Chapter 4: Same Night Sky

Zoey was only a couple yards away from the house when she felt violent heat surging through her body, yet again.

"Oh, crap."

Zoey stopped and started walking backwards as quickly as she could. But it wasn't quick enough to get out of range, and the hot rays began to shoot out from her hands.

Simon started barking wildly. He kept trying to get near to her, but Zoey would command him to sit or stay, which he did neither of. Janie grabbed Ororo and ran inside per Charles's request, and Zoey could only lightly smile when she saw Ororo grab Simon by the collar and pulled him inside too.

"Zoey, you can control this... don't let it control you!" Charles said, and she turned her attention back to the problem.

Zoey closed her eyes and tried to reach the middle of the heat inside of the power, but she couldn't find anything.

When she closed her eyes she saw red.

She closed her hands to try to stop it, but no luck. She opened her eyes and let out a yell of frustration.

"Just go get Alex! Before I do anything worse! Please, Charles!"

Her pleading eyes reached his and he hesitated before he nodded.

However due to the commotion, the rest of the house was now huddled in the doorway, so Charles didn't need to call for him. Alex was already running in Zoey's direction.

Alex raised his hands again without a word and Zoey did the same, watching the red rays yet again being absorbed back into his body.

She took a deep breath, suddenly feeling weak, as though Alex had actually drained her along with his powers.

"Thank you, again," she said. She closed her eyes and felt her body tremble slightly.

"Come inside, Zoey, please rest," Charles said.

She only nodded as she fought to take one step after the other. She crossed the threshold into the house and came upon a lavish foyer, with sofas and end tables and art on the walls and an actual chandelier hanging from the ceiling. She took the nearest chair, letting out a sigh as she sunk down into the cushion, and Charles came up right next to her.

"Are you okay? I didn't think... I' so sorry. i was just so excited for the others to meet you, I didn't think that it would be draining for you," he said.

She blinked up at him, frowning slightly.

He sighed.

"Anyone can see that what just happened physically drained you-"

"I can't reach his power," she said softly. "I can take control of the others, but his, I can't. The heat… the red… it feels like too much, I can't handle-"

"Zoey, I need to reach into your mind to help you with this."

"No! I told you, no mind games. Literally."

"Just let me create a barrier in your mind to block Alex's power. It would be tiring to have you two side by side all the time," he said.

Zoey smiled to answer that she probably wouldn't mind, but Charles continued.

"It might take a while, but I will go right back to respecting our agreement. This is so you don't destroy my house."

Zoey sighed, knowing that Charles was just being logical.

She nodded, and Charles reached his hand up to touch his temple, and soon enough Zoey felt his presence in her mind again. She felt the urge and pushed him out, but when she saw his lip curl down; she stopped smiled sheepishly as she let him in.

She kept Charles's gaze as he stared back, his eyebrow twitching every now and then. But then his face relaxed and he smiled as he let his hand down.

"Okay, that should do it," Charles said after a silent minute, and Zoey sighed, feeling the heat completely gone. "You'll be unable to reach Alex's power, until we can practice," he explained.

"Well, six days doesn't leave for much practice," Zoey said. She saw Charles's smile fade. "But the least we can do is try, right?"

"Does that mean you will have an open mind to all of this?" Charles asked.

"Like I said, the least I can do is try."

She pushed the chair back and stood up.

"How about a tour?"

Charles nodded reluctantly, and led the way down the first hall as he started rambling about the architecture and the year construction began and the types of carpet and the designer of the wallpaper and-

"Charles, Charles. I don't mean a history lesson. Just… I dunno, tell me about the place in a simpler way. Start with basics."

He nodded, and then gave her the general tour.

It was a lavish house, and had three levels. There were the living rooms, two on each level, which were close to the sleeping quarters, originally useless rooms, Charles said; tea room, reading room, lounge room. Charles converted these to living quarters for his extra guests. Then there was a separate wing on the second floor that had a large library with wall to floor bookshelves and various chairs and sofas to cozy up in, which Zoey noted aloud that she would be rummaging around in; and Charles's dad's study, with a large oak wood desk, a bear skin rug, and a phonogram. The kitchen was on the first floor, the dining room on the second, and the Butler's quarters where Frank lived. Frank had been with the family since Charles was younger, and Charles trusted him completely; he even knew about Hank. But Frank was the only one. Charles had the others do chores for incentives, such as a 'free pass' for lessons or the opportunity to choose what was for dinner. And then there was the sunroom, with wicker patio furniture and bonsai trees, and double doors that exited to the gardens, which instantly turned into her favorite room.

