"S-Save me~ Save me... Professor, please save me... I don't want to be a monster... I don't want to die... I'm innocent... I didn't do anything... Please, Save me... I'm just a kid..."
"Shoot it!"
Professor X gulped as he heard this. His finger on the trigger trembled a little.
"I'm just a student... Please, Save me..." The slime monster continued to plea.
"Professor X, what are you doing? Shoot it now!" Sivial continued to yell.
"I didn't do anything wrong... I don't want to be a monster... Please, save me..."
Professor X closed his eyes and took a deep breath in before he forced himself to pull the trigger.
The slime monster looked at the man in disbelief as it took its last breath.
The freeze gun froze the slime monster and immediately killed it within just a few seconds.
"What the hell was that?!" Stephen exclaimed in anger as he fell on his butt, "Why were you hesitating?!"
"That was a student..." Professor X spoke as he gulped, "I just killed a kid. How could I not hesitate?"
"It wasn't a student. It was a monster. A monster that tried to kill me!"
Professor X glared at Stephen as he heard this but said nothing.
Stephen was a bit taken aback by this response and could only gulp in fear, not understanding why Professor X was suddenly angry at him.
"If you want to act on your own, It's better if you just quit while you still have time."
Stephen pushed himself off the ground as he heard this and tried to defend himself, "I've done this before. I could've taken it down on my own."
"The issue is not whether you could or not. You do not trust your teammates and do not think you need their help. If that's your attitude then you aren't fit to be a hero."
Stephen pursed his lips into a thin line but said nothing in response. He was young and impulsive but could you really blame him? What else would you expect from a mere fourteen-year-old?
"If you are willing to listen and improve, follow me out. If you don't want to change then you are free to leave," Professor X spoke before turning and walking away.
It took a minute or two for Stephen to make his decision but in the end, he still chose to follow Professor X.
"The only reason why I joined the company is because of you," Stephen took a sharp breath in as he spoke, "I want to be a hero like you. I'm willing to learn and I'm willing to change. But only if you teach me."
Professor X thinly smiled as he heard this and nodded his head.
"But I don't understand you."
"What is there not to understand?"
"Why did you hesitate just now?" Stephen curiously asked, "Did you really... Feel pity for that monster?"
Professor X took a deep breath in and sighed as he heard this question.
"Do you know how monsters are made?"
"Aren't they just born as monsters?"
"No," Professor X shook his head as he spoke, "That's just something that we want everyone to believe. It lessens our guilt and makes the public feel a bit more at ease."
"What do you mean?"
"Approximately a hundred years ago, a new virus started spreading around among the people. The virus tampered with people's DNA and caused an odd mutation of genes. The people affected started turning into monsters. Scientists tried to find a solution and managed to develop a treatment that suppressed and slowed down the mutant gene. However, that was all it did.
It suppressed and slowed down the mutation but never completely stopped it. Every child born is now legally injected with that medicine and as a result, till a certain age, the mutant gene inside them is suppressed.
But there comes a time when the body gets used to the medicine and the medicine stops working. When that time comes, the mutant gene takes control of the body and turns the person into a monster. Since the mutant gene had been suppressed for so long, when it is finally allowed to run free, the monster created becomes highly hostile and causes destruction.
In a way, you can say the person was born a monster, but at the same time, the only reason why the monster becomes hostile is because of the medicine that had been suppressing it for so long. So who is to blame? The person who was born with a mutant gene or the medicine that turns him into a monster?"
"The medicine...?" Stephen gulped as he hesitantly answered.
Professor X shook his head as he spoke, "Neither. 'Cause if it weren't for the medicine, the monster would start evolving and as it grows stronger, it will become a greater threat to society."
"Then isn't the monster at fault? We should kill it as soon as it is born!"
"But how will you differentiate between a monster and a normal human baby when they both look alike at birth?"
"There must be a way!"
"No, scientists have never found a way. Mutant genes can only be identified after a child turns five and even if it is identified, getting rid of the child is not possible since the parents would protect the child with their lives."
"But the child is a monster and a menace to society!"
"Try telling that to a parent of a five-year-old."
Stephen wanted to say something more but pursed his lips together and kept quiet.
As soon as Professor X walked out of the school, he was greeted by the police force that had been guarding outside.
"Has the monster been exterminated?" One of the policemen asked.
Professor X nodded his head as he confirmed it and questioned, "Are there any students missing."
"Only one," The man answered, "Her name is Sarah Millers. She's thirteen years old and went to the bathroom because of an upset stomach but hasn't been seen since."
Professor X couldn't help but sigh as he heard this and spoke, "Report her as deceased. She mutated."
"I understand." The policeman nodded his head as he spoke, not bothering to question any further since he already understood the situation.
Professor X once again activated his air jet boots and got ready to leave the scene.
"W-wait for me!" Stephen cried out, "I don't know how to use that thing!"
"Didn't they teach you how to in monster hunting academy?"
Stephen pursed his lips into a thin line and shook his head as he revealed, "I never went to the academy."
Professor X frowned as he heard this and his eyebrows creased together as he questioned, "Then how did you manage to beat a B-class monster?"
"Thanks to this," Stephen proudly spoke as he held up his fire gun, the F17.
"And who taught you to use that?"
"I taught myself," Stephen replied calmly, "This was a gift from my father before he passed away. He told me that it would protect me."
"So that's the only thing you have been using?" Professor X asked in disbelief.
Stephen nodded his head as he confirmed it and spoke, "You should've asked me this question during my interview. I would've already told you."
"I didn't ask because it was a stupid question. Every applicant of ours has already been to the academy. How do you even become a hero without going to the academy?"
"Did you go to the academy?"
Professor X pursed his lips together in a thin line and sighed as he spoke, "My case was different."
"If you didn't go, how can you expect me to go?"
"..."
"Do you regret hiring me now?"
"No," Professor X immediately responded, "I'm just a bit surprised. Looks like I'll have to teach you from the very start."
Stephen smiled as he heard this and enthusiastically nodded his head.
"Stand straight and click that button on the side of your boots. Do not bend your knees. Keep your leg muscles engaged and try to find a balance. It's better if you practice back at the training station or you'll end up kissing the granite-" Before Professor X could even finish speaking, Stephen had already activated his air jet boots and ended up crashing down on the harsh ground, kissing the granite just like Professor X had warned.
"Leaving Professor X in the shadows...? Why would anyone ever compare you to me?" Professor X asked in disbelief, "You can't even follow simple commands."
"That... Hurt..." Stephen muttered as he helplessly lay on the ground.
"Just walk back to the headquarters. You won't be allowed on any further missions unless you go through basic training."
"Will you teach me?"
"No, Jess will be in charge of your training."
"That pale witch? She hates me!"
"You almost killed 300 people thanks to your recklessness, can you really blame her for not swooning over you?"
Stephen puffed his cheeks up like a child, feeling as if he had been wronged.
"I'll head off first," Professor X spoke with a small smile as he left the grumpy kid to walk back on his own.