(a/n- for the record, this is based post X-2 (if you hadn't figured that
out by now.) and I'm drawing the characterizations not just from the movie
but also from the comic book history- those parts that I know are recent as
of a few years ago when I stopped buying the comics. So some of the details
may seem a little off as I try to combine the two. Also, I apologize to
anyone if my interpretation of the characters differs wildly from their
own. S'Ashe)
Part III
Scott drove up the driveway at near midnight on the third day of travel. His little companion was curled up on the seat next to him, sleeping. He hadn't had sleep since picking her up, Scott didn't want to waste time stopping and drove straight through to Westchester. Somewhere someone was probably worried sick about this little girl. Someone whose heart was breaking into a million pieces. Knowing how that felt Scott wanted to alleviate that pain as quickly as possible.
The Professor was waiting for them in the entranceway. All around him the house was quiet, the students having finally settled down to sleep.
"Welcome back, Scott." Charles smiled kindly, truly glad to see one of his first students come home.
The little girl awoke and wiggled in Scott's arms to be put down. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stared at the Professor. She walked towards him, tilting her head this way and that. Charles felt something touch him, but it wasn't telepathy. He resisted reading her mind until she made some sort of decision about him. Then the decision was made, followed by a bright smile crossing her face as she climbed into Charles' lap and hugged him tightly. Surprised he hugged her back gently, now going into her mind.
**Nice man. I like nice man. Strong man. Like strong man. Strong man smart too, he find Mykal. He tell sister where I am.**
Charles smiled at her as she leaned back to stare into his face again, "Good evening. I am Charles Xavier. Welcome to my school. I can read your mind, so if you focus on your name and where your sister is I will do my best to find her."
She beamed at him and he went back into her mind. **Knew him smart. Know he find Mykal. I'm Kiana. Why are you sad?**
The last bit took him by surprise, and rather than speaking aloud he spoke directly into her mind, **What makes you think I am sad, Kiana?**
She tilted her head and smiled at him, a small hand resting on his heart, **Kiana feels it. Heart hurts. Sad, lonely.** Tears welled up in her eyes and she hugged him tightly, **Me sad. Want Mykal. Men bad. Take Kiana. Want Mykal. Mykal is someplace warm, bright. Big sign on hill with word. Kiana doesn't know word, but it's name word. Want Mykal.**
She leaned back and nodded to Charles, her eyes still glistening with tears. Charles reached up and gently wiped her cheek, "We'll find your Mykal. For now we will take you to a room where you will sleep. Tomorrow I'm going to have someone examine you to make sure you're not hurt in any way. Okay?"
She nodded and kissed his cheek. Charles felt something strange, as if some of his grief for Jean was not lifted or taken away but somehow eased. He mentally told Scott which room to take Kiana too. It was a small room that had been vacant for some time and it was closer to the teachers rather than the students.
Charles wheeled his way to his office to have a discussion with another new team member, the mutant with the codename Beast, aka Hank McCoy. Hank had been living quite successfully as a biochemist. He was known to be a mutant supporter, but no one knew that he himself was a mutant. Then an accident in his lab left him covered with thick blue fur, and he was hunted until a week or so ago when Storm and Wolverine had brought him here. Hank was enjoying himself immensely and the rest of the team was growing quite fond of him.
After his meeting with Hank, wherein he agreed to take a look at Kiana the next morning, Charles went down to Cerebro, trying to find this Mykal. The 'word sign' had given him a clue that she might be somewhere near Hollywood. After two hours of searching he was nearly exhausted but he thought he had found her. The young woman looked to be near 20, and exactly like an older Kiana. He watched her pace and fret, occasionally punching walls or furniture in her frustration. Suddenly she stopped and looked around, a snarl curling her lip.
