X-Men: New Class

by Ambaryerno

Set in the Earth-10005 Universe, a new class of students arrives at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Inspired by Agents of SHIELD, X-Men: New Class loosely adapts Kyle and Yost's New X-Men as a hypothetical live-action television series. (Note: This story only accounts for up to X-Men: Days of Future Past, and will not be updated for Apocalypse)

7. 1x06 - Angels and Demons: Temptation

1x06

Angels and Demons Part I

Temptation

###

Act I

###

There was something beautiful about night in the city. The lights, the sounds, the people gathering to enjoy the clubs and restaurants, the movie theaters and the shopping. If there was one boon to his mother making him leave their Kentucky farm, it was the experience of New York City after nightfall.

Jay tugged his jacket tighter around himself against the brisk night air as he slung his guitar case over his shoulder and stepped out of the side door of the club. He missed playing for a real audience. Not to take anything away from his friends and classmates, but there was something different about being up on stage playing a real set in front of a real crowd, rather than sitting around the lounge plucking out whatever came to mind. Melody, however, finally prevailed on him in that annoyingly endearing little sister way to get back out there again, and so here he was, fresh off a gig sitting in for a local band whose regular guitarist was unavailable. Most of the set was standards he'd played dozens — if not hundreds — of times before, but there were a couple original pieces that provided a fair challenge to his abilities.

He sighed and started out of the alley towards the street. Just picking up his ax over the past couple years had been difficult. Memories of playing for Julia beneath the tree in the orchards, however horribly cliché it sounded, were still fresh in his mind, and sapped his enjoyment out of the music. Melody, of course, insisted Julia wouldn't want him to neglect his second love on her account, and he begrudgingly admitted (after a fair bit of pestering) she was right. So he made the calls and here he was.

It did feel good to perform again, even if he couldn't dip back into the old stage persona from the clubs and bars back home. Small townships like Salem Center might be a bit more accepting, but he doubted New York City would tolerate the full "Icarus" display any time soon. Certainly not unless he was headlining a show of his own.

"Hey, Guthrie!" a voice behind him called, dragging him out of his private thoughts.

Jay stopped and turned. The leader of the group he had been sitting in with, a blues/rock band based out of Brooklyn, strode up the alley towards him. He was an older man with craggy fair skin and a scraggly white beard, who played up the old-time jazz man look with his tie, suit jacket and fedora, like he just stepped off of the screen of The Blues Brothers. After a few puffs on the butt of a cigarette he casually put it out on the wall and flicked it away.

"Just wanted to say before you disappeared on us entirely it was a pleasure playing with you, kid," he said, and extended his hand. Jay accepted it and received a firm shake. "You've got some real talent. Been playing much around town?"

Jay shook his head. "No sir. I played a bit back home, but things have kept me from pickin' it back up seriously again until now."

The old man nodded. "Well, I hope you've got those things under control and can keep at it. You've got a great feel for the music and had a good voice on the backup vocals."

"Back home I fronted my own group," he said as the forgotten rush of the praise of an experienced player filled him. "We broke up before I left, an' I figured it would be best to get back into it by sittin' in rather than jump right up front."

"Well, you've got a real presence about you, kid," the other said with a chuckle. He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a stack of business cards. He thumbed through them and handed one to him. "This is the number for a friend of mine. He's always looking for new talent. You probably know this isn't an easy business, but with your chops I'd say you've got a better than even chance of really making it."

Jay managed a smile and slipped the card he was offered into his pocket. "Thank you, sir. I'll be sure to give him a call."

The old man smiled and nodded. "Good boy, you keep at it, and if I hear of anyone who needs a guitar for a show I'll remember your name."

"Thanks again."

They shook hands again, and then the elder man turned and started back down the alley towards the side door of the club, where he disappeared back inside. For a moment the ache in his heart lifted, and Jay felt the warmth of something he hadn't experienced in years fill that empty spot.

Hope. Pride. He couldn't quite call it happiness, but it was something, at least. The thought of Mel's sisterly "I told you so's" waiting for him back at the school just made the warm feeling burn hotter, and no doubt Paige would be anxious to know how the gig went as well.

Jay shifted his guitar at his back and started back up the street again. The shuttle between the school and Salem Center made its last run hours ago, so he would need to take a cab all the way back, but his cut from tonight was more than enough to cover it, with a fair bit left over to treat Melody in town tomorrow, and even to leave him some spending money for himself.

Traffic was beginning to thin out when he reached the street. The night was already growing on and most of the pedestrians were moving on to other venues or heading for home. Jay stepped up to the curb and set his guitar down to wait for a cab. Ordinarily he would just fly back, but the weather was turning cold enough that even his with the protection of his mutation, going without a jacket wasn't high on his to-do list.

He started humming quietly to himself while he waited, and after a few minutes was aware of a number of people gathering around him. They seemed to be traveling together, all young men a couple years older than him from a variety of racial groups. And the looks on their faces made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

One of them stepped up into his face and looked him over.

"Hey, you," he said. His breath smelled heavily of alcohol. "What are you doing here?"

Jay frowned at him. "Excuse me?"

"You're one of them freaks from Salem, aren't you." He made it a statement of fact. "I said what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for a cab," he said flatly, and tried to turn his attention to watching the street.

The leader of the group laughed and looked to the rest of the group. "Hear that? Mutie's waiting for a cab. This one thinks he's got a smart mouth." He turned his attention back to Jay. "What are you doing in our city, freak?"

Jay slung his guitar behind his shoulder and made a move to walk away. "Nothin' that's anything y'all need to worry about."

The group gathering around him shifted to cut him off.

"Where do you think you're going?" one of the men said, echoed by a couple of the others. Jay tried to keep the rising panic from his face. With his guitar at his back and jacket on he couldn't spread his wings to escape by flight, and with his focus on escape he couldn't even think of asking himself how they even knew what he was in the first place.

Someone rushed in grabbed him from behind, and Jay struggled against him. He slammed the back of his head into his attacker's face, and the grip on him loosened in response. Jay slipped free, only to find the thug had kept hold of his guitar case.

"What have we here?" the leader of the group said as he took the instrument from his companion. "Got a song for us, freak?" The others laughed.

Jay glared. "Give that back."

"Nah, I think the boys feel like a little dancing first, so we're going to need some music," he said, and nodded a signal to the others. The gang pressed in around him. Jay still didn't have room to run or even consider stripping off his jacket to free his wings.

And that's when the fists started to fly.

Jay fought them off as best he could, but there were just too many of them, and in no time they forced him to the ground. Some pounded on his back and head with their fists, while others stomped and kicked him. A foot connected hard with his side and he felt something snap. Pain stabbed through his side and he suddenly found it harder to breathe, until a solid kick to his head put all thoughts of his current situation from his mind.

As blackness crept in around the edges of his vision and the pounding faded away into cold numbness, the last thing he saw was Julia's smiling face greeting him.

###

Act II

###

He woke again slowly, some part of him crying out in anguish as Julia was torn from him a moment before he could gather her once more into his arms, and to the sound of a man yelling loudly.

"For God's sake, stop this at once!" he heard the voice, colored by a slight southern accent, yell over the laughing and mirth of his tormentors.

"This doesn't concern you, old man," the leader of the group shot back.

Jay was distantly aware of a metallic click which made everything along the street go deathly silent.

"You will back away now," the first voice said. It was calm, but filled with authority, and in response the crowd hastily backed away. As they parted, and Jay's blurred vision refocused, he saw a black shadow hovering over him, his head encircled in the halo of a streetlamp overhead, with a gun leveled in the direction of the mob. Jay remained where he lay. Blood ran from his mouth and nose, and his side was on fire from what he guessed were several broken ribs. Something felt out of sorts with his wings as well.

Oh God that's goin' to hurt when it starts healin'.

"Very good," the voice continued as the gang backed away. The figure crouched over him, but never took his eyes and weapon off of Jay's assailants. "Are you alright, my son?"

Jay groaned. Icy pain stabbed through him as the cracked ribs set themselves, and he felt his jaw pop, the first indication that it had been dislocated or worse in the assault. Now that the rain of blows had ceased his Healing Factor was finally catching up, and with an effort he put his hands under him, pushed himself up, and lifted his head.

Reverend William Stryker, the absolute last person Jay imagined coming to his aid, offered him a hand up, his attention split between Jay and the mob he was holding at bay with a Colt 1911 in one hand, and with his cane tucked under his arm.

Jay froze, torn with indecision between accepting the hand and trying to flee. Another agonizing stab of pain as his battered ribs healed ruled out the latter, so he remained where he was, staring at the hand as if it were a snake ready to bite him.

