Chapter 1 - Fish Out of Water
[And in other news, in light of the clash between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin last night in the Forest Hills are of Queens, the public's unrest concerning the mutant phenomenon continues to grow…]
The picture changed to a ranting mob outside the Daily Bugle, heralding Publisher J. Jonah Jameson as a hero, and calling for Spider-Man to be captured and jailed.
I growled and resisted the urge to sink my adamantium claws into the set in front of Peter, who I still hadn't figured out yet. I settled for turning the thing off with the remote, hitting the button harshly. The boy was still grieving, or at least I assumed that was what his silence meant.
What the hell is running through his head?
I sighed mentally.
Now or never.
"So, kid, whaddya think of this whole mutant… thing."
He looked up at me, and a grim smile appeared on his face for a moment.
"I'm not really sure."
He looked down again, and I resisted another urge to grumble. But he looked up after a moment, the look on his face thoughtful.
"I guess that they're like other people I suppose… there are good ones and bad ones. The only difference is that they have more power to express it than other people."
I just stared at him for a second. He arched an eyebrow.
"What?"
I paused for a second before answering; I didn't want to upset the kid.
"I guess I'm kind of… surprised… at that point of view, given everything that's happened to you. Especially…"
He finished for me.
"Spider-Man?"
He laughed then, a short humorless bark of a laugh.
"Yeah."
The thoughtful look came back to his face, along with a lot of grief.
"Spider-Man always tries his best, but sometimes…"
He sighed in defeat, his shoulders slumping.
"Sometimes what?"
He sighed and stared off into space.
"Sometimes a person's best isn't good enough, and I always did have horrible luck."
Well that's a crappy way to think about it…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As we filed into the lounge, I wondered just what was going on. The Professor didn't usually call us all together unless there was a good reason.
I should really be studying for that biology test anyways…
I glanced at Rogue, who shrugged back. She didn't have any idea either. Scott, as usual, was the first to speak up.
"So, what's this about professor?"
What happened next was a little shocking. The Professor was… hesitant. This was a rarity, especially around us. He cleared his throat.
"I am… considering… admitting a new student here, and I'd like your input."
Jean frowned.
"Isn't this the kind of decision you usually make on your own Professor? What do you need us for?"
Spread out on the couch, Evan piped up.
"Yeah, is his power that dangerous? No offense, Rogue."
He glanced in our direction at the last, but returned his gaze to the Professor, who smiled a little back.
"No, quite the opposite, really. And that's why I've called you here."
Okay… something's not adding up here…
I decided to speak up.
"If you want our help determining whether or not he's coming here, why is Mr. Logan already gone? At least, I assume that's where he's gone off to…"
The Professor smiled at me.
"An excellent deduction Kitty. You're quite right. That is where Logan's gone. But that's beside the point. Whether or not the boy comes here, Logan has a responsibility to keep him safe somewhere."
Kurt spoke from his position on the wall.
"Why is that Professor? If his power isn't all that dangerous, why make the decision our priority at all?"
Professor Xavier sighed.
"Kurt… no, no, it's not your fault. I was a little unclear. What I was trying to say earlier is that the boy is normal. He is not a mutant."
Shocked silence spread through the room. Scott was the first to recover.
"So why are we considering taking him in?"
The Professor looked him square in the eye.
"Because, Scott, he has, quite literally, nowhere else to go."
"Oh."
I chuckled in my head.
Atta boy, Scott. Open mouth, insert foot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's hard to be the new kid.
Always.
Especially when all you have going for you is above average skills in computers and science. Especially when the place you're going to is packed with people who believe that you're different.
Which is funny because I'm not so different from them at all. I'm just choosing to hide it from everyone. Logan included. One of my father's best friends or not, it hardly matters, because Spider-Man is dead, and I must bury my powers, and him, as the result.
Not only is it hard to be the new kid, it's hard to be the smart one. It's especially hard if you're both, because your only real niche in school life then is to take some of the initial pressure off of the people who were already being bullied.
It's hard, no it sucks to be the new kid. Always has, always will, end of story.
But things can get better in time…
That and more ran through my head as I unpacked my things in my new room here at the Xavier Institute. The costume was the first to go, being buried in it's new permanent home at the very bottom of the bottom drawer.
Hopefully, no one will ever look there.
I paused to consider my new circumstance. I had encountered enough mutants as Spider-Man to give me a healthy respect for them, but I knew they came on both sides of the occasionally shifting line between good and evil. While I was shocked to find that Logan himself was a mutant, it shouldn't have been that surprising, considering how young he looked coupled with the fact that he knew my father.
