This is basically going to be a series of one-shots. The only reason I have them all compiled together in this story is because a lot of them (though maybe not all of them) will contain my OC. The first chapter is how he got to the mansion, and everything after are one-shots. Because this is an introductory chapter, it's going to suck compared to the rest, so sorry about that.

Disclaimer: If I owned anything I would have money and I wouldn't be writing fanfiction. Since I have no money and am writing fanfiction, I am forced to conclude that I own nothing save for my own OC and the concepts (at least, I think I own the concepts, and I sure hope I own my OC).

Will Alister didn't have much. He was young, only eighteen years old, and had no money. He barely had any clothes. He owned three t-shirts and two pairs of torn jeans, along with a single pair of underwear and three socks. He also technically had a pair of shoes, though four halves of a shoe didn't do him much good. His lack of possessions was due to his being kicked out of the orphanage he had lived in until he was twelve. Once he turned twelve, strange things began happening. He would randomly grow spikes, or burst into flames. Once, he even phased through his bed and into the basement. He also kept sensing others, even though he could never see them, and for some reason knew that what he was doing, they could do, too.

After those signs, the cruel woman who ran the orphanage kicked him out, calling him a "filthy mutant scum." Will had to live on the streets, stealing to survive, and he had to avoid others because he never knew when he would randomly do something.

Over time, Will learned to control his "powers." He learned of something called an X gene, and that mutants had them. He figured he was one of the mutants, and that meant he had some kind of cool power. Will struggled to learn and master his power, but the need to fight to survive had made him strong. Eventually, he learned how to control his power. He was able to identify other mutants in a specific radius, which at the time he mastered his power was five miles, though the radius grew, and access their powers.

Will lived for another two years after having mastered his power on the streets. While on the streets, Will heard about some kind of mutant academy, run by someone called Charles Xavier. Will decided to check it out, hoping that the other mutants would accept him. That's how Will had wound up outside of the massive mansion, hoping someone would notice him and let him in.

Will was waiting for quite a while. He was outside the massive gate that led to a rather large grounds area, with the mansion a little ways in the distance. He figured that, due to the distance, no one had seen him yet. He could sense quite a few mutants inside, and half considered borrowing one of their powers to make himself known. There were two telepaths in there, so Will had a feeling that he could get someone's attention. He also sensed a phaser, and thought about borrowing that power so he could just walk in. There was also a teleporter, and Will thought about borrowing that power and just teleporting in. Actually, on second thought, teleporting or phasing into the mansion may not be the best idea. Will had no idea what security systems the massive building had, and he wasn't too sure he wanted to find out, just in case it had something really nasty.

Will looked around, looking for some kind of buzzer or doorbell or something. He'd even settle for a giant bell. Will couldn't find anything, but he saw a red car driving down the long driveway, towards the gate. The gate started to open, and Will jumped back to avoid getting hit by the car. The car sped past him, but not so quickly that Will didn't see a girl with brown hair and a boy with sunglasses in the car. The girl was driving, and looked absolutely thrilled. The boy, on the other hand, had a look of pure terror on his face. The two drove off, leaving Will behind. The gate, however, was open.

Will looked down the road, towards the mansion. Maybe he would be okay if he walked down to the mansion? The gate was open, it was almost like an open invitation. Besides, as far as Will was concerned, he wasn't doing anything wrong. He walked down the road towards the large mansion.

Will hadn't gone far when he sense a couple of mutants heading his direction. There were two, one who had ice powers and another who could change into a wolf. The ice mutant stopped, but the wolf mutant kept coming towards him. Will thought about hiding, but decided against it. After all, he was trying to join these people, not steal from them.

A red Frisbee landed at Will's feet. Will looked down at it, puzzled, until a small, red haired girl ran out of some bushes. The second she saw him she froze. Will reached down and picked up the Frisbee. He held it out to her.

The girl turned around and ran away. Will dropped the Frisbee, puzzled. He was about to go after her, hoping she could help him, when he heard someone say "Hello."

Will frantically turned around, trying to identify the voice. It sounded so close, but he couldn't figure out where. There were no mutants within fifty feet of him, so it must have been a normal human talking. "Do not be alarmed," the voice said. "I am Professor Charles Xavier, and I own this academy."

"Where are you?" Will asked, still looking around.

"I am inside the mansion. I am speaking to you with my mind," Charles Xavier said. Will then realized that the voice had been coming from inside his head. That explained why he couldn't find anyone.

"What do you want from me?" Will asked, worried he was about to get busted for trespassing or something.

"I am curious to know why you have come here," Xavier said.

"I heard this place was safe for mutants. I really need somewhere to stay, so I was hoping that..."

"You were hoping that you could stay with us, right?" Xavier asked.

"Yes," Will said, because he doubted Xavier would know if he nodded his head.

"Very well," Xavier said. "You are welcome to join us, if you wish." Xavier was silent for a while, then he said "The girl you met earlier, her name is Rahne Sinclair, will bring you to me, where we can have this discussion face to face."

