More Than the X Can See

Chapter 3

“And that’s the end of our tour,” Professor Xavier said in his crisp British accent to Doctor Angelique Green as they stopped at the bottom of the stairs to the main entrance to the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. When she had met him earlier that day, he had already hung up his suit jacket on the back of his office chair and was working at his desk in shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows.

“Thank you, Professor,” she said looking out over the children playing in the gardens in front of the mansion become school. Angelique had decided that for first impressions it was best if she wore a serious looking navy business skirt suit with her blond hair in a thickly braided coil at the back of her head. She was beginning to regret the suit jacket in the growing heat of the New York summer. “You’ve really maximized the space you have available. Are you planning on adding any more buildings?”

“Yes, eventually. We’re still in the planning stages.”

“If I stay you may want to run the architect’s drawings past me. I could proof it for you,” she told him helpfully.

“Or you could just make them for me,” he replied. “I understand you are qualified to do so.”

“Yes, I am,” she admitted, “but it is still legally advisable to have a professional architect create the original drawings and advise you of the local permits necessary.”

“Ah, yes. The legalities,” he nodded.

“Speaking of which, have you had the grounds checked for child safety? I believe I saw some severe violations…”

He held up a hand and assured her, “Considering the nature of our school and its inhabitants, safety has been a priority but we have been dealing with them on a case to case basis. We’ve had several walk-throughs by government social inspectors to ensure that we are up to code.”

“I see.” She said unbelievingly. She looked up as her eye caught motion in the sky.

Hanging up his hi-tech cell phone, a blond, blue-eyed Adonis with large white wings flew over the grounds and landed next to them. He wore an armored red bodysuit that left his arms free and the lower half of his arms and legs were covered in a gray metallic armor. His red-gloved hands attached his cell phone to an empty place on his utility belt. Angelique noticed that the belt wasn’t attached to the bodysuit it was attached to piece of white leather that stretched across his hips and had a flap that hung straight down from the gold X circled by a gold O belt buckle down to his knees. She realized the white leather made her think of Old Testament loincloths, combined with the wings, the effect made him look even more like one of the Holy Warriors of God.

“Good Afternoon,” the Adonis flashed Angelique a whiter than white smile. He folded his wings behind him and nodded at Professor Xavier.

“Good Afternoon, Warren, let me introduce you to our new teacher, Doctor Angelique Green,” the Professor said indicating the pretty blonde woman standing next to him. “Doctor Green this is Warren Worthington, III.”

Doctor Green shook hands with him, “Good Afternoon.” Up close, she recognized the winged man from news programs on television. He used to have blue skin, but a recent news blurb had sensationalized the fact that he was back to normal human skin tones and looking even more like the handsome Archangel that was his signature name.

“What would you be teaching, Doctor Green?” Warren asked. Taller than Angelique at six feet, his boots and folded wings gave him even more height making him seem to tower over her.

“That depends upon the Professor,” she said looking up at him. “I’m qualified to teach in several subjects including Physics and Biology.”

“That’s excellent. I—“ his cell phone began to ring, “Excuse me.” He pulled the phone from his belt and looked at the number. “I have to take this,” he said apologetically. “I’m very happy to meet you, Doctor. I look forward to talking to you later.” He nodded to the Professor and turning away flipped open his cell phone. He started up the stairs and entered the main building of the Institute. “Hello? Yes, I need to know the figures for…”

“You must excuse, Warren,” the Professor said to Doctor Green. “He has a lot of things on his mind right now.”

“A very busy man,” she acknowledged watching Warren retreat from them, totally engrossed in his phone call. “I didn’t know he was part of your organization. I’ve seen him on television a few times. He’s taller in person.”

“The wings add height,” the Professor agreed trying to judge her reaction to an obvious mutant like Warren.

“I thought he had his own corporation,” she said with a perplexed frown.

“Worthington Enterprises,” the Professor supplied. “W. E. helps to fund the Xavier Institute and it’s interests. He’s been on assignment and now that he’s back, he’s catching up on his administrative duties.”

She turned to the Professor, “Jean told me that some of your staff included mutants. He’s one of the more obvious.” What he had said sunk in, “What do you mean ‘he’s been away on assignment’?”

