[7] Confronting the X-Men; Stay Away Lil Bro

Chapter 7: Confronting the X-Men; Stay Away Lil Bro

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Like how rebooting a phone could fix its random and odd issues, sleep seemed to have had the same effect on this Void Beast ability. Enrique woke up with Anna in his embrace, her arms wrapped around him as she slept. He was surprised to see his skin back to its normal, healthy color and his hands devoid of claws. 

Thinking back, he realized how reckless it was to share a bed with her while having those dangerous claws. Even though she insisted, he should have rejected it.

Looks like I was not fully out of my mind at least, as his eyes darted around the bed, he admitted in his head. Nothing "sweaty" happened between them, from the looks of it. They just slept, though Anna did hold him tightly throughout the night. She must be scared.

Such a poor girl she was, even Enrique felt a little bad. Careful not to wake her, he gently pushed her away and stood up. Stretching a little, he moved to the other room, in front of the mirror. 

"Hmm," standing before his reflection, he recalled his clothes into his body, his Super Suit, transforming the white sleepwear into a pair of nothingness. Then he examined his naked form.

His normal, human form.

"Good grievance. I lucked out this time."

Though back to normal, he felt physically stronger than before the mutation. An appreciated side effect, indeed. He wondered how strong he was physically in his transformed form with the suit on.

Could he take on Hulk, for example?

…Probably not. While I don't have a gauge for it, I certainly don't feel like I can lift a submarine. Or a plane. Not Superman yet.

Putting aside his dream of stopping an airplane from hitting the football stadium, he focused on his right hand, curling it into a fist. He decided to test some things out. He willed his claw to emerge. 

– Shingg!

It chipped out from above his wrist with a hiss of pain. Shit. He now understood how much Wolverine must hurt every time he extended his claws, although that man's claws were fairly thinner and smaller.

After a few seconds, the pain subsided, likely due to some sort of pain immunity. Perhaps the blood around the wound lets out hormones that suppress pain. If true, that was neat.

He studied the claw carefully. "Sharp," he brushed his finger against it, watching his blood drop to the ground without feeling the cut. He poked the claw into the wall, feeling barely any resistance as it pierced through the concrete.

It's dangerously sharp, Enrique realized. Sleeping with Rogue last night really was a reckless idea. Then again, he couldn't blame himself, he wasn't in his right mind back then, the transformation made him quite bloodthirsty and muscle-headed. Well, since it originated from Sabertooth's mutant DNA, that should surprise nobody. 

Enrique decided to master the transformation as soon as possible, if that was even possible, and till then he must be careful to not use it unless necessary. Otherwise, he could end up with a few or more murder cases under his name without intending to. He wanted to keep his hero image clean.

Putting aside the mentality thing, he was still curious about the claws' sharpness. Wolverine could cut through anything after his gruesome experiments, but what about these claws? Since they came from Sabertooth, although enhanced by the Void, what was their upper limit? To test it out, he summoned part of his suit around his left forearm and scratched it with the claw of his right wrist.

– Jhink!

Sparks flew, but the suit remained unscratched. He went a bit harder this time, and more sparks flew. There was not even a scratch, even the color looked fine.

"Holy shit. What is this thing made of? Vibranium?"

[Oh? You know about vibranium?] His Goddess's voice replied to his question with a question of her own. [Also, good morning, and congratulations on successfully turning off the transformation.]

"...Good morning. And yes, I know about Vibranium," his parallel universe theory was really coming in handy. Otherwise, the Goddess would have a lot to ask. "I think they originate from Wakanda, right? I'm assuming we have believers there too?"

[First, no, it's not Vibranium. It's Adamantine, a magical metal forged in the core of the sun by your Godfather, Amun-Ra himself. Second, no, I don't have any personal believers in Wakanda. The Pantheon of Ogdoad in general does have a lot of believers there, however. Mainly Bastet, the Panther Goddess, is heavily worshiped there. She is Amun-Ra's daughter, my stepdaughter.]

"Step?" 

[Yes. You have to know that my husband has many different forms that he took over his lifespan, and they're more literal than a simple change of clothing. He's originally known as Atum, then Amun-Ra, and Amun and Ra separately. Some would even call him Demogorge the God Eater.] The Goddess explained the complex Egyptian lore that would go around the head of anyone who wasn't a nerd. [He had Bast when he had separated himself into two forms, Amun and Ra. As Ra, he impregnated Isis, the Goddess of Life and Magic, who gave birth to Bastet.]