"Come, my son," Stryker said, the voice Jay was accustomed to hearing filled with righteous fire over God's hatred for mutantkind unexpectedly soothing. "'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.'"

He blinked in recognition of the Psalm, and reluctantly reached a hand out. Stryker took it firmly, and though Jay's battered body protested, the Reverend pulled him to his feet and gently pushed him back to place himself between the mob and their victim. Jay's whole body ached. His jacket was torn and one wing hung limply.

Stryker leaned heavily on his cane, admirably masking the grimace of pain caused by helping him to his feet. "Now, return the boy's property," he said, his gun leveled squarely on the ringleader. The man edged forward cautiously and turned Jay's guitar over to him. Jay snatched it back and hugged it protectively against himself. "Good," he said, and risked a quick look over his shoulder out of the corner of his eye to address him as he pulled a phone from his pocket and started dialing. "Go on, my son, head back up the street, my car is waiting. I will follow along once I see to it the authorities have dealt with these men."

Jay worked his mouth, so bewildered by Stryker's actions he found it almost impossible to form a coherent response. "Shouldn't...shouldn't I be here for a statement?" he finally managed after a moment.

"I will see that is all taken in hand, so go on."

He hesitated another moment longer, looking between the Reverend and the mob as Stryker stood alone against them, and Jay suddenly realized just how formidable the man was, and why his name still evoked fear among the teachers and students at school. Jay backed away slowly at first, then turned and jogged as quickly as his injured body allowed in the direction Stryker indicated. As promised there was a car waiting, and Jay was ushered into the back seat by one of Stryker's staff. His heart pounded against his ribcage and his breath came in ragged gasps that sent jolts of pain coursing along his side, mingling with the duller ache and sharp pops as his Healing Factor repaired his body.

###

Stryker watched the mutant go from the corner of his eye, and once he was out of sight allowed a tight grin to spread across his features. He set the safety on his gun and tucked it back into the shoulder harness hidden beneath his suit coat, and pocketed his phone.

"Well done," he said. "We'll still need to put on a bit of a show with the police later for his benefit, but I believe this is off to a good start."

The gang's leader beamed at the praise. "Thank you, Reverend," he said. "Is there anything else you need tonight?"

"No, not tonight. Just stay off the streets and wait for my call. I'll be in touch."

###

By the time Stryker returned to the car several minutes later Jay's body had more or less fully healed from the assault. The staff member jumped out of the driver's seat to help the Reverend onto the passenger's bench beside him, and Jay tensed uncertainly, but Stryker largely ignored him and waited for his aide to get back into the car.

"Let's see to it our young passenger safely returns to his school," he said as the driver dropped back into his seat. "You don't mind the ride, do you, my son?"

Jay shook his head nervously, and clutched his guitar to him protectively.

"Good."

Stryker's driver accelerated away from the curb and pulled out into traffic, and was soon heading northeastward towards the edge of New York City. Jay said nothing, and for a few minutes they all rode in awkward silence despite the questions running madly through his mind. Why Stryker of all people would rescue him from an anti-mutant lynch mob refused to compute.

"You seem nervous, my son," Stryker said after a while. There was no trace of revulsion in his voice, only the familiar calm Jay often associated with Professor Xavier. Something once again about as far as he could imagine from what he expected from the man. "Am I really that frightening?"

"Yes, sir," he managed, barely more than a mumble.

"And why is that?"

"You...You know what I am, right?" he asked, and shifted his wings against his back, particularly testing the one that had been broken in the scuffle. It was still sore and he probably wouldn't feel up to flying for another few hours, but otherwise it was folding comfortably against his back.

"I do indeed."

Jay regarded Stryker with a frown, as the man very well ought to have known why, then. He wasn't quite sure if he honestly expected to see devil horns sprouting from his thinning and shortly cropped hair, but they certainly weren't present when he looked. Stryker himself regarded him patiently. "Because," he said, and hesitated, feeling quite foolish and childish with using such an explanation. "I mean, sir, we all heard about...about what happened at Alkali Lake."

Stryker gave a weary sigh. "I see. Such a horrible misunderstanding. It's been ten years, and what happened then still haunts me."

He frowned again. "I don't see how it's all been some misunderstandin'. Sir," he added hastily. "My sister had friends who were there, an' some of them are teachin' now, so we've all heard the stories. An' then there's the things you say about us on TV an' in your pamphlets."

"All things I'm afraid that the media has greatly exaggerated. Tell me, have you taken the time to read what I have to say for yourself?"

"Of course not."

Stryker chuckled, a sort of bitter amusement. "Of course not. Why is that, I wonder?"

"We all know they're nothin' but lies," Jay said, feeling his temper start to get the better of him. He didn't quite feel as if the Reverend were attempting to patronize him, but he certainly didn't like the accusatory track he was taking.

"According to whom?"

"The teachers an' the Professor."

"And their word is above reproach, I take it?"

Jay gawked at the brazenness of that accusation. "You're sayin' the Professor lies to us?"

"I'm saying that perhaps there is more to the story than you've been told. Tell me, did you know that Xavier maintains a private army recruited from his students?"

Jay blinked at him. Of course he knew about the X-Men. It was an open secret at the school, and while Paige had chosen to take a job as a teacher after she graduated, Sam was always off doing something reckless. "What are you talkin' about?" he asked cautiously, unsure just where the Reverend was taking this line of questioning.

"What is it you are taught about your...gifts, I believe is how Professor Xavier would describe them?" he asked instead, catching Jay someone off-guard with the change of tack.

"We're taught not to be afraid of it, an' that it's just part of who we are. They help us learn to control it without hurtin' anyone else, an' teach us that we should use them to help normal folks."

"I see, and yet Professor Xavier has trained some of his students to use their powers against others."

"That's a lie!" Jay snapped defensively. "All they try to do is protect y'all and us."

"Calm yourself, my son," Stryker said, and there was something oddly soothing about his tone of voice. He paused for a moment as if gathering his thoughts, before he continued again. "You know, I served this country from a young age. I rose through the officer ranks, so I'd say I have a good grasp of the needs of command. In particular, I worked quite closely with integrating mutants into the military. In fact I would say I knew better than most the sort of service mutants could provide to their country.

"Don't you find it odd that, rather than working with the government, that this...well, let me just call it an organization your Professor has assembled doesn't?"

Jay hesitated a moment, uncertain exactly how to respond. Outside, the car had left New York City and started into the suburban sprawl outside the city limits. "They wouldn't accept us," Jay said.

"Ah!" Stryker said, raising a finger pointedly. "But my work with the military suggests otherwise. You see, my son, there are many things of which we are quite certain that, in truth, we don't have the full story. So don't you think it foolish to snap to a judgment based only on what your teachers tell you?"

"I...I suppose so."

He didn't say anything more for some time, and just rode in silence. Stryker sat quietly on the passenger's bench next to him, before he spoke again.

"Are you religious, Mr..."

"Guthrie," Jay said. "Josh Guthrie, but everyone calls me Jay. An' yes, sir."

Stryker nodded. "Tell me, Jay, what do you think God's plan for the mutant race is?"

Jay frowned. "I don't know what God's plan is, but I know we're part of it. Only God can create, so only God could make us as we are."

"Oh, the last is certainly true, though mankind has certainly tried to take that responsibility for themselves with their surgeries and stem cells and genetic research. But whatever His plan, perhaps it is God's will that we meet."

"Why would that be?"

"Perhaps we might be able to learn from one another. Understanding begins with words, does it not?"

###

They made the rest of the drive in silence. It was about an hour before they finally reached the turning onto Graymalkin from June, and Jay had Stryker stop the car at the intersection.

"No disrespect to you, Reverend," he said as the car pulled to a stop, "an' I appreciate what you did, but I think it's best if I walk the rest of the way home."

Stryker accepted the request without argument, and as Jay opened the door to step out of the car, the Reverend reached into his jacket. "Just a moment, my son," he said, bringing Jay up short. Jay tensed, half-expecting the Reverend to draw his pistol. Instead he pulled out a business card, and handed it out to him. "I would like the opportunity to talk again, if you would be willing. This is the address of my office, where we can speak in private."

Jay accepted the card, but in the dull glow of the car's dome light he couldn't make out any of it. He just stuck it in a pants pocket. "I'll think about it," he said noncommittally, and slung his guitar at his back. "Um. Thanks, again."

"Go with God, my son, and I hope you take me up on my request."

