Book 1-Chapter 1
2/15/2023
Queens New York
It has been a few days since Xander had awoken to his new and bizarre abilities and now he is currently sitting outside by the curb of his home in jeans and a T-shirt and sneakers as he raised his right pointer and middle finger up before sliding them down through the air to summon his status screen.
[Statistics!
Name: Xander Gram, Age: 17, Race: Human-(Mutant)
Title: Gamer, Job: N/A, Status: Good
Level: 4 [11/300]
HP: 190/190, MP: 100/100, SP: 130/130
Strength: 6
Agility: 6
Endurance: 8
Dexterity: 5
Luck: 10]
"What is a job class?" Xander asked himself as he started at the light lavender colored game screen in front of him. He changed the screen colors to his liking with a bit of experimentation yesterday.
"A job class is a classification you can take on to develop class specific stats and skills. The skills and stats can be carried over to a different class or you can just max out a single class and call it a day." Albion replied via a mental link and Xander just shrugged it off before another question came to mind.
"My stats say that I'm not just a human but a mutant. Does that have anything to do with you?" Xander asked as Albion hummed in thought.
"It could be that the system changed your race in order to operate properly in this world." Albion replied making Xander think a bit more intensely before he selected the job section on his stats and saw the jobs he could take.
[Job Selection: Fighter-Lvl 1, Scholar-Lvl 1, Alchemist-Lvl 1, Thief Lvl-1]
"Even if I pick a class, it's not like I have the tools needed to grind up levels for the class skills." Xander said while looking at the screen over a bit.
"You could just take the Scholar class now and spend time in the nearby library to grind up some MP and possibly learn magic. It's my job to do a lot of the fighting anyway." Albion said back which made Xander roll his eyes.
"Even if that's true you said yourself that your power is linked to mine and I don't want to stay weak and make you suffer or anything. I want to be strong and help too." Xander said back to Albion while thinking about what Albion had just explained to him.
"You do realize that magical power is just as good as physical ability, right?" Albion asked, making Xander pause for a moment.
"I know that. I'm just saying I don't want to run out of MP and be left defenseless." Xander responded.
"You'll never be defenseless as long as I'm around, partner." Albion said in a supportive tone of voice.
"Look at what we have here." Someone said to Xander which made him mentally dismiss the screen he looked at before standing up and, turning to the right to see four men in black and purple uniforms.
These guys had baseball bats and pipes while the leader of the group had what looked like a rectangular device in his hands.
"Lookie here. The mutant detector actually works. Imagine that." The leader said which made Xander flinch a bit and glance up at their name and titles.
These people are part of the mutant hating group known as the purifiers. They are basically the next generation of white supremacists.
"I don't want any trouble." Xander said while raising his hands up to show he wasn't a threat.
"You've got trouble mutie. Now let me make this clear. You're going to leave this neighborhood by sundown or things aren't going to end well for you or your bitch of a mother." The leader said with a smirk and that pissed Xander off.
"What did you just say?" Xander asked in anger while lowering his hands.
"Did you not hear me? I said move your ass out of this neighborhood unless you want to end up in the morgue next to your mother." The leader replied as Xander balled up his fists.
"I don't care who you are. Nobody threatens my mother." Xander replied with a raised voice making the group chuckle.
"What are you going to do about it mutie? We've scoped out your place for a day or two and saw that you can't do shit." One of the flunkies said.
"Albion." Xander said as Albion materialized next to him causing the group to stop snickering and hesitate for a moment.
"The fact that you threatened my master, and his mother is vile. You don't deserve mercy. Should I kill them?" Albion asked in his own angry voice.
"No. But if they don't apologize, we'll teach them a harsh lesson." Xander said while summoning up all his courage. Albion told Xander that he needed to stand up for himself more and Xander was proving to himself that he could be strong.
Quest Alert!
Name: Survive the Random Encounter
Objective: Survive the Purifier's Attack!
Rewards: 3,000 EXP!
"Fuck him up!" The leader of the group said before the three other men rushed at Xander and Albion.
"Pyro Sphere!" Albion attacked with his energy attack and nailed one of them and knocked them out while Xander kept backing away from the other two that rushed him and sadly he wasn't fast enough to run before he was knocked down from the swing of first thugs bat while the second one joined in with his pipe as they started laying into him before Albion blasted one of them with another Pyro Sphere which made the other thug hesitate before Albion rushed him with strikes from his talons.
Xander was hurt now but he knew that these guys would kill him so he grabbed the bat from the guy who was knocked down and hit the thug with the pipe with the bat as hard as he could and knocked the guy down.
