Heavy Accounting

Posted on Sun Sep 12th, 2021 @ 3:53pm by Charles Xavier & Connor Bruin & Iris Walker & Cameron Hood & Jade Farwynd & Gabe Spicer & Elias Buckley

2,929 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: X-Odus
Location: X-Mansion
Timeline: July 2, 1990

Daylight had long since broken and the first of the construction crews had already arrived. Professor Xavier had a professional relationship with a number of specialist contractors who could discreetly repair his school and home without asking questions. And there was much to question.

Torn up landscape.

Holes in walls.

Shattered fountain.

The twisted balcony of the master bedroom.

It all looked bad. And that said nothing of the recessed technology embedded within the mansion's fixtures. State-of-the-art only began to describe it--much of the mansion's technology was literally out of this world.

None of that worried Charles. What weighed on his mind was the fate his new class. Many students had fled. Some of them were runaways moving on to their next layover. Others returned to the privileged life which spawned them. By now, those who had fled the campus grounds and intended to return already had.

There was Elias, the mysterious teleporter. He had reappeared as brazenly as he first arrived. And Katy. And Iris. And Gabe. And Connor.

Flanked by Cameron and Jade who had performed admirably under stress, Professor Xavier regarded his group.

"Thank you for joining me. I figured, what with the events that transpired early this morning, perhaps it was best to meet out of doors." His words faltered as he did his best not to look at the mini-excavator that was backing into position. It beeped like a shrill animal, far worse than the bobcat of its namesake. Once it was in position, the backup warning stopped, leaving only the hum of the excavator's engines and bucket arm. "Perhaps that was a bad decision," Xavier chuckled wryly. "But it would be one among many."

Turning solemn, the Professor eyed each one of them in turn. "As this school's headmaster, I am indebted to you all in such a way that no apology can make right. I invited my old friend and nemesis, Erik Lensherr, also known as Magneto, to discuss a matter of grave importance. I did not expect him to come here in person, much less at night. When he did, I deactivated the security system to prevent violence which would have surely happened the moment any of his servants trespassed." He swallowed a lump in his throat. "My goal was peace--peace and hope. It was possible that Magneto was responsible for some friends of mine who went missing. My First Class. I could not believe Magneto was responsible, and yet there was evidence that at least pointed to his potential involvement. I had to rule it out."

This was where it got difficult.

"My first student, Scott Summers, overheard a portion of the evidence that I used to confront Erik. While Erik denied it and I believed him...Scott did not. He took action, disobeyed my directives, and led us all into danger. And yet while he is responsible for his actions, I must acknowledge my own culpability. You see...Scott was the only team member to return. Neither of us can recall the events of that fateful day. We were both eager to ascertain the whereabouts of our beloved friends. I'm afraid..."

Xavier bit his lip and fought back the emotion.

"I regret that I set Scott up for failure. Therefore...he and I have come to an agreement. He will take a sabbatical from his duties, one that I should have insisted upon some weeks ago. In the interim, those of you who have chosen to remain deserved to know the truth so that if you continue your training, you do so with full knowledge of what happened--and with full assurance that I shall do all within my power to prevent it from happening again."

As he spoke, he looked at Cameron. "Mr. Hood performed admirably, and in addition to his maintenance duties, he will assist with the hands-on portions of my mutant training protocols. Ms. Farwynd will continue in her support role as well."

In closing, Xavier took a breath and held it before continuing. "I beg you, do not hold this against Scott. If you wish to be angry, and you have every right to be, I beg you to direct it where it belongs. With me. In time, I expect Scott will resume his duties because neither of us will stop until we learn the fates of our friends and, if fortune smiles, bring them home. If anyone has anything to say, I invite them to do so now."

Cameron did not acknowledge the new responsibilities given. He maintained his posture, a proper parade rest. His eyes were not at the horizon, but studying the faces of their charges. He was worried about the future of these teenagers and barely adults.

Katy listened to what the Professor had to say, then thought for a moment before she spoke, her mind racing. "So this Magneto guy is the enemy and preaches mutant supremacy and crap, yet you took the defenses down and just invited him here. Without warning us. That's pretty fucked up, Professor," she said.

"As for Summer's Eve," she sneered. "He's nothing more than an arrogant thug and if your original class vanished, who's to say they didn't do it to get away from him? Hell, maybe he killed them like he nearly killed me."

The Professor just stared at Katy, allowing her the space to vent her frustrations. His jaw set at some of her criticisms. How to put it...

