A new day dawned on Bayville. The rosy sun crept over the hills, and began to bathe the town in its orange and pink light. The early morning sunrises were truly a sight to behold; unfortunately for Kitty Pryde, she was cooped up in the bowels of the Institute and could not enjoy the spectacle.
Yawning, she stretched out her limbs. It'd be a while before she'd get used to waking up so early. She hadn't even tied her hair into its trademark ponytail yet. Accompanied by Jean and Professor Xavier, she stood in the control center looking over the Danger Room. Kitty had successfully completed her first training exercise only yesterday, and now it was Lance's—or rather, Avalanche's—turn to show what he could do.
* * * * *
In the men's locker room, Lance finished putting on the uniform that marked him as an X-Man. His costume consisted of a form-fitting black bodysuit, yellow gloves and boots, and a belt that bore the "X" insignia. All in all, it was a rather embarrassing display. Lance studied himself in a nearby mirror, and for the hundredth time that week he wondered why he said yes to joining the X-Men.
Maybe it was because Kitty had agreed to.
Maybe it was because he had nothing better to do.
And maybe, just maybe, there had been more than a grain of truth to Xavier's cornball speech about mutants and humans.
Shaking the troubling thoughts from his head, Lance took a deep breath and prepared himself for what was about to come. He hastily stuffed his civilian clothes in a locker and headed for the door that led him to the Danger Room.
Avalanche was ready to rock.
* * * * *
Kitty's face lit up when she saw Avalanche enter. He sauntered over to Cyclops and Nightcrawler, who would also be participating in the exercise.
She turned to the Professor, who was setting up the simulation. "When will it start?"
"Right now."
Avalanche steeled himself as the arena turned into a craggy range of rocks. Looking far out in the distance, he made out the three plateaus he would have to get across to complete the session. All right, he told himself, I can do this.
Suddenly, a flank of robots burst out of the rocks directly in front of the small group. Cyclops quickly made a path through the attackers with his optic blasts, and took charge of the team.
"Follow me!" he shouted. Nightcrawler obeyed, and ran on all fours behind him, but Avalanche lingered just long enough for the robots to recover. The machines charged at him, and he heard the sharp click of weapon systems being engaged.
The young mutant stood his ground. Extending both his arms, he sent seismic waves through the rocky earth below the robots. He bared his teeth as he concentrated all his energy on creating the earthquake. The ground split, and the metallic troupe fell through the divided earth to certain doom.
With a cocky smile, Avalanche ran to catch up with the other two members of his team. He carelessly stumbled over the unstable ground, and, letting out a startled cry, he was able to grab hold on the side of the cliff just as the earth below his feet gave way. He narrowly missed sharing the same fate as the steel automatons.
Several yards away, Nightcrawler heard Avalanche's yell. He abruptly turned around, only to see his new teammate struggling to pull himself up from the edge of the cliff. He teleported over to him and held out his hand.
"Here!" he cried.
Scowling, Avalanche growled and slapped it away. He then threw one leg on top of the edge and pulled himself up with a mighty heave. His feelings hurt from the slap, Kurt teleported away.
**Look at that,** Jean, mindful of Kitty's presence, telepathically spoke to Xavier. **He has no regard for teamwork.**
**I can see that,** The Professor responded thoughtfully. He pressed a red button on the control panel in front of him, and the simulation faded. The three mutants below stopped dead as he spoke over the intercom. "That's enough for this morning, boys. You'd better get ready for school."
"School?" Cyclops said, bewildered. "But we have over forty-five minutes before first bell."
"Yes, but Kitty and Lance need to leave early today. They can't be late for their orientation with Principal Darkholme."
"All right," Cyclops said in understanding.
Avalanche stalked back into the locker room, not wanting to face either Cyclops or Nightcrawler. He knew he had botched the session, and didn't feel like being lectured about it. He quickly changed back into his normal attire and left the locker room feeling frustrated with himself. All his bottled up anger disappeared, however, when he saw who was waiting for him outside.
"Hey there," Kitty greeted, "That was an interesting training exercise."
Lance sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I screwed up. So sue me for not buying into that teambuilding crap."
