Hey guys, I'm back… black… green..., and still going on this story. Maybe this chapter will be longer than the last one I worked on… maybe not.
(Awkwardly...) Alrighty then… Let's get on with it.
Got a Minute?- Chapter 3
It took him 10 minutes to burn his newly assumed identity, and transfer his funds and other assets, untraceably, to his other aliases. Then Theo sold the lease to his apartment to an outside company, sending the money through numerous filters, to lose his connection to it, before splitting and donating it to a dozen different, charities and organizations he had thoroughly checked out.
Then he looked up the Xavier Institute as well as doing his own quick background check into the funding, history, known and unknown contacts, staff and students of the school. He was quite impressed at how little he found. Other than an occasional report at Bayville High, referencing wards of the Institute there was almost no hint to believe that it was anything but a really advantageous school with a socially-active headmaster who publicly speaks of mutant freedom.
Theo also got the address and sent it to the GPS in his Charger. He had told Hank and Storm that he would arrive at the Institute within the hour to meet with the Professor, before any final decisions were to be made.
He had only brought up one bag with him when he first went to enter his apartment. The clothes suitcase with his valuables. That was all Theo had to take back down to the parking garage. Before he closed the door of his apartment for the final, and 3rd, time ever, however, he drug the body of his home-invader to the kitchen table and set her in a chair.
He got a permanent marker out of his bag and wrote before her on the glass table: "Let this not go unheeded. You. Fucked. Up. When I get the chance, people will look for you, nobody will find you. I'll be seeing you soon." Theo signed it with a smiley face, unable to resist a giggle.
Then he shut and locked his front door,taking the elevator downstairs. Leaving the key in an envelope in the mail slot of the building manager's office in the lobby, before going to the side exit to the private resident parking garage. He took the stairs in the garage up a level. His building owned the first 2 stories, while the last two and the roof were owned by an adjacent building.
His Charger was parked 4 cars down from the stairs, it's black, limo-styled tint reflected the dull flickering light of the parking garage. It was flawless, he'd bought it months ago and never driven it. It had been delivered, covered and left until he'd gotten to the city that morning. He slowed to a stop when he reached the car beside his own. It was a bigger, newer SUV that blocked most of his view of his car. As he got closer, though, he got view of the man leaning against the side of his car.
The man was wearing a long brown trench coat, his greying black hair and thick sideburns long, but half covered by the raised collar of the coat. He turned his head when he realized I was approaching, his wild eyes looking at me. His eyes widened once he saw me.
Theo took a step back as the man stretched out his hand towards him. The man's eyes glowed green and he began to wiggle his fingers. The world around Theo began to skip, in a single second he was inside the parking garage, then trapped in a coffin buried underground and then back.
He began to walk towards the man, slamming his face into the lid of the coffin every time it appeared only to disappear, granting him another step. The man began to lose focus of his telepathic illusion as Theo drew closer, his face morphing into fear, backing up until he fell into the wall, cowering in his fear.
Theo continued to approach. He could feel every moment of his life, the tick of his internal clock, everything happening at one time, a time that had lasted forever. Until it stopped. "No… no…", the man croaked. "No one can break Mastermind's hold, NO ONE." Theo punched the man in his throat, bringing his knee up as the man's head dropped to protect his throat. The man slumped before Theo's feet.
Theo pulled his phone out of his back pocket, skimming his fingers across the screen, pulling up the number to the Institute. He tapped on it and it began ringing, he put it on speaker before placing it upon the roof of his car. ~"Hello?"
"Hello, my name is Theo. I just met with Ms. Munroe and Hank, I have a meeting scheduled with the Professor later this afternoon." Theo had opened his trunk, pulling out two lengths of cord. He tossed them over to the unconscious man before grabbing the thick red cloth that he had stored in his trunk.
~"Ah… yes. They arrived not long ago. My name is Scott, what can I do for you?" His voice was young, but deep and a little gruff, like he didn't talk much. "Something has come up. As much as I'd like to, it may be unlikely that I will be able to attend the meeting with the Professor this afternoon. Would you mind informing him of that and asking when the next available time for us to meet would be."
~"Umm… sure. Hold on a sec." The line did not hang up, nor was there complete silence. Sounds of chatter and activity could be heard in the background. Theo flipped Mastermind over onto his stomach, tying his hands together behind his back, then tying his feet. He wrapped the red cloth around Mastermind's head twice, gagging him him with two loops, before knotting it on both open ends and with the tightly bound loops as well.
~"Theo? Still there?" Scott's voice came. Theo answered him yes as he drug Mastermind's body to the back of my car. ~"All right. The Professor said that anytime was fine, once classes had started. That is at 8. He also asked me to tell you that he would help you if you need it. That you don't have to miss your appointment. He said he would have told you himself, but can't seem to be able to."
Theo gave a short laugh, thinking it over. If he took the man to an abandoned warehouse to question him, then he would have to get rid of him, lest the man tell anyone about him. He doubted the Professor would feel very good about an interrogation and torture. But if the man's fear of him was anything, he wouldn't need any coercion to talk.
"What do you know about a mutant named Mastermind?" Scott paused for a second before answering. ~"He is a highly dangerous mutant with the ability to create psychosomatic illusions that control all of the senses and even some thoughts and emotions. His powers are ranged to those within his telepathic reach and those who have fully succumbed to his powers previously, but he needs augmentation for power and reach."
