Author's Note: First off I want to thank everyone who reviewed so positively about the story. I was surprised when I found three reviews in less then fourteen hours. So thanks. Second I want to say that I hope this story will get better with each chapter.
Fire Within
Storm watched from her raised platform as the students practiced with their powers. Her attention kept going between Bobby and John. Rogue was standing back and watching as the two of them faced off. Fire verses Ice. John's powers had developed into letting him make the fire at will. He had been working with Cyclops on control for most of the morning and now he was testing himself. Bobby was a good choice, should anything happen, Iceman could put it out.
Storm was watching more of the physical effects of the new powers. John had complained of being overly warm and uncomfortable for most of the day. She was concerned that maybe his body wasn't ready for the change. Perhaps it had been forced too soon. She frowned as John released a ball of fire and Bobby iced it. John had already countered and there was a second one coming toward Bobby. He stopped that one as well.
"How goes it Orroro?" Professor Xavier came up beside her. "You look concerned."
"I am. I can't help but worry that maybe the change in John is too soon." Storm shook her head. "I know it doesn't make sense, I mean why would his body do this if it wasn't ready?"
The Professor gazed at the two mutants as they faced off. "I have been sensing something as well. But as you say, it doesn't make sense."
Storm looked at her teacher. "Professor you would know if anything was wrong. Why do you sound so unsure?"
"Because I don't know if it's real." Xavier said darkly and shook his head.
Storm wanted to comfort the older man, she wanted to tell him it was okay. But she didn't know how to say it. Things weren't okay. Jean was gone, Cyclops was still hurting, Wolverine was more agitated then normal and now John was displaying new powers.
"Miss Monroe?"
Storm turned to see one of the students standing a polite distance back. "Yes, Kathy?"
"There is a young man here to see you. Something about wanting become a student." Kathy glanced at the Professor and smiled a little.
"Thank you Kathy," Xavier maneuvered his chair and headed back to the main building. Storm followed for a few steps, " Don't worry Storm, everything will work as nature wants."
She smiled and then laughed slightly. "Right."
**
Aidan felt a shudder rip through her and suddenly felt very worried. She left her room and went down the stairs to the main floor. Standing just inside the foyer was a face she had been dreading for years. Approaching silently she stood just behind him.
"Hello Solar." He turned and smiled at her. His obsidian black eyes swirled to jade green and then his appearance shimmered to someone else.
"Carbon." She stood just back from him. "What are you doing here?"
"Shadow was concerned about you. He sent me to keep an eye on things, make sure the mission gets done."
She frowned, " I am on it."
Carbon grinned, "Well you certainly are on something, but I don't think it's the mission." He paused and waved a hand in the air, "John is certainly a nice boy."
Aidan felt her eyes narrow and fire swirled in her hands lightly. "Stay away from him Carbon. I mean it."
He watched her a moment, his eyes slipping back into their natural shade of black. "Don't get confused Solar, he's just a mutant." Carbon's face thinned down to sharp angular planes of black skin. Not brown or coffee colored, but black. "I remember what happened the last time you got confused."
Aidan drew in a slow breath, the fire swirls became thicker and brighter. "Are you threatening me Carbon?"
He grinned, shark's teeth flashed out. "Almost."
"You must be Dorian?" Xavier entered the room.
Aidan clenched her hands and forced her shoulders to relax. Carbon shimmered into his normal appearance of a blonde and blue eyed surfer boy from California. He looked over her shoulder and smiled.
"The infamous Charles Xavier." His tone carried a Malibu accent. "Sorry to barge in without an invitation, but I was told this was a school for our kind."
"Let us talk in my office." Xavier waved to one of the numerous doors leading off the foyer.
"Sure." Carbon/ Dorian grinned and stepped around Aidan. "It was real nice talking to you again Aidan."
She watched him disappear behind a door with Xavier and wanted to go after him. She wanted to make sure he wouldn't harm the older man.
