Author's Note: Huh? What happened to the last chapter? Only three reviews. Was it no good, or did nobody just read it? It made me sad. I worked hard on that one. It was an essential part of the plot too.
Anyway, the credit for this chapter goes to those who reviewed, Silveni, Commander Richie, and most especially, Silverwind24, who is becoming my favorite reader! Thank you so much for the inspiring comments!
Please, PLEASE leave reviews, even quick ones, for every chapter, so that won't lose steam for this story. If you love it and want it to continue, then making comments shouldn't be so hard right?
Besides, you could leave your opinions on who should end up with Alana, since the love triangle is coming into full swing! ;P Enjoy this one!
CHAPTER 8 – The Beast Is Angry
Storm remained silent for quite some time even after Logan had finished relating to her all the information he had managed to get out of Alana. She glanced at Hank, who sat across the meeting room table from her. He looked calm on the outside as always, but Storm knew he couldn't be feeling differently from the way she was at that moment. Worried. And maybe even a little panicked.
Storm sighed and clasped her hands together. Though Logan had already uncovered a lot about their newest charge, there were so many other questions swirling around the headmistress' head. But there was one significant concern that bothered her more than the rest.
"Wait, if Alana's powers returned to her even after she took the cure, what does that mean?" she asked, looking back and forth between Hank and Logan. "Could the cure be only temporary?"
Hank looked somewhat dubious of the idea, but nonetheless it also seemed to perturb him. "Well, there haven't been any reports of other mutants' powers returning. Perhaps Alana was just an isolated incident. It could be that a resistance to the cure is simply part of her powers."
"Incredible," Storm said, shaking her head. "There's so much that she's capable of."
Hank smiled. "Well, I don't think she's going to run out of surprises for us anytime soon," he agreed. "But she's not the first student we've encountered who's shown unusual potential. Besides, nothing showed up in her medical tests to give any real reason to worry. Her brain activity, as well as the rest of her body functions, seems to be normal."
Seeing the doubtful look that stayed on Storm's face, he added, "But I'll run more tests, just to make sure. Maybe something's changed or been overlooked." He reached over and patted the silver-haired woman's hand. "Don't worry, Ororo. If there's anything physically unusual or wrong with her, I'll find it."
Storm smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Hank."
Logan raised his eyebrows as Hank stood up and gathered his things from the table. "But what if what's wrong with her isn't in the physical? What if it's in her head? After all, that's where her powers really come from, right?"
"Then it's out of my hands," Hank admitted. "I'm not the Professor. I'm not even a telepath. I can only go so far."
"I'm still trying to get a hold of someone," Storm put in. "It's a little difficult, since I don't know her personally. She just used to know the Professor. She's a very busy woman, but I expect to get a call back from her office, hopefully soon."
Hank nodded. "Then we'll just have to whatever we can, for now," he said. "The best we can. I'm sure this will work itself out eventually."
When Hank finally left the meeting room, Storm sighed again, slumping down slightly in her chair. This caused Logan to look at her with concern.
"You okay?" he asked, transferring to the seat Hank vacated, which was closer to her. "You look like something else is bothering you. Haven't you had enough?"
Storm smiled weakly. "I'm really trying to stay optimistic about this, and not worry too much, but I can't help it," she admitted. "There are just a lot of other things that need answers."
"Like what? What else?"
"Well, for one thing, if Alana's powers came out as early as she says, then why didn't the Professor bring her here to the school?" Storm pointed out. "She was his goddaughter."
"I don't know," Logan said slowly. "But Alana said the she never told him about her mutation. She told us they hadn't spoken in years, remember?"
"But how could that be? You know the Professor." Storm argued. "Nothing would stop him from checking up on her, or from knowing. He could have just taken a glimpse into her mind even without her consent, and he would have found out the truth. And I don't believe he could have just left her on her own to deal with her powers."
"Well the way I see it, it can only be one of two things. Either he never found out at all, or he found out and just left her to figure things out for herself." Logan said. "Whichever it is, he must have had his reasons."
