I.

The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning had finally calmed from the morning hustle and bustle of students grabbing breakfast in the newly built cafeteria and running to class in various locations in the mansion. Paige still wasn't used to the volume of people the mansion now housed. Not only were there lots of X-Men roaming around, but there were at least sixty teenaged students.

Waiting until the morning rush was over, Paige went through the line and grabbed two slices of toast, a grapefruit, and a small cup of apple juice. Glancing around the cafeteria, she decided that she wanted to eat in the dining room instead. The cold, formal cafeteria was almost depressing.

When she rounded the corner, she found what she was used to. An oak table, encircled by eight chairs with a chandelier overhead showering the room in soft white light, sat in the middle of a Persian rug. The French doors leading to the back of the school were open and sunlight poured in, instantly giving Paige a sense of homeliness.

And at one end of the table sat Jubilee and Monet.

Sliding next to Jubilee, Paige smiled. "Good morning, y'all!" She noticed Monet's pensive expression. "What's wrong?"

"Monet was just talking about the Paris faction of the X-Corporation. And how things haven't been exactly kosher for them either."

"So the X-Corporation has been having its problems too?" Paige asked. She took a bite of her toast.

Monet seemed hesitant to answer. But after a moment, she opened up. "It has not transitioned to the smooth operation most envisioned it would."

"That's not surprising considering everything that's happened. I mean, it was Professor Xavier's idea to like start up this whole thing after that chick Cassandra Nova messed everything up. But then he just like up and leaves? Even old Cyke hasn't heard from him," Jubilee commented.

Paige continued, "It doesn't make any sense that the X-Men and everyone else fighting for Xavier's dream are just suddenly left in the dark. It doesn't seem right to me. What is it that we're all fighting for?"

Jubilee shook her head as she grabbed the box of Sugar Bombs and poured another bowl. "Like, maybe that's where the issue is coming from. No one knows anymore. You notice that like even the X-Men that are here are divided and always have major issues. That team concept got thrown out the window."

Monet nodded. "For once, I agree with Lee. It is highly improbable that people who thrive on hate for each other can succeed in extinguishing the detestation normal humans have for us."

Paige sighed. "Everyone's just been so estranged from each other lately. I don't know. Sometimes I feel like it's me. I rushed at the first opportunity I had to join the X-Men when I was staying here after Sean's incident. And Warren. That's a whole other story."

"I presume the relationship did not go over well with Jono," Monet sipped on her Evian water.

"Not too well at all," Paige revealed. She took a smaller bite of her toast.

"Maybe the X-Men just aren't right for us. I mean, we've been together for like years now and we've had to whoop up on some real baddies. All that time we were growing and learning. Maybe we just like outgrew the X-Men," Jubilee shrugged.

"I wouldn't say we outgrew the X-Men. It's just that we have different views. We have to find our own way to help. If that means doing our own thing, and not being a part of the X-Men then so be it," Paige firmly replied.

Paige saw Jubilee and Monet staring over her head.

A stoic Scott Summers stood behind Paige, arms crossed. His brooding demeanor hadn't changed a bit since Jubilee first joined the X-Men. If anything, he got better at it.

"Mr. Summers, I—" Paige felt her cheeks redden.

Scott didn't reply. Instead he circled the table and took a seat next to Jubilee. He quietly reached for the carton of orange juice in the center of the table and a glass. He poured carefully then took a drink. "Don't worry about it," he finally said.

Paige glanced at Jubilee, who characteristically shrugged her shoulders. Monet watched Scott and Paige followed her gaze.

Scott seemed more distracted and aloof than usual as he poured another glass of orange juice. His eyes were hidden behind his ever-present ruby quartz glasses, but Paige could tell he was staring at his glass as if looking for something he had lost.

"You're not eating in the cafeteria either, huh?" Jubilee asked.

Scott shook his head. "I like the dining room better, personally." He took another drink from his glass and sat quietly.

"Is everything okay, Mr. Summers?" Paige hesitantly asked. She knew he wouldn't answer, but it seemed like the right thing to say.

"I was just thinking about what you said," Scott answered. He looked as though he hadn't slept for the past week. His pallid complexion and two-day stubble were highly uncharacteristic of the clean-shaven, pure-bred field leader of the X-Men.

