Jean could see everything clearly. It was like she was watching it all from the sky. She could see a girl being laughed at and made fun of in a school hallway. The other students were calling her names like "freak", and "mutant". She tried to run away from them. "Stop it!" She shouted. "I'm not a mutant!" Then, Jean woke up. She was sweating and stressed. "It's all right, Jean." Xavier said.
"It was horrible, Professor." She said.
"I know." Xavier replied.
"What was it all about?" Jean asked. "Why would I have a dream like that?"
"Because it was not a dream." Xavier answered. "It was a vision. The girl's name is Kitty Pryde."
"Is she a mutant?" Jean asked.
"Yes. She has the ability to phase through solid matter." Xavier said. "I am sending you and Ororo to offer her a place here. She lives right in town."
"All right. But, why not send Logan and Dr. McCoy?" Jean asked. "They're better suited for stuff like this."
"Because." Xavier began. "She'll have an easier time relating to two teenaged girls rather than two middle-aged men."
"Good point." Jean replied. "First thing after lunch?"
"First thing after your morning shower." Xavier corrected. "She may not last until lunch."
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"You see the new guys?" Bobby asked.
"Nah. They haven't woken up yet." Scott answered. They sat at their usual table in the dining hall, eating their breakfast. "I haven't seen 'em either." Bobby said. Scott took a drink of his orange. "Ah! It's warm." Scott said.
"I'm on it." Bobby said as he touched Scott's glass.
"Thanks." Scott said. "Nice and icy cool."
"No problem." Bobby replied.
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Kurt woke up and looked at the curtains. He hopped out of bed and jumped at the curtains. He opened them up to let the sun in through the windows. The light filled the whole room. Warren quickly pulled his blanket up over his face. "Dude..." He moaned.
"Come on, pigeon boy!" Kurt exclaimed as he yanked Warren's blanket away. "Rising and shine!" Warren then covered his face with one of his wings. "Five more minutes, man." Warren said.
"Akh! Fine." Kurt agreed. "Suit yourself." Kurt quickly ported out, leaving his black smoke behind. "Nasty!" Warren exclaimed. "That smell is rank!"
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Jean and Ororo met each other in the hall. "Hey. Did the Professor tell you about our assignment?" Jean asked.
"Yes." Ororo answered.
"All right. Let's clean up and head out." Jean started heading toward the bathroom.
"I need no shower." Ororo laughed.
"Um, it may not be a good idea to clean yourself outside in the rain." Jean said. "You'll really want a shower."
"Oh. All right." Ororo agreed. "If it will make you feel better."
"Believe me, it will." Jean said. They began walking down the hall when they saw a young, blue devil-boy walking in their direction. "Um, hi." Jean said. "Are you one of the new students that came in last night?"
"Ya." He answered. "My name is Kurt Wagner."
"Hello, Kurt." Jean said. "I'm Jean Grey, and this is Ororo Munroe."
"You may call me 'Storm'." Ororo greeted.
"Hello." Kurt replied. "I have qvestion."
"What do you need?" Jean asked.
"Um, vhere is da breakfast table?" Kurt asked.
"You'll need to go back the way you came, take a left at the third intersection and just keep going straight and you'll hit the kitchen." Jean said.
"There sure are a lot of halls in this place." Kurt said.
"Yeah. I got really confused on my first day." Jean said.
"I am still learning this mansion." Ororo added.
"Vell, it vas nice to meet you and donka." Kurt said as he ran off toward the kitchen.
"You're welcome." Jean replied.
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Just as Scott and Bobby finished up their breakfast, Kurt walked into the kitchen. "Um, hello." Kurt said.
"Hi." Bobby replied. "You one of the new guys?"
"Ya. I am Kurt Wagner." Kurt answered.
"Hiya, Kurt. I'm Bobby." Bobby said. "But, you can call me 'Iceman'."
"My name is Scott." Scott said. "But, everyone calls me 'Cyclops'." Then, Warren walked into the kitchen. "Vell, good morning, Sleeping Birdy." Kurt joked. "How did you find your vay over here?"
"I bothered to take the map of the mansion they gave us in the room." Warren answered as he held up the map.
