Disclaimer: I do not own any of the franchises or characters associated with that franchise.
"The jet is just about ready to land," Hank yelled to the passengers. Beast flipped a couple of switches. The newly constructed basketball court on the property gave way to the hidden base that was underground. Beast managed to fly the X-jet unto the opening and land it like he had been doing it all his life. Everyone unbuckled their seat belts once the jet landed.
Erik got out of his seat and made sure Charles' wheelchair was properly untangled from the straps holding it stable. Once the chair was freed, the metal- kinetic pushed the chair towards the closed door.
Charles looked at everyone else to make sure he had their attention before he spoke.
"Alright everyone," Charles started, "I am counting on you to show our new students around."
"No problem Professor," Sean said, giving a two-fingered salute.
"Which rooms are they going to be staying in Charles?" Raven asked.
"Sookie and Tara can both share one of the rooms on the second floor. Remy is going to be sharing the room with Jack." All of the bedrooms have been redecorated so that two students could comfortably coexist in one bedroom. Everyone had agreed that they wanted to make more room for more students, and the bedroom were all certainly big enough. Sean and Alex were both rooming together. Raven was rooming with a sixteen-year-old girl named Tabitha. The only ones who weren't sharing bedrooms were instructors like Charles, Erik, and Hank.
"Today is Saturday, so there will be no classes today or tomorrow," Charles said to the youngest students. "So please take the time to get yourselves sorted. You begin classes on Monday, so you have two days to get to know your peers before then. If you have any questions, you can always ask anyone of us."
All three children nodded. They really didn't have much to say right then.
Hank opened the jet door. Everyone came down the sloped runway.
'Erik and Hank,' Charles projected. 'There is something very disturbing that I learned during Remy's rescue.'
Hank's thoughts became grim. 'What was it, Professor?'
'I'll tell you and everyone else as soon as they get Sookie, Tara and Remy settled. I didn't tell them right afterward because I didn't want Remy or the girls to overhear.'
'Then why not just tell us telepathically while we were on the jet?'
'Because Sookie Stackhouse is a young telepath who hasn't stopped reading everyone's thoughts since we entered the Stackhouse residence.'
'WHAT?' Erik mentally yelled. 'So she's just been listening in on everyone's thoughts?'
'She can't help it, Erik.' Charles explained. 'When we first met her, I thought she was doing it on purpose as well, but now I'm sure that it's beyond her control.'
'There were nine people on that jet, thinking and feeling many different things and she did absolutely nothing to block all of them out.'
Erik's anger simmered down. He knew from Charles that the human mind just never stops thinking, so listening to multiple minds at the same time, can be very difficult to endure.
'We will all meet in an hour,' Charles projected. "That should give everyone plenty of time to freshen up."
Hank nodded. "I'm going to go over my planned instruction so I can be ready for Monday's classes. I'll see you in an hour. Professor."
Both men watched their younger colleague depart. When he was finally gone, they both shared a look.
"Care for a quick game of chess?" Erik asked.
Charles smiled. "Of course my friend."
Raven, Alex, and Sean led the new students up to the stairs to the second floor. They immediately walked to the first door across the staircase.
"Now this is one of the bathrooms on this floor. There are two bathrooms on this floor, and about four bathrooms in the entire house." Sookie, Tara, and Remy nodded. They all walked three doors down from the bathroom. Raven opened the door. Inside was a white room with a medium sized window, shining sunlight on it. Inside were two, brand new, twin sized beds. At the foot of each bed, a desk was located. Next to each desk was a bookcase. What blew all three children's minds was the fact that, even with all of the furniture inside, the room was still very spacious. The room was actually so large, Tara believed that her little two bedroom house could fit in this whole room. Hell, the whole house looked like a castle.
Alex and Sean entered and put the suitcases next to the beds.
"Sookie and Tara," Raven gestured with a flourish, "this is your room. Remy, Alex and Sean will take you to your room after I explain a few things."
"All students share rooms with each other. Remy, you'll meet your own roommate soon. Sookie and Tara- this is your room, so you can do whatever you'd like to decorate. Paint the walls; put the pictures up, etc."
"There are other students. After you're settled, I'll introduce you. I'm actually right next door to you. This floor is mainly the all girl's floor. The boys are upstairs on the third floor. Curfew depends on your age. Everyone who is under seven years old needs to be in bed no later than 8:00 p.m. If you're between seven and twelve, your curfew is 9:00 p.m. Thirteen to fifteen is 10:00. Sixteen and older get to be up until 11:00 p.m., and can be up until 12:30 on weekends." Raven smiled. "Do you have any questions?"
