Marvel Martial Artist

Chapter 12

"Is this one of those Chinese buildings where people train?" Liz asked after getting over the whole flying at super speeds moment.

Jean and Raynold looked at her. At this moment, Liz showed her nature as a Blonde Airhead.

The redhead next to her decided to humour her and explain.

"More precisely, it's a Japanese-style Dojo where people practise Kenjutsu or, more specifically, swordsmanship," Jean explained in a single breath. She was proud of her knowledge, as she is one of the top students in school.

"Not bad. I like smart girls. Especially when they know stuff that I like." Raynold didn't hold back his praise, and he didn't lie. He likes girls who can tell things that guys like.

The redhead's cheeks turned the same colour as her hair. She doesn't have proper defences when it comes to such praises!

"Oh, damn! Now I am jealous!" Liz looked jealous when she heard that Raynold likes Jean! He didn't say that to her yet!

"Haha, whatever you say, Liz. Now let's go inside."

The pair followed him into the small building.

"So… you have a personal dojo? Inside Queens? Just how much money does this cost?" Jean asked with a raised eyebrow. It's one thing living in a metropolitan city like New York and another having a large house and a freaking Dojo there!

Renting and owning property is costly in a city like this!

"You could say we have connections. Since you are a mutant, Jean, I will explain stuff to you."

"...R-Right."

His mentioning of the mutant part made the girl remember the elephant in the room. Her powers!

"Umm…and me? I am the third wheel here?"

"Welcome to the club." Illyana's voice made the blonde cheerleader look at her.

"It depends on what you want. Do you want to have superpowers?" For a moment, Raynold looked away from Jean and asked Liz while looking at her reaction.

"You serious!?"

"Very. Though, unlike Jean, you will be like the rest of us. Develop your powers yourself."

"...Sure! It sounds cool!" The blonde started to pump herself up, but at that moment, Felicia walked in; the black cat's clothes were spot-on for this place, proper exercising clothes with a towel around her neck.

"No, it's not cool. It's like training for a marathon and weightlifting simultaneously."

"...Hardy, how do you know that!?"

"Because I have been training for a few days now." The Black Cat explained with a tired look.

"Whatever! If you can do it, so can I!" Liz had more confidence in herself since she had been attending cheerleader training. So she has no idea Felicia is far more fit than she is. After all, the blonde had never seen the Black Cat train!

"Suit yourself."

"Illyana can show her the basics? I will be training Jean. Her issue is far more— annoying."

Liz deflated when she heard that! But this is fine! She will prove herself to him; once he sees her talent, he will train her in person!

"...Fine." Raynold's step-sister sighed in resignation. Training girls is something she doesn't want to do. But since he asked, she will try her best.

Seeing that his little sister had the job covered, he turned back at Jean, who was looking around his Dojo.

"Shall we begin?"

The redhead stopped looking and turned her gaze at him.

"Yes."

"Great, then come over. Let's talk."

He walked over and sat down on the wooden floor. The redhead followed after him and did the same. Only she was somewhat awkward doing that.

It is far better to sit on proper seats, and not this. Not that Jean will tell Raynold that.

Regardless, she quickly forgot her uncomfortable circumstances when she saw him bring his hands together in something like a praying manner.

His hands stayed like that for a few seconds before slowly spreading them apart. There was a white glow between his hands.

This glow turned into a transparent bubble, which started to expand rapidly! The size of this bubble swiftly engulfed the pair and then —stopped growing!

"...Whoa…"

"This will block your mental powers. The only one's mind you will be able to hear is me. Shall we begin?" He asked her after lowering his hands and placing them on his legs. The guy was sitting in the lotus position. It made the girl scramble and sit in the same way.

Thankfully, the clothes she was in were slacks and not a skirt.

"Y-Yes!"

"Great. Can you hear me?"

For a second, she blinked, but then she realised that he was speaking directly into her mind, or — she could hear him thinking?

"Y-Yes!"

"Let's start from the very basics. Try focusing on me and try to say something to me directly."

"...O-Okay…"

'Imagine me and you whispering in my ear.' She heard his random thoughts, which had quite an effect on her.

"...L-Let me try that. " Jean blushed when she heard the suggestion. For her tender and pure heart, she had quite an image appear in her mind.

Still, though, after several mental tries, Raynold could finally hear her.

"Great, I heard you. Now let's talk like this."

"O-Okay… so what now? I can talk like this, but how can I protect myself from reading all the thoughts?" The redhead asked with a worried tone.

"Let me explain how powers work. In a sense, I am giving you an angle to look at what superpower is."

Raynold felt a mental nod; she mentally motioned for him to explain to her.

"Let's start from the beginning, a regular person. Is a stock car you bought from a dealership." That moment, Jean saw a basic Volkswagen golf.

"Then a person with a superpower is a customised car." A car from Fast and Furious appeared in her mind.

