The group of five stood facing the group of four, both eyeing each other warily. "Well," said Scott in an attempt to diffuse the tension, "Shouldn't we introduce ourselves?"

"Mutant names only," said the white-haired boy who seemed to be the leader of the group. Scott glanced at his team before stepping forward. "Alright, then. I'm Cyclops, and these are my teammates Storm, Marvel Girl, and Iceman," he said, pointing out each of his friends in turn.

"This is Scarlet Witch, Psylocke, Multiple-Man, and Vanisher. I'm Quicksilver," introduced the white-haired buy, mimicking Scott and pointing out his friends in turn. He stopped, narrowing his eyes, and said, "There are more of us, but I'm not saying how many."

"Understandable," said Storm with a shrug. "Would it help our relationship if we told we don't have any other teammates outside?" Jean asked, looking hopeful. Quicksilver glanced at Psylocke who said, "She's telling the truth."

"So," Quicksilver said, turning back to the X-Men, "What do you want?"

/\/\/\/\

Hermione was fuming silently; the newest Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Dolores Umbridge, was a very obvious mutant hater. In their first class, she told them of how mutants were dangerous, violent creatures that deserved to be locked away.

Hermione had almost leaped over her desk and snatched Umbridge by the throat when Harry said, "Don't play her game! She wants you or any other mutant to make a scene just to make her point!" Hermione had frozen at this before settling back into her chair, unwilling to play the damn bitch's game.

After that, they had several other classes in Defense, each one worse than the last. It had been discovered that a few witches and wizards within the school were mutants from birth, and Umbridge had great joy in torturing them with questions they couldn't possibly answer. Luckily, Hermione and Harry hadn't been caught yet.

"We're going to get caught, aren't we?" Hermione whispered to him during supper in the Great Hall a week after Umbridge started teaching.

"Probably," sighed Harry, focusing on his food and trying not to worry. "And you're okay with that?" asked Hermione, looking at him desperately. "No, but if she does find out….. I'm leaving." Harry said.

This made Hermione look at him sharply. "What? You can't just leave! She'll just start making up stupid excuses to give you detention, it's nothing serious-!" "Don't you see, Hermione? ! It won't be long before either the Ministry of Magic or the real world's government's start rounding up mutants because we're dangerous! We'll be locked up, I should know; Umbridge was assigned to this school just to keep an eye on the mutant kids, so she can see their abilities, so when they come, they'll be prepared to round us up!" Harry snapped, grabbing her arm to make her realize the danger of the situation.

Hermione's eyes widened, her lips parted in horror, before she hissed, "Then we have to stay; when they come, we'll fight back! We can send them a message! A message that says if you mess with mutants, you will regret it!" Now Harry's eyes widened. "Hermione….. you sound like a Death Eater. Sending messages of power to your weaker opponents! You can't do that!" He gasped.

Hermione's eyes filled with pain for a moment before she said, "I don't care. I'm tired of the way we're treated! Besides, it's not like humans will treat us wizards any differently if we're ever discovered! I cannot let that happen!"

She slowly took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I can't let you or anyone else suffer just because of discrimination for power! I will never let you suffer again after what Voldemort did to you," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

After Voldemort had tortured Harry in the graveyard last year, he'd accidentally projected the images into Hermione's head while he was asleep; and she would never allow that to happen to him again.

/\/\/\/\

"So you run a school for mutants that fight for human-mutant peace? That has a jet that comes out of a basketball court?" summarized Quicksilver, looking doubtful.

"Well, when you say it like that it sounds silly, but yeah," said Bobby, grinning; he'd had the same doubts when he first joined too.

"Human-mutant peace? How stupid!" snarled Scarlet Witch, her eyes flashing dangerously with anger. "Scarlet, calm down!" snapped Quicksilver.

She whirled around to him, eyes furious. "We started this group for a reason; to protect our own kind and nobody else, to fight against humans! You can't tell me you've forgotten that!" she snarled angrily. Quicksilver hesitated, unsure of what to say, when Psylocke spoke up.

"Forgive me for interrupting, but we have two mutants coming towards us," she said, eyes misted as she located them. "Who is it?" asked Quicksilver, eyes flashing at the possible treachery of the X-Men. Psylocke elaborated, "Some people called the Brotherhood."

/\/\/\/\

A/N: Cliffhanger! Muahahahahaha! ! ! Alright, remember; REVIEW OR DON'T BOTHER READIING! I'm not going to post again until I get at least 2 reviews! HURRAH! ! ! ! ! ! !
-Wind