All three of the new students shook their heads.
"Alrighty then." Raven turned to Alex and Sean. "I'm going to my room. You'll both be alright helping Remy get settled?"
"We'll be fine," Alex answered stiffly. 'Besides, if we needed your help. We know better than to trust you. How the Professor could just allow them to come back like it never happened, I'll never understand.'
Sookie continued to listen. Whatever Alex was thinking, it was obvious he didn't like Raven very much.
Raven hesitated. "O-okay then." Raven smiled at the two little girls. "You can find me next door if you need me. If not, I'll see you when everyone breaks for lunch." Raven walked past everyone and left.
"We should take Remy to his room no,'' Sean whispered.
Alex nodded. "Bye ladies." The girls giggled. Alex put a hand on Remy's shoulder. "Come on Remy."
Sookie and Tara waved. "Bye."
"See you later."
Sean waved as well. "See ya."
Remy smiled and waved. After all three boys left. The two girls studied their new room.
Tara jumped on the bed on the right. "Look at this room!"
Sookie walked towards the window. The little girl took in the view outside. The green lawn was large. The Iron Gates seemed so far away from the house. This place was so big; it could probably hold both Sookie and Tara's houses and their old school combined and still have space left over. "This place is like a castle," Sookie declared in awe.
"We should go exploring," Tara said.
Sookie nodded eagerly. Both girls began to unpack their bags quickly. The promise of adventure was too much to pass up.
Alex and Sean led Remy up to the third floor. Sean pointed to the first door across from the stairs.
"This is the first bathroom on this floor. There's another bathroom at the end of the hall Remy."
Remy nodded distractedly. This whole place was ridiculously huge. He couldn't believe that someone would want to have four or more bathrooms; it made no sense to him. Honestly, the whole idea that someone like Charles Xavier, who was obviously rich, would want to turn his mansion into a school. Remy couldn't help but started casing the place for all its valuables.
It wasn't like Remy had never seen a mansion before- the headquarters of the Thieves' Guild was also a mansion, but it was completely different from that. While Jean- Luc's mansion felt completely cold, dark, and void of any human warmth and kindness, this mansion seemed to be completely filled with light and warmth that touched and seeped into the people that entered the house. Remy couldn't help but think one thing.
'Home.'
Remy mind finally came back to earth when the blond boy- Alex opened the door right next to the bathroom. It was a large bedroom; just as large as the one Sookie and Tara were sharing. The room was even similarly decorated, with one a few differences.
The first difference Remy noticed was that the walls in this room were painted a light blue color. It reminded Remy of snow. Another difference Remy noted was that the room already looked lived in. While Sookie and Tara's room looked completely brand new, Remy could see that the sheets on one of the beds were completely disheveled and out of place. Books were completely stacked on one of the desks. Remy couldn't see anyone else, but it was still obvious that some else lived here.
"Well Remy," Sean gestured wildly with his arms. "This is your new home as long as you decide to stay with us. You already have a roommate named Jack." Both Sean and Alex looked around. "It looks like he's not here right now, but you'll meet him eventually. He's around your age and a really nice kid; I'm sure you'll both get along."
Remy said nothing. He put his backpack on the unused bed.
"Decorate however you want to- it's your room now," Alex said. "I think the Professor is making us go shopping tomorrow, so you can get whatever you want to then." Remy nodded to signal that he heard.
"Then this is where we leave you," Sean said. "Our room is across and two doors to the left. Just knock if you need anything." With that, the two older boys finally left Remy alone in the room.
Alex and Sean walked over to their own room. Sean had just opened the door when they both felt a familiar presence in their mind.
'Alex and Sean,' Charles called. 'There will be a meeting in exactly ten minutes. Please attend.'
"Is there something wrong Professor?" Alex asked aloud.
'There is something I discovered during Remy's rescue. I'll explain in more detail during the meeting.' The Professor's presence disappeared.
Sean shared a look with Sean. "I wonder why the Professor never mentioned this before."
Alex shrugged. "He probably had his reasons." Alex walked into the room. "Right now I just want to take a shower and relax a little."
Sean couldn't argue with that sentiment. He dropped on his own bed. "Just wake me up when it's time to go."
Remy put his clothes in the empty closet and drawer. His back was towards the door, so he did not see the other boy who walked into the room.
"Hey, are you new?" Remy jumped an inch off the ground. When he turned towards the voice, his heart was hammering in his chest and inquisitive blue eyes were looking at him. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."
"I wasn't scared," Remy automatically replied.
The other boy raised a disbelieving eyebrow but didn't argue. "I'm Jack. What are you doing in my room? Are you my new roommate? What's your name? What's your power?"
