Betsy stood in the hair dye section with Emma as the latter tried to decide on a bleaching kit. In the corner of her eye, Betsy caught sight of something that pulled her interest. She picked up the box of dye, marveling at the photo of the pretty girl modeling the hair color. She flipped it to the back to check if it was semi-permanent.
"Oh, please," Emma, sighed.
"What?" Betsy asked, putting the dye back into its slot.
"They don't have the exact shade I want," Emma explained. "I guess I'll have to go lighter."
Emma pulled out a box displaying an Asian girl with almost white hair. She walked toward the front of the store. Betsy hesitated. In a last minute decision, she snatched the box she was looking at and followed Emma.
Meanwhile, Bobby and Kurt, disguised by his image inducer, were piling snacks into their arms.
"Get the donuts, Kurt," Bobby said, managing to point behind Kurt.
Kurt's slender tail slid from behind him and wrapped around a pack of chocolate-coated donuts. He tossed it onto the top of his pile and tucked his tail back into his pants.
A pretty girl walked around the corner.
"OMG!" she screamed. "It's Justin BEIBER!" She pointed at Kurt.
A group of girls came over to where their friend was standing. They started screaming as well.
"Dammit, Kitty," Kurt moaned. He BAMF-ed out.
"Justin Beiber can teleport?" one girl asked.
"He's so amazing!" another called.
Bobby rolled his eyes.
"You girls are idiots," he said, walking toward the cashier.
Hank couldn't concentrate on his notes. His skin had begun to sport blue patches again. This time, they were itchy. He would scratch until drops of blood trickled through his skin. The enhanced senses had returned as well, though more powerful than before. The smell of all the chemicals made his head swim.
He slid off the stool and a surge of pain shot up his leg. He let out a pained yelp as he clutched his foot. Sitting on the floor, he pulled off the shoe and saw his big toe was broken.
How did that happen? he asked himself. He tried to set the bone, but it was more painful than just letting it stay the way it was.
Upon closer examination, a patch of hair sprouted out the top of his foot. Hank slid his shoe back on without the sock and limped out of the lab.
Shiro watched his new friends skate on the frozen lake and laugh as they competed in a snowball war on top of the newly built basketball court. He was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, but wasn't cold. In fact, steam seemed to rise from his bare skin.
"How's life outside the 'healing goo?'" a sweet voice asked behind him. He looked around and saw Kitty standing with two steaming cups. She passed him one. "Thought you might want some hot cocoa."
"I've never had it," he admitted, watching the tiny marshmallows bob in the brown liquid.
Kitty sat next to him. "Then it's good your first is my dad's famous hot cocoa." She blew a small breath, the steam flowing away from her lips, then took a sip.
Shiro did the same, but the drink just seemed warm to him.
Kitty waited with a small smile on her face.
"Tastes good."
Her smile widened into a broad grin.
"Whenever you want some more, I'll make it for you," she told him before taking another sip. "I'd give you the recipe, but Dad'll kill me if I let our secret out."
Shiro didn't respond. He just drank his cocoa, silently watching the others.
Kitty adjusted her sweater. She didn't plan on joining the others.
"It's hard, isn't it?" she asked.
"What?"
"Not being able to join. The snow would melt in your hands, right? Sometimes I think what would happen if I just stayed intangible."
"You're behaving differently," Shiro noticed.
"This is my first Hanukah away from home," she told him. "Actually, I guess this is my home now. My parents are getting a divorce. They were separated when I came and now they're making it final."
Shiro looked at his marshmallows. "At least you still talk to your parents."
Kitty waited for him to say something else, but he didn't.
"Why were you in the hospital?"
Shiro didn't answer immediately. He waited until Kitty drained her cup and was about to go inside until he spoke.
"My mother and father said I dishonored the family when I became a mutant," he said.
"But you were born one."
