It was unbelievable. He was otherworldly beautiful, and he didn't just mean beauty. His hair and eyes had changed into unnatural colors that enhanced his beauty even more. His hair had turned white, and his eyes had completely turned black, with the iris turning silver. He was like an animated character brought to life while keeping looks that could only exist on paper.
Then he remembered something. He got up and looked at his body. He was absolutely jacked too. He was muscular, balanced perfectly between lean muscle and something slightly above that. He wasn't too muscular, and he wasn't too lean—it was the perfect balance. He was also taller. He thought he was around 6'3". It was incredible. Did his power seriously just make him handsome?
He chuckled at the thought, but then he remembered what he had done earlier. He had sent his brother and dad flying with a swing and had run at inhuman speed.
"Oh yeah… I can do that too."
It was pretty obvious that he already had enhanced strength, but he wanted to test it out. He walked toward a tree and slapped it. Bang. It scared him, but nothing happened to him. It tore a large hole in the tree, though the tree didn't fall. He focused on the hole he had made.
"Haha… hahaha."
He started laughing at the sight. He didn't know if he was happy, horrified, or both. Just a couple of seconds ago, he was just an ordinary kid, and now he could do this.
The fault for some reason just went to him laugh even though he doesn't understand why it's not even funny
Soon enough, he was done laughing. When he focused on what he was doing again, he was shocked—because he was upside down.
No. He was floating upside down.
The strange sensation made him reflexively move, and he flew sideways into a tree, slamming into it.
Boom.
The loud sound brought him back to his senses. He got up and looked at the trees that were crumpled around him.
"Shit… I slid into the trees by accident, and yet I don't actually feel anything."
So he also had flight and super durability.
It was neat, but now he had to think about what he would do. Where the hell should he go? He was a mutant now, and he knew exactly what was going to happen when his family called the police. The authorities might come after him. Without a reason, they couldn't do much—but at worst, the Friends of Humanity might show up, or another group like that.
The thought made him shiver.
What the hell should he do?
Then he remembered something from yesterday.
Should I… should I go to the X-Men?
I mean, there was nothing against it. He had always been a fan of the X-Men, and there was a brand-new school that Jean Grey—whatever, he forgot the exact name—was opening soon. He could just go there The X-Men They are famous for taking in stray mutants, so it should be fine. But at the same time, it was kind of a rough time for mutants. They were sort of split up. He honestly didn't know all the details, even though he had been keeping up with the news. He just shook his head.
I'll just go. I don't really have any other options, and I do want to learn how to use my powers—especially how to fly.
Speaking of flight, he decided to try flying toward the X-Men. He flew up and soared through the sky, the wind blowing against his face. It was an incredible feeling. Then he opened his eyes and saw the view. It was beautiful, and he was in awe But that was the wrong decision the beautiful view distracted him and made him lose the sensation of light and he started to fall
"Whoa, whoa—whoa!"
He tried to take back control, and he did, but he was still falling awkwardly. He tried to land, but he didn't know how.
Boom.
He slammed into the ground, hard.
"Ouch."
He got up and spat dirt out of his mouth.
"I should probably just run there."
And he did. This time, he actually appreciated how fast he was moving. He was so fast that he even hit a couple of trees. It was a wonder that he had gone all that distance without hitting anything at all before. Eventually, though, he started to get the hang of it—or at least enough that he could adjust his speed.
It was odd. He didn't fully understand it. Normally, physical speed equals Strength but that wasn't the case here. It was like he could move his legs as fast as he wanted, but he wouldn't actually move as fast as he could unless he put his full strength into each step. Now that his strength was beyond superhuman, strength and speed felt like two Different things instead of being the same thing.
He didn't know if that was just because of his mutation or if it was something common among people with enhanced physiques, but the thought itself was incredible. If he threw a punch at the maximum speed he could, it still wouldn't be his maximum strike, because he wouldn't be putting his strength behind it—only speed.
He didn't fully understand the logic, and it was a bit strange, but at the same time it felt like something that had always made sense. Like the sun being yellow—if it suddenly changed, it would shatter your understanding and shock you, even though, in the grand scheme of things, the color didn't really matter anyway.
He could figure all of this out once he arrived at the school.
After hours of running, he finally reached Newchester. Before going to the school, he stopped at a diner to eat. He was still hungry—or at least he thought he was hungry. He kind of felt hungry, but at the same time, not really. He felt like he could still go a lot longer without eating. He didn't overthink it and decided to eat anyway, if not to fix his hunger, then to fix his mood.
After all, he had spent hours running—not because he was running straight to the school, but because he had gotten lost. He hadn't had the chance to charge his phone, it was dead, and he didn't even have his charger. He had left it at home. Anyway, he just wanted to eat, forget about everything for a moment, and then go to the school.
He entered the diner and immediately felt all eyes on him.
Shit, I forgot about my eyes and hair.
He put his head down and walked toward the counter with the seats. He sat down and ordered the cheapest thing on the menu—an egg sandwich and some water, to go. Other than that, he just kept looking down, trying to ignore the stares.
His heart was beating fast. He was nervous.
Shit, maybe this was a bad idea. Standing out as a mutant is never good. Why the hell didn't I think of that? Should I run? Why shouldn't I run—
"Stop, kid. Your nervousness is annoying me."
The voice came from the side and startled Dante. When he looked, he was surprised to see a rough-looking man with sideburns, drinking and holding a cigar. He had never met this guy before, but he knew who he was. Who didn't? He was probably one of the most famous X-Men—Wolverine.
"You… you are—"
"Yeah, yeah. I know who I am. Now stop being nervous and chill out they aren't staring at you because you're a mutant."
That just made him confused. He looked around. The people who were staring at him didn't look hostile—they looked amazed. Mostly the adults and older people. The younger ones—the girls—were giving him looks and blushing, while some guys were doing the same. The majority, though, were giving him nasty, jealous looks.
For a moment, he didn't know what the hell was going on.
Are they looking at me because of my looks?
Apparently, they had improved more than he thought.
"Kid, you shouldn't worry. Newchester has been a home for mutants for a long time. There are a lot of people here who are tolerant toward mutants. Are you here for the school?"
Dante didn't hesitate to respond.
" Yes, sir I literally just got my mutant powers a couple of hours ago, in front of my family, and it didn't go well."
He winced at the memory but ignored it.
"I don't really know what to do, so I came here because I know you guys take in mutants without homes all the time."
Wolverine nodded.
"Well, I can show you the school after we eat."
And just like that, Dante unexpectedly had his first meal with one of his future teachers.