DANGEROUS MINDS

Part I: Didn’t See That Coming

By Ryan Krupienski

The Massachusetts Academy

The mansion’s sole occupant, an Asian girl in her late teens, moves slowly down the dark hallway, passing it for what seems like the millionth time. Only she’s not aware she’s been passing it over and over for several months, because she’s been robbed of her mind. At least, until now.

{Jubilee,} a cold voice says into her mind, {it’s time to wake up. We’re going to have company.}

“Uh… muh…” Jubilee manages. It’s the first thing she’s said in a while. “Wuh… uh… muh…”

{Nevermind that. I want you to head downstairs, young lady, and put on the nice new uniform I’ve laid out for you. I guess I’ll have to do a little reprogramming in there as well… you know that blasted psionic exoskeleton of yours makes it a trifle hard to do much more than shut your mind down.}

As Jubilee turns around and heads for the elevator at the other end of the hallway, tears begin to well up in her eyes. She’s now very well aware of what’s going on, and even more aware of the fact that she can do nothing to stop it. Or can she? She’s trying with all her might to resist the voice inside her head, but it’s proving to be quite a challenge. Maybe she’ll have better luck if she just goes along with the individual’s plans… for now.

“Get dressed,” Jubilee says clearly in a blank, monotone voice.

{Splendid. Carry on then… and make sure you take a shower beforehand. I want you to look your best. We have X-Men coming over.}

The Xavier Institute; War Room

Jean Grey-Summers sits at the oval-shaped table in the middle of the room with two others, her husband Scott and the woman once known only as Kwannon. No one has called her by her real name, Anna, since she revealed it, and she rather prefers it that way. As Jean speaks, she and Scott give the school’s headmistress their full attention.

“Thank you for being so prompt. Now as I mentioned before during our conference on the Astral Plane, I’ve lost absolutely all contact with the Massachusetts Academy. No one is answering any of my calls, but what disturbs me the most is that Cerebro’s not picking up any bio-signatures at the school except for one. I’ve been able to track Sean down to his ancestral home in Ireland, but Emma and all of the students except for Jubilee have vanished off the face of the Earth.”

“Is Jubilee at the academy by herself?” Scott asks, finding the possibility odd.

“It looks that way, yes. I’ve tried reaching out to her telepathically, but I’ve had no luck,” Jean responds. “I don’t know what’s going on, but that’s what I need you to find out. I’m not feeling good about this situation at all.”

Anna wants to say so many things right now, but she can’t bring herself to do it, not yet. She has to see the girl for herself, see her with her own eyes, see if the possibility is even real… it’s better than setting herself up for a big disappointment. While she remains calm and collected, she asks Jean, “When do we leave?”

“As soon as Cameron gets here,” is the response.

Curious, Scott asks, “He’s coming with?”

“Yes. I want someone to stay in constant contact through the comm-link in the Blackbird, just in case. We had a small problem with Kurt and Domino’s mission to California, I don’t want it happening again.”

“You think there’s a hostile psionic presence involved here too?”

“Maybe, Scott,” Jean says with a sigh. “But I just don’t know. I can’t figure these things out, that’s what bothers me so much.”

The answer seems obvious to Anna. “Well wouldn’t it be in everyone’s best interest to have a telepath with us, then?”

“No, and I don’t have time to sit here and explain why,” Jean answers quickly, wanting to drop the subject. “Cameron’s here. Time to go.”

Just after the words flow from Jean’s mouth, the thick metal door to the War Room slides open and in walks Cameron, all ready to go in his black leather uniform. “Sorry if I’m late, my class ran a little behind… did I miss anything?”

“Nothing that you can’t be filled in on during the flight. I’ll see you later,” Jean says as she walks over to Scott and gives him a quick kiss. Cam supresses a laugh as he wonders whether or not they know that two young men seek to come between them; probably not. It’ll be interesting to see how those situations play out, he thinks.

