Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 387 PROMISES

I had a spare Weakness Eliminator and a 2nd Bonus Copy. The Bonus Copies sounded useful, but I really doubted I could pick and choose which bonuses I would get from people. When I first got this quest I had thought to use them on Superman. But after getting a supposed Viltrumite Form I was starting to think that was pointless. I had to think about who had Bonuses I would want to copy. 

There was Spiderman of course. Although his Spidey Sense was useless since I had Observation Haki. And his…yeah I couldn’t think of any other bonuses he might have that I would need. Wolverine could be useful. He probably had a sense of smell bonus. Then again maybe his healing factor was a bonus. Yep, I would probably try one on him. 

The second Bonus Copy I wasn’t too sure about. There were a lot of choices in Marvel and Invincible. I would prefer to use it in DC, but I was stuck with these 2 worlds for now. I didn’t know the full capabilities of my Viltrumite Form so I would simply watch and wait to use my Bonus Copy. 

The other good news about the quest was it was official. I was a freaking X-Men. My dick was still there, and no, I will probably never stop making dickless jokes. 

In my first life, X-Men was probably the first comic I ever read. DBZ was the first manga and anime, but X-Men started my path to becoming a nerd. I remembered buying comics after the bubble burst. Keeping them in their own plastic cases, thinking that they would be worth something someday. I still read them of course, but I thought for sure they would become a rare commodity. 

Too bad everyone else my age thought the same thing. I died in my last life, never reaping the benefits of my labor for keeping them safe. I hoped in 50 years my own kids would at least get something for them after my generation was dead and gone. But that was my old life. Somehow still kicking after all these years I had to make sure to work on legacies for my future kids in these worlds. 

I pushed that out of my mind for now though. I had plans for money making ideas of course. I was morally ambiguous enough to steal from the thieves I would confront as a hero, so I doubted money would ever be a problem for me. No, for now I had to keep a promise. 

Stepping out of Professor Xavier’s office I was surprised to see that there was still light leaking in from a window. Noticing a clock mounted on the wall it was only 4PM. Being stuck in the windowless basement had felt like I was down there way longer. Especially when the Danger Room made everything feel so real. 

Once on the elevator I decided to head up to the girl’s dorm. There were 2 floors set aside for the girls that went to school and another 2 for boys. The men were allowed on any side before curfew, which was 7PM, so it wasn’t an issue to head up to the senior girl’s section. Every floor had cameras, and I was pretty sure there was an AI monitoring us at all times to ensure there was no funny business going on once it got dark out. I stepped out and headed off to where I usually found Anne. 

All the students at Xavier’s school were mutants. People that had a twist in their DNA to give them a super power. The majority of them were simple powers. And awakened in the kids sometime after puberty. Anne had been at the school for years now, but as I understood it, only recently made friends. Since she couldn’t touch anyone she had been very introverted. I thought she tried a little harder to make friends around the time I showed up. 

I found Anne sitting at one of the small hallway study areas with a few other people from class. There was Kitty Pryde and Alison Blaire with her. All 3 were talking in whispers. But as Anne noticed me they quieted down. 

“What’s up?” I asked, sitting down next to Anne on the sofa. 

“How did it go?” Alison asked. She was a beautiful blonde, but I couldn’t remember if she was in the X-Men or not. In our grade, she was a senior as well. 

“How did what go?” I asked, eyeing Anne. She frowned but looked to Kitty. I could feel Kitty Pryde’s fear spike from her Haki. Her eyes looking to her hands I leaned forward, pointedly staring at her. “Kitty, you didn’t perhaps…narc on what I was doing today.” 

“You told me to tell people,” Kitty said, her eyes shooting up to face me. She had genuine fear there. 

“I told you to tell people about what’s going on in the basement. Not about what I was doing today,” I pointed out. 

