Post by sunofdarkchild on Jan 1, 2024 8:18:24 GMT -5
Magik and the New Mutants Season 1
Episode 1: The New Class
"To me, my New Mutants."
The telepathic call rang out through the mansion which constituted Professor Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Heads turned in the direction from which the call was issued, and immediately all of the students stopped what they were doing and began to head towards the mansion's lower levels.
The man who had made the call, Charles Xavier himself, was sitting in his wheelchair in an advanced control room. He frowned as he stared at the seat that stood in front of the controls for the Danger Room. He was the only person who did not use that seat when overseeing a session in the X-Men's training facility.
This was a time for new beginnings, Xavier thought to himself as he put his hands on the sides of his wheelchair and began to push himself to his feet. With great effort, he stood up, taking a deep breath as he focused on his next task, walking the short distance to the other chair.
Xavier slowly lifted his right foot, and immediately collapsed to the floor with a cry of pain.
"Professor!" yelled the control room's only other occupant, a blonde teenage girl.
The girl bent down and helped Xavier up. The professor looked forlornly at the chair he had attempted to reach, so close, and yet so far away, before slumping back into his wheelchair with a sad sigh.
"Thank you, Illyana."
Though a student at the school, Illyana Rasputin was the only resident of the mansion who was not a member of either the senior team, the X-Men, or the new student team, the New Mutants.
"I don't understand," Illyana told her teacher. "I thought your legs were supposed to be fully healed."
Xavier nodded. "They are. My problem is psychosomatic. Ever since my original injury, I have used my psychic powers to block out the pain. But because of this, my body does not realize that it has been healed, and any attempt at walking will cause the very pain I did not let myself feel all those years ago."
He looked at Illyana. "Let this be a lesson for you, child. Do not repeat my mistake. Do not attempt to drown out your pain. The result will be that it will be much worse when you do finally feel it."
Xavier turned his attention to the Danger Room as the New Mutants began to enter the training facility.
Xuân Cao Mạnh, Sam Guthrie, Daniel Moonstar, Kitty Pryde, Roberto Da Costa, and Rahne Sinclair lined up in their new blue and yellow uniforms and grinned at each other. All except for Kitty, who crossed her arms and pouted at the control room.
Xavier spoke into a small microphone. "Welcome to the Danger Room. For most of you, this is your first time here. This facility is designed to be a safe place for you to practice using your powers, so if the need arises you will be prepared for any eventuality."
He pressed a button, and a series of obstacles appeared throughout the danger room.
"Your first exercise is a simple one. Avoid the obstacles and make it to the exit. Who wants to go first?"
"I will," Roberto declared confidently. He was a strong, handsome young man of Afro-Latina descent with a smile that made girls swoon. With a flex of his arms, he powered up, his body becoming covered in an aura that was at once black and glowing. It was an effect that earned him the mutant moniker Sunspot.
As Roberto stepped forward, a portion of the wall flipped open, revealing a large robot standing in Roberto's way.
"Is this the best you can do, Professor?" Roberto scoffed. He drew his right arm back and threw a punch at the robot, only for his arm to sink into the metallic surface.
"Hey, what's going on?" he yelled. "I can't get my arm out!"
Roberto's teammates shared a laugh at his expense, and in the control room, Illyana covered her mouth to hide her smile. Only Xavier was not amused by Roberto's failure.
"Rahne, would you like to go next?"
Rahne was the youngest member of the team. She had extremely short red hair and spoke in a thick Scottish accent. At Xavier's command, she transformed into a large red wolf known as Wolfsbane.
She proceeded slowly and cautiously, sniffing along the ground for any sign of danger. Her enhanced animal senses gave her a heads-up on any threat, allowing her to avoid most of the obstacles.
However, she was unprepared for a trap door to open up beneath her, causing her to fall into a deep pit and fail the test.
"Sam, you're up."
Sam Guthrie was the tallest of the New Mutants by far. He was a skinny blonde with a thick Kentucky accent.
Sam bent down as if he was preparing for a 100-meter sprint and blasted off. This power earned him the name Cannonball. While he used it, he was virtually invulnerable.
Unfortunately, Sam did not know how to maneuver while blasting, and the first obstacle knocked him off course. He began to bounce around the danger room, ping-ponging off of the various obstacles like a pinball until he finally, unceremoniously, collided with the floor almost exactly where he started.
"Professor," Dani called out, "how are Shan and I supposed to do this? Our powers are mental. They won't work on machines."
"You are correct, Danielle," Xavier answered. "However, your powers are not the be-all and end-all. To demonstrate, Kitty will run the course without the use of her powers."
Kitty Pryde was a brown and curly-haired Jewish girl from Chicago. With a roll of her eyes, she stepped forward and began the test.
Kitty faced all of the obstacles that had stumped Roberto, Rahne, and Sam, from robots to trap doors. But she deftly avoided each one, moving quickly, never staying still for even an instant, until finally, she was on the other side.
Most of the team clapped, but Roberto crossed his arms and hmphed derisively. "Sure. It's easy when your power is nothing can touch you."
Kitty matched Roberto's derisive expression. "It's because I'm a real X-Man, not an X-baby like the rest of you."
Xavier buried his face in his palm as the argument broke out below.
"What'd you call us?" Roberto demanded.
"Ah'm older'n you," Sam declared.
"Do you have any idea what we've been through?" Xuân asked.
An image of Xavier's head appeared in the air between them.
"Enough!" he declared telepathically.
"Kitty, it is true that your time in the X-Men has given you an experience your classmates lack. But they are still your peers, and you will treat them with respect."
"And when are you going to treat me with the respect I deserve?" Kitty demanded.
"Right now, you have not earned it," Xavier said as his image disappeared from their minds.
The New Mutants exited their locker rooms in their civilian clothes, Kitty storming ahead of them in a fit of rage.
Illyana quickly followed after her.
"Professor Xavier is a jerk!" Kitty said loudly.
"It isn't fair!" she complained to Illyana. "I earned my place in the X-Men! They all say so! So why does he keep treating me like a child?"
"Maybe because you're acting like one?" Illyana answered.
"Not you too! I thought you'd be on my side, at least."
Illyana looked down uncomfortably as she struggled to find the words to explain herself.
"I guess … I just don't understand … why someone would want to grow up … before they have to."
Kitty stopped in her tracks and took a deep, horrified breath.
"Oh my gosh. I-I'm so sorry, Illyana. I didn't mean-"
"What's done is done," Illyana said. "Wishing and griping won't change it. All you're doing is making everybody miserable."
"Why don't we go to the arcade? That'll cheer me up," Kitty suggested.
"But we've got dance lessons next," Illyana observed.
"I think the X-bay – sigh – the New Mutants and I need some space right now. Come on. I'm sure I can get Doug to join us."
The New Mutants met Stevie Hunter in front of the mansion. Stevie was an African American woman who had once held dreams of competing in the Olympics before a leg injury ended her gymnastics career. She ran a dancing school in town and was one of Charles Xavier's closest human allies who knew most of his secrets.
"Where're Kitty and Illyana?" Stevie asked.
"Her royal highness thinks she's too good for us," Roberto explained, making Stevie scowl.
They got into Stevie's van so she could drive them into town for dance class.
"What's her problem, anyway?" Dani asked.
"She's been through a lot with the X-Men," Stevie explained.
"We've been through a lot too!" Roberto said angrily.
Roberto had lost his girlfriend Juliana days after his mutant power manifested. A group of mutant haters had attempted to kill Roberto, and Juliana jumped in front of him, taking a bullet that had been meant for him.
Sam had been forced to leave school to work in the mines when his father suddenly died. His powers manifested during a cave-in which had nearly buried him and his coworkers alive.
Rahne was an orphan who was raised by a fanatical minister before he attempted to kill her when her powers manifested, claiming she was possessed by a demon.
Dani's parents had been killed by a bear, and shortly before her arrival, her grandfather had been beaten to death by mutant-hunters looking for her.
Xuân was a refugee from a war-torn nation who had recently come to America with her little brother and sister.
"Are you at least getting along with Illyana?" Stevie asked.
"We're not fighting with her, at least," Xuân answered. "But she never talks to us."
"There's something off about her," Roberto said.
"Is she a mutant like us, Stevie?" Sam asked.
"If she was, she'd be doing the same exercises in the Danger Room with the rest of you," Stevie answered.
Neither Stevie nor her passengers noticed another car hidden in the woods just off the road as they drove by.
The car pulled out onto the road and began to follow Stevie's vehicle.
"Alert headquarters that they're heading towards Salem Center," the driver told his passenger.
The passenger picked up a speaker: "Lookout one to Wideawake – status report: Vehicle registered to Stevie Hunter proceeding down Graymalkin Lane. Five occupants besides Hunter – all young people, presumably Xavier's new students. Unable to confirm identities without jeopardizing our cover. Request instructions."
A man with red hair and sunglasses appeared on a monitor in front of the passenger seat.
"Maintain discreet surveillance. Additional units will join you in town," their superior said.
