Sanctum 2.4

Compared to the rush and hiss of the wind outside, the inside of the mansion was deafeningly quiet. Walking the halls again, Anna could hear the hardened soles of her boots softly thumping against the fabric of the rug as she walked in the general direction she understood Xavier's office to be. She only knew she was getting closer when she heard voices bouncing off the blank walls of a hallway. Too distant to hear properly, she slowed her steps down to a crawl. Hand against one of the walls, she slowly placed one foot in front of the other till she could begin to make out what the people were saying.

"… around before you know." She could just make out Logan's booming voice from beyond one of the doors.

"…time. Mass production doesn't… than funding." The other man's voice sounded familiar somehow, but she couldn't quite place from where. She crept further along the hallway, till she could just read the gold placard just next to the door at the end of the hall: 'Xavier's Office.'

"You can't just ignore intel like this, Charles." She could hear Logan more clearly now, his voice low and biting.

"I'm not ignoring anything, Logan. We are significantly smaller now and we have to face the facts that we can only take on so much at once. I have to prioritize."

"Magneto isn't going to ignore this."

"I know."

"He's going to attack."

"Don't you think I know that, Logan?" The other man snapped.

Anna was right at the door now, her ear cupped against the grain of its wood.

"We have to take some initiative. We are getting the upper hand with Cerebro for the moment, but we are going to need to play our hand ev-" Logan paused, and then Anna could hear a throaty growl. "You can open the door, kid."

Ice water spiked through the veins of Anna's chest and arms. Her teeth bared down on her bottom lip as her hand fell onto the golden door nob and twisted. As the door swung open, she was faced with a room bathed in natural light and Logan sat in a chair catty-cornered to a great mahogany desk. One of his legs was crossed over the other and he looked up at her, his face all lines and jagged points. Behind the desk was a man who in almost every regard looked Logan's opposite. With nearly no hair to speak of besides pencil-thin eyebrows, the man looked well-washed and was meticulously clean-shaven. Dressed in a black turtleneck and gray sports coat he sat behind the desk with his fingers laced together. Upon her entry, the man straightened his back and rested his hands on the arms of the chair he was sitting in.

"Ah, Anna Marie!" The man said, then there was an electric whistle sound. A moment later the man was scooting back out from behind his desk, and rolled up in front of her, sitting in his electric wheelchair. He met her in the doorway and extended a hand to her. "A pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Professor Charles Xavier."

She accepted the handshake, her other hand clutched to her chest. "Er - nice to meet you."

"That a quirky hobby of yours, kid? Listening in on conversations that don't concern you?" Logan hissed like a seething alligator from his chair.

"Take it easy on her, Logan. She's just trying to get her feet back under her and figure out who she can trust. In truth, if I were her, I'd be doing the same." He looked up at Anna. "Won't you please have a seat?" He gestured to the only free chair, opposite Logan's. With another electric whistle, the wheelchair navigated under Xavier's command and returned behind the wide desk. Anna followed close behind and dropped in the seat, avoiding eye contact with Logan. Xavier looked between them and shook his head. "Logan, how about you give us some time, yes?"

Logan sucked in a lungful of air, grabbed the chair by either arm and rose out of his seat. "Fine." He looked back at Xavier. "But our discussion isn't over yet." Xavier only extended his hand in recognition as the stout man disappeared out the door, closing it a little too firmly behind him.

"Apologies." Xavier's eyes lingered on the door a moment before returning to Anna. He leaned over the desk and folded his hands together. "How are you, Anna? How has your exploration gone of your new home?"

"Fine and… fine." Anna rubbed her upper arms with her hands. "Um, hey - sorry I was listening at the door. That probably wasn't the coolest thing to do to people I've just met."

Xavier waved his hand. "Think nothing of it. As I said, I'd be doing the same thing in your shoes." Anna nodded, pursing her lips hard enough that they lost their color. "Well," Xavier continued. "I'm not wholly sure what you've been told and not at this point, so I think it best I start from the beginning."

