Ikaris was the name, and while he had taken to the identity over the past couple of months, Xavier knew he was not Ikaris – not in the sense of the Marvel Character he had loved.
It happened suddenly three months prior.
Xavier recalled the plane’s explosion that claimed the life of him and his little sister. The final thought as he drifted into oblivion was to conquer the skies – free himself from gravity.
That way, maybe he could have saved his sister.
Then, lo and behold, Xavier awakened just outside of Forks, Washington. Even more surprising was the fact that he awakened in the body of his favorite Eternal.
It was troublesome to acquaint himself with newfound abilities, and honestly, Xavier was still having a tough time figuring it out. But he loved the life he currently lived.
۞۞۞
JANUARY 17th 2005 - MONDAY
FORKS, WASHINGTON
Xavier placed his brush onto the table, turning around before reopening his eyes, not interested in witnessing the painting he had just completed.
In some ways, he knew exactly what picture the painting represented.
It was the way he trained the new overload of senses that had accompanied him since his awakening in the Twilight World nearly three months prior.
Xavier headed downstairs.
It was a longer journey than he would have liked – it took everything in him to train his first instinct of walking. At first, all he could manage was float down the stairs unsteadily.
Sure, it was fun, but more than once, he had almost been caught on the wrong end of a UFO nut, or police rifle. For the first few weeks, there were rumors of a flying bat in Forks.
“I hate this empty place…” Xavier couldn’t help but mutter.
He knew he had family in this world, and they had shipped him to Forks following an incident involving the sexual assault of a minor. Of course, that was the previous Xavier – not the current one.
But… since then, Xavier found himself free of his parents.
In an empty mansion on the outskirts of Forks, Xavier felt as if he existed on his lonesome. In an attempt to make the place feel more like home, he ensured all the rooms were filled with something.
The painting room, two bathrooms, the gym, and two bedrooms – one guest and one Xavier’s - existed on the upper floor, while the lower floor held an underground Aquarium, the Arcade Room, and a very sketchy Panic Room.
Xavier wasn’t exactly sure what his parents did since he had yet to meet the people, and his memories weren’t exactly transferred from who occupied the body before him, but he knew his parents definitely weren’t normal people.
It only begs the question if his parents were Eternals as well, or did he win the genetic lottery in his family?
------------
Xavier arrived in the kitchen, and without much thought, reached his hand into the refrigerator. The device automatically opened upon sensing his movements.
“The marvels of technology,” He mused.
At first, Xavier also thought he was a machine as shown in The Eternals Movie, but as he would later discover, he was a biological Eternal – comics version.
The Eternal bit into the apple he had recovered from the refrigerator. The entirety of the refrigerator consisted of fruits, meats, or junk food.
As someone who was a foodie in his past life, Xavier found it difficult to cope with the minimal nutrients required to maintain an Eternal’s physique.
Of course, that was given he didn’t use much Cosmic Energy – a lesson Xavier had learned the hard way.
“Still, The Twilight Universe, huh?”
The realization that he was an Eternal in the Twilight Universe irked Xavier to this day. Of course, he celebrated this when he first found out, but nothing was as it seemed in the movies.
The Cullens were a tight-knit group.
More than once he had tried to ingratiate himself with the group of Vampires in the first month of his arrival, but nothing worked. And Xavier was genuinely tense around the vampires.
Eventually, Xavier indeed found his group of friends in the athletics department at the school, but that relationship turned bitter weeks ago due to similar tastes in females.
“I honestly didn’t know that was his girlfriend!” Xavier complained as he sunk into the expensive sofa of his mansion. “But, I lost her too – and that was something I did weeks before we went steady.”
As silly as it sounded, Xavier fell into the trap of falling for a side character. It was all fun and games until you actually met the people, and he realized, there were as alive as he was.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Angela became the stabilizing force in his life. She allowed Xavier to realize that this world was as real as his last world, prompting him to take his studies much more seriously.
Sure, he was an Eternal, but he was also a teenager.
RING
RING
“Hello?” Xavier was confused.
Not many people had his personal number, and even fewer were brave enough to call him. His temper was well-known at this point in time.
When the relationship between the football team and the athletic club went bitter, Xavier had to battle his way out of bullying in a rather bloody manner.
Not many people dared to mess with him after that – many of his former friends, and girlfriends, took wide steps around him after the incident.
“Okay, I got it…” Xavier replied, quickly switching to his calendar to confirm today was indeed the day he promised. “No problem… I’ll grab some canisters from the store. Should take two hours at most and be ready for tomorrow.”
CLICK
As soon as the call was finished, Xavier made his way to the garage, admiring the two cars he had inherited from the body’s previous owner.
A black Bugatti Chiron.
A 2009 Hummer H2 SUV.
Xavier always wanted an excuse to use the Hummer, but he had already decided the hummer was for emergencies, running someone over, or sex.
Thus far, all his sexual escapades finished before he could make it to the hummer – it would take three girls at minimum to curve the libido of a teenage Eternal.
-------------
The Black Bugatti Chiron shot out of the garage, and Xavier paused only long enough to ensure the garage doors were shut before he hit the acceleration.
