A slice of life chapter.

(Aden's P.O.V)

The walk towards the mansion was both short and long. Short as it was only a few feet away, and long because of the never ending questions I was receiving from Storm.

"I've never seen her this excited."

Wolverine spoke to Charles through telepathy. I was eavesdropping without actually meaning to. At this point, my powers were past any normal constraints or limitations. I was far ahead. Having touched heights in psionic manipulation that no Martian, Metahuman or Mutant could reach.

I had become a hub for psionic abilities, just like the Phoenix Force was in this world.

"Storm lost the roots to her heritage. Having someone who she feels connected to must be a welcoming change."

Charles replied to the former Weapon X.

"Hmm," Wolverine grunted.

"I still don't trust him."

He stubbornly replied.

Storm pulled me out of eavesdropping at their mental conversation by a question.

"How do you keep yourself in control? Wresting the forces of nature to work for you is not an easy thing."

She scrunched her nose in a little annoyance.

"It's something she's been struggling with for years."

Xavier joined in before I could answer.

"Meditation has helped her know when to stop but it hasn't addressed the larger issue."

Wolverine added as well.

"And she can speak for herself."

Storm interjected with a scowl. Charles muttered a sorry while Logan grunted and looked away.

I stopped at the entrance to the courtyard leading up to the mansion. My face was set in a frown.

"That sounds like a problem." I told them, remembering that sometimes metahumans/mutants were stuck with undesirable powers. Some were more of an inconveniencethan a gift.

Charles shared a look with both Storm and Logan.

"Mutant abilities are varied. Both in power and control."

He answered.

"While control is a large issue during the first few months after the X-gene manifests, some mutants are not that lucky."

Xavier said, pushing the doors to the mansion and revealing kids walking around in a flurry of activity.

There was a wide range of obvious mutation. One had bird feathers for hair and red eyes. Another was gliding on top with bat like wings flapping in the air. 4 twins, sharing similarities to Emma Frost passed by us, with all winking at me. The Stepford Cuckoos, I think. Weren't they supposed to be 5?

Xavier continued.

"Either because their ability is particularly dangerous to anyone around them, or their mutation causes a permanent change in one's body, making it hard to blend in or in extreme cases, live normally."

We came across a kid, playing with a purple ball of flame in his palms.

"Mr.Whitmore, I would appreciate it if you did not burn down the house."

Charles admonished.

"Sorry professor."

The belated teen extinguished the flame with a wave, grabbed his backpack off the floor and ran off.

I used my energy sense to get a reading on what type of fire that had been. I noticed something interesting that I decided to think about later.

"So what do you do in those cases?"

I asked.

"Specialized training, positive reinforcement, addressing emotional needs and fostering creativity in their young minds. Those that can, manage to attain a level of control to live without fear of being different, the rest accept themselves for who they are."

Xavier answered.

"She was right, you really have given them a home, professor."

I complimented him.

"Thank you."

He smiled as we moved through the throngs of kids, headed for his office. Along with catching a lot of attention from the kids, bursts of light and other different mutant abilities were freely displayed across the hall. A stern look from Storm and they stopped soon after, wary of her.

I kept my energy sense on for the entire duration, trying to understand where Mutant abilities actually come from. In just a short time, I had learned so much.

A few short steps, a staircase and a hallway later, we reached Xavier's office.

It had this... feeling to it.

"Please have a seat, Avatar."

The professor offered. I took the seat with a smile.

"It's Aden Professor. I would like to think we are friends."

Wolverine leaned on a wall that had a lot of framed photos while Storm took the couch on the side of the Professor, facing me. It was a good strategy, this way they had me cornered from 3 sides.

"Of course."

Xavier replied.

"Would you like a drink?"

He offered and I nodded.

"Thanks, a glass of water please."

Storm got up and entered the next room.

"So, how should we..."

Xavier begun.

"I wanna help."

I interrupted, making eye contact.

"I can't promise anything, but I can at least help a few of the kids achieve control over their abilities."

Charles was clearly not expecting that and took a minute before answering. I would be helping kids plus, I would get a chance to study their abilities at close range.

"Say yes, Chuck. It would make training much easier if some of them could control their abilities."

Logan surprisingly supported my offer.

Xavier nodded at Logan's advice.

"That...would be splendid. Thank you for the offer, Aden."

I smiled, reclining back in my seat.

