|
Lorna sighed as she plopped down in a chair with a book in her hands. It had been one of several books her father had told he to read over. Another in a long string of additional texts and assignments Erik had set for his daughter to complete while she was finishing up her Freshman year of college. She knew it would only get worse over the summer. More training. More language studies. More everything.
Which, if people weren't busy accusing her father of attacking people at the protest, wouldn't be such a frustration for her. She still hadn't been able to track down her father and talk to him about it. A purse of her lips following as she read and re-read the passage on electro-magnetic theroy on the molecular level. It went over her head and did so much as stick for a brief time.
Then of course had been her argument with Scott over what mutants should or shouldn't do and she was grinding her teeth together. That had been by far, the worst car ride back to Westchester she'd ever had to sit through.
*
A familiar voice echoes behind Lorna, "I wasn't sure if you'd still be here. Glad to see I was wrong." And yes, it's the Professor, having come back recently from his sabbatical. He eyes the book a bit with a bit of curiosity, then smiles a touch, "How are you doing, Lorna?" He keeps it relatively informal, stepping over to stand a polite distance from her, turning to look at her as well… she undoubtedly knows why he's here.
*
A glance, some what guilty looking and some what nervous crossed over her features. Lorna knew better than to lie to telepaths, having roomed with Jean at one point and even dealing with Emma Frost.. still, there were lies that were common to every day society. "I'm okay." She offered, her lips pursing together as she glanced down at her book.
She decidedly wasn't 'okay' by most standards. She'd been dealing with killer robots in mutant town, dealing with the protest turned riot and then the accusations against her father in the newspapers.
Yet beyond all of that her mind seemed more fragile than when she'd last seen the Professor. The young mutant had seen things, and done things that she wasn't too pleased to have done. A flicker of these hazy thing: trying to bring down a building on Mojo's people, being caught and held in a room without iron for weeks, a violent gameshow where she and others in her family had faced death.
All of this had left an impact on her mind, and she was still jumpy from it.
*
The Professor nods and sits down across from Lorna, steepling his fingers in front of him as he looks at the girl, a faint smile on his lips. "Actually, what you're supposed to say is, 'I'm fine,' because that's the code for those of us in the mental health profession. F'ed up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional." Did… did Charles just make a joke?!?
He then continues, "Not that I'd blame you. The last few months have… not been kind, have they?" Of course he can sense her distress, one hardly needs to be a telepath to know that, but he's also a skilled psychiatrist to boot. "Is there anything you wished to talk about? You know that I would keep it completely confidential."
*
A squirm followed as he settled down across from her, her gaze falling to her lap where she carefully shut the book and dragged it close. A faint smile tugged at her lips though when he made the joke, and she pushed her hair back from her face. She trusted the Professor, he hadn't told her father all the trouble she'd gotten into before, but at the same time..?
"My father and Wanda and Pietro have been through worse than I have. They're.. I'm just a baby. I shouldn't let it get to me. It's .. I'm just not strong enough yet to deal with it. That's all." She mumbled, her gaze still held low. The young mutant truly seemed to believe what she said. Blame public education perhaps, or the times. Yet there it was.
*
The Professor shakes his head slightly, "I don't believe that, and you shouldn't either, Lorna." He gestures, "We're all products of our environments, in one shape or another. What we learn from them, what we gain, makes us who we are."
Charles glances over to the side, "Life is not about strength, but endurance. How hard you hit someone doesn't matter. It's how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward." He looks back at Lorna, "I'm not ready to stop moving forward, and I suspect you aren't either."
*
"I don't have the right to complain about what I've gone through. It's not as bad as what others go through or have gone through." She pursed her lips and fidgeted, and heaved a sigh. She finally glanced back toward him and she shifted forward in her seat, the chair squeaking lightly.
"I just.. it gets to me anyways. Everything. With the riots and the no mutants signs and .. and everything. I just.. I was just getting used to being a mutant and training with my powers and.. I don't want them to take my father away to jail!" What was truly bothering her at the moment spilled out in a rush.
"Scott said that it's wrong to fight the system, but they don't understand at all what happened and he's not a criminal and it's not fair."
*
The Professor nods, "What did happen, Lorna? Were you there with Erik?" He sounds concerned, not judging anything yet, though he does clear his throat a bit.
"But, before you continue, don't you ever think you don't have a right to complain. Just because other people had a bad time doesn't mean that you didn't have one as well. Believe me when I say, that just becomes a cancer, eating away at you. Never be afraid to express what you're feeling." Charles sounds pretty strict about that, even if he does have a rep of being the groovy relaxed Tolkien-reading headmaster more often than not.
*
Lorna bit her lower lip and curled up further in the cushioned chair. She drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, propping up her chin against them. "I'd been helping out for set up, it was going to be the first protest I'd gone to. I left my hair green and everything." She blinked a few times, her brows furrowing. "Tata came along when it started and it was fine. There was an empath who came up to speak, but something went .. wrong.." She frowned, remembering the way the brunette had started to curl up on herself as if in pain.
