She wandered the darkening grounds, and found a seat near the pool
and soon lost herself in the orange and red. She didn't notice Bruce come
and sit next to her. At the moment, he just sat there, enjoying her albeit
quiet company. He'd seen her leave the dining hall with Alex. He hadn't
really expected to see until tomorrow's classes, considering what he saw
between them, but he wasn't about to bring the subject up.
"Nice sunset isn't it?" He jumped. He hadn't expected her to say anything. "Too much red." She contemplated.
"I like the red."
"At least it isn't blue."
"Sick of it already?"
"Yeah."
"What do you think of the school?"
"It's nice to be around people like me. Nice to be back in school."
"Speaking of kids like you, the Professor wants you to join our power lessons. They're every day after normal classes. We have the last class together-" She made a face, he grinned, "-So you can just follow me and Cyr. Marie might come sometime.
Diane stared at him. "Really?" She said, sounding incredulous. This was the reason she had joined the school.
"Really. You need to know how to control and fight with your power. The ones who train with the professor will get to be part of the X-men. Kitty and Bobby should be joining. Johnny might, and Kurt definitely. We'll have to move to a bigger room."
Bruce smiled. This was good. -This- was how he wanted to see Diane, her eyes shining with anticipation, almost smiling. Not the dark, troubled eyes, or the icy, anger-filled ones. She was beautiful all the time, but like this she was positively radiant.
"Oh, that sounds like so much fun!" She cried, leaping off the bench and practically dancing up to the mansion.
She ran into Jean in the hall. She was so happy, she forgot to be nasty to the telepath. "Hi Jean!" She said, stopping in the middle of a dance step.
"Hi, Diane." Said Jean, looking surprised at Diane's sudden change in attitude towards her. "Liking school?"
"Loving it!"
"Liking the teachers?" Jean asked with a grin. She had Diane in two of her classes. To her surprise, Diane looked down. Jean used her power without conscience thought. Alex. Damn. She'd -known- he'd be a problem. However, she said nothing. "Well, you're doing well. Any problems?"
"Actually, where's Logan?" Jean eyed her for a long moment, as though it was fishy to wonder where someone was.
"In the garage, why?"
"I don't think I made a very good impression on him."
"It's usually the other way around."
"What?"
"Logan doesn't usually make good impressions either."
Diane ignored the comment. "See you around, Jean."
Diane walked into the garage. It was dark and cool, the smell from all the vehicles touched her nose. She almost sneezed. Her eyes roved over the cars, finding Jean's next to a bunch of other ones that looked similar. Other uniform cars, a mini, a convertible, a van, racers, and finally.motorcycles. Lots of them. Rows of them. And Logan, who was at the end of them, running a cloth over a black Harley that probably didn't need it.
He looked up before she got anywhere near him. "Whaddya need, kid?"
"Just wanted to apologize for attacking you the other day."
"No prob. They usually don't send me to go get kids. If they do, it's for a tough case." He grinned. She nodded, her eyes on the bikes. "Y'like bikes, kid?"
"Love'm. My boyfriend used to be a biker." It really was a wonderful machine. It was huge, practically humming with life; it was so well cared for. She ran her fingertips lightly over the seat and handlebars.
"Beauty, innit it?"
"You ride this thing with the X-men? Your X-bike, so to speak?" He frowned at the term slightly.
"You could say that." Diane smiled. Maybe, if she ever became an X-man, she'd have a bike like that. As if he read her mind, he said, "You can use the bikes with Chuck's approval. Anyone who touches mine gets gutted."
She grinned. "Who's Chuck?" She asked, fully intending to ask him if she could ride once in a while.
"The Prof., you kids call him."
"Ah. Do you literally mean "gut" someone?"
"Yup."
"Your claws?"
"Yup."
"They're neat. I have claws." She held out one of her small hands. She had long nails on all of her fingers. He grinned. Despite his rough exterior, Diane contemplated, his gruff manner with kids, and freaky claws, he -is- pretty cool. "Look, I'm going inside. I'm beat. See you around. I'll be back out here to look at them again. He nodded, and her eyes met his. She was accepted.
