Chapter 133 – Brave Blonde

[2009 – September]

Hearing Jean call out in surprise, I couldn't help but turn my head toward her, seeing the surprise and astonishment in her beautiful green eyes.

"Why are you so surprised, my love? Did you forget that you are a goddess yourself, Firefly?", I asked quietly with a sigh as we followed behind the rest of the students to leave the building and gather in the schoolyard, "How could Peter's secret identity compare to that?"

Jean's eyes widened a bit as she listened to my words and she seemed to suddenly realize that compared to her own rather outrageous identity, Peter's wasn't really that big of a deal.

"I- … He- … ", she stuttered for a moment, not sure how to reply before she noticed the smile on my face and the teasing look in my eyes.

"Smartass.", she huffed, her free hand lightly striking my chest as a red hue appeared on her cheeks.

Smiling at how adorable she looked while being embarrassed, I couldn't help but lean down, my lips placing a loving kiss on her the heated skin of her soft cheek.

"Don't be angry, Firefly. You just look so adorable when you are blushing. I couldn't help myself.", I whispered, my thumb caressing the back of her hand.

She didn't reply as she looked up at me, but I could see that she tried hard to suppress the smile that threatened to draw up the corners of her rosy lips. Her hold on my hand tightened ever so slightly as she moved a bit closer, her side pressing against mine.

We continued to follow the others as I told Jean what I saw with my Farsight.

It was a bit tricky to constantly switch between my normal sight and my Farsight as it messed with my coordination somewhat. Thankfully, I wasn't a normal human, my bodily control and the strength of my mind were far greater than those of a baseline human.

Enduring the small discomfort that appeared due to this disassociation of my vision from my body was a minor inconvenience at best.

My other senses and my Extrasensory Perception were also of great help which allowed me to move normally while I kept an eye on what was happening between Peter and Dr. Connors.

I didn't lie to Jean when I promised her to interfere if someone's life was in danger. I may not have done so if Jean wasn't present but I knew that she would feel responsible if someone got hurt or killed because she didn't help.

Still, while Peter was certainly getting his ass handed to him by the aberration that was Dr. Connors, he wasn't the one that I was paying attention to and was worried about. Peter had the kind of luck that allowed him to survive and escape even if he was severely outmatched, not to mention that this wasn't the case here.

Dr. Connors was certainly stronger than any normal human could ever hope to be but it wasn't enough to take down Peter in a short while.

Instead, it was Gwen that I was observing intently. The foxy blonde wasn't just highly intelligent, she also had incredible guts, daring to follow behind the two combatants even as a normal baseline human without any combat training or experience.

"Elijah, Jean!", Yukio suddenly called out as she spotted the two of us appearing in the schoolyard, Ellie and Laura following behind as they approached us.

Pietro wasn't present though and I also couldn't sense him with my Extrasensory Perception, which was a rather obvious sign to me that he was most likely in his 'Speed-Mode' watching Peter fight Connors like it was some action movie.

This wasn't just some random guess as I knew exactly what kind of person Pietro was, and watching others fight for his own entertainment was something that he would most certainly do. I didn't blame him as I could only guess how monotone life must be for a speedster like him.

Stimuli of any kind were simply something he could not resist. Being a kleptomaniac was just one part of his thrill-seeking personality.

"What's going on? Is there really a mini Godzilla attacking the school?", Yukio asked, barely able to contain her curiosity, her eyes shining as she stared intently at Jean and me.

Evidently, the bubbly Asian girl wasn't the least bit worried about her safety, though knowing what she was capable of, I knew that she also didn't have to be.

Ellie was less interested though she also looked at us, thinking that we may know something that they did not. Laura, on the other hand, had her gaze fixed in the direction where the fighting was happening, which didn't surprise me.

Her senses were the best amongst us with myself being the exception. Her animalistic instincts had probably also picked up on Connors' presence and the threat he represented. Though 'threat' in this case was a relative term, as all five of us could easily deal with the over-grown lizard.

It was almost sad that Connors thought that the serum he had developed was the key to humanity's evolution when his power could only barely match up to a mutant with an Alpha-level ability.

Any Omega-level mutant with combat power could practically wipe the floor with him, as could most Alpha-level mutants, which showed just how powerful mutantkind really was in comparison to humanity. Even with a serum that turned a human into an aberration, there was an insurmountable gulf in power between the strongest of both species.

Jean looked at me, her gaze unsure as she didn't know if she should tell the others about Peter. In response to this, I could only shrug, not really knowing the answer to this question myself, and more importantly not really caring about keeping Peter's secret for him.

It was his thoughtlessness that had led Connors here in the first place as he obviously shared the same flaw as his alternate selves, all of them seemingly incapable of keeping their vigilante identity a secret.

Maybe he would be more careful if Yukio just walked up to him and bombarded him with questions about his secret identity the next time we had a class together. It was a funny thought and I could almost imagine the panic in Peter's expression in that kind of situation, but Jean ultimately did not tell the others about what I had revealed to her.

I knew my lovely redhead well, so her decision didn't really surprise me.

This was just the kind of person she was. She would never knowingly try to harm someone else nor would she defame them behind their backs or reveal someone else's secret without their consent. The years of unwillingly listening to even the deepest and most private secrets of others had basically ensured that.

Wrapping my arms around her as she chatted with Yukio and Ellie, her back pressed against my chest while her hands held onto my forearms, the flowery scent of her flaming hair caressing my nose as my focus rested in the distance.

I watched Peter fight against Connors and while he did get his ass handed to him rather fabulously, he wasn't in any lethal danger. Gwen intervened at some point but Peter didn't let her get hurt, so I didn't have to summon a barrier for her protection.

Still, I couldn't help but think highly of Peter after seeing him prioritize Gwen's safety even while fighting Connors. Even if I had a vastly different view of the world than he did, this was something we both had in common as I would also much rather bring harm to myself than let anyone else hurt Jean.

Sirens could be heard in the distance, rapidly approaching, and that was also the point when I saw Connors retreat, while my senses suddenly picked up Pietro's presence from inside the school again.

Moments later, I saw him leisurely walking out of the building, looking as carefree as he always did.

Though he wasn't the only one as basically every student of Xavier's present didn't seem too worried in comparison to the scared and shocked normal students around. Considering the strength that most of the mutants present possessed, their reaction was rather normal.

If it wasn't for Xavier's instructions to not use their abilities in public, I could only imagine the beating that Connors would have been given by the mutant teens attending this school.