Chapter 2
June 9th, 2014
Charles Xavier, being the gentleman that he was, had set out tea for us. Logan took a beer. Not one of us was surprised.
I was glad for the tea. Tony liked to joke that I was a fanboy, but it was true. I tended to get pretty starstruck when I met my heroes, and the X-Men had been my heroes for a very long time. Ever since the 90’s cartoon I watched as a kid.
Having the tea gave me a chance to focus. We had a lot to talk about.
I took a sip of my drink before speaking. “The problem, Mr. Xavier, is that while I understand why you and others are worried about hiding your powers, waiting for society to be ‘ready’ for the reveal of mutants is a losing battle.”
“Is it?” Xavier sipped his own drink. “You’ve seen how the public currently responds to superhumans. Even those like Captain America, respected individuals among the community, or Tony Stark, someone who only gained ‘abilities’ through technology, have those who hate and fear them. Despite my efforts, there are those in the world who know about mutants, who exploit them. How much worse do you think it would be if the whole world knew about us? Knew about our potential?”
“You could make the argument that they would do that no matter what. And at this point, you’re already pretty deep in the hole,” I said. “For one thing, people are going to argue you should have helped fight off all the bullshit that’s popped up. Think about it. Maybe back when the Chitauri first showed up you could claim that those mutants with combat ability were too surprised to head in to fight.
“But since then, we have had a dozen different problems. Problems that at the least you could have helped with,” I said, indicating all three.
Logan scoffed. “Bub, we have enough problems without taking on the rest of the world’s.”
“Oh, that’s right. Guess the rest of the world will take that into account,” I said sarcastically. “Keep in mind, every point I make is from the perspective of that. The WORLD. It’s full of dicks, with all the intelligence of it.”
Ororo made a small noise that drew our attention. “Dial, I understand where you’re coming from. But mutants aren’t a united force, we are people all across the world. Even in this school, we only have six students. Students. They have already faced enemies we would have rather they didn’t. We couldn’t send them into warzones.”
“I absolutely agree. I get it. You can’t speak for every mutant. But you three could have helped. Even if it wasn’t combat, Rio needed as many people to help as it could get.”
Charles shook his head sadly. “And I did do what I could.”
Huh?
At my confusion, he smirked. “During the course of the efforts, I guided as many of the rescuers to victims as I could. It was difficult, something about the way Rio was hit affected the psychic plane, but I did what I could.”
“That’s-”
“Not going to matter,” Charles finished for me. He leaned back in his seat, frowning. “Yes, I’ve been worried about that for some time.”
“Professor, people were going to fear us no matter what,” Logan said dismissively. “Half the kids are walking weapons.”
“That is no reason to make it easier,” Xavier admonished. “I must admit, Dial, I’ve been struggling with that question for some time. While I do wish for the children to have normal lives, that is quickly becoming impossible. This world we live in will begin to draw them in. It may be time for us adults to step into the light.”
“That’s gonna lead to a lot of trouble,” Logan pointed out.
“Agreed,” Storm sighed. “If we reveal ourselves, enemies who once held back out of a need for secrecy will feel no need to.”
“Then you don’t have to reveal the full truth, do you?” I frowned. “People might eventually figure out the full x-gene thing. But right now, you can just step out as another powered human if you want. Same as me, Cap, or any of the rest.”
Logan scoffed. “I ain’t one for the limelight, bub.”
God, I wanted to laugh my ass off at that. Wolverine Publicity was hilarious considering how much he would have hated it. Logan continued.
“How about you, Storm? Feeling eager to get turned into a celebrity?”
“I have faced similar prospects before,” she said idly. She sighed, looking over at Charles.
The bald psychic looked troubled. “In truth, I had been considering it. If Emma hadn’t forced my hand, I likely would have approached BRIDGE some time ago.”
“I knew that icy bitch was going to ruin something,” Logan growled.
“She nearly wiped my mind out,” I grumbled.
“We heard about that. Are you okay?” Ororo asked, her eyes soft.
