62 Chapter 62: Visiting the X-Mansion
Hey guys!
I'm back!
I'm sorry that I posted later than usual, but here's some good news. I passed my Cegep and I'm going to University. And it's also my birthday tomorrow.
Praise me!
Anyway, to raise money for tuition, I'm taking more shifts during the summer, but I'm still going to post chapters during the weeks. Anyway, here's today's chapter and don't forget to leave comments.
Also, leave some comments so I can improve my writing style. Even though I'm doing this as a hobby, I still want to improve my writing skills and write better stories.
Peace!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Monday, February 18th, 2008)
A week had passed since his training with the demigods and Monday morning could see Isaiah standing in front of a tombstone.
[HERE LIES SARAH SHARPE
BELOVED DAUGHTER, MOTHER AND FRIEND
MARCH 5TH, 1968 - JULY 18TH, 2000]
After he had moved in with his father, the latter had erected a tombstone for his deceased lover right in a cemetery located in Queens, her birthplace. Unfortunately, there was nothing six feet underground as her body couldn't be retrieved.
Fortunately, for Isaiah, thanks to the sling ring, he's always a few steps away from it making it easy for him to visit. Every time, he gazed at the tombstone, he felt a little empty inside, due to the fact he had lost almost all the memories of his mother. The only one he kept was a vague one where he could see her bright smile.
After hearing his son had lost his memories, Tony had compiled all the photos and videos of Sharah he could find into an album and gave it to his son with the hope he could recover his memories even if it was a fruitless endeavour. At least, Isaiah could know his mother through the album.
The boy wiped off the snow that had covered the tombstone and turned around before walking out of the graveyard. There he saw a black car with tinted windows waiting for him. He opened it and went inside.
"You okay?" Tony asked.
Isaiah nodded as he put on his seatbelt,
"Yeah. Unfortunately, no new memories surfaced."
Tony put a hand on the boy's shoulder,
"It's okay. You said it yourself, your amnesia is not a normal one."
Isaiah simply shrugged.
"Now then, shall we?" the man asked.
The young sorcerer nodded with a grin,
"Yeah! I can't wait to see the school."
Happy, who was driving, chuckled at the boy's excitement.
"Yeah, yeah. Just remember, I can't be there with you due to our situation," the father said.
"I know. Although, that doesn't mean I didn't want you there." Isaiah said with a slight pout.
Tony nodded with a grin and turned to Happy,
"Alright, let's go Happy."
"Yes sir!" the latter responded.
Soon the car took off for Salem where the school for mutants was located.
[***]
Almost two hours later, the car arrived in front of a large pair of gates connecting metal fences. Isaiah could see a board on the side with some words written on it.
[Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters]
On the other side of the fence, Isaiah could see a large courtyard with a huge fountain in the middle of it. There was a light blanket of snow on the ground and it felt a lot like a boarding school which it is. Not that Isaiah knew since he's never been to one.
"I know you said you wanted to take the car and plane, but couldn't you have opened a portal?" Tony asked.
Isaiah looked at his dad,
"I can't since I need to have a clear visual image of where I want to go and since I've never been here, I couldn't open a door. Besides, I wanted to try travelling like normal people with you." the boy replied with a childlike smile.
Tony looked at his son and ruffled his hair,
"Alright,"
And it had been a hassle. Trying to let Isaiah ride the private jet without anyone seeing him was a challenge in itself. The pilot had signed an NDA just for Isiaiah's presence and they made sure to take off from a private airport Tony owned. There was also no air hostess on board.
'I really need to announce his presence.' Tony had thought at the time once Isaiah had boarded the plane. The worry had left when he saw the childish curiosity of the boy when he saw the place take off and go into the sky.
This was the boy who could bend reality, but he had his mouth opened when looked at the clouds below them. He couldn't keep the grin off his face when the boy kept asking questions about how it worked even when he could use his spell to learn its internal function.
