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….
"And Odin, is he…" Charles fell silent, searching for words.
"No, he's not dying," I understood my interlocutor's difficulty.
"He falls into a kind of coma called the Odinsleep. He can spend anywhere from a few years to a couple of centuries in it and sort of even rejuvenate, but I'm not sure about the latter, in my memory, he hasn't entered it for a long time yet."
I fell silent, sinking into someone else's memory, but quickly shook myself. "So he'll have fun when he wakes up," I finished the story with appropriate joy.
"Is that so," Xavier chuckled. "Thank you for satisfying my curiosity. But I don't think enlightening an old sick man was the exact reason you decided to arrange a private conversation. What did you want to talk about without witnesses?"
"I would like to know what your relationship is with the government of this country and, in particular, the organization S.H.I.E.L.D."
"None whatsoever," the mutant shook his head with a knowing half-smile. I couldn't understand how he felt about the fact that I even knew that name; his expression and voice were too neutral.
"At one time, I tried to cooperate with the authorities, but it didn't end well. S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to see mutants exclusively as their soldiers and special agents on a short leash."
"Other forces in the government would like to experiment on us to reproduce the strongest abilities. Still others would prefer to kill us. Therefore, no one I once worked with knows anything about me now, just as they don't know about this school."
"Are you sure you were able to scrub all the information gathered on you?" I raised an eyebrow with genuine respect but also a dose of skepticism.
"Thirty years ago, it wasn't that difficult. And even now, in the age of information technology, little has changed. Formatting hard drives is even easier than removing paper files from archives," Xavier's smile widened.
"Magnificent…" I liked this Professor X more and more. "Then the second question: what exactly are your disagreements with Magneto? Based on what I just heard, you could solve the problem of mutant discrimination literally within a month of staying in Washington."
"That is the essence of our disagreements," the invalid grew gloomy, somehow aging all at once.
"I admit the possibility of using my powers on other people, but not in the way required to accomplish what you speak of. Interfering with consciousness, with a person's personality, that is too serious an offense. It is something that, from my point of view, fully falls under the definition of a 'crime against humanity'."
Blue eyes looked sharply into mine, making it clear that their owner was completely serious.
"I once gave myself a word not to act that way. Even the smallest substitution of motivation and feelings is effectively the murder of the previous personality. The murder of a human being. Allow yourself to do it once, and before you know it, you'll start killing for real."
"First enemies, then those who disagree with you, and finally those who are different from you. I am not a saint and have made many mistakes in life, but there are too many in the world walking that path without me. I want to give humans and mutants an alternative."
"You know…" for a few seconds I fell into deep thought, examining Xavier.
So deep, in fact, that even my illusion portraying a curious guest in the company of the other X-Men stopped moving because I didn't have enough attention left for it.
"That is very unusual. As a rule, people driven by a noble idea want to make the whole world happy by force, ensuring no one leaves offended. In you, I see more of a position of offering a chance for salvation, but being ready to accept a refusal to take that chance. But the strangest thing is that your desire to save… it seems… devout."
"Yes," Charles lowered his gaze to the floor. "That is correct. I hope humanity finds the strength and reason to overcome these times, and I am ready to make every effort to help it in this," blue eyes looked into mine again, "but both ordinary people and mutants must conquer their own demons themselves. Otherwise, everything will be meaningless."
"Well, Professor, I must admit, considering you haven't even hit your first century yet, your intellect and wisdom surpass those of most Aesir and Vanir," I admitted with absolute sincerity, looking at Xavier in a new light.
I already held him in extremely high regard, but now I was finally convinced that before me was truly the most worthy Human in this universe.
Human with a capital H. Even if I couldn't always read his reactions by facial expressions, the experience of the former Loki would have allowed me to notice or at least suspect an attempt to be cunning or lie outright.
Yet my perception didn't snag on anything.
"As you understand, it makes no sense for me to join your staff of students. As for teachers… I don't know yet, but with my character, I'm willing to bet most of the kids would be howling by the second day."
The invalid nodded, accepting such arguments and inviting me to continue.
"Nevertheless, I don't mind helping you with Magneto and other… moments. True, only if you answer one question correctly. Everything depends on it," I emphasized with intonation, vainly trying to hold back the smirk climbing onto my face, but even covering my mouth with a fist, I barely succeeded.
"And what is that?" the learned man inquired with curiosity.
"Do you have chocolate chip cookies at your school?"
….
Bonus Chapter on every 500 power stones;
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