Monet, feeling a lecture coming on, interjected support for her teammate. "Mr. Summers, Paige, though hopelessly naïve and horrendously gullible, makes a sound point. It is plainly evident that the X-Men have evolved from the wholly benevolent school for the gifted to a less-than-welcoming environment that thrives off animosity, bickering, and insolence."

Scott should have been stunned by Monet's assessment, but he knew that her words rang true. It was hard for him to admit that the X-Men weren't the same when it was just the five of them: Scott, Jean, Bobby, Warren, and Hank. But it wasn't the expansion of the roster that changed the X-Men. The world changed them. Anti-mutant sentiments, government projects to destroy mutants, other mutants seeking to dominate normal humans and the world, more reported mutations. That is what changed the X-Men. Then again, so much had happened within their own ranks and now even the X-Men's founder, Professor Charles Xavier, had abandoned them.

"Things change and people change," Scott said a little more forcefully than he meant. He softened his tone as he continued. "Nothing can ever stay the same. Change is a part of life. Things that don't change are dead."

"Well, that's a great way to start the morning," Jubilee sarcastically said.

Scott realized that he sounded like a bitter and harsh old man. No, not just like any old man, like Wolverine. But worse.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. But think about it. None of you are the same from when you first joined the school. You've changed, grown into adults with an outlook of your own. That's what this school is for. It wasn't the Professor's intention to develop robots that all thought and acted alike. He wanted to teach responsibility, not only to the world, but to yourself. Some of us got that, and some of us didn't."

Paige frowned, "I feel left out, Mr. Summers. I want to make a difference."

"Making a difference isn't running across the world at any given time to battle the bad guys, Paige. It's about changing the world one step at a time. If you can step outside and change just one person's negative opinion on mutants, then you've made a difference. Those of us that do fly halfway around the world, that's just what we do. Some of us have lost sight of what it is we're fighting for too."

With that Scott rose and walked away from the table, leaving the three girls in contemplative silence. It was soon broken by Bobby Drake storming from around the corner.

"Geez, does everyone have their panties in a wad this morning?" Jubilee asked, noticing Bobby glaring at her.

"Emma, ordered me to shoo away some reporter that's at the front gate. I don't know who she thinks she is, but she's getting on my nerves."

Monet cleared her throat. "Your immature resentment with Emma will undoubtedly emerge when dealing with the reporters frequenting the estate. So I benevolently propose that you permit us level-headed patrons of this institution to accompany you."

Bobby stood still, his agitation giving way to confusion.

"What Monet is trying to so eloquently say is that we're going with you, Bobby," Paige chuckled.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place? I swear," the rest of his statement was a series of grumbles and grunts as Bobby stormed out the front door. Monet smiled smugly as she followed Jubilee and Paige to meet with the reporters that they had to kick out. But as they neared the gate, they knew that they weren't going to immediately kick at least one of the reporters off the ground. They immediately recognized their old teammate, Graylon Walsh.

Jubilee thought that he must have been hidden behind the girl that accompanied him, which is why Emma didn't immediately recognize him through the security camera. At least, that's what she hoped.

"Long time no see," Graylon grinned. He had that same conniving grin, shaggy blond hair, and boyish good-looks. He was dressed in jeans, Sketcher low cut boots, and a ribbed t-shirt. He looked the same as when he left. Except now, he had a cunning partner with him. Several duffel bags and suitcases were piled around him.

"Are you trying to enroll back in the school?" Paige asked, motioning to the bags around his feet. It wouldn't have been a surprised that Graylon would have packed his entire life away for an overnight trip.

"I wish," Graylon smiled. "Actually," Graylon chanced a glance at Bobby, whose scowl had reduced to a stern glare. "I came to ask a favor. And I need your help."
"Emma said that she doesn't want you on these grounds," Bobby cut in loudly, hoping the girls would catch what he was saying.

"Ms. Frost is here too? Maybe she doesn't realize it's me," Graylon said.

Bobby crossed his arms. "No, she saw you from the computer room. She still doesn't want any reporters on these premises. And you fall into that category."

Jubilee rolled her eyes. "Put a sock in it, Drake. Really, this is Graylon. It's my job to make fun of him and dislike him. None of you oh-so-important X-Men get that right. So I'm letting him in."

