Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 367 SECRET

I sat in a small interrogation room. After the whole debacle of getting caught I did want to fight my way out just to see how I compared to the others, but with this weak body that option was mostly useless. My quest for finding the secrets of the school wasn’t over yet so I hoped to get more information. 

Keeping my Observation Haki up it was easy enough to feel the other people outside the room. One of the walls had 4 people talking behind it. I guessed from the feel of them it was Wolverine, Colossus, Cyclops, and Jean Grey. 

Content to sit and wait, I played with my Nen. I was really itching to play more with my Fusion skill. I could fuse similar materials together but I wanted to try to fuse dissimilar materials. Test the bounds of the skill. I had been given it for a reason and to be honest it could very well be the skill I was looking for. 

Weston and my goal was to fuse back together and pull apart. Like Trunks and Goten. Was there a way to connect and separate? I’d find more time with it soon enough. I tried to think of other ways to use it, all the while moving my Nen throughout my body. 

I was brought out of my practice as Jean and Scott walked in. Both had stoic and angry looks. 

“What? No good cop, bad cop?” I asked as they sat across from me. Perhaps I’d been in a few too many interrogation rooms. They kind of lost their effect after a while. 

“You’re not under arrest, Weston,” Jean said, annoyed as she sat. “But you are in trouble. What exactly were you doing down here?”

“Kitty didn’t give it all away?” I asked, confused. “She was practically vomiting the whole situation before you separated us.”

“She did,” Jean said. “But she also said you were worried we were testing on mutants down here. I want to know why you thought that.”

“Oh I didn’t,” I said, waving her off. I tried leaning back in the chair but it was bolted to the ground. “I just told her that so she would help me. No, I was simply trying to figure out what was going on.”

“And what made you think bad things were going on?” Scott asked. 

“And you are…let me guess, her boyfriend?” I asked. They both stiffened, telling me all I needed to know. 

“I’m um, Scott. Scott Summers,” he said. “Since I’ve been a little busy lately I haven’t been able to meet you. Normally I help Professor X with recruitment.”

“Ah, fun,” I said. Chewing my lip I acted like I was getting up, “are we done here?”

“No, we still have questions,” Jean said. 

“You 2 aren’t very good at this. You have questions, ask away. Unless you want to just take them from me with those fancy psychic powers of yours,” I said. I hadn’t felt her do anything to me yet. I still wanted to check how strong my Psychic Resistance was. 

“We don’t do that sort of thing, Weston,” Jean said. “We don’t use our powers to force people to do anything.”

“Good for you, I doubt I’d be so kind,” I said. “Ask away. Do you want to know what I saw? What I suspect? What my sign is? What?”

“Start at the beginning,” Scott said. “Jean says you’ve been acting odd since this morning. Your power suddenly becomes manageable. Even a few of your friends have noted how off you have been today. Then you are found in a restricted area. An area you shouldn’t know is there. I doubt you know this, Weston, but we have enemies out there. People that can control others. Take their faces. Read minds. People trying to infiltrate this place. You are on the cusp of being kicked out of the school, so start talking.”

I hadn’t thought of that. Of course they would be worried about outside attacks. I had been acting differently. More open, smiling more, and able to do things old me only dreamed of, like touching Anne. 

“Alright, let’s…start at the beginning. My parents and sister died in a car accident. What? 2 months ago almost? I was very… reserved and despondent. I apologize for trying my best to move on and act like there was a little semblance of normalcy in my new life.” That shut them up and made their Haki shift to more of a defensive than offensive presence. I continued the attack. “Then a man…one I never met before. He shows up offering me help. Not only that, but he talks right to my mind.” I put my finger to my temple, mimicking Professor X when he used his power. 

“Then he offers me a spot in a school. A school full of people just like me. People that could potentially be a danger to themselves and others like my current…mutation made me. So I get here, lo and behold it is as he says. I see the smiling faces. Beautiful teachers.” I gave Jean Grey a wink. “And a dark underbelly that I know nothing about.” I extended my hands out to the surrounding underground bunker/hideout we were in.  

I leaned forward, letting out an annoyed sigh as I studied them. “Tell me, what do you have going on here? A cult?” Their Haki showed confusion then slowly turned to understanding as I explained. “You got a guy on top. Indoctrinating impressionable youth to follow his lead. He will teach and guide us to what we need to know. Then what? As you go up in levels you get more secrets. Trusted with more information. He is the bald second coming of Jesus?” I faced them trying to express how serious my words were. They shared more than one look, starting and stopping to speak as they thought about what to say. 

“I’m fucking with you,” I said laughing loudly. “I’m sure that’s not what’s going on…is it?”

“No,” Scott answered.

