[13] Trolling The Crowd With Compound V
Inside the Newman Bar.
The deafening heavy metal music had vanished.
Instead, the atmosphere was filled with solemnity and surprise.
Everyone looked toward the bar with a mix of disgust and fear.
In front of the bar stood Brian with his blue, flame-patterned skin.
-'Mr. Brian, don't reveal your identity as a mutant in front of ordinary people. This will bring you trouble,'-
Professor X frowned, placing his right hand on his temple, and sent a telepathic reminder to Brian.
The telepathy only conveyed Professor X's thoughts.
There was no mental aggression involved, so it did not trigger Brian's adaptive evolution ability.
After hearing Professor X's reminder, Brian simply turned around and smiled at him.
It must be said that Professor X was indeed young and handsome at this moment.
However, that was all.
At this time, Professor X was not yet one of the future mutant leaders.
So, facing Brian casually displaying his ability, Professor X only gave a kind reminder and had no intention of stopping him.
-'Raven, take a good look at what will happen if you recklessly reveal your mutant ability.'-
After reminding Brian, Professor X turned and sent a telepathic message to Raven, who was beside Brian.
Upon hearing Professor X's reminder, Raven instinctively looked around.
When she saw the disgust and fear in people's eyes, Raven's expression grew heavy.
It was the look that saw her as a freak.
As a mutant, Raven knew that these people likely saw Brian, who had casually revealed his ability, as a freak.
"..Brian, let's ..leave."
Raven pulled Brian with some concern, instinctively taking two steps back.
She was afraid.
Through Brian, she saw the acceptance—or rather, the lack of acceptance—that ordinary people had for mutants.
It was almost impossible for them to accept the existence of mutants.
This realization genuinely scared Raven.
Because it meant that humans would never accept her true blue appearance.
Seeing Raven's fear, Brian gently embraced her in his arms and comforted her softly:
"Shh.. Raven, remember what I said, we are God's favorites.
We don't need to hide.
And the reason why these people can't accept us and fear us is because they can't see the hope of becoming like us.
Once they see the hope of becoming like us, they will become our fanatical worshippers.
They will even fear us as if they were fearing God."
Brian's quiet words successfully dispelled Raven's fear.
She looked at Brian steadily and then couldn't help but pull him into a passionate kiss.
When the kiss ended, Brian glanced around and then jumped directly onto the long bar table.
Amidst the fear and disgust from everyone, Brian calmly straightened his clothes, which had become slightly wrinkled from the kiss.
"These people are just random mobs, let me show you~" Whispering this, he winked and Raven then looked down at everyone with a smile and said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to formally introduce myself.
My name is Brian.
Brian Kent.
A few days ago, I was just an unknown watchmaker in Brooklyn.
And now, just a few days later, I've become someone with superpowers.
Not only can I turn my skin blue,
but I can also resist bullets."
With that, Brian pulled out a pistol from his pocket, pointed it at himself, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang.
A deafening gunshot echoed through the bar.
Under the shocked gaze of everyone, Brian, who had been shot in the forehead, stood there unharmed.
"I wasn't born with these abilities.
Like you, I was originally just an ordinary person.
But I was luckier than you!
I was fortunate enough to be chosen by Vought Company.
They saw potential in me to become a superhero, so they gave me these abilities."
Brian paused for a moment after saying this.
He was waiting for the inevitable question.
Sure enough, a young man spoke up after Brian's pause.
"Did you get your ability from the Vought Company?
What is Vought?"
Facing the question, Brian's voice remained low and magnetic.
"Our Vought Company is a genetic research institute dedicated to building a superhero star team.
The philosophy of Vought Company is that as long as you have a dream and the potential to be a superhero, you can join Vought Company.
Vought Company will tailor super abilities for you according to your genetic makeup.
From that moment on, you'll say goodbye to an ordinary life and become a superhero that everyone pays attention to."
Brian explained the philosophy of Vought Company with a passionate tone.
The people in the audience exchanged glances at this moment.
Unconsciously, the fear and disgust they initially felt toward Brian had quickly subsided.
Instead, they now felt interest and curiosity about Vought Company.
This was an era of rapidly growing personal heroism.
Various superhero comics, movies, and TV series were on the rise.
They had planted the dream of becoming a superhero in the hearts of many young people.
If it were about mutants, these people might find it hard to accept.
But if mutants were framed as superheroes, this group of people would easily resonate with Brian's message.
Mutants were born that way and couldn't be replicated.
But superheroes, on the other hand, could be made.
For years, Captain America's comics had been popular all over the world.
(In the mutant universe Brian is in, there are no superheroes—only mutants.)
From eighty-year-old men to children just learning to walk, everyone knew that Captain America became a superhero from a scrawny human after receiving a shot of super-soldier serum.
Many young people dreamed of getting such a super-soldier serum.
They had thought it was just an unrealistic fantasy.
But after seeing Brian's abilities, their inner superhero dreams began to rekindle.
"Vought Company? Superheroes?"
"Is this real?"
"Can we become superheroes too?"
Some young people now looked at Brian differently.
They no longer saw him as a strange alien.
Instead, they saw him as a guiding light for becoming superheroes.
"Absolutely, anyone can become a superhero. The body of a chameleon can change at will according to the environment.
A toad's tongue can extend more than ten meters in an instant.
The Turritopsis dohrnii, also known as the immortal jellyfish, can live forever.
In reality, all of these are extraordinary abilities.
And what determines these abilities is the gene sequence within your body.
For most people, these gene abilities are recessive.
After years of effort, our Vought Company, in collaboration with the American military, has developed a genetic compound.
We named it 'Compound V'."
"Compound V can activate the recessive gene fragments hidden in the DNA of ordinary people, allowing you to gain extraordinary abilities.
And our Vought Company will help you develop your ability until you become a qualified superhero."
While Brian was speaking, he took out a blue candy from his pocket and held it up seriously.
This candy was something Brian had picked up from a candy store on the way, and now it was being used as "Compound V."
"In order to verify the effectiveness of Compound V, I will randomly select an ordinary person for a live demonstration."
Brian said this as he jumped off the bar and walked in front of Raven under everyone's watchful eyes. "This beautiful Angel, would you like to experience the magic of Compound V?"
Raven nodded cooperatively.
Then, under everyone's gaze, she swallowed the blue candy.
As Raven swallowed the blue candy, her body began to transform at a speed visible to the naked eye.