3rd POV:
''Alright, Laura here will join you on the X-Men team,'' Zero informed standing around in the training room.
''Really? So what is, like, your superhero name and stuff? Mine is Shadowcat,'' Kitty informed, asking excitedly.
''Mine is Nightcrawler,'' Kurt supplied.
''Rogue is my 'superhero' name. Tough it is more of a nickname. Use it, sugar,'' Rogue commanded.
''I don't have one. Just call me Jean,'' Jean said friendly. Scott remained silent, prompting Evans to speak up.
''Mine is Spyke and we call him Cyclops,'' Evans told them.
Laura looked unsure and then she glanced at Zero for help. He threw his hands up. It wasn't that hard to come up with superhero names. Screw this, might as well go along with canon in at least this aspect.
''She is Talon and Jean is Phoenix. Congratulations you all have aliases now. You can form a proper boy band and stuff. Moving on. I know your abilities, but which one is the leader of the X-Men?,'' Zero asked, making Laura and Jean nod.
''When it is not one of the professors, it is Scott,'' Kurt informed.
''Alright. Here is what we are gonna do. One vs. All. Depending on your performance, we will make a training regimen and possibly develop your abilities even further,'' Zero told them. They were already in their training gear or as they preferred to call it, battle suits. The professors including Zeros rest of the group, were sitting in the observatory box and controlling the simulations of the training room. Apparently it could create any landscape by tricking the brain activity, which is why, you could for example fight in a colosseum despite the training room being much smaller. Cool stuff, Zero had to admit. Hey, credit where credit was due.
''Ok, gotcha boss. So when do we start?,'' Spyke asked hopping on his toes, eager to prove himself.
''Hm? We have started long ago,'' Zero said dropping a tissue with K.O. tear drops and a grappling hook. He immediately jumped through a portal on Phoenix' back and put the the tissue over her mouth and nose, hugging her tightly to the point she couldn't get rid of her telekinesis. He shot a grappling hook and pulled them both through a portal far away from the training room. She was the heavy hitter. Best take her out quickly with a surprise attack.
All that happened so fast, that by the time Nightcrawler finally reacted by teleporting himself to Zero to try and teleport him away from Phoenix the two of them were gone. Cyclops also reacted fast enough by shooting a weak energy beam in their direction, only to miss. Though a portal opened and made the energy beam hit Rogue instead. She cast a quick nasty glance.
...
''Hm. He went immediately for the heavy hitter and further isolated her. Smart,'' Logan grunted approvingly in the observatory box.
''He didn't go for her just because she was the heavy hitter. He has fought me, so he really doesn't need to test her out. This is more for the others. He is trying to figure out their individual strengths, before he focuses on their team work,'' Wanda explained.
''More like we focus on their team work, but yeah. What she said,'' Pietro agreed, gesturing to him and Wanda.
Zero came through a portal and gently laid an unconscious Jean on the ground, and dropped a pillow through a portal to put it under her head. The head was sensitive like that.
He saluted the others and stepped through a portal.
...
The X-Men looked around trying to find Zero. Eventually he stepped though a portal and just stood there.
''What have you done with Jean?!,'' Cyclops demanded. Zero smirked under his helmet. Time to test his leadership skills.
''I have some contacts in the underworld. I sold her to them. Right now she is probably getting violently gangbanged,'' Zero shrugged casually.
Some of the X-Men hang their heads. Anyone with a functioning brain knew, there was no way he would have done that or could have done it so quickly. She probably was somewhere safe. Beside if what he said was true then the other professors would have burst in the training room.
Scott on the other hand was infatuated with Jean and he tended to leave them out to dry whenever she got hurt. For all his strategic capabilities this was his fatal flaw.
''You bastard!,'' Cyclops screamed losing his cool, He immediately shot a maximum energy beam at him, only to hit Talon instead. She received a nasty burn on her shoulder, that quickly healed in seconds. It was fine, hers and Zeros sparring session tended to get sometimes quiet intense, so she was used to that. Besides she could have just as well received it in her face or chest. The pain was tame in comparison to that.
Laura scowled at the idiot. Projectiles don't work. Zero played his hand when he didn't need to with the first energy beam that hit Rogue. Zero clearly wanted to see Scotts leadership skills. A proper leader would have seen that and immediately formed a plan. She unsheathed her adamantium talons, causing the X-Men to look at her. Lauras scowl intensified. Starting the match before she could tell them her powers was also by design, you don't always get to fight with a known person on the same side. You need to quickly adapt.
While the X-Men looked at her distractedly, only Cyclops was focused on Zero and more importantly isolated. Laura immediately tried to close the distance to provide support, but Zero was faster. He appeared behind Cyclops and grabbed him. He turned the dial just enough to not kill them and made his head move, shooting a energy beam in an arc, forcing them to dodge. Nightcrawler teleported to Zero and then teleported him between Rogue and Talon. Talon immediately went for the attack, provided with support by Spyke who shot spikes. Laura took a deep breath. They have talked about this. Fight with your instincts, but don't rely on them. Same with rage.
