22: Mind Power

  James took another drink, feeling the alcohol slide down his throat, but unlike many other times, there was n sensation. In fact, it was like drinking pin water, very bad-tasting water.

  He grumbled softly in annoyance, looking at the three dozey bottles. He couldn't get drunk anymore...

  Sighing, he took out his wallet and threw several dolrs at the bartender, who looked at him incredulously, ahe bar. It was a plete mess. Even before, when his body burned off alcohol quickly, he could still have a brief moment where, if he drank enough, he could feel the alcohol in his veins.

  Now? Now it didn't matter how much or what type of alcohol it was; his mind remained lucid, remembering, feeling.

  He shook his head. It was messed up. He could no longer drown his sorrows in drinking. What should he do then? But before he could ahat question, a bck car with tinted windows stopped not far from him. James didn't o wait for the door to open to know who it was.

  John got out of the car and greeted him. James him, pulling out a cigarette and starting to smoke. At least he still had this.

  "Did you have fun?" John asked, adjusting the dark gsses on his face, a wide-brimmed hat on his head.

  James looked at him sternly, which should have given him the answer. John sighed, amused.

  "Yes, the downside of being a super soldier: learning to deal with your problems without being able to drown them in alcohol sucks."

  "Cut the useless talk. Is it time or not?" Logan asked, he was irritated. Still, he didn't fet his main goal in all this: resg his brother, breaking a few bones of that son-of-a-bitch Red Skull, and spending aire day of fun with the stist who had taken away his pleasure of drinking.

  "Almost, I just need one more thing." Logan frowned but said nothing. He knew he o be patient even if he didn't like it. It would have been easier if he could have had a drink.

  "Hey, I know you're worried about him, but I assure you, we will rescue your brother and make Hydra pay. For now, I need you to follow me." With that, James perked up. He didn't like sitting around doing nothing.

  "What are we going to do?" he asked.

  John seemed to ponder his response for a moment.

  "Recruit someone."

  .

  .

  .

  John had thought too much about this, pting his options until he finally made a decision.

  To kill Sebastian Shaw, he he help of Charles Xavier.

  Of course, he sidered other options, but none seemed entirely reliable. Acc to what he remembered about Shaw, his power focused on abs kiiergy and using it for various purposes.

  urposes? He didn't kly beyond what he remembered from those ses in the movie he saw a long time ago.

  His first idea was to use toxic or sedative gases. Since physical bat was pletely useless, attag in a non-physical way seemed like the ideal option. But, of course, something like that wasn't reliable. James and he were a good example—those with superhuman physical abilities could easily ighe effects of harmful substances.

  He didn't know to what degree Shaw's physical enha extended, but he remembered that Shaw could use the kiiergy he absorbed to improve himself as well as to live a long time and rejuvenate.

  Was there a limit to this ability? John didn't know, and therefore, he couldn't bet that enough mustard gas or simir substances could kill Shaw if he mao catch him off guard.

  He tried to think of differehods and strategies, but no matter how many times he went over it in his mind, the safest option remained Charles Xavier.

  Of course, saying it was easier than doing it. How do you vineone who has lived as a civilian, a rich kid with an easy life, to abandon that life, follow you to Pond, and help you kill someone?

  It was a plicated matter.

  Maybe he could let Charles look into his mind, but John didn't want ating into his head at all. He had been preparing for that too since disc that mutants were a thing.

  He remembered there was someoh simir powers in The Boys, Mindstorm, a telepath capable of looking into people's minds, listening to their thoughts, and searg their memories—all within a radius of three miles or 4.8 kilometers, which was a det range.

  Why remember Mindstorm? Well, there was a se—it was somewhat fusing si was mostly a fshback shown from the perspective of someone who had part of their brain removed.

  But even if it was fusing, the information provided helped John uand the capabilities of the inal Soldier Boy better.

  You see, Mindstorm art of Payback, Soldier Boy's team, the same team that betrayed him and caused him to be captured by the Russians.

