CHAPTER 385 DANGER

CHAPTER 385 DANGER

I stood in a line with 2 other people around my age. The boy next to me was taller than me even though I had been fusing new flesh to my body and growing bit by bit. Strong chin, blonde hair, he was clean shaven and reminded me of someone.

His general presence exuded confidence and almost superiority. Not like he was better than anyone, more that he felt like he would do better because he worked harder. It was a weird sense to get from his Haki, but an interesting distinction.

As I tried to place who the guy reminded me of I studied the girl opposite of him. Both were all business. She was more so, but I felt they dressed up a little too much. In short heels and black skin-tight leather clothes she was how I pictured an X-man...woman should be. I really needed to try to talk them into a different codename for the group.

The girl too was very familiar, but not familiar enough to give me the answer on who she was. The most distinguishing thing about her was deep green hair that hung down to her mid-back. The fact that she was rocking C-cups in the skin-tight clothes meant she was someone I really wanted to get to know better. I could have sworn I recognized her from somewhere, but the duo had been too tight lipped since I showed up.

It was currently Saturday. I had spent my week mostly hanging out with Anne. Jean Grey was nice enough to give me an overview of the material I would need for her extra hard general education test. Anne would help me study, which usually included her on my lap, whether it was her whole body or just her head. Laying on me as I read through a book, or she read through it for me.

This study time was greatly diminished due to random makeout sessions that extended into curfew. I still made her practice her meditation, but she much preferred the physical part of our study sessions. Which I was all for, but left me with a growing case of blue balls. After 6 months stranded on nvincible world though I wasn’t itching too bad to go back to the smut worlds, not yet anyway.

I had spent the entire day before taking tests. Jean Grey had been nice enough to watch me take them. She said it was to answer questions, but she had really been there to make sure I didn’t cheat. I spent my time trying to goad her into a bet and breezing through the material.

It was sad to admit that her college level courses were simple high school level courses in Japan. All Calculus, Advanced English, Physics, Statistics, Physiology, even Kinesiology was in there somehow. My biggest struggle had been American History since dates were tested on heavily, but my average over all the tests was a B, so I passed. Much to Miss Grey’s surprise.

Even Professor Xavier had appeared to give me the results. Happy with my sudden above average ability to know information about topics I hadn’t studied yet. I had felt another psychic delve from the old man, but whatever the old man found wasn’t too concerning since he let me past. I was sure that whoever brought me to the world helped with that, to ensure the psychic autopsy didn’t learn I was an interdimensional traveler that latched onto a version of myself to help the world and complete quests.

The Professor tried to talk me out of trying for the X-Men, but when I threatened to quit school and find my own way again he finally relented. Giving me the jist of what the test would entail I had shown up at the Dean/Prof. X’s office that morning and was let into the large bunker underneath the school. Finding myself with the other 2 participants that were testing to join the X-Men.

“So you guys like...dating or something?” I asked the duo. They jerked in response. Showing again that these people weren’t that good at hiding the truth. Their Haki was easy to read, the part of them closest to one another was almost warmer. A distinction in the Haki that I had noticed meant that people were close.

“What makes you say that?” The green haired girl asked.

“Well there is a long green hair on Captain America’s shirt there,” I said. “Looks to be more than random.” They both looked to the shirt, trying to find it. I chuckled. “Just joking. I’m simply good at guessing these sorts of things.” I could feel their Haki become embarrassed then annoyed. “Weston Walker.” I stuck out my hand to the guy first.

“Alex Summers,” the blonde haired guy said reluctantly.

“Ah, of course,” I said. “Ole Red Eye’s little brother, right?” He should have been the hero Havok. Although in canon he was supposed to die or turn evil or something.

“Uh...” Alex said. I released his hand and moved to my real target.

“Lorna Dane,” she said, giving me a cursory nod. “Did you graduate a few years ago? We were under the impression we were the only one’s invited.”

“I’m new to the school,” I admitted. “They made an exception for me.”

The duo shared a look but we turned to face straight ahead as the lights in the tunnel lit up. In walked Ororo Munroe/Storm, Colossus, and Wolverine. Ororo was the beautiful African goddess in a white skin-tight uniform with plenty of straps and belts.

“Welcome,” she said in a rich voice. Her eyes pure white her hair was tied back behind her head in a ponytail. I wondered if she would go to the mohawk look eventually. “I know you three don’t have too much information, but please follow us.” The 3 full members of the X-Men turned and led us down a hall.

