05-Sep-2000
Charles Xavier started at the files on his desk. Tomorrow eight new students would enter his school. Five of them with incredible, horrifyingly powerful mutant abilities, three with strong and unusual abilities. Several friends from around the world have found these young people, and in more than one case rescued them. Most had no clue how to control the powers they had or even what those powers could mean for the world. Fighting a headache, he once again went over the files.
Heero Yuy: Japanese, 17 years old. Codename: Wing. The file picture showed an unsmiling, young man with messy brown hair and startling blue eyes. History: Family was an ancient Samurai clan that used gene therapies to produce some of the best fighters in the world. Heero was incredibly strong and resilient. His mutant powers only accented this. Like Wolverine, the young Asian could heal rapidly, thanks to the admantium lacing his bone, and was very strong. Added to this was the fact that Heero had been trained to ignore pain, as well as all other feelings. Finally, there was the matter of his telekinetics. Not a single TK on the planet could match this young man for power; indeed it would take at least three of them together to get even close. Whenever he used his power, however, a pair of white angels wings appeared on his back. Thus his codename. The young man was said to have exceptional control of his gifts. His trainer, Doctor J, had grown disillusioned with Heero's clan and was sending the boy to Xavier to see if he could fix some of the things the clan had broken. Especially the child's soul.
Xavier went on to the second file.
Duo Maxwell: American, 17 years old. Codename: Shinigami. This young man had violet eyes and incredibly long chestnut hair that was always worn in a braid. History: Very little was known about Duo's past. He was being sent to the school by Remy's father; a roundabout bribe to keep his son under Xavier's protection. Judging from what the man could tell Charles, Duo had lived on the streets most of his life and abuse was part of his past. His abilities were rather like Rogue's but with a major exception. While Rogue's touch drained a person, Duo's killed. Add to this the lack of control the young man had and it was a recipe for disaster. Charles didn't know what he would do if they couldn't help this mutant get his powers under control. He was just glad Moria still had the containment facility at Muir Island.
Trowa Barton: Latin, Age Unknown. Codename: Beastmaster. Once again, here was a mutant with no real history. Doctor S found the young man living with a group of Mercenaries. Noticing the abuse the young man suffered, he immediately contacted the school and sent the boy along. Trowa's ability was a rare one; he could control any animal. Size and distance did not matter. Control, as with Heero, was not the problem with this child. Instead, Trowa's personality was amazingly passive. Almost nothing could cause him to react. The mercenaries taught him not to fight back, even if he was being raped. Time with Jean and Hank would help him. Charles was certain.
Quatre Winner: Arabic, Age 16, though he would be 17 by the time he reached the school. Codename: Mindgame. Quatre was a gentle looking blond with sky blue eyes. His father was a rich industrialist who didn't want anyone to know his only son was a mutant. The boy was being sent on the condition "Professor Xavier taught Quatre how not to be a mutant." Not willing to take the chance the blond would be sent to a far worse place, Xavier accepted the terms, but had no intention of keeping them. Quatre's ability was empathy on a scale of its own. Anyone the boy touched formed a link with him. These links served as a path for his power. If Quatre wanted, he could send emotions to people and force them to feel anything he liked. Time and distance were not factors. The Arab could still influence people who had touched him when he was only an infant. The power frightened the youngster, but Charles knew time and the X-Men would teach him to be comfortable with them. Strangely, no information was available about his mother.
Chang Wufei: Chinese, Age 17. Codename: Justice. Wufei looked very serious, almost like a grin would crack his face. Like Quatre, Wufei was the heir to an empire, in this case, the ancient Dragon Clan. Unlike Quatre, Wufei's father wanted his son to use his powers; the man looked at them as a way to gain more power for his people. Xavier had other plans. The boy was a born lie detector with a twist. Wufei could read the hearts and souls of anyone he saw. One glance told him whether a person was good or evil. Better yet, any who tried to lie in the Asian's presence felt physical pain. One incident on file claimed Wufei had touched a man who was lying and the liar went into convulsions. Another claimed the boy had touched someone he thought evil and the person had collapsed. Later, they turned themselves in for several crimes and were working very hard to make up for their past wrongs. Imagine what could be accomplished if they could get him within touching distance of several misguided mutants.
Along more normal lines were the next three.
Relena Peacecraft: Sank, Age 16. Codename: Peace. Relena was a sweet looking honey blond with distant eyes. Her brother, Millardo, another mutant and ruler of Sank, the only mutant accepting country in the world, was sending her. The young lady tended to use her powers at the wrong times and frightened delegates. Millardo wanted her to learn control before she assumed her role as Princess. Her gift was a form of empathic manipulation. People around Relena found it hard to get angry or upset. Fights died when she was around. Such a calming influence could help bring peace to the world.
Dorothy Catalonia: Sank, Age 17. Codename: War Dorothy was a devious looking woman with blond hair. Her cousin, Treize Khushrenada, was an aide to Millardo and was concerned with her ability to cause problems. Several trade negotiations had broken down for no apparent reason. Dorothy's ability similar to Relena's except this young woman caused anger, fear, and hatred to manifest. People who had been best friends for years were known to start fighting. Her powers were dangerous, but the applications could be interesting.
Last came the least powerful mutant.
Walker (no other name on file): American, Age 18. Codename: Shadow. Walker was a handsome young man with brownish hair. He had no history. The government had taken him from his family and wiped out his memory as part of a program to control mutants. Now, five years later, the current President was breaking the program up. One of the scientists who had worked on the project stole Walker's file and sent him to Xavier; of all the mutants the government had used, only he might ever reenter humanity in general. This man's ability was to walk in the shadows. He could use the patches of darkness as gateways, moving from one to another. If there was big enough shadow in the mansion, Walker could enter it and come out of a shadow in the White House if he wanted. In addition, he could use shadows to see and hear what was going on in other parts of the world. Battle applications for this talent were limited, but he would make an excellent spy.
Closing the files, Charles Xavier finally set off for bed. Tomorrow's challenges could wait until tormorrow.
End Part 1
What will these new students mean? It seems there is a different agenda for each one. How will they react to the plans for them?
Phoenix
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