More than Existing
Author's note: Anybody figured it out yet? Well you'll all find out in the next chapter, but for now, I'll be content with leading you up to it...
Chapter 5 – "Not Feeling So Well"
The four teenagers made to long walk up to the institute with just a little trouble. Janine seemed to get completely exhausted within just a few blocks. After that, every few minutes, she needed to stop and rest. Finally, when they got close, Kurt started teleporting everyone short distances so they wouldn't have to walk so far. By the time they got to the institute, Janine wasn't the only one tired. Kurt was worn out too. Standing in front of the institute, Janine was speechless. They'd failed to mention that they lived in a mansion. "Wow..." she said as she looked on in awe. "Come on Janine, I want to get in and get out so we can take you to the mall." Kitty said as she took Janine's arm and lead her inside.
"Professor! Beast!? Anyone here? Kurt needs his watch altered!" Kitty yelled out in the main room. Shortly after she saw Beast coming down the stairs. Kitty stole a peek at Janine. Her mouth was hanging open and she was staring. "Who's that?" Janine asked, still staring. "Mr. McCoy, that chemistry teacher I told you about. We call him Beast, but don't let his appearance fool you, he's a genius." Kitty explained as Beast came to meet them. "Mr. McCoy, this is Janine. Janine, this is Mr. McCoy." Beast He offered his hand out to Janine and said, "Hello, its nice to meet you. I hear you made quite the stir at lunch last week."
Janine blushed as this information, and said, "Yeah, I suppose I did." As she reached out to put her hand in his, "Its nice to meet you too."
"Beast, can you fix my watch? I think it's got a short. It keeps blinking on and off." Kurt said as he handed the watch to Mr. McCoy. "I see the problem, a few of your wires have come loose. I can fix it, but It'll take a few minutes." Beast replied as he began to head over to the lab. It was then that Amanda perked up and turned to Kurt and said, "Oh, while we're here, I think I left my Barenaked Ladies CD in your room Kurt. Can we get it?"
"Sure." He replied as he put his arm around her and teleported away. Kitty and Janine were hardly left alone for more than a moment when I small man in a wheel chair came into the room. "I heard you calling Kitty. Did you need something?" the man asked.
"Oh, well Kurt's watch is on the blink, but Hank is fixing it." Kitty said.
"Good. Who is your friend here?" He asked
"This is Janine Strong. Janine, this is Professor Xavier. He runs the school." Kitty explained.
"Its nice to meet you, sir."
"Likewise." He replied, smiling as he shook her hand. Suddenly, his face changed, to a look that was all too familiar to Janine. It was the same look that said 'I'm sorry,' a look that had stopped seeing her as a person. She hated that look, and it was the same look that had kept her from telling her friends about her "problem". Confronted by "the look", Janine quickly pulled her hand away from his grasp. She was silently praying that he didn't know, and that if he did know, he wouldn't tell her friends. Just that moment, Kurt returned with Amanda. Kurt was wearing his holo-watch so Hank must have given it back to him. Smiling, Kurt said, "All right. We ready to head out on the town!"
Much to Kurt and Janine's relief, the Professor allowed them to take the X-Van instead of having to walk. The first place Kitty and Kurt took her was to the mall. While they walked around the mall, Kitty and Kurt told her stories of some of the missions they'd been on. One of which actually consisted of coming to this same mall and trying to stop another group of mutants from messing up the place. Janine was fascinated by their stories. They talked what it was like to try and hide the fact they were mutants, they talked about what it'd been like before they got their powers, and what it was like getting their powers. It was amazing. To Janine, their lives were like the lives of movie stars. 'It would be so cool to be a mutant. It would make life so much more exciting, not to mention easier.' She thought to herself. But then Kitty and Kurt began to tell her about how they were treated when everyone found out what they were. They told her how all their friends had deserted them and about the time Jean's powers went haywire. Suddenly, being a mutant didn't sound so great. The more the two told her about being a mutant, the less glamorous it seemed.
"So if all mutants have 'gifts', what are the other's gifts, like Scott and Jean, and Rogue. What can they do?" Janine asked.
"Well, Jean is a telekinetic, which means she can move stuff with her mind, and she's also got a little telepathy, which means she can read minds. Scott's eyes shoot these things called optic blasts-" Kitty began.
