I do not own X-Men Evolution or Tokyo Ghoul. They belong to their respective owners.
Enjoy!
"It is fine if you want to rest. I know that it is late. And the flight will last for just a bit longer."
Eli nodded. He already felt sore after all the time he spent in bed after the 'incident'. Maybe a little more sleep would be helpful for him.
"You'll wake me up when we get there?"
"Don't worry. You will be the first to know when we arrive."
When Eli closed his eyes and started to drift off, he was unaware of the conversation that continued between Charles and Ororo.
"He's hardly said anything at all professor."
"I have noticed that Ororo. But I do not find that a source of concern. Being nonvocal does not always mean that there is a problem."
"I am not suggesting that there is. But it is reminding me of someone that we both know."
Charles had to admit that she had a point. He was seeing many points of intersection between the personalities of Eli and an old friend of his.
'Perhaps..."
Charles cupped his chin as an idea formed in his mind. Maybe he had a good reason to call this friend back to the institute.
Shaking the thought away, he focused back on piloting the jet towards Westchester. This was an idea that would have to wait for a while. Right now, he needed to make it home. He had a new student to acclimate.
A few hours later...
"We are here."
Eli opened his eyes again when he heard those words spoken. Looking outside the windows of the jet, Eli could see the house coming into view.
Eli wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting when he heard the word 'mansion' back in Chicago. He pictured a big house.
This place was a lot bigger. The yard itself could probably fit ten of Eli's old home, and Eli could see tool sheds that looked like they were as big as his old room.
"This is a school?"
"In a sense," Xavier said, earning a frown from Eli. "I will admit that the curriculum is still being developed. For that reason, the students in high school are currently attending Bayville. A school only a few miles from here."
"Bayville? Wait, then what do we do here?"
"The education in this institute relays back to mutation. This facility is meant to help mutants better understand and control their gifts."
Eli nodded his head as he started to understand. "So we go to normal classes during the day, and then we spend our time here learning about our powers?"
"Precisely," Xavier smiled. "I will admit that our student body is currently rather small. But I do hope that you will be a stepping-off point. That more mutants will be located and convinced to join us."
Eli himself didn't have much of an opinion on that idea. He wasn't a fan of sharing a space with too many people himself, but it wasn't his dream. He wasn't about to complain to the professor about what was clearly a life goal for the man.
"We can go over the details of our current system later today. For now, why don't I show you the inside of the mansion?"
Eli nodded as Ororo landed the jet on the ground. The ramp went down, allowing Eli to walk down and Xavier to roll down. Once they were on the ground, Ororo too off to return the jet to its spot.
"It seems the sun is coming up. Why don't we go inside to meet your new peers?"
"Yeah. Ok," Eli said with half attention, still taking in the size of the institute. He followed the professor inside the mansion, where he saw the woman open the door. Letting him see the inside.
Somehow, the inside of the mansion was just as impressive as the outside. A warmly lit space with freshly cleaned walls and smooth carpets.
"They should be coming here now."
"They?"
Eli got his answer when two new people came through the hallway. They looked like they were around his age, maybe a little older. A guy in a blue sweater and red sunglasses next to a redhead girl.
"This him professor?" the guy asked.
"Yes. Jean, Scott, I would you both to meet our newest recruit."
"Recruit? I thought you said this was a school. Why are you making it sound like I joined the army?" Eli questioned.
The professor smirked. "You will see today. Would you like to introduce yourself?"
"Oh, right," Eli said as he reached out his hand. "Eli Alcazar."
"Scott Summers," was the guy's name.
"Jean Grey," was the girl's name.
"Nice to meet you both," Eli said, trying his best to keep the awkwardness from creeping into his voice. He wasn't sure if it was working, so he turned to the professor. "Is there anyone else I need to meet?"
"Yes, but he doesn't seem to be here right now. He often does take time to himself."
"Is that what he calls it? Free time?" Scott asked with a smirk.
"Occasionally. Regardless, I was wondering if the two of you would be willing to give Eli the tour of the house. I'm afraid I have some paperwork to fill out."
"Sure thing."
"It's not a problem professor."
"Excellent. Eli, I will see you at lunch."
Eli nodded as the professor went away, leaving him with the two new acquaintances.
"So, any luck figuring out your gift yet?" Scott asked suddenly.
"Huh?"
"Scott, don't confuse him," Jean reprimanded him. "He's asking about your mutation. Do you know what it is?"
"Um, tentacles, I guess?" Eli said uncertainly, leading to frowns from both Scott and Jean. "I really don't know what to call it. I don't even know how I did it. It just... kinda happened. Haven't even tried doing it again."
For some reason, that caused Scott to grin.
"You know, we could-"
"Scott. No."
"Why not Jean? It's not against any of the rules. And the professor is telling us to help our fellow mutants whenever we can."
