(no subject)
I tweaked, I squirmed, I saved and cut and pasted and did everything I could do in multiple areas.
I was finally able to get it to stick.
It is extremely rough, and it definitely reads like it was tossed together in about two hours, which it was.
But here ya go.
Title: The New Mutants Vol I: Ororo's Class
Author:
KanedaX
Fandom: X-Men Movieverse
Rating: PG
Spoilers: X3
Notes: This is the first part of what I hope will be a series of stories I have brewing in my head, introducing characters familiar to readers of the comic books. Some character names are from the original comics, one or two come from the Ultimate universe, and a few more are partial inventions by myself (in the case of Jones & Jimmy, I used part of the actor's name to fill in the blanks). I do not own any characters from any of the X-Men universes, nor do I own Chris Claremont or Stan Lee, True Believers!
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Ororo.
Ororo Munroe jerked in the leather chair, the voice jumping in on her trailing thoughts.
The students are all gathered, Ororo.
Storm shook her head. It had been years since she had heard this particular voice in her head. Hell, it had been years since she had heard any voice in her head, with the exception of two.
Now those two were both gone, and she had to get used to some new interruptions.
Thank you, Professor, Ororo thought back. I'll be there in a minute.
The voice laughed quietly. Professor, it said. That's a name I'm still going to have to get used to.
See you in a few, Ororo replied, and pushed the chair back from the desk. Standing, she gave one last look around the office that once belonged to Charles. At the motorized wheelchair, the X crossed through the wheels, that had once belonged to Charles.
The office now belonged to her.
The chair, much like the stone memorial on the front lawn, was left as a lasting reminder of the Academy's founder. It now belonged to no one. Or to everyone, depending on your view of things.
She smoothed the silver dress that she wore, a dress much more formal than she was used to (she was always a pants and blouse kinda girl), and walked out into the hallway and out the back door to meet who was left, old and new.
Warmth bathed down on her as she stepped into the sun. All around upstate New York, it was a gray, dreary day, with occasional drizzles and one or two downpours. Nothing horrific, just your typical spring weather. But here at Xavier Academy, where the new headmaster (headmistress, she reminded herself) could control the weather on a whim, it was a beautiful day, with the sky a deep blue, and the occasional puff of cloud keeping the sun from being too unbearable.
She turned the corner around the hedge to join the crowd that had gathered on the lawn. A small stage had been set, with a podium in the middle, and five occupied seats facing rows of white chairs. She did a double take at the five chairs. Beside the two men and two women she expected to be sitting there, there was a third man, bearded and in a neat brown sweater. He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't put a finger on it.
She shook head and let it go. He didn't seem threatening, and none of the other faculty looked at all put out by his presence.
He must have come with one of them, and introductions were made before I arrived.
Many of the seats before were filled, but far too many were empty. Too many students didn't come back, Ororo thought as she mounted the steps up to the platform. Too many were afraid to return after what happened. It's not the school they knew anymore, as much as I would like it to be.
From her position, however, she was able to get a full view of the area, and was able to recognize most of the students, as she had been the one to meet many of them. To tell them about their gifts.
Many students she had already known for years. A few had joined her in combat. There sat Kitty Pryde, Bobby Drake, and Peter Rasputin, the small trio that had fought with Ororo, Logan, and Henry on Alcatraz. They had huddled in a circle, and nearby, like a shadow to Kitty, sat Jimmy Cameron, the young mutant whom she had saved from Juggernaut. Ever since that, he had developed what others might consider a crush on poor Kitty. Ororo, however, recognized it for what it was: hero worship, pure and simple.
She could tell that Kitty was slightly uncomfortable with the idea, however. More than a lot of that was probably due to the knowledge that, while he stood by her, she was just a human, her phasing ability lost to his mutation dampeners.
I just hope we can control that, Ororo thought. It could be a great benefit to many mutants, but a hindrance to many others.
She turned to the opposite side of the seating area and saw the rest of the returning class. Jubilation Lee, Theresa Cassidy, Connor Jones, and Artie Maddicks had made their own little circle as far away from the other four as possible.
