Howdy, y'all! Yeah I'm back again. Thanks very much to all my beautiful reviewers.
RyanGosling4Ever (Damn straight I'm gonna keep going!)
Gothic-rogue13 (Wow, nobody ever said anything I ever did rocked before, Thanks!)
WildCeed (You've always been a very positive and appreciated reviewer, Thanks so much!)
King of the Worthless (I know how you feel about new characters in fanfics and I agree completely, don't worry this won't be your average story and some things just might surprise ya.)
Pleeeze tell others I need more reviews! Pleeeeze! Don't make me beg!!!!
Oh and by the way lemme just clear some things up really quick. In my story Rahne and Jubilee are still at the institute in case you're wondering. Oh and I promise to spell Rogue's name correctly from now on. Lemma know if I get Kurt's accent right.
Also I still promise to make each and every character equally important in my stories, not just the new characters, not just fan favorites, everybody! And I plan on getting started on that very soon. I just wanted to give Hydro the proper introduction. The kind most of the main characters got. The kind of introduction the new recruits should have got.
Oh and speaking of Hydro don't expect him to suddenly be the most powerful mutant out there. Don't expect to find out about his past right away. And definitely don't expect for everyone to automatically fall in love with him either. The next couple of chapters will show you what I mean.
Anyway, in this chapter we're gonna find out what the heck Hydro is doing in Bayville in the first place. See didn't I tell ya things were gonna get interesting.
Disclaimer: Sorry to disappoint you but I only own Hydro that's it.
"Recruited"
6:15 p.m.
"And then we came back here." Scott finished explaining.
Standing in the main living room was Cyclops, Rogue and Marvel girl. Telling the accounts of their encounter with the new mutant to two of the institutes instructors.
It had been a long story as Scott had warned the Professor and Dr. Hank McCoy. A long and confusing story. Very few of the scouting missions had ever gone exactly as planned. Almost every student at the institute had a different story about how they were approached and how things eventually went awry. In the end however things usually worked themselves out. Even on the couple of times when students decided not to attend the institute things always stayed peaceful and non-violent, until now.
The X-men actually had been forced to fight potential team members before. All the members of the Brotherhood had been through similar experiences, yet unlike with those mutants they had no clue who or what they were dealing with now.
One thing was certain however they needed answers and at that moment there was only one person who could give them the answers. And he couldn't be reached.
Meanwhile in another wing of the newly rebuilt mansion in a room known as the infirmary, two ailing teenagers lay in beds while another teen watched over them. The entire room looked like a hospital room full of medical equipment and adjustable beds for the patients. One of the patients was still out-cold while another was waking up.
"Uhhhhnnn…" Amara groaned. "Where am I?"
"Hey." Kitty said softly. "Your back in the mansion.You had a pretty bad spill back there."
"Mm". Amara moaned in agreement.
She looked to her bedside and saw the reason for her injury.
Across from her lay a stranger wearing a strange black and blue costume. At first glance she thought the stranger was Evan Daniels a.k.a. Spyke. But Spyke had blonde hair this persons hair was black. The stranger was a bit taller too. She examined his face and slowly it came to her before hitting her as hard as a punch in the face.
"What's he doing here?!!" Amara exclaimed. She made an attempt to rise out of bed but fell back again when the pain in her abdomen kicked in.
"The cops came and Scott said to bring him." Kitty explained. "He was supposed to be a new recruit remember?"
"Him?" Amara said looking at the once dangerous mutant that was still out cold from Rogue's incapacitating touch.
*BAMF!*
With a puff of smoke and a slight flash another young adult entered the infirmary. A blue furred young man with a pointed tail and bright eyes named Kurt Wagner a.k.a. Nightcrawler.
"Just vanted to see how you vere holding up." He said to Amara. He and the others were a bit worried about her when she was carried in to the mansion and she wasn't moving.
"I'm fine." She assured him with a smile.
"Vhat about him." He said pointing to the young man lying on the other occupied bed.
"I don't know." Kitty answered.
Both Kitty and Kurt leaned over his bedside examining the stranger closely. He didn't seem so dangerous now.
Who was he and what did he want?
"WATER!!"
Both Kurt and Kitty jumped back with a yelp. The boy's eyes shot open as he sprang up from the sick bed.
"WATER!!" he repeated.
