to reveal too much of myself. I never opened up much, only a few words here and there. I didn't want to relive anything in my past over again.
"Talk about traumatic things helps, Rebecca," she told me.
"Well, it won't help me."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because when I talk about it, it always makes me feel worse. I'm not a masochist. I don't enjoy the pain."
After the stern look I had given her the morning after the incident with Logan, she had stopped trying to get me to open up about my past, especially my parents. We worked on controlling my powers instead. It seemed to be helping, but some days they just felt out of control.
Hank, on the other hand, wanted to talk to me about academics. He wanted to help prepare me for the GRE exam, and began asking me what my favorite subjects in school had been. I told him English, and he had seemed slightly disappointed. I told him I had liked Chemistry, but my math skills had never been too good. I told him all I enjoyed about Biology was the animal kingdom.
"And," I admitted shyly, "genetics."
He had been delighted to hear that. He made me do about a thousand (maybe a slight exaggeration) Punnett squares with differing variables to see what I remembered. Apparently, my memory of that was near perfection, as he wanted me to start reading the harder genetics texts that night instead of my favored literature. I took one or two to appease him. He said he wanted to talk about at least one of them the next day.
We did. I found the discussion a little bit fun. I told him what I had gotten from the book, a study in early Mendelian genetics, and then proceeded with a summary of the next book, which had discussed how far science has come from Mendel. He beamed at me.
"You know, genetics isn't the only thing that will be on the exam," I told him when he tried to bog me down with more genetics books.
He gave me a sheepish look and sighed. "Of course not," he said. "I was… a bit over exuberant, I suppose. No one else in the mansion enjoys nor understands genetics as myself. It's refreshing to hear that someone else has an interest in it."
I nodded in understanding. "Maybe we can work on some math problems tomorrow?" I suggested. "Like I said, it's not really my strong suit."
Hank nodded. "Of course. I will pick out some books for us to work with for tomorrow."
As I bid Hank good night, I felt his eyes upon me all the way out the door. It wasn't a piercing stare, but a lofty one. I couldn't really place it. This only concerned me enough until I got back to my room, where my next book that I had picked out from the mansion's library, The Sound and the Fury, awaited me.
It was the beginning of week two when Hank approached me outside of the kitchen, Logan and Ororo following closely behind. They all looked solemn, and it had me a bit worried.
"Rebecca," Hank said, his voice soft and kind, "we need to talk to you about something."
I gave them a concerned look. "All right," I answered slowly. "Is… everything okay?"
Before Hank could answer, a knock sounded upon the door. The teachers gave one another a look before Logan turned around to answer it. We all watched him from the end of the hallway as he did so. He blocked the man mostly from view, but I could hear what was going on. So, I assumed, could Hank.
Logan sized the man up. "Can I help you?"
"Logan," the man said, sounding relieved and happy, "it's so nice to see you again." The man had a British accent, and his voice sounded kindly enough. It obviously had a profound effect on Logan, for he took a step back from the stranger.
"Charles?" Logan asked.
I saw the man nod before taking a step into the mansion. With the sun not whiting his features and frame out, I got my first glimpse of a man I had known to be dead. He was tall, young-looking, perhaps in his thirties. He had a full head of dark brown hair that was combed off to one side, looking trimmed and neat. His skin was pale, as if he had been hidden from the sun for a good while. His body was slim, covered in a tailored pinstripe suit. His shoes were black and polished thoroughly.
I noticed Hank, to my left, take a step forward before stopping to stare in disbelief. Ororo put a hand over her mouth. Her mind told me she recognized the professor's smile anywhere.
That was when the man met my eyes. I felt him enter my mind, and I let him. He smiled at me.
"Rebecca," he said.
"Professor Xavier?" I asked, unable to think of anything else.
He nodded. By this time, Logan had shut the door. Now he was standing to the side of Xavier, making his way to the man's front so he could look at him better. Xavier was patient, standing with his hands crossed in front of him.
"Charles?" Logan asked again. "Is it really you?" He reached out a hand a grabbed Xavier by his shoulders, shaking him slightly. "It's you, right?"
"Yes, Logan," Xavier said.
At this point, Ororo gave a small cry and rushed forward. Logan stood by as the weather witch threw her arms around the professor and held him tightly. Hank began to move forward as well. By the time he got to the group, Xavier was able to hold out his hand so he could shake Hank's. Ororo, however, didn't look like she was letting him go anytime soon.
I didn't care anymore why Hank, Ororo, and Logan had wanted to speak to me. I was far more concerned with the scene in front of me. It was so… strange, this reunion. There were so many emotions flying around at once, it was hard to follow any of them at all. Finally, Ororo asked the question everyone, I knew, had been thinking.
