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On the very night the government officially announced the formation of the Mutant Affairs Bureau, a quiet parade of vehicles began to gather outside the enormous crater that had once been the site of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
These cars came from all directionsâsome battered, some luxuriousâbut they all had one thing in common: not a single one had its headlights on.
The vehicles crept forward cautiously, almost reverently, as if fearful of being noticed.
Once parked, none of the doors opened.
No one emerged.
The cars simply sat there, engines cut, their occupants watching the giant pit in complete silenceâlike ghosts waiting in the shadows. If even the slightest threat emerged, they would vanish just as quickly.
This strange spectacle didn't escape the sharp eyes of S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Report to the mothership immediately! Xavier Manor has activity!" Agent Phil Coulson, stationed in the nearby surveillance outpost, sat up straight. His fingers danced over the console as the number of vehicles on screen began to grow.
His eyes widened. "Great crab cake special⊠all these Mutants showed up over one enrollment announcement?!"
The crowd around the crater began to thicken. The cars lined up in a silent semi-circle, creeping closer, like moths drawn to a flame. More vehicles arrived from every direction. The numbers surgedâdozens turned to hundreds.
Possibly more.
Coulson leaned back and exhaled slowly. "These aren't just local Mutants from Twist City anymoreâŠ"
It dawned on him.
Ever since news broke of Xavier's School reopening, Mutants across the globe had been stirred. Many of them had been watching from the shadows, observing, hesitatingâwaiting for confirmation that this was real.
That confirmation had arrived.
The White House had publicly announced the Mutant Affairs Bureau and recognized the X-Men as an official force.
That was the sign everyone had been waiting for.
In fact, Coulson recalled, they'd initially considered locking down the land surrounding the crater. But Nick Fury had forbidden it.
Fury had a better idea.
He knew that once Mutants began arriving, someone from Xavier's would have to make an appearance. Someone would show up.
He even deployed an agent disguised as a young Mutant to provoke a reaction.
It failed spectacularly.
Whoever was orchestrating this new Xavier's School clearly had no intention of playing by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s rules.
It was as if the published school address had been nothing more than bait, a way to stir curiosity in Mutants across the worldâwhile ignoring the governments entirely.
Coulson hadn't understood it at the time.
But nowâŠ
"Xavier's School has been planning this all along," he murmured.
"The early announcement was a countdown. It gave Mutants time to decide. Then the Bureau's creation acted as the catalyst. Now they're all here."
He was stunned.
This wasn't a response.
It was a masterstroke.
Everything had been planned.
Every piece moved with surgical precision.
The only question now⊠was how many Mutants were coming?
As time passed, more and more dots appeared on the surveillance map.
The vehicles stayed locked.
No one got out.
No one cracked a window.
They all waitedâcautiously, quietly, desperately.
Coulson knew the stakes. If nothing happened tonight, it would be a disaster. Xavier's School's credibility would vanish. These hopeful Mutants would leave⊠and they'd never return.
So Xavier's School had to make a move.
He tapped his comm. "Director, where are you?!"
"Five minutes," Nick Fury responded without hesitation.
Coulson checked his watch.
Midnight.
The sky was dark, the wind biting.
The camera feed showed no movement.
Not a single X-Men had appeared.
Thenâ
A roaring whine filled the air as Nick Fury's Quinjet thundered across the sky and hovered over the crater.
And right at that momentâ
BOOM!
A blinding crimson beam shot out from the bottom of the crater. The searing light pierced the heavens, illuminating the area like it was broad daylight.
Coulson jumped. "Crabte⊠They were waiting for him!"
In that instant, all hell broke loose.
"Agents! Move in! Secure the scene, but hold your fire unless I give the order!"
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents swarmed out from underground bunkers, surrounding the area with military precision. Drones lifted into the air. Vehicles revved to life.
The night exploded into activity.
Inside their cars, many Mutants panicked.
Some started their engines.
Others reached for their bags.
The instinct to runâdeeply ingrained after years of persecutionâwas overwhelming.
But thenâŠ
A voice echoed through the air. It didn't come from any speaker.
