Chapter 1: A Regular Day at Xavier's
"Touchdown!" The crowd was chanting repeatedly as they sat in the stands, watching the game. The cheerleaders were doing their routine as they chanted for their team to win.
"Go, Bayville! B! B! A! A! Y! Go, Bayville!"
The Bayville Hawks were staring down their competition as the ball was passed to Duncan Matthews, the most popular student at Bayville High and star quarterback of the football team.
"Blue 22! Blue 22!" He called out as the ball was passed to him. "Hut, hut!" He then made a run for it while the other players covered for him. Duncan managed to throw off one player that got too close as he charged down the field and made a touchdown just as he was tackled in time.
He smiled as a flash went off and looked at his girlfriend, holding a camera in her hands.
"Jean, did you get that for the yearbook?" He asked in amusement.
Jean Grey, a pretty redhead, smirked at him.
"No. This one's for my personal collection." She told him.
As they were taking a break, Duncan and Jean were walking down the field, being observed by a student high in the bleachers. He looked like any other teenager, but he sported ruby shades even though it was night. This was Scott Summers.
"Duncan Matthews does it again, this time with a quarterback keeper." The announcer said as Scott watched the two talk. "The Bayville Hawks seem to have this one wrapped up with time running out."
Sighing at seeing the girl of his dreams talk to her jerkass boyfriend, Scott continued to flip a coin he had in his hand as he looked around, obviously waiting for someone.
Duncan was interrupted while talking to Jean by one of his teammates.
"Hey, look at that!" His teammate pointed to the bleachers, where a sickly-looking scrawny boy pickpocketed another student, stealing their wallet. "Tolansky's at it again."
Another one of the players glared at the amphibian-looking boy. "Oh, man. That's unbelievable."
Duncan, however, smirked, as he now had a perfect excuse (not that he needed one) to beat up a less popular student. He turned to the coach.
"Hey, Coach. Could we be excused for a second?" Duncan politely asked.
The coach looked at the scoreboard and saw that they were in the lead, 49 to 17, so he nodded.
"Yeah, yeah. Just hustle back." He told them.
With a cruel grin, Duncan slipped his helmet on as he and his friends made their way to the bleachers and talked about their excitement at getting to beat up Tolansky.
"This is great, man."
"This is gonna be great."
Unknown to them, Jean was watching the players leave with a curious look on her face.
Meanwhile, Scott was still playing with a coin when he saw another student make his way toward him. The kid was holding a tray with two hotdogs and sodas.
"Yo, Scott, I got snacks!" Danny announced as he sat down next to his best friend.
"Awesome!" Scott grabbed a hot dog with one hand and a drink with the other as the two dug in.
"So has Matthews made a fool out of himself yet?" Danny asked as he gazed at the field. "It's the only reason I came here."
"Danny!" Scott scolded. Sure, he didn't like Duncan either, but he wasn't going to say shit like that. But the sunglass-wearing teenager wasn't surprised. Danny was one of those guys who said whatever was on their mind and didn't care what the world thought.
"I'm just joking, Scott." Danny replied. "Jeez, lighten up, man. Also, don't deny it; you're hoping something humiliating happens to that jerk." Danny gained a teasing look in his eyes. "Probably something that might cause Jean to wise up and leave him."
Scott blushed at the thought of Jean and him together. "Shut up." Scott then accidentally dropped his coin. "Oh, man. My cash." As he looked down at where it fell, he noticed a hand coming out and grabbing the wallet from someone's back pocket.
He tapped Danny on the shoulder and pointed to the hand as it took the wallet. "Hey, check it. Someone jacked that guy's wallet. Guess they're taking up a collection." Shaking his head, Scott got up. "Come on, let's go check it out."
A groan was Scott's response as Danny half-heatedly got up. "Great, now we're being led on another half-baked adventure." He then gave a look of boredom back at the field. "Though at least it's better than watching the game."
Behind the bleachers, Tolansky was hanging on to the edge as he snatched another unsuspecting person's wallet.
"Got another one." He snickered before he felt someone grab his leg and yank him down to the floor.
"Well, hey. If it ain't Toady Tolansky picking up a little spare change." Duncan said as he and his friends surrounded the smaller teen.
Tolansky crawled back a bit as he looked at Matthews looming over him warily. "Hi, Duncan. Look, I can explain."
"Shut up, Frog Face!" Duncan grabbed him by the throat and pushed him up against a pillar.
"Let's crush him, Dunc!" One of his friends said.
"Let's not Dunc!" Scott said as the four boys turned to see him along with Danny.
"Yeah, I'm sure Jean wouldn't approve of you harassing some poor guy." Danny said as he glared at the football player. Ever since Danny laid eyes on the guy, he didn't like him. Whether it was because he felt like Dash 2.0 or the fact that he was dating one of his friends was anyone's guess. "Though why she's still with you is beyond me."
Scott pulled Danny back a bit so a fight wouldn't break out. "Just chill." Scott said to the gang. "The wallets are still there. How about we have him give back the cash? No harm done."
"Scott, they don't care about the wallets." Danny pointed out. "They just want an excuse to hurt something." He said in disgust, how he hated bullies.
"Let's just chill." Scott said not wanting to cause a scene. "Just let him give back the cash."
"Yeah. Yeah." Tolansky agreed as he held up some dollar bills in his hand. "See? Here's the money."
"What do you care about this scuzzo, Summers?" Duncan snarled. "And what about you, Fenton?"
"Not much." Scott admitted. "But I'm not crazy about three against one either."
"And I'm not crazy about Duncan in general." Danny added in a snarky tone, making Scott roll his eyes.
"Easy there, Danny. So how about we settle this peacefully?" The young man offered.
Peace didn't seem to be an option, as the next thing Duncan said was, "I think me and my buds are gonna squash this slimeball. So you and your stupid "sunglasses at night" can just bail." He gripped Scott by his shirt only for Danny to shove him off.
"Hey, leave him alone!" Danny cried, but Duncan refused to back down as he raised his fists.
"Stop it!" Scott went to break up the fight, only for the two other boys to grab him by the arms.
"Hey, get off!" He demanded as he pushed them off, grabbing one of them and throwing them onto the other. Duncan threw a punch at Danny, but for some reason it felt like it simply went through the guy.
"What the?" He exclaimed, before being pushed into the mud by Danny.
While all this was going on, Tolansky started to hop away as he left the scene of the crime while Jean walked by and saw the commotion.
"What's going on?" Jean shouted at seeing her friends standing above her downed boyfriend. Before the two could come up with an explanation, Duncan used this chance to punch Scott into a beam, knocking off his glasses.
"Oh, crap!" Danny cried as he saw a beam of red light come out of Scott's eyes. It made contact with a propane tank, setting off an explosion that had everyone run off in fear.
Soon after that, the police showed up along with the fire department, which was working on containing the fire. As everyone was all calming down, with the paramedics looking over everyone, a shiny black Rolls-Royce pulled up next to the school. It rolled down its back window, showing a bald man looking over the damage.
As this was going on, Jean was walking over the remaining burning wood as she tried to look for Scott's glasses.
"It's all right, Scott." Danny comforted the crouching boy, who was covering his eyes. "No one's hurt. Seriously, that is." He then saw Jean looking down at the burning rubble that was on top of Scott's shades.
"It's too hot to touch, at least with my hands." Jean said before she saw Danny phase his hand through it and grab the glasses.
"But not mine." Danny quipped as he returned the glasses to his friend. "You okay, Scott?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Scott replied as he looked around, only to see Jean smiling at him. "Jean? Oh, wow. I..."
"I know." Jean finished for him. "You didn't mean to cause this." She then raised an eyebrow at Danny. "Although I don't think the same can be said for you, Danny."
"Hey, I was nothing but a mere bystander." Danny defended.
"Uh-huh. Sure." Jean replied, unconvinced, before looking over to see the paramedics checking over Duncan. "Look, you two better split."
"Way ahead of you, Jean." Danny said, happy to get out of here. "Let's go, Scott." He grabbed Scott as the two bailed.
As she bid her two friends goodbye, Jean made her way to her boyfriend, who was having his helmet removed.
"Take it easy, son." One of the paramedics cautioned. "Try not to move."
"What happened here?" A cop asked him.
"My head." Duncan muttered. "Can't remember."
"Concussion." The paramedic deduced as he shined a light in Duncan's eye. "He's been hit hard."
The cop hummed in thought as he looked over at the fire. "It looks to me like..." At this, the man in the Rolls Royce narrowed his eyes, and instantly, the man's thought patterns changed. "Of course." He realized. "Must've been a leak in that propane tank."
"Duncan, are you all right?" Jean asked in concern as she saw her boyfriend loaded up on a stretcher.
"Hey, Jean." Duncan greeted. "Yeah, you know me. Skull like concrete." He knocked on his head before he winced in pain.
"You poor baby." She said in sympathy as she stayed with him as he was rolled into the ambulance.
Far away, Danny and Scott were looking over the damage.
"Look on the bright side." Danny said, trying to be optimistic. "I don't think we'll have to see anymore football games for a while now."
Scott, not in the mood for any more games, stormed off.
"Scott!" Danny called as he watched his friend leave. "Don't be like that!" He was about to go after him when he noticed Tolansky was next to him.
"Thanks." Tolansky mumbled. "Really, you know?"
"Huh?" Danny said in confusion before remembering what happened before the explosion. "Oh, yeah, sure, man." He then went after Scott. "Scott!"
Tolansky watched him go before noticing a fly buzzing near him. In a flash, his tongue extended like a frog and snagged the fly as Tolansky ate it before hopping off.
Back at the Rolls Royce, the bald man, also known as Professor Charles Xavier, nodded to his driver.
"Things are under control for now. But we better hurry. We've got a train to catch."
His driver, a gorgeous African American woman named Ororo Munroe, also known as Storm, nodded as she drove them down to the subway station.
Xavier sat in his wheelchair, with Storm standing next to him, as they waited at the subway station for their new recruit.
A train stopped as the passengers got out, and Storm tried to find which one of them was their new student.
"Kurt?" She asked Xavier, pointing to a blonde boy who stepped off the train.
"That's not Kurt." Xavier said before gesturing over to a young man dressed in a burly coat with a hood over his head and carrying two bags in his hand. "This is."
There was a clearing in the nearby section of the woods where a motorcycle was zooming through. The rider, a burly man, noticed a gas station in his sights and decided to make a quick stop. Pulling in, he entered the establishment, setting off the bell that alerted employees that they had customers.
The store clerk looked up from his book at the biker, who was gazing at the newspaper stand as he looked over what it said.
Explosion at High School
Students Escape Serious Injuries in Freak Accident
"Trouble at home." The biker muttered.
"You want that paper?" The store clerk asked.
"That's why I'm holding it, bub." The biker grabbed a copy. "Bottle of water too. Cold."
Getting the bottle, the employee tried to make small talk.
"Warm weather we're having this time of year."
He was ignored as the biker snatched the bottle and turned around.
The cashier heard some slashing noises before seeing the top of the glass bottle now sitting on the counter. He blinked before the biker set the rest of the empty bottle next to it.
"Recycle that, will you?" He requested before walking out, leaving a very confused store clerk.
Getting on his bike, the man didn't know that in the distance, a much hairier man (or maybe it wasn't a man, but some kind of beast) was watching him as he growled, showing off his sharp teeth.
"Give it up, Jean. It's hopeless." Scott said as he and Danny stood next to the bathroom door, waiting for Jean to finish up so they could go to school.
"I'll be done in a second." Jean announced as she was brushing her hair.
"You said that twenty minutes ago." Danny pointed out. "No offense, Jean, but I don't think Duncan is gonna appreciate the effort you put into your appearance." He noticed Scott's glare. "What? It's true."
The door then opened, revealing Jean in all her splendor.
"Come on, we're gonna be late." Jean told her friends as they walked down the hall and down the stairs.
"We're heading out, professor." Scott told the professor.
"Just a moment, you three." Xavier stopped them. "Come here. I'd like you to meet someone."
The three walked into Xavier's office to see him next to the hooded boy from the subway. "This is Kurt Wagner." Xavier introduced. "He arrived late last night."
"What's up, man?" Danny offered his hand to Kurt.
Kurt instead backed up, intimidated by the number of people here.
"Kurt, you're among friends here." Xavier comforted him.
Hesitantly, Kurt took Danny's hand, revealing that they were covered in blue fur. "Hello." He mumbled.
Danny didn't say anything about the blue fur as he smiled at the newcomer. "Nice to meet you."
"I was just telling Kurt how I set up this institute for gifted youngsters." Xavier said to his three students. "Youngsters whose gifts are not always an asset. Right, Scott?"
'Busted.' Scott thought as he knew he was in deep trouble. "So you heard about last night?"
"Difficult not to." Xavier responded. "It was on all the news channels. A sudden explosion."
"It was a bad situation, and there was an accident." Scott explained, seeing there was no way out of this. "I'm sorry."
"I know." Xavier said calmly, not angry but concerned. "Fortunately, no one was badly hurt and the true cause was not discovered. But you must be more careful, Scott." Xavier warned him.
"Come on, professor!" Scott complained. "I'm packing up a bazooka behind each eyeball! What do you want from me?"
"Control, Scott." Xavier shot back. "That's what you're here to learn. That's why you're all here." He turned his attention back to Kurt. "Scott's eyes emit a destructive optic blast beam."
"In other words, laser eyes." Danny clarified.
"Cool." Kurt replied.
"How about you, Kurt?" Jean asked. "Got a special gift that brought you here?"
In a puff of smoke, Kurt teleported from one part of the room to the other. Kurt grinned mischievously. "Maybe."
"Whoa!" Scott and Jean said, impressed with Kurt's power.
"How come you had to take a train instead of teleporting here?" Danny inquired.
"Three miles is my limit." Kurt explained. "If I had to teleport here, I would have to be doing it constantly at a time, and it would take a lot out of me."
"Hey, at least you'd save on gas." Danny joked, making Kurt laugh.
"Well, I guess there's that."
"I'll be helping Kurt get settled in." Xavier said. "We can talk more tonight."
At Bayville High, Tolansky was waiting in the office when the door to the principal's office opened, and out came Principal Darkholme, a severely strict-looking woman that no one wanted to cross.
"Mr. Tolansky?" She called as the boy walked in, forcing Darkholme to try not to gag at his horrendous stench.
"Excuse me a moment while I open a window." She said as she did just that. "There. Now, Toad, shall we talk about your new friends, Scott Summers and Daniel Fenton?"
"What about them?" Toad asked as he stood perched on the chair like a toad, picking at his ear. "They're cool. Especially Fenton, he seems like a fun guy to hang around with. Heck, if it weren't for them, them jocks would've stomped my skull flat."
"Yes. Well, Summers, as you've noticed, has special powers." Darkholme said as she moved closer to him. "And so does Fenton. There are others like them." She grabbed him by the chin before placing her hands on his shoulders. "We need to know more. Much more."
Toad, however, didn't feel comfortable with possibly getting into any more dangerous situations. "Oh, look. I don't wanna..."
"Silence!" Darkholme roared, her voice now sounding like some kind of monster. Despite every instinct of his body telling him not to, Toad turned around and saw that Darkholme was now some kind of —he didn't know what she was. She stood tall with long fingers and a large jaw full of razor-sharp teeth. Her purple skin only added to the fact that she was something else. And the red eyes stared into his soul, making him fear for his very existence.
"You'll do as you're told!" She ordered. "Understand!" She then lunged at him with her jaw wide open.
"This bedroom is mine?" Kurt asked in awe as he looked at the very spacious room, with the large and comfy bed getting his attention.
"Of course, Kurt." Xavier answered as he smiled at Kurt's reaction, along with Storm. "That's why your parents sent you to us. They knew you would be happy here."
The word "happy" dampened Kurt's mood as he remembered who he was. "Happy? How can I be happy when I look like this? I scare people."
Xavier, however, simply smiled. "I have a surprise for you, Kurt." He pulled out a watch and handed it to the blue-furred young man. "Put this on."
Kurt did that, and before his very eyes, he transformed, looking like a regular, non-furred human. He gasped as he looked at his transformation in the mirror. "I don't believe it! I'm normal!"
"Of course you're normal, Kurt." Storm reassured him. "But not because of that machine."
"Storm is right, Kurt." Xavier agreed. "Normal is what you truly are. Never think otherwise. This is just a disguise. A disguise so that you'll not be persecuted by those who do not understand your gifts."
"I understand, professor. But nonetheless, you rule!" Kurt said, making Xavier smile as he and Storm left the room.
Kurt then noticed the package left on his bed and opened it. He grinned at seeing a red uniform with an X on it.
The bell rang as Scott and Danny went to their lockers.
"Hey, I like Kurt and all, but we gotta make sure that in the morning we take showers before him." Danny told Kurt. "I'm not gonna deal with any fur he leaves behind in there."
"Agreed." Scott said.
"Yo, fellas." Toad greeted as he jumped on top of the lockers. "What's up?"
"That's quite a jump." Scott observed.
"Like it? Surprised you could see it through them smokies of yours." Toad used his tongue to snatch his glasses as Scott covered his eyes. Glaring at Toad, Danny banged on the locker, causing the vibration to knock Toad to the floor as Danny took the glasses back. "Ow! What the heck, man?"
"Here you go, Scott." Danny handed Scott back his shades before turning to Toad. "So what's your point, Tolansky?"
"Well, as you can see, the three of us, we got something in common." Toad said.
Danny raised an eyebrow as he thought of one thing that they had in common. "We all hate Duncan Matthews."
Toad shook his head. "No. Well, yeah, but we ain't like other people."
"And your point is?" Scott asked.
"I just want to talk." Toad answered. "You know, get to know each other better. You know, maybe do lunch." He snatched Scott's lunch with his tongue and devoured it.
"We'll think about it." Scott said as he and Danny left.
"Sure, you think about it." Toad muttered. "I got other stuff to do." He then hopped out of a nearby window.
"Okay, I thought about it." Danny said to Scott. "We can talk to Xavier about bringing him in, but he showers after us. I don't want to imagine the slime he'll leave behind in there."
"You say that like he showers at all." Scott brought up.
Danny considered that. "Good point. I guess then we'll tell Xavier about him. But there is no way in hell that I'm rooming with him."
Scott nodded. "Ditto."
Xavier was in his study reading when an alarm went off. Xavier moved to the wall, which opened up, revealing another room with a large computer console at the center. Pressing a button on the keyboard, Xavier saw a small red dot over Bayville High. "So, out in the open." He murmured before his phone rang. He pressed a button on his chair. "Hello, Scott."
Back at Bayville High, Scott was spooked at Xavier immediately knowing it was him as he spoke to the man over a payphone with Danny next to him. "Man, professor. You know it always weirds me out when you do that."
"Sorry." Xavier apologized as he pressed another button, revealing a small metallic helmet. "What are you calling about?"
"One of the students here, he's kinda like us." Scott explained.
"Yes, Todd Tolansky."
"You know him?" Scott asked.
"Tell him, I'm not rooming with him." Danny chimed in.
"Shut up." Scott said.
Xavier placed the helmet on. "Cerebro just got a reading. He must be using his powers openly now."
"Anyway, he's not the kind of guy I'd want to share a room with." Scott described. "I mean, to put it bluntly, he's got the dead hygiene of a dead pig."
"Toad would be more accurate." Danny pointed out.
"Quiet." Scott scolded.
"We cannot turn our backs on anyone, Scott." Xavier reminded him. "You know that."
"Yeah, I know." Scott responded. "So should I bring him in?"
"No need, Scott. Speak with you later." Xavier then ended the call as Kurt came into the room, interested in the computer.
"What's that thing, professor?" Kurt asked.
"This thing is Cerebro." Xavier answered. "It detects the manifestation of special powers. That's how I found you."
Kurt looked at the screen, which showed Toad. "How do you have footage of this guy?"
"Cerebro gives off a picture based on my mental thoughts as I sense his presence."
"Cool. So this guy is one of us?
"That remains to be seen." He then sent off a telepath signal to Storm. "Storm?"
"Yes, professor?" Storm answered as she used her power over the weather to form a small cloud to rain over plants.
"I wonder if you could audition someone for me." Xavier requested.
It was night as Toad, decked out in a cheap green jumpsuit, arrived at the gates of the institute. "Cake." He said, thinking it would be that easy to infiltrate it. He leaped over the gate as he started to hop over to the school.
The wind blew as Storm walked out onto the podium, wearing a black jumpsuit with the X symbol on it. She flew into the air as Toad looked up and saw her pass by over him, and a storm cloud formed. "Now that is just freaky." He said as it rained.
A sudden strike of lightning near him sent him running off as he tried to escape Storm, who threw lightning at him. Luckily, he managed to dodge it, his agility proving to be useful.
The storm raged on as Kurt, wearing his uniform, walked down the stairs, only for the wind to blow open the doors, pushing Toad in as he crashed into the other mutant.
The two separated as they stared each other down.
"Whoa, what are you?" Toad asked. "Some kind of ratty plush toy?"
Kurt felt disgust as Toad's scent assaulted his nostrils. "The name's Nightcrawler, and at least I don't reek like unwashed lederhosen."
"You blue-furred freak!" Toad charged at Nightcrawler, only for the blue mutant to teleport out of the way.
Confused, Toad looked around before hearing Kurt's voice above him.
Hanging on the chandelier, Nightcrawler smirked at his opponent. "As you say in America, neener, neener, neener!"
"That ain't gonna help you, boy." Toad jumped at him, but Kurt was quicker and jumped to a nearby wall.
"You're so slow!" Kurt quipped. "You couldn't catch flies on a windshield."
Growling, Toad continued to chase Nightcrawler as the top hopped off the walls of the institute.
"Fight like a man!" Toad yelled as he gave chase.
Storm floated in as she saw Xavier roll in.
"Yes. Tolansky is indeed gifted." Xavier said. "He could be one of us."
Storm smiled. "Sometimes, professor, I feel your good heart blinds even you from the truth."
The two then heard Kurt and Toad continue to bicker as they ended up knocking over some of the professor's possessions.
"Over here. Over here." Kurt taunted.
"I'm gonna rip your pointy tail off, you fuzzy gecko." Toad threatened. "You little Wookiee boy, come here."
Their chase continued until they were back in the entryway.
"Oh, come back." Toad muttered as he continued to try and catch Kurt. "Don't make me come over there. Don't make me. Now you're starting to tick me off." Toad let out his tongue, but Kurt ducked, causing it to break through the window behind him.
"The test is over." Xavier announced as he came into the room with Storm. "Todd Tolansky does have the special gift of the X-gene. He's welcome to join us if he so desires."
"Only thing I desire is blue boy's fuzzy head." Toad tackled Nightcrawler as the two fell off the chandelier and would've crashed to the floor if Kurt hadn't teleported them out of the way.
The two crashed in a dark room.
Kurt noticed a red light that glowed in the center. "Where are we?"
"You're asking me, fool?" Toad snarked as he dusted himself off. "You brought us here."
"I think I'm about to regret it!" Kurt panicked as he saw a wall open up, and turrets appeared.
Danny, Scott, and Jean were all gearing up for a simulation in the Danger Room when they heard the professor's voice in their heads.
"Scott! Jean! Danny!" Xavier cried. "Nightcrawler and Toad have teleported into the Danger Room!"
"They're gonna be blown to bits!" Danny realized.
"Get in there now!" Xavier ordered.
A white ring went over Danny as he transformed into his ghost form and flew off to help the two.
Back in the Danger Room, a turret fired a green blast at the two mutants, who jumped out of the way.
Kurt kept moving out of the way as several turrets opened fire while tentacles appeared to either grab him or cut him into two pieces. Toad was doing the same thing as he was screaming his head off in fear.
Luckily, Danny phased through the door and grabbed hold of both mutants, turning them intangible.
"Whoa!" Kurt was amazed as all the energy blasts and tentacles went right through them. "What kind of powers do you have?"
"More than you can imagine." Danny stated.
"Hey, let me go!" Toad tried to get out of Danny's grip, but the ghostly mutant wouldn't let go.
"Not unless you want to die." Danny told him. He then sent out a thought to Xavier. "Alright, professor, they're safe."
Xavier arrived on the observatory deck and made his way to the computer.
"Security code override: Priority X. Vocal print: Charles Xavier."
"Confirmed. Shut down in five seconds." The computer said.
"Now I get it. It's a training area." Kurt teleported out of Danny's grip and onto a turret. "Watch." He pulled the plug connected to the machine. "I just pull the plug and..." The machine threw him off.
"Fail spectacularly." Danny said flatly as the Danger Room shut off.
"Forget this, man." Toad said in fear as Danny set him down. "I've seen enough. I am out of here."
Danny rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't believe the things I've seen."
Toad hopped past Jean and Scott, who entered the room. "Tolansky!" Scott shouted before turning back to where Xavier was. "Sorry, professor. I couldn't stop him."
"It's all right, Cyclops." Xavier assured him. "He wasn't ready to be one of us."
"I blew it too, professor." Kurt said guiltily. "I'm sorry. You've been wonderful. But I guess I just don't belong here." He teleported away.
"Nightcrawler, wait!" Xavier called out, but it was too late.
"Don't worry, I got him." Danny said as he went off to search for Kurt.
Back with Toad, he managed to get out of the mansion and into the yard, where he met with the same burly man from before who summoned metal claws from his hands, intimidating Toad.
"Going somewhere, bub?" The man asked.
"No, Logan." Xavier said, appearing on the podium. "Let him go."
Logan stared at the frightened Toad for a moment before moving aside and gesturing for him to leave.
"That's crazy stuff there." Toad mumbled to himself as he left.
"I came back here because I smelled trouble brewing." Logan said to Xavier. "Of course, maybe it was just stink boy there."
"I wish it was." Xavier replied before smiling at Logan. "Welcome home, old friend. We've missed you."
Logan returned the smile.
Kurt landed in an unfamiliar room. Pulling himself off the hard metal floor, he looked up and gasped in awe. In front of him was a high-tech plane. As he was admiring it, he heard Danny's voice behind it.
"You like it? We call it the Blackbird. Now it ain't no space shuttle, but I'll admit it's a work of beauty." He said as he also gave a look of amazement to the plane.
"Is it yours?" Kurt asked. "Please tell me you get to fly it."
"Yep." Danny said confidently. "You stay here with us, and I'll show you how to fly this bad boy. Deal?"
"Me?" Kurt was nonplussed that Danny and the others still wanted him here after the trouble he just caused. "I made a mess of things and trashed the professor's mansion." He said in a depressed voice.
Danny waved that off. "I'm sure his credit card can deal with that. Besides, you're not the first one to screw up here. I mean, Scott caused that explosion back at our high school." Danny brought up, conveniently leaving out the part where he was responsible for the incident as well. "So you gonna stay?"
"You don't mind the way that I look?" Kurt said in disbelief, shocked that Danny didn't seem to be afraid of him.
"I've seen scarier things, Kurt; believe me." Danny told him. "And that also includes things with even more fur than you."
"Really?" Kurt said, intrigued. "Where?"
"I'll tell you someday." Danny started to lead Kurt out of the hanger. "But right now, let me show you where they hide the sodas."
"I can't believe this!" Darkholme shouted at Toad as they were in her office. "You were actually inside, and you ran away?"
"Hey, I freaked. So sue me." Toad confessed. "I did what I could."
"And no doubt the good professor wiped your mind so you can't remember anything!" Darkholme added as her anger continued to build up.
Toad merely shook his head dumbly, which further pissed off the shapeshifter even more.
With a snarl, Darkholme opened the door and pointed outside. "Get out!"
Toad hopped out frantically, not wanting to deal with her wrath. Once he was out, Darkholme slammed the door, and her very form began to change. Gone was the business suit and instead was a white jumpsuit with skulls on her belt. Her hair was bright red, but the most distinguishing trait she had was her skin. It was blue.
As she picked up the chair that Toad knocked down, she heard a rumbling and looked to see her superior in the corner of the room. He wore a red helmet along with a red cape that was draped over him like a cloak. Due to the lighting, Mystique couldn't see his face, making him look like some inhuman force of nature.
"Do not be so hard on the boy, Mystique." He chided her. "We don't want to thin our ranks, now, do we?"
"No, sir." Mystique said timidly, not wanting to anger him. "I'll be more careful."
Before her, the paper clips and some of her office equipment floated in the air by his power.
"Mind you are." He replied. "Remember, this is only the beginning."
Chapter 2: Visit to Illinois
The storm raged on through the night as Katherine Pryde, or Kitty, as she liked to be called, slept. She turned in her sleep. She was having a very cool dream. She was flying through the night, high above the city. Free with no worries at all. But her enjoyment wouldn't last; as if some force had taken the power from her, she dropped instantly as her screams sounded through the city. As she landed on the pavement, she was shocked to discover that she was in the basement instead of her room.
Confused and scared, she trembled as her parents raced down.
"What happened?" Her father asked. "Were you sleepwalking?"
"No. I fell." Kitty explained hysterically as she hugged her mother. "I just..." She didn't know how to explain it without sounding ridiculous. "I fell through the ceiling."
Back at the institute, Cerebro had locked on Kitty's mutant signature. "Discovery. Mutant signature." It stated. "The second detection in this vicinity. Extrapolation complete. Identity confirmed. Name: Kitty Pryde. Residence: Northbrook. Age: 15."
Xavier disconnected from Cerebro as he prepared to go and meet this new mutant.
"Now, now, dear." Kitty's mother comforted her as she cried. "I'm sure you were just having a nightmare."
Her father looked up, and his eyes widened in disbelief. "I don't think so."
They were all staring at the ceiling, where Kitty's blankets were halfway phased through it.
"What am I?" Kitty shouted. "What's happening to me?"
Xavier pressed a button on his computer. "Prep the Blackbird."
It was a bright and beautiful day at Bayville High, and a certain mutant was running towards the door, trying to get to class. Kurt looked at his watch and realized that it had already been five minutes since class started. "Late again!" He mumbled through the burger that he was currently eating.
Finishing his food, Kurt looked around to see if anyone was looking before teleporting near the entrance to the school. Congratulating himself on his quick thinking, he turned around the corner to enter the school when he found Principal Darkholme in his path.
"Miss Darkholme!" He gasped, realizing he was busted.
She grabbed his wrist and looked at his watch. "Watch isn't slow. Must be you. Another tardy, Mr. Wagner, and I'm enrolling you in my after-school group."
Just then, Scott came out to save Kurt.
"Hey, light a fire under it, kid." Scott told him as he ushered him into the building. "Your teacher sent me to look for you." He gave a glance at the principal. "Miss Darkholme." He then gave an annoyed look at Kurt. "Stopped off for another breakfast burger gut bomb?"
"What can I say?" Kurt joked. "It's an addiction."
Darkholme narrowed her eyes.
'Why did his wrist feel furry?' She thought to herself.
Stepping down the stairs quietly, Kitty looked to see that neither her mother nor father were there. Knowing she was in the clear, she made her way to the front door and was about to head out to school when her mother came out of the kitchen.
"Dear?" She asked. "I thought we agreed you were staying home today."
"Yeah, well, like, what's the point?" Kitty said in exasperation. "You guys don't want to talk about it. And I'll go crazy sitting around here!"
"But should you really be at school?" Her mother asked in concern.
"Kitty!" Her father's voice came from upstairs. "Honey, where are you?"
"Please, Mom." Kitty begged. "Dad will make me stay."
"All right. Go on." She said with a light smile.
Kitty blew a kiss of thanks to her mother as she left, hoping to have a normal day, not knowing that her life would change forever as the Blackbird was making its way to Illinois.
Danny was feeling nervous as he sat next to Xavier. "Why me, professor? Why not Jean? She's a people person." He asked. He didn't really want to be here. Not so close to home. He thought he'd put his past behind him and would never lay a foot anywhere in Illinois, but fate had other plans for him.
"Because you're the one who can connect to this girl." Xavier told him. "After all, she has the power to phase through things. Just like you."
"Just like me?" Danny asked, suddenly intrigued by this new prospect. Could there be a possibility that this girl wasn't a mutant, but something like him? "Where in Illinois are we going again?"
"Northbrook, why?" Xavier asked.
Danny nodded as he realized that it was probably likely that the girl was just a mutant. "Just wanted to know how far she lives from where I used to." He lied.
"Now that you mention it, Danny." Xavier mentioned. "You never did say where specifically in Illinois you were from. You only mentioned it was a small town."
Xavier remembered how he came across Danny; when he first sensed him through Cerebro, he found that he was in the area of Bayville. When asked what happened to Danny's parents, the young man would only say, "dead." He didn't give any more answers or hints as to where he came from or what his background was. Despite the mysterious circumstances, Xavier saw that he was just a boy who needed a home and people to be around. So he took him in. Yet after all this time, he still knew nothing more about Danny's past.
"It's nothing worth knowing, professor." Danny deflected. "Trust me."
Xavier nodded, deciding that Danny would talk about his past when he's ready. "Very well then."
"You said there was another mutant here, right?" Danny asked, hoping to change the conversation. "One from a foster home."
"Yes." Xavier answered. "Lance Alvers. Let me worry about that. I'd like you to focus on Kitty's parents. Remember, you're a model of what we're offering them. No pressure."
"Yeah." Danny muttered, making Xavier turn to him in concern.
"Danny, are you all right?"
Danny could only let out a small shrug. "I'm just a little nervous being so close to home. I..." He stopped as he tried to keep the memories from coming up.
