Part 30: Bayville

(Bayville, New York)

Now if one would say that Bayville was a nice and quiet little town…someone had mistaken it for somewhere in the Midwest.

The people that lived not too far from the Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters knew of the school's true nature, as did the rest of the world. It was out there far enough from the public eye but no one had expected of its true nature of being a haven for an evolution of humans called Mutants. However, the truth was revealed a while back during the whole "Sentinel" incident on TV.

The two motorcycles pulled up in front of the large mansion before Ryuki took off his helmet and dismounted from his bike, carrying the backpack that held Brimstone inside. His friends, Craig, Jinx and Jake, watched as he slowly walked up the steps towards the door.

Ryuki pressed the doorbell and seconds later a beautiful African American woman with long white hair answered, "Who is it?" she asked.

"Monroe-sensei?" Ryuki said to her, smiling slightly. "It's been a long time. Konichiwa. Hajimemashite?" he greeted her politely in Japanese.

"Ryuki?" Ororo a.k.a. Storm gasped. "Is that you?" he nodded.

"Hai. Is Xavier-sensei around? I'd like to talk to him," Ryuki said to her. Ororo realized something was wrong. Even though she wasn't psychic, she knew something was up with Ryuki.

"I'll go get him. Please, come inside. Your friends too," she said.

"Thank you," Jen nodded.

"Thanks," Craig added.

"Thanks a bunch," Jake said.

Ororo led the 4 friends into the living room. They saw a few of the students there hanging out. Ororo asked them to leave and they did. The Titans and Smart Brain Operative sat down on the couch as Ororo left them.

"Swank place, yo," Jake whistled.

"I've heard of this place," Jen admired. "Isn't this the Xavier Institute for the Gifted, the place the X-Men live?" she had watched the news and how mutants were exposed. She never knew mutants existed until then. She knew that people with powers existed, of course, but mutants were different from aliens and metahumans since they had the X-Gene. This institute was no different from the HIVE Academy, except that it trained heroes and not villains.

"You've been here before, haven't you?" Craig asked Ryuki and he nodded.

Ryuki explained, "It was about a few years ago after my Okaasan found out about me being a Zodiac Knight. She immediately brought me here to meet with Xavier-sensei about my mysterious powers. That was before the exposure of mutants, of course. I learnt how to hone my powers as well as improve my fighting abilities. I also come here for counseling. The last time was..." he trailed off, remembering how he felt when Tazuka had died.

A bald man in a wheelchair wheeled in, followed by Ororo. Upon seeing Ryuki, he smiled, "Ah, Ryuki. It's been a long time. How have you been?"

"Not so good, sensei," Ryuki replied. "Something happened." he then asked, "Is my room still..."

"Your room is as you've left it," Professor Xavier said kindly.

"Arigato, sensei." Ryuki got up and made his way towards the room without another word.

"Oh dear," he then took notice of the three left in the room with him aside from Ororo. "And you must be Ryuki's friends. I am Prof. Charles Xavier."

"I'm Jennifer Wilcox, Ryuki's girlfriend. Call me Jen"

"I'm Craig Smith."

"I'm his best bud, call me Jake Long."

"No doubt that Ryuki has gone through something traumatizing. Please, could you tell me? I prefer not to read your minds though," Xavier said to them. His institute was worldly known as a school for mutants, so he didn't mind telling them he was a mutant.

"Should we?" Jen asked.

"It's in Leo's best interest," said Craig as he used Ryuki's nickname. "He needs help, so we have to do our part."

Jen sighed and said to the professor, "Alright, it's like this," she told Professor Xavier everything, from the very beginning.

Ryuki was in his room, sitting on his bed. Brimstone lay at his feet, looking worried. He jumped onto the bed and looked at his master. Ryuki brought up a hand to stroke Brimstone's head.

The room was just like how he remembered it. There were posters of martial arts movies as well as a drum set at the corner. He, however, was in no mood to play.

The moment played out in his mind like a tape that had been rewound over and over. He had let his rage take over and killed the Spider Orphenoch. It may have been a monster, but a monster that was once human.

"I am...a monster..." he began crying, placing his face in his hands.

Of course, Logan walked by his door and heard him. He said, "The kid's a mess."

"I see," the Professor said as he looked thoughtful. "I understand."

"Can you help him?" Jen asked.

"Charles can help Ryuki the best that he can with his problem, but Ryuki needs to do the healing on his own," Ororo answered.

"Thank you," Jen smiled.

"By the way, I want you and Ryuki to meet some of our students while you're here. So you better get yourselves cleaned up and dressed. Call Ryuki, if he is able to come, of course," Xavier said

"Sure," Craig said.

"No problem," Jake smiled.

"I'll do that now," Jen volunteered.

