Chapter 7: The Day the World Interrupted
The morning sun stretched across the Xavier mansion like a soft golden curtain, warm and quiet, as if the whole world was holding its breath before something important. Mark stood outside the main doors waiting for Kitty, Kurt, Bobby, and Rogue. A gentle breeze brushed past him, carrying the scent of wet grass and pine — the kind of calm he rarely allowed himself to feel.
He told himself it was just a simple trip.
Shopping.
Hanging out.
Nothing dangerous.
But as he waited, watching sunlight scatter across the stone path, he felt something unusual in his chest — anticipation… and maybe, for the first time in his life, a small seed of belonging.
"Mark!" Kitty called, jogging out with a folded map bouncing in her hand.
Bobby followed behind her, trying to balance three different cans of soda while eating chips. Kurt teleported next to them in a puff of blue smoke, making Rogue roll her eyes.
"You promised you'd stop doing that when we're walking somewhere," Rogue muttered.
Kurt grinned, fangs showing. "But zis is faster."
Mark just shook his head, a small smile pulling at his lips. They were chaotic. Loud. Messy. But they were… alive. And somehow, he was part of it.
They grabbed the next bus heading into town. Kitty pressed her face against the window pointing at stores she wanted to visit.
"Okay!" Kitty snapped open her map. "First we go to Silver Thread Boutique, then SunLight Shoes, then this new café that sells mutant-friendly snacks—"
"You mean overpriced snacks?" Bobby interrupted. "Last time I paid eight dollars for a cookie."
Rogue smirked. "Cry about it, snowflake."
Kurt disappeared then reappeared in the seat behind Mark, making Rogue flick him on the head.
Mark laughed under his breath. A real laugh — small, but honest.
He didn't remember the last time he felt this light.
When the bus reached the mall, sunlight reflected across the glass buildings, turning them gold. People crowded outside the entrance, and Mark felt dozens of eyes on him. The aura he suppressed most days glowed faintly through the edges — not intentionally, just… naturally.
"Okay, first stop: clothes," Kitty announced.
"Why?" Mark asked flatly.
Kitty and Rogue exchanged a look.
Then they grabbed his arms.
"Because," Rogue said, "you dress like someone who lives in a lab."
"And you need an upgrade," Kitty added, dragging him into the boutique before he could protest.
The store smelled like perfume and new fabric. Mannequins lined the walls wearing elegant clothes of every style. Mark already felt uncomfortable just being in there.
"You have to try this," Kitty said, pushing a shirt against him.
"No."
"This."
"No."
"What about—"
"No."
Rogue smirked. "You're making this harder than it needs to be, sugar."
Mark sighed, rubbing his temple. "I don't need new clothes."
Kitty crossed her arms. "You don't need them, but you're getting them. Because it's fun. We're having fun. You promised to try."
He paused.
She was right.
He did want to try.
"…Fine."
The girls celebrated like they just won a war.
Mark tried on several outfits: a casual shirt, a jacket, a pair of dark jeans. All of them fit perfectly — all of them impressed Kitty, but nothing unique.
Then she spotted it.
A white suit.
Elegant. Clean. Sharp lines. Gold buttons. A bright, ethereal white that seemed to glow under the store lights.
"Oh my god," Kitty whispered. "Try this."
Mark raised a brow. "Seriously?"
"Yes," Rogue said. "Seriously."
He sighed and went into the fitting room.
When he stepped out—
The world stopped.
The suit clung to him perfectly, framing his shoulders, his tall frame, his golden aura glowing like a soft crown. His hair caught the light. His eyes almost shimmered.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Kitty put her hand over her heart.
"Mark… you look like a god."
Kurt's: "Mein Gott… man looks like Gott himself!"
Rogue stared him up and down and let out a low whistle.
"You look like you're about to ruin someone's marriage."
Bobby blinked twice before speaking.
"…I suddenly understand why people pray."
Mark looked at the mirror.
He looked even better, with stunning aura around him.
He looked like someone who didn't fear anything.
Someone who belonged above the world.
"I'm not buying this," he muttered quietly.
"Oh yes you are," Kitty said.
"All of us are agreeing on this one," Bobby added. "And when do we ever agree?"
After ten minutes of arguing — he gave in.
When they left the store, people stared.
Not with fear.
But with surprise.
Mark is already used to people staring at him.
They stopped at an ice truck. Bobby ordered four cones — and froze the worker's hand by accident.
"Oh come on!" Rogue yelled.
"You said you'd stop freezing people's hands!"
"It was an accident!" Bobby insisted.
Mark chuckled again — twice in one day, almost shocking himself.
They walked through the mall eating ice cream, laughing at Bobby's terrible jokes and Kurt teleporting behind couples to scare them. Rogue kept smacking him with her bag.
Mark watched them.
Observed them.
Felt them.
He never realized how badly he needed this.
Chaos. Friends. Laughter.
A moment without fear.
A moment where he wasn't a weapon.
Just a person.
This…
This was priceless.
And then—
They stepped out of a shoe store.
Suddenly—
"EVERYONE FREEZE! HANDS UP!"
Special forces stormed the mall, rifles raised, helmets shining under fluorescent lights. From the rooftops, snipers took position — red dots glowing across their chests.
