February 7th

5:32pm

Med Wing

No-Name bolted upright in a cold sweat.  Even when he passed out he had nightmares.  Magneto, Amelia, Mystique, and Master Mind were in the room when he awoke.

“Well, I was hoping not to have to give you this until we had tested it further,” Magneto said, not waiting for No-Name to speak.  “But I suppose we have little choice--based on the actions of our Acolytes this is necessary.  Here.”

Magneto handed No-Name a black spandex suit with what appeared to be fiber-optic cables running up and down it.  The easiest way to describe it would be to say it looked as if several microchips had been flattened into Spandex and turned into a cheesy outfit.  The spandex suit came equipped with some cool gadgets.  Metal shoulder pads, metal forearm guards and shin guards, some badass boots, and a helmet with infa-red sensors and a zoom feature.

“What is this,” No-Name asked.  “Is this from Tron?”

“A short few years ago I built a genetic enhancer to bring out the full potential power in all mutants--due to a lack of funds and materials I am unable to rebuild it, but I was able to get the general effect down very nicely.  That suit enhances the count of X-Genes in your body, and almost instinctively you should be able to control your powers--so long as you wear it.”

“Control my… powers… but my po--”

“You do not yet know the extent of your powers.  Put on the armor and all will be revealed,” Master Mind said.

No-Name went to put it on over his clothes.

“No no--the cables must touch your skin if they are to embed the X-Genes into your system,” Magneto said.

“… uhm… can I have a little privacy,” No-Name asked.

“Well, we could leave the room, but there is a risk that the suit may kill you if we miscalculated something, so I feel it would be best for us to remain in the room,” Amelia said, folding her arms across her chest.  No-Name sighed, swallowing his pride.  He undressed completely then pulled on the suit.  He felt like a Cylon from Battlestar Galactica. 

‘Why do I know what that is,’ No-Name found himself wondering.  Suddenly, No-Name felt a sensation come over his mind.  He looked around, dumbfounded.  Master Mind’s eyes had gotten a light blue glow.  “What are you doing to my head,” No-Name demanded.

“He is helping your mind click into place--learn to control the powers by instinct,” Mystique said.

No-Name felt a panging headache.  He shut his eyes.  Suddenly, there was a rush of wind, and something that sounded like Rice Krispies going off.  He opened his eyes.  He was on the floor.  He stood up and banged his head on the table he was sitting on.

“Sunuvabitch,” No-Name shouted, shoving the table away and standing up.  “What the hell was--wait a minute… table… I… I… I’m…”

“Yes, Micro.  You are in control of your powers now,” Magneto said.

No-Name felt warm tears stream down his face--tears of joy.  He knelt down and kissed Magneto’s boots.  Everyone quirked a brow as No-Name uttered inaudible thank you’s and pledges of allegiance.  He stood up.  He was roughly 5’7”--maybe a little taller--and now that his features were able to be seen, he was a very handsome young man.  Running in that wheel at odd hours of the night had given him calves, thighs, and buns of steel.  Scaling the walls of the terrarium gave him shapely defined arms.  His hair was a wreck, and he had a scraggly unkempt beard.

For the past four years, he had not seen a mirror.  He was amazed to find himself looking like a model--even more surprised to discover how dark his skin was.  He was battered and bruised, and just a little bloody, but other than that he looked fine.  It was then that he realized he didn’t even know what ethnicity he was until now--based on his facial structure and the skin tone, he was going to assume Hispanic.  He looked up at Master Mind, Magneto, Mystique and Amelia.

“Do we have any clothes to put on over this,” No-Name asked.  Mystique tossed him some loose-fitting jeans and a baggy T-shirt with the phrase NPC written on it.  He threw it on over his clothes.  “Requesting permission to take the rest of the day off.”

Magneto nodded.  No-Name headed out of the room.  He was about to head for the exit when he passed the dorms and haulted.  He walked in, a look of pure malice upon his face.  No-Name now understood his power.  His body produced Pym Particles and, until he was enhanced, he had no control over when his body produced them, how much of them he produced, or where they were directed.  So naturally they simply sat in his bloodstream, doing absolutely nothing.  With the enhancer, his body stopped producing them at random.  He was no longer a slave to his power, but as he rightfully should be, he was the master of his own destiny.  He walked into the common room and sat down, waiting for the others to arrive.

He didn’t have to wait long.  Less than 3 minutes later, Blindspot walked into the room and her eyes found their way to No-Name.  Nocturne shortly followed her and they both appeared interested in him.

“Magneto didn’t say anything about another new guy,” Blindspot said.

“The more the merrier,” Nocturne said, leaping over to the chair he sat in.  No-Name remained utterly silent, his eyes watching them both with contempt.

“Hey, I’m Nocturne, and that’s Blindspot.  Guys, we got a new one,” she shouted, causing the rest of the Acolytes to enter the room.  Lance was the one to make the formalities.

“I’m Lance, but people call me Avalanche,” he said, causing a small tremor as he said so.  He extended a friendly hand to shake.

“My, how all your attitudes have changed in such a short period of time,” No-Name said coldly.

“So, what’s your name, yo,” Toad asked, hopping over to him.

No-Name’s eyes began to glow a steady light blue color.  “I do not have a name.  There are those that call me Micro, but if you must call me something, call me No-Name.”  He stood up and immediately the Acolytes knew they were in it deep.  His eyes flashed a darker shade of blue and his hair stood on end as if static electricity was rushing through him.  Within a matter of seconds, his would be tormentors now stood on the floor at no more than 5 inches in height.  Avalanche, Toad, Pietro, Nocturne, Blindspot, and Master Mind’s daughter all were dumbfounded at the sheer size of No-Name and the vastness of the room around them.  Blindspot curled up into a little ball of terror.  Lance was just flat-out pissed.

“I’m going to go to the movies,” No-Name said flatly.  “When I return, you’ll be restored to your original height--assuming you’re still alive.  I just thought it’d be a nice learning experience for you all to see the world from my perspective for a while.”

To emphasize his point, he slammed his foot on the ground, causing everyone to fall over.  He then made his way to the door and went towards the exit.  He felt very good about where his life was heading.