(A/N):
Drop a meme here that you find funny.
Or reflects your mood.
Which will encourage me…
<AUTHOR NOTE:->
Guys I Want you to help me find all those character’s you felt they should be in…
Since I can start my research on them…
And also helps me find the character’s easily…
Hope you comments their names or img…
here…
….
Raja noticed something strange the moment Charles Xavier, Jean Grey and Ororo Munroe reached his side of the room.
People began making space.
Not obviously.
Nobody suddenly announced that they were leaving, and there was no dramatic reaction.
It was much subtler than that.
Conversations shifted, guests stepped aside, and a few people who had been standing nearby suddenly found reasons to move elsewhere.
The space around the three mutants slowly became empty, leaving Raja with the unmistakable feeling that everyone was deliberately giving them a wide berth.
He glanced around once before looking back at Charles.
‘Well, that’s certainly one way to make a social entrance.’
Charles stopped beside him and leaned slightly forward.
His voice was quiet enough that nobody else nearby could hear.
“Are you a mutant?”
Raja paused.
The question caught him off guard, although he had already suspected Charles would eventually ask it.
He considered the answer carefully.
“Not that I know of.”
Charles studied him.
Raja shrugged his shoulders.
“I’ve never been tested, so I honestly don’t know.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie.
As far as his original memories were concerned, he had never been a mutant.
As far as this world’s Raja was concerned, there had never been any indication that he possessed the mutant gene either.
But what about the future?
Raja had a System that could apparently hand him templates from beings across different universes.
He already possessed Zarathos, and now John Wick and Tai Lung were beginning to synchronize with him.
Who knew what the next template might do to his body?
For all he knew, one day he could acquire something that completely changed his biology.
So saying he didn’t know was probably the safest answer.
Charles nodded his head.
“I understand.”
There was no accusation in his voice.
Instead, there was curiosity.
“If you ever wish to find out, you are welcome to visit Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
We have the equipment necessary to determine whether you possess the mutant gene.”
Raja considered the invitation for a moment.
“Sure.
I’ll visit sometime.”
Charles gave him a small smile.
“I’d be glad to have you.”
He didn’t press further.
Instead, Charles turned his wheelchair toward one of the military officials he had apparently noticed earlier and moved away to begin another conversation.
Ororo followed him, leaving Raja with Jean.
Raja watched Charles for a moment.
‘That went better than expected.’
Then he noticed Jean remaining behind.
She received a brief glance from Charles.
Raja couldn’t see the telepathic message, but Jean clearly understood it.
She looked at Charles, then at Raja.
Apparently, the professor wanted her to stay.
Jean walked toward the empty chair beside Raja and sat down.
She caught the attention of a passing waiter.
“I’ll have a drink.”
The waiter nodded and moved away.
Jean then looked at Raja.
“You really aren’t afraid of us?”
Raja chuckled hearing her question.
“Should I be?”
Jean glanced around the room.
“Most people seem to think so.”
Raja looked at the people who had conveniently found somewhere else to stand.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed.”
He took another sip of his orange juice.
Then he looked back at Jean.
“But honestly?”
He smiled.
“If a beautiful woman like you is the one who’s supposed to be dangerous, I think I’d be willing to take my chances.”
Jean stared at him.
For perhaps the first time that evening, she genuinely looked caught off guard.
Raja maintained a completely straight face.
Inside his mind, however, he was screaming.
‘Why did I just say that?’
He had no idea.
Somehow the words had simply come out.
Maybe it was the confidence he had absorbed from somewhere between John Wick’s composure and his own desperate attempt to act like he knew what he was doing.
Jean’s eyes widened slightly before a smile slowly appeared on her face.
“You really said that with a straight face.”
Raja shrugged his shoulders.
“I meant it.”
That earned him a laugh.
Jean shook her head.
“You’re something else.”
Raja quietly celebrated inside his mind.
‘Yes.
Natural.
Completely natural….’
‘Definitely not a cheesy line I stole from a hundred movies.’
He took another sip of his orange juice, trying very hard not to look as pleased with himself as he felt.
Jean seemed to find his reaction amusing.
There was something strangely charming about the way he was trying so hard to maintain the image of a confident gentleman while his expression occasionally betrayed the fact that he was just a teenager improvising his way through a conversation with Jean Grey.
Raja eventually extended his hand.
“By the way, I’m Raja.”
He smiled.
“But my friends call me Raj.”
Jean looked at his hand before taking it.
“Jean.”
The instant their hands touched, Raja’s System reacted.
The familiar green interface appeared in his mind.
“Important Character Contact Confirmed
Target: Jean Grey
Identity Classification: Mutant Telepath
Additional Entity Detected…”
Raja’s smile remained on his face.
But internally, he froze.
A second notification appeared.
“Dormant Entity Detected
Phoenix Force”
Raja’s eyes widened slightly looking at XP Points.
‘Wait.’
The System continued.
“XP Calculation Complete
Jean Grey: +1,000 XP
Dormant Phoenix Force: +5,000 XP
Total XP Acquired: +6,000 XP.” New chapters come out on g.com first.
