[ Earlier ]
'Shit.'
For a guy who could process infinite information, Satoru's brain had ground to a halt.
He stared at Wanda, his blue eyes wide. He could see how nervous she was, her heart racing, and her magic flaring up in gentle crimson waves.
He had faced gods, erased a city, and just became Sorcerer Supreme. But nothing prepared him for a student looking him dead in the eyes and telling him she loved him.
Wanda's face was bright red. She was waiting for an answer, her hands shaking in her lap.
Satoru opened his mouth to say something — to make a joke or change the subject — but before he could, Wanda leaned in.
She grabbed his shoulders, her fingers twisting into his black robes, and closed the distance then… she kissed him.
It was so sudden that he didn't see it coming, mainly due to not expecting her to do that.
Satoru's eyes widened. His Infinity hadn't triggered because he didn't register her as a threat. He sat completely rigid, his right hand hovering awkwardly in the air near her shoulder, frozen in pure shock.
Then, the sound of hooves and an audible soft clang broke the silence.
Wanda snapped her head back instantly, looking past Satoru's shoulder in absolute shock and embarrassment.
A few yards away, a portal was shrinking.
Standing on the gravel were Rintrah and Illyana. Rintrah's ears were pinned flat against his head, his mouth wide open as a metal jar of ointment rolled away from his fingers.
But it was Illyana who caught Wanda's attention.
She stood dead in her tracks, her eyes wide and petrified. Her hand was gripped tightly around the black pendant Satoru had given her. She looked completely frozen and lost.
Wanda's face went from deep red to a calm red. She took a few breaths then she stood up while dusting her robes with her hands.
"I-Illyana..." she tried to act calm but she couldn't help but stammer. "Rintrah... you're... you're back."
Satoru slowly stood up to his full height. He rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward, rare sigh, his usual lopsided smirk completely missing.
"Well," Satoru muttered, his voice uncharacteristically quiet as he looked between his three students. "That was… sigh…'
'What's wrong with me?" Satoru sighed as he shook his head.
Illyana didn't look at Wanda, nor did she look at Satoru's uncovered eyes. Her gaze remained rigidly locked onto the gravel near her boots, her knuckles still white from how hard she was squeezing her black pendant.
The heavy silence stretched across the plateau, thick and suffocating.
"Illyana,?" Wanda stepped forward, her hands hovering nervously in the air. "Are you… okay?"
"We came back because there's an emergency," Illyana cut her off. Her voice was completely flat, ice-cold and lacking any of its usual sharp, sarcastic bite. She forced herself to look up, staring straight at Satoru's shoulder rather than his face. "My brother's team is in trouble."
Rintrah, desperately eager to break the crushing awkwardness, scrambled to pick up his dropped ointment jar.
"Yes! Master!" the minotaur added loudly, his taish swishing at high speed. "Mutants are falling ill from contaminated fish oil supplements. Illyana's mother told us that it's very grave, and we thought… we thought you might know why."
Satoru blinked, immediately seizing the sudden change of topic like a lifeline.
"Mutant poison?" He snapped his fingers, and his Mind Stone blindfold materialized back over his eyes, hiding his expression and bringing a shield of familiar routine back to his posture.
He raised his hand, tracing the air with a casual flick of his wrist to open a wide, crackling portal directly to the coordinates of the Xavier Institute.
He didn't say anything nor ask for more information. It was better to hear from the mutants first hand anyway.
Though, admittedly, he only was desperate to leave this place behind and go to where there are other people. He couldn't stand the look Wanda was throwing at him, as if she was waiting for his answer to her confession.
And, Rintrah, he was looking between Wanda and Satoru like he couldn't believe what he had just seen. But, at the same time keeping it to himself.
Illyana was… very calm though. However, the look in her eyes was devoid of its usual spark.
"Moving out, kids," Satoru announced, stepping toward the rift without waiting for a reply.
…
[ X-Men Mansion ]
The four of them stepped out onto the wide, manicured green lawns of the Xavier Institute, just in front of the X-Men Mansion.
Satoru and the rest came to know of the 'X-Men Group' from Piotr in one of their many visits to the place. Though, they haven't officially met the Professor, not with Satoru at least since he was quite the busy man.
