Chapter Text
MANHATTAN NEW YORK, AVENGERS MANSION, FEBRUARY 10, 2011 9:00 AM EST
“You're late. Parker, Reyes, what’s the matter with you two? We’ve barely started and you two haven’t shown up early to any of these meetings.”
“Sorry sir Hawkeye sir!” Spider-Girl nearly yelled in the archer’s face. Francis looked at Robbie and the older teen just sighed and let out a barely audible, “My fault.”
Francis looked to Pym who had an equally blank stare on his face before rubbing his brow in frustration. “I-I’m not sure you guys are getting this. All of you.”
As Francis spoke Danielle Cage and Cassie Lang sat up straight in their seats, Lyra simply glared at Francis and Riri twiddled her thumbs nervously still not sure if Francis was including her in the statement obviously meant for the rookies.
“You guys are the Avengers . Not Torunn, Not Azari, Not James freaking Rogers. You guys. When the world comes calling, they expect you to answer the call. If we can’t even be punctual for this, what's going to be the excuse when we’ve got three minutes to clear out a burning building?”
They were in what Riri would describe as an Auditorium, a room that you would expect college seminar’s to happen in and not top secret Avengers meetings. But at the moment they were reviewing superhero “Homework.”
They were expected to review a bunch of different superpowered crimes that took place in the last year and remember information about some old villains who were more than likely dead and gone. But it seemed like the point was for them to build good habits and things of that nature.
There was a lot that went into being an Avenger and Riri had learned that when she watched the team deal with the Masters of Evil. It was more than just waking up and punching people in the face. They were always working and not just Captain America. Torunn and Azari and of course Pym and Francis.
It wasn’t by chance they were the best in the world, it was because they worked like the world was going to end if they didn’t that they had so much success. They understood the gravity of the situation they were in. If Riri was being honest, she wasn’t exactly sure this current team understood that.
“Well, May, Robbie, got anything to say? We don’t have all day.”
The Spider-Powered hero frowned at this and Riri knew she was annoyed. The girl liked to act cheery but Riri was certain it was to hide her quick fuse. “It’s just well…I nevermind, Like I said I’m sorry Hawkeye.”
“Yeah, sorry.”
This time Hawkeye seemed even more annoyed, and from his spot in a professor’s chair Yellowjacket stood up and began adding in his own two cents.
“It seems you two still don’t get it. May, we aren’t stupid. We know you have High School at this time and you're probably skipping class just to be here right now.”
May looked up in slight shock and the boy’s words, but couldn’t say anything and Pym wasted no time turning on Robbie. “And Robbie you live halfway across the country even with your powers it’s not easy to make it here on time, and of course we know you have personal commitments.”
At this the boy looked confused, he was sure he had never told the Avengers anything that personal, he had wanted to keep somethings to himself. “So then why are you on my ass about it?”
“I’m on your ass about it, because you didn’t say anything! Look we can’t expect you guys to be robots you have your lives. It’s something Pym and I might not fully understand because we’ve always done this.”
Riri couldn’t help but think there was something a little sad about that statement.
“But that doesn’t mean we’ll be unreasonable. We have to work hard everyday but we could easily schedule some meetings at times that are more appropriate for you two. We could have gotten you a free period easily May. Maybe even a day or two off in a week to make this easier for you. And we could have found someone to take care of your younger brother Robbie.” Francis pointed out, annoyed at his new teammates' lack of understanding.
“Wait really?” May asked in shock, She was seemingly focused on the idea of less school. Whereas Robbie was just shocked they knew about his little brother.
“Of course we’re the freaking Avengers. It’d take one call and suddenly May you would be in an internship with Stark Tech or some other shell company. And Robbie we can have a trusted S.H.I.E.L.D. agent looking out for your brother in seconds.” Pym said boredly.
The two looked shocked at this and Francis considered his tirade though he was less mad now and more understanding, “I’m not mad that you guys are late, but I am mad that you didn’t think to tell us any of this shit to start with. There’s no secrets on the Avengers. I know everything about them and they know everything about me.”
“Sometimes we know too much.” Pym shuddered, and Francis only shook his head but grinned.
“Agreed. Sometimes it could feel that way, but it did let us win. You should have just told us guys. That way we could help.”
“It’s harder than you make it sound. You're all a bunch of complete strangers, You wouldn’t understand you guys were close from the start.” Robbie quickly pointed out.
“We were close from the start but Francis still never grew up with us. We were only close from the start cause we made sure he was one of us.”
“Exactly that’s why things worked so well. All I’m asking is for you to tell us about your needs. We can’t have anything affect your performance. No offense but this isn’t Milwaukee or Oregon or East Los Angeles. It’s the entire globe at the drop of a hat. So whatever you need to be comfortable and at your best, you need to tell us. Capiche?”
“Understood, I’ll do better next time.” May said honestly. Pym and Francis looked to Robbie who sighed and nodded his head, annoyed a little but the message got through.
