Disclaimer: I do not own any characters mention except for Jack and Ellie. They all belong to someone else. Any fault in characterization is my fault. I am not making any money off of this chapter and any chapter that follows.
Notes: Just to explain this now. Jean Grey, Scott Summers, and Professor X are all alive. I haven't explained how yet, but they are. Just believe it's like the comic books. I tried to stay as close to the movies as possible, though I'm closer to the novelization of The Last Stand than the actual movie. There are only two original characters at the moment, the rest are comic book characters. Constructive criticism always welcome.
They say Alcatraz Island was the dawn of a new era. Humans could no longer ignore the fact that mutants around for permanent. That didn't stop the segregation of the population, of course. The rise in abandoned mutant children led to both government and privately funded orphanages devoted solely to mutant children with no where else to go.
Another school opened, this time in Boston, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Academy of Tomorrow. That, along with Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, was running at almost full capacity. Rumor was that another school would open, on the West Coast perhaps.
There soon grew to be a new division within the mutant community. It was no longer about the Cure or hiding from the general populace or how to fit into society. No, this split was a lot more dangerous. It was split that was happening to every young mutant in the country.
Those who were the first in their family versus those that parents or siblings to fall upon.
Those who grew up accepting who they were versus those who were afraid of themselves.
Those who knew where their place was in society versus those who had been abandoned.
Alcatraz was twenty years past, but a revolution was brewing. Everyone under the age of twenty knew that.
He could hear her pounding at his bedroom door. He chose to ignore it. Burrowing further into his blankets, he wondered if someone would call her off soon. The banging had stopped; thank God. Letting out a sigh of relief, he tried succumb to the blissful seduction of sleep. It was too early, damn it.
"Jackson!" Someone landed dangerously close to the crown jewels. "Time to wake up!"
"Ellen." His voice was muffled from his cocoon of blankets and pillows. "It is the last day of summer vacation. If it is not past noon, it's too early to be conscience. Go away and bother someone else."
"Its move in day though. We're supposed to help the newbies out." She tugged at his covers.
It was inevitable. She wouldn't leave him unless she was sure she had bothered him enough to cause him to get up. "I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to be calling them that," he remarked, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
The Howlett twins neither looked nothing like one another, unlike some fraternal twins, nor did act alike. He was, by nature, a bit reserved, even cautious at time. Built like a wrestler, he was short and brawny, like their father, with their mother's long wavy hair. There was some urging on their mother's part for him to cut it, but he liked long. Ellen, on the other hand, was the picture of a pixie. Petite and slender, her skin almost glowed with an inner light. Her hair was a mass of dark curls, almost as unruly as she was. They made a good pair though. While Ellen often went on the offensive, Jackson always had her back.
Their parents Marie and Logan Howlett couldn't have been more proud.
"Oh, go away, would you?" he snapped as he rose from his nice, warm, comfortable bed. "I have to get dressed."
His sister shot him a dirty look. "It's nothing I haven't seen before, Jack," she complained as she turned and left. By experience he knew she was waiting impatiently on the other side of the door for him. Jack quickly scrounged around for a shirt that not only looked clean, but smell halfway decent as well and a pair of jeans. His twin was once again banging on the door as he was pulled the pair of pants on.
"I don't know why you get so excited for this." He pulled the door open sharply. "It means the beginning of school." He pulled a face. Academic classes didn't start for another two weeks, allowing for the people within the mansion to grow accustomed with the routine. Some mutants would start heavy training, hoping to join the X-men once maturity hit. Others just wanted to be in control of their mutations. Other yet began counseling.
"I like meeting new people. Not everyone can be a social hermit like you."
"You're perky enough for the both of us, Ellie," he teased, throwing his arm over her bare shoulders. She smiled and the pair walked down the halls of the mansion together in relative silence. Summer was always slower in the Mansion. Many now left to go home. Those that stayed usually got to partake in their own devices. In the last few weeks of summer some of the younger mutants were organized and bussed up to a summer camp in Maine, leaving it even quieter than normal. Jack could feel it all slipping out of his grasp.
It was all going to be shattered by a bunch of ankle biters. He was ecstatic. He could hardly wait. He stepped to the side as soon as he saw the blurs round the corner. "Try not to run into anyone," he called, albeit a bit belated. Oh well, at least he said something list time. "How much do you want to bet the wonder duo hear about the donuts down in the parlor and filched some? Do you really want to go back to that?" He pouted.
