XXXXXXXXXXXX

Twenty Years Ago...

Two teenage girls, fifteen year old Jean Grey and Annie Richardson were racing each other on their bikes throughout the neighborhood. It was a nice, sunny day in the Annandale on Hudson area of New York. They were currently riding towards the mailbox which Annie reached first. She then hit the breaks and looked over at her best friend with a look of triumph.

"That's three in a row," Annie bragged. "You have to do my biology homework too."

Jean sighed, she looked like something was bothering her.

"Why don't we go back to my house?" She suggested.

"No way, I'm not going all the way back there. Let's go by the lake."

Annie turned her bike and began racing towards the woods and Jean reluctantly followed after her. Once they reached the destination they began crisscrossing between the trees of the woods which was only a few yards away from a long empty road that intersected the woods by the lake. Annie took the lead when suddenly Jean halted as her friend rode her bike to the roads pavement but sensed that her friend was no longer racing. She stopped and looked over her shoulder. Jean clutched at her head as a hundred voices spoke to her at the same time. They never stopped and she was having these problems just recently. Annie was the only one Jean trusted enough to tell about them.

"What's wrong, Jean?" Annie asked, concerned.

"It's those voices again," Jean responded while rubbing her forehead.

Annie rolled her eyes, then sarcastically replied;

"Well…tell them to leave you alone."

"I'm serious, Annie. Let's go back."

"Oh come on, we're right here, the lake is right across the woods over there."

Annie then pointed at the desired location but Jean just shook her head.

"Let's go back. Please, let's just go."

"Why? We're right next to it."

"Something's wrong. I don't know, I just have a bad feeling. And I'm usually right about these kind of things."

Annie let out a heavy sigh.

"Okay, but I get to pick what we do when we get back."

"Fine with me," Jean breathed in relief, happy that her friend finally agreed to it.

The voices however, still didn't stop but her friend agreeing to return made her feel a little better. But before Annie had time to ride her bike off the street a drunk driver behind the wheel of a Ford pickup came out of no where, careening towards her. The young girl let out a blood curdling scream before she was crushed underneath the tires.

"ANNIE!"

Jean screamed her friends name as she jumped off her bike before falling to her knees as she continued to scream, shaking as tears cascaded down her cheeks. She then looked at the driver through the window of his vehicle and a dark feeling of rage consumed her.

Suddenly, the light bulbs of the street lights began to pop and glass showered down upon the street. Then the electric cables started to be ripped apart from the wooden telephone polls, sparks fell upon the long empty street. Trees behind Jean began to sway violently as if there was a hurricane in the area which resulted in some of them snapping as if they were toothpicks before being blown away.

The truck that hit Annie then sped off, trying to escape the havoc that was suddenly unleashed. Jean's eyes followed the car and just as quickly as it took off, the car was levitated high into the air by some abnormal telekinetic force. It flew backwards for a few seconds as it continued to rise up to about fifty feet off the ground. Before it had a chance to crash back down, the truck imploded in mid-air. Glass and metal showered down and the driver was instantly killed. The truck crashed to the ground, crushed up into a ball.

Jean had walked down to the road and was now kneeling beside the body of her best friend. She tightly grabbed Annie's hand as Jean sobbed uncontrollably, the disastrous catastrophe continuing around her...

XXXXXXXX

In the same neighborhood two weeks later, a Rolls Royce pulled up outside a house and parked along the curb with Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnserrh sitting in the backseat, younger, more vibrant…and still closest of friends. They had been driven to the location by a younger Henry McCoy.

"This is the place, gentleman," Henry stated as he put the car in park.

"She's already reading our thoughts," Xavier said while eyeing the house. "This one is special."

"Maybe we should wait a little while," Erik suggested.

"We could play twenty questions in the meantime," Henry tried to joke.

Erik shook his head.

"On second thought, let's just head in."

Henry smiled.

"Suit yourself."