“Well…things kind of got out of hand yesterday,” Kitty said, as she fiddled with her own hands, looking away again. “I told Bobby about it earlier in the week. He didn’t believe me. He talked to Tara who talked to Jim who mentioned it to Lucas and it got around to Helen who brought it up with Miss Grey, who then confirmed that there really was a secret group of crime fighters in the basement and the school kind of exploded with rumors yesterday.” Her voice continued to speed up as she talked in a rush. “Then I might have mentioned you were there, and people were asking where you were, and Anne mentioned you were taking some tests. It got around and people were pretty sure you were being tested for this X-Men group. And they kept bugging me. I kind of maybe mentioned that it was true. Then everyone bombarded Miss Grey with questions this morning. And-and-that’s it.” 

Her nerves shot as she explained this all to me I let out a long sigh as I rubbed my face. “I should have known,” I mumbled. No longer really upset with Kitty. I didn’t expect to be staying at the school much after this anyway. The way Wolverine made it sound, I would be with him starting Monday. 

“Are you mad?” Kitty asked, still nervous. 

“No, but looks like I will be disappearing for a few days,” I said, standing up. 

“What?” Anne asked, standing up with me. That was when I noticed Tabi sitting beside her. The 2-tailed cat was lounging around like any other day. 

“Yep. It’s the weekend and I’m not spending it answering a million questions in the boy’s dorm,” I said. “Care to join me?” I asked, extending my hand to Anne. 

“To where?” She asked, hesitating. I could feel the energy of the 2 bystanders changed into a myriad of emotions. From confusion to intrigue, to knowing to mischievous smiles that split their faces. 

“No idea,” I said ignoring the other 2. “We could go on a date.” 

“Outside?” Anne asked, nervous. I was surprised by the reaction. Thinking back I realized we hadn’t once been outside together. 

“Yes, outside. Trust me, it will be fine,” I assured. She frowned, but eyeing Alison and Kitty they wavered her on.

“Okay,” she mumbled with a blush, taking my hand. Her’s still gloved. I hoped it wouldn’t take too long to make it so she didn’t need to wear them anymore. 

“You coming?” I asked Tabi. The lazy cat looked up at me then laid back down, content to not watch us makeout for the 20th time. “Kitty, you mind watching her?” 

“Sure,” Kitty said, jumping over to the sofa she was on and petting her. As I dragged Anne away the cat loudly purred, living it up around people that would never understand how deadly she actually was. 

I walked Anne into the elevator and I could tell she was nervous about going outside. “It’s going to be okay. I have a surprise for you,” I said. 

“A surprise?” She asked, biting her lip as she looked over to me shyly. 

“Yep, but let’s find somewhere away from school,” I said. “What do you want to do? Go into the city? Catch a movie? Get food? Real date stuff. Anything you want.” 

“Anything?” She asked. 

“Anything,” I said. I could feel her Haki and as usual there was a lot of lust there. “Of course we will be doing that,” I assured. We hadn’t gone very long without making out since I came to the world. “But what else?”

“I don’t know? Nothing else?” She admitted as the elevator beeped and let us off on the ground floor. “I don’t want to wear this crap, but I don’t feel comfortable walking around anywhere without…protection.”

It was sad to know that the thick clothes weren’t even protection for her, but protection for other people. A simple bump against bare skin could be a huge risk for anyone. I grabbed her hand, patting it.

“Don’t worry. I think you won’t have to worry about that anymore,” I said. Before she could question me further I dragged her out of the school. Outside was a nice fall day. The day was getting darker, but there was still plenty of light. Jacket weather, I ignored the bite of the wind as I continued to guide Anne. 

The school was a spiderweb of sidewalks through miniature patches of trees and bushes. Rather than in Westchester County, New York like in canon, we were by the ocean, near a city called New Haven in Connecticut. Just Northeast of New York City. I wasn’t sure how the heck Xavier was able to afford such a wide area of coast, but I was pretty sure he came from old money.

There was a large parking lot that teachers and parents used.. I didn’t have a car yet so I would need to amend that soon as well. For now I dragged us to the coast. The school near a cliff that overlooked the ocean, there was a wide path with a viewing spot so you could look out. Long Island was only about 20 miles away, but you still couldn’t see it though the cliff face was quite tall. 

There were a couple of kids out at the viewing spot but I dragged Anne off the brick path and over the handrail. Out on the grass I walked her to a boulder near the edge of the cliff. 

