The next few days for Lois were surprisingly breezy. Firstly, there was the matter of convincing her parents to let her stay in Midvale and live at the Xavier Institute, which was easy considering they'd been thinking about sending her and Lucy to live with her cousin in Kansas. Now, she absolutely loved Chloe, but she had no doubt she'd go mad within a week of living in the middle of Hicksville, or wherever it was that Chloe lived. Plus, she'd probably be hit on by the first dumb farm boy she'd meet, and she had nightmares about that sort of thing.
Then there was the explosion at the homecoming game. Sure, calling an explosion at a public high school 'breezy' is an understatement, but it wasn't really the event itself, but the fact that Lois actually got the full story of what happened. Lois wasn't there because, thankfully, Steve Lombard got it through his thick skull that he'd need to do more than flirt with the girls on the pep squad if he wanted the school newspaper on his future resume. And as such, she heard about what happened from Jean after Lois finally set everything up in her new room.
"What's got you back so soon?" Lois asked Jean as she passed through the hall. Jean Grey was a red haired girl with green eyes and an athletic figure. Jean always seemed to have that air of 'prettiest girl at school', but it turned out she was actually quite nice. She even helped move some of Lois's things into the new room.
"Some of Duncan's football friends were bullying a potential recruit to the Institute, Todd Tolanski." Lois winced hearing that name. Todd was a freshman who really didn't believe in personal hygiene for the benefit of others, and hearing that he might live here had Lois hoping he'd get a room on the opposite end of the estate... or in a small hut in the backyard. "Scott tried to intervene and his glasses were knocked off in the scuffle." Scott Summers was another resident of the Institute; tall, slim, and always appeared to be brooding, though not without a good reason. The ruby red glasses he wore contained the concussive energy his eyes produced and he couldn't turn them off due to a head injury he sustained as a child.
Lois breathed an audible sigh of relief as she closed her eyes and grinned. "Let me savor this moment. A big, newsworthy moment, and the witness isn't dodging my question."
Jean chuckled. "I hope your future tell-all novel is lenient on us mutants."
"Oh, don't worry. The fault in these cases lies in societal treatment of outcast individuals and a lack of a desire to properly help mutants due to the bystander effect. And given what I've found at Cape Citadel, that tell-all's not getting published any time soon."
Jean let her have her moment before asking, "Has the Professor begun tests on your abilities yet?"
"Nope. Whole evening's been spent unpacking. Hank's going to be monitoring while Bobby will be on standby in case I overheat again." Hank McCoy was the local wunderkind, with an interest in genetics (though his burly frame made him look like a football player) while Bobby Drake was something of a class clown. Hank's mutation had apparently made him exceptionally strong and agile, though the cost of his physical appearance changing to that of a blue-furred Beast that was concealed by psychic energy from the Professor. Bobby, meanwhile, was cryokinetic, which he first demonstrated to her by transforming from his short, brown haired form to a snowman with legs; and it gave him the perfect way to counteract Lois's weakness come tomorrow.
"Alright, that should be enough data for now," Hank stated as Lois proceeded to land the Red Tornado drone after two hours. The drone, as Lois had soon discovered, was primarily red with golden accents at the wrists, waist, and head that formed an arrow pointing down on its forehead, a golden 'T' emblazoned on the chest. The drone was given a more regal look earlier that morning by adding a blue cape with a collar held in place by a golden chain and some pins. Hank continued, "The drone's capacity for computing is astonishing. If I understand this correctly, it should be capable of housing an artificial intelligence. That you are able to control it at full functionality with only mild overclocking is... well, astonishing is still the appropriate term."
"Gee, thanks," Lois replied as she pulled herself from the ice bath she had to plunge herself into before possessing Red Tornado.
"With this data, we should also be able to make a suit for you that would help regulate your body temperature so you won't need to take such a plunge every time you possess this drone." Hank and Bobby helped her up and offered her a towel to dry off with as they made their way back to the manor.
"Some sort of display would be helpful as well so I don't just warg into machines."
"I'll see what I can do once I get back from Germany."
Munich, Germany
Hank shuffled about nervously as he searched the entrance of the Munich Airport. Even though he had done extensive field tests on the device that was, in truth, just an ordinary watch, he was still astonished at the thought that a mysterious friend of the Professor's had such a simple and ingenious method of disguising himself. Not only that, but the fact that this method (imprinting what the Professor called a 'psychic perception filter' on a wearable object) was within the Professor's capability to create...
