"…Now if, ladies and gentlemen, you would indulge me for a moment, I would like you to picture in your minds a never ending flight of stairs. These stairs represent the evolutionary trajectory of all life on this planet. There is no curvature, no gentle arc into the future of our species. Evolution does not progress so smoothly. Instead what we see are long periods of inactivity, a genetic decadence if you will. But then, over the course of only a few generations we see an explosion of activity, the rapid and uncontrolled mutation that drives life forward. The question is where do we place ourselves on this trajectory we have laid out? Are we standing, feet firm in an evolutionary lull, or are we waiting, bracing for the next step?"

Professor Charles Xavier speaking on evolution

International Conference on Genome Evolution and Speciation

Gatersleben, Germany, 1991

PROLOGUE

EPITAPH

The tombstone was new.

The smell of wet freshly turned earth still filled the air after the days earlier showers. Overhead dark slashes of cloud scudded across a bruised evening sky. Two men were making their way across the moist grass of the funeral plot, a large 19th century mansion looming starkly at their backs. Their coats were wrapped tightly around them to shield against the chill evening air. The taller of the two carried a steel framed umbrella in his right hand, the smaller man a simple bunch of flowers. The two eventually came to a stop standing over the tombstone, the smaller man staring intently at the inscription etched across it.

"I am sorry old friend." Said the taller of the two men, his voice crisp and commanding but without accent. The smaller man lifted a hand to his friends shoulder.

"Don't be." He said his own shoulders slumping as he let out a long weary sigh. He looked up and around the grounds of the mansion wearily.

"So many years I avoided this place. So very long away from home and all because of him."

A shiver ran down his spine as a chill breeze carrying brown autumnal leaves gusted by.

"I was always so very afraid when I was here."

The tall man cocked an eyebrow at his companion.

"Then why come back?"

"Because I had to be sure. I couldn't quite believe it when they told me. I'd lived under his shadow for so long, I didn't think I would ever be out from under it. But now I'm here and I can feel it. He's gone. Forever. And he's never coming back."

"You never told me you hated him so much."

"I didn't hate him." The smaller man said shaking his head. "I feared him, him and my brother. They made this place theirs, full of bitterness and anger and want. It was all I could ever feel when I was here. They were both just so poisonous you understand. They filled the air with it, made it difficult to think or even breathe."

The tall man gave a grim chuckle.

"What did you expect? They were only human after all."

"Don't start that." Said the smaller man. "Not now." He hunched low over the fresh grave, his hand resting gently on the recently turned soil. Slowly, he closed his eyes and listened.

He stayed like that for several minutes, the tall man a pace behind him. Dark clouds gathered in the sky above and the first drops of a second rainfall began to fill the air.

"But now all there is, is silence." Said the small man, finally opening his eyes.

"The dead seldom talk back my friend." Said the taller man, popping his umbrella open with a grim smile. "But sometimes I dearly wish they would." His companion glanced back over his shoulder at him.

"I'm sorry to drag you out here." He said, placing the flowers on the soil and straightening. "Come on. Lets go back inside. We have a lot to talk about."

Together the two men turned and began to make their way back across the open grass toward the mansion, shadows lengthening around them as the evening sun dropped behind the horizon and night began to fall.

"Indeed." Agreed the taller man. "This idea of yours is intriguing. I had never considered a school. It would be a haven, a sanctuary."

The smaller man nodded in agreement.

"Yes. A place to show the world what we truly are, and to shape the potential for what we can all be."

The tall man's grim smile returned.

"Ever the idealist my friend."

"We have to try. It's the only way."

"In trying many will die pointlessly." The tall man said bitterly. "Many already have."

The smaller man stopped and fixed his friend with a steady gaze.

"You'd entertain those other options? They will only cause more deaths, create more fear."

The tall man glared back.

"What does that matter?" He snapped, a new sharpness to his voice "When change comes the old must give way to the new. We are the new! You and I and all the others like us. And as for fear, let them fear us! They are right to!"

The smaller man stood his ground, unperturbed by his friend's outburst.

"I will not breed more fear and suspicion in this world. It will only tear us all apart." The two men stood facing each other, the rain becoming heavier. Finally the taller man relaxed, shifting his weight and chuckling softly.

"Very well, you win. This time." He turned and started back toward the house again. The smaller man continued to watch his friend through narrowed eyes for a moment longer before hurrying to catch up.

"So," The taller man began again, forcing a lighter tone into his voice this time, "This school idea. You know those friends in high places of yours won't like it very much. How do you propose we get them to agree?"

The smaller man shrugged.

"I have my ways." He said. "And there are many benefits to allowing me a certain degree of autonomy. Plausible deniability springs to mind."

The taller man laughed a little too hard.

"Ever the peace keeper eh? And what about the location? We will need somewhere away from prying eyes. Don't want to alarm your precious public after all."

The two men drew to a stop in the shadow of the mansion. Inside the household staff were going about their duties preparing dinner for the evening and the lights behind the windows shone brightly in the gathering dusk.

"I can think of no finer place. Can you?" the smaller man said.

NOTES: While this may sound strange, I have been a fan of the X-Men for a long time, since the early 90's in fact, but until very recently I had only ever read one or two issues of the actual comic books. I'm sure you can guess where my exposure came from. I loved the X-Men cartoon of the early 90's and it was one of my earliest exposures to serialised story telling as a child. I had watched plenty of cartoons before but never ones where the world seemed so real (for a Saturday morning cartoon) and ones where characters could be killed (Morph) and where events would often continue from week to week. The X-Men also just looked cool and the classic team line up certainly helped. Needless to say it left a big impression. I've recently started buying the trade paper-backs mainly thanks to the recently released First Class movie which re-ignited my love of the characters and their world.

I originally thought of writing a story set immediately after the movies thus dodging the messy comics continuity, but quickly grew dissatisfied with the storyline and baggage attached that would mean missing out on some of my favourite characters. Instead I've decided to do something a along the lines of Ultimate X-Men and start my own continuity that will allow me to play with these characters in a setting a like and a team I enjoy.

What I've tried to do is make the X-Men inhabit a world that feels plausible (not necessarily real) and have tried to eject what I felt were some of the sillier elements from the various iterations out there and also try to incorporate what I think worked best. I've also chosen to separate it from the mainline Marvel Universe as I'm not a fan of having superhumans and mutants running around and crossovers and the like. As such the only superheroes you will see here are of mutant origin. I have used one specific character as she is important to the overall arc I have planned, and as such her origin has been changed to reflect her as a mutant rather than a superhuman.

With regards to origins of characters, they are something of a mish mash. I've again tried to keep something that resembles the various origins of these characters, while still giving myself a little room for dramatic credibility and in some cases to make them mesh better with the characters as I write them. Some of these characters may differ from their comic counterparts in the nitty gritty of their backgrounds but I'm hoping the spirit of these various iconic heroes still comes through regardless.

Finally thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoy what you find.