With that, Scott, Anna, and Cameron head out of the room and start down the hallway towards the entrance to the hangar bay. After a minute, Jean sits down at the meeting table inside and places a hand on her forehead. She closes her eyes as she tries to will her migraine away, but to no avail; it hasn’t subsided even a bit in the week she’s had it, rather it’s only gotten worse. Power surges and mood swings have accompanied it, but she’s done a flawless job of covering it all up from her teammates. Things are hectic enough, she doesn’t need to add to everyone’s frusterations.

“Computer, open the holo-map and display all mutant bio-signatures within five miles outside of the mansion,” Jean says as she raises her head and sets her gaze at the middle of the table. In an instant, a map of Westchester County materializes, with an iridescent yellow circle encompassing the Xavier Institute and its immediate area. A large mass of glowing red dots sit at the center of the circle, as expected, while one in particular moves slowly inside the circle and towards its core.

Using only her thoughts, Jean zooms in on the moving bio-signature as Cerebro cross-references it with the files in its database. There is a match within seconds, and then a name appears next to the glowing dot:

[XAVIER, C.]

Jean stares intently at the name for a moment, then rises from her seat. “There you are… finally.”

The Wyndham Hotel; Chicago, Illinois

Cecilia Reyes sits at the foot of the lush, king-size bed, her silk, cream-colored robe wrapped tightly around her body. Even though she’s supposed to be on vacation with the man she loves, it’s been an exhausting couple of days for her; her struggle to tell him about her cancer, and his reaction afterwards… and now, she’s still mulling over whether or not to accept his proposal of marriage. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster that’s left her winded like nothing has since Operation Zero Tolerance outed her as a mutant a few years ago.

She wonders, why her? Hasn’t she led a good life, been a good person, saved enough lives? For once, why can’t something work out in her favor? She knows what’s to come… more tests, chemo-therapy, possibly radiation… and the effects are going to be none too pleasing. Her hair’s going to fall out; she’s heard testimony from patients who’ve said they would wake up in the middle of night, only to find that clumps of their hair had fallen out. It serves as a grim and very real reminder of what’s happening. Cecilia’s considered shaving her head and getting a wig, just to avoid any further turmoil.

Then there’s the treatments. She knows all too well that the chemo’s going to make her physically ill… she’s barely going to be able to get out of bed at some points. She’ll sometimes be too sick to eat anything, or to even move. If only they’d found the tumor in her right breast earlier… so much could be avoided. Maybe she’d only need a couple of treatments at the most, but she knows that this isn’t going to be something that’s taken care of in no time at all. She’s in this for the long haul… she has no choice. The only choice she has is to fight it, or give in.

She’s chosen to fight. She’s chosen to fight for many reasons, but most of all because she’d love nothing more than to marry Henry McCoy. She loves him with all her heart, more than any other man she’s ever been with, and though there haven’t been many, it’s still something significant to her. She never expected to find true love, to become someone’s wife… she figured her work as a doctor would basically be the focal point of her life, and that would be it. She never imagined what she’d be missing out on before she met Hank.

Cecilia moves her attention away from her private thoughts to the sound of running water coming from the bathroom just a dozen feet away. She can hear a scruffing noise and figures Hank must be brushing his teeth. As she waits for him to finish in the bathroom and come join her, she looks around the beautiful hotel room, which is probably one of the nicest the Wyndham has to offer; Hank mentioned he tried to get the penthouse suite, but it was already rented out. This does just fine for Cecilia, though. The room looks especially heavenly right now, the lights all turned off with a dozen or so candles light all around. The view of the city is amazing as well; she can see the spot where the Sears Tower used to be, and she briefly recollects witnessing the event that destroyed it.

Before her mind can drift to memories of her time in Chicago, Cecilia hears the water faucet turn off and sees the bathroom light switch off from the corner of her eye. She turns and sees a hulking, blue-furred form walking towards her. She smiles as he approaches, and he does the same. He arrives at the bed and takes her slender hand in his large paw and gives it a gentle kiss. “How are you feeling?” he asks her.

