2 - Infinite Potential

{St. Peter's Orphanage, London}

{2nd August 1986}

When Matteo first learned that he was a mutant, he was worried.

He worried for his future, for his survival, and for his eventual encounters with the threats to mutant-kind. That was why he had immediately sought a weapon to defend himself– Magic.

That was probably the best decision that he would ever make.

Magic was a fickle thing. There were rules to it that Matteo didn't know, laws that he would have to learn and follow, and he didn't even have a single spellbook or manual. It would be difficult for him to start from literally nothing.

Or at least, that was how it was supposed to be.

His Mastery transcended that mindset.

Matteo just had to 'throw' his mana outwards with an idea in mind, fail, and then he would instinctively know how to cast something resembling what he just tried. Sometimes he would even successfully cast the spell on his first try, despite not even knowing it beforehand.

It never took him more than two attempts to cast what he desired.

His power was more than just a simple 'mastery of all things–' it was almost as if the world itself was guiding him towards perfection.

And with both Mastery and Magic, Matteo was essentially a reality warper.

Not to mention that Matteo could weaponize mana itself– dawning it as armor, materializing it as a sword, and so on and so forth. He was a bonafide energy manipulator. He could also empower himself with it, bolstering his strength and speed to an exorbitant degree. In just a couple of days, Matteo had gone from a defenseless, albeit smart, child, to a being with... infinite potential.

Well, 'infinite' might be a bit of a stretch, but being able to master any spell, without even knowing the spell beforehand, was an unbelievable powerful ability. Even if his mana wasn't endless, he DID have the ability to rapidly improve and master whatever he practiced. Matteo would quite literally become a veteran at anything he tried within minutes.

The greatest boon, though, was being able to conceal himself from any sort of detection, whether it was magical, psychic, or technological. That had taken a load off of his mind.

'No government organizations, mutant traffickers, or anything of the sort will be finding me anytime soon, no sir.'

Matteo also began constructing the classic 'mind palace,' fortifying his mind, as well as putting in elaborate protections for both his body and soul.

He also put a few 'runes' on Quinn, Sophie, Ryan, and Ms. Myers, which would alert him whenever they were in any sort of trouble. None of them were going to pull an 'Uncle Ben' on him.

As for his birthday, it was a quiet affair. Just a small party with cake at the orphanage. Matteo ended up getting a drawing from Quinn, a hat from Sophie, a comic-book from Ryan, and new clothes from Ms. Myers. Matteo appreciated it, he really did– he knew how hard it was for Ms. Myers to provide for them, and if Matteo was being honest, he had been expecting less.

But now that he had actual, tangible power at his disposal, Matteo felt... dissatisfied.

'Changing my circumstances without drawing too much attention– I can do that much, right?'

There were lots of different ways for Matteo to go about this, and after mulling it over, a semblance of a plan started to form in his mind.

***

{St. Peter's Orphanage, London}

{2nd August 1986}

"Ms. Myers? There's something I need to tell you."

Away from the eyes and ears of the other children, Matteo had tracked down his lovely caretaker as she worked on their laundry.

"What is it, dearie?"

Now, Matteo had debated for quite awhile whether or not to divulge his mutant status.

He wasn't going to tell anyone that'd listen, no, but Ms. Myer's wasn't just anyone– ever since he had 'came to be' at the age of two, Rachel Myers has been his mother in all but blood. St. Peter's was less like an orphanage, and more like a group home, with Rachel being their foster mother. He was still a bit distant with her, but in this life, she was the closest thing he had to a parent.

So he decided to tell her.

"Um, I found out that... that I'm a mutant."

Matteo was expecting a bunch of different reactions. Surprise, definitely, but maybe worry, or intrigue, or even confusion. Not everyone knew what a mutant was, after all. But what Matteo had not expected to see was pure, utter revulsion.

"Y-You... I raised you! You– YOU MUTANT FREAK!"

SMACK!