It came into their minds.
"Don't be afraid. No one can hurt you here."
It was warm. Calming. Powerful.
The fear began to dissipate.
Then they saw it.
The beam of red light began to fragment, breaking into dozensâthen hundredsâof basketball-sized fireballs. These glowing spheres floated gracefully across the sky, descending toward the edges of the pit.
Then, with a thunderous whoosh, they plunged into the crater.
A surge of flames roared to life from the depthsâtransforming the dark hole into a blazing cauldron of light and heat. It looked like a dormant volcano suddenly waking.
And in that fiery brillianceâŠ
He appeared.
Joseph.
Hovering above the inferno like a demigod descending from the heavens.
"Welcome, new students."
His voice was calm and clear. His body shimmered, and three more identical copies of himself split off and floated in four directions around the crater.
"I am Joseph," he said, "the honorary headmaster of the new Xavier's School. And your senior."
"I've been waiting for you."
The doors opened.
One after another.
Mutants stepped outâmen and women, young and old, families and individuals. Some were children held tightly by worried parents. Others were grizzled survivors of lives spent hiding in alleyways and shelters.
They all moved toward the edge of the pit, drawn like pilgrims.
Joseph continued.
"I know this wasn't an easy decision."
"I know some of you traveled hundreds of miles. That coming here, today, took more courage than anything you've ever done. You've lived in the shadows for so long⊠hiding who you are, afraid of what exposure might bring."
"Arrest. Violence. Hatred. Exploitation."
"Those days⊠are over."
He looked each of them in the eye, pausing at intervals to let the words settle.
"From today onward, as students of this academyâŠ"
"You will live in the sunlight."
"You will study what you wish. Master your abilities. Chase your dreams."
"And someday⊠you will walk proudly into the worldânot as monsters, not as threats, but as evolution."
"You are the future."
A long silence followed.
No one moved.
ThenâŠ
A small voice broke the stillness.
"Mom⊠can I be like him?"
A young boy, no more than eight years old, clutched his mother's coat. His eyes were wide with wonder.
His parentsâordinary humansâlooked at each other, and tears streamed down their faces.
"Yes, Carl. You can be anything you want to be."
That moment rippled across the gathering.
The atmosphere shifted.
Tears fell.
Smiles bloomed.
Among the crowd, an adult Mutant raised a hand. "I'm almost thirty⊠Is it too late for me to enroll?"
Joseph smiled gently. "You can speak with your true self, sir."
The man blinked.
Moments later, the same man stepped out of multiple nearby carsâsix duplicates in total.
They walked together, merged into one form.
"Name's James Madrox," he said, impressed. "You saw through me instantly."
"I'd be honored to join."
"You're more than welcome."
In another direction, a young manâtall, handsome, nervousâstepped forward.
"Mr. Joseph, IâŠ"
Joseph's doppelgÀnger smiled at him. "Warren Worthington. Son of the CEO of Worthington Labs."
The young man stiffened.
"I know you worry. Your family's company has worked closely with the government. You fear being rejected."
He nodded in shame.
Joseph's voice didn't waver. "But this school is for all kind-hearted Mutants. You are welcome. If at any time you feel uncomfortable, you are free to leave."
The boy's expression broke into awe. He spread his wingsâwhite, majestic, angelicâand the crowd gasped.
To the south, a red-haired girl stepped forward. "My name's Clarice Ferguson. Before I commit⊠I need to know one thing."
She pointed at the crater.
"Where's the actual school? So far, we've seen nothing but a hole. This could still be a scam."
Her doubt struck a nerve in the crowd.
Someone else shouted, "We're surrounded!"
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had encircled them. Drones hovered above. The Quinjet loomed behind.
The speaker, a green-haired girl, sneered. "Are you really gonna keep feeding us stories?"
Joseph simply laughed.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
He turned to the agents.
"They're not here to arrest you. They're here⊠as guests."
Nick Fury had just stepped into the clearing when he heard those words.
His face fell.
Joseph's opening ceremony had already begunâand S.H.I.E.L.D. was no longer in control.
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