“I’ll live. She won’t.” Logan smirked at that. Then I sighed, running a hand through my beard. “As for this? Well. I can’t exactly force you guys to expose mutants as a whole to the world. But you gotta understand, you were already in a precarious state.”
I raised my hand and started counting on my fingers. “Let’s list off all the Biomorphic Events, shall we?”
“Bio-what?” Logan asked.
“Catalysts that change a species' baseline abilities,” Xavier said.
“We got enhanced. That’s Captain America, Deathlok, Vanguard. Gamma mutates, that’s Hulk and She-Hulk. People with alien genetics, like Thor, those enhanced by items, like me, then cosmic beings like Ares, magic users, and people changed by magic. Now, there are super-geniuses like Iron Man and Crimson Dynamo, so smart it’s basically a power. Technically that doesn’t as a biomorphic event, but they still fit into a tier of their own-”
“You got a point here, bub?” Logan asked, annoyed.
I held up my six fingers. “That’s the ones people can google search. But then there are the hidden ones,” two more fingers.
“One is us. What is the other?”
“Inhumans. People whose ancestors' DNA was modified, so now if they encounter a special substance they end up with a random superpower,” I explained. “But then, there are mutants… god, there needs to be a less problematic name for that.”
“I’ll workshop it in marketing,” Logan snarked.
“But yeah. The rest of us need to at least encounter some sort of event, make something, take a chemical, to get our powers. Whereas you guys just need to hit puberty. Hell, in some cases not even that.”
Seriously, the number of mutants who’d had their full powers since birth was kind of ridiculous when you thought about it.
“And then we have the randomness of it all,” I pointed at Logan. “Super healing, senses, and claws. Powerful, but not galaxy changing,” I pointed at Ororo. “A literal hurricane waiting to happen, with weather changing on a level Thor has asked about,” Ororo blinked at that, curiosity on her face, while I pointed at Charles. “Come on Prof, do I even need to explain why you’re ridiculous?”
“I shall take that as a compliment,” he said with some real humility. “Still, I must agree with you, Mr. Schahed. For one thing, had I approached BRIDGE some time ago, I may have been within your vicinity sooner, and been able to sense your mental block.”
“You ever find out who made it?” Logan asked us.
Charles and I shared a look. After all, Emma may have taken advantage of it, but someone had placed it there… most probable suspect was Professor Paradox. Likely the block made sure I didn’t bring in the X-Men before it would have been perfect for the timeline.
But we kept that to ourselves. Bringing him up wouldn’t be useful. He’d do things for the benefit of the timeline, but he’d only step in if needed. For now, just us doing our own thing was fine.
“It doesn’t matter,” Charles said at last. “We’ll continue to maintain the blocks we placed on far more antagonistic sorts however.”
Logan and I had the same uncomfortable looks on our faces. I’d guessed he had a similar history to his alternates, a history of mindwipes and mental blocks. After my stint, I was just as disturbed.
But there were some people who would end up killing thousands if they regained their memories of mutants. Until BRIDGE was ready, we’d have to let Charles keep them in the dark.
“Then I suppose we have a plan,” Ororo brought us back on topic. “I suppose this will keep Evan from asking me if I’m going to become an Avenger,” she added with a chuckle.
I grinned. But that did bring up something.
“...Speaking of the kids,” I leaned back in my seat.
“Don’t even think about asking them to fight,” Logan snarled.
“Calm down, Papa Logan,” my quip made Ororo hide a smile as Logan growled. “I don’t want teenagers fighting terrorists. I’m not Dumbledore. But Charles, I gotta say, for a guy who wants peace between ‘mutants’ and humans, you have a tendency to make this school pretty insular.”
Logan and Ororo looked over at him. Charles pressed his hands together, a thoughtful look on his face. “Yes. I suppose I do,” the words were said with a sort of, confused and mystified tone. “My plan was always to integrate mutants into society. To train them, yes, keep them safe from those who would bring them harm. But I never planned on making my school mutant-only.”
And yet, it always was. In terms of comic writing, that was likely because actually having teenage heroes that weren’t mutants, like the Young Avengers and Runaways, added to the school would have ended in some confusion.
