Testing

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Betad by morde24, Atrius, Hermes, Priapus, Marethyu, Old man of the mountain and TheDonFluffles

The Gamer's Guide to Conquest, Remastered

Chapter 06: Testing

— Jessica Jones —

She was grateful Kuro let her crash at his place, the extravagant penthouse would have even made Kilgrave jealous (not that Kilgrave would be thinking anything anymore).

She'd been slightly worried that Kuro would ask for some favours in return for his generosity, too used to Kilgrave, but Kuro had basically just showed her in then immediately got distracted by his 'booty call.'

Kuro was a pervert, but unlike Kilgrave he clearly didn't need powers to get laid, given how quickly his booty call arrived.

She'd done the polite thing and gone to the guest room. She'd dormed with people before and knew that her moping around would ruin the mood, but damn did Kuro have some stamina.

The one good thing about Kilgrave was that his stamina had never been that impressive. Once or twice a night before he fell asleep, Kuro had been going for hours, moans and screams of pleasure coming from the master bedroom despite her best efforts at blocking them out.

Sex was something she was convinced she wouldn't enjoy again after everything Kilgrave did to her, but she couldn't stop her body from reacting to the noise, nipples hardening and panties dampening as she listened to Kuro absolutely dominating his booty call, listening to her oddly familiar voice begging for more.

Pulling her pillow over her head, she tried to go to sleep and ignore the noise, eventually falling into a troubled sleep, dreaming of being in the mystery woman's place.

— Kuro — Next Morning —

As Katy gives me a kiss goodbye, I can see the confusion and disbelief on Jessica's face as she tries to pretend she isn't watching from the kitchen, peeking out of the corner of her eyes as she watches the popstar do the walk of shame, clearly well-fucked.

She showered, of course, but I was still raring to go so she got dirty again quickly.

"Was that-" Jessica starts, before shaking her head.

"Yes, we happen to be a part of the same club," I say, making Jessica blink before she shakes her head, acting disinterested.

I don't mention that Katy wasn't entirely willing last night- she came here of her own volition of course, but she came here with reluctant acceptance, not enthusiasm.

That's what Eromancy is there to fix, and her reluctance only lasted the first round or two, but Jessica doesn't need to know any of that, as someone who spent the past few months being a sex toy herself.

I don't need to alienate Jessica by letting her in on my morally dubious liaisons.

Checking my phone, I read a message from Emma with a lazy smile. Looks like I have some work to do today, the perils of almost lawful employment.

I've also got a message telling me when the next round of fights are taking place, since I won my fight in the preliminaries.

It's not that close, as it turns out you can't arrange highly illegal underground tournaments too often without drawing some attention, and the next fight is in a different location as well.

"I'll be going out soon, got some work to do, feel free to help yourself to anything in the apartment," I say, making Jessica nod.

"How did you even afford this place? What do you do? I doubt the tournament pays this well and I know playing hero doesn't," Jessica asks with narrowed eyes.

"That club I mentioned? I'm the very, very, well-paid super-bodyguard of one of the top members, the penthouse was my signing bonus," I admit easily, making her eyes widen.

"Some bonus. Your boss must be loaded," Jessica scoffs, making me nod easily.

The Frost family is one of the richest in the world, only surpassed by the likes of Stark, and Emma inherited it all after her father's extremely questionable death. I did my research.

"Definitely, so feel free to empty the fridge and alcohol cabinet, my sugar-mama set up regular deliveries to refill them," I joke, Emma wasn't kidding about the benefits of working for her and being a member of Hellfire.

I can modify what is on those deliveries from my new tablet- shit, I could hire a full time bartender and chef for my place on Emma's dime if I wanted to, but I like my personal space too much for that.

I'll just get a harem member to cook for me, that's the Kuro way. It's just not the same if it's some unnamed npc, maybe I'll get Aunt May to be my maid? Peter probably won't mind, Ben might though.

I have some time before Emma arrives to pick me up for my first job, and that massive tv and games console set-up is looking real tempting right now.

Eh, I've earned it.

— Later —

Saying goodbye to Jessica, who seems almost relieved to see me go, I head to the elevator and down to the parking lot.

Heh, Jessica honestly thought she could beat me at any fighting game? The fool, my reflexes are beyond mere mortals.

Heading to the limo, because of course she drives around in a limo, I enter as the door is opened for me by the driver, seeing Emma sat inside.