Wolverine watched her go. He smiled. She was a good kid. She fought, and she loved bikes. Maybe he had found his student at last. All the boys went off to Cyk's class about cars and stuff. She wasn't afraid of him like they were, she thought his claws were neat instead of creepy, and knew, probably a revelation prompted by Rogue, that he could be nice.
The next day, Diane found Marie in several of her other classes. They always sat together and had soon established a firm friendship. Diane was both horrified and saddened by Marie's power. As averted as she was to human emotion, or connecting people, she simply couldn't imagine life without human contact, especially when her shoulder still burned where Alex's hand had been.
She was wrapped up in thought and didn't notice Marie wave the girl with short blond hair over, the girl who had smiled at Diane the first day. She smiled at Diane again. Since Cyrene didn't have Lit. with them, it was just her, Bruce, Marie and the blond girl who Marie introduced as Kitty. Many of the boys in the class were shooting jealous glances at Bruce, who always seemed to be in the middle of the girls.
"Sorry about being so rude the first day, Kitty."
"Like, no prob., Diane. You, like, probably had, like, all this -stuff- on your mind." She was a definite fluff-head and valley girl, but Diane instantly liked her. "I, like, did when I started school, and I'm, like, glad they didn't give up on me."
Bruce finally spoke. "The Prof. wants us all in the gym after classes. Cyrene's coming, and so are Bobby and Johnny." Rogue looked happy.
"Yes!" Kitty said, slapping Marie's shoulder. "Bobby and Johnny are, like, -tagged-!"
Rogue looked happier. "I -told- Bobby he'd get it!" Diane tipped her head to one side, considering.
"Your boyfriend?" She asked. Marie blushed faintly. Kitty grinned. This was more her area that classes were.
"Marie's going out with Bobby, and I'm like going out with Kurt." She turned her eyes onto Bruce. "Like, Kurt wasn't tapped?"
"Probably, I just didn't get much of a chance to talk to him." Diane was considering again.
"Johnny doesn't have a girlfriend?" She was just curious. She had enough problems as it was without another boy in the way. It was a simple question, but they all said,
"Cyrene." At the same time. All three girls looked at Bruce at the same time and burst out laughing. Storm came over to their table.
"Is there a problem here?" She asked Bruce. This set them off even worse.
Diane struggled through her last class. It really was daily torture. Cyrene and Marie tried to be supportive, but Bruce only looked grumpy. She managed to escape without Alex trapping her again.
She, Cyrene, and Rogue walked down to the basement level one together. The professor and a boy with blond hair and blue eyes were already there. The professor smiled at them. "Ah, Diane, this is Bobby." Bobby smiled at her.
"Hi. Hey Marie." He had a nice voice. It was soft and calm, with sincerity. Diane liked the way he talked to Rogue. Kitty walked directly through the wall behind the professor.
"Like, sorry Prof. I had to, like, talk to 'Ro about something." The professor nodded.
"Come in Johnny, this is the right room." A boy with flaming red hair, brown eyes and freckles walked in. He gave a shy wave to everyone. He was followed closely by a tall boy with straight black hair and slightly slanted gray eyes. Kitty grinned. Must be Kurt.
"I think that's everyone but-" The professor stopped. A boy with black hair, black eyes, black clothes, and pale skin walked in. "-Aubrey." Finished the professor. Everyone else looked surprised. Rogue looked upset, Kitty angry, Bruce unhappy, and Cyrene grumpy. Johnny and Bobby looked puzzled, but Kurt's gray eyes were narrowed with hate.
"For the benefit of Diane, our newest member, how I pieced this team together and why." Aubrey snorted. Cyrene growled at him. "I'll start with Diane, an air-warper. She makes solid things and can teleport. Then there's Bruce, who can phase solid objects, or make them immaterial. Kitty can phase herself or others and walk on air. Bobby makes ice from moisture in the air. Cyrene, who can shapechange to cougar and can detect and sometimes control gifts. Johnny, who can create and control fire. Marie, who absorbs life energy and powers. Kurt, a teleporter with agility. And Aubrey, a tp-tk."
