That night, after a day of training, Eric had a quick meal of a whole cow prepared by the family chef, then prepared to go upstairs to rest.
"Oh, by the way, Young Master, Miss Ororo just called and said she would visit you next week." Eric, halfway up the stairs, was called by the butler, and when he heard that Storm was coming to see him again, he immediately felt a headache.
Speaking of which, it all started five years ago.
At that time, Eric, nearly six years old, had been on this Earth for a long time, but he had never been anywhere else except his own farm. In his previous life, from birth until he transmigrated, he had never left his hometown, let alone traveled abroad. So, in this new life, Eric secretly resolved to travel around and see the wonders of the world.
However, due to his age, The McCoys absolutely refused to let him go to town alone. In the end, he had no choice but to demonstrate punching through a wall without a scratch, which made The McCoys realize what a unique baby they had picked up and that their worries were unnecessary.
But before he left, they still gave him countless warnings, telling him not to cause trouble, to come back quickly after playing, and not to linger outside.
Eric, whose mind was filled with the beautiful sights of the town, casually agreed, then boarded the bus to the town under The McCoys' worried gazes.
"Hey, kid, are you alone? Where are your parents?"
As soon as he got on the bus, he heard a woman's voice beside him.
Eric looked up in the direction of the voice and saw a brown-skinned, white-haired beauty looking at him.
"Come, child, sit next to me."
Looking at the passengers next to the empty seats, Eric decisively sat in the seat next to the Black beauty.
"Hey, little one, my name is Ororo, what's yours?"
"What? Your name is Ororo."
Eric, who had just sat down, heard the Black beauty introduce herself as Ororo and stood up again in surprise.
"What's wrong, do you know me?" Ororo asked Eric, puzzled, and wondered if she had seen this little one somewhere before.
"Ah, no, I don't know you, I just remembered a friend of mine is also named Ororo." Eric quickly sat down and awkwardly scratched his head to hide his unease.
Fortunately, Ororo didn't think much of it; in her opinion, what kind of thoughts could a five or six-year-old child have?
But speaking of a Black beauty, with a full head of white hair, and named Ororo, these pieces of information combined could only mean one thing: this woman was the person he imagined her to be – Storm.
"I knew she looked familiar, she looks so much like Halle Berry," Eric thought to himself.
"Hey, little one, are you alright?" Ororo, seeing Eric unresponsive after calling him twice, couldn't help but gently pat him.
"Oh, oh, I'm fine, I'm just a little dizzy, Sister Ororo, and my name is Eric McCoy."
Looking at Eric, who called her "sister," had a blank expression (which was actually just expressionless), and had to look up at her because of his short stature, Ororo felt a pang in her heart and couldn't help but pinch his still chubby cheeks.
"Then Eric, why are you alone? Where are your parents?" Eric's mouth twitched at Ororo, who didn't forget to pinch his face even while speaking. But seeing as she was a great beauty, he forgave her.
"I'm going to town to play, and my parents have arranged for someone to pick me up there." In fact, no one was picking up Eric. After seeing his son's strength, The McCoys no longer worried about his safety. In their opinion, in a remote town where few people usually came, no one could threaten Eric's safety.
"Besides, I'm also very strong." He said, raising his small arm to show Ororo his nonexistent muscles.
"Haha, good, good, you are very strong."
Seeing the little one's actions, coupled with his serious expression, made Ororo laugh. However, she didn't pay too much attention to what he said, only thinking that he was being silly and trying to amuse her.
They chatted and laughed along the way. Of course, mostly Ororo was talking and Eric was listening. He also understood why Ororo was there.
It turned out that two days ago, when Professor X was searching for mutants, he coincidentally sensed a new mutant awakening in this direction. So he sent Ororo to pick the person up and take them to the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Of course, her original words were definitely not this; she said she was a teacher and was here to take students to school.
She also invited Eric to attend the school where she taught when he grew up. Eric, of course, couldn't agree. Firstly, he knew it was just a polite remark; secondly, he wasn't a mutant.
The 40-minute journey quickly ended, and the bus arrived in town.
"Goodbye, Sister Ororo!"
To prevent Ororo from discovering that no one was picking him up, as soon as the bus door opened, Eric rushed off the bus and disappeared into the crowd.
"Eric, wait, wait."
Behind him, Ororo quickly gave chase, but due to the crowd and Eric's deliberate hiding, he quickly vanished.