"But how did you do this, Charles?"
Xavier made a motion, and everyone paused. "Let us all go to my office," he said. "We shall discuss this there."
Ororo released him so that he could move forward. He was graceful in his walking, and confident. As he walked past me, he reached out to touch my shoulder. Not truly knowing why, I turned and walked beside him.
"I'm glad to know that you finally came here, Rebecca," Xavier said to me, his voice quiet. "I was concerned that you wouldn't find us."
"I saw this place on the news," I said.
He inclined his head. "I am its founder."
"I know," I said. "Everyone's missed you. I feel…" I paused. "I feel like I know you already, professor."
"Please, call me Charles." He smiled congenially. "Perhaps it is because my memory has been so well preserved. However, you may note that I am no longer bound to my chair."
I had noticed, but I hadn't wanted to say anything. Instead, I bobbed my head once.
Xavier knew exactly where he was going, and lead us to the office I knew to be Ororo's. It was the same one that I had come to when I had first arrived here. He opened the door and allowed himself entrance, then held it open for the rest of us. It was still early in the morning, so we had run across no students on the way here. I had a feeling Xavier wanted it that way. He shut the door after everyone had come in, and motioned to everyone to have a seat. He remained standing, and so did Logan. The three teachers were staring at him, still shocked.
Somehow, I could not feel the same shock that they could. Mine was more of a confused state of awe for this man, who had known so much about me when I had never met him, who had wanted me as comfortable as possible upon my imminent arrival at his school, who wanted to shelter and help me as best he could. I felt that I could trust him because the others spoke so highly of him.
This feeling was disturbing to me. I had trusted no one so easily before. I had been on my guard every moment of everyday that I had been at the mansion, despite my best efforts to appear at ease. I knew Logan picked up on it, perhaps Hank, too. Xavier, though, touched my shoulder within moments of meeting me, and I didn't shy away from him. I allowed him entrance into my mind without ever being sure it was him and spoke what was on my mind to him only within minutes of his arrival. This man had a strange calming effect. I was wary of my emotions. I did not want them to betray me.
Once everyone was settled, Xavier began to pace a little. I supposed he was still enamored of his ability to move.
"I apologize for keeping all of you in suspense for so long," he said matter-of-factly. Hinted in his tone was also sincerity. I watched him carefully as he moved back and forth in front of his captive audience. "As you all know, Jean was very powerful. She did not mean to do what she did."
"We've all come to terms with what Jean did, Charles," Ororo said quietly.
Xavier nodded before continuing. "I was able to keep my mind intact when my body was forcefully decomposed. I quickly found refuge in a man who was unable to keep his own mind. This young man, whose body I now occupy, suffered a severe blow to the head during a car accident some years ago. He was in a coma for a year and was never expected to recover. He had no family known to him as he was never identified." He paused, looking at the floor with a sad expression. "No one ever came in to claim him."
There was a drawn out silence in the room as everyone absorbed this information. Xavier then said, "I found him to be more than suitable for my needs. He had no mind left to speak of, so I filled that gap for him. When I awoke, the nurse recognized my voice, my demeanor. She told me what had happened to the young man, and I explained to her what had happened to me. She was most willing to help." He allowed the briefest of smiles to cross his face. "So, here I am before you, after a few months of rehabilitation of this new body."
He sighed. "It may take you all some getting used to, as I know it took for me," he said. "But I think you'll quite like this new me." He smirked. "Now, as for how to introduce this to the students…"
"Charles, I don't think they will care," Hank said. "I think they will be more than happy to know that you're alive and well."
"If it helps, we can explain it to them in their classes today," Ororo suggested. "This way, they will not all try to mob you at once when they see you." She gave a tentative grin.
Xavier nodded in his approval. "Please do so."
After a lingering moment of silence, Xavier clapped his hands together. "Well, it is a new day," he said, "and the students will begin to awaken any moment now. Tell them they will meet me at dinner tonight."
Hank and Ororo rose from their seats. They and Logan began to file past Xavier, each giving a nod. Ororo held his hand for a moment.
"Thank you for taking care of them while I was away, Ororo," Xavier said, gripping her hand for a moment longer. "You will always have my undying gratitude for everything you've done for them and this school."
"It was my pleasure, Charles," Ororo said, slowly letting her hand fall from his grip.
Just a moment or two later, the door was closed, and Xavier and I were left alone in the still room.
He turned to me then and said, "Perhaps you will indulge me, Rebecca, and stay with me today so that we might get to know one another."
"Sure."
How could I refuse?
