The one, the only, The Incredible Nightcrawler!

bookishmonster:

He watched the blood drawing with mild fascination. He’d watched Sel do the same thing time and again, but it was a little different when it was him having his blood drawn out. He bit back the urge to warn Dr. McCoy again; the man surely knew not to mess with his blood after the first warning. He stared at the little gauze pad on his inner elbow, familiar on Sel’s arm but alien on his. Medicine was truly strange.

“What does ‘an item’ mean?” he asked, then mentally chided himself for it. Of course he knew what McCoy meant. “Oh. We. Er. I do not think so? But Sel calls us soulmates sometimes.”

Were they an item? He wasn’t exactly up to par on these kinds of things. Sel had never suggested they start dating, so he assumed they were not, but they did sleep together. That was generally reserved for couples and families, and they were not family. If he could have, he would have blushed. Human courtship rituals were so very complicated.

He was so distracted, he almost missed the other questions.

“My parents are dead,” he said finally. “Killed when I was ten years old. And I doubt I could sell a book, being what I am. Most persons do not take kindly to…well, to my kind.”

He looked at the cup blankly, trying to process what Dr. McCoy wanted. Finally, though, he understood.

“I do not, er, urinate,” he said, looking somewhat scandalized. “My body processes things very efficiently, and I vomit back up what I cannot process.” He paused. “My esophagus is much stronger than that of a human’s, I gather, since I have had no troubles with my frequent…purging over the years.”

“Then I think, my boy, you two are an item.” Hank winked at him with a knowing smile. “Young love. You’re lucky, you know.” Being a bit odd-looking himself, Hank had difficulty finding a woman to love, though his dedication to his work might have been just as much, if not more, of a problem. He spent most of his time in the lab or the library. Hard to meet a lady in either of those places.

“I’m very sorry to hear that.” The mirth was gone now. “Is there anything you can tell me about them that might better help me understand you?” He sensed a tragic tale behind Eclipse’s words, but the boy didn’t offer, so Hank didn’t inquire further. If Eclipse wanted to talk, he would talk.

“Ah, I see. Then I guess we don’t need this, then.” He smiled and patted Eclipse’s knee. “Again, don’t be embarrassed here. It’s the body, nothing embarrassing about it. I suppose we can move right along. Do you have any reason you should not have an MRI or x-ray? The MRI operates using magnetic waves, so if you have any metal in you, it might be best not to proceed with it. The x-ray is only ultraviolet rays that will be passed through your body to take a picture of the inside. Are you all right to proceed with all of this?” Eclipse wasn’t pregnant, and Hank doubted that he had any metal in his body, but he was still unfamiliar with the biology and norms of dhampirs, so he thought it best to ask.

bookishmonster:

“Vaguely,” Eclipse said, blinking rapidly. It was mildly embarrassing to be discussing this with anyone, but the man was a doctor. There had to be a reason for it. “I think my body’s growth is happening out of order. I think the last things to appear have been body hair and broadening of the shoulders. I suspect I will always appear somewhat childlike, though.”

Privately, he hoped he would always retain some childlike features. It made what he did much easier.

“Sel will be very angry if we take longer than a few days and do not stop by to tell her,” He laughed. “And she very calmly threatened the lot of you if anything happens to us, so I recommend you do not try to kill either of us. Sel may be an ordinary human, but she is wickedly terrifying when she wants to be.”

He blinked at the food question. What did he mean? Either way, he’d had both.

“Oatmeal and blood,” he answered automatically, then added “The blood was from Sel. She gives a couple pints now and again to supplement my diet.”

He paused again, gathering his thoughts.

“She is my keeper because she keeps me sane. I have a tendency toward feral insanity, and she keeps me grounded. She also has authority to order me to do whatever she wishes, something she mercifully keeps to a minimum. My father was my mother’s keeper, and Sel is mine.”

He cleared his throat.

