Disclaimer: I do not own anything belonging to X-Men or Marvel, and draw a lot of inspiration and homages from their comics, TV show, and movies.
Chapter One: Hunt
A taxi pulled up the circular driveway of the mansion and stopped at the front steps. Evan Daniels, a young African American, stepped out of the back seat and stared in awe at the massive, beautiful building. "Here you go," the driver handed Evan his bag from the trunk.
"Oh, thanks," Evan said. He reached into his pocket and handed the driver 12.50.
"Good luck kid," the driver said, staring at the building and stuffing the money into his pocket.
Peter Rasputin sat at his desk, his mind focused only on one thing; his pencil and its marks on the paper. He shaded the bottoms of the wheels on the wheelchair, then rounded out the head.
He put his pencil down and looked at his picture, satisfied. It was a life-like illustration of Professor Charles Xavier, his teacher and headmaster of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.
Then it hit him, and he smacked himself on the forehead. "How could I have forgotten," he exclaimed. Professor Xavier had asked to see him five minutes ago. He opened his desk drawer and hurriedly put the paper inside, then rushed out his room.
Rogue and Bobby Drake lay on Bobby's bed, gently pecking each other on the lips. "Just…five…more…minutes," Bobby said between kisses.
"No," Rogue said, pushing him away. "The Professor said he wanted to meet us now. I don't want to be late."
"Alright." He pecked her gently on the cheek and put his shoes on. "Let's go."
Kevin Sydney walked towards the Professor's office. He was asked to report as soon as possible regarding something very important. Kevin had the ability to change his outer appearance to that of anyone he wanted, including other mutants. The only downside was, he couldn't mimic their powers, only appearance. He gave himself the name, Morph.
Kevin came to the Institute purely by accident, and, after discovering its purpose, became a full-time student. He later became a member of the X-Men, a group of mutants Xavier put together to help him with his dream.
Kevin opened the door to Xavier's office. Xavier sat in front of his desk, and four other children sitting across from him. "Ah, Kevin," Xavier said.
"Sorry I'm late, Professor," Kevin said.
"No, no, you're right on time."
"So, what is this about, exactly?"
"Well, I'll introduce everyone, and then I'll explain why you're all here. You know Bobby and Rogue," pointing to the two.
Bobby Drake helped the X-Men on one occasion, and Kevin had become very good friends with him. Bobby had the ability to create ice, giving him his nickname, Iceman.
Rogue was also an acquaintance of the X-Men, and had become a member just recently. Rogue possessed the ability to absorb the life force of humans just by skin contact, and, in the case of mutants, "borrow" their abilities for a short time. Because of her power, she had to wear gloves. She and Bobby began dating a short while back, and Kevin still wasn't sure how they were able to do it.
"And this is Peter Rasputin," Xavier said.
Peter stood up and Kevin shook his hand. He was a very tall, very built young man. "It's good to meet you," Kevin said. "I've seen you around before, but we've never officially met. What do you do?"
"I'll show you," Peter said. Peter's entire body became incased in some sort of metal.
"Impressive."
"This is Evan Daniels," Xavier motioned to a young African American boy with a blonde flattop. Kevin shook Evan's hand. Five spikes protruded from Evan's wrist. "Call me Spyke," Evan said.
"That might come in handy," Kevin said.
Suddenly, a young girl fell through the door. Kitty Pryde stood up and looked around the room, very red in the face. "Sorry Professor," she said with a little smile. "I thought I had a good grip on the handle."
"That's quite alright Kitty," Xavier said, smiling. "Everyone, this is Kitty Pryde. As you can see, she has the ability to walk through walls."
"I'm Kevin," Kevin said, shaking her hand and trying to make her feel less uncomfortable. "I think we have Calculus together."
"Yeah, I think we do," she answered. Her face was beginning to regain its original peach color.
"So, Professor," Kevin said, turning to Xavier. "Why are we all here?"
"As you all know, the X-Men are a group of mutants gathered to help other mutants and help humans to understand we mean them no harm. Well, I want to organize a group of young mutants, for that same purpose. Of course, you won't be dealing with anything as dangerous as the X-Men do, but I think you seven…"
"Wait, seven," Kevin asked, counting heads. "Professor there are only six of us here."