Back to the present, the man opened Isaiah's door and the latter got out of the car.
"Just remember, just tell me if you want to attend this school alright?" Tony asked.
Isaiah nodded and closed the door.
The window slid down and Tony looked at the boy,
"You excited?"
Isaiah had to admit he was,
Up until now, he had only met people of magical nature. Except for the four people he met back at his house, he had a chance to meet new people of his age with powers. He may also learn more about his supposed mutant ability: Intuitive Aptitude. He hadn't really thought about this ability since he had it the day he woke up from the coma and it felt so natural except for when he falls into some sort of fugue when learning or tinkering with something like his teacher said.
So yes. He was excited. He also couldn't wait to learn about mutant powers that his teacher described as cheat codes in the program called Reality.
"Yeah. Can't wait to meet them!"
"He. Yo, go, champ. I'll leave you to it. I better leave before anyone sees me. Open a portal, will you? Don't wanna waste so much time to go back to Malibu."
"What about the jet?" Isaiah.
"I'll just tell the pilot to fly it back to Malibu without me," Tony replied.
Isaiah nodded,
"Alright. Bye, Dad! By Happy!"
"See you later, kid," The bodyguard said.
"Bye, Isaiah," Tony replied and rolled up the window.
Isaiah brought out the sling ring and opened a portal big enough for the car right into the Stark Mansion's garage and Happy drove it inside before the portal closed.
Isaiah turned back to the gates and saw an intercom by the fence. However, just as he was about to press the button, he sensed a familiar energy approaching him. Looking up at the sky, he saw Ororo Munroe descending and landing on the ground.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, the gates opened up and the boy saw the woman smiling at him,
"Isaiah, we've been waiting for you. Is Mr. Stark not here with you?"
Isaiah shook his head,
"He dropped me off, but he couldn't come due to obvious reasons."
The woman nodded,
"I understand. Why don't you come inside and I will give you a tour. I don't see any other bag or luggage. Is that bag all that you have?" the weather manipulator asked motioning to Isaiah's backpack.
"Yup!"
"Alright, come in then"
The boy followed the woman on the other side of the gates. As soon as he did, the gates closed and Isaiah turned his gaze toward the school. The courtyard was a huge ground covered in a light blanket of snow and a path connecting the entrance and the mansion that circle the fountain.
" It's bigger than I thought," Isaiah said when they soon came in front of the establishment.
The woman smiled,
"You should see the inside then," she replied.
Isaiah nodded and the Ororo opened the door.
Now, Isaiah has never been to a school, except for the one Bianca and Nico attended, he could tell the interior design was amazing. He could see plenty of students bustling around with books in their hands. However, what was odd was the fact that most of them looked like normal humans. But Isaiah could feel the psionic energy in them. Some had more than others. some had less. Unlike magic, mutants seem to have psionic energy concentrated on specific parts of their anatomy indicating perhaps the location of their mutation.
"Woah." Isaiah let out.
Seeing his expression, Ororo smiled and spoke,
"I'm glad this place had a good first impression."
A duo of girls walked by them and greeted the woman who responded with the same.
Isaiah looked around and saw people displaying powers such as pyrokinesis, photokinesis, etc. Some even had physical mutations and some looked completely normal.
It was then Ororo's voice that snapped him out of his trance,
"Come let's go see the professor."
The boy followed the teacher through the sea of students and they soon arrived in front of what looked like an office door. On the wall was a plate with the words:
[Charles Xavier
Headmaster]
*Toc* *Toc* *Toc*
The woman knocked on the door.
"Come in," someone responded.
The duo entered the room and they could see Professor Xavier behind a large desk sifting through some documents.
He lifted his head and saw the guest.
"Ah. Young Isaiah. You've finally made it. Welcome to the Xavier's School of Gifted Youngsters. Have a seat. How was your first time visiting?"