Jubilee pressed a button and the iron gate swung inward. Paige ran out and hugged Graylon, while Jubilee gave him a high-five. Monet simply nodded cordially, which was enough for Graylon to know she was glad to see him.

"I'm Alicia Livingston," Alicia stuck her hand out to shake Jubilee's hand. Jubilee saw Graylon's expression and knew Graylon hadn't brought her along by choice. She ignored the gesture.

Paige stepped past Jubilee and gave her a disapproving glance then took Alicia's hand firmly, greeting her with a warm smile. "I'm Paige Guthrie. This is Jubilation Lee, and Monet St. Croix. And that's Bobby Drake."

"So what is it you came here for?" Bobby sharply inquired.

"Dude, what is your deal? You're about as bad as Frosty with this whole attitude thing," Jubilee shot.

Bobby frowned. "Things were much simpler when it was just Jean, Scott, Warren, Hank, and me. Now, it's like anyone can slap and X on their clothes and call themselves an X-Man."

"Is that what the 'tude is for? Because we're X-Men?"

Bobby crossed his arms and peered condescendingly at the teens. "Last I checked, you were on the inactive roster," he directed at Paige and Jubilee. "And you're not allowed on the premises," Bobby shot at Graylon.

"I didn't come here to ask your permission, Drake," Graylon boldly replied. "Last time I checked, you were a second-string X-Man. You're one of the original X-Men, yet you still hold the crown for being the most immature. So unless you plan on using force to stop me, I'm going into the mansion to talk to a real X-Man."

Bobby smiled evilly. His skin took on a hard shine then turned to a frigid white. "I'll be more than happy to use force on you. Maybe you'll learn to respect someone that's older and better than you."

"Bobby, please. What's wrong with you?" Paige asked. She replayed through the situation and failed to pinpoint the exact moment the situation had escalated to this. Regardless, they needed to calm it down before someone got hurt.

"Ms. Frost sent us out to help you, Mr. Drake," Julian Keller announced from the sky. He floated above the scene while his teammates ran behind Bobby. The brash-looking leader of the Hellions, Julian Keller, gazed over the teens with disdain and an air of superiority. "It seems that these kids may be a bit much for you to handle, since you don't have a good grasp of your own powers."

Though Bobby was now solid ice, he felt his face grow hot. "I don't need help from Emma's little puppet X-Squad," Bobby bitterly shot.

"Hey, what's going on?" Eric Maldonado jogged up followed by Vincent Raney and Jason Kyle. "I thought you were watching our bags, not making new friends."

"You guys are here too?" Paige said. She was glad to see Jason, Eric, and Vincent, and at the same time, she noticed that the numbers between the opposing sides had suddenly evened out. Somehow, Paige knew that a fight was inevitable, no matter how much she wanted the situation to diffuse.

"Seems my charm has worked its magic yet again," Graylon replied to Eric. His fist rose in front of his face and sparked with blue energy. Graylon looked at Bobby and said, "I really don't want to fight you, but if you need a workout, we'll be the ones to give it to you."

"We haven't been here five minutes, Graylon, and you're getting us into fights," Jason sighed, running his hand through his brown hair.

"Ms. Frost couldn't have authorized you to use force," Paige stepped forward and held out her hand to stop the Hellions' advance. She wouldn't let herself believe that Emma, their old teacher and someone that they trusted, was willing to treat them like common intruders.

Paige regarded the Hellions with stark disapproval. Not only did they take the name of Emma's old students, but they had the reputation of being impetuous and troublesome. They were the rebels of the campus, setting out to deliberately go against rules and regulations. Of course, they seemed to only be encouraged by Emma. Paige remembered when Emma was their headmistress. She never would have allowed them to act that way. But now, Paige's entire image of Emma had been shaken, and she really couldn't be sure of anything Emma would now allow or disallow.

Julian smirked haughtily, "Don't worry, country girl. Emma told us to keep it at fifty percent unless you and your ex-superhero team here want to give up."

"Looks like we have to teach these X-wannabes what's up," Jubilee said. She gave Bobby a glance as well to include him in the category of an X-wannabe.

Bobby retaliated with creating a huge ice boulder in the sky. It pummeled to the ground, covering the teens in its cool shadow.

