A/N: Enjoy! Let me know your thoughts, questions, suggestions, anything at all!
[]
[]
It's a small four door sedan, which makes it easy to tell the man who exits the driver's seat is over six feet tall. He has reddish-brown hair cut short, and his sunglasses make him seem stern. He barely spares us a glance before going to the trunk of the car and popping it open. Meanwhile, a woman with dark skin and white hair gets out of the backseat. She sends a smile in our direction, but continues to wait for the other man.
I don't get the impression that either of them are our benefactor, but at least they don't seem like they mean us harm.
I'm surprised when the tall man pulls a wheelchair out of the trunk and goes around the car to the front passenger seat, and allows the man sitting there to maneuver into the wheelchair.
Recovering from my surprise, I look around at the pack. Whether they meant to or not, they've all drifted closer to Alex and I. Bellamy has remained sitting, and Sandy has finally put his camera away. He's standing on the fringes of our group next to Piotr. Mr. Camp is holding Mason's hand just to my left, and I can smell his anxiety.
Dan is the odd-man out. He's gotten up from his bench and is standing too far away from the group to even be considered on the fringes. A peek into his aura reveals some…disdain? Dislike, maybe?
This confuses me, but I don't have time to ponder his attitude today, because the man in the wheelchair begins making his way to us, leading the others.
Our benefactor, then.
He has brown hair to his shoulders, and his blue eyes appear kind. His aura shows me no malicious intent or thought. He wants to help, and he's excited to meet us, but there's also a little sadness. I think from seeing how many of us there actually are, and perhaps from recalling what we've been through.
The red-headed man's aura shows that he is sad, and there is some anger in there, too. If I'm not mistaken, it almost appears righteous. But there is a level of excitement for him, too, tinged with relief. On the edges of his aura, I catch flashes of worry, but it's too sporadic to try to connect it to anything else.
The woman with the white hair is still smiling at us, and it feels genuine. It soothes my prickly Alpha nature a bit, automatically making her someone I want to learn more about. Her aura is…clean, is a good word. She's not pure, per se, but she's a genuinely good person. She's mostly just excited and happy, presumably to be meeting us.
They all appear to be in their early 30's, and they're all well-dressed.
I try to take all of this in as they make their way through the parking lot, but my musings are interrupted when the reach the edge of the garden area.
"Hello, young ones," echoes in my head, in what I've come to recognize and think of as 'mind-speak.'
I can tell all the mutants have heard it, because the only ones who don't jump are Bellamy, Dan, Sandy, and Mr. Camp. But no one jumps too much. The mind-speak suddenly appearing in our heads is a normal occurrence with Erica and Emma around.
The main difference is this man's voice is, obviously, deeper than theirs, and he apparently has a British accent.
I briefly glance at Alex out of the corner of my eye, and he returns the look.
Definitely our benefactor, since he clearly has a mutation.
"I am Professor Charles Xavier, and these are my friends Eric Lehnsherr and Ororo Munroe. We are all three, mutants." Comes the voice of the telepath, apparently named Charles.
After this declaration, they stop as one about five feet from the nearest mutant – who happens to be Remy – which makes them about ten feet from me. That's too far from me and too close to mine for my comfort.
All the kids are looking at me, clearly waiting for my move. Only Professor Xavier seems to have sussed out that they're looking at me; Eric and Ororo seem to be struggling. I appreciate that the professor is willing to let us have a moment to digest rather than bombard us with information.
I take a few steps forward to garner Eric and Ororo's attentions, since our benefactor is already paying attention. It also puts me closer to them, should they prove a danger to the mutants around me.
Though this is done more for caution than due to an instinct or a feeling that they might be dangerous.
Though they definitely are dangerous. While they wait patiently for my move, I take a moment to breathe through my nose and mouth, making use of all the information in the air to scent.
Ororo's scent is perhaps the most unique, especially since it's out of place on a sunny day. She smells like ozone, or the scent in the air right before it rains. It's strong, more like before a storm than just rain. But her face is kindly, and she's still offering the smile and nodding hello when she notices my attention on her specifically.
Eric's scent is slightly metallic, but not like the metallic edge of blood, it's almost sharper than that. It's only a thin layer right on the edge of his natural scent.
Charles's scent is the most normal. He just smells like a human being.
I feel my nose twitch in response to discovering I'm not fond of whatever cologne he is wearing; to my nose it is sharp yet overly saccharine.
"I'll be sure to switch scents, next time, then." I hear in my head, without the echoing quality, so it must have been just to me.
I don't like that he's read my mind without permission.
"Apologies. Your thought was very loud and clear, making it hard to tune out."
A reasonable explanation, I suppose.
"My name is Myka Reynolds. It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor." I say aloud, then turn to glance at Alex, who has followed me closer to the adult mutants. He seems to understand.
"I'm Alex Summers." He says with a nod.
"Adelaide." Says the she-wolf, sidling up to my left.
"Remy."
"Blair –" then " – Bonnie."
"Diego."
"Piotr." Comes the deep voice of the Russian boy.
"Sofia."
"Samuel."
"Anna-Marie, pleasure." She says as she raises a gloved hand to brush hair out of her face.
"Emma," she supplies loud, "I'm glad to finally meet you." She provides telepathically to everyone.
"Erica, and ditto," follows close behind, following Emma's lead.
"Conner," he supplies with a slightly self-conscious wave.
"Katherine-Anne, but I prefer Kitty."
"I'm Sean," he says from behind me, and there's a note of challenge in his voice. I notice it makes Eric bristle a bit.
"Akemi," is provided quietly, but it's enough to stop the brief stare down between Eric and Sean.
"I am Kurt, sir." He says while his blue tail swishes back and forth.