Didn’t make sense for Xavier’s goals though. And both Charles and I knew that looking at the multiverse from a fictional perspective just didn’t work. These were real places, with real people. And that meant that these dozens of Xaviers had somehow decided to make the same decision every time.
Fight for peace, but also keep mutants separate from humans.
Of course, Logan brought up a good point. “Not like we could have taken any human students in. Too much of a chance the brats would tell people about it.”
“We’re simply thinking about the future, Logan,” Ororo said kindly. “One day, our students might be able to be open with their powers.”
“Possibly with other powered people,” I pointed out. “There aren’t too many kids right now with powers, but a large batch of the Graveyard Survivors were teens. BRIDGE is doing their best with them, but they might benefit from a more school-like setting.”
“Graveyard Survivors?” Ororo asked.
I winced. “Well… a while back, there was this Hydra Facility. A dumping ground, really. We found it full of Hydra’s failed experiments. When they tested out making superhumans of their own. And when those tests didn’t end in the results they wanted, well… Some of them were found in a state of near death. Most were in some kind of… heavily altered state. Charles, could you share my memory of that?”
Charles lowered his gaze. I felt his presence in my mind. Then Logan and Ororo’s expressions changed. Ororo looked sickened. Logan was pissed, his overly sharp canines flashing.
“Luckily, the Omnitrix helped out most of them. But those who ended up with powers are still learning. Some of them, the quick learners, are now a part of STRIKE. Others have new identities or went back to their families. Still, we do have kids, like I said. Some with new super-soldier powers, some similar to my friend Creel, others with new gamma mutations.
“I’m not going to force you to accept them, but if you really want to make a school to teach kids, or even adults, with powers? A place where they’ll be safe? Well. I can help with that.”
“Intriguing,” Xavier leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. “Yes, I can see that. We’ll need more teachers as time passes of course. Right now, our children go to Bayville High for their general schooling, but if we become public that may need to change.”
“Like I said, that’s something the Avengers will help with.”
“Not BRIDGE, right?” Logan said.
“Logan,” Ororo admonished gently.
“Hey, I don’t want the government sticking their noses in if we can help it,” he snarled.
Fair enough. “Just the Avengers. Privately. Maria Hill will be keeping an eye on things of course, but any help we give is going to be on our own. Tony Stark is actually interested in building the defenses of this place further, and a friend of mine, X, is hoping you’ll accept his application to teach here.”
“I likely will, depending on his credentials,” Charles then blinked when I sent him those credentials mentally. “Oh… well that is quite unique.”
Ororo pressed a hand to her cheek. “Sadly, this won’t all be solved in a single conversation. If Logan and I do go public as members of the Avengers, we’ll have a lot to deal with. And then of course, there are the children.”
“Yeah, we’d like to avoid the kids being forced to fight. But you know-”
Logan interrupted me. “Shit happens.”
Ain’t that the truth.
“And what about you?” Charles asked me.
“Me?”
“Yes. We’ve spoken about your compatriots. But would you like to teach at our school as well? During your off-hours?”
That threw me for a loop. “Uh, I don’t think I’m really qualified for that.”
“I disagree,” Charles smiled. “In fact, you are more qualified than most. You have a unique insight into my students.”
“Because of-?”
He stopped me with a raised hand. “No. Not because of your multiversal knowledge. Rather, because of your familiarity with having powers of your own. As well as the drawbacks of those powers.”
Oh. That was a reasonable thought.
“While you may be a boon to us as a sparring partner, I would value you far more for the aid you can give those students who may be dealing with troublesome abilities,” I immediately thought of two. “At the least, consider a trail run.”
…Well, my mom and dad did want me to be a teacher when I was younger.
Before I could think further, I heard something at the door. So did the others. We all looked over at it. For a moment, a long one, I thought about changing forms. This was the Xavier Mansion. One of the top three most attacked locations in Marvel. But logic made me realize who it probably was.
Charles smiled. “Students.”
The noise stopped.
“Come on in, brats,” Logan said, though he sounded more fond than annoyed.
The door opened after a long moment. I couldn’t help a grin as I watched them walk in. In full costume.
