Aaand we're back! It's been a while, hasn't it? I've missed you guys, how've you been? I've been great.

So, back in the Mimic and Storm chapter 2020 had barely started, and I said something along the lines of the year can only go up if you had a bad start. Well, I'm man enough to admit, I was wrong. Let's hope nothing too crazy happens throughout this whole fiasco. By the way, I found out recently that Pyro's name is pronounced Sinjin! Always thought it was said like it was spelled.

I think I'm gonna hop back on Final Fantasy XIV. Yeah, I will, it'll be fun.

That's enough from me up here, let's get on with the story, yeah?


Asteroid M

These past few days have been tense, to say the least.

After our return, the students came into the hangar asking what was gonna happen next. Thankfully Hank already had a plan: the student's whose parents were still in their lives would go home, if possible, they'd take some of the less fortunate students with them. Problem was there's more students without homes than with. Thankfully I have a big house. After calling Mom and Dad they were more than willing to take in some of the other kids. Student problems are now sorted out. Mostly.

Theresa was adamantly against leaving, after all, she just met her father. Thankfully Sean was able to explain the situation to her, she's now staying at my place.

For the rest of the day we were making plan on top of plan on what to do next.

The next day Hank and I began to make the suits for everyone else. It's a good thing Kurt and Shiro already have suits, so all we had to do was upgrade them. While we were doing this the others went into the danger room for the first time. Honestly kinda angry I didn't get to see their reactions.

It was the middle of the night when we finished making all of the suits.

The next day we continued planning as the others put on their suits. Kitty, Remy, Rogue, and Jubilee's suits look just like how they described back at Germany.

The bottom half of Kitty's suit is black with golden boots. The top half is black on the outside with a yellow-gold inside, the shoulders stick out a bit, like Vegeta's armor when he first appeared, and she has yellow gloves. The X symbol is on her belt.

The bottom half of Remy's suit is also black with silver boots that reach up to his knees, black X's on the knees. The sides of the suit are silver and black while the chest down to his abs is purple. He also has the stylistic black circle that breaks on his chest to make a purple X. He also has a red belt buckle with an X on it. He has the same cowl as Jean, Scott, and Warren. He has gloves that are fingerless on the thumbs and index and pinky fingers with his trench coat over it all. Remy also uses a staff that can channel his powers so that it doesn't explode, instead whatever he hits with the staff gets hit with an explosion.

Rogue's suit is primarily green and yellow. The outside of her suit is green while the inside is yellow. She also has the stylistic circle that breaks into a yellow X on the left side of her chest, knee-high yellow boots, and yellow gloves, a brown leather belt with a red X hanging diagonally around her waist. She wears a green headband and her bomber jacket over the top, two X symbols stitched into the shoulders.

Jubilee wears black knee-high boots, the rest of the bottom part of her suit is blue. The top half is pink with black designs, a yellow X in the center of her chest. The shoulders and her gloves are pink while the sleeves are black. She still wears her pink glasses and her yellow trench coat, an X symbol stitched on the back.

Piotr's suit is red and yellow. He wears red boots; his pants have yellow knees and are red on top. The top half of his costume is a red inside with yellow outsides, the shoulders stick out as well. He wears red, yellow, then red again wristbands.

Betsy's suit is pretty much a one-piece dark purple lightly armored swimsuit with thigh high boots and shoulder high gloves, some bands on each limb. A white X across her chest and a red sash around her waist. Her suit catches Warren's attention.

Sean's suit is almost exactly like Theresa's. Dark green pants, yellow boots, and a dark green and bright yellow top, the yellow is in a V style with high collars, a black X in the center of his chest. Under his arms are yellow and dark green wings, the pattern looks like a target honestly. I don't say that to him, of course.

Once the costumes are complete Hank and I finally put our full attention on making the Blackbird space capable.

Easier said than done.

It takes a while. Hank points out that it's entirely possible we could get it done in five days instead of seven if we pull all-nighters, but Scott shoots that idea down, saying we need to have all our energy if we're going to rescue Forge and the Professor.

As Hank and I upgrade the Blackbird the others continue their training, getting used to fighting alongside each other. Whenever possible they would help upgrade the jet, Piotr and John especially.

Thanks to Warren's connections we were able to get materials needed to make the jet space capable, although we didn't get them through…traditional means.

On one particular night we all sit around the table within the dining hall of the school, some holographic screens showing the profiles of the known members of the Brotherhood and the footage of the new ones.

"These are the original members of the Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy: Magneto, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Mystique, Destiny, Mastermind, Blob, and Pyro," Scott begins.

Bobby groans in annoyance. "Ugh, Pyro, I hate that guy."

A guy around fifteen to sixteen years old is shown. He wears yellow boots, red pants, the top of his suit is yellow, with a red chest piece over it, a red and orange flame on it. He wears a cowl, two protective lenses over his eyes. His arms are red, except for the shoulders, elbows, and gloves, which are yellow. A red tank is on his back, two tubes from the tank run over to the end of his wrists.

"Real name, St. John Allerdyce. His powers let him control flame, although he can't create it, so he has flamethrowers attached to his back," Scott explains. "Next we have Blob."

