The following days passed by peacefully, with myself and Jeff venturing into the dungeon by night, while I continued my normal student life during the day.
Floor six had been brutal, with the boss fight especially taking a lot out of both of us. The boss was a mutant human that could control plant life, as it used roots crashing through the cement walls and floor to hit and bind us. The fight was close and Jeff was mostly useless in it as he was too slow to dodge, but I cut him free, and we eventually got the boss down too.
Floor seven had been long. But after dozens of hours and more bloodshed than I could count, we cleared that too. Floor eight was up next, and we would be entering that later tonight if nothing urgent came up.
Nothing too exciting happened in terms of my growth as my stats were still all the same and I got no new equipment, but Jeff got his first stat bump outside of Spirit, his Finesse jumped up from F- to F. Not a huge leap, but for someone as agilely inept as him, it made a noticeable difference.
As the fight started getting rougher, and I got increasingly more hurt from every fight with not just small scratches and bruises but full on lacerations and bullet holes, I finally accepted the obvious. I needed some armor that could defend me. I still had that enchantment rune from earlier floors that would improve whatever I made even further, so it was high time to use it.
Originally I had planned to follow the usual spandex route with maybe a few more defensive options, but once I started sketching out the plans in my head onto paper and using the Inventor skill to help, it developed into much more, and that original vision fell apart fast. Instead of a skin-tight costume, I was now designing a more modular combat suit with layered protection and its own gadgets crafted in. Something that could be called a mix between an Iron Man suit of armor and Batman's costume.
A bit excessive maybe, but I had the Inventor skill and by now well over a million dollars in cash to help bring my vision to life.
Gwen, meanwhile, was waist-deep in her own costume project. Every time we met up, she was talking stitch types, bonding agents, and aerodynamic cuts. Her approach was more grounded and functional, but still stylized. Mine was turning into a wearable tank that could sprint.
It was a bit tough balancing school, training, dungeon diving, and crafting, but I somehow made it work, just had to cut down on any social life outside of Gwen and Felicia and sleep time. Something I thought would be absolutely draining, but according to Gali, I no longer needed quite as much sleep as before thanks to my Spirit stat starting to affect my willpower. I didn't need as much sleep anymore. I could get by on a few hours and still function like a normal human. Granted, that would only work for a few weeks before the exhaustion caught up to me and hit me like a truck, but for now, it was good enough.
But just because I could get by with less sleep didn't mean that I wanted to. Sleep was great, and I was planning on catching up with it as soon as my suit was done. No power-up is worth it if it means becoming a sleep-deprived zombie.
As for my time back at school, it had settled into a familiar routine. With Felicia now fully transferred in, she quickly became part of a new trio with Gwen and I. She was socially adept enough and could make friends with anyone easily but didn't look to go out of her way to do so, which meant she was more than fine with just a small number of friends to pass time with. She slotted into our little group like she'd always been there.
Of course, our newfound trio didn't go unnoticed.
Scott and his merry little band of friends were still very much continuing to spy on us from afar… badly I may add. They huddled at lunch whispering, always glancing over at our table, occasionally jotting something down in a notebook like they were undercover agents in a cartoon.
I don't know if Xavier forgot to give them basic training or if they thought they were being slick, but it was like watching middle schoolers try to tail a spy. I'm sure all the undercover Shield agents who were working here as teachers or faculty staff were having a great laugh in the break rooms about it.
Felicia noticed by day two and Gwen by day three.
By the end of the week, I made a habit of waving at them with a big, exaggerated smile. Sometimes I'd shout something simple along the lines of "Hey, Scott!" from across the hall just to watch him stiffen up like a statue. Gwen tried to stay neutral, but she smiled more than a few times. Felicia outright laughed and joined in too with the teasing, even though she had no clue who they were she found their reactions fun nonetheless.
But while the younger x-men members were content playing their role as the world's worst spies, another group had been paying attention too, and they clearly didn't quite have the same patience that Scott did.
