Chapter 108: A Promise

Chris POV

Watching Sara cry in Helen’s arms, I honestly didn’t know what to do. I had expected her to be frightened after learning about her mutation, but I hadn’t imagined that it would bring back so many painful memories of her father. I wanted to comfort her, but looking at the four of them hugging each other, I felt that anything I said would only interrupt them. In the end, I decided to remain quiet and let Helen handle it.

After a few more minutes, Sara finally began to calm down. She slowly pulled away from Helen and wiped her eyes, looking a little embarrassed when she noticed that Emily had been crying too. Helen gently wiped away the remaining tears on Sara’s cheeks. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You don’t have to worry about anything right now.” Sara nodded, and Helen gave her another gentle hug before letting go.

Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Helen looked toward the door. “All right, girls. Let’s go downstairs and eat something. You must all be hungry by now.” Emily nodded immediately, while Sara agreed after a moment. Gwen took Sara’s hand, and the four of them began heading downstairs. I followed behind them, feeling a little relieved that the atmosphere had finally become less depressing.

When we reached the dining room, I noticed that the food had already been prepared and left on the counter. Since we’d spent quite some time upstairs, it had probably gone cold by now. I turned toward Helen and asked, “Should I heat everything up?” Helen looked at the food before answering, “It’s all right. We can eat it like this. Heating everything again will take some time.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Who said it’ll take time?” Before anyone could answer, I snapped my fingers. The plates and serving dishes rose from the counter and arranged themselves neatly across the dining table. Once everything was in place, small red and blue barriers appeared around the dishes. The red barriers began heating the food, while the blue ones kept the things that were supposed to be cold at the right temperature.

Five seconds later, I snapped my fingers again, and the barriers disappeared. “There. Everything’s ready.” Sara and Emily looked at the food, then at me, and then back at the food. Their expressions were so similar that I almost laughed. Gwen didn’t seem particularly surprised, although she was still watching the table with interest.

Helen was the first to react. She clapped her hands twice to get everyone’s attention. “All right, that’s enough staring. Take your seats before the food gets cold again.” I looked at her in amusement. “I can always heat it again, you know.” She gave me a look before answering, “Then you can do that after everyone has eaten. Now sit down.”

I obediently took my seat while the girls settled around the table. For the first few minutes, everyone concentrated on eating. Sara was still a little quiet, but she seemed much better than before. Emily, on the other hand, kept looking toward me as though she had several questions waiting to come out. Eventually, her curiosity won.

“Chris, can I ask you something?” I nodded while taking another bite. “Sure.” She put down her fork and leaned forward slightly. “What exactly is your mutation? I mean, you’ve shown us so many different abilities. What kind of power lets you do all that?”

I thought about how to explain it without revealing too much. After a moment, I answered, “Basically, I can consume certain rare materials and convert them into energy. Once I have that energy, I can use it in different ways.” Emily looked curious. “When you say consume, do you mean you actually eat them?” I shook my head. “No, nothing like that. I just absorb them. The materials disappear, and their energy becomes mine.”

Emily was still thinking about my answer. “Isn’t that a little too powerful? If you can turn materials into energy and use that energy however you want, doesn’t that mean you can do almost anything?” I shrugged. “It sounds easier than it actually is. Having energy doesn’t automatically mean you know how to use it. I had to train and develop different abilities before I could do all this.”

Of course, I wasn’t going to tell her how many millions of Magicules I’d spent developing those abilities. Just thinking about the amount made me wonder how anyone without a system was supposed to reach the same level.

Emily considered my explanation for a moment before another question occurred to her. “Then does that mean you can use magic because of your mutation?” I nodded. “Yes. Magic is just another way I can use that energy.” Her expression immediately brightened, and I had a feeling I knew what she was going to ask next.

She glanced at Gwen before looking back at me. “Then… can you teach me magic?” I put down my fork and answered, “Not right now.” Emily looked disappointed and opened her mouth to argue, but I continued before she could. “Listen, Emily. I’m not saying I’ll never teach you. But once you start learning magic, you’ll be entering a world you can’t easily leave behind.”