Rogue gasped.
Kitty grabbed Mark's arm.
Bobby instinctively formed ice around his fist.
Kurt teleported behind them protectively.
Mark didn't breathe.
He couldn't.
Not here.
Not when he finally felt something close to happiness.
"Mutants identified," one soldier barked.
"Do not let them move."
Mark's hands trembled.
He didn't care about the guns.
He didn't care about the soldiers.
He cared that they interrupted his peace.
His moment.
His chance to feel alive.
Something inside him snapped.
A fury older than his own memories.
Mark raised his hand slightly — but his voice was calm.
"You shouldn't have done that."
Reality bent.
The soldiers screamed.
But they didn't have time to feel pain.
Their guns dissolved into sand.
Their armor faded into smoke.
Their bodies collapsed into dust — erased from existence in less than a heartbeat.
No blood.
No sound.
They were simply… gone.
The mall went silent.
Mark stood in the middle of it — calm, breathing slowly, eyes glowing a molten gold. His aura pulsed around him, frightening and beautiful.
But he wasn't done.
He closed his eyes.
His mind opened.
Information flooded him like a river of fire.
Names.
Faces.
Locations.
Orders.
stryker.
"Your time will come soon," Mark whispered.
His friends didn't speak.
They couldn't.
They were stunned.
Terrified.
Overwhelmed.
But Mark's voice pulled them back.
"We're going back to the mansion."
He waved his hand.
Light wrapped around them — and they appeared instantly in front of the mansion gates.
Kitty tried to ask a question — but Mark didn't give her the chance.
"I'm going to Charles."
Then he vanished.
Mark appeared in Charles' office, the air bending around him from the teleport.
Charles didn't flinch.
"I know why you're here, Mark."
"You were watching us."
"Yes," Charles admitted. "To make sure nothing happened."
Mark stepped forward. His aura flickered with restrained anger.
"You know who they were."
"Mark,"You can't just go around killing people."
"I can kill whoever I want," Mark said, voice low with rage. "Just answer."
Charles inhaled.
"…Stryker."
Mark didn't wait.
He vanished — straight to the training room. He knew he couldn't take any risks before reaching level 4.
He already knew it was Stryker, but he wanted to know if Charles knew.
Charles immediately called the others.
Beast arrived first, wiping grease off his hands.
Cyclops walked in tight-jawed.
Jean felt Mark's emotional state from across the mansion.
Storm entered silently, worried.
Logan was the last one to arrive.
Charles explained everything — the soldiers, the erasure, the rage.
Beast spoke first.
"His power is escalating. His emotional balance is fragile."
Cyclops rubbed his temples. "We need to know where he stands. If he's a threat—"
Jean interrupted sharply, "He's not a threat. He's scared."
Storm's voice was soft. "But fear can be deadly with someone like him."
Logan said, "He's not in fear I would do the same if I got ambushed."
They all fell silent.
No one knew what to do.
After they finished the meeting Logan, went looking for Mark.
Logan found him in the training room.
Mark was destroying training dummies with nothing but a thought, then recreating them with stronger metal — adamantium. Logan froze in place.
That metal…
His metal.
Mark stopped and turned.
"Did Charles send you to stop me?"
Logan shook his head.
"No. I came because… I know Stryker. And when you go after him, I'm coming with you."
His voice trembled with buried fury.
"That man tortured me. Broke me. Over and over. Physically… mentally. I want him gone."
Mark stared at him — and something inside cracked open.
He knew what Logan is talking about.
Without speaking, Mark created two cold beers and handed one to Logan.
"This one doesn't get affected by your healing factor."
Logan took it, sat on the floor with him, leaning back against the wall.
Two broken souls sharing silence.
Logan drank first.
Then spoke.
"Kid… you're strong. But strength doesn't tell you what's right."
Mark looked down at his hands.
"I don't know what to do," Mark whispered.
His voice broke — genuinely broke — for the first time since he arrived at the mansion.
"I could kill every human. Wipe them out with a thought. I could force evolution. Make every child born a mutant. I could make a world where no one… no one EVER hurts us again."
His voice trembled.
"But every choice feels wrong. Every path feels like I'm becoming the monster they think I am."
Logan stared at him — truly seeing him.
"Mark… I've killed my share of people. Some deserved it. Some maybe didn't. But you — you're carrying a weight no one should carry alone."
Mark's eyes stung — but he didn't cry. He wouldn't.
Instead, his voice came out small, raw.
"I don't want to become what I hate."
Logan placed a hand on Mark's shoulder.
"Then don't. You choose. Every day. Not with power. With heart."
Mark stared forward.
"I could create a country. For mutants only. Somewhere they're safe."
Logan inhaled sharply.
"That… would be something."
They drank in silence after that — two men with broken pasts and uncertain futures.
Logan eventually stood.
"Keep training. And when you make your move… I'm with you."
Mark nodded once.
Logan left.
Mark stood alone in the quiet training room — and for the first time, he wasn't sure if his power made him unstoppable… or unbearably alone.
(Note: I don't think many of you will like to see Mark being emotional, even though he decided to have this power, but it's difficult for a person to transform from a human to a god without feelings.)
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