"It's all right." Xavier soothed him. "Remember, Danny, the past is only the past. It can't hurt you."
The phantom X-Men merely stared out the window. "If only that were true."
"Also, look on the bright side; I've saved you from taking your midterm." Xavier brought up, hoping to lighten his student's mood.
Letting out a chuckle, the teenager smiled at his teacher. "You really know how to look on the bright side of things, professor."
Xavier grinned. "It's what I do."
Soon Xavier and Danny found themselves on the front porch of the Pryde's talking with Kitty's parents.
"What are you talking about?" Her mother said, feeling alarmed. "How do you know Kitty?"
"Please, can we come in for a sec?" Danny requested. "We'll answer all your questions."
"Excuse me, but you can talk to us out here." Kitty's father said, not wanting to let these weird strangers into his home.
"Very well." Xavier nodded. "I think you know Kitty is going through a very unique transition. We simply want to help her through it. Why don't you tell us about last night?"
The couple looked at each other in fear before the father glared at Xavier, pointing at him.
"Last night is none of your business! Please just leave us alone." The couple then went inside as Danny sighed.
"Can't say that I blame them, professor." He said to the man. "No offense, but you came off very creepy. I mean, you said, "Why don't you tell us about last night?" as if you were some government agent spying on them."
Xavier rubbed his head as he realized that his student was right. "I'll work on it next time. In the meantime, I'll need you to make contact with Kitty at her school. I'm sure your more sociable personality will be a bigger help than I was here."
Danny groaned. "Great spending my day off from school at another school. That's just swell."
In the front yard of the institute, Logan was cleaning his motorcycle with a rag when he stopped as his senses picked up a familiar scent.
"Sabretooth." He growled, realizing that his greatest rival was in the area.
And he was right, as Sabretooth was riding his motorcycle around Bayville, trying to find Logan. "Wolverine." He snarled.
Knowing that it was time to settle the score, Logan put on an orange jumpsuit that had a cowl with pointy ears that made him look even more ferocious than before. He slipped on his motorcycle helmet before jumping on the bike and riding out of the institute, passing Kurt and Scott, who looked at him in awe.
"What's up with Logan?" Kurt asked.
"Whoa, that man is packing some serious attitude." Scott commented.
"Wanna follow him?" Kurt asked Scott with a grin.
Scott smiled. "Let's go!"
The two went into the garage, which housed a number of vehicles. There was Xavier's Rolls-Royce. The X-Van, Danny's moped, and, of course, Scott's car.
"Should we take the X-Van?" Kurt looked at the huge van, which was equipped with tons of gadgets.
Scott shook his head. "A lower profile, I think. And cooler, besides." He hoped into his car. "You coming?"
Kurt teleported into the passenger seat. "Hit it!"
The car sped off as the duo prepared to follow Logan.
Kitty was putting her books in her locker, dreading her next class, which was PE. Unknown to her, she was being watched by two preppy-looking girls.
"Riley, check the Kitty Pity Party." Amy said to her friend.
"Dreading PE, no doubt." Riley said with a cruel smile. "Probably the only class she's not acing."
"Let's give her some time off." Amy suggested as the two snuck up behind the girl and pushed her into her locker before slamming it shut.
"World closing in on you, Kitty?" Amy joked as the two girls left, leaving Kitty trapped.
"Hey!" Kitty banged on the locker door. "Let me out, you jerks! Open this door! Somebody open this door!"
"Sure." Came a boy's voice as the door opened and Kitty fell to the floor.
"Uh!" Kitty got off the floor and looked up to see a black-haired boy staring at her with a smile. She blushed as she got up. "Thanks so much." She then wondered how he got it open. "How did you open it without the combination?"
Danny smirked as he banged on another locker, causing the door to open. "I know how lockers work. I've been shoved in them enough times."
"You as well." Kitty had a look of understanding on her face.
"Yeah." Danny replied. "Who did it to you?"
"Some bitches named Riley and Amy." Kitty said with a snarl before thanking her rescuer. "Anyway, thanks." She held out her hand. "I'm Kitty."
Danny shook her hand. "Danny, I was wondering if we could talk."
"I'd like to, but I have to get to class." Kitty said disappointedly, not wanting to go to PE.
"Oh, yeah, sure." Danny realized. "How about after class?"
"Sure." Kitty said enthusiastically, happy to have met a new friend. "Like, I'll see you then."
She skipped off to PE in much higher spirits than earlier today, when she accidentally phased through one of the school's vending machines.
"Oops." She said before she heard a gasp. She looked over to her right, where there was another boy who looked like a street punk with his grungy clothes and mullet.
The guy was looking at her in awe. "Hey, you see what you just did?"
"What? I..." Kitty tried to think of an excuse to get out of this.
"You just walked through the vending machine like it wasn't even there." The guy said, clearly impressed. "That is so cool!"
"You're crazy!" Kitty denied as she turned to head to class when he grabbed her arm.
"No. no." He said. "Wait a minute. I'm the one guy here who gets the beauty of it. Because you're just like me. Really!"
"Who are you?"
Kitty turned to see that Danny had arrived and was looking at the new guy in suspicion.
"The name's Lance." Lance said as he glared at Danny. "Lance Alvers." He pushed Danny into the lockers. "Now get lost."
Danny pushed him back. "Back off, Mr. Mullet."
Lance growled, and as he did, the entire school started to shake as an earthquake happened, causing all the lockers to open, spilling out textbooks and papers, before it suddenly stopped.
"How did you do that?" Kitty asked as she realized Lance was the one doing it.
Lance smiled at her. "Because I'm just like you. Getting the picture?"
"No!" Kitty said, as her fear and lack of understanding of what was going on gripped her. "You're just, like, some freak! Leave me alone!"
She ran off, trying to forget about the earthquake boy as she tried to continue her day.
Danny watched Kitty leave before he turned to Lance, realizing that he was the other mutant the professor found in the area. "Look, I think we need to talk."
"Shut up!" Lance snarled as he got in Danny's face. "And stay away from her! She's not like you. She's like me. We're better than you, Normie."
The punk then gasped as Danny's eyes glowed green.
"Trust me, I'm far from normal." Danny told him. "Now do me a favor and leave Kitty alone. Got it?"
Lance felt the power this new guy was giving off, so he decided to call it quits as he turned to leave.
Meanwhile, Kitty had finally reached the field as she ran up to the coach.
Riley and Amy were doing some stretches when Riley saw her favorite target join the class.
"Hey, Amy." Riley got her friend's attention. "Check who got out."
"Pryde, you're late." The coach said.
"Sorry, coach." Kitty apologized. "I was, like, having trouble with my locker." She glanced at Riley and Amy, who laughed.
"Alright, you three." The coach said to the three girls. "To the long jump. Pryde, you're tardy, so you're first."
