Not Myself
By Princess Alexandria
Princess_alex24@hotmail.com
Charles studied Christy quietly a moment before starting to explain the plan. He brushed his mind gently against her shield to see if he could sense her emotional state at all, because suddenly Christy wasn't giving it away by her body language. She wasn't showing any irritation or appreciation. She just was sitting there calmly waiting for him to speak. The doorway Emma used must be shut tight and locked, because he couldn't sense anything.
"I have an operative that is helpful in gaining access to organizations. I use her in some of the more delicate work that I can't risk the X-men being associated with." Was that a second of surprise? Charles believed it was. Good, he didn't like to think Christy knew everything about him. "I've arranged for her to come to Washington to help put the F.O.H. behind bars. I think this can be resolved without having to kill anyone."
He spoke calmly and leaned forward. "I'm sure you would prefer to keep the fatalities down, considering who you are going after." He wished that he could believe that Christy wouldn't be inclined to kill the man even if he weren't related to one of her students, but he had doubts. Shortpack would have to give him detailed reports so that Charles could determine if Christy was suited to this type of work, or if she was too quick to kill.
"Of course." She stared him in the eye.
"That's good." Christy's body was a bit tense. Charles had to pay a greater amount of attention to it in order to see how his words were being taken. "There will be a handler and a covert operative moving in with you in a few days. They may be there for a while and I want you to try and learn as much as you can from them. One of them is well suited to teach you more about your powers."
"I don't plan on using my powers again." Christy sounded nearly insulted, clearly irritated. Charles moved back a little, surprised that she'd decide to ignore her gifts. They were morbid to a degree, but they were a part of her.
~Emma, why is Christy showing a reluctance to use her powers?~ He sent out to the only telepath that had gotten to know the woman.
~She found out something about them she didn't like last night.~ Well, that certainly put a hamper on things. He really should have insisted on a report before bringing this mission up with Christy. ~We also haven't discuss all of them yet.~
"You could also learn more about how to get things done in a world with police and technology. This world is different. You've said that yourself." He could see she understood that. Coming from a lawless world had to be very different.
"Fine." She spoke softly, almost resigned looking she keep her eyes on his. "You do realize that I still have a job right? I can't do this full time."
"You'll be backup while the operative takes care of the major details. I'm considering this a learning opportunity." He would have preferred that Christy work full time on this mission so that she could benefit from the more experienced Mystique, but that wasn't an option. She nodded her head agreeing. He was glad, because he wasn't sure how she'd take not being the leader. "I should warn you not to trust them with your secrets." He wouldn't trust Mystique with anything at all if it could be done, but to train Christy the woman would need to know some things about Christy's abilities.
"So when are they coming and who are they?"
"I'll get you that information before they arrive, but for security reasons I can't give that to you now." Emma still had a scan to do tonight. Charles was taking a risk having Christy find out about his working with Mystique, because he wanted to keep that knowledge from the others. With Christy's shield, once Emma was done with her scans, Charles could just ask her to not let Emma in again and it should be safe.
If he didn't want a trustworthy shapeshifter to work with he'd never risk this. Emma trusted Christy and that said a lot to Charles, since Emma didn't trust that many people. Once Christy was trained he could talk about her potential as an undercover agent. Her ability to not show up on scans would be invaluable in getting into places that had machines to identify people with mutant DNA.
********
The talk with the Professor took an hour. Christy felt like a lot of that was just him talking about his morality and what he didn't like to do or have people do. To sum up the large speech: Killing was bad, peace was good. She could have done it in a fraction of the time.
With all that talk she still didn't know who she agreed to live with for a few months. While she was concerned about being able to live together with them, she also had more practical concerns. Things like would they be able to get along well enough to get this done. Teams needed to have trust and work well together. You really shouldn't just shove people together and send them on dangerous missions. Even when she assigned people to hunting teams she tried to take into account the team members personalities. Too much was at stake if they were at each others throats.
~I was thinking that you could come to my room tonight for our talk.~ Emma's warm connection was welcome. Christy wasn't sure where she was going to start looking for her and was just starting to plan out a search strategy when Emma 'called'.
~That would work, but I don't know where you are.~
~I think I can give you directions.~ The hint of amusement came with a sudden shock of knowledge. Christy knew where Emma was now, knew how to get there.
~Whoa.~ She turned to leave the main building and head to the teacher's dorms. It didn't take long until she was walking down a hall she hadn't been in before. The door opened before she had a chance to knock.
********
Emma had the responsibility of telling Christy about her own powers tonight, and after a bit of research she thought she had a decent grasp of what they were. She also decided that she'd lead up to it rather than be as blunt as she normally was.
She was wearing her uniform; the one that Christy told her didn't qualify as clothes. A small smile came to her lips as she noticed Christy glancing at her again. The woman tried to not do that, but apparently she liked what she saw.
Her diamond form came with little effort now and she changed into it while Christy was turned away from her, studying the large balcony windows that overlooked the woods. Her eyebrow rose a little when Christy turned immediately to look at her. It was almost like she knew something had changed.
