Thunderheads boiled across the sky.
Flames raged over the field.
From afar it might have been a breathtaking tableau.
Inside the picture, no one felt it was beautiful.
"You… I…"
Pyro's eyes were blank, his body trembling beyond control. His clothes and hair were gone, and he looked ready to collapse.
Seeing this, Storm called out, "Ren, if you do not stop, I am going to Charles."
"Ms. Ororo, I told you to relax. I know my limits."
Ren gave her a helpless look.
SNAP!
In Storm's wide-eyed stare, the colossal nine headed serpent burst like foam. The burning ground and every trace of flamecraft vanished as if a wind had erased them.
Then a mysterious current swept the field. Torn earth flowed back to fill craters.
Charred soil lightened, recovering before the naked eye.
The fallen stone pillar Petra had raised condensed and sank into place.
The nearly melted basketball hoop gleamed as good as new.
Across the vast field, everything was mending.
Yes, mending.
Storm froze.
Even Ren's terrifying display a moment ago had not shaken her like this. Watching the scene unfold, she felt a dizzying dislocation.
What was this?
Time rewound?
But Ren was a fire wielder, was he not?
Were the torrential flame attacks all illusions?
How much was he still hiding?
Questions surged through her as awed voices rose all around.
"Ren is incredible."
"So he had powers after all. I really thought he was just smart."
"Same fire theme, why is he so much stronger than John?"
"John could not even fight back."
"Not just John. Bishop and the others together did not last a round."
"No wonder the professor asked Ren to lead the mission."
"Sigh, why did I not pass the exam…"
"Bishop's group must be kicking themselves now."
The whispers did not disrupt Ren's casting.
Fourth circle magic: Revert to Pristine.
Moments later the effect ended.
On the huge field, there was not a single mark of battle left, aside from Pyro's missing clothing.
Even Bishop and Petra's clothes remained intact.
For them, it felt like a dream.
Yet every one of them knew it had been real.
Calvin the Mimic, Kevin the Shifter, Bishop, and Petra traded looks and realized they had made a terrible choice.
"Ren…"
They started to call out.
Ren was already turning away.
"Bobby, Peter, Roberto, why are you still standing there? Kitty and Chika are already in the dorm packing."
The same calm voice carried to Colossus and the others, now edged with authority.
They snapped to, shared a glance, and sprinted for the dorms.
Iceman did not even glance at Rogue.
Storm needed no further hint.
This was exactly what Ren wanted.
A student who had kept his head down for ten years now bared his edge and moved to do something big.
He had to establish awe.
Poor Pyro had simply delivered himself as a target.
It was even possible he had not delivered himself. No matter how hot blooded he was, would he truly be foolish enough to attack Ren in front of everyone?
Who knew whether Ren had nudged things along.
Storm steadied herself and walked to Pyro. "How do you feel? Any pain anywhere?"
Pyro was silent for a time.
At last he looked up at her, and anger slowly returned to his face. "Ms. Ororo, why am I not hurt?"
"How could I not be hurt?"
"How can I not be hurt?"
Three questions, and Storm had no answer.
She knew he knew.
That was why he was angry.
Ren had power to crush him, yet that thunderous onslaught had only frightened him.
Which meant Ren had never taken him seriously.
His provocation had been meaningless.
How sad was that.
"Go sleep it off."
Storm could only pat his shoulder. "After a nap, it will all pass."
Even as she spoke, she was already planning to ask Professor X to adjust Pyro's memory.
Storm did not know that everything on the field had been witnessed in full by Professor X.
Not only him.
Jean Grey, Wolverine Logan, and Cyclops were all in the headmaster's office.
"A terrifyingly strong fire gift."
"And exquisite control."
Cyclops was first to speak, wonder on his face. "Professor, this is the magic you mentioned? Has Ren been hiding fire magic all along?"
"No."
Professor X shook his head. "In my office he showed a seamless expansion spell that enlarges a space on the inside."
"And now he has shown a restorative spell."
Jean took the thread, eyes puzzled. "So what exactly is his magic, Professor? Did you ask?"
"I did not."
Professor X answered honestly.
Cyclops and Jean exchanged a look. "Why not?"
Silence spread through the room.
After a while, Professor X spoke again. "You can laugh if you like. In the last minutes of my talk with Ren, I could not help myself and tried to probe his mind."
All three stared.
Shock deepened as he added, "I failed. His mind is walled by a shield so solid that even if I used all my power, I might not break it."
"How is that possible?"
Jean could not believe it.
As the professor's student and a telepath herself, she knew his power better than anyone alive.
Aside from Magneto with his helmet, no one completely blocked the professor's intrusion.
Ren could.
"That is why I did not ask anything about his own abilities."
Professor X sighed. "Ren is a genius, a deeply hidden one. If he wishes to tell us, he will speak without our asking."
Jean frowned slightly.
She understood the implication.
From the moment the professor could not read Ren's mind, they were no longer simply teacher and student.
They were more like partners.
"Charles, I have never seen you this passive."
Logan lifted the project plan from the desk. "Aren't you worried he is another Magneto? The way he handled things was harsher than yours."
"He did not truly hit to kill."
Professor X smiled and shook his head, wise eyes seeming to see through it all. "He needed to establish authority. It makes Bobby and the others more obedient, and it shows us his strength and gives us confidence."
"Logan, you will learn that this student acts with method."
"The East says three years of silence, one cry that startles the world, and also speaks of a great roc rising with the wind in one day and soaring ninety thousand li. Ren has prepared for ten years. Now he steps from seclusion. Nothing will stop his stride."
"We simply have to watch."
Silence settled again.
After a long moment, Logan snorted.
"Charles, when did you get so into Eastern culture that you are quoting ancient poetry?"
Professor X: "…"