FicWad

X-men: Evolution of the Heart
Chapter 10: Choosing Sides

AN: The ages are as follows: Scott and Jean are both 18 years old in this part and Kitty is 15 and Kurt is 16 and Evan is 14 and Rogue is 17.

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With his powerful nose, Logan sniffed the air for traces of the young girl he had encountered earlier known as Rogue. He suspected that there was more to her than meets the eye. She looked different on the outside, but she may be even more complex than that. It was now a race against time to find her and her friends before Magneto could.

His nose led him towards the docks through an area that was riddled with abandoned buildings. As he rode by he passed numerous shady characters that didn't look too friendly. Logan couldn't help but wonder if this is the way the girl had come. If it was, how could she have defended herself? He remembered how weak she looked when he saw her; she was just skin and bones and very pale. That only made Logan work faster towards finding her and her friends.

"I'm gettin' close," he told himself as he sniffed the air again. "I hope I'm not too late."

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Meanwhile, at a large clearing at the other end of the docks, six mysterious metallic orbs floated down from the sky. As they touched down gently on the ground, each one of them opened to reveal a presence within and they all stepped out.

The first to step out was a small, greasy-haired teenage boy with pale skin. He was known as Todd "Toad" Tolensky. The second was tall, dark-haired boy with a gray outfit and strange helmet. He went by the name Lance Alvers, but he also called himself "Avalanche." The third one was a huge, oversized boy with a mohawk hair-style who went by the name Freddy Dukes, but also called him self "Blob." The fourth was a tall, thin boy with white hair similar to Magneto's and wore a green and silver outfit. He was Pietro Maximoff, a.k.a "Quicksilver." The next one to step out was a girl with strange, goth-like clothing and short black hair. She was Pietro's twin sister Wanda Maximoff, but she also went by "The Scarlet Witch." Last but not least, Mystique stepped out and took a commanding presence before the five other young teens.

"Fan out...Magneto says there are six mutants here and Xaiver is after them," she commanded.

"Any idea what they look like?" asked Lance.

"No...But we must find them before Xavier does. So we all have to act fast," replied Mystique.

"Lady, fast is my middle name!" boasted Pietro as he ran off at super-human speeds.

The others soon followed as they began to search the docks for the six unsuspecting mutants.

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As Rogue walked in to the warehouse where she and the rest of her friends were staying, she couldn't help but have the feeling that she was being watched. However, she didn't think that much of it, for she had always had that feeling for as long as she had been on the streets. Over time she had grown used to it. Rogue made her way though the dark, dingy corridors towards the main area where she and the rest of the group slept. As she entered she met up with her friends. Kurt and Kitty were reading some books under a dim light, Evan was practicing skateboarding tricks on the other side of the room, Jean was going through some boxes, and Scott was strumming his guitar.

"Did you find anything?" asked Kurt as he looked up from his book.

"Yeah...I'm okay now," said Rogue as she took a seat near him and Kitty.

"That's good, vant a book or something?"

"No thanks, I'm fine," said Rogue as she rested against a large crate.

Kurt then went back to reading. Books were pretty much the only source of entertainment for the six teens, even for the blind Scott who often had Jean read to him because of his handicap. The building had luckily yielded some old books from unopened crates. Books had always helped them forget about the daily drudgery that was their lives and it was a welcomed escape. It had also kept their minds sharp so at least nobody could call them stupid...Well sometimes that didn't always stop those kind of remarks.

"Find anything Jean?" asked Scott as he stopped playing his guitar.

"Not much...Just some old magazines," replied Jean as she set the stack of magazines down beside her.

"Well, it's better than nothing," said Scott as he set his guitar aside.

Jean then took a seat near him and began looking through the outdated magazines. She also read some of the articles aloud to Scott and described some pictures as well. Even though he couldn't see them, Jean's description helped him picture it. It had been years since Scott had actually read anything, but with Jean's help he could still enjoy it.

For what seemed like an hour, the six teens just sat around in silence. With the exception of Evan's skateboard and Jean reading aloud to Scott, it was pretty calm. Suddenly, Scott heard something echo from the halls.