She wasn't surprised that two spikes grazed Nightcrawler on the ankle and the same happening with Rogue. Only Laura had spikes go through her knee.
''Dude, what the fuck! That was too much,'' Spyke complained at seeing the harm done to Talon. Zero put his hand though a portal and tazed him with a tazer, before moving on. The distraction making him absentminded enough for that attack.
''Nightcrawler, Rogue, Shadowcat, regroup to me,'' Talon ordered, taking out the spikes. For fucks sake, they just saw her regenerate her shoulder. This was embarrassing. Thankfully the three of them listened to her and came near her.
Cyclops by now was getting even more infuriated at the 'slight', but quickly calmed himself, recognizing that this was the smartest thing to do. He quickly went to them, Zero letting him as he watched him lazily. Hm, he was still infuriated but some sense seemed to return slowly to him.
''Smart, Smart. In that case there is only one thing I can do. Say hello to barrelmancy,'' Zero threw his arms out. It was genuinely a smart move, but he didn't want to see their teamwork. Better get that idea out of their heads so long as they fought against him. Isolate them and stuff.
Huh?
The X-Men looked confused at him, until a barrel dropped in front of them.
Talon immediately reacted and shoved herself with Rogue away. Shadowcat was still intangible and Nightcrawler grabbed Cyclops as he teleported them away.
The barrely exploded with a massive bang. Oh, Zero wasn't insane enough to drop a explosive barrel in front of him that was out of his control. This barrel in particular had C4 in it, so it was no surprise that it only detonated when they all escaped. Well, minus Shadowcat.
She got quiet startled when the barrel exploded in her face.
''Go, go, pocket sand,'' Zero threw sand into Nightcrawler eyes the moment he stepped though a portal. While Nightcrawler was struggling to regain his vision, Zero engaged Cyclops in some hand to hand to combat.
Zero always prevented him from going for his dial inside his vision, so that he couldn't use his energy beam. Also, what kind of X-Gene was that? It created a portal specifically around his eyes that connected Scott to a dimension filled with infinite kinetic energy. Zero rolled his eyes. Sure, as a proper reality warper causality and effect kind of left the room when it came to him. But, come on, what kind of ability was that. Make it make sense.
Anyway.
Zero had what he wanted from Cyclops. He was a one trick pony and neglected everything else, except his leadership skills. And even there he had to improve a lot. Zero maneuvered them in a way that allowed him to elbow his neck in a way that knocked him out.
Three down. Four to go.
Just when Nightcrawler was done cleaning his eyes he received another dose of pocket sand.
''Are you kidding me,'' he howled. Zero starred a little disappointed. He could just simply teleport away and tactically retreat, while he washes out the sand in his eyes. Or if his control was good enough, he would teleport without the sand in his eyes a few meters away. If this were a real battle someone would have already killed him.
He dropped another barrel in front of Talon that exploded. He made his way towards Rogue only to be engaged by Shadowcat. She tried to tackle him and pull him through the ground. She went through a portal and ended up on the other side of Zero. He tried to punch her only for his fist to go though her.
''Interesting. How are you not falling through the earth crust towards earths center?,'' Zero asked her conversationally. She looked at him confused.
''Why would I fall through the earth,'' Kitty asked. For her it was self explanatory that she wouldn't fall through the earth.
Rogue landed on Zeros back, her gloves discarded and she put her hands on his chest through his collar.
...
...
Just how powerful was ROBs skill in regards to no one being able to read his mind? Zero didn't particularly do anything special to defend himself against Rogues skill. He admittedly was quiet curious what would happen if she were to touch him, so he let her. At the very least she should have gotten some of his powers, if not his memories. And yet she just awkwardly kept her hands on his chest, skin touching skin.
She widened her eyes and Shadowcats widened hers as well.
Oh, well. Better play dumb.
''Sooooo.... Why are we just standing around awkwardly now? I mean Nightcrawler recovered and he should have attacked me by now,'' Zero pointed behind his back with his thumb at Nightcrawler, who got rid of his second wave of pocket sand. Talon too was just standing around, unsure of what was happening.
''She can absorb peoples memories and powers, but what she didn't mention was that she doesn't have control over her powers. And if she keeps contact for to long with someone then they die as she absorbs people completely,'' a voice through the intercom could be heard.
Ah. So another one trick pony then. Though, this one is more versatile.
Meh.
He was a one trick pony as well. Nothing wrong with that. With some creativity or some extra work one can only improve.
''How are you doing that?,'' Rogue asked fascinated, elation cursing through her entire body. She could touch someone!
''I'm built different,'' Zero replied. He then grabbed her hand and threw her over his shoulder before also delivering an elbow to her neck knocking her out.