“My mother was a…well, a blood-drinker,” he said. “My father was human. I should not technically exist, but they begged a witch to make my mother fertile, and she complied. I am the impossible result.”

Hank only nodded and made note of it on the clipboard. “You very well might. It’s hard to know.”

A deep laugh rumbled from his chest as well. “It’s good to know she cares so much about you, then. I can assure you, we won’t kill you. That’s not what we do. Our mission is to protect life and ensure a better way of life, not to end it. You have my promise that we will do our utmost to protect you. With a school full of superhumans, and highly trained ones at that, you should have nothing to fear.” He smiled. It wasn’t the first time they’d been threatened, nor was it the last. He’d seen foes become friends in his life, or at least some had changed their enemy status. He took no offense to Sel’s threat.

“Hold out your arm,” he instructed. “I suppose you don’t know if the blood you drink mixes with yours or not.” He mused as he wrapped a tourniquet around Eclipse’s arm and sterilized the area. “I suppose we’ll find out. I’m going to stick you with a needle now. It won’t hurt much, but if it makes you uncomfortable, just turn your head and close your eyes. Think of something that makes you happy.” His voice was soft and soothing. He did work with children, after all. Fear of needles was somewhat common. “Let me know if you start feeling dizzy or sick.” He drained the blood into four vials, sealed them, and bandaged Eclipse’s arm. “There, all done. Great job.”

He nodded and smiled, his yellow eyes kind and without the least hint of fear. “It sounds to me like you have made a wonderful friend. You’re very fortunate to have her.” He spoke as he labeled the vials to store them, mentally calling out to Jean or Charles to come help with the bloodwork so he could finish his examination. His blue brow furrowed. “A child made possible by magic. No wonder Margali caught onto you so quickly. Still,” he smiled again. “It’s an interesting story, sentimental in that you have a keeper now as well. I assume you two are an item?” He tilted his head slightly. “Have you ever considered writing a book about your parents’ story, or even yours? Speaking of which, are your parents still alive?” Now that would be helpful to at least know a bit about a vampire to compare Eclipse to.

“Now, I’ve got one more little test I want to do before we move on.” He retrieved a cup. “If you will fill this up, please. Bathroom’s that way.”

doreee19rp:

“Oh, okay then. I guess I’ll see you later then, Kurt.” Dorothy gave Kurt half a smile as she left with Kitty and Piotr. She felt a little down that Kurt didn’t want to come with them but she understood and respected what he wanted to do. 

Dorothy then listened intently to Piotr and Kitty talk amongst themselves as they started walking towards the forest. She had a somewhat surprised look on her face when Kitty wished she could live normal and not be a mutant anymore. Dorothy had secretly thought that having supernatural powers, like the X-Men have, might be cool and fun, well depending on the type of power. She thought that if she had a superpower, she would want to have some fun with it for a while and use it for her own pleasures. But if if she were a mutant, and the X-Men were real in her universe and was given an offer to join the X-Men’s mansion, she actually would consider joining them.

Dorothy would have wanted to share that thought with Kitty and Piotr when Kitty was going to ask her about her thoughts but all of them stopped short when they heard arguing in the forest ahead of them. Dorothy was only curious of who was arguing but for Kitty and Piotr, they took extra precautions and prepared themselves, including making sure that Dorothy would be safe, for anything. 

When they found out who was arguing, Dorothy almost could recognize the ‘supposed female Kurt’ from somewhere and the one pink-skinned with purple hair person looked familiar from pictures and drawings she’s seen of her but couldn’t ‘put her finger on it’ of who they were. Though the other folks that were there, Dorothy had no idea who they are. 

