Chapter 53: Disclosure

Chapter 53: Disclosure

A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my Patreon for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!

A serious convo is had~

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Thaddeus hesitates for a moment before realizing there’s no point. Lie to Cessily? After everything they’ve been through? It might have been less than a day, but Thaddeus still can’t imagine doing so. Furthermore, he can tell just by looking into the other mutant’s eyes that she wouldn’t accept being cut off for her own safety.

In the end, the path forward is obvious. Emma is right. That said, Thaddeus lets out a sigh and looks Cessily dead in the eyes.

“Emma and I are a part of the Hellfire Club.”

Well, technically he hadn’t even had his debut yet, but still, he didn’t want to over-complicate things. This would be tough enough without confusing Cessily or-

“Who?”

Thaddeus blinks, a little caught off guard by Cessily’s confusion. The female mutant’s brow is furrowed, and as he slides his gaze over to Emma, he can see that she’s mildly surprised by the lack of knowledge as well. Finally though, the blonde chuckles.

“Ah. I suppose Xavier does like to hold his cards close to his chest, doesn’t he? For all that he considers himself an educator and teacher and you all his students, more often than not he acts more like your protector, shielding you from the truths of the world even if it comes at your expense.”

That gets a frown on Cessily’s face, though besides shifting in her chair a little bit, she doesn’t rise to Charles Xavier’s defense. She doesn’t take the bait. Instead, she focuses on what’s important.

“What is the Hellfire Club?”

Thaddeus and Emma share another glance, but in this case Thaddeus feels like Emma is the best one to explain it, so he nods his head in her direction, ceding the floor. Looking back to Cessily, Emma steeples her hands on the desk in front of her.

“On the surface, the Hellfire Club is an exclusive club for those of... high society. It started out life as a British Gentleman’s Club back in the nineteenth century, but these days has gone international.”

Cessily assimilates this information for a moment, before repeating what Emma had originally said.

“On the surface...”

Smirking slightly, Emma inclines her head.

“Indeed. Below the surface, the Hellfire Club has its hands in crime syndicates all over the world and is involved in dozens of illegal enterprises that have made its leading members even wealthier than their public, legal holdings would suggest.”

Cessily’s eyes widen at that, and she glances around the office for a moment, as if truly taking everything in for the first time. Emma gives her a moment before dropping the real bombshell on her.

“Of course, beneath even that, there is another layer. The true reality of the Hellfire Club... is one of mutant domination. The leadership of the Hellfire Club is made up of the Lords Cardinal, each one holding the title of a colored Chess Piece. There is a Black King and Queen who oversee a Black Knight, Bishop, and Rook. And then there is a White King and Queen who oversee a White Knight, Bishop, and Rook. Not all of these positions are currently filled however... and that’s the way our current leader, the Black King, likes it.”

Thaddeus already knows all of this, of course. After he and Emma had fucked in her diamond form back during that weekend where they’d worked hard to increase his telepathic abilities and supe up her psychic powers at the same time, they hadn’t JUST fucked. Emma had dropped a ‘hint’ in the form of letting him know that there were elements of the Hellfire Club out to get him, but that wasn’t good enough.

Eventually, after enough sex, she’d talked. They’d talked. It had been a lot, but Thaddeus needed to know. He needed to know who his enemies were, both in the immediate future and down the line. He needed to know who and what he would be fighting, if it came down to it... no, WHEN it came down to it.

As such, none of this is a surprise to him, even as Emma continues explaining things to Cessily.

“I am the White Queen, but there currently is no White King. The last one was not a mutant and was discovered to be conspiring against the rest of the organization. He was removed by the current Black King, who has seen it more fitting to keep the position vacant since, as it allows all of the power of the Hellfire Club to be consolidated in his hands.”

Cessily huffs and crosses her arms over her chest.

“Politics.”

Her disdainful tone makes it clear what she thinks of such things, but at least she doesn’t sound personally disgusted with him or Emma. Smirk growing, Emma inclines her head again.

“Quite. Though it gets even more convoluted then that. The Black Queen is even more power hungry than the King. She sent me to recruit Thaddeus in the first place because she recognized a potential in him that made her... ravenous. Her intentions are thus: She wishes to prop Thaddeus up as an eventual contender for the vacant throne of White King, positioning him against the Black King for an eventual victory that will see his counterpart toppled. Then, once that’s over... she would consume Thaddeus entirely, taking all of his power for herself.”

