Chapter One: New Life, New Start

AN: So, I'm not really sure how to begin. This is my first fanfic, and hopefully, a good one. Basically, Jean never existed, and instead, there's a new OC character, Alex, who makes waves and stirs things up when she arrives at Xavier's Academy, but as always, there's hidden conflict going on.
And, also, my main musical inspiration for this story is Coldplay, always Coldplay.
Review please, :)

Alex Woods yawned, stretching her arms up around her head and rubbing her tired eyes absently. She padded across the hall, finding the small table, through the bleary haze of her exhaustion. Still yawning, she rifled through her mail rapidly, as she raked a hand through her messy brown curls, trying to shake the heavy sleepy feeling from her head as she scanned the small assortment of envelopes in her hands. Bills, bills, for Jake, junk mail, for Jake, bills… She paused at the last letter, her fingertips lingering on the formal, thick paper, a tiny smile dissolving over her face.

A bold X had been stamped on the upper right corner, and the address was from Xavier's school for mutants, well known amongst the mutant community. Excitement fizzled through Alex's body, and she eagerly held the envelope in her hands, nibbling her lip in half anxiety half anticipation as she grabbed her phone, dialling automatically. She sighed impatiently, rocking back and forth on her heels; feeling instantly nervy.

"Hello?" Her brother's sleepy voice answered. Alex didn't even ask why he hadn't come home last night.

"It's here!" Alex squealed. She heard the answering laughter, and Jake's lazy reply. "Cool. Open it!" Her brother was her best friend, her confidante and the one person she trusted with her life. Alex didn't have any other family, apart from Jake, and hardly had any other friends, except her best friend Lissa. And Alex didn't even see Lissa a whole lot either, due to Lissa's new job at esteemed fashion magazine, J'Adore. All in all, Alex didn't have a lot of people she could truly depend on in her life.

"I'm scared," Alex laughed nervously, her voice trembling slightly. "This could change everything, J." She said softly. Jake sighed. "Alex. You're amazing. I know when you open it, all your dreams, or whatever other cliché fits this moment, will come true. Open it." Alex heard a girl's voice grumble a sleepy complaint on the other end of the phone, and smirked. "Got another girl with you, Woods? Why don't you sleep at home, for once? Too busy with girls to hang out with your older sister?" She taunted teasingly. "Well yeah, you might want to take a page out of my book sometime, Alex, might do you some good. I'll call you back, okay? Open the letter." Jake laughed. Alex nodded, echoed a soft goodbye and was left with the letter and a long confronting silence.

"Alright, Alex; open it." Alex told herself, and sliding her finger underneath the flap, slid it open, scanning the words on the page that fell out, a huge smile spreading across her face as she reread the words she'd been eagerly awaiting for, "we'd like to offer you the job".

Xavier looked around at the small group of mutants surrounding him, a solemn expression on his face. Logan, Storm, Kurt, Hank, Warren, Rogue, Bobby, Kitty and Scott all huddled in the Professor's office, waiting for Xavier to begin the informal group meeting. "You gonna start talking sometime soon, baldy?" Logan mumbled irritably. Xavier gave Logan a reprimanding look before starting. "I know a lot of you have been wondering who is going to take the new Danger Room classes, as well as taking up the role of the newest member of the X-Men." Storm shared a curious glance with Kurt, who looked slightly confused. Kurt was the newest addition to the team, alongside Hank and Warren, and the three were still growing as a part of the X-Men and had yet to get used to things like Danger Room. The simple fact was, the Professor was recruiting more and more these days.

"Well, I'm pleased to inform you I've found somebody very suitable for the position, and recently I asked her to apply for the job. She confirmed right away and will be arriving tonight." The room erupted into chaos. Xavier lifted his withered hands, as the room fell into silence. "She is 23 years old, a very friendly and kind-hearted woman, and yes, she is a mutant." Underlying ripples of conversation continued going. "...And, she is powerful and strong enough to teach the danger room classes, and join the team of X-Men without problem, Logan." Xavier informed everyone, catching the dubious expression in Logan's dark eyes. Storm spoke up, her white hair striking against her curious blue eyes. "What abilities does she have?" The Professor smiled languidly. "Well, I'll leave her to tell you." Soft murmurs echoed around the room, excitement and surprise at the sudden news.

"You sound like you know her well," Hank commented thoughtfully, and Xavier nodded. "I do. I… helped her, you could say. She's gone through more than anyone should have to in their lives. She came to this school, I believe Scott knew her." Everyone's attention turned to Scott, who looked vaguely confused. "I knew her? There were a lot of people at Mutant High when I came here," Scott repeated quizzically, and the Professor simply smiled mysteriously. "You'll see."

Alex giggled, hugging her brother close. "I'll miss you! Come visit one day," She announced. "You'll do so well there, Alex." Jake said, grinning. "I'll miss you!" he ruffled Alex's hair playfully, before visibly sobering. "Are you going to tell them about…?" Alex shook her head violently, her happy expression fading slightly. "Only the professor knows." She sighed, and Jake nodded, before Lissa suddenly wrapped her in a huge, bone-crushing hug. "Um, you better call like, every day! Or Jake and I are gonna go over there and beat you up!" She said fiercely, and Alex laughed, before nodding. "Sadly enough, I don't doubt your ability to do that. I have to go, guys. I'll miss you, I love you!" She gave them both a quick hug before turning and walking away. "Have fun, freak!" Jake called teasingly, and Alex laughed, brushing a stray tear before getting ready to board her plane… and her new life.

