More Than the X Can See

Chapter 4

Doctor Angelique Green had taken off her suit jacket and unpinned her hair before lying down on her bed in the room she had been assigned in the teacher’s dormitory wing. She was listening to the local radio station on her nightstand and with eyes closed she used her sensory ability to get familiar with the everyday routine of the Institute and it’s denizens.

She noted Mr. Worthington and another man, the one with the metal skeleton, had come from the cafeteria and was making their way towards her section of the dorms. She wondered faintly if they had their rooms on the same floor as hers and she began to seriously scan the closets of the rooms nearest to hers. From having been within feet of both of the men she knew their sizes in clothes. From the strange style of clothes necessary to circumvent Mr. Worthington’s wings, she was able to determine that he had a room on her floor at the far end of the building on the corner. It was one of the larger rooms in the building, almost a suite. She was surprised to find a man who was reportedly worth millions of dollars and lived in the media spotlight living with the normal folk, sleeping within yards of her own room. The man with the metal skeleton wore a tank top and jeans with cowboy boots. The only room in the dorm that had similar clothes and shoes in his size was the room directly across the hall from her own.

As they got closer and passed Mr. Worthington’s room, she noted that he had a tray in his hands with a full dinner. Considering the amount of time he had been spending on the phone, she supposed he must not have been able to eat and decided to take it with him. The man with the metal skeleton did enter the room across from hers, but she was very surprised when Mr. Worthington knocked on her door. “Doctor Green? Are you awake? I’ve brought you dinner,” came his deep masculine voice.

Angel’s eyebrows rose up, Mr. Gorgeous Millionaire had brought her dinner? Angel got up from the bed and, after a brief check in the mirror to make sure she didn’t look too mussed up, opened her door wide. Mr. Worthington was still wearing the red and white armored bodysuit that clung to his muscled chest and legs. “Thank you, Mr. Worthington,” she said as she took the tray from him and placed it on the small table in her room. “Why don’t you come in? Leave the door open, please.” Although she’d love to be in a room alone with the man, propriety would have to be her watchword until she found out the policy regarding employee interaction.

Warren noticed Doctor Green was still wearing her navy skirt and cream blouse, but she had taken off the suit top and her hair had been unpinned and it swept across her back in a heavy braid that went down to her rear as she walked. “Charles said you were resting, but he told me you might be awake enough to eat a little something,” he said.

“Charles is Professor Xavier?” she asked lifting the cover off the plate in the center of the tray revealing a chicken and rice dish.

“Yes.” He walked into the room leaving the door wide open behind him.

She pulled one of the chairs from the table out for him, “Sit down. You have already eaten, I take it?”

“Yes, I have,” he said as he pulled the chair out further then reversed it to sit down.

“So why were you the one to bring me dinner?” she asked as she sat down and began unwrapping her salad bowl.

“I’m one of the few people you’ve met, although briefly. Charles said that you’ve seen me on television. So you’re probably more familiar with my face than anyone else here at the Institute. And I volunteered when he asked Jean to take something up to you.”

“Why did you volunteer, Mr. Worthington?” she said picking up her fork and starting on her chicken.

“Call me Warren. I wanted to ask a favor of you.” At her surprised look he continued, “Logan overheard your conversation with Charles at lunch and told us a little about what you can do. I want to see if you could help me with a problem I’ve been trying to deal with.”

“Who’s Logan and what can I do that you need my help?”

“Logan is—“

“Me,” said the man with the metal skeleton leaning against the doorjamb. He’d put on a leather Harley-Davidson jacket over his tank shirt and had his thumbs hooked into his jeans. “I told him about your radar ability.” Now that Angel really looked at him with her eyes, he was a short man, a few inches shorter than herself, with dark brown hair combed back from his face. He wasn’t a handsome man, his body hair was very thick although she only visually saw thick tufts coming out of the top of his tank and on the tops of his hands. His facial hair ran along the sides of his face leaving only his upper lip and chin area clean. She’d only seen pictures of men with sideburns like that in history books from the turn of the century or earlier. He was already fully into the five o’clock shadow stubble and in combination with his piercing brown eyes, it made him sinister in appearance.