Remy watched in horrid fascination as the other boy continued to speak. How was he able to talk so long without taking a break, Remy had no idea. Maybe that was his mutant ability. 'Mon Dieu, he's still talking,' Remy thought. At some point, the Louisiana native had to tune the other boy out. He took in the other boy's appearance.
The first thing that Remy noticed about Jack was his skin. It was so pale that it looked like it had a bluish tint to it. Even Jack's lips looked blue- the kind of blue you get when you're dying from exposure. Jack ran one of his hands to his snow white hair. Jack had the lightest blue eyes Remy had ever seen. His outfit consisted of a blue hoodie and brown pants that ended just below his knees. Jack wore no shoes or socks.
Jack suddenly grinned bashfully. "Oops," Jack said. "Sorry about that. I tend to get carried away when I meet new people."
What a strange kid. 'But ev'ryone here is strange.' Remy was now living with other mutants; his own kind. "It's fine. The names Remy."
"Nice to meet you." Jack got a mischievous look. "You wanna go outside?"
Remy thought about it. "Sure mon amie. Maybe Sookie and Tara wanna come too."
"Okay!" Jack nodded enthusiastically and then paused. "Who are Sookie and Tara?"
Charles, Erik, Hank, and Raven were waiting inside the library at the appointed time. The door opened, Alex and Sean walked in.
"Sorry Professor," Sean stated. "It took longer than we thought to get settled."
"Not a problem." Charles gestured to two available seats. "This trip to Louisiana was very hectic, especially during Remy's rescue, but I'm afraid there is still another hurdle coming our way." Charles put two fingers on his forehead, an obvious sign that the man was using his power. Charles showed everyone Jean- Luc's memory. Once the memory ended everyone still couldn't believe what they had seen.
"Please tell me that…" Raven stuttered, "... t- that they weren't really…?"
"I'm afraid they were my dear," Charles said. "It is exactly the way it seemed."
"Vampires?" Sean's wide eyes searched everyone else's. "Does anyone else hear how insane that is? Vampires don't even exist!"
"People probably said that same thing about mutants, Sean." Alex shrugged. "Maybe Bram Stoker actually got something right." Hank, Sean, and Raven stared at him. "What? I read sometimes." Everyone else stayed silent.
Hank looked at the table. Erik's shrewd gaze studied the young man. "Is there something on your mind Beast?" Hank glared at the man who dared to speak to him and stayed silent.
Charles turned to Hank. "Hank?"
Hank sighed. "There is something that is still bothering me," he admitted.
"What is it?" Raven asked.
"It's just… in that memory, we can all infer that the boy they're talking about is Remy."
Charles nodded. "I'd say that's a very good assumption."
"But how did they even know about Remy?"
Everyone considered the question.
"Maybe this Jean- Luc guy told them about Remy." Alex shrugged. Guys like him time to throw anyone under the bus for a little cash."
"That may be so," Erik answered. "It's too bad we can't ask Jean- Luc."
"Why not?" Sean asked. "We could go back to Louisiana and the Professor could search his mind again."
"We could Banshee," Erik concurred. "The only problem is that Jean- Luc probably no longer around to answer our questions."
"And why are so sure about that?" Sean shot back.
"Come on now," Erik said. "Vampire or not, they made it very clear to Jean- Luc- either deliver Remy to them or his own health would be at risk. I have no real way of knowing this, but I assume that because he could not deliver Remy…" Erik let the sentence hang. Everyone else could connect the dots.
"Hey…" Everyone turned to Raven. "If they knew about Remy, that means they know about mutants."
One by one they realized the implications of Mystique's statement.
"So they may know where to find other mutants." Alex summed up. "What's to say that these freaks don't know anything about us?"
"There's no reason to believe that these people know about us," Charles pointed out slowly.
"There's no reason to believe that these people know about us," Charles pointed out slowly.
"There was no reason to believe that the federal government would ever find out about the existence of mutants, but it did happen," Erik also pointed out.
"But how would they have found out about us?" Hank tapped his chin. "Even if they got their information from Jean- Luc, that information would be completely limited at best."
"I think we're all thinking about this the wrong way," Alex said suddenly.
Charles became curious. "How so?"
"We need to stop talking about that guy like he's important in all of this," Alex stated, crossing his arms. "He was just a patsy, probably at the bottom of the food chain, or at else the possible threat to his life would not have concerned him. These people probably have thousands of Jean- Luc, giving them into about other mutants. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they had their hooks in the government. They probably have that sort of pull."
Now that thought was terrifying, to say the least.
"That means the students are in danger," Charles rubbed two fingers on the bridge of his nose.