He gestured with an extension of his fingers towards her. "As I told you, my name is Charles Xavier. I have a doctorate in genetics after spending far too long at New York University, and, like you, I am a mutant. I have the ability of telepathy."

"Telepathy?" Anna straightened her back. "You can read minds?"

"Yes, I can read minds and-"

"Bull!"

Xavier blinked. "I'm - sorry?"

Anna sat on the edge of her chair, her face a mix somewhere between elation and bewilderment. "What number am I thinking of?"

The corner of Xavier's lip curled. "Anna, if it's all the same, I'd really rather not -"

"That's cus there is no way! That's crazy! I've seen a lot of insane stuff the past couple of days, but reading a person's mind? Like, I guess I can do that sorta, but I have to touch 'em. You're telling me you just look at someone and know their deepest darkest fear?"

"I didn't say that." Xavier leaned his weight on one side of his wheelchair. "Well, I could if given enough time with the person and they were willing…"

"Between 1 and 10. What number am I thinking of right now?"

"Anna, please, I really don't like-"

"I am willing and able, doc. Let me have it!"

Xavier inhaled deeply through his nose and blinked slowly. He leaned forward in his chair and looked into Anna's eyes. "You're thinking that I'm, quote: 'Full of shit. Only roadside attractions and carnivals with rapey carnies would even pretend to be able to read minds.' Beyond your surface layer of thoughts, you're also thinking that I quote: 'Am insanely out of touch sitting up here in my ivory tower.' You've also wondered how I manage to keep my scalp so shiny, and now the forefront of your mind is spiking with panic on how I'm pulling every thought you're having right now and saying them in front of you." He paused. "And the number was 6."

Anna stared right back at the man. She sat so straight, that she could feel beads of sweat forming on the back of her neck and rolling down to the small of her back. Her face felt numb and the corners of her vision slowly started to fade. "R-Right." She said, breathless.

Xavier lowered his head and sighed. "I apologize. That was overboard." He tented his fingers on his desk. "If it gives you any sort of solace at this moment, I am not constantly going around reading minds. I have worked very hard on my abilities and have more than adequate control over them."

Anna nodded, crossed her arms over her chest, and hunched over in her seat.

"Yes, well -" Xavier stiffened his upper lip and sniffed. "As I was saying then, like you, I'm a mutant. As you can see from the mansion around you, I'm rather well off. I'd like to tell you that was from years of hard work on my part, but I was born rather lucky. My father and his father before him were rich men beyond yours and my wildest dreams put together. I'd also like to tell you that they earned their fortunes from good honest work, but that too would be a lie." Xavier threaded his fingers together on the tabletop. "The truth of the matter is that the grand Xavier fortune was won through acts of war and violence."

Anna looked up and Xavier but didn't meet her eye.

"During times of war, the United States government will contract private munitions companies to construct and design new weapons and technologies for the war effort. At the top of the list during the wars of World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam was Xavier Technologies, a company started by my grandfather and inherited by my father. During the span of the Twentieth Century, my family became embarrassingly wealthy selling arms to both sides of many conflicts. One of our more prevalent moments in more recent history was Operation Linebacker II in Vietnam, or what is better known as 'The Christmas Bombings.' President Nixon ordered American bombers to drop 20,000 tons of bombs on the cities of Hanoi and Haiphong between December 18th and December 29th, 1972. The casualty numbers seem to vary depending on who you ask, but after hitting what was primarily civilian zones such as homes, hospitals, and schools, it's estimated over 1,600 civilian lives were lost. The bombs used in this attack were napalm canisters supplied by Xavier Technologies."

"Jesus… Why… are you telling me this?"

"Because you deserve to know where all this -" he held up his hands and gestured to the room around him. "Where all this privilege has come from. From the fallen bodies of innocence." He paused, ran his hand over his head, then sat back upright and met her eye. "I also want you to know what it will all be used for. To help you, and the other students like you in this house. To lend shelter and aid to those who wouldn't have it otherwise."

