Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the X-Men characters nor their stories. This story is purely from my mind and all character changes are willful and do not reflect my opinions on the characters created by Marvel. This story will have multiple situations in which adult male to adult male relationships happen, if that offends you please move along.
Like so many slash fan writers my interest was piqued with the X-Men movies that came out a while back. I've had stories floating around in my head for quite some time but I'm not a writer at all and didn't know where to start. I hope this first attempt goes over fairly well.
If you have any comments, critiques, etc please email me at devonchase18@gmail.com. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It started when I was young; I'd hear things when no one was talking or even when they weren't in the same room as me. It's laughable now but for a while I actually thought it was a ghost. The sounds were so distorted and disjointed I could hardly ever understand them and they seemed to have an odd echo quality that ghost voices seem to have in a lot of movies these days. I'd ask if anyone had heard anything and of course no one ever did. Not being a brave kid by any means these occurrences tended to cause many a sleepless night huddled under my sheets starring into the darkest corners of my room looking for any movement.
Shortly after I turned 13 I started sensing a change in the voices; they were clearer and I could actually understand them. That's when I realized these weren't external voices; they could only be coming from inside my head since the voices I was hearing were other people's thoughts.
After this eureka moment I withdrew further from family and school life. I was always a solitary child, I'd prefer quiet contemplation rather than group conversations. At school I did fairly well without even trying but I would yearn to just go home and head to my room where I could spend hours alone reading or playing in my imagination. When I realized I was different, I was a mutant, I knew that the distance I felt with everyone else was even further than I previously thought. I knew the acquaintances that I'd hang out with, some may call friends but we were never close, wouldn't understand, my mother wouldn't understand, my two older sisters wouldn't understand.
As the years passed I appeared to remain an introvert but on the inside my telepathic ability to hear others thoughts and feel their emotions grew and I felt I was never alone. I was constantly barraged by my family and neighbors thoughts until I learned to control it; to stem the flow of information so I'd have some alone time once again.
At the age of 17 I was completely bored at school, it never had been a challenge and now it was just laughable. I'd skip a day almost every week just so I wouldn't have to deal with it. One day, my Mom was going through the mail and noticed an envelope from the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. We'd never heard of that place before and she was a little confused so she immediately opened it and started to read. The document was concise and to the point. It basically said that through some academic research they had deemed me fit to join their prestigious school at no expense. I was interested in the fact that I may be challenged and it'd get me away from home but my mom was more interested in the fact that it was free as being a single parent money was always an issue in our household. I quickly pestered her to respond and a week later we received the transfer forms and all the goodness that'd send me away. I was incredibly excited; I loved my family very much but felt smothered in our small apartment. I wanted to go see the world through my own eyes instead of having to rely on books for experiences and this place was all the way in New York, far away from the sweltering Texas sun that we'd been living under for the past 3 years after moving from Vermont due to a job opportunity for my mother. Summer had recently started so the sooner my mother filled out the paperwork the sooner I'd have clearance to go to my new school.
Oddly enough, they didn't seem to want us to come for a visit but they did send a ton of brochures and other items so I got to see what the campus looked like. There was a huge lake, tennis and basketball courts, a recess area for the younger kids, but the best part for me was the school itself. It was gorgeous inside and out. I loved the old world feel of it and couldn't wait to experience it firsthand.
So the day came when it was time for me to leave. My mother cried, my sisters gave me big hugs and told me to call often, I smiled and waved and couldn't wait to start out. I'd never been on a plain before and the experience was all I'd hoped for. The Xavier Institute had paid for the flight and the plane was top class, like the nice ones you see on TV instead of the old smelly cramped ones you normally get in real life. I had brought along some books and my mp3 player but I was so jittery I couldn't focus on anything for long so the entire flight I alternated between looking outside, people watching, and trying to focus enough to read a sentence out of the book. The ride was both long and short, an odd combination, but I enjoyed it.
