A new mutant has been discovered by Cerebro. His name is João Teixeira and Xavier wants to make him an X-Man. João is a shy teenage boy with no friends that suddenly, one day, turns out to be a mutant with interesting shadow-like powers that he has trouble controlling. Will he unleash his full potential under the X-Men?
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Metalhead (X-Men - OC)
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*FASTER THAN A BULLET, TERRIFYING SPEED…*
João Teixeira woke up startled as Painkiller by Judas Priest was playing. That was the song he set as his alarm clock on his phone. He picked it up and turned the alarm off. He then groaned. It was Monday again after all.
"Ugh, back to school…" He slowly stood up and dragged his feet to the restroom to take his morning shower. João strongly disliked school since he struggled at socialising and also had to deal with bullies. He was 15 years old and a 9th grader.
After taking a shower, he brushed his teeth and looked at himself in the mirror. 174cm tall, skinny, unathletic, pasty white and a new pimple on his chin.
"Fuck…" He let out a deep sigh. "I hate myself…" He left the restroom with a depressed look on his face. He then went to the living room and there was toast and a strawberry yoghurt on the table.
"Good morning!" His mum smiled. She was finishing her breakfast while watching the news on TV. "Ready for a new school week, dear?"
"Of course..:" João rolled his eyes as he slumped onto the chair. He scarfed on his breakfast as usual. The teenage boy loved to eat. He was still growing, after all. It made sense for him to have a voracious appetite, like all teenage boys did.
Xavier was looking up some information on the supercomputer Cerebro in the Institute.
"What now, another mutant?" Logan groaned, with his usual surly tone.
"Correct, Logan." Xavier nodded, without taking his eyes off Cerebro.
"At this point we'll lose track of how many of us are out there." Logan folded his arms.
"We'll never be anywhere near the majority of the world's population, but there's probably enough of us out there that could populate an entire country." Xavier explained.
"A country with only mutants?" Logan chuckled. "As if mankind would ever allow that." He scoffed.
"Merely a hypothesis, Logan." Xavier glanced at Logan. "Remember, our goal is to get mankind to accept us and realise we're not a menace to society.
"I know. Just messing." Logan raised his hand defensively. "Anyway, where is this supposed new mutant? You seem unable to find it."
"Because their powers haven't manifested themselves yet." Xavier explained. "Therefore it's impossible to pinpoint their exact location. Let alone their identity."
"Whatever." Logan shrugged and turned around. "I'm going to tell the kids to go do some drills."
"Please do that." Xavier smiled slightly.
The train has reached João's metro station destination. He hopped out and climbed up the stairs. At the top, he turned right and walked in the direction of his school. He entered it and braced himself for the upcoming week.
"Bom dia, senhor Vasco." (Good morning, Mister Vasco). He greeted the doorman.
"B'dia." (Morning). Mister Vasco nodded and muttered, clearly paying more attention to whatever he was reading on his laptop. As João walked past his desk, he noticed mister Vasco was reading the news on the website of a sensationalist media outlet, as usual.
"Figures." João rolled his eyes as he muttered quietly and climbed up the stairs. He then walked down a corridor and entered the open recess area where everyone hangs out during breaks. He looks around nervously, hoping none of his bullies are there yet. He takes a seat on a bench and observes other kids chatting, playing football and basketball. As usual, he was spending the break alone. He had, maybe, a couple of people he'd call friends. And they clearly weren't enough to protect him from the bullies. João also noticed some couples kissing and holding hands. As a 9th grader, he was starting to see his peers getting girlfriends more and more often. A phenomenon that started in 7th grade, but only among early bloomers. In 8th grade, it was also still not standard. But now? It was getting closer to that. Not that it affected João, per se, but he did wonder how it felt…
"Hey, look who it is!" João looked up, snapping out of his thoughts. It was a tall blondeish guy with a smug face. He was one of his bullies.
"Oh, great, it's you…" João rolled his eyes and stood up. "The hell do you want?" And asked him with an annoyed voice.
"To play with you, of course!" He pushed João, who nearly fell back.
"PÓ CARALHO"! (Untranslatable Portuguese cursing insult) João cursed at him angrily and closed his fists.
"Oh yeah? Remember, I'm stronger than you!" The bully rolled up his sleeves, revealing his big biceps. He was the most athletic guy in his classroom.
"HIYAAH!" João tried a messy punch, but the bully just dodged and João nearly fell on the floor from losing his balance.
"Hiyah, this!" The bully then hit João in the gut with his knee.
"AAAAAAH!" João yelled in pain and fell on the ground, contorting and grabbing his belly.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" His bully taunted him with a sadistic smirk.
A crowd of students from 5th to 9th grade was forming and watching the fight unfold. Most were clearly feeling uncomfortable with the sight before them. They knew that what was happening was not right, and that a teacher or a janitor watching it would have to interfere.
João got back on his feet and charged at the bully, trying to knock him down. The bully was caught off-guard but managed to stand firmly with his feet on the ground, and then pushed João away.
"AH!" João fell back.
"You have no chance." The bully kept taunting him. "I could kill you if I wanted to."
"I wish you fucking died!" João cried in anger.
"Hah! You're funny!" The bully laughed.
Then, the ground started to get darker, as if João's shadow was getting bigger.
"Look at the ground!" A 5th grader pointed at it in shock.
"Huh?" João, on his knees, looked down at it and his own shadow did seem much blacker and larger, indeed.
"Now, for the final move!" His bully advanced with a confident smirk on his face, little did he know that the large shadow on the floor was climbing up his body, quickly covering its entirety.
"Ugh!" João winced, bracing himself for more pain.
"Time to rearrange your face, Joãozinho!" The bully prepared a strong kick, but he stopped mid-way through it. "What the hell?! Why can't I swing my leg forward?!" He struggled, trying to move his leg forward, but something was preventing him from doing so.
"Huh?" João blinked rapidly as he looked at the bully. He was… engulfed in something black? João's own shadow? And it was restraining his bully's leg?!
"What's going on?!" A random girl from the bystander crowd seemed freaked out by what she was seeing, and the other students seemed very confused as well.
"I can't move!" The bully was letting out a cry of frustration.
"Oh yeah?" João was back on his feet and seemed to be regaining some of his lost confidence. "Too bad." And he swung his leg at him and connected with his stomach hard.
"OOOOOOW!" The bully's eyes nearly popped out of his face as João's hard kick connected on his gut. He then fell on his back as the mysterious black shadow remained wrapped tightly around his right leg.
"What is that shit, anyway?!" João was as perplexed as anyone else as he pointed at the shadow wrapped around his bully's leg.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" Everyone's heads turned in the direction of the angry voice approaching. It belonged to teacher Ricardo Fonseca. João frowned as he saw him.
"Of all teachers to see us fight, why did it have to be HIM?!" João groaned in frustration as he rolled his eyes. João hated this teacher in particular because this teacher also hated his guts and clearly persecuted him. Last year he punished João simply for defending himself against a bully, and thus João hated him to death ever since.
"JOÃO TEIXEIRA! THIS IS THE LAST STRAW!" Fonseca yelled at him. "I WANT TO TALK TO YOUR MOTHER ASAP!"
"HE STARTED IT!" João yelled at his teacher and then looked around at the bystanders. "TELL HIM! YOU SAW IT, YOU COWARDS!" He closed his fist. But the other students were too stunned and scared to speak up or just didn't particularly care for João in order to stand up for him.
"What is this?! The mutant finally used their powers?" Xavier's eyes widened in surprise as Cerebro began pinpointing like crazy. It was showing a big red dot somewhere in Europe, it seemed. He zoomed in and the mutant was located in the Iberian Peninsula. He zoomed in a little more and the dot was pinpointing to Lisbon, Portugal. Suddenly, a big photo of a teenage boy wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt and blue jeans popped up with additional information.
"João Teixeira, 15 years old. Seems to have a power of producing shadows?" Xavier rubbed his chin pensively. He has been all alone in the dome-shaped room since Logan left him a while ago. Not that it mattered much, since Xavier could communicate telepathically with other people within a certain range.
"Logan, the new mutant has been identified" Xavier sent a telepathic message with his brain to Logan, who was in the middle of a drill with the rest of the X-Men.
"Ugh!" Logan put his hand on his head. He hated whenever Xavier sent him a sudden telepathic message.
"You okay, Logan?" Scott raised his eyebrow as he was hiding behind a rock in the drill.
"Yes…" Logan replied. "I gotta go see Xavier. You guys keep on doing what you have to do." He pointed at Cyclops and then walked away.
"Okay…" Cyclops seemed a little perplexed at why Logan was being secretive.
"GOTCHA!" Suddenly, someone grabbed Cyclops by his collar. Cyclops turned his head forward and it was none other than Shadowcat, who used her power of going through things to get a hold of him.
"Way to go, Kitty!" Nightcrawler then popped up behind Cyclops, and held on to him, restraining him.
"No fair!" Cyclops cried in frustration.
"Too bad!" Shadowcat grinned. "You lost, Scott!" She teased.
"Seriously, Scott?" Jean Grey looked at him with a frown on her face, clearly disappointed. "How could you make a beginner's mistake like that?" She demanded.
"IT WAS LOGAN! HE DISTRACTED ME!" Cyclops shouted defensively.
Jean just facepalmed hard.
João was waiting outside Fonseca's office. His mother was on her way to school, after being called urgently to school by the teacher. João was feeling a mix of anger, frustration, injustice and perplexity. How did he turn the fight around against his bully? What was that weird shadow-like thing wrapped around his bully's leg? And what chance did João have of surviving yet another disciplinary problem that was not his fault, but he got blamed for, regardless?
"Why the hell do teachers ALWAYS punish the quiet bullied kid who fights back?!" João closed his fists in anger and slammed them on his thighs.
"João, come in." Fonseca opened the door and signaled for the teenage boy to enter his office.
João stood up and entered it. Then he sat on the chair across from Fonseca's desk. Fonseca shot him a stern look.
"What do you have to say for yourself this time? Fonseca asked with a harsh tone.
"Why? Clearly you don't believe me and assume I just decked that clown without any reason." João groaned angrily.
"Of course I do!" Fonseca raised his voice. "You have a record, young man."
"Yeah, a record of being bullied and then getting punished myself when I fight back!" João raised his voice this time.
"Don't shout at me! That's rude! Why are you always so insolent?!" Fonseca scolded him.
João folded his arms and clenched his jaw. Fonseca cleared his throat.
"You know, you are getting this close to expulsion." He explained.
João just remained silent with a neutral look on his face.
"Got nothing to say?" Fonseca pressed.
João just scoffed.
"Typical." Fonseca groaned. "You know, João, how can a boy with such a classy mother be so rude and poorly raised?" He shook his head.
"My mother?!" João blinked rapidly in shock. "You dare question her parental skills, teacher?"
"Who else could be responsible for you being the way you are?" Fonseca asked, coldly.
"Is that so?" João scoffed with a bitter laugh. "Guess what, teacher, MY MOTHER THINKS YOU'RE AS MUCH OF A MORON AS I THINK YOU ARE!" João yelled as his words echoed all over Ricardo Fonseca's office.
Fonseca's eyes widened in shock at João's audacity. His anger was rising.
*KNOCK KNOCK* Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard, which took both João and Fonseca by surprise.
"Come in!" Fonseca cried after a bit of hesitation.
"Teacher Ricardo Fonseca?" João turned back on his chair. His mother was here.
"Mum!" João nearly cried his eyes out in relief.
"Please have a seat, Teresa." Fonseca pointed to the empty seat next to João. Teresa sat next to her son and smiled at him softly in order to ease him.
"Why have you called me from work? Where's the urgency? João seems fine." Teresa asked, perplexed.
"He is fine, yes…" Fonseca frowned. "But Bernardo is not."
"Bernardo?" Teresa blinked twice, recognising that name. "Bernardo Bettencourt?" She asked to confirm it was the safe one she thought about.
"Correct." Fonseca nodded. "João assaulted him during recess earlier today."
"Why?" Teresa glanced at João briefly, before looking back to Fonseca again. "Because Bernardo provoked him or hit him once again and all my son did was defend himself?" She frowned.
"No. Your son has caused way too many disciplinary problems in this school by now, Teresa. And looks like he's been lying to you as well…" He gave João a hateful look.
"My son is not a liar, teacher!" Teresa cried in indignation.
"Parents often don't know the true colours of their children…" Fonseca sighed.
"Neither do teachers know of the students who kiss up to them." João boldly blurted out with a sarcastic tone.
"See?!" Fonseca pointed at João as he looked at Teresa.
"See what, teacher?" Teresa folded her arms as she looked at Fonseca dryly.
"Your son is so rude! He literally called me a moron before you walked in and had the nerve of saying you'd be in agreement with his words as well!" He cried.
Teresa stared at Fonseca in silence for a while and then looked at João for a while as well. She then went back to looking at Fonseca. She seemed to be, not necessarily in shock, but quite frankly surprised that her son uttered such words to a teacher's face.
"And he's right about that." Teresa broke the silence with a stern look on her face.
João couldn't help but muster a smirk.
"Excuse me?!" Fonseca was shocked at Teresa's words. He could not have heard that right.
"Teacher." Teresa stood up and also signaled to her son to stand up, which he did. "My son has been unhappy in this school for a couple of years now. It's clear to me that you don't like him and are failing to do your job as an educator. Your lack of pedagogical skills are, quite frankly, appalling!" Teresa delivers her criticism in a firm, yet calm tone.
"Parents do not tell teachers how to do our jobs!" Fonseca cried.
"I'm also a teacher, and you bring shame to our profession!" Teresa now raised her voice. "Let's go, son." She looked at João, who nodded and followed her.
"João will most likely be expelled!" Fonseca shot up from his chair and cried.
"No, he won't." Teresa looked at Fonseca as she opened the door. "I'm submitting a transfer request to transfer João from this school to another one… the one I work at." She explained coldly, before leaving Fonseca's office with her son and shutting the door.
"A new mutant has been discovered?" Scott asked, somewhat surprised, while standing in the middle of the main room of the Institute.
"So I've heard." Ororo nodded.
"Was ist this one like?" Kurt asked as he rubbed his temple.
"That I don't know." Ororo shook her head.
"Mister Logan and the Professor went looking for him, then?" Kitty asked.
"Where did this one pop out?" Rogue asked, right after sipping some cold water.
"I'm not sure. But he's from abroad." Ororo looked pensive.
"Is he a fellow skateboarder?" Evan smirked as he carried his skateboard under his arm.
"Evan, there's no way I can know such a detail." Ororo answered her nephew with a look that was half-dry, half-amused.
"We'll just have to wait until they return." Jean pointed out to the room.
"The more the merrier, I'd say." Bobby chuckled.
"Another student will be added to the team, then. If it's a teenager, that is." Mr. McCoy rubbed his chin.
"Why was Logan being secretive about it, though?" Scott raised his eyebrow. "Him and the Professor are never vague or try to hide from us whenever a new mutant is identified. Especially not one that might join our team."
"That is a good point…" Kitty looked pensive.
"Don't overthink it, everyone." Ororo said. "Logan just simply did not want to interrupt your drill earlier today." She explained.
"Ja, makes sense." Kurt slammed his palm with his fist.
"Mum, thank you so much for standing up for me in school against Costanza." João smiled at Teresa in borderline adoration.
"Costanza?" Teresa raised her eyebrow in amusement.
"Yeah, that's the nickname I gave teacher Fonseca." João explained.
"Why? Because he's bald like George from Seinfeld?" Teresa chuckled.
"Yeah… bald and stupid!" João laughed.
"Anyway." Teresa cleared her throat. "You should not have called your teacher a moron to his face, dear." And gave him a serious look. "Even if this one very much deserved it."
"I know, sorry!" João lowered his head in shame.
"Anyway, don't worry." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "At my school you will not suffer from bullying ever again." She smiled softly.
Suddenly, something black came out of João's hands.
"What on Earth?!" João was in shock as he saw the black substance coming out of his hands.
"João?! What is happening?!" Teresa cried in shock and concern.
"I don't know!" João cried as his hands kept shooting the black substance that was wrapping itself around random items in the household, from chairs, to books, to the Nintendo Switch, etc. After a while, it stopped.
"Dear! Are you alright!" Teresa rushed over to her son and checked his hands.
"I don't know!" João cried in fear.
*DING DONG* The bell suddenly rang, which surprised mother and son.
"Mum, are you waiting for someone?" João blinked twice.
"No…" Teresa shook her head and then walked over to the door. She peeped into the hole and saw two men standing outside in the hallway. One of them being in a wheelchair.
"Quem é?" (Who is it?) She asked with a rather confused and worried tone.
"What did they say?" Logan looked at Xavier.
"Most likely wondering who we are." Xavier explained. "Teresa Teixeira?" Xavier asked with a thick accent, clearly giving him away as a non-Portuguese speaker.
"Sim?" (Yes?)
"Tsk. How are we going to communicate with a woman whose language we don't speak?" Logan groaned impatiently.
"That is indeed a hassle." Xavier nodded.
But, suddenly, the door opened and Teresa stood in the doorway.
"Mrs. Teixeira…" Xavier blinked in surprise as he looked at the attractive middle aged woman with dark brown hair and green eyes.
"Posso ajudar?" (Can I help you?) She raised her eyebrow.
"Lady, do you speak English?" Logan asked with his gruff voice.
"Yes?" Teresa raised both her eyebrows this time. "Are you two gentlemen foreign?" She asked.
"...yes." Xavier tried to get back on track, feeling somewhat relieved that this woman spoke English, and thus they could communicate properly with her. "We'd like to talk to you about your son, João." He calmly explained as he butchered the pronunciation of her son's name like most native English speakers do.
"And why's that?" She frowned and looked at them distrustfully and also with perplexity. Who were these two foreign men? Why did they want to talk to her about João? And how did they even know about her son, anyway?!
João Teixeira woke up startled as Painkiller by Judas Priest was playing. That was the song he set as his alarm clock on his phone. He picked it up and turned the alarm off. He then groaned. It was Monday again after all.
"Ugh, back to school…" He slowly stood up and dragged his feet to the restroom to take his morning shower. João strongly disliked school since he struggled at socialising and also had to deal with bullies. He was 15 years old and a 9th grader.
After taking a shower, he brushed his teeth and looked at himself in the mirror. 174cm tall, skinny, unathletic, pasty white and a new pimple on his chin.
"Fuck…" He let out a deep sigh. "I hate myself…" He left the restroom with a depressed look on his face. He then went to the living room and there was toast and a strawberry yoghurt on the table.
"Good morning!" His mum smiled. She was finishing her breakfast while watching the news on TV. "Ready for a new school week, dear?"
"Of course..:" João rolled his eyes as he slumped onto the chair. He scarfed on his breakfast as usual. The teenage boy loved to eat. He was still growing, after all. It made sense for him to have a voracious appetite, like all teenage boys did.
Xavier was looking up some information on the supercomputer Cerebro in the Institute.
"What now, another mutant?" Logan groaned, with his usual surly tone.
"Correct, Logan." Xavier nodded, without taking his eyes off Cerebro.
"At this point we'll lose track of how many of us are out there." Logan folded his arms.
"We'll never be anywhere near the majority of the world's population, but there's probably enough of us out there that could populate an entire country." Xavier explained.
"A country with only mutants?" Logan chuckled. "As if mankind would ever allow that." He scoffed.
"Merely a hypothesis, Logan." Xavier glanced at Logan. "Remember, our goal is to get mankind to accept us and realise we're not a menace to society.
"I know. Just messing." Logan raised his hand defensively. "Anyway, where is this supposed new mutant? You seem unable to find it."
"Because their powers haven't manifested themselves yet." Xavier explained. "Therefore it's impossible to pinpoint their exact location. Let alone their identity."
"Whatever." Logan shrugged and turned around. "I'm going to tell the kids to go do some drills."
"Please do that." Xavier smiled slightly.
The train has reached João's metro station destination. He hopped out and climbed up the stairs. At the top, he turned right and walked in the direction of his school. He entered it and braced himself for the upcoming week.
"Bom dia, senhor Vasco." (Good morning, Mister Vasco). He greeted the doorman.
"B'dia." (Morning). Mister Vasco nodded and muttered, clearly paying more attention to whatever he was reading on his laptop. As João walked past his desk, he noticed mister Vasco was reading the news on the website of a sensationalist media outlet, as usual.
"Figures." João rolled his eyes as he muttered quietly and climbed up the stairs. He then walked down a corridor and entered the open recess area where everyone hangs out during breaks. He looks around nervously, hoping none of his bullies are there yet. He takes a seat on a bench and observes other kids chatting, playing football and basketball. As usual, he was spending the break alone. He had, maybe, a couple of people he'd call friends. And they clearly weren't enough to protect him from the bullies. João also noticed some couples kissing and holding hands. As a 9th grader, he was starting to see his peers getting girlfriends more and more often. A phenomenon that started in 7th grade, but only among early bloomers. In 8th grade, it was also still not standard. But now? It was getting closer to that. Not that it affected João, per se, but he did wonder how it felt…
"Hey, look who it is!" João looked up, snapping out of his thoughts. It was a tall blondeish guy with a smug face. He was one of his bullies.
"Oh, great, it's you…" João rolled his eyes and stood up. "The hell do you want?" And asked him with an annoyed voice.
"To play with you, of course!" He pushed João, who nearly fell back.
"PÓ CARALHO"! (Untranslatable Portuguese cursing insult) João cursed at him angrily and closed his fists.
"Oh yeah? Remember, I'm stronger than you!" The bully rolled up his sleeves, revealing his big biceps. He was the most athletic guy in his classroom.
"HIYAAH!" João tried a messy punch, but the bully just dodged and João nearly fell on the floor from losing his balance.
"Hiyah, this!" The bully then hit João in the gut with his knee.
"AAAAAAH!" João yelled in pain and fell on the ground, contorting and grabbing his belly.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" His bully taunted him with a sadistic smirk.
A crowd of students from 5th to 9th grade was forming and watching the fight unfold. Most were clearly feeling uncomfortable with the sight before them. They knew that what was happening was not right, and that a teacher or a janitor watching it would have to interfere.
João got back on his feet and charged at the bully, trying to knock him down. The bully was caught off-guard but managed to stand firmly with his feet on the ground, and then pushed João away.
"AH!" João fell back.
"You have no chance." The bully kept taunting him. "I could kill you if I wanted to."
"I wish you fucking died!" João cried in anger.
"Hah! You're funny!" The bully laughed.
Then, the ground started to get darker, as if João's shadow was getting bigger.
"Look at the ground!" A 5th grader pointed at it in shock.
"Huh?" João, on his knees, looked down at it and his own shadow did seem much blacker and larger, indeed.
"Now, for the final move!" His bully advanced with a confident smirk on his face, little did he know that the large shadow on the floor was climbing up his body, quickly covering its entirety.
"Ugh!" João winced, bracing himself for more pain.
"Time to rearrange your face, Joãozinho!" The bully prepared a strong kick, but he stopped mid-way through it. "What the hell?! Why can't I swing my leg forward?!" He struggled, trying to move his leg forward, but something was preventing him from doing so.
"Huh?" João blinked rapidly as he looked at the bully. He was… engulfed in something black? João's own shadow? And it was restraining his bully's leg?!
"What's going on?!" A random girl from the bystander crowd seemed freaked out by what she was seeing, and the other students seemed very confused as well.
"I can't move!" The bully was letting out a cry of frustration.
"Oh yeah?" João was back on his feet and seemed to be regaining some of his lost confidence. "Too bad." And he swung his leg at him and connected with his stomach hard.
"OOOOOOW!" The bully's eyes nearly popped out of his face as João's hard kick connected on his gut. He then fell on his back as the mysterious black shadow remained wrapped tightly around his right leg.
"What is that shit, anyway?!" João was as perplexed as anyone else as he pointed at the shadow wrapped around his bully's leg.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" Everyone's heads turned in the direction of the angry voice approaching. It belonged to teacher Ricardo Fonseca. João frowned as he saw him.
"Of all teachers to see us fight, why did it have to be HIM?!" João groaned in frustration as he rolled his eyes. João hated this teacher in particular because this teacher also hated his guts and clearly persecuted him. Last year he punished João simply for defending himself against a bully, and thus João hated him to death ever since.
"JOÃO TEIXEIRA! THIS IS THE LAST STRAW!" Fonseca yelled at him. "I WANT TO TALK TO YOUR MOTHER ASAP!"
"HE STARTED IT!" João yelled at his teacher and then looked around at the bystanders. "TELL HIM! YOU SAW IT, YOU COWARDS!" He closed his fist. But the other students were too stunned and scared to speak up or just didn't particularly care for João in order to stand up for him.
"What is this?! The mutant finally used their powers?" Xavier's eyes widened in surprise as Cerebro began pinpointing like crazy. It was showing a big red dot somewhere in Europe, it seemed. He zoomed in and the mutant was located in the Iberian Peninsula. He zoomed in a little more and the dot was pinpointing to Lisbon, Portugal. Suddenly, a big photo of a teenage boy wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt and blue jeans popped up with additional information.
"João Teixeira, 15 years old. Seems to have a power of producing shadows?" Xavier rubbed his chin pensively. He has been all alone in the dome-shaped room since Logan left him a while ago. Not that it mattered much, since Xavier could communicate telepathically with other people within a certain range.
"Logan, the new mutant has been identified" Xavier sent a telepathic message with his brain to Logan, who was in the middle of a drill with the rest of the X-Men.
"Ugh!" Logan put his hand on his head. He hated whenever Xavier sent him a sudden telepathic message.
"You okay, Logan?" Scott raised his eyebrow as he was hiding behind a rock in the drill.
"Yes…" Logan replied. "I gotta go see Xavier. You guys keep on doing what you have to do." He pointed at Cyclops and then walked away.
"Okay…" Cyclops seemed a little perplexed at why Logan was being secretive.
"GOTCHA!" Suddenly, someone grabbed Cyclops by his collar. Cyclops turned his head forward and it was none other than Shadowcat, who used her power of going through things to get a hold of him.
"Way to go, Kitty!" Nightcrawler then popped up behind Cyclops, and held on to him, restraining him.
"No fair!" Cyclops cried in frustration.
"Too bad!" Shadowcat grinned. "You lost, Scott!" She teased.
"Seriously, Scott?" Jean Grey looked at him with a frown on her face, clearly disappointed. "How could you make a beginner's mistake like that?" She demanded.
"IT WAS LOGAN! HE DISTRACTED ME!" Cyclops shouted defensively.
Jean just facepalmed hard.
João was waiting outside Fonseca's office. His mother was on her way to school, after being called urgently to school by the teacher. João was feeling a mix of anger, frustration, injustice and perplexity. How did he turn the fight around against his bully? What was that weird shadow-like thing wrapped around his bully's leg? And what chance did João have of surviving yet another disciplinary problem that was not his fault, but he got blamed for, regardless?
"Why the hell do teachers ALWAYS punish the quiet bullied kid who fights back?!" João closed his fists in anger and slammed them on his thighs.
"João, come in." Fonseca opened the door and signaled for the teenage boy to enter his office.
João stood up and entered it. Then he sat on the chair across from Fonseca's desk. Fonseca shot him a stern look.
"What do you have to say for yourself this time? Fonseca asked with a harsh tone.
"Why? Clearly you don't believe me and assume I just decked that clown without any reason." João groaned angrily.
"Of course I do!" Fonseca raised his voice. "You have a record, young man."
"Yeah, a record of being bullied and then getting punished myself when I fight back!" João raised his voice this time.
"Don't shout at me! That's rude! Why are you always so insolent?!" Fonseca scolded him.
João folded his arms and clenched his jaw. Fonseca cleared his throat.
"You know, you are getting this close to expulsion." He explained.
João just remained silent with a neutral look on his face.
"Got nothing to say?" Fonseca pressed.
João just scoffed.
"Typical." Fonseca groaned. "You know, João, how can a boy with such a classy mother be so rude and poorly raised?" He shook his head.
"My mother?!" João blinked rapidly in shock. "You dare question her parental skills, teacher?"
"Who else could be responsible for you being the way you are?" Fonseca asked, coldly.
"Is that so?" João scoffed with a bitter laugh. "Guess what, teacher, MY MOTHER THINKS YOU'RE AS MUCH OF A MORON AS I THINK YOU ARE!" João yelled as his words echoed all over Ricardo Fonseca's office.
Fonseca's eyes widened in shock at João's audacity. His anger was rising.
*KNOCK KNOCK* Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard, which took both João and Fonseca by surprise.
"Come in!" Fonseca cried after a bit of hesitation.
"Teacher Ricardo Fonseca?" João turned back on his chair. His mother was here.
"Mum!" João nearly cried his eyes out in relief.
"Please have a seat, Teresa." Fonseca pointed to the empty seat next to João. Teresa sat next to her son and smiled at him softly in order to ease him.
"Why have you called me from work? Where's the urgency? João seems fine." Teresa asked, perplexed.
"He is fine, yes…" Fonseca frowned. "But Bernardo is not."
"Bernardo?" Teresa blinked twice, recognising that name. "Bernardo Bettencourt?" She asked to confirm it was the safe one she thought about.
"Correct." Fonseca nodded. "João assaulted him during recess earlier today."
"Why?" Teresa glanced at João briefly, before looking back to Fonseca again. "Because Bernardo provoked him or hit him once again and all my son did was defend himself?" She frowned.
"No. Your son has caused way too many disciplinary problems in this school by now, Teresa. And looks like he's been lying to you as well…" He gave João a hateful look.
"My son is not a liar, teacher!" Teresa cried in indignation.
"Parents often don't know the true colours of their children…" Fonseca sighed.
"Neither do teachers know of the students who kiss up to them." João boldly blurted out with a sarcastic tone.
"See?!" Fonseca pointed at João as he looked at Teresa.
"See what, teacher?" Teresa folded her arms as she looked at Fonseca dryly.
"Your son is so rude! He literally called me a moron before you walked in and had the nerve of saying you'd be in agreement with his words as well!" He cried.
Teresa stared at Fonseca in silence for a while and then looked at João for a while as well. She then went back to looking at Fonseca. She seemed to be, not necessarily in shock, but quite frankly surprised that her son uttered such words to a teacher's face.
"And he's right about that." Teresa broke the silence with a stern look on her face.
João couldn't help but muster a smirk.
"Excuse me?!" Fonseca was shocked at Teresa's words. He could not have heard that right.
"Teacher." Teresa stood up and also signaled to her son to stand up, which he did. "My son has been unhappy in this school for a couple of years now. It's clear to me that you don't like him and are failing to do your job as an educator. Your lack of pedagogical skills are, quite frankly, appalling!" Teresa delivers her criticism in a firm, yet calm tone.
"Parents do not tell teachers how to do our jobs!" Fonseca cried.
"I'm also a teacher, and you bring shame to our profession!" Teresa now raised her voice. "Let's go, son." She looked at João, who nodded and followed her.
"João will most likely be expelled!" Fonseca shot up from his chair and cried.
"No, he won't." Teresa looked at Fonseca as she opened the door. "I'm submitting a transfer request to transfer João from this school to another one… the one I work at." She explained coldly, before leaving Fonseca's office with her son and shutting the door.
"A new mutant has been discovered?" Scott asked, somewhat surprised, while standing in the middle of the main room of the Institute.
"So I've heard." Ororo nodded.
"Was ist this one like?" Kurt asked as he rubbed his temple.
"That I don't know." Ororo shook her head.
"Mister Logan and the Professor went looking for him, then?" Kitty asked.
"Where did this one pop out?" Rogue asked, right after sipping some cold water.
"I'm not sure. But he's from abroad." Ororo looked pensive.
"Is he a fellow skateboarder?" Evan smirked as he carried his skateboard under his arm.
"Evan, there's no way I can know such a detail." Ororo answered her nephew with a look that was half-dry, half-amused.
"We'll just have to wait until they return." Jean pointed out to the room.
"The more the merrier, I'd say." Bobby chuckled.
"Another student will be added to the team, then. If it's a teenager, that is." Mr. McCoy rubbed his chin.
"Why was Logan being secretive about it, though?" Scott raised his eyebrow. "Him and the Professor are never vague or try to hide from us whenever a new mutant is identified. Especially not one that might join our team."
"That is a good point…" Kitty looked pensive.
"Don't overthink it, everyone." Ororo said. "Logan just simply did not want to interrupt your drill earlier today." She explained.
"Ja, makes sense." Kurt slammed his palm with his fist.
"Mum, thank you so much for standing up for me in school against Costanza." João smiled at Teresa in borderline adoration.
"Costanza?" Teresa raised her eyebrow in amusement.
"Yeah, that's the nickname I gave teacher Fonseca." João explained.
"Why? Because he's bald like George from Seinfeld?" Teresa chuckled.
"Yeah… bald and stupid!" João laughed.
"Anyway." Teresa cleared her throat. "You should not have called your teacher a moron to his face, dear." And gave him a serious look. "Even if this one very much deserved it."
"I know, sorry!" João lowered his head in shame.
"Anyway, don't worry." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "At my school you will not suffer from bullying ever again." She smiled softly.
Suddenly, something black came out of João's hands.
"What on Earth?!" João was in shock as he saw the black substance coming out of his hands.
"João?! What is happening?!" Teresa cried in shock and concern.
"I don't know!" João cried as his hands kept shooting the black substance that was wrapping itself around random items in the household, from chairs, to books, to the Nintendo Switch, etc. After a while, it stopped.
"Dear! Are you alright!" Teresa rushed over to her son and checked his hands.
"I don't know!" João cried in fear.
*DING DONG* The bell suddenly rang, which surprised mother and son.
"Mum, are you waiting for someone?" João blinked twice.
"No…" Teresa shook her head and then walked over to the door. She peeped into the hole and saw two men standing outside in the hallway. One of them being in a wheelchair.
"Quem é?" (Who is it?) She asked with a rather confused and worried tone.
"What did they say?" Logan looked at Xavier.
"Most likely wondering who we are." Xavier explained. "Teresa Teixeira?" Xavier asked with a thick accent, clearly giving him away as a non-Portuguese speaker.
"Sim?" (Yes?)
"Tsk. How are we going to communicate with a woman whose language we don't speak?" Logan groaned impatiently.
"That is indeed a hassle." Xavier nodded.
But, suddenly, the door opened and Teresa stood in the doorway.
"Mrs. Teixeira…" Xavier blinked in surprise as he looked at the attractive middle aged woman with dark brown hair and green eyes.
"Posso ajudar?" (Can I help you?) She raised her eyebrow.
"Lady, do you speak English?" Logan asked with his gruff voice.
"Yes?" Teresa raised both her eyebrows this time. "Are you two gentlemen foreign?" She asked.
"...yes." Xavier tried to get back on track, feeling somewhat relieved that this woman spoke English, and thus they could communicate properly with her. "We'd like to talk to you about your son, João." He calmly explained as he butchered the pronunciation of her son's name like most native English speakers do.
"And why's that?" She frowned and looked at them distrustfully and also with perplexity. Who were these two foreign men? Why did they want to talk to her about João? And how did they even know about her son, anyway?!
The New Mutant Arrives
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Making the rounds.
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João had his head practically spinning. He was just a teenage boy yesterday who dealt with bullying in school and now he was on a flight to the US with his mother and two strange men whom he met less than a week ago. They told his mum that he was a mutant and that it would be best for him to join Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, in order for him to get help for his predicament.
The four individuals weren't even taking a regular commercial flight, but something called the X-Jet, which was unlike any other plane that João and Teresa had been on. Logan was piloting it, while Xavier was further explaining to both João and Teresa what would happen from then on.
"João, you are a very gifted young man." Xavier clasped his fingers.
"I find that hard to believe…" João rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"But it is true." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows. "Mutants are less than 1% of the world's population, and you are one, just like me and Logan and your future classmates.
"I worry about my son's education…" Teresa said, sounding worried.
"João will enroll at Bayville High School." Xavier smiled reassuringly.
"What about mum? Where will she work?" João asked.
"You will work at Bayville Middle School, Mrs. Teixeira." Xavier explained. "We will take care of that fast as well."
"OK, but how about our visas? Don't we need one to enter the United States?" Teresa raised her eyebrow.
"It's all been taken care of by us at the Institute, Mrs.Teixeira." Xavier raised his hand.
"Just who are you guys??" João asked with a mix of fear and increased confusion.
"We are the X-Men, João." Xavier smiled.
"The X-Men?" Teresa furrowed her eyebrows. "What kind of name is that?" She folded her arms.
"It's a name for us mutants at the Institute. The X comes from the x-gene, which is the gene that causes us to mutate, in the first place." Xavier explained.
"But how can my son have such a gene?!" Teresa just couldn't believe it. "No one in our family has had superpowers!" She exclaimed.
"The x-gene, Mrs. Teixeira, does not work like your typical gene for, let's say, hair or eye colour, does." Xavier pointed out.
João just looked at his open hand palms, still confused and scared about his so-called mutant powers. Did this mean he was some sort of freak?
The X-Jet was pretty remarkable not only in terms of design, but also in terms of speed. It was faster than any other commercial aircraft on Earth. A flight that normally would have taken about 8 hours, took half of that at best. They had arrived at their destination: Bayville, New York, USA. The X-Jet landed in the bunker of the Institute.
"And we're here." Logan turned around and looked at João and Teresa.
Xavier nodded and the door opened. João peaked outside and his jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the bunker. Both him and his mother stepped out as did Xavier and Logan. Or, more like, Xavier rolled out since he's bound to a wheelchair. The 4 went to Xavier's office and João and Teresa sat down. Xavier gave the mother a set of keys.
"These are the keys to your apartment we got for you, Mrs. Teixeira." Xavier put his fingers together as he explained. "It's about a 30 minute car ride from here. And these are your car keys, by the way." He gave her another key. "We were able to get you a cheap, used but reliable car."
"Thanks… I didn't expect such a level of generosity." Teresa smiled. She was taken aback.
"João will be living here from now on, but in case you change your mind and decide to withdraw him from the Institute or João decides to quit, you will be reachable. That's why we moved both of you to the US, Mrs. Teixeira." Xavier smiled.
"Will he really be fine here?" Teresa protectively placed a hand on João's shoulder.
"Our Institute is very well reputed and, by far, the safest place in the world for mutants, Mrs. Teixeira." Xavier reassured her.
João was a little distracted looking at the windows. It was night time.
"It's getting very late." Xavier checked his watch. "Logan, accompany Mrs. Teixeira to her car outside. As for you, João, follow me." Xavier rolled away and João looked at Teresa with hesitation. Teresa smiled softly at him and gave him a quick hug before following Logan out of the office. João then followed Xavier down a large empty hall. He wanted to ask why the Institute was so empty, but Xavier told him not to make any noise.
"Right, I guess everyone is sleeping by now…" João whispered quietly as followed Xavier down the hall.
Xavier finally stopped next to a door and opened it gently and quietly. He motioned for João to go inside.
"This will be your bedroom, João." Xavier pointed out.
João nodded and entered it. The bedroom was a bit larger than the one back in his apartment. But it had no personality. It looked more like a generic hotel bedroom. No decoration. But it looked clean. The main difference was it lacked a bathroom. João groaned quietly, dreading the fact he'd have to share a common bathroom with other students.
"Tomorrow…" Xavier broke the silence. "Breakfast will be served at 7AM. And then you will be heading to Bayville High School, alongside most of your fellow X-Men. You will get to know them better at school. And after school, we will be looking into your powers and see how they can be used and to which extent. Now I suggest you get in bed and get some good rest, young man." Xavier smiled after being done with his explanation. "Oh, and by the way…" He had something else to say. "Don't use your powers in front of others. We must keep the existence of mutants a secret for now." He warned before leaving the bedroom and closing the door, leaving João all alone in his new bedroom.
João took a deep sigh and slowly sat and lay down on his new bed. It was comfy and didn't seem to have any bed bugs.João took a deep sigh. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Not only did he find out he was a mutant but he also was basically 'forced' to leave his home country for a foreign one.
"I'm going to be basically living in a boarding Institute as if I'm some kind of orphan..." João's eyes widened in realization. "This is like an orphanage?!" He grabbed his head and buried his head in his pillow.
"Aaah!" He let out a muffed scream into his pillow. He, then, rocked about on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "I wonder if other kids will like me and if I'll like them. Will they just be jerks like most kids at my previous school? And what about those at Bayville High?" He whispered to himself, clearly anxious about his new life in a foreign country.
Kurt woke up and yawned. He used his powers and teleported directly to the bathroom.
"AAH!" A voice cried in shock, dropping their toothbrush.
"Woah!" Kurt looked at the teenage boy who cried. "Who are you?!" He blinked twice, not recognising the boy standing before him.
"WHO are you?!" The brunette teenage boy asked him back.
"What's going on here?" Scott opened the bathroom door and looked at Kurt and the strange guy. "Who is this?" Scott asked Kurt as he pointed at the stranger.
"I don't know!" Kurt cried and shrugged.
"Identify yourself!" Scott pointed at the strange element and demanded him to explain himself.
"I-I-I'm J-João!" The boy stuttered and put his hands up in the air as if he was surrendering. "I'm new here!" He explained nervously.
"He's telling the truth." Scott and Kurt look back and see Xavier. "Scott, Kurt, this is João Teixeira. A new member of the team." He explained.
"Oh?" Scott looked back at João. "I'm sorry, I didn't…" He looked a bit embarrassed.
"Ja, me neither." Kurt rubbed the back of his head.
"Let's head downstairs and eat breakfast. João, I'll introduce you to everyone." Xavier signaled for João to follow him. Scott and Kurt also follow them.
"So much for a good first impression." João took a deep sigh.
"Don't mind them." Xavier smiled softly. "It's just that we've had tough situations before and the X-Men are always on high alert, especially when a stranger is spotted in the Institute."
"Huh?" João blinked twice in surprise at Xavier's statements. Just what kind of place was this?!
"Hey!" Rogue bristled as Kitty used her phasing powers to steal her apple. Kitty's hand went through from under the table and snatched Rogue's apple off her hands.
"Sorry, but I gotta have that last apple." Kitty smirked.
"Can't you go one single day without an apple?" Rogue groaned.
"Hey, an apple a day keeps the doctor away." Kitty teased.
"You two…" Jean rolled her eyes.
Bobby used his ice powers to make his glass of orange juice colder. He then sipped the glass and let out a satisfactory sound.
"Ah, that hit the spot!" He flashed a somewhat goofy smile.
"That's a clever usage." Evan chuckled.
"Good morning, everyone. May I have your attention, please?" Everyone's heads turned as Xavier entered the kitchen with João, Kurt and Scott. Their eyes also noticed the new strange element. "This is João Teixeira. A new member of the X-Men. He will be living in the Institute with us from now on." He pointed at João.
"Joo-wow?" Rogue raised her eyebrow. "That's quite a name."
"He's from Portugal." Xavier smiled and nodded at João, subtly telling him to introduce himself properly.
João gulped and stepped up. His eyes scanned the kitchen in a mix of anxiety and self-consciousness, as everyone stared at him. He could feel the pressure.
"N-nice to meet you. I'm João." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he introduced himself. Everyone could tell how different his name sounded pronounced by him than by Xavier.