Xavier laid his hands flat on the table and curled one into a fist. "When I finally inherited Xavier Technologies after my father's passing, I didn't take up the mantle of the company or sell it. I destroyed it. I had every design and contraption that could be used to kill on a wide scale eradicated." He rose his curled fist an inch off the desk, looked at it, and watched as he gently set it back down. "I considered doing the same to this very mansion. The place where my father raised me, and the place where he secretly designed his weapons of mass destruction. I almost did destroy this place… till I eventually realized I could spite him and my family's legacy better by turning this place into a home for healing and educating for the very people they would have likely aided in the eradication of should he have had the chance." He threaded his fingers together so tight his flesh lost its color. "It was then too I vowed that I would use every dollar and every resource I had to the betterment of people and Mutant-kind and that I would die a popper."

Anna looked down at her hands. "That's… intense."

"There is a little more to the story than that, I'm afraid." Xavier relaxed his hands and lowered them onto his lap. "The Brotherhood of Mutants, an institution you've already had the misfortune of knowing, has been around for over a little over thirty-five years. Their mission is to defend and progress Mutant, or as some prefer to call, Gifted, kind. A noble enough mission, but the way they intend to do it is through violence. It's also an organization I was a part of for a number of years."

"What?"

Xavier nodded. "It's true. Quite an important part actually. You see, the Brotherhood wasn't always the well-oiled and organized machine that it appears to be today. Our kind aren't new. Throughout history, Mutants have popped up here and there. Since the industrial revolution, the trend of mutated people has more or less doubled, and in the past 50 years, the Mutant birth rate has quadrupled even that. Over the decades, several small Mutant lead groups and collectives have formed, but it's only The Brotherhood, lead by Magneto, has managed to not only weather the test of time but has managed to expand and grow."

"Magneto?" Anna furrowed her brow. "I met a guy who went by Erik who said he was the leader of The Brotherhood."

Xavier rubbed his chin. "Yes, I expect you did. The man you met, Erik Lehnsherr, and Magneto are one and the same. It's typical, you see, for our people to go by code names. It started as a safety precaution. You would go by your code name during a 'mission' so that your known government identity would be safe. However, the code names have more or less taken on an identity of their own. Becoming some individual's 'Mutant names,' if you will. It's something you will find even here."

"I don't understand. If you were so against your family's violence, why would you join something so violent as The Brotherhood?"

Xavier's eyes flicked to his desk, then to his hands. "I wish I had a clear answer for you. The best I could tell you is that I was young and I wanted change. The Brotherhood promised that and they seemed like the only ones capable of it. You understand the hatred of our kind isn't recent. It goes back to when I was young and I was recommended by my own mother to keep my gift hidden and to never tell anyone for fear of my safety. Not even my father knew of my gift. When I was older, I saw the injustice happening to our kind, and I wanted to do something about it. It was then I joined, grew in the ranks, and became quite important to the cause when we uncovered that my ability, when combined with a supercomputer we had designed, could discover other mutants. Originally we called the computer Cerberus, but after I stepped in and with a few added modifications, it became known as Cerebro."

Xavier looked back up at her. "Two years ago I saw something in Magneto that wasn't there before. He was becoming more reckless with the people in our care and impatient. I didn't agree with the calls he was making, so I left and I took Cerebro with me. I retreated here, to the old mansion of my youth, and opted to start my own solution for the Mutant cause. The Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, a safe place for a youth to come, find understanding and shelter, and most of all - discover how to cope and use their abilities. Today, now including you, we have 6 students. Ororo, who goes by Storm, and Logan, who is often known as Wolverine, are mentors here as well and aid me in the process of instruction.

"For a while, we were home to only two individuals, Jean Gray and Scott Summers." He paused. "The last of which I believe you've already had the pleasure."

