Metalhead (X-Men - OC)

[EmperorOfHeavyMetal]

*FASTER THAN A BULLET, TERRIFYING SPEED…*

João Teixeira woke up startled as Painkiller by Judas Priest was playing. That was the song he set as his alarm clock on his phone. He picked it up and turned the alarm off. He then groaned. It was Monday again after all.

"Ugh, back to school…" He slowly stood up and dragged his feet to the restroom to take his morning shower. João strongly disliked school since he struggled at socialising and also had to deal with bullies. He was 15 years old and a 9th grader.

After taking a shower, he brushed his teeth and looked at himself in the mirror. 174cm tall, skinny, unathletic, pasty white and a new pimple on his chin.

"Fuck…" He let out a deep sigh. "I hate myself…" He left the restroom with a depressed look on his face. He then went to the living room and there was toast and a strawberry yoghurt on the table.

"Good morning!" His mum smiled. She was finishing her breakfast while watching the news on TV. "Ready for a new school week, dear?"

"Of course..:" João rolled his eyes as he slumped onto the chair. He scarfed on his breakfast as usual. The teenage boy loved to eat. He was still growing, after all. It made sense for him to have a voracious appetite, like all teenage boys did.

---

Xavier was looking up some information on the supercomputer Cerebro in the Institute.

"What now, another mutant?" Logan groaned, with his usual surly tone.

"Correct, Logan." Xavier nodded, without taking his eyes off Cerebro.

"At this point we'll lose track of how many of us are out there." Logan folded his arms.

"We'll never be anywhere near the majority of the world's population, but there's probably enough of us out there that could populate an entire country." Xavier explained.

"A country with only mutants?" Logan chuckled. "As if mankind would ever allow that." He scoffed.

"Merely a hypothesis, Logan." Xavier glanced at Logan. "Remember, our goal is to get mankind to accept us and realise we're not a menace to society.

"I know. Just messing." Logan raised his hand defensively. "Anyway, where is this supposed new mutant? You seem unable to find it."

"Because their powers haven't manifested themselves yet." Xavier explained. "Therefore it's impossible to pinpoint their exact location. Let alone their identity."

"Whatever." Logan shrugged and turned around. "I'm going to tell the kids to go do some drills."

"Please do that." Xavier smiled slightly.

---

The train has reached João's metro station destination. He hopped out and climbed up the stairs. At the top, he turned right and walked in the direction of his school. He entered it and braced himself for the upcoming week.

"Bom dia, senhor Vasco." (Good morning, Mister Vasco). He greeted the doorman.

"B'dia." (Morning). Mister Vasco nodded and muttered, clearly paying more attention to whatever he was reading on his laptop. As João walked past his desk, he noticed mister Vasco was reading the news on the website of a sensationalist media outlet, as usual.

"Figures." João rolled his eyes as he muttered quietly and climbed up the stairs. He then walked down a corridor and entered the open recess area where everyone hangs out during breaks. He looks around nervously, hoping none of his bullies are there yet. He takes a seat on a bench and observes other kids chatting, playing football and basketball. As usual, he was spending the break alone. He had, maybe, a couple of people he'd call friends. And they clearly weren't enough to protect him from the bullies. João also noticed some couples kissing and holding hands. As a 9th grader, he was starting to see his peers getting girlfriends more and more often. A phenomenon that started in 7th grade, but only among early bloomers. In 8th grade, it was also still not standard. But now? It was getting closer to that. Not that it affected João, per se, but he did wonder how it felt…

"Hey, look who it is!" João looked up, snapping out of his thoughts. It was a tall blondeish guy with a smug face. He was one of his bullies.

"Oh, great, it's you…" João rolled his eyes and stood up. "The hell do you want?" And asked him with an annoyed voice.

"To play with you, of course!" He pushed João, who nearly fell back.

"PÓ CARALHO"! (Untranslatable Portuguese cursing insult) João cursed at him angrily and closed his fists.

"Oh yeah? Remember, I'm stronger than you!" The bully rolled up his sleeves, revealing his big biceps. He was the most athletic guy in his classroom.

"HIYAAH!" João tried a messy punch, but the bully just dodged and João nearly fell on the floor from losing his balance.

"Hiyah, this!" The bully then hit João in the gut with his knee.

"AAAAAAH!" João yelled in pain and fell on the ground, contorting and grabbing his belly.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" His bully taunted him with a sadistic smirk.

A crowd of students from 5th to 9th grade was forming and watching the fight unfold. Most were clearly feeling uncomfortable with the sight before them. They knew that what was happening was not right, and that a teacher or a janitor watching it would have to interfere.