“The Xavier Institute is also part of the X-Corporation. The X-Corporation maintains some facilities here for the education of mutants who want to join an elite association of professionals trained in the handling of mutant and human affairs. Warren is one of those professionals.”

Confused, Angelique said, “I thought the Xavier Institute was only a school for children.”

“The Xavier Institute is an educational facility,” He corrected. “We train mutant children to understand and use their mutant abilities responsibly and when they turn eighteen, they have the same choices facing every other student who graduates from high school. They must continue their education through college or try to find employment in the real world. The facilities provided by the X-Corporation help us to not only train the children, but to also provide these select young adults with the knowledge and more intensive training of their mutant abilities that is required should they decide to join the X-Corporation.”

“I didn’t realize I was being hired by the X-Corporation,” Angelique said.

“You were hired as an educator, Doctor Green,” He assured her. “Your last employment was at a college. Although the majority of your students here will be between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, I didn’t think you would mind if some of your students were closer to college age.”

“I don’t, it’s just that I wish you had been more specific over the telephone. I was led to believe I would just be teaching at a school for gifted children.”

“All the children here are gifted, Doctor Green,” He smiled. “So are most of the adults.”

She smiled back, “It’s nice to know that you’ve provided positive role models like Mr. Worthington for your students. The media has a tendency to put mutants in a bad light.”

Turning serious, Professor Xavier said, “That is one of the things the X-Corporation has been trying to deter, unfortunately, sensationalism sells better than the truth. Recently, the governments of several countries have requested the help of the X-Corporation staff to assist in detaining mutant criminals, which allows us more control in how the media portrays mutants. This resulted in many of the professional staff being sent on assignments. That is where you come in.”

“Now I understand why the Institute would need to hire more educators when there are so many adults on the premises.”

“Many of the adults you’ve seen are actually here as part of the many X-Corporation taskforces. Some of them have also been doubling as teachers, but should the need arise, they would have to leave and the children’s education is sometimes compromised. Many of our professionals are qualified to teach and it is only recently that we need dedicated educators. We started advertising in January, but because we are looking for a special quality in our staff, we haven’t been able to consider many of the applicants.”

“Oh,” she said surprised, “I really don’t consider my ability to teach all that special, especially since I haven’t been teaching for all that long. I would think there are more qualified educators available.”

“We had a great many applicants, but because of the nature of our facility, many of them turned us down because they didn’t want to work with mutants.”

“You said many, weren’t there any who did want to work with mutants?”

“Several, but they were turned down after meeting with Scott and Jean Summers. Jean is a telepath and she searched for the motives that were guiding these applicants. Most of them just wanted to use our Institute for their own personal gain by publishing books or research from their time here. Very few of them wanted to make a career out of working at the Institute.”

“What about the few who did qualify?”

“They had problems dealing with the diverse mutations that reside in our staff and in the children.”

“What types of problems? I haven’t seen anything that would alarm me or make me uncomfortable.”

“Maybe that is because you are a mutant yourself or maybe it is because of your own mutant ability. It’s some sort of radar, isn’t it?”

Understanding dawned on Angel’s face, “I thought there was more to this than met the eye. When did you know I was a mutant?”

“I’m a telepath myself and I personally search out each and every qualified applicant before I send the Summers to do the interviews. When I tried to enter your mind, I knew you were a mutant. The amount of information you receive wouldn’t allow me into your mind to find out anything about you. I was curious so I sent the Summers to meet with you. Jean also tried to probe your mind, but even up close her ability swamped and she couldn’t do what I had tried. They had known that it might be the case when they went out to California so they decided to see how you reacted to their own mutations and the offer to work with other mutants. If you were prejudice or had a bad ‘reaction’ to other mutants around you, she would have identified it and advised me not to hire you. This facility is for the benefit of the children and our goal of peaceful co-existence with humankind. When Jean and Scott left Berkley they were afraid you were going to turn down our offer and we were pleasantly surprised that you accepted.”

“Over the years, Professor,” Angel said with a small smile, “I have realized it is better to not show your hand too quickly. My ability gives me the knowledge of what happens behind closed doors and I have often used that to my advantage.”

