Chapter 5-The Plot Thickens
..........
I ducked as another bean bag came whizzing towards me. Training was definitely hard, but I was getting the hang of it.
I was doing a solo session, with Jean controlling the flying bean bags, and Storm in the booth controlling everything else. The goal was to dodge the flying objects-no small feat there-and then find Jean to take her out.
Well, I didn't exactly have to knock her down to finish, I just had to get a hold on her, which is hard to do when the person's flying.
The room dimmed around me again-Storm kept adjusting the light levels so I'd have to keep changing the intensity of my new glasses. They were really cool; Dr. McCoy put lenses in them that I can adjust according to what I want to see, so that in dark rooms, they can almost go completely clear and I can see in the dark like it's normal daylight, but I had to get used to adjusting them constantly.
Whap! My focus on my glasses came back to haunt me as I got pelted by bean bags. I turned to run and promptly hit a wall. It's harder than it looks to actually see what's in front of you when you're panicked. It was the third time today I'd done that.
If this was an improvement, you can tell how bad I was at the beginning. I came out black and blue from my first session, and that was mostly from running into things, not even from the bean bags.
I was actually surprisingly good at dodging the things when I was able to fully concentrate on them. I just kind of knew when they were coming. It's just hard to do that when you're being blinded by light and running through a maze.
I stopped in an alcove-like structure to catch my breath and scan around for Jean. I looked around me, going through layer upon layer of wall, until I finally spotted her in the corner. The use of my powers meant that she located me again, so I took off running as the bean bags went flying. Who would've thought that split peas would hurt so much?
I finally found her without using my powers, so she couldn't track me. I was about to pounce on her (and by that I mean grab her ankles-the rest was lifted too high for me to reach), when all the sudden, I couldn't see; it was too bright. I immediately bent over to adjust my glasses, but my sudden movement got her attention, and I was pinned to the floor by bean bags.
So close!
"Good job, Alex," came Storm's voice over the speakers, "just always be aware of the changing light levels. If you let your defenses down, you could be incapacitated by so much as a flashlight."
"I know." I shook the bean bags off of me-Jean had let them go-and got up. "I did get much closer this time, though."
"You would've gotten me if the lights hadn't come on," added Jean. "I completely lost you in the dark."
"Ah, the advantages of night vision," Storm said as she joined us on the floor. "You just need to get used to adjusting those glasses. With enough practice, it should become like second nature."
I headed for the shower as they discussed various students' progress in the individual sessions.
..............
So I was watching Wanda get ready for bed-is that so bad? I mean, if she didn't want people watching her, then maybe she should pull her shade when people like me just *happen* to be sitting out on the lawn. I was just enjoying the night air, catching a few flies, listening to the crickets chirp, when she was..
Well, I won't tell you what she was doing, because it might be rude to share, but let me tell you, I rather enjoyed it.
Anyway, I was on the verge of drooling when I heard a runner pass by the house.
"Hey, can you tell me the way back to Evergreen Lane?" I turned in surprise. At this point, most people in Bayville avoided this house because so many weird things went on, but he didn't seem to have any problem with us. "I've gone for a run and I can't find my way home."
"Hey, you're a new X-Geek, aren't you?" The only place on Evergreen Lane that's not government property is the X-geek mansion, so I figured he must be one of them. I took a closer look at him, and sure enough, he was wearing an Xavier Institute t-shirt, and sunglasses-I figured that since it was night, this was a mutation thing. He also had a rather confused look on his face.
"Uh, I go to the Xavier Institute, if that's what you mean."
I laughed to myself. Obviously he had no idea who he was talking to, so I decided to clue him in, in a manner that would provide entertainment for me, of course.
"Well then," I caught a fly for a dramatic effect "welcome to Bayville."
He looked even more confused. "Thanks..I think. I'm Alex McAllister."
He held out his hand for me to shake but I ignored it, choosing instead to hop over his head and land behind him. "The name's Todd Tolansky," I said as he whipped around, "but you can call me Toad."
I hopped off toward the house, stopping only to glance back at the guy, who was now staring in amazement. It's so much fun to screw with people's perception of what humans can do-it almost made up for missing Wanda's peep show. I laughed to myself as I entered the house.
"Just what's so funny?"
Avalanche was sitting in the family room, watching TV.
"Oh nothing," I sang. I knew my getting to meet the new kid first would piss him off, so I decided to milk it for all I could get.
"Oh, come on." He knew I had news. "Who were you talking to in the yard?"
I smiled and caught a fly, and gave him a smug smile from my perch on a side chair. "It was just a new x-geek." I spoke slowly and quietly so he'd have to listen to me.
