-[One week later]-
Over the past few days, I had spent almost all my time training with Psylocke and Storm, figuring out my mutation.
We already figured out my power to absorb abilities and use them as my own. It was similar to Rogue's but unlike her, my touch doesn't affect others. But what was even more surprising was the fact that I could give those abilities to others, even if only temporarily. I tested it out during one of our training sessions. Psylocke had created her psionic blade, and after absorbing its power, I managed to transfer it to Storm. She wielded the psionic blade as if it were her own for five minutes.
As I approached the door to the Danger Room, it slid open, revealing the massive chamber within. Storm and Psylocke were already inside, waiting for me. The room was different today. The central platform had been replaced by a series of training modules designed to test various abilities—obstacles, targets, and energy fields flickered around the room, ready for whatever we had planned.
"Morning, Aron," Storm said with a little smile. Today she was dressed in her white and silver suit, and kinda looking hot. I could see her nice cleavage popping out thanks to that tight costume. I can totally understand why some men here are crushing on her. Storm is a total babe. As for Psylocke, she was in her purple suit, but those exposed parts of her toned body still looked very sexy. I really love her thighs and ass, oh, that well-toned tummy.
"Morning," I greeted back with a friendly grin. "So, what's on today's menu? More obstacle courses or maybe target practice?"
"Actually, we're going to try something different," Psylocke replied as she walked toward one of the training modules. "We need to see just how far you can push your mutation. Absorbing my psionic energy was impressive, but now we need to find out what else you can do—how many powers you can hold at once, how long you can sustain them, and what happens when you transfer multiple powers to someone else."
"Sounds like a lot of experimenting," I chuckled.
"You've made incredible progress this week, Aron. The more we understand about your mutation, the better we can help you control it." Storm said as she fiddled with the console. "I've called in some others to help us out."
The door on the far side of the chamber opened.
I turned to see a group of mutants stepping into the room. Bobby Drake, also known as Iceman. Kitty in her tight black suit, Jubilee entered next, her bright yellow jacket, and this time she was wearing jeans instead of a skirt. Finally, Colossus, the giant mutant with a heart of gold and a body of organic steel. Dang! He looks bigger than I thought. This is my first time meeting him. He was away on a mission and came back last night.
Jubilee ran up to me, "Hey, Aron! Long time no see!"
"Yo, Jubes!" I greeted, giving her a fist bump. "Lookin' good!"
"Thanks! You too!" She gave me a wink.
Jubilee and I got pretty close during my stay here. We hung out a lot together, playing video games, watching movies, and even playing basketball and volleyball a couple of times. She was really fun to be around. Kitty didn't say much, except for a little hi. Well, considering out first encounter where she barged into my room when I was butt naked, she's probably still a bit embarrassed.
Iceman, on the other hand, was chill as always. "Hey man, you ready for some action?"
"Hell yeah!" I replied, grinning broadly.
"So, what exactly are we doing here?" Kitty asked, glancing around the Danger Room curiously.
Storm motioned for the group to join us in the center of the room. "Today, we'll test how well Aron can absorb and combine multiple powers. Each of you will lend him your abilities, one by one, and we'll see how he handles them. If everything goes well, we'll also see if he can transfer those powers to someone else."
Jubilee stepped forward, her energy crackling faintly around her fingertips. "So, are you gonna light up like a firework, or what?"
I couldn't help but smile. "Guess we'll see."
Storm nodded at Bobby. "You're up first." She activated the danger room. The room changed into an open field. Trees lined the edges, while a large pond sat in the middle.
"Alright, hit me," I extended my right hand toward Bobby.
"Ok, don't complain if you freeze your ass off," Bobby grinned as ice crystals formed over his skin. Suddenly, a blast of frigid air shot out from his palm, enveloping my hand.
"Shit! That's cold!" I shivered slightly, feeling my fingers going numb. I felt a familiar jolt—a tingling sensation that started at my fingertips and spread through my entire body. Within seconds, I felt a chill run down my spine, and I knew that I had absorbed his ice-manipulating abilities. I don't feel cold anymore. "Ok. That's enough."
"Try it out," Bobby said, stopping his power.
I clenched my fist and covered my body with ice.
