Location: Xavier Institute
Date: January 2nd, 1989
Jean Grey POV:
Jean Grey moved through the Danger Room with intense focus, sweat dampened her hair as she tried to lift and hold three practice weights in the air at once.
The boys trained around her, Scott calling out commands, Bobby sliding across the floor on self-made ice paths, Warren swooping overhead in graceful arcs. It should have been routine by now, just another coordination drill, but her telekinesis refused to cooperate.
It was always harder for her to focus when the others were close. The low-level psychic static of their minds created a constant, humming background noise that frayed her control. One of the weights wobbled and dipped. Jean gritted her teeth, reaching out again.
Before she could regain control, her concentration was shattered as the intercom crackled to life. She looked up from the team's basic coordination drill, heart still hammering.
"Jean, Scott, Warren, Bobby, please report to the briefing room."
Professor Xavier almost never interrupted training sessions. That alone told Jean something unusual was happening. No explanation. Just the Professor's calm, measured voice.
Scott was already striding toward the exit. Jean hurried to catch up with him, falling into step as Bobby jogged alongside them, still shedding faint wisps of frost from the ice he'd been generating during drills.
"Wow," Bobby said. "Not even a little curiosity first?"
Scott didn't slow down. "The Professor called us."
"And that's exactly why I'm curious," Bobby shot back, spreading his arms with a grin. "Could be anything. Could be aliens!" He pointed dramatically at the ceiling. "Robot aliens!"
Scott kept walking, but Jean caught the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth. "Robot aliens would still be aliens."
"You're missing the point." Bobby insisted.
Behind them, Warren descended in a graceful spiral, his large white wings folding neatly against his back as he joined the group. "You always assume aliens." he said, a hint of dry amusement in his voice.
"I don't always assume aliens," Bobby protested. He paused, then added with perfect sincerity, "Just when it would be cool."
Jean smiled despite the quiet tension in her stomach. The Professor's tone hadn't sounded urgent or alarmed, exactly… but it had sounded different than usual.
By the time they reached the briefing room, Hank was already waiting beside Professor Xavier near the display console. Jean took one look at him and felt a flicker of recognition mixed with dread.
Hank had the look. Not the satisfied expression he wore when he had solved a complex equation or unearthed a fascinating new paper, but the dangerous one that promised a lengthy, wildly enthusiastic explanation full of technical details most of them would only half understand.
Bobby noticed it too. He leaned toward Jean and whispered, "He's got charts face."
Jean bit her lip hard to keep from laughing. Warren coughed suspiciously into his hand, while Scott took his seat already bracing himself for whatever lay ahead.
Professor Xavier waited until they had all settled into their seats before speaking. He folded his hands on the table and regarded them with a gravity that made Jean sit up a little straighter.
"I have a mission for you."
The words settled over the room like a sudden change in pressure. Jean felt a sharp thrill race through her chest and her heartbeat quickened. This was it, not another training exercise or simulation, but their first real mission. Beneath the rush of anticipation, she had a quiet sense that something important was beginning.
Scott straightened immediately, his expression sharpening into focused attention. Beside him, Bobby's eyes widened with open excitement, a grin already across his face. Warren leaned forward, his wings shifting with quiet interest. Hank looked positively delighted. Even Professor Xavier seemed to carry a deeper seriousness than usual, his calm gaze moving across each of them in turn.
"Cerebro flagged an anomaly several months ago," Xavier said. "The signature read as human, so it did not trigger any alerts at the time. Hank only isolated and confirmed it today during a deeper analysis."
Hank nodded, adjusting his glasses with evident scientific interest. "The subject exhibits a significant divergence from the human baseline, well outside normal variation. There is no X-Gene present, and no evidence of artificial enhancement. Whatever this is, it appears to be entirely natural."
Jean froze in shock, 'Natural...'
