A/N: Chapter 6! I'm sorry about this one... I hate it. But I need something fill the gap, and I wanted to introduce a few more mutants. The action will all be starting tomorrow with the first squad Danger Room session. Next chapter will include a lot of new characters as well, which may be a little confusing. I have no idea about the title of this chapter, but I couldn't think!
Chapter 6: Bickering
I had dressed quickly and exited the Infirmary, which was luckily right next to the elevator. As it climbed back up the mansion I couldn't help but rock on the balls of my feet. I had used my powers.. it had felt so amazing to do things you only saw in video games or films – but I had done it! And for the first time I had been conscious and controlling it. Part of me had always been scared that I would forever blackout and smash things without realising it.
I stepped out of the elevator and joined the general crowd moving towards the dining rooms, waving to Samuel. Once I had grabbed a plate of food (who knew I could be so hungry after the Danger Room?) and found everyone sat around the table.
My happy feeling was elated as I spotted Bastion lounging in his chair looking around uninterestedly next to Reya. Annabell sat slightly stiff with her arms crossed. I took a seat next to Charlie.
"Here he is! So, how'd it go bro?" he asked, stuffing more burger into his mouth.
"Okay.. I guess. Smashed the Danger Room up pretty bad though" I said with a embarrassed chuckle.
"Don't be silly, we all do. Its part of being in the Danger Room. But did Xavier did say anything else to you?..." Annabell said quickly, biting her lip, her miasma coloured eyes searching me.
I deliberately took a few dramatic moments to reply, making a fuss of drinking my drink. I could see Bastion staring now. "Do you mean about the X-men? And being asked to join the training program?" I said with a grin.
Reya clapped her hands enthusiastically and Charlie and Annabell cheered. Bastion simply raised his eyebrows. "I knew it! I knew it!" Reya recited.
"I can't believe it.. this place gets more and more amazing everyday. Danger Room.. X-men.. alien tech... seriously where does it end" I said with a laugh.
"The only thing now, is that you have to take Gym. Its part of the program... and Professor Logan is no push over. In fact, the only thing that could push him over is a out of control steam train" Annabell sighed.
"He did seem a bit.. gruff. He's pretty scary too.. but, its fine.. I can deal with Gym" I said, digging into my food. "Oh and I've got private lessons with Xavier this week"
"Thats probably to help understand how to activate or control your powers a bit more" Annabell said immediately "Obviously he wants you to be competent, and being the world's most powerful telepath means he's got some knowledge of powers to do with your mind" she said matter of a factly. I grinned, but inside I had just remembered how annoyingly pompous and self assured she was. I missed the moany, crying Annabell.
Bastion still hadn't said anything, but he leaned forward. "I wonder whose squad you'll be in then... I hope its mine" he said. The sound of his voice made my stomach clench up in butterflies. I tried to sound very casual as I deliberately looked into his eyes.
"Squad? What are you talking about now Bastion?" I said, teasing.
"Theres three squads, so that the training is split up and we can practice 'team work'" he sketched quotation marks around the world with a bitter laugh. I noticed Annabell flinch a bit and stiffened her arms. "Every Friday theres a squad competition... naturally my squad has won every one so far this summer" he said with a cocky grin.
"Easy dude, Blue's were so close last time!" Charlie piped up. "Yeah, you only just got to the flag before us!" Reya agreed, sticking her tongue out.
"If you say so, but Yellow have yet to lose. I understand why you lose though... at Yellow we aren't dragged down by certain people" Bastion said with a snide smile and glance at Annabell. She stuck up her finger and went to retort, but I quickly stepped in.
"So your in one squad, Yellow right? And you three are Blue's? Whats the other one?"
"Reds. Its not that there bad... they just don't really get on..." Charlie trailed off with a shrug.
"We were all selected randomly, so who knows where you'll be placed" Annabell stated "We have to train twice a week though.. Wednesdays and Fridays.. and Logan mentioned maybe Mondays because of the graduation exam soon!" she said with a moan, which was echoed by Reya.
"The squads graduate this year in a practical exam, after that we have to tutor a Danger Room session each week for younger students, and gain more responsibility" Bastion explained at the confused look on my face. He was staring so intently it made me blush. "But the best bit is that we get to get our own custom made costumes... sick of those black cat suits" he laughed.
"I quite liked mine! Besides its not a cat suit.. its comfortable" I replied.
"Well theres no doubt you'd look tasty in one.. hugging those little curves" he said with a glaze over me, as if he were imagining me to be a big ice lolly and he wanted to lick me all over. I spluttered into my drink and Charlie wolf whistled. Annabell however, looked sincerely displeased.
"I'm sure Max is more worried about the exam than the suits, right?" she said loudly and bossily. Ugh...
"I have to take part in the exam? But I've just started!" I piped up. I had done one Danger Room session, surely I wasn't ready?.
"Everyone has to. If you don't graduate, you study and work more for three months and re-take it. Again and again until you pass. Jean Grey and Samuel all have to do it, and they only started week before you" Charlie explained.
"I don't know why I'm complaining really – it was so fun! Scary but fun" I mused "And this squad thing sounds fun!"
