A few days later
Charles and his team had gathered quite an impressive group of individuals, each possessing unique abilities.
Since this was their first meeting, everyone was naturally curious about each other's powers. For most of them, this was the first time they'd encountered so many others with special abilities.
They sat in the center of the room, studying one another with undisguised interest.
"We should come up with codenames," the blonde woman named Raven announced suddenly. "We're government agents now, after all. I want to be called Mystique!"
It was obvious she'd been thinking about this for some time.
Before she'd even finished speaking, a young man with a distinctly hippie appearance piped up from across the room, "Hey, I wanted to be called Mystique too!"
Raven wasn't about to surrender her chosen name. She raised an eyebrow mischievously and, in an instant, transformed into an exact duplicate of the young man.
"Sorry, Sean," she laughed in his voice. "This codename is already taken."
Gasps erupted around the room as everyone witnessed Raven's transformation. She now looked exactly like Sean's twin brother—the resemblance was uncanny.
Her demonstration earned enthusiastic applause. None of them had ever seen someone who could perfectly mimic another person's appearance.
Watching Raven's performance, Marcus nudged Logan, who was puffing on his cigar beside him.
"The girl's got talent," Marcus grinned.
Hearing Marcus's comment, Logan merely rolled his eyes. Despite her impressive abilities, he remained unmoved.
Next up was an African American man named Darwin.
When asked what codename he would choose, Darwin smiled and shrugged. "Actually, my real name is Armando. Darwin's just a nickname—it means 'survival of the fittest.'"
With that, he walked over to the fish tank in the corner and submerged his head in the water.
The moment his face went under, gill-like structures formed along the sides of his neck. He demonstrated vividly his ability to adapt to any environment or situation.
"Now that's an impressive power," Marcus whistled appreciatively. Darwin's ability was truly remarkable. Just as the name suggested—only the fittest survive. His combat potential might be limited, but his survival capabilities were unmatched.
"Thanks," Darwin replied after pulling his now-normal head from the water. "But what about you two? What can you do?"
He wasn't the only curious one. Everyone was wondering about Marcus and Logan. Unlike the others, both men were dressed like hardened soldiers, and there was nothing visibly unusual about them.
Seeing their curiosity, Marcus smiled slyly—and in the next instant, he completely vanished from sight.
As everyone looked around in confusion, Raven suddenly let out a startled yelp.
"You're behind me!" She could feel a hand resting on her shoulder.
Marcus materialized at that exact moment, drawing surprised exclamations from the group.
"Now try using your abilities," he challenged.
Following his suggestion, Raven immediately attempted to transform into Marcus, but despite her concentration, nothing happened. It was as if her shapeshifting power had simply vanished.
"Why aren't you changing?" asked a young man named Alex, who was watching Raven intently. No matter how long he stared, her appearance remained fixed.
"My... my power... it's not working," Raven stared at Marcus in disbelief. She'd never experienced her mutation failing her before.
The others were equally shocked. None of them had encountered someone who could neutralize their abilities. Marcus could actually suppress their powers!
Observing their stunned expressions, Marcus lifted his hand from Raven's shoulder.
"Try again now," he suggested.
Raven concentrated once more, and this time she felt no resistance. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a perfect copy of Marcus.
"My ability is somewhat unique," Marcus explained. "Besides invisibility, I can also suppress any power. That's what happened to Raven—her ability was temporarily nullified by mine."
Marcus didn't fully elaborate on his powers; he merely sketched the basic characteristics of what he called "the void."
But even this limited explanation was enough to astonish everyone. Their expressions ranged from shock to fascination, and a Latina woman stepped forward eagerly.
"Would you try it on me?" she asked. "I want to know how it feels."
Marcus was happy to oblige. He was curious to see if her reaction would match what he'd seen in the movies.
He placed his hand on her shoulder, and the void power immediately spread throughout her body.
Though she'd braced herself, she still gasped when she felt the strange sensation take hold.
Her codename was Angel—a name that represented freedom and flight.
Her power matched her name perfectly. What appeared to be a tattoo on her back wasn't merely decorative; it was actually a pair of wings—delicate and transparent like a dragonfly's.
Normally, she could transform the tattoo back into functional wings and soar freely through the air.
But now, with Marcus's hand on her shoulder, her ability remained dormant. The wings stayed fixed as ink on her skin, showing no signs of movement.
After witnessing Marcus's demonstration, everyone's attention shifted to Logan, who had been silently smoking his cigar the entire time.
Since meeting him, they'd barely heard him speak more than a few words. His gaze always carried a certain condescension, as if he were looking at children.
"Logan, what about you?" someone finally asked. "What can you do?"
Under their expectant stares, Logan calmly set down his cigar and exhaled a perfect smoke ring.
Then, he clenched his right fist, and three pale bone claws slowly extended from between his knuckles.
The room fell silent for a heartbeat, followed by an explosion of excitement.
"That's so cool!"
They were all amazed by Logan's mutation. Even though they were only bone claws, what young person hadn't fantasized about what a real werewolf might look like?
While Logan wasn't actually a werewolf, his bone claws perfectly matched their imaginations. His entire demeanor—fierce, wild, and untamed—only reinforced the comparison.
"Who's next?" Raven asked, looking around the room. "Oh! Alex, what about you?"
Everyone turned expectantly toward Alex. What powers did this awkward, seemingly low-EQ guy possess?
But Alex appeared uncomfortable and reluctant to demonstrate.
"Let's skip me," he muttered. "My ability is... too dangerous."
Seeing his embarrassment, the group became even more curious. They were determined to discover what power had him so hesitant, so they began chanting his name, encouraging him.
"Alex! Alex! Alex!"
Amid the growing chorus, Alex finally relented, infected by their enthusiasm.
"Alright, but not in here," he warned, leading everyone outside to an empty area of the lawn.
"You all need to stand back," he instructed. "Only come out when I tell you it's safe."
With that warning, he began to concentrate. His body trembled slightly as red energy rings began forming around his torso.
The rings grew larger and more intense, their crimson light pulsating with increasing brightness. Finally, when the energy reached its peak, the rings shot outward from his body and struck a nearby statue.
With a blinding flash and a thunderous crack, the statue was cleanly sliced in two, the severed pieces crashing to the ground.