"This child, why is he running so fast? Never mind, never mind. I hope the little one's parents sent someone to pick him up. I should hurry and get to my mission." Remembering her mission, because most mutants cannot control their abilities well when they awaken, often causing harm to those around them and having abnormal appearances, mutants are not popular, and can even be said to be disliked. So Ororo quickly ran in the direction of the address Professor X had given her.
Meanwhile, seeing Ororo left behind, Eric breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, if Ororo had discovered he was lying, he really wouldn't have known what to say.
"Alright, I'm on my own now. I'm going to take a good look at how the rural towns in the country that people in my previous life said had sweet air actually are."
With contempt for certain people in his heart, Eric wandered aimlessly along the street.
Perhaps because it wasn't a holiday, there weren't many people on the street. They gathered in twos and threes, chatting on the street corners. Seeing Eric walking alone, they all speculated whose child he was, because outsiders rarely came to their humble town, and a sudden unfamiliar face, especially such a small child, attracted their attention.
"Hey, whose kid do you think this is? Did someone else move to our rundown place?"
"Hey, what do you mean by 'else'?" Another person nearby, hearing his buddy's words, seemed to know something they didn't, and quickly urged him to tell. Eric was also a little curious and wanted to know what was going on, so he stopped a short distance from the group.
He, who was usually a minor presence in this small group, felt a surge of pride when he saw his words had attracted his buddies.
"Ahem, I won't keep it from you guys." Tom, clearing his throat, directly called his buddies aside and then whispered.
"You know the house next to mine, right?"
"You mean the haunted house?"
"Yes, someone moved into it a while ago."
"Gasp!" The remaining few gasped, shocked that someone had actually moved into that house. After all, legends about that house were still circulating in the town to this day.
It was said that more than a decade ago, the town's population was at least double what it is now. One day, a family of four—the Quades and their two children—moved in from outside. They bought the house next to Tom's current home, deciding to settle there. Initially, the family of four lived happily, got along well with the townspeople, and often hosted parties, inviting the townspeople to attend, so the townspeople quickly accepted them.
Thus, the Quade family spent five happy years there. However, one Sunday, the town's peace and harmony were suddenly shattered.
That day, everyone, as usual, received an invitation from Mrs. Quade to attend a party.
"Mrs. Johnson, you're here too."
"Yes, I heard your Mr. Johnson got a promotion, didn't he?"
"I heard that too, your family is so capable, unlike my husband who only knows how to carouse."
A group of housewives, who had been invited and were carrying gifts, gathered together, chatting and laughing, as they hurried to the Quade house to help prepare for the party.
"Knock, knock."
"Mrs. Quade, we're here." Mrs. Johnson said, knocking on the door and greeting.
But after knocking for a long time, no one came out to open the door. Everyone felt very strange and wondered if something had happened, so someone suggested they open the door themselves and go inside to check.
"This isn't right," someone hesitated.
"Then do you have a better idea? And if something happened to the Quades, we could help."
No one could think of a better solution, so they found a way to open the door, but what greeted their eyes was a floor covered in blood, and the Quade family of four all lying in a pool of blood.
"Ah!!!"
Afterward, the town police came to investigate but found no suspicious circumstances. Moreover, the Quade family was kind to people, and they couldn't think of anyone who would want to kill them. Ultimately, it became a cold case.
Later, several more murders occurred in the town, and all the victims were residents or tenants of that house. Gradually, no one dared to live in that house anymore, and it earned the name "haunted house."
It was also because of this incident that many town residents moved away, leading to its current state.
Upon hearing that someone was living in the haunted house after so many years, the remaining few quickly urged to know what was going on.
"The day before yesterday, after I heard about this, I specifically went to check out that family. According to what my mom saw, there are three people in their family, but I only saw two adults; I didn't see their child. I suspected there must be something wrong, so I secretly snuck in when they weren't home, and I found out…"
At this point, Tom deliberately paused, wanting to whet their appetites, but he forgot his weak physique and his status in the group, and was playfully hit by everyone.
"And I found a monster with scales on its body," Tom said resentfully, with two black eyes.
"A monster with scales, could it be…" one of them seemed to suddenly remember something.
Hearing this, Eric guessed that the people this group was talking about were probably the ones Ororo was looking for, but this matter had nothing to do with him, and he didn't want to get involved, so after seeing that there was nothing fun, he turned and left.
However, what Eric didn't know was that after he left, several burly men with various tattoos on their arms walked out from the roadside and followed closely behind him.
.....
[300PS = 1 Bonus chapter]
If you want to read 30 advanced chapters before they get Thanos-snapped, check out my [email protected]/INTRAX (Replace @ with 'a')