It's been a longer wait than usual, as RL got hectic for a bit, but here is chapter 26! It's the true beginning of our X-Men crossover.
Enjoy!
"That was...an experience," Clarice says when they finally get through the gate to the airport waiting area.
"You could say that," John says, wheeling himself closer to her. Having to wait over half-an-hour and yell at the flight attendants for them to stop insisting he could walk to the baggage claim and get his wheelchair out of hold has been exhausting and nerve-wrecking for all of them, and it was only the last of a long list of issues. Clarice, Lorna and Marcos all refused to get off the plane before John could and helped him stand his ground, but he would probably have caved in if it had lasted any longer, despite his tiredness and pain.
Clarice herself has been tense throughout the journey, getting far too many looks for her comfort, though her sunglasses have stayed glued to her face the whole way. John has had too much to deal with to offer more than customary support, but she can feel his concern for her.
"It's not even the worse we've had," Lorna interjects. "Remember the first time you flew after your injury?"
"Don't remind me," John says darkly.
Clarice watches him with a frown. Even before the harrowing trip, John has been in a bad mood all day, in that way she's learned to recognize means he's in pain and doesn't want to admit it. He came back from his rescheduled PT session leaning heavily on his cane, and he hasn't made an attempt to get out of his wheelchair longer than was strictly necessary for the whole journey.
She half-wants to squeeze his shoulder, but it doesn't seem like a great idea while he's propelling himself. She's still learning these subtleties, that seem so natural to Marcos and Lorna. Of course, they've had a lot more time than her to get used to it, but sometimes she feels a little jealous.
"So you said the school was outside of New York, right?" she asks. "How are we getting there? Cab?"
John shakes his head. "Someone's picking us up. Let me check."
He stops moving and closes his eyes, reaching out. "God, this place is loud," he says after a minute, waving toward one of the exits. "He's over there."
They move in that direction for a bit longer before Lorna nearly squeals in excitement, running up to a man with dark glasses. Clarice stares, surprised. She's never seen Lorna so excited, or so relaxed that she would let herself go to that extent.
The stranger hugs her with a wide smile, then walks toward them.
"Scott," John smiles beside Clarice. Scott's pause is minute, his eyebrows going up a fraction as he sees John, but Clarice doesn't miss it.
"John. It's nice to see you."
He casually leans down to hug John. "It's been a while."
"We've been busy," John says. A look passes between them that Clarice doesn't completely understand.
"You look better than last time," Scott says. "I heard the Underground is doing well? I still don't understand why you named it that."
"That's the point," Marcos smirks.
Scott shakes Marcos's hand, then turns to Clarice.
"Or is she why you've been busy?" he asks John with a grin. He extends a hand. "Hi, I'm Scott Summers."
"Clarice."
"Scott was one of our teachers," John explains. "And he's the leader of the X-Men."
"Nice to meet you," Clarice says politely.
Scott hasn't removed his sunglasses anymore than she has, and Clarice notices his shades are red and very thick, and clearly not your run-of-the-mill store-bought glasses.
"He's also known as Cyclops," John adds more quietly.
"You're Cyclops?" Clarice gapes.
"Keep your voice down, if you don't mind," Scott mutters. "But yes, I don't just wear these because of how good they look on me," he taps his glasses. "Neither do you, I assume."
Clarice tries to reconcile this thin, normal-looking man with the hero she's seen on TV. The one who shoots lasers out of his eyes. She gives up quickly and shrugs.
"No," she says. She lets her glasses slide down her nose just enough for Scott to get a glimpse of her eyes.
Scott just nods, his face neutral. "Car's out there," he says.
They all follow him to the fancy BMV waiting in one of the disabled parking spots.
"You didn't have to park here," John says.
"I had the placard anyway, I figured it would be easier," Scott answers easily. "You okay to get in?"
John nods. He opens the front door and transfers smoothly into the passenger seat, not even bothering to stand up like Clarice has seen him do before. Clarice starts pushing his chair toward the back, but Scott takes it from her. "I'll do it," he says.
Clarice looks over to John, who nods at her, so she takes a step back. Scott expertly folds and fits the chair into the trunk of the car, beside their bags, while she goes to sit in the back behind John. Lorna squeezes beside her in the middle seat while Marcos takes the left.
