.....
Third Person P.O.V.
Hector is being hit by a huge wave of depression…
"Well, Master… It was bound to happen at some point…" Cortana tries to console him with a wry smile.
"I know…" he says slowly. "I should have done the Specific Gacha. This one was worse than even the Harem Gacha Incident." He reclines on his chair, done with life.
"At least you refilled your stock with Miscellaneous Cards. You will be able to do the Specific Gacha of Characters for a long time." Cortana says she feels a little bad because she was the one who convinced him to go for the Normal Gacha this time.
He doesn't blame her, of course, but the rolls are really bad.
This month is one of those that he was able to roll 50 times… and only 7 cards are not miscellaneous.
At least he gained…
x 37 Background Customization cards
x 25 Power Boost Cards
x 15 Travel Tickets (varied)
Like Cortana said, it will keep him for months; he will be able to increase his ranks with the Specific Gacha to gain characters.
The seven cards he gained are not that bad, at least.
Aquilo - The Book Eating Magician
A strong Evil Sea Dragon that, in a very anime-like fashion, takes the form of a hot woman.
Gelorum - Hot Wheels Acceleracers
Another evil woman.
Aquaman - DCEU
Not the best version he can get, but it is a good addition that he is still not sure if he will summon or assimilate.
Tommyrod - Toriko
Another strong, but gross, character.
Deep Sea King - One Punch Man
Strong and weird now.
He also gained two strong items…
Excalibur - Soul Eater
Strong but annoying
It seems the theme is "Strong with some drawback" this time. Every single one of those people is problematic in some way.
Chaos Ancestral Symbol - Wu Dong Qian Kun
A rare item from a cultivation novel, so it's strong.
Hector knows that he shouldn't complain too much, but he is still a little sad…
"I guess I can summon the ones that I kept on the shelf for too long…"He sighs depotentlya gain, allowing himself to be depressed for some minutes.
He reclines on his chair, almost lying horizontally with the ground, before moaning in annoyance. "Now is a good time for a punchbag villain to appear…"
"Master, your words have power…" Cortana says to him, her voice strange "It seems Namor arrived at New York and is… trying to kidnap Susan Storm.
"..." Hector moves his chair like Darth Vader rising with his operation table.
A big smile stretches across his face. "The universe is finally throwing me a bone."
...
New York
Some minutes earlier
One day, Namor felt curious about the surface world.
Many didn't know, but he was the one who found Steve Rogers frozen in the ocean. He didn't even take the credit for it; he simply contacted Nick Fury, an old acquaintance of his - albeit the two don't get along -, and delivered the World War II soldier to him.
He doesn't have a lot of contact with the surface world, just keeping himself aware of the big events thanks to his intelligence network, but the King of Atlantis was never that interested in reading the reports.
When he became aware of the Invasion of New York, it was already over, so he just shrugged and went to see the destruction before going back to his kingdom.
But his interests started growing in the last months… The changes on the surface, the reports of the emergence of multiple teams of heroes, villains, and… a certain woman.
Since he saw Susan Storm invading his palace, sneaking around his guard, and going through all the danger just to warn him, he was… intrigued.
She is beautiful, capable, and with a strong character. Namor was interested. So he sent his people to get information on her, and after that, he couldn't help himself in make a visit.
He confidently walked out of the ocean and flew through the sky of New York till he reached the Baxter Building and entered through a window, literally invading the place after seeing Susan working.
The King of Atlantis unceremoniously entered like he owned the place.
"Wha! Namor?! I mean… Your Majesty?" Susan jumps, startled "How did you-? You can't enter here…"
"Why not? You invaded my royal chambers once, I'm just making things fair." Namor approaches with an easy smile
"Eh… that is fair… but… Your… clothing…" Susan comments uncomfortably. The guy is only wearing a very small swim trunks.
"Do not be shy in looking. I'm not shy about showing." Namor even flexes his muscles a little to show off.
"...eh." Susan doesn't know what to say. The man in front of her is a king, so she doesn't want to be rude, so she just stays silent. "So… what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I just wanted to admire beautiful things that don't exist deep in the ocean." He says with an overly flirty tone, approaching her.
"..." In another circumstance, Susan would not feel so strongly against it… But a half-naked man just barged into her work and is being a little pushy. "Maybe we could schedule you a visit… I can show you around the surface, New York…" She says to be nice. She is feeling a little trapped here.
"That would be good… Why don't I do the same and bring you to Atlantis to show you around?" He approaches ven more.
"Ohreally? That would be nice. I would love the opportunity." Susan is interested in the mystical city. "But you caught me off guard. I would need to make some preparations, bring equipment and such…"
Namor interrupts her with a finger on her lips "Please, where I am taking you, you won't need anything of that."
Susan takes a step back. "I think there's a miscommunication here."
"Is that so? Then I will make things clear… I want to bring you to my palace so that we can get to know each other… deeply." Namor's tone is intense while he looks at her eyes
"Eh, sorry but… You are coming too intensely. I don't mind creating a friendship-"
"Forget friendship, let's jump to the fun part." He approaches her again, intending to press his body against hers.
Susan finally has had enough, and she raises a shield between them. "Okay, I don't know how they do things down there, but it will not work with me. I would appreciate it if you went away now…" She says in a severe tone
Namor's expression also changes "A woman who rejects Namor still needs to be born." He frowns and forces the shield. "You just need more time than most."
"Okay, not acting civil anymore." Susan's frown deepens. "If you do not leave, I will make you leave."
"I like women who are a challenge." Namor smirks
BoomCrash
And that is how the situation escalated enough for Eidolon to be alerted.
Invisible Woman threw Namor out of the building with a forcefield blast, but the guy is too tough to be really hurt by her attacks. He is also more experienced, being able to drag her out of the Baxter Building.