**Who's there?** she demanded, her telepathic voice extremely strong.
**I am Charles Xavier, of the Xavier School for the Gifted. A young girl named Kiana begged me to find you.**
The rage she directed at him was palpable, **If you've harmed her I will kill you.**
There was no question of her sincerity, **I believe you. However, she is perfectly fine and misses you very much.**
**What do you want for her? Do you work with that bastard Stryker?**
**Mr. Stryker is dead.**
There was a pause, **Let me guess, you had something to do with it?**
Charles felt at a slight loss as to just how to deal with this young woman, **In a manner of speaking, yes. His actions against my students provoked consequences that led to his death. Three days ago one of my former pupils was at Alkali Lake and met up with two of his henchmen who had with them a duffle bag. After dealing with the two men my former student discovered your sister. Since she can not speak he brought her back to me to see if I could find out who she was and locate her family.**
**I'm the only family she has.** Mykal's tone was curt, **How did she react when she met you?**
It was an odd and abrupt question, but Charles answered honestly, **After staring at me she climbed into my lap and hugged me.**
Apparently this was the right answer, the tone of Mykal's mind changed entirely, **She did? Okay, are you going to bring her to me, or shall I come to you?**
**I can arrange for your travel here. I would like to discuss a few things further with you.**
A slight hint of amusement crept into Mykal's mind voice, **Something like this school of yours?**
**That would be one, yes.**
**Fine. I want to fly out as soon as possible.**
Charles agreed and certain details were arranged. Mykal informed him that she used the last name Thorn and gave him a phone number where she could be reached. It was decided that she would rent a car at the airport rather than have any of the Professor's people pick her up. It was quite obvious that while she was giving him the benefit of the doubt that she didn't trust him. For that the Professor really couldn't blame her.
After leaving Cerebro, Charles went back upstairs and arranged for a one- way plane ticket to be purchased for Ms. Mykal Thorn to fly out of LAX at 3 am PST. He phoned Mykal to give her the details, unfortunately he was too tired to read anything out of her speaking voice. Finally an exhausted Charles took himself to bed for a much needed rest. He had never used Cerebro to hold a conversation before, hadn't even really known it was possible. This Mykal was potentially a stronger telepath than he himself was.
Part IV
The next morning he rose early, as was his habit, and went directly to his office. He was having a conversation with Hank when Kurt Wagner bamfed into his office. Hank had been telling him that he stopped by Kiana's room, but she wasn't there. It was at this point Kurt arrived, forestalling any search Charles could perform.
"Guten morgen, Professor. I vas vondering if I could haff a vord?" The mutant also known as Nightcrawler wrung his hands somewhat.
"Certainly Kurt, I always have time. However, could you wait just a few moments? We have a new arrival at the mansion that I need to locate."
Charles had just begun his search when he saw Kurt jump several feet in the air and spin around into a defensive posture. Both men were very surprised to see an awake Kiana sitting on the floor, where she had apparently fallen, looking slightly sheepish.
Kurt turned back to the Professor, "She touched my tail." He was shocked, and unsure if he should be insulted or not.
Kurt looked back at Kiana, who was attempting to smile even though her lower lip was caught between her teeth. She shrugged to him slightly.
"Well, thank you for helping me find her, Kurt. Kurt Wagner, I would like you to meet Kiana Thorn. You'll forgive Ms. Thorn for not saying hello, apparently she doesn't speak."
Kiana stood up and very formally held her hand out to Kurt. In a daze still, Kurt took her hand to shake it. His equilibrium was just returning when she kissed the back of his hand. Charles just watched the two curiously. He hadn't quite worked out what exactly it was that Kiana was able to do, though he knew she wasn't a telepath. Watching their interaction might give him some kind of clue.
Kurt knelt down next to Kiana, "It is very nice to meet you."
Kiana's head tilted from side to side as she studied Kurt's face. Her pale green eyes filled with tears and she threw herself at him in a tight hug. Kurt looked helplessly at Charles and then back to Kiana, slowly hugging her gently back.
**Kiana, what is the matter?** Charles asked her gently.
Kiana lifted a tear streaked face, **He so sad. All sad. All here hurt.**
**We're grieving for a loved one. Yes, it is sad, but we have happy times too. Speaking of, I contacted Mykal last night. She will be here later this morning. In the meantime there is someone I want you to meet, he's going to make sure you're all right.**
Kiana nodded slightly and she let go of Kurt, only to grab his three digited hand. She smiled up at him. Kurt patted her head gently with his free hand and looked to Charles.
"She ist un angel."
Before either man could speak further Kiana grinned broadly and shook her head. Then the pantomime began, she gestured to herself and then lifted a hand to indicate bigger. Following this she pointed to Kurt's tail and poked a finger up on either side of her head and pointed to herself. All the while she silently laughed. It took the men a few minutes, and eventually Charles had to cheat, to realize that she was explaining that Mykal (her but bigger) frequently said she was a little devil.
