Disclaimer!
I own nothing of Marvel, Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder. The characters that are owned by their various owners. I only own my OC's/Original characters.
3/14/2024
Salem Center/New York
"Come on people! Put some muscle into these drills!" The gym coach aka Mr. Rasputin said after blowing his whistle that hung around his neck. The Russian took gym class seriously and was putting the students through exercises that bordered on military drills.
Some mutants had trouble while others excelled. However, the main rule in the class was not to use your powers without permission or authorization. Meaning that the teens who excelled were teens who already had physical augmentation-based mutations that couldn't simply be turned off.
It wasn't fair but Mr. Rasputin did the best he could to even things out for the students who struggled. Abel was one such student who was struggling yet he had also shown improvement from the last few gym classes. His RPG based abilities allowed him to recover faster than most and push himself harder which actually granted him a new feat.
[Feat
Name: Endurance Machine
You have started training your body to fight and struggle for extended periods of time and now you can perform physical activities for a longer period of time.
You gain a permanent 2 to Constitution each level!]
The feat certainly helped with his stamina and energy but that still didn't mean that gym class was damn near excruciating to handle.
"Damn, Mr. Rasputin might as well be a drill Sargent." A young mutant said in the boy's locker room as the boys started changing into their normal clothes after gym had ended.
"It could be worse. Remember when Professor Logan had to take over gym class for a week?" Another mutant said causing several teens to have a cold shiver run down their spines in terror of that week.
"Is Professor Logan worse?" Abel asked the small crowd of boys while the 'leader' of the group spoke up.
"He's way worse dude. He had us 'sparing' in the danger room four two hours straight without a single break in order to 'whip us into shape' or some other BS like that. Working out and using our powers is exhausting. Even when some of our powers gave out form overuse, he had us still training. Hell, one kid actually pulled a few muscles from overusing his powers and had to go into recovery and is still in physical therapy."
"Oh…I don't think I want him to train me in anything if that's the case." Abel said cautiously while the teen chuckled in response.
"Don't worry about it too much. The kid was a showoff and a jerk anyway, so I think the Professor was trying to teach him a lesson. Besides, Professor Logan isn't evil or anything. He just wants us to be ready in case something bad happens. The name's Robert by the way, but you can just call me Bobby or Iceman like everyone else." Robert said before holding out his hand to shake and Abel took it and shook his own hand.
"I'm Abel and it's nice to meet you." Abel replied before all the teens left the locker room and started walking the halls to their next class after gym and sure enough, Abel figured out that he shared most of his classes with Bobby, Angelica and Jonothon without ever realizing it before.
The class was being taught by Abel's favorite teacher; Mr. LeBeau, who let the students call him by his codename of Gambit. Abel thought and still thinks that Gambit is one of the coolest dudes around, but sadly that opinion slowly started changing when Gambit got into the harsh lessons and problems of mathematic equations…Being cool can't stop you from being evil if you enjoy teaching math.
Anyway, during one lesson, Abel got curious about his progress and decided to raise up his math book and summon up his status sheet, since he never took a good look at it before.
/Status/
Name: Able Van Helsing, Race: Mutant, Age: 17
Title: Gamer, Alignment: Neutral, Heritage: Demon Hunter Bloodline
Level: 1 [320/400]
HP: 90/90
Strength: 7(2)
Dexterity: 13(2)
Constitution: 6(2)
Intelligence: 7(2)-(1)
Wisdom: 11(2)-(1)
Charisma: 5(2)
Source Crystals: 300
Cantrip Slots: 4
Spell Slots: 2
/End/
Abel looked on at his stats and knew that he had improved but he was still a weak and squishy person all things considered. During downtime in the school library, he learned that this world was full of heroes and villains of all shapes and sizes and that he was far from being able to compete with any of them in any regard.
1
"Who are you?" Abel asked with wide eyes and a slightly scared tone of voice as he entered his room and saw a woman in strange robes sitting on his bed with a strange looking book next to her on the bed. Also, the strangest thing about it was the world around them seemed to grind to a halt as the world seemingly turned to a greyish color as the woman stood up.
"You don't need to fear me, Abel. I am not your enemy, but I am neither your ally. You are something of an anomaly in the timeline of the multiverse. The little butterflies fly in unknown directions wherever you are involved, and I have contemplated what to do with you. To take you on as a possible candidate for Earth's sorcerer supreme or to kill you outright." The woman said causing Abel to swallow some saliva in his throat.
