Erik's POV

Hanging up the Call from Captain Rogers, I hurried through the corridors of the Mansion.

"Jean, Scott? Have either of you seen Charles?" I asked as I passed the couple in the Hallway.

"Last I saw him, he was headed for Cerebro," Jean replied.

"Thank you," I said and walked briskly in that direction. I headed down into the basement. My mind was racing as I did. When I finally found my Husband, He was just leaving the Cerebro Chamber.

"There you are!" I said, "I've been looking all over for you."

"What's the Matter, Erik?" Charles asked.

"Captain Rogers just called; that child they took in, she's got powers.." I explained as I walked alongside him.

"Yes... I... I know. I... Cerebro just picked her up. Melanie's her name. Isn't it?

"Something like that." I nodded, "quite a coincidence, isn't it? Today, of all days. a girl with the same name as..."

"I know. It's almost as if..."

"You know it can't be possible right?" I said as we made our way to the Hanger, "There's no way. not after all this time."

"I know Erik. Believe me. I Know." Charles sighed, "What happened that day wasn't your fault."

"You remind me of that every year." I shot him a look

"And I'll keep reminding you until you get it through your head."

Sometime later, we arrived at Avengers Tower. Just as the Jet landed, I saw Captain Rogers hurrying out to greet us.

"Hey, thanks for coming so fast."

"not a problem, Steve," Charles replied, then his brow furrowed, "Where's Tony?"

Now that my husband mentioned it, I couldn't sense the shrapnel buried inside Stark's chest. His absence was unusual since he and Captain Rogers were practically joined at the hip. (not that I was one to talk. Everyone knew there were days where I couldn't stand to be more than an Arm's length from Charles at any time)

"Resting, um... AIM attacked the tower. They drugged Tony and tried to steal his arc reactor. Long story short, That's how we found out about Melanie's Powers. She fought them off. Saved Tony's life."

Charles and I exchanged glances, "Intense Emotional stress." We said at the same time. It was a textbook cause of Mutant Gene activation.

We made our way inside. As soon as we stepped foot in the Penthouse, Peter came barreling over to us.

"Charles! Erik!" he exclaimed.

"Peter!" Charles's face lit up when he saw the boy, "for Goodness sake, Stop growing! You're going to be taller than your father before I can blink!"

"Hey Pete," Captain Rogers spoke up, Catching the Boy's full attention. "Go check on your Dad for me."

Peter nodded and ran off as we wandered into the Living room.

"Melanie?" Captain Rogers asked, his voice gentle.

A Girl looked up from the couch. A girl who looked to be made of diamond. With round, frightened purple eyes and iridescent silver hair. Her eyes darted to the floor, and she got quickly to her feet. She was standing rigidly with her head down and shoulders back.

I recognised the signs as soon as I saw them. This child had been abused. not by the Avengers, but it was still recent enough to affect her behaviour.

"Melanie, This is Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehsherr." Captain Rogers introduced us,

"Hello," she said in a small voice.

Charles wheeled forward slowly. "We aren't going to hurt you, Melanie. We just want to help." He paused for a moment before continuing, his eyes full of compassion as they met hers, "You don't have to be afraid of us."

Melanie's eyes darted to the floor again. "I... I'm not afraid of you." She said in an even smaller voice.

"That's good," Charles smiled gently at her. As he continued to make progress with her, I pulled Captain Rogers aside.

"Where'd you find her exactly?" I asked in a low voice; If I was going to be of any help, I needed to know this kid's past. Where she'd come from and who'd made her fear every new face she meets.

"HYDRA," Captain Rogers replied with a sigh, "She was with HYDRA. They were… using her as a lab rat. When we found her, She didn't even know her name. all she called herself was her number."

My hand instinctively went to the tattoo on my forearm. I knew all too well what that was like. To have your identity reduced to nothing but a number.

"How… many?" I asked, my voice tight and my mind racing. Children. HYDRA had returned to experimenting on children. They must have restarted Kinderkrieger.

"We… we don't know." Captain Rogers admitted, "Melanie's the only one we found so far. The thing was… that place. It… it reminded me of where Bucky and I found you, Erik."

I knew what he meant. It was like the hidden HYDRA laboratory underneath the concentration camp. The place where I'd been held and tortured because I was a mutant.

