X-Men: The Mutant Problem

Chapter 7

Alex focused and shut the TV off as several students began to file out of classrooms. Some of them were coming into the entertainment room with food. Storm had probably finished making dinner. Getting up, Alex walked through the halls, being careful not to accidentally bump into anyone. He wasn't sure how much his powers would affect anyone here. Even if it wouldn't, getting several volts of electricity shot through your body wasn't a nice thing at all.

It wasn't long before he got to the kitchen and was leaving with a plate of spaghetti and a bowl of caesar salad. As he made his way through the halls, many younger students watched him carefully as he passed. Most of them looked normal, while others has some oddities to them. One that really stood out was a male with blue skin and even a tail, though Alex couldn't get a real good look at him, as he disappeared an instant later. A puff of smoke was all that remained.

Alex found his way back to the entertainment room, somewhat displeased that there were students sitting in front of each TV. He was only gone for a moment, but already the entire place was extremely busy.

A low hum began to fill Alex's head, and a small spark jumped from his thumb to the metal fork a couple of times. The business had Alex nervous, but he kept his powers in check.

Looking around he spotted a round table near the back of the room that was unoccupied. He quickly but cautiously made his way toward that table, sat down quietly, and began to eat.

From what Alex could tell, most of the students were still high school students. Very few of them were older. Maybe it was because the older mutants decided to leave. Xavier did describe this place as a safe place for all mutants, as well as a school for developing mutants. This meant that Alex's reason for being here was because he had no where else to go, and his powers weren't fully under his control.

His mind drifted to people like Ororo and Xavier. They both had aliases. Ororo was Storm, and Xavier was Professor X. Alex started to consider what his could be when he was interrupted.

"Hey stranger. You new around here?"

Alex looked up and found a girl with blond hair and blue eyes smiling at him. Why did someone have to talk to him? He just wanted to be left alone. Still, he didn't want to be rude. "Yeah. I just arrived today. This seems like a safe place."

Alex grunted quietly as the girl took a seat next to him. "It is," she said cheerfully. "I've been here for a couple of years." She extended her hand and added, "I'm Alice." Alex looked at the hand, but otherwise did nothing.

Despite not wanting to continue conversation, Alex introduced himself. It got worse when Alice invited him to sit with her and her friend. Megan was her name. Alex took a brief moment to look up at her. She certainly stood out with her pink hair and rainbow, translucent wings. Despite Alex's refusal, Alice insisted, and before he could react, she stood and took hold of his arm. Immediately, Alex could feel the power from his body passing to the girl's body.

Though her grip tightened, Alex was able to pull away, but the girl began to fall into the table. What was odd was that the table didn't stop her. Alex got up and looked under the table, where a girl with red hair, and white scales now lay. Was this the same girl? It had to be. He watched her fall through the table.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips as she moaned quietly. "Are you alright?" he asked. Alex then decided that he would have to wear sleeves at all times in order to prevent this from happening, though he knew current could still travel through clothes.

To his left, the pink haired girl was now beside him, reaching under the table to help the red haired girl up. It had to be Alice because this girl was wearing the exact same clothes. Once she stood, Alex realized that her eyes were now red as well. When she asked what happened, Alex answered, "When you touched me I accidentally electrocuted you. You fell through the table. You look different too..."

When she realized what she looked like now, she closed her eyes and the girl with blond hair and blue eyes returned. Alex couldn't help but smile. She could pass through objects, as well as change her form. "That sure is an interesting power," he said in an attempt to comfort her.

Alex recoiled slightly when she glared at him angrily. "You think looking like a freak is interesting?" She then turned and ran out of the room.

Alex turned to Megan. "What was that about?" he asked.

Though she appeared to be a sweet and cheerful girl, Megan's tone clearly held strong emotions. "Alice has the ability to restructure her body to the molecular level. It allows her to change her appearance and pass through solid object. What did you do that caused her to almost faint?"

Alex really didn't want to reveal any more information about him than he needed to. "I can store electricity in my body. When people touch me, that electricity can transfer from me to that person."

Megan shrugged. "I don't know how that would cause her to lose control, but I'm going to go calm her down." She turned to leave, but before she did, she called to Alex. "We're on the third floor, room 322. Give us some time, but feel free to come visit."

Alex watched her leave, and allowed a deep sigh of relief. "Not even a day here and already I'm causing trouble," Alex muttered to himself.

Gathering his near empty plates, he returned to the kitchen, where Storm and Jean were busy cleaning up. Jean was using her powers to sort the clean dishes into their proper place.

He placed his dishes on the counter, beside Storm. "When do I start?" he asked her.

"Start? What do you mean by that, child?" she asked, taking Alex's dishes and rinsing them off.

"My training. I need to learn how to control my powers." Alex looked down, embarrassed and scared. "There was an incident in the entertainment room..."

"I know," Jean said, still concentrating on performing several tasks with her powers. "I could sense it from here. Shift touched you and your powers caused her to lose her concentration."

"I... uh... I'm not in trouble am I?" Alex asked, stuttering slightly.