"Ah, right," Enrique said. "Don't you have any children of your own? You said Khonsu is your stepchild too." He felt a little bad. Could she not have kids?

[.....]

"Goddess?"

[I, uh,] she hesitated. [Because you looked reluctant to become my avatar because of my connection with Khonsu, I somehow said he's not my blood son in the heat of the moment.]

"...So, you're saying you lied?"

[It was simply a slip of the wrong, what you would call 'auto-correct' in your smartphone tongue.]

"..." This old woman really lied to him. Could he trust her at all, when she lied the first thing to make him sign a 10-year-long contract?? Not that it really changed anything, he didn't have any choice but to accept her offer back then.

She cleared her throat, the soft sound filling his head. [Me, Atum, and our son Khonsu were part of the Triad back in the day. My husband's sun, my son's moon, and my sky dominated the world at the peak of Ogdoad. Nowadays I haven't even heard from my son in centuries. I've only heard stories about him…]

There she went acting emotional just when he was about to call her out for her behavior. Fine, I'll look over it once. Instead, he went back to the part that had him stunned. "By the way, you said my suit is made out of Adamantium?" If so, why couldn't Magneto control it?

[No. Adamantine. They sound similar but are different. This one is physically weaker than Adamantium – meaning that Wolverine Boy could cut through you – but it is magically resistant. This gives you an upper hand against magical enemies like Thor, and even a general resistance towards other stuff.]

"Ah, makes sense," that was powerful if it could help him go against Thor. "By the way, how couldn't Magneto manipulate my suit then?"

[As I said, it's magically resistant, but that doesn't mean it's only resistant to magic. It can also shrug off direct effects like the magnet mutant's powers.]

"Haah," Enrique let out a breath, smiling. That was a big relief. It would have been a pain in the ass if his own suit stabbed his neck.

Sure, future enemies could afford adamantium bullets, but he had accounted for that.

Calming down and testing a bit more, he realized his claws were much less sharp than Wolverine's. That was understandable since they couldn't even cut through his weaker Adamantine armor. When an interesting idea popped into his head, he channeled his will to make his armor spread to his claws, wrapping around them like nano-machine particles.

"I love this suit so much," he said, earning a laugh from his Goddess. He gently pushed the claw into the wall. There was zero resistance, like a hot knife through tofu. Enrique was happy with the show.

As a last test, Enrique extended the smaller claws on the fingers of his other hand and scratched the wall. It took effort, and though his claws didn't hurt, he cringed at the sound. The big black claws were better, oh well. 

He decided against fully transforming, as being 7"3 wasn't practical for a full day without any idea of how to return to normal. So he recalled his claws, wincing as the big claws shrunk back into his wrist, leaving a large, disgusting hole. It was quite painful too.

If he transformed into his tiger form, he could probably heal it off right away since Sabretooth had a healing factor. But his natural body's healing factor wasn't very powerful, although much more improved than earlier, proven by the small cut he made on his finger a few minutes ago that had just healed. Without another choice, he entered his [Lightning Cloak] mode and watched his wounds close visibly.

The goddess did say this could heal his wounds, and she hadn't lied. It didn't hurt much either, the electricity numbed the pain of the nerves. That made him realize something. Honestly, it's just been a single week since he stepped into this world, and Enrique realized that he was incredibly powerful. With his beast transformation, he was unsure of his upper limit. 

He had gone from town-level hero to something much more. Still, there was a dilemma. Now that he had a more strength-focused power, he really needed a martial arts teacher, someone who could handle his new beyond human strength.

But who?

Enrique turned off his Lightning Cloak and headed to his bedroom. Anna should wake up in her room soon, I'll try to finish by then. 

Sitting at his computer, he spent half an hour Googling about possible tutors and found news about a "Supernatural Dojo" in New York. It got him interested to read more. The dojo was closed for six months after the owner's death, yet recently weird people were lurking by, and the local CCTV caught an interesting video of a "robbery" incident right outside it. 

[That looks interesting,] his goddess said, and he had to agree. The video was tempting.

In the footage, a tiger woman and a woman in a white-tiger costume were fighting men in red ninja outfits and escaping. It was low-quality and not popular, but intriguing. People would call it fake and edited, but Enrique knew it wasn't. Because he recognized them.

Tiger-Woman (aka Tigra) and White Tiger. Perhaps it was fate or just a coincidence, but both of them had tiger-related powers just like him. And they were good fighters too, from the looks of it in the recording, as well as what he could remember from his memory. Due to their similar tiger powers, they could probably train him really well.

