[Age Of Apocalypse] – The War Begins
Jean was stunned and didn't reply, causing him to say, "Huh... Silent types are beautiful. They are very mysterious."
'What?!' Jean was even more confused.
Emma, Jubilee, Kurt, and Scott walked beside her at that moment, and Jubilee asked, "What happened, Jean? Why is that thief on the ground?"
"He tried to steal an old lady's purse," The silver-haired boy said, extending his hand to Jubilee and saying, "Hi, I'm Pietro. What's your name, cutie?"
"Huh?" Jubilee was stunned for a second but quickly snapped out of it and smiled.
"My name's Jubilation Lee. You can call me Jubilee."
She took his hand and shook it.
"Hmm..." He hummed, looked at her face, and asked, "Are you Chinese? That's cool."
"My parents are from Hong Kong. I was born and raised here." Jubilee nodded.
"I'm from the Bronx, New York," Pietro said, pointing at the blonde girl beside her and saying, "I've never seen a girl this pretty before."
Emma blushed slightly and introduced herself, "Hello. My name's Emma Frost."
"Nice to meet you, Emma," Pietro grinned and said, "Do you want to go out on a date with me?"
Emma bit her lip, twirled her blonde hair, and said, "Sorry, Piyetro. I'm not single."
She hooked her arm around Scott's and said, "This is my boyfriend, Scott."
Scott was surprised and smiled brightly and greeted, "Hi, nice to meet you."
Pietro's expression fell, and he asked, "You have a boyfriend?"
Emma nodded and said, "Yes, we've been dating for a while now. Sorry."
"Oh, well," Pietro nodded and shrugged, "It's a bummer, but no worries. There's a lot of fish in the sea, and the ocean's large enough for me to catch some. Haha! Anyway, it was nice to meet you."
He walked away from them, turned around, winked, and said, "Bye, cuties. I hope we'll meet again."
"Bye!" Jubilee waved.
Emma and Scott waved, and Jean stared at him, confused.
"W-Wait!" Kurt shouted and ran toward Pietro.
"Huh?" Pietro raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is it, Blau?"
"H-How did you catch the thief so fast?" Kurt asked.
"It's simple," Pietro flipped his silver hair and said, "I'm the fastest man alive."
Kurt's eyes widened, and asked, "W-What?"
"I'm Quicksilver. Nice to meet ya," Pietro shook his hand.
"W-Wunderbar (wonderful)!" Kurt exclaimed.
"Well, I'm leaving," Quicksilver waved and ran away, disappearing within a second.
* WHOOSH *
"Wow!" Kurt exclaimed in excitement and turned toward his friends, "He's so cool."
"He is," Scott nodded and asked, "What's his power?"
"He said he's the fastest man alive," Kurt replied.
"Hmmm..." Scott pondered and thought, 'Fastest man alive? Then, is he a speedster? Maybe a mutant or a super-soldier or a genetically-engineered human?'
"Hey, guys?" Emma took out her Chrono and said, "I'm getting a call. We should head back to the mansion. It seems like something serious happened."
"What is it?" Scott asked.
"I'm not sure," Emma replied.
"Okay, let's go," Scott nodded, and they headed back to the X-Mansion.
When they arrived, they saw several S.H.I.E.L.D. and C.I.A. agents and the police around the main gate of the mansion.
"What happened?" Jubilee asked, curious.
"I don't know," Kurt replied and said, "Maybe Professor Charles told them to come here."
"Hmmm..." Jubilee nodded and said, "Maybe. Let's go."
Jean narrowed her eyes and looked around. She targeted one agent and used her powers to read his recent memories. Her eyes widened, and she whispered, "Professor..."
'What's happening? Where's the Professor?'
She shook her head and followed her friends inside the mansion.
* * *
"Professor was abducted?!" Scott and Kurt asked, shocked.
"Yes," Havok, in his costume, nodded and said, "Every school faculty is going to Cairo where he's being held. So, the school is being put on lockdown."
He looked at Jean, Emma, and Jubilee and continued, "So, every student has to stay in their dorms until we bring Charles back. There would be agents outside the mansion who would keep watch. Nobody is allowed to go outside without our permission. If any of you try anything funny, you will be punished severely. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Sir," Scott, Kurt and Jubilee replied.
At that time, Hank walked toward them and said, "We need to bring a telepath. A strong one. One who can fight."