She's actually wearing trousers this time, white skintight leather trousers but trousers all the same as she gives me a smile.

"I hope you enjoyed your night, Miss Perry definitely did from what she had to say," Emma says idly, making me chuckle.

"I certainly did, but you said you wanted to test my mutant power? What are we doing?" I ask, making her nod.

"Straight to business then. I want to find out if your x-gene power only blocks telepathy, or if it extends to other mutant powers. I considered taking you up to my school in Massachusetts but an… acquaintance of mine has a school for mutants of his own relatively close to the city," Emma explains, making me mentally grin.

"Ah, Xavier?" I ask, making her smile.

"You are rather well-informed. Most still think his school is for regular humans, but yes. I would not call him an ally, but I can't deny he is the expert on our kind. He has agreed to test your nullification for me. We are acquainted as fellow headmasters of our respective schools, after all," Emma says, obviously not overly fond of him from the way she sounds, but I'd say she respects him.

I guess she doesn't buy into his dream of peaceful cohabitation, but she doesn't seem to be following Magneto's manifesto either.

Hellfire, Xavier and Magento. The three factions that seem to hold the future of the mutants. Magneto is cool, but he's a little too fanatical for my tastes (plus he's a megalomaniac, and I don't do well with them, because megalomania is only funny when I do it), Xavier is too naive and also he has Cyclops so he loses points by default, so I don't regret throwing my lot in with Hellfire.

Admittedly because I'm already planning to take over for myself, Kuro the Black King of Hellfire sounds pretty nice.

Obviously I'll have to remove the station of White King. I certainly don't need any equal.

But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the benefits of being on good terms with the X-men, especially since my new boss also seems to be working with them.

The drive takes a little while, the comfortable silence filled with Emma asking me questions about what it was like to grow up with Dracula, which is a fair thing to be curious about.

Arriving at the grounds of Xavier's mansion, the driver pulls up outside the main door and we get out, Emma briefly frowning and rolling her eyes before she turns to me with an amused smile.

"Ah, Xavier can't do his usual greeting with you. I do believe you'll be frustrating for all telepaths," Emma says in amusement. I didn't feel anyone try to talk in my mind but I guess Xavier even couldn't find my mind.

Good, my mind is my own and nobody else is welcome (except Isis but that's a different matter entirely).

"Too bad, so sad," I say idly as we walk up the steps.

I can see some teenagers hanging out in the distance, nobody I recognise but that makes sense. The X-men are a small group of gifted students, there's probably a dozen less-important mutants for every member I know.

As we enter the building, I take another point away from Xavier as we are greeted by an older teen around my age with brown hair and a red visor.

Ugh, Cyclops.

"Miss Frost and Kuro, right? I'm Scott, welcome to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, the Professor is waiting for you in one of the training rooms," the asshole himself says. "If you'll just follow me."

God, I hate Cyclops. I've hated him in every movie, show and comic I've seen him in. How the fuck does he manage to pull Jean Grey and Emma Frost? Not this time, you whiny bastard.

If he's already with Jean Grey, I'm cucking him. If he isn't, I'm cucking him anyway since he'll definitely have a thing for her.

To paraphrase Spidey, people don't hate the X-men because they're mutants, people hate them because they're assholes.

And only I'm allowed to be an asshole, yes I'm hypocritical and no I don't care.

"Thank you," Emma says as we start to follow him, distracting me from my hatred of Cyclops.

Xavier's place is pretty nice, and I think I spot a couple of familiar faces as we head down towards the training rooms.

I'm pretty sure I saw the goth chick from the Deadpool movies and her girlfriend, but they were far away, so I might have been mistaken.

Arriving in the training room, I immediately recognise everyone in the room waiting for us. Rogue and Shadowcat are standing off to one side, talking in hushed whispers, Professor Xavier himself is there in his fancy wheelchair with a very hot redhead by his side, I wonder if Jean is the Phoenix yet?

She stares at me as I walk in, a look of frustrated concentration on her face as she realises what Emma and Xavier already know, she can't see into my mind. She settles on a look that is a mixture of intrigue and frustration.

I can see Beast typing on a keyboard over to the side of the room. He glances our way but goes back to whatever he is doing, I'm surprised he can type with those big blue fingers.

"Welcome, Emma, it's nice to see you again. And you must be Kuro, welcome to my school," Xavier says calmly, and I immediately give him several points back for looking and sounding like Patrick Stewart.