“Weston, we were told not to leave the path,” Anne whispered, nervous. But I could tell she was rather enjoying it. Scared and turned on because she was picturing making out in the open. 

I chuckled, shaking my head. “No kissing,” I said, causing her to frown. “Sit on the boulder.”

“What?”

“Sit on the boulder. No questions. Practice your meditation, like I showed you,” I ordered. 

“Are you awakening Nen in me?” She asked, perking up as she got on the 4 foot diameter boulder. A little bumpy she sat cross legged as she closed her eyes. It took time for her Haki to become more tranquil. I quieted, letting the sound of the waves below help to soothe her. 

“Nen is your lifeforce,” I mumbled, standing behind her. Trying to relax her. I didn’t plan to awaken it in her yet. But this was good practice. “Your power that makes up your life. The accumulation of everything that gives you longevity. It is in every being alive in the world. Not rocks or sand, but life. So breathe air in through your nose, out through your mouth. Let your mind relax. Good, very good,” I said. Her Haki was calmer than I had ever seen it before. “I want you to stay relaxed. Focus on your body. Let me know if you feel anything different. The most minor changes could be important.” 

She nodded, breathing slowly in through her nose and out through her mouth. I didn’t hesitate to bring up my Weakness Eliminator. 

I didn’t know what Superpower Symmetry was. But I guessed the Perpetual Absorption was what was causing her to drain people. I hesitated but clicked it. And poof, it was gone.

“What was that?” Anne asked, her head quirking to the side, confused. 

“I don’t know. What did you feel?” I asked. 

“Something…clicked in my mind,” she said.

“Can you identify where it was? Try to make it unclick,” I said. 

“I think so…” She mumbled. I moved my hand to the back of her neck. Watching my lifeforce. For once it didn’t try to move into her. Long seconds passed then suddenly it tried to pull my power in. I drew my hand back. 

“Okay, unclick it,” I said. She grumbled then my lifeforce stopped trying to move into her. “Very good.”

“That was it?” Anne asked. “My god, you had me so scared. Nen is easy to use.” She turned back to face me, giving me a cocky smile. 

“That wasn’t Nen, that was your mutant power,” I admitted. 

She paused for half a heartbeat. “What?” 

“That was your mutant power,” I said, my hand moving to her cheek. “You know how I was able to stop using my power? I was able to use the same thing on you. It stopped you from constantly using your power.”

“What!?” She asked, her eyes wide as she sat up ridgid. Her eyes looked to my fingers touching her skin. “So you’re not…” I shook my head. “What was-”

“That was you turning your power to absorb off and on,” I said. “That was why you had to meditate. So you could feel where it was located in your mind. You should be able to absorb what you do and do not want now.”

“What?!” She yelled, jumping up. “You’re joking. Tell me you’re joking.” Her hands moving to her face as she moved through one emotion after another. Fear, more fear, joy, happiness, euphoria, fear, anxiety, longing, love, hate, wonder, awe, more fear.

“I’m not, Anne. I think you’re cured,” I admitted. 

“How?” She asked, tears in her eyes as she fought sobbing. 

“Babe, calm down. I have only confirmed a little bit. We need to do more testing,” I said, though I was confident it worked. 

“How did you do it?” She asked, wiping her eyes as I felt a deep fear enter into her. 

“I can’t tell you,” I said. I was sure there was a way to explain without the System or whatever stopping me from talking. But I had a lot of skills I couldn’t talk about, might as well let her attribute them to whatever she thought up now. “But that doesn’t matter. For now, I want you to trust me.” I reached out my hand toward her. “Take off your glove.”

She still bit her lip. Hesitating, but as she stared at my hand she slowly removed her arm-length glove. I took it from her as soon as she did. “The other one,” I added. She nodded and pulled it off. I took it as well and threw both over my shoulder behind me. “We won’t be needing them.” 

“What if you’re wrong?” She asked. “What if-”

“What if a million things,” I said, stepping up to her. My hands against hers, risking it as I didn’t use my Zetsu. “If I’m wrong, then you’ll just have to make sure you only touch me.” 

A tear moved down her cheek as she smiled and nodded. Looking around no one was around us so I grabbed her and threw her on my back, lifting off the ground as I took flight. 

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