Dismal Angel 2010 - Episode 24

Chapter 4: The Professor's Opinion

Kitty was sitting in Professor Xavier's spacious office, the room was mildly cool, and the vertical blinds at the large window provided a comfortable shade. The clock on the mantle ticked softly, the sound was somewhat calming, Kitty felt. Jean had led her in, but said nothing. Kitty had been sitting there for four minutes without being able to say what she needed to.

I wish Jean had stayed, Kitty thought. She felt like sighing. She wished Jean had stayed and told the Professor what she'd heard in the hallway. Telling Professor Xavier – the one man who truly thought the most of her and her potential – would be the most difficult thing she had to do. She'd thought that telling Piotr about the pregnancy would be harder than this, but now, sitting opposite him, she knew the truth.

"I can see conflict lies within you," Professor Xavier said, he was sitting very still in his wheelchair. For once he had put back all his paperwork, to give her his utmost attention. Kitty wished he hadn't, she wished he wasn't looking at her.

Kitty drew her beeath, "like Jean said…I have something to tell you…and…" Kitty swallowed nervously, tears were stinging her eyes again. "Well…it's just so difficult to say," she sighed. "It's one of those things that…it'll change your whole opinion of me, it'll make you hate me, think I've ruined my life…"

"Kitty, nothing you could tell me – unless of course you plan on telling me you are marrying Magneto – could make me think less of you," he said with a wry smile which made Kitty smile slightly too.

Kitty looked down to her hands, she was twisting them together, twining her fingers anxiously, "I…"

"I think I know what you're going to say, Kitty," the Professor said carefully.

"Did you read my mind?" Kitty asked, looking at him worriedly, she bit her lip.

"No," Professor Xavier answered quietly, "I never use my powers to nose into the affairs of others," he explained.

"Oh," Kitty responded.

"However," the Professor added, "my power is never completely switched off. Although I might not read minds, I tend to sense emotions, feelings…" he said, "and this helped me to realise what your dilemma is."

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked nervously, she picked at a rough edge on one of her fingernails as if it would help her deal with the situation.

"My powers are drawn to very powerful emotion within the mansion, especially when the emotions are suddenly all the more heightened and somewhat erratic…as yours have been. Your emotions were like a magnet to my powers, and within a single day, I sensed your inner turmoil, excitement, happiness, sadness, anxiety, depression, fear, anger, nervousness and confusion just to name a few."

Kitty nodded slightly, beginning to understand.

"Of course, these are all normal emotions that anyone might have," the Professor responded, "but they were changing so suddenly from one emotion to the next, that it led me to believe you were experiencing mood swings."

"I…yes," Kitty finally admitted.

"I believe you are with child," the Professor said softly.

Kitty gave a timid nod and glanced quickly up to him, then back down to her hands again. She felt so ashamed, and she knew the Professor must have picked up on it, because he responded quickly once again.

"This…is nothing to feel shameful about, Kitty," the Professor stated.

"But there is," she looked up again, "this…is an unplanned pregnancy, the father doesn't even know – AND he's a criminal – and before you ask it's DEFINITELY not Remy," Kitty stated. "I'm twenty four years old, I'm not ready to have a baby. I can barely take care of myself let alone another human being…and this…it's going to ruin my life, my life will never be the way it used to be…ever."

"An unplanned pregnancy is not some mistake that you should feel forever guilty for, Kitty," Professor Xavier said softly, "New life is a wonderful thing, not to be taken for granted…or to be forever deemed an accident…"

Kitty looked at the Professor, beginning to feel slightly better.

"And why should it ruin your life? Think of how truly amazing it will be to hold a tiny person that you gave birth to, think of how truly wonderful it will be to bring the baby's laughter…" the Professor stated. "Think of your parents, how happy they would have been to have a grandchild regardless of the circumstances…"

Kitty thought, she knew her parents would be slightly concerned over the circumstances, but they would love the child no matter what, just as they'd loved her despite her mutant abilities.

"And so your life might change, and never be the same…it's not a bad thing. Barely anything needs to change, Kitty. You'll still be able to be one of the X-Men after maternity leave," the Professor said, "you can still continue to teach…you can still continue to live with us, the only thing that will have changed is that you'll be a mother…"

Kitty swallowed, "that's scary, though, Professor…this tiny little person, and the thought of it calling me Mommy…the thought that…like…oh my god, this thing actually NEEDS me," she explained. "And then…the thought of having a baby in the house if we ever get attacked by Magneto…"

"Magneto is many things but I do not think he would purposely harm a child," Professor Xavier said gravely.

Kitty sighed, "thanks for your support, Professor, but right now, I don't know, I guess I just don't feel as enthusiastic as you do."

"Understandable," Professor smiled sympathetically. "If you ever need me, I am always here."

She forced a smile, and swallowed, "I know," she said, "one question?"

"Yes?"

