Eli's POV
Hank took us through the corridor and down the mansion towards the Mess Hall. Gloria walked close beside me. I could tell she was still a little uncomfortable, even after my gentle assurances, as she kept giving Hank a few discreet looks.
It was understandable. Hank did have a very physical and prominent mutation; he was a large mass of blue fur, teeth, and claws. There was a reason he was called "the Beast."
Sensing her discomfort, Hank seemed to pick up on it as he slowed his stride and gave her a gentle smile.
"I get this a lot, you know," he said, gesturing lightly to himself with one large blue hand. "The whole... look."
Gloria flushed, clearly embarrassed. "Oh no, I didn't mean to—"
He chuckled, a warm, good-natured sound that cut through some of the tension. "It's quite alright. Some of us have mutations that make it difficult to live normal lives out in the world. But there are positives too. Enhanced strength, agility, intellect... and the occasional ability to reach the top loft without a ladder." He winked.
Gloria offered a small, tentative smile at his gentle attempt to make her comfortable.
We finally arrived at the mess hall. Even this late, quite a few students were still around — some finishing late-night snacks, others chatting in small groups, simply enjoying their time.
I spotted Ruby and Matt sitting at a table near the back. They waved us over. Yukio was with them too, as was Bobby, along with a few other kids their age. Jean and Scott were also there, chatting casually. I didn't see Ororo anywhere. The table was covered with food: pizzas, sandwiches, snacks. It felt a little more like a night get-together than a school mess, but whatever, this is fine too, I suppose.
I could tell the girls were already starting to relax. Ruby and Yukio were talking quietly, smiling more openly, clearly happy to be amongst people like themselves, perhaps happy to find people like
themselves. We made our way over.
Gloria went straight to her kids, pulling them into a quick hug of affirmation and sitting right beside them. I sat in the empty seat next to Ruby, as I noticed Matt had stars in his eyes as he looked at Hank.
Kids, man, I thought fondly.
"Whoa..." he breathed out, then quickly whispered to him.
"Matt, behave...."
The kids at the table greeted Hank warmly as he approached and sat with us, then smiled at the new faces. "Hello everyone. I'm Dr. Hank McCoy. I teach science here, and I also help run the medical wing. If any of you ever need anything — or just want to talk — my door is always open."
Ruby gave a small, shy smile at the gentle blue beast, while Yukio nodded enthusiastically. Hank glanced around, then focused on the sunglasses-wearing young man. "Where's Ororo?"
Scott straightened up at the question, as Jean looked at him fondly. "She just stepped out a minute ago. Said she'd be back soon."
As we all started to get comfortable, I began piling food onto one of the plates I had claimed. I was starving; my body was burning through calories like crazy, and I saw no reason to fight it.
I would need to figure out some other way to fuel the rituals other than just eating...
The other kids introduced themselves one by one. One boy with messy blonde hair grinned and said, "I'm John. I can breathe through all fluids." Another kid, sitting opposite me, a bit older than the others, shrugged modestly. "I'm Garcia, and I can turn my hair into steel-like spikes and fire them. Pretty useful in a pinch. It's a little hard to control, though..."
I kept an ear out for the conversation while eating. Hank, noticing me, opened his mouth to engage me in conversation before a voice cut through the hall.
"Dr. Hank! You should check the news, quick!" As the boy held up his phone, with his eyes wide in excitement.
Hank frowned slightly. "Someone turn on the TV, please."
One of the older students grabbed a remote. A large screen on the wall flickered to life, switching to a news channel.
The anchor's voice filled the room, speaking quickly, his voice a little bewildered and tense.
"—reports of two giant... robots? Yes, robots fighting on the streets of New York City..."
Damn... It's Iron Man 1, isn't it? I thought, suddenly serious, as shaky phone footage showed the Iron Monger flinging a red-and-gold figure through the street, crashing into a car and crushing it.
The kids got excited immediately. John hit Garcia on the shoulder, pointing wildly at the screen. Garcia startled at the motion, and his hair suddenly spiked out like metallic quills, shooting out extremely fast. My perception slowed as the Spartan time kicked in. I tilted my head sharply, dodging two of the spikes. My hand shot up in front of Ruby's torso, catching a third one. I knew another would pierce my arm; otherwise, it would have gone straight through her eye, killing her. I grunted as a fourth one punched into my forearm with a wet thunk.
