“We are but the children of the atom, both cursed and blessed to walk the earth with the children of adam and eve, and the children of Lilith.” Kai almost recited, remembering the words his eldest brother had once whispered to him as he was being tucked into bed. Kai knew of the issues that sometimes carried with the x-gene, and the unfathomable ways in which the world treated all that they viewed as different. No matter the time or place, it seemed history was always the same, as those in power always seemed to use the power of fear, to single out a group and make them the pariahs they needed to hunt down so all would flock and heed their words.
“There’s been X-men who have been avengers, so it’s not like everything is isolated. Somehow all this superpowered bullshit intersect. Stuck in time, kidnapped to a hell dimension, or swap bodies, I’ve heard the stories. Certainly something that’ll keep you up at night. But even heroism is a business, and that’s the only language the world universally understands.”
“Which is why I chose the moniker, Killjoy. I am the bane of my family’s fun and joy, and everything that brings them happiness in their oh so bigoted way of life.” At that Kai smiled, and as he first walked into the school, arms wound tight around himself, as if to keep a barrier from and all others, had started to slowly ease. This had been the first time he was explicit with his family history, never before had he revealed the details of his family to someone, only bits and pieces, half truths that were enough to keep their satisfaction and ear. Somehow this man was able to crack the code, and be able to stop Kai from putting on the mask he’d trained himself to wear, to see it crack and crumble so his real self could escape the abysmal dark. Funny, how Kai wore a mask yet, the man whose face was like cracked porcelain, beautiful, yet breaking at the seams, was the first to let him be himself. “It’s not me I’m worried about, I could take care of them all myself easily, I just don’t know if I have the strength to do what needs to be done when the time comes.” he sighed.
As Kai sat, he let the man begin his class, taking residence in one of the seats in the far back, a little smile still on display. Jono, he was definitely more than meets the eye. Kai, gave all of the students who came in a welcoming smile, but his eyes were mostly glued to the man in front of him, wanting to see how exactly his class would follow through. This place was bustling with life, the sound of footsteps on wood, and the soft whispers and giggles of budding adulthood all around. It was was what missing from his life all those years in his house, where everywhere he looked it felt empty and cold, devoid of life. A king of broken hearts and shattered souls, solitary on his granite throne, the image of his past, now subsiding to the depths of his mind.
“Sounds like someone’s been drinkin’ too much of tha Kool-Aid,” Jono remarked with slight amusement; there were plenty of fellow mutants who followed the same idea, and they could be terrifying in their own right. Dangerous and deadly - he should know, he was related to one of them. Zealots of their kind, it was usually them to initiate the conflict - them and the humans. It was exhausting.
“No, but the Avengers are mostly cunts, so’s not like it really makes a diff.” Some of the X-Men, too, but he wasn’t about to completely bad mouth the team in front of a new student. He really shouldn’t have cursed, either, but oh well. That cat was already out of the bag. “They used to. Keep me up at night, I mean.” Jono ran a hand through his curtain of mousey brown hair and swept it away from his thick brow. “You get used to it... that ain’t a good thing, though. Not even for a ‘business’.”
Jono nodded approvingly and drummed his fingertips against the underside of his desk. “Killjoy - got a nice ring to it. I like the meanin’, too. Really gives it substance, not like some o’these other wack jobs with names like Arm-Fall-Off-Guy. Tell me ya don’t wanna fuckin’ end it all wit a name like that.” He joked, but it was true - what kind of fucking name is that? “That’s good. Hold onto that feelin’. You gotta keep what little good’s left in ya. It’s easy to lose that along the way, doin’ what we do, seein’ what we see...” Jono gripped the desk a little harder. “You’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
With that, the class settled into their seats. This was a new group - with the lifting of the ban came new faces, more confident and unique people. Jono was happy to welcome them all, even if their struggle was far from over. He wondered if it would ever end. Probably not, so the least he could do was make it less confusing for some, and if that meant answering awkward questions about sexual endeavors with gelatinous students then he supposed that was what the job called for.
A good hour passed before the class was finally over with. If he had to answer one more question with ‘it’s fine as long as it’s not harming yourself or others’ he was going to lose it, but at least he had a tour around the sanctuary would help him to blow off some steam. Plus, he was still helping. Suck on that, Summers.
“Hope that didn’t turn ya off on attending the joint,” Jono started once the last student left the classroom and all that remained were him and Kai. “Still want that tour?”
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