Charles Xavier was only 16 when it happened. Two super powered individuals, going by the names Apocalypse and the Black King, commandeered airwaves everywhere and with the help of a telepath known as the White Queen to reach those who couldn't watch or hear it, sent a message to the world. That their kind, mutants, would no longer live in hiding or fear. They were to be respected and revered by the humans, and all countries had to give up control to Apocalypse and the Black King or be destroyed.

What followed could have been called a war, but the term wasn't quite fair. The human militaries all fell quickly, and the only reason it took a year was that the mutants were trying to minimize damage to cities and the general populace. Almost one year to the day after the initial message the world called for a meeting with the mutant leaders, to negotiate the humans surrender. No one quite believed it but the meeting was set to take place in open water.

The human militaries sent warships instead and fired missiles at the mutants. It was a surreal moment to Charles as he and Raven watched a live broadcast from the safety of their home in England. One young man, only a few years older than Charles, stopped the missiles in midair with a single raise of his hand. With a flick of his wrist he sent over a hundred missiles back and decimated the navies of the world. He single handedly put an end to the conflict.

A proper surrender came quickly after and the world was split into three territories. The Black King, and his telepathic White Queen, ruled the Americas. Apocalypse took over Africa, Australia, the Middle East, and Asia. And the mutant who had stopped the missiles, known as Magneto, took over Europe from the UK through Russia.

Change happened quickly, at least at first. Mutants were free to use their abilities whenever, as long as they didn't endanger or hurt other mutants, and had other special privileges. Humans were not to meet their eyes, were unable to legally own property anymore, many were denied a college education, and they could no longer hold any high level (like CEO) or any government-based job. Raven jumped into the mutant movement immediately and often walked around with blue skin. She was quickly established as a leader in Britain, basically taking care of the area for Magneto when he was unavailable or occupied elsewhere. Which was often. It was thanks to her Charles was able to stay in his family's mansion and was able to finish his PhD.

Things had settled into an uneasy peace since. There were still the occasional fights between humans and mutants, but for the most part people were content enough to just let things remain as they were. Magneto was surprisingly lenient with humans, despite his initial rules stripping them of power, and most mutants didn't hold much of a bias against humans so they didn't abuse them. And through it all Charles had kept his mutation secret. Only Raven knew and despite her asking him multiple times "why?" Charles had no definite reason for keeping his ability quiet aside from a gut feeling telling him it wasn't time yet.

With a sigh he set aside the book in his hands, unable to focus on reading. His tea was half finished and cold on the coffee table and his eyes traveled to the window. What he wanted more than anything at the moment was to go for a run, but in the pouring rain he was sure to get sick. He set aside his book and wandered over to the window, watching as raindrops slid down. The grounds beyond his window were obscured, but beautiful as always and it put a smile on his face.

His quiet afternoon was interrupted by the intercom beeping. He hurried over to it and answered "Charles."

"Can you come down to the entryway? We have a guest coming." Raven requested.

Charles sighed. "Is it a mutant, Raven?" He asked as he started building up mental walls. He only knew of one other telepath in the world, the White Queen, but he wasn't willing to risk one entering his mind. He'd be exposed in an instant.

"Yes. A very important mutant." Raven added and Charles sighed again.

"Should I change into something nicer then?" Charles questioned.

"No, he'll be here soon. Just come down." Her voice was stressed in a way he wasn't used to hearing, since his little sister was usually quite composed.

"I'll be right there." He promised seriously before letting go of the intercom. He adjusted his sweater and left his study. It took him a few minutes to get to the front door, but he could feel Raven's panic long before he saw her. She was pacing in the entryway and Charles smiled despite shaking his head at her.

He gently touched her shoulders, making her stop her pacing. She turned to look at him and he offered her a reassuring smile. "You're practically radiating nerves, my dear. You have nothing to be afraid of. You're a wonderful host and I'm sure our guest will be perfectly content." He assured her and she offered him a weak smile.

"He'd better be or we could be in trouble." She countered, a hint of teasing in her tone that reassured him she was going to be fine. Charles squeezed her shoulders then stepped back. He was about to speak when he heard someone knock on the door, which made him jump.