  This was important because despite his powers, Mindstorm couldn't do anything to defeat Soldier Boy on his own, even when he used his stro ability.

  Dream Impriso—by looking directly into his target's eyes, Mindstorm could imprison his victim in a psychically induced a, where the prisoner would be forced to relive their most traumatic experiences over and over in an endless loop, a never-ending nightmare created from their own memories.

  Anyone affected could not escape unless Mindstorm voluntarily released them, and if he refused, the victim could do nothing but wait for death—a slow and agonizih.

  So how did Soldier Boy survive? Why did such a powerful ability only serve to disorient him a bit, and the real reason for his defeat was the Novichok nerve agent?

  It had to be uood that all the members of Payback hated the inal Soldier Boy to death. If possible, they would undoubtedly have killed him, but they khey couldn't. Even Mindstorm, a telepath capable of pying with people's minds like it was his pyground, owerless against Soldier Boy on his own.

  John had been thinking about a reason for this for a while, but it was obvious that there was only one logical possibility: the inal Soldier Boy had gained some level of mental resistao psychic powers thanks to pound V.

  Of course, this "ability" wasn't expi all beyond the fact that logically, it should exist.

  It was something that might ht not be there.

  Of course, paring Mindstorm to Charles Xavier would be like paring a firefly to a bonfire, in his opinion, of course.

  The inal Soldier Boy undoubtedly, even if he had some resistance, would still end up uhe influence of Charles Xavier's power.

  It was fortuhen, that it wasn't the inal Soldier Boy who would meet him.

  John er soldier, one enhanced by two serums. Dr. Erskine's serum had elevated all his physical aal capacities to their peak. pound V had taken that and pushed it even further, to a degree that could be sidered supernatural.

  Although John didn't feel as direct a mental enha from pound V as he did from the first serum, he still khat something had ged in his mind. He didn't kly what, but it had.

  "It's good that he's still young," he thought. Taking Raven's age as an example, the Charles Xavier of this world shouldn't yet be an adult.

  He should still be o his powers, inexperiehis was the sed reason John decided to meet him.

  If he was right in his previous dedus, then thanks to the bination of both serums, his ability to resist psychic powers should be far superior to that of the inal Soldier Boy. Coupled with Charles's inexperieh his powers, John was fident that he could maintain his act even against a telepath like him.

  Of course, these were just theories and hypotheses; he would only know the truth wheime came.

  But even if he failed, he had already prepared termeasures.

  "We're here," Raven said, and John snapped out of his thoughts, nodding at her. They exged a ghrough the rearview mirror. They didn't need words; Raven already knew her part in this matter.

  James got out of the car along with John before it started to drive away. They both looked at the grand mansion hundreds of meters away, a long winding path through a rge yard filled with green grass and tall walls separating them from it.

  "So what's the pn?" James asked. John hadn't told him much about his reason for being here beyond needing a hand.

  "Just follow me a me do the talking. I still don't know many things about the person we're here to find. It could be dangerous," John said.

  "How do you know this is the pce?" James couldn't help but ask.

  "Call it a sixth sense." Of course, he couldn't tell him the truth, and even if he could, he wouldn't. After all, James was here to be the "bait."

  If his theory was corred he mao resist the intrusion into his mind, then making Charles trust him would be too difficult.

  That's why he brought James; it was the way to make Charles trust him, his trump card to get him on his side.

  Before entering, he looked up at the sky. Soon, a dark bird appeared, s more than a thousaers high and beginning to circle around the mansion.

  "Let's go," he said, and he vaulted over the tall wall, followed by James. Stealthily, they navigated the pce, avoiding being seen by others.

  John wished this were the 21st tury. With it still being the 40s, teology was too far behind iain areas. For instance, if it were the 21st tury, he could have used the i to uncover everything he could about the Xavier family, in addition to being able to monitor them from afar using spy cameras and satellites.