The boy sat down on a chair and Ororo joined the Professor,
"I like it. I've never been to a school before, but it looks amazing."
The man nodded,
"I'm glad you like it. As I said the last time we met, this school has been built for the sole purpose to teach and help children with special abilities. We help them learn to control their powers in order to function in society. We are also a school therefore the children are able to receive education and graduate up to college level without any worries about persecution of their powers."
"That's amazing."
Xavier smiled,
"On a related note, can you describe to me your educational background? Are you homeschooled?" the man asked.
The boy nodded,
"I've been homeschooled, but I've never taken any sort of official exam or received any diploma indicating that I have received any education."
The man nodded,
"I see. Well, if that is the case, we could make you take some tests to check which level of education you have received. Afterwards, we can see what kind of material you need. You said that you wanted to attend a high school your mother attended. Am I right?"
The boy nodded again,
"Which one if I may ask?"
"Midtown High."
"If I'm not wrong that's a school that goes from grade 8 to 12, am I right?"
"Yeah."
"Then to enter this high school, you will need proper paperwork that shows proof that you've received the proper education from kindergarten up to grade 7. Due to your unique situation, I'm sure your father will help you in that regard. I can also contact him to ensure proper paperwork is made without exposing your identity as well as giving you the qualifications to enter high school. How does that sound?"
Isaiah made a troubled expression. He's never really researched how grades worked therefore he lacked some knowledge in that regard.
'I need to talk to Dad.'
"Can I talk to my father before doing all this?"
Xavier nodded,
"That's okay. We should also discuss this with your father. In the meantime, Ororo will finish the tour and we will assign you a guest room."
"Okay"
The woman in question smiled and motioned to Isaiah,
"Come, Isaiah, we still have a lot to show you," she said and they both left the room.
The first place, Ororo showed Isaiah was the cafeteria, since it was almost lunchtime, it was chock full of students getting their meals.
Isaiah had seen Highschool Musical so his perception of school had kind of been a little skewed. He half expected to just start dancing in the middle of the room.
Heh.
But no, they were all interacting with each other like normal people. Some were displaying some powers such as telekinesis or simply flying. Otherwise, they were normal children and teenagers,
'I really should differentiate reality and fiction.'
After showing the cafeteria, Ororo continued her tour.
***
After almost an hour, the tour was complete. The school had literally everything he could think of like a swimming pool, a library, a gymnasium, and so many classes. It was amazing. He hadn't had the chance to meet any teachers since they were all busy with their classes.
Right now, Isaiah was inside a guest room. They decided he wouldn't need to go to a dorm room since this was a trial period. Ororo had to leave since she had a class to teach therefore the boy was left alone for now. Although, she did say she was going to send someone. Unfortunately, there is something called boredom and Isaiah had been infected with it.
Once he left his bag in the room, he left and headed for the library. He met many students his age, but they were all occupied with either talking with their friends or other stuff therefore they didn't pay much attention.
However, there was something off.
Ever since he entered the school, he felt something... tickling his mind. As if someone was probing it. He knew it wasn't Charles Xavier since he would have probably noticed it back when he was in his office. He may not be an expert in telepathy, but he was not a novice either.
He soon found the library when he felt a familiar energy. Walking toward it, he found himself looking at a familiar redhead who was reading a book on a lone chair. The tickling on his mind grew more intense when he looked at her.
'So it's you.'
The girl didn't seem like she was doing it on purpose. Isaiah focused on her energy and the same fiery energy seemed to be swirling inside of her, but it was still a puzzle to him. How could such intense energy not affect her? How could it be so muted?
He decided to walk up to her.
"Hello."
Jean jumped up in scare when she heard a voice behind her. Turning around, she saw it was Isaiah.
"It's you!" she exclaimed.
Her voice was a little too loud for the library and some of the students turned to her. A little embarrassed by her outburst, she sat back down and looked at the boy.
