Marvelous Martial Arts (A Marvel Story)

Audrey had not told anyone other than Professor Xavier who exactly her brother was. Actually, it was not her who had said it, but her parents, when Professor Xavier had visited alongside Professor Storm.

For everyone else, Audrey had elected not to say it because she did not want people treating her differently because of who her brother was. Because Audrey, like every other mutant at the school, was deeply aware of how mutants had suddenly returned, or rather, who had caused it.

It had taken a couple of months before Audrey knew for sure she had been accepted at the school for her own merit, and not simply because she was Mason’s sister. Fortunately for her, Mason was now mainly known as the Honored One, whatever that name meant, instead of his actual name, so no one had made the connection between their names. Not that she knew of, at least. Most people did not even know that the Honored One, Solis, and Mason Tunt were the same person.

Once everyone had finished their laps around the castle, Professor Logan put them all into pairs to practice together, as usual, and Audrey naturally paired with Kitty.

And as usual, Audrey ate dirt.

She tried to take Kitty by surprise, but her friend evaded her lunge with insulting ease, before tripping her. Audrey tried to get up, but Kitty pinned her knee on her back, grinning, ”I win.”

Audrey grumbled as Kitty helped her up, having already expected this result. Kitty was part of the mutants who experienced the Time-slip, so she had been a student for several years already, training under Professor Logan. She was the best in their class. It made the defeat easier to swallow.

Unfortunately, they had to change partners several times each session. The next few she got were several degrees weaker than Kitty, but Audrey was not great herself. She was getting better, but she obviously did not have her brother’s talent for martial arts.

Until, finally, came the final opponent. Alison.

The older girl looked at Audrey’s mud-covered body with a sharp grin, flicking her longer blond hair as she jeered, ”You look like you’re in your element.”

Audrey gritted her teeth, and the moment Professor Logan started this last bout with a shout, Audrey leaped at Alison, in a similar manner to what she had done with Kitty before.

Alison kept grinning, preparing to make a swift takedown, when Audrey suddenly dived, tackling Alison’s legs and locking her own against Alison’s waist. Audrey might not be the best at martial arts, but she had learned a little. Unfortunately, she was best at grappling, which she hated, and it was not even compatible with her power.

Alison tried to get out of the leg lock, but Audrey’s grip was like an iron vice, using Alison’s own body against her. A grown man would have certainly managed to get out of it, but Alison was only a couple of years older than Audrey.

Just as Audrey was feeling proud about the takedown, though, Alison did not tap, but instead growled and released a blinding light right into Audrey’s eyes.

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Audrey let go of Alison with a surprised yelp, before the shock turned into rage. And under her vivid emotions, her power awakened.

She should have known that using her power was not the correct response, but she was too angry to care as her vision instantly came back, and a golden aura was emitted from her body. Her blond hair started rising, though thankfully not high enough to make her look like a complete Super Saiyan, and what appeared to be golden electrical energy flickered around her.

Audrey felt unbelievable power course through her veins, power so strong it made her feel like she could do anything she wanted. And right now, she was pissed at Alison.

The other girl was staring at her with wide eyes, stumbling back as best she could. She had barely had the time to regret her impulsive use of her powers when that golden aura exploded out of Audrey. But what scared Alison more than anything was not that aura, but those beams she had seen Audrey fire during Professor Grey’s classes.

While the golden aura intensified and Audrey stared at the fallen Alison, enjoying seeing her groveling, a large figure suddenly appeared in front of her. Professor Logan.

Professor Logan was a stern man who ran his classes quite similarly to a military camp, so Audrey would have expected him to lash out angrily. Instead, he looked at her with understanding, calmly saying, ”Audrey, that’s enough.”

Only now did Audrey realize that because of their extreme proximity, her golden aura was burning through Professor Logan’s shirt, blistering the flesh beneath.

Her aura instantly disappeared as she yelped, ”Professor Logan! Are you alright?!”

Logan grunted, and his chest regenerated in seconds as he addressed the class. ”Class is finished, go change.” he sent a look at Alison, who looked down in shame. ”Blaire, I want you to go to Professor Munroe’s office and explain what you did.”

He looked back at Audrey, adding, ”You stay here, Tunt.”

Audrey stilled and gulped as she watched the others leave. Kitty gave her a silent ‘good luck’ before leaving.

Once they were alone, Audrey did not wait for Professor Logan to speak, taking the initiative instead, ”I’m sorry, Professor Logan. Sorry for responding stupidly, and sorry for hurting you.”

Logan was actually amused by that, snorting, ”You’d have to do a lot more than this to hurt me. But first, are you alright?”

Audrey nodded slowly, not having expected this kind of reaction. Logan easily saw through her, and it amused him a little as he added, ”Relax, I’m not like Jean or that stuck-up Scott. You were defending yourself.”

Audrey still felt unsure of how to react, this time because of the strangeness it was to have one’s teachers called by their first name. Professor Logan certainly had earned that right, but it remained no less weird for Audrey. And most of all, this was not the first fight she had gotten in, but this was certainly the first time a teacher had approved.

And strangely enough, that did not encourage her. Instead, after a couple of seconds, she realized that what she was feeling was shame. Lowering her head, she mumbled, ”I know I shouldn’t have used my powers. It’s just that Alison is such a b-” She stopped there, almost blurting out the insult.

Logan laughed, ”I’ve heard far worse, but you really shouldn’t call your classmates that. You are supposed to be friends, and teammates later on. What’s so bad that got you two so cross?”

Audrey blushed as she knew perfectly well where and when their arguments had started, but having to explain it to an adult, a teacher no less, made her feel embarrassed. After a moment, she steeled herself and revealed, ”It’s- it’s a conflict of interest. Our powers, they share some similarities. She is a singer, and I make videos. And… and we argued about being a spokesperson for mutants. About who should represent the X-Men on the entertainment scene.”

Logan blinked, clearly lost for a moment, and Audrey quickly added, her blush intensifying, ”I know it’s stupid, and it would be so much simpler to work together, but she’s such a bitch!”

Logan did not laugh this time, nor did he reprimand her. He simply said, ”Blaire’s power is to absorb and convert sound, usually into light, so a music career makes sense. As for you, Fame Empowerment makes you stronger the more famous you are. It would not just be simpler to work together, it would probably help you both. And if you don’t do it, you willingly limit yourselves, because you had an argument?”

”It’s not just an argument. I hate her, and she hates me!”

”And what do you know of hate?”