Prologue
Willow!" Iris called her 11-year-old sister's name while searching the long halls of the orphanage. "WILLOW, where are you?!"
Willow was always wandering off and Iris felt responsible for her. Their parents had died three years ago in a car crash. It was at night in the middle of a monsoon. They lost control of the car and it slid off the road. Iris had grabbed Willow and they were suddenly home. That's when she found out she was a mutant.
She noticed a brown haired boy walk by her. "Hey, Fred!" Iris waved to him. "Have you seen Willow lately?"
"I'm sorry, I haven't. You should check the library, though. She loves it there."
Iris sighed, ran her hand through her black curly hair, and hurried in the direction of the library. She hoped she could make it in time. The troublemaker was always getting into fights.
Willow did love the library. She loved the smell of old pages; the tall bookcases full of juicy novels; the fluffy beanbags and fuzzy armchairs; the cozy fire; and most of all the silence.
She was reading a fantasy book when she felt herself forced off her beanbag onto the ground.
"Hey, Plevington!" she heard a voice behind her say.
She looked up to see who her attacker was. It was one of the many gangs of boys at the orphanage. There was a large, burly boy, who was apparently the leader known as Red; a skinny, rat faced one with strong legs; and two short fat boys with long arms. Rat face was the one who pushed her.
She stood up and balled her fists. "What do you want?"
Red smiled and said to his gorillas, " Billy. Victor." The two long armed boys grabbed her and held her still.
" Get your slimy meatloaves off o' me!" She yelled, squirming in their grasps.
"In answer to your question," Red said as he circled her. "We want to know more about your freak sister"
"SHE IS NOT A FREAK!" She exclaimed, only to be punched in the ribs by Billy. She winced. "She's not a freak, she's a mutant, and that means she's more advanced than Homo-sapiens. I thought everyone here knew she could teleport. Your group must be slow on the news"
"We want to know if your folks were freaks too."
Willow glared "If they were, they never told us," She replied. " But I know what your parents were."
Red narrowed his eyes. "Oh, yeah?"
Willow smirked. "Pigs."
"Why you little brat!" He pulled back his fist, and sent it flying at Willow's face.
Time seemed to slow as fist hurdled toward her. Willow's eyes widened. It came closer and closer. She felt a tingly sensation. She closed her eyes and prepared for impact. It never came.
When she opened her eyes, everything was cloudy as if she was looking through a veil. She looked down and saw a wrist going through her smoky nose. Wait, smoky? She had turned her head to smoke!
She heard Red whimper. She looked up at him and restrained a laugh. His eyes were as big as tennis balls and his lip was quivering. She felt Billy and Victor let go of her.
"You're like her! You're a f-f-" Red was interrupted by a loud pop.
"A freak?" a voice behind Willow finished. Willow turned around and saw Iris behind her. "Who's a freak?" Iris said angrily. There was another pop and then she was in front of Willow looking up angrily at Red. "You stay away from my sister, Pig." And with that Iris grabbed Willow and they teleported away.
Willow and Iris appeared back in the bedroom they shared. It was small with two cots on either side. There was a rocking chair in the corner next to a dresser, and a desk next to the door. There were two windows; one on the wall to the right and one on the wall opposite of the door.
Willow plopped down on her bed. She was so excited that her mutation had shown. When she turned ten, she was convinced she did not have a mutation. Iris's had shown on the night of the car crash, when she was nine and Willow was eight. Willow just assumed it would come when she was nine also.
Iris sat down next to her. "Congratulations," she said. "I hear you are a mutant. I always knew you would pull through."
Suddenly, Willow felt a surge of anger. "They called us freaks! I've always felt superior to them, and I guess I was right."
"Willow, they are just jealous. Besides, everyone is made equal," Iris retorted.
"I don't care! Mutants shouldn't have to hide from humans! We should rule them."
Iris stared at her like she was crazy. She opened her mouth as if to argue and then decided better of it. After all, Willow had a nasty temper. Instead she said, "What can you do anyway?"
Willow closed her eyes and concentrated on her arm. Suddenly, she felt the tingly sensation in her arm like she had in the library. She looked down and saw her arm had turned to smoke. She smiled.
