I'm Back

-7 AM, X-Mansion's Cafeteria.-

The students were having breakfast at this time of the day. Their morning palettes usually contained a bunch of salads, milk, and sunny-side fried eggs on top of toast. To keep their stomach entertained, the menu would be swapped or changed every week or sometimes on a certain day.

An uptight young man, who could be regarded as your run-of-the-mill jock if he was in a normal school, took a seat between his friends. These friends of his were varying in age, some were around his age while the others were much younger, like Kitty Pryde, who was sitting right in front of him.

"That boy, Edward, hasn't seen him lately. Did he run away?" asked the young man as he put down his food tray on the table. A thick Russian accent could be heard in his voice.

The others were also curious. Edward might be cold and hate to mingle with others, but he would appear at least once a day at a random spot, like a squirrel going here and about. Once, in the middle of the night, a boy who was taking a leak on a bush was scared shitless when he suddenly appeared out of thin air next to him and started reprimanding him. He swore he could have drawn a Monalisa with his pee that night because of how shocked and scared he was.

While the other was discussing Edward's notoriety, the young man noticed that Kitty would occasionally glance over her shoulder. She would hear some whispers here and there, unintentionally making eye contact with other students, and every time she did she would turn around evading them.

In her previous school, she was bullied and called a freak because of her mutant ability. He was hurt, both mentally and physically. Even her best friend turned her back on her when she found out what Kitty was. It turned into trauma and she always thought everyone was going to do something to her.

"Are you okay?" asked the concerned young man, tapping the table in front of her to gain her attention.

"I'm fine, Peter. Thanks for asking," replied Kitty with a forced smile.

Peter, or rather Peter Nikolayevich Rasputin was the name of the muscled young man. He was a rather stiff guy, but caring nonetheless. He was easy to approach and had a good heart. For weak-hearted kids like Kitty, he was someone they could depend on. He was the pillar of this little group.

"Here, you need to eat a lot," said Peter while giving Kitty some of his fried potatoes, causing the latter to helplessly smile.

As the conversation goes on, all eyes turned to Kitty as they remembered that she attended the same class as Edward.

"Don't look at me. It hasn't even been a week yet that I'm here," replied Kitty while knitting her eyebrows.

'Oh... right.'

The others nodded along as they recalled that Kitty just arrived in this place not too long ago. She didn't even know a thing or two about this place. Everything that she knew about Edward was only the first time they met. He was the one that picked her up along with a dark-skinned lady with white hair.

She remembered when her parents welcomed the guest with open arms to take their sick daughter away. The white-haired lady was pretty and kind, she was always beaming with smiles. The pretty lady kept listening to the hardship her parents went through after her awakening, the sore eyes of the neighbor and their family. And Edward was...

"What a shitload of crap you spouting about? You, bastards, don't deserve to raise another kid. You better shut the fuck up or I'll blow each of your sku—"

The pretty lady was forced to stop him from saying another word by holding his mouth with one of her hands, and the other was holding his hand from reaching into his long black coat. Although he was being held by the lady, it didn't make him quiet.

"Mmf mmffm m mf fmmm fmm mmmfffmmmmm!!"

(I'll dig a grave and name you bastard 1 and bastard 2, 'cause you ain't deserve to be named!!)

It was the first time.

"Hicc... Hicc... mmm..." All eyes turned on Kitty, as they saw her sobbing. I couldn't stop, even when I was there, in the backseat of the car. My parents didn't see us taking off.

It was the first time, that someone was mad... not at her, but for her. Kitty never wanted this kind of power, nor she ever wanted to be taken away from her father and mother. They say it's a curse, others say it's a gift. All she can say is...

"Fuck that. I want ice cream," said Edward complaining from the front seat. He wasn't driving of course. The pretty lady stopped smiling and started reprimanding Edward. Her hand moved first, pinching his cheek so hard it turned red.

"We should do something about that mouth." said the lady.

"Ftoph ith! Ofhaay... ofhaayy I fet ith."

