X-MEN #18

THE FLOATING CITY

By: Bodhi Ouellette

Note: There are some spoilers as to what happens to a certain character in New Mutants 3, which will come out in the upcoming weeks. So... SPOILERS.

"We're going into the sky."

The words that signaled a new direction for the X-Men. A whole new direction after another, the X-Men were quickly changing their locations, their motives, and their actions. In order to compete against Magneto and his rising army of mutants, now the X-Men must protect the world from any mutants getting into the Brotherhood.

The X-Men's new center base: Utopia. What was the former name of an island off the coast of San Francisco is now a floating base, made with the help of Tony Stark, Reed Richards, Beast and Forge. The base is a combination of the old Utopia base and a part of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. Above is a huge sphere; the New Cerebro, now operated by Kelly Newbury, a telepath and a new mutant whose powers surfaced because of Xavier. Xavier now has a new team of X-Men that will operate at the base; Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Havok, Marvel Girl, Shadowcat, Colossus, and Armor, along with Kelly of course.
In addition, Xavier has hired assistants for all of the bases for them to help organise any new mutants that arrive in the base.
All but one step closer to being prepared for anything Magneto throws at them.
Yet there was one more thing to settle...

Utopia- The Floating City and Central Hub of the X-Men;

All bases feature the same designs, combining structures of the Utopia base and the Jean Grey School. Such features for all bases are a new danger room, a school like section, and probably the most integrated part of all bases for the bases; Big domes that stand up above the base called Cerebri, and they are all operated by not Xavier surprisingly. But Kelly Newbury. While she is still in training with her mutant powers, Xavier felt she was ready, and confident enough to work this feature. Especially as it functions as a world wide tracker in a way. The rest of the interior looks the same as a sub basement, with the rest looking like a school.
In Professor Charles Xavier's office, Xavier is looking out in the sky, where he can barely see the clear ground. A knock on the door is heard.
Professor X: Come in.
In comes Havok, Marvel Girl and Hope.
Marvel Girl: You wanted to see us, Professor?
Professor X: I did. (moves his focus to the three) I called you all to inform you about... something a team of X-Men found a few days earlier in Canada. While they're they found someone. A child. Rachel already knows this, but I feel I'd like to have Alex and Hope know about him as well. So, without further ado. Logan?
Logan comes out from the shadows, followed by a child. David Frost Summers, the son of Emma Frost and Scott Summers.
Hope: Who the hell is he?
David: You're relative.
Havok: (beat) Don't tell me who I think he is.
Professor X: This is David. He is Scott and Emma's child.
Havok: How... when was he born?
Professor X: About a year after Jean Grey died. Emma kept him from Scott, in hopes of being a gift.
Havok: So why did she hid him from all of us, and on that note, Scott?
Professor X: That I'm not sure about. From what David told Logan, Rachel and I, Emma uses her telepathy to hide her pregnancy, with the help of a chip implanted into her head, to help hide it from everyone she sees.
David: I would of been the savior of the mutant race!
Hope immediately gets up from her chair.
Hope: What?!
David: What's your problem?
Hope: I was suppose to be the mutant race's savior! I was born to be it!
Professor X: Hope, please calm down-
Hope: Shut up! Don't talk to me!
Hope bursts out of the room in rage.
Professor X: Hope!
Marvel Girl: I got it, Professor. (Runs out to get to Hope.)
Havok: So what was your main intention for this whole meeting, Professor?
Professor X: I wanted you and Rachel to help Logan train David. David, why don't you say "hi" to your uncle.
David walks over towards Havok. Havok kneels down towards him.
David: Hi, Uncle Alex.
Havok: (beat) Hi, David.

Rachel makes her way outside of the floating base. The exterior of the base is a mixmash of a high tech, steel plated floors and a college or private school campus. Making her way out towards the edge of the base, she spots Hope sitting near the edge. Walking towards Hope, she takes a seat besides her.
Marvel Girl: Hey.
Hope: ...
Marvel Girl: Care to explain your little freakout?
Hope: ...Ever since I was born. Ever since I was raised by Cable. I was always destined by everyone that I'd be the savior of the mutant race. I was gonna bring the whole mutants back from endangerment and the whole stuff. And what happens? "Mutants return overnight, Charles Xavier responsible", and what did the "savior" do? Not a damn thing! My entire goal, my entire life, I was trained to be the one to save them all! And he ruined it! And now I see this kid, saying he was gonna be the savior!
Marvel Girl: Hope, calm down! Please... I know what you're feeling. I know what you must be thinking. You wanted to feel special. You wanted to feel important. You were raised all your life to be the one to save the entire mutant race, and here we are now, and you haven't achieved what you were born to do, and possibly never will...

"So maybe you are mad that you could do what you were raise to be. you wanted to be important."

Hope makes her way back into Xavier's office. It is blatant she is showing some sort of need in her as she makes it towards Xavier's office.

"Maybe what you need to do is find something new. Do something that makes you feel important."

Hope then opens up the doors to the office. Xavier directs her attention to her.
Professor X: Hope?
Hope: I just wanted to say, I'm... sorry for my outburst. I guess I was just...
Professor X: Jealous... angry, at me.
Hope: Yeah... I guess I felt useless after you brought back the mutant race, after I was raised doing exactly that.
Professor X: So what exactly are you interested in?
Hope: What do you have for me that'll make me feel important?
Professor X: (long beat) I'm glad you asked...

"So go to Xavier. Go to him and ask for something important. Whatever he has in mind for you, he'll make you feel important. I'm sure of it."

See Hope's journey's in the Mighty X-Force title!
Meanwhile the next issue of the Universal X-Men focuses on Kitty Pryde, as she leads a group of mutants against a surprise return of an old villain. Or, at least a legacy of a villain. Ladies and Gentlemen, the new Mesmero has arrived!