Songs of Power, Chapter Six

Shout-outs:

Mattb3671: Ducks, eh? For me its seagulls after my frenchfries. I have a friend who was traumatized by a pigeon that walked up her leg after her sandwich. I know another person who had all their chocolate stolen on a camping trip by a chipmunk; to this day she hasn't forgiven the species as a whole. Anyways, I could go on and on about scary woodland animals, but I won't. Anyways, THANK YOU! for your review! You make my day happy!

MuggleBuddy: I'm glad you liked your special chappie! I hope you like this one too! And you know what, trust me on this one, you're definitely NOT the only one to think of taking over the world with squirrels. I personally can name five people, not including myself, so there you have it... We must all be geniuses! After all, great minds think alike! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable in any way, shape or form. The tattered remains of what passes for a plot are mine, as is Dr. Gonnal, Luke, Ally, Mia and Ben. Mally is Mattb3671s. And, of course, his own. Thanks, Matt and Mally!

Now that that's out of the way, the story!:

That night at the choir concert:

Mia nervously walked to the center of the stage, her long black skirt swishing and rippling around her ankles. Her ivory shirt caught the light and glimmered, and, taking a deep breath, she began to sing.

Her voice started out surprisingly low, though it soon soared to a piercingly clear higher note. The words faded into insignificance with the captivating movements of the melody; the audience was enchanted by her voice.

And then it was over, though it seemed like a sudden blur that took just seconds to Mia. She took her bow and exited, shaking slightly from nerves. She was met by Ally in the wings off the stage.

"That was fantastic!" the red-head gushed. "You know what this means, however," she added, face suddenly mock serious.

"I challenge you!" They grinned simultaneously.

Half an hour later we find the choir out caroling. They've just finished the first house when Jean becomes suddenly distracted. Mentally she says to Ororo, I can sense the thoughts of a new mutant behind the house across the street. Can you get her or him for me? They're scared and alone; I think it's parents abandoned it.

Okay, responded the weather witch mentally, then turned and left, first explaining to the choir director that she had to return to the Institute because a "difficult situation had arisen."

An uneventful hour-and-a-half later that I will not write about because it is boring, we find Mia and Ally facing each other on the dark lawn of the Institute. They're taking part in a competition of sorts they have had several times: a contest to see who can out-sing the other. Ally starts, singing out a complicated string of notes. Mia copies her, and then responds with a harder bit of tune. Ally responds to that, then Mia, then Ally, etc. It would have continued indefinitely, but at this point Wolverine showed up.

Smelling two unfamiliar scents he stalked through a hedge up to the two girls, claws extended.

"Who're you?" he growled as he came up behind Mia, making Ally jump and Mia, who had been singing, to break off in a short scream.

At her screech, not controlled because of her shock, a nearby tree turned into a little puddle of tree. And Mia clasped her hands over her mouth and burst into silent tears. Ally rushed over and threw her arms around her friend, glaring venomously at Logan. Still holding Mia she turned quickly around and stalked off back to the Institute.

"Damn," muttered Logan, head in his hands. This had not gone well. So much for a good first impression.

In the kitchen chaos was happening. Ororo was trying to do the dishes, Hank was checking over the new boy Ororo had found while curious people hovered, Mia was being comforted by Ally, Kurt and Jean, another new student Wolverine had brought in was sitting by himself in a dark corner. Tabby, Ray and Amara were fighting over something trivial, Lance and Scott were just fighting, and the Professor was trying to talk to Wolverine about the new student he had brought in, Mia and her over-reaction, and the state of the Institute in general.

"That is enough!" He finally called over the uproar. "Tabby, Lance, Ray, Amara, Scott, stop fighting and leave the room. Anyone bothering the new students, please leave as well. Jean, Kurt and Ally, you may stay with Mia. Storm, leave the dishes for now, we can get them in the morning. Logan, Mia overreacted because she went through a long period of time when she couldn't speak due to an uncontrolled mutation. She's over that for the most part, but losing control is still a possibility that frightens her. Hank, is the new recruit okay?"

"Yes. He's a bit shocked, but that's understandable. She should be fine in a few days."

"Good. Now why don't we all get some sleep? It's been a long day, what with the squirrels and everything..."

"You're right. Goodnight!" called out Jean as she left, Kurt porting away with a bamf.

Eventually everyone in the Institute fell asleep, Ally on the floor of Mia and Rogues' room, and peace was on earth. Sorta.

The next morning the professor dropped the bombshell.

Over breakfast he made an announcement. "I've noticed that some of you are not fitting into the Institute as well as I might have hoped. For this reason I've asked an old friend of mine, Dr. Robert Gonnal, to take some of you to a new school that will have a less… orthodox teaching style. I will notify those of you that will be going over the course of the day."

At the end of that day the students are in the living room, draped over various articles of furniture, and the ceiling in Kurt's case.

"So who going?" asked Kitty.

"Lance, Fred, Todd, Remy, Rogue, Tabby and the two new kids," responded Multiple promptly.

"What is the deal with the new kids?" asked another person. "Anybody know what there powers are yet?"

"Well, ones an electrokinetic," said Jubilee.

"I don't think even the Professor knows what the other one is," said Bobby. "I heard him talking about it with Logan. See his mutation only half kicked in. It's really weird."

"It'll be weird having Rogue gone," said Roberto.

"Yeah, but I'll love having Lance gone," muttered Scott. "The only trick is how to have a party without the Professor finding out…"

"I have to admit I won't miss anyone either than Rogue and Remy much," said Jean silently to Scott. "It's about time the Professor pruned out the deadwood, so to speak. Those three boys at least are an evolutionary back alley in the brains department."

At this point Mia walked in. "I'll be leaving with Rogue, Remy and the rest," she announced.

"What!" gasped Jean. "You're not a sick freak like any of them! Why did the Professor ask you to leave?"

"He didn't. I asked him to leave." Said Mia calmly. "I prefer a looser environment." And with that she turned and left.

"I'll miss her, at least," said Kitty. "She's fun! And the backbone alto in choir. I wonder who's going to, like, hold them up now?"

"I did switch to alto, Kitty," snapped Jean.

"Jean, you're great at everything and everything, but Mia is totally a better singer than you. Your not bad, your just not, like, great and Mia is, like, the best singer I have ever heard."

"Ooooh, looks like Jean isn't perfect at everything," loudly whispered Tabby, who had just walked in, to Rahne, who giggled. Jean shot them aglare, only aggravating the laughter. And eventually people dispersed and life was back to whatever passes for normalcy in the Xavier Institute.

A/N: Next chapter involves insanity beyond imagine! I told you crazy things would happen in this chapter, and they did. People are leaving! Including Mia! My reasons are as follows: Certain people do not strike me as Institute people. These people were put in the Brotherhood for that reason. I mixed them in with the Institute people because Magneto is dead in my strange universe (see last chapter) but that doesn't mean they fit in. This is an alternative to power-crazed megalomaniacs bent on genetic superiority. Y'see, I like B-hood and wanted to use them. Remy never struck me as an x-man as well, and I didn't feel like splitting up him'n'Rogue, therefore she's leaving. This is just the way I did things, m'kay? Wanda and Pietro haven't showed up yet in this story and Acolytes may be introduced later. The Next Chapter (yes, it is deserving of the CAPITALS) will introduce Ben and Lucas more fully as well as my strange brand of patented insanity.

Till then, REVIEW! Remember, the little, erm, periwinkle button is your friend. Prove your friendship true by reviewing, even if only an anonymous one. They make me happy too. I mean, really peoples, how hard can it be to type out, 'this sucked'? Or (unlikely) 'I actually liked this!' ?