Anything but ordinary3: Its' always fascinated me that such an ethical man as Xavier could have these moments where he does abuse his power. Yes, he does do some of it for the great good but the line has to be drawn. I have written a 'practice' Hank in my other fic and have grown more comfortable writing him so I'm looking forward to writing him.

ManualImpact: LOL, I do try to update quickly. I just love writing these characters. Oh, I remember that issue, I think it was the last time (not including when Havok came out of his coma) where the originals were all together. I laughed at Warrens' line in that issue. : )

Beaubier: As have I. I think that Bobby does have a lot of integrity, his back story shows that, but a lot of people tend to forget that side of him. Thank you for your offer, I'll take all the help I can get.

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I was excited; I was actually going to be tested on flying! I would be in my element. There was no way I was going to fail this test. Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to show off my stuff for awhile so I had time to kill. And no one to spent it with. Poor Scott had to help the Prof set up my course and do all the leg work. Bobby was still snoozing on the sofa in our conference room, so no luck there. I could wait; no problem, I thought idly flipping through Scotts' medical textbook.

About a minute later I tossed the book and reached for my cell. Patients be damned, I was bored. Now who could I call? Then out of the blue it hit me and I dialed. I wasn't sure why I called her but I did anyway. I guess I just wanted to hear her voice. It had been awhile.

"Hello Katherine Worthington speaking." Her cheerful voice greeted me.

"Hi, mom."

"Warren, I was just thinking about you dear! How's school going? Are you still making calls during class? Your father spoke to--"

"I know mom. We got that settled. Schools' been…," How could I phrase this? "…educational." Well, that was pathetic. "Er…I mean it's interesting. I'm learning new things everyday."

"Like what dear?"

"Uh…like evolution and..."

"Really? How strange. We had a discussion about the very same thing at our charity ball the other day. Mr. Dodo or something, he's a friend of your Uncles', brought it up."

"…Oh? W-what did he say?"

"Oh, some silly things about how we'll all be separated by species or some such nonsense. I couldn't be bothered to listen; I didn't like the man at all." She had trailed off for a moment and I knew what that would mean. At least I got a chance to speak with her. "*Sigh* It seems I'm needed, I'll have to call you back later dear."

"Sure thing, mom. I have to go myself."

"Alright then, good-bye Warren, I love you."

"Love you too mom."

Everyday it felt like I was drifting further and further from my parents. I couldn't let them know the truth, that their son was a mutant. I tried to once but Doctor Stuart convinced me not to; he said they wouldn't be able to handle it. I took his advice, how could I not? He was an old friend of our family, the man even delivered me. He just had our best interest at heart…still I would always wonder the 'what ifs'.

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"Ready?"

"I was born ready." I smirked at Slim, earning an exasperated shake of his head in return. "When do we start?"

"Not until Bobby gets here." He nodded towards the figure slowing pacing our way. It was good to see that the kid had more color in his face, even if it wasn't much. Once he caught sight of us he smiled and added more bounce into his step.

"Good nap?" I asked dryly.

"Yep. It's amazing how much sleep a guy can get without being woken up by giggling." He beamed at me. "Or girlish squealing." He added as an afterthought. I could just image Scotty rolling his eyes at that one.

"If that is quite enough…we do have a practice to do my X-Men." We all jumped as the still unfamiliar sensation of 'hearing' the Profs' telepathic call. Disregarding this he explained my task. High above us stood the platform; on top were three dummies that Scott and Bobby were to throw my way. I was to 'save' these 'people' and be timed on how fast I could do so. No big deal right? Not exactly, it got tricky after that. It's not called Peer Reliance for nothing. The dummies are really a test run for catching my teammates. I should have been nervous, I guess, yet I wasn't. I knew I could do this.

The guys climbed the ladder up to the platform, which I noted was constructed better that our own quarters. At least it was stable.

Someone shouted and the first dummy was released. I swooped up, catching it deftly before it even made the halfway mark. I was good. My skills at flight were rapidly improving each day and I was constantly amazed at the results.

"Not bad Angel, though I feel you could make better time if you took off in a different manner." The Prof said from the safety of his seat behind the protected mental barrier dividing us from the camp.

"Right, sir." I answered awaiting his instructions. I was determined to get a perfect score. I had to get a perfect score. When the next limp figure was thrown I was ready. My speed was increased; though I slowed down when I made the catch and placed the old dummy onto the lower 'safe' platform below the guys. I was on fire!

"Excellent!" Xavier cried. "Remember to adjust for the new weight though Angel. Don't forget that lad. I fear you'll bring too much strain on yourself."

I told him I would not forget, though I wasn't really focusing on what he was saying anymore. My confidence was soaring now; I was going to impress the Professor. The third dummy was released. It fell awkwardly, its' arms and legs tangled in the many loose threads. I took off and 'saved' it the same way I did with the other two. The thread barren dummy had other plans though. As I rescued the body the impact jarred the already loose neck and the head snapped off completely. Damn. You think I'll get point taken off for getting the victim decapitated? 

I glanced up to see what the guys thought about that. The hunched figure of Cyclops mouthed 'ohh' in a type of unguarded movement of pity. Kneeling next to him was Bobby. The kids' eyes seemed to follow the head on its' way to the ground. I was so focused on his reaction I almost missed what the Prof was telling me.

"Get back to the starting point Angel." I nodded and flew back. "Iceman take your place." Bobby slowly rose to his feet and maneuvered himself over safety railing.

"Iceman, I do NOT want you to ice up during this route." The kid nodded.

As the Prof gave his orders I mentally recited all of the safety rules I had been forced to endure. I got halfway into them, right up to the wind current part when the Prof gave us the first signal. Bobby screwed his eyes shut and released his hold of the railing. A second later I received my signal and I took off. I was closing in on him fast but there was a problem. When falling you always, ALWAYS have to go limp. It lessens the trauma of impact. Bobbys' body had not gone limp, it was still too tense.

I flew past the midsection and glazed back up at my prone teammate. Come on frosty, you can do it, I silently chanted. I noted to my relief he was letting his body loosen up, a little bit.  Come on kiddo… There was only a few feet between us now and I was not going to let him fall. I knew that when this began, hopefully he knew that too.

Almost there…I reached out for him…a little closer…being careful to make sure he didn't get whiplash…he was still a little stiff…and he fell into my open arms. I smiled triumphantly for that moment, wanting to savor my victory forever. It didn't last long as it was shattered by Bobbys' scream a second later. 

A/N: The man Mrs. Worthington was actually mentioning was Lobo, who would later kill Warrens' father. He's a mutant who has some concepts about natural selection or something. (A friend asked me to put a connection in the story.) I believe Doctor Stuart was only shown in XMN:THY. (In case you can't tell by now I loved that series.)

Next Chapter: What happened and the consequences.