3388/Next X-Steps

Next X-Steps
Date of Scene:	16 September 2020
Location:	Charles' Office / Classroom
Synopsis:	Charles and Jean discuss her new responsibilities as headmistress, interactions between X-Corporation and the X-Men, and possibly reaching out to other public superhero groups.
Cast of Characters:	Charles Xavier, Jean Grey

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Charles Xavier has posed:
    It's been several weeks since Charles formally nominated Jean Grey as the new Headmistress of the school, but he hasn't quite gotten around to completely moving out of his old office. Granted, he could probably ask for help packing things up, but he's still figuring out where to put it all once he does, especially since his personal quarters are attached to his office.

    So, while there are miles of boxes of books and the like ready to go, it's still effectively Xavier's office...for the moment. And thus where he asks Jean to meet him to go over a few pertinent details regarding her new position and more covert matters.

    Charles himself is sitting behind his desk, having not quite packed up his laptop as of yet as he scrolls through several messages, the door ajar to let people know he's inside and seeing guests if they happen to show up.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean arrives right on time, of course, as the first week of classes with the new Headmistress have been surprisingly uneventful. The school hasn't even exploded yet (with the Mansion, that's always a concern, but no Magnetos or Juggernauts have rampaged through on the first week at least).

Of course, the week isn't over yet...

In any event, Jean's wearing her classic schoolteacher outfit, hair tied back in a bun as she has on a green faux-turtleneck and matching skirt, the fabrich swishing as she walks in. Her lips curve into a bit of a smile as she glances around the office, then looks over at Charles, "It is going to be strange not having you right here, you know." Something she's said a few dozen times, but it still IS weird for her.

Charles Xavier has posed:
    Charles chuckles. "Ah, well, I won't be far, as soon as I figure out where they can squeeze me in to another office. I have considered constructing a small house on the property, in fact. Not a large one, but enough for an office and private quarters." He rolls out from behind the desk over to Jean, motioning to the couch and chairs nearby. "Won't you take a seat? Tea, or coffee?" he offers.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean grins, taking a seat on the couch, ankles crossed demurely as she simply says, "Tea, I think. I can get it, though." She looks a bit impish as the tea service starts to work of its own accord, as the First Student has come a long way since she arrived all those years ago.

She hmms, "Well, honestly, I think either of those options could work. A house could afford you some privacy, plus a bit less of a distraction from all the students if you need to deal with X-Corp business." She considers, "And it isn't like there isn't any room on the grounds, after all."

Charles Xavier has posed:
    "Well, you certainly know where everything is. I think I'll be donating the set there for you to use with visitors and students, to be honest." Charles admits, settling back with his hands in his lap as Jean busies herself with the tea. "Earl Grey for me then, please. Plain. Yes, there's not a lot of space for offices, and I don't feel I should be kicking anyone out of theirs or renovating a closet." he says dryly. "Moira will be taking your office once you're moved, so the house seems best."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean smiles, "Of course." She has a bit of milk and honey for her tea, but keeps Charles' plain as she guides one cup and saucer to herself. The other cup floats easily over towards the Professor.

She sips her tea a bit, then nods, "Makes sense, and that'll be good to have her close by." She smiles a bit impishly for some reason at that, "Though, it does feel like things are going a bit smoothly so far. At least, I haven't had the students leading a revolution just yet."

Charles Xavier has posed:
    "Thank you Jean." Charles says, picking up the cup as it's set down near him and blowing on it lightly before having a sip and setting it back down. "Well, keeping things going smoothly is why I wanted to meet with you today." he says, turning more serious. "Both with the school, and with both your and Scott's teams. Or Illyana's team, if you are going ahead with making her the X-Force team leader." he amends, leaning forwards slightly. "Part of that is one purpose I have in mind for the X-Corporation is to feed you intelligence and missions, based on what I and the other volunteers are able to glean about the status of metahumans and mutants that we work with, or that are present in countries that are less than kind with their laws regarding powered citizens, especially children."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean nods, "I do intend to let Illyana be the captain of X-Force in the field, though I did tell her that I might occasionally go out on missions when I'm not busy grading papers." She smiles faintly at that, growing serious as well, "And that's a good idea, Professor. We definitely need to be able to do what we can to preempt threats before they become a problem." Her expression darkens a bit at the mention of children... always a bit of a sore spot with her.

Charles Xavier has posed:
    "It is, in fact, a significant part of why I created the X-Corporation. We need that sort of intelligence, an organization on the ground that won't draw attention and can do good, but also where we can keep an eye on powered individuals around the world and offer help covertly where possible. My thought is that the X-Men will continue to be a covert, primarily reactive force, while X-Force will be our covert proactive force. If we need to send someone into a hostile nation to rescue mutants in need and to do it quietly, your force would be the one I would like to accomplish that task. Illyana's teleportation means you have the ability to go anywhere she can reach quickly and where you can generally avoid detection getting in and out, even if you have additional civilians with you."