“It’s not a ‘radar’ ability,” she replied upset at their supposition. “I get a lot more detail than that.”

“You do?” Warren asked eagerly, leaning forward over the chair back. “What type of detail?”

Angel ignored him and asked Logan, “You were twenty feet away. How much of the conversation between Professor Xavier and I did you hear?”

“Enough,” Logan replied.

Her eyes narrowed as she focused on his head, “Hmmm. You’ve got better hearing than most animals. And a better sense of smell, too.”

Logan’s left eyebrow quirked up and he looked at Warren. “Better than I thought,” he said with some admiration.

“Why are you here?” she was perplexed that the two men had shown up at her door and started asking her about her ability when she’d gone over it with Professor Xavier, whom she thought as founder of the Institute was their superior.

“We need to know how well your radar works,” Warren explained. “Logan and I are planning on returning to one of my buildings in White Plains that was destroyed in a fire, an accident. I was wondering if you could help us sort through the debris with your ability. That’s why I want to know what type of detail you can get.”

She glanced at Logan before settling her gaze on Warren. Cautiously, she asked, “Ever seen a CAT scan?”

After both men answered in the affirmative, she continued, “I get that type of sensory information from everything around me. A type of reverse CAT scan, a VERY POWERFUL reverse CAT scan.”

“It’s powerful if you can tell about my hearing and sense of smell from where you’re sitting,” Logan contemplated. “How far out does it work?”

“I get intimate details up close and then it gradually starts to fade at,” She turned back to her tray and, just before she put another bit of chicken in her mouth, she finished saying, “two miles.”

“MILES?” Warren turned to stare at Logan. “That’s pretty far.”

Logan grunted in agreement then asked, “What did you mean by ‘intimate detail’?”

She swallowed her food then said, “I knew Warren had a hollow bone structure long before he landed next to Professor Xavier and me this afternoon.”

“A lot of people have figured that out,” Warren informed her. “It has to do with being able to use wings to fly.”

She smiled at him then turned to Logan, “How did they put metal onto your skeleton? I know it’s not one of your natural talents.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed. “With a Hell of a lot of pain,” he growled. His head tilted to the side, “What else can you tell?”

Angel’s eyebrows rose at his answer, “You have three foot long bone spurs or claws in each forearm that extend from the back of your hand between your knuckles. There’s probably more,” she said with confidence, “but I haven’t tried to identify all the idiosyncrasies in both of your bodies yet.” She turned away and resumed eating her meal.

After she took a few mouthfuls, Warren asked, “What else can you detect with your ability?”

Chewing a mouthful of food she turned to look at him again. After swallowing she told him, “Please be specific, there is a plethora of information I’m receiving at every moment.”

While Warren was trying to reform his question, Logan asked, “How much money do I have in my pocket?”

She turned in her chair to look at him. “Wallet or pockets?” she asked.

“Both.”

“Your wallet contains three twenty, one five and six one dollar bills. Your right front pocket contains a 2001 New York state quarter, a 1999 dime, a 1987 penny and a 1995 penny. The rest of your pockets contain no paper or coin currency.”

Logan pulled the coins from his pocket and laid them on the table in front of Warren. Angel had been right about the dates and coins.

“How far away would you have to be to detect the coin dates?” Warren asked as Logan put the money back into his pocket.

She thought for a few seconds then answered, “Depending upon what was between the coin and myself probably anywhere from ten to fifty feet, maybe more.”

“You want to find evidence,” Logan said to Warren as he stood next to the table. He cocked his thumb at Angel, “She can do it.”

“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” she said sarcastically as she picked up her dishes and took them into the bathroom.

Warren stood up and followed her to the doorway. “We’re not exactly sure what we’re looking for or what we’ll find in White Plains, but anything you could tell us would be helpful.”

“What type of accident occurred at this facility? How far away is White Plains?” she asked as she got a glass of water from the bathroom and drank it.

“White Plains is about thirteen miles from here,” Logan told her disregarding her question about the accident. “If we hit traffic, it’ll take us about half an hour to get there.”
“I don’t know forensics and I’m not a CSI unit,” she said getting another glass of water. “And it’ll be dark in a few hours.”

