[The First Mutant Mayhem] – Night Musings – The Evolution of Val, the Mutant-Inhuman

A couple of months later,

Val was jotting down thoughts in a notebook at his huge house, right in his living room. Once he was done writing, he shut the notebook, stood up, and walked over to a nearby bookshelf. He put the notebook among the other books, reflecting, 'The past months, I've been investigating and learning about my new abilities. I've already memorized what these abilities are. I can't risk putting them on paper. If someone with harmful motives finds it, I'd be in serious trouble. In any case, when I obtained the blood of Charles, Erik, and Shaw, my goal was to merge their unique abilities and evolve into a beyond Omega-level mutant.'

Val let out a sigh and stepped out of his grand house, gazing up at the night sky. He mused, 'But it didn't work out as planned. I wasn't able to gain Charles' mind-reading mutant power. My only option now is to create an energy barrier around my mind as a defense against psychic assaults and intrusions. However, I did manage to gain Shaw's energy absorption ability, and Erik's and Inhuman's manipulation power. So, I'm somewhat similar to Vulcan, but with an added twist of enhancing myself and without the capacity to release energy blasts.'

Looking at the star-studded sky, his mind wandered to the GHIM. He thought, 'Ah, the GHIM! I can't let anyone in this world take away my uniqueness. I didn't want another Mutant-Inhuman mix, so I destroyed the GHIM.

I would never reveal this secret to anyone. So, using my abilities, I reduced the device to the size of a tennis ball. Then, I flew to the closest volcano and threw it into the bubbling lava.

This way, no one could copy my work. The universe is already complex enough; I don't want to add another layer of complexity by introducing a new Mutant-Inhuman villain.'

Thinking about his accomplishments, he couldn't help but break into a wide grin. 'I did it! I'm the only Mutant-Inhuman Hybrid in this universe. I achieved something no one else could. I'm really proud of myself. Now that I think of it, I should come up with a scientific name for what I am.'

He rubbed his chin as he delved into deep thought about the name. 'What should it be? Come on, think! Got it! The scientific term for a Mutant-Inhuman Hybrid could be Homo nexus inmutants - Nexus represents a link or bond, signifying the link between Inhuman and Mutant lineages in the hybrid.'

He turned around and reentered his mansion. Settling down on the living room couch, his eyes drifted towards the wall clock. 'So many months have flown by while I was holed up here. If events are proceeding as usual, Erik and Charles should've teamed up by now and located Shaw, or at least someone from the Hellfire Club.'

He smiled, contemplating, 'I can't miss out on this. They need to witness the true power of a Homo nexus inmutants.'

...

Several weeks later,

Near Cuba,

Erik and Charles, joined by Raven, Angel Salvador, Havok, Darwin, and Banshee, were stationed on a U.S. warship. They could see a Russian warship quickly closing the distance between them.

Erik felt the stealthy approach of a submarine beneath the Russian warship and addressed Charles, "There's a submarine under the Russian ship, Charles. Is Shaw on board?"

Charles squinted, focusing his telepathic power on the submarine. Inside, he detected the presence of only Azazel and Riptide; Shaw wasn't there.

Turning back to Erik, Charles stated, "No, Shaw isn't in the submarine."

Erik sighed, balling his hands into fists out of frustration. Charles noticed this and continued, "However, there are two of Shaw's associates from the Hellfire Club in the submarine."

Upon hearing Charles, Erik's eyes narrowed as he observed the submarine, stating, "Well, that works for me."

Erik then used his power to lift the submarine from the sea. But as he began, a massive tornado appeared out of nowhere in front of the U.S. warship and collided with it, sending some of the crew flying.

* BOOM *

Erik struggled to his feet, coming face to face with a man who looked like a demon. He recognized him as Azazel and immediately propelled nearby metal rods toward him.

But Azazel vanished just as the rods were about to hit him. Then he reappeared in front of Erik, landing a punch to his face.

* WHAM *

Erik strained to stay upright after the force of the punch. But before he could fight back, Azazel landed two more punches on him.

* WHAM *

* WHAM *

Erik fell to his knees before Azazel, and from the corner of his eyes, saw Azazel gearing up for another strike. But, grinding his teeth, he stealthily maneuvered the metal rod behind Azazel, aiming it at his back.

Yet again, Azazel teleported away just before the rod could impale him. Erik watched as Azazel waved and smirked wickedly at him from a distance, before disappearing once again.

Erik got up and once again attempted to lift the submarine. However, yet another tornado appeared out of nowhere. This time, it didn't form above the sea, but right at the warship.

Fighter jets and people were swept up by the tornado and tossed aside as it ripped through everything in its path.

Raven clung to the metal railing of the warship as the tornado finally quieted down a few seconds later.

Upon opening her eyes, she was met with a shocking sight. A fighter jet was hurtling straight toward her. Paralyzed by shock, she watched as the jet closed in, nearly hitting her when...

* BOOOM *

The warship trembled as someone landed on it, and with one hand, caught the fighter jet, saving Raven from certain death.

Raven stared in disbelief as she saw Val effortlessly hold the jet with just one hand. She saw him turn to her with a grin, asking, "Are you okay, Raven...no...Mystique?"