A Place to Shine

Posted on Wed Aug 5th, 2026 @ 8:59am by Kennedy Kelly & Hayden Davis & Maeve MacKenna & Jennifer Bryant & Drew Williams & Alaric Thane & Josiah Martin & Casey Severide & Lucas Mercer
Edited on on Wed Aug 5th, 2026 @ 9:03am

4,078 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Episode 8: Shadows Over Avalon
Location: Xavier’s - Back Lawn
Timeline: March 23, 1992

Spring in upstate New York was a fickle thing. One day it was all cold rain and gray skies, the next it felt as though winter had never existed at all. After several days of dreary weather, the return of warm sunshine was a welcome reprieve, and nearly everyone at Xavier's found an excuse to spend the day outdoors.

Kennedy was no exception. She had spent the morning riding Titan, letting the gelding stretch his long legs across open fields. Somewhere along the route they might have happened upon an old farm fence or two that simply begged to be jumped. It had been exhilarating, and by the time they returned to the mansion she was flushed from the ride and smelled faintly of leather, horse, and fresh spring air.

Crossing the back lawn in her fitted English riding attire, helmet tucked beneath one arm, she noticed an unfamiliar face standing alone in the sunshine. Blonde hair, sun-kissed skin, and the unmistakable look of someone still trying to find his place told her everything she needed to know. Whispers of a new student had already spread through the mansion.

"Lucas, right?" Kennedy called as she approached. She had never been shy about introducing herself to new faces. Stopping a comfortable distance away, she shifted her helmet to one arm and extended the other with an easy smile.

"My name's Kennedy." She was a tall and slender blonde, with elegantly sculpted features. She carried herself in a refined manner, like she had grown up in front of cameras. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Lucas caught the football he'd been idly tossing into the air, tucking it against his chest as he turned toward the voice calling his name. He'd wandered outside after spending the morning unpacking, needing a break from the unfamiliar rooms and endless new faces. The football had been an easy excuse to get outside, something familiar to keep his hands busy while he took in the sprawling grounds of Xavier's.

Eventually, though, he had stopped worrying about where he was supposed to go next and just enjoyed being outside. He stood there for a while, face tilted toward the spring sunshine, letting the warmth settle over him. Back home, he had never thought twice about days like this. Here, everything still felt strange and new, but moments like this made the place feel a little less overwhelming. And there was something comforting about the sun.

The girl approaching him was hard not to notice. Tall, blonde, and carrying herself with an effortless confidence, she looked like she belonged here in a way Lucas was still trying to figure out. The riding clothes, helmet tucked beneath one arm, and faint smell of leather and horses told him exactly where she'd been.

She's really pretty.

The thought came before he could stop it, followed immediately by a small stab of guilt.

Mandy would have hated her.

He wasn't sure why he was thinking about his ex. They had been over for a while now, and he was supposed to be moving forward. Besides, he wasn't even sure what he was feeling anymore. Everything about his life had changed so quickly that he barely recognized it.

Don't stare.

Lucas smiled instead, shifting the football under his arm.

"Hi, Kennedy. That's right. Nice to meet you too." He stepped forward and took her offered hand, shaking it gently with his larger one. He could almost feel Mandy glaring at him. "I was just throwing the ball around and taking a look at the place."

Smooth.

"I'm usually better at introductions?"

“I’m sure you are,” Kennedy replied with a coy, knowing smile as she sensed the sudden rush of nervous energy that overtook him. His reaction seemed to amuse her on some superficial level.

Drew had a planning period between the chemistry lab practical and a math tutoring study hall. He hasd found Jennifer and asked her if she would like to walk the grounds on the warm March day. He paused as they stepped outside and spotted the newest arrival to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. He gave Jennifer's hand a gentle squeeze and pulled her towards Lucas to make their own introductions.

Jennifer walked with her boyfriend. She held his hand and smiled at his gentle squeeze as he guided her towards Lucas. Her smile was warm and genuine as she took in the new arrival. "Hi," she said. "You must be new. I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Literally today," Lucas said, greeting the couple as he raised his free hand in a quick wave. More about his age, though short! Why not though? Mutants came in all shapes, sizes, colors, and more. "Lucas." He had a feeling he'd be saying his name a lot, but that was okay. Making new friends was fun he wasn't intimidated by this. "Just came in from Cali."

