All Heather wanted to do was abort the goddamn mission and go crawl under a rock and ponder over how she even maintained to survive the last 25 years of her life. But she couldn't do that because the man was still staring straight into her eyes - into her freaking soul - with the most confused look she'd ever seen and - and she couldn't just quit on Edie or Erik. They needed her. Even if she was the most awkward thing to grace the earth, and even if there was a possibility that instead of helping, she really could just be hurting one by rubbing salt on his wounds.
The man continued to stare at her, before his nervous smile returned and he replied in what sounded like a British accent, "Hello there. Can I, uh, help you with something?"
Wow, if some weird pilgrim girl was on Heather's front porch and not saying a word, she would have shut the door and called the police by now. So - maybe this was a good sign. She took a deep breath and nearly cried in relief when words - real words - came out of her mouth. "Is Erik Lehnsherr here?"
The man blinked in surprise, responding, "Yes, he - "
Heather honestly didn't to interrupt or seem rude, but when the word "yes" came out of his mouth, Edie's presence behind her intensified and something - power maybe? she had no clue - surged through her and she blurted out, "Could I come in? To talk to him?" Her cheeks heated up slightly, as she added, "Sorry, it's - just very important that I speak to him."
The man nodded after a few seconds, beckoning her inside. She gulped, stepping over the threshold, and looked around, taking in her surrounding. The inside of the house, while very elegant and beautiful, didn't look cozy nor did it look very lived in with dust collecting on a few surfaces and some random cardboard boxes scattered through the main hall. "Do you mind me asking what your name is?"
"No, not at all," Heather replied, trying her best to sound polite while also trying not to hyperventilate, "I'm Heather Coleman."
The man's nervous smile relaxed into a much more normal and natural one. "Charles. Charles Xavier." He held out his hand for her to shake and Heather stared at it for a moment, heart beating wildly against her rib cage - humancontacthumancontactohgod - before surprising herself by taking it calmly and shaking it firmly instead of, you know, continuing to stare at it in fear. He released her hand after a few seconds before beckoning her once more to follow him. Charles lead her a few feet down the hall before walking through a wide entryway into what appeared to be a sitting room.
He motioned for her to sit, simply saying "I'll be right back" before disappearing down the hall. Heather let out a huff of relief and continued to stand for a moment, examining the bright room, shielding her eyes from the sunlight that flooded in through the large windows, before moving carefully over to the vintage looking couch. Once seated, Heather crossed her legs, straightened her headband, fixed the collar on her shirt, smoothed down her skirt, cracked her knuckles -
"Will you stop fidgeting?"
Heather glanced at Edie, who was standing in the entryway, watching her, before replying, trying to keep her voice soft, "Sorry. I normally don't - I guess I'm just really nervous."
Edie's face softened. "Oh, liebe, don't worry. If things start to go back, I'll help you. I won't leave you alone." Something in Heather's gut twisted painfully upon hearing that, but she still smiled thankfully at the woman. She opened her mouth to respond, but the sound of footsteps approaching the room became even more evident and oh god oh god oh god she wasn't ready -
Though his hair was straighter than it had been in the photo and he looked like ten times more irritated now, the man standing beside Charles was definitely Erik Lehnsherr. Out of the corner of her eye, Heather could see Edie covering her mouth with her hand shakily and if she looked closer, she could the tears shining in the woman's eyes.
"You, uh, may want to sit down."
Erik glanced at Charles, his eyebrows furrowing slightly, before Charles obeyed, moving to sit in one of the chairs nearby while Erik, however, remained standing, instead choosing to lean against a wall. With both of them looking at her expectantly and with no idea of how to start out, Heather - who had gone from no words to word vomit - blurted out, "I know you're a mutant."
Both of their eyes widened and they both opened their mouths, but before they could get any words out, Heather continued, wincing slightly at her stupid opening. "B-but I'm a mutant too, so don't - freak out or anything." They both visibly relaxed at that, though they still looked on the edge of their seats - literally and figuratively. "My mutation - it, uh, lets me see and hear dead people."
Erik's eyebrows rose, while Charles leaned forward, looking rather interested in what she had to say. "Like mediumship?" He offered, to which Heather nodded at. "Exactly, but - "
"Can you only see the souls of the deceased, or can you see the livings' souls too?"
Erik looked at Charles in confusion, but Heather understood what he meant. "Not as clearly as I see the deceased," she admitted, "With the dead - it's like seeing a normal person but with a living person - " She stopped, trying to think of the words to describe it, " - I have to focus more and it's like seeing - orbs, I guess."
Charles looked rather impressed at that. "Fascinating." He commented, and opened his mouth to continue, but Heather stopped him. "I - I'll explain my powers more later. But for now - " She turned to look at Erik, who looked surprised that the attention that been turned to him, " - I came here on some important business."
Here goes nothing. "Erik, your mother asked me to find you."
