Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 385 DANGER

I stood in a line with 2 other people around my age. The boy next to me was taller than me even though I had been fusing new flesh to my body and growing bit by bit. Strong chin, blonde hair, he was clean shaven and reminded me of someone. 

His general presence exuded confidence and almost superiority. Not like he was better than anyone, more that he felt like he would do better because he worked harder. It was a weird sense to get from his Haki, but an interesting distinction. 

As I tried to place who the guy reminded me of I studied the girl opposite of him. Both were all business. She was more so, but I felt they dressed up a little too much. In short heels and black skin-tight leather clothes she was how I pictured an X-man…woman should be. I really needed to try to talk them into a different codename for the group. 

The girl too was very familiar, but not familiar enough to give me the answer on who she was. The most distinguishing thing about her was deep green hair that hung down to her mid-back. The fact that she was rocking C-cups in the skin-tight clothes meant she was someone I really wanted to get to know better. I could have sworn I recognized her from somewhere, but the duo had been too tight lipped since I showed up. 

It was currently Saturday. I had spent my week mostly hanging out with Anne. Jean Grey was nice enough to give me an overview of the material I would need for her extra hard general education test. Anne would help me study, which usually included her on my lap, whether it was her whole body or just her head. Laying on me as I read through a book, or she read through it for me. 

This study time was greatly diminished due to random makeout sessions that extended into curfew. I still made her practice her meditation, but she much preferred the physical part of our study sessions. Which I was all for, but left me with a growing case of blue balls. After 6 months stranded on nvincible world though I wasn’t itching too bad to go back to the smut worlds, not yet anyway. 

I had spent the entire day before taking tests. Jean Grey had been nice enough to watch me take them. She said it was to answer questions, but she had really been there to make sure I didn’t cheat. I spent my time trying to goad her into a bet and breezing through the material. 

It was sad to admit that her college level courses were simple high school level courses in Japan. All Calculus, Advanced English, Physics, Statistics, Physiology, even Kinesiology was in there somehow. My biggest struggle had been American History since dates were tested on heavily, but my average over all the tests was a B, so I passed. Much to Miss Grey’s surprise. 

Even Professor Xavier had appeared to give me the results. Happy with my sudden above average ability to know information about topics I hadn’t studied yet. I had felt another psychic delve from the old man, but whatever the old man found wasn’t too concerning since he let me past. I was sure that whoever brought me to the world helped with that, to ensure the psychic autopsy didn’t learn I was an interdimensional traveler that latched onto a version of myself to help the world and complete quests. 

The Professor tried to talk me out of trying for the X-Men, but when I threatened to quit school and find my own way again he finally relented. Giving me the jist of what the test would entail I had shown up at the Dean/Prof. X’s office that morning and was let into the large bunker underneath the school. Finding myself with the other 2 participants that were testing to join the X-Men. 

“So you guys like…dating or something?” I asked the duo. They jerked in response. Showing again that these people weren’t that good at hiding the truth. Their Haki was easy to read, the part of them closest to one another was almost warmer. A distinction in the Haki that I had noticed meant that people were close. 

“What makes you say that?” The green haired girl asked. 

“Well there is a long green hair on Captain America’s shirt there,” I said. “Looks to be more than random.” They both looked to the shirt, trying to find it. I chuckled. “Just joking. I’m simply good at guessing these sorts of things.” I could feel their Haki become embarrassed then annoyed. “Weston Walker.” I stuck out my hand to the guy first.

“Alex Summers,” the blonde haired guy said reluctantly. 

“Ah, of course,” I said. “Ole Red Eye’s little brother, right?” He should have been the hero Havok. Although in canon he was supposed to die or turn evil or something. 

“Uh…” Alex said. I released his hand and moved to my real target. 

“Lorna Dane,” she said, giving me a cursory nod. “Did you graduate a few years ago? We were under the impression we were the only one’s invited.” 

“I’m new to the school,” I admitted. “They made an exception for me.” 

The duo shared a look but we turned to face straight ahead as the lights in the tunnel lit up. In walked Ororo Munroe/Storm, Colossus, and Wolverine. Ororo was the beautiful African goddess in a white skin-tight uniform with plenty of straps and belts. 

“Welcome,” she said in a rich voice. Her eyes pure white her hair was tied back behind her head in a ponytail. I wondered if she would go to the mohawk look eventually. “I know you three don’t have too much information, but please follow us.” The 3 full members of the X-Men turned and led us down a hall. 

I could feel Alex and Lorna grow more nervous. I whistled a nondescript tune, nonchalant as I took up the rear. My hands behind my head as we walked I tried to remember the times I had done something equivalent to this. 

My Hero Academia world mainly. The Entrance Exam where I had to beat up metal mobs for points. Then the Provisional License Exam where we had to dodge balls and supply aide to people in need during a disaster. I considered the tutorial in Second Life Ranker and Tutorial is Too Hard to be basically the same thing. Since I doubted that I would be shot with crossbows or anything too dangerous this test would most likely be fairly easy in comparison. 

