Charles peered up at the large building in front of them, with window's stretching into the sky. "I believe this is the place. I don't know what floor she lives on, but we can ask the desk which floor," he peered at a piece of paper, "Lilia Iona lives on."
"Lilia Iona. That is a strange name." Erik commented on as they walked into the building. Charles paused in his walk.
"Please Erik, don't judge people on simply their name." Charles voice was tired, like they had had that conversation multiple times before.
He raised his hands in defense. "I was just saying it was strange! It seems like something out of a fairytale, not a grown woman. It was an innocent comment."
Charles sighed. He was interested in this woman, perhaps more than the others. This was a grown woman, who appeared to be earning her money in a respectable income, with a mutation she was able to hide and appeared to control. It was not every day that you found someone like that.
The desk informed the two men that Miss Iona lived on the twenty-second floor. They made their way over to the elevator. It moved slowly upward around them.
"I find it surprising that a mutant could live in such a…lavish place. Especially a woman."
Charles turned to Erik in surprise. "Are you implying something, Erik?"
"I'm just saying; most of the female mutants we've meet have been working as prostitutes or private whores. But, I suppose this Lilia could just be a very very good whore." Erik shrugged.
Charles turned away. "If you continue to refer to the woman we meet as such, then I might stop bringing you along to meet them. You seem upset not to be in another whore house. But I will not judge you, for it is not in my nature to do as such." The two did not speak until the elevator clanked open at the twenty-second floor.
Lilia rubbed her head as she stood in the center of her small apartment, breathing in as she attempted to stem her terrible headache. With a sigh, she leaned against the wall and slid down. The headache always came with memories, memories she didn't want to be remembering.
They came in flashes. The cage. The white. The pain. The man. The boy who saved her. She latched onto the last one. It was the happiest she had of that time. The boy who could bend the cage without touching it, but not a man's chains. The boy who helped her escape from the hell she had known. The boy whos name she did not know, but wished to thank with the voice she now had.
There was a loud knock on her door that shook her out of her state of memory. Lilia frowned; she wasn't expecting anyone to come. Her neighbors weren't the type to speak to anyone, let alone a nurse that kept to herself. Lilia pushed herself up and peered through the hole in her door. The strange perspective of the two faces behind the door threw her off slightly, but it was clear there were two men waiting for her. She pulled open the door and looked through the crack.
"Am I speaking to Miss Lilia Iona?" the shorter man asked politely, his hands crossed behind him as he leaned towards her. Lilia nodded. "My name is Charles. My friend here is Erik." He gestured to the taller man behind him. "If you don't mind, we have something that we would like to discuss with you. But it is not a discussion that can be had where curious ears can hear."
Lilia caught Erik's eye almost automatically. The taller man raised his eyebrows in surprise, but seemed to tell her in silence that it was okay. She pulled open the door and ushered them in. "Would you like something to drink? Eat?" she asked them, leading them towards her small living room. "I have water, juice?"
"Um, no thank you." Charles smiled at her. Erik shook his head. Lilia walked so that she stood in front of them. They stood in the center of the room, too close for her comfort. She looked between them. Her hands wrapped around themselves before her, fingers pulling on fingers and hands pressing into hands.
The woman before them was pretty, Charles had to admit. But it wasn't in the way most people were pretty. You had to look hard to see her beauty. Her ash-brown hair was curled over one shoulder in a way that seemed to have no thought behind it. It framed her face perfectly, accenting the high cheekbones and pale skin she already had. Though her eyes, the strangest shade of blue, were what kept his attention on her. There seemed be other colors buried deep inside of them, swirling and battling for dominance. He was excited to learn of her mutation. As far as he could tell, there was no physical disadvantage to her mutation. But mutants always find a way to hide the deformities.
"We will show you our mutation, first, and then you can show us yours."
Lilia raised her eyebrows. "I will not be showing you my mutation." Her voice was calm. It was clear she was not going to argue. "I will see yours, but you will not see mine. Trust me; you do not wish to see mine."
Charles nodded. "I understand. But after we show you our mutations, we will tell you what we wish." He turned to Erik. "Shall you begin?"
Erik cast a glance about the room, searching for something metal. He reached out his hand and caused the bracelet resting there to float in the air.