“Your ability doesn’t rely on light does it?” Logan asked.

She shook her head, “No.”

“I’d really rather see if you can find anything tonight,” Warren said earnestly. “I have to be in The City tomorrow morning for meetings and I won’t be back until late if at all.”

“Since you’ve finished eating,” Logan proposed to her, “why don’t we go now?”

She looked from one man to the other, “Go out in the dark … to a location I don’t know where … with two men I just met. One of whom has lethal natural weapons on his person and the other is a millionaire and a national celebrity.” She paused and then answered herself sarcastically, “Sure, why not!”

“Okay, I know this is sudden,” Warren wryly and he looked to Logan for support. “But we really need your help. Talk to Charles, he’ll assure you that this is legitimate.”

Logan nodded, “It’s legit.”

I didn't bring clothes to walk around in soot and ashes,” she stalled.

“He’s got money,” Logan offered with a nod towards Warren. “He’ll buy you new clothes.”

“No problem,” Warren agreed quickly. “Please, Doctor Green, help me out.”

She looked from Warren to Logan and back again. “I want to verify this with Professor Xavier. If this is legit, then you’ll owe me a new set of clothes, Warren.”

“Do you have any pants or jeans?” Warren asked.

“Boots?” Logan suggested.

Their attitude made Angel think that they had been telling the truth and that the Institute’s policy on employee interaction was very lenient. Her checking with Professor Xavier would just be a formality. And it would also notify someone of her whereabouts. Giving into their request she told them, “Yes, I have a pair of jeans, but all I have with me are a pair of sneakers. I didn’t bring any boots. I’ll change into them now then we’ll go downstairs to talk to Professor Xavier.” She motioned towards the door with her hand, “Now, get out while I change.”

They left the room but she knew they didn’t leave the hallway as she changed into warmer clothes; a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a pair of athletic shoes, then she grabbed a denim jacket and opened the door. They had been leaning against the wall on opposite sides of the hallway. Logan with his arms and ankles crossed. Warren had a shoulder against the wall as he watched her door. They had been talking, but stopped when she appeared in the hallway. Warren smiled in triumph as he straightened.

Logan looked her up and down appreciatively before he pushed away from the wall, “You’ll do.”

She led the way to Professor Xavier’s office, which is where she determined his location. He was talking to Scott and Kurt when they arrived.

After he asked them to come into his office, she told him, “Professor, Warren and Logan want me to go with them to one of Warren’s businesses that burned down in White Plains. Tonight, right now. They say they want to find some sort of evidence there.”

The Professor looked at his watch, “Isn’t it a bit late to start an investigation, Warren?”

“I have meetings all day tomorrow and I want to get on this as soon as possible,” Warren replied. “With her ability she may be able to find clues that we missed. Logan’s coming with us and he can help her out tomorrow if she needs more time.”

“So this is legitimate?” Angel asked.

“Most definitely,” Professor Xavier replied. “Warren hasn’t been able to give his company his full attention and while he’s been distracted some serious issues have become apparent. The latest problem has been at his White Plains offices.”

Leaning forward in his chair as if to stand up, Kurt asked, “Do you want us to go with you?”

Logan shook his head, “We’re just gonna have her look around and see if she spots anything we missed.”

“She just arrived this morning,” Scott said surprised, looking at Professor Xavier, “and she’s doing an investigation?”

“It’s her choice,” Professor Xavier spread his hands wide and sat back in his chair. “She does have a very powerful ability to scan objects. She may very well find something they can use to find out what’s behind Warren’s problems.”

Scott shook his head and shot Angel a worried look, “It’ll be dark in a few hours. You take care, okay?” He shifted his eyes to Logan who stood behind her, “Don’t keep her out to long as it’s supposed to get cold tonight. And don’t order her around, she’s doing you a favor.”

Logan grabbed Angel’s elbow and blew off Scott saying, “Let’s go.”

Professor Xavier, Kurt and Scott watched as Angel threw them an anxious glance over her shoulder as Logan pulled her out of the room followed by Warren who closed the door behind them.