The problem was locating them…

"Busy?" Anna's voice interrupted his chain of thought. 

"You're awake," he turned to see her rubbing her eyes, standing at the door. She wasn't wearing Cyclops' glasses anymore, meaning the power had run out. Rogue was back to her base state.

"Good to see you're back to normal," she noticed the same on him too. Her eyes darted to the screen. "Am I interrupting something important?"

"No, not really." Enrique yawned and stretched. "Get fresh, I'll order something. Not in the mood to cook."

"Why?" Rogue walked over, suddenly sitting on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck, tilting her head to smile at him. "Why need food when you have… something to eat already?"

"...." Enrique stared at her briefly, a frown flashing in his expression before he chuckled.

This didn't seem like Anna. Her eyes and smile were different. Minor changes in her facial expressions, caught by his enhanced senses, confirmed it. He wouldn't have thought anything of it usually, but peculiar times called for peculiar guesses. 

Professor Charles Xavier? No, he wouldn't come sit on my lap. Enrique thought. Probably.

That left one possible culprit. "Jean Grey?" Enrique asked, watching 'Anna' blink in surprise. "I would assume Charles liked controlling little girls. Didn't expect it from you. But then again, I didn't know you enough to judge before." he put his arms around her, his large hands squeezing her firmly.

Anna frowned, and a moment later, her head jolted back as she blinked. "Huh? What just happened? W-why am I here?!"

She grew flustered, realizing her position, and he held her waist firmly. She didn't move, her face reddening.

Before Enrique could answer, he heard the front door click open and footsteps entered. The X-men, Professor X, Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, and Jean, walked in, accompanied by a young Iceman, Bobby Drake.

Their eyes fell on Enrique and Anna's intimate posture. Anna froze when she noticed Bobby and the boy froze too. While Enrique smiled at them, eyes locked with Jean.

"Good morning, are you here for tea so early in the morning?" You piece of shits. Enrique smiled at them.

X-x-X

Silence filled the room. Cyclops was the first to react, clenching his jaw as he glared at Enrique—though Enrique could only assume he was glaring since his eyes were hidden behind his visor.

"What's the meaning of this?" Cyclops demanded. "Are you taking advantage of her, using saving her life as an excuse? Judging by your clothes, you just woke up—why is she in your room?"

"Fucking hell," Enrique laughed out loud. What the fuck was he yapping about, after smashing into his house without notice? Suddenly he realized why people hated Cyclops. "Sorry to break it to you, champ," Enrique dropped his laugh and said, pulling Anna closer by her waist and ignoring Bobby's jealous scowl. "It was not me, nor Anna. Your girlfriend, the Phoenix host, controlled Anna's body and did this. Can't say if it was to test what I'd do if Anna offered herself to me, or if Jean just wanted a better lap to sit her perfect butt on."

"This bastard! Take that back!" Cyclops growled, putting a hand on his visor, ready to fire, but Jean raised a hand with a defeated sigh.

Logan suppressed a chuckle, while Jean spoke. "Sorry, it really was me… I shouldn't have done such a thing, but I decided to without thinking it through, because of the first reason he mentioned," Jean admitted, shooting a glare toward the ground just thinking about the second thing he said. However, she didn't have the face to glare at his face after doing what she did. "Unfortunately, he saw through me somehow."

"And I don't recall giving you permission to enter," Enrique stood up, dropping Anna to the side as his clothes transformed into a slim white suit. He turned to Charles. "Nice to see you again, Professor Charles. I hate that you brought the whole gang here, though. Makes me wonder if you're here for a fight."

"Certainly not," Charles replied slowly. He seemed somewhat uncomfortable speaking. Was he hurt? Good. "It's a precaution in case Magneto attacks again. Given your newfound fame, your location wasn't hard to find."

"I suppose you have a point," Enrique nodded although he did not buy the excuse. "And Mr. Scott Summers," he turned to Cyclops. "Why didn't you bring Ms. Jean along yesterday? You brought her today when there should be no need for it. So incompetent."

Speaking of, could he have scanned the Phoenix Force with Void Beast Transformation? Since that situation had passed already, he wondered if an opportunity to test that out would come in the future. Enrique wasn't sure how to do the scan thing by himself yet.

Scott tried to respond, but Jean stopped him. "Please refrain from insulting him at every chance you get. The Professor was hurt trying to find Anna using Cerebro, so I tried next. Though I succeeded, I was hurt too, therefore I couldn't attend the train. Ah… and I apologize for what I did a minute ago."