It was easy to find Ryuki's room; his was the one with the big red dragon sign. She also heard some soft drumming from the inside. She turned the knob and opened the door slowly. She peaked through the crack and saw her boyfriend crying at his drums, gripping the drumsticks tightly. Her heart began to break, seeing him like this. She knew Ryuki had issues, but she didn't know how much. Regardless, she was going to help him out of his funk.

"You can come in, Jinxy-chan. The door's open," he said. Jinx cursed herself, forgetting that he had sharper senses now. She slowly walked into the room and Brimstone welcomed her with a bark. She smiled before walking over to the bed and sitting on it, followed by Ryuki. Brimstone jumped off the bed to let them have the space.

"You okay?" she asked. A stupid question, but she had to say it.

"I guess," he answered. "It's just..." she used a finger to wipe his tears away.

"You can talk to me, Ryuki..." she coaxed, softly, running her fingers through his auburn hair. He had undid the braid and left his hair a long spiky mess.

"It's just that, a hero is all I've ever wanted to be, you know?" he told her. She nodded in understanding. "My Okaasan always told me about the Kamen Riders and how they fought for truth and justice as well as for the world. Growing up my whole life, they were my idols." he looked at his hands, "But now...Can I still be called a hero?"

"You are..."

"I'm not," he protested. "How can I be when there's a monster inside me? How can I be a hero that protects people when I can't even protect myself?" He clenched his fists. "How...?"

She cooed and leaned her head on his shoulder. He looked over at her, "Jinxy-chan?"

"You're not a monster," she said. "You're not a monster," she repeated and explained, "A monster enjoys destruction and feels no remorse. A monster kills without mercy. A monster is NOT what you are, Ryuki." she then pressed her lips to his for a second. "Believe me, you're not a monster."

"Arigatou, Jinxy-chan," he said to her.

"So, you know the X-Men, huh?" she asked.

"Like I said, I came here when I was younger," he answered. "I still don't get why people still hate them. I mean, they saved the world from Apocalypse." He saw the News Shows and how the X-Men and their allies defeated the ancient and powerful mutant.

"That's just how the world is. It's a messed up place. That's why it still needs heroes."

Ryuki sighed and then Jinx continued, "By the way, Professor Xavier wants you to go outside and meet some of the students."

"Sure, Jinx." he then began to fix his hair, tying it into a braid, but with little success.

"Here, let me," she offered as she redid his braid. "There, finish."

"Arigatou," he smiled at her. "Let's go then."

With that, the two Titans left the room, leaving Brimstone to jump onto the bed and sleep.

Assembled in the lobby were the members of the X-Men. There was Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler who possessed a physical mutation that made him look like a blue demon and had the power to teleport, Scott Summers/Cyclops (not to be confused with the Immortal sorcery of the same name) who could fire solar concussion blasts out of his eyes, but needed to wear special sunglasses and a visor, Jean Grey who possessed Telepathic and Telekinetic abilities, Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat who could phase through solid matter, Rogue who had the ability to absorb energy at the mere touch of her skin, Logan/Wolverine who had a healing factor, enhanced smell and an adamantium skeleton which included a set of sharp claws, Ororo Monroe/Storm who could control and manipulate the weather, and Hank McCoy/Beast who had a physical mutation that made him look like a large blue ape with enhanced strength and agility. With them were the New Mutants named Tabitha Smith/Boom-Boom, Amara Aquilla/Magma, Sam Guthrie/Cannonbal, Ray Crisp/Berserker, Roberto Da Costa/Sunspot, Jamie Madrox/Multiple and Bobby Drake/Iceman. There were other members (Rahne Sinclair and Jubilation Lee), but they were taken away by their parents/guardians after the day mutants were exposed. However, they returned to the Institute after the Apocalypse Incident. Rahne's codename was Wolfsbane and Jubilation's was Jubilee. New members/students included one Danielle Moonstar/Mirage, Piotr Rasputin/Colossus who was once one of Magneto's Acolytes, Laura Logan/X-23 who was Logan's female and younger clone/daughter and Keith Lockheart/Alchemist.

They were all in the lobby, waiting since the Professor had called them. Ororo and Logan knew what was going on, but none of the students did.

"What's going on, Professor?" asked Jean.

"That's what I'd like to know too," Kitty added. Everyone else had similar questions too.

"Everyone, settle down," Xavier said and they went silent somewhat. "Now, the reason I had called you here is because we have some very special guests here tonight. Therefore, tonight we will have a special dinner to welcome them." A lot of the younger students cheered. "Anyway, I would like to introduce you too Mr. Ryuki Leonard Hasuma."

Scott and Jean remembered Ryuki well, but none of the other students did. Tabitha began thinking, 'Hasuma? Where have I heard that name before?'

Ryuki walked down the stairs and gulped as he saw all the people. Jen gave his hand a reassuring squeeze that everything would be alright. Taking in a deep breath and prayer, he walked down the steps towards the lobby. Craig and Jake had arrived at the lobby too and smiled. The other students noticed Jake and Craig and wanted to know who they were.

