[i]Outside the Mansion[/i]

[color=#D3D3D3]"And one more deep, slow breath in,"[/color] Storm spoke, voice full of reverence for the air. She'd been using her powers to make the immediately surrounding air the choicest in terms of temperature and moisture content for Cyclops' exercises.

His actions matched her words ahead of them being said. He held the breath at its peak, as he was supposed to for a few seconds.

Jean joined them: [color=#DAA06D]"How's it going out here?"[/color]

Cyclops released the breath. [color=#0096FF]"Much easier with Storm's assistance."[/color]
Halfway through the average recovery timeline for broken ribs, the pain was still excruciating, but he was getting there.

[color=#D3D3D3]"People often forget the benefits of simply breathing well!"[/color]

[color=#0096FF]"How'd the meeting go?"[/color]

Jean was on the cusp of answering when she flinched as though violently struck --her hand immediately going to her head.

Cyclops was already stepping towards her as he exchanged a look with Storm. [color=#0096FF]"Jean?"[/color]
He placed his hand on her.

Jean gradually opened her eyes with the subsiding pain. It had happened again, that much was clear by Ryder's words before the hit. 
Unintentionally Jean must've "connected". . .this realization troubled her anew.

[color=#D3D3D3]"Are you alright? What just happened?"[/color]

[color=#DAA06D]"Yes. I'm fine. . .Just a sudden wave."[/color]

[color=#0096FF]"She's awake. Isn't she?"[/color]

Jean looked at him. She hadn't wanted to be specific; no avoiding it, now.
[color=#DAA06D]"I think she and Charles are talking."[/color]

[color=#D3D3D3]"Do we take this as his assumptions proven true?"[/color]

[color=#DAA06D]"Maybe. Ryder's mind is hard to read. . .It's been more active than one typically would be in a coma, yet less active than a mind awake. 
At least it's felt that way."[/color]

[color=#D3D3D3]"If she's conscious enough to affect her surroundings and has been for longer than today, she's shown remarkable restraint."[/color]

[color=#DAA06D]"With what she's endured, she's probably used to shutting down, escaping some place in her mind. . .Even treating her medically has probably felt invasive."[/color]

Cyclops inclined his head with thought. 
When it came to Ryder, he was of two minds. 
That face-off in the parking lot which flashed his mind back to the worst moment in Jean's life (precipitating the worst in his). . .How could someone Ryder's age cope with all that power? 
Though "cope with" wasn't an accurate descriptor for her relationship with her powers. If anything, she seemed to relish the amount she had. And where Jean had lost control, Ryder seemed to have it in spades.

That was what Cyclops found remarkable. And understandable.
Given the life Ryder was subjected to, any chance she had to actually have a sense of control she likely put every scrap of her energy into, once she recognized it. 

On his own level, Cyclops could relate to that kind of needing.
But like with Jean, the similarities warped.

If Cyclops lost control, [b]bad[/b] things could happen. It was a fear he still carried with him.
Due caution and attention still given every time he switched his eyewear. Routine, yet never to the point where he just did it on automatic. 

In contrast, Ryder didn't seem to care about hurting people. On the one hand, that could be explained away by her upbringing. She seemed to view people under the typing of the Umbra scientists: there to restrict her, to [i]take[/i] control [i]from[/i] her. Seeing her as less than human. . .and so she viewed them; a learned mentality.
Her manner then was more "psychology interrupted" than psychopathy -it wasn't like she'd seemed to get off on the hurting. She didn't stand there watching Cyclops bleed out after she'd shot him. 
Only did what she'd deemed necessary, then moved on to the next step towards freedom.

On the other hand, did the rationale of it matter when she could maim and even kill people without a second thought?

More than her power, [i]this[/i] was what troubled Cyclops. 

Though he didn't actually know if it went [i]that[/i] far. . .As far as he did, the only time Ryder actually had killed was the massacre. , .he'd "witnessed it" only as much as what he'd heard and felt in his body, having not made it far enough to see. But to hear Wolverine -who'd been tasked with getting Ryder- tell it. 

Then, whether playing possum or not, Ryder had been "unconscious". There'd been no time to see what affect her part in the event had had on herself. Maybe the moment was one that would stay with her. . .

[center][i]Boys on a playground, bullying another who wore ruby quartz glasses.
One got all up in his personal space, actually managing to knock them off.
He hadn't even known he had powers before that moment-
the boy who'd cause them to release, standing right in front of him,
Never had a chance to realize what just happened.[/i][/center]
[hr]
Xavier grew serious. [color=#7393B3]"I do apologize. They are not mere words when I say I do not view you as the weapon Umbra seemed to fear, or prompt, you to be. Keeping you in here should not have been done. If you will see us out of this place in your mind, I will see you out of the Danger Room."[/color]