Sugar, Spice, and Everything Ice
The mall was jam-packed with bargain hunters sweeping through clearance after clearance. Small brawls would break out as two eager shoppers fought over the last item on the shelf. Cashiers were swamped as mobs of customers hurried to buy their merchandise and move on to the next store. The deals were too good to leave alone, and so were the unsuspecting shoppers.
No one stood out in the sea of faces. Waves of people crashed into each other. The flow of the crowds was easy to get lost. All of these factors made the young Asian mall rat's job much easier than it should have been.
Jubilation Lee was a fourteen year old orphan in a gold mine. The little blue-eyed beauty was well groomed and wore tight fitting Abercrombie and Fitch apparel. Her black hair was in a pony tail and giant hoops hung from her ears. She was the last person you'd expect to be a thief, which exactly what she was going for.
Jubilation couldn't believe what she saw. Everywhere she looked there were unwatched purses, wallets that had been dropped, merchandise that was near the entrances to the stores. The mass chaos that was caused by the large discounts made it easy for Jubilation to walk around with a couple of shopping bags grabbing whatever she wanted without being noticed.
After a good hour Jubilation believed that she had gathered enough money and pricey items that she could go a month or two without having to return. She slowly made her way to the mall exit and made her way across the parking lot. A rush of excitement raced through her body as she walked away from the mall. She had just stolen the biggest load of her life, and she hadn't even been noticed. Or so she thought.
"Hey you!! Freeze!" shouted a voice from behind her. She spun around and saw two cops running at her with guns. She cursed at herself silently for forgetting that real cops would be guarding the mall today to make sure someone like her didn't escape. She typically didn't like doing what she was about to, but it was necessary.
Jubilation dropped the bags she had and focused on her hands. Her mind concentrated on the fireworks display that she had seen last Fourth of July. As the images of explosions against the dark sky raced through her mind, sparks started to fly from her hands. In a matter of seconds her hands were glowing with raw energy that was ready to strike. Her first target was the two cops running at her. They had gained a lot of ground, but were being cautious now that they saw what was ahead of them. She whipped out both her hands towards them and a burst of sparks with the explosion equivalent to an M-16 landed in front of the two men. She quickly refocused and started to charge her hands again. She could see the results of her last shot; a small crater had formed where the explosion had landed. A sly grin crept across her face as she devised her next attack. Her arms flew out at right angles to her sides and the energy blasts were released again. They headed right for their targets; the gas tanks of two cars parked near her.
The explosion could be heard by everyone in the mall. The cars went up in pillar of flames and lit up Jubilation. The strange light that emitted from the fire casts shadows on her that gave her a crazy look, which was exactly how she felt. She turned around and ran towards the street, leaving the bags behind. She didn't mind that her collections were still on the cement behind her, she had put enough cash in her pockets to last her a while. The adrenaline that was coursing through her body gave her so much energy and excitement that she didn't even hear the swooshing sound behind her. She just kept on running along the street, dodging cars whenever she could. All of a sudden she felt a jerk and realized that she was no longer on the ground.
She frantically looked below trying to figure out what had just happened. Why was she soaring above the city? She looked up and found the answer, which freaked her out even more. A handsome young man with giant white wings was carrying her through the sky and away from the mall. What once was excitement had soon been replaced by fear as he carried her to the top of a tall building.
He hovered over the roof of the building and dropped her onto it. She fell two feet through the air and landed on both her feet. The man then landed a few feet away from her. His blue eyes stared into hers and she could see a kind soul in him. "Hello Jubilation, my name is Warren."
Xavier wheeled himself into the school office. He was used to getting through doors and into rooms using his wheelchair. He was put into the abominable contraption two years earlier in an accident that he didn't like to talk about much. He didn't like to use it much to begin with, but was forced to learn how when he decided to start his group of young mutants. Right now he was searching for his newest member; a task that's importance far more outweighed the fact that he had to use his wheelchair.
"Good afternoon," said the woman sitting at the desk. "Are you here to check a student out?"
"Actually, I'm here to meet with a student about a scholarship to my institute that he is qualified for. Where would I find Robert Drake?"
The receptionist was shocked "Bobby? He qualified for a scholarship? To what, pop idol training school?"
"No, it's actually a prestigious school for gifted children. Bobby has amazing abilities that have come to my attention and I would love for him to attend my school. Could you direct me to where he would be?"
"Well it's almost lunch, so I don't see a point in sending you to his current class. When the lunch bell rings just go out into the main campus and ask any kid out there where Bobby is, they'll know where to point you."
