xp_logs | Angelo and Charles Xavier, Friday lunchtime (Reply)

Xavier invites Angelo out to lunch and makes him an offer.

The Carlyle Restaurant in Manhattan had been designed in the manor house style years ago and it retained a quiet elegance even after the turmoil the city had seen over the years. For Charles, there was something reassuring about coming here and seeing the floral centerpiece in the entrance, the same as it had been when he'd been a boy, coming here with his parents. He drew a deep breath as he was showed to his table, letting the peace of the room, the familiarity, soothe him.

Angelo knew the restaurant well from informal work meetings, and had dressed up accordingly in a suit and tie. He approached the maitre d' as he entered the room, giving Xavier's name, and was pointed to the right table. Drawing closer, he was shocked by how much older the man seemed to have become in a few short weeks, though he only briefly let it show on his face. "Professor", he said with a slight smile.

"Angelo." For his part, Charles was comparing the assured young man with the skinny homeless teen Scott had brought home many years ago. He smiled slightly as he indicated the seat opposite him. "Please, join me."

"Gladly." He pulled the chair out and sat, studying the older man. "You wanted to see me about something? Or just to catch up?"

"A little of both." Charles reached for his water glass and took a sip. "I saw your journal post about Elpis. It is unfortunate, after all of your hard work, that this should be the outcome."

Angelo's smile didn't disappear, exactly, but became thinner, more strained. "Unfortunate. That's one way to put it... but I can't really blame them."

"Which makes it all the harder to bear," Charles observed. The waiter approached them, tactful and polite, and he ordered the sole. "The Dover sole has been the specialty of the Carlyle for years," he explained to Angelo. "It's very good. I recall my father recommending it to me when I was still in school."

"Well, then, if you recommend it, how could I not?" He turned to the waiter and echoed the order, waiting until he'd gone before continuing. "You're right, of course. If I could really be angry with them... but they had their reasons, and insisting on staying really could have hurt Elpis."

"But it still leaves you with the question of what you will do next." Charles steepled his fingers. "I also find myself asking that question. Genosha... changed many things. For all of us." His face shadowed.

"It did", he said quietly. "I never thought... even Muir's not a safe place anymore. Warren offered me an internship, and that's great, I was planning to work with him after I qualify anyway, but... it's not going to be the same."

"Many things will not be the same. If there is something I have learned from what happened, the X-Men, the school - they cannot cope with the demands of this new world."

"Not as they are, maybe", Angelo was forced to agree, watching the older man with growing concern. "But there's always room to adapt, and we survived to do it."

"The X-Men will always operate on the edges of legitimacy. With SHIELD as the official mutant response team and the growing fear world-wide of militarisation of mutants, the team must remain secret, and that secrecy limits how much it can do. And, for all of their courage, they are only a small group - there are some things they <I>cannot</I> do." Charles sighed. "And, it seems, some things they must not do, if the school is also to remain safe."

"Professor", Angelo said carefully, a little uncertainly, "the team does good work. And what you tried to do for Philip and Jenny... they came to America looking for help and then you got involved because you were asked to, right? You didn't do anything wrong."

"It wasn't about whether I had done anything wrong, Angelo. But the fact is, on the international stage, the X-Men are a liability for the Institute. One we cannot use for certain international crises. Which is where you come in."

"Me?" He blinked, but there was a certain intrigued curiosity along with the confusion, and he settled back into his chair, almost unconsciously shifting into business mode. "What do you have in mind?"

"Yes, you." Charles smiled, the expression lifting some of the care and weariness from his expression. "If I am going to make a positive case for integration and help stop the exploitation of mutants, I need to have a legitimate, visible means of doing it. I am thinking of creating a group similar to Elpis, but tied to the Institute, a group that combines elements of Elpis and the Red-X models and allows us to extend the ideas and resources of the Institute in other parts of the developing world, with members of the X-Men given a legitimate role as first responders to any crises."

"And I'm the one who's available and knows from the bottom up how the Elpis model works", he said slowly. "Yes, I see where you're going. But wouldn't I be as much a liability to you in some countries as I was to Elpis?"

"The Institute itself is already a liability in those countries - I doubt very much we would be able to operate in them, whether or not you were my operational director. Elpis, by firing you, has ensured they can continue - being barred from countries in which you have previously had good relations is far more damaging than not being allowed in them at all and places the focus on the organisation's doings, not the government that has ceased dealings." Charles' tone was ironic. "And in a sense, this is not such a bad thing - I certainly do not want to replicate what Elpis has already achieved and spent the years building up."

"Not in the same places and the same ways, at least", he said with a nod. "Some parts of it we can borrow, though. One question - would you, or this new initiative's model, allow me to operate within the United States, in an outreach way? I know SHIELD exists, but they're there to handle mutant criminals, not to deal with kids who need help before they end up as criminals."

"Of course - I have always admired your personal attempts to get involved in that area." Charles' smile reappeared, warmer than before. "And in return, I would hope that I could ask that you and your staff take on the administrative work of the Red X program and possibly HeliX as well. They are outgrowing their current resources and without an experienced hand, I am concerned that they won't be able to continue as effectively. I intend to set up offices in one of the wings of the mansion, now that the school is so much smaller than it used to be - would that be a problem?"

"Not at all, I come to the mansion quite often as it is. Commuting daily won't be too much of an issue - John might complain, you know how he is, but he'll do it anyway if he wants the job and I think he will." He nodded. "My staff at the moment is pretty much... me, possibly John and Amara but I'd have to ask them, so we'll have to do some recruiting. After that, handling the administration you want to put our way should be doable."

"Excellent. Although, should any of you wish to move back to the mansion, you know the doors are always open." The telepath's eyes twinkled just a little. "I'll have my lawyer draw up the papers and your contracts and you can speak to your people." The food arrived, and Charles leaned back to let the waiter set the plate down in front of him. "My Dream has come close to being crushed underfoot, Angelo. I hope this will be a new avenue for it to grow."

"Anything I can do to help that happen", Angelo said sincerely, "I will. You saved me when I didn't have anywhere to go, and you know I believe in the Dream too. I'll speak to the others when I get home."

"You are already doing it, son." Charles lifted his water glass in toast. "To X-Corps."