"Wheels can defend himself, kid." Came a rough growl. "But I was wondering about you myself." She turned and found Logan leaning against the main doors. "Last night was a great night for a run."
"What?" She asked.
"I saw you in the woods last night, kid. That dude was really something." Logan eyed her as he puffed on his cigar. "What he got on you anyway?"
Aidan pulled her shoulders back and gazed at him, "You saw me?"
"Like a solar flare." He glanced at her hands.
"Why haven't you told everyone?" She asked darkly.
"Hey we all got a past when we come here." He glanced over his shoulder as a wave of kids came in. "Let's talk somewhere else huh?"
Aidan watched him leave the doorway and disappear around a corner. She hesitated, again glancing at Xavier's office. Carbon was here for a job, he wouldn't kill the main man until after it was done. She followed Logan and found him resting against a large oak, a fair distance from the house, but not too far. He was staring into the horizon and watching the sky. His cigar glowed a moment before he puffed out a breath.
"So why haven't you told them?" Aidan asked again.
"Partly because I don't know if you are here to really hurt us and partly because they seem to have something on you." He glanced over at her and Aidan glared at him. "So what do they have?"
She sighed heavily and crossed her arms, staring at the ground for a moment she shook her head and looked up at him. "My original powers allowed me to manipulate people's body chemistry, I could play God as some people put it. When a classmate of mine suddenly displayed his mutant ability I realized I wasn't the only weirdo in the world. One day after the display in class the guy was gone. Two days after that a guy dressed in all in black came to my house. He asked to speak with me and no one stopped him. My parents didn't even bat an eye when he took off his hat and was nothing but shadows. He told me that people like me weren't going to be accepted by everyone else. He said that if I wanted a chance at a normal life I had to go with him. I was a kid who was scared and didn't know what to think, I went with him. Shadow worked for a government agency who was collecting mutants and trying to mix and match with them. They wanted me to help them with the altering of DNA. It was thought that if we could change a person's DNA then we could change their powers. Give them powers, take them away, anything we wanted."
"So how'd you go from being what you were to being a solar fired mutant?" Logan asked in a cold tone. There was something like anger in his tone, but it was at Aidan.
"They crossed me with a girl whose powers were sun based. Stick her in sunlight for a few minutes and she lit up like a Christmas tree. Get her mad and she exploded like a super nova. The girl died of course but my body altered to the change. My DNA mutated to fit what they had done."
Aidan gazed at her hands, "I guess you could say that I am capable of taking on anyone's powers."
"Can you still alter body chemistry?" Logan asked.
"Oh yeah and a shit load of other things. Once they figured out I could withstand the alternations, they put other stuff in me. I am so full of other powers that I don't know what to expect anymore. I only know that my skin cannot be touched by anyone or they burst into flames, I can withstand extreme heat or cold and my pain receptors are off the charts. Plus I need sunlight to stay healthy. My body thrives off of the radiation emitted by the different wavelengths."
He arched a brow at her, "Any idea who did it?"
"Shadow was the only one I had any contact with." She ran fingers over her ring and made a fist with that hand. "I can't run away from him."
"Ever try taking that thing off?" Logan asked as he changed his position against the tree.
"Yeah and I fell into a coma for three days. It's some how tied to my bio rhythms. Now if they were lowered to a certain point or perhaps stopped altogether, then maybe I could take if off. But I would be dead by then so it wouldn't matter."
"Well kid, just as long as you and your buddies don't bring the roof down around here, I got no quarrel with you." Logan watched her. "So what are you doing here?"
Aidan shook her head, " I can't tell you. Not because I am under orders not to, but because I don't know. Shadow only tells me what I need to do in certain parts. Last night it was get a disc from the Professor's computer. He didn't tell me what to do after that."
"How does he tell you?"
She ran her hands through her hair, "It just pops into my head and I do it. Then I meet Shadow and I forget about it when he disappears."
"What was on the disc you gave him?"
She shook her head again, "I don't know."