When the ‘female Kurt’ saw them come in close and said to them she’s Talia Wagner, Dorothy’s eyes widened in disbelief, like ‘Is it really her? Here?!’. She looked at Kitty and Piotr with a big smile on her face, like if Dorothy’s mom or dad were here would say ‘You look like the cat that swallowed a canary.’. Dorothy looked back at Talia and said to her, “Talia?! Is it really? You’re really here? How, how did you get here?’ Dorothy had to let go of Kitty’s grip of her hand and walk over to Talia and touch her to make sure she was no illusion. She gently touched Talia’s hands and they felt like she was real and no illusion. “This has just been a bit of a surprise. For me at least.” She gave the same big smile she gave to Kitty and Piotr to Talia. “So, who are your friends here with you, Talia?” 

“Yeah, man! In the flesh!” Talia lifted her hands and spun in a circle. “Well, I think we kind of teleported. I’m not really one hundred percent sure on that, though. Ya see, we’re the Exiles. We all got ‘displaced in time’,” she waved her three-fingered hands as if she were quoting some kind of mumbo jumbo, “because a bunch of timelines got broken and someone needed to fix ‘em. We’re all from different universes, well, mostly.” She explained, before gesturing to the pink-skinned, purple-haired female. “This is Blink, our teleporter, but her real name’s Clarice Ferguson. She’s from a universe where a mutant named Apocalypse rules. It’s pretty shitty there. That’s John Proudstar, aka Thunderbird.” There was a certain dreamy look in Talia’s eyes when she indicated him. “He’s super-strong, and he used to be a Horseman of Apocalypse in his world. That’s Morph, obviously a metamorph. His name’s Kevin Sydney. In his world, he’s an X-Man, though I only heard of him going on like one mission in my world. And that’s Mimic, and as the name says, he can mimic others’ abilities. His real name’s Calvin Rankin, and he says he was a pretty big hero on his world. Anyway, that’s all of us.” She shrugged.

“Wagner?” Kitty asked, “Like Kurt Wagner?” She could hardly believe what she was seeing.

“Yeah,” Talia answered with a smile. “He’s my dad. ‘The Incredibly Nightcralwer’!” She joked, imitating his accent and grandeur. “But anyway, if you’re here,” she pointed to Dorothy, “and you guys are here,” her blue thick blue finger moved to indicate Kitty and Piotr, “then this timeline obviously needs fixin’. But I have one thing to ask, since you’re here, Dorothy, does this mean that I’m in the past of my world?” She had to ask. It was killing her. If she failed her mission in this world, her father would die and she would never be born.

bookishmonster:

“As you can tell,” Eclipse said carefully, “My voice has changed somewhat and is no longer cracking, but I have yet to experience the abundance of facial and body hair common to male puberty. I am told my proportions are still more child than adult as well.”

He doubted there would be any use to showing his teeth, but he did as he was told and tried not to puncture anything he wasn’t supposed to. It was a little difficult, given how sharp they were, but he managed.

Eclipse suffered the mild indignities of the other tests easily enough. They were strange, but not terribly unpleasant, and it would help things progress if he just went through the motions like they told him to. He resisted the urge to examine all the equipment—he could do research once they got back, after all. Or he could examine it when it was k’s turn, perhaps.

“Mm?” He glanced over at the doctor, momentarily confused. “Oh. Oh, yes, everything is okay. Odd, but okay. How long do you think these tests will take? We have someone waiting for us at home, and she expects us back in a few days. She can be a holy terror when her expectations are not met.”

He looked over at k and smiled.

“She is very protective of us, even though we are physically much stronger than she is.” He blinked. “Her name is Sel. She is my keeper.”

“I would say so,” Hank agreed. “You look, and I’m judging this by human standards, but I would say you look like your shoulders have not begun to broaden yet,” he picked up Eclipse’s wrist, circling it in his own large hand. “Though your bones look to be growing, but then I don’t know what you looked like before. Really, hair on the legs and underarms, as well as pubic hair growth, is the beginning of puberty. The voice deepens, the shoulders broaden, and the genitals grow. Finally, semenarche begins. Does any of this sound familiar?” He knew it was awkward for Eclipse. To Hank, it was nothing but normal body functions, the stages of growing up, but he knew how most people felt about such subjects, especially adolescent boys. He worked as a doctor in a school for kids that got spectacular abilities at puberty. This was everyday stuff for him. “Perhaps you’re experiencing it out of order. You are, after all, only half human. Perhaps you won’t complete it at all. I’ve never examined a vampire, and as I’m not aware of their existence in our world, there isn’t much for me to go on. We’ll just have to do our best to figure this out.”

