Normal-or slightly less than

Normal

I don’t own Evo or the characters that are seen within, as they are the product of my personal God, Marvel Comics. Well, except Jacob and maybe a few minor characters roaming the halls.

Notes: I’m very sorry about this. All those damn Mary-Sue stories have driven me out of my skull. I couldn’t help myself. Forgive me. *Sniffles*

Timeline: Few years after the thing with Apocalypse. Overlaps with my other stories, Simple as That, and something that’s currently untitled.

Pairings: I’m feeding my Pyro/Iceman obsession here, which is a carry over from the movie. Also Bobby/OMC and Rictor/Shatterstar (Carryover from Simple as That). Some other pairings float around, but we don’t get too heavily into them.

Summery: Jacob was a normal, All-American sort of boy. And then suddenly he’s one of them, a freak and mutant, and its gone. He comes to Xavier’s looking for a cure and finds the X-men, and Iceman, instead.

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Chapter One

Age

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He watched the coat intently. Logic told him that it couldn’t very well get up and go somewhere if he looked away, because that would just be absurd. But, considering the past few months, maybe it really wasn’t too off the wall. Perhaps anything was possible and nothing was impossible and…who was he really to say what could and couldn’t happen?

He was learning, the hardest way possible, not to judge things solely by logic.

His eyes traveled over the gray and red jacket, eyes linge on on the bold ‘PH’ stitched on the breast, with ‘Nash’ directly below it. Patches for various sports were sewn on to it, Track, Basketball, Football, as well as one for the debate team. He knew the class ring, platinum with a red stone, was hanging around a silver chain, was shoved into the left pocket, along with a gray bandana, which he’d worn every game night since Junior High.

His student ID and drivers license where in the right pocket, proclaiming that Jacob L. Nash, of Penn Hurst High School, would be seventeen in three months, graduating next summer, and lived at 302 Alabaster Road.

It was so stupid to be focused on this jacket while his life was taking a nosedive all around him. But once upon a time that had been him, as opposed to some distant echo. He’d had all of that and all the perks that had come with such petty power. He had though he owned the world for a time; he’d been smart, athletic, cute enough to pass, and popular his entire life and he’d never, for an instant, thought that could change.

But it had all changed one day, in one tiny moment of anger, when he’d almost killed his parents. They had lived, barely, as the effects of…whatever it was began to reverse themselves. But they couldn’t forgive and they sure as hell couldn’t, or wouldn’t, forget what their son had done; what he’d become in their eyes. That was fine though, he couldn’t really forgive himself either.

It figured the first time he and his parents had agreed on anything was on the fact he was a freak and didn’t deserve their love.

And school…all of the friends he’d thought he’d had were gone and had vanished quickly at that, and he’d gone from being on top to suddenly not even being worth talking to. They had wanted him gone, needed the dangerous mutant threat cast out of their perfectly carved world…he’d changed, and in this world there was no room for change. He was rocking the boat, messing with the natural order.

Not that what they wanted should have mattered, not in this world. He supposed he’d been an idealist, he’d thought that as long as he could control himself that the fact he was a mutant wouldn’t matter, that it wouldn’t overshadow who he was. That he was still Jacob, on the inside.

But no. He’d been not only expelled, but also forced into the local jail under police surveillance, because parents and townspeople were afraid he was dangerous.

Which he was.

At first it had hurt and he’d been angry. He’d hated everyone moment of the police watching him, like he was some kind of criminal, as opposed to the kid their children had grown up with, and the whispering was horrible. He hated the way they pointed and stared, like he was some kind of sideshow. For a while all there had been was anger and shame.

And then just shame.

“Jacob, are you ready to go?”

He turned, looking at the woman who was there to pick him up. She was probably the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, or at least the most exotic. She has near flawless coco colored skin, long white hair, currently pulled up into a ponytail, and eyes so pale they were nearly white in color.

She’s been very nice to him thus far, trying so hard to put him at ease and, he had to give her credit where it was due, she was good.

He nodded, standing up. He couldn’t help by glance back at his letterman’s jacket. He’d been staring at it, thinking…wondering. That one jacket seemed to hold so much meaning. It was everything he’d been once and nothing that he was now.

Or maybe he’s paid just a little too much attention when they’d done analogies in English class. Who the hell knew these days what made him think and do the things he did?

He looked down at his hands, encased in soft leather like materiel, then sighed and shook his head. He grabbed the jacket and slid it on.

“I’m ready to go Ms. Ororo.”

She smiled and nodded, putting a hand on his shoulder to steer him out. “Do you want to say goodbye to your parents?” He winced and her smile turned sympathetic. “I understand. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want.”

“Thanks.”

“Tell me Jacob, have you ever been to New York?”

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“Well, Jacob, you’ve already meet Ororo. She’s in charge of seeing to the girls here and teaching students to find a kind of balance.” Professor Xavier said, gesturing towards the woman, who smiled at him again. “Balance, you’ll find, is the first step to control.”

All Jacob found was that that sounded like a bunch of hokey spiritual shit, and he was barely Deist, let alone spiritual. But he didn’t say that out loud, as it seemed like a very rude thing to say.

Xavier smiled slightly, as if he had some kind of secret. “This is Logan. He teaches the children to use their talents through combat exercise and discipline, though, of course, our goal is not to make you into a fighter, just how to wield your abilities better.”

Logan was a man who was a touch on the short side, with a slight smirk quirking his lips. He was really…very hair, and looked like he’d have no problem serving Jacob all of his internal organs on a platter without breaking a sweat. He was all muscle and made the guys on the Wrestling team look weak. Or maybe it was just the air of confidence he seemed to be giving off…

Whatever it was, Jacob made a mental note to not go fucking with him.

