Chapter 12 - What did you call me?

3st POV (Vader)

Reluctantly, Vader allowed himself to be led by Xavier and Logan (whose useless intimidation went ignored) into the school, dispersing his aura now that Xavier knew the consequence of trying to access his mind.

Vader mechanically carried himself through the hallways, doing his best to ignore the curious and fearful stares from the children as they passed. (Practised ease allowed him to bat away certain memories before he caused a problem.)

'This whole mutant situation is interesting and vastly contrasts with what I'm used to. Discovering you possessed a deeper connection with the Force than most had been a cause for celebration (used loosely for certain peoples) on every planet I've ever been to. Sure, there's jealousy from those not blessed and upset parents who took a lot of convincing before they relinquished their children to the Order. But all in all, it was a joyful time.' 

'Well, before the Empire took over…but that's beside the point. The main issue here is likely scale. One in every ten million is one thing, but when everyone has a very real chance of one day waking up with powers, I suppose the issue becomes much more urgent. Potency may also be a problem, but just with a surface sweep, most of these children have exceptionally weak mutations, barely pushing them above normal humans. But for every thousand weak mutations, all it takes is one powerful mutant to wreak havoc.'

As they continued through the manor, Vader took note of the number of hidden cameras they passed by. 'Just in the areas we've walked through, I've sensed 55 cameras. Fear and paranoia of this level don't come from nothing. I'll need to investigate more when this is over. It wouldn't do for another surprise like this to happen.'

"Here we are. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Cerebro. The most powerful psychic aid ever built." Xavier's voice, brimming with pride, brought Vader's mind back to the material, and he focused his senses on the towering spherical device Xavier had led them to. 'This…THIS is the best they can do? A giant room full of metal plates and a stupid-looking helmet in the centre.'

"Why is it so big?" Stark, voice coloured with the same confusion Vader felt, asked aloud. A frown covered his features as he took in the vast emptiness that made up most of the room.

"Ah, well, you see, when we first started to build a machine capable of enhancing a psychic's powers, we ran into problems with the hardware of the times. Put simply, the technology of the time couldn't sustain prolonged exposure to psychic energy produced by stronger mutants like myself. Over time, that need fell away, but we decided to keep the original design and repurpose the panels in the room to absorb the user's psychic energy and project their mental images onto the panels." Xavier's voice became softer and more far-off as he spoke, losing himself in memories of the past.

"So instead of actually improving the device, you decided to turn it into a movie theatre? Can't say I follow the logic. You don't even advertise." Stark's signature brand of sarcasm sliced through Xavier's reverie with all the subtlety of an Acklay's claw, loudly questioning the device's functionality. "So what parts of this thing do we actually care about, 'cause I doubt Vader wants to carry a bunch of useless metal around."

"You are correct in your deduction, Stark." Turning his head to face Xavier, Vader continued to speak. "Can I assume all the panels have no use besides thought projection?"

"You are correct, yes. The only thing required is the platform we currently stand on." Hearing Xavier assent, Vader quickly went to work disconnecting and lowering the metal plates onto the ground.

"Allow me and my student to help you, Vader. With the three of us, this task should take no time at all." Humming to himself, Vader considered it for a moment. Originally, he was going to use this task to give himself a moment to meditate so he could centre himself for the upcoming fight. The dark side may no longer be influencing his mind, but Vader's soul was still very much tainted by the darkness and hate he'd lived in for decades. He needed time to recover and reinvent himself as Anakin Skywalker once more. (to find the will to forgive himself)

But getting home (and consequently handling anything that got in the way) took priority. Nodding his head to show his agreement, Vader quickly set to work removing the panels. 

The work quickly proved itself tedious. These plates, designed with the intent to house psychic power and, to a lesser extent, telekinetic abilities (since they often came hand in hand), so while Vader wasn't facing any real resistance taking the panels down, the process was much longer than he expected. Idly, Vader noticed that the third person helping clearly lacked experience, using nothing but brute force to pry the panels off.

Deciding that things would move quicker if they knew what they were doing (and that they were being awfully noisy using their current method), Vader reached over, grabbed their metaphorical hand, and started to guide them on how to better take down the panels. He met resistance at first, but once they recognized what he was trying to do, they let him mold their power into the proper form.

Utilizing his mind's eye, Vader properly observed the red-headed girl standing slightly apart from the assembled children behind him. Eyes closed and lips pursed in concentration, Vader vaguely remembered a separate mind probe that had approached him when they'd arrived at the manor, but it had been retracted before it could finish the attempt to breach his mind, unlike Xavier's.

Watching her work made it obvious she had the power and talent necessary to one day take her place among the world's strongest psychics if she received the proper guidance. A brief scan of Xavier's own psychic signature showed that he too is more than capable of teaching her.

(For a fleeting moment, his mind transported him to a faintly familiar planet where a young Togruta emerged from a supply ship. Then, his thoughts shifted to a solitary entrance, staring ahead towards a figure that had long since vanished.)

