Hello all!
Sorry for the long update, hope this makes up for it!
How're the characters coming along? Remember, that all of the OC appearances and personalities are based on real people (to the best of my ability) as well as their ideals and appearances. So Josh, Jake, Jordan and Caitlyn are all people I know. Everything except for their names is exactly how I view them.
Any questions? ENJOY!
PLEASE REVIEW!
Chapter 3: First Impressions
By the end of the week, Charles and Erik had managed to convince four mutants to attend the new institute – they had decided to call it the Institute for Gifted Youngsters – and Raven wasn't sure if she should feel terribly excited or terribly nervous. She was thrilled that her family was staying together, but the prospect of teaching and guiding these young mutants was incredibly daunting. She was only twenty-three years old, for crying out loud! How was she expected to know anything about teaching?
The sun was hot and stifling, and Raven found that it was all that she could do not to run back inside. Her hands fiddled endlessly with her white tank top, and she took a moment to examine her neon-green painted fingernails. They were so obnoxious against the deep cobalt of her skin…maybe she should've listened to Charles, and put on some sensible nail polish. The kids might not take her seriously–
"Raven!" a voice yelled, breaking her doubtful stream of thought and pulling her attention to the opposite side of the driveway. The girl squinted, putting a hand above her eyes in order to see the speaker more clearly. Sean was running toward her, his thick reddish-brown hair bouncing on his head as he went. In his hand was a bag that Raven assumed held his customary morning chocolate croissant. How that kid ate so much and yet stayed so thin was a mystery that seemed determined to remain unsolved. Sean stopped beside the cobalt-skinned mutant, and gave her a lazy hug with his free arm.
"I just saw the car coming up, they should be here in a few," he said excitedly, and Raven nodded curtly, rubbing her arms as if to ward off a sudden chill. Sean didn't miss the action, and gave her a comforting squeeze, moving his chin so that it rested on her head. It was a sign of affection that Sean was accustomed to giving to his close female friends, since he was so damn tall that he towered over most of the women in base. It had taken Raven some time to get used to this strange show of friendship, but now she was grateful for it, and let out a breath of anxiety.
"I'm okay, I'm okay," she chanted under her breath, and as if to test that theory, the car chose that moment to round the corner and appear in the small circular driveway that stood in front of the mansion. The windows were tinted, hiding its passengers from sight, and Sean beamed as he stepped away from Raven, waving cheekily before darting into the house; leaving Raven alone to her fate of greeting the new students. She glared at his back, and then remembered that the kids could probably see her through the windows. So she put a smile on her face – a smile that felt incredibly forced, but unfortunately it was all she could muster – and put her hands forward, folding her fingers together as she did so.
She could do this. They were just teenagers…right?
The door opened, and the first mutant slid out of the car. He looked to be around eighteen years old, and he was broad-shouldered and muscular, wearing a full-body camouflage outfit and sporting extremely short black hair. His face was hard and stern, with the beginnings of a moustache and beard. His eyes snapped to Raven, and he marched up to her, holding out his hand like an army sergeant.
"Hello ma'am, my name is Josh Strickland. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," the boy stated coldly, his face stoic and unmoving as he spoke.
Raven wasn't sure whether to salute or to laugh. So, torn, she decided to shake his hand in return. "Hi Josh…I'm Raven Darkhölme." The boy's hand was like iron, and she was glad to let go of the appendage after a painful ten seconds of vigorous shaking.
Josh nodded, and marched past her into the house after getting his two enormous duffel bags out of the trunk. While he did so, the rest of the mutants exited the limousine. In the lead was a tall slender brunette in her early twenties, with straight brown hair and a rather sharp and pointed face. Behind her was an athletic blonde – Raven guessed her to be seventeen or eighteen – with bright green-blue eyes and tan skin. Lastly, a young boy with short brown hair and a small smile exited the vehicle. The two girls looked up at the mansion with varying degrees of wariness, while the young boy – shockingly – seemed perfectly at ease, his dark eyes lazing over his two companions before returning to their consideration of the institute. The brunette was the first to get over her awe, and strutted up to Raven with a wide smile of happiness. Raven smiled automatically, and shook the girl's hand.
"Welcome," Raven addressed all of them, and the brunette answered with a blinding smile. Raven could feel the eyes of the blonde and younger boy on her, and knew they were rather shocked at her appearance. Raven had had enough experience with stares to learn how to tune them out.
"Hi, I'm Jordan O'Hara, and I'm so so so excited to finally be here! I'm a senior in college…or at least, I was," she said, laughing breathily as she finished. Raven nodded, and Jordan glanced at Raven once more, some of her confusion and shock showing through. Then, Jordan smiled again, and moved to get her numerous large bags. Raven shrugged, unsure of what to think of the girl. She seemed nice enough, if a little dramatic. The blonde girl smiled, moving forward to shake Raven's hand. Her grip was firm and warm, and Raven met the girl's even gaze.
