-Charles POV-
Once dinner was over, I came to my room to gather some of my old clothes for her to wear tonight. I'm not too sure if they'll fit or not, but it's better than nothing. I grab a black muscle shirt, boxers, and some plaid pajama bottoms, I wonder how she'll look in them? I shake my head at the images, because I just met the girl earlier today. I knocked on the door to her room and didn't hear her response, so I decided to walk in when I noticed the restroom light on. I knock on the door and see her standing at the shower trying to figure out how to turn it on, she turns around when she hears me enter while looking at me a bit frustrated "Hey, you ok? Why haven't you showered yet?" I asked her curiously.
"Um... not really. I don't know how to turn it on. I tried to speak to it to turn it on, but nothing. Also, I'm not too sure why the nozzles are there. I pressed on them thinking they would turn on the shower or turn on the A.I. voice. But nothing. I think your system is broken." She replies flustered, realizing that she is only in a towel. The towel just barely passed her bottom, showing off her long legs. Her hair falling past her shoulders, and framing her face, giving her an angel-like look.
I soon realized I was staring at her longer than necessary, and I snapped out of my train of thought. I walk over and show her how to work it. "See this one by the wall, this one is hot, this one by the shower curtain is cold. You turn them right and it turns them on and left turns them off. You use them for whatever temperature you want it at. This thing in the middle of the faucet, you pull it up to turn the shower on and push it down to turn it off." I tell her in a slightly amused voice, because her expression is in awe and fascination.
"Oh, ok. That's really cool. Back on Krypton, we didn't have nozzles or anything for the shower except a showerhead and we would press a tile and tell it to turn on and what temp we want it at and what setting." She responds with a soft smile barely reaching her eyes.
I clear my throat, breaking my train of thought, "Your clothes are on the bed. They're mine, but you can use them. I'll leave you to it." I tell her with a smile.
I walk out of her room and I notice Erik is waiting with a smile. "Is everything alright? You were in there for a while."
"Yes I am. She didn't know how to work the shower. She told me that on her home planet it was way different, everything was highly advanced technology." I reply with a small smile. "I also let her use some of my clothes until tomorrow when we take her shopping for new clothes."
"There's more you're not telling me, isn't there?" Erik's smile grows wider, a gleam in his eyes as we walk to his room.
"Fine! I walked in the room and found her in the restroom trying to figure out how to use the shower, but she was in a towel." Erik smiles, encouraging me to continue "I started to realize my train of thought was going south. She was a tempting sight to continue to look at. Thankfully she didn't catch on or seem to notice my gaze lingering longer than needed." I finish, with a defeated sigh. "It feels wrong to think like that about her, Erik, we just met her."
"Ok, that's just a natural reaction to a beautiful woman. There's nothing wrong with that Charles." Erik reassures me.
Before I could reply, there was a knock at Erik's door. He walks over and answers it. Bailey is standing there in my clothes that fit her rather attractively. My pajama bottoms hug her hips and legs, and my top hugs her curves nicely as well. Ugh! The clothes fit her tighter then I thought, I hadn't realized they'd fit her snugly. I got to get my head out of the gutter, I'm definitely going to have to take a nice long run in the morning.
"Here Charles, I didn't know where to put the dirty clothes. And you weren't in your room." She looks at us shyly.
"Of course, just toss them in my basket." Erik tells her, pointing at the gray bin.
"Um... I don't know if it's too much to ask for, but um, can I stay in here with you for a little bit. I'm not that tired yet and could use some company." She hesitantly asks me, looking nervously at us.
"Yeah. Sure. I don't mind. Do you mind Erik?" He nods in agreement, and with that I smile while she closes the door. I see her sitting at the edge of the bed looking around. Amazed by the room and how organized it looks. We sit on each side of her, and we soon begin talking and I'm actually enjoying hearing about what she would do on Krypton and everything. Though, I know she's not telling us anything too personal, which I understand and respect, but it's nice to see her open up a little bit to the both of us. I want to get her to trust me and Erik, and if it means beginning a late-night talk here and there to see her eyes light up, I'll do it. Hearing her talk about her memories of her time on Krypton, her eyes would light up. It was nice to see it twinkle, since she's been a bit down while being here.