He went to the cabinets and retrieved some more supplies. “I can’t give you an estimate, as I don’t know what I’m dealing with here, but I’ll do my best to have everything done in the allotted time.” He chuckled at Eclipse’s statement about Sel. “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.” He quoted. “William Congreve wrote that in The Mourning Bride, and obviously it’s more to do with a rejected woman, but I’m sure in this case, your friend would fit the latter phrase.”

“Your keeper, eh? What do you mean by that?” He took a needle, a vial, and a tube to the table. Had he been dealing with a true vampire, he was pretty sure a blood test was out of the question, but Eclipse had a beating heart. It must have been pumping something. “I want to take a little blood. I have a feeling it’s going to be the best way to find out a lot of what we want to know. Have you eaten today?” Again, he was going by a human standpoint, but it was all he knew to do.

azrael-the-mutant:

“they developed a few months after i was born” she smiled at him. “and they used to be much prettier. they were stained this color. bore burnt than stained, really. They used to be snow white.”

He shook his head. “Unglaublich. I’ve never heard of anything of the sort, but they are beautiful, nonetheless. I bet you were a pretty cute little winged baby. I myself was probably the  most adorable thing to ever grace God’s green Earth,” he joked before he realized that he still hadn’t shown her his true appearance. She might not get the humor. “I was a strange little baby,” he explained. “All covered in blue fur and with pointed ears and a tail. My mother tells me my tail was about this long.” He held his fingers about five inches from each other. “But I don’t remember any of it.” He smiled.

“How did they get stained?” This was going to be a sad, traumatic story, he knew. It was a rare thing to meet a mutant without one. Still, the sick feeling in his stomach never went away when he heard one, or even was about to hear one. He knew too much what it was like, and he couldn’t help his heart breaking for the others who had suffered.

bookishmonster:

The procedures were uncomfortably alien to Eclipse, but he had the feeling they were standard for doctor’s visits. He had never been, so he wasn’t sure, but Dr. McCoy acted as though they were routine. He submitted to the tests, curious to see what they said about him. He weighed a little more than he had thought, but he supposed most of that was muscle anyway. Otherwise, the results were about what he expected.

“Will you be able to figure out what makes me need blood?” he asked, feeling a little childish and well aware of the distortion in his voice caused by the altered shape of his mouth and teeth. “It is a very distressing dietary need, you know, and I would like to minimize the suffering of others if possible.”

He waited for the little clamp on his finger to register a heart rate, inwardly wondering how it managed to do so and almost laughing when it took ages to register exactly 5.2 beats per minute. Technology was marvelous, though a little silly sometimes. The pressure cuff alarmed him a little, but once he was assured it would not try to hurt him, he relaxed.

He fidgeted in his chair when the first round of tests were done, waiting for further instruction. Eclipse was tempted to revert back to his human guise, but it seemed important that he try to remain as he was. He just felt rather exposed, clicking his talons together and trying not to bite through his lip when he worried it between his teeth. Going back to his regular form after so long as a relative human made his bones ache.

“What can you tell with these statistics?” he asked after a bit. “I would not think my height would tell you much, unless you wanted to establish a growth chart. Which would be a bit pointless, seeing as I age slower with every year that goes by and probably would not register any differences for many years.”

He paused.

“Though I am curious—can you tell how old I am, physically-speaking? I estimate my age to be somewhere between fifteen and eighteen, but I am unsure because of my strange growth rate.”

