"So how can Ah save her? She must have been led astray by this 'Magneto' fella and the 'Mother' she talked about," Marie demands, her agitation evident.
"Instead of focusing on your sister, I would advise you to concentrate on yourself," Professor Xavier suggests gently, a small smile on his face. "Once you have full control of your abilities, then you may think about saving her."
Marie reflects on the recent fight, recalling how helpless she felt.
I place a reassuring hand on Marie's shaking shoulders. "Don't worry, I am here. I will help you with whatever you want to do," I say softly.
Marie looks at Luke her bright smile radiating as she feels better with him by her side.
"The Brotherhood is getting too powerful, Professor. Especially Rogue. If not for Aeon, I am afraid even Storm wouldn't have been enough to take her on," Scottie remarks in frustration.
"Yes, I am very curious about how you managed to make her back off," Ororo adds, her eyes twinkling as she looks at me. I realise that she must be referring to the kiss.
Even Logan, Professor Xavier, and Jean are watching me, awaiting my explanation.
Instead of explaining, I turn to Scottie.
Scottie Summers, a female version of Scott Summers, who can shoot optic blasts from her eyes without control.
"What?" Scottie asks, feeling uneasy as I approach her.
"Uhm," Scottie blushes a bit as I take her hand in mine and then swiftly remove her glasses.
"Nooo!" Scottie yells in horror, hurriedly closing her eyes. Even Ororo and Jean are taken aback, but the Professor motions them to wait.
"It is fine, Scottie, trust me," I say softly. "Open your eyes. I want to see them."
"No, give me back my glasses. You don't understand! You will get hurt! Everyone will!" Scottie exclaims, almost hysterically.
I touch her face gently, using my Angelic Aura to calm her down. "You can trust me. Now, slowly open your eyes. It will be alright," I reassure her.
Scottie calms down a bit and hesitantly peeks out, seeing everything normal. She opens her eyes fully, astonished as I hold her other hand.
"How?" she asks, dumbfounded, looking at me with her pretty brown eyes.
"It is one of my powers. Through physical touch, I can temporarily cancel someone's abilities," I explain with a smile. "So, do I look better in colour or in red?" I ask cheekily, knowing her ruby-tinted glasses only allow her to see in red.
"The colour version isn't bad," Scottie replies with a wide smile as she looks around the room at the Professor, Ororo, and Jean, smiling at each of them.
"Hmm, that would explain it," Professor Xavier says, stroking his chin.
"So what about those electrical powers? I thought your abilities were similar to mine," Ororo asks, baffled.
"And what about the temporal powers that Aeon had? Are you not Aeon?" Jean inquires, also confused.
"I have multiple abilities," I reply with a smile, creating another identical pair of red glasses in my hand and placing them on Scottie as I let go of her hand, although she seems reluctant to lose my touch.
"Multiple powers? That's unprecedented!" Professor Xavier exclaims in wonder.
I almost chuckle, thinking how his son Legion in the comics was a host of multiple abilities.
Jean, Ororo, and Scottie are surprised by Luke's reveal but they still choose to believe him, given the proof he has shown.
"I wonder if your abilities would work on Helen," Jean muses to herself.
"You should join us. Your powers will definitely come in handy!" Scottie says excitedly.
"Even without this revelation, I was going to invite you, Marie, and Logan to join us here in building this school," Professor Xavier says, looking at me seriously. "Lucas, the world is undergoing a change. Mutants were once a handful, but in recent years, there has been a surge of them emerging everywhere. The Brotherhood and Magneto are just one of the groups out there, ready to mislead them. And I am dearly afraid for their fates. That's why I have decided to open this school. I want to teach mutants a way to coexist with humans so we can all live prosperous and peaceful lives. Will you join me in my dream?" Professor Xavier asks sincerely.
"Yes, join us, Luke. We even have a team name—the X-Men!" Jean says, looking at me excitedly.
Ororo and Scottie also look at me eagerly.
Marie and the silently brooding Logan also turn towards me.
I take a deep breath and reply, "No."
"No?" Professor Xavier repeats in confusion. Even Marie is taken aback.
"Sorry, Professor, I can't join your X-Men," I say with a wry smile.
