Disclaimer: Whoever said college students are all wild and crazy never knew any science majors.

It's time to introduce a new feature in this story. Taking a leaf out of L17057E's book, it's profile time! And who better to start things off with my OC Atlantis?

Atlantis

Full name: Andrea Mercy Creed

Nickname: Andi

Age: 14

Birth: August 18th Sign: Leo Element: Fire Planet: The Sun

Hair: Blond (like the color of Velveeta) with black bangs.

Eyes: Blue (sapphire-colored) with pale yellow whites.

Family: Sabertooth (dad) Mystique (mom) Connor, Daniel, Kyle, Kurt (older brothers) Rebekah (sister-in-law) Josiah and Ezekiel (nephews)

Mutation: Andi has an aquatic mutation. Her body is covered in blue scales ranging in hue from icy (over her shoulders, part of her arms and back, and along her neck, cheekbones, and forehead) to deep sapphire along the rest of her body. Her hands and feet are webbed and when she's fully shifted, two large razor-sharp fins protrude from her wrists. She can breathe underwater and has an untapped degree of hydrokinesis. She is also a shapeshifter.

Personality: An independent, stubborn loner, Andi's not the one who would jump out as a team leader. However, she remains cool under pressure, thinks on her feet, and fusses over the health of her teammates (except Virus). She doesn't trust easily, but once she warms up to people, she's loyal, honest (almost to the point of being rude) and supportive. She's also very opinionated and has a talent for building and fixing motorcycles (or anything else drivable).

Learning to Breathe

55. The Quest for Corona

On a seemingly quiet Monday afternoon, after a very eventful weekend (Bryan's 16th birthday and the arrival of Brownie), the team known as Shadowatch resumed the search for their missing friend. They searched all over the Southside of town where her grandmother had lived, but to no avail. Corona remained ever elusive.

All that week, they watched carefully for signs of Kid Razor, hoping he could lead them to the wayward mutant, but that turned into a dead-end too. The traps they'd placed for him didn't work. Instead, he dealt with petty arsonists and car thieves, leaving the team with no leads and little time.

The winds of change blew in at precisely five-thirty one Thursday evening.

Andi had taken Laredo and Brownie out for some exercise (and a break from Virus) and was walking down a seemingly empty street when she heard some shuffling nearby.

"What was that?" She asked as Laredo growled at something in a shaded alleyway. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

"Okay. Okay. You don't need to yell." A female voice purred. Slowly, a teenage girl glided out of the shadows. Her black and orange striped hair fell to her shoulder blades and her eyes were the shade of yellow gold you would see with a domesticated tabby cat (a/n: my barn cat Casper's eyes are this color.). Aside from that, she wasn't very tall, but not short either. "God, Andi, are you trying to let the whole neighborhood know I'm here?"

"The whole 'neighborhood' consists of Cobra troops in disguise." Andi replied. "What are you doing here, Mina? I thought you'd gone to L.A.?"

Mina smirked. "I heard through the Morlock grapevine that you're looking for 'Rona."

"Unless you know where she is, then I don't have time to talk." Andi stated.

"Can't we just have a conversation from one cellmate to another?" Mina asked.

"Not with so many watching." Andi said. "What do you know, Huntress?"

"I know that you're looking on the wrong end of town." Huntress replied. "From what the street fighters and gangs are sayin', she's on the west end. Opposite here."

"Good to know." Atlantis replied. "Now why are you here? I've never known you to make long road trips just to talk."

"Perceptive as always." Huntress smirked. "I come with a warning. There is trouble on the horizon. Something is hunting down the sewer-dwellers and street-gangs. Your group will be next."

"I do not doubt it, but they'll be in for a shock." Atlantis stated. "We have trained hard since that night three years ago. We are children no longer."

"Tell that to the one who makes us disappear." Mina said. "When you find Rona, tell her I said hello."

"Will do." Andi said as her compatriot turned toward the shadows again. "Thanks for the heads-up, Mina."

"Don't mention it." The other girl replied, melting back into the shadows she came from.




