Erik had owned the local café for a few years now, although that had been more out of necessity than anything else. He was a mutant and could be considered a radical when it came to mutant rights, being always one of the first to fight for their rights. Of course that didn't necessarily mean in a political way.
When he had been a small child he had been experimented on until eventually getting out. Even then, being free of his tormentors, things didn't look up until he killed Shaw. After that, Erik was able to focus himself on helping mutants more effectively. He used his powers to good use and while some of the mutants around this area didn't always agree with him they did help when it came down to breaking into secret labs.
He'd bought the café as a sort of base at first, before realising that he couldn't actually help mutants when Erik didn't have any money for himself. So he opened the café up, selling coffee wasn't exactly thrilling but it kept the money coming in so he could actually fund his crusade so to speak.
In all, he had three barristers, all mutants and all in college. Alex, Sean and Raven worked around their college schedules and on occasion helped him with his other activities, though Raven was the only one to agree with his radical views. He had a few other servers, humans for the most part, though Erik didn't have a choice in the matter even if he did hate it.
Right now, Raven and Alex were working and Sean was sitting in the café with a newbie. Alex had mentioned to Raven this man had moved into their apartment and Sean had apparently forced him into helping him study.
Usually, Erik wouldn't give a damn about newbie's but this one was interesting. He was sitting in a wheelchair and the soft features would make Erik think of the man as being weak if not for the sharp blue eyes. They spoke of intelligence and Erik wondered why a man like that was here of all places and not in some university. At least, that was until he caught the feeling of metal around the mans' neck. A suppression collar. It spiked Erik's interest because they were so rare nowadays, being reserved only for what the government deemed as the most dangerous mutants. Seeing it, Erik was curious as to what this man could do that scared the humans so much.
…
Charles had been apprehensive about coming to meet Sean at the café but now sitting opposite the younger man, Charles felt relaxed. He had a cup of tea at his side as he explained something to Sean. The younger man would occasionally ask questions but otherwise let Charles talk. Charles had always wanted to teach but had lost hope of ever doing it again until now. The scarf was still wrapped around his neck, even in the heat of the café.
"Don't you want to take it off, Professor?" Sean asked when there was a drop in conversation. Charles self-consciously touched the fabric before shaking his head.
"It's a little cold." Sean didn't reply as he bent his head back down to his book. Letting his eyes roam over the room, Charles spotted Alex talking with a blonde headed girl Sean had introduced as Raven. However, when his eyes fell onto a new figure at the cash machine, Charles felt unease creep up. The man was tall and rather intimidating and his eyes were fixed on him.
Sean must have noticed because he said, "That's Erik Lehnsherr. He owns this place." Charles frowned again, feeling the loss of his telepathy. If he had it Charles would already know this. And then he would also know why Erik was staring at him.
When 12 'o' clock came around, Sean apologised, saying he needed to go and work now. "How much do you want?"
"Nothing, it's fine." Sean protested and pressed a twenty dollar bill into Charles' hands. Charles wanted to protest but the younger man had already disappeared. Resigning himself to that fact, Charles pulled out a paper and pen. He'd usually do this at home but being around people for a change was nice, even if he could see the pitying stares from some of the café goers.
When Charles' cup was empty, he was just about to go and get some more when a tall figure appeared at the opposite end of the table. "Can I sit?"
"You brought tea so yes." Charles joked but secretly he was on edge, not knowing what the taller man wanted from him.
"What are you working on?" Erik asked, motioning to the papers' scattered on the table. Charles went to grab the paper but Erik picked one up at random. "Mutation?" There was a hint of anger there and Charles felt extremely uncertain about that.
"I did my thesis on mutations and my degree's on mutation." Charles said, defensively which gained a raised eyebrow from Erik.
"You must be good if you can get Banshee to sit down for longer than 5 minutes and study."
"Banshee?" Charles asked, confused at the nickname and once more hating that he couldn't read the other mans' mind. Erik didn't seem to want to reply as he kept silent. The silence was starting to become stifling so Charles placed the paper in his bag and said, "I think I should be heading home."
"You're mutant." Erik's words were whispered but Charles still violently flinched, scanning the crowded café to see if anyone had heard. They hadn't. "Don't worry, I don't let any mutant haters here."
"How did you know?" Charles asked, a little shocked as he wondered if Alex had said something about the collar.
"I felt the metal at your throat." Erik replied simply and Charles' mind whirled.