It was Monday afternoon and classes had just ended. Gwen wanted to swing by the fabric store again to get some more stuff to redo her mask design, which still wasn't quite what she was imagining. Felicia would be tagging along for a bit as well before splitting off to go home or wherever she went after school.
To avoid the usual foot traffic of people heading home, we took a different route from the main gate, instead going through the rear entrance of the school to go to the parking lot where teachers parked and leaving through there. Technically not allowed, but who really enforces that kind of stuff.
It was just the three of us as nobody else had decided to use the path today and another group decided they had the perfect chance to talk to us in private now.
"Well, well, well," a familiar, annoying voice rang out as a trio approached us, coming out from a dark corner like cheap C rate villains. "Look who has shown up."
I didn't need to turn around to know who was speaking, as I had already met the person before. The nasal tone and cockiness made it obvious.
"Hey…. you?" I turn around, bracing for whatever nonsense I'm about to hear. I was about to just call him Toad but decided not to, at which point I realized I have no clue what his real name actually is.
The same goes for the other two with him. As expected, when I turn around, I see the Three Stooges, Toad, Avalanche, and Pyro, approaching us. Toad was looking huge as always, Avalanche looked like he would rather be anywhere other than here and Pyro appeared twitchy and unstable like he belonged to a mental hospital more than here.
"Well, this isn't ominous at all," Felicia muttered under her breath, crossing her arms as she came to a stop.
"Just keep walking," Gwen whispered to me, but neither I nor Felicia moved, so she too was forced to stay.
There's no such thing as a coincidence when three mutants with known hostility corner you at the back of the school building, where people rarely go. And judging by how they were spreading out a little too deliberately, this wasn't just a friendly chat.
"Relax," Pyro said, as his right eye kept twitching between closed and open. "We're not here to start a fight. Just a little curious."
"Curious, huh?" I replied deadpan. "By the looks of those dumb faces you wear, this might be the first time in your life you have ever been curious about anything."
Avalanche scowled. "Don't get smart, kid."
"Bit late for that," I shot back. "Should have said that a good 10 years ago. You on the other hand still have a chance to stay dumb, so good on you."
Toad stepped forward, tongue flicking slightly out of his mouth like he thought it was intimidating. No, it was just extremely weird. "We've been watchin' you three. You're not normal, are ya?"
Gwen tensed beside me, as if her secret was about to be revealed before she even got to finish making her costume. Felicia raised an eyebrow but said nothing, just waiting for a follow-up.
"You're mutants," Pyro finally said, grinning like he just revealed a magician's trick. "All of you."
There was a moment of silence as the three of them grew wide grins on their faces. Those were wiped out a second later as Felicia laughed.
"Wow," she said, stepping forward a bit. "That's your opener? No lead-in or subtlety?"
Toad blinked. "Uh-"
"We don't need proof," Pyro interrupted. "We saw you using your powers. Each one of you, and we have video recordings too, so if you don't want us to make that public you better-"
"Alright, let me stop you right there." I say, putting a stop to one of the most obvious and dumb bluffs I have ever heard. You saw all of us using powers? I know for a fact I haven't used any powers in public, I don't even have any to use, and Felicia to my knowledge is normal too. Even Gwen didn't flinch at that, since she knows I have no powers. "How about you show me those videos before we talk further?"
Toad's eyes darted around like a kid caught stealing. Pyro opened his mouth, then closed it again, like he was buffering while Avalanche, the smartest of the bunch, looked at both of them, clearly realizing they'd overplayed their hand.
Felicia tilted her head. "So just to confirm, you three geniuses cornered us out here based on a guess? No evidence or witnesses, no actual mutant detection, just like… vibes?"
"We've seen the X-Men watching you," Avalanche half growled, clearly hoping that counted for something.
Gwen blinked. "Wait. The X-Men? What do you mean 'watching us'?"
"Don't play dumb." Pyro snapped in response. "Scott and the rest. Why else would they be watching you if you weren't mutants."
