RACE || CURRENTLY UPDATING

1.5

Westchester, 1997
     EVERYONE WAS OUTSIDE waiting playing basketball again, the summer sun blazing down on the mutants.

     Jean blew the whistle loudly, silencing everyone. "Remember, no powers." She ordered, dressed in a referee outfit for the aesthetic of it.

     "What about Gambit's other powers?" The Cajun asked flirtatiously, removing his shirt. Rogue lightly hit his stomach, but the whole enhanced-strength-due-to-absorbing-other-people's-strength thing meant it was harsher than intended... probably. "Ow." He commented, but he smiled at the lady. Oh, how he was in love.

     Rogue continued walking and stood beside Storm. Behind the two of them was Anya and Jubilee, to their left was Wolverine. Bishop, Morph and Beast stood to the left of Storm, Gambit walking to take his place next to Rogue as Scott stood beside his wife Jean.

     "The responsibility to choose teams falls to team leader." Ororo, who was holding the basketball, tossed it to Scott, who caught it with ease.

     "I know I've been hardheaded lately. It's just..." Scott sighed, looking down at the basketball in his hands. "I didn't know how the X-Men could go on without the Professor." He spoke, taking care with his words. "Thought it was on me." Scott looked up. "But his dream doesn't need me. It has all of you." He turned to his wife. "And with that said, Jean and I have an announcement." Anya could see the hope in Jean's eyes, and could feel the relief in Scott's mind.

     That's the funny thing about Anya's sort-of telepathy. It was nothing like her father's, or even Jean's, but she could feel louder thoughts, due to her possessive powers. Ones that would gnaw at your mind for hours. And with that, came raw emotion. She could feel what they felt.

     "You're bailing on us to go raise your little one someplace nice and normal." Logan spoke gruffly, crossing his arms. Jubilee lifted her sunglasses and gave Logan a look. Anya couldn't quite decode it.

     "Logan, we're not bailing." Jean spoke firmly, looking at Logan with a harsh glare.

     "Uh, Cyclops and Jean were two of the first X-Men. If they're gone, who the heck is going to lead the team?" Jubilee asked, her sunglasses now propped on her head.

     Before anyone could answer, a ringing went off in the mansion. "Intruder alert."

    "Sensors show the intruder has breached the Professor's old office." Beast announced, before Anya quickly began to run to the office, followed by the rest of the X-Men.

     She forced the doors open to find the intruder. The X-Men all were ready to attack, Anya included. She had her fists balled, standing in her astral form with her mind ready to possess another's if needed.

     "Charles Xavier was the finest man I knew. Despite our differences, he never ceased to have faith in our friendship, nor forgive my many failings." The intruder kept his back to the X-Men, flipping the pages to a book. "Perhaps that is why the old fool has done this." He stated, and Anya wanted to scream out.

     "Old fool?! All he ever did for you was forgive you and trust you! Don't you dare come in here and insult him you bastard!" But Anya didn't scream or shout, she just forced herself to not ball up in a corner and cry, keeping a defensive position.

     "Magneto, what are you doing in our home?" Cyclops demanded, keeping his fingertips near his visor.

     The grey-haired Magneto turned around, "Your home? I beg to differ, Cyclops." He had a slight smirk on his mouth as he used his mutation to pass Scott a book.