He was the modern day, real life Harry Potter about to go to Hogwartz.

Leo kicked the ball around the back yard. To the casual observer, he might appear relaxed. Inside he was all keyed up waiting for the Mansion’s response. Because it had to be an acceptance letter. No way they’d turn down one of the only humans stupid brave enough to apply to go to school with a bunch of mutants that could kill him.

This was his first appeal. Because the first application he’d sent received a rejection letter.

It just made no sense! Did they accept humans or not? Was it just a marketing ploy? He chipped the ball up and kicked it into the back fence. Hard.

“Leo?”

He could tell by her tone that she’d not only opened his mail, but that it wasn’t good news. “Can you drive me?”

…

The Bird Sanctuary.

There should have been angels singing as Leo’s mom leaned out the window and hit the buzzer at the gate. Instead, there was hardly anyone out on the lawn today. Leo made a mental note of those that he “knew” and those that he’d not yet had the pleasure to meet and record. Like the really tall one in the flowing organza dress…

“You sure you want to do this, mi corazón?” Leo’s mom sounded nervous. Rightfully so with all the lethal mutant weaponry they had laying around.

“You can wait in the car if it makes you feel better.” She must have been real nervous to even consider it.

“I can’t let you be the only brave one.”

Leo grinned and unfolded his little bit of paper. “Let’s go find this Ms. Gemma person.” Two heads? Laser beam eyes? What kind of mutant was she?

This was a first in Mansion history.
Gemma knew because she checked.

A human boy did not only apply to be accepted as a student in the Mansion, but also appealed the rejection letter. Not like Gemma rejected it lightly. She took the whole thing under consideration, since it had no precedent she could locate. But in the end, the risk was just too much. They already had a lot of mutant kids in need of real support, and as far as she could tell, the human kid could apply to any school he wished to.

Except, apparently, he really wished to go to Xavier's.

Gemma wasn't sure if this was some elaborate plan, or just sheer stubbornness.

She wasn't even surprised to see him walk in. She could tell it was him, from the application pictures, and he was with a woman that was probably his mother. Oh great.

Walking up to the front door to meet them, Gemma showed a polite smile.

"Welcome to Xavier's" she greeted them "My name is Gemma Taylor, I am the shcool's guidance counselor. How can I help you?"

For someone who signed the rejection letter, she sure was smiley and hand-shakey. Maybe her mutant power was backstabbing. Heart wrenching?

"My name is Consuela De Valdenebro and this is my precious son, Leonardo."

"Leo," he corrected all business despite his mother's sap, "and I wanted to appeal the Sister School's decision in person. I want you to know I'm serious. Let you see me face to face and then make your choice." He shrugged, not sure where to go from there. "Uh. Your name was on the rejection notice. So Is it you I gotta convince?"

Mrs. De Valdenebro cleared her throat. "He is tenacious, Ms. Taylor, once he's set his mind to something. He first had to convince us, uh, his parents." She turned to her son next, "But! We will obey the school's ultimate decision on this matter. No moping!

>>"My name is Consuela De Valdenebro and this is my precious son, Leonardo."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Valdenebro" Gemma shook the woman's hand before she turned to the boy.

>>"Leo. And I wanted to appeal the Sister School's decision in person. I want you to know I'm serious. Let you see me face to face and then make your choice. Uh. Your name was on the rejection notice. So Is it you I gotta convince?"

Well he was nothing if not...

>>"He is tenacious, Ms. Taylor, once he's set his mind to something. He first had to convince us, uh, his parents. But! We will obey the school's ultimate decision on this matter. No moping!

"All right, Leo" Gemma said with a small sigh "Yes, it is me you need to convince."

First. She would obviously need to take it to the school board, but she was more that willing to save everyone that hassle unless she herself was convinced otherwise. It wasn't like the kid had much of a case anyway.

"If you don't mind, Ms. Valdenebro, I'd like to talk to the young man about this. Please make yourself at home." she led them into the living room "The kitchen is through that door, in case you would like something to eat. We also have tea and coffee. In the meantime, I will give Leo a tour of the Mansion, and talk about his application. Would that work for both of you?"

