Telky (Charles Xavier Love Story)

Chapter 22

Seraphina was happy. 

It felt like it had been years since she had been properly happy, basically since before the serum Charles took. Still, there was that little seed of sadness that had grown into her heart when she thought of him. 

She hadn't stopped loving him.

But he'd stopped loving the world, and she didn't want to see him like that. It made her a bit selfish, she knew, but he'd basically asked her to leave. Drunken, yes, but still said and it stung.

Furthermore, if she hadn't contemplated leaving she would never have found Roderick.

Seraphina did as she said, and called Hank monthly. He had almost nothing new to say each time, but unknown to her he secretly liked the calls. Hank didn't leave the house much as he was highly concerned for Charles and was nervous about 'beasting' out while outside for long than two hours. 

It had been a year now, but it felt like no time had passed. It had though.

Seraphina filled her basement level apartment with her style choice, and the overall theme reminded her of her past homes meshed together. Her life was carrying on in the best of ways. She had never had a closer relationship with her brother, and was soon very close with Dan and his wife after learning that they knew of Roderick's ability. She figured that was why they nodded at him the day they met.

Maybe it was her overall lack of immediate family, or the happiness of finding one again, but she soon found her walls in her apartment to be lined with pictures of the four of them, or her and her brother, and one very ratty, peeling old photograph of her parents and sibling. It was a tiny treasure she cherished.

Seraphina had even earned herself a decent job at Trash Industries. Unlike Dan, who was a desk worker, she had an office due to her minor in genetics and all the books of Charles' she'd read over the years. It was just a job though, and all she really did was sort files and write reports on issues. A quiet job, one with no excitement. 

So she thought.

She had a routine, and she followed it on the dime.

Seraphina would leave her home at eight, and arrive to work at nine in the morning. She'd go through the security checkpoint, be cleared and proceed to her office to spend the rest of her work hours there. Today though, speakers throughout the building--the whole building, as the sudden announcement caused her telepathy to link to every mind briefly-- told the staff blood workers would be collecting samples to safeguard against a disease that may have accidentally be released. So, being herself, Seraphina left her office and went to the employee lunch room to catch all the gossip. Here, she saw her few friends, a couple acquaintances, and one or two workers she did her best to avoid.

"What's this about?" She asked no one in particular, going instead to the coffee machine. A woman, Margaret, spoke up. 

"I heard someone on the bio sublevel released somethin' that might kill us all." Seraphina mentally scoffed. It that was the case, there would be Hazmat suits here, not blood drawers.

As the men and women chattered away, she noticed one who stayed silent. Seraphina read his mind, and found startling information.

The man, Jonathan, was a guard. He had a gun tucked away under his belt and jacket, and he was on the lookout for suspicious behavior from this floor's workers. She noticed how close the lunchroom was to the elevator and stairs. In short, he was close by to guard the only safe exits. The reason: The CEO of Trask Industries, Bolivar himself, had discovered the X-gene, and he hated mutants.