"After my… After Genosha I had this form for a while, until I learned to change it. The disaster forced me to adapt, forced my powers to adapt, so that I could survive." Emma took a few steps towards Christy until she was right in front of her, looking down into curious eyes. "I'm nearly indestructible in this form, but my telepathy doesn't work."
"That's why I lost contact?" Emma tilted her head a little while she looked at Christy. As a none telepath Christy shouldn't have been able to tell the moment Emma left her mind.
"How did you know?"
Christy seemed to blush just a little. "Your touch is warm. When you pulled out so quickly I felt it get colder." Christy spoke quietly, confessing this. It was always interesting to hear how nontelepaths described the connection. Emma had heard comments about tickling, slimy, and a million other descriptions, more insulting ones than not, but the positive comments never outweighed the bad, before.
"Warm?" Emma asked while indicating that they could sit on the couch. Her apartment had a lot more space than Christy's guest room had.
"It's nice." A shy smile came with that comment. When those eyes fell to Emma's arm, clearly interested in the play the lights did across her diamond skin, Emma held the arm out for Christy to touch. Christy leaned forward briefly and caressed the hard skin. It was always so muted, touch in this form. It was directly on her skin, but if felt like Christy was touching her through a thick coat.
"I can repel bullets in this form. They just bounce off of me." Emma sat back in the chair and smirked with a little bit of pride.
"Shiny." Christy gave her a small smile and moved closer to touch her arm again, seemingly studying Emma's forearm hard. "If I put a strobe light on you could you double as a disco ball?" The teasing glint in Christy's eyes when she looked back up at Emma made Emma chuckle.
"Actually, I can." Emma got up and turned off the overhead light and turned the small light from her writing desk towards her arm. Christy's laughter was worth the effort as the light reflected onto the walls. This actually fit into the conversation. "My power is the diamond skin, but the indirect power is my glittering personality." She twisted her forearm to move the lights around on the walls. "Not necessarily a useful one, but I have it."
She shifted back to her regular skin and left the overhead light off as she moved to sit back down on the couch with Christy. It gave the room a more intimate air, more relaxed, and Emma thought that it couldn't hurt this conversation. "You have something like that as well. A chain of powers all linked to your original power." She moved one leg up and turned so that she could face Christy as they talked. "I've done a bit of research and I think I know how all the things we've seen you can do connect." The smile on Christy's face had faded and the woman looked very serious while she waited for Emma to explain. "You take in the Death energy. That was the first thing you were able to do that I can see. When your system was overloaded with it, it protected you as the blast hit. Your power recreated your body, and if we had a way to check I'd bet you are now put together with that energy and it flows through you like Jono's psionic energy flows through him." Emma went quiet for a moment and waited until her connection with Christy indicated that Christy understood that. It took a moment for her to do that, undoubtedly because she didn't really want to hear that. "That energy is also what saturated even your new form just seconds later as the blast continued, making you glow… and giving you the power to create that portal to the one place you wanted to be at that moment, in this world with us."
"So I'm made of death?" Christy sounded horrified.
"No, I think you're made out of life. Whatever it is that we give up as we die. You only sense the dying, not the dead." Emma sighed, "But this is all conjecture, because we have no way to test that theory. I just know that what you take in is what kept you alive." Emma was hesitant to say it was a person's soul that Christy took in. It might be, but it could also be something else. Emma didn't sense any other presence in Christy, any hint that parts of other people were a part of her. A theologian would have a field day trying to explain Christy's powers and debates could go on for years without reaching any agreement. "Your new body is impervious to knifes, drugs, we can't be sure of what can actually hurt you. You have enough control over it to show blood when you expect it, but that fades. You might have much more control than that."
"What do you mean?"
"We believe you are a shapeshifter. It makes sense that you would be since you have complete control of your body." Emma could feel the disbelief. She spoke more softly, "When I was in control of your body the others said we started to change. You had my scent and you were starting to look more and more like me until you were able to open the doorway. You reverted back to your normal form then. Your eyes went back to deep blue and my scent was gone. Your hair went back to being less blonde."
"No, I can't do anything like that." Christy sounded thoughtful as she considered it. "Can I?"
"My self image affected your appearance when I was in control. It was by accident, but if I tried to do it I may well be able to make you look like me." Emma looked over Christy's body less than subtly. She probably could do it. It would take a bit of work, since Shapeshifters tended to have natural shields, not as strong as Christy's but they still made learning how those powers worked a bit harder. The few times Emma was able to read a shapeshifter the one thing that impressed her was the fluid self image he had. He connected to his true form, but all the other forms seemed to register as his as well. It reminded Emma of the way she was able to change her astral form in her mind by accepting a different external reality. "You are also able to be stronger, faster, and have more endurance than normal because of the nature of your body. We can't know the limits without testing, but the limits you have reached in Henry's tests seem to only be there because you expected them to plateau at that point. He's excited by the possibilities that you have barely begun to tap into your potential."