"What then, Mr. Gyrich," the passenger asked. "Do we arrest them?"
"Let me make myself clear, until you receive orders to the contrary, you and your team will do nothing to alarm these children or their teachers," Gyrich said angrily. "Should that policy change, you will be notified. Wideawake out."
Xavier wheeled himself into his study, where the senior members of the X-Men had gathered.
"Are you ok, Professor?" asked the furry blue mutant Kurt Wagner, who was also known as Nightcrawler. "You seem even more stressed than usual today."
"Yes, acclimating the new students is proving difficult, and Kitty isn't making it any easier," Xavier explained.
"What did you expect?" asked Logan, who was also known as Wolverine. "The kid was in the majors, and you demoted her all the way down to high school varsity. In her shoes, I'd be throwing a tantrum too."
"Allowing Kitty to be part of the X-Men was a mistake," Xavier declared. "Now that we have more students her own age, we have an opportunity to correct that mistake. I won't have children risking their lives unnecessarily."
"You did not summon us to rehash arguments about Kitty's place on our team," said the X-Men's leader, Ororo Munroe, who was also known as Storm.
Xavier nodded. "That is correct. I asked you here to discuss Illyana's situation."
The X-Men all exchanged troubled looks, and the last member, the large Russian mutant Piotr Rasputin, also known as Colossus, glared at the professor.
"We agreed that we would observe her in case of trouble, but otherwise she would be welcome here without question," Ororo recalled.
"That was when it was just the X-Men living here," Xavier said. "Now that there are other children here, I believe it would be prudent to reexamine the risks of having her around."
Piotr slammed his fist against the wall. "If you kick out my sister, then you will have to kick me out as well," he declared.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Petey," Logan said. "Chuck's got a point. The girl's dangerous."
Piotr walked over to Logan and glared down daggers at him. The massive Russian towered over the diminutive Canadian.
"How dare you…" Piotr said under his breath.
"What do you mean, Logan?" Xavier asked.
"Just what I said. She's dangerous," Logan said, seemingly unfazed by Piotr.
"Could you explain why?" Ororo asked.
Logan shook his head. "'Fraid not. It's a feeling I get whenever she's around. She scares me a lot more than you do when you try to be intimidating, Petey. It's a primal fear. I've only ever experienced it two other times – when we fought Magneto and with Jean when she was at her worst."
Everyone flinched collectively at the mention of Jean Grey at her worst.
"You don't really think …" Kurt began.
"If I thought she meant us harm, I'd have already taken care of her myself," Logan said. "Being dangerous doesn't mean she's not trustworthy."
"Logan's animal instincts are almost always right," Ororo observed. "If he says Illyana is dangerous, then we have to assume she is."
"Stop it!" Piotr yelled. "We should be helping her, not treating her like a threat!"
"I agree," Kurt said. "We should do everything in our power to help her. But we can't be blind to the possibility that she's a trojan horse."
Xavier sighed. "Hopefully being around more children her own age will help her open up more."
Stevie drove the five to her studio in Salem Center, where she taught her dancing classes. They changed clothes again at the locker rooms and entered the dance classroom. Dani stopped in the doorway.
They were not the only ones there. Four other teenagers had arrived before them, a brown-haired boy and girl who looked like twins, a pretty blonde girl with curly blonde hair, and a red-headed boy with large glasses.
"You must be the new class at Xavier's," the blonde said with a sweet smile.
"Indeed we are," Roberto responded. He stepped forward with his own winning smile, confident in the way his tight dancing clothes highlighted his muscular and athletic figure. "I'm Roberto. This is Sam, Dani, Rahne, and Xi'an."
"Xuân," the Asian girl corrected him.
"Right. Sorry. I'll get it eventually. And you are?" he asked the blonde.
"Tandy," she answered. "These are Mike and Mindy, and Peter. We go to the School of the Holy Child."
"Nice," Roberto said. "I went to a private Catholic school as well when I lived in Brazil."
As the two groups of teenagers began to mingle Stevie turned to Dani, who had gone pale and not moved from the doorway. "What's wrong?" she asked softly.
"I didn't realize there'd be other kids here," Dani said, "normal kids."
"Charles thinks you should have more opportunities to meet and interact with other kids," Stevie explained. "But if it makes you feel uncomfortable…"
Dani nodded. "It does."
Professor Xavier was waiting at the mansion's main entrance when Kitty and Illyana returned from the arcade. Kitty had known there was no point in attempting to sneak past the most powerful telepath on Earth, so she did not try.
"Playing hooky? And here I thought your antics couldn't get more childish," he admonished them. "First me, then your new classmates, now you disrespect Ms. Hunter. I'm very disappointed in the both of you."
Turning to Illyana, he said: "You are going to help Ororo and Kurt prepare dinner, and then you are going to help your brother with the dishes. They're already waiting for you in the kitchen."
Illyana nodded silently and went off, giving Kitty an annoyed look.
"It wasn't her fault, Professor," Kitty explained. "I made her come with me."
"If you insist on being a bad influence, then there are going to be consequences for following your example," Xavier stated. "If this happens again, I am going to seriously consider moving you two to different rooms."
"No!" Kitty begged. "I promise, it won't happen again. Just let us stay roommates."
Xavier nodded. "Very well. See that you don't give me any more reason to reconsider this arrangement."
The New Mutants' return to the mansion in Stevie Hunter's car was recorded by a long-distance camera hundreds of meters from the entrance, far enough to avoid being detected by any telepaths who were not specifically looking for spies, it was hoped.
The live feed was received on a large screen in a command and control room underneath the Pentagon, watched by Henry Peter Gyrich.
Gyrich, with his expensive suit and dark glasses he wore even indoors, was as stereotypical as a government agent could get. Were it not for his bright red hair, which he kept short, he would easily blend into any room and become practically invisible.
As the head of the recently-created Commission of Superhuman Activities, Gyrich oversaw the military and clandestine aspects of the American government's response to the mutant issue. The fact that mutant powers usually manifested at puberty was an unfortunate complication in his eyes, as it meant that any policy would have to take mutant children into account, the one thing that he feared could lead to public backlash against attempts to contain the mutant threat.
"What the hell is Xavier doing?" he asked under his breath.
One of the technicians working at a console with another screen turned to look up at him. "Sir?"
"Nothing, Robert. Get back to work."
Gyrich turned to his assistant, a serious-looking woman standing in the corner behind him. "Get me Sebastian Shaw," he instructed her.
At the end of dinner, Nightcrawler cleared the table by performing a series of acrobatic feats, grabbing and stacking the glass plates with his feet and tail while balancing on one hand before leaping all the way to the kitchen sink without dropping or chipping a single one. This display, reminiscent of his past as a circus performer, delighted most of the teens. Even Illyana cracked a smile, while the others laughed. Except for Rahne.
"Tis no' right," she said to herself in her thick Scottish accent, "to break bread with and laugh at a demon."
Sam excused himself from the table first and went straight to his room, where he took out his cell-phone. This was a new iPhone, given to him by Professor Xavier, and was by far the most expensive thing he had ever owned.
"Hi, Ma," he said into the device, "I'm doing great, actually. Ah didn't realize how much Ah missed being in school while Ah was working in the mines. Ah do feel kind of weird being here, though. It's a very exclusive school, and there aren't that many students. But on the plus side, Ah can get a lot of one on one time with the Professor or the other teachers if Ah need any help with anything. Ah'm starting to think Ah might actually be able to go to college in a couple of years. How're things back home? Did you get the check Professor sent?"
Sam nearly dropped his phone. "It was how much? That's more than Ah made in three months in the mines. Ah don't think Ah implied we needed that much."
Kitty was woken up in the middle of the night by a sound from the bed next to hers. In her groggy state, it took her a few moments to recognize the sound of Illyana's voice.
"Nyet…nyet…" the other girl said, repeating the Russian word for "no" in her sleep as she tossed and turned.
Kitty arose and walked over to the other bed, stepping over a 'bampf,' a doll made to look like Nightcrawler.
"Ostanavlivat'sya!" Illyana screamed as Kitty approached, her mouth wide with terror. Her voice softened as she suddenly switched to English, saying "Please … stop …"
"Illyana?" Kitty said, putting her hand on the other girl's shoulder. The Russian girl shook with terror, and Kitty spoke louder. "Illyana, wake up!"
With a high-pitched scream, Illyana's eyes burst open and her hand shot out with lightning speed at the person standing over her. Kitty reacted on instinct, using her phasing power to save herself from serious injury as Illyana's flat hand passed through her neck nail-first like a dagger.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed.
Illyana blinked. "K-Kitty?" she stammered, slowly retracting her hand.
"Yeah. It's me."
Illyana seemed to want to look around the dark room, but her head merely shook in fear. "W-where-where am I?"
"You're home," Kitty assured her. She bent down, picked up the bamf doll, and handed it to Illyana. The other girl grabbed the doll and hugged it close as she sat up. She trembled and took deep, loud breaths as she buried her face in the doll.