Logan sighed, "Maybe you should talk to the Professor, he could help you unlock a few things."
She gazed at him, "Speaking from experience?"
"Yeah." Logan lifted his chin slightly and grumbled. "Time to break this up." He tossed his cigar to the ground. "Kid, don't do anything that might get you killed."
"I wish it was that easy." Aidan watched him leave as a wave of kids poured from the school. She spotted John with Bobby and sighed. "I wish it was that simple."
**
No matter how hard he tried Dorian couldn't stop staring at her. The girl was amazing, she was perfect in ways others couldn't even imagine. He stayed just out of her line of vision and smiled when he caught sight of her smiling at a friend. It was like a star had turned on.
"I didn't think you liked girls."
He jumped and spun around to see Aidan at his back. She looked over at the girl and made a face. "Monet is a good choice, but I wouldn't try it if I were. She's not just a pretty face."
"Oh shut up." He snarled and shimmered into his own skin. Sinking down to a near by bench as he stretched out his black fingers. "I got word from Shadow."
Aidan frowned, "I didn't."
"I know. He wants me to be charge of the team, you're just here for the information." Carbon grinned at her expression. "I thought you might like to know is all."
"Who else is he sending?" She asked dryly.
Carbon held up his slender, dark fingers and ticked things off. " Raven, Cobra, Puma and Kei."
Aidan couldn't hide the surprise on her face. "Shadow is sending the Strike Team?"
"So it would appear. I wonder why?" Carbon arched a black brow at her.
"I told you already, I don't remember anything." She snapped and turned to go.
Carbon called after her, "I wonder what Raven will think of John?"
Aidan wanted to run, she wanted to beat the world into telling her what was going on. She wanted to stop what couldn't be stopped and end what had already started. The only trouble was she couldn't remember what it was. Whenever she tried to think of it her head would ache and she would see black walls everywhere in mind. It was as if something had grown in her mind without her knowing it.
"Aidan!"
She spun around and saw John waving to her, he was sitting with Bobby and Rogue who were having lunch. She didn't want to be with them right now. But her legs were carrying her toward them and she sat down next to John. He took her hand and soft flames hovered around their skin where it touched. Rogue arched a brow and looked at Bobby, he smiled gently and took her hand.
"I didn't see you in class this morning." John muttered lightly.
"I slept in, sorry."
"You never did tell me what the Professor said to you yesterday." John mentioned as he grabbed a coke from the pack Bobby took out of the cooler. It was cold as he popped the top with his thumb. "You looked pretty worried, I thought it was bad news."
"No, he talked about my academic schedule and then we talked about my mutant training." Aidan didn't want to talk about mutant training, she didn't want to talk to anyone.
"That is the coolest part." Bobby gushed and made ice appear in his can of Coke.
"Only if you can do something." Rogue pouted playfully and gazed at John. "That was great work this morning John."
"I know." John tossed his head to the side. His dark hair shimmered in the sun and Aidan drew in a breath. He was handsome and seemed to glow with an inner light. As she stared at him her mind showed her another face. A pale face, bathed in moonlight with eyes the color of dark wine and hair like that of spun obsidian. A face that had kissed her many times and never once had they stirred the warmth that John could. Aidan shoved the face away and squeezed John's hand. He looked at her a moment and smiled lazily. Heat rose between them and warmth rippled like summer waves.
Aidan jumped suddenly as ice formed around her hand and she pulled away. Looking at Bobby, he grinned and laughed.
"It was getting a little warm out here. Thought you could use some ice."
John smacked him upside the head and laughed. His expression drew serious when he saw Dorian approaching. "Check it out."
Aidan frowned and drew away from the trio slightly. Dorian waved a golden hand and sauntered up to them, flopping down next to Aidan. She moved away from him. He didn't notice as he flashed a grin at Rogue. She made a face at him.
"Whasss up?" He asked in that beach boy drawl.
"We were having lunch." John snapped and glared at him. "But suddenly I've lost my appetite."