“I’m feeling fine,” Cecilia assures him. She knows how extremely worried he is about her.

“I still think we should have left this morning… this isn’t something you should delay treatment for.”

“And I already told you, I want one last weekend… just a couple days… before I start on anything. One extra day isn’t going to make a difference, Hank.”

Hank nods and decides to not argue with Cecilia. He in fact shares her sentiments; he’d like some quality time with her as well before her treatment gets underway. He kisses her hand again, and smiles lovingly at her. “Ready for bed?” Cecilia asks him.

“Just about.”

Seconds later… something happens. Hank’s body begins to size down, his blue fur sinks into his skin, his paws reshape themselves into regular fingers, his snout shrinks away, and after a minute or so, he’s left looking absolutely…

Human.

“There we go,” he says, grinning at Cecilia. “Still getting used to that.”

“Me too. But I think I like it.”

Cecilia smiles seductively as Hank removes his robe and crawls onto the bed. As he positions himself over her, he leans in for a kiss and says, “Tonight, I’m going to make you feel better than you’ve ever felt before, my love.”

The Xavier Institute

Angela Molton strolls down the near-silent halls of the mansion, attempting to get herself familiar with what’s going to be her home for the forseeable future. Of all the possibilities she thought of for her future, she never considered she might be a mutant and end up a guest of the world’s premiere mutant strike force. She’d heard of the X-Men here and there when she was younger, but never thought much of them or mutants in general; in a world where superheroes have been running rampant since before she was born, the existence of mutants never really phased her.

Until now. Because now, she is a mutant, whether she likes it or not. She hasn’t really decided on that part yet… maybe it’s because all the changes in the past week or so haven’t truly hit her yet. The fact that her former life is gone – at least for now – doesn’t seem quite real to her yet. In the back of her mind, she’s still expecting to be scooping up Trey and taking him back to Atlanta, and going back to school and her job as usual.

That’s not going to happen, though, because she’s no longer safe out there, not with there being people trying to kidnap her son. If it had been just her, Angela might not have taken the X-Men up on their offer, but for the safety of her son, she decided to come here to the institute. As a mother, she’ll do anything to protect her son, but she’s smart enough to know her limitations.

As Angela continues to walk through the hallways, she can hear faint footsteps behind her. She turns her head slightly and sees Ororo Munroe coming towards her, a friendly smile on her face. “Good afternoon, Angela,” she says to the younger woman.

“Hey Ororo,” Angela replies. The white-haired X-Man comes up beside her and halts. “What’s up?”

“I’m glad I found you, I have to talk to you,” Ororo says, sounding a bit more serious now.

“Yeah, I actually need to talk to you too, about this living arrangement. I don’t feel good just staying here… I should be paying rent or something.”

“Nonsense!” Ororo says, scoffing at the idea. “That is absolutely absurd. However… since I know how serious you are about not feeling right with us ‘putting you up’, I have an offer to make you. Jean came up with the idea.”

Angela cocks an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. “Okay, I’m listening.”

“You are more than welcome to be here as long as you need, and we expect nothing from you… but, there is a little project that needs to be done, and with your background as an architect, you seem like the perfect candidate for the job.”

“Well,” Angela cuts in, “I don’t actually have a degree yet… I’m still a little over a year away from that.”

“Regardless, we think you can do a wonderful job,” Ororo says enthusiastically. “As you can see, we have many students here at the mansion… and there are surely many more to come. Jean and many of the others think it would be a good idea to build a new wing onto the school, and we would like you to head up the project.”

“Whoa!” Angela exclaims, taken aback. She wasn’t expecting this. “Now… wait… hold up, Ororo… are you serious?”

“Very serious.”

Angela is surprised and excited at the same time; she’s gotten to help build small houses and do some layouts for small apartments and condominiums, but she never imagined she’d ever get the chance to work on a mansion. It’s almost too much for her to process, but she keeps her cool and quickly gives her answer. “When do I start?”

