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For a telepath, observing and following Magneto is typically an easy process. While Charles had given him some instruction on guarding himself from telepathic invasion, he wasn't thinking about such things right now. No… his thoughts remain centered upon the X-Men mission to Mutant Town, and moreso, the danger Lorna Dane has found herself in.
Still, as soon as he had entered the Sanctum Santorum, he essentially disappeared from the telepathic radar.
It isn't until the morning of a cold, blustery day when he emerged once more. A brief meeting with his fellow X-Men was held, before Erik Lensherr made way for Greenwich Village once more. He isn't far from the abode of Stephen Strange when he steps out of an MTA station and makes way for a bodega, in the need of some foodstuffs for the brownstone.
*
Teenagers are notorious for causing trouble. Even those that are well behaved will, eventually, push the bounds of what rules parents and elders set. Lorna had sat, and remained in the Sanctum walls for the last few days. She'd been polite. Quiet. Doing her school work and occupying the phone to chat to friends and not saying where she was.
But as of this morning? She'd snuck out with her nephew, the Speedester. They'd gone to Mutant Town in hopes of finding Raven or some member of the Brotherhood, that or finding the Absorbing Man. But that had ended quite horribly with Akihiro in the air, and Tommy taking Lorna and fleeing back to the Sanctum.
So as she was creeping back, having asked Tommy to drop her off a before the Sanctum so she could get her stomach back in line before entering.. She felt her father's magnetic signature and frozen.
A wince, and she knew she'd be caught, if she hadn't already been… Wrapped up in her winter coat over the metal bits of armor her father had crafted? Oh she was sooo busted.
*
Emma is missing one magnetically-inclined student with a penchant for getting herself into situations she can't always get herself out of. This is not particularly acceptable in her books. It isn't that she blames Lorna - the girl is still learning, after all - but there are people around her who can be tracked as well.
Since Lorna has been missing, Emma has kept her own sort of watch, scanning minds and searching for ones that are more familiar, ones that may have the answers she seeks. When Lorna's father appeared once more, she had a car brought, directing them to Greenwich Village until she can narrow down the area.
Once she's found the area she directs the driver to pull over, stepping out of the car in a calf-length coat of white wool with a thick fur collar. It's quite the sight when she steps into the bodega.
*
Dressed in a fancy manner to his own liking, Erik's garb is decidedly less expensive than Emma's, but there is a certain timeless quality to it; a trench overcoat covering a sweater vest, collared shirt, scarf and trilby hat. When he walks around one particular aisle, a bag of fruits and vegetables in arm, Emma comes into view and thus, naturally, brings him pause.
"Miss Frost." He lifts his head a touch. "Don't you have…" Don't say servants. "People who do your shopping?"
This encounter is so unexpected that he fails to notice Lorna's magnetokinetic signature.
*
Lorna couldn't know that she'd be getting away scott-free for her sneaking out, or at least close to it if she had only just continued on her way. So when she came shuffling inside, ready to confess and apologize, her gaze landed on Miss Frost near her father and she flushed. Then she paused, briefly, gathering her courage for likely a lecture of some kind as she made her way over.
An awkward sort of hesitation again, pulled at her toes. That of every teenager that knew a scolding was to come. Especially after the scene in Mutant Town where Akihiro had looked her way, pointed and tried to start a fight with Tommy.
Proving the point that she really shouldn't have gone outside.
*
"I do. I have people for all sorts of-" Emma tilts her head as she picks up on another train of thought: Lorna's. "Ah. Well. It looks as though the question I was considering asking is due to be answered. Lorna." She turns in the doorway, a sharp smile curving as she looks to the girl. (It isn't a particularly encouraging expression.)
"Before I go any further, are you quite all right?"
*
Lorna? Erik's senses immediately come about, and he can tell that Lorna is standing there before he's able to see her. He takes a few steps forward, coming to rest next to Emma. He doesn't speak, but he does fold his arms over his chest.
Probably not a good sign, either.
*
Caught in her hesitation, Lorna closes the rest of the way with her head angled low as she steps toward the two. "Tata, please don't flip your wig. I just went out with Tommy. He's super fast and everything.. As soon as anything went.. less than stellar.. we cut out. I promise. I just.." She winced, and bit her lower lip. At least she wasn't lying, especially with Miss Frost present.
"I-I…" She gulped, and toed the ground. "It was so boring! I stayed inside for days." She started and stopped defending herself, noting her father's expression. His silence enough to make her wince again.
She hung her head.
"Sorry.."
*
"Well, I am certainly relieved to hear that you are alive and well," Emma notes calmly, laying on the guilt in her own way. "When I was unable to find you, I had some concerns that perhaps the worst had come to pass."
But Lorna's father is here. And it doesn't look like he entirely agrees with Lorna's activities. « Perhaps I had best give you the lead in this, » she suggests to his mind, arching a brow as she looks back to the man.
