7555/Sentinels: Visiting Hours

Sentinels: Visiting Hours
Date of Scene:	20 May 2019
Location:	Wellness Office - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Tony and Charles meet about Charles' attackers, and the Sentinel threat.
Cast of Characters:	Professor X, Iron Man, Cannonball
Tinyplot:	Sentinels

---

Professor X has posed:
Tony is met at the bottom of the front steps to the Xavier Institute by a young woman dressed in a conservative black pant suit with an emerald green jacket. She puts her phone away when Tony walks over to her and holds out a hand.

"Monica Holtman, Professor Xavier's assistant," she introduces herself with a polite smile. She turns to lead the way up the stairs into the school. "This way please."

Monica leads Tony into the lobby of the Xavier Institute. Students walk between stairwells and halls with books in hand, talking and laughing. Tony is quickly noticed and cellphones come up to snap pictures. There giggles, pointing and whispers so loud that only teenagers would think they were inaudible. Monica turns to the right across the polished floor and holds the door for Tony to step into the Wellness Office. The room looks like another old-world, dark wood room in the Mansion but for the hospital beds along one wall. At a desk near the far end of the room, a middle-aged man looks up and smiles when he sees Monica walk out from around Tony.

"Nobody is in with him," the man at the desk says to Monica. He steals a glance at Tony and then goes back to his paperwork. Monica walks down a short hall past the desk and knocks on one of the doors before opening it. She holds the door open for Tony with a polite smile and shuts it behind him.

The room has a thick rug, a fireplace, old (antique?) leather chairs, a small table and dark wood walls. The drapes are open on the windows showing the gardens beyond. Charles Xavier looks up from his reading and closes the book.

"Mr. Stark, this is unexpected," Charles says warmly. "Please have a seat. How are you?"

Iron Man has posed:
Tony's arrival spread like explosive wildfire through the campus, no doubt. He didn't exactly arrive in a subtle way: one of his lambos is now parked outside: an insane, modified version of one that's hard to actually identify. Safer to say 'the white one with black racer stripes'. Or STARK36, as the license plate declares.

Tony wasn't alone, two assistants came along, but they had their own vehicle, and parked more properly in the parking zone; Tony himself parked in the middle of everything in the front entryway. Which means there are not lots of pictures of him going through the school's social media. And pictures of students posing with the car. And so on. By the time Tony made the main hallway he was doing selfies with kids, in his always very pleasant and relaxed way.

Fortunately, once Monica leads him into the Wellness area, that dies away, and Tony's showmanship reduces from full bore to mild. "Thanks for the tour," Tony mildly flirts with Monica before she leaves, but then turns and strides into the room to greet Charles. He comes right over, fully, to the bedside, in his casually entitled way.

"Great to see you looking alive," Tony says, similarly warm, though his has an edge of the cockiness he's prone to exuding. That doesn't make it less honest, though. He takes a seat, an easy move that's not quite a flop. " Oof, exhausted. A million things to do, and then some," Tony says, pressing two fingers against his nose bridge, then spreading them apart to rub his eyes. "But I lack bullet wounds, so let's talk about you. Recovery going well?"

Professor X has posed:
"Yes, very well," Charles assures Tony, taking in the small mannerisms and expressions that leak past the show. "I was fortunate. The bullet caught my shoulder and I was taken to hospital very quickly. My doctors assure me I will be my old self in a few weeks, though perhaps with one or two more aches to add to my collection."

Charles looks over when the man from the desk pokes his head in to offer coffee or tea to both men. Judging from the scrubs, the man is the day nurse. Charles waits for Tony to express his preference then asks for tea. The nurse disappears again.

"I was surprised to hear you were coming. I do appreciate the visit. We don't see much of each other."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony doesn't like being by the medical bed, but he's suppressing it very well. It hasn't impacted his attendance here, and it isn't an unusual thing. The easy, snarky manner is, as always, a way for Tony to not deal with serious things with their full weight, most of the time. Charles, being who he is, may certainly read quickly and competently into Tony's behavior.

With that, though, there was real motive to come in person, even if some of the behavior is so ---- well, very Tony.

