Go For Seven!
Whoo, this must be a personal record.
Title: The New Mutants Vol II (The Life of Brian)
Author:
kanedax
Rating: PG
Spoilers: X3
Pairings (if any): None in this chapter
Summary: Following the events of the first chapter, Ororo gets to the bottom of Moira's mysterious compatriot.
Notes: This is part two of what I'm hoping will be a continuing series of the Xavier Academy following the events of X3. As usual, I do not own any of these characters, nor do I own any of the creations of Stan "The Man" Lee. But if I did, do you really think I'd be writing about them here?
Previous Chapter (Ororo's Class) / Next Chapter (Show & Tell)
The gathering ended soon after, with Ororo giving the typical talk that every class hears at the beginning of a school year: where you eat, where you sleep, where you are or aren’t allowed without supervision. The basics. She then asked Bobby and Kitty to escort the new students to their rooms, while the returning mutants were left with the rest of the day to themselves.
The new faculty followed behind, but Storm took Moira’s arm.
“I’m glad you’re here, Moira,” she said quietly. “But as the new headmaster I’m a little uncomfortable with you bringing strangers in as faculty without prior approval.”
Moira turned to look at the mysterious man, who had wandered off to the side and was now gazing dreamily at the sky, at the mansion, at the grounds.
“You don’t recognize him?” Moira asked, then pursed her lips. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t. He was in Charles’ class, not any of yours…”
Ororo blinked. “He knew Charles?”
“Well…” Moira paused, trying to find the right words. “We think… We think he is Charles.”
Ororo took a step back, her mouth hanging open. Her head spun to look at the man, and she started walking towards him. “What?”
Moira grabbed her. “We think it’s him, Ororo, please wait, let me explain before you do anything drastic.”
“Drastic?”
Moira looked around the lawn, seeing a few pairs of eyes turned towards them. “Can we find somewhere quieter to discuss this? Right now, the fewer people who are aware of the situation, the safer it will be for everyone.”
Ororo nodded, but as they stepped into the front door of the school, she couldn’t help muttering under her breath, “McTaggert, with everything that’s happened in this school the last few years, the last thing I want to have happen is for me to leave these children behind with someone who’s potentially dangerous…”
Moira sighed as they turned a corner into Ororo’s office. “I misspoke,” she replied. “What I meant to say is… well… let me just start at the beginning. This man, who’s calling himself Brian…”
Brian? Ororo thought. I know it’s a common name, but why does it sound familiar?
“…was a patient of mine at Muir Island,” she continued. “He was at the Muir Island facility because Cerebro pegged him as a man of extraordinary abilities. Unfortunately, he was catatonic from birth. No brain functions, no motor functions, nothing. In purely unscientific terms, he was a vegetable.”
Ororo nodded as she sat down behind her desk. This also sounded familiar, an example Charles often brought up in philosophical discussions between himself, Jean, and Henry back in the old days. Sometimes Emma had gotten in on them, too. When she took it upon herself to socialize, that is.
“A few months ago,” Moira said, “a few days after… well, of Charles’ death, Brian gained consciousness. I was checking on his vitals, he turned his head to the right, and said ‘Moira.’
“The way he said it… he sounded so much like Charles… I thought maybe…”
Moira realized that her eyes had drifted to Charles’ chair, and shook her head, clearing her thoughts. “For being someone who had never moved, or spoken, the man who was calling himself ‘Brian’ picked up on rehabilitation extremely quickly. Almost like he was someone else, downloaded into the body.”
“Like the ethical question Charles talked about…” Ororo said. “But Charles wouldn’t… I mean, I know that he liked to talk about that a lot. But he always spoke about consciousness transfer as something to be done in dire emergencies, or when the person involved had a family. He would never consciously choose this, would he?
“I mean, if what he talked about could actually be done… it’s not like there are a ton of living bodies laying around without a mind. It would be like… he wouldn’t do that, would he?”
Moira sighed. “Considering the things Logan told me before he left, it’s difficult to say if we really knew the real Charles. How he acted about Jean… that was so unlike him…
“But, anyway, if it is Charles, Brian doesn’t remember. After that one word, he acted as though he had never heard of a Charles Xavier, had never been to New York, let alone Xavier Academy. The brainwave patterns are somewhat similar to Charles, but it’s difficult to tell now…”
“What do you mean?”
“Charles was a telepath,” Moira explained. “His psychic powers affected his brainwaves, his thought patterns, everything.
“But it was also genetic. If Charles passed himself over to a new body, then his telepathy would stay behind. It was as much a part of his physical being as his paralysis and his male pattern baldness.
