Brain Problems

[A/N: I changed the mutant ability. Instead of electricity, I wanted something a bit more destructive. So I settled for the Thanos snapping effect instead. Last chapter, the MC literally turned a Sentinel to ashes. The only thing that happened to him was that his left eye bled a bit. That should be the only thing I changed.]

The rest of the trip to the mansion was quiet. Almost unsettling. But the view was great! The lush and lively forest greens surrounding a lone stone mansion. It was straight out of a children's book. The architecture in me longed to create something like this. But I knew I couldn't. As long as there were people to kill, I wouldn't be let go.

"That's the X-Mansion." the red-head said out loud snapping me out of my thoughts. I nodded to show acknowledgment of her comment. But I was a bit busy with something else to add anything else. I did a little up-close research on the members and was confirming something.

In four minutes, I've learned a few things about the members. More specifically red-head, Cyclops, and Angel. There's some sort of love triangle between the three. And if I knew that, everyone else should know about it. This could be an opening. But if it's the best opening is yet to be figured out.

"It's pretty swanky!" I remarked without needing to fake the astonishment. Now, being less busy, I could see that the architecture behind it should be applauded. The contrast between the clean marble pillars and the textured red bricks was done phenomenally.

The red-head seemed confused. "Swanky?"

I sighed as well as face-palmed, "ugh - it means stylish or cool or any other positive adjective with a slang counterpart! For someone that looks like a teenager, you're very not teenager-like."

She really needed to revoke her teenager status and commit senpaku. Ask any person in a school and they'll tell you the definition. Has the world degraded so much in four years?

She blushed to my amazement. I didn't know blushing was actually a real thing. I thought it was a plot made by the Japanese to distract the Americans. But no, her cheeks went beet red.

"That's not anything to be ashamed of." I clarified, "You're just more mature than I thought you'd be. Being mature is something that everyone eventually becomes. There is no shame in arriving there first."

I had to tread carefully. I couldn't let her have a bad impression of me. She's in a love-triangle between two of my potential information sources. One of which has a similar powerset as me. His coaching in eye blasts could come in handy. If she was to comment anything...let's not think about it yet. It's possible that she needed to be dealt with.

I sized her up even more. For some innate reason, my body was screaming that she was important. Have I become too sloppy? How powerful could she be? Or is it because she's a woman?

I've met countless women in my life. Generally, they tend to be more dangerous than their male counterparts. They excelled in socializing and making a connection network. That itself is power. Is that the case with the red-head?

I turned to the white-haired African. Then why is she not important? I couldn't put a finger on it. They were both women so that couldn't be it. What makes the weak telekinesis girl more important than the one who could control weather with her emotions? But my instincts have never proven me wrong.

I turned back to the red-head more interested in her than before.

As if it was even possible, her face went more tomato than before. Using my superior EQ level, I determined that it was best to leave it there. Any additional comments might be misinterpreted another way.

"Yea, she's always been different." Cyclops agreed with hearts in his eyes and Angel nodded his head adding a useless comment about, 'sHe'S nOt liKe oTheR giRlS'.

But I kept a straight face as I resisted the urge to barf. As long as no one could read my mind, I was good. And the HTC said my mind was unreadable.

After a couple more seconds of awkward tension, one I'm pretty sure not caused by me, we touched down. The pool in the back split open to reveal a runway. The hanger pushed towards the platform and the railway came out. I was positioned in a way that I had to exit first.

I exited first and looked around. There was a wide ceiling carved from stone. It was as if we were in a cave. One hand sculpted with extreme precision and vision. Like each dent told a certain story. I was again mesmerized by the beauty of the mansion.

I heard a feminine voice chuckle behind me. Maybe I was too open with my amazement. Not that it mattered right now. I needed to look amazed anyway. Awed. Starstruck. Anything but calm and collected.

I turned to see the white haired auntie-looking Storm behind me. "It is amazing isn't it?"

It was amazing. Who was in charge of making all of this?

"This place is definitely..." I paused momentarily not knowing a word to describe the cave.

"Swanky?" The blue-colored man added with a smirk.

I nodded with a smile, "Yeah, your getting it. This place is very swanky."