"Wow," Iris whispered
{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*} {*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}
(3 weeks later)
Iris awoke to beautiful Saturday morning at the Sunside Orphanage in Northern California. Willow had already woken up and was presumably in the library, so Iris decided to get dressed, have some breakfast, and then go into the garden to play solitaire card games and /or play mancala by herself.
Iris chose a bench under a shady apple tree and set out the cards. After an hour or so of playing, Iris saw a bald man in a wheelchair around the age of 60 rolling up the walkway. He smiled and nodded at her.
"Good morning," he said cheerfully.
"G'morning," she replied.
Quickly, she realized she was staring and went back to moving the stones from well to well on the mancala board.
A few minutes later he returned with Miss Webster, the short, portly old woman who ran the orphanage.
"Ah, I thought you might be here! You usually are, on days like this," said Miss Webster.
Iris shot a quick smile at Miss Webster and then looked inquisitively the man in the wheel chair. Questions shot through her mind. Was she being adopted? Would her sister come also? Would they be separated? Miss Webster must have noticed.
"Oh! I've forgotten an introduction. Iris, this is Professor Charles Xavier. Professor, this is Iris Plevington."
Iris stood and shook Xavier's hand. "Please to meet you Professor."
"Likewise," he replied.
They all stood in an awkward silence.
Charles looked at Miss Webster. She was so short that he barely needed to look up.
"Erm, Miss Webster, will you give us a minute alone, please?" Charles asked.
"Hmm? Oh! Yes, of course," Miss Webster hurried off.
They stood in silence (or, Iris did. Charles can't stand), which Iris broke after a while.
"So… are you adopting us?"
Charles frowned, "Us?"
"Um. My sister and I?"
"Oh! I didn't plan on it."
Iris sat down "Oh. Then why are you here?"
"I'm a mutant. Like you and probably your sister. I have a school for mutants, in fact."
Iris stared in disbelief. "You? A mutant? Prove it."
Suddenly, she heard his voice. She looked at him, but his lips were not moving. "I expect you'll find I'm telling the truth. I am a telepath; I can enter people's minds. I was wondering what you could do?"
Iris smiled. "My sister's a mutant too. I can go get her for you."
"Of course!" Charles nodded his approval.
There was a pop and Iris was gone.
acfabfabfabfabfabfabfab
Iris appeared back in her room. She couldn't teleport very far distances unless under stress, so she couldn't go straight to the library. Willow had been there though. There was a pile of books on her bed from the library. The names of most of them had been worn away. Iris opened the door and hurried to the library.
When she reached the library, she looked around and spotted Willow reading on her usual beanbag. Iris ran over and shook her out of her reading trance.
Willow looked up. "What?" she said sleepily.
Iris told her what had happened in a hushed tone.
"Okay," Willow said. She yawned and tried to go back to her book, but Iris snatched it out of her hands.
"HEY!" Willow exclaimed loudly.
"You're coming too!" Iris said. She put the book down, grabbed Willow and teleported to their room and then outside.
When the smoke cleared (Willow tried to get away by turning to smoke but to no avail for Iris could still touch the smoke) Iris saw Charles look up.
"Where's his hair?" Willow muttered under her breath.
"Willow, this is Charles Xavier. Sorry Professor Charles Xavier. Professor, this is my sister Willow.
Charles smiled. "Pleased to meet you Willow," Charles extended his hand to shake and Willow reluctantly took it.
"So, I have already seen that you can teleport," Charles nodded to Iris, who smiled back. "But, what can you do, Willow?"
Willow seemed to lighten up a bit. She walked over to the bench, squeezed her eyes closed, and melted into a smoky figure. She walked through the bench and back, and then went back to her solid state.
"Impressive," Charles said. Willow smiled.
"So," Iris started. "Tell us more about this 'School'."
Charles told them how he would teach them to control and enhance their powers, and also teach them other subjects like science, math, and history. When they finish school, they can either go of on their own or join the X-men, a group of mutants that go on missions for the school.
"What exactly do the 'X-men' do?" Willow inquired.