"There's about an hour's drive," John tells Clarice. "The school is in Westchester."
She listens to the conversations around her for most of the ride, John and Lorna asking Scott for news about a lot of people she doesn't know, and telling him about the café and the mutant center. She lets herself be lulled to sleep by their voice, and only wakes up when Lorna shakes her arm.
"We're almost here," she says.
"Thank you," Clarice nods, a bit embarrassed at her tiredness.
"Look," Marcos tells her, pointing to the outside.
Clarice sticks her head out the window to stare at the mansion Scott is driving up to. It's at least three times as large as she imagined, and it looks ridiculously wealthy. But there are children playing in the courtyard just outside, and Clarice feels like she can picture John and Lorna being happy here as teenagers.
"I'll go park the car in the underground garage once you've got your stuff," Scott says, stopping in front of the main door.
'There's an underground garage?' Clarice mouths at Lorna. Lorna just laughs and nods.
"There's at least three underground floors," she says. "We were never allowed down there as students, but it's huge."
"You know you're not supposed to tell anyone about this, don't you?" Scott frowns at Lorna.
"Yeah. But Clarice is not anyone. And all the kids who come through here know anyway."
"Fine." Scott pops the trunk open goes to take out John's chair, but it's suddenly floating down beside him. "Lorna!"
"Sorry!" Lorna says, not sounding sorry in the least. She unfolds the chair with her powers and lands it close to John, who's walked out of the car just far enough to lean on the frame.
"Thanks," he says, sitting down and wheeling himself over to the trunk to get their bags out.
"I can take that," Clarice says when he puts her bag as well as his on his lap.
"If you want, but it's not bothering me here."
"Alright," Clarice smiles.
She looks back at the mansion, which is so large that she can't even see it fully at this distance. It's almost a castle, really.
"This place is huge," she says in awe.
John smirks at her, starting to wheel himself up the path.
Clarice doesn't think she would have noticed, a few months ago, the wide ramp leading up to the front doors, or the way the path before it is paved perfectly smoothly. She understand when she sees the man coming down to greet them.
"Professor!" Lorna shouts happily.
"Lorna, my dear, you look wonderful," the bald man answers with a British accent, as Lorna bends down to hug him. She beams at him as he exclaims joyfully about her pregnant belly.
His wheelchair is nothing like John's, bulky and electrically powered, but the man seems to naturally look like a king on a throne. Or a professor on his teaching chair, Clarice reflects.
She matches John's pace as they approach. The Professor's eyes keep going back to John, even as he shakes Marcos's hand. John brings up his chair beside the Professor to hug him, somewhat awkwardly.
"It's good to see you, Professor," John says, sounding moved.
"You too, my boy, you too."
If it were any other situation, Clarice would have laughed at that moniker applied to John. But the moment is clearly important to both of them, and she feels like an outsider.
John wheels back to her side as the Professor comes up to her.
"Welcome to the School for Gifted Youngsters, Clarice," he says. Clarice starts a little at her name, but of course John would have warned he was bringing her. "You don't need to hide here."
Clarice frowns, and he gestures to her sunglasses.
"Right," she says, removing them.
The Professor meets her eyes in near fascination. "You have a beautiful mutation," he says with a smile.
"That's what I keep telling her," John laughs. Clarice glares at him.
"John, will you at least introduce us?" the Professor demands.
John immediately looks chastised. "Of course, although you already know her name. Professor, this is Clarice, who I've talked to you about. Clarice, Professor X. He created this school."
"Charles Xavier," the Professor says, extending his hand. "You can call me Charles, or Professor, whichever makes you feel more comfortable."
Clarice shakes his hand. "Clarice Fong," she says, feeling like such a formal introduction should include her last name. She feels like she's meeting John's father. Which she is, if what he told her is true. God, she shouldn't have thought of that, now she's even more nervous.
"You may consider this place your home as much as John does," the Professor says. "It is, before anything else, a place for mutants to feel safe."
"Thank you," Clarice says.
"Come inside."
Lorna and Marcos have already disappeared inside somewhere, so Clarice follows John past the front doors and into a large corridor. It's lined with what looks like expensive, collector furniture, which is a little surprising for a school, but fits well into the settings.
"Will you come to my study, or do you wish to get some rest first?" the Professor asks once all three of them are inside.
