Beast arrived at the playground indicated on his GPS sixteen minutes later. He'd nearly doubled his speed. It was a good thing that in this area there were no cops out at this time. The jeep came to an abrupt halt and Beast hurried out of the vehicle, leaving the car running.
"Emery!" he called, trying to figure out which direction to take off in. "Emery, where are you?"
'By the swings,' her words came floating into his mind.
Beast hurried over to the swings to find Emery and a boy, assumingly the new mutant the Professor had called him about, staring at each other. They were about six feet apart, their hands at their sides, and their eyes locked. Neither one of them was moving. Beast didn't know what to make of the situation. As far as he could tell, neither one of them was using their mutant powers. No, they seemed to be locked in a battle of will. Who would look away first and therefore give in to the other? It was a childish game, but unfortunately in their world, it could be the difference between losing and winning a battle, between living and dying.
Beast stood off to Emery's right side, between the swings and her, and a little behind. One of mankind's blind spots. He figured it would be best not to interrupt, but he needed to be close enough if she needed assistance.
"When did your powers appear?" Emery's voice broke the silence, but not their gaze.
"About a month after you disappeared."
"Why didn't you tell me you were a mutant when I was in your room earlier?"
"I wanted you to stay. I thought it would make you leave."
"What made you think that?"
"I thought maybe you would use it to get back at me, hurt me the way that I hurt you."
Beast came to the conclusion that they knew each other.
"I'm not that low, Chet."
Beast filed the name away in his memory for future usage.
"I realized. That's why I came after you."
"You should have stayed at home."
"I don't know how much longer I can do that."
"Why?"
"You saw my powers. I can't hide it forever."
"You seem to have excellent control over them."
Beast noted that Emery's words were cold, flat. Every last one of them sounded like she intended to push him away intended to hurt him.
"You know my parents will react the same way yours did when they find out."
"You haven't told them yet, so why would you now?"
"Because if being a mutant can give me a chance to be with you, I'll own up to it."
"You already did."
"Just to you."
"How did you figure out your powers anyway?"
"I ran into a less than friendly mutant, Avalanche or something. I had to defend myself."
"Avalanche doesn't ride solo, Chet."
"He was with a girl. She's probably the reason I'm still alive."
Katherine? Beast guessed. Did she know about this mutant all along?
"Did she see your powers?"
"No, she was trying to get him to stop using his the whole time. Her back was to me."
Ah, so she didn't know. Beast would really have to talk to her about hanging out with Lance. That boy really was no good.
Emery and Chet slipped into another bout of silence.
The Professor waited patiently, hooked up to Cerebo, for news from Dr. McCoy. It seemed that both Emery's and this new mutant's powers were both offline. However, there had been no news for far too long, and he was starting to worry. It was unlike Dr. McCoy not to update him. There must be something going on. Unfortunately, at this time of night, almost everyone was asleep, and no one would be able to get there fast enough. He would just have to trust Emery and Dr. McCoy to handle themselves.
Emery could sense it. Not with her extra mind capabilities, no, just with her intuition. If she moved, Chet would not hesitate to use his powers against her. She should have guessed that his powers would be on par with hers; they grew up together after all. Up until a year ago, all of their experiences were the same. But they were different people. Their powers were different. She also should have known that his powers would be the ones that she couldn't fight against. He'd always been her weakness; it stood to reason that his powers were her weakness too. And maybe they were. She wasn't sure if she could fight him. Because of what he had meant to her, or because of his powers, it really made no difference. She was not confident she would be able to win a fight with Chet. She'd used her powers a lot today. Mind reading and talking with her mind were very low on energy usage. But manipulating someone's mind, using telepathic force, and working with her plasma: those took a toll. Emery knew she would need a good night's rest before her powers would be fully loaded again.
Beast sighed. This had gone on for far too long. The Professor would be able to get into this boy's brain. He'd take them back to the mansion.
"If I may interrupt," Beast started. When nothing bad happened he continued: "If my ears do not betray me, you are a mutant, are you not?"
"I am," Chet responded.
"Then if you want, return with Emery and I to Xavier's Institute for the Gifted. The Professor will explain everything about the Institute himself; however it is a respite for us mutants."
"That sounds great actually. Do I need to pack?"
Chet's eyes never left Emery's as he spoke to Dr. McCoy.
"If the Professor agrees to take you in as a student, then we can come back for your things."
"If he agrees?"
"There is a sort of entrance exam."
"Exam?"
"Do not worry. It is nothing too complicated."
Chet broke eye contact with Emery and looked at Dr. McCoy. He smiled. "Let's go then."
Around 3:30 am, the three of them arrived at the Institute. Beast had called the Professor from the car and told him that he was bringing Chet back to the mansion. The Professor nodded and then decided to take a three hour nap instead of wait for them to arrive. He would need his sleep and his strength.
Emery had refused to talk. She had turned the radio on and ignored Chet, in the backseat, the whole ride. The moment the car parked, she was out of the car, the passenger door slamming behind her, and walking into the mansion. She was not thrilled about Chet being here. She had enough problems getting people to like her, not that she wanted them to, without an ex-boyfriend trying to un-ex himself. Emery met the Professor in the entryway and sent him a mental message: 'If Chet stays, put him as far away from my room as you can.' The Professor nodded his head in acknowledgement.
Emery walked upstairs until she reached her room. She cast a sidelong glance in the direction of Kurt's room and then disappeared through her doorway, quietly closing the door behind her. She had a lot to think about. Her whole purpose of going to see Chet was to leave the past behind her. If she couldn't leave it behind her, how was she supposed to move on? What was she supposed to do now that Chet might be staying in the same house as her? She didn't think the Professor would turn anyone away. She knew Chet would be here.
His powers unnerved her. Couldn't he have just stayed the powerless ex in her past? Couldn't he just be normal? It would have kept him out of her life. She could have moved on. Maybe fate saw this as a way to punish him for betraying her, but it was a punishment for her too.
Emery locked her bedroom door, stripped down to her undergarments, and collapsed on the bed. She buried her face into her pillow and the tears started to fall. She was so confused. And things would just get worse between her and Kurt now that Chet was here. Why? Why had she felt such a need to go push the past out now? She wished she had just gone home with Kurt and let him work his way into her defense bubble instead. Now… she didn't know what was going to happen.
She cried herself to sleep.