Chapter 2 - Kurt of the Brotherhood Boarding House
Author's notes – yay, more reviews! Merry Christmas (or other seasonally appropriate holiday season). Thefourfriends03 – as requested, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!
Kurt was awoken by violet light suddenly entering his consciousness, and a quiet beeping sound. He rubbed his eyes, and turned to Magneto, giving him a questioning look. The old man smiled at him reassuringly. "It is nothing to worry about, Kurt," he said calmly, "that merely means that we cannot be detected by normal surveillance in America, which will help us to avoid answering awkward questions. We are now in American airspace," he added.
Kurt gave him another questioning look, "Legally?" he asked.
Magneto smiled at him, "Legally enough," he replied.
Kurt sighed, and stared down below him. So I'm in the wrong continent, the wrong time zone, with a dubiously sane companion, and quite possibly here illegally. In a country that still has the death penalty and is potentially hostile towards mutants. Wonderful. No wonder Mum and Dad wanted me to contact them as soon as I reached safety.
"We will be landing soon," Magneto told him, "get your bags and other belongings."
"Are we going to go through customs and all that legal stuff?" Kurt asked nervously.
"Why, do you want to?"
"No, not particularly," Kurt admitted.
"I will be visiting Xavier soon after we land, to talk to him about the trouble with the HDL, I will get all of your necessary papers then, so it will be clear to anyone who asks that you are in America for the purpose of studying, and spending time with relatives. Do not worry about that."
So I am quite possibly an illegal alien, thought Kurt irritably. "What are the HDL?" he asked.
"The Human Defence League," Magneto replied, "I have learnt from bitter experience to be wary of any group that has 'defence' in its title; this is, more often than not, their excuse for attack, rather than defence. And the HDL are concerned with, as they put it, protecting real humanity from the threat of the mutant problem. What that really means is that they think that mutants should be controlled, that we are by nature a danger, and that we should therefore be watched, monitored and appropriately dealt with whenever we so much as put a foot out of line. Up until recently, they have been a minority group, not a serious threat, but since the existence of mutants has been made public, they have gained increasing support. I am hoping that Xavier can provide me with support to combat this hate group."
Kurt sighed, and stared out of the window again. So you've ordered me here, away from my home, to come to a country where people hate mutants. This just gets better and better, he thought bitterly.
They landed on a grassy area, outside of what looked like either a small mansion, or a large house. Kurt stared up at it uncertainly. At least there did not seem to be anyone else around right now; he really did not want to have to deal with anyone who hated mutants, since he was so obviously a mutant, especially if they happened to be a member of this HDL. Kurt grabbed his bags, and then put on his large coat, which covered him up completely. It was better not to take chances, he thought, looking around nervously. Surely no one would attack him when he was with Magneto? Still, it was best to be sure.
Magneto got out of the plane, and helped Kurt with his bags. Then he led him towards the building in front of them, which Kurt noticed, from the sign outside, was the Brotherhood Boarding House. It was a lot bigger than he had imagined, much bigger than his home back in Bavaria, and slightly imposing. Still, he was glad to get inside, since that meant that he could not be seen by prying eyes, especially the prying eyes of these HDL members. "How am I going to manage, Magneto?" he asked quietly, "Looking like this, when there are those here who hate everything that I am?"
"Don't worry about that, Kurt," Magneto replied, "your safety is paramount. There is a way in which you can be protected, until the day when mutant supremacy reigns supreme."
Kurt gave him a sceptical look, as they entered the hallway of the big house. Magneto merely smiled at him, "You're room is number six, follow me upstairs." He said, helping Kurt to carry his bag up the tall staircase.
Kurt looked in the rooms as he passed them. They looked…lived in was probably the politest way to put it. Clothes were hung over the back of chairs, or on the floor. There was a slight unpleasant odour from one of the rooms he passed, and he wrinkled his nose in disgust, as Magneto led him to the far bedroom at the end of the hallway. Kurt was slightly wary of what might be inside, but was surprisingly pleased when he entered the room. The room was bigger than the other bedrooms he had passed on the way up here, and much neater. There was a comfortable looking bed by the window, a wooden wardrobe by the corner of the room, a small wooden desk with a chair opposite one wall, a tall mirror by the desk, and even a small television in the other corner. It was much bigger than his room back home, and it did not look like he would need to share it with anyone else. But it was becoming increasingly clear that this was a house with many occupants, which should not have really surprised him, he thought, since this house was obviously much bigger than would be required for just his mother and himself. He put his suitcase down in the centre of the room, and then turned back to Magneto. "It's…nice…" he said, and was unable to keep the surprise out of his voice, as he took off his coat and put it over the back the chair.
