X-Men

Chapter 1: Enter the class

(San Antonio, Texas)

Karl staggered backwards as a man hit him in the chest with a baseball bat, Karl snarled in anger and he was enveloped him.

Ever since he had hit Puberty his life had been rapidly changing; that didn't include his ability to learn new terms and techniques. He was fifteen and was studying two National Extended Diploma's! One in Applied Sciences and the other in Social Work.

He was currently in America on an exchange/work placement programme organised by his college.

Then everything froze. "A very fine gift Mr. Pheles and a lot of temper issues. Using your gift to get even isn't the best way to get recognition. Where are my manners I'm Charles Xavier..."

"Charles Xavier!? As in THE Charles Xavier who wrote 'Human Genetic Mutation!" Karl gabbled back excitement evident in his voice.

Xavier nodded mentally "I would like to invite you to my school. Your parents already have agreed." Karl nodded and rushed towards the jet.

(Ireland)

Naimh ran, tripped and carried on running. Lightning flashing off her, it had been three days since she had inadvertently short circuited the power grid near where she lived in Northern Ireland. "You don't have to run anymore."

Meanwhile Tony groaned, he was trapped inside a box. All because he had the consistency of rubber and inadvertently stretch his arm to lock his front door as the Mutant Registration Department appeared on the corner of the street.

Sure their presence wasn't big in Ireland as it was in the States but the fact that they were around was slightly annoying. Now here he was being transferred in a box heading god knows where when it was heard.

A massive something landed on the roof the van causing it to stop, the sounds of a scuffle and guards being incapacitated and finally the sound of a padlock and door being yanked open. Tony launched himself out the box, inflating himself to the size of a beach ball and he bounced down the street.

The moment Tony felt someone making contact with him in his skull he was already signing up. Upon entering the X-Jet he came across a being that looked like a massive cuddly bear but of human proportions and blue "I'm guessing you're the one that broke me out of the van? Thanks for that."

"I did indeed. The names McCoy…Doctor Hank McCoy and this is my colleague, partner and teammate Professor Charles Xavier."

Tony nodded and grinned wildly then he realised he wasn't alone "Hello…Where'd they drag the pair of you out from?"

"Ireland, the name's Naimh." Naimh said nodding to the newcomer.

"Karl, saved me from getting lynched by a mob of rednecks…How was I supposed to know that I punched a guy through a wall."

"Out of a five story window and then you shot a crimson blast taking down four more people on the way out." Said Hank with a raised eyebrow.

"Oops."

Tony and Naimh shook their heads "Is this going to be a regular occurrence?"

Karl gave them a charming grin "Whatever will be, will be. Where we off to next?"

"Rio de Janeiro."

(Rio)

"HOW REF! WHY IS THAT OFFSIDE!" Howled Alejandro as he sat on the sofa furthest from the windows. Alejandro wasn't normal in the most sense, he had the features of a reptile; skin around his eyes fingers and toes had the look of scales and his eyes were slightly off centre.

Because of this he feared going outside, his mother had home schooled him and he had picked up the fine details of football except for the offside rule. There was a knock on the door and on instinct Alejandro dove into the shadows and instinctively blended in, it wasn't perfect camouflage but it sufficed in these situations. "Mama, the door."

She nodded and made her way to the door "Hello Mrs. Vega, my name is Charles Xavier and this Doctor Hank McCoy, may we come in and speak with an Alejandro Vega?" Mrs. Vega nodded and entered the living room "Alejandro, two people are here to see you."

"I don't want to see them mama…They're going to ridicule me for not looking…"

"Not looking remotely human? I quite understand Mr. Vega. You see as you can tell I'm speaking to you in your mind. I must say I have never seen such a soccer…Football fanatic." Alejandro stumbled out of his hiding spot in shock, saw his mother and the two strangers and jumped onto the ceiling.

"How do I know you're not going to take me away from mama?"

Hank and Xavier nodded and a switch was flicked. Where Hank once stood was now a Blue beast to put it bluntly "We're both like you…Gifted and both look different. We want to offer you a chance of education and friendship. The ability to speak to people who can do similar things and who may look completely different."

"Can we play football?"

"Once you achieve a balance around lessons and controlling your gifts you'll be able to play all the football you like."

"Will I be able to see mama?"

"Whenever you wish although not every weekend but definitely over the holidays."

Alejandro looked at his mother, amber eyes glistening with tears "Can I go mama?"

"Go…Have fun. See the world. Don't worry about your mama. Mama will be fine."

Alejandro nodded, detaching from the ceiling and he hurried to his room, pulling out a battered and tattered suitcase as he stuffed some clothes into it along with his toothbrush. Then on the top of his wardrobe, he grabbed a worn football and cap. The cap bore the faded symbol of Brazil the ultimate football team in the world.

Professor Xavier waited with Alejandro as Beast took off to find the X-jet which was now hovering in the middle of the street, the only reason it was visible was because the loading ramp was down and it revealed an Impressive interior. "Hole…I'm Alejandro." Called Alejandro excitedly as he looked around the interior of the jet.

