Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning, Iowa.
Cyclops looked over at his wife. Jean was so beautiful. After all these years, Cyclops has never thought otherwise. She met his gaze warmly. They continued to get dressed, albeit slowly, to start another day. Cyclops could hear children and teenagers moving about already. It was difficult for him to imagine the mansion any differently. We kept it going, Charles. Kept it going strong even after all these years, like you wanted.
"Still tired."
"Yeah, same. But it'll wear off," he kissed her cheek. A white lie, they both knew. Even spread across all seven of them, maintaining everything to advance on their goal was still difficult.
They left their room and walked down the hallway. Cyclops and Jean passed children and teenagers, greeting them as they passed. They walked through the halls, and down the stairs to an elevator door. They considered stopping by Tabitha's room, but they know their daughter did not want to feel smothered. Jean typed in a code on the keypad, and the elevator opened. Cyclops pressed the down button, and the elevator door closed.
It was a short ride, and the door opened. They passed the Danger Room, the aircraft room containing the Blackbird, and the defunct Cerebro room. After the passing of Xavier, the Cerebro could no longer be used. None of them had telepathic capabilities, and therefore it became a financial hindrance. Cyclops and Jean entered the final room where Beast, Rogue, Karma, Oya, Husk sat a roundtable. They greeted each other as they took their respective seats and prepared their documents.
Cyclops broke the silence,"Alright, the weekly briefing has begun. I'll start. Xavier Mansion security is stable. There, were some graffiti sprayed onto the basketball court. Some of the kids found it, unsettled them. That's being taken care of."
Karma chimed in,"Good. They shouldn't have to see that. Not here."
"How are the new X-Men coming along?" Husk asked.
"They're doing well. Their teamwork is getting better, however Northstar's still has some work with that. Tabith- Boom-Boom is still acting out. Jean and I have tried talking to her about it, to no success. But, they're in their late teens after all. Trouble's to be expected. They've really gotten used to their powers. Hank, we'll probably have to upgrade the Danger Room for them." Beast smiled, and Cyclops continued. "Thanks to Rogue, we do have a new X-Man arriving today from Illinois. Kitty Pryde, seventeen years old, her ability being intangibility. With some work, she'll round out the team nicely. I'll still be sending the other five on mutant and human protection missions in the meantime. She'll join them in time. That's really it for me. Jean?"
Straightening up, Jean said," The finances are relatively stable. I have to call a plumber in to fix some of the bathrooms on the second floor of the west wing. Some of the kids have been acting up in there, now we need some new pipes and sinks there. Few late payments, but I talked to the parents and they'll be coming in soon. And for the abandoned or orphaned, the checks from the government for fostering them have arrived. Still working on everything else, but I will prioritize the paychecks first."
"Cool, Karma and I will email the teachers about that," Husk responded.
"And how are things on your ends?" Jean politely asked.
Husk spoke first, "Academics are going great. The teachers are going beyond the state curriculum and test scores recently have been good. Better than last month. Karma's wife Sharon's students have done extremely well"
Beast quickly interjected, his right hand stroking the blue fur under his chin," There have been some criticism lately about the lack of nonmutant employees at our school. How come there aren't any?"
"There haven't been any applications from nonmutants. Tell the press that nonmutant applications are always welcome. We want equality for all, that's what we teach here," she answered.
Beast nodded contently to Husk, and Karma began her briefing. "Mutant ability classes have had slow but steady improvements. I do still make an effort to have- it's not the best phrasing- to have therapy sessions with the students. Having your X-Men come in last week to tell their own stories was really helpful, Scott. Thanks."
"Your welcome Xi'an. Oya, you've been quiet. How has the activist movements been lately. I heard three hundred came to the one you organized with some grassroots activists over in Boston."
'Yeah, that was really great. Those were some great people. As usual, I've been making calls to schoolboards, state representatives as usual. I finally managed to get the first middle school presentation on mutant rights down in Texas. I'm working on other domestic and foreign protests with some other activists and a cyber campaign right now. All that, right now is primarily on the Mutant Registration Act that's being debated in Congress. Beast will probably tell you more about that."
Without missing a beat, Beast began," Yeah, from what I know from sources in Washington, the Friends of Humanity group in Congress are working on getting enough votes for it. The Republican Arkansas Representative William Stryker has been the most vocal supporter. He's the one giving the act some steam. Some Democrats have voiced either support or consideration for the act, asking for the Act to be revised to exclude Sentinels. Luckily, other Democrats have spoken out against them. I've been on numerous media programs denouncing the act, criticizing it, but some people's minds you can't change. Scott, Karma it's important to keep the children under supervision. Let them have their fun and freedom, but the X-Men are at the forefront at this whole debate. We will be scrutinized even more, for even the slightest screw up. Scott, maybe amp up the missions for the new team. Have them speak out if they're comfortable yet. We need fresher, younger voices in the debate. That's what I wanted to discuss today. The rest I can save for next week, this was the biggest thing."
Scott's eyes hardened as he weighed Beast's words. "I'll see if they're comfortable with that. Storm likely will. She's shaping up to be a good leader. And, I'll try to get them on more missions. I'll increase my contact with law enforcement on anything they can assist with. Rogue?"
Rogue cheerfully replied," Things have been a bit slow, darlin'. These kids are scared to reveal who they are. Powers manifest during puberty, an already stressful thing. But I got a girl from Florida and identical twins from Nigeria coming in next week. Jean and I have taken care of everything there."
"Anything else, anyone?" Scott asked the room. Silence lingered as they all shrugged and shook their heads. "Alright, let's get to work." Jean and Scott left to have breakfast, and Scott kept an eye on the clock. He expected noontime to arrive sooner than he thought. And he didn't want to be rude to the newest X-Man.