Chapter 2

The Xavier Institute

The five friends arrived at their destination, closely followed by the members of The X-Men, looking up, they saw the huge wrought iron gates of the X mansion,

"Wow, what is this place?" Kim asked, as she got out of the car, and looked at the columned front entrance,

"This is The Xavier Institute, home of The X-Men." said an African American woman, with long platinum hair, and stunning blue eyes,

"Who are you?" Monique asked,

"I am Ororro Munroe, but around here, I'm known as Storm." she replied, smiling,

"Let me guess. Your ability is weather control." Ron said, looking at Storm,

"Yes, it is," Storm replied, "I'm able to generate rain, snow, and elements of the weather, I can also control the wind, which allows me to fly."

"What about you?" Brick said, to the man that had saved them from their pursuer,

"My name is Scott Summers, but I'm known as Cyclops." he replied, looking at the former quarterback with an appraising eye,

"How'd you get that name?" Kim asked,

"I can generate optic blasts, by absorbing solar energy, unfortunately, my gist is also my curse." Cyclops said, pointing to the visor over his eyes,

"You mean. You can never take that off?" Bonnie asked, astonished,

"No, I can't, if I do, anything I look at gets instantly vaporized." Cyclops replied,

"How, I mean, was it always like that?" Ron asked, almost embarrassed,

"No, it wasn't, I had an accident as a child, it damaged the part of the brain that would've allowed me to control my ability, since then, I've either had to wear this visor, or, special glasses with ruby quartz lenses to filter out the beams." Cyclops replied,

"How many more are there of us here?" Ron asked, thinking he was about to enter, as he called it, 'the stupid zone,'

"All of us here are mutants. You'd be hard pressed to find a non-mutant here." Storm replied,

"Stupid question, I know." Ron replied, blushing slightly,

"Finally, I see him blush." Kim said, remarking on a statement that Ron had once made, 'I don't get embarrassed, KP,'

"That is far from a stupid question, Mr. Stoppable." came a voice from no one,

"Who's there?" Kim said, slipping into a battle stance,

"Ease up, kiddo, you're not gonna get hurt." said a man that looked a little rough around the edges, his jet black hair was spiked up at the sides, and he had sideburns that ran the length of his jaw, and somewhat behind his ears,

"Who are you?" Kim asked, jumping back slightly at the newcomer,

"My name's Logan, but they call me Wolverine." Logan said, lighting up a cigar, and taking a long pull from it,

"Logan, how many times have I told you not to smoke on the campus, unless you're in your room." said the disembodied voice,

"Sorry, Chuck." Wolverine replied, putting the cigar out in the palm of his hand, making painful faces as he did so, a few seconds later, the huge burn disappeared, as though it weren't there at all,

"Woah, mutant healer, eh?" Ron said,

"Yeah, that's one of many." Cyclops replied, shaking his head, then, turning to Wolverine, he said, in an undertone, "Show-off."

"Hey, that would've been a waste of five bucks, Cyke, no way am I gonna blow that much money on a stogie, and end up throwin' it out." Wolverine replied, placing the cigar in a pocket of the uniform he was wearing,

"Jean, will you please show the new arrivals to my study." the disembodied voice said.

A beautiful red haired woman walked out from the crowd, and ushered the friends into the mansion.

"Down the hall, and to your left is the professor's study, he's been waiting for you," Jean replied, smiling, "then, when he's finished, I'll take you on a tour."


In the study of Professor Charles Xavier:

Kim was the first to take a seat, followed by Ron, Bonnie, and Monique, Brick decided to stand, as his legs were cramping him,

"Welcome to my school, I'm Professor Charles Xavier." said a well dressed man in a wheelchair, his dark eyes shone with a wisdom that none in the group had ever seen before, his bald head gleamed in the intense glare of the strip lighting in the room,

"Professor Xavier, my dad spoke highly of you," Ron said, looking at the man, "but he never said you were in a wheelchair."

"Ah, yes, you're Tom Stoppable's son, aren't you," Professor X said, looking at Ron, and smiling slightly, "I wasn't in this chair when I knew your father."

