The XXX-Gene (Marvel)(Mutant OC)

Chapter 2: Professor X

He manages to refrain from blurting out his disbelief, but it’s definitely a near thing. If he were still Chad Cummings, Boneheaded Football Star, there’s not a doubt in his mind he would have pointed at Professor Xavier and started making shocked monkey noises like a fucking gorilla or something. Still, he keeps himself in check, trying not to let his surprise show too much on his face.
 
Luckily, Principal Badmin is not privy to what the bald, wheelchair-bound Professor just did, so he fills the ensuing silence quite nicely.
 
“This is Professor Charles Xavier, from the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning, Chad! I was just telling him how valuable you are to our High School… and of course, he already had an idea of just how special you are, given he came all this way to meet you in the first place!”
 
That gets a slow blink from Thaddeus, even as the Professor nods along with an amicable smile on his face.
 
“Indeed. As I was just telling your Principal, the Xavier Institute is currently looking to give scholarships to bright, deserving individuals who have shown themselves to be of distinguished quality.”
 
Positively bursting, Principal Badmin nods along with the Professor’s words.
 
“Isn’t that exciting, Chad? Like I told you, Professor, Chad here is definitely deserving of your scholarship. His work ethic is second to none, and his value as an athlete puts him a head above even our smartest students, I would argue! You would do well to get things squared away now, so that he’s able to join up with your Institute as soon as he graduates!”
 
At this, the wheelchair bound Professor pauses.
 
“Ah… it would appear there’s been a minor misunderstanding, Principal Badmin. The Xavier Institute actually accepts students of all ages. This offer is not for the future, but for the present. It is our belief that this young man would be best served continuing and finishing out his education at the Institute in the immediate, rather than in the distant future.”
 
Thaddeus feels a small spark of hope that the Professor’s words, albeit one that’s tempered by his current concerns regarding the man’s psychic abilities. But even as that spark of hope is lit, it’s just as rapidly extinguished when he watches Principal Badmin’s entire demeanor transform in real time. The jovial educator’s people-pleasing attitude disappears in an instant as he realizes that Professor Xavier is not the ally he thought, but in fact an adversary.
 
“Ah, that is indeed a misunderstanding. I’m afraid that wouldn’t be possible. Chad here has responsibilities to the school and his team. The Football Team simply wouldn’t be the same without him, and we couldn’t possibly let him go, you see. I’m sure he’d be happy to consider your Institute once he’s graduated, but until then, I don’t think his educational purposes would be quite as well-served by transferring this late in his Senior Year as you seem to believe.”
 
He should have expected that from Principal Badmin, to be honest. The administrator really wasn’t a bad person… but he had his priorities in order, and those priorities didn’t allow for someone like Thaddeus to slip through his fingers. Heh, in fact, if Thaddeus hadn’t turned his grades around so effectively already, he could almost imagine Principal Badmin using the excuse of failing his classes to hold him back from graduating and keep him at the school another year.
 
Still, if nothing else, Thaddeus is quite curious about this telepathic Professor. As curious as he is wary, as a matter of fact. He might not be able to get out from under Principal Badmin’s thumb just yet, but he won’t lie, he wants answers… answers that Professor Xavier might be able to give him.
 
“I see… would it be possible to speak with young Thaddeus alone, Principal Badmin?”
 
Startling at hearing his preferred name spoken out loud, Thaddeus glances at the Professor, curious about what he’s up to. The Principal on the other hand, only shuts down further.
 
“I’m afraid that wouldn’t be poss-!”
 
And then, it’s like a light switch has been flicked. Suddenly, Principal Badmin is all smiles again, as he stands from his chair.
 
“Ahem, as I was saying, I’m afraid we don’t have any private rooms for you two to speak in… which is why I’m happy to offer you both my own office to speak in privately. I’ll be just outside!”
 
Thaddeus watches the Principal walk around his desk and disappear through the door, blinking dumbly as the door clicks shut behind him. That was… unexpected. And also a little strange. He’s not quite sure what just happened.
 
Thaddeus. I hope you don’t mind me conversing this way with you. Less chance of us being overheard.
 
Stiffening, Thaddeus looks back to the Professor, who gives him a genial smile. In that moment, the blond realizes why Principal Badmin changed his tune. Telepathy… was rather scary, wasn’t it?
 
