Chapter Two
Daegan and Chris walked through the empty streets, feeling slightly lost. "Maybe we should have thought this up a little more before actually running away," Chris said quietly, looking up and down the streets.
"We'll find a motel or something and sleep for a while," Daegan suggested. "Then we can walk around in broad daylight."
"How are we going to find a motel this late at night? I can't see anything."
"I told you not to come with me."
"This should help." Chris concentrated his lava-ability and made his hands glow a red-orange colour. "Ouch!" he yelled sharply as the light disappeared.
"Lava burns if you didn't know that," Daegan teased. She looked around the block to realize they were standing in a park. "Well, its not such a bad night tonight, we could always just lie on the grass here."
"I'd prefer a bed thank you," Chris complained. Daegan glared at him. "What? You do too."
"Well I don't see any hotels around here, do you?"
"Who goes there," a male voice stated out of no where.
A flashlight suddenly fell upon the two and they shielded their eyes with their arms. "We're kinda lost," Daegan stated. "Could you tell us where we could find a motel or somewhere to stay?"
"Didn't Magneto ever teach you not to talk to strangers?!" Chris whispered sharply to Daegan.
"You kids not around from these parts?" the man said as he lowered his flashlight and approached them.
"What exactly are 'these parts'?" Chris asked.
"New York City of course," he replied. "If you guys need a place to stay I wouldn't mind if you guys stayed over where I live."
Someone suddenly grabbed Daegan by the hood of her sweatshirt from behind. "It's OK. They're with me," a male voice stated darkly behind them.
The man pulled Daegan and Chris further into the park and they stopped suddenly. "You kids shouldn't be around these parts," the guy uttered. Daegan noted the strong Brooklyn accent he had.
"We can handle ourselves," Chris stated confidently.
"Think you're a tough guy, huh?" the man taunted. "Trying to show off to your girlfriend here?"
Daegan felt offended, knowing the guy thought she was helpless without Chris, and she tried a left hook to hit him in the jaw. The guy caught her by the wrist and whirled her around so that he had twisted her arm back. "Let her go," Chris demanded angrily.
"Make me," the man stated.
Daegan stared at Chris as he just stood there. He wouldn't do anything that could hurt her as well. She sighed impatiently and stomped on the man's foot. The man howled in pain, automatically letting go of her. She felt kinetic energy burning inside her so she placed her hand on the ground. The grass turned a strong magenta colour and it circled around the man. She let go and her and Chris ran for it. "Get back here!" the man yelled as the ground exploded beneath him.
"What was that about?!" Chris asked frantically when they stopped running, two blocks away from the park.
"I'm sorry," Daegan apologized. "I had too much energy inside me. I hadta get rid of it."
"Well, we'll be on the morning news tomorrow," Chris muttered.
Daegan looked around the street to find a twenty-four hour café across the street. "Let's go get something to eat," she suggested, shoving her hand into her pocket to get the money out. She didn't find anything. "CRAP!" she yelled.
"Something wrong?" Chris asked.
"The guy took my money!"
Chris sighed and leaned against a fence. "So you're telling me, that we are in New York City with no money!?"
"That is correct," Daegan muttered, sitting on the curb. "So much for this plan. Sorry I dragged you into this Chris."
"You didn't drag me into anything," he replied, sitting next to her. "So what? You're plan back-fired. We can still find a way to get food."
"And what do you suggest?"
Chris thought for a minute. "We might have to take up stealing."
Daegan looked at Chris questioningly. "You're thinking that the only way for us to survive is to steal?" Chris nodded. "You're right." she muttered, deep in thought. "And I think I know how we can without getting caught."
- - -
Logan turned up the volume on the morning news as he watched it with Bobby and Rogue. "Police officials are stumped with last night's bombing in Central Park," the newscaster reported. "There are no remains or any explosive use."
"Looks like we got ourselves another nuclear mutant," Logan stated. "Hey! Gambit!"
Gambit walked into the room. "What?" he said.
"Looks like there's another mutant like you," Logan said. "Thought you'd be interested in hearing."
