++Chapter IV: The Glow and the Glare++

"There are two kinds of light. The glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures."

– James Thurber

After the first couple of days, life at the Xavier mansion became second nature for Jessica, Kimberly, and Natalie. They began to learn their way around better. They enjoyed meeting some of the other students, and began to make new friends. And they very quickly learned that the Danger Room was not a place to trifle with.

As Kitty Pryde phased through the Sentinel, the robot began to emit sparks, and fell, twitching, onto the ground. Heavily. "One down, " she called, trying to catch her breath.

"Okay, their numbers are limited!" Scott shouted, and blasted toward one that had come too close for comfort with his optic lasers. "Kim, coordinate the next attack! Remember, they can hear us as well as see us!"

Kimberly closed her eyes briefly and concentrated. Okay, everyone. Nat, you and Kitty should go for the next closest one. Keep your shadows around you so that it doesn't see you. Once that one is short-circuited, Colossus, hold the last one off while I direct energy into its wires and defuse it. Then –

"Mutants detected. Mutants detected." Both of the remaining Sentinels charged directly for the small class gathered together, and as screams resounded through the landscape, it all vanished, abruptly.

"Session terminated, " the computer said, politely.

"Kimberly, you are still being way too verbose!" Scott admonished. "I told you yesterday to keep orders down to a few words. In a real battle situation, you won't have time to communicate that much to everyone. Say what you need to say in as few words as possible, and make sure that everyone keeps moving." He paused to wipe his brow. "Did everyone hear her today?"

As choruses of "Yes" went through the class, Scott's gaze remained trained on the young telepath. "Good. You're lucky that your week as team leader ends today. Don't forget about all of your teammates. You failed to mention Jessica in that large spiel you were busy thinking out." He paused, watching as the girl's posture slackened. "Natalie, I want you to take over for one week, starting tomorrow, " he ordered, glancing briefly at his watch. "Dismissed!"

"Kim? You alright?" Jessica asked tentatively, reaching out to touch her friend lightly on her shoulder.

"I – yeah, I'll live, " she muttered in response, rubbing at her forehead for a moment. "I've never taken public humiliation well. You know that."

"That wasn't exactly humiliation, " her friend pointed out, gently. "That was criticism. Constructive criticism. I don't blame you for leaving me out, either, " she added, quickly, as Kim turned to look at her. "I mean, I'm still not sure what my powers even are, so how can I be of help in a battle situation?"

"At least you'll most likely have something that can help you out in a battle, " Kim muttered, almost bitterly. "There's not much that I can do with telepathy, besides talking to others in their heads and apparently, probing their minds. How is that helpful in battle?"

Jessica was quiet for a moment as they walked up the eerily silent, futuristic hallway. "Well, look at it this way, " she said at last. "Maybe we'll fight someone who doesn't know that you're a telepath, and you can just yank their strategy right out of their heads to give us the advantage."

"I doubt that it'll be that easy, " Kim replied, with a weary smile. She paused as they drew near the elevator. "You go on, Jess. I'll catch up with you later."

Jess's hazel eyes widened for a moment. "Well, okay, Kim, " she said at last. "Just – be careful, okay? You know we're not supposed to be down here unless we're escorted by one of the X-Men."

"I have a lesson to get to, " her friend explained, gesturing further down the hall. "Lab, " she added, hastily. "Practical lab for organic chemistry."

"Oh, alright. See you at dinner, then."

Kimberly watched the elevator close around Jess, and then sighed, trudging down the hall past the infirmary, past the laboratory, stopping only when she stood outside of the doors leading to Cerebro. They opened, and the girl walked inside, staring around her in awe.

She had entered an immense chamber, a globe-shaped dome that extended an indeterminable distance in all directions. The pathway leading to the central controls that she stood on was narrow, providing just enough room for a wheelchair to go through it without having to make cumbersome turns or adjustments.

"Stand very still, " Professor Xavier said softly from his seat at the controls. The doors closed behind them, and he turned his chair, staring intently at the girl for a long moment. "Today, I'm going to start teaching you about Cerebro. It's a device that I believe you can eventually acquire enough control to use. I will not deny that it will be difficult, but even if you never get to use it, I want you to at least know how it works."

She nodded once, indicating that she understood, and carefully slid her bag off of her shoulder.

"The brainwaves of mutants and humans are very distinct, " he continued, watching her closely. "They will feel different to you, as I'm sure you've already begun to notice. Cerebro amplifies this difference, and will show you all of the mutants or humans on the planet, with the command of a single thought." He paused, closing his eyes briefly. The lines in his expression shifted as he grasped a wisp of thought – Scott, admonishing her in the Danger Room – a bit of guilt, humiliation, and some inadequacy.

"I'm sorry, Professor, " Kim said quietly. "I – had a harder time in the Danger Room today than I've had all week as the team leader in the scenario. I screwed up on a lot of things, and well …"

"And you're not used to that, " he finished for her, as he opened his eyes. "Scott trains everyone to the best of his ability. Some are born to be field leaders, and others function better as a member of the team under that leadership." As she opened her mouth to speak again, he added, "It does not make you a follower, or any less of a person than a competent field leader."

"But I feel so useless, in there, sometimes, " she admitted, lifting her gaze to meet his. "I can't do anything except talk to the others. Maybe I could sense the strategies of people that we were actually up against if they were real people, and not just mechanical, robotic machines."