Tony will accept coffee, is his decision: no surprise, perhaps, given the level of exhaustion around Tony's edges. "Shoulder? Ugh, those are the worst, hard to use your whole arm for ages. My sympathies," Tony replies to the injury assessment. "I enjoy being a surprise," Tony teases. "I guess we don't. And when we do, something in the world is broken. In this case, you. Glad you're in recovery. Steve wanted to come -- he sends his salute or whatever."

Professor X has posed:
"Please thank him for me, and tell him that I will be alright. Luckily I know some of the best doctors," Charles says with a smile. "One benefit of being in here is that I get a lot of rest, and a lot of time to think."

"You seem a bit tired. And worried. You're worried about the implications of the attack? And the sentinels I imagine?" Charles asks. He sets his book on the bed beside him and lifts his teacup and saucer from the bedside table.

Iron Man has posed:
"Sure thing. I'll be we know the same doctors," Tony grins briefly. "Dr. McCoy's been great. All over me to fix some of my habits, but that's why we pay them the big bucks, right? To be the ones to stand up to us a little bit," Tony says. He draws a hand in against his upper shirt, an automatic drum a few fingers against where the arc reactor is imbedded in his chest. Just the previous year, McCoy was called to the Avengers to do emergency surgery for Tony related to it.

Tony slides back to the other topic. "Yes, Sentinel problems. So, what've you got on what happened to you? I have a mix of footage and things that I was able to dig up; comparing notes is going to be most efficient."

Professor X has posed:
Charles sips from his tea while listening to Tony. It was a rare opportunity to get the measure of one of the world's most famous heroes in person.

"Unfortunately, the attackers were very well equipped. From what we've pieced together, they had a sniper on the roof near the Kimmel Center, two attackers in the audience and two on the grass nearby. The sniper missed his first shot, I'm told, and the second caught me in the shoulder. The two attackers in the audience immediately came forward shooting. The two from the grass focused on attacking anyone who tried to protect me. Their weapons were unremarkable, but they had interesting bullets. One of my students recovered one. A bullet with a series of very small, counter-rotating rings with small spikes. Obviously designed for damage even after going in.

The older man pauses to drink from his tea again, lowering the cup back into the saucer in his off hand before continuing.

"The attackers had no minds, if you will. Like robots, or some cyborgs I've seen before. I'm told they were quite heavy, and had silver-metal chassis just under the skin. No pain response, withstood a great deal of electricity. One fell from over a hundred feet into a building and apparently ran off. Extremely strong, extremely fast. And they used no communications during the attack, perhaps anticipating disruptions."

Charles stops and glances out the window. "I have to admit, it ought to have been effective. And was put together quickly, since my lecture was announced only the day before. I was very fortunate," Charles admits and turns his attention back to Tony. He clears his throat. "We have very little information about who was responsible. There was a Twitter post taking responsibility, and a very right-wing anti-mutant 'news' site reported the attack at the exact time it happened, before anyone else. Three pay as you go cellphones were used from places consistent with the escape routes of three of the attackers who escaped. The pay as you go number they called placed a call to the man we believe is responsible for the news website."

"At the moment that is all I have," Charles says and sips his tea again. "Forge does not recognize the bullet's workmanship and the police have the body of the attacker who, fried his circuits, for lack of a better term."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony considers the information as it's given, and doesn't appear to be taking notes. "Okay. I'll get after that 'corpse' the police have. Even if it's fried, it'll give me clues on those things. I'll see what else I can get on how those got there, I'll put my AI on the surveillance outside, with some facial recognition," Tony says, in a sort of offhanded, thoughtful way that suggests he's thinking about something else that's related to it, maybe the bullets, while speaking. "And I'll push to see if they're Sentinel-connected from the Sentinel side."

Something makes a noise in Tony's pocket, and he makes a face, drawing the object out. It's not a phone really, but it IS some kind of mobile thing. Stark tech. He flips a screen out of it sideways with a thumb, and fiddles with the surface, in the cluster of holograms there. His tension gets heavy, though he cloaks most of it: an untrained eye would just think he had some minor inconvenience, but it's not minor.

"Speak of the Sentinels, and they appear. Hey, sorry, this is important. Our prisoner-slash-visitor Sentinel John Doe is trying to leave our facility again. Give me a minute," Tony says, rising to his feet, to take the forced conversation aside.

