Chapter 2: Sparks Fly
"Damn kid!" swore the dark haired man driving the Rolls Royce as he pilled sharply onto the right shoulder and out of the path of the green Jeep Wrangler. "You okay back there?" he asked his passenger as he pulled the car back onto the road and turned onto the drive of the Xavier Institute.
"I'm fine" a young woman replied softly, her attention on the Jeep that was barreling down the road, and the young man who had been driving it.
The man just grunted, satisfied with her answer. A moment later, the car began to slow before pulling to a stop in front of main doors of the Institute. "Welcome to the Xavier institute kid." He said, turning around to face the woman sitting in the back of the town car. She looked to be about 17 or 18 years old, but he could see age in her eyes. The girl had been through hell and back it seemed. Through her hair, there were shocks of pink streaks – a sign of rebellion he assumed – which stood out nicely against her tanned complexion. California that was where the professor had said she was from. She smelled like the rain, but he caught the scent of fear mixed in as well, which was not unusual.
"Ava" She said, startling the man slightly, "my name, it's Avalon." Her tone was firm – sure. But her voice was soft and feminine. He would bet anything that by evening, half the boys in the institute would be drooling after the new girl.
"Ava then" He nodded, opening his door and walking around the car to open hers. "Around here, they call me Wolverine."
"Your parents named you after an animal?" Her tone was sceptic as she raised one arched brow.
"I couldn't tell yah. Far back as I remember though, I've gone by Logan. Guess you could call 'Wolverine' my code name. 'Round here, we all got them." He explained.
"Logan! Stop hogging the new recruit!" A girl's head demanded, as it appeared in the middle of his chest.
"Half Pint!" Logan scolded, as Avalon shrieked, pink bolts firing from her hand.
"Like, Woah!" the head cried as the bolts passed through it and Logan.
"What do you expect?" Logan growled down at the head.
"Ah-ha" the head gave a shaky laugh, before a body followed it. "Sorry about that." She addressed Avalon, "I'm Kitty. You must be Ava."
Avalon gave her a shaky, affirmative nod.
"You'll get used to the weirdness around her. I've got to remember most of you newbie's haven't seen a lot of what we can do." She gave a bright smile, while Avalon scowled.
"I'm not a newbie" She informed an oblivious Kitty.
"Like, I can phase through pretty much anything. Which is mega cool. We've got a teleporter too. He's around here somewhere... Oh! And there's another kid, Evan, who has this bone plate armour and can like, throw spikes..." she kept on nattering as she phased through the main door.
"You get use to it. Kitty means well." Logan affirmed, putting a hand on Avalon's shoulder. "You go on after her, I'll have one of the other kids bring your bags around." He assured her just as Kitty's upper body phased back through the door.
"Opps, sorry!" Kitty gushed, "come with me, I'll show you around the place." Ava appeared hesitant, so Kitty phased the rest of the way through the door. "No phasing, I promise" She added, opening the door.
Avalon cast a longing look back at Logan and the car - at least HE seemed normal – before following Kitty into the Institute.
"Ice cube!" Logan hailed one of the boys playing volley ball over.
"What's up Logan?" Bobby Drake asked, hurrying up.
"Special mission for you" Logan smirked, "and it's Professor Logan to you, bub."
"Anything you say, teach" Bobby smiled as his body began to turn to ice.
"Rook, front and center!" Logan bellowed, catching sight of a boy leaving the garage.
"What do you need Wolverine?" the boy approached, wiping his hands down with a grease rag.
"You and Drake, are on moving detail" Logan's smile was menacing as he tossed the boys a pile of bags. "South hall." He instructed. "I've got another pick up.
"The south hall?" groaned Bobby
"Come on Wolverine – that's rank!" the second boy complained, "my GYM BAG smell better."
"Take it up with decomp and the professor" Logan saluted, pulling the driver's door open of the Royce, "I'm off to play taxi cab." The engine turned as the two boys continued to complain. It was not until Logan had driven away that they resigned to their fate. Xander hoisted the bags closest to him, while Bobby took the others, and together, they started towards the institute.
"Oh my god – I like, totally love your hair!" Kitty gushed, admiring Avalon's unusually tinted strands. "The pink is like, so edgy" she approved, "I wish I could pull off streaks like that."
"Thanks" Avalon smiled, "the colour is called amaranth, and well – they're kinda natural" she admitted. In response to Kitty's questioning gaze, she added, "When my powers manifested – it was pretty bad. Huge bursts of electricity. When it stopped, well, my hair was just like this" she finished, shrugging off the memory once again.
"What did your parents say?" Kitty inquired.
"They didn't. But they dropped me off at the salon the next morning and my mom's colourist tried to bleach 'em out." She twirled a strand, a smile ghosting her face, "it didn't work so well."