For just like Captain Rogers and Sargent Barnes, I was much older than I looked. Some nights, I could still feel the chill of HYDRA's Cryostasis in my bones.

"Kinderkrieger…" I hissed, clenching my fists as the pain of my past came back in full force. "That's what they called it back then."

"You think it's the same program you were in?" Captain Rogers asked, glancing over at Melanie. Who seemed to be warming up to Charles's Presence.

"I don't know if it's the same or if it's evolved with the decades. But… you have to promise that you'll shut it down. Before I do." My blood boiled. All this time, all this time, I'd been told that HYDRA was no longer a threat. That not all humans hated mutants. They said to me that If I was going to fit in in the modern world, I needed to start trusting people.

Erik, calm down. Charles's voice echoed softly in my head.

I will not calm down! Do you have any idea… I angrily thought back before my husband cut me off.

You're frightening the girl.

I looked over and realised that the several metallic objects in the room, including the coffee table. Were floating in midair. And Melanie was cowering behind the couch.

bobkes*. I thought. I'd really Fakakta* this time.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly lowered everything back to its original position and took a few slow steps towards Melanie. "I wasn't angry at you, Melanie." I said softly, "I was angry at the people who hurt you."

She looked up at me with wide, fearful eyes that were slowly shifting back to a more human-like colour. Or colours as the case may be, as it was becoming clear that she had a striking form of Heterochromia. Blueish green on the left and deep hazel brown on the right.

I knelt to her eye level, "The Truth is, They hurt me too, a long, long time ago."

"They did?"

"Yes, They did. That's why I want to help you. I have some understanding of what you've gone through."

Melanie looked at me quizzically for a moment before nodding her head slowly. Then, she looked past me, and her face seemed to light up. "Tony!" she gasped, practically jumping over the couch and running across the living room.

Charles and I both turned around; there, leaning heavily against the doorway with Melanie's arms wrapped tightly around his waist, was none other than Tony Stark.

"Hey Mel," Stark said softly, "I'm ok, Kiddo."

"I... I was so worried..." Melanie whimpered, her voice muffled by Tony's shirt.

"I'm ok, I promise." Stark ran a hand through silver hair that was fading to a shade of platinum blonde. I glanced at Charles as we both wondered how long it took to get Melanie's trust like that.

"Tony," Captain Rogers walked over with a strange mix of disappointment and disapproval on his face, "What are you doing out of bed? You're supposed to be resting."

"I heard we had guests," Stark said, looking over at us and giving a grin. "Charles, Magnets, how are ya?"

"Better than you by the looks of it," Charles replied, falling into the ease of bantering with his childhood playmate, "You should listen to your partner more..."

Well, if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black. I don't know what it is. I thought, knowing that Charles would hear it.

"You've got quite the girl there," Charles continued, changing the subject back to Melanie and ignoring my thought.

"Yeah. What's the prognosis, Prof?" Stark asked.

"Believe it or not, We're fortunate that Melanie's Crystalline shapeshifting is one of the more simple mutations. Under normal circumstances, I'd give her a place at the school. But given her origin and current situation. I believe she should remain here at the tower with you both."

Melanie looked over; she looked almost entirely human again. "So I don't have to go to your school?" She asked, sounding almost relieved at the prospect. It was clear that in the short time she'd lived with them, she'd formed a strong and profound bond with the Avengers.

"I didn't say that, Melanie." Charles replied, "I'll make a plan with Tony and Steve for you to come up to the school at least once a week. but you'd always come back here at the end of the day."

Melanie didn't seem to like that idea, she held Stark's shirt a bit tighter, and Captain Rogers put his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to provide reassurance.

"Or... I could always come here. To the tower. Tutor you. I'm sure Erik can handle things for a few hours a week without blowing up our school."

Rude. I rolled my eyes; I'd run that school alone for months at a time in days gone by. And It wasn't like I'd be alone. We had Jean, Scott, Ororo and Raven all helping out. Together, We were the X-Men. Helping frightened kids with incredible powers was what we did.

"What do you think?" Charles asked.

Melanie looked up at him with a shy smile and nodded her head in agreement. "I think I'd like that, Professor."