"JARVIS, he's not stalling? Fine. Prod him for another video chat. If he accepts, put him on hold for two minutes, and roll protocol four."

Tony steps away.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will knock softly on the door to annouce himself. He will open it, and says "Sorry to interupt Professor, but it is time for your antibotic." He will walk in and pulls a bottle from his pocket, and offers it to the Professor. "Your not pushing yourself to hard are you Prof?" The young man does seem concerned for the olderman, perhaps haunted a bit by something showing in the young man's eyes.

Professor X has posed:
Charles' eyes narrow just slightly when Tony reacts to his call, but he smiles politely and nods when Tony excuses himself. His expression is thoughtful when Sam knocks and comes. He waves off the concern and sighs good-naturedly.

"Well, I had better take them. I don't want to upset Dr. McCoy," Charles says. He sets his teacup and saucer on the bedside table. Charles accepts the bottle of pills from Sam and takes his time opening the bottle.

"Have a seat, Sam," he says, focused on the professor-proof lid. "What's bothering you?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will shakes his head a bit and says "Nothing you need to worry about Prof, just wish we had seen it coming quicker." He will admit. The prof may pick up there is something older Sam is holding back. "Is there anything you need that I can get you? Everyone is wishing the best for ya."

Professor X has posed:
"No, no, I'm well taken care of, I assure you," Charles says. He folds his hands together, stopping with the pill bottle for the moment. He looks at Sam squarely.

"Nobody could have seen it coming, Sam. It was well planned so we wouldn't," he says with evident sincerity. "We are all fallible."

His expression softens a bit though and he glances between each of Sam's eyes.

"You do know that I'm always here to listen. Whatever is on your mind."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods a bit and says "Sorry, just some old memories kicking in." He will admit. He opens his mind to the professor <Just last time, Ah was giving pills to someone Ah cared about like this it did not end well> The professor will get a glimps of a memory of when Sam had to help care for his Pa, with what the thought was cancer from the mines Black lung.

Professor X has posed:
Charles' expression is sympathetic without being pitying.

"I'm sorry this is bringing back old memories. Grief..." he shakes his head. "It gets better, but never goes away."

Charles is quiet while he finally gets the pill bottle open and takes his antibiotics.

"Have you had any luck with your tasks?" he asks.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie shakes his head and sas "Not yet, but Ah am putting together who Ah plan on helping. will admit got a bit side tracked with making sure everything here is done. Making sure the younger classmen know your going to be ok, and we wil make it past this and everything will be ok." Yes Sam is spending his time when no working on his mission making sure folks are ok.

Professor X has posed:
"Thank you, Sam. I appreciate you looking out for the others," Charles says with a smile. He glances toward the door and back to Sam.

"I think you should stay. I have a feeling we are about to learn more about the Sentinels when Tony finishes his call."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie hmms and nods his head as bit to this and says "Ah admit, Ah had thought we might have gotten past them being the danger they are, and to a better place. Ah have been thinking upon an idea, but if I go forwards with it Ah may will have to leave the school.

Professor X has posed:
"I think the Sentinels are something we will be dealing with for some time. There will more incidents like Chicago," Charles says. "What do you have in mind?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over to where Tony went, and says "Ah am thinking there may need to be a primarly mutant team that is public. Someone that people can get to know and can help with the image of mutants. Lets face it when someone says mutant in the general public, Genosha, Magneto, The Brotherhood are going to be some of the first things that come to mind, and the ones they can find out more about. Ah know the Avengers have had a few of us on their team now, but Ah am wondering if there needs to be an X team that the public can look at, ask questions of.

Professor X has posed:
Charles sighs. "Sam, I think this is a discussion we will need more time to have. Whatever you decide to do, will you promise me to wait until we can discuss it?"

Iron Man has posed:
Tony must have finished what he was doing, because he swans his way back into the room with an expectant manner. He's just used to being one of the centers of attention, wherever he goes. He sends an immediate charismatic smile to Sam, though: there's no annoyance at all. After all, he did have to go deal with an emergency.