"But what then?" Storm murmured, her brow furrowing. "It just doesn't make sense…"
Logan smiled. "You know, I could go and try to wring some more answers out of the Ice Princess if you want them. I think I'm actually beginning to get the hang of dealing with her."
Storm laughed. "No, I'm sure she's had more than enough of your charm for today. She needs her rest. She's going to undergo another testing session tomorrow. I need to check if the trauma from the accident somehow affected her powers."
"You know, I was thinking," Logan began. "Maybe it would also help us find out more if we tried to test her resistance to the cure. After all, we have the source…"
"You know what," Storm interrupted him, grinning. "For once, I'm actually one step ahead of you."
"Alana, this is Jimmy. Jimmy, this is Alana Stratford."
Alana smiled at the teenage boy that Storm had just introduced to her. She held out her hand to him. "Nice to meet you."
The young man's eyes were curious and seemed star struck as they stared at her, but he shook her hand and managed a shy smile. "You too."
"Jimmy's powers are to negate or dampen the abilities of other mutants," Storm explained. "His DNA was the one used by Worthington Labs to create the cure…"
Alana nodded, only half-listening to the woman's explanations of what was supposed to happen that day. She's heard it already. Logan had explained it all to her that morning, before he accompanied her to the training room for her session. They were here to find out if she really was immune to the cure, by exposing her to the source itself.
"All right. Let's start then," Storm finally said, glancing at briefly at Logan, Kitty, and Peter, who stood at the sidelines. They had all come to watch and assist in Alana's session, and since the test subject put up no protest to this audience, Storm welcomed their support.
"Jimmy, take Alana's hand and just hold onto it for a while," Storm instructed.
Alana had to smile as the furiously blushing Jimmy took her good hand, allowing only his fingers to touch half of her palm.
"Come on," she told him with wink. "You can do better than that." She slid her hand fully into his, pressing their palms together reassuringly. "Don't worry, I don't bite."
"Now Alana," Storm was giving more directions. She pointed to the row of dodgeballs that were lined up in front of them, at the center of the room. "See if you can use your powers to move those. But don't let go of Jimmy's hand."
Alana took a deep breath. Staring hard at a selected target, she focused. After a few seconds, the centermost ball wobbled slightly, before finally lifting off the ground. It hung in mid-air then began to spin around in circles. One by one, the other five balls followed. Within a minute, all the dodgeballs were levitating as well, flying and rotating in orbits like a mini solar system.
"Good," Storm finally said, holding up her hand. "That'll do."
Alana loosed her mental hold, and the balls instantly dropped back to the ground, bouncing and rolling away. She let out a deep breath she didn't even realize she had been holding.
"Obviously it took you a lot more effort to do that than it normally would," Storm said.
Alana smiled weakly. "You think?" She looked at Jimmy, who was gaping at her slightly, shocked at what he had seen her do. "Good job! That was actually draining for me."
"But you're still able to retain your powers even when you're in this close contact to Jimmy," Storm pointed out. "The only one who's ever managed resist his influence so far. It's no wonder the cure didn't hold on you."
She nodded at Kitty and Peter, who came forward to collect and put away the scattered dodge balls. Logan started bringing out the metal weights. "Now rest up a minute, and then let's try it on heavier loads…"
The exercise proceeded the same way for the next half hour. Alana lifted various weights ranging from fifty pounds all the way to two hundred pounds, keeping contact with Jimmy all the while. As they progressed, Alana could feel the mental exertion actually growing less and less, even though the load was getting heavier.
Logan was right. Her powers were growing. This made her feel somewhat nervous, though strangely pleased with herself at the same time.
"Well, it looks like you might just be able to take on your maximum weight load today," Storm remarked, after Alana set down three hundred pounds of steel plates. She shook her head, obviously impressed. "Can you do some more? Five hundred pounds?"
Alana nodded, inhaling deeply to shake off the strain. "I think so," she said. "Let's see."
"Peter?" Storm called. "You're up."
Kitty looked at Peter worriedly. "I don't know about this," she whispered to him. "She's struggling with control today. Are you sure it's safe for you to act as her barbell this time?"