"Yo!" Evan waved excitedly. "Welcome, bro!"
"What are your powers?" Jean smiled.
"Well…" João began sweating.
"João can produce shadows, but his power is still raw and he cannot control it well yet." Xavier cut in and explained.
"Shadows?" Rogue blinked twice in surprise.
"Explains the shirt!" Bobby laughed and pointed at João's metal band t-shirt.
"What band is that?" Kurt, who was standing in front of João, pointed at his t-shirt.
"Rotting Christ… Greek metal band." João slowly answered.
"With the Baphomet and a bunch of crosses…" Rogue described it with an amused tone. "Broody powers for a broody guy."
"I mean…" João tried to explain himself, but suddenly a black shadow shot off his hand and grabbed the orange juice jug on the kitchen table.
"WOAH!" Kitty cried in surprise.
"That's your power?!" Scott's eyes widened.
"Das ist crazy!" Kurt was a little shocked.
"Ugh!" João clenched his jaw and looked nervous and confused. He pulled his arm, and the shadow coming out of it also pulled the jug of orange juice with it. The jug basically hit João on the stomach and fell on the floor, breaking.
*CRASH* The sound of the glass jug shattering on the floor echoed throughout the kitchen.
"Ah!" João gasped in shock and embarrassment.
"What a waste of OJ!" Evan cried in exasperation.
"Are you alright?" Xavier looked up at João.
"I'm sorry!" João apologised, feeling very embarrassed.
"Don't worry about it." Xavier waved his hand. "You cannot control your powers yet. Which is why we're going to help you learn how to deal with them."
"How?" João asked, after taking a deep sigh.
"After school, come to the Danger Room." Xavier smiled.
The four individuals weren't even taking a regular commercial flight, but something called the X-Jet, which was unlike any other plane that João and Teresa had been on. Logan was piloting it, while Xavier was further explaining to both João and Teresa what would happen from then on.
"João, you are a very gifted young man." Xavier clasped his fingers.
"I find that hard to believe…" João rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"But it is true." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows. "Mutants are less than 1% of the world's population, and you are one, just like me and Logan and your future classmates.
"I worry about my son's education…" Teresa said, sounding worried.
"João will enroll at Bayville High School." Xavier smiled reassuringly.
"What about mum? Where will she work?" João asked.
"You will work at Bayville Middle School, Mrs. Teixeira." Xavier explained. "We will take care of that fast as well."
"OK, but how about our visas? Don't we need one to enter the United States?" Teresa raised her eyebrow.
"It's all been taken care of by us at the Institute, Mrs.Teixeira." Xavier raised his hand.
"Just who are you guys??" João asked with a mix of fear and increased confusion.
"We are the X-Men, João." Xavier smiled.
"The X-Men?" Teresa furrowed her eyebrows. "What kind of name is that?" She folded her arms.
"It's a name for us mutants at the Institute. The X comes from the x-gene, which is the gene that causes us to mutate, in the first place." Xavier explained.
"But how can my son have such a gene?!" Teresa just couldn't believe it. "No one in our family has had superpowers!" She exclaimed.
"The x-gene, Mrs. Teixeira, does not work like your typical gene for, let's say, hair or eye colour, does." Xavier pointed out.
João just looked at his open hand palms, still confused and scared about his so-called mutant powers. Did this mean he was some sort of freak?
The X-Jet was pretty remarkable not only in terms of design, but also in terms of speed. It was faster than any other commercial aircraft on Earth. A flight that normally would have taken about 8 hours, took half of that at best. They had arrived at their destination: Bayville, New York, USA. The X-Jet landed in the bunker of the Institute.
"And we're here." Logan turned around and looked at João and Teresa.
Xavier nodded and the door opened. João peaked outside and his jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the bunker. Both him and his mother stepped out as did Xavier and Logan. Or, more like, Xavier rolled out since he's bound to a wheelchair. The 4 went to Xavier's office and João and Teresa sat down. Xavier gave the mother a set of keys.
"These are the keys to your apartment we got for you, Mrs. Teixeira." Xavier put his fingers together as he explained. "It's about a 30 minute car ride from here. And these are your car keys, by the way." He gave her another key. "We were able to get you a cheap, used but reliable car."
"Thanks… I didn't expect such a level of generosity." Teresa smiled. She was taken aback.
"João will be living here from now on, but in case you change your mind and decide to withdraw him from the Institute or João decides to quit, you will be reachable. That's why we moved both of you to the US, Mrs. Teixeira." Xavier smiled.
"Will he really be fine here?" Teresa protectively placed a hand on João's shoulder.
"Our Institute is very well reputed and, by far, the safest place in the world for mutants, Mrs. Teixeira." Xavier reassured her.
João was a little distracted looking at the windows. It was night time.
"It's getting very late." Xavier checked his watch. "Logan, accompany Mrs. Teixeira to her car outside. As for you, João, follow me." Xavier rolled away and João looked at Teresa with hesitation. Teresa smiled softly at him and gave him a quick hug before following Logan out of the office. João then followed Xavier down a large empty hall. He wanted to ask why the Institute was so empty, but Xavier told him not to make any noise.
"Right, I guess everyone is sleeping by now…" João whispered quietly as followed Xavier down the hall.
Xavier finally stopped next to a door and opened it gently and quietly. He motioned for João to go inside.
"This will be your bedroom, João." Xavier pointed out.
João nodded and entered it. The bedroom was a bit larger than the one back in his apartment. But it had no personality. It looked more like a generic hotel bedroom. No decoration. But it looked clean. The main difference was it lacked a bathroom. João groaned quietly, dreading the fact he'd have to share a common bathroom with other students.
"Tomorrow…" Xavier broke the silence. "Breakfast will be served at 7AM. And then you will be heading to Bayville High School, alongside most of your fellow X-Men. You will get to know them better at school. And after school, we will be looking into your powers and see how they can be used and to which extent. Now I suggest you get in bed and get some good rest, young man." Xavier smiled after being done with his explanation. "Oh, and by the way…" He had something else to say. "Don't use your powers in front of others. We must keep the existence of mutants a secret for now." He warned before leaving the bedroom and closing the door, leaving João all alone in his new bedroom.
João took a deep sigh and slowly sat and lay down on his new bed. It was comfy and didn't seem to have any bed bugs.João took a deep sigh. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Not only did he find out he was a mutant but he also was basically 'forced' to leave his home country for a foreign one.
"I'm going to be basically living in a boarding Institute as if I'm some kind of orphan..." João's eyes widened in realization. "This is like an orphanage?!" He grabbed his head and buried his head in his pillow.
"Aaah!" He let out a muffed scream into his pillow. He, then, rocked about on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "I wonder if other kids will like me and if I'll like them. Will they just be jerks like most kids at my previous school? And what about those at Bayville High?" He whispered to himself, clearly anxious about his new life in a foreign country.
Kurt woke up and yawned. He used his powers and teleported directly to the bathroom.
"AAH!" A voice cried in shock, dropping their toothbrush.
"Woah!" Kurt looked at the teenage boy who cried. "Who are you?!" He blinked twice, not recognising the boy standing before him.
"WHO are you?!" The brunette teenage boy asked him back.
"What's going on here?" Scott opened the bathroom door and looked at Kurt and the strange guy. "Who is this?" Scott asked Kurt as he pointed at the stranger.
"I don't know!" Kurt cried and shrugged.
"Identify yourself!" Scott pointed at the strange element and demanded him to explain himself.
"I-I-I'm J-João!" The boy stuttered and put his hands up in the air as if he was surrendering. "I'm new here!" He explained nervously.
"He's telling the truth." Scott and Kurt look back and see Xavier. "Scott, Kurt, this is João Teixeira. A new member of the team." He explained.
"Oh?" Scott looked back at João. "I'm sorry, I didn't…" He looked a bit embarrassed.
"Ja, me neither." Kurt rubbed the back of his head.
"Let's head downstairs and eat breakfast. João, I'll introduce you to everyone." Xavier signaled for João to follow him. Scott and Kurt also follow them.
"So much for a good first impression." João took a deep sigh.
"Don't mind them." Xavier smiled softly. "It's just that we've had tough situations before and the X-Men are always on high alert, especially when a stranger is spotted in the Institute."
"Huh?" João blinked twice in surprise at Xavier's statements. Just what kind of place was this?!
"Hey!" Rogue bristled as Kitty used her phasing powers to steal her apple. Kitty's hand went through from under the table and snatched Rogue's apple off her hands.
"Sorry, but I gotta have that last apple." Kitty smirked.
"Can't you go one single day without an apple?" Rogue groaned.
"Hey, an apple a day keeps the doctor away." Kitty teased.
"You two…" Jean rolled her eyes.
Bobby used his ice powers to make his glass of orange juice colder. He then sipped the glass and let out a satisfactory sound.
"Ah, that hit the spot!" He flashed a somewhat goofy smile.
"That's a clever usage." Evan chuckled.
"Good morning, everyone. May I have your attention, please?" Everyone's heads turned as Xavier entered the kitchen with João, Kurt and Scott. Their eyes also noticed the new strange element. "This is João Teixeira. A new member of the X-Men. He will be living in the Institute with us from now on." He pointed at João.
"Joo-wow?" Rogue raised her eyebrow. "That's quite a name."
"He's from Portugal." Xavier smiled and nodded at João, subtly telling him to introduce himself properly.
João gulped and stepped up. His eyes scanned the kitchen in a mix of anxiety and self-consciousness, as everyone stared at him. He could feel the pressure.
"N-nice to meet you. I'm João." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he introduced himself. Everyone could tell how different his name sounded pronounced by him than by Xavier.
"Yo!" Evan waved excitedly. "Welcome, bro!"
"What are your powers?" Jean smiled.
"Well…" João began sweating.
"João can produce shadows, but his power is still raw and he cannot control it well yet." Xavier cut in and explained.
"Shadows?" Rogue blinked twice in surprise.
"Explains the shirt!" Bobby laughed and pointed at João's metal band t-shirt.
"What band is that?" Kurt, who was standing in front of João, pointed at his t-shirt.
"Rotting Christ… Greek metal band." João slowly answered.
"With the Baphomet and a bunch of crosses…" Rogue described it with an amused tone. "Broody powers for a broody guy."
"I mean…" João tried to explain himself, but suddenly a black shadow shot off his hand and grabbed the orange juice jug on the kitchen table.
"WOAH!" Kitty cried in surprise.
"That's your power?!" Scott's eyes widened.
"Das ist crazy!" Kurt was a little shocked.
"Ugh!" João clenched his jaw and looked nervous and confused. He pulled his arm, and the shadow coming out of it also pulled the jug of orange juice with it. The jug basically hit João on the stomach and fell on the floor, breaking.
*CRASH* The sound of the glass jug shattering on the floor echoed throughout the kitchen.
"Ah!" João gasped in shock and embarrassment.
"What a waste of OJ!" Evan cried in exasperation.
"Are you alright?" Xavier looked up at João.
"I'm sorry!" João apologised, feeling very embarrassed.
"Don't worry about it." Xavier waved his hand. "You cannot control your powers yet. Which is why we're going to help you learn how to deal with them."
"How?" João asked, after taking a deep sigh.
"After school, come to the Danger Room." Xavier smiled.
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Making the rounds.
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2026
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- Likes received
- 82
I'm posting here alongside a couple of other places.
School
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Making the rounds.
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2026
- Messages
- 46
- Likes received
- 82
After breakfast, it was time to go to school. Bayville High wasn't that far away from the Institute. It was about a 30 minute walk. Of course, a car ride would have been preferable, but João did not have a car. He was only 15, after all. So he just opened Google maps on his Samsung smartphone, typing in the directions for his new school and began walking, with his black backpack slung over his shoulder.
"Hey, wait up!"
João looked back and saw Kurt and a girl wearing a pink cardigan and a ponytail running up to him. She was in the kitchen earlier that morning, but João did not catch her name. Or anyone else's besides Kurt's and Scott's, really.
"Oh… hi." João greeted both awkwardly.
"Let's walk together to school, shall we?" Kurt flashed a friendly smile.
"Sure…" João nodded and the 3 teenagers began walking.
"So… João." Kurt tried to pronounce his name.
"It's a difficult name to pronounce, I know." João sighed.
"I like the way it sounds, though. So different!" The ponytail wearing girl, standing on Kurt's right side, leaned her head over and looked over at João with a smile. João nearly blushed, but fortunately, neither Kurt nor the girl noticed a thing.
"I'm from Europe too." Kurt smiled. "Germany."
"Guten Morgen." (Good morning) João chuckled nervously.
"You speak German?!" Kurt's eyes lit up.
"Mehr oder weniger." (More or less) João hovered his hand.
"JA, WIE GEIL!" (Yeah, how cool!) Kurt threw his fists up in the air in celebration.
"Your English is pretty good, by the way!" The girl smiled. "You also have a really cool accent. Better than Kurt's." She smirked and covered her hand.
"Hey!" Kurt cried, borderline offended.
"But it's so, like, true!" She teased him.
"No fair, Kitty!" Kurt pouted.
João didn't really know what to make of Kurt and Kitty yet. They did seem like nice people, but João was not used to other teenagers being friendly with him, so he didn't know whether to trust them or not. He got bullied heavily back home and didn't want to go through that all over again. Granted that Kurt and Kitty didn't have bully demeanors at all, but looks could be deceiving.
"You're really quiet, you know?" Kitty walked over to João and looked at him while she carried her books in front of her chest.
"Huh?!" João snapped out of his thoughts as his brown eyes met Kitty's blue eyes.
"Tell us more about yourself!" Kitty smiled.
João just shifted his gaze away from Kitty's eyes. Why was it so hard for him to look that girl in the eyes for more than a couple of seconds, especially when she was standing right in front of him?
The Brotherhood was at the boarding house. Mystique, the owner of said boarding house and also their boss, was in her bedroom. She was not alone. Magneto was also there. Both were having a meeting.
"Mystique, I need you to bring me someone." Magneto said with his usual serious tone.
"Who?" Mystique asked with a neutral tone.
"The X-Men have a new mutant." Magneto explained.
"Really?" Mystique raised her eyebrow. "Since when?"
"Since yesterday."
"And what is so special about this one that you need him/her?" Mystique folded her arms, awaiting Magneto's explanation.
"This new mutant has a very interesting power that is still very green. If we help him control his power and unlock its potential, then we will be able to convince him to join us." Magneto's eyes widened.
"A solid plan, but what makes you so sure this one would join us?" Mystique raised her eyebrow.
"I did some background research on him. He was a loner back home and had no friends. He's the kind of kid who can easily be manipulated since he will be in a desperate need of fitting in." Magneto smirked.
"Oh, I like the sound of that." Mystique smirked as well. "Tell me his name and what he looks like, then."
"His name is João Teixeira." Magneto pulled out his phone and showed Mystique a photo of a thin teenage boy of average height with brown hair, brown eyes and pale skin. "His power is producing shadows he seems unable to control yet."
"He will be attending Bayville soon?" Mystique asked.
"He's on his way to school." Magneto resumed "The Brotherhood are still attending school, I hope." And then frowned.
"Yes, they are." Mystique chuckled.
"Good!" Magneto took off and left through the window.
"João Teixeira…" Mystique looked at her phone now. "Let's see what you're all about." And smirked.
João's first period was Maths. He sat down on his seat and, a couple of minutes later, someone familiar sat next to him.
"Oh, we have Math together?" Kurt smiled at him.
"Huh?!" João was a bit startled to see him again. "Yeah…"
"Are you good at it?" Kurt asked.
"Eh, more or less. I need practice." João rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Tell me about it!" Kurt took a deep sigh.
"So, is this school cool?" João asked, fidgeting.
"It's alright." Kurt nodded. "Most of the troublemakers are members of The Brotherhood. "He snorted.
"The Brotherhood?" João raised his eyebrow. "Who are they?"
"A group of mutants." Kurt frowned.
"Like us?" João whispered.
"No!" Kurt waved his hands dismissively. "They're jerks who work under Magneto. They're not part of the X-Men."
"Magneto?" João blinked twice.
"It's their leader. A mutant who's basically the opposite of the Professor." Kurt sighed.
"How so?" João rubbed his temple.
"The Professor wants for humans and mutants to live peacefully together. Magneto wants to divide both humans and mutants and considers mutants superior to humans." Kurt explained.
"No way…" João was a bit taken aback by Kurt's explanation.
"He's trouble." Kurt warned João. "And he's our enemy. We fight him occasionally."
"F-fight?!" João's eyes nearly popped out of his face in surprise.
"Das stimmt." (That's right) Kurt nodded with a serious look on his face. "But don't worry. With us, you'll be fine and learn to fight!" Kurt felt his own bicep and smiled confidently.
João seemed too stunned to speak. He had to FIGHT?! Something he sucked at doing? He was starting to miss Portugal dearly.
Jean was taking stuff out of her locker when a blonde guy wearing an athletic jacket made his presence known, by firmly placing his broad hand firmly on the locker next to Jean's.
"Duncan." Jean blinked in surprise and smiled weakly at the guy.
"Looking lovelier than usual today, Jean!" Duncan smirked cockily.
"Thanks." Jean said, a bit taken aback by his compliment.
Scott was watching the situation from across the hallway and frowning hard. He didn't like Duncan at all, especially not when he was anywhere near Jean. Kurt and Kitty have told Scott before that he was jealous, but Scott always lashed out at them defensively. Duncan also did not like Scott.
"Virgin Scott looking at Chad Duncan." Scott frowned and clenched his jaw. He looked down and saw an ugly short guy with greenish teeth.
"Beat it, Toad!" Scott cried at him.
"Looks like I struck a nerve!" Toad laughed.
"Oh yeah?" Scott grabbed Toad by the collar. "Say that again and you will regret it." He warned.
"Okay, okay, chill!" Toad nervously apologised and held his hands up in surrender.
Scott let go of him and Toad fell on his butt.
"Ow!" Toad groaned as he rubbed his butt cheeks after landing on the floor.
"Piss off!" Scott cried and walked away.
Duncan and Jean were still talking, and unaware of the little altercation between Toad and Scott. After the bell rang, Duncan placed his hand on Jean's shoulder and walked her to the next class.
Kitty and Rogue were done with lunch break. They parted ways for their respective afternoon classes. Once Kitty was alone, a hand was placed on her shoulder from behind.
"Hum?" Kitty shivered a bit in surprise and turned around. She was met with a tall and tanned brunette boy.
"Hey." The boy smiled at her.
"What is it, Lance?" Kitty frowned.
"Nice to see you too..." Lance slightly frowned as well, as he noticed her slight hostility.
"Humph!" Kitty turned away from him.
"What's your problem?" Lance touched her shoulder again.
"What's my problem?!" Kitty turned around to face Lance again, slapped his hand away and kept the frown on her face.
"Yes. I'm here being nice to you and you're being rude to me." Lance was starting to get frustrated.
"You got some nerve!" Kitty cried. "After you and your Loserhood friends have fought with us several times, you expect me to be courteous with you?!"
"The Brotherhood and the X-Men have been rivals for a long time already!" Lance closed his fist in frustration. "And yet you and I managed to go on some dates together!" He reminded her.
"Yeah, because I was naive and thought you'd open your eyes eventually!" Kitty cried. "But not only you kept on hanging out with the Loserhood, but you and your friends have also done some deplorable things! Face it, Lance, you're nothing but a hood!" Kitty pointed at him.
"Is that so?" Lance's eyes widened at Kitty's accusation. "You think that lowly of me, Kitty?" His tone had a bit of hurt in it.
"Damn right!" Kitty didn't back off and yelled in his face. "I thought you were just a wannabe bad boy with a heart of gold deep down, but I was wrong. You're not a good guy at all!" Kitty turned around again and walked away from Lance, leaving him all alone in the hallway.
"Fuck!" Lance cursed in frustration and used his earthquake powers to shake the hallway walls slightly.
"Hey, wait up!"
João looked back and saw Kurt and a girl wearing a pink cardigan and a ponytail running up to him. She was in the kitchen earlier that morning, but João did not catch her name. Or anyone else's besides Kurt's and Scott's, really.
"Oh… hi." João greeted both awkwardly.
"Let's walk together to school, shall we?" Kurt flashed a friendly smile.
"Sure…" João nodded and the 3 teenagers began walking.
"So… João." Kurt tried to pronounce his name.
"It's a difficult name to pronounce, I know." João sighed.
"I like the way it sounds, though. So different!" The ponytail wearing girl, standing on Kurt's right side, leaned her head over and looked over at João with a smile. João nearly blushed, but fortunately, neither Kurt nor the girl noticed a thing.
"I'm from Europe too." Kurt smiled. "Germany."
"Guten Morgen." (Good morning) João chuckled nervously.
"You speak German?!" Kurt's eyes lit up.
"Mehr oder weniger." (More or less) João hovered his hand.
"JA, WIE GEIL!" (Yeah, how cool!) Kurt threw his fists up in the air in celebration.
"Your English is pretty good, by the way!" The girl smiled. "You also have a really cool accent. Better than Kurt's." She smirked and covered her hand.
"Hey!" Kurt cried, borderline offended.
"But it's so, like, true!" She teased him.
"No fair, Kitty!" Kurt pouted.
João didn't really know what to make of Kurt and Kitty yet. They did seem like nice people, but João was not used to other teenagers being friendly with him, so he didn't know whether to trust them or not. He got bullied heavily back home and didn't want to go through that all over again. Granted that Kurt and Kitty didn't have bully demeanors at all, but looks could be deceiving.
"You're really quiet, you know?" Kitty walked over to João and looked at him while she carried her books in front of her chest.
"Huh?!" João snapped out of his thoughts as his brown eyes met Kitty's blue eyes.
"Tell us more about yourself!" Kitty smiled.
João just shifted his gaze away from Kitty's eyes. Why was it so hard for him to look that girl in the eyes for more than a couple of seconds, especially when she was standing right in front of him?
The Brotherhood was at the boarding house. Mystique, the owner of said boarding house and also their boss, was in her bedroom. She was not alone. Magneto was also there. Both were having a meeting.
"Mystique, I need you to bring me someone." Magneto said with his usual serious tone.
"Who?" Mystique asked with a neutral tone.
"The X-Men have a new mutant." Magneto explained.
"Really?" Mystique raised her eyebrow. "Since when?"
"Since yesterday."
"And what is so special about this one that you need him/her?" Mystique folded her arms, awaiting Magneto's explanation.
"This new mutant has a very interesting power that is still very green. If we help him control his power and unlock its potential, then we will be able to convince him to join us." Magneto's eyes widened.
"A solid plan, but what makes you so sure this one would join us?" Mystique raised her eyebrow.
"I did some background research on him. He was a loner back home and had no friends. He's the kind of kid who can easily be manipulated since he will be in a desperate need of fitting in." Magneto smirked.
"Oh, I like the sound of that." Mystique smirked as well. "Tell me his name and what he looks like, then."
"His name is João Teixeira." Magneto pulled out his phone and showed Mystique a photo of a thin teenage boy of average height with brown hair, brown eyes and pale skin. "His power is producing shadows he seems unable to control yet."
"He will be attending Bayville soon?" Mystique asked.
"He's on his way to school." Magneto resumed "The Brotherhood are still attending school, I hope." And then frowned.
"Yes, they are." Mystique chuckled.
"Good!" Magneto took off and left through the window.
"João Teixeira…" Mystique looked at her phone now. "Let's see what you're all about." And smirked.
João's first period was Maths. He sat down on his seat and, a couple of minutes later, someone familiar sat next to him.
"Oh, we have Math together?" Kurt smiled at him.
"Huh?!" João was a bit startled to see him again. "Yeah…"
"Are you good at it?" Kurt asked.
"Eh, more or less. I need practice." João rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Tell me about it!" Kurt took a deep sigh.
"So, is this school cool?" João asked, fidgeting.
"It's alright." Kurt nodded. "Most of the troublemakers are members of The Brotherhood. "He snorted.
"The Brotherhood?" João raised his eyebrow. "Who are they?"
"A group of mutants." Kurt frowned.
"Like us?" João whispered.
"No!" Kurt waved his hands dismissively. "They're jerks who work under Magneto. They're not part of the X-Men."
"Magneto?" João blinked twice.
"It's their leader. A mutant who's basically the opposite of the Professor." Kurt sighed.
"How so?" João rubbed his temple.
"The Professor wants for humans and mutants to live peacefully together. Magneto wants to divide both humans and mutants and considers mutants superior to humans." Kurt explained.
"No way…" João was a bit taken aback by Kurt's explanation.
"He's trouble." Kurt warned João. "And he's our enemy. We fight him occasionally."
"F-fight?!" João's eyes nearly popped out of his face in surprise.
"Das stimmt." (That's right) Kurt nodded with a serious look on his face. "But don't worry. With us, you'll be fine and learn to fight!" Kurt felt his own bicep and smiled confidently.
João seemed too stunned to speak. He had to FIGHT?! Something he sucked at doing? He was starting to miss Portugal dearly.
Jean was taking stuff out of her locker when a blonde guy wearing an athletic jacket made his presence known, by firmly placing his broad hand firmly on the locker next to Jean's.
"Duncan." Jean blinked in surprise and smiled weakly at the guy.
"Looking lovelier than usual today, Jean!" Duncan smirked cockily.
"Thanks." Jean said, a bit taken aback by his compliment.
Scott was watching the situation from across the hallway and frowning hard. He didn't like Duncan at all, especially not when he was anywhere near Jean. Kurt and Kitty have told Scott before that he was jealous, but Scott always lashed out at them defensively. Duncan also did not like Scott.
"Virgin Scott looking at Chad Duncan." Scott frowned and clenched his jaw. He looked down and saw an ugly short guy with greenish teeth.
"Beat it, Toad!" Scott cried at him.
"Looks like I struck a nerve!" Toad laughed.
"Oh yeah?" Scott grabbed Toad by the collar. "Say that again and you will regret it." He warned.
"Okay, okay, chill!" Toad nervously apologised and held his hands up in surrender.
Scott let go of him and Toad fell on his butt.
"Ow!" Toad groaned as he rubbed his butt cheeks after landing on the floor.
"Piss off!" Scott cried and walked away.
Duncan and Jean were still talking, and unaware of the little altercation between Toad and Scott. After the bell rang, Duncan placed his hand on Jean's shoulder and walked her to the next class.
Kitty and Rogue were done with lunch break. They parted ways for their respective afternoon classes. Once Kitty was alone, a hand was placed on her shoulder from behind.
"Hum?" Kitty shivered a bit in surprise and turned around. She was met with a tall and tanned brunette boy.
"Hey." The boy smiled at her.
"What is it, Lance?" Kitty frowned.
"Nice to see you too..." Lance slightly frowned as well, as he noticed her slight hostility.
"Humph!" Kitty turned away from him.
"What's your problem?" Lance touched her shoulder again.
"What's my problem?!" Kitty turned around to face Lance again, slapped his hand away and kept the frown on her face.
"Yes. I'm here being nice to you and you're being rude to me." Lance was starting to get frustrated.
"You got some nerve!" Kitty cried. "After you and your Loserhood friends have fought with us several times, you expect me to be courteous with you?!"
"The Brotherhood and the X-Men have been rivals for a long time already!" Lance closed his fist in frustration. "And yet you and I managed to go on some dates together!" He reminded her.
"Yeah, because I was naive and thought you'd open your eyes eventually!" Kitty cried. "But not only you kept on hanging out with the Loserhood, but you and your friends have also done some deplorable things! Face it, Lance, you're nothing but a hood!" Kitty pointed at him.
"Is that so?" Lance's eyes widened at Kitty's accusation. "You think that lowly of me, Kitty?" His tone had a bit of hurt in it.
"Damn right!" Kitty didn't back off and yelled in his face. "I thought you were just a wannabe bad boy with a heart of gold deep down, but I was wrong. You're not a good guy at all!" Kitty turned around again and walked away from Lance, leaving him all alone in the hallway.
"Fuck!" Lance cursed in frustration and used his earthquake powers to shake the hallway walls slightly.
Codename: Metalhead
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Making the rounds.
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2026
- Messages
- 46
- Likes received
- 82
The first day of school was over. João was a little confused and overwhelmed at how different school was in the US compared to back home in Portugal. He wondered if he was going to be able to adapt to the American education system or not. He walked out of the Bayville High School building and began walking back to the Institute.
Mystique followed João around stealthily. She signalled to Pietro to run up to him.
João took out his phone to text his mother when, suddenly, his phone was off his hand.
"What the—?!" João's eyes nearly popped out in shock as he looked at his empty right hand.
"Looking for this?" João looked at a smug looking teenage boy with white hair holding his phone.
"That's my phone!" João cried. "How the hell did you even…?!" He blinked rapidly, still in shock.
"Easy!" Pietro ran up to João and now the phone was back in his hand again.
"The fuck?!" João's jaw nearly dropped.
"Cool, ain't it?" Pietro chuckled. "I have superhuman speed!" He pointed at himself proudly.
"You're a mutant too, then?" João's eyes narrowed.
"Guilty as charged!" Pietro grinned.
"What do you want? Stealing my phone and then giving it back… not funny!" João groaned.
"No one is trying to be funny here, João." João looked right and saw a woman with light blue skin and bright red hair walk up to him.
"Who are you?!" João looked at her in shock.
"I'm Mystique. Another mutant just like you." She smirked.
"W-why are you blueish?!" João's voice shook.
"Mutants come in all shapes, colours and sizes… literally." Mystique smirked.
"Y-you're part of that Brotherhood thing?!" João pointed at her and Pietro.
"Ah…" Mystique looked at him dryly. "I'm taking it the X-Men have already been slandering me and the others…" She folded her arms.
"You work for Magneto?" João tensed up.
"Boy, they sure are fast." Mystique's eyebrow twitched. "Get him, Pietro!" She ordered.
Pietro rushed toward João, but Nightcrawler suddenly popped up and then took João with him, both popping out almost immediately again and ending up around the corner.
"What the?!" João shook his head in confusion and looked at Nightcrawler. "KURT?!" His jaw nearly dropped in shock.
"Yes, this is my actual form. I'm fuzzy." Kurt explained nervously in-between laughs. "Don't be alarmed." He smiled.
"How did we end up here?!" João cried.
"I have teleportation powers." Kurt explained.
"There they are!" Pietro pointed from afar and rushed toward João again, but this time Kurt did not teleport João out of danger in time. João shot a shadow beam at Pietro, knocking him back.
"AGH!" Pietro yelled in pain as he fell on the ground. "The fuck?!" He groaned as he picked himself up.
"Woah…" João looked at his open hand palm in surprise.
"Well done, but we better go!" Kurt grabbed on to João and teleported both of them away from the area.
Duncan and Jean were sitting in Duncan's convertible, chatting.
"And then I scored a touchdown!" Duncan beamed proudly.
"Good job." Jean smiled and nodded respectfully.
"How about you, Jean? Scored any goals lately?" Duncan grinned.
"Soccer season hasn't started yet, Duncan." Jean folded her arms and looked at him dryly.
"Well, you got skills. I'm sure you'll get the MVP award." Duncan laughed.
"I hope so too." Jean chuckled as well.
Meanwhile, Scott was looking at the scene from afar and frowning. He couldn't stand Duncan and cared for Jean deep down, even if he had trouble admitting and realising that. Naturally, everyone else who knew Scott and Jean well enough could very well tell that both teenagers had feelings for each other that went beyond a simple guy and girl friendship. Duncan also couldn't stand Scott and knew very well the sunglasses-wearing guy had it bad for Jean, but little did Duncan know that Jean also had a thing for Scott. Not that Jean realised it herself or was willing to admit it either.
"Yo, Scott." Scott snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head around. It was Evan.
"Shh!" Scott shushed Evan so that Jean and Duncan wouldn't hear him.
"Whacha doin'?" Evan raised his eyebrow while holding his skateboard under his armpit.
"N-none of your business!" Scott whispered as loud as he could get with a defensive tone.
"Oh, don't tell me you're spyin' on Jean and that guy." Evan looked at Scott dryly.
"What if I am?" Scott turned back to focusing on Jean and Duncan.
"Never mind, dude." Evan rolled his eyes and skateboarded away from him.
Moments later, Taryn spotted Scott. Scott smiled awkwardly. Him and Taryn were technically dating. It was hard for Scott to keep his underlying feelings for Jean hidden around Taryn. And trying to justify to her why he couldn't take off his sunglasses ever.
"Let's go grab a coffee!" Taryn held on to Scott's arm and both walked away.
"Mystique and Pietro tried to attack you?" Xavier furrowed his eyebrows.
"Yeah, good thing I was there to save him!" Kurt cried, now back to his human-self due to the help of the image inducer on his wrist. "But he also used his powers to knock down Pietro!"
"What do they even want from me? I don't even know those people!" João took a deep sigh.
"Unfortunately, João, being a mutant comes with cons like this." Xavier explained.
"What did they want from me?" João gulped.
"Magneto wants to amass a large army of mutants to conquer and oppress humanity." Xavier sighed. "While we want to live peacefully with humans."
"I explained that to him already, Professor." Kurt smiled weakly.
"Magneto has got his eyes on you, João." Xavier said it with a warning tone and a serious look on his face. "We must stay alert." He warned.
"Oh man!" João covered his head with his hands.
"Also, João, we're starting a training session. Let me take you to the Danger Room. Follow me." Xavier motioned for João to follow him. As they reached the Danger Room, Logan was there awaiting them.
"Logan, as you might know by now, João doesn't have a good control of his shadow power yet. Help him out, please." Xavier asked.
"Alright, kid." Logan stared at João. "Focus on my claws and try to shoot shadows at them." He ordered with his gruff voice and withdrew his trademark claws.
"OK…" João, uncertain, opened his hands and made his palms face Logan. He focused and grunted hard trying to shoot out shadows off his hands, but to no avail.
"Don't tire yourself out like that!" Logan cried. "You're wasting your energy. Try to relax and let the power flow naturally out of your body instead!" He groaned.
"Ugh, OK…" João groaned and sighed in frustration and took a deep breath.
"Remember, kiddo, in a mission or fight for your life, the enemy will not be waiting for you to attack in case you find yourself in a similar predicament." Logan warned him with a stern voice. Which only made João more nervous and feel more pressure put on him.
"So, what do you guys think of the new recruit?" Bobby asked as he played Street Fighter 6 with Amara. Bobby was playing as Luke and Amara was playing as Blanka. Kitty and Rogue were spectating on the couch behind them.
"Who? That guy… João?" Rogue tried to recall his name, naturally butchering its pronunciation like most non-Portuguese speakers did. "We hardly know him yet."
"That's not how you say it, Rogue!" Amara giggled, with her eyes still glued on the TV.
"Gimme a break!" Rogue groaned and folded her arms.
"He has a cool accent!" Kitty smiled.
"He's a native Portuguese speaker like me, Kitty. How come you never praise my accent when I speak English." Amara paused the game and looked at Kitty with a mock sad face.
"Hey, don't interrupt our match!" Bobby scolded Amara.
"I mean… that's different!" Kitty laughed nervously. "You're, like, Brazilian and he's Portuguese. You sound a little different from each other when speaking English!" She pointed out.
"I guess, but nonetheless…" Amara looked at the American girl dryly.
"Huh?" Kitty blinked twice, not knowing where Amara was getting at.
"Will ya'll just play!" Rogue cried and pointed at the TV screen.
"Fine!" Amara chuckled and unpaused the game. The match continued and she won by using Blanka's Super Art move.
"AAAAH!" Bobby cried in defeat as he saw Blanka knock out Luke and do the victory pose afterwards.
"BRAZIL!" Amara jumped in joy with her fist up in the air.
"But how?!" Bobby was genuinely in shock. "I just reached Diamond with Luke on Ranked last night!"
Rogue rolled her eyes even if she was a little amused at the sight. Kitty just giggled.
Shadow beams grabbed Logan's claws and immobilised his movements. He tried to break free from them with all his might, but couldn't do it. His arms and fists were literally shaking and full of tension.
"UGH!" He groaned.
"TOMA!" (Take that!) João cried as the adrenaline rushed to his brain and he took a swing and tried to lift Logan up with his shadows shooting out of his hands, but couldn't do it since Logan was a little too heavy for him. But, nonetheless, Logan couldn't break free.
João's body then began getting entirely covered in shadow matter and the shadows got stronger and managed to lift Logan off his feet and slam him on the floor.
"UUUUUUGH!" Logan yelled in pain as he landed on his belly.
"That's enough for now!" Xavier interrupted the training by speaking into the communicator from above.
"I did that?!" João looked at his hands in shock, as the shadow matter quickly began uncoating his body.
"You did, indeed." Xavier smiled. "You're learning faster than I thought, young man."
"Those shadows are a pain in the ass!" Logan rubbed his head in frustration.
"I had no idea I could be so… strong." João smiled nervously.
"Only if your shadows reach their maximum power so far, however." Xavier furrowed his brows. "You need to do some weight training in order to get stronger.
"Damn right he does, Charles!" Logan smirked. "This kid is still a twig." He chuckled.
"Hey now!" João cried, taking Logan's remark personally.
"João, I'd like you to pick your mutant name now." Xavier smiled.
"My mutant name?" João blinked twice and then rubbed his chin pensively. "How about Shadow Man! Like the Mega Man 3 robot master!" João exclaimed excitedly.
"You can't!" Logan frowned.
"Why not?!" João looked a little surprised and somewhat hurt by Logan's stern dismissal of his idea for a mutant name.
"We already got someone with shadow in their name!" Logan grunted.
"Who?!" João raised his eyebrow.
"Kitty Pryde. Also known as Shadowcat." Xavier explained.
"Huh?" João's heartbeat accelerated a bit upon hearing Kitty's name. Again, why was that girl making him feel that way?!
"Pick something else." Logan folded his arms and looked at João.
"Ok… how about Metalhead?" João said meekly.
"Metalhead?" Xavier rubbed his chin. "Your powers aren't related to metal at all, João…"
"No, but he likes heavy metal!" Logan smirked and pointed at João's Rotting Christ t-shirt.
"Yeah!" João awkwardly threw up the horns sign with his hands and smiled.
"That will have to do, then." Xavier chuckled. "João Teixeira, your mutant name is now Metalhead." He announced.
"Cool!" João smiled, feeling rather proud.
"Don't party just yet, kiddo!" Logan smirked and also grunted. "Let's see how tough you are when you hit the weight rooms with me as your personal trainer!" He pointed at himself.
"Welp!" João gulped.
Mystique followed João around stealthily. She signalled to Pietro to run up to him.
João took out his phone to text his mother when, suddenly, his phone was off his hand.
"What the—?!" João's eyes nearly popped out in shock as he looked at his empty right hand.
"Looking for this?" João looked at a smug looking teenage boy with white hair holding his phone.
"That's my phone!" João cried. "How the hell did you even…?!" He blinked rapidly, still in shock.
"Easy!" Pietro ran up to João and now the phone was back in his hand again.
"The fuck?!" João's jaw nearly dropped.
"Cool, ain't it?" Pietro chuckled. "I have superhuman speed!" He pointed at himself proudly.
"You're a mutant too, then?" João's eyes narrowed.
"Guilty as charged!" Pietro grinned.
"What do you want? Stealing my phone and then giving it back… not funny!" João groaned.
"No one is trying to be funny here, João." João looked right and saw a woman with light blue skin and bright red hair walk up to him.
"Who are you?!" João looked at her in shock.
"I'm Mystique. Another mutant just like you." She smirked.
"W-why are you blueish?!" João's voice shook.
"Mutants come in all shapes, colours and sizes… literally." Mystique smirked.
"Y-you're part of that Brotherhood thing?!" João pointed at her and Pietro.
"Ah…" Mystique looked at him dryly. "I'm taking it the X-Men have already been slandering me and the others…" She folded her arms.
"You work for Magneto?" João tensed up.
"Boy, they sure are fast." Mystique's eyebrow twitched. "Get him, Pietro!" She ordered.
Pietro rushed toward João, but Nightcrawler suddenly popped up and then took João with him, both popping out almost immediately again and ending up around the corner.
"What the?!" João shook his head in confusion and looked at Nightcrawler. "KURT?!" His jaw nearly dropped in shock.
"Yes, this is my actual form. I'm fuzzy." Kurt explained nervously in-between laughs. "Don't be alarmed." He smiled.
"How did we end up here?!" João cried.
"I have teleportation powers." Kurt explained.
"There they are!" Pietro pointed from afar and rushed toward João again, but this time Kurt did not teleport João out of danger in time. João shot a shadow beam at Pietro, knocking him back.
"AGH!" Pietro yelled in pain as he fell on the ground. "The fuck?!" He groaned as he picked himself up.
"Woah…" João looked at his open hand palm in surprise.
"Well done, but we better go!" Kurt grabbed on to João and teleported both of them away from the area.
Duncan and Jean were sitting in Duncan's convertible, chatting.
"And then I scored a touchdown!" Duncan beamed proudly.
"Good job." Jean smiled and nodded respectfully.
"How about you, Jean? Scored any goals lately?" Duncan grinned.
"Soccer season hasn't started yet, Duncan." Jean folded her arms and looked at him dryly.
"Well, you got skills. I'm sure you'll get the MVP award." Duncan laughed.
"I hope so too." Jean chuckled as well.
Meanwhile, Scott was looking at the scene from afar and frowning. He couldn't stand Duncan and cared for Jean deep down, even if he had trouble admitting and realising that. Naturally, everyone else who knew Scott and Jean well enough could very well tell that both teenagers had feelings for each other that went beyond a simple guy and girl friendship. Duncan also couldn't stand Scott and knew very well the sunglasses-wearing guy had it bad for Jean, but little did Duncan know that Jean also had a thing for Scott. Not that Jean realised it herself or was willing to admit it either.
"Yo, Scott." Scott snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head around. It was Evan.
"Shh!" Scott shushed Evan so that Jean and Duncan wouldn't hear him.
"Whacha doin'?" Evan raised his eyebrow while holding his skateboard under his armpit.
"N-none of your business!" Scott whispered as loud as he could get with a defensive tone.
"Oh, don't tell me you're spyin' on Jean and that guy." Evan looked at Scott dryly.
"What if I am?" Scott turned back to focusing on Jean and Duncan.
"Never mind, dude." Evan rolled his eyes and skateboarded away from him.
Moments later, Taryn spotted Scott. Scott smiled awkwardly. Him and Taryn were technically dating. It was hard for Scott to keep his underlying feelings for Jean hidden around Taryn. And trying to justify to her why he couldn't take off his sunglasses ever.
"Let's go grab a coffee!" Taryn held on to Scott's arm and both walked away.
"Mystique and Pietro tried to attack you?" Xavier furrowed his eyebrows.
"Yeah, good thing I was there to save him!" Kurt cried, now back to his human-self due to the help of the image inducer on his wrist. "But he also used his powers to knock down Pietro!"
"What do they even want from me? I don't even know those people!" João took a deep sigh.
"Unfortunately, João, being a mutant comes with cons like this." Xavier explained.
"What did they want from me?" João gulped.
