~*~CHAPTER ONE: In Which Charles and Erik are Presented a Challenge~*~

*~*Charles' POV*~*

England, 1962

"You never take the easy route, do you, Charles?"

I glanced over at Erik, raising an eyebrow at my friend. Since we had begun gathering mutants he seemed more open, relaxed. He had actually joked around with several of the children, which led me to believe that he was changing. But I could still feel the turmoil inside his mind, and mentally sighed. No one should have to go through what he had. No one. But lashing out on anger wasn't going to do anything. Pushing that aside, I leaned back in my seat. "What do you mean?"

Erik snorted. "Don't be coy with me. It would have been so much easier to go directly to her, but instead you hop about following her. Why don't we just approach her like we did with all the other ones? It'd be easier."

I rolled my eyes. "Erik, we've been over this. She's skittish. According to neighbours, she doesn't even come out of her house if she can avoid it! We don't want to scare her, do we?"

"I suppose not. But what lies ahead is scary enough as it is, does it really matter?"

"Erik, sometimes you have all the sensativity of a wooden block." I said, irritated.

Erik snorted again and looked out the window of the car. I gazed down at the file in my hands, flipping it open for yet another glance. Lucia Marie Newmann. Half-German, Half-English. The photo clipped into it made me sigh. It was a picture of a ten year old girl, with somber green eyes and curly blonde hair. She was tied to a bed and looked terrified, though her chin was stuck stubbornly out. It had been the only one that the CIA was able to find on her, along with what was left of the files they had found after the war. It said that her powers were empathy, something I couldn't even bear to think about burdening a little girl with.

"I'm surprised that you've never knew about her, Charles, since she lives so close to you." Erik spoke again. Apparently, she lived only two hours away from my mansion. It did surprise me, but I let it drop as we approached the house. I got out of the car and sent a warning look to Erik, who looked primed for a fight.

Remember. She's skittish, and has gone through a lot. Don't scare her, now would you? I warned him telepathically. I was rewarded with a long, annoyed look. I mentally groaned. Please don't do anything stupid, at least. Erik didn't respond to that, just hurried up the path to the door and knocked. There was no answer, and we exchanged long looks.

"Do you think she's out?" he asked.

"Should I check?" I didn't want to do it on an unsuspecting person, especially a fellow mutant, but...

"That might be a goo-"

"Watch out!"

The female voice made both of us whip around, but a moment too late. One minute I was standing in front of the little house's door, the next moment flat on my back with a weight on my chest and Erik's laugh in his ear. I opened my eyes, slightly dazed, to look into emerald eyes. For a moment, I could only stare at the young woman on top of me. She was about the same age as I was, although the delicate framing of her face made her look younger.

"Uhm. Lucia?" I managed out.

The blonde woman pushed herself off of me like I was burning, stumbling into Erik, who caught her and made sure she was stable. She glanced up at Erik, then me, who had by then managed to push myself to a sitting position. My head was throbbing, and not because I had used my telepathy too much. Green eyes flashed from me to Erik, to me again.

"Who are you?" her voice was soft, and she looked warily at us.

"My name's Charles Xavier, and this is my friend Erik. You're Lucia Newmann, right?" I extended my hand to her as I got to my feet.

She hesitated, then placed her hand in mine. The instant our hands touched, I saw into her mind, her pain.

...shots fired, blood going everywhere. Grief, pain and anger all mixed into one, and a sense of helplessness.

..."I can't do it, Herr Schmidt. I'm so sorry." The little girl stood, bloody and swaying, in front of the man. Her face was gaunt, tears rolled silently down her cheeks. The man sighed, shaking his head, slapping her hard across the face. She stumbled into the wall, pain rocking through her...

...pressure. Anguish. Anger. Grief. Rage. Helplessness. Despair. Everything mixed into one, and she couldn't stop it...

"...arles! Charles!"

It was like burning knives stabbing into my brain as I pulled away. Lucia's eyes were wide with something, her face as white as a sheet. Erik caught her as she collapsed, and he stared at me. "What happened?"

"Dear God..." I managed to say before the world started closing in on me. "she's the same as you..."

Then my world went black.