"What is it Scott?" asked Jean as she set her magazine to the side.

"I thought I just heard something...There! Did you hear it?"

The rest of the group tried to listen, but they knew Scott had vastly better hearing so there was only silence at first. But after a few seconds, they began to hear it too.

"What is it?" said Kitty as she listened to the sound.

"I don't know...But let's check it out," said Evan as he led the way.

Jean took Scott's hand and guided him along with the rest of the group. Slowly, the six teens made their way down the corridors where the sound had originated. They couldn't see anybody, but they did have a strange feeling that they were being watched. Anxiety grew as the group made their way towards the opposite hall near the entrance to the building. They still couldn't see anything, but they kept looking. Suddenly, Scott sensed a presence near. His head turned towards the side in to a dark area. He stopped and soon the rest of his friends turned in the direction he was facing. Then, a man walked out of the shadows and in to the light.

"Who's there!?" demanded Evan as his arms became lined with spikes.

"Whoa, easy there kid. I come in peace," said a gruff voice that Rogue immediately recognized.

"Logan?!" said Rogue in surprise as she saw the tall, burly looking man come in to view.

"Wait...You know this guy?" said Evan, still weary of this mysterious intruder.

Rogue slowly approached Logan.

"Yeah...He helped me earlier. He fought off this mean old man who was harassing me and helped me get some food," explained Rogue.

The rest of the group then seemed to calm down by this revelation. Logan breathed a sigh of relief as he realized he hadn't been too late in finding them. He also took notice in their appearance as well. He tried to hide his looks of shock and surprise at the sight of these six young teenagers that looked like starving famine victims from a third-world country. He had expected to find mutants, but he never expected to find something like this.

"Who are you?" asked Scott.

Logan took a deep breath, "The name's Logan. I'm here to help."

"Yeah, like we haven't heard that before," commented Evan who still didn't trust this intruder.

"What do ya mean?" asked Logan in response.

"Listen pal, we've encountered people like you before. They've always said things like 'we can help you' or 'come with us.' But it always comes back to bite us in the ass," explained Evan, referring to the numerous homeless shelters and social services that tried to help them but always ended up throwing them back out on the streets.

"Well aren't we a little pessimist," said Logan.

"Maybe so...But he is right," said Kitty who didn't like to remember such things.

Logan briefly contemplated their words. This was definitely going to be harder than he had imagined. As he looked back at the group before him he could sense their despair. He didn't know what had happened to them that would cause them to refuse help from anybody, but it must not have been very pleasant.

"Look, I don't expect you guys to trust me, but at least hear me out," said Logan. Nobody said anything in response, so Logan just continued. "I represent a school, The Xavier Institute For Gifted Youngsters."

"Gifted youngsters?" asked Rogue.

"Yeah gifted, but in more ways than one. You see the institute is a home, a haven for people born different; people with special abilities that not many others have. I'm guessin' you all may have some idea what I'm talking about."

This immediately intrigued the young group, for they knew all about special abilities. They all had struggled with them for years, trying to understand what they were and why they had them. Now, Logan had their full attention.

"So, this is a school for people like us?" asked Kurt.

"Bingo kid," replied Logan.

The six mutant teens struggled to process some of this information. It was all such a shock, for they had never expected this much from a world that had treated them so harshly.

"So, you're basically a recruiter?" said Scott.

"Yeah, you could say that, but I'm more of a teacher," replied Logan.

"And you want to recruit us?" continued Scott.

"That's why I followed you here bub," said Logan.

A strange feeling overcame the group upon hearing Logan's words. It was like a small glimmer of hope that appeared out of nowhere. It was just so unexpected; it had rendered them all speechless.

"Look, I don't expect you all to just up and join. I think you should at least think about it, but in the meantime why don't you come with me and see the place for yourself?" asked Logan.

The rest of the group was still contemplating on what to do. Logan hoped they would all jump at the chance to live somewhere else other than a crappy run-down warehouse on the docks, but these were truly broken kids. The world had taken everything away from them and putting their trust in a complete stranger who promised them a home was a bit much for them.