Diane growled. "A tp-tk on my team?" She hissed. "So wise?"
"Diane. It is the mix of powers I have been looking for for years. And you already get along."
"Not with Aubrey." Marie commented.
"You will accept him or leave the team. That goes for any of you." Marie nodded slowly. "You all had code names, with the exception of Diane. Diane had noticed quickly how everyone around here seemed to have two names, one that was the name they were given, and one a name that they made for themselves that somehow described their power.
"Gaea."
"Good, then we have Gaea, Specter," he looked at Bruce for a long moment. "Shadowcat." Kitty. "Iceman." Bobby. "Cougar." Cyrene. "Torch." Johnny. "Rogue." Marie. "Nightcrawler." Kurt. "And Vampyr." Aubrey.
"Now. Cyrene, Kurt, Bruce, and Kitty already have their costumes. Kurt?" The quiet boy touched his watch. His image wavered, than disappeared. Diane blinked several times.
He'd gone -blue-. His skin was covered in blue peach fuzz, and he had curly black hair, glowing golden eyes, a spaded tail, and fangs. His suit was black and formfitting. There was a red V on his neck, and his hands and feet (three fingers each) where white.
No one else seemed particularly phased by Kurt's sudden blueness. Cyrene shifted, her eyes turning gold, fur sprouting over her whole form, claws, fangs.In instants, she was a full, sleek cougar. She blinked her gold eyes demurely at Diane, who realized that she was staring. Guess that's her costume, then.
Kitty and Bruce came back from somewhere. Kitty was wearing a billowy blue blouse and pants. Bruce was wearing a white t-shirt that pulled tight over the muscles on his chest and normal blue jeans.
Diane grinned. Now -this- was her sort of thing, fashioning. She tilted her head to one side, carefully considering. Green for Gaea, something that she could move in.
Diane glowed brilliant white for a second before stumbling out of her little ball of light. She could hear Marie gasp, Kitty squeal, Bruce make a funny strangled noise, and Aubrey snort derisively.
She was wearing a simple forest green dress with a darker green neckline and hem. The hem was cut high on her left side, slanting down on her right. The straps were simple spaghetti, the material was soft, hugging her form perfectly. She had a headband made entirely of dark green beads. She had long green gloves that went past her elbows. She wore knee-high green boots.
The professor looked faintly surprised. Diane snapped her fingers. "Oops. Still looks too much like me." Bruce muttered something that sounded like 'that could be a plus'. Diane smirked at him, then glowed for a second. She now had a pure green cowl over her eyes. It made them look like a darker shade of blue. The professor cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him.
"As I won't be around forever, I am appointing a new team leader."
The door opened.
Alex.
He was wearing all black, though he wasn't in costume. Diane stumbled sideways. Rogue caught her.
"Leadership in the family, huh, Prof.?" Diane growled dangerously.
"Diane." Alex simply said her name, but his tone made her meet his eyes. There was the usual crash of emotion, but Alex was shoving it away, his eyes glowing with dominance.
Diane screamed her fury. She packed all the strength in her small body behind her hand and slapped him hard enough to leave nail marks. He stumbled backwards, his hand automatically going to his cheek.
"Diane!" Warned the professor, but she'd lost it now, all her fury at Alex and his calm acceptance that drove her nuts, boiling over. She jumped and spun at the same time, part of her wondering why he was smiling at her, and part of her too mad, too bent on wiping the smile off his face to care. Her foot, along with the two inches of platforms attached to them connected with the side of his head. He flew backwards, skidding two feet on the gym floor, unconscious.
"DIANE!" The professor was mad now. But there was little he could do. Diane was thrown backwards by something invisible, and then pinned. Aubrey sauntered over to her, grinning maliciously. She snarled at him, struggling against her "bonds". They disappeared at a mere growl from Cyrene. Aubrey, who hadn't expected them to gang up on him, was bowled over by Diane's tackle. His head hit the concrete and he went limp. Everyone who had been in the battle or going to help suddenly froze. The professor wheeled into the middle of them, his eyes glittering with anger. They were all released.
