Chapter 37: Chp 34 – Merry

Chapter 34 - Merry

Driveway leading to the Xavier Mansion

It took me quite a while to get here, dragging this stuff with me, but damn if it isn't worth it to see the Xavier Mansion in person. It's obviously colonial in origin, but I can tell that it's been updated over the years with more modern bricks and other improvements. A thick layer of trees surrounds the couple of acres of land, so there's impeccable privacy. For me, this seems far too grandiose, but for lots of people, and ones who've likely been mistreated, I'm sure this is Heaven on Earth.

I can admire the scenery another time. I'm on business right now. I hope I don't interrupt dinner or something, it's almost sunset. Damn, and I just woke up a few hours ago. I really need to get on some sort of schedule.

*KNOCK KNOCK* I knock on the set of black french doors, careful not to break it. From all the ruckus in there, it seems like I arrived before dinner. And it seems to be some sort of beef dinner from what I can smell.

The door opens and the flaming redhead herself, Jean Grey, appears in a pair of apple bottom jeans and a beige off-shoulder frill top.

"Oh it's you. I thought I felt someone familiar. Come in, we're having a barbeque in the back." She opens the door wide for me. 

"Sorry for coming without notice, but I've been out of sorts and in a rush lately." Taking a look around the inside of place, It's just as lavish as the outside. The dark hardwood floor seems to actually be made of some sort of resin and most of the lighting is hidden. Kind of a nice mix between modern and traditional buildings. In that respect, the movies don't do it enough justice.

"It's fine, new visitors show up all the time. Usually the telepaths among us can tell who and when, but not always."

"You can't read my mind?"

"No I can, but the Professor told me not to attempt it. He said you had a ridiculously crazy mind and to be cautious when trying to read the minds of crazy individuals."

"Huh. Is that a compliment?" It really depends on who it's from. Anything's a compliment when looking down at those vibrant green eyes. No stop, I'm taken, besides Gwen's eyes are better. Good boyfriends don't ogle the eyes and hair of other girls.

"You can take it like that. Almost everyone has some major or a series of minor mental problems or blockages, but they're all relatively similar. Yours looks beyond the normal realm of crazy." Wait is that a wheelchair I hear?

"Jean, I thought I told you not to use the word crazy. Intricate. Mr.Riddle's mind is incredibly complex and intricate." The professor chides while steering around the corner.

"Sorry Professor but it doesn't help when you said you can only compare his mind to Wade's."

"Wade Wilson? Deadpool? Is he really here?" I ask in anticipation.

"Yes, but no he's not here, Mr.Wilson hasn't ever been to the mansion, but we've seen him on missions occasionally. Certain minds generate their own effects that strong and even weak telepaths can see. Admittedly the only examples that I've seen are yours and Wade's. I also only know of your two's existence, but I have heard of historical examples, so I don't have much authority on the matter." The Professor replies.

"Don't powerful telepaths make the same thing?" 

"Powerful telepaths can knowingly or unknowingly create massive chaos in something we call the astral plane, we're all minds exist. Think explosions or waves that blow away and shatter other minds. What you and Wade do is simply alter to deform your immediate surroundings in a much more passive way. Wade's mind creates an environment that is very deformed and—"

"Demented." Jean interrupts.

"We'll that's... honestly the best way to put it. Yours causes very complicated patterns and movements to appear. Getting more and more complex as you look closer. It can be hard to look away if you stare too close, but it's very different from Wade's. I've seen what his mind can do to those who try to look at it, and it's not pretty. So I'll do my best to not look through yours." 

"That's both a relief and a disappointment I guess." I let out a light chuckle.

"You admire that maniack?" Jean asks me, astounded.

"Certain things, yes. Can you think of anybody else that can be so true to themselves?"

"No, I can't. But it would certainly be nice if he didn't try to flirt with me and everyone else all the time. Can't he just be a regular, dark and brooding killer?"

