Andy Strucker POV
I was back at the school not long after the attack. The sun had already set, and exhaustion was starting to catch up with me. Still, I found myself sitting in the professor's office with the others.
Well, everyone except Lauren.
For some reason, she wasn't here.
"Hey, Kitty, where's Lauren?" I asked.
"Oh, she's still in our room," Kitty replied.
"Really? Why?" I asked, confused.
Kitty shrugged. "I honestly don't know. As soon as she got back, she went through her things and pulled out this wooden box filled with notes. She's been looking through them for hours. Every time I glanced over, she was either smiling or blushing."
"Oh," I said, immediately understanding, "I'm surprised she managed to hold onto them all this time," I added quietly.
It had to be the poems Franklin used to leave in her locker.
I still remember how happy she'd been when she found the first one. She'd absolutely loved it. As a matter of fact, she loved every single poem that mysteriously appeared in her locker over the weeks. When they suddenly stopped coming, she'd actually seemed disappointed.
Honestly, if Franklin had just put his name on that first poem, the two of them probably would've hit it off.
Too bad things had worked out differently.
Now, Franklin was dating both Yolanda and Ava. The guy was somehow managing two girlfriends already. There was no way he could pull off a third, and I had no idea whether Lauren would even be comfortable with that kind of relationship in the first place.
"Andy."
The professor's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
I blinked and looked up to find him watching me with a concerned expression.
"Is everything all right?" he asked gently.
"Professor, it's nothing to worry about," I said.
"All right, then," the Professor replied. "Can you explain exactly what happened at the mall today?"
I took a deep breath and began recounting everything that had happened.
I told them how Magneto had confronted me, and left me with no other options, I had to reveal to Franklin that I was a superhero and a mutant, basically exposing us. I also made sure to tell them something important: Franklin hadn't cared that I was a mutant.
Even while the Brotherhood was chasing us, he'd refused to leave me behind.
I literally had to convince him to run.
By the time I finished, the room had fallen silent.
Everyone wore a different expression.
The Professor looked thoughtful.
Scott looked exactly as worried as I expected him to. The fact that a human now knew so much about us clearly wasn't sitting well with him.
The others seemed more interested in Franklin than anything else.
But Wolverine...
Wolverine was staring at the floor, deep in thought.
"Andy," he suddenly said, looking up. "You mentioned Franklin's grandpa is named Max?"
"Yeah," I answered, confused. "Why?"
Wolverine leaned forward slightly.
"What's his full name?"
Now I was really confused.
What did Grandpa Max have to do with any of this?
Still, I answered.
"Maxwell Fenix."
The moment the words left my mouth, Wolverine froze.
For several seconds, he didn't say a thing.
Then, completely out of nowhere, he burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!"
The entire room stared at him.
"Okay, now I'm freaked out," Kitty said, scooting back in her chair.
"Ditto," Rogue added.
"So that Maniac is still kicking?" Wolverine finally stopped laughing and shook his head. "And here I thought only me and Cap were left from the Howling Commandos."
"What? Wait a minute." I stared at him in surprise. "You know Grandpa Max?"
"Of course, I know that old maniac," Wolverine said with a grin. "He used to be part of the Howling Commandos. Best soldier on the team."
"You mean besides you and Captain America, right?" Jean asked skeptically.
"Nope," Logan replied, popping the 'p' like it was the most normal thing in the world.
The room went silent.
Wolverine was arguably one of the toughest mutants on the planet. He'd lived for well over a century, mastered countless fighting styles, and his adamantium claws and healing factor made him a nightmare on the battlefield.
Then there was Captain America, the world's first super soldier. The man had fought Nazis, killer robots, evil scientists, and more than a few wizards back in the day, if Logan's stories were to be believed.
And yet Logan had just casually stated that Grandpa Max, a completely normal human, had been the best soldier in their unit.
Safe to say, everyone in the room was stunned.
Even Professor X looked surprised.
Wolverine saw the looks on our faces and, apparently realizing he was about to get bombarded with questions, decided to answer them before anyone could speak.
"Maxwell Fenix," Wolverine began, leaning back in his chair, "and I fought together during World War II. We served in the Howling Commandos alongside Captain America. And let me tell you something, that man was by far the craziest soldier in the entire unit."
He let out a short laugh.
"But he was also the best."
Every eye in the room was locked on him now.
"He could use just about any weapon you put in his hands, but his favorite was a double-sided battle axe." Logan shook his head as if he still couldn't believe it. "I've seen him carve through entire squads of Nazi soldiers with that thing. Hell, I even watched him block bullets with it a few times."
