"It is good to see you again, Ororo." Professor Xavier was currently sitting inside a rather quaint coffee shop just a brief 15 minutes away from the mansion's ground. He was quite fond of the place, it was small yet cozy, and the air always had a faint pleasant smell of freshly baked goods. The fact that it was one of the few stores that had a ramp certainly helped. Truly a hidden gem within the hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps, but the best part of it all was the great company he had to enjoy it with.
"Yes, it has been quite some time hasn't it, Charles?"
There really was nothing quite like chatting with an old friend over some quality hot coffee and tea. The cup was the perfect size to fit snuggly in his palms, banishing the morning chill like nothing else. The rich earthy aroma teased his nose and stimulated his appetite and he was looking forward to when his other order of sandwich and fries would come out. It was too bad he wasn't here just for pleasure. His eyes trailed from his steaming expresso to the woman sitting across the table from him.
Her deep blue eyes watched him carefully and in turn, he observed her. It had been quite some time since he had last seen her and Charles could remember their first meeting as if it was yesterday. Truly, the young pickpocket all those years ago had grown up into a fine woman. She had gone from a small malnourished petty thief in Cairo to someone with a Master's Degree in education. Ororo Munroe now stood at a respectable height of 5'11 and had grown out her wavy white hair, like a milky river flowing through the desert it rested against the bare back of her dress and the juxtaposition with her darker almond complexion complemented her well.
"Yes, indeed, how time flies. Truly, I wished that this meeting was only for old friends to catch up, but I have something rather important I would like to discuss with you."
The woman just stirred her tea as she calmly listened to Xavier, her face blank as she waited for him to finish not showing a single hint of the thousands of thoughts racing through her mind. It wasn't anything she hadn't heard before all those years ago, but rather than some far off distant pipe dream, it sounded as if her old friend has been putting some real groundwork to manifest it into reality. She had to admit, even if only to herself, she was quite curious about the two children currently under the war veteran's care.
"They're good kids, Ororo," his voice was soft as the smile currently on his face "Both cursed with burdens far too heavy for any person to handle from the moment of their birth. I want to help them, no, I want to help all mutants... But I can't do it alone. Please, won't you help me achieve co-existence? For the future of mutant-kind and so nobody else will have to suffer as we have."
Co-existence.
What a beautiful word, but she knew all too well that even the most beautiful of roses has its thorns. Still, she wanted to give holding it a try regardless. After all, Ororo had always considered herself as someone with quite the green thumb.
"Tell me more about this school of yours, Charles."
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Andrew didn't quite know what to expect when he heard about a new teacher joining the Xavier's Mansion. Would it be Wolverine? Forge? Storm? Perhaps Beast?
Even when the person in question was idly considered, he was caught flat-footed when he actually met the real deal. He certainly wasn't expecting a bronze skinned Goddess to show up at their front door, that was for certain. There was something distinctly different from knowing about someone, seeing them on T.V or in static comic book pages, and then being in the presence of the real thing in the flesh.
She was absolutely breathtaking, and he was he didn't even need to breathe anymore!
Because if he did he would've probably passed out from oxygen deprivation a while ago. Man, the constant looming threat of death and minor existential crisis on if he was "real" or not aside, maybe being in the Marvel universe wasn't so bad after all!
He was just recently made aware/reminded of how utterly gorgeous and insanely beautiful superheroes and villains could be in comics. He muttered a small apology to whichever God was listening for complaining so much during his first week.
"Do you, um, need help with your bags, miss..?" He finally remembered how to use his tongue after checking out the resident Weather Goddess. She had just gotten out of her taxi and there were two large suitcases beside her along with a handbag clutched in her arms. Jean wasn't strong enough to carry them and her telekinesis still wasn't quite reliable enough for such tasks yet. She didn't randomly blow things up or make them float anymore, but her movement was still shaky at best.
And having Professor X carry luggage... Yeah, no, so obviously he was the only reasonable option.
"Oh, that's fine dear, I've got it. My name is Ororo Munroe, by the way. I'm an old friend of Charles and starting from tomorrow, your new assistant teacher. I hope we'll all get along." A smile full of pearly white and he almost forgot his own name, thankfully Jean's energetic introduction knocked him out of his daze in time.
"Imdrew. Er, no! I mean, Andrew, my name that is. Andrew Williams. It's very nice to meet you, Ororo- and are you sure?"
She waved her hand and gave a small laugh, and gosh if that wasn't the more beautiful sound he ever heard.
"Yes, I'm quite alright. There's no need to trouble yourself."
"Are you really sure..? Those look quite heavy. I don't mind, honest."
"My, what a gentleman you are! Very well if you insist, how about you-"
Just as Ororo extended her arm to hand over her small handbag, Andrew quickly closed the distance between them and promptly lifted both suitcases at once, his form that of his 16-year-old self. Well, maybe with some bonuses. Like another couple inches in height. A clearer complexion without any acne. Some more muscles packed onto his skinny frame to look toned. And maybe his eyes originally weren't as bright an amber as it was now and used to be a dull brown.
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Ok so maybe a tiny bit more embellished than his original looks, but so what if he tried to show off in front of a girl? Sue him.
He carefully made sure to not bump into anything nor shake the luggage in case there was something fragile inside as he leads Ororo to her room with enthusiasm, just across the hall from his and Jean's own. He guess Xavier must have already told Storm about his powers, or rather what little he told the older man.
1. Limited Animal mimicry
2. Limited shapeshifting similar to Mr. Fantastic.
3. Basic overall physical enhancements.
Still, he'd like to think she was mildly impressed with his display. He ignored the stupid voice in the back of his head telling him that to her he was physically 13 and it would be sick and gross to purse a relationship with him. He was mentally older!
