Another long journey later…
The group of young mutants finally made it back to the Xavier Estate.
Charles, Erik, and Moira weren't around at the moment. The three of them had taken Copy Cat to the CIA for interrogation and containment, and wouldn't be back until later.
"Hey Darwin, did you see how I handled that beast-like guy? I had him gasping for breath!"
"Oh, come on, Havok. I remember him nearly crushing you, and it was Alex who saved your butt, wasn't it?"
"Exactly! What's there to brag about? I haven't even told you guys how well I did!"
"Oh yeah? You mean running for your life after that air-blast dude smacked you around?"
…
The young mutants chatted and laughed as they made their way inside, each of them brimming with excitement.
Especially when it came to boasting about their so-called heroic moments—they couldn't help but gesture dramatically as they spoke.
To be fair…
Their mission to Manhattan was a complete bust. They'd wasted time, energy, and effort, and didn't even walk away with a single useful piece of intel.
At first, they'd all been dejected, frustrated, and pissed off.
Some were even terrified during the actual fight.
But now?
Looking back, most of them just felt... thrilled.
After all, it had been their first real battle—live combat, life on the line. That adrenaline rush, that brush with death… you couldn't understand it unless you'd been through it yourself.
"You guys seriously have the nerve to brag? Wasn't Alex the one who took care of everything?"
Raven shot them a look, unimpressed, and threw cold water on all their egos.
Her words deflated them in an instant.
She wasn't wrong.
Now that they thought about it, everything she said was spot-on.
Aside from the one guy who could phase through solid objects and escaped, every single enemy had been taken down by Alex.
Even that fake Shaw—the toughest of the bunch.
Meanwhile, the rest of them had been helping Charles search a hotel for some kind of telepathy-jamming device… and came up with absolutely nothing.
Alex had already taken down Shaw by the time they got anywhere close to being useful.
Put bluntly…
They were glorified background characters.
"Raven, you're so ruthless," Banshee groaned, "Now that you mention it… man, I feel useless."
"Same here," Havok added with a bitter laugh. "I thought I was doing great going toe-to-toe with that beast guy, but then there's Alex…"
"He even saved my life."
"Why are you guys comparing yourselves to someone like Alex?" Darwin said calmly, "That's just asking to feel bad. Face it—we're not even on the same level as him. Doesn't that make it easier to swallow?"
Hearing it put that way, everyone started to nod.
You know what? That actually made a lot of sense.
The gap didn't feel quite so soul-crushing anymore.
Alex had already proven in the last CIA battle that he was operating at a completely different level. And this time, he'd only doubled down on that.
If Alex had once seemed to be on equal footing with Charles and Erik…
Now? He was edging past them.
In this battle, he'd played a critical role—no, he'd singlehandedly wrecked Sebastian Shaw's entire ambush plan.
None of them, not even Charles or Erik, had managed to contribute much.
That was just the truth.
"Guys, all this praise is making me blush," Alex said with a sheepish grin as he scratched his head. "But if you're gonna flatter me… don't hold back. Say more!"
Cue a group-wide eye roll.
Joking and laughing, the group arrived at the dormitory.
They'd been through a brutal fight and a long journey. Even if they were still a little hyped up, the exhaustion in their bodies couldn't be ignored.
Unlike usual, nobody stuck around the lounge for late-night banter.
A few goodbyes were exchanged, and then everyone retreated to their rooms to rest and recover.
Truth be told—they were exhausted.
Well… everyone except Alex.
His stamina had long since surpassed normal human levels. Even now, he was still full of energy, practically bursting at the seams.
Especially after the recent power boost—he was itching to test out his new strength.
While the others went off to sleep, Alex headed straight for the training room.
Bang!
One casual punch caved in a metal punching bag, leaving a deep fist-shaped dent.
If he hadn't held it steady with his other hand, it probably would've gone flying across the room.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
He unleashed a flurry of punches so fast, they left a blur of afterimages.
Then he hit the track and sprinted at full speed.
At over 100 meters per second, he'd already surpassed the limit of what the human eye could track—he was nothing but a streaking blur.
A full-body upgrade.
Alex was confident: if he faced Deadpool again, he wouldn't even need his heat vision to win. He could take him out effortlessly.
No more dragging things out like before.
And the same went for Claw Guy, Ninja Dude, and Wind Blade Man.
Even if he went solo against all of them, he could wipe the floor with them in minutes.
"Alright… now let's test the heat vision."
Eyes gleaming, Alex stepped into the Heat Vision Training Room and activated the tennis ball launcher.
Thwip thwip thwip!
Tennis balls came flying at him one after another.
Ssssshh!
Alex's eyes lit up, firing beam after beam of heat vision that vaporized every ball into nothing.
This round of testing showed that he could keep firing heat vision continuously… for five and a half minutes!
Granted, that might not sound like a long time.
But for Alex?
It was more than enough for 99% of fights.
Seriously—what kind of enemy would survive being blasted for five straight minutes?
Not to mention, his heat vision had gotten stronger too!
Even if he were thrown into the chaos of the Marvel superhero era—the age of monsters, gods, and cosmic threats—he wouldn't be counted among the weak.
His only regret?
He still hadn't unlocked flight.
That was the final piece.
Once he could fly, he'd truly be invincible.
He just didn't know what percentage he needed to reach for that ability to unlock.
But man, he couldn't wait.
For now…
He needed to get used to this newly enhanced body of his!
With that thought, Alex threw himself into training.
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