The scene took place during a basketball game between a team in blue and one in red. People can be heard cheering. Number 21 was holding the basketball and advancing down the court.
"Good, keep it up. Keep them at a distance!" Said the coach of the blue team.
The game score was 81-82 at the 4th with 35 seconds left in the game.
"Daniels, over here." Said one of his teammates.
Daniels passed the ball to number 32, who attempted a lay-up. The ball doesn't go through.
The visiting team recovered the ball and began to advance down the court with it. We then see Storm watching the game.
"Take the ball from them! Don't let them score!" Said Daniels' father, who was standing next to Storm.
"Is it always this exciting?" Asked Storm.
"No. But this match is very important." Daniels' father replied with 12 seconds left in the match.
The visiting team tried to pass the ball, but number 32 was quick on his feet. He stole the ball from the opposing team and began to run down the pitch.
"We've got ten seconds. Pietro, Daniels is in position. Come on!" shouted the coach.
Number 32 quickly passes the ball to an open Daniels and he begins to make a break for the hoop.
"You can do it, Evan! Score the basket!" Storm shouted.
Evan shot the ball and at the same time got pushed around. And just as he was about to hit the ground, spikes shot out of his arm, shocking Storm. The ball still went in as time ran out and the score was now 83-82, meaning that the home team had won the game.
The crowd goes crazy. Evan looked down at his arm and saw the spikes. He quickly used his other hand to cover the spikes so no one could see them. Evan's teammates approached and began celebrating victory with him. They lifted him into the air. Evan then looked down at his arm to see that the spikes were gone. He then began to applaud with his team-mates. Everyone in the team seemed happy to have won, except number 32, who had his arms crossed and wasn't as happy as they were.
In the boys' locker room, Evan was putting his things away in a bag. After the last two people had left after telling him he'd done well and played well, it was just him and number 32 left in the locker room.
"I should have known you'd hog all the glory." Said number 32.
"What are you talking about, Pietro? Everybody knows..." Evan tried to say.
"If I hadn't been there, you wouldn't have scored that basket. I'd have had to shoot it myself." Pietro retorted as Storm was about to enter the locker room, but stayed behind a wall overhearing the conversation.
"Hey, that was a great pass, man. But there's no way you could have made it across the field in time to shoot." Said Evan, trying to be reasonable and calm Pietro down.
"Listen man!" Said Pietro, banging his fist on the locker before moving very quickly behind Evan. "I'm reaching unimaginable speeds. And I'm tired of holding back just to make guys like you look good."
Pietro pulled away, but not before colliding with Evan. Now alone with Evan, Storm was finally able to make her presence felt and talk to him.
"It seems like you and that boy have been competing forever." She said.
"Hi, Aunt Ororo. How are ya? Where's Mom and Dad?"
"They're waiting outside. Your mother doesn't like to come into the boys' locker room." Storm smiled.
"You bet! What a game, huh? Thanks for coming."
"I'd never miss my favorite nephew's big game." She said, hugging Evan. "No way."
"Still, it was nice of you to come."
"Evan, are you okay? I've been worried about you lately... about what we talked about the other time." Storm asked as she sat down on a bench.
"No problem, Aunt Ororo. Everything's fine." Evan replied.
"Evan, I saw what happened to you tonight, when you fell." Storm revealed.
"It was really no big deal, I've got everything under control." Evan relativized before sneezing.
This sent spikes shooting out of his body and into the lockers around him. Some just missed Storm.
"Bless you." Storm said calmly.
"Then I'm unmasked."
"Obviously."
Later, they were in Evan's parents' backyard, his dad flipping meat on the grill.
"Your last basket was really great, son. Outstanding! That game will go down in the annals of basketball." said his father.
"Yes, it was magnificent." added his mother.
Evan, meanwhile, continued talking to Storm.
"I'm surprised you were able to hide that for so long." Storm admitted.
"I assure you I've got it under control. A few spikes here and there. What's next? We're in New York!" Declared Evan.
"Evan, you need to take this seriously. The Xavier Institute can offer you training." Argued Storm.
"I don't need training, man. I can take care of myself. If anyone messes with me, bam!" Said Evan before hitting a tree with his spikes.
"No, Evan. You mustn't use your powers like that. You must learn to control yourself." Gronda Storm.
"Hey, I'm in control, see?" Said he, making the spikes disappear from his arm. "It's all good."
"Like in the locker room?" Storm retorted.
"Right. So it's not perfected yet." Evan admitted.
"I think we'd better continue this conversation with your parents." Said Storm.
"Like I didn't know that was coming. Look, can it wait until after school tomorrow? I mean, it's a big night for them." Negotiated Evan.
"Get 'em while they're hot!" Said Evan's dad, setting the food down on a table.
"Very well." Storm agreed.
Evan kissed his aunt on the cheek before joining his parents.
"Ororo, how are things with your nephew?" Charles asks her telepathically.
"It's exactly what I was afraid of, Professor. He's stubborn."
"All right, then. We'll move on to Plan B. Scott, Jean and Deker will talk to him. Uh, by the way, Cerebro detected another mutant at tonight's game... but oddly, I didn't get a clear vision. Did you see anyone unusual?"
"Maybe, but I'm not sure yet."
"All right, then. Keep me posted."
The next day Evan was at school, opening his locker and taking out a wallet. He opened it and saw it was empty.
"Oh, not again!" Evans groaned.
"Is something wrong?" Pietro asked, arriving quickly against the breakers.
"Where did you come from?" gasped Evan.
"That's a question you should ask yourself on the basketball court." Pietro scoffed.
"Listen. I know you're fast. You played a great game last night." Said Evan.
"Ah-ha! You're finally admitting that I'm better than you." Pietro says proudly.
"I said you were faster, not the best. I've got hidden talents too." Evan ventured.
"Oh yes." Pietro said, taking his wallet. Like having your money stolen twice this month."
"Yeah, and I changed the combination." Says Evan.
"Hmm. Sounds like a real mystery."
"Yeah, but I'm going to trap the thief."
"Sure, Daniels. But you're going to need bait." Says Pietro, handing him back his wallet, with money in it.
"Hey, thanks, man. I'll give it back to you on allowance day." Said Evan, then putting the wallet back in the locker. "See you later." He said, shaking Pietro's hand.
Then Evan walked away.
"You can practice all you want, you'll never be as fast as me!"
Later that day, Jean, Scott and Deker, along with Evan and Storm's parents, were talking.
"You never give up, Aunt Ororo!" Evan shouted.
"She worries about you. We all are." Jean argued.
"That's why you come home from school with your clothes full of holes." Said Evan's mother.
"We always knew that was a possibility, Vi. Even if you didn't get the mutant gene like I did, we knew it could appear in future generations." Storm argued.
"It's not so bad, Mrs. Daniels. Having special powers can be pretty cool sometimes." Scott argued.
"I've got an idea! Show me what your famous power can be used for." Evan said aggressively.
"Evan!" shouted his parents.
"Sorry, Mom."
"It's nothing." Said Jean.
"It's just that Scott's powers don't really fit inside." Says Deker.
"Okay, whatever. Look, I like it here, and I'm not going to a nut house. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some school stuff to do." Evan said before heading up the stairs as his mother called his name.
But he didn't listen to them and kept walking and a door could be heard slamming.
"I can't believe I sacrificed my evening plans, to have to deal with a stubborn kid." Deker groaned, to which Scott elbowed him in the hip.
"You could say that the introduction was excellent." Said Scott.
"I apologize for my son, Mr. Summers. He's obviously dealing with a lot right now. I'll talk to him." Said David when suddenly Jean gasped.
"He's going out the window."
Evan jumped out the window with his skateboard. Just as everyone reached the front door of the house, they saw Evan skate away.
"We really need to work on our sales pitch." Scott commented.
A little later Evan could be seen inside the school after hours.
"Okay, thief. Want to play tonight? The Spike's ready." He said.
Evan then took out his spikes and waited in a corner. Just then, the wind picked up and the lockers began to open and everything flew out of the lockers. Everything began to surround Evan and he began to throw spikes into the ground. Just then, Pietro appeared right in front of him in a suit.
"Pietro?"
"Call me Quicksilver. Do you like the outfit? I made it myself. Took me about a quarter of a second." Said Pietro before looking at the spikes. "Well, look at that. Looks like you've got powers too. But as usual..."
Pietro then ran around the spikes and they were thrown elsewhere and Pietro appeared behind Evan.
" ... Not as cool as mine."
"You? You have powers too?" Evan asked, turning around.
"Duh! Don't forget that anything you can do, I can do better than you! I'll take this back." Said Pietro, taking the money from Evan's wallet.
"But why would you want to rip me off?" he asked.