She frowned slightly. “What do you mean?” I thought about how much I should tell her before answering, “The magical world has its own dangers, and some of them can affect people close to you. If you get involved without understanding what you’re doing, you might end up putting your family in danger too. I want you to be mature enough to understand those risks before you decide.”

Emily became quiet after hearing that. She looked down at her food for a moment before nodding. “Okay. I understand.” I was glad she hadn’t tried to argue further, although I could tell she hadn’t given up on learning magic. That was fine with me. I wasn’t against teaching her eventually, but I wanted her to understand what she was getting into first.

After that, Sara turned toward me. “Chris, what about your family? Are they mutants too?” I shook my head. “Not that I know of. There are plenty of people whose X-Genes never awaken, so it’s possible someone in my family has one. But as far as I know, none of them have developed any powers.”

Sara nodded thoughtfully before asking, “Then how are you so sure mine will awaken?” I answered, “Because I can tell when someone’s X-Gene is getting close to awakening. Yours is already showing signs of becoming active.” She looked down at her hands for a moment, probably wondering what would happen when that day finally arrived.

Before she could ask anything else, Emily suddenly turned toward Gwen. “Wait, Gwen. We’ve been talking about Chris and Sara this whole time, but what about you? What kind of mutation do you have?” Gwen looked a little surprised by the question before answering, “Actually, I don’t have an X-Gene.”

Sara immediately stopped eating. “What? Then how did you get your powers?” Gwen put down her fork before answering, “Remember our science trip to Pym Industries? I was bitten by a genetically modified spider while we were there. A little while after that, my body started changing, and I developed these abilities.”

Emily stared at her in surprise, while Sara seemed to remember something. “Wait, is that why you didn’t come to college for three days after the trip?” Gwen nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t know what was happening to me, and honestly, I was pretty scared. I needed some time to figure things out before I could face anyone.”

Sara’s expression softened when she heard that. “You should’ve told us, Gwen. We were worried about you.” Gwen looked a little guilty. “I know. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” Emily shook her head before answering, “It’s okay, Gwen. We didn’t know what you were going through, and I can’t imagine how frightening that must’ve been. I’m just glad you’re all right.” Sara nodded in agreement before adding, “Same here. Although I still can’t believe you got superpowers from a spider bite.” Gwen seemed relieved by their reactions, and I was glad neither of them was making her feel bad about keeping it a secret.

Emily asked Gwen a few more questions about her powers, and Sara soon joined in. I was glad to see her enjoying the conversation again, especially after everything she’d been through earlier. However, as we were finishing our food, I noticed that she’d become quiet. She kept looking at me as though she wanted to say something, and eventually, she put down her fork.

“Chris, can I ask you one more thing?” I nodded. “Of course. What is it?” Sara hesitated before asking, “When my powers awaken, what if those mutants come looking for me? If I tell them I don’t want to leave my mother, can they still force me to go?” She paused for a moment before continuing, “I don’t want to disappear like Dad did. Mom’s already spent so many years wondering what happened to him. I don’t want her to go through that again. I want to stay with her and take care of her.”

I understood why she was worried. After what had happened to her father, the possibility of being separated from her mother must have been frightening. I also remembered how I’d stopped her from leaving the room earlier. I’d been trying to help her, but I could understand why she might be worried about someone else making decisions for her. I put down my fork and turned toward her.

“Sara, nobody’s taking you away from your mother unless you decide you want to go. I can’t promise people won’t try, but I can promise I’ll be there if they do.” She looked at me for a moment before quietly asking, “Even if they’re stronger than you?” I shook my head. “That doesn’t matter. Even if I have to stand against the entire mutant organization, I’m not going to let anyone force you into doing something you don’t want.”

I then glanced around the table before adding, “And that goes for all four of you.” Sara lowered her gaze, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. Emily looked at me briefly before returning her attention to her food, seeming a little embarrassed. Gwen’s cheeks had also turned slightly pink, while Helen was quietly shaking her head at me.