Even with it being an ultimatum, Thaddeus finds himself leaning towards Miss Frost and her generous offer. Sure, it was steeped in mystery. Sure, he had to take her offer without really knowing all the details. But… it also represented freedom and independen a way the other two choices did not. Professor Xavier had seemed like a niough man, but he’d still wa Thaddeus to his school, sequestering him away from the rest of the world. Meanwhile… he’d had sex with Mystique, and that had been an eye-opening experieo be sure, but at the same time… he didn’t want to joierrorist anization. He’d barely e to terms with his own mutant dition, he didn’t really have it in him to go around fighting for mutant rights and stig it to The Man. Especially not when it would undoubtedly be incredibly dangerous in both the short AND long-term. There was just one small thing b him as he sits there sidering Emma’s offer. Lig his lips, Thaddeus looks up as the blonde’s knowing eyes as she gives him an encing smile. “Just… one more question. N-Not about yanization, but about me. Earlier you said I would get to have it all if I signed on with you. And you described that as going into Professional Football. It’s just… what if it turns out that that’s not what I want to do? What if I don’t want to go pro?” Emma just nods, her expression sympathetic as she lets out a sigh. “You’ve been feeling more and more pigeonholed, haven’t you Thaddeus? All your life, you’ve had just the oh in front of you, and that path orts. But now… now you have so many more options, and they’re all making your inal path look worse and worse by the minute, aren’t they?” Thaddeus blinks at that. She’d hit the nail right on the head with that analogy, actually. Slowly, he nods, staring at her hopefully now. Emma just smiles. “My anization is not ined to tell you what you and ot do with your life, Thaddeus. It would be rather poio be you this option if it did not e with TRUE freedom and independenow wouldn’t it? That said… think about what you want most in this world. ath do you desire to take?” Thaddeus opens his mouth to reply, only to immediately shut it again and blush somewhat. What he wanted most in this world, at least right now… was more sex. He liked the boosts. He liked getting stronger. He was a little wary after his enter with Mystique had ended so poorly, so he wasn’t trying to jump immediately into more enters with mutant women… but he wouldn’t turn down an offer. And he certainly wao get with more women in general, in order to grow his powers, tthen both his mind and body. Still, he couldly say that ht to Emma, now could he? Instead, after a moment he clears his throat and gives a half-hearted shrug. “To… get better. Stronger.” By having lots and lots of sex was of course left unsaid. Emma heless smiles knowingly, whatever information she had before ing here giving her quite the advantage over him. “Isn’t that what we all want, Thaddeus? Heh. Well, think about it this way… there are only a few routes that let you improve upon your power. That allow you to grow stro as swift a pace if not swifter than you’ve already been doing. You could bee a Male Escort if you were so ined… but I feel like that would be limiting yourself in so many ways. Rather… instead you should try to focus on being some sort of celebrity. So that THEY e to YOU.” Thaddeus finds himself hanging off of her every word. She knows just what to say, and he nods along as he grimaces at the Male Escort idea. But… she’s right. He o be some kind of popur if he wants to maintain his current incredibly sexual lifestyle. Seeing that she’s mao drive her point home, Emma waves a hand through the air. “Now, whether that’s sports or something else… it matters not. My anization help you with whatever. Though I will say that it’s my personal belief that you should take the sports schorship for now, py a year or two of college football, and then decide whether you want to spin that off into some other form of career, or whether you want to go pro. Ultimately, the world is your oyster Thaddeus. All you have to do is reach out and seize what you want with both hands.” Caught up in what she’s saying, Thaddeus almost finds himself reag over the table and seizing EMMA with both hands. In fact, he must have begun to lean forward, because he catches a hint of arm in her eyes at whatever she sees from his posture. But no. He holds himself baot just because this isn’t the time or the pce, but also because of how his experieh Mystique ended. He doesn’t know why the shapeshifter ran away from him after they finished having sex, but he doesn’t want to do the same with Emma Frost and risk chasing her off the same way. Swallowing thickly, Thaddeus spends a moment of silence more thinking it over. But in the end… he knows his answer. He’s known it for a while now, he just struggled to realize it. “… Alright. I’m in. I’ll… I’ll join yanization. And I’ll take the schorship until I figure out somethier…” Because she was right about that. Being a celebrity, whether it orts or something else that gave him fame, would ensure a steady supply of beautiful young women who all wanted a piece of him. And Thaddeus wahat. No, he … his mutation . But… at the same time, he was being so much more than a simple spuy. He wasn’t sure he wao be the jock forever and ever. He wasn’t sure he COULD be, truth be told. After all, even with Emma and her anization’s help, he couldn’t hide his increasing strength and stamina forever. At a certain point, he would probably have to retire. Hell… would he even stop aging at some point or- “Well then, young Thaddeus. I’m gd you’ve made the right choice. You won’t have to worry about the X-Men or the Brotherhood b you again… and if they do in fatrude upon your privace more, all you’ll o do is give me a call and I’ll take care of it.” Pulled from his thoughts, Thaddeus blinks and then nods as he processes what Emma just said. Theilts his head to the side. “So… who exactly do you represent, now that I’ve joined?” Emma Frost grins at that and holds out her hand for him to shake. “Ah yes. Now that it’s official… wele to the Hellfire Club, Chad Thaddeus Thundercock Cummings.” At hearing his full name spoken out loud like that, Thaddeus’ first instinct is to bnch, groan, and bury his fa his arms. She even knew about his seiddle name?! How?! But then his thoughts catch up with the rest of it and he has to push past his embarrassment in order to shoot Emma Frost a look of pure incredulity. “Hellfire