Gambit sat down in a chair and listened as a police officer spoke on the news. "They looked about their mid-teens and I offered to take them to a motel because they had no place to go. I didn't see any explosives on them so I didn't think they were harmful."
"If you see these teens around the street, please call the police department," the newscaster said. "They are a boy and girl, mid-teens, and could be considered highly dangerous."
"Time to go find them before something bad happens," Bobby said as he stood up.
- - -
Chris held Daegan's hand as they walked around the now crowded streets. Daegan held her stomach as she heard it grumble hungrily and she looked up at Chris. "Just a couple more minutes," he said reassuringly as they turned into an alley next to a convenience store.
"How are we going to do this?" she asked.
"You go through the front of the store. Look around for a couple of minutes at the magazines or food and make your way to the back of the store," Chris explained. "In the back there's usually no one there so that's where you'll go nuclear."
Daegan's dark blue eyes showed doubt. "Don't worry. Just make the explosion large enough to get everybody running out of the store," he added. "I'll do the rest."
"What are the chances of getting caught?" she asked, trying to stall for time.
"Slim to none," Chris said reassuringly. "If we are seen they'll only know us by our nicknames."
"Finally I'll be known," she muttered, smirking.
"Good luck," Chris said as Daegan walked out of the alley.
Daegan stopped for a second before walking into the store, making sure that she wasn't being watched. She walked in casually and headed over to the magazine rack, pretending to look at the magazines. She looked over to the cashier to see that he was busy with customers. She made her way to the back of the store as she slowly rubbed her hands together. She crouched down, making it look like she was looking at something on the bottom shelf and she placed her hands on the ground. She waited until there was a circle of magenta reaching the corner of the store, then she let go. She walked out of the store, trying to keep herself from running out of it.
Daegan smirked as she walked onto the crowded sidewalk, thinking she was home free, when she bumped into someone. "Well, well. If it isn't Surge," John stated angrily as he grabbed Daegan's arm.
"Let me go!" she screamed, hoping to grab someone's attention.
Suddenly there was a loud explosion from inside the convenience store and people ran out of the store frantically. "You are going to be in so much trouble when I get you back to Magneto," John muttered as he tightened his grip on her shoulder. "Where's Chris?"
"Right here," Chris said as he placed his hand over top of John's hand.
John let go of Daegan as his hand was burned from the lava coming from Chris. "C'mon!" Chris grabbed Daegan's wrist and they ran into the alley.
"Did you get anything?" she asked as Chris pulled her around the corner.
"Grab a bag," he replied as he stopped in front of five grocery bags filled with food.
Daegan grabbed two bags and they ran through the alleys. "In here," she suggested as she stopped at a door and opened it. They walked in and looked around. "We could live here," she said, smiling.
Chris turned on the light and looked around. In the small room were two old couches, a TV, and a couple cupboards. "Nice choice," he said placing the grocery bags on the ground. "How'd you know about it?"
Daegan didn't answer; knowing that Chris wouldn't believe her if a voice in her head told her that this place was safe. She quickly turned on the TV and the news came on. "Moments ago, there was yet another bombing in New York City," the news reporter stated. "This time it was in a small local convenience store."
"Wow these people are fast," Daegan muttered under her breath.
The camera angle switched to the scene of the bombing and John was there, the microphone in front of him. "The kids are mutants," he stated. Chris's eyes widened. "I caught the girl as she came out of the store. She goes by the name Surge. Her partner came out of no where and burned my hand. His name's Eruption. Those kids are going to be lucky if the police catch them before I do."
"This can't be good," Chris muttered as he stared at the TV.
"If you see these two teenagers with the names 'Surge' or 'Eruption' written on their shirts, call the police. These two are highly dangerous," the police chief stated.
Daegan turned off the TV and looked over at Chris worriedly. "What are we going to do now?" she asked. "Now we can't show our faces in public."
"John told them our nicknames, not physical appearance," Chris replied, smirking. "We just can't wear our sweatshirts outside of this place."
Daegan thought for a minute and smiled. "Or we go out at night. Nobody's ever around that much in the area we're in."
Chris nodded. "Now rest up," he advised as he swung his legs onto the couch and rested his head on the arm of the couch. "We got lots to do before we think about stealing again."