Only three more to go.
Admittedly. Shadowcat and Nightcrawler as a team could hard counter him. And with Talon as well they should be able to beat him as a team. But he was not interested in that. He opened a portal under Shadowcat and let her fall to the stratosphere.
Shadowcat began screaming her soul out at the sudden free fall. She wasn't in any danger. Zero would keep track of her and stop her from going splat on the ground.
Nightcrawler could have saved her, but for that he needed to know where she was.
''I yield,'' Talon said sheathing her claws, making Nighcrawler whip his head around. He looked around his team and saw them all knocked out, then he sighed.
''I yield too,'' he said reluctantly. Zero tsked. Alone he may not hard counter him, but he would still provide Zero a hefty challenge, he should go down fighting. Especially since his enemies are not gonna stop because he yells time out.
Fine. The spar has been going on long enough and he had everything he needed. Now it was up to Pietro and Wanda to test their team work.
He created a portal at ground level and Kitty shot up into the air until she reached the highest point with zero velocity and then he created another portal right under her before she could start falling again and dropped her on the ground relatively unharmed.
Shadowcat was gasping for air looking around frantically until she started hugging the ground.
''Oh sweet ground. I will never leave you again,'' she gave small kisses that didn't touch the dirty ground
The report and grading can wait for afterward. For now it was time to test their teamwork.
...
After they recovered in a few hours.
---
It goes without saying that Pietro wiped the floor with them. Super speed OP. Pls, don't nerf. The only one who could pose a challenge to him was Phoenix and Shadowcat, not that it mattered much when he could easily out think her before she could read his mind and process anything.
He didn't immediately start with his biggest speed, but he gradually increase it in response to their team work.
In the end only Shadowcat remained standing. Pietro phased his hand to try and touch her only for his hand to go through her.
''What the? Hey, what gives? Why can't I touch her?,'' Pietro directed his gaze at the observatory box.
''While your abilities is grounded by logic and reason and developed by training and clever manipulation of your power, hers seem to be metaphysical in nature. Though the answer of how still eludes me,'' Sarahs voice came through the intercom.
''Soooo, random bullshit go?,'' Pietro summarized.
There was a sigh.
''Yes, Pietro. Random bullshit go,'' Sarah confirmed.
Shadowcat was the only one that remained standing by the end, thankful for her foresight to have her powers always active during a spar or fight.
---
Wanda was much the same. She didn't immediately go all out. But eventually she knocked everyone out with her telepathy except Phoenix.
They were kind of at an impasse, when it came to telepathic attacks so they quickly switched to telekinetic attacks. Zero watched as Wanda erected earth walls and shot spikes out of them and a variety of other attacks.
She was growing. While she could do this stuff with pure telekinesis, he could feel how she subconsciously supplemented her telekinesis with reality warping to make up her inexperience with telekinesis, allowing her to pull off these feats.
In the end both remained standing. Neither wanting to get to serious in their battle and damage their surroundings.
---
The professors came inside the training room as the X-Men lined up for the report.
Zero was not so much impressed with their individual power, but their team work was quiet good. That said, they still had a lot of room to grow. If individually you are weak, then the team is relatively weak as well. But if you are strong individually, your team will only be stronger for it.
''So, what is your verdict, Professor Zero?,'' Hank asked.
''Let us start with the leader. Scott or Cyclops. His conduct left a lot to be desired. When he is calm and collected he makes some rather good strategic plans on the spot. He is also capable of utilizing his team members capabilities and chaining them together to achieve some rather remarkable effects. I wish however he would get even more creative.
Another issue. He needs to talk to convey his orders. Why?
You have a telepath in your team. Use her to communicate telepathically and not give your plans away to your enemies.
This is were my compliments stop. He focuses to much on one team member to the point he gets compromised and easily agitated when I implied something horrible happening to her. He also knows no CQC whatsoever, making him easily dispatchable if you engage him in melee combat. This is an oversight that should frankly not exist. Why is this an issue?,'' Zero demanded looking at Scott. As far as he was concerned, using telepathy in such a way among your allies did not make on a mind rapist. Consent was implied. Unlike Xavier who read anyones mind willy nilly.
''That is what I have been telling him as well,'' Logan added his two cents as well.
''I have been trying to learn CQC,'' Scott replied.
''He has been dragging his feet, because he doesn't like me,'' Logan revealed. He was taking some delight in watching Scott squirm. Finally someone was taking his side. The other professors were too lenient on Scott.
''That is even worse then. You're petty, if you discard sound advice, just because it come from someone you don't like. A leader has no business being petty. Everything I criticized till now could've been improved, but this is an absolute deal breaker. You are demoted to vice leader. Laura you are now leader of the X-Men,'' Zero told him.
''What? Come on we have only been active for a few months. The X-Men was only recently formed. I'm sure he will quickly improve, if you give him a chance,'' Evans tried defending Scott.
