Chapter 23:

Xander's lack of confidence, accompanied by his torn and dishevelled appearance with no shoes to boot, didn't exactly paint him as a prospective student.

"Yeah, I don't think so Kid. If you're a student where is your paperwork? or school uniform?"

M21 the security guard clearly didn't buy it, whilst he spoke, he radioed through the device on his ears.

"Nothing to worry about guys. I'll handle this"

This titbit of information as well as the appearance of this man only made Xander happier. It seemed the other enhanced humans were here as well and hopefully the protagonist of the story as well.

'Haha, safe at last'

"I had some problems coming here but I really do need to see the headmaster" Despite speaking with more confidence the security guard didn't buy it.

"I'm sorry but without a premade appointment you can't see the headmaster. Please leave the school grounds and come back with documents and uniform as well as a scheduled appointment"

M21 clearly didn't by it and no matter how Xander tried explaining M21 didn't relent. Sighing internally it seemed Xander would have to instigate the current situation to get anything.

"I am an enhanced human, like you".

That simple sentence detonated like an explosion as M21 face turned into a scowl and he took a fighting posture. Before Xander could react 2 more individuals appeared behind him encircling him within the three of them.

"Are you form the Union"

The three of them didn't hide the contempt as they readied themselves.

"Yes. No? I don't know but I'm not here to fight, I just need to see the headmaster!".

--

"Yeah. No!".

Xander went through the possible plan and quickly came to the conclusion it wouldn't work.

The many loopholes it would leave open, such as how he knew the identity of the headmaster, how he knew they were from the union and enhanced wasn't something he could explain away. It would forever leave him with a question mark of suspicion.

Going back to when Xander was outside of the school gates he continued to walk around the perimeter of the building evading the CCTV. He watched all the happenings occurring on school grounds and made an actual plan.

He needed a way to involve himself with the beings in this school whilst making it look as coincidental as possible. Of course, some suspicions would remain but hopefully it wouldn't get in the way.

As Xander analysed the buildings on the school grounds his eyes focused on one particular building. An outside storage facility from which frozen food was being token into the school by the dinner ladies who would probably be preparing lunch.

"That's it"

Etching nearer to the perimeter Xander readied himself. He knew that once he went into action he would have little time before the security team, the three enhanced humans or others, would intercept him.

As such he needed to make the scene as believable as possible. Thankfully he already had the homeless outfit. Oversized shirt, no shoes, ripped trousers, and the all to powerful smell his body emitted. It was perfect!

Now all that was left was the hungry homeless teenager looking for food.

Stealthily scaling over the school wall, Xander dashed towards the storage building. Thankfully classes had started and as such no students were out here to impede his journey allowing Xander to easily cover ground.

As he approached the storage room door, channelling one strong push he easily pushed them open before running inside.

It didn't take Xander long before he raided the delicacies and in each hand he clasped bread taken out of there packets, with a plethora more of rappers strewn around the floor.

Xander was genuinely hungry as it didn't seem this body had eaten for a while but as he took another mouthful, he began to cough his throat drying up. Thankfully there just so happened to be many sealed drink bottles nearby which Xander eagerly helped himself to.

As he continued his assault on the food it didn't take long for another individual to appear by the doors.

As the new arrival looked into the storage room passed the broken doors, the site he saw left him dumbstruck.

No doubt this individual was one of the Ye Ran Special Security team and the previously mentioned M21. In front of him a blonde-haired teenager clearly not a school student due to the lack of uniform, but more than likely a beggar was devouring the food.

"Hey, stop right there".

M21 was confused due to the spectacle before him but he still needed to do his job.

In response to M21, Xander tuned around, his mouth still munching on a piece of bread with an energy drink in his hand.

As Xander and M21 eyes met Xander unhesitating swallowed before raising the bread in his hand once again taking a bite in front of M21.

Seeing this a vein bulged in M21's forehead as he moved closer ready to strong arm this rabid teenager out of the school storage room.

As M21 neared closer, Xander unhesitatingly swung a clumsy overhand. His enhanced body made up for the evident lack of skill and technique, but as it neared M21, he easily sidestepped the telegraphed strike.

Seeing this Xander's eyes frowned before he launched forward lashing out recklessly. Xander preferred brains to brawn, but as he thrashed around even with his enhanced body M21 easily dodged all the blows.

Clicking his tongue, M21 caught one of Xander's punches before, in one clean, practiced motion, pulling it to the back of Xander's body and effortlessly pinning him to the wall.

The force in which Xander hit the wall knocked the food out of his mouth and as he tried to resist the strained hold, he was unbale to.

"Calm down, don't make this worse for yourself kid!"

Xander was no idiot, he knew his body couldn't compete with these enhanced individuals but in order to make the scene more believable he needed to escalate the current situation.

Painfully turning his head, Xander locked eyes with M21 before a blast of condensed mental energy slammed into M21's mind, knocking him back and of Xander.

This blast of mental energy was something Xander had been practicing for a while thanks to the insights from the holocron.

He had needed a way to attack and defend himself and as such he developed this incomplete technique, which he practiced thanks to the volunteers from his dorm room in soul land.

The technique was a barbaric application of mental energy and lacked any of the finesse that Xander would prefer. Xander simply clumped as much of mental energy as he could and through unrestricted eye contact, as eyes where the door to the soul, launched it at his opponent.

Xander knew M21 had some experience with such abilities, after all he had trained with M24 who an enhanced human with the power of vampires and another experimental subject that had tried escaping the union, but these 2 attacks were different.

Xander's metal energy was his strong suit and with the added refining from the demon eye tree it also had a depth of concentration. However, the skill didn't come without issues, as he knew M21 had some resistance, Xander had to use far more mental energy which also left him slightly heavy headed as he put distance between them.

Stumbling out of the building he turned around hearing M21 still groining in the floor. As he exited the building however, he was met with another of the Ye Ran Special Security team.

This man was tall and handsome with blue eyes and long purple hair tied in a ponytail reaching his waist. He wore a similar all black suit like M21 with a white armband.

Of course, Xander recognised the induvial.

Takeo. He was an ex-member of the DA-5, which was a special forces team of the Union and like M21 and Tao he had escaped from the union.

As Takeo looked past the stumbling teenager, his eyes landed on M21 who was struggling to get up and was spread out on broken boxes.

"Kid, that wasn't a good idea".

Takeo was a smart man and knew that if M21 was taken down by the teenager before him, he couldn't be so simple.

Instead, Takeo decided to wait for M21 to get up and join the battle, being patient to learn about Xander's abilities.

Xander used this precious time to once again coalesce mental energy and blast it towards Takeo.

Unfortunately, Takeo was alert and reacted, moving out of the linear mental blast. This was another issue of the technique that it could only fire in straight line. M21 was taken by surprise but Takeo had expected an attack and hence moved out of the way.

Takeo moved and in an instant closed the gap, despite being a long-range fighter his close range skills were still top class.

"Sorry kid"

That was all Xander heard as a fist hit him deep in the abdomen launching him back into the building wall.

The attack was harsh but not lethal and Xander would be able to get back up and fight, but he wouldn't.

This opportunity was perfect.

Instead of fighting he pretended to fall unconscious. Now truly being unconscious was a difficult thing but since Xander was pretty sure he was safe, and so he purposefully retreated into his mind space away from his body and deep into his soul.

This would make it seem that Xander had fallen unconscious and had been Xanders plan all along.

Was it risky? Sure, but unlike in the Lab he knew these people where far too good natured and where unlikely to harm him, not until they found out who he was and why he came here.

Hence Xander took this time to spend the next few hours recuperating his mental energy, unaware of the happening of the outside world.