- - -
"C'mon, Scott! We have to help those kids," Bobby pleaded as he followed Scott around the mansion.
"then go help them!" Scott yelled impatiently. "Why did the X-men become helpful all of a sudden?!"
"We've always been helping kids so they don't feel alone," Bobby stated.
"Scott stopped walking and turned around to face Bobby. "We're helping new kids but we're not helping our own team?! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
"We're all sad that Jean's not around anymore. But it was her choice," Bobby said quietly. "No one could have done anything to help her."
Scott looked away from Bobby as Charles Xavier wheeled into the room. "Professor, did you track down Surge and Eruption?" Bobby asked him worriedly.
"They are both safe in the basement of an abandoned building," he replied. He looked to Scott. "Scott, Logan was hoping that you would go along with the group and try to get the two teens to come here for safety reasons."
Scott looked at Xavier. "I'll think about it," he muttered as he walked to his room and shut the door behind him.
"Why won't Gambit come along?" Bobby asked as he followed Xavier to the main floor.
"It seems that he's a little down after he heard about Surge," Xavier replied. "Unfortunately he hasn't let go of the loss of his daughter ten years ago."
"Do you think maybe Surge could be Gambit's daughter?" he asked, hope shining in his ice blue eyes.
"I cannot say," Xavier replied. "First we're going to have to get Surge and Eruption over here. They're going to want some answers and we will as well."
- - -
Chris woke up from his nap to hear Daegan punching something. "Where'd you find that?" he asked her as he stared at the punching bag hanging from the ceiling.
"I found it in the closet," she replied as she sat down on the empty couch. "I couldn't fall asleep and I needed to get rid of some energy."
Chris looked at Daegan. She had taken off her sweatshirt and was wearing a tank top. He had never really seen her without her sweatshirt on, and he looked at her slender, yet strong, arms as she pulled her black sweatshirt over her arms and over her head. "Why don't you take a picture? It lasts longer," Daegan muttered, noticing Chris staring at her.
Chris shook his head. "Sorry," he said as he looked around the room. "So do you have any ideas on what we should do now?" he asked, changing the subject.
"We might as well wait until we run out of supplies before robbing another convenience store," Daegan replied. "Maybe wait until everything settles down before doing more damage."
"Good idea."
"We're mutants anyway . we should be in hiding . Not showing off our powers," she muttered, standing up and walking around the room blankly.
There was a knock on the door and Daegan stopped walking. She looked at Chris, then over at the door. "Wh -" she started to ask, when Chris jumped up from the couch and cupped his hand over her mouth.
The person knocked on the door again. "They'll go away when they realize no one's in here," Chris whispered in her ear.
"Are you sure they're in here?" someone yelled on the other side of the door.
Daegan closed her eyes as she heard someone's voice echo in her mind. Open the door . We won't hurt you, the voice said softly.
Chris moved his hand from Daegan's mouth and he slowly made his way to the door. He was about to place his hand on the doorknob, when the door was blasted open. Chris stared at the guy at the door, not saying anything. "Sorry for barging in on you," the guy apologized, almost coldly.
Chris looked over at Daegan. Her hands were glowing a strong magenta colour, but she didn't seem to notice. "Surge, relax," the stranger stated as he passed by Chris. "I'm not here to kill you."
Daegan didn't move, nor did she say anything. More people started filing into the room, followed in the rear with a man in a wheel chair. Chris walked over to Daegan and placed his hands on her shoulders so she wouldn't be able to turn anything into a grenade. "Can we help you?" he asked quietly.
"I'm Professor Charles Xavier," the man in the wheelchair introduced. "I work at a school for the gifted."
Daegan looked down at the ground, trying to concentrate on some of the information suddenly pouring into her head. She glanced up quickly to see that the man in the wheelchair had closed his eyes and she looked away. "Stay out of my head." she muttered coldly to him.
The memories stopped flying around and Xavier opened his eyes. "I already know who you guys are. You're the X-men," she said quietly, not looking up from the ground again.
"I can tell that you are aware that we are the X-men," Charles said. "What I'm unaware of is how you know that I can read minds."