"Konichiwa," Ryuki greeted in Japanese, "I mean…Hi," he corrected himself.

"These are his friends, Jennifer Wilcox, Craig Smith and Jake Long," Xavier furthered explained.

"What up?" Jake grinned.

"Hi," Craig said grumpily.

"Hello," Jen greeted.

"Leo! Hey! It's been awhile!" Scott said to the young Dragon Knight.

"Hai. Long time no see Scott-san," Ryuki said to the red shaded man. "It is also good to see you too, Jean-san."

"It's good to see you too. How have you been?" Jean asked. For some reason, she could feel that something was amiss.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Ryuki said, smiling weakly. "Just tired, that's all."

"Professor, who are they and why do Jean and Scott know Ryuki?" Kitty asked.

"Ryuki once came here for counseling about 3 years ago when his powers first manifested," Xavier explained. "However, he is not a mutant since he does not possess an X-Gene. His powers came from…other sources."

"Other sources?" Kurt asked, his voice thick with his accent. He was wearing an image inducer, but seeing that Ryuki wasn't freaked out by Beast's appearance switched it off.

"I'll explain later. Right now, you may get to know our guests."

"Can I help during dinner?" Ryuki volunteered. "I can make my famous Curry Surprise."

Scoot and Jean paled and gulped. They remembered very well what had happened the LAST time they had Ryuki's 'Curry Surprise'.

"Maybe later, Ryuki," Ororo said politely, not wanting a repeat of that incident.

"Okay," Ryuki smiled.

Xavier thought, 'At least he's recovering a little bit.' Craig, Jen and Jake had told him of his predicament and wished to help. So far, only the students didn't know what was going on. Xavier shook his head. It was unwise to reveal that just yet.

"Check it, ladies!" Jake smiled cockily. "The AmDrag of the NYC has come to play!" he then said, "DRAGON UP!" and morphed into his dragon form, much to the surprise of the mutants.

"Are you a mutant too?" Kurt asked.

"He's a dragon," Craig answered for him.

"No way!" Bobby didn't believe it. "There are no such things as dragons!"

"Then what do you call THIS?" Jake spread out his wings and flew around near the ceiling.

Ryuki shouted, "Jake! Stop flying around! We don't want you to break something!"

Jake landed and reverted back to human form, "Sorry bro. My bad."

Brimstone padded down the stairs and then leapt into its master's awaiting arms. This got a few squeals from the girls. Since Brimstone had a special collar on, he looked like a Doberman puppy.

"What a cutie!" Tabitha smiled. "Is he yours?"

"Hai," Ryuki answered as he rubbed Brimstone's head. "He's called Brimstone."

"Why Brimstone?" asked Amara.

"It's a long story," Ryuki said to her. Jen was starting to get jealous as some of the girls were getting a bit too chummy with her boyfriend.

"Jealous much?" asked Rogue, her voice thick with a Southern accent. She was a Goth, like Jinx. "Nice threads," she complimented on Jen's clothes.

"Yeah, you too," Jen complimented back.

"So, you got any powers?"

Jen grinned and her eyes glowed pink, "You'll see..."

"So, how do you guys, like, know this guy?" Kitty asked both Jean and Scott, referring to Ryuki.

"Like the Professor said, he came by about 3 years ago to help control his powers," Jean said. "It was before we began recruiting Kurt and you, so you never met him."

"He also came by a few months ago," Scott added, "But that was when you were all at school. You couldn't meet him since he left early."

"What did the Professor mean by counseling?" Kurt asked.

Scott answered, "You'll see." He didn't want to say too much. At least, not yet.

Craig was leaning against the wall, bored. Bobby decided to play a trick on him and fired him with a cold breeze. Craig became startled and whipped out his Death Buster gun and pointed it at Bobby. This caused everyone to go silent upon seeing the weapon. Craig apologized weakly, "Sorry, my mistake."

"You got a gun!" Logan exclaimed, claws out.

"It's for protection!" Craig defended.

"Sure it is," Logan retorted sarcastically, "And I only use these for dinner!"

"You should've left it in your bag, Craig dude," Jake reminded.

"I said I was sorry," he put it back in its holster.

"Don't mind Craig," Ryuki said to the others. "The thing isn't loaded." He turned to Craig and asked with narrowed eyes, "Right Craig?"

"Yeah, sure," Craig muttered.

Later, after their introductions, Ryuki, Jake, Craig and Jen were gonna show the X-Men what they could do in the Danger Room. Or to be more precise, Draco, the American Dragon, Mortuary and Jinx were gonna show them what they could do in the Danger Room. Upon seeing them in uniform, the X-Men finally recognized who they were.

"YOU'RE THE TEEN TITANS!" Jamie, or Jamies, yelled out.

Most of the other's reactions mirrored the young Multiple's

"Yeah, we are," Ryuki, now Draco, said. "We're members of the Teen Titans." Jinx smiled and Mortuary just shrugged. Jake was with them too, clad in his Smart Brain Operative uniform.

