Inhumane
As the sun rose, Sun Wukong could be seen with his eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling as Bobby snored loudly in the opposite bed. He quite liked taking naps and relaxing, however, the present problems and challenges haunted his mind.
After a couple of hours, Bobby finally awoke from his deep slumber as he rubbed his eyes and looked over to the identical bed opposite him. Only to be met with his new roommate, silently lying on his bed with his eyes wide open.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he was a little spooked by the new boy's ambience.
"I'm fine." Said Wukong simply as he didn't spare Bobby a look.
"Are you sure? You're looking a bit dazed."
Sun Wukong was slightly irritated by this constant pestering. He was close to getting up and…
"Are you hungry? We can go get breakfast." Sun Wukong sprang up as his previous thoughts were cut off.
"Let's eat." He said with a wide grin. This was the first time Bobby had seen Wukong smile. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly.
"I guess we know what he likes." He thought as he got up.
As they proceeded to get their food, Sun Wukong was met with a buffet of different delicacies. His mouth watered as he couldn't decide what he wanted to eat first.
"Can I take as much as I want?" He asked without taking his eyes off the food.
"Yes. Although it's probably good to be mindful of…" Before Bobby could finish, Wukong picked up a tray and plate and started to build a mountain of food.
Fruits, meat, beverages. Whatever fell into his sight he would take an unreasonable portion before dumping it on his tray. It got to the point where he left to get another tray because he had already filled up his. Bobby and everyone else in the cafeteria watched as they witnessed this glutton clean out most of the food.
"Illian, you can't take that." Bobby stopped Wukong as he carried two mountains of food.
"Why not? You just said I could take as much as I wanted." He argued.
"Yes, but look at that. Can you even finish it? You've taken most of the food in the cafeteria."
"Yeah, don't you know how to be considerate?" Said another boy.
"You can't even finish that. You aren't the only one in this cafeteria." Chimed another.
"Oh yeah? Come take it from me!" Wukong said as he started to feel irritated.
"Oh, don't worry. There's much more where that came from. I'll bring some more out right now. Eat to your heart's content." Said the supposed chef, as he wore a white toque and fashioned a typical moustache.
"Really? To my heart's content? Wow, thanks, Mr. Chef." Replied Wukong in a childish manner as he walked away with Bobby.
As Bobby directed them to Scott and Jean, they took their seats and Wukong started to devour his feast.
"Isn't that a bit too much?" Asked Scott with a bewildered face. Even the quiet Jean who always had a stoic poker face couldn't help but widen her eyes.
They watched as he devoured his meal, and when he was done, he released a long sigh of relief as he sat back in his chair. At this point, he had caught the attention of not only his table but the surrounding tables too.
"Hmm, I'd get some more, but I'm afraid I won't be able to train in this weak body if I fill it up too much."
"More…You're thinking about more food after eating all that?" Said Scott with a dumbfounded expression, ignoring the strange comment he said about himself.
Ignoring his question, he asked one of his own. "Is there somewhere to train in peace around here?"
"Well yes. There's the danger room. We showed it to you yesterday." Said Bobby
"Oh, I wasn't really paying attention. You mind telling me where it is?" Asked Wukong.
"Well, there's still time before class starts. I'll take you there." Said Bobby as he stood up.
As they walked away, Wukong felt a familiar energy that brought him bad memories. Turning around he was met with Jean, staring at him intensely. As he stared back she showed a shocked face, before turning around and continuing with her food.
"That's the second time. What's wrong with these people?" Thought Wukong as he left the cafeteria.
While Bobby and Wukong walked in the corridor, the former decided to make small talk.
"So, is it possible that you weren't paying attention yesterday during the tour because you were thinking about Pyro?"
After he was met with nothing but silence, he continued to speak.
"Don't let him bother you too much. He just has a… peculiar sense of humour."
"You know we used to be friends. He was my roommate before you. Until he changed. He always carries a deep hatred inside of him. Hatred for not being as strong as he wants, hatred for this school and even hatred for non-mutants."
Sun Wukong listened to this with indifference. This information might help him attain revenge one day.
"Anyway, sorry for rambling on. We're here. The danger room." He said as he presented a large, expansive silver chamber with high ceilings.
"Customizable scenarios, obstacles and challenges, variable environments, training dummies and even holographic projectors. This place has everything you could possibly need."
"I need a fight." He said simply as he was uninterested in details.
"Umm, then you probably want the holodiscs. They are small discs that allow you to customise your opponent." He said as he showed Wukong.
"Great, how do I use it then?"
"Now? We have class in a couple of minutes." He said looking at his watch.
"I'll be there. I just want to test this." He lied. He had no intention of wasting his time with menial knowledge that wouldn't benefit him.
"Alright then, tell me what kind of opponent you want and I'll insert the disc in the control panel for you."
"Who's the fastest opponent you have on there?" He asked to which he was given a dumbfounded expression.
"Well that would be quicksilver, but I don't think…"
"Great, who's the most skilled fighter?" He asked as he cut him off.
