( Charles was surprised when they offered the van to him because up until then he thought he was about to be in a frustrating situation where he had to pay strangers to drive him to the capital. And everywhere after that. It is what Hank usually does for him and he's had to swallow his pride about that for a long time, but with Hank it's easier, because they are close. He was genuinely delighted when they showed him the van and how to use it. It's been over a decade since he got to drive.)
Oh that already makes me feel older just hearing that.
( Charles chuckles. By the time she was born he was already quite old, so he fits the old fart definition well.)
I'm a professor, a teacher. I teach people how to embrace their gifts and become stronger for it.
( Charles is very passionate about teaching. He doesn't know what he can possibly do in this world that will come even close to that, as they have no traditional education. He may have to live without it for an unknown amount of time, or find something else to be passionate about.)
( he's definitely older than her, even without the knowledge of what year either of them is from. still, when he says that he's a professor, wanda stares at him for a while—lets her defenses lower a touch, just enough to breach through. it seems that the answer has sparked her curiosity, all the more keen to be open with someone who teaches—who deals with teens, young adults, with the objective of them embracing themselves.
not that she knows what 'gifts' he is talking about. )
Professor Charles, then?
( wanda teases, taking another bite from her sample food, a light smile on her features before it disappears—and she's guarded again, her mental walls up.
I thought it would be a bit braggy to lead with Professor Charles Xavier, but I suppose I could have.
( In truth, if they were in his world, he would, that is his natural way of introducing himself. But they're in this strange new place where there seems to be no formal level of education, which means that him continuing his passion will not be easy here while they're stuck. Professor might not mean much of anything here, and just be him holding onto something he's lost. It feels good to use it again though. It is so much a part of him that it feels right.
Charles notes the change in her walls. He can't see through it and he's not even trying to, it's a little like someone opening up their windows a sliver before closing it again. He can witness is on the outside without needing to nudge his way inside. Still, the fact she can do that is what's curious. After some time here he might meet a few people with psychic abilities, but for now it's still new to see it in others.)
The ... internet?
( He says it like it's an alien word. Charles doesn't have a phone yet as he has no money, so he hasn't learned about the glory that is the internet forum. )
2015. That's amazing. It wouldn't happen to be a horrible dystopian 2015 though, would it? I'm told that's what my future entails.
( for the title. she chews on the last bits of her food as she speaks, feeling suddenly very aware that this must be a very educated person, so makes a concerted effort to swallow everything before speaking again. )
I would brag about it.
( —if she got to have something like 'professor' to her name. she wonders what he studied, what he did to claim that title. other than perhaps having students. with that thought, wanda stands up, and fishes around her pocket for some joolies; she's a little thirsty now. her attitude is somewhat indifferent as he asks about whether 2015 is a dystopian time. )
It's the end of the world for some people. ( —cryptic— ) But it's mostly fine. The internet is on computers, on phones. It keeps people connected in real time.
Oh yes, very hard, and for a very long time. (He smiles proudly.) I studied genetics, specifically genetic mutation, although in general spent a great amount of time in a science lab with my beakers and microscopes.
( Charles does in many ways miss that part of his life. It might be dull to others but to him it was always fascinating and a passion project. He wanted to understand what was happening to him and Raven, and then discovering all the other mutants in the world was proof of his own theories. The only thing that could get him out of the lab and his books was finding his own kind and becoming the head of the school he founded.)
I founded a school as headmaster though, so I shifted to a different type of teacher.
( That feels so far away from him now. Infinitely far than where he felt before when back home.)
I ... see. I have heard about the mobile telephones. It's extraordinary.
( Charles is years from those becoming a reality and many years away from it becoming commonplace. It will take him time before he understands how to text properly. He can't afford a phone yet, but eventually he will try his best.)
If you have any, I'll take it. The water at the motel is ... questionable.
( spending time in a science lab with beakers and microscopes tells wanda everything she needs to know. this man is a scientist, and the title of 'professor' probably stands to the extent of his education—though perhaps it is now a term of endearment used by his students in this school of his.
school for those with 'gifts', as he had said. )
Mhmm.
( wanda's hardly educated, especially not in comparison to someone like charles, so she doesn't want to put her foot in her mouth by saying something that would sound stupid otherwise. she does more of internal pondering, in a way.
abruptly, she says, )
Wait here.
( and heads back towards the store to buy them both bottled water. it's on discount, two for the price of one, so it's not like this is putting a dent on her current savings. when she returns with the bottles, she offers him one, and, in her walking there and back, she's figured what to tell him next. )
I stopped going to school when I was ten. ( she shrugs, wording this carefully, doing her best to not sound flippant. ) I don't know that I would have learned anything helpful if I did. You sound like you'd be a nice headmaster, though.