The commotion stopped on a street, people filming it while Namor grabs Susan's arm, and the traffic was completely dead because of them.
"Last chance…" Susan's eyes brim with power. Even at this point, she is being reasonable not to destroy any relationship with Atlantis, but she is reaching the breaking point.
Luckily for her, she will not need to play the bad guy in this scenario.
"I don't know how it works in your kingdom, Namor." Because Eidolon appears above the two, "But society frowns on… whatever you are doing." Coincidentally, he said almost the same thing as Susan minutes ago.
The hero lands and grabs Namor's forearm the same way the King is grabbing Susan's.
"You…" Namor's eyes flash with recognition.
"Yes, me. Eidolon is my name, in case you don't remember it after all the brain damage that you received." The hero says with a deadpan tone.
Namor gets angry, but he is not able to say anything because Eidolon's finger sinks on his forearm, squeezing tighter enough to make him groan in pain. The hero is nasty with it too, pressing the nerves and making the King's hand open.
Eidolon pushes Namor away and stays between him and Susan.
"I can't believe that you are forcing this role upon me, dude, but…" He sighs and turns to Susan,"Is this man bothering you, lady?"His tone is a little exaggerated
"Well, a little…" Susan admits
The hero nods and turns to Namor "You heard the lady. Go away."He then shakes his head "Oh my, I'm a white knight now." He facepalms while Susan giggles beside him.
"This has nothing to do with you." Namor says with a baleful look, he was just embarrassed by Eidolon.
"As a hero and a man, I need to disagree." Eidolon crosses his arm. "Just go way before you force more of my hand, sea-man." The people watching snorted at the way Eidolon called Namor. "You guys liked that, huh?" He waves at the public. "It was an easy joke, the guy is wearing a Speedo."
"Insolent cur." Namor snarls, getting red with anger
Eidolon ignores him and even turns his back to talk with Susan. "See what I was telling you about him being an asshole?" He sighs, in a disappointed way.
Deep down, he was hoping the guy could be civilized, like with Magneto, but the entitlement is simply too much. If Namor does something dumb now…
Pow
"..."
And he just did…
Susan's eyes widened seeing Namor's fist connected with the back of Eidolon's head.
The hero paused… In truth, the whole place paused, and even the bystanders were holding their breath. Time only returns to move when Eidolon's pupils move to the corner of his eyes to look at Namor.
"You will pay too high a price just to mess my hair." Like on cue, his famous man-bun goes undone, and his hair falls and frames his face messily, but in a still beautiful way. The guy really seems to have a power to be incredibly photogenic.
Eidolon is almost making a move, but he remembers a better way to humiliate Namor… "Shaed…" He says
His mantle moves, attacking Namor so quickly that the Submariner can't react.
Despite not using that much, Eidolon's Mantle is an incredible cloak that has gone through many upgrades.
The Shaed is a magic item woven by a Fae from shadows and starlight, then Hector used the power of the Soul Fruit to give it life. Important to notice that from all homies made by Hector, the Shaed is the only one that was created from a piece of his own soul. And beyond all that, Hector empowered it a lot with Dauntless' Shard Power.
All of this combined formed a lethal living weapon… Inspired by Strange's Levitation Cloak and Spawn's cape, the Shaed can do everything those two can and more.
It has Hector's battle IQ and talent.
In an instant, it enveloped Namor and treated him like a yo-yo, hitting him on the ground repeatedly. It released Namor only when he was dizzy and then rolled his edges into balls before punching Namor like a professional boxer hitting a sandbag.
Eidolon hums to himself while reaching to his hair to remake his man-bun, satisfied with Shaed's abilities.
'It's strong enough to deal with someone like Namor… nice.' He chuckled, seeing the Shaed enveloping himself around Namor, and using the Submariner's own arm to hit his face, the famous 'Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself?'.
The hero then noticed Susan watching him. "What? Do you disapprove?" He thinks Susan doesn't like the bullying
"Ah… What? No, no… Ahem I think he deserves it a little… Just don't go too far." She says, for some reason, embarrassed.
"Too kind for your own good, Invisible Woman." Eidolon rolls his eyes "but if the offended path doesn't want things to go too far…"
He makes the Shaed bring Namor to him while enrolled like a burrito. When the two are face-to-face, the hero speaks.
"I will not make threats… You know what you did is wrong." Eidolon gets closer and personal before saying in a grave voice "Don't do that again, Sea-man."
He doesn't even attack Namor, really treating the man like someone below him and his attention. He simply opens a portal to the ocean - somewhere far and remote - and pushes the Submariner through it.
...…..
Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
At least once a week, or more, Eidolon visits the X-Men.
The main reason is Illyana, and their master-disciple relationship, but he also stops by to talk with the Professor and Dr. McCoy. He obviously also has some casual talks with Ororo and Logan.
Ironically, he interacts very little with the people that are really his age, not that anyone thinks that Eidolon is a teenager.
He has a good friendship with the girls… Jean, because of their first meeting; Kitty, because she is a social butterfly that he likes; and Rogue, because she got some of his energies and powers.
Said that, even more ironic is that the ones that Hector interacts with the least are the male X-Men of the same age. The more similar, the more distant. Maybe it's some bruised male ego problem… After all, Eidolon kinda wiped the floor with them on their first meeting. He is also super popular with the girls, and they are not shy about showing that.
Or maybe simply because of his position as the greatest hero on earth, which creates this invisible barrier of awe and respect that people can't pass through. Not everyone is Kitty, even though she is a fan; she also acts super casual and extremely familiar with Hector.
His interaction with the young male demographic of the Xavier mansion is very scarce, most of which are some answers here and there during a group talk. And that is why he is surprised when Spyke approaches him on his own volition while he is teaching Illyana.
It was just a casual lesson, the two sitting in the garden, feeling the wind and the good weather after a demanding training. Eidolon was talking about some experiences he had recently and passing them to Illyana.