Are Bobby, Kitty, and Peter avoiding them? Ororo thought, Or are they the ones being avoided? Now that they're the new X-Men, are the others jealous? Or afraid?
That would have to wait for another time, she thought, as her field of vision continued to move over the lawn, her eyes settling upon two of the newest members of the Academy.
The blond boy, Arthur Centino, was on one of the chairs. Well, no, actually, one of his fingers was on the back of the chair. He was balancing himself by it, leg splayed in the air, three of the chair's feet off the ground.
He was grinning at the young woman sitting next to him, that stupid cocky grin that only teenage boys can wear, and only when around teenage girls. Wearing a pair of metal-studded bracelets to go with her white men's undershirt, baggy black pants, and pink frosted hair, the girl actually seemed bored by this whole ordeal.
Alison Blaire, Ororo thought. The girl's stood in on stage in front of millions of screaming prepubescents for years before her powers manifested. I'm sure to her this is just tedium, and having a boy try to impress her just makes it worse.
She might pose another problem, Ororo thought as she moved on. Alison's a celebrity. After her powers manifested themselves (while on stage, no less), her publicist announced that Alison was going on sabbatical. It would only be a matter of time before someone finds out who she actually is, and where she's on sabbatical.
Sitting next to Alison was a young black man; one who, if anything, was currently the polar opposite of Miss Blaire. Lucas Bishop's head looked like it wanted to spin around on its axis, taking in all the sights, both of the mansion and of his surrounding classmates.
He knows he's a mutant, Ororo thought. Cerebro told us as much. And the mutation has already manifested itself. A Class Four mutation at that, the scanners read.
We just don't know what his power is yet. Nor does he.
Having gotten a good view of the new class, Ororo took a breath, preparing to speak, but it stopped short as she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. There was one other boy; not in the seats, but sitting against one of the trees, well in the shadows. Now that she could see him, she recognized the long brown hair, the trench coat, and the pack of cards he always seemed to have with him, spread out on the grass in a game of solitaire.
"Remy?" she called, and as the boy looked up she couldn't help but feel a chill. It was those eyes, she thought. Not that she hadn't seen abnormal eyes before on mutants. But Remy's black eyes, with their red irises, was still disconcerting.
"We're starting, Remy." He nodded quietly, sliding the cards up effortlessly into a neat pile, and leaned back against the tree, giving her his full attention. At the same time Arthur hopped down from the chair and into his seat, and the rest of the students turned to face her.
"All right, then," she sighed, "Here we go."
"Welcome, everyone," she said aloud, "To Xavier Academy. My name is Professor Ororo Munroe, headmistress and director. The goal of the Academy, as set out by its founder and namesake, Professor Charles Xavier, is to not only educate you in life, but to also help you control and optimize your God-given gifts."
"Gifts, yeah, right," she heard a small voice snort from the group. She caught Alison's head shake, but decided not to pay attention at this time. The tough part of her speech was coming up.
"As many of you are aware," she said carefully, "there have been many changes in the school within the past year."
"Changes," a voice inside her whispered. That's one way of putting it. Another way of putting it is that three of your teachers are dead, another's gone off on the political trail, and the fifth's just gone off to God knows where.
Truth is, you're the only one left. And that's not for much longer, either.
"Many changes," she repeated quietly, forcing herself back to reality. Some gray clouds had begun to develop overhead, but they quickly dissipated.
"Xavier Academy," she continued, "will now look slightly different than the school we once. The mission remains the same, but now with new faces. Old friends, old students of the school have returned to help teach you all."
She turned around, facing the five adults seated behind her. "First," she continued, "Is someone many of you may know from your past studies here at the Academy. She is a scientist and a doctor from the Muir Island Genetic Research Center, near Scotland. Doctor Moira MacTaggert."
Dr. MacTaggert raised her hand briefly, clearly somewhat uncomfortable despite her eagerness to come assist the Academy. Probably because she's the only human on campus, Ororo thought.