After a couple of seconds, Bobby replied. "Most likely Shang Chi. But no one ever picks him. He's probably the most skilled martial artist in the world." Said Bobby as he was hoping Wukong wouldn't do what he was thinking. Wukong knew who these people were, however, he had never been good with names.
"Great. I'll take the speed of that… silver guy and the fighting skill of… Hmm, I can't say this without sounding offensive. You know who I mean. I'll take both of them as my opponent."
Bobby stared at this enigma of a man without saying anything for a minute. It wasn't until Wukong tapped him on the shoulder that he awoke from his trance.
"Are you crazy? You'll die. How can you even fight against an opponent like that?" He would have thought Wukong was joking if he hadn't looked so serious.
"I can handle it. Now are you going to do this for me or should I do it myself."
After a couple more seconds, Bobby finally agreed reluctantly.
"Fine. But as soon as I see that you're hurt, I'm shutting it off."
After Wukokg agreed he waited for his opponent. And after a minute or two, he was presented with a blue holographic man with no features that appeared out of nowhere.
"Are you ready?" Asked Bobby, to which Wukong got into his stance and gave a thumbs up.
As soon as he did this, the blue man started to move. It got into a stance as it looked like it was about to pounce at its prey.
"Focus. It's fast so I need to stay on my…" Before he could finish his thoughts, the blue man appeared before him as if he had teleported. Before Wukong could comprehend what was going on, the blue man swiped his feet, and before he could hit the ground, he was given a hard kick in the ribs, sending him flying across the danger room, slamming into the wall.
"Illian!" Shouted Bobby as he removed the disc from the control panel, running to Wukongs aid.
Wukong lay on the floor as he struggled to catch his breath. He couldn't even see the enemy let alone fight. Bobby ran to him with a worried face carrying a first-aid kit.
"Illian let me help." He said before he started to hear Wukong speak, barely getting the words out.
"Again. Run it again." He said as he stood up using his staff as a walking stick.
"Are you nuts!? No! I'm not going to watch you kill yourself!" Bobby put the disc in his pocket and stood his ground.
"Look, I'm just trying to push myself. Isn't that the point of this place and these exercises? I know what I'm doing. If I feel like I can't go on, I'll stop. I promise." He lied. The truth was Sun Wukong was an extremely stubborn and relentless individual. Not even his own body could stop him if he had his eyes set on a goal.
After much self-contemplation, Bobby agreed. "Fine, but remember your promise. If you feel as if you can't go on, stop. I trust you enough that I'll leave, I have to go to class. Wrap it up after 10 minutes and join us."
After giving a slight nod, Bobby activated the hologram and left shortly after.
"Good, no more distractions," Wukong whispered as he prepared for the blue man. With a determined stance, he continued his training.
~6 hours later~
A white-haired woman and 3 teenagers walked through the corridor as they spoke.
"Are you sure he's here?" Asked a teen with sunglasses.
"I've looked for him everywhere, he hasn't attended classes and this was the last place I saw him. He's gotta be here." A familiar blond-haired boy said in a worried tone as the 4 of them hurried their steps.
"It's ok. We'll find him." Said Ororo in a determined tone.
As they approached the danger room the doors swung open and what they saw left them horrified.
One could see blood smeared across the floor of the danger room as the holographic man stood still in the centre of it. Opposite him was a boy with black hair and freckles leaning on his staff as blood dripped from the various cuts and orifices on his face. Bruised on every inch of his body, his legs shook as he whispered something over and over with hollow eyes.
"Again again again again again again."
"Scott, remove the disc!" Shouted Ororo after she stared at the scene for a couple of seconds.
As Scott ran to the control panel, Ororo ran to the corpse-like boy.
"Illian," She said, however, she was given no response as Wukong kept repeating the same words.
"He said he'd stop after he felt tired. He… he promised." Bobby stuttered as he tried to explain himself, horrified as if he had seen a dead body. Even the stoic Jean couldn't help but quiver her lips and shake uncontrollably.
"It's alright Bobby. This isn't your fault. Illian, speak to me!" As she shouted this Wukong finally fell silent and stared at her. After it looked like he had come back to his senses, his body finally gave out as he collapsed on Ororo.
"You three clean this up, I'll take him to Hank." As she said these she started to levitate and soon after, zoomed out of the danger room with Wukong in her arms, leaving the shocked teens.
After a few minutes, Wukong could be seen on a hospital bed with multiple doctors tending to his wounds. Ororo and Hank stood outside as she explained the situation.
"He did that to himself? That can't be possible." Said the ape-like man as he removed his glasses.
"It's true. Apparently, this was training." Confirmed Ororo.
"Training? He has multiple broken ribs, not to mention his arms and legs. He has countless bruises and cuts on his body which has caused him severe blood loss, even internal bleeding."
Ororo didn't say anything as she stared at the seemingly lifeless body as the doctors surrounded him.
After a minute, Hank continued to talk. "I've never seen such… determination." Said, Hank as he searched for the right word.
"Determination? This has gone past determination. This… This is inhumane."
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Author's Note: Hello if you are enjoying the novel so far I would appreciate the powerstones. They really help. Alright, thank you all, Bye.