"But...Why us? What makes you think we can fit in at a school like that with others?" asked Rogue.

"First of all, you'll all be the first ones there. Second, I think you all will fit in just fine there. From what I've seen so far with the bank robbery, I think you'll fit in just fine with the ideals of the institute. Besides, haven't you guys ever wanted somewhere to belong?"

The six teens were taken aback. It was like a godsend or something, almost too good to be true. They all looked around at each other, contemplating their response.

Suddenly, before they could speak, a mysterious rumbling began to shake the ground beneath them. The shaking got worse and they could feel the rickety old building strain under the pressure.

Logan sniffed the air and immediately grunted. There were six other unannounced guests, but he recognized one of them...Mystique.

"COME ON! We have to get out of here," bellowed Logan.

Unwilling to stick around the rest of the group made a mad dash towards the exit. But debris started to block their way as they got closer. Kitty helped phase everybody through them and Kurt helped the others port out. As soon as they stepped out in to the late morning sun, they were immediately greeted by seven ominous figures. Logan immediately drew his claws in anticipation, much to the surprise of the six mutants behind him.

"Mystique...Why am I not surprised?" grunted Logan as he approached them.

"By now, you should know me well enough to expect the unexpected Wolverine," replied Mystique as she shot Logan a death glare.

The Brotherhood of Mutants stepped forth towards their new opponents. They were slightly shocked at the sight of the six teenagers behind Logan. They definitely weren't what they had expected.

"Whoa, and you guys say I'm dirty," said Toad.

"This is going to be too easy," boasted Lance as he stepped forward with the rest of the Brotherhood.

"Hold it!" yelled Scott, "Who are you guys? What do you want?"

"Why...We just want to save you from badger boy there," said Mystique.

"Save us?" said Jean in a perplexed tone.

"You think what he's offering is a safe haven? Well I'm afraid you all are sadly mistaken. If you go with Xavier, I can assure you all that you won't last very long. I know what he believes in."

"You're cruisin' for a bruisin' Mystique!" bellowed Logan as he lunged forth at her, but suddenly he was stopped cold in his tracks.

The group saw the strange girl, Wanda, use some unseen force to stop Logan. Her eyes were glowing blue and soon Logan was engulfed in a strange haze and forced to the ground.

"There now, you see. Xavier lives in a fool's world. He believes that people like us can coexist peacefully with the rest of humanity. He doesn't realize that there's a war coming between humans and us. But I'm here to tell you all that I know that's a lie! And from looking at the rest of you, I can tell you know all too well what I'm talking about," said Mystique as she spoke to the six bewildered teens.

This was a strange situation for Scott, Jean, Kurt, Kitty, Evan, and Rogue. Logan had approached them peacefully and had helped them before they even knew they were different. Yet they couldn't deny some of the truth in what Mystique was saying. They did know all too well how the rest of the world had treated them and it had caused unparalleled suffering on their part. But there was just something about this blue-skinned woman that didn't seem sincere. The six teens were left at an impasse, for they truly didn't know whom to believe.

"So what's your allegiance? Xavier, or us...The Brotherhood of Mutants," said Mystique. "Who's side will you be on...When the war begins."

"Don't listen to her!" yelled Logan who was still under the influence of Wanda's hex bolts. "It's a trap!"

Scott Summers then stepped forth, hoping that the rest of his friends would follow his lead. At first they hesitated, but they followed their friend anyhow. To him, the mention of the word 'war' did it. He and the rest of his friends knew all too well what 'war' led to. In the minds of each teen, images of the heinous fighting that they had faced on the streets and in their old homes returned to haunt them. Scott remembered his violent foster home, Jean remembered her drunken father, Kurt remembered his Aunt Grendle, Kitty remembered her cruel father, Rogue remembered her abusive foster home, and Evan remembered his drug ridden parents. Upon realizing this, their choice became clear.

"So...Mystique, huh?" said Scott who seemed unafraid of the Brotherhood. "You want us to choose between war and peace? Some choice."