"Magneto wants to amass a large army of mutants to conquer and oppress humanity." Xavier sighed. "While we want to live peacefully with humans."
"I explained that to him already, Professor." Kurt smiled weakly.
"Magneto has got his eyes on you, João." Xavier said it with a warning tone and a serious look on his face. "We must stay alert." He warned.
"Oh man!" João covered his head with his hands.
"Also, João, we're starting a training session. Let me take you to the Danger Room. Follow me." Xavier motioned for João to follow him. As they reached the Danger Room, Logan was there awaiting them.
"Logan, as you might know by now, João doesn't have a good control of his shadow power yet. Help him out, please." Xavier asked.
"Alright, kid." Logan stared at João. "Focus on my claws and try to shoot shadows at them." He ordered with his gruff voice and withdrew his trademark claws.
"OK…" João, uncertain, opened his hands and made his palms face Logan. He focused and grunted hard trying to shoot out shadows off his hands, but to no avail.
"Don't tire yourself out like that!" Logan cried. "You're wasting your energy. Try to relax and let the power flow naturally out of your body instead!" He groaned.
"Ugh, OK…" João groaned and sighed in frustration and took a deep breath.
"Remember, kiddo, in a mission or fight for your life, the enemy will not be waiting for you to attack in case you find yourself in a similar predicament." Logan warned him with a stern voice. Which only made João more nervous and feel more pressure put on him.
"So, what do you guys think of the new recruit?" Bobby asked as he played Street Fighter 6 with Amara. Bobby was playing as Luke and Amara was playing as Blanka. Kitty and Rogue were spectating on the couch behind them.
"Who? That guy… João?" Rogue tried to recall his name, naturally butchering its pronunciation like most non-Portuguese speakers did. "We hardly know him yet."
"That's not how you say it, Rogue!" Amara giggled, with her eyes still glued on the TV.
"Gimme a break!" Rogue groaned and folded her arms.
"He has a cool accent!" Kitty smiled.
"He's a native Portuguese speaker like me, Kitty. How come you never praise my accent when I speak English." Amara paused the game and looked at Kitty with a mock sad face.
"Hey, don't interrupt our match!" Bobby scolded Amara.
"I mean… that's different!" Kitty laughed nervously. "You're, like, Brazilian and he's Portuguese. You sound a little different from each other when speaking English!" She pointed out.
"I guess, but nonetheless…" Amara looked at the American girl dryly.
"Huh?" Kitty blinked twice, not knowing where Amara was getting at.
"Will ya'll just play!" Rogue cried and pointed at the TV screen.
"Fine!" Amara chuckled and unpaused the game. The match continued and she won by using Blanka's Super Art move.
"AAAAH!" Bobby cried in defeat as he saw Blanka knock out Luke and do the victory pose afterwards.
"BRAZIL!" Amara jumped in joy with her fist up in the air.
"But how?!" Bobby was genuinely in shock. "I just reached Diamond with Luke on Ranked last night!"
Rogue rolled her eyes even if she was a little amused at the sight. Kitty just giggled.
Shadow beams grabbed Logan's claws and immobilised his movements. He tried to break free from them with all his might, but couldn't do it. His arms and fists were literally shaking and full of tension.
"UGH!" He groaned.
"TOMA!" (Take that!) João cried as the adrenaline rushed to his brain and he took a swing and tried to lift Logan up with his shadows shooting out of his hands, but couldn't do it since Logan was a little too heavy for him. But, nonetheless, Logan couldn't break free.
João's body then began getting entirely covered in shadow matter and the shadows got stronger and managed to lift Logan off his feet and slam him on the floor.
"UUUUUUGH!" Logan yelled in pain as he landed on his belly.
"That's enough for now!" Xavier interrupted the training by speaking into the communicator from above.
"I did that?!" João looked at his hands in shock, as the shadow matter quickly began uncoating his body.
"You did, indeed." Xavier smiled. "You're learning faster than I thought, young man."
"Those shadows are a pain in the ass!" Logan rubbed his head in frustration.
"I had no idea I could be so… strong." João smiled nervously.
"Only if your shadows reach their maximum power so far, however." Xavier furrowed his brows. "You need to do some weight training in order to get stronger.
"Damn right he does, Charles!" Logan smirked. "This kid is still a twig." He chuckled.
"Hey now!" João cried, taking Logan's remark personally.
"João, I'd like you to pick your mutant name now." Xavier smiled.
"My mutant name?" João blinked twice and then rubbed his chin pensively. "How about Shadow Man! Like the Mega Man 3 robot master!" João exclaimed excitedly.
"You can't!" Logan frowned.
"Why not?!" João looked a little surprised and somewhat hurt by Logan's stern dismissal of his idea for a mutant name.
"We already got someone with shadow in their name!" Logan grunted.
"Who?!" João raised his eyebrow.
"Kitty Pryde. Also known as Shadowcat." Xavier explained.
"Huh?" João's heartbeat accelerated a bit upon hearing Kitty's name. Again, why was that girl making him feel that way?!
"Pick something else." Logan folded his arms and looked at João.
"Ok… how about Metalhead?" João said meekly.
"Metalhead?" Xavier rubbed his chin. "Your powers aren't related to metal at all, João…"
"No, but he likes heavy metal!" Logan smirked and pointed at João's Rotting Christ t-shirt.
"Yeah!" João awkwardly threw up the horns sign with his hands and smiled.
"That will have to do, then." Xavier chuckled. "João Teixeira, your mutant name is now Metalhead." He announced.
"Cool!" João smiled, feeling rather proud.
"Don't party just yet, kiddo!" Logan smirked and also grunted. "Let's see how tough you are when you hit the weight rooms with me as your personal trainer!" He pointed at himself.
"Welp!" João gulped.
Magneto's Plan
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Making the rounds.
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- Mar 21, 2026
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Back to the boarding house after failing their mission, Mystique and Pietro were being lectured by Magneto.
"You failed, Mystique. And you too, Pietro…" Magneto's eyes narrowed in disappointment.
"He caught me off-guard, father! And then Nightcrawler used his power to get him away from us!" Pietro attempted to justify his failure.
"Silence!" Magneto put his open hand in front of Pietro. "I don't want to hear any more excuses!"
"Regardless." Mystique sighed before carrying on. "That boy clearly didn't seem interested in joining us. The X-Men smarted him up already." She folded her arms.
"Yes, that's clearly troublesome." Magneto nodded with a serious look on his face. "The X-Men might very well have gotten a big addition to their squad."
"So, what do we do now, father?" Pietro shrugged.
"It sounds like it would be a waste of time and energy to try and convince João to join us." Magneto rubbed his chin pensively. "Therefore, we're aborting this plan."
"Just like that?" Mystique raised her eyebrow.
"The X-Men got to him first. It can't be helped." Magneto pointed out.
"Therefore…?" Pietro rubbed his temple, waiting for his father to elaborate.
"We'll just carry on with our main goal, naturally." Magneto looked at his son dryly, as if he was missing something.
Downstairs, Lance, Fred, Toad and Wanda were all having lunch in the kitchen."
"What's Magneto holding Mystique and Pietro for?" Toad slung his long tongue and ate a fly that was passing by.
"Who cares!" Fred cried angrily.
"I'm sure father is giving them useful information." Wanda frowned.
"I still can't get used to the fact you no longer hate your pops." Toad chuckled.
"Hate him?" Wanda frowned. She was surprised by his statement. Obviously, she did not remember any of that.
"Don't remind her, you idiot!" Fred grabbed Toad by his collar.
"Alright! Alright!" Toad shook his head and begged Fred to let go of him.
"You guys are so weird…" Wanda groaned. She then glanced at Lance, who was quiet and barely eating his lunch. "What's with you?" She raised her eyebrow.
"Nothing." Lance dismissed her question with an unenergetic one word response.
"He's still sad about Kitty dumping him." Toad whispered to Wanda.
Lance kept staring into a void, clearly thinking about Kitty still. His feelings for her hadn't fully gone away still.
Mystique and Pietro entered the kitchen. It looked like their meeting with Magneto was finally over.
"Gentlemen… and lady." Mystique smirked as she glanced at the boys and Wanda. "...a mission lies ahead of you.
João woke up feeling very sore that morning. Logan pushed him to his limits in the weight room. João had never worked out before. His arm and leg muscles were all reminding him of yesterday's workout.
"Man…" João yawned as his body ached in soreness. "This is such an uncomfortable sensation. I feel like a truck hit me." He then let out a big sigh. He was not a strong or athletic individual. He weighed about 62 kilograms, despite his 174cm height. He didn't even have proper biceps and it was difficult for him to do bicep curls with 5kg dumbbells yesterday.
He entered the kitchen to eat breakfast. Kurt noticed he was moving a little funny.
"Are you feeling OK, João?" Kurt asked, a little worried.
"Yeah…" João dismissed his question and tried to reach for some bread. "Ugh". He let out a soft moan as he extended his sore arm.
"What's with you?" Scott, sitting to João's left, raised his eyebrow.
"N-nothing." João grabbed his bread and spread some peanut butter on it.
"Oh, I took the kid to the weight room yesterday." Logan smirked, across the big kitchen table.
"Ouch." Jean winced a little, feeling a tinge of sympathy for João. Logan was not known for holding back on rookies.
"I know that feeling quite well." Kurt shuddered. João was not alone, it seemed.
"Ah, sore muscles." Scott smiled. "Don't worry about that, you'll get used to it the more you exercise." He placed a hand on João's stiff shoulder.
"I think that's gonna take a while…" Rogue leaned in and whispered to Kitty. "...he's kinda skinny." She pointed out.
"Totally, yeah." Kitty sweatdropped.
"João did impress Logan with his shadow powers in training yesterday, however." Xavier, sitting at the head of the table, smiled.
"Oh?" Hank, who had been quiet, perked up.
"Heh." Logan smirked. "Kid managed to grab my claws with his shadow powers and neutralise me." He then groaned.
"Wow, that's major!" Evan was genuinely impressed that João could hold his own against Logan in a fight.
"Mister Logan was going easy on me." João muttered as he ate his peanut butter sandwich.
"Not as much as you think, kid." Logan begrudgingly admitted.
"Looks like you impressed Mr. Logan!" Kitty smirked at João. João shifted his gaze away from her eyes.
"João. why don't you announce your mutant name to your team mates?" Xavier suggested.
João took a sip of his water and noticed the entire table was looking at him curiously.
"Hum…" João rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "From now on, as a mutant, I'm going by… Metalhead." He announced with some conviction and even pointed his hands at his metal band hoodie. Today, he went with the German power metal band Blind Guardian.
"Metalhead?" Rogue looked at him dryly. "Your powers have nothing to do with metal!" She pointed out.
"Well…" João was a bit embarrassed by Rogue calling him out on it like that.
"I mean, metal is dark and broody often." Scott rubbed his chin.
"And who cares if his powers aren't metal?" Logan snorted. "I have metal claws and my name is Wolverine!" He smirked as he popped out his metal claws.
"Still…" Rogue rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
"Why not go for shadow-something, instead?" Kurt offered a suggestion as he looked at João.
"HEY!" Kitty cried in protest. "I'm Shadowcat! No more shadows allowed, Kurt!" She pouted.
"Listen." Xavier cleared his throat and everyone turned their heads to him. João was impressed by how much respect the professor had from everyone in the Institute. "It ultimately doesn't matter what someone's mutant name or code name is." He stated.
"I've never bothered to get one myself." Jean pointed out as she finished her multivitamin juice.
"Really?" João raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yeah." Scott smiled. "Jean's name is actually Jean Grey".
"And besides, João's powers still have a lot to evolve. His shadows could become metallic in the future, perhaps." Xavier explained. "And he can always incorporate metal music aesthetics into his outfit. Therefore, Metalhead won't be a misleading name for him."
"I can do that?!" João tried to hide the excitement in his voice.
"Of course you can. We all have our own style here." Rogue smirked.
"Makes sense, I guess." João smiled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he looked at Rogue's goth-like appearance.
"Here we value both team work and also individualism." Hank raised his index finger. "Feel free to express yourself, João… in a polite and ethical manner, obviously." He smirked.
"Always with the teacher-like speeches." Evan sighed.
"It was my profession." Hank shrugged and smiled.
"YEAAAH!" Pyro threw his arms up in the air in celebration as he watched Liverpool FC score a goal against Fulham in a Premier League match, the top tier competition of English football, on a computer screen.
"Must he always be so loud?" Colossus groaned.
"Let him be, mon ami." Gambit chuckled. "The beauty of life…"
"Shut up!" Sabretooth snarled.
"You have work to do, Acolytes." Everyone's heads turned to the entrance. Magneto had arrived.
"Oh fuck!" Pyro's eyes widened as he turned off the football stream.
"What does he want this time?" Colossus muttered.
Magneto picked up a remote control and turned on the big screen, showing an image of what seemed to be a large factory.
"What's that?" Sabretooth groaned.
"A steel factory in Pennsylvania." Magneto replied.
"We're gonna raid it?" Gambit smirked as he held a 3 of diamond card in his right hand.
"Precisely." Magneto nodded. "We need as many resources as possible in order to achieve mutant world domination." He closed his fist.
"Hold on a sec, mate!" Pyro waved his hands. "You have magnetic powers. What the fuck you need our help for?" He raised his eyebrow.
"We need vehicles to put all that stolen steel in. And who do you think is going to drive them?" Magneto explained with a cold voice. Pyro always annoyed him a bit.
"I'm not a fucking designated driver!" Sabretooth cried.
"Then you will just be on watch duty." Magneto ordered.
"Anyone else will be joining us?" Colossus asked.
"The Brotherhood will be coming as well." Magneto nodded.
"Those losers?" Gambit laughed.
"Yeah, they're gonna jinx the whole operation!" Pyro cried.
"Don't question my judgement!" Magneto shot Pyro a cold, yet threatening glare.
"Alright, alright, mate!" Pyro winced and backed off with a nervous laugh.
"Plus, a big operation like this will draw a lot of attention. The X-Men will come to stop us." Magneto pointed out.
"Are they still trying to go under the radar?" Gambit asked, amused.
"Yes, but they won't be able to do that for much longer. The world will know about mutants and submit to us!" Magneto said loudly, with an announcer's voice.
"As long as I get to kick Wolverine's ass!" Sabertooth grinned.
"Aye, stealing steel it is, mates!" Pyro cried in excitement.
"Humph." Colossus snorted.
"You failed, Mystique. And you too, Pietro…" Magneto's eyes narrowed in disappointment.
"He caught me off-guard, father! And then Nightcrawler used his power to get him away from us!" Pietro attempted to justify his failure.
"Silence!" Magneto put his open hand in front of Pietro. "I don't want to hear any more excuses!"
"Regardless." Mystique sighed before carrying on. "That boy clearly didn't seem interested in joining us. The X-Men smarted him up already." She folded her arms.
"Yes, that's clearly troublesome." Magneto nodded with a serious look on his face. "The X-Men might very well have gotten a big addition to their squad."
"So, what do we do now, father?" Pietro shrugged.
"It sounds like it would be a waste of time and energy to try and convince João to join us." Magneto rubbed his chin pensively. "Therefore, we're aborting this plan."
"Just like that?" Mystique raised her eyebrow.
"The X-Men got to him first. It can't be helped." Magneto pointed out.
"Therefore…?" Pietro rubbed his temple, waiting for his father to elaborate.
"We'll just carry on with our main goal, naturally." Magneto looked at his son dryly, as if he was missing something.
Downstairs, Lance, Fred, Toad and Wanda were all having lunch in the kitchen."
"What's Magneto holding Mystique and Pietro for?" Toad slung his long tongue and ate a fly that was passing by.
"Who cares!" Fred cried angrily.
"I'm sure father is giving them useful information." Wanda frowned.
"I still can't get used to the fact you no longer hate your pops." Toad chuckled.
"Hate him?" Wanda frowned. She was surprised by his statement. Obviously, she did not remember any of that.
"Don't remind her, you idiot!" Fred grabbed Toad by his collar.
"Alright! Alright!" Toad shook his head and begged Fred to let go of him.
"You guys are so weird…" Wanda groaned. She then glanced at Lance, who was quiet and barely eating his lunch. "What's with you?" She raised her eyebrow.
"Nothing." Lance dismissed her question with an unenergetic one word response.
"He's still sad about Kitty dumping him." Toad whispered to Wanda.
Lance kept staring into a void, clearly thinking about Kitty still. His feelings for her hadn't fully gone away still.
Mystique and Pietro entered the kitchen. It looked like their meeting with Magneto was finally over.
"Gentlemen… and lady." Mystique smirked as she glanced at the boys and Wanda. "...a mission lies ahead of you.
João woke up feeling very sore that morning. Logan pushed him to his limits in the weight room. João had never worked out before. His arm and leg muscles were all reminding him of yesterday's workout.
"Man…" João yawned as his body ached in soreness. "This is such an uncomfortable sensation. I feel like a truck hit me." He then let out a big sigh. He was not a strong or athletic individual. He weighed about 62 kilograms, despite his 174cm height. He didn't even have proper biceps and it was difficult for him to do bicep curls with 5kg dumbbells yesterday.
He entered the kitchen to eat breakfast. Kurt noticed he was moving a little funny.
"Are you feeling OK, João?" Kurt asked, a little worried.
"Yeah…" João dismissed his question and tried to reach for some bread. "Ugh". He let out a soft moan as he extended his sore arm.
"What's with you?" Scott, sitting to João's left, raised his eyebrow.
"N-nothing." João grabbed his bread and spread some peanut butter on it.
"Oh, I took the kid to the weight room yesterday." Logan smirked, across the big kitchen table.
"Ouch." Jean winced a little, feeling a tinge of sympathy for João. Logan was not known for holding back on rookies.
"I know that feeling quite well." Kurt shuddered. João was not alone, it seemed.
"Ah, sore muscles." Scott smiled. "Don't worry about that, you'll get used to it the more you exercise." He placed a hand on João's stiff shoulder.
"I think that's gonna take a while…" Rogue leaned in and whispered to Kitty. "...he's kinda skinny." She pointed out.
"Totally, yeah." Kitty sweatdropped.
"João did impress Logan with his shadow powers in training yesterday, however." Xavier, sitting at the head of the table, smiled.
"Oh?" Hank, who had been quiet, perked up.
"Heh." Logan smirked. "Kid managed to grab my claws with his shadow powers and neutralise me." He then groaned.
"Wow, that's major!" Evan was genuinely impressed that João could hold his own against Logan in a fight.
"Mister Logan was going easy on me." João muttered as he ate his peanut butter sandwich.
"Not as much as you think, kid." Logan begrudgingly admitted.
"Looks like you impressed Mr. Logan!" Kitty smirked at João. João shifted his gaze away from her eyes.
"João. why don't you announce your mutant name to your team mates?" Xavier suggested.
João took a sip of his water and noticed the entire table was looking at him curiously.
"Hum…" João rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "From now on, as a mutant, I'm going by… Metalhead." He announced with some conviction and even pointed his hands at his metal band hoodie. Today, he went with the German power metal band Blind Guardian.
"Metalhead?" Rogue looked at him dryly. "Your powers have nothing to do with metal!" She pointed out.
"Well…" João was a bit embarrassed by Rogue calling him out on it like that.
"I mean, metal is dark and broody often." Scott rubbed his chin.
"And who cares if his powers aren't metal?" Logan snorted. "I have metal claws and my name is Wolverine!" He smirked as he popped out his metal claws.
"Still…" Rogue rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
"Why not go for shadow-something, instead?" Kurt offered a suggestion as he looked at João.
"HEY!" Kitty cried in protest. "I'm Shadowcat! No more shadows allowed, Kurt!" She pouted.
"Listen." Xavier cleared his throat and everyone turned their heads to him. João was impressed by how much respect the professor had from everyone in the Institute. "It ultimately doesn't matter what someone's mutant name or code name is." He stated.
"I've never bothered to get one myself." Jean pointed out as she finished her multivitamin juice.
"Really?" João raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yeah." Scott smiled. "Jean's name is actually Jean Grey".
"And besides, João's powers still have a lot to evolve. His shadows could become metallic in the future, perhaps." Xavier explained. "And he can always incorporate metal music aesthetics into his outfit. Therefore, Metalhead won't be a misleading name for him."
"I can do that?!" João tried to hide the excitement in his voice.
"Of course you can. We all have our own style here." Rogue smirked.
"Makes sense, I guess." João smiled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he looked at Rogue's goth-like appearance.
"Here we value both team work and also individualism." Hank raised his index finger. "Feel free to express yourself, João… in a polite and ethical manner, obviously." He smirked.
"Always with the teacher-like speeches." Evan sighed.
"It was my profession." Hank shrugged and smiled.
"YEAAAH!" Pyro threw his arms up in the air in celebration as he watched Liverpool FC score a goal against Fulham in a Premier League match, the top tier competition of English football, on a computer screen.
"Must he always be so loud?" Colossus groaned.
"Let him be, mon ami." Gambit chuckled. "The beauty of life…"
"Shut up!" Sabretooth snarled.
"You have work to do, Acolytes." Everyone's heads turned to the entrance. Magneto had arrived.
"Oh fuck!" Pyro's eyes widened as he turned off the football stream.
"What does he want this time?" Colossus muttered.
Magneto picked up a remote control and turned on the big screen, showing an image of what seemed to be a large factory.
"What's that?" Sabretooth groaned.
"A steel factory in Pennsylvania." Magneto replied.
"We're gonna raid it?" Gambit smirked as he held a 3 of diamond card in his right hand.
"Precisely." Magneto nodded. "We need as many resources as possible in order to achieve mutant world domination." He closed his fist.
"Hold on a sec, mate!" Pyro waved his hands. "You have magnetic powers. What the fuck you need our help for?" He raised his eyebrow.
"We need vehicles to put all that stolen steel in. And who do you think is going to drive them?" Magneto explained with a cold voice. Pyro always annoyed him a bit.
"I'm not a fucking designated driver!" Sabretooth cried.
"Then you will just be on watch duty." Magneto ordered.
"Anyone else will be joining us?" Colossus asked.
"The Brotherhood will be coming as well." Magneto nodded.
"Those losers?" Gambit laughed.
"Yeah, they're gonna jinx the whole operation!" Pyro cried.
"Don't question my judgement!" Magneto shot Pyro a cold, yet threatening glare.
"Alright, alright, mate!" Pyro winced and backed off with a nervous laugh.
"Plus, a big operation like this will draw a lot of attention. The X-Men will come to stop us." Magneto pointed out.
"Are they still trying to go under the radar?" Gambit asked, amused.
"Yes, but they won't be able to do that for much longer. The world will know about mutants and submit to us!" Magneto said loudly, with an announcer's voice.
"As long as I get to kick Wolverine's ass!" Sabertooth grinned.
"Aye, stealing steel it is, mates!" Pyro cried in excitement.
"Humph." Colossus snorted.
Training and Video Games
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Making the rounds.
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2026
- Messages
- 46
- Likes received
- 82
"How come you won't show me your eyes?" Taryn asked in a playful and also somewhat sad tone as she looked up at Scott.
"W-well, because I have a rare eye condition that makes them extra sensitive." Scott rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"At least tell me what colour they are!" Taryn pleaded.
"They're brown." Scott said.
"Oh nice!" Taryn's smile grew wide. "What kind of brown eyes? Dark brown, honey brown?" She inquired.
"I'll have to keep that a surprise for a while longer, Taryn." Scott chuckled, hoping she'd drop the subject for now.
"Not fair!" Taryn cried and pouted.
Scott and Taryn then shared a kiss on the lips.
A bit farther deep into the schoolyard, Rogue and Kitty were sitting down at a table. Rogue clearly had her eyes on Scott and Taryn. Rogue had an unrequited crush on Scott, but he was dating Taryn and also had Jean crushing on him. Sure, Jean was dating someone else too, but Rogue could tell that both Scott and Jean had a chemistry with each other that they did not with their respective partners.
"Snap outta it, girl." Kitty sucked on the straw that connected to her peach juice carton.
"Huh?" Rogue blinked twice.
"Checking out Scott again, huh?" Kitty smirked.
"N-no!" Rogue blushed slightly.
"Totally not…" Kitty giggled.
"Shut up!" Rogue slammed her hands on the wooden table.
"Ok!" Kitty held up her hands in mock surrender.
"What's wrong if I kinda… like Scott?" Rogue shifted her gaze away from Kitty's eyes. "You liked a guy too recently."
"Lance? He and I are through." Kitty frowned and shook her head.
"For real?" Rogue raised her eyebrow. "It ain't the first time I've heard you say that, you know."
"I'm real this time!" Kitty slapped her own chest.
Rogue just rolled her eyes, more in amusement than in annoyance.
João left chemistry class. He turned around the corner and bumped into another student by accident.
"Sorry." João said.
The student he bumped into, who was taller than him, looked at him inquisitively.
"Are you new to this school?" He asked him, point blank.
"Yes…" João answered with a slight hesitation.
"What's your name?" The taller young man asked.
"João."
A moment of awkward silence ensued. Lance did the maths and realised this was the new X-Man mutant Mystique and Pietro had talked about. Clearly, that João guy had no idea who Lance was yet.
"The name's Lance." Lance pointed at himself with his thumb. "Word of advice…" He furrowed his eyebrows.
"Hum?" João blinked rapidly.
"Watch who you bump into. There's people in this school who'd not have forgiven you for that." Lance warned him. "See ya." He placed a hand on his shoulder and walked away.
"That was odd." João raised his eyebrows as he saw Lance disappear into the crowded hallway.
Lance tucked his hands in his pockets. His phone vibrated as he got a message from Toad, telling him they'd be raiding the steel factory in a few days.
"Alright!" Kurt jumped happily in the air with his phone in his hand.
"Kurt? Why are you so happy?" Kurt looked behind him. Kitty was there and she seemed amused by Kurt's celebration.
"Oh, hi Kitty!" Kurt smiled happily. "I caught a Snorlax!" He showed his phone to her.
"So this is what's about?" Kitty looked at him dryly. "Playing Pokémon Go?"
"Why, ja!" Kurt exclaimed.
"Kurt, it's 2026." Kitty folded her arms. "That game's novelty wore off when we were in 1st grade already."
"So?" Kurt asked.
"Why not just play Scarlet and Violet or something?" Kitty folded her arms.
"Nein! That game is full of glitches!" Kurt shook his head vigorously.
"Not if you play it on the Switch 2." Kitty smiled.
"Look, there's João!" Kurt pointed at João standing alone at the opposite end of the schoolyard.
"Why is he all alone? Let's talk to him." Kitty suggested and Kurt nodded. Both ran up to João.
"Yo!" João snapped out of his thoughts as Kurt greeted him.
"Woah, Kurt! Don't sneak up on me like that, man!" João cried.
Kitty just giggled. That's when João noted her presence and his anxiety increased by a bit.
"What are you doing all alone here?" Kurt asked.
"Oh, just… thinking." João grinned nervously.
"Being alone is boring, no?" Kitty smiled at him.
"N-not necessarily." João stuttered slightly. Again, Kitty's blue eyes seemed to have that effect on him.
"Look, I caught a Snorlax!" Kurt flashed his phone at João.
"Oh, Pokémon Go." João raised his eyebrows.
"You play it also?" Kurt asked, excitingly.
"Nah." João shook his head. "Interesting idea, but I prefer playing an actual Pokémon game."
"See? Our new friend gets it!" Kitty smirked at Kurt. João felt a little funny upon hearing Kitty agreeing with him. Why?
"Oh man." Kurt sighed in defeat. "Do you have a Switch, João?"
"Yeah, sure." João nodded.
"What do you play on it?" Kurt followed up with another question.
"So many games…" João chuckled.
"Ah, a gaming geek." Kitty teased. João felt his pride slightly wounded. Normally that was due to him being insecure and a little sensitive to teasing because of his past, but this seemed different and João was a little scared of it.
"Name some of your favourite games." Kurt smiled.
"Oh…" João regained his composure. "Smash Bros, Animal Crossing, BOTW, The Witcher III, Hyrule Warriors games, TOTK, Super Mario Maker 2, FFX HD remaster, Sonic Mania, Civ VI…" He began listing a bunch of different games from his sizable collection.
"Animal Crossing?!" Kitty's eyes lightened up and she clasped her hands together. "That game is so cute and fun!"
"Hum." João blushed slightly. He tried to rub the back of his head, but the soreness of his arm prevented him from doing so. He tried not to show the pain of it in front of Kurt and, especially, Kitty.
After school, it was training time.
"Stop this!" Storm yelled as she used her powers to create a big thunderstorm and make it rain in the danger room.
"Shit!" Iceman groaned as his icy arms started to get pretty yet from the falling rain.
"No!" Magma's super hot hands began cooling down as the water droplets felt on them.
"I got this!" Scott touched his glasses and fired a force beam at Storm.
"Ah!" Storm dodged the force beam just barely.
"Gotcha!" Shadowcat phased through the wall and grabbed Storm by her waist from behind.
"Think again!" Storm groaned and intensified the thunderstorms and rain, which took Shadowcat off balance and made her lose her grip around Storm's waist and fall.
"AAAAH!" Shadowcat cried as she free falled.
"Metalhead, rescue her!" Wolverine pointed at João and barked an order.
"H-how?!" João cried. But then, shadow forms came out of his hands. They merged together and formed what seemed to be a net. Shadowcat landed right in it and thus did not get hurt.
"Phew! Thanks!" Kitty got up and looked at João with a warm smile. "That was totally heroic!" She praised him.
"H-how did I even?!" João stuttered and blushed, feeling a mix of confusion and embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, auntie O, but take this!" Spyke fired spikes at Storm.
"Think again!" Storm summoned some lightning which struck Spyke's spikes, pulverising them.
"Woah!" Jean's mouth opened in awe at Storm's might.
The training session was over. None of the younger X-Men managed to take down Storm. The grown ups were discussing their performances.
"Evan." Storm looked at her nephew. "Some enemies are able to intercept and even destroy your spikes. Remember that."
"Yes, auntie O." Evan sighed in defeat.
"João." Storm looked at the young Portuguese man.
"Yes?" He gulped.
"Good job on catching Kitty." She smiled. "She'd have gotten hurt if she had fallen on the ground."
"The way you used your shadow powers to form a net to catch Kitty was good thinking." Xavier clasped his hands.
"I still don't understand how I manage to pull off such things with my powers." João sighed.
"It happens to all of us when we first get them." Logan folded his arms. "You'll get used to it."
"Remember, it's a marathon. Not a sprint." Mr. McCoy placed a hand on João's shoulder.
After the performance evaluation, it was time to relax. A few of the teenage X-Men gathered in the common room and decided to play some Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch. João, Amara, Kitty and Bobby all grabbed their controllers and played. João chose Link, Amara chose Wario, Bobby picked Luigi and Kitty picked Daisy. The track they played on? Waluigi Pinball.
"I'm gonna win!" João smirked as he neared the finishing line, but then a blue shell hit him.
"SHIT!" He yelled in frustration.
"HAH!" Kitty smirked and crossed the finishing line, winning the race. "Oh yeah! I'm the best!" She celebrated, mimicking Daisy's voice lines in the game.
"The most annoying girl in the Institute mains the most annoying character in the game. How fitting." Bobby snorted.
"Annoying?!" Kitty frowned. "You're just bitter you finished 4th!"
Bobby flinched and had no comeback to that.
"These two at times…" Amara sighed.
João did not intervene. He was a little embarrassed to have lost near the finishing line and his pride prevented him from getting openly worked up about it. Nonetheless, it was fun to play games with other kids around his age face-to-face for once instead of online as usual.
"W-well, because I have a rare eye condition that makes them extra sensitive." Scott rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"At least tell me what colour they are!" Taryn pleaded.
"They're brown." Scott said.
"Oh nice!" Taryn's smile grew wide. "What kind of brown eyes? Dark brown, honey brown?" She inquired.
"I'll have to keep that a surprise for a while longer, Taryn." Scott chuckled, hoping she'd drop the subject for now.
"Not fair!" Taryn cried and pouted.
Scott and Taryn then shared a kiss on the lips.
A bit farther deep into the schoolyard, Rogue and Kitty were sitting down at a table. Rogue clearly had her eyes on Scott and Taryn. Rogue had an unrequited crush on Scott, but he was dating Taryn and also had Jean crushing on him. Sure, Jean was dating someone else too, but Rogue could tell that both Scott and Jean had a chemistry with each other that they did not with their respective partners.
"Snap outta it, girl." Kitty sucked on the straw that connected to her peach juice carton.
"Huh?" Rogue blinked twice.
"Checking out Scott again, huh?" Kitty smirked.
"N-no!" Rogue blushed slightly.
"Totally not…" Kitty giggled.
"Shut up!" Rogue slammed her hands on the wooden table.
"Ok!" Kitty held up her hands in mock surrender.
"What's wrong if I kinda… like Scott?" Rogue shifted her gaze away from Kitty's eyes. "You liked a guy too recently."
"Lance? He and I are through." Kitty frowned and shook her head.
"For real?" Rogue raised her eyebrow. "It ain't the first time I've heard you say that, you know."
"I'm real this time!" Kitty slapped her own chest.
Rogue just rolled her eyes, more in amusement than in annoyance.
João left chemistry class. He turned around the corner and bumped into another student by accident.
"Sorry." João said.
The student he bumped into, who was taller than him, looked at him inquisitively.
"Are you new to this school?" He asked him, point blank.
"Yes…" João answered with a slight hesitation.
"What's your name?" The taller young man asked.
"João."
A moment of awkward silence ensued. Lance did the maths and realised this was the new X-Man mutant Mystique and Pietro had talked about. Clearly, that João guy had no idea who Lance was yet.
"The name's Lance." Lance pointed at himself with his thumb. "Word of advice…" He furrowed his eyebrows.
"Hum?" João blinked rapidly.
"Watch who you bump into. There's people in this school who'd not have forgiven you for that." Lance warned him. "See ya." He placed a hand on his shoulder and walked away.
"That was odd." João raised his eyebrows as he saw Lance disappear into the crowded hallway.
Lance tucked his hands in his pockets. His phone vibrated as he got a message from Toad, telling him they'd be raiding the steel factory in a few days.
"Alright!" Kurt jumped happily in the air with his phone in his hand.
"Kurt? Why are you so happy?" Kurt looked behind him. Kitty was there and she seemed amused by Kurt's celebration.
"Oh, hi Kitty!" Kurt smiled happily. "I caught a Snorlax!" He showed his phone to her.
"So this is what's about?" Kitty looked at him dryly. "Playing Pokémon Go?"
"Why, ja!" Kurt exclaimed.
"Kurt, it's 2026." Kitty folded her arms. "That game's novelty wore off when we were in 1st grade already."
"So?" Kurt asked.
"Why not just play Scarlet and Violet or something?" Kitty folded her arms.
"Nein! That game is full of glitches!" Kurt shook his head vigorously.
"Not if you play it on the Switch 2." Kitty smiled.
"Look, there's João!" Kurt pointed at João standing alone at the opposite end of the schoolyard.
"Why is he all alone? Let's talk to him." Kitty suggested and Kurt nodded. Both ran up to João.
"Yo!" João snapped out of his thoughts as Kurt greeted him.
"Woah, Kurt! Don't sneak up on me like that, man!" João cried.
Kitty just giggled. That's when João noted her presence and his anxiety increased by a bit.
"What are you doing all alone here?" Kurt asked.
"Oh, just… thinking." João grinned nervously.
"Being alone is boring, no?" Kitty smiled at him.
"N-not necessarily." João stuttered slightly. Again, Kitty's blue eyes seemed to have that effect on him.
"Look, I caught a Snorlax!" Kurt flashed his phone at João.
"Oh, Pokémon Go." João raised his eyebrows.
"You play it also?" Kurt asked, excitingly.
"Nah." João shook his head. "Interesting idea, but I prefer playing an actual Pokémon game."
"See? Our new friend gets it!" Kitty smirked at Kurt. João felt a little funny upon hearing Kitty agreeing with him. Why?
"Oh man." Kurt sighed in defeat. "Do you have a Switch, João?"
"Yeah, sure." João nodded.
"What do you play on it?" Kurt followed up with another question.
"So many games…" João chuckled.
"Ah, a gaming geek." Kitty teased. João felt his pride slightly wounded. Normally that was due to him being insecure and a little sensitive to teasing because of his past, but this seemed different and João was a little scared of it.
"Name some of your favourite games." Kurt smiled.
"Oh…" João regained his composure. "Smash Bros, Animal Crossing, BOTW, The Witcher III, Hyrule Warriors games, TOTK, Super Mario Maker 2, FFX HD remaster, Sonic Mania, Civ VI…" He began listing a bunch of different games from his sizable collection.
"Animal Crossing?!" Kitty's eyes lightened up and she clasped her hands together. "That game is so cute and fun!"
"Hum." João blushed slightly. He tried to rub the back of his head, but the soreness of his arm prevented him from doing so. He tried not to show the pain of it in front of Kurt and, especially, Kitty.
After school, it was training time.
"Stop this!" Storm yelled as she used her powers to create a big thunderstorm and make it rain in the danger room.
"Shit!" Iceman groaned as his icy arms started to get pretty yet from the falling rain.
"No!" Magma's super hot hands began cooling down as the water droplets felt on them.
"I got this!" Scott touched his glasses and fired a force beam at Storm.
"Ah!" Storm dodged the force beam just barely.
"Gotcha!" Shadowcat phased through the wall and grabbed Storm by her waist from behind.
"Think again!" Storm groaned and intensified the thunderstorms and rain, which took Shadowcat off balance and made her lose her grip around Storm's waist and fall.
"AAAAH!" Shadowcat cried as she free falled.
"Metalhead, rescue her!" Wolverine pointed at João and barked an order.
"H-how?!" João cried. But then, shadow forms came out of his hands. They merged together and formed what seemed to be a net. Shadowcat landed right in it and thus did not get hurt.
"Phew! Thanks!" Kitty got up and looked at João with a warm smile. "That was totally heroic!" She praised him.
"H-how did I even?!" João stuttered and blushed, feeling a mix of confusion and embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, auntie O, but take this!" Spyke fired spikes at Storm.
"Think again!" Storm summoned some lightning which struck Spyke's spikes, pulverising them.
"Woah!" Jean's mouth opened in awe at Storm's might.
The training session was over. None of the younger X-Men managed to take down Storm. The grown ups were discussing their performances.
"Evan." Storm looked at her nephew. "Some enemies are able to intercept and even destroy your spikes. Remember that."
"Yes, auntie O." Evan sighed in defeat.
"João." Storm looked at the young Portuguese man.
"Yes?" He gulped.
"Good job on catching Kitty." She smiled. "She'd have gotten hurt if she had fallen on the ground."
"The way you used your shadow powers to form a net to catch Kitty was good thinking." Xavier clasped his hands.
"I still don't understand how I manage to pull off such things with my powers." João sighed.
"It happens to all of us when we first get them." Logan folded his arms. "You'll get used to it."
"Remember, it's a marathon. Not a sprint." Mr. McCoy placed a hand on João's shoulder.
After the performance evaluation, it was time to relax. A few of the teenage X-Men gathered in the common room and decided to play some Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch. João, Amara, Kitty and Bobby all grabbed their controllers and played. João chose Link, Amara chose Wario, Bobby picked Luigi and Kitty picked Daisy. The track they played on? Waluigi Pinball.
"I'm gonna win!" João smirked as he neared the finishing line, but then a blue shell hit him.
"SHIT!" He yelled in frustration.
"HAH!" Kitty smirked and crossed the finishing line, winning the race. "Oh yeah! I'm the best!" She celebrated, mimicking Daisy's voice lines in the game.
"The most annoying girl in the Institute mains the most annoying character in the game. How fitting." Bobby snorted.
"Annoying?!" Kitty frowned. "You're just bitter you finished 4th!"
Bobby flinched and had no comeback to that.
"These two at times…" Amara sighed.
João did not intervene. He was a little embarrassed to have lost near the finishing line and his pride prevented him from getting openly worked up about it. Nonetheless, it was fun to play games with other kids around his age face-to-face for once instead of online as usual.
Holiday Season is Here
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Making the rounds.
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2026
- Messages
- 46
- Likes received
- 82
The 1st day of December was here. It was officially the beginning of the Christmas season. The spirits were high at the Institute. Everyone was helping out with the decorations in the common room. João was feeling a mixture of overwhelmingness and excitement. He had never celebrated Christmas with a bunch of different people he was not related to. Plus, it was his first ever time celebrating Christmas in a foreign country. American Christmas was a little different from Portuguese Christmas in a few things.
The Institute was kind enough to let everyone go celebrate Christmas with their relatives soon enough. João was so excited to see his mother again. He kept in touch with her through the internet, of course. But he had never spent so much time away from her before. He felt lonely, despite being surrounded by people who seemed to like him fine. But family was family and João did not let others in that easily. His mother was everything to him.
Kurt was hanging Christmas stockings while Scott, Jean and João were decorating the big Christmas tree. Evan, Mr. McCoy and Logan were hanging some snowmen and Santa Claus decorations on the walls. Logan, of course, kept his gruff attitude and wasn't so much into the holiday spirit as the others. Kitty did the honours of eating the first piece of chocolate of the advent calendar.
"Hey!" Amara cried. "I wanted the first piece of chocolate of the advent calendar." She pouted.
"Tough luck!" Kitty teased.
"Remember, everyday a different person eats the advent chocolate. It's not winner takes all." Rogue furrowed her eyebrows.
"Which is why I ate the very first one!" Kitty smirked.
"I'm glad everyone seems happy." Xavier rolled into the common room on his wheelchair. "The holiday season is a reminder of how much we must cherish our lives and loved ones." He smiled.
"Hey, don't go sappy on us, professor!" Evan laughed.
After being done with decorating the common room, João noticed Kitty stayed behind looking at her phone. He gulped and decided to walk over to her and strike a conversation.
"Hum… Kitty?" He cleared his throat.
"Oh, João." Kitty turned around and blinked.
"Looking forward to Christmas as well?" João smiled and rubbed the back of his head. He figured it was not a very interesting subject for a conversation, but he had no idea what else to say. He was not very good with people, let alone with girls.
"Yeah…" Kitty smiled. "Although, my family actually doesn't celebrate it." She added.
"Huh?" João blinked rapidly in surprise. That was an answer he definitely did not expect. "You don't?"
"Well, yeah." Kitty chuckled. "We're Jewish, after all." She smirked.
"Wait, you're Jewish?!" João's eyes widened in surprise at that revelation.
"Duh!" She snorted in amusement. "You didn't know?"
"No…" João replied shyly.
"Why do you think I wear a Magen David necklace?" Kitty pointed at her Star of David necklace.
"I just assumed it was a fashion statement like a lot of non-religious people wear a cross around their neck…" João explained himself.
"Oh it is a fashion statement. One that states 'I am a proud Jewish girl'!" Kitty smirked.
"Anyway…" João rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and shifted his gaze away from Kitty's eyes again. It was always a little difficult for him to look people in the eyes for a prolonged time. When it came to guys, he'd get intimidated at times if they were more confident and imposing than him. When it came to certain girls, he'd get intimidated by them for a different reason… "I've never actually met a Jewish person before." He blurted out.