It had been a week since they met each other, but he had left quite a lasting impression on her. It's not every day a boy says you were hot on the first meeting.
The worse thing was he hadn't even meant to compliment her!
"What are you doing here?"
Isaiah raised an eyebrow,
"I came to visit the school. Your professor invited me. remember? Ms. Munro"
"Oh right."
The two stood in awkward silence as neither knew what to talk about before Isaiah broke it,
"Ms. Munroe gave me a tour around the school, but she had to go teach a class or something. So what do you do around here?"
Jean looked at the book she was holding,
"Well, I like reading. There's not much to do around here for now..."
Now that she looked at Isaiah, something was off. It was like something was missing.
She narrowed her eyes and, in response, Isaiah raised his eyebrows in confusion.
At that moment, something clicked in her mind,
"You..."
"Yes?" Isaiah asked.
"Why can't I read your mind?"
"So that's what you were trying to do? Can you stop that?"
Jean recoiled and stared at the boy,
"You knew? I thought your power was energy manipulation."
"Yeah, it's like my brain is being tickled. Not the best sensation. So I would appreciate it if you would stop it."
Jean looked down,
"I'm trying, but I can't control my powers well. The professor is helping me right now, but there has not been much progress," she said with gritted teeth.
Isaiah studied her for a moment,
"Can I offer some help?"
"Help?"
Before Isaiah could explain, a voice interrupted them,
"Hey Jean, who's this?"
Both children turned to the voice and saw a boy wearing a T-shirt and jeans standing in front of them. What stood out was the glasses with ruby-red lenses.
"Scott. This is Isaiah Sharpe. He's touring the school. Isaiah, meet Scott Summers. He's a student like me."
The newly arrived boy looked at Isaiah,
"Touring? Wait, is he the one you guys went to see last week?"
Jean nodded
"Yeah. Professor Xavier invited me to attend this school, so he offered me a tour of the place." Isaiah replied.
"So you're a mutant?" Scott turned back to the boy.
Isaiah tilted his head,
"I was under the impression that only mutants are able to visit this school."
Scott groaned,
"Right, stupid question. What can you do?"
"What can I do?"
"Your powers. What are your powers?"
Isaiah smirked,
"Magic."
Both teens deadpanned,
"If you don't want to tell, you don't have to," Scott replied with an irritated expression.
'It's not I was wrong.'
"I'm an energy manipulator," Isaiah then said.
"Energy manipulator?"
"Yup, what about you?"
"I can shoot optic blasts out of my eyes. Although I can't control it, it's why I wear these glasses."
"Oh, I was wondering about that. I thought it was just some sort of fashion sense. How do they work?"
"I don't know much, Professor McCoy said that the lenses are made with ruby quartz that allowed me to open my eyes by shooting out optic rays and destroying everything."
"Interesting."
Isaiah wanted to study Scott and his powers. He wanted to see how it worked. It may be his (Intuitive Aptitude) at work, but he wanted to see what made his powers tick.
"How long have you had your powers?" Scott asked.
"Since I was five."
"Five!?" Scott practically yelled.
"Shhhh!" someone shushed.
"Sorry."
Jean then said,
"Let's get out of here."
Both boys nodded and all three began to walk out of the library."
"Five? That's so freakishly young! How did that happen?"
That's when Jean spoke up,
"Huh, Scott I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why?"
Before the girl could explain, Isaiah stopped her,
"It's okay Jean."
Isaiah turned back to Scott,
"I was involved in an explosion when I was abroad."
Scott was taken aback and bore a guilty expression.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"That's okay. On the other hand, what about you?"
Scott let out a hesitant expression,
"I was in a hospital and I blasted a hole through the ceiling," Scott replied curtly.
Even with his lack of social skills, Isaiah could sense that there was more to his story, but he didn't press him since it was not his business.
"Can you show me?"
"Show you my powers?"
"Yes. You show me yours and I'll show you mine."
