In the wake of Mystique’s sudden flight, Thaddeus had had a choiake. He’d immediately dropped the idea of going to football practice after all. Not only would he be te, but everyone would wonder why his detention got cut short. More than that though? He just wasn’t in the mood at that point. Which meant he could either go home… o somewhere else. The ice cream parlor immediately came to mind. He wasn’t a drinker or a smoker, but one of Thaddeus’ few vices was sweets. Rarely. He was still a football pyer after all, the school’s star quarterback. He was on a very strict diet y-nine pert of the time. That was why sneaking over to the ice cream parlor ever so often was such a treat. His choices were pretty simple, in the eher go home and be faced with having to expin to his parents why he wasn’t at football practice… o and have some ice cream. In the end, was it really a choice at all? Of course he picks the parlor oing home and being fronted by his parents. As Thaddeus hops in his car however, he ’t help but g his arms as his hands e to rest upoeering wheel. He quickly pulls out as himself on the road, making sure to observe all the traffic ws and what not that he would have ignored just six months ago before his life began to ge. However, there’s no denying he’s a little distracted during the drive. On the way to the ice cream parlor, he stares ily at his arms… and watches as they shift and slowly ge in skin tone. He feel it in the back of his head, recisely he got from Mystique. Not that he’d known he would be getting anything except for another boost. But that was just it… he’d never fucked a mutant before, had he? A… here he was, reaping the rewards of what just happened between him and the blue-skinned shapeshifter. Not only was the ft boost to his abilities bigger than anything he’d ever received from any of the girls at his school, but also… he’d gotten a little something from her beyond that. He’d gotten a little taste of her powers. … Emphasis on little. What had taken Mystique less than a sed to do ba that takes Thaddeus over five mio mimid then another five mio ge back. He spends the whole ten minute drive to the ice cream parlor pying around with it. It’s actually really intuitive, like he just knows how to do this now in the back of his head. But it’s very, very slow. He doesn’t know what that means. Doesn’t know whether that means he make his new power stronger if he fucks Mystique more, or if he will eventually lose access to this because it’s only temporary. Frankly, for all that he does know, he’s still woefully ignorant in several ways that feel like they matter far too mubsp;Like for instance… why did she run away from him like that? Had he stolen some part of her power, and she’d felt as much? But then… no, she would have reacted with aggression if he’d wronged her, or so he feels. Just from their iions, Thaddeus definitely got the impression that she was the kind to face her enemies head on, not run from them in fear. Ahat didn’t ge the fact that she’d definitely ran from HIM. Had he lost his ce at joining the Brotherhood of Mutants? Did he even want to join the Brotherhood, in the end? Getting out of his car, Thaddeus sighs and heads into the ice cream parlor. It takes him only a moment to get his favorite, birthday cake ice cream with caramel and marshmallow toppings. Was it a little childish? Maybe, but it was his go-to and he wouldn’t ge it for the world. Sitting down in a back booth, Thaddeus looks around but doesn’t see anyone he knows from school, thankfully. It makes sense, everyone he knows has after-school activities like sports or cheer practice to attend, and those won’t be out for another half hour. As he begins nursing his ice cream however, the doorbell chimes, drawing his attention… to one of the most beautiful women Thaddeus has ever seen as she steps into the parlor. Holy, her looks and her entire wardrobe are super out of pot just in aablishment like this, but rather, out of p this eown. Eyes follow the geous blonde in an all-white suit, as she goes up to the ter and orders an ice cream. And then, to Thaddeus’ surprise, they all slide right off of her the moment she has her ice cream in hand. No one pays her the slightest bit of attention more, he notices. Probably for the best, given she makes her way over to his booth and sits down across from him with a slight smirk on his fabsp;“Hello Chad. Or do you prefer Thaddeus? I imagine you don’t go by your OTHER middle hat’s for sure.” Thaddeus sits, back ramrod straight, eyes wide, and face afme at both her forwardness, her cavalier attitude, her beauty… and the mention of his other middle name. No… no, he did not want to go by that. Swallowing thickly, he takes a spoonful of his ice cream to give himself time to think. In the end though, despite the pause, he still finds that the best he e up with is… “Thaddeus is fine…” Look, he’s had a long day. And this woman… she’s drop-dead geous. And he’s seen some beautiful dies today so- Blinking, Thaddeus looks down at where the blonde has pced a hand atop his in an almost reassuring manner. He grows even hotter, as she smiles at him knowingly. “You’ve had a rough day, Thaddeus.” The ice cream e in her hand es up, and she takes a long lick from it. “Don’t worry. I’m here to make it better.” He’s nin. Fuck, he just got done plowing a shapeshifting blue beauty less than an ho. On top of that, all of his boosts to his intelligeell him that he’s being seduced. Doesn’t mean it’s not w though. “Y-Yeah? Uh… how, exactly?” She grins at him then, tilting her head to the side. “Sorry, where are my manners? My haddeus, is Emma Frost. I’m here representing a third option. Specifically, the option where you’re not outed as a mutant.” Thaddeus’ eyes widen at that, and he quickly looks around. It would be the height of ic irony if those were the words that actually DID out him as a mutant. A… no one is looking in their dire. No one is paying them the slightest bit of mind. There isn’t even anyone averting their eyes but clearly trying to listen in. It’s almost like they don’t eve. “You don’t o worry, Thaddeus. They don’t even remember we’re here. Nht now.” Oh. O-Oh, now he was beginning to uand. Lig his lips, which are suddenly very dry, Thaddeus looks across the table at Emma Frost. Smiling at him still, she finally pulls her hand back from his, though she tio lick her ice cream e in ways that only be described as dht sdalous. “The is that I represent know who’s approached you today, Thaddeus. They know who’s made what offers. And