Kitty raised her eyebrows and looked at him for a while in silence, trying to process that information.
"Wait, seriously?" Kitty asked with a surprised, albeit non-judgemental tone in her voice.
"I mean…" João lowered his voice a bit, hoping she'd not take it the wrong way. "...there are barely any Jewish people in Portugal." He explained.
"Oh." Kitty smiled softly. "Is that so?" Her curiosity perked up a little bit.
"Probably less than 1000 in the whole country… which has over 10 million people." He added.
"Less than 1000 Jewish people in a 10M people country?!* Kitty's mouth opened wide in surprise. "That's what, 0.1%?"
"Around that, yeah…" João chuckled nervously. "Nearly everyone in Portugal is either Catholic, Agnostic or Atheist. Then we have a few Orthodox Christians due to immigration from Ukraine, Moldova and Romania and a few Protestants/Evangelicals due to Brazilian and African immigration. Religions like Judaism, Islam, Hinduism? Each has less than 1% of adherents in the entire country." He spoke with a somewhat serious and teacher-like tone. He always had that habit of sharing his knowledge with people who were not educated on subjects he knew more than them about.
Kitty looked at him, somewhat impressed by his knowledge and eloquence.
"You know, this is the first time I've heard you speak more than a sentence or two in a conversation." She smiled.
"Huh?!" João blinked rapidly.
"You should talk more often." She suggested.
"I… just don't have much to say most of the time!" He blurted out, embarrassed.
"Well, I'd totally like to hear your thoughts more often." She giggled.
"Fine." João smiled weakly. His cheeks flushed slightly as he looked into Kitty's blue eyes.
"Anyway, João, it is an honour to be your first ever Jewish friend." She smirked.
João just nodded. He had nothing else to add.
"Bobby Drake is Jewish too, by the way." Kitty pointed out.
"Oh?" João was also surprised by that information, but not nearly as much.
"Yep!" Kitty nodded. "Instead of Christmas, we celebrate Hanukkah." She explained. "Anyway, gotta go now, see ya!" She waved and João was left alone in the common room.
João felt rather pensive after that conversation with Kitty. He never had such a long conversation with her before and was now feeling slightly closer to her, for some reason. Somehow, there was a sense of comfort brewing inside him in learning about a part of Kitty's background that he was completely unaware about. João didn't know if such a feeling was normal or just another odd behaviour from him. He was used to others viewing him as a strange and awkward boy, after all. But Kitty did not mock him or made him feel weird for the things he said.
Guards were standing outside a large steel factory in Pennsylvania. It was night time and the factory was closed. The work day was over, after all.
Suddenly, one of the guards had his communicator swiped off his pants.
"What the?!" The guard's eyes nearly popped out of shock.
"Lookin' for this?" The guard looked up and saw a young man crawling on the floor, holding his communicator with his tongue.
"Who are you?! Why is your tongue green?!" The guard pointed the flashlight at him, shocked.
"The name is Toad." Toad smirked.
"And I'm the Blob!" Fred walked up from behind the guard and picked him up as if he was nothing. Fred was the strongest teenager in the world, after all.
"The key should be here." Lance walked up to the guard, who was being held up in the air by Fred, and slid his hand into his left pocket. "Bingo." He smiled as he held the door keys in his hand.
On the opposite side of the outside of the factory building, Two guards, unsuspecting of anything yet, were standing and yawning. They hated that job. No one liked to work the night shift. And working as a security guard didn't pay that well. A strange paper-like object flew in front of the eyes of one of the guards. He instinctively grabbed it with his right hand. It was a card. The 10 of Clubs, specifically.
"What's a loose card doing here?" The guard raised his eyebrow, still feeling a little sleepy.
"I know our work is dull, but you're taking interest in a loose card brought here by the wind?" The other guard looked at him dryly.
Suddenly, the card became engulfed in flames.
"What the…" The two guards' eyes widened in unison.
BOOM! The card exploded and both guards fell on the floor. The one who was holding the card had his hands fully covered in blood.
"AAAAH!" He yelled in pain.
"Désolé." (I'm sorry). Gambit walked up to the guards with a cocky smirk on his face.
"I'll be taking this, mate!" Pyro chuckled, kneeled down and took the backdoor keys off one of the guard's pockets.
Colossus took both of the guards' communicators and crushed them with his metal hands.
"The fuck are you guys?!" The guard who was in less pain cried.
"We're mutants." Magneto, coming from above, landed on his feet. "And we're raiding this factory and taking over the world." He announced in a threatening yet calm voice.
João was in his bedroom watching Curb Your Enthusiasm on his laptop. It was his favourite American comedy alongside Seinfeld. Both created by the very same man, Larry David. João loved them both for different reasons. Seinfeld was more of a show that he'd watch with his mother. Curb? No way.
"Hahaha, I love Larry!" João laughed on his bed as he watched The Freak Book episode.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in?" João said, a bit surprised.
The door opened. It was Scott? Which only made João more perplexed.
"João, duty calls." Scott said with a serious look on his face.
"What happened?" João blinked rapidly.
"A factory has been raided in Pennsylvania by Magneto and his goons. We must stop them." Scott furrowed his eyebrows. "To the X-Jet, now!"
João gulped. His first mission was here. He got off his bed and turned off his laptop. He was nervous about the whole ordeal, naturally.
The Institute was kind enough to let everyone go celebrate Christmas with their relatives soon enough. João was so excited to see his mother again. He kept in touch with her through the internet, of course. But he had never spent so much time away from her before. He felt lonely, despite being surrounded by people who seemed to like him fine. But family was family and João did not let others in that easily. His mother was everything to him.
Kurt was hanging Christmas stockings while Scott, Jean and João were decorating the big Christmas tree. Evan, Mr. McCoy and Logan were hanging some snowmen and Santa Claus decorations on the walls. Logan, of course, kept his gruff attitude and wasn't so much into the holiday spirit as the others. Kitty did the honours of eating the first piece of chocolate of the advent calendar.
"Hey!" Amara cried. "I wanted the first piece of chocolate of the advent calendar." She pouted.
"Tough luck!" Kitty teased.
"Remember, everyday a different person eats the advent chocolate. It's not winner takes all." Rogue furrowed her eyebrows.
"Which is why I ate the very first one!" Kitty smirked.
"I'm glad everyone seems happy." Xavier rolled into the common room on his wheelchair. "The holiday season is a reminder of how much we must cherish our lives and loved ones." He smiled.
"Hey, don't go sappy on us, professor!" Evan laughed.
After being done with decorating the common room, João noticed Kitty stayed behind looking at her phone. He gulped and decided to walk over to her and strike a conversation.
"Hum… Kitty?" He cleared his throat.
"Oh, João." Kitty turned around and blinked.
"Looking forward to Christmas as well?" João smiled and rubbed the back of his head. He figured it was not a very interesting subject for a conversation, but he had no idea what else to say. He was not very good with people, let alone with girls.
"Yeah…" Kitty smiled. "Although, my family actually doesn't celebrate it." She added.
"Huh?" João blinked rapidly in surprise. That was an answer he definitely did not expect. "You don't?"
"Well, yeah." Kitty chuckled. "We're Jewish, after all." She smirked.
"Wait, you're Jewish?!" João's eyes widened in surprise at that revelation.
"Duh!" She snorted in amusement. "You didn't know?"
"No…" João replied shyly.
"Why do you think I wear a Magen David necklace?" Kitty pointed at her Star of David necklace.
"I just assumed it was a fashion statement like a lot of non-religious people wear a cross around their neck…" João explained himself.
"Oh it is a fashion statement. One that states 'I am a proud Jewish girl'!" Kitty smirked.
"Anyway…" João rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and shifted his gaze away from Kitty's eyes again. It was always a little difficult for him to look people in the eyes for a prolonged time. When it came to guys, he'd get intimidated at times if they were more confident and imposing than him. When it came to certain girls, he'd get intimidated by them for a different reason… "I've never actually met a Jewish person before." He blurted out.
Kitty raised her eyebrows and looked at him for a while in silence, trying to process that information.
"Wait, seriously?" Kitty asked with a surprised, albeit non-judgemental tone in her voice.
"I mean…" João lowered his voice a bit, hoping she'd not take it the wrong way. "...there are barely any Jewish people in Portugal." He explained.
"Oh." Kitty smiled softly. "Is that so?" Her curiosity perked up a little bit.
"Probably less than 1000 in the whole country… which has over 10 million people." He added.
"Less than 1000 Jewish people in a 10M people country?!* Kitty's mouth opened wide in surprise. "That's what, 0.1%?"
"Around that, yeah…" João chuckled nervously. "Nearly everyone in Portugal is either Catholic, Agnostic or Atheist. Then we have a few Orthodox Christians due to immigration from Ukraine, Moldova and Romania and a few Protestants/Evangelicals due to Brazilian and African immigration. Religions like Judaism, Islam, Hinduism? Each has less than 1% of adherents in the entire country." He spoke with a somewhat serious and teacher-like tone. He always had that habit of sharing his knowledge with people who were not educated on subjects he knew more than them about.
Kitty looked at him, somewhat impressed by his knowledge and eloquence.
"You know, this is the first time I've heard you speak more than a sentence or two in a conversation." She smiled.
"Huh?!" João blinked rapidly.
"You should talk more often." She suggested.
"I… just don't have much to say most of the time!" He blurted out, embarrassed.
"Well, I'd totally like to hear your thoughts more often." She giggled.
"Fine." João smiled weakly. His cheeks flushed slightly as he looked into Kitty's blue eyes.
"Anyway, João, it is an honour to be your first ever Jewish friend." She smirked.
João just nodded. He had nothing else to add.
"Bobby Drake is Jewish too, by the way." Kitty pointed out.
"Oh?" João was also surprised by that information, but not nearly as much.
"Yep!" Kitty nodded. "Instead of Christmas, we celebrate Hanukkah." She explained. "Anyway, gotta go now, see ya!" She waved and João was left alone in the common room.
João felt rather pensive after that conversation with Kitty. He never had such a long conversation with her before and was now feeling slightly closer to her, for some reason. Somehow, there was a sense of comfort brewing inside him in learning about a part of Kitty's background that he was completely unaware about. João didn't know if such a feeling was normal or just another odd behaviour from him. He was used to others viewing him as a strange and awkward boy, after all. But Kitty did not mock him or made him feel weird for the things he said.
Guards were standing outside a large steel factory in Pennsylvania. It was night time and the factory was closed. The work day was over, after all.
Suddenly, one of the guards had his communicator swiped off his pants.
"What the?!" The guard's eyes nearly popped out of shock.
"Lookin' for this?" The guard looked up and saw a young man crawling on the floor, holding his communicator with his tongue.
"Who are you?! Why is your tongue green?!" The guard pointed the flashlight at him, shocked.
"The name is Toad." Toad smirked.
"And I'm the Blob!" Fred walked up from behind the guard and picked him up as if he was nothing. Fred was the strongest teenager in the world, after all.
"The key should be here." Lance walked up to the guard, who was being held up in the air by Fred, and slid his hand into his left pocket. "Bingo." He smiled as he held the door keys in his hand.
On the opposite side of the outside of the factory building, Two guards, unsuspecting of anything yet, were standing and yawning. They hated that job. No one liked to work the night shift. And working as a security guard didn't pay that well. A strange paper-like object flew in front of the eyes of one of the guards. He instinctively grabbed it with his right hand. It was a card. The 10 of Clubs, specifically.
"What's a loose card doing here?" The guard raised his eyebrow, still feeling a little sleepy.
"I know our work is dull, but you're taking interest in a loose card brought here by the wind?" The other guard looked at him dryly.
Suddenly, the card became engulfed in flames.
"What the…" The two guards' eyes widened in unison.
BOOM! The card exploded and both guards fell on the floor. The one who was holding the card had his hands fully covered in blood.
"AAAAH!" He yelled in pain.
"Désolé." (I'm sorry). Gambit walked up to the guards with a cocky smirk on his face.
"I'll be taking this, mate!" Pyro chuckled, kneeled down and took the backdoor keys off one of the guard's pockets.
Colossus took both of the guards' communicators and crushed them with his metal hands.
"The fuck are you guys?!" The guard who was in less pain cried.
"We're mutants." Magneto, coming from above, landed on his feet. "And we're raiding this factory and taking over the world." He announced in a threatening yet calm voice.
João was in his bedroom watching Curb Your Enthusiasm on his laptop. It was his favourite American comedy alongside Seinfeld. Both created by the very same man, Larry David. João loved them both for different reasons. Seinfeld was more of a show that he'd watch with his mother. Curb? No way.
"Hahaha, I love Larry!" João laughed on his bed as he watched The Freak Book episode.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in?" João said, a bit surprised.
The door opened. It was Scott? Which only made João more perplexed.
"João, duty calls." Scott said with a serious look on his face.
"What happened?" João blinked rapidly.
"A factory has been raided in Pennsylvania by Magneto and his goons. We must stop them." Scott furrowed his eyebrows. "To the X-Jet, now!"
João gulped. His first mission was here. He got off his bed and turned off his laptop. He was nervous about the whole ordeal, naturally.
Steel Factory
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The Blackbird, commonly referred to as the X-Jet by the X-Men, was packed. Not every single X-Man was riding it, but several were. João being one of them. His mutant outfit still wasn't ready, so he was just given a generic long-sleeved plain black outfit. He had to change in the back as the aircraft took off. Who else was riding the X-Jet? Xavier, naturally. Wolverine and Storm as well. The mentors of the group. As for the younger mutants, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rogue, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler and, lastly, Metalhead aka João. The rest stayed behind at the Institute because not only did the X-Jet not have capacity for every single individual, but also because someone needed to stay behind and watch the Institute. Mr. McCoy aka Beast had to stay behind and supervise the rest of the youngsters and conduct training exercises. Bobby Drake aka Iceman really wanted to go and help stop Magneto and his goons, but the Professor's word was final. He was kind of like a sports manager or coach deciding the line-up before a match. Not everyone could play in every single game, as in mission, and he had to make some difficult decisions at times. What confused João was why the Professor had selected him instead of someone else. Why not Bobby, Amara or Evan instead?
Cyclops was the pilot and Wolverine the co-pilot. The Professor and Storm were talking to the rest.
"This is going to be a risky mission. Magneto seems to have brought both the Acolytes and the Brotherhood alongside." Xavier clasped his hands together.
"Then how are we gonna beat them, bein' outnumbered?" Rogue cried.
"I have faith in the X-Men." Xavier replied.
"But, Professor…" Nightcrawler rubbed his fuzzy temple in uncertainty.
"We'll be fine, Kurt." Jean said with a firm but calm tone.
"Professor." All the heads turned to Metalhead.
"Yes, João?" Xavier raised his eyebrows.
"Why was I also selected for this mission?" He asked, with a slight hesitation.
"Because I believe in you." Xavier smiled.
"Are ya sure?" Rogue raised her eyebrow. "The boy still can't fully control his powers. Not tryin' to be mean or anythin'."
"He did save me during training the other day." Shadowcat reminded Rogue.
"Correct." Storm nodded. "João, you must have more confidence in your abilities." She smiled softly.
"I mean…" Metalhead rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"You got this, man!" Nightcrawler gave him a friendly fuzzy slap on his back.
"But how about Bobby or Evan?" Metalhead asked.
"Evan is a little too temperamental and impulsive at times to be trusted in today's mission." Storm frowned. "I love my nephew, but he needs to train harder."
"Bobby has immense potential like you, João. But his attacking patterns are more predictable than yours and the enemy is not very familiar with you yet. Therefore you can be a good trump card tonight." Xavier explained.
"You mean, a secret weapon?" Metalhead blinked rapidly in surprise at his words.
"Something like that, yes." Xavier smiled and nodded.
"Secret weapon totally sounds better than trump card." Shadowcat made a mock barfing sound after saying trump card.
Everyone laughed, except for Metalhead who was still a bit nervous with the mission lying ahead.
"But seriously." Jean Grey ended the brief comedy moment and looked at Metalhead with a smile. "You're part of the team. We have each other's backs!"
"Yeah…" Metalhead smiled weakly and nodded.
Magneto used his impressive magnetic powers to carry the steel beams out of the factory into the large trucks. Meanwhile, some of his goons were standing guard outside.
"Ugh this is so boring!" Scarlet Witch groaned in frustration while standing outside in the chilly night. She felt a couple of shivers and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Want me to warm you up, my darling?" Toad hopped next to her and flirted in a cringy way.
"Fuck off!" Scarlet Witch frowned and shoved her handpalm on his face.
Avalanche was just standing outside looking into a void. Normally one would say he was taking his guard duty seriously, but clearly he still wasn't fully over Kitty. And he had no idea how long it would take for him to finally move on from her.
"Mmmm…" Sabretooth sniffed in the air.
"What's with you?" Quicksilver raised his eyebrow.
"Wolverine!" Sabretooth growled.
"Damn right, bastard!" From the top of the building, Wolverine lunged down with his claws out and jumped on Sabretooth.
"AH!" Sabretooth and Wolverine wrestled each other on the ground as the rest stared at it in shock.
"We got company! Tell father and the rest!" Scarlet Witch ordered.
"I'm on to it!" Quicksilver took out his phone.
Magneto was in the middle of levitating a large steel beam with his powers when his phone suddenly buzzed.
"What the… Pietro?" Magneto furrowed his eyebrows and picked up the phone.
"Dad, Wolverine is here!" Quicksilver shouted on the phone.
"And clearly he's not alone…" Magneto replied with a dry tone before ending the call.
On the other side of the building outside, there was also fighting. Cyclops was firing red beams from his eyes as Colossus tried to dodge and parry them with his metal limbs.
"Ugh! I hate fighting this guy!" Colossus groaned.
"João, hold my hand!" Shadowcat looked at Metalhead.
"HUH?!" Metalhead's jaw nearly dropped. There's no way he heard her right.
"Grab my hand so that we can phase together through the factory's walls!" Shadowcat furrowed her eyebrows.
"O-Ok…" Metalhead nodded and held her hand. He blushed a bit, but she did not seem to notice. Both teenagers jumped through the factory's walls.
Mystique was fighting against Nightcrawler, her biological son that she abandoned. She was using her agility from her martial art training to try and hit him, but Nightcrawler was doing a good job at dodging her mother's punches and kicks with his teleporting ability.
"Ugh! Stay put, Kurt!" Mystique groaned.
"Why are you trying to hurt me, mother!" Nightcrawler asked with a somewhat sad tone.
"Because you're trying to ruin our mission!" Mystique clenched her teeth angrily.
Inside the factory, Pyro was goofing off and looking at the security's room computers. He was looking up some UEFA Champions League highlights.
"What a banger by João Neves, damn!" He whistled, impressed at the Portuguese PSG mid-fielder.
"Well, how about this for a banger, then!" A bare hand was placed on Pyro's shoulder. He fainted almost immediately. Rogue had just touched him and absorbed his powers and memories. She tested Pyro's powers by engulfing her arms in flames.
"Spicy!" Rogue smirked.
"Not as spicy as you, ma chérie." Rogue frowned and turned around.
"You!" Rogue's eyes narrowed. She didn't wait for him to go on and shot a flame with her right hand at him.
"Feu!" (Fire!) Gambit parried the flames with his metallic bo staff.
"Hiyah!" Rogue jumped up in the air and shot down more flames at him.
"Oh, merde!" (Oh, shit!) Gambit's eyes widened in fear. A rare sight.
Back to the outside, Wolverine slashed Sabretooth's chest open.
"AAAAH!" Sabretooth yelled and grabbed his chest in pain as he bled from his chest. He fell on his knees.
"Why, you…!" Quicksilver prepared to dash toward Wolverine, but he suddenly found himself losing to gravity, as Jean Grey lifted him up in the air with her telekinetic powers. "AH! Put me down, damn it!" Quicksilver shouted in fear.
"I got it, brother!" Scarlet Witch glared at Jean and shot a red magic beam at her that hexed her telekinetic powers.
"Argh!" Jean grabbed her head in pain as she lost momentary control of her powers. Quicksilver fell on his butt.
"Ouch!" Quicksilver grunted in pain as he scratched his butt.
"You're welcome, brother." Scarlet Witch furrowed her eyebrows.
Magneto had to interrupt his steel stealing activities and was walking through the factory, looking for any trespassing X-Men. He spotted something suspicious.
"WHO'S THERE?" he ordered with a loud and intimidating voice. But no answer. Thus, he used his magnetic powers to lift a bunch of large objects in the large room where someone could possibly be hiding behind. And he did find a couple of teenagers. Shadowcat and Metalhead.
"Shit…" Metalhead's eyes nearly popped out in shock. The first time he got a look at Magneto. He was tall and very imposing.
"Well, well, Shadowcat and João…" Magneto glared at both of them.
"We need help, Professor! Magneto has spotted us!" Shadowcat rapidly cried into her phone.Then, Magneto pulled Shadowcat's phone with his magnetic ability onto his hand. "Hey! Gimme my phone back! It wasn't cheap!" She frowned.
"I won't destroy your precious phone paid for by your own parents, young girl." Magneto groaned. I will just turn it off." And he pressed the side button and turned it off. He put it on the floor and used his magnetic powers to slide it far away from Shadowcat and Metalhead.
"There's no way we can take on this guy alone, Kitty!" Metalhead gulped.
"Smart young man." Magneto nodded and pulled him off his feet with his magnetic powers.
"AAAAH! HOW!" Metalhead panicked as he floated in the air.
"It's your metal belt buckle!" Shadowcat cried.
Magneto reeled Metalhead in and dropped him on the floor right in front of his feet.
The large commotion in and around the factory alerted the media, who were now covering the events and filming all the various mutants fighting and using their special abilities. The whole nation was watching it live on TV in shock. Not the whole nation, but the entire world. The existence of mutants was no longer going to remain a secret. Xavier could never wipe out the memories of millions and billions of people worldwide.
"Shit, they're filming us!" Wolverine growled as he spotted a media helicopter up in the air.
"What's done, it's done, Logan." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows. "We must help Kitty and João now!"
Rogue and Nightcrawler were now teaming up against Mystique and Gambit. And, unfortunately, the bad guys were leading.
"AAAH!" Nightcrawler flew backwards and yelled in pain as an exploding card blew in front of him.
"You and your goddamn cards!" Rogue clenched her teeth.
"It's past your bed time, my daughter!" Mystique swift kicked Rogue from behind.
"OUCH!" Rogue fell on the ground.
"JOÂO!" Kitty cried in fear and concern as Magneto grabbed and held Metalhead up in the air by his neck.
"Do you know why I do what I do, João?" Magneto looked into Metalhead's eyes.
"How am I supposed to?!" Metalhead rocked about trying to break free. Magneto's hand around his neck was impossible to escape, albeit not suffocating him. Was Magneto not trying to kill him or did he want to give him a long speech before doing so?!
"A mutant like you and me will never be accepted by society. You've been alienated for being socially awkward in school. You know how bad mankind can be." Magneto's eyes narrowed. "And I know it even better than you do from personal experience!"
"How do you even know…?!" Metalhead's eyes widened in shock.
"I have great sources, João Teixeira." Magneto said with a calm and icy voice.
Suddenly, Shadowcat phased through Magneto's arm and loosed his grip on João's neck, making him free.
"Kitty!" João caught his breath as he landed on the floor.
"Interrupting a conversation is extremely rude, young lady…" Magneto warned with a threatening tone.
"NOT SO FAST, MAGNETO!" A voice called from behind and a red beach hit Magneto on the back, knocking the wind out of him for a bit.
"Ouch!" Magneto nearly fell on the ground. "Insolence!" He turned his head back and glared at Cyclops.
"Magnus!" Xavier rolled into the big room in his wheelchair and was also accompanied by Wolverine. "I can't let you hurt them!" He warned.
"Charles…" Magneto groaned. "Haven't you noticed? The media has spotted us."
"Yes, I have." Xavier's eyes narrowed.
"Now you will know how your idealistic idea of mutants and humans living together is nothing but a utopia!" Magneto cried.
"Quit yappin' and let's fight!" Wolverine lunged at Magneto and Magneto used his magnetic powers to control Wolverine's claws, but Xavier used his mind control powers to prevent that as much as possible, even if Magneto was one of the hardest minds on the planet for Xavier to use his powers on.
Nightcrawler, Rogue and Jean Grey had all been defeated on the X-Men's side. On the Brotherhood's side, there were no men down. But Pyro, Colossus and Sabretooth were important losses on the Alcolytes side. Especially since they were also expected to drive the trucks, much to Sabretooth's protests. Colossus was also taken out by Cyclops. The only people who could drive besides Mystique were Avalanche and Gambit
"We need to drive the stolen steel back to Magneto's HQs. Lance… LANCE?!" Mystique was looking for Avalanche and couldn't find him anywhere.
"I think he went into the factory." Toad grinned nervously. He knew Mystique wasn't going to like that.
"WHAT?!" Mystique was outraged. "WHY?!"
"Maybe he's looking for Kitty…" The Blob rubbed his chin.
"Ugh." Scarlet Witch groaned and slapped her head. "Guys are so stupid!"
"You know what, fuck him!" Mystique frowned. We have to take the material into safety. Orders by Magneto right before the mission began! I'll drive one of the trucks!"
"None of us can drive besides the card fetishist here, Mystique!" Quicksilver reminded her by pointing at Gambit. "We're only 15. Lance is the only Brotherhood member who can drive since he's a year or so older than us…"
"I know that, moron!" Mystique lashed out. "But if we can only save a couple of trucks, then it's better than nothing!" She pointed out.
"Card fetishist, moi?" Gambit raised his eyebrow in amusement.
Magneto vs. Wolverine was at a stalemate. Not even help from Cyclops and Professor X was making things easier for Wolverine. Shadowcat and Metalhead were ordered to retreat and run back outside to gather with the rest.
"Are you two alright?" Storm, who had been overseeing the factory area, flew down and landed in front of the two teenagers.
"Yes, Storm! Wolverine, the Professor and Cyclops are fighting against Magneto right now!" Shadowcat explained.
"I'll come to their aid!" Storm ran off.
"Failure…" Metalhead sighed.
"What?" Shadowcat looked at her fellow X-Man.
"I'm such a failure…" Metalhead lowered his head and sighed.
"We meet again, Kitty." A new person joined the conversation. It was Avalanche.
"Lance?! What do YOU want?" Shadowcat's face instantly frowned.
"Wait, I know you!" Metalhead's eyes nearly popped out in surprise as he looked at Avalanche.
"Ditto." Avalanche smirked.
"You two know each other??" Shadowcat glanced between both boys.
"We met near the lockers in school the other day. I gave your friend here some friendly advice only." Avalanche shrugged.
"Oh yeah? Like what?" Shadowcat rolled her eyes.
"He's not lying, he…" Metalhead nervously tried to explain, but then his hands got coated in dark shadow matter all of a sudden.
"Woah!" Shadowcat nearly jumped back in surprise.
"Why don't we find out who's got cooler powers?" Avalanche smirked and made the whole factory building shake hard as if it was experiencing a 7.0 Richter magnitude earthquake.
"The hell?!" Metalhead yelled.
"UGH! It's his power!" Shadowcat groaned in frustration.
"What's the matter, new kid? Can't fight?" Avalanche taunted.
"Ugh…!" Metalhead groaned and then shadow forms came out of his hands.
"Huh?!" Avalanche winced, not really knowing what to expect.
"João?!" Shadowcat blinked rapidly covered her mouth.
The shadow forms kept evolving and turned into two large squared shaped black forms.
"Ugh!" Metalhead's arms began twitching. The forms were too heavy for him, so they fell on the floor.
"Seriously?" Avalanche looked at him dryly. "Are the admission standards for Professor Xavier's Institute that low nowadays?"
"Who asked you anything!" Shadowcat snapped and phased through the ground.
"Kitty?!" Avalanche cried. Kitty phased behind him through the floor and grabbed him by the legs, immobilising him. "Let go of me!" He yelled as he looked down angrily at her.
"Why? I thought you missed me touching you!" She smirked.
"AAAH!" Suddenly Metalhead swung his right leg as if he was kicking a football and shot a shadow beam at Avalanche.
"FUCK!" Avalanche yelled in pain as the shadow beam hit him on the stomach. Shadowcat let go of his legs and he fell on his back
"João! Well done!" She smiled and gave him the thumbs up.
Magneto received a call. Clearly, Mystique, Gambit and the others had driven away with the steel stolen. Unfortunately, the team took some losses as well. No one died, but they were beaten. Therefore it was impossible to bring most of the steel back to the HQs. Regardless, it was time for Magneto to leave.
"If you'll excuse me…" Magneto took off and flew away, breaking through the factory's ceiling.
"Fuck!" Wolverine clenched his fist and teeth in anger.
"It seems we have failed." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows.
As the battle ended, everyone gathered and helped Jean, Rogue and Nightcrawler back to their feet. The mutants on the enemy team? They seemed to have regained consciousness somehow and hidden from the X-Men. The worst past was dealing with the media, as the camera flashes kept firing off.
"Fucking clowns!" Wolverine muttered.
"It was bound to happen someday." Storm sighed.
"Excuse me!" a female reporter in her 30s ran up to Cyclops. "What are you doing here and where did you come from?" She put a mic on his face.
"Not tonight, lady." Cyclops gently pushed the microphone away from his face and walked away.
The X-Men boarded the Blackbird and took off.
"Gentlemen." Charles addressed the whole team several minutes after the ship took off. "I'm afraid we have failed tonight, even if we managed to minimise some of the factory's losses." He closed his eyes, admitting defeat.
Everyone else seemed to be in somewhat low spirits as well.
"Whose phone is this, by the way?" Storm took a phone off her pocket.
"It's mine!" Shadowcat smiled weakly and somewhat relieved she hadn't lost her phone forever, after all. She got up, thanked Storm, took it and went back to her seat.
Metalhead was looking at the floor. A mix of disappointment and confusion over the whole ordeal. His first mission did not go well, even if he knew it was not his fault the X-Men failed that night, and that he at least managed to take out one of the enemy's units.
Cyclops was the pilot and Wolverine the co-pilot. The Professor and Storm were talking to the rest.
"This is going to be a risky mission. Magneto seems to have brought both the Acolytes and the Brotherhood alongside." Xavier clasped his hands together.
"Then how are we gonna beat them, bein' outnumbered?" Rogue cried.
"I have faith in the X-Men." Xavier replied.
"But, Professor…" Nightcrawler rubbed his fuzzy temple in uncertainty.
"We'll be fine, Kurt." Jean said with a firm but calm tone.
"Professor." All the heads turned to Metalhead.
"Yes, João?" Xavier raised his eyebrows.
"Why was I also selected for this mission?" He asked, with a slight hesitation.
"Because I believe in you." Xavier smiled.
"Are ya sure?" Rogue raised her eyebrow. "The boy still can't fully control his powers. Not tryin' to be mean or anythin'."
"He did save me during training the other day." Shadowcat reminded Rogue.
"Correct." Storm nodded. "João, you must have more confidence in your abilities." She smiled softly.
"I mean…" Metalhead rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"You got this, man!" Nightcrawler gave him a friendly fuzzy slap on his back.
"But how about Bobby or Evan?" Metalhead asked.
"Evan is a little too temperamental and impulsive at times to be trusted in today's mission." Storm frowned. "I love my nephew, but he needs to train harder."
"Bobby has immense potential like you, João. But his attacking patterns are more predictable than yours and the enemy is not very familiar with you yet. Therefore you can be a good trump card tonight." Xavier explained.
"You mean, a secret weapon?" Metalhead blinked rapidly in surprise at his words.
"Something like that, yes." Xavier smiled and nodded.
"Secret weapon totally sounds better than trump card." Shadowcat made a mock barfing sound after saying trump card.
Everyone laughed, except for Metalhead who was still a bit nervous with the mission lying ahead.
"But seriously." Jean Grey ended the brief comedy moment and looked at Metalhead with a smile. "You're part of the team. We have each other's backs!"
"Yeah…" Metalhead smiled weakly and nodded.
Magneto used his impressive magnetic powers to carry the steel beams out of the factory into the large trucks. Meanwhile, some of his goons were standing guard outside.
"Ugh this is so boring!" Scarlet Witch groaned in frustration while standing outside in the chilly night. She felt a couple of shivers and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Want me to warm you up, my darling?" Toad hopped next to her and flirted in a cringy way.
"Fuck off!" Scarlet Witch frowned and shoved her handpalm on his face.
Avalanche was just standing outside looking into a void. Normally one would say he was taking his guard duty seriously, but clearly he still wasn't fully over Kitty. And he had no idea how long it would take for him to finally move on from her.
"Mmmm…" Sabretooth sniffed in the air.
"What's with you?" Quicksilver raised his eyebrow.
"Wolverine!" Sabretooth growled.
"Damn right, bastard!" From the top of the building, Wolverine lunged down with his claws out and jumped on Sabretooth.
"AH!" Sabretooth and Wolverine wrestled each other on the ground as the rest stared at it in shock.
"We got company! Tell father and the rest!" Scarlet Witch ordered.
"I'm on to it!" Quicksilver took out his phone.
Magneto was in the middle of levitating a large steel beam with his powers when his phone suddenly buzzed.
"What the… Pietro?" Magneto furrowed his eyebrows and picked up the phone.
"Dad, Wolverine is here!" Quicksilver shouted on the phone.
"And clearly he's not alone…" Magneto replied with a dry tone before ending the call.
On the other side of the building outside, there was also fighting. Cyclops was firing red beams from his eyes as Colossus tried to dodge and parry them with his metal limbs.
"Ugh! I hate fighting this guy!" Colossus groaned.
"João, hold my hand!" Shadowcat looked at Metalhead.
"HUH?!" Metalhead's jaw nearly dropped. There's no way he heard her right.
"Grab my hand so that we can phase together through the factory's walls!" Shadowcat furrowed her eyebrows.
"O-Ok…" Metalhead nodded and held her hand. He blushed a bit, but she did not seem to notice. Both teenagers jumped through the factory's walls.
Mystique was fighting against Nightcrawler, her biological son that she abandoned. She was using her agility from her martial art training to try and hit him, but Nightcrawler was doing a good job at dodging her mother's punches and kicks with his teleporting ability.
"Ugh! Stay put, Kurt!" Mystique groaned.
"Why are you trying to hurt me, mother!" Nightcrawler asked with a somewhat sad tone.
"Because you're trying to ruin our mission!" Mystique clenched her teeth angrily.
Inside the factory, Pyro was goofing off and looking at the security's room computers. He was looking up some UEFA Champions League highlights.
"What a banger by João Neves, damn!" He whistled, impressed at the Portuguese PSG mid-fielder.
"Well, how about this for a banger, then!" A bare hand was placed on Pyro's shoulder. He fainted almost immediately. Rogue had just touched him and absorbed his powers and memories. She tested Pyro's powers by engulfing her arms in flames.
"Spicy!" Rogue smirked.
"Not as spicy as you, ma chérie." Rogue frowned and turned around.
"You!" Rogue's eyes narrowed. She didn't wait for him to go on and shot a flame with her right hand at him.
"Feu!" (Fire!) Gambit parried the flames with his metallic bo staff.
"Hiyah!" Rogue jumped up in the air and shot down more flames at him.
"Oh, merde!" (Oh, shit!) Gambit's eyes widened in fear. A rare sight.
Back to the outside, Wolverine slashed Sabretooth's chest open.
"AAAAH!" Sabretooth yelled and grabbed his chest in pain as he bled from his chest. He fell on his knees.
"Why, you…!" Quicksilver prepared to dash toward Wolverine, but he suddenly found himself losing to gravity, as Jean Grey lifted him up in the air with her telekinetic powers. "AH! Put me down, damn it!" Quicksilver shouted in fear.
"I got it, brother!" Scarlet Witch glared at Jean and shot a red magic beam at her that hexed her telekinetic powers.
"Argh!" Jean grabbed her head in pain as she lost momentary control of her powers. Quicksilver fell on his butt.
"Ouch!" Quicksilver grunted in pain as he scratched his butt.
"You're welcome, brother." Scarlet Witch furrowed her eyebrows.
Magneto had to interrupt his steel stealing activities and was walking through the factory, looking for any trespassing X-Men. He spotted something suspicious.
"WHO'S THERE?" he ordered with a loud and intimidating voice. But no answer. Thus, he used his magnetic powers to lift a bunch of large objects in the large room where someone could possibly be hiding behind. And he did find a couple of teenagers. Shadowcat and Metalhead.
"Shit…" Metalhead's eyes nearly popped out in shock. The first time he got a look at Magneto. He was tall and very imposing.
"Well, well, Shadowcat and João…" Magneto glared at both of them.
"We need help, Professor! Magneto has spotted us!" Shadowcat rapidly cried into her phone.Then, Magneto pulled Shadowcat's phone with his magnetic ability onto his hand. "Hey! Gimme my phone back! It wasn't cheap!" She frowned.
"I won't destroy your precious phone paid for by your own parents, young girl." Magneto groaned. I will just turn it off." And he pressed the side button and turned it off. He put it on the floor and used his magnetic powers to slide it far away from Shadowcat and Metalhead.
"There's no way we can take on this guy alone, Kitty!" Metalhead gulped.
"Smart young man." Magneto nodded and pulled him off his feet with his magnetic powers.
"AAAAH! HOW!" Metalhead panicked as he floated in the air.
"It's your metal belt buckle!" Shadowcat cried.
Magneto reeled Metalhead in and dropped him on the floor right in front of his feet.
The large commotion in and around the factory alerted the media, who were now covering the events and filming all the various mutants fighting and using their special abilities. The whole nation was watching it live on TV in shock. Not the whole nation, but the entire world. The existence of mutants was no longer going to remain a secret. Xavier could never wipe out the memories of millions and billions of people worldwide.
"Shit, they're filming us!" Wolverine growled as he spotted a media helicopter up in the air.
"What's done, it's done, Logan." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows. "We must help Kitty and João now!"
Rogue and Nightcrawler were now teaming up against Mystique and Gambit. And, unfortunately, the bad guys were leading.
"AAAH!" Nightcrawler flew backwards and yelled in pain as an exploding card blew in front of him.
"You and your goddamn cards!" Rogue clenched her teeth.
"It's past your bed time, my daughter!" Mystique swift kicked Rogue from behind.
"OUCH!" Rogue fell on the ground.
"JOÂO!" Kitty cried in fear and concern as Magneto grabbed and held Metalhead up in the air by his neck.
"Do you know why I do what I do, João?" Magneto looked into Metalhead's eyes.
"How am I supposed to?!" Metalhead rocked about trying to break free. Magneto's hand around his neck was impossible to escape, albeit not suffocating him. Was Magneto not trying to kill him or did he want to give him a long speech before doing so?!
"A mutant like you and me will never be accepted by society. You've been alienated for being socially awkward in school. You know how bad mankind can be." Magneto's eyes narrowed. "And I know it even better than you do from personal experience!"
"How do you even know…?!" Metalhead's eyes widened in shock.
"I have great sources, João Teixeira." Magneto said with a calm and icy voice.
Suddenly, Shadowcat phased through Magneto's arm and loosed his grip on João's neck, making him free.
"Kitty!" João caught his breath as he landed on the floor.
"Interrupting a conversation is extremely rude, young lady…" Magneto warned with a threatening tone.
"NOT SO FAST, MAGNETO!" A voice called from behind and a red beach hit Magneto on the back, knocking the wind out of him for a bit.
"Ouch!" Magneto nearly fell on the ground. "Insolence!" He turned his head back and glared at Cyclops.
"Magnus!" Xavier rolled into the big room in his wheelchair and was also accompanied by Wolverine. "I can't let you hurt them!" He warned.
"Charles…" Magneto groaned. "Haven't you noticed? The media has spotted us."
"Yes, I have." Xavier's eyes narrowed.
"Now you will know how your idealistic idea of mutants and humans living together is nothing but a utopia!" Magneto cried.
"Quit yappin' and let's fight!" Wolverine lunged at Magneto and Magneto used his magnetic powers to control Wolverine's claws, but Xavier used his mind control powers to prevent that as much as possible, even if Magneto was one of the hardest minds on the planet for Xavier to use his powers on.
Nightcrawler, Rogue and Jean Grey had all been defeated on the X-Men's side. On the Brotherhood's side, there were no men down. But Pyro, Colossus and Sabretooth were important losses on the Alcolytes side. Especially since they were also expected to drive the trucks, much to Sabretooth's protests. Colossus was also taken out by Cyclops. The only people who could drive besides Mystique were Avalanche and Gambit
"We need to drive the stolen steel back to Magneto's HQs. Lance… LANCE?!" Mystique was looking for Avalanche and couldn't find him anywhere.
"I think he went into the factory." Toad grinned nervously. He knew Mystique wasn't going to like that.
"WHAT?!" Mystique was outraged. "WHY?!"
"Maybe he's looking for Kitty…" The Blob rubbed his chin.
"Ugh." Scarlet Witch groaned and slapped her head. "Guys are so stupid!"
"You know what, fuck him!" Mystique frowned. We have to take the material into safety. Orders by Magneto right before the mission began! I'll drive one of the trucks!"
"None of us can drive besides the card fetishist here, Mystique!" Quicksilver reminded her by pointing at Gambit. "We're only 15. Lance is the only Brotherhood member who can drive since he's a year or so older than us…"
"I know that, moron!" Mystique lashed out. "But if we can only save a couple of trucks, then it's better than nothing!" She pointed out.
"Card fetishist, moi?" Gambit raised his eyebrow in amusement.
Magneto vs. Wolverine was at a stalemate. Not even help from Cyclops and Professor X was making things easier for Wolverine. Shadowcat and Metalhead were ordered to retreat and run back outside to gather with the rest.
"Are you two alright?" Storm, who had been overseeing the factory area, flew down and landed in front of the two teenagers.
"Yes, Storm! Wolverine, the Professor and Cyclops are fighting against Magneto right now!" Shadowcat explained.
"I'll come to their aid!" Storm ran off.
"Failure…" Metalhead sighed.
"What?" Shadowcat looked at her fellow X-Man.
"I'm such a failure…" Metalhead lowered his head and sighed.
"We meet again, Kitty." A new person joined the conversation. It was Avalanche.
"Lance?! What do YOU want?" Shadowcat's face instantly frowned.
"Wait, I know you!" Metalhead's eyes nearly popped out in surprise as he looked at Avalanche.
"Ditto." Avalanche smirked.
"You two know each other??" Shadowcat glanced between both boys.
"We met near the lockers in school the other day. I gave your friend here some friendly advice only." Avalanche shrugged.
"Oh yeah? Like what?" Shadowcat rolled her eyes.
"He's not lying, he…" Metalhead nervously tried to explain, but then his hands got coated in dark shadow matter all of a sudden.
"Woah!" Shadowcat nearly jumped back in surprise.
"Why don't we find out who's got cooler powers?" Avalanche smirked and made the whole factory building shake hard as if it was experiencing a 7.0 Richter magnitude earthquake.
"The hell?!" Metalhead yelled.