  Of course, even in this era, there were ways to surveil others, but John didn't use them for a simple reason: he didn't know the extent of Charles's powers.

  John didn't want to make a bad first impression; therefore, he didn't order his men to surveil or iigate the Xavier family, beyond finding out their address, of course. To duct a proper iigation, his men would have to get close to the Xavier family one way or another, and sequently, to Charles.

  If Charles caught them iigating, it could create a misuanding that would make the versation he hoped to have with him tense and more difficult. It could even cause the boy to try to escape if he thought the gover was hunting him or something. Improbable, but John didn't want to take that risk.

  For that reason, he and James ehe family's mansion without knowing anything about the pce or who or hoeople were inside. Of course, the enhanced senses of both made it easy to get an idea ohey started expl the grounds.

  For John, it was simple. Once Charles detected James or him with his powers, the boy would e to them one way or another. So, he didn't o kly where his room was or where he usually spent his time at home.

  Of course, it could also happen that Charles wasn't home, but that was fine. John po wait for him until he arrived if that were the case.

  "Someday I'll have a real espiowork," John thought to himself as they mao reach what seemed to be the kit. Of course, another reason for this situation was that S.W.O.R.D. had only been formed a few days ago. It still cked mufrastructure and many tacts. They had great influence, but to use it, they still ime.

  "So where is he?" James asked, leaning against one of the walls.

  "If he's here, then he'll e to us," John said, taking one of the fruits i, a rather crispy apple.

  “If he’s here? I thought you said we’d find him here,” James questioned doubtfully.

  “Oh, I know he lives here, but I don’t know if he’s here right now. You know, I’m still w on my espiowork,” John said holy, tossing an apple to James.

  “e on, we’ll just have to wait a bit, maybe a few hours.” He said the st part quietly, but James heard it anyway.

  “A few hours!?” James looked at him incredulously. He had expected more... a, not a waiting mission. Sighing, he looked at the apple he had caught and took a bite. At least the food still tasted good.

  John focused on his hearing. There were several sounds; this pce was rge and had a lot of staff. Fortunately, most of them were currently far from the kit, doing other tasks, or so it seemed. His sense of hearing, although better than most people's, wasn't a super radar capable of giving him a 3D vision using echolocation to proje image in his head of his surroundings or anything like that.

  It simply allowed him to hear sounds around him better, and that was all. Maybe if he went blind or did super training blog his vision, he could try to recreate a skill simir to echolocation, but he didn’t know for sure.

  “Someone's ing,” he said, hearing footsteps approag from the upper floor, just one person. James heard it too and straightened up, looking toward the kit door in anticipation.

  “What do we do if it’s not who we’re looking for?” James asked, and John thought before responding.

  “You’re pretty agile, so the best thing is if you knock them out quickly. There aren’t many pces we hide after all.” Both of them were over 1.80 meters tall, John being a bit over 1.90. They were too fit, and it wouldn’t be easy to hide in a kit like the ohey were in, even if it was a rge kit.

  If it wasn’t Charles ing, they’d have no choice but to knock the person out quickly ahem with them for a while, which would, of course, bring many more problems. But well, he’d think about such things wheime came.

  As he thought about this, the footsteps reached the kit door. It began to open, and an unfamiliar face found itself looking directly at John and James.

  There was a momentary silence. John really hadn’t expected his luck to be this bad on this occasion. Sighing to himself, he oward James, who didn’t hesitate and sprang forward. He didn’t use a great deal of force or all his strength; after all, they weren’t here to kill or seriously hurt anyone.

  James's figure reached the door, ready to gently knock out the newer, but before he could do so, a hand was raised in panic. Without even toug him, James's body was thrown back with some force. John blinked as he saw James flying toward him and casually extended his hand, stopping his momentum abruptly to prevent any damage.

  “Well, that was ued,” John said, looking at the light brown-haired girl who was staring at them with clear panic. He had expected a meta-human, but this wasn’t the one he had e to find.