Ellie laughed at her brother's antics. "Relax. You're not the one who has to run after the eight to ten year olds during orientation. I'm pretty sure Nate got volunteered for that one."
Jack winced. He wasn't sure whom he felt worse for: Nathaniel Summers or the children. Jean Grey and Scott Summers' eldest wasn't known for his patience. If the telepathic didn't leave the little troublemakers in suspended animation at least once in the next two weeks, he would eat his shoe, his left shoe. "What did he do to piss off his parents that much?"
His twin shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe he was being his stupid fifteen year old self?"
"Okay, so Miss All Knowing, so if I'm off I keeping the little troublemakers in line /I duty, who am I supposed to lead around like a mama duck?"
"Eleven to fourteen. I'm pretty sure Siryn and Hellion are attached to that group as well, maybe even Wind Dancer as well."
"Great, not only do I have a bunch of trembling masses or hormones around me, I have to watch goo goo eyes all around." He snorted.
"Upset you don't get to play with your beloved Rachel?" It was a never-ending source of amusement to the people who knew about Wolverine and Jean Grey's past sexual tension that their children were carrying on their tradition.
"She's being pigheaded again," he grumbled, not answering his sister's question. "Said she wasn't some damsel in distress or something. Said that if I wanted to act like a knight in shining armor, I should look somewhere else, thank you very much, or some shit."
"Well, have you taken a look in the mirror lately?" Ellie poked him in the side, hard. "You practically scream that you belong in the universe of hobbits and elves and rangers."
"Does that mean you're destined for Neverland?" he retorted.
"Shut up and go check in." They had reached the front parlor.
"Okay, listen up you masses of overactive hormones." Jack liked to think he had the undivided attention of the twenty-five or so pre-teens. They had snagged the library for this little group talk, for which he was thankful. It would suck to be cooped up in one of the airless rooms. "Some of you are new, others are not," he continued. "I really don't care. This is what the adults like to call your orientation group. After these two weeks you probably won't have to talk to me ever again unless we go to a code orange or code red." He paused. It would probably be a bad idea to tell them that codes orange and red really happened about once every two months or so. "I'd go into the history of the school and all that bull, but you should have read it in the material given to you beforehand. Now, I'm tired of talking, Hellion is next."
The seventeen year old stepped back and looked at his group. He recognized a handful from his group last year, which made his life a little easier. A lot of the kids were new, with the onset of puberty, it was inevitable. That mean a lot of time would be spent in the lower levels of the mansion. Playing hide and seek in these walls has its advantages.
Hellion barked out the rules, reminiscent of his previous years at exclusive prep schools before coming to Xavier's. That suited Jack just fine. He never always liked the rules. Oh, he had a moral code, he was just not up to following 100 of the rules 100 of the time. Siryn took over to talk about classes—both electives and required. He continued to tune her Irish lilt out in favor to wonder what was going to be served for lunch. Pizza probably. They were still trying to impress the newbies. He also had to remember to tell his sister that she was wrong; Wind Dancer got the lucky job picking up lunch. He really hoped it was pizza.
He glanced at his watch. Syrin was winding down now. The next step was going to play follow the leader. He could hardly wait.
He watched his little ducklings get settled into their own little groups before grabbing his own food. Heading out onto the terrace, Jack settled on sitting on the wide railing. Surge, or as she preferred Nori, was already out there, her gauntlets shining in the sun. The two had a casual friendship. Whereas he had grown up in the mansion, she had only come in the last four years. She didn't talk about her past and he didn't pry. It was a pretty good system.
Although it wasn't a written rule, those that grew up under the influence of Xavier's and those that came after their powers manifested did not mingle together regularly. The two groups didn't hate one another, but they just had different experiences. Jack, along with his twin sister, grew up along side Nate (Cable) and Rachel Summers (Marvel Girl), and Talia (Nocturne). Others came as they grew up, Theresa (Syrin), Tabitha (Meltdown), Billy (Wiccan), Tom (Alchemy), Julian (Hellion), and Mark (DJ). They lived through the terror of the Sentinels together when Jack was twelve.