"Well, they protect innocent people of all kind from a powerful mutant who calls himself 'Magneto' and his 'Brotherhood of Evil Mutants', who believe that that mutants should rise to rule over the humans, exterminating them in the process. He's also after you two so you should decide quickly.
"He sounds better than hiding from the humans," Willow commented.
Charles frowned. "Willow, at my school you will learn to control your power and you will get a valuable education-"
"Magneto's right! We shouldn't hide from the humans; we should rule them!"
"Willow-" Iris started, but Willow stopped her.
"No! I am SICK of mutants being teased! I'm waiting for him!" She stormed inside.
"Sorry about Willow, professor," Iris apologized. " I have always wanted to be accepted," She continued. "But I can't just leave Willow! She's my responsibility."
Charles sighed and smiled sadly. "Well, I guess things just aren't going to work out here. Pity. You would have made excellent students." He rolled away slowly.
Iris hesitated. Then she ran after him. "WAIT!"
He stopped and turned around.
"Just let me talk to her. I may be able to convince her. Do you mind waiting a bit longer?"
"Not at all," Charles smiled.
Exhausted from teleporting earlier, Iris ran inside and looked for Willow. She found her in the dining room eating lunch. She walked up to her.
"Hey," she said.
"I'm not changing my mind if that's what your wondering," Willow said without looking up.
"Willow, I want to fit in. With people like us," Iris said slowly.
"That's fine," She replied. "Go without me."
"What?! But-" Iris started.
"I'll be FINE!" Willow exclaimed, looking Iris in the eye. "There are plenty of people here who don't have siblings."
Iris sighed. "Just… don't get into any fights. Ok? I'll go pack my stuff and talk to Ms. Webster" The two sisters hugged each other and Iris walked to her room to pack. Slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder and went to say her final goodbyes before telling Ms. Webster the story.
When she walked out she saw the professor still waiting for her.
"I take it Willow is not coming?" He asked.
Willow looked back at the orphanage. "You got that right. I just hope she's alright…"
She looked back at him. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go."
It was a four-hour drive to the storage unit in Reno, Nevada. A woman named Aurora, who went by Storm, was driving because Xavier was enabled. She could control the weather and was very nice to Iris. Iris knew already she would be happy here.
When they arrived to the storage and took a private jet to Westchester, New York. Finally, after the last car ride, they arrived at a huge mansion that must have been the school.
"Whoa!" Willow said slowly, eyes wide. She could never imagine live in a place so luxurious.
There were some kids playing soccer but the ball kept floating into a team's goal, which caused some quarreling.
"Come on, Iris," Storm called gesturing for her to follow. "I'll give you a tour."
acfabfabfabfabfabfabfab
Willow lay on her bed thinking about life, when her door slammed open, and there stood a man wearing a cape and an odd looking helmet. Accompanying him was an entirely blue woman with red hair and scales who was essentially nude.
In a small voice Willow asked, "Who're you?"
"I am Magneto and this is Mystique. We ask you to join the Brotherhood of Mutants and put your wondrous powers to use," He said dramatically.
Willow smiled and turned to smoke. "I've been expecting you. The name's Wisp."
acfabfabfabfabfabfabfab
(One Day Later)
Iris fumbled with the map Storm had given her. She had to keep redoing the tour because Iris kept forgetting where things were. Eventually Storm just gave her one of the maps they kept for the more forgetful pupils instead.
Where was the kitchen again? She thought to herself. She heard wheels behind her. Thank goodness it's the Professor. She turned around and was about to ask for help with the map, when the Professor said, "I'm sorry Iris. Last night, Magneto paid a visit to your old orphanage and Willow joined him. She's taken the name 'Wisp.'"
"What?! Knowing how stubborn she is, I guess she won't be changing her mind," Iris concluded.
"I suppose so," Charles agreed.
Iris thought for a moment. Wisp, huh? It suited her definitely.
"Enigma," She said to Charles.
He blinked. "Sorry?"
"I want to be called Enigma from now on. You've all got code-names; this is mine."Prologue
Willow!" Iris called her 11-year-old sister's name while searching the long halls of the orphanage. "WILLOW, where are you?!"