Ororo smiles. “Very soon. We shall have you meet with the contractor in the next couple days.”

Angela’s eyes light up as she fully realizes what she’s about to undertake. She’s feeling a rush of excitement she hasn’t felt since the day she turned her life around and started college nearly four years ago; she can’t help but smile a big, wide smile.

“Thank you for this, it means a lot,” Angela says gratefully. “And not just the job. For saving me… and Trey… and for helping me get my powers under control. I just hope I can do a good job on this.”

“I’m sure you will do just fine, Angela. I know it must be difficult having your life torn away as it was… but we are only here to help, and I’m glad you see that. Once you’ve honed your abilities, and we have found the men who tried to take your son… you always have the option to return to your former life.”

Angela nods in understanding. “I know… there’s just so much to process. I’m safe, my son’s safe, it’s all good for the time being. I think I’m just going to take it one day at a time, and see what happens, you know?”

“Always the best way of doing things, I think.”

“Well, I guess I’m going to grab up Trey… we’re going to have lunch.” Ororo nods and is about to say goodbye when Angela continues, “You maybe want to join us?”

Touched by the invitation, Ororo responds, “It would be my pleasure.”

The Massachusetts Academy

As the Blackbird lands on the grounds of the former school, Anna turns to Scott, whose face she can see is wrought with sadness. He’s been silent during the whole flight, and she has an as to idea why. She must not be the only one noticing Jean’s strange behavior lately.

“Are you all right?” is all she says, as Cameron looks on from the seat behind her. She turns to him and asks, “Could you give us a minute?”

Cameron nods and gets out of his seat, moving toward the back end of the plane, as Anna turns back to Scott. She’s usually not one to pry, especially into those she’s only known a short while, but she feels a sort of connection to Scott, as if he’s sort of a kindred spirit. She asks him, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“About some of Jean’s irrational decisions lately? About how she’s becoming so distant? About how she’s barely spending any time with her own daughter?” Scott swallows back a lump in his throat as he unfastens his seatbelt and reaches inside his jacket for his slim gray visor. “Not really,” he says as he places the visor over his eyes and secures it over his ears.

Anna nods in understanding and pushes her teammate no further. She undoes her seatbelt as well and the two X-Men get up and walk towards the ramp, which Cameron has already let down for them. As they exit, Scott says, “We’ll let you know as soon as we find something.”

Cyclops and Kwannon step off the ramp and onto the school grounds. They start towards the mansion ahead, which now has a myriad of trees and shrubs covering it on all sides. No light at all escapes from inside, but as the two X-Men get closer, they feel a chill flow through the open windows that seems colder than the winter air itself. They can also feel a twitching in their minds, almost as if the house is alive and trying to speak to them, daring them to come closer.

Cyclops suddenly stops, no more than ten feet from the steps leading to the front door, and motions for Kwannon to do the same. He presses a couple buttons on the side of his visor, and the built-in infra-red scanners go to work. He focuses the sensors on a glowing yellow-orange figure that seems to be moving towards the front of the mansion. “That must be her,” he says as he starts walking again.

Kwannon’s heart begins beating a little faster with each new step she takes; she knows exactly who Cyclops is talking about, and knows that now her hopes are either now going to be realized or crushed.

Just as they reach the front door, it opens, and there stands a young Asian woman, no older than eighteen, in a tight, black, form-fitting catsuit. Her long black hair is pulled behind her head into a ponytail, and large hoop earrings dangle from her ears. She glares at the visitors with her dark blue eyes.

Blue eyes. Full-blooded Chinese people don’t typically have blue eyes… as her eyes lock with the young woman’s, Kwannon takes a step forward, a hopeful look on her face. “Jubilee?”