Anna's face jerked into something close to snarl. "Yeah, pleasure for sure."

Xavier touched the pads of his fingers together. "Yes, I heard about your interaction. What he said to you was out of line. I've said as much to him already. I also ask, if I may, that you might afford him a small line of credit. The Brotherhood is a touchy subject to many around here. We've had more than our fair share of run-ins with them, and Mystique."

"Well, if what you said is true, why would you guys have any beef? Like, aren't we all Mutants, or whatever? Shouldn't we be on the same side?"

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Xavier lowered his head. "Yet another good question I wish I could give a straight answer to." He lowered his hands and ran his thumb around his knuckle. "The best I can tell you is that in my absence Magneto and The Brotherhood have more or less become extremists. They wish to further the Mutant cause, as they see it, by any means necessary. Even if that means harming the innocent. It's not something I can sit and watch them do idly. Several times I've had to assemble squads and stop, what some would call, acts of terrorism. Sometimes it's more mundane, like robbing a store, and sometimes it's not so simple. I do this, not only to save lives, but I believe in these random acts of violence, The Brotherhood is setting us Mutants back as far as our standing with the public."

Anna turned her head a looked at the bookshelf to her left. It was filled with thick old tomes on Human genetics and Law, down to more mundane paperback novels, one of which she recognized, a thriller by the name 'Still Life with Crows' by Preston and Child. "What did my Mom do to you guys?" She asked after a while.

She didn't see, but she could feel Xavier physically stiffen. "I don't what to speak ill of your mother to you, Anna. I know she raised you since you were a baby, and the bond between a mother and daughter is a special one. She was also someone I worked with while at The Brotherhood." He laced his fingers together again and rested them on his lap. "Your position isn't an easy one, and I'm sure your decision to come wasn't made with a light heart."

"Yeah, well - she made it pretty easy when she went psycho on me."

"Yes. Logan filled me in on the details of when he picked you up."

Anna felt tears bite at her eyes, but she fought them off and sucked in a breath. "What did she do?"

Xavier's lips drew to a line. He waited to speak as if considering something silently. "Her appearances in the area have been rare, but anytime she is here, it usually involves the taking of a life or the near miss of one. More than once either Ororo or Logan or both have been heavily wounded by her as well."

Anna blinked and saw her Mom smiling at the breakfast table across from her with a box of cereal between them. She blinked again and she was staring into Xavier's somber face. "I see." She said a little more breathless than she'd like.

"Her, um, particular gift makes her incredibly well equipped to assassinate anyone Magneto wishes. Especially if they aren't expecting it. If she's ever cornered, she's an especially well-equipped and ruthless hand-to-hand fighter."

Anna blinked again and she was seven years old, playing on the floor with her Legos with her Mom by her side. The last piece on their tower to the sky was too tall for her to put on, so her Mom picked her up and helped top off their lopsided tower with a big pink flag. When she blinked next, she saw Xavier whose eyes were now fixed on his desk.

"Anna, I-"

"It's fine."

Xavier looked up. "I and no one here-"

Anna shook her head and sucked in another breath through her nose. "Professor-" She looked down, then up again. "I needed to know. I have too -" She ducked her head, her chin level with her chest. "Look, if anyone is worried I have any lingering loyalties to her, or whatever, tell them it's fine. I'm not…" Her voice trailed off along with her thoughts.

"I understand," Xavier said after a time. "If you'd ever like to talk about her or anything in the future, I or any of the others -"

"I don't… and I won't"

"Um, yes, of course. Should you ever, however, the offer still stands." He wrapped one hand around the other in his lap. "Now, I understand that you came to us in a bit of a hurry. You didn't have a chance to pack clothes or any belongings. After our meeting, should you feel up to it, I have arranged for Ororo to take you out into town and buy you a new wardrobe along with anything else you might need for a new school year."

Anna slowly raised her head slowly and looked at the man through her hair. "School?"