"I'm from Nova Scotia," Jennifer shared.

Drew offered Lucas his right hand in greeting. "I am Drew Williams from Cambridge, Massachusetts." He gestured at Jennifer who had forgotten to mention her name upon meeting Lucas. "This lovely Nova Scotian is Jennifer Bryant."

Lucas shook hands around again, a good firm grip for Drew, more gentle for Jennifer if she took his offer, "Nova Scotia, wow! And always wanted to see Boston area someday, I hear it's wicked. Close enough you get back home sometimes maybe?"

Drew just nodded amicably. There was no reason to tell Lucas there was nothing left in Cambridge for him to go back to.

Jennifer laughed. "You wouldn't say wow if you knew it," she said jokingly. "But, seriously, there are mutants here from all over the world."

"Never thought I'd meet people from all over like this," Lucas said. "Guess it's just another good surprise." His world was rapidly expanding.

A few moments later, Joey appeared coming from the direction of the sports field. Exercise was hardly an obsession for him, but he did promise to help organise a kickball game with the midgets now that they finally had some weather to go outside in. Surprisingly, it had gone pretty well, all things considered. Only one ball exploded. Clear win. Now he was headed back to the mansion for a shower and something more dignified than short track shorts and a Page High School Sand Devils T-shirt. He spotted the group forming and trotted over. "Hey, y'all. Did I miss a memo?" he asked before he noticed the guy. He ran his eyes over him quickly. "Welcome to the mansion. I'd shake your hand, but I'm pretty gross at the moment. 9-year-olds with super strength are surprisingly dangerous."

Lucas glanced over as the newcomer approached, a smile already forming at the easy humor in his greeting. The fact that someone could casually mention kids with super strength like it was a normal part of the day was still something he was getting used to at Xavier's.

Then again, maybe that was the point of the place.

"Trust me, I'm pretty sure I've dealt with worse," Lucas said with a grin, stepping forward anyway. "I have younger siblings. I've had my fair share of sticky hands, mystery stains, and things I probably shouldn't have touched. No big deal."

He offered his hand without hesitation, completely unconcerned about the sweat or dirt.

Is everyone here this nice? It was a welcome change to the last year of isolation by the people who knew what Lucas was.

"Lucas Mercer." He glanced around the grounds with an amused smile and shifted the football tucked beneath his arm, then focused back on Joey, giving him a wide, easy smile. "Nice to meet you, though. This place is pretty wild. I've been here like a few hours and I still feel like I'm gonna turn a corner and find something totally crazy."

It was an unusually warm spring day, and after far too long grounded, DarkFang had taken to the skies. He soared above Xavier's four hundred acres, circling Breakstone Lake before banking toward the mansion. As he passed over the back lawn, he spotted a gathering. The new arrival, he guessed.

DarkFang circled lower, dipping a wing in greeting before releasing a scream that sounded more like a dragon's roar. Folding his leathery wings, he dropped into a controlled dive, flaring at the last moment before landing with a muted thump. The impact stirred the grass and sent a light breeze through the group.

"Alaricus Tantus mutatio." At the Latin command, his horns, wings, and tail receded while his yellow eyes and guttural voice returned to normal. He was, unfortunately, shirtless.

"Sorry. The wings don't get along with T-shirts. If anyone finds a shredded black one, it's mine." With a casual wave of his hand, a fresh black shirt appeared over his chest.

"Alaric Thane," he said. "And you must be the newest addition to the team."

Lucas' eyes widened. A mingled look of fear and amazement warred on his expression.

The thing that had swooped out of the sky looked like something straight out of a fantasy movie. Horns. Wings. Tail. The roar had sent every instinct in his body screaming that something enormous and dangerous had just landed.

Then it... turned into a guy. Lucas stared for a beat longer than was probably polite.