João got back on his feet and charged at the bully, trying to knock him down. The bully was caught off-guard but managed to stand firmly with his feet on the ground, and then pushed João away.

"AH!" João fell back.

"You have no chance." The bully kept taunting him. "I could kill you if I wanted to."

"I wish you fucking died!" João cried in anger.

"Hah! You're funny!" The bully laughed.

Then, the ground started to get darker, as if João's shadow was getting bigger.

"Look at the ground!" A 5th grader pointed at it in shock.

"Huh?" João, on his knees, looked down at it and his own shadow did seem much blacker and larger, indeed.

"Now, for the final move!" His bully advanced with a confident smirk on his face, little did he know that the large shadow on the floor was climbing up his body, quickly covering its entirety.

"Ugh!" João winced, bracing himself for more pain.

"Time to rearrange your face, Joãozinho!" The bully prepared a strong kick, but he stopped mid-way through it. "What the hell?! Why can't I swing my leg forward?!" He struggled, trying to move his leg forward, but something was preventing him from doing so.

"Huh?" João blinked rapidly as he looked at the bully. He was… engulfed in something black? João's own shadow? And it was restraining his bully's leg?!

"What's going on?!" A random girl from the bystander crowd seemed freaked out by what she was seeing, and the other students seemed very confused as well.

"I can't move!" The bully was letting out a cry of frustration.

"Oh yeah?" João was back on his feet and seemed to be regaining some of his lost confidence. "Too bad." And he swung his leg at him and connected with his stomach hard.

"OOOOOOW!" The bully's eyes nearly popped out of his face as João's hard kick connected on his gut. He then fell on his back as the mysterious black shadow remained wrapped tightly around his right leg.

"What is that shit, anyway?!" João was as perplexed as anyone else as he pointed at the shadow wrapped around his bully's leg.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" Everyone's heads turned in the direction of the angry voice approaching. It belonged to teacher Ricardo Fonseca. João frowned as he saw him.

"Of all teachers to see us fight, why did it have to be HIM?!" João groaned in frustration as he rolled his eyes. João hated this teacher in particular because this teacher also hated his guts and clearly persecuted him. Last year he punished João simply for defending himself against a bully, and thus João hated him to death ever since.

"JOÃO TEIXEIRA! THIS IS THE LAST STRAW!" Fonseca yelled at him. "I WANT TO TALK TO YOUR MOTHER ASAP!"

"HE STARTED IT!" João yelled at his teacher and then looked around at the bystanders. "TELL HIM! YOU SAW IT, YOU COWARDS!" He closed his fist. But the other students were too stunned and scared to speak up or just didn't particularly care for João in order to stand up for him.

---

"What is this?! The mutant finally used their powers?" Xavier's eyes widened in surprise as Cerebro began pinpointing like crazy. It was showing a big red dot somewhere in Europe, it seemed. He zoomed in and the mutant was located in the Iberian Peninsula. He zoomed in a little more and the dot was pinpointing to Lisbon, Portugal. Suddenly, a big photo of a teenage boy wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt and blue jeans popped up with additional information.

"João Teixeira, 15 years old. Seems to have a power of producing shadows?" Xavier rubbed his chin pensively. He has been all alone in the dome-shaped room since Logan left him a while ago. Not that it mattered much, since Xavier could communicate telepathically with other people within a certain range.

"Logan, the new mutant has been identified" Xavier sent a telepathic message with his brain to Logan, who was in the middle of a drill with the rest of the X-Men.

"Ugh!" Logan put his hand on his head. He hated whenever Xavier sent him a sudden telepathic message.

"You okay, Logan?" Scott raised his eyebrow as he was hiding behind a rock in the drill.

"Yes…" Logan replied. "I gotta go see Xavier. You guys keep on doing what you have to do." He pointed at Cyclops and then walked away.

"Okay…" Cyclops seemed a little perplexed at why Logan was being secretive.

"GOTCHA!" Suddenly, someone grabbed Cyclops by his collar. Cyclops turned his head forward and it was none other than Shadowcat, who used her power of going through things to get a hold of him.

"Way to go, Kitty!" Nightcrawler then popped up behind Cyclops, and held on to him, restraining him.

"No fair!" Cyclops cried in frustration.

"Too bad!" Shadowcat grinned. "You lost, Scott!" She teased.

"Seriously, Scott?" Jean Grey looked at him with a frown on her face, clearly disappointed. "How could you make a beginner's mistake like that?" She demanded.