It was probably unwise to tell him he was older than he looked, physical-maturity-wise, but Dr. McCoy wasn’t accusing him of being a demon or anything, so he felt a little more trusting of him.

“Oh, and Doctor?” he asked suddenly. “When Kurt recovers, we request that he be kept near us. We do not want our way home straying too far from us, if will pardon the uneasiness.”

“I’m sure it is.” Hank nodded, scribbling once more on the clipboard. His scientist’s mind was already formulating theories. “This says you need the blood of the dying? Hmmm. Interesting.” Perhaps it was the release of a chemical cocktail in the brain to the blood stream that he needed as well. If he could figure out what and how to replicate it… “I’ll certainly do my best, Eclipse. You’ll get nothing less.” There were lives at stake.

The heart rate monitor finally registered Eclipse’s heartbeat at a snail’s pace of 5.2 beats per minute, and Hank recorded that as well. “They’re mostly for a baseline, as well as medicinal and diagnostic purposes, though I’m working on that as well. You said you were three hundred years old and you can obviously change the age you appear at will. You don’t look like a normal human, so I’m afraid we’ll have to do a few more tests to try and determine that. Open your mouth and let me see your teeth.” Hank shone a penlight inside the dhampir’s mouth, hoping that he might be able to identify some clue to Eclipse’s physical age from his teeth. He turned the light off and went back to writing. “Have you gone through puberty?” He asked, before adding, “Please don’t be embarrassed by anything here. It’s only functions of the body. They’re nothing to be ashamed of.”

“As for Kurt,” he continued, “I understand your unease, but I can’t guarantee that he’ll be kept near you. That’s up to him and his parents. He’s still a minor, so they have ultimate decision-making power over him. I will, however, make sure that you both get home. We’re friends here, and we’re grateful that you returned Kurt to us; we’ll see to it that you are returned to where you rightfully belong.” Though he might have to outfit Kurt with something to make the teleport back a little easier and enable him to come home. Maybe he and his father could teleport together to ease the strain? Either way, he would have to make sure his student would be safe as well.

“Now, if you’ll hop up on this table right here, we’ll get started.” He smiled, patting the examination table. “I’m just going to listen to your heartbeat and breathing. Deep breath, please.” Hank placed a stethoscope to Eclipse’s chest and repeated the process, moving it to other areas of his chest and back as Eclipse breathed deeply. “Fantastic. Now open your mouth and say ‘ah’.” He peered inside and finally instructed Eclipse to let him look inside his ears and nose, and shine a light in his eyes. “Are we all right so far?”

azrael-the-mutant:

“thats fantastic kurt.”she smiled brightly “and flight isnt that fun…it takes forever to get a hang of… i remember flitting around when i was little and it was such a pain because until i was about ten, my wings were bigger than me!” 

He cocked his head to the side. “Were you born with your wings? It’s just that it’s extremely uncommon for a mutant to be born with their abilities. I was born blue and fuzzy, and I could climb on walls, but that was it. The abilities came later. I guess since your wings are a physical mutation, they could theoretically be present at birth.” He mused. What an interesting concept. Even though he had been crawling on the ceiling as a toddler, it was still strange to meet another who had had some sort of ability as a child.

“I’ve always been jealous of my friends who could fly, though. I’ve flown with them, but I’ve always wanted to fly myself. The closest I ever got was in the circus, when I would perform on the trapeze.” He shook his head. “It was pure magic. There’s no other way to describe it, and I only spent seconds in the air. I just can’t imagine being up there indefinitely, until you wanted to come down.” He looked over at her and smiled. “Your wings are very pretty, by the way.”

bookishmonster:

Eclipse, for one, was instantly more at ease. Dr. McCoy was the kind of person you just felt like you could trust, and his answers to their questions were professional and reassuring. He straightened up a little, still mindful of his childlike guise, and smiled.

“I think regardless of who goes first, we should probably move to another room,” he suggested. “Let Kurt’s parents have their time with their son.”

