Size Does Matter: Raising Concerns

[x-traction.livejournal.com]

News travels fast and though Tommy tries to hide it, he's shaken up by Janet's disappearance.

Marie closed the book she'd been reading with a content sigh. It was her first long lasting venture outside her room since she'd picked up Betsy's telepathy and it'd gone relatively well. The library was quiet on Saturday mornings, so it'd seemed a good place to see how she could handle being out more and so far, she hadn't had any trouble.

Glancing around the library, she felt a tickle of something around the edged of her shields and her eyes settled on Tommy. He was usually hard to read, but she still felt a great deal of empathy for him - maybe it was because he was part of the glove club, maybe it was because she understood the tendency to want to push everyone away from you. She was glad that lately he'd been more social, the poetry meetings and Yvette playing a huge part in that, but it was apparent that something was bothering him. Walking over to the table he was sitting at, she smiled down at him. "Hey Tommy, how's it going?"

As much as he would never ever admit it, Tommy had been fidgeting slightly while he was reading. It wasn't noticeable unless one had observed the deeply relaxed state in which he usually read. He could concentrate on what he was reading, but it was hard as thoughts just kept bombarding him, even thought it was just probably nothing. He hoped it was nothing. It had to be nothing. He took a deep breath and concentrated on the words in front of him, which helped. When Marie, walked over he looked up at her. "Hi Marie. I was just reading while I waited for the Yvette and the others to get here."

"Ah'm glad the poetry group's still going strong. Ah think all y'all are getting a lot of benefit from it." A slight frown tugged at the edges of Marie's lips. "But you don't look as relaxed as you usually do when you're waiting for the girls. Anything goin' on that you want to talk about?"

Tommy looked up at her with a calculating glance. He only ever 'talked' to Terry. Then he shrugged. "Just received some unsettling news about an old friend. Nothing that important." And it probably wouldn't be important to anyone else but him and probably Laurie. He thought about e-mailing her and asking if she'd heard anything about Janet.

"Ah'm sorry to hear that," Marie said. "Anything Ah could do to help?" No matter how many times Tommy had pushed her away in the past, she'd continue to reach out to him. She hesitated and then pulled out a chair and sat down, hoping that she wasn't imposing too much.

He watched her carefully, not quite sure. Then he figured why not, it's not like she would care anyway. "I just found out an old friend has gone missing. She disappeared yesterday while camping. It's probably nothing." The last was more to throw Marie off since Tommy knew it wasn't. This was highly unlike Janet.

"Wow, that's hard to hear," Marie said. "An' if it's causing you distress, then it's something. Do you know anything about how it happened? Or if she's being looked for?"

"I know a little, what's been passed on from the few friends I've have left there. " He didn't mention that those few friends had only been reconnected with a few weeks ago after the dream thing. It had been interesting considering they had all thought he was dead, thanks to FOH rumors. "And yeah, they're out looking for her. Apparently there was something with a bear and when everything calmed down, she was gone."

"Must be really hard, being here while all that's going on. Wonder if maybe we could round up some folks from here to help with the searching." Marie looked questioningly at Tommy. "Would you want to be involved with somethin' like that?"

Tommy looked at her for a long moment. "It would be very appreciated from what I am told."

Marie was carefully trying to keep her psi-shields in place to prevent her from picking up any stray thoughts, though she was fairly certain they must be radiating off of Tommy. "Ah'll see what Ah can do. Ah...Ah hope she turns up soon Tommy. And my door's always open, if you need to talk."

At almost the same time Tommy and Marie are talking, a very distraught father makes a desperate call.

"Yes, it is important!" Vernon snapped at the girl who had picked up the phone. "I need to speak with Professor Charles Xavier immediately." He paced as the girl stammered that she would transfer him, balling up the fist of his free hand. He hadn't wanted to make this phonecall and had spent an hour staring at his phone before his trembling hand had dialed the number. But his daughter was out there somewhere and if something happened to her because he had neglected to make this call, he'd never forgive himself.

"Hello, this is Charles Xavier." The voice on the other end of the phone was calm, almost implicitly reassuring, as if the owner of the voice had already been told that the caller was in distress. Of course, he hadn't precisely needed to be told. "May I ask to whom I am speaking?"

"Charles, my name is Vernon Van Dyne. My daughter is missing," Vernon blurted out, not wasting any time on formalities. "The town's been searching for her and she should've turned up by now. They haven't found so much as a trail." His voice lowered, a touch of discomfort creeping in. "Jan...she's a mutant."

"I see." The reassuring tone didn't alter one bit. "Could you tell me a little more about your daughter, Mr. Van Dyne?" If there was a hesitation, it was barely perceptible. "Where she was last seen, the circumstances under which she went missing..."

"She went camping with her friends. I shouldn't have let her go, what with midterms coming up, but she begged." Vernon sat down, resting his head in his free hand. "Her friends said a bear came by their campsite and they all scattered. She...she hasn't been seen since."

"I'm very sorry. I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you, but let me assure you that I will do anything I can to help." Charles paused. "You said your daughter is a mutant. Is there anything you can tell me about her mutation, anything that might shed some light on why she may have gone missing? It's important that I have as much information as possible, Mr. Van Dyne."

"She has wings... she might have flown off," Vernon said, though there was doubt in his voice. "And she does this little shocking thing with her hands, though that's just some of the time." He lowered his voice. "No one knows about her. Some people in town have already been looking for her but I couldn't tell them that."

"I can sympathize with your concerns," Charles said, soothingly. "Your daughter is missing, and you don't wish to risk exposing her to any further dangers." It was a charitable interpretation, but one that would encourage the man to see the school as an ally in attempting to ensure his daughter's safety.

Charles's interpretation was far more charitable than it should've been and Vernon knew it. His cheeks burned and he was glad he'd decided to contact the school over the phone instead of in person. "I just want her found. I know you run your school for people like her. Can you help?"

"I may indeed be able to help," Charles said after a moment. "I have ways of locating people with gifts like your daughter's. It may take some time," he cautioned Vernon, "and I would strongly recommend that the ground search be continued as well."

"Thank you. I won't call off the search until she's found. Any help, well, I can't say what it means to me," Vernon said, a touch of true gratitude in his voice, though it quickly faded. "But...you don't have to tell anyone about her, do you? Please...I just. Please."

"I can assure you that what you've told me will remain confidential. Although if the situation should develop to the point where it is necessary to reveal this, for your daughter's safety, I hope you will see the necessity." A touch of sternness, if only a touch.

"Hopefully it won't come to that. It's probably not even related," Vernon said, trying to convince himself. "And I hope you can understand why. It's not that I have a problem with mutants - I just want my daughter to remain safe." Unfortunately, he still sounded like he wasn't truly convinced by his own words.

"I believe you, Mr. Van Dyne, and I will do everything that I can to help. May I have your number, so that I can reach you if need be?"