Raven was already moving towards the door as Charles couldn't help being concerned. He hadn't felt the mutant's arrival and still couldn't feel their mind. It had never happened before and was unsettling to say the least. But then Raven was opening the door so Charles shifted closer to the wall, keeping his hands passively clasped in front of him and eyes down. "Welcome, Mr. Lehnsherr. Come in." She encouraged quickly, closing the door behind the arrival.

"Thank you, Mystique. You have a lovely home." The speaker was male, the accent German, and even his voice held power. Charles risked a glance and his body froze. Standing there was none other than Magneto, red helmet, flowing cape, and all.

"Thank you but I can't take the credit. It was Charles' and his family's long before it was mine." Raven replied and Mr. Lehnsherr actually glanced at the telepath when Raven mentioned him. Charles quickly ducked his head to avoid meeting the mutant's eyes.

"I assume he's Charles?" Mr. Lehnsherr questioned. Charles knew Raven nodded and Mr. Lehnsherr continued speaking before she said anything. "A shame he's not one of us." It was an obvious dismissal of the topic, but Charles could feel Raven staring at him. Silently, she was requesting he would tell the truth.

*No.* He ordered sharply, through his telepathy, and after a few moments she silently relented.

"A shame indeed." The comment was obviously directed at him rather than their guest. "Mr. Lehnsherr, if you would like, I can take you to your room while Charles gets started on dinner." Raven offered and he agreed. They left and Charles let out a soft breath. He glanced towards where Raven had led Mr. Lehnsherr before heading in the other direction, towards the kitchen. He and Raven usually ate a little later in the day, but he didn't mind making dinner early.

But what was really on his mind was the mutant upstairs. Charles wasn't sure how he felt about a killer staying with them. The man responsible for making mutants the dominant race on Earth. Someone who could potentially end both himself and Raven without much effort; it would only take a wave of his hand, unless Mr. Lehnsherr was helmet-less and Charles was somehow able to stop him.

Charles shook off those thoughts as he entered the kitchen. He couldn't think about it now; he just had to avoid upsetting the mutant until the man left and then he could go back to his quiet life. So instead he went to work gathering the things he'd need for dinner. He had planned on a less elaborate meal, but he knew Raven was trying to impress the man. So he decided to make one of his better dishes, an old family recipe that never failed to please.

He had just finished peeling everything when he felt a new mind nearby. A few moments later Mr. Lehnsherr entered the kitchen. He was dressed much more casually now in a black turtleneck, dark jeans that hugged his legs appealingly, and no helmet or cape. His hair was brown, his eyes a brilliant green, and his face was all sharp angles. Charles swallowed hard as he fought the desire to swoon. He hadn't been expecting someone so attractive under that helmet, and that was to say nothing of the man's figure.

"Charles, correct?" Mr. Lehnsherr asked, startling Charles from his thoughts and he nodded.

"That's me. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Lehnsherr." He replied politely with a smile. No matter what the man had done Charles wasn't going to forgo his manners.

He nodded stiffly as he looked around the room then glanced at what Charles had in his hands (carrots). "What are you making?" He asked politely as he moved closer and Charles set the carrots down on the cutting board.

"Pot pie. It's an old family recipe. Oh, is there anything you don't like or can't eat that I should be aware of?" Charles asked and Mr. Lehnsherr shook his head. "Alright. It'll be a little bit before this is done, so if you'd like to go somewhere to rest until then we have a lovely library." Charles offered but the mutant shrugged.

"Do you need any help? I'm not a bad cook myself." He offered and Charles couldn't help smiling at him. He expected the mutant to dislike him, or to treat him with disdain, and was rather pleased to know he was wrong.

"If you don't mind cutting vegetables for me I could get to work on the pie crust." He requested and the mutant nodded. Charles moved over to where he had everything set up to make the dough and got started, but kept an eye on Mr. Lehnsherr. To his surprise the man had actually rolled up his sleeves and started cutting the vegetables by hand. Charles had half expected him to use his ability to manipulate the knife. He was quite skilled anyway and Charles smiled to himself as he got to work.

It was nearing 45 minutes later when Charles finally assembled the pie and put it in the oven. Mr. Lehnsherr was seated at the island as Charles had run out of tasks for him to help with ten minutes before. The telepath washed his hands and set a timer before he looked at the man. "There we go. It should be ready in about 30 minutes. Are you hungry? I could make you a snack or some tea." Charles offered.

