The year is 2023. The date is February 12th. In late 2005, a crisis occured on Earth. The former Scarlet Witch, the now-disappeared miss Wanda Maximoff, said these words:
"No More Mutants."
This changed the world drastically. The mutant population was decimated, all of the evolution that had brought them to where they were turned back. Many of those retaining their powers as well as who had lost them resided in a place known as "Mutant Town." They are all over the world. Some of those who had no powers became suidcidal. Also, Professor Xavier, founder of his school for "gifted youngsters," mentor to the X-Men, and long-time mutant rights advocate as well as one of the world's most powerful mutants himself, has been erased from existence. He remains dead after becomind so in Wanda's "perfect world."
A few mutants have appeared here and there since then, but not many. Xavier's school in New York now houses only a very small number of students, as well as a few X-Men from the "old days." Wolverine now resides permanently with the New Avengers. Emma Frost and Scott Summers are the only ones from the past who remain at the school.
Since January 1st, this year, '23, New Year's Day, more mutants' powers are becoming active than ever before in history, more even than since Xavier's time. This is scaring the "normal" population of Earth, still outnumbering mutants, and causing many riots...
Scott Summers drove back from his brief dinner with Emma Frost to Salem Center, New York, and to his former school, to the now almost abandoned place once run by his former teacher, Charles Xavier.They knew as well as everyone else who watched the news or had any sort of contact with society did about the growing mutant population. But never had the two expected what had happened. There were only seven children currently at the school; but now there were at least fifteen new applicants. Every day there was more news about at least two people discovering new mutant powers in odd and sometimes horrible ways. A boy with cat ears, a girl who could make things explode, another who could hear the whole world at once and run faster than the eye can see, so many more. They had gone for a bite, leaving the older children responsible for the younger ones, and needing a break from the sudden rush. Still, that was all anyone could think of. And then a frantic call came on the cell phone. One of the oldest girls. Emma couldn't even understand what she was saying, she was so frantic, and so they drove back to the school as quickly as possible, expecting the worst. And now, here they were. And nothing they expected.
A preacher, on the news often as a well-known anti-mutant leader, stood in front of the school, screaming a "sermon" about mutants being demons and unnatural. The children, some seemingly hurt, all with tearstained faces, had luckily gotten away, all seven, and Frost and Summers ran to meet the group as the children rushed towards them, all crying so that none could make out what they were trying to say. A group of anti-mutant rioters were all around, surrounding the school on all sides, waving signs, screaming, chanting. And carrying torches. And the worst sight of all. The school itself.
Smoke and flew in the wind, flames flew up into the air, everything was orange and gold in the sunset. The school... Xavier's school... was, by this time, little more than a pile of soot and embers, blackened and charred. The horrid acrid smell and sting in their eyes that the smoke caused made the whole group's tears come so much more.
Scott barely recognised his own voice, barely knew was was happening. He simply screamed at the top of his lungs. "No! No, not this! You can take anything else, but you can't do this! You can't do this!" over and over again. Xavier's school was his home, had always been his home, and it was where he had his family. It was just like anyone else seeing the house they had lived in and called home for so long burned down. It was awful, and awful, awful sight. He could hardly stand to see his home. Destroyed...