"That's not the way they see it. It's like I joined a gang or something to them. My father's a diplomat from Japan. I was born here at the Japanese Embassy. But I still feel American. When my powers came in, it was on my eleventh birthday. I tried to blow out the candles, but the flames grew and grew. My father disowned me and locked me away at the hospital. I just wish I could see my sister again."
A tear boiled out of Shiro's eye and evaporated on his cheek.
"I'm so sorry," Kitty exhaled. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and they sat, watching their friends play.
Peter stood at the exit of JFK airport. He held a small canvas with ILLYANA written in black paint. Charles sat in his wheelchair beside him with a small grin on his face as his comrade practically vibrated with excitement.
"What time is it, Professor?" he asked.
"Five past noon," Charles chuckled. "Her flight doesn't arrive for a few more minutes, my boy."
"Illyana said she had some news over the phone. I wonder what she wants to tell me."
They waited in that spot for ten more minutes. That's when Charles clutched his head. He released a small scream of pain.
"What is it, Professor?" Peter bent down to his teacher's side.
"A...block," Charles answered through clenched teeth. The pain disappeared and his eyes shot open. "Illyana. I can't find her."
Peter's skin began to shift to metal, but Charles grabbed his arm.
"Not here, boy. You mustn't show your secret identity. I'll call Logan inside. Get to the bathroom and change."
Peter ran to the restrooms, ducking into the door with a square man on it. A few minutes later, he came out in his track pants, tank top, and silver skin.
In his silver form, more than his strength was increased. The sounds and smells around him echoed in his ears and nostrils, and he could not only see normally, but he could see body heat, because he had none.
He walked back toward Charles and saw Logan standing there instead.
"What's the situation?" Logan asked, chewing on a toothpick.
Peter ignored the people around them pointing at Colossus and Wolverine.
"My sister disappeared. Professor X had a lock on her mind and then it was gone."
"You got something of hers for me to smell?"
Peter pulled a pink ribbon from his pocket and handed it to Logan. The smell of Illyana's hair swirled through his metallic nose. Logan took two sniff and began to walk toward the gates. He stopped halfway before he clutched his nose.
"Blood and rust," he said through his hand.
"What does that mean?" Peter feared the worst.
"She wasn't just taken. She was taken by a cyborg."
"Where did they go?"
"I don't know. But a friend of mine will tell me."
Warren flicked through his apps on his phone as he waited for whatever surprise Betsy had for him. A little chime alerted him of a new e-mail. He switched over to his mail and saw a new message with HC Invitation in the subject line.
Dear Warren Worthington III, it read.
We are please to inform you that you have been invited to the Hellfire Club's Christmas Ball this year. You are allowed to bring one (1) guest this evening. A seat on the Inner Circle, a coveted position, awaits you.
Sincerely,
Tessa.
"Hellfire Club?" Warren vaguely remembered his father talking about his college days in the Hellfire Club. He never thought he would ever get in.
"War?" Betsy's voice came from the top of the stairs.
Warren turned around and was completely shocked by what he saw. Betsy's hair, once beautifully blonde, was now a deep purple. She flipped a tuft of violet over her shoulder.
"What the hell did you do?" he asked.
Betsy was offended. "I thought you would like it!"
"Why would I like purple hair?"
"Because I like it!"
"That doesn't make sense!"
"So now you're saying I'm crazy?"
"Where did you get that from?"
"Oh, we are so over Warren Worthington!"
"Fine by me!"
They both stomped in opposite directions. Halfway down the hall, Betsy received a text with the same message Warren received.
They weren't the only ones. At that moment, Emma, Jean, and Kurt all were contacted by the mysterious Hellfire Club.
The Princess Bar was crawling with the worst sorts of people. Thugs fought in the front, gamblers fought in the back, and drunkards took to the middle. But none of that mattered when the door was kicked in by size ten cowboy boots.
Logan and Peter stepped inside. Instinctively, everyone pulled their guns.
"Nice way to welcome me," Logan said.
A tall black man with a bald head stuffed a pair of brass knuckles into his pocket.
