If there was one thing Ororo knew...it was that the only constant in life was uncertainty. The sky was always changing. Shifting clouds, waning sunlight, fickle stars, and sickly blizzards. Nothing was ever certain in Ororo's world.
And that was before she discovered she was a mutant.
When Charles Xavier approached, promising answers and a place where she could understand her own abilities, Ororo did the only logical thing. She accepted.
The world was always changing. From The Avengers forming and defending New York from the alien invasion, to Norse gods coming down from the heavens, to secret agencies monitoring everyone's move, Xavier believed the best thing for his students was to keep their abilities hidden. There were too many world altering changes happening right now, the last thing anyone needed was to discover that the human biology was changing, and forming mutants. And Ororo agreed. Why invite more scrutiny to your door? If you could thrive in the shadows, why not? The streets of Cairo had taught her that. Being a pickpocket meant that you had to know when and where to strike. One wrong move meant going hungry and best, and forfeiting one's life at worse. Subtlety was key.
She had hoped joining Xavier's X Men would help bring some stability to her life. The training had helped her hone her abilities. And she had allies. Jean Grey, and Scott Summers, and Hank Mccoy and Warren Worthington. For once in her life, she wasn't alone.
But as time wore on, Ororo realized that wasn't enough. There was still something missing inside of her. Something important and strong, and without it, it was as if the sun had been taken from the sky itself. Each day, she found herself staring outside the window of the third floor, gazing out into the ever expanding lawn of the Xavier's Institute.
She was an adult. A grown woman who needed no one's permission to do as she pleased, and yet she still felt lost in a world that was not ready to embrace her. It was frustrating. What would the world do with a woman who kept the sky at bay? Who flew through the clouds and command the winds to howl?
"Ororo," Xavier called from the Institute's intercom. "I need you in my office, immediately."
Ororo blinked twice, and moved a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I wonder what it could be this time?"
Charles Xavier sat behind his desk, a solemnity on his countenance. A look Ororo had only ever seen once. Even though Xavier was confined to a wheelchair, his presence was still felt all throughout any room he inhabited.
Ororo stepped up to his desk and smiled, "You wanted to see me professor?" she asked.
Xavier nodded, "Yes." He tapped his pen onto the desk, unsure how to continue. "It has come to my attention that…" he paused, no, that was not the proper way to begin, "Ororo, we have a situation."
Ororo bit her lip. Situations, when it came to the professor, were always bad. A "situation" was a dormant mutant awakening and wreaking havoc on New York. A "situation" was the government gaining wind of their existence and taking steps to round them all up like animals. "What kind of situation?"
"In my recent dealings with Cerebro, I've noticed the awakening of dozens of different mutants across the New York area," he said.
Well, how was that a situation? Mutants were awakening everywhere, all over the world. Cerebro was how Xavier had found her, right? "Well," Ororo asked, "What's the problem?"
"The problem, is that I can no longer find those awakened mutants." Xavier rubbed his fingers against his temples, "As soon as Cerebro locked onto them, their signal vanished."
That...was unusual. "What are you saying? That the X-gene is regressing? Going back to sleep after-"
"No," Xavier interrupted, "Nothing like that." He took a deep breath and sighed, "I'm saying...there mutants are disappearing as soon as their genes manifest."
Ororo ran her fingers against her jeans. They fit snugly against her hips, and made her feel as though she were being bound. She couldn't move. Was she afraid of what was to come next? "Are you saying…"
"That someone is targeting new mutants?" Xavier finished, "Yes. that's exactly what I'm saying."
But, who could be targeting new mutants? And even still, how would they even know of an X-gene's manifestation? Xavier's Cerebro technology wasn't exactly something that could be reproduced, and even if it could, it required a telepath to operate it.
"Ororo, the last new mutant Cerebro located was a young girl named Kayla Pearson in the middle of Harlem." Xavier closed his eyes, and like sunlight through an ajar curtain, entered Ororo's mind. Kayla stood in full frame, just on the cusp of womanhood. She stood in all her splendor for Ororo to see. Dark skin, full lips, and hair that refused to be tamed by gravity.
"And…" Ororo said, "You want me to...what exactly?"
"I need you to investigate. Try and find her," Xavier said. "Ororo, out of all of the X-men, you're the only one I know who can move in and out of places easily. Jean is still getting used to her powers, Scott's morality keeps him from doing what needs to be done. And Logan," Xavier paused, and then waved the thought away. "I need someone...subtle. You're the only one who can do this. Please."
Subtlety. It was always about subtlety.
"Yes professor. You can count on me."
Knowing your surroundings was always paramount in Cairo. When Ororo was a pickpocket, she always had to be aware of her escape routes. How long the streets were, where they turned, which areas to avoid, and most importantly...she had to know the people.
It was always easy to spot those who did not belong on the streets of Cairo. People who smiled too openly, People who never glanced behind them. And it was always easy to know which people to avoid. Those who kept their eyes in one direction, whose voices never wavered when they spoke, who walked with purpose instead of a listless wander. If you knew the people of an area, you knew the area in its entirety.
Deep in the heart of Harlem, Ororo found herself lost. Men in oversized jackets wandered the streets, little girls played double dutch right outside the barbershop. Ororo knew the streets of Cairo, she knew the ways of the X Men, she knew the breath of the sky, but she did not know Harlem.
She could ask around, see if anyone had heard of Kayla, or knew her. Perhaps she could visit her home, after all Professor Xavier had provided her with an address. But all of that seemed too...public. If Ororo asked the girl's parents for information, she would only receive skepticism and accusation. And going to the police wouldn't be of any help either.
But...there was something she could do.
A few weeks ago, a man named Luke Cage became famous on the streets of Harlem. At first, Ororo believed him to be one of her kind. A mutant who was looking for his place in the world. But, a las, that was not the case.
He had recently been arrested and, through the grapevine of New York, a detective named Misty Knight was working on his release. Or...something to that effect, rumors were like storm clouds, you never could tell if they were trustworthy.
"Misty Knight?" Ororo whispered. Misty Knight was a detective, and she knew the streets of Harlem, and she knew the people. Right? After all, working in law enforcement for so long would mean intimacy with the underbelly of the city. Just what Ororo needed.
Perhaps it was time Ororo Munroe gave Detective Knight a visit.