"If you cannot work together, -with your leader-, you cannot be a team. Anyone, -anyone-, who starts this kind of thing again will be off the team. Diane. Explain."
Diane shifted, her whole body still trembling with anger, all of her fighting the urge to go bash Alex's head in. "Everything I do is connected to -him-!" She snarled, glaring malevolently at Alex's limp form. The air around her was glowing slightly. Bruce walked over to her and put an arm around her, as much to be comforting as to hold her back.
"Professor.she's." He said. "She's." He couldn't explain it.
"Bruce, do not get yourself into trouble." The professor said in a cold voice. This was the only time Bruce had ever heard him that mad.
"Professor?" Marie looked nervous. The Prof. simply stared at her. "She's.well.he.sort of.has this effect on her.their eyes." The professor stared at Marie for a long moment, before turning his eyes onto Diane, searching for the truth in this. For once, Diane didn't have the courage to fight a telepath in her mind.
"I understand your attraction to him." He said in a soft voice, "But I don't see any reason to attack him."
"He. Is. In. Everything. I. Do!" She snarled. "I don't want to drown every time I -look- at him!"
"Like it or not, he is your leader, and if you can't handle it, you can always leave."
Alex was waking up. He stood up, his eyes on her. For some strange reason, there was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Bruce practically had to dig his heels into the floor to keep her from flying at him.
"Diane, calm down!" He hissed. Rrrg. I won't hit Bruce. I won't hit Bruce.
"I'm leaving now. I do hope that you'll all get along, and -don't hurt Havok-." The doors swished open, and the professor wheeled out.
As soon as the Professor was gone, Bruce let go of Diane. He'd actually like to see Alex get beaten up again, but he didn't know why. Diane stood, trembling slightly, wanting to tackle Alex, who just stood there, looking non-chalant.
"You are a very good fighter, Diane. I didn't even see you coming." He said softly, walking over to her.
"No shit, Sherlock." She growled, her blue eyes almost an icy color with anger.
"Stop acting like Wolverine. He is not on this team. I want everyone to pair off. Bobby and Kitty. Bruce and Marie. Cyrene and Aubrey, and Johnny and Kurt."
Diane hissed, knowing where that left her. "Calm down." He said, putting an hand on her arm. The next thing he knew, she'd thrown him over her hip, and he was on his back, staring up into her icy fury of eyes. "Now, -that- folks, was an excellent example of how you can disarm someone bigger and heavier than you." He said, standing up. "Now I want you all to spar.- Spar-, do not fight. Do -not- hurt anyone. You can use your power to confuse, but -not to hurt-! This is how I want you to fight against humans." He turned to face Diane. She tipped her head to one side, then sprang into the air, just where a beam of Alex's power hit where her feet had been. "Reflexes. Nice reflexes." She fell forward, hitting the ground with her arms and rolling, feeling another bolt of power ruffling her hair. She threw out a hand and the ground next to Alex's feet exploded, he stumbled left and tripped over the low wall of her power she'd put there. She threw herself left to avoid another blast. She ran up the air, dancing above his head an avoiding blasts of power.
Finally, after watching her move and getting increasingly closer to hitting her feet, he hit right on. She fell. He managed to catch her, but she was unconscious from the shock running up her short legs.
Bruce let go of his power, and Marie's fist hit his face. He stumbled, but made his way over to them, Rogue running after him. Everyone else stopped what he or she were doing, except for Aubrey and Cyrene, who had Vampyr in a headlock. Alex glared at her until she let go of him. Diane stirred.
Diane didn't want to open her eyes. She was warm. She curled up tighter. Her face was in something soft. It smelled faintly of soap, faintly of oranges, and a lot like.
Alex.
Her eyes snapped open. He was holding her. His eyes met hers when he felt her move. She was instantly swallowed by blue.