Our eyes somehow widened even further.
"And the scary part? Even when he got shot, it usually didn't matter. The guy's muscles were so freakishly dense that most bullets never hit anything important. I saw him walk away from wounds that would've put normal soldiers in the ground."
Wolverine paused before adding, "One time, a grenade went off close enough to send a dozen men flying. Max got thrown through a wall, stood back up, picked up his axe, and kept fighting as if nothing had happened."
The room was completely silent.
"As for his strength?" Logan whistled. "It wasn't quite Super-Soldier level, but it was damn close. I once saw him chop the barrel clean off a Nazi tank. Ruined his axe in the process, had to get a new one afterward, but the cut was so clean you'd think it had been done by a machine."
Nobody said a word for several seconds.
Finally, Kurt broke the silence.
"Is he even human?" he asked.
Honestly, after hearing all that, it was a fair question.
Because what Wolverine was describing didn't sound like a normal human at all.
I'd seen Grandpa Max plenty of times. Sure, he was built like a tank even in his old age, and I could tell he'd been a lot more muscular in his younger days, but he was also one of the kindest people I knew. The guy was always cracking jokes, giving advice, or sneaking extra desserts when my parents weren't looking.
The man Wolverine was describing sounded like an entirely different person.
Wolverine looked over at Kurt and shrugged.
"That's actually a pretty common reaction," he said. "A lot of the Howling Commandos thought he was a mutant like me. But he wasn't. Never was."
Logan smirked.
"Maxwell Fenix is one hundred percent human."
He paused.
"He's just a monster of one."
The room somehow got even quieter.
"Hell, I remember the last time we got into a fight." Wolverine chuckled at the memory. "Three seconds. That's how long it took him to knock me flat on my ass."
Every jaw in the room nearly hit the floor.
"Three seconds?" Jean repeated.
"Three seconds," Logan confirmed proudly, as if getting beaten up by Grandpa Max was somehow an achievement.
At this point, I wasn't sure what was more shocking: the fact that Grandpa Max had apparently been some legendary one-man army during World War II, or the fact that Wolverine seemed genuinely happy about losing to him.
"Okay, we're going to have to put a pin in that for a second," Scott said, sounding just as stunned as the rest of us but trying desperately to drag the conversation back on track. "What are we going to do about Magneto? He's after Andy and Lauren."
That immediately brought everyone back to reality.
Right.
Magneto.
I'd gotten so caught up listening to stories about Grandpa Max apparently being a human wrecking ball that I'd almost forgotten we had a mutant terrorist hunting me. That's usually the kind of thing that's hard to forget.
"Maybe," Professor X said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean, maybe?" Scott asked.
Charles folded his hands in his lap. "Because of Omni's actions, I believe Erik may reconsider pursuing Andy and Lauren. From everything I've observed, Omni made quite an impression on him."
A few people snorted at that understatement.
"However," Professor X continued, "I would rather not rely on hope alone. Until we're certain Magneto has abandoned his interest in the two of you, I would like Andy and Lauren to remain here at the school for the next few months. It will be the safest place for you."
I immediately wanted to reject the idea.
The thought of being stuck at the school for months wasn't exactly appealing.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized Professor X had a point.
Magneto might decide to come after me again while I was out in public. If that happened, innocent people could get caught in the crossfire. Worse, he could target my friends.
Franklin.
The others.
Just imagining them getting hurt because of me made my stomach twist.
I let out a long sigh.
"Okay," I finally said. "I'll stay."
Professor X gave me a small, approving smile.
"You'll still be able to contact your friends," he assured us. "Phone calls, texts, video chats, there's no reason to cut yourselves off from the outside world."
That made the situation a little easier to accept.
After a few more minutes of discussion, Professor X dismissed the meeting.
One by one, everyone got up from their seats and headed toward their rooms.
As we walked out, my mind wasn't on Magneto anymore.
It was on Grandpa Max.
Apparently, sometime during World War II, Franklin's grandfather had been a one-man army who beat up Wolverine, fought Nazis with a giant axe, and was considered the best soldier in a unit that included Captain America.
Honestly, I wasn't sure which was crazier, the fact that it was true or the fact that Grandpa Max never thought to mention it.
The Next Day
Franklin's POV
I was sitting in my base beneath the common room, watching the morning news, and honestly, things weren't looking great for me.
Almost every major news station was showing footage of me and the others helping the Brotherhood fight the Sentinels. Out of context, it looked really bad.
To a lot of people, it seemed like I was working with Magneto.
Luckily, the internet was doing me a few favors for once.