Jay shut the door and backed away from the car, allowing Stryker's driver to swing around and start back south down June to return to the City. He watched until the taillights disappeared around the slight bend in the road as it made its way towards Titicus, then hitched up his guitar and made his way by foot the rest of the way up Graymalkin. The night was growing very old, but despite the late-autumn chill and the late hour, he wasn't about to be seen on the school's security cameras leaving Stryker's car. Besides, the walk would do him some good to sort out the jumbled thoughts having a chaotic bar brawl in his head.

The gates allowing access to the school grounds were closed for the night when he arrived, but he punched in his student access code at the guard station, a side door in the wall on one side popped open, and he stepped through into the grounds. Jay released a sigh of relief, and realized that after the excitement of the evening he hadn't truly felt comfortable or safe, no doubt exacerbated by the bizarre encounter. Now, within the safety of the walls of the school, he at least felt as if he could relax a bit.

He made his way along the dark path between the trees lining the drive up to the school's entrance. The moon had long since disappeared below the horizon, so he had only a few low-impact security lights to see by, and a cool wind stirred the trees, making their bare branches sway gently in the darkness. Jay reached the steps leading up to the main entrance and started to climb.

"You missed curfew," a girl's voice said suddenly from behind him, and Jay nearly jumped clear out of his boots as he spun around in a panic, his nerves already badly rattled by the events of the evening.

Laura Kinney stood behind him, hands tucked into the pockets of the Wolverine's biker jacket. The security lights glinted faintly off her locket and glittered in her green eyes, which studied him in that unnervingly close and astute manner of hers. As Jay's heart settled down from trying to beat its way through his ribcage, he wondered just how the girl had managed to sneak up on him when the grounds were completely deserted before. "I got held up after my gig, sorry," he said. "An' you're one to talk, what are you doin' up so late?"

She just blinked and regarded him with an odd look, before her green eyes fixed on the ripped sleeve of his jacket. "You have been in a fight," she said.

Jay glanced at his jacket, then back at her in surprise, wondering how she could so easily come to that conclusion. "No, I must have caught it on something..."

He trailed off as Laura made a sniffing noise in response. "Your sisters were worried about you."

Again, Jay looked at her in surprise. He didn't spend much time around Laura. Like most of their classmates Jay found her downright unsettling at times. This was certainly one of them. "Well, I'm alright. There's nothin' for them to worry about."

"You should tell them," she said, and then turned and strolled off. Jay just watched her go for a moment. If he was perplexed by Stryker's actions that evening already, this conversation might have been the downright strangest moment of his life. Considering the rest of the student body, that was damn impressive.

Jay just sighed and turned back for the entrance to the school, keyed in his code again, and closed the night behind him.

###

Act III

###

"So what's the plan for today, anyway," Julian asked as he lounged on one end of the couch, his arm draped around Sofia's shoulder. Cessily sat at the other end, flipping through channels on the television and looking as bored as he was. Santo propped his massive blocky head up on one fist as he watched Cessily idly scan for something to watch from another chair in the conversation circle, while Victor curled up in another nursing a can of Coca-Cola. Sooraya was reading — Julian hadn't paid attention to what, though it was something from the library and not her own collection — and was lost in her own world at the moment.

Cessily leaned her chin on her fist in mirror of Santo's slouching as she continued to flip aimlessly in a vain search for something to watch. Somewhere in the series of channels she passed a morning sports show, and Santo's face lit up.

"Hey, wait—" he started, before slumping crestfallen as Cessily passed it up. "Aw."

"I don't know," Cessily said, in answer to Julian's question. "Doesn't seem to be anything good on."

"What time is the next shuttle into town?" Sofia asked.

"About twelve o'clock," Victor said. "I heard they're reopening the arcade today."

"Yeah, like they'll really let us back in," Julian muttered irritably, and rubbed his jaw in memory of the DeWitt Clinton fist that unceremoniously introduced itself to his face in their brawl a couple weeks ago.

Sofia flashed Julian a smug grin. "Serves you right, at least. But you could always take me on a romantic walk in the park instead."

"Hey now, you're going to spoil my bad-boy reputation. I've worked hard on that."

"No one buys it," Cessily said. "Sorry Julian, we all know you're really a big mushy softy."

"Besides," he continued with a roll of his eyes, "What do we do about him?" Julian jerked his thumb at Santo, who was growing visibly frustrated when Cessily began rapidly paging through the block of sports channels. "You know he'll just follow us, and I'm not going to be the one to scrub him down when the pigeons get through with him."

"Why don't we go clubbing later? I think they're doing a teen night at one of the places in the City tonight," Cessily said.

"Yeah, I don't think the three of us will fit in," Victor said, indicating himself, Santo and Cessily.

"Aw, you're no fun. Besides, don't you want to meet a nice boy?" Cessily said, and flashed him a teasing grin.

Santo gave her an indignant look. "Why would he want to do that? He's got me, isn't that right sweetie-kins!" the big rocky mutant said, and reached between the chairs to put an arm around Victor. Victor deftly evaded his grasp.

"Gah, keep away from me!"

"Aw, don't deny our love!" Santo made kissy faces at him, and was rewarded for his trouble with a soda can plinking off the top of his head.

Mark entered the lounge, and spotting them together by the TV, hung his headphones around his neck and made his way over, exchanging greetings with the handful of other students in the lounge that morning. Julian turned to Sooraya. "What do you think?" he asked. At first she didn't respond. "Earth to Sooraya, come in, Sooraya!"

"Hmm?" Sooraya said distractedly. "I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"

Cessily and Sofia both suppressed a giggle. Julian just rolled his eyes and repeated his earlier inquiry. "What do you think we should do today?" He craned his neck around to try and catch a look at the cover of the book she was so wrapped up in. "And what are you reading, anyway?"

Sooraya tore her eyes away from the page she was studying. "Oh, it's just a book on music I found in the library."

He blinked at her. "I thought you weren't the musical type."

Sofia leveled a smirk at the other girl. "She has been brushing up on the history of rock and roll," she said.

To Julian's surprise, Sooraya's expression — at least what he could see of it beneath her niqab — was quite flustered at Sofia's comment. "Sooraya Qadir, are we becoming a corrupting influence?" he said. "What must Allah think?"

"No, not at all—!" she began, and Cessily decided to join Sofia in continuing what sounded like a bit of teasing they had been subjecting Sooraya to for some time already.

"She wants to understand rock music better because of Jay."

Julian couldn't hold back his own laughter at that. It was hard to tell because of how her niqab masked her features, but it seemed like he could just make out what little of her cheeks he could see turning brilliant crimson. "You're kidding!"

"He is our friend and has begun playing again!" Sooraya said in protest. "I merely thought he would appreciate our support, and I would like to familiarize myself to better understand it!"

Cessily grinned broadly, not believing her explanation for a moment. "Riiiiight. And you know, if you want to appreciate the music better you could always ask Mark, I'm sure he could give you plenty of pointers."

"Appreciate what, now?" Mark said, as he reached them, and smiled at the three girls. "And good morning, ladies! You are all looking lovely today."

Julian shot him a dirty look, and hugged Sofia closer to his shoulder. "Watch it, Sheppard. I warned you about that."

Sofia playfully shoved away from him. "Oh shush. At least Mark knows how to address a lady."

Julian snorted in amusement. "What's this 'lady' bit? You're forgetting I know better about you," he said, and winked. Sofia just swatted him up the back of the head.

"Sooraya is wanting a better appreciation of rock and roll," Cessily said, and grinned across at Sooraya. "And I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with our dreamy winged guitar-playing classmate. Oh no, not at all!"

Sooraya glared, but said nothing out of embarrassment. Mark flopped down in an empty chair next to her and smiled as well. "Why, is the beautiful Sooraya trying to make me jealous?"

"It is not like that at all!" she protested uselessly.

"I think I've got a beginner's course I can load onto your phone's player, let me see what I can throw together for you," he said, then turned to the others. "Anyway, have any of you seen Laura this morning?"

"Not when I can help it," Julian said, earning himself another smack up the back of the head from Sofia. "Ow! Hey!"

"Be nice!" she said.

"No, I haven't," Cessily said. "She's doing one of her disappearing acts again."

Santo grunted, snatched the remote from Cessily while she was distracted, and flipped the television to ESPN. "Good, maybe she'll stay disappeared."

"Ugh, you two can be such jerks!" Sofia said.

"Hey, how come he didn't get smacked?" Julian said with a pout that was only partly genuine.

"Because he's out of reach. And whether you can believe it or not, his head is actually harder than yours."

"Oh, don't worry," Cessily said, "Allow me!"