-The Next Day-
I wake up to the smell of bacon. I put on a shirt and head downstairs. I walk in the kitchen and see Erik and Bailey making breakfast. I look at them for a moment, and notice that her and Erik's smile meets their eyes. She turned to me excitedly. "Erik showed me how to use the stove, and I started a fire with my eyes." and she excitedly points at the fireplace.
"With your eyes, huh? How? Can you show me?" I ask, shock and disbelief etched in my tone.
"Ok. I will. Also, I learned I had freezy breath." As she explains while walking to the living room where the fireplace is and blows out the fire as if it was a candle on a birthday cake, she looks at it and I watch as flames begin to start.
"Amazing. How were you able to blow out the fire?" looking at her curiously.
"Well, a napkin caught on fire for being too close to the stove and before Erik could do anything I just blew and icicles formed. So, while you were asleep, Erik and I experimented with it, and it turns out, I can breathe in a bunch of air. More than the usual person and I blew. Then after achieving that, I got too excited and my heat vision came. Isn't that cool?" She says enthusiastically. She turns back to the stove and finishes putting the food on the plates and places them on the table. I look at Erik in surprise, and he shrugs. As she does, I notice the shirt I let her borrow raised up a little showing off just below her bellybutton, a soft v-shape leading to the waistband of pajama bottoms that were hanging loosely around her hips and I give a silent gulp. I decide to walk to the fridge to get some water as a distraction and Erik follows.
"You might want to wipe the drool of your mouth before we sit and she notices." Erik says softly and winks while, as if he hadn't given her a quick look over before walking off. Once we sit and begin eating, she turns to me and asks "So, what are we going to do today, aside from getting me some clothes?"
"Well, I'm not sure. Depending how long it may be, we could grab a bite to eat." I reply and she nods.
"What am I supposed to wear? I can't wear the outfit I came in and it's not custom to walk out in one's pajamas." She smiles while stuffing her mouth with some pancakes.
"Well, I should have some clothes that should fit you well enough to go out. Then we can go shopping and hopefully figure out your style. How does that sound?" I asked her.
"Well, sure that's fine with me. I'd like to see what Earth is like." She smiles and finishes her last bite on her plate. We got up and put our dishes in the dishwasher after rinsing them off. I take her to my room. I pull out a pair of my black jogging tights and a solid white t-shirt. Silently hoping that it's a bit looser than the pajamas I let her borrow last night.
"Here. you can wear these for now. Hopefully they will fit." I hand her the clothes and walk out so she can get changed.
I walk to Erik's room and see him reading a book. "She's changing right now." I tell him as I sit down. "And I wasn't drooling over her earlier."
Erik chuckles "Yeah sure. I'm not stupid. She's attractive. There's nothing wrong with staring but not creepy. So, what did you let her borrow?"
"I gave her some of my jogging tights and a shirt. They should fit her." I replied.
"I'm pretty sure they'll probably do more than fit. They'll probably have you looking at her like an obedient dog following their owner." Erik laughs. "I mean after all, the pajamas you let her borrow fit her rather snug." and with that I roll my eyes before she walks in, as she does, I let my eyes roam her body. The tights and shirt do her some justice with her figure, but with just the right fitting clothing, it will heighten her features. The outfit hugs her just enough to leave some imagination to the mind, after all my clothes are a little baggy on her, mainly the shirts. She's also wearing her flats she wore on Earth.
Once we make it to the strip mall I come to occasionally, I take her to my personal favorite, the tailor there does both men and women clothing. We walk in and Laurent greets me, his thick French accent comes through, "Ah, Mr. Xavier. What brings you in today? Need a new suit?" he asks.
"Actually, the opposite. My cousin here, Bailey, needs some new clothes. She lost everything she had in a house fire a couple days back and we finally had time to come out." I respond, trying to make her story of being "human" true and nothing out of the ordinary.
