Issue #9

On the other side, Jack did not think too much about the interaction and killing of the Asgardians. It was Odin that had sent his forces into Jack's kingdom to act as spies. Jack only responded by taking out said spies.

With the Asgardians dead, there was nothing more for Jack to do in Utopia. He also had to get back to the institute. Winter Break was about to begin so Scott and Ororo were holding a school assembly to go over matters that would take place during the next semester.

When he arrived at the school, it was 9:28 in the morning. The assembly started at 9:30.

'Just in time,' Jack thought to himself before making his way down toward the basement where the assembly hall was. When he arrived, he saw that most of the staff and students were already there.

On the stage were 19 chairs, 17 of which had butts in the seats. In front of the stage were almost two hundred chairs that had students of all ages in them.

Jack took the seat next to Emma which filled the seat count to 18. But they were still missing one more staff member. But before she got there, the assembly had started when Scott walked to the front of the stage and took the microphone at the podium.

"Good morning, students and staff. We have gathered you all here because as you know, we have had a change in staff which also means we wish to change our education methods.

Ms. Monroe and I have thought it over. While we still believe in the Professor's dream, we also understand that the world is not so peaceful. So as of the next semester, we will be putting many of our students into squads.

These students have all expressed the desire to be X-Men or need the extra attention in order to better master their powers.

Each of these students will be put into a squad with 6 members that will be supervised by a member of the staff who will personally be their mentor.

This does not mean that the other students will be forgotten or abandoned. We plan for the students placed in squads to be thought of more like after-school clubs instead of separate divisions of the school.

In order for..." while Scott was speaking, he saw everyone's attention leave him and look at something behind him. He turned to see Kitty half-phased through the wall with a toothbrush in her mouth.

"Shit. I'm late, aren't I?" Kitty asked

"Very, darling. But thank you for joining us," Emma said from the side which earned the snickering of several staff members

Kitty blushed when she heard the comment so she quietly took her seat. Scott glanced at her once more before turning back toward the auditorium but he forgot what he was saying.

"I'll take over from here, Scott," Ororo stood up from her seat while Scott stood aside

"Hello, everyone. Mr. Summers has said most of what needed to be said but I just want to add a few things.

These squads are not being made because we believe any student is better than another student. We are not allowing for there to be a divide among our students. What we are doing, is preparing and judging them.

While they will be getting extra attention, that will not be the best for all of them. Because we will scrutinize each and every move that they make. All of their strengths and weaknesses will be obvious to us.

This is also not saying that those who are not a part of a squad will not have the opportunity to be an X-Men. We already have several potential X-Men among you that have said they do not wish to join any squad.

So do not be discouraged. We wish for all of you to try your best at this institute in pursuing your goals.

You are all dismissed and can start making your way to your classrooms. All the staff will be present in the next 10 minutes or so, so you better be there."

The students got up from their seats before making their way toward the exit of the auditorium. None of them dared to play around since the elevators would be busy so they might not even arrive at their classrooms on time if they did not head directly there.

While the students were leaving, the rest of the staff stayed on the stage while Ororo turned off the microphone.

"This is your last chance everyone. I will be confirming the final members within the next hour so if you have anyone you want off of your squad or added to your squad before I send out the emails, let me know now," Ororo urged the others

Jack raised both of his hands before creating a third hand out of ice.

"I haven't seen my squad at all. Who is on my squad?" Jack asked once again

"You will be getting the children that need... extra care and attention. I have yet to finalize your members because I am trying to balance them between mine and Ororo's groups," Scott explained

"Also if we told you the confirmed members, you might run off to avoid responsibility," Ororo added

Jack cursed his luck before nodding to the pair. He understood the logic and why he was being assigned the problem kids but that didn't make his job any better.

'Let's see... we have Quentin who is an issue. Laura might be a bit of a problem kid in their eyes. Magneto also sent a few kids over from Genosha that they may not trust. Ugh. My job is never done.'

Jack kept thinking about which students were going to be his for the rest of the day. Even when he was supposed to be teaching his ethics class, he just put on Shrek as he tried to put together which students would join his squad.

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Author's Note: Pick a squad name and members.