Horizon Dorms – East Wing Lounge
The fire crackled in the common room hologram projector — an old program Alloy dug up "for ambiance." Jake, Rogue, Peter, Ned, and a handful of others lounged around.
"So, new prof. Essex," Ned said, balancing a soda can on his knee. "Creepy or just European?"
"Both," Rogue answered instantly.
"Definitely creepy," Gwen added.
Alloy zipped through the air, forming a rough hologram of Essex's face with glowing red eyes and vampire fangs. "Children, tonight we study… your bloodlines. Muahaha!"
Jake groaned. "Cut it out."
Scott Summers, who'd joined reluctantly, crossed his arms. "He's strict, but at least he takes the subject seriously. Unlike your toy." He nodded at Alloy.
Alloy spun on him like a buzzsaw. "Toy? Oh, that's rich, coming from Laser Pointers Anonymous over here. Tell me, Scott, does your visor come with a dimmer switch, or is it just pew pew all day?"
Scott's jaw clenched. "Careful."
"Oh, right," Alloy went on, "wouldn't want to trigger the deep-seated trauma of being the son of a space pirate."
The room went silent.
Jake blinked. "Wait. What?"
Alloy hummed innocently. "What? Nobody told him his dad's from the Shi'ar? My bad. Must've slipped."
Scott shot to his feet, eyes blazing behind the visor. "You shut your—"
"Woah woah!" Jake raised his hands. "Alloy, tone it down."
Steel, watching from the doorway, muttered just loud enough for himself: "Essex, Shi'ar bloodlines, all this genetic talk…" He frowned, gears whirring in thought. "Feels like pieces of a puzzle I read once before. But that's impossible."
The others argued on, but Steel kept his eyes narrowed, silently filing the name Essex deeper into memory.
Deadpool meta-cut:
"And here we have it, ladies and gents! Post-battle cooldown: kids roasting each other in the lounge, secrets dropping like bad Wi-Fi, and one robot casually outing Scott's dad as a space pirate. Oh, and don't mind Steel muttering in the corner like the guy who's definitely read ahead in the script. Gold."