"Helping does not mean throwing him into the fire on his first day Scott. Eli, if he offers to take you to the danger room, don't say yes yet."
"The what now?" Eli asked with wider eyes.
"Something to look into later," Jean responded curtly. "Why don't we start by showing him the normal stuff first?"
Scott sighed disappointedly. "Fine. Come on tentacle boy."
"You are not calling me that. Unless you want me to call you rosy eyes."
Instead of being offended, Scott actually smiled at the comment.
"You're gonna fit right in."
"So this is the laundry room."
"Definitely useful."
After just half an hour, Eli was starting to get just a little bored. When he first heard that he was coming to a mansion, he wasn't expecting 'mundane' to be a word he could correlate with it. So far, everything he had seen had just been like a regular house, just cleaner and sometimes bigger. Especially the kitchen.
"I think we're starting to bore him, Jean," Scott suddenly said, rubbing his eyes being his shades. "I'm getting a little tired of this too."
Jean frowned. "The professor told us to show him the mansion Scott."
"And we will. But he can learn about the hallways and bathrooms any time. Why don't we show him the good stuff?"
"Good stuff?"
Jean sighs. "Fine. But don't start blaming me when the professor asks why we're downstairs."
"What downstairs?"
"Only the cool stuff. Come on."
The two of them lead me towards a... painting on the wall. Eli was about to ask if the mansion even has a basement when Jean lifts the painting up. She presses a button hidden behind the portrait.
That's when a door on the wall opens, revealing an elevator.
"How many floors does this place have?"
"You'll see. Come on."
Eli follows the two of them onto the elevator. Once inside, Scott presses a button labeled 'X'. He has a feeling he'll be seeing a lot of x's in this house.
The elevator takes a moment to go downward. Once it stops, Eli catches a glimpse at a very different sort of hallway.
Instead of warm wood, this hallway is made of cold bluish metal. It kinda looks like steel. And it was leading down to a room that was marked with an 'X' the size of a company door.
"What's with all the x's?"
"It's because we're the X-Men. Didn't the professor tell you?" Scott asked.
"He told me about mutants. He said I am one. He didn't say anything about a letter being important."
"It's not the letter itself that's symbolic. It's what it represents," Jean explained. "The x comes the x-gene. The gene that makes us mutants."
The professor also told us that the 'X stands for the fact that we aren't regular humans. We are ex-humans. X-Men."
Eli nodded. The reason sounded a little flimsy to him, but it fits. As long as it explained why he was seeing one letter so much, he didn't think he needed too much thought into it.
"Hey, is this the place where you hide that jet?"
"The Blackbird? Yeah, it's actually over here. Come on."
Scott waked forward, leading Eli and Jean to what was probably a hanger.
"While Scott gets that ready, there are a few things I could show you here," Jean said. "Like the basic uniform displays."
A series of glass displays that had mannequins with costumes on them. Navy blue with yellow X symbols.
"Basic uniforms?"
"The first idea that the professor had. We don't have to wear them, but those are the first options."
"What do we need uniforms for?"
"In case other mutants...," Jean took a moment to think through her answer. "Go bad."
"Oh."
Eli didn't have much else to offer after that. He didn't entirely understand what he would be expected to do in a situation like that, but he figured that Scott and Jean, along with the professor and Ms. Monroe, were more experienced in that area. Besides, he knew what going bad meant. He lived in Chicago.
Eli and Jean stayed behind Scott for just a little longer. She showed him the medical room, a therapy room (?), and something called the Danger Room.
"Scott mentioned that. What is it?"
"Basically the training room. It's where we got to practice using our powers."
"Huh."
Again, Eli didn't have much to say about that. It sounded like a good idea. And it sounded neat. But he didn't think he could use it yet. Especially since he had no idea how to even turn his powers on.
The two of them eventually reached Scott, who was standing in the hanger next to the jet.
"What took you two so long?"
"There were other things to show him, Scott. You're the one that ran ahead."
Scott scratched the back of his head when the realization hit him. "Oh. Sorry about that. I was just waiting for us to get to the good stuff."
Eli decided to interject. "So how does the jet even get down here? I didn't see any massive holes outside when I flew in."
"Oh. See, the way that works is..."
Some hours later...
The tour itself was an interesting one. Eli figured that mansion still had more aspects for him to explore, but he figured he could get to those later. After having lunch with the professor, Ororo, Scott, and Jean, they told him where his room was. And now that he was at the door, it was time to see what was inside.
"Guess this is my room."
Eli opened the door, only to be surprised at the share size of his room. It was at least a quarter larger than his room back in Chicago, and it was definitely nicer to look at. The whole room had an amber coloring that was soft on the eyes, and the white sheets definitely looked more comfortable than Eli's old bed.
But the most interesting part of the room was the balcony. Eli had some in pictures, but he had never actually had one. Leaving his backpack on the bed, Eli walked to the balcony doors and opened them. From where he stood, he could see the waters that the mansion was so close to.