He swung his feet, thinking.

“I suppose I could go first,” he said at last. “k would probably be a little more at ease that way anyway, seeing that you will not do anything we object to.”

He followed Dr. McCoy into another room, sitting with k in the chairs provided. Carefully, he removed his hoodie, showing pale arms.

“I did not want to say so in front of Kurt’s mother,” he said quietly, “but I am what one would call a dhampir. I am roughly 300 years old, and I seek a way to keep my body count to a minimum.”

He dropped the act, and part of his human guise as well. His fingers sharpened into talons, and his mouth widened unnaturally.

“I suppose it would be easier for me to appear as I really am,” Eclipse sighed, and dropped the rest of the act.

His face widened and flattened, and he hunched over as his bones twisted and reformed themselves. He quickly pulled off his combat boots, and his feet were gnarled messes of talons and scar tissue. He took a deep breath, blinked his too-large eyes, and tried to stand up straight.

“I am perhaps not as unusual as others you have seen,” he admitted, “but I am monstrous in my way. I—well. If you take my blood, be very careful with it. I do not know how poisonous it would be to mutants, but I know humans should not come into contact with it.”

He paused, then smiled.

“Do not be alarmed at my pulse, by the bye,” he said. “I think my heart only beats around five or six times a minute, if that. My blood pressure is probably dismal as well.”

He looked at his arms, on which blue veins stood out faintly, and shrugged.

“Well, what do we do first?”

“A prudent idea,” Hank smiled serenely. “Please pardon me one moment.” He went to the curtained-off bed and peeked behind the barrier. “Margali, Avel, I’m going to the other room with Eclipse and k. Should you need me, come knock on the door. Kurt shouldn’t need anything when he wakes up. Just let him rest.”

He returned to his two patients and led the way.

He picked up Eclipse’s clipboard and put on his spectacles. He was a seemingly contradictory being, the scholarly beast. The spectacles only highlighted the contrast. His yellow eyes widened at Eclipse’s confession. “Really? Fascinating. I’ve read books about dhampirs before, fictional, I gather, at least in this universe. It’s truly amazing to be able to meet you.”

“That would be helpful, yes.” When Eclipse began changing, Hank’s blue-furred face showed no trace of awe or surprise. “Considering my own uncanny appearance, I am hardly shocked in the least, however, that is not to say that you are not unique, Eclipse. I have never seen a creature such as yourself.” He scanned the clipboard in his hand, gleaning the information provided. He had a few questions his forms hadn’t covered. “Good to know,” he nodded.

“Well, the first thing is very simple. I just need to take a few vitals. Height, weight, temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, all of the basics. So, if you’ll step right onto that scale and stand straight and tall, that would be wonderful.” Hank was professional and respectful in what he did. He strove not to make anyone feel odd, alienated, or scared. His patients’ well-beings were important to him.

He weighed and measured Eclipse, scribbling the results down as he went. “Now if you will please have a seat in that chair right there. I’m going to take your temperature, so I need you to open your mouth and let me place the thermometer under your tongue. Just close your mouth and hold it there, and try not to bite it.” He explained everything he did; he had a feeling Eclipse had never been to a doctor before.

The thermometer beeped. “Very good. Now, I’m going to place this little thing on your finger. It’s going to take your pulse, and I’m also going to put this cuff on your arm. It’s going to get tight, but it won’t last long.” He inflated the cuff and took Eclipse’s blood pressure. The boy…er, was he a boy? Eclipse was right; his blood pressure was surprisingly low, and he found himself waiting for a heartbeat to register. “Why don’t we just sit there a few minutes until we can get a baseline heart rate? In the meantime, I’m going to look over your forms. Do you have any questions you would like to ask me about this whole thing?”

bookishmonster:

kthenotewriter:

k watched the group, grateful that Dr. McCoy was defending Eclipse and themselves. Seems Kurt had been telling the truth about him. Their grip on Eclipse’s arm tightened a little when Margali called Eclipse out Great, another telepath. Was nothing private? They sat up a bit straighter, setting their feet firmer on the ground. k wondered if she had mistaken them for a dhampir as well, but it would make little difference. Obviously she disliked both of them.