"Some parents" Kitty just rolled her eyes. "Well, hey. Forget them. You're here now, and you're going to love it!" she encouraged.
"Let's hope so" Ava whispered in reply, as Kitty's attention was drawn elsewhere.
"Rouge! Hey, Rouge!" Kitty called, waving at a girl with thick white streaks framing her face, when she looked, Kitty finished, "I've got someone for you to meet!"
"New recruit?" Rouge's tone was dismissive, perhaps even distracted, but it caused Ava to glower none the less.
"Yeah" Kitty just beamed, "this is Avalon. Ava, meet Rouge." The introduction was brief, and the girls simply nodded in greeting. "Hey, have you seen Kurt? I want to introduce him to Ava before he has a chance to pop –" Kitty was cut off by a familiar bampf and Ava's now familiar shriek, followed by a loud thump.
"Wow" Rouge drawled, "crispy." She smirked, her attention on the twitching mass of smoking blue fur that had landed at her feet. "So, what. Are you like, an electric witch or something?" She asked Ava. Before the other girl had a chance to respond, Rouge pressed on, "because I vote we call you Surge. Or Sparky" Her smirk grew as she patted Ava on the head.
"As if" Ava's temper spiked, as she pushed the offending hand away, sending a warning jolt along with it. "But I'd bet money they called you Vampira. I mean that make up is a dead giveaway." She shot back.
"Watch it, runt." Rouge warned, smoothly pulling off one of her gloves, "because I'll drop you – right here, right now."
"Try it, Gothika" Ava's steel blue eyes began to glow the same pink that coloured her hair, the air around her grew heavy with static.
"Whatever." Rouge backed down, "having you in my head would probably damage my GPA permanently." She turned, but paused at the foot of the stairs, turning over her shoulder to shoot one last insult. "If I were you though Sparky, I'd fire my colourist. She turned your hair pink"
"It's Amaranth." Avalon hissed, pulling her hands together to form a finger-gun and shooting a fierce bolt of lightning at the other girl's back.
"That" another woman's voice boomed, as the bolt vanished into the air, "is quite enough."
"Storm!" It was Rouge who broke the silence, her voice quivering with shock, "we were just – uh..."
"Getting to know each other." Avalon finished, "Rouge didn't believe I could fire lightning, and well... I guess things got a little out of hand." She finished lamely.
"Well, in the future, you will be wise to remember that we do not attack our teammates" Storm's tone was cool.
"Yeah, that's totally obv's." Ava nodded, "I guess I got a little to keyed up over Rogue's comment about my hair..." turning to the girl, she added, "I'm really sorry."
Wanting to believe her words, and knowing Storm was waiting for her reaction, Rouge played it off, tugging at one of the white streaks in her own cropped mane, "No worries there Thundercat, I kind of get what you mean."
Kitty shot Rouge a quick glare over the 'Thundercat' name, but her attention snapped back to Avalon when the girl swooned. "Hey! You okay there?" She fretted, catching her arm.
"A little – tired" Avalon's words came slowly, "but I'll be fine. I've just shot off a bit too much power - with all the suprises" she shrugged it off. "It might" she continued, steadying herself, "be better if we finish the tour later. I should really rest now" she apologized.
"Yeah, no worries." Kitty assure her, still holding Avalon's arm.
"We can take you to your room" Bobby's voice came from behind the girls, laced with eagerness. "Logan asked us to bring the bags up." He shrugged, indicating himself and the dark-haired boy beside him. "I'm assuming you're the latest recruit?" he nodded in Avalon's direction, who gave a weak smile in reply.
"Thanks..." Avalon began, faltering.
"Bobby" he introduced himself. "But you can call me Iceman" he offered his hand.
"They call me Smoke" the other boy added, his smile sly. "But Xander works too."
"What about you?" Bobby pressed, curious, "you got a name?"
"Avalon" she offered, pulling free of Kitty's grip to stand by her new escorts.
"What" Bobby teased, "no catchy code-name yet?"
"Yea" Avalon shot a wry smile at Storm's retreating back, "Tempest."
"Uh-oh, Storm, looks like you got competition" Bobby called.
"Not likely" she replied with a smile, disappearing down a hallway.
"Woah girl, steady there." Xander's tone was worried as Ava sagged against him, hand to her brow.
"You sure you're okay? Maybe we should take you to the Professor or Dr. McCoy..." Kitty worried.
"I'll be fine" Ava righted herself, "just a little too much excitement for one day."
"If you're sure..." Kitty trailed off as Ava nodded.
"I'll be fine" Ava promised, "So," She turned to the boys, "Where is this mysterious room?"
"Right this way" Bobby gave a mock bow, gathering the majority of Avalon's bags and starting up the stairs.
And... End Scene.
Originally, this was an unfinished chapter; but it fits better to just end it here; so it's staying as is.
Hope you're all enjoying the story so far.
X3 Emmy X3