"What you doing here, Patch?"
Logan looked at the other bar patrons.
"I'm looking for Deathstrike, Cage."
"Danny!" Cage called over his shoulder.
A skinny man with blond hair backed out of a door, carrying three boxes of beer. When he placed the boxes down, a black dragon was tattooed on his chest.
"What?" he asked.
"Watch the shop. Patch and I need to see Deathstrike."
Danny nodded.
"What about him?" He nudged his chin toward Peter.
"The kid comes with me," Logan snarled.
"Easy," Cage held up his hands. "She's back here."
Danny began wiping a glass while Cage led them into the back room. It was almost pitch black and the air was full of cigarette smoke.
"What you want with her, Logan?" Cage asked.
"Sorry, Luke, X-Man business."
"Have the Avengers contacted you?"
"No. Why?"
"They called me and Danny a few days ago, asking if one of us could take Marvel's place. Heard it was a mutant attack."
"Said who?"
"Natchios."
"Heh. Girl's more annoying than a Dazzler concert."
They stopped at a big wood door.
"She's in here," Luke nudged his head to the door. "Be careful. She's still not too keen on you."
Logan pushed to door open to reveal a small dark room. The sunlight streamed lazily through the thick curtains, showing a dark shadow with its legs resting on the table in the middle of the room.
"Well well well," a high pitched voice rang from the shadow. "Logan."
"Yuriko."
"YOU DO NOT GET TO CALL ME THAT!" she screamed throwing a bottle of scotch at Logan's head, which he dodged.
Peter looked back at the wall where the bottle hit. He flicked the small switch and a fluorescent light flickered above them.
The shadow proved to be an Asian woman with long black hair. Sh was probably beautiful once, but her face was severely scarred. One eye was deep brown, the other was glowing red. But the things that shocked Peter the most were her long fingers and sharp, silver fingernails. She was wearing a white tank top and blue jeans.
"What do you want, Wolverine?" Yuriko asked.
"Codenames now, huh? This is Peter. His sister was taken from the airport an hour ago."
"I don't kidnap children."
"Who said anything about a child?" Peter asked.
Yuriko leaped over the desk and swiped at Peter. In his metal form, he was impervious to all attacks. Except this one. Her nails scrapped against his steel, leaving four long scratches across his chest. He touched the holes in shirt and found that her nails penetrated his steel.
"How is this possible?"
Logan was struggling to keep Yuriko down.
"Deathstrike has adamantium running through her body. Just like me."
"Get OFF ME!" she screamed.
"Ain't gonna happen until you tell us who took her," Logan said, now sitting on top of her.
She tried to struggle, but Peter moved in to hold her as well.
"Fine! My Reavers have told me that Donald Pierce is a member of the Hellfire Club."
"Who's Pierce?"
"He's a cyborg. But more."
They left with Deathstrike's ominous words. Logan said his goodbyes to Luke Cage and Danny.
"I wouldn't shift back to normal, yet. I think Moira said something about your body heals almost faster than mine in that state."
"How do you know of this place?" Peter asked, fingering his scratches.
"The Princess Bar? I own it."
Jean and Scott walked down the metallic hallway toward the Danger Room.
"What did the Professor say he wanted to talk about?" Scott asked.
"Something about Peter and Logan," Jean answered. "I think we have a new mission."
Instead of walking through the first door leading down to the changing rooms, they walked to the door Logan used when to control the room. He called it the War Room.
The wall across from the door was made entirely of glass. A control console of blinking lights sat in front of it. In the center of the room was an odd contraption made of metal and wires and glass. Charles was sitting beside it in his wheelchair, the others were either sitting in their own chairs or leaning against the wall. Logan and Peter, with his scarred chest, were standing beside Charles.
"Ah, good. Now we can begin," Charles said. He pushed a blue button on the metal machine. All the lights in the room died. A beam of blue light shot from the center of the machine. The light swirled in the air, forming a flat surface. Something grew from the center. A few seconds later, they all were staring at a sculpture of a mansion slightly different than theirs made out of pure light.