********
Christy had been sitting rather still trying to absorb everything Emma had told her. The blonde telepath had let her sit there quietly while she poured them both a drink. One that Christy wished could make her drunk, for just a second, before she thought about how that wouldn't really help. Emma had also left her long enough to change out of her uniform and into a silky bathrobe that may or may not have anything underneath.
"I have something on underneath this." Emma's voice held a note of humor and Christy blushed while looking away. Hard to believe how the potential of a naked Emma in the room seemed to make her worries seem less important. The telepaths' chuckle just made Christy blush harder. "Well, I'm glad to know I still have it. Thank you."
"I'm actually really powerful aren't I?" Christy's eyebrows drew together as she thought about it. It was a surprise to find out she was a mutant at all, but to be able to do all of those things, it made her a bit nervous.
"You are probably an Omega mutant." Christy took a slow breath as that thought hit her. Omega's were more powerful than Alphas. Emma, Scott, most of the powerful heroes around here were Alpha level mutants. Magneto was an Omega, wasn't he? He was thought to be the most powerful mutant in the world for a while. Were there more now?
"At least one more." Emma spoke easily, interpreting Christy's thoughts as though she'd said them as part of a conversation. "Your ability to go to different dimensions alone is enough to put you in the Omega range. Without that power, you'd be a very powerful Alpha. With training you'd be a force to be reckoned with." Christy felt the hint of a smile cross her lips at that. Powerful meant powerful enough to protect the people she cared about. She could deal with that. "Would you like something to sleep in?"
Christy blinked and turned to face Emma at that. "What?"
"You need to stay here. I told them I was still working on reading your mind. I can't very well claim I did a deep scan while we were in separate rooms."
********
Bobby smiled wickedly as he walked up to the door at the end of the hall while carrying a large sign and his bag. A quick glance around showed that he was alone, so he opened the bag he brought with him for this mission. Sure, Emma neglected to tell him about Christy's sexual orientation for a good reason, but she did make a fool of Bobby and this was too good an opportunity to get even. He had to move quickly and quietly, while making a conscious effort to keep his mental shields up. Emma should be too distracted by Christy to notice him, but he didn't want to risk it.
The sign was leaned against the wall, because hammering it in would definitely ruin the surprise. It was large and he was able to run the cord for the Christmas lights he strung around it to the hall outlet. The white blinking lights looked good around the sign with bold lettering that said Love Shack. He snickered and then pulled out the tape from his bag along with the other signs he'd printed out on the computer. At an angle from the doorknob toward the upper corner he put the red and blue sign, taping it very well on all the edges. It read "Mutants mating, do not disturb." He had to be very careful to not fall against the door as he stood on his toes to put another sign along the top of the tall door. "Diamonds are a girl's best friend." Was now perfectly placed, so he moved to the bottom of the angled sign, finishing a Z pattern with the last sign. "Girls are more fun." He ran the excess from the string of lights on the sign over the door put it only fell to about midway on the other side.
Not wanting to get caught he left the other decorations he'd had in the bag there. This was definitely good enough.
********
Christy looked in the mirror again. The silk pajamas were a vivid burgundy. Not a color she'd thought would be in Emma's closet. When she got a glimpse of the large walk in closet, most of the clothes were white, but quite a few weren't.
She sighed and opened the door, feeling awkward about this. They were pretending that Emma was still scanning her mind, so yes she had to stay the night. The sight of Emma laying on the bed, leaning up on her arm, waiting for her made Christy's heart beat a little faster. Emma looked so seductive with her white silk robe opened to the belt and the equally white and silky pajama's underneath. The blonde woman was so painfully beautiful.
"Well that looks good." Emma smirked at her and Christy moved closer to the huge bed. Sleep, yeah like that would happen. Christy was having a hard time not thinking about what else she'd prefer to do tonight, or any of the endless fantasies she'd had about being in a situation like this with Emma.
"Thanks." She muttered and pulled up the covers to get into the bed.
********
Christy woke up with a sudden jerk, and didn't know what had caused her to wake up. She stayed very still and quiet as she listened for what had interrupted her sleep. It took a moment for her mind to grasp that she was in Emma's bed and not sleeping on the floor of an abandoned store, like she'd been doing in her dreams. She'd been reliving a hunt.
Emma's side of the bed moved just a little and Christy opened her eyes to see her. It was still dark in the room, but the light from the security lights outside gave her enough light to see Emma. The woman woke up suddenly and Christy was still staring at her. It looked like Emma had a nightmare.
"Hello." Christy whispered to remind Emma she wasn't alone, and to let her know that Christy was awake. Emma glanced at her and the look of pain faded away, like she was hiding it. "You have a lot of nightmares?" Emma sighed heavily and that was enough of an answer. Christy rolled onto her side to face Emma, hating that Emma had to suffer through that. "Me too." She gave a weak smile to let Emma know she wasn't alone in that.
"I'm fine now." Emma's voice wasn't as soft as Christy's, but then they were the only ones in the room. It wasn't like they'd wake anyone up. It also didn't sound like Emma wanted to talk about it. Christy scooted a little closer and moved to lay on her back to stare at the ceiling that had so much of Emma's attention.
