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Curt Conners 's lab was supposedly one of the best in the city. It was in the top five, ranking fourth, just above Max Modell's and below Norman Osborn's. Although the ranking was likely to change, the top spot was held by a man who was changing companies. The ESU lab looked like the classroom of the future. Every desk was a lab in itself: burners, mixers, decontamination equipment, and digital screens protected with scientific databases.
At the front, however, were the real toys. There were specimen chambers, in the center of which was an insulated semicircular metal cover. Working there was Conners, the thin, sixty- year-old man wearing a typical lab coat. But he couldn't work with the machinery; he had to leave that to an engineer. He explained the process to him in detail.
"Thanks, I'd do it myself but..." Conners awkwardly apologized to the man.
"No problem, professor. Next time, call for help first," said the engineer.
"My hands aren't what they used to be," Curt said , wiggling his fingers until the numbness went away.
When the engineer left, Curt walked into his office. His pet iguana was sitting in his display case. He envied the animal.
"Professor Conners," a voice spoke at the entrance to the classroom.
"Come in, how can I help you?" Conners asked, before even getting up from his chair.
He walked at the only pace he could, slowly, smiling at the person even though he didn't know him. The visitor was a blond boy wearing a brown jacket. His face had a serious expression that reminded Curt of his son Billy, as well as some of his more curious students.
"My name is Sven Reilly, sir. I was wondering if I could talk to you about your work with Oscorp ."
However, as soon as the boy asked that question, Curt 's friendly smile vanished.
Unknown location
"Start of the race."
The computerized voice gave way to a series of clicks and clacks, as the walls of the large, square room began to move. The floor and ceiling were white tiles, while the walls were green. On one wall was a glass window, from where a blond man in a black suit watched the race. He watched the four figures inside the room, each performing a different exercise.
There were four teenagers, all wearing identical uniforms. The uniforms were black, except for the chest area, which was yellow at the shoulders and neck. The yellow ran down the body, leaving the sides black and joining the belt. The belt was yellow, and the buckles had black Xs on a red background. All the boys wore black hoods that left their mouths and eyes exposed. Three of them wore yellow boots and gloves, but the fourth had yellow on his wrists and heels, leaving his hands and feet exposed.
He was a short but powerful young man, participating in an acrobatics session. Obstacles protruded from the compartments on the east wall: poles, rings, and rotating poles, all easily dodged by the teenager. He jumped and flipped from each of them, performing feats worthy of an expert gymnast. But he also used his large feet, performing flips from the poles. His movements, and the way he slightly extended his toes, were reminiscent of a gorilla's, but with more control and grace.
The ceiling also revealed various obstacles. The winged boy of the group dodged some as well. His wings were enormous, feathered appendages extending from his back. Weaving and squeezing between the poles and hoops, the winged man dived and then propelled himself upward. He slammed his wings as he flew under another pole, causing the blond to shake his head.
That disdain only increased when the supervisor looked at the third member of the group. He was the youngest and shortest of them all, and faced what should have been an easy task, considering his skills. The boy slid under a mechanical arm and sprayed a cloud of steam with his hands, like a fire extinguisher. Small particles of ice formed on the arm's gears, and its movements slowed.
"HA, take that UGH!" The boy suddenly punched him in the chest by the arm, knocking him onto his back.
Iceman 's program , increase difficulty for Beast and Cyclops ," the observer said, his voice echoey and monotonous, like a computer.
"As you wish Cypher !"
The voice was quickly followed by the Beast's complete wall collapse, revealing more obstacles, platforms, and pillars that kept sliding. Beast leaped over them, timing his jumps and following the pattern Cypher expected. Near the back of the room, the wall panels rotated, revealing multiple launchers firing yellow discs at their targets. However, they were quickly shot down by Cypher's red beams.
Cyclops fired these beams from the visor over his eyes. He was taller than Iceman , but thinner, and instead of moving, he simply changed the direction of his gaze. His hand continually pressed the button on the visor he wore, opening the ruby quartz slot just enough to release the energy from his eyes. Cypher nodded in approval of the boy's performance. What he lacked in physical strength or stamina, he made up for in precision.