Magneto nodded, "This will be your room for the next few months. It is the largest of all of the bedrooms, with the exception of your mother's. Now, as I said, there is something which will protect you from all who would want to do you harm." He walked over to the desk, and picked up what looked like a sports watch, which he examined critically, before smiling, "Ah good, it is fully charged," he said.
Kurt took a step towards him, and examined the watch. It had a number of intricate buttons on it, but otherwise did not look very different from any of the other watches that he had ever seen. Magneto handed it to him, and he accepted it with grateful confusion, "I'm not sure that I understand," he admitted.
"Put it on your wrist, Kurt, and everything will become clear," Magneto said kindly.
Kurt continued to give him an unsure look, as he put the watch on his wrist, as requested. No sooner had he done so, than there was a slight tingly sensation, and he looked down at his hand.
It had changed colour, and had four fingers and a thumb.
It was no longer blue and furry, but was almost the same colour as Magneto's skin. He stared up at Magneto uncertainly.
"Look at yourself in the mirror," said Magneto, smiling at him.
Kurt took a couple of steps towards the mirror, and stared at himself in the mirror.
At least, he assumed that it was himself. It looked…sort of like himself, or like he would have looked if he was not blue and furry. He looked normal. He examined himself carefully, turning his head this way and that, and pulling faces at the mirror. The mirror pulled faces back, but did not show his pointed teeth.
"The day will come, perhaps sooner than you expect, when you will no longer have to hide everything that you are," said Magneto kindly, "but until that day, this watch will hide your uniqueness, will allow you to travel easily without having to endure unwanted attention, or worse."
Kurt grinned, as his reflection grinned back. His family had always been kind towards him, but they had also limited his movements, fearing for his safety, which had led to Kurt feeling frustrated that he was so much more restricted than his brothers and sisters, while still understanding the necessity for that restriction. Suddenly, for the first time in his memory, that restriction did not apply; he could go anywhere, do anything, and no one would mind, or even notice. Kurt felt almost drunk with the thought of suddenly having so much freedom.
"Open your suitcase," Magneto told him.
Kurt looked away from the mirror, and walked over to his suitcase. He opened it, and showed the contents to Magneto. There was nothing particularly interesting in there; just some clothes, a few books and some writing materials. Magneto pointed to a green jumper. "Point your watch at that, and then press the yellow button," he said.
Kurt did so. Suddenly, it looked as though he was wearing the green jumper. He laughed, and did the same to a couple of other items of clothing. It appeared as if he was wearing them. He went over to the mirror once more, and examined his disguised form carefully. "This watch will give you a level of freedom you could have only imaged back in Bavaria," said Magneto, "it will enable you to go to school and socialise and do the normal things that teenagers do."
"Thank you," said Kurt sincerely, "I'm sure that this will help me a lot."
Magneto nodded, and handed him another, identical watch, that was inside a small black box, which Kurt supposed must be some form of charger. "Always keep at least one of these fully charged," Magneto said, "They are your protection while you are here. In addition to their unique capabilities, they are also perfectly normal sports watches, shock and water resistant, so there should be no reason for you to be out in public without wearing one."
Kurt nodded, and placed the charger containing the spare on the desk. He then looked up to Magneto uncertainly, "I told my parents that I would email them when I reached America, so that they don't worry about my safety," he said, "is there somewhere with internet access around here?"
"Follow me downstairs," Magneto instructed, and Kurt did as he was asked. At the front of the building there was a small room that seemed to be a cross between a study and a library, with bookshelves along one wall, and a computer on a table by the window. Magneto booted up the machine, and then gave Kurt a curious look, as he picked up a pair of pencils.
Kurt sighed, "I can't type properly using my fingers," he explained, "they're too thick, I end up pressing three or four keys at a time. But I've got quite good at typing using pens or pencils to hit the keys," he added.
Magneto nodded, "That is just one of thousands of little ways in which the world is made, not for our kind, but for those that lack our talents," he said, "when the new world order has come into being, the old order will be reversed, and they shall at last realise what it feels like to live in a world not designed to accommodate their needs."
Kurt gave him a slightly worried look, "It's fine, it just takes a little longer, that's all," he said, as he sat down at the keyboard and began to type. It was slightly annoying that it took so long, but Kurt had learned to adjust. He simply told his family that he had arrived safely, that what he had seen of America so far seemed nice, although he had not seen much of it so far. He then wrote that he had been given a way to hide his mutant form, and that he would contact them again soon. He sent the email, and turned back to Magneto. "They're probably asleep right now," he said, looking out of the window at the afternoon sun. It would be night back in Germany; it would be tomorrow. He was on the wrong continent, the wrong time zone, further away from anyone who had ever loved him than he had ever been before. That thought made him suddenly feel incredibly lonely.