Kitty wrapped Illyana in her blanket and then sat down to wrap her arms around the other girl.
'Shhh…" she said in a soft, comforting tone. "Everything's all right. You're safe."
Tears began to flow down Kitty's cheeks as she hugged Illyana like a mother cradling her child. "I promise, I won't let anything happen to you."
Some of the mansion's residents got up early, while others slept in. Dani was one of the late risers. While she had not woken up screaming in the middle of the night, she slept fitfully, beset by bad dreams.
As she washed up, Dani thought she heard a growling behind her. In the side of the bathroom mirror, she saw reflected in the window a pair of large, non-human ears. With a gasp, she spun around, but nothing but the morning sun could be seen in the window.
She found her teammates in the rec room, along with Illyana. Roberto was questioning the young Russian.
"So what, you just live here because your brother's an X-Man?" Illyana nodded, but looked confused at this line of questioning. "So, do you not have any powers?"
"What does it matter if I do or don't?"
Roberto threw up his hands. "I'm just asking."
Xuân was the first to notice Dani's arrival, and how troubled the Cheyenne looked. She approached in order to ask Dani what was wrong when an image appeared between them.
"Ma Mere! Ma Pere!" Xuân screamed in French at the image of herself in better days with her entire family. "C'est Impossible!"
The image of the happy family with two sets of twins, one in their teens and the other at preschool age, was replaced by the family screaming as the father was shot down in front of them.
"Stop this!" Xuân yelled at Dani. By now, everyone else in the rec room had stopped what they were doing to watch what was unfolding. The images had changed again, this time to the family attempting to flee their homeland on a boat, only to be stopped by pirates. What happened next, her mother did not survive, and for a while Xuân had wished she had not survived either.
"MONSTER!" Xuân screamed, leaping through the image and tackling Dani to the ground.
"I-I'm sorry!" Dani pleaded. "I didn't mean-"
"Liar!" Xuân accused, her fingers wrapping around Dani's throat. "I thought you were my friend, but you reveal my shame for the whole world to see!"
Two pairs of arms grabbed Xuân by the shoulders and Roberto and Illyana both lifted her off of Dani.
"Stop it! You'll kill her!" Roberto warned.
"Let go of me!" Xuân yelled. The pupils of her eyes disappeared as she activated her mutant power. A second later, Roberto's pupil's disappeared as well, and he loosened his grip and released her, his body no longer under his control.
Xuân turned her head to the left to glare at Ilyana. "Let me go," she said again.
"Not until you calm down," Illyana insisted.
Xuân's jaw dropped, and she took several deep breaths. Her eyes and Roberto's returned to normal as she deactivated her power.
"All right, I'm calm now," she said. Illyana let her go.
Dani struggled to get back on her feet. "I'm so sorry!" she said again. "It was an accident," she attempted to explain. But Xuân was not listening. Her attention had been completely refocused on Illyana.
"Dani! Xuân!" came the disembodied voice of Professor Xavier. "See me in my office right now!"
Both girls complied, leaving the others to stare after them.
"That was quick thinking," Sam told Roberto. "If you and Illyana hadn't been there…"
Roberto looked grave. "Xuân was ready to kill Dani, and with her powers she could kill us all with ease if she wanted to." He shook his head. "Hardly an auspicious beginning for the school, is it?"
Xuân and Dani had never been to a principal's office before. Dani had been homeschooled until now, and Xuân's schooling had been cut short by war. Neither had any idea what to expect.
"I wish I could say that I'd never had one student attack another," Xavier said, "but unfortunately, such things have happened with the X-Men before. Usually, though, it was because the attacker was under mind control or in some other way possessed."
Xuân looked to the side. "I see now that I overreacted. But to have my very soul laid bare like that is more than could bare."
"I know, I'm sorry," Dani said again. "I just – I can't always control it. That's why I didn't want to go have dance classes with other kids yesterday."
"Do these moments where your control lapses occur when you're upset?" Xavier asked. "When you're angry or anxious?"
Dani nodded. "Yes."
"You must be mindful of these feelings, then, and come to me or another member of the staff any time you feel that you are in danger of using your powers unintentionally."
"Your powers are a gift," Xavier explained. "They are not something to be feared. But they are dangerous if not respected, and can cause great harm. Being mutants means you will have to grow up sooner than other children your age and learn responsibility to control these powers. It is not fair, but it is the cost of being a mutant."
"I know," Dani said. "I'll do better, I promise."
"Very well. And Xuân? Dani has already apologized three times for this unfortunate accident. Do you have anything to say to her?"
Xuân sighed. "I'm sorry I attacked you and tried to choke you."
"No problem, I might've done the same thing, in your position," Dani said. "Can we forgive each other and go back to being friends?"
"Give me a little bit of time," Xuân said. "The pain's still fresh right now."
"I guess that's all I can ask," Dani said. "I think it'd be best if I was alone for a while. I also need time to calm down so this doesn't happen again with someone else."
Xavier nodded. "You are excused. I don't think any punishment is necessary this time. You are both showing maturity in admitting fault and coming to an understanding over this incident."
Dani left, but Xuân lingered at the doorway.
"Xuân? Is there something else you wanted to say?"
She turned back to him. "Who exactly is Illyana?"
A change seemed to come over Xavier, and she knew immediately that she had broached a topic that was distressing to him.
After a few moments, he said: "Just as you want others to respect your privacy, you should respect theirs."
The X-Men were preparing to depart for their latest mission in the Blackbird, their custom hypersonic jet based on the Lockheed SR-71 spy plane, when Xavier's face appeared on a monitor next to the pilot's seat.
"What is it, Professor?" Storm asked.
"You have a stowaway onboard," Xavier said.
"Kitty," Wolverine said.
"I'll find her," Nightcrawler said, teleporting away in a poof of black smoke to search the aircraft's compartments.
Xavier had his arms crossed when Nightcrawler brought Kitty to him.
"What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?"
"I was just trying to be with my team," she insisted.
Xavier glared daggers at her. "I have a lecture to give. We will discuss this when I return. Your antics have made me late and delayed the X-Men's departure on an important mission, and I am most displeased."
Dani was sobbing in her room when she heard a knock on the door. She looked confused for a moment.
"Rahne, is that you?" she asked, going to open the door.
In the doorway was a familiar red-furred wolf. The wolf barked happily and leapt onto Dani, licking the tears off of her cheeks.
"Hey, cut it out!" Dani yelled, but her sobs had turned to laughter.
Rahne transformed back into herself and got off of Dani. "How'd ye know it was me?"
"I'm not completely sure," Dani said. "I've always had this connection with animals. Maybe it's part of my mutant power, but I don't know. I guess it extends to you when you're in wolf form. It was like I could sense you there."
"Wow, that's neat."
Kitty was back with the New Mutants after her attempt to stow away aboard the Blackbird. With the X-Men and Xavier gone, it fell once again to Stevie to look after them.
"I want to punch something," Kitty said angrily.
"So what else is new?" Roberto asked sarcastically.
"I think you could all stand to work off some excess energy," Stevie said. "Does anyone object to using the Danger Room?"
They all gathered once again in the Danger Room, wearing their blue and yellow uniforms just as they had the previous morning. Even Dani had joined them for this session.
Illyana stood behind Stevie, who entered the program in the control room. It was Kitty who had chosen the specific program they would fight against.
The walls, floor, and ceiling of the Danger Room disappeared as the program initialized, becoming replaced by small, easter European town. Floating in front of them was an imposing-looking man in a red costume, cape, and helmet.
"Who dares challenge the Master of Magnetism and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants?" Magneto demanded. Behind him appeared five more mutants.
Blob was enormous in every way, and appeared to be one hundred percent fat. Toad, on the other hand, was shockingly small, all the more so with how he crouched menacingly. Mastermind looked plain in comparison to all of his peers, with a simple face and build and no costume beyond a large brown coat.
The red-haired Scarlett Witch and white-haired Quicksilver wore the flashiest and most colorful costumes after Magneto. Twins, they stood near each other, and alone of the villains did not seem eager for a fight.
Roberto transformed and put his right fist into his left palm. "The New Mutants are gonna cream your so-called 'brotherhood.'"
"Let us see if you can live up to your boasts," Magneto said. "Brotherhood, attack!"
Quicksilver moved first, running so fast none of the New Mutants had a chance to react. The wind from his passing knocked all but Kitty and Roberto over, the former using her phasing power to let the wind pass through her, while the latter withstood it through his own strength.
The Blob approached Roberto, seeing as he had stood up to Quicksilver's initial move. "Go on, hit me," the large villain said.
Roberto complied, not hearing Xuân's scream for him to stop, plunging his powerful fist into the Blob's round stomach.
"Oh, not again!" Roberto yelled as his hand was absorbed into the Blob's flesh. "That's disgusting!"
The Blob inhaled and popped his stomach out, sending Roberto flying.
The other New Mutants rose to their feet. Sam blasted towards Quicksilver, hoping for some payback. But the speedster moved out of the way at the last second. Sam, unable to stop himself or turn crashed headfirst into a building, causing the entire structure to fall on him.