Aidan cast a glance at John while Dorian laughed. "Hold up here, it looks like your boys has fangs Aidan." Dorian cast his blue eyes to her. "You seem to like them with some bite."
John looked at her a moment. "What is he talking about?"
"Nothing." Aidan leveled a warning at Dorian who casually brushed it off.
"Ah, come on now. We all know that Raven ain't nothing. Hell he's almost everything." Dorian looked at her with cool eyes, "Or was I imagining that little session by the pool back home?"
Aidan grabbed his shirt and flames licked along his shirt front. Not touching his skin but very, very close. Dorian wasn't smiling anymore. His eyes were a very dark blue now.
"Let us have a conversation." She snarled and hauled him off his feet. Dorian was dragged as Aidan pulled him into the training building. In here she could let loose and not kill anyone, except maybe Dorian.
Pushing him away she put more space between them and glared at him. "Alright Carbon, now what the hell are you up to?"
Dorian shimmered and was replaced by Carbon with his angled black features and long black limbs. "I was just teasing you Aidan, you know having some fun at your expense?"
"No I think you're here for more then that." She held her hand loose as flames curled around her fingers. "Now what are you doing here?"
Carbon gave a dramatic sigh, "Oh alright. Shadow has been worried that maybe you aren't up to par anymore. He wanted me to come and keep an eye on you. You know, test you every one in a while."
"Don't test me in front of the others Carbon. I am serious, leave John and the others out of this."
Carbon shrugged his thin shoulders, "I wish I could Aidan, but it's not up to me."
Just then the door opened with a clang and Cyclops stood with Logan at his back. "What is going on in here?"
Aidan glared at Carbon who had shimmered back into Dorian. "Nothing is going on Cyclops." Dorian tossed his golden head and walked around her.
Only Logan lingered after Dorian had left. He watched her with dark eyes that held darker secrets. She stared into his face and knew that he could be the biggest threat to her. She crossed her arms and stared until he turned and left. Dropping her head to her chest she stared at the band on her hand and wanted to cry.
**
Fire Within
Storm watched from her raised platform as the students practiced with their powers. Her attention kept going between Bobby and John. Rogue was standing back and watching as the two of them faced off. Fire verses Ice. John's powers had developed into letting him make the fire at will. He had been working with Cyclops on control for most of the morning and now he was testing himself. Bobby was a good choice, should anything happen, Iceman could put it out.
Storm was watching more of the physical effects of the new powers. John had complained of being overly warm and uncomfortable for most of the day. She was concerned that maybe his body wasn't ready for the change. Perhaps it had been forced too soon. She frowned as John released a ball of fire and Bobby iced it. John had already countered and there was a second one coming toward Bobby. He stopped that one as well.
"How goes it Orroro?" Professor Xavier came up beside her. "You look concerned."
"I am. I can't help but worry that maybe the change in John is too soon." Storm shook her head. "I know it doesn't make sense, I mean why would his body do this if it wasn't ready?"
The Professor gazed at the two mutants as they faced off. "I have been sensing something as well. But as you say, it doesn't make sense."
Storm looked at her teacher. "Professor you would know if anything was wrong. Why do you sound so unsure?"
"Because I don't know if it's real." Xavier said darkly and shook his head.
Storm wanted to comfort the older man, she wanted to tell him it was okay. But she didn't know how to say it. Things weren't okay. Jean was gone, Cyclops was still hurting, Wolverine was more agitated then normal and now John was displaying new powers.
"Miss Monroe?"
Storm turned to see one of the students standing a polite distance back. "Yes, Kathy?"
"There is a young man here to see you. Something about wanting become a student." Kathy glanced at the Professor and smiled a little.
"Thank you Kathy," Xavier maneuvered his chair and headed back to the main building. Storm followed for a few steps, " Don't worry Storm, everything will work as nature wants."
She smiled and then laughed slightly. "Right."
