Howdy do! Kjel here, inspired by Sandoz to make a Lancitty fic. Just so you know, anything in Italics with single quotation marks are Lance's thoughts. Italics with speech marks are telepathic speech. Just to make things easier. Oh, yes.
DISCLAIMER: However much I'd like to, I do NOT own any of these characters. They belong to marvel, and for this we shall always love them. Amen.
Chapter 1- Rocky Beginnings
Lance... wasn't in the best of moods, leaving chemistry. The one subject he was any good at, and he gets an F! Still, there was always the plan to get into the principal's office later, if Pete and Griff hadn't chickened out. Not that he liked it, but he really needed the cash, and it wasn't like he could count on his foster parents for much. Other than the bare essentials, anything he needed, he had to find himself.
'Of course, that didn't mean I can't have some fun along the way', he thought, idly spraying the lockers red. He was late, but it was only PE, so who cared?
'Weird,' he thought, 'Could've sworn I heard something.' That 'something' then proceeded to fall out of, or rather through, her locker, slamming right into him.
"Hey, did you see what you just did?" he asked, completely oblivious to the ridiculous red streak on his face from the spray.
"What, I- I just, like, fell out-"
"Yeah man, right through the door! That is so cool!"
"You're crazy." She said, turning away.
"No, no, wait a minute, I'm the one guy around here who gets the beauty of it, cause you're just like me, really!" She gave him a look which clearly said she didn't believe a word of it.
"All right then, watch this-" His eyes rolled up, and the ground began to shake, lockers flying open around them.
"Gettin' the picture?" he asked.
"No, you're just, like, some freak, leave me alone!" This time she did leave, but Lance just couldn't help himself.
"You can run, but you can't hide, cause I'm gonna rock your world." He turned away, since he did have somewhere to be himself. 'Even if it isn't class. And did I really just say that pun out loud?'
Pete and Griff were already on the office roof when he arrived.
"Well? Can we get in here or not?" Pete asked, elbowing Griff in the ribs.
"Not, it's wired into the alarm system."he replied tartly, not pleased with said elbow.
"Now what Alvers? We've got no way into this stinkin' office, and mid-terms start in the morning."
'God, why can't they think for themselves?' Problem was, he knew the answer. 'They're afraid of me, and they're in it for the gain. Great friends you've got there, Lance. Is that really what you want?"
"Yeah, and exam answers aren't exactly going to fetch a prime price after the test. Can't you just, y'know, make a door?"
"Sure, and have them know we were in? They'll change the tests!" he yelled, pushing Griff's arm away. 'Idiots.'
"I got a sweeter idea. Her." He pointed at the girl from before.
"What? Are ya gonna have her long jump through the wall? Come on, get serious!"
"You ridin' me Griff?" 'Sure, now, they want to think for themselves.' "Huh, are ya?" In his anger, his control over his powers slipped, and the ground started to shake.
"Sorry man, I was just-"
"Whoa, whoa, it's cool Lance." Pete pushed himself between them, but Lance shoved him away.
"You two losers just line up the customers, I'll snatch the answers." A grin spread on his face, but he didn't feel like it. 'After all, you're about to exploit a confused, innocent girl.'
He watched her stumble and fall as she attempted to long jump. 'Good job that isn't the plan then.'
She hit the ground, frustrated, and he could see the she-jock lining up, just to show up the girl. Something about that just didn't sit right with him. As she took the run, he called up his powers again, catching her with a torrent of sand mid-jump. He waved at the other girl, before she bolted, straight into a red-headed girl, then towards the auditorium. 'Who the hell's she? I've never seen her before. But then, you're not exactly with the in-crowd, are you?' There was something odd about the look she gave the brunette, but he couldn't quite place it. Something was up though, so he followed them at a distance.
Though he didn't hear the full conversation, his feeling looked to be on the mark. It turned out the the red-head had powers too, and was trying to take away- 'Kitty?' He thought that was her name.
He was definitely in time to see Red pry into Kitty's head, and he wasn't having any of it. 'No one's taking advantage of her like that! Except you, huh?'
"Piece of advice, Red, I'm the only friend that girl's gonna need, and I'll be teaching her what's what, so you just better back yourself off!" He pushed her out of the way, and she gave a little moan.
'Definitely miss popular.'
He found Kitty at her locker, and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She spun round with a start.
"Easy, I wont shake things up, I promise," he assured her, reaching down to pick up her dropped books. 'Another pun?' "I'm, uh, my name's Lance. We should really talk."
"Why can't everyone just, like, leave me alone?" She slammed her locker shut, making Lance wince, and she turned to walk away. He seized the initiative.
"You feel sick inside every time you think about it, don't you? You want it to go away, but it wont. You're afraid of what might happen, you're parents are clueless, probably ashamed, being alone don't help." She rounded on him.
"What, are you like, reading my mind too?"
"No way! It's just that, I've been going through it myself. Y'know, trying to figure it out. But I've learned how to control it. Meet me outside the office in an hour. I'll show you how." He watched
her leave, torn between helping her and exploiting her.
An hour later, and he was even less sure. According to his watch, she was due any minute. 'But do I really want her to come? Sure I need the cash, but...' He slumped down against the wall when he heard Kitty's voice call out, "Hey, are you, like, there?" She was clearly surprised to see him sat there with his face in his hands. He stood up.
"I- I can't do it..."
"Like, do what?"
'Well now what Lance? Come clean and hope she doesn't hate you, or carry on with the plan?'
One look into her eyes gave him his answer.
"I, uh, have a confession..." She looked confused, but she stayed quite.