Yes. My abilities can be used for good and for evil. I do my best to use them responsibly, but I deemed the necessity of interfacing with you in private to be great enough to warrant this little… abuse.
 
Well, at least he knew it was abuse. More than that, Thaddeus privately agreed with the Professor’s decision. Or perhaps not so privately, he realizes in dawning horror. All of his thoughts are laid bare to the Professor, aren’t they?
 
… They are. But fret not. I have little to no interest in plumbing the depths of a teenage boy’s mind, young Thaddeus. Only your surface thoughts are of interest to me in this moment so that we can have this conversation.
 
Great, so as long as Thaddeus didn’t think about- wait, no! Shit!
 
A soft chuckle comes from the Professor’s lips, his eyes twinkling as Thaddeus goes bright red in response.
 
It’s the Pink Elephant dilemma. Being told not to think about anything will always cause you to think about those things. It’s alright though, I do not begrudge you your… youthful pursuits young man. Especially given what they’ve given you so far.
 
Thaddeus is even redder as he finds himself involuntarily thinking about ALL that his ‘youthful pursuits’ had given him. The look on Professor Xavier’s face is a rather dry one, and even his mental ‘tone’ is likewise quite dry.
 
Even if not for the power you’d discovered, I imagine a young man with your looks would have no shortage of female admirers. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Thaddeus. You’ve done nothing wrong.
 
… He knew that of course, but it was still nice to hear it from an adult. After all, he was sure there were plenty of prudes out there that would have considered his somewhat… active sex life to be an abomination against God or something. His parents certainly wouldn’t approve if they knew how many girls he’d been with. Well, his dad might have subtly approved, thinking about it. Still, it was nice to know Professor Xavier wasn’t one of those types.
 
Indeed I am not. In fact, the entire reason I am here is because of your intriguing abilities, Thaddeus. You likely have realized it by now… the power that you’ve begun to tap into is in fact a mutant ability.
 
Oh. Huh, yeah, he had thought that already, hadn’t he? Nice to have it confirmed though. Except… for a brief moment, Thaddeus feels a spike of panic. What if the man in front of him is here on behalf of the government, and he’s being snatched up to be sent to some sort of government facility to be experimented on?!
 
… But even before the Professor can respond to that, Thaddeus realizes how silly such a thing would be. For one thing, the man in front of him is clearly an incredibly powerful telepath, especially if he was able to get Principal Badmin to quite literally change his mind at the drop of a hat. If he wanted to, he could have grabbed Thaddeus at any time instead of going through this whole song and dance.
 
Exactly, right, dear boy. Put simply, I am not with the government. I represent exactly what I have said I represent. The Xavier Institute of Higher Learning truly is made for exceptional people just like you. Put plainly, it is a sanctuary that I have made for mutants to congregate and learn together without facing the discrimination and danger that they would experience anywhere else.
 
It sounds amazing. And yet, at the same time it still sounds scary as well. To his mild bemusement, Thaddeus realizes that now that he has the option right in front of him, he’s not sure he wants to. On the one hand, a large part of him DOES want to escape this life of his before his house of cards can crumble and someone realizes he’s not the normal, All-American Chad Cummings they all think he is.
 
On the other hand, change is hard and he’s admittedly afraid of leaving behind everything he knows. Never seeing his bros on the Football Team again, never seeing the girls he’s been having dalliances with again. It was… well, he just wasn’t sure that he was ready to take that leap.
 
Of course, a moment later he cringes as he realizes the Professor had probably ‘heard’ his every thought just now. But Charles Xavier just gives him a smile and a slight nod.
 
It’s alright, Thaddeus. Change IS hard. I do not expect you to make this decision right this moment. In fact, it’s not a decision that comes with a time limit, nor is it one that CAN be made right this moment. We would need to speak with your parents after all and receive their consent before anything else could happen anyways.
 
Thaddeus blanches at that thought. He hadn’t even considered that his parents would need to sign off on sending him to a Mutant School. They would never agree, so there went that plan. But even as he feels a seed of despair nestling its way into his heart, the Professor is quick to pluck it right back out.
 