Club? Seriously? Bit on the nose, isn’t it?” It would seem he’s made a deal with the Devil. Of course, Thaddeus doesn’t mind all that much. He’s a bit above all that religious superstition at this point. But still… “If yoing to approach my parents about all of this, you’ll want to use a different hey uh… well, they’re God-fearing Christians, like everyone in this town.” Emma nods, looking quite amused. “I wouldn’t worry about that, Thaddeus. We be very discrete. For now though… this is goodbye. It’s been a pleasure talking with you, and we’ll be in touch soon.” She looks pointedly at her hand, still outstretched for him to shake. Blushing at his pse, Thaddeus reaches out and grabs it, shaking her hand. He still wishes he could do more with her. Emma Frost is drop-dead geous after all. But… no. He wasn’t JUST a horn dog damn it. Aill didn’t fully uand what the hell happened when he had sex with other mutants. He got some of their powers sure… but what had seen Mystique running away from him in such a fright? The handshake es to an end, and Emma gives him one final nod before slipping out of the booth and walking away. Thaddeus watches her go for a long moment, hating to see her leave… especially since as soon as she steps out the door, that feeling of being obfuscated from the sight of others vanishes. All of a sudden, Thaddeus feels seen once more. He’s not the ter of attention or anything like that… but he is visible again. For a moment, he just sits there, ruminating over the decision he’s just made. Then, he shrugs as up, heading back for the ter of the ice cream parlor. Today was a double cheat day, it would seem. He deserved a sed treat after everything he’d dealt with. -x-X-x- Emma Frost did not sider herself a bad person. She didn’t sider herself a good persoher. That did not mean the bloelepath thought there was no such thing as good and evil, however. Evil, at the very least, existed in spades. It permeated the human sciousness and could be found everywhere she looked. Young Thaddeus wasn’t evil… but he wasn’t good either. It wasn’t the same as her, however. He was still a mostly bnk ste at this point in time, and could leaher way. Walking away from the ice cream parlor, Emma shoots an amused look at a certain raven-haired woman standing just outside it. She also shoots a short message into the woman’s mind, causing her eyes to fsh yellow for a moment as they widen. Then, without a word, the woman turns and begins walking down the road, pulling out her phone and pg a call as she goes. Emma, for her part, goes in the opposite dire… and after a moment, turns down a side street and slips into the open door of a bck car. The door closes behind her and the car pulls out of the side street and onto the main road, even as Emma marshals her focus and shores up her psychic shields. “Well? Were you successful?” Looking over at the other woman sat in the backseat of the car, Emma tries not to let her disfort show. Her skin crawls all the same, and she has to resist the urge to slip into her diamond form. It wouldn’t be the defehat her instincts scream it is after all. She would lose access to her telepathic abilities in such a form, and in an enter like this, that would be disastrous. “Of course I was, who do you take me for? Both Xavier and Mystique were heavy-handed in their efforts, ea their own way. They left the boy ripe for the pig, in the end. He’s agreed to join us.” A not-so-nice smile spreads across the other woman’s face at that. Selene, aka the Bck Queen, looks as pleased as possible. “Good. Then all that’s left is to make sure the other fas know he’s off-limits.” Emma nods at that, waving a hand through the air dismissively. “I already sent Mystique and her Brotherhood pag.” “Then I shall deal with the Professor.” Selene gnces off to the side as the car tio drive along. Emma watches, able to sehe other mutant telepath reag out with her abilities to tae Charles Xavier. As she does so, she ruminates on what she’s just aplished. On the one hand… young Thaddeus deserved better than being shackled to the X-Men or the Brotherhood. Both anizations would have refused to use him to his full potential. Oher hand… Emma wasn’t an idiot. Selene might have e to her with a pn for how to use Thaddeus to both of their advahin the Hellfire Club, but she khat the other mutant woman had ulterior motives. It was as obvious as it could be what Seleually wao use Thaddeus for down the line. But for now at least, the Bck Queen and White Queen were in agreement. “It is done.” Seles back rather smugly at that, looking quite pleased with herself. Then, she looks over at Emma. “Do remember to keep the boy at arm’s length. We ot have Shaw catg on to our pns. Given enough time and… resources, the boy will be strong enough to depose Shaw. But right now, it would be child’s py for the Bck King to erase him.” … Yes. That was the goal that Selene had first approached Emma for in the first pce. The goal that she had cimed was the ey of her purpose for young Thaddeus. And from what Emma had seen in his mind… it was entirely possible. He’d not only gotten his usual boost from fug Mystique, but he’d also gotten a version of her powers. That alone was a game ger. The boy had the potential to be great… to be greater tha, even. That said, Sebastian Shaw was not the sort of man who tolerated petition. Especially not within the Hellfire Club. To put it suctly, Emma and Selene were pying with fire by bringing Thaddeus on board for the express purposes of training him up and throwing him at the current Bck King. It would be a delicate dao be sure, one where they would o be careful not to show too muterest iest recruit so that Shaw didn’t get suspicious. That was why Selene had approached Emma in the first pce. With all of Thaddeus’ iions with the Club going through Emma, things were slightly more removed. Selene’s own i in the young man would stay cealed. But that very i had Emma uain of how exactly she would proceed. Because even if they succeeded, even if they mao set Thaddeus up so he could defeat and depose Shaw… what happened after? What happened when Selene decided that Thaddeus was finally fattened enough for her tastes? Emma did not see herself as a good or bad person. But she still reized that there was evil in the world, and the Bck Queen, much like her kingly terpart, was evil. A necessary evil for the time being… but ohat would eventually gobble up everything and everyone, including young Thaddeus, if she got the ce…