Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter has taken so long, I blame school.
Maid of the Mer: Sorry again that this wasn't exactly soon, but here's the update that you asked for.
CharmedPhoenix500: I've kept writing, and I think I'll keep writing it until the story ends.
momkiandboom244: It's not over yet.
Sal: Sorry to make you wait my love.
EvilEyeKat: Yeah, I rather enjoyed writing that LOTR sequence myself. I was actually watching Fellowship of the Ring at the time if I recall, hence why it was the movie. Ah, hooza for originality eh?
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Chapter 5: Lucas' Story
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Ah, Sunday morning. A time for all sorts of things: Breakfast, Church, Football, Sleep, and all sorts of other activities. The sky had cleared since the previous night and it was only partially covered by clouds now. The rain had stopped but the ground itself was still wet rather than being dry enough to do anything on. All of which went un-noticed by Schizoid as he lay in his bed, sound asleep.
Edward, his roommate, on the other hand was already awake and moving. The light from the window illuminated him, without the light on. A canvas was set up on an tripod in the middle of the room, a tarp beneath it protecting the carpet. He sat in front of it mixing paints, preparing the right colors for his next portrait. He looked at those that hung on the wall, his gaze stopping extra long at the one of the young woman.
"What are you doing?" Schizoid asked as he sat up in bed. His black dread locks moving with him.
"Painting." Ed answered. "Scott asked me if I could make one of him and Jean."
"Is that what you do all day?" Schizoid asked as he sat up in bed.
"No." Ed answered with a slight smile.
"What else do you do?" Schizoid asked.
"Schoolwork mostly." Ed answered as he stood up and went to the closet for something.
"Schoolwork?" Schizoid asked as he moved the blanket off of him and started to get out of bed.
"Well this is after all a school." Ed gave a small laugh. "I guess I write sometimes too."
"Like stories?" Schizoid asked curiously.
"Like letters. And poetry." Ed said bringing another group of paints to the area in front of his canvas.
"Letters to who?" Schizoid asked.
"Well you're just full of questions aren't you?" Ed asked rhetorically.
"Shouldn't we be?" Schizoid asked with a mocking tone in his voice. "After all, who was ever harmed by a question."
"The cat." Ed answered.
"What?" Schizoid asked.
"Curiosity killed the cat. Remember?" Ed asked with a small laugh. "Oh, and by the way. The professor stopped by earlier. He said he wanted you to stop by the office once you were up and ready."
"Okay." Schizoid said with a nod before he went into the bathroom.
A while later a freshly showered Schizoid came out, his hair still wet. "We're going to need some new clothes." He commented.
"Here." Ed said walking over to a chest of drawers. "You can wear this for now." He tossed him a black hoody. "Once you go shopping you should be able to get some clothes of your own."
"Thanks." Schizoid said as he put it on and continued getting dressed.
"Are you going to come with us to see the professor?" Schizoid asked.
"No." Ed answered with a shake of his head. "Have fun."
"Do you ever leave this room?" Schizoid asked.
"Sure I do." Ed answered. "I have a few friends. I'm just very selective in who I let see me." He said with a smile.
"Markus thinks you're kinda weird." Schizoid said as he got ready to leave.
"Like I really care what someone trapped in someone else's body thinks about what is weird." Ed answered with a laugh.
"He does have a point Markus." Schizoid said, talking to himself again. "JT thinks you're cool. So does Lucas. Lucas likes the paintings. Anyway, we're gonna go see the professor. See ya." Schizoid said as he opened the door.
"Have fun." Ed said with a slight wave as Schizoid left.
He walked down the hall and headed back downstairs, glancing behind him only once to note that the door had disappeared once it had shut behind him. Ed sure did like his privacy, but he seemed cool enough. Two out of three approval rating. There didn't seem to be much activity going on in the mansion, though there were a few people up and about that he didn't recognize.
"Are we hungry?" He asked himself as he headed down the stairs. "We could always stop by the kitchen before we go to the office." He added. "Just for a second?" He asked. "Well no, Lucas isn't that hungry really, just a little nibble kind of appetite." He said as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Fine. Office first."
He stood outside the office in no time, but the door was shut so he didn't feel it was polite to just barge in. He knocked first, and the professor said he could come in, though it sounded as though the professor was next to him rather then on the other side of the door. "Professor?" Schizoid asked as he came into the room.
