Capítulo 12: Interlude- Training days
AN: This is for those who want training. Here you go before you bug me. I kept it brief.
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[Ice Mastery]
It was early morning, just after sunrise. The grounds of the academy were quiet, still covered in a layer of frost from the previous night. I stood in the middle of the field, hands raised, feeling the raw energy of the ice mutation course through me. The cold didn't bother me anymore—not that it ever did since absorbing the ability—but now I had full control.
"You're getting better," Jean said, standing off to the side, bundled up in a jacket. Her breath fogged up in the cold air.
"Better?" I repeated with a smirk. "I think I've moved past 'better.' Watch this."
I focused, extending my hand out in front of me. The air chilled instantly, and within seconds, ice formed beneath my feet, spreading outward in a perfect circle. With a small push, I lifted off the ground, gliding on a trail of ice like it was second nature. Jean watched, her arms crossed, eyebrows raised in approval.
"Okay, show off. What else can you do?" she teased.
I grinned, pushing off from the ice and launching myself higher into the air, creating a platform beneath me. Walking in the air, like some sort of frozen acrobat, I twisted and turned, forming bridges of ice in midair. It felt incredible, the power at my fingertips. But the real test came when I stopped showing off.
"Alright, enough playing around," Jean called out. "Can you maintain that control in battle?"
I dropped down, landing lightly in the snow. "I can handle anything that comes my way."
She smiled. "Good. Because I want to see how fast you can form defensive structures when you're under pressure. You need to be able to think on your feet, not just when it's a quiet morning like this."
With a simple gesture of her hand, I suddenly felt the pressure. Telekinetic force—courtesy of Jean's mind—pushed against me. It wasn't overwhelming, but it wasn't meant to be easy either.
My hands shot up instinctively, and a thick wall of ice formed in front of me just in time to stop her invisible attack. But I didn't stop there. I knew Jean, and I knew she wasn't done. I summoned another wall behind me, then to my left and right. The ice wrapped around me in a perfect sphere.
"You can't just block," she shouted from outside the dome. "You need to move, attack, and defend all at once!"
Her telekinetic force pressed harder against the dome, cracking it. I could feel the strain as I pushed more energy into the ice, thickening it, and reinforcing it. Then I grinned, realizing what I had to do.
I let the dome shatter, and as it did, I created a new trail of ice, launching myself out of the danger zone and forming a jagged, spear-like structure of ice in midair. In one fluid motion, I sent it hurtling toward Jean, careful not to aim too close. She blocked it easily with a telekinetic shield, of course, but the look on her face told me she was impressed.
"Not bad," she said with a smirk.
"I aim to please," I replied, landing smoothly back on the ground.
It took around three months or so to fight using ice power. I can now freely manipulate ice without any focus. It's just like breathing and besides fighting, I learned a few other tricks, like changing my body into water or snow dust for a few minutes.
However, my most powerful achievement was something deadly. It's like a trump card. I call it Beyond Zero. It's an ice zone. That's all I can say for now.
..
[Psychic mastery]
If there was one power that really messed with my head, it was Psylocke's psychic abilities. Controlling minds, manipulating thoughts—it was next-level stuff. But over time, I had learned to navigate the complexities of the mental plane. It wasn't easy, and Jean had been instrumental in helping me.
We were in the Danger Room, the space set up to simulate various battle scenarios. This time, though, it wasn't about combat. It was about control.
"Focus on the energy," Jean instructed, standing across from me, her voice calm but firm. "You need to reach into the mind without overwhelming it. It's not about brute force."
I closed my eyes, reaching out with my mind, feeling for the invisible threads of thought that connected us. Slowly, I felt Jean's presence—like a gentle breeze against my skin. But instead of pushing in, I held back, hovering just at the edge of her consciousness.
"Good," she said, her voice echoing in my head now. "Now, I want you to visualize a door. A small one, something simple."
I did as she asked. In my mind's eye, a door appeared—plain, wooden, unassuming.
"Now open it, but carefully," she continued. "You don't want to force your way in. Just… look around."
