Chapter 3

I could hear the rocks crumble under their feet and the wind blowing the dust off the battlefield. Blood and sweat dripped down my face. I became nervous, unaware of what was going to happen next. How could those people kill the hunter with such ease? We stood no chance against him, what kind of chance do we stand against them? They approached me, but they looked no older than we were. The first one that came into sight was an attractive girl with short black hair. To her left was a tall man wearing nothing but a ragged pair of pants and a lot of weapons. To his left was a guy around my height. He had a toothpick in his mouth. The last was a little boy. Looked no older than 12 years old.

“Hello, friend.” The man with the toothpick said.

I looked at them; the sun shining bright over their shoulders.

“Who are you guys?”

“You can call me Razor. The big guy next to me is Crank, the kids name is Izzy, and…”

“And I’m Scylla.” The girl said, followed by a wink.

Razor smirked and helped me up.

“So, who are you?” He asked.

“My name’s Surge. The big guy’s name is Tank, and the girl’s name is Zephyr.”

“Zephyr; beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” Said Razor.

“Well, aren’t you a gentleman.” She replied.

I wasn’t comfortable with him flirting, but it wasn’t in my place to confront him. I was still a bit blurry of the whole situation, but I was sure they were mutants. What else could have instantly frozen that hunter?

“So, how did you guys beat that hunter?” I asked.

“Hunter’s aren’t that tough. You guys roughed him up nicely for us. Who are they?” Razor said, pointing at Drake and the red headed girl.

‘Red hair? I could have sworn her hair was blonde.’ I thought.

“That’s Ghost and the girl. Well, we actually found her here.”

Red hair. I wondered how it changed colors like that. She was stuck in a tube; the chemicals probably dyed her hair temporarily.

“We’d like you guys to come with us.” Said Razor.

He didn’t bother to explain, he just walked away. We decided to follow him. I didn’t know where he was leading us, but I couldn’t just stand there looking like an idiot. These people killed a hunter in seconds and I had to find out how they did it. We walked for about half an hour until we stopped. Izzy stepped forward and stuck out his hand. Suddenly a large black jet appeared, out of nowhere.

“Meet the Blackbird.” Said Razor.

I approached it and gently put my hand against it. I could feel the electricity running through it. It wasn’t an illusion.

“What is it?” I asked.

Scylla put her hand on my shoulder. “It’s our ride.”

I hesitated getting into the large metal aircraft. I couldn’t say the same about Drake and Alyssa. They just couldn’t help but run straight into it; how childish. I stared out the window as we made our way off the ground.

“Izzy, you mind cloaking us? Someone’s certain to come and investigate the facility that was just attacked.” Razor said getting into a seat at the front.

“So, what’s up with the jet?” Alyssa asked.

I felt like asking the same question, but I preferred to stay silent and cautious.

“It’s just a little something we have. All will be explained when we reach our destination.” Scylla replied.

I wondered what she meant by ”our destination”. If they wanted us dead, they would’ve done it already, but I still wanted to stay on my guard. We stayed in flight for about two hours until we stopped.

“Home, sweet home.” Scylla said as we landed by a large mansion.

The mansion looked so familiar. I’ve never been there, but I’m sure I’ve seen it before. The ground seemed to have shut closed right on top of us. We walked through a door that led us into the manor. There we were greeted by a man. He was medium build, brown hair, and looked as if he were in his early thirties.

“Welcome, I’ve been waiting for you. I’m Scott Summers.” The man said.

‘Scott Summers?’ I thought

Scott Summers was a mutant, but he died a long time ago. My mother used to tell me stories about the X-men, a group of mutants who fought against a rogue mutant named Magneto. It’s not likely they would be alive to this day.

“Scott Summers is dead.” I said.

“I’m a descendant of his. Come, we need to talk.”

He led us to a room upstairs. I’ve never seen such an exquisite house.

“I’m guessing you guys have a lot of questions.” Scott said.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“I’m Scott Summers and I’m a mutant. As you may have guessed, so are Razor, Scylla, Crank, and Izzy.”

“How are you guys avoiding hunters? This isn’t the best hiding spot.”

“Because I’m their boss.”

“Their boss?” I asked. “How exactly is a mutant is their boss? That makes no sense.”

“You guys better sit; this will be a long story. After the attack on Jean Greys School for Higher Learning, mutants were deemed dangerous and out of control. It was so bad that they all went into hiding. From birth, my father was stuck underground. He knew it wasn’t how we should live. For my sake and mutants everywhere, he went after the chairman of Ferrum. I’m not sure if he planned on killing him or bargaining with him, but he ended up working for him. My father was a powerful mutant and the chairman probably thought he was better off as an ally than an enemy. I’m not proud to say it, but my father created the hunter program and designed their armour. A mutant put in charge of hunting other mutants. After a few years of ruthlessly hunting down his friends and people who needed him, my father fixed up the mansion that was formerly owned by Charles Xavier. He tracked down young mutants who couldn’t fully control their powers and helped them. We called ourselves The Society of Mutants, or The Society for short. He moved me and my mother in. To lower suspicion, he sent the hunters after certain mutants. Mutants who used their powers wrongfully and generally made us look worse. Things were going smoothly up until he died from who knows what. I knew I had to make a move, but I was only 26. I decided to reach the chairman myself, but it wasn’t easy. He wouldn’t let me replace my father unless I offered Ferrum something. I designed a new type of armor for the hunters. Armor that’s immune to anything any mutant can throw at it. The chairman loved it and gave me the job on the spot. I continued to run the school. I helped the ones who just wanted a normal life get into the cities run by Ferrum. This entire area is clear of iron soldiers of any kind. This is a safe haven for mutants. I’ve trained many mutants including the ones you met earlier. Razor has the power to know what someone’s going to do right before they actually do it. It’s not seeing the future or any form of telepathy though. Scylla can manipulate any type of liquid. Her powers could be limitless. Cranks skin is harder than metal. And Izzy can manipulate technology.”

‘So that’s who was piloting the aircraft.’ I thought.

“So, what do you want with us?” I asked.

“You’ve attracted Ferrums attention and they want you guys dead. I heard you guys were powerful, so I decided to bring you here and try to persuade you into letting me teach you how to use your powers.” He answered.

“What about the hunters? Will we be able to take them?” Drake asked.

“I designed them to be invincible. For that reason, I added a few flaws. There are weak spots in their armor and I’ll be glad to show you guys if you agree to stay.”

I was still a bit wary of the situation, but I had no choice, we needed to learn how to control our powers. After a small discussion with the team, we agreed to stay.

“We’ll stay.” I said.

“Good. It’s a bit late so you’ll need some rest. Scylla will show you to your rooms. We’ll begin your training tomorrow.” He said.