First, a tall young man, so tall I’d have thought him a full adult if it wasn’t for his baby face, a flop of brown hair on his head, his eyes hidden under a visor. Scott Summers. Cyclops. He looked super-guilty. It was adorable, like a puppy who got caught eating slippers.
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He was followed by a pretty redheaded girl wearing a headband around her head and very green eyes that held a bit of chagrin. Her hair was left loose, and she was wearing a similar costume to Scott, just with a bit of green. Easy enough to point her out as Jean Grey. Though I didn’t know if she went by any of her code names like Marvel Girl. Or Phoenix. Doubt the Phoenix Force had arrived yet after all…
As I was contemplating that mess, another girl stepped in. Even younger than Jean and Scott, just a bit older than Shuri and Ruby really, with brown hair set into a high ponytail with a set of pink beads to hold it up. Kitty Pryde, aka Shadowcat, looking cute as a button, with a blue scheme to her costume.
The next kid was younger still. He looked sort of like Ororo, with the same cheekbones. His hair was blonde as well, though yellow rather than white, and he had cocky energy to him, reminding me of Pietro. Evan Daniels, Spyke, the nephew of Storm.
Finally, he entered. Blue fur across his body, with hair that had a hint of blue tint as well. He had a tail, three fingers, and two toes. He also looked nervous as hell, though he grinned back at me when I met his gold eyes. Kurt Wagner, known as Nightcrawler, looked the least guilty, which made me think this whole thing was his idea.
“Looks like you all are dressed to party,” I noted.
“Against our orders,” Ororo said sternly. “We told you this meeting was to be in private for now.”
Scott winced. “Sorry Professors. We just… got curious.”
“Yeah, for good reason!” Evan popped in. “Auntie, you’re going to be an Avenger?”
“Well, reserve at least,” I said. “She still gets her own action figures, but she doesn’t need to join us full time.”
“Action figures?” Storm asked.
“With kung fu action if you want.”
“That is so cool!” Kurt chimed in with a thick German accent, the blue-furred kid said, popping into the room with a familiar ‘BAMF’ sound, stopping just in front of me. “Dial, right? I’m such a huge fan!”
“He has your poster in his room,” Kitty added, sounding like a Valley Girl, grinning as she walked in.
“Kitty!”
“Seriously?” I asked, just a bit surprised. “Guess we should trade autographs, huh?”
All this time and I was still thrown that I was actually famous. Not because I was humble or anything, just that I wasn't used to it.
“Trade? That would be amazing!” Kurt said excitedly.
“Children, please,” Charles said. “Let’s be more polite to our guest, shall we?”
“Yes, Professor,” Kurt looked chagrined. “Just… not every day we get an Avenger in here.”
“It’ll happen more often,” I said, leaning over.
“Does that mean we’ll be teaming up sometimes?” Scott asked, a bit of the kid in him coming out. “We heard some of what you guys were talking about.”
The kids all started talking at once. Except Jean, who was looking a bit weirdly at me. I pushed aside whatever that could mean to focus on the kids.
“Well, like I told your teachers. I’d prefer not to get you guys involved in missions if I could help it. You have powers, and you should learn to defend yourselves. But having you along on say, a mission to take down weapons manufacturers in India is not something we’re ready for. More likely some of us will help with training if Professor X asks. That said, if you guys do need help with some bigger threat,” at that point, Charles whispered to me mentally that the kids didn’t know that Magneto or Juggernaut were a thing yet. “We’re more than happy to jump in.”
“So we’re going to get training from Avengers?” Evan asked excitedly. “That’s awesome!”
“What, Wolverine and Storm aren’t cool enough for you?” I asked.
“Awwww, Logan and Auntie are cool, but they aren’t famous, you know?”
Ah, Evan, if only you knew.
“About that,” Logan said, drawing attention. “What are you brats doing in your uniforms?”
“...” They all shuffled in place.
“We kind of thought he was here asking for help on a mission?” Scott said nervously.
Logan took a deep breath, then rubbed at his eyes with the deliberate movements teachers the world over did so often. “So you put on your uniforms?”