''He will improve. But until then I can't trust him as a leader. Once he has proven he is no longer petty, he can have his leadership position back. As a leader, he is responsible for your lives. I will not gamble with your lives,'' Zero explained himself. Maybe he was being a bit of a dick in the way he went about it. But he meant what he said. As a leader himself, Scott should uphold himself to a far higher standard then his team members. It was his duty to succeed the mission and get as many of his friends back home alive, preferably all of them.
Besides, it wasn't completely meant as a punishment. Laura needed to broaden her skill set. She learned how to fight in a team, which was one of the reason why she quickly learned to fight alongside the X-Men. A far cry from the girl who was raised as a lonely assassin. Now it was time for her to learn how to lead. It would do her good. Zero knew she was up to the task, else he would not have ordered her to become leader.
The X-Men looked at their professors who all nodded their head. If there was one thing the spar between the professors and Zeros team revealed it was that they trained far more intensely then most of them. Only Logan matched them in their training quantity. The others were to busy with other duties to fully dedicate themselves to training the X-Men properly. It wasn't like they were left unsupervised. Logan will train the X-Men alongside Zeros group and put a stop to anything that they would disapprove with.
The X-Men accepted the decision, with Scott being most reluctant of all.
''Jean, you have the makings of a powerful telepath and telekinetic. Frankly, you only lack in creative use of your powers. Would you like to become my protege for a while and let me teach you a few tricks?,'' Wanda stepped forward and offered.
''Sure,'' Jean quickly accepted with a smile. Maybe she could finally get more control over her powers and stop hearing everyones surface thoughts.
''As for you two, Kurt and Kitty. You also lack creativity. I will take you under my wing for a while and teach you some tricks. Laura and Pietro, you continue to improve your abilities and CQC. As for you Evans, stop shooting spikes at every opportunity you get. Try to make blades or the like, because in battles of attrition your deplenishing levels of calcium are an issue. And Rogue, you should learn CQC as well and try to control your powers. I don't buy it that you can't control it. Surely with some more training you can deactivate and activate it at will. Questions?,'' Zero finalized.
There were none.
Finally that was done and over with.
---
''Whoa, whoa, whoa. Like, you think I can fly with my ability?,'' Kitty asked in hers and Zeros one on one training session. The dude wasted no time to get her more powerful.
''Or at the very least hover. No offense, but by all rights you should fall through the earth crust. The fact that you are not, implies that subconsciously you are manifesting a few atoms under your feet to grip the ground. With some luck on your side, you may be able to walk on air,'' Zero explained. Kitty looked at him unsurely.
''I don't know professor Zero. Like, how would we even go about it?,'' Kitty asked.
''Oh, simply. You are already familiar with it,'' Zero explained.
''What do you meaaaaaaaaa.....,'' Kitty asked, only to fall through a portal that opened under her feet. Her scream trailed of as Zero pulled out a plastic chair and sat cross legged in it. He began sipping on tea, portaling the liquid in his mouth and watched as Kitty fell to the ground from 1 kilometer in the air.
He watched as she approached the ground more and more, but unfortunately she didn't seem to grasp the ability as quickly as he hoped. Being far more preoccupied with being hysterical and flailing her arms in the air. She pointlessly tried to protect her face when she approached the ground more and more only to fall though another portal and ending up 1 kilometer above the ground.
Sarah wasn't completely wrong when she said her powers were metaphysical. Unlike Pietro she didn't need to phase, and yet her atoms still passed through the empty space of other matter by her will alone. She also seemed to be affected by gravity to a far lesser degree. By all rights, it should be completely possible for her to hover or run on air with the way her powers worked. That would give her and the team some more verticality. He should probably encourage her to get some kind of melee weapon as well. She could make other objects intangible as well. If she didn't want to rip someones heart out by putting her hand inside someones chest, then she could at least break some bones with some kind of blunt weapon. Or was a sharp weapon better.
Hmm. Sip.
Decisions.
Decisions.
''I''
''Hate''
''You''
''How''
''Many''
''More''
''Times''
''Do I''
''Need''
''To Like''
''Fall''
''Stop it!''
Sip.
Yeah, it should definitely be possible for her to walk on air by gripping the air with some atoms at her feet. Also Shadowcat sounds a little ninja like. Might as well convince her to get thematic weapons for her arsenal.
Sip.
''ENOUGH!,'' Kitty yelled completely out of patience, stopping just shy before entering another portal. Zero closed it, utterly satisfied.
''What is wrong with you? Can you not get it through your head that I can't, like, walk on air as you said. You are, like, frustrating. You know that!,'' Kitty ranted while yelling.
Sip. Zero pointed with his index finger under her.
She scoffed and looked down. She was hanging in the air a few centimeters away from the ground. The realization of how she came to a stop finally hitting her and the distraction making her fall on the ground with a small thud.