"Of course. I'm so sorry for your loss madam. Come and stand on this platform so I can take your measurements." and Bailey nods. While she's busy, I look around the shop for some new clothing myself. Thirty minutes later, her measurements were taken to get a few custom-made items, and two new outfits. One black, knee length cocktail dress with a small v-cut front and a woman's business casual suit. We go to a few more shops, I let her roam around and she ends up grabbing a few ripped skinny jeans the colors being black navy blue and gray. She also buys regular skinny jeans in the same colors, along with boot-cut blue jeans. All her pants fit her very snug, along with the other clothes she picked out. I then let her get several shirts, tank tops and two leather jackets. We also went to get her some undergarments, two sundresses, two kinds of regular Nike jackets, a pair of running shoes, a pair of heels (per my request), and I let her pick out three different kinds of black boots that look similar to what a biker would wear. Some socks and stockings. Once done, we head out of the final store. I don't think I ever shopped for this many things before, but it's worth the purchase. We all carry a few bags evenly between us. As we're walking, she notices an ice cream parlor.
"Wait, can we go to that ice cream shop? Please? I want to try this kind of ice cream!" Bailey asks, giving me a playful pouty face. As I respond a strand of hair falls in her face, I brush it behind her ear "Of course, we can." I smile at her, out of the corner of my eye, I see Erik smirk. We walked to this one ice cream shop called "Marble Slab Creamery".
-Erik's POV-
Once we got our ice cream, we sat down. We went to a few stores, and she already picked out her style rather fast. It feels rather weird, we've been teaching her how to count money, how to walk and shop and talk like a "Human". She soon excuses herself to the restroom, probably feeling a little overwhelmed by the site seeing and noise. "So, I've seen how you've been staring at her like a lost puppy, as I predicted." Giving a small chuckle.
"So, you have as well Erik. Your thoughts aren't exactly innocent either. But, I'm actually interested in her well-being and making sure she feels comfortable and safe in our presence." He responds.
"Well, I'm interested in her well-being and adjustments as well. But I'm also interested in all she can do. Everything about her is fascinating." I responded. "I mean come on Charles, do you realize how much power she has? Imagine the three of us working together to have people feel a little safer with us." He looks at me, not that convinced.
"I mean, yes she has all these gifts, or talents, as one would say, but she needs stability. For now we focus on helping her control her powers and being as 'normal' as possible Erik. The rest will come later!" Charles whispers.
After a few minutes, and she still hasn't come back, I look at Charles a little worried. He gets up without saying anything and I follow. He knocks on the door, "Bailey? Are you ok? You've been in there for a while." I ask her through the door, but get no response. We listen more closely and I hear a faint crying noise. I use my powers to unlock the door and we walk in. The sight we saw when we entered was sad, but not in a bad or mean way. She's sitting by the sink, her eyes closed tight, her hands covering her ears, and knees to her chest as she begins to panic and hyperventilate.
"What's wrong Bailey?" Charles asks her worriedly.
"It's so loud." She whispers "I hear everything, like someone is blasting a supersonic stereo. It hurts. And my eyes won't close. I want it to stop." She begins crying harder than before.
"But your eyes are closed Bailey, how is that possible?" I ask her, while growing more concerned as time passes. When she didn't answer, I looked at Charles concerned. "Can you hear what she's thinking?"
"A bit, but she has all these mental barriers, like mind blocks. I can only hear what she's thinking at the moment. It's rather amazing." He turns to look at me, like a kid at Christmas, "Erik, she's literally able to hear, from what I gathered from her mind, London, Canada... everything. What she can do with this, I can only use Cerebro. She's also able to see through things like an x-ray. That's why she feels like her eyes are open." He replies in awe.
"Please help me make it stop!" She continues to whisper and she lets out a pitiful whimper that brings him back to the present. "OK, Bailey, breathe. In and out. While doing that, try focusing on my voice; we're back in the manor, the three of us enjoying the company of each other in Erik's room, with nothing but our breathing." She starts to calm down slowly. "It's not working. My head hurts like a human having a migraine." There is a brief pause and I think for a moment and I tell her "Bailey, remember last night, before I went to bed after we talked, I came to check on you and when I caught you floating outside by the balcony. That was the most peaceful moment I've seen you had. Imagine that, take yourself to that moment, you're floating and there's nothing but you and the darkness, accompanied with lights from the stars. The sound of crickets, the wind blowing softly through your hair." her breathing starts to slow tremendously. "There's no one but you and the night time sounds outside."