We walked down the long tube shaped halls. Metal grating at our feet the only sound was the echo of our shoes hitting the metal. I mentally made a map as we passed by large doors and hallways. Eventually we came to a wide door at the end of the hall. Above the door read the words ‘Danger Room’. I started to get excited as we walked in. 

“This is the Danger Room,” Ororo said. Inside was a wide expanse of a room. We were on top of a catwalk. Stairs next to us like the hangar for the Blackbird, but this room was far larger. In the shape of a dome it was about 500 feet across and 50 feet tall. Large metal panels on the ceiling and floor we began to walk down the stairs as she spoke. 

“The Danger Room is one of the most advanced pieces of technology we have. With the use of virtual reality we can create any scenario imaginable in this room,” Ororo said. 

“Sounds like a fun weekend,” I mumbled. I had seen the Danger Room in the comics. I had never thought I would be able to experience it. 

“Not as great as it sounds,” Wolverine assured. I frowned, annoyed that there was probably no ‘Woman in the Red Dress’ program. 

“The testing will take all day,” Ororo continued on. “Over there is the monitoring station.” She pointed at a small room by the bottom of the stairs with a wide window that looked out onto the center of the Danger Room. “We will be introducing a set of scenarios. Stress tests. And moral conundrums that we are hoping will represent possible situations that could happen in the field. Please act like everything you see will be real life. You may use your abilities as you see fit. You cannot hurt the Danger Room.” 

With that the 3 full-fledged X-Men walked into the door by the small office. Soon an intercom sounded with Ororo’s voice on it. “Please walk to the center of the Danger Room. We will begin shortly.” 

We began to walk to the center of the room. Alex and Lorna alight with fear. Even I was starting to get excited with what would be cooked up. As we got closer to the center the scenery around us began to change. The metal plates around us started casting shadows, then slowly 3-dimensional holograms. It was easy to know what was and wasn’t real because of the lack of Spiritual Energy around me. Frowning I guessed I would have to do the test the old fashioned way, with my eyes. 

Slowly ignoring my Observation Haki I began to circulate Haki and Nen throughout my body. Ready in an instant to attack as the scenery turned into a massive city. 

At the center of an empty concrete street we were surrounded by towering skyscrapers. I didn’t recognize the city, but all the concrete jungles looked the same to me. 

“The first test is to find what is wrong in this scenario,” Ororo’s disembodied voice said from all around us. 

“There are no people!” I yelled back.

“Hold on,” she said and slowly people began to populate the area. Annoyed that my Observation Haki was useless, I looked around the illusion like a savage. Lorna and Alex doing the same we moved to the sidewalk as cars began to populate the area. As the rendering finished I heard strange voices, the rattle of vehicles, horns blaring, even the smell of exhaust like we were in a real city. Curious how the hell they were able to make this in 2010 I continued watching all around me. 

“There,” Lorna said, pointing to a line of rats. They were running along the concrete curb and ducking into sewer grating as soon as they could. I looked down another street and noticed more rats running our way. 

I didn’t hesitate, running in the direction of where the rats were escaping from I didn’t use my flight or anything special. Simply my own muscles as I ran to the end of the sidewalk and jumped onto a car. To my surprise I was met with the roof of a car. Using my Observation Haki I noticed that one of the metal panels on the floor had shot up, acting as a faux-car roof. Nodding in appreciation of the immersion, I jumped to the other sidewalk and continued on. 

The other 2 behind me I made it to a wide open park with benches and small trees set up. A few birds flew away as someone walked out of the park. He was a tall man, roughly my age, with long brown hair. Wearing a heavily armored black and brown villain suit I guessed he was the bad guy since he was the only real person inside of the Danger Room besides us. I didn’t recognize the new man but I guessed I would find out about him soon enough. 

“Found me already, eh?” The dark skinned man asked. “But you are too late. I have already planted my bombs around the city.” I thought about running forward and beating the guy up, but this was supposed to be a test. I had to play a part. 

“What have you done?” I asked as Alex and Lorna stopped behind me. It was easy to see they weren’t as physically strong as I was, but few my age would be. 

“Making this world as it should be,” the strange man asked. “This world is far too populated, don’t you think?” Then without warning he pushed a button on a device at his side. Instantly loud and reverberating vibrations moved through my body. My ear drums nearly bursting I moved for the guy but tripped as my equilibrium was knocked out of whack. 

As I fell time froze around me. Not my Timeflow, or some trick of me going quickly, but time actually froze. Like someone had pushed the pause button on everything except the real people. Then someone hit play. The buildings around us were rocked with huge blast waves and the skyscrapers around us exploded at their bases. Massive explosions sounded and my world became a mix of dust, ash, fire, and death. 

