New Mutant

It's been a nice, normal day for the small town of Wyndy Hill in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and... a high powered jet is landing?!

The jet in question belonged to the X-Men, who were running in response to the detection of a new mutant. As usual, the new mutant was scared for his life and had been shunned by everyone who knew what he could do.

A picture popped up on the screen of the X-jet of the new mutant. He was tall, with just a hint of developing muscle. He had close cropped brown hair, glasses, and dark green eyes. From the cockpit, Jean sighed. 'Another teenage boy.' She thought to herself. 'Why is it always teenage boys?'

~Kitty!~ she sent out to one of the three mutants who had accompanied her. ~Another boy. Your age. You've got dibs, I beleive?~

The girl she was calling too jumped up. This girl, barely eighteen, had shoulder-length brown hair, a small scattering of freckles, and brown eyes. "Yep!" she called. "I'll go get em!"

Without another word, Kitty ran out through the wall of the X-Jet, straight towards the park bench the new mutant was sitting on. It was a mark of how deeply troubled the boy was when he didn't even notice the girl in the skintight spandex running directly towards him as he stared into the distance. "Hey!" Kitty called as she sat down next to him. "How're you doing?"

The boy jumped and shook his head, as if awaking from a dream. "Holy shit!" he yelled. "When'd you get here?"

"About a minute ago. Are you alright?"

"You must not be from around here." The boy said with a small shake of his head. "No, I'm not alright."

"What happened?" Kitty asked, a concerned look on her face.

"I was just in school. Senior." he hurriedly added. "The teacher touched my shoulder, and there was some kind of weird tingle. Next thing I know, she?s trying to rip my clothes off!"

The two sat in silence for a moment, with Kitty digesting what she?d just heard. "She hot?"

"Huh?"

"Just asking."

"No. She's around Seventy. All bones and talons."

Kitty suppressed a shudder. "I see your problem. But that can't be the only reason you?re out here by yourself."

"Well, after that, I ran like hell. Ran straight into one of the cheerleaders. The same thing happened again, but she actually got my pants off! Then a whole bunch of stuff happened, including her boyfriend trying to kill me and the principal saying I've been a naughty boy and, well, here I am."

There was another brief pause before Kitty asked "Do you know what your problem is?"

"Everyone in the world?s gone crazy?"

"No. You're like us. A mutant. Follow me, and we'll tell you all about it."

The boy shrugged and stood. Kitty stuck out her hand. "Kitty Pryde."

"Ben Goldenry." he responded, before eying her hand uncertainly.

"Come on!" she said in a playful tone. "I?m wearing gloves. Your power can?t get through them, can it?"

Ben shrugged, and took her hand.