Maybe it was the lingering fear, or perhaps the worry that the Black King might return, but even though everyone was clearly exhausted, no one got a good night's sleep.
It wasn't just trouble falling asleep—those who did manage to drift off would jolt awake at the slightest sound. Every creak, every rustle of wind set their nerves on edge.
Tension hung in the air.
This night was destined to be a sleepless one for everyone.
The massacre led by the Black King at the CIA base had left a deep psychological scar on all of them.
Alex didn't sleep either. Not because he was terrified like the others—on the contrary, he was wide awake out of excitement.
He couldn't wait to test out his heat vision!
"Everyone should be asleep by now, right?" he muttered to himself, barely able to suppress the urge. Finally, he threw off the covers and got out of bed.
He planned to head to the yard and find a place to try it out.
After all, Charles's estate had a massive backyard—plenty of space to experiment, as long as he was careful not to torch the flowers and shrubs.
Quiet as a cat burglar, Alex opened the door, careful not to wake anyone.
But he'd barely stepped out when a surprised voice called out, "Alex?"
He turned in surprise. "Raven?"
There she was—Mystique—wearing a loose robe that still couldn't hide the curves of her body. What stood out, though, was that she wasn't in any human disguise. Her true form—blue skin with intricate markings—was on full display.
Clearly, she'd dropped her shapeshifted appearance to sleep.
Just like the others, she couldn't fall asleep either. She'd gotten up to grab a drink, only to bump into Alex.
"Can't sleep?" she asked casually, walking right up to him.
Alex inwardly cursed his carelessness. Note to self: next time I sneak out, use super-hearing first.
But he kept his composure and smiled. "You either, huh?"
"After what happened today, everyone's scared," Raven said, now standing just inches from him.
He could feel her breath, smell her perfume.
"But… not you, Alex." She looked up at him, her eyes glinting with a teasing light. "Since we're both awake, maybe we could go to your room, and you can tell me why you're so brave."
Is she… thirsting after me?
He knew Women could be bold, but this was a first. If it were any regular woman, he might not mind seeing where things went.
But in her current form? Mystique wasn't unattractive, just… way outside his aesthetic preferences.
"Raven, I'm not sleeping because I have something to do," Alex said earnestly.
"Because of how I look?" she asked, a little crestfallen.
Then, with a thought, her form shimmered—transforming into the familiar figure of "Big Sis."
Alex grumbled inwardly. This is like a blind date where you already know what they really look like—no amount of filters or Photoshop helps after that.
"Raven, look into my eyes," he said suddenly.
She blinked, caught off guard. She thought he was going to say something romantic—why else ask her to look him in the eyes?
But the next second, she saw them flash crimson.
Startled, Raven's flirtatious air vanished, replaced by shock.
"See? I think I've awakened some kind of new ability," Alex explained seriously.
Only then did Raven realize he hadn't been making excuses—he really did have something important going on.
"Raven, I want to test it out. Can you take me somewhere more suitable?"
He didn't plan to hide this new ability anyway, so he had no problem showing it in front of Mystique.
"Of course. No problem."
"Somewhere spacious, preferably."
"Alex, if there's one thing Charles's place has in abundance—it's space."
Eventually, Raven led him to the training field tucked inside the estate's vast grounds. That's right, Charles actually had a training field in his backyard. Believe it or not.
Alex took a deep breath, focusing his energy. He channeled it toward his eyes, concentrating it into two blazing beams.
Twin heat rays shot from his eyes, piercing through the darkness.
"Oh my god!" Raven gasped, covering her mouth in awe. Even as a mutant herself, seeing someone shoot lasers from their eyes was nothing short of shocking.
Even without testing their full power, just standing nearby was enough to feel the terrifying energy in those beams.
The twin rays lit up the night sky—like two dazzling, blinding columns of light.
To Alex, they were the most beautiful lights he'd ever seen.
Unfortunately, they only lasted five seconds. Any longer, and his eyes couldn't take it.
But considering he'd only unlocked 5% of his system's progress so far, he wasn't too worried.
Five seconds was just the beginning!
He grabbed a few rocks and continued testing.
Under the assault of his heat vision, even the hardest stones crumbled like papier-mâché. He could easily reduce them to dust.
"Nice. This heat vision is definitely going to be one of my trump cards," Alex muttered, satisfied.
"Alex, you've gotten even stronger… You're already the strongest among us," Raven said with quiet admiration.
Before, people had placed high hopes on Havok—his energy rings were no joke.
Even Alex had avoided confronting him head-on.
But now, with his own powerful offensive ability, he could finally stand on equal ground.
And since Charles's powers had no effect on him, there was no doubt anymore.
Alex was now the strongest.
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