Her voice took on a comforting tone. "Well, like, the Professor didn't say anything about it, so maybe it wasn't that bad."
The boy shrugged. "Maybe." Then, after a pause, his face brightened. "Hey, there's something I want to show you."
"Really?" she quirked an eyebrow. "What is it?"
Taking her hand, he led her down the hall. "Just follow me," he said mysteriously.
As they walked, Kitty felt the need to make conversation. "So, are you excited about going back to school?"
"Not really. I don't see the point to it."
"At least we missed midterms."
"Yeah. You don't sound so excited about going back yourself," he observed.
Kitty bit her lip. "I'm a little nervous. Back in Northbrook, school really wasn't my thing. You know, with Riley and all." Her smile faded at the mention of the bully.
"Didn't you have any friends?"
"Nope. I was pretty much alone. What about you?"
He thrust his hands in his pockets, shrugging his shoulders again. "I hung out with some guys." For the first time since his arrival in Bayville, Lance thought about Griff and Pete. Could he even call them friends anymore? He hadn't let them know he was leaving, and somehow he doubted they would miss him.
By that time the pair had exited the Institute and were now facing the garage. Lance lifted up the door, a glimmer in his eye. "All right, you ready to see it?"
Kitty nodded. "Sure!"
The longhaired mutant grinned as the door rose, revealing a somewhat battered old jeep.
"Wow!" she exclaimed, "You have your own car?"
"Uh-huh. I got back in Northbrook. The old man had it shipped here. It might not be the flashiest ride around," he eyed the slick, cherry-red convertible next to it, "But it's mine."
Kitty could tell from his voice that he was proud of it. With a sly look, she asked, "Wanna go for a ride?"
Lance's eyes widened at her seemingly innocent question, and his lips curled into a smirk. But before he could answer, Scott, Jean, and Kurt interrupted them.
"What's up, guys?" Scott said casually as he hopped into the front seat of his convertible.
"Oh, nothing much," Kitty shrugged, brushing one of her long bangs behind an ear.
Jean took the passenger seat while Kurt 'ported into the back. Giving a big grin, he called, "Hey Kitty, zere's room for one more!"
She glanced at Lance, then back to Kurt. "Sorry, but I'm riding to school with Lance today," she smiled apologetically.
The fuzzy one was visibly disappointed. "Oh. Okay. Maybe next time."
Lance rolled his eyes. "We better get going." Doing his best Xavier impression, he added, "We don't want to be late for our orientation!"
Kitty tried to contain her laughter as she joined him in the jeep. He turned on the ignition, and they were off.
* * * * *
The other three students of the Xavier Institute were driving to Bayville High when Jean spoke the thoughts that had been bothering her all morning.
"It seems the Danger Room exercises with Lance are off to a bad start."
Scott's brow furrowed. "It was only his first time out there. He'll learn the importance of cooperation and teamwork soon enough."
"For some reason, he strikes me as not being a team player," Kurt mused as he thought about the slap. "Kitty's really nice, though. But I don't zink she likes me…" his voice trailed off sadly.
"What makes you say that?" Scott asked.
Kurt stared down at his hands. "It feels like ever since she found out I don't really look like zis, she's been avoiding me. And vhen I try to talk to her, she sometimes gives me funny looks."
"Don't let it bother you. Kitty's new to the world of mutants, Kurt, and she'll come around."
"I hope you're right," the dejected mutant replied. Because I really like her.
* * * * *
Despite leaving early, Lance and Kitty made it to school with only a couple minutes to spare. They easily found Ms. Darkholme's office, and soon they were sitting in front of her desk.
She was a tall, imposing figure, with dark eyes that burned with a strange intensity. Kitty felt uncomfortable under her spotlight.
"Well, Ms. Pryde, after looking at the records from your previous school, I can safely say you'll fit right in at Bayville High."
"Thank you, ma'am," she feigned a smile.
Ms. Darkholme's eyes then went to Lance. "But your old teachers, Mr. Alvers, had quite a lot of interesting things to say about you." Her voice was positively frigid.
"Yeah, uh, let's just say I'm ready to turn over a new leaf."