"I heard it gets easier." Christy continued to speak softly. The darkened room and the conversation just seemed more appropriate in whispers. "Of course the people saying that haven't been to hell, but maybe it will get better. I hope so." She took a deep breath when Emma didn't say anything.
"So are we forming a support group? Sole survivors of large scale destruction?" The hint of teasing was a cover, and Christy knew it.
"I'm thinking Tuesday night meetings and we can come up with our own twelve steps. I'll sponsor you and you'll sponsor me." Christy gave Emma a small smile. Her voice became softer and more serious after a second. "I'm more than willing to…" Christy let that statement hang in the air. They both knew the offer was out there. Christy would love to be the person Emma went to for help, but she wasn't going to push it. "So, you think you can sleep anymore?" Christy asked a bit louder, closing the conversation after the silence had lasted too long.
********
Emma could hear the steady breathing of the woman beside her. It was soft, consistent. She stared at Christy's back, unable to relax enough to fall back to sleep yet. It hadn't been a year yet. Last summer her world came crashing down around her head more violently than it ever had before. "Christy?" She whispered it, even though she knew Christy wasn't asleep.
"Yeah."
"When you were reading those comics, did see what happened to my students?"
Christy rolled over to face her. "I heard about it, but I never saw it." Emma went quiet as she thought about that. She was glad that Christy hadn't seen that. Her children's death shouldn't be merely a story to any world.
They laid in silence while Emma stared at nothing, but it was in Christy's direction. "When I lost my Hellions, I tried to die. I didn't think anything could hurt as much as losing them did. I was convinced that I was cursed, that anyone I cared about would die. My brother was the only family that I was close to and he committed suicide when I was younger. My Hellions were like my own children and they were slaughtered while I was in a coma. It was like nothing I taught them was enough. I'd failed to teach them enough for them to survive. I'd failed them."
She took a deep breath and went quiet for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. Actually speaking them out loud gave them a weight they needed and the intimacy of the darkened room seemed fitting. Emma noticed that Christy didn't spout platitudes that so many others did. Christy didn't try to say something idiotic like they were in a better place, or deny that Emma should feel the way she did. Christy just listened, and that was what Emma wanted her to do. Emma could feel the sheets shifting and then there was a hand in her own. She squeezed it gratefully.
"I decided that when I reopened my school I'd make sure my students were prepared for a world that could kill them so easily. I worked them hard, giving up being the friend to push them to excel. That was where I thought I went wrong with my Hellions. I was too much the friend and not hard enough on them. The enemy didn't pull their punches, and I shouldn't have. Sean used to tell me that I was too hard on them, but I was trying to keep them alive." Emma's hand worked its way free of Christy's hold, but she rested it on Christy's arm, moving to lightly caress a small bit of flesh absently while she talked.
"This time I made a different mistake. When I ran into financial trouble I asked my sister for help. I don't know what I was thinking, it wasn't like she'd ever helped me before in my life. The only person that Adrienne cared about was herself, and it had always been that way. I thought she'd be content humiliating me, by taking my position as Headmistress away from me. I let her so that I could continue to run the school. I invited her there and she planted a bomb, killing Everett. This time instead of wanting to kill myself, I wanted to kill someone else." Emma could remember the cold rage clearly and the decision she made, leaving her with only one sibling left. One that was not really any better than Adrienne had been.
"That school closed and I didn't know what to do with myself after that for a while," Tears came to her eyes and Emma moved her hand away from Christy to wipe them away. "But I love to teach. It's something that I've always wanted to do, and I couldn't stay away from it." Christy might already know all of this, but Emma found the process of telling her felt right. "I took the job at Genosha when it was offered to me. I moved, started to build a life there, surrounded by mutants, free of the bigotry and hatred. My new students, I hadn't been there long, but they were bright and they could live openly as what they were, what we all were. For just a little while I actually started to feel optimistic that eventually the world would be like that for everyone." Emma's fist clenched as it sat on top of the covers, and Christy's hand felt warm when it moved to hold hers. "How many times must I get my heart ripped out?" She asked through gritted teeth.
The bed shifted and Christy moved closer while also rolling onto her back. The woman moved slowly to pull Emma closer, clearly showing with her body language that if Emma didn't want her to she'd stop in a second. Emma didn't stop her. She rested her head on Christy's chest when Christy pulled her closer. "I know it sucks." Christy whispered. Emma could sense Christy struggling with trying to find something to say. It sucks? Well, not as eloquent as Emma expected from Christy, but accurate. Christy finally stopped trying to think of something and just hugged Emma tighter. Maybe there wasn't really anything to say. Emma relaxed into the embrace.
********
Christy woke up, not having even realized she fell asleep. Emma was curled up to her side, with one arm hugging her. Christy just stared for a moment, and enjoyed the warmth of Emma's body against her own. She was afraid to move and wake the telepath.