*
Flip his… oh. More slang. Erik can't help but smirk just a bit at the term, but he opts to let Emma speak first. He turns to look Emma's way. "You will have to accept my apologizes for that, Miss Frost. I took her to a secret place; not that I don't believe you aren't capable of defending your own, but it was not made clear to me that we would… in essence, disappear."
He then turns to face Lorna, frowning deeper. "Which is precisely why I'm cross with you, Lorna. I will handle this 'Absorbing Man', but I can't do that when you're sneaking off with Tommy."
*
Lorna crossed her arms, and bit her lower lip. But the argument died on her lips, even if it didn't exactly quiet down in her mind. A whirl of possible defenses lurched to the forefront of her mind: she'd been inside for days, she'd been behaving, she hadn't gotten hurt and Tommy had gone with her. The speedester capable of moving after than a bullet. How much safer could she be?
But none of this left her lips and she only nodded once. "Sorry, Tata." She whispered, her gaze lowered. She was sorry for making him cross, she hadn't actually complished anything by sneaking out either. Only to prove to Tommy that there were people out there that did want her hurt.
*
Emma waves a hand, a dismissive flick of her fingers to Erik's apology. "I've no objections to taking her to a safe place. There are, after all, other students and their safety to consider at the Academy." She looks back to Lorna then, gaze steady. "I am a bit more concerned, though, that you actively went out seeking people you know to be dangerous, people who the last time we spoke you explicitly told me had threatened you, with no more back up than one fast young man."
*
Erik looks from Lorna to Emma, then the store clerk catches his eye. A young fellow from Pakistan, with a no bullshit demeanor.
"You buy something, or get the fuck out of store. I no want trouble here!"
With a gesture to the ladies, Erik quietly excused himself and approaches the counter. His items are set down, and he fixes the man with a pleasant expression. "My apologies, young man. We will not be causing trouble here." The items are paid for as soon as they're rung up. Then, Erik rejoins Emma with a brown bag under arm, and reaches forward to open the door, suggesting that they take their conversation to the street.
Its New York, after all; they're likely to be ignored.
*
Another flush of color crosses Lorna's cheeks as Emma brings up the reason why she'd snuck out in the first place. Trying to find Raven and the Brotherhood and figure out if her friend Seth had been among the kidnapped mutants. She hadn't told her father about that mess. Something Professor Xavier had warned her against implicitly.
Which was tied to even more chaos that she simply hadn't told her father about.
The clerk startled her though, and as her father returned and opened the door she ducked along beside him and onto the street. She worried her lower lip, and glanced up at her father with a furrowed brow. "I-I.. I'll go back inside?" She asked softly.
*
Emma arches a brow at the clerk, though she doesn't interfere in Erik's handling of the matter. "If you'll both allow me, actually," she says once they're outside. "I believe we can have this conversation a bit more privately." Which is to say, mind to mind. So long as there are no objections, she deftly creates a link between the three of them, allowing thoughts to flow freely in place of spoken words.
*
To Emma, Erik arches an eyebrow. Soon enough, though, he can feel the connection being formed. It's something he's familiar with, after all; his best friend is the world's greatest telepath.
«When dealing with dangerous people, it's always wisest to go in groups of three, or by yourself. The latter of which is often foolish. You only go by yourself when you don't want to involve anyone else, and you're willing to accept the consequences. Even then? A lot of people might be upset if you end up dead or missing.»
All of this is thought, in his unique voice, while the three of them walk down the sidewalk in the general direction of Erik's borrowed Jaguar.
*
Lorna grimaced as Emma connected their thoughts, but she didn't argue. She knew she was in trouble enough as it was. No need to make things worse by back talking. Still. She sighed, and followed along with her father, her lips pressing together briefly as she hung her head and fidgeted with the buttons on her jacket instead of speaking, or thinking exactly.
«I'm sorry tata, I was trying to be careful. Hope was with us at the start but broke off. She's Tommy's girlfriend from the future too… Tommy said he could handle the Absorbing Man, if we came across him. Plus he can get me out of anywhere if things went wonky. He's faster than a bullet, tata! He pushed this guy out of the way of a bullet that this lady shot off at him, granted I had to flip the guy upside down by his claws…» Another wince as she trailed off, and fell silent for a moment. If it was possible her mental voice sounded even younger than her actual tone, or perhaps it was just how she thought she sounded.
«Sorry. I'll stay inside, tata. If I could have my class work Miss Frost so I don't fail the semester..?»
*
Emma's mental touch is a subtle one - perhaps even more so than Charles. « Lorna, you are most certainly not going to spend the rest of the semester in hiding somewhere, » she says firmly, the words as cool, clear, and sharp as diamonds. « We have professors for a reason. Students are expected to attend classes in order to participate in lectures. Now, I can certainly make arrangements for a week, possibly two. But we are not simply going to accept that these people are after you and run and hide. »
*
«It is my intent to find this Absorbing Man and see to it that he never lays a hand on you again.» Erik turns and looks over toward Lorna. The expression on his face isn't frightening, but there is a severity to it that cannot easily be ignored. «If he won't see reason, I will leave an impression upon him.»