"This is nice."
Eli leaned over the balcony, watching the waves gently smash against the cliff that was in the distance. The day was warm and chill, so the waves were equally calm. The sun was beginning to set, but the rays were still shining down strong enough on Eli.
Eli was so busy relaxing that he almost didn't notice the sudden rush of heat that went through his back. When Eli looked behind him, he could see the Tendrils suddenly pop up.
"Huh? Why are you out right now?"
Since the tendrils couldn't talk, they settled for placing their heads on the balcony rails. They almost looked like they were relaxing.
"Weird," Eli said as he watched them both rest on the rail. He had never even considered that these things would... act like living things. Was that the right way to describe it? He wasn't really sure. The truth was, he had very little idea how these things even worked.
"Hey, Eli. The professor asked- Woah!"
Eli turned around in time to see Scott recoil in slight shock. He had just caught sight of Eli's tendrils. But he recovered surprisingly quickly.
"So? Tentacles, huh?"
"Yup."
"Cool. By the way, we got this ready for you," Scott said as he left a package on Eli's bed. "We needed your measurements before we could finish it. It should fit you."
"What is it?"
"Proof that you're one of us."
Eli frowned. "Can I get an answer that isn't vague?"
"Open it and find out," Scott said as he started to close the door. "By the way, you can go to the Danger Room after you put it on. And, uh, bring your tentacles."
Scott closed the door, leaving a very confused Eli behind. He heard the words 'measurements' and 'put it on', so he was assuming that the package had clothes in it. But what kind of clothes were so important? Deciding to figure it out, Eli walked to the bed and opened the box.
And found something that looked like a uniform.
It was a black jumpsuit. One with a white belt, white gloves, and white boots. Eli lifted up the suit, seeing that there were even two marks on the shoulders that resembled an X. The belt had one at its center too.
"They expect me to wear this thing?"
Eli wasn't so sure. It wasn't that he didn't like it, the jumpsuit even looked cool. But he wasn't sure what they were going to expect him to do with it. He couldn't picture walking through a street with this thing on without drawing some attention.
But Scott did mention going to the Danger Room. He knew where it was, but he didn't know what was inside the room. Maybe this suit was his way to find out.
Deciding that he might as well try to find some answers, Eli started taking off his hoodie, along with the rest of his clothes. Time to see how well the jumpsuit fit.
"isn't the door supposed to open?"
Eli was in front of the Danger Room door, wearing the uniform that Scott had left for him. He was also wondering if there was something see he was supposed to be doing.
"You need a key or permission. Didn't Scott tell you?"
Eli turned to see Jean walking towards him, Scott by her side. She was wearing a dark navy blue bodysuit with a cowl over her face, hair, and hands. Her suit has a bright green V-shaped triangle on the front and has the "X" logo on the side of each of her arms/shoulders. Scott's costume was also navy blue, with gold platelets using the "X" logo on both of his shoulders, while a gold X-shaped platelet goes around his chest area. His glasses were replaced with a gold visor.
"So we all get costumes?"
"Yup. How are you liking yours?" Scott asks.
"Not bad. Kinda expected a little less comfortable when I saw it first. Glad I was wrong on that."
"That's nice. So are you ready for your test?" Jean asked.
"I guess. But what's the test even about?"
Both Scott and Jean smirked at each other.
"Follow us. You'll see."
Scott and Jean opened the door, leaving it open for Eli behind them.
"You comin'?"
Taking in a deep breath, Eli tagged along. He honestly had no idea what was going to happen, but he was ready to see where this would lead.
"First time in the danger room. Let's hope you survive."
Wait. What?
Eli has just met Scott and Jean. Once Kurt comes around, then we can begin having Eli interact with the Evolution canon. Though I do intend to change a few things, just to mix up the story.
I'm mostly looking forward to when Logan shows up. Once he does, I intend to create an interesting dynamic between him and Eli. One that I think will be fun.
As for this chapter, it was mostly just character introductions and set-up. The next one will see Eli learning more about his powers. Since right now he doesn't have the slightest clue how they work, the next chapter will be important as he begins to learn.
Speaking of mix-ups, I took a look at the poll. Laura Kinney (X-23) was the winner by a large majority. So it looks like she will be the love interest in the story. Later. I'll keep the poll open in case anyone has any other opinion. For now, I will focus on Eli's growth and interactions with the other X-Men before Logan's daughter shows up.
Speaking of the other X-Men, I do have one question in regard to that. Do you guys want Spike to be in this story? The reason I ask is that he was never a very interesting character to me until he joined the Morlocks. He tended to annoy me at times before he left the team. So I wouldn't be opposed to keeping him out, especially since the comics never picked him up.
Anyway, please leave reviews, tell me what you think, and I will see you all next time.
Bye!