Willow was always wandering off and Iris felt responsible for her. Their parents had died three years ago in a car crash. It was at night in the middle of a monsoon. They lost control of the car and it slid off the road. Iris had grabbed Willow and they were suddenly home. That's when she found out she was a mutant.
She noticed a brown haired boy walk by her. "Hey, Fred!" Iris waved to him. "Have you seen Willow lately?"
"I'm sorry, I haven't. You should check the library, though. She loves it there."
Iris sighed, ran her hand through her black curly hair, and hurried in the direction of the library. She hoped she could make it in time. The troublemaker was always getting into fights.
Willow did love the library. She loved the smell of old pages; the tall bookcases full of juicy novels; the fluffy beanbags and fuzzy armchairs; the cozy fire; and most of all the silence.
She was reading a fantasy book when she felt herself forced off her beanbag onto the ground.
"Hey, Plevington!" she heard a voice behind her say.
She looked up to see who her attacker was. It was one of the many gangs of boys at the orphanage. There was a large, burly boy, who was apparently the leader known as Red; a skinny, rat faced one with strong legs; and two short fat boys with long arms. Rat face was the one who pushed her.
She stood up and balled her fists. "What do you want?"
Red smiled and said to his gorillas, " Billy. Victor." The two long armed boys grabbed her and held her still.
" Get your slimy meatloaves off o' me!" She yelled, squirming in their grasps.
"In answer to your question," Red said as he circled her. "We want to know more about your freak sister"
"SHE IS NOT A FREAK!" She exclaimed, only to be punched in the ribs by Billy. She winced. "She's not a freak, she's a mutant, and that means she's more advanced than Homo-sapiens. I thought everyone here knew she could teleport. Your group must be slow on the news"
"We want to know if your folks were freaks too."
Willow glared "If they were, they never told us," She replied. " But I know what your parents were."
Red narrowed his eyes. "Oh, yeah?"
Willow smirked. "Pigs."
"Why you little brat!" He pulled back his fist, and sent it flying at Willow's face.
Time seemed to slow as fist hurdled toward her. Willow's eyes widened. It came closer and closer. She felt a tingly sensation. She closed her eyes and prepared for impact. It never came.
When she opened her eyes, everything was cloudy as if she was looking through a veil. She looked down and saw a wrist going through her smoky nose. Wait, smoky? She had turned her head to smoke!
She heard Red whimper. She looked up at him and restrained a laugh. His eyes were as big as tennis balls and his lip was quivering. She felt Billy and Victor let go of her.
"You're like her! You're a f-f-" Red was interrupted by a loud pop.
"A freak?" a voice behind Willow finished. Willow turned around and saw Iris behind her. "Who's a freak?" Iris said angrily. There was another pop and then she was in front of Willow looking up angrily at Red. "You stay away from my sister, Pig." And with that Iris grabbed Willow and they teleported away.
Willow and Iris appeared back in the bedroom they shared. It was small with two cots on either side. There was a rocking chair in the corner next to a dresser, and a desk next to the door. There were two windows; one on the wall to the right and one on the wall opposite of the door.
Willow plopped down on her bed. She was so excited that her mutation had shown. When she turned ten, she was convinced she did not have a mutation. Iris's had shown on the night of the car crash, when she was nine and Willow was eight. Willow just assumed it would come when she was nine also.
Iris sat down next to her. "Congratulations," she said. "I hear you are a mutant. I always knew you would pull through."
Suddenly, Willow felt a surge of anger. "They called us freaks! I've always felt superior to them, and I guess I was right."
"Willow, they are just jealous. Besides, everyone is made equal," Iris retorted.
"I don't care! Mutants shouldn't have to hide from humans! We should rule them."
Iris stared at her like she was crazy. She opened her mouth as if to argue and then decided better of it. After all, Willow had a nasty temper. Instead she said, "What can you do anyway?"
Willow closed her eyes and concentrated on her arm. Suddenly, she felt the tingly sensation in her arm like she had in the library. She looked down and saw her arm had turned to smoke. She smiled.
