“Wow! So, this is how a magic circle looks.”

Everyone, myself included, were amazed by the large magic circle shining brightly before our eyes.

“Ah! You all are finally here. Wait a moment!” Ancient One said these words before turning back to give instructions to the sorcerers who were handling the magic circle.

“Alright! The magic circle will be ready in just a minute. Now, all you need to do is to just enter the circle and use your powers. We will take care of everything else.” Ancient One explained what we needed to do after confirming that the magic circle was ready.

“So, which one of you will enter first?” Ancient One asked the question.

Everyone besides me was anxious to enter the magic circle but we all knew who wanted their powers to be analysed the most and thus deserved to go first.

“Rogue! Go, you are the one who requires it the most.” Ms. Ororo gave an order to Rogue to go as she knew how much she required it.

“But! But!” Rogue was clearly surprised by Ms. Ororo’s order. Looks like she had expected to go first.

“Yeah! You should go, Rogue.” Everyone of us supported Rogue in this matter, even Jean who was clearly having some problems because of her mutant ability these days.

“But how will I use this power? You know how my power works.” Rogue expressed her worries regarding how would she use her power and on whom?

“Don't worry. Peter had told me about your condition. As such, we had already procurred a good test subject for you.” Ancient One gave an order to a sorcerer who went somewhere and came back with something in his hand.

“A turtle!” Indeed, in the hands of the sorcerer was a turtle.

“Yes, a turtle. According to what Peter has told me about your condition, I believe that your powers may be related to lifeforce. As such, the turtle which has a large lifespan should easily be able to withstand your powers.” Ancient One explained her hypothesis.

“So, you don't need to worry. You just have to enter the magic circle and touch the turtle. We will take care of everything else.”

As per Ancient One's instructions, Rogue went inside the magic circle and touched one of the turtle’s legs reluctantly.

Looks like Ancient One's hypothesis was correct. The turtle, upon being touched by Rogue was looking a little uncomfortable but otherwise good.

“I believe that is enough.” After about a minute, Ancient One gave the order that the analysis was complete. As soon as she said these words, Rogue immediately put the turtle on the ground as if she was afraid that something would happen to it.

“Looks like it is indeed a complex matter.” Ancient One frowned as she saw the results of the analysis.

“Master Wong, fetch me that book about mutant abilities related to the body.” Ancient One asked Master Wong and he immediately opened a small portal around his hand to fetch the required book.

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“Hmm…” Ancient One's expression seemed to worsen as she looked through the pages of the book and along with it, Rogue’s hopes also seemed more likely to dash with every passing moment.

“Your situation is worse than I had thought.” As Ancient One said these words, Rogue’s expression visibly saddened as her hopes had been destroyed.

“You don't need to be sad, Rogue. I am just saying that it would be difficult to deal with your situation, not that it can't be dealt with.” Ancient One reassured Rogue that her condition could indeed be resolved.

“Really?” Rogue’s face brightened as she heard Ancient One's words.

“Honestly, your powers look more like a cursed body than a mutant ability. It reminds me of Vishkanyas of an Ancient Indian evil cult who could poison anyone just by touching them.” Ancient One explained what she had learnt from the analysis of Rogue's powers.

“As such, it will be quite difficult to deal with your powers. So, we will need to analyse your powers more accurately before we can design anything to restrict them. You just need to visit a few more times with Peter. After some thorough analysis, I am sure that we can develop an artefact which can seal your powers temporarily.”

As she heard Ancient One's words, Rogue’s eyes grew misty because she finally saw a ray of hope.

Seeing Rogue’s misty eyes, Ancient One hugged her in order to console Rogue despite her reservations about anyone touching her.

“So, who is next?” Ancient One asked after Rogue's matter was resolved for the time being.

“Kurt, you should go.” Jean said to Kurt, despite her needing it more as she was having headaches these days. This was just like Jean, always trying to be considerate of everyone.

“But, Jean–” Kurt obviously tried to protest but relented after seeing her stubborn look.

“And deactivate the holo watch. You don't need it now.” Jean ordered causing Kurt to deactivate it and reveal his true appearance.

Kurt was obviously surprised to see no visible reaction on anyone present’s face upon seeing his true appearance.

“Don't worry, Kurt. They have faced much worse looking interdimensional monsters. So, they will not face discriminate against you just because you look a little different.” I reassured Kurt that he will face no discrimination in Kamar Taj.

Then, Kurt entered the magic circle ready for analysis. The observation of his powers was simple as he just needed to teleport around in the magic circle.

When the analysis of Kurt’s powers was finished, Ancient One had a complex expression on her face as she looked at the data.

“May I ask you, Kurt that from how long ago, you look like this?” Ancient One asked politely.

“Since I can remember,” Kurt gave the shocking answer.

“Then where did you live before joining the school?” I asked curiously because anyone who looked this would obviously have already been on the news.

“It was in an isolated facility. Some people used to take care of me there but most of them obviously didn't like me. When my teleportation powers finally awakened about an year ago, I got the chance to escape that place.

Then, I was on the streets for a few weeks but Professor Xavier found me fortunately and offered me a place in the school. It was then I learnt that the facility I was raised in was actually a secret lab which was researching on me.”

Kurt explained his lonely life with a sad face. It was the first time I was seeing him genuinely sad. To think that the ever happy Kurt had such a sad backstory.

“Have you ever wondered why are your powers such complex compared to the powers of the other mutants?” Ancient One asked Kurt. It was indeed surprisingly, especially since his appearance was like this from his birth.

“It is because your parents were mutants, likely both of them.” Ancient One dropped the bomb that Kurt’s parents were mutants.

“But if my parents were mutants, then why did they abandon me?” Kurt said with tears in his eyes.

“Hey! Don't be sad. We are here to support you.” We all tried to console Kurt amidst this sudden revelation.

While we consoled Kurt, I had a thought out of nowhere. That mutant woman, Mystique also had blue skin, similar to that of Kurt and the shade of blue was also nearly same.

Although everyone else among the students didn't have a good glance at Mystique because we didn't have time during the mission because of Sabertooth and she was locked away as soon as we arrived at the school, I had a good glance at her.

Could it be that Mystique was Kurt’s mother?