  “Who are you?!” she demanded forcefully but kept her voice low enough not to cause a otion.

  James growled and straightened up, ready to leap again, but John stopped him and raised both hands in a gesture of peace, taking a step forward.

  “Well, I thi off on the wrong foot. We don’t have to make a se, so why don’t we talk calmly?”

  “Calmly? I don’t think so. How about I twist you into pretzels and then find out why you’re here?” The panic was gone, and now John saw a dangerous smile on the girl's face.

  “Wait,” she frowned and looked at him more closely. “Why is Captain Ameri my kit?” she asked, now puzzled.

  It was hard not tnize John. Even without the i, his image had spread widely across the try through neers, posters, pamphlets, and he even appeared on television frequently with news of the war. Not to mention the movies he made.

  “I’m on a mission, an important mission. I came to find someone, Charles Xavier. Do you know him?” John decided to be ho. She was a meta-human, after all. Although he didn’t know who she was, he assumed she was reted to Charles somehow.

  “It’s Charles Francis Xavier, and my dumb brother isn’t here. He went on some stupid tour at Dad’s work or something,” she said with a mog and frustrated tone.

  Brother?

  “Just out of curiosity, what did you say your name was?” John asked, starting to feel a headache ing on.

  She looked at him before smiling fidently and responding.

  “I’m Cassandra Nova Xavier.”

  .

  .

  .

  A few mier.

  The three had left the kit and were now in the living room where Cassandra let them both take a seat while they looked at each other in somewhat tense silence.

  John had been deeply meditating on how screwed his meta-knowledge was now. Who the hell was Cassandra Nova? He had no freaking idea. Wasn't Charles supposed to be an only child?

  He quickly searched his mind, reviewing every memory, even the less pleasant ones, and still couldn't find any information about her. That left two possibilities: either she was something that should or he had fotten to wat X-Men movie and therefore it was impossible for him to have any memories of her. After all, he couldn't remember things he never knew in the first pce.

  Which made sense, because just like with the MCU movies, there were X-Men movies and series he never saw.

  Well, he had already foreseen that relying on his meta-knowledge was increasingly useless, so he could only sigh internally and accept it.

  "What's wrong, Captain? Don't you like tea?" Cassandra asked. She tio look at him with naked curiosity, her eyes a little too expressive. John had to wonder if she was like her brother. Could she read minds? Although he hadn't felt anything toug his thoughts, which could be either good or bad.

  "I'm more of a coffee person," he said and began to think of several unpleasant things in quick succession, paying close attention to the girl's micro-expressions. There was no anger, blush, embarrassment, or disgust, so either she could perfectly trol her emotions and had an incredible poker face, or she wasn't really reading his mind.

  He hoped it was the tter.

  "Very well, to be ho, I'd like to know what you want from Charles. Normally, my annoying brother behaves very well, so only one reason es to mind for why you'd be here," she said, pointing to her head.

  "It seems both of you are aware of your powers," John said openly, deg to stop wasting time being vague about it.

  Cassandra narrowed her eyes upon hearing him.

  “So it's really because of that, but how? her of us has used our powers where anyone else could see us.” She and her brother had always been careful sihey discovered they were different. In fact, this was the first time she used her abilities in front of people other than Charles.

  “Call it a state secret. The point is, I need your brother’s help to save millions of lives, maybe more,” John said, gauging the rea of the girl in front of him.

  “You want him to lobotomize someone?” Cassandra joked, and John smiled in response, making her smile disappear and repce with a puzzled look.

  “Wait, do you really want him to lobotomize someone?”

  “Preferably not,” he said simply, causio look at him thoughtfully.

  “Well, if you want to see him, he should be here soon,” she said, gng at a clo the wall.

  “But there's still some time before that. In the meantime, how about you expihese powers e from?” she said, waving her finger and makieacup float in the air calmly. Then her gaze settled on him, obvious curiosity in her eyes.

  “You assume I know where they e from?” John asked, and she raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Don’t you?” She clearly believed he did. Well, they still had time, so he might as well expin it once more.

