This story will seem awfully familiar to those who have read Wings of the Forsaken. Which is hardly surprising, as it takes a number of cues and story elements from it, though the main inspiration is the 'Cook' challenge by whitetigerwolf. It also marks my first attempt at a crossover with X-Men, albeit one that is only loosely based on the comics continuity. It's basically a Harry/Rogue/Kitty Pryde/X-23 harem. Anyway, enjoy.

EDIT (June 5, 2017): After some thought, I decided to change the pairing. Instead of Kitty Pryde, I decided to use a younger version of Vanessa Carlysle, aka Copycat from X-Force and Deadpool. The first two chapters of that version will be up later...

X-CELSIOR (ORIGINAL VERSION)

CHAPTER 1:

X-CELSIOR

The mansion had been supposedly abandoned long ago, little more than a corpse building. The locals shunned it, due to rumour and superstition. In recent times, that probably saved their lives.

After all, the building was far from abandoned now.

A trio of girls in their late teens approached the building carefully. All wore dark uniforms with a logo on them: an 'X' made up of a crossed sword and staff. They may have been in costume, and this was Halloween, but they weren't Trick or Treating.

As they halted, near the entrance, one of their number spoke in her mind, heard by the others. Shadowcat to Operator. Do you copy?

Loud and clear, Shadowcat. I can see you're in position. Rogue, Talon, you copy?

Of course, we copy, Rogue, a brown-haired girl with white streaks, responded with a roll of her eyes.

We copy, the one called Talon(1) added, perhaps redundantly. Status on targets, Operator?

Unchanged. Luckily for us, this variation on the U-Men(2) does its operations in a hidden location than on the move. Pixie's helping us with intel by letting me look through her eyes. Unfortunately, we've only an hour before they begin operating on the children they captured. And given the U-Men's training against psychic abilities, I'd have to let loose, and as my aunt has shown, that's a touch on the dangerous side.

The one called Talon scoffed mentally. And in other breaking news, the ocean is wet.

So, the plan isn't changed? Shadowcat asked.

No. Rogue snogs you, gets your powers, and can help with the evac. Don't forget, we've got two sets of Portkeys. One brings them straight back here to X-Celsior HQ, the other dumps them in the offices of the local DMLE. The former's for the kidnapped students, and are green, the latter's for the U-Men, and are in red. Talon, you're specifically on disarming the U-Men. Don't kill them unless it's absolutely necessary. The Aurors will deal with them.

Talon nodded. I've got the drill. Then, with a 'snikt' noise, a pair of metal claws slid their way out of her gloves. A claw each poked out of her boots. The one called Rogue gently kissed Shadowcat, the latter blinking and looking like she was trying to stay awake for a time even after the kiss ended. Then, the two took Talon by the hand, and they charged down into the very ground itself, as if they were little more than ghosts…

Some way away, in a control room, a grizzled-looking man with wild hair watched a bank of screens, nodding approvingly. By his side, a red-haired woman with emerald eyes looked on, a little anxiously. "Looks like the operation's begun," the woman said quietly.

"Yeah. Hank and Remus are on standby, and Moira's on the phone, just in case," the man said.

"You're not worried about Laura?"

The man scoffed. "I'm more worried about Kitty and Anna than Laura. And I know they'll be fine. It's the kids those bastards kidnapped I'm worried about. That, and the fact that Chuck's keeping a close eye on X-Celsior. Especially given that your son's part of it."

"Worried about his powers, as usual," the woman sighed, looking pointedly at a coffin-like apparatus behind them. "And we're still making little progress, despite the Professor and Jean's training. He's frustrated by it. He wants to be out in the field, helping the others, rather than playing mission control." She then smirked. "Then again, he can't complain about the perks."

The man chuckled quietly. "I can't exactly complain myself. I once had something of a coterie myself. I'm still surprised you allow him to be with all those girls."

"I know my son, better than maybe anyone," the woman said. "I wouldn't indulge him if I didn't know he loved them all, including your daughter. And they are willing to work with it. In any case, they work very well together as a team."

Before anything further on the matter could be said, a blue, simian face appeared on it, the eyes in the bestial face nonetheless glittering with intelligence. "Logan, Lily, we've received all of those imprisoned. First impressions suggest they are alive and relatively well, though they are understandably shaken by their ordeal. Thankfully, none of the U-Men got around to vivisecting them and stealing their organs."

"Good," Lily said, nodding.

"Anything else, Hank?" the man called Logan asked.

"Not yet. I suppose if any of the ladies were hurt, we'd know about it from your son, Lily," Hank McCoy, better known by his nom de guerre of 'Beast', said. "They're protective of each other. Ah, that must be the local DMLE."