Enrique grabbed a water bottle and uncapped it. "Apology accepted. Next time, perhaps you should conduct similar 'tests' with your own body. I won't mind."

Jean closed her eyes and sighed again, while Scott visibly shook with anger. Even Logan seemed displeased. Geez, so many men after one woman. Only Storm had a slight smile. Enrique smiled back at her, waving her a greeting.

"Hey there, Stormy, right? Thanks for the help yesterday," he waved at Storm, who blinked in surprise at not being insulted. "Really, it would have been hard without you."

Storm gave a short nod just as Bobby walked over to Anna. She was about to speak but she stopped herself seeing the teenage boy approach the girl.

"Anna, what's the meaning of this? Why did you run away? Never mind, are you doing alright?" He asked, trying to put a hand on her shoulder. But Anna backed off, not in panic, but in disgust. Bobby's eyes trembled. "Huh? Anna? W-what's wrong?"

"Please… stay away from me," Anna said, her tone threatening. "I don't know what you're thinking, but don't pretend nothing happened that day." She couldn't forget the words he told her before she left.

"What are you talking about, Anna?" Bobby looked helpless. His eyelids trembled, his lips quivering to find words but he was too confused to say anything.

"You should stay away, boy," Enrique stepped between them, patting Anna's shoulder. "She told me what you did. Really, what a scumbag, what were you thinking? Tsk, teenagers."

Anna had shared everything about her last week with Enrique before they slept last night. He suspected the Bobby that drove Anna away was actually Mystique, given that was what he remembered from the movies, but he had no reason to clear that up. A misunderstanding like that was advantageous to him.

"Mr. Nova," Charles spoke before Bobby could, the boy too overwhelmed to find quick words. "The story you heard is a misunderstanding. Anna, it was Mystique, a mutant revolutionary. She disguised herself as Bobby and said those things to you."

"Right," Enrique replied. "And how can we believe you? No, why should we believe you? 'It was Mystique' is a convenient excuse for any major event. 'The criminal was Mystique.' Oh, the Magneto we fought last night must also be Mystique, right?"

"...."

"Yeah, sorry, I'm not buying it."

"I have no reason to lie to you, Mr. Nova," Charles replied. "You are a mutant now, one of us. I see no reason to deceive my own kind."

"I can see many reasons why you would lie. Anna's power is quite divine if I say so myself as half a divinity, and that might be an understatement. She could defeat your entire X-men, Jean Grey included, if trained properly. You don't want to help her; you want to suppress her to avoid any harm, isn't that right?"

"Mister Nova!" Charles hissed harshly. "I don't see my kind that way!"

"Right, you don't," Enrique snickered. "Now, why don't you quickly explain why you're here, then? If not to take back Anna and use her as a human weapon to achieve your fascist and racist goals?"

Charles's breathing grew faster, and noticing that, Jean took over. "We wish to offer you a job as a professor at our academy. You are a mutant now, so it's fitting. Anna can find peace at the school if you come with us."

Hah, they want me to be a professor? Enrique almost burst out laughing, but he didn't want to undermine the seriousness of the situation by doing that. So he held back. Instead, he raised an eyebrow. "You say that as if Anna is ready to return to your school." He turned to Anna. "Hey, do you want to go back?" 

"No, sugah…" she quickly shook her head, looking at Bobby in disdain. 

"Anna?" Jean's tone was laced with shock as she looked at her rejection.

"See? She doesn't want to go back. I'll figure out a way to help her myself. As you said, I am a mutant now. You can trust me not to hurt my own kind, Anna, who's also a close friend unlike you all." Enrique said.

Bobby intervened again. "Hey, Anna, is this guy threatening you? Just give a nod, and we'll figure out a way. I don't like the way he talks!"

Enrique looked at the boy. Though Anna had only been with Enrique for less than two days, she had told him everything she knew about Bobby. However, she hadn't told Bobby about Enrique at all during her week at the X-Mansion. She didn't trust him enough to reveal it, worried—what if Enrique's secret Hero identity got out?

When Anna remained silent, Bobby stepped towards her with a worried expression, but Enrique intercepted, his suit turning Super, as his cape fluttered, and he looked down at the boy. His skin turned pale and his fingernails sharpened as he clenched his jaw.

"I think I told you to stay away, don't approach her when she doesn't like it. She's safe with me. She doesn't need an untrustworthy little boy around," Enrique said.

The room fell silent, Enrique's faint growl filling the air. Jean finally pulled Bobby back, the boy looking helpless and angry. Charles shook on his chair, while Scott clenched his fists in rage.