Most of the videos being shared online included the full footage and audio. People could clearly hear me explaining why I refused to hand Magneto over to the Sentinels. It wasn't because I supported him, it was because I didn't trust giant murder robots to decide who lived and who died.
That distinction was saving me from a complete public relations disaster.
The fact that I had cured cancer was helping too.
A surprising number of people were willing to give me the benefit of the doubt. Instead of immediately assuming the worst, they wanted an explanation. Some commentators were even calling for me to make a public statement and explain my actions.
Honestly?
I kind of wanted to.
Not only would it help clear my name, but it would also give me a chance to expose the Sentinels for what they really were. If I played my cards right, I might be able to shift public opinion against the Sentinel program entirely.
I leaned back in my chair and thought it over.
Actually...
Tony could probably help with that.
I was meeting with him in a few minutes anyway. If anyone could set up a press conference on short notice, it was Tony Stark.
The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.
Instead of letting the media tell my story for me, I could tell it myself.
And if there was one thing I'd learned over the months, it was that letting other people control the narrative was usually a terrible idea.
As I was thinking, I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard someone call my name.
"Franklin."
I turned around and saw Yolanda, Ava, Cindy, Courtney, and Kamala standing behind me.
The first thing I noticed was Kamala.
She looked incredibly nervous, and her face was so red I was honestly a little concerned.
"Kamala, are you okay?" I asked. "Your face is crazy red."
"Oh, yes! I'm completely fine. Totally fine. Never better!" she replied way too quickly.
I raised an eyebrow.
The only response I got was Kamala immediately ducking behind Courtney like she was trying to hide from me.
...Okay.
That wasn't suspicious at all.
"So, what do you guys need?" I asked.
Almost all of them looked nervous.
Almost.
Yolanda looked completely calm.
In fact, she stepped forward and looked me directly in the eyes.
"You might have three new girlfriends," she said bluntly. "Depends on how you feel."
I blinked.
My brain completely stopped working.
"...Say what now?"
Behind Yolanda, Courtney's face turned bright red, Cindy suddenly found the floor fascinating, and Kamala looked like she was one second away from passing out.
Yolanda smirked for a moment before composing herself.
"To put it simply," she said, "Courtney, Cindy, and Kamala like you. Ava and I already talked with them about it, and Ava's okay with it if you are. We're not trying to pressure you into anything, though."
She crossed her arms.
"This is entirely your decision. If you want to date them too, we're open to it. If you don't, that's fine. Nobody's going to be upset."
The room went completely silent.
I just stared at her.
Then I looked at Courtney.
Then Cindy.
Then Kamala, who immediately squeaked and hid even further behind Courtney.
My brain was way too fried for me to even say a single word.
Yolanda continued, "We know this is a lot to take in, so we all agreed to give you some time to process everything and make your decision. You don't have to rush. And if you don't want any more girlfriends, we talked about it, and they all agreed they'd be okay with that."
I stayed quiet, my face frozen in shock. I never would have imagined in a million years that my girlfriends would actually be okay with me having even more girlfriends.
And when the hell did Kamala develop a crush on me?
I've known her almost as long as Ava and Yolanda. When did that even start? More importantly, how did I not notice? At this point, I'm never beating those dense allegations.
"Okay, I can see you're having some kind of internal monologue right now, so we're just going to leave. By the way, it's almost time for your meeting with Tony," Ava said.
I quickly looked at my watch, and she was right.
Without wasting another second, I activated the Omnitrix and slammed the dial down. Green light flashed around me as I transformed into a fusion of Big Chill and Fasttrack. I called this form Fast Chill.
Image here
Without saying a word, I spread my wings and shot out of the building. I phased straight through the walls and rocketed into the sky at incredible speed.
It took me only about two minutes to reach Tony Tower.
When I arrived, I landed on the top-floor balcony, folded my wings, and transformed back into my human form. With my armor already activated around me, I headed inside to meet Tony.
Part of my mind was still stuck on the whole girlfriend situation, so I completely failed to notice that someone was sitting on the couch.
"Hello, Omni."
I jumped slightly and turned toward the voice. To my surprise, it was Fury.
Of course, it was Fury.
And, unfortunately for me, Fury was also my uncle.
Great. Just what I needed right now.
"Director Fury. I didn't expect to see you here. Am I interrupting something?" I asked.
"No. Actually, I wanted to talk to you."
I let out a sigh.
"I see. So Tony basically set me up," I said. "He's going to pay for that later."
I muttered the last part under my breath.
Judging by the slight twitch at the corner of Fury's mouth, he definitely heard me. Fortunately, he decided to ignore it.