The view froze for a moment as the bases of the skyscrapers exploded outward, then time sped up. Smoke billowed out at super speed, and dust settled almost as quickly as it hit us. When we unfroze we were in a post-apocalyptic version of the city. Skyscrapers overturned, fire everywhere, people screaming and crying all around us, it was hell. 

We got up quickly, our balance no longer off as the villain stepped forward. “I am Avalanche,” the real man said. “Nothing stands in my path.” With that he attacked. Clamping his hands together I could sense the vibrations before they got too far from his hands. From what I rememebered in the X-Men comic, the man was a mutant that had mostly the same skill as my Tremor Devil Fruit. Able to create earthquakes and vibrations in the air he was a minor villain in canon. 

The man in front of me was real though. I guessed he was currently part of the X-Men, providing a test for us. As I jumped back, grabbing the collars of Lorna and Alex, I quickly processed the scenario. We were thrown into a place we didn’t know, with a villain we had no sense of. He just destroyed the city, probably an exaggeration of what we could face, but all possibilities of scenarios we could be expected to participate in as X-Men. 

The real test was how we managed to handle this. I jumped the three of us out of the way of Avalanche’s vibrations and dropped the duo to the ground. “Whose on rescue and who is on fighting?” I asked. 

“What?” Alex asked, lost as Avalanche fired another wave of vibrations at us. They were easier to see than my own since I could sense the air actually vibrating. I pulled him toward me to get missed by the shockwave again. 

“Who is fighting and who is saving people?” I asked. “Someone needs to distract and take down this guy in case he has more bombs or whatever he used. Someone else needs to start saving people.” I knew who it had to be, but acted like we were a team, trying to plan quickly. 

“Uhh-” Alex said, completely lost. 

“I control metal and gravity,” Lorna said. “Alex can shoot plasma from his body.” 

“Fine, you take care of this guy,” I said. “I’ll save people.” It was easier to lead the charge by taking the less desirable path. I left them to figure it out on their own as Avalanche pushed his vibrations into the ground. Cracking the Earth at his feet the duo dodged as I ran to the nearest bystander. 

A kid crying in an overturned car I busted the window, my hand coated in Nen I barely felt the resistance of the fake window as I ripped the seatbelt holding him in. Checking for vitals from the driver they were dead but I saved the kid. Some sort of metal mannequin with the illusion of a real boy coated on him I marveled at the hi-tech illusion. 

Sending the kid running off I found someone else that needed help and ignored the fight the duo were having as I continued to get innocent bystanders out of the vicinity. After about 20 minutes of running around the block and saving imaginary people I moved to join the fight against Avalanche but was stopped as the scenery became the Danger Room again. 

The city disappeared as robotic mannequins moved to be stored below the metal plating of the Danger Room.

“Well done,” Ororo said as she and the other 2 instructors walked up. Lorna and Alex realized for the first time that Avalanche was a real person. Both more than a little beat up they gave the black man a surprised look as he clapped them on the shoulders. 

“Everyone, this is Lance Alvers,” Ororo said. “Though our Danger Room is good. Fighting a believable villain is still beyond it, so he offered his services as part of the X-Men.” 

“Good job all of you,” Lance said. “Especially you. Weston, right?” I nodded. “Very quick thinking. How’d you know where I was attacking?”

“I could feel your attacks coming,” I admitted. “They were pretty strong vibrations.” Not as strong as I could do with my Devil Fruit, but enough to throw people off and knock them over. 

“Very good. Most don’t think to save the bystanders,” Lance said.

“Yes,” Ororo said. “This was my test for the 3 of you. Though a city was crumbled around you, you all acted professionally. You could use a little more decisiveness. But that is why we train, so in the heat of the moment you know what to do.” 

“Weston, why did you choose to help the innocent bystanders?” Ororo asked. 

“Weak to strong,” I said simply. It was a term I had heard All Might talk about many times during his classes in UA. 

“What’s that?” She asked. 

“I had no idea what the strength of Avalanche was,” I admitted. “He had just supposedly blown up a city. Whether through bombs or his own mutant power. I didn’t know. When you don’t know the power of your foe, you have to move to the weakest first. Since he was alone, there were no weak henchmen, so I had to move to the weak bystanders. Get the innocent out of there, take care of the weak, then slowly build up to the strong. If you can’t handle the strong, at least you know the weak are handled.” 

All Might was always the strongest hero so he didn’t question if he should take on the villain. I was trying to get brownie points with the X-Men so I volunteered for the bitch work. But All Might’s explanation always stuck with me. As people start out weak and build up strength, you had to work with the weakest first and build up to the strong. Learning your own strength in the process. 

“Interesting concept to come up with on the fly,” Ororo said. “Let’s move on. Next we want to…” She continued on, heading back to the viewing room as she explained. 

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