Erik exited the car and got Xavier's wheelchair out from the trunk. Once Xavier placed himself in it, they began making their way up to the front door. Erik rang the doorbell and after a few moments the door was answered by Elaine Grey, the mother of the girl they were here to see.

"Oh, hello. Are you-" She began.

"Yes, we spoke on the phone yesterday. I'm Charles Xavier and this is my associate, Erik Lehnserrh."

"Please, come in."

Elaine led Xavier and Erik into the living room where her husband John was waiting. He stood up as the three came in. He then motioned for them to sit on the sofa while he sat with his wife on the couch across from them.

"Are you the ones from the school?" John asked.

"Yes," Xavier answered as Erik helped him out of the wheelchair so he could sit next to him on the sofa.

"Do you think you can help her?"

"We need to know when it all started. But, before anything, be careful with your words," Xavier cautioned. "She is listening to everything we're saying." Canvas on the wall then rumbled, as a flower vase fell from a piece of furniture to the ground, shattering. Elaine jumped and became more nervous.

"You see? It's like that all the time. And to know that I can't help her is frustrating..."

"Usually, these events are triggered by extreme stress."

Erik, in his ever imposing, prideful and softly sarcastic way towards humans responded;

"Has she received any kind of...mistreatment?"

"No," John noticed the way he spoke and was not flattered. "Jean is the most precious thing we have in our lives."

"Thing?"

"Erik-" Xavier began as he looked over at him. This was the last thing the parents needed right now.

"Wait...John, it all started when...when her best friend Annie died," Elaine explained. Now looking at Erik and Xavier she continued; "She was struck by a drunk driver. Jean saw the whole thing happen right in front of her."

"How is she, right now?"

"She knows something's wrong, that obviously something's different about her."

John then spoke up again.

"Jean is a good girl...she has never given us trouble until...this."

"May we speak to her?" Xavier asked.

John and Elaine exchanged worried glances.

"Alright," John hesitantly responded.

John then went to call over his shoulder but Jean had already walked into the room. Elaine and John shared a quick look before he smiled and got up to gently led his daughter to the couch.

"Jean, this is Mr. Xavier and Mr. Lehnserrh. They would like to speak with you for a minute."

Jean took a seat in between her parents and in an instant, both John and Elaine freeze, becoming living statues. Xavier looked at Jean and smiled.

"Hello, Jean."

Jean didn't answer as she looked from Xavier to Erik. Xavier then spoke to the young girl again, this time via telepathy.

'It's very rude you know, to read my thoughts or your parent's without our permission.'

Jean's brows furrow in confusion.

"You were in my head."

"Just as you were in mine," Xavier said, out loud this time.

"Did you think you were in the only one of your kind, young lady?" Erik then asked.

"What kind?"

Xavier smiled.

"We're mutants, Jean. We're like you."

"Really?" Jean smirked. "I doubt that."

Outside, all of the cars on the street began to levitate high into the air. Hank, who was reading the newspaper while waiting inside the Rolls Royce then suddenly, realized he was high in the air.

"Whoa, whoa!"

Mr. Lee watched in awe as the hose he had been watering his plants with suddenly snaked up by itself, the water pouring up into the air. Mr. Claremont chased after his lawnmower which has taken on a life of its own. The bag of a mailman opened up and letters began littering the air as neighbors began to slowly come out of their houses to see what was going on. Xavier and Erik looked through the window at the phenomenon.

"Oh, Charles." Erik began as he looked over at the other man with a grin on his face. "I like this one."

Xavier took one last glance outside before looking back at the girl.

"Jean, you have more power than you can imagine."

However, Jean showed no sign of strain, or even of listening to him. She just stared at him with lifeless eyes.

"The question is, will you control that power…"

Jean suddenly lost control, and the cars came crashing down all at once.

"…or will you let it control you?"

XXXXXXXXXX

In the present day Washington D.C., inside of the Embassy Row Hotel, Ororo Munroe opened her eyes as she laid in bed inside one of the great rooms the hotel had. She had arrived there last night along with Professor Xavier, Scott, Jean, Alex, and the person she had spent the night with. A strong arm was around her waist and another was under her neck. Ororo turned over so she was facing Logan. She raised her hand up and touched the side of his face before leaning in and lightly kissing him.