Amongst all the showing, Charles told her about his memories of living there when he was little. How his mother never bothered to enter the kitchen and his dad would always lock himself inside his study. He remembered playing Sardines with the maid's twins, one day finding a way to the roof and getting stuck, and how for three years during elementary school, he believed the place was haunted.

Charles brought them around full circle, and they were now in front of a closed door in the hall of the sleeping quarters.

"This will be your room for the week. It's not much, I know, but it's comfy," he said, swinging the door open.

There was a queen bed with clean sheets and quilt, rich blue carpet, a small wooden desk with padded desk chair, an empty bookshelf that reached the ceiling, and a large armoire with a wall length mirror next to it. Her suitcase and duffel bag were resting on a trunk against the wall.

"Not much? I've been sleeping on a freakin' futon since I moved in to my own place back in Philly. This bed is awesome!" she said and ran forward and turned her body as she jumped and landed on her back, the springs bouncing her up and down a little.

"Glad to see you enjoy it," Charles said laughing. She sat herself up and leaned back on her hands.

"It's great Charles. What you have done here, it's amazing."

"You mean deface my parent's home? This was just the basic tour; there is more underground, and another-"

"Woah where the hell did that come from?!" she said. "You were just telling me of all the good memories you have here. What I mean is that you used this place for your cause, which is a phenomenal one. Giving a home to Hank, Janie, and the others, it's just amazing what you've done here."

She kept his gaze for a while until he smiled, gave a short awkward laugh, and broke eye contact as he ran a hand through his hair.

"It's really nothing," he muttered. He took a deep breath and looked back to her, "So Janie likes to cook dinner, and he doesn't want anyone to know, but sometimes Alex surprisingly helps her out. It should be ready," Charles took a pause glancing at his watch, his eyebrows rising, "in an hour or so."

"See you then, Charles. Is it okay that I call you Charles, the rest were calling you Professor?"

"It was a nickname dubbed a while ago," he said, shaking his head as he avoided her gaze, "but it stuck to them. But call me Charles. I like it."

They shared a comfortable moment of silence before Zoey smiled.

"See you at dinner, Charles."

With a final smile, Charles turned around and left, clumsily closing the door behind him.

"What, what is it?" Alex asked eagerly as he watched Hank smirk.

They were all in the 'blue' living room on the second floor, down the hall and around the corner from Zoey's temporary room: using Hank's power of enhanced hearing to eavesdrop on her and Charles.

Ororo and Alex had moved the loveseat sofa close to the wall and now Ororo was glued to Janie's side, with Alex on her other side. Sean had pulled over an armchair that was now sitting sideways on it. Hank was leaning against the wall, his ears twitching to hear Charles and Zoey better.

"Sean, you're right. There's a way to the roof," Hank replied, and Sean smiled and punched his fist in the air.

"I knew it! It's a perfect training ground… and seduction spot," he said, raising an eyebrow and giving an attempt at a charming smile as he looked over at Janie.

Surprisingly Ororo was the first to laugh, and Alex followed. Janie smiled weakly, but shook her head.

"I'm actually not a fan of heights…" she said, at the last word averting her gaze. Alex smiled but raised a hand to cover his mouth as he furrowed his eyebrows in his usual scowl.

"It's better just to tell him the truth, Janie," Hank said, turning towards them, "Don't build his ego."

Sean frowned and they all laughed, but he ended up smiling.

"Enough of that, what are they doing now?" Janie asked.

"They just reached the room, shh!" Hank said.

They all quieted and waited intently. Hank smiled and let out a small laugh.

"She just jumped on the bed, she loves the room…" he whispered. Then his mouth went flat and a brow furrowed, his left ear twitching up. Then he broke into a grin. And then his eyes went wide.

"Crap he's coming this way!" he said, and he spread his arms and lifted the loveseat- with Alex, Janie and Ororo on it, and set it down where it originally was. Ororo let out an excited giggle and clapped her hands.