"Ugh." both teens groaned.
Looking at them, Isaiah got confused,
"What?"
"N-Nothing. Sure, I'll show you my powers. Let's go to the Danger Room."
"Danger Room?"
Ten minutes later, the three teens were standing in front of a futuristic-looking metal gate under the school.
Scott placed his hand on the biometric scanner and the gate opened. He then walked inside along with Jean and Isaiah behind. Once inside, the latter looked around in awe at the huge circular room.
"What is this place?"
Scott spread his arms out,
"This is the Danger Room. This is the place where we practice and hone our powers. It's also where the X-Men train."
"The X-Men?"
"Yeah. The X-Men. A group created by the professor to help the mutants."
"Huh?"
"It's a long story. You'll hear about it later on. Let's test our powers shall we?"
"Yeah!" Isaiah replied.
The older boy turned to the redhead,
"Jean, can you bring up the mannequins?"
The girl sighed and walked up to the observation platform before pushing a button. Suddenly trap doors on the floor opened up and ten mannequins emerged from it. They all had a targets on their bodies similar to the ones in gun ranges.
Scott turned to Isaiah and asked,
"You ready?"
"Yup!"
"Alright. Here I go."
Scott closed his eyes and removed his glasses. Isaiah waited in anticipation when suddenly Scott opened his eyes.
*WZOOOOOOMMM*
Ruby-red rays of destruction erupted from his eyes and instantly crossed the room before incinerating the first target. Then the second, then the third. Scott didn't let up until all the targets were destroyed.
*Clap-clap-clap-clap*
"Ooooohhhhhh! That was awesome!"
Scott grinned,
"Thanks."
When Scott was using his powers, Isaiah paid close attention. Unlike Jean, Scott's psionic energy was mainly concentrated around his brain and his eyes. Especially his eyes. However, the optic blast that he shot was not psionic energy. It was something akin to pure concussive force. But something was confusing, according to Isaiah, Scott's body doesn't produce the optic blast itself. If it did, Isaiah would have noticed it with his energy perception. In fact, his whole body would have been flooded with the energy of the optic blast.
No, the blasts themselves came from somewhere else and Scott used his eyes to channel that power. Unfortunately, Isaiah was unable to determine where they came from yet.
'This is so interesting. I'm glad I visited this place.'
"Your turn, man. Show us what you got."
"Indeed, I would also like to see what young Isaiah can do," an older voice said.
Both boys turned to the entrance and saw Professor Xavier along with Logan and a being coved in blue fur wearing a pair of glasses and a lab coat coming up to them.
" Professor Xavier, Professor Logan, and Professor McCoy!" Scott called out, "What are you guys doing here?"
"Well, I received an alert that someone entered the Danger Room. Seeing it was you three, I decided that I would come by too."
The man in the wheelchair then turned to Isaiah,
"Hello again, Isaiah. You met Logan last week."
The burly man nodded,
"Hey there, bub"
"Hello, Mr. Logan," Isaiah replied.
"And, this is Henry McCoy." Xavier motioned to the blue beast.
"It is a pleasure meeting you, Isaiah," Henry McCoy said, extending his huge hand toward the boy.
Even with everything he had seen in all of his life, someone like Mr. McCoy was a first.
"Is this your power?"
The man nodded,
"You can say that."
"It looks awesome!" Isaiah replied with sparkling eyes.
Taken aback by the compliment, the man stuttered a little,
"T-Thank you. Not many people say that. Charles said your mutant ability was energy manipulation?"
"Yup?"
"Interesting, do you mind if I run some tests?"
"Well, I was just about to show Scott my powers."
"Excellent, we will be observing in the observation deck." Charles Xavier said.
Soon the only one remaining in the Danger Room was Isaiah while everyone else was in the observation deck waiting for Isaiah's demonstration.
"So how are these tests going to work?" Isaiah's voice could be heard through the speakers of the deck.