"...when the game is unfavorable, the best move is simply not playing the game." He says while she listens attentively "They want me to go and explain the proofs acquired through my powers. They wanted to drag me into a legal battlefield where 'everyone is equal', but the truth is that they just want to put obstacles in my way. I will not land on the ground and make the effort of jumping over them when I can simply fly." He makes a quotation mark before explaining with a metaphor.
"What a drag…" Illyana scrunches her face. "Don't they have anything better to do than using their time to waste your time?"
"It's not useless… They want to lay the groundwork to label be as unreliable. Probably some scheme from someone important who is afraid that one day I will point my finger at him and say 'Culprit'. And everyone will believe me." Eidolon points at her "That is why I don't give them any attention, my actions will speak louder than they can ever be. A stain on your reputation is something hard to get rid of, you know? And just the accusation… me going into court to explain myself, it would be a win for them."
"But you are not gonna let them get away with this, right?" She asks, almost angry
"Of course not, I will answer in kind. I will drag them into my own 'dirty battlefield'." He smiles at her "That is what I want you to keep in mind, Illyana. Unless you want to be a tyrant in life, strength is not the answer to everything. You need to be smart… People will try to outsmart you, lay traps, whatever… if you feel that you are entering a frustratingly annoying trap, be it legal, moral, financial, or whatever… Just don't enter it. Don't engage. Give a step back, look at the big picture. If they confront you with that, most of the time it means they have prepared themselves, and you will start at a disadvantage."
"What if I can't ignore it?" Illyana asks
"That is why we train… To be prepared for the unexpected and for the battles we can't simply retreat from." He finishes his lesson and turns around, already noticing Spyke approaching long ago.
"Who can I help you, Evan Daniels?" He asks. The two are not that close, and they are not on an official mission, so he would not call him Spyke, which is both a nickname and his hero name.
"Oh, Hi, Eidolon… Can we talk?" The teen looks between the hero and Illyana.
"In private?" The hero asks
"Yes…" Spyke nods while sideglancing Illyana.
Eidolon also turns to her…
"Fine! Whatever…" She raises her hands before disappearing..
"So… Is something troubling you?" Eidolon asks after Illyana teleports away.
"Eh… yes… But is nothing urgent…" Spyke starts, looking a little bashful.
"It's okay, just say what's on your mind. If I can help you, I will do it." The hero gestures to the seat Illyana was previously in, and Spyke sits on it.
After that, Eidolon patiently waits for Spyke to garner courage or organize his thoughts before speaking.
"You know, dude… Recently, Logan, I, and the rest went on a mission to Japan. We even have our asses kicked by a dude wearing a Super Sentai costume."
"... I heard about it." Eidolon says, his tone calm. He not only heard about it, but he was there, literally the guy who kicked his asses.
"I bet you heard." Spyke laughs humorlessly "I had my ass kicked by more than that guy. Logan's ancestor, his son… Haah I couldn't do shit to help. I felt so inadequate!" He rests his elbows on his knees, looking down at his hands that are squeezing each other tightly.
"..." At this point, Eidolon obviously knows where this is going, but he just watches the young man pour his heart out.
"I thought that I was good, you know? My mother sent me to stay with Ororo because I was also different… No one there was like me; I didn't dislike it. I thought that I was special, but… haah I don't feel so special now. Every time I feel like I'm punching up, out of my weight class."
"I understand, but you also should know that you are one of the places with the highest concentration of powerful metas on Earth. In the middle of high-level battles with equally high stakes. You shouldn't feel inadequate. You are helping, doing your best." Eidolon says kindly.
"Yeah, yeah… But I wish I could do more… My power is so shitty." Spyke sighs annoyed
"You shouldn't complain, you are a Beta-Level meta. Many out there are not as lucky as you… In truth, many would dream of having your powers." Eidolon says
"I know that too…" Spyke says tiredly "But even so… My power is so… bland." He says, making a spike appear behind a closed fist.
"It's a simple power, but because of that, it can be pretty versatile. You also have no drawback because of that… It's a physical power too, so it will grow with you." Eidolon says, not even lying to cheer him up. "I can feel that you haven't reached your full potential yet."
"Really?" Spyle does not look convinced
"Yes." Eidolon confirms, he remembers an episode of X-Men: Evolution in which Spyke has a big upgrade that changed his appearance.
"I don't know, man… I came here to ask if you can help me. Like… I don't know, something that can give me a boost." Spyke says
"So you want to get stronger…" Eidolon says
"Yes."
"Well, I'm not gonna lie to you… There are really shortcuts to grow in power. Many things in this universe can make a normal person into a powerhouse in an instant, but I would not recommend them." The hero says seriously.
Hector can indeed help him, like he enhanced Shego and the others, but he will obviously not just allow anyone to go through the procedure. And if he is not gonna help with that, any other method can be dangerous.
He explains that "The Hulk is an example of what sudden increase of power can bring… Gamma radiation, a cosmic cloud, super serums… No method is 100% safe. Not even simply awakening your meta-gene. You already won by not suffering drawbacks. I can only recommend that you train properly."
"I train! I really train a lot!" Spyke argues "But I do not get better! I feel like nothing changed for months, like I already used all my potential." He says frustrated
"That is not true, you still have a lot of room to grow." Eidolon shakes his head, "And growth is not linear, sometimes you progress quickly, others slowly… What is important is your consistency."
"Ah man…" Spyke groans and reclines on the stone bench
"You can also focus on other things, learn some martial arts. There are also powers in this world that can be harnessed by anyone, like Chi."
"That thing Rogue has now?"