"So his eyes shoot like...lasers or something?" Janine interrupted.
"No, it's more like these red beams that are really forceful. He can't control them, that's why he wears those glasses." Kurt explained.
"So, what about Rogue? What are her powers?"
"Rogue's powers are absorption. If she were to touch someone, all their memories and abilities would be absorbed into her. So if she were to touch Kitty, she would be able to walk through walls." Kurt said.
"Wow! That's got to be the coolest power ever!" Janine said.
Kitty and Kurt looked at each other, "Not really," Kurt said, "Rogue can't control it. If someone were to touch her skin, whether she wanted to or not, she'd absorb them. And anytime she does absorb someone, they're usually knocked unconscious, if not put into a coma." Janine's smile disappeared from her face. "Is that why she dresses like she does? Why she's all covered up all the time?" she asked. Kurt and Kitty nodded. 'That must be horrible.' Janine thought, 'It would be horrible never to be able to touch. I guess I'd be just as moody as she is if I couldn't touch.' Janine decided to move away from Rogue's powers.
"So is the Professor a mutant too?" She asked.
"Yeah," Kurt said, "He's a telepath." Janine swallowed her gum. 'He's a telepath? That means he knows. He knows my secret and he'll probably tell them.' Janine hadn't realized she'd stopped walking, but Kurt, Kitty and Amanda had. Kitty looked at Janine, suddenly, she turned pale and began to sway. Just as she was about to fall over, Kurt caught her. "Are you okay Janine?" Kitty asked.
"I don't know, I think I need to go home. I'm not feeling so well." Janine said, her voice falling to a whisper. As Kurt helped Janine to a nearby bench, her nose started to bleed. She quickly pinched her nose, as if she'd done it a thousand times before. Sitting on the bench in front of her concerned friends, Janine couldn't help but cringe at the fact that they had to see this. It was so embarrassing the way her body was betraying her.
Kurt, Kitty and Amanda were all becoming very concerned. What was happening to their friend? Was she going to be okay? After a few minutes, Janine's nose stopped bleeding and Kurt took them all home. The whole way home, Janine continued to apologize for ruining the day.
Author's note: Anybody figured it out yet? Well you'll all find out in the next chapter, but for now, I'll be content with leading you up to it...
Chapter 5 – "Not Feeling So Well"
The four teenagers made to long walk up to the institute with just a little trouble. Janine seemed to get completely exhausted within just a few blocks. After that, every few minutes, she needed to stop and rest. Finally, when they got close, Kurt started teleporting everyone short distances so they wouldn't have to walk so far. By the time they got to the institute, Janine wasn't the only one tired. Kurt was worn out too. Standing in front of the institute, Janine was speechless. They'd failed to mention that they lived in a mansion. "Wow..." she said as she looked on in awe. "Come on Janine, I want to get in and get out so we can take you to the mall." Kitty said as she took Janine's arm and lead her inside.
"Professor! Beast!? Anyone here? Kurt needs his watch altered!" Kitty yelled out in the main room. Shortly after she saw Beast coming down the stairs. Kitty stole a peek at Janine. Her mouth was hanging open and she was staring. "Who's that?" Janine asked, still staring. "Mr. McCoy, that chemistry teacher I told you about. We call him Beast, but don't let his appearance fool you, he's a genius." Kitty explained as Beast came to meet them. "Mr. McCoy, this is Janine. Janine, this is Mr. McCoy." Beast He offered his hand out to Janine and said, "Hello, its nice to meet you. I hear you made quite the stir at lunch last week."
Janine blushed as this information, and said, "Yeah, I suppose I did." As she reached out to put her hand in his, "Its nice to meet you too."
"Beast, can you fix my watch? I think it's got a short. It keeps blinking on and off." Kurt said as he handed the watch to Mr. McCoy. "I see the problem, a few of your wires have come loose. I can fix it, but It'll take a few minutes." Beast replied as he began to head over to the lab. It was then that Amanda perked up and turned to Kurt and said, "Oh, while we're here, I think I left my Barenaked Ladies CD in your room Kurt. Can we get it?"
"Sure." He replied as he put his arm around her and teleported away. Kitty and Janine were hardly left alone for more than a moment when I small man in a wheel chair came into the room. "I heard you calling Kitty. Did you need something?" the man asked.
