Chapter 58 - Pieces of a past

After all the destruction caused at the Xavier Mansion, Prime and Sara found themselves in one of the rooms. Though Prime wanted to simply leave, he considered it best to wait for Sara to wake up first since her last transformation had taken a toll on her body.

Prime had already looked at himself in the mirror and noticed his appearance was very similar to Sara's. This was probably due to them sharing the same DNA. Overall, Prime didn't find this to be a bad thing.

Initially, Prime felt a bit strange realizing his hair was white and his eyes blue. After all, white hair wasn't common for someone his age. With a resigned sigh, he turned his gaze away from the window showing the outside of the mansion to Sara, who was still lying in bed.

While he remained alone, listening only to Sara's breathing, various thoughts passed through Prime's mind. Mostly, he pondered about the true reason for his reincarnation. In fact, Prime began to question if he had truly reincarnated.

Initially, the calm way Prime accepted his new form was strange. Though he didn't reflect much on it initially, Prime once again realized how unusual that was. Even when he was in that bloodthirsty form, Prime hadn't experienced this sense of strangeness.

He simply embraced his protective instinct, the urge to protect his host with all his might. However, this raised another question for Prime: did he protect Sara because she was his host or because she was Sara? Though he didn't want to deny this fact, Prime instinctively knew it was the former.

Once again, he could simply leave his dead body and seek another host. So why did he insist so much on Sara and only her? Prime finally found the reason thanks to his recent transformation and the discovery of new powers, which were closely linked to Sara's mutant power.

"But among all the powers, Adaptation..." Prime pondered.

Though the name is quite abstract, it actually holds one of the greatest potentials ever seen. The power to adapt to any situation and anything is remarkable. Moreover, Sara's power can even adapt to Prime's powers, which automatically makes her the perfect host.

Though it might seem irrelevant, Prime discovered about Sara's power in a peculiar way. While in that form, he could feel every cell and pore of Sara's body. Though Prime is a symbiotic being, he had never truly understood the meaning of "one" until that moment.

Thus, Prime could also feel the same coming from Sara. It was as if their powers were complementing each other, seeking to transform into something new. However, more than that, it was probably something quite dangerous for both of them.

"Well, at least that explains the strange feeling I had when I first merged with Sara, the strange reason I felt we were perfect for each other" said Prime, letting out a disdainful laugh at himself.

"In all my life wandering the universe, this is probably the first time I encounter such a singular life form like Sara..."

As he spoke, Prime suddenly widened his eyes upon noticing his words. They didn't sound like him, but at the same time, like him. Moreover, although Prime said he had "wandered the universe" there was no way that could be true, as he had his life as Ryan before. Several thoughts passed through Prime's mind, but the most notable of all was just one.

"I... really used to be a human named Ryan... right?"

Despite having many questions, Prime chose to temporarily push them to the back of his mind. At the moment, his full focus needed to be on Sara, who still lay unconscious. While pondering this, some knocks on the door caught his attention.

"Come in" Prime invited.

As Prime's words were followed, the door opened. Jean, Kitty, Scott, and Kurt emerged one after the other in the dimness of the room, illuminated only by the moonlight. The group of youngsters couldn't help but hold their breath as they observed Prime's shining silver hair, which seemed to gleam under the light of the full moon, while his blue eyes sparkled.

"Did you come to see Sara? Sorry, she's still sleeping" said Prime, turning his gaze to Sara, who breathed peacefully in bed.

Upon hearing these words, the group of teenagers exchanged glances for a few seconds before dispersing to the corners of the room. A heavy silence settled in; no one uttered a word, but they all shared the same doubts: who was Prime and why had he suddenly attacked them.

Of course, all these doubts were written on their faces, something Prime found somewhat amusing, and he simply smiled. Then, he opened his mouth again, his words echoing shortly after.

"Do you have any questions for me?" Prime asked, his gaze still fixed on Sara.

Upon hearing Prime's words, everyone felt strange. Though they knew Prime, it was true they considered him only as an extension of Sara's power. However, seeing him there, before them, in the flesh, was quite... strange.

"You gonna answer us?" Scott queried, his voice tinged with a somewhat irritated tone.

Prime wouldn't blame Scott if he felt angry with him; after all, Prime couldn't forgive someone who hurt Sara either.

"Of course, I feel I owe you at least that much for the confusion I caused" Prime replied.

After hearing Prime's response, Scott fell silent for a few seconds before finally asking. "What exactly are you... your powers, the things you can do, are way beyond any mutant power I've ever seen. Also, I've never seen any power have anything like consciousness" Scott inquired.

Prime remained silent for a few seconds, his mind spinning in reflection. To be honest, he didn't even know the answer to that question himself. There was still much Prime had to discover about himself.

"That's a pretty hard question to answer" Prime said with a self-deprecating smile. "Honestly, I'm not sure of the answer. The powers you saw weren't really controlled by me, although they came from me"

The place fell silent again after Prime's words. Though Scott found the answer somewhat unsatisfactory, he realized there wasn't much he could do about it. Besides, whether he liked it or not, he still considered Sara part of his group.

"So... what really happened? I mean, with you?" Kurt asked, his tone remaining friendly despite the seriousness of the question. "You suddenly flipped out and tried to kill us. Didn't want to touch on it, but you were scary back there"

Listening to Kurt's words, Prime let out a small laugh. He, too, began to ponder the question, but all the clues pointed to Xavier. No matter how he analyzed it, Xavier had tried to manipulate his mind, which truly angered him, to say the least.

Although he didn't show it, Prime seethed with a desire for revenge against Xavier for what he had tried to do. The mere idea flooded him with anger, making him tremble internally. However, the only reason Prime hadn't acted was because he truly cared for the four children who still harbored affection for Xavier.

"I wonder... suddenly, I started to feel a strong headache, as if someone were trying to destroy it, trying to change who I am... I probably reacted that way in an attempt to preserve my identity" Prime replied, while bringing a hand to his face.

The children quickly fell silent, Prime's words penetrating directly into their minds. To be honest, it wasn't hard to connect the dots, but still, they wanted to deny this possibility. However, it was hard to deny when the result had already been clearly demonstrated.

"Anyway, I think you should all go rest. It's been a pretty exhausting day for everyone" Prime suggested, with a friendly smile lighting up his face. "Sara and I will be leaving the mansion tomorrow morning. If you want to talk to her before we leave, wait for us at the gate"

Prime noticed the children looked a little sad at the news, but unfortunately, there was nothing more to discuss on the matter.

"I know it's got nothing to do with what we're discussing" Kitty suddenly began, catching Prime's attention. "But you looked really handsome like that, you know?"

That was the last interaction Prime had with the children that night. Though he found it odd, he still chuckled at Kitty's words. To be honest, he hadn't imagined he'd endure more than a day in the mansion. At that very moment, as the children left the room, Prime's murderous intent began to infiltrate the surroundings.

However, his intent was distinct from the others; a dark shadow, as if containing all the abyss and primordial darkness, exuded from Prime like a mist. The darkness seemed to promise that, with a simple command, they would take everything for their master. However, as he looked at Sara, Prime quickly calmed down.

On the other hand, as the children left Prime's room, they didn't head to their own quarters but instead to where Logan, Ororo, and Xavier were. They felt they needed answers.