I brought my senses back to normal as Hank shot to his feet. "Garcia! Be careful!"
Scott and Jean were on their feet too. The whole hall went dead silent. Ruby and Gloria stared at my bleeding arm in horror, just now realizing how close it had come.Garcia looked mortified, stammering out apologies.
The hall was quiet, only broken by the anchor's voice: "There are reports of an explosion at Stark Enterprises..."
Hank looked at my arm. "How about we head to the medical bay?"
I shook my head, gripping the spike. With a wet squelch, I pulled it out. There was a flaring of pain, which I expertly pushed to the back of my mind, accessing the codex and healing and sealing the wound shut without leaving any external trace.
"It's fine, Hank. I've had worse," I said, flicking the quill onto the table.
"So cool..." Matt whispered.
Hank stared at my arm, impressed. "How impressive... I once knew a man who could do that..." He trailed off, then his head snapped up as he looked at the ceiling, as if hearing something only he could. "Everyone, back to bed with you. Jean, Scott — why don't you escort our guests to the guest quarters?"
Listening to the man, we all left the hall quietly. Jean gave me a curious look as she led me through the mansion to a room on the far side. Gloria, Matt, and Ruby were guided by Scott, while Yukio and Bobby were taken somewhere else. Jean showed me to my room, informing me that if I needed anything, I could find her a few rooms down the corridor. Then she left.
I stepped into the quiet guest room and sat down on the edge of the bed, exhaling slowly.
So everything's starting, huh? I thought, looking back at the news broadcast. Hope Tony's fine...
I fished for my phone and dialed Tendo.
"Eli? You see the news?" His voice was high in tone.
"Yeah. The world's going to shit, man. You good?"
"I'm fine. Shaken up. What's this about, mate?" Tendo asked. This was the first time I'd had some time to talk to Tendo after the mansion, and I thought it was high time to give him some answers.
I rubbed my face, leaning back against the headboard. "Do you remember when I mentioned people with powers? The people responsible for everything in the mansion have powers, and there's one in specific: Emma Frost."
"You mean the eldest daughter of the Frost family?"
"Yeah... she's a telepath, and she may have read our minds. I'm not certain, but it might be a possibility." I didn't want to explain why she couldn't read my mind; it would be better to keep it simple.
"I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I didn't think it would snowball that fast. I've taken a few steps to send a warning to her people, but... just keep your head down, alright?"
Tendo was quiet for a beat. Then he exhaled. "It's fine. I knew what I was getting into when I said yes. If anything strange happens on my end, I'll let you know. There's a person I know I can talk to about... this kind of stuff."
"Good. And if things get really bad, go to Stark Industries. Tell them Eli Calderon sent you. Tony Stark owes me a favor."
Another pause. I could practically hear him raising an eyebrow.
"Dude... there seems to be a story here."
I let out a tired laugh. "Yeah, there is. I'll tell you sometime later. Just stay safe."
"You too, man. Take care."
We said our goodbyes and I ended the call. I stripped off my clothes, tossed them onto the chair, and climbed into bed in just my boxers, closing my eyes and going to sleep.
I stayed at the mansion for a couple of days.
The day I was to leave, I sat at one of the long tables in the mess hall, spooning cereal and eggs into my mouth. Gloria had decided to stay a little longer — Ruby still needed time to settle in and get her classes sorted — so I was heading back to Astoria first.
The past few days had been strangely calm. Tony had finally come out as Iron Man, and the world had lost its collective mind. News channels were in full meltdown. Meanwhile, I'd spent quiet time talking with Hank and Ororo, getting to know them. I'd like to think we were friends now.
I'd even asked the question that had been bothering me since the beginning: how exactly had they found me?
Ororo had explained it simply: Cerebro. The machine that could locate mutants across the globe. She said it had picked up my signature. I wasn't sure I was really a mutant... but I kept that thought to myself.
I'd also grown — at least another inch in height, and my muscles had filled out noticeably. The changes were happening faster than I expected. I was doing my best to hide it, but it was getting harder.
As I finished breakfast and stood up to leave, a voice I hadn't heard since the first night called out behind me.
"Hey, Danger. Leaving already?"
I turned. Wanda was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, wearing a smirk.
"Yeah," I said.
"So am I." She pushed off the wall and walked over. "Want a ride? I managed to swindle a truck out of Xavier."
Of course she did...