Six months later

2 years, 6 months after the Battle of New York

"Watch your six! C'mon, kid, check your corners before you rush ahead! It's like you're not even tryin'!"

James grit his teeth and clenched his fists as he leapt backward, narrowly avoiding the falling pole that almost pinned him to the ground.

"What're you standin' there for? Move!"

He sprinted at top speed toward the far side of the room, falling into a slide to avoid a horizontal swipe at his chest by a nearby robot, then rolling forward as he lost momentum, using that inertia to keep running.

"Almost there, kid. Don't let up!"

James leapt over an eight-foot chasm, easily clearing the distance, triumph ringing in his blood until the ground began to give way. Acting on instinct, he jumped away from the strongest rumbles and tried to keep running, but the uneven rocky ground combined with its new instability caused him to stumble.

No, no, no, not again.

James fell forward, rolling painfully on the hard, uneven rocks and trying to keep going, but he found it impossible apart from crawling. So he did, as quickly as he could on all fours, like he was taught in Parkour over a year ago, and made relatively good time until he got shot in the back with an electro dart.

Dammit!

"Course failed," a computerized voice said, "would you like to try again?"

"No," Jim groaned almost inaudibly, face-down on the now-normal chrome floor of the Danger Room.

I never want to run this course again. He pushed himself up, rising to his feet painfully. And I swear, if Logan tells me to "get sorted out and get back in there" one more time…

"All right, kid. Get yourself sorted and get back in there."

Jim rolled his eyes heavily, facing away from Wolverine until he was done giving attitude, then turning toward him and walking out of the round, metal chamber. The now-sixteen-year-old strode to the nearest elevator, keying his way to the ground floor. The bright, metallic sub-basement of the X-Mansion gave way to the dark, deep mahoganies and cherry wood of the main buildings of the Institute as soon as he stepped out. When he looked out the nearest window, he glanced at his watch and immediately began panicking. James fell into a mad dash down the halls, dodging his way around students and furniture, desperately trying to reach his destination.

"Woah, look out, people, coming through!"

He leapt over a table rather than slam into a deadlocked stream of students, vaulting over it seamlessly as he kept his momentum.

Oh, I am so dead…

Jim slammed through a door at the end of a long hallway in the administrative building, quickly closing it behind him and fast-walking through another doorway into another room, where three other students were already in intense conversation. "Hey, uh, sorry I'm late. Kind of got held up in the Danger Room."

"Same course?" one of them asked.

James nodded mournfully. They all shook their heads.

The first one spoke up again. "Don't sweat it, man. That one's Logan's favorite self-esteem crusher, so it'll only take you a couple hundred more times to complete it."

Jim's eyes went wide with disbelief. "That's your idea of encouragement, Bobby?"

They all laughed, another of them walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Seriously, don't sweat it," she said, "he's not that far off about how difficult it is. You're not meant to win until you've gotten really, really good."

And how long is that gonna take?

"Come on, we're in the middle of reviewing for that big physics test tomorrow.

"Don't think that's gonna help much," James replied, "considering I'm taking chemistry."

He exhaled heavily, his thoughts turning gloomy. Six months ago,he'd told himself he'd become an X-Man and earn his right to go back into the world.Based on his performance thus far, that might have been one day a decade from then.

James looked up suddenly, pushing himself upright. "Hey, I'm gonna...go see Emma. You guys don't really need me here."

A universal groan came from all three of them.

"Come on, Jim, we're not that bad of company, are we?" the third student asked.

He arched an eyebrow at her and rolled his eyes. "'Course not, Kitty, but there's no reason for me to stay here if I'm not reviewing something that'll actually help me, so…"

She shrugged in acknowledgement of his logic. "I'll walk you out, then," she said, taking his arm and pulling him gently toward the nearest wall.

"Oh no, wait, wait, wait!"

Oh, I hate it every time she does this… The girl phased them both through the wall into the main hallway and gave him a customary hug before passing back through and rejoining the study group. I swear, she does it just to see me squirm.

Jim just shook his head as his body moved on autopilot and mind wandered to his current dilemma.