**
Aidan felt a shudder rip through her and suddenly felt very worried. She left her room and went down the stairs to the main floor. Standing just inside the foyer was a face she had been dreading for years. Approaching silently she stood just behind him.
"Hello Solar." He turned and smiled at her. His obsidian black eyes swirled to jade green and then his appearance shimmered to someone else.
"Carbon." She stood just back from him. "What are you doing here?"
"Shadow was concerned about you. He sent me to keep an eye on things, make sure the mission gets done."
She frowned, " I am on it."
Carbon grinned, "Well you certainly are on something, but I don't think it's the mission." He paused and waved a hand in the air, "John is certainly a nice boy."
Aidan felt her eyes narrow and fire swirled in her hands lightly. "Stay away from him Carbon. I mean it."
He watched her a moment, his eyes slipping back into their natural shade of black. "Don't get confused Solar, he's just a mutant." Carbon's face thinned down to sharp angular planes of black skin. Not brown or coffee colored, but black. "I remember what happened the last time you got confused."
Aidan drew in a slow breath, the fire swirls became thicker and brighter. "Are you threatening me Carbon?"
He grinned, shark's teeth flashed out. "Almost."
"You must be Dorian?" Xavier entered the room.
Aidan clenched her hands and forced her shoulders to relax. Carbon shimmered into his normal appearance of a blonde and blue eyed surfer boy from California. He looked over her shoulder and smiled.
"The infamous Charles Xavier." His tone carried a Malibu accent. "Sorry to barge in without an invitation, but I was told this was a school for our kind."
"Let us talk in my office." Xavier waved to one of the numerous doors leading off the foyer.
"Sure." Carbon/ Dorian grinned and stepped around Aidan. "It was real nice talking to you again Aidan."
She watched him disappear behind a door with Xavier and wanted to go after him. She wanted to make sure he wouldn't harm the older man.
"Wheels can defend himself, kid." Came a rough growl. "But I was wondering about you myself." She turned and found Logan leaning against the main doors. "Last night was a great night for a run."
"What?" She asked.
"I saw you in the woods last night, kid. That dude was really something." Logan eyed her as he puffed on his cigar. "What he got on you anyway?"
Aidan pulled her shoulders back and gazed at him, "You saw me?"
"Like a solar flare." He glanced at her hands.
"Why haven't you told everyone?" She asked darkly.
"Hey we all got a past when we come here." He glanced over his shoulder as a wave of kids came in. "Let's talk somewhere else huh?"
Aidan watched him leave the doorway and disappear around a corner. She hesitated, again glancing at Xavier's office. Carbon was here for a job, he wouldn't kill the main man until after it was done. She followed Logan and found him resting against a large oak, a fair distance from the house, but not too far. He was staring into the horizon and watching the sky. His cigar glowed a moment before he puffed out a breath.
"So why haven't you told them?" Aidan asked again.
"Partly because I don't know if you are here to really hurt us and partly because they seem to have something on you." He glanced over at her and Aidan glared at him. "So what do they have?"
She sighed heavily and crossed her arms, staring at the ground for a moment she shook her head and looked up at him. "My original powers allowed me to manipulate people's body chemistry, I could play God as some people put it. When a classmate of mine suddenly displayed his mutant ability I realized I wasn't the only weirdo in the world. One day after the display in class the guy was gone. Two days after that a guy dressed in all in black came to my house. He asked to speak with me and no one stopped him. My parents didn't even bat an eye when he took off his hat and was nothing but shadows. He told me that people like me weren't going to be accepted by everyone else. He said that if I wanted a chance at a normal life I had to go with him. I was a kid who was scared and didn't know what to think, I went with him. Shadow worked for a government agency who was collecting mutants and trying to mix and match with them. They wanted me to help them with the altering of DNA. It was thought that if we could change a person's DNA then we could change their powers. Give them powers, take them away, anything we wanted."
"So how'd you go from being what you were to being a solar fired mutant?" Logan asked in a cold tone. There was something like anger in his tone, but it was at Aidan.
"They crossed me with a girl whose powers were sun based. Stick her in sunlight for a few minutes and she lit up like a Christmas tree. Get her mad and she exploded like a super nova. The girl died of course but my body altered to the change. My DNA mutated to fit what they had done."
Aidan gazed at her hands, "I guess you could say that I am capable of taking on anyone's powers."
"Can you still alter body chemistry?" Logan asked.
"Oh yeah and a shit load of other things. Once they figured out I could withstand the alternations, they put other stuff in me. I am so full of other powers that I don't know what to expect anymore. I only know that my skin cannot be touched by anyone or they burst into flames, I can withstand extreme heat or cold and my pain receptors are off the charts. Plus I need sunlight to stay healthy. My body thrives off of the radiation emitted by the different wavelengths."
He arched a brow at her, "Any idea who did it?"
"Shadow was the only one I had any contact with." She ran fingers over her ring and made a fist with that hand. "I can't run away from him."
"Ever try taking that thing off?" Logan asked as he changed his position against the tree.
"Yeah and I fell into a coma for three days. It's some how tied to my bio rhythms. Now if they were lowered to a certain point or perhaps stopped altogether, then maybe I could take if off. But I would be dead by then so it wouldn't matter."
"Well kid, just as long as you and your buddies don't bring the roof down around here, I got no quarrel with you." Logan watched her. "So what are you doing here?"
Aidan shook her head, " I can't tell you. Not because I am under orders not to, but because I don't know. Shadow only tells me what I need to do in certain parts. Last night it was get a disc from the Professor's computer. He didn't tell me what to do after that."
"How does he tell you?"
She ran her hands through her hair, "It just pops into my head and I do it. Then I meet Shadow and I forget about it when he disappears."
"What was on the disc you gave him?"
She shook her head again, "I don't know."
Logan sighed, "Maybe you should talk to the Professor, he could help you unlock a few things."
She gazed at him, "Speaking from experience?"
"Yeah." Logan lifted his chin slightly and grumbled. "Time to break this up." He tossed his cigar to the ground. "Kid, don't do anything that might get you killed."
"I wish it was that easy." Aidan watched him leave as a wave of kids poured from the school. She spotted John with Bobby and sighed. "I wish it was that simple."
**
No matter how hard he tried Dorian couldn't stop staring at her. The girl was amazing, she was perfect in ways others couldn't even imagine. He stayed just out of her line of vision and smiled when he caught sight of her smiling at a friend. It was like a star had turned on.
"I didn't think you liked girls."
He jumped and spun around to see Aidan at his back. She looked over at the girl and made a face. "Monet is a good choice, but I wouldn't try it if I were. She's not just a pretty face."
"Oh shut up." He snarled and shimmered into his own skin. Sinking down to a near by bench as he stretched out his black fingers. "I got word from Shadow."
Aidan frowned, "I didn't."
"I know. He wants me to be charge of the team, you're just here for the information." Carbon grinned at her expression. "I thought you might like to know is all."
"Who else is he sending?" She asked dryly.
Carbon held up his slender, dark fingers and ticked things off. " Raven, Cobra, Puma and Kei."
Aidan couldn't hide the surprise on her face. "Shadow is sending the Strike Team?"
"So it would appear. I wonder why?" Carbon arched a black brow at her.
"I told you already, I don't remember anything." She snapped and turned to go.
Carbon called after her, "I wonder what Raven will think of John?"
Aidan wanted to run, she wanted to beat the world into telling her what was going on. She wanted to stop what couldn't be stopped and end what had already started. The only trouble was she couldn't remember what it was. Whenever she tried to think of it her head would ache and she would see black walls everywhere in mind. It was as if something had grown in her mind without her knowing it.
"Aidan!"
