[Feel free to begin your visit to Xavier here]

Jean had hoped for a visit under much better circumstances.  Charles had been opposed to her leaving, hoping that she might live and work at the school.  Jean had wanted to find her own path.  There hadn’t been a dramatic fight or anything, but now Jean wondered IF she could have prevented things from happening.  She didn’t know any details of the ‘attack’… who did it (and why), etc.

I feel a pall over this place…

For her visit, Jean had opted for a floral day dress, reminiscent of her rural days.  A matching wide brimmed and gloves were also worn.  She did have a bag that contained her show costume, just in case.  On her last visit some of the kids had asked for a magic show.  And if she extended her stay, Jean could duck out to do her show and return.

Knock knock.

“Hello… visitors!”

A furry blue ape of a man in a white labcoat and wearing a stethescope opened the door to the medical clinic.

"Oh my stars and garters! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"

Hank gave a wide, fanged grin.

Kat was completely uncertain why she’d gotten a call to come. There had been a note on her desk to assist with the investigation. Of course she’d heard about the assassination attempt, it was all over the news. But, she was who? Just an immigrant with a small business focused on the poor and the tiny middle class. She knew her role in this city and it was pretty damned small.

She had worn a halfway decent dress that she managed to keep on the boat ride. It wasn’t her best, no those had gotten molded from water intrusion, but it was okay. Not at all threadbare. No holes. And she put her hair up, hoping it made her look professional.

Now, her belief in her abilities to actually understand science and crime, there she had no doubts. No, she worried about her appearance but not her credentials even if most of America didn’t seem to care about a masters degree from a world class university.

With a deep breath she rang the bell at the entry.

Seeing as nobody appeared to be coming to the outer gate, Kat tested it and found it locked. She looked to the left and right, taking in everyone and waiting until it was clear. She didn’t want to be late and it was possible that nobody was available since there was an assassination attempt. Her hand slipped through the metal and and she unlocked the other side, opening the gate and closing it behind her.

What she saw was a woman who was quite pretty and…was that a blue ape man? She’d heard stories but that wasn’t the same thing as seeing. She’d just learned she had her own thing but it wasn’t so, well she really didn’t know the best word to use to describe. There was a gasp, she’d tried to contain it but this wasn’t something one saw every day. Was that a stethoscope? Lab Coat? She really hadn’t noticed at first.

Recovering, it was funny that she could walk in on a mutilated body and be fine, but something simply novel and shocking got her reaction.

”Um…hello. I’m Katherine Pryde, I received an invitation to come by to discuss the crime and assist?” Okay, Kat, get it together. There’s a big blue man, you can walk through walls, it’s all fine. Getting her composure, she wasn’t an uncertain, weak person.

”Ah! Frau Pryde, so glad to meet you. I’m Dr. Henry McCoy.”

He extends a clawed hand.

”Please pardon my appearance. It’s hard to find surgical scrubs that cover this amount of fur.”

He grins a very toothy grin.

”And this is one of my former classmates, Miss Jean Grey.”

”Oh, please call me Kat. Though it is nice to hear a bit of German.” Her English clearly accented, but quite fluent thanks to her education.

She took the hand, ”and let me apologize, I will admit a bit of surprise.” She wished she hadn’t reacted but what was done was done.

Kat smiled at the doctor and then her attention shifted to Jean, ”it’s nice to meet you, as well.” She offered a hand, trying to get everything back on track.

Jean gave Hank a big hug upon their initial meeting and then her expression turned serious.

“How is he?  I wasn’t sure if Charles was up for entertaining visitors, but I wanted to come regardless.”

She then turned to regard and greet the investigator, when she arrived.  Jean was glad to see women like Katherine moving into male dominated jobs and bring a touch more balance to things.  She nodded to the other woman, offered a smile, and returned the handshake.

“Hello Miss Pryde, thank you for coming.  Is there anything I can do to help?”

Not having been present for the attack, Jean suspected a No… but she thought it polite to at least make the offer.

”Perhaps, both of you. Since both of you seem to know Mr. Xavier were either of you present for the incident?” She figured they’d have mentioned it but it was best not to make any assumptions. Especially in the aftermath of a tragedy.

”And, if not, do either of you know who may have wished the man harm? I must admit I am coming in this a little behind, I usually have time to do more research before a client meeting.” She would normally have looked up all sorts of business and any personal information available. Instead she was a bit blind.

Dr. McCoy nods.

”I was walking around the grounds with the Professor when he was shot. The bullet was shot from far enough away than neither of us noticed the shooter. I called for help and shielded him with my body. Once the perimeter was scoured….no clues were found…we got him on a stretcher and brought him here.”

Jean listened carefully to Beast’s version of events.  It sounded like a professional, perhaps even briefed on how to ‘take out’ a psychic.

“I was not present for the shooting.  In regards to enemies, I’m at a loss… Charles is well liked by most people.  None of us saw this coming.”

[Telepathy to Beast]. Did you recover a bullet?  Before you surrender it to other people,  I could try to glean some information from it.