"Coffee?" Mr. Lehnsherr asked and Charles pulled the grounds out of the cupboard.

"Is this okay? I'm afraid we don't have anything else." He asked and the man nodded. Charles quickly brewed a cup for him. "Anything in it?"

"No, that's fine." Mr. Lehnsherr confirmed and Charles gave him the mug. "Thank you." He took it and took a sip. "It's good." He said and Charles smiled.

"I don't often make coffee. Raven and I usually drink tea." He admitted as he went to work making himself a cup of aforementioned tea. He added some honey before settling against the counter to drink it. The drink warmed his core wonderfully, though the kitchen was already quite warm with the oven on. It was a strange calmness as they both settled into silence drinking their drinks. He could still hear the rain outside and it added to the peaceful mood.

"So what do you do, Charles?" Mr. Lehnsherr asked suddenly.

"I just recently graduated with a PhD in genetics and currently I'm looking to get a teaching position at a university as a professor." He answered with a smile. The mutant actually looked impressed at that.

"Why genetics?" He questioned.

Charles shifted a bit, unsure how Mr. Lehnsherr would react before he spoke. "Because of mutants. Well, to be accurate, because of Raven. I found her, you know, when we were children. She had broken in and tried to steal food from us, but I caught her. She revealed her blue form to me and I insisted she stay with us. I adopted her. But I was always curious what made her different and I've been researching mutants and the genetic mutations behind them. I've made a lot more progress since mutants became public knowledge. It's fascinating, actually. Did you know there are distinct genetic markers that differentiate mutants from humans, but almost every modern humans has an early form or dormant version of the mutant gene?" Charles offered, vaguely aware he was probably rambling a bit but he was always excited to talk about it.

To his surprise Mr. Lehnsherr was watching him closely and seemed genuinely interested in what he was saying so he continued. "That's how ordinary people are able to give birth to mutants. Well, actually it's a cluster of connected genes and the exact sequences vary from individual to individual, of course. But those are just specifics. In a few years I should be able to tell not only if someone is a mutant based on their genetics, but also what ability they have. And then after that my goal is to compare the dormant mutant sequences in non-mutants and become able to determine which individuals would potentially be able to produce mutant children." He fell quiet as Mr. Lehnsherr's expression turned serious, almost sour.

"And why would you need that kind of information?" He asked firmly. Charles caught a brief flicker of his train of thought; glimpses of concentration camps, of a first person experience with the holocaust, of his fears that mutants would be treated the same way the Jews had been. And with Charles' knowledge they could be easily identified.

For a moment Charles felt overwhelmed and struggled to keep his expression pleasant. As Mr. Lehnsherr's expression didn't change and he didn't note any difference in his mind, Charles was fairly sure he succeeded. He took a breath before speaking. "If I were somehow able to do it, as there is no guarantee it's even possible, it would help to identify which children are more likely to be mutants, so that their parents can prepare to deal with a powered child and won't be caught by surprise when it manifests. It would also help the children to be prepared, so they don't hurt themselves or others." Charles explained. "But mostly it would be for my own satisfaction. The conclusion to all my studies, whether it's published or not."

Mr. Lehnsherr watched him for what felt like a long time before he finally seemed to accept what Charles was saying. Before he could say anything Raven entered the room, nude and blue just as she had been when Mr. Lehnsherr had arrived. The mutant didn't even blink in surprise and Charles was fairly used to Raven by now so it didn't surprise him either. "Smells great. What are you making?" She asked and Charles smiled at her.

"Pot pie." He answered and she brightened.

"Oh, it's been ages since we've had that. I can't wait." She said excitedly as she hopped up on the island counter. "Erik, Charles's pot pie is the best thing you'll ever taste." She added with pride to the mutant, who smiled to himself as he took another sip of coffee. Mr. Lehnsherr glanced at him as Raven continued speaking and something in his gaze made Charles feel embarrassed. He quickly turned around as he blushed, putting his empty cup in the sink to hide his burning cheeks. He couldn't explain why, but there was something about the mutant that was incredibly appealing to him and it went beyond just the other's looks.