"Nice place," I say lazily, looking around.

"Now, I can certainly see why you'd think he is a nullifier. My power cannot detect him at all, it's as if Kuro just isn't there," Xavier says as he turns to Emma, making her nod.

"It's the same for me, I can't sense his mind at all," Jean adds, a hint of frustration in her tone which makes me give her a grin.

"Maybe I'm just really empty-headed," I add helpfully, making her roll her eyes.

"I've been around a lot of empty-headed people, there's a difference between them not using their brain and their mind not existing in the first place," Jean retorts, a slight smile despite her words.

"Indeed, your own power seems to shroud your mind against our telepathy, now we simply need to see if it does the same for other mutant powers," Charles says.

"He has some kind of aura around him that suppresses my powers completely," Emma admits, making Jean raise an eyebrow. Ah, so that's why she keeps standing a little distance away from me. I thought I just needed another shower.

Moving forwards herself, she gets within a meter of me before her eyes widen.

"I can't use my powers at all," Jean says, with curiosity on her face as she steps back and forth a few times, moving in and out of my power. "The moment I get too close, I stop feeling any minds at all."

"I see, the area of his ability seems rather small as I still have my powers. Interestingly, I stop being able to sense your mind the moment you get too close as well," Charles agrees, rubbing his chin. "Rogue, if you would be so kind. Kuro, this is Rogue, her power causes her to drain the powers of anyone she comes into physical contact with, which can be quite dangerous. If you feel anything, please let us know immediately."

Rogue walks over cautiously, Kitty giving her a reassuring nod as the goth girl approaches me.

Short shoulder-length brown hair with white streaks, I recognise this Rogue.

"Will do, but I heal fast anyway so it's all good," I say easily.

"You nullify powers and heal?" Jean asks, making me grin.

"You didn't tell them?" I ask Emma, making her shrug.

"I informed Charles about your unique heritage, if he chose not to tell the others then that's up to him," Emma says.

"I decided not to inform the others as it was not my secret to tell," Charles says simply.

"Fair enough, but it's hardly a secret. I call myself Alucard after all. I'm a Dhampir, half-vampire," I say, opening my mouth as my fangs extend.

"Wait, like Bram Stoker Dracula? Not just a mutant power that makes you look like a vampire?" Kitty asks, making me laugh.

"Funny you should ask that, it's not so much Bram Stoker's Dracula and more that Vlad Tepes is my dad. Vampires are very real, pray I'm the only one you meet, my kind aren't as nice as me," I say with a grin. "Oh, and if you meet my dad, run for your life. He's a bit of an asshole."

And that's the understatement of the century.

There's some disbelief at my words, but Charles obviously knows I'm telling the truth and backs me up, making the X-men get briefly distracted.

Ah, they're still new to this. Probably still playing with Magneto's brotherhood, unaware of all the other powers out there.

"That's cool, I mean we probably should have seen that coming since we have- had a teammate who was part demon," Kitty says, correcting herself with a slight wince.

Part demon? Magik? Interesting that she used past tense for that, what happened to Miss Rasputin?

"Yup, monsters are very real. I'm technically a Mutant Dhampir Mage, it gives me a lot of options, anyway, the tests?" I say, turning to Rogue who nods and hesitantly pulls off her gloves.

"If you feel anything, tell me," Rogue says warningly, her southern accent making me smile. "I don't want to hurt you."

Ah, she's scared of her power.

"You couldn't hurt me, certainly not in any way that would last, but very well," I say easily, giving her a cocky grin.

It's idle boasting, but it does seem to put her at ease as she steps forwards and places her hand against my face, very gently at first as she watches me carefully.

Seeing that I'm utterly unaffected by her touch, she puts more pressure on, her eyes widening in curiosity and awe. Her other hand joins the first in my face, making me smirk.

"See? Like I said, you can't hurt me," I say with a grin, making her smile.

"It's safe to say Kuro's ability blocks Rogue's power," Emma says, making Rogue jump back with a growing blush.

"Indeed, now we should see how it works with different types of powers. Shadowcat, I'd like you to try phasing while a safe distance away from Kuro, then try moving through him," Charles says, making Kitty nod, focusing for a moment.

She starts jogging towards me, and I can already tell what's about to happen as she goes through Rogue and reaches me.