  “I like to call us meta-humans.”

  .

  .

  .

  Charles stepped out of the vehicle and thahe driver, bidding him farewell.

  It had been a somewhat hectic day. One would think that being able to read people’s thoughts would make iations easier, but it wasn’t so.

  Knowing that his father’s new business partner enjoyed watg his wife with other men wasly helpful in closing a business deal.

  Fortunately, he was only there to observe, and it was his father who handled everything else.

  He usually didn’t read other people’s thoughts indiscriminately. He believed that vioting people’s priva that rong, but this was the family business and everything his father had worked for all his life. So, he made an exception and took small glimpses at the people his father usually dealt with, taking advantage of the fact that his father had decided he was old enough to learn about the business.

  It had been too exhausting. All kinds of secrets, some worse than others, had been revealed to him. Fortunately, he achieved his goal and was able to find those who sought to harm his family. So, even if he was tired, he also felt quite happy. He walked to the mansiorance, loosening the knot of his tie. His father had stayed to work, but he had e home since he still had to study the day, so he hoped to rest adequately, preferably without his sister interrupting him.

  He greeted the household staff and walked to the living room, stopping abruptly before entering. There was something different. He could sense his sister, but above all, he could sewo other people who felt very different from how ordinary people felt.

  Charles was still getting used to his powers, so he couldn’t precisely identify what the difference was that he noticed.

  Frowning, he approached and opehe door.

  “Well, look who’s here,” Cassandra smiled at him, waving her hand. Their eyes met, and in an instant, everything around them faded away.

  If there was something he and his sister shared, it was an ability to unicate without words. His sister didn’t have the same mind-reading power as he did, but her mind was undoubtedly as strong and unique as his own. Charles couldn’t intrude ohoughts without her allowing it, and even when he did, it was always Cassandra who had trol.

  Charles opened his eyes, looking at the mental ndscape of his sister. As always, her thoughts and memories were distant, hidden behind thick walls he couldn’t pee.

  “What’s happening?” Charles went straight to the point, and his sister came to his side, her hand stretg towards his forehead with her index fiappiween his brows.

  That’s when several memories and pieces of information poured into his brain in an instant.

  Cassandra gave him only what was necessary, and Charles fully uood the situation.

  Captain America had e looking for him, to help save millions of lives, metahumans, the step in evolution.

  In an instant, he knew everything. The mental space faded away, and Charles returo reality, seeing his sister smiling and waving at him. Theuro the side and satain America waving at him as well. Unsciously, his mind tried to reach out to his.

  ...

  John smiled as he saw Charles ehe room, though inside, his nervousness was nearly at its peak. He noticed Charles exge a quice with his sister before turning to look at him with a spark of curiosity in his eyes. Then he felt something brushing against his mind.

  Describing the sensation would be difficult; the closest might be that feeling when you sense someone is watg you but 't see them, yet at the same time, it was different.

  Instinctively, his mind tried to reject this anomaly. It was very strange, but he felt his thoughts "close off," so to speak. He frowned slightly, feeling Charles's power recede.

  Had he do?

  ...

  For his part, Charles was incredibly surprised. When his power tried to delve into the mind of the man in front of him, somethiraordinary and unlike anything he had felt before happened.

  He was rejected, not violently or anything like that. It was simply as if he had hit an invisible wall, a resistance he hadn't felt before—a mind very different from that of any human.

  He didn't try to force his way iill didn't have enough trol over his powers nor the necessary knowledge to know if f his power on others could be dangerous, and he didn't want to hurt the man he, in a sense, admired.

  “Iing. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Charles.” John stood up aended his hand. Charles nodded somewhat awkwardly, still puzzled by the situation.

  “And it’s an honor to meet you too, Captain.” Then he looked at James.

  “This is James,” John quickly introduced them, and soon the four of them were sitting, looking at each other.