"You're..." He pointed vaguely toward where the wings had been. "...I mean, you were..."

He let out a disbelieving laugh and shook his head. "Okay, that was the coolest thing I've seen all week." His attention immediately snapped to the shirt appearing out of thin air. "...Actually, maybe that was."

Lucas looked around at the others with an incredulous grin.

"Does nobody else think that's completely insane? Because I'm starting to get the feeling my definition of 'normal' is gonna need a serious update."

Drew looked from Lucas to Alaric and back to Lucas. He let out a soft chuckle and clapped a hand on Lucas' shoulder. "You'll get used to it man. Might take you some time, but you will discover that while we all have differences, we all want to find something a similar."

"Get used to it?" Lucas laughed at himself as he turned to Drew. "Dude, I hope I never get used to this. It's so cool, right?"

Finally, finally, Lucas could find it in himself to start embracing this. The school, his new friends he immediately felt a connection to in a way that he'd never had back home, it was all a gift that was making him smile like a fool. He'd never felt so light.

"That's the spirit!" Jennifer exclaimed.

The roar had drawn Maeve from the side of the mansion before she had quite decided whether she cared what had caused it.

By the time she reached the lawn, Alaric was human again, wearing a shirt that had not existed seconds earlier, and everyone had gathered around the unfamiliar blond boy with the football. Maeve slowed at the edge of the group, hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket.

“You’ve picked a fairly normal day, actually,” she said, catching the end of Lucas’s disbelief. “Usually there’s at least one explosion before lunch.”

Her mouth curved as she stepped closer and gave him a small nod.

“Maeve MacKenna. Don’t worry, you stop starin’ eventually.” She glanced towards Alaric. “Mostly.”

Her attention dropped to the football beneath Lucas’s arm.

“You play, or is that just there so you’ve somethin’ familiar to hold while the rest of us ruin your idea of reality?”

"Hi Maeve!" Lucas turned the same foolish smile towards her as she approached and spoke. Another looker, but he'd moved past any silly guilt at this point for noticing. Mandy had dumped him, he reminded himself. He hoped he wasn't staring, at her, or Kennedy, or Alaric.

"Quarterback of the Santa Monica Sharks," he said a bit proudly at first, sending the ball spinning up into the air and catching it easily. The smile faltered a bit and he juggled the football between his hands. "Or... I was. Before all this."

Maeve watched the ball turn neatly through the air, eyebrows lifting.

“Quarterback,” she repeated, giving the word the solemn weight of some important foreign title. “Right. That’s the one everyone cheers when it goes well and blames when all the enormous lads in helmets run into each other wrong.”

The pride leaving his face took some of the teasing out of hers.

“Well, you’re in luck. We haven’t a proper team here, so nobody can demote you.” She glanced around the collection gathered on the lawn. “Though you may have gone from quarterback of the Sharks to bein’ stuck with the world’s strangest marchin’ band.”

Her mouth curved.

“Alaric’s already got the dramatic entrance sorted.”

"I was a cheerleader," Jennifer volunteered sympathetically.

Lucas blushed slightly at the cheerleader bit, rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, cheerleaders, they were always impressive." He'd leave it at that! Mandy would be glaring.

Joey glared mildly at Alaric as he, also, reminded himself not to stare at the demonic chisel-chested asshole. He still had questions about being teammates with a literal prince of a hell dimension but this wasn't the time or place. He pulled his eyes back off and refocused on Lucas. "Yeah, no team here. I wanted to try playin' for the Sand Devils back home but momma was scared of concussions. But somehow tryin' to drown myself in the river multiple times a summer 'cause of dumbass tourists was safe," he groused. "Still, QB. Bet you were beatin' girls off with a stick."

Lucas didn't seem to mind the gentle teasing at all, and had an easy laugh at his own expense as he winked at Maeve, "That's right, all the blame, and honestly not that much glory after I blinded everyone on the championship game. We lost, 'cause of that. Maybe I'll pick up the saxophone now instead."

"And for sure, totally, Alaric that was so rad. Horns and all! Flying's gotta be fun right?"