"So, what are you going to do?"
"Simple, for now I am waiting to see how you change things as well as leaving you with a small gift. Your magic is raw and has the potential to help change or destroy the world. But without guidance you can't advance one way or another. So, I leave you with this grimoire and sling ring. I trust that you can work out how these work without the standard instructions given to you…I am curious to see how you will grow little seedling." The woman said before she suddenly vanished and the world around Abel returned to normal speed and normal colors.
The woman was gone as quickly as she appeared, and all Abel had left was the strange book and weird ring on his bed.
"I guess I could try and give this thing a read." Abel said before he sat down on his bed and started reading the grimoire of old magics.
The magic itself seemed to have various categories and the categories that this book covered was Kineticist magic along with the classes of Mesmerist, Spiritualist, Occultist, Medium, and Psychic magic. The first page of the book explained why even the most gifted magic users couldn't master or use these categories of magic.
This magic in simplistic terms is qualified as Druidic magic that was used by the old Native Americans along with those with a strong connection to nature. Sorcerers use the energy of the multiverse to perform magic, warlocks use magic gifted to them from the God's which apparently exist and there are a lot of God's. Other forms of magic have other costs, but the point is that this type of magic seems uniquely suited for Abel's Vancian gift and informed him of all sorts of magic that he could start practicing.
However, Abel also took note of the drawbacks of this branch of magic. The spells or at least the more powerful ones in any of these categories require sacrifice aka health and magical power from the user. Some spells drain blood or physical attributes while others drain a person's spirits. Still, Abel knew that this book and weird ring was the universe telling him how to get stronger, so after taking out a notebook and making a few notes, Abel figured out how to create a cantrip for himself to fill up his final cantrip slot.
3/14/2024
Salem Center/New York
Evening
"This is a bit unexpected." Abel said to Professor Xavier, who was moving with his wheelchair to the lower floors of the mansion along with Abel and Professor Logan.
"I understand that this is sudden, but considering your guest from earlier, I think a few rules can be…flexible in your case." Xavier replied while Abel scratched his head a bit.
"What now?" Logan asked with some confusion.
"To make a long story short, Abel's gift is of interest to some rather important people Logan, and I believe that with his gift properly honed he can become a true force for good like you." Xavier said while Logan rolled his eyes before glancing at Abel.
"Is there something else going on with your powers kid?"
"My powers are weird." Abel simply responded before the trio made their way to what the X-men called the Danger Room. Inside the room were several people, some of whom Abel didn't recognize or know.
The adults in the proper X-men uniforms were Hank McCoy, Warren Kenneth, Ororo Munroe, Piotr Rasputin, Remy LeBeau, Anna LeBeau and the vice principal Emma Frost.
The teens standing in the room in uniform are Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Robert Drake, Jonothon Starsmore, Angelica Jones, Jeanne-Marie Beaubier, and Katherine Pride.
"So, that's why you told me to get changed." Abel said since Xavier had made a stop by the locker rooms and provided Abel an X-man uniform to change into.
"Greetings Abel. I have to say that I'm surprised to see you down here so soon." Hank said after walking up to Abel and shaking his hand while Abel noticed the variations to his suit based on his bestial appearance. His suit lacked sleeves and the bottoms were shorts while the other suits were full body versions.
"I'm surprised too, but things just seem to keep happening to me in the most random of ways." Abel replied with a smile.
"So, this is the new addition to the trainee's roster? I've got to say he is a bit scrawny but don't worry Professor. We'll whip him into shape." Anna said with a confident smile and while running a hand through her long brown hair with a white streak running through it.
"That's all I ask for now Rogue. I trust that the rest of you can handle the training but be sure to inform Abel about the risks and challenges that come with being an X-men in training." Xavier said before he left while Logan stayed behind.
Abel walked towards the other teens and stood with them before Emma spoke up.
"Alright everyone. You all know that this isn't a fun and games lifestyle of being an X-men. You carry with you the responsibility of helping bridge the gap between humans and mutants in order for us to co-exist and show ordinary humans that we are nothing to be feared. This isn't to be taken lightly and your life could be put in danger from being an X-men.
This life is difficult to say the least and requires a strong willingness to do what's right and defend people who would be willing to harm you because of their judgmental ideals against what a mutant is or represents. We are also helping our other mutants by saving them from people who would do them harm. Today, we are going to be going over rescue drills along with combat training involving hand to hand combat and proper use of your powers." Emma explained before she snapped her fingers and suddenly the massive danger room around them suddenly started glowing with various lights before the entire room changed into an intense virtual reality of a random urban city.