A giant sphere in the shape of a man. He wears a navy-blue tank top and shorts, he also wears yellow boots, yellow wristbands, and a yellow belt.

"He sure does look like one," Betsy comments.

"Vait, I've heard of him, he used to be a part of a carnival, ja?" Kurt says.

"Yes. His powers are mainly superhuman durability and strength. He can also absorb any physical impact, meaning psychic or projectile attacks are our best bet. He's also able to alter his mass to become even heavier and next to impossible to move. Next up is Mastermind," Scott continues.

"This guy. He's fun," I add.

"Nolan and I have run into him earlier this year. Jason Wyngarde. He's a telepath, but he excels in creating mental illusions more than any other telepathic skill. If we have to split up be sure to have a telepath on your team," Scott says.

"Mystique, otherwise known as Raven Darkholme and a whole bunch of other names. Some of us have had run ins with her, so we know her powers, shapeshifting. She's extremely dangerous and has combat skills that make her one of the deadlier members of the Brotherhood," Scott says.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Rogue shrink in her seat, a look of pain clear in her eyes.

The next picture is of a woman in a full two different shades of blue suit, a golden mask shaped like a face over her face. The body of her suit and inside of her cape are a light shade of blue while everything else is dark blue, including the helmet that extends up, it reminds me of the stereotypical alien heads honestly.

"Next up is Destiny, otherwise known as Irene Adler-"

"Irene?" Rogue wonders aloud.

"You know her?" Scott asks.

"Yeah, she was mah…foster mother? Her and Mystique were together, long before they took me. She disappeared a year ago, Ah haven't seen her since," Rogue answers.

"Well, last time we fought the Brotherhood, Destiny escaped, I think Magneto wanted her to do something else," Jean says.

"What're her powers?" Jubilee asks.

"She's a precog, meaning she can see into the future. It's annoying, to be completely honest. Thankfully she isn't the best at fighting, but she's still dangerous, so don't have your guard down when fighting her," Scott warns.

"And Mystique's always nearby, so be extra careful," Logan adds.

An attractive girl around sixteen years old is next shown. She wears a black and scarlet red suit. A cape starting from her shoulders and a scarlet red headpiece over her head.

"Scarlet Witch, or Wanda Maximoff, the daughter of Magneto. Her powers are…confusing. She can fire red bolts of energy, and she's capable of low-level magic, and can affect luck. She's one of the more dangerous members as well," Scott says.

Then comes the asshole himself. He looks to be the same age as his sister, although he has silver hair. His suit is blue and silver, and he has an insufferable smirk on his face.

"Then we've got her twin brother, Quicksilver, real name, Pietro Maximoff. He was in Germany, that blue and silver blur? That was him. He has superspeed, but he's also arrogant and eager to prove himself, use that to your advantage," Scott points out.

A tall, muscular man is then shown. He wears armor, the bottom half is red with purple and red boots, the inside of the thighs is purple, and a purple belt separates the top and bottom half of his armor. The top half is red with some purple designs on the sides, a purple cape on his back. He wears an interesting red and purple helmet.

"And finally, the big man himself, Erik Lehnsherr. Magneto. His powers are of magnetism. Hell, he calls himself the Master of Magnetism. He's capable of doing a lot, even the iron in your blood isn't safe from his power, Piotr, Logan, stay away from him," Scott warns.

"Don't gotta tell us twice," Logan says.

"Da," Piotr agrees.

"Kitty, Kurt, anything on Lance and Mortimer?" Scott asks.

"Right. Lance Alvers, not sure what he's calling himself now. His powers let him create earthquakes no matter where he is. He does get angry easily, so use that how you will," Kitty explains.

"I've been wondering something: they're in an asteroid, right? What use is Lance gonna be then? I mean, if he goes all out chances are, he's gonna space all of us, and I'm not sure any of us can survive in space," I say.

"I can," Piotr says, raising his hand.

We all look at him in shock. "Really?" Remy asks.

He nods. "Da. In my steel form I do not need to eat or breath, I've tested it once when I went fishing with my father. Although, it is entirely possible the same cannot be said for space."

Scott nods in astonishment. "I think I have a plan for you," He looks at me. "And you," He then turns to Kurt. "Alright, what about Mortimer?"

"Well, he is called Toad for a reason. His powers make give him the abilities of a toad, he can leap, stick to walls, is incredibly athletic, and has a tongue he can shoot out, although I don't know how far," Kurt says.

"Gross," Jean says.

"Alright, those are the guys we know, what about the others, like that massive runaway train?" Bobby says, pointing at the footage.

Sean snaps his fingers once the camera focuses on the living tank. "Ah, yes! I knew he looked familiar! His name's Cain Marko, he worked with Thomas a lot a couple a' years ago, goes by the Juggernaut,"

"What're his powers?" Scott asks.

"As ye can tell, he's superhumanly powerful, and when he starts movin' nothin' can stop him. Trust me, I've tried," Sean informs us.

"I do see where Sean comes from," Hank says. "No matter what we did, our aptly named Juggernaut just did not stop."

"Okay, that's him. What about the green girl, or the blue energy guy?" Bobby asks, pointing at their section of the footage.

