Well, here is my new story! I hope everyone likes this one better than the last one. Anyway, I do not own the X-Men, Brotherhood, Acolytes, Upstarts, or the few members that I used from the Hellfire Club. Much Love, Echo :)

The sun's first rays reflected off the brick mansion's windows in the wee hours of the morning. All of the house's occupants were lost in slumber. Well, almost.

"Emma, are they ready?"

The platinum blond seductress smiled coyly at her employer.

"Selene?"

The raven-haired goddess did nothing but stare at her equal.

Sebastian Shaw sighed. Their plans were finally ready and Xavier would be his.

Shinobi Shaw opened his eyes to find his father sitting at the end of his bed; a lit cigar in hand.

"Father?"

Sebastian exhaled a perfect ring of smoke before replying, "Today is the day, son. Selene has informed me that you have great potential and believes you will be a good leader as do I."

"Thank you, Father."

Sebastian nodded and stood to leave the room.

"Shinobi?"

"Yes?"

"Do not let me down."

With that Shinobi's door clicked shut, leaving him to ponder his punishment if he failed.

"Rise and shine, princesses."

The two girls groaned as the curtains that were holding back the light of the morning were pulled back.

Emma Frost glared softly at her charges.

Benazir Kaur, the daughter of an American businessman and an Indian Sikh, was tall with skin the color of bronze and a mane of black hair. Her eyes were the color of chocolate and she personified silent but deadly.

Her roommate, Reeva Payge, was small for fifteen coming in at only 5'4. She was lightly tanned with her golden hair cut to the nape of her neck with long bangs in her green eyes. She was the complete opposite of Benazir with her dynamite temper and rash thinking.

"Up."

"But Em, it's…", Reeva paused to look at her clock, "6:00am on a Saturday."

"Thank you for that enlightening statement, Eva, but Mr. Shaw wants us to begin with our mission today so get up."

Emma saw the spark ignite in the young girl's eyes as she jumped from the bed. Smiling, she turned to see Benazir stretch and slowly move from the bed.

"Good morning, Ms. Frost."

"Good morning, Benazir. Make sure that both you and Eva are downstairs in two hours or Mr. Shaw will have your heads."

"Yes, Ms. Frost."

Two pairs of blue eyes flew open at the sound of knocking on their bedroom door. A white haired girl rose and opened the door to find her superior on the other side.

"Be downstairs in two hours."

"Yes, Selene."

Siena Blaze closed the door and turned back to her roommate, who was looking at her expectantly.

"Today must be it."

"Vell it iz about time."

Siena smiled at her friend's statement. The young German girl had been chomping at the bit for action since the moment she had arrived. Andrea von Strucker, daughter of the infamous Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, had frost blue eyes and hair the color of the sun that fell to her shoulders with a few short pieces that fell in her eyes. Her demeanor was that of an iceberg: cold and rigid.

"C'mon, Andy. We gotta get ready."

Andrea glared at the girl across from her. Siena was…amusing at the most. She was such a fun loving creature. 'Pity. Her gifts are so wasted within such a carefree body.' Andrea thought. So unlike her in so many ways, it was amazing that they were able to stand each other. Siena's white hair was pulled into high ponytail that graced her shoulders and bangs that framed the side of her face. Glasses enhanced her dark blue eyes and gave her a librarian look.

"Don't call me Andy." Andrea said as she stood an entered the bathroom that was adjacent to the girls' bedroom.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU SAY EVERY MORNING!" Siena yelled as she heard the shower start and chuckled to herself.

"BOYS, THIS IS THE LAST TIME I'M GOING TO SAY THIS, 'GET UP'!" Emma screamed into the male half of her team's room. While Shinobi had his own room, the other five male members shared one giant room.

When she didn't get a response she kicked the person closest to her. A green mop of hair emerged from the covers.

"Trevor, get up!"

Trevor Fitzroy glared at the White Queen.

"Now."

Emma thought of Trevor as she moved on to her next victim. He was second-in-command under Shinobi and maybe the most ruthless of the teenage mutants. She turned her thoughts to the lump on the bed before her as she hit it in the head repeatedly.

"Alvight, alvight I'm up!"

Andreas von Strucker, Andrea's twin brother, was the opposite of his sister being more light-hearted but with the same drive for violence. He too had blonde hair and blue eyes though his were darker.

Emma turned to come face to face with a muscled chest.

"Game."

"Ms. Emma."

The teenage boy's real name was unknown going only by his codename, Gamesmaster or Game. He was the tall quiet type mostly due to his powers. Out of all of the teenagers that currently occupied the house, he was the most respectful and powerful.

"Graydon is already downstairs, Ms. Emma."

Emma was shaken from her thoughts by Game's voice.

"Thank you."

Game nodded and headed toward the door.

"That just leaves…" Emma's eyes fell on the snoring figure of a young teenage boy lying haphazardly across his bed.

"Cortez."

Fabian Cortez was the resident hothead with a temper hotter than a volcano that lit as quickly as a match. The only thing that made him tolerable was his charm and good looks that included a mane of unusual red hair and river blue eyes.

The young man groaned at his name and opened his eyes.

"What time is it?"

"Time for you to go to work."

As soon as the word 'work' exited her mouth, Fabian was out of bed and running for the bathroom.

"Figures. Be downstairs in two hours, gentlemen."

"Yes, Ms. Frost."

With that Emma left the room and walked to her own to get ready for what would surely be a long day.