"Oof, medicine time? Guess that call had good timing, from that perspective, at least," Tony says as he comes back towards his chair, also to find the coffee he'd asked for before waiting for him there. He snares it and returns to his chair with an easy, relaxed quality. It can't be a surprise: Tony's exactly like this in all of his TV spots or interviews. It isn't a behavior he puts on: he's really like that, evidence suggests. Tony doesn't launch into what his call was about, since Sam is there, just lifts one dark brow curiously.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods his head a bit to the Professor, and says "Ah promise Professor. Ah have looked into some of the legal needs, and such but before I do it, it is something that needs serious thought.

Professor X has posed:
The Professor nods with a smile. He looks over when Tony comes in.

"Tony Stark, Samuel Guthrie, a very close associate of mine. He has is helping me with the Sentinels issue and was there during the attack yesterday," Charles introduces the two men. "Is everything alright? I hope you don't have to go, I'm eager to hear what you know about the Sentinels, and hoped to speak with you about another issue."

Iron Man has posed:
"Hey," Tony says comfortably, with an upnod and two fingered wave at Sam. It's very casual and easy, from the billionaire inventor. "I wouldn't class anything about John Doe as 'all right'. We're trying to contain his, uh, ambitions. Steve's good at it; I'm losing patience," Tony says, directly, but his voice holds something of a rueful chuckle.

"Every time Sentinels get mobilized somewhere, we talk him down about going over to 'help'. He just knows," Tony says, with a sigh, tapping one finger to the side of his head and then drops his hand and drinks his coffee. His dark eyes went 'through' the world for a moment, a window into Tony's tiredness related to the issue. "Some test flight thing today. I've distracted him with something else. For now."

Professor X has posed:
Charles frowns as the younger man speaks. He sets aside his tea and folds his hands in his lap over the blankets.

"You're very worried about him, and what he will do if he leaves. What drives him, do you think? Is he alive?"

Iron Man has posed:
"I don't know that 'worried' is the right term," Tony says, scoffing a little bit. "Dread, I think that's the word. /Dreading/ it." Tony drinks his coffee, still relaxed, despite the so-called worry or 'dread'.

"It isn't a guess, that he's able to take over Sentinels. I just haven't fully decided about if he's better than Trask, or the government, in terms of comparison. Captain Rogers thinks he can still be appealed to. I'm not in that camp. I'm pretty familiar with AI, and that one...." Tony taps the edge of his coffee cup. "He's learning, but the same motivation is there under everything. Learning, yes, but an obsession with Sentinels, and fixing them. I guess it's just a question of... does 'fixing' mean they're worse than they are now."

Professor X has posed:
Charles nods slowly as he listens.

"AI are some of the most dangerous minds in existence. Without true embodiment as we know... I hardly need to tell you how alien they are."

"So far, he has shown he is rational, in his dealings with you. He doesn't completely discount Human influence, but he reacts violently to mutants. He shares a networked connection with Sentinels and is evidently a constructed being. And your approach to him tells me you think he is sentient, very powerful, or both."

Charles leaves the premises hanging, not insulting anyone by going further. "Do we know who built him or where?"

Iron Man has posed:
"Sentient, well. Yes. I didn't get a feeling he's faking that. Powerful? That's starting to be more and more true. I've directly shut him down once, and observed him adapting to safeguard against what I did," Tony explains. "A major reason I haven't done it again. I'm confident I can do it, but I don't want to 'teach' him a handful of more ways to block me, and by doing that, make him harder to stop. So I'll do it when I have to."

Tony finished his coffee, puts the cup aside, stretching slowly. "He's dangerous in terms of taking over Sentinels, and the potential. From research, we know he's from some kind of adjacent reality or future or both. Rogers wants to try to send him home. I doubt he'll want to; if he's not lying, he doesn't know where he's from, so there's little reason to go back there, I'd expect, from his perspective."

Tony lets his head drop back, looking at the ceiling for a long moment. "While the public wants the sentinels, they'll exist. Or something like them. I didn't choose to make a robot army, but in hindsight, maybe I should have, as a better alternative," Tony chuckles.

Professor X has posed:
Charles smiles. "There is a long, storied history of debate about the moral hazard of taking people out of war. You may have been wiser than you know."