It was only after that the others began attending the school. Jay (Icarus) and Roberto (Sunspot) appeared the September after. Then Victor (Anole), Sarah (Network), Josh (Elixir), Nori (Surge), and Marie-Ange (Tarot) a year after. Finally two years ago Laurie (Wallflower) and Sofia (Wind Dancer) appeared. The twenty of them ranged in ages of fifteen to eighteen. They had common experiences such as defending themselves and some of the younger students against members of the Gene Nation as well as innumerable Danger Room sessions.
"How was your orientation session?" Ellie plopped down next to her brother.
He shrugged, taking another bite of pizza and chewing. "They should have gotten something out of it. They'll get a tour at one and then it's off to their rooms to fight between roommates." He offered her his discarded crusts.
"I'm with Talia this year. Did you change roommates?"
"Nah," he shook his head, "Mark and I get along. Why mess up a good thing?"
Ellie shook her head, her curls bouncing. Then she spotted Tabitha, Billy, and Tom leading a sleepy Talia out into the sun.
"It's too early," Talia complained as she sat on one of the conveniently placed chaise lounges. Leaning back, she closed her eyes. "There was a reason why I didn't show up for orientation today. Jetlag is a bitch." She threw a three-fingered hand over her eyes.
Ellie grinned at her blue skinned roommate. "Stop being so dramatic." The other girl just snorted in response, but didn't say anything.
"Anyone see Nate?" Billy asked, taking his own place at the end of the chaise lounge Talia was occupying. He spoke of one of his roommates, Tom being the other.
No one said anything for a moment. Nobody had seen either of the Summers siblings since the previous night, not even his roommates. He was already gone from his room when they got up, probably out for his customary run. The short silence was broken when the French doors that lead out to the terrace blew open. From inside Jack could see two figures levitating a few inches off the ground. When he saw the glowing eye of Nate, he knew the other figure must be Rachel. He glanced around. He saw Mark standing near Nori, headphones around his neck.
"DJ!" Jack called, using his roommate's codename. "Cover me! Force fields would be nice!" He didn't bother to look back because a few seconds late the pale gold of DJ's force field surrounded him. In the long rung it was a stupid idea to get between a fight between two telepathic-telekinetic mutants, but he knew the damage these two could do.
He could see the gold screen flicker for a moment before taking on a decidedly more blue hue. Wiccan had joined in. "Will you two stop!" Jack let his voice project. He looked around most kids were huddled against the walls. The youngest were shoved behind the elder ones. Jack felt a bubble of pride before turning his attention back to the battling siblings. Briefly he wondered what they were fighting about, but then he saw discarded silverware start to tremble from their haphazard places on the tables. Using his weak magnetic power, he exerted his will to force the objects to stay on the table, but the telekinetic power was too strong and the utensils started to rise. "Watch out!" He took a running leap and to tackle Rachel to the floor.
The first thing he noticed was that there was silence. It felt like he was suspended in motion. He was telling his arm to reach out and grab Rachel's arm, but it was moving by only the slightest bit. Flesh brushed flesh and everything went back to normal. The two mutants crashed to the ground. The fore field flickered for a moment before dispelling. Noise exploded all around them. Jack just relished the feeling of Rachel on top of him. As quick as it started, it ended.
"What the hell was that?" He green eyes were flashing and the phoenix sign over her left eye was bright. Her short red hair blew in its own wind. "I thought I told you that I was no fucking damsel in distress!"
He heard someone growl and it took him a moment before he realized that it was himself. "Will you watch it? I'm no fan of them, but there are kids around." He tone was low. "And it had nothing to do with you personally, you just happened to be closer." Sniffing, he turned around to go back outside and to his pizza. "If you're going to fight, take the sibling rivalry to the Danger Room, will you?
He went back out to the terrace and sat down. Grabbing a piece of pizza, he began to chew. It took him a moment to realize everyone was staring at him. "What?" he snapped as soon as he swallowed his mouthful.
No one said anything, which made him even more upset. Finally Ellie spoke up. "You usually don't get involved."
"Yeah, well, someone had to." His previous good mood had been shattered. "There were kids in there." He waved a hand to the kids that were milling around inside. Someone had finally alerted an adult to the goings on; Storm was yelling at both Rachel and Nate. Feeling a sense of satisfaction, Jack finished his pizza in silence, leaving his crusts for his sister.
