The X-Project

The results are in.

Manuel waited and he waited. He'd only left for coffee and returned, waiting some more. Normally he was very patient with tests and things that concerned anything medical, but he could not be right now. It grated on him, wanting to know this small bit of information. "She'd need a foster home or perhaps someone could do that within the mansion. She requires more than an average human can provide. She needs an empath." But he was not that empath. They had already discussed it in Spain, in the hotel, on the plane, in the cab, and now here.

"We'll sort it out," Amanda repeated, as she had done every other time he'd said it. In contrast to Manuel, she was quite calm; whatever the result of the tests, the hardest part was over, getting the kid to a safe place. Well, if she didn't count talking to Angelo later about leaving with Manuel and coming back with a toddler practically stapled to him.

"Yes, as you have said before. However, I would feel better if I knew sooner so I may return back to my hotel. I am surprised she left with Jean. She has not left my side since we arrived." It was the sort of latching that Manuel found insufferable. Though his shields had returned and for that, he felt great relief shutting out the mansion emotionally.

Amanda snorted. "Easy, Manny, you'll be free of your little burden soon enough," she teased. Or not - beyond the family resemblance, the power similarities and the way the girl had broken Manuel's loop was far more coincidental than Amanda was inclined to leave to happenstance.

"Yes, as you have said before. However, I would feel better if I knew sooner so I may return back to my hotel. I am surprised she left with Jean. She has not left my side since we arrived." It was the sort of latching that Manuel found insufferable. Though his shields had returned and for that, he felt great relief shutting out the mansion emotionally.

Amanda snorted. "Easy, Manny, you'll be free of your little burden soon enough," she teased. Or not - beyond the family resemblance, the power similarities and the way the girl had broken Manuel's loop was far more coincidental than Amanda was inclined to leave to happenstance.

"Well?"

Jean smiled and projected a brief wave of fondness at the young girl before looking up and catching Manuel's look. Her smile shifted, becoming slightly amused before she spoke. "Well, I know it's not really what you wanted to hear, but I'm afraid you've joined the ranks of Xavier's 'Suprise, we're related' club."

He did not smile back. "Related how? My father did not have another child." That he knew of. "A distant cousin?" he probed. Someone he could drop off at a foster home hopefully.

"She is your sister, Manny, the tests were conclusive."

"Sister?" Amanda blinked. She hadn't been expecting that. "But..." Then she realised. "Manny, your dad remarried, yeah? That girl you mentioned, the one you met at that Hellfire Club thing. They could have had a kid together."

"_That_ is absurd." He knew it really wasn't but found himself kneeling down and Valentia wrapped her arms around his neck. He only stiffened in her grasp. "What does that mean for her? Will she go to a foster home?"

Jean eyed Manuel, noting his protective posture. "That," she said, "may be largely up to you. As her closest known living relative, and having reached your majority, she could conceivably be put into your care. Even if you don't wish that, I don't think a Foster home would be best - this is one of the world's foremost centers on the care and teaching of budding mutant children..."

"I should not be the one to make that choice," he stated. Manuel turned the girl in his arms to face him and looked directly into her eyes. "Where do you want to go? To stay with me?" Manuel asked in Spanish. "Or somewhere else, with people who will love you?" She didn't even hesitate, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shoulder. Her decision was conveyed through her emotions to him and he glanced up at Jean, switching to English.

"If we can find her papers, real papers or issue her new ones, she may stay with me." His eyes shifted to Amanda. "I will not have her walking around, not knowing who she is." It was possible to get her papers, but he'd have to pull strings with the right contacts and thankfully, the entire trip had been just about that.

She laughed a little at him, mostly from relief. Things would work out. "Well, you know, there's this group of people I work for who are really, really good at finding out things," she reminded him, giving Valentia a small nose tweak when she surfaced from Manuel's shoulder. "If it's out there, we'll find it."

------
Later, Manuel introduces Valentia to her new roommate.

After the brief ordeal with Jean, Manuel brought Valentia to the kitchen, fed her while being thankful the professor had put up mental blocks around her empathy the day they arrived. She would not project onto anyone and be spared what he went through. For that small bit of work, he was thankful. She could not influence nor would she goes through the suffering of having to absorb other people's emotions and he was relieved that she could still communicate with him despite those barriers. He was pleased with how she responded to Jean as well and had thanked her, despite the fact that the results were not in his favour, making a mental note to send the Doctor something later for doing results on such short notice.