"IT WAS LOGAN! HE DISTRACTED ME!" Cyclops shouted defensively.

Jean just facepalmed hard.

---

João was waiting outside Fonseca's office. His mother was on her way to school, after being called urgently to school by the teacher. João was feeling a mix of anger, frustration, injustice and perplexity. How did he turn the fight around against his bully? What was that weird shadow-like thing wrapped around his bully's leg? And what chance did João have of surviving yet another disciplinary problem that was not his fault, but he got blamed for, regardless?

"Why the hell do teachers ALWAYS punish the quiet bullied kid who fights back?!" João closed his fists in anger and slammed them on his thighs.

"João, come in." Fonseca opened the door and signaled for the teenage boy to enter his office.

João stood up and entered it. Then he sat on the chair across from Fonseca's desk. Fonseca shot him a stern look.

"What do you have to say for yourself this time? Fonseca asked with a harsh tone.

"Why? Clearly you don't believe me and assume I just decked that clown without any reason." João groaned angrily.

"Of course I do!" Fonseca raised his voice. "You have a record, young man."

"Yeah, a record of being bullied and then getting punished myself when I fight back!" João raised his voice this time.

"Don't shout at me! That's rude! Why are you always so insolent?!" Fonseca scolded him.

João folded his arms and clenched his jaw. Fonseca cleared his throat.

"You know, you are getting this close to expulsion." He explained.

João just remained silent with a neutral look on his face.

"Got nothing to say?" Fonseca pressed.

João just scoffed.

"Typical." Fonseca groaned. "You know, João, how can a boy with such a classy mother be so rude and poorly raised?" He shook his head.

"My mother?!" João blinked rapidly in shock. "You dare question her parental skills, teacher?"

"Who else could be responsible for you being the way you are?" Fonseca asked, coldly.

"Is that so?" João scoffed with a bitter laugh. "Guess what, teacher, MY MOTHER THINKS YOU'RE AS MUCH OF A MORON AS I THINK YOU ARE!" João yelled as his words echoed all over Ricardo Fonseca's office.

Fonseca's eyes widened in shock at João's audacity. His anger was rising.

*KNOCK KNOCK* Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard, which took both João and Fonseca by surprise.

"Come in!" Fonseca cried after a bit of hesitation.

"Teacher Ricardo Fonseca?" João turned back on his chair. His mother was here.

"Mum!" João nearly cried his eyes out in relief.

"Please have a seat, Teresa." Fonseca pointed to the empty seat next to João. Teresa sat next to her son and smiled at him softly in order to ease him.

"Why have you called me from work? Where's the urgency? João seems fine." Teresa asked, perplexed.

"He is fine, yes…" Fonseca frowned. "But Bernardo is not."

"Bernardo?" Teresa blinked twice, recognising that name. "Bernardo Bettencourt?" She asked to confirm it was the safe one she thought about.

"Correct." Fonseca nodded. "João assaulted him during recess earlier today."

"Why?" Teresa glanced at João briefly, before looking back to Fonseca again. "Because Bernardo provoked him or hit him once again and all my son did was defend himself?" She frowned.

"No. Your son has caused way too many disciplinary problems in this school by now, Teresa. And looks like he's been lying to you as well…" He gave João a hateful look.

"My son is not a liar, teacher!" Teresa cried in indignation.

"Parents often don't know the true colours of their children…" Fonseca sighed.

"Neither do teachers know of the students who kiss up to them." João boldly blurted out with a sarcastic tone.

"See?!" Fonseca pointed at João as he looked at Teresa.

"See what, teacher?" Teresa folded her arms as she looked at Fonseca dryly.

"Your son is so rude! He literally called me a moron before you walked in and had the nerve of saying you'd be in agreement with his words as well!" He cried.

Teresa stared at Fonseca in silence for a while and then looked at João for a while as well. She then went back to looking at Fonseca. She seemed to be, not necessarily in shock, but quite frankly surprised that her son uttered such words to a teacher's face.

"And he's right about that." Teresa broke the silence with a stern look on her face.

João couldn't help but muster a smirk.

"Excuse me?!" Fonseca was shocked at Teresa's words. He could not have heard that right.

"Teacher." Teresa stood up and also signaled to her son to stand up, which he did. "My son has been unhappy in this school for a couple of years now. It's clear to me that you don't like him and are failing to do your job as an educator. Your lack of pedagogical skills are, quite frankly, appalling!" Teresa delivers her criticism in a firm, yet calm tone.

"Parents do not tell teachers how to do our jobs!" Fonseca cried.