"Can I continue to teach until the baby is born also because…I have…nothing else to do," she added.

"Of course…" he smiled, "In fact, I may have something that will keep you occupied until the birth."

"What is it?"

"We'll discuss it later," the Professor suggested, "in the meantime I'd suggest washing your face, drying your eyes, and having a soothing cup of tea."

"Sounds good to me."

Remy LeBeau stepped into a small ten minutes walk away from the Mansion. He was glad to be out of the Mansion. During the last few moments he'd spent in the mansion before walking out, he'd felt the atmosphere change, and become very negative, and he was all too aware that he had some part in it, however slight it might have been.

Why are you blaming yourself? He wondered as he began to wander over to the counter. You might have set Kitty up with Piotr, that's all. He's the one at fault with his Jealousy, he has no control of his anger.

Remy mused about that, he sometimes had the same problem. Who am I to judge? He wondered with a strange smile at himself. He approached the counter, a young girl about the age of eighteen had been flicking through – what Remy could have sworn – was a pornography magazine. She slipped it behind the counter so fast Remy couldn't have been sure, but it had looked like a naked woman on the front.

"Hey," she said brightly, although he could detect a slightly hesitant and unsure tone in her voice, "how can I help?"

"Baby, no one can help me," Remy responded with the slight flirtatious smirk that was his trademark.

The girl blushed deep crimson, and looked down so that her long dark eyelashes seemed to caress her cheeks. She had curly blonde hair, and she would have been pretty were it not for the glasses she were wearing which did not suit her face, and the way she wore her hair in barrettes.

"Pack of Regal," Remy gestured to the cigarette display behind her."

The girl forced a smile and turned to take a pack of cigarettes from the display, accidentally knocking down several others, they all tumbled down behind the counter with soft slapping sounds against the tiles beneath her feet.

"God, I'm such a moron," she sighed.

Remy might have offered to help, but there was a sign clearly on the counter stating that customers must stay on the other side of the counter at all times. "Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes," he said, he thought of several of his own and sighed.

"I'm new…so…" she knelt down and began to pick them up.

"I could kind of tell," Remy said, and he had, because she didn't seem to have the confidence or the experience to complete the transaction quickly. An experienced employee would have sold him the cigarettes first, and then picked the fallen ones up, but he wasn't about to tell her how to do her job.

"You sure walked out in a hurry," came a familiar southern drawl near his back.

Remy glanced over his shoulder, Rogue was standing there, she was wearing a short sundress, her long smooth tanned legs exposed more than what was usual for her. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, her face fresh without makeup. He put a twenty dollar bill on the counter and received his cigarettes, he stood to weight for his change.

"I needed cigarettes," he shrugged.

The girl behind the counter slipped the bill in to the cash register, but then dropped a handful of coins on the floor trying to retrieve his change, and she groaned and began to pick it up, prolonging the transaction even further.

Rogue watched the girl curiously for a moment

"Why are you out? You're supposed to be resting?" Remy said softly to Rogue.

"What's the point of just sittin' around. I'm fine. I'm tired but I've been tired before, and I'll get over it," Rogue reached over to pick a piece of lint off of Remy's t-shirt, "what was all that about back at the mansion…"

"I'm not really sure I should be the one to explain it," Remy unwrapped the cigarette packet and opened it, taking a cigarette out. He had no intentions of lighting it in the shop, but he was so incredibly tense that he wanted to be able to smoke the second he walked out that door, and he didn't want to hinder himself from doing so later.

"How did Kitty get pregnant?" Rogue asked curiously.

"C'mon, Cher. I KNOW you got that talk when you were in school," Remy forced a smirk, the joke didn't seem very funny though.

The girl behind the counter coughed, "ahem, here's your change…"

Remy smiled politely as he pocketed his change, "thanks," he said, he put one arm around Rogue's waist, careful not to let his bare arm brush against any of her skin, and led her towards the door.

"You were totally flirting with that girl," Rogue mumbled once they were outside.

"Of course I was," Remy shrugged, "I though it'd get me a discount on my cigs," he shrugged, he took his zippo lighter out of his pocket and lit his cigarette.

"Since when did you need a discount, Remy?" Rogue raised an eyebrow with a slight smirk, "you probably have more money than everyone in the mansion – except from the professor, of course."

"Probably," Remy shrugged, "I don't go countin' it. It's all lyin' in several banks gainin' interest," he added.

"How much…do you actually have?" Rogue asked curiously. She'd never really known what Remy had been saving for all his life, but she knew he'd been stacking money away for a while now. He'd done petty thieving jobs to keep a low profile for some time, and to keep himself occupied, but she knew that he didn't need to work anymore to support himself.

"That's my business," Remy remarked, feeling more like a jerk than he ever had in his life. He softened his tone, "c'mon…lets go home, get changed, and I'll take you out for somethin' to eat."