"Peter's sister, Illyana was taken by a man named Donald Pierce," Charles told them. "Through his connections, Logan has found out that Pierce is a cyborg and a member of the Hellfire Club."
"I got an invitation from them," Kurt said.
"Yes, many of you did."
"What's the plan?" Scott asked.
"Those of you who received the invitations will attend the Christmas Ball tonight. You will infiltrate the Hellfire Club on the inside while your teammates will take the secret tunnels underground."
"What about our guests?" the purple-haired Betsy asked, glaring at Warren.
"I believe you should follow the directions fully. Make it seem as if you are enjoying your time there. Those of you attending must use separate cars."
"Why?" Ororo questioned.
"Because the Hellfire Club is a gathering of the rich, famous, and powerful. We cannot let them know you're all working together."
"Maybe they already know," provided Bobby.
"Maybe. But, for now, we must assume they don't. Get in, find Illyana, and get out."
Everyone walked out except Victor.
"Professor?" he spoke as Charles was about to leave.
"Yes, Victor?"
He squared his shoulders. "I would like to be on the team."
"My boy, you aren't ready—"
"I was a slave of Genosha for two months. Before that, I was in the orphanage. I know what that girl's going through and I need to be there to help her. If you're not going to allow me to go with Logan's team, I'll make one of the others invite me."
"I'm sorry, Victor—" Charles began, but Victor just walked away from him.
He stopped at the door. "My sister and I are more complex than you think, Professor."
His hair shot into his head, his skin bubbled to a lighter complexion. Before Charles' very eyes, Victor became him exactly.
That's not all I can do, his own voice rang through his mind.
"Victor, stop it!" Charles ordered.
Victor shifted back to his original appearance.
"I'm a wizard, Professor," he said. "There is almost nothing I can't do."
His hands began to glow a soft blue. The air around him pushed together. It snapped back and Victor was gone.
Ororo and Kurt waited on the steps for the others. She was wearing a long, silky black dress with thin straps and a small purse on a similar thin strap on her shoulder. Kurt had his image inducer tuned to rid him of blue and added a few extra fingers. He wore a sleek black tux.
"You look beautiful," he said to her.
"Thank you, Kurt. But I like you better blue."
Kurt blushed an odd blue color.
"Your image inducer doesn't change everything," Ororo laughed.
Jean, in a green dress, and Scott, in a matching tux with a pencil tie, came out next. Where Ororo's hair was pulled into a glamorous up-do by Betsy, Jean allowed her hair to flow all the way down her back in wavy locks.
"I like your dress, Ro," Jean remarked.
"Not as much as I like yours."
Kurt and Scott rolled their eyes.
Betsy had dragged Hank out of the lab and into a suit. She wore a purple mandarin gown that stopped at her knees and hugged her body. Warren, who was actually going with Ororo, came out in his tux that matched the other guys with Kitty who was wearing a blue dress that looked like it was made out of air.
"Is this everyone?" Warren asked.
"We're waiting on Emma," Jean told him.
"We'll be late waiting on her," Kitty moaned.
After five more minutes waiting on Emma, she came out in a white dress that had a plunging neckline and no back. Her hair hung down like Jean's. On her arm was a suited up Victor.
"We can go now," Emma announced, walking down the steps in her silver stilettos.
Each group had their own car as promised.
The block the Hellfire Club resided was packed. Searchlight slid back and forth and the door to the mansion was thrown wide open. Several big men in masks stood sentient at the door. One checked names off the list.
The small group of X-Men pulled their cars up to the valets. They walked up to the door. In front was Emma and Victor.
"I'm glad you invited me," Victor whispered.
"Well, it was between you and Bobby, so I chose the lesser of two evils."
"Names?" the big man with the clipboard asked in his rumbling voice.