Whatever subtext there might be between Joey and the devil-guy, Lucas missed it. He was often slow on the uptake. "Hey, if you want we can pass the ball back and forth together anytime. And maybe get some of the kids playing too. As for girls, heh, uh, not really dude. My ex, she was sorta..." There was a long pause there as he tried to find the most diplomatic phrasing, obviously not wanting to badmouth her. "...possessive? Yeah. What's this about a river?"

Casey had been out riding Smokey just a short distance from where the group was now standing. He tried to see what was going on but decided it would be easier just to head that direction. He spurred Smokey, and the mustang took off heading for the group at a gallop. He eased back on the reins as he got closer, bringing the horse to a normal walking pace, and saw a new person standing in the group.

Joey shrugged. "Grew up on the Colorado. Family's all tour guides for Lake Powell, Glen Canyon, and raftin' the Grand Canyon," he said, eyeing the approaching horse. He looked at Casey. "Heads up, another showoff incomin'."

"The flying part is exhilarating," said Alaric. "But the price for all of that is a hefty one. Story for another time, though." He turned to see what Joey was talking about and saw Casey on horseback. "Ah yes, the other cowboy. We are quite the team."

Hayden was sitting out back in a pair of shorts and a tank-top, reading another book about Atlantis from the mansion's library. She looked up to see the crowd gathering around another new guy. Part of her wanted to just go back to her book. Her luck introducing herself to the new students hadn't been so good lately. But she did as she was expected, closed the book, and walked over barefoot. Not only did she like the feel of grass between her toes, but she could sense the traces of water in the ground easier. And that connection relaxed her. She walked up, toes painted a bright aquamarine, "Hi, I'm Hayden. Nice to meet ya."

For just a moment, Lucas stood there, smiling around at everyone, his face lit up. He hadn't felt this happy in so long. Being about people, like himself, everyone so easy-going and friendly, it was one heck of a welcome. His grin took in the guy on horseback, and the next pretty girl who carried a book too, Hayden, from Kennedy to Alaric, Joey and Jennifer and Drew, then over to Maeve, he was putting names to faces and making sure to make eye contact.

"Lucas. Lucas Mercer," he repeated, and maybe there was something a little infectious about his enthusiasm, genuine, simple pleasure that he had found his place. "And I'm really happy to meet everyone."

“You’re excited now, but just wait until there’s no hot water when you want to shower, the person next to you takes the last pancake, or the wolf-girl ruins your favorite red scarf.” There was a touch of lighthearted cynicism in her voice, a tone that seemed perfectly natural for the pert nosed and well-bred socialite.

But her teasing manner quickly faded as the group continued to gathered around Lucas to introduce themselves. The conversation remained cordial, but an unspoken curiosity lingered beneath every greeting. Everyone wanted to know the same thing.

Kennedy, never one to mince words, especially when speaking to someone as open and good natured as Lucas, decided to ask.

“So, what can you do?” Her gaze dropped to the football in his hands. “Apart from throwing a ball, that is.”

"Oh, right," Lucas turned his head up to the sky again, blonde hair falling back from his face. "I absorb light? Makes me a little stronger, faster. Doctor was saying I should be able to do other stuff with it too, but gotta practice with it."

He took a breath, decided to be brave, and share, "So, like, mutant names and stuff right? I picked Lucent." He'd been smiling so much, now it turned sheepish. "Cause of the light manipulation." As if he needed to explain that.

"I'm Dynamo," Jennifer said and then held her hand up. A few sparks flicked her hand. Not enough to be dangerous. Just enough to give the general idea. She grinned. "For no particular reason." she joked.

Drew hitched a thumb to point towards himself. "Velocity, speedster. Pretty much just move really, really fast." He then grinned, " responsible for the school's 10% increase in the grocery bill."

“I can convert potential energy into kinetic energy,” Kennedy replied, giving her power a far more refined description than simply saying she made things explode. “And,” she added with a self-assured grin, “I'm also a really, really good shot.” There was just enough youthful bravado in the declaration to make her smile, as if she knew it sounded like boasting even though it wasn't.

