Welcome to Gaia! ::

When we last met our merry mutants....

Magneto had gone insane and was left for dead. Members of the Brotherhood and X-Men had died or left the team... it was a dark and stressful times for all mutants... but there was one man forgotten about: Forge. The dark, twistings of his mind would not let go of Magneto's superior philosophies. He distorted them and made them into something destructive.

After fleeing Magneto's citadel, he went on a crusade... a crusade to rid the world of humans. Using any resources he could find that Magneto left behind, he created several massive human hunting robots. The robots were of the finest work and they were deadly. One cold, fall day, Forge unleashed them onto New York. They were devestating and almost unstoppable. Humans died. Mutants died trying to stop him.

It tooked the combined forces of the X-Men, Brotherhood, and other groups such as SHIELD and the Avengers to stop these creations. Needless to say, when the smoke settled, mutants did not hold a high regard in political circles. There massive mutant hunts and nothing became safe. Activists like Charles Xavier annouced that he was indeed a mutant and tried to use his reputation to lead mutant causes and to help create peace.

Bayville High School became unsafe for the mutants students. Highschools all over the country became unsafe. Xavier knew that his school provided saftey but not everybody would be willing to attend because of his views. Selflessly, Xavier stepped down as headmaster of the Xavier Institute. His successor became Scott Summers. As an unlikely ally, Scott Summers invited Emma Frost to aid him in running the school. This move was successful in showing that opposing views could coexist at the school and that the purpose of the Institute was not to just school X-Men, but to give students a save place to learn about their powers and to gain an education.

The current time of the game is one year after the Forge attack on New York. The Xavier Institute has open doors to any students who want to attend. Students each have a teacher advisor who leads their powers training teams. The two most competitive teams are called the "X-Men" and the "Brotherhood" as chosen by their initial students. Older students also have the option of the Institute through college level courses so that all are welcome.

Some are here to learn...
Some are here to be heroes...
Some are here for saftey...

No matter the reason, no matter the cause, they are all here under the Xavier Institute roof. Living and coexisting. One of the few known mutant havens.

((whoot, second post! >.>))
In a McDonalds across town, two young men, the first dressed in hiking boots, jeans, a button up green shirt, with an overcoat over his shoulders. His body is in great physical condition, his shoulder lenght black hair slightly in his grey eyes, but partically blocked by his square rim glasses, he looks over his meal. The second, wearing grey sneakers, dockers and a NYU sweatshirt, his blue eyes also focused on his meal, his shortish brown hair not a vission problem.

As the first young man lifts up his hamburger and prepares to take a bite, the second looks out the window and speaks. "...I suppose you feel proud of youself for what you did to that biker," his voice isn't harsh, it's calm, relaxed, kind. The first young man stops his preperation to take a bite, sigh and puts the burger back on the tray. "You know I'm not proud," he replies, his voice holding a hint of an english accent, "but he tried to hit me with a pool cue. Besides, no one else at that bar seemed to mind him getting thrown out on his a**. Besides Phil, of all people, you shouldn't be upset." He shakes his head, closing his eyes.

Phil doesn't respond, he just keept gazing out the window at the people walking by. "I never said I was upset Kris, I only wanted to know your reasons. You never seem to have any you've whole life, you just change your mind all the time. First you wanted to be a teacher, now your a chemisty major, soon you'll be a math major." Kris snorts, looking out the window as well. "..You psyc. major as all the same, pains in the a**." The both laugh darkly, silence falling across the table.

After a while, Kris speaks again. "...But as someone who is pro-mutant and a mutant, both in a bar that wasn't anywhere near anti-mutant, neither of us should have had to deal with what the guy shouted in." Pulling out a packet of cigarettes, he taps them against the table as Phil replies. "....You know you're not helping break the sterotype that mutants are violent...." His attention is drawn to the tapping pack. "I thought you quit, jezz." "I only smoke once and a while now...and as for being a negative mutant sterotype, compared to what other have done, hitting a bikers isn't a big deal...." He stares out the window for a little longer, before speaking again. "Let's eat before this gets any colder. Ever since we became friends, I've never had a hot meal while eating with you." The both laugh and dig in.

After they finish eating, they part ways, Phil has to go back to his room to study, Kris is heading for the library to get a book. As Kris walks along a crowded street, he glances up at the sky, made starless by the light of the city. "...." His thoughts drift back to the dinner conversation, and how Phil had said 'negative mutant sterotype.' "...There doesn't seem to be any other kind of sterotype," he mutters to no one in particular, his coat blowing slightly in the jet strem of a passing taxi.

"Hey. Bub. Snap out of it," the gruff voice of Logan piped up, startling Jacen slightly.

"........Sorry....."

"Don't vorry about it, mein herr," Nightcrawler said, his thick German accent still there even after the years in America. Jacen just sighed and set his sights forward. Wolverine shook his head, pulled a cigar out of somewhere, and lit it. Logan knew what was up with Jacen. The two had actually developed somewhat of a kinship since the world went to Hell, and Jacen was now actually percieved as an adult at the academy. It even progressed to the point where Kurt, Logan, and Jacen would sneak off to Harry's Pub at least once a week to pound back a couple of brews.

"Don't worry, Kurt. I won't," Jacen replied as he pulled his cloak over his head. "Do we know the count here?"

"Ja. One upstairs, patrolling the corridor, and four on this floor."

"So much for a workout," Logan spat as he took a drag off his cigar.