Huh. So was ColdSteel not the bossman here? According to what he'd read around the forums, the coldmancer had let it slip that he was in charge. Only, it was actually this chick. Leo glanced at his mom and considered for a moment. Yeah. No matter how "in charge" a man felt, there was always a woman there. The neck to turn the head, as his mom often said.

His mom was pressed her lips together, disoriented by the thought of letting Leo out of her sight in this place.

"S'okay, ma." Not like they were going behind closed doors. Leo was already bouncing on the balls of his feet at the thought that he was going to get to see the inside of the Mansion. Like, the whole thing? He tabled his questions about seeing the X-men's area. Probably not included on this tour.

She searched his face. She always did that and he never knew what she was looking for. "Be on your best behavior." She warned.

"Always." His grin was easy, but not terribly soothing on that front.

>>"S'okay, ma."
>>"Be on your best behavior."
>>"Always."

Well, that was familiar at least. Gemma smiled. Her kids were older than Leo, but she still remembered them as teenagers. She knew that the woman was thinking, and she gave her a short nod, a silent mother's promise that she'd keep the kid out of harm's way.

"So" she said as they left the living room and started strolling down the hallway "We'll just walk around a bit, if that's okay with you. I am sure you have questions too, and things to say, but I have to ask you first."

She paused to look at him.

"Why are you here?" she tilted her head "I read your application, motivation letter and all, but I need to ask you in person. It is not about why you want to study, or any of those other things. Why do you want to go to this school?"

That was the big question, wasn't it.

Leo stuffed his hands into his pockets (so he wouldn't be tempted to touch, mostly) and followed Ms. Taylor step for step. She was tall. Like whoa tall for a lady. Taller, probably, than every member of his family.

So when she paused, he stopped and looked up. Waaaaay up.

"Okay." He took a deep breath. Honesty time. "So I can't rescue beached whales or stop speeding trains or whatever, but that doesn't mean I don't want to change the world. So I was thinking one day why all those mutants go on all those killing rampages all the time. Okay. Maybe not all the time, but you know like, let's be real, more than they should." She did know that part, right? He searched her face before continuing.

"I figured that's 'cause they lost their empathy card. Uh. Like, if they knew a human or grew up with a human, would they go out an wholesale kill a whole bunch of 'em?"

It was weird to talk about killing sprees in this way. He knew a few kids at his school had gotten in a mutant's way once, but it was nobody he knew directly. Those kids drank out of a straw for months. They were lucky to come back to school at all. He saw them, in the hallways, sometimes. Mutant touched. They'd talked about that on the forums for a while too. Seemed that no humans came away from a mutant experience the same.

"Can I ask you one?" He waited only long enough for his cue. "Is the whole Sister School accepts humans along side mutants policy just a PR thing?" Because he'd really hate to get his hopes up here.

>>"Okay. So I can't rescue beached whales or stop speeding trains or whatever, but that doesn't mean I don't want to change the world. So I was thinking one day why all those mutants go on all those killing rampages all the time. Okay. Maybe not all the time, but you know like, let's be real, more than they should."

Gemma arched an eyebrow. This was probably going somewhere, but she was not entirely sure she wanted to go with it. The kid was standing here in the middle of Xavier's, and talking about mutant killing sprees.
Maybe the chat was not such a good idea after all.

>>"I figured that's 'cause they lost their empathy card. Uh. Like, if they knew a human or grew up with a human, would they go out an wholesale kill a whole bunch of 'em?"

... That was an unexpected destination, but kind of made sense, in a way that anything that came from a teenager's mind would make sense in this situation. Gemma was about to point out that he didn't exactly answer her question, but he cut in first. She let him.

>>"Can I ask you one? Is the whole Sister School accepts humans along side mutants policy just a PR thing?"

"No" she answered, starting to walk again "We do accept humans. But here is the thing you need to know: A lot of our students don't come here by application. The Mansion is a safe haven for mutants who need it. We extend the same hope for humans if they happen to end up here. We don't turn away anyone in need just because they don't have the X-gene. Then again" she glanced down at Leo "... it doesn't seem like you need to come to this school. You want to. Which is why we are having this talk."

