Kaleidoscope Heart | Alex Summers

[02] MOVING FORWARD

❝ DID I JUST GET ADOPTED? ❞   

Esther furrowed her brows in confusion, not sure what they were asking. Does he mean the gay team? She wondered inwardly, forgetting yet again that Charles could read her mind.

Charles choked on the air he was breathing in when he caught wind of the puzzled girl's thoughts, and fell into an abrupt coughing fit that startled everyone in the room around him. Erik glanced at him in worried confusion; a look Esther mirrored until realization dawned on her and she grimaced sheepishly. 

When Charles regained his composure and glanced Esther's way, she skillfully averted her eyes to the ground. "The team we are talking about, it's a group of people like us. A team of Mutants."

"What do you do, what's the purpose?" Esther asked, looking up to Erik for an answer since she couldn't quite bring herself to look back at Charles just yet.

"We're working for the government." 

"Sounds like it'd be dangerous." She mused, hooking and unhooking her fingers nervously behind her back.

"Well, we are specially qualified to deal with the problem they are currently facing, so we're doing everything we can to help, including forming this team we're talking about." Charles explained patiently. 

'What kind of problem are they facing, exactly? Or is that classified until I agree to join?"

Charles chuckled lightly before shrugging nonchalantly. "We've agreed to help them prevent a very dangerous mutant and his accomplices from initiating the start of World War III."

Esther's mouth fell open, and her hands dropped limply to her sides. She'd read about the wreckage caused by the first two world wars, and she'd lost everything to the one in Korea; there was no way in hell she'd let another catastrophe like that occur, especially on such a great scale, without doing everything she could to stop it.

How much did you see when you looked around in my head? She asked Charles in her mind.

Everything. He responded bluntly, but with more emotion than she would have thought possible for a disembodied conversation. I am so sorry, Esther, I truly am. No one should ever be forced to suffer as you have, and that is why we are here. 

She nodded solemnly, somehow managing a weak smile as she did. "Alright, I don't have many things, so I can be ready to go in a few minutes."

"Hold on, what about your family? Are you sure you can just leave?" Erik asked before she could move.

Esther and Charles winced almost simultaneously at the question. 

"These people won't miss me, and it won't be the first time I've run away from one of my houses, so it's not like they'll be all that surprised. I'm turning eighteen soon too, so I'd have gotten kicked out eventually anyway. I doubt it'll be a problem. Now if I could go grab my stuff, we can be out of here long before anyone gets back."

Erik's brows furrowed as she brushed past him to get to the stairs, and he looked to Charles for an explanation. There must've been something going underneath the surface of their conversation that he didn't understand yet.

Once Esther was up the stairs and out of sight, Charles began to fill him in. "I would expect her to be a bit touchy about some subjects for a while, Erik, but I've been in her head, and it's nothing personal or anything against you." 

"Are you sure? It seemed as though she didn't like me very much." 

"I'm positive. You just hit a bad button at the end of it; this foster system has resulted in quite a few rough memories for her, I would stick to discussing the present and the future around her if you care that much what she thinks of you." Charles reassured him quietly.

Erik nodded, turning his mind to the next topic on his mind. "So her powers . . . they certainly are remarkable, but I'm still not sure why you are so convinced that we need her on the team. Camouflage is more of a defensive strategy, and we need to be thinking offensively if we're going to beat Shaw."

Charles looked slightly taken aback for a moment, before he realized that he probably should have expected the question, and shrugged it off. "First of all, I think you're overlooking a few very important benefits her abilities will bring to our group, but I do understand where you're coming from. However, in addition, I have a theory that-"

"Hey, you guys ready to head out?" Esther interrupted from her spot halfway down the stairs, a small, faded blue backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Uh, yes. Ready when you are . . .  which I guess is now." Charles responded, shooting Erik a we'll talk about it later look, before rushing after the girl who was already halfway out the door.

"So, did I just get adopted?" Esther asked as she glanced back at the men struggling to fit side by side on the small stone path leading away from her foster home. 

Charles shrugged and Erik just looked plain confused, a look Esther was growing familiar with. "I suppose, if that's the way you want to see it."

Esther smiled, a wonderful idea popping into her head. "So does that mean that you guys are like my dads now?"

The confusion on Erik's face intensified, and Charles stumbled slightly, barely managing to catch himself before he went tumbling towards the ground.

Esther grinned sheepishly, enjoying the fact that she was able to completely frazzle a man she assumed was used to being fairly proper and in complete control. She knew she probably wouldn't be able to have much fun once she got to whatever military compound they were taking her to, so why shouldn't she enjoy the rest of the time she had before that?

"Is this your car?" She asked innocently, like she hadn't just bombarded them with yet another subtle question about their relationship.

Erik nodded, his brows still furrowed like he was trying to solve a puzzle without all the pieces; which, technically, he kind of was.

"So how long of a ride is this gonna be?" She asked as she pulled the door to the backseat open.

Charles cocked his head in wonder; after being inside her mind and seeing all the pain she'd suffered through, he was surprised she was able to carry herself like she'd never seen a dark day in her life. Of course, he knew it was all just a cover; a protective shell she was hiding behind, but that didn't mean he was any less impressed by her acting. 

"The ride should only be a few hours, although we will be making a stop on the way."  

"What kind of stop?" Esther asked, tossing the backpack off her shoulder and onto the grey leather seats.

"We've got one more recruit to pick up."