I have thought about this deeply before. I didn't even join the Fantastic Four when Susan invited me. I like my freedom. The Fantastic Four, I might have considered joining, but I didn't want to deal with Ben, Johnny, and Reed all day.
Meanwhile the X-Men have specific goals of mutant and human coexistence, which are based on Professor Xavier's idealistic dream. I am not Magneto, advocating for mutant supremacy, but I have read enough comics to know the flaws in Professor Xavier's ideology. And I definitely don't want to be tied to a chariot driven by someone blinded by idealistic visions.
Still, it's not like I will sever ties with the X-Men.
"I will still do my best to aid and support you and the school, Professor," I say, sensing the depressed looks around me. "And I still think Marie should definitely join your school," I add, looking at Marie.
"Huh? Why? I want to be with ya, Luke!" Marie exclaims, shocked.
I gently touch her cheek. "Silly girl, the school is still in New York. I can visit you anytime, and you can do the same. Don't worry about your aunt; the Professor or I can explain that you are going to a prestigious boarding school," I explain with a smile.
"B-but," Marie stammers, looking back at me pitifully.
"Don't you want to meet your sister again? I am sure staying here is the best chance you will have," I say sincerely.
She sighs and nods, hugging me tightly. I pat her back as Jean suspiciously watches us both.
"So instead of joining the X-Men, how about a partnership with the Watson Group? I have many things you would be interested in," I suggest with a smile.
The Professor sighs, then nods. "A partnership it is then," he agrees with a small smile.
Marie releases me and looks at the Professor. "I would like to join the X-Men, if you'll have me," Marie says hesitantly.
"We would love to have you join us," the Professor agrees readily.
As Ororo tries to hug her, Marie backs off. "I don't think touching me would be good for you," she says with a wry smile.
"Oh, don't tell me you have the same power as your sister," Scottie asks in wonder as Marie nods with a wry smile.
"Uhm, we can just call you 'Lil Rogue,'" Jean chimes in.
"But we are twins, ..." Marie sighs, looking at her shorter body compared to her sister's.
As they talk, I approach the brooding Logan. "It's unusual for you to stay this silent, Logan," I ask curiously.
"It's nothing, bub. Just some things the Professor said. I think he can help me recover my memory," she says with a sigh. "But I am afraid what I will find won't be pleasant," she adds with narrowed eyes.
I know a lot about Logan's history, but that's just meta-knowledge. I don't know if it is still true in this jumbled world, so I haven't told her anything, not wanting to feed her half-truths or outright lies.
I place a hand on her shoulder. "Whatever happens, don't forget you are still my security consultant, and I will reject your resignation. So don't even think about it," I say mock-seriously.
She looks at me with a smirk. "Yeah, I remember, 'Boss,'" she says with a smile.
"I should have recorded this!" I exclaim, wide-eyed.
"Well, you missed your chance," she jabs at my stomach.
"Ouch," I feel the pain of a metal arm punching my hard abs.
"This is for hiding the mutant and power stuff from me," she says with a hidden smile.
"That is all very recent. Even I didn't know about it," I explain with a wry smile as we both look at each other.
"So, I will be staying here for a while," Logan says, looking at me. "But you still owe me a bike!" she says seriously.
"I already have it ready," I reply as I bring her out of the mansion, with the others following, having heard the conversation.
I put the metal suitcase that I brought on the ground and use Metal Constructs and Data Warping a few times. Voila, a yellow and black brand new chopper bike appears before me.
"You really did it, bub," Logan says, punching my shoulder with a wide grin as she inspects her new bike.
Even Scottie seems very interested in it.
"Okay, I will take my leave then," I say, looking at the rest of the group. Marie comes forward and hugs me. I know she is too shy to kiss in front of everyone, so I kiss her forehead gently. "Don't worry, I will visit regularly, and I will send all your stuff here from your house, so don't worry about that too," I assure her.
"Love ya, Luke" She whispers silently with her head on my chest.
"Love you too, my lil rouge" I whisper in her ears with a smirk. She chuckles with a blush as she reluctantly lets me go.
"Meet you soon, X-Men," I say with a smile as I wave my hand, creating a portal on the ground. I step through it, vanishing from the sight of the astonished crowd.