"You're one too?" He hadn't known many mutants and now he'd met two in as many days.
"As is Raven and Sean." Charles frowned.
"You don't wear collars?" Erik let out a laugh then.
"Very few of us have to and most of us aren't common knowledge to the government." As he said this, Erik seemed to be gaging Charles' reaction. He purposefully kept a neutral face as he went through what Erik had said. Charles knew most mutants didn't have to wear the collars, not unless they were dangerous but he hadn't heard of mutants who weren't known by the government before now.
"I won't tell anyone." Erik seemed satisfied by this as he settled back in his chair. Charles took a sip of the tea, debating on what to say next while not wanting to be the one to break the silence.
"The collar, I can take it off." Charles froze at Erik's words. He wanted it off, wanted to hear the thoughts around him again. But at the same time he knew he couldn't take it off, not without anyone finding out. And his power was dangerous. Charles had seen the terror of his power first hand and never wanted to re-live it again.
"I can't." Erik frowned and Charles sensed the anger rolling from him in waves. Even without the telepathy it was obvious. "I have to go."
Charles quickly wheeled the chair away from the table, barley avoiding knocking over Raven as he went by. She shouted something but Charles ignored her as he manoeuvred the wheelchair back onto the street. He got 5 minutes away from the café before realising he'd left his bag there.
….
"What did you do?" Raven glared angrily at Erik when Charles exited the café. She hadn't thought someone in a wheelchair could go so fast but apparently Charles had just proven her wrong.
"I told him I could take the collar off." Raven frowned. Alex had told her about seeing the collar on Charles so it wasn't surprising hearing Erik say this. What was surprising was Charles' reaction to Erik saying this.
"He left his bag." Raven noted. "I'll go and see if I can catch up to him." She said, seeing as it was her shift end and Charles had just run out on Erik.
Raven caught up to Charles just as the other mutant was turning the corner, obviously going back to retrieve the bag. "Thanks Raven." Charles said, taking the bag from Raven. She guessed he must have thought she was going then because when she grabbed the wheelchair handles he looked a little shocked.
"I'm going home so I was hoping for a little company. Anyway, the boys keep telling me women shouldn't be alone in the big bad city."
"You'd be better off with one of them, not me." Charles said and although it was said in a joking tone, Raven detected something else underlining it.
"How do you like the apartment?" She said, deciding to store that bit of information away rather than act on it. Charles had settled down a little, allowing her to push the chair.
"It's good, though I am a little scarce on stuff." Raven frowned. From the way the young professor dressed she would have thought him to have money, if not fashion sense. Sure his clothes were a little tatty but she could clearly say they'd been tailored or something because there was no way half of the stuff he wore came from the places she shopped.
"Don't you have any family?" She cursed herself silently when Charles went eerily silent. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"No, it's fine. My Father and mother are dead." Raven thought it was a little odd he called them Father and mother but didn't comment. What with the posh English accent maybe he was some posh rich guy. But if he was, why was he in this neighbourhood.
"I'm sorry." Charles shrugged in answer. "I'm sorry about Erik as well, he can be a bit intense especially about mutant affairs."
Charles didn't answer straight away and Raven worried that she'd said something wrong so when he finally did answer she let out a sigh of relief. "He said you were a mutant too, what can you do?" She smiled a little, having not come across many people who were curious about her mutation.
"I can change my shape, usually I'm not this pretty."
"I find that hard to believe." Charles replied, honestly, and Raven was sorely tempted to show him her blue form. Except she quite liked Charles' company and knew from experience most people ran a mile when they saw her for who she really was.
"What about you?"
"I'm a telepath." Charles said it somewhat reluctantly. Raven frowned a little, having come across one other telepath before who hadn't needed to wear a collar.
"Why do you wear it?" Raven asked, throwing caution away in replace of her overwhelming curiosity. She hadn't ever come across someone who wore the collar, let alone someone who actively said he wanted it kept on.
"My…my mutation is dangerous." Raven snorted but Charles' sombre tone shut her up quickly. "I miss it, sometimes but I can't control it so it's best to keep it out."
Raven frowned once more but didn't comment. They travelled back to the apartment in silence and Raven hovered at the bottom of the stairs until Charles went fully into his rooms. As he disappeared from view, she decided that she would try to help him.
Hope you enjoyed and please review. Next chapter will introduce Hank to the story.