The trip to this institute was being calmer than Ethan expected. He expected that the X-men (he would have to get used to calling them that) would ask questions about, about their powers, about other things and etc.
After all, that's what happens in most superhero series.
But they were much calmer than he expected. Instead of asking questions, they introduced themselves formally, explained a little about the institute and left him in his corner so he could relax a little.
Ethan even regretted having thought they were some kind of villains. They were even nice guys, just... kind of weird. But hey, in this world everyone is weird (at least that's what his Marvel fan friends said)
Ethan was just enjoying the trip while looking at the landscape from outside. It was still hard to believe that he was above the clouds and was flying in the equivalent of a supersonic military aircraft. Another reminder that now everything would be even weirder.
Still, he was happy. Happy that he would finally have a comfortable night's sleep and that he could finally eat well.
Just as he was thinking about what he would do as soon as he arrived at the institute, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see who had touched him, just coming across the blue demon looking at him with a smile.
It took all the willpower and mental power that Ethan had to not scream and make a scene because, first, that guy wasn't there 2 seconds ago and second, he looked even more demonic smiling.
"So man, tell me what are your powers? "Nightcrawler, or Kurt Wagner, asked sitting on the chair next to him while swinging his tail from side to side.
Ethan would take a while to get used to him. Not that he was one of those religious fanatics or furious believers, but it would still be strange to live with someone who looks so much like a demon.
Was he really a demon? ... Nah, no ordinary writer would put this in a children's story.
"Why do you want to know? " Not wanting to be rude or anything like that, but Ethan had no reason to tell his powers to the demon in front of him. And that guy made him uncomfortable, so Ethan wanted to dismiss him as soon as possible.
"Well, we're going to be colleagues from now on, so I think the least would be to know what your gift is, partner"
"Gift? "
"Call it gift, power or even tick, but I want to know what you do" The demon replied shrugging his shoulders.
"Tell me your power and maybe I'll tell you mine" Ethan thought the blue demon would understand the message and leave him alone.
Instead, Kurt smiled and in the blink of an eye, a kind of dark blue smoke appeared in the place where he was, and he had disappeared. Before he could react, Ethan felt a hand in his back and saw the blue demon behind him.
"Teleportation" The demon disappeared once again and returned to the place where he was before to reinforce his point "I can disappear and reappear in the place I want in the blink of an eye. Sick, isn't it? "
Ethan was surprised, impressed, but mostly surprised. He thought Kurt's power would be something related to fire because... well, he looked like a demon.
Could this be considered racist?
Um, probably not.
"Now you're going to show me yours, right? " Kurt asked with his yellow eyes shining with excitement.
[ A/N: I really don't remember the original color of Nightcrawler's eyes. I see that sometimes they are white, other times yellow. Here I'm going to make it yellow because it's more charming and reinforces more why Ethan is so uncomfortable around him ]
Well, the situation was already strange, and probably saying no would only make everything weirder and uncomfortable than it already was, so Ethan just sighed and let himself be guided by temptation.
"In general, I do a lot of things," Ethan said shrugging his shoulders.
"Like? "
Ethan thought a little about whether or not he should list all the things he was able to do before answering: "As I said, many things. But I'm still learning to control my powers, so the most I can do at the moment is to fly "
"Can you show me? " Asked the devil with a smile.
Ethan raised an eyebrow while his whole expression turned into a expression of "are you deaf, dumb or just very stupid? "
"Do you really want me to fly inside a super sonic plane? "
"I just teleported myself inside a super sonic plane" Replied the blue demon " Besides, this is not a plane, it's a jet "
"What's the difference? "
"Boys, we're here," Xavier said, or Professor Xavier as most referred to him. Ethan was a little surprised because he didn't feel anything even when they were landing.
It was an incredibly smooth landing.
Seeing the jet doors open, Ethan took off his belt, got up and walked as fast as he could to distance himself from the demon next to him while hoping he wouldn't follow him.
The first thing he saw were the trees.
No, in this case it was the entire garden of the institute, which extended throughout all the... well, institute.
They were a set of trees, shrubs, flowers and leaves, all transmitting a sense of beauty that Ethan could not understand, he just knew that he was completely enchanted by it.
He took a deep breath and felt that pure, light air, different from the air of Hell's Kitchen that always brought the the smell of dust, sewage and who knows what else there was in that devil's city.
That was the first time in a long time that Ethan breathed without smelling an unpleasant smell.
Only then did he notice the other people. Other students, just like him, other mutants, other people endowed with extraordinary abilities.
They were mostly teenagers, with some children in the middle and also some young adults in their corners, very similar to the initial scenes of those teenage films. Well, maybe they didn't count all the people using their powers.