The former X-Man’s only response is a blinding blast of atomic energy, which sends Cyclops and Kwannon flying back a dozen feet from the mansion. Her eyes begins to glow furiously as she makes her way down the steps and towards her targets. {You’re trespassing,} her voice seems to say into their minds.

Cyclops rises to his feet, a dumbfounded look on his face. “Jubilee, what’s going on here? Where is everyone? Why are you here alone… where’s Emma?”

{You ask too many questions, Slim,} she answers, balling her fists as bright energy glows around them. {I just wanted to be left alone!}

Cyclops grits his teeth in frusteration. “Dammit, what’s WRONG with you?!”

“Scott,” Kwannon asks worriedly, looking from Jubilee to Cyclops, “what is this…?”

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out. Jubilee, you obviously recognize me… Jean sent me here. Where did everyone go? What’s happened to you?”

Jubilee smiles a menacing smile. {All of my classmates are dead, Cyclops, and you and your little squad here are about to join them.}

The Xavier Institute

Bobby Drake sits alone in the spacious living room, mesmerized and very much amused by what he’s watching on the large flat screen television that lies twenty feet ahead of him. A plump Asian woman in jeans and a blue, plaid shirt is moving about a stage, telling jokes and making ridiculous faces. Though he’s seen a lot of strange and bizarre things in his life, nothing comes close to being as hilarious as his new favorite DVD.

“He’s like, ‘I thought you were kidding! I thought it was a joke!’… what kind of joke is that? That is not a fucking joke! ‘Knock knock! Who’s there? Chocolate! Chocolate who? I’m gonna suck chocolate off your dick, BAAAH!'”

“HA HA!” Bobby joins in the chorus of laughter coming from the audience on the TV screen. He almost wishes someone else was around to share in his good time, but spending some time alone here and there isn’t such a bad thing.

Suddenly, the image on the screen freezes, and Bobby goes for the remote to try and unpause it. {Not so fast, Mister Drake,} a loud female voice blares inside his head, stopping him dead in his motion. {Sorry to startle you, but I’m expecting someone, and I need you to answer the door.}

“Okay, Jean, but could you turn the volume down a little?” Bobby says, a bit irritated at having his movie interrupted. “I’ll get the door when the bell rings, okay?”

{Go on and do it, then,} Jean replies.

“Yeah, when the doorbell rings… I want to watch more of…”

Sure enough, before he can finish, the aforementioned doorbell rings.

Jean smiles from her seat inside her office. {Thank you, Bobby.}

Bobby sighs as he rises from his seat, and he walks out of the living room and down the hallway for a quick moment, then turns the corner and reaches the main foyer. He readjusts himself and clears his throat, then puts his hand on one of the doorknobs and turns it. He smiles as he opens the door and says, “Welcome to the Xavier Institute, my name’s Bobby Drake. Jean is…”

Shocked beyond belief at the sight before him, Bobby can’t speak another word, and his eyes and mouth drop wide open. As he gawks, the individual at the door studies him curiously, wondering why he’s been rendered speechless.

“Excuse me, young man,” says the individual, a bald, older lady about five and a half feet tall, “is there something wrong?”

“No… uh…” Bobby tries to find the right words, but there don’t seem to be any. The only thing running through his mind right now is great confusion.

“Young man, I… oh. Oh dear,” the woman says, realizing why Bobby is reacting to her as he is. “I apologize. I do more than just slightly resemble Charles, don’t I?”

Bobby continues to gape at her, though not as intensely as before. “Who are you?” he finally manages to say.

“I do suppose an introduction is in order,” the woman says as she holds out her hand to Bobby. “My name is Cassandra Nova Xavier. May I come in?”

NEXT ISSUE: Dangerous Minds Part 2! As Phoenix and Cassandra come face to face, Cyclops, Kwannon, and Cameron fight a deranged Jubilee! Will they be enough to stop the former X-Man, though, whose powers have dramatically increased since her days in Westchester? And what will Miss Nova’s arrival mean for the future of the Xavier Institute and the X-Men?