Moving Men

“Alright, young men, how shall we do this?” asked Gerald as he looked around his son’s room. There were various suitcases and boxes scattered around the floor and bed, showing how Chris had made sure to thoroughly pack up before moving day.

“I shall carry them all,” Piotr said as he activated his mutant ability. Gerald and Chris watched in awe as the giant of a man’s skin gained a metallic sheen over it. His body did not change all at once, but rather it was like a wave that moved over his body. It was amazing for the two men who had never seen mutants in person to watch.

“That is so fucking cool!” Chris said once the transformation was complete.

“Chris, no need to swear,” scolded his father, “but yeah, fucking cool,” said the older man.

“Yeah, it is always cool when Piotr transforms,” Scott agreed as Piotr’s face seemed to change a bit of color. Chris assumed the man was blushing at the fellas being impressed with his transformation.

“Come now, friends, we have a job to do!” Pitor said in an attempt to change the subject.

“Right, right, Piotr is right. So...we uh just stack all the boxes in his arms?” asked Gerald.

“Da. That would work,” he told the father.

“Well, you heard him, fellas, load him up!” Gerald said as he grabbed a box and put it in Piotr’s arms. The colossus of a man was able to easily handle all the boxes Chris had packed for the move.

“You must be useful in your X-Maning fights,” Gerald decided as they finished packing the boxes onto Pitor.

“I have not been in a fight yet,” admitted the man.

“Really?” asked Gerald, who thought Piotr’s powers would be very useful in a fight.

“Piotr is still in training. He is nearly ready for field missions,” Scott informed the two men.

“Net. I am not ready for field missions, Scott. There is no need to soften the truth,” Pitor told the older mutant.

“I was not softening the truth, Piotr. You are nearly ready for field missions. In fact, we might actually start putting you in field missions. However, they would be non-combat missions. We know your aversion to **** and have decided your abilities are just as good in rescue missions as they would be in combat missions,” Scott told his student. Piotr seemed to be stunned by the words of his teacher.

“Really?” asked Pitor, his voice shaking.

“Of course, buddy. You have more than shown you are capable. It is time we gave you your chance. Now we just need to make a rescue team, and you’ll be the first one on it,” Scott told him with a big smile on his face.

“Thank you, my friend!” Piotr said, almost tearing up. “I want to be of use to the X-Men but I did not want to hurt others to accomplish that,” Piotr admitted.

“I know, Piotr. We all know. And you aren’t the only one. Many of our students have powers that are better suited for support roles, not combat roles. So we figured we could have a non-combat team to assist in search and rescue, evacuation, things like that. But do be warned, Piotr, you may have to fight. I doubt the bad guys would let you foil their plans, even with the combat team engaged,” warned Scott in a firm, but controlled voice.

“Da, I understand. I believe I could more willingly fight if it was to protect innocents being rescued as opposed to just evil mutants,” Piotr said honestly.

“Good. I’m glad to hear that, buddy,” Scott said as he gave Piotr a friendly pat on the arm.

“I feel like we just witnessed something important, dad,” Chris said to his father in a low voice.

“I agree. It seems like these guys will be a good influence on you. Thinking of each other’s preferences and having non-combat teams and such. I’ll be looking for you on the news, son,” Gerald said with a smile as he gave his son a light slap on the arm.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, dad. I still need to figure out what my power even is, before we determine what team I’ll be on,” Chris told his father.

“Very true,” admitted the older man.

“Plus, I dunno if I even want to be on a team,” Chris admitted. He was not entirely sure what he wanted to do with his mutant status. He did, however, decide not to write anything off or make any true plans until he learned what his power exactly was.

“I understand,” he told his son as he wrapped his arm around his shoulders. “You are my son, and I’ll be proud of you and stand by any decision you make.

“Thanks dad. I appreciate that. I really do,” Chris said as he gave his dad a hug.

“Anytime, son,” he said as he embraced his son. “Anyways, are you sure my boy won’t need his bed or dresser, or any of the other big furniture?” asked Gerald, clearly pushing for them to take the large pieces of furniture.

“All rooms are furnished. If you want, however, we can bring your personal furniture if you’d like,” Scott told the father-son duo.

“Nah, that’s fine. I don’t really care about this stuff,” Chris told the mutants.

“Are you sure, son? You don’t want a piece of home with you? You had a lot of good memories with this bed! And this dresser has had your clothes your entire life!” pleaded Gerald.

“You want to change my room into a man cave, don’t you?” asked Chris in a monotone voice as he stared daggers at his father.