7 Chapter 6

Arthur and X-23 moved nimbly across the rooftops of the mutant district. For a few nights, they've been finishing up with some loose ends.

The person, who Arthur killed when he went for X-23 was a Russian smuggler. And someone put a price on Arthur's head. Though his face was unknown.

This also informed Arthur that he was already being hunted by many people. Since his actions made a lot of people angry.

"For now we'd better keep a low profile, although I'm confident. I don't think I can take down all the Avengers alone." Arthur had already murdered the person who put a price on his head, so it was a good time to take a break and let things settle down.

"And what will you do now? And when I ask that I mean why don't you want to go see your father/clone?" Arthur wouldn't admit it, but he cared a little for her.

Perhaps it was because she was the only person Arthur spoke to during his time of mourning. But the dark-haired man would never accept it.

"no....". She was still someone of few words. But it was something Arthur was working on.

"And what are you planning?" Arthur decided to sit down to ask. The night was quite relaxing and watching the sky was a good way to pass the time.

As for X-23. She didn't have an answer, she was more lost than she seemed.

Arthur glanced at X-23 several times before sighing. He was getting soft.

"You can go to my apartment. Not that I used it anyway. And no boys, but girls can be debated. I don't judge." Arthur was someone of an open mind, so if X-23 wanted to experience who was hers to judge her.

"....You're an Idiot.....". X-23 not being very talkative didn't mean she didn't understand. Her mind was quite sharp, and if she put her mind to it she could act superbly like an average girl.

"Relax anyway, what's next is going to be a pain in the ass." Arthur looked at the clock realizing that it was already late.

X-23 didn't think too hard. It was already quite late or early depending on the point of view. So it was a good time to rest.

Watching Arthur's back disappear made X-23 wonder about that uncomfortable feeling. For the last few days that feeling was stronger, only easing when she saw Arthur again the next day.

But she shook those thoughts out of her head. for now, she was going to go to Arthur's apartment and rest.

....

"So, you are Celeste.?".

"No".

"Phoebe?"

"No".

"Maybe...Esme?"

"No".

"Sophie?"

"No".

"I'm unlucky at this." Arthur folded his arms as he pondered the situation.

"You finished?".

"I just came by to say hello Mindee. But it's strange to always see you with that expressionless face. I won't deny that icy beauty fits my tastes. But when you multiply it by five it loses its effect." Arthur began to ramble. School days were somewhat bored so he decided to annoy one of his expressionless companions.

But Mindee didn't even respond before turning to leave.

"If you want to learn to play piano I can teach you."

Mindee paused for a second before continuing on her way.

Stepford Cuckoos, five girls of refined beauty with delicate but somewhat expressionless features. Blond hair that matched her crystal blue eyes quite well. Their bodies were still maturing, but they had long legs clad in white silk which was quite charming.

The five quintuplets were almost always together. Except for small moments where they separated for brief moments. And one of them always passed through corridors that connected to the room that contained a display piano.

And although Arthur is always shown as someone clueless and carefree. Few things were not perceived by him.

But the blonde's refusal made Arthur stop thinking about it.

And as if perfectly timed Arthur's expression darkened.

Without caring about the destruction of the infrastructure of the place. Arthur kicked the ground destroying it and lowering it one level, but this was repeated several times until the dark-haired man reached the underground facilities.

Arthur moved quite quickly to where he heard what sounded like a fight.

The dark-haired man had already bought several games that were on his to-do list, so he would suck if the place exploded again.

But it seemed that Arthur's concerns were a bit exaggerated.

Although the entire team seemed to be badly beaten, Emma had quite brutally broken an old woman's neck. being that old woman finished off by several bullets courtesy of Charles Xavier. Being a rare thing for Arthur, not to kill someone, but for Professor Charles to do it with that kind of expression.

"Pretty hardcore, did she try to kill a family using her lasers?" But no one had understood Arthur. "Ignore that. But can you tell me what the old lady did? Just to understand the context." But as always Arthur's nonchalant attitude was out of tune with the situation.

"Her name is Cassandra Nova. And all you have to know is that she's a crazy bitch. Now you can go back upstairs." Scott got up as he caught his breath.

"I understand, but don't think this was too easy, with everything I hear it usually ends with a dead x-man or the place being trashed." Arthur didn't want to be the obvious captain, but defeating the bad guy is never easy in this world.