"Kenna." She says, smiling lightly back at Ororo.
"Roshon, but call me Hank." The professor nods.
"Sooraya, but you can call me Raya, if you prefer." But the professor doesn't leave it there, and speaks for the first time since the introductions start.
"Which would you prefer?"
She takes a moment to consider.
"For now, Sooraya, if you please."
He nods sagely, "Sooraya it is then."
"I'm Mason!" Come an excited voice from behind me, then suddenly he's running past me, right up to Professor Xavier, despite his father's distressed noises.
Professor Xavier leans forward toward Mason.
"Well, I am very happy to meet you, Mason. This is your father?" He asks with a smile, as Mr. Camp places his hands on Mason's shoulders protectively.
"Yup! He came yesterday to get us! I didn't like that place at all." Mason tells him.
The sadness in the professor's aura swirls faster for a moment before settling down again.
"Then it's a very good thing he came to get you," he says to Mason, then looks up to Mr. Camp.
"Sir, I am very glad to meet you as well. I have introduced myself to the young ones telepathically already, but my name is Professor Charles Xavier. These are my colleagues," he ends, gesturing beside him.
"Eric Lehnsherr," the red-haired man says with a slight accent. German, I'm pretty sure.
"Ororo Munroe, it's a pleasure," says the woman with white hair, again with an accent though slightly harder for me to place. Perhaps African?
Mr. Camp just nods politely, though anyone with eyes could see he's uncomfortable. Thankfully, Dr. Wu decides to rescue him by walking over to introduce herself.
"Professor Xavier, I'm Dr. Bellamy Wu. We spoke on the phone."
"Ah, yes, Doctor. It is a pleasure to meet you in person. I do thank you, wholeheartedly, for agreeing to assist me in these matters."
"It was the right thing to do. There was only one option."
"I wish the rest of the world saw it that way. You have interest in learning more about the mutant gene, correct?"
"Yes, it is why I went into the medical field in the first place."
"Then I have an offer for you. Perhaps you would be interested in seeing everyone again, once everything has settled down. Our own doctor, a geneticist, would love to share what she knows and perhaps conduct research with you, should you so desire."
I don't know that I've seen this much unguarded emotion on Bellamy's face since we arrived here. Her aura shows she's clearly intrigued and excited. I find it strange this manifests in tears as she accepts.
Though, knowing what I do about her childhood friend, I suppose she feels like she's finally doing what she set out to.
Professor Xavier turns to address Mr. Camp with his next statement.
"I'm afraid the government is insisting all the children accompany me to our agreed upon location, and remain there without visitors for a bit. And I also regret to inform you that we must be getting to the airport soon to begin our travels. Here's my card – " he pauses to hand Mr. Camp and Dr. Wu each a card, "call me in a couple of days and we'll set up communication avenues until such a time that you can visit, or Mason can go home."
Mr. Camp picks Mason up and hold him close.
"For now, take your time saying goodbye. I know this will be difficult."
Professor Xavier turns away and this time moves his wheelchair toward Dan.
I notice Sandy has gravitated over to Dan, but I can't recall noticing him move.
"Dan and Sandy, I presume? It is truly a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Professor Xavier says, nearly over the top politely.
I know I just met them, but it seems to me he's laying it on a little thick. I also notice Ororo's smile loses its luster, while Eric scowls a bit.
Strangely, Dan doesn't seem terribly interested in discussion with the professor, despite promising me last night that he wouldn't just let us go again. I suddenly don't care why Dan is irritated, mostly because he's irritating me with his strange behavior.
I so do not need this right now.
"Take care of them, or you'll answer to me." Is Dan's only response, before turning and walking into the clinic. A confused Sandy seems unsure of what to do, glancing back and forth between Dan and me.
I shrug. Reading minds isn't my thing.
I'm just relieved when I glance over my shoulder and see no one's paying any attention to Dan's retreating back, so they probably didn't hear how easily he walked away from us.
Suddenly, arms are thrown around me, and I hug Sandy back. Just because Dan's acting strange doesn't mean Sandy's attitude has shifted.
"Here," Sandy starts, pulling away from me, "contact me when you can and let me know how to keep you updated on the MDA. Also, just to keep in touch. I want us to be friends."
His expression is so genuine when he hands me a piece of paper with a phone number on it, I know that whatever is affecting Dan hasn't messed with my friend in Sandy.
I smile as I take it, "We already are," I assure him.
His smile widens, if that's even possible.
"Have fun, relax, and try to stay out of trouble," he says, hugging me again.
"You too, Sandy. Goodbye for now."
"Yeah, I like that. Goodbye for now, Myka!"
Then he's turning to go into the clinic, presumably after Dan.
"He seems to be a good kid," comments Eric, which is the most amount of words I've heard him speak yet.
"Yes, very friendly," Ororo agrees.
I nod. "He helped me remember something at the lab."
They look a little shocked at the casual reference. Except the professor.
"And what was that?" He asks me.
I turn to look at him.
"That a little hope goes a long way."
I turn to go back to my pack, and catch a glimpse of Alex's face, a stony expression on it as he looks to the door where Dan and Sandy disappeared.
Maybe someone did see Dan's retreat after all.
I turn back to the professor.
"Can we go now?"
[]
We leave on the same bus we arrived on, as soon as the bus driver appears. We wave goodbye to Dr. Wu, while Mr. Camp ends up accompanying us to the airport.
I'm told the flight will be roughly an hour and a half, once we board. We're heading to Westchester, New York.
[]
[]
A little light on action recently, I know. We'll get to some soon, I promise. Also, there might be some short chapters ahead as I try to get us moving a bit faster.
Don't forget to review!