Its quite possible that, through their telepathic link, the vision of Erik's mental image of this 'Absorbing Man' screaming as his hands are crushed into fiber by pieces of metal. Of course, such an idea could easily be intercepted and blocked by Emma, but this, it seems, is what Erik will do if his warning is not heeded.
«Perhaps Miss Frost would be willing to help us locate him?»
*
Lorna fell silent as her father and Miss Frost 'spoke'. Though she followed alongside without comment, her gaze flickered around at the streets, the people, and there was a decided yearning for a return to her freedom. A desire to be able to walk around without worrying that someone wanted her dead.
«Tata.. Tommy thinks that The Absorbing Man isn't alone. He had said someone… that I had made someone really angry… that they sent him after me. » The thought was laced with a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold.
The fear was real and honest, and connected to the thought… 'Will it ever be over?' That wasn't implicitly sent over the link that connected them.
*
« I do believe I could be of service in that department, » Emma nods to Erik's suggestion. « Even more so if it's a matter of determining who hired them. Which would seem to be important. There's no sense in punishing minions if their masters are only going to send more of them to finish the job. »
She stops by Erik's car, presumably having gotten the make and model from his mind, and takes a step back. She can travel on her own. « We will need to have a conversation about your choices and your training, though, Lorna. If you insist on fighting, then you're simply going to need to be better at it. »
*
«Indeed,» Erik answers to Emma. He then stops to pull open the passenger door. "Lorna," he tells her verbally, "Why don't you wait inside for a moment? I need another moment with Miss Frost."
Once Lorna is safely inside, he closes the door and turns to 'speak' again with Emma. «I don't intend to deal nicely with this man, Miss Frost. That being said, your assessment is wise. And… it is something I would prefer to keep Charles' and his people away from."
"
*
« Then it would seem to me that you could use some assistance. » Emma smiles faintly back to Erik, slipping her hands into her pockets against the chill outside. « It seems Lorna is also determined to continue to wander into these situations as well. Which means that I would very much like to see for myself just what we're dealing with. I'm not accustomed to being quite as hands-off as you might think. »
*
Erik nods his head in a meaningful way recasting his need for assistance. He glances back to the auto then, and a smile perks his mouth. "She is headstrong, like her father at that age," he says verbally, before turning back to Emma. Said revelation earns another lifting of eyebrows.
«Look into her mind and find this man,» he suggests. «A good first step in locating him.»
*
« Darling, please. » Emma already has an image, a name, and Lorna's impressions of the attack in her mind, sharing them with him. « The real question is, who would have issue with Lorna to hire someone to hurt her? She's headstrong, but I doubt she's managed to attract that many enemies. These Friends of Humanity, perhaps? Or the mutants who warned her to keep her aid out of Mutant Town? The latter doesn't make any sense for wanting her dead. The alternative is that someone might want to send you a message. »
*
That remark is enough to earn a rueful grin from Erik Lensherr. Telepathy and morality are a difficult issue, but in this case, Erik finds Emma's choices perfectly acceptable. When the image is shared, it is stored - no, burned deeply into his mind.
«Perhaps» he answers in reference to the Friends of Humanity. Emma's second supposition is dismissed much the same as she has. The third, however, brings a shadow.
«Only someone lacking a spine would do such a thing. Or… perhaps, someone who wants to see my ugly side.»
*
« Nobody said it was a wise decision. » Emma's mental voice drips with scorn at the idea, matching an arch expression on her icy features. « She has many friends. Attacking her isn't a particularly wise move. But assuming that your opponent's motives are sensible can be a dangerous mistake. »
She half-turns to look back toward the car, still cool and poised. « Do you think you can control yourself if we come upon this Absorbing Man? »
*
«Oh yes.» There is no lack of honesty in Erik's mental voice. «Though, I intend to make it quite clear what will happen to him if he chooses not to leave her be.»
Erik then retrieves a small leather bound pad of paper and a pen. He writes a number down, rips the paper free and offers it to Emma. "When you've found something," he says, "Call this number. I'll send someone by to pick up Lorna's schoolwork."
*
"Excellent," Emma nods as she takes the piece of paper, folding it neatly between her fingers and slipping it into her pocket. « I doubt such threats will be necessary, » she adds mentally. « He doesn't seem like the sort who can resist a bit of psychic digging. » And she doesn't seem like the type to worry about the ethics of psychic digging when it comes to this particular situation, either.
*
«Perhaps not for him.» As for Erik, there's a chance he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't play some part in assuring his daughter's safety.
That being said, Erik reverts to words once more, not wanting any passersby to grow unduly suspicious. "Until then, Miss Frost. I will anticipate your call. Good day." He tips his hat to her, before crossing in front of the Jaguar and claiming the driver's seat.
*
"Good day, Mister Lensherr," Emma nods as well, turning to make her way back to the car waiting to take her back to the Academy. At least now she knows that Lorna is all right. Small blessings.
*