"I'm Caitlyn Post. What's your name?"
"I'm Raven Darkhölme," Raven introduced, smiling at the girl. Caitlyn smiled automatically, and then shook her head, stepping back.
"I'm so sorry, but…I couldn't help but stare. You're the first mutant I've met who doesn't look…"
"Normal?" Raven supplied dryly, and was surprised to see Caitlyn earnestly shake her head, but not in the way that most people shook their heads to dismiss an initial idea, but in the way of someone who honestly disagreed.
"No, not normal. Just…not what I'm used to. Mr. Xavier told me that you were a shapeshifter…is this your natural form?"
Raven tucked a strand of glossy red hair behind her ear, her golden eyes studying the blonde carefully. "Yeah, this is me."
Caitlyn saw the distrust in Raven's eyes, and held up her hands pleadingly. "Please, don't be offended…I wasn't trying to put you on the spot. I'm just…extremely blunt when it comes to mutant stuff. I don't want any gray areas, y'know? This is all so new to me, and I just want to understand everything…"
The girl looked so honest and contrite that Raven's irritation practically dissipated after a few seconds. The cobalt-skinned young woman sighed, and nodded. "Yeah, it's okay. I get it a lot, so don't take it personally if I seem a little short when it comes to comments on my appearance."
Caitlyn nodded, and moved to get her things. As she did so, Raven turned her attention to the last mutant. He was patiently watching Caitlyn drag her suitcases up the drive, and seemed torn between helping her and introducing himself. Raven smiled, and moved forward.
"Welcome…what is your name?"
"Jake Leary." Raven frowned. The boy's voice was high and sweet, but there was wisdom behind his tone that made her look twice. The boy smiled toothily, warming a bit of Raven's heart and making her forget her wariness. He was so cute! It just made Raven want to–
"You can hug me, if you want," the boy said peaceably, and Raven's eyes widened. She knelt down so she was eye to eye with him, and frowned.
"Are you a telepath?" she asked, and Jake shook his head.
"No…I can feel what people are thinking. You were having really motherly and happy feelings…and so I just assumed…" he trailed off, shrugging. Raven stared at the boy, and she reached out instinctively to hug him. She was good at reading faces, and she immediately knew that this boy felt no fear or revulsion from her appearance. Jake folded into her arms, quickly and without hesitation, and Raven felt warmth flowing from him, a loving care that she scooped up gratefully.
There was no awkwardness when they separated a few minutes later, and Raven flushed as she realized that she hadn't even introduced herself. Jake smiled knowingly, and held out his hand. Raven grinned, and took it.
"I'm Raven."
"Nice to meet you, Raven."
Raven glanced back at the house, where she heard the rest of her team introducing themselves. She glanced back at Jake, who was smiling at her, his eyes warm and happy.
"Shall we go?" Raven suggested, and Jake's grin of excitement was answer enough.
Hank stood in the empty hall, staring at the four chairs that waited to be filled by the new students of the Institute. Raven wasn't there to encourage him, and her absence left the young man feeling a little lost. He caught sight of his furry appearance in the window, and a snarl left him. He clenched his hands into fists – I have claws, he thought with a swell of disgust – as he sat down on the edge of the desk with a huff of frustration.
It had been so difficult to accept the consequences of his defective serum.
He was a man of science; before this point in his life, nearly everything had an antidote. There was always ways to reverse affects on living things…or so he had thought. Now, because of his foolishness insecurity, he was covered in fur and had to resist the new animalistic urges that came over him. Sometimes, he just wanted to run and use these new fangs of his to just…kill–
He gripped the wood between his fingers so tightly that it began to creak, and at the sound Hank immediately loosened his hold. The air whooshed as the mutant hurriedly sucked a calming breath into his lungs. It did nothing to calm his mind, but the gust of smoky fragrance – there was incense burning on the desk beside him – brought his body back to normal levels of function. His shoulders relaxed, and golden eyes glared accusingly at his reflection in the window.
None of them understood. Not Erik, not Charles…not even Alex and Sean, both of which had become like brothers to him over the past few months here at base. Only Raven had a chance of understanding, and if not for her…Hank probably wouldn't have had the courage to show his face every day. She wasn't beautiful to him in her natural form, but in a way, she was more herself. Hank looked into her golden eyes – a few shades darker than his own – and saw Raven, not a beautiful blonde who he had trouble breathing properly around.
The mutant sighed, adjusting his glasses on his face before looking down at the four names that stood out on the clipboard. There was one good thing about having other mutants around…the possibility of studying their DNA and learning more about this strain that made them mutants. Hank had always been fascinated with genetics, and so the opportunity to study different subjects was especially exciting. He didn't expect to actually teach any classes, as he had made clear to both Erik and Charles.
Perhaps when they arrived, he could–
The door opened, and Hank's eyes snapped to the entrance of the room.
A piercing scream filled the air, chilling him to the bone and banishing all of the calm the scent of incense had left him with.