Leaving his friends to gossip and talk amongst themselves, Jack made his way out onto the grounds. There were advantages, he supposed to growing up on Xavier's estate. Breaking into an easy jog, he headed towards the south east corner, near the edge of the forest. There the stables lay, in a squat little building with just enough room for the serious equestrians left at the mansion. Currently only his horse was housed, yet he could remember where there were upwards of ten. It surprised him when he saw the other horse. He nodded at the Appaloosa, in the first stall before heading to the last one, to his horse. A sorrel horse with a light mane and tail, he stood fifteen hands high. The horse snorted when he spotted Jack.
The teenager grinned, searching his pockets for sugar cubes. "How you doing, Blackjack?" he asked, dropping a few of the cubes into his horses feed bucket. The two had been together for over a decade. He had learned to ride on this horse. Leading the gelding out of the stall, Jack began to clean it out. He was putting down new hay when movement to the side caught his eye.
She stood near the Appaloosa's stall. He recognized her from his orientation group. She didn't look older than thirteen. As if she could feel him watching her, she turned. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a French braid with blue eyes peeking out from under long bangs. "You're different than what I expected." Her voice was soft.
"What'd you expect?" He began to rub down Blackjack with a currycomb.
"Little robots?" Her lips quirked in a small smile, she was joking.
He shook his head. "You have a horse, you shovel the poop." He went back to combing his horse and they fell into silence. "How did you know where this place is?" The orientation tour was scheduled to take place right now, but he couldn't care less.
"I took a tour in the summer, when there were fewer people around. It was safer."
He looked at her, wracking his brain for his name. "Lily, right?" It then dawned on him exactly who she was. "Lily Pryde-Drake?"
Lily's smile faded. "Yeah, but you don't have to treat me any different. I'm like anyone else around here."
"Except you're the daughter of the President," Jack thought to himself. "Where are?" He left the rest of the question hanging in the air.
"Oh, you mean Johnny Gallo and Molly Hayes? They're around." She glanced up. Jack didn't bother, he was sure one, or both was sitting up in the rafters.
"So, um, what's your power?" He felt as awkward as he sounded.
"They call me Ghost Girl. I phase like my mom." There was a scowl on her face and she back to her Appaloosa. Jack got the hint and did the same.
He was leading Blackjack out when he paused. "Do you want to go out with me? Will they let you?" It was left unsaid who they were. She nodded and followed him.
He started slow at first, unsure of her skill. He started at a slow walk before going to a trot, then a canter, before breaking out into a short gallop in a clearing. An hour later both horses were streaked with sweat. As the two riders began to wipe down the animals nothing was said. Lily finished first and with a shy good bye she left.
"You know, sugar, I believe someone may have a crush on you." Jack turned to see his mother sitting on the edge of an empty stall. Her hair was pulled back, with the naturally pristine white hair tucked behind her ears.
"Mama," Jack smiled ruefully. "She's in my orientation group. Since we were both skipping the tour, I thought it would be appropriate."
Rouge shook her head. "I heard what you did at lunch." Her hand rose to stroke his hair. "That's my boy, always thinking about others. Just like his father." Jack snorted at the thought. Though the Wolverine was known for his protectiveness of his family, not many people would say he placed himself above others.
"You know how the Rachel and Nate get." His mother shook her head and waited for her son to finish his chores before walking back the mansion with him. Briefly she wondered how he had gotten so mature. When Sage had been able to evolve her powers enough so that Rouge could touch others, it had been a godsend.
When she had found she was pregnant, she didn't know if life could get any better. With the birth of the twins, she had taken time off from the X-men. It wasn't until her babies were twelve when she realized that they truly were growing up. Before that, Rouge thought she could protect them from everything. The Sentinels changed all of that. When she took a step back now, she saw what her children had become, and she couldn't be prouder.
They were in the front hall of the mansion now. "Sugar, I have to get some lesson plans in order and track down your father. Try not and get involved in anything." She kissed his cheek and headed up the stairs.
He felt lost for a moment, unsure of what to do.
"Jack!" Ellie came from down the hall, from the direction of the Headmaster's office. "We need to talk!"