"Come on, kid," Logan had said two days before on his second time failing the same solo course. "Startin' to think you can't do anything by yourself, always need your team to back ya up."

Jim grit his teeth at the jab, slackening his jaw when he briefly considered that his instructor might be right. He quashed that thought very quickly.

"First one to cede hope is always the first to lose." Logan might be the Institute's best drill instructor, but Scott is the real leader.

He walked out of the building into the main courtyard, fully expecting Emma to be, as was customary, intently reading on a nearby bench. He was right.

"Hey!" he shouted with a wave and a smile.

She waved back and motioned him over.

"Hello, James," she said, standing and hugging him briefly, her book closed and tucked against her side. "Productive day with Logan?"

His expression told her everything.

Emma's lips pursed. "I see. Is that why you came to see me?"

He cocked his head slightly. "Partly. Can we walk?"

She nodded and followed him into the mansion's garden.

James collected his thoughts as they walked between two evergreens into a row of birches. "You know I want to be an X-Man."

She nodded.

He shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I mean...you were already good when you came to the Institute, so...I guess you can't really tell me much about your training, but..." He sighed hard. "I don't know. I guess I'm just rethinking just how much I want this, and why."

Emma smiled and slowly shook her head. "It's perfectly natural for someone like you, a rational, analytical person, to consider and reconsider his priorities and motives. Rest assured that no one here doubts your sincerity or conviction. Even if Logan and Scott don't out and say it, they see a great potential in you, like I do, and not just with regards to your powers. That potential—" she tapped his chest, "—just needs to be tapped."

He nodded. "How though? I feel like I keep ramming my head against a brick wall, and not just with that course. With training, with school, with my friends even. I feel like I'm trying different things with the same result every single time: substandard."

Emma laid a hand on his shoulder. "If you really believe that, then you need a good look at how you were when you got here." She hesitated a moment, pursing her lips slightly before continuing. "May I show you something?" she asked, raising her hand to his temple lightly.

He nodded in response, and she closed her eyes, focusing her telepathy on his memories from a time briefly after his arrival.

...

Six months ago

"James. James, are you paying attention?"

The teen snapped out of his daydream to look at the teacher, a white-haired woman with dark skin and eyes. "Yes, sorry," he responded. "I'm all good, Ms. Munroe."

She narrowed her eyes slightly and gave him a look that told him she didn't believe for a second that he was "all good." He exhaled heavily as the lesson on weather patterns and cycles continued, jotting down the occasional note he didn't think was self-explanatory enough to commit to memory. The teen was grateful when the end-of-day bell let them out, and walked sullenly back to his dorm.

"Hey, Jim!"

Oh no. Not again.

"Hey! Wassup, brother?"

James turned toward the source belatedly, arching his eyebrows. "Hey Evan. What's up?"

"Not much, not much. Hey, me and a couple others are gonna go skateboarding near the pond, wanna come?"

"I'm not much of a skater, Ev. Two left feet in that regard, you might say."

The other kid shook his head. "You don't have to skate, just watch if you like. Bobby's gonna freeze the pool, so that'll add some extra challenge to the experience."

Jim considered it for a second before dismissing the offer. "I'm kinda beat, man. Maybe another time."

Even without paying attention, he could tell Spyke was disappointed. "Oh...okay then. Another time. See ya."

The darker teen skateboarded away, narrowly avoiding a crash with a much larger student.

Peter, everyone calls him, but the roster on the class I have with him says "Piotr." Must be a foreign thing.

James strode through the student-thick halls aimlessly, barely noticing the considerable weight of his book-filled backpack.

"Hey Jimmy," a female, southern voice said, snapping him out of his aimless reverie.

"Hey Rogue."

She looked at him with a concerned frown. "Somethin' wrong, darlin'?"

"Uhh...you might say that."

It always unnerved him whenever she talked like that.She was only two years older than him, yet it made her sound like she was his aunt. She arched her eyebrows at him, silently asking for an explanation.

He shrugged, keeping his shoulders up. "I...have no idea where to go now, or what to do, or...anything."