"I'm Karl…Pleased to meet you Alejandro. The other two are Tony and Naimh and the latter is pronounced Naeve. Don't ask me why."

Alejandro nodded "Do you like football?"

"Not really, I find it boring. Prefer Rugby…You pick the ball up and you get to hit people."

Alejandro nodded but inwardly he was shocked. He had found someone who didn't like football! "You don't like football? You don't like playing? How!"

"Watching it is boring. Watching twenty-five men run around in uniforms looking pretty for ninety minutes. I have two left feet when it comes to sport so I choose not to play. Except for rugby because you just drive into people and the last question is a long one that requires four wipe boards and a pot of coffee. Give me a book any day but I will if you ask, play football."

Alejandro stared "You'd play even if you don't like it?"

Karl grinned "Forgive me for being blunt, I don't exactly do well with new people or situations. Forgive me for this but due to your gifts I take it you haven't been able to go outside much have you?"

Alejandro hung his head "You may want to sit down…We're about to take off."

Karl was out of his seat getting Alejandro fastened in, who was having trouble with the belt. Karl had just made it back to his as the jet took off.

(America)

The plane touched down and everyone disembarked. Alejandro practically bounded down the ramp rucksack over his shoulder and ball under his arm and pulling off his cap revealing his distinctively reptilian form to the world.

Niamh, Tony and Karl followed more sedately with Karl following Niamh. Karl was a growing young man with an appreciative eye and personality that attracted females to him.

Unfortunately his rather brutally sledgehammer due to his dyspraxia he was unfortunately blunt with them and as such his date success was next to zero and now add to his mutant abilities he was in for a tough time. "One step at a time Karl, You'll become a stronger and better man."

Karl nodded not trusting himself to speak and he followed.

The newcomers then met the rest of the house. Four were females; Jean, Iris, Oro and a Russian Girl who would only be known as Tracer.

There were two other boys and they couldn't have been much more different. One was tall, sporty and athletic but unfortunately all the mannerisms of someone who knew he was the best and couldn't resist shoving it down someone's throat. The other was still tall, slender and definitely much more of a book type person.

"Hello welcome…I'm Scott Summers! You can call me cyclops." Called the sporty teen.

"How about vain instead. Why are you wearing glasses in doors?" Asked Tony getting a foul look form the teen.

"Scott has problems with his abilities Tony." Xavier said wheeling in behind them.

"Don't we all Professor?" Retorted Karl.

"If I open my eyes I destroy whatever I would be looking at." Replied Cyclops grimly getting a smirk from the Yorkshire teen.

"Bet that makes opening bean cans and working Barbecues easy as…"

"Do you have to ridicule me?"

"Can you remove that stick from your...I'm not finishing that sentence." Karl stated seeing the female teens enter the room.

Names were exchanged "Scott can you please give everyone a tour."

Scott nodded enthusiastically looking something across between Percy Weasley and a puppy who hadn't been toilet trained "He looks like a puppy Senor Karl." Whispered Alejandro.

Karl snorted "Drop the Senor, Alejandro. That's my father. I'm Karl…"

"But mama told me to be respectful."

"I totally agree with your mother. We are the same age so there is need to be formally respectful. Formally I mean addressing people as senor or senorita." Explained Karl trying to remember his foreign languages lessons.

"You speak Portuguese?"

"Tiny bit. I know small amounts of Portuguese, Spanish, French. 'Hello', 'Thank you' and 'How much is that' for German and several insults in Japanese, Chinese and aforementioned languages." Karl replied with a grin.

The tour was passing slowly; the upper levels of the house were more or less the same. Until more students arrived everyone could have a room of their own. Then depending on age, responsibilities and powers students may have to bunk with others. Then they were the heading into the basement.

"Down here you're about to see where we learn how to control our powers and learn about ourselves such as our limits." Announced Scott looking over his shoulder in Karl's general direction.

"It takes one to know themselves before letting others know puppy boy. What gives you the right to be so arrogant towards us all? What is your ability?"

"Are you starting something? I'll kick your ass anytime and place but not now." Replied the taller teen.

Karl snorted "So the ladies don't have to observe just how much of a fucking douchebag you are?" Karl growled his temper finally roused. His father had been born in Yorkshire but his parents had come over from Ireland and the same as his mother. The pair of them had learnt Gaelic, English as their main languages. He himself had been born in Dublin and then moved over. When he was pissed off his Irish Yorkshire accent began to thicken and a crimson aura began to emerge.

Scott cracked his knuckles and went to take his glasses off only to stop "You're going to regret this."

Karl smirked "I really doubt it. I have some idea of what I can do and if you can do what I think you do then you're officially screwed."

"Karl calm down…Scott stop antagonising him." Naimh called as Jean moved to intercept the two teen, Alejandro grabbed Karl underneath the arms "I'm sorry I have seen enough tv to know what to do in this scenario."