  “If what I know about you is correct, you probably already know what I told your sister,” John said tentatively.

  "Yes, it's... incredibly iing. Metahumans, so that's what we are. I hadn't thought of something like that before." Charles was still young and hadn't yet ventured into the field of geic studies, so he hadn't sidered that his powers might e from there. It was very exg to discover the truth, and it made him wonder what other things could be hidden in human DNA. Without John knowing, he had sparked the curiosity that would lead Charles to bee an expert in the field of gei the future.

  "Apart from that, I have many questions. I know I was very careful, that we were very careful in hiding our powers. How did you find out about us?" Charles khe answer John had given his sister before, but he couldn't help thinking there was more to it.

  John smiled and tapped the side of his head with his index finger.

  "I thought you'd already know." Obviously, this was an act; he couldn't reveal to Charles that he hoped he couldn't read his mind.

  Charles frowned before speaking.

  "I 't. I 't read your thoughts," he finally admitted, a bit embarrassed. This made Cassandra, who had been watg everything with amusement, lose her smile and look at Charles in astonishment before turning back to John.

  James frowned upon hearing this information and spoke, fused.

  "Read his thoughts?" In respoo the question, John replied.

  "Our friend here is a telepath." Then he frowned and looked at Charles with puzzlement.

  "You 't read my mind? That's... ued."

  "You expected me to?" Charles asked, puzzled. Normally, people would hate knowing someone could read their mind.

  "It would certainly save us the versation. This makes things more plicated," John said, rubbing his thoughtfully.

  Then he looked at James.

  "I need a favor," he said, causing James to frown deeply, already seeing where this was going.

  "I won't let this kid into my head," James said, pointing at Charles.

  John sighed and looked at Charles.

  "Are you sure you 't read anything? How about trying again?"

  Charles shook his head.

  "Your mind is strange, unlike anything I've felt before. If I try to force it, I fear an act could happen. At best, nothing happens; at worst, I could destroy your mind. I... wouldn't risk it," Charles said holy.

  "Well, I expihing in words, though it will take more time," John said, hiding a smile inside.

  Upon hearing this, James sighed, knowing that if he didn't want to waste more time in useless talks, he would have to give in a bit here.

  He looked at Charles and poi him, warning severely.

  "If you see something you shouldn't, I'll cut you to pieces." Then he ched his fist, and his three cws shot out, the white bone almost gleaming like metal.

  Charles and Cassandra looked at James's hand with more ihan fear. Charles then nodded and spoke solemnly.

  "I know privacy is important, and I really don't enjoy delving where I'm not wanted. I promise not to look at anything I shouldn't."

  "If you need help, maybe you should focus on what we're dealing with: the war, Hydra, your brother," John said, pointing the way.

  James nodded and sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them and looking at Charles.

  "Do it."

  Thehi dark.

  .

  .

  .

  Charles entered James's mind and looked in horror at the images presented before him.

  War, death, suffering.

  For a young man like him, witnessing for the first time what war meant made him falter.

  He saw everything James went through with his brother as a soldier during the Sed World War—the missions they uook, the people they killed, as well as those James saved.

  The images fshed rapidly until the se ged. Now they were in Austria, at a German base unlike any other. Charles almost felt the same as James when hit by one of those ons that fired blue energy rays. Flesh turning to ash, rades dying, unchecked rage.

  He and his brhting, fighting until they were the st oanding.

  Seeing the strange ons, realizing that thousands or more would die if something like this were deployed on a rge scale, ving Victor to track the source, following the trails, finding the main base.

  Fighting against the Red Skull.

  Losing.

  Charles almost experienced firsthand what James did, almost felt his blood beiracted from his body drop by drop.

  The worst part was feeling his skull being opened and pieces of it cut away to i something that shouldn't be there.

  How his body stopped being his own, how he became nothing more than a beast at the mercy of someone else's orders.

  How John fought against him and saved him along with all the other prisoners at the base.