When the plane landed I was met at the terminal by a beautiful woman with pure white hair. It contrasted strikingly with her dark mocha complexion and she was dressed to kill. Oh, by the way by that last comment I'd figure it's fairly easy to deduce I'm gay. I've been out to my family for a few years now and they've always been very cool with it, I just wish my other secret was as easy to share.
The woman introduced herself as Aurora Monroe, she's an instructor at the Institute and teaches the Biology and Herbology classes. I shyly greeted her with my name, Tyler Reynolds, and attempted to make conversation. She picked up quickly that I was very quiet and took over the conversation for which I was exceedingly grateful. She discussed in detail the grounds, what was expected of a senior, the school schedule I'd have, etc. I learned that I'd be in her biology class and after looking at the schedule realized how different this new school would be from my old one. Most of the classes had names like "Current Affairs" or "Social Relations", very different than "Government" and "PE". A few classes I couldn't decipher what the class was from the titles though, I mean what does "Ability Training" mean? Of course I was too shy to ask. The schedule worked like this: Monday, Wednesday, Friday I'd have 7 one hour long classes, on Thursday and Friday I'd have a different set of classes that were an hour and twenty minutes long. I was overwhelmed with all the different topics.
Ms. Monroe went on about what students usually did on the weekends and what to expect from dorm life. Being a senior I would only have one roommate and our room would have its own bathroom. I was glad to hear that, the thought of having to take showers in a communal room was pretty unnerving. My roommate was assigned to show me around and answer any questions I'd have and I'd meet him when we arrived at the school.
I was nervous to meet the guy I'd be sharing a room with for the entire school year. I've always been even shyer around guys than I was around girls, and unfortunately the more attracted I am the more shy I get. I was hoping he'd be ugly but nice. It turned out I was wrong in one regard.
When we arrived at the manor Jake Arnason came out and helped with unloading my luggage. Ms. Monroe introduced him as my roommate. Jake was a paragon of Nordic perfection. He was 6'2 with broad shoulders, a trim waste and the most beautiful blue eyes I'd ever seen on a guy. I could barely choke out my name and managed not to stumble every time I moved my feet. He had the fit body of a jock, which I later found out he was a huge sports nut. But the minute he met me he was nothing but nice and comforting. His smile made my heart beat faster and he was definitely a toucher, he'd find innocuous reasons to pat my back or bump into me which only helped to make me more nervous. But I could tell he wasn't doing it because he was into me, he was just normally a gregarious person and was like that with everyone.
I vaguely remember Ms. Monroe saying goodbye and telling me if I needed anything I all I had to do was ask but I was so preoccupied with not looking like a complete freak I don't remember when she disappeared, but I do think I remember a small smirk on her face as she walked away though. We finally got all my luggage into our dorm room.
Jake asked "So, what do you want to do first?" I just stared at him with a goofy smile.
He laughed and said "Well we could go walk around the outside, I could show you the rugby field." His eyes light up when he mentioned rugby, "Or we could head to the cafeteria for a snack. Dinner isn't until 7:00 so if you're hungry now it'd probably be a good idea to grab a bite to eat."
I said I was a bit hungry and it'd be cool to get something to eat. It was then that his eyes got a little unfocused and after a couple of seconds he shook his head as if clearing his mind.
"On second thought, I forgot, the Professor wanted to meet with you as soon as you got settled in. All settled?" I nodded. "Good, than let's hunt down the Prof."
"Who's the Professor? What does he teach?" I managed to get out without stuttering too badly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant Professor Xavier. He founded the school and handles a lot of the admin work. He teaches a couple classes, mainly Social Relations and stuff like that. He's a great man, he'd bend over backwards to help any one of us."
Ah... the principal huh? Well I guess schmoozing with the faculty couldn't hurt. We arrived at a pair of double wood doors. Jake knocked and then went in, I followed timidly. This office had an air of power, I looked around and noticed fine antiques and beautiful paintings. Everything looked straight out of my books it was so perfect.
Professor Xavier was behind the desk politely motioning me to take a seat.
"Thank you for bringing Mr. Reynolds down, Jacob, if you'd like I'll send for you when we're done here."