Karl nodded, concentrated and the aura receded as the elevator doors opened to see Hank standing there in his blue glory "Welcome to the training area…Now to my left is Cerebro a device that allows us to track down mutants like yourselves, on my right is the danger room where we will be heading shortly and in front of me is an alternative entrance into the garage. We do have a fully equipped hospital down here where some of you will becoming quite acquainted with and some more than others. Now get changed and we'll see what you can do."

The uniforms were black and yellow, four yellow sections with a black-ex on with a similar design but reversed on the legs (First Class Uniforms basically). Cyclops focused his lens and let out a various amount of optic blasts. Karl nodded, maybe he had misjudged the teen.

Then Cyclops punched the air as he was informed that he had hit all the targets perfectly and the admiration was gone. "Let's see you do that." He whispered as Jean telekinetically chucked the targets backwards.

"I prefer live practise."

Soon enough it was the new comers turn. "I'd use their emotions against them." Harvey announced, he was the other male already at the academy.

Iris inadvertently crushed the targets by turning their clothes to razor wire "Oops…I warp reality. I'm also studying anatomy and other things." She explained making Alejandro pale slightly.

Everyone was impressed by Storm, I mean summoning and manipulating weather patterns and thus storms. No-one wants to get on her bad side.

Tony extended his limbs and twisted his body in ways that would even make a gymnast flinch. Finally, it was Naimh and Karl turn to attempt the targets Naimh flicked her hands and massive arcs of lightning flickered between her hands. She focused on the targets and instead of thing arcs of lightning striking the targets massive bolts of lightning were launched forth.

Everyone dived for cover but Karl flung his arms open wide and as if being pulled apart by saws and hands, the lightning shot backwards, slamming into Karl who grunted as the destructive element slammed into him "Stand back!"

The crimson aura burst forth and Karl began slinging his hands left and right, along with a few kicks and stomps which sent out massive blasts of energy. Niamh stared at him as did the others "What? Yeah that's what I do. I absorb energy and blast it out again, I'm working on generating my own. Discovered I could absorb biological and electrical energy."

That night everyone was tucking into a veritable banquet of food, Alejandro was busy ripping apart a chicken and eating it whole; bones and all. "You all may have heard of a settlement in the North Pole called New Eden. Myself and a friend of mine Eric Lensherr helped set it up with some wandering mutants, we quickly set up a council and some rules. However, things didn't last."

Karl grinned thinly "Let me guess, this Eric guy wanted to make humans our servants and you opposed him. You wished for equality."

Charles nodded "Quite perspective…Yes. Anyways one of our unofficial rules was upon entering and your powers were explained you were given a new name in correspondence to said powers or unique features. Eric became Magneto, I became Professor X."

Everyone stopped "You knew Magneto!" Gasped Jean.

"Yes…The council didn't want war so we cast Magneto out. Before you ask he was a child in 1941."

Karl paled "He didn't happen to have Jewish parents did he?" Xavier nodded "Then he saw what the Nazis did. His powers emerged and the Nazis did something to him didn't they? I'm guessing his parents didn't survive."

Xavier nodded "Yes that is why he wants complete subjugation of humans beneath mutants."

"I personally think you're both sides of the same coin. Both of you want recognition for the mutant race which I can agree to but your methods are too extreme. Yours are too passive and he's too aggressive…That's why you want us. From Alejandro all the way to specs to help be a mutant relief force or something."

Xavier wasn't surprised. He knew that Karl despite being one of the more volatile members of the team was easily one of the more understanding. "Yes, I want you to become X-men. I was part of a team and now you lot are to be the next. I have seen what you can do with your powers as have your peers. Now it's up to you to decide your new names."

"Cyclops." Called Scott immediately.

"I still think bat would be more suited." Replied Karl getting light grins and chuckles from the group.

"I hate being original but I think this works, I'll be Reptile." Announced Alejandro.

"Iris, I like the flowers." Said Iris.

"Stretch." Called Tony he then looked at Karl "You're gonna say something like Rubber or Luffy."

Karl nodded "Stretch is good."

Naimh was next "Lightning Strike."

"Empath." Called, Harvey plainly.

"Marvel Girl for Jean." Called Scott getting a blush from the redhead.

"Sleeze." Growled Naimh before her hand was squeezed by Karl.

"I know. Don't worry."

The other names were given "Tracer" to the Russian and "Storm" for Oro Munroe.

"What about you Karl?"

Karl looked up "Overload."

Everyone nodded "Fitting actually…Considering your temper."

"You try getting lynched by fucking Texans you fecking gobshite." Snarled Karl getting into Scott's face.

"I apologise." Scott wasn't surprised at his anger but was at Overload's speed to get it into his face.

"Cyclops you can quite honestly póg mo thóin na hÉireann." With that Overload quickly left the table heading up to his room.

Members of X-men

Scott Summers- Cyclops
Jean Grey- Marvel Girl/Phoenix
Oro Munroe- Storm
?- Tracer
Karl Pheles- Overload
Iris- Iris
Tony Crawford- Stretch
Naimh Zosain- Lightning Strike
Harvey Nimitz- Empath
Alejandro Vega- Reptile (Reptile Mortal Combat X with Lizards tail and Dilophosaurus neck frill)