She led him down a hallway and towards the back door that led to the Mansion grounds. There were things to see in the building too, but nothing she would want to show him right now.

"You told me what you think you could do for... mutant students in this school. But that's only half an answer. I am curious what you hope to get out of it."

"So you only take messed up kids?" Leo's brow furrowed in a way that suggested that he was considering how exactly he could accomplish that.

They walked and Leo was startled to realize that he was missing things. If this was to be his only time inside the Mansion, he had to soak it all in now.

"Uhh." What did he get out of it? He'd really been focused on finding a reason why he could convince others that he needed to be here. "Something different?" That was not nearly as cool a reason as saving the world. He was so sure that one was gonna work, too. These were the good guys, after all. They should WANT to save the world.

"I'm the youngest in my family. I got, uh have, four siblings, Ms. Taylor. Did you grow up in a big family?" Well, it was no mutant mauling, but it wasn't nothing. "I just want to do my own thing." He couldn't live up to the grades or the other achievements his brother and sisters had, but he could do this.

>>"So you only take messed up kids?"

Gemma smirked.

"That's what a lot of people think of us."

Honestly, some Mansion kids were in no way more messed up than any other teenager. And Leo definitely seemed like the kind that did not have many things to deal with, other than being too normal for his own good, and trying to save the world.

>>"Uhh. Something different? I'm the youngest in my family. I got, uh have, four siblings, Ms. Taylor. Did you grow up in a big family? I just want to do my own thing."

"All right" Gemma sighed as they stepped outside on the Mansion grounds "I will level with you, Leo. First, I don't know what you heard about Xavier's, but it is just a school like any other. Yes, most of our students are mutants, but that does not make us some kind of a..."

Amusement park? Adventure castle?

"... an attraction." she gave him a look "And I understand the need to change the world for the better, believe me, I do. But you don't need to come here to do that."

Teenagers were always so adorably determined that way. Some of them stayed that way later too. A lot of them were on the X team now.

"Second, you would be taking on a lot of extra pressure of your own volition. We deal with prejudice and stereotypes from the outside on a daily basis. You might think being a human in a mutant school is a great idea, but you really don't know what you would be putting yourself through. And I don't think your mother would be happy with it either."

"Ms. Taylor. Real talk. If I wanted to uh-" Leo glanced at a passing student who was oozing green stuff, Leo lowered his voice appropriately. "If I wanted to see a freakshow, there's one in Cony Island that's a heck of a lot cheaper than your tuition." Because you know what else had been denied? His applications for financial aid.

It was probably best that they were going outside now. Leo wasn't here to piss people off, but this lady was playing hardball. He couldn't resist hitting it right back.

"And if you're sticking to the line that this is 'just a school like any other' you're selling yourself short." Toots. That line really had needed a toots at the end. He was proud at his restraint.

"This place has two very important factors going for it. One," He ticked off reasons on his fingers, "The Sister School is a hub for mutant affairs. I'm very interested in current events, if you couldn't tell. Two, it's a boarding school." Because, duh, what 16 year old wouldn't want a little more autonomy in a metropolitan hub like New York?

"My mom's not happy when I read books at the dinner table, Ms. Taylor and I know it's gonna be weird at first. I've seen this play out in the opposite direction, mutant at public school style." So what if it would take some adapting? That was what the mutants needed.

>>"Ms. Taylor. Real talk. If I wanted to uh- If I wanted to see a freakshow, there's one in Cony Island that's a heck of a lot cheaper than your tuition."

Gemma raised an eyebrow. Now the kid was speaking like a person. He had nerve, she had to give him that, and while what he said was all kinds of problematic, it did make a point.

>>"And if you're sticking to the line that this is 'just a school like any other' you're selling yourself short. This place has two very important factors going for it. One, The Sister School is a hub for mutant affairs. I'm very interested in current events, if you couldn't tell. Two, it's a boarding school."

