The Xavier Mansion, north of Salem Center in Westchester County, New York, has always been home to children. The last children to play within these walls, two hateful stepbrothers, have long since gone on with their own lives. Thus, until recently, the Xavier Mansion has been vacant of the laughter of children playing.

Now, the laughter has returned.

Young Rahne Sinclair laughs gleefully as she stalks amidst the wilderness, searching the ground for the scent of her prey. It has been a good chase this past half-hour. A good game. But now it's near to her bedtime, and Wolfsbane needs her goodnight snack.

Deeper in the woods, a young man runs for his life, something he has long-since decided is over. He'd managed to stay alive for this long, working in the slave pens of Mastermind, but then the request came for a quick-footed human to get sent here. He was chosen. Lucky him.

At first it wasn't too bad. He'd been well fed; his wounds dealt with. But then he was shown outside, at the foot of these woods. A young Scottish woman and a large, rocky man were there, looking him over. Then the man said three words, "Five minutes. Run."

Quickly getting the message, Carl Denti did.

He ran like hell for five minutes, and then he ran faster when he heard the mutants give chase. Someone gave a howl like a wolf and the ground started to shake. He then knew he had no chance, for his hunters were Wolfsbane and Mondo!

Still, Carl managed to survive this long. A quick roll in a mud patch dampened his scent, hopefully slowing Wolfsbane down. Unfortunately, there's nothing he can think of to avoid Mondo, who can feel the vibrations in the ground and move among the rocky earth with ease. Finally, Carl spots a lake up ahead, and sprints to it like he's an Olympic runner, back when there were Olympics.

Fifty feet. Forty feet. Twenty-five feet. Carl impossibly speeds up as his hopes of making it rise. Suddenly, horribly, the ground shakes once more. Carl is little more than five feet from the glories water when a figure stands out of the ground, directly in front of him. Mondo.

The massive man of rock smiles as Carl Denti breaks down, crumbling to his knees in tears. "You gave a good chase, old man, but I was ahead of you the entire time. No duh you'd head for the water, which is why I came here to wait. Which is also why she came straight here when she lost your scent."

His eyes still misty with tears, Carl looks up and behind him. Straight at a frightening, hairy, tooth filled face. He stumbles and desperately tries to crawl away from the savage beast, but something has his leg.

Then, with a sickening rip and a scream, he doesn't have his leg. Carl Denti writhes on the ground, clutching the bloody stump that was his right leg. Nearby, Wolfsbane gnaws away, enjoying her bedtime snack.

Mondo, annoyed at the human's screams, finally ends it, burying Carl in the ground. Burying him alive. The screams can still be heard, though they are muffled and more terrifying. This is what Mondo enjoys.

The two children are interrupted from there fun when another figure emerges from the woods. This man is powerfully built, with the air of one who is used to power and authority. It is Gideon, External servant of Onslaught and Prelate instructor of the New Mutants.

Looking with disgust at Wolfsbane's table manners, Gideon turns to Mondo. "That wasn't wise, both of you going to the lake. What if he'd suddenly changed his mind and headed elsewhere. You must learn to be prepared for all eventualities."

For a moment, Mondo appears ostracized. However, he tries to defend himself as best he can. "Humans are predictable. When they're faced with a life-and-death situation, they go for the best chance they have. Too few are capable of taking risks. Besides, I would have felt it if he'd changed direction."

Gideon smiles in a condescending, unsympathetic manner. "Of course you would have. How silly of me to believe that you couldn't have learned so much control over your power in such a short amount of time."

Leaning over Wolfsbane, he knocks her aside and takes the leg away from her. "You disgust me. Haven't I always taught you to go for the kill! Playing with your opponent, underestimating him, is a certain way to defeat!" Kicks her in the face. "Now go back to the mansion before I drag you there!" Turns to Mondo. "You too. I want you both out of my sight."

The two mutants sullenly trek back to the Mansion. Gideon moves as though to throw the leg in the lake. Before he does this, however, he just can't resist taking a little taste of it himself. He makes a face. "Ugh. Too much iron in the blood."

He hurls the leg out into the lake, and turns to follow the students.

Later that evening, at the Muir Island Research Center...

One of several scientists runs frantically to avoid the gunfire and explosions. "What happened to the automated security systems? Our troops are getting slaughtered out there!"

Another scientist, near to tears, replies. "How the hell should I know! One minute Anderson's making his rounds, saying everything is clear. The next minute, we're overrun, the system completely shuts down, and the Sentinels can't be contacted."

"Wait a minute, did you say the system has completely shut down?"

"Yes! How else could Onslaught's forces overrun us like-" He stops, suddenly fully aware of what he said. "My god! Onslaught's not the worst of our problems-"

He, as well as his fellow scientist, is silenced forever as the floor beneath them explodes upwards in a terrifying display of power. The soldiers of Onslaught, once confident of their victory, now scream in agony for their master to save them. Even Onslaught himself would be unable to save them from a creature such as this.

He stands at nearly seven feet tall, bathed in an intense yellow light that hides all features except for the basic shape of a human being. But it is no human being that tears through man and machine alike with an anger and power that would stagger Galactus himself.

Finally, all but the bare bones of the complex remain. Of the personnel, security, and intruders, there is not even that much left. The lives sucked out of them to feed the power of the killer as left the bodies crumbled to dust.

Standing amidst the carnage of the former Muir Island Research Center, the creator of such destruction turns and walks towards London. It can feel her presence there, and she shall pay for what she has done. Proteus is free, and he shall have his revenge!

The next morning...

Many years ago, when Onslaught was still gathering his powers and followers, he had taken control of the Xavier Mansion to serve as a headquarters. While he now finds his Citadel in New York more preferable, he has decided to maintain the mansion as a training area for his next wave of Prelates.

Thus, the Xavier Mansion, now known far and wide as the Prelate Academy, is fully equipped with all the necessary equipment designed to properly train the next wave of Prelates. Or kill them trying.

Deep underneath the living quarters of the Mansion is the massive training area known to the students as the Playpen. Extending five hundred meters long and over two hundred meters deep, it has been designed to simulate every possible environment that the trainees would be expected to face. From the harsh deserts of Australia to the war-torn fields of Europe, the New Mutants will be ready for virtually any situation they face.

Today, a new trainee faces the dangers of the Playpen.

The young mutant codenamed Blink dodges and weaves amidst the weaponry and power of the Pen. Teleporting past a web of lasers, she finds herself facing nearly a dozen robots of varied powers. With a simple blink, the blasts of power the fire at her appear behind them, tearing half of the robots apart. The other half vanish into a portal Blink opens beneath them. They reappear over the web of lasers, and fall to the ground as little more than scrap metal.

Breathing heavily, Blink's face lights up somewhat at the sound of clapping nearby. Turning, she smiles at the forms of Sunspot and Moonstar, co-leaders of the New Mutants.

"Impressive display Blink," Sunspot says enthusiastically. "You don't know how good it is to finally have a teleporter on the team. Depending on the Vanisher for transport is a humiliating thing."

Behind her mask, Moonstar smiles and pats Sunspot's shoulder. "Calm down lover. She still has a way to go before she'll be able to teleport the whole team." To Blink, she says, "Have you been practising to teleport objects out of your sight?"

Beaming, Blink nods. "Last night I tried to teleport some snacks from the kitchen up to my room. Somehow the orange ended up inside out, but the rest ended up fine."

"Organic," Sunspot muttered. "Artificial objects and synthetic foods teleport without failure, but you seem to have trouble with organic objects and living things. I'm disappointed Blink. Later today I want you to find a deer and teleport it five feet."

For an instant, a look of horror flashes across Blink's face. Last month, when she'd tried to teleport a little rabbit, it reappeared dead and mutilated. "M-maybe I should practice some more with plants and food first."

"Don't get squeamish Blink," Moonstar scolds. "If you hesitate to kill a mere animal, how can we trust you to act in battle? The last thing I want is for you to falter at the act of killing a human, or one of those blasphemous X-Men. You will go teleport a deer, and if you do kill it, you will continue to teleport the carcass until it stays in one form."

Mildly shaking, Blink nods. "Wh-whatever you say, Dani." With that, she opens a portal in front of her and leaps through it, going outside.

Sunspot turns to Moonstar, an angry look on his face. "You allowed her the use of formality? It isn't enough that she is soft, she is allowed to get away with other infractions as well?"

Moonstar, the picture of serenity, pats Sunspot on the cheek. "Spare me Roberto, just a moment ago, you were openly praising her. I realize her failure to teleport living creatures goes against your expectations, but that's no need to take it out on me."

Grasping her hand harshly, Sunspot pulls Moonstar close to him. "Your own maternal instincts are taking over, Dani. You see the child as a babe for you to protect and help, while she is in actuality a softhearted girl with great power that can be used to serve Onslaught. You would do well to remember this, particularly around Cypher. I am not eager to give you over to Prelate Grey for 'reminder', but I will if I must."

For a moment, fear runs rampant across the hidden face of Danielle Moonstar. She nods quickly. "As ever, Roberto, you speak the truth. Later tonight, I will give Blink her appropriate punishment."

"I am most pleased to hear that, Moonstar. It would grieve me terribly to inform Onslaught that his future prelates are not living up to his standards. Such a report would lead him to the realization that they are not worthy to live at all."

Both Moonstar and Sunspot jump suddenly and turn to the source of the eerie voice. In the doorway stood Douglas Ramsey. Cypher, the first of the New Mutants, and rumored to be the heir of Onslaught himself. Though at first glance he appears to be relatively harmless, this tall and skinny boy is listed among the most dangerous mutants of Earth.

Almost floating, he glides over to the two co-leaders. In fact, much to their surprise, he is floating. "How do you like the anti-gravity boots I made?" Cypher asks, a light-hearted smile on his face. "Once I cracked the basic formula, it was easy enough to build them. I'm now working on a way to miniaturize the circuitry into rings."

Catching her breath, Moonstar is the first to respond. "Most impressive Doug. Only one of us are able to fly, and such devices will be very useful. Until you get the 'flight rings' ready, we can make use of these boots for training. How about later today?"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Moonstar." She'd swear his voice is sounding more mechanical every day. "I can leave the designs for one of you to work with, but I'll be far to busy to build any more myself. The sample we'd taken from that techno-organic creature six months ago is taking up all of my time."

Sunspot can't help but ask, "Then where did you find the time to work on those boots?"

"Actually, I'd come up with the design months ago. Unfortunately, so many things occupy my mind that I'd forgotten about them until recently. Yesterday I'd taken a break from my research and, finding the designs, I thought it'd relax me to build and test them. A complete success, I'm glad to say."

"I'm glad to hear that, Doug," Moonstar says graciously. "Now, what do you wish to discuss with us?"

"I was getting to that," Cypher says acidly. "I've done all the research I can with the T.O. sample that I can think of, and I feel that an adrenaline rush might give me an intuitive idea."

"So in other words, you want to train with us?" Sunspot doesn't like the thought of that. In Cypher's last training session, Wolfsbane had almost clawed her eyes out.

"Exactly. You each have 15 seconds to prepare for my attack." Slowly, methodically, Cypher counted down the seconds. Sunspot immediately took advantage, taking to the air and heading straight for the other end of the Playpen. Moonstar also moved, firing a psionic arrow into one of the control consoles, activating the defenses against Cypher.

"3. 2. 1. Time." Activating the boots, Cypher flew above the lasers and robots that came at his former position. Using the circuitry in his costume, he sent down tiny filaments of fabric laced with nanites. Covering the robots, the nanites sent a virus into the program, shutting it down. Sunspot and Moonstar were now left to their own devices.