Xander saw the EXP alerts appear, but he ignored them along with the skill alert that had appeared before him before the last thug rushed him and tried to hit Xander with his own bat as, Xander raised his own bat to block the strike before kicking the thug low and hitting his balls which made the thug leader fall to the ground cupping his nuts.
"Dumbass. The others are on their way here to kick your ass." The leader said before Xander raised the bat and hit the man again to shut him up. Xander was now shaking with a mix of fear and adrenaline before he saw a black van cross the corner and coming out of the window was a purifier with an automatic gun.
Xander and Albion ran as fast as they could to avoid the hail of bullets and stuck behind houses barely avoiding the purifiers until they reached a park where Albion and Xander hid behind several trees.
"Everything hurts." Xander said as he bent over clutching his ribs.
"Master I'm sorry. If I was faster or stronger, I could have stopped those other two monsters from hurting you." Albion said in a sad tone of voice.
"It's not your fault Albion. People always find reasons to hate each other, and this was bound to happen." Xander said with a wince of pain before standing back up. "The problem is how did they even know I was a mutant and why did they say they checked out my home beforehand?"
"They could be scouting the area for mutants instead of outright targeting you master." Albion suggested as Xander was taking some heavy breaths.
"That might be what happened. The purifiers are on the news a lot for scoping out areas they suspect mutants and mutant sympathizers to be located." Xander said before he and Albion both heard more than one van nearby followed by screams.
They both looked past the tree they were hiding behind and saw four purifier vans harassing local parkgoers screaming about who was hiding Xander from them.
"Heathens." Albion said with what Xander assumed was a scowl.
"Albion…I can't let them harass a bunch of people but I'm too scared to move." Xander said honestly as all his false bravado and bravely left his body as he tightly gripped the bat in his hands.
"Master…Its okay to be scared. If you don't want to fight that is your choice and I will stand by it." Albion said as Xander was struggling to figure out what he should do or even what he could do.
If this were a videogame or a tv show or something he could sacrifice himself to them and be saved by friends or a random plot device, but this situation isn't something Xander can just solve with no plan. Hell, his legs were shaking, and his body felt even worse from the beating he got from a bat and metal pipe.
"Alright bitches! We are going to give all of you till the count of ten to give us the mutant or were going to unload hot lead into all your skulls!" The leader shouted loudly to the hostages.
"Damn it." Xander said with gritted teeth before he rushed out of his hiding spot and got close to the crowd and shouted. "Leave them out of this! It's me you want!"
Xander didn't really think about this sudden decision as he saw many purifiers with various weapons and guns holding a group of people hostage, and the leader was standing on top of his van with an AK-47 in his hands.
"The beaten mutant actually has balls." The leader said with a cocky smile before he aimed his gun at Xander.
"Albion I'm sorry we didn't have more time together." Xander said to Albion who landed on his shoulder while Xander closed his eyes and braced himself for death.
However, death didn't come and instead Xander heard a scream of pain coming from the man which made Xander open his eyes and saw that a miniature tornado of condensed air had surrounded the purifiers.
"Xander, I think we might have been saved." Albion said while looking up into the air and when Xander did the same he saw a person he recognized from the news. Storm the X-men in her silver bodysuit as she was high in the air showing that she was the one who created the tornado in the first place.
"Not bad kid." A new voice said as Xander and Albion turned around and saw other members of the X-men team. Wolverine, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast and Colossus. "Your power is sure as hell a weird one though." Wolverine commented before walking past Xander. "Sit tight while the professionals handle this."
"You must be Xander. I wish we could have talked under better circumstances but rest assured that we are here to help you as well as the people that these 'purifiers' are keeping hostage." Beast said as he walked up to Xander and extended a blue furry hand that Xander shook and honestly…Beast felt fuzzy…Like a stuffed bear except his is blue and wearing an open black vest and dark pants.
"Why are you all here?" Xander asked bluntly as Marvel Girl stepped up in her green uniform as Xander glanced at the information above their heads and saw their real names.
"We were actually coming to talk to you at home, but these maniacs beat us to the punch, and from the look of things they put you through hell." Jean said with some concern in her voice while she looked Xander over.
"These purifiers are crazy. They said that they have been casing my neighborhood for a while now and my mom is in danger so I'm sorry, but I have to go find her." Xander said as he tried to walk past them but was stopped when Jean causally raised her hand and put it on Xander's shoulder making him wince in pain.