they want you to know that your choices aren’t quite as limited as these people want you to think they are. We want you to be able to live the life you deserve to live. We want you to do what YOU want to do, and be who YOU want to be.” His whole mouth is dry by now. It certainly sounds nice. But at the same time… he’s smart enough to know there’s plenty he’s not being told. “What… what does that mealy? Who are you? What are you ? And what exactly do you want from me?” Emma smirks, nodding at him approvingly, as if to say she’s pleased with his questioning. “Allow me to ahose in the reverse. What we want from you… is for you to see your true potential realized, Thaddeus. In order to do that, we want you to stay… unaffiliated. Your potential would be wasted at the Xavier Institute. They’d keep you fio that school almost all the time, and only pull you out for their silly acts of vigintism.” Tilting her head to the opposite side, Emma takes another lick of her ice cream. “Meanwhile, your potential would be ht squandered with the Brotherhood. They’re the opposite extreme, and they won’t hold back just because you have greatness growing within you. They’ll use you up and you’ll either end up in a cell being experimented oheir antics get you caught by the authorities, or dead, martyred by their self-righteous crusade.” Thaddeus only blink as Emma ruthlessly and viciously tears both of his previous options to shreds like… like they’re nothing. He has to admit, she certainly has a way with words. Very… persuasive. But of course, she’s just getting started. “As for what we’re , it’s quite simple. If you allow the is I represent to sponsor you, you have it all. You take the football schorship and have a professional football career without w about being outed as a mutant. Fakis and falsifyis is well within our power, and on top of that rovide you with training to keep your abilities seeming just shy of abnormal, rather than truly superhuman.” Emma leans forward at that, fshing him a bit of extra skin dowop of her suit jacket as she takes another lick from her ice cream e. “You be your own man, Thaddeus. Do your own thing. You won’t be tied down by the expectations of others, nor will you be pigeonholed by your status as a mutant. We won’t allow it.” In a way, her offer is very appealing. Ahinks there’s a kernel of truth to what Emma Frost is saying. She herself is obviously a mutant in her ht. A… it’s quite clear she’s doing very well for herself. Her fashion is that of an incredibly rich person from the city, and her eitude screams ‘royalty’ to him for some reason. She’s like a Queen deigning to e down and move amongst the peasants just so she grant him this offer. There’s just a couple of questions more that Thaddeus needs answered. Before he ask the first, Emma is already preempting him. “As for who ‘we’ are… I’m afraid that that’s one of the only things I ’t tell you. At least not until you say yes. The is I represent… the anization I’m a part of is very reclusive by design. We don’t go around in spandex like Charles Xavier’s X-men, nor do we go around itting terrorist attacks like the Brotherhood of Mutants. We are… the more intelligent choice. By keeping ourselves hidden, by keeping the masquerade intact, we live amongst the humans much more peacefully and amicably.” That… that made sehaddeus finds himself subsciously nodding along with her words. Though… it still doesn’t answer his final question. This one, he actually mao get out. “And what… what would yanization’s expectations for me be, exactly? What are your is in me personally? Why am I getting this offer?” Admittedly, he had a pretty good idea of why he was getting this offer. If they knew anything about his mutation, and it seemed like they did, then they probably wanted him for exactly what Emma Frost had initially stated. His… potential. But even still, what did they want to use his potential FOR, exactly? “I uand your suspis, Thaddeus. It’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you… and I won’t deny that there are people in this world who are out to get you. However, I and the anization I represent only want what’s best for you. We only wish to see you succeed.” She seems ho. Credible. Genuine, even. Maybe he just wants to believe her. He doesn’t know for sure. But he does know… he ’t possibly make this decision here and now, in an ice cream parlht? Looking down at his cup, which by now is very empty of the saccharireat he’d sat down with, Thaddeus licks his lips, tasting the st remnants of ice cream, caramel, and marshmallow. Letting out a low breath, he meets the beautiful blonde’s light blue eyes. “I think… I think I need more time to think about all of this. I ’t make a decision here and now. There’s just too much to sider.” Even before he’s done speaking, Emma is nodding along with his words, her gaze turning sympathetic. She reaches out again and pces her hand atop his, something Thaddeus finds he appreciates just as much as the first time. And then… she shakes her head. “That’s a very reasonable respohaddeus. A mature response from a very mature young man. Unfortunately… this offer is time sensitive. I am not authorized to stick around. Any longer and the risk of discovery by the others who are after you is too great.” Oh. “Now, obviously if you were to agree, then discovery would no longer be relevant. We would immediately move in to secure your freedom and make sure that the Professor and the Brotherhood both backed off post-haste. However, if you’re on the fehen we ot afford to it the resources that would be necessary to do so, you see.” Letting out a sigh, Emma rubs circles into the back of Thaddeus’ hand. “I wish we had more time. It would only be fair… but the world is a remarkably unfair pce. This offer is good now and only now. Otherwise, my anization will require me to pull out… and you will be forced to choose between the X-Men and the Brotherhood.” He doesn’t like it. A mulish part of him even wonders for a sed whether or not he could just go it alone on his own. Why nht? Why not just spurn all of their offers and be his own man? Except… no. Thaddeus isn’t stupid. If he tried to do this without the bag of Ms. Frost’s anization, he would almost certainly be caught out as a mutant at some point. And then he would be ostracized at best and experimented on at worst. His choices are Professor Xavier and his X-Men, Mystique and her Brotherhood, or Emma Frost and Mystery Option Three. And the st of those three choices is a door that’s already closing quite fast.