8 First Step of the Thousand Mile Journey

The next day, Nick was up early with a couple of bags packed. He was only bringing the essentials and a few clothes to change between since he could come back and grab the rest at any other time.

He flew over to the gates of the Institute where the sentinels from O*N*E stopped him from entering.

"Sorry, kid. The boss lady said that you can't enter until she speaks with you," the pilot of the sentinel told him

NIck raised an eyebrow at that.

"When did dogs of the government start obeying Emma?"

"When she gives out 10k for simply making you wait for a few minutes. Would be dumb to reject an offer like that," the giant robot shrugged its shoulder, not sure what else to tell Nick. Money made the world go round

'I knew that it was too easy when Emma said she would see me at the gates in the morning,' Nick thought to himself before using his telekinesis to rip off some of the brick gates to use as a seat while he waited for Emma to make her entrance. Luckily, it didn't take too long.

Emma sauntered down the path wearing another one of her... unique outfits. It was all white and held her breasts up in a way that defied gravity.

'She probably is using telekinesis,' Nick thought to himself before standing up and putting the bricks back inside the gate walls.

"Emma. What's the big deal? You've been asking me to stay here for the longest and I've finally agreed," Nick wanted to get to the main point ASAP.

"I have been but you kept rejecting me, Nicholas. In business that means that the old deal is off the table," Emma smiled smugly as she saw the frown deepen on Nick's face.

Nick began to grit his teeth. He knew that Emma was going to take advantage of her position to get him to agree to some things he would hate but he also knew that he had no other choice. If he wanted to move forward, he would have to deal with whatever she threw at him.

"What do you want?" Nick could barely spit out without breaking his own teeth

"Simple. At least an hour a day with Stella as long as it doesn't interfere with important matters, weekly therapy sessions with me, you must have a proper conversation with Lorna, and you will be the supervisor for the New X-Men team. Agree to all 4 and you can stay here. Agree to only 3 and try to wiggle your way out of one, and you can go back to your apartment," Emma gave her terms and made sure that he knew there was no room for negotiation.

Nick wanted to argue but when he thought about it, none of the things she said were too bad. In fact, Emma was actually trying to help him.

He had been avoiding therapy for years, dealing with his grief on his own. It would be much better for him to talk with someone, and Emma was the best person to be that. She had helped many other mutants with their problems with not only her telekinesis but also her cast experience.

As for Stella and Lorna, both of those were needed as well. If Emma didn't make it a requirement, he might avoid being with Stella. And he owed Lorna a proper conversation, even if he had no intentions of trying to get back together with her.

The only thing he really had an issue with was supervising the team. He hated the idea of teen heroes after seeing his team die and also hated working with teams. The New X-Men were all kids that would be around the same age as his team when he lost them. By putting him in charge of them, Nick would be responsible for their safety and making sure that they would become heroes in the future.

"Emma. You know that me and teams..." Nick began but was soon interrupted

"I know. And do not think you are the only one that has lost children near them. I lost my Hellions because my allies betrayed me before and I was there on Genosha along with your mother. But I also know that sometimes there is a need to step up for others, even when it is something that you personally disagree with," Emma tried to sincerely advise him

After hearing her explanation, Nick felt guilty. He had heard about what happened with Emma's Hellions before. They all died a few months before Nick started his hero career.

The Hellions were a group of teens from Emma Frost's old academy that competed with the New Mutants of Xavier's school. A member of the Hellfire Club was basically hiring aggressive teens to try and take out the other members of the club and disguised it as a competition. In an attempt on Emma's life, they ambushed her and the Hellions at a party, killing all of the students with only Emma barely surviving. At least those were the rumors that Nick had heard.

"Fine," Nick threw his hands up in surrender. If it came to a game of TTT (Top That Trauma), he would surely lose against Emma. It was better to just surrender.

"I always love dealing with smart people. Makes things so much easier," Emma smiled at her victory, stunning even Nick. It was rare that she showed a truly playful and innocent smile like that.

Nick turned away from her, pretending to look at anything else.

'No wonder Scott cheated on Grey with her. This woman is naturally a seductress.'

After coming to an agreement with one another, Nick picked up his bags before following Emma up the path to the Institute where his new life would begin.

"What is he doing here?!?!"

"Nick???"

"Oh, shit."

At least it would be. After he got done dealing with all the people that were not expecting him to actually move into the place.