"Let me see if I understand... you are mutants, a bunch of people who, due to a specific cell of your DNA, ended up being born with super powers? "
"Yes"
"And you call yourself X-men, and your goal is to establish peace between mutants and humans? "
"Yes"
"And do you think I'm a mutant too? "
"Yes"
"And you want to take me to an institute with other mutants so that I can learn to control my powers and protect myself from people who want my harm because I'm a mutant? "
"Yes"
Ethan really needed to review all the Marvel movies he's ever seen. How the hell wouldn't he remember these super flashy guys appearing in any scene?
Maybe they were one of those easter eggs put somewhere that he just didn't see...
Or he just didn't paid attention to the movies. Honestly, he wasn't a big Marvel fan, so even though he had already watched the Avengers movies a few times, he had already forgotten practically everything, except for some parts.
So it is very likely that these X-Men had appeared and he had not paid attention.
Well, better not think too much about it.
"Look, Sir..."
" Charles Xavier " The man in the wheelchair introduced Himself.
"Mr. Xavier, thank you for the offer, but I think I still need more time to think about it" Ethan replied in the most polite way he could without showing how confusing that situation was being for him.
That was the strangest situation Ethan had ever gotten into since he arrived in this world. No, that could be considered the strangest situation of his life due to how random it was.
Ethan didn't remember hearing the term "mutant" ever mentioned since he had arrived in that world, but this could be revealed by the fact that he practically self-exiled himself from society. The corner of Hell's Kitchen where he was was a slum with few people, and he had chosen this place to stay as far away as possible from the crazy things of heroes and villains, since they usually never came to areas like this.
So you could say that he hadn't had a normal conversation with someone else for some time, so it was normal for him not to know some things. Like the existence of mutants.
But even if he had heard about them before, Ethan would never have expected them to be so... weird.
To begin with, there was the elephant (gorilla) in the room. The blue-haired ball that probably weighed more than an American football player, Beast. Or Hank McCoy as he had introduced himself before, but honestly Beast sounds better for someone with that... aesthetic.
Then came the other more disturbing blue thing in the room. A literal blue demon. No, Ethan was exaggerating, he wasn't really a demon, but he looked a lot like one. Blue skin, tail, hands and feet unusual, and the name Nightcrawler didn't help much either.
Ethan's luck is that apparently they were the same age. So instead of dealing with a demon, he was dealing with a teenage demon.
...
How wonderful, isn't it?
Then there was the tall black woman with white hair who called herself Storm. She could even be said to be relatively normal if it weren't for her gray eyes. Not that they were really a nuisance, but it was the first time Ethan met someone with gray eyes, so it was kind of strange to him.
Also the hairy and short dog- I mean, a short man of extremely hairy stature with the face of someone who could be anywhere but there. Seriously, how tall was that guy? Ethan barely exceeded 1.70 and still was much taller than that guy.
Oh, his name is Wolverine. Clearly it's not his real name, but a name is a name.
And then came the second most normal between them. Cyclops, or Scott Summers as he had the decency to say his name, unlike the others who only gave code names. Tall, probably 1.80 or more than that, brown hair, well-worked physique, like someone who goes to the gym every day. He could probably be said to be the most normal among all of them, if not for the display he used. It was even kind of stylish, but still strange.
And finally, the man Ethan was talking to now. Charles Xavier, a man who seemed to be in his 40s or 50s, bald (like, very bald) and sitting in a wheelchair and maintaining a friendly expression for Ethan throughout their conversation.
At this moment, they were inside that all-black ship that Ethan thought was from the government, sitting at what should be a meeting table. It is worth saying that the ship was much more spacious inside than Ethan expected.
"I understand Ethan. It's usually always difficult for young people when they discover that their reality has changed overnight because of something they can't control," Xavier said with an expression of someone who understood what Ethan was thinking. He himself had problems accepting his powers when he was younger.
'Well, my reality literally changed overnight, and that's still hard to accept' Ethan thought looking at the man with a tired expression.
"Well, I wouldn't say difficult to accept, just unexpected" Ethan replied being honest with them.
What reason was there to lie? If they had any kind of bad intention directed to Ethan, they could very well have attacked him before. After all, they were more numerous and were probably much stronger than him.
If they were willing to sit down to talk and explain to him things he didn't understand, then they were probably the heroes. And if they were being sincere, then Ethan should also be sincere.
Well, so sincere as his situation allowed.
"Unexpected? " Xavier asked curiously.
"Yes, unexpected. I found out that I'm a mutant a few months ago and had some time to get used to my powers, so I think the problem is that I didn't expect to be a mutant. Do you understand? " Ethan replied.
And he was being sincere. He didn't expect one day to wake up in another universe, he didn't expect to win a system and he also didn't expect to gain powers from an entity from another multiverse. The whole situation was, in short, extremely unexpected.
He was getting used to it little by little, but it was still all very new to him. Heroes, villains, mutants. What would be next, magic? Aliens?
"I think I understand" The man in the wheelchair waved serenely "But even in such an unexpected situation, I still hope you are interested in joining our institute"
Oh yes, the institute, the school for mutants. Ethan was so immersed in that conversation and in his own thoughts that he even forgot the initial reason why they came to him.
Apparently, he had released a considerable amount of energy the first time he used Chaos Control, and this ended up triggering a device they had to locate other mutants, and they just didn't come earlier because they were dealing with other matters.
Under normal circumstances, Ethan wouldn't accept in a place isolated from society where his only company would be a bunch of teenagers more disturbed than him and a lot of strange adults he didn't know. But obviously, those weren't normal circumstances.
Ethan hadn't taken a real shower or slept comfortably for almost 3 months, besides not eating and standing up because of his powers that were strengthening his body little by little. If it weren't for that, he would probably be in some state of malnutrition right now.
Xavier was offering housing, food and security for free. It would be very stupid to say no to all this. Even though he didn't fully trust him, Ethan couldn't deny that he seemed like a nice and reliable man.
Besides, even though he don't really like to socialize, it would be good to live with others of his age without being a random drunk or drug addict from Hell's Kitchen.
Even though he said he needed to think, it was just to be able to better process all the new information he had received. He would accept it one way or another anyway.
"Well, I have nowhere else to go, so I think I accept your offer" Ethan replied with a smile, the first sincere smile he gave in a long time.
"YES!! " Shouted the blue devil magically appearing next to Ethan and wrapping him in a very uncomfortable hug " believe me friend, you won't be disappointed "
All the joy that Ethan disappeared in it.
"Do you know where the nearest church is? "
"No, why? " Xavier asked.
"I need to do an exorcism"