"Thanks, Beast," Alex said, and Hank only let out a small growl.

Sean had moved the armchair back and was already reading a comic book. Janie and Alex started talking about the awesome way that Zoey had knocked Hank to the ground. Hank was about to say something when he stopped, and Charles came into view.

He grabbed the wheel to stop his chair as he looked at the scene in the room and raised a brow.

"Hello…" he said slowly.

"Hi Professor! Did Zoey like her room?" Ororo asked, smiling innocently. He nodded.

"Yes, she did indeed," he said, his mouth twitching in a smile. "Well, I've got some work to get done... I'll see you all at dinner," he said, and then pushed the wheels of his chair and continued down the hall and disappeared out of sight. They all stayed silent before Janie spoke.

"Hank, tell us what happened!"

"Well, she jumped on the bed, and he laughed… and is it me or has he been doing that more often since she got here earlier today?" he asked.

"He has, it's refreshing," Alex said, his eyebrows furrowing deeper. "The last time he smiled it was with Magneto… and Raven."

"Her name is Mystique," Hank said absentmindedly. When everybody turned their heads to stare at him, he blinked and shrugged. "If Eric is going by his 'name', then Raven is too."

Janie and Ororo only gave each other a quick look and then looked back at Hank.

The two of them had each tried to get the complete story about what had happened before they arrived, but they only got bits and parts from Alex and Sean. Hank didn't talk much, and Charles just frowned and would always say to not focus on the past, but the present and the future.

"What happened next? You frowned…" Janie broke the awkward pause.

"She said he was doing a great thing, for giving us a home, and helping us. He just brushed it off. He took long to reply. And he said that Janie is our cook for dinnertime, and then said something even more interesting... Alex here likes to help out."

Alex's cheeks turned a light pink, but Janie was the one to blush more heavily.

"So that's where you disappear to!" Sean said, smiling. "Didn't know you two were getting so-"

"Then what happened, Hank?" Alex was the one to interrupt this time, sending a glare over to Sean, who stopped mid-laugh and quieted down.

"Well actually he said dinner would be ready in an hour or so…"

"What?" Janie cried, springing to her feet, "What the hell am I, a speed racer? Ugh, I hate feeling rushed while making dinner, especially in the amounts that Hank eats! No offense hon, but seriously you eat more than an athlete," she said and walked off quickly to the kitchen.

Everybody looked over at Alex. He glared, but then sighed, standing up.

"I'll uhm, help you, then…" Alex said, standing up and not looking back as he followed Janie. Sean and Hank shared a laugh and Ororo just stared after Alex, a half frown on her face.

"Janie!" Alex called, but Janie had broken into a jog. He caught up with her and grabbed her shoulder. She jerked out of his grasp, pushing his arm away and slapped his face with her other. She met Alex's shocked expression, then gasped and flattened herself against the wall, her eyes wide in shock.

"Woah, sorry. Sorry," Alex said, raising his hands in a non threatening gesture.

She was easily spooked, both her and Ori. One of the times he was helping her with dinner, he dropped a pot lid, and at the loud sound she had dropped to the floor as if on instinct.

She now looked at Alex, her eyes rounding out, the shock and fear disappearing, and then she smiled and gave a fake laugh as she took off walking again.

"Janie, what was that?" he asked, walking beside her now.

"Oh, I was just spacing out about what to make for dinner... you surprised me, that's all."

"No," he said, and he grabbed her arm this time and she pulled but he held on and stopped them right in the hallway of the kitchen. "You acted as though I was attacking you. What happened to you? What happened to Ori?" he asked.

She looked down and he had the urge to lift her face to see her bright hazel eyes, but decided against it.

"Let's just make dinner," she said, and started to walk but he pulled on her arm he was still holding.

"No. We both know we don't just 'make dinner'. I've told you about Hank, and what happened to us. Now it's your turn."

She looked up at that. She flattened her lips, and then spoke.

"Fine. And I'll give it in as much detail as you gave me. Ori and I were living at an orphanage in New York City. But we lived in a bad part of the city. Attacks happened all the time, and more than a few times, we were the victims."

Alex opened his mouth, but was unsure how to reply. She sighed and pulled herself from his grasp.