“Brian’s patterns, on the other hand, are those of a normal man. A mutant, sure, and we’re still not sure what his powers are beyond a quick acceptance of motor skills. But his brain seems unaffected by his mutation. So, there are similarities to Charles in them, but not much more than there would be to you or I.”
“So why are we keeping it secret?” Ororo asked. “Why is he here?”
“Because I want him to heal,” Moira said. “I want Brian to learn about the world outside of the hospital room. And if he should one day remember who he is, I want it to be on his own terms, at his own speed.”
”If it is Charles in there,” she finished, “What’s left of him has to be fairly well beaten up. Between the sabotage of Cerebro, the incident at Alkali Lake, and his eventual battle with Phoenix… if he comes to the knowledge of who he was too quickly, it might collapse his sanity forever.
“That’s why this knowledge never goes past us, do you understand? There are only three of us who know about what’s going on. Emma’s the only psychic around here anymore, so she picked up my thoughts on the matter, but she’s been through enough to be trusted, I think. Would you agree?”
Ororo begrudgingly nodded. Emma had been through a lot, had been on both sides of the conflict in the past, but had come out the other end as a changed woman, a woman who would do anything to help the good guys. She was safe.
“Alright,” Ororo said, standing, “I guess that will have to do for now. He can stay, but if anything, and I mean anything, starts getting suspicious, if anything starts making you nervous, you call me, or you get him off the property, do you understand?”
Moira nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Ororo paused, and then shook her head, chuckling. “And please don’t call me ‘ma’am.’ That’s my mother’s name.”
Moira laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”
They were laughing and heading towards the hallway when Ororo paused, her eyes catching a frame on the wall. Walking towards it, she saw that it was a framed news clipping, yellowed with age:
Local Boy Gets Full Scholarship
Charles Xavier, Valedictorian of Westchester’s most recent graduating class, was recently rewarded for his high honors with a full scientific scholarship at Oxford University in Oxford, England. He has also been offered scholarships for Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as schools in France, Berlin, and New Delhi.
At 15, Charles, the son of Brian and Sharon Xavier, is the youngest valedictorian in Westchester history. At Oxford, he hopes to study…
Ororo turned to Moira. “That’s why it sounded familiar.
“Brian is the name of Charles’ father."
Previous Chapter (Ororo's Class) / Next Chapter (Show & Tell)
Title: The New Mutants Vol II (The Life of Brian)
Author:
kanedax
Rating: PG
Spoilers: X3
Pairings (if any): None in this chapter
Summary: Following the events of the first chapter, Ororo gets to the bottom of Moira's mysterious compatriot.
Notes: This is part two of what I'm hoping will be a continuing series of the Xavier Academy following the events of X3. As usual, I do not own any of these characters, nor do I own any of the creations of Stan "The Man" Lee. But if I did, do you really think I'd be writing about them here?
Previous Chapter (Ororo's Class) / Next Chapter (Show & Tell)
The gathering ended soon after, with Ororo giving the typical talk that every class hears at the beginning of a school year: where you eat, where you sleep, where you are or aren’t allowed without supervision. The basics. She then asked Bobby and Kitty to escort the new students to their rooms, while the returning mutants were left with the rest of the day to themselves.
The new faculty followed behind, but Storm took Moira’s arm.
“I’m glad you’re here, Moira,” she said quietly. “But as the new headmaster I’m a little uncomfortable with you bringing strangers in as faculty without prior approval.”
Moira turned to look at the mysterious man, who had wandered off to the side and was now gazing dreamily at the sky, at the mansion, at the grounds.
“You don’t recognize him?” Moira asked, then pursed her lips. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t. He was in Charles’ class, not any of yours…”
Ororo blinked. “He knew Charles?”
“Well…” Moira paused, trying to find the right words. “We think… We think he is Charles.”
Ororo took a step back, her mouth hanging open. Her head spun to look at the man, and she started walking towards him. “What?”
Moira grabbed her. “We think it’s him, Ororo, please wait, let me explain before you do anything drastic.”
“Drastic?”
Moira looked around the lawn, seeing a few pairs of eyes turned towards them. “Can we find somewhere quieter to discuss this? Right now, the fewer people who are aware of the situation, the safer it will be for everyone.”
Ororo nodded, but as they stepped into the front door of the school, she couldn’t help muttering under her breath, “McTaggert, with everything that’s happened in this school the last few years, the last thing I want to have happen is for me to leave these children behind with someone who’s potentially dangerous…”
Moira sighed as they turned a corner into Ororo’s office. “I misspoke,” she replied. “What I meant to say is… well… let me just start at the beginning. This man, who’s calling himself Brian…”
Brian? Ororo thought. I know it’s a common name, but why does it sound familiar?
