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When dinner was over I returned to my room and laid on my bed, but when I went to check on my powers again I was surprised to see my skill window had a new addition. [Lying- LV1] was the only thing on the screen so when I opened the skill to try to find more information I was not terribly surprised by what came next. It didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, just pretty much stating the definition of a lie, [Not telling the truth.]. Not very useful, but I was surprised it even gave a description at all, that meant it would do so for other skills in the future.
Maybe when I learned more complex skills it would give more information, or it could be that I didn't know enough about lying for it to give more information. Maybe seemed to be a word I used to describe my powers a lot lately. Anyways, it could be that the description was based on my knowledge. So I thought about what a lie was for a moment and came up with something that sounded better, a lie is hiding information with misleading statements.
Technically it doesn't even have to be verbal, a lie can be a mask or a performance a person puts on to hide who they truly are from the world. After running those thoughts through my head I checked the skill again but was disappointed when nothing changed. Again not very surprised but still disappointed. I went back to the status screen to double check that nothing changed while I was eating dinner and I was glad I did so, new information had appeared in the tier system.
Apparently skills could move up in tier as well after reaching level 100, from F-A and then S and EX. It also mentioned that other requirements may be needed to evolve the skill as well. I noticed the wording that it used and tried to think what it could mean. The info didn't mention what the requirements were to evolve so I left that alone for now. But the evolution itself, what would happen when the skill evolved, would I gain something from it or maybe I would be like a real gamer and it would offer a bonus for certain actions.
My thoughts ran around in circles for a bit but I wasn't getting anywhere for now, I just didn't have enough information and it looked like that wouldn't be changing any time soon. In the meantime I worked on the notebook and added anything that had popped into my head during dinner. Then, in a new section, I started to plan for the future. The world I was in wasn't nearly as dangerous as some of the other ones out there like Warhammer or Beserk but there was still plenty of danger to go around.
Now that I had somewhere I could write down my thoughts, and I was relatively certain they would stay private, I would be making plans for anything I could think of. Everything from galactus to the purple man, there wasn't anything I could do for the first right now but a bullet to the head would fix the mistake of nature the second represented rather easily. I should have been at least a little disgusted by my lack of remorse about making plans to kill someone, but on the other hand no mercy for those that did not show it in return.
It wasn't just the dangers that were native to the Marvel universe that I had to plan for, there were also a ton of multiversal entities I knew of and if Marvel was real they could be too. After depressing myself and almost making me go full blown doomsday prepper I need some levity. Or at least something that wasn't preparing for nightmarish horrors from beyond whatever counted as this universe's source wall. So moving on from the dangers, I dived into the various goodies occupying this world, I noted them all down, whether I could make use of them or not.
There are countless serums, magic, and insane tech in this world, even the different subsets of humanity are a possibility here. That got me thinking, what if my power wasn't a gift from whoever sent me here, what if I was a mutant? Or an Inhuman? Suddenly the stuff I read about online seemed a whole lot scarier, even if I wasn't a mutant. Throughout history people have not reacted well to others that were different from them, even in my old world. But if I had a choice I would actually kind of prefer if I was a mutant.
If I was then at least I would have a group of people that would understand at least some of what I was going through. If not, well then I would be all alone, I didn't want to be alone again. In a world like this one you couldn't make it on your own, everyone needed someone to help them along. If they say they can do it all on their own, they're either lying, ignorant, or arrogant; or helped along by the greater narrative force. I shook myself out of the spiral I had started to fall into, nothing good would come from going down that rabbit hole. And there was nothing I could do about it anyway.
With that out of the way I returned to making plans and fell asleep while thinking about Galactus. I had some weird dreams about a chibi marvel cartoon I watched as a kid and actually woke up with a smile on my face. That quickly disappeared when I walked down the stairs to make some breakfast. The first clue that told me something was wrong was the fact that my parents were sitting at the kitchen table. My parents were very much creatures of habit and always left the house before I woke up on the weekends.
So the fact they were still here at 8 o'clock was setting off my paranoia senses again. The other people sitting at the table didn't make me feel any better either, at least they looked different from how the media in my old world portrayed them. I could clearly recognize Charles Xavier and Ororo Monroe, Professor Xavier had enough of a passing resemblance to Patrick Stewart that I was taken aback for a moment. Ororo on the other hand looked nothing like Halle Berry or Alexandra Shipp, the only similarity was her dark skin and white hair.
Both of them also had a presence around them that I wasn't sure how to describe, Xavier sent out vibes of trust and calmness while Ororo felt motherly and regal. I blinked as I noticed everyone had stopped talking and turned to greet me, I blushed a little because I could tell that both guests had noticed my staring and found it humorous. I guess finding it funny was better than taking offence, "Alex, honey. This is Professor Charles Xavier and Professor Ororo Monroe. Professor Xavier is here to offer you a place in his school."
