Chapter 2

She was joining the team and Athena couldn't be happier; although, she didn't show it on the outside. Sitting in the back of the car, Charles at the wheel and Erik in the passenger's seat, she stared out at the city they were going through.

They had successfully gotten all her things from her hotel room without arousing suspicion and now made the trip to the CIA facility. Although the ride was for the most part quiet, she periodically looked at the two men in the front. Charles had a calm look on his face, but his eyes said that he was thinking over something. Erik, on the other hand, had been making different faces the whole ride. His eyes had a misty look to them, unlike his usual cool gray eyes.

Athena assumed that Charles was sharing parts of her past with Erik through his telepathy. Even though a part of her wanted to use her own power to listen in, she didn't pry. It was oddly surprising that she wanted Erik to know her past. He had reminded her of her father at first, but he seemed to almost relate to her. She had read his file on the plane from Russia, but this was a side of him that hadn't been written down.

They arrived at a large building, and they all sat there in silence while the men finished their telepathic conversation. Charles looked at her though the rear view mirror and smiled. When he got out of the car, with Erik and Athena following suit, he walked Athena around the car to where Erik stood by the trunk.

"Welcome to the team Athena," Erik said with a smirk. The two men went to get her bags, while she got her duffle bag from the backseat. She closed the door and stood next to the trunk.

"Um," she started. She didn't know how to ask this. The two stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

"Yes?"

"W-Well, I was, um, wondering something," she stuttered. She had never been this nervous before. "I-I was w-wondering if we would keep the part about my father and what I was really here to do between us."

The men smiled at her request. "Of course we can," Erik said, pulling the last of her bags out of the trunk. She blinked at them as Charles closed the trunk. He picked up two of her bags from the ground as Erik held the other two.

"We realized that you would want to keep this a secret," Charles explained, as he came to stand in front of her. "But, you will have to tell them eventually, if not soon. However, you can tell them when you are ready too." He smiled a warm smile at her.

She let out a small sigh and gave him a smile of her own. "I understand and thank you."

They three walked into the building. Athena was lead to her room and the put down her bags on the table by the windows. The room was medium in size, but wasn't tight. The walls were a steel gray and had a double size bed against the right wall. There was a door on the other side of the bed and a door across from it on the opposite wall. There was a vanity mirror, a desk with a lamp and a small night stand by the bed, which also had a lamp.

The round table in from of the two windows was small, but it was alright. The floor to ceiling windows faced the woods that surrounded the facility. She felt at how seeing the pine trees, they reminded her of the woods in Russia. Walking to her bed, she put her duffle bag down carefully.

"Usually I would allow you to get settled in," Charles said, walking over to stand next to her. Although she didn't look at him, he knew that she was listening. "You can unpack later today. I would like you to meet the others. They're very eager to meet you."

She nodded and followed him out of her room; Erik coming behind her. She looked around her to memorize the way to get back to her room, and most of all, to distract herself from the nervous pit in her stomach. She was never good with other people; due to the fact that she was taught not to speak unless spoken to.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see Erik. "You'll be fine," she reassured her and gave her shoulder a small squeeze, before taking his hand away.

As they came up to double swinging doors, Athena could hear talking, laughing and soft music in the background. Erik walked around her when Charles opened the door, and walked in with Athena close behind him. The talking died down and all eyes turned to look at them.

"Charles! Welcome back!" a girl around Athena's age and curly blonde hair greeted. She came over to them and gave Charles a hug.

"Thank you Raven," he responded, returning her hug. When they pulled away, Charles addressed the others. "Everyone, I would like for you to meet your new teammate." He gestured to Athena between him and Erik and she gave a small smile and waved shyly.

The blonde girl gave her a large smile and held out her hand. "Hi, my name is Raven. It's good to meet you."

Athena returned the smile and shook her hand. "Likewise, the name's Athena Lennox."

"Athena huh?" said the girl on the couch. She was short, but wore high heels to make up for it. Her wavy black hair reached her mid back and her brown eyes were kind. Her skin was tanned and she showed her legs with a short, black halter dress and had a black leather jacket over it.

"That's a really pretty name. I'm Angel Salvador," she told her as they shook hands.

"Thanks."

"The boys at the bar are Armando Munoz or Darwin, Alex Summers, Sean Cassidy, and Hank McCoy," Raven explained, pointing to each boy as she said their names.

They each waved or nodded as Athena waved back. Darwin, who stood behind the mini bar, had dark skin and warm dark eyes. Alex, who sat on one of the stools, had short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Sean, who sat next to Alex, had curly red hair, freckles and hazel eyes. Hank, who stood next to Darwin, had brown hair and kind blue eyes with glasses.

"Hey," Darwin greeted.

"Hi," Sean smiled and Athena nodded back.

"Say Athena?" Angel asked and she looked at her. "Can we see your hair?"

Athena realized then that she still had her black fedora on. Her hair had always been a dead giveaway when she was on missions, so she would always put something over it. She hesitated, but nodded her head; slowly, she reached up and took her hat off, letting her hair cascade down her back.

Then room became quiet with only the music playing softly in the background. Athena's hair reached her waist with a slight wave at the bottom, and bangs that framed her face that reached her chin. The most surprising thing was the color; it was a beautiful crimson and it shimmered in the light.

Angel was the one to break the silence. "Wow," she whispered. "It's…" But she just couldn't get the words out.

"It's beautiful," Raven said for her. "And it really makes your eyes pop."

Athena could feel her cheeks heat up. Looking at her feet, she gave a shy smile; no one had ever complimented her like that before. "Y-You really think so?"

Angel grinned. "It's gorgeous. Trust me; I have seen the crazy things girls will do to their hair. Is it natural?" she asked as she started to walk around Athena to examine her hair better. Athena nodded slowly, with a light pink on her cheeks. Again, Angel grinned. "That's so cool."