A whistle blew as the crowd was going crazy. It was a high school basketball game in the middle of New York. The teens were giving it their all, as one African American youth known as Evan Daniels was giving it his all in order to win the game.

"Alright, that's it." The coach was praising Evan as he dribbled the ball down the court. "That's it. Keep them away from you."

"Daniels, over here." His teammate called. He was a skinny boy with silver hair. This was Pietro.

Evan passed the ball to Pietro, who dodged the other members of the team as he threw the ball at the basket, but it bounced off the rim. A member of the other team took control of the ball as they made their way to the other basket.

"Get them!" Evan's mother, who was in the crowd, shouted.

"Steal the ball!" Her husband cried. "Set up your zone! Don't let them shoot!"

Sitting next to Evan's parents was his maternal aunt. Ororo.

"Is it always this exciting?" Ororo asked her brother-in-law, seeing how he was getting into the game.

"No, this one's a real nail-biter." He replied.

The score was 82 to 82, and there were ten seconds left in the game. Pietro managed to intercept a pass as he stole the ball.

"Come on, ten seconds!" The coach urged him. "Go! Pietro, Daniels is open! Now!"

Reluctantly, Pietro passed the ball to Evan just as there were five seconds left in the game.

"You can do it, Evan." Storm encouraged her nephew. "Shoot. Shoot!"

Evan made a shot just as he was tackled. The crowd watched with baited breath as the ball made its way to the basket. At the same time, spikes came out of Evan's forearm, with no one noticing except Storm.

The ball rolled around the rim before falling into the basket as Evan slid on the floor, tearing a part of it up with his spikes. Luckily, everyone was too busy cheering for Evan's victory to notice his spikes, which he retracted back into his body. The young boy was carried by his team as he checked to see if his spikes were gone. Confirming that no one saw anything, he started cheering, not knowing that his aunt saw the whole thing.

As Storm was watching her nephew, Pietro just stood angrily on the court, angry that Evan had to steal the glory once again while he was left hanging.

Evan was loading up his gym bag as his teammates were congratulating him.

"Good game, man." One teammate said.

"Hey, yeah, Daniels. You rule, man." Another joined in.

"Thanks, guys." Evan said. "Good game."

Pietro was leaning on the lockers as this continued, and having had enough of Evan getting praised, he decided to mouth off. "I should've known you'd hog all the glory."

"What are you talking about, man?" Evan replied. "Everybody knows that..."

Pietro rudely cut him off. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have had that last shot. I knew I should've taken it myself."

Storm was around the corner to greet her nephew when she stood back, not wanting to intrude on this private conversation.

"Hey, that was a great pass, man." Evan acknowledged. "But there's no way you could've made it down the court in time for a shot."

"Hey, dude, I got moves you can't even imagine." Pietro told him. "And I'm through holding back just to make guys like you look good." He shoved Evan out of the way as he stormed out of the locker room.

"It seems that boy has been competing with you since you were babies." Storm observed as she greeted Evan.

"Hey, Auntie O, what's up?" Evan smiled. "Where's Dad and Mom?"

"Waiting outside." Storm answered. "I think the boys' locker room makes your mother nervous."

"Right." Evan realized. "Some game, huh? It's tight that you showed."

"And miss my favorite nephew's big game?" Storm hugged him. "Not a chance."

Evan returned the hug. "Thanks again for coming, Auntie."

"Evan, are you all right?" Storm asked in concern. "I've been concerned about you lately. You know, about the things we've discussed before."

"Yeah, yeah." Evan waved off, not thinking it was a big deal. "No problem, Auntie O. Everything's cool."

"Evan, I saw what happened to you out there tonight when you fell." Storm said bluntly, hoping that he would see reason and join the institute.

"Hey, it's no big deal." Evan said. "I got it under control." He then sneezed as several bony-looking spikes shot out of his body, stabbing the locker and almost hitting Storm.

"Bless you." Storm said sarcastically.

Evan realized he had been caught. "Busted, huh?"

"Big time." Storm replied.


It was night as the Daniels family was having a barbecue in the backyard.

"I still can't get over that last shot, son." Evan's father said as he was at the grill. "What a beauty. You're gonna remember this game for a long time."

"Yes, wasn't it exciting?" His wife agreed.