Rogue smiled at him knowingly. "Yeah, I had the same problem my first year here. Didn't know anybody, didn't much care. The whole 'no contact' thing kinda had me scared to be around other people."

Jim frowned. "Right. So what changed that?"

She cocked her head and looked up thoughtfully. "A few things. Logan pretty high among 'em. He's always been somethin' like family to me." She shrugged. "That and becomin' an X-Woman."

Jim gave her a rueful smile and sighed. "That's…the main reason I stayed, actually. I just have no idea how one goes about becoming an X-Man. I mean, it's not like it's some extracurricular after-school activity you can apply for, right?"

She shook her head and chuckled. "Not very complicated, sugar. You keep your grades up, develop a good relationship with your teachers, and show them you're ready for training."

"So…basically all I have to do is pay attention in school and smile more."

"Not if it isn't genuine," she arched an eyebrow, "and trust me, they can tell. Just...be yourself. Trust me, the kind of person you are inside is one that everyone who knows you wants to meet, myself included."

"How do you know?"

Rogue smiled. "Because I see the look in your eyes every time you see someone in trouble, like you're just achin' to help. You just need to show them." She motioned toward a trio of teachers—Jean, Scott, and Hank.

He nodded slowly, looking in their direction and smiling confidently. "Got it."

...

Four months ago

I actually think that went pretty well, Jim thought as he toweled off from a lengthy training session that left him and most of the others breathing heavily.

He had just turned sixteen, and been inducted into Logan and Scott's daily training sessions along with about a dozen others. James had quickly been teamed up with Amara Aquilla, Bobby Drake, and Kitty Pryde; Scott and Logan finding them his best fit in training. Bobby, of course, didn't sweat, being Iceman and all. Neither did Amara, since heat was kind of her thing. After each session was over, James always headed outside to the courtyard fountain, finding that, his first landmark coming to the Institute, one of the only places he could stay and meditate peacefully. Tonight was no different.

As he sat on the same bench he'd seen Emma on just two months previous, he closed his eyes, breathing in the crisp scent of Winter on the cool Fall air.

It's incredible how time flies here.

At least, it did now that he was working toward a higher purpose. Even Logan, who he quickly discovered to be a major hard-ass, admitted that he was making progress at leaps and bounds compared to some of their past trainees.

If you keep this up, Jim, you might make X-Man by next Fall.

He smiled at the prospect.

"Enjoying the breeze before it becomes a gale?" a voice asked from his right.

"Yeah," James responded without opening his eyes. "This has to be the quietest spot on the whole campus, even if it is right next to, you know, everything. Everything the students here use, anyway."

"Yeah, you can thank the trees for that, I think. The way they're arranged in this courtyard keeps most high-frequency sound waves out, helps whoever's inside to concentrate. It's like a…harmonic cage."

James opened his eyes and looked for the source of the voice. He spotted a six-foot, dirty blonde teen boy facing away from him seven feet away, thumbs hooked in his belt. He seemed to be studying the very phenomenon that he had just been describing, staring intently at the trees surrounding them. Then suddenly, as if he could feel Jim's eyes studying him, he turned around and looked him dead in the eye.

"Kal Sorenson," he said, extending his hand after walking within two feet of the slightly shorter boy.

Jim rose and took it. "James Carter. You new here?"

Kal cocked his head slightly. "Not exactly. I've been a student of the Professor for some time, I just haven't...lived here until now."

Jim nodded in understanding. "So what can you do?"

"I'm a telepath," he shrugged. "Plain and simple."

Jim's eyebrows shot up and he smiled wryly. "Plain and simple? I don't think there's a mutant power that's less plain or simple."

"Yeah," Kal said, scratching the back of his head, "you're right about that one." He nodded at Jim. "What about you?"

James exhaled slowly, chewing on his lip in thought. "Can't do it here. Come on."

He waved his new friend to follow, and they made their way to a nearby cliff overlooking a water outlet. James tried to focus on his nonexistent frustration and fear in an attempt to trigger his powers when he remembered something the Professor had told him a few days previous.