"Oh. Vhoopsie tulips." Kurt said.
"I think you mean 'whoopsie daisy'." Scott corrected.
"Oh, ya. Sorry." Kurt said. "I'm still new to American expressions."
"That's all right." Bobby said. "Where are you from, by the way?"
"Oh. I am from Munich." Kurt answered.
"Russia. Nice." Bobby said.
"Germany, actually." Scott corrected.
"Very good, Scott." Kurt said. "But, that's all right, Bobby. It is a common mistake."
"Really?" Bobby asked.
"Nein." Kurt answered. Then, Jean and Ororo walked in, got some Pop-Tarts for a quick breakfast, said a quick good-bye, and went into town. "I wonder where they're going." Scott said.
"They are going to find a mutant who may need our help." Xavier said as he rolled into the room.
"Good morning, Professor." Scott greeted.
"So, why Jean and Storm instead of Wolverine and Beast?" Bobby asked.
"This one needs a little more of a gentler touch." Xavier answered. "Besides, it's good training for future assignments." Then, Logan walked in the room. All of the students suddenly fell silent... except Kurt. He walked right up to Logan and said, "Hello. I am Kurt Wagner. Vhat is your name?" Logan looked straight at him. "I'm headed into the parlor." Scott said.
"I'll join you." Bobby added. Suddenly, they walked out of the kitchen. Logan continued staring at Kurt. Kurt began feeling uncomfortable and little frightened. "Name's Logan." He finally grumbled.
"Nice to meet you, Logan." Kurt exclaimed. "So, are you a student here?"
"Firstly: No, I'm not." Logan began. "Second: I ain't much of a morning person, so you may wanna lay off the questions 'til later, fuzzy."
"All right. I can vait." Kurt agreed. Logan grabbed some frozen breakfast sandwiches from the freezer and threw them in the microwave. 'Any dreams last night?' Xavier thought.
'Yeah.' Logan thought back.
'Would you like to have a session?' Xavier asked.
'Maybe later.' Logan answered. 'It's still too fresh in my head.'
'Very well.' Xavier agreed. 'Just let me know when you're ready.'
'Will do, Chuck.' Logan finished. The microwave beeped and Logan got his food and left the kitchen. "So. Who's ready for a quick training session in the Danger Room?" Xavier suggested.
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Kitty ran as fast and as long as she could. She left the school and ran into town. She tried to find a place where no one would find. She ran into an alley and hid behind a dumpster. She slumped to the ground and began to cry. 'What am I going to do?' She thought. 'I can't go home. My parents will hate me.'
"What's the matter, kid?" A boy asked her.
"Whoa!" Kitty exclaimed. "Where did you come from?"
"Doesn't matter." The boy said. "So, you gonna answer my question?"
"It's just... I can do things that most people in this town wouldn't understand." She said.
"You're a mutant?" The boy asked.
"I don't know." Kitty said. "This is all so confusing."
"It doesn't have to be." The boy said.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Get away from her, Pietro!" Some one yelled from the street.
"Back off, Grey!" Pietro yelled back.
"What's going on?!" Kitty asked. Jean then ran into the alley, prepared to engage Pietro in battle. Suddenly, Pietro was gone with a gust of wind. Jean looked over at Kitty. "Hello, Kitty." Jean said. "My name is Jean."
"What do you want from me?" Kitty asked.
"I don't want anything." Jean said. "I'm here to offer you something."
"What?" Kitty asked.
"I'm here to tell you that you are not alone." Jean said. "I'm here to give you a place to stay and be safe. I understand completely what you are going through. I was scared, too"
"How could you understand me?" Kitty asked. Suddenly, the dumpster began to shake. Then, it lifted off the ground and high into the air. "This is my gift." Jean said. "I can move things with my mind and I can also hear people's thoughts." She set the dumpster down and offered Kitty her hand to help her up. Kitty tried reaching for her hand, but she couldn't grab hold. Every time she tried to take Jean's hand, she would phase right through. "So, that's your gift?" Jean asked.
"Gift? More like a curse." Kitty corrected.