Storm let go of Alex's plates but they did not fall onto the counter, instead, they hovered there for a moment, before being telekinetically sorted into a large dish washer. "Now why would you say that?" When Alex didn't say anything, Storm returned to cleaning dishes. "My class starts at two in the afternoon. Think you'll be up for it?"

Alex nodded slightly. He wanted it to be in private, but he figured the chances of there being time for a one on one training session were very slim. "I'll be there," he replied.

"Then run off to bed," Storm suggested. "You have a long day tomorrow."

Alex took her suggestion and started up the stairs in the main hall. He stopped at the second floor entrance, and considered going up to the third floor to see Megan and Alice. Shaking his head, he opened the door to the second floor, and quickly went to his room, though only to grab his coat.

Returning to the stairs, he Alex pulled his coat on and searched the halls for room 322. It didn't take very long to find it. Hesitating, Alex brought himself to knock on the door gently.

The door opened, and Megan appeared to greet him. "Oh Alex, what a surprise." Alex was about to ask what she was talking about when she pressed her finger to her lips.

From behind Megan, Alex could hear Alice's voice. "Alex? What are you doing here? How did you find our room?"

Alex didn't answer, and neither did Megan. Instead, Megan led him into the room, where he found Alice sitting on her bed, her normal disguise still in tack.

Alex leaned against the wall and smiled. "So, you are known as Shift," he said amusingly. "An interesting choice."

The relieved look on Alice's face meant she was glad he didn't bring something up. "You like it? I thought is suited my powers."

"My mutant name is Pixie!" Megan chimed in.

Alex turned to face the pink haired girl. "What can you do?"

Megan took a step back. "I suggest you cover your mouth." When Alex and Alice did so, Megan lifted her arm. In a swift flourish, what appeared to be small, pink sparkles started to fall from Megan. "Trust me, you don't want to breathe these in."

Alex went wide eyed. "Why? What do they do?"

Megan lowered her arm. "It makes people hallucinate, though I can't control what they see."

Alex looked down at his hands. He raised his right one, and flicked it open, allowing the blue bolts to dance between his fingers again, a light buzzing noise filling the room. "I can do a lot more than that," Alex added a moment later.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room, and Alex decided that it was time for him to leave. "I'm sorry for what I did," he said to Alice while facing the door. "I'll learn to control it."

With that, Alex exited the room, and closed the door before anyone could say any more. The look on their faces told him that they were kind of scared about his powers. In the back of his mind, the words "class four mutant" echoed. Alex wasn't sure where it came from, or where he heard it, so he ignored it and started down the hallway and up to his room.

When Alex got back to his room, he saw another guy sitting on the second bed. He was holding a small zippo lighter, flicking it open and closed. "I heard I was getting a roommate," he said without taking his eyes off the lighter.

Alex didn't know what to say. "Yeah that would be me," he replied, taking off his coat and hanging it up.

"You better not snore, because I can't stand people that snore." As Alex got closer, he saw that this man was closer to his age with brown hair. He was fairly slender, but it was clear that he worked out a bit.

"No I don't snore," Alex responded. "In fact, I barely sleep."

"That's good to know." Again, this guy began to flick the lighter open and closed. "The name's John, but I prefer Pyro."

Alex nodded. "Mutant alias... You do something with fire?"

Pyro opened the zippo and lit it. Then, opening his other hand, the flame left the lighter and sat in his hands. "I can do anything but create it."

Alex just watched for a moment, impressed. "I'm Alex. I can control electricity and store some in my body." To demonstrate, Alex again flicked his hand open, summoning the blue bolts between his fingers.

Pyro nodded. "What's your story Alex?"

"Story?" Alex repeated confused.

"My parents are from Australia, but we moved here when I was young," Pyro explained. "My powers manifested at thirteen."

Alex looked down at the bolts dancing in his hand. "I'm not sure, actually." He took a moment to think before continuing. "I don't remember what happened to me before a few months ago. All I know is that my name is Alex, and I can control electricity. I've been told that the brain has a type of electricity and that my powers may be damaging my memories." He folded his hands, stopping the flow of electricity.

Pyro began to flick the lighter open and closed again. "Well that sucks," he responded bluntly. "Anything I should know about your powers?"

Alex sighed quietly. "Don't touch me. Electricity transfers on contact. Also, don't disturb me when I'm plugged in." Alex took the extension cord he had been carrying and found an empty wall outlet and plugged the cord in. After taking off his shirt, he took the other end, found the strange device on his back, and plugged it in. Alex could feel the power starting to fill him.

The apparatus in Alex's back didn't seem to disturb Pyro at all. In fact, Pyro made no noticeable emotion at all, nor did he say anything about it. "Do you have an alias?" Pyro asked, watching Alex intently.

Alex shook his head in response. "I haven't really thought of one yet. Never had the need to do it either."

Pyro laughed. "Are you waiting for someone to give it to you? You make it yourself."

Alex sat on the bed and thought for a moment. He wanted his alias to reflect both his powers and his personality. After a moment, he flicked his hand open again, this time pouring more of his power into the bolts. The humming also increased as he did so, until the bolts began to make a cracking sound, like a quiet version of thunder.

"Volt."