"Don't mention it."

Storm came in and placed a cold glass of water on the table before me.

"Thanks."

She smiled and sat back on the couch.

"Now then, how should we do this? How exactly are you going to study mutant biology?"

Charles asked and I contemplated my answer while taking a sip.

"I guess we can start by allowing me to observe your training sessions."

"Mmmh. That can be arranged."

Logan answered.

"The other way, is a bit invasive and so it's optional. I only need a few blood samples from volunteers."

The mood in the room turned awkward.

A certain tension fell upon us.

"Why would you need their d.n.a?"

Wolverine asked, clenching his jaw while staring at me viciously. Was that supposed to intimidate me?

"For a very important project." I didn't see a need to lie, so I told them the truth. The real truth.

A few seconds later, I finished my explanation to a shocked audience.

"Okay, Let me get this right, your newly created universe needs a dominant sentient species and because of danger you want to make them the strongest species to ever work on soil?"

Storm wondered out loud.

"Yes."

I nodded in response.

"Well, at least you're direct."

Wolverine commented.

Meanwhile, Charlie's had a ponderous expression on his face. He was thinking too hard.

"Listen," I snapped a finger before him.

"I'm not out to create an army of mutants. I don't need an army. I just want to give my creations, my children, an advantage."

"That...will have to be something I discuss with the entire faculty, Aden."

Charles answered, unsure.

"No problem."

I knew that he wouldn't immediately agree, but this was fine.

If there was a fallout, I could still extract all the d.n.a without them knowing. Plus there were many other mutants out there in the world. I just didn't want to plunge into another fight, especially with my childhood heroes.

"I wonder...will our decision affect the deal?"

Charles enquired.

The answer here should have been yes. However, they were operating out of fear and wariness. I had to understand them. Plus, the project even by itself was very important to me.

I needed to know if I could create a realm by myself. Like Order had done to Gaea. Energia could be argued to be something I created but that was more of an expression of energy, imagination and magic. It wasn't technical.

"No. The deal stands. I'll still create a safe haven for mutants."

"Curious."

Before Logan could explain what he meant, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Xavier said out loud and a blue furred humanoid creature entered. I immediately recognized him as Beast.

He had a tablet in his left palm. A clunky type.

"Professor," Beast greeted, looking around before his interested gaze fell on me.

"Hank, I would like to introduce you to Aden Strong. Otherwise known as the Avatar."

We shook hands.

"Nice grip."

I commented.

"Oh thanks. You're the first to not act as if I'm going to rip out your head."

Hank smiled.

"I see the man inside. Hank McCoy, your reputation precedes you. Even to an alien like me."

"Alien?"

He looked at the professor for confirmation.

"It's a long story. The short version is, I am an extra dimension being. I arrived at your world through an accident."

"So you're from another universe. A parallel earth to be precise."

I rose an eyebrow.

"Your accent, it's highly recognizable as L.A lingo."

Beast answered.

"I'm impressed. I said nothing about the earth yet you deduced my roots so quickly."

"Hank is more brain than brawn."

Charles had a note of pride in his words.

"It would benefit him more if he applied himself into learning how to be dangerous with his hands."

Wolverine pointed out.

Hank shook his head.

"And as I have told you before, I left that life, Logan."

"Come on, Bub. You can't tell me you don't miss the action."

Wolverine smirked, removing his claws.

"No. And put those away before you hurt yourself."

Hank growled out, this seemed to be an old argument between them.

"Don't worry about them. Hank is retired from the X-Men. He only joins in when the mission is important. These days he's our resident tech expert."

Xavier explained.

"Welcome to the X-mansion, Mr.Strong."

Hank officially greeted then walked over to Xavier and showed him the tablet in his hands.

"Thought you might want to see this, Scott and the others were patrolling the grounds just incase we missed something, when they saw it."

From my position I could see different video feeds displaying real time footage of the Xavier grounds.

"What?"

Storm asked.

"Getting there."

He tapped the tablet and it displayed a different image.

Wolverine came around me to stare at it. It was a large boot print.

"I know that size." He growled out and then cursed.

"Viktor."

Oh, I perked up. That's interesting.

"Yup." Hank stated.

"His tracks carve a path on the eastern wall."

"Sabretooth? What would he be doing at the eastern side of the mansion?"

Storm wondered.