I don't bother trying to stop it, letting Kitty run into me, because Kitty is a short girl with no real muscles and I'm a fairly tall guy who is frankly jacked.

I'm practically an immovable object and she's certainly no unstoppable force as she runs into me, bouncing off and landing on her backside with a pained oof.

"You know, you could have just tried to put a hand through me," I point out, making her chuckle ruefully as she takes my hand and I help her up.

"Yeah, pretty obvious in hindsight," Kitty agrees, rubbing her ass slightly as she sighs. "Yup, I can't phase near him at all."

"Charles, the sensors aren't picking up anything unusual from him. Whatever is causing this effect isn't something we can pick up," Beast adds as he walks over, turning to me. "Hank McCoy, I'm one of the professors here," he says, holding out a big, blue furry hand.

Taking his hand, I'm utterly unsurprised when he shrinks from a seven foot tall furry behemoth to a short man with mousy-brown hair in a hilariously oversized outfit staring at his own hand in shock.

"It even nullifies powers that alter the body?" Hank asks in shock and a little awe, having to hold up his jumpsuit as it almost slips off his body and exposes everything in front of three teenage girls.

Letting go of his hand, he doesn't change back immediately as he's still too close to me, but having so many mutants interact with my power has given me a better idea of how it works.

I can kinda feel when someone is inside my aura, and I think I could direct my aura at someone if I wanted to.

Stepping back, I keep focused on Hank as I move over to Kitty, standing right next to her with a look of concentration on my face.

"Kitty, can you phase now?" I ask, making her blink as she tries, sinking into the ground. Rising back up, she tries to pass through me again and her hand hits me gently. "Yeah, I can focus my aura on a single person if I try, but it looks like it either massively shrinks or removes my aura entirely," I say, stopping my attempts to suppress Beast as Hank grows in size again.

Emma looks ecstatic to hear this, but she hides it well.

"I never felt your mind, so focusing your power doesn't make you vulnerable," Jean adds.

"I wonder how far the range for this more focused power is? I didn't know you could do that," Emma says, making me shrug and look around.

The training room is massive, so I run over to the far side, demonstrating my Dhampir speed as I clear the room in an instant, turning back to the group.

Focusing again, I try to suppress Beast's power again, finding myself unable to. Moving closer, I stay focused on Beast and when I get around ten meters away from him, he shrinks again.

"That's how far, and I didn't know either. I just felt people being suppressed inside my aura and figured I could probably do it," I admit, rubbing back over to them.

[X-Gene - Nullification]

Your X-Gene gives you the power to nullify other X-Gene powers, creating an occlusion zone around you that prevents other X-Gene powers from actively affecting anything inside. You can also focus your power upon a specific mutant within a larger range, preventing them from using their powers.

"Impressive, that is certainly a powerful ability when faced against other mutants," Charles admits. "I wonder if you could increase the range of both your aura and more focused ability with training?"

You absolutely can, Master!

"Hell if I know, Emma was the only Mutant I knew before I arrived here, so I've not exactly used it that often," I say. Also, good to know, thanks Isis.

٩(＾◡＾)۶

"Now, another more dangerous test. Cyclops, I'd like you to try and aim your beam just to the side of Kuro," Charles says, making Scott nod.

"Will do, Professor," Scott says, turning to me with a focused expression as he shoots a beam far to my left, slowly bringing it closer to me.

Eventually it hits my aura, and unfortunately it doesn't stop as it gets uncomfortably close.

"Ah, it can't nullify the beams once produced?" Charles says, watching Scott stop the beam. Doesn't Scott's power open some portal to an extra dimension full of energy or something like that?

"So if I decide to go evil, I kill Cyclops first? Got it," I say with a lazy smile, and being a teenage boy in front of a group of hot girls, he can't take that lying down.

"You're welcome to try," Scott says back, making me raise an eyebrow as I focus on him and close the distance, stopping with my fist inches away from his face.

The speed I was moving at causes a minor shockwave, blowing his hair back slightly as he flinches back and falls flat on his ass.

"Dhampir, remember?" I say, giving him a lazy smirk. "I could kill you a dozen ways even without needing to nullify your powers, aren't you lucky that I'm such a nice guy?"

"I wonder, can you suppress your nullification entirely?" Jean asks, distracting us from our dick measuring contest (which I won).