"Emma Frost and guest," Emma said.
The man scanned the list. "Go in." He scratched off her name.
Victor had to catch his breath when they got inside. Xavier's was more homey and warm. This mansion was elegant and glamorous. The white marble floors sparkled under their feet, the banisters on the staircase was polished so much, it looked like glass. A chandelier sparkled above with magnificent crystals. Sculptures that wouldn't be out of place in a Greek exhibit at the museum lined the walls.
"Wow," he muttered, looking up.
"Come, we're supposed to be in the ballroom."
They walked down a beautifully decorated corridor with the other X-Men behind them.
The ballroom was a large rectangular room with several round white tables around the room. The ceiling was glass, showing the stars twinkle above. Most of the guests were dancing on the black and white tiled marble in the center of the room. A long table sat at the end of the hall. Four teenagers sat there. One girl with long black hair and three boys. The girl and two boys were wearing black. The last boy was wearing a white tux. Another boy and girl in black stood behind them.
Let's start telepathic conversation, Betsy thought.
Ahead of us, I think that's the Inner Circle, Scott told them.
Let's introduce ourselves, Emma added.
She steered Victor around the room to the table.
"Hello, I'm Emma Frost of the New York Frosts and this is Victor Darkwood of the London Darkwoods."
"How do you do?" the girl in black smiled. "I'm Selene, this is my boyfriend, Sebastian, and our friends, Harry Leland and Donald Pierce. Please enjoy our ball."
Emma thought, Dance with me. They maneuvered around the room in a perfect waltz.
I got a headache from that Selene, Victor thought back.
What do you mean?
I can absorb the genetic material of anyone I'm around. There was some feedback from her.
There is something wrong with her. Jean and Scott danced beside them.
And Pierce is here, thought Scott. Telepaths, scan for Illyana. Also, scan the Inner Circle's minds.
We already tried. Betsy was moving in circles with Hank. The entire place is shielded.
The others better be doing better, Kitty thought.
When the song changed, they all sat at one of the tables. They began conversations to avoid suspicion, but the standing girl with black hair still walked over to them.
"Misses Frost, Grey, and Braddock and Misters Worthington and Wagner, please follow me," she said. "The Inner Circle will like to discuss your future with the club."
Wait for us, Jean thought.
They slid up from the table and followed the girl across the room down a corridor. Victor looked over the the Inner Circle's table and they all were gone.
"I don't like this," he said.
"I'm calling the others," Scott agreed, pulling out a silver cell phone.
The party continued, but the X-Men grew antsy as each second ticked by without anything from their friends.
"I lost connection," Victor announced.
"What?" asked Kitty.
"I had telepathic connection with Emma. It's gone now."
"There's a surge in the air," said Ororo. "I can feel it. Something's not right."
"X-Men, it's time."
They ran to the corridor and two large bodies blocked their path.
"Going somewhere?" the man from outside asked.
Ororo's eyes sparked with energy, fading to white light as she prepared to hurl a bolt of lightning.
"Toad," Victor said. The air around the guards squeezed in on them. When it snapped back, two horned toads sat on the floor.
"How did you?" Scott began to ask.
"Never mind. We have to find the others." Victor sprinted down the dark corridor.
The others followed, but Kitty looked back and noticed the guests were still dancing.
When they got to a fork in the hall, everyone, including Scott, looked to Victor.
"Which way, Scott?" Victor asked.
"Me?"
"Yeah. You're the leader. Which way?"
A something tugged in the pit of his stomach.
"Right," he said.
They ran down the right branch that ended at a pair of wooden doors with a giant fiery bird on it. Hank kicked in the door.
The room on the other side had five stone tables with their five friends lying on them. The Inner Circle stood behind them, their servants stood with their backs against the wall. A new guy was muttering something with his hands in the air.
"Oh, looks like their friends have come to join the party," Sebastian said.
"Looks like we'll have some fun while Mastermind does his work," Selene added.