The girl wears a suit that's two shades of green. Honestly, it looks exactly like Scarlet Witch's, just green. The legs of her suit are light green, while the rest is dark green. Interestingly enough her hair is also green.

"The girl is the one I find more concerning. Her powers are extremely similar to Magneto's, she is capable of magnetism to an immense degree, although, not as well as he," Hank says.

"That's not all," John chimes in. "She and Scarlet Witch were fighting nearby each other, I heard Scarlet Witch call her sister."

Logan groans in annoyance. "Meaning Magneto has a third kid. Great."

"And she has magnetism powers too, so, stay away from her also, yeah?" John says.

The guy is then shown. His suit is pitch black, the only color being the silver circle on his chest and the three silver arches on his cowl that go from the back of his head to meet in the center of his forehead.

"The boy on the other hand is interesting. His powers seem to be controlled by the circular device on his chest, with it he fires a powerful blue blast of energy that can either act as a laser and cut through steel or be a concussive force," Hank says.

Bobby looks at the footage, leaning his face on one of his hands as he takes a drink of soda. "His powers kinda remind me of yours, Scott."

"Really?" Scott asks. "I don't see the resemblance."

"There's still Victor Creed," Logan growls.

The footage finally focuses on the final person.

This guy's huge. I mean, in the recording he's crouching most of the time, but you can just tell he's a massive guy when he stands up straight. His suit's golden-yellow, the top half has some brown designs. Two brown claw marks on either side and a brown V from his neck to his stomach. He also has a giant fur collar that starts goes along the V, starting at his chest.

"Any relation to Graydon Creed?" Jean asks.

"Yeah, he's his kid. Mystique's the mom," Logan says.

Bobby spits out his drink in shock before coughing violently, John slaps his back. "Thanks, John. Hold up, how the hell is that," He points at Creed then pulls up a picture of Graydon Creed and puts them side to side. "Related to this!?"

"And there's the fact that Mystique is his mother. I find that hard to believe, she doesn't seem like the type to make a good mother," Kurt comments.

"She was…okay. She did her best, but now I see she just wanted to sway me to join the Brotherhood," Rogue says.

"Possible. Logan, what are Creed's powers?" Scott asks.

"His powers are like mine, low-level superhuman strength, superhuman senses. He's got some sharp fangs and claws for nails. He's also got an accelerated regenerative healing factor. So, if you see him, don't hold back. If you do, that'll be the end of you," Logan warns.

"Right, so. We've got Magneto, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Mystique, Mastermind, Blob, Pyro, Juggernaut, blue energy boy, green haired Magneto girl, and Victor Creed. Did we miss anyone?" I say.

"Creed calls himself Sabretooth," Logan says.

"Sabretooth. Nice."

"When they left, Magneto said there was more of them on Asteroid M, we're not sure how many though," Warren says.

"Got it. We need to prepare for everything, tomorrow we'll make our plans. Dismissed," Scott gets up and heads to who knows where.

Ororo and Jean get up together and head to Ororo's garden. Hm, don't know why, but 'Ro seems to be really messed up about this. Why?

"She and Forge started dating a little over a month ago," Jean tells me.

"Oh. Well, even more reason to get our friends back then," I reply. The connection then cuts off.

Everyone else goes to do their own thing. As he's leaving Hank puts his hand on my shoulder. "I'll be in the hangar, double checking our progress. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Hank," I reply.

Now it's just us younger kids. Bobby, Kitty, Remy, Rogue, Jubilee, and Kurt.

"Wow," Jubilee breaths in awe. "We're really going to fight the Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy. Gotta say, one hell of a first week here, I bet we made a new record," She has a victorious smirk.

"Actually, Nolan holds that record," Bobby says.

Jubilee looks at me with narrowed eyes, the others do too with less narrowed eyes. "Explain," She demands.

"After my first day here Mister Sinister attacked. So, unless the school's attacked before someone even gets through the school day, I hold the record," I puff my chest and slap it a couple of times.

"You shouldn't be proud of that," Kurt says.

I deflate. "Yeah, you're right," I look at the holograms of the Brotherhood, a smile growing on my face. "You know, I can see one positive coming out of this."

"What's that, mon ami?" Remy asks.

"I get a fuck ton of powers out of this."

"That you do," Kitty hugs me, it takes a moment for me to compute things, but once I do, I hug back. "Goodnight, Nol. Goodnight guys."

Eventually everyone else but Rogue leaves, leaving the two of us alone in the dining room. I guess she wants to talk about Muir Island.

She nervously rubs her arm as she looks anywhere but me. "Nolan, about what happened at Muir Island," She sighs in annoyance before standing straight and looking me in the eyes. "What do ya mean, "Ah don't want control"?"

Right. That. I take a thinker's pose as I think up how to come at this. Got it. I snap my fingers and look at her. "When'd your powers activate? And what were you doing?"

"Well, Ah was kissing a boy, Cody. Mah powers activated then. For a week Ah had his memories, it was awful," She answers.

"I see. That leads me to my next question: did you want to kiss Cody?" I ask.

She blushes and steps back in shock. "W-what? What does that have to do with anything!?"