I guess that answered my question on whether or not I was a mutant. Once my mother introduced them Ororo pushed back her chair and stood before wheeling Charles around to the table so he was seated in front of me. He looked me in the eye and held out his hand, "It is very nice to meet you Alex. Your parents have been telling me a lot about you." I was a little put off by him being here as I still wasn't sure if he was evil or played fast and loose with his powers in this universe.
It could also be that he was exactly what he presented himself as but things were rarely as they seemed at first glance. But I pushed that thought aside, most of the time Xavier meant well so I would start at that and make my own judgements as I got to know him. Because of course I was going to take him up on his offer. My mutation was kind of hard to understand, I had plenty of references to draw from in my old world but those were all stories.
Turning down the opportunity to work with someone who had been helping children with various mutations for decades was moronic. Experience was the best teacher and he had more than enough experience to go around. So I pushed back my paranoia and shook his hand, "It's nice to meet you Professor I've read a lot about you." Even if I decided to trust him for now I still wanted to test him so when I said that I was thinking about the stories, comic books, and movies he was a part of.
I don't think anyone could keep from reacting if they found out their struggles and triumphs were the subject of entertainment in another universe. Luckily for me he had no reaction beyond a slight smile, "Well I hope that whatever you might have learned will not color your opinion of me too much." I shook my head, while I hadn't meant it that way there were a lot of articles that painted him as a lunatic, kind of like Danial Jackson from the Stargate TV show.
The ones in the beginning after he wrote his paper about the pyramids being landing platforms for alien spaceships. The professor had a very inclusive view and was mocked harshly for it, "Not that shit professor I meant your research papers. In light of recent events I did some of my own research and found your papers to be very informative." His eyebrow rose at that and I had to clarify, "I may not have understood all the technical jargon but the theories you talked about and from what I could parse out myself, I found a lot of information I was partial too."
My lips twitched as I fought to keep a smile off my face, talking in riddles like this was fun, I can kind of see why some people like doing it so much. And from the small smile on Xavier's face and the twitching of the corner of Ororo's lips they found it entertaining as well. After I let go of the professor's hand, once again blushing a little when I realized how long I had been holding it, I sat down at the table. We spent the next couple of hours going over the different opportunities offered at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
The professor had figured out from me skating around the truth that my parents didn't know about my mutation so he didn't out me. I figured it was kind of like being in the closet, and you don't force someone out of the closet if they are not ready to come out themselves. As for Xavier himself? As far as my research had revealed he wasn't actually publicly known as being a mutant. In fact very few Mutants are 'out of the closet', usually normal people only figure it out when a mutation can't be hidden.
Information on his school painted it as just a regular boarding school, a really nice one judging from all the extra curricular activities they offered, but still completely normal. I was a little nervous about that as I hadn't done much independent research on the school myself. Outing a school full of mutants when people seemed unnaturally biased against them sounded like a really bad idea, but at least I hadn't seen the commercial yet. They didn't mention the students being in any danger so I would have to wait and see if the attack every other week was actually real.
If it was, it would make me very hesitant to go as I wasn't a fan of conflict. But the rest of school almost sounded too good to be true, it taught kids of all ages and even offered internships to study under a couple of world renown teachers that worked there. There was also every kind of sport offered from fencing to football, American and European. The other activities offered were a little less diverse but that was only because the school offered to start any club you could imagine if enough students showed an interest.
So far there were two different video game clubs, console and PC, because apparently they had to be separated after one too many arguments spiraled out of control. There was also a board and card game club along with various art clubs that were separated by the media in use. Then there were over a dozen foreign language clubs, a lot of them were distinct but met at the same time and place due to the head advisor speaking so many languages. Supposedly everyone wanted more time with them and no one wanted to give that time to someone else.
I could tell that the subject embarrassed Ororo a little as her cheeks gained a darker hue, but Charles seemed to enjoy teasing her a bit. I could definitely see why the students didn't want to give up that time. Ororo might have been worshiped in the comics because of her powers but here she would have been worshiped for her beauty. Both my father and I were having a hard time not staring, and judging by the periodic winces my father gave my mother was letting him know she was not too happy about it.
There were a few other clubs like robotics, theater, and philosophy that drew in a big crowd. But eventually they ran out of things to talk about and my parents and I both ran out of questions to ask. "Look at the time, we seemed to have taken most of your day away from you. Why don't we leave for now and let you come to a decision?" He waited for my parents to exchange a glance before they turned back and gave him a nod, "Excellent! Here is my card. If you have any more questions please feel free to contact me, if for some reason I cannot answer Ms. Monroe or another one of the professors can answer any questions in our stead."
After laying his card on the table Ororo stood and wheeled him to the door, we all said our farewells there and my parents shut the door behind them. Once the door was shut my parents started to talk to each other about how this was a wonderful opportunity for me. They did not even ask for my opinion and it seemed like the decision had already been made for me. I didn't really mind as I wanted to go to the school anyway and waking up a year ago with another life in my head gave me memories of a family I actually liked.
