X-Men: The Gifted Ones

41. CHARLES' OFFICE, XAVIER MANSION, WEST CHESTER, NY

Charles was trying to grade papers in his office. It had been a quiet afternoon, or so he had thought. That all ended when Hank stormed in with Jane following close behind.

"Charles," Hank bellowed, "that child has got to go!"

Charles looked up at Hank, horrified. He knew Hank was referring to Jason Stryker. Hank had been the child's hero, the one that Jason had always turned to for security. Charles had thought the two shared a real bond. "I'm surprised to hear you say that, Hank," he said, expressing his disappointment, "considering you're the one who referred him here and insisted we could help him. The boy always seems very fond of you."

Jane shook her head, "He doesn't need to go, but something needs to be done! He caused pandemonium in my class today by giving the children the illusion there were black widow spiders dropping down everywhere!" She shuddered. "I still feel them crawling all over me!"

"He gave me the illusion of the children singing an insulting song to me!" Hank sputtered. He was too mortified to mention the rest. He was sure Charles knew of his late-night visits to Polaris but felt no need to advertise such rendezvous now.

Charles found himself blushing and cracking a small smile. "Well, at least you didn't see what I got to see," he shrugged.

"Charles! This isn't funny! The boy is dangerous!" Hank exclaimed.

"He's not dangerous. He's just... untrained. I mean all his life his family has hated him! He told me his father calls him awful names and hates mutants, and he was sent to that horrid hospital that was the stuff of nightmares. Can you imagine how it makes Jason feel? Not all mutants were as fortunate as we were."

"Charles, I agree with Hank," Jane interjected. "He is very dangerous. He taunts the other children with his telepathy; he's completely disrupted all our classes. We can't have him bullying the other children the way he is! If he's sending us these illusions, what is he doing to the children when we're not around? I don't agree with sending him away, but we need to take more proactive measures in keeping the other children safe."

"And how long before someone hurts the boy?" Hank added.

Charles looked at them seriously. "Are you hinting that I should place the psychic barriers without his consent? Cage his mind against his will?"

Jane sat down, resigned. "I don't know, Charles. I'm not like you. I don't know what's best when it comes to those processes, and he has a pain that my powers just don't absorb. I'm a medical practitioner, not a telepath. You know the brain better than anyone here. You know his brain better than anyone here."

Hank glared at Jane. "Charles, the sooner you put those in place, the better. If a mutant's telepathic powers make them a danger to others or themselves, you can do that. You're obligated to do it, for all our sakes!"

Charles looked at Jane. "This is exactly the kind of child this school was founded to help. Do you think putting those barriers in place against his will can benefit the other children?"

Jane winced, but she understood why Charles was asking her that. "Yes, but will they be a benefit to Jason?"

"The needs of every child should not be neglected for the sake of one child!" Hank fumed.

"Hank you realize this is a child raised to hate us, and others like us, only to find he's one of us?" Jane inquired.

"She's right, you know," Charles added. "There's more to him than just being unable to harness his power. He can't control his hate and anger. After what he has survived, I can't say that I blame him."

"That's why I think those blocks would be best," Hank insisted. "Control his hate and anger before he destroys everything with his power. The choice is yours, Charles. Like Jane said, you're the expert with the mind."

"Jane?" Charles probed, looking at her.

She looked at Hank, then at Charles. "You're the one who is better suited to decide this than we are. From the standpoint of a nurse, I think we need to do what we can to keep the boy from suffering, but we also have to let him decide this on his own."

"What would you do at a hospital?"

"With a child? We would ask the parents what is best," Jane sighed. "But his parents have threatened a lobotomy, they put him in that awful place. Can we trust his parents to do what is best now? No, I don't believe so. We have to take the place of his parents and decide what is best because he is one of us. You've been in his memories, you know the scope of horrors he is hiding in there. I see myself as having two jobs here: Taking care of all of the children, as well as doing what I can to keep any child from suffering."

"OK," Charles offered, "If he severely disrupts class again, and I mean severely... Songs don't count, Hank. I mean like the fire scare, the spiders. Things like that. Things that endanger the other children. Then I will consider placing the barriers, and place them against his will if I need to."

"Thank you, Charles," Hank said as he got up to leave the office.

Jane took advantage of Hank's exit and dropped her formality. She walked around to Charles and sat on his lap. "You said he gave you an illusion, too," she queried. "What did you see?"

Charles shook his head and tried not to laugh. "Believe me, my dear, you don't want to know. All I will say is I had a hard time looking at Hank with a straight face!"

She smiled and hugged him.

"Affectionate in my office during school hours! What's that for?" he teased, kissing her.

She looked serious. "Because of what I saw."

"And what was that?"

"My worst nightmare," she whispered. "You were in there with the spiders, too. I couldn't get you out, no one could. You died."

He brushed aside some of her hair. "I'll do my best to make sure he doesn't give you that illusion again, my dear," he reassured her. "But did it ever occur to you that losing you is my worst nightmare, too?"

She smiled at him as he held her close. Hecouldn't help but notice that she was holding onto him tighter than usual.