"She started freaking out about hate, or anger or something. That someone was out there in the crowd. I didn't see anyone.." She shrugged and swallowed. "And then people started getting upset. Illyana said that there was magic somewhere. Then people really got upset. They started yelling and shoving.. Tata told me to leave but I told him I wasn't going to just run away." She hung her head.
"He asked me to find the magic thing that Illyana was talking about. She said it wasn't metal and was somewhere on the ground.. but.." She blinked back tears hard and squared her jaw. "I couldn't find it. I couldn't find anything." People had kicked her and pushed her to the ground. She'd nearly been trampled and could've been seriously hurt had her father not started drawing the crowd toward him instead.
"I couldn't do anything to stop it and I failed everyone." Her lower lip trembled.
*
The Professor reaches out then, placing his hand over Lorna's, "There wasn't anything you could have done. But, Illyana said that it was magic that started things?" He frowns, that's a bit outside his expertise, or even that of the school… until Illyana starts teaching Hermetic Lore 402 anyway.
Charles then continues, "And Erik wasn't able to find it, using his powers to try and protect you?" He listens, keeping an analytical tone in his voice… though there's definitely a comfort in his presence.
*
A nod followed, "Yeah, magic. That's what Illyana said. I don't know anything about it, but I believe her when she said so. She said that there was something magical making people freak out. But she didn't know what it was." A pout, and she fidgeted, "If Wanda was there, or maybe Billy or Doctor Strange it would've been different.."
A sigh followed, and then Lorna shook her head, "I changed my polarity so tata couldn't pick me up or move me in the crowd. I wanted to try to find the thing, whatever it was. But I couldn't find it." She mumbled, her head held low even as the Professor tried to be comforting to the obviously distressed young mutant.
"He was busy fighting the crowd and trying to not get dragged down. I thought they were going to rip him apart." She worried that abused lower lip and swallowed a dry lump in her throat. "They were crazy."
*
Charles nods, leaning back in his chair to think a few moments. "It definitely feels that there was something amiss. But don't worry, I don't anticipate Erik having to go to jail or anything of /that/ nature." If there's one thing that wealth is good for, it's buying some great lawyers, particularly if self-defense is an angle. "Do you know where Erik is now, Lorna? I really need to talk to him about this."
*
The green haired mutant shook her head, looking morose despite his words. "They called him a criminal and everything, but it's not like the courts are gonna say that magic is a defense! And they hate mutants. I don't care what Scott says, there's a lot of people out there that do. And I don't trust people to not try to say tata is guilty just because he's a mutant and they're not."
As she calmed somewhat, green eyes fluttered shut for a long moment. "I don't know where he went. He was so angry afterward. He took me here and dropped me off and told me to stay here." She dragged her hands through her hair. "I'm sorry."
*
The Professor sighs, "No apology necessary, I'm well aware of Erik's temper. Particularly at moments like this." Oh, the stories he has, but that's something for another time. "Lorna, you have my word that we'll do everything we can to get him out of this. And yes, I realize that magic is hard to prove, but… maybe we don't have to prove the method, just the culprit. I'll need to talk to Illyana, sooner rather than later."
*
A flicker of memory followed, Erik as Erik was when she'd been battered by the crowd. It had been a lucky thing that he'd been more interested in making sure that she was safe than getting back at those that had caused it.
"And if they still say he's guilty?" Her voice was small and she worried her lower lip, clearly concerned and worried, such emotions warred within her however, and stubborn determination held a backbone of steel beneath it all. "Because if they do I'm not letting them take him away. Miss Crystal said that Attilan would offer him safety." Unsaid was the thought that she'd fight off anyone that tried to come to arrest her father in front of her. Never mind that Erik was more capable than she was.
Then she softened and nodded about the culprit. "I'm scared that this person targeted the rally before, and is gonna go after mutants again.. more people might get hurt even worse.."
*
The Professor nods. "I'm worried about that too. And we're going to keep an eye on future rallies. If nothing else, I can offer some measure of protection that others might not be able to manage." He smiles a bit grimly, "And I'll probably have Jean along to assist, as well." Jean /and/ the Professor? Someone is breaking out the heavy psychic artillery for this.
*
A brow rose, "Scott said that Jean wasn't ready for major things…" He had said that Jean wasn't prepared to deal with the chaos after the attack on the faire grounds, but Lorna took it to mean the same thing.
"Do you think that you can fight against magic though, Professor? I mean, Illyana and Wanda and Doctor Strange.. even Billy though I mean he doesn't technically do magic, or so he says.. They're like used to that stuff.." She wrinkled her nose. Comfortable with magic users as she was, she had no concept of how magic worked.