Daegan didn't say anything else. "Why are you here?" Chris asked.
"We thought you two might be in a bit of trouble so we're offering you protection," Charles replied, looking to Chris.
"You can stay with us and you'd have a home and you wouldn't have to steal," a guy with dirty blond hair added.
"So you watched the news," Chris said, looking over at the guy.
"The news has very little information on you two so we came to see you ourselves," he replied.
"Ow, Chris," Daegan muttered, pulling her right shoulder away from Chris's hand. He didn't realize that his powers were acting up as well.
"Sorry," he said quietly. He looked back at the X-men. "We need to think about this," he said. "We can't just make a decision right away."
"Take you're time," Charles replied as he turned around and acknowledged for the X-men to follow him. "We'll get in touch with you tomorrow."
The X-men left without saying anything else. "Ouch!" Daegan said loudly after the door was closed.
"I'm sorry for burning you Daegan, I honestly don't know what happened," Chris apologized.
"No, it's not that," she said as she looked down at her hands. The glow was gone but there were two cuts on both palms of her hands. "My kinetic energy attacked my skin."
"Oh man," Chris said as he looked at Daegan's hands. "Sit down on the couch. I'll get something to cool your hands down."
- - -
"What was wrong with those guys?" Scott asked Charles as they walked down the street. "Surge looked like she was going to blow the whole place up and Eruption burned her."
"They have control over their powers," Charles replied, deep in thought. "But what I got from Surge's mind was that they had a poison injected into them so that when the brain sends nerves of fear or nervousness, their abilities will react with it."
"Who would do such a thing to them?" Rogue asked.
Charles didn't answer. "Magneto," Logan uttered under his breath. "But why would Magneto need a kid who can make anything a grenade and a kid who can melt anything he touches?"
"Looks like we'll find out when the time comes," Bobby said. "But Professor, I thought you didn't go into mutants' minds unless they let you."
"I needed to see something for someone," was all Charles said.
"So you do think that Surge could be Gambit's daughter," Bobby said.
"I have my doubts," he replied.
Daegan and Chris walked through the empty streets, feeling slightly lost. "Maybe we should have thought this up a little more before actually running away," Chris said quietly, looking up and down the streets.
"We'll find a motel or something and sleep for a while," Daegan suggested. "Then we can walk around in broad daylight."
"How are we going to find a motel this late at night? I can't see anything."
"I told you not to come with me."
"This should help." Chris concentrated his lava-ability and made his hands glow a red-orange colour. "Ouch!" he yelled sharply as the light disappeared.
"Lava burns if you didn't know that," Daegan teased. She looked around the block to realize they were standing in a park. "Well, its not such a bad night tonight, we could always just lie on the grass here."
"I'd prefer a bed thank you," Chris complained. Daegan glared at him. "What? You do too."
"Well I don't see any hotels around here, do you?"
"Who goes there," a male voice stated out of no where.
A flashlight suddenly fell upon the two and they shielded their eyes with their arms. "We're kinda lost," Daegan stated. "Could you tell us where we could find a motel or somewhere to stay?"
"Didn't Magneto ever teach you not to talk to strangers?!" Chris whispered sharply to Daegan.
"You kids not around from these parts?" the man said as he lowered his flashlight and approached them.
"What exactly are 'these parts'?" Chris asked.
"New York City of course," he replied. "If you guys need a place to stay I wouldn't mind if you guys stayed over where I live."
Someone suddenly grabbed Daegan by the hood of her sweatshirt from behind. "It's OK. They're with me," a male voice stated darkly behind them.
The man pulled Daegan and Chris further into the park and they stopped suddenly. "You kids shouldn't be around these parts," the guy uttered. Daegan noted the strong Brooklyn accent he had.
"We can handle ourselves," Chris stated confidently.
"Think you're a tough guy, huh?" the man taunted. "Trying to show off to your girlfriend here?"
Daegan felt offended, knowing the guy thought she was helpless without Chris, and she tried a left hook to hit him in the jaw. The guy caught her by the wrist and whirled her around so that he had twisted her arm back. "Let her go," Chris demanded angrily.
