Piotr sat on the edge of the pool, his eyes transfixed on Alkali's flesh. He watched the tattoo like skin change colors and move. The Greek chariot carrying Hyperion flew across her back gracefully and the rose on her cheek slowly lost its petals and wilted, as it did every night when the sun began to set. She swam in her black bikini, unaware that the big Russian was so mesmerized by the moving pictures that covered from her feet to her neck, to the single rose covering her left cheek.
The artist in him appreciated the beauty of each lovely image and couldn't help but notice how perfectly the colors in them went with her thick, wavy, shoulder length hair, which was an uncontrollable mass of electric blue; the same blue as her large eyes. They were round and surrounded by dark lashes so thick they looked like a doll's. Though she was very attractive Piotr's interest was merely that of an artist looking for something to inspire creativity; her brash personality was a little too much for him. But how he would love to paint her; she was an artist's dream.
He was attempting to work up the nerve to ask if she'd be willing to sit for a portrait. There was a gallery coming up and he'd been invited to submit several pieces as part of an up and coming artists feature and had been struggling to find inspiration for the final piece they wanted. Just as he finally found the courage to rise however, she climbed out the opposite side of the pool and wrapped herself in a towel before walking away towards the mansion. He sighed, sitting back down on the pool's edge. Piotr put his head in his hands, disappointed with himself for missing his chance again.
Alkali smirked to herself, looking over her shoulder at the Russian boy. As she walked back to the mansion after an evening swim she wondered idly if he would ever buck up the confidence to ask her. She knew perfectly well what he wanted, she'd twisted Lex's arm into reading his mind after the first few days of him staring at her. She was flattered really; she'd spent quite a bit of time in the large room the students used as an art studio and seen his work. It was beautiful, he had a way of capturing emotion in a piece that was unique to him, and she'd never seen anything as amazing as his art.
Eventually, she'd probably take mercy on him and just ask if he'd paint her. Piotr was sweet and friendly to her. He hadn't been deterred by her looks but attracted, something she appreciated. Alkali loved her wild appearance; it fit so well with who she was inside, crazy artistic, wild. Maybe a little too wild sometimes but hey, she was young.
Drying off a little further, so as not to drip on the carpets and anger Ororo, she walked in the back patio door. She put her hair up in the towel leaving her only in the black bikini borrowed from Amara
"Hey beautiful watcha doin'?" asked Bobby from the couch. Alkali rolled her eyes at him, God it was like they he had radar or something "ooh pretty girl approaching better go ogle her" he was gross.
"Leave the fraulein be, Bobby." Kurt clipped from an armchair across the room.
"Thank you Kurt. Bobby don't be so disgusting all the time could you?" She said stalking up the stairs. She didn't get very far before she ran into Dr. McCoy.
"Oh, Alkali I was just looking for you. Professor Xavier would like to see you all in his office please" She didn't have to ask who "you all" meant. Everyone lumped her together with Marie, Lizzie, and Lex as if they were somehow the same person.
"Sure doc, be there in a minute." she called of her shoulder already continuing down the hallway.
She opened the door to the room she shared with Tabitha and Amara and started rooting through the dresser drawers. She didn't have very much clothing; the professor had thus far barred them from leaving the mansion, just a few things purchased by Storm for them and things given to her by her roommates. She pulled out a pair of black leather pants which she paired with a silvery halter top that showed off her midriff and tied in the back to reveal much of the skin there also. She finished off the look with a pair of black high heels given to her by Amara.
Though she knew the professor was probably waiting for her, she took the time to blow dry her mane of blue hair. She liked to allow the static electricity that her body attracted to collect in her hair and throw off sparks, something she couldn't do when it was wet. Finally ready she left the room and hurried down one flight of stairs to the professor's office on the second floor.
Marie paused outside the Professor's door and took a deep breath; gathering together with her sisters typically didn't go well. In fact, their last meeting had quickly dissolved into an argument between Lex and Alkali over some topic Marie couldn't even remember now. Steeling herself for another such confrontation, she knocked softly on the door.