( he's kind, and seems patient enough with her, even if she's the one helping him out with food samples and a water bottle. )
...why the interest in genetic mutation, though? I knew some people who were. They weren't exactly — good people.
( Charles waits and takes the water when she brings it. He still feels bad about taking anything off her at this point, but he is also a pragmatic person, and he's going to kill himself if he lives by his pride alone. He'll simply make it up to her later, when he has it together more and can pay her back. He hasn't had much to drink since he distrusts the motel water.)
I do my best. I'm assured by my students I do well enough.
( The ones he remembers, and then Logan and the students he saw in his mind. There is a reverence there that this Charles has not earned yet, so he doesn't quite connect to it now. But he did have his class of X-Men, and they did love him as much as he loved them. All gone, now.
He considers what to tell her, but he's been here just long enough to know that this is not a place where anyone needs to fear being strange or different. He's sensed no feelings toward mutants, or even a concept of what that is to the populace here.)
Because I am a mutant. We're born with a gene that humans are not and it shows itself in unique gifts of some kind. I knew that about myself and my sister, but I wasn't aware there were others until I was older, so I was trying to make sense of it in my studies.
( his earnestness and honesty is something that wanda genuinely welcomes, the fact that it's linked to the idea that he doesn't want to lie to her or treat her like she isn't 'ready' to know certain information. he says his students reassure him that he does well enough, but wanda is seeing it now, too, that that much is true.
she drinks some more of her water even after he's done explaining.
being a 'mutant' holds no real significance to her, the word devoid of any kind of impact, personal or cultural or otherwise, but it's interesting to hear, regardless, about the 'unique gifts' one might have as a mutant. it reminds her just very briefly about herself and pietro, how they survived hydra's experiments with the mind stone where countless others did not—what made them able to withstand its influence? )
Hmm.
( so, because being a mutant is neither a good nor bad thing to wanda, her reaction is nonchalant, offering a shrug. )
I think you must be a very intelligent person to study genetics.
( maybe it's those kind of gifts? she adds, hedging away from this conversation a touch. )
—you don't owe me anything for the water, by the way. I don't want you to pay me back.
I'm a 'total scientist nerd,' as my sister liked to tell me.
( Charles smiles fondly. He never minded Raven's ribbing of him, and she did it often, because he never doubted that it came from a place of love. Their relationship has been a struggle and a damned shame for the past decade, but he thinks very fondly of their lives together before that. She was there during all of his education, they never went anywhere without each other. Perhaps that was part of the ultimate problem.
He is a genius-level intellect and it seems pointless to be modest and pretend he's normal, so he doesn't bother, just acknowledges that he loves it and he gets teased about it.)
It's difficult for me to accept help, despite often being the one who offers it.
( He admits. It may be an ego thing, it may be that Charles feels truly helpless in this situation, and it may be that he's a giver by instinct, and taking feels unnatural. But he's not going to fight her on it because he feels like that would be disrespectful too.)
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diademlogs2025-06-10 07:56 pm
Wanda
Oh that already makes me feel older just hearing that.
( Charles chuckles. By the time she was born he was already quite old, so he fits the old fart definition well.)
I'm a professor, a teacher. I teach people how to embrace their gifts and become stronger for it.
( Charles is very passionate about teaching. He doesn't know what he can possibly do in this world that will come even close to that, as they have no traditional education. He may have to live without it for an unknown amount of time, or find something else to be passionate about.)
What year are you from?
no subject
not that she knows what 'gifts' he is talking about. )
Professor Charles, then?
( wanda teases, taking another bite from her sample food, a light smile on her features before it disappears—and she's guarded again, her mental walls up.
then, a shrug. )
I'm from 2015. We have the internet.
no subject
( In truth, if they were in his world, he would, that is his natural way of introducing himself. But they're in this strange new place where there seems to be no formal level of education, which means that him continuing his passion will not be easy here while they're stuck. Professor might not mean much of anything here, and just be him holding onto something he's lost. It feels good to use it again though. It is so much a part of him that it feels right.
Charles notes the change in her walls. He can't see through it and he's not even trying to, it's a little like someone opening up their windows a sliver before closing it again. He can witness is on the outside without needing to nudge his way inside. Still, the fact she can do that is what's curious. After some time here he might meet a few people with psychic abilities, but for now it's still new to see it in others.)
The ... internet?