I walk forward and put my hands on her shoulders. "Rogue. Rogue, Rogue, Rogue. C'mon, we're both adults here, we can have a conversation about our love lives without it being awkward, yeah?"

She gives me a blank look. "Nolan, how old are you?"

"Thirteen. Or fourteen, maybe. What day is it?"

"It's November eighth."

"Holy shit, I turn fourteen in three days," I shake my head. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Ah'm fourteen. We aren't adults for another four years. Your argument's invalid," She says.

"Your trying to get me off track, but it won't work," I get a serious face again. "Look, let me ask again. Did you want to kiss Cody?"

Her eyes look between me and the ground for a bit, eventually she looks at me. "No. Not really. Ah mean, he's cute, but that wasn't what Ah wanted," Her eyes widen in shock. "Oh, mah God. Are you thinkin' my powers are a defense mechanism?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking. Look, I'm gonna go to sleep, you should to. If you wanna talk tomorrow morning, then you know where to find me. Goodnight, Rogue," I quickly hug her before turning around.

"Yeah," She whispers. "Goodnight."


The next morning, we all come back to the dining room, making plans of attack. "Do we know where this Asteroid M is?" Piotr asks.

Hank shows a holographic display of the world, the moon nearby. A red circle is seen between the two, the words "Asteroid M" next to it. "Currently the Brotherhood's base of operations floats over the Indian Ocean, although recent data shows the base is moving."

"Which way?" Jubilee asks.

"That's what concerns me the most. If my data is correct, then Asteroid M should be above the north pole by the end of next week," Hank answers.

"Is Magneto really that powerful? I mean, Asteroid M looks like it's barely in Earth's orbit, how's he gonna affect the north pole?" I wonder aloud.

"The magnetic field of the poles is far more powerful than anywhere else on the planet. It is entirely possible Magneto's powers will be far greater when the base reaches its target destination," Hank theorizes.

"Then we've gotta stop it while it's still above the Indian Ocean," Scott states. He looks around at the team. "Bobby, Kitty, Jubilee, Shiro, and Kurt, I want the five of you to take out the asteroid's engine system, can I count on you?"

They all nod, Bobby stands in front of the group, a rare, but welcome, serious look on his face. "Of course, Slim."

"Logan and Betsy, I want the two of you to look for Forge and the Professor. With your skills you can easily sneak through the base, and your powers would let you find them easier than most of us can," Scott orders.

Logan grunts.

Betsy nods. "You can count on us."

"And the eleven of us will take on Magneto and the Brotherhood," I finish.

Scott nods. "That's the plan," He then looks between Hank and me. "How're the upgrades on the Blackbird looking?"

Hank wipes his glasses clean as he answers. "Things are going as planned, two days from now she will be space capable."

"Yeah, and the help from the Fantastic Four and the materials from Worthington Industries have been great in helping," I add.

The TV in the recreational area turns on. We all get up to see what's going on. On the screen we see Magneto sitting on a throne, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch on either side. "Greetings, Earth, my name is Magneto, and this is a message to my mutant brothers and sisters," He begins.

"This world, this Earth, has been tainted for far too long by the scourge known as humanity. It is time for us to take the planet, for us to become the rightful species of our beautiful home. It is time for us to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!" He gets up and marches towards the camera. "They have built weapons to suppress us, to force us to hide. To kill our children. Well, I say no more! As a warning to any human who attempts to attack let me show you a fraction of my power."

We feel everything shake, all the metal in the building rumbles in place. Logan shakes violently as he actually floats off the ground. Not by much, maybe only a inch or two, but it's still noticeable. Eventually the shaking stops.

Magneto lowers his arm and continues. "By the end of next week, the world will be drastically changed, for the better. Magneto out." The TV turns off.

We stand around in silence, absorbing what Magneto just announced.

Eventually Sean breaks the silence. "He's a dramatic one, isn't he?"

"Da. I cannot wait to knock some sense into him," Piotr agrees.

"Uh, big guy? He can control metal, remember? I mean, did you already forget what just happened?" Kitty points out.

He smirks as he flexes. "I do not need to be in my metal form to cause damage, Katya."

Scott steps back. "We need more training. C'mon, to the danger room, we've got to work on team synergy."

We spend the rest of the day training. It's a bitch.


One. More. Day.

That's all we need, then it's off to space for the X-Men. Man, I can't wait to tell Peter, Gwen, and Harry all about my adventures, I mean, I'm not really sure if secret identities even matter for superhero teams. The Fantastic Four went public immediately and the Avengers all have public identities. So, sooner or later our identities have to be public, right? And when they are, I'm totally gonna rub it in Peter's face that I went to space before he did.

A small metal bar hits me over my head, taking me out of my daydream. I look over to see Hank mischievously smiling. "You know, if we don't get this done then we won't be able to go to space, correct?"

I rub my head and chuckle as I use some of the machines to move the heavier machinery. "Yeah, yeah, I got it, Hank," I carefully insert the important machinery into the back of the slowly improving Blackbird, eventually it locks into place. I then check the computer to see all green lights. "Life support is successfully implemented," I announce.