They were grateful when Dr. McCoy pulled the curtains closed, finally releasing them from Margali’s glare. Kurt hadn’t told them his parents were so… frightening. They took the clipboard, looking over the bizarre questions. It made sense that a school for mutants would have something like this. They were actually a little embarrassed that they hadn’t anticipated it. They looked over at Eclipse when the doctor was done speaking before writing in the corner of their paperwork.

“We would like to stay together.”

Kurt’s mother was perceptive. Unnaturally so. Perhaps she could read minds as well. Eclipse kept up the act, but he felt somewhat embarrassed at having been called out on it.

“Kurt did not mention Jean specifically,” he said belatedly, “but she knew our names without us telling her, and Kurt said his friends had…powers. I extrapolated.”

He watched Kurt’s parents interacting and felt a twinge of jealousy. Sure, they didn’t look like a prototypical happy couple, but they obviously cared about Kurt. He would have given anything for that.

At Dr. McCoy’s question, he stiffened. k was way ahead of him, however, for which he was grateful.

“I hope you will pardon the unease,” he told the doctor, “but we are in a different world to our own. We would indeed like to stay together through whatever tests you might see fit to perform on either of us.”

The clipboard was full of questions he couldn’t answer, so he ignored most of them. Anything relating to “family history” was laughably impossible, and he didn’t even know basic information about himself like his height or weight. They could figure it out here, though, he supposed. It was a doctor’s office. Infirmary. Whatever.

Some questions, though, gave him pause. What was the nature of his powers? Well, he could put the usual—speed, smell, hearing, slow aging—but he suspected they wanted to know about the blood-drinking most of all. How honest should he be?

“These will be confidential, yes?” he asked. “Forgive me, but I have lived this long because of an ability to remain anonymous and under the radar. I do not exactly want a full report on my…condition floating around just anywhere.”

The guise was starting to slip a little, but he focused again and regained control. Large eyes, hunched posture, don’t make eye contact. He chewed absently on his thumbnail while he looked over the forms and tried to maintain a childlike exterior. He couldn’t do much about his speech, but he still had some control over his appearance. He hoped Kurt’s mother would not hate him too terribly much.

Hank read the note, easily arriving at the conclusion that k was a mute. “Perfectly acceptable. I understand the unease, and I’m honored that you both would trust me so much to come here. You may stay together, and of course, you have the right to opt out of anything that you don’t want to do. You do not have to share anything you do not wish to, either, but it would be helpful if you would be as honest as possible with me. It will make things go much easier and faster. What I meant with my previous query, however, was which of you would like to be examined first? Obviously, it would be the logical course of action for me to handle you one at a time so as to ensure the utmost attention to detail, and also not to mix anything up. I apologize for any misunderstanding. I should have been clearer.”

He sighed. “As for Jean, you have all of the staff and faculty’s sincerest apologies for the intrusion. We normally don’t practice such invasive measures, but you can understand our worry at Kurt going missing for days and then showing up unconscious with two strangers. We deal with a lot of people who would do us harm; we can never be to cautious. It won’t happen again.” He lowered his voice and leaned in close. “As for Margali, she’s not affiliated with us. I’m not sure how she deduced what she did, but she’s a sorceress, and a powerful one at that. I’m guessing it was her magic. You should be fine once she sees you can be trusted.”

Finally, he addressed Eclipse’s question. “Of course these will be confidential. If you like, I can move Kurt and his parents so we can have a bit more privacy. Like I told Margali, you have rights just like anyone else. Please, don’t be nervous. You are both safe here.” He smiled. He would make sure that they stayed safe.