After leaving Fredrick's room, James looked at the ISD agent next to them before following Xavier towards the rooftop restaurant. A wave of smoke hit his face, the smell of meats assutling his senses. Xavier took a deep breath and smiled, "Estella is famous for many things, James, but the main thing is its barbeques." Xavier took another sniff and let out a happy noise, rushing over to an empty table by the edge of the balcony.
James swiftly followed and looked at the sprawling city, a gorgeous blend of old and new woven into a marble-and-stone labyrinth. In its centre, the towering golden dome of the Church of the Martryd. Xavier quickly ordered three plates and let the two with him sit. Once they arrived, he greedily snatched food from the grill in the centre of the table, serving both James and the ISD agent.
James watched with intrigue as the cold front the agent put up slowly broke from the smell and look of the food as they silently ate, hiding the enjoyment they got from it. Xavier laughed, looking at it and sighed, "People fear the ISD as bureaucratic robots, but the reality is they are human, and no human can resist the allure of good food." Picking up a slice of steak, he dropped it into his mouth and let the taste melt on his tongue.
James followed suit, the perfect blend of spices on the meat washing away the nerves he had been feeling at the time. "It is nice, but it isn't home. Personally, a breakfast sandwich from Newport is more my taste."
"Food that brings comfort is special to everyone." Xavier happily said, loading his plate up with vegetables, rice and numerous other sides the waiters brought over. "How did you feel about the doctor's plan?"
James pulled at his packet of cigarettes and held it up to the two. The Agent moved away from him slightly and nodded, feeling they were far enough, and Xavier waved his hand, seeing the wind wasn't blowing in his direction. Lighting one up and taking a bite of food, he couldn't help but feel it was a nice blend. "Sorry, usually I wouldn't when I eat, but I haven't had a smoke since we landed." Xavier shook his head and indulged in the food, "His plan is good, but I can't help but worry. I don't even know what I'm looking for looks like."
Xavier smirked, "The key I had was strange. It looked rusted, but at the same time, new. It was very hard to explain, like the metal was old, older than the planet itself, but the design was futuristic, like it came from a movie. Sleek, sharp. Nothing like a key." Xavier grabbed a napkin and placed it between them. Tracing his finger over it, he drew a pattern. "Like that. Very strange."
"And the chances it will be the same for this one." Xavier sighed and shrugged.
"Honestly, I don't know. Oh, I forgot." Xavier said, realising he was too focused on the food. Pushing the plate aside, he carried on, "There was a gem in it. The finest Emerald you have ever seen. I've seen a lot of jewerly James, but this one, there was none like it. The design may be different, but I have a feeling there will be a gem, if not an emerald, then another."
"Emerald..." James siad under his breath. Every time he fought off the gem or the colour green, for that matter, he always remembered Samuel Hopkins and his unnaturally beautiful green eyes that rivalled gems. Even as a straight man, James couldn't help but admit that there was a strange allure to them.
Shaking his head, he realised he was letting his mind wander, "So a gem, okay. The next problem is copying an ability." James thought about his feelings when he copied George's healing. It wasn't exactly copying in the way Chase did it. Chase absorbed an ability and made it his own, whereas James knew he completely reforged his own aura to match what he wanted.
"Why? Can't do it?" Xavier seriously asked, completely pushing the urge to eat aside until business was over. The flat calm he spoke with had long vanished once they landed in Estella, replaced by a seriousness whenever speaking about their plan.
"One, that was a moment where it was life or death, I was desperate and in desperate moments we are capable of great things. I'm not sure I could replicate it without that..." James tapped the table and took a smoke as he thought, "Urgency." Finding the word, he took a drink to clear his mouth, "Secondly, I spent nearly seven years with George. I learnt everything there was about his ability, had seen it hundreds of times. Other then Geroge, I probably was the person who knew the most about it. I think I could only do what I did because of that knowledge."
Xavier nodded and stared at James, "You've seen my ability and been around me. Whilst you don't know it clearly, you saw the fundamental change I went through during its evolution. I'm sure you remember every detail clearly." James nodded in response. "In that case, try to copy my power," Xavier said with a curious excitement, resisting the urge to use his power to see what would happen.
The ISD paused eating and set the fork down, watching James, trying to hide it behind the glass of lemonade they drank. James took a deep breath and found the request not too strange; in fact, having the same excitement as Xavier. Holding his hand out, Xavier understood and rested his hand on it.
James blinked and activated his eyes, staring deep into Xavier's body. Looking past the silver glow that was like a sun, he focused on the three snakes inside his body, knowing they were the true source of power, the light inside him an aftereffect of their presence.
"Close your eyes. The future isn't clear, James. There is a set path we all follow, but from it, branches are formed, creating a dark swamp we must navigate to find the best path for ourselves." Xavier's words gently floated into his ears, "In this swap, we look back and see the past, we look down and see the present, and ahead, the future. The past can never change; focus on that. Think of a moment in your life you hold dear, and take yourself back."
Xavier said, letting James choose the easiest of the three to navigate. No matter how many times he looked into the past, it had never changed. Parts of it were hidden from his view, but those were rare blips in an endless sea of life and death. He had tested many times, looking to see his life, the formation of New Horizon, and the lives of famous figures. Not once had he seen it change.
James stared at the three snakes, trying to understand what they meant. Xavier's words helped, but without a core understanding of what those three represent, it would never work. His eyes scanned two and focused on a third, the smallest of the three. Although he couldn't understand why, he knew that the snake was the one which controlled Xavier's ability to see the past. There was more to it, but as he dived deeper, staring at the scales on his body, his head began to hurt.
'It's too much information. Not the whole past, I just need a fraction of its power. A moment. One moment.' James thought, and only one memory was clear in his mind. Remembering the day he stood on a hill overlooking a valley, surrounded by adoring and tearful guests. An arch of flowers behind him. His shoes were tight, not having been broken in. And at the end of the path, walking towards him, was Vanessa, dressed in a white dress with a veil.
He focused on his aura, recalling a memory. Looking at the blank sheet that was his aura, he thought of Xavier's own. Time was chaotic and calm. Light but heavy. A paradox that held itself together. And Xavier's own power was no different. The source of his power fought itself, yet belonged to the same thing.
Xavier watched, his smile widening, seeing a thin, barely noticeable silver streak run through James' eyes. James felt his aura change, condensing around his heart, forming a fragment of a scale from the snake, smaller than an inch wide. An overwhelming pain assaulted his head as the world went black.
Then it lit up again, and he was watching the wedding, the moment he and Vanessa kissed. A second was all he got before it shattered, and he was thrown back into the real world. Breathing heavily, he slumped over the table and grabbed his face, feeling blood on his hand.
"It's so much better than I thought," Xavier said with a breathless voice, nearly leaping over the table, wishing to experiment further with James. "You saw it, it worked." James looked at Xavier, his eyes wide like he was a monster.
A fragment of a memory was all it took to overwhelm him, and yet the man before him chucked himself into the sea of time over and over, barely flinching when he did. James took a few deep breaths and brought his cigarette to his lips, taking a deep inhale to calm himself down.
"Time is too much," James said with a breathless tone. Despite his words, he understood more now. What was inside Xavier was too much at once, but also living in a sense. He wasn't copying something but trying to form life. "Get as many of the people you wish for me to copy, and I will choose which one is best," James said, making Xavier happily chuckle.
Looking at the ISD agent, they stared back at him with an agape mouth, and quickly excused themselves to make a phone call.