"I wonder what could be hunting down Morlocks?" Regan asked. Andi had relayed Mina's information as soon as she returned home. "I mean, they're not fighters and definitely aren't that powerful. Just outcasts."

"Still, it's troubling." Kristen said. "To think of Shatter and Mina in danger…"

"Let's not forget that Rona's all on her own." Bryan said. "ain't she more at risk that way?"

"He's right." Andi said. "We have to find her and fast. If we don't, we may never see her again."


A few days later, Shadowatch were on a routine mission. Go steal some tools for the garage, the grown-ups said. So far, things had gone well. They made off with some new welders and a couple of jacks when trouble struck.

"Well, look who's back for round two." Kid Razor said as he flew down to the team of teenagers. "Ready for me to kick your butts?"

"Chill it, Razor, we don't have time for you today." Atlantis shouted.

"Then you shouldn't have done the crime, girl." The Cleveland native boomed.

"Out of our way, asshole!" Vampira floated a good 4 feet in the air.

"Actually, let him attack if he so wishes." Leathersuit said, earning an odd look from Atlantis.

"What are you doing?" She hissed.

"Just trust me." He winked.

"You two better be ready! 'Cause you're about to experience the Power of Rock firsthand!" The self-proclaimed super-rocker cried out, unleashing a wave of rainbow energy with a strum of his mystical guitar. Most of the team fought back, but one was given a different task.

Lady M. Leathersuit "said" to his new teammate. Can you take a peek inside his head and figure out when the last time was he ran across that Corona chick was?

I can try. The telepath replied mentally. Physically, she closed her eyes and focused on entering the rocker's consciousness.


(Lady M's PoV)

His mind was—chaotic. Divided into two halves: The normal person of Bobby, and the obnoxious fearless vigilante Kid Razor. The trouble lay in that Lady Mastermind didn't know which half of his mind to probe for information.

"Can I help you?" Smiling brown-haired Bobby—an apparition in Razor's mind, asked. She smiled.

"Hello. I'm looking to see if you've seen my friend. She's about my height, brown hair, brown eyes, and a Latina." I told him.

"We've met a couple of people like that." Bobby stated. "Do you remember her name?"

"Yes. Her name is Corona, and she has the ability to generate rainbow-colored energy and mold it into shapes and beams." I stated. "Ring any bells?

"Yeah." He said. "That chick that's been running with the sewer-mutants."

"Where did you last see her?" I asked, sounding excited. "Please, it's very important. She could be in trouble and not know it."

"Last we saw her was on the West end hanging around the alleys." He said. "Now I suggest you leave before Razor figures out you were ever here."

"I'm going. And thank you for your help." I said, retreating from his mind.


(normal PoV)

"Waaaaaahhhh!!" Razor yelled as he flew backward through a shop window and into the sidewalk. Unaware of Lady Mastermind's mental investigation, he continued to fight the other six mutants before him. Unfortunately, the four plus the two scaly mutants he'd met before proved too much for even him. By the time he picked himself up off the sidewalk, the seven were gone.

"I wonder what that was all about?" He blinked.

Meanwhile, Shadowatch huddled on a rooftop away from the action.

"Did you get the information?" Leathersuit turned to Lady Mastermind. She nodded.

"Yes. Such a strange mind that boy has."

"No time for that." Atlantis hissed. "Where did he see her last?"

"West end around the alleyways." Lady M stated. "I didn't get a chance to see which streets, though."

"No matter. We know where to look, and that's what's most important." Atlantis stated.

"Besides, you know how much 'Rona likes to gossip." Vampira waved. "Once she knows we're looking for her, she'll meet up with us."

"And we may get a more useful teammate than Virus." Thunderbird stated.

"Neal, Brownie is a more useful teammate than Virus." Golem stated.

"True, but we all need to get this stuff home." Thunderbird pointed out. "We can't just stay in one spot and expect not to get caught."

"The boy is right." Atlantis said. "Let's go back to the base and get a game plan together."

"No arguments here." Chaos waved.