Raja almost forgot that he was still shaking Jean’s hand.
His mind immediately opened his status.
“System Level: 3
Current XP: 7,535 / 10,000”
Raja stared at the number.
For several seconds, he couldn’t even process it.
Six thousand XP.
From one person.
Well…
Technically one person and one cosmic entity sleeping inside her.
Raja slowly released Jean’s hand.
His smile became noticeably wider.
Jean noticed his smile.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.”
Raja tried to control his expression.
“Just having a good evening.”
Inside his head, however, he was practically celebrating.
‘Six thousand!
One person just gave me six thousand XP!’
He was suddenly only 2,230 XP away from Level 4.
After struggling to climb through the first few thousand points, Jean had practically thrown him halfway toward the next System upgrade.
And then there was the small matter of the thing sleeping inside her.
The Phoenix Force.
Raja glanced at Jean again.
‘I really need to be careful around this universe.’
Because apparently even a casual handshake could introduce him to something powerful enough to make the word “dangerous” feel embarrassingly inadequate.
Jean tilted her head.
“You look like you’ve just won the lottery.”
Raja even through he has maintained his composure she could seethe smile on his face.
“Something like that.”
She laughed softly hearing his reply.
For some reason she was having a feeling to tease him.
Neither of them noticed Charles glance back from across the room.
The old telepath had been watching them for only a moment, but his expression became thoughtful.
He still couldn’t read Raja.
Not even remotely.
And now Jean seemed strangely comfortable around him despite knowing what he was capable of.
Charles turned back toward the military official he had been speaking with.
For the moment, he decided not to interfere.
There would be time to understand Raja later.
Tony Stark had eventually decided that he had done enough of the formal mingling expected of him that evening.
Pepper was perfectly capable of handling the politicians and business executives who wanted to corner him with questions about energy projects, investments and government contracts,
While Tony had already spotted something considerably more interesting across the room.
Raja was sitting with Jean Grey, quietly nursing a glass of orange juice while his parents spoke with a few of their acquaintances.
Tony made his way toward them with a drink in his own hand, and by the time Jagadish noticed him approaching, Tony was already smiling.
“Tony, this is my son, Raja,”
Jagadish introduced as he and Grace walked towards their son too.
Tony looked at the boy for a moment before giving him an approving nod.
“So you’re Raja.
I’ve heard a little about you.”
Raja was about to ask what exactly he had heard when Tony casually placed an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer.
He leaned toward Raja as though he were about to tell him a great secret, then glanced toward Jean.
“You know,”
Tony whispered in low voice,
“you’ve got pretty good taste.”
Raja followed his gaze and immediately understood.
“Mr.
Stark…”
“I’m just saying.
Redhead, beautiful, telepathic.
That’s a pretty ambitious choice for a sixteen-year-old.”
Raja nearly choked on his orange juice.
“I wasn’t…”
“Come on.
I want to show you something.”
Tony didn’t even give him the opportunity to finish before steering him away.
Raja looked helplessly toward his parents, only to find both of them following without the slightest sign of surprise.
That was when Raja became suspicious.
‘They know something.’
Behind them, Jean watched the strange procession disappear toward one of the private corridors.
She didn’t need to guess what was happening.
The thoughts coming from the people involved had already told her enough.
Tony knew who Raja really was.
And even his parents knew.
And judging from the direction they were heading,
Tony clearly intended to have a private conversation about the Ghost Rider.
Before Jean could think any further, someone sat down beside her.
She heard the amused chuckle before she even turned her head.
“Emma.”
“Jean.”
Jean sighed looking at the women with annoyance.
“What do you want?”
Emma Frost glanced toward the corridor where Raja had disappeared, then looked back at Jean with a smile that immediately told her she was about to be annoying.
“Who would’ve thought you’d be interested in younger men?”
Jean stared at her caught off guard.
“What?”
Emma’s smile widened.
“Poor Scott.
I imagine he’ll be devastated once he hears it.”
“Scott and I are friends,”
Jean replied, rolling her eyes.
“I’ve told you that before.
We’re friends.
That’s all.”
“Of course.”
“And if you actually like him, perhaps you should spend less time bothering me and more time trying to convince him.”
Emma snorted and took a sip of her drink.
“Who said I wanted him?
Charles can keep him.”
Jean couldn’t help laughing.
Meanwhile, Tony had led Raja, Jagadish and Grace toward one of the more heavily secured sections of Stark Tower.
Unlike the public areas of the building, this corridor was almost completely empty, with security systems positioned at regular intervals.
Tony stopped in front of a reinforced door and entered a command.
The lock released immediately.
“JARVIS, open it.”
“Certainly, sir.”
The door slid open, and Tony motioned for them to enter.
Raja stepped inside, still looking around in confusion.
He had expected perhaps a private office or a laboratory, but the room looked more like a secure archive.
There were no windows, and the walls were lined with equipment and displays.
Tony walked toward the main screen while Raja remained near his parents.