He had changed into some workout clothes that he had brought over.
"You will run through an obstacle course. Your goal is to make it through the end as fast as possible all the while avoiding the obstacles." Professor McCoy said through the intercom.
Isaiah stretched himself,
"What sort of obstacles?"
"There are all sorts of obstacles such as guns that shoot rubber pellets, walls, traps, and more. Don't worry, the difficulty has been adjusted to level one, therefore, it is nothing too dangerous."
At that moment, the room changed and morphed into some sort of hall showing a course with all sorts of obstacles
"*Whistle* Wow. Did you all go through this?" Isaiah let out.
"Not everyone. Only some of us can go through it let alone finish it." Scott spoke.
"Did you finish it?"
"Yup. Jean also finished it!"
Isaiah could sense some pride leaking out of his voice.
"Tell us when you're ready."
Isaiah adjusted his glasses.
'Root, Shine.'
In his mind, he touched the door and activated his circuits. The heat of his mana spreading through his body was exhilarating as always.
On the outside, the spectators could see circuits glowing on the boy's exposed arms and legs before they faded away.
"Circuits? What kind of power gives circuits?" Scott asked.
"Perhaps the energy young Isaiah uses travels through these so-called circuits. Then it would mean his body had undergone a large physical mutation in order to give him a whole new system similar to the cardiovascular system solely for this energy." Henry McCoy said as he started taking notes.
"He didn't show them the last time we met," Xavier observed.
"Really? Interesting." McCoy replied with a curious glint in his eyes.
Logan remained silent as his eyes were trained on Isaiah. The boy may have underplayed his abilities, but he could feel that the boy was trained. The way the boy acted was also strange. Isaiah told them that he awakened his abilities at five years old, but the way he moved showed prowess in martial arts. What he showed back at the Stark Mansion barely scratched the surface of his true power.
He hadn't told anyone this yet.
"I'm ready," Isaiah called out.
"Okay. On the count of three, you may begin." McCoy replied.
At that moment, Above the hall, there was a countdown.
[3]
Isaiah dug his feet into the ground.
[2]
All the spectators waited for Isaiah to start.
[1]
Isaiah focused on the entrance.
'Reinforcement'
*BEEEEEP*
*BOOM!*
As soon as the start signal was heard, Isaiah blitzed into the hall. With his mana pumping into his limbs and eyes, He leaped over the first hurdle, before shooting at a gun that barely got out of the wall. He ducked under a laser and ran past two walls meant to crush him. He shot mana bullets at two other guns making them explode. A giant mallet swung down, but Isaiah simply punched it making it go back up just enough for him to run past it.
*CRACK* *BAM*
The observers watched in awe at the display of power Isaiah was showing,
"This is a novice?" McCoy asked in disbelief.
"He's been trained," Logan said.
"Yes, but by whom?" Xavier asked.
"Probably during that six-year gap before his father found him. It's not like he told us about it."
The two teens stood in shocked silence as they saw Isaiah destroying three more machine guns using those strange energy bullets.
Meanwhile, Isaiah saw the finishing line. He smirked and, before he could arrive at the line, the floor opened up and five robots emerged. They looked similar to the battle droids seen in the Star Wars movies They all held some sort of laser weapon and began firing at Isaiah. Isaiah pulled on the Universal Energy and used Eldritch Magic to create two tao mandalas and block the shots. He then threw the constructs slicing two robots in half. The third advanced toward him, but the boy didn't give it a chance and created a whip which he launched at that robot. Once the whip wrapped around the robot, using his enhanced strength, he whipped it toward the fourth and destroyed it, creating an explosion. For the final robot, Isaiah simply launched himself toward it and kicked the head off.
He did it just for the kicks of it.
Heh.
Pun intended.
In less than a second, Isaiah crossed the finish line and slid to a stop. He turned around and looked at the observation deck and saw their shocked expression.
"So? How'd I do?"
