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 independence in a way the other two choices did not. Professor Xavier had seemed like a nice enough man, but he’d still wanted to bring 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 experience to be sure, but at the same time… he didn’t want to join her terrorist organization. He’d barely come to terms with his own mutant condition, he didn’t really have it in him to go around fighting for mutant rights and sticking 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 bothering him as he sits there considering Emma’s offer. Licking his lips, Thaddeus looks up and meets the blonde’s knowing eyes as she gives him an encouraging smile.
 
“Just… one more question. N-Not about your organization, 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 one path in front of you, and that path was sports. But now… now you have so many more options, and they’re all making your original 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 organization is not inclined to tell you what you can and cannot do with your life, Thaddeus. It would be rather pointless to be offering you this option if it did not come with TRUE freedom and independence, now wouldn’t it? That said… think about what you want most in this world. What path 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 encounter with Mystique had ended so poorly, so he wasn’t trying to jump immediately into more encounters with mutant women… but he wouldn’t turn down an offer. And he certainly wanted to get with more women in general, in order to grow his powers, to strengthen both his mind and body.
 
Still, he couldn’t exactly say that outright 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 nevertheless smiles knowingly, whatever information she had before coming 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 stronger at as swift a pace if not swifter than you’ve already been doing. You could become a Male Escort if you were so inclined… but I feel like that would be limiting yourself in so many ways. Rather… instead you should try to focus on becoming some sort of celebrity. So that THEY come 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 needs to be some kind of popular if he wants to maintain his current incredibly sexual lifestyle. Seeing that she’s managed to drive her point home, Emma waves a hand through the air.
 
“Now, whether that’s sports or something else… it matters not. My organization can help you with whatever. Though I will say that it’s my personal belief that you should take the sports scholarship for now, play 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 reaching over the table and seizing EMMA with both hands. In fact, he must have begun to lean forward, because he catches a hint of alarm in her eyes at whatever she sees from his posture. But no. He holds himself back, not just because this isn’t the time or the place, but also because of how his experience with 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 your organization. And I’ll take the scholarship until I figure out something better…”
 
Because she was right about that. Being a celebrity, whether it was sports 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 wanted that. No, he needed it… his mutation needed it. But… at the same time, he was becoming so much more than a simple sports guy.
 
He wasn’t sure he wanted to be the jock forever and ever. He wasn’t sure he COULD be, truth be told. After all, even with Emma and her organization’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 glad you’ve made the right choice. You won’t have to worry about the X-Men or the Brotherhood bothering you again… and if they do in fact intrude upon your privacy once more, all you’ll need to 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. Then, he tilts 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… welcome to the Hellfire Club, Chad Thaddeus Thundercock Cummings.”
 
At hearing his full name spoken out loud like that, Thaddeus’ first instinct is to blanch, groan, and bury his face in his arms. She even knew about his second middle 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 you’re going to approach my parents about all of this, you’ll want to use a different name. They 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 can 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 lapse, Thaddeus reaches out and grabs it, shaking her hand. He still wishes he could do more with her. Emma Frost is drop-dead gorgeous after all. But… no. He wasn’t JUST a horn dog damn it. And he still didn’t fully understand 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 comes 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 center 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 and gets up, heading back for the counter of the ice cream parlor. Today was a double cheat day, it would seem. He deserved a second treat after everything he’d dealt with.
 
-x-X-x-
 
Emma Frost did not consider herself a bad person. She didn’t consider herself a good person either. That did not mean the blonde telepath thought there was no such thing as good and evil, however. Evil, at the very least, existed in spades. It permeated the human consciousness 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 blank slate at this point in time, and could lean either 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 flash 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 placing a call as she goes.
 
Emma, for her part, goes in the opposite direction… and after a moment, turns down a side street and slips into the open door of a black 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 discomfort 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 defense that her instincts scream it is after all. She would lose access to her telepathic abilities in such a form, and in an encounter 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, each in their own way. They left the boy ripe for the picking, 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 Black Queen, looks as pleased as possible.
 
“Good. Then all that’s left is to make sure the other factions know he’s off-limits.”
 
Emma nods at that, waving a hand through the air dismissively.
 
“I already sent Mystique and her Brotherhood packing.”
 
“Then I shall deal with the Professor.”
 
Selene glances off to the side as the car continues to drive along. Emma watches, able to sense the other mutant telepath reaching out with her abilities to contact one Charles Xavier. As she does so, she ruminates on what she’s just accomplished. On the one hand… young Thaddeus deserved better than being shackled to the X-Men or the Brotherhood. Both organizations would have refused to use him to his full potential.
 
On the other hand… Emma wasn’t an idiot. Selene might have come to her with a plan for how to use Thaddeus to both of their advantage within the Hellfire Club, but she knew that the other mutant woman had ulterior motives. It was as obvious as it could be what Selene actually wanted to use Thaddeus for down the line. But for now at least, the Black Queen and White Queen were in agreement.
 
“It is done.”
 
Selene sits 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 cannot have Shaw catching on to our plans. Given enough time and… resources, the boy will be strong enough to depose Shaw. But right now, it would be child’s play for the Black King to erase him.”
 
… Yes. That was the goal that Selene had first approached Emma for in the first place. The goal that she had claimed was the entirety 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 fucking Mystique, but he’d also gotten a version of her powers. That alone was a game changer. The boy had the potential to be great… to be greater than great, even.
 
That said, Sebastian Shaw was not the sort of man who tolerated competition. Especially not within the Hellfire Club. To put it succinctly, Emma and Selene were playing with fire by bringing Thaddeus on board for the express purposes of training him up and throwing him at the current Black King. It would be a delicate dance to be sure, one where they would need to be careful not to show too much interest in their latest recruit so that Shaw didn’t get suspicious.
 
That was why Selene had approached Emma in the first place. With all of Thaddeus’ interactions with the Club going through Emma, things were slightly more removed. Selene’s own interest in the young man would stay concealed.
 
But that very interest had Emma uncertain of how exactly she would proceed. Because even if they succeeded, even if they managed to 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 recognized that there was evil in the world, and the Black Queen, much like her kingly counterpart, was evil. A necessary evil for the time being… but one that would eventually gobble up everything and everyone, including young Thaddeus, if she got the chance…