"How did it happen?" Kim asked,

"My mutant abilities became so powerful over my life, that they overtook some portions of my brain, including my ability to walk." Professor X said, his voice never changing from it's calm state,

"Why are we here?" Kim asked, looking at Ron, but it was the professor that answered her question,

"We believe that The Brotherhood attacked you at that Burger King for a reason, they've been attempting to track you for sometime, but since you never stayed too long in one place, they were unable to find you, until just today." Professor X said, making all eyes snap onto him,

"Why would they want us?" Kim asked,

"Your abilities are unique, even among mutants," Professor X said, "I've never had a student in here that could generate sonic pulses, nor did I ever have one that could generate electrical fields whenever, and wherever he pleased." Professor X said,

"What about us?" Monique asked, pointing to herself, Bonnie, and Brick,

"Well, Miss Jackson, your powers are truly unique, I've only ever seen one case like it," Professor X said, "and, as for Mr. Flagg, he's a one-of-a-kind, Miss Rockwaller, on the other hand, I've seen her powers before, although, not in as great a measure as hers."

"So you're saying that we'd be more valuable to The Brotherhood, than to The X-Men?" Kim asked,

"I said nothing of the kind, young lady," Professor X said, still in his calming voice, "your powers would be of considerable use to whomever would have you."

"What is this Brotherhood that you keep talking about?" Bonnie asked, finally looking at the wheelchair bound man,

"They're an unruly collection of mutants that believe themselves above the law, they've labeled themselves 'homo-superior.'" Professor X said,

"To believe that your better than someone else, that's not right." Kim said,

"Oh, they don't believe themselves to just be better than humans, they think they should rule over them, like gods." Professor X replied, a sudden frown coming over his face,

"So those people that attacked us, they're part of The Brotherhood?" Brick asked,

"Yes, the woman calls herself Mystique, and the man in the fur calls himself Sabertooth, the man in the silver outfit, that's the son of the leader, he calls himself Quicksilver, and he's my godson." Professor X said, his head hanging,

"Your godson?" Bonnie asked, her eyes wide,

"Yes. You see, I knew his father. We were friends for many years, the man's real name is Erik Magnus Lensherr. But everyone else knows him better as Magneto." Professor X explained,

"You two were friends?" Ron asked,

"Him, I, and your father were the best of friends, along with a young woman, Moira McTaggart," Professor X explained, "we had our little group, a few looked down on your father for 'hanging out with a couple of mutants,' but in the end, Tom told them that they were all wrong, and to go take a long walk off a short pier."

"Sounds like my dad." Ron said, laughing,

"Well, to business, then," Professor X said, "we'd like for you to be our guests, that is, if you're willing to settle down, and stay."

"That's the reason we came here," Kim explained, "we got the wanderlust out of our system, and now, we want to finally settle down."

"Good, I'll make the necessary arrangements, and if you'll meet me here in the morning, I'll take you on a tour of the sub-basement level, and the true purpose of the school." Professor X said, smiling.

At that moment, Jean walked back into the room,

"If you'll follow me, I'll show you around." she said, motioning to the new arrivals to follow her for a guided tour of the mansion.


A few minutes later:

The five friends were stopped outside of five rooms,

"You can spend the night here, I sleep right across the hall, and next door to you, Ron, lives our resident scientist, Dr. Hank McCoy, and next to Bonnie, the hottest young lady on the campus, Alison Crestmere, wait until you meet her." Jean said, chuckling slightly,

"We didn't catch your name?" Kim asked, looking at the beautiful woman,

"My name's Jean Grey." Jean replied, still with a small smile,

"Thanks, Jean." Kim said,

"I think the five of you had better turn in, the professor wants you up bright and early tomorrow morning, in his study, where he'll personally take you on a tour of the lower levels, and into The Danger Room." Jean replied, a slight look on her face,

"I don't like the sound of that Danger Room thing." Monique said, her eyes wide,

"Me neither." Brick replied,

"No big." Kim said, in her usual manner,

"Maybe not for you." Bonnie replied,

"I think that all of us are going to get a little bruised tomorrow, so let's turn in." Ron said, looking at the group, and heading for the door to his room, Bonnie, Monique, and Brick all headed into their rooms, but Kim stayed put,

"'Night, Ron." Kim said, planting a kiss on Ron's cheek,

"'Night, KP." Ron replied, returning the affection, then, turning for the door of the room behind him, he walked into his new room at the X mansion.


And here's chapter 2. How many of you guessed right on the Brotherhood members that 'greeted' the friends at Burger King, I'm sure you all got it right.

Up next, the quintet's first session in The Danger Room, followed by a short lunch, and then, to action.

As always, keep the reviews coming.

Doug