She gaped looking under her before she looked at Zero.
He sipped the final drops of liquid before putting the cup into the sink though a portal and kicking the plastic chair back into another portal. Zero walked a few steps and offered her his hand. She grabbed his hand eagerly pulling herself up. Ready to learn more.
''Interested, in training your powers more? Discard normalcy and get more creative with your powers. The truth is you are no longer normal. Normal is overrated anyway,'' Zero told her. She nodded her head eagerly.
---
''Professor, why are we in a pool?,'' Kurt asked. More like only he stood waist deep in a pool.
''You told me, you can only teleport what you touch. And I also remember telling you that the smoke and noise is detrimental. We are her to kill three birds with one stone. By teaching you control. I'm sure you can teleport a small area around you with some training and some efforts. Try to imagine a small sphere around you and teleport everything inside it to somewhere else, including lots of water,'' Zero sipped his tea. Addressing a melee weapon for Kurt could be left for later. For now, priorities.
Kurt struggled a bit only teleporting small traces of water at first, but before long (with some extra guidance and suggestions from Zero) he could teleport a few cups of water. It wasn't much, but definitely a start. Eventually he could teleport several liters of water, but the noise and smoke still had to go.
---
One day Zero was walking though the X-Mansions corridors. He greeted some random students who greeted him back and ignored those that ignored him.
Then he stopped, when he noticed someone sitting under a tree outside and crying. Welp, gotta fulfill his glorious duties as a professor and provide comfort for his ailing students. Yuhuuu.
He stepped outside the X-Mansion and approached the crying figure. It was a boy, having buried his head under his elbows and resting his forehead on his knees.
''Yo, why are you crying?,'' Zero asked, making sure to inflict his voice with lots of friendliness and empathy.
''Because I'm sad,'' answered the boy.
Zeros eye twitched behind his helmet. Listen here you little shit. Don't give him smack when he was trying to be friendly.
''Aha, and the sky is made out of sky. Care to elaborate a little on your issue. I want to help you,'' Zero continued to ask, though this time he stopped inflicting friendliness in his voice.
''There is no point. You will just forgot me like everyone else,'' the boy cried.
''Sounds more like a skill issue to me. How does this forgetting work exactly?,'' Zero asked crossing his arms.
''Anyone who looks away from me, forgets me. Even Professor Xavier struggles to remember my existence,'' the boy answered his voice thick.
''Hey, Lethe. Look at me or I'll slap your teeth out,'' Zero demanded he had no interest in this melodrama. The boy who still didn't give his name looked reluctantly at him, a little frightened.
''Behold. A miracle,'' Zero held out his hands as he walked back through a portal and disappeared. Lethe waited for a bit and eventually began losing hope. More the fool he for raising his hopes up. He should have known better. He was about to resume his crying and put his head on his knees, only to have a small paper bag filled with french fries trust into his face. He trailed the arm and saw Zero again, in his other arm another paper bag with his own french fries.
Lethe gaped at him and slowly picked the paper bag before standing up, no longer crying.
''Now, let us sort you out. I'm sure I can find a solution to your problem. But first let us eat, I'm hungry,'' Zero told him. Lethe immediately nodded his head. He still doubted that he could be helped, but at least someone didn't forget him when he looked away from him.
...
''Yo, Hank. Old buddy, old pal. This guy is called Lethe and his X-Gene makes it so that anyone who stops looking at him forgets him. Can I avail myself of your equipment, run some tests and make something for him?,'' Zero asked entering Hanks laboratory, Lethe trailing after him.
''Wait, really? Such a power exists? And sure, sure of course you can,'' Hank told him, looking away from his work only to quickly turn his head back around when something changed in his experiment, immediately forgetting about Lethe.
Zero hooked Lethe to some machines and run a few tests, finally Zero told Lethe to come back tomorrow at the lab at 9 o'clock and shooed him out.
Zero then proceeded to spend the entire night working on a watch. It was like Kurts watch, an inhibitor. Except Kurts watch only inhibited his powers in the sense that it changed his appearance to that of a humans. Hank also had it, but he rarely used. Only using it when the X-Mansion had visitors and otherwise spending time in his fury appearance.
The inhibitors however did not suppress the X-Gene completely. And with each X-Gene being completely different he had to make a new watch completely from scratch if he wanted it completely suppressed.
Sure, he could use his reality warping powers and create a watch that would achieve such an effect, but he always loved a good challenge. So he put his brain to use and tinkered away the whole night. And hey, if that mannerism resembled a certain Stark, then all the better. It was only going to sell his persona as his son better, not that he really needed to anymore.
Lethe came one hour earlier and waited outside, elated and eager out of his mind to have some sense of normalcy returned into his life.
Zero came outside at 9 o'clock sharp and spotted Lethe. He approached him and just handed him the watch. Lethe gingerly took it, almost reverently in his movements.