The 3 Titans and 1 Smart Brain Operative went into the large empty steel walled room. The X-Men, New Mutants, the Professor and the Instructors were up in the control room.

"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" Jake shouted.

The simulation started and Jake morphed to dragon form. Draco took commanding lead and shouted, "Let's show them how Titans do it!" He mimicked Robin's battlecry, "TITANS! GO!"

They went into action.

Jinx used her hexes and incapacitated the buzz-saws. A few laser rifles fired at her, but she gracefully somersaulted away. Mortuary took this as his chance to show off and fired green necroplasmic energy at the guns. Jinx followed up with a hex wave that destroyed some more of the weapons.

Draco was doing battle with the flamethrowers. They spewed fire at him, but he easily used his pyrokinesis, but he preferred to call it firebending, to manipulate the flames harmlessly away from him. He then destroyed the flamethrowers with their own flames, blowing them up.

Jake avoided some medicine balls that were fired at him. He flew through the air, dodging. He did a nosedive and used his claws to sever the machine to pieces with one swift slash.

Suddenly, a section of the wall opened and out came a GIANT spiked ball. Draco smirked. "Okay! Jinx! Mort! Like we practiced!" He outstretched his hands. "HEX NECROFREEZE!" Draco fired an ice beam, which froze the ball. Jinx and Mortuary then followed up with their hexes and necroplasm, respectively. The powers hit and shattered the frozen ball to pieces.

Jake hollered, "Can I hear a whoop whoop! Holla!"

The people watching dropped their jaws.

"Woah…" Tabitha whistled.

"Impressive," Xavier smiled.

"He can shoot ice!" Bobby shouted, referring to Draco.

"And fire!" Amara added, hearts forming in her eyes. She was in love.

Later…again…

Ryuki was walking down the hallways after attaining a small carton of milk from the fridge. Jen, Jake and Craig were mingling with the other students. Brimstone, the Kaiser puppy that was disguised as a Doberman puppy followed after Ryuki obediently. Ryuki sipped the milk through a straw and would often pour some into his hand before kneeling down and sharing it with Brimstone.

Amara was at a corner, waiting for Ryuki. As a princess of her kingdom of Nova Roma, Amara was royalty. However, it didn't mean she couldn't have fun and nor was she required to marry royalty. She knew Ryuki was dating Jen, but she couldn't help but have a crush on the auburn haired Titan. With her was Tabitha, her best friend. Amara had confided in Tabitha and the girl further encouraged Amara to go talk to her latest crush. Taking in a deep breath, Amara walked out of the corner and waved.

"Hi, Leo," she greeted.

Ryuki smiled, "Konichiwa. Amara, right?"

"Yes," Amara smiled, her cheeks reddening. "I saw you in the Danger Room. That was amazing!" she said to him.

"Arigatou," Ryuki bowed his head politely. "I saw you as well with the other New Mutants. You were great too."

Amara blushed at the compliment. Brimstone tilted his head and walked over to Amara before sniffing her. He sat down and barked happily, wagging his tail.

"How cute!" she picked up Brimstone and the little puppy didn't protest.

"Thanks. His name's Brimstone, by the way."

"Why Brimstone?" she asked.

Ryuki thought, 'If I told you, I doubt you'd believe me.' "The name just popped up in my head," he told her, not revealing the truth about Brimstone being a demon dog known as a Kaiser.

"Okay." Brimstone licked her face and she giggled. "Aw, that tickles." She hugged the little puppy, "And so soft!"

Amara put down Brimstone and he walked back to Ryuki, who picked him up. Amara then asked, "Are you doing anything? Later, I mean?" she stuttered, "B-because there's something I want to pick up in town and Scott and Jean are out. I need a ride."

"I have my bike," Ryuki offered. "Maybe we could ride there."

Amara smiled, "Thank you!" she beamed.

"You're welcome, Amara-chan," he said to he before walking off and past Tabitha. Tabitha smiled widely and went to her friend.

"It seems you got a hot date, literally!" Tabitha said to her friend.

"I know!" Amara said excitedly, but then remembered Jen. "But what about his girlfriend? She'd hex me if she found out."

Tabitha waved it off. "Relax. As far as Leo is concerned, he's doing you a friendly favor."

Jubilee suddenly ran towards them, waving her arms wildly, "GUYS! Leo is training out in the yard." She added, squealing, "SHIRTLESS!"

"LET'S GO!"

Ryuki was out doing his katas in the yard, wearing only a pair of drawstring pants and no shoes. His hair had been pulled into a tighter braid and he was wearing wristbands. He was doing a slow practice kata as the girls watched him move gracefully. He was oblivious to their attention. Jen was there too.

"Oh wow!" Amara drooled, "Look at those muscles!"

Tabitha agreed, "I'll say!" she had a camera and taking snapshots for her collection.