( He says it like it's an alien word. Charles doesn't have a phone yet as he has no money, so he hasn't learned about the glory that is the internet forum. )
2015. That's amazing. It wouldn't happen to be a horrible dystopian 2015 though, would it? I'm told that's what my future entails.
no subject
( for the title. she chews on the last bits of her food as she speaks, feeling suddenly very aware that this must be a very educated person, so makes a concerted effort to swallow everything before speaking again. )
I would brag about it.
( —if she got to have something like 'professor' to her name. she wonders what he studied, what he did to claim that title. other than perhaps having students. with that thought, wanda stands up, and fishes around her pocket for some joolies; she's a little thirsty now. her attitude is somewhat indifferent as he asks about whether 2015 is a dystopian time. )
It's the end of the world for some people. ( —cryptic— ) But it's mostly fine. The internet is on computers, on phones. It keeps people connected in real time.
Do you want something to drink?
no subject
( Charles does in many ways miss that part of his life. It might be dull to others but to him it was always fascinating and a passion project. He wanted to understand what was happening to him and Raven, and then discovering all the other mutants in the world was proof of his own theories. The only thing that could get him out of the lab and his books was finding his own kind and becoming the head of the school he founded.)
I founded a school as headmaster though, so I shifted to a different type of teacher.
( That feels so far away from him now. Infinitely far than where he felt before when back home.)
I ... see. I have heard about the mobile telephones. It's extraordinary.
( Charles is years from those becoming a reality and many years away from it becoming commonplace. It will take him time before he understands how to text properly. He can't afford a phone yet, but eventually he will try his best.)
If you have any, I'll take it. The water at the motel is ... questionable.
no subject
school for those with 'gifts', as he had said. )
Mhmm.
( wanda's hardly educated, especially not in comparison to someone like charles, so she doesn't want to put her foot in her mouth by saying something that would sound stupid otherwise. she does more of internal pondering, in a way.
abruptly, she says, )
Wait here.
( and heads back towards the store to buy them both bottled water. it's on discount, two for the price of one, so it's not like this is putting a dent on her current savings. when she returns with the bottles, she offers him one, and, in her walking there and back, she's figured what to tell him next. )
I stopped going to school when I was ten. ( she shrugs, wording this carefully, doing her best to not sound flippant. ) I don't know that I would have learned anything helpful if I did. You sound like you'd be a nice headmaster, though.
( he's kind, and seems patient enough with her, even if she's the one helping him out with food samples and a water bottle. )
...why the interest in genetic mutation, though? I knew some people who were. They weren't exactly — good people.
( hydra et al )
no subject
I do my best. I'm assured by my students I do well enough.
( The ones he remembers, and then Logan and the students he saw in his mind. There is a reverence there that this Charles has not earned yet, so he doesn't quite connect to it now. But he did have his class of X-Men, and they did love him as much as he loved them. All gone, now.
He considers what to tell her, but he's been here just long enough to know that this is not a place where anyone needs to fear being strange or different. He's sensed no feelings toward mutants, or even a concept of what that is to the populace here.)
Because I am a mutant. We're born with a gene that humans are not and it shows itself in unique gifts of some kind. I knew that about myself and my sister, but I wasn't aware there were others until I was older, so I was trying to make sense of it in my studies.
no subject
she drinks some more of her water even after he's done explaining.
being a 'mutant' holds no real significance to her, the word devoid of any kind of impact, personal or cultural or otherwise, but it's interesting to hear, regardless, about the 'unique gifts' one might have as a mutant. it reminds her just very briefly about herself and pietro, how they survived hydra's experiments with the mind stone where countless others did not—what made them able to withstand its influence? )
Hmm.
( so, because being a mutant is neither a good nor bad thing to wanda, her reaction is nonchalant, offering a shrug. )
I think you must be a very intelligent person to study genetics.
( maybe it's those kind of gifts? she adds, hedging away from this conversation a touch. )
—you don't owe me anything for the water, by the way. I don't want you to pay me back.
no subject
( Charles smiles fondly. He never minded Raven's ribbing of him, and she did it often, because he never doubted that it came from a place of love. Their relationship has been a struggle and a damned shame for the past decade, but he thinks very fondly of their lives together before that. She was there during all of his education, they never went anywhere without each other. Perhaps that was part of the ultimate problem.
He is a genius-level intellect and it seems pointless to be modest and pretend he's normal, so he doesn't bother, just acknowledges that he loves it and he gets teased about it.)
It's difficult for me to accept help, despite often being the one who offers it.
( He admits. It may be an ego thing, it may be that Charles feels truly helpless in this situation, and it may be that he's a giver by instinct, and taking feels unnatural. But he's not going to fight her on it because he feels like that would be disrespectful too.)