"UGH! It's his power!" Shadowcat groaned in frustration.
"What's the matter, new kid? Can't fight?" Avalanche taunted.
"Ugh…!" Metalhead groaned and then shadow forms came out of his hands.
"Huh?!" Avalanche winced, not really knowing what to expect.
"João?!" Shadowcat blinked rapidly covered her mouth.
The shadow forms kept evolving and turned into two large squared shaped black forms.
"Ugh!" Metalhead's arms began twitching. The forms were too heavy for him, so they fell on the floor.
"Seriously?" Avalanche looked at him dryly. "Are the admission standards for Professor Xavier's Institute that low nowadays?"
"Who asked you anything!" Shadowcat snapped and phased through the ground.
"Kitty?!" Avalanche cried. Kitty phased behind him through the floor and grabbed him by the legs, immobilising him. "Let go of me!" He yelled as he looked down angrily at her.
"Why? I thought you missed me touching you!" She smirked.
"AAAH!" Suddenly Metalhead swung his right leg as if he was kicking a football and shot a shadow beam at Avalanche.
"FUCK!" Avalanche yelled in pain as the shadow beam hit him on the stomach. Shadowcat let go of his legs and he fell on his back
"João! Well done!" She smiled and gave him the thumbs up.
Magneto received a call. Clearly, Mystique, Gambit and the others had driven away with the steel stolen. Unfortunately, the team took some losses as well. No one died, but they were beaten. Therefore it was impossible to bring most of the steel back to the HQs. Regardless, it was time for Magneto to leave.
"If you'll excuse me…" Magneto took off and flew away, breaking through the factory's ceiling.
"Fuck!" Wolverine clenched his fist and teeth in anger.
"It seems we have failed." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows.
As the battle ended, everyone gathered and helped Jean, Rogue and Nightcrawler back to their feet. The mutants on the enemy team? They seemed to have regained consciousness somehow and hidden from the X-Men. The worst past was dealing with the media, as the camera flashes kept firing off.
"Fucking clowns!" Wolverine muttered.
"It was bound to happen someday." Storm sighed.
"Excuse me!" a female reporter in her 30s ran up to Cyclops. "What are you doing here and where did you come from?" She put a mic on his face.
"Not tonight, lady." Cyclops gently pushed the microphone away from his face and walked away.
The X-Men boarded the Blackbird and took off.
"Gentlemen." Charles addressed the whole team several minutes after the ship took off. "I'm afraid we have failed tonight, even if we managed to minimise some of the factory's losses." He closed his eyes, admitting defeat.
Everyone else seemed to be in somewhat low spirits as well.
"Whose phone is this, by the way?" Storm took a phone off her pocket.
"It's mine!" Shadowcat smiled weakly and somewhat relieved she hadn't lost her phone forever, after all. She got up, thanked Storm, took it and went back to her seat.
Metalhead was looking at the floor. A mix of disappointment and confusion over the whole ordeal. His first mission did not go well, even if he knew it was not his fault the X-Men failed that night, and that he at least managed to take out one of the enemy's units.
Mutie
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EmperorOfHeavyMetal
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The mood at the Institute wasn't that great. Not only did the X-Men let Magneto, Mystique and others get away, but they also have been exposed to the entire world due to the media reporting the steel factory incident live. Throughout the weekend, everyone checked their phones and saw that the words 'mutants' and 'aliens' were trending in the largest social media platforms.
It was Monday morning again and it was time to go to school. There'd still be several days of classes before Christmas break.
"Now, everyone…" Xavier cleared his throat while sitting at the head of the kitchen table while people ate breakfast. "Please refrain from using your powers in school, even if people know you are mutants now."
"What if we get harassed or provoked?" Evan cried.
João's face paled. He had been bullied back home already and did not want to experience that again in a foreign country. He was an outcast back in Portugal for being a socially awkward teenage boy and now he was going to become an outcast in the US for being a mutant? Was peace simply not an option?
"I'm afraid you'll have to ignore them, Evan." Xavier sighed and replied calmly. "I understand your frustration and anger if such a belligerent situation arrives, but your mutant powers are very strong and could easily maim or possibly even kill a fellow classmate of yours." He warned with a dark expression on his face.
"True." Scott sighed.
"School bullies can be dealt with through proper channels." Hank smiled.
"Bullshit!" João slammed his hands on the table angrily, which took everyone by surprise.
"What's with you?!" Jean leaned back a bit, stunned.
"Don't yell at Mr. McCoy like that!" Kurt pleaded with a look of concern on his face.
"João…" Xavier clasped his hands and looked at the Portuguese boy.
"L-look…" João gulped and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but I speak from experience, Ok?!" He then folded his arms.
"That's okay, Charles." Hank touched Charles hand in a way of telling him he got that. "João, I understand not all teachers are understanding when it comes to bullying." He explained calmly.
"And you are, Mr. McCoy?" João asked, skeptically.
"I've always tried my best." Hank smiled.
"For the record, mister McCoy was one of the most popular teachers in Bayville High." Kitty looked at João.
"Yeah, everyone loved Mr. McCoy!" Evan opened his arms wide.
"As a former teacher and fellow X-Man, I trust you, João." Hank smiled again.
"Really? But we barely know each other…" João blinked rapidly.
"I can tell you're a good kid." Hank threw him a thumbs up with his blue hand. "But even good kids make mistakes sometimes." He pointed out,
"If someone physically attacks me, can't I defend myself?" João slapped his own chest.
"Yes, you can." Hank nodded.
"And we'll believe you and side with you, rest assured." Charles nodded as well.
"Fine…" João sighed. "I'm sorry for the outburst and cursing, Mr. McCoy. I'm normally not like this." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"I believe you." Hank smiled and nodded.
"Regardless, you will have to get a small penalty for that." Xavier folded his arms. "Logan?" He looked at the Canadian man.
"A couple of extra exercises in the gym later today, kiddo." Logan grunted as he took a bite off his piece of bacon, without taking his eyes off his plate and food.
"Fair." João sighed.
"We're like family here." Bobby placed a hand on João's shoulder.
Principal Kelly was not a very happy man at the moment. Not only did the revelation that mutants inhabited the city of Bayville worry him, but the fact many of them attended his school was a cause for grave concern. He looked out the window where he could get a good view of the school yard. He saw the kids from Xavier's Institute walk through it.
"Boo! Freaks!" A crowd of students booed as they walked into school.
"What a bunch of jerks!" Bobby muttered angrily.
"We're not the bad guys. Can't they see that?" Rogue folded her arms and frowned.
"Let's just ignore them." Kitty gently pushed Rogue and Bobby into the school.
"Yo, Jean!" Duncan walked up to Jean and smirked cockily at her.
"Hello, Duncan." Jean blinked twice. She was not sure what to expect to come out of Duncan's mouth even though he did not seem hostile to her.
"You know, despite your problem, I think we can make it work." He chuckled.
"'Problem'?" Jean frowned. "What do you mean by 'PROBLEM'?!" She raised her voice in irritation.
"I mean, your magical powers or whatever." Duncan chuckled and placed an arm around her shoulders. "They don't matter in a gorgeous babe like you. And they could even come in handy for our team when it comes to tossing the pigskin farther, in fact." He grinned.
"Oh yeah?" Jean clenched her jaw and forcefully removed Duncan's arm off her. "In that case, we're done!"
"WHAT?!" Duncan's jaw nearly dropped in shock.
"You heard me, you lughead!" Jean pointed at his face and then walked away.
"WAIT!" Duncan shouted across the hallway as a crowd of students watched him getting dumped by Jean.
"Are ya deaf? She said you two are done." Rogue said it with a steely voice to his face.
"Yeah, buzz off, meathead!" Kitty frowned and walked past Duncan as well.
"Why you fucking freaks!" Duncan clenched his fists in anger and muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile, the Brotherhood decided to stay home. They were all underachievers in school, anyway. So it didn't really matter to them. And, unlike Xavier, neither Mystique or Magneto seemed to care much about their education. So, they decided to stay in the boarding house.
"Man, this is boring!" Toad moaned. "You sure we'd not be having more fun in school instead?"
"Forget about it!" Fred cried. "They'd make fun of me and then I'd get angry and possibly kill someone and get Mystique and Magneto in my ear about it all year long!"
"For real." Pietro looked at Fred dryly.
"Is the steel we manage to salvage gonna help father in his plan?" Wanda folded her arms.
"I'm sure it will, Wanda." Pietro smirked at his sister.
Lance was, once again, quiet. He was looking out the window. A bunch of people with microphones and cameras were standing outside.
"Fucking press! They're vultures…" Lance's face twisted in frustration.
During history class, João noticed Scott seemed to be feeling a little down.
"Scott? Is everything alright?" João whispered to him.
"Oh, Taryn broke up with me." Scott explained.
"Oh, sorry to hear that." João rubbed his temple. "Why did she…?"
"What do you think?" Scott rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Right…" João also sighed.
"I guess it was bound to happen when you're a guy who has to wear sunglasses 24/7…" Scott rested his face on his hand.
"You could have used the Edgar Davids example." João smiled.
"Who?" Scott raised his eyebrow.
"Former Dutch footballer who used sunglasses constantly, even during matches. He had an eye issue that required him to wear them all the time." João explained.
"Did that Edgar Davids guy also have to wear his sunglasses when taking a shower or sleeping?" Scott looked at João dryly.
"No…" João rubbed the back of his head, realising that the comparison was perhaps not as good as he thought it was.
"Case closed." Scott frowned and ended the conversation.
Kitty was about to join a couple of female classmates for lunch, when they gave her the evil eye.
"Sandra? Tessa? Is there something wrong?" Kitty asked, looking a little worried.
"Yes. You." Tessa, a blonde haired girl frowned.
"Excuse me?!" Kitty's jaw nearly dropped.
"You're not normal!" Sandra, a black haired girl, folded her arms and looked at Kitty with an expression that was a mix of fear and disgust.
"I thought we were like, friends!" Kitty cried in anger.
"Emphasis on the 'were'." Tessa raised her index finger.
"Which was before we knew you were a freak!" Sandra waved her hand dismissively.
"A FREAK?!" Kitty was getting angrier. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was one thing to get told such a hurtful word from strangers or mere acquaintances she was never close to in the first place. But from two girls she shared biology class with and whom she was on friendly terms with?! "That's totally rude!"
"Why are you still here, mutie?" Sandra said with a steely voice.
"Wow…" Kitty was genuinely taken aback. "I guess you two are the kinds of girls who'd have snitched me and my family to the Nazis back in the day!" She blurted out in a tone that was a mix of anger and hurt and ran away with tears in her eyes.
"WHAT?!" Sandra jolted off her seat in anger. "How dare she even…!" She clenched her fist.
"Yeah, what a moronic comparison!" Tessa sipped on her water.
School wasn't going well for the rest of the teenage X-Men that day either. Two classmates tried to pick up a fight with Evan. Bobby and Amara were insulted during gym class. João and Kurt could sense everyone looking at them with disgust and talking smack behind their backs. Rogue was accused of being a witch by a couple of guys and girls in the hallways. Her goth look did not help already, and after being exposed as a mutant? Even less so. Scott, not only had Taryn breaking up with him earlier that day, but was now in a fight with Duncan. Obviously, Duncan was the one who picked up that fight.
"You think you're better than me, Summers?!" Duncan pushed Scott strongly against a trashbin.
"What are you even talking about, Duncan?" Scott grunted as he picked himself up and looked at Duncan and two other jocks standing behind him.
"Don't play dumb, mutie!" Duncan snorted. "I know you like Jean!"
"And what if I do?" Scott was standing up again.
"Figures. Two freaks made for each other." Duncan snarled. "I'm still stronger and hotter than you, though!" He grinned and flexed his biceps under his athletic jacket.
"That's all you have going for you. You're nothing but a lughead." Scott rolled his eyes.
"Is that so? Then let's see who's stronger without you using your powers!" Duncan grinned and threw a punch at Scott, which he dodged just barely. Scott, then, kicked Duncan in the gut.
"UGH!" Duncan grabbed his belly in pain.
"I don't need my superpowers to beat a dumb jock like you!" Scott smirked.
"WHY, YOU!" The two jock lackeys jumped on Scott and grabbed both of his arms. Duncan picked himself up and delivered a punch to Scott's gut.
"UUUGH!" Scott clenched his teeth and winced in pain.
"Those are some strong abs, Summers!" Duncan taunted. "I guess you're ripped like me, after all!"
"Fuck off!" Scott spat on the grass.
"UGH!" João hit the wall as a taller brunette student pushed him against it.
"Mutant freak!" The brunette snarled at him.
"Who even are you?" João groaned in pain as he slowly got himself up.
"Someone who hates freaks like you!"
João's hands began acting up. Shadow matter was forming.
"So those are your creepy powers?!" The bully stepped back in shock and fear at what he was seeing.
João, without thinking twice, clenched his fists. The shadow matter on his right hand popped out a large black shadow-matter fist. Without hesitation, he threw it at the bully, punching him on the face.
"AAAAH!" The tall brunette bully fell on the floor, grabbing his bleeding nose in pain.
"Ugh." João clenched his teeth. He felt good for fighting back properly but also knew he was toast.
"HEY, ONE OF THE MUTANT CREEPS ATTACK JARED!" Some girl yelled and pointed at João.
Kurt suddenly popped up and took João away to safety outside of school with his teleportation powers.
"Thanks, Kurt." João wiped the dust off his Trafalgar Law hoodie.
"This is bad. You attacked someone." Kurt sighed.
"They started it!" João cried.
"I know. But you'll get the blame for it." Kurt pointed out with a sad face.
"I'm used to it." João sighed and rolled his eyes.
Both walked for a bit and spotted someone familiar sitting on a bench by themselves with their head buried on their knees.
"Kitty?!" Kurt's eyes widened in realisation. He ran up to her. João followed suit.
"What happened?" Kurt placed a hand on Kitty's shoulder.
"Kurt… João." Kitty looked up at the boys. Her eyes were teary. "How can people be so mean?"
"They fear what they don't know." Kurt sighed and smiled softly. "Don't cry." He said gently.
"How come humanity doesn't learn from its mistakes?" Kitty wiped a tear off her face. "My people have been persecuted and subjected to genocide in the past. They're talking about mutants in the same way people used to talk about the Jews and other minorities in the past!"
João gulped as he heard that. He hadn't thought about it that way. And seeing Kitty crying and hearing the pain in her voice made him feel even worse. It bothered him to see Kitty suffering, for some reason. He wanted to hug her and protect her, but he did not feel man enough to do so. Also, how would he know whether Kitty wanted him to hug her or even touch her shoulder gently and comfort her. Wasn't Kurt placing a hand on her shoulder good enough for her already?
After the school day was over, Xavier gathered everyone at the Institute in the common room. He knew about everything that happened, especially the physical altercations that Scott and João had gotten themselves involved in.
"We must issue a public statement." Xavier clasped his hands with a serious look on his face.
"A public statement?" Jean asked him to elaborate.
"We must speak to the mass media. We need to let mankind know that we mean no harm." He explained.
"Magneto and a few others would disagree on that statement, professor." João sighed.
"You're right, João." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows. "Not all mutants are good, indeed. But not all of us are bad either, as you know. The same applies to humans who are not mutants. And we have to make sure the world realises that.
The common room went quiet. They trusted the Professor, but João did fear that, somehow, Magneto had a point about not trusting humanity to accept mutants ever at all.
It was Monday morning again and it was time to go to school. There'd still be several days of classes before Christmas break.
"Now, everyone…" Xavier cleared his throat while sitting at the head of the kitchen table while people ate breakfast. "Please refrain from using your powers in school, even if people know you are mutants now."
"What if we get harassed or provoked?" Evan cried.
João's face paled. He had been bullied back home already and did not want to experience that again in a foreign country. He was an outcast back in Portugal for being a socially awkward teenage boy and now he was going to become an outcast in the US for being a mutant? Was peace simply not an option?
"I'm afraid you'll have to ignore them, Evan." Xavier sighed and replied calmly. "I understand your frustration and anger if such a belligerent situation arrives, but your mutant powers are very strong and could easily maim or possibly even kill a fellow classmate of yours." He warned with a dark expression on his face.
"True." Scott sighed.
"School bullies can be dealt with through proper channels." Hank smiled.
"Bullshit!" João slammed his hands on the table angrily, which took everyone by surprise.
"What's with you?!" Jean leaned back a bit, stunned.
"Don't yell at Mr. McCoy like that!" Kurt pleaded with a look of concern on his face.
"João…" Xavier clasped his hands and looked at the Portuguese boy.
"L-look…" João gulped and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but I speak from experience, Ok?!" He then folded his arms.
"That's okay, Charles." Hank touched Charles hand in a way of telling him he got that. "João, I understand not all teachers are understanding when it comes to bullying." He explained calmly.
"And you are, Mr. McCoy?" João asked, skeptically.
"I've always tried my best." Hank smiled.
"For the record, mister McCoy was one of the most popular teachers in Bayville High." Kitty looked at João.
"Yeah, everyone loved Mr. McCoy!" Evan opened his arms wide.
"As a former teacher and fellow X-Man, I trust you, João." Hank smiled again.
"Really? But we barely know each other…" João blinked rapidly.
"I can tell you're a good kid." Hank threw him a thumbs up with his blue hand. "But even good kids make mistakes sometimes." He pointed out,
"If someone physically attacks me, can't I defend myself?" João slapped his own chest.
"Yes, you can." Hank nodded.
"And we'll believe you and side with you, rest assured." Charles nodded as well.
"Fine…" João sighed. "I'm sorry for the outburst and cursing, Mr. McCoy. I'm normally not like this." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"I believe you." Hank smiled and nodded.
"Regardless, you will have to get a small penalty for that." Xavier folded his arms. "Logan?" He looked at the Canadian man.
"A couple of extra exercises in the gym later today, kiddo." Logan grunted as he took a bite off his piece of bacon, without taking his eyes off his plate and food.
"Fair." João sighed.
"We're like family here." Bobby placed a hand on João's shoulder.
Principal Kelly was not a very happy man at the moment. Not only did the revelation that mutants inhabited the city of Bayville worry him, but the fact many of them attended his school was a cause for grave concern. He looked out the window where he could get a good view of the school yard. He saw the kids from Xavier's Institute walk through it.
"Boo! Freaks!" A crowd of students booed as they walked into school.
"What a bunch of jerks!" Bobby muttered angrily.
"We're not the bad guys. Can't they see that?" Rogue folded her arms and frowned.
"Let's just ignore them." Kitty gently pushed Rogue and Bobby into the school.
"Yo, Jean!" Duncan walked up to Jean and smirked cockily at her.
"Hello, Duncan." Jean blinked twice. She was not sure what to expect to come out of Duncan's mouth even though he did not seem hostile to her.
"You know, despite your problem, I think we can make it work." He chuckled.
"'Problem'?" Jean frowned. "What do you mean by 'PROBLEM'?!" She raised her voice in irritation.
"I mean, your magical powers or whatever." Duncan chuckled and placed an arm around her shoulders. "They don't matter in a gorgeous babe like you. And they could even come in handy for our team when it comes to tossing the pigskin farther, in fact." He grinned.
"Oh yeah?" Jean clenched her jaw and forcefully removed Duncan's arm off her. "In that case, we're done!"
"WHAT?!" Duncan's jaw nearly dropped in shock.
"You heard me, you lughead!" Jean pointed at his face and then walked away.
"WAIT!" Duncan shouted across the hallway as a crowd of students watched him getting dumped by Jean.
"Are ya deaf? She said you two are done." Rogue said it with a steely voice to his face.
"Yeah, buzz off, meathead!" Kitty frowned and walked past Duncan as well.
"Why you fucking freaks!" Duncan clenched his fists in anger and muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile, the Brotherhood decided to stay home. They were all underachievers in school, anyway. So it didn't really matter to them. And, unlike Xavier, neither Mystique or Magneto seemed to care much about their education. So, they decided to stay in the boarding house.
"Man, this is boring!" Toad moaned. "You sure we'd not be having more fun in school instead?"
"Forget about it!" Fred cried. "They'd make fun of me and then I'd get angry and possibly kill someone and get Mystique and Magneto in my ear about it all year long!"
"For real." Pietro looked at Fred dryly.
"Is the steel we manage to salvage gonna help father in his plan?" Wanda folded her arms.
"I'm sure it will, Wanda." Pietro smirked at his sister.
Lance was, once again, quiet. He was looking out the window. A bunch of people with microphones and cameras were standing outside.
"Fucking press! They're vultures…" Lance's face twisted in frustration.
During history class, João noticed Scott seemed to be feeling a little down.
"Scott? Is everything alright?" João whispered to him.
"Oh, Taryn broke up with me." Scott explained.
"Oh, sorry to hear that." João rubbed his temple. "Why did she…?"
"What do you think?" Scott rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Right…" João also sighed.
"I guess it was bound to happen when you're a guy who has to wear sunglasses 24/7…" Scott rested his face on his hand.
"You could have used the Edgar Davids example." João smiled.
"Who?" Scott raised his eyebrow.
"Former Dutch footballer who used sunglasses constantly, even during matches. He had an eye issue that required him to wear them all the time." João explained.
"Did that Edgar Davids guy also have to wear his sunglasses when taking a shower or sleeping?" Scott looked at João dryly.
"No…" João rubbed the back of his head, realising that the comparison was perhaps not as good as he thought it was.
"Case closed." Scott frowned and ended the conversation.
Kitty was about to join a couple of female classmates for lunch, when they gave her the evil eye.
"Sandra? Tessa? Is there something wrong?" Kitty asked, looking a little worried.
"Yes. You." Tessa, a blonde haired girl frowned.
"Excuse me?!" Kitty's jaw nearly dropped.
"You're not normal!" Sandra, a black haired girl, folded her arms and looked at Kitty with an expression that was a mix of fear and disgust.
"I thought we were like, friends!" Kitty cried in anger.
"Emphasis on the 'were'." Tessa raised her index finger.
"Which was before we knew you were a freak!" Sandra waved her hand dismissively.
"A FREAK?!" Kitty was getting angrier. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was one thing to get told such a hurtful word from strangers or mere acquaintances she was never close to in the first place. But from two girls she shared biology class with and whom she was on friendly terms with?! "That's totally rude!"
"Why are you still here, mutie?" Sandra said with a steely voice.
"Wow…" Kitty was genuinely taken aback. "I guess you two are the kinds of girls who'd have snitched me and my family to the Nazis back in the day!" She blurted out in a tone that was a mix of anger and hurt and ran away with tears in her eyes.
"WHAT?!" Sandra jolted off her seat in anger. "How dare she even…!" She clenched her fist.
"Yeah, what a moronic comparison!" Tessa sipped on her water.
School wasn't going well for the rest of the teenage X-Men that day either. Two classmates tried to pick up a fight with Evan. Bobby and Amara were insulted during gym class. João and Kurt could sense everyone looking at them with disgust and talking smack behind their backs. Rogue was accused of being a witch by a couple of guys and girls in the hallways. Her goth look did not help already, and after being exposed as a mutant? Even less so. Scott, not only had Taryn breaking up with him earlier that day, but was now in a fight with Duncan. Obviously, Duncan was the one who picked up that fight.
"You think you're better than me, Summers?!" Duncan pushed Scott strongly against a trashbin.
"What are you even talking about, Duncan?" Scott grunted as he picked himself up and looked at Duncan and two other jocks standing behind him.
"Don't play dumb, mutie!" Duncan snorted. "I know you like Jean!"
"And what if I do?" Scott was standing up again.
"Figures. Two freaks made for each other." Duncan snarled. "I'm still stronger and hotter than you, though!" He grinned and flexed his biceps under his athletic jacket.
"That's all you have going for you. You're nothing but a lughead." Scott rolled his eyes.
"Is that so? Then let's see who's stronger without you using your powers!" Duncan grinned and threw a punch at Scott, which he dodged just barely. Scott, then, kicked Duncan in the gut.
"UGH!" Duncan grabbed his belly in pain.
"I don't need my superpowers to beat a dumb jock like you!" Scott smirked.
"WHY, YOU!" The two jock lackeys jumped on Scott and grabbed both of his arms. Duncan picked himself up and delivered a punch to Scott's gut.
"UUUGH!" Scott clenched his teeth and winced in pain.
"Those are some strong abs, Summers!" Duncan taunted. "I guess you're ripped like me, after all!"
"Fuck off!" Scott spat on the grass.
"UGH!" João hit the wall as a taller brunette student pushed him against it.
"Mutant freak!" The brunette snarled at him.
"Who even are you?" João groaned in pain as he slowly got himself up.
"Someone who hates freaks like you!"
João's hands began acting up. Shadow matter was forming.
"So those are your creepy powers?!" The bully stepped back in shock and fear at what he was seeing.
João, without thinking twice, clenched his fists. The shadow matter on his right hand popped out a large black shadow-matter fist. Without hesitation, he threw it at the bully, punching him on the face.
"AAAAH!" The tall brunette bully fell on the floor, grabbing his bleeding nose in pain.
"Ugh." João clenched his teeth. He felt good for fighting back properly but also knew he was toast.
"HEY, ONE OF THE MUTANT CREEPS ATTACK JARED!" Some girl yelled and pointed at João.
Kurt suddenly popped up and took João away to safety outside of school with his teleportation powers.
"Thanks, Kurt." João wiped the dust off his Trafalgar Law hoodie.
"This is bad. You attacked someone." Kurt sighed.
"They started it!" João cried.
"I know. But you'll get the blame for it." Kurt pointed out with a sad face.
"I'm used to it." João sighed and rolled his eyes.
Both walked for a bit and spotted someone familiar sitting on a bench by themselves with their head buried on their knees.
"Kitty?!" Kurt's eyes widened in realisation. He ran up to her. João followed suit.
"What happened?" Kurt placed a hand on Kitty's shoulder.
"Kurt… João." Kitty looked up at the boys. Her eyes were teary. "How can people be so mean?"
"They fear what they don't know." Kurt sighed and smiled softly. "Don't cry." He said gently.
"How come humanity doesn't learn from its mistakes?" Kitty wiped a tear off her face. "My people have been persecuted and subjected to genocide in the past. They're talking about mutants in the same way people used to talk about the Jews and other minorities in the past!"
João gulped as he heard that. He hadn't thought about it that way. And seeing Kitty crying and hearing the pain in her voice made him feel even worse. It bothered him to see Kitty suffering, for some reason. He wanted to hug her and protect her, but he did not feel man enough to do so. Also, how would he know whether Kitty wanted him to hug her or even touch her shoulder gently and comfort her. Wasn't Kurt placing a hand on her shoulder good enough for her already?
After the school day was over, Xavier gathered everyone at the Institute in the common room. He knew about everything that happened, especially the physical altercations that Scott and João had gotten themselves involved in.
"We must issue a public statement." Xavier clasped his hands with a serious look on his face.
"A public statement?" Jean asked him to elaborate.
"We must speak to the mass media. We need to let mankind know that we mean no harm." He explained.
"Magneto and a few others would disagree on that statement, professor." João sighed.
"You're right, João." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows. "Not all mutants are good, indeed. But not all of us are bad either, as you know. The same applies to humans who are not mutants. And we have to make sure the world realises that.
The common room went quiet. They trusted the Professor, but João did fear that, somehow, Magneto had a point about not trusting humanity to accept mutants ever at all.
Press Conference and Christmas Gifts
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Making the rounds.
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- Mar 21, 2026
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The press conference room was filled with people. Mostly journalists and cameramen. Who was going to be interviewed? Charles Xavier and Ororo Munroe. They were sitting behind a table with microphones pointed at them. Both were dressed professionally, which for Xavier was just his standard outfit. As for Ororo, naturally she was not wearing her Storm outfit but a more formal regular outfit. Xavier and Ororo were the two ideal X-Men for the spokesperson kind of role. Logan was too surly and not much for small talk or pleasantries. Mr. McCoy was a very well-spoken man, but his beast form made it extremely difficult for him to show up in public. Even if the existence of mutants was well-known by now, he preferred not to speak to the media yet. People would be too shocked to see him. The press conference was about to begin.
"Good evening, everyone." Xavier cleared his throat and looked into the cameras with a calm and collected voice and demeanor. "My name is Charles Xavier. I'm the founder of Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters, where I welcome and help and train young people with mutant powers in order to make them not feel isolated by society." He opened.
"Where do those mutants come from?" An older journalist with glasses asked the first question.
"Mutations are caused by something called the X-gene. A person can be perfectly fine one day and then, suddenly, notice that they have superpowers. It doesn't matter where in the world that person is from or what their appearance is like. The X-gene can be present in any human being regardless of sex, nationality, height, weight, skin colour, sexual orientation, etc." Xavier explained as the cameras kept flashing.
"How can we be so sure that mutants are not a threat to society?" A younger journalist, a woman in her late 20s, stood up all the way from the back and shot Xavier a somewhat accusatory glare.
"Mutants, like any other human being, can be good, bad or something in-between. We're not any different in terms of morality despite our superpowers." Xavier explained calmly, without acting defensively.
"But we saw mutants showing their powers on TV and social media the other day!" A male reporter with glasses cried. "With those kinds of powers, mutants can do some serious property damage and even kill people!" The press conference room erupted in chatter among the media crews.
"I understand your concerns…" Xavier cleared his throat. "Indeed an individual who finds themselves having a very powerful ability that most of mankind does not possess, can become a threat to society if they're misguided or morally corrupt. Power can corrupt mutants too, I cannot deny." Xavier sighed slightly, understanding this press conference would become harder from then on.
"And what makes YOU think we can trust you and your students, Professor?" Another journalist, a middle aged woman in a ponytail, pointed the finger at Xavier.
"My Institute helps guide young mutants to the right path. We spot them early on when their powers first manifest thanks to Cerebro. And we contact them and their parents and explain to them how we'll help their children."
"And how do you help them?" Another voice asked. This one was a little less accusatory in tone.
"We have a team of adults where Ororo Munroe and myself are included." He nodded at Ororo who was sitting to his left. "We help them deal with their superpowers and explain to them when it's right to use them or not. We also send them to school, obviously. Bayville High is the name of the school the teenagers living at my Institute attend. And at the Institute, we have training exercises and also other activities that help them socialise with each other. It's important for young mutants to have a place where they can feel safe, welcomed and socialise among themselves. My Institute provides that for them." Xavier clasped his hands.
More chatter ensued. This time for a couple of minutes. Ororo decided to finally speak up.
"As mutants…" She began. "We understand that great power comes with great responsibility. Teenagers are very emotional individuals in general who are still finding themselves in this complex world we live in. Which is why our Institute is so important. If there was no Institute, many young mutants would be alone, shunned and possibly fall into delinquency. This is not any different from ordinary young people living in marginalised communities." She explained with a serious look on her face.
A bald reporter stood up. "Are all mutants human beings? No aliens among you?" He raised his eyebrow.
"Yes, we are human beings. We come from Earth." Xavier replied. "We might use the terms 'human' and 'mutant' separately for convenience sake, but we're not a different species. We just have an extra gene the vast majority of humanity does not have."
"Will there be more mutants in the future?" A short female reporter with a raspy voice sitting in the front row asked.
"It is possible mutants will become more common throughout the years, sure." Ororo nodded. "The X-gene might be the next step in evolution."
"Last question…" A glasses-wearing reporter with a grey mustache walked up from the back of the press conference room. "Does the word 'mutie' offend you?"
"We'd prefer not to be referred to as such, yes." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows.
"We consider it a slur." Ororo's faced darkened. "The same way you know it's highly offensive for you to call me the n-word, you shall know from now on that calling me a 'mutie' is also dehumanising."
More chatter broke out and it was time to wrap up the press conference.
Christmas week came. No school for a while for everyone. It was time for the X-Men to go spend the holiday season with their relatives. Ororo and her nephew, Evan, spent Christmas at Vivian's house. Vivian was Ororo's sister and Evan's mother.
The rest of the X-Men also spent their Christmas season with their parents. Naturally, Kitty's family did not celebrate Christmas, but Hanukkah instead. So Kitty was allowed to leave earlier due to Hanukkah moving around on the calendar each year. In Bobby's case, while his mother was Jewish, his father was Catholic. Therefore, their household was inter-faith and Bobby got to fully experience both Hanukkah and Christmas at home at the same time, more or less.
Xavier remained at the Institute. He was a divorced man and had a son whom he couldn't save from his multiple personality disorders.
Hank remained at the Institute as well. He had parents, but he felt like he couldn't just face them looking like the way he was. He didn't want to terrify them. To the surprise of many people at the Institute, Hank did not have a girlfriend or an ex-wife, despite him being such a charming man.
Logan just went to a random bar to play some snooker. He had no family as far as anyone knew. He was a lonewolf. No one knew what he'd be doing on actual Christmas day.
The rest of the X-Men just went home to their parents and/or relatives to celebrate Christmas, naturally. João spent Christmas with his mother, Teresa. She hugged him tightly when he arrived at the place Xavier found for her. She asked him all about his mutant journey and how he was liking the Institute and Bayville High. She knew the grades he was getting due to the school forwarding the report cards to her by e-mail. He was getting grades ranging from decent to good.
"Made any friends, querido?" (dear) She asked as she took a bite of her codfish, which was traditionally eaten in Portugal on Christmas Eve.
"I mean, I get along fine with the few people I mostly talk to at the Institute." João rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"That's nice to hear." She smiled, looking relieved. "Anyone in particular you get along well with?" She further inquired.
"Kurt and… Kitty." His voice lowered when he mentioned the latter.
"Kitty?" Teresa raised her eyebrow.
"Yeah…" João shrugged and took a bite of codfish, hoping his mother would change the subject.
"I see." She sipped her water and dropped the subject.
Some hours after dinner, it was midnight. Time to exchange Christmas presents. João excitedly opened his presents.
"Nier: Automata and Dragon Quest XI?!" His eyes nearly popped out as he held the two Nintendo Switch games in his hands. "Obrigado, mãe!" (Thanks, mum!)
"Don't mention it." She winked.
The Christmas tree's lights gave off an atmosphere of calmness. João's life had changed a lot ever since he manifested his mutant powers. And he was going to face additional challenges in a world that did not know what to make of mutants yet and had a lot of fear for them, still. He could always count on his mother's love and support and his fellow X-Men to have his back in battle, however.
"Good evening, everyone." Xavier cleared his throat and looked into the cameras with a calm and collected voice and demeanor. "My name is Charles Xavier. I'm the founder of Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters, where I welcome and help and train young people with mutant powers in order to make them not feel isolated by society." He opened.
"Where do those mutants come from?" An older journalist with glasses asked the first question.
"Mutations are caused by something called the X-gene. A person can be perfectly fine one day and then, suddenly, notice that they have superpowers. It doesn't matter where in the world that person is from or what their appearance is like. The X-gene can be present in any human being regardless of sex, nationality, height, weight, skin colour, sexual orientation, etc." Xavier explained as the cameras kept flashing.
"How can we be so sure that mutants are not a threat to society?" A younger journalist, a woman in her late 20s, stood up all the way from the back and shot Xavier a somewhat accusatory glare.
"Mutants, like any other human being, can be good, bad or something in-between. We're not any different in terms of morality despite our superpowers." Xavier explained calmly, without acting defensively.
"But we saw mutants showing their powers on TV and social media the other day!" A male reporter with glasses cried. "With those kinds of powers, mutants can do some serious property damage and even kill people!" The press conference room erupted in chatter among the media crews.
"I understand your concerns…" Xavier cleared his throat. "Indeed an individual who finds themselves having a very powerful ability that most of mankind does not possess, can become a threat to society if they're misguided or morally corrupt. Power can corrupt mutants too, I cannot deny." Xavier sighed slightly, understanding this press conference would become harder from then on.
"And what makes YOU think we can trust you and your students, Professor?" Another journalist, a middle aged woman in a ponytail, pointed the finger at Xavier.
"My Institute helps guide young mutants to the right path. We spot them early on when their powers first manifest thanks to Cerebro. And we contact them and their parents and explain to them how we'll help their children."
"And how do you help them?" Another voice asked. This one was a little less accusatory in tone.
"We have a team of adults where Ororo Munroe and myself are included." He nodded at Ororo who was sitting to his left. "We help them deal with their superpowers and explain to them when it's right to use them or not. We also send them to school, obviously. Bayville High is the name of the school the teenagers living at my Institute attend. And at the Institute, we have training exercises and also other activities that help them socialise with each other. It's important for young mutants to have a place where they can feel safe, welcomed and socialise among themselves. My Institute provides that for them." Xavier clasped his hands.
More chatter ensued. This time for a couple of minutes. Ororo decided to finally speak up.
"As mutants…" She began. "We understand that great power comes with great responsibility. Teenagers are very emotional individuals in general who are still finding themselves in this complex world we live in. Which is why our Institute is so important. If there was no Institute, many young mutants would be alone, shunned and possibly fall into delinquency. This is not any different from ordinary young people living in marginalised communities." She explained with a serious look on her face.
A bald reporter stood up. "Are all mutants human beings? No aliens among you?" He raised his eyebrow.
"Yes, we are human beings. We come from Earth." Xavier replied. "We might use the terms 'human' and 'mutant' separately for convenience sake, but we're not a different species. We just have an extra gene the vast majority of humanity does not have."
"Will there be more mutants in the future?" A short female reporter with a raspy voice sitting in the front row asked.
"It is possible mutants will become more common throughout the years, sure." Ororo nodded. "The X-gene might be the next step in evolution."
"Last question…" A glasses-wearing reporter with a grey mustache walked up from the back of the press conference room. "Does the word 'mutie' offend you?"
"We'd prefer not to be referred to as such, yes." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows.
"We consider it a slur." Ororo's faced darkened. "The same way you know it's highly offensive for you to call me the n-word, you shall know from now on that calling me a 'mutie' is also dehumanising."
More chatter broke out and it was time to wrap up the press conference.
Christmas week came. No school for a while for everyone. It was time for the X-Men to go spend the holiday season with their relatives. Ororo and her nephew, Evan, spent Christmas at Vivian's house. Vivian was Ororo's sister and Evan's mother.
The rest of the X-Men also spent their Christmas season with their parents. Naturally, Kitty's family did not celebrate Christmas, but Hanukkah instead. So Kitty was allowed to leave earlier due to Hanukkah moving around on the calendar each year. In Bobby's case, while his mother was Jewish, his father was Catholic. Therefore, their household was inter-faith and Bobby got to fully experience both Hanukkah and Christmas at home at the same time, more or less.
Xavier remained at the Institute. He was a divorced man and had a son whom he couldn't save from his multiple personality disorders.
Hank remained at the Institute as well. He had parents, but he felt like he couldn't just face them looking like the way he was. He didn't want to terrify them. To the surprise of many people at the Institute, Hank did not have a girlfriend or an ex-wife, despite him being such a charming man.
Logan just went to a random bar to play some snooker. He had no family as far as anyone knew. He was a lonewolf. No one knew what he'd be doing on actual Christmas day.
The rest of the X-Men just went home to their parents and/or relatives to celebrate Christmas, naturally. João spent Christmas with his mother, Teresa. She hugged him tightly when he arrived at the place Xavier found for her. She asked him all about his mutant journey and how he was liking the Institute and Bayville High. She knew the grades he was getting due to the school forwarding the report cards to her by e-mail. He was getting grades ranging from decent to good.
"Made any friends, querido?" (dear) She asked as she took a bite of her codfish, which was traditionally eaten in Portugal on Christmas Eve.
"I mean, I get along fine with the few people I mostly talk to at the Institute." João rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"That's nice to hear." She smiled, looking relieved. "Anyone in particular you get along well with?" She further inquired.
"Kurt and… Kitty." His voice lowered when he mentioned the latter.
"Kitty?" Teresa raised her eyebrow.
"Yeah…" João shrugged and took a bite of codfish, hoping his mother would change the subject.
"I see." She sipped her water and dropped the subject.
Some hours after dinner, it was midnight. Time to exchange Christmas presents. João excitedly opened his presents.
"Nier: Automata and Dragon Quest XI?!" His eyes nearly popped out as he held the two Nintendo Switch games in his hands. "Obrigado, mãe!" (Thanks, mum!)
"Don't mention it." She winked.
The Christmas tree's lights gave off an atmosphere of calmness. João's life had changed a lot ever since he manifested his mutant powers. And he was going to face additional challenges in a world that did not know what to make of mutants yet and had a lot of fear for them, still. He could always count on his mother's love and support and his fellow X-Men to have his back in battle, however.
Uno Reverse Card
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Making the rounds.
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2026
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- Likes received
- 82
Roughly a year had passed since João moved to the Institute and became an X-Man. He was now 16 years old and a 10th grader. He's learned to control his powers for the most part. They were no longer manifesting themselves randomly or not coming out when he need them to. João's shadow powers were quite versatile. He could form many solid objects with his shadows, from whips, to guns, to spears, etc. The shadow matter he shot off his hands and feet could be as hard as metal or steel. But he could also use his shadow powers for stealthy missions. He could blend into his shadow on the floor or on the walls. Which made him and Kitty form a very good stealth duo.
And, of course, his mutant outfit was a long sleeved black outfit with 666 written on the mid-section in big red numbers and an image of a Manowar-like muscled warrior holding an axe under it. It was like a Metal album cover, basically. On the right sleeve, over the delt, there was a black and white drawing of the metal horns hand gesture sign. Naturally, João also wore a leather bracelet with 4 rows of spikes on his right wrist. A common fashion statement by Metal heads. However, he kept his hair medium-short. Long hair was not really his thing.
When it came to his body, João had experienced a growth spurt within the past year or so. He went from being around 174cm tall to being 182cm tall. Which meant he was now taller than Jean and Ororo, who were 178cm and 180cm tall, respectively. He was still shorter than Scott, though, who was 190cm tall. But he clearly leaped over Kurt, who remained around 175cm, and was also a tad taller than Bobby who remained at 178cm. Evan also grew up within the past year and was now 180cm, the same height as his aunt.
As for physical strength, João was still thin, but was more toned due to the weight sessions with Logan. He had developed a strong enough core which gave him firm abs. He also grew biceps and triceps. Not very large ones, but they existed. And his back muscles were also surprisingly strong.
As for his personality, João still was a little bit shy and struggled at getting closer to people. His friend circle did expand a bit, though. He was still friendly with Kurt and Kitty, but also got to know Bobby and Amara more as well. As for the others, João got along fine with them, but was not as close. Not even with Rogue, despite both having similar broody energy. João seemed to do better with those who were more energetic than him.
As for the rest of the X-Men, they all kept on improving as well. Amara was now attending Bayville High like the rest as well, since she was finally a 9th grader.
When it came to bigotry, most of the X-Men struggled at getting along with other human students in school. Society still largely feared mutants. And many of those who did not hate mutants were afraid to speak out for them. Principal Kelly, unfortunately, was one of the most prejudiced people against mutants. He was even running for Mayor of Bayville. A major point of his campaign platform was the Mutant Registration Act. If he became mayor, all mutants in the city would be legally required to disclose their mutant status and register at the city hall. A highly discriminatory law that the X-Men frowned upon.