Then Scott proceeded to remove his blindfold and show this 'Brotherhood' his powers. He let forth a huge optic blast that sent Wanda flying and freed Wolverine in the process.

"You'll regret doing that kid!" yelled Mystique, "If you're not with us...You're against us! BROTHERHOOD ATTACK!"

Within moments of that order, the four other mutants charged the others while Mystique took on Wolverine. Despite being outnumbered, the Brotherhood did have a sizeable advantage over the famished, mal-nourished teens.

Toad was the first to attack. With his powerful legs he leaped forth at the skinny redhead, Jean Grey. He was within only a few feet of making contact before he found himself stopped in mid flight. Jean's powers had just gone on the defensive.

"What the?! AHHHHHHHHHH!" said Toad as he struggled to get free and was flung away screaming like a little girl.

Pietro had taken on Evan as he used his super-speed to run circles around the young teen. Soon, a cyclone was whipped up and Evan struggled to stay on his feet.

"You're out of your league Porcupine!" said Pietro as the cyclone grew more intense.

"Wanna bet..." said Evan as he lined his arms with spikes.

Then, through the wind, he launched several bony projectiles in to the ground in to the speed-demon's path. Unable to avoid them, Pietro tripped and was sent flying due to the momentum of his speed.

Meanwhile, Lance had approached the seemingly harmless Kitty Pryde in full confidence. Kitty, who did feel a bit intimidated by this boy, tried to stand firm.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you because you're a girl!" said Lance as he rolled his eyes in the back of his head and began to concentrate.

Then, the ground began to shake violently underneath Kitty's feet. She realized that this must have been the force that bought down the warehouse. A large crack in the pavement formed under her and before she could get out of the way she stumbled and fell.

"AHHHHH!" yelled the hapless young girl as she dropped out of sight.

The shaking soon stopped and Lance stood with a cocky grin.

"Man, that was easy."

But he didn't realize a figure rising up out of the solid pavement behind him. Sensing the presence he turned around and met face to face with a very angry Kitty.

"Think again!" said Kitty as she kneed him as hard as she could in the groin.

With a twisted face of pain, Lance keeled down on to the ground.

This left Blob the only one left as he let out an angry howl and charged Scott like a bull. Scott responded by opening his eyes and sending an optic blast directly at him. However this only slowed the immense mutant as he kept charging.

"HA! You think a puny little laser like that can stop me?! I'm the Blob! Nothing stops me!" bellowed Freddy as he continued towards him.

Scott felt the pressure in his head grow larger, but he soon shut his eyes not wanting to unleash any more power than he already had. Freddy kept coming, but a few feet from impact Scott heard Kurt appear right beside him and port him out of harms way just before the Blob could reach him. Instead, he ended up pummeling in to the wall of the warehouse that had been behind Scott.

For the moment it seemed as if they had beat the last one, but then Scott felt his eyes fling open by some unseen force. Kurt ported out of the way in panic, but Scott couldn't close his eyes. Wanda had returned and she appeared to be very angry with the boy after he blasted her earlier.

"You think you can get away with blasting me!?" yelled the angry Scarlet Witch as she intensified her powers against the young mutant.

Scott struggled to control his blasts, but they were being sent in all directions towards his friends. With all his might he tried to stop it, but Wanda's powers proved very strong.

"Now, I will crush you!" said the angry girl as she prepared to unleash his power against his friends, but then something unexpected happened.

Kurt had teleported right behind her and jumped on her back and covered her eyes.

"Guess who?" said Kurt as she started to struggle against him.

"Get off me furball!" yelled Wanda as she started to loose her concentration.

After a good minute worth of fighting off the acrobatic mutant, Wanda managed to knock him off. She then focused her anger on Kurt as she prepared another round of hex bolts.

"Now you're going to pay!" she yelled.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" said Kurt as he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

Wanda looked over only to be blasted once again by Scott's beams and was sent flying. Afterwards, Jean came running to Scott's side and handed him his blindfold.

"Are you okay?" asked Jean.

"Yeah, thanks Jean," replied Scott with small smile as he put his blindfold back on.