That got his attention. He sat up in his chair and glared at me. "Well," he said, "what about him? What can he do?"
Shit. The grin dropped off my face. Sure, I'd been able to screw with his head a bit, but I hadn't gotten the dirt on him. I'd just broken the news to Lance that we were facing new competition, and I couldn't tell him anything else.
"Man, you're sure desperate. If you wanna know him so bad, why not just go find him. He's probably still lost."
"Don't fuck with me, Toad. What d'ya know about him?"
The ground was shaking, so I started talking. "didn't get anything more than his name was Alex..uh..Alex McAllister"
"Great. So there's a new X-Man, and you actually got to talk to him, and all you got was his name? What's wrong with you? Mystique's gonna be pissed when that's all I have to tell her." He was mad. I decided to put the responsibility on him and escape to bed.
"Well, if you're so eager, just go after him. I'm going to bed, yo." I hopped up the stairs, pausing only to wish sweet Wanda good night.
..........
"Rogue, Risty's here!"
"Ah'm coming!" Ah yelled as Ah looked for my favorite gloves. Ah found them under the bed and headed for the front hall; Ah wanted to get out of here quick. Every time she came around to the mansion, Risty always looked at me kinda funny-Ah think it's because there's always something weird goin' on, even when we're not supposed to be using our powers.
This time it was Rahne in her wolf form chasing Jubilee and Bobby down the hall.
"Hey, you guys, cut it out" I hissed as we neared the main steps, "we got company." Bobby and Jubes merely giggled and went off elsewhere, Wolfsbane looked at me and trotted off toward her room, still in wolf form. I hoped that if Risty saw that, she'd dismiss it as the Institute dog or something.
Fortunately, she was chatting with Alex when I got downstairs. Hopefully the wolf howls had escaped her notice.
"So, where are you from?" Not only was she chatting, she seemed rather fixated on him.
"DC. Well, I'm actually from Virginia, but any smart northern Virginian claims to be from DC."
She laughed. She was quite taken with him. Ah could see the appeal, though frankly, he was a tad too preppy for my liking. "So do your parents work in the White House, or the Pentagon?"
"Well, actually, my dad, um...is a....congressman." He kind of muttered that last part; Ah knew he was eager to distance himself from his father.
"Cool-what state's he from?" Ah decided to break up this little party before Alex got even more uncomfortable. Ah think being pressed about his father was about as much fun as getting zapped by me, except Ah knew not to do it. Ah cleared my throat to get their attention.
"Hey Risty, if we don't get going, we're going to miss the movie." She looked at her watch and cursed.
"See you later, then," she said. He nodded as we walked out the door.
"You know," she said to me as we walked out the door, "he doesn't talk much, but he's kind of cute."
Ah sighed. Granted, Ah liked my fair share men, but she seemed interested in pretty much every guy that came to the Institute. Maybe it was a thing for mysterious men.
.........
Risty had proven to be more useful than I initially thought.
I had started using her form just to keep tabs on the active, trained X- Men, but as new students arrived at the Institute, she became more and more helpful.
This time, I used her to confirm my suspicions. The new student was none other than Zander McAllister's son.
This was priceless.
Zander McAllister-the same Zander McAllister who was pushing so hard to put every mutant behind bars-had a mutant for a son.
My options were limitless. If word got out about the boy, he would be publicly disgraced. He could resign, or get kicked out of Congress.
Or better yet, switch sides, and devote his life to the fight for mutant equality. How could he allow himself to be branded as a man who didn't love his son?
But politics were not my forte. I can infiltrate pretty much any system, but I didn't even vote in the last election.
It was time to call in a favor.
...............
Dun, dun, DUN! What's Mystique up to? And just what was Wanda doing in her room? (ok, so that's not exactly vital to the story, but I have no other hanging plotlines, so I just had to ask it)
Next chapter: Alex FINALLY gets to school (I've had that part written for awhile) and Mystique has a meeting.
I like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU all who have reviewed. I feel so loved! So a thank you and a cookie* go out to the following...
Pschobunny410, Alinora, Ima Super Mute Ant, and Risty.
On a more serious note, if you have any comments on my writing style, character development, plot development, et cetera, feel free to share. I can pop out a 6-page essay on Emerson's views of organized religion as expressed through his works like it's my job, but I've never really tried to write fiction before.
The whole story will be told in first person, with varying narrators, so if you do or don't like a particular narrator, or want to see someone entirely new, I'm taking requests.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and don't forget to review,
hnh
*must provide own cookie
..........
