Chiara went and slept in her old dorm that night. She seemed to be
heading in a downward direction in terms of tolerance. She didn't want to
talk to anybody for a long time. In the morning she woke up and went down
for breakfast in her pajamas.
She got herself a bowl of dry cereal and went back upstairs, ignoring the three students sipping coffee in the kitchen. She took a mouthful as she climbed the stairs and threw the cornflakes away in the trash can in her dorm. She lazily shut the door and started to change, pulling off her goldfish pajama pants.
She reached for a pair of her jeans that were hanging over the back of her bed. There was a knock on the door. She swallowed, then sighed pulling the door open.
"What?" she asked as she looked up. Connor was standing in the doorway, waiting for her. "Shit!" she screamed, slamming the door in his face and pulling on her trousers.
The sound of Connor's voice came through the door after a moment.
"Er... sorry." He said.
"What the fuck are you doing in the Girl's Corridor at eight in the morning!?" she shouted, not yet opening the door. There was silence for another moment.
"Xavier needs to talk to you." He said. Chiara sighed loudly again and pulled on a clean t-shirt reading SDR-R. She opened the door finally and brushed past Connor without looking at him.
"Sorry." He repeated slowly, following her.
"Whatever." Chiara told him, "Just forget about it. Please." She kept her head down as she went down the stairs. "What did X want to talk to me about?"
"Both of us actually." Connor said. "He just wanted to know what he said when he spoke to us last night."ï
"Why? Can't he remember?" Chiara asked, turning into the main hall.
"Er... no, apparently. I told him, but then he asked me to go get you for clarification." He said.
"Oh." Chiara mumbled. A sleepy Kurt transported them up. Chiara started for the office with her head still down.
"I'm still sorry." Connor said quickly.
"S'fine." She muttered, still not looking at him. She wished he'd just forget it like she'd asked. She knocked on X's door, but Connor pushed it open.
"He's expecting us." He said, letting her go through first. She did so and went into the office. The Professor was indeed expecting them. He sat in his wheelchair behind his desk. His deep blue eyes followed the two of them until they stood in front of him.
"What did I say to you last night, Miss. Myste?" he asked as Connor shut the door.
"You said you found Magneto on the Canadian border." Chiara said in an annoyed tone. She crossed her arms. "And you said you didn't want to tell us exactly where, cause' we're students." Xavier nodded slightly for a long time.
"Thank you." He said, looking out his window.
"Did you forget?" Chiara asked tediously.
"No. It wasn't me you spoke with." He said. "It was an imposter. A shape-shifting mutant named Mystique." He said.
"A what?" Connor asked.
"Shape-shifter. She can take on the appearance of any existing person. She works in close alliance with Magneto. I think she may have installed this information with you two in the hopes that you'd tell someone and then lead the other students Eric needs to his hideout. I have to investigate if the facts are true, though."
"Oh." Chiara said. She didn't quite understand, but the Professor seemed sure of himself. His eyes were darting back and forth. He was thinking wildly. He began to nod again, talking to himself.
"Yes, yes. But then... no. Like b-. No, too dangerous. No... I can't." he sighed and closed his eyes, taxing his brain. "Yes." He said after a moment of silence. He opened his eyes and looked at the two of them. "Come with me." He smiled. "I'd like to show you something."
They followed him down to the lower levels. Chiara had never been down here before. It was where the jet functions were and the medic bay. She looked over at Connor, wondering if he'd been down here too. He'd only just arrived, but already he seemed much more on top of things than she was.
They went down an elevator and appeared in a long corridor.
"Where are we going?" Connor asked.
"You'll see." The Professor said. He smiled slightly. He rolled down to the very end of the corridor where a huge metal door stood imposing in the shape of an X.
A blue light flickered from the center of the twenty-fourth letter.
"Welcome Professor." Said a metallic voice. The doors spread and the three of them went in.
Before them was a wide, spherical room. It was totally tiled with what looked like blue reflectors of some kind. There was a long, thin platform that they were walking on. Chiara noticed the cold metal under her bare feet. She violently shivered suddenly.
The Professor stopped at the end of the platform. He picked up something suspended at the end.
"Where are we?" Connor finally asked, looking for something other than blue tile around the sphere.
"This is Cerebro." Xavier said. "It simply magnifies my power. I can find any mutant or any human using this technology." He said, sighing slightly. His voice had taken on a sad tone. Chiara wondered why but she didn't speak. The old man lifted the instrument over his head, adjusting it around his ears. "Don't move." He said quietly. Chiara obeyed exactly.
