Chapter 4: The 200
(Just a warning for the Marvel nerds who have the urge to correct parts of this chapter, some things have been changed. I am also a Marvel nerd and know the real Marvel history and which characters had certain things happen to them. I just don't care about those facts for this story.)
The next morning, Nick walked out of his room to see that the pair of lovers were still sleeping together.
'Whatever. Guess I'll just let you both sleep over and make myself breakfast,' Nick complained to himself about having to cook. But even after saying that, he ended up making enough pancakes, eggs, and turkey bacon for 5 people, 3 of those portions to compensate for Peter's super appetite.
The duo was awakened by the smell of turkey bacon cooking which caused them both to walk over to the table and start eating up the pancakes and eggs. Once he was finished cooking, Nick walked over and joined them while bringing the meat and passing it out, which the pair were extremely grateful for.
"Yum. Your pancakes are always so fluffy and sweet," Gwen added another two pancakes to her plate before pouring some syrup on them.
"Glad you enjoy them," Nick accepted the compliment. He worked for a long time to get his pancakes to this level of fluffiness and sweetness.
Gwen finished off her pancakes before pulling out her cell phone and checking the time.
"And with just enough time to get to the office," Gwen stood up before giving Peter a kiss on the cheek and Nick a kiss on the forehead. "Gotta run, boys. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone."
"We won't!" "No promises!" Peter and Nick replied at the same time. Gwen laughed as she shut the door behind her.
She had started working with her old classmate and Peter's old crush, Liz Allen, a few months ago. They bought up the remaining stocks of Oscorp and Horizon Lab while combining them with Liz's original company, creating a company called Alchemax. The company covered a wide variety of fields and was quickly growing. Within a few years, it would even rival the likes of AIM or Stark Industries.
"What are your plans for the day?" Peter probed while they finished up breakfast before bringing all the dishes to the kitchen to start washing them.
"Not much. Might just stay here and write all day," Nick answered, already pulling out his laptop and logging into Inkstone.
"Actually gonna finish one of your old stories or you gonna create a new account so your old fans don't bother you while you write a new one?" Peter asked before catching the mug Nick threw at the back of his head
"Fuck you. I got stuck on those 3 stories. Made the MC too OP too fast."
"Whatever. You visited your mom or sister lately?" Peter asked the question that he really wanted to, even though he already knew the answer
"Nope. Don't wanna either," Nick replied without looking up from his laptop, though PEter could tell from the change in his voice that Nick was also troubled by not visiting them.
M-Day happened about a month ago and that was where the Scarlet Witch depowered nearly every mutant on the planet. And a few months prior to that was the Genosha attack which saw nearly 16 million mutants die in an attack on the mutant nation. His mother was at Ground Zero for both of those events while his sister saw several of her friends suddenly without power and die in the middle of a battle on M-Day.
"Pretty sure they would appreciate having you there. Just to know that you are doing alright," Peter suggested honestly. He knew why Nick was staying away but he couldn't just let him keep his distance forever.
Nick didn't say anything but started to type away. But after a few minutes, he started to slow down until he stopped typing completely. He held his hands to his face and let out a grunt of frustration.
"I hope you get hit by a bus," Nick said before grabbing his keys and leaving the apartment. Peter chuckled while finishing coffee before he grabbed his bag and left to get to the Daily Bugle.
Even with his driving skills, it took Nick over an hour to reach the Xavier Institute. He had to pass by several sentinels piloted by members of some government organization before he could enter the school grounds. After the decimation of the mutant population caused by the Scarlet Witch, there were only 200 mutants accounted for on the planet. This was where all of the remaining mutants lived.
[Welcome, Nicholas. We are having a meeting on the back porch for the staff but you can come join us. Just make sure you park your bike properly and don't let the kids ride it.]
As soon as he got past the gates, Emma sensed Nick and sent him this telepathic message. She even sounded pleasantly surprised because he had not come back to the Institute for nearly 6 months.
[Got it. Be there in a few.]
Nick parked his bike in front of the mansion where Emma and Scott had told him plenty of times not to and left the keys inside in case anyone wanted to ride it. He then walked through the mansion and saw many familiar and unfamiliar faces as he made his way through it.
Countless kids and teens were pointing their fingers at Nick because he had become something of a legend around the place.
"Is that Alexis's younger brother?"
"Yep. That's Nick. The one that..."
"Shh. Don't say it out loud. One of them might be near."
"I think all of them are on the back porch."
"But he looks like he is going there as well."
"Tell the others! There is gonna be a good show."
Nick heard all of the voices around him but didn't care. He knew that he had a reputation around here and that the people he wanted to meet the least would most likely be on the porch as well.
'Well, all of them except for her.'
Nick arrived at the back porch doors before he opened them. All eyes turned to him, a few happy, a few aggressive, all surprised.
"Nick," a woman with green hair was the first to speak up
"Lorna," Nick responded before turning away from her and walking toward the area where his family was.
"That all you gotta say?" a young man with blonde hair asked aggressively
"Correct, Alex. I didn't come to talk about old times. Just wanted to check on my family and let them know I'm still alive," Nick responded as he took a seat between Emma and his sister.
"Ha! Your family? What about Stella?" Alex slammed his hands on the table, his powers accidentally activating and breaking the part of the table before him.
"Alex!" Scott, Alex's older brother, and Gabriel, Alex's younger brother, both yelled at the same time. Both had their own feelings on the matter but they were in the middle of an important meeting so it was not the right time or place.
Alex wanted to say something else but he saw the look Scott was giving him and the pain on Lorna's face. He sat back down in his seat, his face showing his clear displeasure.
"Fine. We can talk later, Nick."
"If I have the opportunity," Nick refused to promise that because he knew that he wouldn't talk about it later. It was something he never wanted to talk about.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone