This is the direct sequel to the rewrite of the New Mutants film I recently completed. I enjoyed writing that enough to want to do more with that world, plus it was set-up for a sequel with the New Mutants deciding to take the fight to the people who had imprisoned them and tried to use them. This will not be based on the reported outline which Josh Boone had apparently proposed for the sequel but on how I feel the story should progress based on where the characters were at the end of the rewrite. And unlike the rewrite, where I was bound to some extent by the structure and overall plot of the movie, this story faces no such limitations.

Jay Sullivan rather liked his job. It paid well, far above the usual salary for a security guard in the suburbs. Beyond that, it was quiet. A scientific research institute was not the sort of place armed criminals would target.

It was not that unusual things never happened at this subsidiary of the Essex Corporation, but those internal matters were not his business. Jay only had to worry about something unusual originating from outside, which never happened.

Jay was doing his usual rounds of the underground facility's pristine white halls when the elevator door opened, revealing five teenagers who did not have employee uniforms and were most definitely not supposed to be there.

A Native American girl named Danielle Moonstar stepped out of the elevator first as her eyes scanned the halls which were both new and yet all too familiar to her.

"This is it," she said. "This is the place I saw."

Jay had stood there dumbfounded for several seconds at this unexpected intrusion, his instincts dulled by the lack of excitement his job had entailed until that moment. He remembered that this was what he was hired to prevent and moved to grab the taser and baton which were on his belt.

"Stop right there!" he called out as he raised both weapons. "This area is for authorized personnel only!"

He stood dumfounded as a disk of white light appeared at the feet of a short Russian blonde, Illyana Rasputin. The light disk traveled up her body until she had completely disappeared, only to reappear right behind Jay and grab his arms.

Jay gasped in pain as his arms were twisted in angles they were never meant to be in. He dropped both of his weapons and was forced to his knees.

A group of other guards appeared at the of the hall behind him, drawn by the sound of his voice as well as footage from the security cameras and armed with the same non-lethal weapons as Jay.

Sam Guthrie, a tall, blonde boy from Kentucky, blasted off. He flew over Jay's head and straight down the hall, knocking over the guards like bowling pins. Sam was unable to stop himself and collided with the far wall, leaving a large dent in the white metal.

The others approached Jay, who was still held down by Illyana.

"Where are the kids?" asked Roberto Da Costa, an Afro Latino boy from Brazil.

"The test subjects?" Jay asked. "What do you want with them-ow!" he exclaimed as Illyana twisted his arm even further.

The others were just as angry at his use of the term 'test subjects.' Dani knelt and put her hand on the side of his head.

"What are you afraid of?" she whispered ominously.


Two dozen teenagers were crowded into a relatively small room. Unlike the white halls, this room was largely dark and had no visible door.

Most of the teens were sitting, with a few standing against the walls. They had the same resigned expressions on their faces, the same white jumpsuits, and the same metal neck collars.

Only one of them had a different expression from the rest. He was a tall, Italian boy with good looks which rivalled Roberto's and was one of the two newest arrivals to the facility. He stood against one of the wall with his arms folded against his chest. Where the other teens looked as though they had lost all hope, he merely looked bored.

It was this boy who first noticed and reacted to the loud commotion taking place outside. His lips narrowed in thought as the sounds grew louder and closer. He turned around and backed away from the wall, gesturing for the one other person who had been leaning against it to do the same.

A spot on the wall where the boy had just been leaning began to glow and sizzle. Slowly, the tip of a glowing blade poked its way through their side of the wall.

The light from the blade's tip lit up the dark room, making the rest of the teens look up in shock and wonder as it slowly began to slice through the metal. Many of them stood up as a large opening was carved in their prison.

When the new doorway was complete, the blade disappeared, leaving a large rectangle with its edges glowing orange. There was a loud creak as the new door was lifted away.

The teenage captives covered their eyes as the bright light from the hall filled the once-dark room. Behind the new doorway stood Illyana, her eyes glowing blue as she held her soul sword, and Roberto, his arms on fire as he used his strength to set the large piece of wall aside.

When he was done his with burden, Roberto stepped into the room.

"Come on," he told the captives. "Follow me and we'll get you all out of here."

Some of the captives understood immediately that this was a promise of freedom. Others, conditioned to obey by their captors, followed because they were told to, moving almost robotically, but they all left their cage and followed Roberto.

The Italian boy was one of the last out despite being the closet to the new exit. He stepped out and looked at Illyana, who was standing guard in case more guards showed up. Her sword arm was covered in her eldritch armor.

