It was a cloudy gray afternoon in Westchester, New York. The gray overcast gave The Xavier Institute an almost grim appearance. The Xavier Institute sat on the country side, far from the hectic city that was New York. It was peaceful and relaxing most days.
Professor Charles Xavier, the headmaster and owner of the institute, sat in his study. The office had shelves and shelves of books. Some covered mutation, evolution, and physics. A large stack of papers littered his desk. In the far off corner of the office sat Charles Xavier. He was connected to the machine, Cerebro.
Professor Charles Xavier was born with the ability known as telepathy. Using his gift he could read peoples' thoughts and even influence their minds. Cerebro was a machine that amplified his telepathic abilities. He used these heighten abilities to locate mutants over great distances; he prayed Cerebro would allow him to find his X-men.

Nothing.

There wasn't a trace.

Even with Cerebro, the sophisticated computer that amplified his telepathic abilities, he could not find his five mutant students. Scott Summers, code name Cyclops, had the ability to project powerful beam from his eyes. Jean Grey, code name Marvel Girl, was a telepath and a powerful telekinetic. Warren Worthington, code name Angel, had avian-like wings that gave him flight and hawk-like senses. Hank McCoy, code name Beast, had an ape-like strength and appearance that belied his genius. Bobby Drake, code name, Iceman could control and create ice like constructs by drawing moisture from the air

He removed the helmet that was connecting him with Cerebro, gripping the sides tighter than he should. He was at a loss. How did five super-powered teenagers disappear off the face of the earth? His mind was racing, running through scenarios and suspects. Was it Vanisher, an enemy mutant with the ability to teleport? No, the job was too clean; there was no way Telford Porter could have pulled this off. Magneto, the self-proclaimed Master of Magnetism, the leader of the mutant terrorist group dubbed the Brotherhood of Mutants? No, this was brash and would go against Eric's ideals of mutant prosperity. Mimic, a young human with the ability to mimic other people's skills, intelligence, and in case of mutants, their abilities? Yes, he could have overpowered his students and taken them hostage, but he had been depowered in their last encounter. Blob and Unus the Untouchable, two crazed mutants that had sworn vengeance on the X-men? There was no sign of a struggle.
The Professor's thoughts were pushed aside as a TV News program caught his attention.
"In Washington DC, human and mutant tension are at an all-time high," came the voice of a male reporter. The reporter stood in front of the white house in between two groups. On one side was a group of human demonstrators, the other a smaller group of mutants and mutant sympathizers asking for equal rights.

"What do we want?"

"No mutants!"

"When do we want it?"

"Now!" the humans blared.

"We're here. We're mutants. Get used to it."

"Mutants won't be silent." The mutants and human sympathizers shot back.

Smack dab in the middle of it were cops in full riot gear.

"Captain, the protesters, are getting restless," a young officer said.

"We might need some backup," said another officer.

"What are we even doing here?" asked another.

"Yeah, we should be protesting with the rest of the humans," another chimed.

"Not another word from any one of you," said the Captain. "I care for mutants as much as the next guy, but no one is making trouble on my watch."

The situation became more tense by the second, and all it needed was a small push before it exploded into a riot. That small push came in the form of a little mutant girl wearing a white dress. She looked like any other girl save the goat horns sticking out of her head. Everything seemed to slow down as she held a flower in her right hand; a peace offering of sorts. One human demonstrator stepped forward.

"You mutants should go back to where you came from," the human sneered, pushing the small girl to the ground. Without hesitation, he stomped the flower, crushing it.

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. The humans and mutants had enough. A full blown riot erupted. Mutants and human sympathizers rushed the man that dared strike down the mutant child while others went to her aid. Some human protesters came to the man's defense, jumping into the fray without a second thought. Others fled from the scene. The police in riot gear did the best they could to control the situation.

CRACK

The headpiece to Cerebro cracked from the pressure Charles was exerting on it. He sighed to himself, putting the headpiece on his office desk. Things were getting out of control; humans saw mutants as a bigger threat every day. He couldn't help but think that if his X-men had not vanished, a lot of tension would have been relieved. His X-men were an ideal, showing people what mutants could be and that there was no need to fear them. They would have been idols to mutants, giving them hope.

"That's enough." Charles knew what he had to do. Yes, the X-men were an ideal but they were more than that. They were a beacon of hope. The world needed the X-men. If Scott, Jean, Warren, Hank, and Bobby were lost, he would find a new team. A new class would continue where his old class left off to be the bridge between humans and mutants. Hopefully, along the path to his dream of human and mutant peace, they would find his lost X-men.