"Did no one read up the Brotherhood?" Xuân yelled! "We're playing right into their hands!"
The scene shifted again, reality rippling as if the universe had turned to water, and when the world appeared solid again, everyone was standing in a different position.
"It's Mastermind!" Xuân yelled at her teammates. "He's using his illusion powers to confuse us! Wolfsbane! Transform and smell where he his and take him out!"
Rahne complied, turning into a wolf and sniffing. Her nose led her to what appeared to be Roberto, but smelled nothing like her friend. 'Roberto' suddenly screamed and cowered with his hands over his head as an apparition of Magneto appeared above him, electricity dancing around the Master of Magnetism as he glared with a frightening rage as his subordinate.
His concentration broken, Mastermind's illusions disappeared, revealing him where 'Roberto had just been. Rahne leapt upon him and transformed into her intermediate form to quickly dispatch him from the fight.
Turning back into a human, she looked at Dani. The Cheyenne had known where their enemy was from Rahne, just as she had sensed Rahne's presence earlier.
One of their opponents was down, but four more remained before they could face the real threat, Magneto.
Roberto was busy digging Sam out of the rubble. Sam was thankfully invulnerable while blasting, and so was uninjured from collision and collapse. Blob, having already had some success with Roberto, approached the Brazilian again.
"Go ahead, hit me again," he taunted.
"With pleasure," Roberto said. But instead of winding up his fist like before, this time he brought both of his hands together above his head and slammed them to the ground, creating a shockwave and causing the ground to crack beneath the Blob's feet. The Blob lost his footing and fell on his back with a massive thud. He hit his head and was rendered unconscious.
Toad had attempted to leap into the fray as soon as Quicksilver had launched his initial attack, but his first target, Kitty, was too fast for him to catch. She dodged each lunch of his while constantly taunting him.
"You're the worst villain ever, you know that, Toad? You don't even deserve to be called a supervillain!"
"Shut up!" Toad yelled, leaping at her once more. This time, Kitty phased to dodge, disappearing into the ground as he landed on top of her. Toad had no time to wonder what had just happened as Kitty reappeared behind him, grabbing him and wrestling him to the ground, where she promptly took him out of the fight.
With just the twins left to deal with, Xuân's eyes turned white as she possessed the Scarlett Witch, who began to gesture at her brother, causing him to trip and fall mid-stride.
Xuân then turned the Scarlett Witch's powers on their enemies' leader. Magneto and his most powerful underling were locked in a clash of energies, but the Master of Magnetism had the advantage, being far more experienced with his own powers than Xuân was with her puppet's.
"Cannonball, now!" she yelled.
Sam got behind Magneto and blasted off, striking the arch-villain from behind with his full force. Ordinarily, Magneto would have had a magnetic shield around him protecting him from all physical attacks, but with his attention focused on his duel with the Scarlett Witch, Sam had an opening in which to strike.
"Yes!" Roberto cheered as Stevie turned the Danger Room off. He high-fived Sam. "We won! We beat Magneto!"
"Don't get too proud of yourselves," Kitty said. "That was the easiest setting. Against the real thing, you all wouldn't have lasted ten seconds."
"Give us a break!" Roberto said. "For our first time, that was really good!"
"I'm afraid she has a point," Xuân said. "We were sloppy and careless, and most of us haven't done any research on the X-Men's fights with the Brotherhood. If our opponents had the capacity to act with more intelligence and teamwork, we wouldn't have stood a chance."
Stevie activated the loudspeaker in the control room. "Xuân is correct. But that's the point of the Danger Room. Here it is safe to make mistakes. What's important is that you learn from your mistakes so that you can do better in the real world. I'm sure the Professor will be pleased with your performances for your first time, but there is always room for improvement, even for the most experienced X-Men."
Xavier was indeed pleased when he returned and examined the results of the New Mutants' first Danger Room session as a team.
"I will be giving you all written evaluations of your performances later tonight, as individuals and as a team," he told them. "This has given me a greater understanding of what areas we need to work on."
"Professor," Roberto asked, "are we being trained be join the X-Men someday?"
"Not necessarily," Xavier said. "While I do want you to be trained in combat and to work as a team, that is for your own defense and well-being, not so that you can become X-Men when you grow up. What you do with your lives is up to you, and I will be just as happy if you find a calling other than joining the X-Men."
He turned to Kitty. "Come to my office, now. It's time we talked."
Kitty sat down on the opposite side of Xavier's desk.
"I've tolerated your behavior up to a certain point because it was understandable that you were angry," Xavier said. "But now this has gone too far. I do not normally use such terms, but you need to get over the fact that you are not on the X-Men anymore."
"I'm not getting over it anytime soon."
"I was going to make you the leader of the New Mutants, given your greater experience with the X-Men. But there is no chance of that happening if you continue to make them hate you."
"I don't want to be the New Mutants' leader! I want to be an X-Man!"
"Why?" he demanded. "Why are you so determined to risk your life instead of taking this opportunity to be with other kids your own age? Why is it so damn important to you that you remain an X-Man that you can't wait until you turn 18?"
"Because of what happened to Illyana!" Kitty screamed.
Xavier closed his eyes and sighed sadly. "What happened wasn't your fault," he said softly.
"Don't give me that. I've gone through the scenario in the Danger Room a hundred times. If I'd been a little faster, a little stronger, a little smarter, I could have saved her."
Kitty choked back a sob. "I could have saved her, and I didn't. That's on me."
She continued: "I also grew up a lot that day. I learned that when we're less than perfect when we make mistakes, real people suffer. So I've stopped treating it like a joke. I've given 110% to my training, so the next time a little girl needs saving, I won't fail again."
"If you were kicking me off the team as punishment for failure, I could live with that. But to do it like this, to tell me to just wait until I'm 18 after everything that's happened, it tells me that what I learned from this failure doesn't matter. My failure to save Illyana doesn't matter because of my age. But it has to matter. I need it to matter."
Xavier looked down in thought for several minutes. "I understand," he said at last.
"This is against my better judgment, and it may be a mistake, but I am going to trust that you are as grown up as you claim to be. However, there are conditions. This childish feud you have with the New Mutants must end. You will treat them with respect and as your peers. If I hear the word 'X-babies' or anything of the sort, you are off the X-Men again."
Kitty nodded excitedly. "Sure. I can do that."
"And you must keep your grades up. At the first sign being an X-Man is affecting your GPA, you're off the team. That means no more playing hooky without my explicit permission."
"Understood. Thank you, Professor. I promise I won't let you down."
Xavier gathered the New Mutants in his office that evening to give them their evaluations. Kitty was not with them this time, having been moved back to the mansion's other team.
"Based on your performances today," Xavier said, "I have decided that Xuân will be your team leader for now."
Xuân looked surprised and flustered. She did not believe her teacher could put such trust in her so soon after her attack against Dani.
"Are you sure sir?" she asked.
Xavier nodded. "I am quite sure. You should be, as well."
She looked around and her teammates. "What does everyone else think?"
Roberto smiled and raised his hands, clapping for her. The other New Mutants quickly joined in, giving their new leader a round of applause. Xuân looked to Dani, who was clapping and smiling as widely as anyone else.
She let herself have a small smile as well. "Ok. If you all think I can do it, I guess I'll be the leader."
"This calls for a celebration!" Roberto declared.
"I'm an X-Man again!" Kitty told Illyana. "Isn't it great?"
"Sure," Illyana said, not sharing Kitty's enthusiasm.
"I gotta go find your brother and the rest of the team. They'll be thrilled!"
As Kitty ran off, Illyana saw Roberto leading the New Mutants towards the front entrance.
"In honor of our new leader" he said, "we're going to the most expensive restaurant in town. It's all on me."
He phoned the restaurant to confirm there were available seats and then an Uber to take them. They talked excitedly amongst themselves, mostly congratulating Xuân and telling what a great leader she'd be. Xuân and Dani laughed together, their earlier feud forgiven and forgotten.
None of them noticed Illyana standing nearby or offered to take her with them. She watched silently as they exited the mansion at the Uber's arrival, moving one foot forward to follow before stopping herself.
When they were gone, Illyana turned around and went up the stairs to her room. After closing the door, she reached into her shirt and pulled out the necklace she always wore, but which no one ever saw.
Attached to the necklace was a palm-sized circular golden locket. She opened the locket and stared at the carving inside.
A blue pentagram was carved into the bottom part of the locket, surrounded by symbols in a pattern few on Earth could understand. At the five points of the star were small, circular grooves. In three of these grooves sat bright red stones, perfectly sized. The three stones glowed brightly like there was an electric light inside the locket.
Illyana's look turned into a glare as she stared at the inside of the locket. The room itself seemed to darken in response to her mood, until at last, she closed the locket, and the lights returned to normal.
I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me, and I walk alone
I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one, and I walk alone
I walk alone, I walk alone
I walk alone, I walk a-
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes, I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then, I walk alone
Boulevard of Broken Dreams – Green Day
Episode 1: The New Class
"To me, my New Mutants."
