"Professor Charles Xavier?" Enrique sighed internally and greeted with a polite smile, extending his hand to shake Bald-X's. "Never thought I'd meet a living legend in my humble home."
"Oh, you over-praise me, Mr. Nova," Charles chuckled sheepishly. "Since you already know me, let me introduce my two students. This is Professor Scott, and this is Professor Jean. We all teach at a school for 'Mutants,' a term you might be familiar with. Our goal is to help mutants control their powers so they can return to their usual lives someday."
A somewhat noble intention, if Enrique ignored the part where the professors were subtly racist towards humans, only engaging in heroism to avoid getting nuked. Watching them struggle in movies was pitiful, but now, standing before them as a human, albeit a superhuman, he felt no pity. He felt like standing in front of the KKK as a black man, although he might be exaggerating.
A moment later, he frowned at the realization that Xavier knew his name, either through a background check—unlikely given his recent arrival—or through Anna. He really hoped this bald fucker had learned his name from her mouth, and not her brain, but he knew he was being too optimistic thinking that. He had most certainly intruded Anna's mind and already knew about his secret identity.
Fucking hell. Enrique had anticipated this visit, though not so early. Nonetheless, he already had a plan in mind.
"Ah, professors from the famous Xavier's school?" Enrique smiled at them. "Glad to meet you two."
"The pleasure's ours," Jean greeted back. She has a nice soft voice, surprising for the host of the most powerful cosmic force. He'd have expected it to be deeper.
Receiving nods from Scott and Jean, Enrique turned back to Charles. "Now, Professor, considering you already know my name and likely read Anna's mind, you must be aware my 'job' keeps me quite busy. I'd appreciate it if you keep that a secret from the world, and if we could finalize whatever matter you're here for quickly."
Scott and Jean blinked in surprise, likely taken aback by Enrique's knowledge of Charles's power. Although Charles was publicly known as a telepath, his abilities were typically portrayed as limited to communication, fostering a friendly image. For Enrique—a superhero who had only appeared yesterday—to know the full extent of his powers was indeed surprising.
They're surprised? Enrique aimed to project an image of being well-informed, and it was working. Pretending he had a secret information source was better than pretending ignorance.
He was also confident that neither Charles nor Jean could read his thoughts, let alone his memories. If they could, they would have noticed the countless curses he had thrown at them in his mind as a test.
"Right. You are indeed quite busy, haha," Old Charles acknowledged. "I apologize for delving into her recent memories, but I had to ensure you weren't a threat. Your identity is safe with me. In any case, I'm here for this girl, Mr. Nova." Charles gestured towards Anna as Enrique walked over to her side.
That was good to hear. However, honestly, his identity was safe with nobody because he didn't truly have one. Since Anna found out about it so easily yesterday, and today three others learned, he had already decided to go the Tony Stark route rather than the Batman route. In short, he wasn't planning on leading a double life; he intended to reveal his identity publicly himself.
Charles's last words, however, made Enrique frown inwardly. "I guessed you were here for her, but why?"
"She's a mutant, as you might know. Her power harms anyone she touches. You seem immune to her, and I won't pry into your powers, but staying with you isn't healthy for her. She might grow overly attached. More than that, we at Xavier's might be able to train her to control her powers."
"Attached, huh? Yeah, I can see that happening," Enrique nodded. "Though I never said I mind that, if the other choice is to send her to somewhere dangerous, for example, the epicenter of the mutant fighting and other conflicts, the X-Men's headquarters, Xavier's."
A series of stunned reactions went by the room. Firstly, Rogue's eyes widened and she blushed softly at him admitting that he wouldn't mind having her getting attached to him, to which Scott scoffed and Jean sighed, muttering something about 'men'. However, when he said his last line, Scott frowned deeply and Jean blinked in surprise. Professor Xavier also looked taken aback.
"I assure you Xavier's isn't dangerous. The X-Men might fight criminals from time to time, but the students aren't in danger out of that. Mr Nova, her power needs guidance. Without it, she'll remain isolated from society. Nobody deserves that. I've already spoken to her parents, and they've agreed to let us help her." He added, "Honestly, discussing this with you seems unnecessary since you're not her guardian. However, since she fancies you, I decided to humor you. But I think it's time to leave."
Enrique raised an eyebrow. "In that case, don't you need the mutant in question's consent?" He turned to Anna. "Do you want to go?"
"Umm…" Rogue shifted uncomfortably. "Are they good people? Are they lying about being able to help me? Do you know about them?"
"As I said, I do." Enrique nodded. "Professor Charles is a certified expert in genetics and mutants. His school has helped thousands of mutants regain normal lives. There are failed cases, but they're few, at least from what I know. They might be hiding information, I can't be sure," he said, eyeing Charles, who looked back in surprise. "In short, he can probably help you a lot."
Anna went silent, deep in thought. Even without telepathy, Enrique could tell she was hesitant.
He placed a hand on her head, ruffling her soft brown hair. "Or, you can stay with me. I can possibly teach you to control your powers too. If you don't want to go, they can't force you. Not with me around." He eyed Jean specifically, whose eyes widened at his next words, "Even if they have a Phoenix with them."
