AN: Hello everyone! Hope you're ready for another chapter of Excelsior! I had to go through a few drafts of this one, but I am SO happy with how it turned out!

As always, eternal thanks to my lovely beta annbe11. If anyone here is a fan of the Tiger's Curse series, has a fondness for paranormal romance with a hint of court intrigue, or likes crossovers with Disney, please check out her new story Rajah's Curse. It's a really fun story that desperately needs more readers.

Anyway, on with the show!

The First Step

Parker Household, The Burbs

The dining room had become very quiet. Peter shifted uncomfortably in his spot at the table, pleading for the long silence to end while at the same time afraid of what would come next. At the other side of the table, past the two plates of cooled meatloaf, Aunt May was rubbing her temples with a sigh. The crow's feet around her eyes were usually crinkled with smiles and laughter, but now they just seemed to show just how truly tired she was.

"Okay…" she said almost like a groan. "Let me just run through this again so I can properly understand what has happened today. So, you left school."

"Yeah," said Peter, nodding.

"You almost got hit by a flying sumo wrestler."

"Yeah."

"Who was immediately stopped by Iron Man, your personal hero since kindergarten."

"Uh huh."

"You asked if you could be a hero and his response was a rather emphatic 'no'."

"Well… yeah."

"Then, not more than a few minutes later, the sumo wrestler was back and he was holding Eugene Thompson hostage. You could have let the pros do their jobs, but, like a crazy person, you instead decided to take the villain on yourself."

"But Aunt May, I had to-"

"Ahp-pahp-pahp!" she said, holding up her finger. "The adult is talking, sweetheart." The look in her eyes was not one to be taken lightly. "After you managed to stop the sumo wrestler, you again ran into Iron Man. Now, instead of trying to discourage you from trying to be a hero, he instead offered to train you so you can go to SLA, an offer that you immediately agreed to before even discussing it with me. Is that right?"

"Well… um...," Peter said slowly, scratching the back of his head. "I just… I guess I just got so excited that I… well, what else could I have done?" Aunt May continued to stare at him, clearly not overly pleased with his explanation. "He, um, he said was going to give me a job too. So… there's that, right?"

There was silence before she gave another sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. "Well, it's better than working at Burger Fool," she admitted. "I really wish you had thought to discuss this with me before you said 'yes'. Mostly, though, I'm just glad you're alright. I almost had a heart attack when I saw that footage of you running at that villain."

Peter winced a bit, both from regret at worrying her and the feelings left behind by the bone-cracking hug he had gotten the second he had walked in the front door. He could swear he felt some of his bones move.

"I'm really sorry, Aunt May. Again."

They lapsed into another silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

"Peter, I'm just… I'm just really worried about you. I know this is exciting, but this could also be really dangerous."

"Aunt May, I… I really want to do this," he said. "This might be my only chance to…" Peter stopped, feeling his throat choke up.

"To be a hero?" she asked.

To be a person Uncle Ben would be proud of.

Peter nodded.

"I know I can do this," he said, trying to keep the hitch out of his voice. "I-I want to do this. Because I know if I don't... I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

"Sweetie…" said Aunt May. She stood up and walked around the table before wrapping him in a hug. "I… I know, Peter. And… I know that if I try to stop you, then I'll probably regret it too."

Peter pulled back enough to look up at her.

"You mean…?"

"I want you to be safe, Peter," she said. "I want so badly for you to be safe. But more than that, I want you to be happy." She cupped his cheek with her hand. "Will this make you happy?"

Peter swallows and nods.

"More than anything," he said quietly.

"Well." After a moment, she offered a brave little smile, and somehow it seemed even brighter than the sun. "All right then. Tell me what I can do to help."

Peter seizes her in another hug, repeatedly telling himself not to cry. This all still felt so unreal. This morning, he had been the same nerdy Quirkless kid he had always been. Now, the one and only Iron Man was offering to teach him how to be a hero. How to finally fulfill his lifelong dream.

It was incredible.

A few minutes later, as he was cleaning his dinner plate, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He flipped it open and was confused to see a large text from a number he hadn't seen before. He had only gotten to the second line of the text before he gave a huge grin.

