Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men comics or anything else that belongs to Marvel (although I wish I did, hehe), nor any of the characters mentioned in this story. So please, please, please, do not sue me because I am making absolutely NO money off of this!
A/N: Hello! This is my very first X-men fanfic so I'm kind of nervous about writing this, but I'll give it my best shot. This is only the prologue, but there is much more to come and I promise I will update future chapters as soon as I can. I would gladly appreciate it if you would review after you finish reading. I am open to constructive criticism or suggestions, but please, no flames!
Prologue
The sun shown brightly and a cool breeze blew lightly, rustling the branches of the trees. The mansion lay peacefully on a small hill, overlooking the pleasant landscape near Westchester, New York.
Although it was rather peaceful outside the walls of the mansion, it was a completely different atmosphere inside. It was filled with bustling school children hurrying to their classes and teachers scurrying about, preparing their next lesson.
Apart from the regular commotion of the school day, a man sat in the corner of the main room, smiling at the students and teachers as they passed by.
He had built the mansion and intended it to be a school for children who possessed special gifts. They could learn how to control their powers and use them for the better. It was also a safe haven for the gifted children; a place where they wouldn't be considered as 'freaks', but the school served for another purpose. It was the headquarters of the X-men.
Finally, the halls quieted down as the last couple students filed into their classes. The man rolled his way back into his office, but to his surprise he found a man standing there.
"We meet again, Charles." The man said with a devilish grin.
"William…How could you have–"
"That's not important…Although, I am afraid I have some bad news for you, Charles."
Stryker paused for a moment, watching the confused look appear on the Professor's face, but his confusion soon turned into concern when he at last understood.
"You can't!" The Professor cried out.
"This school now belongs to the government."
Suddenly, the door to the office flew open as seven of Stryker's soldiers ran into the room, aiming their guns at the Professor.
"I suggest you step aside, Charles, or we will have to take the school by force."
"You can't do this! I have devoted my entire life's work to this school; to protect the mutants. Where will they turn after –"
"There won't be any mutants once we're through with this school."
And with that, Stryker pulled out a revolver and shot the Professor with dead aim, right between his eyes.
*~*~*~*~*~*
A tall, red-haired woman stood in front of a class full of young mutants. She had been having headaches all throughout the day, but she wasn't quite sure what was causing them. It was common for her to have headaches every now and then, so she tried to forget about it and focus on her students.
"Alright class. Today we will be furthering our knowledge on evolution."
The class heaved a sigh, but continued to listen.
"As we all know, evolution is the key to our mutation, but how can we –"
Suddenly, a sharp pain struck her head. Although she was used to having headaches, she had never experienced a pain like this. She sensed something terrible had happened.
"Ms. Grey?" A student asked worriedly. "Are you alright?"
"Stay here class. I'll be right back." The students flashed each other concerned looks as Jean left the room.
Just as she stepped into the main hall, a loud boom sounded followed by the piercing screams of children. Pieces of the ceiling started falling to the floor as a rush of heat filled the room. Bright orange flames could be seen from above, engulfing everything in its path.
Jean was knocked down to the floor from the blast of the explosion. Shortly after, a heavy wooden beam fell flat on her chest, pinning her to the ground.
She tried to use her telekinesis to move the wooden beam, but no matter how hard she concentrated, it wouldn't budge. It was almost as if her powers were being held back somehow.
As she lay there, panicking students ran through the halls, trying to escape the fiery hell the school had become. Teachers tried to calm the children down, but their fear took over.
No one noticed the trapped woman amongst the confusion and panic. Jean had tried to keep optimistic about the situation. She knew she would somehow make it through this, just as she had made it through so many other terrible situations, but her optimism soon began to dwindle. Her eyes began tearing up. This would be the end.
She could feel the flames gaining ever closer and she was beginning to feel faint from inhaling all the smoke in the air. The noise around her slowly began to fade as everything started to turn black, but in the distance she could hear someone calling her name. The darkness faded and she could feel a hand gently shaking her back to consciousness.
"Jean! Jean!"
She slowly opened her eyes and was met with Logan's gaze. He kneeled beside her; his hand cupped her cheek as he wiped away her tears.
"Jean, I almost thought you were dead. I'm going to try and lift this off of you."
She nodded and watched as Logan gathered all his strength to try and lift wooden beam off of her. Again, it seemed as if some sort of unseen force was holding it down because it remained motionless. Jean knew he wouldn't be able to lift it no matter how hard he tried; no one could.
"Logan, you must go!"
She said hoarsely. She could feel her life force draining from her.
"No! I can't just leave you here to die."
"But time is running out."
The flames were now grazing her legs and once the wooden beam caught on fire, there would be no hope left for Jean.
"No…" He tried to lift the wooden beam again, but was unsuccessful. He wouldn't let her go.
"Logan, time is running out…You've got to get out of here. The X-men need you."
With the last of her strength, she placed her hand on his cheek and smiled. Then she slowly closed her eyes as the flames engulfed her body.
Logan had no choice but to leave Jean and escape from the burning school. He could barely see where he was going because of all the smoke, but he managed to find a door leading outside.
Just before he left, he turned around to take one last look at the woman he was always fond of. Flashes of the first time he met Jean ran through his head and all the other experiences they have had together. His eyes began to welt up as he whispered his last words to her.
"I'll always love you, Jean."