Theo used the duration of his response to lift Mastermind into the trunk of my car, shoving him down further to prevent him from hitting the lid of trunk when he closed it. "Then, is anyone immune to his powers?" I asked. ~"Strong telepaths can put up barriers to defend their minds, but if he is backed by enough power or if they fail, then they too will fall for his illusions. I'm not an expert, I've studied things like this, but the Professor or Jean would know more."
"Then if you don't mind, I will be arriving at the Institute in a few hours, with a guest. The Professor will know who." Theo began rifling through the man's pockets, popping open his trench coat. Then he saw it. Plated metal, wires, transmitters, and glowing lights, all hidden under the man's coat.
He looked at the hazily-glowing, purple gem at the center of the breastplate, harnessed to the rest of the suit. He unclipped the straps to the harness, pulled the electrical components he could reach from their sockets and soldering, and pulled of the chestplate. He slammed the trunk closed and grabbed his bag. He tossed it in the backseat when he got in and started his car.
His music, which had been previously quite loud, lowered as his GPS greeted him. "Hello, 'Theo'. Please confirm that you are headed to 'the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters' at '1407 Gray-'." The navigations british voice stopped as he pressed yes before slipping out of his parking space to go down ramp to the parking garage's exit. "Calculating Route!"
(I really like the ending to that section. Mostly because I absolutely hate every person who has ever audition to be an American-recorded computer voice. They're all fucking irritating… If I have offended you, get over it, you know you agree.)
It was a mansion, with fountains and lakes, basketball and tennis courts, a track field and wooded areas surrounding. It looked like an architect of most college campuses and an upper-class designer had a head-on collision with each other, their injuries so severely inoperable that they became mid-life, accidental, siamese twins and continued in their creative occupations, here in New York.
Or a mansion had been restyled and added to, to form a school… but the siamese twin story was much more fun. Theo was laughing to himself quietly as the gates opened at his approach. "'Theo', you have arrived at your chosen destination. Have a good day!" He drove down the long driveway. He approached the fountain, it stood in the middle of the circle that ran in front of the entrance and split into two roads, one going around the mansion, the other finishing the roundabout before reconnecting to exit the way he'd come, through the gate.
Theo was entering the loop when the doors opened, revealing Mrs. Munroe, the disabled Professor, and a young guy wearing sunglasses. He gently applied the brakes, the smooth quiet of the car easing into a low idle as he geared into park. He checked himself, while watching the three out of the corner of his eye, making sure he was prepped for a fight if it came, then Theo pushed the stop-engine button.
He glanced again at the group while he opened his door, stepping out and looking around the fountains and the grounds with a single sweeping look, before turning back. The door closed behind him as he walked toward the steps. Theo stopped three steps down from the top landing where they had arranged themselves in a wedge shape. They stood across from each other for a short while. Xavier broke the silence.
"I suppose since you're here, you've decided completely?" His eyes studied me carefully, but not coldly. Theo closed his eyes for a second, thinking his answer over, it had been on his mind most of the drive. His eyes reopened looking at the dark, red shades, then into Ororo's chocolate pools, then back to Xavier's dark depths.
"Yes," he answered slowly. "If you can watch my back while I find out how I was found and why they came for me, then I will help you in return, to be fair." The man before him nodded slowly. "Make no mistake… I work for myself and am not to be trusted, but I am fair and honest. I will play by your rules to the best of my ability, and if I can't I will make sure you know that. Do we have an agreement?" Theo waited as the man continued to look at him.
"The ensured safety of the students is most important, other things may follow. Your completion of your education is required. Any other talents you may offer will be sorted out later. I will in return offer you my contacts, my skills and any other assistance you may need as well as a position in the school as a student and resident until the circumstances that have occurred have otherwise ended or as such are no longer a problem." His condition were reasonable, Theo prefered not to harm innocent people, though innocence means nothing in a battle for survival.
"Those terms are acceptable to me." Theo spoke the words while at the same time his brain began riding a rollercoaster in his brain, static buzzing in his ears. His hand came up to rub his forehead as his mind settled. "That's good to hear," Xavier replied, though his face betrayed no emotion, remaining stoic.
"I am Professor Charles Xavier. This, as you have already met, is Ororo Munroe, and this young man is Scott Summers." He paused as Ororo greeted Theo with 'Hello again' and Scott nodded his head once. "I have already sent Peter down to the garage," he said turning the chair slightly to face Scott. He looked between the two of them as he continued. "if you would lead Mr. Du-" "You can call me Mr. Newport, Mr. Glass, Mr. Smith, or Theo, I don't care, but that name is my own," he interrupted hastily.
"I see. Theo…" he waited for the nod. "if you would escort Theo to the garage, so he can park in a more long-term position, as well as take care of his business. I believe his guest is waking." Scott nodded to the Professor and began moving towards me. I nodded to the professor as well, before turning to Scott, gesturing towards my car. We both continued down the stairs, I rounded to the driver's side, the doors unlocking at my proximity to the handle.
As both Scott and I slid into the car seats I chucked out loud and commented, "Well… that could have gone sooo much worse."
(He again everybody. I know this one took a while… I probably won't have another chapter even started for this until the weekend of the 29th so look forward to that, but I'll do my best.)