“That was a little emphatic,” I said. “Almost too much.” I squinted my eyes. 

“Weston, we are not a cult,” Jean said. “Have you heard of-” 

“Jean,” Scott warned. 

“It is fine,” Jean said, eyeing her boyfriend. Scott frowned, thinking it over, but slowly nodded. “Have you heard of the X-Men?”

I knew of them of course but the way he said it sounded like ex-men. I couldn’t help myself. “Aren’t they called trans?” I asked. The duo hesitated. “I mean, I don’t want to judge, but if you used to be men, shouldn’t you like not look like men?” I studied Scott, looking him up and down. Then turned to Jean. “Your work looks great by the way. Top notch. Like I would have thought you were always a smoking hot-” 

“Um no,” Scott stammered a little too quickly. “The mutation on us mutant’s DNA is called the X-Gene. We formed a group that is called the X-Men based on that fact.” 

“Ohh,” I said, playing dumber because their Haki was leaking shame. “So you were always a woman?” 

Jean nodded. “Of course.”

“Great, I was worried I was barking up the wrong tree,” I said, giving her another wink. Her face only became more annoyed, but she was also struggling not to laugh. I was sure it was from whatever Scott was thinking. 

“Sorry, but we have apparently gone off track a little,” Scott said. “I um-” 

“Professor Xavier brought all of us together years ago,” Jean said. “Mutants aren’t the most well loved of individuals. If people get word of the extraordinary powers that we have, then they are more likely to…rally against us. Professor Xavier provided a safe place for all of us.”

 
“Not really assuring me of the whole ‘not-a-cult’ thing,” I said. 

“We aren’t,” Jean assured. “But we are a group of like minded-jeez even I’m hearing it now. It does sound like a cult.” 

“We are a group of friends and colleagues. There are dangerous mutants out there,” Scott said. “People that use their powers for evil. They don’t mind hurting people. Us older students of the Professor, we go on missions to help keep these evil people in line.”

“And the pirate from earlier?” I asked. “The man with the eye patch,” I clarified.

“Oh…we really shouldn’t be talking about-”

“Nick Fury?” I asked. They stiffened yet again. Neither of them were very good actors. “What? They might have said his name while I was listening? Ever looked him up online? Isn’t he with the government?” 

“How? Why would you look that up?” 

“I have an interest in the government,” I lied. “My family was killed. I had hoped to figure out who was responsible-” 

“It was an accident,” Jean said.

“Then what happened to me? You both were born as mutants, I was made into one. I want to know why and how,” I said. “Who hasn’t heard Senators asking for registrations on mutants? I figured the government already has a list. I assume my power didn’t come out of nowhere. Other people were made into mutants like me. I wanted all the information I could get.” I had found very little information on Nick Fury, but it appeared to be a good enough push for these 2. 

“So what? Already sold out to the government?” I asked. 

The duo locked eyes. Having a conversation. I could almost feel it leaking from their Haki. “Thinking about wiping my memory now?” I asked, flashing them a grin they gave away yet again that I was right. “It’s what I would do. You’re a psychic. Go ahead and try. I believe you’ll find that it’s harder than you think.” 

Jean looked away, ashamed of her way of thinking. Scott was lost. I doubted he was unused to being lost. “Or…you can take an application for me to join these X-Men,” I said. “What? Do you have to graduate to join? Can I not try out for the team?” 

“Why would you want to do that?” Jean asked. 

“Sounds like fun,” I said. “You are working for the government, right? Might as well join up instead of becoming a vigilante on my own.” The duo shared a long look again. To my surprise the door opened and Professor Xavier wheeled himself in. The motorized wheelchair came in slowly. The bald man had a small smile on his lips, but it was forced. His Haki leaked annoyance. 

“Walk with me,” Xavier said, giving me a slight smile. 

“That’s a good one,” I said. “Can I make jokes like that?”

“If you want,” Prof. X said with a laugh, genuinely entertained. “I hear them all from Wolverine. Oh, that is the man you surprised by throwing him to the ground.” I got up, walking to the older man. He had a shaved head, but instead of resembling Patrick Stewart or James McAvoy he looked more like Anthony Carrigan who played Victor Zsasz in the show Gotham. His eyebrows were very thin and he appeared to be in his late 30s/early 40s. 

I stepped out of the interrogation room with him and began walking down the hall. “I’ve had my eyes on you since you came here, Weston. I’m glad that you are…acclimating to the school nicely. It usually takes students years to suspect this lower floor is here, but you came to that conclusion in a few weeks.”

“I’m very observant,” I said. We were moving through the circular halls as we headed toward the school. I was slowly mapping the pathways out in my mind as we did. “Thought you abandoned me to my academic life.”