"I believe that true power comes not from anger or fear," he had said, "but another, truer, more constructive emotion. I once told a friend that the highest peak of power lies at the point between rage and serenity, a feeling or state of mind that escapes definition. Go to your memories. Find one that triggers this for you. When you can go to that place on instinct, without thinking, you will know how to fully control your powers."

Jim closed his eyes, summoning the memory of the first time his powers had ever manifested. He had learned a long time ago, living in a rougher part of the greater NYC region, that if he didn't know how to defend himself, no one else would; so he became street smart and physically, as well as emotionally, tough. His most vulnerable times were when he was alone, in one way or another. The Friday before his apartment building went up in flames, he tangled with a well-known bully that he'd managed to keep at bay since 6th grade. That time around, the kid had had backup, three big idiot pranksters who were just mean and stupid enough to agree to the assault.

They had ambushed him as he was leaving class that day. He was with his longtime friend Kaley, who was shoved aside by the thugs' leader when the attack started. Jim used every tactic, technique, and dirty trick he knew, injuring two of the big ones and breaking the leader's nose before he was held down and beaten half unconscious. When Kaley stepped in, the leader backhanded her. At that moment, he hadn't just felt anger or hatred, but an indescribable mix of frustrated rage and fierce protectiveness. He had scowled at the leader and stared directly at him.

"Leave—her—alone!" he had screamed, releasing the first dual jets of energy that catapulted his bitter rival into a nearby wall, instantly knocking him unconscious.

The others, surprised and frightened, released him and ran off screaming.

"Are you okay?" he'd asked, holding out his hand.

She had nodded slowly and taken it. They both agreed to keep that event a secret, and even when he had gone home and his parents found him a bruised mess, he claimed he had fought them all off with his bare hands. Since he had spent most of his middle school career learninghow to fight, and fight to win, neither of them questioned it.

On the Institute's cliffside, overlooking the water, James found that feeling again, and knew he had succeeded. His eyes opened, and two lances of sapphire kinetic energy projected from them, parting the waters as his vision passed over them. He let the feeling ebb, and the beams stopped. When he turned toward his new friend, he saw Kal gaping and nodding his head, still staring at the aftereffects of his power.

"Incredible," he said, looking back to James' face. "So you're like Cyclops, except you can control your abilities."

"Well, that and it's triggered by emotion, not concentration, like his would be if he could control them."

"Bet that's pretty hard to do, considering emotional states are such unpredictable and volatile things."

James nodded ruefully. "Got that right, brother."

"Brother, huh?" Kal smiled slowly. "I like the sound of that."

They shook hands and turned to watch the sun set.

...

One month ago

"Got him!"

James nodded in acknowledgement and kept running for the flag, a mere fifty meters away, when he saw Amara starting to have trouble. A metallic arm snagged and dragged her toward a nearby lake, prompting him to alter his course and deliver a flying 360-roundhouse kick to the joint of its hand. As the arm let go, he took her hand and lifted her to her feet, pulling her toward their objective. They both ran at top speed as Kitty came out of the ground, Bobby's arm around her shoulders as they ran together toward the finish line.

"Go!" she yelled at them as James slowed his pace.

He grit his teeth and obeyed.

He hated leaving people behind, even if it was a fake battle. The duo leapt over a rapidly growing fissure, a gap that Kitty and Iceman couldn't clear by the time they caught up. Bobby made an ice bridge covered in snow so they had at least some traction, but the distance increased so fast that they didn't make it. They fell together toward the cliff face, and Kitty phased them through, rising to surface level in a desperate attempt to catch up to the others. James was practically dragging the exhausted Amara to the flag when a twelve-foot robot attacked, forcing him to push her away from him to avoid both of them being hit.

He rolled as his shoulder hit the ground, grunting at the pain and focusing on his need to protect his team. The feeling came easier this time, the urgency and presence of battle giving him more emotional steam to work with. His beams blew the robot's left arm off at the joint, and he fired again, crippling its right leg. It raised its remaining arm and released a long, ductile appendage of the same make as the one he'd just crippled.