Professor Xavier frowned, “Blackmail is—”

“I’ve never blackmailed anyone, Professor. It is just the mere knowledge of what people do when they think that no one is looking that has sometimes given me the upper hand in many situations. I was born with this ability and therefore the idea of privacy had to be ingrained into me by my parents. It wasn’t a good moment when their four-year-old daughter asked the gay couple next door why they did certain actions in their bedroom at night.”

“You were able to see into the neighbors bedroom?”

“It’s not technically seeing, it’s more like sensing but much more complicated. I’d call it an in depth spatial awareness. The easiest way for me to describe it is as living in a stained glass world with stained glass people.”

“That’s an interesting analogy. You can see through objects, like x-ray?”

“No. More like a reverse CAT scan. Much more detailed than an x-ray. I’m scanning everything around me at once all the time.”

The Professor considered the information, “Impressive. How far out can you do this?”

She smiled, “The closer you are the more detailed information I receive, but I have been able to identify shapes and movement up to two miles away.”

“Extraordinary,” he said. “I knew it was powerful, but that is more than I expected.”

“We need to talk about my ability, Professor. There is a certain lack of privacy that may be an issue if the other faculty members are to know of my mutation.”

“Should we have this talk in my office?”

“Not unless you believe it is necessary. I’d rather be open about it than try to conceal the truth of the information I receive every waking moment.”

He motioned to the doors behind him, “Why don’t we discuss this over lunch in the cafeteria or is that to open for you?"

“That sounds fine,” she answered following him as he led the way to the cafeteria.
They got their food and sat down amid the throng. Placing a straw into her milk carton she said, “Ask me anything about anyone in this room no matter where they are. I will answer to the best of my ability.”

“Ah, a test,” the Professor smiled. “There is a person directly behind you about twenty feet away describe that person to me?”

“Trying to trick me first thing? There is actually a group of four adult men. The first is Mr. Worthington whom I have already met and he is still on his cell phone. He has been off of it for approximately ten minutes since we last saw him but he picked it up two minutes ago and has been on it since. He’s very tense right now, I believe he is not getting very good news or frustrated with the person on the other end. His bone structure is hollow as are his wings.”

“You’ve been keeping track of him?”

“Not quite,” she answered. “Like I said, I receive a lot of information and, over the years, I’ve learned to process it and store it away for future use.”

“You’re right about his bone structure,” The Professor said with a considering look. He was trying to determine whether having brought someone like Doctor Green to the Institute might not have been a mistake. “Please continue.”

“The man to his right is wearing jeans and a leather jacket with an X pattern across the chest. I've seen several people wearing the same jacket so I suppose it is part of the Institute uniforms. I’d say he has the ability to manipulate temperature or water or possibly both. There is something wrong with his system in that there is ice within his chest cavity, but it doesn’t seem to be affecting his normal functions. Has he seen a doctor recently?”

The Professor looked concerned, “That is Bobby Drake. Are you sure about the ice?”

“Positive. Do you wish me to continue?”

“Go ahead.”

“The man across from Mr. Worthington is Scott whom I met in California. According to his body language, I’d say he’s upset. He’s tense also and his eyes keep going from Mr. Worthington to the man sitting on his left across from Mr. Drake. The last man is another obvious mutant like Mr. Worthington but more extreme. He has pointed ears, a tail, two fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand, two toes on his feet. His teeth are pointed and his eyes are… not normal. His anatomy isn’t quite human. Again, his muscles are tense, too, so I would assume that he is also upset although he has been looking at Mr. Worthington this entire time that I have been talking to you.”

“That’s Kurt Wagner. You’re right about the information you just told me, but you could have obtained it from just looking around the room while we were getting lunch.”

She looked at him with a smile, “You’re right. There are three people who are about to walk through the entryway. The first is a man with a metal skeleton and claws in his forearms. The second is Jean Summers. The third is a young Asian woman. By the way, Mr. Worthington just hung up his cell phone and put it away.”

Professor Xavier watched Warren put away his cell phone as she was speaking. Fifteen seconds later Logan, a man well known for his ferocity in battle with his adamantium encased claws and known by the signature name Wolverine walked into the room. Behind him, Jean Summers and Jubilation Lee, a young Asian woman who had the ability to create firework-like displays and was more often called by her signature name Jubilee because it was an acronym of her true name, walked into the room. The Professor raised an eyebrow, “Correct on all accounts. How many chairs are there in the room next door?”