I ducked as another bean bag came whizzing towards me. Training was definitely hard, but I was getting the hang of it.
I was doing a solo session, with Jean controlling the flying bean bags, and Storm in the booth controlling everything else. The goal was to dodge the flying objects-no small feat there-and then find Jean to take her out.
Well, I didn't exactly have to knock her down to finish, I just had to get a hold on her, which is hard to do when the person's flying.
The room dimmed around me again-Storm kept adjusting the light levels so I'd have to keep changing the intensity of my new glasses. They were really cool; Dr. McCoy put lenses in them that I can adjust according to what I want to see, so that in dark rooms, they can almost go completely clear and I can see in the dark like it's normal daylight, but I had to get used to adjusting them constantly.
Whap! My focus on my glasses came back to haunt me as I got pelted by bean bags. I turned to run and promptly hit a wall. It's harder than it looks to actually see what's in front of you when you're panicked. It was the third time today I'd done that.
If this was an improvement, you can tell how bad I was at the beginning. I came out black and blue from my first session, and that was mostly from running into things, not even from the bean bags.
I was actually surprisingly good at dodging the things when I was able to fully concentrate on them. I just kind of knew when they were coming. It's just hard to do that when you're being blinded by light and running through a maze.
I stopped in an alcove-like structure to catch my breath and scan around for Jean. I looked around me, going through layer upon layer of wall, until I finally spotted her in the corner. The use of my powers meant that she located me again, so I took off running as the bean bags went flying. Who would've thought that split peas would hurt so much?
I finally found her without using my powers, so she couldn't track me. I was about to pounce on her (and by that I mean grab her ankles-the rest was lifted too high for me to reach), when all the sudden, I couldn't see; it was too bright. I immediately bent over to adjust my glasses, but my sudden movement got her attention, and I was pinned to the floor by bean bags.
So close!
"Good job, Alex," came Storm's voice over the speakers, "just always be aware of the changing light levels. If you let your defenses down, you could be incapacitated by so much as a flashlight."
"I know." I shook the bean bags off of me-Jean had let them go-and got up. "I did get much closer this time, though."
"You would've gotten me if the lights hadn't come on," added Jean. "I completely lost you in the dark."
"Ah, the advantages of night vision," Storm said as she joined us on the floor. "You just need to get used to adjusting those glasses. With enough practice, it should become like second nature."
I headed for the shower as they discussed various students' progress in the individual sessions.
..............
So I was watching Wanda get ready for bed-is that so bad? I mean, if she didn't want people watching her, then maybe she should pull her shade when people like me just *happen* to be sitting out on the lawn. I was just enjoying the night air, catching a few flies, listening to the crickets chirp, when she was..
Well, I won't tell you what she was doing, because it might be rude to share, but let me tell you, I rather enjoyed it.
Anyway, I was on the verge of drooling when I heard a runner pass by the house.
"Hey, can you tell me the way back to Evergreen Lane?" I turned in surprise. At this point, most people in Bayville avoided this house because so many weird things went on, but he didn't seem to have any problem with us. "I've gone for a run and I can't find my way home."
"Hey, you're a new X-Geek, aren't you?" The only place on Evergreen Lane that's not government property is the X-geek mansion, so I figured he must be one of them. I took a closer look at him, and sure enough, he was wearing an Xavier Institute t-shirt, and sunglasses-I figured that since it was night, this was a mutation thing. He also had a rather confused look on his face.
"Uh, I go to the Xavier Institute, if that's what you mean."
I laughed to myself. Obviously he had no idea who he was talking to, so I decided to clue him in, in a manner that would provide entertainment for me, of course.
"Well then," I caught a fly for a dramatic effect "welcome to Bayville."
He looked even more confused. "Thanks..I think. I'm Alex McAllister."
He held out his hand for me to shake but I ignored it, choosing instead to hop over his head and land behind him. "The name's Todd Tolansky," I said as he whipped around, "but you can call me Toad."
I hopped off toward the house, stopping only to glance back at the guy, who was now staring in amazement. It's so much fun to screw with people's perception of what humans can do-it almost made up for missing Wanda's peep show. I laughed to myself as I entered the house.
"Just what's so funny?"
Avalanche was sitting in the family room, watching TV.
"Oh nothing," I sang. I knew my getting to meet the new kid first would piss him off, so I decided to milk it for all I could get.
"Oh, come on." He knew I had news. "Who were you talking to in the yard?"
I smiled and caught a fly, and gave him a smug smile from my perch on a side chair. "It was just a new x-geek." I spoke slowly and quietly so he'd have to listen to me.