"Yes, after a short respite, you will be joining the others here in attending Bayville High, the local public school, to finish your general education."

"What the hell do I need with school for at this point? Ain't I just going to be some freak of nature that lives on the fringe of society anyway?"

Xavier's brow creased. "You are not a 'freak of nature,' Anna. Nature produced you, you can't be a freak of something that made you. You also still have the world at your disposal just as much as you did before. You discovering your latent gift doesn't mean you can't live a life beyond it."

Anna crossed her arms. "Sure."

"You will also have a minor legal alteration to your identity."

"Excuse me?"

"Your full name and title is 'Anna Marie Adler,' correct?"

"Yeah?"

"Legally, you will have now dropped Adler and have your middle name shifted to your last name. As of next week, you will officially be only 'Anna Marie.'"

"The hell? I don't remember giving you permission to mess with my name."

"I can understand your frustration, but let me assure you that it's best to break off your association as much as possible with both of your mothers. Even Irene."

Anna straightened in her chair. "What the hell did she do?"

"She's deeply associated with The Brotherhood which will soon be if it hasn't been already, considered a terrorist threat to the nation. You being any more legally associated with her will draw a lot of attention to you that you don't want. Though, from Logan's account at least, it seems she's defected."

"What do you mean?"

"She attacked Mystique with a taser and prevented her from claiming what Magneto had already decided was his - you. She was already on thin ice before and with this, well, she'd be smart to go dark." Xavier shifted in his seat and smirked. "Like mother like daughter, I suppose. In one day, Magneto had an agent and a baby, practically raised in The Brotherhood, both go rogue in one day. He must be livid indeed."

"So must be Mystique," Anna added, her tone neutral and difficult to read.

"Yes..." Xavier adjusted his posture and looked back at her from across his desk. "As I was saying, you will have your change of identity and that is the first and last name you will be known by at your new school. After school, you will come home and start physical training."

"Physical… what?"

"You need to learn control of your abilities and learn to defend yourself. The first step towards both these goals is a healthy and happy body."

"Um, yeah, no - I don't do P.E., Professor."

"Like it or not, I'm afraid, you're going to be starting. Once Logan has decided you are at an adequate fitness level, you will join the others in their training."

"No. You can't be serious."

"Quite serious."

"So, what, I'm going to be lifting weights and running miles and crap?"

"If that is what Logan decides, then yes."

Anna rolled her shoulders and looked up at the ceiling. "God kill me." She whispered not so quietly.

"The evenings are a time for family meals and after you will do any homework you may have." Xavier continued.

"Homework too, huh?"

Xavier blinked at her, then went on. "Afterwards are your free time then you are to go to bed at 9:30 PM and be ready for school by 6 in the morning."

"9:30!"

"Saturdays are set aside for assigned chores around the mansion. There is a rotation you will be allotted into in the coming days. Sundays are free to use as you please." Xavier sat back in his chair. "Are there any questions on the day-to-day?"

"Uh, yeah. What if I don't want to do all that?"

"Then you don't have to be here."

Anna curled her lip. "You're not serious. You'd kick me out for not following your crazy regime?"

"Anna, the rules and schedules that exist here are here to serve you and help you. They may sound over the top and harsh, but believe me, when I say, they will give you habits and skills you will cherish and use for the rest of your life."

Anna tisked and turned her head.

"The other fact of the matter is, this isn't The Brotherhood. You can leave whenever you like. You don't have to be here if you don't want to. If you do stay, however, you need to accept these rules and live with them. That is not up for negotiation."

Anna sucked in a breath and rolled her head back. She blew a lung full of air out of her nose and lingered in that spot for a moment. "Physical training, huh?" She rubbed her face with the length of both her hands before letting her head fall back into a normal position. "Fine. Fine." She raised her hands. "But I want normal boy gym shorts. None of that girly purvey booty-short crap girls wear so old creeps can stare at them."

Xavier cracked a smile and raised his hands to either side. "I wouldn't have it any other way."