"........You keep smoking those things on the job, you're going to get us caught," Jacen whispered as he saw movement down the hall. "Look. They're moving. Think we're caught?"

Wolverine took a puff of his cigar and immediately let the claws loose. "Of course. Their guns are at the ready. Wanna do this?"

"................Do you have to ask?"

"Right. Kurt. 'Port topside, and take out that yahoo. Me and the kid got these jokers."

"Ach....you guys get to have all ze fun....," Kurt pouted as he ported away.

Without a second command, Jacen snuck down the hallway and saw a target. One of the facility guards walking down the hall, obviously looking for intruders. Jacen didn't smile. He didn't blink. All he did was snarl a bit, and quietly walked up behind the guard. As soon as he saw his opportunity, he unleashed an ebon dagger from his right hand, and held it to the guard's throat.

"Easy way or hard way. Your choice," Jacen said coldly as he heard a gun's hammer click back.

"Let's do the hard way," a random voice said as there was a barrage of gunfire. Almost as soon as the gun were to have shot Jacen in the back of the head, the facility he was fighting in turned back into the familiar realm of the Danger Room.

Wolverine was staring hard at Jacen, and Kurt was teleporting back and forth, seemingly out of boredom.

"Got caught again, kid?," Wolverine said as he walked over to the congregating pair of mutants.

"..............." Jacen knew he messed up. Again. It never seemed like he was going to get this down at all.

"Don't vorry. That's vhy ve run ze training missions. To learn from our mistakes," Nightcrawler said reassuringly.

"...Mistakes....," Jacen said to himself. He knew there was a big mistake he made. Something that he did learn from, but wished he could go back and not make. The mistake of not completing his task of finding Penance. Even though it had been nearly a year and a half since he had heard her voice, he knew that somwhere, somehow, she was alive. And for him, that was reassurance enough that they'd wind up crossing paths again. After a second of thought, Jacen spoke up again. "So...I take it we're going to try this again today?"

"Nope," Logan replied bluntly as he headed out of the Danger Room. "Now it's dinner time. How 'bout you make me one of those steaks of yours, kid?"

"Alright, but how 'bout you buy me a couple of rounds at Harry's next chance we get?," Jacen replied as he started to leave the room.

"Done deal." Logan was still chompin on his cigar nonchalantly. Jacen was still perplexed as to why for the past few months, he had been training with Wolverine and Nightcrawler exclusively, but he knew that Xavier knew the answer. It was just getting the gumption up enough to ask the man.

"Sounds good. I'll be down in a bit," Jacen said as he removed the hood and cloak portion of his uniform. With that, the mutants went about their separate ways; Jacen up to his room, Logan and Kurt to the kitchen.

{Morgan is 18 now, by the way. His birthday passed a few weeks after after 3.0 ended.}
Morgan was on his way to the kitchen; he was hungry, and dinner happened to be soon. His hair was tied back in it's usual braid, a thick cord that hung down to his lower back, and was now streaked with red. As he descended the steps to the ground floor - the kitchen was located there - he passed Jacen, who seemed to be heading towards his own room.

"Jacen," he said in a low voice, greeting the young man walking up the stairs.

A year ago, Morgan would have had more to say than a brief acknowledgement of Jacen's existence, but Morgan had changed in the past year. The cheerful, laid-back kid he'd been was gone, replaced by a dark, bitter young man. His eyes had lost their smile, and his optimism had been replaced by a cold cynicism.

He spent most of his free time training by himself, or poring over books and scrolls documenting every know style of ninjutsu. In the past year, he'd advanced from a competent fighter to a true shinobi; a shadow assassin.

In his appartment, Kris stares out at the cityscape while reflecting on what Phil had told him. 'First you wanted to be a teacher...' His hands tighten at that comment. He'd never told him about why he'd quit. When it was discovered he was a mutant, he wasn't allowed to teach, parrents made a fuss, students didn't trust him. His fist tightens at the memory of a student who had asked for a recomendation told him that she'd rather get a recomendation from the janitor. It pissed the hell out of him, why did it have to be such a big deal?

Turning away from the window, he looks at his spacious appartment. "......" He missed some parts of being a teacher, but he was happy now. He's back in New York, Bayville had just seemed wrong, not that this felt much better, but he sticks things out, it's in his nature. Now Bayville had become the center of focus for being a 'mutant haven.' What an awful thing, to need a haven, to be that strongly disliked. Now he's in a place where there is even more dislike, but it was bearable, here he had more freedom.

Walking over the the bed and spralling across it, he remembers what that biker had said. That mutants weren't human. That coffee shop in Bayville had said something similar a year ago. This though causes him to burst out laughing. Where or whenever you go, people like that exist, he gets it now. It's your actions that change, Nothing else.
((Gezz, Kris is getting to dark, I need to do something or met someone.))

Kade was new at the school and wandered the many hallways hoping to find another living soul. During his trek though the institute he landed upon many strang doors, locked of course but he continued on anyways. Looking back and forth he didn't pay any attention to what stood before him.
With a bump "Oh.. im sorry." He crashed into a girl leaving the kitchen apparently. "Hi..Im Kade and new here at the institute"

"Sorry again. So why are you here... well whats your power" Kade scratched at his head. His black shoulder length hair fell to the side of his face and upon his black long sleeve shirt. His blue jeans faded and covered his green and white skate shoes.
A smile drawn upon his face."Hey the kitchen..." He rubbed his hands together...