"Yeah, but everything will be time-consuming. The easy path is not the best for now, Evan Daniels. You should create a good foundation now while you're young, so that when maybe in the future you have the chance of receiving a boost, things don't go out of control." Eidolon explains
Spyke sighs again, looking despondent. "I really can't see myself getting better…" He confesses
"That can't do." Eidolon says immediately "If your mentality is like that, you will really not get strong."
"I can't help it." Spyke sighs again "It's not entirely for selfish reasons, I want to help everyone, not being a burden. But more and more it seems they don't need me." He remembers being useless in the fight between Laura and her "brother".
Hector feels like an old man seeing a young man wasting his youth with pessimism. "Why don't we make a bet then?" he suggests
"A bet?" Spyke looks confused
"It will be a little invasive…"
"..." Spyke is now raising his eyebrow suspiciously
"I'm gonna possess your body, like a ghost, and show what you really can do. I'm gonna bring forth your real potential. Right now, by the way. I will not boost your body in any way." Eidolon explains "If you are not impressed, I will help in some other way."
"And if I'm impressed?"
"Then you will see the path ahead more clearly, and you will regain your self-confidence. That is all I ask."
"...possessing my body?"
"Yeah, like a ghost. Don't worry, I will keep your mind intact, in the backseat."
"I don't know…" The X-Men hesitate
"I do not blame you… It's really invasive, that is why it's a bet that only benefits you." Eidolon nods
"Just accept it, you pussy." Suddenly, a voice appeared behind Spyke
"Illyana, if you are gonna eavesdrop, at least don't appear to just rub in his face." Eidolon admonishes calmly; he knew she was around since the beginning.
"Sorry." She says to Eidolon sheepishly before turning to Spyke "Just accept, dude. You lose nothing. It's not like your body is anything impressive anyway."
"Illyana…"
"Hmpf." She turns her face away
"Don't worry, Spyke. I can keep things very professional. I will not do anything wrong with your body. I never do that, but it can have some benefits too… It's even cheating in some way." Eidolon explains "Muscle memory is a thing, like Rogue that still has some of my skills."
"Hmm~ That is true… But it will be only once, right?" Spyke looks like he is thinking about it seriously.
"Only once, not enough to really engrave my techniques into your body, but it can give you some different perspective."
"..." Spyke contemplates harder.
"I thought you wanted to get stronger… can't even do this much? You will not even do anything…" Illyana nudges him. The truth is that it looks really interesting and she wants to see it.
"Illyana, let him think."
"You know what? Fuck it! Even I'm curious now, for real!" Spyke finally says
"Then let's go to the Danger Room." Eidolon nods and stands up.
"I'm gonna call the rest!" Illyana declares and disappears inside a blue portal.
"..." Spyke pauses, he just wanted to keep this whole talk private.
"That girl needs to learn about boundaries…" Eidolon shakes his head
"With a power like that, it is gonna become dangerous if she gets older like that." Spyke shakes his head
"Don't worry, there's nothing to be ashamed of. I bet many think the same, even people stronger than you."
"Really?"
"Everyone is under a lot of pressure, Spyke. You are just the first one who came to talk with me."
...
Illyana worked fast, before Eidolon and Spyke even reached the Danger Room, a big group of the X-Men had already joined them on the way.
"Like… you can really possess him?" Kitty asks Eidolon, walking at his side
"Yes, in many ways, but I'm going with the 'ghostly way'." The hero replies casually
"Can you do me next?" Kitty asks curiously, receiving a strange look from the hero.
"Eh… Truth be told, it's not something I like to do… Maybe another day." Eidolon hesitates "You are a girl too…"
"Now that you said that, it's kinda gay." Angel comments
"Don't make it weirder." Eidolon waves him off.
"Yes, I'm having second thoughts now!" Spyke shouts at the teasing of his friends
"Relax, you guys are making a big deal of it…" Eidolon says "I have an even weirder power. One that allows me to become a bodysuit that people can wear and I can control their bodies this way…"
"That is some heavy fetish thing…" Kitty comments, remembering reading some doujins about it.
"Right? The initial purpose is to control a stronger body, but I'm strong already." Eidolon shrugs "By the way, this got a little out of hand…" He stops and looks around.
Almost all of the mansion came to watch. Even Ororo and Dr. McCoy appeared.
"Well, I can use this opportunity to say something." Eidolon crosses his arms under his mantle. Everyone also stops to pay attention to his words "The concern that Evan Daniels brought to me today is something I bet every one of you thought at least once… I know that because even I thought about it multiple times."
"..." from the way they became silent, he hit right on the mark.
"This universe is really a dangerous place. There is always someone strong out there, and you are bound to feel inadequate if you start comparing yourself with them." Eidolon says, then continues in a more relaxed tone "I know that you don't want to listen to this from an overpowered bastard like me…" He jokes and they all laugh.
While they are laughing, he shakes his head in amusement, "But it's all the same… There are stronger people than me out there, in raw power, but that is not all. You can still fight, and you can still win against seemingly stronger people. That is how the world works. And it is not about only fighting either; life is much more than that. Liking or not, the powers that you have are part of you. You need to accept it and make the best of the situation, improve without comparing yourselves to others, to become the best version of yourselves. Do what you can, and do your best."
After he finishes, the people around applaud, making him feel a little shy.
"Er… It was not a motivational speech…" He adds unsure "Just… You know, in the future, progress can happen, new ways of getting stronger and better can appear. I'm also developing a serum to help Metas with detrimental powers… It will get better, I promise. I just want you guys to train with what you have; the benefits will be greater this way."
"Ah, yes, you commented about that… how is the research going? Do you want my help?" Dr. McCoy says, with his claws scratching his neck.
"Not for now, Doctor." Eidolon shakes his head "But it is developing well. Ben Grimm is wearing a prototype item that allows him to turn off his transformation. The serum that I'm creating will give the metas this ability by itself and much more. By the way, do you want one? You never approached the subject… I thought that it was some kind of scientific pride of developing it by yourself, but if you want…" The hero suggests, while the group goes back to walk to the Danger Room.