Evan waved at his parents as he was talking to Storm privately.

"What amazes me is that you've kept it concealed this long." Storm told him.

"I'm telling you, I've got it covered." Evan argued. "A few points, a few spikes. I mean, so what? This is New York."

"Evan, you need to take this seriously." Storm scolded. "The Xavier Institute can offer you training."

"I don't need training, man." Evan said as he started pacing around a tree. "I can take care of myself." He made a couple of spikes come from his forearm. "Anyone messes with me, bam." He used his spikes to bash the tree.

Storm checked to see if his parents had seen that, but they didn't.

"No, Evan. You mustn't use your powers like that." Storm reprimanded. "You have to learn control."

"Hey, I've got control." He retracted his spikes. "See? Everything's cool."

"Like in the locker room?" Storm reminded him.

Evan couldn't argue against that. "Alright, so it's not perfected yet."

"I think we'd better continue this conversation with your parents." His aunt suggested.

"Like I didn't know that was coming." Evan said bitterly. "Look, can't this wait till after school tomorrow? I mean, this is a big night for them."

"Get them while they're hot." His father announced.

Storm saw his point and decided to wait until tomorrow. "Alright."

Evan kissed her on the cheek in thanks and went off to join his parents as Storm got a telepathic call from Xavier.

"Ororo, how's it going with your nephew?" Xavier asked in her mind.

"Just as I feared, professor." Storm responded. "He's being stubborn."

"Alright, we go to plan B." Xavier said back in his study. "Scott and Danny will arrive in the morning. By the way, Cerebro detected another mutant signature at the game tonight but couldn't get a clear reading on it for some reason. Did you notice anyone else there unusual?"

Storm thought back to Pietro; he seemed a bit quicker than his teammates. Much quicker than anyone else, actually. "Maybe, but I'm not certain yet."

"Very well." Xavier replied. "Keep me informed."


As school was letting out, Evan was heading to his locker to get his wallet. Only when he pulled out his wallet did he see that all the cash was gone.

"Aw, Man! Not again." Evan exclaimed. It had been the second time that someone broke into his locker and stole his money.

"Something wrong?" Pietro asked, appearing in front of Evan almost instantly.

"Where did you come from?" Evan asked, shocked at how he came in.

"That's a question you should ask on the court." Pietro quipped.

"Look, I know you're fast, man." Evan admitted, knowing that Pietro was still hung up on the game. "You were really busting some great moves last night."

"Aha!" Pietro said. "You finally admit that I'm better than you?"

"I said you were faster, not better." Evan replied coolly. "I got a few tricks of my own, you know?"

"Sure you do." Pietro snatched his wallet and held it out. "Like getting ripped off for the second time this month. What's up with that?"

"Yeah, and I even changed the combination." Evan agreed.

Pietro hummed in thought. "Sounds like a bona fide mystery, dude."

"Yeah, but I'm gonna trap this sleazeball." Evan said determinedly.

"Sure, Daniels." Pietro pulled out a couple of dollar bills. "But you're gonna need some bait."

"Hey. Thanks, man." Evan said gratefully as he put the money in his wallet and then in the locker. "I'll get it back to you on allowance day." The two caught their hands in a Bro handshake. "Catch you later."

Pietro watched Evan leave. "Not even on your best day, Daniels. You'll never catch me."


"Man, you don't give up." Evan said. "Do you, Auntie O?"

His aunt had returned with two students from the institute. Scott and Danny were their names, but Evan didn't care. He didn't want to go to the institute, as he didn't see it as necessary. And now his aunt had told his parents about his mutation as well.

"That's because she loves you." Danny told him as he sat on the couch next to Scott. "You're very lucky to have family who understand what you're going through."

"This certainly explains why you're always coming home with holes in your clothes." His mother said.

"We always knew this was a possibility, Vi." Storm said. "While you did not receive the mutant gene as I did, we knew it could show up in future generations."

"It's really not so bad, Mrs. Daniels." Scott said, trying to make light of the situation. "Having special powers can be cool sometimes."

"Oh, yeah?" Evan challenged. "I'll tell you what, shades. Let me see what you've got that's so cool."

"Evan!" His mother scolded.

"Sorry, Mom." Evan apologized, realizing that he was being rude.

"It's okay." Scott replied. "My powers aren't really what you call indoor-friendly."

