X-Men Evolution: Rogue Evolution

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?"