Copyright stuff: I do not own any of the Marvel icons in this story. Several of my characters will be introductions of old characters into the ultimate universe, so I think they still technically belong to Marvel. Only a small few will be OC's, and I will claim the creation of those few. R&R please. Constructive criticism is almost always welcome.

Chapter 1: Relief

OC's: Red, the boy's father Mike Newman, the talk show host

-2:19 pm somewhere in New York City-

"You just aren't listening are you?" The young man screamed. He was your average jock. Blonde, built strong, and most of all … rebellious.

"I am trying to listen, son! You are making this too difficult though. Now slow down and tell me what happened," his father was having enough trouble with the recent divorce. His looked just like an older version of the boy. But more run down and unkempt. His Irish heritage easily heard whenever he talked. Something the boy seemed to lack.

"I'm already told you. I was over at this book signing for Charles Xavier when I started hearing voices! It sounded like everyone was talking to me all at once!"

"Are you sure you don't need to go see a doctor?"

"Yes. At least, not a normal one."

"Are you trying to say you're a mutant?" His father asked with doubt. He was beginning to think football wasn't such a good idea for his son.

"I think so."

"Well then. That's a bit of a shocker. So what exactly can you do?"

"I think I was reading their minds when I was at the book signing. That's what all those voices were."

"Well, then prove it!"

"Read your mind?"

"Yes! I'll be thinking of something really hard and you tell me what it is, ok?"

"Alright, here goes nothing." He began to stare intently at his father. Concentrating as hard as possible to read his mind. Unfortunately, he found something that he didn't want to know. His face suddenly changed from concentration to one of horror, almost anger.

"Ok son. So what flavor of ice cream was I thinking of?"

"YOU BASTARD!!!" His tone had changed drastically.

"Whoa. Take it easy. What did you find?"

"How could you do something like that to mom!?" A fury was building inside of him.

"Now hold on just a moment! I want to know what you found about your mother." The father obviously knew that the boy had found something bad.

Before his son even had time to answer, the boy ran to his room and shut the door. How could his father even think of doing something so awful? He cheated on his wife, and then killed her when she found out? He knew where her body was. He was going to find her and get his father put away for good.

"Open this door right now, son! I don't want to have to force my way in!"

"Just try to!" The son shouted in anger.

Suddenly, a strange noise came from behind the door. Almost like a roar from an animal. The next thing he knew, a large claw had sliced through the door. Through the hole it left behind, he could see the head of a lion staring back at him. His mind raced, trying to think of what to do next. Not only was he a mutant, but also his dad was some kind of were-lion freak! Before he could think of a plain, though, his father reached through the door and opened it. There was no barrier between them now. He would have to go through his father if he wanted out. Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, his father began yowling in pain. Falling to his knees and grasping his head as hard as possible, he began to scream in pain, his body rapidly shifting back and forth between his normal form and the beast that was before him. The boy ran from the room, and house, before he could think of what he'd just done.

He was running faster than ever, trying to put as much distance between him and his father. After all, some mutants were known to have multiple powers, and he wasn't about to test his luck. As he started passing the casinos, he felt himself pick up speed. He was going extremely fast now; almost too fast to keep from hitting people. He tried to dodge as best he could, and was thankful that he had been in football. He managed to slow down enough and stop in front of a TV station. It was then that he noticed his clothes soaked from rain.

"So am I super fast too?" He was so confused. Most mutants were, though, when first discovering their powers. What he didn't know at that time was that he would have a lot of firsts. He walked in and sat in the lobby. Looking for a hiding spot, he noticed that room 3009 was on air. He knew he would have to get past guards if he wanted in though.

He put his powers to the test again. Just like in those comics he read during English class, he attempted to hypnotize the guards. Try and get them into believing that he was a janitor, someone with access to any floor. It worked. He made his way past the guards and into the elevator. Going up to a floor somewhere in the 30's, he got out and snuck into room 3009, which turned out to be a talk show. He sat down at an empty seat in the back and let himself relax.

"So, you say that you can read minds, Miss Grey?"

He turned and stared in awe as he saw one of the X-men on stage with the host.

"Of course. And stop staring."

The audience chuckled at this remark.

"Well, how about you prove it. We'll pick some audience members at random and have you show us your stuff."

This was his chance. If he could read minds and hypnotize guards, maybe he could control the host, too. He began concentrating on the host like he had with the guards, trying to influence him. The man picked about four or five people before working his way too him.

"Hey, we'll take kid who looks constipated, too."

It had worked, but now everyone was laughing at him. But he didn't care. Soon, he would be talking to a real mutant; one with powers like his. He would finally have some light shed on his situation.

"So what's your name kid?"

"Calvin. Calvin Rankin."

So, how was it? Please rate as soon as possible. This may seem kind of short compared to some stories, but oh well. The chapters will probably vary and I'll stop when I feel it's right. I'll put other chapters up as I finish them if this one does well.

PS: Those of you who are real Marvel buffs should recognize the character and already have a good understanding of what he can do. :)