She spun around and saw John waving to her, he was sitting with Bobby and Rogue who were having lunch. She didn't want to be with them right now. But her legs were carrying her toward them and she sat down next to John. He took her hand and soft flames hovered around their skin where it touched. Rogue arched a brow and looked at Bobby, he smiled gently and took her hand.
"I didn't see you in class this morning." John muttered lightly.
"I slept in, sorry."
"You never did tell me what the Professor said to you yesterday." John mentioned as he grabbed a coke from the pack Bobby took out of the cooler. It was cold as he popped the top with his thumb. "You looked pretty worried, I thought it was bad news."
"No, he talked about my academic schedule and then we talked about my mutant training." Aidan didn't want to talk about mutant training, she didn't want to talk to anyone.
"That is the coolest part." Bobby gushed and made ice appear in his can of Coke.
"Only if you can do something." Rogue pouted playfully and gazed at John. "That was great work this morning John."
"I know." John tossed his head to the side. His dark hair shimmered in the sun and Aidan drew in a breath. He was handsome and seemed to glow with an inner light. As she stared at him her mind showed her another face. A pale face, bathed in moonlight with eyes the color of dark wine and hair like that of spun obsidian. A face that had kissed her many times and never once had they stirred the warmth that John could. Aidan shoved the face away and squeezed John's hand. He looked at her a moment and smiled lazily. Heat rose between them and warmth rippled like summer waves.
Aidan jumped suddenly as ice formed around her hand and she pulled away. Looking at Bobby, he grinned and laughed.
"It was getting a little warm out here. Thought you could use some ice."
John smacked him upside the head and laughed. His expression drew serious when he saw Dorian approaching. "Check it out."
Aidan frowned and drew away from the trio slightly. Dorian waved a golden hand and sauntered up to them, flopping down next to Aidan. She moved away from him. He didn't notice as he flashed a grin at Rogue. She made a face at him.
"Whasss up?" He asked in that beach boy drawl.
"We were having lunch." John snapped and glared at him. "But suddenly I've lost my appetite."
Aidan cast a glance at John while Dorian laughed. "Hold up here, it looks like your boys has fangs Aidan." Dorian cast his blue eyes to her. "You seem to like them with some bite."
John looked at her a moment. "What is he talking about?"
"Nothing." Aidan leveled a warning at Dorian who casually brushed it off.
"Ah, come on now. We all know that Raven ain't nothing. Hell he's almost everything." Dorian looked at her with cool eyes, "Or was I imagining that little session by the pool back home?"
Aidan grabbed his shirt and flames licked along his shirt front. Not touching his skin but very, very close. Dorian wasn't smiling anymore. His eyes were a very dark blue now.
"Let us have a conversation." She snarled and hauled him off his feet. Dorian was dragged as Aidan pulled him into the training building. In here she could let loose and not kill anyone, except maybe Dorian.
Pushing him away she put more space between them and glared at him. "Alright Carbon, now what the hell are you up to?"
Dorian shimmered and was replaced by Carbon with his angled black features and long black limbs. "I was just teasing you Aidan, you know having some fun at your expense?"
"No I think you're here for more then that." She held her hand loose as flames curled around her fingers. "Now what are you doing here?"
Carbon gave a dramatic sigh, "Oh alright. Shadow has been worried that maybe you aren't up to par anymore. He wanted me to come and keep an eye on you. You know, test you every one in a while."
"Don't test me in front of the others Carbon. I am serious, leave John and the others out of this."
Carbon shrugged his thin shoulders, "I wish I could Aidan, but it's not up to me."
Just then the door opened with a clang and Cyclops stood with Logan at his back. "What is going on in here?"
Aidan glared at Carbon who had shimmered back into Dorian. "Nothing is going on Cyclops." Dorian tossed his golden head and walked around her.
Only Logan lingered after Dorian had left. He watched her with dark eyes that held darker secrets. She stared into his face and knew that he could be the biggest threat to her. She crossed her arms and stared until he turned and left. Dropping her head to her chest she stared at the band on her hand and wanted to cry.
**