Chaos Revisited
Part 5
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Professor Xavier's School for the Gifted offered training classes for those who had gotten their mutant powers as a result of the Purple Chaos organization. There were a dozen people in the group. Since they were all adults and hadn't had to adapt to their mutant abilities as a teenager, they were particularly vulnerable to losing control. Everyone had families and jobs, and they didn't want to risk harming the people close to them.
Peter's challenge was to use only his mutant abilities and not his Spider powers during these training sessions in the gymnasium. He'd nearly slipped up a couple of times already. One of Xavier's rules was that anything which happened in the sessions stayed there, but Peter wasn't sure that he could trust everyone.
Since everyone else had no idea that Xavier was the leader of the X-Men, their sparring sessions were held in the gymnasium and not the Danger Room. The Danger Room combined holographic technology with real equipment to create battlefield simulations, much like the holodeck featured in Star Trek. But Xavier would not risk it with these students. They weren't being trained for combat situations, just self-defense and to learn better control.
He dodged an attack from a woman who was a former martial arts instructor. She was average height and slender with short brown hair and brown eyes. Her name was Beth. She had recently quit her day job after becoming a mutant over her superiors' worries that she might accidentally harm someone. Her gift was super speed.
It was all Peter could do to avoid being hit. He dodged, jumped, and did a back flip in mid-air before landing behind her and swinging a punch. She ducked.
"Impressive," she said. No amateur could have done that. "Have you studied the martial arts before?"
"No," he replied honestly. His style of fighting was largely self-taught and suited to Spider-Man's powers.
Peter's spider sense told him to leap as she launched another attack. Beth spun around and kicked at lightning speed, but he wasn't there any more. Instead, he was hovering inches from the wall. He'd stopped himself from sticking to it just in time. Peter breathed a sigh of relief. He landed in front of her.
"For someone who hasn't had martial arts training, you have really great reflexes."
"Thanks," he answered. Hmm…I'd better let her hit me, he thought. If I'm too good, she'll start to wonder why.
She threw a punch at lightning speed. Peter's spider sense blared, but he took the hit across his jaw instead of ducking.
Beth winced as he grimaced. That had to have hurt. I hit him hard enough to knock a normal human unconscious. I know I did. "Sorry."
"That's okay," Peter replied, rubbing the sore spot.
"All right, everyone," Charles Xavier shouted. "Let's take a short break."
Beth smiled. "You did really well, Peter."
He looked slightly embarrassed. "Thanks."
As everyone filed out of the gymnasium, Charles said, "Peter, I'd like to have a word with you."
He nodded.
Once everyone had left the room, the Professor looked at him. "Mr. Parker, you came here to learn about your gifts. I can't help you if you're unwilling to do your best."
Peter looked guilty. "I trust you, Professor, but how can I trust everyone else here with my secret identity?"
Charles nodded. "Trust is earned, not freely given. That's understandable. But if you're not ready to put every amount of effort into learning about yourself, then how do you expect to get anything out of my classes? You're highly gifted, and I don't mean just your powers. Surely you can figure out that you can't learn about a few of your gifts without exploring all of them."
Peter stared at his feet. He really wished that he had the power of invisibility. "But what about my secret identity?"
"You'll have to trust your fellow students."
That idea terrified him. The one thing that Peter feared the most (other than something happening to Mary Jane or Aunt May) was being exposed as Spider-Man. He had always found it difficult to trust anyone with that information.
"I'd almost rather face the Goblin, Doc Ock, Venom, and Electro simultaneously."
Professor Xavier nodded. "Trusting others can be frightening, but sometimes, it's the only way to progress. Do you want to tell them? It's completely up to you."
It was a tough decision, one of the hardest Parker had ever made. If he told them, he'd gain the knowledge that he needed. Peter could decide not to tell them and walk away. In that case, he'd end up having to learn the hard way. It was far better to stay and discover what he needed to.
"I'll tell them."
Charles smiled. "I think you've made the right choice."
After the break, the other students entered the gymnasium. Professor Xavier turned his wheelchair to face them. He cleared his throat. "I believe that Mr. Parker has something to say."
They all stared at him. Peter could feel a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this nervous -- probably the first time he'd asked Mary Jane out on a date.
"Um…" I just remembered I have a doctor's appointment, he was tempted to say, but didn't. Peter swallowed a lump in his throat. Man, his palms were getting sweaty. He wiped them on his shorts. For the third time that day, he wished that he could disappear. "I'm, uh…I'm Spider-Man."
A few jaws dropped. Several people smiled. Most of them looked amazed. He expected at least one person to laugh and say "Yeah, right," but nobody did.
"But if you're a mutant now, then how did you get your other powers?" a man asked.
His name was Jim Smith. He was about 40, with average height and weight. Jim had brown hair and brown eyes. He wore glasses and was an insurance salesman. His abilities included enhanced sight, hearing, and smell. That was as much as Peter knew.
"I was bitten by a genetically engineered spider."
"Seriously?" someone else asked.
"Yeah."
"All right," Professor Xavier said, "I want everyone to continue sparring as you were before. Peter, don't hold back so much this time. Show us what you're capable of."
He nodded.
Beth grinned as they faced each other. "Come on. Let's see what you've really got." I can't believe I'm sparring with Spider-Man!
He laughed. "You're just lucky I left my web shooters at home."
She let loose with a flurry of punches and kicks. Peter jumped into the air and somersaulted over her to avoid them. He dodged as she spun and tried to hit him again. After a few minutes of that, he found her weak spot. Beth had a habit of not blocking his moves for a few seconds, right after she had just thrown a punch or kicked him. She was able to move so quickly that an ordinary person wouldn't have caught it. Peter took advantage of it and kicked her in the shins -- not as hard as he could have, but hard enough that she had the wind knocked out of her.
"Oh, no. Are you okay?" he asked as she stumbled.
Beth nodded as she regained her composure. "I'm fine. I just didn't expect that." She managed a smile. "You put up quite a fight."
"Thanks. So do you."
Professor Xavier called for everyone to stop sparring. "That's enough for tonight. You've all done very well. Peter, can you stay for a minute?"
"Sure, Professor."
"Great. I look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday."
As the other students left, Peter looked at Xavier, wondering if he had done something wrong.
"No," Charles said, "you haven't. In fact, I would like to make you part of the team. I think you would benefit from being part of a larger group."
Peter realized he meant the X-Men. "Thanks, but I don't think so."
"Why not?"
"I have too many responsibilities as Spider-Man. My boss also just figured out the truth about me and Spider-Man today. I won't risk him finding out about the X-Men, too."
Charles nodded. "The offer remains open in case you reconsider."
He was completely aware of how much Xavier must have thought of him in order to make that offer. "I'll think about it, but I won't make any guarantees."
"Of course."
Peter had a lot to contemplate. As he flew home, he wondered what was in store for him.
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