Hank places a hand on my shoulder. The two of us look at the jet, basking in its glory. "Well done my young friend," He has a far away look in his eyes. "You know, Forge created the Blackbird the team was even formed, once he joined, he and I upgraded it together. Great times."

"I've been wondering about that," I begin. "Forge knew the Professor before anyone else, right? So, why wasn't The Five known as The Six?"

Storm steps forward. "Forge had some things to take care of, that's why he wasn't on the team from the start. When the Professor was looking for the new recruits Forge was the first one," Her eyes go white as little tornadoes appear over her arms. "Are you ready?"

"A moment, please," Hank turns to the console and opens the recording app. "Test one, Nolan and I will be in the Blackbird as Ororo creates a vacuum, testing the integrity of the ship and the life support system." Hank turns to me and nods.

The two of us enter the jet. Once the door closes, I see Ororo extend her arms, the console on the dash reports the lack of oxygen. "So far, so good," I comment.

A bag of popcorn appears in front of me and a YouTube video starts playing. It's thirty minutes long. I turn to Hank to see him already eating some of his popcorn. "We are going to be here for quite some time, may as well enjoy it."

And for the next thirty minutes Hank and I watch some random videos, eventually a timer goes off. I telepathically reach out to Ororo. "Alright, 'Ro, we're looking good here. Thanks for helping us test out the jet."

"Of course," She replies. The dash reports on the slow return of oxygen.

I decide to say one more thing before cutting off the connection. "Don't worry, we'll rescue Forge and the Professor, they're tough guys."

"Thank you, Nolan." She cuts off the connection instead.

Hank and I move into the next room, which is now the cargo bay, once the ramp lowers, we walk out of the Blackbird. Walking into the hangar we see Scott, Jean, and Piotr standing next to Ororo, Jean steps forward. "How're the upgrades looking?"

"Everything is going as planned, all that's left is to add some smaller, but still important, upgrades and then the Blackbird will be space capable," Hank boasts. "Nolan here has been great at helping."

"Right back at ya, Hank," I hold my fist out for a fist bump, which Hank reciprocates.

"Good job you two, we wouldn't be able to do this without you," Scott compliments. "Nolan, remember what I said yesterday?"

I look at Piotr, which brings back the specific memory Scott is talking about. "Yeah, you have a plan for me and Piotr. What is it?"

Jean and Scott have matching smirks. Smirks which I don't like. The last time Jean had that smirk she telekinetically lifted me up to the roof of the school to spy on Ororo, I was nearly blasted by her lightning. Piotr looks between the couple and me, a confused look on his face. He then leans towards me. "Should I be worried?"

I pat his shoulder. "You should be."

"Ororo, we're gonna need your help, too," Scott says. Said girl nods and walks with us.

Once in the danger room Scott messes with some functions. The walls of the room move around and stand in a straight line, one section of the wall after another. I'm really not liking where this is going.

Scott turns to Piotr. "You said you don't need to breath in your metal form?"

"Da. One time I stayed underwater for five hours, the only reason I got up was because my father wanted me to help on the farm. Why?" Piotr asks.

Scott just smirks. "Transform into your metal form, both of you."

Once we do, I feel Jean's telekinetic grip, the two of us are lifted up and put in a position that makes us look like two human shaped metal arrows. Yup, that went where I thought it would.

"You two ready?" Jean asks, an excited glint in her eyes.

I sigh as I raise my arms up in a defensive position. "You're way too excited for this, Red."

"Of course, I am, when else will I ever get to shoot two metal human shaped bullets at an asteroid in orbit? On that note, when will the two of you ever be bullets again?" Jean says, adding her own logic to her reply.

Huh, gotta give her that one, may as well get into i-OOOOH SHIT!

Piotr and I are launched through the tiles, I feel them break under my weight and the power put into the throw by Jean, but it doesn't hurt. We are then stopped an inch from the wall. Thank all the gods for that, I'd rather not have half my body in the danger room, thank you very much.

"Sooo, was it any fun?" Jean asks.

Piotr and I look at her, back at each other, nod, then back to her. We both give her a thumbs up. She squeals and jumps around. She's way to excited about this.

"Why am I here, Scott?" Storm asks.

"Glad you asked. The asteroid's in space, meaning there isn't going to be any air, I want you to create a vacuum, that way we can properly see what's needed for Jean's…opening salvo," Scott answers.

Ororo nods as her eyes turn white, tornadoes once again appearing over her arms. "You would do well to stand behind me."

Piotr looks at the debris. "What will we fly through? The tiles have all been destroyed."

Scott presses some buttons; the pieces of tile all repair themselves. Piotr makes a noise of surprise before moving back into position, I follow him. Once again, we feel Jean's telekinetic grip over us, we are then launched forward, but this time at a much faster speed.

We, uh…get embedded halfway into the opposite wall before Jean stops us.

We get pulled out of the wall as Jean laughs hysterically. I can see an impressed look on Scott's face and a light grin on Ororo's. We're never gonna live this done, are we? Especially with Jean in the equation.

Piotr shifts back to normal as he walks towards Scott. "Scott, I was hoping to call my family, is now a good time?"

Scott thinks for a moment before shaking his head. "No. With the way things are right now we need to focus on this plan."