Mystique and Wolverine had been fighting furiously since the attack began, but it was a bitter stalemate. Mystique couldn't take down Logan's strength and Logan could get a hand on her because of her agility. Upon, seeing the defeat of her students, Logan grew a bit more confident.

"Heh, some Brotherhood Mystique," said Logan as he dodged another one of her kicks.

"SHUT UP!" yelled the shape-shifter as she launched another barrage of attacks.

However, Logan was ready for her this time. In a split second, Mystique let her guard down and Logan was able to make his move and send her flying with a single, well-placed punch.

"It's over Mystique...You lost," said Logan.

"No...It's just begun."

But just then she realized a presence had sneaked up behind her. She quickly turned around to see Rogue standing only inches from her.

"Wrong lady...Sleep tight," said Rogue as she grabbed on to her bare skin with her hand and knocking her out cold.

The rest of the Brotherhood watched as Mystique fell to the ground and were soon consumed with a new rage.

"NOBODY DEFATS THE BROTHERHOOD!" yelled Blob as he and the rest of his comrades joined for another attack.

Just then a mysterious dark cloud appeared overhead and a strong gust of wind seemed to focus itself on the Brotherhood. At first it didn't seem to slow them down, but it soon got stronger and it grew too hard to stay on their feet. The six teens looked up in confusion, but Logan had a look of relief on his face. A large, mysterious plane hovered overhead and they watched as a mysterious lady with white hair fly down towards them. Soon, a large tornado formed before their eyes and blew the Brotherhood away.

"This isn't the end..." said Mystique as the wind awoke her from her unconscious state. As they flew away, six metal orbs flew near and picked up each of them. Then, they were out of sight.

Evan couldn't believe his eyes when he got a closer look at the mysterious woman that appeared to be the cause of the storm. As she floated down, her expression changed to one of equal shock.

"Aunty O?!" said Evan in amazement.

"Oh my God...Evan!" exclaimed Ororo as she landed.

Evan ran towards her and threw his arms around the one person he had missed so much for so long. His embrace was a weak one, but Ororo couldn't help fight back her tears of happiness for finding her long lost nephew. She looked down and saw how much he had changed since the last time she saw him. He looked so much thinner than before and appeared dirty, tired, and mal-nourished. To Evan his Aunt was like an angel that had finally found him after so long of time.

"Where have you been? Wha...What happened to you?" said Ororo as she let him go.

"It's a long story, but that doesn't matter anymore," said Evan with a smile.

The rest of his friends couldn't help but be happy for their friend. Evan had always told them about his Aunt and how kind and caring she was. But he never told them that she was also 'gifted' like they were.

"So this is the Aunt you told us about Evan?" said Scott as he stepped forward to greet her.

"Yep!" said Evan proudly.

"Well let me be the first to say...Thanks," said Scott with a smile.

Ororo smiled back, even though he was blind. But she had a feeling he could somehow see them.

"You're welcome."

Evan then felt an introduction was in order.

"Aunty O...I'd like you to meet my friends. They're the reason I'm still alive after all this time," said Evan with all honesty in his words.

"It's nice to meet you all. And it's nice to know my nephew wasn't alone when I wasn't there," said Ororo.

The rest of the teens smiled back at the white-haired woman, humbled by her thanks.

"You're timing is impeccable Ro," said Logan as he stepped forth.

"Well, it looked like you needed help."

"Wait...You two know each other?" asked Evan curiously.

"Yep, she teaches at the institute as well," explained Logan.

A brief hint of understanding came over Evan upon this new knowledge.

"So that's where you've been all this time..." said Evan.

"Yes, an awful lot has happened. But I'm here now, and Logan and I both intend to help you all," replied Storm.

Before they could respond, the mysterious plane that had been hovering above landed in a short distance from them. The six teens were struck with awe upon seeing this marvelous machine, for it looked like something truly out of this world. As it landed and the dust settled, a door on the side opened and a ramp led down to the ground below. And out came a man in a wheelchair. He didn't look threatening at all to them, in fact. It only made the six teens all the more eager to know more about what was going on.