That got his attention. He sat up in his chair and glared at me. "Well," he said, "what about him? What can he do?"
Shit. The grin dropped off my face. Sure, I'd been able to screw with his head a bit, but I hadn't gotten the dirt on him. I'd just broken the news to Lance that we were facing new competition, and I couldn't tell him anything else.
"Man, you're sure desperate. If you wanna know him so bad, why not just go find him. He's probably still lost."
"Don't fuck with me, Toad. What d'ya know about him?"
The ground was shaking, so I started talking. "didn't get anything more than his name was Alex..uh..Alex McAllister"
"Great. So there's a new X-Man, and you actually got to talk to him, and all you got was his name? What's wrong with you? Mystique's gonna be pissed when that's all I have to tell her." He was mad. I decided to put the responsibility on him and escape to bed.
"Well, if you're so eager, just go after him. I'm going to bed, yo." I hopped up the stairs, pausing only to wish sweet Wanda good night.
..........
"Rogue, Risty's here!"
"Ah'm coming!" Ah yelled as Ah looked for my favorite gloves. Ah found them under the bed and headed for the front hall; Ah wanted to get out of here quick. Every time she came around to the mansion, Risty always looked at me kinda funny-Ah think it's because there's always something weird goin' on, even when we're not supposed to be using our powers.
This time it was Rahne in her wolf form chasing Jubilee and Bobby down the hall.
"Hey, you guys, cut it out" I hissed as we neared the main steps, "we got company." Bobby and Jubes merely giggled and went off elsewhere, Wolfsbane looked at me and trotted off toward her room, still in wolf form. I hoped that if Risty saw that, she'd dismiss it as the Institute dog or something.
Fortunately, she was chatting with Alex when I got downstairs. Hopefully the wolf howls had escaped her notice.
"So, where are you from?" Not only was she chatting, she seemed rather fixated on him.
"DC. Well, I'm actually from Virginia, but any smart northern Virginian claims to be from DC."
She laughed. She was quite taken with him. Ah could see the appeal, though frankly, he was a tad too preppy for my liking. "So do your parents work in the White House, or the Pentagon?"
"Well, actually, my dad, um...is a....congressman." He kind of muttered that last part; Ah knew he was eager to distance himself from his father.
"Cool-what state's he from?" Ah decided to break up this little party before Alex got even more uncomfortable. Ah think being pressed about his father was about as much fun as getting zapped by me, except Ah knew not to do it. Ah cleared my throat to get their attention.
"Hey Risty, if we don't get going, we're going to miss the movie." She looked at her watch and cursed.
"See you later, then," she said. He nodded as we walked out the door.
"You know," she said to me as we walked out the door, "he doesn't talk much, but he's kind of cute."
Ah sighed. Granted, Ah liked my fair share men, but she seemed interested in pretty much every guy that came to the Institute. Maybe it was a thing for mysterious men.
.........
Risty had proven to be more useful than I initially thought.
I had started using her form just to keep tabs on the active, trained X- Men, but as new students arrived at the Institute, she became more and more helpful.
This time, I used her to confirm my suspicions. The new student was none other than Zander McAllister's son.
This was priceless.
Zander McAllister-the same Zander McAllister who was pushing so hard to put every mutant behind bars-had a mutant for a son.
My options were limitless. If word got out about the boy, he would be publicly disgraced. He could resign, or get kicked out of Congress.
Or better yet, switch sides, and devote his life to the fight for mutant equality. How could he allow himself to be branded as a man who didn't love his son?
But politics were not my forte. I can infiltrate pretty much any system, but I didn't even vote in the last election.
It was time to call in a favor.
...............
Dun, dun, DUN! What's Mystique up to? And just what was Wanda doing in her room? (ok, so that's not exactly vital to the story, but I have no other hanging plotlines, so I just had to ask it)
Next chapter: Alex FINALLY gets to school (I've had that part written for awhile) and Mystique has a meeting.
I like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU all who have reviewed. I feel so loved! So a thank you and a cookie* go out to the following...
Pschobunny410, Alinora, Ima Super Mute Ant, and Risty.
On a more serious note, if you have any comments on my writing style, character development, plot development, et cetera, feel free to share. I can pop out a 6-page essay on Emerson's views of organized religion as expressed through his works like it's my job, but I've never really tried to write fiction before.
The whole story will be told in first person, with varying narrators, so if you do or don't like a particular narrator, or want to see someone entirely new, I'm taking requests.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and don't forget to review,
hnh
*must provide own cookie