A few minutes later the girl from before came out of the bushes. She looked at him and turned around, walking towards the mansion. Will jogged a little to catch up with her and followed her. She said nothing to Will. Will wasn't really sure how to start a conversation, on the streets he never needed to, the only conversations he ever had were either with shop owners accusing him of stealing their stuff and cops accusing him of stealing something. Will didn't like the awkward silence, though, so he thought he'd give an attempt at started a conversation. "So, the professor tells me your name is Rahne," Will said, desperately hoping that somehow that comment will magically turn into a conversation. Or just Rahne talking while he listened. That's work too.

Unfortunately, it didn't. Rahne only nodded her head. She didn't say anything. Will gave up trying to start a conversation; he had no idea what he was doing. Rahne led him into the mansion, which was lavishly decorated inside with all sorts of expensive looking furniture. He could really make a profit if he- no, no, he couldn't think about theft. Not anymore, he wanted to be done with that life. It sucked, and got him in serious trouble. And it was never worth it. The crimes never paid off.

Rahne led him upstairs to a door. The door was of a simple design. "The professor's in there," Rahne said. She spoke with a Scottish accent, or was it Irish? Will had trouble telling the two apart. She had red hair, so maybe she was Irish. Irish people had red hair, right? Or was that just a stereotype? Maybe it was completely wrong, Will didn't know.

Anyway, Rahne walked off, so Will was left alone. Will opened the door and saw an older, bald man sitting in a wheelchair. The man smiled at him and gestured for Will to come in. Will did, and was offered a seat in a plush armchair. Will cautiously sat down. He had never before sat in anything even kind of as comfortable as that armchair. "I trust Rahne was helpful?" the man asked.

"Are you Charles Xavier?" Will asked abruptly.

"Yes," the man said with a smile. "I'm sorry, I'd forgotten that, though we spoke, you still hadn't seen me."

Will said nothing in response. Xavier seemed to be waiting for Will to say something, though, so Will eventually said "I hope I don't come off as rude, but I'm not good with, well, people." Will figured excusing himself for possibly coming off as rude was something good he could say.

"No need to worry," Xavier said. "In time I'm sure you'll get better at interacting with others. Do you know what this place is?"

"It's a safe place for mutants, right?" Will asked.

"Well, yes, but it's also a school," Xavier said. "Here we teach young mutants how to control their powers and use them for the greater good. If you're interested, I can help you master your gifts."

Will shook his head. "I think I've got a pretty good grasp on my powers already. I honestly just want somewhere safe to sleep, other than a box under a bridge."

"You were homeless before?" Xavier asked.

Will nodded. "And orphaned. My parents died when I was three years old. I was shipped off to a horrible orphanage, where I lived until I was twelve. I discovered my powers there, got kicked out, and have been living on the streets since then."

"That sounds awful," Xavier said. "Nevertheless, even our more experienced students here receive training, even though they have excellent control over their powers."

"Good for them," Will replied. "But I really just want somewhere where I don't have to steal to live."

Xavier sighed. "Very well, if that is what you wish. But, before I have someone show you to your room, what are your powers?"

"I can detect other mutants in a... 5.3674 mile radius," Will said.

"That's remarkably specific," Xavier said.

Will shrugged. "When I first got my power, I could only detect in a two mile radius," he said. "I can also tap into those mutants' powers and use them for myself, though I can only get five powers at a time for now."

Xavier's eyebrows shot up. "That's incredible! You can copy five other mutants' powers?"

Will squirmed, a little uneasy about how intrigued Xavier was about his powers. "Well, I can go up to five, but they're not nearly as powerful as the original. More powers makes them weaker, and even with only one power I can only get about eighty percent without taking in some of their personality."

"You can take their personality as well," Xavier asked, very interested.

"Well, yeah, kind of. If I try to go above eighty percent then some of the other mutant's personality will replace mine, with my personality and character traits being completely overridden at one hundred percent," Will replied.

"So, you in essence could become a virtual clone of another mutant?" Xavier asked.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Will replied. "Though if I do go one hundred percent, I can't get any other powers from anyone, and I won't go back to being me until I release the other mutant's power."

"Still, that's an extraordinary gift," Xavier said. "How does that work with the more physical mutations?"

"What do you mean? Like green hair or blue skin?" Will asked.

"Yes," Xavier replied.

"Um, if the power is turning your hair green I can do that, but if the green hair is always like that, then I can't copy it. I could copy that Rahne girl's power and change into a wolf, but if she has really hairy legs because of her mutation then I can't copy that," Will replied.

Xavier nodded and glanced at a nearby clock. "Oh, dear, it seems I've kept you longer than I meant to. Forgive me. You are welcome to stay here as long as you wish. You will be sharing a room with Kurt Wagner. His room is down the hall, third door to the left. Right now there is only a single bed, but we shall fix that as soon as we can."

"Don't worry too much about it," Will said. "I'm used to sleeping outside in a box. I can handle the floor, easy."

"Still, we will get you a bed as soon as we can," Xavier said. "You are welcome to head down there now. I will tell all the others about your arrival and your powers to save you the trouble."

Will nodded and headed off towards this Kurt guy's room. If the floor in the bedroom was as soft as the carpet he was walking on was, he would have no trouble sleeping.

Author's Note:

If anyone has any questions about Will or his powers, leave a review or PM me and I will either PM you back or address it in a later chapter (which, again, will be a one shot).