There were two primary incidents that acted as a catalyst for the student riot at the mansion. The first (although more indirect) was the death of famed mutant fashion designer Jumbo Carnation. The second was a radical change in identity of the young mutant Kid Omega. Quentin was one of the prized pupils of both Professor X and Jean Grey. While his mutant powers were primarily undefined he was a genius and was capable of some telepathy. Quentin's identity was called into question when he learned from his mother that he was adopted. He lashed out at some of the other students, and began to abuse the mutant-enhancing drug Kick. He visited the site of Jumbo Carnation's death, and clung to the event as a personal cause. Quentin had his hair cut to resemble an artist's rendition of mutants from the day he was born. He also adopted a clothing style that was designed by Jumbo Carnation which was designed with human's fears and hatred of mutants in mind. With a public open house happening at the mansion, Quentin hoped to make a bold and confrontational statement about how far mutants have come by embracing stereotypical images of mutants. Kick was already boosting his mutant abilities, and his brain was processing over 10,000 brilliant ideas per second.
Quentin would have a public confrontation with Professor Xavier during their telepathy class. He openly challenged Xavier's ideals of tolerance in favor of a much more radical view of human mutant relations, desiring not to live in a world side-by-side with Jumbo's human killers. This display impressed several other students who began to follow Quentin's line of thinking. With Glob Herman still by his side fellow students Tattoo, Phaser, and Skybolt adopted the same clothing as Quentin forming the Omega Gang. Now all five were abusing Kick, and ventured outside of the mansion that night. In a back-alley they found a group of humans who they savagely beat, killing some.
Next the Omega gang attacked a U-Men hideout, killing all of the U-Men inside. Upon arriving back at the mansion they waited in Professor Xavier's office to ambush him, knocking him out with a wooden bat. The following day Xavier regained consciousness and found himself tied up and masked by a helmet that Quentin designed after the helmet worn by Magneto. The helmet would prevent Xavier from using his telepathy on anyone the same way that Magneto's shielded his mind from telepaths. This was the day of the mansion's open house, and as the attendees were approaching Quire announced to the campus that they were holding Xavier hostage and incited the students to riot.
The other students, guided by Quire, began a protest around the mansion which quickly escalated into violence. The X-Men attempted to stop them, but the student body fought back. Wolverine was briefly incapacitated by Quentin's telepathy. Radian, Tattoo, and Redneck fought with the X-Men and lost. Glob Herman lit his body on fire and attacked a fleeing busload of humans. He was subdued by Beast, Cyclops, and Xorn. The Stepford Cuckoos had were executing a plan to stop Quire from doing any more harm. Sophie took a dose of kick to augment her telepathic abilities, and used Cerebro to further enhance her power. Together the five Cukoos were powerful, but with this added assistance they were able to completely take out Quire. Quentin was left crying, battered, and beaten.
Quentin was rushed to Beast's lab where they discovered that the kick had caused his neurons to move faster than the speed of light, rapidly killing him by turning his brain into pure energy. Xorn assisted Quire in this transition, easing him into a new form of being. What was left of him would remain in stasis in Beast's lab. The few remaining student protesters were met by Xavier who explained what had happened, and told them that they were welcome to continue protesting as long as they did it in a non-violent manner. The Riot at Xaviers came to an end.
Collected Editions
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