“What’s this about?”
Raja asked in confusion.
Tony didn’t answer.
Instead, he simply said, “JARVIS.”
The lights dimmed.
The screen came alive.
Raja’s expression changed instantly.
There was his Camaro, sitting in the middle of Harlem.
Then the missile.
The impact.
The burning wreckage.
Raja watched the destroyed vehicle pull itself back together before the flames engulfed it, changing the entire nature of the machine.
He watched the transformation he had desperately hoped nobody had captured clearly enough to identify.
The footage ended with Ghost Rider driving away.
Silence filled the room.
“….”
“….”
“….”
Raja slowly turned toward Tony.
“You knew.”
Tony nodded his head as he folded his head.
“I’ve known for a while.”
Raja then looked at his parents.
Neither Jagadish nor Grace looked surprised.
For a moment he simply stared at them, and suddenly several things that had seemed strange over the past few weeks began falling into place.
The way they had watched him whenever he came home, the conversations that stopped whenever he entered a room, the way his mother had hugged him a little tighter than usual.
“So that’s why you’ve both been acting weird.”
Grace stepped toward him.
“We were worried about you.”
“And we were trying to understand what happened and process it,”
Jagadish added with a sigh.
“But after seeing what you did in Harlem, we couldn’t exactly be angry with you.”
Raja looked between them.
“You aren’t scared?”
His mother smiled.
“We’re your parents.
Of course we’re scared not because of you.
Because of the danger you will be facing…”
She reached out and touched his arm.
“But we’re also proud of you.
You saved people, Raj.
Thousands of people were caught in that fight, and you could have driven away when you had the chance.
Instead, you went back.”
Raja lowered his eyes for a moment embarrassed.
Because he had went there to beat the shit out of Abomination who literally killed him if wasn’t for his Ghost Rider’s power.
He had spent so much time worrying about what would happen when his parents discovered the truth that he hadn’t considered this possibility at all.
They weren’t disappointed.
They were proud.
He finally turned back toward Tony.
“Alright.
You know who I am.
You deleted the footage.
My parents know.
So what exactly do you want from me?”
Tony leaned against the table, his expression becoming more serious.
“I want to offer you a scholarship.”
Raja blinked hearing it from Tony’s mouth.
“A scholarship?”
“Yeah.
Money, equipment, access to facilities, education opportunities, whatever you need within reason.
You’ve got potential, and Stark Industries can give you access to things that would otherwise take you years to obtain.”
Raja narrowed his eyes.
“And the catch?”
Tony smiled hearing him.
“I want you to help me when I need it.”
Raja remained quiet.
“….”
Tony continued,
“I’m not asking you to go after every supervillain in the country.
You’re sixteen.
I’m not completely insane.”
Raja gave him a doubtful look.
Tony pointed at him.
“Don’t look at me like that.
I’m only partially insane.”
That earned a reluctant smile from Raja.
Tony continued with his explanation,
“There are criminals and enhanced people out there who are beyond what normal police officers can handle.
If something comes up that’s within your abilities, I want you to help.
And if I call you because I genuinely need an extra hand, I want you to at least hear me out.”
Raja considered the offer carefully.
It wasn’t just about the money.
He had Bruce and Betty living inside his dimension, and sooner or later he was going to need equipment for them.
He had already started looking for abandoned properties because he couldn’t exactly walk into a hardware store and buy enough equipment to build an entire research facility without raising questions even if he could what about money.
Tony Stark was practically offering him a shortcut.
More importantly, Tony wasn’t asking him to reveal everything about his power.
He simply wanted Ghost Rider to help when necessary.
Raja looked toward his parents.
Jagadish gave him a small nod.
Grace smiled waiting for his answer.
The choice was his.
Raja took a slow breath before extending his hand.
“Alright.
We have a deal.”
Tony shook it firmly feeling smug.
He had pulled one before Nick Fury does.
“Good.
Welcome to the unofficial Stark Industries extended family.”
The moment their hands touched, Raja heard the familiar notification inside his head.
“Important Character Contact Confirmed”
“Tony Stark: +1,000 XP”
Raja’s eyes widened slightly.
His previous total had been 7,535 XP.
Now it jumped to 8,535/10,000.
“Current System Level: 3
Current XP: 8,535/10000”
He quickly suppressed the smile trying to spread across his face.
Only 1,465 XP remained.
Tony released his hand and looked at him suspiciously.
“What?”
Raja shrugged his shoulder.
“Maybe I just like good deals.”
Tony stared at him for another second before grinning.
“I think we’re going to get along.”
Raja wasn’t entirely convinced that was a good thing.
He looked toward the large screen, then back at Tony.
“One thing, though.”
Tony raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Don’t expect me to start wearing some ridiculous superhero costume.”
Tony’s grin became considerably wider.
“No promises.
At least I can promise it will be a good fit for you…”
*******************************
(Author note:)
I hope you guys give me your opinion and idea’s.
Weekly Twice Chapters will be uploded…
Wednesday…
And Thursday…
–>
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