It took a moment for the effect to work. The Professor gripped the sides of the table before him and stiffened. Suddenly, they seemed to be shooting through an eerie blackness. Chiara felt propelled back, but there was no wind to do so. Then, everything stopped. In the pristine silence that followed, Chiara looked about what had once been the sphere.
Lit by tiny yellow trails of glitter was an outline of the worlds' continents. They were slowly zooming up on random places, and then coming back to the entire picture again.
White lights faded onto the scape. Some moved slightly, others were completely still. They clustered almost everywhere, heavily concentrated in the outlines of, what she guessed was, India and China.
"These lights," the Professor said, "Represent every human being in the world. All constantly breathing in and out and going by their daily business." Chiara thought about maybe counting the dots to see if there really were six billion, but the she realized that was completely stupid.
The white dots disappeared. Red ones reappeared. Chiara glanced over at Connor. In the red light he looked completely dramatic, unsmiling. She frowned and looked back at Cerebro's projection.
"The red ones," Xavier smiled, "are mutants."
Immediately, Chiara was filled with a slight sense of relief. The red dots were scattered everywhere. Her eyes floated to the East Coast, seeing great gatherings of lights on the sea bank. She searched for a sign of Salem on the map, but it wasn't detailed enough to find it. But, now she knew they weren't alone in the world.
They moved in on the United States. Figures began to appear life-size around them. Chiara saw a young woman crouching in fear, a tail curling out from the side of her elegant business suit. Another one reappeared, a young boy walking hand and hand with his father.
"We are the hunted." Xavier said solemnly. "So those of us who can blend in are the ones who are blessed." He closed in on Canada. "Now that I know a main location to search in, maybe I can find your friends."
Chiara watched the mist of red dots. She folded her arms, thinking it would take sometime. Quickly, a figure appeared from the abyss. Another followed almost immediately. Chiara saw Silence, then Yuako. More figures became slightly more apparent, but she couldn't make out their distinct faces. She guessed they were Lucea, Gaudi and Cat.
"That's them." Chiara said hurriedly. Connor looked at her. Yuako looked close enough to talk to. She was sitting down, hugging her knees. Silence was standing, yelling at something... or someone.
Then Xavier said. "We've found them."
She got herself a bowl of dry cereal and went back upstairs, ignoring the three students sipping coffee in the kitchen. She took a mouthful as she climbed the stairs and threw the cornflakes away in the trash can in her dorm. She lazily shut the door and started to change, pulling off her goldfish pajama pants.
She reached for a pair of her jeans that were hanging over the back of her bed. There was a knock on the door. She swallowed, then sighed pulling the door open.
"What?" she asked as she looked up. Connor was standing in the doorway, waiting for her. "Shit!" she screamed, slamming the door in his face and pulling on her trousers.
The sound of Connor's voice came through the door after a moment.
"Er... sorry." He said.
"What the fuck are you doing in the Girl's Corridor at eight in the morning!?" she shouted, not yet opening the door. There was silence for another moment.
"Xavier needs to talk to you." He said. Chiara sighed loudly again and pulled on a clean t-shirt reading SDR-R. She opened the door finally and brushed past Connor without looking at him.
"Sorry." He repeated slowly, following her.
"Whatever." Chiara told him, "Just forget about it. Please." She kept her head down as she went down the stairs. "What did X want to talk to me about?"
"Both of us actually." Connor said. "He just wanted to know what he said when he spoke to us last night."ï
"Why? Can't he remember?" Chiara asked, turning into the main hall.
"Er... no, apparently. I told him, but then he asked me to go get you for clarification." He said.
"Oh." Chiara mumbled. A sleepy Kurt transported them up. Chiara started for the office with her head still down.
"I'm still sorry." Connor said quickly.
"S'fine." She muttered, still not looking at him. She wished he'd just forget it like she'd asked. She knocked on X's door, but Connor pushed it open.
"He's expecting us." He said, letting her go through first. She did so and went into the office. The Professor was indeed expecting them. He sat in his wheelchair behind his desk. His deep blue eyes followed the two of them until they stood in front of him.
"What did I say to you last night, Miss. Myste?" he asked as Connor shut the door.
"You said you found Magneto on the Canadian border." Chiara said in an annoyed tone. She crossed her arms. "And you said you didn't want to tell us exactly where, cause' we're students." Xavier nodded slightly for a long time.