"Good morning," she smiled.

"Hmm…" Logan shifted but didn't open his eyes. Ororo then sat up and looked over at the clock that was on the dresser. It read nine-thirty in the morning.

"Oh, damn."

That put Ororo in motion as she got out of bed and began to quickly change.

"What is it?" Logan asked as he heard Ororo's quick movements.

"It's nine-thirty. I can't believe we slept in that long."

"Well, we did have a long night."

Logan smirked as Ororo playfully narrowed her eyes at him.

"Come on, get up. You know have that meeting with Carol. That's the reason we're here."

"I though this thing wasn't until ten."

"Yeah, that's in a half in hour."

"You think it's gonna take a half an hour to walk to the conference room of this hotel? Come back to bed."

"No, Logan, get up," Ororo said as she tossed his jeans at him. Logan opened his eyes and gave the weather goddess an annoyed look as she left the room. Logan then sat up, cracked his neck before standing up, completely naked.

"It's already starting," Logan grumbled as he shoved his jeans on. A woman in his life telling him what to do.

As he continued to get ready, outside the hotel, a limousine pulled up and came to a stop in front of the doors. The driver got out and opened the door for the passenger riding in the back. A long white boot hit the ground as a young, beautiful, blonde haired woman stepped out wearing a white mink coat and expensive diamond necklace. She headed into the lobby of the hotel and walked right up to the front desk to be greeted by the receptionist.

"Can I help you?" He smiled.

"I'm Emma Frost," she coldly responded. "You can have someone take me to the conference room now."

"O...kay."

The Embassy Row Hotel's conference room had been booked for a meeting by Carol. At the moment, only Professor Charles Xavier and Alex Summers were inside of the room as they standed by the coffee machine while waiting on the others.

"Have you seen your brother, Alex?" Xavier asked. "Or Jean?"

Suddenly, the flash of a bright light went off in the corner of the room and Jean and Scott appeared, having been teleported from wherever they had just previously been. Just one of many of Jean's newfound abilities.

"They're right there," Alex joked while taking a sip of coffee. Jean and Scott then walked over to join them. "Where did you two run off?"

"We visited the Marine Corps War Memorial," Jean answered.

That caused Xavier to smile a little.

"Reminds me of when you skipped my class to visit the Statue of Liberty."

"What?" Alex asked in mock surprise. "Scott here actually broke a rule?"

Scott gave his younger brother a look.

"It was Jean's idea."

Before Jean could defend herself, the receptionist suddenly walked into the room with Emma right behind him. The others looked over at the woman, the Professor being the only one not surprised to see her. They thought they would be the only ones attending this.

"Miss Frost," Xavier smiled as he walked over to greet her. "I'm glad you could come."

"It's Emma," Emma responded as she shook his hand then glanced at the others. "I prefer to leave 'Miss Frost' to my students."

Xavier looked to the X-Men.

"Emma is the headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy."

"My school's pupils are a tad more…selective than yours."

"Nevertheless, with the increasing mutant population, I've been in contact with Emma over a possible merger," Xavier explained. "I thought that it'd be important for her to be here as well."

"Yes," Scott nodded as he walked over to Emma and extended a hand. "I've heard of your school. I've been meaning to become acquainted with you."

"I'm sure you have."

Emma placed her hand in Scott's and gazed into his eyes that weren't wearing shades. The two continued to stare at each other before Scott realized the hand shake was lasting longer than necessary and released it. Jean had noticed this too as she walked over to introduce herself.

"This is my...uh, this is-" Scott then shook his head, wondering why he was stumbling over his words.

"Jean Grey," she said for him.

"Emma Frost."

The two women shook hands briefly as Logan and Ororo walked in.

"Ah, now that we're all here," Xavier said as he motioned to the long table in the center in the room.

