Marvel: Pay to Win Gambling 24

Chapter 24: The Younglings

Bobby was out looking for Kitty. So was Hank. Jean and Xavier were off discussing something with Angel. I could’ve stuck with any of them, but there were others I needed to talk to.

Most of the new kids had been left to settle in on their own—to adjust and find their comfort zone. But that wasn’t how you built trust. That wasn’t how you built anything real.

“May I come in?” I called out softly. I’d already checked their rooms. Empty. So that left one likely spot—the western balcony.

It was the nicest in the mansion. A scenic view, attached to a quiet library. The perfect guest room combo. A book, a hot drink, and a peaceful view—what more could anyone want?

I waited, and eventually, the small door to the library creaked open. Out peeked a yellow-eyed, dark-skinned boy with a nervous twitch in his tail.

“How are you doing, Kurt?” I asked, instinctively ruffling his hair. He was younger here than I remembered. Much younger.

“Fine,” he mumbled, way too meek for someone who could bamf halfway across a battlefield. He stepped aside, expecting me to walk in—but I held back a moment.

“May I enter?”

They were kids. Out of place, out of their depth. The more authoritative you were, the more they’d retreat into their shells.

“Y-Yes,” he said, leading me in.

The library was one of the older rooms. Dusty, packed with history books and classic literature. Not exactly a child’s dream. I should recommend they add a comic shelf—might actually get them reading.

“Is that Daniel?!” came a delighted voice.

A blur of pink and wings flew toward me. Megan. Brighter than I remembered. Then again, the last time I saw her, she was chained up with a blade to her throat.

“How are you, Megan?” I smiled at her excitement. “Hope you’re not too bored?”

She beamed. Pink hair, large shimmering insect wings, and glowing golden irises over pitch-black eyes—Pixie. That’s what she was called. Part of the younger generation of mutants. I didn’t remember much about her, but the name came back.

“We’re having snacks! Want some crisps?” she offered, crumbs clinging to her cheeks like freckles of joy.

I chuckled and ruffled her hair too. They were kids. Innocent, sweet—and way too familiar with trauma.

“Sure,” I said. I never turned down good chips.

Megan had potential. Her powers weren’t just flight—she could also release a kind of hallucinogenic dust. Illusions. Trippy ones. She’d accidentally used it once and made Bobby leap off the second floor, thinking there was a pool waiting.

There wasn’t.

I had to heal the poor guy. Still, it was hilarious.

“How’s everyone doing?” I glanced at the trio. Megan looked like she was having the time of her life. Kurt, on the other hand, looked uncertain—unsteady.

“I’m good!” Megan grinned. “There’s so much to explore here! A huge garden! Hidden rooms!”

She wasn’t wrong. She’d already found more secret passages than I had.

“But the best part—unlimited snacks!”

It was hard to believe she’d gone through hell just days ago. I didn’t bring it up, of course. That trauma was still fresh. Kurt especially carried the guilt, blaming himself every time someone mentioned it.

He shouldn’t have. The kid had just been surviving. And when the wrong person offered him food and shelter, he’d taken it. Can you blame him?

And Megan… well, she was trying to forget it. Pretending it never happened.

“If we don’t hurry, Hisako will eat everything!” Megan gasped, tugging at my sleeve.

Hisako. That was a more complicated situation.

Her parents had freaked the moment Xavier explained her mutation—called her cursed, possessed by the devil. So, we took her in. No contact since. She didn’t talk about it, but something told me she knew.

“Hisako!” Megan shouted, spotting the black-haired girl with a bob cut shoving cake and chips into her mouth. “Don’t finish it all!”

The culprit, cheeks full like a squirrel, was Hisako Ichiki. Japanese. Tough as hell. Logan, Scott, and Magik had somehow managed to bring her in without breaking too many bones.

[Name: Hisako Ichiki]

[Age: 14]

[Nickname: Armor]

[Race: Mutant]

[Ability: Psionic Armor Generation]

My ability to view status windows wasn’t perfect. It only showed the surface—her Psionic Armor, not its individual traits. But I’d seen it in action. She’d knocked Beast out cold once. Tanked hits from him, Wolverine, and Colossus without a scratch.

Easily the strongest of the three. Megan was a solid support. Kurt was an elite scout or assassin. But Hisako?

Hisako was a tank with a right hook that could send Logan flying.

“Hey Daaawnwl!” she tried to say with a mouth full of chips.

“Swallow first,” I said, chuckling. “And slow down. The food’s not going anywhere. If you want more, I’ll get you more.”