And with that, she stretched her arm to reach around behind Santo and give him a swat up the back of his rocky head. "Ow!" he yelped, and rubbed the back of his skull as Cessily returned her arm to its normal length.

"There, satisfied?" Sofia said. Julian just stuck his tongue out at her as Santo gave him his best "thanks a lot," glare.

A few more students had come and gone while they were talking. Josh and Laurie headed for a quiet out of the way corner as Kevin made his way out, giving the couple a wide berth. And as he stepped out of the lounge, Jay entered, his copper hair a mess, his clothing rumpled, and his wings folded loosely behind him.

"Hey look, Elvis finally made it home," Julian quipped.

And that's when the lounge exploded.

"Joshua Jay Guthrie!" a very angry woman's voice boomed, shaking the lounge practically to its foundations.

"Oooh, full name scolding," Santo said with an amused grin. "This ought to be good!" Julian smirked.

Paige Guthrie stormed into the lounge with Melody in tow, the latter looking about as cross as an annoyed little sister possibly could, and the former positively fuming. Ms. Guthrie looked much more like an older version of Melody than she did Jay; tall and brown-haired, though she wore her hair shorter and more neatly-styled, and made a conscious effort at affecting more businesslike attire. The entire lounge fell into embarrassed silence at the confrontation brewing between Jay and his sisters.

Jay pinched his nose wearily. "Not now, Paige, I just woke up."

"Don't 'Not now, Paige' me. Mel an' I were waitin' up all night for you to get back," Ms. Guthrie snapped back, her Kentucky drawl slipping through as she lost her temper.

"Wow, Ms. Guthrie must really steamed," Julian murmured quietly to the group, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. "She's going hillbilly on him." Sofia socked him hard in the arm. "Ow! Hey!"

"I got hung up after the gig, I'm sorry," Jay said impatiently. Even from across the lounge it was evident he was in a foul mood and not about to stand there and take a scolding.

"Oh, you're sorry. You had Mel an' me worried sick waitin' for you! This is a school Jay, an' you know the rules. This ain't a hotel you can just come an' go as you please! You're just lucky momma ain't here or she'd be thrashin' you but good."

Jay folded his arms across his chest, and refused to back down. "Well you could have fooled me, sis, 'cause you sure as hell are soundin' just like her!"

"Don't you 'sis' me, Jay, I'm also your damn teacher. Are you lookin' for detention? 'Cause I can arrange it for you."

"Look, I've had a long night an' ain't hardly slept a wink. If you're wantin' to ground or suspend me or whatever you want to call it, fine. I'll just go back up to my room an' get some sleep, then."

And with that, he pushed past her and headed out of the lounge. Ms. Guthrie sputtered at his back for a moment, before snarling in frustration and following after, calling his name as she chased after him. Melody started to follow, but abruptly pulled up short when her elder sister roared back, "Mel you turn right around an' go back into that lounge! I ain't about to put up with your 'help' right now, so git!"

Red-faced, Melody retreated back into the lounge and stuffed her hands in her pockets as she sheepishly joined a few of her friends — a younger group of students whom Megan Gwynn's rainbow-colored and butterfly-like wings blocked Julian's view of the rest — at another table.

"Aw, that was kind of disappointing," Santo said, and slumped back into his chair again. "They could have at least made a fight of it."

"What was all of that about, anyway," Julian said.

"I told him he should talk to his sisters," a voice behind him interjected, and everyone in the circle nearly jumped out of their seats in surprise. Julian craned his neck and scowled when he saw Laura standing behind them. They were all so focused on the sputtering fight no one had even heard or seen her approach.

"Don't do that!" he snapped irritably. "Jesus Christ, someone needs to put a damn bell around her neck."

Laura shrunk into her jacket at his outburst, and slunk past him and Sooraya to stand next to Mark. Mark, in turn, offered her his chair, but she declined with a small shake of her head while glancing sheepishly Julian's way like a scolded puppy. He just leveled a dirty glare in her direction until she finally looked away again and tried to disappear even further into her oversized jacket.

"You talked to Jay this morning?" Sooraya asked as she recovered from her own surprise at Laura's unannounced arrival.

She nodded slightly, but did not elaborate further until pressed.

"Did he say how his performance went? We haven't seen him until just now, what time did he get in?"

"He missed curfew," Laura said flatly, "He had been fighting."

Sooraya's hand went to her mouth in surprise, and even Julian blinked in disbelief. "Jay was in a fight?" Sofia asked for confirmation. Laura just nodded again, and again frustrated them with a lack of elaboration.

"Did he say what happened?" Cessily asked, when it became clear she didn't intend to continue on her own.

"He denied it," Laura said. "He was lying."

Santo smirked. "He probably got his ass kicked and was too ashamed to admit it."

"He has a Healing Factor," Victor said. "That makes it kind of hard to put him down."

"Exactly."

Sooraya fixed the big rocky mutant with a glare. "You know as well as anyone how the Professor feels about us fighting, especially if he was attacked by...well...normals."

Julian rolled his eyes. "Right, so he's trying to avoid getting in trouble. We got attacked and were confined to the grounds for two weeks for defending ourselves."

"Oh please, Julian, you baited that guy into throwing the first punch and you know it," Sofia said. "But Jay fighting, that one doesn't make any sense."

"Well, it does us all no good sitting here and gossiping behind his back," Sooraya said, and abruptly stood up, the folds of her abaya floating around her briefly before they settled again.

"Where are you going?" Cessily asked.

"To go and talk to him."

Santo frowned, a rare thoughtful expression. "Wait, isn't there like, some Commandment or something about you being alone with a boy in his room?"

Sooraya neatly tucked her book under her arm. "Unlike some here, I am not ruled by my hormonal desires. I believe I will have no trouble keeping my 'hands off,' as it were, and we owe it to Jay to be his friend and actually talk with him."

"Ok, Soo, just hearing you say 'hormonal desires' is just all sorts of wrong," Julian said. "Besides what if he can't keep his hands off."

Cessily giggled at that, and even Sofia chuckled quietly. Sooraya blushed a bit behind her niqab. "I have made no secret of what happened to the last person who could not keep their hands to themselves. I believe Jay is far too much a gentleman to risk it himself."

"All the same," Cessily chimed in with a broad grin, "are you sure you don't want a chaperone? You know, just in case the 'hormonal desires' prove too much for your finely-tuned self-control?"

Sooraya just dismissed her with a roll of her eyes. "Oh, you are all a bunch of children!" And with that she turned on her heel and made her way out of the lounge with her abaya fluttering around her.

"So..." Julian said as he watched her leave, "what are we doing today?"

###

Jay sat on his bed with his back propped up against the wall behind him, one leg stretched out, his shirt tossed across the back of a chair and his wings spread but relaxed, with his guitar in his hands while he ran his fingers idly along the neck and plucked out a bit of nonsense. Fortunately, the instrument had survived the events of the night before undamaged, but he nonetheless gave it a careful looking over. Now his fingers danced on the frets as he worked through scales, chords, and patterns, here and there dropping into some tune or other, or improvising the occasional riff, but aside from the busywork of making sure his guitar was in full working order, the music was perhaps the furthest thing from Jay's mind.

Paige had had to settle for making a scene out in the hall by yelling at him through his bedroom door, but finally she had given up and stormed away, and left him to brood in peace. Memories of the night before; the assault and Stryker's unexpected rescue, continued to play out in his mind. It had all seemed so surreal, and he just couldn't understand why the Reverend would have come to his aid. None of what he said in the car had made sense. But Jay couldn't decide what bothered him more; the things Stryker had said, or that he found himself still unsure whether or not to dismiss him.

His hands ran through a particularly demanding run on his guitar and ended on a drawn-out rising note, but before he could resolve the chord there was a soft knock at the door that lulled him out of his deliberation. Jay let the note die away, but didn't get up. Maybe if he ignored the door the intruder would leave, but that hope was dashed when the knock repeated, much more insistent this time.

"If that's you, Paige, I already said there's nothin' to talk about," he growled, and began playing again.

"Jay, it's Sooraya," the voice on the other side of the door replied.

Jay blinked and his hands froze on the guitar. Sooraya was probably the last person he expected to come knocking on his door. He sighed. Well, if he was to receive guests right now, there weren't many people whose company would be more welcome. He set his guitar down in the stand next to his bed, swung his legs over the side, and started for the door, stretching his wings and arms a bit as he made his way across the room he shared with Mark Sheppard. Jay unlocked the door and pulled the door open, and smiled in greeting.

"Hey," he said.

Sooraya's expression behind her niqab turned suddenly flustered when she saw him, and she quickly looked away. "Oh, I'm sorry, Jay, I didn't mean to disturb you..." she said, trailing off in embarrassment.