"I'm not so prideful that I would refuse your help." The Beast says "I confess that I tried to replicate your device after knowing that you gave one to Ben Grimm, but it has been unsuccessful. It's hard to isolate the metagene."
"I guess you are losing some bodily functions, or only some parts of your body go back to the standard human, huh?" Eidolon says
"Exactly.."
"I imagined… it was easy for me because I am how I am, I kinda cheated and saved a lot of time. You will get there eventually… In truth, when you see the answer, you are gonna understand how simple it is." Eidolon chuckles a little. "After this, I can show it in your lab."
"I would appreciate it. That was really revolutionary and a great service for the metas around the world."
"Hm~, I still believe that most of us can turn off our powers on our own, but yes, it can help. Maybe by feeling the power turn off, they can figure out by themselves… like little wheels on a bike." Eidolon comments
They finally reach the observation room connected to the danger Room, and Eidolon goes straight to the panel.
"Just some casual mission to go from point A to point B while being ambushed should be enough…" he says while increasing the level and number of the enemies to a military platoon. "Hm, let's add some Enhanced too."
"That is at least a 4-person exercise." Ororo says while observing what Eidolon is doing.
"The grade and number of enemies are very high; at least 6 or 8 people are needed." Hank McCoy says "The difficulty decreased because the mission is just to arrive at a certain destination instead of defeating everyone."
"Ah, but I plan to defeat everyone… I just chose this mission so that I don't need to stay in the same place all the time."
"Are you sure that is safe?" Ororo asks with a raised eyebrow "Is the body of my nephew that you are playing with…"
"Relax, just gonna show a crash course on how to fight big numbers, weaker people with minimal effort, and how to deal with stronger opponents too." Eidolon raises his hands. "By the way, how strong are those Enhanced that I added?'
"At least on the level of Piotr." Hank replies
"Hmm, good enough… I guess you don't see yourself defeating Colossus, right?" Eidolon turns to Spyke
"How can I? He is immune to anything I can throw at him, and a good punch will make me speak Russian." The teen replies exasperated.
"Stop with your defeatist thoughts, the difference is not so big that it is impossible… Many factors can affect the result of a battle." Eidolon says "And even if you can't win. You can do enough damage to eba ble to escape or stall till reinforcements arrive… Fighting is not only about winning, but about survival."
"That is true." Ororo interjects "We taught you all to defend yourselves. Your life is the most important thing that you have and what you need to protect with the skills we teach you all. Don't get killed because of your ego." She says with a strong teacher tone.
"Well, you heard the lady… Now is the time for the demonstration. I'm gonna show you how the basics can be super effective." Eidolon says to the group before tuning specifically to Spyke "Are you ready?"
The teen hesitated, still not entirely comfortable with this, but how can he say no at this point? And he is kinda curious too.
"Go for it." he sighs "Be gentle…" He jokes, making the people around laugh
Eidolon chuckles "Only if you don't want me to~" He answers in kind, even winking at Spyke, and the people went crazy with laughter and shouts.
"Dude, pause!" Spyke makes a T with his hands, but he is also laughing
"Jokes aside, let's start now- Ah, I almost forgot." Eidolon appears to remember something, and he moves his hand beneath his mantle. "Get out for a minute, Nemesis." And to everyone's surprise, he pulls a pre-teen dark-skinned girl with long black hair from his body.
"What the fuck, man?! I was sleeping!" Nemesis exclaims after Hector unceremoniously drops her to the ground.
"Stop lying, I know you are awake." Eidolon says with a roll of his eyes "Stay out for a minute to not complicate the possession."
"And what about Cortana, huh?" Nemesis protests gruffly
"It's not a biological body and Cortana would not try anything." He says
"You talk like I would try to possess his body or something like that…" She scoffs, but is avoiding eye contact
"You would absolutely pull a prank like that." The hero stares at her with dead eyes
"Eidolon… eh… excuse me… but why do you have a little girl inside your body?" Ororo asks with a strange tone.
"This creature?" Eidolon points at Nemesis while asking
But before he can explain, Nemesis sees an opportunity, she secretly smirked and threw herself on Ororo's arms and started crying.
"Bwaah! That guy is a misogynistic monster! He-He uses me! Ma-makes me do things… SniffSniff"
Ororo unconsciously pats Nemesis' head while people watch the show, shocked.
"..." Eidolon on his side is not even a little worried. "This false accusation just gifted you a gruesome training session, Nemesis." He says, not an ounce of amusement in his tone.
"Iiiiihhh!" Her shoulders tremble, like a victim of abuse… but not because he abused her before, because she will be in the future. Nemesis literally talks herself into that.
"Do you want to explain this, Eidolon?" Ororo gives him a look while still patting the girl's head. It's a confirmation of the trust that people have in him that not one is calling him names or anything like that.
"She is my armor." Eidolon starts, people's eyes widen in surprise "She is not any innocent little girl… She is an alien living weapon. Nemesis only adopts this young form because she likes being cute. Don't be fooled, she is super shameless, cunning, and manipulative. And stop with your crocodile tears, Nemesis! It's not funny anymore." he says the last part with a strong tone.
Now she knows that she should stop playing.
"Meh, you are not fun…" Like she never cried, Nemesis pushes herself off Ororo. Her face and stance are casual; her eyes are not those of a 12-year-old kid. "I thought I would be able to escape your grasp for some days and mess around this place. Those kids look easy to tease." She smirks with a hand on her hip.
"What the hell?" The X-Men look at the weird scene with a frown on their faces
"And I thought Illyana was precocious."
Seeing Nemesis acting up, Eidolon grabs her skull. "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
"Eidolon, what do you mean by she is 'your armor'?" Kitty asks curiously
"How can a little girl be an armor?"