"Ah yes. Schizoid. I wanted to ask you if you'd be willing to do something for me." The Professor said as he sat behind his desk. Jean and Scott both sat in chairs in front of the desk and all looked to Schizoid as he came in.
"What?" Schizoid asked.
"Well I was wondering if you'd be willing to meet with Jean once a week." The professor said with a slight motion for Schizoid to take a seat.
"What for?" Schizoid asked as he sat down. "To do more tests? Does Jack need more tests? Or Lucas? Or Markus?" He asked curiously.
"Actually I was wondering if you'd be willing to do something like a counseling session here once a week with her. It's natural for the students here to have some abnormal stresses in their lives so we try to match them up with a counselor to help them cope with the changes that are happening in their lives." The professor answered.
"We don't... know..." Schizoid said unsure of what to do. "Can we think about it?"
"It isn't mandatory, but I thought since you were new here, and still trying to learn to cope with your new situation that you might be able to benefit from confiding in someone about it." The professor said with a slight smile.
"Well... we suppose..." Schizoid said with a slight shrug. "When would the first session start?" He asked cautiously. "Today? Right now? Tomorrow? At the end of the week? Wednesdays? A year from now?"
"Whenever you want." The professor answered.
"I promise you that whatever you say will be confidential." Jean reassured him.
"We're not worried about that..." He seemed reluctant, but at least he would have someone to talk to. "Okay." He said with a slight nod.
"Thank you." The professor said with a slight smile. "Now. I understand that you don't have any clothes?"
"Yeah. The... hospital... supplied fresh clothes for us, now we need some regular ones." Schizoid said. "But we don't have any money."
"I wouldn't worry too much about that. Scott and Jean will be taking you to the mall to get some new clothes." The professor said with a nod as Jean and Scott stood up. "Are you ready to go now or do you need to take care of some things first?"
"Now's fine." Schizoid said with a smile.
"Let's go then." Jean said with a smile as she and Scott started towards the door.
Schizoid's hair changed to red and his eyes to green before he stood up. "Aye lass." He said with a smile and a nod. The change caused Scott to give him a look. "What's the matter?" Schizoid asked looking at him.
"Did your hair just change color?" Scott asked.
"Aye. Right. Shades of red. Lad. The change of hair means change of person. Markus now, Lucas then, Jack later perhaps." Schizoid said with a slight smile.
"Right..." Scott said looking to Jean who merely smiled and acted as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Obviously this was just something Scott was going to have to get used to, the rest of the faculty seemed to be able to handle it just fine.
The three left together taking Scott's car as the professor returned to his work at his desk. The car ride started out quietly, until Jean began to talk to Schizoid while he sat in the backseat, with Jean in the passenger seat and Scott driving.
"So before you came to the school, did you know anyone else who was a mutant?" Jean asked.
"Lucas knew Markus and JT. Markus knew his half brother's half brother Joe, and his old roommate in college. Long story lass. And Jack's sister." Schizoid answered. "We all knew some here and there. Why?" He asked a hint of curiosity in his voice. It was unusual to be questioned or asked that, or at least he hadn't been asked that before. "Oh, and one other at an Asylum before we were moved to the one here." He explained.
"Was he like you?" Jean asked.
"No. He was homicidal. Seriously out of his mind." Schizoid answered. "Tried to kill us. If it hadn't been for Jack we would have died."
"How were you ever in a situation where he could have done that?" Scott asked.
"There were certain... abuses at our old Asylum. The night shift liked to have some entertainment." Schizoid answered. "Basically, they were shut down by the law, and we were moved to seperate asylums."
"I'm sorry." Jean said.
"Yeah. Psychiatrists, doctors, Asylums, etc. They're not real high on our respect list." Schizoid said.
"So what kind of clothes do you like?" Scott asked as he glanced into the rear view mirror.
"Depends on who you're asking." Schizoid answered. "Markus likes Jeans and T-Shirts with sarcastic sayings. Lucas prefers the baggier pants baggier shirts, hoodies, etc. Jack likes the more classic clothes. Collar shirts, the classier end of things."
"Three different styles huh?" Scott asked.
"At this point we're willing to wear anything other than this hoody and that annoying jacket." Schizoid answered with a small smile.