Xavier went outside of the office and found a spot where he could see the majority of the main quad area. As he stationed himself the bell rang and hundreds of students started to pour into the once vacant area. The sounds of gossip and chatter and the smells of cafeteria and home lunches filled the air.
Xavier closed his eyes and went into a trance. He typically didn't use his telepathy because he didn't like to infringe on the rights of others privacy. He always believed that mutants should use their powers responsibly, especially when their gifts were as powerful as Xavier's.
Faces and names poured into Xavier's head as he scanned the area for Bobby. He felt like he was on a bullet train, zooming through a tunnel with lights flashing by. After about a minute he had found Bobby's mind. Xavier saw the brain pattern and locked it away in his mind so that he would be able to find it easier; it was almost like a psychic bookmark.
It took a few minutes for Xavier to reach the area where Bobby was. A group of boys and girls were eating in the center of the quad. The chatter and actions gave the appearance that they were all paying attention to each other and comfortable with where they were, but Xavier could see the eyes that darted every so often towards the same person, as if to see if they had his approval to talk. This boy was the center of the group, the one who had the say on who was good enough to be in this elite group. Xavier found the boy's dress odd. He was wearing a black leather jacket and matching pants, a pair of Oakleys rested on his face, and his hair was styled similar to a movie star's.
"Excuse me, but I would like to have a word with Mr. Robert Drake." Xavier said to the group.
The group turned towards the kid in the center, looking for his reaction. Bobby looked up at Xavier. "I'm here, what do you need?"
"I would like to speak with you about your special talents."
The situation was getting weirder by the second for Jubilation Lee. How did the mysterious winged man know her name? Hardly anyone knew that she existed, let alone her name. Had this man been stalking her? Was he about to rape her? But as she stared into his eyes she realized that she wasn't in danger.
"This is kind of awkward." Warren Worthington the Third said. "I think I'll just start the sales pitch that Xavier told me to give you. I'm here on behalf of Charles Xavier and his school for gifted children. The school is going to be a place for mutants, like you and me, to learn how to develop our powers. You'd receive a standard education and education for nearly any career you would like to. And what was the last thing that he wanted me to bring up.oh yeah, you'd have a nice home to live in with kids our age who are also mutants."
Jubilation's concentration broke at the last sentence. She dropped her defensive stance and let his words process in his mind. "What's the catch?"
"Umm." Warren paused in thought, "I'm not actually sure. As far as I know there is no catch. I was just recruited the other day so I haven't actually attended the school or anything."
"Why should I go? There isn't much of an incentive."
"Well Xavier sounds like a nice guy. This school sounds like a good opportunity too. I mean, I know right now being a mutant is the cool thing and stuff, but where I'm from I was the only mutant. But at Xavier's school we'll be with other mutants our age. We'll all be the same, nothing special."
A smile cracked on Jubilation's face.
The group around Bobby stared at the bald man in the wheel chair. Their expressions showed their disapproval for the stranger. They looked to Bobby for a sign, and when it came, it wasn't what they expected.
"Guys, leave." Bobby said with a solemn voice.
Everyone immediately left. You never ignored or questioned an order from Bobby, it was social suicide. The danglers walked away, meeting up and discussing what was going on with the bald stranger.
"What do you want?" Bobby asked Xavier.
"Simply your attention for a short time period while I make you a proposition." Xavier said with a smile.
"You've got it, now talk."
"We are both aware that you have special talents, talents that most other people don't have. I also see that you have already started to use them, even if the applications are somewhat strange. I see how a personal air conditioning would allow you to wear you leather clothes whenever you want, and I must say freezing the moisture in your hair to style it is an ingenious application, but I can help you learn different uses. Transportation, offensive and defensive techniques, and so many other things that you can use your powers for. You have amazing potential and all I want to do is help you reach it."
Bobby looked at Xavier with a somewhat strange look, but changed it back to a more confidant expression. "Well that sounds cool, but I think I can learn that on my own. Anyways, why would I want to leave here? I've got it pretty good if you didn't know."
Xavier smiled. He had been prepared for something like this. "Well you would be joining the premiere mutant team in the United States. In about a week, the world will find out about it, and then the members of the team will be famous overnight. You know how much the world loves mutants now, imagine being one of the most famous ones in the world. Now if you're willing to give that up to another person on my list, then I guess I better go and stop wasting my time."
Xavier backed the wheelchair up and pushed himself away from Bobby. A grin was on Xavier's face as he rolled on the pavement. He knew that he would only be pushing himself for a little bit.
"Wait!" Bobby yelled after Xavier, "I'll join. What do I need to do?"
"We need to talk to your parents and get their approval. And we need to do it soon because I have an appointment with a Ms. Kitty Pryde tomorrow that I don't want to miss."