Felicia turned. "Please tell me that's not real. The whispering nerd squad is actually the mutant team that keeps fighting against the genocidal mutants?"
Toad cleared his throat, clearly annoyed his dramatic bombshell had completely backfired. "We're not genocidal! And don't talk like that when you are one of us, you should share the same goal. Don't you want to be free? It's clear you are mutants, or else they wouldn't be paying attention to you."
Felicia rolled her eyes. "They could just be creeps who like to stare at the pretty people."
Toad's face twisted into a scowl. Pyro stepped forward, more irritated than before. "Enough with the jokes. Look, you don't have to join the Brotherhood. But if you're mutants, you're not gonna have a choice soon. It's us or them. And I guarantee we treat our own better."
"Right," I said, voice dry. "Because nothing screams trustworthy like blackmail, threats, and zero evidence."
The air was pretty tense by now. Mostly from the three of them not us. I was just chilling, knowing they wouldn't be using their powers out in the open like this. While school was out and the majority had left the premises, there were still many who stayed behind and would take notice right away. Felicia and Gwen were also calm, wondering more where this was heading now that their bluff had ended, than scared of the mutants in front of us.
The trio stared silently, cooking up another dumb argument in their heads when we, or more like they, were saved by the sound of high heels clicking on pavement as someone approached us.
"Boys." A sharp voice interrupted their thought process and made them tense up.
All of us turned our heads toward the source, Mrs Darkhölme, the principal, standing at the doorway which I, Gwen, and Felicia had exited the school from just a little while ago. She was dressed the same as always when she was seen around the school, a business suit that suited her surprisingly well.
Oh, and she looked pretty unimpressed with the situation.
"What," she said coldly at the Three Stooges, "do you think you're doing?"
Toad flinched, Pyro immediately took a step back, and Avalanche grimaced and looked away but didn't speak.
"I thought I told you three explicitly," she said, approaching closer with every word, "no open confrontations, no dramatics, and no using powers on school grounds."
Pyro stammered. "We were just-"
"Just what?" Making a scene? Threatening people who could help our cause and save lives? When Eric hears of your actions, he won't be happy."
The trio froze at the name.
"Get out of here right this instant. And if I hear you so much as breathed in their direction again without cause, I'll make sure you're on sewer duty for the rest of the year."
Toad didn't need to be told twice, scuttling off into the darkness where he came from with Pyro quick on his heels. Avalanche followed behind quietly, but he was not nearly as scared or hurried as the other two. Privileges of being the leader of the young brotherhood members.
"My apologies," Darkhölme said, voice much gentler now that the performance was over. "That wasn't sanctioned. The Brotherhood's offer is real, but that display was not how it was meant to be extended."
I wonder about that. Something tells me she fully expected the trio to pull a dumb move just so she could step in and make a more reasonable one. Well, I was going to keep repeating the same thing either way.
"I can accept the apology, but I assure you we are not mutants. Just norm-... uh, people without an activated X-gene."
She just shook her head at that. "There is no need for any of that. I get that being open about your gifts can be hard in this world, but that is exactly the kind of injustice we fight against. You don't have to pick a side right now or respond to my offer, but the day will come when you can no longer hide in peace."
She didn't wait for a response. With a departing nod, she turned around and walked back into the school. Leaving just as suddenly as she had appeared to clear up the situation.
There was a moment of silence before Felicia finally broke it. "That was dramatic. She absolutely planned all of that, by the way."
"I agree. She had the perfect opportunity to make herself look like our savior and more reasonable than the people we just dealt with. No way it was a coincidence that she just so happened to step in before things got heated." Gwen stated, "Also, I'm still stuck on the fact that our secret admirers are the X-men."
Felicia smiled. "And we're apparently being recruited into a mutant terrorist group despite not being mutants… or terrorists. Love that for us."
***
Author Note: Wait, isn't Felicia technically a mutant since she has like luck manipulation powers? I just thought about this after finishing the chapter.