"You've done a fine job Logan...You too Ororo," said the man as he wheeled himself up towards the group.

"Thank you Charles," said Storm in response.

"Wait...Who are you?" asked Scott upon hearing this new voice.

"My name is Professor Charles Xavier, the founder and headmaster of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. And I've been looking for you all for the past few days," said the Professor in his most non-threatening tone.

"But...How did you find us? And why now?" asked Jean.

The professor took a deep breath, for he knew this was going to a lot for them to handle. "Like you all, I was born different. I found out that at a young age, I could read people's thoughts and control minds to a certain extent. As I got older I identified the cause of this ability. I found out that these gifts were caused by a rare genetic anomaly known as the X-gene." The six teens grew more interested the more he talked. Out of nowhere, this stranger was answering questions that they had been struggling with for years. The professor continued to talk, "For most people, this gene is never formed...But there are some exceptions."

"Let me guess...Ve're the exception," said Kurt.

"Indeed," said the professor, "You all are the beginning of a new generation of people like us. You are all the start of an exciting new stage in human evolution. You all are mutants...You all are the future."

"Mutants..." said Rogue in astonishment as a long time question that had tormented her had finally been explained.

"Yes...While I believe that this is a tremendous benefit for mankind, there are some people who would think otherwise."

"You must mean the Brotherhood," said Scott who still had a fresh memory of the fight that had just taken place.

"Yes, the Brotherhood and its founders don't share the same respect for mankind as I do. I believe in the peaceful co-existence of mutants and non-mutants, but they would argue a far more 'aggressive' position," replied the professor.

What the professor was saying was a great deal of new information that had bewildered the six mutant teens to no end. This strange revelation made them feel excited and anxious at the same time.

"So, why'd you come to us first?" asked Scott.

"Well...I heard about that whole bank robbery incident along with the rest of the country, and I had a feeling I knew what might have caused it. And from what I just saw with you and the Brotherhood, I can tell that my suspicions were justified," replied the Professor.

The rest of the group couldn't help but smile and blush a little upon hearing that.

"Guess we couldn't hide forever," replied Scott.

"Well that brings me to why I'm here. As Logan may have told you, my institute is for people like you who have no safe haven in a world that doesn't even know you exist. I don't believe that mutants should have to hide in the shadows like you do...Suffering because of the fear the rest of the world has over something they don't yet understand. You don't have to hide...You don't have to live like this...You could all have a home."

'Home...' that one word bought forth a whole mess of emotions to each of the six teens. Every one of them had come from a terrible background. Every one of them came from a broken home. It had been so long since they had experienced something as simple as a place to call home. Instead all they knew was suffering, but now they actually had a chance to change all of that. However, it was still a lot to deal with...It seemed almost too good to be true. Should they take a chance? What else did they have to loose?

Scott was the first to step forward, "So...You say you can help us? You say we don't have to live like this? Well, I don't know about the rest of you guys...But you have me on board."

Jean soon followed never one to ever leave Scott's side, "Yeah...I'm in too. Anything's better than living on the streets."

"Count me in too," said Kurt as he stepped forth as well.

"Yeah...Me three," said Kitty as she stepped up next to her fuzzy friend.

Evan, who was still by his Aunt's side, spoke up too, "If you guys join...So do I."

That left Rogue, who had been quiet the whole time. Everybody looked back at her, wondering what she would do.

"Vell Rogue...Vhat do you think?" asked Kurt.

She was silent for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then, she turned to Logan who couldn't help but smile at her. Finally, she stepped forward.

"I guess anything is better than living like this...I'm in too," said Rogue to her only friends as they smiled back at her.

Logan couldn't help but smile more.

"Then welcome...To the Xavier Institute," said the Professor as he led them on to the plane and home towards a new life.

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AN: Well that's it for now! What do you all think? Sorry for the length of this chapter, but I couldn't get around it. It's not over yet, so don't fret! This is going to be a long story so sit tight! I STILL NEED REVIEWS! Post em on fanfiction.net or send em to slickboy444@aol.com. Thanks for reading thus far and best wishes to you all!

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