The Professor's okay… a little, um… cryptic, for me. Storm's, well, in all honesty I think she needs to acquire a sense of humor. Or maybe I just don't know her that well. Beast is pretty cool. His situation is so grim, and some how he retains a sense of optimism. And Logan… well, he's Logan. Enough said.
There was a sudden honking, and a glance out the window told me that my new roommates were back form their day of school.
Great. Now I get to enjoy being treated like a basket case. Lucky me. Well, I should at least try to make a decent first impression.
With that in mind, I left the microscope to be assembled later, and proceeded to exit the room. The moment I stepped out of the door I received a familiar tingle in the back of my neck. I didn't stop to think, I just rolled out of the way, as there was a 'bamph' sound behind me.
There was the distinct scent of sulfur that quickly faded as I faced the guy who had just appeared where I had been standing. Apparently my Spider-Sense had warned me about him landing on me. He was thin, and about my height, a little over five feet, but the most peculiar thing about him was his skin. He was a bluish color, and seemed to be covered in a smooth fur. As I stood slowly, I noted that his hands and feet ended in only three thick digits, and his ears were sharply pointed. Internally, I yelled at the piece of my brain that governed the scientist in me to shut up, and extended my hand, understanding the value of first impressions.
I certainly botched enough of them as Spider-Man… NO! I have to stop thinking that way. He's dead, and will never rise again.
The three-fingered guy in front of me apologized and introduced himself.
"Sorry about that. Usually there's no one up here yet. I'm Kurt Wagner."
I gave a wan little smile.
"Peter. Peter Parker. If you'll excuse me? I should probably introduce my self to everyone else."
He nodded.
"Sure!"
His broad grin faltered a little.
"And thanks… for not saying anything about… this."
He gestured down at his body. I smiled a bit more.
"What's there to be ashamed of? Blue is definitely your color."
The grin came back.
"You think? Cool!"
We laughed a little, and I proceeded down the hall to the stairs while he headed to his room. The encounter had cheered me up a little, which was a good thing, as the round of introductions to the rest of the group was a little awkward. Everyone was polite enough to avoid the reason I had needed to find this new home, but it loomed around us constantly.
Things will be tense for weeks, if not forever, I just know it.
[And in other news, in light of the clash between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin last night in the Forest Hills are of Queens, the public's unrest concerning the mutant phenomenon continues to grow…]
The picture changed to a ranting mob outside the Daily Bugle, heralding Publisher J. Jonah Jameson as a hero, and calling for Spider-Man to be captured and jailed.
I growled and resisted the urge to sink my adamantium claws into the set in front of Peter, who I still hadn't figured out yet. I settled for turning the thing off with the remote, hitting the button harshly. The boy was still grieving, or at least I assumed that was what his silence meant.
What the hell is running through his head?
I sighed mentally.
Now or never.
"So, kid, whaddya think of this whole mutant… thing."
He looked up at me, and a grim smile appeared on his face for a moment.
"I'm not really sure."
He looked down again, and I resisted another urge to grumble. But he looked up after a moment, the look on his face thoughtful.
"I guess that they're like other people I suppose… there are good ones and bad ones. The only difference is that they have more power to express it than other people."
I just stared at him for a second. He arched an eyebrow.
"What?"
I paused for a second before answering; I didn't want to upset the kid.
"I guess I'm kind of… surprised… at that point of view, given everything that's happened to you. Especially…"
He finished for me.
"Spider-Man?"
He laughed then, a short humorless bark of a laugh.
"Yeah."
The thoughtful look came back to his face, along with a lot of grief.
"Spider-Man always tries his best, but sometimes…"
He sighed in defeat, his shoulders slumping.
"Sometimes what?"
He sighed and stared off into space.
"Sometimes a person's best isn't good enough, and I always did have horrible luck."
Well that's a crappy way to think about it…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As we filed into the lounge, I wondered just what was going on. The Professor didn't usually call us all together unless there was a good reason.
I should really be studying for that biology test anyways…
I glanced at Rogue, who shrugged back. She didn't have any idea either. Scott, as usual, was the first to speak up.
"So, what's this about professor?"
What happened next was a little shocking. The Professor was… hesitant. This was a rarity, especially around us. He cleared his throat.
"I am… considering… admitting a new student here, and I'd like your input."
Jean frowned.
"Isn't this the kind of decision you usually make on your own Professor? What do you need us for?"
Spread out on the couch, Evan piped up.