"We have it under control Arthur. You can go back and rest easy." Jean still had a headache, Cassandra Nova was a pretty vicious psychic. Making her a formidable foe. And now that she thought about it, Arthur's words had a point. But that was thinking too much so the redhead let it go.

"I understand". Arthur gave them one last look before he left. But the dark-haired man noticed for a second how Professor Charles's eyes were doubtful.

That was strange, to the point that a very dangerous thought crossed Arthur's mind. It was not a hunch, several details multiplied in the face of such an unusual situation.

"Calm down Arthur!" Doc Mcoy grabbed Arthur's shoulder to wake him up.

Arthur's hand relaxed before he spoke again. "I just remembered something." Arthur turned around and left.

Leaving everyone confused by Hank's little outburst, since he had never raised his voice to a student.

But this was because Hank's instincts screamed at him to stop Arthur before that teenager murders Professor Xavier. Maybe it was his imagination, but underneath that blue fur Hank was breaking out in a cold sweat.

"We have to imprison the body. We can't let our guard down." But Hank kept his cool before going back to work.

.....

That was strange Arthur thought. That he will try to assassinate the Professor and then ask would be Arthur's style. But something didn't add up, "I'd better put my collection in safe." But Arthur wouldn't worry too much either.

So Arthur went back upstairs, but on the way, he ran into several students. But most of them ignore him. Since in reality Arthur only stood out for his appearance and his strange behavior during classes.

Although there was one person Arthur used to talk to.

"Mercer".

"Quentin, I see you are still being ignored by Sophie." A comment that hit a sore spot since that wasn't even on topic.

Quentin Quire is a psychic with some talent. Protected from Charles Xavier himself, with the aspect of a total nerd who has a great fetish for one of the Stepford Cuckoos.

At least that little annoyance had good taste in women, Arthur thought.

"I don't see that you do better, Mercer."

Yes, Quentin always called Arthur by his last name with a defiant tone.

"You don't see the whole picture. They are five with almost no difference, try to think big." Arthur no longer wasted his time with a confused Quentin.

The little teenager thought about it for a bit as he thought about Arthur's words. Until he understood Arthur's words.

"Impossible... You must be kidding me." But that claim was not for anyone, since Arthur had rushed to disappear.

....

Afternoon classes were canceled, as most of the teachers were beaten. So Arthur took the opportunity to relax.

What happened in the morning was a reminder to Arthur that everything was going to get complicated. Although the dark-haired man was still looking for a direction to follow.

It was quite ironic, Arthur received a power that he didn't know what to use it for. What was the point of living if the darkness of death overshadowed everything one did in life.

(Great, you and your thoughts). Arthur shook his head at him as he tried to continue on his way.

To refresh his mind Arthur headed out to the back garden.

And it did not disappoint, a very comfortable place to spend an afternoon. Excellent view and with a lot of floral aromas.

Arthur looked for a place to sit but by chance, he ran into a rather peculiar group.

"But they are my favorite quintuplets." With a smile, Arthur came over to say hello.

"Arthur"x5

Listening to them speak in sync was strange, although it had a very interesting peculiar aftertaste.

And it would be quite a nice meeting, too bad there was an extra with them.

"Sorry, I don't think we know each other." Arthur was polite until the other person gave him a reason to be an idiot.

"Kato Anishiwa. 16 years old, from Japan through an exchange program. A pleasure Arthur Mercer." With a somewhat stiff expression, that person peculiarly introduced himself by Arthur's standards.

"I would introduce myself but it seems you know me. Nice to meet you." Odd though it was, Arthur returned the greeting with a handshake to keep cordiality to a minimum.

Kato gave Arthur's hand a strange look before continuing with the greeting.

"Thank you for your hospitality." Kato firmly returned the shake.

But….but because he wouldn't let go of Arthur's hand.

"I think that's enough mate." But Arthur had no intention of being too rude to someone with different customs. So he used his powers to end that handshake that was already becoming weird.

"He's Esme's boyfriend too" x4.

That did take Arthur by surprise. "Well. I guess that's heartbreaking news for most of the students at the school. Including myself, I have to admit, but I guess congratulations." Getting all five, in the end, was just a distant dream. So Arthur will have to settle for four.

