Chapter 3: The Substitute

Chapter 3: The Substitute

For a second, he considers just going along with Skylar’s narrative. The other guy was probably right after all. What was the chance that Ms. Kenner was waiting for him back in her classroom? She might have been caustic and abrasive, but she was still just a substitute. The likelihood of her actually bothering to hold him to his detention was pretty damn low... right?

Except Thaddeus finds himself extrapolating into the future in that moment. He could take the risk, go to practice... and potentially end up with the angry woman stomping out onto the field and shouting at him in front of his Coach and the entire team. The humiliation if such a thing happened would be overwhelming.

In the end, wasn’t it better to just go to the detention? If Ms. Kenner wasn’t there, he could be back to practice before even five minutes had passed and everything would be fine. And if she was there, if she was such a fucking hardass that she was actually intending on overseeing his detention, then at least Thaddeus would have avoided the embarrassment of having her come out onto the football field to get him.

Of course, he knows immediately that trying to explain as much to Skylar isn’t going to go over well. Best not to even try. That’s why he gives the other man a hard pat on the shoulder and a thankful grin.

“Hey man, I totally forgot about that! Thanks for reminding me, I’d better head out!”

The look on Skylar’s face is honestly priceless, though Thaddeus doesn’t let himself laugh or anything like that.

“Wha- wait! Bro, where are you going?! Seriously? What am I gonna tell Coach?”

As he makes his way through the locker room doors, Thaddeus glances back and gives Skylar a thumbs up.

“Oh yeah! Let Coach know I got detention with the new sub, alright? If I’m not back in ten, then don’t expect me at practice today!”

Skylar’s eyes damn near bulge out of his skull at that.

“Bro you can’t-!”

But Thaddeus is already gone, having left the locker room and Skylar’s voice behind him. He feels a little guilty for making Skylar the bearer of bad news here, but not too guilty. Truth be told, even if they’d been best friends since they were little, Skylar’s whole... attitude had been rubbing Thaddeus the wrong way more and more in the past few months.

The things he’d said about Ms. Kenner were a perfect example. Calling her a bitch and a cunt. Sure, she was a bit of a hardass, and maybe it was unfair the way she’d treated him in class earlier, but that didn’t mean she deserved to be called such harsh names. Honestly, it was Thaddeus’ fault for being late to class in the first place. He’d just gotten so used to being in a privileged position that he’d let things like that fall to the wayside.

Even still, he’s not actually expecting the raven-haired woman to be waiting for him back at his home room. She was just a substitute teacher and knowing how much they got paid and that they were hourly with said hours ending the moment school let out, he couldn’t imagine that she would actually want to stay longer after school for no pay at all.

He trudges across the length of the school anyways, fully intending to pop his head into what is likely to be an empty classroom, and then turn right back around and get to football practice after all. All the while, his mind is still spinning from his conversation with Professor Charles Xavier. The man had been one of a kind, that was for sure. And his offer was certainly an interesting one. Thaddeus still didn’t know what to make of it.

Of course, when he finally DOES poke his head into his home room, he knows what to make of Ms. Kenner’s presence in there even less. She IS still there to his surprise, waiting for him with her arms crossed over her chest as she sits behind her desk. On seeing him peek in, her eyes narrow and Thaddeus can’t help but flush a little bit as he steps fully into the classroom.

“Ma’am.”

“Mr. Cummings. You’re late.”

Thaddeus can’t help but wince at that. He doesn’t enjoy being addressed by his last name any more than his first, really. Unfortunately, his second middle name isn’t much better. Thaddeus, his first middle name, really is the only remotely reasonable nomenclature out of all four. Clearing his throat, he tries to give Ms. Kenner an apologetic smile.

“Sorry ma’am, but I’m here now! Look, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot earlier. I was late to class, and I totally own that. But I wasn’t trying to lie to you. Chad might be the name on my birth certificate and my school records, but I really do go by Thad... or Thaddeus, if you prefer.”

He gives her his best smile at that, trying to put every bit of his charisma into the sudden charm offensive. He even thinks he sees the slightest bit of a pinkish tinge to Ms. Kenner’s cheeks... before she scoffs and abruptly stands up, walking out from behind her desk.