"I'm also a teacher, and you bring shame to our profession!" Teresa now raised her voice. "Let's go, son." She looked at João, who nodded and followed her.

"João will most likely be expelled!" Fonseca shot up from his chair and cried.

"No, he won't." Teresa looked at Fonseca as she opened the door. "I'm submitting a transfer request to transfer João from this school to another one… the one I work at." She explained coldly, before leaving Fonseca's office with her son and shutting the door.

---

"A new mutant has been discovered?" Scott asked, somewhat surprised, while standing in the middle of the main room of the Institute.

"So I've heard." Ororo nodded.

"Was ist this one like?" Kurt asked as he rubbed his temple.

"That I don't know." Ororo shook her head.

"Mister Logan and the Professor went looking for him, then?" Kitty asked.

"Where did this one pop out?" Rogue asked, right after sipping some cold water.

"I'm not sure. But he's from abroad." Ororo looked pensive.

"Is he a fellow skateboarder?" Evan smirked as he carried his skateboard under his arm.

"Evan, there's no way I can know such a detail." Ororo answered her nephew with a look that was half-dry, half-amused.

"We'll just have to wait until they return." Jean pointed out to the room.

"The more the merrier, I'd say." Bobby chuckled.

"Another student will be added to the team, then. If it's a teenager, that is." Mr. McCoy rubbed his chin.

"Why was Logan being secretive about it, though?" Scott raised his eyebrow. "Him and the Professor are never vague or try to hide from us whenever a new mutant is identified. Especially not one that might join our team."

"That is a good point…" Kitty looked pensive.

"Don't overthink it, everyone." Ororo said. "Logan just simply did not want to interrupt your drill earlier today." She explained.

"Ja, makes sense." Kurt slammed his palm with his fist.

---

"Mum, thank you so much for standing up for me in school against Costanza." João smiled at Teresa in borderline adoration.

"Costanza?" Teresa raised her eyebrow in amusement.

"Yeah, that's the nickname I gave teacher Fonseca." João explained.

"Why? Because he's bald like George from Seinfeld?" Teresa chuckled.

"Yeah… bald and stupid!" João laughed.

"Anyway." Teresa cleared her throat. "You should not have called your teacher a moron to his face, dear." And gave him a serious look. "Even if this one very much deserved it."

"I know, sorry!" João lowered his head in shame.

"Anyway, don't worry." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "At my school you will not suffer from bullying ever again." She smiled softly.

Suddenly, something black came out of João's hands.

"What on Earth?!" João was in shock as he saw the black substance coming out of his hands.

"João?! What is happening?!" Teresa cried in shock and concern.

"I don't know!" João cried as his hands kept shooting the black substance that was wrapping itself around random items in the household, from chairs, to books, to the Nintendo Switch, etc. After a while, it stopped.

"Dear! Are you alright!" Teresa rushed over to her son and checked his hands.

"I don't know!" João cried in fear.

*DING DONG* The bell suddenly rang, which surprised mother and son.

"Mum, are you waiting for someone?" João blinked twice.

"No…" Teresa shook her head and then walked over to the door. She peeped into the hole and saw two men standing outside in the hallway. One of them being in a wheelchair.

"Quem é?" (Who is it?) She asked with a rather confused and worried tone.

"What did they say?" Logan looked at Xavier.

"Most likely wondering who we are." Xavier explained. "Teresa Teixeira?" Xavier asked with a thick accent, clearly giving him away as a non-Portuguese speaker.

"Sim?" (Yes?)

"Tsk. How are we going to communicate with a woman whose language we don't speak?" Logan groaned impatiently.

"That is indeed a hassle." Xavier nodded.

But, suddenly, the door opened and Teresa stood in the doorway.

"Mrs. Teixeira…" Xavier blinked in surprise as he looked at the attractive middle aged woman with dark brown hair and green eyes.

"Posso ajudar?" (Can I help you?) She raised her eyebrow.

"Lady, do you speak English?" Logan asked with his gruff voice.

"Yes?" Teresa raised both her eyebrows this time. "Are you two gentlemen foreign?" She asked.

"...yes." Xavier tried to get back on track, feeling somewhat relieved that this woman spoke English, and thus they could communicate properly with her. "We'd like to talk to you about your son, João." He calmly explained as he butchered the pronunciation of her son's name like most native English speakers do.

"And why's that?" She frowned and looked at them distrustfully and also with perplexity. Who were these two foreign men? Why did they want to talk to her about João? And how did they even know about her son, anyway?!