What can he say? He was a sucker for romance and pretty faces and fell in "love" easily. He was also a slight pervert, but hey, so were all teenage boys and guys in general.
"There you go Ororo! If you need anything else, please feel free to let me know."
"Thank you very much for your help, Andrew. I appreciate it."
"Me too! I've been here even longer than Andy here, so if you have any questions you can ask m- Oh! I know! Since you haven't been here before how about I give you a grand tour of the mansion? Cmon, let's go!"
The two of them gave a pair of helpless laughs as they were dragged away by the hyper child, one of them not even able to unpack or relax from her long trip, but was going along with it anyways. It was nice to see such vigor and life in these youths who have led such a harsh life.
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Ororo, or rather the newly christened Storm had settled in well since her arrival. Charles had to give himself a mental pat on the back at his timing as Jean has been starting to show signs of puberty, and worlds greatest telepath or not there were somethings he just wasn't prepared for.
Fight an evil body-snatching psionic entity in the deserts of Cairo? No problem.
Outmaneuver secret government agents trying to spy on him and other mutants? Child's play.
Treading through battlefields? Well, he might have lost the use of his legs, but he came out of it more or less whole.
Teaching a young girl about the birds and the bees and the changes her body was going through? Now that was a tall order. Thankfully his old friend had joined them, her womanly touch was of vital essence. He was not a religious man, but he thanked his lucky stars that Andrew seemed to already know about "the talk" and spared both of them the awkwardness.
Speaking of Andrew, there was something quite strange about the boy.
He wasn't a mutant. Oh, sure, the boy had some interesting powers, but very few things can get past his sharp eyes or his even sharper mind. The boy's brain waves were completely different from what he recognized as a mutant's. In fact, his "mind" was downright bizarre all things considered.
What is a person or a mind but our memories? Thoughts, emotions, all dictate our behavior and hence our past and future are intrinsically linked, but at the end of the day, they are merely patterns in our nervous system caused by communication between neurons within our brains. Brainwaves, and the entity we know as ourselves are merely a by-product of synchronized electrical pulses from neurons communicating with each other.
And with his many years of experience, he has learned to use his telepathic powers to sense these faint emissions and recognize the unique frequency of a mutant.
Frankly, he didn't know what to make of young Andrew's signature. It wasn't mutant, but neither was it "human". Something completely different, and the worst part of it was how it seemed to change every day in seemingly random and strangely outlandish ways.
The other day he could've sworn the boy was a turkey of all things!
He almost feared he was going senile in his old age, but it seems the boy's mimicry went farther than he thought once he demonstrated the ability. The structure of his mind was unlike anything the professor had ever encounter, swirling darkness, a thousand voices, flashes of the most intense emotions and vibrant scenery of nature, animalistic growls, and hoots.
Trying to search through the boy's memories was already a task in and of itself, comprehending the absolute mess and sensory overload it came with? Far more difficult.
Still, he had acquired what he was looking for without delving too deeply and invading the boy's privacy, a fact he felt slight guilt over but had to ensure he wasn't an unknown threat or spy from S.H.I.E.L.D. Those have been sniffing around far too close to home lately for his comfort, especially when his plans for a better world was still in its infancy.
A few impressions strongly imprinted on the boy's psyche, buried deep down in his subconscious. A young girl with claws, a boy in a bright red and blue costume swinging through the air, a girl in a brown trench coat scared to touch anyone, a myriad of fantastical people and places flashed by so fast he couldn't comprehend it all, all the same- some things stood out and was made clear.
Fear, confusion.
A burning childish wonder and hope.
A deep yearning for change, of love and acceptance.
A budding determination for altruism. No, rather, the proper words all but shoved itself in his face.
"I want to be a hero."
It was all he needed to know before he subtly left and erased any traces of his unwanted intrusion. It also helped that Jean had been just oh so very excited seeing another child hopefully joining her.
It has been a hard and lonely two years for young Jean Grey. The traumatic death of her best friend, leaving her home for a strange new place, her uncontrollable powers forcing her to stay locked indoors most of the day. He tried his best, but in the end what she truly needed wasn't another grown up, but a friend her age.
So he turned a blind eye to the "deception" of his newest charge. Mutant or not, a young outcast child had come to his doors in seek of aid and sanctuary and it would be anathema to turn him away. Although he did have a good bout of laughter in the privacy of his study watching how excited the boy was after he was accepted.
Trying to lie to the world's strongest telepath probably wasn't the smartest idea, like a child with a face smeared with crumbs and chocolate stained fingers trying to deny eating the cookies in the cookie jar.
It just wasn't something you do.
Besides, you didn't need to be a mind reader to see the holes in the boy's story. Heck, a simple phone call and he could confirm that Moira did not in fact see nor hear about any such young boy, nor his colleague Dr. Connor.
The boy was a mystery but he meant no harm so Charles was content to watch things play out, perhaps in time the boy will come to trust them enough to tell the truth and whatever he was hiding.
He rolled closer to the window of his study on the second floor, peeking out and watching the kids playing in the yard with Storm and a large smile grew on his face.
He didn't see three "freaks" or "demons" as the more ignorant masses did. No, he saw his growing and unlikely family, just three youths enjoying life without the stigmatization of society weighing them down. It did his old heart some good and renewed his own determination more than ever.
His break was soon over and he went back to his table, there laying on it was a helmet. Large, bulky, metalic and with wires sticking out here and there.
It looked like a prop of some steampunk cosplay, but it would be instrumental in his plans. A method to track down and locate Mutants all over the world so that he could gather them and help them master their powers. Teach them about co-existence and integration into society and the world. It would enhance his already prodigal Psychic abilities and help him focus it to home in on those like him, so that he could sense those with the X Gene across the country, and hopefully the world.
"Cerebro... It all starts from here."