26 Chapter 25
Scott had to be shuttled to the infirmary after nearly getting his head taken off, and the rest of the spars went as expected.
I held back considerably, but most of the kids were not nearly as good as Cyclops. So, Logan insisted they wore thick padding before they started sparing with me. I took my time with each student, testing them and getting a feel for their techniques and style while Logan yelled from the side, pointing out their mistakes.
Bobby Drake was a close second to Cyclops in technique, overall physical fitness, and skill. His style blended Karate and boxing, seamlessly flowing through attacks. I ended our fight with a grab and Judo takedown, but I offered him my hands afterward.
Coupled with his mutant power of cryo-kinesis, he'd be formidable if he wasn't holding back.
My first somewhat dangerous fight was with Pyro, a skinny, pale kid with greasy hair and a vicious smirk on his face.
When he stepped onto the Arena, he pulled out his lighter and sparked it. An orb of fire gathered above his hand, earning a nervous look from me.
"You never set the rules," he quipped. Logan was about to speak up before I interrupted.
"Nah, it's fine," I said. "It won't make that much of a difference."
Logan considered my request for a moment before he nodded in agreement. The area around the Arena was cleared out, and I stood across from Pyro, shirtless, my lean, muscular physique on display.
It earned a few whistles from the girls below, and I egged Pyro on. "Whenever you're ready, Lighter boy."
Pyro unleashed a wave of fire with a grunt. I sidestepped the stream with basic footwork. And with two quick strides, I ate up half the distance between us.
Pyro swung his hand out, spreading the flames, hoping to cut me off, but I leaped forward with a flip and came down with a vicious axe kick that nearly took Pyro's head off.
He cut the fire off, rapidly retreating as he lobbed fireball after fireball at me, but I juked and weaved through them all, leaning heavily into the instinctive mastery that my new martial arts skill and personal experience gave me.
Pyro crumbled to the ground when I punched him in the liver, bringing an abrupt end to our fight. Things got more interesting from that point on. Only two students were left, and Logan allowed both to fight me with their powers.
Fighting Shadowcat, A.K.A Kitty Pryde, was an exercise in frustration. She was superhumanly fast, acrobatic and could phase through most of my attacks while landing glancing blows at me. They barely dipped into my HP, so I didn't mind. I was more interested in what I could learn from her.
When I'd got tired of her, I went in for the kill, mixing in feint with blistering fast strikes. All it'd taken was one missed grab on her part. A kick to the sciatic nerve had her limping and yelling Uncle.
The last big fight of that session was with Colossus, and he was a wall I was uncertain I could topple without using my abilities.
His metallic skin reflected light, his large muscles rippled, and he towered over me, standing at 7 foot 5 inches.
"Kick his ass, Colossus," Kitty hollered from the sidelines, still holding her injured leg with a pout.
"I apologize for what is to come, but you won't win," the gentle giant announced.
"We shall see," I said. The moment he stepped onto the Arena, I summoned Rebellion.
He came charging at me, moving startlingly fast for somebody his size and swiped at me with an open palm.
I charged at him, transforming Rebellion into Ophion. I pumped it full of demon energy, switching it into a grappling hook, and fired it at Colossus's face.
My body dropped into a slide, perfectly slipping through his massive legs. I yanked, backed with demonic strength, but the giant didn't budge. At most, I just chafed him. I switched Ophion to a Sword, parrying the swipe that came a second later, but it still sent me spinning.
"Just how strong are you?" I grunted as I sprung to my feet. I ducked under a haymaker next and stepped under a slow front kick. I pulled on Colossus's meaty right bicep, unbalancing him as much as possible, and wrapped my leg around his only rooted leg. My muscles strained as I tugged his hand even harder, causing the giant to pitch over, but he caught himself before he fell to the floor.
I clicked my tongue at the failed maneuver and swung at his jaw with a Burst shooting out of my left elbow. It went off like a bomb. My hand pulled back, broken in three places, while Colossus stumbled back, his eyes glazed over.
God! That hurt like a bitch, I thought as I cradled my hand.
A burst brought me several paces back to avoid any retaliatory strikes, having learned my lesson from my fight with the concrete Bruiser.
Angel Regeneration pulsed, healing my broken bones.
I flashed forward with a 720 kick next to keep the pressure on, but the big guy was ready for me. He raised his forearm to tank my hit, and my shin splintered. With a grunt, I summoned Rebellion to tank the uppercut that I saw his body telegraph. The blow caught the flat of the blade, and I was thrown, sword and body, out of the Arena.
There was a resounding wave of applause when I landed on my feet and subsequently tripped, but I still caught myself.
Go figure, landing on a busted leg was not a good idea. My only consolation was Angel Regeneration, which was already healing my tibia.
When I looked up, I noticed the cheers were not for me. They were for Colossus. Everyone from Bobby to Kitty and Pyro congratulated him.
Only Jean rushed to my side immediately.
"Are you okay?" she said with no small amount of worry in her voice. She'd reappeared just in time to watch me get my ass whooped by the metal giant.
"Never better," I smiled. "I knew he was strong, but I didn't realize it was that ridiculous."
"Colossus can lift 50 tons above his head. You were never going to win in a straight-up fistfight."
Fifty tons, I coughed. Damn.
"Never say never. I had him on the ropes for a second there."
"Only because he was going easy on you," Jean pointed out, and I conceded after some thought.
"Even I don't think my regeneration can handle being hit by a 50-ton haymaker."
Looking over at Colossus and the crowd of kids around him, I decided to be a proper sportsman.
"What are you doing?" Jean asked as I started walking toward the giant.
"My job," I called back to her. "I'm an instructor. I have to be the bigger man, even if I'm a little salty."
"At least put on a shirt first," she demanded, and I turned back, noticing the slight flush on her face.
"I don't hear anyone else complaining," I shrugged.
The crowd parted as I walked up to Colossus, every mutant in the room on edge. Scott had ensured I had a reputation the night I arrived here, and my display reinforced his narrative that I was a monster, but that didn't mean I couldn't change people's minds.
Sure, I was an asshole who was pissed because he was dealt the wrong hand in the afterlife, but as I'd said earlier, I didn't want my new life to be one never-ending fight.
I was at the X-mansion to train, get into Jean's good graces, and work out a contract with SHIELD, not make more enemies.
"Good fight," I said, offering my hand to Colossus.
The teen considered my hand ponderously before he received it. "I haven't been pushed that hard in a long time."
"Can't say the same," I said truthfully. "But I'll tell you this much, that's the first time I've broken my hand in three places from punching somebody in the face," I laughed.
"You're a lot less monstrous than Scott makes you out to be," he rumbled. "I imagined you'd be angrier at the loss."
"I don't pretend I don't have a past, but I'm a lot less violent than people think," I said, surveying the room full of mutants.
Kitty Pryde huffed and folded her arms. "He's still a big meanie. Couldn't even take it easy on me."
"If I'd been going any easier, I'd be fighting in slow motion," I retorted. "You're not just as slick as you think you are, but don't worry, that's why I am here. We'll be running drills until all of you don't completely suck," I announced, then nodded in Colossus's direction.
"Present company excluded, of course."
Logan clapped his hands together and joined the group of mutants. "Now that you've gotten that out of ya system. Can I finally get on with the lesson of the day?"