The more he talked, the closer Gemma got to pinpointing what his motivations were. The kid, like all teens, wanted to be in the middle of the action - and in his mind, the action was happening right here at Xavier's. Getting away from his mother, who insisted on accompanying him here, also seemed like an important factor.

>>"My mom's not happy when I read books at the dinner table, Ms. Taylor and I know it's gonna be weird at first. I've seen this play out in the opposite direction, mutant at public school style."

"That is not even remotely the same." Gemma sighed "Look around. I am sure you have seen the security on the grounds. We have a lot more that you don't see. And that is mostly because the 'mutant affairs' you referred to are not always the fun, culture sharing kind. I have had supremacists with automatic weapons bust in here. Heck, once I had to punch an 'angel' on fire who somehow convinced himself he wasn't a mutant at all."

Not to mention the half a dozen times the Mansion had been blown up.

"What I am saying is, you would be taking on all the extra dangers and risks, to go to a completely average school with a bunch of students who happen to be mutants. And I don't mean to offend you, but I am still not convinced of why you would choose to do that. It's not like we are some secret..."

Oh.
...
OH.

Gemma turned to look at the boy again. Straight in the eye. There was only one explanation that made sense here.
He knew about the X-men.

"Did you know we have domestic terror drills at school? Just like fire drills. No school is safe." She wasn't going to win that one. "And you can't make an argument that on one hand, you've got more security than I can imagine and then turn around and tell me the Mansion's a sitting duck. This place, more than any other, has people who can fight back."

Her eyes widened. What? Did he say something wrong? It was too late, though. Leo was on a roll.

"AND! Not every mutant you have is a flaming angel puncher. You have to have some kind of plan in place to help those who can't help themselves." And really, he could argue about this all day. Leo folded his arms over his chest.

>>"Did you know we have domestic terror drills at school? Just like fire drills. No school is safe. And you can't make an argument that on one hand, you've got more security than I can imagine and then turn around and tell me the Mansion's a sitting duck. This place, more than any other, has people who can fight back. AND! Not every mutant you have is a flaming angel puncher. You have to have some kind of plan in place to help those who can't help themselves."

He was getting fired up now. He was making arguments, but his excitement was overwhelming his logic, and Gemma had to be honest to herself and admit that she was getting annoyed. She still could not pinpoint the guy either for a bleeding heart social justice activist, or some kind of a crazed mutant fan.

Gemma took a deep breath. Her voice grew more stern.

"First off, I am not an 'angel puncher.' I am not even a mutant. I am an adapted human, and more importantly, I am the school's guidance counselor. Second, we don't 'have mutants' here. That's my entire point. This is a school with students, some who live here and some who come here. We have our hands full protecting those who need our protection. There are a series of reasons why we would accept a human student, and right now, you are not fulfilling any of them. I am sorry, but being curious about mutants is not a good enough reason."

Okay, so that was harsh. But the kid needed some honest talking, if they were going to get anywhere with this argument.

"I don't know what you heard about this school. I appreciate you wanting to help human-mutant relations, but there are other ways to do that."

Geez. She was the one who brought up punching a flamer in the first place. Leo rocked back on his heels. "Yeah, you're pretty much confirming everything I was afraid of." They didn't care about humans. Not even the most human of the people here cared about humans. How was he supposed to know she was an adapted human when she was so freakishly tall? And she worked here where there were, like, zero humans.

"I get it. You're like the gate keeper and you're trying to protect everybody. Keep out the sus. Why am I tagging your radar? I'm just a kid trying to do the right thing! On paper you guys spout rhetoric, and in person you don't even give the one person who's trying a chance."

He kicked a rock and hoped it wasn't a mutant or something. That'd be just his luck. How many humans did they get that were willing to live here? Did they have so many that they could afford to send all the new applicants away?

Whatever. He puffed out his cheeks and let out a long slow breath. His eyes said more than he ever could. Really? There were better ways to help human mutant relations? Really?

"Guess all we piddly helpless humans are doomed anyway." And they called themselves the good guys!