The Brotherhood kept on attending school and causing trouble. They mostly used it to cause havoc and even bully other kids. Lance did it quite less than the others.
There had not been another showdown between the X-Men and Magneto, but they all knew he was out there still.
"Take this, Metalhead!" Iceman fired a thick ice beam against João.
"Oh yeah?" João smirked and created a solid shadow sword with his right hand. He swung it and broke the incoming ice beam. Afterwards, he dropped the sword on the floor, since it was getting a little too heavy for him. He had biceps and triceps now, but his hands were still a bit too weak to carry heavy objects, which made lifting heavier loads in the weight room complicated.
"You might have broken my ice, but leaving yourself open like that in the battlefield, yikes, man!" Bobby winced slightly.
"Alright, training over!" Storm announced.
Afterwards, they hit the showers and changed to their regular clothes. As João walked downstairs to the common room, he spotted Bobby, Amara, Kitty and Kurt sitting together, chatting and playing Uno.
"Hey, João! Over here!" Kurt waved happily.
João nodded and sat down next to Kitty. She was still just as cute as ever and he still felt fascinated by her blue eyes. As usual, he felt a little nervous sitting right next to her, but he couldn't let anyone see that, especially Kitty.
Amara shuffled the deck and everyone took their cards. João looked at his hand. He was never the biggest or the best Uno player, so he forgot about what some of the cards did. Uno was known to ruin friendships, but if his social group could survive Mario Kart co-op, then it sure as hell could survive Uno as well. The game went on for a bit and João, somehow, managed to win it.
"Are you kidding me?!" Kitty cried in frustration.
"Daaaamn!" Bobby laughed.
"You were saving that card!" Amara pointed at João
"Wahnsinn!" (Awesome!). Kurt grinned.
"Oh." João was feeling a little bashful over his victory.
"I'll get you for this!" Kitty smirked and wiggled her finger in his face.
The Bayville Natural History Museum was really interesting. One of the most notable cultural places in the city. It was common to see families with kids visiting it. Little did anyone know that the museum would end up in chaos that day.
*SMASH!*
A massive hole opened in the wall as someone smashed through it. The museum's security, staff and visitors looked at it in shock.
"CHARLES!" A massive man in a red outfit and wearing a helmet shouted angrily as he stepped into the museum.
"W-who are you?!" One of the museum's security guards pointed at him.
"OUT OF MY SIGHT!" The towering man grabbed the nearby allosaurus skeleton and threw it at the security guard, who became trapped under it.
"AAAAAAH!" Visitors and staff fled screaming in panic. This man was clearly a mutant on a rampage.
The Uno game went surprisingly well for João, but that was history. He needed to do his homework now. He was about to enter his bedroom when Kitty ran up to him.
"João, could you help me with the algebra homework?" She stood next to his bedroom door and looked at him with her hands behind her back and a pleading look on her face.
"Huh?!" João blinked rapidly in surprise.
"I'm struggling and could use some help!" Kitty clasped her hands together.
"Ok… sure." João rubbed the back of his head. "But why me? I'm not that great at maths."
"Neither am I. Two heads will think better than one, then." She grinned.
"Ok, fair." João sighed and opened the door. He then blushed. This was the first time ever a girl would enter his bedroom.
João's bedroom had changed a bit ever since he moved to the Institute. He personalised it a bit more. The first thing any visitor noticed were the posters on the walls. Iron Maiden, Sodom and Bolt Thrower posters as far as metal bands went. Other than that, there were a few other posters. One of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time, the classic Nintendo 64 video game. A The Witcher III: Wild Hunt poster, also another video game poster. And, finally, a picture of a football stadium packed with fans in the stands.
"Your room is just like how I imagined it." Kitty giggled. "What stadium is that?" She pointed at the football stadium poster.
"Estádio da Luz. Benfica's stadium. They're the football team I support." João explained proudly.
"They're a Portuguese soccer team, I'm guessing?" Kitty blinked.
"Indeed." João smiled.
"Ah, soccer is not that big here in the US." Kitty rubbed the back of her head.
She then noticed the bookshelf and walked up to it. João was taking his maths textbook off his backpack when he noticed Kitty looking at his book collection.
"Oh, the maths book isn't there." João pointed out.
"I know." Kitty rolled her eyes. "But you do have a lot of interesting books here." She raised her eyebrow.
"Such as?" João asked.
"The Trial and Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Liquid Modernity by Zygmunt Bauman. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx…" She mentioned some examples.
"Oh, why those 4 in particular?" João blinked rapidly in surprise. He didn't really take Kitty for the type of girl that would read those authors.
"Oh, can't a girl be interested in books like these?" Kitty spun around, folded her arms and looked at João.
"Of course she can…" João's anxiety rose a bit. He did not expect Kitty to react that way. "Let's do the homework then." He shifted his gaze away from her.
Xavier was scrolling through his phone in his office when he saw the news of the towering man wrecking the museum.
"Cain!" His eyes widened in shock. "What is he doing back in Bayville?!" He rolled out of his office on his wheelchair and ran into Jean.
"Professor? Is everything alright?" Jean sensed something was wrong.
"Jean. Take Logan and Scott to the Bayville Museum of Natural History, now." Xavier ordered with a concerned look on his face.
"Why?!" Jean blinked rapidly.
"Juggernaut is back!" Xavier cried.
"SHIT!" Both turned their heads. Logan overhead them and had an angry look on his face.
"Yes, Logan." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows. "But please, don't kill him. He's my half-brother, after all." He reminded him.
"I know who that asshole is, Charles! You don't need to remind me!" Logan snarled. "But don't expect me to go easy on him. That guy is an animal!"
"Yes, Cain is a very dangerous individual." Xavier nodded.
"Let's go, Logan!" Jean motioned for Logan to follow her. Both ran off.
"Cain…" Xavier sighed.
Kitty and João were done with their algebra homework. After some difficulties, both managed to solve the two difficult problems through some brainstorming. João sat on his bed and opened his laptop to watch something. He opened up a pirate streaming service and Kitty, out of curiosity, took a not so subtle peak. She wanted to know if her friend was into tv shows he'd never admit to watching in public, like all guys did. But she spotted something else instead.
"Wait, you watch Curb Your Enthusiasm AND Seinfeld?!" Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Yeah…" João chuckled. "Normally I prefer British humour, but those two are the best American sitcoms." He added.
"Oh my gosh!" Kitty covered her mouth and laughed.
"What?" João was perplexed by her reaction.
"Don't you see what's going on here?" She smirked.
"No…?" João raised his eyebrow. Once again, his anxiety was rising.
"Well, the books by Kafka, Bauman and Marx and now Seinfeld and Curb." Kitty folded her arms and kept her teasing smirk on her face.
"What are you talking about, Kitty?" João opened his hands. He had no idea what Kitty was even trying to say.
"Duh!" She rolled her eyes, amused. "Have you ever noticed that you like a lot of stuff made by Jewish people?" She asked.
"Huh?!" João blinked rapidly, taken aback by that question.
"What, you didn't know Karl Marx, Franz Kafka and Zygmunt Bauman were Jewish?" She bent over and put her hands on her knees and her smirk grew wider.
"O-of c-course I knew that!" João stuttered a bit defensively. "So what?!"
"I just think it's pretty funny that, like, you've never met a Jewish person back in Portugal and that I'm the very first Jewish person you've ever met in your life, and yet…" She placed an indeed finger on her chin.
João just waited for her to conclude her point. He was starting to sweat bullets, for some odd reason.
"...you seem to love Jewish art and literature." She winked mischievously.
"I-I don't look up the religious beliefs of people behind the media I consume before I pick their works up!" João cried.
"Oh, João!" She jumped on his bed, right next to him, which made him squirm a bit. "Judaism is much more than a religion. It's a culture rich in food, traditions, sense of humour, love for education and the arts. You loving art and books made by my fellow people seems much more than a mere coincidence. Clearly, Kafkaesque situations are very familiar to you and Larry David's neurotic behaviour resonates with you as well." She kept smirking and then took another look at the streaming app open on his laptop. "And I see you also like stuff directed and produced by Steven Spielberg. From Indiana Jones to all of those cartoons he produced in the 90s like Animaniacs." She teased further.
João backed off a little more and was now on the edge of his bed.
"Why are you so tense?" Kitty couldn't help but tease him further more. She was loving that.
João blushed, which took Kitty aback by a bit. She got off his bed and decided to stop teasing him.
"Anyway, thanks for helping me with my algebra homework. Although I think I helped you just about as much." She smiled. This time without any teasing behind it. She walked over to the door and opened it. "Bye." She waved.
"Bye…" João regained his composure and his heart rhythm was back to normal again.
"Yada-yada-yada!" Kitty smirked and teased him one last time before closing the door.
João was left stunned alone in his bedroom. What happened? Why was Kitty tormenting him like that?! He never saw her act that way around him before. Was that just simply payback for beating her at Uno earlier that day?
And, of course, his mutant outfit was a long sleeved black outfit with 666 written on the mid-section in big red numbers and an image of a Manowar-like muscled warrior holding an axe under it. It was like a Metal album cover, basically. On the right sleeve, over the delt, there was a black and white drawing of the metal horns hand gesture sign. Naturally, João also wore a leather bracelet with 4 rows of spikes on his right wrist. A common fashion statement by Metal heads. However, he kept his hair medium-short. Long hair was not really his thing.
When it came to his body, João had experienced a growth spurt within the past year or so. He went from being around 174cm tall to being 182cm tall. Which meant he was now taller than Jean and Ororo, who were 178cm and 180cm tall, respectively. He was still shorter than Scott, though, who was 190cm tall. But he clearly leaped over Kurt, who remained around 175cm, and was also a tad taller than Bobby who remained at 178cm. Evan also grew up within the past year and was now 180cm, the same height as his aunt.
As for physical strength, João was still thin, but was more toned due to the weight sessions with Logan. He had developed a strong enough core which gave him firm abs. He also grew biceps and triceps. Not very large ones, but they existed. And his back muscles were also surprisingly strong.
As for his personality, João still was a little bit shy and struggled at getting closer to people. His friend circle did expand a bit, though. He was still friendly with Kurt and Kitty, but also got to know Bobby and Amara more as well. As for the others, João got along fine with them, but was not as close. Not even with Rogue, despite both having similar broody energy. João seemed to do better with those who were more energetic than him.
As for the rest of the X-Men, they all kept on improving as well. Amara was now attending Bayville High like the rest as well, since she was finally a 9th grader.
When it came to bigotry, most of the X-Men struggled at getting along with other human students in school. Society still largely feared mutants. And many of those who did not hate mutants were afraid to speak out for them. Principal Kelly, unfortunately, was one of the most prejudiced people against mutants. He was even running for Mayor of Bayville. A major point of his campaign platform was the Mutant Registration Act. If he became mayor, all mutants in the city would be legally required to disclose their mutant status and register at the city hall. A highly discriminatory law that the X-Men frowned upon.
The Brotherhood kept on attending school and causing trouble. They mostly used it to cause havoc and even bully other kids. Lance did it quite less than the others.
There had not been another showdown between the X-Men and Magneto, but they all knew he was out there still.
"Take this, Metalhead!" Iceman fired a thick ice beam against João.
"Oh yeah?" João smirked and created a solid shadow sword with his right hand. He swung it and broke the incoming ice beam. Afterwards, he dropped the sword on the floor, since it was getting a little too heavy for him. He had biceps and triceps now, but his hands were still a bit too weak to carry heavy objects, which made lifting heavier loads in the weight room complicated.
"You might have broken my ice, but leaving yourself open like that in the battlefield, yikes, man!" Bobby winced slightly.
"Alright, training over!" Storm announced.
Afterwards, they hit the showers and changed to their regular clothes. As João walked downstairs to the common room, he spotted Bobby, Amara, Kitty and Kurt sitting together, chatting and playing Uno.
"Hey, João! Over here!" Kurt waved happily.
João nodded and sat down next to Kitty. She was still just as cute as ever and he still felt fascinated by her blue eyes. As usual, he felt a little nervous sitting right next to her, but he couldn't let anyone see that, especially Kitty.
Amara shuffled the deck and everyone took their cards. João looked at his hand. He was never the biggest or the best Uno player, so he forgot about what some of the cards did. Uno was known to ruin friendships, but if his social group could survive Mario Kart co-op, then it sure as hell could survive Uno as well. The game went on for a bit and João, somehow, managed to win it.
"Are you kidding me?!" Kitty cried in frustration.
"Daaaamn!" Bobby laughed.
"You were saving that card!" Amara pointed at João
"Wahnsinn!" (Awesome!). Kurt grinned.
"Oh." João was feeling a little bashful over his victory.
"I'll get you for this!" Kitty smirked and wiggled her finger in his face.
The Bayville Natural History Museum was really interesting. One of the most notable cultural places in the city. It was common to see families with kids visiting it. Little did anyone know that the museum would end up in chaos that day.
*SMASH!*
A massive hole opened in the wall as someone smashed through it. The museum's security, staff and visitors looked at it in shock.
"CHARLES!" A massive man in a red outfit and wearing a helmet shouted angrily as he stepped into the museum.
"W-who are you?!" One of the museum's security guards pointed at him.
"OUT OF MY SIGHT!" The towering man grabbed the nearby allosaurus skeleton and threw it at the security guard, who became trapped under it.
"AAAAAAH!" Visitors and staff fled screaming in panic. This man was clearly a mutant on a rampage.
The Uno game went surprisingly well for João, but that was history. He needed to do his homework now. He was about to enter his bedroom when Kitty ran up to him.
"João, could you help me with the algebra homework?" She stood next to his bedroom door and looked at him with her hands behind her back and a pleading look on her face.
"Huh?!" João blinked rapidly in surprise.
"I'm struggling and could use some help!" Kitty clasped her hands together.
"Ok… sure." João rubbed the back of his head. "But why me? I'm not that great at maths."
"Neither am I. Two heads will think better than one, then." She grinned.
"Ok, fair." João sighed and opened the door. He then blushed. This was the first time ever a girl would enter his bedroom.
João's bedroom had changed a bit ever since he moved to the Institute. He personalised it a bit more. The first thing any visitor noticed were the posters on the walls. Iron Maiden, Sodom and Bolt Thrower posters as far as metal bands went. Other than that, there were a few other posters. One of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time, the classic Nintendo 64 video game. A The Witcher III: Wild Hunt poster, also another video game poster. And, finally, a picture of a football stadium packed with fans in the stands.
"Your room is just like how I imagined it." Kitty giggled. "What stadium is that?" She pointed at the football stadium poster.
"Estádio da Luz. Benfica's stadium. They're the football team I support." João explained proudly.
"They're a Portuguese soccer team, I'm guessing?" Kitty blinked.
"Indeed." João smiled.
"Ah, soccer is not that big here in the US." Kitty rubbed the back of her head.
She then noticed the bookshelf and walked up to it. João was taking his maths textbook off his backpack when he noticed Kitty looking at his book collection.
"Oh, the maths book isn't there." João pointed out.
"I know." Kitty rolled her eyes. "But you do have a lot of interesting books here." She raised her eyebrow.
"Such as?" João asked.
"The Trial and Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Liquid Modernity by Zygmunt Bauman. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx…" She mentioned some examples.
"Oh, why those 4 in particular?" João blinked rapidly in surprise. He didn't really take Kitty for the type of girl that would read those authors.
"Oh, can't a girl be interested in books like these?" Kitty spun around, folded her arms and looked at João.
"Of course she can…" João's anxiety rose a bit. He did not expect Kitty to react that way. "Let's do the homework then." He shifted his gaze away from her.
Xavier was scrolling through his phone in his office when he saw the news of the towering man wrecking the museum.
"Cain!" His eyes widened in shock. "What is he doing back in Bayville?!" He rolled out of his office on his wheelchair and ran into Jean.
"Professor? Is everything alright?" Jean sensed something was wrong.
"Jean. Take Logan and Scott to the Bayville Museum of Natural History, now." Xavier ordered with a concerned look on his face.
"Why?!" Jean blinked rapidly.
"Juggernaut is back!" Xavier cried.
"SHIT!" Both turned their heads. Logan overhead them and had an angry look on his face.
"Yes, Logan." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows. "But please, don't kill him. He's my half-brother, after all." He reminded him.
"I know who that asshole is, Charles! You don't need to remind me!" Logan snarled. "But don't expect me to go easy on him. That guy is an animal!"
"Yes, Cain is a very dangerous individual." Xavier nodded.
"Let's go, Logan!" Jean motioned for Logan to follow her. Both ran off.
"Cain…" Xavier sighed.
Kitty and João were done with their algebra homework. After some difficulties, both managed to solve the two difficult problems through some brainstorming. João sat on his bed and opened his laptop to watch something. He opened up a pirate streaming service and Kitty, out of curiosity, took a not so subtle peak. She wanted to know if her friend was into tv shows he'd never admit to watching in public, like all guys did. But she spotted something else instead.
"Wait, you watch Curb Your Enthusiasm AND Seinfeld?!" Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Yeah…" João chuckled. "Normally I prefer British humour, but those two are the best American sitcoms." He added.
"Oh my gosh!" Kitty covered her mouth and laughed.
"What?" João was perplexed by her reaction.
"Don't you see what's going on here?" She smirked.
"No…?" João raised his eyebrow. Once again, his anxiety was rising.
"Well, the books by Kafka, Bauman and Marx and now Seinfeld and Curb." Kitty folded her arms and kept her teasing smirk on her face.
"What are you talking about, Kitty?" João opened his hands. He had no idea what Kitty was even trying to say.
"Duh!" She rolled her eyes, amused. "Have you ever noticed that you like a lot of stuff made by Jewish people?" She asked.
"Huh?!" João blinked rapidly, taken aback by that question.
"What, you didn't know Karl Marx, Franz Kafka and Zygmunt Bauman were Jewish?" She bent over and put her hands on her knees and her smirk grew wider.
"O-of c-course I knew that!" João stuttered a bit defensively. "So what?!"
"I just think it's pretty funny that, like, you've never met a Jewish person back in Portugal and that I'm the very first Jewish person you've ever met in your life, and yet…" She placed an indeed finger on her chin.
João just waited for her to conclude her point. He was starting to sweat bullets, for some odd reason.
"...you seem to love Jewish art and literature." She winked mischievously.
"I-I don't look up the religious beliefs of people behind the media I consume before I pick their works up!" João cried.
"Oh, João!" She jumped on his bed, right next to him, which made him squirm a bit. "Judaism is much more than a religion. It's a culture rich in food, traditions, sense of humour, love for education and the arts. You loving art and books made by my fellow people seems much more than a mere coincidence. Clearly, Kafkaesque situations are very familiar to you and Larry David's neurotic behaviour resonates with you as well." She kept smirking and then took another look at the streaming app open on his laptop. "And I see you also like stuff directed and produced by Steven Spielberg. From Indiana Jones to all of those cartoons he produced in the 90s like Animaniacs." She teased further.
João backed off a little more and was now on the edge of his bed.
"Why are you so tense?" Kitty couldn't help but tease him further more. She was loving that.
João blushed, which took Kitty aback by a bit. She got off his bed and decided to stop teasing him.
"Anyway, thanks for helping me with my algebra homework. Although I think I helped you just about as much." She smiled. This time without any teasing behind it. She walked over to the door and opened it. "Bye." She waved.
"Bye…" João regained his composure and his heart rhythm was back to normal again.
"Yada-yada-yada!" Kitty smirked and teased him one last time before closing the door.
João was left stunned alone in his bedroom. What happened? Why was Kitty tormenting him like that?! He never saw her act that way around him before. Was that just simply payback for beating her at Uno earlier that day?
The Larry David Dream
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EmperorOfHeavyMetal
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"AAAH!" Cyclops yelled in pain as Juggernaut picked him up and threw him against a fossil display.
"SCOTT!" Jean shouted in concern.
"That bastard!" Wolverine growled.
"WHERE IS CHARLES!" Juggernaut demanded to know.
"He's not here!" Jean cried angrily. "He sent us to stop you!"
"I WANT TO KILL HIM!" Juggernaut yelled in rage.
"We won't let you!" Wolverine jumped and slashed at his helmet, popping it off his head. Juggernaut was now vulnerable to attacks.
"WHY YOU!" Juggernaut yelled in anger and grabbed Wolverine in mid-air.
Jean put her hands on the sides of her head and closed her eyes. Juggernaut was swept off his feet and forced to let go of Wolverine.
"AAAH!" Juggernaut yelled as he was at Jean's complete mercy.
Cyclops got up, aimed at Juggernaut's head in the air and fired one optical blast at him.
"FUUUCK!" Juggernaut yelled in pain as the optical blast beam burnt his face. He then fell on the ground and covered his head in pain.
Police cars and a very large police van came in and the X-Men had to flee. But, when they were about to leave the museum, Xavier showed up.
"Professor!" Jean's eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"
"To use my powers to prevent Cain from getting up and hurting others again. And to tell the police how to immobilise him." Xavier explained as he rolled into the museum.
Jean looked up at Cyclops. "Are you okay, Scott?" She asked, still a little worried about his well-being.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Jean." Scott smiled as he rubbed the side of his head.
"I'm so glad." Jean sighed in relief and both looked at each other in silence for a moment.
"So… good job." Scott rubbed his temple.
"Same to you." Jean blushed slightly.
Meanwhile, Xavier was talking to the police, explaining to them that he had telepathic powers and could immobilise Juggernaut by going inside his head.
"Go on, then." The officer, who was clearly a superior, said.
Xavier rolled right in front of Juggernaut, put up his hands to the side of his own head and closed his eyes.
"UGGGH!" Juggernaut rocked about on the floor and grimaced. He was trying to fight off his brother's powers as hard as he could, but to no avail, since he ended up fainting.
"That was easier than I thought it would be." Xavier put his arms down.
"Impressive." The superior officer's eyes widened.
"He won't offer any resistance now." Xavier nodded.
"Thank you very much, mister…?" The officer knew Xavier looked familiar but didn't know his name.
"Xavier. Professor Charles Xavier." The professor smiled. "I also would like to thank you, officer, for not letting me use my powers to help you detain him." He nodded at Juggernaut who was lying on the floor unconscious.
"Don't mention it." The officer waved and signaled to his men to handcuff Juggernaut. Naturally, they had to bring in the very large van to put such a massive man in. "Oh, and professor?" The cop turned around.
"Yes?" Xavier raised his eyebrow.
"For the record, not everyone hates mutants." The officer said with a serious but calm look on his face.
Xavier smiled and Jean and Cyclops also looked somewhat relieved upon hearing those words. Meanwhile, there was one museum visitor who hadn't fled the scene and was hiding. It was a young woman with black hair and wearing jeans and a sweater. She decided to finally walk away slowly. As she left the museum and walked into a nearby alley she changed form. It was Mystique all along.
"I can't believe Juggernaut failed like that!" She clenched her fist. "Magneto won't be thrilled about this…" She groaned.
João was in a strange office. He was wearing a suit and a tie, which was weird. But somehow, he shrugged. His desk was of quality wood. As were his bookshelves. He had no idea where all of that came from, but he wasn't going to question either, which was kind of out of character for him.
*KNOCK KNOCK* A couple of knocks on the door were heard.
"Come in!" João said, without hesitation.
The door slowly opened and João's vision went foggy for a moment. Who came out of the door. He couldn't believe it.
"LARRY DAVID?!" João jolted off his seat in shock and awe.
"Hey, Johnny boy!" Larry grinned goofily and walked up to his desk.
"Larry… what an honour!" João was genuinely in shock. "What are you doing here!" He smiled.
"Well I came here to see you." Larry chuckled. He did not sit down.
"About…?" João rubbed his temple. What could Larry David, of all people, possibly want from him?
"I was talking to this nice old lady the other day and she told me she met your grandmother." Larry explained.
"Huh? My grandma? What?" João blinked rapidly in confusion. What was going on here?
"And she told me that your grandma was a proud Catholic, is that right?" Larry raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah…?" João also raised his eyebrow. "What about it, mister David?" He suddenly became formal, realising he was talking to a man old enough to be his grandfather.
"How does a Jew have a Catholic grandmother?" Larry folded his arms.
João just stared at him blankly. He had no idea what Larry was talking about.
"What 'Jew'?" João inquired.
"You." Larry titled his head slightly.
"Me?!" João blinked rapidly in shock at Larry's assertion. "I'm not Jewish, mister David." He shook his head.
"Oh, you're not?" Larry's eyes widened in surprise.
"No…" João slowly replied. "Why, you thought I was?" He snorted.
"Yes, I did." Larry grinned and slowly nodded.
"Why, though? That doesn't make any sense…" João rubbed his chin, feeling more and more perplexed with the conversation he was having.
"Well, the other day I saw you reading The Trial by Franz Kafka." Larry pointed out.
"Where?" João's eyes widened.
"At the library." Larry explained. "Also, you're a big fan of my shows: Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm." He added.
"They're great shows." João chuckled. "Am I not allowed to watch them?"
"What about this?" Larry extended his arm and reached for a… Babs Bunny plush toy on João's desk, which was not there before Larry entered the office room! "A Babs Bunny stuffed toy?" He smirked.
"What about it?" João was surprised to see it there. He had no idea he had one of those.
"You know, Tiny Toon Adventures." Larry looked up. "A 90s cartoon made by Jewish director Steven Spielberg. Why is a kid born in, what was it, 2010, a fan of it?" Larry asked in an accusatory tone.
"I-It's fun and has cute talking animals!" João raised his voice. He was getting nervous over this line of questioning by Larry.
"What about this?!" A book then magically popped up in Larry's empty hand.
"The hell?!" João's eyes nearly popped out of his face in shock.
"Liquid Modernity by Zygmunt Bauman." Larry read the title of the book out loud. "Why does a non-Jewish teenage boy own this book?!" And he raised his voice, increasing his accusatory tone.
"I can't read a book now?!" Sweat dropped off João's temples.
"And why do you have Gustav Mahler CDs?! AND BILLY JOEL?!" Larry was now holding 2 CDs in his hands.
"F-first of all, Billy Joel?!" João's jaw nearly dropped. "My mother listens to him. I don't!" He explained.
"WHAT ABOUT THIS BOOK?!" Again, another item magically appeared in Larry's hand "The Jewish State by Theodor Herzl?!" He cried.
"T-t-that's not mine!" João stuttered as he pointed at the book. "Where did you even…?"
"AND YOUR LOVE FOR INDIANA JONES, PINKY AND THE BRAIN, ANIMANIACS, FREAKAZOID?!" Larry was practically screaming as he pointed at posters of those 90s Spielberg cartoons that suddenly appeared by magic on João's office walls.
"T-t-they're classics!" João was getting more and more nervous. Larry was absolutely murdering him on the spot.
"AND THIS JEWISH GIRL YOU LIKE?!" Once again, by magic, Larry David was now holding the portrait of a teenage girl in his hands. He showed it to João's face. It was a portrait of Kitty Pryde.
"I D-D-DON'T…." João blushed furiously.
"What are you, by the way?" Larry lowered his voice a bit, but nonetheless, delivered that question with an authoritative tone.
"Huh? An Atheist…" João muttered.
"Not that! What is your ethnicity?!" Larry cried.
"You mean… like Portuguese?" João winced and raised his eyebrow.
"Wait, PORTUGUESE?!" Larry's eyes widened in surprise. "Why are you so obsessed with us, then?!" He folded his arms.
"Obsessed with whom?!" João stood up from his office chair and shouted.
"US! THE JEWS!" Larry was practically screaming again. "THE SAME WAY THAT TYPE O NEGATIVE WROTE A METAL SONG TITLED 'EVERYONE I LOVE IS DEAD' YOU SHOULD WRITE A METAL SONG TITLED 'EVERYONE I LOVE IS JEWISH'!" He concluded, waving his arms up in the air in vintage Larry rant fashion.
"NOOOOO…!" João screamed and his vision went black for a while. After a minute passed, he opened his eyes and was lying in his bed and sweating.
"Wait, it was all a dream?!" João sat up in bed and rubbed his head. He looked at his phone. It was 3AM. "Big Apple, 3 A.M." He muttered and sighed, lying on his bed mattress again and taking a deep sigh. He looked up at the ceiling and had difficulty falling asleep again. "A Larry David dream of all things?" João groaned. "Why couldn't I have a Monica Bellucci dream or something, instead?" He sighed and then smirked weakly. "That one is not Jewish, for sure. How about that, LD?"
Training wasn't going that well for Metalhead that morning. He slept for about 5 hours at best last night, after all. The objective of today's training was to simulate a hostage rescue. Metalhead was part of the rescue team alongside Wolverine, Jean Grey and Iceman. The bad guys were Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Rogue and Magma. The hostages were Beast, Storm, Spyke and Shadowcat. Metalhead's role in the rescue simulation exercise was to use his shadow-like powers in a stealthy way to get inside the room where the hostages were being held and free them, but he was sloppy and Magma overheard him. So they fought and she defeated him. He got some second degree burns on his right arm thanks to that. He was now at the infirmary Mr. McCoy was applying some ointment on his arm and wrapping it with bandages as well.
"Ouch!" João winced, feeling a burning sensation.
"It stings and burns a bit at first, but that's because it's doing its work." Mr. McCoy smiled softly.
"What a mess!" João sighed.
"I'd have hated to be an actual hostage in a real life situation and seeing one of my heroes getting beaten like that." Mr. McCoy shuddered and chuckled.
"Hey now! Cut me some slack, Mr. McCoy!" João cried, feeling embarrassed.
"Sorry!" He laughed.
"Mister Logan is so gonna kill me." It was time for João to shudder now.
"I hope I never get to fail him, indeed." Mr. McCoy winced a bit and smiled at João sympathetically.
"The more I get to know you, the more I can see why you were everyone's favourite teacher at Bayville, Mr. McCoy." João smiled weakly as he felt his bandages.
"Too bad I never got to have you as a student." He smiled.
"What subjects did you teach, again?" João rubbed his chin.
"Science and math." Mr. McCoy smirked.
"Oh, really?" João raised his eyebrow.
"You thought I taught English, I assume?" Mr. McCoy folded his arms and looked at him with an amused smirk.
"I mean, you quote Shakespeare often." João rubbed the back of his head with his left hand.
"Why, yes, indeed." The blue furried beast laughed.
João's mood improved a bit, at least. Mr. McCoy was a very nice man that always knew how to put people in a good mood, somehow.
At school, Scott was eating his lunch quietly while sitting at the same table as Bobby, João and Rogue. He was not taking part in the conversation, though. He was too distracted by Jean's beauty, as he kept looking across the school cafeteria where Jean was sitting on another table with Kitty and Amara.
"What about you, Scott?" Kurt asked. Scott didn't hear him. "Scott?" Kurt raised his eyebrow.
Rogue furrowed her eyebrows. She knew what was going on. Scott was mesmerised by Jean once again. He wasn't subtle at all about his crush on her. Well, not crush, but more like he was clearly in love with Jean.
"Earth to Scott!" Bobby waved his hand in front of Scott's face.
"Huh?" Scott snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head forward to look at Bobby.
"What's with you, man?" Kurt frowned, feeling somewhat hurt that Scott wasn't listening to him.
"Sorry… I was thinking about something else." Scott rubbed the back of his head and smiled.
"The upcoming tests?" João asked innocently as he took a bite of his lunch.
"Something like that, yeah." Scott nodded.
"A test named Jean Grey." Rogue snorted and everyone looked at her. Scott's face twisted into a borderline mortified look.
"W-what?! T-t-that's nonsense!" Scott stuttered defensively.
"Wait, Jean?" Kurt blinked.
"Oh come on, now!" Rogue rolled her eyes after she took a sip of her juice. "Ya'll haven't noticed he's smitten with her?"
"Really?" Bobby chuckled.
"You really like Jean, Scott?" João rubbed his temple.
"W-w-why, you…" Scott blushed. Normally he didn't crack like that. Which made his reaction much more damning.
"Busted!" Bobby laughed.
"Liebe!" (Love). Kurt made a heart with his hands.
"Shut up!" Scott cried.
"I can't believe I once saw something in a lughead like Duncan!" Jean groaned in frustration.
"Hey, don't feel too bad!" Kitty smiled softly. "I dated Lance, you know?" She winced at the memory.
"Is Lance as thick-headed as Duncan?" Jean asked dryly.
"Well, not exactly." Kitty sighed. "More like he's a hoodlum who can't get his act together!" She frowned.
Amara just sat there eating quietly.
"Be careful with boys, Amara." Jean warned. "They can be trouble."
"Jean! You sound like my dad!" Kitty giggled.
"Okay, fair point." Jean twitched her eyebrow, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Just looking out for Amara here."
"That's okay." Amara smiled weakly. "I do wonder, though…" Her voice got meeker.
"Huh?" Kitty blinked rapidly.
"There's this boy…" Amara blushed slightly.
"Oh?" Jean smirked. "Who? I hope your heart chooses wisely."
"Bobby…" Amara whispered, hoping no one else would hear her.
"What?!" Kitty's eyes nearly popped out.
"Shh!" Amara shushed Kitty with begging eyes.
"Bobby Drake?" Jean smiled softly. "You like him, Amara?"
"Yeah… he's cute, funny, smart…" Her cheeks got pinker.
"He's a bit of a show-off and could be more mature, though." Kitty smirked.
"Kitty!" Jean frowned.
"Not saying he's a bad guy!" Kitty raised her hands defensively. "In fact, Amara seems to be choosing well."
"His ice powers are so cool!" Amara's eyes twinkled.
"Literally." Jean smirked.
"Bobby is my friend. I can vouch that he's a good guy." Kitty threw Amara the thumbs up of approval.
"I'm glad..." Amara smiled, her cheeks going back to their regular colour.
After they're done eating lunch, Rogue and João walk to their next class together.
"I guess we shouldn't be surprised that Scott likes Jean. I mean, Jean is very pretty. She has that classical beauty look to her." João rubbed his chin.
"What's with you in training today?" Rogue furrowed her eyebrows and changed the subject. She seemed annoyed by João's observation about Jean.
"What?" João blinked, surprised at the sudden change of subject.
"You messed up, remember?" She said it dryly.
"Ah poor sleep last night." João rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Stayed up all night long playing that game with the clickable spreadsheets again?" Rogue asked.
"What, Football Manager?" João furrowed his eyebrows, feeling a little bit offended that Rogue referred to that game in such a simplistic manner.
"Right, that one. What's with you and Kurt obsessing over that game?" Rogue frowned.
"Football is serious business, Rogue!" João slapped his chest hard and his face hardened.
"Okay!" Rogue rolled her eyes. She knew she wasn't going to win that kind of argument with João. "Next time don't show up to training or an actual mission without sleeping because you spent the whole night trying to win some fake championship with an Indian team in your precious video game. I refuse to die because you prioritised that over being an X-Man!" She said with an icy voice as she walked into the classroom.
"Women just don't get it." João groaned and shook his head. Little did he know that Rogue's mood that day was because she was jealous of Jean when it came to Scott. Rogue, unlike Scott, was good at hiding her feelings for Scott. Not even Scott himself could tell that Rogue had a crush on him, in fact. Jean did have her suspicions, however.
"SCOTT!" Jean shouted in concern.
"That bastard!" Wolverine growled.
"WHERE IS CHARLES!" Juggernaut demanded to know.
"He's not here!" Jean cried angrily. "He sent us to stop you!"
"I WANT TO KILL HIM!" Juggernaut yelled in rage.
"We won't let you!" Wolverine jumped and slashed at his helmet, popping it off his head. Juggernaut was now vulnerable to attacks.
"WHY YOU!" Juggernaut yelled in anger and grabbed Wolverine in mid-air.
Jean put her hands on the sides of her head and closed her eyes. Juggernaut was swept off his feet and forced to let go of Wolverine.
"AAAH!" Juggernaut yelled as he was at Jean's complete mercy.
Cyclops got up, aimed at Juggernaut's head in the air and fired one optical blast at him.
"FUUUCK!" Juggernaut yelled in pain as the optical blast beam burnt his face. He then fell on the ground and covered his head in pain.
Police cars and a very large police van came in and the X-Men had to flee. But, when they were about to leave the museum, Xavier showed up.
"Professor!" Jean's eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"
"To use my powers to prevent Cain from getting up and hurting others again. And to tell the police how to immobilise him." Xavier explained as he rolled into the museum.
Jean looked up at Cyclops. "Are you okay, Scott?" She asked, still a little worried about his well-being.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Jean." Scott smiled as he rubbed the side of his head.
"I'm so glad." Jean sighed in relief and both looked at each other in silence for a moment.
"So… good job." Scott rubbed his temple.
"Same to you." Jean blushed slightly.
Meanwhile, Xavier was talking to the police, explaining to them that he had telepathic powers and could immobilise Juggernaut by going inside his head.
"Go on, then." The officer, who was clearly a superior, said.
Xavier rolled right in front of Juggernaut, put up his hands to the side of his own head and closed his eyes.
"UGGGH!" Juggernaut rocked about on the floor and grimaced. He was trying to fight off his brother's powers as hard as he could, but to no avail, since he ended up fainting.
"That was easier than I thought it would be." Xavier put his arms down.
"Impressive." The superior officer's eyes widened.
"He won't offer any resistance now." Xavier nodded.
"Thank you very much, mister…?" The officer knew Xavier looked familiar but didn't know his name.
"Xavier. Professor Charles Xavier." The professor smiled. "I also would like to thank you, officer, for not letting me use my powers to help you detain him." He nodded at Juggernaut who was lying on the floor unconscious.
"Don't mention it." The officer waved and signaled to his men to handcuff Juggernaut. Naturally, they had to bring in the very large van to put such a massive man in. "Oh, and professor?" The cop turned around.
"Yes?" Xavier raised his eyebrow.
"For the record, not everyone hates mutants." The officer said with a serious but calm look on his face.
Xavier smiled and Jean and Cyclops also looked somewhat relieved upon hearing those words. Meanwhile, there was one museum visitor who hadn't fled the scene and was hiding. It was a young woman with black hair and wearing jeans and a sweater. She decided to finally walk away slowly. As she left the museum and walked into a nearby alley she changed form. It was Mystique all along.
"I can't believe Juggernaut failed like that!" She clenched her fist. "Magneto won't be thrilled about this…" She groaned.
João was in a strange office. He was wearing a suit and a tie, which was weird. But somehow, he shrugged. His desk was of quality wood. As were his bookshelves. He had no idea where all of that came from, but he wasn't going to question either, which was kind of out of character for him.
*KNOCK KNOCK* A couple of knocks on the door were heard.
"Come in!" João said, without hesitation.
The door slowly opened and João's vision went foggy for a moment. Who came out of the door. He couldn't believe it.
"LARRY DAVID?!" João jolted off his seat in shock and awe.
"Hey, Johnny boy!" Larry grinned goofily and walked up to his desk.
"Larry… what an honour!" João was genuinely in shock. "What are you doing here!" He smiled.
"Well I came here to see you." Larry chuckled. He did not sit down.
"About…?" João rubbed his temple. What could Larry David, of all people, possibly want from him?
"I was talking to this nice old lady the other day and she told me she met your grandmother." Larry explained.
"Huh? My grandma? What?" João blinked rapidly in confusion. What was going on here?
"And she told me that your grandma was a proud Catholic, is that right?" Larry raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah…?" João also raised his eyebrow. "What about it, mister David?" He suddenly became formal, realising he was talking to a man old enough to be his grandfather.
"How does a Jew have a Catholic grandmother?" Larry folded his arms.
João just stared at him blankly. He had no idea what Larry was talking about.
"What 'Jew'?" João inquired.
"You." Larry titled his head slightly.
"Me?!" João blinked rapidly in shock at Larry's assertion. "I'm not Jewish, mister David." He shook his head.
"Oh, you're not?" Larry's eyes widened in surprise.
"No…" João slowly replied. "Why, you thought I was?" He snorted.
"Yes, I did." Larry grinned and slowly nodded.
"Why, though? That doesn't make any sense…" João rubbed his chin, feeling more and more perplexed with the conversation he was having.
"Well, the other day I saw you reading The Trial by Franz Kafka." Larry pointed out.
"Where?" João's eyes widened.
"At the library." Larry explained. "Also, you're a big fan of my shows: Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm." He added.
"They're great shows." João chuckled. "Am I not allowed to watch them?"
"What about this?" Larry extended his arm and reached for a… Babs Bunny plush toy on João's desk, which was not there before Larry entered the office room! "A Babs Bunny stuffed toy?" He smirked.
"What about it?" João was surprised to see it there. He had no idea he had one of those.
"You know, Tiny Toon Adventures." Larry looked up. "A 90s cartoon made by Jewish director Steven Spielberg. Why is a kid born in, what was it, 2010, a fan of it?" Larry asked in an accusatory tone.
"I-It's fun and has cute talking animals!" João raised his voice. He was getting nervous over this line of questioning by Larry.
"What about this?!" A book then magically popped up in Larry's empty hand.
"The hell?!" João's eyes nearly popped out of his face in shock.
"Liquid Modernity by Zygmunt Bauman." Larry read the title of the book out loud. "Why does a non-Jewish teenage boy own this book?!" And he raised his voice, increasing his accusatory tone.
"I can't read a book now?!" Sweat dropped off João's temples.
"And why do you have Gustav Mahler CDs?! AND BILLY JOEL?!" Larry was now holding 2 CDs in his hands.
"F-first of all, Billy Joel?!" João's jaw nearly dropped. "My mother listens to him. I don't!" He explained.
"WHAT ABOUT THIS BOOK?!" Again, another item magically appeared in Larry's hand "The Jewish State by Theodor Herzl?!" He cried.
"T-t-that's not mine!" João stuttered as he pointed at the book. "Where did you even…?"
"AND YOUR LOVE FOR INDIANA JONES, PINKY AND THE BRAIN, ANIMANIACS, FREAKAZOID?!" Larry was practically screaming as he pointed at posters of those 90s Spielberg cartoons that suddenly appeared by magic on João's office walls.
"T-t-they're classics!" João was getting more and more nervous. Larry was absolutely murdering him on the spot.
"AND THIS JEWISH GIRL YOU LIKE?!" Once again, by magic, Larry David was now holding the portrait of a teenage girl in his hands. He showed it to João's face. It was a portrait of Kitty Pryde.
"I D-D-DON'T…." João blushed furiously.
"What are you, by the way?" Larry lowered his voice a bit, but nonetheless, delivered that question with an authoritative tone.
"Huh? An Atheist…" João muttered.
"Not that! What is your ethnicity?!" Larry cried.
"You mean… like Portuguese?" João winced and raised his eyebrow.
"Wait, PORTUGUESE?!" Larry's eyes widened in surprise. "Why are you so obsessed with us, then?!" He folded his arms.
"Obsessed with whom?!" João stood up from his office chair and shouted.
"US! THE JEWS!" Larry was practically screaming again. "THE SAME WAY THAT TYPE O NEGATIVE WROTE A METAL SONG TITLED 'EVERYONE I LOVE IS DEAD' YOU SHOULD WRITE A METAL SONG TITLED 'EVERYONE I LOVE IS JEWISH'!" He concluded, waving his arms up in the air in vintage Larry rant fashion.
