The arrival of the X-Men shifted the dynamic considerably. Tony Stark, while still suspicious, seemed to defer somewhat to Professor Xavier's judgment, or at least his reputation for dealing with extraordinary individuals. They were invited to accompany the X-Men back to their headquarters, a sprawling mansion nestled in the seemingly peaceful countryside.
The mansion, however, was a hub of activity, filled with young mutants honing their abilities. Leo and Kaelen found themselves objects of intense curiosity, their powers observed and analyzed with a scientific rigor that, while less overtly controlling than the Foundation, was still unnerving.
Professor Xavier, in his gentle yet persistent manner, continued to probe Leo's mind, though Leo's innate mental defenses made it a slow and challenging process for the telepath. Xavier sensed the deep connection to the Luminiferous Pocket, the echoes of a dying reality, and a core of power that felt ancient and profound, yet stubbornly resistant to full comprehension.
Kaelen, on the other hand, found a strange camaraderie with some of the younger, more volatile mutants. His raw mana outbursts, while initially alarming to the X-Men's control-focused approach, were met with a degree of understanding by those who had struggled with their own developing powers.
During one session with Xavier in his study, a room filled with books and advanced technology, the Professor finally managed to glean a more coherent glimpse of the collapsing multiverse from Leo's guarded mind. The vision, though fragmented and filtered through Leo's own limited understanding, was enough to unsettle the seasoned telepath.
"The scale of this… it's immense," Xavier said, his brow furrowed with concern. "A cascading failure of entire realities… I had no idea such a thing was possible."
Leo remained wary. "We need to find a stable universe, a place where this… unravelling cannot reach."
Xavier nodded slowly. "That may be our priority as well. If what you say is true, this could pose a threat to all of existence." He paused, his gaze piercing. "But I also sense a great power within you, Leo. A power that could potentially help."
Before Leo could respond, a sudden mental alarm blared in Xavier's mind, a psychic shriek of pain and fear that echoed through the mansion.
"Trouble," Xavier said grimly, his usual calm demeanor vanishing. "Something… powerful. It's attacking Cerebro."
Cerebro, the X-Men's device for detecting and locating mutants, was under assault. And the sheer psychic force of the attack suggested a threat far beyond anything they had encountered recently. Leo and Kaelen, still outsiders but now sharing a common space with the troubled mutants, felt the ripple of fear and urgency that swept through the mansion. Their search for refuge had once again been interrupted by a crisis, one that could potentially reveal the full extent of their mysterious powers to a universe already teeming with the extraordinary.
The psychic assault on Cerebro sent shockwaves through the X-Mansion. Mutants clutched their heads in pain, and a palpable wave of fear washed over the assembled students and teachers. Professor Xavier, his face etched with a grim determination, rolled his wheelchair towards a hidden door.
"We need to get to Cerebro," he stated urgently. "This is unlike anything I've felt before. It's targeted, powerful… and malevolent."
The X-Men, their training kicking in, moved swiftly to follow their leader. Leo and Kaelen, though still uncertain of their place in this unfolding crisis, felt compelled to act. The raw wave of psychic pain resonated with a primal fear of the unknown, a chilling echo of the encroaching void they had fled.
They followed the X-Men down a series of winding corridors, eventually reaching a vast, circular chamber dominated by a complex array of technology. This was Cerebro, a device that amplified Xavier's telepathic abilities, allowing him to locate and communicate with mutants across the globe. Now, the room pulsed with a chaotic energy, sparks of psychic feedback arcing across the intricate network of wires and crystals.
At the center of the room, Xavier placed his helmet on, his face contorted in concentration. But the usual focused intensity was replaced by a strained grimace.
"I can't… focus," he gasped, his voice filled with pain. "It's like a psychic scream, drowning everything else out."
Suddenly, a figure materialized in the center of the chamber, seemingly coalescing from the very shadows. It was tall and gaunt, its features obscured by darkness, but its eyes glowed with an eerie, malevolent red light. A wave of pure psychic dread emanated from it, crushing the air in the room.
"Who… what are you?" Storm demanded, her eyes crackling with elemental energy.
The figure remained silent, its red eyes fixed on Professor Xavier, a silent, psychic battle raging between them. Xavier groaned, sweat beading on his forehead.
"It's… feeding on his power," Jean Grey gasped, her own telepathic abilities struggling against the overwhelming force of the attacker. "It's like a psychic vampire."
The other X-Men moved to engage, but the shadowy figure lashed out with tendrils of pure psychic energy, easily deflecting their attacks. Ice shattered, flames dissipated, and Wolverine recoiled with a snarl, his adamantium claws sparking against an unseen force field.
Leo felt a familiar sense of protective urgency, the same instinct that had surged when Kaelen was in danger. He looked at Xavier, writhing in psychic agony, and then at the shadowy figure, its malevolent presence radiating an aura of pure entropy. It felt… disturbingly familiar.
Without conscious thought, Leo reached out with his assertive force, not with the blunt power he had displayed against physical objects, but with a more nuanced intent. He focused on the flow of psychic energy emanating from the shadowy figure, the way it was latching onto Xavier's mind, and he tried to… disrupt it. Not by force, but by introducing a counter-frequency, a ripple of his own intrinsic reality-altering ability into the psychic stream.
A faint shimmer emanated from Leo, barely visible to the naked eye. As it washed over the shadowy figure, the red glow in its eyes flickered. The psychic pressure in the room lessened momentarily, and Xavier gasped, taking a shaky breath.
The shadowy figure turned its attention to Leo, its faceless gaze filled with a sudden, intense focus. It sensed something different about him, something that resisted its psychic predation.
"Interesting," a chilling, disembodied voice echoed in their minds, seemingly originating from the figure itself. "Another anomaly. A disruption in the natural order."
The figure turned fully towards Leo, its red eyes burning into him. The psychic assault on Xavier lessened as it focused its attention on this new threat. The battle for Cerebro, and perhaps for Xavier's very mind, had just taken a dangerous new turn, and Leo's mysterious powers were about to be tested against a foe unlike any they had encountered before.