The book is defined by the 7 coming of age stories for each of the principal students + Jubilee as they grow as people, particularly focusing on Mercury and Leech while new mysteries surrounding Hollow's past, the St. Croix twins present and of course the future of mutantkind. Expect of course to see your standard X-Men romantic angst, this time featuring the unlikely pairing of Leech and Nicole St. Croix, a troublesome crush by Paige on Havok and the deep aromantic friendship of Hollow and Mercury clashing with world shaking dangers challenge the beliefs and ideals of our heroes. Shark Girl brings an element of chaos to proceedings but also does the best job of fitting in with everyone as she share Leechs Grotesque forme and can empathize with the struggles that are unique to being a teenage girl without a feminine form like Mercury. She is also a source of levity for the otherwise fairly serious team. The big money draws of the book are Archangel, Havok and Jubilee, and the book intends to make stars out of Leech and Mercury.
A newly reopened school calls for a new class of students enrolling in the academy as well. Former ward of the academy Leech is introduced to readers first - given that he has few other places he can fit in with his grotesque appearances, he chooses Massachusetts Academy to try and have some semblance of a normal teenage life away from the madness of Xaviers. Joining him is a pair who were technically former students but never as themselves - Nicole and Claudette St. Croix - who bring with them the St. Croix fortune and the St. Croix troubles! Unexpectedly joining them is the mysterious and quiet Hollow who once housed the twins as a body but is now sentient in her own right. The dark St. Croix history and still unsolved origins of Hollow form much of the basis for the series early drama. Mercury joins the school perhaps even less sure of herself, her beliefs, and her place in the world than any of the others, seeking the guidance of her prestigious instructors and trying to find somewhere to fit in. Mercury and Hollow soon find themselves bonding as such polar opposites - one a diamond hard form without a strong connection to humanity and her a malleable liquid who could so easily be a normal girl if her powers were less total than they are leading to not just opening up the secrets of her origin, but genuine friendship which neither has much experience with. Former Student Husk serves as one of our focal points of the series. She is older than most of the other students and struggles somewhat to adapt to having Jubilee as a superior when they were once peers. Husk in particular is struggling to find her true self, whilst mired in the dramas of her imperfect teachers and with feeling the need to "catch up" to Jubilee and her other former peers.