Toad shook his head like a rattle drum the moment Leo looked his way.
"No, no! You're trying to mark me. If I shake your hand, you'll track me. You're a perverted killer!"
"What the hell…"
Leo's scalp tingled with irritation. When did I become a pervert?
Buddy, spreading rumors is illegal, you know.
He rolled his eyes in pure disdain at the cowardly Toad.
Even Red Devil, Colossus, and Iceman looked embarrassed to be standing near him.
Seriously, this is Magneto's crew? So pathetic. How is he even a villain?
Unable to watch the embarrassment continue, Red Devil stepped forward, gently pushing Toad aside and extending his hand.
"I'm sorry," he said awkwardly. "This guy forgot to take his meds this morning. I'm Red Devil."
Leo's eyes lit up as he shook his hand. Red Devil's teleportation ability might've been watered down in the movies, but that didn't matter.
Teleportation alone was already a top-tier power.
Who hadn't dreamed of teleporting as a kid? Instant movement, invisibility, X-ray vision—those were the holy trinity of teenage power fantasies.
And teleportation? That was pure freedom. Cool as hell, and perfect for escaping vaults if things went south.
[Ding! Detected plot character: Red Devil. Do you want to extract his ability? This extraction requires 300,000 points.]
[Extract.]
[Ding! 300,000 points deducted. Successfully extracted Red Devil's Teleportation ability. Integrate now?]
No. Not yet.
Leo's pulse spiked. He'd wanted this power for so long, and now it was finally his.
He forced himself to calm down. No rush. Play it cool.
With his goal achieved, Leo had no interest in shaking anyone else's hand. In a good mood, he casually turned to Colossus.
"It's simple," he said with a faint smile. "Pyro scared me that day. I panicked. So, I just… sent him on his way."
"What? That's it?" Colossus stared blankly.
"That's it."
Colossus was speechless. That's the dumbest reason I've ever heard. Someone scares you… so you kill them?
If that logic applied to everyone, no one would dare even look at Leo funny.
"Colossus, ask him if he's willing to come back to the school with us. We can't just let someone this powerful roam free," Charles instructed through telepathy.
He could sense Leo's mindset clearly. The young man didn't view them as equals. He looked down from above, detached, distant.
Like a god staring at ants.
Charles figured Leo must've undergone a drastic personality shift after awakening his powers.
"Understood, Professor."
Colossus took a deep breath and met Leo's eyes. "Sir, would you be willing to return to Xavier's School with us? It's a safe place."
Leo almost laughed. Go back to a mutant boarding school?
That wasn't him. He didn't cross worlds just to live like a lab rat.
"Sorry," Leo said firmly. "I don't like hiding. A real man faces everything head-on. A true warrior faces a bleak life with open eyes."
"What? Are you saying we're cowards?"
Leo shrugged. "Uh-huh?"
The meaning was obvious. Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying.
Colossus's jaw tightened. "Alright, sir. You're strong, but we X-Men are not to be trifled with. Sorry."
With a roar, his body turned to steel as he charged forward like a cannonball.
Iceman didn't hesitate either—an icy sphere the size of a ping-pong ball materialized before him, ready to strike.
Leo watched calmly. Omega-level ability… ignoring the law of conservation of energy. Unscientific as hell, but impressive.
Colossus's brute strength was tremendous, but his speed was lacking. Leo easily sidestepped the first blow, moving like water.
As the ice sphere flew toward him, he focused on it.
Closer… closer… and then, with just a thought, he seized control.
"Shatter."
The ice exploded into fragments before it could touch him.
"You—!" Iceman froze, eyes wide. "You're… an Ice Element mutant too!"
"Wrong." Leo smirked. "I'm omnipotent."
"Cocky bastard," Natasha muttered from her hiding spot, curling her lips. His smug grin was very punchable.
Iceman's temper flared. He wasn't the only one annoyed—Colossus was already trading blows with Leo.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Steel met ice as their fists collided in rapid succession. Shockwaves rippled through the forest.
Leo's Frost Giant physique held its own against Colossus's steel body with ease.
The onlookers were stunned.
"Holy shit, he's not just a ranged mage?"
"Yeah, he's brawling with Colossus like a tank!"
"This guy's insane."
Even Red Devil hesitated, tempted. Adding someone like Leo to the Brotherhood would make them unstoppable.
"Red Devil, don't," Porcupine warned. "He's trying to pit us against the X-Men."
Leo caught sight of the spiky idiot and tilted his head. Porcupine. Marvel's big idiot.
Then he blurred.
A single step—blink—and he was suddenly behind Porcupine.
A scream tore through the air.
When everyone looked again, the big-talking Porcupine was lying in a pool of blood.