Jen smirked proudly, "Back off girl." She hissed, "He's mine."

Ryuki then stood still and began to display a different form of fighting. He did swift and fast punches and kicks, generating fire as he did from his fists and feet. This wowed the girls some more when the fire formed into a dragon. After that he displayed strong punches and kicks, levitating the earth itself and manipulating it in sync with his movements.

"Wow, that's totally like Lance's power," Kitty admired.

"But more refined," Rogue said. "Look at his moves."

"I'm looking at his pecks!" Tabitha grinned. "And buns!" Jen scowled. She knew Ryuki wasn't showing off, but was slightly irked and jealous of the other girls' reactions and attention towards Ryuki's training. Laura rolled her eyes.

"I don't understand why we're ogling at him," Laura said dryly.

"Why are you here then?" Danielle asked.

"I wish to admire his training method. It seems interesting."

"Ryuki is doing something he likes to call 'Bending'," Jen explained to them. "He calls these Firebending and Earthbending. He's been practicing his powers with these two arts to better use and amplify their effects."

"Eartbending? Firebending?" Jean asked. Yes, she was there too. "Why name them those? Why not pyrokinesis and geokinesis?"

Jen answered, "To be honest, Ryuki can't really pronounce those words that well. He can say them, but not correctly. Besides, he says they sound like an illness or psychosis or something and he prefers the term 'bending' anyway. In a way, it's accurate as he is technically bending the elements to his whim." She saw Ryuki using his ice powers this time. "Like now." And then combining it with his fire powers so he was now moving water to form a dragon around himself. "That's Waterbending, girls," Jen explained as he moved in fluid motion, allowing the water to move gracefully around him. He then finished off and a rainbow formed over him. The girls sighed.

"He's quite the catch, isn't he?" Rahne said to Jen with a thick Scottish accent. Jen smiled.

"He's a good man, I can tell," said Danielle.

"And really damn hot!" Tabitha added.

Ryuki had a clean shirt on and was drying his hair. He met up with Craig and Jake.

"It seemed that you made quite an impression on the girls, my friend," Craig said to Ryuki.

"What do you mean?" Ryuki asked, not getting it.

Jake added, grinning, "He means that you're a player, bro!"

"A player?" Ryuki blinked.

Craig shook his head, "Never mind."

Ryuki then remembered, "Oh. Amara asked me if I could take her out to town. She wants to pick up something at a shop or something."

Jake raised an eyebrow, "Bro? Is that really a good idea? What about Jinx?"

"I'll tell her first so she knows where I am. Relax, it's no big deal."

Craig muttered, "Dead man walking."

"I heard that," Ryuki interrupted, pointing to his ears. "And it's not like Jinx to be jealous. She knows I love her."

"Whatever you say, bro," Jake said with a snicker.

To say Jen was jealous was an understatement. Her pink eyes were glowing so brightly and she looked ready to hex the next person who said a word to her.

A few minutes ago, Ryuki had asked her permission to take Amara out on a bike ride. Jen, however, had heard some of the girls gossiping that Amara had a crush on the Dragon Knight and she (Jen) was not pleased. She did feel touched that Ryuki would ask her permission, even if he didn't have to. But, she remembered that he had been brought up to be a polite individual, Yaminekoryu and Ifrit's influences aside. This, unfortunately, did not fix her current mood. The kiss he gave her when she gave her permission did help a little, but she was still slightly ticked.

Maybe a run in the Danger Room again might help.

Taking Amara out for a ride was anything but pleasant for Ryuki, nor was taking her to the bookstore she wanted to go. They were getting dirty looks from the pedestrians and customers who knew Amara was a mutant since she went to the institute and they immediately concluded that he was a mutant too, despite not having enough evidence. They kept their distance and muttered obscenities.

Ryuki sighed to himself. He hated racism, xenophobia and bigotry. They all meant the same thing, but they were all very stupid concepts to Ryuki. In his mind, if you go down to basics, everyone was human. Sure there were aliens up and about, but deep down everyone was the same. Unfortunately, not everyone had the same thoughts. To accept mutants were humans was blasphemous. He had watched those conferences on TV where Graydon Creed condemned mutants as filth and that Reverend William Stryker calling mutants 'Demons'. Ryuki couldn't help but laugh. He knew demons, he was friends with some of them and had a pet demon dog, and mutants weren't demons.

Unfortunately, that didn't mean squat to bigots. They all ran on hatred. He had heard Ichijyo telling him that humans were all cowards and fueled by nothing but hatred. He had said, and quote, "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." He had heard Yoda from Star Wars Episode 1 quote the same thing and it made sense. Nearly everyone on the planet was afraid of those with super powers. He was lucky to still have a family since he also knew that some families disowned their children once finding out they were mutants.

Maybe defeating Apocalypse was a good and a bad thing. It only proved that mutants were more powerful than humans and that scared them. He was also afraid that those Sentinel things would show up again.

