The Worthington estate, a beautiful walled-off mansion where Professor Xavier has come, accompanied by Jean Grey, to meet the Worthingtons’ son, Warren. To his surprise, he doesn’t get to meet the parents, though, but their lawyer and the major domo, Mr Travis. The attorney informs Xavier that the Worthingtons, while loving their son very much, still could not stand the sight of him and therefore live on different premises, having left the son’s upbringing to the staff.
Xavier is rather disgusted, especially as Worthington’s lawyer clearly seems to expect that Xavier will be taking Warren of their hands for monetary reasons, although Xavier insists that this is about the boy. The lawyer explains that this means Xavier will, in essence, be Warren’s legal guardian, absolving the Worthingtons of any obligation Their discussion is interrupted, as Warren swoops in from his morning flight, an extremely handsome, young blond man with the wings of an Angel.
A little later, the three of them arrive at the school, where the X-Men are enjoying a lazy afternoon at the poolside. Xavier telepathically informs them that they have a new student. The X-Men just stare at the new arrival, until Cyclops offers him some food and Hank shows him his room.
Xavier addresses Rogue, who just cannot stop gaping after Warren. When he asks her what is wrong, the young Southerner excitedly asks them if they don’t understand: an angel! A real sign from God! The way she was raised… when angels start walking the Earth that means something bad is about to happen. The others don’t take her concerns seriously, pointing out that he is just a guy their age and that he didn’t just “appear.” He’s a mutant, Xavier adds, just like all of them.
Rogues still tries to get her point across: of all the possible way a mutation can express itself, why does he look exactly like an angel, like something out of the bible or a painting? Over there – she points at Nighctrawler – they have a demon (Kurt protests) and now they have an angel. It’s like something out of the revelation. Rogue apologizes to Kurt, telling him she knows he isn’t really a devil, but this cannot be coincidence. Xavier ends her rant by diplomatically suggesting out that religion is and always will be a touchy subject. They will discuss her points, but for now they should just let Warren settle in. Rogue still protests and the others start teasing her. From his new room upstairs, Warren just watches the scene silently.
Two days later:
Religious pro- and anti-mutant protesters have gathered in front of the X-mansion waiting for a sign from the angel. Inside the den, the X-Men watch the scene being shown on TV with the CNN headline: “Angel in our Midst? – is Professor Charles Xavier harbouring messenger of God?”
Xavier sternly looks at his students, noting that, before he asks them which of them is responsible for this major leak to the media that has resulted in this, they should remember that he is probably the most powerful telepath in the world and already knows who did it.
Hank protests that he doesn’t see how he can be blamed for this. Storm impatiently cuts in that he was on that fansite again, wasn’t he? She explains to the others that there is a web site about all of them and Hank goes to the message board and gives them little updates and answers questions. They’re his people, Hank defends himself, plus it’s good public relations. The others just scoff. He just doesn’t see how he could have known that all those people would come all the way up here, he complains.
Jean angrily shouts that people will stand outside a ratty apartment in Brooklyn for days in the rain because the dirt on a kitchen window kind of looks like maybe something! What did he think would happen if he announced it to the world that there was a freaking angel here? He didn’t announce it to the world, Hank stubbornly insists. He put it on the Internet, Jean seethes. What part of world wide web didn’t he get!
Suddenly both she and Xavier become aware that Warren has flown away. Cyclops wants the team to go after him but Xavier decides that just Storm should go. While he doesn’t want to be too manipulative, Warren is very attracted to her, so he’ll listen to her. Storm hesitates than agrees to do it, while Beast, her boyfriend, looks hurt.
wonderful it felt that even they, the freaks of society, were looking at him like he was the most repulsive thing they’d ever seen. Ororo just stares at him wordlessly before she starts to smile. Did he read that wrong. She proceeds to explain that they – at least the girls (and possibly Colossus) – were staring because he is stunning. But she’s sure once they get to know him, they’ll find something annoying or disgusting about him, she adds playfully. Warren looks away and almost smiles.
Storm says that she may know some of what he’s going through. Sometimes, she thinks hat her entire personality has become about her powers. And while she loves her powers, that’s not all she is. People don’t see her. She loves to write, she confides, she does it every day. Warren offers that he loves to fly. She agrees and he can really do it on his own. She has to get all these little jet streams lined up. She tentatively touches his wing and he asks her not to.
After a moment’s silence, he confides that his father dumped him with them. Warren disgusts him. Tough noogies for his father, Storm states decisively. If he can’t get over himself and see his son for the miracle he is, that’s his problem not Warren’s. More silence. Warren asks what he would do at Xavier’s school. Whatever he wants, Storm says. Fly. He hates that he has nowhere else to go, Warren sulks. So does she, Ororo replies, but it isn’t a bad place. They get to look people in the eye and try to convince them that they are just people. Maybe one out of every five really hears them. But Warren? He could probably make one in every two listen. He sure looks like a messenger. He silently broods and then flies away.
A little later, he lands among the protesters in front of the school. He tells them that he is Warren Worthington and he is seventeen years old. He’s not really an angel, in spite of what they think. He’s a mutant.P>
Some time later, Beast, sitting in a diner, reads the Daily Bugle headline “Angel is mutant hoax.” Suddenly, an unseen person addresses him, referring to the other guests: they don’t know they stare. They think they are not staring. That’s the funny part. Hank McCoy, right? The person alludes that he or she can help Hank and asks if they can sit down. “uh…sure,” Hank replies.
