X-Men: The Gifted Ones

4. CHARLES' OFFICE, XAVIER MANSION, WEST CHESTER, NY

Jane hated waiting.

She had arrived in West Chester, New York, and was brought into an office that was clearly set up in another time, in another place. A wealthier place than where she had come from. She was told this was the home of Professor Charles Xavier, and she had been reassigned to him. She looked around at the furniture, paintings, and books that lined the walls. She tried to imagine what this Professor would be like, based upon her conclusions of the home, this office, and its ancient furnishings. He is probably some dusty old man, or some eccentric middle-aged heir whose money was able to secure him this post. She had no idea what her nursing had to do with a geneticist, or why it would be vital to the war in Vietnam. She concluded this Professor Xavier must be important, if he could summon her here from the other side of the world as quickly as he did. She barely had time to pack the few belongings she had.

She only knew she had to go.

She was in the US Army. She was given an order. It was her place to follow it, not to question it.

And here she was.

She had no idea what was ahead of her. She wasn't supposed to be concerned about that.

She supposed that a quiet, large mansion in West Chester with a dusty old man would be preferable to the humid jungles and imminent danger she had faced in Vietnam.

Faced... she reached up and touched her cheek where a deep, jagged scar had marred it. She was fortunate. Not everyone had made it out alive after the makeshift hospital had been shelled. She and her fellow nurses and medics had dragged as many of the injured as they could into the jungle. She had saved as many soldiers as possible. A small piece of shrapnel to the face was nothing. She had all of her limbs. She had her sight. She had her life.

She perched herself on the stiff Victorian-era couch in the office and smoothed out her dress uniform. She was embarrassed that she did not have any other dress clothes, but she was reassigned at such a short notice that she did not have time to shop and find the latest style. She figured she could not go wrong in her Army uniform. She knew that she was in a school of advanced studies and she was told that her skills were needed.

She was told that was all she needed to know.

She would find out the rest soon enough.

Soon, the office door opened and a young man in a wheelchair entered the room. Jane felt as if her breath was taken away. This can't be him, she thought as she looked at him. He was young. Handsome. He had dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. He couldn't be much more than thirty years old.

Maybe it's his assistant, she concluded.

The man wheeled himself over to her and extended his hand. "Professor Charles Xavier, known as Professor X" he smiled, gripping her hand. "You must be..."

"Captain Jane Tropp," she smiled shyly, feeling her face flush as she shook hands with him. "US Army Nurse Corps."

"I hear you have quite the gift at the hospitals, with the soldiers."

"What do you mean?"

Charles smiled at her confusion, "I hear they call you an 'Angel of Mercy' and that many soldiers tend to die peacefully in your care."

Jane felt apprehensive. Was he accusing her? Was she about to be court-martialed? She tried to take a deep breath. This is an assignment, not a punishment, she reminded herself. "Yes", she answered. "I can't quite explain it. I seem to absorb their pain when I touch them. It happened the first time in Tay Nihn after a sniper had mortally wounded a soldier. I held his hand and felt his pain, and he seemed to be eased."