“...Same here.” He eventually said.
“Great, that goes for all of you as well. Lyra, Dani, Riri, Cassie. You’ve been on time and that’s great but if there’s anything else let us know. We're the Avengers, so let's start acting like it.”
WESTCHESTER NEW YORK, XAVIER’S INSTITUTE, FEBRUARY 10, 2011 11:00 AM EST
“In what year did the Commission on Superhuman affairs dismiss the case against Homo superior which used the actions of mutant terrorist Magneto to defame all mutants. Anyone? Yes, Lily-Rose?”
“Was it 1991?”
“Correct. Who can tell me the year Charles Xavier first accepted students at the Institute? Lily-Rose?”
“Um that would be 1973, I think.”
“Great job. Can anyone tell me when the X-Men made their first appearance. Yes? Anyone? Someone other than Lily-Rose. It’s clear she’s actually studied but I’m not sure about the rest of you. How about you Mr. Aaronson, since you seem to find this class so amusing.”
The son of Bedlam had been laughing up a storm in the back of the classroom with a couple of the other students. It was no different from usual. Except maybe this time Liam was engaging in his antics a little more often today so it was no wonder Ms. Pryde was getting kind of annoyed.
Still Lily wouldn’t call Jesse a bad kid, he was just carefree, liked to laugh more than he liked to learn and couldn’t keep his mouth shut. She was just happy she had no classes together with him and Michael Wilson. Otherwise she might actually be annoyed.
The boy in question cleared his throat and made a face as if he was thinking before blurting out a ridiculous answer. “2009?”
Ms. Pryde just sighed, “Ms Jones?”
“1978?”
“Correct. Jesse I understand you're not the biggest history buff but you still need to focus in school.”
“I’m trying.” The teen spoke nonchalantly, “Some people are just better at different things. Lily here is smart and I’m an X-Man.”
At first it felt like a compliment to Lily-Rose but then she considered the fact that she herself was an X-Man and had been one for longer than Jesse, and it suddenly felt like an insult. From anyone else and she might have thought they actually meant it as one.
“You're an X-Man in training Jesse. And if you listened when we told you anything you’d know that won’t be the case if you can’t focus in class. And I’m sure the rest of your squad won’t be happy with you when they are a member down and aren’t allowed to participate in any exercises.”
That got Liam more focused on his friend's blunder and he immediately rose to the occasion. “I’m sorry Ms. Pryde I’ll make sure he’s less of a distraction in classes, myself included.”
“Good, see to it that you do. You boys are smart, but it’s time you actually started using your heads.” Ms. Pryde lightly chastised. “We are counting on you.”
“Yes Ma’am.” They spoke in unison.
“Great, class dismissed. You all make sure you read up on the Brotherhood, we will be covering them next.”
As everyone got up to leave class, Lily-Rose took her time packing everything up knowing that she was lucky enough to have this as her class of the day, well at least for today. There was a meeting with the others about the teams. However it was a meeting that was taking place without the newly crowned “Red Team” so it made Lily curious about what it could be about.
“What did you assholes do?”
“It was Jay’s fault, not mine!”
“Whatever they are saying I did, I did not do it.”
“She was standing in the hallway bro, with her ears she could obviously hear you.”
“Are you saying I have large ears?”
“No o-of course not Monique.”
“...”
“...”
“Whatever let’s go you two, Tory and Miyuki are already in the gym. And you better shape up Jesse or I’ll have Ms. Frost replace you with someone else.”
“Yes, Ma’am!”
The three teens left the classroom and Lily could only shake her head at the team's antics. Even the seemingly cold Monique’s words were more for show than anything else.
They had only been a team for a couple of weeks but by this point everyone in the school had heard Monique threaten Jesse and Liam with those words. The truth was they were friends so it was likely the girl didn’t actually care.
It seemed every team had their quirks; her own was no different with Talia at the helm, Miguel, herself, Liv, and Thomas, they were considered the goodie two shoes of the X-Men. Everyone knew the Blue Team were the wildcards and the most likely to fly off the handle and if it ever came to it they’d be able to take on the dirty work no one else could.
And with Megan, Oli, Pavel, Ray, and Anne-Marie well…Their team was literally called Generation Next. It didn’t get more on the nose than that. They were the most well-balanced in terms of personality, they knew when to go off-script but could also follow the rules, the future of the X-Men.
When Lily got to the group’s meeting spot which was on top of the school she realized she was actually the last one there. “I’m not late am I? Sorry.”
“Nah, we're all just here early, relax. But now that she is here, spit it out Cajun.” Jimmy directed at the unofficial leader of them all.
“I’m getting to it. This isn’t a real meeting, just something I was told to let us all know. In the coming months the Training Squads are going to be disbanded.” Olivier explained to the group.
“Welp all good things come to an end, guess it’s time to submit my Avengers application, they’re taking new members right.”