Losing Rogue might be a significant blow. Her power was too valuable to let go, especially to people who wouldn't utilize it properly.
Scott's fist clenched while Jean and Charles looked at him in shock. "You… know about the Phoenix?"
Enrique smiled. "Just the phoenix? No, I know things that would break your mind, Professor. That's why I've protected my mind from telepaths like you. Your death wouldn't benefit me."
The room grew tense. Enrique understood how dangerous he seemed. Someone who knew about the Phoenix claimed his mind held deadly secrets, and since none of the two telepaths could actually confirm his claims—he appeared to be a serious threat.
"...Are you a government spy?" Charles asked before shaking his head. "No… That wouldn't make sense."
Enrique ignored them and turned to Rogue. "So, have you decided yet?"
"I…" she looked at the X-Men. Since the situation was so complicated, she could choose either way. Yet, her decision had been final for a while now. "C-can I go with them?"
"..."
Enrique watched as she hesitated to meet his gaze.
****
A few seconds later, Anna heard her superhero sigh. "What do you mean 'can I'? You make it sound like I'm your guardian. As Professor Charles said, I'm not. I'm just a guy you met yesterday, and you can do whatever you want."
"I-I don't mean to be rude, sugah!" she tried, turning to him. "Just that… You said they're experts. I don't want to stay like this, only able to touch one person, even if it's you. They'll surely help me… you said you might be able to help me too, but how can I know for sure? After all, you're not even a mutant."
When she said that last line, Enrique blinked before looking at her in disappointment. She flinched seeing the stark change in his eyes. For a moment, she seemed to be facing her father, disappointed with her academics – except on a much greater scale.
"You're already being influenced by them?" he said, shaking his head and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Anna Marie, you're human, just a mutated one. Like a girl with an odd allergy, for example. Don't let anyone tell you we're different races, or species like you're some kind of alien. You and I are the same, you just happen to have powers, just like how I do. We look the same, and we both have superpowers. How can we be from different races? We're the same. Got it?"
Anna looked at him with wide eyes, shrinking in guilt. "Sorry…" He had helped her despite her mutation, fought a dangerous enemy for her, and even let her stay in his home. Yet, she just said something racist towards him.
Frustration and self-anger welled up within her.
"Forget it," Enrique shrugged, sighing softly. He then slipped his hand into his pocket, watching Scott put a finger to his visor, but Charles stopped him. Enrique scoffed and simply pulled out a brand new smartphone, handing it to Anna. "Here, take this. It's an iPhone 4S, just released. I thought you'd like it."
Anna looked at the phone, her guilt deepening. "I-I can't take this. Please, I don't deserve—"
"It has my number saved on it. Call me anytime you wish," he said, smiling. "Whenever you want to talk, hang out… Or need some lightning support, just call, and I'll be there in a blitz. Keep it safe, okay?"
She accepted the phone, watching his gentle smile as tears welled up in her eyes.
The professors watched the scene in silence, none of them interrupting the conversation. Soon, she left with Charles and his students in a black limo. They didn't have to wait long since Anna didn't have anything to pack here.
****
At [Xavier's School for the Gifted], when the limo reached it, Anna was asked to hand over her phone.
"We'll return it, Anna," Charles said as they moved through the hallways. "As you saw, he's dangerous and knows things even most superheroes don't. We can't be sure of his affiliation. So we need to ensure the phone isn't compromised and doesn't come with some kind of tracking device."
Anna frowned. "He just bought this for me. How could he have done anything to it?" He saved her last night out of pure luck when she was the one who followed him. How could he have prepared a tracking phone beforehand? "No, I'm not handing it over."
Her first impression of the school was already bad. She started having doubts. Was it the right choice to come here? Maybe they weren't as helpful as they claimed to be when their initial impression was invading her mind and asking to dismember the last departing gift from her friend. Doubts swelled up in her heart.
…Just as Enrique planned.
****
"By now, she must have reached the school and been asked to hand over her phone," Enrique murmured to himself, sitting atop a skyscraper in his Super Suit, eating a burger.
She probably won't hand it over, and if she does, they'll find nothing. When that happens, her impression of the school will drop further. Either choice was bad for the school.
Enrique's plan had always been to let Rogue go to Xavier's. He hadn't expected Charles to visit so soon. His plan was for Rogue to realize that nobody could help her—nobody except for him.
If events unfolded as they did in many comics or the movie, which Enrique believed they would since Sabretooth's presence confirmed the Brotherhood's interest in Rogue, Mystique would make Rogue flee from Xavier's school. That would be the perfect time to mess things up. Enrique would step in to console the poor girl.
He gave it two… no, one week to play out.
Ah, and of course, this is purely business. I need a power-stealing teammate I can trust. I don't enjoy playing with little girls' hearts, Enrique clarified to any cosmic entity who might be observing him with disdain.
Wiping his lips as he finished his burger, Enrique jumped off the building, landing softly on the ground, his suit changing to that of a casual businessman. Since Anna was gone for a week, he'll use that time for something productive.
Ignoring the surprised looks of people on the street, he walked into the [IT Shop] in the distance. While waiting for Rogue's return, Enrique Nova decided to earn some big bucks.