“And this is Doctor Hank McCoy, he’ll be teaching you literature and biology.”

“After all, Mr Nash, how are you to understand what makes you, you, and me what I am, if you don’t first understand what makes life?” Dr. McCoy was big, furry, and blue, but sounded like the intellectual type. He wouldn’t have guessed just by looking, but that’s why he needed to stop judging…

Other than that his words sounded very deep. It was total bullshit, Jacob was sure of that, but it was very deep and philosophical bullshit in his honest opinion, so maybe it balanced out.

“We have two other schools, one in Massachusetts, run by Sean Cassidy and Emma Frost, and one in Europe, run by Dr. McTaggert and Magnus.” Xavier picked up a black folder, with a raised X in the center, and offered it to him. “Everything you need to know about the schools and what they specialize in, is in there. Eventually, if we feel this isn’t the best facility for you, we may transfer you out.

“We also have student teachers. You’ll meet Jean soon, she’ll be bringing in another student from Boston”

Jacob took the folder, noting the high gloss finish. It was thick and a touch on the heavy side. He wondered just how much information was in there. Resolving to look through it later, he set it down on top of his duffel bag.

It also accord to him that if they had a school in Massachusetts, bringing a kid from Boston to New York seemed odd, to say the least. But if that was how they did things here…

“And, finally since I’m sure you’re very tired after your flight, you’ll be rooming with two other students, Bobby and John. They were told to get the room ready, but they…aren’t the most reliable pair in the entire world.”

“Which is to say they don’t do shit, ever.” Logan said gruffly.

Jacob had the odd feeling Logan had had more than one run in with his future roommates about that. Jacob just hoped he managed to stay out of the way.

“Language please.” Xavier shot Logan a look of mild annoyance. “Logan will show you to your room.”

Jacob nodded and picked up all of his things. Ms. Ororo leaned down and whispered something to Logan, who rolled his eyes but nodded. She smiled again; she seemed to do that a lot, then breezed past him, gracing him with a soothing look before she left the room, Dr. McCoy close behind.

He had to admit, something about her did put him at ease.

Logan stared at him, sizing him up apparently then gestured for him to follow. They walked down a hallway and Jacob took a moment to notice this place was actually pretty plush. He hadn’t been poor or anything, but his mother was the Happy Homemaker and his father owned a small restaurant…so they hadn’t been rich either.

“You played sports.” Not a question but a statement. “You any good?”

“Captain of the basketball team, first string in football, and I held a record in track.” Once upon a time he’d been so proud of those things, and now they seemed pretty…lame.

“Good.” The man looked back at him. “That means you’ll be in at least half-decent shape for what I have planned for you.” Jacob arched an eyebrow, but decided not to ask about it.

He was probably better off in the dark anyway.

The stopped out side of a door with a whiteboard mounted on the outside. The words “Beware all ye who enter here” was scrawled in purple marker. The man shook his head then glanced back at him.

“Don’t let the Icecube and Pyro get to you. They’re a little hard to handle when they get together, but don’t be afraid to put them in their place.”

Jacob nodded. Logan pushed open the door and stopped. Jacob peered over his shoulder and arched an eyebrow. The place was totally clean and in order. On one side there were two perfectly made beds and on the other one bare bed, with all of his stuff sitting on the side, waiting to be put away. Out on the balcony two boys were talking about something.

Logan looked suspicious, but Jacob had a feeling he always looked that way. He cleared his throat and both teens turned to face them.

One was clearly the older of the two, with straight reddish-blond hair, blue eyes, and a playful smirk curving his lips. He leaned against the younger and waved at them obligingly. The younger just smiled widely, brown eyes half hidden behind a mass of messy brown hair.

“It’s clean.” Logan observed, walking into the room. “Why?”

“You did tell us to get it ready for the new boy.” The older said calmly.

Logan shot him a dark look. “Yeah, but that usually means goof off and vanish until curfew to the two of you. So again, why? What’re you two idiots up to?”

“Us? Nothing.” The younger pouted. “Why’re you so suspicious? We do what we’re told and you flip, we don’t do it and you flip. We just can’t win.”

Logan seemed to consider that for a moment then shrugged. “Whatever. This is Jacob Nash.” Jacob nodded in their direction and he got two acknowledging nods in return. “Try to act like civil humans for a change and keep him away from Julio. We’re shipping in a roommate for him, so he’s sure to be a pain in the ass for weeks.”

“You’re getting Julio a roommate?” The blond repeated. “Poor guy.”

Logan nodded and turned to leave.

“Wait, Logan.”

“Yeah Bobby?” Logan stopped and looked at the brunette, who was bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“If you see Jubs, with blue hair, asking where we are-”

Logan held up a hand to stop him. “I’ll tell her you’re with the new guy and to kill you two later on.”

“Thanks.” Bobby said cheerfully. Logan muttered something under his breath then left the room, pulling the door shut behind him. Jacob blinked then turned back to the other two, who stared back at him.

There was a moment of almost deafening silence, then the other, he assumed John, graced him with a smile that boarded on evil.

“Welcome to the X-mansion. I’ll be your host, St. John, and this is my slightly dim assistant, Bobby.” Bobby rolled his eyes and walked over to his bed, flopping down bonelessly. “We’ll show you around and introduce you to everyone, except Ric, in a sec.”

Jacob nodded and walked over to his bed and crouched down, opening one of his bags to start unpacking.