“That’s kind of adorable,” I said with a grin, getting an offended look from the kids. Kids. What sort of world was I in where the X-Men were kids to me? Yeesh.
“Well, I’m sad to say I’m not going on a mission right now,” I leaned forward. “That said, boys and girls, we’ll probably do a few of those. And I do come bearing gifts.”
I reached into my pockets and began taking out cards, handing them out.
“Business cards?” Jean asked, speaking for the first time. She took one from me, then jumped when the white card lit up. A gold X flashed into being. “Whoa.”
“That card is something the Avengers had been using for a while. It’s a communications unit capable of working just about anywhere. It’ll also let you into the Avengers Tower.”
“We get to visit the tower!?” Kurt said happily, his German accent getting stronger. “Dude, that’s awesome!”
“Calm down, Elf, I doubt he’s just doing this out of the goodness of his heart,” Logan looked at his card suspiciously. “I bet these are trackers too.”
“Well yeah, duh,” I said instantly. When the students stared at me in betrayal I shook my head. “Guys, you know how often heroes get lost mid-adventure? I once got lost in the middle of a jungle full of dinosaurs, enslaved, forced into gladiatorial combat against dino-human hybrids, and rode through a prehistoric city on a dragon's back to escape. All because my friends couldn’t find me and my Omnitrix broke.”
“Like, are you joking right now?” Kitty asked, surprised.
“Not in the slightest,” I nodded at the cards. “In the case of an emergency, the cards can let others track your location. We still don’t have anything in case of dimensional travel off of Earth, but it’ll send out as best a signal as it can in case you’re just on a different plane.”
“That would have been useful a while back,” Kurt said half-jokingly. “Can we call each other?”
“Yes, text, access the internet, all the things a smartphone can do. But I don’t recommend using it outside the mansion.”
“Oh yeah, new favorite toy!” Kitty said happily.
“Yo, this has a camera!” Evan cheered.
The adults in the room shared a look. I decided to let them enjoy it for now, but continued. “The real important thing is that it means the Avengers can come in if you need extra help. If something comes up and you guys might need extra muscle? We’re in.”
“That might be real useful down the road,” Jean said with a smile. “Especially if the Brotherhood decides to attack us again.”
Oh yeah. Those idiots.
“Anyways, I don’t only come with fancy business cards. Scott, I hear you’ve got trouble controlling your powers.”
Scott winced. A few of the others looked over at him, Jean in particular looking saddened. “Yeah. You could say that.”
I rose to my feet, sighing. Honestly. Why was it this poor guy's destiny to have uncontrollable eye beams?
“I’m not going to beat around the bush. I might have a solution.”
“Really!” Jean looked ecstatic. “Scott would love that!”
He looked stunned as well.
“Well, I said might. Tony and I developed this,” I reached into a pocket and brought out a big watch, about the size of the OG Omnitrix. “Well, we had some help of course. But basically, it needs to be calibrated. So… who wants to show me to the Danger Room?”
The looks of confusion I got didn’t stop me from feeling a bit giddy. Danger Room. That was gonna rule.
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In the Danger Room, Scott and I stood alone. The others were up in a control room above looking down at us.
Really though man, the Danger Room. A big old semi-spherical room, empty right now. Still, if it was anything like the X-Men media, this place might suddenly turn into a big old obstacle course. When I’d told Tony about it, he’d spent some time wondering where the hell the tech for that came from, before getting to work on redesigning one for our own use.
Right now though, it was just Scott and I in an empty room. He was adjusting the oversized watch on his wrist nervously. “Are you sure about this, Mr. Schahed? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Believe me, if you could hurt me like this, I’d have died a while back,” I tapped the Omnitrix, shifting quickly into a new form.
“Feedback!”
In the control room, I heard a loud shout of glee. Heh. As a fanboy myself, I approved.
“Man, that is weird looking. Uh, no offense,” Scott said as he looked over my alien form.
I lifted a hand tipped with gold and gave him a massive Feedback grin. “None taken. I like to think looking kinda weird is a fine trade-off for sweet powers. Now. Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” Scott still looked nervous. “Mr. Schah-”
“Dial. Call me Dial.”