"After the attack from the Purifiers a month ago, we had to reinforce our weak points. The pattern of his tracks, Viktor is mostly just scouting to see the easiest point of access."

Wolverine answered.

Xavier sighed at Wolverine's gloomy words.

"Which means that Eric must be planning something."

All the while I had been listening without saying anything. I was surprised at their general blasé outlook. Apart from discussing strategies and how to tighten defences, they didn't seem too worried.

"I hope you now understand why you need the safe haven, Charles."

I told him.

He stapled his hands together.

"I'll try to convince the teachers. However, it will be optional, just like we discussed. Hank will make a list of volunteers."

"Fair enough."

I nodded.

"Storm here shall escort you to our guest quarters, if you don't mind."

Xavier told me, then realized that he was jumping the gun.

"I suppose you will be staying with us for an extended period of time?"

"Yeah. That was the plan."

I replied, getting up from the seat and stretching my body before proceeding to the door after the Weather demigoddess.

"Oh Logan, hope you don't mind if I join in on your next danger room exercise."

I threw over my shoulder.

The Wolverine grunted. So was that a yes or a no? Alas, I do not speak grunt.

"How about a tour first?"

Storm offered as we made our way through the hallway. She turned to face me with a small smile on her beautiful face.

Where Kori was gorgeously breathtaking, Storm had this mature aura surrounding her. I also won't lie, I have a thing for black queens and she ticked every requirement on the list.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind that."

I replied with a smile.

Her eyes trailed to my lips for a millisecond before she blushed and looked away, clearing her throat in the process.

"Follow me."

We made our way through the mansion, talking about everything as she introduced me to the kitchen, dining area, teacher's lounge, her office, the wing containing the classes as well as the backyard. Throughout the tour, Storm kept asking questions about me, my powers and where I was from.

"It's called Gaea." I told her once she asked about my dimension.

"The mother goddess."

Storm muttered in realization.

"Yeah. I drew the inspiration from her. Gaea is in one word, beautiful. Sprawling mountains, blue oceans, the animals and the air and the plants..." I breathed in as we stared at the sunset from the balcony of the third floor.

"It sounds...magical."

Storm breathed out.

"It is. Imagine the most beautiful place in the world, it wouldn't hold a candle to Gaea. It feels like I created her with all the inspiration I had to spare."

"Wait, you...created Gaea?"

She asked in disbelief.

I turned to her with a cheeky smile on my face.

"You haven't really seen what I can do."

I walked closer.

"Infact, how about a tour of my own, to show my thanks for spending the afternoon with me?"

Storm blinked. I could feel her heart rate speed up from the close proximity between us.

"Uh... I'm not sure..."

"Hey, I promise we'll be back before you know it."

She bit her lip, an action that made my annoyed that I liked it for some reason before nodding.

"Okay, let's do this. However, we need to be back before dinner."

"Of course, my lady."

I bowed, making her chuckle.

Straightening up, I offered Storm my hand, which she graciously accepted. Then I snapped my fingers and in a burst of blue light, we found ourselves in the middle of space, looking down at the Earth.

Storm widened her eyes, hands instinctually going for her throat, only to find out that she wasn't suffocating. She turned to me.

"...how?"

"You want the long answer or the short one?"

I asked.

"The short one."

She replied.

"I basically covered you with an environmental aura shield."

There were small pockets around the environmental aura that sent in oxygen from Energia.

Storm gently pulled her hand away from my palm as she floated closer to the beautiful blue planet. I watched her go, her expression one of awe and appreciation.

"She's beautiful."

Storm sighed.

"So...fragile and beautiful."

I floated closer after her.

"It's crazy to think that every human you know is there. Contained in this tiny tiny, marvelous ball of earth teeming with life."

She stared at me from the corner of her eyes.

"Is this where you bring all the girls you want to impress?"

I barked out in laughter.

"That's not a bad idea actually. I could get some tail by basically being the cheesy MC who always manages to say the right thing at the right time."

Storm giggled at my statement, floating closer to me.

"You're an enigma, Mr.Strong."

She passed by me and started going circles around my form.

"Oh really? Some might call that having a personality, Miss Monroe."

She pulled in, stopping mere inches away.

"It's Ororo. Only Coulson calls me Miss Munroe."

She said then added.

"He's a friend."

I pulled closer as well.

"Ororo," the name flowed off my tongue softly.

"I love it."

