[Third Person Pov]
"A crisis? Cool, I'm in." Peter answered immediately, flashing a wide grin as he shot two enthusiastic thumbs up into the air, as if the decision had never been in doubt.
Charles blinked, then let out a small amused breath as he regarded Spider-Man. "But you haven't even heard what the situation is yet," he pointed out, one brow lifting slightly in curiosity.
Peter shrugged without dropping his thumbs, his tone light but sincere. "Doesn't really matter what the crisis is. What does matter is that you need help—and you asked for it. I'm obviously not going to turn you down, so you can pretty much count me in already."
A ripple of quiet approval moved through the room. Several of the X-Men smiled at the easy confidence in his voice, while the rest of the Spider-Family exchanged nods of agreement, clearly sharing the same sentiment.
"You have my gratitude," Charles said sincerely, bowing his head just a fraction in respect. When he straightened, his expression grew more serious. "I'll explain this so-called 'crisis,' as you named it, as clearly as I can. One of my X-Men has gone missing."
"Missing?" Nightwing repeated, his tone sharpening as he caught the subtle shift in Charles' voice.
"More like kidnapped," Scott added grimly. His arms crossed over his chest as he leaned back against the wall, jaw tight with restrained anger.
Peter's playful demeanor faded, replaced by focused concern. "Alright. Who is it—and who took him?"
"He goes by the name Darwin," Hank answered as his fingers moved rapidly across the Danger Room's control panel. A moment later, a holographic screen flickered to life, displaying the image of a young mutant. "He's an exceptional X-Man with a truly remarkable ability, one with… extensive evolutionary applications—"
"Hank," Bobby cut in with a tired sigh, tilting his head. "To the point."
Hank cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses with a sheepish look. "Right. Apologies." He straightened before continuing more concisely. "Darwin possesses the rare ability known as Reactive Evolution. His physiology instinctively and instantaneously adapts to any environment, threat, or form of trauma in order to ensure his survival."
He gestured to the hologram as it shifted through various simulated scenarios. "For example, if submerged underwater, he develops gills. If exposed to the vacuum of space, his body adapts to survive without oxygen. To date, there has been no confirmed limit to what he can adapt to."
He finished with a quiet sigh, the weight of the implications settling in the room.
Gwen let out a low, impressed whistle. "Okay, yeah… talk about a biological marvel. Guess the name 'Darwin' makes a lot more sense now."
Felicia crossed her arms, her brows knitting together. "Then how does someone who can adapt to anything end up getting kidnapped?" she asked, glancing toward the X-Men expectantly.
"And why?" Lizzy added quickly. "I mean, yeah, it's obviously something shady, but is there a specific reason they went after him?"
"The people responsible have a boy with them," Jean answered, her voice calm but troubled. "His name is Leech. Anyone within his vicinity has their X-Gene suppressed completely. Mutant abilities shut down entirely. Once he's nearby, none of us can activate our powers. That's how we believe they managed to take Darwin."
A tense silence followed before Charles spoke again. "As for why Darwin was their target specifically… to understand that, you need to know who took him." He turned his gaze toward Hank and gave a small nod.
Hank pulled up another file, replacing Darwin's image with that of a man wearing a lab coat, slick black hair neatly combed back, thin glasses resting on his nose. "This is Larry Trask," Hank said. "Son of the late Bolivar Trask—the creator of the Sentinel robots used to hunt mutantkind across the globe."
Charles' expression darkened as he continued. "Bolivar Trask created Master Mold, the first prototype Sentinel, driven by fear, mistrust, and deeply misguided beliefs about mutants. However, in the end, he recognized the error of his ways. He chose to shut down the Sentinel program and destroy Master Mold, even knowing it would cost him his life."
A somber pause followed. "He sacrificed himself to stop the Sentinels—machines that had begun to see themselves as superior to humanity."
"Let me guess," MJ said, breaking the silence with a knowing look. "His son blames mutants for his father's death and wants revenge, so he's restarting his dad's work."
"Yes," Kitty replied with an exhausted shake of her head. "As cliché as it sounds… that's exactly it."
"I'm pretty sure we can already guess the rest based on what we know," Peter said, his usual humor completely absent now. His expression had grown grim, jaw tightening as the implications settled in.