The car pulled into the large mall parking lot as the group came to a stop. Jean and Schizoid got out of the car first, with Scott following behind and catching up to them as they neared the doors.
"While we're in here." Scott said as he opened the door for them. "Try to refrain from talking to anyone. We don't want people thinking you're crazy."
"Aye lad. We promise not to get you into trouble." He said with a slight smile as his hair shifted to black and his eyes to blue, noting that no one was around. A Jamaican with red hair would kind of give them away as odd.
"So what store should we go to first?" Jean asked.
"Sears?" Schizoid asked with a shrug of his shoulder. "I don't know." He said as they entered into the mall.
The three wandered the downstairs hall of the mall for a little while before coming to a neat clothing shop. They wandered in, with Scott looking at the more formal end of things, and Jean looking more at the practical and comfortable end of things. "Do you know what your sizes are?" Jean asked.
"It's been a while since..." He was about to say 'we' but he new Scott didn't want him to... "The last shopping trip." He said with a slight shrug.
"Okay." Jean said scrambling through a few articles of clothing. She seemed to be sizing him up by eyesight. She handed him three pairs of jeans, while Scott handed him a collar shirt, and a t-shirt.
"No, I don't think Green would look bad, it'll match." Schizoid said.
Scott looked at him. "Try to refrain from talking to yourself while we're in public."
"Sorry." Schizoid said with a shrug. "It slips sometimes."
"It's okay." Jean said with a reassuring smile. "Why don't you go to the dressing room and we'll just bring you clothes while you hand back the ones you don't like?"
"Okay." Schizoid said with a slight nod as he headed towards the dressing room.
Two and a half hours later
"Your total is two-hundred and seventy four dollars." The clerk behind the counter said as he pushed forward four large bags full of clothing.
Scott paid the man, and he and Schizoid took the bags. Jean smiled as the three left the store, with enough outfits to last him about a week and a half.
"Now for formal wear." Jean said with a smile.
"We have a Sunday outfit." Schizoid replied.
"No, you need a suit." Jean said with a cheerful tone.
"No." Schizoid answered. "No we don't."
Scott shook his head. "Let's just get back to the institute. I'm sure the professor is waiting for us."
"I wouldn't worry about the professor." Jean said with a slight smile. "Are you hungry?" Jean asked looking to Schizoid.
"A bit." Schizoid answered.
"The food court's upstairs." Jean said with a slight smile as she nodded to the escalators. They headed upstairs and walked a bit to the food court with Schizoid looking around a bit as they passed shop after shop.
Upon reaching the food court Schizoid seemed to make a decision with relative ease. Chik-fil-a. He smiled and looked to Jean. "This one okay?"
"Sure. What do you want?" Jean asked as she and Scott joined him.
"Chicken sandwich... waffle fries... vanilla milkshake." Schizoid answered with a slight smile.
"Okay." Jean said with a nod. "Scott, why don't you guys go find a table? I'll get the food." Jean said with a nod.
"Okay..." Scott said with a slight nod. "Come on." He said nodding to Schizoid.
He and Schizoid wandered a round a bit and finally picked a spot near the fountain. A group of teens across the way a bit, and an elderly couple on the other side of them. The table was large enough for four people, and Schizoid sat across from as they sat down.
"So you and Jean are married?" Schizoid asked.
"No." Scott answered. "We're dating."
"You gonna ask her to marry you?" Schizoid asked.
Scott paused and looked at him for a second. "I suppose so..."
"Markus says you're scared." Schizoid smiled.
"I'm not scared. I just don't want to scare her away." Scott answered.
"Jack says not to push you. People do things when they're ready." Schizoid says with a smile.
"Jack sounds like a smart guy." Scott said, almost unable to believe the fact that he was buying into this three person thing.
"So does your power have to do with your eyes?" Schizoid asked.
"Yes." Scott answered.
"Why the shades?" Schizoid asked.
"Because otherwise I would destroy you and everything I look at." Scott answered.
"The shades keep that from happening?" Schizoid asked, seeming ever so curious as to the nature of Cyclops and his powers. He didn't know much about the X-Men's powers and such individually, but he was learning.
"Yes." Scott answered. He didn't seem to want to get into things too much.
"Lucas likes the shades. Markus says they make you look cool." Schizoid said with a slight smile. "Maybe you can start a trend."