After what felt like forever, she finally replies "I hear you, it's finally quiet. But I still see everything. I just want to close my eyes." She starts to panic again. "Good. Now, open your eyes and focus on this picture I just handed you. Focus on it until you see the picture and its surroundings." Charles tells her calmly, she opens her eyes, and she looks almost distant for a brief moment. After what felt like an eternity, she looks at us, with less clouded eyes and a few tears sliding down her angelic features. We help her up and she hugs me and I wrap my arms around her. "Can we go home please?" She asks. It gives me a warm feeling that she calls it home already. We walk out of the store, quietly, and get a cab back to the Manor. The whole way there she's been quiet, looking down at her hands. I place my hand on her knee, hoping it's reassuring and comforting enough for her.
When we finally get home, she walks to her room, with the stuff we got for her. Charles was about to walk after her and I place my hand on his shoulder "Just let her be for now. Today was a lot for her. Just like her powers and abilities are new to us, to her they're new as well. She may have had knowledge about having abilities before coming to Earth, but that doesn't mean it's an easy adjustment. Or the fact she doesn't know the full extent of them either." I look at him with sincerity. I understand how he feels though, I was rather worried when she was sitting there, scared and afraid. Not really knowing how to handle it, I'm glad Charles was with me, I think I'd be a little lost in what to do.
(Later That Day)
-Bailey's POV-
After arriving home, and what felt like a long quiet and awkward drive, I head to my room that is located next to Xavier's room. I have stayed here for the most part once home. After the incident with my powers at the ice cream parlor, I feel embarrassed, tired and stressed; hearing all those sounds and screams, it was scary. To top it off, I also discovered I have the ability to see through things like an x-ray, it was strange, cool and scary all at the same time. I mean, it's one thing having my super speed, heat vision and freeze breath, and I had knowledge prior to coming to Earth that I would have powers and abilities that most humans could not comprehend. I wasn't prepared for all this, it was very intense and scary. They probably see me differently now after what happened, and decide to turn me in; although Charles and Erik don't seem like those kinds of people, I mean they do have amazing powers themselves. As I sat in my room, the past day and a half, completely worried and anxious, I was lost in my thoughts. I found out that I liked "Lilo and Stitch" because Stitch came from another place and eventually found a loving family and I guess I can relate. I then got a bright idea, since Erik's room is a few doors down, I could test out my "Super Hearing" as I call it. I decided to practice some, to see if I can do it by myself, better to do it in a more comfortable environment then in public. I restart the movie, and turn it on the lowest volume setting possible without muting it, and walk towards Erik's room which is like two doors down the hall. After creating some distance, I close the door to his room and sit on his bed.
I close my eyes and begin to focus. At first, I hear so many voices, I then slowly eliminate them and I begin to hear the faint noise of Erik's voice in the kitchen through all the noise. I focus on that at first and hear him in the kitchen talking to Charles. I soon begin to focus on my projected target and begin to hear Stitch's spaceship crash land and get hit by a truck after getting distracted by a frog. I begin to hear Erik's heartbeat getting closer to the door and begin to bring my focus to where I am at now. I open my eyes and focus on him once he walks in and I smile a little. "Hey Bailey, what brings you to my room?" Erik asks confused but relaxed.
I give him a small smile "I have been practicing my super hearing."
"How so?" He leans against the door frame with an amused look on his face.
"Well, for starters, I restarted the movie I watched, which was "Lilo and Stitch". I placed the volume super low and taught myself like that. Though, I'm a bit nervous about the x-ray vision. But I was thinking about worrying about that tomorrow." I smile, looking up at him. I stand up and start walking past him, he grabs my wrist gently and I look in his eyes, "Good night Bailey. See you in the morning. I hope you feel better." He whispers while taking some loose strands of hair and placing it behind my ear. His scent is nice, I could get used to it, along with Charles's scent. He releases my wrist and I walk out and bid my good night. Once I walk out, I see Charles standing there by his door, he has a welcoming smile but behind it I see an unfamiliar gleam in his eyes, jealousy? Maybe? "What was that about?" he asks questionably.