Gwen nodded beside him, her face equally serious. "If they've taken Darwin and somehow manage to extract or replicate his powers—then merge that with Sentinel technology…" She trailed off, not needing to finish the thought aloud.
"Then you'd end up with an army that can adapt to basically anything thrown at them," Harry concluded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Energy attacks, physical force, environmental hazards—none of it would matter. They'd practically be unstoppable."
"It also explains why you'd need our help," Aria added, folding her arms as she looked toward Charles. "The Sentinels are programmed to prioritize mutants. That puts us squarely in their blind spot. We're not their targets, which makes us the perfect trump cards against them."
Harry turned toward Lizzy, his expression shifting from analytical to openly serious. "That said, on this mission you'll need to be extra careful," he said firmly. "You're actually a mutant, which means if anything goes wrong, you'll be their priority target."
Lizzy simply smiled at him, clearly more touched by the concern than worried by the warning.
"Actually, now I'm curious," Rogue cut in, tilting her head slightly as she studied Lizzy. "What rank are you, in terms of mutant ability?"
"Rank?" Lizzy echoed, turning toward her with a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"
"Although Rogue says 'rank,' it's more of a classification system," Scott explained calmly. "It's how mutants are categorized based on the scale of their power and the potential danger it represents. The levels go Epsilon, Delta, Gamma, Beta, Alpha—and finally, Omega."
The X-Men took turns elaborating, carefully explaining what each classification meant, how rare the higher tiers were, and what separated raw power from reality-altering capability.
While that conversation unfolded, Gwen and Peter drifted slightly off to the side with Charles.
"There's more to it, isn't there?" Peter asked quietly, keeping his voice low.
Charles nodded, his expression heavy. "The Sentinels are learning. They're being deployed more frequently, actively hunting mutants and taking them prisoner instead of eliminating them outright. Before they can evolve any further, I believe it would be wise to strike first—to dismantle the operation before it reaches a point where stopping them becomes impossible."
"I agree," Peter said with a solemn nod. "But we can't rush in blindly. Would it be possible to review everything you have on Darwin? If we understand his abilities in depth, maybe we can identify a flaw—or at least anticipate how they might try to weaponize him."
Charles inclined his head. "That can be arranged."
By then, the X-Men had finished explaining the classifications.
"Well now I'm curious about my own," Lizzy said suddenly. She turned toward Peter, eyes bright with interest. "Could I turn off my blocker? I want to know where I fall."
"Your blocker?" Hank asked, pushing his glasses up his nose as he looked between them, clearly intrigued.
"Yeah," Lizzy replied casually. "Spidey put it in me so my mutant status wouldn't be detected."
A few of the X-Men frowned instinctively, though none of them spoke right away. Noticing the shift in the room's atmosphere, Lizzy raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Nothing…" Angel said with a strained smile. "It just… kind of sounds like you're hiding it because you're ashamed of being a mutant."
"What?" several members of the Spider-Family exclaimed at once, Lizzy's expression shifting into outright disbelief.
"I get that you're all proud of being mutants, and that's great," Lizzy said slowly, looking around at them. "But I don't want to be hunted, tracked, or targeted. Spidey put the blocker in place to protect me—and from everything I've learned lately, I'm honestly grateful for it." She tilted her head slightly. "Valuing my privacy doesn't mean I'm ashamed of who I am. It just means I don't want my existence to be everyone else's business."
An awkward silence followed as people shifted uncomfortably, realizing she had a very solid point.
"Go ahead," Peter said after a moment, giving her an encouraging nod. "You can always turn it back on if you want to stay undetected."
Lizzy nodded, closing her eyes as she focused.
The moment the blocker disengaged, alarms blared throughout the mansion. Sirens echoed through the halls, loud and urgent, instantly putting everyone on edge as instincts kicked in—more than a few people prepared for an attack.
Then the speakers crackled to life.
"Omega-level mutant detected. Omega-level mutant detected. Current location: Xavier's Mansion. Omega-level mutant detected."
"Oop," Lizzy said, making a face like she'd just been caught red-handed.
Everyone stared at her, mouths hanging open in collective shock.
She pumped her fist into the air triumphantly. "Oh yeah, baby! I even get a public announcement—with music!"
Lizzy immediately started spinning in a circle, waving her arms in rhythm with the blaring sirens, gleefully mimicking the sound.
"Whoooop! Whoooop! Whoooop!"
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