"H-How can this be?" Mother asked, taken aback by the sudden revelation.
"When we had left you, you were so little. A cute boy looking almost like a little Richard and now… you are like this."
"Are you a mutant?" Father asked, trying not to be too emotional although it was clearly not working since his eyes were already moist.
"I am indeed a mutant but my powers and current appearance are not because of my X-gene." I answered truthfully.
"Then, how? How did you turn out to be like this?" Mother asked loudly, anxious to know what turned her precious son into this appearance.
"As much as I would like to tell you right now, the answer to your question is a little too shocking and might be quite overwhelming for you. I would tell you when you are a little cool-headed." I replied.
They were already in a state of shock upon learning that I was Albion. It would definitely be too much for them to learn that another me from a different world had given me my powers.
"We have met our son after so many years only to find that he has completely changed. And now he is not even telling us how he changed so much." Mother said furiously to Father, clearly hurt by my answer.
As much as it pained me to see them like this, it was only for their own benefit that I was not answering their questions right now. After all, my past contained a little too many of this world's secrets and even if I could reveal a few of them, my parents were clearly not ready to handle them right now.
After hearing my answer, both of them became completely silent, trying to process everything that they had learnt right now.
It was at this moment that Laura walked towards me and then sat on the chair closest to me.
"Never thought that you would be my brother when I first saw you." Laura said.
"Well, I had certainly not thought that I would find my parents whom I had thought to be long dead in the base." I replied with a smile.
"At least, it would be interesting to have you as a brother. Seriously, when I had first see you on the television, I had thought that you were one big nerd just like Mom and Dad." Laura said, rather amenable to have me as her brother.
I merely smiled upon hearing her words. It would indeed be interesting to have a sister, especially such a wild one.
"By the way, can we spar later?" Laura suddenly asked.
"I thought that you won't want to fight again so soon after finally having obtained freedom." I asked curiously.
"Of course, I don't. But I also have to be stronger so that Mom and Dad can't ever be captured again." Laura explained the reason for her request.
"You don't have to worry about Mom and Dad now that I am here. Just try to live your life properly from now on." I replied.
Still, the fact that she wanted to protect Mom and Dad made me smile.
"I had always thought that there was something you were trying to hide about the two months you were missing, Peter. Still, I would never have thought that you are actually Albion." Dr. Connors said once I finished my conversation with Laura.
"What? You were missing for two months. How did that happen, Peter?" Father asked immediately as he heard Dr. Connors' words.
"It is a long story, Father. I will tell you once all of you have been settled." I replied, asking him to be patient.
"I am sorry that I never told you about my identity, Dr. Connors. But my identity as Albion was to be revealed strictly on a need to know basis. Because I couldn't afford any of my friends or family being targeted due to my identity." I apologized to Dr. Connors.
"It's alright, Peter. I can understand your reasons. Besides, I had long known that something was up from the moment you had transferred to a mysterious school." Dr. Connors replied, understanding why I had hidden my identity from him.
"Who is this girl though?" Laura asked, pointing to Emma.
"I can smell your scent on her though, Peter."
Looks like Laura could since my smell on her because of the rather intense makeout session I had with her earlier.
"Peter, how could you ever forget to introduce Emma to your parents?" Aunt May rebuked me.
"I was going to. However, Laura revealed my identity before I could even say anything." I clarified, defending myself.
"Let me introduce myself, Peter." Emma said as she saw that I was going to introduce her.
"I am Emma Frost, a telepath and a telekinetic. Also, I am Peter's girlfriend." Emma introduced herself, not even withholding the fact that she was a mutant.
"Peter must be very lucky to have an amazing girlfriend like you." Father said with a smile upon finding that Emma was my girlfriend. Thankfully, it didn't matter to him that Emma was a mutant, especially a telepath.
"Still, so much has happened during time we were away." Mother said in a saddened tone.
"Our son is not only a leading scientist but also an extremely powerful superhuman. Moreover, he already has a great girlfriend. We have lost a great amount of time with our son." Mother said with a sigh, regretting that they were not in my life till now.
"Now, now, Mary. There is no need to wallow needlessly in the past. The fact that you are here among us is what is important. You can still create new memories with Peter." Aunt May said, making my parents aware that they still had a future which they could build with me.
"You are right, May. We still have our entire life in front of us we can spend with Peter." Father said, motivated by Aunt May's words.
"However, I had never thought that it would be our son who would save us from that hellhole. We had long lost any hope that we would ever be saved. After all, how could the government even save us when they were not even aware of HYDRA in the first place. But you saved us, Peter." Father thanked me, almost making me blush by how much he was singing my praises.
"May, Ben! I must thank both of you for taking care of Peter till now. You have sacrificed a lot for him." Mom thanked Aunt May and Uncle Ben with a bow for everything they had done for me.
"Peter is like a son to us, Mary. There is no way that we could have left him alone." Uncle Ben replied, saying that there was no need for such thanks despite everything they had done for me.
As I looked at the harmonious scene before me, I realised that all of my fears were unfounded.
Although it would take a lot of time before we could be a proper family, my parents were ready to accept me despite how much I had changed.
Knock! Knock!
It was at this moment that a sudden knock sounded on the door.
I am back! Albeit only to finish this arc because of how much love my dear readers have provided to this story.
However, I will be publishing a new story the next month. So, stay tuned!