So that's what attacked her.

James leapt sideways, mirroring the move he'd seen Wolverine do to dodge bullets and sprinting past the crippled bot toward Amara. She raised her right hand and blasted the metal guardian with a concentrated stream of flame, melting its head easily at Jim hoisted her upright. They both got within ten feet of the flag when James looked behind him, seeing Kitty and Iceman much further behind. He grit his teeth again, stopping five feet away.

I won't leave them, not when there's no reason to.

"Jim," Amara said in a panic, "what are you doing?"

"I won't leave them," he responded. "We're not in danger, and we don't leave teammates behind." Despite what he'd just said, James found himself scanning their surroundings for potential threats, spotting one just in time. "Down!"

Two electric darts whistled through the air where they had just been, and when James looked for the source, he found another robot suspended by gyroscope on a rolling ball it used for propulsion. Its upper body was man-like, and it was rapid-firing electric darts from its arms. Jim cut loose, unleashing a steady stream of energy that all but incinerated the darts and blew half the robot apart.

Come on, guys…

"Here!" Kitty screamed from his right as she and Iceman finally arrived.

Jim rose, half-carrying Amara to the flag as all of them raised it simultaneously.

They all smiled at hearing the Danger Room's metallic voice say the words, "Course completed."

"Top marks, team," Cyclops said over intercom. "You almost beat the high score for first-years."

"Which is cheating," Wolverine cut in, "considering you have not one, but two full-fledged X-Men with ya."

"So?" James asked loudly, grinning. "Look where they ended up." Jim and Amara laughed as Iceman and Kitty went beet red.

"Still an exemplary job," Scott announced. "We're having dinner early for you guys. Go on, you deserve it."

They all whooped and high-fived each other, James's stomach already aching in anticipation of their reward.

...

Present

Jim's eyes shot open and looked directly into Emma's.

"I know how to beat the course," he said.

She smiled. "I knew you would."

"Thanks Emma!" Jim yelled as he ran back into the building toward the elevator to the sub-basement. Sprinting down the halls, he came to a stop in front of Logan and Jean and breathed heavily for a few seconds, holding his finger up in front of him until he recovered. "I wanna go back in, but I need you to change one parameter." He took a few more deep breaths as they looked at each other, then back at him in question. "I need you to make the flag someone I need to save."

Wolverine's eyebrows shot up, and a knowing look passed over Jean's face as she realized his plan.

"Done," Logan said.

Two minutes later, Jim was back in uniform at the starting line of the course. From the start, he could see an eight-year-old girl hunched over in a ball, shrieking in fear at the chaotic environment she was in. That alone was enough to drive the aches and fatigue out of his body as he fell forward at a sprint to get to her. Two paramilitary soldiers dove out of cover and fired electro darts at him. He leapt and twisted midair, the darts that came close ricocheting off his rapidly moving uniform. He punched one of them in passing and delivered a flying sidekick to the other, using his chest as a springboard in his mad dash to reach the girl.

Three ball-robots rolled into view and sprayed darts in his direction. He twisted behind a few scattered boulders for cover, weaving in and out to keep their firing angles limited. Glancing at the crying girl, he triggered his powers, bisecting one of the robots at the joint between its ball housing and upper body. Ducking under a fallen pillar, he dashed between the last two firing robots, causing them to shoot each other and short out long enough for him to get out of range. James' instincts took over completely as he avoided every obstacle, defeated every enemy, and made every hurdle until he came to the last stretchthe vibrating cliff.

Gritting his teeth, he pushed away his growing apprehension and made the leap, landing even further on the other side than before. When the ground began to shake and throw him off balance, he was already almost twenty feet from the cliff's edge. His disorientation gave way to the knowledge that there was another threat somewhere around here. His eyes fixed on the girl, now less than fifteen feet away, and snapped toward a glint at the corner of his vision, releasing his powers to blast the incoming dart and its sender to oblivion. James ran over to the girl and held her close.

"It's okay now," he said to the holographic projection. "You're safe with me."

