POV: Scott
Have you ever looked at your situation and wondered… how the hell did I even get here?
Yeah. I've been asking myself that constantly.
And the fact that I still don't know how to avoid my supposed death doesn't help either.
The Ancient One said it wasn't time yet. That I wasn't… ready.
And honestly? If being "ready" means being prepared to fight monsters and literal godlike beings, I don't think I ever will be.
The good part in all of this is that she at least agreed to teach me the basics of how not to die to the first superpowered lunatic who decides to pick a fight with me.
The bad part?
Apparently, I won't be learning directly from her.
Amazing, right?
Instead, our dear monk Wong will be handling that.
At first, I actually thought it was cool. Learning how to throw punches, how to control the whole eye-laser thing…
Until the first day arrived.
The day started with a bucket of freezing water thrown in my face at four in the morning.
Naturally, being the reasonable person that I am, I told Wong to go Fuck himself.
And I also learned.... that saying that wasn't a great idea.
The bastard beat the living hell out of me until mid-afternoon!
I didn't eat. I didn't drink. I wasn't allowed to rest for more than thirty minutes at a time.
He just kept saying:
"Again. Your stance is worse than my grandmother's."
"I've seen children do better. Again."
"What? You didn't eat today? And how is that my problem? Again."
In short? I'm almost certain he's a Sadist! I just can't prove it, But I know he is!!!
The ancient one comes, walking like nothing happened today....
"I see you had a… productive day."
Oh really? You don't say.
"Do you know what time it is?"
She gives me a wide smile.
"It is precisely eight P.M"
I struggle to get up from the ground.
The courtyard I once thought was beautiful now feels like my own personal version of hell.
"I spent almost seventeen hours here. Without eating, without drinking, and getting beaten almost the entire time."
"Yes."
"You know I passed out four times today? FOUR DAMN TIMES!"
"Yes, that as well."
"Fine. Fine… Give me one reason. One damn reason not to say screw this right now and try to kill you where you stand. And think carefully before you answer. Because I swear, I'm about to."
I don't care if she's the Sorcerer Supreme. If she doesn't give me a good answer, either I die here or she does. No middle ground.
"Well… because I find it amusing?"
That's it.
Slowly, I place my hands on my glasses and remove them without a second thought.
TSSSSHHHHH
A wild, uncontrolled beam blasts out of my eyes at abnormal speed straight toward her.
She simply takes one step to the side.
The beam grazes past her face and shoots toward another part of the courtyard.
BOOOOOOOM
The blast slams violently into a poor building, punching straight through it like it's paper and continuing into the sky beyond.
"Yes… definitely a bit stronger than expected."
A bit stronger?! The damn building is one crack away from collapsing and that's just a bit?! I know you deal with worse daily, but for fucks sake!
"The human body—particularly that of mutants—is a marvelous thing. Some can shape reality. Others can soar through the skies faster than jets… And you? You can do that."
She gestures toward the massive hole I just carved through the building.
"Control, Mr. Summers. Everything we will learn comes down to that. In direct combat, with your powers, or even in daily life—control is everything."
"Sometimes we cannot control circumstances. Nor the things around us. But what we can control—and must control—is ourselves."
"I will not lie to you. As you are now, you resemble a baby holding a grenade. One misstep, one sneeze even… and what happens? That."
She points at the hole again, as if she just revealed a universal truth.
"Incredible… Huff… amazing moral lesson… Haa… but why the hell did I have to get beaten all day to learn that?!"
She turns fully toward me and speaks softly.
"Because, Mr. Summers, everything that comes easily leaves easily. If I had merely told you this, your response would have been 'I understand' or 'I know.' And I assure you—no, you do not."
"I know because I see—and continue to see—timelines in which you kill hundreds, thousands, simply because you cannot control yourself. And do not tell me you can. You have already demonstrated that when pushed to your limit, you cannot even think clearly."
Maybe because I'm starving, dehydrated, exhausted, and completely wrecked?!
"The first thing you will learn here is patience. The calm required to watch everything burn and first ask whether it can be extinguished. And if not… how to minimize the damage."
I still think I didn't need to be basically tortured to learn that!
"You may return to your room. I assume you will have no difficulty finding it. First door on the left, just past the dining hall."
Great. I can barely stand and she wants me to walk more.
Bitch.
"Ah, before I forget. That building you damaged… was the library. Where Wong usually works."
"Shit."
"Indeed, Mr. Summers. Indeed."
I hate my life.