The servants charged at the X-Men. Scott screamed in pain. The girl with the black hair had her fingers pressed to her temples.
"Scott," Jean moaned in her sleep.
Kitty tried to phase through the boy in the black suit, but he managed to punch her in the face. His jaw unhinged and his teeth grew into sharp fangs. Victor punched him, causing his grip on Kitty to slacken.
Hank charged at Mastermind.
"Harry," Selene instructed.
Harry lifted his hand and Hank dropped like a rock. He screamed in pain as the weight of the world fell on top of him.
Ororo took to the air and summoned electrical currents to her hand. She shot it at Harry, Sebastian, and Selene, striking only the two boys. Sebastian flew through the wall into another room lit only by nine pods with nine children floating in them.
"Illyana," Victor said.
The floor exploded from the massive fist sticking out of it. Peter pulled himself out and was followed by Logan, Bobby, Sean, and Shiro.
"Mastermind?" Selene asked.
"Finished," Mastermind said, falling to his knees.
"Rise, Inner Circle."
Their friends on the tables lifted under her spell.
"White Queen, White Knight, take care of the weather witch."
Emma and Betsy slid off their tables. Ororo fell to the ground from their combined telepathic attack.
"Black Knight, White King, take out the others. Black Rook, come with me. We need to awaken our other members."
Selene and Kurt walked through the hole to Sebastian.
Jean and Warren flew into the air and began attacking Peter, Logan, Shiro, and Sean.
Scott Summers, a voice rang through the pain.
"What?" he asked.
Don't talk out loud. I'm going to move to your left. When I get there, I'll allow you to shoot a beam behind me. If I aim it right, it'll hit Leland.
The pain eased, but Scott's vocal chords still vibrated with screams. He opened his eyes and saw the telepathic girl wink.
Tessa? he asked. How do I know that?
A mind link works both ways. You can call me Sage. I know Professor Xavier.
Sage shuffled to the left, Scott followed her.
Now!
Scott lifted his glasses and his full energy shot over Sage's shoulder, hitting Harry in the face. Hank rose to his feet.
Good, Sage said. Eli will be harder.
What about Jean?
She's trapped in Mastermind's illusion.
How do we snap them out?
In answer to his question, Sage reached out to Hank. He flew into the air and pounced on top of Mastermind. The attacking X-Men shook the illusions out of their eyes.
Eli was still fighting Victor and Kitty. A massive finger tapped his shoulder. Eli turned around to see Peter pull his fist back.
"Alloy," Victor whispered.
Peter's metal skin sparkled in the limited light even more. His fist collided with Eli's face, odd tendrils of smoke rose from the collision.
Your friend, Sage thought, remembering Kurt.
The X-Men ran into the other room. Selene was holding Kurt by his neck. Gold energy swirled into her.
"Bamf!" Victor called.
Kurt disappeared in his puff of smoke.
"Beast, Shadowcat, get the kids!" Scott ordered. Hank and Kitty raced over to the consoles. "Emma, make sure they're not brainwashed."
"You can't beat us," Selene said. Sebastian and Donald walked into the room.
"Cyke, there's something about Pierce," Logan warned.
"I know, he's a cyborg."
"Naw. He's a Sentinel."
Pierce laughed. His eyes glowed red and a beam of light shot from them, scattering the X-Men.
Scott shot his own beam at Pierce who flew into the air with rockets in his feet. Jean and Betsy tried to use telepathy against Selene, but the vampiric mutant's mind was slippery. But the worst fight was the one everyone else was waging against Sebastian. Each time one of them would hit him, he'd hit five times stronger.
"He absorbs kinetic energy," Victor told them after sliding away from the mutant's swipe.
"What are we going to do?" Ororo asked.
Victor looked over at Selene.
"Get me close to him," he said.
Ororo flew into the air, her eyes glowing white. The wind started picking up in the room. Her dress flapped around her body faster and faster. She focused the currents into a tunnel aimed at Sebastian. He tried to walk in the wind tunnel, but he move in place. His power was at a standstill.