  His iion to save his brother, Hydra's possible pn to create more super soldiers, deg to follow John and join him to stop all this.

  The creation of SWORD, their steps.

  Everything John told James and shared with the man.

  “Argh!” Charles groaned and held his head, almost falling to his knees.

  “Charles!” Cassandra was immediately by his side, her hands taking her brother's face with but also immense curiosity.

  “Show me!” she demanded, but Charles refused.

  “N-No!”

  For his part, James also panted, he himself relived every memain, causing his eyes to redden and his cws to shoot out. John had to put a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from lunging.

  Ohat was done, John quickly reached Charles's side and easily pulled his sister away from him.

  "I know you want to know, but first, let's let him calm down." She frowned upon hearing him but nodded, notig that she couldn't break free from his grip on her shoulder, so she stepped back.

  Charles took a deep breath, processing the information; it was the first time he had seen so deeply into another person's mind, after all.

  "I-I uand, I get it." Charles had seen it, what Hydra represehe threat that o be stopped, and he felt he now knew why John had approached him.

  Charles had never uood why such extraordinary gifts had beeowed upon him, but now he believed he khis world was tile; it needed people like him, like Captain America, like James, to stop those who sought to destroy it.

  "I'll help you," he said seriously, looking at John.

  Secretly, John ched his fist, success! But outwardly, he nodded with a grateful look.

  .

  .

  .

  After a while, Charles mao calm down, and James began looting the mansion's wine vault.

  Charles simply gave him the key ahe man drink all he wanted; it didn't matter if he fi all, Charles was fih it. They didn't worry about any of the wetting in James's way, as Cassandra had made sure everyoo rest for the day.

  "I didn't expect to have to join the war, I haven't even turned 17," Charles said, looking at his hands with deep thoughts.

  John, beside him, patted his shoulder.

  "I know pg such responsibility on your shoulders is too much, but don't worry, I'll carry all the weight. You don't have to wield a on; your strength doesn't lie in directly fighting Hydra's army." Charles shook his head at this.

  "No, if I just sit back while everyone else fights, it wouldn't be any different from doing nothing. I've seen what happens out there, and I 't just stand by like that."

  it seemed that living James's experiences firsthand had truly affected him.

  "I know you want to make a difference, but you o think it over with a clear mind. For now, rest. You know where the SWORD headquarters is; I'll be waiting for you, and if you decide to ge your mind, I won't judge you." With that, Joh him to rest and began walking toward where James should be.

  He saw Cassandra leaning against a wall in the hallway outside the room, as if she had been waiting.

  "So he decided to leave; I always thought I'd be the first to leave the house."

  "He still ge his mind. I'll never foryoo fight in this war," John said, making her narrow her eyes at him.

  "You know, you're different from what I expected, much less pretentious. If Charles really goes with you, I think he'll be in good hands." Although barely perceptible, John could see genuine in her eyes.

  "If you're worried about his well-being, why don't you e along too?" This seemed to take her by surprise a bit.

  "I thought you came just for him," she tried to say calmly, but John could see some rese at the end of her words. It seemed there were some family flicts, huh.

  "Initially, yes, but I found you first. I haven't seen much of what you do yet, but I think there's a lot of potential in you, and it would be really foolish not to want you by my side." Although John hadn't known of her existence before, the mere fact that she was Charles's sister made him think that her potential was undoubtedly not insignifit.

  Cassandra looked at him silently for a moment; it was hard to read her, although she was excessively expressive from time to time.

  "I heard there were rumors about you; no one really believes them since you're a national hero and all that, but now I certainly think they're real."

  Rumors?

  "Uh, what do the gossips say about me?" John couldn't help but ask curiously.

  "That you're a womanizer who slept with ten women at the same time. They also say you seduce young girls and take them with you, only to discard them when you get bored."

  Uh, the first part was true, but where oh did the sed one e from?

  "In the first pce, it wasn't ten; it was fifteen, all dancers. Sedly, I have no idea where the other rumor came from..." Wait... thinking about it.