"Translation: He doesn't want to blow up the house." Danny added.

"Okay, whatever." Evan said tersely. "Look, man, I like it right here, and I'm not going to some home for freaks."

"Freaks?" Danny shot up from the couch and glared at Evan.

Evan rubbed the back of his neck, feeling guilty for what he said. "Eh, poor choice of words. Sorry. But my point still stands. If you excuse me, I got school stuff to take care of." He went upstairs to his room.

"Evan!" His mother tried to get him to come back, but Evan ignored her.

Danny shrugged. "Well, we tried. I'm leaving." He started to head out the door, with Scott following him.

Scott nodded. "Yeah, and I thought we were really making a connection there."

"I apologize for my son, Mr. Summers, and Mr. Fenton." Evan's father said. "He's obviously dealing with a lot right now. I'll talk with him."

"Too late." Danny pointed down the street, where Evan was riding his skateboard. "He left through the window."

Everyone went outside to see Evan speed away.

"We really need to work on our sales pitch." Scott said to himself.

Arriving at his school, he entered the building and hid in a corner near his lockers to confront the thief who'd been stealing from him.

"Okay, sneak thief, you wanna play tonight?" He said to himself as he made some spikes come out of his back and forearms. "The spike-man is ready." He waited a bit until a sudden flash went by him as the dials on the lockers started turning on their own and the lockers opened, spilling out their contents.

"What the heck?" Evan said in shock before all the junk got caught in a mini-tornado. "Freaky, man! What's going on?" As it got near him, his shock turned to anger. "Whatever it is, it stops now." He shot out some spikes to protect him from the tornado, which went away before a familiar skinny boy appeared in front of Evan, wearing a light blue and white jumpsuit.

"Pietro?" Evan said in disbelief at his friend doing all this.

"Call me Quicksilver." Pietro bragged. "Like the outfit? Made it myself. Took about a quarter second." He then noticed the spikes separating him from Evan. "Look at this. Seems my old pal has a few tricks of his own. But as usual, not as good as mine." He ran super fast around the spikes, making a whirlwind that blew them away as Quicksilver appeared behind Evan.

"You?" Evan couldn't believe that his friend Pietro could be a mutant as well. "You've got powers too?"

Pietro slapped himself on the head. "Duh. Finally. Remember, Daniels. Anything you can do, I can do better." In a quick motion, he took Evan's wallet and snatched the cash. "Mind if I take that back."

"But why would you want to rip me off?" Evan asked, wondering why his friend would do this. Sure, Pietro could be prickly at times, but he never thought he would go as far as stealing.

"Kicks, man." Pietro answered like it was a no-brainer. "For the challenge. Look, when you live as fast as I do, there ain't enough things to occupy my time." He sped off and back, holding several backpacks in his hands. "I gotta entertain myself. And you thought you could stop me." He slapped Evan with superspeed. "Well, wrong again."

"Don't bet on it." Evan growled as he summoned a spike from his hand, but Pietro moved out of the way and pushed Evan down to the floor.

"Too slow. What a surprise." Pietro fake-yawned. "You're gonna need some more time to work on those powers of yours. Maybe I can arrange it."

Sirens sounded in the distance as Evan asked warily, "What do you mean?"

"Can you say scapegoat?" Pietro mocked before dashing out of the school, leaving Evan alone as he was confronted by two police officers.


Evan was sitting quietly in a cell when he saw his parents, aunt, Scott, and Danny come up to his cell door.

"Evan, what happened?" His mother asked worriedly, seeing her son in jail.

"Welcome to the downside, pal." Scott said to him. "Misuse your powers; go to jail."

"It wasn't me, man." Evan pleaded.

"I know it wasn't you." Danny stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "In fact, I know you got framed."

"Evan, please listen to me." Storm reasoned. "Let us help you."

"So we'll make you a deal." Scott offered. "The professor will use his influence to get you out, and you give the institute a shot." He held out his hand. "What do you say?"

Evan crossed his arms. "Like I've got a choice?"

"You always have a choice, Evan." Danny pointed out. "It's just this time the choices are limited. Either join the home for freaks or rot in jail. Which is it?"

"Okay." Evan shook Scott's hand. "Deal."


It was morning at the institute, and the X-Men were having breakfast.