Piotr narrows his eyes in annoyance. "But I promised them I would call as soon as possible. Illyana is probably worried sick that I haven't called in over a month now."

"Piotr, you can call them after we deal with the Brotherhood, we can't afford any distractions," Scott tries to rationalize.

Piotr marches forward, I get in his way, stopping him from looming over Scott. "I am sorry, did you call my family a "distraction"? They are not distractions! I do this for them! Now, let. Me. Call. Them."

Scott opens his mouth to argue, but Jean places a hand on his shoulder. He looks at her as they have a silent conversation. He sighs before stepping to the side. "Come back when you're done, okay?"

Piotr just nods as he walks by.

"Scott," I begin. "Do we know anything about Asteroid M's make up? Engine room, hangar, control room. Things like that?"

He sighs as he rubs his head. "No, not really. The data we got from Mastermind was only the prototype of a specific room. Honestly it reminded me of Cerebro, which has me worried."

"Which would explain why they took Forge. With his powers Magneto's Cerebro would be made in no time," Ororo chimes in.

"Would being in orbit help his Cerebro in anyway?" I wonder.

Jean hums as she taps her chin with her index finger. "It could. Look at it like this, by being in orbit his Cerebro can scan the Earth at a far faster rate than ours, meaning the Brotherhood could find new mutants before we even know they exist."

"That doesn't sound good," I whisper in shock.

"No, which is why we've gotta stop them, rescue the Professor and Forge, and destroy their base," Scott says, slamming his fist into his open palm.

Piotr then walks into the danger room, a confused look on his face. "You okay, Piotr?" Jean asks.

He jumps, as if he didn't know Jean was there. "Y-yes," He sighs deeply as he slumps in place. "No. I tried calling home many times, but no one picked up. I am worried."

Jean places a comforting hand on his massive arm. "Maybe they're busy? You did live on a farm, after all."

Piotr nods. "Da, but around this time there would always be someone not doing anything, they would be the one to pick up the phone."

"Did you factor in for time zones? I'm pretty sure it's late at night in Russia right now," I say.

He nods again. "At this time my parents are still up," He looks down. "I am worried."

"After this is all over you can go and check it out, alright?" Scott offers.

Piotr slightly bows his head. "Thank you, comrade," He then raises his head and activates his steel form. He looks down at me, a grin on his face. "Well, let us be human bullets, Nolan!"

I activate my steel form and reach out for a fist bump, which he reciprocates. "Yeah, let's."

For the next couple of hours Piotr and I live the dream of becoming human bullets. It's fun. I'd recommend it, but, well, not everyone can transform into an organic steel form now, can they?

It's pretty late. Right now, Rogue, Remy, Jubilee, Kitty, Bobby, Kurt, and I are hanging out in the lounge, playing some Uno to help us calm down. Rogue just put down a plus four card, expecting it to work on me, I just smirk and place down my own plus four, forcing Bobby to draw eight.

As he grumbles in annoyance, I change the color. "Green."

Jubilee glares at me from across the table as it's her turn to play, but she doesn't have a green card, so she draws until she matches. After drawing an obscene amount of cards, she finally places one down. She slams her cards face down as she points accusingly at me. "How do we know you aren't cheating? For all we know you're using your telepathy to know what cards we have," She accuses.

I just give her a blank stare as I point a finger at her cup, a blast of ice freezes it. I'm currently in my ice form. Before we started playing the topic of my powers came up, to alleviate the concerns I promised to stay in my ice form the entire time.

Jubilee picks her cards back up as she hides behind them, the only thing visible being from her eyes up. "Still think your cheating," She grumbles.

"Suuure I am," I sarcastically reply, eye roll included.

"Uno!" Kitty shouts.

We all stare at her in shock. This entire game she has been eerily quiet, guess we know why now. Rogue leans to me before she plays her next card. "You got a reverse?"

"Green. Can you screw her over with a green?"

She smirks. "Yes, I can."

She plays a card, after that I play my reverse card. Rogue plays her plus two, and we all look at Kitty, expecting her to draw two. Instead she puts down a blue plus two, winning the game. Remy and Bobby groan in annoyance, Kurt just chuckles, as Jubilee slams her cards down and takes a giant gulp of her ice-cold soda.

"Damn, shoulda seen that one comin'," Rogue mutters.

We all lean back and relax as Bobby puts the deck away. Looking at the clock I realize we gotta go to sleep soon, Scott wants us to get to Asteroid M immediately after we get ready, so it wouldn't help if we stayed up all night.

"Do you really think we're ready?" Jubilee asks. We all look at her, to our surprise she looks scared, which reminds me that she's the youngest one on the team. Damn, how could I forget that?

Remy places a comforting hand on her shoulder as he has a calming smile on his face. "Don't you worry about a thin, mon ami. As long as we all stick together no one can beat us. Besides, we got two full-fledged X-Men on our side as well. Things are gonna be fine."

"Remy's right," I agree. "Although I never fought the Brotherhood, only some of them. If anything, Bobby's the one you should look to."

Bobby has a rare serious look on his face. "Just be careful with them, especially Magneto, but if you want to retreat then do it, no one's gonna judge you. Hell, Logan least of all."

