Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, settings, and other plot elements belong to Marvel. Any products or copyrighted material belong to their respective owners. I do not gain any profit from this page.

The entire group, except Rogue, ran through the grove of trees to the source of the explosion. They burst out of the shrubbery into the clearing to find a strikingly handsome teenage boy looking at them disdainfully. He lowered his hands, which had been extended, directed at a tall oak tree, which now had a gaping hole burned through its trunk, with smoke coiling up from the edges.

Watch out," he said tonelessly.

Mere seconds after he spoke, the meager wood holding up the tree began to groan dangerously, and the tree collapsed. The X-Men scrambled out of the the way, but the handsome stranger remained where he was. The large oak tree landed less than a foot from where he was standing, but he neither so much as flinched, nor did his expression flicker.

A few beats of silence passed as the two parties stared at each other before Scott leaped forward. "Who are you?" He demanded.

"My name is Northstar," said the stranger.

"I'm Scott Summers, leader of the X-Men," Scott informed him.

Northstar was thoroughly unimpressed by this piece of news, judging by the expression on his face, which was, to be brief, beautiful. His precisely symmetrical features were set upon utterly flawless, ivory skin, with arched, upswept eyebrows and high, sculpted cheekbones, all complemented by his sleek black hair. Thick eyelashes gave his eyes a smoky appearance, which were already remarkable due to their unusual coloring: a very cold, pale, glacial blue that seemed to burn with an arctic intensity. He was taller than average, with a whipcord thin build that suggested extreme athleticism rather than frailty, which was accompanied by lean, defined muscles. And although the teen wore casual clothes, it was impossible to hide that his outfit was constructed from a variety of extremely expensive and high-end brands. He was dressed completely in black, which only emphasized his alabaster, completely unblemished complexion.

"Are you a new student at the Xavier Institute?" Jean asked curiously.

"So I've been told," Northstar answered.

Jean smiled. "That's wonderful! You'll love the Xavier Institute so much! It is so much fun all of the time!"

Northstar appeared supremely uninterested. "Fascinating," he replied in his monotone as he rose a single eyebrow.

"Oh my gosh," Kitty whispered to Carlie. "He's going to be a new student here!" She rolled up her skirt so more of her legs would show. "He's super cute!"

"He is very good-looking," Carlie agreed. "But I have the strangest feeling that I've met him somewhere before."

"That's a great reason to go and talk to him!" Kitty exclaimed, removing her cardigan to expose her bare shoulders. "You should ask him out, Carlie! I bet you could have a great time with him out on a date!"

"I bet anyone could," said Lance appreciatively as he gazed at Northstar.

"I'll watch him for a few minutes," Carlie decided.

"So, what's your mutation?" Pietro asked Northstar.

"Like it's any of your business," Northstar returned coldly. His icy eyes seemed to burn when he spoke.

Not deterred, Pietro continued his line of friendly questioning. "Where are you from?"

He received no reply. Northstar stared at Pietro blankly.

"I think I'm going to make my move," Carlie whispered to Kitty. "I'm kind of nervous."

"Go for it, girlfriend!" Kitty told her excitedly. "He'll be so astounded by your beauty that he'll have to say yes to a date!"

"Thanks," Carlie whispered shyly, blushing. "But I honestly don't think I'm that pretty."

Kitty looked at her seriously. "Carlie, you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen in my entirely life. You know who Mary-Jane Watson is, right?"

Carlie stuck out her tongue in disgust. "That one slutty model who is always posing on the cover of some magazine in some sort of streetwalker outfit, but all the boys think is really hot? What about her?"

"I think that you're much prettier than she ever could be," Kitty told her. "And to think, you're not even a professional model."

"That means so much to me," said Carlie gratefully. "But I'm sure I'm not that pretty," she added modestly. "And now I'm going to talk to Northstar."

She walked up to Northstar, who looked very bored by the current conversation Jean and Scott were having with him. C arlie found the boy to be very strange. With his unchangingly expressionless face, icy demeanor, and winter pale complexion, he was closer in resemblance to a cold, white marble statue enchanted by some supernatural means rather than a human with blood coursing through his veins. But nevertheless, she was intrigued by him. An aura of mystery surrounded him, and she intended to discover why she recognized him. If only she could place the memory of his astonishingly handsome face.

"Hi," she said to Northstar.

He said nothing in reply and stared at her as if she were gum on the bottom of his expensive shoe.

She stared back in return and waited for some sort of response.

He continued to stare at her with something akin to dislike surfacing in his gaze.

Carlie was so surprised to see an actual emotion on his face that she forgot to actually say anything.

He stared at her.

Finally, Carlie broke the awkward silence between them. "I'm Carlie Cooper," she said. "I used to be Spider-Girl," she added. She extended her hand for him to shake. "I'm very pleased to meet you."

He glanced down at her hand and then back at her. "The pleasure is all mine, let me assure you." But something in his tone sounded very insincere. He took out a lighter and lit a cigarette.

"Have we met before?" Carlie asked casually.

Northstar looked disgusted. "No," he said flatly. "I only date other criminals."

"What?" Kitty asked, aghast.

Pietro looked equally horrified.

"Are you legitimately a criminal?" Scott asked him seriously.

"Yes," Northstar responded in his monotone. "This is supposed to be some sort of rehabilitation for me."

"What do you mean?" Jean demanded.

Without replying, Northstar stalked off.

"He's very mysterious," Jean observed to Scott.

"Rather secretive, too," Scott agreed.

Carlie couldn't explain it, but somehow, she felt drawn to the aloof Northstar. But if he was a criminal, she didn't see how she could obtain answers from him.

"What do you think?" Kitty asked Carlie quietly.

"We need answers," Carlie stated.

Kitty nodded in affirmation.

"So, tonight," Carlie said grimly, "we break into his room."

A/N:

Positive feedback about this story is great. As for the flames, well, haterz gonna hate. :P