New Branches

(Continued)

(Just a brief note: Spider-Man is not a mutant. We all know that. I never meant to suggest that he was. However, he has some questions that he needs answered, and that's why he requested this assignment. You'll find out in upcoming chapters. And now, on with the story!)

3. But They're Only Baby Mutants!


As promised, Logan brought the twins to the Mansion that afternoon, after their nap.

Everybody crowded around them . . .

"They don't look much like either of their parents yet."

"They sure are cute, though."

"Maybe when they get some hair . . ."

Pietro started to make a wisecrack.

"Don't," Lance said, "if you know what's good for you."
He was still amazed that he had gotten the job at Bayville University. It wasn't much, but he wasn't going to complain. At least he'd be making money again, and away from Wanda the psycho.

"Who wants to hold a baby?" Logan announced.

"Me!"

"I do!"

"Now hold on," Logan said. "There's only two of them, and about a hundred of you . . . you didn't mention you were getting new students, Chuck."

"There wasn't time. They showed up rather unexpectedly... not to mention all at once. I'm still working out what to do with them."

Jared and John looked at the crowd with wide eyes.

"Oh, they're so cute!" said Kitty.

"How 'bout letting one of the new kids get a peek, Kitty?"Logan suggested.

"Okay." Kitty stepped aside, and the new students crowded around.

John and Jared looked up at a girl who had funny-looking sticky-out hair.

"Ach, they're getting so big so fast." said Kurt to Kitty as the girl picked Jared up.
"Are they doing any cute things yet?" Kitty asked him.

"Ja . . ."

"Like what?"

"Playing peek-a-boo."

"Really?"
"Vell, I play, and zhey laugh."

The babies played with their Bob the Builder toys, while the grownups went into Professor Xavier's office to talk about those tests Xavier had mentioned to Logan earlier.

"You won't hurt them, will you?"

"Certainly not. In fact, I can probably do it without them feeling a thing." As he was talking, he pulled two envelopes labeled "John" and "Jared" out of his desk and opened them, to reveal the savings bonds he'd purchased for the twins.

"Not bad . . ." Logan looked them over, and then brought them back out to the main room. "Look what we got for you, guys."

The babies had no idea what the funny-colored pieces of paper were for. Maybe they tasted good.

"No, no," Jared heard his mother say, "those aren't for eating..."

She took the paper things away and placed them up high, out of his reach. "Here, Jared, chew on this instead." She handed him his favorite binky.

That was better, but he still wanted to know what the paper things were.

Logan blinked twice to be sure he hadn't misread the amount on the savings bonds. "This is a lot of money, Chuck. You sure you can spare it, with the new students and everything?"

"It's no trouble..."

"I wish I had a safe to keep these in. I feel like I'll lose 'em if they're just in a file somewhere."

Mystique turned to him and suggested, "Why not store them here, for safekeeping?"

Come to think of it, Mystique had a point. The security here was even better than the Pentagon's . . . and there was the added bonus that John and Jared would be less likely to chew on them if they were safely locked away. "You may be right."

Jared and John blinked and stared at the professor. They'd never seen anyone with no hair before. One of them tried to touch the top of the professor's head.

"What are you doing, silly baby?"

Jared giggled at his mother.

"Come play with your toys." She put him down on a mat on the floor, and scattered several toys around. She loved watching him play . . .

Meanwhile, Peter Parker was just getting out of a cab in front of the Institute. He walked up to the main gates.

"Um . . . hello?"

Nothing.

Then someone inside noticed that the intercom was buzzing.

"Hello?" said the voice at the other end.

Logan went over to it. "Yeah, who's this?"

"Uh....Peter Parker."

"Oh, right, from the newspaper. Hang on, I'll buzz you in."

BZZZZ! The gate swung slowly open . . . and Peter walked through.

"Nice place," he said to himself.

The grounds looked like a landscaper's dream. He'd seen city parks that weren't this pretty. Most of them had fewer trees, too. He was admiring a water fountain when someone came out to meet him.

"Peter Parker?"
"Yeah?"
"Jean Grey. The professor sent me to meet you."

She was pretty . . . though not as beautiful as Mary Jane. Still, she was a redhead . . .

"If you'll just follow me to the main entrance . . ."

"Sure. Just let me get my stuff together."

A few minutes later, Jean led Peter into the entrance hall.

"This is the main lobby," Jean said, "where we welcome incoming students . . ."

"How many do you have altogether?"
"We just got some new arrivals. I'd have to check, but I'd say we're well into double digits now."