"Like you said, everyone has their mental challenges. You have to take the good with the bad. Plus you have to admit that he's funny."

"We'll have to agree to disagree."

"I don't mean to interrupt you two, but what did you come here for Tyler. Can I call you Tyler?" The Professor and me.

"Sure. I came here for a little business and a little pleasure. I always wanted to visit this place, it's amazing."

"So you've heard about us. While public knowledge and recognition of mutants and many other things doesn't exist, our name does get around certain circles. I see you have something with you, Have you come bearing gifts?"

"Yes I have in fact." Speaking of bearing gifts… "Do you have someplace I can change clothes real quick?" 

"Can't you just change clothes naturally?" Jean asks.

"I could, but it's supposed to be a surprise."

"You can use one of the unused rooms, I'll show you." Jean says.

"Please hurry, dinner will be ready any minute now and we don't want to miss the sunset." The Professor warns.

Jean walks in front of me as she leads me up the stairs and I can't help but notice that there's a jeweled cat on one of her back pockets with red fur and green eyes. Speaking of cats, I wonder how Katya is doing. 

We continue along a hallway until she takes me into what looks like a bedroom without the bed and just a mirror on one wall. 

"I'm pretty curious what you have planned for your supposed surprise." Jean says, leaning on the doorway.

"Anything's a surprise if you're not expecting it." 

Ok, step one, change this big clucky bag. No need for a new one, just cover the outside with some quality red velvet with fuzz. Puffier white fur can go on the outside rim. Step two, change the outfit. Black leather boots, red velvet suit with white fur as an accent, especially on the cuffs. Oh. And I'll need a hat, make sure the dangle is on the left side of my head. No right side. Left side looks better. Black belt, and how do I look? Good, but I'm missing something...a fat belly and a beard. Just make a pocket in the front area of the suit and flood it with some gold foil. A thick mane of white silk can be my beard. There, perfect.

"So Jean what do you think?" I ask, turning to her. Her mouth is agape before she closes it.

"You can't be serious."

"The spreading of merryness and cheer is not a joke."

"I won't let you show up like that. Change out of it quickly."

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"No time Jean, they're gonna start without us. Besides I'm sure the kids will love it. How many people are at this school anyway, 40?" I ask, grabbing my goody sack and heading down the stairs to the back yard.

"We have 20 people that are technically enrolled, but we only have 15 here today. A few are able to live normally among society. " Well I can see that now that I'm out here. These teens are a chatty bunch.

"No kids?" I don't see any.

"The Renlow Quintuplets are the youngest kids we have at 12 and they are the ones out today. Since mutants usually develop in adolescence and the ones that do develop at birth are considered abominations, the amount of mutant children is so low that we don't have any at the school. The youngest mutant we have right now is Hank's pet cat named Beasty. She's over there, napping under the tree." Jean points over to what is essentially a brown cat in human shape.

"That's a furry." 

"She's a cat, we checked. Honestly, we thought she was a mutant, but it's not the weirdest thing we've seen. She surprisingly likes to be petted." I think I'm good. 

Wolverine's flipping burgers, Storm's setting up some sort of buffet while Hank is laying out blankets in the ground. A handsome white dude with angel wings is chatting up a scrawny brown haired boy teen. I think that's Angel and Sean Cassidy aka Banshee. Then there's a buff Native American man who's basking in the sunset, arms stretched out and the tassels on his clothes drifting softly in the wind. Poetic, I think that's John Proudstar, aka Thunderbird. Not a very common X-Man character. A girl my age with green hair, green eyes, and a green dress plucks at the green grass on the ground. And from the way Magneto's looking at her... Wait Magneto and Mystique are here? They just seem to be watching. That must be Lorna Dane aka Polaris, one of Magneto's secret daughters. A pair of twin teens of some sort of dark North African descent are under another tree with a hunched figure with red skin and hair. Everything is sharp on it, well her. That should be the transformed figure of Money St. Croix and her twin little sisters, Nicole and Claudette, who's autistic. Claudette is crisscross on the ground, drawing something in a book. Then there's another white kid with brown hair making ice cubes in his hands and dropping them into a table full of cups. That's Iceman or Robert Drake. Iceboy is more like it.

