Chapter 6: Mind Palace.

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(General P.O.V)

"I love this time of year."

Xavier commented, breathing in the cool afternoon air.

A slow breeze blew the leaves on the ground, swirling them through the air. Some landed on the pool of clear water while others drifted away.

"I admit, it is peaceful here."

Ororo smiled behind Xavier's wheelchair. The professor returned the smile, tapping his young student's palm.

"Take it in Ororo. Take it in before the storm."

His words took on an ominous note, bringing a thoughtful look on Ororo's face.

"I have a question for you, Professor."

She spoke up, breaking the brief silence that had fallen between them.

"Who was that boy? Was he a mutant?"

Ororo's question made Xavier frown a little.

"A mutant? No. But he's definitely something. Able to read minds easily and I couldn't get through his barriers, only communicate with his mind. He's not limited to Telepathy alone, based on what I could tell from his mind. With enough time...he could become extremely powerful."

Ororo's hold on the wheelchair tightened. Her face had turned serious.

"Then he's in massive danger. We both know Magneto keeps an eye on you. It wouldn't take much for him to gain an interest in the boy."

She remarked.

"Don't worry about Eric." Xavier shook his head. He knew his old friend. As long as Charles wasn't actively trying to recruit Billy, then Magneto would assume that even if the boy was a mutant, he must have had an epsilon level mutation. Those were mutant abilities at the lowest rank.

It could be like being able to tell the time accurately or changing the color of your eyes from only blue to green. They were, put crudely, useless abilities. Eric would not be interested in someone like that. He wanted powerful mutants to drive his mission forward. The supremacy of the mutant race.

"Although Eric has his own means to detect mutants, there's a subtle aura of concealment on the boy. A suggestion to look the other way. I assure you, he is in no danger from Magneto."

His face darkened.

"However, that does not mean he is entirely safe."

A wood pecker sounded from afar.

"Someone was watching him. Shield I think. I have a feeling we might see our dear young Billy sooner than he expected. Definitely sooner than he hoped."

He added with a small laugh.

(Billy's P.O.V)

I sank on the bed, staring at the ceiling with blank eyes.

Today had been...eventful. I met the leader of the X-Men, Charles Xavier. He represented one side of the mirror.

His complete opposite being Magneto, a genocidal maniac who wouldn't hesitate to go to any lengths to ensure mutant superiority.

If this idealistic mission culminated in numerous terrorist attacks to further his agenda, then so be it.

Eric Lehnsher, a monster to some. A hero to others.

One of the most complex characters ever.

I groaned. The plan had been to keep a low profile.

But it was only the second day and I was already in the radar of the Sorcerer Supreme, Spiderman and now professor X.

I clutched my fingers into fists, I need more power. I gotta push myself harder. I jumped off the bed and dragged my tired body to the shower. Fortunately this time there was hot water.

I finished drying off after the shower and went right into preparing dinner. A cup of noodles was forever devoured from the world. People downplay how much a cup of Instant noodles can save you when you're literally broke.

Having a stable means of income was the first thing on my mind. That or I could hope for Atlas' Stamina to come in quicker before I died of starvation. A bit cynical? I know.

Seriously, I needed a job or a way to make money. I had a few options of course. I could live off Tony Stark. He was like the ultimate superpowered people sponsor.

But I was reluctant to part with my self respect. Plus, going to Tony would introduce me to more dangerous situations that I was not ready for.

I was at the moment, just below street level. Stilt Man and the fucking Hypno-Hustler would kick my ass without even trying.

The second option was S.H.I.E.L.D.

I could get trained as an asset and live off the government.

Plus that would put me under Fury, who I admired due to his badassness. Dude basically hang around Gods, mad geniuses and rage monsters and managed to keep up.

However, again, that would put me under Fury. It was a two sided deal. Fury would keep secrets from me and use my powers to further his own agendas. So that was a straight no.

The other option I had and that I was leaning more towards, was beating up criminals and stealing money from them.

A sort of Robin Hood situation. Only difference would be that I was stealing from the bad guys and keeping all of the money.

Yeah, you know what, let's go with that. I wasn't like Spiderman, who had a better hold of his morals. I was just pushed into a corner.