"Wow," Iris whispered
{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*} {*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}-{*}
(3 weeks later)
Iris awoke to beautiful Saturday morning at the Sunside Orphanage in Northern California. Willow had already woken up and was presumably in the library, so Iris decided to get dressed, have some breakfast, and then go into the garden to play solitaire card games and /or play mancala by herself.
Iris chose a bench under a shady apple tree and set out the cards. After an hour or so of playing, Iris saw a bald man in a wheelchair around the age of 60 rolling up the walkway. He smiled and nodded at her.
"Good morning," he said cheerfully.
"G'morning," she replied.
Quickly, she realized she was staring and went back to moving the stones from well to well on the mancala board.
A few minutes later he returned with Miss Webster, the short, portly old woman who ran the orphanage.
"Ah, I thought you might be here! You usually are, on days like this," said Miss Webster.
Iris shot a quick smile at Miss Webster and then looked inquisitively the man in the wheel chair. Questions shot through her mind. Was she being adopted? Would her sister come also? Would they be separated? Miss Webster must have noticed.
"Oh! I've forgotten an introduction. Iris, this is Professor Charles Xavier. Professor, this is Iris Plevington."
Iris stood and shook Xavier's hand. "Please to meet you Professor."
"Likewise," he replied.
They all stood in an awkward silence.
Charles looked at Miss Webster. She was so short that he barely needed to look up.
"Erm, Miss Webster, will you give us a minute alone, please?" Charles asked.
"Hmm? Oh! Yes, of course," Miss Webster hurried off.
They stood in silence (or, Iris did. Charles can't stand), which Iris broke after a while.
"So… are you adopting us?"
Charles frowned, "Us?"
"Um. My sister and I?"
"Oh! I didn't plan on it."
Iris sat down "Oh. Then why are you here?"
"I'm a mutant. Like you and probably your sister. I have a school for mutants, in fact."
Iris stared in disbelief. "You? A mutant? Prove it."
Suddenly, she heard his voice. She looked at him, but his lips were not moving. "I expect you'll find I'm telling the truth. I am a telepath; I can enter people's minds. I was wondering what you could do?"
Iris smiled. "My sister's a mutant too. I can go get her for you."
"Of course!" Charles nodded his approval.
There was a pop and Iris was gone.
acfabfabfabfabfabfabfab
Iris appeared back in her room. She couldn't teleport very far distances unless under stress, so she couldn't go straight to the library. Willow had been there though. There was a pile of books on her bed from the library. The names of most of them had been worn away. Iris opened the door and hurried to the library.
When she reached the library, she looked around and spotted Willow reading on her usual beanbag. Iris ran over and shook her out of her reading trance.
Willow looked up. "What?" she said sleepily.
Iris told her what had happened in a hushed tone.
"Okay," Willow said. She yawned and tried to go back to her book, but Iris snatched it out of her hands.
"HEY!" Willow exclaimed loudly.
"You're coming too!" Iris said. She put the book down, grabbed Willow and teleported to their room and then outside.
When the smoke cleared (Willow tried to get away by turning to smoke but to no avail for Iris could still touch the smoke) Iris saw Charles look up.
"Where's his hair?" Willow muttered under her breath.
"Willow, this is Charles Xavier. Sorry Professor Charles Xavier. Professor, this is my sister Willow.
Charles smiled. "Pleased to meet you Willow," Charles extended his hand to shake and Willow reluctantly took it.
"So, I have already seen that you can teleport," Charles nodded to Iris, who smiled back. "But, what can you do, Willow?"
Willow seemed to lighten up a bit. She walked over to the bench, squeezed her eyes closed, and melted into a smoky figure. She walked through the bench and back, and then went back to her solid state.
"Impressive," Charles said. Willow smiled.
"So," Iris started. "Tell us more about this 'School'."
Charles told them how he would teach them to control and enhance their powers, and also teach them other subjects like science, math, and history. When they finish school, they can either go of on their own or join the X-men, a group of mutants that go on missions for the school.
"What exactly do the 'X-men' do?" Willow inquired.
"Well, they protect innocent people of all kind from a powerful mutant who calls himself 'Magneto' and his 'Brotherhood of Evil Mutants', who believe that that mutants should rise to rule over the humans, exterminating them in the process. He's also after you two so you should decide quickly.