Lilia stumbled back, her hand shooting to her mouth. Her bracelet, made of solid metal, was floating in the air under the control of a man who was staring at her strangely. "Are you the boy who rescued me from the cage?" Her voice switched instantly to German, the harsh words sounding strange coming from her mouth.
Erik stared at her strangely. "What do you mean?" He spoke the same language, though it seemed to become him more.
"You're a man who can bend metal; it was a boy who could bend metal. He bent the bars of the cage and helped me escape."
"You're the silent girl. The one who couldn't speak." Charles understood what the language meant, but not what they were saying. The words made no sense to him. How did the two know each other?
"You learned to talk." Erik continued to look her over. Her voice was what he imagined it would be; light with an underlying feeling of knowledge and sadness. "How?"
She smiled. "I found someone who was willing to teach me. But why are you here?"
"The CIA is helping us find other mutants to use to fight against Shaw and Russia."
"And why should I come? I have a perfectly good life right now. I don't want to be involved in any war."
Erik raised his eyebrows. "Even against the man that locked you in a cage and tortured you beyond belief?"
Lilia looked between Erik, the man she already trusted, and Charles, the man who seemed to only want the best. She did want to get back at Shaw for what he did to her for all those years, for injecting her with so many drugs that she had been barely able to think. For making her a lab rat. She turned to Charles.
"What can you do?" She spoke English now, making the transition smoothly.
Charles raised his hand to his temple and pressed two fingers against the side. His voice appeared in her head. I am a telepath. His hand fell from his head and he smiled lightly. "I know you don't wish to show us your mutation, but can you tell us what it is?"
Lilia turned away. "No thank you. I prefer to keep my mutation a secret, even from others with mutations. But I will come with you. But not to help the CIA, Charles. To help find Shaw. And only Shaw." She disappeared into the room to the side. "I will be out in a moment."
Charles turned to Erik. "How do you know her?"
Erik rubbed his forehead. "When I was still with Shaw in the concentration camp, there was word of a girl who was locked in a cage. I searched for her and eventually found her. She was two years old then and trapped in a cage that could barely fit a one year old. There was a man chained in front of her. I don't know his purpose, but it seems as though Shaw wanted her to do something to him. I promised I would get her out, and it was only after five years that I was able too. I helped her escape, but I could not go with her. I had no idea what happened to her."
"Could she not speak?"
"She had never learned how, I assume. I wasn't even certain she understood what I said, but clearly she did. And before you ask, I have no idea what her mutation is." Erik looked around the room. It was small, but neat. He pulled the metal bracelet towards him, something Charles clearly raised his eyebrows about, and moved it through the air. They spent the rest of the time waiting in silence, until Lilia returned with a bag in hand.
They managed to time their arrival just right so that there were less people milling about than normal. Even so, the ones who were there stared without faltering, making Lilia blush and Erik glare back. Charles attempted to remain indifferent, something that was harder than it sounded. Once they were inside the building, Charles turned to Lilia.
"I'm going to bring you to your room." He said, only to have Erik step forward.
"I'll do it." Charles nodded and stepped aside, letting Erik and Lilia walk past him. As soon as Charles was out of sight Lilia visibly relaxed.
"Do you not like being around Charles?" Erik asked her, glancing towards her.
"I don't like being around anyone. I can barely stand being around you."
Erik chuckled. He stopped in front of a steel door. "This is your room."
Lilia glanced at him before pushing it open. The walls were white, but the bed was covered in a soft blue fabric. It was a spacious, with light woods and soft lights coating the room. Lilia turned in surprise to Erik.
"I thought it would be like the outside of the building; a prison."
Erik smirked. "As much as it appears, I do not believe we are being held prisoner here. But don't take my word on it." Lilia moved to sit on the bed, dropping her bags on the floor. "Are you going to want to meet the other mutants?" Lilia said nothing. "It is fine if you do not wish to. I believe Charles may be a bit upset, but he will not make you meet them if you do not want to. You are, after all, an adult."
"I do not wish to meet them. Thank you for bringing me to my room Erik. I'd like to be alone now." Erik nodded and backed out of her room, closing the door silently as he left.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Please tell me what you thought of it in the reviews. I hope you like Lilia's name; the story will be coming later.