“None. It’s a utility closet. There are three brooms, two dustpans, ten bottles of various cleaning agents, thirty-two rolls of paper towels, a large first aid kit, a flashlight without batteries, and a mop inside a bucket that is half full of dirty water. The room beyond that is a classroom with thirty-two regulation half desks found in any high school and one wooden office chair with a missing back rest spoke and a broken wheel.”

The Professor got up and checked the closet and room next door. Jean stopped to talk to the four men at the table and Scott got up and they left the room. Jubilee and Logan walked over to the counter and began ordering food. The Professor came back into the room with the flashlight in his hand, “the wooden chair wheel isn’t broken.”

She crossed her arms looking at him admonishingly, “You only moved that chair around. You need to lift it up, one of the wheels will come out of its socket.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” he said sitting back down. He saluted her with the flashlight before he put it down. “Thank you for telling me the flashlight didn’t have batteries. I'll have to remedy that before I put it back.”

“You’re welcome.”

Several of the people in the cafeteria noticed the exchange between them and there were curious looks at Doctor Green as a small smile played about her face as she resumed eating the remains of her lunch. “What else?”

“How many vehicles are in the garage?”

“You didn’t show me the garage,” she said casually, “or the hangar. We walked right over it when you showed me the basketball courts.”

He looked at her sharply, “I didn’t realize you could detect it.”

“Obviously,” she said wryly. “There are currently 46 vehicles in the garage, a total of 62 are on the property that I have been able to detect, a subway system of some sort and there are 3 aircraft including a helicopter.” She put her fork down and pushed her plate away. “Those aircraft are under a thousand feet away. I could detect them easily despite the metal shielding.”

“Metal doesn’t stop your scan?”

“As a matter of density it does make it harder to detect what is behind it, but there’s not enough metal to stop my ability. If I can scan two miles, I can definitely scan past two feet of metal to a level of 1000 feet below and more.”

“What about dirt and rock? Doesn’t that stop you?”

“Of course it does. I can read to about 1000 feet with base rock, more without. Sewer and subway systems are fascinating with their tunnels, wiring and worker passageways.”

“Your ability is intriguing,” he said finishing his own meal.

“I don’t know what life would be like without it. I understand most mutants gain their abilities upon puberty, but I have had mine all my life. Considering the amount of information I am constantly receiving, it might have killed me if I got it when I became a teenager. It’s grown in power and strength over the years and will probably continue as I get older.” She stood up, “It has been a long three days getting here so, if you don’t mind, I’ll go to my room and rest. I’m sure you have administrative duties waiting for your attention.”

“If you had taken a plane instead of the bus—“ he stood up also.

“I refuse to fly,” she said flatly. “Now that you know about my ability do you blame me? I would be able to feel the ground below. I would know there is nothing between me and the ground but metal, plastic and insulation.”

“At least let me walk you to your room.”

She smiled tiredly, “Sure, but you don’t have to, I know exactly where it is. I won’t get lost and I won’t go downstairs into those rather interesting rooms below the Institute that you haven’t shown me yet. I really am tired and you can count on me asking you to show them to me later.”

He grabbed the empty flashlight and waved it. “Can’t have any secrets with you can we?” he said motioning to the door with his other hand.

As she led the way out of the room she said, “That WAS the whole point of this conversation, wasn’t it?”

“What? Where are you goin’?” Jubilee asked Logan as he got up from his seat across from her.

“Business,” he said and walked over to Kurt, Warren and Bobby as they sat talking. “Do any of you know who that woman is that just left wi’ Chuck?”

“Doctor Green,” said Warren, “she’s going to be one of our new teachers. Why?”

“I overheard her talkin’ with Chuck ‘bout her ability—her mutation.”

Curious, he asked, “What is it?”

Logan looked from Kurt to Bobby and back at Warren, “Radar. She’s never been to the garage but she’s able to tell Chuck how many cars are in it. She also told him how many planes are in the hangar under the basketball courts. And she would also like to know what the rooms below the Institute are used for.”