Part I One Month Ago. Three figures sat a small round table in a brightly-lit room that had to be the size of the average living room. Two women and one man were discussing some of their current issues, namely their lack of team members. One of the women was busy typing away a laptop. "What's on today's schedule?" the dark-skinned man asked. The man was known as Bishop. He was a time traveler, from the far away future, who now made a permanent home in the present day. He turned his attention towards the woman known as Ororo Munroe. "I think that we should address our present team, what little team we have. Since the others members decided to leave, I believe we should recruit some new members. Tessa, are in on this conversation?" It was kind of ironic that the team's living computer, known as Sage, was operating a computer. Not because she didn't know how to operate one, but because she had the storage capacity equivalent to that of a computer. "Of course I am, Ororo. I agree. Our current roster is lower than normal. Given our current status, we are not operating at full capacity. I've been searching the Cerebra Files that I downloaded from Xavier, hoping to find some worthy individuals." Tessa continued to tap away at the keyboard. Bishop continued where Tessa left off. "Are there any particular qualities that we are looking for?" Bishop was always a stickler for experience. There was no use in having amateurs on the team. "I believe that we should look for members based on their experience. Powers alone won't get you anywhere. We need people who have on- the-field experience." "Yes, we do. Especially with what happened at the Institute with the Omega Gang." Ororo picked up the conversation. "And now that the Friends of Humanity have started to show their faces again, we need then more now then ever. We are in dire straits." "I found them; the perfect candidates for the team. Five individuals who are more than qualify." Tessa turned the laptop around so her teammates could see. Five pictures, four females and one male, occupied the screen. Ororo nodded her head in agreement. Bishop gave a look of concern. "Are you sure about them? They're just a bunch of teenagers." Bishop could be quite prejudiced when it came to young people. He didn't have time to be anyone's parent. "Just a bunch of teenagers? Is that how you see them, Lucas?" Ororo came to their defense quickly. "They also happen to be some of the most powerful people on the planet. They've more proven themselves. The five of them together have more experience than the three of us combined." Tessa just sat back and nodded her head. "It seems I was a little quick to judge. I must admit; they are worthy in my eyes." Bishop decided to give up a losing battle. He wasn't going to win against two women. "So I guess this mean that phone calls are in order?" Tessa smiled. She picked up the phone that was at the desk. "We only need to contact Jubilee and Kitty. The others are still residing at the institute. We can contact them through Xavier himself. That won't be a problem. But." Ororo suggested to Tessa. She hesitated a bit, putting her hand to her chin. Something was obviously bothering her. "But what? What is it, Ororo? Is something wrong?" Bishop asked. He knew what was wrong. It didn't take the skills of a telepath to know what was wrong. "It's just that.I'm worried about Kitty. I don't know if it's the right thing to do. We shouldn't force her to do something she doesn't want to do." Ororo replied. Bishop placed a hand over hers. "We're not forcing her. We just giving her a choice; if she doesn't accept, we can always find someone else." Bishop reassured her. "I suppose you're right, Lucas. But I do hope that she decides to join us." They watched as Tessa read the screen. Her fingers moved swiftly across the keypad. Mentally, Ororo crossed her fingers, hoping against hope that her "kitten" would decide to join them. Los Angeles, California Jubilee sat at the small table in her small apartment. Everything around her seemed to be of a diminutive size. Her kitchen was small, her room, her bathroom, and even her apartment. It was all she could afford with her ever- decreasing salary. It seemed that every week someone else was taking a piece of her check. Being a waitress wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It was hard trying to find a cheap apartment, especially in Los Angeles. She often wondered how she was able to get by day to day. She did have a bigger apartment a while back, a year or so ago, only because she had a roommate to help with the payments. But he (Angelo Espinosa) was long gone by now. He was off to God knows where, probably returning to his former gang life. Jubilee and him had their last argument many months ago. She was fed up with all of his former enemies "homies" popping up at her door, looking for Angelo, either for some kind of debt or just to pick a fight. She packed her things, leaving a note telling him that she was fed up and couldn't take it anymore. Now here she was, alone in a small apartment, scraping change just to get by. Jubilee got up from her table and headed towards the bathroom, switching on the light that swung endlessly from the ceiling. She eyed her features in the mirror, well-worn lines engraved in her childlike face. She brushed back her raven-colored hair, revealing a large scar, which rested on her forehead; she sustained a few months back, during probably one of the biggest battles of her life. Jubilee was a former member of the X-Men; a group formed by Charles Xavier, which comprised of some of the most powerful beings on the face of the planet, Homo Sapiens Superior, also known as mutants. Mutants were beings who were born with superhuman powers and abilities. They were the next evolution of mankind and most times were hated for it, some even executed. She had jumped from one group to another, until she decided she would be better off away from the X-Men. But she knew she would always have a home with them. She always thought that she would come back to see her second family on a good occasion. But like most times, things don't turn out the way want them to. Ring, Ring. The phone rung, it's small ring filling the otherwise silent room. Jubilee dashed for the phone before it stopped. "Hello," she asked as she held the phone to her ear. A large smile spread across her face, something she hadn't done in a while. The person on the continued to talk and with every word, her smile grew. "This isn't a joke, is it?" she asked with a bit of concern. She tapped her fingers along the table, her smile turning in to grim expression. "Of course. How soon can I come?" Chicago, Illinois Kitty Pryde sat at her desk in her apartment. In front of her lay her diary, which contained her most personal thoughts. She was taking a small vacation of from work. She worked at the bar below her apartment, which was owned by her boss/landlord. She was in the process of making a decision, one that could ultimately change her life. She had just received a phone a not too long ago from a close and cherished friend of hers, Ororo Munroe. She had given an offer, more of a choice to be exact. She wanted her, along with a few other people to consider rejoining the X-Men. Kitty had once been a member of the X-Men, under the codename of Shadowcat. The X-Men were a group of superhuman beings that tried to make peace between humans and mutants. More oft than not, everyone wasn't too keen on the idea. Life as an X-Man had its ups and downs, with the downs far outweighing the ups. She never thought she would ever return. She really hadn't given it much thought. She had lost so many people, the main reason she quit the X-Men in the first place. Her first true love and her best friends. So many lives were lost and she didn't know if she had the heart to join the X-Men. She decided that there wasn't much for her to do now. Although she tried to change it, her life was exactly same as when she was an X-Man. Things weren't looking good for her these days. She was on probation at school for beating up a few kids and had to take mandatory counseling. And just recently she had gotten over her problem with alcohol. What a life I live? What else could possibly go wrong in my life? She had made her decision. She picked up the phone and dialed the number that she had scribbled in her diary. "Ororo?" she asked when her call was received. "Yeah, it's Kitty. About that offer." At least being with the X-Men, she wouldn't have to live her life in the worst way possible: alone.