"Yeah, is his power that dangerous? No offense, Rogue."
He glanced in our direction at the last, but returned his gaze to the Professor, who smiled a little back.
"No, quite the opposite, really. And that's why I've called you here."
Okay… something's not adding up here…
I decided to speak up.
"If you want our help determining whether or not he's coming here, why is Mr. Logan already gone? At least, I assume that's where he's gone off to…"
The Professor smiled at me.
"An excellent deduction Kitty. You're quite right. That is where Logan's gone. But that's beside the point. Whether or not the boy comes here, Logan has a responsibility to keep him safe somewhere."
Kurt spoke from his position on the wall.
"Why is that Professor? If his power isn't all that dangerous, why make the decision our priority at all?"
Professor Xavier sighed.
"Kurt… no, no, it's not your fault. I was a little unclear. What I was trying to say earlier is that the boy is normal. He is not a mutant."
Shocked silence spread through the room. Scott was the first to recover.
"So why are we considering taking him in?"
The Professor looked him square in the eye.
"Because, Scott, he has, quite literally, nowhere else to go."
"Oh."
I chuckled in my head.
Atta boy, Scott. Open mouth, insert foot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's hard to be the new kid.
Always.
Especially when all you have going for you is above average skills in computers and science. Especially when the place you're going to is packed with people who believe that you're different.
Which is funny because I'm not so different from them at all. I'm just choosing to hide it from everyone. Logan included. One of my father's best friends or not, it hardly matters, because Spider-Man is dead, and I must bury my powers, and him, as the result.
Not only is it hard to be the new kid, it's hard to be the smart one. It's especially hard if you're both, because your only real niche in school life then is to take some of the initial pressure off of the people who were already being bullied.
It's hard, no it sucks to be the new kid. Always has, always will, end of story.
But things can get better in time…
That and more ran through my head as I unpacked my things in my new room here at the Xavier Institute. The costume was the first to go, being buried in it's new permanent home at the very bottom of the bottom drawer.
Hopefully, no one will ever look there.
I paused to consider my new circumstance. I had encountered enough mutants as Spider-Man to give me a healthy respect for them, but I knew they came on both sides of the occasionally shifting line between good and evil. While I was shocked to find that Logan himself was a mutant, it shouldn't have been that surprising, considering how young he looked coupled with the fact that he knew my father.
The Professor's okay… a little, um… cryptic, for me. Storm's, well, in all honesty I think she needs to acquire a sense of humor. Or maybe I just don't know her that well. Beast is pretty cool. His situation is so grim, and some how he retains a sense of optimism. And Logan… well, he's Logan. Enough said.
There was a sudden honking, and a glance out the window told me that my new roommates were back form their day of school.
Great. Now I get to enjoy being treated like a basket case. Lucky me. Well, I should at least try to make a decent first impression.
With that in mind, I left the microscope to be assembled later, and proceeded to exit the room. The moment I stepped out of the door I received a familiar tingle in the back of my neck. I didn't stop to think, I just rolled out of the way, as there was a 'bamph' sound behind me.
There was the distinct scent of sulfur that quickly faded as I faced the guy who had just appeared where I had been standing. Apparently my Spider-Sense had warned me about him landing on me. He was thin, and about my height, a little over five feet, but the most peculiar thing about him was his skin. He was a bluish color, and seemed to be covered in a smooth fur. As I stood slowly, I noted that his hands and feet ended in only three thick digits, and his ears were sharply pointed. Internally, I yelled at the piece of my brain that governed the scientist in me to shut up, and extended my hand, understanding the value of first impressions.
I certainly botched enough of them as Spider-Man… NO! I have to stop thinking that way. He's dead, and will never rise again.
The three-fingered guy in front of me apologized and introduced himself.
"Sorry about that. Usually there's no one up here yet. I'm Kurt Wagner."
I gave a wan little smile.
"Peter. Peter Parker. If you'll excuse me? I should probably introduce my self to everyone else."
He nodded.
"Sure!"
His broad grin faltered a little.
"And thanks… for not saying anything about… this."
He gestured down at his body. I smiled a bit more.
"What's there to be ashamed of? Blue is definitely your color."
The grin came back.
"You think? Cool!"
We laughed a little, and I proceeded down the hall to the stairs while he headed to his room. The encounter had cheered me up a little, which was a good thing, as the round of introductions to the rest of the group was a little awkward. Everyone was polite enough to avoid the reason I had needed to find this new home, but it loomed around us constantly.
Things will be tense for weeks, if not forever, I just know it.