This is set in 1996.

Disclaimer: Pfffff, as if any sane person would sell me the Avengers or the X-Men...


Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

In the school, I built my first-ever AI, Dummy.

I could speak with him, without actually speaking.

(Weeeeeeeeeee!

Dummy, either stop spinning or yelling, I'm trying to work here!

Yes, Dad.

Not your Dad.

Yes, Dad.)

It felt great.

When the Internet was invented (okay, it was actually invented in '69, but I mean when you could use it, without being CEO of whatever), I actually had to train again.

Jean, Ororo, Scott and the others truly enjoyed this.

It was worth every single second of it.

You want to know how warm it is in, say, Egypth for some reason or another (although you already know warm)?

Give me ten seconds, I'll tell you the data from five years ago to one month in the future. Forewards and backwards. In Fahrenheit or Celsius. Or Kelvin, if that's your cup of tea.

You need the directions to the next Starbucks, because you're a caffeine junkie?

Do you want the safest or the fastest way? Car or do you walk? Or do you have wings and can just fly there?

You get the idea.

Dummy had fun here, I could tell.

As did I, if someone came to visit us and I'd just continue to speak with Dummy while entertaining our guest(s).

(Why are you blue? No one else is blue! Dad, why is he blue?

I don't know. Still not your Dad, I'm fourteen!)

I like Dummy. He is my first bot. One of my oldest friends.

Even when he got on my nerves, I could never get rid of him. Even if I threatened to do so quite often.

I made a few friends here.

Hank, or Beast I guess, was my science bro. We caused quite a few explosions.

That was fun.

Jean and Scott...I actually don't really know how to describe our relationship. I guess Scott was sort of my older brother and Jean my 'sister-in-law' (Not that they're married, but that is how I'd describe our relationship. And theirs).

Ororo, or Storm for those who can't pronounce her first name, was like a aunt. She was one of the first who cared for me like family.

Before her, I only had Jarvis, Peggy and my Mom.

I wrote them letters, or e-mails, on weekly terms.

Sometimes more, sometimes less. Depended on how interesing the week was.

I told them (parts of) what I learned and how living there was (The answer to that is great, by the way).

While I was deep in my thoughts, Scott came in.

"What's up, Johnny?"

'Johnny' was the nickname they gave me, after they decided, that my alias Johnathan sounded to boring.

My alias was... is Jonathan Eduardo Stafford.

It sounded good when I was ten.

(Sounds stupid, Dad.

I know that now. And I'm still not your Dad!)

Now, not really.

"Not much."

He looked around and asked, "Are you still planning on moving out next month?"

I did not want to, but I had to.

I mentally shuddered thinking about what Howard would do to me, if I dared to start MIT older than 14.

"I found a good school willing to accept the fact I am a mutant." Lie. "Not, that this is a bad school, but the school I found is more into the things I'm interested in," I answered him, continuing to work on the circuit board (oh, the irony).

I had not faked my interests or anything, because I wanted to be accepted as who I am (Yes, I know that the alias kind of prevents that).

Can you blame me?

Cyclops nodded. "You know we will all miss you?"

"Same for me. I'll miss you guys."

Four years living together do that to each other.

Well, more like three years, eight months, two weeks and five days, but who is counting?


~Marvelgeek42