"It's from Mr. Stark!" he said excitedly, running out of the kitchen to the dining room table. Aunt May had just sat down to read, but she dropped her book at his call and gave Peter her full attention.

"What did he say?" she asked, looking over his shoulder. Peter tapped the button on the keypad to scroll down, silently cursing the combination of big messages and tiny phone screens.

"Looks like the job description," Peter said. "'Applicant must have a drive to self-improve, a passion for saving lives, and a willingness to get their hands messy with engine grease.'" Peter scrolled further through the message. "'Applicant must be in adequate physical condition, as they will be required to perform exertions including, but not limited to, part runs, drink runs, snack runs, and any other type of the run their supervisor makes off the top of their heads.'"

"Does it say anything about salary?" Aunt May asked. As the Operations Manager for one of the F.E.A.S.T. centers in The Burbs, she had lots of experience advising others on understanding job descriptions and editing resumes.

"Well…" said Peter, continuing to scroll through the message. "I don't think I see anything about that."

"Hmm," said May. She snatched the phone out of Peter's hand and started paging through it herself. The further down she read, the more her eyes seemed to narrow. After about a minute, she snapped Peter's flip phone closed and offered it back to him.

"How about you go do your homework, Peter? Once you get everything done, we can watch some TV together. Might help you unwind after such a rough day."

"Alright, Aunt May," Peter said with a smile. He scooped up his backpack before climbing the stairs to his room.

Peter's room was what a person might refer to as 'artfully disheveled'. The walls were a chaotic mess of superhero posters, many featuring Iron Man, as well as device sketches jotted down on anything from notebook paper to folded napkins. An overstuffed bookshelf was practically exploding with comics, textbooks, and science fiction novels while an array of Lego models fought for space on the top of it and his dresser. A writing desk and swivel chair was pushed into the corner of the room and held a desk lamp, assorted electrical components and a half-rebuilt desktop tower pushed against the wall. All the furniture was fairly old, but still solid and that was all Peter really cared about.

He sat down at his desk and cleared a big enough space to get started on his homework, carefully pushing aside the various computer bits and pieces. Uncle Ben's old computer had finally failed them, but Peter was sure he could get it working good as new once he got all the right parts. For now, though, he needed to get started on homework. Ned wouldn't be out of cram school until later tonight, so he'd call him then to tell him about what happened.

Half an hour later, Peter was most of the way through his math homework when his cell phone rang. He flipped it open and was excited to see Tony's number from earlier. He made a mental note to add the number to his address book and answered the call.

"Hi!" he said with excitement. "I mean, hey there, Mr. Stark, uh Tony, um sir. What's up?"

"Kid, I just got finished with a very interesting phone call," said Tony, who sounded incredibly tired. "I want to make a deal with you. I'll agree to give you the salary of a Stark Industries Lab Technician if you promise to never let me talk to your Aunt May again. Deal?"

Peter had often found it weird in TV shows when someone would get strange news in a call and just stare at the phone. Now, however, he found himself doing exactly that. He stared at his cell phone and blinked silently for many moments before bringing it back to his ear.

Finally, he said "Aunt May called you? What did she say?"

"That's not important right now, kid. Do we have a deal?"

"Um, sure," he said hesitantly. "I mean, yes, Mr. Stark."

"Great. See you on Friday." Then he hung up.

Peter sat there silently and thought about going down to ask his Aunt about what had happened between them. After some more consideration, though, he decided he was better off not knowing and went back to his homework.

On Friday, he would take his first step toward becoming a hero.

SLA Primary Campus, Salem North

A sample of helium gas at 25°C is compressed from 200 cm^3 to 0.240 cm^3. Its pressure is now 3.00 cm Hg. What was the original pressure of the helium?

Jean Grey glared down at the last problem of her chemistry homework. It was the very last piece of homework she had for the day, but it had been practically taunting her all this time. She had no idea where to start with solving it and the textbook was being remarkably cagey on the subject.

She gave a great sigh as her head dropped down on top of her notebook.

"Kevin…" she whined.

"What is it, Jean?"

"Please help me?"

He sighed and she snuck a glance in his direction.