Hank hadn't felt normal since his secondary mutation came about and transformed him into a blue furred monster. But with this psychic perception filter, he had a chance again, and he wanted to share that with the individual he came here to pick up.
After leaving the hanger, making sure to grab the box meant for Kurt, and entering the main building, Hank scanned the area for Kurt or his adopted mother... and spotted Mrs. Szardos waving at him by the airport chapel. "Mr. McCoy, we've been waiting for you. Kurt's just finishing up with his prayers if you wanted to speak with him now," said the dark eyed Romani woman in what was initially surprisingly fluent English... until Hank remembered she was a fortune teller in a traveling circus. "He's quite nervous about the move to America."
"Of course," Hank replied as he opened the chapel door. Inside was what one might expect of an airport chapel; four rows of pews, a stained glass window depicting a biblical event (Jesus carrying his cross up to the hill where he would die, if Hank remembered correctly), an alter at the front, and a small confessional booth off to the side. Kneeling at the alter with prayer beads in his hands was a heavily obscured Kurt, muttering a prayer in German. Hank quietly poked his head back out. "Could you make sure we're not disturbed?" Mrs. Szardos nodded as Hank shut the doors and approached Kurt, announcing his presence with a cough. "Mr. Wagner."
The figure quickly turned toward him, careful to obscure his face as he swiftly moved the prayer beads into his pockets... but not before Hank noticed each of his hands only had three fingers... "Herr McCoy... I'm... I'm not sure if your institute is the best place for me..." Kurt declared in a heavier German accent than his adopted mother's.
Hank smiled, knowing what was about to happen. "You're just nervous. The Professor can help you, though... just as he helped me." As he spoke, he slowly began to remove the watch on his wrist, standing tall as the illusion of the plain, burly man dropped to reveal the Beast within.
"Mein Gott im Himmel! How dit you do zat?" Kurt exclaimed as he pulled back the hood to reveal his devil-like features: short, blue-black hair, dark blue skin that appeared to be more like a soft fur, and piercing yellow eyes.
"I'm not quite sure I understand some of it myself, but the basics are simple psychology mixed with a telepathic nudge. Here." Hank held out the box in his hands to Kurt, excited to see him try on the watch within. Kurt gently reached for it and opened the box. "All you need to do is put on the watch and focus on it for a moment." Kurt did so and Hank's perception of him shifted slightly to replace the blue felt-skin with pale skin and his yellow eyes with dark blue ones. "Most often, people don't expect to see people with our respective visages, and with these devices, they won't." Hank had put his watch back on as Kurt moved toward the bowl of holy water to examine his face before noticing his hands now appeared to have five digits each.
Kurt immediately went to hug Hank, "Vielen dank, Herr McCoy!"
"Let's get you to the Institute," Hank said softly as he and Kurt left the chapel. Mrs. Szardos gave Kurt a tearful goodbye, seeing Kurt's new appearance, and thanked Hank for helping her son as they left.
Xavier Institute
Lois had been spending the majority of the evening attempting something a bit different... channeling the controls of the Red Tornado through a TV screen. The effort proved to be considerably less taxing on her, though she'd asked Bobby to be on standby just in case.
"Fine. I'll let the new kid know the pecking order later," Bobby objected with obvious sarcasm.
"And where am I on this pecking order again?" Lois teased as both she and the drone looked directly at Bobby.
"At the top, now. Jeez, that's scary."
Lois then sent Red Tornado off to patrol the estate while she and Bobby talked. "So, how long have you had your powers?"
"About three years, now," Bobby began as Lois shifted her attention between him and the drone. "It started out small, too. I just felt really cold all the time. My mom freaked out a bit because of my low body temp... But I didn't really find out until about a month later. There was this girl I was crushing on, Judy. I finally worked up the courage to ask her out on a date, and who decides to show up but Rocky Beasley. The man thinks he's hot stuff and decides to prove it. Harasses me and Judy. Now, I panic, I'm a 13 year old kid who wants to do right by a girl he likes."
"So you froze him," Lois guessed in a matter-of-fact tone as Red Tornado was flying around... without Lois feeling feverish at all.
"I froze him solid. Judy freaked, Rocky's gang freaked, and next thing I knew, I've got a lynch mob knocking on my door." Lois swore to herself. A lynch mob came after Bobby? It was a wonder he wasn't an emotional train wreck. "Yeah. Before they could do any damage, though, they just stopped. Went stiff. The Professor had flown in alongside Logan, who you haven't met yet. He's a wonderful guy, out to kill us via the Danger Room..." Bobby paused, tapped her on the kneecap, and pointed to the TV. "Looks like your boy's catching an intruder."
