Xavier's always been a lunatic. A smart lunatic. But even his brand of crazy usually doesn't include tossing a potential recruit into a fight against the Brotherhood.
So… why now?
That question buzzed in my skull as I stood across from the metal-helmeted powerhouse known as Avalanche.
The guy looked like he could throw a truck just to warm up.
[Name: Dominikos Petrakis]
[Age: 26]
[Nickname: Avalanche]
[Race: Meta-Human]
[Ability: Seismic Wave Generation]
Yeah. Fun.
"You could've just joined us," Avalanche said, flashing a grin that was halfway between smug and sadistic. "But you chose the hard way."
I didn't choose anything.
Xavier did. I didn't even know this whole "Decision Match" thing existed until five minutes ago.
"Doesn't mean I'm going to lose," I replied, grounding myself.
Honestly, if I had to fight someone, I'd rather it be a Brotherhood member. No way in hell I'm throwing hands with Storm or Jean. No amount of powers would save me from that humiliation.
"Remember, this is not a battle," Xavier called out from behind. "It's a match. First blood, or unconsciousness, determines the winner."
It felt like a damn colosseum duel—with powers.
"No lethal force," he added.
I could hear Magneto scoff from across the field. Clearly not a fan of the restrictions, but hey—I appreciated the boundary. Much better than whatever violent free-for-all he was picturing.
Was I scared?
Absolutely.
Was I backing down?
Hell no.
"Then, on the count of three," Mystique announced, stepping forward. "Good luck."
She didn't mean that. Not with the smirk curling her lips. She looked certain I was going to lose.
"One."
I wasn't trained in martial arts or anything, so I just raised my hands and braced myself like some underdog street fighter.
"Two."
I could handle a regular brawl. But this? This was mutant-on-mutant chaos. Totally different league.
"Three!"
Avalanche lunged.
I dodged—barely—jumping to the side as the human bulldozer charged past me.
So far, so good. But this wasn't going to be easy.
The moment he missed, I saw it—he didn't just stop. His powers reversed, halting his momentum mid-charge and letting him pivot with disturbing precision.
Like a damn bull that could drift.
"Is that Omega-level power?" Toad cackled from the sideline. "Are we sure that scanner wasn't broken?"
His words stung. And if not for the "no lethal force" rule, I might've cooked that smug face with a shockwave. But instead, I had to suck it up and focus.
"Don't lose focus," Xavier warned.
Yeah, I know. One misstep and this guy would turn me into paste.
Ducking, dodging, and scrambling, I realized something: I couldn't keep this up forever. I had to try something else.
So I did.
For the first time, I tapped into one of my other powers.
"Huh?" Avalanche muttered, coming to an unexpected halt.
From the ground, thick, fleshy tentacles burst forth—each about fifteen centimeters wide, reaching out like a net of muscle and instinct. They wrapped around him fast, binding his limbs, coiling like living restraints.
"What is that?" Beast called out, stepping closer from the sidelines, eyes wide. "Some kind of summoning? Conjuration?"
Honestly? I had no clue. I didn't even remember I had this power until now. But whatever it was—it was damn helpful.
"Impressive," Magneto muttered. "But not enough."
And unfortunately, he was right.
Avalanche's power surged again—and this time, it wasn't a charge. It was a pulse.
A dense, focused seismic burst exploded from his body, ripping through the tentacles with brutal force. The shockwave made the flesh twist, rupture—and then detonate, sending wet chunks splattering across the ground.
One question answered: severed tentacles don't vanish. They stay.
And that… is disgusting.
Without wasting a second, Avalanche widened the range of his assault—making the ground beneath me quake and split. Then, with a violent roar, he shattered the terrain into massive chunks and hurled them into the air with seismic force.
The next moment, those boulders were flying toward me like angry comets.
Thankfully, my tentacle ability had no cooldown. I barely managed to summon a few thick ones in time to intercept the incoming stone barrage. They wrapped around the boulders, redirecting their path mid-air.
For a second, I thought I had him.
But, of course, he just turned them into dust with another seismic pulse.
"The tentacles have potential as support," Mystique observed from the sidelines. "They can restrain, defend, even attack..."
The "attack" part was clearly a stretch. One of the thicker tentacles had tried to smack Avalanche straight in the chest, but he exploded it before it got close.