"Make me," the man stated.
Daegan stared at Chris as he just stood there. He wouldn't do anything that could hurt her as well. She sighed impatiently and stomped on the man's foot. The man howled in pain, automatically letting go of her. She felt kinetic energy burning inside her so she placed her hand on the ground. The grass turned a strong magenta colour and it circled around the man. She let go and her and Chris ran for it. "Get back here!" the man yelled as the ground exploded beneath him.
"What was that about?!" Chris asked frantically when they stopped running, two blocks away from the park.
"I'm sorry," Daegan apologized. "I had too much energy inside me. I hadta get rid of it."
"Well, we'll be on the morning news tomorrow," Chris muttered.
Daegan looked around the street to find a twenty-four hour café across the street. "Let's go get something to eat," she suggested, shoving her hand into her pocket to get the money out. She didn't find anything. "CRAP!" she yelled.
"Something wrong?" Chris asked.
"The guy took my money!"
Chris sighed and leaned against a fence. "So you're telling me, that we are in New York City with no money!?"
"That is correct," Daegan muttered, sitting on the curb. "So much for this plan. Sorry I dragged you into this Chris."
"You didn't drag me into anything," he replied, sitting next to her. "So what? You're plan back-fired. We can still find a way to get food."
"And what do you suggest?"
Chris thought for a minute. "We might have to take up stealing."
Daegan looked at Chris questioningly. "You're thinking that the only way for us to survive is to steal?" Chris nodded. "You're right." she muttered, deep in thought. "And I think I know how we can without getting caught."
- - -
Logan turned up the volume on the morning news as he watched it with Bobby and Rogue. "Police officials are stumped with last night's bombing in Central Park," the newscaster reported. "There are no remains or any explosive use."
"Looks like we got ourselves another nuclear mutant," Logan stated. "Hey! Gambit!"
Gambit walked into the room. "What?" he said.
"Looks like there's another mutant like you," Logan said. "Thought you'd be interested in hearing."
Gambit sat down in a chair and listened as a police officer spoke on the news. "They looked about their mid-teens and I offered to take them to a motel because they had no place to go. I didn't see any explosives on them so I didn't think they were harmful."
"If you see these teens around the street, please call the police department," the newscaster said. "They are a boy and girl, mid-teens, and could be considered highly dangerous."
"Time to go find them before something bad happens," Bobby said as he stood up.
- - -
Chris held Daegan's hand as they walked around the now crowded streets. Daegan held her stomach as she heard it grumble hungrily and she looked up at Chris. "Just a couple more minutes," he said reassuringly as they turned into an alley next to a convenience store.
"How are we going to do this?" she asked.
"You go through the front of the store. Look around for a couple of minutes at the magazines or food and make your way to the back of the store," Chris explained. "In the back there's usually no one there so that's where you'll go nuclear."
Daegan's dark blue eyes showed doubt. "Don't worry. Just make the explosion large enough to get everybody running out of the store," he added. "I'll do the rest."
"What are the chances of getting caught?" she asked, trying to stall for time.
"Slim to none," Chris said reassuringly. "If we are seen they'll only know us by our nicknames."
"Finally I'll be known," she muttered, smirking.
"Good luck," Chris said as Daegan walked out of the alley.
Daegan stopped for a second before walking into the store, making sure that she wasn't being watched. She walked in casually and headed over to the magazine rack, pretending to look at the magazines. She looked over to the cashier to see that he was busy with customers. She made her way to the back of the store as she slowly rubbed her hands together. She crouched down, making it look like she was looking at something on the bottom shelf and she placed her hands on the ground. She waited until there was a circle of magenta reaching the corner of the store, then she let go. She walked out of the store, trying to keep herself from running out of it.
Daegan smirked as she walked onto the crowded sidewalk, thinking she was home free, when she bumped into someone. "Well, well. If it isn't Surge," John stated angrily as he grabbed Daegan's arm.
"Let me go!" she screamed, hoping to grab someone's attention.
Suddenly there was a loud explosion from inside the convenience store and people ran out of the store frantically. "You are going to be in so much trouble when I get you back to Magneto," John muttered as he tightened his grip on her shoulder. "Where's Chris?"
"Right here," Chris said as he placed his hand over top of John's hand.
John let go of Daegan as his hand was burned from the lava coming from Chris. "C'mon!" Chris grabbed Daegan's wrist and they ran into the alley.
"Did you get anything?" she asked as Chris pulled her around the corner.
"Grab a bag," he replied as he stopped in front of five grocery bags filled with food.
Daegan grabbed two bags and they ran through the alleys. "In here," she suggested as she stopped at a door and opened it. They walked in and looked around. "We could live here," she said, smiling.
Chris turned on the light and looked around. In the small room were two old couches, a TV, and a couple cupboards. "Nice choice," he said placing the grocery bags on the ground. "How'd you know about it?"
Daegan didn't answer; knowing that Chris wouldn't believe her if a voice in her head told her that this place was safe. She quickly turned on the TV and the news came on. "Moments ago, there was yet another bombing in New York City," the news reporter stated. "This time it was in a small local convenience store."
"Wow these people are fast," Daegan muttered under her breath.
The camera angle switched to the scene of the bombing and John was there, the microphone in front of him. "The kids are mutants," he stated. Chris's eyes widened. "I caught the girl as she came out of the store. She goes by the name Surge. Her partner came out of no where and burned my hand. His name's Eruption. Those kids are going to be lucky if the police catch them before I do."
"This can't be good," Chris muttered as he stared at the TV.
"If you see these two teenagers with the names 'Surge' or 'Eruption' written on their shirts, call the police. These two are highly dangerous," the police chief stated.
Daegan turned off the TV and looked over at Chris worriedly. "What are we going to do now?" she asked. "Now we can't show our faces in public."
"John told them our nicknames, not physical appearance," Chris replied, smirking. "We just can't wear our sweatshirts outside of this place."
Daegan thought for a minute and smiled. "Or we go out at night. Nobody's ever around that much in the area we're in."
Chris nodded. "Now rest up," he advised as he swung his legs onto the couch and rested his head on the arm of the couch. "We got lots to do before we think about stealing again."
- - -
"C'mon, Scott! We have to help those kids," Bobby pleaded as he followed Scott around the mansion.
"then go help them!" Scott yelled impatiently. "Why did the X-men become helpful all of a sudden?!"
"We've always been helping kids so they don't feel alone," Bobby stated.
"Scott stopped walking and turned around to face Bobby. "We're helping new kids but we're not helping our own team?! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
"We're all sad that Jean's not around anymore. But it was her choice," Bobby said quietly. "No one could have done anything to help her."
Scott looked away from Bobby as Charles Xavier wheeled into the room. "Professor, did you track down Surge and Eruption?" Bobby asked him worriedly.
"They are both safe in the basement of an abandoned building," he replied. He looked to Scott. "Scott, Logan was hoping that you would go along with the group and try to get the two teens to come here for safety reasons."
Scott looked at Xavier. "I'll think about it," he muttered as he walked to his room and shut the door behind him.
"Why won't Gambit come along?" Bobby asked as he followed Xavier to the main floor.
"It seems that he's a little down after he heard about Surge," Xavier replied. "Unfortunately he hasn't let go of the loss of his daughter ten years ago."
"Do you think maybe Surge could be Gambit's daughter?" he asked, hope shining in his ice blue eyes.
"I cannot say," Xavier replied. "First we're going to have to get Surge and Eruption over here. They're going to want some answers and we will as well."
- - -
Chris woke up from his nap to hear Daegan punching something. "Where'd you find that?" he asked her as he stared at the punching bag hanging from the ceiling.
"I found it in the closet," she replied as she sat down on the empty couch. "I couldn't fall asleep and I needed to get rid of some energy."
Chris looked at Daegan. She had taken off her sweatshirt and was wearing a tank top. He had never really seen her without her sweatshirt on, and he looked at her slender, yet strong, arms as she pulled her black sweatshirt over her arms and over her head. "Why don't you take a picture? It lasts longer," Daegan muttered, noticing Chris staring at her.