"Ja, vhat vith his metal skeleton and all. Piotr should do the same," Kurt comments.

"Even without metal skeletons or bodies Magneto's still powerful," Bobby warns. "We have some iron in our blood, he can control even that. So, be careful still, got it?"

They all nod. "Got it."

As we all sit in a comfortable silence Logan comes downstairs and heads straight towards the fridge. Once he opens it, he begins to forage around, looking for beer no doubt. He growls before turning around to face us. "Where's my beer?"

Bobby laughs, much to Logan's annoyance. "Dude, this is a school, we don't have beer here."

"Yeah," I chime in. "Besides, what about the beer in your room? You've got a private fridge, use that one."

"I finished it all."

"Why don't you go out to buy more then?" Jubilee asks.

He grunts as he glares out the window. "Slim wants us to all stay here, something about "unity in adversity". Bullshit if you ask me."

Bobby and I look at each other confused. I then turn and grin at Logan. "Okay, that's great and all, but when have you ever listened to Scott outside of fights?"

Logan smirks at that, but then his smirk becomes a frown. "You'd be right about that, but now I gotta be a role model," He then fixes a pointed glare at Remy and Jubilee. "More for some of you."

Jubilee glares back. "Hey! I'll be fine even if you aren't my role model! Ya got that, hair ball?"

What the hell? We all look at Jubilee as if she lost her mind. We then turn to Logan, scared but interested to say where things will go next. For a while the two glare at each other, neither backing down, eventually Logan lets out a laugh, surprising all of us.

Eventually his laughter dies down as he becomes serious again. "Look, tomorrow's gonna be a trial by fire for most of you. Hell, it might still be one for Nolan, and he's fought Mister Sinister," Logan begins. At the mention of my grandfather I rub the shoulder where he sunk his claws in almost a year ago. "But you've got this, I know you do. Just don't overextend and stick with one of us, you'll be alright. See you kids tomorrow."

Logan then heads for the stairs, leaving most of us in shock, me and Bobby especially. Didn't expect that from him if I'm completely honest.

Once Logan goes up the stairs Remy breaks the silence with a loud yawn. "Well, with a pep talk from the Wolverine we're sure to win now, aren't we? Remy's off ta bed now, see all of you tomorrow, yeah?"

Kurt gets up. "I should get going too, don't vant Remy to lock me out of the room again."

Remy rolls his eyes in annoyance as he and Kurt head up the stairs. "That was one time, Kurt. Besides, you got in eventually."

Jubilee then gets up as she throws her can away. "May as well follow their leads," She then smirks. "To my own room, 'cause I don't got a roommate," She boasts.

The rest of us get up, Rogue turns to Kitty and smirks, Kitty blushes in response. Wonder what that was about. Rogue and Jubilee go upstairs. Bobby then goes, patting my shoulder as he does. I then head to the stairs, but before I do Kitty stops me.

"What's up?" I ask.

Her eyes dart around before looking at me with a solid stare. Before I can ask again Kitty kisses me on the lips. It's quick, just a little peck, but it still leaves an effect on me. I-wha-how do I react? "Good night, Nolan," She says. Kitty's then upstairs.

I stand in shock, not sure what to do. I gingerly trace a finger over my lips as the feeling of her lips doesn't go away, my face begins to heat up. Y'know what? I'm gonna ask Kitty on a date after all this is over.

With a grin on my face I head upstairs, ready to face tomorrow head-on.


Well, this is it.

The team's now in the mission room, our suits on, although Wolverine, Sunfire, and Thunderbird don't have their masks on. Beast and Cyclops stand side-by-side as we study a hologram of the asteroid and Earth one more time.

Beast creates a projected trajectory for the Blackbird. "If we follow this path, we'll find the least resistance, from there Marvel Girl can fire her," He pauses to find the right word. "Human bullets."

Sitting right next to me is Shadowcat, who hasn't spoken to me since the kiss last night. She leans forward as she studies the map, resting her head on her hand. "How do we know that's the path of least resistance?"

"Mimic and I have studied it relentlessly, but we can't come up with a proper conclusion," He highlights a section of space between Asteroid M and Earth. "It seems as though this is a magnetic dead space; we can use this to our advantage."

Shadowcat nods as she leans back. She and I make quick eye contact, a light smile grows on my face, which she copies, making my smile grow. We then turn back to Cyclops as he begins to speak.

"The Avengers and Fantastic Four came around earlier," He begins, catching our attention. "They assured us that things on Earth will be covered by them. So, we don't need to worry, Magneto and the Brotherhood are our priority."

"Everyone remember their roles?" Beast asks.

Iceman raises his hand. "Me, Jubilee, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Sunfire will find a way to stop Asteroid M from reaching its goal."

"And Wolverine and I will find the Professor and Forge," Psylocke says.

"The rest of us will take on the Brotherhood," Angel finishes.

Cyclops nods. "Good. Beast, how big's the window for Marvel Girl, Mimic, and Colossus?"

"By my calculations she would have a little more than a minute to launch the two in the hangar bay of the Asteroid," Beast answers.