"I did not invite Erik here," Charles said. "I reached out through the channels available to me and said we needed to speak. I'd hoped he would merely remove his helmet and allow for telepathic communication. You must understand that despite our differences, he and I have always met as friends. Our dispute is ideological, not malicious. Candidly, I suspect both of us harbor the hope of winning the other to their side one day."

The next part needed to be delicate.

"This space is reserved for building a better future, not nursing bitterness of the past. That is why I will meet a former adversary in hopes of brokering lasting peace. That is why I have my X-Men offer criminals the choice for a better life before apprehending them. Nobody comes here full of wisdom. It is earned through hardship, trial, and error. My X-Men have apprehended a number of mutant criminals, and had to use force when they did not surrender willingly. Should any of you take up a mission, you may find yourselves in similar straits. Scott is a valuable part of this school, Miss DeCobray, and I will not brook such disrespect toward him anymore than I would do so if the roles were reversed. One day, it may be you who has to live with a miscalculation or a lapse of judgment. I recommend you invest in the good graces of others so that you may draw upon them when the time comes."

Jade observed the interactions quietly, her hands clasped behind her back. She could understand both sides, which was a new development. Till a month ago she would have firmly been agreeing with Katy, but since she'd been part of the X-Mansion, since she'd taken on the responsibility for others, especially the kids...she could see the shades of grey that existed in the world. A month ago she would have spoken up and supported Katy. It was not as easy any more to just be angry at the other side, to be self righteous.

Yet, the anger was still there. Boiling beneath the surface. The anger that had come out so violently during the altercation. She'd killed someone, for heaven's sake. The frightening thing was, she felt a lot less guilty and bad about it than she'd expected.

"SCOTT. IS. A. NEANDERTHAL." Connor had evidently been typing this whole time. "BUT. HE. IS. MY. FRIEND." Then, looking directly at Xavier with a silent fury, the ruddy bear of a teenager pushed a button for a preset question. "WHY?"

In his mind, Connor was already more than three syllogisms deep into the betrayal of trust that he felt. He knew Xavier would be aware of the gist of his train of thought even without probing. He just stared, his eyes demanding an answer from the old man.

Xavier nodded and rubbed his face before answering.

"Connor presents a very loaded question. If I withheld the recent loss of my first class of X-Men, then what else am I withholding? If I cannot account for their safety, then how can I guarantee any yours? If you cannot trust what I say in one regard, am I worthy of trust at all?"

The questions felt like flagging landmines in a minefield. Charles knew he needed to be tactful in his answer.

"I will tell you that my life is an open book just as my home is an open door. That does not mean you are entitled to every secret that I know, for much of my knowledge is not mine to share. However, I will commit to you all that I will never lie to you or deceive you. It's no small thing, the level of trust required for a team to work. Mr. Hood can attest to that. Please believe that, when the time was ready, I would have revealed everything. I'd believed we had more time. Now, I see such is not the case."

Looking around at his students again, he said, "If you will commit to your training as a team, then I will commit to being worthy of the trust you have placed in my dream. I will not see you as students only, but allies in our struggle towards peace and valued friends in life."

"Well speaking for myself, I'm here to say." Gabe began. "Well it's true that I'm new to this mutant thing, it's been a good ride so far. Also the Professor and Mr Summers..well in my view I owe them my life. If you met my dad you'd see. He isn't the most tolerant of people. Whereas here..I fit in. Sorry if I rambled but it's how i feel." Gabe said.

So far, Iris had been content to listen and observe and under normal circumstances, would have been content to continue doing so indefinitely. But, she had just thought of something very important that needed to be addressed. "I mean, are any of us safe anywhere?" she pointed out. "Nobody can ensure our safety. I could walk out the gates right now and... get hit by a meteor or something. So, no, sir. You can't ensure our safety. But that's okay, because safety is an illusion at best."

Elias took a long draw on his cigarette and exhaled into the air above his head a set of perfect smoke rings. The place was a mess. Under construction. And this dude was talking about Peace and Hope. Kinda hilarious really. Seemed the Professor was happy to take the blame though, which was cool. No hard feelings and all that, which the young man found interesting.

A rough snort of a chuckle escaped Elias' nose and he coughed as his next inhale caught in his throat. That second escape of smoke was less pretty. Trust. Yeah, right. As if. These people were fools. But knowledgable idiots had their uses. And there was definitely information to be had here.

"A meteor?" He scoffed quietly, toeing the remnants of that cigarette into the grass beneath his feet. "Really..."