Jay frowned and looked down, and almost blushed himself when he belatedly remembered he'd taken his shirt off when he got back to his room. "Oh, no, you're not. Just getting a bit of a stretch." He stretched his wings again as if for emphasis. "Sorry, I'd forgotten all about it." He stepped clear of the door. "Did you want to come in? I...uh...could actually kind of use your advice," he added.

Sooraya hesitated a moment, then nodded her head at the invitation and stepped inside. Jay closed the door behind her and followed her back across the room, where she took a seat in the chair pushed up under his desk. Jay dropped casually back onto his bed, and picked up his guitar again.

"We saw what happened in the lounge," Sooraya began. She continued averting her eyes away from him, and instead let them wander the collection of band posters on Mark's side of the dorm room; a mix of everything from old-school classic rock to modern pop groups. Mark wasn't too particular with his tastes; he just loved music, and his collection was impressive in its eclecticness "Is everything all right?"

Jay started plucking idly at his guitar again, not playing anything in particular, just a few random notes. Strange, now that she was actually here, he suddenly found himself at a loss for what to say. How can I even bring up what happened? "It's like I was tellin' Paige, I just had a rough night."

"Laura said you were in a fight," she said. There was no accusation in her tone, just deep concern.

He sighed. "Look, I know she's your friend an' all, but I gotta say she is downright spooky when she does that. Like I said, it was a rough night."

"What happened?"

"It wasn't really much, just a couple of bigots lookin' to stir up some trouble. Couple of 'em roughed me up a bit, but I got away and healed up ok."

The memory of Stryker standing protectively over him, bathed by a streetlamp like...well...an angel lit by the light of heaven couldn't help but flash unbidden through his mind. Why me? Why would William Stryker help me?

"How..." she started, but Jay cut her off abruptly.

"I don't know," he said, sharper than he meant to, and he winced as Sooraya flinched away at his tone. "I really don't," he continued much more softly this time. "Maybe they thought they saw someone comin' and decided to beat it. I just know they left."

Sooraya hugged the book she had been carrying to her chest. "Why would you not tell your sister?"

"'Cause Paige ain't our momma, much as she likes to act it."

"But she is your teacher. Someone ought to tell the Professor, at least."

"No!" Jay said and abruptly sat up. Again his tone was much sharper than he intended, and Sooraya cringed at the rebuke. "No, I...it's all right, really. No real harm done, anyway."

"Oh," Sooraya said doubtfully, and looked deeply into his eyes as if she knew he was keeping something back, and might be able to find it if she gazed deep enough. One of his wings twitched self-consciously, and that distracted her gaze from his eyes and they wandered briefly to his bare chest, before she hastily looked away again. He could just see a hint of color on her cheeks behind her niqab. "You said you wished for my advice?" she asked to change the subject.

Jay flopped back down again and cradled his guitar against himself as his thoughts returned once again to Stryker's words, and the disconnect between his rhetoric on television and what he said to him in the car on the way back to the school last night. How do I even ask?

"Do you ever wonder whether the Professor is right?"

"What do you mean?" He couldn't quite make out her expression, but he could hear the frown in her voice.

"I mean about us an' flatscans. Who's right, who's wrong, whether we could really ever all get along?"

Sooraya hesitated before responding, more shocked by his words than any need to consider them. "I have faith in him," she said with confidence. "Professor Xavier has always been honest with us that acceptance by normal people is possible even if it will not be easy."

Jay smiled a bit, but had she been looking at him she would have noticed the sadness in his eyes. "You know one of the things I always liked about you, Sooraya? Your faith. You're always so certain about things, even if you can't see it."

"I believe that everything that happens is a part of Allah's plan," she said.

But whatever His plan, perhaps it is God's will that we meet.

Stryker's words to him echoed in his memory at that, and for a few moments the only sound was the singing of his guitar as he plucked out a bluesy version of an old hymn whose name escaped him at the moment in his distracted state. "Have you ever been given a reason to doubt Him?"

Sooraya seemed taken aback by that, and it took her a moment to answer. "I...yes, I suppose there are times where I found my faith in Allah shaken. When I was taken from my mother, I..." she hesitated again, laid her book in her lap, and stared at her hands. "What those men intended to do to me does not bear speaking of, but suffice to say I cried out for Allah's protection as I was dragged from our home, and when he did not answer me I despaired. My power manifested as they stood over me later, and I...exploded into a storm of sand that stripped the flesh from their bones. I was terrified, because I did not know what I was or how I did what I did, and I was ashamed because though it was in defense of my body I had killed them all. But I came to realize, that this was Allah's answer to my plea. I believe it was His will that this power be awakened within me, that I might use it to help and protect others."

She folded her hands around the book again. "So yes, I have often found my faith tested. But I feel such tests only reaffirms it. So I know that I can always place my trust in Him."

Jay considered her words for a moment, and felt a deep pang at Sooraya's story. The pain of what happened to her struck very close to his heart, and for a moment memories of Julia overwhelmed Stryker's presence in his mind. "Even when His guidance points you down a totally different road than you were expectin'?"

"Especially in those times," Sooraya said with a smile. "We may not always know what Allah has in store for us, but we can always trust Him that no matter how strange or difficult the road, He will guide us through to the end."

"And what about men like Stryker, who preach hate in His name? Sometimes I wonder what that says about His plan."

Sooraya sighed heavily. "None can say what His true purpose is, though I suppose even men like Stryker, ISIS, and Westboro have their place in it. Perhaps they are a part of the test."

Jay regarded her thoughtfully. "In what way, do you think?"

"Perhaps as an obstacle to overcome or endure."

He considered that, and didn't say anything further, just continued plucking at his guitar.

"Why do you ask?" Sooraya ventured after a few moments.

"Just...thinkin'," he said, trying to put what Sooraya had said into context with the words of Stryker. "I don't know, I guess...I guess my relationship with God just hasn't been what it could be." Jay looked at her and offered her a sad smile. "I envy you, you know. You've lost so much but you're still steadfast in your beliefs. Losin'..." he trailed off and had to choke back the tears threatening to well up on him. "I've never been that strong."

"Jay..." Sooraya began.

"Look, thanks for talkin' with me." He laid his guitar back in its stand and sat up again, his hands folded in front of him and his wings stretched slightly. "It helped a bit, I guess." Jay sighed. "I don't know, I just got lots of thinkin' to do."

"Oh," Sooraya said, and she almost sounded disappointed. "If...if you wish to talk again, I'm always here."

He smiled sadly at her. "Thanks. I appreciate the offer, I really do. Don't worry about me, I'm all right."

She eyed him doubtfully for a moment, but didn't challenge him. Jay wondered whether that came as a relief or disappointment.

###

Act IV

###

"I don't know," Paige said, as she leaned her elbows on the table. "I know Jay's been down a lot since our mother sent him to join the school, but I've never seen him like this before."

They sat in the small area on the basement level just outside the secured parts of the mansion that had been set aside as a teacher's lounge. It was nothing as expansive as the one open to the students, and rather sparsely-appointed with a couple tables and chairs, and a few other amenities among the cabinets running along the right and rear walls as one entered from the hall; there was a sink, dishwasher and stove on the back wall with a microwave suspended over the countertop. A standard-sized fridge stood in the middle of the counter on the right. On the left wall was a big-screen television and entertainment center, and a couch and conversation circle of chairs. In the very back-left corner was a single computer terminal.

Jubilee chewed thoughtfully on a lollipop. It was just the two of them for the moment, and Paige had practically dragged her into the lounge to vent. Almost the entire school had overheard Paige's argument with her brother earlier, and those who hadn't almost certainly heard of it by now from one of the school's resident telepaths (most likely Quentin Quire). Since Jay had stonewalled her she'd calmed down and once again her Kentucky drawl was largely buried; a habit Jubilee had noticed when they were students together was that it slipped out when Paige was angry or upset. While the rest of the Guthrie clan took pride in their origins, Paige always seemed self-conscious about being viewed as backwards by the handful of more well-to-do students in their class.

"Your mom sent him here to see if the school could help, didn't she?" Jubilee asked.

Paige nodded. "She did her best when he was at home, but in the end mom decided that there wasn't anything more she could do for him. Maybe he decided she was abandoning him, but we all tried to help him see it had nothing to do with that.

"The thing is, he's never been combative like he was with me earlier. Even back home with everything that was happening with the Cabots, Jay preferred to stay out of it and focus on his music."

"Except for Julia," Jubilee said around her lolli.