Unfair. His power felt like a built-in counter to everything I did.
Also—how the hell is throwing multi-ton boulders at me not lethal?
How high are their standards?
I conjured a tentacle wider than Avalanche himself. The crowd reacted immediately.
"That…" Jean muttered, her eyes fixed on me. "That could flatten a building."
And it probably could. But against him, it still wasn't enough. No matter the size or force, the tentacles were just... ineffective against seismic shockwaves.
They were great against everyone else—but not him.
With my options thinning out, I pivoted to something else. Electricity.
Raising my right hand, I focused—and a glowing orb of electricity formed in my palm. I wasn't sure how I was doing it. It just felt natural. Like breathing.
"All you have to do is think," I muttered low. "And it works."
"Electricity manipulation?" Illyana, who had looked bored for most of this, suddenly seemed intrigued. "Storm, did you know?"
Storm simply nodded, her gaze locked on me.
I didn't waste time. Spotting the metal lining Avalanche's armor, I launched the orb. It didn't matter that my aim was off—the electricity found him, drawn to the metal like a magnet.
"Dodge!" Toad yelled from the sidelines.
Magneto's face didn't even twitch. "He can't."
Of course he couldn't. The man who literally controls metal knew exactly how that worked.
Sure enough, the electric orb struck Avalanche clean. He grunted in pain, his whole body seizing from the jolt.
I immediately threw another one. It landed too.
The reason I hadn't started with electricity? I was trying to explore the tentacle power first—and, honestly, I just couldn't think fast enough. I didn't have super-speed or enhanced cognition. Just regular human reaction time.
Meanwhile, Avalanche had been using his powers for years. His control was instinctual—like moving an arm or blinking. I had to think. He didn't.
Still, the hits gave me breathing room. But I knew I couldn't keep spamming orbs. He adapted quickly.
Soon enough, he did—channeling his powers into the ground, he raised slabs of earth around him like a bunker. The solid stone formed an uneven barrier, insulating him against further attacks.
Clever bastard. He made an anti-electricity fort.
But while I was tossing orbs, I'd had time to think.
Instead of another blast, I created something else—a kind of electric field around me. The energy dispersed into the air and pooled beneath my feet like a charged mist.
And right as Avalanche came charging again, he walked straight into it.
"Don't!" Magneto called out—but it was too late.
I couldn't blow him up or crush his head using his own helmet—thanks, rules—but I could still hurt him without drawing blood.
Electricity surged through the metal on his body. It wasn't insulated enough to block all of it. From foot to helmet, the current ran wild.
He screamed.
Paralyzed, slowed, stumbling—he was finally vulnerable.
The tentacles returned, wrapping around him from every direction.
They didn't enjoy the electric field either. I could see them twitch and spasm from the contact, but they held firm. And while Avalanche tried to summon another wave, the pain cut his focus. He couldn't get the precision needed to blow them off this time.
Time for something new.
From the energy still circling me, I shaped something sharper. An arrow.
Turns out, electricity could take form—not just blobs, but actual shapes. Not all worked, but the arrow did. It crackled and pulsed, focused and fast.
I launched it.
It didn't just fly—it pierced.
"Dodge!" Magneto roared.
Too slow.
The electric arrow struck Avalanche square in the face. The burn was instant. I could smell scorched skin from across the field.
He dropped like a stone, eyes rolling back.
Hopefully his brain wasn't fried.
"Avalanche cannot continue!" Storm declared. "Daniel wins!"
Cheers. Applause. Shocked murmurs —None.
Just silence.
I just stood there, panting.
Also—seriously? That wasn't considered lethal force?
I burned half his face off.
What kind of standards do these people have?
…
…
—Charles Francis Xavier 'Professor X'—
Charles watched the boy closely. There was something about him—something unlike anything he had seen before. And that was saying something.
He wanted to believe the boy's story, that he had only recently awakened his powers. But there was a problem.
He couldn't read his mind.
That in itself was alarming.
There were barriers around Daniel's consciousness—deep, intricate, and powerful. Far beyond what Jean could conjure. And Jean was an Omega Level Telepath, with potential that exceeded even that label.
It didn't add up.
Newly awakened mutants didn't have control. Not like this. Sure, a rare few had a natural affinity, but even they required time to acclimate. And they never wielded abilities this complex without training—especially not ones that demanded such finesse.