At the head of the table was Kevin Ford giving her a very put-upon expression. That only lasted a second before he rolled his eyes.

"Alright, Jean. Let me see it."

Jean pushed the textbook toward him and he started looking over the question. Kevin was just a bit taller than Jean with a round face and short-cut brown hair. He was wearing a rubbery dark-green containment suit that covered every inch of his body but his head. That was covered by a transparent watery-elastic force field. The field started the collar of his suit and was projected an inch away from Kevin's face. Kevin had worn these kinds of suits every day since he first came to the mansion. Because of his Quirk, his touch could break down the binding forces between organic molecules, causing any organic material he touched to disintegrate to dust. He had to wear this suit all the time for everyone else's safety. It didn't take a genius to notice that having a Quirk like that bothered Kevin greatly, but Jean was at least relieved to see him trying to live a fuller life. He had even gotten into scrap art within the last year, turning cast-off pieces of metal and junk into sculptures that he took a great deal of pride in.

Across from where Jean sat, Piotr Rasputin was working on his homework as well. He was a young man who had arrived at the mansion only a year after Jean had, but she still barely knew anything about him. Any given day you'd only receive some nods or grunts by way of interaction. His black hair was cut close to his head and his tall frame was practically bursting with muscles. And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that his skin shined like chrome. Jean knew that he had arrived in the US from Russia alone as a child. No luggage, no identification, and no family to contact. His Quirk had also just recently activated, giving him a body of solid living steel, and he had a hard time compensating for such a drastic increase in strength and weight. It hadn't taken long for him to be placed under the care of Professor Xavier. The chair he was sitting on had been specially designed for him, like all of his furniture, and was reinforced to support his weight. He had broken more than his share of chairs and couches since first coming to the Academy all those years ago, but no one had held that against him.

Next to Piotr was the only other girl in the Academy who was Jean's age. Jubilation Lee, or Jubilee as she preferred to be called, was doing her math homework while idly blowing bubble gum. A child who had been living on her own in a shopping mall after running away from an orphanage, she had been caught by a pro hero and brought here about five years ago. In many ways, she was just like her Quirk; flashy and loud. Her spiky black hair had a streak of lime green in it this week, but Jean had little doubt that Jubilee would dye it some other crazy color next week. She had a new pair of green earrings and her pink sunglasses were balanced on her forehead. Jean couldn't remember any time when she had actually seen Jubilee wear those sunglasses on her eyes, though. She was dressed in neon colors, but they were a little more subdued than her normal ensemble. Some days her clothes were so bright Jean couldn't look straight at her. The one constant was her gloves that she always wore. Jubilee's Quirk to create firework explosions with her hands was not as uncontrollable as Kevin's, but she had to wear rubber gloves just to be on the safe side. She had accidently set fire to more than one set of antique drapes since coming to SLA.

The four of them were sitting in one of the studies on the first floor of the mansion. This was the room that they normally gathered in after their classes to do homework and chat. However, they had a test at the end of the week so the atmosphere this evening was not quite upbeat enough to warrant conversation not related to schoolwork.

Jean tapped her phone to quickly check the time. Professor Xavier had asked to meet with her tonight, but she still had a few minutes before she needed to get moving. She probably still had enough time to let Kevin give her a rundown of the problem.

The study door opened and everyone looked up. Jean's face immediately brightened as Scott Summers walked in.

Her boyfriend – her boyfriend, even now a part of her still squealed happily - made his way across the room, waving lazily to the others and giving a heart-melting smile to Jean. She looked him up and down, determined to never take any aspect of him for granted. So much about him was amazing and wonderful that Jean was sure she would never grow tired of it. His wavy chestnut brown hair was damp with sweat, but that only served to give it more of a shine. He had a lean frame and an absurdly handsome, angular face that practically radiated with charm. She also didn't mind how his exercise clothes clung to his frame And, as always, he was wearing his sunglasses, those ruby-quartz lenses being the only thing that kept his dangerous Quirk contained. He was in the process of draining a water bottle and Jean could see another empty bottle haphazardly poking out of the backpack he carried.

"Hey guys," he said before collapsing in the chair next to Jean.

"Hi, Scott," Jean said with a smile.