"Very well. I suggest you keep in mind that I will not tolerate any misbehavior at my school. I would not even think of letting in someone with your past transgressions if not for Professor Xavier's glowing recommendation and his assurance that you would be nothing less than a model student." Of course, that wasn't the truth. Lance's bad record and Xavier's recommendation didn't mean a damn thing to her. It was crucial that he be at Bayville High, where she could watch over him, and manipulate him when the time came. She had plans for the boy, after all.
* * * * *
Lance and Kitty left Ms. Darkholme's office with feelings of uncertainty.
"That was weird," the freshman said wryly. "Was it just me, or was she, like, really out to get you?"
"All my teachers have been out to get me," Lance threw up his hands in exasperation. "I'm used to it."
"Oh! I better go find my locker. I'll catch ya later, Lance! Good luck with your classes!" Kitty waved as she hurried off, a skip in her step.
"See ya," he replied, standing dumbly in the middle of the hall and watching her go. Sighing to himself, he reached into his backpack and pulled out the paper that had his schedule and locker number on it. It took him a bit to find No. 105, but when he did he was irritated to see that some lug in a varsity jacket was leaning against it, flirting with a girl who was no doubt a cheerleader.
"Excuse me," the mutant told the football player's back, to no reply. The blonde muscle-head was apparently too busy making plans for Friday night to pay attention to someone who couldn't bench press his own weight.
Furrowing his brow, Lance prodded the boy's arm. "That's my locker. Move it!" he said more forcefully. The ground began to move just a little.
"Watch the jacket!" the jock finally acknowledged his presence.
"Just get away from my locker," Lance snapped back, struggling to keep his emotions in check.
"Who do you think you're talking to, loser?!"
"Awww, Duncan, forget him!" the cheerleader pouted, latching onto his arm like a barnacle. Duncan gave the dark-haired boy a dirty look before allowing the bouncy girl to lead him away.
Lance clenched his fists, his nails scratching his palms. If that had happened in Northbrook, that brain-dead jock would have been on the floor, crying about a broken jaw. Part of him hated holding back, while the rest of him knew that avenging his pride wasn't worth earning the eternal enmity of Principal Darkholme.
Lance went to his first class feeling like hell.
* * * * *
The rest of the morning was relatively painless. Lance was still in a dark mood, though the thought of having lunch with Kitty brightened it. He was on his way to the cafeteria when a voice called his name. Looking around, he saw a familiar khaki-clad boy come his way.
"Summers. What is it?"
Taken aback by Lance's harsh tone, Scott frowned. "I just wanted to talk to you about this morning's exercise, Alvers."
"Oh. That."
"Yes, that. You know, with those exercises it's very important for us to work together as a group--"
"What are you, the old guy's Mini-Me? I know the drill."
His patience at an end, Scott shouted, "God, what's your problem? You're never going to fit in with the X-Men with that attitude!"
"Who says I even want to fit in with you?!" Lance snarled, then stormed off before things could get out of hand.
Suddenly alone, Scott let go of the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. It was going to be a long day.
* * * * *
Trouble soon found Lance again. After the confrontation with Scott he went to the cafeteria, where he had the bad luck to get in the lunch line behind a scrawny, smelly boy in a hooded sweatshirt.
"Could this line be any slower? Just go, already!" Todd Tolensky huffed.
"What're you doing in this line anyway? I thought you only ate flies!" the blonde boy beside him laughed mockingly. Glancing over, Lance recognized him as the jerk from earlier. Duncan.
"Har-dee-har-har," Todd made a face.
Lance was trying to ignore the arrogant quarterback when a couple rowdy freshmen suddenly knocked into him. He stumbled into Todd, who bumped into Duncan. Duncan, who had just gotten his lunch tray, inadvertently spilled his Coke all over the sleeve of his letter jacket. His face twisted in anger, and he spun around.
"Dammit, Toady!" he seethed, grabbing him by the collar. "Look what you did to my jacket!"
"Hey, it was an accident!" Lance broke in. "Let him go."
"Yo, I don't need no help!" Todd squawked indignantly. Then he looked back at Duncan, who was raising a fist. "Ok, maybe I do."