Peter smiled at her. "Don't worry, Katya." His face morphed into a shiny silver-black color as he changed into his steel form. "We've done it several times before. Alana can't hurt me. Besides, I trust her."
"That makes one of us," Kitty muttered under breath, as Peter walked off to join Storm and company.
"Relax kid," Logan suddenly said from where he stood behind her. "Your boyfriend's gonna be fine."
His words took a moment to register, then Kitty whirled around instantly. "He's not my…" But her voice trailed off when Logan raised a knowing eyebrow at her. The girl flushed and turned back around quickly. Not another sound came out of her after that.
"Don't drop me," Peter told Alana jokingly, as she began to levitate him about a foot off the ground, rising higher and higher but slowly.
"Never," Alana promised with a grin. "You're too cute for that."
After a few minutes, she had lifted Peter up to a level of about five feet. Her hold on him was firm and steady, and the ease of her control both surprised and excited her.
"All right, you can hold him up to there," Storm said, bringing out a stopwatch. "I'll start time—"
"I can go higher," Alana said suddenly. Her eyes narrowed and she lifted Peter a several more inches upward, testing herself. This effort strained her, but she ignored it. "I can do it."
Storm looked dubious. "Are you sure?" she asked. "This is your maximum height, even without Jimmy's powers affecting you."
"It seems easier now," Alana said. "Much easier. I can push further."
I want to.
"Pete, are you okay with that?" Storm called up to the young man now floating about six feet above them. "Think you can handle it?"
"Sure," Peter answered easily. The ceiling was no more than fifteen feet high, and he had jumped down from much greater distances than that without hurting himself. "Go ahead, Alana."
"All right, then," Storm said. "But just take it slow. Carefully. And when you start feeling like the strain is too much, just stop it there. You don't want to overexert yourself."
Sure, whatever.
In another few minutes Peter was hanging twelve feet above them, fixed solidly in midair as though a giant hand was holding him up as easily it would carry a feather.
"Whoa." Logan said, staring up at the sight. "We sure Jimmy's powers aren't making her stronger?"
Kitty frowned. "That's too high already," she said. "I think she should put him down now."
Alana's jaw clenched tightly. Her eyes squinted as she kept her gaze at Peter. Her head throbbed. Her brain actually felt like it was cramping up as blood pounded through it. Suddenly she was realizing how heavy the weight was. But it was still bearable. Something inside of her felt like she could do more. Push harder, lift higher. All she had to do was focus. Ignore the pain. Ignore everything outside of her.
"Alana. Alana, are you still okay?"
Storm's voice was calling her, but it sounded distant now.
Just a little more. It made her even more eager. Just a bit higher, and she could actually make Peter's head touch the ceiling. There was no reason to give up. She knew she could do it. Just a little more boost of power and control.
Kitty was the first to notice that something in Peter was changing. She shielded her eyes against the lights of the room and squinted up at him. The gleaming dark tint of his metallic skin seemed to be glowing. It was a dull glow at first, but then it gradually became brighter. Shiner. Reddish.
Focus. Push!
"Peter!" Kitty screamed.
They all watched in horror as Peter was thrown hard across the air, smashing hard against the thick, reinforced wall of the training room. There was a heavy crunch as he cracked and broke the concrete, then fell to the floor, crashing face down, his immense weight shaking the entire chamber.
Kitty, Logan, and Storm all rushed to their fallen teammate. The girl got to him first.
"Pete? Peter!" she cried, reaching out to grab his arm. She yelped recoiled just as quickly. Peter's metal skin was glowing with intense heat, as though he had been stuck inside a giant baking oven.
Peter groaned and sat up slowly. Holding a hand to his head, he shifted out of his steel form and became flesh again. His skin was slightly sweaty, but unscathed.
"You all right, kid?" Logan asked, kneeling beside him.
"I'm fine," Peter said, reassuring them with a weak smile. "Got the wind knocked out of me."
"Just stay put and relax for a minute," Storm told him. She then turned back to Alana, who stood frozen in place, still cluching Jimmy's hand. Her face was ashen with fear and shock. "What about you guys? Are you okay?"
