thisavrou | Second transmission; video

[Some of the residents of these strange planets may recognize the building visible in the background when the video turns on: the X-mansion, at one point intended to be a boarding school but a little short of that vision right now. Those who don't know specifically what it is will just see that it is a very large house (seriously, Charles, who needs that much house?) surrounded by grass and trees.

Look who's venturing out onto the network again. Good for him.]

It seems to me that what this place could benefit from is some self-defense classes. Just in case anyone ever has a need to defend themselves.

[Or finds themselves in an arena again. You never know.]

There's plenty of space in the basement for just that. There are no regular class times yet, so if you're interested in learning, let me know.

[For a fee, of course. He has to afford food somehow.

Then he adds, almost as an afterthought:]

There's regular classroom space too, if anyone has a subject they're interested in teaching.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ The name makes her pause and she almost hesitates before she shakes it off. ]

That sounds good. Thank you, Mr. Lehnsherr.

[He notices, of course he does, but he won't comment on it. It doesn't really matter to him what she might have heard about him.]

Are there a lot of people here who might benefit from learning about magic?

Surely everyone could? There are lots of people here who could have magic and learning about it will make understanding them easier. I know things are scientific here but there's a lot that could be explained with magic, too.

I'm aware.

[Mostly he's attempting to figure out how many here might actually have skills like what she's talking about, rather than the theoretical like she's proposing.

As if to demonstrate his point, he inclines his head to the side and a pair of pruning sheers dance into view behind him.]

That's more scientific than you're thinking though, I believe.

Oh! That's not magic... Is that... A different kind of power? Telekinesis, or... Mutation?

[ She'd known Charles, after all, and she'd known about his mutation on an intimate level. ]

It's a mutation. It works on anything with a magnetic field.

[Including people, but he'll leave that part unsaid for now.]

That's incredible! I've seen some mutations before, but never anything like this.

Mutations manifest in any number of abilities. Mine just happens to be this one.

I did have a conversation about mutations, once, a long time ago. We wondered whether or not magic began as a mutation and developed, somehow.

I'm not an expert on genetics [that would be Charles] but it seems like anything's possible when it comes to mutations.

I knew an expert, once. It seems to me that it's entirely possible that all the powers in any universe might be a mutation of some sort, especially if it's something that's passed down through families.

So did I. We used to discuss mutations. [Because they both have them.]

The exact nature of it would vary based on the universe, from my understanding, but it seems to me that powers must come from somewhere, especially if not everyone has them.

Exactly! I mean, magic is a part of our very nature, and it can't have just appeared out of nowhere - plus, if people with no magical parents are able to inherit magical power then it has to be down to the very foundation of who we are. I imagine mutation is something similar, but perhaps it's less to do with family.

Not every mutant has mutant parents. Mutations appear independently. Especially considering that this mutation goes back only a generation or two. Mutants can also produce mutant children.