Before Lance or Duncan could make a move, Todd spit a glob of green slime in the blonde boy's face. Lance's eyes went wide.
"Aughh!" Duncan cried, dropping him and frantically wiping his face clean. Reaching over the counter, he grabbed a tray of Jell-O and hurled it at Todd. He quickly ducked, and the gelatin struck Lance.
The rock-tumbler growled, and the ground rumbled in response to his rage. Fighting fire with fire, he snatched the spaghetti trough and heaved it at the jock. Duncan narrowly sidestepped, and the red sauce and noodles met the white blouse of another girl. Lance cringed as he met the gaze of a very pissed off Jean Grey.
"Ooooh!" The redhead narrowed her eyes, and he found himself under attack from more Jell-O cups. Jean topped it off by telekinetically throwing a fruit bowl at him, which fell messily on his head.
Someone yelled "Food Fight!" and all hell broke loose. Somewhere in the commotion Todd made his exit, while Duncan slipped on spilled gelatin and had an embarrassing fall. The mayhem hit critical mass when Principal Darkholme stormed in.
"What is going on here?!" she demanded furiously. She immediately turned to Lance, the messiest boy in the cafeteria. "So much for turning over a new leaf, eh Mr. Alvers? I should have expected a stunt like this!"
"Wait, Ms. Darkholme!" a new voice interrupted. Scott Summers stepped in from the crowd. "Duncan started it, not Lance. I saw the whole thing."
"Is this true?" she questioned Lance.
He nodded. "Completely."
Raven sighed. The testimony of a straight-arrow student like Scott was good enough for the Principal of Bayville High, though the part of her that was Mystique didn't care for it at all.
"Mr. Matthews!" she faced the boy.
Dumbfounded, he pulled himself off the floor. "What?"
"Clean yourself up, then go immediately to my office. There we'll discuss your punishment."
"But I--!"
"Go!" she cut him off, pointing to the exit. Duncan made a quick getaway. Then she glared at everyone else remaining in the lunchroom. "Dismissed!" she roared.
The cafeteria quickly emptied, leaving her alone. Hands on her hips, the woman surveyed the carnage. The floor was covered in Jell-O, spaghetti, and any other food the students had found handy. There were quite a few tables turned over, and a "Go Bayville!" banner had been pulled off the wall and ripped in two.
Raven stamped her foot. "Just who is God's name is going to clean this up?!"
* * * * *
In the boy's restroom, Lance was having difficulty cleaning the stains off his shirt. Finally giving up, he said, "Screw it," and pulled on his baggy gym shirt emblazed with Bayville High's logo. It was incredibly dorky, but better than going to fifth period covered in green Jell-O.
The door opened, and Lance frowned as Scott entered.
"Hey," the boy in sunglasses greeted. Searching for the right words, he continued. "I guess you've had a rough first day."
Lance wrestled with his thoughts for a moment. Then, he grudgingly replied, "Thanks for defending me back there. Darkholme already has issues with me."
"I could see that," Scott smirked.
"What about that boy, Toad or whatever he was called? I saw him spit some gross slime on Duncan."
"Well, amazingly enough, he's a mutant too."
Lance blinked. "Then why hasn't he been given Xavier's incredible recruitment speech yet?"
"We did try to reach him," the other boy replied a little uneasily, "But he refused." Should I tell him about Mystique and the Brotherhood? he thought. No. It's not my place. If the Professor hasn't briefed him yet, he probably has reasons.
Lance accepted Scott's explanation. Flipping his backpack over his shoulder, he said dismissively, "I'm outta here, Summers."
"Scott," he corrected.
Lance looked at him over his shoulder, smiling in spite of himself. "See you, Scott."
"Later, Lance." Laughing, he called after him, "You know, that fruit bowl was a good look for you!"
"Shut up, Summers."
* * * * *
Kitty hopped down the front steps of Bayville High, humming a happy tune. School in Bayville had been a breeze compared to Northbrook, and she was genuinely happy with herself. She walked down to the student parking lot, where she found her friend leaning against his jeep.
"Hey Lance! How was your day?" she asked cheerfully.
"Very messy," he replied.
"I take it you got caught in the crossfire of the food fight, then?"