I could feel Alex and Lorna grow more nervous. I whistled a nondescript tune, nonchalant as I took up the rear. My hands behind my head as we walked I tried to remember the times I had done something equivalent to this.

We got up quickly, our balance no longer off as the villain stepped forward. “I am Avalanche,” the real man said. “Nothing stands in my path.” With that he attacked. Clamping his hands together I could sense the vibrations before they got too far from his hands. From what I rememebered in the X-Men comic, the man was a mutant that had mostly the same skill as my Tremor Devil Fruit. Able to create earthquakes and vibrations in the air he was a minor villain in canon.

The man in front of me was real though. I guessed he was currently part of the X-Men, providing a test for us. As I jumped back, grabbing the collars of Lorna and Alex, I quickly processed the scenario. We were thrown into a place we didn’t know, with a villain we had no sense of. He just destroyed the city, probably an exaggeration of what we could face, but all possibilities of scenarios we could be expected to participate in as X-Men.

The real test was how we managed to handle this. I jumped the three of us out of the way of Avalanche’s vibrations and dropped the duo to the ground. “Whose on rescue and who is on fighting?” I asked.

“What?” Alex asked, lost as Avalanche fired another wave of vibrations at us. They were easier to see than my own since I could sense the air actually vibrating. I pulled him toward me to get missed by the shockwave again.

“Who is fighting and who is saving people?” I asked. “Someone needs to distract and take down this guy in case he has more bombs or whatever he used. Someone else needs to start saving people.” I knew who it had to be, but acted like we were a team, trying to plan quickly.

“Uhh-” Alex said, completely lost.

“I control metal and gravity,” Lorna said. “Alex can shoot plasma from his body.”

“Fine, you take care of this guy,” I said. “I’ll save people.” It was easier to lead the charge by taking the less desirable path. I left them to figure it out on their own as Avalanche pushed his vibrations into the ground. Cracking the Earth at his feet the duo dodged as I ran to the nearest bystander.

A kid crying in an overturned car I busted the window, my hand coated in Nen I barely felt the resistance of the fake window as I ripped the seatbelt holding him in. Checking for vitals from the driver they were dead but I saved the kid. Some sort of metal mannequin with the illusion of a real boy coated on him I marveled at the hi-tech illusion.

Sending the kid running off I found someone else that needed help and ignored the fight the duo were having as I continued to get innocent bystanders out of the vicinity. After about 20 minutes of running around the block and saving imaginary people I moved to join the fight against Avalanche but was stopped as the scenery became the Danger Room again.

The city disappeared as robotic mannequins moved to be stored below the metal plating of the Danger Room.

“Well done,” Ororo said as she and the other 2 instructors walked up. Lorna and Alex realized for the first time that Avalanche was a real person. Both more than a little beat up they gave the black man a surprised look as he clapped them on the shoulders.

“Everyone, this is Lance Alvers,” Ororo said. “Though our Danger Room is good. Fighting a believable villain is still beyond it, so he offered his services as part of the X-Men.”

“Good job all of you,” Lance said. “Especially you. Weston, right?” I nodded. “Very quick thinking. How’d you know where I was attacking?”

“I could feel your attacks coming,” I admitted. “They were pretty strong vibrations.” Not as strong as I could do with my Devil Fruit, but enough to throw people off and knock them over.

“Very good. Most don’t think to save the bystanders,” Lance said.

“Yes,” Ororo said. “This was my test for the 3 of you. Though a city was crumbled around you, you all acted professionally. You could use a little more decisiveness. But that is why we train, so in the heat of the moment you know what to do.”

“Weston, why did you choose to help the innocent bystanders?” Ororo asked.

“Weak to strong,” I said simply. It was a term I had heard All Might talk about many times during his classes in UA.

“What’s that?” She asked.

“I had no idea what the strength of Avalanche was,” I admitted. “He had just supposedly blown up a city. Whether through bombs or his own mutant power. I didn’t know. When you don’t know the power of your foe, you have to move to the weakest first. Since he was alone, there were no weak henchmen, so I had to move to the weak bystanders. Get the innocent out of there, take care of the weak, then slowly build up to the strong. If you can’t handle the strong, at least you know the weak are handled.”

All Might was always the strongest hero so he didn’t question if he should take on the villain. I was trying to get brownie points with the X-Men so I volunteered for the bitch work. But All Might’s explanation always stuck with me. As people start out weak and build up strength, you had to work with the weakest first and build up to the strong. Learning your own strength in the process.

“Interesting concept to come up with on the fly,” Ororo said. “Let’s move on. Next we want to...” She continued on, heading back to the viewing room as she explained.