''And it really works?,'' Lethe asked.
''Only, one way to find it out. Take it for a drive. Don't worry I made it super durable so you are more likely do die before it gets destroyed. It is water resistant. Don't worry about the battery, just don't forget to plug it in for three hours every 5 days. If it doesn't work, seek me out and I will try making another one,'' Zero explained, stretching his arms and cracking his bones. Ok, so maybe he cheated a little by casting a spell on the watch so that it never malfunctions and needs repairment. Sue him. He just couldn't figure out how to solve such a problem and he did not want to gamble and possibly screw this guy over. He looks one more disappointment away from suicide.
''How could I ever possibly thank you? I doubt I could ever repay you,'' Lethe said, putting the watch around his wrist eagerly.
''Then don't. Actually no. You can thank me by not telling anyone I can make such watches. If anyone asks, tell them that you trained really hard to get control over your powers. I'm not interested in making watches for everyone, mostly because not everyone needs the same type of help. Toddles,'' Zero waved over his head as he walked away. Lethe nodded his head, even if Zero couldn't see it.
Whatever you say boss.
...
''Hey, who are you? Are you new here as well. Wanna explore the mansion together, so we know the layout, before the next grade starts after the summer break?,'' a random guy approached Lethe.
Lethe nervously nodded.
''Cool. One second, where are they? Oh, there. Those two are my siblings. Let's go over there and regroup,'' Lethe held his breath as the guy looked away from him and turned around completely normal smiling at him,'' Well? You coming?''
''Right. I'm Maximilian. Call me Max,'' Max introduced himself, his heart hammering in his chest from joy.
''Nice to metcha, Max. I'm....,'' Max trailed after the boy filled with disbelief that Zero actually kept his word.
Zero was leaning on the rooftop, watching the two walk away. Well it wasn't a complete success, seeing as he didn't completely rely on his intellect (enhanced brain) but still. Overwhelmingly, it was a fun time.
---
Zero walked past the living room, where all X-Men members including Zeros group sat, minus Sarah who was in the medical wing doing some stuff. They were watching the news. Ah, it was the Spider Club beating up Rhino spectacularly.
''Yo, what are you watching?,'' Zero asked. Kitty shushed him harshly, without turning, continuing to stare reverently at the TV. Zero gestured to her seeking an explanation from the others. Was she sparkling?
''Kitty is... kind of a fan of the Spider people,'' Kurt informed. Evans snorted.
''Fan is putting it lightly. She is a fanatic,'' Evans explained, throwing some popcorn in his mouth. They actually planned a movie night tonight, but they had to shove the plans a little back when Kitty found out the Spider people would appear on the news. Oh, they were still going to watch movies, but after Kitty goes through her worship phase.
''She particularly likes Nexus,'' Rogue supplied.
''Ooooooookay? Why though? Also isn't he together with that... what's her name (*snaps finger a few times*). Ghost Spider. Yeah, aren't they a couple,'' Zero inquired, suppressing an eye twitch. Feeling deeply uncomfortable with the situation suddenly.
''You shut your mouth. You old timer. You wouldn't understand,'' Kitty bit out, not turning back. The TV light reflecting in her eyes.
''I'm 16 years old,'' Zero defended himself.
''Huh?,'' all the X-Men reacted surprised.
''You didn't see that coming?,'' Pietro mocked. Wanda gave him a shove with her shoulder.
''Don't taunt them. We didn't see that coming either,'' Wanda told him. Pietro huffed rubbing his ribs.
''True,'' Laura nodded.
''Whoa, whoa, whoa. You telling me, you are 16? And you are a professor? Does professor Xavier know that?,'' Evans asked, making a pumping motion downwards with his palms, trying to symbolize breaking.
''Well, yeah. I had to supply some personal information when signing the documents after all. And I had to do some tests to prove I was sufficiently advanced enough academically to teach, even if I only teach as a physical instructor. But yeah, I'm 16. Get used to that,'' Zero told them shrugging. Granted most of that information was fake. Only his age was true. The X-Men looked at each other.
''Wanna join the movie night? You are one of us youngsters,'' Kurt asked.
''Yeah, you belong to the cool club,'' Evans told him.
''You do know your aunt is standing behind you,'' Zero asked him, making him whip his head around and be met with a wall. The others chuckled at his expenses.
''But good to know that all I needed to do to belong to the cool club was be young,'' Zero mocked dropping on the couch between Laura and Wanda.
''But no seriously, why is Kitty a fan of the Spider people,'' Zero asked.
''No one really knows and she doesn't tell anyone. Not even me,'' Rogue huffed. She starred longingly at Zero. She hasn't touched him in a while.
''Nexus sucks,'' Pietro said, just for the sake of provoking Kitty. He didn't really care about the guy all that much.
