Chapter 37: [37] Beast Officially Joins
Boom.
A fighter jet roared through the sky over Brooklyn, its sonic boom sending shockwaves across the area. The glass windows of nearby buildings shattered under the pressure.
Pedestrians on the ground were left disoriented, their ears ringing.
"Fuck, are we being attacked by the Soviets?" some people shouted in panic, gazing up at the jet in fear.
In the two-story building at No. 233, Brooklyn, Professor X and Magneto had just returned from the hospital when they heard the sonic boom overhead.
Confused, Professor X looked outside and noticed the chaos among the crowd. Instinctively, he used his telepathic abilities to investigate.
His mind's eye caught sight of the supersonic fighter jet slowly descending, with Brian, Raven, and Hank inside.
By reading Raven's recent memories, Professor X quickly pieced together what had happened.
"Damn it! Brian stole the only supersonic fighter jet in America," Professor X muttered, his face turning pale with disbelief.
"Cool! Worthy of being the Homelander of the X-Men. Brian.. You really can do whatever you want for your fellow brothers," Magneto exclaimed excitedly from his wheelchair.
He was becoming increasingly impressed with Brian. Unlike Professor X, who was cautious and hesitant, Brian acted with boldness and decisiveness, never looking back or second-guessing himself.
Brian made his position clear—he didn't consider himself part of the human race. He stood firmly on the side of mutants, and that was something Magneto admired deeply.
"Shut up, Erik," Professor X snapped irritably, before reluctantly unleashing his telepathic power once more to erase the memories of the panicked crowd on the street.
"Charles, didn't you say you wouldn't use your mental powers casually anymore?"
Magneto remarked, his timing perfect, causing Professor X's expression to darken further.
"This is the last time," Professor X muttered, though this time, he said it without any real conviction or psychological burden.
It was clear that Professor X had gradually gotten used to using this excuse.
Shoooooo!!
As Professor X and Magneto continued their conversation, the supersonic fighter touched down on the roof of Brian's house. The hatch opened, and Brian, Raven, and Hank emerged from the fighter.
"Is this something you developed, Hank? This fighter can actually take off and land vertically?" Raven asked in surprise, clearly impressed by the advanced capabilities of the jet.
"Yes, Raven. I independently developed this supersonic fighter," Hank replied with pride.
While his mutant abilities may not be as extraordinary as Raven's shapeshifting, in the realm of scientific research, Hank considered himself second to none.
"Hank, do you have the design plans for this plane?" Brian, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped and turned to ask, his tone casual but curious.
Both Hank and Raven paused.
Seeing the confusion on their faces, Brian clarified, "I'm just interested in the plane. I want to see what the design of a supersonic fighter looks like."
Brian's words seemed to make things clear for both Hank and Raven.
"Brian, here are the design plans for the supersonic plane," Hank said, returning to the aircraft and retrieving a technical document from the cabin.
The document contained all the design drawings for the supersonic fighter, spanning over a hundred pages. Hank had kept it inside the plane for easy access while conducting data tests.
After receiving the design plans, Brian smiled.
His mutant ability, which allows him to see through the laws of operation of all things, wasn't just useful for plundering the abilities of other mutants—it could also be applied to mechanics.
With just one glance at the blueprint, Brian could instantly understand how the machine worked and, more importantly, he could optimize the design.
This ability allowed him to create more advanced and powerful technological equipment.
That was why he had asked Hank for the design of the supersonic fighter.
After briefly glancing at the technical document in his hands, Brian didn't study it in detail. Instead, he handed it to Raven for safekeeping.
Then Brian walked over to Professor X.
"Professor X, Beast is now a member of the X-Men," Brian said, ignoring the grim expression on Professor X's face as he reminded him of the new recruit.
"Hank McCoy, welcome to the X-Men. I'm Charles Xavier, but you can call me Professor X," Professor X greeted, though he sighed helplessly at Brian's carefree attitude.
"Hello, Professor X, just call me Hank," Hank replied, his curiosity piqued as he studied Professor X. His eyes lingered on Charles's hair for a moment, and he hesitated as if he wanted to say something.
Without even needing his telepathic powers, Professor X knew what Hank wanted to ask.
"I don't have a bald head, and I'm not in a wheelchair. The image of 'Professor X' that Brian mentioned comes from Darwin's predictions. Hank, you should know that sometimes predictions aren't entirely accurate," Professor X explained with a resigned tone.
That night, the group held a small welcome party for Hank.
At the party, each member took turns showcasing their mutant abilities to Hank, giving him a better sense of his new comrades and the power within the X-Men.
Brian also gave a simple demonstration of his adaptive evolution ability for Hank.
After learning about the various abilities of the X-Men, Hank was left in awe. He was particularly fascinated by Brian's adaptive evolution. As a scientist, Hank understood the immense implications of such a power.
"Brian, is it possible for me to draw a tube of your blood?" Hank asked, his eyes gleaming with scientific curiosity.
"Hank, is it possible for me to beat you to death?" Brian responded with a smile.
Hank smiled awkwardly, realizing he had overstepped, and never dared to bring up the blood draw again.
Without paying further attention to Hank, Brian grabbed a drink and returned to his room. Once there, he opened the supersonic aircraft blueprints he had received from Hank and began to look at them.
As Brian scanned the blueprints, the mechanical ticking sound echoed in his mind once again, each second sharpening his focus. What had initially seemed like complex, unintelligible schematics now appeared incredibly simple in his mind. The obscure designs became clear, almost instinctual, as his unique ability worked to understand and optimize the blueprint.
With just a simple glance, Brian completely absorbed and mastered all the information in the blueprint. Over a hundred detailed drawings were processed by his mind in less than half a minute.
As Brian set the blueprint aside, his brain instantly understood and grasped every design element and manufacturing process required to build a supersonic aircraft.
His ability to see through the laws of operation of all things allowed him to comprehend the construction of a supersonic fighter in an instant.
Now, much like Tony Stark, Brian could build a supersonic fighter even if he were locked in a cave. Using scrap metal and whatever materials were available, he could piece together an advanced aircraft step by step.
In fact, the supersonic fighter he could create from scratch would be more advanced and perfected than the one Hank had designed.
This was not merely knowledge—it was a skill, a profound understanding of mechanics and technology.
Brian now had full mastery of this knowledge and skill. As long as he had a blueprint, he could learn any technological device at a glance and effortlessly manufacture it.
This was the true power of his ability to see through the laws of operation of all things.
Not just supersonic fighters—even if it were something as complex as a Gundam, Brian could build it with his bare hands, provided he had the blueprints. The only limitation was the availability of raw materials.
Brian's greatest power had never been just his adaptive evolution. It was his unparalleled ability to see and understand the mechanics of everything.