"Just for fun. It's like a challenge! I live so fast... I need something to do to have fun. And you thought you could stop me! Well..." He said before quickly slapping Evan's face. "...you're wrong again."
"Don't bet on it." Evan retorted, preparing to hit him.
But Pietro ran up behind him and pushed him to the ground.
"Too slow. What a surprise." He said before yawning.
Then police sirens sounded.
"You'll need time to perfect your powers. I can arrange that." Pietro said.
"What do you mean?"
"Repeat after me: scapegoat." Said Pietro running away and Evan turned to see two policemen at the door.
Later, Evan in a holding cell. The sound of a door opening was heard and a group of people entered.
"Evan, what happened?" Evan's mother asked.
"Welcome to the negative side, buddy. If you abuse your powers, you're going to jail." Scott declared.
"It wasn't me." Refuted Evan.
"That's what they all say." Deker commented.
"Actually, I know you didn't." Said Jean.
"Evan, please listen to me. Let us help you." Storm asked.
"Then we'll make you a deal. The Professor will use his influence to get you out of here, and you'll give the Institute a chance. What do you say?" Scott offered.
"Like I have a choice?" Evan sighed.
"Hey, hey. You always have a choice. We just want to help you make the right choice." Scott explained.
"Besides, if you don't like it, you can always stay in this quality accommodation." Deker added.
"Okay. Deal." Evan agreed, shaking Scott's hand.
A week passed, and the institute's residents were having breakfast.
"So, where's the new guy?" Kitty asked.
"He's still asleep. He had a pretty rough night." Charles replied.
Kurt then teleported to a seat next to Deker.
"Ah. I love the smell of bacon in the morning." He says.
"I think he knows who really trashed those lockers. Did he tell you, Professor?" Scott asked.
"No. And I'm not going to insist. He'll tell us when he's ready." Charles replied.
"Hm. If you ask me, he's looking to settle this account personally." Said Logan to which Deker nodded, sharing the same opinion as him.
"Jean, could you pass the sausages please?" he asked.
Jean then used her powers to levitate the sausages to Deker.
"Yuck. It's full of fat, you know. It'll clog your arteries." Kitty commented.
"Thanks for worrying about me, Kitty. But don't worry, this stuff won't kill me." Deker smiled, using his claws to grab some sausages.
Logan does the same.
"I suspect you may be right about Evan's intentions, Logan." Said Charles.
"Trust me on this. I may not be a mind reader... but I know what goes on in the head of a boy who's been tricked." Said Logan before seeing Kurt trying to grab some food as he hung upside down hanging from the chandelier. "Hey, how many times do I have to tell you? Just ask and I'll pass you the dish."
"Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt." Kurt apologized before teleporting to his seat.
"That's better. Now mind your manners." Logan said as he passed him the food.
"It would be better if Evan had other activities and didn't just think about this. I've enrolled him in Bayville High School. Scott, can you introduce him to the basketball coach?" Charles asked.
"Of course. After his last game in New York, the coach is going to jump all over him." Scott agreed.
"Good. And let's hope Evan's desire for revenge is short-lived." Said Charles.
"This dish is pretty good. Who prepared it, Professor?" Says Kurt, enjoying the food.
"It's Deker."
Everyone then stopped eating and looked at Deker in shock.
"What?" He asked innocently.
"You did all this?" Scott asked in shock.
"Well, I had help, but most of the time, yes. Why?"
"Who taught you?" Kurt asked.
"My mother. I often helped her in the kitchen."
"You don't really talk about your life before you came here. Why?" Kitty asked.
"Let's just say there are some things it's better to keep quiet about." Deker replied as he finished his plate. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be in my room."
Then he got up and left.
"Did I say something wrong?" Kitty asked.
"You didn't do anything wrong, halfling." Logan replied.
"Deker remains very mysterious with his past." Scott replied. "He's probably only mentioned it two or three times, counting the one he just did."
"Do you know what happened during those months he was away, Professor?" Kitty asked.
"Yes, I must have probed his mind when he first came here. But I won't tell. He'll tell you when he's ready." Charles replied.
At Bayville High School, Snape, Lance, Tolansky and Fred stood outside the headmistress's office, while inside Mystique in her Principal Darkholme disguise spoke to Magneto.
"What an honor it is that you've come." She said.
"I'm not here for your little student reunion, Mystique. Take a look." Said Magneto, pointing to a hologram of Pietro on his desk.