*
Professor Xavier looks at Lorna, "Well, we'll see if Jean is ready. If she is, then she can come along. Frankly, if she wants to come along, she probably will regardless." He smiles faintly, "And don't worry, I'm planning on bringing Illyana at the very least. I don't know who else I can reach out towards, but I do intend to cover that angle, even as I don't pretend to understand it."
*
A nod, and Lorna seemed to straighten some what in her seat. "Okay. Yeah. That sounds like a pretty good plan," She paused and then shifted forward.
"Oh, before I forget, Professor. I found this mutant girl around Central Park. I think she's homeless. But she came out to talk to me when she saw people were making fun of my hair. I dunno if she understand everything around her, but she seemed nice enough. I dunno what her power is though." Her brow furrowed in thought, and she was able to picture Laura quite clearly.
"She's nice."
*
Charles nods, "I will definitely keep an eye out for her, then. See if she would be suitable to the school." He pauses, and almost mentions his own finding, but declines to mention it to a student. He knows it's going to give Scott fits as it is… but, for now, he simply says, "But we can always use more students." A slight smile at that.
*
A nod and a smile, warmer now that Lorna had talked away some of her anxiety. Between Crystal and Xavier at least, they seemed to have calmed the mutant down. Though there was still that edge, that balancing act she was playing at. Her ideals had been tested over the last few months and her world view was shifting away from that idealistic optimistic view she'd had before.
"Thanks Professor." She glanced down at the book on her lap and bites back a sigh.
"Can I come to the rallies when you go, Professor? I know I'm not of much help.."
*
A slight snort at that, "Lorna, you are an immense help, in more ways than you realize." The Professor gives her a wry expression, "And don't feel too bad about electromagnetics… honestly, it took me a few tries before I figured the science of /that/ out."
*
A wry smile tugged at her lips, "Tata wants me to be able to manipulate metals down to the molecular level. I can't do it. It's hard. I can't even sense them down to that level without his help." She pouted, "And he wants me to study about it 'till it makes sense. But it doesn't! I'm barely finishing my Freshman year. And he's also having me read The Art of War, and study German, Itlaian, and Polish." She stuck out her lower lip, looking quite put out with how much her father was adding to her usual academic assignments.
Like all teenagers, she desired less time with books and more time sneaking out and getting into trouble.
*
Charles grins, "I might talk to Erik about easing up on your workload /slightly/… but your father is just a little stubborn, so I'm not sure how effective that will be. But he does have a point in that you should practice your powers, a lot." He looks mostly in agreement with Magneto on this, as he chuckles, "Besides, you need to just tell him that for the summer, you want to practice your Italian by visiting Italy. I'm sure he'd enjoy hearing that." Oh, this is a reason why Charles enjoys having Lorna around… because he can be that ONE uncle, unofficially, at least.
*
Another pout and Lorna crossed her arms, "We were in Italy! It's why he told me that I have to study the language when he found out that I didn't speak it." She huffed, Billy had taken them out for pizza and it had been a welcome reprieve from all the chaos of New York city.
"Tata said no days off." She frowned, "And then! Then he was saying that he'd give time for Julian to 'court' me! Julian and I just started going steady and he makes it sound so official or something. Gah who says courting." She muttered and wrinkled her nose.
A sigh fell from her lips after a moment and she uncrossed her arms. "Never mind all the training. I mean, I get that I need to get better and its way of showing he cares.. But seriously when do I need to know like four more languages.. Billy can just magic it.."
*
The Professor grins, "Because Billy might not always be there, Lorna, and with the lives that we lead, you never know when that would come in handy." He then snickers a bit, "Wait, Erik actually said 'courting'? I'm rather surprised Julian is still in one piece." He looks like he's trying very hard not to laugh at the mental image of Magneto being that kind of father. Magneto as Ward Cleaver. Oh dear.
*
A blush crossed her face, and Lorna once more crossed her arms. "Yeah but when am I gonna be in Europe without Billy? Like he's got the teleportation thing going on.." But her heart wasn't really in that argument.
"But yeah, tata totally said it. I was so corny! And Julian met tata already, at dinner." A pause followed, "They got along it was freaky. Julian has been donating money to the Brotherhood, which I lectured him about! And ugh, it was just weird."
*
The Professor sighs, "Yes, the Brotherhood." He shakes his head about that, but doesn't pursue that line of reasoning. Probably because he doesn't want Lorna caught in the middle of /that/. "Well, keep up your studying. If I do get to see Erik, I'll talk to him about things."
*
A grumble but at least Xavier promised to talk to her father about her studies. "Thanks." She smiled. A pause and she considered, "If you weren't already better at finding people Professor, I'd offer to help find him. When we're close I can sense the magnetic disruption he causes. Granted, tata can sense me too. Even further away. I mean.. I'm not really good at it I guess.." She mumbled.
*
The Professor smiles, "Lorna, you let me worry about finding your father. You have too much with your studies to worry about as it is. And your courtships." He actually laughs softly at that, "Don't forget to get some rest, I'll talk to you later." And with that, he stands up, making his way out of the small study.
*