"Hey Slim," Kevin said, barely even looking up from Jean's textbook.

Piotr acknowledged Scott with a nod before turning back to his work.

"Where have you been, Scott?" demanded Jubilee.

"I was doing some training in the gym and then finished up with a mile run," he said, finally finishing the water bottle. He slouched in his chair and let out a relaxed sigh.

"Why?" asked Jubilee. "You and I did weights and running this morning."

"I think he finally got sick of being called 'Slim'," Kevin said with a laugh. "Bulk up as much as you want, Scotty. You'll always be Slim to us."

"I think it's cool," Jean added helpfully. Scott looked over and gave her another smile.

Jubilee loudly popped her latest bubble.

"Hey Scott, do you think you can help me with my math?" she asked, patting the chair next to her.

"Why are you asking him?" said Kevin, fixing Jubilee with a look. "I've been sitting here for the last hour. Plus, I've got a full letter grade on him in math"

"Scott's just a better tutor, Kev," Jubilee said, crossing her arms over herself. "He gets me."

"Oh, I get you," Kevin grumbled as Scott said, "You should ask Kevin for help this time, Jubilee."

Scott leaned back to look at the ceiling. "I'm not really feeling in a homework mood right now."

"Why not?" Jean asked, looking at him with confusion.

"I decided I should focus more on training from now on," he said. "We're gonna be in the Hero course this fall. I want to make sure I put on a good show to the pros. You guys should be doing some extra training too, you know? Don't want you all to be lagging behind while I'm out there blasting villains."

"Hnh," Piotr said dismissively. That was more of a response than they usually got out of him. Probably because he could already bench press an SUV. Even Jean thought that he wasn't likely to lag behind Scott or anyone else.

"Okay then, Slim," Kevin said with a sarcastic grin. "We'll see if you keep that attitude during the test on Friday."

Jean checked her phone again and saw that she should probably get going. She still had a little time before Professor Xavier wanted to see her but it would be better to wait outside his office for a bit than to be late. She stood and held open her book bag as her mind took hold of her various school supplies. Her pencil case and notebook both glowed with red light before they lifted from the table and flew into her book bag. Even her textbook flew from Kevin's grasp and closed itself before sliding easily into the bag.

"Okay, guys," she said to them all. "I'm going to go have my meeting with the Professor. I'll see you all at breakfast tomorrow."

They all said their goodnights to her, but Scott caught her arm as she passed by. He gave a playful tug downward and she bent towards him. He stretched up and placed a lingering kiss on her cheek.

"Have a good night, babe," he said with a grin. "See you in the morning." Jean could feel her face flushing, but she gave him a smile.

"Good night, Scott," she said before she crossed the room. She walked out and gave one last look at Scott before closing the door behind her.

After taking a moment for her heart to settle, Jean walked through the posh hallways of the mansion that housed the Stan Lee Academy of Heroic Studies. She passed by the windows to the spacious grounds under the beautiful night sky as well as the artwork that decorated the walls. Even if it was something as mundane as a hallway she walked through every day, she couldn't help feeling a thrill of excitement. Things were about to dramatically change for all of them.

Jean and the others - collectively known as the Wards to the other SLA students - were technically too young to actually be Academy students, but they had already been living here for years. They all had nowhere else to go, as well as quirks that required specialized care and resources so they would not be a danger to others. To the five of them, and many others before them, the SLA campus had been like a very luxurious orphanage, but that wouldn't be the case soon. In just a few more months, she and the rest of the Wards were going to be official students of SLA, not just the house guests of Professor Xavier. She could hardly wait.

She didn't cross paths with any other students as she walked to the great hall. They were all likely in the various dorm buildings doing their own homework. She imagined that a lot of Support students were pulling late nights in the workshop as well, trying to get their projects done.

Jean finally came to the great hall and ascended the grand staircase. While the first floor of SLA held drawing rooms, libraries, and parlors that could be used as more open classrooms, the second floor had rooms that were clearly meant to be the regular classrooms one would find at a school. Jean's education at SLA had always been in an informal capacity and she was looking forward to learning in these rooms instead of the various parlors and studies on the first floor. Taking another staircase, she reached the third floor, which held living quarters and offices for the teachers. After turning a few corners through the hallways, she came to a very ornate set of double doors. A plush couch was set against the wall next the doors and Jean made her way there. Just as she passed in front of them, both doors began to open. Jean jumped in surprise and spun to face them. There was no one standing at the doors as they slowly opened and Jean felt her stomach start to drop.