As the three girls went to do the exercise, up above on the roof, a boy was trying to get a hatch open when he heard footsteps and saw they were coming from his friend who was with him.
"Shut up with the clodding around." The first boy elbowed his partner in crime.
"Stow it, Griff!" The other boy replied. "Can we just bust in through here or not?"
"Not." Griff said defeated. "It's wired into the alarm system."
"Well, now what, Alvers?" The other boy turned to their leader, Lance, who was watching Kitty on the field. "We got no way into this stinking office, and midterms start in the morning."
"Yeah, and exam answers ain't exactly gonna fetch a prime price after the test." Griff pointed out. "Can't you just, you know, make a door?"
"Sure. And have them know we were in?" Lance said sarcastically. "They'll change the tests!" He went back to watching Kitty. "I got a sweeter idea. Her."
"What?" Griff said in disbelief. "What are you gonna have her long jump through the wall? Come on, get serious."
Lance grabbed Griff's arm. "You riding me, Griff? Huh? Are you?" The ground started to shake, responding to Lance's annoyance.
"Sorry, man." Griff apologized. "I was just..."
"Whoa, whoa." The other boy tried to calm Lance down. "It's cool, Lance."
Lance got a hold of his powers as he made the shaking stop. "You two losers just line up the customers. I'll snatch the answers."
Kitty was about to jump when she tripped. Frustrated that she had made a fool of herself, she started to hit the ground as Riley and Amy snickered.
"Mrrow!" Amy made a cat noise. "Kitty-cat's got a temper."
"Take notes, Pryde." Riley said as she was about to make the long jump. "This is how athletes do it." As she was about to run, she felt something grab her leg as she fell face-first into the sand.
Kitty couldn't help but laugh at her tormentor's misfortune. "Olympic gold medal material right there, Riley."
Unfortunately, her good mood was ruined when the ground started to shake as Riley was thrown off the ground before falling into the sand again.
Looking to her left, she saw Lance on top of the building waving at her.
Feeling a bit freaked out, she started to run, as she needed to be by herself now.
She ran into the empty theater room as she kicked a chair in frustration. She sat down on the table when her weight caused it to tip over, spilling the bowl of fake fruit. She tried to catch it, but the bowl went through her hands.
Touching the bowl again, she was surprised that her hand made contact with it this time. Looking at her hand, she got an idea as she tried to concentrate, trying this time to phase her hand through the bowl, and it did this time.
"Cool." Kitty couldn't help but admit.
"I'll say, you're getting a hang of it much better than I did."
Kitty gasped as she saw Danny right next to her.
"What are you doing here?" Kitty asked in shock.
"I wanted to talk to you." Danny responded.
Kitty blushed at this cute boy wanting to talk to her when she realized something. "Don't you have class?"
"I don't go to school here." Danny admitted as he sat down in one of the chairs in the audience. "I haven't been to Illinois for a long time."
"Where do you live then?" Kitty was interested in this guy; he seemed really mysterious and cool.
"I live in a town called Bayville." Danny answered. "Before, I lived in a small town here called Amity Park."
The name sounded familiar to Kitty as she tried to think of where she heard it from. "Oh, yeah, I think I heard of that place." Amity Park, from what she heard, was a ghost town. "Isn't it supposedly haunted?"
Danny chuckled. "Nah. It's just something the locals came up with to attract tourists."
"So, what're you, like, here for if you don't go to school here?" Kitty wondered.
"Well, Kitty, the school I go to, the Xavier Institute, sent me here to tell you that we want to offer you a place with us." Danny revealed.
"A place with you guys?" Kitty repeated as she sat down next to him. "What kind of school would want me?"
"It's a school for the gifted." Danny said.
"Look, I may be at the top of my class, but I'm no genius." Kitty said self-depreciatingly.
"I don't mean that kind of gifted." Danny corrected.
Kitty raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you mean?"
"Like this." Danny got up and phased his hand through the seat, making Kitty gasp.
"You, you just." She looked at Danny in what seemed to be kinship. "You're just like me. What are you? What am I? What are we?"
"We're mutants, Kitty." Danny divulged. "We're born with a special gene that gives us powers. You can phase through stuff, and so can I, but I also have other gifts."
Before Kitty's very eyes, a ring came from Danny's waist and split into two, going up and down his body, transforming him. His hair was snow white, and he had glowing green eyes. His clothes were replaced with a black and white jumpsuit with the logo of a P inside a D.
"Whoa, you look like a ghost." Kitty said as she admired his form.
"Yeah, my powers are ghost powers." Danny explained. "I can walk through walls, disappear, and fly."
"Oh my gosh, that is so cool." Kitty said as she looked at him like he was a superhero. "Wait, you said you were from Amity Park. Does that mean all that ghost talk was about you?"
Danny had a shy smile on his face. "Kinda."
"Cool." Kitty replied. "Oh, wait, that was you that made Riley trip. You were invisible."
"Yep." Danny nodded.
"So you go to a school with people who have powers?" Kitty asked, wondering what this school was like.
"Yep, and we would like for you to join us." Danny offered.
Kitty was conflicted. "I don't know. This just seems so much. It's all happening too fast."
"I know how you feel." Danny said understandingly. "You're scared of your powers, and I can relate. When I first got mine, I had trouble keeping them under control. Sometimes I would just phase through the floor, and it was a bitch to hold test tubes in chemistry. I ended up getting banned from handling any fragile objects."
Kitty laughed a bit at the story. "What are the other students like?"
"Oh, well, there's Scott; he's a bit uptight, but I'm working on that. There's Jean, who's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. We have Kurt, who is an absolute jokester. They're all nice people who won't give you any trouble." He then smirked. "There's also no lockers there as well. So, how about it? Want to join us?"
Kitty had a bright smile on her face. "You, like, had me at no lockers."
Danny laughed. "I'll call the professor then. He's a really chill and understanding guy." He transformed back into his human form and turned to leave. "I'll see ya later, Kitty."
Kitty waved. "Yeah, like, thanks." She then left to head back to class when she ran into Lance.
"Hey." Lance greeted.
"Oh, hey." Kitty replied, remembering how she called him a freak earlier and feeling guilty over it. "Look, I'm sorry about calling you a freak earlier. I didn't mean it; I was, like, just going through a lot."
Lance didn't care about that. "Don't worry about it. Actually, I know how you can make it up to me. Meet me outside the office in an hour."
"Uh, yeah, like, sure." Kitty said hesitantly, wondering what he wanted.
As Kitty went back to class, Danny was on the phone, speaking to Xavier. "Yeah, professor, I talked to her. She's on board with joining us."
"Excellent." Xavier's voice said. "I'll try to persuade Kitty's parents to let her give it a shot. I just got done asking social services about Mr. Alvers."
In the corner of his eye, Danny saw Lance talking to Kitty and knew that could only mean disaster. "Hold on, professor; I think we might have trouble coming our way."