It was rather ironic that normal humans thought mutants were monsters. They seemed to have forgotten that some of the worst people in history were humans themselves. Adolf Hitler, Genghis Khan, Jack the Ripper and who knows how many conquerors and murderers were actually humans who fell to the darkness.

He looked into the blue sky. At least he had to remember that there were those who still had good in them. Only a small percentage of humanity, according to his friend Yuusuke, was evil. He thanked Kami for that.

Amara got her books and met Ryuki outside. She even said, "Thank goodness you didn't meet the jocks. They're jerks." Ryuki nodded in agreement.

"Where to?" he asked.

"The flower shop up ahead. The old lady there is sweet and doesn't hate mutants."

Ryuki smiled. Maybe there was hope yet for peace among mutants and humans…

But what about him? He was neither.

Later, at Dinner Time…

The front doors suddenly swung open. In came a young man with shoulder length brown hair, a black shirt, brown vest, jeans torn in the knees and black fingerless gloves. With him was a VERY large man with a blonde Mohawk, a slim man with silvery hair, a woman in red with short black and red hair and a scrawny little kid with almost greenish pale skin, yellowing eyes and dirty blonde hair with a stance like a frog's. These were members of the Brotherhood, rivals of the X-Men. With them, of course, was a tall man with orangish red hair. They were named Lance Alvers/Avalance, Fred Dukes/The Blob, Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver, Wanda Maximoff/Scarlett Witch, Todd Tolensky/Toad and St. John Allerdyce/Pyro.

"BROTHERHOOD IS IN THE HOUSE, YO!" Todd yelled out as he hopped in, followed by the others.

"Alvers! What are you hoods doing here?" Scott demanded.

"We came to party, Summers. Word on the street is that you're gonna have a welcoming dinner or something," Lance said to him.

"You're not welcomed and who told you?" Scott asked and then saw Tabitha waving weakly and nervously, chuckling. "Boom-Boom…"

"Hey, I may be back in Xavier's, but I was Brotherhood babe for a time too, y'know?" she reminded. She was holding Brimstone and the pup loved the attention

Scott groaned and glared at Lance. Ryuki decided to get in between them before any fights broke out. He introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Ryuki Leonard Hasuma, but my friends call me Leo. Welcome," he extended a hand in greeting and frienship, surprising Lance. Of course, the one to surprise him was none other than Pietro himself.

"Hi, call me Pietro! Also known as Quicksilver! I'm the GREAT leader of the Brotherhood and I'm glad that you feel honored to meet me!" he quickly shook hands with Ryuki. Ryuki had a bemused expression on his face.

Ryuki said to Lance, "Did he just have a whole lot of sugar and coffee or is he ALWAYS like this?"

"Both," Lance answered, deadpan. He smiled, "I'm Lance, by the way."

Ryuki smiled and then bowed respectively, surprising the Brotherhood even more. "I welcome you to the dinner in my honor. Please, make yourselves comfortable."

"Where's the grub?" Fred asked, patting his belly. "I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry, Freddy," Todd reminded his large friend. He hopped over to Ryuki. "So, you the new X-Geek?"

"X…Geek?" Ryuki looked puzzled.

"Sorry, my bad, yo," Todd smiled. "Name's Todd Tolensky, but everyone here calls me Toad."

"It is nice to meet you, Todd-san."

"Leo, can I talk to you?" Scott said before pulling Ryuki away. He then asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Inviting them to dinner?" Ryuki answered with a hint of confusion.

"Ryuki! They're the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants who work for Magneto! You know who Magneto is?"

Ryuki blinked and answered simply, "He's Xavier-sensei's friend and he's reformed now."

"A leopard never changes its spots," Scott scoffed. "They're hoods and always will be hoods."

Ryuki narrowed his eyes at Scott, "People can change, Scott-san; even more so than others. It's not what they did in the past that matters, but what they do in the present that counts," Ryuki said sagely.

"Do you know what they did?" Scott said, a little bit angry that Ryuki was defending the Brotherhood.

"No, and it's not important anymore. They haven't done anything to make me dislike or distrust them. I like to get to know people before I make my judgment, Scott-san and despite what they've done I bet they still have some redeeming qualities," Ryuki replied to Scott. He then added, "Besides, everyone deserves a second chance," before leaving him speechless.

All the X-Men and New Mutants were silent as Ryuki mingled with the Brotherhood and loving it. Scott wanted to say something, but was stopped by Jean. He said, "Jean, the Brotherhood is bad news. Now that they have Pyro, who knows what could happen. We can't let Leo…"

"Calm down, Scott. You know Leo's only being nice," she said.

"But does he really have to be nice to them?"

Ororo stepped out of the kitchen and saw, to her horror, the Brotherhood. Most importantly, she was looking at Fred. "We need more food," she muttered as she went back into the kitchen.

Ryuki noticed this and said, "I think Monroe-sensei needs me. I hope that you stay for dinner."