"Bitch!"x4. But it seemed that the rest of the sisters were not happy at all in this situation.

"They're just jealous because I was the first to have a boyfriend." Esme was the most expressive, to the point that she seemed to like seeing her sisters full of envy.

Arthur's first thought was that if Esme wanted a boyfriend to pick on her sisters, he was the man for the job. Esme had issues working out, but on the hot-crazy scale, indicates that everything was fine.

Although this was also an opportunity for Arthur to fish in rough waters. "Phoebe, how about we go for coffee later. I have a few questions about Professor Frost's ethics class." And it wasn't irony. Emma Frost was in charge of teaching ethics. A reformed villainess.

Phoebe seemed hesitant. But how smug Esme got made her mad.

"Sure Arthur." With a half-smile, Phoebe moved a little closer to Arthur seeming closer.

"If you have doubts about any other course I can help you". Celeste didn't miss her chance either. She reached out and took Arthur's arm as she looked at her sister as well with a look of victory.

Sparks began to form between the sisters. But Arthur didn't care.

The dark-haired man looked in Sophie's direction, but she was the calmest and it seemed that all this didn't bother her.

As for Mindee, she completely ignored Arthur. As if all that trouble wasn't related to her.

That provocation annoyed Esme. Making her use her telepathic powers and remind her sisters of something important.

Whatever she said telepathically made Phoebe and Celeste's momentum almost stop. But they didn't want to lose to one of their sisters so they stood their ground.

"I'm out". In the end, Esme took her boyfriend to go.

Surprisingly Kato remained quite expressionless during most of this process.

Making Arthur ask if those sisters couldn't tell.

"Kato, quite a character." But the comment seemed to have confused the sisters. "Didn't you notice?" Kato looked like an emotionless puppet. Not that the Stepford Cuckoos were very different, but they had emotions. And Arthur witnessed it at this time.

That Kato boy was very strange, the other option being that he was brainwashed by Esme. Which was highly unlikely, since that blonde was pretty hot.

"He did it to piss us off" x4.

And it seemed that those sisters didn't notice. Just worrying about the family hierarchy. But that wasn't Arthur's problem.

"So we go, Phoebe?". Arthur wouldn't forget his chance.

But the blonde seemed to want to get out of that situation. "I just remembered that I have homework. Goodbye." Phoebe ran ahead.

Arthur glanced in Celeste's direction, but she just avoided her gaze before running away.

When Arthur thought of being used he didn't imagine it that way.

"I say goodbye Arthur." Sophie gave a little bow before leaving. She's quite educating, and Arthur's new favorite.

"That did leave a bad taste in my mouth. What will you say, Annie, or are you Hallie?" The dark-haired man imaginarily cleaned the grass of her clothes, since he didn't need it.

"Annie…Hallie?" Mindee looked genuinely confused making Arthur sigh.

"She's from a movie about twins. You should see it, but the Lindsay Lohan version. The old version didn't age as well." Arthur decided to go about his business and find a place to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

"Waiting....". Mindee put on a conflicted expression. She debated internally if it was okay for her to tell Arthur the truth. But it was best, to be honest, to avoid misunderstandings. "Miss Frost has forbidden us to interact with you."

The blonde didn't know how to continue, she couldn't see anything inside Arthur's head. She didn't know if Arthur was angry, happy, or sad. Making her weak social skills falter even more. That's why Mindee decided on the truth.

"So, you're saying that no matter how much your sisters wanted to go out with me, they would have to sacrifice their happiness for Emma's tyrannical orders. Now that makes more sense to me." Arthur began to reflect, nodding his head, since it seemed that everything fell into place.

"I didn't say that." Mindee got emotional pretty fast. Although she no longer felt sad in that situation. "Aren't you seeing the situation wrong? I just told you that Miss Frost has something against you, and that's your reaction?"

"What can I say, I'm one of those who looks at the glass as half full. Besides, I know that she doesn't like me." Everyone reaps what he sows, most likely she would discover the massacre he made to several gangs. So it was a normal thought.

"Then I'm leaving, and my offer to teach you how to play the piano still stands. So if you want to piss off your beloved teacher let me know."

It was weird for Mindee, it was very difficult to understand Arthur. Though she thought he wasn't such a bad guy. Although only a little.