Well, here we go. I meant to get this up yesterday but I had to study for an AP test. Dear god that was so damn hard! I don't know how I did and I don't really want to think about it and jinx myself! I ask that if you get the time, please review. Sorry to anyone I sent messages to. Here we go!
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Although it was clearly beneath him, Stryfe sometimes enjoyed walking the streets of the world in astral form. It brought him great pleasure to watch the pain of the people, watch as they fought tooth and nail to survive against one another, ruining any chances for a united resistance. But this was different, he'd never walked the world of this time. He was disappointed to find that it was incredibly boring outside of New York, where virtually ever super being from here to Asgard gathered.
Even here in the slum streets of Moscow things were boring. Muggings were committed by pathetic flat-scans with no power at all. It wasn't even amusing, much less did it provide entertainment for the armored psychic. So this trip was more business than pleasure, and he walked casually down the street in the dead of night, invisible to all in astral form, carrying a sphere of glowing purple light that shrieked violently as he went.
"Calm yourself, Cassandra" he soothed the psyche he held in his palm. "I've found the perfect mind for you conceal yourself in. Ah, here we are". He came to a large cast iron gate, with Russian lettering welded atop it, identifying it as an orphanage. As he had no physical form he passed right through the gate, and casually strolled through the walls and into the building.
Stryfe passed the many beds filled with flat scan trash, seeking out the un awakened energy signature of a single girl. Coming the last bed near the door, he peered down to see a petite young girl, no older than six with golden blonde hair. Styfe smirked.
"Here we are Cassandra," he said letting the dark mind he held in his hand flow deep into the mind of the girl before him.
"Sleep well, Illyana…" he whispered. There was a slight glow as his power reached for her atoms, searching through her genetic makeup, stimulating a specific gene that could use a little manifestation.
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Predictably breakfast the next morning was a dreary affair. Students were so preoccupied with being only half conscious they hadn't the time to marvel at the cafeteria. It was very large, with tables designed specifically to stay where they were and withstand any kind of superhuman interaction. Nate was familiar with this room, having eaten many meals here throughout the course of his childhood.
He passed right by the trays, instead just grabbing an apple. He wasn't very hungry, even though he literally hadn't slept at all. Taking a seat, he peered at the doorway and watched as the students flooded in. They were diverse as it was possible to be, of all sizes ages and ethnic groups. But what made them more diverse were of course their mutations. Some appeared to be regular humans, while some were huge and made of rock, or had several pairs of appendages sprouting out of their stomach.
Against the opposite wall sat a gathering of boys, one with golden skin, another with green reptilian scales, and another that looked like an earthier version of the Thing.
Nate noticed the five identical telepaths, who he knew to be called the Stepford Cuckoos, sitting at a circular table by themselves. He also noted Kid Omega sitting by himself, his tired eyes fixed on the Cuckoo leader, Sophie. It wouldn't be hard for Nate to name every student here, as well as the date and cause of their deaths.
"Hey Jubes, over here!" a loud voice called, which was a rare thing at 6:30 A.M. Bobby "Iceman" Drake pushed his way through the crowds of younger students and into the food line. Behind him was his girlfriend Jubilation "Jubilee" Lee, as well as most of the new mutants, all of whom were now seniors. The line moved quickly, and before long they joined Nate at his table.
"Hey Jay, Paige!" Sam "Cannonball" Guthrie called over his shoulder. "Come over here!" A girl with light blonde hair, about thirteen years old trotted over to them. Behind her slumped a boy slightly younger than her, with magnificent scarlet colored wings on his back.
"Hey guys, these are my siblings, Paige, and Jay" he introduced them to his friends.
"Wassup?" Bobby asked trying to sound cooler than he was.
"Hi" Paige said shyly.
"Hello" Rahne "Wolfsbane" Sinclair said.
"Don't you have like twenty siblings, Sam?" Rahne's boyfriend Jamie "Multiple" Madrox asked with a grin.
"No, twelve" Paige said with a cheeky smile. "The rest of us aren't mutants though. Well, that or they're too young to know it yet." Nate couldn't help but snort at hearing this, as he knew perfectly well that every single one of the Guthrie's would turn up X-gene positive.
"Oh, hi there" Amara "Magma" Aquilla said, being the first to notice Nate at the end of the table. "Sorry, we didn't see you".
"It's cool", Nate replied. "I'm Nathan, Nathan Dayspring, but you can just call me Nate." Bobby, Jubilee, Jamie Paige and Sam introduced themselves, while Jay stayed quiet, staring downward.
"I've heard of most of you already, saw you on the news" Nate said, trying to act in character for this point in history.
"Yeah? Did the camera catch my good side?" Bobby asked cockily, earning him a slap upside the head from Jubilee. Everyone laughed.
"So what do you do?" Jubilee asked Nate.
"I'm telekinetic, and a telepath"
"Cool, just like Jean." She paused. "Ms Grey to you though" Jubilee told Nate.