"I understand your frustration, " Xavier responded, "and without having telekinetic skills to accompany your telepathy, it does make it difficult to be on the offensive in those situations."

Kimberly sighed. "Very difficult, " she agreed quietly.

"I'm going to show you how Cerebro operates, " he said after a moment, turning back to the controls. As he lifted the helmet onto his head, he added, "Don't move, and stay close."

The room suddenly exploded into a million points of light, and with a soft hum, began to display rough shapes of land masses, all containing innumerable dots of bright, white light. They resembled countless constellations, all crowded together onto a depiction of the surface of the world.

"Through Cerebro, I am connected to all of the people on the planet, and they, to me, " the professor murmured, almost reverently. "These white lights are the humans." As the globe rotated around them, the lights suddenly shifted, and turned red. "And these, are the mutants. Cerebro does not distinguish between mutants whose powers remain dormant, or mutants whose powers have already manifested."

Taking a step closer to Xavier's chair, the girl gazed upon the lights incredulously. "There are so many, " she said at last, softly. She frowned a little, a crease forming in her brow as something occurred to her. "Is this how you found me, and my friends?"

He nodded. "Yes. Cerebro requires a degree of control to use, especially when you're attempting to pinpoint one person in particular. Concentrate too hard, and you could kill them."

She blanched, visibly.

"Everything at the Xavier School appears to be proceeding as normal, " a woman's voice crackled through the two-way radio, echoing into the dark, metallic cavern, "but I have reason to believe that he's acquired three new students within the past two weeks."

Erik Lehnsherr turned his gaze from his desk to his window, gazing out to sea with eyes not much darker than the silvery moon above for a long, silent moment. "Untrained, I take it."

"They certainly seem to be, although we can't count on them to remain that way for long."

"No, " he agreed. "We can't." He turned back to the radio, a thoughtful expression stealing over his visage. "Do you have any idea what their powers are?"

"I've learned that the girl they call Natalie can control shadows and turn them into weapons that cause physical harm. I'm not sure of the other two."

"Shadows, " he repeated, the corners of his mouth twitching briefly. "That could prove to be – useful. Keep an eye on all three of them, and let me know how their training appears to be progressing. Hopefully, they will not be ready to fight with the others by the time our plans come to fruition."

"I'll do what I can, " the woman replied, confidently.

As she closed the transmission, Magneto stepped away from his window, striding toward the door of his study with a small, growing smile. "I know you will, my dear, " he murmured softly.

A thousand thoughts swirled through his mind, all at once, as he headed toward his chambers. If his old friend had indeed acquired three new recruits, how powerful were they? Would they be strong enough to fight with the fully-fledged X-Men against him and the rest of the Brotherhood when he made his plans known to the rest of the world?

Rolling up his sleeves as he removed his heavy cape and hung it upon the wall, he turned his attention to the television in his living area, and, seating himself upon his couch, floated his remote toward him with a lazy wave of one hand.

"In other news, " the TV blared as he flicked it on, "Senator Fulwood's cautionary view against mutants is clearly gaining support in the public. People everywhere are blaming mishaps on mutants. A teacher at Cadmium Junior High is currently reported as missing after accidentally shooting bolts of electricity at one of her students. Parents are outraged and demanding mutant identification and interrogation of all current school officials …"

"You see, Charles?" he murmured, to himself. "They're not going to accept us. Not now, not with that Senator making his speeches and gathering support from the rest of them. They're going to create laws and try to legally bind us, to prevent us from using our powers. And that's why we must stop them, now. Before it's too late."

He glanced down at his hands, silently intertwined and resting upon his lap. The group that he had sent to scout out the Space Needle in Washington had returned with satisfactory reports of the building's structure. It was definitely something that he could work with – something that he could use to solve the problems of the homo sapiens. After all, if they were rendered unable to even think, mutants certainly wouldn't be a concern to them, would they? He closed his eyes, briefly. He knew the age-old arguments; he and Charles Xavier had hashed and re-hashed them, over and over again. His determination to preserve the existence of mutants had led him to often take destructive courses of action against the rest of humanity. But to him, they were all nothing. He and his fellow mutants were the evolved people; homo sapiens had evolved into homo superior, and it was time to speed up the process of natural selection. Humans were evolving far too slowly. If they wanted to turn this into a war of "survival of the fittest, " then he would certainly give them the war that they were asking for – and more. Survival of the fittest, after all, dictated that the stronger species would prevail, and that the weaker would eventually die out, ceasing to exist. It was inevitable for the human race. Why prolong it?

His pale gaze traveled to his arm, pausing upon the faded numbers still branded into his skin. They would always be there. They would always remind him of the horrors of mankind and what the majority could do to a minority. What the actions of one man could do to a minority. Nothing would ever erase that knowledge. It was indelibly branded into his mind and his very existence. Even Charles would not be able to fully erase everything, not that he had ever tried. A bitter smile briefly graced his visage as he switched off the television. He had to wonder just what his old friend would say when he discovered what he was about to do – or, perhaps, if he got lucky, what he had done.

A/N: I can only wish that I owned the X-Men. Chapter 9 is WIP; I'm holding the next few chapters ransom for a few reviews. ;)