"That'd be great Professor, I was just about to bring Tyler down to the cafeteria before you-- I mean before I remembered that you wanted to see him." Jakes voice held immense respect, almost reverence for this quiet spoken man behind the beautifully carved desk.
The Professor nodded and Jake left quickly. I nervously gulped as he turned his eyes on me. As I looked into them I saw immense power and strength, I was curious all of a sudden and for the first time in a long time I unbound the mental walls I put up and reached out to try to get a sense for the kind of man this Professor Xavier was. As I stretched out my psychic tendril I was met with a barrier, I couldn't get past it. The Professor cleared his throat then.
"I trust you had a good flight Mr. Reynolds?"
"Yes sir, but please, call me Tyler."
"Alright then Tyler, I'm glad to hear it. I apologize for diverting you from fulfilling your more basic needs" and he looked politely at my stomach, "but I like to talk with each new student when they come in, just to make sure that they know what to expect here and what we expect from them."
"I understand sir, I plan on working very hard at my studies here. I've already been given my curriculum and I'm very excited about the classes I've been entered into." I babbled nervously.
The Professor chuckled. "That's good to hear. But onto other topics, you may have noticed this whole arrangement has been slightly odd. You received our mailing and graciously accepted our offer to enroll you here. What you probably don't know is how we got your name and why we picked you."
I had been wondering that all along, it was all very strange but the Professors words made me even more nervous.
"We don't publicize this fact but this Institute is a school for more than just intellectually gifted individuals. To be perfectly blunt, this is a school for mutants."
The word echoed in the air between us. I was shocked. Did he know? How could he have known? What does this all mean?
The Professor immediately went to putting me at ease. "Don't worry Tyler, all the students here are mutants and most of the faculty and staff are as well. I've created this place as a haven for all mutant-kind. No one here will judge you because of your abilities. No one here will make fun of you or exclude you because you're different than they are."
"How did you know?" I whispered. If some guy from New York knew than who else did?
"I'm a telepath, like you. I use my abilities to find other mutants so I can help make sure they're in a good, safe environment."
"A telepath? That's what I am?"
"Yes, quite so. You have the ability to read others minds and sense their emotions. We won't know the extent of your abilities until you're tested but I believe you are quite gifted in that area."
"Tested? Or tested on?" All of the sudden a powerful rage boiled up in me. I didn't come all this way, get my hopes so high, to be some guinea pig for some covert organization. My eyes narrowed and I began to stand.
"No Tyler, you don't understand. No one here will test on you. We're merely here to help you develop your abilities in your own time and way."
I had stopped listening. How dare this Professor contrive to get me here to be another of his collectibles? How dare he give me all this false hope of a fresh start on life and allow me to think I could actually have friends here. I stood up fully but I kept rising. I began to hover about a foot in the air and the lighter objects in the room were floating all around me as well.
"I will not be your plaything for you to do with as you will. I'm nobody's toy." My voice was low and menacing and seemed to resonate till it filled the room.
"Tyler, you must calm down. This isn't you talking. Allow me to gain entrance into your mind and I can show you everything." The Professor appeared worried, not about being harmed or anything but about me. That threw me, why was he worried about me?
That's when I realized my feet weren't on the ground any more. The shock alone managed to disrupt my anger. I quickly fell to the ground and stumbled forward to prevent myself from falling all the way.
My head hurt and I was confused. "What happened?" I asked.
"Your darker side came out." The Professor said in a quiet voice.
"My darker side? That's never happened to me before."
"Everyone has one and many mutants seem to adapt to the hidden pressures of being a mutant in this world by developing a sophisticated protection system. I believe that you felt threatened and it triggered this other part of your personality to emerge to try and shield you."
"I'm very sorry Professor, I didn't mean to." I was shaken, not only had a whole different side of me emerged I had been floating in mid air! "Um... Sir. Was I really floating?"
"You and several objects around the room, Tyler" his eyes squinted in a smile. "It appears you're also telekinetic."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ And so ends installment #1. I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to shoot me a note if you'd like.