"Please come in, Jean," said a voice from inside.

Don't worry, Jean, she tried to tell herself. It's just a nice little chat with the Professor.

Jean swallowed her apprehensions and walked into Professor Xavier's office. It was a very homey space, with comfortable looking armchairs arranged in front of the desk and in front of the fireplace on one side of the room. While the wall directly across from her was occupied by floor-to-ceiling windows, every other wall was taken by large bookshelves, stocked with countless volumes. An intricately carved grandfather clock was set against the wall to the left side of the room. On the side of the room opposite from the fireplace was the door leading to Professor Xavier's chambers.

Professor Xavier himself sat behind his desk, flipping through a few items in a manilla folder. He looked up and gave Jean a welcoming smile as he set the folder aside next to a chessboard featuring a game that, as far as Jean was concerned, had been going on for months. Even though he was smiling at her and she was always happy to see him, Jean couldn't help but notice a calculating glint in his eyes. It made her feel a little on edge. No matter how comforting his words were, Charles Xavier always gave the impression that he could see right through you. And in most cases, he could do exactly that, but not with Jean.

She also noticed that the Professor already had a guest with him. One of the armchairs by the fire had been turned around and she knew the man sitting there. Erik Lehnsherr, the pro hero Magneto and Deputy Headmaster of SLA, was man of Professor Xavier's age. His hair had long since turned stark white and his face was lined with age, but he had always held himself tall and strong. Him and Xavier were opposites in many ways. His regal purple robes contrasting with Xavier's suit was just one of the many. One thing that was the same, however, was that Magneto was giving Jean the very same calculating look as Xavier.

Okay. Maybe this won't be just a little chat.

"Hello, Jean," Xavier said, folding his hands on his desk.

"Good evening," said Magneto.

"Hello Magneto," Jean said with a nod. "Hello Professor. Sorry if I'm a bit early for our appointment." Some thought it odd that she referred to them so formally. These two men had practically raised her ever since she came to the academy as a child. Still, she didn't know any other ways to refer to them that didn't sound silly to her.

"Not to worry, Jean," Xavier said a chuckle. "I just hope we are not inconveniencing you by requesting this meeting. Please, take a seat."

Jean gave another nod before walking across the room and settling down in one of the armchairs in front of Professor Xavier's desk.

"Um, what did you want to talk about, Professor?" she asked.

"We wanted to talk about you, Jean," the Professor said, steepling his fingers together. "Our academy has started receiving applications for the next year of students and I found myself thinking of you. Of how far you have come since you first joined us." He closed his eyes and took in a breath, looking like he was thinking over his words. "I believe it is time that we shifted our focus in your Quirk lessons to truly train your telepathic abilities."

Jean felt her stomach drop straight through the floor. Chills skittered over her arms as she swallowed.

"I… I'm not sure that's a good idea, Professor," Jean said, looking askance. She didn't want things to be like that time again. When she couldn't tell the difference between thoughts and words. When all she could hear was Noise. Once she had come under Xavier's care, he had placed mental barriers that blocked her telepathic powers. They were her lifeline. Her protection. Nothing came in and nothing came out.

"I know the idea might seem frightening, Jean, but I honestly believe it will help you in the long-run." He now gave her a very focused look. "Do you still want to try and become a hero?"

Jean blinked at a question like that.

"Of-of course I do, Professor," she said. "Why wouldn't I? It's… it's our dream."

Xavier nodded.

"If that is so, then you understand that being a hero will be a difficult job. You will need to push past your limits in order to prepare for it. Part of that will involve making sure that you can use every aspect of your quirk. The entrance exam itself is an intensive event and I want you to be fully prepared." He gave her another curious look. "Do you still intend to take the entrance exam as well? I know I told you, Scott, and the others that you may take the test privately if you wish."