Another screen lit up, showing a rather harassed and harried-looking young woman. "This is Auror Graves," said the woman. "I have just received a batch of idiots in the designated holding cells. Intact, for once, except for a few that looked like they annoyed Talon. We'll be contacting SHIELD before long. I'll need a full report on this ASAP. Are the kids okay?"

"As far as we know. You're looking a bit frazzled, Medea," Lily remarked. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," Medea Graves(3) said, running a hand through her hair. "Between the latest BS that the Skrulls tried to pull at the Baxter Building, Stark pilfering one of our best Unspeakables for R&D, and having to talk to Murdock about the upcoming trials we're holding, we're stretched pretty thin."

"Ouch," Lily muttered, wincing. "And the dispute with Doctor Strange?"

"Still at a stalemate," Grave said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm the one stuck being messenger girl between the DMLE and the Sanctum Sanctorum after my boss got caught between Strange and Mordo. You know how MACUSA and your Ministry back home feels about the Kamar-Taj."

"And that's without going into Wanda and her magic," Logan muttered.

"Exactly. At least this operation of X-Celsior has gone off well. But like I said, I need a report ASAP. Preferably tomorrow. So debrief them, and send it to me by email. I'll print it off and make like it's come via owl post. Graves out."

As she disappeared from the screen, there was a sudden whoosh from behind them, and they turned to find a trio of girls in their late teens, each holding a coin in their hand. "Ugh, I hate travellin' via Portkey," slurred Rogue, as she swayed. Her voice had a soft Southern accent.

"You say that all the time, Anna," Talon, aka Laura Howlett-Kinney sighed. "You can fly without trouble. Why can't you absorb an immunity to Portkey travel?"

"I don't think it's a superpower," Rogue, aka Anna Marie, muttered. "And Kitty don't get affected by it as much, and yet, I'm still feelin' like crap."

"Well, every superhero has their weakness, right?" Shadowcat, aka Kitty Pryde, remarked with a shrug. Anna merely glared at her. "Is everyone all right?"

"Hank says that they seem all right," Lily said. "They're running checks now."

"Mission accomplished, then," Laura said. "So, is he coming out?"

As if in answer to her question, the coffin-like apparatus opened, and a boy in his late teens sat up, coughing and choking out the liquid he had just been breathing. His lean, athletic body was clad in a black skinsuit that left little to the imagination. His messy black hair was plastered by the liquid he had been immersed in over his head. Irritably, he wiped his fringe away from his eyes, revealing emerald eyes, much like Lily's, and a lightning bolt-like scar on his forehead.

Gingerly, he stood up in the coffin-like tank, and stepped out. "Well," he remarked, "that went very well. Still wish we went Trick-or-Treating, though. How did we do, Dad?"

Logan snorted. They weren't related by any means, but the two had a slight paternal-filial relationship, especially now that the boy was a lover of his daughter. Well, Laura was actually an opposite-sex clone, but Logan treated her as a daughter. Well, now he did, after a rocky beginning. "Cheeky brat," Logan growled good-naturedly. "You did well. Chuck ought to be fine with it. X-Celsior's never going to get the more dangerous missions X-Force will undertake, but you work well for missions like this."

Lily nodded. "I know you wish to be with them when they do these missions, darling, but…"

"I know, my power," the boy said morosely. "At least Aunt Jean has the excuse of the Phoenix Force, and the DMLE gets a bit iffy about magic being exposed on top of superpowers, Doctor Strange and Wanda aside. But…"

"Just keep training, kid," Logan said. "I know, it's easy for me to say that. But you're like your aunt and your mother. You're a strong kid. Look at it this way. Five years ago, you'd never have had any restraints off your power. Now, you're down to four levels left. Out of seven."

"Okay, Dad, but don't forget my name in your old age," the boy said cheekily. "It's Harry, remember? Or should I write it down on the back of your hand to remind you?"

Logan scoffed, clenching a fist, a trio of claws sliding out with a distinctive 'snikt' sound. "Wanna say that again, bub?"

It was part of the banter between adopted father and son. Lily rolled her eyes and said, "Put those away, Logan." She looked at Harry and the three girls. "We'll do a quick debrief. Graves wants a report with her ASAP. I'm still surprised a Pureblood like her uses a laptop. MACUSA's not much different from Britain when it comes to adopting technology. Anyway, after this debrief, you guys can go to bed."

The quartet of teenagers nodded. It had been a long night, and they intended to get some rest as soon as possible…

The next morning, in a bedroom elsewhere in the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, a quartet of figures were snuggled up in bed around each other. Save for one of them, they were entirely naked, with Anna being dressed in a sheer bodystocking that nonetheless pretty much showed everything. After all, her powers worked on physical contact, and she had gotten used to wearing covering clothing, even if it did show some skin.