"They're safer within these walls." Erik gave each person a meaningful glance. "This information would just cause a lot of panics."
"Then what do you suggest?" Hank growled.
"Extra training," Magneto insisted. "We begin running evacuation drills so that they know that if the school is under attack, they should go underground. Charles, that underground bunker does have other entrances correct?"
Professor Xavier nodded. "As I've said before; my stepfather was very paranoid about nuclear war."
They continued to talk about other possible solutions and theories. It seemed that there was a new threat they had stumbled on to, now they must find a way to deal with it.
Outside the mansion, Jack led Remy, Sookie, and Tara to the nearest patch of grass. All four of them laid on the grass and looked at the clouds.
"This is great!" Jack exclaimed. "Now the classes won't seem as small anymore."
"How many of us are there?" Tara asked.
Jack became thoughtful. "Well Professor X, Magneto and Beast are the only teachers."
"Wait." Sookie scrunched her brow. "Professor X I understand, but who are Magneto and Beast?"
"Magneto is Erik Lensherr," Jack said. "Beast is Hank McCoy. A lot of people around here take codenames. Most have codenames others just don't. I have one," Jack said smugly.
"What is it?" Tara asked. The other new students were interested.
Jack grinned. "I'm Jack Frost."
"Who else is here?" Remy asked.
"There are the kids from the older group," Jack stated. He began counting on his fingers. There's Boom-boom- her real name is Tabitha. She's not very nice, so I would avoid her; and if she throws a glowing ball at you, run away. There's another girl named Jubilee- her real name isn't really that different from her codename anyway. Then there's Angel- Warren Worthington; he's a pretty nice guy. Then there's Sway- Suzanne Chan; not too bad. She's just really quiet.
"Then there's Banshee- Sean Cassidy. Havok- Alex Summers. Finally Mystique- Raven. They're nice. They've all been here the longest out of all of us. That's pretty much the older group. In our group-."
"Jack, can I ask you something?" Sookie asked, hesitantly.
"Sure," Jack answered, "just shoot."
"Well…," Sookie looked very conflicted. "Do you know if… I mean… are Sean and Alex mad at Raven for something?"
Jack's smile was replaced by a frown. "What do you mean?"
"It's just…," Sookie started. "Actually, never mind. It's none of my business anyway."
Jack looked back at the clouds. "You're not crazy Sookie; sometimes I've noticed it. Hank's not really… as nice to Raven. There mad at Erik too. But I don't know why. Whatever it is- it's from before I got here."
There was an awkward silence. It made Sookie wish she'd never ask about it. Now Jack's uncomfortable and she didn't know how to make it better.
"Is there anyone closer to our age?" Tara asked. Sookie just wanted to hug her right now.
Jack beamed. "There is me. There is also a girl named Prim- Primrose Everdeen-." Jack noticed a girl with blond pigtails walking by them. "That's her right now. Hey, Prim!"
The girl turned towards them, smiled and walked over. Her blue dress swayed into the wind.
"Hey Prim." Jack got up from the grass. "I want you to meet Remy, Sookie, and Tara. Everyone, this is Primrose; we all call her Prim for short."
"So you're all the new kids." Prim held out her hand. "Nice to meet you."
Everyone shook hands and exchanged greetings. Prim sat on the grass next to Sookie's left side. "So how do you all like the Institute so far?"
Remy said the first thing that came to mind. "This place is really large."
Prim nodded. "It really is. I was just as shocked by it. It can get a little overwhelming."
"How long have you been here?" Tara asked.
Prim laid on the ground. "About two months. I got here during the summer, so about two months." Prim looked at Jack's feet. "Jack, you know that the Professor doesn't like it when you go outside without shoes on. He's not going to be happy if you track mud into the house again."
Jack wiggled his toes. "Well, I don't like shoes." Jack grinned. "It's not like I need to walk into the house anyway." After that, Jack floated into the air.
"Woah," Remy gasped. Everyone else stood up, watching Jack as he continued to glide around in the air. Jack laughed.
"That's nothing," Jack guffawed. "This is why I'm Jack Frost!" Jack held his hands. Blue beams shot out of his palms and hit a random patch of grass. Ice and frost began to spread over the area. Jack flew around in the air a few times before his feet touched the ground again.
"That was so cool!" Sookie laughed. Remy felt a burning tightness in his stomach. Jack's powers no longer seemed so cool anymore. 'What a show-off,' Remy thought angrily. For some reason, Sookie started to stare at him. Remy blushed. 'Why is she staring at me like that?'
Jack grinned. "That's what I can do. What about you guys?"
