Parti Pris

Posted on Fri Nov 3rd, 2023 @ 8:41am by Charles Xavier & Ethan Hale

1,492 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 3: X-Tra Ecclesiam
Location: Mansion
Timeline: August 14th, 1990

Quicksilver's rescue, unintended as it was, had given Ethan an idea. And the best person to pitch this to, indeed the only person who could give him permission and advice, was the Professor. So Ethan approached the room that served as his office and knocked lightly.

"Come in, Ethan," called out Professor Xavier. He had felt the young man coming down the hall even before the knock. "Tell me what's on your mind."

"As you know, Magneto and his goons ambushed us and hurt a lot of innocent people. I don't have to tell you how dangerous he is."

The Professor nodded but said nothing, allowing Ethan to continue.

"I saw some people in trouble and attempted a rescue. I know that may have been the wrong thing to do, I was supposed to be on overwatch, but it didn't seem wrong at the time. Well, I got shot, pretty badly. Quicksilver mistook me for one of, well, whatever they call themselves."

Arching his brow, Xavier said, "We all make split second decisions using the best judgment. It's never wrong to try and aid someone else. From my understanding, Cyclops had already called for a retreat. Trying to rescue someone else while you make good your own escape was not the wrong call." He let out a soft chuckle. "So you met Quicksilver. His swiftness is both his greatest asset and his biggest vulnerability, as you saw. He is not to be underestimated to be certain, but he can be outwitted and fail to correct in time." After pausing, the Professor then asked, "You have an idea. I would like to hear it."

"I was thinking I could try to infiltrate the group. I'm pretty tough and can usually take care of myself." Ethan had his not quite innocent thoughts about Quicksilver, but hoped he was masking those thoughts.

"I see..." The Professor wheeled out from behind his desk and circled the desk in order to speak to Ethan more closely. "What you fail to understand about Magneto is that he is a mutant supremacist. While you have been... altered, Ethan... you are nonetheless human by your genome. Were Magneto ever to discover that fact, his wrath would be swift as it would be final. He could not allow your deception to stand among his Brotherhood. What do you propose is worth taking such a great risk?"

"You know him better than I do that's for sure, sir. But, I'm sure you're both aware of the term, the enemy of my enemy is my ally?" Ethan pressed forward in his proposal. "What if I wasn't duplicitous at least as far as the source of my power? He might find me useful, especially because of the team I used to serve under. Would you deny that inside information on the Brotherhood would be useful?"

The Professor's face turned pensive. "I monitor known members of the Brotherhood via Cerebro on a regular basis," he said, "which is why Magneto is typically so circumspect in whom he admits within his circle. Only recently with his Great Mutant Exodus, where he has opened his refuge of Avalon on Asteroid M in high orbit, has he become less selective. Even so, if you were to infiltrate the Brotherhood, you would need to keep to the fringes. Magneto would as soon send your head on a platter to your former team as use you against them. He does not view people as individuals but as weapons, and so he would view you as a weapon formed specifically against him in his dread war between humans and mutants." Still thinking, the Professor added, "If there were a specific target, perhaps a defector who couldn't leave on their own or some necessary action that needed to be taken, it could be worth the risk, but if you just think to get close to Magneto for surveillance's sake, I would not sanction that. He would kill you without remorse. You have only one precious life, Ethan, and I don't want to see you throw it away." Pausing for effect, the Professor probed with his next question. "Is there a more specific purpose you had in mind?" He specifically avoided the word 'ulterior' for the negative connotation it could bring.

There was a fifteen or twenty second pause before the teen spoke. "I do have another purpose, I have to admit, though it's really most wistful thinking on my part. Still, whether that idea playing around in my head were to work out, and I suspect it won't, I don't see it as detracting from my mission, should you decide to approve it."

Listening carefully, the Professor was already guessing at what Ethan meant, but he wanted to hear it from the youth's own mouth.

"Especially in light of what you just said about staying on the fringes and looking for a potential defector. Quicksilver, the man who rescued me. I don't think he's truly evil." Ethan became emphatic. "None of the other Brotherhood members intervened on my behalf but he did. More than likely he saw me as one of his allies, though perhaps he only pretended to. Either way, that doesn't change the fact that he did what he did. Perhaps he could be reached, turned."

There was another pause, shorter than the first one, accompanied by a blush that turned Ethan's cheeks a light pink.
"And, he, Quicksilver that is, is kinda cute. Good looking. Hot. I mean I doubt if he finds me that way. He is probably straight, but I'll admit that was one of the reasons that I thought about this."

"I see..." Professor Xavier steepled his fingers and pondered on the best way to respond. "I'm no stranger to the romantic dalliances of youth. Some of the most formative decisions that impacted my entire life came from matters of the heart." He reached out to Ethan's mind and spoke directly to his thoughts.

~What are you are experiencing at this moment, Ethan, is called transference. It's a documented response when someone receives assistance, especially life-saving assistance, from a professional or some other protector. The infatuation that comes from transference is often very intense, but it is only fleeting. Professional interventionists like doctors and therapists are specifically trained to identify and avoid transference before it becomes problematic~

Speaking aloud, Professor Xavier, "I've also harbored similar sentiments, though, regarding both Quicksilver and his sister, the Scarlet Witch. Their lives have been difficult up to this point and Magneto is leveraging their pain and suffering for his gain, just like most of his followers. As it so happens, Pietro, or Quicksilver as he's known, is looking for his sister, Wanda, who has disappeared similar to my own students. If there is a way to help him, I will call on you first."

"I guess, I can see that transference thing, that probably has a lot to do with it, an emotional connection no matter how messed up it is part of what I'm feeling. Though I'm a pretty much openly gay sixteen-year-old, so I would probably would have thought he was hot regardless of any transference."

Professor Xavier held back a bemused chuckle. "Fair enough, Ethan."

"But, I promise to be good and only focus on your missions, if and when you call on me. Thank you for your time."

Raising his hand, the Professor waved him to stay. "Not so fast, Ethan. There may be a way for you to help Pietro if you so wish." He backed up and started from the beginning. "That is Quicksilver's true name. Pietro Maximoff. He has been absent from several Brotherhood operations lately because his sister, Wanda, also known as the Scarlet Witch, has been missing. I've watched him search to and fro at top speed without any sign of her." Pulling up a printed file, Xavier said, "This is the current listing of every mutant apprehended by the federal government. Wanda's name is not on it, even in the classified sections. Wherever she might be, it's not in this country. You could bring this information to Quicksilver as a gesture of good faith, perhaps even to repay a debt." The Professor slid the dossier to Ethan. "If Quicksilver wants more help from us, he knows where we are. Would you like to deliver this news?"

Ethan had started to leave the room but stopped at Xavier's words. He took the document with a smile and a nod. "I'd be glad to deliver it. I think it might be a good first step in building a relationship. I mean one between him and the group."

"Of course," the Professor said with a knowing smirk. "I'll let you know when I detect him at rest. You'll never catch him any other time."

"I am looking forward to it," Ethan said. Holding up the dossier he continued, I will memorize this." Then he turned to leave once again.

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