Victor ran around behind Sebastian. Sebastian turned around, still walking backwards, and swiped at Victor. He hit him in the jaw, but the blow that should've sent him flying caused his muscles to grow, popping a few seams in his suit.
"I'm full of surprises," Victor smirked.
He dodged another of Sebastian's blows and placed his hand on Sebastian's hairy chest. Gold energy swirled from Sebastian into Victor. The mutant's muscles deflated and he seemed to get younger as his power left. Victor removed his hand and Sebastian fell to the ground.
Ororo turned off her wind and landed beside him.
"Vic, you okay?" she asked.
He nodded. When he looked up, his eyes were completely black.
"Selene now," he said, his mouth producing two voices.
"How? She's too powerful."
Victor looked at Pierce.
"Sentinel Override," he said.
Sparks flew out of Pierce's head. He looked at Selene.
"Mutant threat detected," he muttered.
Beams shot from his hands and eyes at Selene. She flew into the console where Hank and Kitty were pushing random buttons. They dove out of the way and she hit the machine. The blue liquid drained from the pods and the glass slid open. Peter rushed forward and grabbed his sister, a small girl with blonde hair.
"Pe-Piotr," she moaned.
"I am here, Little Snowflake," he whispered in Russian.
"Peter, I have something to tell you." Illyana chose English.
"What is it?"
"I'm a mutant like you."
Peter laughed, a tear pushing out of his metal eyes.
"I'm proud of you, my X-Men," Charles said during their meeting in the Common Room. All the students were sitting around him including a few new ones. Moira stood to his side and Logan leaned against the wall on the other side. "You have proven yourselves heroes time and time again. Especially you, Peter. It would've been too easy for you to pulverize the Hellfire Club, but you didn't, making you a good X-Man and a great brother. Donald Pierce, Sebastian Shaw, and Harold Leland have been turned over to the authorities. Unfortunately, Selene and her assistant, Elphias Bard, have escaped. It warms my heart when I see more students come back. I welcome you all to stay unless you feel you're needed elsewhere."
No one moved. Charles looked over at Sage with the new mutants. The Native American girl and the blond boy stole glances at each other. The Brazilian boy was staring at one of the blonde girls. He looked at the new students. Sean and his sister, Theresa, sat beside Veronica Darkwood. Illyana constantly smiled at Kitty who was holding Peter's hand.
"I think we're going to need more bedrooms, Moira," he laughed.
Emma prepared her room for the roommate that was forced upon her. She took her clothes out of the second closet and folded them into the dresser on her half of the room.
A knock rang from the door.
"It's about time," she breathed opening the door. She was shocked to find it was Victor leaning against the door frame. "What do you want?"
"I want to talk to you." He pushed off the frame and walked into the room.
"About what?"
"About us."
She gave him a polite smile.
"There is no us. That was a one time thing."
"You know what I can do, Emma. I know what's really going on in your head."
"That's against Xavier's rules." She furiously threw a bra into the drawer, obviously angry that she was on the receiving end of telepathic intrusion.
"I'm not reading your mind. You, unintentionally, made a mind-link."
"A what?"
"When a telepath has deep positive emotions for someone, they form a bond that spans over galaxies. They usually just appear. Jean shares one with Scott, Betsy with Warren, even Professor Xavier has one with Moira."
"And how do you know all this?"
"Magic."
"Please. There's no such thing as magic."
"Yes there is. That's my mutation. That and genetic shape-shifting."
Emma stopped folding in annoyance. "Why are you here, Victor?" She turned around and his lips connected with hers. Static surged at their skin contact.
The door opened and they pulled apart. Sage, Emma's roommate smiled as Victor walked past her.
Emma and my OC, Victor Darkwood, are an item now.
Next Chapter: Magneto's plot is finally revealed.
Be prepared for more of the Brotherhood.