"Would you all quiet down? I'm trying to read," a voice said.
"Professor did you do that?"
"No, I did," as a book fell from midair onto the desk behind them all.
"Professor, what's going on here?"
"A few weeks ago I discovered reports of a ghost thief, robbing houses and convenience stores in England," Xavier began. "After much investigation, I came to discover it was, in fact, a mutant."
"Alan Skinner 'The Invisible Man', at your service," the voice said. "You see, I had the ability to turn invisible whenever I liked. But, apparently, there was a flaw in my DNA; and once I turned invisible for too long, it was bloody hard to change back."
"So," Xavier said. "What should we call our little group? The X-Kids?"
"Professor," Morph said. "We're a little old to be called that."
"How about the X-Boys," Bobby said.
"Excuse me," Kitty said. "There are two girls here too."
"How about the X-Teens," Morph said.
Everyone nodded in agreement. "This all sounds rather corny, but I'm in," Skinner said.
"Well then," Xavier said. "It's settled. The X-Teens are assembled, and are ready to help young mutants everywhere."
"Cheers," Skinner said, as a pitcher of water poured itself into a glass, and the glass was poured in a straight stream.
The group sat down together in the cafeteria. They had all become good friends in the past few days. "So, what are we supposed to be doing," Evan asked.
"Nothing yet," Kevin said. "But when something comes up, the Professor will let us know."
Skinner sat in his black trilby and black overcoat, eating his sandwich. Kitty watched in disgust as the chewed pieces made their way down Skinner's throat. "That's disgusting," she said. "Do you have to do that here?"
"I might be invisible, but I'm not dead," Skinner replied. "I still have to eat."
Kevin got out of the shower and went to his room. He opened the door, and the room was dark. Kevin heard someone moving around. He left the light off.
The person moved closer towards Kevin. When they were in reaching length, Kevin grabbed them by the neck and opened the door. "Easy, Kevin," the person said.
"Skinner," Kevin asked, as he came into the light of the hallway and saw he had no one in front of him. A brown leather square floated in Skinner's invisible hand. "Is that my wallet?" He snatched it from Skinner's hand.
"I was going to pay you back mate," Skinner said.
"From now on I want you clothed at all times," as he threw Skinner into the hallway. "And stay out of my room!" He shut the door.
General Bolivar Trask stood before the President. "Sir, this mutant problem is becoming greater than we had anticipated," Trask said. "I would like permission to take decisive action against them, starting at the source; this Xavier School of Higher Learning. Look at these blueprints," as he placed them in front of the President. "It has secret underground corridors, and what looks like a jet that comes up out of the basketball court."
"What kind of jet," the President asked.
"We don't know, but it far exceeds the functions of any of ours."
"Alright, I'm giving you permission, but keep me posted, and don't harm any of them. And keep everything under wraps. Some people make interpret this very negatively."
"Yes, Mr. President."
"Trask, how do you expect to capture these mutants?"
"I know of someone who might be able to do it, for a price."
The Hunter put on his helmet. He holstered his two pistols, and place his knife in the pouch on his leg. He secured his jetpack. He was rather large, and his helmet was green and black, with a T on the front. He was wearing a uniform of the same color, which to any other man might be extremely heavy, but not to the Hunter. He was ready to hunt some mutants.
Kevin looked out the window, and saw dozens of helicopters land on the front lawn. "This can't be good," he said.
He tried to find Bobby and Skinner, but both were in class. He ran towards the entrance to the Mansion.
Dozens of troops broke through the many doors and windows of the Mansion. They opened fire on the students. They appeared to be tranquilizer darts, from what Kevin saw.
He morphed into one of the troops, and approached one. "Hey," he said. "This area is secure. Move on."
"Who are you to give me an order," the soldier said.
"Call me Morph," as he changed into himself, and fired a tranquilizer pistol at the soldier. The soldier went down. "'Night." He had to find the others and stop the troops.
Bobby and Rogue stood next to Bobby's locker, talking and holding hands. "Did you hear that," Bobby asked. There was a loud crash, and he heard screams. The Hunter fired two tranquilizer darts into them as they turned around.
Peter and Evan sat at the back of their Calculus class, while Kitty sat in the front row, diligently taking notes. "Hey Peter," Evan whispered. Peter looked at him. "I was wondering, how did you come to this place?"