Matteo watched as the woman that had raised him, the one he had nearly regarded as a mother, slap him across the face. Matteo would've dodged the slap, quite easily in fact, but he didn't. For just a moment, Matteo was too shocked, too hurt to react.

He tumbled backwards from the force, falling to the floor.

Matteo looked up at Ms. Myers. All he saw was disgust and fear looking back.

"You... you hate mutants that much? Why?"

"Don't try to gain my pity, you filthy mutant. If only I had known– the years I wasted raising you could've gone to a human child..."

Matteo tuned her out, unable to listen any further. He wanted to lie and say that he didn't care, and from any other person, he really wouldn't. But this was coming from the only real attachment that Matteo had made in the last six years. From someone who... who used to hold a dear place in his heart.

'Quiet,' he mentally commanded. Matteo was greeted with silence.

The fear on Rachel's face grew.

'Restrain.'

His mana lashed out, forcing Ms. Myers in place. The other kids were already being actively 'dissuaded' from entering the laundry room, just in case something were to happen. Matteo was right to have done so, but he took no joy from said spell getting its use.

But Matteo still couldn't understand.

'How can such a kind woman, one so kind that she spends all of her time caring for unfortunate children... immediately turn on a child? Just for being a mutant?'

Well, even if the question had no answer, he had Magic.

'Analyze.'

Information flooded Matteo's mind about Rachel Myers, about why she was the way she was, and the answer horrified him.

"W-What the fuck," he muttered involuntarily.

This was beyond what he was expecting.

It was due to the effect of a virus– every negative thought, every lost opportunity, every bad experience– was constantly pushed towards an association with mutants. The core of her personality had been slowly but surely eroded, replaced with a hatred for mutant-kind. A silent but intense resentment that pestered and gnawed at her very being until that was all that she was.

This wasn't even something that could be cured.

Matteo could remove the virus, easily in fact, but by this point... this was just who– no, this was just what Rachel was. There wasn't a kind, mutant-sympathetic woman hiding in there. If Matteo tried to 'fix' or 'remove' the part of her that despised mutants, there would be nothing left. The act would reduce Rachel to a mindless husk.

That was how deeply ingrained her hatred was into her very being.

Matteo wasn't even sure if Ms. Myers could be regarded as 'Rachel' anymore– the extent of the modifications to her mind, though gradual, were... everywhere. It was terrifying. Rachel was more modification then not.

Tears fell from Matteo's eyes.

"Why? Why would someone–" he cut himself off, already knowing the depths that people were willing to sink to. Especially in worlds as cruel as Marvel and DC.

The real question was 'who.'

'Scry.'

That was the moment that Matteo learned of Sublime.

"Oh... I've heard of him." He hadn't read the comics, but he had heard of the controversy over the character and his role in the X-Men. A sentient bacteria life-form, thousands of years old, that could infect and control humans as he pleased. However, after discovering mutants and how he couldn't control them, Sublime conspired against them out of a mixture of fear, anger and envy.

And supposedly, he was also the creator of a 'mutant-hating virus' that was currently infecting and eroding the minds of nearly 20% of the population.

Not everyone was as far gone as Rachel, but that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered to Matteo was that the Rachel that he had thought he knew, the woman that he had grown to love, was never really there.

"Sublime..." Matteo growled.

For the first time since his reincarnation, Matteo felt hatred in its purest form.

But Sublime would have to wait.

Matteo looked back at Rachel Myers, feeling a mixture of pity, sadness, and anger. His anger for Rachel was gone, however– it was hard to hate what couldn't think for itself. No, his anger was only for her perpetrator.

"I'll have to erase this encounter from her mind..." Matteo trailed off, his gut wrenching at the thought. Wrenching further at the fear and disgust still present on her face.

'No, it might be better to... to erase any traces of me entirely.'

Now that Matteo was a mutant, he would mostly like be involved in a lot of dangerous and 'other-worldly' events. Sophie, Quinn, Ryan and Rachel were ordinary people, and could easily be used against him.

It was better to cut ties now, while he still could.

It was objectively the best decision.

'So why am I crying?'

***

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