"Who's this?" I heard someone say.

I looked around because I couldn't recognize the voice. There was no new addition to the people in the cave. It didn't sound like it came from a microphone either. It didn't sound digital enough.

"I think I fell too hard. Y'all hearing voices too?" I asked looking around for the source of the voice. This was the institute for mutants, anyone could have invisibility abilities or something similar. But the rest of the group didn't look alarmed.

"He's the mutant you've identified. The one who was in trouble." The red-head said, ignoring my question. Her face finally returning back to her normal color.

And even though the speaker wasn't in the room, I could feel him shaking his head. From the sound of it, this was the headmaster speaking.

"The mutant Cerebro found wasn't a telepath." The man said gravely, "Especially one with such powerful defenses."

They, as well as me, looked shocked. I was a telepath? Since when? Or is it that he couldn't read my mind so he assumed that I was a telepath? I guess they weren't lying about me being telepathy-proof. But look at the trouble it landed me. It would be best to pretend not to know what he's talking about.

"We've seen him use his ability." Cyclops denied, "It was definitely an eye beam."

He turned to get confirmation from the team. The rest of the members agreed quickly. They've seen me turn a sentinel to dust with a single beam to the chest.

"That's odd." The man admitted, "But I can only establish a communication connection."

This gave me a good idea of who the voice came from. This was Charles Xavier. The weird old man behind the X-Men.

They looked surprised by his comment. The red head raised one hand to her temple before almost falling on the floor sweating bullets. It looked like she attempted to read my mind.

Wolverine, the closest one to her, grabbed her arm to keep her from falling. From the group's expressions, I knew shit just the fan hard.

There were a thousand ways this could go. And this situation was out of my hands. It was clear that my livelihood rested on what the red-head said. Would she admit that it was her fault? Would she stay unconscious? I could only wait as the team got to their senses.

〘You Need Me〙I heard an incorporeal voice whisper. It sounded so unreal but familiar. The voice of an old man that wouldn't stop pestering me. It was the dumb sword.

Ignoring it, I went through the possibilities.

Would they attack me? No, that's illogical. Maybe Angel and Cyclops would in blind rage. But it wasn't like she was bleeding or anything. Wolverine was preoccupied with the red-head. What to do?

First I could - no. I could only kill two of them before they react. This was also their home, it would be best to wait and watch the situation progress. But I couldn't wait for my doom. I needed a plan.

I've seen the prowess of Storm and Cyclops. They were to be dealt with first. No! Nightcrawler could teleport the remaining people out. Fuck. Who thought this was a good idea again?

This was the one thing that I dreaded. Not being able to control the situation. It's like your girlfriend suspecting that your best friend was your side hoe. The situation rested on what the side hoe would say.

The X-Men quickly got into their own fighting positions. All ready to pounce on me the moment I moved. I looked confused and scared. But I still showed that I was sizing them up. I came from a military boarding school after all. It would be weird if I folded under pressure.

〘Look at them Nikolai. Look how fast they turned on you. Summon me and we can take care of them〙It said.

I ignored it again. Attacking first would do nothing. Even if there were just the slimmest chances of carrying out the mission, I must stick to it. It was just waiting for the first move. After that I could react in any way and after things cool down, and if I didn't kill anyone, I'd be justified.

"Don't." The red-head said weakly, "It's not his fault. It's as if there's countless formless entities in his psyche."

I felt Nightcrawler sigh as the mood lifted. It seemed like he also didn't want to fight to the death.

She turned to me. "You can't control it can you?"

I shook my head in response. Thank god she didn't get knocked out.

This, along with the red-head's words, was enough for them to drop their fighting stances. This definitely wasn't how I expected my first meeting with the X-Men to turn out. Why did the old man try to snoop into my business anyway? Why couldn't he wait until he looked at me?

"I'm completely lost." I admitted to them, "I can leave right?"

I was playing the long game. What sort of person would genuinely choose to stay in a place where they weren't welcomed? I needed to seem real. Even if that might actually make joining the X-Men harder.

"I apologize my friend," Charles started out with, "It's just - we weren't expecting your gift to be so...versatile. Storm, please lead our guest to the main hall."