The telepathic call rang out through the mansion which constituted Professor Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Heads turned in the direction from which the call was issued, and immediately all of the students stopped what they were doing and began to head towards the mansion's lower levels.
The man who had made the call, Charles Xavier himself, was sitting in his wheelchair in an advanced control room. He frowned as he stared at the seat that stood in front of the controls for the Danger Room. He was the only person who did not use that seat when overseeing a session in the X-Men's training facility.
This was a time for new beginnings, Xavier thought to himself as he put his hands on the sides of his wheelchair and began to push himself to his feet. With great effort, he stood up, taking a deep breath as he focused on his next task, walking the short distance to the other chair.
Xavier slowly lifted his right foot, and immediately collapsed to the floor with a cry of pain.
"Professor!" yelled the control room's only other occupant, a blonde teenage girl.
The girl bent down and helped Xavier up. The professor looked forlornly at the chair he had attempted to reach, so close, and yet so far away, before slumping back into his wheelchair with a sad sigh.
"Thank you, Illyana."
Though a student at the school, Illyana Rasputin was the only resident of the mansion who was not a member of either the senior team, the X-Men, or the new student team, the New Mutants.
"I don't understand," Illyana told her teacher. "I thought your legs were supposed to be fully healed."
Xavier nodded. "They are. My problem is psychosomatic. Ever since my original injury, I have used my psychic powers to block out the pain. But because of this, my body does not realize that it has been healed, and any attempt at walking will cause the very pain I did not let myself feel all those years ago."
He looked at Illyana. "Let this be a lesson for you, child. Do not repeat my mistake. Do not attempt to drown out your pain. The result will be that it will be much worse when you do finally feel it."
Xavier turned his attention to the Danger Room as the New Mutants began to enter the training facility.
Xuân Cao Mạnh, Sam Guthrie, Daniel Moonstar, Kitty Pryde, Roberto Da Costa, and Rahne Sinclair lined up in their new blue and yellow uniforms and grinned at each other. All except for Kitty, who crossed her arms and pouted at the control room.
Xavier spoke into a small microphone. "Welcome to the Danger Room. For most of you, this is your first time here. This facility is designed to be a safe place for you to practice using your powers, so if the need arises you will be prepared for any eventuality."
He pressed a button, and a series of obstacles appeared throughout the danger room.
"Your first exercise is a simple one. Avoid the obstacles and make it to the exit. Who wants to go first?"
"I will," Roberto declared confidently. He was a strong, handsome young man of Afro-Latina descent with a smile that made girls swoon. With a flex of his arms, he powered up, his body becoming covered in an aura that was at once black and glowing. It was an effect that earned him the mutant moniker Sunspot.
As Roberto stepped forward, a portion of the wall flipped open, revealing a large robot standing in Roberto's way.
"Is this the best you can do, Professor?" Roberto scoffed. He drew his right arm back and threw a punch at the robot, only for his arm to sink into the metallic surface.
"Hey, what's going on?" he yelled. "I can't get my arm out!"
Roberto's teammates shared a laugh at his expense, and in the control room, Illyana covered her mouth to hide her smile. Only Xavier was not amused by Roberto's failure.
"Rahne, would you like to go next?"
Rahne was the youngest member of the team. She had extremely short red hair and spoke in a thick Scottish accent. At Xavier's command, she transformed into a large red wolf known as Wolfsbane.
She proceeded slowly and cautiously, sniffing along the ground for any sign of danger. Her enhanced animal senses gave her a heads-up on any threat, allowing her to avoid most of the obstacles.
However, she was unprepared for a trap door to open up beneath her, causing her to fall into a deep pit and fail the test.
"Sam, you're up."
Sam Guthrie was the tallest of the New Mutants by far. He was a skinny blonde with a thick Kentucky accent.
Sam bent down as if he was preparing for a 100-meter sprint and blasted off. This power earned him the name Cannonball. While he used it, he was virtually invulnerable.
Unfortunately, Sam did not know how to maneuver while blasting, and the first obstacle knocked him off course. He began to bounce around the danger room, ping-ponging off of the various obstacles like a pinball until he finally, unceremoniously, collided with the floor almost exactly where he started.
"Professor," Dani called out, "how are Shan and I supposed to do this? Our powers are mental. They won't work on machines."
"You are correct, Danielle," Xavier answered. "However, your powers are not the be-all and end-all. To demonstrate, Kitty will run the course without the use of her powers."
Kitty Pryde was a brown and curly-haired Jewish girl from Chicago. With a roll of her eyes, she stepped forward and began the test.
Kitty faced all of the obstacles that had stumped Roberto, Rahne, and Sam, from robots to trap doors. But she deftly avoided each one, moving quickly, never staying still for even an instant, until finally, she was on the other side.
Most of the team clapped, but Roberto crossed his arms and hmphed derisively. "Sure. It's easy when your power is nothing can touch you."
Kitty matched Roberto's derisive expression. "It's because I'm a real X-Man, not an X-baby like the rest of you."
Xavier buried his face in his palm as the argument broke out below.
"What'd you call us?" Roberto demanded.
"Ah'm older'n you," Sam declared.
"Do you have any idea what we've been through?" Xuân asked.
An image of Xavier's head appeared in the air between them.
"Enough!" he declared telepathically.
"Kitty, it is true that your time in the X-Men has given you an experience your classmates lack. But they are still your peers, and you will treat them with respect."
"And when are you going to treat me with the respect I deserve?" Kitty demanded.
"Right now, you have not earned it," Xavier said as his image disappeared from their minds.
The New Mutants exited their locker rooms in their civilian clothes, Kitty storming ahead of them in a fit of rage.
Illyana quickly followed after her.
"Professor Xavier is a jerk!" Kitty said loudly.
"It isn't fair!" she complained to Illyana. "I earned my place in the X-Men! They all say so! So why does he keep treating me like a child?"
"Maybe because you're acting like one?" Illyana answered.
"Not you too! I thought you'd be on my side, at least."
Illyana looked down uncomfortably as she struggled to find the words to explain herself.
"I guess … I just don't understand … why someone would want to grow up … before they have to."
Kitty stopped in her tracks and took a deep, horrified breath.
"Oh my gosh. I-I'm so sorry, Illyana. I didn't mean-"
"What's done is done," Illyana said. "Wishing and griping won't change it. All you're doing is making everybody miserable."
"Why don't we go to the arcade? That'll cheer me up," Kitty suggested.
"But we've got dance lessons next," Illyana observed.
"I think the X-bay – sigh – the New Mutants and I need some space right now. Come on. I'm sure I can get Doug to join us."
The New Mutants met Stevie Hunter in front of the mansion. Stevie was an African American woman who had once held dreams of competing in the Olympics before a leg injury ended her gymnastics career. She ran a dancing school in town and was one of Charles Xavier's closest human allies who knew most of his secrets.
"Where're Kitty and Illyana?" Stevie asked.
"Her royal highness thinks she's too good for us," Roberto explained, making Stevie scowl.
They got into Stevie's van so she could drive them into town for dance class.
"What's her problem, anyway?" Dani asked.
"She's been through a lot with the X-Men," Stevie explained.
"We've been through a lot too!" Roberto said angrily.
Roberto had lost his girlfriend Juliana days after his mutant power manifested. A group of mutant haters had attempted to kill Roberto, and Juliana jumped in front of him, taking a bullet that had been meant for him.
Sam had been forced to leave school to work in the mines when his father suddenly died. His powers manifested during a cave-in which had nearly buried him and his coworkers alive.
Rahne was an orphan who was raised by a fanatical minister before he attempted to kill her when her powers manifested, claiming she was possessed by a demon.
Dani's parents had been killed by a bear, and shortly before her arrival, her grandfather had been beaten to death by mutant-hunters looking for her.
Xuân was a refugee from a war-torn nation who had recently come to America with her little brother and sister.
"Are you at least getting along with Illyana?" Stevie asked.
"We're not fighting with her, at least," Xuân answered. "But she never talks to us."
"There's something off about her," Roberto said.
"Is she a mutant like us, Stevie?" Sam asked.
"If she was, she'd be doing the same exercises in the Danger Room with the rest of you," Stevie answered.
Neither Stevie nor her passengers noticed another car hidden in the woods just off the road as they drove by.
The car pulled out onto the road and began to follow Stevie's vehicle.
"Alert headquarters that they're heading towards Salem Center," the driver told his passenger.
The passenger picked up a speaker: "Lookout one to Wideawake – status report: Vehicle registered to Stevie Hunter proceeding down Graymalkin Lane. Five occupants besides Hunter – all young people, presumably Xavier's new students. Unable to confirm identities without jeopardizing our cover. Request instructions."
A man with red hair and sunglasses appeared on a monitor in front of the passenger seat.
"Maintain discreet surveillance. Additional units will join you in town," their superior said.
"What then, Mr. Gyrich," the passenger asked. "Do we arrest them?"