The mall was jam-packed with bargain hunters sweeping through clearance after clearance. Small brawls would break out as two eager shoppers fought over the last item on the shelf. Cashiers were swamped as mobs of customers hurried to buy their merchandise and move on to the next store. The deals were too good to leave alone, and so were the unsuspecting shoppers.
No one stood out in the sea of faces. Waves of people crashed into each other. The flow of the crowds was easy to get lost. All of these factors made the young Asian mall rat's job much easier than it should have been.
Jubilation Lee was a fourteen year old orphan in a gold mine. The little blue-eyed beauty was well groomed and wore tight fitting Abercrombie and Fitch apparel. Her black hair was in a pony tail and giant hoops hung from her ears. She was the last person you'd expect to be a thief, which exactly what she was going for.
Jubilation couldn't believe what she saw. Everywhere she looked there were unwatched purses, wallets that had been dropped, merchandise that was near the entrances to the stores. The mass chaos that was caused by the large discounts made it easy for Jubilation to walk around with a couple of shopping bags grabbing whatever she wanted without being noticed.
After a good hour Jubilation believed that she had gathered enough money and pricey items that she could go a month or two without having to return. She slowly made her way to the mall exit and made her way across the parking lot. A rush of excitement raced through her body as she walked away from the mall. She had just stolen the biggest load of her life, and she hadn't even been noticed. Or so she thought.
"Hey you!! Freeze!" shouted a voice from behind her. She spun around and saw two cops running at her with guns. She cursed at herself silently for forgetting that real cops would be guarding the mall today to make sure someone like her didn't escape. She typically didn't like doing what she was about to, but it was necessary.
Jubilation dropped the bags she had and focused on her hands. Her mind concentrated on the fireworks display that she had seen last Fourth of July. As the images of explosions against the dark sky raced through her mind, sparks started to fly from her hands. In a matter of seconds her hands were glowing with raw energy that was ready to strike. Her first target was the two cops running at her. They had gained a lot of ground, but were being cautious now that they saw what was ahead of them. She whipped out both her hands towards them and a burst of sparks with the explosion equivalent to an M-16 landed in front of the two men. She quickly refocused and started to charge her hands again. She could see the results of her last shot; a small crater had formed where the explosion had landed. A sly grin crept across her face as she devised her next attack. Her arms flew out at right angles to her sides and the energy blasts were released again. They headed right for their targets; the gas tanks of two cars parked near her.
The explosion could be heard by everyone in the mall. The cars went up in pillar of flames and lit up Jubilation. The strange light that emitted from the fire casts shadows on her that gave her a crazy look, which was exactly how she felt. She turned around and ran towards the street, leaving the bags behind. She didn't mind that her collections were still on the cement behind her, she had put enough cash in her pockets to last her a while. The adrenaline that was coursing through her body gave her so much energy and excitement that she didn't even hear the swooshing sound behind her. She just kept on running along the street, dodging cars whenever she could. All of a sudden she felt a jerk and realized that she was no longer on the ground.
She frantically looked below trying to figure out what had just happened. Why was she soaring above the city? She looked up and found the answer, which freaked her out even more. A handsome young man with giant white wings was carrying her through the sky and away from the mall. What once was excitement had soon been replaced by fear as he carried her to the top of a tall building.
He hovered over the roof of the building and dropped her onto it. She fell two feet through the air and landed on both her feet. The man then landed a few feet away from her. His blue eyes stared into hers and she could see a kind soul in him. "Hello Jubilation, my name is Warren."
Xavier wheeled himself into the school office. He was used to getting through doors and into rooms using his wheelchair. He was put into the abominable contraption two years earlier in an accident that he didn't like to talk about much. He didn't like to use it much to begin with, but was forced to learn how when he decided to start his group of young mutants. Right now he was searching for his newest member; a task that's importance far more outweighed the fact that he had to use his wheelchair.
"Good afternoon," said the woman sitting at the desk. "Are you here to check a student out?"
"Actually, I'm here to meet with a student about a scholarship to my institute that he is qualified for. Where would I find Robert Drake?"
The receptionist was shocked "Bobby? He qualified for a scholarship? To what, pop idol training school?"
"No, it's actually a prestigious school for gifted children. Bobby has amazing abilities that have come to my attention and I would love for him to attend my school. Could you direct me to where he would be?"
"Well it's almost lunch, so I don't see a point in sending you to his current class. When the lunch bell rings just go out into the main campus and ask any kid out there where Bobby is, they'll know where to point you."