"Well…" said Jean, idly brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, "Jubilee and Kevin were talking about doing that and Piotr didn't really have an opinion, but Scott talked to us about it. He told us how it would be the perfect way to prove to everyone we belonged in this course and that we would earn our stripes. It made a lot of sense."

Jean heard a soft 'hmm' come from Magneto's direction, but his expression was neutral when she glanced at him.

"Well then," Xavier began again ignoring Magneto, "you're going to need to work hard to prepare yourself." Now he leaned forward. "How are you coming along with training your telekinesis?"

Jean felt another chill flash down her spine.

"Um, I'm doing, y'know, pretty good," she said, rubbing her arm uncomfortably. "I mean, I think I can do okay."

"Lies are unbecoming, Jean," Magneto said from his place by the fire.

Jean flinched away from his words, staring hard at the floor.

"Erik," Xavier said sharply. "We agreed I would handle this."

"And all you've done is dance around the issue, Charles," Magneto grumbled back. He propped his head against his fist. "Make your point already."

Xavier let out a sigh before he reached over and opened the manila folder he had been paging through when Jean walked in. He picked up the sheets of paper held within before returning his gaze to Jean.

"Jean, over the years we've logged your capabilities with the telekinetic side of your Quirk in monthly assessments." He set one of the sheets down on the desk in front of her. The page had a line graph trailing slightly upward. "When you first arrived with us at the age of five, you were capable of lifting a weight of two pounds. By the time you were eight," now he placed a second graph in front of her, "you could lift six pounds. And it was only then that you started seriously training your Quirk. Since then, you showed incredible improvement. Within a year you could lift as much as fifteen pounds, and were already practicing with controlling multiple objects." Now he started laying down graphs one after another, each one showing an increasing slope of improvement. "You were exponentially increasing your capabilities every time we tested you, but then…"

Now he laid down a last sheet of paper, looking at Jean with a very serious expression. She didn't want to look at it, but she was unable to stop her eyes drifting down to it. The line graph had ascended to an incredible height, almost ninety pounds, before it sank by an incredible margin, hovering at just over forty pounds.

"It was twelve months ago when you started performing dramatically worse with your Quirk assessments," he said, leaning back in his chair. "From there, they have been dropping steadily downward, to the point when you have struggled to lift twenty-pound weights."

"Each time your abilities have been assessed," Magneto added, "you have given a variety of excuses to your instructors. Either you weren't feeling well or you were unable to focus or the sun was in your eyes or - and this is my personal favorite - you accidentally ate expired sushi for breakfast."

Jean was now grabbing her bicep in a white-knuckle grip, unable to look directly at either of them.

"This downward turn began three months after you turned fourteen years old," said Professor Xavier, trying to regain control of the conversation. "It was about that time that I expected your mental barriers to begin breaking down." Just then, Jean felt… it could only be described as a light push, but in her head. "Since I am unable to sense your thoughts," continued Xavier, "that clearly hasn't happened yet, which has had me concerned for months. Do you have any thoughts in regard to this, Jean?"

Jean just stared at the ground and said nothing.

"After some time had passed," he continued, "I came up with a hypothesis. I believe that you are using your powers to hold together these barriers that I placed upon you. Barriers that were meant to fall down on their own, I might add, when your mind had had enough time to properly develop. This effort of holding them up is costing you both the energy and focus you need to use your abilities to their full potential." Xavier let out another sigh before crossing his arms on his desk. "I presume you can understand our concerns with this turn of events, Jean. Do you have anything you want to say to us?"

Once again, Jean said nothing. She couldn't find a single word to say.

"Very well," said Magneto, pushing himself up from his chair. "I'm going to be blunt with you, Jean, since Charles can't find it in himself to do so." With a few long strides, Magneto stood towering over her. "You fear the true potential of your abilities and you have allowed that fear to run unchecked. Your attempts to hold onto this protection that was always meant to be temporary have harmed your progress and effectively reversed the growth of your abilities."

Jean shivered as she found herself staring up into Magneto's steel-colored eyes.

"Erik…" Xavier warned.

"If you continue as you have," Magneto went on, not paying attention to Xavier, "then you will not be fit to pass the Entrance Exam, let alone the Hero course at this academy."