"Alright!" I raised my hand and focused on the cold energy flowing through me. Instantly, ice crystals began to form in the air around my fingers, shaping into a sharp icicle that I launched at one of the targets across the room. The target shattered on impact, ice shards scattering everywhere.
"Holy shit! That's awesome!" Jubilee exclaimed in awe, staring wide-eyed at my icy form.
"Language," Colossus warned Jubilee as he patted her head.
"Sorry," She apologized, blushing a bit.
Iceman pumped his fists. "That was great."
Next, it was Kitty's turn. She stepped forward, phasing through Colossus as she approached.
"Argg! Why do you do that every time?" Colossus said as he rubbed his arms and I'm pretty sure he shivered a bit.
When our hands touched, I felt a strange shift, like my body was becoming less solid. I took a deep breath and concentrated, willing myself to phase. My hand began to blur, and I was suddenly passed through Kitty.
"Whoa! That feels weird!" Kitty exclaimed in surprise.
As I pulled away from her, my body returned to normal. It was disorienting but manageable. I could definitely get used to this. I was still maintaining my ice form alongside Kitty's phasing power.
"Ha! Now you see how weird it feels every time you barge into others' rooms," I said with a little smirk.
"Hey! That was a one-time thing! And you were... Ahem!" Kitty blushed a bit, remembering the incident. "Whatever!" She elbowed me a little as she walked past me. "Tsk. Ice."
"You gotta try harder, Miss. Kitty," I said teasingly.
"Me next," Jubilee jumped up excitedly, waving her hands in the air. "Come on, Aron! Let me blast you again!"
"Again?" Storm arched a brow at Jubilee.
"Ah, never mind," Jubilee quickly shook her head, realizing her slip of the tongue. She quickly touched my hand and used her explosion ability.
I felt another jolt—the energy flowing through me felt different, hotter. It was freaking unstable explosive power! No wonder, she keeps blasting things and people left and right. I need to be careful with this one. I closed my eyes and tried to control the energy flowing within me, shaping it into small spheres that I could launch at targets. As I opened my eyes, I saw several fireworks exploding in the air around my fingertips.
"Wow! You can control it that easily?!" Jubilee said with a surprised expression as she looked at the tiny explosions around my fingertips.
"I can understand why you blast things off all the time now," I said to Jubilee as I controlled my explosions. "This is some crazy unstable energy. It kinda makes me want to just let it explode!"
"Hey! I do not do it all the time!" As soon as she said that, everyone looked at her with an unconvinced look. "Ok, maybe a few times..." But those glares at her continued. "Alright fine! Many times!" Jubilee said as she lowered her head in embarrassment.
Colossus stepped forward last.
"So, should I just hit you or...? I don't want you to get hurt," He said to me hesitantly, clenching his gigantic metal fists.
"Don't worry," I replied, grinning broadly. "I'll be fine. Hopefully, fine."
Colossus nodded, "Ok then. Here I go." His metallic skin hardened into organic steel. Suddenly, he swung his fist at me.
I held my palm up, catching his massive metal fist like a pro. Dang! That was a heavy punch! I almost got pushed back, but I felt my body harden and my muscles swell. My skin took on a metallic sheen, and I knew I had absorbed his power to transform into organic steel. Cold smoke was rising from my metal body as I maintained all the powers at the same time.
Colossus pulled his fist back.
I absorbed all the power and reverted back to my human form.
"Now, let's see how you handle all of these together," Storm said, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
I took a deep breath and focused on combining the different abilities. First, I phased through a nearby tree, then, as I emerged on the other side, I covered my arm in ice and launched a burst of Jubilee's fireworks at another target. Finally, I transformed into my steel form, feeling the sheer power coursing through my body. I was able to switch between and combine the powers seamlessly. Each one flowed into the next without any hesitation, as if they were all meant to be used together.
"Incredible," Storm murmured, clearly impressed. "You're handling this better than I expected."
"Feels pretty natural," I admitted, a bit surprised at how easy it was to control so many abilities at once.
"Omega level or beyond!" Psylocke mumbled under her breath.
--[Leave some early reviews as usual. Thanks.]--
Support link: pat eon.com/UnknownMaster
[12 advance chapters] [No double billing]