VOOOOOOOM
ZOOOOOOOM
The drive was neither long nor short, primarily because of the wild nature of Xavier’s driving. He attributed his reckless driving to the exceptional physique of an Eternal.
The faster he drove, the slower the world around him became.
This method had also become a way for Xavier to train his static and dynamic vision. Admittedly, it was still a problem – sometimes, his body would move faster than his eyes could adjust.
Because he was at the Outskirts of Forks, Xavier had to pass through the logging area to reach the town. Of course, due to the constant rainfall at Forks, the logging area was always muddy.
The black Bugatti had a shade of brown.
Xavier was always displeased with the logging area, writing to complain to the mayor of Forks constantly, but so far, nothing had been done.
It was easy to think that Xavier had money to get whatever he wanted, but the truth was, he had no funds to speak of. Sure, the house was maintained by a dedicated staff.
Alas, there was no money involved.
All his needs were taken care of by a mysterious parent's account that he could not access no matter how many times he visited the bank.
Apparently, the previous body's owner was a spent thrift, and his parents feared he would buy a ticket to visit the girl he had assaulted previously.
VOOOOM
-------------
Twenty minutes later, Xavier finally took his foot off the gas, pulling into the empty lot behind an inconspicuous store. Another five minutes of waiting was necessary before anyone showed up.
There was a tap on the window – Xavier lowered it.
“Just had to make sure you didn’t bring any head with you,” Tyler joked, scanning the backseats with his dodgy eyes.
“Right,” Xavier rolled his eyes. “Because Charlie and his officers have nothing to do but look for the kids who have been stealing cars from junkyards, refurbishing them, and selling them out in the open to make good money?”
Tyler blushed a bit when he thought about it more carefully.
Sure, the way they got the cars were less than honorable, but their crime shouldn’t be something worth any prison time. It was a semi-legal hustle at best.
Xavier could only sigh internally.
Tyler was the only friend that remained after the fallout with the football team, and that was mostly because of their mutual hustle.
Xavier brought with him, from his previous life, the knowledge of working with cars and bikes, and with Jacob’s help, Tyler, Xavier, and Jacob had turned it into a thriving business.
They only managed to refurbish two cars in two months, and it took a week to sell the car, but they each walked away with a pocket of two-thousand dollars.
“Do you have it?” Xavier inquired, tired of waiting around.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea – working for the police chief and all,” Tyler replied, regaining his nervousness. “Think about it. What if he called you for your skills to see what you would do – it takes a proper paint job to sell the cars, after all.”
“If I reject him, it will look even more suspicious… besides, I did my homework,” Xavier explained. “He has a daughter that will be starting at Forks. He wants me to paint the car for her. Seemed all nervous about it.”
“Here…” Tyler passed the bag of paints and equipment through the window. “Just before careful okay.” He warned just before departing.
Xavier tossed the equipment into the backseat, rolling up the windows as he did. The next instant, he pressed the accelerator and departed the scene – adding more mud to his precious Bugatti.
۞۞۞
LA PUSH, RESERVATION
THE BARN
Charlie parked the police car – his mode of transport, and the only transport he had ever needed in Forks. Alas, he knew it wouldn’t exactly cut the deal for the teenagers of this era.
Jacob was a prime example – always working on his motorbikes.
“Glad you’re here, Mr. Swan,” Jacob greeted, bubbling with a bit of excitement.
“Don’t mind him,” Billy rolled his wheelchair next to Charlie. “He is just excited Bella is coming back after so many years. If it was up to him, he would have given you the truck for free.”
“You know, I don’t mind—”
“Don’t even think about it,” Billy joked. “No way I am giving you this beauty for free.”
Charlie scanned the red pickup truck from wheel to trunk, searching desperately for the feminine beauty Billy was joking about.
“I don’t see it,” He admitted.
“Bella will love it though,” Billy added snidely, targeting Charlie’s weak spot. “She always used to admire it when they were younger.”
“I don’t know…” Charlie brushed his beard, having second thoughts. “You know, kids grow out of these things, right? Maybe, she won’t like it?”
“Impossible…” Jacob chimed in. “Trust me – Bella is a truck girl. Stuff like that doesn’t change so easily.”
Charlie sunk into silence for a couple of seconds.
“Okay… okay…” He finally agreed. “So, what alterations do I have to pay for?”
“You’re better off asking him,” Jacob gestured.
The incoming Bugatti appeared as if it had taken a muddy bath; though, Charlie only saw the signs of speeding that would later cause Xavier dire consequences.
Xavier exited the car to Charlie’s judging gaze.
“I know… I know,” He quickly admitted his mistake. “I promise you I drove as slow as the car would go. The thing has a mind of its own.”
Jacob fist-bumped his friend. “I bet it has a mind of its own at zero to sixty in less than three seconds,” He bragged.
Charlie winced at the information.
“Kids will be kids,” Billy patted Charlie’s shoulder. “Trust me, Xavier is a tough kid.”
“They’re all tough until they end up like Anderson,” Charlie sighed, thinking about the drunk driving incident that claimed one of Fork’s brightest.
“Right now, we should focus on a father reconnecting with his daughter,” Billy spun around, switching to an advertising attitude instantly. “And believe me when I say this car is the answer to reconnecting.”