She was set gently on her feet. She was almost glad for Alex's strong arm around her, as she was suddenly tipsy. Bruce slid his arm possessively around her waist. Alex reluctantly let go, stepping back as if to prove he could do it.
"And -that- is your lesson today." Alex said.
"Nice sunset isn't it?" He jumped. He hadn't expected her to say anything. "Too much red." She contemplated.
"I like the red."
"At least it isn't blue."
"Sick of it already?"
"Yeah."
"What do you think of the school?"
"It's nice to be around people like me. Nice to be back in school."
"Speaking of kids like you, the Professor wants you to join our power lessons. They're every day after normal classes. We have the last class together-" She made a face, he grinned, "-So you can just follow me and Cyr. Marie might come sometime.
Diane stared at him. "Really?" She said, sounding incredulous. This was the reason she had joined the school.
"Really. You need to know how to control and fight with your power. The ones who train with the professor will get to be part of the X-men. Kitty and Bobby should be joining. Johnny might, and Kurt definitely. We'll have to move to a bigger room."
Bruce smiled. This was good. -This- was how he wanted to see Diane, her eyes shining with anticipation, almost smiling. Not the dark, troubled eyes, or the icy, anger-filled ones. She was beautiful all the time, but like this she was positively radiant.
"Oh, that sounds like so much fun!" She cried, leaping off the bench and practically dancing up to the mansion.
She ran into Jean in the hall. She was so happy, she forgot to be nasty to the telepath. "Hi Jean!" She said, stopping in the middle of a dance step.
"Hi, Diane." Said Jean, looking surprised at Diane's sudden change in attitude towards her. "Liking school?"
"Loving it!"
"Liking the teachers?" Jean asked with a grin. She had Diane in two of her classes. To her surprise, Diane looked down. Jean used her power without conscience thought. Alex. Damn. She'd -known- he'd be a problem. However, she said nothing. "Well, you're doing well. Any problems?"
"Actually, where's Logan?" Jean eyed her for a long moment, as though it was fishy to wonder where someone was.
"In the garage, why?"
"I don't think I made a very good impression on him."
"It's usually the other way around."
"What?"
"Logan doesn't usually make good impressions either."
Diane ignored the comment. "See you around, Jean."
Diane walked into the garage. It was dark and cool, the smell from all the vehicles touched her nose. She almost sneezed. Her eyes roved over the cars, finding Jean's next to a bunch of other ones that looked similar. Other uniform cars, a mini, a convertible, a van, racers, and finally.motorcycles. Lots of them. Rows of them. And Logan, who was at the end of them, running a cloth over a black Harley that probably didn't need it.
He looked up before she got anywhere near him. "Whaddya need, kid?"
"Just wanted to apologize for attacking you the other day."
"No prob. They usually don't send me to go get kids. If they do, it's for a tough case." He grinned. She nodded, her eyes on the bikes. "Y'like bikes, kid?"
"Love'm. My boyfriend used to be a biker." It really was a wonderful machine. It was huge, practically humming with life; it was so well cared for. She ran her fingertips lightly over the seat and handlebars.
"Beauty, innit it?"
"You ride this thing with the X-men? Your X-bike, so to speak?" He frowned at the term slightly.
"You could say that." Diane smiled. Maybe, if she ever became an X-man, she'd have a bike like that. As if he read her mind, he said, "You can use the bikes with Chuck's approval. Anyone who touches mine gets gutted."
She grinned. "Who's Chuck?" She asked, fully intending to ask him if she could ride once in a while.
"The Prof., you kids call him."
"Ah. Do you literally mean "gut" someone?"
"Yup."
"Your claws?"
"Yup."
"They're neat. I have claws." She held out one of her small hands. She had long nails on all of her fingers. He grinned. Despite his rough exterior, Diane contemplated, his gruff manner with kids, and freaky claws, he -is- pretty cool. "Look, I'm going inside. I'm beat. See you around. I'll be back out here to look at them again. He nodded, and her eyes met his. She was accepted.