Quest Alert!
Name: Lightspeed Rescue!
You are being put through various drills involving the protection of civilians and handling of real-world combat. So, do your best.
Objective 1: Score higher than 70% on your civilian rescue drills!
Objective 2: Score higher than 70% on your self-defense drills!
Objective 3: Score higher than 70% on your teamwork-based assignments!
This quest has been automatically accepted!
Rewards: 300 EXP, 200 Source Crystals, Increased Affinity with all X-men and X-men rookie members!
Failure: 50 EXP!
Abel looked at the quest screen in front of him before he suddenly heard a large explosion from deeper in the city. When he looked back at the teachers and staff members, he saw that they were gone and that the other teens had already started rushing towards the sound in order to try and help.
"Wait up." Abel said before he started running after the group and soon saw dozens of people either trapped, hurt or running from what looked like humanoid purple and black robots that stood at roughly ten feet tall and had some slick mechanical armor protecting their joints and vulnerable body parts while they fired energy beams from their hands and eyes.
"We've got to handle this from multiple sides. Firestar, Chamber and Iceman. You guys need to handle the Sentinel's attacking civilians and city property. Aurora, Shadow Cat, Marvel Girl. You three need to focus on rescue while I help with the Sentinel's. Abel, you help them with the rescue." Scott ordered and they didn't hesitate to go where they were needed.
Abel couldn't help but glance over at the fighting and see how well suited they were to combat. Scott's optic lasers, Robert's ice powers and Jonothon's ability to fire what looked like some kind of super-heated plasma-based energy from his chest and hands was impressive to say the least.
"Come on. Where taking you somewhere safe." Abel said to a little girl who was cowering behind a car. He easily picked her up and followed the girls to the rescue zones and dropped off the victims who vanished when they entered the safety zone.
Abel thought it was weird but after remembering that they were in a simulation of some kind. He just went back to doing what he was told and after several rescues. The mission intensity increased a bit. More chaos, more danger and more victims.
When Abel went to rescue a person trapped underneath some debris, he heard mechanical clomping behind him and turned around to see a Sentinel about to attack, but luckily, Abel was ready and prepared his only offensive based Cantrip.
Abel dodged the slow-moving laser that hit the wall behind him and in his right hand he had prepared a sphere of condensed force energy that seemed almost ethereal and was a dark purplish color. It was the size of a basketball and Abel launched it at the Sentinel as hard as he could. The blast sent the robot off its feet and into a small car door with a loud crunch.
"Come on. Let's get you out of here." Abel said to the victim before he escorted him to the rescue zone which choosing to ignore his borderline racist remarks.
Thanks to all the action Abel was also able to use his other Cantrips as well to try and get a better sense of what was going on. The fake people and robots didn't register to his sensing aura or anything, but he was able to sense the stress of his teammates and he was also able to life up small debris in order to help rescue the people and hurt the robots by throwing rocks and stuff at them.
It ended up earning him a new reward before the drill was over.
[Feat
Name: X-Men Bonus
You have completed your first test as an X-men in training and as a result you gain a 50% experience bonus when training with your X-Gene with your fellow X-men/X-rookies.]
"We can end the drill here." Emma said as the holograms around them vanished into blue particles and once again the teens found themselves in the Danger Room with the X-men team in front of them as the teens all lined up in proper order. "You all did well, and Abel I must say that I am impressed. You adapt quickly under pressure and that's not mentioning that little energy trick you pulled off."
"It's not as impressive as you think. The thing moves slow despite how hard it hits and it can't go very far distance wise. Plus, I doubt a real enemy would give me time to hit them with it." Abel replied sheepishly and a small blush causing him to look down at his feet given how…Beautiful Emma Frost was in her bodysuit.
Let's just say the suits don't hide a person's muscles or other things despite them being made to conceal the important bits and vital spots.
"Nonsense. You did well for your first training mission Abel. The rest of you also performed admirably and your teamwork has improved much more compared to previous drills. Especially you, Chamber." Hank said supportively while Jonothon simply rolled his eyes.
"I did what I was told because last time I didn't. Cyclops threw a bitch fit about it." Jonothon admitted bluntly while Scott scowled at his teammate.