"I think that is the least weird thing…"
"Exactly what I said. She is my power armor." The hero says casually
"Like Iron Man? Do you really need armor?" Robert Drake asks
" 'Need' is a strong word, but it is a boost. An extra defense in case I need to go into an inhospitable environment like a black hole or fight above my weight class. See? Even I need to do things like that." He points out
"He called a Black Hole an 'inhospitable environment'..." Jubilee whispers loudly to everyone
"I'm scared to see what is above your weight class…" Jean comments.
Eidolon gives her a meaningful glance before shrugging "Odin is an example… but he is old, I can outlast him, I think. Nemesis here can amplify my powers and defend me while I focus on the offensive. I keep her inside my body so that she can 'bath' in my energies and increase our compatibility." Eidolon explains
Nemesis liquifies her body a little to escape his grasp. She can't enter his body because he is rejecting her at the moment, so she just sneaked behind him while aging herself till she becomes a thicc woman on par with Ororo.
"Yes, I know every inch of his body… Are you girls jealous?" Nemesis says sultrily while hugging Eidolon from behind, her chin on his shoulder, and her hands roaming his torso
"..." The girls show some faces that confirm it, but they would obviously not admit it.
"I see now what you are saying…" Rogue says to Eidolon
"She is pissing me off…"
"Right? She is a pain in the ass…" Eidolon sighs and grabs Nemesis' skull again.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" It doesn't matter if she looks like a cute, innocent kid or a super hot woman; Eidolon treats her the same.
"I think you adapted enough. I will start leaving you at home." Eidolon says
"Ouch, and what if you need me, huh? You never know when Galactus or Amatsu-Mikaboshi will appear?" She protest
"I can bring you to me easily. More than 90% of your body is consuming that in a safer place anyway. It would be the same." Eidolon replies "Now, stay quiet. Sorry for the interruption, Spyke. Let's proceed."
"At least I calmed my nerves…"
Eidolon doesn't waste more time. That is a good opportunity to guide these youngsters, give them a direction, show what they can do, and turn them away from the path of easy power. he remembers some moments where good people fall for the temptation, and a lot of problems arose because of that.
Everyone watches curiously as Eidolon's body gets a little more fluid and transparent before entering Spyke's body. The teen trembled a little because he subconsciously tried to resist, and Eidolon is nice enough not to force anything.
If he really wanted to, there would not be an outward showing of possession as he takes over a body.
The struggle only lasts a second, though, before he assures the guy that everything is okay and he can go to the backseat.
"Done." Eidolon, now as a Spyke, says. His voice didn't change, but there's something different about it. Maybe is because Eidolon speaks calmly and without fluctuations. "Okay, not bad. You are in shape." He says while opening and closing his right hand, and making a spike appear on his forearm. "Let's do this."
Eidolon confidently walks past the group and takes the elevator to the Danger Room, leaving the rest in a little shock.
"Guys… Why was Spyke kinda…" Tabitha starts unsure.
"I thought that I was crazy for a moment, but he suddenly got hotter!" Paige exclaims
"It's confirmed, attitude matters more than appearance." Kitty nods to herself "Take notes, boys."
"That much was obvious. I don't understand the surprise." Ororo, the more mature one, says to everyone "Appearance is a heaven-given gift that you can maintain, but how you act is all on you. It is obviously worth more."
"The eyes are really the windows of the soul." Jean comments "It didn't change physically, but I felt like it was giving away that it is not Spyke anymore."
Kitty walks and presses some buttons to show the elevator that Eidolon is traveling. he was just standing there, back straight as a sword, feet in the same line with his shoulder, face calm but stoic, and holding one wrist behind himself.
"It's like an evil hotter twin." Tabitha can't help but say
"You guys glaze Eidolon too much." Roberto da Costa shakes his head
"Shut up!"
"It's not glazing if it's true." The girls start defending him
"He does too much." Angels says
"Don't be jealous, he is just naturally cool."
"That is how he gets all the attention from the girls."
"What is the point if he does not capitalize on it?" A boy scoffs
"He is just chill." Robert speaks
"Maybe he is gay." Another says "Not that is a problem! It would just be the reason he ignores all of it."
"Hehe! He is absolutely not gay at all~" Nemesis, who was silent since Eidolon left, can't help but scoff and shake her head.
"Ohoho! I smell some gossip!" Kitty approaches Nemesis with a shit eating grin.
Unfortunately for Kitty, she was not able to get anything from Nemesis because Eidolon finally arrived at the Danger Room, and the Simulation Battle was about to start.
He steps into the Danger Room with purpose, and the whole place shifts to show a warzone, a city torn by conflict with half-destroyed buildings and cars.
"Can you guys hear me?" Eidolon asks, Spyke's voice much more even than normal, "I know that in most of your exercises you count the time, but I will not care about it."
"We can hear you, Eidolon." Ororo's voice echoes from the sky
"Cool, I can make this a lesson to everyone." The hero nods "Normally I would be more careful in this kind of place filled with hidden spots, but I already know the kind of enemies I'm gonna face, so I'm cheating… Just don't do the same. Always be careful." He says while walking openly on a deserted street.
He continues "I also know that Logan should have taught that already, but don't mind me if I repeat some basic lessons. First, if you can, use your powers to get information."
Like he said, it is an obvious strategy taught very early. All X-Men know that, and this task is normally assigned to the ones with reconnaissance powers… Angel, Kitty, Kurt, Jean… Everyone who can gather information without endangering themselves too much.
Spyke can't do it… Or he can?
Eidolon jogs to a tall building, and when he gets close enough, he jumps on the wall and, to everyone's surprise, sticks to it.
When he starts climbing as fast as Spider-Man, they discover that he is holding two spikes in his hands, and others, smaller ones, are coming out of the tips of his boots.