Rogue slipped outside, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. "So. Excited about the new teacher?" She glanced up, smiling at Logan, who looked vaguely troubled. She shrugged casually in response to his question. "If she knew Scott well, she's probably some tight-ass," Logan muttered, and Rogue laughed. Everyone knew about Logan and Scott's rivalry, it was an unspoken yet incredibly obvious thing. "And you're not?" Rogue teased, and Logan gave Rogue a look, making Rogue laugh as she glanced around to avoid his stare. Rogue froze, seeing Bobby and Kitty leaning against the wall, talking and laughing. Kitty was pretty, sweet, and worse- she could touch Bobby, which she had been doing a lot of lately. Rogue's eyes scanned the way they were leaning in to hear each other through the noise of the school and the students bustling around, and felt fear strike up inside of her. Logan followed her line of gaze, and aghast, frowned. "Want me to beat him up?" He asked dryly, and Rogue punched Logan's arm lightly, rolling her eyes as she walked over cautiously, leaving Logan behind. Bobby lifted his eyes, meeting hers with a ready smile. "Rogue!" He greeted, slipping an arm casually around her shoulder and grabbing her fingers, which were safely trapped inside a long pair of gloves. Rogue forced a smile at Kitty, leaning into Bobby pointedly. "Hey Rogue," Kitty greeted, tying her dark hair in a ponytail quickly, and flashing her a neutral smile. "Hey." Rogue said distantly. "I'm going to go ask Storm and Kurt something," Kitty said suddenly, noticing Rogue's cold stare. "I'll come with you," Bobby said quickly, letting go of Rogue. "I'll see you later," He said to her, giving her a barely-there peck on the cheek, and Rogue watched as Bobby left, with Kitty, yet again.

He smiled, feeling cold delight seep down his spine as he turned, his eyes filled with anticipation. "You must be careful," He warned in his cool, calculating voice. She rolled his eyes, slinking towards him with a slow smirk. "Aren't I always, Eric?" She purred, her oddly bumpy dark blue skin peeling rapidly off of her and transforming slowly into a younger girl's body. "Hi, I'm Alice Watts, I'm a new student at Xavier's." She said in a high-pitched innocent voice, and Eric smiled as she quickly transformed back, her sapphire skin a sharp contrast against her ruby-red hair and icy emotionless topaz eyes. "Charles won't suspect a thing, as long as you keep continually injecting yourself with the Venom." Magneto murmured, staring at Mystique with delight. Mystique simply smiled slowly, nodding. 'Venom' was a lethal concoction of chemicals, that when injected into the bloodstream; protected the victim's mind. "This Alice you're posing as… her ability is a mental shield, incredibly strong. Charles will not suspect a thing. And not to worry, the girl's body is well hidden. We have her safely captive." Magneto added, pacing. Mystique watched as he walked around her, before he stopped, staring at her with piercing, solemn eyes. "Remember. You must stay silent and in the shadows. And then our mission can be accomplished." Magneto said softly; dangerously, and Mystique turned, a dangerous smile lighting up her face as her eyes flashed liquid gold.

Alex heard his voice and his friendly greeting before she saw him, and she turned, her eyes sparkling.

"Professor!" She leaned down to give him a warm hug, and he smiled, curving his arms around her in an almost fatherly manner. "I hope you don't mind that I came personally to pick you up," He added, and she shrugged happily. "It's great to see you again," She said enthusiastically. "Still the same old Alex, I see," Xavier commented, and Alex replied with one of her sunny smiles, as they began walking, Alex tugging her suitcases behind her. "Are you looking forward to joining us?" Alex turned, nodding thoughtfully. "Yeah, I'm just glad to be helping people like me, be a part of the infamous 'X-Men' and all that," She replied truthfully. Professor Xavier nodded slowly. "We're glad to have you with us." He said softly. "And how are you feeling about seeing Scott?" The Professor pressed, and Alex visibly hesitated. "Yes, I'm glad to see Scott again too." She said quietly, and met the Professor's inquiring eyes. "He… doesn't know, I suppose it will be a bit of a surprise." He supplied, and Alex nodded, smiling sadly as she continued walking bravely, trying not to recall the fragments of her past.

Logan sighed huffily, leaning back against one of the many towering bookshelves in the Professor's office. "I don't even know why we had to meet her straight from the airport anyway," He muttered irritably, ignoring the reprimanding look Storm was giving him. "She's probably tired from the flight. And it's not like this room is exactly the happiest place right now." He added sarcastically, rolling his eyes. The tension between Rogue, Kitty and Bobby could be cut with a knife, Storm looked tense- even for her -, and Scott was trying to explain the details of Danger Room to Kurt and failing miserably. "I mean, serious-" Logan's complaining cut off sharply when he looked up at met a pair of big, bright, crystal azure eyes, and immediately intrigued, Logan found he couldn't quite look away, because masked behind those eyes was a wall of hidden sadness and suffering that seized Logan's attention immediately. The room fell into silence as they stared at the new arrival. The first thought that registered through Logan's mind was, she's gorgeous. Because she was- she had wavy chocolate brown sun-streaked hair which was tied loosely in a ponytail, that complimented her smoky eyes and her high cheekbones, and she was petite, slender yet curvy with a body that appealed to Logan, definitely. Her dainty face stretched into a heart-breaking smile as she looked around the room, and her smile faltered as she stared at something, looking temporarily breathless, lost amongst a small sea of people. She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but the words that came out weren't hers. They were Scott's.

"Alex?"