I had a pretty nice childhood in my last life so it kind of makes up for the neglectful one this time. Sure I still had some issues but at least I was getting away from the problem, only one more year left of school and then I wouldn't have to deal with them ever again. It was kind of a relief that I didn't have to deal with the guilt of replacing my old family with my new one. But now that I wasn't needed I walked up to my room and lay in bed, I had my finger laced behind my head when suddenly I could hear Professor Xavier's voice in my head.
[Do not panic young Mr. Callwell. Much like you, I have gifts that the rest of humanity does not have access to. I am using one of them to speak to you now. My telepathy allows us to connect our minds so we may speak in private.] Beyond the jumpscare from suddenly hearing another voice in your head I didn't freak out, I had actually been expecting him to do this while he was speaking with my parents. It was a point for potentially good Xavier that he refrained from having two conversations at once, as excluding people is not nice, even if they totally deserve it.
But instead of dwelling on that I tried to project my thoughts back to him, [Nice ability Professor. Must come in handy for someone that runs a school filled with teenagers.] While I couldn't hear him chuckle I could feel amusement coming from the connection. [Indeed. I am speaking to you now because while your parents may not know of your gift you should know that the school I told you about today is filled with people like us. Every one of my students has a unique gift, some need more guidance as their gifts are more powerful while others require assistance as some gifts have significant downsides.]
I nodded even though he couldn't see me, I remembered plenty of mutants where their mutations were more like a curse than a gift. [Yeah, I read about that happening. But I thought your paper said that only happened when someone tried to control or suppress the mutation?] I could once again feel a sensation coming from our link, only this time it was a subtle feeling of pride. I could see why even his enemies liked the professor in many universes, the fact he was proud of my knowledge made me happy in turn.
I was still a little worried that he was digging around in my head but so far he hadn't freaked out about any of the knowledge I had swimming around in there. Judging from the fact I could feel echoes of his emotions I was pretty sure I would be able to tell if he went deeper even if I currently wouldn't be able to see it on his face. [That is very true, however even when a mutation manifests perfectly there can still be consequences.]
[I can feel that you are uneasy speaking this way, in order to put your mind at ease would you like to know more about my abilities?] I was sure he could now feel my embarrassment as well. I didn't think I would be able to hide my feelings from him but being called out like that was a little embarrassing.
But I pushed that aside and answered, [Yes please.] He did not wait any further and started to explain, [I have three aspects of my gift, the first is a minor affinity for telekinesis, which is not pertinent for our discussion. I also have affinities for Empathy and Telepathy, empathy is not what you may think. Instead of looking at a person and understanding what they are feeling at any given moment I am able to sense an aurora of constantly shifting feelings around every person I meet.]
[Most people project their emotions onto the astral plane, only those that have trained their minds out of that can hide what they are feeling from an empath. The experience is quite beautiful and sometimes I wish there were more people born with this gift if only to participate in some of the moments I have been able to experience myself. The birth of a child is among my favorites, the pure joy felt by the parents in that moment is unlike anything else. Telepathy on the other hand has a much wider spectrum of abilities.]
[But we can go over the full scope of what can be accomplished by an experienced telepath should you wish to at a later time.] I kind of did want to hear more about both. When he described feeling that joy I felt another echo and it was very calming. Like a promise and being held in a firm hug at the same time, it was still kind of muted but still very intense. I wondered what it would be like if I felt it first hand. I could feel his acceptance of my unasked request before he moved on.
[Currently I am using my gift to connect our minds on the most basic level. It is a good substitute for talking face to face, we can only hear what the other person wishes to say and only feel strong emotions that would otherwise show in our facial expressions. Now I could go deeper and have done so when needed, however I only exercise this ability when absolutely necessary. The people I have spoken to that have experienced it have told me that it is not pleasant.]
[It can be wonderful if there is consent, but without consent it is horrifying to any party involved.] With the way he was speaking I had to wonder if he was aware of the parallels he was making to sexual assault. [To be completely seen by another person, no private thought, every moment of your life pursued by another. Some never recover from such a violation. Due to my gift for empathy the feelings experienced by that person are reflected back to me. I make an effort not to invade the minds of others unless given express permission.]
[That is something I teach all my students, these powers we have received are a gift, they are not a right. Therefore they should not be abused, and in the most dire circumstance, they can and will be removed.] The seriousness of his last statement felt like a warning, but I understood that he was not threatening me, merely giving a warning. It was something I agreed with, after all people could be cruel without power. And power did not change a person, it just magnified who they already were. [Now that I have put at least some of your worries to rest, would you like to hear what we offer in the way of… special extracurriculars?]
The current advanced chapters are:
Master of Magic Ch2-3
Seal Smith Ch2
Flip the Script Ch1-2
The Game Ch1-3
Millennium Ch1-2
Haven Ch1
Who is a Zoo? Ch1
God of Games Ch6
Breathe Ch1
Another Wayne Ch1
Salvation Ch1
Guide Ch1
Growth Ch1
Ark Ch5-7
Further Ch2
Puzzle Maker Ch3
A Thousand Words Ch1-2
Free Range Ch1
Not All Heroes Wear Capes Ch3