I woke up the next morning at 10:30a.m.
Because there was still time until lunch, I decided to practice my shapeshifting.
With the template included instincts into how the person operated. There were no memories, but I still knew the limits and capabilities of the character.
So, for example, Mystique had the metamorph x-gene and with it she could change her cells at will. This included Metamorphic Adaptation, Enhanced Physical Attributes, Accelerated Healing, Toxin & Disease Resistance, Decelerated Aging, Psychic Defense, and Enhanced Memory.
But, the template also provided instincts into how she worked without her ability, which included: being a Master Martial Artist, Trained Actress, Expert Marksman, Multilingual, and a Covert Operative.
I would have to discover and work on every facet of these to complete the template. But the ability was the main feature, so I focused on that for right now.
Changing into other people, old, young, black, white, and doing it as fast as possible so as to increase the percentage. That’s what my days were looking like going forward.
*Knock Knock*
Someone knocked at my door.
I changed to Roland and tried shifting my brain around to use the Psychic Defense aspect of the metamorph ability. There were multiple telepaths in this mansion and any one of them could answer the door.
“Hello,” I say, opening the door.
It was Shan. “Hello, I’m here to direct you towards the cafeteria and then provide you a tour of the grounds.”
“Thank you very much. Please lead the way.
===
Lunch was nice, there were some stares from the other kids, but the food was excellent. One of them fancy private school lunches.
Then we went on a tour. I saw the rooms, met some teachers, and was given a list of who’s who.
Alicia Downing- Guidance counselor.
Warren Worthington III- Flight class instructor and Business teacher.
Anne Ghazikhanian- School Nurse.
Dr. Henry McCoy- Science Teacher.
Scott Summers- Leadership/tactics teacher.
Robert Drake- Math and Accounting Teacher.
Shan- Librarian.
Jean Grey- English teacher.
Charles Xavier- Headmaster.
Stephanie Hunter- Dance instructor.
Ororo Munroe- Social Studies/History teacher.
Thomas Corsi- Physical education teacher.
Logan- Combat Instructor.
Alexander Summers- Computer Science teacher.
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Piotr Rasputin- Art teacher.
I saw a lot of names I recognized, but some I didn’t. I was getting the feeling this was more similar to the comic world, but it was still up in the air what kind of world it was. I crossed my fingers, hoping for a good one.
‘No zombies, please and thank you.’
Anyway, after the tour I had free time to be alone, so I just walked the grounds.
It was nice, serene, pleas-
“Hi!” a girl came up to me and said.
“Hello.” I replied.
“I’m Kitty! What’s your name?”
“Roland.”
“Well, Roland, I can see you’re new to the mansion, have you been given a tour?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Alright, well, have you been given a card yet?”
“A card?”
“Yeah, to like buy clothes.”
“No, but I have clothes.”
“You can never have enough clothes!”
“I really think I do.”
“Nonsense! C’mon.”
Kitty takes my arm and pulls me down the hallway.
‘Surprising strength from a girl so small and skinny.’
It takes a few minutes, mostly because the mansion is so large, but we eventually make it to where Kitty wants.
“Knock knock,” Kitty says.
“Yes, Kitty?” Jean Grey replies, but doesn’t look at us.
“Jean, we need the card,” Kitty says seriously.
“No.”
“B-But why?!”
“Mr. Cooper here already has clothes, and he doesn’t need more.”
“Gasp. Did you read my mind?!”
“No, Kitty, he was seen by the Professor with a bag of clothes when he arrived.”
“Those could’ve been porno mags!”
Jean finally looks up at Kitty. She also sneaks a glance at me.
Before either can say anything more I say, “I’ve already told Kitty I have enough clothes.”
Jean smugly grins.
“Et tu, Brute?” Kitty asks me.
“Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!” I replied.
Jean claps, “Well done, Mr. Cooper, for not only remembering the lines, but also performing them so passionately.”
I bow.
“W-Well, what about school supplies?!”
I frown, and slowly nod to Jean.
She also frowns, then sighs, and says, “Alright, Kitty, but only school supplies.” She pulls out a black card from her purse.
“Haha, yes!” Kitty takes the card.
I wave bye to Jean as Kitty pulls me along.
===
The Mall. A wretched hive of scum and villainy. You’ll probably see the shiny exterior and cleanliness as something good and peaceful. This is a facade. Underneath is a scene of despair and the vilest of beings to have ever walked this Earth.
Okay, so, I’ve never actually been to a mall. I’ve seen one and gone to a store attached to one, but not actually in the mall itself. This was my first time, and I didn’t particularly like it.
Maybe it’s because of the template and having the instincts of Mystique, but I felt like I could hear all of the conversations going on around me. Like I could look at a couple some distance away and hear they wanted to go shoe shopping. Weird.
“You alright?” Kitty asked.
“Yeah,” I said instinctively, but I could feel my face was all scrunched up.
“Well, let’s go.” She pulled me along to a large clothing store.
“Kitty, we’re supposed to be looking for school supplies.”
“Clothes are needed for school, silly.”
I sighed and went along with it, knowing I wouldn’t be able to talk her out of going.
By the time I had gone up to a clothes rack and picked out a nice shirt I would like, Kitty had picked up 10.
“C’mon,” she said, dragging me to the changing room.
An hour later, we had gone through all the shirts available in my size.
“Good, now for shorts and pants,” she said, leaving me flabbergasted.
Another hour later and we were done, but I still needed notebooks and pencils and stuff.
So, one final hour later, we left the mall having spent nearly $200.
===
After that, I grew closer to Kitty.
She introduced me to her friends (Rogue, Nightcrawler, and Jubilee) and pointed out some other kids our age (Cannonball, Cypher, Magik, among others).
Before I knew it, a week had passed and school was looming.
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