"Push me to see the newly emerged genius in our X-Men Academy."
"For us, this might be a good thing," Charles said calmly.
The current state of the X-Men was far from ideal. In order to preserve the collective strength of the Mutants, the team had to work harder than ever and couldn't afford to show any weaknesses. They needed more powerful allies to maintain their standing. So, seeing a promising new talent appear filled Charles with comfort.
Logan, however, didn't know what Charles was thinking. He stuffed a cigar in his mouth, sighed, and reluctantly pushed Charles toward the training ground.
"Genius?"
"Charles, aren't you exaggerating a bit? Which of us isn't considered a genius?"
"If this is what we're calling talent now..." Logan muttered sarcastically.
To the average person, longevity might seem like a gift. But for Logan, who had lived nearly two hundred years, it was more of a curse. His mutant ability dictated a life filled with constant battle and endless pain. If given the choice, he would have preferred not to awaken his powers at all.
Charles went quiet for a moment upon hearing Logan's words.
"Maybe it's not talent. But it is Power. And that makes it good—for us."
"Then let's just call it talent and move on."
"Logan, you need to learn to accept your Power," Charles said gently, his voice full of compassion.
Logan didn't respond. Instead, he pushed Charles into the training area, where they were met with a shocking scene.
The force-measuring machine had been utterly destroyed. It looked like it had been hit by a truck multiple times—crumpled, shredded, and almost reduced to scrap metal.
"Ororo, what happened here?" Logan asked, shocked.
"Did your Power go out of control?"
His cigar nearly fell from his mouth. The place looked like a World War II battlefield. What on Earth had occurred?
"This wasn't me," Ororo replied, looking toward a teenager standing beside the wreckage.
"It was this kid. Looks like we've found another talented child among us."
Her gaze toward Robert was full of admiration.
Logan raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"This kind of destruction… from him?"
He glanced at Robert. Could this kid really be responsible for what looked like an explosion in a steel factory? Even he, with all his strength and experience, would think twice about trying to replicate that kind of raw force.
Charles, by contrast, remained calm. As the X-Men's leader, he had seen his fair share of extraordinary mutants—Apocalypse, Magneto, Jean Grey. These were beings capable of shaking the Earth itself. Compared to them, Robert's performance wasn't groundbreaking. But it did hint at incredible potential.
"Child," Charles said warmly, "your ability ranks among the highest I've seen in a long time. This is a gift from God, and you must learn to accept it."
"But what matters now is that you learn to control this power. Otherwise, it may control you."
Robert felt as though Charles could see straight into his heart. Every thought, every hidden insecurity, laid bare under that gaze.
"I understand, Professor Charles," he replied, nodding respectfully.
Despite his confidence, Robert knew to show deference in front of a powerful mutant like Charles. Respect where it's due.
Charles smiled and nodded.
He treated all the students at the Academy equally, but those with exceptional abilities naturally earned more attention.
"Your Power is great," Charles said. "But if you don't control it, it will become a danger—to yourself and those around you. In addition to your regular studies, I want you to learn combat training with Logan."
That last part made Robert freeze.
Study? With Wolverine? For months?
He didn't want that! With Superman's body, he could grow stronger just by lying in the sun!
Train? Study? Learn skills?
Forget that! He'd rather sneak out and go fishing.
The X-Men Academy wasn't a large place. Even when counting the students' dorms, it was no bigger than a small middle school.
So, naturally, word spread fast.
Within half a day, everyone in the Academy had heard the news—Robert had awakened his ability, and it was an impressive one.
As he walked down the hallways, Robert could feel people pointing at him, whispering behind his back.
Before today, he was practically invisible at the Academy. Just another background character.
Mutants faced discrimination in the outside world, but inside the Academy, things weren't always perfect either. There were still cliques and subtle hierarchies. Hidden chains of bias and comparison.
It was ironic.
Now that he'd awakened a powerful ability, Robert found himself at the center of attention. Everyone was suddenly curious. Interested.
Westerners and Easterners were different in many ways, but one thing was clear—strength was respected. People didn't care much about personality or morality. If you were powerful, you got attention.
And Robert's power was no joke. The fact that he had utterly demolished the testing machine spoke volumes.
Even Colossus, back in his prime, might not have been able to produce such devastation. So naturally, people were impressed.
But Robert wasn't thrilled. He was an adult at heart, not some wide-eyed kid trying to impress classmates.
He had no interest in mingling with the students. He would rather talk with the actual X-Men than waste time chatting with children. Kids had too much drama.
Because of this, Robert came off as aloof. Cold, even.
Oddly enough, this only made him more appealing in the eyes of the other students. His cool, detached demeanor, paired with his good looks, turned him into something of a campus idol.
When classes ended, students constantly tried to start conversations with him.
Meanwhile, Robert was just trying to figure out how to sneak out of the Academy to go fishing.
He found the X-Men curriculum laughably easy. Even back when he was a normal person, it wasn't challenging. Now that he had Superman's enhanced physiology, his thinking speed and cognitive power had also improved.
None of the content mattered to him. It was beneath him now.
After observing the teachers go through their lectures for half the morning, Robert decided he'd had enough. The kids were engaged, and the instructors were passionate—but he wasn't interested.
So he slipped away.
Fishing rod in hand, Robert darted out of the X-Men Academy at astonishing speed.
As everyone knows, Superman—besides his vulnerability to magic—is practically a hexagonal fighter. Power, speed, reaction time, you name it—he excels in every area.
He could even compete with Barry Allen in terms of speed.
Compared to his old pace, Robert now moved like a blur. Within seconds, he had crossed several hundred meters and arrived at a small lake just outside the Academy grounds.
He set down his stool, cast his line into the water, and relaxed.
Finally—some peace and quiet.