Wolverine watched her go. He smiled. She was a good kid. She fought, and she loved bikes. Maybe he had found his student at last. All the boys went off to Cyk's class about cars and stuff. She wasn't afraid of him like they were, she thought his claws were neat instead of creepy, and knew, probably a revelation prompted by Rogue, that he could be nice.
The next day, Diane found Marie in several of her other classes. They always sat together and had soon established a firm friendship. Diane was both horrified and saddened by Marie's power. As averted as she was to human emotion, or connecting people, she simply couldn't imagine life without human contact, especially when her shoulder still burned where Alex's hand had been.
She was wrapped up in thought and didn't notice Marie wave the girl with short blond hair over, the girl who had smiled at Diane the first day. She smiled at Diane again. Since Cyrene didn't have Lit. with them, it was just her, Bruce, Marie and the blond girl who Marie introduced as Kitty. Many of the boys in the class were shooting jealous glances at Bruce, who always seemed to be in the middle of the girls.
"Sorry about being so rude the first day, Kitty."
"Like, no prob., Diane. You, like, probably had, like, all this -stuff- on your mind." She was a definite fluff-head and valley girl, but Diane instantly liked her. "I, like, did when I started school, and I'm, like, glad they didn't give up on me."
Bruce finally spoke. "The Prof. wants us all in the gym after classes. Cyrene's coming, and so are Bobby and Johnny." Rogue looked happy.
"Yes!" Kitty said, slapping Marie's shoulder. "Bobby and Johnny are, like, -tagged-!"
Rogue looked happier. "I -told- Bobby he'd get it!" Diane tipped her head to one side, considering.
"Your boyfriend?" She asked. Marie blushed faintly. Kitty grinned. This was more her area that classes were.
"Marie's going out with Bobby, and I'm like going out with Kurt." She turned her eyes onto Bruce. "Like, Kurt wasn't tapped?"
"Probably, I just didn't get much of a chance to talk to him." Diane was considering again.
"Johnny doesn't have a girlfriend?" She was just curious. She had enough problems as it was without another boy in the way. It was a simple question, but they all said,
"Cyrene." At the same time. All three girls looked at Bruce at the same time and burst out laughing. Storm came over to their table.
"Is there a problem here?" She asked Bruce. This set them off even worse.
Diane struggled through her last class. It really was daily torture. Cyrene and Marie tried to be supportive, but Bruce only looked grumpy. She managed to escape without Alex trapping her again.
She, Cyrene, and Rogue walked down to the basement level one together. The professor and a boy with blond hair and blue eyes were already there. The professor smiled at them. "Ah, Diane, this is Bobby." Bobby smiled at her.
"Hi. Hey Marie." He had a nice voice. It was soft and calm, with sincerity. Diane liked the way he talked to Rogue. Kitty walked directly through the wall behind the professor.
"Like, sorry Prof. I had to, like, talk to 'Ro about something." The professor nodded.
"Come in Johnny, this is the right room." A boy with flaming red hair, brown eyes and freckles walked in. He gave a shy wave to everyone. He was followed closely by a tall boy with straight black hair and slightly slanted gray eyes. Kitty grinned. Must be Kurt.
"I think that's everyone but-" The professor stopped. A boy with black hair, black eyes, black clothes, and pale skin walked in. "-Aubrey." Finished the professor. Everyone else looked surprised. Rogue looked upset, Kitty angry, Bruce unhappy, and Cyrene grumpy. Johnny and Bobby looked puzzled, but Kurt's gray eyes were narrowed with hate.
"For the benefit of Diane, our newest member, how I pieced this team together and why." Aubrey snorted. Cyrene growled at him. "I'll start with Diane, an air-warper. She makes solid things and can teleport. Then there's Bruce, who can phase solid objects, or make them immaterial. Kitty can phase herself or others and walk on air. Bobby makes ice from moisture in the air. Cyrene, who can shapechange to cougar and can detect and sometimes control gifts. Johnny, who can create and control fire. Marie, who absorbs life energy and powers. Kurt, a teleporter with agility. And Aubrey, a tp-tk."
Diane growled. "A tp-tk on my team?" She hissed. "So wise?"