“Shut up Michael.” Jess, Jane, and Sofia immediately quieted down their rambunctious teammate.
“I don’t mean we’re getting taken down, I mean the training wheels are coming off. No more GeNext, Blue or Gold squad, from now on we work together. Talia can also confirm.”
“This true Blue?”
“Well yeah. I wouldn’t say our interpersonal squads are done after all they were formulated like that for a reason, but yeah, the tags are coming off now. Soon enough they’ll announce it to the rest of the school and then the world will know just who exactly the X-Men are.” Talia said.
“Hmm, I guess I can finally understand why they created the Red team then. They aren’t ready to be fully fledged X-Men so it makes sense they weren’t put with us.” Miguel murmured.
“Good news but did all of this really need a meeting?” Jessica responded boredly to all this news, “In the end you could have just shot us a text, right?”
It was her own “Aunt” Megan who quickly shot the girl down. “This is important Jess. I know we’ve heard it over and over again but Mutantkind is in a special place right now.”
“At the moment no one treats the X-Men any differently than the Avengers and the everyday mutant can get away with living with the common man. In recorded human history, support for Mutantkind has literally never been higher.” She explained.
“Exactly.” Olivier agreed with his girlfriend. “And you might think that means we can slack off, but it’s the exact opposite. As the next generation of mutants we’ve been gifted this favorable situation and now it’s our job to secure our spots in history and ensure this sort of treatment of the mutant race is seen for centuries to come. You understand?”
No one argued with Olivier, actually it seemed most of the young mutants had actually managed to gain some seriousness as Olivier and Megan broke down the reality of the situation.
“We get the picture. No one here wants to lose what we’ve got.” Jimmy eventually spoke up for the rest.
“Good, now we’ve all worked with each other before, but to really ensure our ability to work together and communicate I figured it’d be best if we did some training sessions where we mix and match our teams to make sure we have no issues. Twice a week Tuesdays and Thursdays from now on.”
“Yes sir!” The Gold and GeNext Teams responded dutifully.
“Fine.”
“Yeah sure.”
“Whatever.” Came the mixed response from the Blue Team. It didn’t mean they disagreed with Oli, that was just how they responded with almost anybody. It seemed this was a good enough answer for Olivier though and he ended the meeting with nothing left to say.
But as everyone was leaving Michael wasn’t finished. “I know we’re all worried about humankind turning on us, but we do have one thing our parents don’t right? They never had that close of a relationship with the Avengers, but they’re our friends now. They’ll have our backs.”
Everyone who was leaving seemed to pause at this statement. And considered it for themselves. It was true they did have friends in high places. But…
“I don’t think it’s that simple.” Jane admitted to her friend, “Lots of things could happen that might make the public ignore even them.”
“We also have to consider the changing roster. Many of the ones we would call friends aren’t active at the moment.” Talia added.
“Who also knows what things might be like in ten years.” Lily added hesitantly.
“We also need to prepare for the possibility the Avengers would be a part of the problem.” Megan admitted.
“Bu-
“Mickey, I don’t like it either but they’re right. We’d be stupid to put any sort of hope in the Avengers or anyone else when it comes to mutant affairs.” James told his best friend. “Things are good now so of course they’re willing to help us, it’s only when the going gets tough we can see who our friends really are.”
Almost all the young mutants hated to admit it, but it was the truth. They couldn’t possibly confidently say the Avengers would stick with them through thick and thin. Hell they had about three different telepaths on the roster and still couldn’t. This was just the truth.
Michael Wilson hated this pessimistic sort of view. When push came to shove did they really believe that the original five Avengers would turn their backs on them all? Maybe it was too naive but he couldn’t believe it.
“Well, then I hope things never get tough. I don’t want to live in a world where that may be a possibility.”
It was a little odd for the constantly joking mutant to seem so down and the others knew that, it was Jess who snapped him out, “Calm down, I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about and you can still live out your dream of marrying Torunn and becoming King of Asgard.”
They laughed at the young Mutant and Sofia dragged him by the arm with the rest of the Blue Team “Come on Mickey, I’m pretty sure they’re surviving your favorite slop down in the cafeteria.”
Everyone took their leave after that, however Olivier and Megan stayed on the roof by themselves. “I want to believe everything will work out the way Michael says it will….”
“But mutantkind has never been that lucky.” Megan finished off for him, “Yeah I get it, still is it so wrong for us to dream?”
“No, I guess it isn’t.” Olivier admitted. In the end whether it was against perceived friend or foe Olivier would defend mutantkind with all his might and he knew the others would do the same. They could only hope times like these continued far beyond their own years.
HEROES OF TOMORROW
The members of the X-Men Red Training Squad (Monique St. Croix/Opal, Jesse Aaronson II/Bedlam, Miyuki Jackson/Prism, Liam Petrovna/Darkstar, Tory Brashear/Horizon)