The reflection that stared back at me was not the one I expected. Gone was the pale, gaunt face I remembered; instead, there was a young man with a strong jawline, high cheekbones, and piercing green eyes. That's me before I got into the mafia mess and underground fights. I took off my clothes and checked my body. No scars or bruises. My body was perfectly sculpted. How long had it been since I saw my body like this? Too long...
The good thing is that my big guy downstairs is still intact... I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God! No freak mutation or anything down there... I flexed my muscles, it wasn't much, but with proper training and exercise, I could definitely bulk up a bit. Just a little bit would do.
Suddenly, I heard a gasp from behind. I turned around and saw a girl with short brown hair and a blue shirt and jeans standing behind me her mouth wide open. Wait! How the heck did she get in? I'm pretty sure I locked the door.
"What are you doing naked?!" She squealed and covered her eyes.
"This is my room. Who are you? How did you get in? I remember locking the door," I asked without covering myself. Why bother anyway? I'm pretty damn handsome, if I say so myself. Besides, it's my room and she barged in, so...
"Professor asked me to bring you to his office," she peeked between her fingers. "And I got in with my powers," she answered as her eyes roamed my body.
Powers, huh?!
"Which is?" I asked curiously as I put on my clothes.
"I can go through walls," she blushed as she finally uncovered her eyes.
"You are Kitty, right? Jubilee's bestie," I asked as I put on my shirt.
"Yeah," she nodded shyly.
"I'm Aron, the new guy," I introduced myself.
"I know," Kitty replied, "Everyone knows you. You are the guy Jubilee blasted off twice and almost killed."
Almost killed? Damn! That girl's powerful.
"Wait! Everyone knows me because she blasted me off?" I asked, confused.
"There's that and there's a rumor going around that you are suffering from amnesia and..." Kitty said with an awkward expression as she walked towards me.
"And?" I raised my brows.
"That you are kinda unstable..." Kitty whispered.
Unstable? Me? I even have amnesia which takes care of the memories part.
"Unstable how?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"I don't know. From what I heard from Jubilee, who heard when Logan was talking to Storm, who heard from the Professor, that you nearly killed Jean and the Professor when they went to rescue you from the lab, last week. You also took Scott's beam without getting hurt and his mutation almost disappeared. Then you punched Logan hard enough to send him flying through the wall. That's all I know. So, if you don't mind me asking, did you really do all that alone?" Kitty said as she stepped back and looked around the room without a care. I mean, she did hear all those things about me being unstable and all, and now she saw me completely naked, yet, she was acting casual.
"Wow! I did all that. Well, not that I remember anything. I only remember my name, that's it," I answered honestly. I mean, I don't have any reason to lie to her.
The bell rang outside.
"Ohh! Look at me, I kept babbling nonstop. Let's go, the Professor is waiting for you," Kitty walked through the door as if it was nothing.
Dang! Reading comics or watching a movie is one thing, but seeing it live right in front of my eyes is a whole other experience. Anyway, I just hope that baldy professor doesn't get into my head... Oh, who am I kidding? Hope, the power that brought me into this reality gave me some kind of mind protection power.
We walked to the Professor's office. There was a bald man in a wheelchair with a kind smile.
"Hello, Aron, I hope you had a good rest," the man greeted me with a warm smile.
"Yes, sir," I nodded.
"Kitty, I guess you had your history class, next, right?" He asked her.
"Yep. See you later, Aron," Kitty waved and left.
"Take a seat," He gestured to the chair in front of the table.
I sat down.
"How are you feeling?" He asked kindly.
"Fine, I guess," I answered.
"I see, then let's move on to the main topic, shall we?" The professor spoke.
"Sure," I nodded.
"You don't remember anything, do you?" He asked.
I shook my head, "Other than my name, and some vague stuff, nothing else. And right now, I'm doing my best to keep my calm. You know, everyone around me using powers and all... Then, those rumors..."
He leaned forward, "I see. You must be confused about what is happening here. Let me explain. You are in Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, or the Mutant Academy if you prefer that term. I am Professor Charles Xavier, headmaster of this academy. I am a mutant as well and my mutation gives me telepathic abilities."
"Like reading mind?" I asked. I gotta act right now. I'm not exactly sure if I have any mind protection power, but if Hope is real, then I might have one. So, my best option is to play my cards right.
"Yes, among other things," he smiled.
"So, did you get into my mind? Maybe you could tell me about my past," I asked innocently.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't penetrate your mind. It was as if there was some sort of protective wall surrounding your mind. So, I assume you have some kind of mental power. As for your past..." Before he could finish speaking, the door opened, and a redhead woman in a white coat walked in. She has green irises and a beautiful face with freckles on the cheeks. Wow! My lady radar is going crazy. It must be Jean Grey!
"I'm sorry for interrupting, Professor. But you should tell him the truth and save future troubles," She looked at me.
"Jean, he just woke up, and you want me to drop that bomb on him?" Professor Xavier frowned.
Drop what? Bomb? What are they talking about?
"I think it's better to tell him now rather than wait for him to lose control," Jean said calmly. "You don't want to repeat the same mistake twice, do you?"
Professor Xavier sighed heavily, his expression shifting from kind to serious, as though he was mentally preparing himself for what he was about to say. "Aron," He began, his tone more solemn than before, "what I'm about to tell you may be difficult to process, but you must understand the truth about yourself. You are not who you think you are. The reason you can't remember your past is because you don't have one."
I frowned, trying to make sense of what he was saying. "What do you mean, I don't have a past? I know my name, and..."
The Professor nodded slowly. "Yes, those memories you have, the fragments you recall, are not entirely yours. They were implanted, pieces of a life that was constructed for you during an experiment. The truth is, Aron, you are a clone—an experimental creation that we discovered during our last mission. As for whose clone you are, we have no information. We ran your face through our database, but... nothing so far."
A clone? An experiment? Those bastards never stop, anyway, I got a new life and a body. So, all good for now. The only problem right now is my mutation. I don't know what my powers are...
Jean stepped forward, her expression sympathetic but firm. "We found you in a lab, Aron. A facility where scientists were conducting illegal experiments on mutants. You were one of their creations, and from what we've gathered, you were engineered to be the ultimate weapon. When we found you, you were barely conscious, but the power you unleashed in your confused state was... devastating."
Nice. Tell me more. "Devastating? What do you mean?" I asked with a serious expression.
"When we attempted to rescue you, you instinctively defended yourself. You didn't know who we were, and in your panic, you almost killed Jean, Scott, Logan, and myself. The power you displayed was beyond anything we had anticipated. Scott's optic beams were absorbed by your body, as if they had no effect, our powers were reflected back at us and you fought with such force that even Logan, with his healing factor, was seriously injured," The Professor explained.
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[12 chs of X-Force: Beyond Omega] [No double billing]