''You shut your heathen mouth. Just look at him. How can you not fall in love with him,'' Kitty sharply retorted, pointing at the TV.
''I'm sure Ghost Spider would have something to say about that. Also, what about Spider-Man?,'' Wanda asked. Frankly, despite being formally called professors she was glad that most of them were treated as normal people all casual like.
''What about him? Just look at Nexus. Does he look like a Spider Person? There is clearly so much more to him,'' Kitty answered.
''So you love him for his power?,'' Laura asked. That was a sentiment she could understand even if she didn't get completely behind it. She learned from her hentais that there was more to love. Power was certainly an attracting factor, but it should not be the be all and and all.
''No. It is hard to explain. Also, I'm sure he won't say no to two women. No sane man would and I don't mind sharing,'' Kitty explained. Pietro snorted. What was it with mask wearing dudes attracting all the chicks. He cast a sideway glance past Wanda at Zero and Laura.
Jean kept her mouth shut as Scott frowned. He did not approve of such frivolous love and considered Kitty's infatuation shallow, especially since she failed to explain why she had a crush on Nexus.
Laura nodded. Her hentai also told her something about that. Some people had no problem with forming a harem. Personally she doesn't know how to feel about potentially sharing Zero with someone.
Zeros eye twitched. Playing it cool as he threw some popcorn into his mouth with a portal.
Right.
Cool.
Cool.
Someone was clearly taking the shit out of him and playing some kind of prank at his expenses. Kitty was the second woman that paid attention to him.
What even was his life anymore?
Some kind of soap opera?
---
Jean listened as Wanda gave her instructions. Unfortunately, Wanda wanted to address telekinesis first and Jean wasn't sure if she should request that they should focus on telepathy first. She wasn't assertive like that, which made her kind of a push over.
''Alright. You probably have seen me erect earth walls with my telekinesis. You can do that too. Once you reach high enough levels you can just use pure telekinesis to form defensive barriers, but until you reach that level of control earth walls are your next best thing. Imagine your telekinesis like water, let it seep into the ground and form it into a wall before pulling it up. Images like this can help you out immensely in the beginning until pure muscle memory starts doing the heavy lifting for you. Try it out,'' Wanda explained patiently. Jean was a powerful telekinetic, Wanda noticed. She could learn a lot and do a lot if she just put her mind into it.
Jean nodded and closed her eyes. Imagine water seeping into the ground, forming into a wall and pull it out. That is what Wanda told her and is what she imagined dutifully.
With some efforts an earth wall was formed in front of her rising up from the earth. It looked a little brittle compared to what she has seen from Wanda, but when Jean looked at her she looked on approvingly.
''This is a massive start. Once you get better at forming earth you can eventually move on to more durable material. Like steel or even titanium. Eventually you can control eve the very air around people and weaponize it. Or even the people themselves. Now, try this again. Try to make the wall more sturdy this time,'' Wanda encouraged and then instructed.
Jean liked Wanda, unlike others she could hardly read her surface thoughts. There were no expectations with her and no pressure. Jean knew that she could probably read her mind if she truly tried as she did when she met her the first time, but she didn't want too. It was nice not having anything demanded from her. Not being pulled in multiple directions from all the different expectations. Still as she was trained by Wanda in her telekinesis and growing in power, there seemed to be a sort of white noise coming from Wanda. Sometimes Jean could catch snippets of words coming from Wandas head. So even that she could not be afforded. Soon enough her tranquil peace will be shattered and she will endure everyones expectations of her again.
Jean did as instructed, quickly succeeding in making a sturdier wall after the second time.
''Good. Much better. Try to make this construct even faster now,'' Wanda instructed. Jean did as ordered.
Wanda looked at her for a bit, watching her train her telekinesis. She was advancing quiet fast. The benefits of walking a charted path she supposed. Unlike Jean, Wanda had to wade through uncharted territory to train her powers. Zeros suggestions helped her a lot, his Stark blood clearly showing as he understood her abilities better than herself thanks to his genius, but it was still difficult to get where she was. Still she couldn't deny that it was nice seeing her efforts rewarded in such a way, by being able to teach someone similar to herself.
''Alright, let us stop. One more thing before we finish for today. I believe you advanced far enough to try and levitate yourself. Try it out. Don't worry I will catch you, should you fail. Remember what I taught you up till now. It is similar to that,'' Wanda instructed Jean.
Jean nodded and closed her eyes, focusing on everything Wanda taught her up till now. She focused her ability and with some effort levitated herself a few centimeters of the ground, but unfortunately, due to the unfamiliar feeling, she couldn't get herself higher yet.
Still Wanda clapped supportively considering it tremendous progress. It took her much longer to achieve lift off compared to Jean.
''Well done. And with that we are done for today. Feel free to train by yourself more or do something else. We will pick up where we left off next time. Have a good day Jean,'' Wanda said levitating herself in the air slowly.