Paige sighed, and took a drink from her Diet Coke. "Except for Julia," she agreed. "That's what really set things on fire between the families. It was bad enough for Chester Cabot that his property was be bordering ours, but learning that his little girl was going behind his back to not only date a Guthrie, but a mutant one at that..."

She hesitated a moment, and Jubilee waited patiently for Paige to continue. She had, of course, read Jay's file and already knew what had happened, but she had learned that it was best to let people tell their stories themselves.

"I know Jay wishes he'd died that day," Paige continued after another swallow of her soda. "But he had his secondary mutation and it didn't stick. When mom first told me he'd tried killing himself even after that, I couldn't believe he would even be capable of it." Paige pinched the bridge of her nose. "He's changed, Jubes, and not for the better. And I'm supposed to be helping him but I don't know how to do that."

Jubilee sighed, and pulled her lollipop out of her mouth to regard it for a moment. "I really wish I had some advice to give you, dude. I had a couple kids I worked with back home who were suffering from depression really bad. There was even one girl who tried to hang herself over some total alpha bitches at school; oh, you know the type, those stuck-up queen bees from the privileged families who think they own the school and everyone in it? Fortunately her brother found her and cut her down, and everything ended up working out, but a lot of them didn't get a happy ending. Once it got to this point, though, it would be way out of my hands. I'd work on getting the kid set up with someone who could provide them professional counseling, and would still check in making sure they were keeping up on what the State required to keep them out of trouble, but once depression and suicide entered the picture, I was mostly out of it."

"Could you at least talk to him?"

"All the kids know I have an open-door policy for them. Anyone who needs to talk I'm here, but I can't really force them to come see me. And," she added, and gestured at Paige with her lolli for emphasis, "you and I aren't all that far removed to know that trying to make any of these kids do what they don't want to usually doesn't work out so well."

Paige chuckled softly. "True. I remember how hard it was to keep you in class. Like that time you spent two weeks in detention over a fire that broke out in the grounds when Ororo found you trying to sneak out to meet up with some boy in Salem during class hours."

Jubilee stuffed her lolli back in her mouth and crossed her arms indignantly. "She couldn't prove that. I had an air-tight alibi."

"I see your point though." Paige sighed again and drained the last of her can. "But he's my brother and I love him. I just want to see him be ok again."

"I'll see what I can do," she said. "But in the end he still needs to come to me."

"I know. I know. But thanks. He doesn't want to talk to me, but maybe he'll listen to you. I guess that's all I can hope for."

###

David took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. He'd been staring at the computer terminal in the library for the better part of the morning, and he was nowhere near closer to solving the problem he had been working on for Dr. McCoy's class.

"Well, that's a look I don't think any of us can say we've seen before," a woman's voice behind him said.

He turned in his chair to seek the source of the interruption, and found Ms. Munroe leaning her hip against the desk, her spiked white hair incongruous with her youthful features. She had a bundle of papers tucked under one arm as she regarded him with an amused smirk. "Problems, Mr. Alleyne?" she asked.

David sighed. "Dr. McCoy said I needed more of a challenge. He sure came up with one for me. Even if I was inclined to use my power to solve it, I don't know that there's anyone in the school — himself included — I could get the answer from."

"Well, good. It's hard to expand your mind when you know everything already."

He laughed ruefully. "Maybe, but I've been through every book I could find and I've still got nothing on this one." David turned his attention back to the computer and thought he might stare a hole through the monitor if he concentrated any harder.

"It sounds like you could use a break."

"Breaks are for average minds."

"Oh?" Her voice was still laced with amusement, and in his distracted state David never even considered his comment might have come across as insulting to anyone, much less one of his teachers. "I'm sure even Hawking needs to step away from a problem every now and then."

"Hawking isn't facing losing a chunk of his GPA for not solving one simple problem."

"Hm, maybe, but I suppose the universe will keep right on doing what universes do if he takes a break. You had a letter in the mail today, by the way."

That finally sapped the last of his focus, and David reluctantly tore his eyes away from the library computer. "A letter?"

"Mm-hmm." Ms. Munroe thumbed through the bundle she was carrying, and came up with a white envelope. "From Havard."

David felt a flutter in his stomach at the announcement. "From...you said from Harvard?"

"I hear you've been waiting for this one," she said, holding up the envelope to the light and studying it closely.

"You could say that," he said, letting a little of his frustration that Ms. Munroe was withholding the letter from him color his voice in spite of himself. She merely smiled and turned it over to him, and David snatched it from her eagerly.

He stared at it for a few moments, and felt the butterflies in his stomach smash against the lining of his gut in their desperation to escape. He wasn't used to feeling nervous like this. Well, sometimes with Nori, but that was a very different sort of anxiety. But this in his hands might very well be his future. David took a deep breath in an effort to keep his hands from trembling in his excitement, and carefully broke the seal and removed the letter inside. Ms. Munroe watched him without a word as he unfolded it, almost not wanting to read it.

Dear Mr. Alleyne,

We have reviewed your application for enrollment and scholarship, and are pleased to announce that you have been accepted...

David stopped, and the flutter turned into elation.

You have been accepted...

He let out a laugh, a sound mixed of relief and joy. "They accepted my application!" he said.

"That's wonderful, David!" Ms. Munroe said.

David pushed himself away from the computer terminal and rose to his feet, for the first time realizing he had been weak in the knees with anticipation as he opened the acceptance letter. "I've been accepted, with a full scholarship!"

He let out a victorious whoop, heedless of the other students spending the weekend studying in the library, and threw his arms around Ms. Munroe's waist, who merely laughed and returned a congratulatory hug. "You earned it, David," she said.

"Wow! Um, I need to tell Nori. Thank you so much!" he said, and the next few moments were a blur as he gathered up his books and papers and logged off from his terminal, and rushed from the library to go in search of Nori.

###

Melody cast a glance up the stairwell towards the dorms on the second level as they stepped out of the lounge and into the sitting room at the foot of the stairs. Megan Gwynn walked at her side, with Fabio Medina, Ilyana Rasputin, and Max Jordan in a knot ahead of her. She was so preoccupied that when the group stopped suddenly in front of her to avoid an unusually excited David Alleyne, she nearly ran into Fabio from behind.

"Whoah!" Megan said, her voice colored by an all-too-appropriate Welsh accent, and caught her by the arm before she collided with him. "Careful, Mel, or we'll be chasing those hyperactive superballs all over the hall!"

"Huh?" Mel replied, and she colored a little when the rest of the group turned to face her. "Oh, sorry, my mind must've been wanderin' a bit."

"Are you doing ok?" Megan frowned at her, and her big black eyes were filled with concern. She was the shortest of the group, barely taller than Laura Kinney, with bright pink hair she insisted was natural, and a dusting of freckles on her cheeks that, with her rainbow-colored butterfly wings and elfin features (and her quirky insistence on wearing fairy-princess Halloween costumes every day except Halloween), conspired to make her look even younger than she really was.

"Yeah, I'm all right." She sighed and looked up the stairs again. "Jus' worried about Jay is all. Maybe I should go up an' see how he's doin'..."

"I don't know, Mel," Fabio, a rather heavyset Hispanic boy who looked for all the world to her like a younger and not-quite-as-fluffy Gabriel Iglesias, said, and followed her gaze with an uncertain frown. "He seemed kind of crabby with Ms. Guthrie."

Max, who was barely taller than Megan and looked more or less like a human porcupine, with his body covered in dark brown fur and an outer coat of hard and sharp spines, rippled his quills a bit with amusement. "Oh come on, if she was still up there we'd be hearing it right now."

"Look, Mel," Ilyana interjected, "I know I only have Piotr and you have..." she made a show of trying to count on her fingers and giving up. "Well, I'm sure he just wants to be alone right now."

Melody gave Yana an annoyed glare. The other girl was the tallest of the five, but while Mr. Rasputin was an enormous mountain of muscle when he wasn't using his powers, Yana was slim, leggy, and pretty, with long golden hair and bright blue eyes, just the sort of looks that should have caught the attention of every boy in school. If it weren't for most of them being utterly intimidated by the prospects of going through her brother, and her own cool demeanor and darkly gothic style.

"Jus' 'cause we're a big family don't mean we ain't a close one. It's not like Jay to brush me an' Paige off like that."

Yana just twitched her dark lips into a smile. "Maybe he wants some 'alone time.' I happened to see Sooraya Qadir leave the lounge behind him."

"Oh my god, you are awful."

She shrugged innocently. "What? Maybe you don't pay attention to those sort of things, but your brother is gorgeous." The smile returned to her lips, and took on the predatory edge that so terrified most of the boys in school. "I'd love to have those wings around me."