Suppress my power? Yeah I bet you'd like that wouldn't you, Miss 'I turn people gay or forcibly switch their bodies'.

"Why would I want to do that, I like things as they are now," I say easily, making her roll her eyes.

"Because there are mutants with beneficial powers, and as you are now they wouldn't work on you at all," Jean points out.

Sighing, I decide it's worth knowing as I focus on my aura, as I try and rein it in. Isis won't let them mess with my mind anyway.

It's easy enough to do, but the moment I do I feel three separate minds brush against mine and immediately bring it back.

"Yup, I can. I'm never going to, but I can," I say simply, making her pout ever so slightly.

The tests continue for a while, but much to Beast's frustration they can't work out how I'm nullifying people. None of their scans show anything out of the ordinary.

"Hm, I believe that is enough for today," Charles finally says, seeing me getting increasingly bored at the endless tests.

"But-" Beast starts, before sighing. "Very well."

"You're trying to work out how to replicate my power," I say, realising why he's so frustrated.

"We are," Charles agrees. "While I would not agree with those who say that mutant powers are a curse, there are many mutants who would benefit greatly from the ability to temporarily suppress their powers, like Miss Rogue here."

"Unfortunately, we don't have anything to work with, none of our scans picked up anything," Beast sighs. "If we could get a blood-"

"No," I say immediately, frowning. "I'm a mage, do you know how much power blood can hold in spells?" I ask, making him sigh and glance at Emma, who doesn't come to his aid.

Dadula would be so disappointed if I let someone take my blood, and I can't disappoint Dadula, can I?

"I assure you, nothing untoward would be done with your blood, we don't even have any magic users here," Beast points out.

"Willing given blood can be used in all kinds of rituals, and I don't trust you guys to be able to keep any samples safe," I say stubbornly, also I hate needles but they don't need to know that.

It's funny, I could slit my wrist and let the blood pour onto the floor without batting an eye but a needle? No, thank you.

"Do you have a reason to suspect that a mage is out for your blood?" Charles asks, raising an eyebrow.

"My dad is Dracula, it's safe to say I have supernatural enemies I inherited from him," I deadpan, that plus my mother is out there somewhere.

All I know about her is that she's apparently a very powerful, very dark sorceress. Vladdy Daddy had very little nice to say about her, but did warn me that she's dangerous and had plans for me.

When Dracula calls someone dangerous, you know they're not to be trifled with. She learnt blood magic from him during their time together and I don't want to think about what a skilled blood mage could do with my blood.

I doubt they could control my mind, but I've heard tales of people placing deadly curses on their victims from halfway across the world because they got access to some of their blood.

"Well, we will drop the subject for now, however, have you heard of a group called the Brotherhood of Mutants?" Charles asks, making me pause.

"Magneto's little band of extremists, right?" I ask, not bothering to try and lie. Let them wonder where I'm getting my information.

"That's not quite how I'd describe them, but it's not entirely inaccurate I'm afraid. The reason I'm bringing them up is because I suspect they will attempt to recruit you eventually, and Erik has never taken 'no' particularly well," Charles admits.

"And you're worried about how badly I could trash your students if I joined your rival?" I say bluntly, making him chuckle as Scott bristles behind him.

"Not exactly, I merely wanted to warn you of the potential-"

"I do hope you're not trying to poach my bodyguard, Charles," Emma says coldly, making Charles chuckle.

"Perhaps a little, you have not invited him to your academy for obvious reasons, and I don't think you plan to keep him by your side twenty four seven," Charles points out, making her smile. "I merely wanted to extend an offer for him to hone his skills here, with his fellow mutants."

"A fair point, and Kuro is welcome to do as he pleases when I don't require his services, but he is more than welcome to join my academy in Massachusetts if he wishes, I didn't extend the offer because I suspect Kuro has no interest in a regular schooling," Emma retorts.

"She's not wrong, I'm way too badass to play student, been there done that," I agree helpfully, making her chuckle. Scott looks annoyed again since he is playing student. He can't argue, because where was he during the battle of New York? Not in the thick of it, slaying aliens and saving lives.

I'm proven, I can back up my words. The X-men are just starting out from what I've seen, I doubt they've done more than schoolyard scuffles with the Brotherhood.

"Though being the only guy in an all girls school? There's some appeal there," I add, making her roll her eyes.

"I'm sure there is, but I'm not sure my girls would survive me inflicting you upon them," Emma deadpans. "Their virtue wouldn't, at the very least."