"You can't do anything while you're hurt. Besides we've already handled it, and your mother is safe at your home now. She's waiting for you along with the professor." Jean explained as Xander looked over at Albion.
"What do you think?"
"I think we can trust them master. They did save us after all." Albion replied.
"Interesting. Your power manifests itself as something akin to a dragon and seems to have a personality of its own or maybe it replies automatically based on your subconscious mind trying to speak with you or it could very well be an alternate personality all together." Beast said as he got close to Albion and was trying to examine him.
"Actually…Albion comes with a long backstory but right now I can't explain it and I want to see my mom." Xander said before he noticed the screams of the purifiers and was tempted to look back.
"Don't mind Wolverine young man. He is simply…Teaching the purifiers a few manners." Colossus said and Xander didn't bother arguing and he chose to ignore the screams before he started walking with the X-men back to his home while seeing a screen appear in front of him.
Quest Complete!
Name: Survive the Random Encounter
Rewards: 3,000 EXP
You have levelled up! Level: 4-5-6-7-8!
Xander's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw how many levels, he got from what seemed like a small amount of EXP in terms of videogame numbers. He also noticed that he wasn't fully healed, or anything like in normal games which sucked but he wasn't in the mood to complain and sure enough when they made it to the house Xander saw his mother talking to the bald and kind Professor Xavier.
Xander wasn't ashamed when he rushed over and gave his mother a hug that she easily returned. Also, after sitting down and talking with Xavier, Xander understood that he was a target for mutant supremacists now and that his mother would be in danger.
"Are you sure this is the best thing we can do?" Ray asked after Xavier explained that it might be best for Xander to attend his school for mutants now. It is a place where he will be safe and since he will be gone his mother will no longer be a target in the eyes of the purifiers.
"If your son stays here the risk of getting attacked again will increase dramatically Ms. Gram and we might not be there to save him the next time. If he attends my school, he will be protected from people like the purifiers as well as being given a place where he can hone his talents and learn how to control his gift." Xavier explained calmly before Xander spoke up.
"If it keeps my mom safe from those monsters then I'll go." Xander said as Albion rested on his shoulder.
"You don't have to do this." Ray quickly said to her son who couldn't meet her gaze.
"But I do mom. I can't risk losing you and if that means I have to live somewhere else then it's worth it. Besides we can still call and talk to each other and stuff, so it won't be all bad." Xander replied and sure enough with a heavy heart, Ray agreed to let Xander attend Xavier's school for gifted mutants.
After packing a suitcase of his stuff Xander said goodbye to his mother and followed the X-men to their parked jet and sat in one of the seats. Xander looked out the window with Albion beside him as they both saw the world around them fly by thanks to the speed of the jet.
The ride was a bit awkward but not entirely unpleasant and soon enough the jet landed at the school. More specifically it landed on the basketball court which seemed to split open as a mechanical docking bay of some kind. When the jet was parked, and the basketball court returned to its natural shape Xander saw that he was actually underneath the school as everyone got off the jet and Xander was given a tour of the place by Scott and Jean before being shown his room where he unpacked his things before settling in for the rest of the day.
Thankfully Beast aka Hank McCoy gave Xander a medical exam before the tour as well as giving him something for the pain along with bandages around his chest and stomach.
"This place is awesome." Albion said as he was flying around the room.
"It is but now I've got to seriously start doing some training. Today was way too close of a call." Xander said to himself with a bit of frustration over how he was so controlled by his fear.
"Master as your Embryo I am sworn to your service, and I will help you no matter what but with that said I want you to know that you are being way to hard on yourself. Fear is a natural and normal emotion to have and the fact that you acted in spite of it proves that you have a good heart and shouldn't be so upset." Albion said before landing on the bed and dematerializing back into the brand on Xander's hand.
"Thanks Albion but as soon as I wake up tomorrow, I am going to seriously start putting all my effort into getting stronger. However, the first thing I need to do is finally equip a job." Xander said before summoning his available job list as he made his selection.
You have equipped the [Fighter] job and gained an increase in your HP and SP! Your physical stat gains are easier to acquire as well!
"A smart choice. You really are going to commit to training master, and it makes me proud to be by your side." Albion said while Xander smirked at his Embryo's words before getting ready for bed.
"Let's take this seriously Albion." Xander said before he called it a night.
2/16/2023
Westchester County/New York
It was bright and early in the morning as Xander was already pushing himself to get stronger as he was doing a series of exercises in his room after waking up, brushing his teeth and so on.
By exercising a bit your STR has increased by 1!