"Diane. It is the mix of powers I have been looking for for years. And you already get along."
"Not with Aubrey." Marie commented.
"You will accept him or leave the team. That goes for any of you." Marie nodded slowly. "You all had code names, with the exception of Diane. Diane had noticed quickly how everyone around here seemed to have two names, one that was the name they were given, and one a name that they made for themselves that somehow described their power.
"Gaea."
"Good, then we have Gaea, Specter," he looked at Bruce for a long moment. "Shadowcat." Kitty. "Iceman." Bobby. "Cougar." Cyrene. "Torch." Johnny. "Rogue." Marie. "Nightcrawler." Kurt. "And Vampyr." Aubrey.
"Now. Cyrene, Kurt, Bruce, and Kitty already have their costumes. Kurt?" The quiet boy touched his watch. His image wavered, than disappeared. Diane blinked several times.
He'd gone -blue-. His skin was covered in blue peach fuzz, and he had curly black hair, glowing golden eyes, a spaded tail, and fangs. His suit was black and formfitting. There was a red V on his neck, and his hands and feet (three fingers each) where white.
No one else seemed particularly phased by Kurt's sudden blueness. Cyrene shifted, her eyes turning gold, fur sprouting over her whole form, claws, fangs.In instants, she was a full, sleek cougar. She blinked her gold eyes demurely at Diane, who realized that she was staring. Guess that's her costume, then.
Kitty and Bruce came back from somewhere. Kitty was wearing a billowy blue blouse and pants. Bruce was wearing a white t-shirt that pulled tight over the muscles on his chest and normal blue jeans.
Diane grinned. Now -this- was her sort of thing, fashioning. She tilted her head to one side, carefully considering. Green for Gaea, something that she could move in.
Diane glowed brilliant white for a second before stumbling out of her little ball of light. She could hear Marie gasp, Kitty squeal, Bruce make a funny strangled noise, and Aubrey snort derisively.
She was wearing a simple forest green dress with a darker green neckline and hem. The hem was cut high on her left side, slanting down on her right. The straps were simple spaghetti, the material was soft, hugging her form perfectly. She had a headband made entirely of dark green beads. She had long green gloves that went past her elbows. She wore knee-high green boots.
The professor looked faintly surprised. Diane snapped her fingers. "Oops. Still looks too much like me." Bruce muttered something that sounded like 'that could be a plus'. Diane smirked at him, then glowed for a second. She now had a pure green cowl over her eyes. It made them look like a darker shade of blue. The professor cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him.
"As I won't be around forever, I am appointing a new team leader."
The door opened.
Alex.
He was wearing all black, though he wasn't in costume. Diane stumbled sideways. Rogue caught her.
"Leadership in the family, huh, Prof.?" Diane growled dangerously.
"Diane." Alex simply said her name, but his tone made her meet his eyes. There was the usual crash of emotion, but Alex was shoving it away, his eyes glowing with dominance.
Diane screamed her fury. She packed all the strength in her small body behind her hand and slapped him hard enough to leave nail marks. He stumbled backwards, his hand automatically going to his cheek.
"Diane!" Warned the professor, but she'd lost it now, all her fury at Alex and his calm acceptance that drove her nuts, boiling over. She jumped and spun at the same time, part of her wondering why he was smiling at her, and part of her too mad, too bent on wiping the smile off his face to care. Her foot, along with the two inches of platforms attached to them connected with the side of his head. He flew backwards, skidding two feet on the gym floor, unconscious.
"DIANE!" The professor was mad now. But there was little he could do. Diane was thrown backwards by something invisible, and then pinned. Aubrey sauntered over to her, grinning maliciously. She snarled at him, struggling against her "bonds". They disappeared at a mere growl from Cyrene. Aubrey, who hadn't expected them to gang up on him, was bowled over by Diane's tackle. His head hit the concrete and he went limp. Everyone who had been in the battle or going to help suddenly froze. The professor wheeled into the middle of them, his eyes glittering with anger. They were all released.