"He sounds better than hiding from the humans," Willow commented.
Charles frowned. "Willow, at my school you will learn to control your power and you will get a valuable education-"
"Magneto's right! We shouldn't hide from the humans; we should rule them!"
"Willow-" Iris started, but Willow stopped her.
"No! I am SICK of mutants being teased! I'm waiting for him!" She stormed inside.
"Sorry about Willow, professor," Iris apologized. " I have always wanted to be accepted," She continued. "But I can't just leave Willow! She's my responsibility."
Charles sighed and smiled sadly. "Well, I guess things just aren't going to work out here. Pity. You would have made excellent students." He rolled away slowly.
Iris hesitated. Then she ran after him. "WAIT!"
He stopped and turned around.
"Just let me talk to her. I may be able to convince her. Do you mind waiting a bit longer?"
"Not at all," Charles smiled.
Exhausted from teleporting earlier, Iris ran inside and looked for Willow. She found her in the dining room eating lunch. She walked up to her.
"Hey," she said.
"I'm not changing my mind if that's what your wondering," Willow said without looking up.
"Willow, I want to fit in. With people like us," Iris said slowly.
"That's fine," She replied. "Go without me."
"What?! But-" Iris started.
"I'll be FINE!" Willow exclaimed, looking Iris in the eye. "There are plenty of people here who don't have siblings."
Iris sighed. "Just… don't get into any fights. Ok? I'll go pack my stuff and talk to Ms. Webster" The two sisters hugged each other and Iris walked to her room to pack. Slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder and went to say her final goodbyes before telling Ms. Webster the story.
When she walked out she saw the professor still waiting for her.
"I take it Willow is not coming?" He asked.
Willow looked back at the orphanage. "You got that right. I just hope she's alright…"
She looked back at him. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go."
It was a four-hour drive to the storage unit in Reno, Nevada. A woman named Aurora, who went by Storm, was driving because Xavier was enabled. She could control the weather and was very nice to Iris. Iris knew already she would be happy here.
When they arrived to the storage and took a private jet to Westchester, New York. Finally, after the last car ride, they arrived at a huge mansion that must have been the school.
"Whoa!" Willow said slowly, eyes wide. She could never imagine live in a place so luxurious.
There were some kids playing soccer but the ball kept floating into a team's goal, which caused some quarreling.
"Come on, Iris," Storm called gesturing for her to follow. "I'll give you a tour."
acfabfabfabfabfabfabfab
Willow lay on her bed thinking about life, when her door slammed open, and there stood a man wearing a cape and an odd looking helmet. Accompanying him was an entirely blue woman with red hair and scales who was essentially nude.
In a small voice Willow asked, "Who're you?"
"I am Magneto and this is Mystique. We ask you to join the Brotherhood of Mutants and put your wondrous powers to use," He said dramatically.
Willow smiled and turned to smoke. "I've been expecting you. The name's Wisp."
acfabfabfabfabfabfabfab
(One Day Later)
Iris fumbled with the map Storm had given her. She had to keep redoing the tour because Iris kept forgetting where things were. Eventually Storm just gave her one of the maps they kept for the more forgetful pupils instead.
Where was the kitchen again? She thought to herself. She heard wheels behind her. Thank goodness it's the Professor. She turned around and was about to ask for help with the map, when the Professor said, "I'm sorry Iris. Last night, Magneto paid a visit to your old orphanage and Willow joined him. She's taken the name 'Wisp.'"
"What?! Knowing how stubborn she is, I guess she won't be changing her mind," Iris concluded.
"I suppose so," Charles agreed.
Iris thought for a moment. Wisp, huh? It suited her definitely.
"Enigma," She said to Charles.
He blinked. "Sorry?"
"I want to be called Enigma from now on. You've all got code-names; this is mine."
He shrugged. "Very well. But we must be ready to take action; Magneto is definitely up to something." He started to roll away.
"Will you show me the kitchen again, Professor?" She called after him.
He shrugged. "Very well. But we must be ready to take action; Magneto is definitely up to something." He started to roll away.
"Will you show me the kitchen again, Professor?" She called after him.