He looked at Emma and Jean and asked, "Which of you wants to join the mission?"
"Me!" Jean and Emma shouted in unison. They glared at each other
Hank rolled his eyes and said impatiently, "Fine! Both of you suit up quickly. You'll be leaving soon."
"Yes, sir!" Jean and Emma replied and hurriedly went to their dorms.
After changing into her yellow and orange uniform, Emma put a bracelet on her left wrist with "Love from Adrienne" written. She looked at herself in the mirror and said, "Let's do this."
She stepped out of the room and went toward the elevator.
"Emma? You're done?" Jean asked as she saw Emma walking down the corridor.
"Yes, I'm ready," Emma replied and looked at Jean, noticing her change of clothes.
"What's wrong?" Emma asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Jean asked.
"I mean, why are you dressed like a ninja?" Emma replied.
"Huh?!" Jean was confused and looked down at her costume.
She wore a black and white uniform with a black mask and a hood. She looked at herself and shrugged, "This is not a ninja costume."
"Yes, it is," Emma insisted.
* * *
"So, you're in?" Val asked Wolverine.
Wolverine glanced at the iconic black and yellow costume and back at Val. He said, "What's this? Why are you dressin' me up like a clown?"
"That's not what a clown wears, " Sabertooth said while admiring his new costume in the mirror. He turned around and said to Wolverine, "Quit hesitating, James. It's just a costume."
"Shut up!" Wolverine snarled.
"You're not going in with your normal clothes. You're going as a member of the X-Men," Val said.
"Yeah, that's the point. I'm not a member," Wolverine replied.
"For now," Val said.
"What does that mean?" Sabertooth asked.
"Nothing," Val said and looked at Wolverine.
"So, will you go?" Val asked.
Wolverine didn't reply and stared at the costume for a few seconds.
"Auuggh!" Sabertooth groaned in frustration when he saw Wolverine hesitating. He said to Val, "He's hesitating because he's not the old James."
Val asked, "What do you mean?"
Sabertooth grinned and replied, "How can he be the same? He's been sucked dry every night for the past five years. Haha! I'm sure it must have drained him a bit."
Wolverine growled, and his claws popped out.
"Ah, ah, ah," Sabertooth chuckled and said, "Calm down, Jimmy boy."
Val laughed, patting Wolverine's shoulder, and said, "Come on, man. You'll look good. Trust me."
Wolverine turned back to Val. He sighed and said, "Fine! I'll trust you."
"Good," Val nodded and said.
Suddenly, somebody knocked on the door, and Val said, "Come in!"
Mystique opened the door and entered the room. She glanced at Sabertooth, Wolverine, and finally, Val and said, "It's time!"
Val nodded and said to Wolverine and Sabertooth, "Let's go. Everyone's waiting."
* * *
"Everyone, gather around!" Hank shouted, standing in front of the Blackbird.
Every faculty gathered near the Blackbird and stood silently.
"Today, Professor Charles has been kidnapped by a powerful enemy," Hank spoke, "We, the X-Men, will leave immediately to save him. However, this enemy is powerful and extremely dangerous. Some of us may not make it back alive."
He glanced at everyone and continued, "So, I'll ask you one last time. Are you willing to risk your life for the Professor?"
"YES!" All the X-Men shouted.
"Louder!" Hank shouted.
"YES!" All the X-Men shouted together.
"I can't hear you!" Hank shouted.
"YEEEEEEEEEES!!!" The X-Men shouted, and their voice echoed throughout the school grounds.
"Good!" Hank nodded and said, "All right, everybody! Let's go save the Professor."
"Professor Hank?" Emma raised her hand and asked, "Since Professor Xavier isn't here, who'll be the leader of this mission?"
Hank pointed beside him and said, "Him."
Everyone's eyes fell on the door beside him, which opened, and Val walked out, with Sabertooth, Wolverine, and Mystique walking alongside him.
Val smiled at them and said, "Hello, everybody! Under special circumstances, I've been chosen as the leader of this mission."
Everybody stared at him with wide eyes, and a heavy silence ensued for a few seconds until somebody shouted, "S-Starlance?! Fuck, yes!!"
"FUCK YEAH!", Another one shouted.
"WE'RE GOING ON A MISSION WITH STARLANCE!!"
"LET'S GO!"