    He leans back in his chair, his eyes on Jean. "More rarely, you may need to strike directly at projects that threaten the well-being of mutants, or indeed other powered individuals. If so, I would prefer any injuries or deaths be minimized if possible. I do not want you to be a kill squad, only a precision weapon." He sighs. "I had hoped that such a group would not be necessary, but after Genosha it seems we cannot hope for such, especially with Magneto having raised his Asteroid M. His actions have galvanized many world government who rightly fear what an orbital installation could do to ground targets in the hands of someone like Erik and his followers."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean nods, "It didn't take long for him to waste the goodwill mutants /might/ have had, but then he's spectacularly excellent at that sort of thing." She sighs a bit, looking back at the Professor. "I don't want to have this be a kill squad. I just... feel that we can't afford to sit around and wait for Sinister or someone else to attack us. We need to be able to answer those threats." She smiles faintly as the Professor outlines what he had planned, "And that sounds just about what I had in mind."

Charles Xavier has posed:
    Charles sighs and nods. "And I am forced to agree, which is part of the reason I asked you to be headmistress. I know that I tend to be more reactive. I'm used to looking at the long view and not as quick to act tactically. That said, I will be actively looking to identify situations you can intervene in, either as a group or in smaller elements."

    He frowns. "Erik's insistence on immediate and violent change, if necessary, is the other part of it. Someone needs to be actively undoing the damage he's caused to the reputation of mutants and metahumans worldwide, and I can't focus on that and the school at the same time and do a proper job of it."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean nods, "And I'll be more than happy to pick up the slack, Professor." She smiles a bit, "I have a few things that might have him reacting to /us/ for a change, but we'll see how things develop." Her eyes flicker with some measure of amusement, as she apparently has a few plans in mind.

Then she nods, "And your input is definitely going to be valuable. I can see that X-Corp is going to be very helpful about that." She smiles a little, sipping from her tea.

Charles Xavier has posed:
    "Excellent. We'll have to work out a system where we can covertly pass you the information without it being obvious, but I trust Kitty or Doug can set up a system for that as needed." Charles notes. Technical stuff is not his forte, unless it's dealing with psionics! "Well then, that aside, the other thing is that I would suggest that we widen the students we take in, from primarily mutants to other powered children as well. Aliens possibly too. We already have accepted the last, certainly. As long as they are in need, don't have a safe home situation, or are in desperate need of help dealing with their powers, as always...there's only so much space we have."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean nods, "I agree with that, there's quite a few other children out there that need help with powers. It's not just mutants, after all, though they definitely feel the brunt of it." She hmms, "I have no problem opening up the school to those that would best be served by being here, obviously. Though we need to make sure that the activities of the X-Men, and especially X-Force, are kept on the down-low. I wouldn't want anyone getting odd expectations after being at the school for a while."

Charles Xavier has posed:
    "Of course. As always, it's best that the regular students are unaware." Charles agrees. "Not just to avoid them wanting to join in when they're not ready, but the less who know, the less likely it will leak out. I'd rather avoid having to tweak any memories if possible." He frowns faintly. "It's a pity there isn't a more public learning center others could attend, but we can only help those we have the resources to reach out to at the moment. Perhaps if X-Corporation becomes more firmly established, we can consider something along those line, though that would come with its own issues." He shakes his head. "My apologies, I'm rattling things off and I haven't stopped to ask you what you think should be changed, or improved upon?"

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean chuckles, "No, I think we've got the bases covered, it sounds like you have everything pretty well planned out, Professor." She smiles, finishing off the tea, "And tweaking memories... yes, I'd rather avoid that if at all possible anyway. Though I do think we should also reach out to other 'superhero' teams, just in case they need assistance, or to keep them close should we need help. I've still been working with Carol..." A light blush touches her cheeks at that, "on the Avengers, and there was the meeting we had with Hal and some of the other Leaguers to boot."

Charles Xavier has posed:
    Charles raises a brow at that, thinking. "That...would be a useful connection. As long as we wouldn't be coming into conflict with them while operating in a vigilante sense across national borders." he says slowly. "If you have connection you trust? Though I would limit your contact to only one person as liaison, yourself or another. Knowing about the X-Men or X-Force is one thing, or even that the school will take in children in need, but details of membership and resources are probably best left off the table. For the moment."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean nods, "Well, I trust Carol, obviously... as far as the Justice League goes." She pauses, and thinks about it for a few moments, "I... can think of a few people to reach out towards, but it would be delicate, and very quiet, as you said. After the experiences we had with the Titans during the Brainiac event, I would just as soon /not/ establish closer ties with them at this point." She frowns, looking fairly critical of what happened then.

Charles Xavier has posed:
    "I would assume the Justice League are generally trustworthy, yes." Charles agrees. "I would suggest taking your time with it. If you don't have a need to work with the group as of yet, there's no reason to rush things. While it is helpful to have contacts, it's always going to be a danger the more people know about the school and the X-Men." He pauses to sip from his tea, then mms. "I defer to your judgement, though if you need help with me contacting anyone, it may be easier as part of the X-Corporation as well. I imagine quite a few of those who consider themselves heroes would be willing to help people in need, even if it might break the rules to do so." He smiles faintly, as his phone beeps, and with a grumble he pulls it out to glance at. "Ah. Well. Duty appears to be calling, I need to go check in with one of our new offices that's been having some difficulties getting set up. Perhaps we could continue this another time? I would prefer to bring Scott in if possible, in fact." He smiles at Jean. "Thank you for taking the time to discuss things, however, it's good to have a feel for the pulse of things."

    And with that, it's off for both of them to deal with their respective responsibilities.