Chapter 3: The Dance of the Goblins and the First Flirts
The days passed quickly, and little by little I found myself completely used to the mansion's routine and the progressive discovery of my powers. ROB, as usual with his twisted logic, hadn't told me all the details of my mutation, and practical coexistence in this world revealed fascinating surprises to me.
Unlike what I initially imagined, my passive power isn't just about giving me the raw "stats" of strength or speed from the troops. I inherited the muscle memory and actual functional capabilities of each one of them. Meaning: if someone hands me a regular wooden bow and arrow, my motor coordination and vision will give me extraordinarily precise marksmanship, very close to that of the Archers.
And yes, I also discovered that I can fly.
Those tiny, comical wings on the Minions aren't the real source of their flight; they're just an aesthetic detail. Their flight comes from a fluid magnetic levitation generated by the Elixir itself. The moment I tested this alone in my room, floating a few inches off the ground, I decided to keep this ability a complete secret. Having the ability to fly kept as a hidden trump card is the kind of advantage that could save my life in the future.
"Hey! Take it seriously, Kael!" Jubilee's voice echoed loudly through the Danger Room speaker.
I was in the middle of a group combat simulation and, to be honest, my mind had drifted far off reflecting on all this while I took hits from an automatic training turret and simply didn't care.
"Forgive me, sugah... I drifted off a bit here," I replied with a calm smile.
Without even stopping to aim, I bent down, picked up a loose piece of rubble from the simulated floor, and threw it with the force and precision inherited from the Spear Goblins and Archers. The stone cut through the air like a missile and hit the core of the turret dead on, exploding the metal into dozens of pieces.
I looked around the arena. The rest of the X-Men were fighting shoulder to shoulder with the troops I had summoned for the drill. The scene was a tactical spectacle: the Archers and Musketeers were covering the pushes of Cyclops and Iceman with flawless synergy, while a small group of Knights pushed the front line alongside Colossus, clearing a path with their swords.
Watching this scene, I realized a terrifying facet of my power that neither the X-Men nor I had stopped to deeply analyze until now: I simply don't have an army limit.
As long as I have time and my mental Elixir bar keeps regenerating every 2.8 seconds, I can summon a literally infinite number of Knights, Archers, Goblins, or Giants. In a prolonged battle against me, every extra second the enemy takes without taking me down is one more second my army grows. For any opponent, time is their worst enemy.
After training ended, I took a quick shower in the basement locker rooms, changed my clothes, and briefly gathered with the rest of the crew before separating from them. I had an important appointment in Hank McCoy's lab.
There was a practical problem I needed to resolve: spending five years in a coma on life support completely delayed my formal education in this world. To avoid having to enroll in a regular public high school as an eighteen-year-old mutant, Hank offered to administer placement tests and help me get my studies up to speed.
"Damn ROB..." I muttered under my breath as I flipped through a dense advanced physics book at the lab table.
Luckily, the material wasn't rocket science. I had already studied a good chunk of those concepts in my past life and, fortunately, the passive integration of my newly unlocked Arena 1 didn't make my brain inherit the comical stupidity of the Goblins. My mind remained sharp, quick, and logical.
With the study session with Hank wrapped up, I left the basement and went for a walk in the mansion's sunlit gardens to clear my head. The afternoon breeze was pleasant, and I sat down on the soft grass, leaning my back against the trunk of a large, century-old oak tree.
I stayed there with my eyes closed for a few minutes until my heightened senses picked up an approaching presence. From the distinct sound of air being displaced and the soft scent of vanilla, I realized Kitty Pryde was trying to sneak up on me. She phased through the trunk of the tree behind me, popping out from inside the wood with her hands extended to catch me off guard.
I didn't even blink. I just stayed leaning against the tree, breaking into a smirk before she could scream.
Kitty made a frustrated face and crossed her arms. "Ah, that's not fair! You never get scared! I always try to use my phasing to pop out of nowhere, but it never works on you!"
I let out a low laugh, opening my eyes and looking at her. "I'm physically enhanced, Kitty. My hearing can pick up the sound of a pin dropping on a metal floor during a rock concert. There's no way you can scare me easily."
