Chapter Text
31st January 2254, 16:30
Location: 200 Park Avenue, Midtown, Manhattan; Avengers tower
Professor Xavier knew that he was becoming an important figure since proposing his program to protect the children possessing the X-gene across America, but he would not have expected that one of the Avengers, Tony Stark, would be the one backing his idea of making a school in protected zones for mutates and mutants across the United States of America in every state, if possible. He wanted to set up these schools, as he was already responsible for a dozen of them in his mansion since the start of the year, but Government restrictions were too strict to allow them to help these teenagers learn how to use their abilities in their everyday life since they were not allowed to use them in the country.
Charles was in the elevator going up to the last floor to meet Tony Stark, as he had asked him to come at around 4 or 5 pm. Charles found it to be a strange time for a meeting, but Tony said it was something that would interest him. Charles found Tony to be an interesting figure in this world; he could be fighting a worldwide threat on a Tuesday afternoon and then, on a Thursday, remind the US government that only he could have the plan for Iron Man’s suit. He was definitely a strong ally for his project to protect people like him and his protégés, but it was not enough yet to get the right to allow them to train their abilities.
As soon as the elevator door opened, Charles saw Tony with a bottle in front of him and 2 glass. Charles was curious about what was in Tony’s mind, but he preferred not to use his ability on his friend. So, he rolled toward him to greet Tony, and Tony greeted him back, then gave him a glass of whisky. Charles took the glass, nodding in his direction and said to Tony, “I doubt you brought me here to just share a glass at this time. Miss Potts would kill you if that was the case.”
“Oh Charles, you are more direct than Cap during training,” Tony replied with a humorous tone before using his hand to make a floating screen switch from his table to appear in front of both of us. “A few hours ago, I received mail from Japan proposing a solution to our issues about helping mutants…”
Charles raised one eyebrow as he was curious about this mail because it was about his protégés students. “Firstly, how does someone from Japan know about our mutant situation? I know that even without a Non-Disclosure Agreement, there were only some scientists who were assisting with our meeting…”
“I was curious too, so I asked JARVIS to search for all the scientists who have a connection with Japan, and the name David Shield came up, as he was working with the actual No. 1 Hero of Japan during his early years”, Tony said before taking a sip of his drink.
“No.1 Hero? So, they are ranking Heroes in Japan… making the government accept heroes here was already a challenge…this attempt at an accord to control our activities…” Charles looked at Tony, a bit surprised by this information, then sighed as he asked himself how limited they were because of restrictions set by the government, even if he could not blame them totally.
“Yeah… a pain in the ass of the Avengers was that situation…So, back to our case… the mail comes from an institution named UA High School. You might be interested in what they propose as a course for their possible students.” Tony said with a small smile.
Charles was curious about it because a high school contacting one of the most popular heroes in America was already odd, but it also managed to catch his attention… So, Charles decided to look at these courses proposed, but the first one directly caught his attention… Hero Course, where they would prepare their student to become future Heroes by learning how to use… their quirks? While also being trained in battle, first aid, and all manner of heroics-related lessons.
“So, you say they have a proposition to give us… can you give more details?” Charles said as he looked up at Tony, who had a small, smug smile before he replied, “Well, I wanted more details, and they proposed a meeting, but I told them I would wait for an associate… JARVIS sends an email to inform them we are ready for a meeting”
Not even one minute later, JARVIS could be heard, “Incoming video call from UA High School.” Tony and Xavier looked at each other at how fast the response was, then Tony said: “JARVIS, answer the call and open a Screen in front of us.”
The screen appeared in front of them, and a white mammal appeared in front of them, reminding Tony of Rocket. Then it started to talk, “That's right! It's me, Nezu, the one who could be a dog or a mouse or a bear, but more importantly... I'm the principal of UA!”
Tony had a confused look at this situation, while Xavier had a small smile before introducing himself, “Nice to meet you, Mr Principal. My name is Charles Xavier, owner of X-Mansion for gifted children, and this is my associate, Tony Stark.”
Tony simply raised his glass “It’s nice to meet you, so can you tell us how you would help us in our project to help mutants?”
Nezu took a sip from his cup before he started to talk “Well, I assumed you did some background research about how we could have been informed about the situation. So, we got a call from an acquaintance that, due to a new strict rule in the USA, we could not send a transfer student to the USA as an intern as we did in the past. However, he did inform us that there is an institution that we could help.”
Tony put his glass on the table and stepped forward. “And how exactly could you help us, a man with one of the most useful abilities and a multi-billionaire possessing one of the most sophisticated assets ever created?”
Charles glanced at Tony out of the corner of his eye just as he was about to correct him when Nezu started talking, “Well, I know from a reliable source that you have some issues related to… helping your students or apprentices learn how to use their power adequately in their everyday life so they can blend into society with ease and avoid becoming victims of discrimination.”