In any case, the quartet in this room were the main members of the newest offshoot of the X-Men, X-Celsior. Kitty Pryde, aka Shadowcat, born with the ability to phase through matter, and grant those she held the same ability. Anna Marie, aka Rogue, cursed with the ability to absorb the powers, memories, and lifeforce of those she came into physical contact with. Laura Howlett-Kinney, once known as X-23, now Talon, the clone daughter of Logan, aka James Howlett, aka the Wolverine, sharing his healing factor and bone claws.

And Harry Evans, born as Harry Potter. The true Boy Who Lived, but whose Mutant abilities (awakened at a much earlier age than normal) would see him shunned by most in Magical Britain, not least his own father and his younger brother William. Abilities that had saved him and his family from Voldemort. His mother and a family friend, Remus Lupin, had been forced to flee with Harry to the US shortly afterwards, finding sanctuary at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.

It hurt Lily Evans to be forced to flee her own husband, and leave her second child behind. But the courts were ruinous in the Wizengamot, prejudiced against Muggleborns and Halfbloods, and Mutants most of all. Lily herself had a mutation, one she had hidden, a mild telepathic ability that seemed amplified in her younger half-sister, Jean Grey, and her son. An ability that had been kept at bay by potions during her school years.

Harry had grown up within the halls of the X-Mansion, trained and educated by the founding members of the X-Men. His power was extremely hard to control, making Jean Grey's difficulties pale by comparison. Even now, he had many restraints placed on his psychic power, albeit at his own request, by his aunt and Professor Charles Xavier. He still underwent training, both physically and for his powers. He became friends with a number of his fellow Mutants. Not all of them, of course, but he certainly had a large circle of friends and family in either blood or concept.

That he had obtained one lover was a bit unexpected. To obtain three who were willing to share was astonishing, even uncanny. And yet, it had happened. Okay, it had been rocky at times, but these four trusted each other to the ends of the Earth.

They stirred, and Harry gave each of them a morning kiss. He didn't even hesitate when it came to Anna, despite her powers. He had a mild immunity to them, enough that physical intimacy was merely draining instead of life-threatening. Plus, she helped siphon off the excess power from his psychic abilities, so she was almost psychic herself.

As he finished, though, they all heard a voice in their heads. Sorry, lovebirds, but there'll be no time to play this morning, came the familiar voice of Harry's aunt, Jean Grey. Beneath the facile tone of Jean's voice was a more serious undertone. Something's come up.

What's come up, Aunt Jean? Harry responded.

We'd best explain it in Charles' office, she said. We've got Dumbledore, plus a trio of idiots from the British Ministry waiting, along with some Aurors…

Dumbledore. A grandfather figure in Harry's life. The headmaster of Hogwarts, and one of the few people from Lily and Remus' pasts who deigned to visit. Harry liked the old codger, though not his taste in clothes. Which idiots, Aunty?

Well, there's this horrendous woman in a pink cardigan by the name of Umbridge and who hasn't got a single tactful or respectful bone in her body…and I could swear she's Mortimer Toynbee's more evil cousin. She looks more toad-like than he does. There's this anal-retentive type who looks like J Jonah Jameson turned into a bureaucrat called Barty Crouch. And there's a former Quidditch star called Ludo Bagman, and he's looking more punch-drunk than someone who's gone toe-to-toe with the Hulk.

So what's the problem? Laura asked.

They claim that Harry has been entered in the Tri-Wizard Tournament at Hogwarts. And you are bound by magical contract to participate, Harry, or forfeit your magic, and perhaps your life…

CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:

So, the beginning of a new story. It took quite a bit of thought to decide on a team name for Harry's team. I found out that 'Excelsior' was originally used for a young superhero support group that was changed into the Loners, partly because apparently Stan Lee has a trademark on the phrase. I decided to use it as a variation on the various 'X'-themed teams in X-Men.

Now, this story, broadly speaking, will be similar in many ways to my previous WBWL harem story, Wings of the Forsaken. Unlike that story, James and Sirius, while they will be bashed fairly heavily, are not as overtly villainous. Here, they are bigoted arsewipes, but not murderous. In order to avoid confusion with Charles Xavier, I'm changing the usual name I use for the WBWL, Charles, to William. Why? Because immediately before Henry the First of England, there was William the Second.

Incidentally, Harry, Anna (or Rogue if you prefer), Laura and Kitty are all 19 here. Not exactly the same age, but the same amount of years old.

1. I chose Talon because X-23 sounded like too much of a reminder of Laura's past, while Talon, which was apparently an alias Laura had used before, sounds appropriate.

2. For those of you more familiar with the films or TV series than the comics, the U-Men, who first appeared in Grant Morrison's run on the comics, were a cult-like organisation who killed mutants, stole their organs, and grafted it onto themselves. They ran around in self-contained life-support suits.

3. Medea Graves is an OC, but she's meant to be a descendant of Percival Graves, from the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. And yes, I'm aware that he was impersonated in the film. I'm assuming that this is a descendant from before his impersonation.