"Yeah well, you had a free reign. These lessons are run by Logan, and you haven't seen sergeant major till you've stumbled through his workout" Bastion muttered, standing up and winking before waving goodbye. The bell signaling end of lunch followed and we returned our plates to the kitchen.
"Well, we've got the same time table dude. Next up is... English Lit, with Professor Munroe" Charlie sighed, consulting his lesson table.
"I like English actually! It was one of my best subjects at school" I said, following Charlie through the throng of students and up to the third floor.
"I don't do writing.. I can never get it out on the page. I'm much more of a shower than a writer" he muttered back, stopping to wave to a pretty red haired girl, who looked a few years older.
We reached the classroom and I took a seat next to Charlie. They were wide and very light thanks to the large windows.. much more nicer than my old school rooms. After a few moments of chatting, the door opened and the radiant Orroro Monroe entered and smiled to the class.
"I shall save you the embarrassment of having to come to the front Max – Everyone our newest student Max Clarke has joined the school. For those of you who don't know him, he is the young man at the back with the very lovely blue eyes" she said with a laugh – everyone turned and waved.
"Now, if you could take out your books and turn to page fourteen, we were analysing Shakespeare's last works..." The rest of the lesson was quite fun, and easy. Going to a private school had drummed hard work into me, and I was very ahead of most other people in the class when it came to Shakespeare.
The last lesson of the day was another History lesson (much to Charlie's displeasure) with Professor Summers. He turned out to be tall, dark and hunky! Even the metallic visor he wore across his eyes was kind of sexy, but Charlie told me it was to keep his powers in check. Charlie also introduced me to a boy with a build much like Professor Summer's, except he was blond. Although attractive, Alex Summer's arrogance shone through straight away, and I could tell we wouldn't get along.
He also seemed desperate to prove himself to his brother, launching his hand into the air at every question and trying to come out with a funny remark. I noticed a lot of the girls laughed a bit too much at the jokes, but Professor Summers didn't seem amused and he had to stay behind after the lesson.
After dropping our bags off back to our room, Charlie and me made our way down to dinner. As we entered the dining room, Bastion was leaving. Nodding to Charlie, he gave me a smoldering look and a wink before strutting off. Why was he so gorgeous? But so slippery?. I had thought a lot about the talk we'd had in the kitchen and I was desperate for a repeat. I wanted to suss him out.. was he a flirt, or did he generally like me?.
We talked with Annabell, Reya and Samuel over dinner. Upon mentioning Alex Summers, Reya and Annabell began to gush over how 'pretty' he was, and asked my opinion. "No way.. he's a total airhead for one – and the way he looks so smug whenever you look in his direction. No thank you!" I ignored the shouted protests of the girls and made my way to Xavier's office for our lesson.
Reaching his shiny handsome door, I raised my fist to knock when the door opened and the girl walking out almost collided with me. It was the pretty redhead from earlier, whom Charlie had waved to. Close up I noticed how brilliant green her eyes were.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she apologised.
"Its fine, accidents happen" I replied, picking myself up.
"Are you sure? I'm Jean by the way, Jean Grey" she said politely, shaking my hand. "I'm Max, I think we both know Charlie Brookes"
"Of course! He was telling that he had a new friend starting soon. Anyways, I'll probably see you around, I've gotta dash" Jean waved over her shoulder with a smile as she strode off.
I entered the familiar office and took a seat opposite Xavier. "Jean is a telekinetic like you, and new too. She's also been having extra lessons, I'm sure you two will become friends" he said confidently. Before I had chance to respond he ploughed on. "Now, these lessons are going to consist of exercises that I will teach you, enabling you to easier access of your powers. I'm afraid I must be quick as I have other matters to attend to tonight, but we will practice every night this week" I nodded and sat up straighter. I was itching to use my powers again.
It was quite bizarre really. Firstly Xavier told me to try and relax as much as possible and clear my mind of all thought and emotion. Well, that was a lot more easier said than done. He was lightly scanning my mind to ensure I was doing it properly, and it took a lot of urging and deep breathing. Finally, almost twenty minuets later I had cleared my mind.
I then had to focus on what it felt like when I used my powers, saying it outwardly to Xavier to remind myself. I told him of the echoing headache type sensation I had encountered, and he told me to try and focus on that as hard as possible.
A few moments later I could feel the echoing and the tingling in my head and hands, and Xavier congratulated me. "I'm afraid that is all we will be able to do tonight, but a lot of the mind telekinesis and telepathy require you to have a 'clear' mind. This enables you to focus properly. We will try this again tomorrow, and will have more time" he explained. "I want you to try it at random times throughout the day, just after waking, during lunch or a free period and so on. You must essentially train your mind to do this process a lot more effectively, and a lot more quicker. Practice is perfect Max. Good night"
That night I laid in bed and tried to clear my head as best as I could, but it was more difficult without Xavier's soothing voice and Charlie's loud snores. Eventually I began to feel the echo inside my head and smiled to myself.
The next day passed in a blur of lessons, and much to everyone's distaste – homework. I met another tutor at the Institute, Professor Braddock. She was a tall, pretty woman, with a striking purple streak through her sharp black bob. She was also very English, and didn't take any nonsense in her classes.