The new students shared a look with each other, silently deciding who would go first.
"My turn cher." Remy pulled something out of his pockets. It was a playing card, specifically the ace of spades. The card began to glow with energy. Remy threw the card at the ice on the ground, and it exploded on impact.
"Cool!" Tara noted. Remy smiled.
"What happened to your eyes?" Sookie asked. Remy's eyes were completely different. Instead of their usual brown, Remy's eyes were completely dark, except for glowing red pupils. It was like watching a solar eclipse.
"What?" Remy asked, confused. His eyes changed back to their normal brown.
"Your eyes changed," Sookie explained. "They were completely dark and your pupils were red."
Prime frowned. "They look normal now… maybe it was just a trick of the light or something."
Sookie frowned. "But I know what I saw," Sookie said.
"Whatever this is, I think you need to ask the Professor about it."
"Oh, who cares about that now?" Jack asked impatiently. "That was cool. Can you do that to other stuff? Or does it only work with playing cards."
"It'll work with anythin'," Remy answered. Jack looked like he was about to ask some more questions, but Tara decided to step in.
"My turn," she said. Tara took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Tara could feel her power working. She opened her eyes. Jack, Prim, and Remy started searching for her. Tara couldn't help but grin; they were all looking for her.
All except Sookie that is.
"Guys." Sookie pointed towards Tara. "Tara's still standing in the same spot. She hasn't moved."
Tara giggled before finally appearing. Jack couldn't help but be impressed by Tara's power. Any prank would go off without a hitch if he could also be invisible. Prim looked very confused. 'How could Sookie have done that?'
"I knew because I could still hear her," Sookie answered.
Prim gasped. Comprehension finally sets in. "You're like the Professor." Everyone caught on to what she meant.
"THAT. IS. SO. COOL!" Jack yelled, jumping into the air. "What am I thinking? What's it like reading minds? What's it like to know what everyone's thinking? I bet it never gets-."
"Jack!" Prim yelled. The white- haired boy looked at the older girl. "Give her a break from the questions and come back down here."
Jack silently landed back on the ground. Sookie couldn't help but be relieved. Jack wasn't too bad; he acted a lot better about her power than most people did, that's for sure… but his high energy left her feeling tired and disoriented. 'Thank you, Prim,' she thought.
'You're very welcomed.' Sookie almost jumped in fright. She turned to Prim, who was smiling at her in return. This had never happened to Sookie before; usually, she was too overwhelmed by everyone's thoughts, and most of the energy went to trying to block those sounds out. She never knew that she could actually speak to anyone else with her own thoughts. 'Interesting.' "What can you do Prim?"
Prim giggled. "I can heal injuries," Prim explained. "It's not something I can demonstrate right now."
The five children began to talk about everything they continued to laugh and play until they all felt a presence in their heads.
'Children,' Professor Xavier called. 'Lunch will begin soon, so please wash up before joining us all at the table.'
Tara and Sookie jumped in shock. Charles was honestly the strongest mental presence either ever felt.
Yes Professor,' Prim answered for everyone.
'And Jack; your feet better be cleaned and in socks and shoes before at the table.'
Jack grinned bashfully. "Sure thing."
The Professor laughed and then his powerful presence was gone.
The children ran- in Jack's case, floated- towards the house.
Later in the night…
A private jet flew down towards an almost abandoned area. When the jet door finally opened, about twelve different people in dark suites exited the vehicle and walk towards multiple mounds covered by gray sheets. These sheets were removed, revealing three black cars.
Two of the covered Godric and Eric entered the back of the first car. Two others sat in the sat in the front. The cars began to drive towards their temporary location.
"Have you finally found their location Eric?" Godric asked.
The blond opened a briefcase on his legs and pulled out a file. Erik handed the file to Godric, who opened the file. "This seems to be the most likely location."
Godric scanned the file. It seemed that one of the ring leaders of this rag- tag group owns some property in Westchester… but surely they wouldn't pick such an obvious location? The government would have surely found them out by now. Godric closed the file and stared at his child.
Eric frowned. "The deed is actually in his father's name. It's the only viable lead I managed to find," Eric defended. "Sometimes the most obvious lead is the correct one."
Godric nodded, conceding that could be. If it was the case, then it was very idiotic and very clever. "Once we verify this location, we will properly plan out the attack."
"Yes maker," Eric replied.
"You will not be making any move against them until I give the word," Godric whispered warningly. He did not want a repeat of World War II.
"But of course," Eric answered smoothly. Both beings sat together in comfortable silence.
Their car drove silently into the night, leading the others to the next location. Soon, their mission would be completed, and the Authority will not be questioned.