"Ah! So that's the speed demon I've been hearing about." She said.
"That's Pietro Maximoff. I'm particularly interested in him. I've been waiting for the right moment to approach this young man. That moment has come." Magneto explained.
"So we're going to ask him to team up with us.
"It won't be easy. He's convinced he's autonomous. However, there may be a way." Magneto said.
Another hologram appeared. This one showed Evan.
"Yes?"
"Young Pietro has long held a grudge against Evan Daniels." Magneto explained.
"New student Xavier enrolled here last week."
"Yes. Pietro has recently taken the lead in this competition, and I believe Mr. Daniels would like to... settle the score."
"Good, then I know exactly what I need to do to bring them together." Darkholme smiles.
"Excellent. I'll intervene in due course."
Later, at the Institute, in the Danger Room, Scott, Kurt, Jean, Logan, Deker and Evan were training.
Logan and Deker were practicing before the others arrived, and Deker decided to stay and watch.
"This is your fifth try, Spyke. Want to take a break?" Scott asked.
"No time for a break, man. You brought me here to train, so let's train." Replied Evan.
"Hey. You heard the man. Let's go. " Logan smiled.
Evan jumped on his skateboard and started down the ramp. Jean then used her powers to throw balls at Evan. He ducked under two of them, then spiked the others and hit two balls, breaking them. Scott then fired his beam at Evan and missed the first two times, but on the third Scott hit Evan's skateboard, sending it flying. He landed in front of Logan and Deker.
"Not bad at all, porcupine." Logan said, helping him to his feet.
"Spyke, the trainer just called. He says you've got to come to the gym. You've got a game tonight." Said Kitty from the control room of the Danger Room.
"That wasn't planned." Says Evan.
"Well, it is now. Coach says Principal Darkholme set it up last minute. He says he wants you in uniform in, like, an hour. Because you're starting against your old high school in New York." Kitty explained.
Kurt then teleported to where everyone else was.
"So cool! That's so cool! You're going to be up against your nemesis!" He said enthusiastically.
"Yeah..." Evan sighed.
An hour later, Deker was with Rogue as they left the cinema, having taken advantage of the fact that he was re-watching Coppola's Dacula to enjoy a friendly movie.
"It was a very good adaptation. But how bad was Harker's actor?" Said Snape, laughing as he thought again of Keanus Reeves' performance in that role.
"Definitely. I'm sure if we killed his dog he'd react like he'd forgotten to turn off the gas." Deker commented, making Snape laugh even harder. "But apart from that, I love how they've adapted Dracula in this movie. Bringing together the myth of Vlad Tepes and the story he inspired, that's something to think about."
"You're right. I hope they do as well next time they make a Dracula movie." Rogue said as they walked towards Deker's motorcycle.
Rogue moved a little faster to pick up her helmet and give it to Deker. But halfway there, she was thrown backwards and slammed into a wall.
"Rogue!" Deker said, rushing to her aid, when he then saw Evan in his X-Men outfit, riding a skateboard.
He was followed by Scott and Jean running after him.
"We need a hand Deker, Evan's rival is causing chaos in the city." Scott said, noticing him, before resuming his pursuit of Pietro.
Deker looked in the direction his friends were running, more precisely in the direction Pietro had gone, as small blue arcs of electricity formed in his eyes.
Pietro stopped running and looked at Evan, who was on his skateboard.
"Give it up, Daniels, you don't stand a chance." He laughed.
"No, not this time, Pietro. I'm going to win the game." Evan retorted, rolling towards him.
But Pietro sent him flying into a wall.
"You call that a challenge? You can't even touch me. Watch this, porcupine. I'm going to set Bayville on fire." Says Pietro before starting to run so fast that the windows of his vehicles begin to shatter and the cars start to flip over.
Jean, Scott and Deker arrive.
"We've got to stop him!" Jean says.
"I've tried. He's just too fast! I thought you said all that training would help." Says Evan as he removes his helmet and throws it to the ground.
"Training is only part of the job, Spyke. Teamwork is another." Scott retorted.
"Yahoo!" Pietro shouted, running toward them.
They all braced themselves for impact, Scott with his hand on his visor, ready to shoot Pietro once they were at a safe distance.
Suddenly, however, a gust of wind blew towards Pietro, and blue flashes of lightning became visible.
They didn't have time to wonder what it was when a few yards ahead of them they saw Pietro being held by the breastplate of his suit by a menacing figure.