"Let me make myself clear, until you receive orders to the contrary, you and your team will do nothing to alarm these children or their teachers," Gyrich said angrily. "Should that policy change, you will be notified. Wideawake out."
Xavier wheeled himself into his study, where the senior members of the X-Men had gathered.
"Are you ok, Professor?" asked the furry blue mutant Kurt Wagner, who was also known as Nightcrawler. "You seem even more stressed than usual today."
"Yes, acclimating the new students is proving difficult, and Kitty isn't making it any easier," Xavier explained.
"What did you expect?" asked Logan, who was also known as Wolverine. "The kid was in the majors, and you demoted her all the way down to high school varsity. In her shoes, I'd be throwing a tantrum too."
"Allowing Kitty to be part of the X-Men was a mistake," Xavier declared. "Now that we have more students her own age, we have an opportunity to correct that mistake. I won't have children risking their lives unnecessarily."
"You did not summon us to rehash arguments about Kitty's place on our team," said the X-Men's leader, Ororo Munroe, who was also known as Storm.
Xavier nodded. "That is correct. I asked you here to discuss Illyana's situation."
The X-Men all exchanged troubled looks, and the last member, the large Russian mutant Piotr Rasputin, also known as Colossus, glared at the professor.
"We agreed that we would observe her in case of trouble, but otherwise she would be welcome here without question," Ororo recalled.
"That was when it was just the X-Men living here," Xavier said. "Now that there are other children here, I believe it would be prudent to reexamine the risks of having her around."
Piotr slammed his fist against the wall. "If you kick out my sister, then you will have to kick me out as well," he declared.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Petey," Logan said. "Chuck's got a point. The girl's dangerous."
Piotr walked over to Logan and glared down daggers at him. The massive Russian towered over the diminutive Canadian.
"How dare you…" Piotr said under his breath.
"What do you mean, Logan?" Xavier asked.
"Just what I said. She's dangerous," Logan said, seemingly unfazed by Piotr.
"Could you explain why?" Ororo asked.
Logan shook his head. "'Fraid not. It's a feeling I get whenever she's around. She scares me a lot more than you do when you try to be intimidating, Petey. It's a primal fear. I've only ever experienced it two other times – when we fought Magneto and with Jean when she was at her worst."
Everyone flinched collectively at the mention of Jean Grey at her worst.
"You don't really think …" Kurt began.
"If I thought she meant us harm, I'd have already taken care of her myself," Logan said. "Being dangerous doesn't mean she's not trustworthy."
"Logan's animal instincts are almost always right," Ororo observed. "If he says Illyana is dangerous, then we have to assume she is."
"Stop it!" Piotr yelled. "We should be helping her, not treating her like a threat!"
"I agree," Kurt said. "We should do everything in our power to help her. But we can't be blind to the possibility that she's a trojan horse."
Xavier sighed. "Hopefully being around more children her own age will help her open up more."
Stevie drove the five to her studio in Salem Center, where she taught her dancing classes. They changed clothes again at the locker rooms and entered the dance classroom. Dani stopped in the doorway.
They were not the only ones there. Four other teenagers had arrived before them, a brown-haired boy and girl who looked like twins, a pretty blonde girl with curly blonde hair, and a red-headed boy with large glasses.
"You must be the new class at Xavier's," the blonde said with a sweet smile.
"Indeed we are," Roberto responded. He stepped forward with his own winning smile, confident in the way his tight dancing clothes highlighted his muscular and athletic figure. "I'm Roberto. This is Sam, Dani, Rahne, and Xi'an."
"Xuân," the Asian girl corrected him.
"Right. Sorry. I'll get it eventually. And you are?" he asked the blonde.
"Tandy," she answered. "These are Mike and Mindy, and Peter. We go to the School of the Holy Child."
"Nice," Roberto said. "I went to a private Catholic school as well when I lived in Brazil."
As the two groups of teenagers began to mingle Stevie turned to Dani, who had gone pale and not moved from the doorway. "What's wrong?" she asked softly.
"I didn't realize there'd be other kids here," Dani said, "normal kids."
"Charles thinks you should have more opportunities to meet and interact with other kids," Stevie explained. "But if it makes you feel uncomfortable…"
Dani nodded. "It does."
Professor Xavier was waiting at the mansion's main entrance when Kitty and Illyana returned from the arcade. Kitty had known there was no point in attempting to sneak past the most powerful telepath on Earth, so she did not try.
"Playing hooky? And here I thought your antics couldn't get more childish," he admonished them. "First me, then your new classmates, now you disrespect Ms. Hunter. I'm very disappointed in the both of you."
Turning to Illyana, he said: "You are going to help Ororo and Kurt prepare dinner, and then you are going to help your brother with the dishes. They're already waiting for you in the kitchen."
Illyana nodded silently and went off, giving Kitty an annoyed look.
"It wasn't her fault, Professor," Kitty explained. "I made her come with me."
"If you insist on being a bad influence, then there are going to be consequences for following your example," Xavier stated. "If this happens again, I am going to seriously consider moving you two to different rooms."
"No!" Kitty begged. "I promise, it won't happen again. Just let us stay roommates."
Xavier nodded. "Very well. See that you don't give me any more reason to reconsider this arrangement."
The New Mutants' return to the mansion in Stevie Hunter's car was recorded by a long-distance camera hundreds of meters from the entrance, far enough to avoid being detected by any telepaths who were not specifically looking for spies, it was hoped.
The live feed was received on a large screen in a command and control room underneath the Pentagon, watched by Henry Peter Gyrich.
Gyrich, with his expensive suit and dark glasses he wore even indoors, was as stereotypical as a government agent could get. Were it not for his bright red hair, which he kept short, he would easily blend into any room and become practically invisible.
As the head of the recently-created Commission of Superhuman Activities, Gyrich oversaw the military and clandestine aspects of the American government's response to the mutant issue. The fact that mutant powers usually manifested at puberty was an unfortunate complication in his eyes, as it meant that any policy would have to take mutant children into account, the one thing that he feared could lead to public backlash against attempts to contain the mutant threat.
"What the hell is Xavier doing?" he asked under his breath.
One of the technicians working at a console with another screen turned to look up at him. "Sir?"
"Nothing, Robert. Get back to work."
Gyrich turned to his assistant, a serious-looking woman standing in the corner behind him. "Get me Sebastian Shaw," he instructed her.
At the end of dinner, Nightcrawler cleared the table by performing a series of acrobatic feats, grabbing and stacking the glass plates with his feet and tail while balancing on one hand before leaping all the way to the kitchen sink without dropping or chipping a single one. This display, reminiscent of his past as a circus performer, delighted most of the teens. Even Illyana cracked a smile, while the others laughed. Except for Rahne.
"Tis no' right," she said to herself in her thick Scottish accent, "to break bread with and laugh at a demon."
Sam excused himself from the table first and went straight to his room, where he took out his cell-phone. This was a new iPhone, given to him by Professor Xavier, and was by far the most expensive thing he had ever owned.
"Hi, Ma," he said into the device, "I'm doing great, actually. Ah didn't realize how much Ah missed being in school while Ah was working in the mines. Ah do feel kind of weird being here, though. It's a very exclusive school, and there aren't that many students. But on the plus side, Ah can get a lot of one on one time with the Professor or the other teachers if Ah need any help with anything. Ah'm starting to think Ah might actually be able to go to college in a couple of years. How're things back home? Did you get the check Professor sent?"
Sam nearly dropped his phone. "It was how much? That's more than Ah made in three months in the mines. Ah don't think Ah implied we needed that much."
Kitty was woken up in the middle of the night by a sound from the bed next to hers. In her groggy state, it took her a few moments to recognize the sound of Illyana's voice.
"Nyet…nyet…" the other girl said, repeating the Russian word for "no" in her sleep as she tossed and turned.
Kitty arose and walked over to the other bed, stepping over a 'bampf,' a doll made to look like Nightcrawler.
"Ostanavlivat'sya!" Illyana screamed as Kitty approached, her mouth wide with terror. Her voice softened as she suddenly switched to English, saying "Please … stop …"
"Illyana?" Kitty said, putting her hand on the other girl's shoulder. The Russian girl shook with terror, and Kitty spoke louder. "Illyana, wake up!"
With a high-pitched scream, Illyana's eyes burst open and her hand shot out with lightning speed at the person standing over her. Kitty reacted on instinct, using her phasing power to save herself from serious injury as Illyana's flat hand passed through her neck nail-first like a dagger.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed.
Illyana blinked. "K-Kitty?" she stammered, slowly retracting her hand.
"Yeah. It's me."
Illyana seemed to want to look around the dark room, but her head merely shook in fear. "W-where-where am I?"
"You're home," Kitty assured her. She bent down, picked up the bamf doll, and handed it to Illyana. The other girl grabbed the doll and hugged it close as she sat up. She trembled and took deep, loud breaths as she buried her face in the doll.
Kitty wrapped Illyana in her blanket and then sat down to wrap her arms around the other girl.