"Yeah, thanks," Lance said as Ryuki left, followed by Jen. Lance said to Scott, "You know, Summers. I like that kid. He's not as stuck up as the rest of you losers." He added, "Except for you, Kitty."

Wanda noticed the puppy in Tabitha's arms. Tabitha explained, "This is Leo's dog. Isn't he cute?"

"Yes, I guess," Wanda said as she pet the puppy's head, not knowing or suspecting of his true nature. The pup growled contently.

Craig rolled his eyes and muttered, "I have a strange feeling that something bad is gonna happen really soon."

The Brotherhood stayed for dinner and to everyone's surprise (not to mention relief) no fights broke out between the two mutant groups. They was almost a food fight though, but Ryuki put his foot down firmly that he did not want any food to be wasted, especially HIS food; most of the others found out WHY Draco called it his 'Curry Surprise'. They had to drink A LOT of ice water even after a spoonful of that strong stuff. Fred, however, enjoyed it and asked for the recipe and Ryuki happily shared it with him, shocking the teams even more. Some of them felt a little sick after dinner, possibly due to Ryuki's Dragon Fire Chili and Curry Surprise. They were recovering, slowly, of course. The meal had been good, but the after effects were none too pleasant.

Ryuki was in an animated discussion with Pyro. Pyro was taking notes. Ryuki finished, "And that's how you make a fire that can't be put out that easily."

"Crikey mate!" Pyro said gleefully as he jotted down what Ryuki's had said, "You're a genius! I never could've thought of that!"

"Arigatou, Pyro-san," Ryuki smiled.

"This curry stuff is great, not to mention the chili," Fred said between mouthfuls. "How'd you make it?"

"I'll be happy to share the recipe with you, Fred-san."

"Say, Leo, right?" Todd began and Ryuki nodded. "Are you…?"

"A mutant?" Ryuki supplied. Todd nodded, but Ryuki shook his head. "No, I'm not. I have powers, but not because of the X-Gene. I'm an Esper and I inherited my abilities from my family."

"That's cool, yo," Todd said.

"You must be a native of New York, right?"

"Born and bred."

"Jake talks like you too. Of course, I sometimes don't understand a word he says."

"Hey!" Jake exclaimed.

"Gomen, Jake, but it's true!" Ryuki yelled back.

"Hey, Summers. Your new guy ain't so bad," said Lance to Scott.

"Don't even think of trying to recruit him, Alvers," Scott warned. "He's only here for a visit and some counseling."

"Well, at least he ain't as annoying as some of you other X-Geeks," Lance muttered.

Jen and Wanda were talking too, while Pietro tried to flirt, without any success, with Jinx.

"I love that top and necklace," Jen complimented.

"Thanks. I like your hair and eyes," Wanda returned the compliment. "Did you get your hair dyed and contacts?" Wanda asked.

Jen shook her head, "No, this is my natural hair and eye color."

"Nice!"

The Brotherhood left after dinner, leaving the mansion intact, much to the surprise of the X-Men. Many of them were tired and ready for bed. Jake was allowed to stay the night as long as he called his parents (who already knew his secret).

"Why were you being so nice to the Brotherhood?" Scott demanded.

"Scott-san, I've told you before already," Ryuki replied, exasperated.

"But they-"

Ryuki cut him off, "If the circumstances were different and Xavier-sensei never found you, you would've become a member of the Brotherhood yourself."

"That will never happen," Scott said, his eyebrows twitching.

"My friend, Ichijyo, told me that destiny takes many twists and turns that may or may not happen. Who knows what might've been, Scott-san," Ryuki told him. Scott fell silent, thinking. Ryuki was a very empathic person and he was right…even if Scott was too proud to admit it. "Oyasumi, Scott-san."

Later that night, Craig was in the gym going one on one with a punching bag. Hitting the bag seemed to calm Craig and it also helped his mind wander. He was wearing his kick boxing shorts which were black with white stripes on the side and also had his last name on the sides. He also had his hands and feet in wrapped in bandages. He had been at it for hours and could probably go for a few hours more. Craig had a lot on his mind. One of his thoughts being the attack that led him into his one man war against the Orphenochs. To him that attack seemed more like an elaborate trap. The mission was supposed to be a simple zombie hunt and they were supposed to arrest the amateur voodoo shaman that raised them. When they arrived at the scene, there were no zombies and there was no voodoo shaman, just a surprise attack that the Templars weren't ready for. Every member of Craig's team was killed right in front of him and then the Orphenoch finally came after him, brutally beating him till he almost died. Craig escaped death by jumping off a cliff and, lucky for him, landed in a river. When Craig awoke on the river bank, he gathered enough strength to make it to Dr. West's lab where his mentor was able to bring him back to health. But, when Dr. West examined him, he discovered the Nekronian cancer which was killing Craig to this day. The disease didn't depress Craig one bit; it only motivated him to move faster in his Orphenoch slaying.