"Uh, hold on!" Kitty stammered. She hadn't expected for him to awaken so soon. If only someone had thought ahead enough to restrain him in case something like this happened.
"Just lemme get the Professor!" she ran to the room's intercom immediately.
"Profesooooor, come quick!"
The boy jumped up out of the bed and made for the door.
"Vait a minute!" Kurt said trying to stop him. He managed to get a hold of the back of the boy's belt and tried to pull him back. His grip came loose and Kurt fell on his keister with a thump. Now the boy was out the door and heading down the hall.
"Kitty what's wrong?" the Professor asked through the intercom.
"Um, he's loose." She answered.
On another part of the house Ray Crisp was looking for a little liquid refreshment himself. He Bobby Drake, Sam Guthrie and Roberto DeCosta had just finished an exhausting training session in the danger room and were feeling a little parched. They all stepped into the kitchen where one of the instructors was having a snack. The teen known as Berzerker got a clean glass from one of the cupboards and tuned the knob on the kitchen sink. Nothing came out.
"Hey Logan, what's wrong with the sink?"
The gruff looking man scarfed down another chocolate-chip cookie and took a swig of his orange juice before answering. "Pipes are still a little screwed up." He said. "Plenty of water in the fridge though."
The tall, longhaired blonde opened up the fridge that was full of bottled water. He passed out the bottles to his classmates and got one for himself. "Boy am Ah thirsty," he said before closing the fridge door. Just as the students began to enjoy their refreshments the peaceful scene was broken when a stranger burst into the room.
He ran straight through the completely puzzled boys as the equally confused Logan watched on. Was he new or something? There were so many kids at the school it was sometimes hard to keep track of them all. The boy ran straight to the sink and feverishly turned the knobs. He then stuck his head completely into the sink twisting around to where his mouth was positioned directly underneath the faucet head.
Nothing came out.
Bobby spoke up first "Um, who are you?" he asked. He was ignored. Now the boy was banging away at the faucet trying to force the water out.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah, AH!" the boy grunted with his mouth still wide open.
"Uh ya know there's some -" Sam was interrupted.
The boy pulled his head from the sink and ran from the room as fast as he came, screaming for water.
" water in the fridge." Sam finished.
The boy thought quickly; if there was no water in the kitchen then there was only one other place it could be found.
"If anybody needs the bathroom go now!" spoke a sweaty blond haired boy. Evan had just come from the Skate Park were he often came on weekends to practice his skate boarding. He hadn't gotten the practice that he usually got but today was different. Instead of the usual praise he got from his fellow extreme sports peers he received many unfriendly comments about his being a mutant. "Freak" and "cheater" were just a few of the insults he took until he finally left before his temper got away with him. All Evan wanted to do now was take a shower and he didn't want to be interrupted.
"Anybody?!" he said making sure. No one answered.
He walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. As soon as he took of his shirt there was a loud bang at the door.
"Look I'm in here now, okay!" There was another bang at the door.
"Buzz off already!" he said getting more annoyed. Sharing a bathroom was such a pain.
Now there was quiet. "Finally." Evan thought aloud.
Evan kicked off his scuffed up sneakers when suddenly…Bam! Someone kicked the door in. "Hey what are you…!" before Evan could finish the sentence he was grabbed by both arms and flung from the room. The stranger then shut the door back behind him. At that moment many of the houses residents were coming own the hall. Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Sunspot, Professor X and others came up to Evan.
"Evan are you all right, were you hurt?" the Professor asked
"I'm alright but some idiot just shoved me out of the bathroom. Who was he?"
"We're not quite sure yet." The Professor said
"Yeah all we know is he came running into the kitchen like a chicken with its head cut off." Logan said
"Screaming for some water." Roberto added
"He's looking for water in the bathroom?" Kurt said. "That's so gross!"
"Let's see what he's up to." Cyclops said walking up to the barely cracked open door.
He slowly opened up the door and peered inside. He saw no one.
"Well at least he's not drinking from the toilet." Iceman whispered.
Logan now fully opened the door where everyone could see inside. They could hear water running; someone was in the shower.
*Snikt*
Logan popped his claws just in case and approached the shower curtain. He got a grip on the curtain and with a swift yank pulled the curtain to the side. Inside the stranger was standing with his mouth wide open letting the water coming out of the showerhead and into his mouth. He didn't even turn his attention away from his drinking while everyone piled into the room to see what was going on. They just stood and stared until the Professor broke the silence.