Do not fret. It does not necessarily have to be informed consent. If it is your choice to come to my school young man, your parents will be convinced that doing so is the best for you. I am not above misdirection and obfuscation in the pursuit of protecting our kind.
 
Heh, that made him feel better, actually. Though also a little queasy, from the knowing look in Professor Xavier’s eyes, he understood that. The man, despite being quite powerful, was clearly a good man. Either that, or he was using his telepathy to mind control Thaddeus into believing that, in which case there wasn’t much Thaddeus could do in that regard anyways.
 
Perhaps wisely, Professor Xavier doesn’t actually dignify that last thought with a response. Instead, the bald man turns his wheelchair and gestures to the door.
 
“Shall we? I believe we’re done for now, yes?”
 
Nodding, Thaddeus goes and holds the door open for the Professor, stepping out only behind him. As they exit the Principal’s office, its to find Badmin engaging in small talk with what Thaddeus can only describe as an African Goddess of a woman. She’s as tall as Thaddeus himself is, with a statuesque, dark-skinned body. She’s incredibly beautiful, and her stark white hair only makes her more exotic to his eyes.
 
As soon as she sees them, the woman focuses on Professor Xavier, stepping forward with a no-nonsense tone.
 
“The perimeter is clear, Professor. Is this him?”
 
Her eyes roam up and down Thaddeus’ body, and he can’t help but feel like he’s being checked out. He straightens up and puffs out his chest, for the first time in a long time trying to actually impress a girl instead of it being effortless.
 
To his immense satisfaction, there’s the faintest hint of approval in the white-haired woman’s eyes, before she turns her gaze back to Professor Xavier.
 
“Ah, yes, this is indeed him. Thaddeus, this is Ororo. Ororo, this is Thaddeus.”
 
Taking a step forward, Thaddeus offers Ororo a genial smile as well as his hand to shake. She returns the smile and is just about to shake his hand when Principal Badmin cuts in from the side.
 
“Ahem, actually, Thaddeus is his middle name, Professor. His first name is Chad. Chad Cummings, our Star Quarterback!”
 
There’s a pause, even as Thaddeus wants to curl in on himself and die. He half-expects to see judgment in Ororo’s eyes when he sneaks a peek over at the beautiful dark-skinned woman, but to his surprise and slight delight, she actually has a note of understanding and pity in her eyes. He doesn’t know if that’s because the Professor has filled her in on his circumstances or she’s just connected the dots herself… but he kind of appreciates it.
 
Taking his hand at long last, Ororo gives it a solid shake and him a knowing smile.
 
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
 
Not using either name is clearly an exercise in diplomacy, and one that Thaddeus doesn’t mind all that much.
 
“You too!”
 
After all, he’s willing to forgive a lot for a beautiful woman like this…
 
“We’ll be in touch, young man. For now, think over all that we talked about, alright?”
 
Looking to Professor Xavier, Thaddeus blushes, remembering that the man knew all about how his mutant ability worked.
 
“Y-Yes Professor. Of course…”
 
And with that, the meeting is over. Truth be told, Thaddeus doesn’t know what to think of it. As he returns to class and goes about his day, he finds himself drifting along, thinking over the crazy meeting. In comparison to having a conversation with an actual telepath, everything else feels somewhat… dull. Even getting head from another girl during lunch was just somewhat par for the course by now. It all felt so rote.
 
And yet, it also felt familiar, didn’t it? It felt… like home. Did he really want to leave it all behind for the great unknown? Then again, could he really afford not to? As the school day comes to a close, Thaddeus continues moving on autopilot, too lost in his own thoughts and what the future might hold to even think about where his feet were taking him.
 
He makes it all the way to the Locker Room before Skylar’s voice finally pulls him out of his introspection.
 
“Haha! Blowing off that bitch of a substitute after all man? Good call, bet she isn’t even waiting for you! Cunt was a total Karen; I think she just wanted to throw her weight around. Doubt she’d actually waste her time overseeing a detention after school, heh.”
 
Wait, what? Thaddeus blinks for a moment, before realizing what Skylar was talking about. Right. The detention. He’d honestly completely forgotten about Ms. Kenner’s little power play until this moment. He SHOULD be heading for her classroom, rather than going to Football Practice…