"NOOOOO…!" João screamed and his vision went black for a while. After a minute passed, he opened his eyes and was lying in his bed and sweating.
"Wait, it was all a dream?!" João sat up in bed and rubbed his head. He looked at his phone. It was 3AM. "Big Apple, 3 A.M." He muttered and sighed, lying on his bed mattress again and taking a deep sigh. He looked up at the ceiling and had difficulty falling asleep again. "A Larry David dream of all things?" João groaned. "Why couldn't I have a Monica Bellucci dream or something, instead?" He sighed and then smirked weakly. "That one is not Jewish, for sure. How about that, LD?"
Training wasn't going that well for Metalhead that morning. He slept for about 5 hours at best last night, after all. The objective of today's training was to simulate a hostage rescue. Metalhead was part of the rescue team alongside Wolverine, Jean Grey and Iceman. The bad guys were Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Rogue and Magma. The hostages were Beast, Storm, Spyke and Shadowcat. Metalhead's role in the rescue simulation exercise was to use his shadow-like powers in a stealthy way to get inside the room where the hostages were being held and free them, but he was sloppy and Magma overheard him. So they fought and she defeated him. He got some second degree burns on his right arm thanks to that. He was now at the infirmary Mr. McCoy was applying some ointment on his arm and wrapping it with bandages as well.
"Ouch!" João winced, feeling a burning sensation.
"It stings and burns a bit at first, but that's because it's doing its work." Mr. McCoy smiled softly.
"What a mess!" João sighed.
"I'd have hated to be an actual hostage in a real life situation and seeing one of my heroes getting beaten like that." Mr. McCoy shuddered and chuckled.
"Hey now! Cut me some slack, Mr. McCoy!" João cried, feeling embarrassed.
"Sorry!" He laughed.
"Mister Logan is so gonna kill me." It was time for João to shudder now.
"I hope I never get to fail him, indeed." Mr. McCoy winced a bit and smiled at João sympathetically.
"The more I get to know you, the more I can see why you were everyone's favourite teacher at Bayville, Mr. McCoy." João smiled weakly as he felt his bandages.
"Too bad I never got to have you as a student." He smiled.
"What subjects did you teach, again?" João rubbed his chin.
"Science and math." Mr. McCoy smirked.
"Oh, really?" João raised his eyebrow.
"You thought I taught English, I assume?" Mr. McCoy folded his arms and looked at him with an amused smirk.
"I mean, you quote Shakespeare often." João rubbed the back of his head with his left hand.
"Why, yes, indeed." The blue furried beast laughed.
João's mood improved a bit, at least. Mr. McCoy was a very nice man that always knew how to put people in a good mood, somehow.
At school, Scott was eating his lunch quietly while sitting at the same table as Bobby, João and Rogue. He was not taking part in the conversation, though. He was too distracted by Jean's beauty, as he kept looking across the school cafeteria where Jean was sitting on another table with Kitty and Amara.
"What about you, Scott?" Kurt asked. Scott didn't hear him. "Scott?" Kurt raised his eyebrow.
Rogue furrowed her eyebrows. She knew what was going on. Scott was mesmerised by Jean once again. He wasn't subtle at all about his crush on her. Well, not crush, but more like he was clearly in love with Jean.
"Earth to Scott!" Bobby waved his hand in front of Scott's face.
"Huh?" Scott snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head forward to look at Bobby.
"What's with you, man?" Kurt frowned, feeling somewhat hurt that Scott wasn't listening to him.
"Sorry… I was thinking about something else." Scott rubbed the back of his head and smiled.
"The upcoming tests?" João asked innocently as he took a bite of his lunch.
"Something like that, yeah." Scott nodded.
"A test named Jean Grey." Rogue snorted and everyone looked at her. Scott's face twisted into a borderline mortified look.
"W-what?! T-t-that's nonsense!" Scott stuttered defensively.
"Wait, Jean?" Kurt blinked.
"Oh come on, now!" Rogue rolled her eyes after she took a sip of her juice. "Ya'll haven't noticed he's smitten with her?"
"Really?" Bobby chuckled.
"You really like Jean, Scott?" João rubbed his temple.
"W-w-why, you…" Scott blushed. Normally he didn't crack like that. Which made his reaction much more damning.
"Busted!" Bobby laughed.
"Liebe!" (Love). Kurt made a heart with his hands.
"Shut up!" Scott cried.
"I can't believe I once saw something in a lughead like Duncan!" Jean groaned in frustration.
"Hey, don't feel too bad!" Kitty smiled softly. "I dated Lance, you know?" She winced at the memory.
"Is Lance as thick-headed as Duncan?" Jean asked dryly.
"Well, not exactly." Kitty sighed. "More like he's a hoodlum who can't get his act together!" She frowned.
Amara just sat there eating quietly.
"Be careful with boys, Amara." Jean warned. "They can be trouble."
"Jean! You sound like my dad!" Kitty giggled.
"Okay, fair point." Jean twitched her eyebrow, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Just looking out for Amara here."
"That's okay." Amara smiled weakly. "I do wonder, though…" Her voice got meeker.
"Huh?" Kitty blinked rapidly.
"There's this boy…" Amara blushed slightly.
"Oh?" Jean smirked. "Who? I hope your heart chooses wisely."
"Bobby…" Amara whispered, hoping no one else would hear her.
"What?!" Kitty's eyes nearly popped out.
"Shh!" Amara shushed Kitty with begging eyes.
"Bobby Drake?" Jean smiled softly. "You like him, Amara?"
"Yeah… he's cute, funny, smart…" Her cheeks got pinker.
"He's a bit of a show-off and could be more mature, though." Kitty smirked.
"Kitty!" Jean frowned.
"Not saying he's a bad guy!" Kitty raised her hands defensively. "In fact, Amara seems to be choosing well."
"His ice powers are so cool!" Amara's eyes twinkled.
"Literally." Jean smirked.
"Bobby is my friend. I can vouch that he's a good guy." Kitty threw Amara the thumbs up of approval.
"I'm glad..." Amara smiled, her cheeks going back to their regular colour.
After they're done eating lunch, Rogue and João walk to their next class together.
"I guess we shouldn't be surprised that Scott likes Jean. I mean, Jean is very pretty. She has that classical beauty look to her." João rubbed his chin.
"What's with you in training today?" Rogue furrowed her eyebrows and changed the subject. She seemed annoyed by João's observation about Jean.
"What?" João blinked, surprised at the sudden change of subject.
"You messed up, remember?" She said it dryly.
"Ah poor sleep last night." João rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Stayed up all night long playing that game with the clickable spreadsheets again?" Rogue asked.
"What, Football Manager?" João furrowed his eyebrows, feeling a little bit offended that Rogue referred to that game in such a simplistic manner.
"Right, that one. What's with you and Kurt obsessing over that game?" Rogue frowned.
"Football is serious business, Rogue!" João slapped his chest hard and his face hardened.
"Okay!" Rogue rolled her eyes. She knew she wasn't going to win that kind of argument with João. "Next time don't show up to training or an actual mission without sleeping because you spent the whole night trying to win some fake championship with an Indian team in your precious video game. I refuse to die because you prioritised that over being an X-Man!" She said with an icy voice as she walked into the classroom.
"Women just don't get it." João groaned and shook his head. Little did he know that Rogue's mood that day was because she was jealous of Jean when it came to Scott. Rogue, unlike Scott, was good at hiding her feelings for Scott. Not even Scott himself could tell that Rogue had a crush on him, in fact. Jean did have her suspicions, however.
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Neranjiv
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EmperorOfHeavyMetal
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Logan was riding his motorcycle through the woods. He loved to ride his motorcycle. It was a great way for him to unwind. He loved feeling the wind on his body. And as a man born in the Canadian province of Alberta near the 15,000 inhabitants small city of Cold Lake, he was very much familiar with the woods and nature in general. Logan was known for being a surly and gruff man in general, but the woods gave him a sense of peace, especially if he was riding his motorcycle on the road that went in between them.
Of course, Logan never let his guard down, even when riding his motorcycle to destress. His sense of smell did not take time off at all. Having said that, there was no sign of his rival Sabretooth or any other hostile element in the areas he was riding through that day.
Logan stopped for a moment to build a momentary campfire and cook some food he brought with him. He was enjoying his snack when he heard the loud noises of a helicopter.
"No way…" Logan put his hand on his forehead, protecting his eyes from the sunlight as he looked up at the sky and saw a black helicopter coming down. "What does HE want?" He groaned, somewhat surprised at the helicopter's presence.
The helicopter touched down across from Logan and the door opened. Out of it came a tall man, roughly around 185cm-187cm tall with grey hair and an eyepatch over his left eye, wearing dark clothing. He had a stern look on his face and walked up to Logan with assertive steps.
"Long time no see, Weapon X." The man said, without any visible or audible emotion.
"Nick." Logan frowned. "Don't call me that."
Fury ignored Logan's request and took out a few pieces of paper off his pocket. He showed them to Logan.
"Hum?" Logan raised his eyebrow, wondering what that could possibly be. He had a complicated relationship with Fury, and he knew very well that Fury didn't just drop there to have small talk with him. The two pieces of paper are pictures of a tall and athletically looking young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. "Who's this?" He looked at Fury.
"Marijana Brozović." Fury replied, tersely.
"And?" Logan raised his eyebrow, frustrated. Awaiting more information. "What about her?"
"We, S.H.I.E.L.D., identified her as being very strong and a potential threat." Fury explained.
"Is she a mutant?" Logan folded his arms.
"No, she's not." Fury shook his head. "She does have superpowers, though."
"Thought so." Logan groaned. "Otherwise, Charles would have detected her using Cerebro. So, what's her superpower, then?"
"Invulnerable durability." Fury furrowed his eyebrows. "She can nor only be immune to pain from regular punches and kicks, but also bullets, fire, withstand electric shocks, among others.
"So, she's invincible?!" Logan raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"No." Fury shook his head. "Her invulnerability is temporary. Regardless, it makes her a formidable and extremely difficult opponent to face."
"Okay…" Logan dragged his response. "But what the hell does that have to do with me, Fury?!" He snorted. "I don't work for S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. Get it through your thick skull already!" His patience was starting to wear thin.
"Like you've said, Logan, you've worked for us before in the past and we know your worth. And the fact that we can trust you." Fury explained.
"Again, that doesn't answer my fucking question!" Logan clenched his fist and raised his voice. "I'm not fighting your battles!"
"Not even for the sake of your own country?" Fury raised his eyebrow.
"I'm Canadian." Logan replied dryly.
"I know that, you moron." Fury frowned.
"Yeah, you just forgot, as usual. Who's the dumbass now?" Logan rolled his eyes and turned around. "This is pointless. You're on your own." He began walking away from Fury.
"Magneto is interested in her."
Logan stopped momentarily. He then turned around to face Fury again. Fury's serious look on his face remained, but Logan could tell that Fury was fighting hard to not let a smirk form on his lips.
"What did you just say?" Logan clenched his jaw.
"I think you've heard me for the first time." Fury was now smirking.
"You asshole…" Logan muttered angrily. "Alright, tell me more." He folded his arms.
"Magneto is looking for her. Now, it would be bad news for the X-Men if Magneto got his hands on her, no?"
"Why does he even want her? You said she's not a mutant!" Logan cried.
"Indeed." Fury looked at Logan dryly. "It's definitely strange. But that doesn't change S.H.I.E.L.D.'s need to investigate. Magneto is a big threat to national security and we need to monitor him and his henchmen's activities. We must avoid at all costs that this young woman joins his ranks." He concluded.
"Fine!" Logan sighed. "You've convinced me. What do you need me to do?" He asked.
"I need you to travel to Croatia before someone associated with Magneto gets there." Fury took his phone off his pocket and showed Logan a map of Croatia with the location of the area he needed to go to.
"I see. I'll take the Blackbird, then." Logan rubbed his chin as he looked at the map on Fury's phone. It seemed to be pointing to a village in central Croatia. "And then, what?"
Fury raised his eyebrow.
"What do you expect me to do or say to this girl? 'Don't join Magneto if he tries to recruit you!'?" Logan snorted.
"That's up to you." Fury said, tersely.
"Since when are you not much for details?" Logan chuckled in frustration.
"We have no idea if the target will be hostile to you or not, in the first place. Brace yourself for anything." Fury elaborated.
"Don't lecture me on what might happen!" Logan pointed at Fury's chest.
"Any more questions?" Fury folded his arms.
"No…" Logan turned around and began walking away, but then stopped and looked back. ""ait, what was her name again?" He asked.
"Marijana Brozović." Fury nodded.
"Does she have a codename?"
"Neranjiv."
"Huh?" Logan blinked.
"Neranjiv." Fury repeated himself.
"Yeah, I heard ya the first time." Logan snorted. "What the hell does that even mean?"
"It means 'invulnerable' in Croatian." Fury smirked.
"Oh, fuck off, Fury!" Logan walked away and showed him the middle finger.
Fury just chuckled. Not loud enough for Logan to hear him, naturally.
Edward Kelly, aka Principal Kelly, was in the makeup room. He was going to go live on TV soon. He was running for Mayor of Bayville. A big part of his platform was the proposed Mutant Registration Act. He was prejudiced against mutants, including his own students. After they were done applying makeup on him, he put his glasses back on and left the makeup room for the waiting room. About 10 minutes later, he got told to enter the studio and take a seat. The newscaster who'd be interviewing him, a woman in her 30s with dyed red hair, shortly briefed him on how the interview and live broadcast was going to be conducted. It was his first time speaking to the American nation live on TV, after all. The cameras then started to roll in and the host spoke for a while, introducing Edward Kelly and then asking him a few standard questions about his policies. The part everyone in Bayville was waiting for was his proposal regarding mutants, though.
"So, what exactly is the Mutant Registration Act, mister Kelly?" The journalist finally asked.
"Well, Jane." He clasped his hands and put on a serious face. "It's actually very simple. The citizens of Bayville have the right to know how many mutants live in the city, for their own safety."
"Are you saying that mutants endanger the lives of Bayville's citizens?" Jane asked.
"Potentially, yes." Kelly adjusted his glasses. "We're talking about individuals with superpowers that can cause some serious damage, material or even life threatening. We need to know their status in order to make our city safer." He explained.
"But wouldn't that be highly discriminatory?" Jane raised her eyebrows.
"No." Kelly frowned. "I'm not planning on denying mutants access to housing, services or planning to kick them out of Bayville."
"About that." Jane picked up her tablet. "Jean Grey is a student at Bayville High, the high school you're the principal of, correct?" She asked him to confirm.
"Yes…" Kelly answered somewhat dryly.
"She led the Bayville High girl's soccer team to the championship. Yet, you stripped her off her MVP award. She claims it's because you told her she's a mutant." Jane awaited his response.
"That's because, as a mutant, she has an obviously unfair advantage that could have made our school's championship win and her performances dubious in terms of merit." Kelly explained with a rather tense voice.
"But you just said you'd not exclude mutants from access to housing, services…" Jane reminded him.
"That's different!" Kelly raised his voice slightly, clearly getting tenser. "Mutants have superpowers that give them obviously unfair advantages in sports. They cannot play them. They'd make the competition highly unfair." He snorted.
"But what if their powers aren't correlated to the sport they practice. Jean Grey's powers seem to not have any influence on her soccer skills." Jane pointed out.
"We cannot know that for sure." Kelly frowned. "Her telekinetic powers could have helped her guide the ball into the goal, despite her strong shooting power and technique. And she could have influenced the minds of the defenders on the opposing teams to let her get past them." He raised his index finger.
The interview went on for a while longer. The rest of it was less tense and more about mundane policies. Kelly's positions regarding things like the economy, crime and education were much more moderate.
Logan had his hands on the Blackbird's controls. He was heading for Croatia. He was not alone, though. He was taking Rogue and Spyke with him. Not because he wanted to, but because Xavier told him to. The professor simply did not want to risk sending Logan alone to Croatia. It was against the Institute's policy to send an X-Man alone on a mission, especially not on a mission to a foreign country.
"Alright! I can't wait to swim in the Adriatic Sea!" Evan was nearly jumping up in joy in his seat. He was wearing a purple t-shirt and beige swimtrunks.
"We're not going to the beach, kid!" Logan clenched his teeth. "We're going to a village in central Croatia, far away from the sea.
"Aw man!" Evan's eyes nearly popped out in shock and he sighed in disappointment.
"Use your head for once!" Rogue rolled her eyes.
"Anyway, if we ain't goin' to the beach, why on Earth are we goin' to Croatia in the first place, mister Logan?" Evan cried.
"Check the photos on the seat in front of you." Logan groaned.
Rogue picked them up and saw the photos of Marijana. Evan took a look as well.
"Who is she?" Rogue asked.
"Fury said she could be dangerous. She has powers that make her momentarily invulnerable to pain." Logan explained as he steered the X-Jet.
"Damn, she's hot!" Evan's eyes nearly popped out. This time in positive shock as he looked at the photos of the Croatian young woman.
"Oh, for God's sake!" Rogue shoved Evan's face away. "We might have to fight her, and that's where your mind is?!"
"I thought you said I didn't use my head." Evan snorted.
"Ya do… but not the top one!" Rogue cried.
Both Rogue and Evan argued for a while and Logan had to hear their argument throughout the rest of the flight.
"Kids…" Logan clenched his jaw, trying his best not to explode. He sometimes felt more like a babysitter than an X-Man!
Croatia was a beautiful country that received millions of tourists every year, especially in the summer. But the small village Mystique and Gambit were walking through was far from the tourist hotspots of the country. Basically, it wasn't exactly a walking distance away from the nearest beach. It was a really quaint and peaceful village, however. They walked up a steep hill where they spotted a young woman with blonde hair in a ponytail and icy blue eyes vigorously kicking a large punching bag in the middle of nowhere. She was wearing a dobok, which meant she was a taekwondo practitioner. The black belt wrapped around her waist was a sign she was not to be taken lightly. The girl was taller than average. She seemed to be around 175cm-176cm. She was neither thin nor bulky. She had a healthy and toned physique from practicing taekwondo.
As she finished her workout, she turned her head to the side, sensing someone's presence. She spotted two strangers who clearly weren't from her village. The blue-skinned woman with red hair looked especially suspicious.
"Tko ste vi?!" (Who are you?!) The young woman asked with a somewhat scared look on her face.
"Why, hello there, Marijana… or should I call you Neranjiv instead?" Mystique smirked.
"Who are you?!" Marijana's eyes popped out in shock as she switched to English, her accent being somewhat thick but perfectly understandable. "How do you know my codename?! What do you want?!" She clenched her fists and her face twisted into anger.
"My name is Mystique. I'm here to take you with me." Mystique explained.
"I'm not going anywhere, creep!" Marijana cried.
"She's not going to cooperate, Mystique" Gambit looked at Mystique.
"She wants to do it the hard way, then. Fine!" Mystique grinned and jumped high in the air, landing in front of Marijana. "HIYAH!" She delivered a strong kick that the Croatian girl blocked with her leg. "Ugh!" Mystique groaned. Marijana had a pretty strong leg.
"You can't hurt me!" Marijana clenched her teeth and glared at Mystique as her leg blocked her kick. She then pushed Mystique, making her fall on her butt.
"AH!" Mystique cried as she landed on the grass. She rubbed her leg, which hurt a bit. "You're as strong as he said you'd be." She frowned.
"WHO?!" Marijana shouted in a demanding tone.
"Magneto." Mystique answered coldly.
"I don't know that person!" Marijana cried angrily.
"Time to play some cards, mademoiselle." Gambit threw a card at her.
"Huh?" Marijana blinked as a 6 of clubs card flew in front of her face.
BOOM! And it exploded, naturally. Marijana jumped back, landing on her back.
"ŠTO DOVRAGA?!" (WHAT THE HELL?!). She yelled in shock at the exploding card. She had never seen something like that before.
Mystique stood over Marijana and pointed an automatic gun at her face.
"Your temporary invulnerability might deflect the bullets from the first few rounds, sweetheart. But by the 5th round or so, your gorgeous face will be pulverised!" Mystique smirked sadistically.
"No…" Marijana's face paled in terror as she looked into the tip of the gun.
"So, are you coming with us like a good girl, or…" Mystique licked her lips sadistically.
Marijana was sweating. She never felt that much fear in her life before. Mystique was about to pull the trigger when spikes hit her automatic gun on the right side, pushing it off her hands.
"THE HECK?!" Mystique shouted in shock and turned around.
"Close call!" Spyke smirked.
"Good aim, kiddo!" Wolverine smirked proudly.
"Hello there… mom." Rogue frowned and said the last word with a strong distaste in her mouth as she looked at Mystique.
Of course, Logan never let his guard down, even when riding his motorcycle to destress. His sense of smell did not take time off at all. Having said that, there was no sign of his rival Sabretooth or any other hostile element in the areas he was riding through that day.
Logan stopped for a moment to build a momentary campfire and cook some food he brought with him. He was enjoying his snack when he heard the loud noises of a helicopter.
"No way…" Logan put his hand on his forehead, protecting his eyes from the sunlight as he looked up at the sky and saw a black helicopter coming down. "What does HE want?" He groaned, somewhat surprised at the helicopter's presence.
The helicopter touched down across from Logan and the door opened. Out of it came a tall man, roughly around 185cm-187cm tall with grey hair and an eyepatch over his left eye, wearing dark clothing. He had a stern look on his face and walked up to Logan with assertive steps.
"Long time no see, Weapon X." The man said, without any visible or audible emotion.
"Nick." Logan frowned. "Don't call me that."
Fury ignored Logan's request and took out a few pieces of paper off his pocket. He showed them to Logan.
"Hum?" Logan raised his eyebrow, wondering what that could possibly be. He had a complicated relationship with Fury, and he knew very well that Fury didn't just drop there to have small talk with him. The two pieces of paper are pictures of a tall and athletically looking young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. "Who's this?" He looked at Fury.
"Marijana Brozović." Fury replied, tersely.
"And?" Logan raised his eyebrow, frustrated. Awaiting more information. "What about her?"
"We, S.H.I.E.L.D., identified her as being very strong and a potential threat." Fury explained.
"Is she a mutant?" Logan folded his arms.
"No, she's not." Fury shook his head. "She does have superpowers, though."
"Thought so." Logan groaned. "Otherwise, Charles would have detected her using Cerebro. So, what's her superpower, then?"
"Invulnerable durability." Fury furrowed his eyebrows. "She can nor only be immune to pain from regular punches and kicks, but also bullets, fire, withstand electric shocks, among others.
"So, she's invincible?!" Logan raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"No." Fury shook his head. "Her invulnerability is temporary. Regardless, it makes her a formidable and extremely difficult opponent to face."
"Okay…" Logan dragged his response. "But what the hell does that have to do with me, Fury?!" He snorted. "I don't work for S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. Get it through your thick skull already!" His patience was starting to wear thin.
"Like you've said, Logan, you've worked for us before in the past and we know your worth. And the fact that we can trust you." Fury explained.
"Again, that doesn't answer my fucking question!" Logan clenched his fist and raised his voice. "I'm not fighting your battles!"
"Not even for the sake of your own country?" Fury raised his eyebrow.
"I'm Canadian." Logan replied dryly.
"I know that, you moron." Fury frowned.
"Yeah, you just forgot, as usual. Who's the dumbass now?" Logan rolled his eyes and turned around. "This is pointless. You're on your own." He began walking away from Fury.
"Magneto is interested in her."
Logan stopped momentarily. He then turned around to face Fury again. Fury's serious look on his face remained, but Logan could tell that Fury was fighting hard to not let a smirk form on his lips.
"What did you just say?" Logan clenched his jaw.
"I think you've heard me for the first time." Fury was now smirking.
"You asshole…" Logan muttered angrily. "Alright, tell me more." He folded his arms.
"Magneto is looking for her. Now, it would be bad news for the X-Men if Magneto got his hands on her, no?"
"Why does he even want her? You said she's not a mutant!" Logan cried.
"Indeed." Fury looked at Logan dryly. "It's definitely strange. But that doesn't change S.H.I.E.L.D.'s need to investigate. Magneto is a big threat to national security and we need to monitor him and his henchmen's activities. We must avoid at all costs that this young woman joins his ranks." He concluded.
"Fine!" Logan sighed. "You've convinced me. What do you need me to do?" He asked.
"I need you to travel to Croatia before someone associated with Magneto gets there." Fury took his phone off his pocket and showed Logan a map of Croatia with the location of the area he needed to go to.
"I see. I'll take the Blackbird, then." Logan rubbed his chin as he looked at the map on Fury's phone. It seemed to be pointing to a village in central Croatia. "And then, what?"
Fury raised his eyebrow.
"What do you expect me to do or say to this girl? 'Don't join Magneto if he tries to recruit you!'?" Logan snorted.
"That's up to you." Fury said, tersely.
"Since when are you not much for details?" Logan chuckled in frustration.
"We have no idea if the target will be hostile to you or not, in the first place. Brace yourself for anything." Fury elaborated.
"Don't lecture me on what might happen!" Logan pointed at Fury's chest.
"Any more questions?" Fury folded his arms.
"No…" Logan turned around and began walking away, but then stopped and looked back. ""ait, what was her name again?" He asked.
"Marijana Brozović." Fury nodded.
"Does she have a codename?"
"Neranjiv."
"Huh?" Logan blinked.
"Neranjiv." Fury repeated himself.
"Yeah, I heard ya the first time." Logan snorted. "What the hell does that even mean?"
"It means 'invulnerable' in Croatian." Fury smirked.
"Oh, fuck off, Fury!" Logan walked away and showed him the middle finger.
Fury just chuckled. Not loud enough for Logan to hear him, naturally.
Edward Kelly, aka Principal Kelly, was in the makeup room. He was going to go live on TV soon. He was running for Mayor of Bayville. A big part of his platform was the proposed Mutant Registration Act. He was prejudiced against mutants, including his own students. After they were done applying makeup on him, he put his glasses back on and left the makeup room for the waiting room. About 10 minutes later, he got told to enter the studio and take a seat. The newscaster who'd be interviewing him, a woman in her 30s with dyed red hair, shortly briefed him on how the interview and live broadcast was going to be conducted. It was his first time speaking to the American nation live on TV, after all. The cameras then started to roll in and the host spoke for a while, introducing Edward Kelly and then asking him a few standard questions about his policies. The part everyone in Bayville was waiting for was his proposal regarding mutants, though.
"So, what exactly is the Mutant Registration Act, mister Kelly?" The journalist finally asked.
"Well, Jane." He clasped his hands and put on a serious face. "It's actually very simple. The citizens of Bayville have the right to know how many mutants live in the city, for their own safety."
"Are you saying that mutants endanger the lives of Bayville's citizens?" Jane asked.
"Potentially, yes." Kelly adjusted his glasses. "We're talking about individuals with superpowers that can cause some serious damage, material or even life threatening. We need to know their status in order to make our city safer." He explained.
"But wouldn't that be highly discriminatory?" Jane raised her eyebrows.
"No." Kelly frowned. "I'm not planning on denying mutants access to housing, services or planning to kick them out of Bayville."
"About that." Jane picked up her tablet. "Jean Grey is a student at Bayville High, the high school you're the principal of, correct?" She asked him to confirm.
"Yes…" Kelly answered somewhat dryly.
"She led the Bayville High girl's soccer team to the championship. Yet, you stripped her off her MVP award. She claims it's because you told her she's a mutant." Jane awaited his response.
"That's because, as a mutant, she has an obviously unfair advantage that could have made our school's championship win and her performances dubious in terms of merit." Kelly explained with a rather tense voice.
"But you just said you'd not exclude mutants from access to housing, services…" Jane reminded him.
"That's different!" Kelly raised his voice slightly, clearly getting tenser. "Mutants have superpowers that give them obviously unfair advantages in sports. They cannot play them. They'd make the competition highly unfair." He snorted.
"But what if their powers aren't correlated to the sport they practice. Jean Grey's powers seem to not have any influence on her soccer skills." Jane pointed out.
"We cannot know that for sure." Kelly frowned. "Her telekinetic powers could have helped her guide the ball into the goal, despite her strong shooting power and technique. And she could have influenced the minds of the defenders on the opposing teams to let her get past them." He raised his index finger.
The interview went on for a while longer. The rest of it was less tense and more about mundane policies. Kelly's positions regarding things like the economy, crime and education were much more moderate.
Logan had his hands on the Blackbird's controls. He was heading for Croatia. He was not alone, though. He was taking Rogue and Spyke with him. Not because he wanted to, but because Xavier told him to. The professor simply did not want to risk sending Logan alone to Croatia. It was against the Institute's policy to send an X-Man alone on a mission, especially not on a mission to a foreign country.
"Alright! I can't wait to swim in the Adriatic Sea!" Evan was nearly jumping up in joy in his seat. He was wearing a purple t-shirt and beige swimtrunks.
"We're not going to the beach, kid!" Logan clenched his teeth. "We're going to a village in central Croatia, far away from the sea.
"Aw man!" Evan's eyes nearly popped out in shock and he sighed in disappointment.
"Use your head for once!" Rogue rolled her eyes.
"Anyway, if we ain't goin' to the beach, why on Earth are we goin' to Croatia in the first place, mister Logan?" Evan cried.
"Check the photos on the seat in front of you." Logan groaned.
Rogue picked them up and saw the photos of Marijana. Evan took a look as well.
"Who is she?" Rogue asked.
"Fury said she could be dangerous. She has powers that make her momentarily invulnerable to pain." Logan explained as he steered the X-Jet.
"Damn, she's hot!" Evan's eyes nearly popped out. This time in positive shock as he looked at the photos of the Croatian young woman.
"Oh, for God's sake!" Rogue shoved Evan's face away. "We might have to fight her, and that's where your mind is?!"
"I thought you said I didn't use my head." Evan snorted.
"Ya do… but not the top one!" Rogue cried.
Both Rogue and Evan argued for a while and Logan had to hear their argument throughout the rest of the flight.
"Kids…" Logan clenched his jaw, trying his best not to explode. He sometimes felt more like a babysitter than an X-Man!
Croatia was a beautiful country that received millions of tourists every year, especially in the summer. But the small village Mystique and Gambit were walking through was far from the tourist hotspots of the country. Basically, it wasn't exactly a walking distance away from the nearest beach. It was a really quaint and peaceful village, however. They walked up a steep hill where they spotted a young woman with blonde hair in a ponytail and icy blue eyes vigorously kicking a large punching bag in the middle of nowhere. She was wearing a dobok, which meant she was a taekwondo practitioner. The black belt wrapped around her waist was a sign she was not to be taken lightly. The girl was taller than average. She seemed to be around 175cm-176cm. She was neither thin nor bulky. She had a healthy and toned physique from practicing taekwondo.
As she finished her workout, she turned her head to the side, sensing someone's presence. She spotted two strangers who clearly weren't from her village. The blue-skinned woman with red hair looked especially suspicious.
"Tko ste vi?!" (Who are you?!) The young woman asked with a somewhat scared look on her face.
"Why, hello there, Marijana… or should I call you Neranjiv instead?" Mystique smirked.
"Who are you?!" Marijana's eyes popped out in shock as she switched to English, her accent being somewhat thick but perfectly understandable. "How do you know my codename?! What do you want?!" She clenched her fists and her face twisted into anger.
"My name is Mystique. I'm here to take you with me." Mystique explained.
"I'm not going anywhere, creep!" Marijana cried.
"She's not going to cooperate, Mystique" Gambit looked at Mystique.
"She wants to do it the hard way, then. Fine!" Mystique grinned and jumped high in the air, landing in front of Marijana. "HIYAH!" She delivered a strong kick that the Croatian girl blocked with her leg. "Ugh!" Mystique groaned. Marijana had a pretty strong leg.
"You can't hurt me!" Marijana clenched her teeth and glared at Mystique as her leg blocked her kick. She then pushed Mystique, making her fall on her butt.
"AH!" Mystique cried as she landed on the grass. She rubbed her leg, which hurt a bit. "You're as strong as he said you'd be." She frowned.
"WHO?!" Marijana shouted in a demanding tone.
"Magneto." Mystique answered coldly.
"I don't know that person!" Marijana cried angrily.
"Time to play some cards, mademoiselle." Gambit threw a card at her.
"Huh?" Marijana blinked as a 6 of clubs card flew in front of her face.
BOOM! And it exploded, naturally. Marijana jumped back, landing on her back.
"ŠTO DOVRAGA?!" (WHAT THE HELL?!). She yelled in shock at the exploding card. She had never seen something like that before.
Mystique stood over Marijana and pointed an automatic gun at her face.
"Your temporary invulnerability might deflect the bullets from the first few rounds, sweetheart. But by the 5th round or so, your gorgeous face will be pulverised!" Mystique smirked sadistically.
"No…" Marijana's face paled in terror as she looked into the tip of the gun.
"So, are you coming with us like a good girl, or…" Mystique licked her lips sadistically.
Marijana was sweating. She never felt that much fear in her life before. Mystique was about to pull the trigger when spikes hit her automatic gun on the right side, pushing it off her hands.
"THE HECK?!" Mystique shouted in shock and turned around.
"Close call!" Spyke smirked.
"Good aim, kiddo!" Wolverine smirked proudly.
"Hello there… mom." Rogue frowned and said the last word with a strong distaste in her mouth as she looked at Mystique.
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"Rogue!" Mystique cried in a tone that was a mix of anger and hurt.
"Save the mother talk!" Rogue snorted. "You know I hate you!" She said in a steely voice.
"Why you…" Mystique clenched her teeth angrily.
"Here." Spyke extended his hand at Marijana, offering her help getting back on her feet.
"Hum." Marijana nodded and took his hand.
"Why does Magneto want this girl?" Wolverine grunted and pointed at Marijana.
"You think I'd tell you?" Mystique rolled her eyes.
"Maybe if I slash the answer out of you!" Wolverine withdrew his claws and got in a battle stance.
"Interrupting a battle is rude." Gambit cockily walked up to Rogue.
"Oh, if it ain't the card weirdo!" Rogue frowned.
"Nice to see you again too, ma chérie." He smirked.
"Take this!" Spyke fires a bunch of spikes at Gambit.
"Easy!" Gambit parried the spikes with his metallic bo staff.
"HAH!" Mystique took advantage of the moment of distraction and punched Rogue in the face.
"ARGH!" Rogue fell on the floor.
"HIYAAH!" Marijana delivered a round of rapid taekwondo kicks on Mystique's back, knocking her down.
"OW!" Mystique fell with her face on the grass.
"UGH!" Wolverine attempted to slash Gambit's face with his claws, but got blocked by the Cajun's bo staff.
"Too slow, mon ami." Gambit smirked and withdrew a card with his free hand.
"Shit!" Rogue cried as she picked herself up again. Gambit's cards were never good news.
"HIYAAH!" Marijana delivered a flying kick on Gambit's back.
"OUCH!" Gambit lost his balance and dropped his card and bo staff, but he didn't fall on the ground.
"Gonna make you bleed, punk!" Wolverine growled and slashed at Gambit's chest, tearing his outfit and making him bleed.
"AAAH!" Gambit grabbed his chest in pain as blood fell down.
"You're not getting away!" Mystique wrapped her hands behind Marijana, in an attempt to choke her.
"Ugh!" Marijana tried her best to make Mystique let go of her.
Rogue ran up to Mystique from behind and touched her shoulder. Mystique fell on the ground. Marijana turned around and was somewhat shocked.
"What did you…?!" She blinked rapidly.
"It's my power. Long story." Rogue sighed as she put her glove back on.
"Let's take her to someplace safe!" Spyke cried.
"Rogue, fly us away!" Wolverine ordered. They grabbed on to her and she took off, leaving. Mystique was left alone still knocked out on the floor and Gambit was on his knees still holding on to his bleeding chest from Wolverine's claws.
Training was being conducted by Storm and Beast that afternoon due to Logan's absence.
"Why isn't mister Logan here?" Shadowcat whispered.
"I think he went to Europe on a mission." Magma replied.
"Europe?!" Kitty blinked.
"He took Rogue and Evan with him too. That's why they're not here either." Magma explained.
"Seriously?!" Shadowcat frowned and folded her arms. "They get to travel to some cool spot in Europe while we're left behind?" The jealousy in her voice was palpable.
"I know, right?" Magma sighed.
"Amara! Kitty!" Storm cried. "Enough chit-chat! You're in training!" She scolded.
"S-Sorry!" Both teenage girls sheepishly apologised in unison.
Xavier, as usual, was monitoring the training upstairs. He wasn't worried about today's training, since Ororo and Hank were very reliable and could easily fill in for Logan's absence in such situations. But he couldn't help feeling slightly worried about Logan. He did wonder what Magneto could possibly want from an unknown teenage girl with superpowers who was not even a mutant. Was there more than it met the eye about her? Or did Magneto have something else in mind? Xavier had to anxiously await Logan, Rogue and Spyke to tell him the answer, if they managed to get it, that was.
Inside a cave, Rogue, Wolverine and Spyke waited for Marijana to change her clothes. She came out from behind a large rock wearing a full blue body suit with Croatia's coat of arms proudly displaying on the chest area. That was clearly Neranjiv's outfit. Spyke obviously couldn't get his eyes off her curves and bust, since the body suit was tight.
"You're invulnerable to pain, correct?" Wolverine asked.
"More or less, yes." Neranjiv nodded with a serious look on her face. "It's temporary, but it takes a while for someone to be able to hurt me.
"How long does it last?" Rogue asked her for a runtime.
"Roughly about 30 seconds." Neranjiv placed a finger on her own chin pensively.
"That's not a very long time period." Wolverine groaned.
"Which is why I'm trying to extend it." Neranjiv nodded. "...who are you people, anyway?" She changed the subject.
"Oh right, we haven't introduced ourselves." Spyke chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "i'm Evan Daniels aka Spyke." He smirked as he pointed at himself. Nerenjiv furrowed her eyebrows and took his hand off her shoulder.
"I'm Rogue." Rogue placed a hand on her chest and smiled.
"And I'm Wolverine." Wolverine said with his usual gruff voice. "We're the X-Men."
"X-Men?" Neranjiv's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, I think I've seen videos of you guys on social media!" She cried in realisation.
"That's right, we're famous!" Evan chuckled proudly.
"Yeah, we're mutants." Rogue nodded.
"What about that strange blue woman and that guy?" Neranjiv was clearly referring to Mystique and Gambit.
"They're mutants too, girl." Wolverine frowned. "But they're not with us!" He pointed out clearly.
"Yeah, I figured just as much." Neranjiv nodded. "What did they want from me, though? And who's Magneto?" She widened her eyes.
"Magneto ain't good news, baby!" Evan warned. Neranjiv looked at him dryly, not amused by his obnoxious flirting technique.
"He's our enemy." Wolverine groaned. "A mutant supremacist who hates humans!" He explained.
"And he seems to have his eyes on you." Rogue pointed at her.
"Can't blame him!" Evan chuckled. Neranjiv just ignored him.
"But I'm not a mutant." Neranjiv raised her eyebrow.
"True, it is strange." Wolverine rubbed his chin.
"Maybe he's not aware of that?" Rogue suggested.
"Nah!" Wolverine shook his head immediately. "He definitely knows that she's not a mutant."
"What the hell does he want from me, then?!" Neranjiv cried. "I've never met him in my life or even knew who he was before this whole ordeal." She sighed.
"You have interesting superpowers he could use." Wolverine pointed out.
"And you pack some mean taekwondo kicks." Rogue chuckled.
"How did you get your powers, anyway, if you ain't a mutant?" Spyke rubbed his temple.
"Oh." Neranjiv's face darkened. "That's… not something I feel comfortable sharing with someone I've just met." She folded her arms and shifted her gaze away from them.
"You don't seem to be a threatening individual." Wolverine rubbed his chin.
"Threatening individual?!" Neranjiv bristled and glared at Wolverine. "Who said that?!"
"I can't disclose that information, girl." Wolverine folded his arms and grunted.
"How old are ya, anyway?" Rogue tried to lighten the mood of the conversation.
"17." Neranjiv blinked.
"Wait, really?!" Spyke's eyes widened in surprise.
"What?" Neranjiv looked at him dryly.
"I thought ya'd be 19." Rogue rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "But you're just a year older than me and Spyke."
"Is that so?" Neranjiv raised her eyebrow.
"19? More like 21 or somethin'!" Spyke chuckled nervously. "With that body…"
WHAM! Neranjiv kicked him in the face, knocking him on the floor.
"OOOW!" Spyke laid on the floor with his hand on his forehead.
"Thank you!" Rogue smirked.
The Brotherhood were in the living room watching TV and lazying about.
"Where did Mystique go?" Lance opened a pizza delivery box.
"Why, you actually miss her?" Toad's eyes nearly popped out of his face in shock.
"No… just wondering." Lance looked at him dryly.
"She went on a mission to Croatia." Wanda replied without any emotion in her voice as she watched Family Guy on TV without laughing at a single joke.
"Croatia?" Fred blinked. "...where is that?" He rubbed his temple.
"A country in Europe, fatso." Pietro folded his arms and smirked.
"DON'T MOCK ME!" Fred's anger flared up.
"What she doin' there?" Toad drank his Coca-Cola bottle. "Paid holiday by Magneto?"
"Idiot! Father doesn't pay holidays to anyone!" Wanda frowned.
"Still, she could have taken us." Toad shrugged.
"Croatia…" Pietro rubbed his chin.
"What?" Lance raised his eyebrow.
"Father wouldn't send Mystique to such a random place like that out of the blue…" Pietro continued being vague.
"Why, do you know something, brother?" Wanda said the last word with sarcasm.
"No." Pietro looked at his sister dryly. "I just wonder…"
"Whatever," Lance groaned. "Who gives a shit?"
"Yeah!" Fred stuffed his mouth with chicken nuggets.
"Mystique is just there showing off in a bikini at the beach while she's still young enough to pull that off, most likely." Toad chuckled.
"Your mind is as gross as your exterior." Wanda grimaced.
Edward Kelly was leaving the TV studio. He was about to enter his car when a strange man wearing a suit and a hat approached him.
"Mister Kelly?" The man, tall, with a cold face and with a deep voice, said.
"Yes?" Kelly looked at him a bit suspiciously.
"I'd like to say I'm really interested in your platform." The man's face kept its cold expression.
"Oh, you're voting for me?" Kelly relaxed a bit and adjusted his tie.
"You're definitely my favourite candidate so far." The strange man nodded.
"Well, I appreciate your support, mister…?" Kelly did not know this man's name.
"My name is classified, sort of." The man narrowed his eyes. "Don't take this personally, mister Kelly."
"Hum?" Kelly blinked rapidly. Something seemed off about this strange man. He seemed to want something out of him, but he had no idea what it could possibly be. The man reached a hand into his pocket and took out a business card. He handed it over to Kelly. Kelly looked at it and adjusted his glasses. He furrowed his eyebrows, not recognising the name or the logo. "Just who do you work for, exactly?" Kelly asked with a confused look on his face.
"HYDRA." The man said with an icy voice.
"What kind of organisation is that?" Kelly asked, hesitatingly.