"If you cannot work together, -with your leader-, you cannot be a team. Anyone, -anyone-, who starts this kind of thing again will be off the team. Diane. Explain."
Diane shifted, her whole body still trembling with anger, all of her fighting the urge to go bash Alex's head in. "Everything I do is connected to -him-!" She snarled, glaring malevolently at Alex's limp form. The air around her was glowing slightly. Bruce walked over to her and put an arm around her, as much to be comforting as to hold her back.
"Professor.she's." He said. "She's." He couldn't explain it.
"Bruce, do not get yourself into trouble." The professor said in a cold voice. This was the only time Bruce had ever heard him that mad.
"Professor?" Marie looked nervous. The Prof. simply stared at her. "She's.well.he.sort of.has this effect on her.their eyes." The professor stared at Marie for a long moment, before turning his eyes onto Diane, searching for the truth in this. For once, Diane didn't have the courage to fight a telepath in her mind.
"I understand your attraction to him." He said in a soft voice, "But I don't see any reason to attack him."
"He. Is. In. Everything. I. Do!" She snarled. "I don't want to drown every time I -look- at him!"
"Like it or not, he is your leader, and if you can't handle it, you can always leave."
Alex was waking up. He stood up, his eyes on her. For some strange reason, there was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Bruce practically had to dig his heels into the floor to keep her from flying at him.
"Diane, calm down!" He hissed. Rrrg. I won't hit Bruce. I won't hit Bruce.
"I'm leaving now. I do hope that you'll all get along, and -don't hurt Havok-." The doors swished open, and the professor wheeled out.
As soon as the Professor was gone, Bruce let go of Diane. He'd actually like to see Alex get beaten up again, but he didn't know why. Diane stood, trembling slightly, wanting to tackle Alex, who just stood there, looking non-chalant.
"You are a very good fighter, Diane. I didn't even see you coming." He said softly, walking over to her.
"No shit, Sherlock." She growled, her blue eyes almost an icy color with anger.
"Stop acting like Wolverine. He is not on this team. I want everyone to pair off. Bobby and Kitty. Bruce and Marie. Cyrene and Aubrey, and Johnny and Kurt."
Diane hissed, knowing where that left her. "Calm down." He said, putting an hand on her arm. The next thing he knew, she'd thrown him over her hip, and he was on his back, staring up into her icy fury of eyes. "Now, -that- folks, was an excellent example of how you can disarm someone bigger and heavier than you." He said, standing up. "Now I want you all to spar.- Spar-, do not fight. Do -not- hurt anyone. You can use your power to confuse, but -not to hurt-! This is how I want you to fight against humans." He turned to face Diane. She tipped her head to one side, then sprang into the air, just where a beam of Alex's power hit where her feet had been. "Reflexes. Nice reflexes." She fell forward, hitting the ground with her arms and rolling, feeling another bolt of power ruffling her hair. She threw out a hand and the ground next to Alex's feet exploded, he stumbled left and tripped over the low wall of her power she'd put there. She threw herself left to avoid another blast. She ran up the air, dancing above his head an avoiding blasts of power.
Finally, after watching her move and getting increasingly closer to hitting her feet, he hit right on. She fell. He managed to catch her, but she was unconscious from the shock running up her short legs.
Bruce let go of his power, and Marie's fist hit his face. He stumbled, but made his way over to them, Rogue running after him. Everyone else stopped what he or she were doing, except for Aubrey and Cyrene, who had Vampyr in a headlock. Alex glared at her until she let go of him. Diane stirred.
Diane didn't want to open her eyes. She was warm. She curled up tighter. Her face was in something soft. It smelled faintly of soap, faintly of oranges, and a lot like.
Alex.
Her eyes snapped open. He was holding her. His eyes met hers when he felt her move. She was instantly swallowed by blue.
She was set gently on her feet. She was almost glad for Alex's strong arm around her, as she was suddenly tipsy. Bruce slid his arm possessively around her waist. Alex reluctantly let go, stepping back as if to prove he could do it.
"And -that- is your lesson today." Alex said.