“I don’t know why you think I care, Mr. Cummings. I’m not here to be your friend, I am your teacher and your startling lack of respect is what landed you here today in this detention. Now, let’s begin.”

Thaddeus winces again. In a way, her words were fair. But in another, they felt unbelievably unfair. Definitely harsh. But was that just his own biases acting up? He’d gone through life without a care in the world. The handsome blond, blue-eyed football star. The High School Quarterback. He was everyone’s golden boy. So maybe... maybe Ms. Kenner wasn’t really being unfair, so much as balancing out the scales a little bit?

Either way, he just shrugs and does as he’s told. He hadn’t ever done a detention before, so he couldn’t really say what they were like. He’d seen some examples in modern media, of course. On television and the internet. Sometimes you were supposed to write the same line about how you screwed up a thousand times on the chalkboard. Sometimes you were expected to just sit quietly and do your homework or something.

Neither of those things happened with Ms. Kenner. Instead, the stunning substitute teacher had him doing menial labor. Cleaning up around the classroom came first, and then moving boxes came second. Honestly, the boxes were surprisingly heavy and if it weren’t for his growing enhanced physique, Thaddeus isn't sure even his base football star form would have been able to handle them without breaking a sweat. It was like they were filled with rocks or something.

Ms. Kenner had him move all of the boxes out to her car... and then had him move some boxes back inside. Thaddeus wasn’t sure if he was supposed to notice that some of the boxes were the same between the two trips. Honestly, he didn’t really mind all of the hard work. He’d tried to make some more small talk with the substitute teacher early on, but she’d shut that down in her usual harsh fashion, so eventually he’d given up.

Instead, he spent most of the time thinking about Charles Xavier and his school. And also that woman who’d been with him. Ororo. She was... beauty incarnate. Even more beautiful than Ms. Kenner, Thaddeus could admit in the privacy of his own mind. Though it was a close toss-up, truth be told. Still, both Ororo and Ms. Kenner definitely made the girls Thaddeus HAD been getting with these past few months pale in comparison. There were some hot, sexy young women at his school, don’t get him wrong... but none of them held a candle to the two beauties that Thaddeus had met today.

Truth be told, he was half-tempted to take the Professor up on his offer just for the chance at getting closer to Ororo. He wanted to get to know her better. He wanted her to get to know HIM better.

Of course, that was only one small factor in all of this. The confirmation that Thaddeus was a mutant was a much bigger factor. Even more than that, Thaddeus had come to the attention of other mutants. He hadn’t thought to ask how the Professor even discovered him back during their meeting. In hindsight, that should have been the most important question on his mind.

After all, if he didn’t take the psychic up on his offer, Thaddeus NEEDED to know what gave him away. If only because it might let him hide his true nature a little while longer...

With a grunt, Thaddeus finishes setting down the last of the large boxes in the classroom closet, pulling back and pretending to wipe a hand across his brow. He’s not actually winded, but he’s gotten good at pretending to be winded recently. He begins to turn, intending to ask Ms. Kenner what she might want from him next, but before he can, her voice cuts in, suddenly silky soft and utterly smooth.

“It doesn’t feel good, does it?”

Blinking, Thaddeus looks back at the beautiful substitute teacher. Ms. Kenner stands there, same as before, dressed in her white blouse and black pencil skirt.

“Uh... what?”

Her eyes flash as she gives him a smirk.

“It doesn’t feel good to be discriminated against, does it Thaddeus? Especially not for something outside of your control like a stupid, silly name.”

His mouth opens and then closes. He’s completely thrown by the sudden one-eighty the substitute has pulled on him. Why is she suddenly using his offered name instead of ‘Mr. Cummings’? Why does she sound so... understanding, all of the sudden?

“You can expect more of this going forward, of course.”

Thaddeus’ eyes widen at that. Was she threatening him? Was she declaring she was going to make his life a living hell so long as she was a substitute here? Truth be told, he didn’t know how to respond to a declaration like that. Of course, just as he’s getting all caught up in it, she continues on and clarifies what she means... while also completely blowing his mind.

“When they find out what you truly are... when they discover that you’re a mutant, they’ll treat you just like this if not worse. It won’t matter that they were your friends, your teachers, your community. In the span of a moment, you’ll become Other to them.”

