Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Noah and his family.
A Display of Power
The scalding water hit Noah's back and almost instantly his muscles relaxed. As he washed the sweat from his body, he thought about John. Did he say the right thing? Yes. Would he want John to say the same things to him? Yes. Why hadn't he told John about his own sexuality? Should he have? No, the young fire mutant already had a lot to think about as it was. It was better that he let John figure it out on his own. He didn't need to know that Noah was gay too. Not yet.
He finished his shower and got dressed. Making sure he had his iPod and a book before he left the room. As he rounded the corner to the kitchen, he found John on the floor outside, seemingly lost in thought.
"Miss me?" He asked jokingly.
"Don't you know it." The sarcasm was thick in John's voice.
"You want an omelet?" Noah smiled as John perked up at the mention of food.
"Is that what you're making?"
"Yup," his smile stretched across his face. "I like mine with peppers, onions, bacon, and cheddar. You?"
"Um..." John wasn't sure how he liked his omelet. "Bacon and cheese sounds good."
"Hey," Logan looked up at Noah as he entered the room. "Come here for a second."
Noah looked to John before walking over to Logan and the others. "This is the kid that worked out with me this morning. Noah, this is Jean and Storm, you already know Cyclops." There was a hint of contempt in his voice as he said the man's mutant code name.
"Dr. Jean Grey?" Noah asked as he extended a hand to the red haired woman.
"Yes," she smiled and shook his hand, "you remember we spoke on the phone. It's good to meet you face to face."
Noah nodded and turned to the woman whose white hair seemed uncharacteristic for her age. "Noah Grayson." He extended his hand again as he spoke, suspecting that Storm wasn't her real name. He waited for the woman to introduce herself.
"Ororo Munroe." She smiled as she shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Logan doesn't speak well of too many people."
Noah blushed slightly. "It was hard keeping up with him; of course I love a good challenge."
"Do you always work out that early in the morning?" Jean asked.
"Usually I go for a run before school three times a week." He made an awkward gesture toward his head. "It's a good way to clear the mind."
"That's good," Storm stated before looking at both boys. "Do you want me to make some breakfast for you?"
"Well." Noah looked to the stove and saw two pans sitting on the front burners. "Actually I was gonna make omelets for me and John. If that's alright?"
"Make yourself at home," Scott said. "Eggs are on the bottom shelf of the fridge."
"Thanks." He smiled before turning to the cupboard in search of all the things he needed. He took out a cutting board, setting half a green pepper and half an onion on it then turned to John. "Will you dice these up while I start the bacon and eggs?"
"Sure." John's smile was less visible in the presence of his teachers.
Noah started the bacon and eggs at the same time. He flipped the bacon with a fork before flipping the one sided omelet in the pan. There was a glint in his eyes as he watched the food. He added the cheese and waited only a bit before taking the bacon off and breaking it up over the other pan, folding it in half before carefully sliding onto a plate.
"You really seem to enjoy cooking," Jean noted.
"Yeah, I've noticed I can think better when my hands are busy." He gave John a wink as he handed him the plate. John smirked before he put a piece in his mouth.
"Thi-ss 's weal goo!" He said with a mouthful of food.
"It'd be better if you let it cool first." Noah laughed.
"John." Scott's stern 'John Allerdyce' tone brought a scowl to John's face. "Chew your food."
Noah laughed louder as he slid his own omelet on to a plate. He put the pans, cutting board, and knife in the sink and rinsed them off before putting them in the dish washer and turning to his own food. "It was nice to meet all of you." He said before motioning for John to follow him to an empty space at the table. John's scowl scared half of the other kids into getting up and leaving. This made Noah laugh again as he stuck some food in his own mouth.
"Mm!" He swallowed and looked at John. "Milk?"
"Mhmm." was his response. Noah quickly retrieved the beverages and brought them to the table. "Thanks."
"Sure." Noah's smile crawled from ear to ear as he watched John eat, blowing on his food this time. Noah's face fell slightly as Rogue walked into the room, Bobby not far behind her. John followed his gaze, staring at Bobby for a moment. Noah couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw pain in John's eyes as they rested on their laced fingers.
"John," he whispered, trying to snap him out of it, "just be cool and wait for the right moment to pull him aside."
