Disclaimer: The X-Men and affiliated people belong to Marvel. Dakota is belongs entirely to me (or I belong entirely to him, I can never remember that part). I am using the X-Men without Marvel's permission. I am making no money for writing this so, do not sue me (cuz I ain't got no money, no money).

Note: All these events take place after Uncanny X-Men #351/X-Men #71. I am also shooting straight from the hip so, I have no idea if this will turn violent in between planned events. This is the basic introduction of Dakota to the X-Men. Feedback is welcome.

italics denote thought

bold denotes an action that causes sound (How else am I going to explain it?)


The First Step - Part 1
Beverly McIntyre

A black cargo van pulled up in front of Xavier's Institute For Higher Learning. It rolled to a stop in front of the mansion that was supposed to be a school. The driver cut off the engine and threw the parking brake on. He leaned forward, over the steering wheel to get a better look at the building. It looked like it had just been through a minor war.

"Are you sure this is the place?" the driver asked the passenger sitting to his right. He glanced over at his friend. The passenger, for his part, leaned back into his plush seat.

"Of course, I'm sure. Where else would it be?" The passenger gestured at the mansion with a four-fingered hand. "Besides, didn't you see the sign back there?"

"Yeah, I saw the sign, but I was too busy to pay attention to it. This place looks a little beat up. Y'know, maybe we should come back after they finish up the repairs." The driver's brown eyes looked at the ragged holes in the side of the building.

"You're not afraid, are you?" The passenger tried to hide his smile.

"I'm not afraid, just concerned. This could be a bad time just to suddenly drop into their lives. I mean I'm not so sure anymore why I came up here." The driver sighed as he leaned back into his seat.

"You came up here to be an X-Man."

"No. Not exactly." I came up here as a favor to Chuckles.

"Close enough. Now are you going to go up there, or do I have to go do this for you?" The driver looked over at his friend, clearly annoyed. He looked right into his friend's light blue eyes and said...

"I'm going. I'm going. But first, how do I look?" The passenger looked at his friend with mock scrutiny. He imitated his friend's mannerism when thinking hard about something. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

The driver sat in his seat, patiently waiting for his friend's judgement. He watched as the passenger looked from his short, black hair to his button down shirt to his best pair of blue jeans to his most comfortable pair of boots.

"Nope. They couldn't tell you're from the Midwest."

"I wasn't asking for a regional forecast. I was asking if this was all right for a first meeting with the X-Men."

"Well, then you should be fine. As long as you don't try to kill them or something, they should like you just fine. Although..."

"Although what?"

"Maybe you should wear a suit or something if you want to impress them." His friend shrugged.

"If you want to go dig my one and only suit out of that mess back there, I'll do it." He hooked his thumb to the boxes of his belongings in the back of the van. "But you know, maybe I shouldn't be asking fashion advice from a guy who wears black leather all the time."

"Maybe not. But you're stalling."

"I'm not stalling. I'm going." The driver opened his door. "Now, wait for me in here. I don't want you wandering around here even if the people who live here know you. Wish me luck."

"I don't have to. When I'm around, you've got all the luck you need." The driver rolled his eyes and began to shut the door. "But Dakota, good luck anyway."

"Thanks" ,Dakota managed to get out before the door shut all the way. Now, here comes the hard part: acceptance.

Dakota turned away from the van and took a deep breath. He had no idea why he was doing this. He had turned Xavier down so many times before this. Why had he said yes this time? Maybe it was the sanitized paper that the letter had came on. Or the code the letter had been written in that let Dakota know that Xavier really needed his help this time. But for some reason, he was now walking towards Xavier's Institute For Higher Learning.

He mounted the steps with ease but paused in front of the door. Was he really doing the right thing? Did these people really need his help as much as Xavier said they did? He looked over his shoulder at his friend. His friend gave an eager thumbs up. Well, here goes nothing.

Knock, knock, knock As he knocked, he remembered he left his jacket back in the van. He thought about running back and getting it when he realized he wasn't really all that cold. It was near the end of December and the temperatures were Spring-like. Must be Storm using her powers.

When the door started to open in front of him, he straightened up and self-consciously smoothed out the front of his shirt. When Sam Guthrie answered the door, he almost sighed in relief. Xavier's file on him was one of the most comprehensive, next to those of the five original X-Men. With Dakota having read all of Xavier's files before coming up to New York, he felt he could at least get somewhere with this kid. Least Chuckles was smart enough to send me a copy of every file as the absolutely last-ditch effort to stay ahead of the game. Smart enough to not tell anyone either. I couldn't deal with all those 'government hounds' breathing down my neck to see that stuff.

"Hello Mr. Guthrie, I'm looking for Scott Summers. Is he here?"

Sam looked a little confused at a total stranger knowing by name. "I'm sorry, sah. He left jus' yesterday." Oookay, this isn't going like planned.

Behind Sam, Dakota could here the sound of hand saws sawing and nails being hammered in.

"Okay, then is Ororo Monroe here?"

Sam looked totally unsure of what to say.

"Samuel, who is at the door?" That regal sounding voice has got to be her.

"This guy here's lookin' for yah or Scott." Sam visibly winced when he realized he had just thrown away his chance to get more information out of Dakota before he let him in. He has to let me in now to speak with her, or he would seem awfully rude. And Southern hospitality just won't let him do that.

"Then let him in." Sam opened the door up the rest of the way and stood aside to let Dakota through. Well, here goes nothing. Dakota stepped through the doorway.

On the other side, he was greeted by a stately woman. Of course, it was hard to look stately in grubby clothing, but she had somehow managed to pull it off. Her file pictures do her no justice.

"Welcome to Xavier's Institute For Higher Learning, Mr. ..."

"Dakota", he supplied for her.

"Mr. Dakota. I'm Ororo Monroe. How can I be of assistance?"

"I need to speak with you privately on a matter dealing with Professor Charles Xavier." There came a low, barely audible gasp from behind Dakota. Apparently, after Sam had shut the door behind Dakota he had stuck around to make sure things were not going to explode into an attack. Storm, for her part, nodded gravely.

"If you'll follow me, Mr. Dakota."