"Mr. Buckley, you are a guest in my home. I ask that you dispose of your cigarette butts in a rubbish receptacle and not leave them wherever you happen to be standing." The look on the Professor's face was rather stern. Did he know what Elias had been thinking? Was he just being over-protective of his estate? "And I ask that should any of the contractors take the same liberty, that they be reminded as well."

There was no snarky verbal response, Elias simply returned a look of mild indifference and maintained his stance.

"So what's next, Professor X?" Katy asked since it was clear the others were siding with him. "What do we do to get ready for this next time?"

"Train together so we're not headless chooks." Jade offered with a smirk.

"That works for me." Gabe said. "Whatever a chook is" he sort of chuckled.

"Chicken." Jade offered.

"Nurse Farwynd is correct," the Professor said. "Your training must begin immediately, especially since we have incoming students who will benefit from your experience. This school is at its best when students are helping students."

"That's where I come in." Cameron said, stepping forward. "As some of you may have guessed, I am a soldier by trade. I am a member of 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, the SAS, the premiere British Army special forces unit. If you decide you want to join the team, you'll be trained by me as I was trained by the Army." He looked around the crowd for a silent moment. "I'll be honest, it won't be easy, it won't be fun, but I will do my best to have you succeed so you can be safe out there while helping each other and the world at large."

"Woah, I didn't sign up to be in no army," Katy said, her NYC accent coming out strong. "I'm not doing that kind of training."

Jade bit the inside of her cheek to stop the most immediate answer that came to mind at Katy's outburst, though she couldn't stop a roll of her eyes. "I'll sign up. I'd rather know how to fight properly than making it up as I go along hoping it will work." Then she looked over at the others, "just because we'll be trained by a soldier doesn't mean we will be soldiers. We'll just be better equipped to deal with..." she waved her hand towards the outside, "whatever they throw at us next time."

"Used to be in the SAS," said Elias with emphasis on the first two words and just enough volume to ensure his words carried to the entire gathering. "Not in it now. Right?" He noted the to and fro between the Professor's two lackeys and figured the usual double-team play was in operation. United front and all that. "So how is that gonna help us, huh? You fought mutants in the Army?"

"This is not a paramilitary base camp and you are not to be soldiers," Xavier corrected. "The training you will receive is to ready you for crisis response. Sometimes a crisis may obligate the use of force, in which case I will see you prepared for that eventuality, but our purpose is not wage wars. We prevent them."

"Didn't look like that yesterday," Elias noted, hitting his volume just above a snarky mutter.

"For your first point, Mister Buckley, I am still an active member of the British Army, and still assigned to 22 SAS. It's better you not speak to things you have no knowledge of. As for the situation yesterday, that is proof of why we need to train. Just because we are acting as peacekeepers doesn't mean we are seen as such by our adversaries. Being able to effectively defend and protect yourself is required for that. But you are not being pressed into service. Joining the X-men is completely optional and voluntary. Living under the Professor's roof doesn't require you to fight with us." Cameron replied calmly, though his tone was nearly chilly.

"Mr. Hood is correct," Xavier affirmed. "Nobody is here by force, and participation in my X-Men initiative is strictly voluntary. Should you choose to leave, then nobody will stop you. However, participation has corollary requirements, and the failure to meet them will lead to forced...sabbaticals, such as with Mr. Summers." He examined them all, fondly and solemnly. "If we have an understanding, then let's get to work. We have more students inbound, and they will need the benefit of senior peers to help them acclimate to this school."

"If you're still active duty, doesn't that make you a deserter?" Katy asked innocently.

"The nature of Mr. Hood's service to the British Army and how he came to be here is a matter for another time," Professor Xavier interjected. "Suffice it to say that he is an asset to us currently, one it will behoove us to utilize for the duration of his time at the school. It may not be forever. I strongly urge all of you to learn what you may from him while the opportunity remains."

Elias looked to Katy, his smirk loaded with just a little respect for her direct question. The rest of his attention he directed straight at Cameron as the Professor defended his lackey. That information and apparent connection to the UK Armed Forces was intriguing though. Something else to consider while he learned. Elias shrugged. "Let's get on with it then," he suggested.

"Fine, sign me up," Katy said. "See how someone like hits three hundred times in five seconds."

Jade rolled her eyes but said nothing. There was confidence, then there was overconfidence and downright cockiness. Either way, she was ready to learn more. This was serious and she needed to learn how to restrain her abilities, rather than go for the throat as she had. Maybe something to take up with the Prof?

"Very well, then," said the Professor, a smile of gladness finally coming on his face. "Tomorrow you all begin training to become X-Men."

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