Withering Wishes . • . X-Men Fanfic . • . BOOK 2

seize

Chapter Sixteen:

"It was my fault," Doctor Wilson said simply as he and Ms. Nighthall stood in Charles Xavier's office. Xavier sat before them at his desk, his dark eyes narrowed dangerously, and his hands folded before his face.

The two teachers were debriefing the mission and explaining what when wrong. Or, in Ms. Nighthall's opinion, where Doctor Wilson went wrong. "I submerged her, as planned. But her mutation, it managed to work still. It began to take effect, and I had to. . . control her."

"How is that possible?" Xavier demanded, turning to Ms. Nighthall.

"I don't know," she admitted quickly, feeling uneasy under her boss' gaze. The man had the ability to give and take away memories at will. It always made her feel slightly uncomfortable. "I underestimated her strength. She was a child and completely was submissive to Wilson. I---"

"That's not enough!" Xavier snapped and Ms. Nighthall grinded her teeth impatiently. "How was she in the bedroom in the first place?"

She folded her fingers and took a breath, "We believe that they are. . . willingly helping her, Professor."

"Do they know she's a mutant?" Xavier asked. "That she is potentially dangerous?"

"We aren't sure," Ms. Nighthall admitted. "Both the bear and a dog were in her room. The dog may belong to the two men who owned the house, but there is a possibility that it was a stray."

Xavier did not look happy. He scowled, rubbing his face, as if to massage the stress away. "If we tell the men who are holding her what she is they may want to be rid of her," Doctor Wilson suggested.

"If the men don't know what she is, they would have gotten close to her," Xavier said, frowning. "Civilians knowing of her mutation will dampen retrieval efforts."

"You could use your mutation," Doctor Wilson suggested. "Influence their minds and make them give her over. Or, make then forget her. You have the power to do so."

"And leave the school defenseless?" Xavier rose an eyebrow.

"The school wouldn't be defenseless," Ms. Nighthall cut in. "There's more than a dozen faculty here to protect the students, and most of the older students have most, if not full control of their mutations."

"No," Xavier shook his head. "It is too dangerous. If an attack were to take place―"

"With all due respect, Professor, you are basing this off of an what-if scenario," Doctor WIlson said. "You've left before in order to run errands or recruit students."

"Yes, but this is a more critical situation. If she goes off, the school itself will be blamed, It would be best stay on grounds. And, to militarize the students? They're innocent." Xavier shook his head, "No. I refuse. They're children. Yes, apart of their studies is to learn to control their mutations, but they aren't soldiers. They're minors. I refuse to treat them like anything other than that ― children."

"You treated Ekka differently," Ms. Nighthall said, raising her chin and watching her superiour with angry eyes. Charles looked at her, stunned, and the woman continued to speak. "Ekka was a child --- she still is --- and you gave up on her. Yes, Professor, they're children, but they're powerful. Most of them are independent, even the younger children. If anything happens, we will be here, we will be able to protect the school."

Xavier stared at his knuckles and Ms. Nighthall looked at Doctor Wilson expectantly. "Sir," The man cleared his throat. "Ekka is a danger to society at the moment. She is a ticking timebomb, and as you said, we are running out of time. It's only a matter of days, hours even, before she has another breakdown, maybe as bad, if not worse, than the one she had here. We couldn't contain a incident as big as that ― especially in a suburban neighbourhood. It's in your best interests, sir, to detain her as soon as possible."