Max laughed out loud at that. "Jay would probably take off out the window. Everyone saw what you did to Quentin Quire."

"Well, he did make the first move by trying to sneak a peak in here." Yana tapped her temple, and her smile grew even broader and toothier. "It's not my fault my imagination was too much even for him."

"Now I'm curious just what it was he saw."

Yana regarded him with cool amusement. "Oh don't get any ideas, Max. I would break you."

"Oh my god, it is gross hearing you talking about my brother that way," Melody said, and crossed her arms as she stared the taller girl down. Yana just waved her off.

"You're no fun."

"Well, I'm sorry. Besides, he ain't been interested in another girl since Julia."

"Oh please, I'm sure I could change his mind..."

Melody threw her hands up in the air and snarled in frustration as she started off again down the hall. The rest of the group hurried to catch up with her, but there was a flash of light, and Yana appeared right in step beside her. Damn teleporters...

"So what are we going to do today, anyway?" Fabio asked.

"Well, Melody is probably going to go brood because big brother doesn't want to talk to her about what's going on," Yana said.

"I'm not broodin'! Jay's broodin', I'm just concerned."

"Look, Mel, I'm sure if Jay wanted to talk about what was bothering him he would," Megan said.

Melody sighed in frustration. "I guess you're right, but he was so lookin' forward to that gig last night. It was the closest I've seen him to bein' happy since I don't know when, an' then he gets back an' won't even tell me an' Paige how it went."

"Maybe it went bad," Max suggested, his tone uncharacteristically pessimistic.

"I can't believe that, Jay is an amazin' player," Mel said.

"Look, all joking aside," Yana said, and laid a hand on her shoulder. Her predatory smile was gone, and there was genuine sympathy in her eyes. "Megan is right."

"I am?" Megan piped in, surprised to hear herself taken seriously.

Yana grinned over her shoulder at her. "Don't let it go to your head, Tinkerbell," she said, then turned her attention back to Melody. "If Jay wants to talk about it, he'll talk about it. Just give him space."

Mel sighed resignedly. "I know, Yana, I know. But doesn't Mr. Rasputin ever talk to you when he's got a problem?"

"To be honest, Piotr likes to act like he doesn't have any around me. He doesn't want his baby sister worrying about him."

"I just... I feel like this is different, that there's somethin' more going on that he's not talkin' about."

"Maybe, but you can't do anything about it."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, I don't know what you're supposed to do, but right now, I could go for something from the Grind Stone."

Melody eyed her with an irritable frown. "So I'm just supposed to drop it?"

Yana shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe just give him space."

"I hate it when you start talkin' sense."

###

Jay stared up at the ceiling from his bed, his hands tucked behind his head and his wings folded tightly at his back. Sooraya had left him with a lot to think about. He sort of regretted dismissing her so abruptly, but he'd lost interest in any sort of company with all the conflicting thoughts bouncing around inside his head.

He had heard the stories from Paige about Stryker; about his attack on the school, about the prison beneath Alkali Lake. About the fear and confusion over what he wanted from them. He heard again the righteous zeal of his words on television and his denouncement of an entire race for no reason other than they were born different. Jay thought back to the words of Professor Xavier when he first arrived at the school in an address to the whole incoming class, of his hope to peacefully bridge the divide between human and mutant. How peaceful coexistence was his great dream.

But what, then, did that make the X-Men? Why did the Professor keep their existence secret from the public? If they were truly there to protect everyone, wouldn't it make sense for him to work with the government rather than acting in secret?

Jay sat up and leaned his elbows on his knees, and stretched out his wings. Stryker was wrong, the X-Men weren't an army. Were they? And where were the police when the school was attacked a decade ago? If not for the X-Men, what would have happened to the students who were kidnapped? How could Stryker even call that a misunderstanding? He came into the mansion with guns and tranquilizers and took children from their beds in the dead of night.

Why me? Why would Stryker save me?

He mopped his face. It didn't make sense. None of it made sense.

"I believe that everything that happens is a part of Allah's plan," Sooraya had said.

"But whatever His plan, perhaps it is God's will that we meet," Stryker had said.

Jay clasped his hands in front of him and closed his eyes. God, I could really use your guidance right now. What is it you're askin' of me? If this is all part of your plan, why Stryker? Why would you send him to defend me from those who would do me harm for what I was born? Why do you bring me before he who has denounced my people and spreads hatred of us in your name?

He sat quietly for a few moments, but there was no answer. The only sound was the muted voices of students in their dorms, or music playing on stereos, or the distant sound of a television.

Jay sighed, stood, and stretched. His stomach rumbled a bit and he realized he hadn't eaten since before the gig last night. He retrieved his shirt from the back of the chair where he left it, and threaded his arms through the sleeves and his wings through the slits cut in the back, and pulled on a pair of boots. He stuck a hand in his jeans pocket and frowned; something was in there and he couldn't remember what it was.

He withdrew his hand again and pulled out a couple business cards. One was the card given to him by the old man from the gig. Jay studied it for a moment and considered the phone number. The old man had said he had talent. He had potential. He ran his thumb across the phone number, and thought he really ought to call the man's friend to see what he had to say.

Maybe later, right now he really needed something to eat.

Before putting the cards away he took a quick look over the other. In plain black text beneath a crucifix were the words, "The Reverend William Stryker," above a phone number and an address.

Jay just stared at the card for a long moment, doubt gnawing at him, and questions filling his mind and demanding answers.

He looked between the two cards, and made his decision.

###

Act V

###

David found Nori sitting on a bench outside in the grounds. The afternoon was cool, the air was fresh with the scent of fallen leaves, and the sky was clear and blue. All-in-all, a beautiful day made even brighter by the letter tucked safely away in an inside pocket of his jacket as he hurried across the grounds to join her.

She was studying the fingers of her gauntlets closely, and as he drew nearer, it was plain that something about them was bothering her.

"Hey," he said as he reached her. Nori looked away from her contemplation of her gloved fingers and offered him a smile.

"Hey, baby," she said.

David frowned at her dejected tone. "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing."

He sat down next to her on the bench and watched her for a moment as she flexed her fingers and turned her hands towards and away from her, carefully scrutinizing every contour and panel of her gauntlets. "Nori, it's not 'nothing.' You've been kind of avoiding me ever since last week."

She sighed in frustration. "Look, I said it's nothing, all right? Just go and leave me alone!"

Nori made a move to stand up, but David promptly caught her by the arm and pulled her back down onto the bench. "Hey, talk to me," he said. "Whatever it is, maybe I can help?"

She glanced sidelong at him, then sighed and hooked a lock of her electric-blue hair behind one ear. While David had never given it much thought, he realized he'd never actually seen her hair before she started to color it, and it was just so Nori now that he couldn't imagine seeing her without it. "That's just it, you can't. Not with these," she said, and held her gauntleted hands out to him.

"I thought Dr. McCoy fixed them?"

"He did!" Her voice rose in exasperation; a frustration David had become increasingly familiar with in the time he'd known her, and even moreso since they first got together. "They're working perfectly fine. Peachy-keen."

"But."

Nori scowled at the observation — one word that reminded her how well he knew her — then deflated noticeably. "But for how long? Dr. McCoy says the more I use my power, the stronger it will get, so eventually I'll have the same problem all over again. I hate what I am when my power is out of control." A tear started down her cheek, and it was all she could do to keep from breaking down crying altogether. "It scares me, David. I turn into a babbling and incoherent mess, I can't think straight, and...and I'm just lost. And all Dr. McCoy can do is make these...these shackles!" She shook her hands in frustrated emphasis. "He can't even tell me if I'll ever be able to control it without them!"

"Have you spent any time with them off? Like, practicing?"

"Of course!" she snapped irritably. David flinched away from her, and her expression told him she immediately regretted the outburst. "But the stronger my power gets, the worse I get. It took months when I first manifested before I started having problems. Now I can barely last an hour before the crazy and shakes start to set in."

Nori slunk against him, and David put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do. The gauntlets are letting me function, but how am I supposed to live a normal life like this?"

"We'll figure something out, I'm sure of it," David said, though deep down he had to admit his words rang of false-assurance.

"I'll be stuck here forever," she said, and the defeat in her voice broke his heart. Nori sniffled and wiped away another tear. "I guess at least it won't be so bad with you here."

David's stomach churned at those words, and he hugged her tight. "Yeah..." he said, and wondered how on earth he was supposed to break the news to her about Harvard now.

###

"Well that was a bust," Julian grumbled as he and Sofia made their way up the main hall from the doors, and shut the cold autumn night behind them.