She was bouncing up and down around the room when Hank arrived after Charles' call. Kiana laughed her silent laugh again and bounded over to him. She jumped up towards him, fully expecting that he would catch her.
Charles looked into her mind for a moment and she was chanting "Mykal's coming, Mykal's coming." Over and over again.
"Hank, please take her downstairs. I would like to know more about her before the students see her." Charles explained.
Hank nodded, very pleased with Kiana's reaction to him. Or perhaps that should be non-reaction. Ever since the accident in the lab everyone had some sort of reaction to him. Rarely it was simply surprise, usually it was surprise followed by fear and hatred. This little one however had literally jumped for joy and wanted a hug. Feeling rather King of the World like Hank brought her down to one of the underground medical centers to give her a quick exam.
An hour or so later Hank reappeared in Charles' office. At the time Charles was holding a meeting with Storm, Cyclops and Wolverine. He was invited in and listened quietly to the update regarding Gambit, the mutant Storm and Wolverine had brought in just a short while ago.
Charles turned to Hank, "What can you tell us of our other new guest?"
"Well, the reason she does not speak is quite simple. The child has no vocal cords. As far as I can tell, after studying her ultrasounds and x- rays quite thoroughly is that she was simply born without them. Also, in every way she is perfectly healthy, save one. Something else she was born without, ovaries. The young lady will never birth children. I am at a loss as to what this all leads up to. I would very much like the opportunity to speak to her older sister when she arrives."
"Whoa, what kid are we talkin' about?" Wolverine looked confused.
"A kid I rescued that had been kidnapped by two of Stryker's men. Her name is Kiana, she's about five." Cyclops answered stiffly. When he spoke to Wolverine it always seemed, in Wolverine's opinion, that he over starched himself in the shower.
To all of their surprise, Wolverine merely nodded and said "oh."
Charles picked up the conversation, "I believe the young lady is something akin to a telepath but not quite. Instead she may be a telempath, someone who senses emotion rather than thought. Additionally her older sister, who should be here anytime now, is an incredibly strong telepath. What concerns me is why Stryker wanted them."
(A/N- to my first reviewer Anastasia Who - thanks!! I'll try to keep it interesting- SG)
Part III
Scott drove up the driveway at near midnight on the third day of travel. His little companion was curled up on the seat next to him, sleeping. He hadn't had sleep since picking her up, Scott didn't want to waste time stopping and drove straight through to Westchester. Somewhere someone was probably worried sick about this little girl. Someone whose heart was breaking into a million pieces. Knowing how that felt Scott wanted to alleviate that pain as quickly as possible.
The Professor was waiting for them in the entranceway. All around him the house was quiet, the students having finally settled down to sleep.
"Welcome back, Scott." Charles smiled kindly, truly glad to see one of his first students come home.
The little girl awoke and wiggled in Scott's arms to be put down. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stared at the Professor. She walked towards him, tilting her head this way and that. Charles felt something touch him, but it wasn't telepathy. He resisted reading her mind until she made some sort of decision about him. Then the decision was made, followed by a bright smile crossing her face as she climbed into Charles' lap and hugged him tightly. Surprised he hugged her back gently, now going into her mind.
**Nice man. I like nice man. Strong man. Like strong man. Strong man smart too, he find Mykal. He tell sister where I am.**
Charles smiled at her as she leaned back to stare into his face again, "Good evening. I am Charles Xavier. Welcome to my school. I can read your mind, so if you focus on your name and where your sister is I will do my best to find her."
She beamed at him and he went back into her mind. **Knew him smart. Know he find Mykal. I'm Kiana. Why are you sad?**
The last bit took him by surprise, and rather than speaking aloud he spoke directly into her mind, **What makes you think I am sad, Kiana?**
She tilted her head and smiled at him, a small hand resting on his heart, **Kiana feels it. Heart hurts. Sad, lonely.** Tears welled up in her eyes and she hugged him tightly, **Me sad. Want Mykal. Men bad. Take Kiana. Want Mykal. Mykal is someplace warm, bright. Big sign on hill with word. Kiana doesn't know word, but it's name word. Want Mykal.**
She leaned back and nodded to Charles, her eyes still glistening with tears. Charles reached up and gently wiped her cheek, "We'll find your Mykal. For now we will take you to a room where you will sleep. Tomorrow I'm going to have someone examine you to make sure you're not hurt in any way. Okay?"