I reached for the handle, turning it gently. As the door creaked open, I could feel a rush of thoughts, memories, and emotions. It was overwhelming at first, like standing in the middle of a crowded room. But I focused, filtering through the noise, picking out individual memories. Some were old—Jean's childhood which was kinda hazy as if a barrier was surrounding that part of her memories, then her first days at the academy. Others were more recent—our training sessions, and conversations with the other X-Men.
Then, there were those memories of the time we spent together over the past months...
And the way her face lights up when she smiles
The way her hair feels between my fingers
The sound of her laugh.
Each thought, each image—so vivid and clear. I could see it all, feel everything.
The funny yet good one was the scene where Jean was running around her room, trying to figure out which dress to wear for the movie night. But the most surprising memory of all was my own face reflected back at me through her eyes. Looking back at the memories, the smile on my lips grew bigger with each second. It was like opening up an entirely new world—one where nothing was hidden or forgotten.
"Stop staring at those parts," Jean's voice came to my mind as she appeared beside me and quickly hid those memories.
"Ah! Is that why you were 40 minutes late?" I smirked.
"Shut up! Besides, that movie was a crap," She complained.
"Wait! Who chose that movie? Right, you."
"How would I know that they botched such a good series?!"
"I did tell you..." I said and received a mental knock on my head.
"This was supposed to be about control and focus. So, concentrate on that. And that part is off-limits from now on. Oh, and don't try to find those memories of me changing clothes or dancing in the shower unless you don't love having that head over your shoulder," She said teasingly.
"Heh! Dancing in the shower, huh?"
"Focus!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
But before I could do so, Jean vanished, leaving me standing there with only a mental reminder:
Stay out of those parts.
It wasn't that easy, especially knowing what was in there. But I could tell I was improving.
After a while, I pulled back, closing the door behind me.
When I opened my eyes, Jean was watching me with a proud smile. "You did well. It's all about subtlety. The stronger your control, the more you'll be able to use this in real combat situations."
I nodded, wiping the sweat from my brow. "It's… intense. I'm not used to this kind of mental strain."
She smiled. "You'll get there. Just remember, it's not about domination. It's about understanding."
This power took around five months to master. Although using Psionic blasts and swords was kinda easy, the memory manipulation and reading thoughts, in that area was too hard. For the first two months, the voices were too overwhelming, like a noisy crowd speaking all at once, and those psychic dreams... The fucking nightmares I've had over the nights... Anyway, after the Professor taught me to filter the voices, I got better. Now, everything is normal and I can read others minds. Yay!
..
[Phasing Mastery]
Kitty's phasing ability was a game-changer. It wasn't flashy like ice or psychic powers, but it was versatile. Being able to walk through walls, escape traps, or avoid attacks—it opened up a whole new world of possibilities.
"Alright, it's simple," Jean had explained during one of our sessions. "You just relax, let go, and let yourself pass through. Don't overthink it."
We were in the academy's lower levels, standing in front of a solid metal wall.
"Easy for you to say," I muttered, eyeing the wall. "You've had your power for years. It must have taken a long time to learn your telekinesis and mind reading skill, right?"
She grinned. "Yeah, but you are a fast learner than anyone here. You can do it. Now, just phase through."
I took a deep breath, focused, and walked toward the wall. For a second, I felt the resistance, like pushing through thick air. But then, my body slipped through, and I emerged on the other side.
"See?" Jean called out, her voice muffled by the wall between us. "Told you it was easy!"
I phased back through, shaking my head. "Still freaky, though."
She laughed. "You'll get used to it. Just wait until you try it in combat. It's a lifesaver."
Over the next few months, I practiced phasing in every possible scenario—escaping traps in the Danger Room, dodging attacks during sparring sessions, even sneaking into places I wasn't supposed to be. It became second nature. Thanks to that I was able to copy almost everyone's power. It's stable for now with no side-effects so far. But I can't use them all recklessly. I gotta be careful in this matter. Anyway, I'm training those powers one at a time.
(AN: MC absorbed many power, but it's impossible to show every single one. As the story progresses we will see him using more.)
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