"Nice," he said, his lips parting in a wise smile.

"Hey," Roberto said, growing annoyed at the way he was looking at Illyana, "the exit's this way."

The Italian boy motioned to Illyana to look back inside the room. "You missed one."

Illyana peaked inside the room and her jaw dropped.

Cowering in the corner was a small child, a little girl of no more than six years of age. Her features were Japanese, and two antennae the same color as her skin stuck out of the front of her short black hair.

Illyana rushed into the room and knelt in front of the girl, who screamed and recoiled at the sight of her.

Illyana let the blue glow fade from her eyes, taking on a less frightening appearance.

"Hey, hey, don't be sacred," she said in a reassuring tone. "See? I'm just a girl, like you."

The little girl lowered her hands from her eyes. She was still scared, but was more comfortable now that Illyana's eyes weren't glowing.

"Do you speak English?" Illyana asked.

"Not … good … " the girl answered. Her voice was small.

"What's your name?"

"Bo."

"Bo? That's nice. My name's Illy – " She stopped, decided that her real name was too long and complicated for Bo at that moment. "My name's Magik."

"Magic?" Bo seemed to perk up at the word.

Illyana smiled at her and nodded. "Yeah, Magik." She held out her hand. Bo hesitated for a moment before reaching out and putting her small hand in Illyana's.


Roberto led the captives back towards the elevator, where Dani and Sam were guarding a large stepping disk together with Rahne Sinclair. The young red-headed Scotswoman was doing most of the fighting, using the increased strength, speed, and agility of her intermediate form to deal with the few guards who remained. A few of the scientists and doctors who worked at the facility had attempted to fight as well and were passed about against the walls.

"This way," Dani told the captives as Roberto reached. "Right through the portal."

Most of the captives stopped and looked at the stepping disk in apprehension. Those who realized they were escaping had expected to simply leave through the elevator and were unsure about this new method of exiting.

"It's ok," Sam said. "It's perfectly safe. No one'll be able to follow us through here."

The Italian boy stepped forward from the crowd. He flashed a charming, boyish grin at Dani. "Thanks," he said before stepping through the portal.

Dani and Sam grinned at each other as more and more of the captives followed through the stepping disk, feeling somewhat braver after the Italian boy had been the first to take the plunge.

Roberto let out a happy sigh as he watched the crowd thin. "The info we got from Dr. Frost's hard drives was right on the money."

"Not quite."

They looked to see Illyana walking down the call carrying Bo in her arms.

"Is that a kid?" Dani asked. "I mean, we're here to rescue kids, but that's a kid-kid."

Illyana turned to Rahne, who had finished mopping up and reverted to her human form. "Are you sure we didn't miss anyone else?"

Rahne glared at Illyana. "Why are you asking me, witch?"

Dani stepped between them. "Do you smell anyone who we didn't already rescue or beat up?"

Rahne's expression softened and she shook her head. "No. That's everyone. I'm positive."

"Then we're done here," Dani declared.

Jay watched as they turned to exit through Illyana's portal. Though he was slumped against the wall, he was one of the few guards who was still conscious. He knew that his cozy job was over. These five children had rendered him unemployed in a matter of minutes.

"Who-who are you guys?" he asked. "Are you the X-Men?"

The five stopped right in front of the portal and turned to him. Their forms were silhouetted by the stepping disk's light, giving them a larger than life appearance.

"We're not X-Men," Dani declared. "We're new mutants."

NEW MUTANTS 2

The New Mutants brought the freed teens to the only place they could think of, the Xavier Institute.

Charles Xavier and his staff had not been expecting them and were more than a little surprised when 25 young mutants suddenly appeared on their doorstep. But they had experience dealing with unexpected arrivals before, albeit on a smaller scale, and quickly sprang into action.

Students from school filled the windows as lines formed in the school's front yard. Ororo Monroe, Storm, and Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler, took the names and personal details of their new charges as Piotr Rasputin, Colossus, handed out changes of clothes.

The Italian boy who had been the first to walk through the stepping disk was placed in Nightcrawler's line.

"Name?" the blue, furry X-Man asked.

"Manuel," the Italian boy answered. "Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo de la Rocha."

Nightcrawler wrote the name down and said: "Welcome to Xavier's school for Gifted Youngster's Manuel. I hope you survive the experience."

Manuel gaped and him, and Nightcrawler laughed. "That's just a little joke we tell newbies around here. Don't worry."

"Right," Manuel said.