Monet launched herself into the sky and stuck the boulder, sending chunks of ice raining downward. Vincent created a ceiling of fire, totally melting the ice and turning the resulting water into steam, while Eric created a wind current that carried the steam into the forest.

Julian clapped from his position in the air. "I know a circus that would love to have that act in between the clown and trapeze shows. Now, let's show them what we can do." Julian flew towards Monet who simply smiled as he advanced on her. "I'm going to—" Julian's words died off and he fell to the ground, courtesy of a psychic attack from Monet.

A cloud of dust swirled around Monet, twirling her about, but Monet was saved by a whipping tornado that carried the dust to the opposite ends of the grounds. Eric gave Monet a nod as he flew after Sooraya, codenamed dust.

Santo Vaccarro aimed both his fists at Jason and fired the large size hands directly toward Jason's body. Moving deftly, Jason summoned a wall of earth, shielding him from the hands. But the projectiles were more powerful than Jason thought and they blew through the wall, grazing him on the arm.

Santo, pleased with himself, ran at Jason, both to intimidate him and to retrieve his hands. Jubilee leaped in front of him and a barrage of fireworks flashed in front of his eyes, blinding him momentarily. Santo screamed, drawing the attention of Cessily and Kevin.

Kevin ran to Santo's aid but was cut short by a high-heeled boot hitting him in the face. He staggered backwards and saw that the other girl with Graylon, Alicia Livingston, had struck him. "You'll regret that," Kevin said. He charged her and swung at her. Much more skilled than Kevin realized, she effortlessly dodged the punch, and delivered a spin kick to Kevin's stomach then a stepping high side kick to his face.

Cessily arrived on the scene only to see Kevin topple to the ground, stunned. She morphed her arm into a sharp sword. "Let's see how you deal with this," she said to Alicia. She charged her and swung downward, but instead of hitting flesh, she hit hard metal. Paige now stood between Cessily and Alicia. She punched at Cessily, but her fluid-like body simply absorbed the punch.

Cessily entangled herself around Paige and Alicia, trapping them within a metal prison.

"Paige, rubber!" Graylon said as he dashed at them. "Monet, grab Alicia!"

Monet immediately understood and dove toward Alicia at an amazing speed. Appearing only as a blur, Monet swooped down and snatched Alicia from Cessily's clutches. A split-second later, Paige ripped her outer layer of metal off to reveal a rubbery form underneath. Right after that, Graylon aimed and lashed out with his bioelectric shock. Cessily howled with pain as the attack sent sharp shivers throughout her body. She crumbled to the ground, her body returning to its natural form.

"Cessily!" Julian called. He recovered quickly from Monet's attack and took to the sky. Before Graylon and Paige could rejoice, Julian grabbed them with his telekinesis and threw them across the lawn. "I'll make sure I hurt you," Julian seethed.

Monet was still high in the air, cradling Alicia. "I'm going back down. Can you manage?"

"Throw me towards Eric," Alicia said. Monet didn't question her request. Instead she dropped Alicia slightly so she could grab her hands. Once Alicia gave the nod she was ready, Monet flung her in Eric's direction. Alicia gracefully flipped through the air and called out to Eric at the same time.

"Eric, I need an updraft!"

Eric spun around and without hesitation created a powerful updraft, softening Alicia's fall. She landed gracefully on the ground, ready to see who else needed help. Eric had easily taken care of Sooraya. Vincent and Bobby were at a stalemate throwing various forms of fire and ice at one another. Monet struck Julian down with a punch, but he recovered swiftly thanks to a telekinetic shield. Rockslide was trapped in a hardened earth prison courtesy of Jason and a well-timed assist from Vincent. Jubilee was in hand-to-hand combat with Brian Cruz, flipping gracefully around the Hellion. Graylon faced off against Kevin, his entire body flashing blue. Before Alicia could decide who she would help, a stern, booming voice stopped everyone cold.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Scott Summers looked from individual to individual, his optic blasts shining brightly behind his ruby quartz glasses. "The next person that makes an aggressive move will be waking up in the med bay, understood? All of you, stand down now. Bobby, I want to see you in my office. Hellions, I want to see you in the war room after you take Kincaid to the med center. And the rest of you—"

"Generation X," Jubilee interjected.

"Generation X, wait outside my office. When I'm done with Bobby, you're next."