Jaylah Book One

The group of mutants is in the living room of the mansion, all except for Charles and Eric. 

Seeing them outside, Moira leans out of the window, "Hey! The president is about to make his address!" 

The two men quickly come in, from whatever they were doing outside, as this president guy who Ava had no idea of is starting his speech.

"It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile crossing the embargo line that surrounds Cuba as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union..."

"That's where we're going to find Shaw," Eric says, muting the tv.

"How do you know?" Alex asks him.

"Two superpowers facing off and he wants to start World War III. He won't leave anything to Chance." Charles explains.

"So much for diplomacy." Eric turns to the youngsters "I suggest you all get a good nights sleep."

The next morning, Ava awakes early. She showers and once again puts her hair in a ponytail. Then she walks to the back the had taken with her as Charles and Eric recruited her.

She looks through it and gets out her fighting clothes which are made up of brown pants and shirt. Over her shirt, she wears a bulletproof kind of jacket with shoulder pads and a small upstanding collar. Around her waist, she wears a belt that used to be bright whit but now looks more greyish. Her pants already have knee protectors and leather over her shins, so she can do more fight styles that may involve getting kicked.

In the end, she puts on brown boots that go till under her knees. Grabbing the baton from the weight room, she secures it in the holster on her back that is actually for her Jaylah Stick.

Ava arrives at the door to Hank's lab with everyone else. Sean whistles as he sees her which makes them turn to her. 

"Are you going to be wearing that?" Alex asks. Ava nods. 

"This is what I wear in battles," she confirms.

"You were wearing that when we first met." Eric comments.

Once again, Ava nods. "I like to be prepared."

Eric raises his eyebrows but doesn't say anything as the mutants now finally look at the door in front of them. There is a note pinned against it.

Gone to the

airbase, bring the

crate marked X.

Hank

Charles rips it off and then opens the door. 

Inside, there is a huge mess. Tables and chairs are pushed over, broken glass on the floor and pushed over lamps along with other science stuff litter the floor. They start to make their way through the mess.

"What the hell happened here?" Eric asks.

Charles doesn't answer but walks towards a big crate at the end of the room. Ava can't see it but it must be marked with an X because Charles opens it.

The other Mutants shuffle towards the crate.

"Hank has been busy," Eric says as they look into it. "Do we really have to wear these?" Alex says and motions to the suits that are lying in the crate. They are yellow and dark blue and don't look very fashionable.

"As none of us mutated to endure extreme g-force or being riddled by bullets, I suggest we suit up," Charles tells them.

As they stand in front of a giant black plane, they are all in their individual suit. Well, Charles and Eric don't need modification but Sean has wing-like contraptions on the side of his suit and Alex's suit has a round disc in the area of his chest to control his mutation better. Sadly, Hank didn't think about the fact that a women's chest is larger than a man's which leads to Raven not being able to close her suit completely.

Ava, of course, didn't change out at all. In the beginning, Charles tried to convince her otherwise but Ava reminded them of their deal and the fact that her gear is actually bulletproof, which she doubts the suits of the others are.

"Where is Hank?" Raven asks as they all stood in a line in front of the jet.

"I'm here." his voice sounds through the hall they are in. As he comes closer, they can see that he is now covered in fur and Ava notices that his skin changed from pink to blue. Humans are so colorful.

"It didn't attack the cells." hank tells them. "It enhanced them. It didn't work."

"Yes, it did, Hank. Don't you see? This is who you were meant to be. This is you. No more hiding." Raven tells him. She lays her gloved hand on his face and Ava now realizes that she is also in her blue form. She was the whole morning. Do all humans change colors? 

Dee in thought about humans and their color changes, she doesn't register what Eric says but it must be something offensive since Hank lifts him up by his throat and growls at him.

"Hank!" Charles says, worried about Eric.

"Don't mock me!" Hank tells the metal bender, with a deep voice.

"Hank, put him down immediately, please." Charles says as Eric's face gets redder and redder, "Hank! Hank!"

Hank drops eric to the floor who looks up, panting "I wasn't." he says."

"Even I got to admit you look pretty badass." Alex seemingly needs to add his input, "I think I got a new name for you. Beast."

'Beast' growls but doesn't say anything.

Sean looks at the Jet in doubt. "You're sure you can fly this thing?"

Hank looks at the redhead, "Of course I can. I designed it." 

"And I'm a good pilot too." Ava adds, "Just in case."

The group of mutants, that really needed a Team name, board the Jet.