"Whatever obstacles get in the way, remember they can be overcome." Xavier advised him.
"You're right, professor. I'll see ya later." He hung up the phone, not hearing Xavier's protests.
"Danny, wait!" He tried to get his student to come help him, but it was too late. The professor sighed, looking at the stairs leading down. "Although obstacles can be overcome, some are more irritating than others."
Bracing himself, Xavier rolled down the stairs as he let loose several cries of alarm before crashing into a parked car.
"This town really needs more ramps." He said out loud.
Scott stopped his car as Kurt tried to look for any sigh of Logan.
"I've lost him!" Kurt hit the car in frustration.
"Hey! Hey!" Scott protested. "Watch the door panel! They're smudge resistant, not dent resistant."
Kurt continued to search for Logan before pointing upward. "There!"
On top of a six-story parking garage was Logan. The man stood ready, before he heard the sound of a motorcycle and soon Sabretooth came in as the motorcycle was launched off the roof of a nearby building and landed near Logan, who jumped out of the way.
"Unfinished business, runt!" Sabretooth cried.
"Bring it on, pops." Logan challenged. "Bring it on." He raised his hand, extending his claws.
Making the first move, Sabretooth tried to ram Logan with his bike, but the smaller mutant, used his claws to cut off the front wheel, causing him to fall off the building. Sabretooth managed to grab onto the edge of the floor of the parking garage as he pulled himself back up while his bike continued to fall.
It was about to fall on Kurt and Scott, when Kurt grabbed Scott and teleported them out of harm's way. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for Scott's car, which was destroyed when the bike fell on it.
"My car!" Scott bemoaned.
Up above, Logan was knocked off his feet, as Sabretooth managed to push an entire car through the ceiling. He did it again, making Logan fall down the hole.
Now that they were on the same level, Sabretooth used a third car to pin Logan against a pillar.
"One shall fall by the other's hand." Sabretooth said. "Our destiny, we can't change it."
Logan grunted as he tried to push the car off. "I didn't know you went for that philosophy mumbo jumbo."
"Hey, hairball!" Scott shouted as he and Kurt appeared in their uniforms. "I got your destiny right here!" He fired his optic blast at the hairy mutant, sending him crashing into a van.
Kurt then charged at Sabretooth, but he merely bounced off his chest.
"Typical." Kurt said as Sabretooth approached him only for Logan to tackle him into an elevator. Sabretooth kicked Logan out as the doors closed, with Logan cutting through the metal but it was too late as the elevator went down.
"A taste of things to come, Wolverine!" Sabretooth promised, his voice echoing through the elevator shaft.
Kurt and Scott then went to his side.
"Ha! We showed him!" Kurt cheered. "We are the X-Men!"
"I don't fight your battles." Logan scolded him. "So don't fight mine." He then left.
"He loves us." Kurt said.
"Oh, yeah. Big time." Scott replied sarcastically.
Lance was waiting outside of the school when Kitty came up to him.
"So what did you need?" The girl asked hesitantly.
"The principal confiscated some of my stuff." Lance lied. "Can you phase me through the wall into the office?"
Kitty didn't know if she should do this. "I don't know."
"Come on, Kitty." Lance begged. "It's just one teensy favor."
She sighed. "Alright." She then phased her and Lance through the wall and into the office as Danny was watching them from a distance.
"Oh, no." He moaned.
"Whoa!" Kitty couldn't believe she managed to phase through it, along with bringing another person as well. "Did you see me? Did you?"
"Yeah! Wow, Kitty, how did it feel?" Lance asked.
"Oh, it was, like, totally unbelievable." She said in excitement, getting a rush from doing it.
"You're making it yours, Kitty. Once you own it, nothing can own you." Lance told her before he went to the computer and downloaded the test answers onto a floppy disk.
"Test answers present and accounted for." He said in victory.
"Hey!" Kitty realized she had been tricked. "You lied to me! All you wanted was to cheat!"
"Hey, this crummy school uses kinds of tests to keep us down, Kitty." Lance argued. "No more! We take control. Now let's modify some grades." He started to type on the computer. "Pryde, P R-"
"No!" Kitty grabbed his arm, to stop him from changing her grade.
"Look relax, Kitty." Lance tried to calm her down. "It's just a stupid test. What could cheating on a test lead to?"
"You wouldn't believe what it would lead to." Danny said as he appeared in the office staring at Lance with a cold stare that he wouldn't admit creeped him out. "Trust me."
"Danny!" Kitty said in shock.
"Look guys, let's leave here before you get into any more trouble." Danny offered, trying to keep them from going down the same path he did. He didn't need those two to ruin their lives over a stupid test.
"Danny, I didn't know that he was gonna cheat." Kitty tried to explain. "He tricked me."
"I didn't." Lance interjected. "I just wanted to help you take control."
"Take control of what, Lance?" Danny asked.
"The world." Lance replied. "We have these powers, why not use them to make life easier for ourselves? I mean what else is there to do with them?"
Danny gave Lance a look of disappointment. "You may have power, Lance, but you don't know how to use it."
"I'll show you how I use it!" Lance gritted his teeth as the school started to shake as a book shelf fell on Danny.
"Danny!" Kitty cried before Lance grabbed her arm.
"Come on!" Lance used his powers to make a whole in the wall and tried to drag her away. "Let's go!"
"No!" Kitty used her power to phase her arm out. "I'm not going with you!"
They then saw Danny phase through the book shelf as he gave Lance a glowing green glare.
"Leave while you have the chance, Lance." Danny threatened.
Knowing that this was a losing battle Lance left the school.
Kitty looked at Danny with guilt in her eyes, feeling that she was responsible for all of this. "I'm so sorry about all this."
Danny smiled at her. "You don't have anything to be sorry about, Kitty. You made the right choice. Now let's get out of here." He phased her through the wall where they met with Xavier and Kitty's parents.
Kitty was immediately engulfed in a hug from her mom and dad.
"Kitty, are you okay?" Her mother asked worriedly.
Kitty nodded. "Mom, Daddy, these people, they, like, want to help me. I trust them."
"I know, sweetie." Her father said. "And so do I." He gave a look of gratitude to Danny as he clapped him on the shoulder. "Thank you for helping my daughter. You're a good influence."
Danny blushed. "Thanks." He said, wishing that Sam's parents would think that.
Her father then turned to Xavier. "Professor, I think we have some things to talk about."
Xavier agreed. "Yes, we do."
It was later in the day as authorities were inspecting the damage to the school. On a hill, Lance was watching what was going on as he decided to book it when he ran into Darkholme.
"I'd say you've blown your chances at this school, haven't you?" She quipped.
"And you are?" Lance asked warily.
"Your new advisor." Darkholme smirked evilly. "I've made an opening for you at Bayville High. I have much to teach you, my young Avalanche." She said as she showed her true form.