“I did,” X said. “But I always try to keep tabs.” He made the words sound friendly, but I couldn’t help feel like they were a threat. “You are correct, we are working for a branch of the government.” My quest finished as soon as he said the words. 

The super power was added to my Status Screen and I felt content with my recent efforts. 

“9/11 happened thanks to mutants,” the Professor admitted. The Twin Towers in New York were brought down a decade ago. Planes crashing into them after being hijacked in my world and this one, I hadn’t thought about it much. But the professor was implying that super powered people were involved. I guessed I didn’t know the full story. 

“We were brought into the fold of the government to help keep that sort of thing from happening again. And we do take applications for the X-Men,” Professor X added, prompting a new quest. 

I liked Weakness Eliminators. I didn’t know what a Bonus Copy was, but I was going to go out on a limb and guess it let me copy someone’s bonus. Which sounded much better than the Ability Forge I had used in the past. 

“We typically do the test at the beginning of the semester. Only those that graduate can become a full-time member of the X-Men. We test the recent applicants next week. So if you do well this year and graduate-” 

“Not interested,” I said, cutting him off. I stopped and he did the same, looking up at me. “I want to join now. Not a year from now. Whatever you are doing here is a hell of a lot more interesting than a few classes.” 

“Weston, education is very-” 

“I know it all already,” I said. “Test me. Give me the hardest GED you have given anyone before. I will pass it. Prove I am not some idiot.” I could feel he still wasn’t convinced. “My family is dead, Professor. I have such…rage.” It was easy to feel the anger build up in me. “For so many weeks I have been beating myself up, asking what I could have done differently.” Old me had, and it was starting to consume him. “Fuck that. And fuck waiting. We could all die in a car accident tomorrow. I am done being a passenger in the car, I want to be the one driving. I want to be a part of the wider world. I want to do something with my power. Whether it is to help people or kill who needs killing.”

“We don’t kill,” the professor cut in. 

“And you say you’re part of the government?” I asked, implying he was being naive. The older man understood, frowning. “Listen, give me the hardest test of anyone. I will pass it and show you that my senior year would be useless. I can handle whatever you throw at me.” 

The professor thought for a long time. As he thought, a familiar face walked up. “Alright,” Wolverine growled as he stopped a few paces from me. “If you can impress me, kid, you’re in.” 

“A fight now?” I asked, rolling my shoulders. 

“Ha! Sure,” Wolverine barked, chewing on his cigar. 

“Wait,” the professor said, stopping me before I moved toward Wolverine. I had no hope of winning, but I was sure I could impress him. “Next week we are testing the other students. If you can beat them in every test, you can…join. After you pass a few academic tests.”

“Perfect,” I said. “Fight you after?” 

Wolverine laughed again. “Cocky little bastard aren’t you?” He asked. I nodded. 

“I’m not an ex-man yet, still plenty of cock left,” I said, grabbing my crotch. 

Wolverine laughed again. “Oh I think I’ll like you. I said the same joke once upon a time.” He grabbed my shoulder and escorted me out. There was a large elevator that led us right into the Dean’s office on the first floor. Once back in the school I read I walked through the empty halls without an escort, but there were plenty of cameras to keep tabs on me. It was almost 11pm by the time I got to my room. 

I was rather enjoying the world. Given another super power school, and apparently a belated entrance exam, it all felt familiar. I wasn’t sure where the world was going, but I was getting excited. Potentially working with Nick Fury, traveling the world to fight other super powered people, there were a lot of possibilities for quests in the future. 

But there was also a concern of what could go wrong. If SHIELD was involved with the X-Men, that meant we were susceptible to HYDRA. Basically a secret society of nazis, HYDRA was the counterpart to SHIELD and usually infiltrated the super powered government branch. Along with that were a million other villains to worry about. Fights meant quests though, which meant rewards. 

We were close to New York, so there were plenty of vigilantes out there. Whose powers could I steal? What women could I seduce?

And of course, my paramount concern. Who had dumped that chemical that changed me? Old me wanted answers. Wanted revenge. I planned to dig into what company used a hexagon with a dot at the center as a logo. I would bring them all down. If they had chemicals giving people super powers, then they were no good. 

My thoughts straying from there I thought of Anne Marie. I liked her. I wanted to get to know her more, potentially help her with her own little problem. Who knew, maybe I would give the Weakness Eliminator from joining the X-men to her. 

For now though, I had to get stronger. This body was weak. I really doubted I could win whatever X-Men test they threw at me in a week. No, I had to train. I had to get my World Lasting Physique. I had to venture out to the other Comic worlds and see what they had to offer. 

I mumbled, “World Escape,” and it all went black.