Some had very simple powers: the boy who could fly, the girl who released spikes through her hands, the child who could stretch his limbs.
Other more "flashy" powers: the boy who controlled fire, the boy who could turn into ice, the boy who turned his body into metal.
Some didn't even seem to have powers, they just had a bizarre aesthetic and stayed in the corners trying not to draw attention.
It looked like the opening scene of some superhero movie. Something completely out of the standard for the "real" world where Ethan came from.
This made the scene in front of him even more impressive. It looked like he was watching a super realistic movie in the best quality. It was... surreal on several different levels.
"Do you like what you see? " Asked Cyclops with his arms crossed looking at Ethan with a smile.
"Well..." The words failed to come out of his mouth as he processed everything that was happening "It's amazing" He said, but it seemed more like a murmur to himself than a real answer.
"I know. This is always the first reaction " The mutant with the red visor just nodded with a smile.
"Welcome Ethan" The Professor said while gesturing to the entire length of the institute "To the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters "
Ethan almost didn't pay attention to what Xavier said. He was too lost in his own thoughts.
He expected all the worst from this world since he knew where he was. He expected death, destruction, unprecedented catastrophes... situations where it would be kill or be killed.
But seeing that environment so peaceful, so alive, so colorful made him start to rethink everything he thought before.
The Xavier's school was the first place where he felt he could relax and not worry about anything else, either by the presence of other young people like him or by the presence of reliable adult figures. Anyway, for the first time in a long time...
Ethan was truly calm.
Some time later... |
It had been a few hours since Ethan had arrived at the institute. During this time, Professor Xavier took a tour around the institute with him and explained some things.
The first is that even though it was mainly a refuge for mutants of all ages, the institute was still a "school", that is, Ethan would go back to taking science classes. He just accepted this in complaining, because it was much better than sleeping on the street.
The second was that most of the X-men members, the same ones who brought him to the institute, were also teachers at the institute and would be his tutors as long as he remained there. For example, the Beast taught science classes.
Yes, that guy taught science, math and a few other things. You really shouldn't judge anyone by their appearance.
The best news (in Ethan's opinion) was that he would have a room with a bed, a bathroom equipped with all the necessary hygiene products and other essential furniture for a room.
At the end of everything, he won a schedule with all the subjects he would have and was warned that his classes would start next week. Acceptable.
In the present moment, Ethan was in his new room, more precisely inside his new bathroom to finally get all the dirt off his body.
He hadn't taken care of his hygiene for months, so he smelled of homeless people and dog vomit. Obviously the first thing he would do was take a shower.
He started taking his teeth with his new toothbrush. He made a point of rubbing until his teeth were completely clean and white. He also checked to see if he didn't have any rotten teeth, and luckily for him, there weren't any.
Soon after he took a shower and made a point of rubbing all the parts. From his hair, his chest, his legs and his feet, he didn't leave any part uncleaned.
At the end of it all, Ethan was finally completely clean after a full body cleaning of an hour and half. Excessive? Yes. Unnecessary? No.
Ethan also stopped to notice his appearance for the first time in a long time.
Her blonde hair, due to the lack of care for months, was long and messy. He would have to cut it later.
His white skin, now no longer covered by dirt, practically shone as he looked in the mirror, being stained only by the various scars he gained due to his bad luck.
He also noticed that he had gained some muscles. Not something super apparent or flashy, but the fruit of his training months and also the result of having already assimilated a small fraction of Enerjak.
Thinking about it, Ethan decided to check his fusion rate. Not that he did anything to increase it, but it had already become a habit to do it daily, so Ethan just decided to check as always.
He had a very strange surprise when he went to see her.
4.96%
His fusion rate had increased. That was good and strange at the same time.
It was good because, well, he was getting stronger.
And it was also strange because apart from the flight training he did earlier, he had essentially nothing for his fusion rate to have increased. He remembered that she was at 4.87% or 4.89% the last time he checked.
And his confusion increased even more when he saw the fusion rate increase once again.
4.98%
Seriously, what the fuck is going on?
Even though he wanted answers, Ethan decided to just ignore that for now. His fusion rate was increasing, so there was no need to complain. But he would make a point of checking later.
When he left the bathroom, there were clean clothes and a note saying that if he wanted he could go down for dinner. Ethan wasn't very hungry now, so he decided to skip dinner that night.
Putting on the new clothes and feeling the soft fabric under his skin, Ethan collapsed on the bed, which proved to be even softer and more comfortable.
Even though he still had doubts and concerns in mind, Ethan slowly let himself be carried away by sleep and for the first time in a long time, he slept peacefully.
"This place isn't that bad" He thought before falling asleep with a smile.
While Ethan was sleeping... |
5.01%...
5.02%...
5.03%...
5.06%...
"Interesting..."