Xaviers!

Sean knocked on Ashlie's door hoping to have a conversation about staying on.

"Enter." is the rather brief response.

Sean entered the office a little curious as to why the professor always talked in such a brusque way.

Maybe that's just what happens? The older the hero gets the more brusque they get?

"Headmistress," Sean said politely, "I was hoping to talk to you about possibly staying on here."

Ashlie is sitting at her desk, working. She has very little actual paperwork on her desk and no monitor, though she's still typing on a keyboard as she looks up at Sean.

"Mister Hall. Certainly." she says, motioning him to take a seat.

Sean moved to sit in a chair across from Ashlie.

"I know that I'm not a mutant," Sean said, "I think though that I could make a place for myself here if I'd be allowed to do so."

"Well, I do not know where your ability to manipulate dimensional barriers stems from, but recent events have shown that it would be an asset to the University."

"You're not convinced that it was magic?" Sean asked genuinely curious.

"The means by which you manipulated dimensional physics escapes me, but that doesn't mean it's magic. There is no such thing."

"I'm not a mutant, my abilities don't come from any technology, I don't play with gamma radiation, and I've had my gift for as long as I can remember," Sean smiled slightly. "It's true though, I suppose, that I can't truly prove what I do is proper magic."

"Proving your beliefs is not a necessary requirement for enrollment." she says and it feels like this is something that should be accompanied by a smile of some sort, but Ashlie's face doesn't change expressions from her neutral one and her voice is devoid of emotion. "Neither is being a mutant, although all our financial aid programs require it."

Sean still wasn't really sure what to think of Ashlie's lack of emotion. It was somewhat unnerving but he hoped it didn't come through when he spoke.

"So long as the tuition here isn't astronomical that shouldn't be any trouble," Sean said, "I was also wondering if there was a space I could use in or around the lighthouse for my research?"

"Basic tuition is less than what you are paying now." she says. How she figured that out is anybody's guess.

"The groundfloor of the Lighthouse is used for utilities, but the other floors are currently not in use. We also have a state of the art engineering facility, which supports dimensional research. Please inform me about any larger projects that might interfere with it and I will do the same." If Ashlie notices any reaction in Sean's voice it doesn't seem to affect her.

"I'll take the other floors of the lighthouse," Sean said, "I'll keep you informed of course."

Sean paused for a moment his British politeness warring with curiosity.

"Is everything alright, headmistress?"

"Yes. Fulfillment of my duties are not impeded." That's certainly not a strange thing to say at all.

"Right," Sean said sounding rather unconvinced.

"Is there something else?" she asks, looking at Sean, well, not curiously. More of a blank stare, really. She feels hollow somehow.

"Can I speak frankly, headmistress?" Sean asked.

"Of course."

"You seem a bit... emotionally flat," Sean said.

She stares blankly at him for a moment.

"That's correct."

"Why?" Sean asked.

"There was an incident. There's no need to be concerned."

"One would usually consider a lack of emotions to be a bad thing," Sean said, "Unless across the pond that's perfectly normal."

"It doesn't significantly impact fulfillment of my duties and it's unlikely an attempt to fix it would succeed."

"So you've tried to fix it and can't," Sean said.

"I've evaluated the situation and concluded that it's impossible to restore."

"Have you gotten a second opinion on that?" Sean asked.

"Yes, but he was lacking the necessary expertise to make a proper judgement."

"Sounds like you need to find another expert then," Sean said.

"Impossible. I'm unable to confirm the necessary qualifications."

"How difficult could it be to confirm qualifications?" Sean asked now a little confused.

"As I said, impossible."

'Why is it impossible?" Sean asked.

"The details of this diagnostic are not up for discussion."

Diagnostic?

"Fair enough, headmistress," Sean said realizing that interrogating the headmistress was probably at least a little out bounds.

"If that is all."

"Yes, Headmistress," Sean said, "Thank you for allowing me to transfer into the school and I hope that whatever it is that is bothering you works itself out."

"Your optimism is noted."