"Thank you." He said, looking out his window.
"Did you forget?" Chiara asked tediously.
"No. It wasn't me you spoke with." He said. "It was an imposter. A shape-shifting mutant named Mystique." He said.
"A what?" Connor asked.
"Shape-shifter. She can take on the appearance of any existing person. She works in close alliance with Magneto. I think she may have installed this information with you two in the hopes that you'd tell someone and then lead the other students Eric needs to his hideout. I have to investigate if the facts are true, though."
"Oh." Chiara said. She didn't quite understand, but the Professor seemed sure of himself. His eyes were darting back and forth. He was thinking wildly. He began to nod again, talking to himself.
"Yes, yes. But then... no. Like b-. No, too dangerous. No... I can't." he sighed and closed his eyes, taxing his brain. "Yes." He said after a moment of silence. He opened his eyes and looked at the two of them. "Come with me." He smiled. "I'd like to show you something."
They followed him down to the lower levels. Chiara had never been down here before. It was where the jet functions were and the medic bay. She looked over at Connor, wondering if he'd been down here too. He'd only just arrived, but already he seemed much more on top of things than she was.
They went down an elevator and appeared in a long corridor.
"Where are we going?" Connor asked.
"You'll see." The Professor said. He smiled slightly. He rolled down to the very end of the corridor where a huge metal door stood imposing in the shape of an X.
A blue light flickered from the center of the twenty-fourth letter.
"Welcome Professor." Said a metallic voice. The doors spread and the three of them went in.
Before them was a wide, spherical room. It was totally tiled with what looked like blue reflectors of some kind. There was a long, thin platform that they were walking on. Chiara noticed the cold metal under her bare feet. She violently shivered suddenly.
The Professor stopped at the end of the platform. He picked up something suspended at the end.
"Where are we?" Connor finally asked, looking for something other than blue tile around the sphere.
"This is Cerebro." Xavier said. "It simply magnifies my power. I can find any mutant or any human using this technology." He said, sighing slightly. His voice had taken on a sad tone. Chiara wondered why but she didn't speak. The old man lifted the instrument over his head, adjusting it around his ears. "Don't move." He said quietly. Chiara obeyed exactly.
It took a moment for the effect to work. The Professor gripped the sides of the table before him and stiffened. Suddenly, they seemed to be shooting through an eerie blackness. Chiara felt propelled back, but there was no wind to do so. Then, everything stopped. In the pristine silence that followed, Chiara looked about what had once been the sphere.
Lit by tiny yellow trails of glitter was an outline of the worlds' continents. They were slowly zooming up on random places, and then coming back to the entire picture again.
White lights faded onto the scape. Some moved slightly, others were completely still. They clustered almost everywhere, heavily concentrated in the outlines of, what she guessed was, India and China.
"These lights," the Professor said, "Represent every human being in the world. All constantly breathing in and out and going by their daily business." Chiara thought about maybe counting the dots to see if there really were six billion, but the she realized that was completely stupid.
The white dots disappeared. Red ones reappeared. Chiara glanced over at Connor. In the red light he looked completely dramatic, unsmiling. She frowned and looked back at Cerebro's projection.
"The red ones," Xavier smiled, "are mutants."
Immediately, Chiara was filled with a slight sense of relief. The red dots were scattered everywhere. Her eyes floated to the East Coast, seeing great gatherings of lights on the sea bank. She searched for a sign of Salem on the map, but it wasn't detailed enough to find it. But, now she knew they weren't alone in the world.
They moved in on the United States. Figures began to appear life-size around them. Chiara saw a young woman crouching in fear, a tail curling out from the side of her elegant business suit. Another one reappeared, a young boy walking hand and hand with his father.
"We are the hunted." Xavier said solemnly. "So those of us who can blend in are the ones who are blessed." He closed in on Canada. "Now that I know a main location to search in, maybe I can find your friends."
Chiara watched the mist of red dots. She folded her arms, thinking it would take sometime. Quickly, a figure appeared from the abyss. Another followed almost immediately. Chiara saw Silence, then Yuako. More figures became slightly more apparent, but she couldn't make out their distinct faces. She guessed they were Lucea, Gaudi and Cat.
"That's them." Chiara said hurriedly. Connor looked at her. Yuako looked close enough to talk to. She was sitting down, hugging her knees. Silence was standing, yelling at something... or someone.
Then Xavier said. "We've found them."