"Too late." A teasing voice whispered and Emma lifted her head to look into Christy's eyes. Christy could see the woman's hair was mussed, her eyes were tired, and she was still the most beautiful thing she'd ever woken up to. "What time is it?"
Christy glanced at the clock behind Emma. "5:45." At that Emma rested her head back on Christy's body. That was a bit of a surprise.
"fifteen more minutes." Emma seemed to cuddle up against her, waking Christy up rather quickly. She felt very alert now. Emma pulled away and sat up. The mischievous grin she aimed at Christy before moving to get out of bed made Christy grin back just because she was happy to see it. Last night Emma had seemed depressed and Christy felt helpless to help her.
They were ready for breakfast by fifteen after. Christy didn't care that she was wearing her clothes from the day before, she'd packed up all the others and would have had to hunt through them for something to else. Besides she was used to having to wear the same clothes a lot longer than two days in a row.
********
Bobby waited patiently by the security monitors, wishing that Christy didn't have such an early flight because then he wouldn't have to wake up so early to see how they responded to his joke.
The door opened and Christy came out, smiling.
********
Emma sensed Christy's tension a moment before she saw the childish prank. It was easy to figure out who did it.
"Bobby." Christy whispered and Emma was impressed how quickly Christy came to the same conclusion. The wooden sandwich sign declaring Emma's apartment a Love Shack sat beside her door, and when she turned to close the door behind her she noticed the other signs. "Emma, I'm sorry."
Emma gave Christy a mischievous grin, while keeping her back to the camera she knew Bobby was watching. ~No need. It would hardly be an insult if they really thought you and I were together.~ Emma could sense Christy's surprise at that. ~Robert is probably watching. He'll tease me mercilessly once you leave. Care to help me with that?~
~Sure~ Christy sounded a little confused and also a little concerned.
Emma moved closer to Christy and moved a hand up to caress her cheek. "Don't worry about this lover. It would take a lot more than this to ever make me regret last night." ~Play along~ She sent shortly after saying that, stopping the look of surprise on Christy's face from becoming too evident. Christy was the one facing the camera after all.
Christy smiled at her with open adoration in her eyes. It wasn't clear whether or not she was acting. "Good." She spoke softly and took Emma's hand. "Because I sure don't."
********
Bobby watched the monitor with wide eyes. He was just teasing, he had no idea that they'd actually been… that they did IT. Oh wow. Emma and Christy. It was still a bit of a surprise, but thinking about when he'd seen them interact, maybe it shouldn't have been. He watched the women walk away from Emma's door, hand in hand.
********
Emma smirked when she turned away and started down the hall. If Robert thought she'd be embarrassed by his little prank, he really underestimated her. She squeezed Christy's hand. ~Thank you. I'm sure he'll lay off future jokes now.~ Because jokes were meant to be funny and if Robert thought he'd actually hurt her feelings, or be mocking her relationship, he'd leave it alone.
~No problem~ Christy's amusement was easy to pick up. ~If you think it would help I could give you a big kiss when we get to breakfast. Then they'll never accuse you of sleeping with me.~ Emma started to chuckle.
~That might not be enough. Perhaps I should lay you over the table they're eating on as well.~ She teased back.
********
Scott grimaced when he heard Emma and Christy laughing as they came in for breakfast. They were walking close together and Emma was smiling at Christy like they shared some private joke. He didn't really care for that.
"Bobby will take you to the airport after breakfast." He spoke to Christy when she sat down at the table. The woman's cheerful expression seemed to fade a bit.
"Actually I was planning to take her." Emma said coolly. ~Scott, really I am the best choice for that.~
~I was thinking that we could finally get that report you promised us~ Scott thought back while staring into Emma's light blue eyes. ~We have waited long enough.~ "Bobby wouldn't mind taking her. He woke up early for it and everything. I'm sure you have work to do."
He saw Christy's expression and the small nod the woman gave to nothing he could hear and he knew that Emma was able to communicate telepathically with her now. No physical contact needed. He glanced at Jean to see if she was catching this, and the look of concentration faded from his wife's face as she shook her head from side to side subtly for him. Jean still couldn't get in.
"Very Well Scott." Emma's voice was an irritated clip.
********
Bobby was putting her bags in the car for her. Christy barely noticed it as she stared at Emma. The blonde woman was seeing her off. Christy was glad her children weren't here, because Christy couldn't hide how much leaving here hurt at this moment. "You be careful." She whispered to Emma and took the woman's hand. "I mean it."
"Don't worry. I'm a survivor." Emma gave her a half smile that didn't really hold the humor it claimed to. "And I'll take care of your children."
Christy felt so out of place leaving them behind. "Thank you." She just stood there staring at Emma for a moment too long before she decided to ignore the audience, and she knew they had one, to pull Emma into a strong hug. "Thank you." She whispered into Emma's hair. If there was a way for her to take Emma with her Christy would do it. She didn't want to leave her behind.
A hand gently caressed her hair and Christy could feel her hug being returned. "Work on the proposal. If I can get it accepted… we might need more teachers to implement it." Christy felt a bit of hope at that. If Emma wanted something she tended to find a way. It sounded like Emma wanted Christy to stay here, which was what Christy wanted.
