𝑭𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏 𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝑫𝒐𝒏❜𝒕 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒚 |An Avenger/X-Men Crossover|ON HOLD

VI - Nova Barnes

I couldn't help but feel like I knew what was coming. The Professor would say I was just too dangerous to have around the other students. I would have to leave. I was already planning too, but... I kind of liked it here. No one hit me and I could do basically whatever I wanted. I didn't because of whatever it was Jean called 'social anxiety', but I still could.

I just didn't want to leave on bad terms.

"The Professor isn't going to make you leave. I promise, you can leave whenever you want, of your own free will," she reassured me as we walked down the elegant halls of the school.

"Okay." I paused, then boldly asked, "The face you made earlier, is that when you speak telepathically with someone?"

"Probably. I've never actually looked at myself when I do it," she laughed.

We continued walking in comfortable silence. My first day here I refused to stay in the wheelchair, forcing myself to walk. I was a bit slow and it hurt, but I managed to walk on my own. 

Finally, we came to a halt in front of the door that lead to the Professor's office. Before I even raised my fist to knock, a voice yelled "Come in!" from the other side.

The old-looking, heavy wooden door only creaked slightly as it opened, as if the frame was expressing its discontent but knew it was in vain. Inside the fairly large room, several bookshelves lined the walls, a dusty unfinished chess game lay in the corner and a wooden desk stood in the center of the room. Piles of paperwork, books and other little trinkets ornated the workspace, and a smiling bald man in a wheelchair sat behind it.

"Come, sit," he spoke with his usual charming British accent. He was still recovering from Apocalypse, as was I (I also avoided people just because I wanted to), so we hadn't talked much, other than brief greetings at meals. I didn't know anything about him, other than his name was Charles Xavier. And that he was a telepath like Jean, which meant that he knew me better than I knew myself.

Yay.

Jean and I both sat down onto the soft armchairs in front of the messy yet organized desk. My wings rested uncomfortably behind me, and I couldn't find a satisfying position. I got a strange urge to bite my nails, but I resisted it.

"I know you're nervous about me calling you here, but let me assure you, there is nothing to worry about. I can have Jean leave if you would prefer, of course," he started. I was shaking my head 'no' before I even thought of doing it.

The Professor chuckled. "Very well. Now, let's begin. I am aware of your connection to HYDRA, and I also recognize your disgust towards them now."

He was right. The more I lived around the people in the school, the more I realized what HYDRA did and made my father and I do was horrible and cruel and wrong. Guilt, a feeling I'd never experienced before Jean and the boys found me, clawed my insides 24/7. I was deathly afraid that I would hurt someone, that my instincts to obey would suddenly come back when someone joked around and said something like "Ugh, kill me now". It was part of the reason I avoided people. It might've sounded silly, but that didn't make it any less terrifying.

"You've mentioned that you will leave the moment you are well enough to do so because HYDRA will be after you. I can indeed confirm that they are looking for you everywhere, day and night. We will all respect your decision if you choose to leave, however, I have a proposition for you."

"I'm listening." Jean sat beside me, offering her silent support.

"I can take memories away." He smiled sadly, like he was remembering something. "With Jean's help, I could make HYDRA forget about you. There is only one Winter Soldier in their mind if I do this. Of course, destroying all the files about you would be a bit harder, but not impossible to mind control someone into doing it."