"But you are right. These weapons will be here until people don't want them, feel they don't need them. Until we...," he gestures including Tony and Sam and any number of others not present. "...Integrate. Or they will turn on all of us eventually. But that is a longer battle. John Doe, is your immediate concern. I'm not going to tell you what to do, Mr. Stark, John Doe is after all in your mansion," he says with a smile. The smile is pro forma, a polite social adjunct to a much deeper look of sorrow, regrets and empathy.

"But right now you aren't making a decision. Neither is John Doe, at least not overtly. So you must decide and act. Because soon, John Doe will be a cognition as far beyond yours as you are beyond Sam or I."

Iron Man has posed:
"I have what I'd like to do. And a promise to a particular Captain America to hold back a little longer on it," Tony responds. He's keeping his word to the other Avenger. There isn't anger or frustration, but some other mixed bag of emotions that's probably hard to untangle with just a glance. Tony's complex about some things, and not others. He wants a drink right now, but he doesn't say it.

"Also, for reference, I'm not keeping him in the mansion, or anywhere near dangerous tech of any type, beyond the scanners and restraint equipment I had to commit. As tempted as I've been to use some of my higher caliber things to just invade his programming and get to the bottom of all this, of his underlying agendas." Tony pauses, and gives Charles a thoughtful stare. "When do you go ahead and invade? Where's that line?"

Professor X has posed:
Charles looks down at his hands for a moment, his face inscrutable. He searches for words and then looks up.

"I have done it," he says, and is clearly uncomfortable sharing this with Tony, with peering. "And I felt torn and ill everytime. A person's mind is... sacred. But life is prior to mind, and in medicine as in nature, there are times you do invasive things to save life. Or lives. Because there are the consequences of not doing so are so horrendous for that person and others that compassion requires it."

Charles looks thoughtful. "Perhaps that is when there is a justification, if ever. When it is the compassionate thing to do."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony adjusts his position a little bit, head tilted to the side and slightly back. He's paying attention, but also is aware of the discomfort. Tony's empathy ranges a little bit, but he can see it here, and feelings make /him/ uncomfortable a lot of the time. So, in the end, they're both uncomfortable, in a way.

"I think if I hack him directly he'll be upset about it, take it personally. He's sentient enough, with emotional reactions enough that we have seen, for that to be something real to him. I've been working on suggesting it could benefit him to let me get a look in there, since he WAS made by someone, to get to the truth, but whether he comes along with me, well. Trust. Until there's a justification to crack him open, him doing something that makes me certain it's the best thing to do, well. I don't want to make an enemy if he IS working with us."

Tony yawns some, breaking the seriousness of his own tone. He's tired, he's been working a ton. "I'm going to wing it." There's a confidence, an ease with that. It's a Tony thing: instinct, and quick (genius) thinking saves him very often. "If you guys want a shot at him, I'll set it up. He doesn't like mutants, though. Even before he knew he was a machine. He thought he could 'sense evil.'"

Professor X has posed:
The discomfort fades and Charles smiles again. "I don't find that comforting, but I /am/ confident you will make the best decision possible."

Charles frowns slightly. "I had asked someone to go speak with him, I'm surprised it isn't done yet. May I send someone in the morning?"

Iron Man has posed:
"Thanks for the support: I /am/ usually right," Tony chuckles, in his shameless way. He lifts his brows, smiling into it. There's no falter there: part of what can infuriate people about Stark, truly, is that confidence. But it's often not misplaced. In a way, that makes it a lot worse.

"Sure, if he's still there. I'll be able to find him, though. That much we have. He's not getting away somewhere without me knowing," Tony attests, with a finger-gun. He stretches, and starts to stand. "I better let you rest, Professor."

Professor X has posed:
"I had no doubt you were taking precautions. Thank you for visiting, Mr. Stark," Charles says with a smile, not seeming to be put off in the least. It's good to see you. My ear and help are always available to you."

Iron Man has posed:
"Yep. I had a lot of time to work on precautions, since I wasn't hacking his mind apart," Tony jokes. "By the way, Reed Richards made some ground there, too. He might have something now on the nullification," Tony says, just remembering, with a snap of fingers.

"If you're healthy at the end of the month, I've parties planned, would be good to see you attend," Tony adds, on his way out. "My birthday." A smile is flashed, a broad wave, a lift of sunglasses from a pocket, and Tony's paraded on out, in his entitled way.