"So Lucas is human?" Scott asked, effectively changing the subject.
"Yeah." Schizoid answered.
"How do you know you're not a mutant?" Scott asked.
"Because the doctors said that his X-Gene was dormant." Schizoid answered.
"What doctors?" Scott asked cocking his head a bit.
"The doctors at the hospital." Schizoid answered glancing to the line where Jean was standing. She was ordering now.
"Why were you at a hospital?" Scott asked.
"Because he was sick." Schizoid answered. "Why?" He was obviously becoming uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.
"Just curious." Scott answered. "Were you sick mentally? Physically?"
"Physically." Schizoid answered. "We know you think we're just crazy. We're not crazy." Schizoid said seeming to get a little bit angry, as was evident by his tone of his voice.
"Calm down." Scott said straightening up a bit.
"Sorry." Schizoid said as he slouched a bit in his chair. "Lucas doesn't like you."
"I don't care." Scott answered. "Let's just eat our food and then we'll go back to the Institute." He said as Jean came over carrying their food.
She sat down next to Scott and handed out the food to the respective persons. She smiled. "So what were you boys talking about?"
"Powers." Schizoid answered.
"Interesting." Jean said with a smile as she handed Schizoid his food.
The first thing he did was take the milkshake and drink a good portion of it before he even touched his food. Then he ate his food, and finished his milkshake without a word. His disposition had changed. He didn't seem as cheerful.
"Is everything okay?" Jean asked.
"We're fine." Schizoid answered. "Lucas is just upset."
"Why?" Jean asked.
"Because." He answered.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Jean asked cautiously.
"Not now." Schizoid answered.
"Okay." Jean said with a small smile as she finished up her food as well.
The three of them finished and headed out with the bags, piling them into the car. Schizoid curled up in the backseat and appeared to be napping. His eyes closed. He really was kind of small and scrawny after all. He was short, for his age, about five and a half feet tall, and he was very skinny and scrawny, no real muscle to him. He looked kind of funny curled up like that, with his dread locks covering his face from view.
"What do you think?" Jean asked as they drove, as Schizoid seemed to be asleep.
"I still think he's unstable." Scott answered. "I hope the professor's careful."
"He knows what he's doing." Jean said with a small smile.
Scott didn't answer. The rest of the drive was quiet, with Schizoid waking up when the car turned off. They got out, and Schizoid took the bags, and took them to his room. He didn't say anything, but he looked really tired. He trudged through the halls with his bags, passing his room initially. His door wasn't visible again. He stopped at the end of the hall and turned back, knocking on the door before he opened it.
Edward wasn't in the room, but his painting supplies were still in the middle. A now half finished product remained on the canvas as Schizoid set the bags on his bed. He took the clothes out and began removing the tags.
"Eventful trip?" Ed's voice made him jump.
"Where are you?" Schizoid asked looking around.
"I'm by the window." Edward said as he came into view. He was standing by the window with something in his hand.
"Don't scare us like that." Schizoid said grudgingly as he opened up the second bag of clothes. He unfolded them a bit and then took off the tags before going over to a chest of drawers. Opening the top drawer he stopped short when he went to put his clothes in. There were stacks of envelopes grouped together with rubber bands filling the drawer. "Um... What's this?"
"Letters." Edward said. "Here. I'll move them." He said as he reached over and began lifting them out.
"What are they?" Schizoid asked.
"Letters from her." He said pointing at the painting, the portrait of the girl, that was hanging on the wall.
"You two write each other?" Schizoid asked curiously.
"Once a week I get a letter, and once a week she gets a letter." He said with a slight smile as he moved the last one out. "Sorry about just sticking them in there, I didn't think I'd ever have a roommate."
"That's fine." Schizoid said with a slight nod as he began to put his new clothes into the chest of drawers.
The painting in the middle of the room looked halfway finished, at least you could tell who and what it was. It was another portrait. Scott and Jean sitting on a park bench facing each other, with flower bushes in the background behind them. Not much else on the painting was finished.
"That looks nice." Schizoid remarked.
"Thanks." Ed said with a slight smile. "I like it."
"So do you take requests?" Schizoid asked.
"Sometimes. I'm just doing this one cause Scott seemed to want it. Usually I just paint for my own benefit." Ed said with a slight smile.