Specifically, it was the first car that blew up—the green Nissan Eclipse.

"If you saw the movie, you know what happened to the car."

She mentally nodded as a memory popped into her mind.

Since they were connected, he saw it as well.

"Yes. Precisely, it was a tuned car. It went beyond its limit in that drag race. A similar concept applies to superpowers. Some powers mutilate the body from excess use. The gene X you have awakened has a different effect on other people. It is different from person to person."

"But we are not here to talk about other people. The issue for you is that your mind is now on 'manual' control. Think this way: you are the city's mayor, and with a flick, you can turn off electricity to a portion of a town; instead of being automatic, the switch is with you."

She pondered on his words for a bit.

"So It won't stop; I have to be the one who controls what I hear?"

Jean spoke after a few minutes of thinking.

"Correct. What you need to do is develop mental images for circumstances. Since my idea of whispering into my ear worked."

The redhead blushed when she heard him saying that. Even if it worked, it's embarrassing. It makes her think like she is his girlfriend who is whispering sweet nothing into his ear!

"I-I see….t-then do you have some sort of idea? I only need to dull the noise. That's the priority." Her embarrassment disappeared mid-sentence, and in its place was growing distress.

"Hmm, we could use what I use to control my power. Since I use mental images as well."

Her eyes glimmer with hope when she hears that! She is delighted to hear that he will help her and not just pass her over to another person!

Such kindness is something she will never forget. As they say, when someone helps another in their darkest hour, they will never forget it. Jean was no different.

"Yes, please! Controlling my power is very important to me!" She only had to experience the noises briefly, but it was enough for a lifetime!

"Right. Then let's start. Imagine two deep contrasts. For example, complete darkness and yourself standing in the middle of it. Make yourself glow as bright as you can."

As he was saying that, he used their connection to show an image of just that. Raynold was helping her to image to be more specific.

With such help, she had no issues imagining. The colours were even more extreme than she thought.

"Now imagine a bubble like the one around us; add it to the mix. You are standing in this bubble. Then, give colour to your psychic powers and make that energy constantly rotate inside this bubble. Your bubble is a dam which holds your mental energy."

Jean thoughtfully nodded after hearing his explanation. His hyped voice spread his hype to her as she was now eager to try.

It's like training with a trainer who is more hyped about her training than she is! It makes her want to try harder just to prove herself to him.

Without wasting more time, she tried his method. Several tries later, she couldn't sense Raynold's presence anymore.

So she tried to talk to him mentally.

"Did it work? Hello?"

"It appears it worked." The Martial artist brought her out of her mind.

"Y-Yeah!" Jean loudly exclaimed. The redhead was very delighted with this development!

But then she quickly calmed herself, as she ended up nearly shouting at him from that happiness.

"S-Sorry. I am just happy that this worked out this quickly." Her fingers played with her long hair. She didn't look at him, as it was too embarrassing.

"That's fine. Your actions are not uncommon. I was just like you when I could make this—" Raynold lifted his hand, and a ball of white energy appeared on it.

"It takes time, but eventually, you get the hang of it. Think of it as a new muscle which you need to train. For a while, you will need to have that mental image, but eventually, you can do it instinctually."

She sighed in relief hearing that.

"Thank goodness, I thought I would have to think about it constantly. It would be hard to study this way." Jean was relieved to hear that it was not forever.

He smiled at her for a second before getting serious. She was confused as to why such a change.

"Listen, Jean. You are not the only one who is a Mutant. There is a whole faction of them. Well, more precisely, there are two groups: one that wants to co-exist and one that wants mutants to dominate the regular people.

Both of them will eventually come for you as they have the means to pick up X-gene, which awakens in people."

His explanation made her start to panic. There is no way she wants to join any of that!

"B-But! I don't want any of that!"

"That is fine. I will be protecting you." He smiled while saying that.

"Y-You will? B-But why? I-I am not your girlfriend or anything! Hell, we only met a couple of days ago!" There was a huge blush on her cheeks when she said 'girlfriend'. She remembered his tease before picking her up and bringing her here.

If she was only alone without Liz, he might have done something to her. She wouldn't mind.

"That's fine. I am a fighter. I will protect and train you just for the chance to fight those mutants. So you don't need to worry."

Her eyes blinked a couple of times. She then looked at Felicia and Illyana. At that moment, she connected the dots in her mind.

A smile appeared on her lips.

"...Does this mean I have a chance?"

Her question confused him for a second.

"Chance in what?"

"Nothing~ but I agree, you can be my shining knight." Her smile was bright, but her eyes showed that she was cooking something up in her mind.

"Great. Then we can start training your mental powers!"

Jean's smile turned even more genuine when she saw his enthusiasm towards training her mental powers. For a moment, she thought that they were going to be a burden, but with this guy's enthusiasm— they might be something she likes.