"Is she okay?" Kitty burst out. The petite girl stood up and glared furiously at the culprit. "What the hell did you think you were doing? Were you trying to kill him? You were burning him!"
Even Storm seemed shocked her heated outburst. "Kitty, stop," she said firmly. "Of course Alana didn't…"
She didn't even get to finish her sentence of defense for her charge. Alana had simply turned and ran out the training room.
Slamming the door shut behind her and locking it, Alana paused to catch her breath, which was lost due to her unbroken sprint upstairs to the safety her room. Her trembling legs caved under her and she slumped to the floor.
Even up to that moment she still didn't know what to feel. It had all happened so fast. But what was that? What had she done? It was as if something had possessed her to keep going even though she should have just stopped. Then she lost control. She was such an idiot!
She scrambled towards her bedside table, where her cigarette case lay. She needed to calm her nerves, and fast. Her heart was still pounding, her mind racing. She could not believe what she had done to Peter. After he had been nothing but so nice and sweet to her.
She started sobbing as she pulled out a stick.
Logan was right. She was just being plain stupid if she still thought there was any chance of going back to her normal life. She was a mutant, and there was no running from it anymore. The best thing she could do for herself now was to learn how to control her powers. Maybe then she could find some use for them instead of always getting into trouble. How she wanted that so desperately now.
She held the cigarette up with shaking fingers. She focused on the tip. Then suddenly, she was blinded by a sharp flash of light. She screamed as a searing pain skimmed across the skin of her hand. A burning smell filled her nostrils and smoke stung her eyes. She coughed out the ash that had flown into her mouth.
Suddenly, Logan burst through the door, alerted by the sound of her cry. He saw Alana seated on the floor, clutching her left hand and grimacing in pain. He knelt beside her quickly.
"What happened?"
"The cigarette…" Alana whimpered. She opened her watery eyes and stared at the shiny red skin of her palm. "It…"
Logan frowned and took her hand gently. "Never try to light up anything again while you're in hysterics. Or use your powers at all. Your emotions make them unstable."
Alana sniffed and looked at Logan as he started examining her burnt hand. "Is Peter okay?"
"He's fine," Logan assured her. "It would take a lot more than a bit of roughhousing to make him feel any pain in his steel form."
"I didn't mean to hurt him," Alana whispered. "I thought I had it under control. I didn't know I was…that I could…"
"Of course you didn't," Logan said gruffly, but still sincerely. "It was an accident. We all knew that. Sometimes you just lose control. So stop worrying about it."
At that, Alana finally broke down in tears. As she trembled from her sobs, Logan sighed and sat down on the floor beside her. He was moment for a while as he gently cradled her injured hand in both of his.
"This isn't too bad," he said, touching the center of her palm lightly with a finger. He smiled a smile that she didn't see. "I gotta tell you, I'm a little disappointed. I thought you were a lot tougher than this. Now, you just cry too much. I think I liked the Ice Queen side of you better."
Alana finally raised her head. "It's not the burn," she said, trying to sound haughty, but her trembling chin gave her away. "What did I do down there? What's happening to me?"
"Your powers are just growing faster than we expected," Logan said simply. "That's why you have to train harder. You have to catch up to them. Rein them back in to your control."
"I'm scared." Alana whispered. "I feel like I'm losing it. I don't want to hurt anyone."
Logan looked at her silently for a long moment. At her ashen face, her look of desperation, at the tears shining in her green eyes. For the first time since he met her, she actually looked vulnerable. Something strange and new stirred inside of him.
"You won't," he finally said. "That's what you're here for. That's what we're here for. To help you."
He started to get back on his feet. "Let's go to the infirmary and get something for that burn."
Alana recoiled when he tried to help her up. "No," she said. "I…I don't want to go downstairs. Not just yet."
Logan shrugged. "Fine, stay here. I'll go and get some medicine," he said easily, and headed for the door. "I'll be right back."
"Logan?"
He paused at the doorway. "What?"
She mustered up a smile. Shaky, but still beautiful. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Their gazes met, and it was his turn to smile, for reassurance.
"It's going to be all right, Princess. I promise."
To be continued…