When she pulled back from the hug Emma caressed her cheek. "You be careful with what you're doing as well." The brief and gentle kiss to her lips was a surprise and Christy barely had time to register that it really happened before Emma pulled back and smiled at her. "You better get going or you'll miss your flight."
Christy just nodded and started to move towards the car. She waved briefly to the assembled team seeing her off. Scott's glower at her was a bit confusing, but she didn't dwell on it. She was still feeling the light touch of Emma's kiss on her lips.
********
"What was that?" Scott asked quietly and Emma didn't bother looking at him as she watched the gates close behind the car.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." Emma turned to go into the main building. "I'll get my notes together and meet you all in a half hour." She wasn't pleased that Scott demanded the report now, but if she'd insisted on taking Christy to the airport it would have caused more problems. At least Christy understood. Scott obviously wanted to say more, but Jean and the rest of the team were still around. Emma walked past them all regally so that she could go to her office.
Emma grabbed the file on her desk with all the notes she'd taken and marched to the meeting room exactly a half hour later. She could have been their earlier, but was stalling time. She had to stall for about, Emma glanced at the clock, another half hour. Bobby should have dropped Christy off at the airport by then and Scott wouldn't be able to call him and have him try to detain Christy until he decided Christy was safe to let go. Perhaps Scott didn't realize that Emma could sense his jealousy and how that may blind him to the fact that Christy was a victim in all of this. He claimed he was going to be fair, but Emma sensed that he was just waiting for evidence that Christy wasn't trustworthy. He was too afraid of what Christy might know and how that could be used against them.
Emma telling them she was trustworthy might not be enough. Emma strode down the hall after getting off the elevator. The others were already waiting in the room, eager to hear the details that only Emma had.
When she walked into the room Scott sat up a little straighter. Emma barely nodded to him as she took her seat. "She's an omega." She spoke calmly as she crossed her hands on the table in front of her. The shocked expressions on a few faces guaranteed that this conversation could last a while. Hopefully at least a half hour. Omega level mutants were still relatively rare. "She started out maybe Beta level perhaps less, but her exposure to so much death elevated her powers." If Christy's world hadn't ended the way it did Christy would have never developed her powers to the level where she could create portals or rebuild her own body. Emma recounted the last few moments on Christy's world and how Christy's body was a reconstruct. She talked about Christy's horror at finding out that the portal had been her own creation and she'd accidentally killed her own double. Everyone listened quietly as she told the tale. She talked about her theory on how Christy's powers were connected and how Christy could one day develop the shapeshifting, and enhanced abilities to the point of being a real asset to the team.
"You think she should join the X-men?" Scott sounded more than skeptical. Emma turned her attention to him.
"Scott she's a powerful mutant with experience and an understanding of what we do." Emma stared him down. She could tell that she'd stalled long enough, so when the inevitable question came she could deal with it.
"Can we trust her though? She knows too much, whose to say what kind of damage she could do." Scott sat rigidly and ran a hand through his hair. "She's a killer, it's even a part of her powers. How long will she be able to resist murdering the people she fights if it feels so good to do it?" He stared at her, "How many people has she already killed?"
********
"Christy was told it was her fault people were dying and she was forced to bury them. Forced to bury children." Emma's voice was cold. "They'd already exhausted the food supply, and the Military were the only ones that still had any." Logan watched Emma carefully, cause knowing her they'd have to read between the lines to get the whole story. "When they killed one of her men and tried to rape a team member Christy had to kill for the first time. It was in her effort to protect her people that she found a way to gain more supplies. She kept her people alive for a year in an area without food by taking down the Military scouts that would go out after supplies and women to rape. The same Military that was responsible for killing off and stealing members of Christy's own tribe."
"She couldn't have tried to talk to them? She just killed them and stole their supplies? Wasn't there another way?" Scooter wasn't seeing it. Military like that wouldn't have just handed over their food and Logan knew it. He also knew that if there wasn't any food supply where Christy could get to it those men wouldn't have been out hunting for those supplies themselves.
"No, she had to kill them to get the supplies she needed." Emma answered that one with confidence. "She didn't take pleasure in their deaths, and was very practical about what had to be done. She did it for her people. There wasn't a lot she wouldn't do for them." Something about what Emma said nagged at Logan. His eyebrows drew together as he tried to put the pieces together.
"How many people did she kill?" Scott was a little less argumentative, but Logan could sense the paranoia. Scooter really had an issue with Christy killing. Logan didn't think the girl would have done it if she didn't have to.
"Does it really matter Scott?" Emma spoke coolly. "She killed to survive and to keep her people alive. She succeeded in doing the impossible and taking nothing and making it last long enough to see the asteroid that destroyed her world. And all she has to show for that now are her nightmares."
"She killed that many did she?" Scott's voice rose a little. "You won't tell us, so the number must be rather high. Did she even try to find a way to rob them and leave them alive?"