“What?!”

Cessily’s horror on his behalf warms his heart. Thaddeus just smiles a wan smile as she looks over at him with wide eyes. Yes, learning of Selene Gallio and her ultimate plans for him had been... well, tough was a word for it. It took a while to properly process the fact that an ancient sorceress mutant with more than ten thousand years under her belt had chosen him for her next big meal.

He was worried about that eventual confrontation of course, don’t get him wrong... but as he and Emma had discussed, they were already making every possible effort to forego the Black Queen’s desired outcome.

Thaddeus blinks, raising an eyebrow.

“... Okay?”

Smirking a little bit, Cessily shrugs.

“I’m in. I said it before. You’re stuck with me, Thaddeus. I’m not going to betray you or your... partner to anyone. Not the X-Men. Not the Avengers. If this is what you want... then it’s what I want too.”

She’d said as much earlier, before him and Emma had spilled the beans, but he hadn’t truly understood just how much she meant it. Less than twenty four hours and he’d somehow gained Cessily’s undying loyalty. It seemed he was pretty good at that, to be quite honest, but this... this had to be a record even for him.

“Well... alright then. Happy to have you on board. From what Emma has told me, we’ll need all the help we can get against the Black King and Queen.”

Cessily perks up at that, looking back to Emma. At least the blonde behind the desk looks a little bewildered as well.

“Great! So what’s next?”

After pausing to collect her thoughts for a moment longer, Emma clears her throat and rallies.

“Ahem. Well, there’s an event coming at the end of the month. A Hellfire Gala where Thaddeus will be making his debut as a member of the Hellfire Club. He won’t be the focus of the event or anything, he’s not that important yet, but he will draw some attention. My hope is that his newfound Luck along with the other skills he’s gathered along the way will see him through, but there’s still plenty of possibility for disaster.”

Taking that in, Cessily nods after a moment.

“I’ll go with him.”

Before Emma can say anything to that, Cessily quickly elaborates.

“He can wear me, perhaps under a normal suit. I can disguise myself as a second skin and give him an additional layer of protection. And if the worst comes to worst, I can become a suit of armor at a moment’s notice.”

Emma slowly nods but Thaddeus frowns.

“That will put you in danger, Cessily...”

“I don’t care. I’m going.”

Her tone brooks no argument, and Thaddeus just sighs in the end, knowing there’s no point in fighting her harder. He shakes his head even as a rueful smile slides onto his face... but the smile drops a moment later when Emma speaks up.

“Of course, if she’s going to be hidden under your suit, you’re still going to need an additional plus one.”

Thaddeus blinks and looks at Emma, confused. The blonde at least has the good grace to be grimacing after dropping a bombshell like that on him.

“I thought I was going as your plus one, Emma.”

Shaking her head, Emma sighs.

“Change of plans, which is part of the reason I wanted to talk to you on top of debriefing you regarding the events of the last forty-eight hours. I’ve been... informed that I will be attending this Gala on the arm of the Black King. He does not care that I had my own date for the evening already, nor was I foolish enough to bring you up to try and dissuade him. It would be better if the two of you kept your interactions... minimal for the time being.”

Oh. That would do it, he supposed.

“This isn’t altogether a bad thing. It means that the Black Queen is definitely NOT attending, and that means she won’t be able to tell from a glance that you are more than she was expecting you to be at this point in time. Still, your attendance is necessary all the same, and I’m afraid you’ll be showing yourself off. Being alone might work... but having a beauty hanging off your arm couldn’t hurt.”

Giving him a smile, Emma nods.

“I’ll leave it up to you whether you wish to go it alone or bring a date. With Ms. Kincaid at your back, you won’t truly be alone... but if you wish to have further back up, then I leave it to your discretion.”

Well damn.

-x-X-x- The Vote: [X] Bring Natasha as his Plus One - 53%[ ] Bring Laura as his Plus One - 18%[ ] Bring Mystique as his Plus One - 26%

[ ] Bring nobody as his Plus One - 3%

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