"We just have to wait for our host," Emma finished, somewhat annoyed at the delay. She hated to be kept waiting. Logan glanced at the woman, not knowing who she was as he wasn't here for the introduction.

'What's with this bitch's attitude?' Logan thought to himself as Xavier looked at him, somewhat shocked and amused. Emma however, stiffened.

"Logan-" Xavier tried to warn him but-

'She does have a nice ass though.'

"Logan."

'If you were lucky I'd take you into one of these rooms and let you-'

'Oh please,' Emma suddenly shot back, via telepathy.

Logan's eyes suddenly widened as Emma narrowed her eyes at him and then said out loud;

"You certainly have a big ego don't you?"

"I, uh..." Logan spoke in a shocked voice.

"Pervert."

Emma then gave him one last nasty look before turning and walking out of the room. Logan then shot a glare at the Professor.

"Damn it, Charles. Why didn't you tell me she was a telepath?"

"I was trying. Your advanced hearing must have blocked me out."

This of course got Ororo's attention.

"What did you do?"

"I'll tell you later," Logan muttered, not wanting to start something at the moment. This caused Alex to bust out laughing. Logan narrowed his eyes.

"What are you laughing at, kid?"

"Nothing," Alex managed as he got a hold of himself. "But you may want to wipe that bit of drool from your mouth."

Right then, Carol Danvers walked into the room and greeted them.

"Oh, thank you all for coming."

"Yes," Emma responded while walking back in. "You'd think that could be on time, since you were the one who requested this meeting."

"My apologizes."

The seven of them then took a seat at the table while Carol went to stand in front of them all. Behind her, a screen had been pulled down.

"As I'm sure you all may know, Secretary Graydon Creed has won the republican nomination for President."

She then stepped out of the way to let a new clip play on the screen. It was that of Creed giving one of his speeches at a town event in Ohio.

"It is time to get this country back on track," Graydon began as he stood in front of several thousand enthusiastic supporters. "The mutant registration act is the most logical step in dealing with this mutant problem."

Carol then paused the video.

"Graydon Creed," Logan muttered. "Who voted for that dick?"

"Don't you follow the news?" Emma asked, rudely.

"I really don't care to."

Carol then pushed a button to go to the next clip.

"And his opponent will be democratic candidate, Sebastian Shaw."

The screen then showed the image of Shaw at what looked to be an expensive dinner. The group watched for a minute the video was again paused. Ororo took a deep breath as she shook her head.

"It's depressing to see that Graydon Creed has so much support. Every time we think we're past this-"

"I know, Ororo," Xavier said while giving her a sad smile. "But I truly believe the fact that his opponent is a mutant may be the biggest reason for all his support."

"Wait, Shaw is a mutant?" Logan questioned.

Emma rolled her eyes.

"You really don't know much do you?"

Logan and Ororo both gave Emma glares but Scott couldn't help but smile at the blonde woman's sassiness. Emma noticed this and returned the smile, their gazes lingering on each other which Jean noticed.

"Yes, Shaw is mutant," Carol confirmed. "Whether or not this country is ready for a mutant president is the biggest question."

"Do you think Shaw has a chance?" Ororo asked.

"Shaw has a lot of friends in high places and a seemingly unlimited amount of financial support. Is that enough to win him the election, I really don't know."

Alex then leaned forward in his seat and spoke for the first time.

"Why exactly did you call this meeting?"

"The mutant's division is in jeopardy if Creed wins the election. We need to do something big to show its importance and how successful it's been with advancing mutant rights. We need to find Magneto and hand him back over to the authorities."

Everyone on the room then focused on the Professor. After taking a heavy sigh, Carol continued on;

"I know that you two have a complicated history. The two of you were friends-"

"No, I understand that Erik is a criminal," Xavier assured. "He should have to pay for the crimes he's committed. However, trying to find him is a lot easier said than done."

As they continued to speak, outside the hotel, several SUV's pulled up before parking in front of the doors. Security members got out and went to the middle car and opened up the back door. Stepping out was the presidential candidate himself, Sebastian Shaw.