Chris shook his head. "Sorry," he said as he looked around the room. "So do you have any ideas on what we should do now?" he asked, changing the subject.
"We might as well wait until we run out of supplies before robbing another convenience store," Daegan replied. "Maybe wait until everything settles down before doing more damage."
"Good idea."
"We're mutants anyway . we should be in hiding . Not showing off our powers," she muttered, standing up and walking around the room blankly.
There was a knock on the door and Daegan stopped walking. She looked at Chris, then over at the door. "Wh -" she started to ask, when Chris jumped up from the couch and cupped his hand over her mouth.
The person knocked on the door again. "They'll go away when they realize no one's in here," Chris whispered in her ear.
"Are you sure they're in here?" someone yelled on the other side of the door.
Daegan closed her eyes as she heard someone's voice echo in her mind. Open the door . We won't hurt you, the voice said softly.
Chris moved his hand from Daegan's mouth and he slowly made his way to the door. He was about to place his hand on the doorknob, when the door was blasted open. Chris stared at the guy at the door, not saying anything. "Sorry for barging in on you," the guy apologized, almost coldly.
Chris looked over at Daegan. Her hands were glowing a strong magenta colour, but she didn't seem to notice. "Surge, relax," the stranger stated as he passed by Chris. "I'm not here to kill you."
Daegan didn't move, nor did she say anything. More people started filing into the room, followed in the rear with a man in a wheel chair. Chris walked over to Daegan and placed his hands on her shoulders so she wouldn't be able to turn anything into a grenade. "Can we help you?" he asked quietly.
"I'm Professor Charles Xavier," the man in the wheelchair introduced. "I work at a school for the gifted."
Daegan looked down at the ground, trying to concentrate on some of the information suddenly pouring into her head. She glanced up quickly to see that the man in the wheelchair had closed his eyes and she looked away. "Stay out of my head." she muttered coldly to him.
The memories stopped flying around and Xavier opened his eyes. "I already know who you guys are. You're the X-men," she said quietly, not looking up from the ground again.
"I can tell that you are aware that we are the X-men," Charles said. "What I'm unaware of is how you know that I can read minds."
Daegan didn't say anything else. "Why are you here?" Chris asked.
"We thought you two might be in a bit of trouble so we're offering you protection," Charles replied, looking to Chris.
"You can stay with us and you'd have a home and you wouldn't have to steal," a guy with dirty blond hair added.
"So you watched the news," Chris said, looking over at the guy.
"The news has very little information on you two so we came to see you ourselves," he replied.
"Ow, Chris," Daegan muttered, pulling her right shoulder away from Chris's hand. He didn't realize that his powers were acting up as well.
"Sorry," he said quietly. He looked back at the X-men. "We need to think about this," he said. "We can't just make a decision right away."
"Take you're time," Charles replied as he turned around and acknowledged for the X-men to follow him. "We'll get in touch with you tomorrow."
The X-men left without saying anything else. "Ouch!" Daegan said loudly after the door was closed.
"I'm sorry for burning you Daegan, I honestly don't know what happened," Chris apologized.
"No, it's not that," she said as she looked down at her hands. The glow was gone but there were two cuts on both palms of her hands. "My kinetic energy attacked my skin."
"Oh man," Chris said as he looked at Daegan's hands. "Sit down on the couch. I'll get something to cool your hands down."
- - -
"What was wrong with those guys?" Scott asked Charles as they walked down the street. "Surge looked like she was going to blow the whole place up and Eruption burned her."
"They have control over their powers," Charles replied, deep in thought. "But what I got from Surge's mind was that they had a poison injected into them so that when the brain sends nerves of fear or nervousness, their abilities will react with it."
"Who would do such a thing to them?" Rogue asked.
Charles didn't answer. "Magneto," Logan uttered under his breath. "But why would Magneto need a kid who can make anything a grenade and a kid who can melt anything he touches?"
"Looks like we'll find out when the time comes," Bobby said. "But Professor, I thought you didn't go into mutants' minds unless they let you."
"I needed to see something for someone," was all Charles said.
"So you do think that Surge could be Gambit's daughter," Bobby said.
"I have my doubts," he replied.