To Valentia, he explained that he lived with another boy as they headed upstairs. He was careful to point out that Kyle was furry and kind, but not to be bothered too much. All of this, she understood, but the furry part got a curious look before Manuel knocked.

And then he opened the door to introduce Valentia to where she would be staying. She was most disappointed.

"Kyle." Manuel called out.

Even With the addition of Zanne helping with the grounds keeping work, it was a big job and kept Kyle busy, and he multitasked, eating what smelled a lot like a cross between beef broth and tomato soup out of a microwave-safe mug while going over several sheets of paper – things he needed to look into, a short to do list for Yvette, the list of supplies for spring repairs when the warm weather would inevitably bring some kind of powers accident outside. "Yo." He turned his head, recognizing the voice, and then stared. "You... have brought a kid home with you." He didn't have a real grasp on how to judge the age of anyone that small. "Uh, this is new?" And he'd thought the cat was going to be a problem.

"Kyle, this is Valentia. She is my sister," he let the door close behind him and she seemed to take a position behind his leg. Manuel bent down and tried to detach her, only to have her arms latch around his neck. "He is harmless," Manuel assured her. "Ugly, but harmless." He smiled and his expression picked up. In fact, Manuel was in a better frame of mind. He didn't walk around with his brow constantly creased, shoulders hunched. Instead, his posture had changed, lightened and it reflected in his sister's stance as well.

"She is going to stay with us," he explained. "And it is probably better that you know now that you will not be influenced by her or myself. My shields are working again and the professor has setup something within her so that she will not project her emotions on you or anyone, nor will she absorb anything." He wondered how many times he would have to explain this bit of information and possibly, it would be wise to make a public post about it.

"Kyle, this is Valentia. She is my sister," he let the door close behind him and she seemed to take a position behind his leg. Manuel bent down and tried to detach her, only to have her arms latch around his neck. "He is harmless," Manuel assured her. "Ugly, but harmless." He smiled and his expression picked up. In fact, Manuel was in a better frame of mind. He didn't walk around with his brow constantly creased, shoulders hunched. Instead, his posture had changed, lightened and it reflected in his sister's stance as well.

"She is going to stay with us," he explained. "And it is probably better that you know now that you will not be influenced by her or myself. My shields are working again and the professor has setup something within her so that she will not project her emotions on you or anyone, nor will she absorb anything." He wondered how many times he would have to explain this bit of information and possibly, it would be wise to make a public post about it.

"I did not fix them. Valentia did. She is an empath and to be brief, she broke a loop I appeared to be caught in since my coma. And I did not know she was alive until we were there, passing by an estate. She pulled me to her, in a way. For some reason, she was put under the care of two people who were paid to look after her. We could not leave her there, lest she go through exactly what I went through as a child. Amanda made a few calls, we crossed the border and here we are." Manuel smiled at her and she only seemed to stare at Kyle.

"He does not bite," he told her in Spanish and this time, pried her from him, taking her hand and making her walk over to him. She still hid behind his leg however, Manuel side stepped her. "Where are your manners?" he asked in Spanish again.

"I apologize," he said in English. "She has not been socialized."

Kyle waved a hand dismissively. "Dude, she's what, three or four? It's cool. I probably look about fifty feet tall and like a monster to her." Hell, he looked like a monster to some adults, he couldn't blame a little kid for being scared. "I have -fangs-, dude. If I was her age, I wouldn't wanna say hi to me neither. We'll work on it. All else fails, if there's some kind of issue, I bribe with cookies." He considered this for a moment, shrugged and added. "Organic cookies from the Whole Foods. It's not like I can eat junk food."

"She is four," he said, abandoning her to sit down next to Kyle. He gestured to her and she hesitated, so he gestured to her again. Extending his empathy out to her, he conveyed that she should feel comfortable around Kyle and it took a few convincing empathetic emotions to have her finally come to him. But then she sat on the other side and buried herself beneath his arm. "I believe if I have forgo my boundaries of human contact any further, I will also require bribery with cookies."