She nodded and kissed his cheek. Charles felt something strange, as if some of his grief for Jean was not lifted or taken away but somehow eased. He mentally told Scott which room to take Kiana too. It was a small room that had been vacant for some time and it was closer to the teachers rather than the students.
Charles wheeled his way to his office to have a discussion with another new team member, the mutant with the codename Beast, aka Hank McCoy. Hank had been living quite successfully as a biochemist. He was known to be a mutant supporter, but no one knew that he himself was a mutant. Then an accident in his lab left him covered with thick blue fur, and he was hunted until a week or so ago when Storm and Wolverine had brought him here. Hank was enjoying himself immensely and the rest of the team was growing quite fond of him.
After his meeting with Hank, wherein he agreed to take a look at Kiana the next morning, Charles went down to Cerebro, trying to find this Mykal. The 'word sign' had given him a clue that she might be somewhere near Hollywood. After two hours of searching he was nearly exhausted but he thought he had found her. The young woman looked to be near 20, and exactly like an older Kiana. He watched her pace and fret, occasionally punching walls or furniture in her frustration. Suddenly she stopped and looked around, a snarl curling her lip.
**Who's there?** she demanded, her telepathic voice extremely strong.
**I am Charles Xavier, of the Xavier School for the Gifted. A young girl named Kiana begged me to find you.**
The rage she directed at him was palpable, **If you've harmed her I will kill you.**
There was no question of her sincerity, **I believe you. However, she is perfectly fine and misses you very much.**
**What do you want for her? Do you work with that bastard Stryker?**
**Mr. Stryker is dead.**
There was a pause, **Let me guess, you had something to do with it?**
Charles felt at a slight loss as to just how to deal with this young woman, **In a manner of speaking, yes. His actions against my students provoked consequences that led to his death. Three days ago one of my former pupils was at Alkali Lake and met up with two of his henchmen who had with them a duffle bag. After dealing with the two men my former student discovered your sister. Since she can not speak he brought her back to me to see if I could find out who she was and locate her family.**
**I'm the only family she has.** Mykal's tone was curt, **How did she react when she met you?**
It was an odd and abrupt question, but Charles answered honestly, **After staring at me she climbed into my lap and hugged me.**
Apparently this was the right answer, the tone of Mykal's mind changed entirely, **She did? Okay, are you going to bring her to me, or shall I come to you?**
**I can arrange for your travel here. I would like to discuss a few things further with you.**
A slight hint of amusement crept into Mykal's mind voice, **Something like this school of yours?**
**That would be one, yes.**
**Fine. I want to fly out as soon as possible.**
Charles agreed and certain details were arranged. Mykal informed him that she used the last name Thorn and gave him a phone number where she could be reached. It was decided that she would rent a car at the airport rather than have any of the Professor's people pick her up. It was quite obvious that while she was giving him the benefit of the doubt that she didn't trust him. For that the Professor really couldn't blame her.
After leaving Cerebro, Charles went back upstairs and arranged for a one- way plane ticket to be purchased for Ms. Mykal Thorn to fly out of LAX at 3 am PST. He phoned Mykal to give her the details, unfortunately he was too tired to read anything out of her speaking voice. Finally an exhausted Charles took himself to bed for a much needed rest. He had never used Cerebro to hold a conversation before, hadn't even really known it was possible. This Mykal was potentially a stronger telepath than he himself was.
Part IV
The next morning he rose early, as was his habit, and went directly to his office. He was having a conversation with Hank when Kurt Wagner bamfed into his office. Hank had been telling him that he stopped by Kiana's room, but she wasn't there. It was at this point Kurt arrived, forestalling any search Charles could perform.
"Guten morgen, Professor. I vas vondering if I could haff a vord?" The mutant also known as Nightcrawler wrung his hands somewhat.
"Certainly Kurt, I always have time. However, could you wait just a few moments? We have a new arrival at the mansion that I need to locate."
Charles had just begun his search when he saw Kurt jump several feet in the air and spin around into a defensive posture. Both men were very surprised to see an awake Kiana sitting on the floor, where she had apparently fallen, looking slightly sheepish.