"If you have something to say about me, then come out and say it." Scott said back heatedly.
"Save it for the mission's brats. You're all wet behind the ears in my opinion. Sloppy and you all made mistakes that would have gotten you killed in the field. Which is why I'm personally taking over the self-defense part of this training." Logan admitted with a smirk before he took out a cigar from his pants along with a lighter and took a drag.
Logan himself wasn't in a suit and was just in regular clothes but Abel didn't want to point that out. Anyway, the teens were broken up into pairs and forced into sparring matches with Logan and Piotr watching over their forms and strikes.
Abel was understandably out of his element in this regard and was barely standing before the sparring drills ended and he was bruised and battered while sitting on the ground. The other teens had their fair share of bruises, but they've gotten used to the rough training that Logan always put them through.
It made them into tough fighters but that didn't mean that they enjoyed how intense the training could get sometimes. Luckily the other X-men members would jump in when things got a bit too dangerous, and keep in mind that the training strictly forbade all forms of power usage.
"Thanks." Abel said while Remy gave him a hand up and an ice pack for his black eye.
Katherine aka Kitty was a dangerous opponent even if she hit him in the eye with a backwards kick by accident…Abel couldn't be mad at her since she practically begged for his forgiveness after he hit the ground and was out cold for about five minutes.
"I think we can end things here for today." Emma said in a stern voice before the teens all soon headed away into their separate rooms to try and relax for the night.
Quest Completed!
Name: Lightspeed Rescue
Objective 1: Score higher than 70% on your civilian rescue drills! [x]
Objective 2: Score higher than 70% on your self-defense drills! [-]
Objective 3: Score higher than 70% on your teamwork-based assignments! [x]
Due to not completing one of the objectives, your rewards have been lessened!
Rewards: 150 EXP, 100 Source Crystals, Increased Affinity with all X-men and X-men rookie members
You have leveled up! Level: 1-2!
You've gained 2 CON points!
You have unlocked two more Cantrip Slots and one more Spell Slot!
Hint: You gain Cantrip and Spell slots every two levels!
[Feat
Name: Brawler
You have started learning how to throw hands and defend yourself.
Your unarmed damage deals 20% more damage to your enemies and you now gain a natural 10 AC since your body is tougher as a fighter!]
"That's a lot to think about all at once." Abel said while sitting on his bed with the ice pack still over his eye before he placed it into the small mini fridge in his room to keep it cold.
"Still, I'm getting stronger at least and I managed to get some new feats." Abel said to himself before he simply crawled into bed for a nice eight-hour rest before school starts in the morning.
2
3/16/2024
Salem Center/New York
"So, what's it like being an official X-men rookie?" Sam asked while Abel sat with the 'New Mutant's group in the cafeteria.
"How did you even find out about that? It's literally been two days?" Abel asked before Sam pointed at Angelica who blushed a bit before turning away.
"I know nothing." Angelica quickly said while Abel gave her a deadpan expression before she cracked. "Okay I said something. But Sam wouldn't stop asking about why you left classes early the other day when Jonothon and I did. So, I had to tell them."
"Seriously, Angelica, I hope you never get taken by a bad guy, because you crack under pressure way to easily." Sam commented before Angelica gave a pout and pointed her finger at Sam's burger and melted it with her microwave radiation abilities and sadly the nice-looking burger became a small pile of goop.
"That's not cool." Sam replied sadly while Angelica stuck out her tongue.
"I just don't get why you suddenly qualified for X-men training. It took us a long ass time to get in, but you get in without even waiting a month." Jonothon said with a stern look on his face.
"Weird stuff just keeps happening to me, so I guess Professor Xavier wants me to be prepared in case something happens." Abel replied meekly to Jonothon who still glared at him.
"Whatever."
"Actually, I've been wondering. What exactly is your power?" Abel asked him and Jonothon for his credit decided to share a bit of truth despite the annoyed attitude he had.
"My body is basically a furnace of psionic energy. When I first got this damn power, my body nearly got destroyed. I still survived though but for a while I couldn't speak unless I used my telepathy." Jonothon said, making Abel's eye widen in surprise.
"You're a telepath?"
"Barely. I just talk and can listen to thoughts in a person's head. I'm basically a mental cell phone. Jean and Ms. Frost are the real telepaths of the team…And you I guess." Jonothon said before taking a long sip of his bottle of cola.