Charles was the one to talk, as it was mainly about his protégés: “We do indeed have some political issues about how to help them… but how sending them to your school in Japan will help, and we can’t travel there for multiple months to supervise them… since we both have responsibility here too”
Nezu waited a few seconds, but both Tony & Charles knew he was not thinking as if he was expecting this argument. Then he said calmly, “Well, I also expected that you indeed did some research about us…so we accept to take responsibility for their education to make them the future heroes”
Tony coughed first to be sure he had the attention of the principal “Let me get it straight… You are asking us to send a group of teenagers to the other side of the world without a responsible adult to supervise them?”
Charles was thinking about giving his opinion because it seemed that it was Tony’s feelings that were talking right now instead of his brain, but was stopped by the sound of Nezu taking another sip of his drink before adding, “Mr Stark, you got it wrong a little…Yes, we are indeed proposing you send them to our institution in Japan, but they will not be unsupervised, as they will be guided by actual Japanese Pro-Heroes with years of on-field experience as teachers.”
Charles rolled forward a little, saying calmly, “I might have some concerns regarding our students and your possible students.” This action made Tony understand that Charles would probably accept the idea since they needed time to set up their project. Tony sighed before adding calmly, “I hope you are sure about what you are proposing to us.”
Nezu chuckled a little before saying, “I would not have contacted you if this was not an opportunity to help our students while also helping future partners to adapt to this new lifestyle for people like you, Mr Xavier and creatures like myself. You can now explain your concern”
Charles just nodded after Nezu's comments before he started talking, “Firstly, I might ask how long you will ask them to stay cause most of them have never left the country. Secondly, I would like to know where our students will live if we agree to send them. Thirdly, how could we be sure that they will be safe when they are outside of your establishment? And would you reduce the number of students on your side from the entrance exam to include our students”
Tony just rubbed his chin before nodding as they both waited for Nezu's answer. Nezu just took another sip of his drink, making both Tony & Charles look at each other, but Nezu ignored that as he started talking, “So, to answer you…we will start by letting 1 year pass, and then if they are satisfied, they can stay for the complete course. We have built a dorm for each class, as each student will have their own room for themselves. We might not have full control over what they would be doing outside of the campus, but each region of Japan is under the protection of at least 7 heroes. And we would have reduced the number of entries via the entrance Exam based on how many you were willing to send us.”
Tony and Charles exchanged a look, then they both nodded nearly at the same time. Tony took his glass of whisky, then started to talk, “We will both have some requests before deciding to agree to the plan. For me, I have 3 requests… firstly, since the hero course is separated into 2 classes normally, I would ask that they both work together for physical classes like rescue missions, combat training and the rest. I want them to develop their ability to work together. Secondly, we want to be informed of any incident related to them because it will be hard for us to travel in case of an incident. And my final request is that I would request that they do not go through the entrance exam because some of them were not able to go to school in the past due to their abilities, but they do have the potential to be great members of the Avengers in Avengers…”
Charles started to talk about 5 seconds after Tony finished, “…or X-Men… anyway, I do agree with Mr Stark's request, but I would add 2 requests. The first one is that our students are allowed to get access to both Hero course dorms because some of them were victims in the past. I would prefer that they can see each other, since they are more likely to open themselves to each other, but before the curfew time. My second request is that you keep the number of entries from the entrance exam the same as they were before because I do not want a student to lose his chance because of our students. And my last request is that they get 30 additional minutes weekly to work on their abilities individually or in groups”
Nezu rubbed under his muzzle for a few seconds before nodding and said: “Hmm, yeah, I can accept these conditions as long as there is a list of fewer than 10 students transferred to us before March because the first day of class will be the 10 January 2254.” Tony immediately hit the border of his glass to get the attention of Nezu before saying, “I already have the name of who I will be sending. What about you, Charles? I doubt you do not know who needs this opportunity the most among your protégés.”
Charles only smirked, as he did expect Tony to send his protégé. Charles nodded calmly before saying, “I do indeed already have a list of who will go there with your protégé. We will inform them, and then, Principal Nezu, we will send you their medical records next week if they agree.” A small laugh could be heard from Nezu, and then he said, “It’s great. I do hope this collaboration will be successful and we can help these students. Well, I will hope to see them soon.” After a quiet chuckle, the call ended.
Tony simply finished his drink while Charles was quietly smirking at the situation. I rolled his chair to face Tony before saying, “I asked your robotic butler to prepare the medical report while you prepare your suit. There are some students that will ask for an explanation, but they will likely accept this opportunity.” Tony just nodded before saying, while walking to the armoury, “JARVIS, create a folder named UA transfer student and add the medical reports of all the names that Professor Charles Xavier will say.”
Tony was leaving the room when Jarvis said, “Folder: UA Transfer Student created, access granted to Professor Charles Xavier.”
Charles smiled again, watching the big screen, before adding, “Include the medical reports of: - Jean Grey
- Kurt Wagner
- Remy LeBeau
- Kitty Pryde
- Anna Marie
- Ororo Munroe
-Jubilation Lee
- and for… Peter Parker”