Kurt turned back to the Professor, "She touched my tail." He was shocked, and unsure if he should be insulted or not.
Kurt looked back at Kiana, who was attempting to smile even though her lower lip was caught between her teeth. She shrugged to him slightly.
"Well, thank you for helping me find her, Kurt. Kurt Wagner, I would like you to meet Kiana Thorn. You'll forgive Ms. Thorn for not saying hello, apparently she doesn't speak."
Kiana stood up and very formally held her hand out to Kurt. In a daze still, Kurt took her hand to shake it. His equilibrium was just returning when she kissed the back of his hand. Charles just watched the two curiously. He hadn't quite worked out what exactly it was that Kiana was able to do, though he knew she wasn't a telepath. Watching their interaction might give him some kind of clue.
Kurt knelt down next to Kiana, "It is very nice to meet you."
Kiana's head tilted from side to side as she studied Kurt's face. Her pale green eyes filled with tears and she threw herself at him in a tight hug. Kurt looked helplessly at Charles and then back to Kiana, slowly hugging her gently back.
**Kiana, what is the matter?** Charles asked her gently.
Kiana lifted a tear streaked face, **He so sad. All sad. All here hurt.**
**We're grieving for a loved one. Yes, it is sad, but we have happy times too. Speaking of, I contacted Mykal last night. She will be here later this morning. In the meantime there is someone I want you to meet, he's going to make sure you're all right.**
Kiana nodded slightly and she let go of Kurt, only to grab his three digited hand. She smiled up at him. Kurt patted her head gently with his free hand and looked to Charles.
"She ist un angel."
Before either man could speak further Kiana grinned broadly and shook her head. Then the pantomime began, she gestured to herself and then lifted a hand to indicate bigger. Following this she pointed to Kurt's tail and poked a finger up on either side of her head and pointed to herself. All the while she silently laughed. It took the men a few minutes, and eventually Charles had to cheat, to realize that she was explaining that Mykal (her but bigger) frequently said she was a little devil.
She was bouncing up and down around the room when Hank arrived after Charles' call. Kiana laughed her silent laugh again and bounded over to him. She jumped up towards him, fully expecting that he would catch her.
Charles looked into her mind for a moment and she was chanting "Mykal's coming, Mykal's coming." Over and over again.
"Hank, please take her downstairs. I would like to know more about her before the students see her." Charles explained.
Hank nodded, very pleased with Kiana's reaction to him. Or perhaps that should be non-reaction. Ever since the accident in the lab everyone had some sort of reaction to him. Rarely it was simply surprise, usually it was surprise followed by fear and hatred. This little one however had literally jumped for joy and wanted a hug. Feeling rather King of the World like Hank brought her down to one of the underground medical centers to give her a quick exam.
An hour or so later Hank reappeared in Charles' office. At the time Charles was holding a meeting with Storm, Cyclops and Wolverine. He was invited in and listened quietly to the update regarding Gambit, the mutant Storm and Wolverine had brought in just a short while ago.
Charles turned to Hank, "What can you tell us of our other new guest?"
"Well, the reason she does not speak is quite simple. The child has no vocal cords. As far as I can tell, after studying her ultrasounds and x- rays quite thoroughly is that she was simply born without them. Also, in every way she is perfectly healthy, save one. Something else she was born without, ovaries. The young lady will never birth children. I am at a loss as to what this all leads up to. I would very much like the opportunity to speak to her older sister when she arrives."
"Whoa, what kid are we talkin' about?" Wolverine looked confused.
"A kid I rescued that had been kidnapped by two of Stryker's men. Her name is Kiana, she's about five." Cyclops answered stiffly. When he spoke to Wolverine it always seemed, in Wolverine's opinion, that he over starched himself in the shower.
To all of their surprise, Wolverine merely nodded and said "oh."
Charles picked up the conversation, "I believe the young lady is something akin to a telepath but not quite. Instead she may be a telempath, someone who senses emotion rather than thought. Additionally her older sister, who should be here anytime now, is an incredibly strong telepath. What concerns me is why Stryker wanted them."
(A/N- to my first reviewer Anastasia Who - thanks!! I'll try to keep it interesting- SG)