"Our leader would like to have a meeting with you this week." The man said.
Wolverine, Spyke and Rogue escorted Neranjiv through rural Croatia, just in case Mystique and Gambit attacked her again. Then, helicopter sounds were heard. Everyone looked up at the blue sky and saw a couple of black helicopters coming down.
"S.H.I.E.L.D." Wolverine clenched his jaw. He then took out his phone and dialed up Fury's number.
The helicopters touched down on the ground and out of them came men dressed up in S.H.I.E.L.D. gear. No signs of Fury, however.
"What on Earth?" Neranjiv tensed up.
"I don't know who these guys are!" Rogue cried.
"Neither do I!" Spyke cried as well.
"Fury, what the hell is this?!" Wolverine shouted into his phone. "Why are you sending a backup?!"
"Backup?!" Fury nearly chuckled on the other side of the call. "More like my men are there to take Neranjiv!"
"WHAT?!" Wolverine yelled angrily.
Suddenly, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents pointed guns at Neranjiv.
"H-HUH?!" Neranjiv's eyes widened in shock and fear as she saw the several machine guns being pointed at her.
"STICK THEM UP!" The men ordered her.
"Fuck you, Fury!" Wolverine ended the call abruptly and withdrew his claws.
"What do we do, Wolverine?" Spyke cried with a shaky voice.
"We're not letting them take her!" Wolverine growled.
"Yeah, this is wild! She's no criminal!" Rogue frowned.
"What a day!" Neranjiv covered her face with her hands.
"OFFERING RESISTANCE? FIRE AWAY!" The leader of the squadron raised his hand and yelled the order.
Suddenly, a bunch of cards flew in front of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. They were confused about them.
BOOOOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM! The multiple cards exploded, knocking out every single agent.
Wolverine, Rogue, Spyke and Neranjiv looked behind them. There it was. Gambit smirking and holding a card in his right hand.
"Card boy can be useful, after all." Rogue smirked.
A plane then flew over everyone's heads. That one didn't look like it belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D. A rope in a lasso dropped down from it and grabbed Neranjiv.
"AH!" The girl cried in shock. And then she was reeled up into the plane.
"MARIJANA!" Rogue shouted in concern.
"Shit, it's Mystique!" Spyke pointed as the plane turned around and they got a good look at the pilot.
Another rope dropped down again, this time with climbable steps. The airplane flew above Gambit's head and he held on to the rope.
"They're getting away!" Wolverine clenched his jaw angrily.
"No!" Rogue shook her head and jumped, flying in the direction of the plane, hoping to intercept it. As she flew near it, Gambit smirked at her and tossed her a card.
"Sorry, chérie." Gambit playfully saluted Rogue with his hand over his forehead.
"AH!" Rogue's eyes widened in fear as the card got consumed by fire. She threw it away before it exploded in her hands.
BOOM!
The card exploded in mid-air without hitting Rogue. Meanwhile, the airplane was now too far away for Rogue to catch up to it. Mystique and Gambit had successfully escaped with Neranjiv. Rogue fell down and Spyke managed to catch her.
"Fuck!" Wolverine clenched his fists in anger and frustration.
"I failed. I'm sorry!" Rogue covered her face in shame.
"Don't blame yourself!" Spyke touched her shoulder.
Wolverine had failed his mission. Fury was not going to like the news, but then again, how come he sent his agents to apprehend Neranjiv in the first place? Why bother sending Wolverine all the way to Croatia, then? Those were all questions that ran through Wolverine's mind.
Magneto received a call from Mystique.
"Yes?" He answered with his usual non-nonsense voice.
"Magneto, we got Neranjiv. We're on our way." She smirked, clearly proud of her work.
"Excellent." Magneto nodded, but without showing any emotion on his face.
"Later!" Mystique said goodbye and ended the call.
Magneto walked around his HQ. His expression became tenser, despite Mystique not failing this time around. Something about Neranjiv seemed to really interest Magneto.
"I'll find you!" Magneto frowned, clenched his fist and cried into a void in anger.
"Save the mother talk!" Rogue snorted. "You know I hate you!" She said in a steely voice.
"Why you…" Mystique clenched her teeth angrily.
"Here." Spyke extended his hand at Marijana, offering her help getting back on her feet.
"Hum." Marijana nodded and took his hand.
"Why does Magneto want this girl?" Wolverine grunted and pointed at Marijana.
"You think I'd tell you?" Mystique rolled her eyes.
"Maybe if I slash the answer out of you!" Wolverine withdrew his claws and got in a battle stance.
"Interrupting a battle is rude." Gambit cockily walked up to Rogue.
"Oh, if it ain't the card weirdo!" Rogue frowned.
"Nice to see you again too, ma chérie." He smirked.
"Take this!" Spyke fires a bunch of spikes at Gambit.
"Easy!" Gambit parried the spikes with his metallic bo staff.
"HAH!" Mystique took advantage of the moment of distraction and punched Rogue in the face.
"ARGH!" Rogue fell on the floor.
"HIYAAH!" Marijana delivered a round of rapid taekwondo kicks on Mystique's back, knocking her down.
"OW!" Mystique fell with her face on the grass.
"UGH!" Wolverine attempted to slash Gambit's face with his claws, but got blocked by the Cajun's bo staff.
"Too slow, mon ami." Gambit smirked and withdrew a card with his free hand.
"Shit!" Rogue cried as she picked herself up again. Gambit's cards were never good news.
"HIYAAH!" Marijana delivered a flying kick on Gambit's back.
"OUCH!" Gambit lost his balance and dropped his card and bo staff, but he didn't fall on the ground.
"Gonna make you bleed, punk!" Wolverine growled and slashed at Gambit's chest, tearing his outfit and making him bleed.
"AAAH!" Gambit grabbed his chest in pain as blood fell down.
"You're not getting away!" Mystique wrapped her hands behind Marijana, in an attempt to choke her.
"Ugh!" Marijana tried her best to make Mystique let go of her.
Rogue ran up to Mystique from behind and touched her shoulder. Mystique fell on the ground. Marijana turned around and was somewhat shocked.
"What did you…?!" She blinked rapidly.
"It's my power. Long story." Rogue sighed as she put her glove back on.
"Let's take her to someplace safe!" Spyke cried.
"Rogue, fly us away!" Wolverine ordered. They grabbed on to her and she took off, leaving. Mystique was left alone still knocked out on the floor and Gambit was on his knees still holding on to his bleeding chest from Wolverine's claws.
Training was being conducted by Storm and Beast that afternoon due to Logan's absence.
"Why isn't mister Logan here?" Shadowcat whispered.
"I think he went to Europe on a mission." Magma replied.
"Europe?!" Kitty blinked.
"He took Rogue and Evan with him too. That's why they're not here either." Magma explained.
"Seriously?!" Shadowcat frowned and folded her arms. "They get to travel to some cool spot in Europe while we're left behind?" The jealousy in her voice was palpable.
"I know, right?" Magma sighed.
"Amara! Kitty!" Storm cried. "Enough chit-chat! You're in training!" She scolded.
"S-Sorry!" Both teenage girls sheepishly apologised in unison.
Xavier, as usual, was monitoring the training upstairs. He wasn't worried about today's training, since Ororo and Hank were very reliable and could easily fill in for Logan's absence in such situations. But he couldn't help feeling slightly worried about Logan. He did wonder what Magneto could possibly want from an unknown teenage girl with superpowers who was not even a mutant. Was there more than it met the eye about her? Or did Magneto have something else in mind? Xavier had to anxiously await Logan, Rogue and Spyke to tell him the answer, if they managed to get it, that was.
Inside a cave, Rogue, Wolverine and Spyke waited for Marijana to change her clothes. She came out from behind a large rock wearing a full blue body suit with Croatia's coat of arms proudly displaying on the chest area. That was clearly Neranjiv's outfit. Spyke obviously couldn't get his eyes off her curves and bust, since the body suit was tight.
"You're invulnerable to pain, correct?" Wolverine asked.
"More or less, yes." Neranjiv nodded with a serious look on her face. "It's temporary, but it takes a while for someone to be able to hurt me.
"How long does it last?" Rogue asked her for a runtime.
"Roughly about 30 seconds." Neranjiv placed a finger on her own chin pensively.
"That's not a very long time period." Wolverine groaned.
"Which is why I'm trying to extend it." Neranjiv nodded. "...who are you people, anyway?" She changed the subject.
"Oh right, we haven't introduced ourselves." Spyke chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "i'm Evan Daniels aka Spyke." He smirked as he pointed at himself. Nerenjiv furrowed her eyebrows and took his hand off her shoulder.
"I'm Rogue." Rogue placed a hand on her chest and smiled.
"And I'm Wolverine." Wolverine said with his usual gruff voice. "We're the X-Men."
"X-Men?" Neranjiv's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, I think I've seen videos of you guys on social media!" She cried in realisation.
"That's right, we're famous!" Evan chuckled proudly.
"Yeah, we're mutants." Rogue nodded.
"What about that strange blue woman and that guy?" Neranjiv was clearly referring to Mystique and Gambit.
"They're mutants too, girl." Wolverine frowned. "But they're not with us!" He pointed out clearly.
"Yeah, I figured just as much." Neranjiv nodded. "What did they want from me, though? And who's Magneto?" She widened her eyes.
"Magneto ain't good news, baby!" Evan warned. Neranjiv looked at him dryly, not amused by his obnoxious flirting technique.
"He's our enemy." Wolverine groaned. "A mutant supremacist who hates humans!" He explained.
"And he seems to have his eyes on you." Rogue pointed at her.
"Can't blame him!" Evan chuckled. Neranjiv just ignored him.
"But I'm not a mutant." Neranjiv raised her eyebrow.
"True, it is strange." Wolverine rubbed his chin.
"Maybe he's not aware of that?" Rogue suggested.
"Nah!" Wolverine shook his head immediately. "He definitely knows that she's not a mutant."
"What the hell does he want from me, then?!" Neranjiv cried. "I've never met him in my life or even knew who he was before this whole ordeal." She sighed.
"You have interesting superpowers he could use." Wolverine pointed out.
"And you pack some mean taekwondo kicks." Rogue chuckled.
"How did you get your powers, anyway, if you ain't a mutant?" Spyke rubbed his temple.
"Oh." Neranjiv's face darkened. "That's… not something I feel comfortable sharing with someone I've just met." She folded her arms and shifted her gaze away from them.
"You don't seem to be a threatening individual." Wolverine rubbed his chin.
"Threatening individual?!" Neranjiv bristled and glared at Wolverine. "Who said that?!"
"I can't disclose that information, girl." Wolverine folded his arms and grunted.
"How old are ya, anyway?" Rogue tried to lighten the mood of the conversation.
"17." Neranjiv blinked.
"Wait, really?!" Spyke's eyes widened in surprise.
"What?" Neranjiv looked at him dryly.
"I thought ya'd be 19." Rogue rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "But you're just a year older than me and Spyke."
"Is that so?" Neranjiv raised her eyebrow.
"19? More like 21 or somethin'!" Spyke chuckled nervously. "With that body…"
WHAM! Neranjiv kicked him in the face, knocking him on the floor.
"OOOW!" Spyke laid on the floor with his hand on his forehead.
"Thank you!" Rogue smirked.
The Brotherhood were in the living room watching TV and lazying about.
"Where did Mystique go?" Lance opened a pizza delivery box.
"Why, you actually miss her?" Toad's eyes nearly popped out of his face in shock.
"No… just wondering." Lance looked at him dryly.
"She went on a mission to Croatia." Wanda replied without any emotion in her voice as she watched Family Guy on TV without laughing at a single joke.
"Croatia?" Fred blinked. "...where is that?" He rubbed his temple.
"A country in Europe, fatso." Pietro folded his arms and smirked.
"DON'T MOCK ME!" Fred's anger flared up.
"What she doin' there?" Toad drank his Coca-Cola bottle. "Paid holiday by Magneto?"
"Idiot! Father doesn't pay holidays to anyone!" Wanda frowned.
"Still, she could have taken us." Toad shrugged.
"Croatia…" Pietro rubbed his chin.
"What?" Lance raised his eyebrow.
"Father wouldn't send Mystique to such a random place like that out of the blue…" Pietro continued being vague.
"Why, do you know something, brother?" Wanda said the last word with sarcasm.
"No." Pietro looked at his sister dryly. "I just wonder…"
"Whatever," Lance groaned. "Who gives a shit?"
"Yeah!" Fred stuffed his mouth with chicken nuggets.
"Mystique is just there showing off in a bikini at the beach while she's still young enough to pull that off, most likely." Toad chuckled.
"Your mind is as gross as your exterior." Wanda grimaced.
Edward Kelly was leaving the TV studio. He was about to enter his car when a strange man wearing a suit and a hat approached him.
"Mister Kelly?" The man, tall, with a cold face and with a deep voice, said.
"Yes?" Kelly looked at him a bit suspiciously.
"I'd like to say I'm really interested in your platform." The man's face kept its cold expression.
"Oh, you're voting for me?" Kelly relaxed a bit and adjusted his tie.
"You're definitely my favourite candidate so far." The strange man nodded.
"Well, I appreciate your support, mister…?" Kelly did not know this man's name.
"My name is classified, sort of." The man narrowed his eyes. "Don't take this personally, mister Kelly."
"Hum?" Kelly blinked rapidly. Something seemed off about this strange man. He seemed to want something out of him, but he had no idea what it could possibly be. The man reached a hand into his pocket and took out a business card. He handed it over to Kelly. Kelly looked at it and adjusted his glasses. He furrowed his eyebrows, not recognising the name or the logo. "Just who do you work for, exactly?" Kelly asked with a confused look on his face.
"HYDRA." The man said with an icy voice.
"What kind of organisation is that?" Kelly asked, hesitatingly.
"Our leader would like to have a meeting with you this week." The man said.
Wolverine, Spyke and Rogue escorted Neranjiv through rural Croatia, just in case Mystique and Gambit attacked her again. Then, helicopter sounds were heard. Everyone looked up at the blue sky and saw a couple of black helicopters coming down.
"S.H.I.E.L.D." Wolverine clenched his jaw. He then took out his phone and dialed up Fury's number.
The helicopters touched down on the ground and out of them came men dressed up in S.H.I.E.L.D. gear. No signs of Fury, however.
"What on Earth?" Neranjiv tensed up.
"I don't know who these guys are!" Rogue cried.
"Neither do I!" Spyke cried as well.
"Fury, what the hell is this?!" Wolverine shouted into his phone. "Why are you sending a backup?!"
"Backup?!" Fury nearly chuckled on the other side of the call. "More like my men are there to take Neranjiv!"
"WHAT?!" Wolverine yelled angrily.
Suddenly, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents pointed guns at Neranjiv.
"H-HUH?!" Neranjiv's eyes widened in shock and fear as she saw the several machine guns being pointed at her.
"STICK THEM UP!" The men ordered her.
"Fuck you, Fury!" Wolverine ended the call abruptly and withdrew his claws.
"What do we do, Wolverine?" Spyke cried with a shaky voice.
"We're not letting them take her!" Wolverine growled.
"Yeah, this is wild! She's no criminal!" Rogue frowned.
"What a day!" Neranjiv covered her face with her hands.
"OFFERING RESISTANCE? FIRE AWAY!" The leader of the squadron raised his hand and yelled the order.
Suddenly, a bunch of cards flew in front of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. They were confused about them.
BOOOOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM! The multiple cards exploded, knocking out every single agent.
Wolverine, Rogue, Spyke and Neranjiv looked behind them. There it was. Gambit smirking and holding a card in his right hand.
"Card boy can be useful, after all." Rogue smirked.
A plane then flew over everyone's heads. That one didn't look like it belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D. A rope in a lasso dropped down from it and grabbed Neranjiv.
"AH!" The girl cried in shock. And then she was reeled up into the plane.
"MARIJANA!" Rogue shouted in concern.
"Shit, it's Mystique!" Spyke pointed as the plane turned around and they got a good look at the pilot.
Another rope dropped down again, this time with climbable steps. The airplane flew above Gambit's head and he held on to the rope.
"They're getting away!" Wolverine clenched his jaw angrily.
"No!" Rogue shook her head and jumped, flying in the direction of the plane, hoping to intercept it. As she flew near it, Gambit smirked at her and tossed her a card.
"Sorry, chérie." Gambit playfully saluted Rogue with his hand over his forehead.
"AH!" Rogue's eyes widened in fear as the card got consumed by fire. She threw it away before it exploded in her hands.
BOOM!
The card exploded in mid-air without hitting Rogue. Meanwhile, the airplane was now too far away for Rogue to catch up to it. Mystique and Gambit had successfully escaped with Neranjiv. Rogue fell down and Spyke managed to catch her.
"Fuck!" Wolverine clenched his fists in anger and frustration.
"I failed. I'm sorry!" Rogue covered her face in shame.
"Don't blame yourself!" Spyke touched her shoulder.
Wolverine had failed his mission. Fury was not going to like the news, but then again, how come he sent his agents to apprehend Neranjiv in the first place? Why bother sending Wolverine all the way to Croatia, then? Those were all questions that ran through Wolverine's mind.
Magneto received a call from Mystique.
"Yes?" He answered with his usual non-nonsense voice.
"Magneto, we got Neranjiv. We're on our way." She smirked, clearly proud of her work.
"Excellent." Magneto nodded, but without showing any emotion on his face.
"Later!" Mystique said goodbye and ended the call.
Magneto walked around his HQ. His expression became tenser, despite Mystique not failing this time around. Something about Neranjiv seemed to really interest Magneto.
"I'll find you!" Magneto frowned, clenched his fist and cried into a void in anger.
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Logan was feeling super frustrated and angry. The failure of his mission and the borderline backstabbing by Fury were making his head boil. He kept pacing around Xavier's office. Xavier just stared at him with a serious look on his face and his hands clasped.
"Logan, don't tire yourself out." He said with a neutral tone.
"UGH!" Logan kicked a chair out of frustration.
"Getting angry over it isn't going to change the outcome." Xavier pointed out.
"I know…" Logan sighed, calming down a bit. Both men stayed silent for a moment and Logan then looked at Xavier with a rare expression of slight embarrassment on his face. "You're not mad at me at all?" Logan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Also a rare sight of him.
"No, I have no reason to." Xavier blinked.
"I failed, Charles!" Logan slapped his chest, taking responsibility for the failure of his mission.
"You didn't fail me. That was not an X-Men mission. It was a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission. And S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed to change its mind and make matters more complicated to you, which led to Mystique taking that girl away on an airplane." Xavier calmly explained.
"Still… God knows what Magneto is planning!" Logan clenched his teeth.
"About that… that girl is not a mutant, remember." Xavier placed his hand on his chin.
"Yeah but she has super powers, nonetheless." Logan frowned.
"Momentary invulnerability? For how long, exactly?" Xavier asked.
"30 seconds or so." Logan replied.
"30 seconds only?" Xavier blinked rapidly in surprise. "That's not a very long time."
"Well, she's also a black belt in taekwondo." Logan rubbed his temple.
"You don't have to be a mutant or have super powers in general in order to become a black belt in taekwondo or any other martial art." Xavier pointed out.
"What's your point, Charles? That Magneto made a casting error or something?" Logan rolled his eyes.
"Not necessarily, no." Xavier's eyes widened.
"Then what is it?" Logan folded his arms.
"Perhaps Magneto does not want that girl for her powers." He rubbed his chin.
"Hum?" Logan raised his eyebrow.
"He might need her to get some information on something or someone." Xavier theorised.
"You know, Charles..:" Logan rubbed his chin. "...I hadn't thought of that. What or who could it possibly be that he's trying to get info on, though?"
"That I don't know and I'd rather not jump to conclusions." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows.
"What about Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s change of attitude?" Logan groaned.
"You haven't asked Nick Fury yet?" Xavier asked.
"I'm still pissed off at that asshole!" Logan growled.
"It would be better if you calmed yourself down before you contact him again, Logan." Xavier held his hand up.
Marijana was being held prisoner in a cell at Magneto's HQ. It was a standard prisoner cell without any noteworthy piece of furniture besides a bed and a sink. Marijana was feeling very nervous and frustrated at her current situation. She knew nothing about what was going on. Who were the people who abducted her and brought her to Magneto's HQ? Who was Magneto and what did he want from her? Who were those X-Men she met? They were mutants, sure, she knew that, but why were they there to help her against that blue woman named Mystique and the card guy that was with her?
"He wants to see you." Colossus opened the cell.
"Who?" Marijana clenched her teeth and folded her arms.
"Magneto." Colossus said tersely. He gestured for her to follow him. She left the cell and followed Colossus for about 10 minutes until they reached a closed electronic door. Colossus pressed a button and spoke into the intercommunicator. Shortly afterwards, the door opened and Colossus told Marijana to step into the room which had a desk and a chair. She walked up to the chair in front of the desk and sat down. The door closed. Then, another door opened, from the side. And in entered a man with a red helmet that covered his head, but not his face or eyes. He took a seat on the big chair behind the desk and looked Marijana in the eyes with a stern face.
"Marijana Brozović." He said with a cold and calm voice.
"Who are you?" She glared at him.
"I'm Magneto." He said. Again, with a cold and yet calm voice.
"What do you want from me?!" Marijana cried, clenching her fists.
Magneto opened a drawer from his desk and took out a brown paper file. He laid it on his desk and opened it in front of Marijana, showing her a black and white photo of what seemed to be a young soldier wearing a uniform. Marijana looked at the photo for a while, perplexed, having no idea who that person might be, but then her eyebrows shot up and her mouth opened in shock.
"W-where did you get this photo?!" She stuttered.
"Dig through museum and history archives long enough and you'll easily find a photo like this:" He widened his eyes.
"What's this even about?! I don't…!" Marijana was getting more upset by the minute.
"Silence!" Magneto held up his hand in front of her face. "All I need to know is his whereabouts." He explained. "Where is he? Where is Krešimir Dadić?" He cried with a commanding tone.
"I-I-I d-don't know!" Marijana was taken aback by that question. "He must be dead by now!"
"HE'S NOT!" Magneto slammed his hands on his desk angrily. "I know he's still alive!"
"No…! It can't be…!" Marijana's eyes widened in shock and fear.
At S.H.I.E.L.D.'s base, Nick Fury was arguing with one of his high ranking agents about the sudden interference in Wolverine's mission in Croatia.
"It doesn't make sense. You know we can't just change our minds like the wind just like that!" The high ranking agent, a man in his 40s with black and grey hair, cried.
"I didn't act on a whim, McAllister!" Fury frowned and almost rolled his eyes.
"Then why the fuck did you send men down to Croatia, Fury?!" McAllister's face twisted in anger.
"Watch your tongue! I'm your superior!" Fury's face hardened.
"And?!" McAllister raised his voice in anger and defiance. "We're S.H.I.E.L.D. Not fucking HYDRA! We're not a dictatorship that violates human rights!" He clenched his fist.
"You do realize S.H.I.E.L.D.'s human rights track record isn't exactly spotless either, right?" Fury snorted.
"Yes, I know we've used torture before!" McAllister cried.
"Exactly. We're not saints." Fury groaned. "So spare me your misguided rectitude. I didn't do anything immoral, in fact." He folded his arms.
"Then why the hell did you…?!" McAllister cried again.
"New information about Neranjiv came up." Fury calmly cut him off.
"Huh?" McAllister blinked rapidly in surprise.
"Neranjiv wasn't just someone that Magneto wanted to recruit. In fact, that's not his interest in her at all." Fury explained.
"Then, why did he…?" McAllister raised his eyebrow, feeling significantly calmer.
Fury furrowed his eyebrows and picked up a remote control. He turned around to face the big screen and pointed the control at it, turning it on. A black and white photo of a uniformed soldier popped up on it. McAllister looked at it perplexed.
"How old is this photo even? And what does it have to do with…?" McAllister snorted.
"You really need to stop jumping the gun and listen to people better, Paul." Fury groaned and even addressed him by his first name.
"Hmmph!" McAllister groaned, feeling a bit offended by Fury's observation.
"This man's name is Krešimir Dadić." Fury began. "And yes, he's still alive."
McAllister just raised his eyebrows and slightly opened his mouth in surprise.
"As for his relation to Neranjiv, he's her maternal grandfather." Fury's eyes narrowed.
"I see…" McAllister whispered and then waited for Fury to elaborate further.
Fury pressed a button on his remote control and showed McAllister the next slide. This time it was a black and white photo that included Dadić in a group with several other soldiers posing together with a Croatian flag behind them.
"The year of these photos, 1942." Fury went on.
"1942, you say?" McAllister blinked rapidly. "Wait, was he…" His eyes narrowed as he seemed to realise something about Dadić.
"Ustaše, yes." Fury furrowed his eyebrows.
At the school cafeteria, during lunch, João, Kitty, Kurt, Bobby, Amara and Jubilation all sat at the same table.
"Mister Logan is in a terrible mood today." Jubilation groaned.
"When isn't he in a terrible mood?" Bobby raised his eyebrow.
"Totally!" Kitty snorted.
"Nah, he's worse today." Jubilation furrowed her eyebrows.
"Why?" João raised his eyebrow.
"It's because the mission he went on to Croatia with Evan and Rogue was a failure." Kurt took a bite of his sandwich.
"Oh, what happened?" Kitty looked somewhat concerned.
"Evan told me they met a girl around our age there. She got taken by Mystique at the end." He explained.
"Wow, that's bad. Poor girl!" Amara covered her mouth.
"Where was she taken?" João rubbed his temple, unsure whether that was a stupid question or not.
"Probably wherever Magneto is." Bobby shrugged and sighed.
"Why did mister Logan, Evan and Rogue even go to Croatia together in the first place?" Jubilation raised her eyebrow.
"I've heard S.H.I.E.L.D. is involved." Kurt whispered.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.?!" Kitty covered her mouth in surprise.
"What's S.H.I.E.L.D.?" João innocently asked as he chewed on some pasta and chicken.
"You don't know S.H.I.E.L.D., man?" Bobby raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah, seriously?" Kitty furrowed her eyebrows and looked at João with a rather judgemental look.
"No, sorry!" João apologised, feeling a little embarrassed by their reactions, especially Kitty's.
"It stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." Amara placed a finger on her chin and looked thoughtful.
"So, is it a spy agency of some sort?" João rubbed his temple.
"More or less, yeah." Kurt nodded.
"What does mister Logan have to do with it?" João asked.
"He worked for them for a while, I think." Bobby sipped his apple juice.
"I cannot imagine mister Logan working as a secret agent." João chuckled, feeling skeptical.
"What did he even do there?" Jubilation raised her eyebrow.
"That I don't know." Bobby shrugged.
"It's not exactly an open organisation, duh!" Kitty looked dryly at João. Again, the Portuguese boy felt a little embarrassed by his her reaction.
"Anyway, what does Magneto want with this girl that they met in Croatia?" Amara asked.
"I don't know, but apparently she's not even a mutant." Kurt shrugged.
"What is she, then?" Bobby blinked.
"No idea, man. Evan only told me she was hot!" Kurt grinned nervously.
"Well, that's interesting." Bobby smirked.
"Bobby!" Amara frowned, feeling a pang of jealousy.
"What?" Bobby was a bit taken aback by her reaction. Completely oblivious to her jealousy and crush on him.
Kitty just looked dryly at Bobby and rolled her eyes, finding his denseness frustrating. Bobby did not catch that.
"What does she look like?" João asked, with the slightest hesitation.
"Evan only told me she was fit." Kurt rubbed the back of his head and chuckled.
"You guys are so insensitive!" Jubilation cried.
"What, why?!" João blinked in surprise at her borderline outburst.
"The poor girl got taken by Mystique as is now most likely being held prisoner by Magneto and yet, all you guys seem to care about are her looks!" Amara frowned and folded her arms.
"Yeah, that's totally not cool!" Kitty glared at João. "I thought you were better than this, João." She sighed.
"I just asked a question!" João cried.
"Anyway!" Bobby interrupted the conversation and all heads turned to him. "Maybe the professor will send us on a rescue mission for her."
"I don't think the professor knows wherever Magneto is hiding, Drake." Kurt rubbed his temple.
"Shit!" Jubilation's face darkened.
After school was over, Scott caught up with Jean.
"So, another day of school is over, huh?" Scott smiled and rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah, and yet another day overhearing someone calling me the word mutie behind my back." Jean frowned.
"It's not even hurtful anymore." Scott frowned as well.
"People really showed their true colours once our mutations were exposed to the world." Jean sighed. "I thought I had friends and that a lot of people liked me, including that lughead, Duncan. But, turns out, they just mostly liked me for my popularity due to my good grades and me being the star of Bayville's girls soccer team." She looked sad.
"Jean…" Scott also had a sad look on his face. It hurt to see her like that.
"Thanks for being not only a very reliable teammate but also a great friend throughout these rough times, Scott." Jean looked up at him and smiled.
"No problem." Scott blinked and slightly blushed.
Jean nodded and also blushed a bit upon noticing Scott's blush. Both young X-Men walked in silence through the streets of Bayville for a while until Scott spoke up again.
"So, I was wondering, Jean..:" He rubbed the back of his head again and smiled weakly, looking a little bit bashful.
"Hum?" Jean looked up again at her friend and blinked rapidly.
"Would you like to…" He hesitated.
Jean just looked at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence. She had a curious and non-threatening look on her face.
"...have some coffee together before we go back to the Institute, or something?" He finished his sentence and blushed again.
"Oh…" Jean's eyes widened a bit. "...I guess it wouldn't hurt. I don't have a lot of homework today." She blushed a bit again as well.
Marijana laid in bed inside her cell. Magneto couldn't get her to talk. He yelled at her and threatened her. But, fortunately, he did not torture her. Perhaps he realised that she was indeed telling the truth about not knowing anything about her maternal grandfather still being alive, let alone his whereabouts. Which brought another question: why was she still being held prisoner, then? Was he going to use her as bait to find her grandfather or something? And what even was her grandfather's connection to Magneto? And how was he even still alive if he was born in 1920, which was 106 years ago? Even if he was indeed that old, he would certainly be very debilitated and close to death. What could Magneto possibly want from an ancient man? And how come Marijana's mother told her that her grandfather died many years ago?!
"Ah!" Marijana screamed into her hard pillow. "This is an absolute nightmare! I want to go home! Back to my peaceful village in Croatia!" She buried her face in her knees and tears formed in her eyes. "I can't believe my family lineage is haunting me like this!" She whispered into her knees.
"Logan, don't tire yourself out." He said with a neutral tone.
"UGH!" Logan kicked a chair out of frustration.
"Getting angry over it isn't going to change the outcome." Xavier pointed out.
"I know…" Logan sighed, calming down a bit. Both men stayed silent for a moment and Logan then looked at Xavier with a rare expression of slight embarrassment on his face. "You're not mad at me at all?" Logan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Also a rare sight of him.
"No, I have no reason to." Xavier blinked.
"I failed, Charles!" Logan slapped his chest, taking responsibility for the failure of his mission.
"You didn't fail me. That was not an X-Men mission. It was a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission. And S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed to change its mind and make matters more complicated to you, which led to Mystique taking that girl away on an airplane." Xavier calmly explained.
"Still… God knows what Magneto is planning!" Logan clenched his teeth.
"About that… that girl is not a mutant, remember." Xavier placed his hand on his chin.
"Yeah but she has super powers, nonetheless." Logan frowned.
"Momentary invulnerability? For how long, exactly?" Xavier asked.
"30 seconds or so." Logan replied.
"30 seconds only?" Xavier blinked rapidly in surprise. "That's not a very long time."
"Well, she's also a black belt in taekwondo." Logan rubbed his temple.
"You don't have to be a mutant or have super powers in general in order to become a black belt in taekwondo or any other martial art." Xavier pointed out.
"What's your point, Charles? That Magneto made a casting error or something?" Logan rolled his eyes.
"Not necessarily, no." Xavier's eyes widened.
"Then what is it?" Logan folded his arms.
"Perhaps Magneto does not want that girl for her powers." He rubbed his chin.
"Hum?" Logan raised his eyebrow.
"He might need her to get some information on something or someone." Xavier theorised.
"You know, Charles..:" Logan rubbed his chin. "...I hadn't thought of that. What or who could it possibly be that he's trying to get info on, though?"
"That I don't know and I'd rather not jump to conclusions." Xavier furrowed his eyebrows.
"What about Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s change of attitude?" Logan groaned.
"You haven't asked Nick Fury yet?" Xavier asked.
"I'm still pissed off at that asshole!" Logan growled.
"It would be better if you calmed yourself down before you contact him again, Logan." Xavier held his hand up.
Marijana was being held prisoner in a cell at Magneto's HQ. It was a standard prisoner cell without any noteworthy piece of furniture besides a bed and a sink. Marijana was feeling very nervous and frustrated at her current situation. She knew nothing about what was going on. Who were the people who abducted her and brought her to Magneto's HQ? Who was Magneto and what did he want from her? Who were those X-Men she met? They were mutants, sure, she knew that, but why were they there to help her against that blue woman named Mystique and the card guy that was with her?
"He wants to see you." Colossus opened the cell.
"Who?" Marijana clenched her teeth and folded her arms.
"Magneto." Colossus said tersely. He gestured for her to follow him. She left the cell and followed Colossus for about 10 minutes until they reached a closed electronic door. Colossus pressed a button and spoke into the intercommunicator. Shortly afterwards, the door opened and Colossus told Marijana to step into the room which had a desk and a chair. She walked up to the chair in front of the desk and sat down. The door closed. Then, another door opened, from the side. And in entered a man with a red helmet that covered his head, but not his face or eyes. He took a seat on the big chair behind the desk and looked Marijana in the eyes with a stern face.
"Marijana Brozović." He said with a cold and calm voice.
"Who are you?" She glared at him.
"I'm Magneto." He said. Again, with a cold and yet calm voice.
"What do you want from me?!" Marijana cried, clenching her fists.
Magneto opened a drawer from his desk and took out a brown paper file. He laid it on his desk and opened it in front of Marijana, showing her a black and white photo of what seemed to be a young soldier wearing a uniform. Marijana looked at the photo for a while, perplexed, having no idea who that person might be, but then her eyebrows shot up and her mouth opened in shock.
"W-where did you get this photo?!" She stuttered.
"Dig through museum and history archives long enough and you'll easily find a photo like this:" He widened his eyes.
"What's this even about?! I don't…!" Marijana was getting more upset by the minute.
"Silence!" Magneto held up his hand in front of her face. "All I need to know is his whereabouts." He explained. "Where is he? Where is Krešimir Dadić?" He cried with a commanding tone.
"I-I-I d-don't know!" Marijana was taken aback by that question. "He must be dead by now!"
"HE'S NOT!" Magneto slammed his hands on his desk angrily. "I know he's still alive!"
"No…! It can't be…!" Marijana's eyes widened in shock and fear.
At S.H.I.E.L.D.'s base, Nick Fury was arguing with one of his high ranking agents about the sudden interference in Wolverine's mission in Croatia.
"It doesn't make sense. You know we can't just change our minds like the wind just like that!" The high ranking agent, a man in his 40s with black and grey hair, cried.
"I didn't act on a whim, McAllister!" Fury frowned and almost rolled his eyes.
"Then why the fuck did you send men down to Croatia, Fury?!" McAllister's face twisted in anger.
"Watch your tongue! I'm your superior!" Fury's face hardened.
"And?!" McAllister raised his voice in anger and defiance. "We're S.H.I.E.L.D. Not fucking HYDRA! We're not a dictatorship that violates human rights!" He clenched his fist.
"You do realize S.H.I.E.L.D.'s human rights track record isn't exactly spotless either, right?" Fury snorted.
"Yes, I know we've used torture before!" McAllister cried.
"Exactly. We're not saints." Fury groaned. "So spare me your misguided rectitude. I didn't do anything immoral, in fact." He folded his arms.
"Then why the hell did you…?!" McAllister cried again.
"New information about Neranjiv came up." Fury calmly cut him off.
"Huh?" McAllister blinked rapidly in surprise.
"Neranjiv wasn't just someone that Magneto wanted to recruit. In fact, that's not his interest in her at all." Fury explained.
"Then, why did he…?" McAllister raised his eyebrow, feeling significantly calmer.
Fury furrowed his eyebrows and picked up a remote control. He turned around to face the big screen and pointed the control at it, turning it on. A black and white photo of a uniformed soldier popped up on it. McAllister looked at it perplexed.
"How old is this photo even? And what does it have to do with…?" McAllister snorted.
"You really need to stop jumping the gun and listen to people better, Paul." Fury groaned and even addressed him by his first name.
"Hmmph!" McAllister groaned, feeling a bit offended by Fury's observation.
"This man's name is Krešimir Dadić." Fury began. "And yes, he's still alive."
McAllister just raised his eyebrows and slightly opened his mouth in surprise.
"As for his relation to Neranjiv, he's her maternal grandfather." Fury's eyes narrowed.
"I see…" McAllister whispered and then waited for Fury to elaborate further.
Fury pressed a button on his remote control and showed McAllister the next slide. This time it was a black and white photo that included Dadić in a group with several other soldiers posing together with a Croatian flag behind them.
"The year of these photos, 1942." Fury went on.
"1942, you say?" McAllister blinked rapidly. "Wait, was he…" His eyes narrowed as he seemed to realise something about Dadić.
"Ustaše, yes." Fury furrowed his eyebrows.
At the school cafeteria, during lunch, João, Kitty, Kurt, Bobby, Amara and Jubilation all sat at the same table.
"Mister Logan is in a terrible mood today." Jubilation groaned.
"When isn't he in a terrible mood?" Bobby raised his eyebrow.
"Totally!" Kitty snorted.
"Nah, he's worse today." Jubilation furrowed her eyebrows.
"Why?" João raised his eyebrow.
"It's because the mission he went on to Croatia with Evan and Rogue was a failure." Kurt took a bite of his sandwich.
"Oh, what happened?" Kitty looked somewhat concerned.
"Evan told me they met a girl around our age there. She got taken by Mystique at the end." He explained.
"Wow, that's bad. Poor girl!" Amara covered her mouth.
"Where was she taken?" João rubbed his temple, unsure whether that was a stupid question or not.
"Probably wherever Magneto is." Bobby shrugged and sighed.
"Why did mister Logan, Evan and Rogue even go to Croatia together in the first place?" Jubilation raised her eyebrow.
"I've heard S.H.I.E.L.D. is involved." Kurt whispered.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.?!" Kitty covered her mouth in surprise.
"What's S.H.I.E.L.D.?" João innocently asked as he chewed on some pasta and chicken.
"You don't know S.H.I.E.L.D., man?" Bobby raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah, seriously?" Kitty furrowed her eyebrows and looked at João with a rather judgemental look.
"No, sorry!" João apologised, feeling a little embarrassed by their reactions, especially Kitty's.
"It stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." Amara placed a finger on her chin and looked thoughtful.
"So, is it a spy agency of some sort?" João rubbed his temple.
"More or less, yeah." Kurt nodded.
"What does mister Logan have to do with it?" João asked.
"He worked for them for a while, I think." Bobby sipped his apple juice.
"I cannot imagine mister Logan working as a secret agent." João chuckled, feeling skeptical.
"What did he even do there?" Jubilation raised her eyebrow.
"That I don't know." Bobby shrugged.
"It's not exactly an open organisation, duh!" Kitty looked dryly at João. Again, the Portuguese boy felt a little embarrassed by his her reaction.
"Anyway, what does Magneto want with this girl that they met in Croatia?" Amara asked.
"I don't know, but apparently she's not even a mutant." Kurt shrugged.
"What is she, then?" Bobby blinked.
"No idea, man. Evan only told me she was hot!" Kurt grinned nervously.
"Well, that's interesting." Bobby smirked.
"Bobby!" Amara frowned, feeling a pang of jealousy.
"What?" Bobby was a bit taken aback by her reaction. Completely oblivious to her jealousy and crush on him.
Kitty just looked dryly at Bobby and rolled her eyes, finding his denseness frustrating. Bobby did not catch that.
"What does she look like?" João asked, with the slightest hesitation.
"Evan only told me she was fit." Kurt rubbed the back of his head and chuckled.
"You guys are so insensitive!" Jubilation cried.
"What, why?!" João blinked in surprise at her borderline outburst.
"The poor girl got taken by Mystique as is now most likely being held prisoner by Magneto and yet, all you guys seem to care about are her looks!" Amara frowned and folded her arms.
"Yeah, that's totally not cool!" Kitty glared at João. "I thought you were better than this, João." She sighed.
"I just asked a question!" João cried.
"Anyway!" Bobby interrupted the conversation and all heads turned to him. "Maybe the professor will send us on a rescue mission for her."
"I don't think the professor knows wherever Magneto is hiding, Drake." Kurt rubbed his temple.
"Shit!" Jubilation's face darkened.
After school was over, Scott caught up with Jean.
"So, another day of school is over, huh?" Scott smiled and rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah, and yet another day overhearing someone calling me the word mutie behind my back." Jean frowned.
"It's not even hurtful anymore." Scott frowned as well.
"People really showed their true colours once our mutations were exposed to the world." Jean sighed. "I thought I had friends and that a lot of people liked me, including that lughead, Duncan. But, turns out, they just mostly liked me for my popularity due to my good grades and me being the star of Bayville's girls soccer team." She looked sad.
"Jean…" Scott also had a sad look on his face. It hurt to see her like that.
"Thanks for being not only a very reliable teammate but also a great friend throughout these rough times, Scott." Jean looked up at him and smiled.
"No problem." Scott blinked and slightly blushed.
Jean nodded and also blushed a bit upon noticing Scott's blush. Both young X-Men walked in silence through the streets of Bayville for a while until Scott spoke up again.
"So, I was wondering, Jean..:" He rubbed the back of his head again and smiled weakly, looking a little bit bashful.
"Hum?" Jean looked up again at her friend and blinked rapidly.
"Would you like to…" He hesitated.
Jean just looked at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence. She had a curious and non-threatening look on her face.
"...have some coffee together before we go back to the Institute, or something?" He finished his sentence and blushed again.
"Oh…" Jean's eyes widened a bit. "...I guess it wouldn't hurt. I don't have a lot of homework today." She blushed a bit again as well.
Marijana laid in bed inside her cell. Magneto couldn't get her to talk. He yelled at her and threatened her. But, fortunately, he did not torture her. Perhaps he realised that she was indeed telling the truth about not knowing anything about her maternal grandfather still being alive, let alone his whereabouts. Which brought another question: why was she still being held prisoner, then? Was he going to use her as bait to find her grandfather or something? And what even was her grandfather's connection to Magneto? And how was he even still alive if he was born in 1920, which was 106 years ago? Even if he was indeed that old, he would certainly be very debilitated and close to death. What could Magneto possibly want from an ancient man? And how come Marijana's mother told her that her grandfather died many years ago?!
"Ah!" Marijana screamed into her hard pillow. "This is an absolute nightmare! I want to go home! Back to my peaceful village in Croatia!" She buried her face in her knees and tears formed in her eyes. "I can't believe my family lineage is haunting me like this!" She whispered into her knees.