On the television screen was a weird, frog-shaped person who hopped over the fence of the Institute. "He another newbie or is he uninvited?" The TV screen then pulled up the records of Todd Tolanski: current residence was apparently that old Brotherhood of St. Magnus orphanage, sophomore at Midvale High... and there was also a video recording of Todd entering Principal Brickman's office the night of the homecoming explosion... and what appeared to be the principal transforming into some sort of demon, though it was from the camera in the school's main office just outside her own. "Have to save that for later... oh, the new kid's got out Toad."
As the screen returned focus to Red Tornado, Lois and Bobby saw the short, gangly Todd in something of a holding pattern with the newbie, Kurt, in the foyer. "Better make sure they don't wreck the wallpaper," Bobby declared as he iced over and slid toward the action.
"What are you, some kinda Smurf?" Toad taunted as his opponent hung from the chandelier by his tail.
"Vell, zat is a first!" Kurt retorted. "Most vould call me 'devil', but you can call me 'ze Incredible Nightcrawler'!" Kurt dropped from the chandelier, disappearing with a subtle bamf before reappearing behind Toad to drop-kick him in the back.
Toad moved much further than he'd expected from that kick, eventually realizing he was sliding on solid ice. "Ladies and gentlemen and others, tonight's Disney on Ice has a very special guest in the form of the one, the only: video game mascot... Slippy Toad!" The snowman that was Bobby 'Iceman' Drake skated ahead of Toad as he continued. "Wait, hold on! I'm told we don't have the rights for that character. You know what that means; Red Tornado, show our guest what he's won!" Then the freakiest thing happened to Toad as a giant robot man dropped down from nowhere and blasted him with a gust of wind out the front door and over the outer wall via an ice ramp.
"Zat was awesome!" Nightcrawler proclaimed as he teleported next to Iceman and Red Tornado. "Are all nights here like zis?"
"I wouldn't know. It's my first night, too," came the approaching voice of Lois from down the hall. In her hands was a tablet, which she used to send Red Tornado away.
Kurt's jaw dropped slightly seeing her. "Mein gott, you look like an actress from an old movie from ze '50s."
Lois paid the comment no mind, instead looking to the now-dethawing Iceman for answers... and recieving a shrug. "Dunno. Could be the bit we saw's connected to Magneto. Have to ask the Prof."
"Ask him 'bout what? That scrawny kid who bounced outta here?" The three students turned in surprise to see a short, burly man with dark hair and mutton chops in the doorway who had the look of a man who had killed before and wouldn't hesitate to do so again.
"Logan! You're back..." Bobby declared with mock enthusiasm. "Guys, this is Logan. Logan, this is Lois and Kurt." The other two waved nervously at the man. "Lois found some security footage the Professor might be interested in." Lois held out the tablet to show Logan, replaying the scene with the principal.
"Mystique," Logan said, bluntly.
"Who?" Lois asked as she took the tablet back from him, the tablet now displaying redacted case files from a government agency called SHIELD on Mystique.
"Old acquaintance from the Division X days. I'll let Chuck know." And with that, Logan left the three students in the foyer.
Midvale High, Delaware
Mystique was furious! Not only did Tolanski not remember anything of the Institute, obviously Xavier's work, but she had Magneto breathing down her neck about keeping a close eye on those X-Brats. As she sat at her desk, the desk of Mallory Brickman, she let herself relax as her form shifted from the black hair and pale skin to her natural appearance: blood-red hair, blue skin, and almost alien yellow eyes. She was about to close her eyes for a brief respite before she noticed her computer was on...
I know who you are, came the text on the screen as Mystique attempted to shut the monitor off once more. Then came a series of files, photos, and surveillance footage of all her previous work; most of it as a spy for Magneto.
"What do you want?" Mystique asked to what she believed to be no one, now unnerved by... whoever this was.
Information. The monitor answered as Mystique looked around for any listening devices. This had to be the CIA or SHIELD messing with her. Whoever it is you answer to, I will know.
"Who are you?"
There was a pause as Mystique waited, anxiously ready to pull the plug on the computer. I am the Voice in the Machine, and whatever your master's plan is for the Xavier Institute will fail. Mystique pulled the power cord and the monitor shut off. Then she shifted into a raven and left the office.
She needed to get far away before informing Magneto of what occurred.