“…was a patient of mine at Muir Island,” she continued. “He was at the Muir Island facility because Cerebro pegged him as a man of extraordinary abilities. Unfortunately, he was catatonic from birth. No brain functions, no motor functions, nothing. In purely unscientific terms, he was a vegetable.”
Ororo nodded as she sat down behind her desk. This also sounded familiar, an example Charles often brought up in philosophical discussions between himself, Jean, and Henry back in the old days. Sometimes Emma had gotten in on them, too. When she took it upon herself to socialize, that is.
“A few months ago,” Moira said, “a few days after… well, of Charles’ death, Brian gained consciousness. I was checking on his vitals, he turned his head to the right, and said ‘Moira.’
“The way he said it… he sounded so much like Charles… I thought maybe…”
Moira realized that her eyes had drifted to Charles’ chair, and shook her head, clearing her thoughts. “For being someone who had never moved, or spoken, the man who was calling himself ‘Brian’ picked up on rehabilitation extremely quickly. Almost like he was someone else, downloaded into the body.”
“Like the ethical question Charles talked about…” Ororo said. “But Charles wouldn’t… I mean, I know that he liked to talk about that a lot. But he always spoke about consciousness transfer as something to be done in dire emergencies, or when the person involved had a family. He would never consciously choose this, would he?
“I mean, if what he talked about could actually be done… it’s not like there are a ton of living bodies laying around without a mind. It would be like… he wouldn’t do that, would he?”
Moira sighed. “Considering the things Logan told me before he left, it’s difficult to say if we really knew the real Charles. How he acted about Jean… that was so unlike him…
“But, anyway, if it is Charles, Brian doesn’t remember. After that one word, he acted as though he had never heard of a Charles Xavier, had never been to New York, let alone Xavier Academy. The brainwave patterns are somewhat similar to Charles, but it’s difficult to tell now…”
“What do you mean?”
“Charles was a telepath,” Moira explained. “His psychic powers affected his brainwaves, his thought patterns, everything.
“But it was also genetic. If Charles passed himself over to a new body, then his telepathy would stay behind. It was as much a part of his physical being as his paralysis and his male pattern baldness.
“Brian’s patterns, on the other hand, are those of a normal man. A mutant, sure, and we’re still not sure what his powers are beyond a quick acceptance of motor skills. But his brain seems unaffected by his mutation. So, there are similarities to Charles in them, but not much more than there would be to you or I.”
“So why are we keeping it secret?” Ororo asked. “Why is he here?”
“Because I want him to heal,” Moira said. “I want Brian to learn about the world outside of the hospital room. And if he should one day remember who he is, I want it to be on his own terms, at his own speed.”
”If it is Charles in there,” she finished, “What’s left of him has to be fairly well beaten up. Between the sabotage of Cerebro, the incident at Alkali Lake, and his eventual battle with Phoenix… if he comes to the knowledge of who he was too quickly, it might collapse his sanity forever.
“That’s why this knowledge never goes past us, do you understand? There are only three of us who know about what’s going on. Emma’s the only psychic around here anymore, so she picked up my thoughts on the matter, but she’s been through enough to be trusted, I think. Would you agree?”
Ororo begrudgingly nodded. Emma had been through a lot, had been on both sides of the conflict in the past, but had come out the other end as a changed woman, a woman who would do anything to help the good guys. She was safe.
“Alright,” Ororo said, standing, “I guess that will have to do for now. He can stay, but if anything, and I mean anything, starts getting suspicious, if anything starts making you nervous, you call me, or you get him off the property, do you understand?”
Moira nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Ororo paused, and then shook her head, chuckling. “And please don’t call me ‘ma’am.’ That’s my mother’s name.”
Moira laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”
They were laughing and heading towards the hallway when Ororo paused, her eyes catching a frame on the wall. Walking towards it, she saw that it was a framed news clipping, yellowed with age:
Local Boy Gets Full Scholarship
Charles Xavier, Valedictorian of Westchester’s most recent graduating class, was recently rewarded for his high honors with a full scientific scholarship at Oxford University in Oxford, England. He has also been offered scholarships for Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as schools in France, Berlin, and New Delhi.
At 15, Charles, the son of Brian and Sharon Xavier, is the youngest valedictorian in Westchester history. At Oxford, he hopes to study…
Ororo turned to Moira. “That’s why it sounded familiar.
“Brian is the name of Charles’ father."
Previous Chapter (Ororo's Class) / Next Chapter (Show & Tell)