Chapter 12: Chapter 012 – Recruit Challenge

[2009 – June]

“Well that was quick, though I didn't know that we have to worry about being spied on.”, Pietro remarked rather intrigued, before he continued, “Well, let's get this tour done and do something fun.”

The tour ended roughly half an hour later, as we reached the gym and the training rooms where basically everyone could just train their powers in.

“So, how about showing off our powers, that's always fun?”, Yukio proposed with a smile.

"Sure, but let's first change into something else, I don't wanna ruin these clothes.", I answered, having already planned to take some time and train my powers.

"Easy enough, there are some pre-prepared work-out clothes of every size in the locker rooms, just pick a set for yourself. Don't forget you will have to wash them yourself as you are over 13 years old. And if you ruin them during training, you can just take new ones, as that happens quite often anyway.", Pietro added.

Generous, but I expected such from the Professor.

"Well, that's convenient.", I remarked, before I continued, " So back here in five minutes?"

“Finished.”, Pietro stated, as he just 'flickered' into some other clothes.

I could hear Ellie mumble something like 'show-off' while Yukio dragged her towards the female changing rooms.

Entering the changing room for males, I spotted a neat pile of clean workout clothes on a shelf to the right, from where I picked some black ones in my size, before moving to a bench and putting down my bag.

Changing quickly into the rather tight outfit, I put my stuff in a locker and locked it with my fingerprint. I appreciated the high-tech lock, as it meant that I didn't have to carry around a key.

My outfit pretty much consisted of a tight-black long-sleeved shirt and yoga pants that doubled as underwear and a pair of black shorts worn over the leggings. Some new black sneakers also found themselves snuggly fitting around my feet.

Leaving the changing room, I didn't see the others so I directly moved into the training room, which was basically just a big empty room with a semi-soft floor, where thanks to various precautionary measures mutants could just let loose and didn't have to worry about destroying their surroundings.

Of course, that didn't include mutants like Jean, as she could easily raze the whole mansion should she 'let loose'.

Pietro was already in the training room, wearing the same outfit as I did in grey and without the shorts. He was sitting still while only moving his hand at superspeed, which displayed his control over his power perfectly.

I sat down a few meters away from him and started experimenting with my shields while we waited for the girls.

I knew that I would probably be more efficient and focused if I trained by myself, but at this point, I wasn't sure about the full capabilities of my shields, so I figured that it would be nice to have others help me with the testing.

I also didn't want to blow them off like that as they had proven themselves great company, even with Pietro's rather excitable personality.

It was a few minutes later that the girls entered the training room in workout clothes.

Yukio wore bright pink leggings with a skin-tight long-sleeved shirt that didn't cover her midriff. Her long black hair with pink-coloured highlights was tied in a ponytail. Ellie wore basically the same, though in all-black.

In short, they looked great. Their athletic figures were on full display, adding to their natural beauty.

Thankfully I wasn't a typical hormonal teen, or I may have stared at them with my jaw dropped. Pietro also didn't stare much, as he may be a kleptomaniac, but he was otherwise a stand-up guy.

"So how about we do the Recruit Challenge, that's always fun?", Yukio exclaimed already brimming with excitement.

"What's the Recruit Challenge?", I asked cluelessly.

"Well, I don't know when it started, but at one point in time the recruits for the X-Men team came up with a challenge to test their powers against each other. The training rooms are able to create different training settings, what you see right now is just the basic setting.", Pietro explained partly before Yukio took over again.

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"The challenge is made up of three settings that test and compares different things and the one who does best or finishes in the least amount of time wins. The placement in all three challenges decides the winner.", she said.

"Just a heads up, I am the current undefeated champion. So don't get your hopes up.", Pietro added with a confident smirk.

I wasn't surprised as his ability was very powerful. His speed alone was a massive hurdle for anyone to overcome if they wanted to beat him.

Jean could probably beat him with her immense mental capabilities, but then again she could probably beat everyone with the cosmic being's help which she hosted in her body, so that wasn't a fair comparison.

"Well, let's just start.", I said with anticipation at trying out my power on a larger scale and seeing in direct comparison how great it really was. This would also help me find flaws or things to eliminate and improve much faster than on my own.

"The first challenge is called the 'cannon-challenge'. A few dozen cannons all around the room will fire tennis balls at us and we have to try to avoid or block them, while at the same time reach the middle of the room and push a button. We start by taking up position in the four corners of the room.", Yukio explained, before we all went to our respective corners.

I didn't know how she or Ellie would try to finish the challenge, but Pietro was sure to win through sheer speed alone. I, on the other hand, already had a plan on how to get second place, though I was still curious about how they would try to complete the challenge.

After we had all reached our positions, Yukio called out: “Computer change training room four to setting two and start the countdown immediately.”

"Affirmative, training room set to mode two.", a robotic voice sounded out, as panels shifted all around the walls and even the ceiling while a waist-high pillar with a black button on top of it, rose from the ground in the middle of the training room.

After the setup had been finished, the robotic voice called out again: "Countdown start. 10. 9. 8. 7."

Tension started to build up in the room, as Yukio's body started to spark with electricity, while all around Ellie yellow energy started to surge explosively. Pietro on the other hand just leisurely put on his goggles, but the rest of us ignored him, already sure that we couldn't beat him.

Suddenly a smile formed on my lips, as I thought of something.

A blackish dome slowly started to revolve around me, preparing to protect me as I raised my left hand. I didn't need the gesture to form a barrier, but it helped greatly with directing and using my power, as invoking an image of where I wanted the barrier to be was made easier with a gesture as a visual aid.

“ 4. 3. 2.“

Still, my focus was on the small black button in the middle of the room, my right hand pointing at it as I summoned a barrier around the small stand with the button on top.

“1. START.“

The moment the word 'START' echoed around the room, tennis balls blitzed through the air and targetted us, while I also saw a silver-grey flash moving around the small pillar.

Yukio displayed her incredible power as she formed a cage of electricity around herself that just turned every ball targetting her into ash, while Ellie – faithful to her moniker 'Negasonic Teenage Warhead' – just bulldozed through the rain of balls and approached the button, her yellowish energy-coat exploding outward and similarly protecting herself from harm.

Still, I didn't hurry myself and approached the middle of the room step by step, as I had already won the challenge by using my abilities in a strategic manner, my black barrier keeping me perfectly safe while I did so.

Until now, no notification had sounded out about Pietro's victory simply because he couldn't push the button no matter his speed, as I had encased the whole pillar in a barrier he couldn't break.

Omega-level Shield Creation and Manipulation. Even though I had created this power, right now I started to truly understand what it meant.

No matter how much he used his speed to try and break through the barrier with the accumulated energy he gathered from his movements, the barrier wouldn't budge.

Even as Ellie appeared before the button with great speed, having used her abilities to give herself a boost, she couldn't break through the black veil. And neither could Yukio, as she arrived only a few seconds later and blasted lightning at it.

Walking up to the button, I shrank my protective barrier, as I stretched out my hand and reached through the shield protecting the button, before pressing it with a victorious smirk.

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