He’s rendered speechless. She knows? Somehow, she knows he’s a mutant. Is she psychic too?! God he hopes not, if she was, she would have seen how often he’d been imagining her naked. Or Ororo naked. Or both of them naked together, covered in strawberries and whipped cream and...

“I’m sure you think because of your good looks that you don’t have to worry about such a thing. After all, you don’t LOOK like a mutant, do you? But that won’t matter. They might hold you up as an example of ‘one of the good ones’. Might put you on a pedestal at first. Tokenize you. But eventually, the envy will begin to grow. You’ll be too good at the things they want to be good at. You’ll show them up at every turn, until they decide that you’re better off as their enemy than their friend.”

... Okay, no. She wasn’t a psychic. If she was, she definitely would have reacted by now to his thoughts. Instead, focusing on what she was actually saying... it sounded like she was giving him the same pitch as Professor Xavier. Just... differently. Before he can respond, Ms. Kenner suddenly smiles and lifts a hand. Thaddeus’ eyes go wide as he watches her skin seemingly flow away, being replaced by blue flesh.

The substitute teacher’s entire body ripples, and in mere moments Thaddeus is standing in front of an incredibly blue, incredibly naked woman. With orange hair and yellow eyes, Ms. Kenner no longer looks like a beautiful raven-haired substitute teacher. Instead, she looks like a beautiful alien, her blue skin only making her more exotic, and her body to die for with its perfect proportions and curvaceous figure.

Thaddeus can only stare as she steps forward, placing her hand on his chest and walking him back into the nearest wall. As his back thumps against said wall, his heart is pounding in his chest.

“I’m not Ms. Kenner, obviously. That’s an alias. My name... is Mystique. And I know the conversation you had with Charles, young Thaddeus. I know he wants to recruit you to his little school. However, it’s only right that you know ALL of the options set before you. After all, Charles hasn’t told you everything. He hasn’t given you the big picture.”

Blinking rapidly, trying very hard to focus on her words and not on her naked figure mere inches from him, Thaddeus can only swallow thickly as his cock begins to reach the limits of his pants, starting to strain against its confines. To his mortification, Mystique notices this. Her eyes glance down to his growing bulge... and instead of disgust, she gives him a lecherous grin.

“I would be more than happy to EARN the chance to have you hear me out, Thaddeus.”

He could hardly believe his ears.

“W-What?”

Far from the incredibly rude and standoffish act she’d played as Ms. Kenner, Mystique seems to be quite open, even kind. She lets out a tittering laugh... and suddenly reaches down with her other hand, rubbing along his bulge.

“You’re a growing young lad, aren’t you? It wouldn’t be fair to show you the goods without letting you enjoy them.”

... She didn’t know what his mutant ability was, did she? He’s not sure how he makes that jump in logic, but the moment he thinks about it, he’s sure he’s right. Unlike the Professor, Mystique doesn’t have psychic abilities and doesn’t know his mutation is related to sex. And yet, she’s propositioning him anyways?

“Of course, if you find this form objectionable... it doesn’t have to be sex with me.”

In an instant, Mystique has transformed into Ororo, except naked. Thaddeus’ eyes widen as the blue-skinned shapeshifter grows an inch in height, becoming dark-skinned with white hair as she gives him a lecherous grin with Ororo’s face. Then, just as quickly, she shifts back into her base form.

“Or perhaps someone a bit more... well-known.”

Just as abruptly as before, Mystique transforms again. This time, she takes a second longer, running her hands up and down her naked, pale body to give Thaddeus a chance to recognize her. Unlike with Ororo, she doesn’t grow in height but instead shrinks a few inches, forcing Thaddeus to look down into the face of one Alison Blaire... aka the Dazzler.

She was the popstar to end all popstars. Even Thaddeus owned a couple of her albums, though they’d been gifts from a couple of the girls he’d fucked over the last several months, rather than purchases of his own. Alison Blaire was a good singer though, and her shows were top notch. More than that though? The blonde was simply gorgeous, absolutely breathtaking in her nudity. Though, that could have just been Mystique... amplifying their bodies.

“Well, Thaddeus? What will it be?”

His mouth is unbelievably dry as Mystique grins at him knowingly for a moment longer with the popstar’s face, before shifting back into her blue form and awaiting his choice. Truth be told, he already knows what he’s going to say. There’s only one option, in a situation like this.