"But yeah, sorry Professor, I'm not interested in joining this place, not really my style," I say, making him nod

"Of course, it's not for everyone, but the offer is always open should you change your mind," Charles says easily, not even slightly perturbed by my refusal. "Now, I believe I have some business to discuss with Miss Frost, so we will call this session to a close. Miss Pryde, Rogue, why don't you show Kuro around the school while he waits for us to be finished."

"Sure thing, Professor," Kitty says, giving me a grin. "Come on, I'll show you around."

"Lead the way, Kitty Cat," I say, making her roll her eyes as she leads me out of the training room.

As we pass Jean, I give her a wink purely to piss off Scott who is standing beside her, casting Erotic Dreams on her as I do. Scott scowls and Jean just rolls her eyes, still looking at me in curiosity.

Not attraction, it's like I'm a puzzle she wants to work out.

"So, Dracula… what was that like?" Kitty asks, making me laugh.

"Pretty weird, I grew up in a castle surrounded by a cursed forest where he'd take me to hunt wolves, but also had wifi," I chuckle, I kinda miss those days.

"Well, that's good? I'd go mad without wifi, did the castle at least have air con?" Kitty asks, making me chuckle.

"It does, I don't know how or when he had it installed but it did. Ah, I highly doubt whoever installed it actually survived, Drac doesn't like people knowing where Castle Dracul is," I say, making her pale slightly.

"So he's… evil?" Kitty asks as we walk through the halls.

"Absolutely, like an evil incarnate. He kills for fun, kidnaps women to become his mind controlled brides, don't get me wrong I love my dad but he's absolutely an evil bastard," I admit, making her nod.

"Fair enough, my dad is a banker, nowhere near as interesting as yours," Kitty says, making me chuckle. "What about your mother?"

"Never met her, but I know she's a very powerful sorceress and also evil," I explain, making her blink.

"Well, at least you've got some good stories to tell at parties? Sounds like you've had a hell of an interesting life," Kitty says optimistically, making me nod.

"It's only going to get more interesting, but you're not wrong, wouldn't change a thing though," I admit, making her nod.

"So do you know the Avengers? Or are you an Avenger? Professor Xavier wouldn't let us go to New York during the attack, saying we weren't ready but we were all watching the reports," Kitty explains, making me shrug.

"I met Captain America, but I'm not an Avenger, I just woke up to aliens blowing up my street and took offense, so I joined the fray," I admit, making her nod.

"You looked super cool, there's plenty of videos of you fighting online," Kitty says, making me roll my eyes.

"You'd think people would be too busy running to record things, but that's civilians for you. No matter what happens, some idiot will be standing there, gaping and recording it even at the risk of their life," I say with a shrug.

"Welcome to the twenty-first century!" Kitty adds, making me grin. "Also Rogue, you've been quiet, what's up?"

"W-what?" Rogue asks, shook out of her thoughts by Kitty. "No, it's just-"

Cutting off, she blushes as she glances at me, making Kitty's smile turn into a grin.

"Ah, you want to touch him again?" Kitty asks, making Rogue's blush grow deeper.

"Kitty!" Rogue shouts, embarrassed at Kitty's very accurate guess. That's why she never put her gloves back on.

"There's no need to be embarrassed, I get it. You've not been able to touch anyone for a while, huh?" I ask, making Rogue nod.

"Over a year at this point," she agrees before she turns bright red as I reach down and take her hand, interlocking our fingers.

She's embarrassed, but I ignore her and continue chatting with Kitty who gives me a grateful grin, seeing Rogue quietly but happily following behind, far calmer with me essentially ignoring her as we walk.

Kitty does give me the tour, and if you ignore the occasional incredibly unique-looking students it just seems like a regular but extremely well funded private school.

Rogue is much quieter than the chatty Kitty, occasionally adding something in as I realise that they've been tasked with subtly selling the school to me, making it seem like a really great place to be.

I think they genuinely enjoy their time here, but I get the feeling Kitty is trying to subtly convince me to join them. I wonder if Xavier asked her to do that or if she is doing it by herself? Maybe she's doing it for Rogue's sake?

I know some mutants get utterly fucked by their powers, in ways that make Rogue seem lucky to just murder anyone she touches, so I'm not that surprised that they want to work out how my power works, but I should be careful that no government programs decide to grab me and try and turn me into an anti-mutant weapon or something equally dumb.