Peter shrugged. "It wasn't really anything that interesting," Peter said. "I grew up in Russia, and I moved to the city when I was young. After I found out what I was, I heard of the Xavier Institute. He took me in, and I've felt at home ever since. How about you?"
"Actually, I was requested to come from my aunt, Aunt Ororo; they call her Storm."
"Oh yeah, I know Storm. I have her for biology."
"Yeah, she's great. I don't know where I'd be without her. She helped me through a tough time when I found out I was a mutant."
"Peter, Evan," Dr. Hank McCoy, the large, blue-furred teacher, was looking back at them. "Is this perhaps a conversation that could be continued outside of class?" The other students stared back at them, including Kitty, who looked at Peter and stifled a laugh.
"Sorry Dr. McCoy," Peter and Evan said together.
"Quite alright boys, just keep it down from now on. Now then…"
Peter heard a loud commotion in the hall. "What was that," he asked Evan. The two boys sprinted up and Kitty was quick at their heels.
Peter, Evan, and Kitty came out of their class to see what was going on. A soldier fired a tranquilizer dart into Evan and Kitty. Out of the corner of his eye Peter saw a couple other students fall to the ground, including Dr. McCoy. The soldier fired another at Peter, as his entire body became incased in metal. Peter grabbed the soldier by the neck and tossed him through the wall. He picked up Evan and Kitty, and went to look for the others.
Skinner stood in the hallway, naked. He knew if he didn't touch anybody or move anything, the soldiers wouldn't catch him. He didn't count on The Hunter's infrared scanner. "Nice try mutant," the Hunter said as he shot a tranquilizer dart into the heat source. He picked up the invisible mutant and dragged it to the front door with the others. He had to find the metal mutant.
Peter walked through the deserted hallways. It seemed as if the soldiers had gotten all the students.
Peter sprinted down a hallway and spotted to a soldier standing at the end. The soldier turned, and turned into Morph. "Morph," he said. "Who are these guys?"
"I don't know," Morph replied. "But we have to get onto those helicopters."
"Have you seen Iceman, Rogue, or Invisible Man?"
"No, but I have a feeling they might be on one of those choppers."
The Hunter flew on his jetpack into the room. "Looks like I missed some," he said. He fired tranquilizer darts at the human-looking mutant. The mutant dodged.
Morph picked up a dart gun and fired it at the Hunter, but he missed. The Hunter dodged to the side, and Colossus jumped up and threw his fist into the Hunter's jetpack, sending it careening down the hallway. The Hunter fell to the ground. Colossus approached the Hunter, and threw him across the room. Colossus ripped off his armor and helmet.
"Colossus, slow down," Morph said.
"I was just roughing him up a little," Colossus said.
The Hunter fired a few rounds from his pistol at Colossus, and the bullets bounced right off. Morph fired a tranquilizer dart into the Hunter's neck, and knocked him out. "Stay with him, I'll take care of those helicopters," Morph said.
Morph changed into the Hunter. He ran out to the helicopters. "What's the matter," one of the troops said, jumping out of the helicopter.
"I've just gotten a direct order to move these mutants back into the building," Morph said.
"But sir…"
"That's a direct order, soldier."
"Yes, sir."
Morph and Colossus managed to find the bodies of the other X-Teens, and they eventually woke from their slumber. After the helicopters had left the premises, Xavier met with Morph and the rest of the X-Teens.
"Professor, who was that man," Kevin asked. "And what did those soldiers want?"
"Well, after some probing, only some of which was needed psychically, our guest informed me he was hired to kidnap the students here."
"Hired by who," Rogue asked.
"General Bolivar Trask."
"Trask," Kevin repeated. "He's never made it a secret that he doesn't approve of mutants. How could he manage something like this? I know the President would never condone…"
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Xavier said. "We can't be entirely sure the President was entirely aware of Trask's plans. For now, we'll keep this to ourselves, as much as we can, but we'll keep an eye over our shoulders."
"I agree," Kevin said.
"Now I think you all understand the dangers we face," Xavier said. "And it is precisely for events like this that I selected you for this team. I know that together, you will help in the fight for peace between humans and mutants, and I could not ask for a better group of young men and women."