In desperation, Moonstar fired a psionic arrow at Cypher. As she expected, the arrow had no effect on him. She couldn't think of a thing on Earth that Cypher would be afraid of, and his link with Onslaught himself protected him well from mental attacks.

Dispassionately, Cypher looked down at Moonstar. Dropping suddenly at an impressive speed, he managed to grab he arm despite her best efforts. A touch was all he needed, as Cypher used the contact to break the code of Dani's body. Now aware of the specific messages that Dani's brain sent to the nerves in her arms and legs, Cypher intercepted the messages from the brain and sent messages of his own.

Suddenly, Moonstar found that her arms and legs wouldn't obey her commands. Instead of taking her to safety, her legs collapsed. Instead of grasping her bow, her arms locked themselves around her throat, cutting off oxygen to the brain. As she felt consciousness slip away, Cypher softly lowered her onto the ground.

"Quite a disappoint, Dani. Let's hope Roberto can prove more difficult." As if on cue, Cypher was slammed from behind with black solar energy.

Keeping his distance, Sunspot continued to rain down solar fire upon Cypher. "You powers may protect you from other psionics, Doug, but they offer no aid against me!"

Momentarily taken unawares, Cypher now dodges the blasts with a skill wrought by years of training. "You'll find my powers can aid me in a number of ways Sunspot. For instance, the genius my power gives me has enabled me to do this!" Activating the boots once again, Cypher takes to the air, evening the odds somewhat.

Still, Sunspot has the advantage, for he has experience with air combat. Using his speed, he manages to keep his distance from Cypher, still blasting away. One massive blast manages to connect directly with Cypher's chest.

And does absolutely nothing.

Standing in mid-air, Doug smiles. "The circuitry in my suit does far more than you'd think, Roberto. There are built-in converters that absorb kinetic energy, providing excellent body armor. It was a simple matter to reconfigure the converters to absorb such raw solar energy, as well as do this!"

Sunspot, still under shock that his blast had no effect, was completely taken unawares by what happened next. Cypher's anti-gravity boots, boosted by the absorbed energy, brought him at Sunspot at near subsonic speeds. The resulting collision was enough to stagger even Sunspot.

Cypher, via the converters that absorbed the kinetic energy, was little more than winded. In fact, he takes the opportunity to convert the absorbed energy to enhance the strength of his suit. Drawing back his fist, he landed a haymaker on Sunspot that drove him into the floor. He did not get back up.

Landing elegantly, Cypher takes the T.O. sample from a compartment and studies. Smiling at the unconscious bodies of Moonstar and Sunspot, he says, "My assumptions were correct. I thank you for your assistance in my coming to this intuitive idea. If you have need of me, I'll be in the lab."

Cypher turns and walks out, completely indifferent to the condition of his two teammates.

A short time later, Sunspot groans as he awakens to consciousness. Sitting up, he sees that he and Dani are in the Medical Lab. As he expected, their attendant was the man that practically lived in the lab, Thomas Jones. The mutant known as Alchemy.

"Ah, good, you're awake," Tom smiles at sight of Sunspot. "I was a little worried. The last guy Cypher tested his powers on had cut himself open and strung out his own intestines."

Sunspot grunts. "That's because he holds humans in the same regard we do, Tom. He may enjoy playing with us, but he won't kill us as long as we have a use."

"Well, in that regard, I'm totally safe." Picking up three slabs of metal, Alchemy brings them to Sunspot. "I've finally found a way to synthesize Adamantium and the Vibraniums. With these metals, Onslaught will have yet another edge over the humans and those X-Men."

But now a mildly disappointed look crosses Alchemy's face. "Unfortunately, I've also discovered an integral weakness within each of them. The Antarctican Vibranium is only effective against metals, and can easily be contained by the Wakandan Vibranuim. Also, while Adamantium is the strongest metal known to man, it is useless against the Antarctican Vibranium. In fact, any steady series of powerful vibrations will eventually succeed in breaking down the molecules and destroy the metal."