'Shhh…" she said in a soft, comforting tone. "Everything's all right. You're safe."
Tears began to flow down Kitty's cheeks as she hugged Illyana like a mother cradling her child. "I promise, I won't let anything happen to you."
Some of the mansion's residents got up early, while others slept in. Dani was one of the late risers. While she had not woken up screaming in the middle of the night, she slept fitfully, beset by bad dreams.
As she washed up, Dani thought she heard a growling behind her. In the side of the bathroom mirror, she saw reflected in the window a pair of large, non-human ears. With a gasp, she spun around, but nothing but the morning sun could be seen in the window.
She found her teammates in the rec room, along with Illyana. Roberto was questioning the young Russian.
"So what, you just live here because your brother's an X-Man?" Illyana nodded, but looked confused at this line of questioning. "So, do you not have any powers?"
"What does it matter if I do or don't?"
Roberto threw up his hands. "I'm just asking."
Xuân was the first to notice Dani's arrival, and how troubled the Cheyenne looked. She approached in order to ask Dani what was wrong when an image appeared between them.
"Ma Mere! Ma Pere!" Xuân screamed in French at the image of herself in better days with her entire family. "C'est Impossible!"
The image of the happy family with two sets of twins, one in their teens and the other at preschool age, was replaced by the family screaming as the father was shot down in front of them.
"Stop this!" Xuân yelled at Dani. By now, everyone else in the rec room had stopped what they were doing to watch what was unfolding. The images had changed again, this time to the family attempting to flee their homeland on a boat, only to be stopped by pirates. What happened next, her mother did not survive, and for a while Xuân had wished she had not survived either.
"MONSTER!" Xuân screamed, leaping through the image and tackling Dani to the ground.
"I-I'm sorry!" Dani pleaded. "I didn't mean-"
"Liar!" Xuân accused, her fingers wrapping around Dani's throat. "I thought you were my friend, but you reveal my shame for the whole world to see!"
Two pairs of arms grabbed Xuân by the shoulders and Roberto and Illyana both lifted her off of Dani.
"Stop it! You'll kill her!" Roberto warned.
"Let go of me!" Xuân yelled. The pupils of her eyes disappeared as she activated her mutant power. A second later, Roberto's pupil's disappeared as well, and he loosened his grip and released her, his body no longer under his control.
Xuân turned her head to the left to glare at Ilyana. "Let me go," she said again.
"Not until you calm down," Illyana insisted.
Xuân's jaw dropped, and she took several deep breaths. Her eyes and Roberto's returned to normal as she deactivated her power.
"All right, I'm calm now," she said. Illyana let her go.
Dani struggled to get back on her feet. "I'm so sorry!" she said again. "It was an accident," she attempted to explain. But Xuân was not listening. Her attention had been completely refocused on Illyana.
"Dani! Xuân!" came the disembodied voice of Professor Xavier. "See me in my office right now!"
Both girls complied, leaving the others to stare after them.
"That was quick thinking," Sam told Roberto. "If you and Illyana hadn't been there…"
Roberto looked grave. "Xuân was ready to kill Dani, and with her powers she could kill us all with ease if she wanted to." He shook his head. "Hardly an auspicious beginning for the school, is it?"
Xuân and Dani had never been to a principal's office before. Dani had been homeschooled until now, and Xuân's schooling had been cut short by war. Neither had any idea what to expect.
"I wish I could say that I'd never had one student attack another," Xavier said, "but unfortunately, such things have happened with the X-Men before. Usually, though, it was because the attacker was under mind control or in some other way possessed."
Xuân looked to the side. "I see now that I overreacted. But to have my very soul laid bare like that is more than could bare."
"I know, I'm sorry," Dani said again. "I just – I can't always control it. That's why I didn't want to go have dance classes with other kids yesterday."
"Do these moments where your control lapses occur when you're upset?" Xavier asked. "When you're angry or anxious?"
Dani nodded. "Yes."
"You must be mindful of these feelings, then, and come to me or another member of the staff any time you feel that you are in danger of using your powers unintentionally."
"Your powers are a gift," Xavier explained. "They are not something to be feared. But they are dangerous if not respected, and can cause great harm. Being mutants means you will have to grow up sooner than other children your age and learn responsibility to control these powers. It is not fair, but it is the cost of being a mutant."
"I know," Dani said. "I'll do better, I promise."
"Very well. And Xuân? Dani has already apologized three times for this unfortunate accident. Do you have anything to say to her?"
Xuân sighed. "I'm sorry I attacked you and tried to choke you."
"No problem, I might've done the same thing, in your position," Dani said. "Can we forgive each other and go back to being friends?"
"Give me a little bit of time," Xuân said. "The pain's still fresh right now."
"I guess that's all I can ask," Dani said. "I think it'd be best if I was alone for a while. I also need time to calm down so this doesn't happen again with someone else."
Xavier nodded. "You are excused. I don't think any punishment is necessary this time. You are both showing maturity in admitting fault and coming to an understanding over this incident."
Dani left, but Xuân lingered at the doorway.
"Xuân? Is there something else you wanted to say?"
She turned back to him. "Who exactly is Illyana?"
A change seemed to come over Xavier, and she knew immediately that she had broached a topic that was distressing to him.
After a few moments, he said: "Just as you want others to respect your privacy, you should respect theirs."
The X-Men were preparing to depart for their latest mission in the Blackbird, their custom hypersonic jet based on the Lockheed SR-71 spy plane, when Xavier's face appeared on a monitor next to the pilot's seat.
"What is it, Professor?" Storm asked.
"You have a stowaway onboard," Xavier said.
"Kitty," Wolverine said.
"I'll find her," Nightcrawler said, teleporting away in a poof of black smoke to search the aircraft's compartments.
Xavier had his arms crossed when Nightcrawler brought Kitty to him.
"What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?"
"I was just trying to be with my team," she insisted.
Xavier glared daggers at her. "I have a lecture to give. We will discuss this when I return. Your antics have made me late and delayed the X-Men's departure on an important mission, and I am most displeased."
Dani was sobbing in her room when she heard a knock on the door. She looked confused for a moment.
"Rahne, is that you?" she asked, going to open the door.
In the doorway was a familiar red-furred wolf. The wolf barked happily and leapt onto Dani, licking the tears off of her cheeks.
"Hey, cut it out!" Dani yelled, but her sobs had turned to laughter.
Rahne transformed back into herself and got off of Dani. "How'd ye know it was me?"
"I'm not completely sure," Dani said. "I've always had this connection with animals. Maybe it's part of my mutant power, but I don't know. I guess it extends to you when you're in wolf form. It was like I could sense you there."
"Wow, that's neat."
Kitty was back with the New Mutants after her attempt to stow away aboard the Blackbird. With the X-Men and Xavier gone, it fell once again to Stevie to look after them.
"I want to punch something," Kitty said angrily.
"So what else is new?" Roberto asked sarcastically.
"I think you could all stand to work off some excess energy," Stevie said. "Does anyone object to using the Danger Room?"
They all gathered once again in the Danger Room, wearing their blue and yellow uniforms just as they had the previous morning. Even Dani had joined them for this session.
Illyana stood behind Stevie, who entered the program in the control room. It was Kitty who had chosen the specific program they would fight against.
The walls, floor, and ceiling of the Danger Room disappeared as the program initialized, becoming replaced by small, easter European town. Floating in front of them was an imposing-looking man in a red costume, cape, and helmet.
"Who dares challenge the Master of Magnetism and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants?" Magneto demanded. Behind him appeared five more mutants.
Blob was enormous in every way, and appeared to be one hundred percent fat. Toad, on the other hand, was shockingly small, all the more so with how he crouched menacingly. Mastermind looked plain in comparison to all of his peers, with a simple face and build and no costume beyond a large brown coat.
The red-haired Scarlett Witch and white-haired Quicksilver wore the flashiest and most colorful costumes after Magneto. Twins, they stood near each other, and alone of the villains did not seem eager for a fight.
Roberto transformed and put his right fist into his left palm. "The New Mutants are gonna cream your so-called 'brotherhood.'"
"Let us see if you can live up to your boasts," Magneto said. "Brotherhood, attack!"
Quicksilver moved first, running so fast none of the New Mutants had a chance to react. The wind from his passing knocked all but Kitty and Roberto over, the former using her phasing power to let the wind pass through her, while the latter withstood it through his own strength.
The Blob approached Roberto, seeing as he had stood up to Quicksilver's initial move. "Go on, hit me," the large villain said.
Roberto complied, not hearing Xuân's scream for him to stop, plunging his powerful fist into the Blob's round stomach.
"Oh, not again!" Roberto yelled as his hand was absorbed into the Blob's flesh. "That's disgusting!"
The Blob inhaled and popped his stomach out, sending Roberto flying.
The other New Mutants rose to their feet. Sam blasted towards Quicksilver, hoping for some payback. But the speedster moved out of the way at the last second. Sam, unable to stop himself or turn crashed headfirst into a building, causing the entire structure to fall on him.