"Oooh~" Someone exclaims in the observation room.
In no time, Eidolon is already on top of the building, walking on the roof to look at the city below.
"You need to know your power… Those spikes will not go through the hardest metals, but they can go through the soft ones, and concrete." He says to himself, but in truth he is talking with Spyke and the rest "There, the Finish Line, and I can see some enemies… Robots, huh? I guess Xavier would not want human-looking enemies… I could go stealth, avoiding conflict as much as I can with some parkour, but let's confront them."
He casually steps out the edge of the building and starts falling, scaring the people watching. Then he stabs one of the spikes he is still holding in the wall.
It slows him down while drawing a deep line on the concrete. Eidolon continues to fall, his body straight. When he gets close to the ground, he is falling slowly enough to simply walk away without missing a beat, casual and nonchalant.
"Okay, that is kind of cool…"
"Seriously, does he do that on purpose?"
"I'm learning that I need to look cool when using my powers."
"Part of being a hero, I guess."
The first confrontation came when Eidolon was ambushed just a little before turning a corner.
Three enemies appear, carrying melee weapons, one already swinging at his head.
"..." He keeps a calm expression while ducking under the attacks and doing a leg sweep on the first robot enemy.
The second one tried to smash his head down, but Eidolon rolled a little and Bam stretched his leg to kick the chin of the second one.
He is up the moment the third one is trying to attack him from behind. Eidolon uses the momentum of his movement to kick the knee of the third one.
When this last one is brought down on all fours, Eidolon's leg is already high up in the air, above his own head and…
Whack
He brings it down on the enemy's head, destroying it.
He brings the fallen weapon to his hand using the tip of his foot and swings like a baseball bat on the first one, who is already standing up.
Whack
And the second one receives a throw of the same weapon as the gift for being the last one to stand up. The baton goes through his head before he falls.
"No powers…" Eidolon declares while standing above his defeated enemies "There are a lot of badasses out there that don't have powers, that doesn't stop them from kicking ass." He says to the people in the Observation Room and Spyke "And it's pretty cool and respectable that they can do that…"
And he makes a show to prove his point.
Using only Spyke's body, not his powers, he continues to deal with the enemies like he is in a martial arts movie.
"It's like with that enemy hologram of his… It's basic, but impressive." Scott says
"Minimum movement, precise attacks." Rogue nods
"He hadn't been hit once." Samuel Guthrie's comments impressed
"He really makes it look easy." Sooraya also comments
"Easy is not, but it is possible. He is not doing anything that we can't do."
"That is the message…" Jean adds
While they are talking, Eidolon continues to tear apart all enemies designed for melee. Things only complicate again when the ones with guns appear.
"Oops." He says like he let his keys fall, but he just dodged a rain of bullets by jumping behind a car. "Well, I could continue the way I'm going, but not without your body getting hurt, Spyke. Don't worry, I'm going for a perfect victory, that is why I do not care about the time."
Eidolon then starts talking with that teaching tone "You know, the most important thing in any battle is knowing what you and your opponent can do… Sun Tzu, you know? It works with anything, from chess to video games, from individual fights to army battles… When you know your and your opponent's limits, you will never lose. I mean, maybe you can't win… But you at least will never lose, just run." Eidolon laughs casually while bullets hit the car he is using as cover
He takes a quick peek before hiding again.
"Twelve enemies, automatic guns, 50 meters… How fast can you close this distance? How well can you aim from this distance? How many can you hit at the same time? You need to consider everything and use everything…"
Once again, he stops the theoretical talk to start the practical lesson.
Everyone watches as Spyke's body raises his arm, and a thick spike emerges from his forearm. Eidolon removes it with one hand and waits patiently…
The barrage of bullets seems to slow down a little…
"They are not approaching, sometimes you can bait them by simply doing nothing… If you don't have a lot of long-range options and you are safe, stay still and wait for the idiots to try to surround and corner you. These ones are smart, so I need to be creative."
He then throws the spike high in the air, and everyone sees how the guns follow the trajectory of the object, pointing at the air and shooting it.
Meanwhile, Eidolon has already jumped over the car and is running at them. A row of spikes appeared on each of his forearms, and with a move of his limbs, the spikes flew at the distracted enemies.
Six fell. Each one receives two spikes on their chest and head. Perfect hits.
Eidolon is already halfway through the distance when the rest point their guns at him…
"If you are not faster than a bullet, move faster than the finger, faster than the barrel of the gun…" He says, his voice barely strained as he starts zig-zagging to avoid the bullets.
He drops two more before he is finally on the enemies.
From close quarters is even easier.
"If you stay in the middle, this way some will hesitate to shoot because of their comrades on the back."
The enemies shoot anyway. "Those are robots though…" While he was defeating some with spikes through their heads, in the confusion, some of the robots were shooting their friends.
It ends with a large spike that left his wrist going through the neck of the last one.
"Something like that…" He says like is easy. "It is a good power, Spyke. Not anything that will destroy cities, but it is a balanced power that allows you to be creative."
And Eidolon proves his point through the next fights.
He fought a taller robot, making spikes appear to enhance every attack, punches, slaps, knees, and even a kick to the crotch.
"UGHhh!" The guys groan in pain.
He took down two at the same time and in opposite directions… A punch in one, and a spike coming off the elbow to take the other.
"You can eject them with some force…" Eidolon tests, pointing his arms at an enemy and shooting smaller spikes with considerable strength, even without any movement from his part.
He continued to advance, showing some skills.
At one point, he let himself be kicked by a strong enemy, just to be thrown at another. From his back, big and thick spikes emerged and impaled the second enemy on the wall.
"Damn, that is nasty…" Kitty exclaims while they watch his move away from the enemy while leaving the spikes behind.
He made a big spike and held it like a baseball bat to hit the robots and parry their attacks.