It was a man - or, judging by his height, a teenager - wearing an all-black suit with gray lines, with a symbol representing a circle of lightning falling from right to left on his chest.
He wore a full mask, whose face resembled a scarecrow or a demon, while his eyes were blacker than night and his ears resembled claws. The fingers of these gloves ended in points, giving the impression that he had claws.
Blue electric arcs formed and disappeared every second around his body.
"Argh! Who are you?" Pietro shouted.
"Who am I? That doesn't matter." Replied the man in a dark, monstrous voice. "Let's go for a walk."
Then the man began to run faster than Pietro, pulling away from the town before tackling him to the ground, then landing a series of point-blows. Then he dragged Pietro with him again, bringing him back into town and sending him crashing into a wall where the three X-Men were standing.
"Had enough?" He asked Pietro, who got to his feet.
"You're not even close, lad." Pietro ventured before trying to attack the man.
But the latter moved faster than Pietro and dodged his blow, hitting him hard enough to send him flying backwards several metres, going to where Pietro was supposed to land and hitting him again.
He repeated this several times, until Pietro was on the ground, unconscious.
"Consider this a warning."
"Hey, you!" Scott shouted, drawing the man's attention. "Leave him alone."
"I did what I had to do." Replied the man before running off, leaving a faint trail of blue lightning behind him that disappeared in seconds.
"Who was that guy?" Evan asked.
"I've no idea. And I'm not sure we should know." Said Scott as he approached Pietro's unconscious body. "At least he left him alive. But why go after him now?"
"I don't know. But we'd better not cross his path again by being enemies." Says Jean.
"Yeah. At least before it all went to hell, I was able to get a confession out of him." Says Evan, pulling out a tape recorder on which he recorded their conversation in high school before this chase started.
Police sirens sounded and the three X-men fled before the cops could see them.
An hour later Pietro could now be seen in a holding cell, screaming to be released and doing his best to stay on his feet because of the wounds left for this black-clad mutant also endowed with super-speed.
"Hey! Hey! You've got to let me go! I want to get out of here!"
Everything began to shake. Pietro looked up and could see the man partly concealed by his purple cape and the shadow in the room.
"Huh? And you?" He said, recognizing the man.
"It's good to see you again, Pietro. Even under such trying circumstances." Magneto greeted.
"Yeah, well, you can make them a lot less painful, you know. Come on, hurry up. Move it!" Pietro retorted.
"Always impatient. But you've grown a lot, Pietro. And I'm going to need your services if you think you're up to the task." Magneto offered.
"Oh. Sounds like a challenge. Okay, suit yourself. But get me out of this. I've got revenge to exact on Evan and that speed demon." Pietro agreed.
"Very well."
Magneto then used his powers to bend the metal to create a hole big enough for Pietro to get out. Magneto then held out his hand.
"Come with me."
Pietro took his hand and they left.
"Rogue? Rogue?"
Rogue then opened her eyes to see Deker standing before her.
"Argh... what happened? I feel like I've been hit by a car." She said, holding her head.
"It's almost like that. A mutant with super-speed hit you when you were heading for the bike. You were unconscious for an hour." Deker explained.
"I hope he's ready for whatever happens when I find him." Rogue groaned as her friend helped her to her feet.
"Don't worry, Scott, Jean and the new kid should have taken care of it by now. By now he's probably in a cell or unconscious somewhere in town."
He waited a while for Rogue to feel better, then drove her home before returning to the institute where the professor greeted him with a certain...
"We've already talked about this, Deker!"
... dissatisfaction.
"You had to limit the demonstration of your powers to those similar to Logan! Said Charles as they stood in the control room of the Danger Room so that no one could hear them.
"I know, Professor. I reacted out of anger." Deker assented. "But what did you want me to do? Let Pietro sow chaos in the city until they found a way to immobilize him. When he could have killed her?"
"Look, I know what she means to you. But there's only so much you can do with your full powers." Charles said more calmly. "You need to keep as much of your power as possible hidden so you don't draw her attention."
"It's true that a mini-wolverine doesn't attract much attention." Deker quipped before sighing. "Okay, I'll be more careful. But if I deem it necessary, I'll use my other powers in a combat situation."
This in turn made Charles sigh.
"I know I couldn't get any better of you. But be really careful. Otherwise you might attract their attention." he said.
This made Deker growl; he hated it when "they" were mentioned.
They then left the room and the teenager went to bed.