"Why not try to make money at it? You're good." Schizoid suggested.
"If I did that then it would become work to paint, and I would hate the idea of picking up a paintbrush as much as you loathe the idea of doing homework. I'd rather it be fun, so I'd rather it be for fun. My own amusement more than anything else." Ed answered as he put the last of his paints away.
The room was silent for a few moments as Schizoid finished unpacking the bags, and Edward finished moving his painting so that it was out of the way. Edward sat on his bed and picked up a book, 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' as Schizoid sat down on his bed and seemed to contemplate something. The two were silent for a while, they didn't seem to have anything to say. Meanwhile in Schizoid's mind things were racing between the three people. He closed his eyes as he laid back on his bed, and soon began to drift off... or something.
"What should we do about Scott?" Markus' voice asked from the darkness that couldn't be penetrated by Lucas' eyes.
"He needs to understand we're not insane." Jack's voice uttered. "He needs to know that we're not unstable."
"But how do we do that?" Lucas asked.
"How do we do what?" Ed asked looking over to him. Evidently Lucas had spoken aloud.
"Oh..." Schizoid said sitting up. "Nevermind..."
Before another word could be said however there was a knock on the door. "Come in." Edward said with a slight nod as the door appeared on the wall before it opened. Scott was there.
"Your painting's not finished yet." Ed said with a smile.
"I'm not here for that. There's someone here to see you." Scott said looking to Edward.
"For me? Who?" Ed asked.
"I don't know." Scott answered. "The professor only told me to come and get you, and that someone is here he thinks you should meet, and he's waiting for you downstairs."
"Okay..." Ed said as he came towards the door. "I'll be right back Schizoid."
"Rightio." Schizoid said with a nod as he relaxed back a bit.
Edward and Scott exited the room, and began walking down the hall. It was clear Ed didn't know what to think, and clear that he wasn't quite sure who it was as he soon disappeared from sight all together. Scott reached the stairs and soon Ed was next to him, looking down at the professor sitting in his chair at the bottom of the stairs.
Ed began his disappeared from sight altogether as he began his descent down the stairs, with Scott following closely behind him.
The professor smiled. "Don't worry Edward. I asked for you because I thought you might want to help our newest student with their bags.
"You mean Schizoid? I thought his stuff was already in the room?"
"No, I'm not referring to Schizoid. I'm referring to a friend of yours." The professor answered as the front door opened. A girl about Ed's age entered, with a rather large smile on her face, though it soon turned to a look of confusion as she only saw the professor and Scott. She was suddenly embraced by arms that she couldn't see. Schizoid would recognize her from the painting that hung in Edward's room.
Elsewhere
Schizoid stood before a mirror looking at himself. His black hair hung to his shoulders as though it were exhausted and tired.
"So what do we do now? Go to school?" Lucas asked, looking into the mirror.
His hair turned to red as Markus answered, "No. I've got a degree from Oxford. We don't need to do highschool."
His hair turned blonde as JT answered, "What about Lucas and I?"
"You have access to my thoughts don't you?" Markus asked.
"Yeah. Kind of." Lucas answered.
"So you already know everything we'll learn." Markus responded. "We could even teach here."
"But we don't have complete access. We just have what you give us." Lucas answered.
"So Markus will just supply the answers as we go?" JT asked.
"Sure." Markus answered.
"No. That's cheating." Lucas said shaking his head.
"No it isn't." Markus defended.
A spark jumped from the light to Schizoid as his hair turned blonde. "Why don't we just wait and see what the professor says?" JT asked.
"The professor doesn't know what to do with us. We don't even fit in here." Markus said with a shake of his head.
"We have friends here. Ed, and Kitty, and the professor." Lucas argued.
"Great. Meanwhile the rest of the institute is scared of us, thinks we're insane, and locks their doors on us." Markus countered.
"They just don't know us yet. What would you do?" Lucas asked.
"How should we know what to do?" JT asked.
"Everybody just calm down." Markus raised his voice a little. "Why don't we go for a walk." He suggested. "Clear our head."
"Fine." Lucas said with a smile as he turned his back on the mirror. His black hair swayed as he put on a slight coat and left the room. The night was young, and he was in no mood to cooped up in doors.
End Chapter
Author's Note: Sorry it took so long.