Craig then started to think about Ryuki. He was the very thing Craig hated and yet they were friends. This got him to thinking, 'What if he loses it one day? Am I the one who's gonna have to put him down?' Every time Craig thought of Ryuki's evil side it made him angry. He began kicking the bag harder and harder. In Craig's mind, he suddenly saw the bag as Ryuki's Orphenoch form. Upon seeing this, he let out a fierce roar and kicked the bag so hard that it broke in half. Craig started to breathe harder in anger and was drenched in sweat.

"Looks like we're going to need a new one," said a young female voice which startled Craig till he turned around to see that it was Jean.

"Oh, hey Jean. Sorry about that. Did I wake anyone else?" Craig asked worriedly.

"No, I don't think you did, but if you didn't want to wake anyone else up why didn't you just work out with Leo?"

Craig then pointed to his scar covered chest, "You think any of the girls would want to see this?"

Jean winced at the sight of the grotesque scars, they looked a lot worse up close, "How did you get those?"

"Long story," Craig said running his hand through his pitch black hair, then something he remembered just popped into his head, "You're a telepath right?"

Jean raised an eyebrow, "Why do you ask?"

"I want you to read my mind for me."

Jean tensed up, "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why? Afraid you might find something you like?" Craig asked with a smirk.

"A bit of a hot shot aren't we?" Jean thought about it. "Ok, I'll do it, but what do you want to see?"

Craig became serious, "There's a part of my life that's just a blur. I want to see if you can find the beginning or anything close to it."

Jean simply nodded and then placed her hands on the sides of Craig's head. She began to concentrate and soon enough the visions started pouring in. She began to see Craig's memories through his eyes. The first thing she saw was water and she was surrounded by glass. She seemed to be in some kind glass cylinder or some kind of large test tube. Through the glass Jean could see several scientists going about their work. This had to be a laboratory of some kind and the next thing she noticed was a computer screen that had the words "Project Xell #6: Complete" flashing. The next vision she had might have been a year or so later. She was in a normal looking bedroom. In this vision she finally got to see what Craig looked like as a child because he was looking through a mirror. He looked almost exactly the same except that he was younger and his hair was shorter and really messy. A young woman came though the bedroom door. This woman had to have been in her early 20's. She had bright blonde hair and blue eyes. Upon seeing this woman, Craig ran up to her and hugged her before uttering the word, "Mom." The woman then kneeled down and ran her hand through Craig's hair and her eyes started to tear up.

"Mom, why are you crying?" young Craig asked wiping the tears from his mother's eyes.

"Craig, I want to tell you something: I'm not your real mother, but I want you to know that you've always been a real son to me. As you grow I want you to remember something: love everybody that you can and don't let hate guide you." The young woman kissed Craig on the forehead.

"You'll always be my real mom, always," young Craig was starting to tear up as well.

Suddenly, a group of men in suits came into the room and Craig followed them to a car that was waiting outside. As they drove away, Craig's mother simply looked though the front window of the house.

"We'll see each other again. Don't let them change you into a monster," whispered Craig's mother before she started to cry again.

The next vision started with horrified screams as Jean saw the same scientists from the first vision being torn to shreds by giant necroplasmic hands that extended from Craig's arms. She was able to see Craig again as one the windows in the room was very reflective. This time Craig was clad in a black bodysuit with many red wires sticking out of him and his eyes were glowing green with rage.

Jean had to stop there. What she just saw was too horrible to keep going.

"What did you see?" Craig spoke up.

"It's a long story," Jean put it simply.

Later, when everyone was asleep, Professor Xavier called Ryuki into the Cerebro room to start his counseling. Ryuki had never stepped foot into Cerebro before and was completely amazed and awed.

"Sugoi…" he said in awe. He's seen a lot of the tech in Smart Brain, but nothing he'd seen could be compared to this.

"I suggest we start our session here as so no one would eavesdrop," The Professor said to Ryuki as the Dragon Knight took his seat. "Now then, shall we begin?"

Ryuki began his tale, but when his hand landed on a piece of machinery, the Powers of Pisces, activated, letting him see what had been. Just like Smart Brain New York, Cerebro had been broken into. The aura was familiar and Ryuki immediately knew who it was.

"Ryuki?" Xavier asked, worried as Ryuki suddenly went silent.

"Sensei," Ryuki began, "Someone broke in here, right?"

"How did you…?" The Professor asked in surprise.

"Let's just say I've learnt some new tricks," Ryuki grinned slightly and then said, "Whoever broke in here took something and, believe me, it isn't good."

Xavier felt worried.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note: Ryuki's Power of Pisces also give him psychometric powers, which means he can see the memories off objects that he touches. I guess he knows who and is gonna have a conversation with a certain beast within. Also, thanks to Avatar: The Last Airbender for the bending terms Draco uses.

Next, Draco spends a day with the Brotherhood and a whole lot of special guests show up in the next chap!