Crystal gave them both one last glower before she calmed herself, the glow vanishing as if it had never been. She moved to sit on the other side of Paige.

Tony blinked once the glow faded.

"So what was that?" he asked, curious. He leaned forward slightly. "I mean, I get it's a mutation, but it still looks interesting."

"No shit it's my mutation," Crystal said, clenching her hands into fists and then relaxing them again, trying to get rid of the little tremors. "And why exactly should I tell you what my mutation is?"

"Seeing as you nearly just blasted me with it, I'm kind of curious as to what I was almost blasted with," Tony retorted. "Call it professional curiosity."

"Exploding crystals." And she wasn't going to explain any more than that because then it got too hard to do without a demonstration.

"Exploding crystals?" Tony asked, his eyes lighting up with curiosity. "Sounds fascinating."

"I guess that's one way of looking at it." Crystal shrugged, uneasy. She'd certainly never seen it that way.

"I made a living out of exploding things," Tony said. "Exploding things is kind of a specialty now. Exploding crystals is one thing I have yet to do."

"It's not exactly something you can do without a natural ability," Crystal said with a snort. "The structure of them naturally is much too stable to make any kind of a reliable explosive out of."

"Exactly why I haven't been able to do it," Tony said, nodding. "Which is why yours are so fascinating."

"I don't think mine count as actual crystals considering I make them and they haven't been formed over thousands of years under tons and tons of pressure." Crystal shrugged. "But if you want to have a look, I can always use some target practice."

And then what she'd just said hit her and she paled a bit. Great. Now she was really dead. She'd always known her mouth would get her in trouble one day.

Tony just snorted and grinned.

"Maybe another time," he said. "When we're not around Charles and the kids. My workshop, though, that would definitely be the place to go for it."

Crystal looked at him like he was crazy for a few moments before she shook her head wordlessly.

That was about when Charles reappeared. "Alright, that's quite enough poking them," he told Tony sternly. "Go on, Wanda got bored and said she needs help repairing that Sonic Screwdriver the two of you made."

Tony grinned widely and sauntered off with a little parting wave.

The comment about the sonic screwdriver was enough to startle a high laugh out of Paige.

"Whovians," she said, looking at Charles. "Really. You're Whovians. Somehow I'm not surprised."

"Yes, I'm afraid Hank got the rest of us into it," Charles said with a smile. "Although I am particularly fond of BBC Sherlock. I'm still waiting for the next bloody season."

Paige had to grin at that.

"Now I can get on board with Sherlock," she said. "Supposedly series 3 this winter, I heard."

"Yes, coming up soon," Charles agreed with a brief grin. "And about time. There have been mutinous rumblings through the fandom."

"No kidding," Paige said. She blinked when she realized what was happening. "Oh god I'm discussing fandom with Charles Xavier. When did my life go so far off track?"

Charles laughed a bit and waved her concerns away. "I'm sure the children will be delighted to discuss it more with you once they've finished."

"Thank you for doing this, by the way," Paige said. "There were a few things in our boxes that would have been a bit hard to replace."

Charles smiled. "It's not the first time we've run into such a problem," he said with a careless shrug. "Besides, it is fun and educational for the children, so I am more than happy to advance several goals at once."

"Still, thanks," Paige said. "If there's any way we can repay you, let us know. Once we've found a place and everything."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Charles said with a smile. "Take your time, you've got as long as you need."

"Are you sure?" Paige asked. "We don't want to impose too much, you've been so kind to us already."

"Really, it's not a problem at all. I'm glad to have you around. The girls I'm sure will love having other females around, I'm afraid they're rather in the minority most of the time." Charles smiled.