He nodded. Looking her over, he remarked, "You look like you got out unscathed, though."
"Yup, I phased out before the spaghetti hit the fan, as it were." She flashed him a dazzling smile.
Lance felt the heat rise to his cheeks. What is it about her smile that makes me feel this way? he wondered. No matter how many times he saw her face light up, it always managed to touch a part of him.
Shaking off Kitty's spell, Lance hopped into the jeep, his companion sliding in next to him.
"Hopefully tomorrow will be better," she said lightheartedly. "Mr. Logan's demo this afternoon should be pretty cool, and from then on we can take it easy."
Lance chuckled. "Yeah. Compared to this morning, tonight should be a breeze!"
* * * * *
In the Danger Room observation center, the assembled X-Men watched Logan, clad in black ninja attire, stealthily make his way through the mansion's air vent systems on an illuminated computer screen. Confronted by Storm, the burly mutant was flushed down the vents into the heart of the Danger Room. Several automated weapons, including a laser gun, appeared out of the walls and began firing upon him. He easily dodged the many blasts and made short work of the machines with his adamantiam claws, until Storm's voice stopped him.
"That's enough, Logan. I'm afraid this is all we can afford at the moment," she cautioned over the speakers.
Logan smirked. "Hey, when I give a demo, I give a demo."
"Is that 'demo' in demonstration, or demolish? I mean, what was the point?" asked Scott as he surveyed the scene.
"The point, young Cyclops, is to find the weak points in our security system," Storm answered.
At that moment, Logan strode into the observation center and pulled off his black mask. "There're some flaws in the security I think you need to weed out, Storm. Maybe poison gas will do the trick."
Storm glared.
"Oh, have it your way. Maybe knockout gas will do the trick."
Kitty shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself. "Poison gas? I'm sorry, but that's just too freaky."
"Awww, relax, Kitty!" Kurt grinned as he 'ported right next to her. Startled, she gasped and pulled away. "Ve're behind you all ze vay!" he added, bamfing to her other side.
"Ugh! Like, stay away from me!" she exclaimed, backing away from him.
"Um, popcorn?" he held up a bowl with his tail as a peace offering.
Lance scowled as he saw Kurt bother Kitty. Feeling his protective urges rise to the surface, he took hold of Kurt's shoulder and shoved him away. "Beat it, Smurf."
Kitty sighed in relief. "Thanks," she whispered.
A sullen Kurt walked over to Scott, who was talking with Jean. A curious expression on his face, he tugged on his sleeve.
"What is it, Kurt?" the cycloptic boy asked.
"Err, sorry if zis is a stupid question, but vhat is a Smurf?"
"Uuuuhhh…" Before he could answer, however, the Professor suddenly entered the room, wearing a look of dead seriousness.
"We have an emergency.
Scott, assemble the team and prep the X-Jet for launch."
"Yes, sir!" the young field leader snapped to attention. "But what's wrong?"
"Cerebro has detected a new mutant signature in Caldecott, Mississippi. My mental readings indicate that she is highly disturbed, and is a danger to others, as well as herself. X-Men, we have a rogue."
* * * * * * * * * * *
To Be Continued…
* * * * * * * * * * *
Author's Notes: "Day of Recovery" was very, very awesome. Todd flirting with Wanda—sheer comedic brilliance! My one complaint: it was over too soon! And I had hoped to see some Avalanche/Shadowcat interaction, since he was the only male B'Hood member on the rescue team. I hate it when they leave me hanging. ::sigh:: Oh, the new opening kicks serious ass too.
Now, to answer a few questions.
FiReyLighT: Yes, this will be a Lance/Kitty fic. Expect to see a lot of lovey-dovey stuff around Chapter 6 or so.
Neva: Maybe. As of now I have no plans to make it Anti-Xavier, but hey, that could change. Every time I try to plan where I want this story to go, it takes a few new twists and turns.
The Scribe: One New Mutant will definitely show up earlier, in order to fill Lance's spot in the Brotherhood. Three guesses as to who it is. ::evil smile:: As for the rest, all I can say is "maybe".
Again, I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed my fic. I hope you enjoyed Chapter 3! ~Sandoz