"Next... umm..." Ororo stumbled as she realized that she would have to introduce the mystery man seated next to Moira. The students seemed to sense her unease, and muttered quietly in response.
The striking blonde next in line gave Ororo a look, waved her hand. Move on, that wave suggested. The man seemed unaffected by the whole situation, and continued to look out on the crowd, smiling a small, non-threatening smile.
Ororo cleared her throat. "Next, we have a former student of the Academy, who has volunteered to return and help you with your many studies. Professor Frost will also be the assistant headmistress of the Academy so, as such, anything you need to discuss with me may also be discussed with her."
As she continued on, Ororo looked down to see that Theresa had, predictably, shrunken down in her seat, arousing a look of confusion from Jubilee. Ororo smiled.
"And I think some of you also know our next new professor, Sean Cassidy."
The redheaded man, decked out in a yellow turtleneck under a green blazer, smiled and unabashedly waved to Theresa. Her words of response were too quiet, but Jubilee's giggles only confirmed what Storm thought she had read on Theresa's lips.
Hi, Dad.
"So, we'll move on to our last newcomer, to avoid any more embarrassment for Miss Cassidy." The crowd laughed good-naturedly.
Before even acknowledging him, the man seated at the end stood up and walked up next to Ororo. She could hear the familiar whining noise as he moved, a noise she had come to know well when they were both students.
The students, however, were less familiar with the man's appearance, and Ororo heard a few gasps as the Professor raised his left arm, saluting to the crowd with his robotic hand and fingers. He lowered it again, the hand emitting a small clanging noise as it connected with his similarly mechanical left leg. The fingers of his right hand, still covered in flesh like any others, tapped against the muscle of his untouched right thigh, saying he was used to the gasps, and just waited for them to subside.
"Professor Forge," she continued, "will help with training, and will also be running the more... technical... aspects of the Academy."
"If anyone wants to learn how to work a motor or build themselves a jet plane, I'm the one to turn to," Forge continued, putting one hand companionably on Storm's shoulder as he talked. Her chest tightened slightly.
That's in the past, she thought. He's in the past now. Move on.
"Thank you, Professor," she said, hoping her voice didn't sound too breathy. He nodded to her, tipped her a little wink, then returned to his seat.
"These are the new faculty of the Academy," she continued. "Respect them as you would anyone else who taught you in the past."
Now comes the really hard part.
"As many of you are aware," she stated, "the Xavier Academy once held within it a computer known as Cerebro. When connected with it, Professor Xavier could search the planet for any mutant, and he used it to contact those who he felt could use the assistance of our school.
"With Charles's death, Cerebro cannot be used. It is simply too powerful of a device for anyone to control without serious injury."
"Believe me," Forge said, "if anyone could get it to work for any old psychic, it would be me."
"Despite this," Storm continued, "and despite the events of the past year, with the introduction of a mutant anti-gene, the fact remains that many mutants like us are still being persecuted for their gifts. Still hiding in fear.
"Our work isn't done, and we still welcome all those who need our help."
She scanned the crowd, taking in the new faces. "Yours were the last names to be uncovered by Cerebro before Charles death.
"Now, finding mutants in need will become a much more difficult, much more dangerous task than before."
She sighed.
"Because of that, I have taken it upon myself to leave the Academy in the hands of the men and women behind you, and to go find more mutants to invite here."
Shocked murmurs rose from the crowd.
"I will still be acting headmistress of the school," she continued despite the crowd's reaction. "I will be in constant telepathic link with Professor Frost, and can return when I'm needed.
"In the meantime, your education is safe in the hands of these men and women. They've been around the block in the world. They know their stuff.
"And if danger should arise," she continued, "They know how to protect themselves and others. As will you. As your powers develop, we will teach you how to use them to help other people, just as the young men and women here have done."
She motioned to Bobby, Peter, and Kitty. Jimmy's body swelled with pride, but the other three were still staring back at her in shock.
She turned her eyes away from them, and looked out on the new faces. She nodded.
"Welcome to Xavier Academy."
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