"Did… did you anticipate this result, Professor?" Beast asked, visibly unsettled. "Even with beyond-Omega potential, I didn't expect him to be this proficient."
Truth was, it had been a gamble.
A calculated risk.
He couldn't read Daniel—but he could read Ororo. In her memories, he had seen Daniel nearly kill an assailant with frightening precision. There was no hesitation. No chaos. Just... control.
Something felt off.
"He's a gamble," Xavier muttered under his breath.
Beast frowned, but Xavier offered no clarification. 'I can't risk him going to Magneto,' he thought. 'And I can't risk him joining us—not yet. Not until I know where he truly comes from.'
Still, a gesture of trust might earn something in return.
"You did well," he said as Daniel approached, earning a scoff from Magneto.
"You hid the fact that he had control over his powers, Charles!" Magneto snapped. "Had I known, I would have faced him myself."
"I didn't hide anything," Xavier replied calmly. "This is the first time I've seen him use his powers in such a manner."
It wasn't a lie. This was the first time he saw the tentacles. The first time Daniel wielded his abilities with such flair. Storm's memories had shown creativity, yes—but nothing on the level they had just witnessed.
"He's talented, certainly," Xavier admitted, "but he's still inexperienced. His powers are strong, inventive, even unfamiliar... but his movements were clumsy. Hesitant. You saw it too."
And they had.
Everyone present had noticed it—Daniel's stance, the awkward execution, the rawness. This wasn't a seasoned fighter. It was someone new to the battlefield.
'But then how does someone so inexperienced control their powers so perfectly?' Xavier wondered. 'Where did he come from?'
It didn't make sense.
But this wasn't the time to puzzle it out.
"This arrangement was your idea, Erik," Charles said evenly. "I trust you'll honor it."
Daniel observed the exchange, curious. He may not have fully grasped it, but the tension in the air was thick. Heavy. One wrong word could tip the scales.
Everyone—both X-Men and Brotherhood—stood ready, whether it looked that way or not.
Fortunately, today wasn't the day.
"Remember this, Charles…" Magneto growled. "If I see another trick—another lie—there will be no agreement next time."
Charles didn't respond. He let him go.
As Magneto turned, he fixed Daniel with a cold glare.
"And you, boy… I will remember the choice you made. And I'll make sure you regret it."
Without waiting for a response, he marched toward the jet. The others followed—except Mystique.
She lingered.
"You can still choose this side, Daniel," she said, voice low and almost amused. "Remember that."
She held his gaze for a moment longer before joining the rest of the Brotherhood. She didn't need an answer now. In her eyes, there would be more chances.
Xavier exhaled quietly, relieved that violence had been avoided. With half the team missing, even a victory would've come at too high a cost—especially on headquarter grounds.
But today wasn't about that fight.
Today was about something else.
"Everyone," Xavier said, addressing the group, "I believe it's time we have a conversation about the future of the X-Men—and about something I've been planning for quite some time."
He turned to Daniel, offering a small, welcoming smile.
"And I believe it concerns you as well, Daniel. In fact, I think it may benefit you most of all."
…
…
—Kurt Wagner 'Nightcrawler'—
He was anxious—growing more and more uneasy with each passing day. He had been following the doctor for a long time now, and not once had the man shown him such care before.
He didn't understand why there had been a sudden change of heart—why the doctor was now showing him kindness.
But one thing was clear: the doctor valued him. He saw him as someone worth keeping around. Maybe… maybe he didn't have to worry about being abandoned ever again, or being called a burden.
"Shouldn't have been born."
Those words had haunted him for so long. But now, they were beginning to fade, losing their power over him.
The doctor had been calling him precious, saying he was the reason for his success, that he was glad to have him by his side.
Kurt had always longed to belong somewhere—and now, he felt like he finally could. The doctor saw him as family. So when he asked Kurt to find a girl, he was willing to do everything in his power to make it happen.
Covered in a hood and clothes that completely hid his body and face, he slipped through dark alleys—vanishing and reappearing from place to place, right under the noses of unsuspecting passersby.
He was going to find the girl and convince her to come with him.
The doctor wanted her—and Kurt would make sure she came.
After all, who didn't want to belong somewhere?
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