“I go by the codename Artemis.” The name told Lucas almost everything he needed to know about her. She had chosen the Greek goddess of the hunt, not for elegance or beauty but for precision. Kennedy wanted to be seen as a huntress who was patient and impossible to outrun.

"Oh," said Hayden, "I'm called Calypso. I can manipulate water." Honestly, That was probably the simplest Way of saying what she could do. If he stayed around for any length of time, you would be able to figure the rest out on his own.

"The half dragon demon is not my mutant power," said Alaric. "I create teleportation portals. Corrupted versions, but portals nonetheless. Though I can only open them to places that I've seen or been to. So if you ever want to visit your family for the weekend, show me a picture your backyard and I can get you there." He grinned and chuckled a little. "Draconis is my codename."

Lucas looked stunned. Some of this he understood, some of it he had to parse out the words and think hard to try to get a grasp at what they meant. He figured he'd find out soon enough the parts he didn't understand. Lucas didn't even understand himself really, not yet.

What did it mean for a portal to be corrupted anyways?

"Wild," was about all he could manage, wide-eyed and maybe even a little overwhelmed.

Drew offered his right hand a second time. "It's a pleasure meeting you Lucas. I'd love to stick around, but I promised Jennifer a walk down to the lake during my planning period." He glanced at Jennifer said smiled.

"Right on," Lucas said and shook the offered hand, gave Jennifer a big smile. "Real nice meeting you two as well!"

"It was nice meeting you too," Jennifer said, holding Drew's left hand. "I'm sure we'll see you around the school."

Drew led Jennifer off in the direction of the lake as they bid goodbye to Lucas.

Joey side-eyed Kennedy with amusement. "I'm Rat Pack. I'll explain some other time," he said. "We can leave it at I commune with nature and turn into a were rat for now."

"Duuude..." It was almost a prayer at this point, asking for deliverance. Lucas shook his head, accepting it, just again, overwhelmed. His imagination was never going to ever live up to the reality of all the crazy cool ways mutants came.

Casey trotted the horse by the group, then circled back around towards the group. Heading towards a tree, he slid down out of the saddle and secured the horse's reins to the tree before coming over to the group. "Hey, I'm Casey." He took off his work glove and offered the new guy a hand to shake.

Another shake, another grin, and another time saying his name, but he didn't seem to mind at all, "Lucas. Nice to meet you. So you're the 'other showoff', is that right?" Mimicking Joey's words from earlier, and thinking about all the wild powers people were talking about like they were no big deal, he wouldn't be surprised if Casey could blow the top off a mountain or something!

Casey looked at him oddly, "Other showoff? I guess you could say that but I try not to be. I mean I'm not nearly as skilled in my abilities as the others but I can mostly hold my own." Trying to not sound smug but more humble. Something his parents attempted to teach him.

Lucas had to take a moment to gather himself. It had been one thing to hear about a school where he could learn to control his powers and be around other mutants. It was a whole other thing to actually be here, to meet all these people, each of them seeming so friendly. For a second, his eyes were wide, his smile faltered, not in a bad way, just as his brain did some catching up to everything that had happened to him in the last few days.

"Gotta admit, I didn't think this place would be like... this." Lucas motioned around at everyone with the football tucked under one arm. "You guys are awesome. Seriously." He laughed, smile returning, brighter than before. In fact, he almost started glowing. "This whole place is so choice."

He looked around once more before meeting their eyes again.

"I'm really stoked to be here."

With the introductions behind them, the group of young mutants gradually drifted apart, each heading off to classes, training, or whatever the day had in store. Despite their different backgrounds, personalities, and extraordinary abilities, they had become something more than classmates. They were teammates, friends, and a family forged not by blood, but by shared experiences and the promise of acceptance.

For Lucas, it meant he didn't have to hide who he was or pretend to be someone else. His gifts weren't feared, merely they were understood. His differences weren't a burden, rather they were celebrated. Xavier's School wasn't just a place to learn how to control his powers. It was a place where Lucas could discover who he was meant to become, where friendships came naturally, and where every new day carried the promise of possibility.

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