"Did no one read up the Brotherhood?" Xuân yelled! "We're playing right into their hands!"
The scene shifted again, reality rippling as if the universe had turned to water, and when the world appeared solid again, everyone was standing in a different position.
"It's Mastermind!" Xuân yelled at her teammates. "He's using his illusion powers to confuse us! Wolfsbane! Transform and smell where he his and take him out!"
Rahne complied, turning into a wolf and sniffing. Her nose led her to what appeared to be Roberto, but smelled nothing like her friend. 'Roberto' suddenly screamed and cowered with his hands over his head as an apparition of Magneto appeared above him, electricity dancing around the Master of Magnetism as he glared with a frightening rage as his subordinate.
His concentration broken, Mastermind's illusions disappeared, revealing him where 'Roberto had just been. Rahne leapt upon him and transformed into her intermediate form to quickly dispatch him from the fight.
Turning back into a human, she looked at Dani. The Cheyenne had known where their enemy was from Rahne, just as she had sensed Rahne's presence earlier.
One of their opponents was down, but four more remained before they could face the real threat, Magneto.
Roberto was busy digging Sam out of the rubble. Sam was thankfully invulnerable while blasting, and so was uninjured from collision and collapse. Blob, having already had some success with Roberto, approached the Brazilian again.
"Go ahead, hit me again," he taunted.
"With pleasure," Roberto said. But instead of winding up his fist like before, this time he brought both of his hands together above his head and slammed them to the ground, creating a shockwave and causing the ground to crack beneath the Blob's feet. The Blob lost his footing and fell on his back with a massive thud. He hit his head and was rendered unconscious.
Toad had attempted to leap into the fray as soon as Quicksilver had launched his initial attack, but his first target, Kitty, was too fast for him to catch. She dodged each lunch of his while constantly taunting him.
"You're the worst villain ever, you know that, Toad? You don't even deserve to be called a supervillain!"
"Shut up!" Toad yelled, leaping at her once more. This time, Kitty phased to dodge, disappearing into the ground as he landed on top of her. Toad had no time to wonder what had just happened as Kitty reappeared behind him, grabbing him and wrestling him to the ground, where she promptly took him out of the fight.
With just the twins left to deal with, Xuân's eyes turned white as she possessed the Scarlett Witch, who began to gesture at her brother, causing him to trip and fall mid-stride.
Xuân then turned the Scarlett Witch's powers on their enemies' leader. Magneto and his most powerful underling were locked in a clash of energies, but the Master of Magnetism had the advantage, being far more experienced with his own powers than Xuân was with her puppet's.
"Cannonball, now!" she yelled.
Sam got behind Magneto and blasted off, striking the arch-villain from behind with his full force. Ordinarily, Magneto would have had a magnetic shield around him protecting him from all physical attacks, but with his attention focused on his duel with the Scarlett Witch, Sam had an opening in which to strike.
"Yes!" Roberto cheered as Stevie turned the Danger Room off. He high-fived Sam. "We won! We beat Magneto!"
"Don't get too proud of yourselves," Kitty said. "That was the easiest setting. Against the real thing, you all wouldn't have lasted ten seconds."
"Give us a break!" Roberto said. "For our first time, that was really good!"
"I'm afraid she has a point," Xuân said. "We were sloppy and careless, and most of us haven't done any research on the X-Men's fights with the Brotherhood. If our opponents had the capacity to act with more intelligence and teamwork, we wouldn't have stood a chance."
Stevie activated the loudspeaker in the control room. "Xuân is correct. But that's the point of the Danger Room. Here it is safe to make mistakes. What's important is that you learn from your mistakes so that you can do better in the real world. I'm sure the Professor will be pleased with your performances for your first time, but there is always room for improvement, even for the most experienced X-Men."
Xavier was indeed pleased when he returned and examined the results of the New Mutants' first Danger Room session as a team.
"I will be giving you all written evaluations of your performances later tonight, as individuals and as a team," he told them. "This has given me a greater understanding of what areas we need to work on."
"Professor," Roberto asked, "are we being trained be join the X-Men someday?"
"Not necessarily," Xavier said. "While I do want you to be trained in combat and to work as a team, that is for your own defense and well-being, not so that you can become X-Men when you grow up. What you do with your lives is up to you, and I will be just as happy if you find a calling other than joining the X-Men."
He turned to Kitty. "Come to my office, now. It's time we talked."
Kitty sat down on the opposite side of Xavier's desk.
"I've tolerated your behavior up to a certain point because it was understandable that you were angry," Xavier said. "But now this has gone too far. I do not normally use such terms, but you need to get over the fact that you are not on the X-Men anymore."
"I'm not getting over it anytime soon."
"I was going to make you the leader of the New Mutants, given your greater experience with the X-Men. But there is no chance of that happening if you continue to make them hate you."
"I don't want to be the New Mutants' leader! I want to be an X-Man!"
"Why?" he demanded. "Why are you so determined to risk your life instead of taking this opportunity to be with other kids your own age? Why is it so damn important to you that you remain an X-Man that you can't wait until you turn 18?"
"Because of what happened to Illyana!" Kitty screamed.
Xavier closed his eyes and sighed sadly. "What happened wasn't your fault," he said softly.
"Don't give me that. I've gone through the scenario in the Danger Room a hundred times. If I'd been a little faster, a little stronger, a little smarter, I could have saved her."
Kitty choked back a sob. "I could have saved her, and I didn't. That's on me."
She continued: "I also grew up a lot that day. I learned that when we're less than perfect when we make mistakes, real people suffer. So I've stopped treating it like a joke. I've given 110% to my training, so the next time a little girl needs saving, I won't fail again."
"If you were kicking me off the team as punishment for failure, I could live with that. But to do it like this, to tell me to just wait until I'm 18 after everything that's happened, it tells me that what I learned from this failure doesn't matter. My failure to save Illyana doesn't matter because of my age. But it has to matter. I need it to matter."
Xavier looked down in thought for several minutes. "I understand," he said at last.
"This is against my better judgment, and it may be a mistake, but I am going to trust that you are as grown up as you claim to be. However, there are conditions. This childish feud you have with the New Mutants must end. You will treat them with respect and as your peers. If I hear the word 'X-babies' or anything of the sort, you are off the X-Men again."
Kitty nodded excitedly. "Sure. I can do that."
"And you must keep your grades up. At the first sign being an X-Man is affecting your GPA, you're off the team. That means no more playing hooky without my explicit permission."
"Understood. Thank you, Professor. I promise I won't let you down."
Xavier gathered the New Mutants in his office that evening to give them their evaluations. Kitty was not with them this time, having been moved back to the mansion's other team.
"Based on your performances today," Xavier said, "I have decided that Xuân will be your team leader for now."
Xuân looked surprised and flustered. She did not believe her teacher could put such trust in her so soon after her attack against Dani.
"Are you sure sir?" she asked.
Xavier nodded. "I am quite sure. You should be, as well."
She looked around and her teammates. "What does everyone else think?"
Roberto smiled and raised his hands, clapping for her. The other New Mutants quickly joined in, giving their new leader a round of applause. Xuân looked to Dani, who was clapping and smiling as widely as anyone else.
She let herself have a small smile as well. "Ok. If you all think I can do it, I guess I'll be the leader."
"This calls for a celebration!" Roberto declared.
"I'm an X-Man again!" Kitty told Illyana. "Isn't it great?"
"Sure," Illyana said, not sharing Kitty's enthusiasm.
"I gotta go find your brother and the rest of the team. They'll be thrilled!"
As Kitty ran off, Illyana saw Roberto leading the New Mutants towards the front entrance.
"In honor of our new leader" he said, "we're going to the most expensive restaurant in town. It's all on me."
He phoned the restaurant to confirm there were available seats and then an Uber to take them. They talked excitedly amongst themselves, mostly congratulating Xuân and telling what a great leader she'd be. Xuân and Dani laughed together, their earlier feud forgiven and forgotten.
None of them noticed Illyana standing nearby or offered to take her with them. She watched silently as they exited the mansion at the Uber's arrival, moving one foot forward to follow before stopping herself.
When they were gone, Illyana turned around and went up the stairs to her room. After closing the door, she reached into her shirt and pulled out the necklace she always wore, but which no one ever saw.
Attached to the necklace was a palm-sized circular golden locket. She opened the locket and stared at the carving inside.
A blue pentagram was carved into the bottom part of the locket, surrounded by symbols in a pattern few on Earth could understand. At the five points of the star were small, circular grooves. In three of these grooves sat bright red stones, perfectly sized. The three stones glowed brightly like there was an electric light inside the locket.
Illyana's look turned into a glare as she stared at the inside of the locket. The room itself seemed to darken in response to her mood, until at last, she closed the locket, and the lights returned to normal.
I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me, and I walk alone
I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one, and I walk alone
I walk alone, I walk alone
I walk alone, I walk a-
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes, I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then, I walk alone
Boulevard of Broken Dreams – Green Day