"Huh." Kae grinned briefly and glanced at Tony. "What do you think?"

"I think you'd be fine after the first minute of scrambling." Tony grinned. "I usually am anyway."

"Perhaps," Xavier allowed. He had heard about how Tony tended to fight, after all, so he had to credit the other genius that. But as far as he knew, Kae had no combat experience at all.

Kae shook her head, amused, and just watched for the moment. She understood why Xavier could want her for a teacher, hypothetically, but as part of the X-Men? That's what she got confused.

Xavier could sense her confusion, but waited for her to gather her thoughts for herself. He did try his best not to interfere with people's thoughts, when he could help it.

Finally Kae gave in and just asked him.

"Professor, why would you want me on the team? Teaching I get, I could do that, but I don't have any real combat experience, and telekinesis isn't exactly an aggressive mutation to begin with."

"You're right, it isn't," Xavier said, nodding. "But not all useful gifts are aggressive." He paused for a moment, and then added quietly, "and it seems that, at least for the moment, we lack a capable telekinetic on the active team. I was rather hoping you would agree to fill the position for us, but the final decision remains yours, Miss King."

"Way to say 'no pressure'," Kae grumbled a bit, crossing her arms and frowning a little.

"Sorry, nope, mine first," Tony said.

"Tony, stop being all of five." Kae gave him a look.

Tony just pouted at her.

Bruce put an arm around Kae gently.

"I still think you should do what's best for you, first," he murmured to her.

Kae nodded, leaning into him again gratefully.

"I just need some time to figure things out," she said quietly, shifting enough to curl an arm around him in return.

Bruce pulled her closer as Xavier nodded.

"Of course," Xavier said. "I would never push you into a decision you weren't ready for. Take your time."

Kae nodded and stayed there for a bit before she shook herself.

"If, hypothetically, I agreed to work with your team, what would you be expecting? Keep in mind this is all hypothetical information gathering, Professor."

"Well, hypothetically," Xavier said, "it would be necessary for you to live here, in the mansion. If a situation arose where we needed your skills, it would not be feasible for you to have to travel from the city when time is of the essence. Of course, you would have your own room, rather than sharing like the students do. You would have a class or two to teach, not more than you could handle. Occasionally, you would act as an adult chaperone for the students on field trips." He looked at her.

Kae nodded. She'd expected that much. "And what about the missions themselves? I know obviously you can't tell me what a generic one is like because there is no generic, I've lived with them long enough to know that. But what would you expect me to be able to do in the field with what training I have?"

"With your current training, your skills would be put to use defensively," Xavier replied. "Of course, you would be tested in the Danger Room, and trained for a while before being put on the field. Logan would likely be able to get you into shape quickly enough. More than likely, you would still be mostly defensive, although improvisation is encouraged."

Kae couldn't help but snort at that. "Alright."

Tony watched as the group of kids left the Danger Room, having been busy cataloging it and figuring out exactly how it worked. It was kind of fun, actually.

"I'd say you and Bruce should go in there but I don't think Bruce would be up to it, big spoilsport that he is."

Kae just rolled her eyes at him.

"Confined spaces are a bad idea," Bruce said habitually. He glanced at Tony.

Tony just grinned.

Kae sighed. "I can't do anything with you two. Come on, outside, I need to go think."

Bruce nodded and went with her. Xavier stayed behind, however, to supervise the next group of training students.

Kae got outside and moved a little bit away from the mansion before she sat down, lounging in the sun for the moment.

"You're not staying here." Tony sat down next to her. "Absolutely not."

"Tony, leave her be," Bruce finally said, looking at him. "She can make her own choices."

"Yes, she can, but staying here isn't an option. When would she ever see us? See you?" Tony raised his eyebrows at Bruce, just pointing out rather than trying to be argumentative.

"Staying here is an option," Bruce pointed out. "It's just not an option you like." Or an option he liked, to be honest. But it was an option.

"You really want her staying here?" Tony asked, raising his eyebrows. "Away from us all the time?"

"It's not my decision," Bruce said. He glanced at Kae.

Kae held her hands up. "Hey, I'm still thinking things over."

"Why are you thinking? There's nothing to think about." Tony frowned. "You can't leave, Kae."

"Tony, I'm trying to figure out a way I won't have to."