She knew Xavier's dream was peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans, and his firm belief that mutants represented the next step in human evolution. But the implications of someone like this, neither mutant nor baseline human, hung in the air, subtle and vast at the same time. She wasn't sure the others fully grasped it yet. She wasn't sure she fully grasped it yet.
For the last five years she had lived with Xavier's vision, absorbing the idea that mutants were humanity's future. She had never once imagined the possibility that they might simply be one branch among many. It felt like the world she thought she knew was tilting out from under her.
"After discovering this, I used Cerebro to probe further," Xavier continued, his tone growing more deliberate. "The young man on the other side detected the contact. He is not a telepath, there were no psionic signatures, but he not only resisted my probe… he looked back at me."
A ripple of surprise moved through the team. Jean's stomach tightened.
Xavier folded his hands. "That is why I am sending you. Your first mission is to locate this young man. Observe him. Determine whether safe contact can be made. We must understand who he is before anyone else does."
Jean looked at the others. Scott's focused expression suggested he was already thinking tactically, his posture straight and alert. Bobby looked more intrigued than concerned, leaning forward with wide-eyed curiosity. Warren's wings shifted slightly, betraying his quiet interest.
"Professor," Scott said first, his voice steady and practical, "if he's not a mutant and not enhanced, what exactly are we looking at? Is he dangerous?"
"Any person with unusual abilities can be dangerous Scott," Xavier replied, his tone measured but thoughtful. "At this stage we simply do not know. His abilities, I have never come across anything quite like them before. That alone makes him significant. There is a possibility that he could represent a new branch of human evolution. He could also become a target for those who fear anything different."
Bobby raised his hand halfway, as if they were still in class. "Okay, but how do we even find him? I mean, if he shrugged off Cerebro like that, does he know we're coming?"
Hank jumped in eagerly, adjusting his glasses. "We have a general location, somewhere in Queens, New York City. His psychic resistance was remarkable. Most ordinary minds can't even register a light probe, let alone push back. Fascinating, really. I'd love to run some noninvasive tests if he's amenable."
Warren tilted his head, his voice smooth and composed. "And if he isn't? We're talking about approaching a complete stranger with unknow capabilities. This isn't exactly a standard search-and-rescue."
Jean spoke up quietly, "He might be scared. If he felt the Professor's mind reaching out with no warning… anyone would react defensively. We should be careful."
Xavier nodded, a faint approving smile touching his lips. "Precisely, Jean. That is why I am sending all of you. Your first mission is not confrontation, but understanding. Locate him. Observe. Make contact only if the situation feels right. Learn what you can about who he is and what he wants. Above all, remember our dream. This young man may become important on the path toward a future where mutants and humanity do not have to fear one another."
The room grew quiet again as the full weight of the assignment sank in. Jean's pulse thrummed with a mix of excitement and unease. Their first real mission had just become far more complicated than any of them had expected.
-----
Mark POV:
Mark knew something was happening ten minutes before the final bell.
He had spent the last hour of school quietly paranoid, unable to shake the memory of that first cold, powerful probe earlier in the day. He did not know what it was, only that it had felt vast, deliberate, and strong. Ever since, he had kept his senses open to the Force, alert for anything unusual.
It was then that a second, new sensation brushed across the area.
It was unmistakably a psychic scan, like a wide, sweeping net. But it was gentler than the first, more careful, almost hesitant. It felt completely different from the first presence. It was natural and alive rather than coldly overwhelming.
Mark narrowed his eyes, 'Two probes in one day? One targeting me, the other clearly scanning the area.' The chances of it being a coincidence seemed very remote. Someone or something was looking for him.
He had no idea how he would measure up if it came to a real fight. If he had already drawn the attention of a major player, his options looked rather grim.
The idea of hiding crossed his mind but if they could already find him by targeting his mind... 'Wait. The mind probe, it felt mechanical. Cerebro was a machine that scanned the mind. But I am not a mutant, so why would Xavier even notice me, or care if he did?'