They locked eyes for a second before the simulation ended and the computer declared he had passed. He smiled triumphantly and rose slowly, turning to face the now-open door and a gaping Wolverine. Jean was smiling behind him, her arms crossed.

"The problem wasn't that I couldn't do anything for myself," he said as he walked up to Logan. "I just needed a real reason to fight. A reason to win."

"I gotta say," the shorter instructor responded, crossing his arms smugly to save face, "I had my doubts 'bout you, but…that was almost impressive."

Jim half-smiled at him, and Jean laughed.

"And that's the closest thing to a compliment you'll hear from him," she said. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks. And now...I think I'm gonna go pass out."

"Good idea."

10 minutes later

As James fell back-first onto his bed, he smiled, the aches and pains in his body suddenly worth it as he finally realized the source of his strength. He'd finally found what the Professor meant. Love. His love for others, for people he didn't even know, his urge and determination to protect themthat's what gave him his power, literally and figuratively.

I have a feeling that's just the first of many things I'll be thanking you for, Emma.

As he drifted off to sleep, he was almost sure he could hear her voice whispering, "You're welcome."

...

Six months later

"Let me see it," Rogue said, smiling, as James smiled across from her smugly, outfitted in his brand new X-Men uniform.

He tossed her his watch, and she caught it, inspecting the light button and pressing it once, activating its secondary function: a multifrequency communicator to the rest of the team.

"Well it's about time, darlin'." She rose and approached him, hugging him as he stood.

"I quite agree," said Dr. McCoy. "Ever since he arrived, Mr. Carter has been giving his all to his training. I do believe your time in becoming an X-Man has almost broken a record."

"Almost," Wolverine said from the wall he was leaned against, grinning. "Ain't nobody breakin' my record for a loooong time."

"Congratulations," all the X-Men present said in unison.

"You have grown quite a lot since you first came here, James," Professor X said. "When you arrived, you were fearful of your abilities, of the world outside these walls, of a life apart from your parents. Now you stand here resolute, sure of your path and place." He smiled in that familiar, fatherly way. "I could not be more proud."

"Thanks Professor," James responded, shaking his hand.

"Now," Cyclops said, interrupting, "this next part is important. Have you given any thought to your codename?"

"I have," the now six-foot teen replied. "What do you think of...Force?"

Everyone in the room thought about it, tasting how the word would feel to say in the middle of a battle. An almost universal, if staggered, nod came from the entire group.

Noticing this, Professor X spoke up. "Force it is then. Welcome to the X-Men."

From further back in the room, Emma smiled at her favorite pupil, a gesture he returned, saying so much in that simple look, from thanks without number to an acknowledgement of an almost motherly affection that had developed in the year they'd known each other.

I'm an X-Man now. With all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities therein.

"I hope you guys don't mind me saying, but…" James looked at all of them, beaming. "This is the best day of my life."

They all cheered and clapped for their new member, taking turns shaking his hand and exchanging hugs as the formal proceedings ended. All the while, he was still thinking.

When I first came here, I hated the idea of being away from my parents, away from family. Being an X-Man was the only way back…but there is no going back now, is there?

He caught Emma's pensive look from across the room as the others exchanged the usual pleasantries. The longer he spent among these people, and her especially, the more he realized: coming here was never just about learning to control his powers. It was about learning his place in the world. Emma's turn came to address her student as a fellow X-Man, and they embraced closely, like a mother and son, before pulling apart and meeting eyes. He wondered a bit at the intensity of her gaze for a moment before it faded back to her usual calm ice-blue.

"Congratulations," Emma said smoothly, pulling away and giving him the same mischievous smile she'd shown him the day they met. "Now the real work begins."

James' expression immediately went deadpan. "Very funny, Emma."

Emma grinned and strutted off toward a nearby elevator with the others. "Wasn't trying to be," she replied in a sing-song manner.

"Ha ha." Jim's features quickly shifted in nervousness when the others started throwing him knowing looks, and he hurried to catch up. "Wait, you were joking, right? Emma?!"