"Excuse me." The young man turned and looked at the professor just now realizing that everyone was staring at him.
"Excuse me, my name is Profess-"
"Professor Charles Xavier." The young man interrupted speaking clearly and calmly for the first time.
"Yes." The Professor said a little surprised
"This is the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters." The boy said
"Yes, yes it is." The Professor said
"I need your help."
"Of course, please follow me where we can talk."
The boy stepped out of the shower, soaking wet, and followed the Professor past the onlookers.
"That is one weird guy." Evan said saying what everyone there was thinking.
6:24 p.m. A study in the mansion
The Professor sat across from a young man who claimed to need his help. Only earlier that day this timid looking boy had been described by his students as a maniac. His behavior did seem a little strange but the Professor knew from personal experience that first impressions were often misleading. So the Professor decided to give the young man the benefit of the doubt.
"Now then, you said that you needed my help."
The boy looked up from his drink of water that someone had been kind enough to get for him and moved the towel he used to dry off with that was draped over his head. From the look of the boy's face he was about the same age as the students at the institute. He couldn't have been older then sixteen if he was even that old. The boy looked at the Professor and began to speak.
"There are some people", he began, "People that are after me." The boy spoke in a low, flat tone with little or no emotion in his voice. If he spoke any louder he would have been whispering.
"I see." The Professor said folding his hands in front of his face, as he often tended to do.
"I need you…to help me."
"Who are these people?"
"I don't know."
"Do you know where they are?"
"No."
"What is it they want with you?"
"I'm not completely sure, but if they find me…something bad will happen. Something very bad."
"Do you have any friends or relatives that I can contact?"
"No."
"Where exactly are you from?"
"I don't remember."
"And you say these people are after you?"
"Yes."
The Professor analyzed everything that the boy said. The last thing that the institute needed was more detractors. More enemies. The inhabitants of the institute had been through more than there share of grievances. They had managed to survive everything that fate had thrown in their collective directions, and by allowing this young man to stay they would perhaps be allowing even more trouble to literally darken their doorstep.
Several parents had threatened to pull their children from the institute when it and the existence of mutants had become public knowledge. They feared for their children's safety but the Professor assured them that the institute would be the safest place for them. Hate groups were popping up all over the country supporting the complete extermination of mutants. The people the boy spoke of could be anyone; although the Professor could sense that the boy was in fact telling the truth could he risk putting the others in jeopardy? If something were to happen because of the boys being there it would because he had made the decision to help him.
What of this feeling of desperation that he was feeling coming from this boy? Could he just ignore it? Could he simply cast him aside even though the boy obviously felt that the only one who could help him was him? He was a mutant after all and he had pledged to help all those in need when he first created the institute, didn't he? And what about those he had already made a promise to? These children depended on them and their parents had entrusted him to keep them safe. Could he just say, "No, we have enough problems as it is" and let it stand at that. What would happen to the boy if he didn't help him?
What would he do? What could he do?
The Professor turned away from the boy and sat silently for a moment contemplating the predicament. The boy spoke.
"I need to get stronger, I have to learn to control my power. You help people learn how to do this."
"Yes, yes I do." He said still not facing the boy.
"Will you help me?"
The Professor tuned to face the boy a looked at him for a moment. The boy looked back.
He had his answer.
"Yes, I will help you, however you must obey all of the rules and guidelines I will set for you."
The boy nodded.
"You must treat everyone at this institute with respect as the same as they will treat you."
The boy nodded again.
"And lastly you must promise to use your gifts only to help never to hurt."
"I promise you."
"Good."
The Professor began to wheel out of the room. "Come, we have much to do and much more to discuss." The boy followed.
Suddenly the Professor came to the realization that he had forgotten to ask a most important question during the interview. "I don't believe I asked," he began, "what is you're name?".
The boy stopped in his tracks and stared of into space before answering.
"Hydro."
"Hydro?"
"Yes."
"Well Hydro welcome to the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters."
Next Time: We get to see what's been going on with the Brotherhood. How do they feel about all that's happened in the past few months and how well are they coping? What's Wanda up to?
And who decides to drop by and give them a little visit?