"I'm here for the summit meeting, day 4, representing the mutant community on behalf of Professor Xavier," Lillian explains at the reception and the lady seated smiles and points her to the left.

"Entrance into the hall is that way, one of the volunteers will help you to your seat," She explains and Lillian nods her head, then walks the way the receptionist had pointed.

Lillian stops in her tracks when her eyes drop upon seeing the setting of the meeting, that looks like a lecture hall from one of the best universities. Lines of seats, enough to seat hundreds, are labelled with sheets of paper that have names on them. Each seat has a table attached to it that has a microphone for questions. Up in the front, a wooden podium with a microphone attached to it and a projection screen make up the presenter's tools.

"Hi, how may I help you?" A man greets her with a smile and Lillian tells him her name and that she's here for the meeting, "This way Miss Goodheart. It's a pity Professor Xavier couldn't make it today."

She follows him up to the seventh row of seats, out of fifteen, and the gentlemen points towards the middle. "Yeah it sure is a pity," Lillian mumbles while walking towards her seat then looks back, "Thank you."

*****

Arriving a week earlier than the event starting, Lillian got the chance to take a personal and individual tour of Washington D.C., the first spot where the series of meetings are taking place.

Charles made sure that she got accommodation at the best hotel, he didn't want her feeling unnecessary stress. The hotel is a two-minute walk from the hall building, the weather can't be more perfect.

Lillian stops by a small coffee shop to purchase a hot chocolate to fight the chilly breeze. She stops and sits on a bench, watching the people go about their daily commute. She takes a sip of the hot chocolate but almost spills it all over herself because it burns her tongue. She removes the lid and blows the top layer to cool it down.

"Is anyone sitting here?" A young man, looking to be in his twenties, smiles at her. Lillian shakes her head and he takes a seat beside her. The man unwraps his chicken sandwich and takes a bite.

"Nice weather huh?" Lillian comments and he raises an eyebrow.

"It's been like this for the past two weeks... I presume you're not from around here?" He questions and Lillian Shakes her head with surprise.

"I'm from Westchester County, New York," Lillian adds, "What about you?"

He smiles then lens closer to her and point to a red building two blocks down. "I'm from right there," He says and takes another bite of his sandwich, "I'm Emif."

Lillian laughed at his muffled words, "What?"

He raised a finger then swallowed his food and chuckled. "Sorry, I'm Ennis... Clark," He put his hand out and Lillian shook it.

"Lillian Goodheart."

"Ah, that's pretty... Can I call you Lily?"

A sharp pain pierced through her body for a split second. Hearing her nickname reminded her of home and it ached her on the inside. She frowned quickly.

"I'm sorry, um... I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright, I'm just... Someone I care about c-calls me L-Lily," She explains and smiles nervously, "That just reminded me of him."

They sit in silence, listening to the street ambience with serenity. Lillian glances to her wristwatch. Noticing that there is only a half hour left for the meeting to begin, she stands up from her seat suddenly.

"I'm sorry, I have some work to attend to," She says, "It was nice meeting you Ennis." Lillian finishes her hot chocolate then throws the cup in a trash bin.

"I'll see you around then?" Ennis asks.

"Yeah!"

*****

2 hours later...

"... And I believe, as does the entire mutant community, that as we bring ourselves to unite, we each have a chance to succeed and reach far higher than our potential. Being someone who has spent close time with Professor Xavier and have known him in his work environment, he would aspire this level of connection with the human and mutant community," Lillian continues to input, "His findings have further magnified the impact each community has on each other and how this actually helps the other evolve into far more supreme beings than they already are. Pages nine through to eleven display the study's findings."

As many of the attendees flip through the pages of the catalogue in front of them, Lillian takes a pause for breath. She smiles and says, "In conclusion, it is from the mind of Professor Xavier himself that 'Mutatis Mutandis'... 'The necessary changes have been made', and these for our own benefit. Thank you."

A chorus of claps ensue and Lillian bites her lip to control the wide smile on her face. She straightens her dress then takes a seat, looking around at everyone's expressions for optimism. A man walks over to the podium on the stage and starts to speak, introducing the next guest speaker.

For the rest of the meeting Lillian felt a little drifted, as if a weight had been lifted from her head. She can't stop thinking of how proud Charles would be to see her talking and resenting at such a prestigious event, in a city she had never set foot in before coming for this event.

Lillian is finally living her life the way she would wonder of... and she loves it.

"Now if everyone could escort themselves to the refreshments room before heading over to the after-meeting exhibition," The attendant announces and everyone stands up from their seats one row at a time and climbs down the stairs.

*****

Lillian walks through the one-person sized gap between exhibition stalls. It is decently crowded as everyone from the meeting has stepped inside and are moving from stall to stall in search for some inspiration... and so is Lilli-

ZING! SCREEECH!

Lillian places her hands over her ears suddenly and squints her eyes. A ringing noise pierces through her ears, causing her mind to ache strongly.

Her vision starts to blur, her head starts to spin. All the voices around her echo loudly, she groans to herself while looking around for a seat-

As she walks ahead, the noise grows louder and her throbbing head intensifies. It feels exactly like how she did back at the school, one of her episodes.

She spots a stall with a large machine to its side, people gathered around watching a demonstration. As a man turns the dial, the ringing noise loudens and Lillian almost collapses onto her knees.

"S-S-Somebody HELP-"

THUMP!

A man grabs her arms from behind and pulls her closer to himself. "Miss, are you alright?" He questions with concern and guides Lillian to a chair next to a table, "Miss, do you want-"

As her mind settles, she notices that the man has a smile on her face... and that he looks familiar.

"Lillian! I can't believe I've seen you again," The man, now identified by her as being Ennis from the bench outside the coffee shop earlier, says with amusement.

"E-Ennis?" Lillian furrows her eyebrows then widens her eyes, "I-I'm going to he s-sick."

He looks around frantically then finds a small trashbin. He holds it up to her face and she bends over, clenching the rim tightly. She takes a deep breath and the sickly feeling passes on, replaces with equilibrium.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Ennis asks with genuine worry and Lillian Shakes her head slowly.

"I... don't know Ennis, I have no clue," She glares around the exhibition hall. He stands up then helps her to her feet.

"How about I treat you to a cup of coffee?" He offers and she smiles.

"Alright. By the way, what are you doing here?"

"I was one of the guests," He stops and smiles widely, "What luck I bumped into you again... what a coincidence."