Salem Center, New York, Xavier Mansion
In New York, apart from landmarks like Stark Tower, the Daily Bugle Building, Oscorp Tower, and many other popular buildings, there's a mansion said to be more worth visiting than them all.
This mansion is very well-known in New York as an old antique worth seeing. It is rumored that the current owner inherited the mansion, which has been passed down through his family for ten generations.
Currently, the mansion is undergoing renovations. The owner of the mansion, Charles Xavier, one of the 'brightest' men in humanity, has expressed his desire to open a school where he would teach special gifted students.
It is even said that the old man has already recruited five students, though others cannot confirm whether this is true. What can be determined is that, in this huge mansion, apart from Charles Xavier, there is a young girl he has adopted since she was 11.
Rumor has it that the girl's name is Jean Grey. A quiet, red-haired teenager who rarely steps beyond the mansion's tall gates.
Locals in Salem Center have spotted her only a few times—once at the bookstore downtown and once near the lake—but those who did say there's something... strange about her.
Not frightening, but different. As if the air around her gets a little heavier, the silence a little deeper when she passes by.
Some whisper she's the real reason behind the sudden renovations. Others think Xavier is preparing the place not for a simple school, but for something far more ambitious.
The young girl that people have been talking about is here today, reading books as usual with her glasses. Once 11, now already 18, Jean Grey couldn't help but sigh.
Normally, she would be at the stage of enjoying life, transforming into a woman and adult, starting to understand her responsibilities. But, unfortunately, she isn't normal.
At age 10, her mutant abilities awakened traumatically when her best friend, Annie Richardson, was struck by a car. Jean psychically linked with Annie, experiencing her death firsthand.
Since then, Jean has been naturally withdrawn. Whether she likes it or not, she can hear other people's thoughts as if they were speaking to her.
Not only that, sometimes, when emotions run too high around her, Jean can feel them—raw, without any filter. Emotions crash into her like the car that struck her friend.
Anger, fear, jealousy, lust… it was overwhelming. The world never shut up, and for years, she barely held herself together.
To be honest, she's had enough. She only wanted to shut off her power and live like a normal human, but unfortunately, it's impossible.
Still, she has something to look forward to now, because the mansion is no longer just the two of them. Charles has recruited four other people and created a group called the X-Men, of which she is a part.
Their mission is to save and guide young mutants who have awakened their powers. Charles even decided to create a school for them.
Finally, life would no longer be so boring with a routine where she knew everything she would do tomorrow. There would finally be some unpredictability.
Just when Jean was lost in her thoughts, she heard a voice coming from nowhere. "Wow, little one, you look so lonely."
It was a woman's voice. From Jean's knowledge, she is the only woman in this mansion, so how did someone even manage to come near her without her hearing their thoughts?
This left her a little panicked. She turned around but found no one. "Phew, am I starting to lose my mind now?"
"No," the voice replied to her self-question. "I'm above you, darling."
Well, Hela found that instead of Loki, she should be called the trickster goddess because she really enjoys pranking, trolling, and teasing people now—especially women, who appear so cute.
Jean, who heard the reply, naturally raised her head. She saw a woman floating. "Oh my god."
Although the young woman had been in contact with the supernatural world since her youth, she never imagined coming into contact with something like a ghost. She still couldn't help but doubt if she was hallucinating.
As for Hela, after seriously examining Jean, she confirmed that the latter hadn't yet become the avatar of the Phoenix Force.
Jean has strong psychic abilities, which allowed her to see Hela's astral form, but even then, Jean's power was mostly suppressed. That's also good. I can at least come in contact with her before the Phoenix Force thing. Though, does this mean she would come into contact with the Phoenix Force in the comic way?
Hela tilted her head, an amused and excited smile appeared on her lips as she slowly floated down from the ceiling, her green eyes directly locking with Jean's.
"You're not hallucinating, sweetie," she said in a teasing, singsong voice. "But I'll admit, the expression on your face is priceless."
Jean was really scared—not in the Viper way, where she may have felt fear but was ready to lose her life, but in a way that every normal human fears death.
She didn't have much experience with fighting or anything like that. Right now, the X-Men had just been formed, and the only conflict she had participated in was against Magneto. Even then, it was a small conflict.
As she could feel people's emotions, she didn't sense any malice from this woman. But then again, since she couldn't hear the latter's thoughts, maybe her powers weren't working?
What caused her to feel fear was Hela's eyes. Even if her powers weren't working, Jean was a truly professional psychologist at 20.
She could see indifference, boredom, and many psychopath qualities on Hela's face, and this, to be honest, scared her.
"Who… what are you?" Jean managed, her voice barely above a whisper. In fact, while she was speaking, she was instinctively sending signals to Charles through telepathy. She needed to buy some time.
Without a doubt, Hela isn't a telepath. Still, once one reaches a certain level, things like space movements, soul fluctuations, psychic fluctuations, magic fluctuations, and the like can be felt—especially in this form. Hela found out that her psychic and soul perception was even greater than usual.
"Clever girl," she mused aloud, her voice laced with approval. "Calling for Daddy Xavier. I'd do the same if I were in your position, encountering a strange person."
"Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend you do so. With his little psychic powers, he may feel me, but I think it's hard for him to see me, let alone hurt me."
She knows? Jean asked herself. Clearly, this woman seems like someone dangerous and strong. What if she harms Charles? Jean regretted asking for help, but it was already too late. She could feel Charles was about one minute away. Even if she told him it was nothing, he would definitely come to verify to be sure.
Fortunately, Hela decided to stop teasing Jean. No matter what, too much teasing might lead to resentment and misunderstanding.
She repeated almost the same thing she had said to Viper. "Don't look so terrified, darling. I'm not a bad person. If I wanted to hurt you, you'd already be dead."
Still no response. Are my powers not working on her? Jean still couldn't feel any feedback about whether the woman was lying or not.
She asked a question that she doubted would receive an answer, but if she could, it might change something. "Who are you?"
"Who am I?" Hela thought of a certain someone's introduction. Although it might appear cringe-worthy for readers in her past life, now, she felt it would be cool. "I'm a ghost, the ghost of Asgard, Hela, Queen of Asgard."
...
Do you think this tone is too formal and should I return to the Dark humorous one or is it also good like this?