He even walked on the wall, spikes coming out from his soles, so that he could run on the side of a building and reach a helicopter. People lost sight of him inside it, but then they saw a lot of spikes coming out from it, making the helicopter fall.
He jumped at the exact time that it hit the ground and walked away harmlessly.
"Look at that shit. He ran on the wall."
"That needs some serious balance."
They watch Eidolon deliver a high on the head of a robot, a spike impaling the enemy head on a wall, and then he leaves it there like it's normal.
"You need to train more, Spyke. The stronger you are and the more stamina you have, the more you can do." Eidolon says, his eyes and voice are calm, but there is some perspiration on his skin. "After I complete it, I'm gonna cheat a little by recovering your stamina with my own and showing a higher level of your power."
Eidolon continues to teach while demonstrating smart use of his powers. His attacks are ansty, sometimes he takes a hit just to make a spike appear on his body and hurt the enemy attacking.
In his words, he is "pulling a Kimimaro", combining the spikes with martial arts and acrobatics to create a cool, but efficient, fighting style. He fought more than a hundred enemies of the most varied types, even some that specialize in physical confrontation.
It didn't take long for him to reach the finish line. The last obstacle is in the shape of a duo of giant robots, acting as guardians. They are fully armored and look very tough.
SwishTacTac
To test the waters, Eidolon threw two spikes, one on each, but they simply bounced off their bodies.
"Yep, it looks bad, but there's always a way." He is still showing a calm smile. "At this point, you don't have too much stamina, so let's end this fast… and with lethality." His eyes get incredibly sharp.
"Okay, Spyke has no business getting cool like that…"
He advances at the same time the two giants step forward. "Better focus on one before they are too close to gang up on me."
Eidolon jumps at one of them, the more than 8 feet tall giant swings at him, but he dodges and impales a spike in its eye. It has not much effect, but it was enough for Eidolon to move behind it, hands around its neck and then…
CRACK
"Damn!!" The people in the observation room winced.
Eidolon just folded the robot in the wrong way. He used a lot of strength, his feet on the lower back of his enemy, and broke the thing in half… And many saw spikes coming out from his feet, too. That is a horrible death for anyone.
Nemesis laughs "That is so ironic… The fact that he is so strong in truth protects his opponents, because he doesn't need to do things like this to win." She shakes her head "Strong enough to be gentle, huh?"
Eidolon back hits the ground, the robot above him, before he pushes him away with his two legs at the other robot.
Thunk
The two crash and roll on the ground. That it will not end the second robot, and Eidolon is not expecting to do it anyway.
They see him already running to a nearby building, soles with spikes as he runs on the wall at high speed… reaching the top, he jumps in the direction of the robots, body coiled…
He starts falling… A perfect arc that will fall perfectly on his two enemies…
On the last second, everyone saw two sharp spikes leaving his foot, at least a meter tall, fused together almost perfectly in a screw.
BoomCrank
He kicks down at that moment, using gravity and all his muscles to impale the two robots together. It even created cracks in the ground.
"Huff Victory." Eidolon declares, still calm, not even bragging. "See, Spyke? You are pretty cool. Get some confidence in yourself, and with experience, you will get there." He smiles
In the observation room, Paige speaks "Okay, he needs to stop smiling like that with Spyke's face, I'm getting confused feelings."
Eidolon that did not hear what they are talking about continues "What about I show you what you can do if you develop your power and body more?" He smirks
"Seriously, he needs to stop…" Paige says
"Can you guys please reboot all villains, please?" He says out loud. He then puts a hand over his chest, which makes a weak light cover his body to recover his stamina. "I'm gonna push your body beyond your actual limits, Spyke. Don't worry, I will heal you afterward. It will even give you some benefits."
While he prepares himself, the enemies reappear, but now all together in front of him.
The first three melee opponents are in front of him, already getting close when he made his move.
A spike got out of his fist, and Eidolon dashed forward, fast enough to become a blur.
WhooshZiin
When he reappeared behind the three robots, a line cut the air and them in half.
"It looks absurd, but anyone can do this, I'm serious." Eidolon says calmly
"No fucking way!" Jubilee shouts from the observation room.
"In the future, when the training of Inner Energy gets more widespread, everyone will be capable." Eidolon says before he does more of that.
One spike in each fist, and he turns his enemies into metal cubes.
"That will be fun." He says, planning to show off for a bit.
Spikes appear all over his body, covering him like armor, and then he jumps in the air while curling into a ball…
"No fucking way…" Kitty says in a low voice.
Eidolon started rolling around, destroying all robots in his path.
'Like Sonic or Rammus…' He thinks. He is having some fun. Doing things like this is too much for him, so he is exaggerating…
But it is very effective. In the Hero Academia world, it would be considered a super move.
"That is so unbelievably ridiculous that I have no words."
"It's kinda cool."
They watch Eidolon demolish the robots like a ball of destruction. He even destroyed the helicopters and cars this way. He was even able to roll on the walls perfectly.
He only stopped when the two final guardians appeared. He unfurled himself while he was still in the air and says "Rotations have power, but I exaggerated a little. Now, check this out."
He closes his two first hand, the muscles of his arms tense, and then he throws them at the two giants.
Multiple giant spikes leave his torso, several metal long and thick as arms, with enough force to penetrate the strong armor of his enemies and immediately kill them.
Huuuuf Even Eidolon needs to exhale deeply after that "Stamina depleted." Another dim light covers his body before he recovers
"See? Cool, huh?" He smiles while standing straight. "You are meta-humans, guys. The meta powers are good and all, but it is the human part that has infinite potential, the part that can surpass your limits and reach new heights… That is what I want to show you all. The power has importance, but is secondary when compared with all the rest that make you… you. Strive to be the best that you can. You will be surprised by all the hidden potential that you have."
......
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