"Anna," Logan addressed her next, and she showed no hostility. "I heard about this guy from Jean. She said you trust him. Is that true?" He watched her nod. "Alright. Then I have no reason to meddle if you trust him and want to stay. Y'guys can continue whatever you're doing. I'm leaving."

Without another word, Logan walked out. Jean looked at him, possibly communicating telepathically, but he didn't stop.

After a brief silence, Charles looked at Anna again. "The school's gate is always open for you. Remember, it was Mystique. If you ever gain evidence and feel the need to leave, you can always return. Don't let anyone control you, Anna." He glanced at Enrique. "Your powers are great for the mutant kind. Hold on to them tightly. Everyone, let's go."

Scott pushed Charles' wheelchair and walked out with a grumpy expression. While most of them left, Jean waited for a brief second. She stared at Enrique with a confused gaze before sighing.

"The Phoenix," she said, "likes you. I don't know why, but it finds you… amazing."

Oh.

Uhm...

Could it sense his otherworldly origin? Or was it his natural charm? Perhaps both. Of course, it's most likely my power. Did my little void attract this universe's fire?

Jean then looked at Bobby and gestured for him to follow. Bobby did, but not before glaring at Anna and Enrique. Which Enrique found funny, as that solidified Anna's disdain for him.

Stupid kid. Enrique waited for a few seconds after they left, then stared at the only remaining X-man. Storm, her arms crossed, smiled at him. What was she waiting for?

[Image Here]

"You feel… familiar," she said in her soft accent as she walked over. "Did we meet before?" Ah, perhaps she was wondering if that was why he was nice to her.

"...Somewhat, yes," Enrique nodded once he recalled what his Goddess said yesterday. "Did you know your ancestors were African priestesses?"

"That…" Her eyes widened, and she nodded. "Yes. How did you know that? My mom told me once, and even that was when I was really young."

"It might be a bit hard to swallow, but the Goddess they served, I am her Avatar," Enrique explained. "An Avatar is like an adopted son. My mother goddess, Mut, gave you the majority of your powers. She enhanced your mutant gene."

Storm looked at him blankly. 

"Of course, I don't expect you to believe me," he shrugged. "That's just what my Goddess said."

"No, my mother…" Ororo said. "She mentioned Mut when I was young. I can't remember clearly, but yes, she used to worship a statue of Mut. Though personally, I don't believe in Gods. Neither did I expect you to be a believer."

"Well," Enrique couldn't blame her, he was the same until a week ago. Then his Goddess spoke in his mind.

[Would you kiss her?] she asked, making him pause. [That'd allow me to connect to her soul. I'd then bring her consciousness to me for a moment. Try touching her first, it will make things easier.]

…Couldn't he do it some other way? Kissing out of the blue was criminal.

He sighed internally, deciding there was no harm in sharing a kiss with a hot babe.

"I think you're mistaking me for a stupid fanatic. Gods do exist," Enrique moved his hand around her waist, grabbing her chin with his other hand, watching her surprise grow. Whatever Mut mentioned about touching her seemed true. He felt—and knew she felt—a jolt of pleasure from their touching skin. What sorcery was this? 

"I, uh…" Enrique didn't even have to move after that as Storm herself wrapped her arm around his neck before capturing his lips with a hungry moan.

Throughout it all, Anna watched from the side in a tense, uncomfortable silence as he kissed Storm. Once their lips connected, there was no movement from Storm's side. It felt like he was kissing an unconscious girl, and it was true, for Storm wasn't even in her body anymore; her consciousness had been pulled somewhere else entirely.

A few seconds later, her senses returned, and she pushed him away, breathing heavily.

"Haah… haah… haah…" She looked at Enrique and then at Anna. Shaking her head rapidly, she was about to leave, but before doing so, she glanced back at Enrique. "That thing that turned you into a mutant is destructive. It might kill you. Just try asking your… Goddess for help."

With that, she stormed out of the apartment.

"Uh," Enrique blinked. "What did you do to her, my Goddess?"

[Don't worry. I just showed her some proof.]

Enrique was confused but trusted that whatever Mut had done, it must be significant. However, he didn't have much time to dwell on it. More importantly… the kiss hadn't been as enjoyable as it should have been—given the pleasure he felt from just touching her, it should have felt even better, but her soul had left her body briefly. What a pity. 

Lastly, the other girl in the room was visibly upset. Rogue glared at him with wet, red eyes and puffed-up cheeks before running off to her room.

"....Oh right," Enrique turned to her, blinking. Hah, teenagers. So sentimental.

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