“...Dial. Will this really work?”
“If it doesn’t, then it will still be good for us,” I pointed at the watch. “That power stabilizer is meant to read data, first and foremost. It will scan you as you fire your laser, and use the data from that to shut down your powers. It should even be able to adjust as you grow older.”
“And it’s not permanent, right?” Scott asked.
“Not a chance. Never know when you might need to keep an eye on the situation,” I punned.
“Ugh, really?” Scott groaned.
“Couldn’t help it. Now. Hit me with it.”
Scott stared at me through his gold visor. Then he took a breath, raising a hand to his visor. I crossed my arms and extended my top tendrils outwards..
Okay. Party time.
The visor opened up. And the sun burst forth. A beam of red as large around as a dinner plate, crackling with energy.
The red beam swirled into me. Just like that, the battle was on. Well, sort of battle. More of a test.
Cyclops’ optic blast hit my plugs and was absorbed into them, flowing into my body. My singular eye crinkled at the feel of it. It was weird. A touch of solar radiation, odd photons, something similar to Thor’s personal energy. Optic blasts felt like they took the flavor of every form of energy Cyclops’ came close to before unleashing it.
Though he wasn’t going all out.
“Come on, Scott. Hit me with all you’ve got!” I shouted over the sound of lasers.
Scott grunted. Then he let just a bit more power unleash. And I sighed.
“Scott, I have absorbed the power of the God of Thunder. I can take in the energy of the Big Bang if I have to. So stop holding back. For the first time in your life, you can unleash all the energy you’ve got, and no one is going to get hurt. So let go!”
“Nnnnn!” Scott fell to a knee. “Fine! Here you go!”
More power. I raised my hands and absorbed energy into them. “Nah, kid! That watch needs to read your full output! So take off that visor!”
“Dial, are you sure-” Charles whispered in my mind.
“It’s fine, Prof X,” I grinned while speaking both mentally and outloud. “Scott! Let go! For the first time in your life, just have some FUN.”
For a moment it was quiet. Then Scott reached for his visor. And when he took it off, a blast the size of a wall headed towards me. The floor under us cracked. The air screamed.
“RAAAAAAAH!!!” Scott shouted and laughed, and I joined in.
Goddamn, this kid was strong. I thought that Sauron had had a lot of energy. Thor’s lightning, Iron Man’s repulsors, those were powerhouses. But Scott was on par with all of them as just a kid. He may have had just one power, but it was a damn good one.
And as he unleashed hell, the watch on his wrist finally let out a loud piercing beep noise. I shouted to Scott. “Okay! Close your eyes and tap the watch!”
Scott staggered to his knees. With a shudder, he closed his eyes. Energy equal to nuclear power plants, stopped by a thin pair of eyelids. God, the physics of the kid would be fun to go over later. For right then, he tapped the watch hesitantly. I lowered my arms, noting the immense heat in the air. The cracked concrete under his feet. The look of exhaustion on his face.
The watch beeped quietly. I sighed in relief. Well, that should have worked.
“...Scott. Open your eyes.”
He seemed so hesitant. Then, slowly, he peeked the lids open. The red glow glimmered there, but then it slowly faded. As I watched, his eyes fully opened. For a long moment, he stared up at me. I looked into his eyes as well.
The pupils glowed a bright red before they slowly faded away, leaving brown and very normal irises there.
He stared at me.
“Huh, you’ve got nice eyes, dude.”
He began to cry as I smiled down at him.
No more red hues for Scott Summers. Not if I could help it.
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I begged off hanging out further. I wanted to let Scott enjoy his new sight. Jean had been crying for him, and the kid seemed to love looking at everything around him with his own eyes. I imagined it was something like a colorblind person seeing color for the first time.
Though with more not blowing away the world around you.
Still, I had more appointments to keep. Scott wasn’t the only one who needed help.
I flew over the city in Astrodactyl form, rocketing through the air at high speed. She was walking alone when I found her, taking a path home. Thankfully few had hair more distinctive than hers.
Aiming for the goth girl with a white stripe through her brown hair, I began to drop towards the ground. First her, then a certain batch of idiots.