"So, like, where's this new guy?" Kitty asked in interest, having heard that they would get a new recruit.

"Still sleeping." Xavier answered. "He had a difficult evening."

Kurt teleported into his seat as he rubbed his hands in excitement. "I love the smell of bacon in the morning."

"I think he really knows who really trashed those lockers." Scott said to Xavier. "Did he tell you?"

Xavier shook his head. "No, and I'm not going to pry. He'll tell us when he's ready."

"You ask me, he's looking to settle this score personally." Danny said knowingly before looking at the plate of sausages. "Pass the sausages, Rogue."

Kitty looked at the meat in disgust as Rogue passed it to Danny. "Eww! That stuff, like, totally plugs your arteries, you know?"

"Thanks for the concern, Sam." Danny said sarcastically.

"Who's Sam?" Kitty asked.

"Never mind that." Danny replied, not wanting to elaborate on that.

"I suspect you may be right about Evan's intentions, Danny." Xavier agreed.

"Yeah, trust me, professor." Danny said. "I can't read minds, but I know what a guy's thinking about when he's been framed." He then noticed Kurt in front of him, hanging from his tail by the chandelier as he tried to grab the plate of sausages. "Kurt! I'm trying to say something impactful here!"

"How many times do we have to tell you?" Logan scolded. "Ask, and it'll get passed to you."

"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt Danny." Kurt teleported back to his seat.

"Here." Danny passed him the plate of sausages.

"In any case, it might be best if Evan had other things to distract his mind." Xavier suggested. "I've already enrolled him at Bayville." He looked at Scott. "Scott, could you introduce him to the basketball coach?"

"Sure." Scott responded. "After the last game he played in New York, coach will jump at him."

"Good." Xavier smiled. "Then let's hope that Evan's desire for vengeance is short-lived."

Unknown to the X-Men, Evan was upstairs listening to their conversation as spikes came out of his body, making holes in the robe he was wearing. He turned around when he found Danny behind him.

"Ahh!" Evan cried. "How did you get up here so fast?" He wondered if Danny had superspeed like Pietro did.

"Not important." Danny said. "What's important is that you don't do something stupid to get even with the guy who framed you."

"Hey, I got arrested because of him!" Evan argued as the thought of Pietro filled him with rage. "You don't know what it's like."

"To be framed?" Danny asked. "Actually, I do. I've been framed for a lot of things. Jewelry store robberies, disturbing the peace of my old town, and taking the mayor hostage."

"Whoa!" Evan couldn't believe what Danny was telling him. "For real, man?" He got a nod in response, which made Evan rub the back of his neck in awe. "That's really a lot."

"Yeah, and to this day, I never got my name cleared." Danny told him. "No one believed me, except for a couple of friends. But you got your parents, who believe you. Your Aunt. And all of us here. We believe you, Evan. So please don't push us away. We can help you. You don't have to do this alone."

Evan nodded as he thought it over. "Alright, man. Thanks. And I'm sorry for that freak comment." He apologized, feeling guilty for what he said back at his house. "I didn't really mean it, and I shouldn't have said it."

"Hey, I'm sorry." Danny said. "I shouldn't have reacted that strongly. I should be used to it by now. Not the first time I've been called a freak." He turned to leave. "I got to go now. See ya later, Evan."

"Yeah, sure, Dan." Evan said, making Danny stop in his tracks.

Evan knew he had done something wrong when Danny glared at him with glowing green eyes.

"Don't call me Dan." Although Danny said it with no malice in his tone, Evan knew that he should never make that mistake ever again.


The Brotherhood were in the office of Bayville High as they were trying to occupy themselves while Mystique was speaking to the founder of their organization.

Blob was entertaining himself with a paddle ball when the ball hit him in the eye.

"Ahh!" He threw it to the ground and stomped on it. "I hate this thing!"

In her office, Mystique was speaking to their leader. "I'm honored that you've come."

"I'm not here for your little student body meeting, Mystique." The man said. "Behold."

On her desk appeared a hologram of a Quicksilver. Mystique looked over the new mutant.

"So this is the speed demon I've been hearing about." She said.

"Pietro Maximoff." The man identified the young boy. "He is of particular interest to me." The man said, emphasizing the word particular. "I have just waited for just the right moment to approach this young man. And now is the time."