Xander collapsed on the floor after the final push up since he had felt his arms utterly quit on him after seeing that strength gain as he groaned while he was on the ground.
"Congratulations Master. You've improved your stats." Albion said telepathically as Xander slowly sat up.
"Thanks Albion." Xander said with a heavy breath as he was very sweaty and exhausted now, but he didn't regret it since he increased his physical attacks a bit.
"It's a good thing you didn't get fully dressed and that you have a bathroom in your room." Albion said as Xander grabbed one of the towels from the bathroom and started wiping away some of his sweat.
"Yeah. Working out feels gross and is pretty messy." Xander said with a bit of a chuckle before he heard a knock at the door. "Hold on a minute." Xander said before he quickly grabbed some clothes and put on a blue T-shirt and jeans before opening the door and saw a new face.
This girl is Asian with black spiky hair on her head combed forward into bangs, she has fair skin with a slim frame and is wearing pink rimless shades over her eyes with a yellow jacket over a pink shirt with blue shorts and sneakers.
"Sup. The name's Jubilee and it's nice to meet ya." Jubilee said with a smile.
"Hey. The name's Xander and don't take this the wrong way but, why are you here?" Xander asked bluntly.
"I'm here because it's my job to help out new students around here or at the very least new students who can become possible X-men in the future." Jubilee explained, catching Xander off guard completely.
"I'm sorry but what did you just say?" Xander asked.
"Jean said you might have what it takes to be a X-men like a few other rookies. So, as the best rookie around she got me to be something like a sponsor for you. Now enough questions. Follow me because we've got classes to go to." Jubilee said and Xander was tempted to close the door before a quest alert appeared.
Quest Alert!
Name: Rookie X-Men
Objective: Become the top rookie in the X-men training program while you're here!
Rewards: A new title, being a part of the X-men Faction, 30,000 EXP, 3x Random Skill Books, 5x Gacha Tokens!
"Okay just let me grab my school stuff and some socks and shoes first." Xander said before putting on some socks and shoes as well as grabbing his school supplies and backpack before following Jubilee to their first class.
The class covered social studies and is taught by Storm aka Ororo Munroe and frankly she is a strict but fair teacher and Xander took the studies seriously.
The rest of the day was very much the same as Xander focused on his work and actually managed to make new friends. Actual friends in this place that didn't seem to mind him being something of a nerd and when the end of the day came along Xander was gathered at the back of the school along with a few other students.
The people in charge of this gathering are Scott Summers, Jean Grey and Logan who are all in their X-men uniforms as the back of the school was turned into some kind of obstacle course.
"Alright brats listen up!" Logan shouted, making everyone stand at attention. "You're all gathered here because you might have what it takes to be a X-men but it ain't all sunshine and rainbows! In the real-world shit hits the fan faster than a fly getting on shit! This course is one of many that you'll be going through until we think your ready! If any of you want to leave you can do it at any time but know that you'll no longer be considered X-men material!" Logan shouted to everyone in attendance.
Sure, enough he sounded a whistle and one by one students ran the obstacle course testing all manner of physical abilities with Xander being the last one to run through the course as well as getting the lowest score. A few people thought he was pathetic, but Xander didn't care one bit. If anything, this was just putting more fuel on his fire to try and become stronger.
"Not bad." A girl said to Xander while he was getting up off the ground from being completely exhausted from the course.
This girl has curly brown hair with a curvy figure for her age as well as having some light gothic makeup on her face with a stroke of white hair running through her hair as she is dressed in some gothic style clothes.
Anna Marie, Level: 15
Rogue
"Thanks. It's nice to meet you." Xander said as he extended his hand, but Anna didn't shake it.
"Sorry but I can't really touch you. Or anyone for that matter sugar. My powers aren't something I can control and if I touched ya…It wouldn't be a pretty site." Anna warned, which made Xander raise an eyebrow.
"Superpowers are weird as hell." Xander said bluntly, which made Anna chuckle a bit and smile.
"You got that right. I'll see you around sugar." Anna said before she walked away along with a few other students.
"I'm going to get stronger Albion. I promise." Xander said before making his way back to his room in the school where he studied the school subjects as well as trying to exercise just a tiny bit more before going to bed.
End!
A/N: Okay another chapter done and Xander is joining the X-men…Honestly, I love the X-men franchise and I think I might like it more than I like the Avengers and that is because the X-men speak to me on a deep and personal level that makes me feel more connected to their universe compared to what I feel for the Avengers.
Anyway, please fav, follow and review.