Starchild

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters

—Why are you so nervous? —

I frown at Victoire. —I'm not. —she points at my leg, which is quickly jumping, so I do my best to stop it. —I'm just excited, nothing too bad. —

—Oh, why? —

Wong finishes his plate, and stands up. I whisper, —It's a long story. —

—Are you finished? —Wong asks, and I nod, —Great, let's get going. It should be open by now, the earlier we're there, the better. —

Strange tilts his head, —Where are you going? —

—Grocery shopping. —

Before they can question further, we open a portal to the street right in front of the school.

Past the rocky walls with a sign welcoming any visitors, and the big gates open to the public, a huge building can be found surrounded by paths, nature, and people rushing to their classes. Even this early in the morning they seem eager, walking in small groups of friends and laughing at whatever they might be saying.

It's not what you would expect a school to look like. —It looks like a castle. —

—It looks good. —Wong agrees, and he gives me a pat on the back, —I will be leaving now, I actually have to do groceries. Xavier will call me when you finish. —without further ado, he opens a portal for himself, and leaves.

I don't hesitate to start heading to the entrance. It's a decently long walk, as the path is meant to be crossed with a car, ending in a small roundabout with a fountain in the middle.

Stopping in front of it, I notice many coins underwater. Do they pay the fountain?

Some noise in the sky catches my attention, and, covering my eyes from the sun, I look up. Angel wings retract as Warren's feet softly land on the building's ceiling. He appears to frown at me, and I simply wave, smiling. His hand waves back momentarily. I watch as he opens the window of one of the towers and climbs into it, closing it.

—Star! —

A voice shouts from my left and I turn my head, just in time to see Maximoff appear right in front of me. The gust of wind that follows him almost knocks me to the ground.

He grins, —Xavier said you were coming, are you joining the school? —

—Maybe. —I shrug, and I point at the building, —I didn't know it would be this beautiful. —

Peter turns his whole body to look at it, and he nods. —It was uglier before, we had to rebuild it. Last one exploded. —oh? That sounds fun. Seemingly remembering something, he bites a laugh back. —Welcome to Xavier's, baby. —he begins walking to the main doors, gesturing at me to follow him, —Come on, I can show you around! —

The doors get somehow bigger as we get closer. They're carved, and surrounded by stained glass. Peter quickly steps up and grabs the copper doorknob, opening the entrance and doing an exaggerated reverence, inviting me inside.

I scoff, —That's unnecessary. —

—It's just how I welcome everyone. —he shrugs.

Now inside, many kids run around, avoiding bumping into the older teens. The halls seem infinite from here, filled with the so-called mutants, all visibly different from each other. Some fly, some appear to be teleporting, and many have features I have not seen in other humans, like the ones in New York's streets.

A boy loudly greets Peter, getting his hair messed up as a reply. He giggles and runs away.

Peter points around, —This is, uh, the lobby, of course. —he looks at something behind me, and smiles, —Oh, hi boss. —