{screech} 

The panel he had been about to move groaned and bent under the pressure of Vader's rising emotions. Fighting to get himself back under control, Vader emptied his mind, moving away from Xavier's student and focusing completely on this task. Wanting this to end as quickly as possible, his speed quadrupled as he set about the remainder of his task.

Not a minute later, Cerebro's outer shell lay deconstructed, and Vader released his telekinetic grasp before taking a look around. Stark and the blue beast were having a conversation about cloaking devices, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson were sharing war stories with Logan. Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton spoke with Storm and the children. Lastly, Xavier and the red-head both stood beside each other to his left, talking telepathically while she shot him worried glances.

A brief probe showed that she was feeling great amounts of worry and fear, with an undercurrent of hate that felt distinctly different from her other emotions. Investigating a little deeper showed Vader that she possessed empath abilities and was reflecting back some of the anger he had unleashed moments before. 

Seconds later, all her emotions, not just the leftovers she got from him, were tossed into what Vader could only envision as a black hole. Immediately, she lost all signs of distress, and Xavier's emotions shifted from worry to happiness. The whole situation left him flabbergasted. Xavier's teaching method was so comparable to the Jedi's that Vader ran another scan against him, looking for a Force connection.

'Does this fool really believe teaching her to ignore her emotions will benefit her in any way? All he's doing is creating a time bomb, I would know; I watched dozens detonate during the Clone Wars.'

"Emotions aren't to be repressed and discarded, child." Vader's voice carried across the room, its cold mechanical quality attracting the attention of everyone present.

"You may be capable of temporarily ridding yourself of emotion, but make no mistake, they remain. If you continue on this path, caging your emotions inside you, then one day you will find yourself with a full cage and emotions you are not in control of. For everyone's sake, you should learn to properly control your emotions before such a day befalls you." (Like it befell me.) 

Shock surrounded Vader on all sides as the gathered group stared at him with bewilderment following his speech. "Damn, I think that's the most words I've ever heard you say, Darth Silence." Tony's voice no longer echoed but still seemed to carry unnaturally far, easily reaching everyone present.

(AN: Creativity is hard 🙁)

Absolute silence met his declaration; even Vader's wheezing breaths had halted in the face of Tony Stark's madness. Then at once, many things happened: Vader's lightsaber launched off his belt towards Stark, who, in retaliation, activated his repulsor jets and rocketed into the air. The sudden escalation caused all the children to panic, forcing Natasha, Clint, and Storm to try and contain them before they did anything stupid. Logan ran over to the professor's side while Steve and Sam yelled at Tony to get down. Lastly, Xavier's other psychic student walked over to Vader, ignoring the professor's shout to stay where she was. 

"What you just said, is it true?" Stopping in front of Vader, she boldly questioned his prior statement regarding her powers. Meanwhile, shocked by her unbelievable courage, the others slowly began to simmer down, recognizing that the previous events had most likely been done without the intention of causing harm.

"I have no reason to lie, child." Vader responded while holding his hand out to the side. With a mental summon, his lightsaber flew back into his hand, where he reattached it to his belt.

"My name isn't child, it's Jean. And the professor gave me those exercises to help me gain control of my powers. If I let my emotions out, they'll destroy the mansion. I'll hurt someone." Her voice became more heated as she spoke, bottled emotions threatening to rise to the surface in the face of someone challenging what had been her foundation for many years.

"It is your own choice to follow my advice. However, know that I am certain of the destination of your current path. Others have tread it before you and have likewise failed. If you choose not to heed my advice, then the next time we meet will be when I am called to end you." Vader's voice became slightly less mechanical as he responded, using the Force to project his certainty and confidence.

"..." Retort dying in her throat, Jean stood there silently, soaking in what Vader had said. She wanted to continue denying it, call him a liar, continue putting her faith in the professor who had done so much for her. But deep down, Vader's words had only confirmed what she herself had already realised.

As much as he claimed to be looking out for her best interests, the professor had been adamant on this method of suppressing her emotions and, by proxy, her powers so that she could learn to better control herself. Except she's been in the mansion for years now; more memories than not were her in the mansion, surrounded by her fellow mutants.

Yet despite that, she's made no progress in handling her abilities. Oh sure, she's a little more accurate, less likely to randomly bend spoons (a very real beginner problem), and about a million other little things. But her emotions still control her, still dictate her actions whenever they bubble to the surface. None of the professor's talks or meditation sessions ever seem to truly alleviate the problem.

Like Vader said, she puts her emotions behind lock and key, hoping that by keeping them out of mind they won't be a problem. But now that illusion is shattered; Vader had just stated plainly, as if it were a known fact, that this only had one ending. The worst part was that deep down, some part of her craved it. To let loose and ignore the consequences, to finally see all that she is capable of. It terrified her that one day she might agree.

Shaking those thoughts away, Jean looked back towards the towering figure in front of her and made a decision. "Teach me." 

"Absolutely not." Turning away with a flourish of his cloak, Vader picked up the Cerebro, shaking it till all the other students fell off, and then began to walk back towards the quinjet, officially fed up with this school.