Erik growled under his breath as he gently lowered the unconscious brunette to the ground, careful not the bump her head on the chairs that were placed on either side. Alex and Sean were reassuring and comforting the other three mutant teens; they thankfully hadn't reacted quite as badly to the sudden appearance of Hank.
Hank had run from the room, and with a small sigh of sadness Raven had followed. Erik didn't approve of her coddling, but decided not to press the issue at present. He was already irritated at her for not warning the new students of the other mutant in base who had similar coloring to her own. Was she blind to their obvious age? It was impossible to expect complete acceptance and understanding from children…
Charles was rubbing his temples tenderly, his powers having reacted rather badly to the chaos that had been Jordan's thoughts until her panic had resulted in her mind shutting down. Erik hoped to meet his friend's eye, but the telepath was too focused on the other mutants to prove helpful. Erik turned away, and observed the students in question.
Caitlyn was nursing a bad bruise to the head, at which Erik couldn't help but smirk. It seemed that Caitlyn had a bad habit of jumping rather horribly at being surprised with loud noises. So at the sound of Jordan's scream, she had emitted a little yelp of surprise, her body jerking and sending her back first to the floor. Unfortunately, the wall had been in the way of her descent, and…the rest had followed accordingly.
Josh and Jake were still rather pale, but they were otherwise unharmed. Josh was an interesting young fellow, and Erik enjoyed the prospect of getting under the mutant's skin in the future. Jake, on the other hand…Erik didn't know what to make of him. The child was obviously very young, almost too young for this kind of education. It made Erik wonder what exactly had occurred that night in the foster home of Jake Leary.
A little boy sat in the chair, looking very small and very alone in the drabness of the orphanage living room. The orphanage mistress was very curt when they asked to see one of her charges, but with some persuading she finally allowed them to come inside. The mutant was dressed in a plain black shirt and jeans, looking thin but otherwise well-cared for. A small smile was on his face, but even Erik could see the distrust lingering just below the surface of his dark brown eyes.
"My name is Jake Leary. I've always wondered if there were others like me…"
Charles was staring at the boy so intently that Erik was tempted to wave his hand in front of the telepath's eyes in order to determine if Charles's mind was indeed focused on the boy before him. The boy looked back at Charles briefly, and his face did not change, the smile instead growing slightly. His eyes locked on Erik, and the metal-wielder felt a jolt of unease rush through him. But when the boy spoke, he spoke to Charles.
"There's no need to feel so confused, Mr. Xavier. I am what I am; my ability is something I've come to terms with," he said placidly, and Erik's eyes narrowed at the wisdom behind his voice. This boy, he seemed so old, so tired…and yet he spoke from the body of a twelve-year-old. It puzzled Erik to no end, and the man was about to ask what exactly this ability was when Charles spoke into the silence.
"Erik…please wait for me in the car."
Erik's temper flared, and he was about to argue when Charles's voice projected into his mind.
Erik, this isn't personal. I've seen…things in this child's mind that I need to address. Please, please let me preserve his privacy somewhat.
The mutant glared at his mind-reading companion, and with a small sigh of annoyance, got to his feet. Charles didn't shift his gaze from the boy before him, and Jake's eyes narrowed slightly in response. Erik glanced behind him before he closed the door, and saw Charles lean forward, and the smile slide off of Jake's face.
Then the door closed with a quiet click.
Erik frowned. Since that day, no one had yet been informed of what the boy could do. Charles, whenever asked, evaded the issue somehow, and Erik was close to cornering the kid and asking plain out what he could do. But something held him back, and part of Erik was ashamed that he was cowering like a puppy in the face of curiosity.
Alex was laughing at something Caitlyn said, helping her adjust her icepack against her head. Erik rolled his eyes at the blush that coated her cheeks at the feel of Alex's hand against her forehead, and snickered silently at Sean's angry face – the boy's face blotched red when he was furious. The supersonic teenager was being forced to listen to Josh's ranting about the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
"—completely unprofessional! I mean, honestly, the pause between 'One nation' and 'under God' is undermining the religious emphasis. In order for us to indeed be 'one nation under God', we need the public to understand that the pause does nothing but separate religion and politics. But in fact, religion and politics are one and the same. In fact, I was just studying–"
Erik was glad to be distracted from the heinous lecture as the sound of a groan reached his ears, and quickly focused his attention on the stirring Jordan. The room went silent as the girl opened her eyes, and stared in confusion at the group of people above her.
"Where am I? Oh…I feel so faint…" she swooned, holding a hand to her head.
"Can someone smack her, please?" Sean hissed, and Alex and Caitlyn laughed at the vehemence in his tone. Jake merely smiled, and knelt beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder in friendly comfort.
Erik grinned at Sean, folding his arms across his chest as he spoke. "Not today, kid. Might as well let her get her bearings before we start exchanging blows."
Charles sighed in exasperation, but Erik could not help but notice that he had not spoken out against the notion.