"So there's the story. Can we make dinner now? Unless you don't want to, now that the others know…" she said, looking over her shoulder as she walked over to the refrigerator, her bare feet making no noise on the tile.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later," Alex said, getting his voice back. He grinned and followed her into the kitchen.

Zoey always had trouble sleeping in new places. Or just trouble sleeping anywhere. Usually she would take a run with Simon, but she couldn't be running in the dark fields, and Simon was sleeping with his new best friend, Ori.

That's why she was now in the kitchen at the counter that was facing the big window, where she watched the stars and drank her chamomile tea. It was only four a.m..

She didn't know why her mind had gone back to him, but she was thinking of Erik. The way he had so abruptly showed his ability, and forced her to face hers, shook her. He'd looked so hurt. She had to imagine that the bad memory from what she knew was a Concentration Camp was one of many others, for him to believe so passionately about his cause. But what really shook her was that he forced her to believe she had a power at all.

The first to ever acknowledge that she really was different.

"I bet I can tell who you're thinking about right now - without going into your mind," a voice said out of the darkness, making Zoey jump and forget about Erik.

There were loud clashes and bangs, metal on metal, and the resounding clangs as pots and pans and silverware hit the counters and the floors.

"Shit!" Zoey said aloud, her heart beating so rapidly it might leave her chest and start running.

She stood up and felt her way to the wall and flipped on the light switch. It was Charles in the doorway, wearing only blue sweatpants. She guessed right about his upper body, it was in good shape.

"That noise probably woke up everybody," Zoey said as she went to a pot and picked it up with a shaky hand.

She looked around, eyes wide. Silverware, pots and pans with their lids, whisks, serving spoons, barbecue tongs… every kind of utensil or appliance that had metal was completely out of place, on the floor, strewn over the counters. That could only mean… she had been using Erik's power. Without him near her at all.

"I let whoever woke up know it was okay. I'm sorry to have startled you," he said as he bent down and picked up a couple of forks and spoons around his feet. He put them on the counter, and Zoey watched him as he looked her over -surprisingly to her- with no shame.

She was wearing a large Jimi Hendrix t-shirt and no pants , leaving her legs mostly bare. She suddenly felt self conscious, and squatted instead of bending over as she picked up the silverware and pots and pans from the floor; she had silently started to clean the kitchen and Charles did the same. He helped her by putting most of the silverware away in the drawers, but she did catch him looking at her legs a few times. She finished hanging the pans on the fixture on the ceiling, closed all the cabinets which had metal handles, and went back to sit at the counter where her tea was. Charles joined her.

"I guess there's a new strength to your ability," he broke the silence.

"Do you want some tea?"

"No, I'll just make you share," Charles said with a grin, grabbing her cup and taking a sip. Zoey didn't mind, it had gotten a little cold for her anyway. There was another silence, which Charles interrupted again.

"So what led you to think of him?" he asked.

Zoey sighed, not sure what to say. The fact that she had been levitating everything metal in the kitchen only meant one thing: she didn't have to be in a close range with someone to acquire their power.

She had been thinking about what she would be doing now if she had gone with him. Erik had tugged at her mind during the introductions in the field.

She then quickly remembered-

"I think it might have to do with touch. I remember he grabbed your hand," Charles said.

"I was just thinking that too. I felt it much stronger, the power I mean, when he touched me."

'You don't even feel the need to accept your real self,' his voice resonated in her mind.

What would Erik say now if he saw her earlier today, accepting the abilities that had come her way?

However watching all the others and how they embrace themselves – using their powers freely and excitedly without shame or embarrassment or fear - made her jealous.

"Please," Charles broke her train of thoughts, "not being able to read your mind has been killing me. Don't think of some lie to tell me, just-"

"I haven't been lying to you, Charles," Zoey interrupted, turning her head to look down again, but he had impressively managed to lift himself onto one of the high chairs in the counter, so he was at eye level.

She liked it; seeing his eyes more closely.

"I just don't tell you everything I'm thinking. Wow, you really haven't had a normal conversation have you? I mean without being in their head?"

The pause of silence before he spoke again told her everything. She wanted to laugh but decided against it.

"I guess that's true, yes," he said, looking her right in the eye.

"Even with the ladies? C'mon Charles, that's just rude."

He laughed, but shook his head. "There haven't been any 'ladies' for a while."