Walking down the front steps to meet them was Piotr Rasputin, who has been informed by the Professor of their arrival.
The massive mutant looked completely stressed, his usual calm demeanor gone. Beside him floated Professor Charles Xavier in his hoverchair, his hands folded in his lap and his brow furrowed in deep thought.
"Illyana," Piotr breathed, checking his sister's forehead bump with immediate worry before his eyes shifted to the tall, white-haired man in black robes. "Professor, this is... Master Gojo."
He then said to Satoru. "Master Gojo, this is the Professor, Charles Xavier."
"We are honored by your presence, Mr. Gojo," Professor Xavier said, his voice calm and measured as his hoverchair glided down the final step. He offered a polite nod, though his brow remained furrowed. "However, I must admit I am somewhat surprised. May I ask what brings the masters of the mystic arts to our doorstep so suddenly?"
Satoru kept his hands tucked casually inside the deep pockets of his formal black robes. He tilted his head slightly, the Mind Stone blindfold reflecting the morning sunlight.
"Well," Satoru started. "My Rintrah and Illyana were told by Alexandra which was informed by Piotr, and they told me, that your people, the mutants, were getting some sort of disease from fish oil? So, I figured I'd drop by and check."
Though, it's more like running away from that awkward position he was in at the plateau, but they didn't have to know that.
Piotr stepped forward, a look of realization washing over his stressed features. "Little sister... you went home? You told Mama?"
"There was an emergency, Piotr," Illyana said, her voice completely flat and empty of its usual sharp spark. She stood stiffly by her brother's side, keeping her eyes strictly fixed on the mansion's front doors. "We came to help."
Professor Xavier's eyes drifted across the group, his telepathic senses lightly brushing against the edges of their minds. He felt a wall of absolute, unyielding distance around Satoru that he knew better than to push through, but he could easily feel the thick, suffocating wave of awkward tension rolling off Wanda and Rintrah. He didn't comment on it, opting to address the looming threat instead.
"I see," Xavier sighed softly, his expression turning a tad of relief.
Then your timing is fortunate, even if the circumstances are dire. Our medical bay is filling up rapidly, and Hank is struggling to isolate the compound responsible. If your unique insights can shed light on this matter, Mr. Gojo, then you are more than welcome here."
Satoru smirked beneath his blindfold, though his Six Eyes were already scanning the basement structure, locking onto the strange energy pulsing far below the floorboards.
"Lead the way, Professor," Satoru said, stepping forward. "Let's go see what kind of mess you guys are dealing with."
…
They descended into the sub-basement levels using a large elevator. The group stood in complete silence. Satoru kept his back to them, facing the doors, while Wanda stared at the floor and Illyana stood rigidly next to Piotr. Rintrah crammed himself into a corner due to his large frame; he was even larger than Piotr.
The elevator doors opened into the medical bay.
Several mutants were lying inside transparent isolation pods. They were sweating and shivering, their faces and limbs covered in ugly clusters of thick, inflamed bumps. They looked like severe lesions, but not at the same time due the the energy that Satoru was able to see was the cause.
It was a grotesque, physical manifestation of the body attacking its own genetic makeup.
Hank McCoy looked up from a computer monitor, his blue fur disheveled. "Professor, it's getting worse. We are calling the condition M-Pox since it's mainly seen on us mutants. According to what I found, the substance in the fish oil is an evolutionary trigger than normal humans had gained powers from. Remember the news that has been broadcasted and still is by the WHiH World News? It's the same substance, but when a mutant was subjected to it, it's forcing the X-gene to undergo a secondary mutation that their bodies can't handle, causing them to reject their own genetics."
Satoru walked over to the nearest pod with his hands in his pockets. He leaned in, using his Six Eyes to look past the glass and scan the patient's bloodstream on a molecular level.
The data filtered through his mind. But, he was no medical expert, however, with the Mind Stone's help and with a soft pulse of golden light, he was able to understand the data in his own way.
Satoru tilted his head from what just flowed in his brain.
"This isn't magic," Satoru concluded as he said. "It's a different force of nature entirely. I… I don't know what it is because I haven't heard of nor seen anything like this."
...
[ Author's Notes ]: Stone me?
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