"I'm pretty sure you already know what we talked about since you can read minds." I retort jokingly. "But I just explained to him I wanted to try and practice my super hearing." I begin to walk through my door, I poke my head back out "Good night Charles." With that, I close the door and get ready for bed.
(One Month Later)
It's lunch time when we meet in the kitchen and begin eating when Charles says "I have been thinking, in the next couple years, I thought about making this into a school for mutants, and look for them to give them a safe haven, while still teaching them school curriculum."
"But how exactly are we going to go about that? I mean I am an alien with a ship in my room." I replied curiously, growing concerned.
He answers me by saying, "Easy, let everyone believe you're a mutant, like everyone else at the school, but on the same level as myself and Erik, just with a few extra gifts. As for your ship, well we keep it locked away in your room. Your closet is big enough to hide it. We can place a lock on it and make sure to tell people they're not allowed in your room, and of course anybody else's without them being in there unless they share it."
"Sounds like a decent plan, but what about my documents? We still haven't got them." My voice was laced with concern.
"Well, don't worry about that my dear, I already talked to an old friend of mine, Howard Stark. He said we could meet him tomorrow afternoon at one of his business sites." Xavier tells me with a smile. "I think you'll like him, he's offered to help me take over everything pertaining to you." I nod, still contemplating the real reason why this "Stark" guy is being so helpful.
"Does he know the truth about her?" Erik asks with a concerned look.
"No, all I told him was that it pertains to something very private and very classified. So, no worries love, I'll make sure you're safe!" He winks at me. From there we eat in silence, I'm rather nervous because it's someone I don't know and never met and I'm not sure if he can be trusted. Although, if Charles trusts him, then it should be ok. I mean after all, he can read minds. Though he is more trusting than me, but then again, we both took a chance on each other, because he could've turned me over to the government, but he didn't, he has been risking his life and safety, along with Erik's to protect me. Both of them are actually risking their safety for me and I've come to start caring for them.
I sit there silently thinking about everything, I'm so lost in thought that I didn't realize I had already finished my food and the table was cleared. "No need to worry, Charles knows what he's doing, no need to think too much into it. We won't let anything happen to you." Erik reassures me and I smile. I make my way to the room when Charles catches up to me, "Hey Bailey, everything will be fine. Plus, it'll help you become more accustomed to talking to other people than us."
"I mean, I do talk to other people, like the guy at the ice cream shop I went to yesterday. I plan on going there again today." I tell him as a matter of fact.
"That's good, did you want me to come with you?" He asks, hopeful.
For a moment, I didn't respond. "Well, I uh... I um already asked if Erik would join me." I pause and he looks a little sad "Only because I want to know more about him. Plus it'd give you a break from me right?" I chuckle.
"I'd never need a break from you, but I understand. We do hang out a lot." He smiles reassuringly, but I'm not going to feel bad because I want to spend more time with Erik, who is a friend of mine as well. I mean, I know a lot about Charles, but not much about Erik, aside from the few times we had one on one talks. But I want to talk to him outside of the manor like I have with Charles. I don't think he and I actually had time to spend alone without Charles, since I've been here on Earth this past month. Not that it's a bad thing, I know Charles has only the best intentions, but still, I want to get to know Erik on a personal level as well.
Erik and I head to the door and grab our jackets, "You ready?" He asks and I nod with a smile. "I'll bring you back something alright Charles." And with that i walk out the door with Erik. We finally get to the shop, and the owner smiles and greets us when we walk in, "Ah, Bailey, the usual i presume?" I smile. "Coffee and Cheesecake milkshake, coming up!" He turns to Erik, "And for you sir?"
"I'll take the same thing. It sounds rather good." Erik smiles. Once we pay, we sit down at one of the tables in the corner and begin to hold a conversation.