The snacks were Xavier’s bribe. Keep the kids calm. Keep them busy. Unfortunately, Megan and Hisako were too adventurous—and poor Kurt just got dragged along for the ride.

Hisako finally gulped everything down with a glass of Coke.

I leaned against the wall, watching them. Three kids. Strong, strange, full of potential—and carrying more weight than they ever should’ve had to.

Yeah, I had work to do. But this was where it mattered most.

“Do you want some?” Megan asked, offering her bag of Lay’s.

I didn’t decline. Took a piece, then sat down beside her—only to be stunned by how much the three of them had already devoured.

“How’s Ororo?” Megan asked, settling beside me. “Can she walk now?”

She’d been there when Colossus carried Ororo in—limp, unconscious, spine shattered. And when Jean explained that Ororo had broken her back saving them, something shifted in Megan. She found herself looking at Ororo like… a hero. An idol.

I wondered how Ororo would feel about that. Probably used to it. She had been worshipped before.

“She’s better now,” I said. “She’ll be up and about in a day or two. Though, personally, I’d prefer she rested longer—she took a pretty heavy mental hit.”

“Thank you… Daniel.” Kurt’s voice was soft, fists clenched in his lap. He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “It’s all—”

“Kurt,” I interrupted with a sigh. “What happened wasn’t your fault. It was that man’s fault. You were just a kid who didn’t know better. Anyone would’ve done the same in your place.”

He didn’t know better.

But I did. I knew better than to put the weight of that hell on a child’s shoulders.

“And didn’t I promise you?” I looked at him. “You’ll never have to worry about that man again.”

He nodded, barely.

“So that’s it. Don’t carry that anymore. You’re safe here. Enjoy yourself. Eat, play, relax. And when classes start in a few days… I expect you all to be good students.”

“Do we have to study?” Megan asked, and I noticed Hisako visibly deflate beside her.

“Can’t we just be heroes like you?” she added.

“You will,” I said. “But every hero has to study. Even the villains out there know their multiplication tables—up to twenty.”

Okay, some of them were idiots. But some were legit super-geniuses in lab coats and murder cloaks.

Megan puffed her cheeks. “As long as we still get our snacks and get to be heroes, I don’t mind.”

I nearly laughed. Honestly, I couldn’t help it.

They were so… innocent.

But it’s always the innocent that suffer, isn’t it?

And I couldn’t stop thinking: how many other mutant kids out there were still suffering? Because of society. Because of their parents. Because of villains. Because of their own powers?

It just isn’t fair.

“But hey,” I said, forcing a smile back onto my face. “No more sad stuff, alright? Who wants to go out for a movie?”

As expected, two hands shot up immediately. The third—Kurt’s—hesitated, then slowly lifted.

Yeah. I’d deal with X-Men business later.

For now… I needed a break too.

…

…

—Katherine Anne Pryde 'Shadowcat'—

“You broke your spine?” Kitty asked, disbelief written all over her face.

She wasn’t shocked by the fact that Ororo was walking just fine. No. She was shocked that someone managed to hurt the goddess of lightning and storms. “How?”

“I told you,” Ororo said with a sigh. “The Sentinels were advanced. Built to hunt mutants. Thankfully, we found them before they were perfected. Honestly, it’s only thanks to Daniel that Bobby and I made it out alive.”

When Kitty first saw Daniel with the Professor, she assumed he was just another suit—someone there on business. She didn’t expect him to be a mutant, let alone a powerful one.

“Is he stronger than you?” she asked, brow furrowed. “Or were his powers just better suited against the Sentinels?”

She couldn’t imagine anyone being stronger than Storm. Ororo was power incarnate. One lightning bolt had been enough to knock her out flat, once.

“He hasn’t mastered his powers yet. And he lacks in physical combat,” Ororo admitted. “But in a real, life-or-death scenario? I wouldn’t survive.”

Kitty stared. That didn’t sound like humility. That sounded like fact. And Storm didn’t exaggerate. If she was saying Daniel was stronger, then… he was stronger.

She just couldn’t figure out how much stronger.

“Enough about Daniel,” Ororo said, her tone shifting, the warmth leaving her expression. “I want you to tell me everything you’ve been up to. Every misadventure. Every mistake. Every rule you broke.”

A spark of lightning danced at her fingertips as she narrowed her eyes.

“And don’t even think about lying to me.”

Kitty still felt her face burning from the earlier shock. Literally. Her hair was steaming.

“A-Alright,” she squeaked.

She’d rather confess everything than get roasted again.

She feared Ororo.

Truly, deeply, rightfully feared her.