Hey here is the sequel to Difining Normality. Enjoy!

A Deep& Somber Colour

by Lehcar Sundance

Chapter One

Blood dripped from the corpses body, as it floated in the shadowy corner of the manors rec room. Its dull eyes bored into Marina Ocean, causing her skin to crawl and her heart to beat fast in her chest. Once again she found herself curled up, covering her face and sobbing in fear.

"Please, leave me alone," Marina begged, as she did ever night that she had been visited. Yet as always the corpse took no notice to her plea and raised a quivering pale finger, pointing it dangerously at the shrinking woman.

"You killed me," he hissed, in a voice colder than death. "I will get you Sarah, I will get you." Marina squeezed her eyes shut, by now she knew what would happen. She would close her eyes and when she opened them he would be gone…until next time.

Mornings in Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters was always a noisy affair. Alarms were going off, students fought over the showers with loud voices, girls ran down the halls borrowing clothing from their friends, and always in that segment of time the kitchen was a war zone as grumpy kids wanted their captain crunch and caffeine freaks committed felonies for their morning coffee. Amidst all this, Marina Ocean sat glumly at the dining room table, staring blankly down at her cold glass of orange juice.

"Good morning, 'Rina," said Scott Summers, pulling up a chair and buttering his bagel. He looked as impeccably tidy as he did every morning. The morning people had to watch their backs at sunrise or they might find soft or hard objects alike, lobbed at their heads simply for being to cheerful and awake.

"You feeling alright?" Scott asked, around a bite of his breakfast. "You look like you had no sleep."

"I don't sleep, part of my mutation, remember," said Marina, scowling.

"I know that, I just meant that's what you looked like. You…never mind." Scott ducked his head and continued eating in silence as he noticed the dark scowls he was receiving from his friend.

"Good morning, good morning, ain't it great to stay up late, good morning, good morning to you!" A collective groan spread through the room as Brooklyn O'Connor, resident loony cheerfully skipped into the room with a box of cereal tucked under each arm.

Brooky was an enigma to everyone, including Professor Xavier. Something wasn't right in her head as she carried on with very schizophrenic antics. What was the most puzzling of all was when you just began adapt to the woman's crazy behavior she would have a moment of extreme clarity and would act like everyone else. After a time all her friends learned that the best way of understanding Brooky was not to try at all.

Brooky plunked herself in the chair the other side of Marina and smiled brightly at her best friend. When Marina and Brooky had first met it was because Brooky had been hired to assassinate the water mutant. But after their rocky beginning the two women became fast friends, much to Bobby Drake's dismay. Most people found Brooky darn annoying (and more than in just the morning) but Marina could never help but greet her friend with a smile.

"Good morning, Brooke," said Marina, taking a sip from her glass for the first time since she had poured it. "Have you taken Logan his coffee yet?"

"Are you kidding?" asked Brooky, her face screwing up in horror. "He's to scary to go near in the morning, even with a sacrifice of holy caffeine. No, the only men for me in the morning are Count Chocula and that sexy lucky charms gnome." As she said this, Brooky placed the boxes of cereal on the table and smiled at the pictures on the front. "Hello boys."

"It's a leprechaun," corrected Marina, grabbing her own bowl from the table and setting about to getting breakfast.

"What did you call me?" asked Brooky, looking up from where she was hunched over her cereal bowl.

"No, Brooky, the lucky charms man is a leprechaun not a gnome."

"Are you insinuating that I don't know the difference between a leprechaun and a gnome?" asked Brooky, looking affronted.

"Yes."

"Well the black plague on you! I've changed my mind, Logan is way better company than hanging around with you lot!" With that, Brooky grabbed her bowl of cereal (sloshing the milk everywhere) and marched from the room.

"He split the train in half?"

"Right down the middle."

"With people inside?"

"That's right."

Rogue smiled serenely; secretly pleased at the attention Ronny Drake was giving her. He was looking at her with wide eyes filled with excitement, as she recounted the whole Liberty Island incident that had given her the white hair.