"That's weird. My powers are psionic too." Tabitha commented before Jeanne-Marie spoke up.
"It's not too weird if you paid attention during one of Professor McCoy's lessons on mutation-based powers. Several powers can be grouped together under similar categories despite how they are applied or used in different ways. You two are the perfect example, you both use psionic energy, however Jonothon's body is like a furnace that constantly produces energy to the point that it nearly killed him, while you have a finite amount that you can use with little risk to yourself. Your polar opposites yet your powers fall under the same category."
"Wow. That's an impressive speech. I didn't know we were in study hall already." Sam joked while Jeanne-Marie rolled her eyes in response.
"All jokes aside, I think I get what you mean Jeanne. My powers fall under telepathic rules, yet I can branch out from that into psionic abilities as well." Abel admitted to his friends who each gave him a confused look.
"What do you mean by branch out?" Angelica asked.
"Well, I can use my powers in different ways. You didn't see it, but you heard Ms. Frost talk about the force ball I made. I created it with psionic energy and with more training I'll be able to do more stuff in the future." Abel admitted unaware of how shocking that was.
"Abel…You shouldn't talk about that to the wrong people. Do you know about mutant categorization itself?" Jeanne asked with concern while Abel took in the seriousness of the situation and tried to think about what she meant.
"I don't think we went over that in class yet." Abel admitted.
"Mutant categorization basically puts your powers on a scale. I'm borderline omega level because of my power, but if your power can grow and possibly evolve like you said, that might mean that you're a possible Omega level mutant." Jonothon explained before Abel looked down at his hands in a bit of confusion and shock.
"I don't think I'll talk about my powers like that again. I also need to look up more about mutant categorization. Thanks for warning me."
"No problem, dude. What are friends for…Also, if you're an Omega mutant and go crazy with power. Remember that I was nice to you." Sam said after placing his arm around Abel's shoulders making the teen chuckle and roll his eyes before casually pushing Sam's arm off.
"Whatever dude. I swear you can never let a moment be serious." Abel replied with a smile.
"What can I say. It's my nature to be the funniest guy in the room." Sam replied with his own smile while the group continued eating their lunch in peace.
Unknown Location!
"How are we coming along?" a scientist asked as he walked through a massive lab of people performing various surgeries. However, this wasn't a hospital, and the surgeries are outlawed and immoral since the people are surgically implanting and grafting mutant body parts, organs and blood into normal humans.
"Thanks to the creation of artificial blood via doctor Morbius. We were able to find the missing ingredient in our plans. After infusing the blood with a condensed formula of X-gene DNA separated from patient's blood. We are able to perfectly implant mutant abilities into humans with a 95.43% success rate." Another and less important scientist said to the leader while looking at the clipboard.
"What are you forgetting?" The lead scientist said in an upset tone of voice as he stopped walking and looked at the lesser man.
"Sorry sir. I meant to say that our plans are progressing smoothly Doctor Krane." The scientist said while Krane smiled before turning around and resumed his walk.
"Excellent. We are getting closer to our goal. How are the suits coming along?"
"They are also a perfect success in terms of protection, aerodynamic design for air units, durable frame and strength enhancement technology for the ground attack forces, the sniper units have enhanced visors and ranged abilities stretching out faster than the best-known sniper's scopes on the planet. And none of the suits have shown any flaws to hinder the user's powers." The scientist replied.
"Soon…Soon the U-men will lead the world into the future." Krane said before he stopped walking when he came to the end of the lab or more specifically, he came up to two steel doors sealed with magnetic locks along with a touch screen authentication pad.
"Sir…With all due respect. The prototypes are still proving to be difficult for the handlers. Even our strongest psychics can barely control their aggression and hostility." The scientist said while Krane placed his hand on the touch pad.
"That's what I'm counting on. After all, we need more mutant DNA and what better way to get it than from the deceased." Krane said with a smile before he continued unlocking the door and when it was opened, he saw an extremely dark room along with various colored eyes looking at him from within the back of the room. The smell of musk and rotten meat hit Krane's nose, but he didn't care as he glanced down at partially eaten 'meat' on the ground.
"I hope you all are ready. Because your being let out soon and you'll be able to eat your fill." Krane said to them with a sadistic smile on his face.
END!
A/N: A new chapter done and gone, with more dungeons and dragon's inspirations coming along the way. And the threat of the U-men is on the horizon while our hero is still coming into his powers, so let's see what happens next.
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