"Well thats it, I give up on Professor Summer's History essay. I'm stuck after the first part" Charlie sighed, pushing the paper away from him. We were sat in one of the large lounge rooms, grouped around a table.
"What parts that?" I asked, looking up from my own essay, almost halfway down the page.
"The title" he said with a sheepish grin. Reya burst into fits of giggles, while Annabell simply rolled her eyes. I could see Bastion out the corner of my eyes, slouched across one of the couches, idly flicking through channels.
I had spent a lot of time thinking about him. When it came down to it, I knew near to nothing about him. I liked to think I knew Charlie, Annabell and Reya very well, considering my short time here – but Bastion was still a mystery. I could either try and get to know him, or just enjoy the occasional flirting.
"Hello... Max!" came Annabell's sharp voice. "Finally. We were just saying that tomorrow is the first squad training session, so we were thinking of ways to integrate you into our squad. We've got a lot of tactics that are already planned, but I think we can shift you into a few to make them even better, and..."
"Annabell, how do we know Max is going to be in our squad?" Reya said, rather bluntly.
"Don't be silly Reya, obviously Max will be with us. Xavier is hardly likely to put him in a squad full of people he doesn't know so soon!" she scolded.
"He'll know me, so he might be in my squad" came Bastion's gruff voice, from right behind me. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and my skin erupted into goosebumps. I turned, and found Bastion staring down at me with a smug smile on his face.
"Don't be stupid Bastion. He'll be with me, Charlie and Reya – the majority" Annabell hissed."Now seriously Max, we need to talk about tactics and -"
"I'm pretty sure he'll be with me, you know" Bastion said loudly, over Annabell.
"He has a name..." I said with a frown.
"Sorry Max" Bastion said very clearly. I could feel his eyes on the back of my head.. but just him saying my name made me want to squeal.
"Its fine, really"
"Max, shall we go somewhere else? We can seriously discuss the moves we've got planned for tomorrow" Annabell piped up, beginning to pick up the scatter of papers around her.
"Or... we could just wait until tomorrow for Max to find out where he is? For all we know he might be with Red's" Charlie said with a shrug. This seemed to dumbfound Annabell who sat working her mouth trying to think of something to say. Apparently words failed her as she got up and stormed off, muttering under her breath.
"So Max, do you fancy a walk?" Bastion asked. I felt my head spin and stomach do flips. I half stood up.
"Sur- ah.. I can't. I've got too much work" I said, disappointed, motioning to the essays.
"Oh come on.. don't tell me your a bookworm?" Bastion sneered, plopping into Annabell's vacant seat. "No one else is working"
He was right. Reya was scribbling and drawing what appeared to be unicorns. I had gotten used to her baby-ish attitude, but there were times I really worried. And Charlie was staring over to the doorway. I turned to see a pretty blonde headed girl chatting to Jean.
"Charlie, let it go – Lacey is a write off" Bastion said, also noticing his staring.
With what seemed like a great effort Charlie pulled his gaze away. "Huh?"
"Don't go playing stupid. You know she's crazy" Bastion said with a laugh.
I gave an inquiring look while Charlie began to spout rejections to Bastion's statement but he smoothly began to talk over him, to me. With those gorgeous murky green eyes.
"Lacey Stannard is almost as bad as the Stepford Cuckoos" to save myself embarrassment I simply nodded as if I knew who they were "She was abandoned as a kid apparently, and brought up in some strange asylum orphanage thing. Anyways, she's seriously weird. You can be talking to her and all of a sudden she'll turn on you, getting really angry. Or she'll go the other way and go quiet and stuff. Its a shame really... she's pretty hot" Bastion finished with a glance over to Lacey.
I felt a small tang of jealousy, but he quickly turned to stare at me. He even mustered a dazzling smile. Oh my god! So hot!.
"She's nice really dude. Everyone's had a history" Charlie said defiantly.
"If you say so.. she's a screw loose" he turned back to me "Now Max, come on.. how about that walk?"
I had to seriously force myself to say the next few words. "I.. I really can't tonight. I want to get this done, and I doubt I'll have time tomorrow with Danger Room and Xavier's lessons. What about Thursday or something?" I could see Bastion's face slowly falling into a frown.
"Whatever..." he said slowly before slouching off. I felt my stomach drop – he didn't look impressed, or happy. What if he didn't talk to me anymore? Come on now Max, thats irrational. I convinced myself, but still felt myself waver.
After completing my work I bade Charlie and Reya goodnight, going over the excercises Xavier had taught me. Earlier, in our lesson, he had said he was impressed by how much I was applying myself and was confident I would be competent soon. I had to admit, it felt so good to be in control of my powers, and I was eager to try as hard as I could. As I lay in bed, waiting for tiredness to come, I levitated my watch around the room, thinking.
I felt like I had a bit of everything inside me at the moment. I was excited, I was nervous for the Danger Room exam on Friday, I was still feeling guilty and sad about not speaking to my parent's yet, and I was still so in awe of this place. What I did know for sure though, was that I was happier here.