Behind Cypher , the door suddenly opened, revealing none other than Charles Xavier. Only he wasn't using crutches, but was sitting in a wheelchair. The chair was plain leather, with metal armrests and footrests. The motor wheels were shaped like an X. Charles also wore a very different expression than he had shown when he was with Jean. His eyes were narrowed with a serious, critical look during the session. He had also changed from his professor's uniform to a black suit with gray gloves and gray combat boots.
"How's the new recruit?" Cypher asked .
"Unpacked, Sage is currently instructing her," Charles said.
"You mean distract her?"
"Of course not... well, I guess it's partly because of what she's doing," Charles corrected himself. "Sage will be a good mentor for her when I'm unavailable, like now."
"If you intend to take them, Iceman is not ready, the term Icenoob would be more appropriate," Cypher said .
"Your command of the language is evident. Perhaps you'd like to introduce yourself to the girl; she's very smart, and I'm confident she'll be a valuable addition to the team," Charles explained. "Danger, please stop the session!"
"Yes, professor!"
The room slowly stopped, the panels and obstacles returning to their places. After a few seconds of movement, the room was empty and silent again. Each of the young men heard a voice in their heads: the voice of their mentor, Charles Xavier.
"Report to the Blackbird."
Together they removed their hoods. Under Cyclops' mask and visor was Scott, under Iceman's was Bobby, Hank was Beast, and Warren was Angel. As the Danger Room doors opened, the four young men pressed the Xs on their belts. Slowly, the Xs faded, and the structure and colors of their uniforms changed. Hank's suit changed, giving him the appearance of blue pants and a red undershirt. Scott's changed to blue, black, and yellow, with black predominating on his sleeves. Bobby's changed to white, blue, and black, and Warren's to red and white.
They arrived at a circular room where replacement yellow and black uniforms were on display, as well as yellow and blue variants, as well as versions of Charles's uniform with yellow gloves and boots. But the boys focused on the jackets that complemented their incognito uniforms. Cyclops donned a dark blue jacket and cap, Hank a red one with sneakers, Bobby took a blue jacket, and Warren covered his wings with a longer red coat. After changing, they entered the next room, much larger than the previous one.
It had to be this way in order to store the enormous aircraft, the Blackbird . Based on the SR-71, the XR-71 was the faster and far more advanced version of the stealth plane. Charles was already inside, his chair wedged into the pilot's station. Each of the teenagers sat in the crew seats and fastened their seatbelts. Charles began flipping a few switches, activating the plane with its launch secrets. The afterburners whirred, slowly building heat. Only Bobby seemed uncomfortable, taking several deep breaths.
"I assure you, Bobby the Blackbird is incredibly safe. When WDRO operated them, there were only six accidents in two hundred deployments," Hank explained.
"Somehow I don't think that makes him feel any better," Warren said.
Bobby let out a yell as the plane lurched forward. The afterburners left a trail of fire behind them, propelling the plane rapidly down the runway. Bobby stared at the road ahead, shouting from the cul-de-sac. But then, the walls split, and the Blackbird flew off the cliff behind the mansion. Charles pitched the Blackbird higher, piercing the clouds. He banked right, changing the plane's direction.
"Okay, X- Men , Cerebro's detected three new mutant signatures in New York City. Recall your first contact training. Scott and Warren, you're going to a nightclub in Brooklyn. There are two new mutants there: Alison Blaire , a projection mutant, and Todd Tolansky , a physical mutant. I'm going to another club in New York City, where one Emma Carols works , who also has a projection mutant," Charles explained.
"What about Bobby and me?" Hank asked.
"You'll have to deal with our unconfirmed mutation, it should be easy, he attends ESU, his name is Gary Stewarts ."
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Hello everyone, what did you think of the chapter? Please let me know in the comments. If you want to download the full book, it's available on my KO-FI page. The link is here. 👉
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