Chapter 005 – Choice

[2009 – June]

The Kamar-Taj was a place, where one could study the Mystic Arts and also Martial Arts. It was also the place where the Ancient One trained the forces, that were responsible for protecting the Earth from great threats.

These threats were mostly interdimensional beings of incredible power, not necessarily something I wanted to come in contact with.

I also had no desire to study magic whatsoever.

I knew it was an incredible tool, of course I did. But a person has only so much time at hand and such studies would take up a great deal of that time.

As things stood right now, I was an Omega-level mutant with the power to create shields and give myself additional powers of equal strength.

My shield creation powers had incredible potential, that I had not yet unearthed at all. With training I may as well be able to shield my existence from all those prying gazes, like the Ancient One's or Heimdall's. And if there existed gods in this reality, then even from those.

I may also be able to form complex constructs using my shields as a basis, or create restrictive field that prevented others from using their powers.

The versatility and scale of this mutant power was truly great, but it would need time and great dedication to get to that point. I had no time to spend on studying the Mystic Arts, nor did I want to fight extradimensional beings like Dormammu anytime soon, or at all for that matter.

It would have been a different case, had I been transmigrated without any kind of power, because then the Kamar-Taj would have been the go-to place to get some strength.

Right now, I needed a place where I could start training my mutant power and start working out. Not only to accelerate the time it took for my reserves to fill up, but also because a fit physical body was definitely something I needed.

And while I could give myself an X-Gene that would solve that problem – and probably would in the future, gaining powers wasn't easy and I had to take every chance seriously. I didn't plan to waste weeks, maybe months of effort on a power that wasn't worth it.

Besides working out was also a great way to ensure mental health and avoid depression, so I wasn't averse to doing so. Additionally I needed to get used to my new body, as there was still some unfamiliarity in my movements.

These considerations limited my options greatly, as I basically only left myself one option – Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

Without my mental shield I wouldn't have touched that with a ten-foot pole, but I didn't have to worry about someone spying on my thoughts anymore.

Even if the Professor used his immense telepathic might, he wouldn't be able to break through my mental shield.

The only one who might possibly be capable of doing such a thing was Jean, if she used the powers originating from a Cosmic Entity and not her own inborn abilities, as that wasn't something I could measure up against.

Still that was only if she really tried to do such a thing while using 'her' true strength, not something I believed she would do. She was probably more than happy, that she could not hear my thoughts.

I wasn't sure about others, but I definitely wouldn't be getting telepathic powers any time soon. Simply thinking about having to deal with other peoples thoughts all day, seemed like something straight out of a horror movie for me.

Furthermore I knew that the Professor was kind at heart, even though he was also an excellent manipulator. He genuinely cared for mutant kind and even more so for his students, so he would definitely accept me.

And that was taking into account he didn't know of my potential, which was highly unlikely, as he had probably noticed me awakening my mutant power with Cerebro's help.

Ending my musings, I looked at the Ancient One again, as I answered her.

"A tempting offer, but I don't plan on learning the Mystic Arts. I have enough on my plate already, though I wouldn't mind being dropped off at Xavier's.", hestitaing for a moment, I added, "Though I would like to request another small favour."

Giving me her enigmatic smile, the bald Sorcerer Supreme threw a small leather bag my way, while she replied: "Give it back when you don't need it anymore, they aren't easy to make afterall."

Through the leather, I could feel the shape of the object I had wanted – a Sling Ring.

It was the perfect tool to escape dangerous situations and exactly what I needed at the moment, while I basically had zero defensive capabilities. Though the fact that she knew what I wanted from her did make a bitter smile spread on my lips.

It wasn't a very pleasant feeling to talk to someone, that seemed to know what you would do, before you even did it.

Creating a portal with incredbile ease, the Ancient One addressed me once again: "Until we meet again, Elijah Frost."

Sighing once again, I walked through the portal the Ancient One had created, while replying in resignation: "Until then, Ancient One."

…

Dr. Charles Francis Xavier had experienced a lot in his relatively long life, and it sometimes felt as if he had been through even more with the thoughts of others constantly rushing through his mind.

For a telepath of his strength it was hard to completely shut out the voices of others, which was somehting he had had to learn early in life.

And yet, he had only ever met very few people with powers comparable to his own, with one of them being his old friend Erik, or the target of his friend's revenge, the late Sebastian Shaw.

Not to mention his student Jean Grey, that surpassed even his power, or his somewhat rival and former student Emma Frost, who was a telepath of comparable strength to himself.

He could basically count those with the same potential and sheer might as himself on his fingers, so it was no surprise that he felt incredibly curious and alarmed when he had sensed a new mutant appearing with potential greater than even his own – something he had categorised as the Omega level.

Charles would check periodically with Cerebro, if there was someone like that out there and maybe it had been sheer luck, but when he did so again this night, he had found that particular strong signature.

Seeing that this mutant was located in New York, he didn't hestitate to call upon a few of his staff members to go and find that mutant, as he knew that others with less than kind intentions were probably already on the move, trying to forcefully recruit this young mutant.

New mutants, especially powerful ones, often struggled to control their powers. So someone with such abilities could cause catastrophic damages in a well-populated area like New York and Charles wanted to make sure that nothing of the sort happened this time.

Thanks to his considerable wealth and Hank's genius such a short distance was easily bridged by the Blackbird.

And just as they landed the jet in the empty space of a nearby parking lot, a portal opened itself in front of them, making them stop dead in their tracks.

Logan and Ororo readied their abilities, while the young Jean and Kurt stepped to his side in case he needed protection, something he appreaciated greatly, as besides his telepathy he didn't have much in the way of combat abilities.

A moment later though a teenager stepped out of the portal. Messy short black locks framing a rather handsome face, as green eyes looked at them with surprise and recognition.

More importantly though for Charles was the fact that he couldn't hear his thoughts at all being blocked by something like a barrier. This was something that had rarely happened in all the years he had possessed his powers.

The portal closed behind the young man at the same time as Logan asked in his typical rough manner: "And who are you, brat?"