''You too, Wanda,'' Jean said with a friendly smile. Addressing Wanda as she requested. She watched Wanda levitate away and then frowned.
The noises. They got more powerful again. Each time she improved, her telepathic abilities grew. The professor merely told her to try to drown out all the noises harder. Imagine herself beneath water. That is what he does to drown out the people thoughts. She knew she could train her powers since she had free time and it was still summer break, but no one would begrudge her if she did something else. Surely? She was a little reluctant to grow in power.
She went to the library.
'Isn't that the Grey chick? She is part of the X-Men. It is good that she continues to improve even now during summer'
'She is hot. I wonder if I have a chance with her. She really must maintain a strict protocol to look so great'
'Look at her. All smart ass like. Strutting around arrogantly as if she owned the place. She should be more humble'
'Isn't that the telepath chick? I wonder if she is raping my mind right now? God telepaths are the worst. Her and Xavier'
'Jean is truly such a nice lady. Being so friendly and all. I feel like I can approach her with everything'
The surface thoughts of everyone bombarded her. Pulling her in different directions and making her almost cry from a headache from all those different expectations. She was trying, alright. Why couldn't she fulfill all the different expectation so that she all thoughts about her could be the same. Surely if all thoughts were the same, she wouldn't experience such headaches anymore. Right?
She left the library and stumbled into someone.
''I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going, Professor Zero,'' she apologized as was expected from a good person and added at the end formally when she saw who it was. Since Zero hasn't otherwise expressed, she was gonna call him Professor Zero as formality dictated.
He put his phone down having looked into it while walking.
''What are you talking about? I was the one not paying attention and run into you. Anyway, sorry for that and stay chipper, Jean,'' Zero said before patting her on the shoulder and walking away.
Hm.
He hasn't forgotten his initial purpose for coming here. Stopping the Dark Phoenix from emerging. Sure, sure. He helped out a few other students, but his primary purpose was stopping a cosmic entity from raising havoc in his backyard. He has been investigating some things, carefully reading Jeans mind. He always felt so dirty afterwards. Then again he didn't need his otherwordly knowledge to know Jean was a potential danger, since even his automatic detection system he set up warned him of her. So he read her mind, unfortunately. Mostly about the the trauma and the Phoenix. Turns out her friend died in front of her getting hit by a car. Jeans abilities activated then and thanks to her telepathy experienced the horrifying death through her friends eyes. Jean was young and and obviously traumatized. Then Xavier blocked her trauma. Misguided good intentions aside, what really pissed him off was that Xavier didn't consult anyone.
Fast forward and the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix finds out about Jean. Her telekinetic and telepathic abilities were strong enough to make her the perfect host for it. Then the Phoenix goes dormant as to not harm his host and intends to wake up in a few years. Only to be waken up shortly afterward as Xavier detects the Phoenix and without any investigations assumes it is Jeans pure power then shackles and suppresses the Phoenix. Fast forward again and now with Wanda training Jean, things are starting to slowly approach a breaking point.
So much has his investigations revealed.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
First he need to instruct Wanda to switch from telekinsesis to telepathy. That was sure to buy them some time. Then he needed to appease the Phoenix. Sure he could fight it. He was quiet confident he could defeat it. But why? Why do that, when he can have it as an ally. It is immortal and with Jean being the perfect host, it never intends to leave her. Also there were a bunch of other abilities it would grant Jean.
Maybe he can serve Xavier at the altar as a sacrifice. Food for thought.
He probably needs to make another persona. Unless...
Unless, he leaves it up to Wanda. It wasn't like he wasn't keeping an eye on the situation. He can always intervene. But Wanda wasn't as good a telepath as him yet. Unlike him the Phoenix will definitely notice her and upon not noticing her being Xavier cry out for help to be fully connected with its host. Refusal will see it fully angered. Right now it is still reasonable despite its rage.
Nah. Situation is too delicate. He need to find another solution.
Hm.
Jean watched Zero walk away, clearly deep in thought. He never quiet told them what his abilities are, but everyone knew there was more to him then simply creating portals. Rogues abilities don't work on him. No could telepathically read his mind. Some of the X-Men suspected that Zero had the ability to nullify the X-Gene somehow. Jean didn't completely dismiss the idea.
Why didn't she think of that earlier. Being near him was sooo...
Tranquil.
She could hear no voices in her head when she was near him and he had no expectation of her, unlike all the others. All he seemed to want was to be the best at whatever they put their minds into. He was like a black void that protected her from anyone and anything.
Surely she cold be selfish in wanting to spend more time with him.
Right?
Surely she had a right to have peace of mind.
It wasn't like any one begrudged Zeros behavior. He wasn't particularly liked, but he wasn't hated either with how many times he helped random students. If he could do whatever he wanted, unbothered by the expectations of everyone around him, then why couldn't she?
She decided.
She will spend more time with him.