"I have a hard time believing that," Zoey said, smiling. She slid off the high chair and grabbed the kettle to put it over the stove again to reheat the water, and opened another tea bag and dropped it into another mug.

"So why were you thinking of Erik?" Charles asked again she turned the stove on. She turned around and leaned against the nearest counter.

She wasn't sure how to explain it without sounding weird or even suspicious.

"Don't even try to deny it; I think the metal kitchen supplies that were levitating all around the kitchen were proof enough."

Zoey sat back down, turning her chair towards Charles.

"Did you ever just wonder about different outcomes? Like what would happen if I had done that instead of this, or something of the like?" she asked.

Charles looked at her for a while before he spoke.

"For example, say if you had gone with Erik instead of me?"

She shouldn't be surprised he was going to press it. She was curious to find out what happened between them to make them enemies.

But what made them friends first?

"Yes, for example," she said.

"Well, I would suspect he would introduce you to Azazel first, which probably would have been catastrophic, since he is a teleporter. And how he travels could be a number of things: molecular breakdown, some kind of portal, anything. He also literally looks like the devil, so you might have turned red and grow a tail. Erik uses him for his crew's way of travel."

"His crew?"

"Yes, Erik and his 'crew' of mutants, however from what I've learned when I saw him the other night, he just recently lost a member," Charles said.

"Where is he? Does he have a house, or is he the traveler type?" Zoey asked, pressing on.

Charles nodded. "House. I believe it's in Southold."

"I would be in that house's kitchen right now, making tea, if there was any, and having my usual trouble of falling asleep."

"I doubt that," Charles said, looking down.

She laughed.

"I always have trouble sleeping, no matter where I am. But the difference is you're here for company when I need it, and I would probably be alone if I was there."

Charles looked up, and finally smiled, which is what she was looking for.

"And I didn't want to go with him," Zoey continued, "I was just wondering about him. After I saw the memory at the beach, and when he was younger… I just wanted to know what it was that made him so hateful."

"He… grew up with his power being fueled by emotions of rage and sadness… it filled him with hate."

"I could see it; I felt it, at the beach. Where was that? When was that?"

Charles sighed.

"I should've seen myself walking into this."

"Well that's what happens when you have a regular conversation: you don't see what's coming. Now don't stall, you know I saw it last night, what he did," Zoey said.

Charles did a drumming thing with his hands on the wheelchair handles for a second or two before he stopped.

"I can't tell you. I'm sorry, but it's very… personal and even classified information."

"Well did Eric kill all of those men, I saw him push all of those missiles back to whomever..."

"No, when I toppled him over, I broke his concentration."

Zoey wanted to ask what had happened to him, he was using his legs in that memory.

However she didn't, it being such a personal matter.

"You saved all of them, the soldiers."

"I'm not one for innocent casualties."

Zoey smiled.

"You're like the Ghandi of mutants, aren't you?"

His laugh resounded around the kitchen, and Zoey couldn't help but laugh too.

She calmed down, and saw that his hand was holding her chair arm for support now, close to touching her arm. She looked up at him and stopped. She looked back down, not sure what to say. Charles respected her, and she felt that she could trust him. And if he touched her, she could use his power whenever she wanted, and that could help her in the long run.

She saw his knuckles twitch, and his thumb straightened out, close to her arm. She saw his pointer finger move to flex straight, and she held her breath; ready to feel the power, ready to finally feel his touch… when the high pitched screech of the boiling kettle made her jump back.

Without another thought she got off the chair and rushed to the kettle. She grabbed a towel and she picked up the kettle and poured herself a mug. She mixed in three sugar cubes and came back to sit down, but found Charles lowering himself back into his wheelchair.

That's when she got a first look at it.

It wasn't the standard folding one that he used when he had traveled to come get her, it was more high-tech of a wheelchair: Charles controlled it with a joystick, yet it was as small as the standard one. However it was reinforced with a dark metal, had no handles for someone to push him, and the wheels had thick X's as spokes.

"I should be getting to sleep, Zoey. As should you."

"Charles..." she said, not sure how to continue. Was he not going to mention he almost touched her? After all the times she refused? And even after the initial moment, she knew she was afraid of adopting his power, not excited.

"Goodnight, Zoey. Sleep well," he said as he left.