Westchester County, NY.

Very few are taken in or accepted.  The chosen few accepted indeed have a gift.  It is a gift that manifests in various forms.  The first one accepted is perhaps the most gifted and also most troubled.  Her name is Jean and she now stays on to help others as a teacher.  She is a leader to the students yet still a student herself to Charles Xavier, the Professor and owner of the premises.

Both Charles and Jean have noticed the shifting change occurring.  The disastrous fate of the scientific research team known as the “Fantastic Four” has prompted a heightened state of paranoia, not only among the S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives who have enough on their plate, but for those naturally born with special abilities.  They are referred to as mutants and derisively as “muties.”  The school is more than just a place of learning.  It is a safe haven.  It is a home.  It is a place where the people who are naturally different from other humans can study and hone their gifts in peace.

For Jean Grey, she is arguably the most gifted with her mental prowess and empathy.  On the flipside, for Jean there is also the grim reality of the trauma that comes with that empathy.  That feeling of experiencing the emotions of others, including their moments of sorrow.  Under the man she has come to nickname “Professor X,” she has honed those skills, becoming a true marvel to behold.

It is a time of graduation, but the learning never ends.  The next lesson is going out and making a difference, preferably a positive one in the world.  They have to be able to defend themselves against the growing tide of prejudice and the watchful eyes of the government forces.  They have one another to rely upon, if no one else.

Professor X sits before the graduates in his wheelchair as Jean stands at his side as a second-in-command.

Professor X “You can all be proud of your time here.  I certainly am proud of you all for your endurance and your courage.  However, you must understand that this is only the beginning.  From this day forth, you shall become a factor in the relations between the gifted and the ungifted.  Between those of us born into these special abilities and those who are not.  We must understand that we are living in a world where those who are not are either working on developing their own special traits or having circumstances place them there.  Under either condition, the distrust between the general public and the rest of us will continue to grow.  It is up to us to break these barriers down.  We cannot force that break.  We cannot bend others to our will, or else we become the monsters that so many like to assume we are.  My graduates…my friends.  What we face today is a changing of the tide.  What we face is ourselves, for we are that changing tide.  We can become the difference makers.  We do this with action.  We do this not only by defending ourselves, but also all of humankind.  Our only hope of achieving peace among us is to show that we do care about each other.  That we do wish for this world to be a better place.  To use these gifts that have been granted us to benefit the greater good.”

The Professor looks over to Jean who keeps her eyes on the others standing before them.

Professor X “Miss Grey will continue to lead you in this endeavor.  I refer to her at times as the ‘Marvel Girl’ as she truly is one.  She has had to deal with her gift and is now at a point where she can teach others to deal with theirs and tap into the potential of it.  Miss Grey?”

Jean “At this point, you are no longer just students or graduates.  You are part of a team.  Not just a factor, but the X-Factor as it were in building this better world for all of us.  We will continue to hone these powers, these gifts that we have for that of good.  We can do this.  You will have the option of protecting your identity as I shall choose to do, but under no circumstances, public or private do you ever disclose the identity of a teammate.  We will protect ourselves.  We have the abilities and we have the heart.”

There are five graduates who stand before Professor X and Jean.  One male and four females.  The one male is named Bobby, who has thermo and cryo kinesis abilities.  The others include a girl named Anna Marie, who has what can be considered both a gift and a curse in her ability to absorb the power and memories of others.  Next to her is Ororo, who wields the responsibility of weather manipulation.  There is Angelica, who possesses microwave generation and manipulation, providing something of an opposite to Bobby between her generating of heat to Bobby’s ability to generate cold.  Finally there is Alison who is an unusual case of one who was on the cusp of fame as a singer and dancer, but the increasing prejudices drove her away and eventually to this school.  She can manipulate sound into power and give off a dazzling array of light.  All of them still have some growing up to do and under the Professor and his second-in-command that he has dubbed “Marvel Girl” they will do so as a team, as a family.