John looks up at Clarice, who shrugs discreetly. "We'll come," he says.
"Good." The Professor leads them into a well-lit room, with a large desk and several couches on one side. "Scott will be here in a minute with some refreshments. Clarice, do you like tea?"
Clarice nods shyly. John puts their bags on the floor and transfers onto a couch. He signals Clarice to sit beside him and puts a reassuring arm behind her back, probably sensing her tension. "You okay?" he murmurs.
Clarice just relaxes into his embrace. She's more intimidated than truly anxious, so she doesn't think she's likely to panic.
The Professor leaves his wheelchair for the other couch, crossing his legs with his hands.
"I'm happy to finally meet this young lady John has been going on about," he says casually.
Clarice chokes. "What have you been saying about me?" she asks John.
"Nothing bad," John laughs. "Professor, please try not to embarrass Clarice too badly?"
"Does that mean I can embarrass you?" the Professor smirks, revealing a sense of humor Clarice hadn't suspected. "Because I have plenty of stories."
"Lorna has already told me some things," Clarice says, as John coughs loudly.
"Oh, but Lorna came here several years after John. There is a lot she doesn't know."
Scott walks in then, carrying a tray with a full tea set on it, small sandwiches included. It posher and more British than anything Clarice has ever seen, and she wants to laugh, though she doesn't dare.
"My upbringing was not very traditional, but I have some leftover penchant for English tea from my Oxford days," the Professor says with a smile. "Scott, will you be staying with us?"
"I don't want to intrude," Scott says, putting the tray down on a low table.
"I'm sure you and John have already caught up, but you're welcome to stay."
"Alright. Not for long though, I need to go back to grading papers."
"We won't be long either," John says. "I think we both need to rest."
Scott nods and kneels to serve the tea, passing them their cups.
"So, John, how are your classes going?" the Professor asks. "It always amazes me when former students become teachers in their own right," he adds to Clarice, giving both John and Scott a fond look.
"Good," John answers. "We haven't had any accident in a couple of months, which, when you think that I'm trying to get teenagers to control their powers, is a near miracle−"
"Don't we know about that," Scott mutters.
"What do you teach?" Clarice asks him.
"Math, mostly. And leadership skills and tactics."
"That doesn't sound like a regular class."
"It's not. We offer a bunch of electives to the older students. They are...let's say tailored to the skills they're likely to need further down the road."
"I see," Clarice says, unsure that she's really understanding all the implications the three men are clearly familiar with. She'll ask John later, if she remembers to.
After that, the conversation devolves into the Professor and Scott updating John on various students and former classmates, which Clarice mostly tunes out. She looks around the room instead, noticing the expensive but tasty furniture. The Professor's desk looks like a typical teacher's desk, piled up with papers, though there are none on the floor or in hard-to-reach places, and no chair behind it.
"You should go get some rest," the Professor says suddenly, and Clarice realizes when John squeezes her arm that she's spaced out completely.
"Yes, I think we should," John says.
"I had the housekeeper prepare you the same room as last time. Was I right to assume you would want only one room? If not, there is plenty of space−"
"It's all good," John stops him. "Let's go, then."
"Thank you for inviting me," Clarice says, standing up.
"You're very welcome, dear," the Professor answers.
John transfers back to his wheelchair and puts their bags back on his lap.
"John?" the Professor calls, something like anxious concern in his voice.
John and Clarice both turn back toward him.
"On the phone..." he hesitates. "You said you were walking now."
"Yes," John smiles. "I am. It's just been a long day. Don't worry, you'll see tomorrow."
"I'll hold you to that," the Professor smiles.
"In the meantime, I'll take advantage that this place is fully accessible."
"Very well. Should we expect you for dinner? We often dine with the students," the Professor explains to Clarice, "but we could also eat in the staff room. But I can have food sent to your room if you'd prefer."
"Staff room sounds good," John answers. "The children may be a bit much for tonight, but I'd like Clarice to meet the other teachers."
"Then it should be ready by seven."
"Thanks. We'll see you later, then."
Here we go! Did you like John and Clarice's interaction with the Professor and Scott?
This universe is meant to be more or less what we glimpse at the end of Days of Future Past, as in, movie-verse and similar to the original trilogy, but there was no cure and the Brotherhood is still out there. And, obviously, no one died.
In the next chapter we'll see few more characters!