  Maybe it was Raven's fault?

  "Fifteen?" Cassandra blinked, bewildered; she hadn't expected John to admit it so casually.

  John simply shrugged. Normally, he wouldn't say or admit such things, but they weren't in publid Cassandra didn't seem like someone who would go around spreading such stories, especially since her brother ractically w for him now.

  At the same time, as she had said, at this point, no one believed the bad rumors about him, and even if they were true, people would still deny they were real.

  John just o be "The Hero" in the eyes of the general public.

  From the beginning, he knew he couldn't pletely hide his true self from those who would work closely with him, so it was better to let something slip occasionally to build trust.

  "Putting that aside, you've got my offer. If you want to join me, you , and if you decide not to, that's fine; I won't judge you for it."

  Even though he said that, he would certainly be quite disappointed if she chose not to.

  Cassandra snapped out of her fusion and smiled at him.

  "How kind of you, Captain, but I don't o think too much about it; I'll join you." Even if she didn't yet know everything her brother knew, Cassandra felt that this was something she couldn't pass up. Besides, she was getting tired of just staying at home for stupid etiquette lessons.

  She felt she could do more, much more, and this was a great opportunity to prove it.

  Much better than waiting for her father to find her a suitor; just thinking about it made her nauseous. There was Charles, starting to prepare to pursue his studies at a prestigious uy and i the family business along with all their father's fortune, while she was relegated to the background.

  She wouldn't i anything, she k. She had reviewed her father's dots without his knowledge. The man had actually been pnning to marry her off to one of the sons of the most successful businessmen iy.

  It was disgusting; she wasn't a bargaining chip for making business deals. She had already po leave the family home, and this was simply the best opportunity that could have e her way.

  Even if Charles chied out and decided to stay, she would leave.

  Hearing the certainty in her voice, John raised an eyebrow, but he didn't argue further and gave her the address of the temporary SWORD headquarters. Whether she would actually arrive or not, he would find out the day.

  For now, he o pick up James and prevent him from drinking all the wine in the mansion.

  .

  .

  .

  Note:

  6500 words! It's like two chapters in one, haha.

  inally, only Charles was going to be involved in this, but after watg Deadpool and Wolverine, I must say I really liked the character of Cassandra Nova and wao include her. I still don't kly how I'll handle her character, as I'm basing her entirely on the MCU's Cassandra Nova. I won't touch the ic version even with a ten-foot pole, thanks.

  Of course, there are many differences between the Cassandra Nova from Deadpool and Wolverine and this one, mainly that here her powers awakened around adolesd not when she was a fetus trying to kill her brother (which I find way too exaggerated, haha).

  Also, she grew up with Charles oh and not in the multiversal dump of the TVA, so she won't be as crazy.

  That being said, it won't be long before we go back to war and with it pond... things will certainly be iing then.

  For those w, both Charles and Cassandra are still o their abilities and pletely unaware of their full extent. For example, here Cassandra still doesn't know that she also read minds by "stig her fingers into people's brains."

  For now, she thinks her main power is telekinesis (which is not yet at the level of her MCU version, as I mentioned before, she's still o her powers and it will be a while before she mao gain full trol over them)

  With all that speech ed up, I’d like to thank you for all the suppiven so far. If everything goes well, soon the public updates for Supersoldier and Still Defiant will increase to two chapters per week each, with Sunday and Monday being the most likely days, although that could vary depending on various circumstances.

  Of course, if you want to look beyond that, you visit my Patreon, where you’ll find some extra chapters a one or another additional be. (patreon.maCruzader) I deeply appreciate all the support! ;D

  P.S. My birthday is ing up! (This August 30th) I don’t know if I’ll do anything special besides buying myself an individual cake and blowing out a dle as a celebration. I’m mentioning it because I might be somewhat absent that day (which falls on a Friday), although that shouldn’t really affect things too muow that I think about it. Oh well, giving a heads-up never hurts, right?