Something was charged between us.

Something, I couldn't explain. From this close her eyes were like pools of serenity, waiting for a trigger to turn into a storm. Her face was beautiful, soft yet regal looking. Her ebony skin contrasted well with her white hair. And her scent, it reminded me of dew and lilies.

Kori's face flashed before my mind and I stopped in place, looking away a little ashamed. The spell was broken and Ororo turned to stare out into the naked space.

"Wow, there are so many stars out there."

She commented.

I cleared my throat, thankful that the awkwardness was swiftly killed.

"Yes, each star represents a star system, with the possibility of life forming in one or two planets that can support it. It's a big Universe out there. Filled with things no men can know. "

We went silent.

"Sorry about the depressing comment." I perked up as an idea came to the front of my mind.

"Come with me."

I held out my palm and she grabbed onto it without hesitation, flashing her beautiful set of teeth my way.

"Hold on, we'll move at fast speeds."

She nodded and I pushed us towards the moon at supersonic speeds.

"Whoa!"

Storm screamed as we lit up the space behind us with a trail of starlight.

The satellite loomed before us, taking up the entire view. Storm's fingers on my palm tightened.

"We are not gonna crash are we?!"

She asked but I kept silent, merely smiling at her devilishly.

"Right?"

She questioned again and this time I couldn't help but laugh.

"Trust me!"

I told her and just before we entered the atmosphere, I strafed us to the right, so we passed around the satellite on the side that faced the sun. Through my passive divine sense, it was easy to spot Attilan, the Inhuman Capital. That reminds me, I need to get Inhuman D.N.A too.

"It's...wow."

Storm commented.

I gave a small nod to Uatu who was sitting on a rock on the surface of the moon, watching the earth, invisible to Storm's eye.

"I know."

I told her, doing another cycle around the moon.

Then we were off on the opposite direction to the Earth.

"Huh, where are you taking us?"

Storm enquired, looking back at Earth.

"One final stop."

I assured and then increased our speed.

Mars very quickly appeared in our eyes. The light reflected off the surface of the red planet, lit up the craters and furrows on it's surface. From this height, it looked incredible. Storm was instantly captivated.

"So, how does it feel to be the first human, with the exception of one Peter Quill and Carol Danvers, to make it all this way?"

"Who are they?"

She seemed more interested in the two.

"One of them is a kid from St.Charles Missouri who was abducted by Aliens, and the other is a fighter pilot who was caught up in an incident involving an alien species known as the Kree. The incident gave her powers and these days both of them are lauded as galactic heroes. Well one at least, Quill is still young."

"Oh. They sound... exceptional."

She praised.

An image of Starlord dancing to the tune of 'Come get your love' by Redbone replayed in my head.

"Oh you have no idea."

I chuckled.

"You ready?"

"For what?"

She met my question with her own.

"You didn't think I brought you all this way to just see mars did you?"

Storm blinked.

"How can you logically top this?!" She gestured around us.

"We're literally in outer space."

"Exactly!" I shot back in excitement.

"There's nothing happening here! No meteors to watch or alien invasion headed to earth to stop. We need another climax for the night."

Storm shook her head in disbelief.

"I'm beginning to think you might be crazy."

She pointed out, making me laugh some more.

"I won't deny that. Now come! Onwards to adventure!"

We swooped down into the Martian landscape like a Comet.

"Aden...the ground!"

Storm panicked as we quickly arrived towards the surface.

"Trust me."

I told her, squeezing her palm. Storm closed her eyes, our trajectory taking us towards a crater. A few tens of meters above the hard ground, a portal of yellow manifested around us.

Storm screamed in fear, grabbing onto my left bicep as we plunged inside the portal and broke out through rainbow clouds. The gentle breeze full of magic and wonder hit us first.

Storm reflexively took a deep breath as I undid the environmental shield around her.

"My god..."

She stated, the first glimpse of Energia hitting her with with power. The high hills covered with a lush of greenery, plants and flowers of any and every color.

Then the butterflies buzzing about in plains of roses, a river that snaked around the valley, shining like diamonds under the sky of Energia.

The river fed into the lake where the kingdom of fairies was.

"So... beautiful."

Storm said and I quickly stomped down on the feeling of pride.

We reached the shore of the lake and floated down.

I turned to Storm, spreading out my hands.

"I can't show you Gaea but I can show you...Energia."