"Come on. Let's try one more time." Jean said. Kitty reached out and finally managed to grab her by the hand. Jean helped her up off the ground. "Come on. My friend is waiting near the car." Jean said.
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Jean, Ororo, and Kitty pulled into the mansion's garage. "Come now." Ororo said. "They've likely begun today's training."
"Training?" Kitty asked.
"Yes. This is a place where we can practice our gifts in secret." Jean said.
"Why would we want to practice them?" Kitty asked. "We're freaks because of this."
"No, we're not freaks." Jean said. "We're just different."
"Yeah. Freakishly different." Kitty added.
"Come on. I don't want to miss watching the new students." Ororo said. The three of them walked into the mansion and headed toward the Danger Room.
________________________________________________________________
The entire room was filled with smoke. No one could see anything from the observation room. Then, a red beam of light shot from the middle of the foggy blob and cleared some of the air. "Bobby! Can you see anything?" Scott asked.
"No! The fog's too thick!" Bobby replied.
"Man!" Scott exclaimed. "I wish Warren was a part of this session!"
"Well, hurry up and try to clear this fog before he finds our scent!" Bobby said.
"Too late!" Logan said through the fog. His claws come out first. Bobby made a quick barricade of ice and they ducked behind it. Scott fired a few quick blasts before Logan jumped over the little ice wall and landed behind them. "Say 'buh-bye', Ice Statue!" Logan said. Then, Bobby froze Logan solid in a giant block of ice and said, "Buh-bye, Ice Statue." A buzzer went off, signaling the end of the match. "Very good, Bobby." Xavier said over the intercom. "Your speed is improving greatly."
"Thanks, Professor." Bobby said.
"Now, let's see if Scott can't get Logan out of that ice." Xavier suggested.
"Sure thing, Professor." Scott said.
"Wow!" Kitty exclaimed. "That was amazing!"
"Ah, Kitty." Xavier said as he turned around to see the three girls standing in the doorway. "I thought I heard you back there."
"How do you know my name?" Kitty asked.
"That is my ability." Xavier said.
"You know people's names?" Kitty asked.
"No, no." Xavier corrected. "I mean, I can enter your mind."
"That's kind of invasive." Kitty remarked.
"Yes, it is. That's why I only search for necessary information." Xavier said. "Your name, for example."
"Professor Xavier never accesses private thoughts without our permission." Jean said. Then, Kurt ported into the room. Kitty screamed. "Oh my!" Kurt exclaimed. "I'm sorry to have scared you. So, Professor. Should Warren and I--" Then, he got a good look at Kitty. Not even Xavier could tell what ran through his mind at that point, but it sounded like he was playing the song "Earth Angel" in German.
"Kurt, I believe you had a question for me." Xavier said, getting Kurt's attention.
"Ya. I'm sorry." Kurt said. "Are Warren and I up for the next session?"
"Yes." Xavier answered. "I believe it is time for you two to have your very first training session."
"All right!" Kurt yelled excitedly. "I'll go tell Warren!" Then, as quickly as he came, Kurt was gone with nothing but black smoke left in his place. "Eww!" Kitty exclaimed. "What's that nasty smell?"
"Kurt's black smog leaves a foul odor of burning sulfur." Xavier said. "Jean. Ororo. Why don't you show Kitty to her new room?"
"Ok. Right this way, Kitty." Jean said. "You'll be sharing a room with Ororo." The three girls left the room. 'All right boys. Are you ready?' Xavier thought.
'More zan ever!' Kurt thought. Xavier could hear the excitement in Kurt's head. 'And Warren?' Xavier continued.
'Yeah. Let's just do this thing, Prof.' Warren thought.
"All right, then." Xavier said. "Danger Room set to 'Angels & Demons 1'."
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In an old, dark abandoned warehouse, a group of people met in secret. There was a tall man in the red suit and red helmet. "Bring forth the new recruit." He ordered. A woman with blue, scaly skin brought a young girl forward. Her hair was brown with a white streak in it and wore black boots and a very dark, green shirt. "Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to locate, apprehend, and deliver to me Dr. Henry McCoy." The man in red said. "Do you accept this mission?" She looked up at this man with a dark smile and said, "I accept."
To Be Continued...
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