After finishing two weeks of training, Leon decided to return to New York. He boarded his luxurious yacht and set sail.
When he arrived, he saw an elderly man being held at gunpoint by a prisoner, while the police had the area surrounded.
Should I help? Leon wondered. He could intervene easily, but he didn't want to reveal his existence just yet.
In the end, he raised his fingers slightly.
Two beams of light shot out silently—one struck the prisoner's hand, knocking the gun away, while the other hit his leg, forcing him to the ground.
"Okay… time to leave," Leon muttered, quickly disappearing from the scene.
What he didn't know… was that his actions had already caught someone's attention.
---
When Leon arrived home, he went straight to his bedroom. He hadn't rested properly in the past two weeks.
The moment his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep like a log.
He didn't wake up until the afternoon.
Ding—
The sound of the doorbell pulled him out of his sleep.
Leon frowned. He wasn't expecting anyone.
Still, he got up and opened the door.
Standing outside were two men—
Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr.
"Hello, Mr. Leon," Charles said with a gentle smile. "We'd like to talk to you about something."
---
Inside the house…
Leon didn't sit immediately. His eyes stayed on Charles, sharp and cautious.
"…Before that," Leon said, "how did you find me?"
Charles smiled faintly, tapping his temple.
"I'm always looking for mutants, you know."
Leon's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't press further.
Charles then explained everything—mutants, their existence, and his plan to gather people like Leon.
"I'm building a place," Charles said calmly, "where mutants can learn, grow, and understand their abilities. I'd like you to join us."
Leon leaned back, uninterested.
"Not interested," he replied flatly.
He had no intention of getting involved in anything troublesome.
Ding!
A mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Mission Issued]
Objective: Join Charles
Reward: 5000 Desire Points
Leon's expression stiffened slightly.
System… why Desire Points? he asked inwardly.
[Desire Points help accelerate and upgrade abilities and skills.]
"Ohh…" Leon muttered under his breath.
A faint blue panel appeared before his eyes.
[Existence Points: 0]
Leon's gaze focused.
System, what about Existence Points?
[Ding! EP, or Existence Points, represent your existence in this universe.]
[Ding! All skills and abilities have limits. EP can be used to break and surpass those limits.]
Leon's pupils shrank slightly.
So… that's how it works.
After a brief silence, he looked at Charles again.
"…Fine," Leon said. "I'll join."
---
Back to present
Mutants hadn't gone public yet.
The world didn't even know they existed.
Most people had never even heard of mutants, and those who had dismissed them as conspiracy nonsense.
Even individuals like Erik and other early mutants still believed they were one of a kind.
That was why the average Central Intelligence Agency agent in this base looked at the mutant group in the cafeteria like circus freaks—not monsters to fear or hate.
Sure, that might change once everything spiraled into chaos later on.
But right now… First Class hadn't even happened yet.
As Sean once said—
More like monkeys than men.
So why was Leon here in the CIA?
It was all thanks to the collaboration between Charles and the CIA. To stop Sebastian Shaw, Charles had begun forming his own mutant team.
Leon, along with future members like Banshee, Angel, Darwin, and Havok, had all been brought here as potential mutant operatives.
"Leon? What're you thinking about?"
Raven's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Leon shook his head slightly and said casually,
"Nothing much. Just a bunch of frogs at the bottom of the well—not worth worrying about."
"Frogs at the bottom of a well?" Raven blinked in confusion. "What does that mean? Who sits at the bottom of a well to look at the sky?"
The others at the table also looked at him, puzzled.
Leon sighed inwardly.
"It refers to a frog that's lived its whole life inside a well," he explained. "It thinks the sky is just that small circle it can see. It has no idea how vast the world really is."
"Ohh! So you're calling those guys frogs!" the tattooed girl said, her eyes lighting up in realization.
Leon went silent.
That was an allegory…
Not a direct insult.
"A very vivid metaphor."
A new voice suddenly joined in.
Everyone at the table instinctively stopped eating and turned toward the speaker—
Erik.
Although he wasn't officially part of the CIA like Charles, his strength made him a central figure among the mutants.
He had only arrived a month or two earlier, yet everyone already treated him like a senior.
And to be fair—
He was quite a bit older.
To be continued...