Rahne and Roberto went to help as more staff came out with refreshments from the kitchen. Meanwhile, Charles Xavier took Sam and Dani aside to talk with them. Xavier was confined to a wheelchair, but he exuded authority and wisdom.

"This is truly incredible, what you and your friends have done," he said.

"We were also being used by the Essex Corporation," Sam explained. "We didn't want anyone else to go through what we did."

Xavier nodded. "I had never even heard of the Essex Corporation before today. I assure you, I will look into what you've told me. If they are using children as weapons as you've said, we will shut them down."

"Now, are you sure you don't want to stay here?" he asked. "You and your friends are more than welcome."

"We appreciate the offer," Dani said, "but right now we're in the middle of something. And most of us just want to go back to our normal lives when we're done."

"If we do decide to come here, we want it to be out choice, and not something we feel we're being forced into doing," Sam added.

"I understand. If you change your minds, my invitation will remain open."

Manuel saw them talking to Xavier and called out from across the lawn: "Hey! Where's the hot chick with the sword?"

They turned to see Manuel standing at the entrance to the main building holding the clothes he had gotten from Colossus.

Xavier smiled and turned back to Sam and Dani. "There's a fifth member of your group?"

"Our teleporter," Dani explained. "There were a couple of kids who we could bring back to their families. She's doing that right now."

"Besides," Sam added, "Illyana doesn't do too well in crowds."

Xavier gasped, his expression morphing from happiness to an intense concern. "When you say Illyana, you don't mean Illyana Rasputin, do you?"

"Uh, yeah," Sam said, confused by the professor's unexpected reaction.

Xavier gripped the sides of his wheelchair and shuddered. "You found her," he whispered. He glanced at Colossus, who was still handing out clothes.

He took a deep breath before continuing. "Listen to me. You have to tell your friend to bring Illyana here immediately. The only family she has left is here. I can't thank you enough for this."

Sam and Dani looked at each other in confusion. "We kind of need her," Dani said.

"Need?" Xavier asked. "Danielle, that girl is about to turn seven. What could you possibly need her for?"

Sam and Dani looked at each other again, this time making an 'eek' face at each other.

"Um, Professor Xavier," Dani said at last, "you might want to read our minds. I don't think we can explain this."

Xavier raised two fingers to his temple. His eyes and mouth widened in shock as he saw the truth in their minds.

"Oh my god."


The sun was just beginning to rise as Illyana knocked on the front door of a Japanese home. Bo stood by her side, holding her hand.

Illyana knocked a second time, and looked down at Bo with a smile when there were finally signs of movement within the house.

A Japanese man in his thirties opened the door. He was wearing a wife beater and pajama pants and let out a big yawn.

"What is it" he asked in Japanese.

"I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour," Illyana said, not understanding the Japanese, "but I didn't think returning your daughter to you should wait."

The man looked down at Bo, and his expression hardened into rage.

"That is not my daughter," he said in a better English than Bo was capable of. Bo whimpered and hid herself behind Illyana's leg.

"This is your daughter," Illyana insisted. "She's lived with you in this house her whole life-"

"That is a mutant!" the man yelled. "I have no daughter," he said as he slammed the door in her face.

Illyana trembled in anger.

The couple were middle aged. The man stood in front of his wife, his mustache quivering as he spoke.

"I don't know who you are, but you're not my daughter. Now get out of here before I call the police" he said in Russian before slamming the door in her face.

Sparks began to dance between the fingers of Illyana's free hand as she prepared to blast in the door and give Bo's father a piece of her mind.

She stopped as Bo began tugging on her other arm. She looked down and forced herself to smile at the child.

"All right. Let's get out of here."


David Williams looked away as he handed the report to his boss. He hated looking at the face of the man, if such a being could even be called a man.

"So, they finally made their move," the strange being known as Nathaniel Essex observed. He put the report down and looked out the window of his office, which stood hundreds upon hundreds of feet above the streets of Manhattan. "It certainly took them long enough."

Essex lifted his glass of wine and took a long, slow sip. He smiled and gestured at Williams. "Send her in, would you please."

Williams nodded and gulped as he turned away. As much as he feared Essex, she was even worse.

Essex did not have to wait long for his guest to arrive.

"The time has come, my dear. I believe you are better equipped for this particular challenge than Emma was."

"Of course," the dark-haired woman answered in a Latin accent. "And you, you have not forgotten your promise?"

"Do not fret, dear Selene," Essex said as he took another sip of wine. "You will have what you desire, as long as you give me what I desire."