"I told you, it's all right!" Sofia said as reassuringly as she could. Her arm was threaded through his, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. Not that she wasn't still disappointed — both were dressed in their most fashionable and finest for a night out on the town — but it could have been worse.

"Yeah, Julian," Santo said. The big mountain of rock lumbered along behind them, in faded jeans and an old high school sweatshirt she was amazed actually managed to fit him. "I mean the food wasn't great, but..."

"You weren't invited!" Julian snapped irritably.

"What? I totally remember you saying, 'Hey, let's head into town for dinner.'" Santo's tone was innocent and, Sofia had to observe with amusement, she had no reason to believe otherwise. The big mutant might be perhaps the strongest person in the entire school — Mr. Rasputin included — but he was quite slow on the uptake.

"I was talking to Sofia, you walking landslide! It was supposed to be a date!"

"Well, I had a good time."

Julian snarled in frustration, but Sofia couldn't help but laugh. "Julian, I told you it's all right. The look on the waiter's face when he strolled in and sat down with us was funny, at least."

"Don't encourage him," Julian said. "You know that'll just encourage him."

Sofia stopped and hung her arms around his neck. "Oh, shush. Just think of it as a reminder of what he's missing in his life by following after us like a little lost puppy." She kissed him, indifferent to the other students in the hall. Julian kissed her back deeply and fully, and for a long moment Sofia lost herself in the warmth of his lips against hers, and his arms enfolding her.

Then they parted, and Julian quirked a rather satisfied smirk as he brushed a few wisps of stray hair back from her face. "I'm not sure how much of a demonstration you're planning to give him, but he's out of luck if you're wanting to take it any further," he said, and Sofia giggled.

"You take all the fun out of it," Santo groused.

"You've got the internet to keep you company, now buzz off."

Santo grumbled dejectedly as he lumbered off along the hall, and Julian and Sofia, arm-in-arm, started off again in search of somewhere more private. They didn't make it far before they ran into Melody Guthrie, looking a little bit lost herself and with an expression of consternation on her features. When she saw them coming up the hall she turned in their direction and hurried to intercept them, and Sofia could feel Julian's annoyance in the way he tensed up as the underclassman approached them.

"Hey," she said when she reached them, and wrung her hands anxiously.

"Good evening," Sofia said politely.

"Have either of you two seen Jay?" she asked. "He's not in his room, an' I haven't seen him since the lounge earlier."

Sofia shrugged. "I'm sorry, Mel, but we haven't."

Melody's shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Oh. I'd checked the whole school an' no one's seen him anywhere."

"So what, Elvis has left the building?" Julian asked, and grunted in protest as Sofia nudged him in the ribs with the elbow.

"Maybe, I don't know. I'd thought he might have gone into town, an' since you were there maybe you'd seen him while you were out."

Sofia frowned sympathetically. The outburst that morning in the lounge was certainly rather unusual for the soft-spoken Jay, and a part of her shared Sooraya's concern. "Sorry, but if he went to Salem we didn't see him."

Melody sighed heavily and rubbed her arm. "Ok," she said. "I'm sorry to bother you about it, it's just gettin' close to suppertime, an' after he was out all last night an' acting all funny today, I'm kind of worried about him."

Sofia offered the younger girl as reassuring a smile as she could. "I'm sure Jay is fine," she said, and a thought occurred to her as she watched Santo disappear into the lounge. "Maybe he just wanted some time alone, it can be hard to find privacy around here."

"I suppose so. Thanks anyway."

Melody headed back the way she had come, and Sofia watched her go. "I wonder what all this was about today?" she asked.

Julian just shrugged. "I don't know, but if he's looking to be alone around here I wish him luck."

Sofia nodded, but couldn't quite shake her disquiet.

###

Stryker drummed his fingers on his desk in agitation with a Bluetooth receiver on his ear as he dealt with a phone call that was proving to be something of an aggravation. His private office was starkly functional with only sparse decoration; a few mementos here and there of his military service, and a crucifix on the right wall as one entered from the hall. There was a conversation circle of chairs around a low wooden table in one corner, and a bookshelf on the left wall, with a wardrobe containing his vestments in the corner behind him. His desk was no less functional; with only a computer monitor and telephone, and a stack of papers needing his attention.

"...but we need more subjects, Bill," the voice on the other end of the phone, and the source of his current annoyance, was saying.

"I understand that, Adam, but you need to understand that acquisition will take time, and no small amount of finesse. Especially while that intrusive Ms. Garner continues to hound me and my church," Stryker said. "I expect you to hold up your end of our arrangement."

"Look, you'll have what you asked for; I think I've already been more than generous considering the discount I've been offering you for old time's sake, Colonel."

The voice on the other end of the phone emphasized his former rank, and the tone of his voice as he did so irritated Stryker to no end. "And I've nonetheless paid you a lot of money, so I expect everything to be delivered as promised."

"And you'll have it, but I still need something, Bill. We were close to repeating your success with Weapon X, but what we're working on now is even bigger and I can't proceed until we have more samples."

Stryker sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. This argument was starting to turn in circles, and he was tiring of retreading this ground. "As you well know I'm fully aware of the challenge and requirements of what you're trying to do, but these things take time if you want to avoid arousing the wrong sort of attention, and neither I nor my organization are ready to play our hand so openly just yet."

"All right, all right. Just don't keep me waiting too long, Bill. The experiments will be entering a critical stage soon. Do what you can when you can, and I promise you that you won't regret it."

"Fine, fine. If there's nothing else, I will let you get back to your work, so I can get back to mine."

And with that, Stryker disconnected the call. He sighed heavily and sunk back into his chair, pulling off his glasses for a moment so he could mop his face. That man was almost impossible to deal with; arrogant, abrasive and demanding. If only he wasn't so capable. He did, however, have a valid point about the need for subjects.

Stryker tapped the intercom on his phone. It buzzed, and a man's voice responded, "Yes, Reverend?"

"Matthew, please come to my office, I have a job for you," he said.

"Yes, sir."

This would require a degree of discretion, of course. Anything that could lead back to him before he was ready to put his plans in motion could be disastrous, and with Taylor's failure to eliminate Melita Garner he had to tread carefully. Fortunately, there was enough undercurrent of hatred for the abominations that the assault couldn't be traced directly to him, though he had no doubt there was a measure of suspicion from certain individuals he would rather like to avoid the attention of with further attacks. So for now, at least, Ms. Garner was unreachable.

That didn't mean, of course, that others were if his people acted with care.

There was a knock at the door, and as it opened a crack a woman's face peeked around the edge of it. "Pardon the interruption, Reverend," she said, her cultured English accent seeming at odds with her Japanese features. Her black hair was pulled into a neat and business-like updo. "There's a young gentleman here to see you."

The door opened the rest of the way, and Jay Guthrie stepped inside and looked about nervously. The long leather coat hiding his wings had been hastily and sloppily repaired of the damage his men did the night before, but despite the beating he had received, he showed no other sign of injury. Remarkable, his ability to heal may even surpass Howlett's.

"Thank you, Elizabeth," Stryker said. "Please ensure that our guest and I are not disturbed. I am expecting Matthew shortly, please let him know I will be with him soon."

"Yes, Reverend," she said, and retreated from the office, closing the door behind her and leaving him alone with the Guthrie boy.

"Well, my son," he said, and motioned to an empty chair in front of his desk. "Welcome, and I'm glad you chose to accept my invitation."

To be continued...

---

A Note from the Author

Well, pretty quick with another episode so soon after the last, but mainly because I'd actually started this one a while ago and had most of Acts I and II in the can already. I promise, we won't have another big gap between entries like there was between 1x04 and 1x05, but don't for a minute get comfortable with THIS pace. ;-P

Anyway, as promised, 1x06 is a return to the main arc of season 1 which was first introduced in the pilot. Those familiar with Kyle and Yost's run of New X-Men may already have an idea of where season 1 is headed, but for those of you who aren't, I hope it all comes as a big surprise. We also get one or two subplots that will carry through the rest of the season, as well as our first look a some of the underclassmen. In adapting characters from the comics into the film verse there's a bit of a juggling act involved; which characters do you want to introduce, and what is their place in Earth-10005 vs. who they were in Earth-616? How will their mutations work? What will be the same? What's different? Magik especially is an interesting case considering her books background doesn't quite fit with the world as established in the X-Films, so it will be fun to play with it and figure out how she's going to work.

And I'm sure some sharp-eyed readers will recognize the other curveball I threw in and wonder just what they're doing where they are. But all in good time. Mua-ha-ha.

So stay tuned!