NOVEL NEXT Chapter 011 – Companions
[2009 – June]
Seeing the speedster just staring at me in curiosity, I couldn't help but ask him: "You want something from me, old man?"
Giving off an amused smirk, he answered: “No, just curious about the guy who managed to tame Mini-Wolverine.”
Surprise spread through my heart, as I subconsciously turned my gaze towards the door the nameless girl had just vanished through.
“Her name is Laura Kinney, isn't it?”, I asked, already sure of the answer.
“Bingo.”, Pietro said with his typical flippant attitude, as he continued, “So you gonna tell me how you did it?”
Turning back to my food, I answered dismissively: “I don't know what you mean. I didn't do anything special.”
"Well, that seems like a lie. You survived her death stare, so you have to be special."
“You always that noisy?”, I couldn't help but ask, though I kinda enjoyed his light-hearted attitude.
Still, his appearance also created some worry in my heart.
The Pietro before me was the version from the X-Men movies of the revised timeline. This meant that his other self from the MCU didn't exist and I feared that this meant that Wanda Maximoff wasn't the MCU version, which made alarm bells ring in my head.
If the MCU version of Wanda was powerful then the comic book version of her was POWERFUL with capital letters. She was a Reality Manipulator with incredible power and also responsible for an event called M-Day, where she practically depowered or killed 98% of all mutants.
But even worse than her incredible threat-level was the fact that she was mentally unstable and out of touch with reality, which was practically the worst thing for a Reality Manipulator.
Of course, I wasn't sure yet if she even existed here, but that was definitely something I had to keep an eye on. And in the worst-case scenario, prepare for it. I was not going to lose my power – my chance at freedom – just because of a mentally unstable Reality Warper.
“Well, I could say no, but that would be a lie. So what's your name, mysterious new guy?”, Pietro replied nonchalantly.
His words brought my mind back to the here and now, as I answered him: “Elijah Frost. And yours, Grandpa Youngface?”
“Pietro Maximoff.”, Pietro answered with a chuckle, “So what's your superpower, besides the 'I-am-handsome-and-I-don't-give-a-damn'-charm?”
Smiling involuntarily at the banter, I emptied my juice and replied: “I can create shields. And let me guess, you are super fast?”
“Good guess.”, Pietro voiced out.
“Not a guess.”, I quipped back honestly, before I continued, “You wanna show me around the mansion? I need a tour, as this place seems more like a labyrinth than a school.”
“Sure thing, I got nowhere else to be.”
“Good, let's start with finding Hank McCoy. I need his help with something.”, I proposed, wanting to take care of my phone and laptop as soon as possible.
They were my tools to get more information about this world and what was going on out there, so I needed them ready to go without them being used by others to track my every move.
I of course realised that Hank or the Professor would probably be keeping track of what I did, but it was a small price to pay in exchange for not having to worry about Hydra and SHIELD using them to monitor me.
“Sure, he spends most of his time in his lab anyway, so he's easy to find.”, Pietro said as we stood up and were just about to leave, as a female voice caused me to turn around.
“Do you mind some company, boys?”, a smiling asian girl asked.
Her smile alone was almost blinding, while behind her stood a short-haired goth girl with black lipstick who gave me a slightly curious look.
It took less than a nanosecond for Pietro to move around the table and appear next to Yukio, as he answered her with an enthusiasm I couldn't even begin to comprehend.
“Of course not, Yukio. Ah, let me introduce you. Elijah, Yukio. Yukio, Elijah. And the quiet moody one here is Ellie.”
Ellie just gave me a half-nod, as she greeted me with a short: “ 'Sup.”
Yukio on the other hand was clearly more socially apt, as she greeted me and started bombarding me with questions: "Hey Elijah, I'm Yukio. Don't mind Ellie, she just likes to play tough. So you knew Laura before coming here? Also, where did you come from? Are you going to be an X-Men recruit like us? I mean you live in the same wing as us after all."
Feeling a headache approaching just from trying to follow her words, I knew that I had to nip this impromptu interrogation in the bud so that I wouldn't have to answer her questions for the next few hours.
"I'm gonna answer your questions and you can come with us, but that means no more questions for today. Deal?", I offered, knowing her to be an honest and polite girl, even though she also seemed to be the incredibly curious type.
"Deal!", Yukio accepted with a smile, while Ellie gave me a somewhat impressed look for having handled Yukio's inquisitive nature that easily.
Pietro just seemed to enjoy the show, as he kept looking back and forth between me and Yukio while his feet tapped against the ground, releasing some of his nervous energy.
"I didn't know Laura. I am from Queens. And no, I am not gonna be an X-Man, I am just staying here for a while until I figure out my powers. Basically, I just rented a room from the Professor.", I stated, answering all her questions.
I could see Yukio's eyes burning in curiosity and half-expected her to continue throwing questions my way, but the Japanese girl kept her word and just turned to Pietro, as she said: "Let's hurry up and go find Mr. McCoy, we have a whole tour ahead of us after all."
…
On our way to Hank's lab, Yukio and Pietro introduced me to the place while Ellie followed along silently.
To be honest I was equally quiet, as Yukio and Pietro did most of the talking. It seemed like they were just the perfect match for each other, one a sweet but curious girl, while the other lived his life in a hyperactive state.
As we finally entered Hank's lab, all I could see was machines upon machines – which I had no idea about what they did – piled up next to each other.
The beastly scientist's attention seemed to be focused on something under his microscope, though I had no doubt that he had sensed us entering.
Waiting quietly for a few moments until the man had finished his work, he soon put down his notebook as he turned towards us and addressed us.
"Now, what can I do for you all? And don't tell me you broke another one of your slot machines, Pietro, because I am not fixing that.", the Doc said good-naturedly.
Stepping forward, I stated what I came here for as I pulled out my laptop and phone from the bag.
"Actually, it's me that needs your help, Doctor McCoy. I am a new resident and my nam-"
"Elijah Frost, yes I remember your face from the data I gathered after the Professor found you. So what can I do for you?"
"Well, I just wondered if you had a quick solution that would avoid me getting tracked by god-knows-who every time I switch on my phone or search up something on the web with my laptop.", I asked directly.
"Ahh, yes that is certainly a risk. But it's actually a rather simple fix. As soon as you link up to the mansion's W-LAN, a program will be installed on your devices automatically which will protect them from getting tracked. Along with saving the numbers of the various teacher's and instructor's work phones in your contacts.", Hank explained in an easy-going manner.
In retrospect, it seemed logical that he would use such a method to protect the student's devices like that, as he didn't have to individually install a program on every device or hand out new devices to every student.
“Certainly seems like a smart solution. Either way, thanks for your time Doctor McCoy, we will leave you to your projects then.”, I bid my goodbyes, not wanting to keep him from his work any longer.
"No problem, kid.", Hank said as he was already turning back towards the microscope.