"So I guess there's not much need for a big cafeteria...."

"No, but we've got a fairly big dining room."

Just then Peter saw the twins.
"Oh, what cute babies! Whose are they?"

"Mine." said Logan, coming up the hallway to meet them.

"Are they mutants?"
"We don't know yet," Logan said, with a look that hinted that further questions about the babies would be a bad idea.

"Oohkay . . ." Peter said. "Let's start with a little history about the school." That was probably a safe subject.

"Okay," Logan nodded. "Professor Xavier founded the school about five years ago . . ."

"I want to make one thing clear before we start," Peter said. "I will not publish the names or photos of any student without their consent. So anyone who doesn't want to be in the piece, please let me know."

There's something I didn't expect to hear from a Daily Bugle guy, Logan thought. Okay. Hang on a sec . . ."

He went into where the students were gathered. "Guys, I need your attention for one moment."

"Vhat's up?" Kurt asked.

"It's about the kid from the Daily Bugle, Peter Parker."

"What about him?" asked Evan Daniels.

"He's asked that anyone who doesn't want their face or name in the paper let him know."

Rogue turned to Evan said, "What do you think?"

"I'm cool. I've got nothing to hide."

"Vhat about you, Bobby?" Kurt asked Bobby Drake.

Bobby looked at the ground. "My parents . . . kind of don't know. So I better stay out of it."

"Anybody else?" Logan said.

A couple of the new kids raised their hands. One of them said, "I've got family at home. I don't want them to suffer because of me."

"That's fair," Logan said. "Okay, anyone who can't or doesn't want to be in the paper can go upstairs. The rest of you, I expect your best behavior."

He didn't usually do this sort of thing, but Ororo was at her sister's, and there was no one else.

What we need, he thought, are some new teachers.

A few minutes later, when everything had been straightened out, the remaining students and faculty joined Logan back in the main lobby.

"Why don't we start," Parker said, "with . . ." He consulted the list he'd been given. "Kurt Wagner."

"Zat vould be me." Kurt stepped forward and posed. He still had his inducer activated. Now he shut it off, revealing his true self.

Peter nearly dropped his camera but he kept clicking anyway. "Wow. I've never seen . . . um, no offense."

"It's not very common," Kurt explained. "Most mutants look . . . well, normal."

"You know anybody else who can do that?" Peter asked him.

"No," Kurt said. It was only half a lie; Mystique was blue like him, but she wasn't furry, nor did she have his fantastic tail. "If you think zhat's impressive, vatch zhis!"

Ever the showman, Kurt put on a spectacular display of mid-air acrobatics. It went on so long that Logan finally had to put a stop to it.

"That's enough, Elf. Give the other kids a chance to be in the paper, too."

"Awww!" Kurt grumbled, but he turned his hologram back on. The show was over.

Several miles away, Connie Alvers was meeting with her worthless court-appointed lawyer. The last time he'd won a case, Clinton was still in the White House.

"They want to make a deal," he said. "Turn over your, um, companion, and you'll only get three years."

"Three years?"

"If we lose at trial, you're looking at the maximum sentence. I think we should take the deal."

"That's not much of a choice."

The attorney shrugged. "I know, but that's what the D. A. gave me. Take it or leave it."

After what seemed like an eternity . . . Connie said, "Okay, I'll take it."

The attorney heaved a huge sigh of relief. He was no good at trials. Too many speeches. "I'll go and tell him."
"Wait," Connie said. "I need you to do something for me."
The guy gave her a look.
"I want to know if my kid's still alive. We--we left him on a park bench, when he was three . . ."

The defense attorney didn't know how to react. "I . . . suppose I could put someone on it."

I hope so, Connie thought.

"We made up a fake birth certificate for him when we left him. Actually, I did; Tony had already decided to leave him behind. His real name is Dominic, but the name on the birth certificate is--"

"Lance!"
Fred's voice echoed through the Brotherhood house like a cannon shot, causing Lance to jump ten feet.

"What?"

"You told me to wake you up when it was time for you to go to work."
"Work? What day is it?"

"Uh . . . Monday?"

"Is it or isn't it?"

Fred looked up the stairs and yelled "Hey, Toad!"

"What?"

"What day is it?"

"It's Monday, you smeghead!"
"Oh." Fred started up the stairs, then turned back. "Hey! Was that an insult?"
"Yeah, but it's a made-up one."
"Oh, that's okay then." He got halfway up before it hit him. "HEY!"

(That's all for now! Next chapter will have some Rietro!)