Chapter 1
The brown land had been blown to smithereens: ruble of cumbled rock
s littered the earth and dust was so thick that she almost choked on it.
It took time for it to clear, but when the scene was once again visible,
Mistique couldn't help but let a smile tease the corners of her mouth.
SHE had done this; the incredible destruction was of her doing, a show of
her powers. And from the gloom that filled the hollow chasm that scarred
the barren land, two shadows slowly darkened into forms- those of humans. Their eyes glowed a demonic red as soon as they were close enough, and behind her, Fred gasped. Someone whispered for him to shut up, and she let a harsh cackle escape her throat. "Yes," she whispered to no one in particular. "Now the time has come for us to gain a new member, and maybe defeat the X- men once and for all." Her thoughts turned dark as she remembered how she had not been chosen to go with Magneto, and how several of the other mutants had her beaten. HER! "But no matter, now." She turned and began to walk towards her comrades, who stood at the edge of the expanse of desertous land. The demons followed, every move cautious and stiff. It took time for Todd, Fred, Pietro and Lance to become accustomed to the towering presences, but soon all 7 were walking side by side, the same mocking grin plastered across all of their faces. *How do the X- men defeat us now?* Mistique thought. Then she answered
herself: *They don't*.
~~~~
"I heard there was a new girl coming today," Spike said as he shoved
hard to force his math book into his locker. "I wonder if she's hot."
"Yeah," Kitty pondered out loud. "I heard she was an exchange
student from Europe. I wonder if it's true?"
"We'll find out soon enough, if we can get to the assembly on time,
Jean turned and started walking down the hall towards the auditorium, where the new student would be introduced. Scott followed her, always the puppy.
Soon, the comrades were seated on the fold- out benches, awaiting
the prinicpals speech about making her feel 'welcome'. Kitty looked over
at Kurt, who smiled back at her. He squeezed her hand, then perked up and
peered towards the stage like the rest of the student population at
Bayville High, trying to catch the first glimpse of the exchange student.
"Guten tag," she said, smiling. Kitty couldn't see her, but she
couldhear very well from where she was sitting. "My name is Meghann
Linstein, undt I come from Germany. I'm fifteen, undt I am staying here
vith mein grandparents to learn more about America."
"Hey, Kurt," Scott leaned over Jean and nodded excitedly towards
the stage. "You could show her around!"
"Cha," Spike leapt into the conversation. "And maybe introduce
her to us. She's HOT!"
"I haven't seen her," Kurt said. "But I guess I vill soon enough."
"She might be a mutant, using the 'exchange student' form as a
guise." Jean was always the rational one. "I suggest we tell Professor X."
"If she's a mutant, zen ve need to get to her before ze Brotherhood
does."
The group of teenagers left with the rest, but Kitty couldn't help
but let her eyes wander to the new gril standing surrounded by several
males.
~~~~
"If she was a mutant, then Cerebro could tell," Professor Xavier
confronted his students, who sat in a circle on the floor and furniture,
waiting for a response about their 'new mutant'. "Is she is a mutant,
then she doesn't use her powers or she is hiding them very well."
"So," Scott tried his hand at guessing. "We get close to her and
bring her here so you can test her!"
"Yes." The Professor turned to Kurt. "You seem to be the most
obvious choice for what we are thinking."
"I vill do it, Professor. Tomorrow?
"Yes, tomorrow. Now, you all go to bed. It's late and you have
school tomorrow." He wheeled out of the room.
~~~~