He was not sure if the first probe was Cerebro, but either way finding out who was scanning the area now seemed the best course of action.
The moment the bell rang, Mark headed out but did not go home. Instead he slipped out of the residential streets and made his way toward the old industrial waterfront.
The area was a sprawling maze of half-empty warehouses, rusting factories, and overgrown lots where foot traffic would be minimal. If anyone was coming for him, he wanted the advantage of open sightlines and plenty of places to lose a tail.
He moved with purpose, senses stretched wide, ready for whatever came next.
He did not have to wait long.
After some time he felt another psychic scan. But this time he reached out with the Force, like sticking his hand out a car window into the wind, and pushed back with a deliberate pressure of his own.
The scan faltered for a split second.
Mark's lips curved into a small smile as he pulled back, severing the light contact, 'The bait is set, now come get me.' Then he climbed to the roof of a derelict brick building, pulled on his black mask, and waited.
It only took a few minutes before he saw activity. Someone in the distance was moving, or maybe flying low over the rooftops. They were moving closer and after a little while he could clearly see large white wings, even in the fading evening light.
'Angel.' Mark thought. That confirmed it, the X-Men were here. He could not help but feel relief that he did not have to deal with a villain he could not handle.
Mark walked to the edge of the roof and crossed his arms in clear view, as the winged man circled closer. It only took a few moments for Mark to be noticed.
Angel faltered momentarily, before hovering in place a building or two away. Another figure appeared on the ground level moments later, red visor glinting faintly in the dim light. Followed quickly by three more.
Mark was a little surprised. It was the original X-Men team, which made sense he thought, but for some reason he was expecting a different lineup.
They were all wearing masks and casual cloths over what appeared to be a somewhat generic X-Men uniform. But what really stood out was how nervous they all were.
'Haven't they done this before?' he wondered.
-----
X-Men POV:
Warren faltered in mid-air as he saw the figure on the rooftop standing boldly in plain view, arms crossed in clear defiance. He hovered a couple of buildings away, wings beating steadily to hold position.
"Contact," Warren said quietly into the comms, voice tight. "He's on the roof, northwest warehouse. Black mask. Just… standing there waiting for us. Looks very supervillain."
Scott was already moving, visor scanning the area as he emerged from between two buildings. Jean, Bobby, and Hank quickly converged behind him. The five of them formed a loose semi-circle, tension crackling in the air. This was their first real mission, and every one of them felt it.
"He's just… watching us," Jean murmured, her telepathic senses extended. "I can feel him... Strange..."
"What is it?" asked Scott.
"I'm not getting anything like I do from other people," she replied, brow furrowed in concentration. "He's alert. Controlled. And… guarded. But I'm not sure if he's hostile or not."
The figure on the roof stood completely still, arms crossed, silhouetted against the deepening twilight. He made no move to flee or attack. He simply watched them, as if he were the one evaluating them.
Bobby shifted uneasily, frost glittering along his knuckles. "This feels like a trap. He led us out here."
"Stay sharp," Scott said, keeping his voice level. "Professor Xavier said to observe and make contact if it felt safe. Marvel Girl, try reaching him again, gently. The rest of us hold position. No sudden moves."
Jean took a careful step forward and projected her thoughts upward, soft and clear. 'We're not here to hurt you. My name is Jean. Professor Xavier sensed you today. We only want to talk.'
For several long seconds, nothing happened.
Then Mark uncrossed his arms. Slowly, deliberately, he raised one hand and made a small, beckoning gesture.
The air between them seemed to thicken.
Warren's wings flared slightly. Hank's posture shifted into something more defensive. Bobby muttered, "That's not reassuring…"
Scott's finger hovered near his visor. "Marvel Girl?"
She drew in a sharp breath. "He heard me. And… I think he's inviting us up there."
The young man on the roof waited, silent and motionless.
This was their first mission, and it already felt like things were slipping out of their control.