Erik froze for a moment, his eyes searching Heather's face for a sign that she was lying, that it was all a joke. But seeing none, several different expression appeared and disappeared on his face - surprise, pain, grief - before finally stopping on pissed off. Shit, Heather briefly thought, glancing over to make sure that Edie was right beside her -
"You think you're funny, don't you?" Erik hissed, pushing off of the wall to stalk towards her, "You think you're just the smartest person, don't you?" Oh god, oh god, the plan was backfiring. Heather stared at him in complete shock, not knowing what to do - she didn't even have a plan to begin with, but never had she even thought -
"Erik," Charles began, his voice low and calming, but that didn't stop him. Metal objects around the room began to pulse and shake angrily, much to Heather and Charles' horror.
"Is pretending to hear ghosts fun? Is giving people false hope exciting for you? Is - "
"Erik!"
"His middle name is Magnus."
Heather whipped around to face Edie, the "What?" slipping out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Both Erik and Charles quieted at that, looking at her puzzledly. "His middle name is Magnus," Edie repeated, "Tell him - we'll prove it to him." Heather stared at her for a moment and said, "Magnus. That - that's your middle name."
Erik stepped back at that, his mouth opening, but no sound coming out. The metal stilled around the room and Heather let out a shaky sigh of relief. "He found a dog when he was 6 and - he named it 'Spot'," Edie said fondly, "I - I hated that verdammt dog, but Jakob let him keep it."
"Spot. You found him when you were a kid and your mom hated him."
Charles looked between Erik and Heather in confusion, but Erik continued to stare at her, his eyes looking a little blurry. "When he was a baby," Edie added, her voice cracking, "He was a very fussy baby. At night, he would just wail and screech, and our neighbors - " She paused to laugh, wiping away some tears that had fallen, " - they would get so mad at us."
Heather's throat tightened as she repeated, "You - you were a fussy baby and you kept the neighbors up with your screams." Silence filled the room as Erik's gaze dropped from Heather to the floor, his hands clenching and unclenching beside him. Heather wished she could give him a hug, give him some kind of comfort, but before she could stand, Edie disappeared and reappeared beside her son. She hesitated before wrapping her arms around him, only for them to go through him, much to her sadness, but Erik shuddered at the sudden coldness.
"She's telling the truth."
Three pairs of eyes moved to look at Charles, who in turn looked at Erik with astonishment in his eyes. "I read her mind," He explained, "She's - she's not lying. Your mother - " He glanced over at where Edie was currently standing, Erik's eyes following his gaze.
"Wait, read my mind?"
"Sorry, darling, I don't normally do that without permission, but I just needed to clarify that you weren't lying." Heather stared at him with wide eyes, before nodding slowly. A telepath, a medium, and a metal manipulator all in the same room. Crazy.
It was silent for another moment, before Charles softly murmured to Erik, "I need to speak with you." Erik stayed only for a few more seconds then nodded slowly and followed him out of the room. Heather collapsed on the couch in exhaustion, letting out the breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Edie, that was - you did it. Oh my god, you did it."
Edie turned to look at her, her own eyes shining with unshed tears. But there was a sincere smile on the woman's face - something that Heather knew hadn't been seen for a long time. "We did it," she corrected, "Thank you, Heather. Thank you for bringing me to my baby." Before she could say anything more, Charles and Erik reentered the room.
The tears had disappeared from Erik's eyes, but he looked more focused, more relaxed. "We're been looking for mutants for quite some time," Charles began, "A man named Sebastian Shaw - " At that name, Edie let out a growl that sounded ten times more intimidating than Heather's. But it also was powerful enough that both Erik and Charles heard it. The men jumped, looking at Heather in horror, who simply waved for Charles to continue.
"It's just Edie. Go on it."
Charles was silent for a moment, before continuing, "Well, long story short, he's mutant extremist who wishes to start a nuclear World War III to insure that only mutants survive. And he intents to do this by having the USSR install missiles in - "
" - Cuba," Heather mumbled, her eyebrows furrowing. "I - remember hearing something on the news about that. The missile crisis." Charles nodded gravely. "But you two aren't going after him are you?" Charles and Erik glanced at each other, and Heather's heart skipped a beat in fear as she continued, "You - you can't possibly do this alone. That man probably has others with him, you wouldn't - "
"It's not just us," Erik clarified, "We've recruited others." Heather's mouth opened in an 'O' shape, her cheeks burning slightly in embarrassment. "We need all the mutants we can get," Charles added, and oh god, was he really asking what she thought he was?
"I don't - I'm not a really good fighter," Heather admitted, but Charles shook his head, chuckling softly. "We can train you. Plus, you never know what your mutation could unlock." She stared at them for a moment, thinking over the decision. She could do it. It wasn't like she had anything left in Washington, D.C..
But what about Joey?
Joey wasn't a mutant, Joey couldn't join her here. That - that was pretty good reason to go home. Joey had been there when her brother died, when her parents died, and she had been there when Joey's father had left him and his mother to raise 6 other children. They were each other's support system. She couldn't - she couldn't just leave him there alone. Another good reason - she didn't owe these people anything. She had promised Edie to find her son, not to join a war. But -
These people were mutants, like her. They would understand her in ways that a human like Joey never could. Plus, it wasn't like she was going to stay forever. She just needed to help them stop this Shaw man, and then she could return to her normal life. Or at least try to. And if the nuclear war was a success and they were right, well, there wouldn't be a Joey to care about.
Heather sat there in silence for at least five minutes, before she looked up at the men and said, "Where do I sign up?"