"Come in" Professor Xavier called. Marie took another deep breath before turning the knob and pushing open the heavy wooden door. Entering, she saw Lex and Lizzie already seated. The latter was studiously examining a chipped nail and the former was fixing her black hair into a high ponytail. Marie took a seat next to Lex and smiled at her.
"Your hair looks pretty that way, it shows off your eyes really well" She said with sincerity. The eyes in question, a deep, dark royal blue color, turned to look at Marie. Lex stared at her for a moment before making a noise of contempt and beginning to smoothing a nonexistent wrinkle in her sleeve. Marie bit her lip and looked up at the Professor. He gazed back steadily, without saying a word. Thankfully, this was when Alkali finally made her way into the room and took her seat next to Lizzie.
"Well now that you're all here we'll get started" Professor Xavier said and motioned to Dr. McCoy, who had been standing silently by the window. Now he stepped forward to address the girls.
"All of you are doing exceedingly well in your training with your primary mutations however, we are aware that you each also has several less powerful mutations. As you know, your stronger mutations were our primary concern but now that you all have them under control" What control? Marie thought to herself looking down at her gloved hands. "We believe it is time to train your other abilities as well" Dr. McCoy finished, looking back to Professor Xavier.
"We know that you were" He paused searching his mind for an appropriate word "created, with a fairly good sense of what your powers are so if you wouldn't mid listing for us all the mutations you are aware of" He trailed off, his tone making it perfectly clear the decision really wasn't theirs at all.
"Well" Lizzie began "I've got the dust of course" She snapped her fingers, releasing a tiny firework of the shimmering stuff "and I can shapeshift a little, but I can only, like, change my hair and eye color and my features a little" She said "I can't do big changes. Oh also, I can find hidden things" She finished. Lex's head snapped up and she paled a bit.
"What do you mean? I mean, how does that work exactly?" She asked hurriedly.
"Oh it's sort of like hot and cold I suppose. I know when there's something hidden close by and when I'm getting nearer or farther"
"How interesting" Dr. McCoy mumbled, scribbling furiously in a notebook. Professor Xavier turned to Lex and nodded.
"What about you Lex?" He asked
"Just the things I've already told you about Professor. Telepathy, telekinesis, and a bit of a knack with machines" She said, her tone making it clear she'd rather be elsewhere. He nodded and turned to Alkali.
"Mine are weird" She began "they aren't really connected, they seem kinda random" She continued nervously "The electricity, my skin, my speed and strength" Professor Xavier nodded again, they had quickly discovered that Alkali possessed an inhuman amount of both "and the animal thing" She finished.
The "animal thing" as she referred to it had been one of the Professor's greatest conundrums. Alkali could shapeshift into animals, but only certain ones. Thus far, she'd been able to achieve a wolf and a snake. He had no idea how to test what else she could turn into, though he suspected her speed and strength were somehow connected to this ability.
"Well for now we'll have you working with Wolfsbane and tackle the rest of it later" He said optimistically. He really didn't think Rahne and Alkali would be able to get along well enough for her to learn anything from the young girl, but he had to try.
"And last but not least" Dr. McCoy prompted Marie.
"Um, my skin of course, the fast healing, these" She said, sliding out three bone claws and retracting them just as quickly "I've got really good senses. I can see in the dark" She added lastly.
"I do believe that's all we need from you right now girls. Thank you for coming" Professor Xavier dismissed them and all four quickly bolted from the room running in separate directions. He fished a bottle of aspirin out of his desk and quickly shook out two of the pills for himself before offering the bottle to Hank.
"No thank you Charles, I shall suffer through" He said sitting in the chair Lex had just vacated. The two men sat looking at each other for a long moment. The question hung between them filling the air and monopolizing their thoughts as it had for three months now. Hank finally spoke.
"Charles, what are we going to do?" He said wearily.
"I really don't know Hank. This is something which I never could have foreseen" He searched for the proper words "It is not them that worry me so much, Hank. It is the possibility of the minds inside of their own which frightens me" He finished, glancing at his old friend.
"You believe it is possible they could turn on us?" Hank asked curiously. The thought hadn't occurred to him before. Charles Xavier met the eyes of one of his oldest and dearest friends.
"I no longer know what to believe or what is possible"