"There really wasn't a way to do that." The way Emma's voice became sarcastic at that point made Logan's eyes widen. Logan sat up a little straighter. To find food when there was none. To be that desperate. He couldn't even comprehend how hard that decision had to have been for Christy.
"Scooter, maybe you forgot that they were all going to die anyhow." Logan leaned over the table. "If I had to choose between saving a bunch of kids or some Military bastards like the ones she had, I'd go with the kids." Even as he said that he had to wonder how long it would have taken him to reach the point where he'd hunt the bastards like deer and serve them up over a barbeque.
"Yes, it was an either or situation." Emma nodded.
********
Scott took a deep breath as he thought about this. Emma seemed to think the murders were justified. She also hinted that there had been a lot of them. "Well." He said slowly, aware that the Professor was in the room, but being very quiet. Normally he'd take over the meeting at some point. "She said she was a leader for a while. What was she like?" He was a bit irritated that Emma wasn't just giving a run down of everything she'd seen, even though that wasn't normal procedure. When a telepath had to get information they normally only reported what they considered relevant to preserve some privacy. It was the right thing to do, but Christy had already violated Scott and the others privacy. She knew things that she shouldn't and Scott wanted to know more on her to… He stopped that line of thought. It wasn't like Christy invaded their minds, or did it intentionally. He felt exposed and didn't like it, but that wasn't her fault. He had to remind himself of that every so often after Jean pointed out what he was doing.
"She had two roles. Leader of the tribe and Leader of a hunting team." Emma leaned her elbows on the table and Scott got the impression that this was a complicated answer. "As a hunting leader she didn't shy away from making hard decisions. She also took good care of her team and they trusted each other completely. She…" Emma stopped and sighed. Scott sat forward in his seat, more interested than ever if Emma was having a tough time with this. "They kept secrets from the others. She had less respect for the other people in the tribe who didn't need to go through with hunting and who she didn't trust with the truth of what all they did to survive. Her hunting team became very close knit and when she became the only tribe leader they all became her governing members. As a team leader she was ruthless as she needed to be in that world and she did what had to be done no matter how hard it was for her." Scott could tell there was a story behind that, but Emma wasn't offering it.
"As a tribe leader she had some problems. They had over a hundred members and Christy felt she had to show no doubts, no pain, and no remorse to keep their respect. When her tribe had internal problems she became ruthless with her own people and she was feared and hated, but she thought she was doing what she had to in order to maintain power. It wasn't about the power as much as it was about keeping them alive and she knew she was the one that could do that." Emma glanced at the Professor before continuing. "She made hard decisions to try and keep the tribe together. They got new members occasionally and it was a battle to keep control. Criminals couldn't be tolerated and she had to make some examples. She also thought that if they realized that she was just as hurt or scared they'd panic. It wasn't until her second in command was captured and she had to kill him so that the enemy didn't torture him that she started to turn it around. She loved that man, he was the only person she trusted completely with more than just her life and she shot him to spare him from the Raiders." Emma's voice didn't change as she gave that report, but Scott couldn't imagine having to kill any of his team for their own good. They'd always try to save them instead. "After that she realized that it was okay to show that she cared and her tribe was stunned that their leader was human after all. She didn't need to fight so hard for control."
Scott understood the need to give orders and expect to be obeyed. He understood that the people on your team shouldn't have doubts so you kept them to yourself. He also understood that when someone misbehaved sometimes you had to make an example of them to keep others from doing that, but he suspected that Christy's version of an example would have been far more brutal than his.
~She came from a brutal world.~ Jean's mental whisper reminded him. He hadn't felt her mental touch, so she probably just knew him well enough to know where his thoughts had taken him. Ever since his encounter with Apocalypse Jean has respected his desire for privacy and left his thoughts alone.
~That's what it is, isn't it? She had to be brutal to live.~ Scott's mental voice held a note of sarcasm. He had a hard time accepting that. He was disgusted by the methods, Christy used. He knew Emma hinted at torture, that hadn't escaped him. Just because the world was barbaric didn't mean Christy had to stoop to that. She chose to do that and Scott was worried that she'd do it again. Maybe she'd always been a bit mentally imbalanced.
"Can she adjust to this world? Can she learn to accept that we don't kill when we fight? And we don't torture." The Professor asked, drawing Scott's attention to the man. The fact that the only telepath that could get into Christy's mind was Emma wasn't reassuring. Emma would leave things out if she wanted to. She didn't respect that Scott made the decisions all the time. What if something Emma didn't say came back to haunt them?
"I'll be honest with you Charles. She'll try to go by our rules, but we can't order her not to kill and expect she won't, because if it comes down to us or them in her mind, she'll do whatever she has to in order to make sure it's them."
"But she will make an honest effort to avoid that?" The Professor asked and Scott gritted his teeth. Emma just admitted that Christy is still a killer at heart, and Christy had killed already in this world. Scott hated to doubt the Professor, but if it came to Christy coming here, he didn't want that woman on his team. He already had Logan whose body count was far too high and Emma who didn't always follow orders.