"Are you okay, Kurt?" Magneto asked, sounding concerned.
Kurt merely nodded, "Just jetlagged I guess," he said, "I think I will catch up on some sleep now, if that is okay with you."
Magneto gave him a sceptical look; then seemed to relent, "Very well Kurt, if that is how you feel. I will be at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, if you need to contact me. Here is a map of the immediate vicinity," he handed a map to Kurt, who examined it briefly, "your mother and the other inhabitants of this boarding house will still be at school for the next few hours. Perhaps it would be best for you to get some sleep now, before they return home."
Kurt nodded, "If that's okay. I'd just like to get some sleep, unpack, have shower, that sort of thing," he said.
Magneto nodded again, "I will come by in a couple of days to see how you are getting on," he said, sounding uncertain, "you are sure that there is nothing more that I can do for you right now?
"I'm sure," Kurt told him. He watched him leave, and then went back to his room, and turned his attention back to his suitcase. He sighed, and began to unpack, putting his clothes in the wardrobe. Maybe I am just jetlagged, he thought. He did feel tired, his whole body seemed to be telling him that it was time to go to bed, but the sun was out, and it was clearly early afternoon. Perhaps that was what jetlag was, a feeling of mismatched signals concerning what he should be doing. He sighed quietly to himself again, and unpacked another pair of jeans.
It was too quiet. Back home, it was never this quiet. Whether it was his brothers and sisters arguing about whose turn it was to do the washing up, or just normal chitchat concerning what they would be doing at the weekend, the house was never completely silent. It unnerved Kurt, who desperately wanted to fill that silence, so he would not feel so lonely and homesick. He went towards the television, fiddled with the nobs for a moment, and was relieved when it came on, a cheesy jingle suddenly filling the room with – appropriately enough – an advertisement for American cheese. He went back to his suitcase, and continued unpacking. The weather forecast came on in the background, telling him that it would be a sunny afternoon, followed by a mild night, as Kurt finished putting his clothes into the wardrobe, and started to put his books onto the desk. Then there was an interview with a member of the HDL, and Kurt felt his ears literally and metaphorically prick up at that worrying term. He turned his full attention back to the television. There was a young woman being interviewed by a middle-aged man, and what she was saying started to make Kurt feel very nervous for his safety.
"…but they are in our schools, our workplaces, our shops, everywhere. They are a risk to our children, they can quite literally kill you just by looking at you. And you claim that these creatures are not a danger to real humans? How can you say that with a straight face? Why, only yesterday, there was a mutant attack down in Texas. Next time it could be you, your mother, your father, your daughter or your son, who could be attacked by one of these mutants."
"And what are you suggesting that we should do about this, Mrs Miller?" asked the middle aged man.
"We want to see that real people are protected. That means that this threat should be controlled, regulated, not allowed out in places where they could be a danger to our communities. Listen, in Britain they rarely have shootings in their schools. And do you know why? It is because they have some of the strictest gun control laws on the planet; you cannot even get a gun without filling out countless forms to show that you have a legitimate reason to own one, that you will be of no harm to yourself or others if you are an owner of a gun. Well, these mutants are essentially living guns. We want them to be controlled, only those that have proven themselves to be completely harmless to be allowed to interact with real people, otherwise they should be kept in places where they cannot harm humanity."
"Is it true that a member of your organisation has suggested that mutants should be locked up in prison?" asked the man.
"That is certainly one possibility for those that have not proved themselves to be harmless," she replied.
"Mrs Miller, there are those who claim, with I must admit some justification, that you cannot incarcerate people without due cause. This is America, the land of the free, this is not the kind of country where we imprison people without just cause."
"Of course, if they have proven themselves to be harmless, then there is no reason why they should not be allowed to conduct their lives as they see fit."
"There are some that claim that people are innocent until proven guilty, and that the idea of controlling people until they have proven that they are definitely not a threat goes against our human rights."
"But they are not human," she countered, "They have inhuman abilities. We just feel that we should not need to wait until we are attacked until we defend ourselves, and the rights of our children…"
Kurt turned the television off, but continued to stare at the blank screen. They're scared, he thought, and, despite her ranting, she does make a valid point, mutants are potentially dangerous. Strange, in his own way, Magneto did not seem all that much different from these Human Defence Leagueobsessives, and now Kurt had been thrust, against his will, into this mess. Kurt shook his head sadly, and then turned back to the map that Magneto had given him. Enough half-answers, he thought to himself. I've been dragged against my will half-way across the world, into a battle that I never wanted to get involved with; it's time I found out exactly what Magneto is up to, and why. With that, he put on his coat, picked up the map, and left the Brother Boarding House, a determined look on his disguised face.