She gave an amused smile and sat down beside me on the grass, practically glued to my body. The proximity was obvious; our shoulders touched and I could feel the heat of her body against mine.
Kitty started making small talk about mundane everyday school stuff, but her body language said much more than words. She was clearly throwing herself at me. And, being honest with myself, an isolated mansion full of horny teenagers is prime real estate for that. When those same teenagers live under the constant stress of heavy training and risky missions, it's natural they look for an outlet. And from what my sharp ears involuntarily ended up picking up at night in the mansion, the people here weren't puritanical at all in their search for relief.
I looked at Kitty intensely, holding her brown gaze without looking away.
"If you keep looking at me like that, I'm gonna end up thinking you want to eat me, Miss Kitty," I teased in a low, charming voice.
Kitty didn't back down. She smirked, provocative and bold, bringing her face close to mine. "Well... what if that's exactly what I want?"
"In that case, I guess I'm unlucky," I replied, tilting my head. "Since you know where my room is and the times I'm in there."
She laughed softly, a melodic and mischievous sound. "You better be careful, boy... maybe you'll be in serious danger in your room tonight."
"Well," I smirked, looking at her lips. "I've always been a bit of a naughty boy. I love laughing in the face of danger."
Kitty gave a short laugh, leaned in quickly, and planted a quick kiss on my lips. Before I could catch her by the waist, she leaped up and took off running across the grass toward the mansion, looking back over her shoulder and winking at me.
I watched her figure until she disappeared through the back door. Decided it was time to head back inside too.
Walking down the main ground-floor hallway, I was distracted thinking about the conversation with Kitty and ended up bumping hard into someone coming from the opposite direction. Thanks to my quick reflexes, reacting was instantaneous: I reached out and caught her firmly by the arm before she hit the floor.
"Sorry! I had my head in the clouds and didn't see you."
"Don't worry, sugah... I wasn't looking where I was going either—"
Rogue's voice froze mid-sentence. Her green eyes widened, her mouth opening in shock, completely unable to utter a single word.
It was only then that I realized what had happened. Her leather jacket was pulled back slightly, and my bare hand was holding her arm directly on her bare skin—no gloves, no jacket, skin on skin.
I waited for the pain of absorption or that pull on my vital energy that everyone said happened. But nothing happened. My mind remained intact, my body kept overflowing with strength, and my mental Elixir bar didn't even wobble.
The Elixir running through my veins is a dimensional energy so dense, pure, and self-sustaining that Rogue's X-Gene simply couldn't drain it. To her power, my body was an impenetrable fortress.
"Well... looks like my Elixir is even more powerful than I thought," I commented with a calm smile, without letting go of her arm immediately.
I looked at Rogue and saw her eyes were tearing up. Small tears of emotion began trickling down her cheeks.
"Are you okay, Rogue?" I asked, softening my voice. I completely understood the psychological impact of that moment for her.
She blinked quickly, wiping a tear with her free hand and letting out a shaky, emotional laugh. "N-No, it's nothing, sugah... it's just that... you caught me by surprise. I... I didn't remember what it was like to touch someone without hurting them."
"I imagine how hard that must be for you," I answered sincerely and warmly. "But if you ever need some skin-to-skin contact without fear... you know who to look for."
Rogue let out a genuine laugh, her Southern accent coming through strong. "My, my! Was that a pickup line, boy?"
"Well... that's for you to decide," I blinked at her.
She laughed again, pulled off the glove from her other hand, and extended her bare palm to me. I took it firmly, lacing our fingers together. She closed her eyes for a second, just feeling the warmth and texture of human skin without the curse of her power interfering.
"Thank you, Kael..." she murmured, staring at our joined hands with deep gratitude.
"That's what I'm here for, sugah," I answered softly.
She gave a playful slap to my shoulder. "Hey! Only I get to call people 'sugah' around here, you hear?"
