NETWORK & PREVIEW

BIOGRAPHY

Following the revelation to the world that Charles Xavier was a mutant, the Xavier Institute experienced a boom in its student population. The Vale sisters were a part of this influx of new students. Very little is known about their background, save that they were sisters. Interestingly, they never interacted on-panel, so the interpersonal dynamics between them is unknown.

Preview was part of Wolfsbane's training squad, the Paragons. They had been competing in a Danger Room challenge that required them to incapacitate a rampaging Hulk. Preview opted to not participate, instead watching her team compete from the sidelines. While the Paragons were successful, another squad, the New Mutants, beat the Paragons’ time. Wolfsbane's was trying to boost her team's morale after their defeat but Preview interrupted her saying, she knew it was a waste of time, as she experienced a vision right before they went in, telling her the New Mutants would win. Wolfsbane had spoken to Preview about this before and tried to explain that the future is mutable and she owed it to her friends to try and not give into her pessimism. Wolfsbane left the institute soon after, when it was revealed she had an affair with one of the other students, Elixir. Following that, the Paragons were placed under the tutelage of former new mutant, Karma. [New X-Men: Academy X #12]

Network, meanwhile, was part of a different training group called Alpha Squadron, under the instruction of Northstar. [New X-Men: Academy X #13] When Northstar was murdered soon thereafter by a Hand-possessed Wolverine, Network and her team were grief stricken. Karma had also been asked to take over Alpha Squadron after Northstar's tragic demise and did her best to assuage their grief. A memorial did take place for Northstar at the school and a statue was to be unveiled in his honor. As a sign of good faith, Karma took Network and the rest of her squad to see it before it was shown to the rest of the school. Network and Preview were now taking part in joint training squads under Karma. However, Preview's negative attitude was no longer restricted to her but was the norm among her peers, given the shock and turmoil surrounding the recent events. Even Preview stated she was genuinely surprised by Wolfbane and Elixir's affair, commenting that, despite her precognitive powers, she missed it. [New X-Men: Academy X #14]

[Note: Further information was expanded on both girls in their yearbook entries. Network was voted most likely to become a millionaire. Whether this was an indictment of her peers, confidence in her intellect or her powers is unclear. She said she disliked peer pressure and social gathering and listed her likes as surrounding herself with things/technology such as computers, video games and cars. By contrast to the positive comment Network received from her classmates, Preview was labeled the biggest “drama queen.” Interestingly, she listed her likes as surprises and her dislikes that she was no longer surprised, indicating further discomfort with her mutation.]

Events soon took a surprising turn when the Scarlet Witch depowered most of the mutant population, including both Vale sisters. [House of M, Decimation] This caused outright hysteria in the school, with some students being elated, while others were distraught. Surprisingly, Preview was seen distressed, ranting “I can't see, I can't see,” suggesting that she was unhappy with the loss of her abilities. [New X-Men (2nd series) #20] A decision was made that the depowered students were to leave the institute for their own safety and were snuck out in a school bus. Network was wished well on her way by her classmate Surge. Unfortunately, she was far from safe, as the bus she was on was blown up by William Stryker's forces. [New X-Men (2nd series) #24] She was later commemorated in a memorial. [New X-Men (2nd series) #32]

[Note: What happened to Preview during this time is unknown. She was neither mentioned at her sister’s memorial, nor had she been seen earlier boarding the doomed bus. It is very possible that she was simply overlooked by the writers.]

In the Krakoan age, most of the deceased teen mutants were resurrected and Network was among her revived peers, celebrating their return. [X-Factor (4th series) #5] The fate of her sister Preview is less clear. Krakoa temporarily had an outright ban on resurrecting precognitive mutants, which has since been lifted. If Preview did die during the bus explosion or in the purge of precogs, she may now have a second chance at life. If she did survive the bus crash and has been living life as a depowered mutant, given her negative feelings towards her mutant status, it seems unlikely she would go through the crucible to restore them. Then again, she did say she liked surprises.