Issue+26+-+'Right+Next+Door'


 * Issue 26 - 'Right Next Door' **




 * Plot**

Following the Purifier attacks in June, Meghan spends time with David and Dane before leaving for parts unknown. The eXalts investigate the empty Academy M complex in an attempt to locate Cerebra or anything else of interest. S.H.I.E.L.D. has the facility locked down, but the eXalts learn that everything of value, including presumably Cerebra, was taken by a mysterious group known as the “Board of Trustees.”

Over the summer between terms, the Academy X staff members work on their college coursework to earn their bachelor’s degrees. They also design a summer program for the Academy M students they took in following the rival school’s collapse after the Purifier attacks. The deaths of hundreds of MGH-using humans fueled anti-mutant furor and soon protestors turned up outside the school. The school’s relationship with the authorities in general and S.H.I.E.L.D. in particular become chilly at best. Worst of all, a ballot initiative is created by anti-mutant activists for the fall election – Proposition 10: Mutant Registration and Control Act. It requires mutant registration, the chemical castration of mutants, and denies mutant marriage rights. It is soon called “Prop X” by the media.

At the end of June, Scott and Emma inform the headmasters of Academy X (Bastienne and Dane) that Bobby Drake (“Iceman”) will be arriving soon to meet with Agape and reclaim the other half of his mutant power. It is needed for some danger that will soon arrive. The headmasters speak to Agape, who is scared and unwilling to lose her mutant powers. Cameron flies off with Agape to keep her safe. Bobby arrives and the Academy X staff tell him that it is unfair to take Agape’s power and that she’s already gone. Bobby leaves in a huff. Following that encounter, communication with Xavier’s school is purely professional in nature.

In July, Sam and Matt get engaged. The staff of Academy X deal with a bullying problem developing among the former Academy M students. Seniors Christine and Vincent, along with junior Reuben and some followers, begin harassing other former Academy M students. The staff does its best to try to intervene. At the end of the month Cameron contacts the school. He’d been hiding out in his family’s cabin in a remote area of Canada with Agape. One night men in Asian-style masks broke into the cabin and kidnapped Agape. Several eXalts investigate, but find little to trace the kidnappers.

In August, David creates combat teams to mix up the Academy M students. He pairs up the bullies and the bullied in an attempt to improve relationships. There is some success. Tragedy strikes part-way through the month, however, when news of a mutant being lynched in Los Angeles breaks. By this time protestors (part of the “Humanity Now!" coalition) surround the school on an hourly basis. Inside the school, life continues as normally as possible. The headmasters hire two new teachers: Cameron and William “Mac” McAllister. David conducts DNA testing of existing Academy X (and former Academy M) students to prevent any surprises. Soon enough it is time for another school year.

At the Thursday night staff meeting prior to the return of students, the staff of Academy X has a staff meeting to discuss some issues and meet the new teacher, William McAllister. They discuss what they know of Agape’s disappearance: the knockout gas used to kidnap her was most likely Kolokol-1, an opiate used by the Russian Special Forces. The group also wondered how Agape could have been found in such a remote location and surmised that Cerebro or Cerebra must have been used. There was a discussion about whether they should contact the east coast school for help, but the consensus was that they might allow Bobby to steal Agape’s powers if the east coast school located the young girl.

The next discussion was about whether to release information about the DNA testing done over the summer (the staff learned that Rafé was related to a dead Weapon X mutant agent and that Robin Wise, a former Academy M student, is actually half-Skrull). In the end it was decided to tell the kids and not keep secrets. Finally, William “Mac” McAllister arrived. He was introduced to the Academy X staff. He then engaged in conversation about the new student teams. It was decided that Mac would take over the Exemplars (Bastienne’s former team) and Cameron would take over the Paragons (Lucius’ former team). There was some concern about Zach, a student with an apparent mental illness.

On Saturday the prefects and the head boy and girl arrived for some pre-semester training. After the morning training sessions, the student staff had a chance to go through the Danger Room and choose code names if they hadn’t already. They all did fairly well. The student staff is comprised of Amanda Winters (prefect, “Sorceress”), Dondre Cook (prefect, “Shaft”), Joni Lang (prefect, “Chi”), Melissa Gwynn (head girl, “Pixie”), Rafael “Rafe” Lopez (head boy, “Lobo”), and Santo Vacarro (prefect, “Rockslide”). That night the student staff and the Academy M students were polite, but tense. David pulled Joni aside and had her sit with the Academy M Corsairs. That seemed to break the ice between them. Later, Dane and Bastienne met to discuss an issue Bastienne had uncovered. When going through the prior year’s paperwork, she discovered that two “new” students had actually been at Academy X the previous year. One of them, Hana, had the ability to remove memories. Dane and Bastienne guessed that Hana had removed everyone’s memories of the two. They decided to confront her in the first week of classes.

Sunday soon arrived and the remainder of the students returned. The joyful reunions were dampened by a large group of protestors outside the school. In addition, it was soon discovered that one of their students, Rodrigo Sanchez, had dropped out. This, in addition to Aaron Turner and Zachary Bishop transferring to the east coast school and Kyron returning to Atlantis, reduced the number of students at Academy X. At lunchtime the staff cooked a picnic lunch for the kids. There was definitely some tension between last year’s Academy X kids and the Academy M kids. Following lunch was a whole school meeting. New students were welcomed and school rules were reinforced. Students then broke into teams for team meetings. David told the Corsairs about his combat training. Mac tried to connect to his new students, but many of them were distant because he wasn’t “like them” (possessing a physical mutation). Cameron also had a meeting with his team.

The first day of classes went smoothly. Following classes, Ginny (Dane’s sister) knocked on David’s door. She asked David if she could join his combat team, and David agreed. Meanwhile, Bastienne and Dane met with Hana. She admitted she had removed everyone’s memories of her and her roommate, Sofia. She was afraid that the Purifiers would find them, and if no one knew they were there then maybe they would be safe. She agreed not to do it again.

Later in the week David met with his two freshmen whose powers were unknown. He asked them how they wanted to handle their powers. Gabriel said he didn’t care because he didn’t even know what his power was. Hayley appeared to know and she asked David if it was okay if she never spoke of it. David said that part of being at Academy X was becoming comfortable with one’s mutant powers and learning about them, so she’d have to talk about her power eventually. Hayley burst into tears and ran off. When David returned to his room, Joni was waiting. She asked if she could join the eXalts to take the place of the very pregnant Samantha. David agreed, but said she’d be a probational member only and could only observe on missions where she was invited. Joni agreed.

On Saturday, the school cleaning project was interrupted when Maria called Dane. She “unofficially” warned him that a group of criminals boosted by MGH had stolen jewelry from a local mall and were on the run. Even more problematic was that they had run into a local amusement park called “Pixieland.” Worried about the civilians, the eXalts hurried to the scene in the Blackbird. There they found thieves who had taken extra doses of MGH. They had the powers of Magneto, Rogue, Wolverine, Bedlam, Hothead, and Quicksilver. “Magneto” used his powers to take control of Panzer and force him to attack his allies. “Rogue” stole Bast’s powers. Bedlam confused several of the eXalts. Chi was forced to help by lifting a stunned Vortex and an injured Bast out of combat. She also fought with “Magneto” to restrain Panzer. In the end, the eXalts knocked out the thieves and saved the day. But someone was waiting for them at home…


 * Next:** Issue 27 - 'Round The Corner'
 * Previous:** Issue 25 - 'Watch Out My Children'