(Stop it! Okay... Okay, I get it.)

He turned around and asked her, "Yo, wanna ice cream? I like Green tea flavor, you?"

Yes. All she wanted was someone to look at her without feeling repulsive of what she is. That was the dream of many.

Although her first impression of him was the cold aura around him. It wasn't repulsing, instead, she felt assured, knowing there was still someone out there who wouldn't judge her. Especially, those eyes.Yes, those dark brown eyes. When she saw it, she felt like he could see and listen to her crying, heart. Without knowing, she realized she started thinking about the mystery surrounding him. She looked around, making sure that no one noticed her rosy cheek.

As the little group of teenagers has nothing on Edward anymore, their interest soon died down. They started eating while talking about other things, like some anonymous prank, gossip, a lamentation over test results, and the upcoming Dance Ball.

A moment later, when Kitty reached for her cup of water, she noticed that the surface of the water was rippling. The thought that someone was jerking the table came to her mind, but when she eyed the others, they were busy munching their food while talking about a certain girl named Sherry.

She shook her head, thinking it was just her imagination, and tried to ignore the matter altogether. But the ripples started to intensify when she reached for the water for the second time. And it didn't take long for the whole building to vibrate and started shaking as well. It felt as if the rooftops would split at any moment now, revealing the bright blue sky.

"There's something outside!" Someone yelled while pointing outside the window.

Most of the students, including Kitty, turned and some even rushed toward the windows and stared outside. They spotted a small black object moving at incredible speed, plunging toward them.

"It's a bird!"

"It's a plane!"

"It's... oh, it really is a plane."

Kitty saw the black-colored aircraft flying low before it disappeared on top of the ceiling. It seemed to be landing at their school. He wondered who was in it, and what was happening in this supposedly normal-looking school.

'What is this place?'

===°°°===

"How long has it been?" asked Professor Xavier while he brewed tea for the guest.

"Two days," answered Nick Fury as he watched over view beyond the window. The city of New York was standing high not far from the mansion. "We haven't got any information from or about him not his whereabouts. It was like he vanished."

"Vanished? Like usual or...?" Xavier turned his wheelchair to face the man in disbelief, but the serious expression on Nick Fury's face was enough as an answer.

The room was silent. Xavier never wanted to put the kid in this type of work. The world of the adult was harsh and brutal. But Edward, offered himself to be put in such a world. It was like he was in a hurry or something. He didn't know what Edward was thinking. He couldn't read his mind as he did others.

Countless times he asked Edward to stop, and countless times he met with rejection and sometimes scorn.

"How?" asked Xavier. He could've gotten all information about Edward by reading Nick's mind, but he trusts Nick enough to know that he wouldn't lie even a little bit about Edward.

"He was off on a mission at a certain facility in the Mojave Desert. It was in a bad condition because the higher-ups wanted clean records. But we still have contact with him, it was right after that the problem rise up. An unidentified party was spotted coming in and out by another agent.

"You sure it was a trustful source?"

"There's a female cop with him and he has my absolute trust. If you see him, you'll know," said Nick, relaxing his shoulder.

Xavier then saw him through Nick's mind and couldn't help but sigh at the familiar face.

"We're such pathetic adults, aren't we? Relying on an underaged boy. My mother would beat the shit out of me if he knew what I was doing." Said Nick, sitting on the sofa, his head was leaning back and he kept looking up at the ceiling.

Xavier forced a smile. He invited him to his school so that the kid could be raised like some normal kid he should be, but nothing seemed to be as he wanted it to be.

Then he recalled something. Something that made all his effort all this time worth a shot, "I saw him smiling before he went away. A genuine smile."

As if hearing about a disaster coming their way Nick's eyes almost popped out of his pocket. "Are you sure it was him and not some green-skinned aliens impersonating him?!"

"What are you talking about?" replied Xavier, thinking that Nick was just saying random things out of shock.

"Anyways, after I sent him to this countryside town called Mineral Town. He was different. He came back softer." continued Xavier.

