Scott glanced over at Xavier after he'd introduced himself. Rather, after Ryder took in his words. To Scott, she seemed to be thinking about something which he mistook for a good sign; like maybe she was seeing them in a new light. Besides the emotions she wore on the surface, she wasn't an easy kid to read.

Xavier had shifted only his eyes towards Scott, sharing the glance that much -until, in the next moment, he flinched. An intense pressure felt mentally, as though in that space someone was pressing him down while they riffled through his pockets. 

Scott saw the reaction and looked between the Professor and Ryder. Was she doing something? In the time they'd been here, Xavier hadn't reported any ill feelings like Jean had been experiencing, which Scott was suspecting were related to Ryder...

Xavier could tell Ryder was searching for something, though what he wasn't sure. In truth, he could've blocked her out. Or at least he believed he could've. But chose not to. He was trying to earn trust with her and though this was a violation of [i]his[/i] privacy, if she needed to go this far to verify something, so be it. He felt that was all it was. A searching. Not malicious.

A relieved breath escaped his lips as the pressure lifted and he felt justified in his decision to let her probe, feeling no worse for wear.

Scott's attention had gone between the two and he registered how Xavier seemed fine now. His suspicions of Ryder having done something were all but confirmed when she spoke again, looking almost like a different person by her utterly taken aback countenance. 

Several words more and confusion and shock became a shared experience.

Neither Scott nor Xavier, however, were about to just accept this at face value. Not that this girl's -[i]Ryder's[/i] honesty was being called into question. Her emotional state seemed to track. But false information could easily be implanted. Especially with her anger returned, calm and clear-thinking were the order of the day. 

That being said, Scott couldn't help processing in his thoughts: [color=#0096FF][i]'"They". Umbra?'[/i][/color] Just who were these people?

[color=#7393B3]"How do you know this, Ryder?"[/color] Matching how he felt, Xavier's voice conveyed a desire for surety, not doubt towards Ryder herself. She'd said a piece of him was taken. Looking upon her now, Xavier tried to think back. How old was she? Where had he been that many years ago? Were there any strange occurrences in his memory to recall?

Scott was staying quiet, not derailing the potential flow of further information. But inside of his head he had his own questions. [color=#0096FF][i]'If this is true is she their anomaly or their standard of operation?'[/i][/color] It called into question for him the origin of all of their charges. [i]If[/i] this was true. And if it was, what else might it mean? 

Was "a piece" of Xavier taken because he happened to be the accessible mutant at the time? Or by specific design? The latter felt more likely...And if so, then Becker's -and potentially other staff's- psi-blocking capability...was it an after-the-fact thing, [i]after[/i] they had the potential to create a child from a powerful psychic? Or was it established at the outset; such a child being their gameplan all along. 

And if so...was it the person or the power? 
Was Ryder only one of more planned?

[color=#0096FF][i]'Why did they contact Jean?'[/i][/color] His tension increased.
What really was preventing her from contacting him and the Professor?