"Oh, well Kurt's watch is on the blink, but Hank is fixing it." Kitty said.
"Good. Who is your friend here?" He asked
"This is Janine Strong. Janine, this is Professor Xavier. He runs the school." Kitty explained.
"Its nice to meet you, sir."
"Likewise." He replied, smiling as he shook her hand. Suddenly, his face changed, to a look that was all too familiar to Janine. It was the same look that said 'I'm sorry,' a look that had stopped seeing her as a person. She hated that look, and it was the same look that had kept her from telling her friends about her "problem". Confronted by "the look", Janine quickly pulled her hand away from his grasp. She was silently praying that he didn't know, and that if he did know, he wouldn't tell her friends. Just that moment, Kurt returned with Amanda. Kurt was wearing his holo-watch so Hank must have given it back to him. Smiling, Kurt said, "All right. We ready to head out on the town!"
Much to Kurt and Janine's relief, the Professor allowed them to take the X-Van instead of having to walk. The first place Kitty and Kurt took her was to the mall. While they walked around the mall, Kitty and Kurt told her stories of some of the missions they'd been on. One of which actually consisted of coming to this same mall and trying to stop another group of mutants from messing up the place. Janine was fascinated by their stories. They talked what it was like to try and hide the fact they were mutants, they talked about what it'd been like before they got their powers, and what it was like getting their powers. It was amazing. To Janine, their lives were like the lives of movie stars. 'It would be so cool to be a mutant. It would make life so much more exciting, not to mention easier.' She thought to herself. But then Kitty and Kurt began to tell her about how they were treated when everyone found out what they were. They told her how all their friends had deserted them and about the time Jean's powers went haywire. Suddenly, being a mutant didn't sound so great. The more the two told her about being a mutant, the less glamorous it seemed.
"So if all mutants have 'gifts', what are the other's gifts, like Scott and Jean, and Rogue. What can they do?" Janine asked.
"Well, Jean is a telekinetic, which means she can move stuff with her mind, and she's also got a little telepathy, which means she can read minds. Scott's eyes shoot these things called optic blasts-" Kitty began.
"So his eyes shoot like...lasers or something?" Janine interrupted.
"No, it's more like these red beams that are really forceful. He can't control them, that's why he wears those glasses." Kurt explained.
"So, what about Rogue? What are her powers?"
"Rogue's powers are absorption. If she were to touch someone, all their memories and abilities would be absorbed into her. So if she were to touch Kitty, she would be able to walk through walls." Kurt said.
"Wow! That's got to be the coolest power ever!" Janine said.
Kitty and Kurt looked at each other, "Not really," Kurt said, "Rogue can't control it. If someone were to touch her skin, whether she wanted to or not, she'd absorb them. And anytime she does absorb someone, they're usually knocked unconscious, if not put into a coma." Janine's smile disappeared from her face. "Is that why she dresses like she does? Why she's all covered up all the time?" she asked. Kurt and Kitty nodded. 'That must be horrible.' Janine thought, 'It would be horrible never to be able to touch. I guess I'd be just as moody as she is if I couldn't touch.' Janine decided to move away from Rogue's powers.
"So is the Professor a mutant too?" She asked.
"Yeah," Kurt said, "He's a telepath." Janine swallowed her gum. 'He's a telepath? That means he knows. He knows my secret and he'll probably tell them.' Janine hadn't realized she'd stopped walking, but Kurt, Kitty and Amanda had. Kitty looked at Janine, suddenly, she turned pale and began to sway. Just as she was about to fall over, Kurt caught her. "Are you okay Janine?" Kitty asked.
"I don't know, I think I need to go home. I'm not feeling so well." Janine said, her voice falling to a whisper. As Kurt helped Janine to a nearby bench, her nose started to bleed. She quickly pinched her nose, as if she'd done it a thousand times before. Sitting on the bench in front of her concerned friends, Janine couldn't help but cringe at the fact that they had to see this. It was so embarrassing the way her body was betraying her.
Kurt, Kitty and Amanda were all becoming very concerned. What was happening to their friend? Was she going to be okay? After a few minutes, Janine's nose stopped bleeding and Kurt took them all home. The whole way home, Janine continued to apologize for ruining the day.