If Christy had experience using guns, she could have avoided the fatal shots she gave those men on that beach. She could have just injured them, but she chose to go for the killing blow. Scott read that both men had been shot in the head. She didn't even try to leave them alive. Probably because just injuring them wouldn't give her that sick rush killing did. "So she can't follow orders?" Scott pointed out as a question.
"She's used to being the law, the one in charge of everything. I don't know if she could adjust to following orders." Emma admitted, "But in her world the other leaders weren't doing what she felt needed to be done to keep people alive, and she was right. Maybe she could follow someone else. She worked well with her team, there is no reason to think she can't understand teamwork."
Emma looked around the room. "I think she should be given a chance. She belongs here. She's a teacher by profession and would be able to slip into a job easily. She could become a valuable team member. She is also too powerful to not train, and her powers are definitely useful. She's got the equivalent of an unbelievable healing factor, the potential to shapeshift, the ability to avoid mutant detectors, enhanced strength agility and endurance, and a perseverance beyond anyone I've ever met before. She adapts quickly to change. I've rarely seen anyone with this much potential Charles, and she is so incredibly lonely. She's trapped in her doubles life unable to be herself. After the trauma she's been through she picked up a normal life and tried to make it work, but she can't and she knows it."
Emma paused and Scott felt like interrupting, but she started to talk again a bit more softly. "You know how protective I am of my students. I have absolutely no reservations about her. She didn't even try to hold anything back from me. She submitted to that deep scan voluntarily to try and ease our minds. It wasn't easy for her and I'm not so sure I didn't do some damage revealing her suppressed memory. She's even more unhappy with her role as the other Christy and wants out. After everything she's gone through, all she wants is to be herself, a stable home and people to care about. That's all she wants. If Scott isn't willing to trust her on the team." Scott bristled a little at the condemnation in Emma's voice. "We could use another teacher for the next school year. Not every adult around here needs to be an Xman."
"Thank you for your suggestions." The Professor spoke, seeming a little distracted. Scott turned to face his mentor. "And thank you for your hard work in getting past her shields."
"She wanted me in there Charles. If she hadn't, I never would have made it."
********
Jean suspected there was more to Emma's request for Christy to be allowed to live at the mansion. Something more personal. She'd seen the goodbyes and Jean had never seen Emma so unguarded with anyone as she was with Christy. The tension that Jean always thought was just a part of Emma's cold personality melted at that moment. Jean found herself wondering if there might be the beginning of something there.
"I never found a breach in that shield and it is amazing I can tell you that." Jean nodded to the blonde telepath, "Emma's right, if she didn't want someone inside, they'd never get there. Christy wanted Emma there. Even when I knew that Emma was talking with Christy telepathically I still couldn't find a doorway. It just wasn't there for me." Jean could see she had Emma's attention now, and there was none of that superiority that blonde liked to play at. Jean had at first thought that Emma had manipulated the woman into only letting her in, but now Jean suspected that Emma was the only one that ever could have gotten in, because Christy loved her. It was so romantic that even Jean was moved for the normally cold woman and the sole survivor of a doomed world. If there was any justice in the universe that relationship would develop and grow. Right now it seemed like it might need a little bit of help getting there.
"I do agree that Christy should be here, where we can train her." Jean glanced at her abnormally suspicious husband, "And so that we can keep an eye on her. If she isn't taught new ways we are setting her up for failure. She wants to fit in, but if she can't fight what chance does she have to avoid using lethal force? We would be leaving her with nothing but that." ~Scott, if you are so worried about her, shouldn't she be here?~ Jean wasn't really worried about Christy being a threat. She just didn't feel it and didn't need her telepathy to know that Christy wouldn't do anything to endanger Emma if no one else. Scott's thoughts were closed to her so she let him think about it.
"I propose that we wait and see." The Professor glanced at Emma and her. "Christy is working on avoiding police detection right now and from what I understand from what her students have said, they will be making decisions about their future this summer." Jean felt a wave of uneasiness at that. It made it sound like either they got Christy back or her students would want to leave. Those students needed training just as badly as Christy did. All of them had potential.
********
Christy stared out the window as Bobby drove. She was going back to that life and leaving here. It wasn't a great day. Her fingers trailed over her lips again as she thought about the kiss. Did it mean anything? Christy really wouldn't mind if it did.
"About those signs." Bobby spoke hesitantly and Christy turned to look at him. "It was just a joke. You know that right?"
"Oh yeah." Christy waved her hand. She wasn't really worried about that now. Emma was fine with that, and that was all that really mattered. Emma was fine with people thinking they were a couple. Was that because the telepath wouldn't mind it being true?
"You seem kinda out of it."
"Didn't get much sleep last night." Christy answered, not thinking about how that would be taken until she noticed his small grin.
Christy got out of the car and grabbed her bag. Time to go. "See you later." She smiled at Bobby and thanked him for taking her, even though she strongly suspected he hadn't been given a choice.
Hours later she walked into the house and dropped her bags on the landing with a heavy sigh. Alone again.