"Huh? Ha... Haha..." Nick started laughing. Edward, soft? It was like calling a jetplane slow. The foul-mouthed brat was anything but soft.

"Ahem... Anyways, what are your thought on my proposition?"

"What proposition? The one about trading the X-Men with Edward in the Avenger program? The Avenger program isn't soccer, you can't just trade players all you wanted. And also, the Avenger program is highly classified. We shouldn't talk about the Avenger program lightly.

'You're the one that mention it multiple times, though,' thought Xavier.

"Anyways, even if I accepted it. Far too many eyes have seen what the boy could achieve at his age. By the time he reached his prime, you could imagine how far he'll get."

"So, you're saying that program was made to chain him?"

"That's not what I want it to be." denied Nick, but he couldn't back up his words, so it felt like an empty promise.

And again, the room was silent for a second time.

It was then that Xavier heard the voices of his students in his head. The hundreds of voices nearby seemed to be amazed by something and the building shooked a little bit. Nick Fury also noticed it, but he didn't worry too much about it. But, he noticed a wide smile formed on Xavier's face and he couldn't help but wonder.

"He's back," announced Xavier.

===°°°===

"What?" I asked, knitting my eyebrows.

In front of me was Scott with both hands on his waist. Without a word, he pointed at Blackbird, the jet, and the open rooftop. I knew what he meant.

"It's fine. Nobody noticed." I said, brushing off the fuming Scott. "I'm sure by tomorrow, everyone would forget and never talk about it again."

They didn't and they did.

"So, I'll just go to my dorm and go to sleep. Okay? It's jetlag, you know what I mean?" I said walking toward the exit like nothing ever happened. But, Scott grabbed the collar of my coat, halting my escape and raising me in the air.

'Damn it. I should've put on some weight.'

He turned me toward my newly made companion, in this case, the little girl, Eve, and the big fluffy chicken.

"Ahh... I see. You've met Eve and uhh... what's the bird's name again?"

"Pon!" answered Eve with both hands in the air.

"Kweh!" imitated Pon at the same time.

Scott was baffled and couldn't say anything. He gave up on comprehending everything and just dropped me on the ground.

It was then Scott seemed to be hearing something inside his head.

I closed my eyes and turned my sonar sense on. I saw Professor Xavier and eye patch at the end of the building.

"Oh well, made my work easier."

I turned toward Eve and the chicken, "stay close, soldier. We're off to enemy grounds, let's go."

"Sir, yes sir," replied Eve cutely, trying to salute, but he used the opposite hand.

"Kweh kweh kweh," imitated the chicken.

We left Scott alone at the hangar, he seemed to be getting another headache thinking about the future.

As we walked past the Cafeteria, Eve noticed the beautiful garden of the X-Mansion. By this time, the class just started and the garden was empty. There was a lot to be seen at this place and the garden seemed to leave quite an impression on her.

"Do you wanna play?" I asked Eve.

Her eyes suddenly sparkled in excitement. She nodded and pulled my hand, but I had to disappoint her.

"I'm sorry Eve. But you have to play with Pon this time. I have a guest waiting upstairs." I said, pointing above us.

Her face crumpled in disappointment, but it was very cute to see, so I just smiled and rubbed her head.

"I'll play with you later as much as you want okay? So the three of you have to play without me."

"Three?" asked Eve, tilting her head.

"Kweh?" imitated the chicken.

I opened my hand that was rubbing her hand, revealing the Limbo butterfly that have been with her all this time.

"Mr. Butterfly!" yelled Eve in excitement.

The three ran toward the garden and started playing hide and seek as I moved toward the stairs. The hall was empty and calm. Voices were reverberating through the walls. It felt alive. It felt like it had been a long time ago since I ever felt this way. It wasn't a bad feeling.

And just like that, with a lighter step, I arrived in front of the door. Behind it was Nick Fury and Professor Xavier waiting.

Without holding back, I opened the double door with both hands.

"I'm back, Baby!!"