The Professor rolls over to me from a bench.

"Ah Tyler, you look...festive. At least you made it in time."

"I thought there would be more of you." And there's no Summers siblings here, curious. 

"Not everyone wants to join a group like ours, especially since many mutants can survive and thrive in regular society. I think it's best if you hand out the gifts before dinner. Eating like that won't do."

"That's fine."

"Everyone, we have a guest who wants to share a few things with us." The Professor shouts. I think I heard it in my head a little too.

Everybody looks at the elephant in the room after the Professor's shout.

"It's a little late for Christmas, don't you think?" Angel asks me.

"I'm not late, I'm just really early. Besides, it's always a good time to spread cheer." I reply, dropping my bag down on the grass and take out Professor's leg harness along with the brain scanner that goes on the neck for him to control it.

"This is for you Professor, you can try it out later. It might take a little getting used to, but you'll be fine. This little thing goes on the back of your neck and reads a few target areas in your brain to control the thing." I put the gift next to him since I can't really hand him the bulky thing.

"Thank you Tyler. I can't tell you how much this means to me. Not even healers have been able to fix my legs." It's Santa Claus.

"Just a bit of appreciation for all your work. Unfortunately everyone else's gift is the same, but I assure that you'll all like it." I take out 15 cases of the phones and accessories and toss everyone one. I hand a case over to Monet, her long sharp nails and hands can't really catch things.

"Sorry Monet, it might be a little hard to use this, but there's certainly a few things that you can use in there. I'll try to make something for you specifically."

"..." She stares at me in silence with her red eyes. She was rendered mute and put into this form by her brother, and with her figure, she can't even use sign language. Just goes to show that blood is sometimes just water, food dye, and cornstarch.

"Is this... Adamantium?" Magneto asks, inspecting the phone.

"Like the stuff in Logan's claws?" Sean asks.

"Yes, but Max, please don't turn it into a weapon. I worked hard on that. Also try not to lose it guys. I can make more, but it's best to not let more Adamantium get out. The phone's specifications and instructions are on there as well as the instructions for the other devices. What are you and raven doing here?"

"Espionage." Replies Raven.

"The other members of our group didn't like the change in direction and the resulting battle destroyed our home, so we came here since we were welcome." Answers Magneto.

"Do you have a little bit of Adamantium that you could give me?" Lorna asks me, her hands yellow from the grass. 

"Sure." I make a few bangles and toss them over to her. They freeze in front of her, hovering in the air. Then they meld together into a cube, then she forms back into the bangles I made, putting them on her forearms.

"Thank you. This is amazing.* She says, stroking the metal a bit.

"Thanks for the gifts bub, but can you change out of that costume and help with the burgers?" Logan asks me.

"Sure." I take the gold foil in my belly pouch out and lay it on the ground flat like a blanket. Then I reabsorb the beard and change my clothing to a casual set of jeans and a plain black T-shirt.

I help put the burgers together and put some chips on each plate. The burgers could use a little presentation so I pour a decent amount of pure gold drizzle on each one. It doesn't affect the taste, but it looks nice.

I hand out the burgers and everybody starts digging in while watching the sunset.

"You sure have an expensive appetite, I can respect that." says Angel.

"When you can create practically anything, simple materials don't amount to much." I reply.

Wolverine sits over next to me on the ground.

"Could you give me another one of those beers?" He asks me.

"Sure." I make him another Sam Adams Utopias and hand it to him.

"Thanks. Why'd you show up?"

"Because Logan, it's hero time."

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(AN: I had a recurring dream about this exact situation in the novel months back, but i didn't realise I was writing it until just now.)

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