"Than we shall extend the hand of friendship to the boy." Mystique said.

The man shook his head. "It will not be that easy. He believes he needs no one. However, there may be a way." He moved his hand, and next to the hologram of Quicksilver appeared a hologram of Evan.

"Yes?" Mystique asked.

"Young Pietro has long had a grudge rivalry against Evan Daniels." The man explained.

"The new student Xavier enrolled here last week." Mystique realized.

"Yes." The man nodded. "Pietro has recently taken the advantage in that competition. And I believe Mr. Daniels would like to settle the score."

Mystique gave a sinister smile. "Well then, I know just how to bring them together."

"Excellent." The man said in approval. "Then I will take it from there."


"This is your fifth run, Spyke." Scott said to Evan, using his new code name. Evan was in a black and yellow jumpsuit with a belt that had the X symbol on it. He also had on his helmet as he was using his skateboard for this danger room exercise. After being told he could get some training, Evan jumped at the opportunity, hoping that it would give him the edge in battle when he confronted Pietro again.

"You want to take a break?" Scott asked, seeing that Evan had been doing it for quite a bit.

"No time for breaks, man." Evan said. "You got me here to train, so let's train."

Wolverine smiled, liking Evan's attitude. "You heard the man; let's roll."

Evan rolled down the ramp on his skateboard as he prepared to dodge the incoming obstacles. First there was Jean using her telekinesis to throw metal balls at Evan, who dodged them easily. Jean threw another set, making Evan break them by shooting his spikes at them. Next, Scott fired his optic blast at Evan, but the skater managed to maneuver past their blasts. Danny fired his own ecto-blasts, with one of them managing to knock Evan off his skateboard.

"Not too shabby, porcupine." Wolverine said, impressed by Evan's resolve. He held out his hand for the boy to pull himself back up.

"Spyke, the coach called." Kitty said from the observatory deck. "He says you gotta come to the gym. You've got a game."

"There wasn't one on the schedule." Evan said in confusion.

"There is now." Kitty told him. "Coach says Principal Darkholme put it together last minute. He wants you suited up in one hour because you're starting against P.S. 104."

"Dude! Alright!" Nightcrawler exclaimed. "You get to play against your alma mater."

"Yeah." Evan said, knowing that he would encounter Pietro again. This time, he would be ready.


The bus containing the rival team arrived at Bayville High with the students walking off the bus. Pietro was the next one to step off when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Maximoff." In front of Pietro was a glaring Evan.

"Well, well." Pietro taunted. "Out of jail, already? Or is this miserable dump part of your punishment?"

"We've got a score to settle, Pietro." Evan tried to grab him, but Pietro used super speed to move behind him.

"As usual, too slow." He pushed Evan to the ground. "Props for the attitude. Might be hope for you after all, Daniels." He then felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see it was Scott and Jean.

"What's going on here?" Scott asked.

"Nothing I can't handle." Evan glared.

"Is this the guy who was stealing from the lockers?" Jean asked him.

"Stay out of this." Evan told them.

"That true?" Scott asked Pietro.

"Actually, yeah." Pietro said cockily as he slapped Scott's hand away before jabbing a finger in his chest. "I trashed those lockers. Why? You gonna do something about it?"

Scott grabbed him by the arm. "Look, I think you better come with us." Before Scott could say anything else, Pietro tossed him aside.

"I don't think so." Pietro replied.

"That's it, Pietro! You're going down this time!" Evan tried to tackle him, but Pietro moved out of the way.

"Ooh! That sounds like a challenge." Pietro teased. "Come on, Daniels. Let's see what you got." He used his superspeed to run down the streets.

"Trust me, man, you're gonna find out." Evan took out his uniform from his bag along with his skateboard as he rode after his former friend.

"Man, that guy's fast." Scott said of Quicksilver.

Jean came to his side. "We can't let Evan do this alone."

"When you're with the X-Men, you're never alone." Scott said. "Let's go." The two went off to help Evan.

Pietro was evading Daniels as he stopped in the middle of the streets to taunt his opponent.

"Give it up, Daniels." Pietro mocked. "You're out of your league."

"Not this time, Pietro." Evan said as before Pietro's eyes, the young mutant turned invisible, shocking Pietro.