I needed the money and this was the only option I could see working out.

I dug into my meal, the cup of noodles tasting like Nirvana in my hungered state. My mind had been working overdrive and that required a lot of energy.

8 marbles orbited my head in a spherical cycle. I had grabbed a few of them from a toy shop before heading back.

They would help me on the next phase of TK, multitasking. I broke them into two pairs. Each having 4 marbles. The second pair begun revolving around my head in an anticlockwise motion.

The two pairs did dips at different intervals without breaking the motion. I was getting good at at this.

This morning I couldn't completely sustain two things in the air at the same time and now I was able to juggle 8 marbles almost individually.

Not to mention, I had a book opened in the air infront of me. It was a Sherlock Holmes paper back. I had noticed something while in the library.

First of all, knowing I wouldn't have a lot of time inside, I signed up, getting a temporary library card that would last me for 3 months.

Why a temporary one? Basically I lacked proper identification.

Which was the second thing I need to take care of. Unfortunately, I would need to deal with criminals for that particular thing. Forging official documents wasn't exactly legal though, and I was worried I might have been skirting the line.

Back to the library thing. It might have seemed redundant because I had a smart phone but reading...was a habit.

Scratch that, it was part of my lifestyle. And nothing could beat the smell of old paper. I was an avid reader even during my past life. The quiet of the library was just...peaceful. plus I couldn't get all the information I needed from the internet.

Including the small booklet about Chi that I found at one of the sections, I had a Sherlock Holmes novel mostly for any reference on how to create a Mind Palace.

I wanted to grab the whole collection but unfortunately one of the staff said it was impossible.

The booklet about Chi on the other hand was old and not very outstanding, with a dark green cover.

I had perused throughit a little and the concepts contained inside had a few interesting parts that I could use to create a channel of energy through my body.

TK was good.

But I needed to come up with something that could hold up if an enemy ever got too close.

Maybe create a membrane of psionic energy over my skin? Or go deeper into the interior of my body and run the energy through my flesh, organs and bones, reinforcing them.

The second one was very dangerous of course. I could hurt myself badly.

It was a risk that could pay out handsomely. Plus, time was running out. Sooner or later I would be embroiled in another fight.

I needed to be able to protect myself. The inspiration I could get from experimenting with my Psionic abilities could be what I needed to complete the Ring of Solomon mission quicker.

Tomorrow was a Tuesday, I still had the Midtown high mission to complete. So do I simply go to school? That would require me having some sort of documents right? Just then I felt something dig into my side.

I looked at the bed and saw an envelope there. A frown appeared on my face. I stood up, spreading out my psionic field. That envelope had simply...appeared out of nowhere.

Wait...what if it appeared due to my desire?

I grabbed it off the bed and closed my eyes, concentrating. I wanted it to go away. To go somewhere else up until I had use for it.

The envelope disappeared. I blinked, feeling a sensation at the back of my head. Like a light brush on my brain.

Diving into the feeling had me smiling in surprise. I had an inventory.

It was about the space inside a big closet. This is so going to be so useful.

One combat use would be taking a grenade, pulling off the pin and then storing the grenade in my inventory.

In a fight scenario I could push it towards the enemy by telekinesis. Not to mention, I could hit drug houses and criminals, steal the money without having to carry it in big bags and leave the drugs to the cops.

It wasn't a bad idea. It could solve most of my immediate problems.

That is, if I found a place to get grenades from. I sighed. That was harder than simply doubling down on the grind.

I'll tentatively place that under 'plan c'. Just in case, I didn't come up with something good by the end of the week.

I left the letter in my inventory alone for the moment. First of all, how do I create a mind palace?

Step one. Establish the layout.

I sank deep into my meditation. A mind palace was essential moving forward. But not for what you think.

Basically, it was a way to store memories and information by associating it with objects inside a chosen location. Which was why the mind palace was also known as the method of Loci.

I needed to have a layout.

It could be anything from the mansion in black ops 2, Fort Knox, The Triskelion from Marvel or even the Minas Tirith from The Lord of The Rings.

Basically, i was only limited by familiarity with the layout. And endless hours of gaming had ensured that I was more than equipped for that.