Xavier went outside of the office and found a spot where he could see the majority of the main quad area. As he stationed himself the bell rang and hundreds of students started to pour into the once vacant area. The sounds of gossip and chatter and the smells of cafeteria and home lunches filled the air.
Xavier closed his eyes and went into a trance. He typically didn't use his telepathy because he didn't like to infringe on the rights of others privacy. He always believed that mutants should use their powers responsibly, especially when their gifts were as powerful as Xavier's.
Faces and names poured into Xavier's head as he scanned the area for Bobby. He felt like he was on a bullet train, zooming through a tunnel with lights flashing by. After about a minute he had found Bobby's mind. Xavier saw the brain pattern and locked it away in his mind so that he would be able to find it easier; it was almost like a psychic bookmark.
It took a few minutes for Xavier to reach the area where Bobby was. A group of boys and girls were eating in the center of the quad. The chatter and actions gave the appearance that they were all paying attention to each other and comfortable with where they were, but Xavier could see the eyes that darted every so often towards the same person, as if to see if they had his approval to talk. This boy was the center of the group, the one who had the say on who was good enough to be in this elite group. Xavier found the boy's dress odd. He was wearing a black leather jacket and matching pants, a pair of Oakleys rested on his face, and his hair was styled similar to a movie star's.
"Excuse me, but I would like to have a word with Mr. Robert Drake." Xavier said to the group.
The group turned towards the kid in the center, looking for his reaction. Bobby looked up at Xavier. "I'm here, what do you need?"
"I would like to speak with you about your special talents."
The situation was getting weirder by the second for Jubilation Lee. How did the mysterious winged man know her name? Hardly anyone knew that she existed, let alone her name. Had this man been stalking her? Was he about to rape her? But as she stared into his eyes she realized that she wasn't in danger.
"This is kind of awkward." Warren Worthington the Third said. "I think I'll just start the sales pitch that Xavier told me to give you. I'm here on behalf of Charles Xavier and his school for gifted children. The school is going to be a place for mutants, like you and me, to learn how to develop our powers. You'd receive a standard education and education for nearly any career you would like to. And what was the last thing that he wanted me to bring up.oh yeah, you'd have a nice home to live in with kids our age who are also mutants."
Jubilation's concentration broke at the last sentence. She dropped her defensive stance and let his words process in his mind. "What's the catch?"
"Umm." Warren paused in thought, "I'm not actually sure. As far as I know there is no catch. I was just recruited the other day so I haven't actually attended the school or anything."
"Why should I go? There isn't much of an incentive."
"Well Xavier sounds like a nice guy. This school sounds like a good opportunity too. I mean, I know right now being a mutant is the cool thing and stuff, but where I'm from I was the only mutant. But at Xavier's school we'll be with other mutants our age. We'll all be the same, nothing special."
A smile cracked on Jubilation's face.
The group around Bobby stared at the bald man in the wheel chair. Their expressions showed their disapproval for the stranger. They looked to Bobby for a sign, and when it came, it wasn't what they expected.
"Guys, leave." Bobby said with a solemn voice.
Everyone immediately left. You never ignored or questioned an order from Bobby, it was social suicide. The danglers walked away, meeting up and discussing what was going on with the bald stranger.
"What do you want?" Bobby asked Xavier.
"Simply your attention for a short time period while I make you a proposition." Xavier said with a smile.
"You've got it, now talk."
"We are both aware that you have special talents, talents that most other people don't have. I also see that you have already started to use them, even if the applications are somewhat strange. I see how a personal air conditioning would allow you to wear you leather clothes whenever you want, and I must say freezing the moisture in your hair to style it is an ingenious application, but I can help you learn different uses. Transportation, offensive and defensive techniques, and so many other things that you can use your powers for. You have amazing potential and all I want to do is help you reach it."
Bobby looked at Xavier with a somewhat strange look, but changed it back to a more confidant expression. "Well that sounds cool, but I think I can learn that on my own. Anyways, why would I want to leave here? I've got it pretty good if you didn't know."
Xavier smiled. He had been prepared for something like this. "Well you would be joining the premiere mutant team in the United States. In about a week, the world will find out about it, and then the members of the team will be famous overnight. You know how much the world loves mutants now, imagine being one of the most famous ones in the world. Now if you're willing to give that up to another person on my list, then I guess I better go and stop wasting my time."
Xavier backed the wheelchair up and pushed himself away from Bobby. A grin was on Xavier's face as he rolled on the pavement. He knew that he would only be pushing himself for a little bit.
"Wait!" Bobby yelled after Xavier, "I'll join. What do I need to do?"
"We need to talk to your parents and get their approval. And we need to do it soon because I have an appointment with a Ms. Kitty Pryde tomorrow that I don't want to miss."