"What the heck?" He felt himself being pushed to the ground. "Whoa?" He felt a punch to his arm. "What was that?" Another punch, this time in the stomach, made the speedster kneel in pain. "Oof!"

"What's wrong, Pietro?" Evan's voice taunted. "Too slow?"

Pietro snarled. "I'm gonna get you, Daniels." He tried to move around and attack wherever Evan was, but he couldn't land a hit. It was as if he were fighting the air.

"How?" Pietro said in confusion. "How are you doing this?"

"You can't be faster than me if you can't see me." Evan's voice explained as Pietro was once again pushed to the ground.

"Show yourself?" Pietro demanded.

"Okay." Evan's voice said as Pietro felt hands grab him by the arm and throw him into a wall as spikes were shot at him, pinning him to the surface.

Evan then turned visible as he grinned at the helpless Pietro.

"What the?" Pietro said in disbelief. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Evan asked innocently.

"Turn invisible?" Pietro shouted.

"I didn't." Evan pointed to his right. "But he did."

Next to Evan appeared a grinning Danny Phantom, much to Pietro's shock.

"Looks like your plan worked, Danny." Scott said as he and Jean caught up to them.

"Plan?" Quicksilver said as he was starting to realize he had been set up.

"Sorry, Quicksilver, you may be faster than us. But you'll never be smarter." Danny told him.

"Yeah? What good's it to you, Daniels?" Quicksilver said to Evan. "You can't prove I had anything to do with getting you in trouble. Can you?"

"Ooh. Sounds like a challenge." Evan pulled out a tape recorder. I got it all right here. Check this out." He pressed a button on the recorder.

"Actually, yeah." Came Pietro's voice. "I trashed those lockers. Why? You gonna do something about it?"

Pietro could only glare as he realized he had been outplayed.

"You were right, Danny." Evan said to his fellow X-Man. "He would be stupid enough to give himself away."

Danny chuckled before he heard sirens in the distance. "Looks like the cops will take it from here. Let's go."

The four left, leaving Pietro for the authorities along with the tape recorder.

"Hey. Hey, let me go." Pietro begged as the cops pulled up in front of him. "Hey!


The speedster was currently in a cell, pulling at the bars. "Hey, you gotta let me out of here. I want out of here!" There was a sudden shaking as Pietro fell off the bars and looked up to see the man that Mystique was speaking to earlier. "You?" He said, recognizing the man.

"It is good to see you again, Pietro, even under such distressing circumstances." The man greeted.

"Yeah. Well, you can make them a lot less distressing, you know." Pietro told him. "Come on, hustle it up. Move it."

"Still impatient." The man said. "But you have grown much, Pietro. And I have need of your services if you think you can handle the job."

"Ooh. Sounds like a challenge." Pietro said. "Okay. Whatever you want. Just let's bail this jail."

"Very well." The man held out his hand, and the bars bended, making an opening for Pietro to escape. The man then held out his hand to the younger mutant. "Come with me."

Pietro took his hand as they left the police station.


In the backyard of the Xavier Institute, the X-Men were having a fun pool party.

"Look out." Kurt appeared several feet above the pool as he fell down. "Cannonball!" He made a big splash, knocking Kitty off her raft.

"Kurt, knock it off." She scolded.

"Congratulations, Evan." Xavier said to Evan as he sat in his wheelchair at the end of the pool. "I understand you've been cleared of all charges."

"Yeah, it feels good to have that off my record." Evan climbed out of the pool. "Hey, thanks for your help, professor." He then looked to Danny, who was sitting in a chair next to Rogue, who was reading. "You too, Danny. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you."

"Hey, when you're with the X-Men, you're never alone." Danny told him.

"Professor!" Came Kitty's voice. "Kurt's, like, totally getting fur in the pool."

"I am not." Kurt argued.

Xavier shook his head in amusement before turning his attention back to Evan. "We're just glad to have you with us."

"Thanks. Hey, check this out." Evan made a jump, but as he was falling into the pool, his spikes came out as he landed on Kitty's raft, causing it to deflate.

"Sorry." Evan apologized to the glaring Kitty.

Xavier chuckled. "It would appear your nephew's going to fit in just fine, Ororo."

"Yes." Ororo agreed. "But one must wonder, is that a good thing?"