Starting as a Class Five Mutant

Sebastian Shaw had been absolutely confident that this white-clad mutant—who looked like he had nowhere else to go—would eagerly accept his offer. He wasn't alone; Emma Frost and the others shared the same expectation.

Who would've thought, just as he asked for a response, he'd get an answer no one expected?

Rejection.

The mutant actually refused?!

And not just that—his tone was so indifferent, so dismissive, as if none of them were even worthy of his attention.

Shaw, Emma, and the rest of the Hellfire Club stood there in disbelief.

Then, dressed in black, Riptide stepped forward. "You're way too arrogant. Don't think fighting the military for a while makes you invincible. Let me teach you a lesson."

A cold grin stretched across his face as he extended his hands, summoning his power.

Moments later, a massive ten-meter-wide tornado formed with a roar, swirling violently under his control. With a wave of his hand, it surged toward the floating white-clad mutant.

Emma smiled at the scene. "Riptide, make sure to teach this arrogant fool a lesson."

Azazel nodded in agreement.

Shaw's eyes gleamed with interest.

This white-clad mutant was strong, sure, but he was clearly too full of himself. Let's see how he handles Riptide's power. A little pain might humble him.

From afar, civilians and U.S. military officials saw this scene and brightened.

Let the dogs bite each other. Best case? They both end up wounded.

The U.S. officials watched with anticipation.

On the X-Jet—

Seeing the tornado, Beast—piloting the aircraft—quickly banked hard to avoid the blast radius.

Inside, Professor X, Magneto, and the others watched the whirlwind closely.

Could this mysterious mutant withstand that?

Charles' heart was tense. For some reason, he felt a strange familiarity with the white-clad boy—and didn't want anything bad to happen to him.

Under everyone's gaze, the storm closed in fast, while the mutant in white floated in place, unmoving.

What?

Even Riptide was confused when he saw the mutant make no attempt to dodge.

The tornado engulfed him completely.

This...

How could someone just stand there and take it? Even if he were weak, he should've at least tried to avoid it!

Shaw frowned, disappointed.

Riptide, on the other hand, smiled triumphantly.

No matter how strong someone was, getting hit by one of his storms was going to hurt. That guy would definitely come out bleeding.

Back on the X-Jet, Charles, Erik, Hank, and the younger mutants' faces shifted dramatically.

Charles immediately placed two fingers to his temple, preparing to psionically control Riptide to prevent him from using his powers again.

Magneto raised a hand as well, ready to manipulate nearby metals to block the storm.

He didn't know why, but he liked this white-clad mutant—he didn't want to see him die like this.

Meanwhile, the U.S. officials weren't buying into the hype.

They had little hope the tornado would do much.

Sure enough, the next moment, everyone watched as the storm began to shrink—from the inside out.

"What's happening?"

Riptide was stunned. He didn't understand what was going on.

Emma and the others were just as confused.

As the tornado thinned and dissipated, they finally saw the figure at its core: the white-clad mutant, completely unharmed.

With each rotation of the storm, it shrank further—as if the wind itself was being devoured by him.

What the hell was going on?

Their eyes widened in disbelief.

Then they saw him raise his right hand.

Syd calmly absorbed the kinetic energy of the storm. Then, he looked straight at Riptide—and pointed his hand at him.

In the blink of an eye, he released all that energy, using terrifying control to compress and launch it like a cannon blast.

BOOM!

A thunderous sonic boom cracked the air.

The condensed energy rocketed through the remnants of the storm and slammed into Riptide before he could react.

BAM!

He was sent flying, smashing hard into the villa's outer wall. Bones cracked loudly as he collapsed to the ground, bloodied and unconscious—like a broken doll, no trace of his former arrogance left.

Emma shuddered, instinctively transforming into diamond form. She stared in shock.

"What kind of power is that?!"

In just a heartbeat, Riptide had been destroyed?

Azazel's face darkened. He became visibly tense, prepared to teleport away at the first sign of danger.

On the X-Jet, Charles and the others watched in awe.

The U.S. military officials, meanwhile, just nodded, their faces calm.

They'd expected this.

While emotions swirled through the crowd, Shaw's expression suddenly changed.

He had sensed something.

His face darkened. "You... absorbed kinetic energy?"

"That's your mutant power?"

"How many abilities do you have?!"

The words hung in the air.

Emma and the others looked startled. They knew exactly what Shaw's ability was: energy absorption. It was what made him so formidable.

But now Shaw claimed this white-clad mutant had the same ability?

They couldn't believe it.

Back on the X-Jet, Beast had deployed a surveillance drone to listen in—and picked up Shaw's words.

"A mutant with the same power as Shaw?"

"This mysterious kid... has that ability too?"

Charles and the others were stunned.

Back on the ground—

Syd calmly responded to Shaw's question.

"You're talking about mutant abilities?"

"I have many. Which one are you asking about?"

Silence fell.

Shaw and his group stared in disbelief. Then, they couldn't help but laugh.

What kind of nonsense was this mutant spouting?

Even Charles and the X-Men didn't fully believe it. They assumed he was just joking.

But then—

"Many abilities?" Shaw repeated, shaking his head, eyes now cold.

"Young man, let me tell you—there's a gap between mutants and mutants."

(End of Chapter)

[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/zaelum]

[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]

[Thank You For Your Support!]