Some months after the x-men's little incident in Boston, Ronny timidly arrived at the mansion. Apparently all the stress of discovering his brother was a mutant and then watching a police squad blown up had trigged Ronny's own mutation. He suddenly found himself with the power to manipulate electricity.

At the beginning of his enrollment in the school he could only make lights flicker but as he adapted to his mutation, Ronny could send electricity through his hands ("like the wrinkly emperor dude from star wars" was Jamie Madrox's take on it), and was learning how to boost his normal speed with spurts of power.

When he had first arrived, Rogue couldn't stand even the sight of him, which dredged up emotions from the experience at his place when he called the cops. After many months and with a little help from Brooky she now enjoyed hanging out with the younger Drake.

"Did the machine hurt?"

"Does self embowelment hurt?"

"Gotcha."

Suddenly Brooky phased into the room, landing haphazardly on the ground. Her mutation was a mix of Kurt Wagners teleporting and Kitty Pryde's phasing, causing Brooky to commonly be mistaken for a ghost. Brooky picked herself off the ground and straightened her bright clothing.

"Hey Pumpkins! Is the 'Lucky Charms' guy a leprechaun or a gnome?" asked Brooky.

"A Leprechaun," the two teens said in unison.

"Damn." Brooky quickly disappeared again. Rogue and Ronny looked at the spot where Brooky had left, both with raised eyebrows.

"So anyway…"

Marina spent most of her morning searching for Brooklyn. The problem with the ghost woman was that her mutation allowed her to travel from place-to-place within seconds, making it painfully hard to find the woman sometimes. Finally Marina caught her out in the garden, watering all the flowers that were planted around the property. She was humming a show tune to herself as she worked.

"Hey Brooke," greeted Marina, walking over to her friend.

"Hello, young miss."

"How's your morning been?" asked Marina, leaning against a tree and shading her eyes from the sun with one hand.

"Not bad. No one yelled at me until 10:30 today."

"Impressive."

"Yeah and I also didn't slip in that infernal shower. I swear all bathroom appliances hate me."

"Well Brooky, I'm sure if you were trying to tap dance in the shower you wouldn't hurt yourself quite so often," said Marina, grinning over at her friend. Brooky just made a face and went back to humming. Marina stayed where she was, drawing designs in the dirt with the toe of her sneaker. The longer she stood there, the more solemn her features became.

"Hey Brooky?"

"Young miss?"

"I know you don't like talking about your past, when you…well you know." Marina watched as Brooky's watering can dropped slightly and her back stiffened up. Her past was gruesome business and not even the professor knew all of it. "But something's been bothering me for a long time."

"Yes?" Brooky said quietly, after a long pause. Marina hastily continued.

"I know you were the one trying to kill me, but you were only ordered to do it. What I want to know is…who wanted me dead." Brooky faced Marina and shrugged sadly. Suddenly a cold chill swept down Marina's back and she heard a quite voice whisper in her ear.

"I want you dead."

Marina did not see his ghost again that night. But instead of feeling relieved, his lack of presence made her even more afraid. Would he be waiting around the next corner for her? It wasn't until the sun began to rise that she realized that he would not be appearing. Sighing with relief, Marina made her way up to her bedroom. The bed was made neatly with the water mutants clothing spread across it. Since Marina didn't sleep, she basically used her room for a large closet.

Moving into her bathroom, Marina turned her shower on; making the water so hot that steam quickly began to fill the bathroom. She stood under the hot stream, washing away the fear that had come with the night. As the water pressure changed, she realized that students were beginning to awaken and use the facilities so she forced herself to turn off the water.

As she stepped out of the shower she stopped abruptly, her whole body trembling with fear. Written on the steamy mirror were the words she had heard whispered just the day before.

"I want you dead."

Gripping the counter to steady herself Marina reached out and wiped the words form the foggy glass. As she did his face flashed across the mirror, his teeth bared and dripping with blood. Marinascreamed and spun around, but nobody was there.

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