"What's with the hair?" Jamie asked, indicating the single snow white lock that dangled in Nate's face. "It's a lot like Rogue's". The young psychic inwardly groaned. Yeah, he really hadn't been told that before.
"It turned white when my powers manifested" Nate answered truthfully.
"What do psychic powers have to do with your hair?" Bobby asked. Nate shrugged.
"Don't know. It just turned white. Oh, and this happened" his eye flashed briefly.
"That's cool" Paige said in awe. The concept of mutants was not new to her, but it still brought great surprise to see mutant gifts in action.
"What do you do, Paige" Amara said turning to the younger girl. She blushed, clearly embarrassed.
"I- I…… I shed my skin…." Everyone apart from Nate, Jay, and Sam stared blankly at her. Paige sighed. "I'll show you later. It's kind of hard to explain and you wouldn't want to see my powers right now anyway. Not when you're trying to eat."
"So, when did you wings grow Jay?" Jubilee asked. He looked up at her for a moment, before stalking off, leaving the remnants of his breakfast behind.
"Don't worry about him" Sam told them all. "He hasn't talked to anyone since his girlfriend died…."
Any other attempts at conversation were ended by the bell signaling the first class of the day and the semester.
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Madelyn Pryor walked briskly across the dewy grass, bag over her shoulder, making her way towards Harvard's English building. She was an English major, and had constantly scribbled down bits and pieces of stories since she was a child. Blowing a strand of her dark red hey out of her emerald green eyes, she reached the steps.
It wasn't as hard for her to get into Harvard as you'd think.
"Morning Maddie," said the quiet voice of her friend and fellow English major Lily said tiredly.
"Morning Lil", Maddie replied. They entered the building together, walking towards the classroom. Most of the class hadn't arrived yet, allowing the two girls to get front row seats with ease.
"You okay after last night?" Lily asked. Madelyn nodded the night before she had collapsed, overwhelmed by headaches. This had happened to her for her entire life, why, she never understood.
"Yeah, thanks for carrying me back to the dorm. A jug of advil and a good rest later and I'm fine".
Bleary eyed students slowly began to file in, closely followed by the eccentric and perfectly awake Professor Kettdrek.
"Come now, everyone!" he cried cheerfully to the congregation. "Pep up! We have much to cover today, so if you'd all get out your boo-" the classroom gasped. He had vanished in an instant. The ground began to shake, toppling over desks and students alike. A great crack split the room in half, and fire began to slither its way up the walls, consuming everything around them.
Maddie turn to run, pulling Lily along with her, but she was stopped. She looked up the see a boy in a streamlined blue and white outfit with stark white hair blocking her way.
"You must be Madelyn," he said almost too fast for her to comprehend. "I suggest you come with me now, or every one of these pathetic humans dies." He didn't wait for an answer, and a fist Maddie hadn't seen coming came into contact with her temple. Everything went black.
"Blob" Pietro called, and a wall burst open revealing the obese mutant. "Take her", he said pointing down at Madelyn. Blob hoisted her not so gently over his shoulder, and Quicksilver did a very fast lap around the room, creating a gust that snuffed out the flames, as well as knocking out the humans who were still conscious.
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Scott sat at the Danger room's control panel, glancing out the window into the room itself, which was empty apart from Logan. He could here students gathering in the room outside, knowing exactly how anxious they all must have felt. The first 'class' of the semester wasn't really a class at all, but more of an evaluation.
This would allow students their first taste of the danger room, as well as allow their schedules to be worked out.
"Is everything ready?" Jean asked as she entered the room alongside Kitty and Rogue.
"Just about" he said, turning his chair, smiling up at them.
"So, like, what simulation are they running?" Kitty asked.
"They're not, the Professor just wants them to run basic target practice and such so we can evaluate their powers."
"That is so not fair…." Kitty pouted, they all laughed. "It is! Logan ran us through the pit of death our first time!"
"Yeah, yeah" Rogue rolled her eyes, patting her gloved hand on Kitty's shoulder. "Let's get down there". They made their way out of the room, but as Scott passed, Rogue stopped him.
"You asked her yet?" she said in her heavy southern accent. Scott sighed.
"No Rogue, I haven't. I'll ask her when the time is right." His eyes twinkled under his visor. "Has Remy popped the question yet?" he asked slyly, watching Rogue's pale skin flush pink.
"There ain't nothin' between the swamp rat an' me!" she yelled stubbornly, storming out of the room. Scott shook his head. Yeah. Right.
The Danger room was more crowded than it ever was before, but it still held all the students and teachers easily. Professor X himself, however , was not present. Instead he was in his office, where each student would be sent for a brief meeting with the headmaster after being evaluated. The students chattered loudly, but were silenced by a single look from Logan. And thus, the evaluation began.
Ok, sorry if this is a bit short, but I plan for next chapter to be much more dialogue heavy, including Nate 'meeting' the Professor face to face, as well as interactions between a lot more of the main characters. I planned to do some of that in this chapter, but I still had some stage setting to do before I could really get into the school-life stuff. Happy reading, and please review.