Night came quickly. During dinner in the main cafeteria, the whole mansion was talking about only one thing: the fact that I managed to touch Rogue without suffering a single scratch or passing out. The news had spread like wildfire. Her friends—Jubilee, Kitty, and even Jean—spent the whole meal teasing the poor girl, whose cheeks were blushing red with embarrassment, but you could see genuine happiness on everyone's face that she had found someone she could have safe human contact with.
After dinner, I went to my room, took a shower, and lay down on the bed wearing only comfortable pajama shorts. I turned off the lamp and waited in the quiet dark.
Shortly before midnight, my ears picked up the subtle sound of air being displaced on the floor beside the bed.
"I know it's you, Kitty," I said to the ceiling, without even moving.
The floorboards creaked lightly and Kitty's figure emerged from under my bed, phasing through the frame and sheets until she was sitting mounted on top of my waist.
She made a face and crossed her arms in the dark. "You really can't be scared, can you?"
"Of course I can," I teased, placing my hands on her hips. "You're just the one who can't do it."
"Oh yeah? How about this then?"
Without giving me time to answer, Kitty leaned forward and sealed our lips in a deep kiss. The afternoon's shyness had completely vanished; the kiss started hot, eager, with her tongue seeking mine with delicious urgency. When we broke apart for air, her eyes were glowing in the dark.
"So?" she asked, panting lightly. "Scary enough?"
"Truly terrifying," I replied with a sly grin.
"Good. Then I'll make sure you get really terrified tonight."
She went back to kissing me with even more intensity. In a fluid movement, I flipped her over and got on top of her while my hands ran over her curves.
"Does that mouth of yours only know how to kiss?" Kitty teased between kisses.
"Let's see now..." I answered with a gaze heavy with desire.
I pulled her sleep shirt over her head, leaving her full, firm breasts exposed to the soft moonlight coming through the window. I didn't waste time: I wrapped one hand around her waist and took one of her erect nipples into my mouth, using my tongue and suction to drive her wild. Kitty let out a needy groan that echoed softly in the room, her nails digging into my Elixir-strengthened shoulders.
I worked my way down, kissing her flat stomach while my hands pulled her sleep shorts and panties down her legs, leaving her completely naked on my bed.
I knelt between her parted thighs and leaned in, diving mouth-first into her completely wet intimacy.
My superior physical strength and superhuman muscle control translated into absurd endurance in my tongue. My tongue penetrated into her slit as if made of steel, easily opening her up. I worked her clitoris and her entrance with surgical precision, alternating fast movements, firm suction, and manual touches on her curves. The combination of my physical vigor and her sensitivity was devastating: in less than five minutes, Kitty gripped the bedsheets tightly and let out a long, muffled groan, trembling all over in an intense, overwhelming orgasm.
I pulled back slowly and looked at her, my face covered in her liquids. Kitty was trying to catch her breath, her chest heaving uncontrollably.
"So, Miss Kitty... what's your rating?" I asked with a victorious smile.
She let out a weak, breathless laugh. "A ten out of ten for sure... I'll definitely recommend you to my friends..."
"Well," I licked my lips, looking at her naked body. "Now I guess it's my turn, right?"
Kitty turned around so we were in a 69 position, sitting on top of me. "Yeah, good work deserves adequate payment."
She settled her intimacy over my face while her skilled hands pulled my penis out of my underwear. "Well, well... looks like I found where the Knight keeps his sword. This here should be considered a dangerous weapon!"
The view I had from below was spectacular, but I felt her tongue glide up the entire length of my shaft, and then she started sucking for real. I brought one hand to her head and the other to her butt, going back to work on her pussy again with my tongue.
The sound of suction echoed in the room, and Kitty showed great mastery, pulling off a perfect deepthroat, swallowing my entire dick inside her wet interior. After several minutes of this, we came together—her in my mouth and me deep in her throat. After drinking it all, she pulled off with a loud pop.
"Well, I see you're still on standby, so let's keep going until you break," Kitty panted.
I just pushed her head down again and she restarted, and that's how the night went. In the morning, a satisfied Kitty—with an aching jaw and throat—left my room.
I could only think one thing: thank you, ROB, you bastard.