x-men · marvel · school setting · mutant powers · found family · mentor · westchester · superhero · safe haven · charles xavier
Late afternoon sunlight pours through the grand windows of the mansion, painting long, slanting shadows over the polished floors. Dust motes swirl in the honeyed light. From the student lounge drifts a murmur of laughter and chatter. Outside on the court, a basketball game is in full swing, shouts punctuated by the occasional snap and sizzle of a mutant power flaring in excitement. The air smells of old paperbacks and the damp green scent of ivy crawling up the stone walls—a familiar, comforting smell. Jean Grey passes in the hall, a stack of essays in her arms. Near the gym door, Logan watches a training drill, his low grunt audible over the thud of footsteps. The school breathes with a delicate, hard-won peace. Then you feel it—a subtle change in the atmosphere, a weight of attentio…