If they tried that, I'd have to kill them and then I'd have to go to war with the government and that seems like so much effort. I might be a Dark Lord but modern governments are so much harder to destroy than some fantasy kingdom.

I am mildly curious what Emma is talking to Xavier about, but if it's important I'll find out later. It's more entertaining to get Rogue increasingly addicted to my touch.

Sure, I'm not exactly playing fair but she basically asked for it and it's only a little Eromancy, to make her crave my touch just a little more than she normally would.

This is far more important than whatever Emma is doing.

— Emma Frost —

"So, I was right?" Emma asked, frowning as she looked at the data.

"Indeed, though I must ask how you came to suspect that Kuro did not share our… issue," Charles asked, making her sigh.

"I have suspicions over who his mother is, plus I wondered if his unique heritage had any effect, he's the first magical mutant I've had access to beyond his mother and I am not brave enough to ask Selene for anything," Emma deadpanned, making Charles pause.

Charles had certainly heard of Selene, possibly one of the oldest living mutants who could be traced back over seventeen thousand years.

"Selene, I must wonder how she and Dracula came to have a child, but I suspect only they know and neither are known for their talkative nature," Charles said with surprising calm considering what he'd just learned. "If these results get out, Kuro will find himself targeted by a great deal of people, and given Kuro's… activities it's only a matter of time."

Nodding, she frowned.

Mutants were dying out, thanks to a virus spread worldwide. Charles claimed an alien race was responsible for it as they saw mutants as a threat, but she was no expert on the extra-terrestrial threats, all she knew was that all male mutants were sterile.

It affected women differently, while she could have a child with a regular human, the child would always be born without the x-gene as it would force the embryo to take after its father.

In regular humans, the virus had no effect at all, you'd never even know you were carrying it. It was a marvel of biowarfare, beyond anything the scientists of Earth could come up with.

It was a threat that had resulted in a ceasefire between Charles and Erik, as neither was willing to risk losing even a single mutant given their endangered status.

The samples Miss Perry had acquired last night had been delivered to a lab after she grew suspicious of Kuro's parentage, because she remembered hearing that Selene, the Black Queen, had past connections to Dracula when Hellfire had considered recruiting him.

He even shared some of his potential mother's appearance, and it explained his magic, as Selene was a powerful sorceress herself.

Selene had claimed that she had plans for the mutant race, scoffed at Charles' and Erik's own plans, but nobody could get Selene to talk about what those plans were, only that she apparently had a solution to the issue plaguing their race.

It was an idle suspicion, but one that rooted in her mind to the point where she decided to test Kuro's sperm, which he gave out so readily.

If Kuro impregnated a mutant, the child would theoretically still be a mutant as the virus didn't take into account that a fertile male mutant would still be around.

"Even I cannot predict how Erik will act if he discovers this, and he is the least of the interested parties that would either want to kill Kuro or monopolise him," Charles warned, making her nod.

Couldn't predict? Magneto would lock him up and use him as a breeding bull to gain an army of mutants and fulfill his dream of a mutant-ruled world, but Charles was too optimistic and hopeful that his old friend hadn't fallen that far.

She wasn't so naive.

"I considered trying to lock Kuro away if I was right, but I can't risk drawing his parents' ire, and Kuro himself is too much of a free spirit to allow such a thing," Emma admitted, she certainly wasn't going to try and put a leash on the son of the Dark Priestess and Dracula, who was a powerhouse in his own right.

Kuro was a mostly reasonable person, with his own needs and desires that she could fulfill to keep him on her side, for more than just Shaw.

"Yes, I can already tell that he isn't the type to stay in one place like that, it should go without saying that we need to keep him safe, especially once the news starts to spread," Charles says, making her nod.

She didn't believe in Charles' dream, but that didn't mean she couldn't get along with him, especially in times like this.

"Agreed, the question is whether we should tell Kuro himself," Emma said, making Charles pause.

"Tell a hormonal teenage boy that his loins hold the salvation of his race?" Charles said, clear amusement in his tone. "Well, I'll leave that decision up to you."

"Thank you, truly," Emma deadpanned, making him chuckle.

"You did tell me not to try and poach your bodyguard, as such I believe that you should handle such a delicate conversation," Charles said serenely.