Sunspot listens intently, testing the Adamantium against the Anti-Metal. Sure enough, after a few minutes of contact between the two, the Adamantium splits in half. "This is disappointing, but we can still exploit the strengths if we can keep the weaknesses a secret. But I take it there's something wrong with the Wakandan Vibranium is well?"

Alchemy nods and hands Sunspot that slab. "Grasp both ends firmly and use all the force you can as quickly as possible."

Sure enough, the Vibranium snapped cleanly in Roberto's hands. Alchemy gathers the pieces up and reforms them back together. "You see? The Vibranium can absorb vibrations to get stronger, but a quick blow, with as few vibrations as possible, can break it. According to earlier tests, Wolverine was able to slice through a plate this." Tom shakes his head. "Even if we succeed in keeping the weaknesses secret, it won't be good enough. Until I can create a truly indestructible substance, I'll never be able to graduate to prelate level."

Roberto really couldn't care less, but a truly indestructible would be of tremendous use to their war. "Isn't there a way you can combine the Wakandan Vibranium and the Adamantium?"

"I'd already thought of that, but all my attempts have failed thus far. The old records about World War II told of a shield with such properties. If I could somehow find and study that, then-"

Suddenly, the voice of Gideon echoes throughout the school. "Attention, New Mutants. You are all to report to the War Room immediately. All those that arrive three minutes after this message will be punished by our current guest, High Prelate Grey."

After scant seconds of taking that message in, Alchemy breaks into a sprint for the War Room. Sunspot starts off after him, but decides at the last moment to carry the semi-conscious Moonstar. As co-leaders, the actions of the one reflects on the other as well.

In the War Room...

"You have no idea how delighted we are to have you visit our esteemed Academy, High Prelate." Gideon smiles at the stunning woman walking next to him. Though he tries to mask it well, she can sense the fear in his every thought.

Smiling in response, High Prelate Jean Grey shakes her head. "Despite what you think, Gideon, I am not here to inspect the quality of the Academy. A situation has occurred, one which has drawn the attention of Onslaught himself. He feels, and I agree, that the New Mutants should be given more high-priority assignments. Think of it as a final exam."

Gideon's smile vanishes, and not just because she knows his every thought. "B-but High Prelate, two of the students are new, barely here a year. They cannot possibly be ready for such an assignment. While the others might be, I find myself wondering if they have the power necessary."

"Believe it or not, Gideon, I share your concerns. I honestly doubt if the combined power of all your students would be enough. Therefore, it would not matter how much experience they have. Personally, I wouldn't even consider sending them, but all our prelates are out on missions of their own."

Gideon sighs. "Very well, High Prelate. I will gather the students immediately. May I ask the nature of the threat?"

"I'm afraid I have precious few information to give you. All I know is that it is an immensely powerful mutant, and that it's on Muir Island."

(See why in Astounding X-Men, Wolverine and Shadowcat, and other AOO Titles!)

Elsewhere in the mansion, deep within the private chambers of one of the students. Cypher meditates, and is one with his escalated master. Greetings, father. What is thy bidding?

Deep within his subconscious, Cypher can just make out the image of the mighty Onslaught. His voice, though faint, can be heard clearly. {A great force has arisen on Muir Island, my son. Moira MacTaggert had thought to hide this gem from me, planning to use it as a weapon. As expected, the weapon has backfired, and now seeks to take her life.}

{A fitting end, father, for such a foolish human. Yet where do the New Mutants fit in?}

{Only you would be so brave as to question me, and for that I shall tell you, and you alone. This mutant possesses the power to reshape reality itself, and is therefore both a threat and an opportunity. I send the New Mutants to recruit, and should that fail, to kill.}

{A worthy plan, father. I shall not fail you.}

With that, Cypher's eyes open, his connection to Onslaught broken. Via the circuitry in his suit, he is alerted to the meeting called by Gideon. He stands to go, knowing full well what the meeting will be about.

In New Mutants #02: The New Mutants are briefed on their first major mission as a team! Will they be ready for what they find on Muir Island? With the grid of Sentinels, will they even get to Muir Island? Find out in thirty!