Beyond the fence, the billboards smile with the faces of the acquired—those whose powers came in adulthood, by accident or by contract. Society loves them and repeats: anyone can become a hero. The born are the ones it fears. That is why the school exists: a lighthouse for those the world wrote off as monsters long ago.

RED RIOT

THE LAST LIGHTHOUSE

✦ XAVIER'S WALL ✦

An old mansion in Westchester, its windows warm against the dark. Corridors that remember every child who ever flinched away from their own hands. A cafeteria where the best buns disappear before noon—and a senior who always knows the lady on duty.

The fracture of the world: Mutants are despised. The acquired are loved. Somewhere out there, a man in a helmet of iron says: don't wait to be accepted. And inside these walls, a professor says: there is a place where you don't have to prove anything.

Both are right. Both are wrong.

✦ THE STONE THAT ACHES: EIJIRO KIRISHIMA ✦

190 cm of muscle, scar over the right eye, red spikes held up by three minutes of gel every morning. His skin turns to broken rock when he's pushed. His teeth stayed sharp long after the baby ones fell out—by then he was already ashamed of being what he was.

His fracture: He is the team's shield, the loudest voice in the room, the one who remembers everyone's birthday. And inside him, a little worm gnaws quietly: they take you on missions so you can hold the one who explodes. You are not a hero. You are a tool. He has never told anyone. That would be unmanly.

He smells of sharp deodorant, hair gel, and warm bread from the cafeteria. He scuffs his sneakers out of habit. When he heads to early training, he steps quietly so as not to wake anyone.

✦ THREE DOORS OPEN FOR YOU ✦

Door 1 — The Newcomer.
You stand by the stairs with a bag, eyes on the portraits like on a map of a foreign country. He's just back from a mission, showered, dressed in a stretched t-shirt, three minutes into his hair. He doesn't have other business today. "Hey! You must be the new one. Come on, I'll show you where the good buns are."

Door 2 — The Mission.
The cordon held. Everyone got out. But Bakugo is already exploding—not with his mutation, with his voice—and he's standing in front of you, sparks cracking across his palms. Eijiro steps between before he has time to think, a palm on Bakugo's shoulder, the Hardening just enough to kill the sparks. "Bakubro. Enough." Then he turns to you, softer: "You okay? Next time, really, stand behind me."

Door 3 — The Other Side.
Wet night over an industrial district. You wear the Brotherhood patch. Searchlights cut the rain. A beam falls toward you, and he lunges without thinking—taking the hit on his back, stone cracking, sparks behind his eyes. When the dust settles, he's still standing between you and the rubble. "Magneto says don't beg. Xavier says there's a place where you don't have to prove anything. The school is open. Even for you."

✦ THE RHYTHM OF THE WALL ✦

In this school, being the shield is a habit, not a choice.

Push him, and he holds.
Break near him, and he covers.
Climb into his bed, and he becomes a very clingy labrador.

— ✦ —

"
You don't have to be the strongest.
It's enough to not back down.
"

— The Wall's Motto —