Sighing, she knew she'd need to approach Kuro about this before he inevitably started knocking up every girl who stood still long enough, given his active sex life.

Of course, she also didn't want Selene to decide that she posed a threat to the ancient mutant's schemes, because she was scared of Shaw, and Shaw was terrified of Selene.

It was truly a case of there always being a bigger fish.

— Kuro —

Leaving Xavier's mansion, I give Kitty and Rogue a wave, internally smirking at how disappointed the gothic girl looks to see me leaving.

I've got both their numbers, plus Jean's after she joined the tour. Scott didn't seem happy to see me and Jean exchanging details, but Jean is too interested in the mystery that is Kuro to notice.

Emma seems distracted on the ride back, but I'm too busy talking shit with Kitty to really press her on it. She seems like a girl who likes her secrets, so pushing would just make her annoyed with me, especially since she obviously likes being in control and I'm technically her employee even if I'm just using her to get into Hellfire.

I'll let her keep the delusion that she's somehow in control of me, for now at least.

Arriving back outside the tower my apartment is in, I say my goodbyes and stretch as I look around. It's already dark? Shit, I was there longer than I thought, I ended up watching a movie with Rogue and Kitty, unfortunately I was outvoted and we ended up watching some shitty romcom, but at least Rogue was using the time to cuddle as subtly as she could.

Which is to say not even remotely, but I let her pretend I didn't notice. I'm a nice guy like that.

As the limo drives away, I pause as my ears pick up something a regular human wouldn't be able to, the quietest sound giving away the position of my silent observer.

"You know, if you're trying to hunt me you should have struck the moment you had the chance," I say idly, turning and looking up as I spot something in the dark of the night, almost invisible to a regular human but I can see in the dark just as well as I can the light.

Perched on top of a lamppost, a figure wearing almost entirely black stares down at me from behind a pair of red sunglasses, making me smirk lazily up at him.

The dark skinned man doesn't respond for a moment, staring down at me before he jumps down and lands a short distance from me, a sword on his back as he stares at me down.

I know him, even without my metaknowledge. Dracula has mentioned him more than once, and he's rather distinct.

"Blade, the Vampire Hunter, Extending your hunts to your fellow Dhampirs now, Daywalker?" I ask, my own sword appearing in my hand as I rest it on my shoulder, giving him a cocky grin. "You might have bitten off more than you can chew, but I'd be happy to show you the difference between us."

"Heh, I just might take you up on that later, but that ain't it," Blade finally says, relaxing slightly as I raise an eyebrow.

"Oh? What is it then?" I ask, giving him a lazy smile. Honestly I'm kinda worried, Blade is probably a far better fighter than me and he shares the same biological advantages I do.

But I'm not letting him know that.

A portal opens up behind him, making my eyes widen slightly as I look into the strange landscape I can see inside it, a strange rocky path in an even stranger place, with a dark orange sky with rocks floating in it.

"We need to talk, but not here. Come on, the Caretaker can explain what's going on better than me anyway," Blade says, making me pause.

Do I follow the vampire hunter into the highly suspicious hell-portal? Heh, nobody accused me of being cautious or a coward and I'm too damn curious about where this is going. Somehow, I can't help but think this is dad's fault and a plan is already forming in my head.

Blade should despise Vladdy dearest, which has the potential to be extremely useful (and more importantly, funny).

Worst case, I open a portal of my own and retreat to my tower.

"Lead the way, just know that if this is a trap, you'll die slowly," I say easily, making him snort again as he turns and walks into the portal, following behind with a smile.

— Bonus Scene — Natasha Romanoff

Kuro was both an easy person to keep track of and an increasingly annoying person to get a hold of.

He was not a subtle person, with his flashy appearance and newfound fame, keeping track of his movements was all too easy, but his new friends made him rather annoying to approach.

Shield knew about the true nature of Xavier's little school of course, but Xavier had too much support for them to try anything, which made the fact that her target spent all day with the X-men highly annoying.

That, plus his potential Hellfire membership made Kuro a rather difficult person to deal with, the entire tower he lived in belonged to a company that Hellfire used as a front, and she couldn't risk trying to break in.

Frowning to herself, she I could at least keep an eye on the entrance-

Watching Kuro walk through a glowing portal alongside a strangely familiar heavily armed figure clad in black leather, she sighed to herself as she watched it close, leaving the street empty with her target nowhere in sight.

…damn it.