"Uh, the reason I asked you here, I mean, uh..."
"Hey, like, spit it out!"
"I was, uh, going to get you to help me steal the test answers, but I can't do it. I just can't do it to you..." He slumped down again. She was livid.
"So, like, you didn't want to help me after all?"
"No, I did. But I wanted to make the most of it, but I can't..." Kitty rolled her eyes. He was getting a bit repetitive.
"I can't, like, believe you were even going to steal them in the first place!"
"It's not like I want to have to do this!" He raised his voice slightly, but immediately wished he hadn't, and it dropped again. "My foster parents can't stand me, so anything I need, I have to get myself. I've always had to make do with what I've got,and it ain't much." Now it was Kitty's turn to be confused. She wasn't sure whether to be angry with him or glad he told her. She didn't have long to mull it over.
"Hey, Lance, have you got those answers yet?" 'Great, just what I need. Pete and Griff.' Then they saw Kitty. "So, you're plan didn't work then?" Pete asked with a sneer. He tried to grab Kitty. Lance was up in a flash.
"Back off, losers! Stay away from her!" Kitty was... surprised, to say the least.
"And what if we don't?" Now it was Lance's turn to sneer.
"You sure you wanna ride me like that?" He clenched his fist, and his eyes rolled back, the ground beneath Griff and Pete erupting under them. Needless to say, they didn't stick around for an encore.
"You okay?" he asked, surprising both of them with the tenderness in his voice.
"Um, like, sure."
"Well done Lance. You did the right thing today, and used your powers for good, and not gain."
Lance wheeled, to see an old man in a wheelchair, and, surprise, surprise, Red.
"My name is Charles Xavier. I have set up an institute for gifted youngster, such as yourselves, to help them understand and control their powers. You would both be welcome to attend." He extended a hand. "I believe you have already met Jean Grey, both of you." He added the last part with a raised eyebrow at Lance. 'Probably best not to start out with her hating me.'
"Uh, yeah, sorry about before. I was just so excited about there being someone else like me, I wasn't thinking straight." She nodded an acceptance of the apology.
"Well Lance, you are by no means alone. I myself am like you, a mutant, the next step in human evolution, as is Jean." He looked up in surprise when he realized the voice was inside his head, and the old man hadn't moved his lips. "My mutant abilities give me powerful telepathic abilities, as do Jeans, with the added bonus of telekinesis." In demonstration, Jean lifted up a small rock, without touching it. "There are others like us at the institute. It has already been cleared with your parents, Kitty, and your foster parents, Lance."
"Bet they were happy to get rid of me."
"Yes, quite. However, the choice is still yours to make, I cannot force you." Lance considered saying no, until he thought of Kitty. There was something about her that brought up strange feelings that he hadn't felt in a long time.
"Will Kitty be going?"'Yeah, make it obvious Lance.'
"Given recent events, it is a safe assumption." Lance couldn't be sure, but he could've sworn the old man was smiling.
"Then yes." Maybe a little too quick.
"You've made the right decision. I can sort things so that both of you are transferred to Bayville High"
"Isn't your institute a school?"
"Only to teach you to harness your mutant abilities. At Bayville, you will interact with your human peers and attend normal lessons. You are, after all, still teenagers." Somehow, he said it in a way that brooked no disagreement. "Now, gather your things. I would like to be back at institute tonight. The buildings here are not wheelchair friendly."
An hour or so later, Lance and Kitty were standing outside the unimaginatively named 'X-jet'.
'And you thought your puns were bad?' At present, Lance was a tad distracted by the amount of luggage Kitty was bringing. "How much?" He just stared in disbelief.
"Well, I, like, needed to make sure I have everything."
"So, which is the kitchen sink in?" She pushed him playfully. Lance hadn't heard Kitty's conversation with Jean, but he assumed that she'd explained everything to her. She seemed a little less confused at any rate. Her parents were there to see her off, but he noticed with no surprise whatsoever that his foster parents were nowhere to be seen.
"Is that, like, all your bringing?"
"Yeah, It's not like I have much to bring."
"No, like, keepsakes to remind you of your parents?" He winced.
"Sorry, is it, like, a sore subject?" 'Wow, and I thought I could be tactless.'
"You, uh, could say that." 'Haven't we already had this conversation anyway?'
Realization slowly dawned. "Oh! You, like, said yesterday. I forgot with, like, all the excitement."
'Well, you could call it excitement, I suppose.'
"Let's just, uh, pretend we never mentioned it."
"Okay." She seemed relieved. Lance reached down and picked up a couple of her bags, making sure to get the more awkward ones. "Thanks."He saw Jean looking at him strangely, and he smiled in a vaguely apologetic way. 'After all, she has every reason not to like you. You did threaten her when you first met. You've got off lightly.' She returned the smile, but it never quite reached her eyes.
He had to admit, inside the aircraft, that the institute had a pretty cushy job going. That was one worry off his mind at any rate. 'Hopefully now I don't need to do the kind of stuff that made this mess in the first place.' He snapped out of his reverie in time to hear the professor ask Jean to contact the institute to warn them of their return. Lance was confused when she just sat there, until he remembered she was telepathic. He shuddered. He didn't like the idea of having someone in his head.
Kitty had been talking non-stop to him since they'd got on the plane. 'Nerves, maybe?'
"So, like, what do you think the other students will be like? Lance? Are you,like, even listening to me?"
"What? Uh, yeah. I'm sure they'll be great..."
Well, that was chapter 1. Hoped you all liked it. Review and stuff, obviously. Chapter 2 coming soon – yes, there will be more puns. Cheerio.