Chapter Twelve:
Mary walked down the hall toward Professor Xavier's office. She and Kurt had returned from mass less than an hour before, and since then she had been pacing around the hallways of the school trying to decide what she was going to say to the Professor.
She had a velvet bag in her hands, and she was holding it tightly, feeling the shape of a book under her fingers.
She just wanted to explain, start from the beginning and tell him everything that had happened to her, even if he did not believe. After all, her past did not involve mutants...at least not that she knew of. Talking about angels and demons had been much easier with Kurt, who accepted their existence without question. She could only hope the Professor would be as open to the truth.
Mary thought again about the evil presence in that doomed base in West Virginia. It had been so cold, so hateful...and so familiar.
Once, she had seen an angel. She did not doubt that. She had found him hiding in her school. He had been injured and she had felt bad for him. She had brought him lunch, sat on his lap, and talked to him...
Simon, she thought, Simon had been an angel. The air in the room had not been cold, and I knew he was sad when he decided to hide that evil soul inside of me...
Mary paused in mid-stride. The memory made so much sense in her head. But she did not know if it would be as convincing when she said it aloud.
But the cold...that was different. She remembered another angel...very powerful, very old, and with that same cold growing around him.
Gabriel, she thought, He came to our old trailer. He perched over my bed and looked down at me. He smiled, and I felt like I had seen him somewhere before...but then he changed when my teacher and the policeman broke through the door. The warmth around him disappeared...and the air grew cold. The cold wasn't just cold...the cold was hate...
"It hadn't taken him yet," she muttered, "He...Gabriel...still had some of that warmth...that's why the other kids weren't afraid of him...that's why I wasn't afraid of him...until he tried to kill me...then he went cold...he had killed before...he said it...the Bible says it...so why was it different when he tried to kill me..."
You have a world of work ahead of you, a voice echoed in her mind.
"What does that mean?" Mary suddenly said aloud, her voice echoing in the empty hallway.
"Maybe we can help you find out," a soft voice replied from behind her. Mary turned and saw Xavier moving toward her from the end of the hall.
Mary shook her head, feeling a little embarrassed, "I'm sorry, Professor. I... I'm just...rambling. I'm not really sure...how to explain..."
Xavier smiled, "No need for explanations or doubts, Miss Sloane," and then he tapped his temple with amusement, "Your thoughts speak quite loudly..."
Mary folded her arms and stared at him, "Then you know what I wanted to tell you..."
"Pieces of it..." he replied, "And I'd like to show you something. Follow me."
Xavier led Mary into his office, and moved his chair around to his desk. Mary sat down on the other side, and watched the Professor open a large, worn book. He stared at the text for a moment and turned the book toward her.
Mary picked it up carefully and stared down at the words.
On Demons and Other Beings, the title of the book read, and below that it said, Volume 49 – 1900 to 1950. A compilation by Gertrude Giles, Council of Watchers.
She glanced up at Xavier with a frown.
"Council of Watchers?" she asked and Xavier nodded.
"An ancient organization dating back almost to the earliest written historical records," Xavier explained, "Their role in society has changed over the centuries but it always come down to their one duty. Discover the chosen few of each generation who have to power to fight off any supernatural force that may be a threat to the world around them."
"Supernatural like...demons?" she asked quickly. She had almost said 'like angels,' but quickly changed the thought.
"Yes," Xavier answered, "Unfortunately, there are such creatures in the world. Many mutants were once considered demons because of what they could do or how they looked. But, now that science has discovered the mutant gene, the Council has formed a distinct line between them. For mutants are, and always will be, human beings. Demons are not. Even humans who become demons...such as vampires..." Xavier watched Mary's eyes widen slightly as he spoke, "...they have lost their life force, that spark within them that makes them human..."
"Their soul..." Mary said quietly and Xavier smiled.
"Some would agree with that," he replied.
"So...you're a Watcher, then?" she asked.
"Not...technically," Xavier said, and sighed, "Erik Lensherr and I had been drawn into the Council because of our powers. When the idea of 'mutants' became more common knowledge to the general public, our place within the Council was questioned. By 'our place,' I mean the place of all mutants.
"Erik and I both agreed that the Council was derelict in its responsibilities toward mutants, however, our ideas on how to approach this new problem were quite different. Erik felt that mutants could be of great help to the Council and to the world, if their gifts were encouraged and nurtured.
"However, the Council did nothing to sway the world's opinion on mutants, and we quickly became more feared and more hated than any demon or dark creature. Mutants were now targets of violence and Erik grew angry at the indifference to those unprovoked attacks on the innocent."
Xavier sighed, "We left the Council then, and began to build this place. To be a school, a sanctuary, to any in need. Erik helped me build Cerebro...helped me design the Danger Room. But it was quickly clear to him that I had no intention of using these tools against 'enemies' of mutant kind. Erik wanted a war, to prove mutant superiority over all beings...human or otherwise."
Mary glanced thoughtfully down at the book in her hands and turned the pages. The text was legible and the pictures within were a mix of sketches and old photographs. Some of them were simply portraits of faces, some were images of monsters Mary had only imagined existed before.
"He wants to be superior..." she said, "Over all of this?"
"He is not mad, if that's what your thinking," Xavier said, "But I have often feared for his sanity. For mutants are becoming more powerful everyday. Magneto knows this. Every generation is more powerful than the last. And the number of mutants born is increasing, so his goal of mutant superiority is not so unreal in his mind."
"But you don't agree," Mary said glancing up at him.
"No, I don't," Xavier replied somberly, "There are beings in this world who have lived for millennia...maybe longer. And war...especially with beings created for destruction...is the last thing I want."
Mary stared down at the book again. She was thinking of the creature in the hanger, and Xavier did not need to read to mind to sense that.
"Can I keep this for a while?" she asked, "I'd like to read it...and I have a book you may want to read as well..."
Xavier regarded her curiously as she drew a book out of the velvet bag she had been carrying. It was bound in black leather, and looked almost as well read as Xavier's copy of Volume 49. She handed it to him, almost reluctantly, and Xavier read the title.
Thesis on Angels in Religious Scripture, By Thomas Dagget
"I've seen angels before, Professor," Mary said quietly, "And I've seen demons. And after what I saw last night, I don't think mutants and humans will have as much to worry about demons as they do about each other."
Xavier regarded her sadly, "I do hope you're right..."