"How do we know where the hangar bay is?" Sunfire asks.

"Thanks to Tony Stark we were able to use a satellite to study the asteroid," Cyclops says. Footage of the Asteroid is then shown. Damn, it's massive. "The satellite couldn't get to close without getting affected by the magnetic fields, but we were able to find the hangar bay at the very least. It's a tight window, can you do it?"

Marvel Girl smirks as she nods. "I can. The real question is if they can?"

Everyone looks at me and Colossus. The two of us look at each other before nodding. "Da. You can count on us," Colossus answers for the both of us.

"Wait," Gambit interrupts. "Couldn't Nightcrawler just 'port us in?"

He shakes his head. "Nein. Vell, I can, but I'd rather not."

"Why?" Gambit asks.

"My teleportation vorks best vhen I can see vhere I vant to go. If I vere to teleport into the hangar vith someone's it's entirely possible ve could teleport in the same spot as a box. And ve all know vhat they say about two solid objects in the same space..." He trails off, the idea of what would happen clear in our minds.

Gambit looks at him with wide eyes before turning back to the center of the room. "Let's not do dat, yeah?"

Cyclops nods before studying the team, after a minute of silence he takes a deep breath. "Look, this isn't the ideal first mission I'd have for any of you, if you want to back out, now's your chance, no one's going to judge you."

We all stay, not one of us moving.

Cyclops nods as a proud smile begins to grow on his face. "For a lot of you this is your first mission with the X-Men, and to be honest? I'd rather fighting the Brotherhood not be your first, but that's life, you can't control everything."

"Hell, Mimic fought Mister Sinister on his first mission with us," Thunderbird points out.

"Exactly, and he's still here. If he can survive that I know you guys can survive this, but still be careful, even you, Mimic. The Brotherhood's dangerous, don't underestimate any of them for even a second. We're doing this to rescue our friends, I want us all to come back from this. Got it?" Cyclops looks around.

We all give various positive replies. Cyclops claps his hands together. "All right, let's go save Forge and Professor X, shall we?"

He and Beast turn around and exit the room, heading towards the hangar, the rest of us following. I'm in the back, I try to get to Shadowcat, but I see she's busy talking to Thunderbird and Jubilee, so I don't interrupt.

I feel a hand on my shoulder, stopping me. Turning around I see a smirking Psylocke. "Why're you thinking about Shadowcat?" She asks.

I feel my face heat up again. Goddammit. "Hold up, why are you reading my mind?"

She rolls her eyes as she taps two fingers on my forehead, she continues to the Blackbird. "Please, Mimic, I don't have to read your mind to know you're thinking about her. Hell, I'm pretty sure Marvel Girl knows too. So, spill, why's she the only thing on your mind?"

The heat on my face intensifies, memories of the kiss come back. Psylocke lets out a coo as she rubs my hair. "That's actually cute, your first kiss," She sighs dreamily. "I remember mine like it was yesterday. You better be careful though, looks like she's becoming good friends with Storm, and if you break her heart who knows what Storm's gonna do to you," She warns.

I roll my eyes, grateful for her advice, but it isn't necessary. "I'll be fine, Kitty and I have been friends since we were kids, I'd never do anything to hurt her. Besides, it wasn't my first kiss," I mutter.

"I'm sorry, did you say that wasn't your first?"

Stupid. Fucking. Ninja training. "Kitty and I kissed when we were younger, to see all the fuss was about, you know. We got the idea after watching a romance film. Wait a minute, why the hell am I telling you all this?"

"Because I'm now going to assist you in all your romance needs. After we deal with these guys, of course," Psylocke declares, all without my input.

The conversation ends once we enter the jet. The only two seats left being the ones in the back, Psylocke and I take those two seats. Once we buckle in the launching process begins. This is it; the X-Men are off to space.

Everyone's silent as the jet takes off, all of us hyping ourselves up as we prepare for our next big battle, something the team hasn't had since last year.

Hope we aren't rusty.

Huh, just realized, today's November Eleventh.

Happy birthday to me.


It's been a while, hasn't it? Man, things got insane since the last chapter, COVID-19 became a big deal, countries locking down, schools either ending early or temporarily shutting down. The college I go to is gonna do the rest of the semester online, not how I expected my second semester to go, but here we are.

But back to the story. This is an arc I've been excited to write for a while now, mainly because I really want to write characters like Magneto, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and others as compelling instead of portraying them as Saturday morning cartoon villains. Speaking of the twins, in this universe they are Magneto's kids. Honestly, I don't like the retcon, I feel like it spits on decades of character history as if it were nothing. So, yeah, it's staying in this story. By next chapter we'll see the rest of the Brotherhood, can't wait to show you guys the rest of the team.

Quick note: I've started writing a Mortal Kombat fic! It isn't up yet; it might not be up for a while, but I'll post it eventually, once the first arc's complete. I have a plan on how to write it, which will affect this story and The Vitruvian Man from this point on. After each arc the stories won't be updated, all to allow me time to write the next arc, that way I won't have to cram writing sessions in for the last few days before the story gets updated, hope you understand.

That's all from me! Please leave a constructive review and remember to stay awesome! See you next Thursday!