Location: The Xavier Institute - Westchester, New YorkNew Mutants #1.02
She flitted through the corridors like a leaf caught in the wind. Her steps were light as she danced between student and faculty, her long ponytail trailing behind. Soft, whimsical tones heralded her path as the young girl hummed merrily.
Today was the day. Her day.
Kitty Pryde had long awaited this moment, ever since she was twelve and initially brought into the world of mutants, Professor Xavier, and his X-Men. She had spent the last three years as a student of the Xavier Institute, the first of the new generation, training for what she knew would eventually come. She had hoped it would have been sooner, truth be told, but the young mutant girl knew the reward for her patience would be well worth the wait.
Kitty had first met the X-Men a few years ago not long after she had discovered her mutant nature. She had made the mistake of trusting a classmate with her secret and in return had been outed on social media. It had been quite the scandal for their town and the young girl had even made the local paper, not that she had had much say in the matter. Kitty's parents raised Hell over it and various threats of lawsuits had been made over the course of several weeks before a quiet settlement came to be.
Still, the damage had been done, and the Pryde family knew there would be no escaping the attention. It all had come to a head a couple of months later when a handful of Neo-Nazi wannabes, fresh off the extremist Twitter bus, tracked her down outside of her synagogue one day and attempted to kidnap the mutant youth. An attempt that was only thwarted by the timely intervention of the X-Men.
It was the defining moment in Kitty's life, the moment that changed her young path forever. It was then and there that Kitty became determined to do for others as the X-Men had done for her; as a member of the mutant super-group herself. She had convinced her parents to let her attend Xavier's school and had spent every day since then training in anticipation for the moment when she would get her chance to join their ranks.
Today was that day. Kitty knew it.
She slipped into the school's massive auditorium and paused for a moment to take in the sight. Over one hundred mutant teens and pre-teens sat in the space, many nervously bouncing in their seats as they awaited the day's special announcement. Three years ago, Kitty had been the only student at the recently expanded and renamed Xavier Institute, but she was quickly joined by a handful of others over the months. That number had only grown exponentially since then, with the student body more than doubling over the Summer season before this new semester began.
The significant increase in students had been paired with the news that there would be changes to the upcoming semester, with a special announcement to be made by co-headmaster Erik Lehnsherr. This by itself was exciting enough for most of the students as Erik, the man known as the Master of Magnetism, was viewed as a hero by many in the mutant community for his unyielding stance on mutant rights.
Kitty had a better reason to be excited by the news, however. She had been conducting some late-night stealth training the previous week - or, as the X-Man Logan had once called it, 'snooping' - when she had overheard Professor Xavier, Erik, and most of the senior X-Men discussing new candidates for the team. Specifically, Kitty had heard Erik argue in favor of allowing some of the older, more experienced students to join as provisionary members of the X-Men.
It was a dream come true.
Naturally, as the student who had been at the school the longest, and who had undergone extensive training in her abilities since she was twelve, Kitty would be a shoo-in for graduating to the X-Men. She had spent every waking moment since overhearing the plan theorizing who else would get the promotion and had what she believed to be an ideal candidate roster.
There was Illyana Rasputina who was barely a year younger than Kitty and one of her closest friends at the institute. While Illyana had only been attending the school for about two years, her older brother, Piotr, had been a full-fledged member of the X-Men for twice as long. It only seemed logical that the younger sibling would have a place on the team. Then, there were Amara Aquilla and Paige Guthrie, both of whom had been at the school almost as long as Kitty; each of the teenaged girls possessed extraordinary control over their abilities and would be amazing additions.
Kitty wore a massive grin as she excitedly skipped over to an empty chair. Yes, today, she knew, was going to be a great day and the first of many as an X-Man.
It didn't take much longer for any remaining stragglers to find their way into the auditorium and the assembly to finally begin. A hush settled across the student body as a tall, well-dressed man with hair silvered from age stepped across the large stage before them. Approaching a standing microphone, the man cleared his throat softly, letting his piercing gaze sweep across the gathered, expectant youths.
"Good morning, students," Erik Lehnsherr began. His voice was smooth and it felt like to those present that every word was filled with authority.
Kitty's focus faded in and out, only catching every other sentence as she began to fantasize for what must have been the dozenth time that morning about what it would be like once she was promoted. The mutant teen had even picked out a codename already.
"... And today marks what will be a new dawn for the Xavier Institute as..."
She imagined herself clad in the yellow-and-black side-by-side with the likes of Wolverine, Cyclops, and Storm.
"... Will be a year-long endeavor..."
The Blackbird, the team's legendary jet, pierced through the clouds with Kitty at the helm. In her mind, she was in a dogfight against would-be alien conquerors.
"... Monitored by experienced mentors who will guide each of you..."
She was shaking hands with President Ellis now, having just saved his life from an attempted assassination.
"... Will be assigned to small teams of five and..."
Piotr, Colossus as he went by on the X-Men, was smiling at her as he approached. They were equals now, both X-Men, both mature. He embraced her into his older, muscled form.
"... Katherine Pryde..."
Kitty snapped out of her reverie and sat upright, attentive now that her name had been called.
This was it. This was her moment.
"... Kate Power..."
Wait.
Kitty's brow furrowed. Katie? She was just a kid. Barely a teenager. She had only just started attending the school the year before and wasn't even an actual mutant. Why would she be graduating to junior X-Men status? It was true, Kitty supposed, that the younger girl had been part of a child superteam several years ago. Maybe Xavier and Erik thought her experience would be useful, but—
Erik continued on, listing another two names. "Robert Drake, Samuel Paré..."
No. No way. Sammy was just as young as Katie but had absolutely none of the experience or skill. And Bobby Drake? Bobby was a clown. A frustrating boy who spent more time sleeping or pulling pranks than he did training or studying.
When the last name was called, Kitty wanted to scream.
"... and, hm," Erik paused for the briefest of moments, considering something unknown to the students before continuing. "Cherub."
The internal screaming intensified.
"The five of you will be a team under the guidance of Danielle Moonstar. She will evaluate your progress throughout the year..."
Erik kept on speaking, explaining in detail how, exactly, the semester would work moving forward. Kitty barely heard a word of it, however. Her mind was racing and her body felt like it was on fire.
How could this be? No promotion. No X-Men. Instead, she was assigned to a team of children and jokesters and whatever it was Cherub might be.
This was not what was supposed to happen. The universe was playing a cruel prank on her. It wasn't fair. The headmasters couldn't honestly be doing this to her. Could they?
Kitty Pryde deflated in her seat. Her body sank lower and lower, a thousand emotions and thoughts swirling within her, until the young mutant was gone and out of sight.
This was decidedly not her day.
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