Magneto's words felt like a punch in the stomach for Jean. She stared up at him before her gaze turned back to the floor beneath her, tears in the corners of her eyes.

I really want to study here. I really do. I want to be a hero with Scott and the others. I'm… I'm just so afraid.

"Please don't take Erik the wrong way, Jean," Xavier said. "He and I want nothing more than to see you come into your own and become a fine hero. I know you, Jean, and I know you are more than capable of graduating from this academy."

"Of course, Charles is right." Magneto knelt down and placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "I am sure you can become a great hero if you allow yourself to learn and grow." He gave her shoulder a soft squeeze. "If you shape up and start acting like you deserve to attend this school, we will teach you all you need to know. Alright?"

Jean wiped her eyes as thoughts swirled through her mind. She still had nightmares of the days when all she could hear was Noise, and those weren't even the worst ones. What her Quirk had done to her childhood, to her family… Jean never wanted to feel like that again.

Xavier pulled away from his desk and drifted around the side of it. The silvery hoverchair he sat in, a gift from a former Ward who graduated from the Support course, floated a few feet above the ground and was more maneuverable than any wheelchair. When he hovered close to her, he pressed a button on the armrest, causing the chair to drift a foot closer to the ground, letting him look up at her. He placed his hand on Jean's free shoulder, giving her a comforting smile.

"I know you are scared, Jean, but know that we dearly want to help you. We want to help you grow. We want to help you succeed. We want to help you spread your wings and fly. You have an amazing gift, my dear, and you have the potential to help so many people. Will you please allow us to help you?"

Both men stared at her.

Jean could feel tears gathering in her eyes again. There was still so much fear, but she could also feel the love these two had for her. Her hands rose to take hold of theirs and she gave them both a squeeze. After a moment of silence, she made up her mind.

"Okay," she said, barely louder than a whisper. "Okay." She gave a jerky nod as a few tears dripped down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and released her grip on their arms to wipe her eyes. When she felt like she had regained her composure, she looked between the two of them. "How do we start?"

Professor Xavier smiled at her as he raised his hoverchair again.

"On Friday, you and I can begin your lessons in telepathy. We'll go out to the gardens and start loosening the blocks. That will give us a nice empty spot to build up your own barriers. It will be challenging, but I know you're fully capable of overcoming this. And I'll be with you the whole time."

"And your other training sessions will be spent with me to build up the strength of your Quirk," added Magneto. "Your telekinesis has great potential, but we have a lot of lost ground to make up for before the Entrance Exam."

Jean let out another breath, trying to forcibly calm the roiling nerves in her stomach.

"Okay, Professor. Okay, Magneto. I'll be ready." She stood up and adjusted her bookbag on her shoulder. "Thank you both. I promise I won't let you down." Her eyes darted to the clock and saw the time. "I, um, should probably head to my room and get ready for bed. I hope you both have a good night."

"Sleep well, child," Magneto said, giving her a small smile.

"Good night, Jean," said Professor Xavier. "I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, please make sure that chemistry homework is on my desk by three PM."

"Yes, Professor," Jean said, crossing the room and exiting the office.

She made her way to her dorm room on that floor and got herself ready for bed. Despite her farewell to Professor Xavier, it would be some time before Jean got any sleep that night. It was too easy to imagine the nightmare that had been her years as a young child.

If I hear what the others actually think, they might leave again.

Jean tried to take a calming breath as she snuggled further into her covers.

What am I saying? It's okay. Scott won't leave me. He… he loves me. It'll be alright.

On Friday, Jean would take her first step toward becoming a hero.

AN: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I am SO excited to start writing the adventures of the new Hero Class, but we've still got a few things to do before we get there. Also, if anyone is still wondering, Peter is based off of the Tom Holland portrayal because his is my favorite of the movie Spider-men. Aunt May is based off Nancy Linari, the actress and visual inspiration of the PS4 Aunt May. Jean and Scott match their appearances in All-New X-Men (2013) and Professor X and Magneto are played by Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan because they are the best and most perfect choices. The Parker house is the house from the Raimi Spider-Man films.

With all that said, I hope you are all staying safe and I look forward to seeing you again for the next chapter of EXCELSIOR!