John nodded as his face squirmed into a sort of scowl that only exasperated the look of pain on the boy's face. Bobby sat next to John and Rogue sat next to Noah. The only ones in the kitchen now were the four teens and Storm, who was making eggs for Bobby and Rogue. Rogue was the only one at the table that didn't have the knowledge of events between the two boys across from her. Although she didn't know what had happened, it was obvious that she felt the tension in the air.
"Here you go," Storm said as she placed plates of bacon and eggs in front of the other two.
"Thanks Storm," Rogue gave her a small smile.
"Yeah, Thanks." Bobby agreed. She turned and left the teens to eat their breakfast in peace.
"If I had known you guys were gonna be coming down so soon, I would have made omelets for you too." Noah said, breaking the awkward silence while shooting Bobby a look.
"Don't worry about it, hon." Rogue looked over at him. "How'd your first night in the mansion go?"
"I woke up too early, so I worked out with Logan." Rogue and Bobby nearly chocked as he said this.
"I thought the same thing," John piped in, seemingly more chipper, "but sure enough when we walked in Logan introduced him to the other teachers."
"Wow." Rogue said. "Was it hard to keep up with him?"
"I think he was going easy on me." He looked down at his plate and saw it was empty, of course John's was only half done. Rogue had been picking at her food, but she didn't seem interested in eating much. He stood to clear his plate and Rogue followed suit, scrapping some of her food onto Bobby's plate.
"I guess someone has to show you where everything is huh?" She asked Noah.
"Well John hasn't been too much of a help in that department." Noah smiled. "Why don't you show me around while the boys finish breakfast?"
"An excellent idea," she threaded her covered arm through his and began to pull him, "I want you to meet my friend Kitty."
Just before the pair disappeared into the hall, Noah's eyes met with John's and Bobby's. The two friends sat in silence before Bobby started. "What did you tell him?"
John stared off as he spoke. There was something dark and sad in his voice. "The truth Bobby and you know what? He doesn't care. Not that I'm gay or that you're messing around on Rogue, but he does c-" John stopped, forcing himself to look up at Bobby for a moment before turning away again. "He's not going to tell anyone. You're safe."
The silence they sat in after that started making Bobby even more uncomfortable than he had been a few minutes ago. "So, Jo-"
"Wait." John's eyes came up to meet Bobby's. "This whole thing…What exactly do you want from me? Are we friends, fuck buddies, or is this something more for you?"
Bobby seemed thrown back by the question. His eyes were wide as he stuttered out a response. "I-I don't know..."
"Well do me a favor and figure it out." John stood plate in hand. He'd just lost his appetite. "Once you're ready, you know where to find me."
Before Bobby could object, John left the room, leaving Bobby alone at the table. John's chest felt tight as he walked down the hall. As he passed the rec-room he saw Rogue, Kitty, and Noah, sitting in the plush chairs and couches, talking about something. Noah's eyes met John's for a brief moment before John turned and continued up the stairs and down the hall to his room.
Noah politely excused himself from the girls and made to follow John. At the top of the stairs Logan was waiting with Storm and The Professor right behind him.
"Hey kid," Logan said in his scruff voice, "I was talking to the Professor and Storm here and I brought up our workout this morning."
Noah was getting tired of hearing about this already. "Oh?" Noah looked past Logan just enough to see John standing outside their room, listening to what the adult mutants were saying to him.
"Yes," The Professor's calm voice managed to demand attention without a harsh or overpowering tone. "I would like it if you and Storm here would do a light training session in the Danger Room downstairs. I've been intrigued by you're previous display of control over your abilities and would like to see if there is anyway in which I can help you gain even more control over them."
Noah wasn't completely sure what a Danger Room was, but was willing to try it out at least once, "Uh right now?"
"Yes." The Professor turned his wheel chair in the direction of the elevator and spoke again "John, would you like to join Logan and me on the observation deck?"
John's lack of surprise came from living in the mansion with the Professor for years. "Yes, I would Professor Xavier."
John and Noah walked behind the Professor, Storm, and Logan toward the elevator. Once in side, Noah asked. "So what's a Danger Room?"
"It's a holographic training simulator." Storm said. "We use it to practice fighting with and using our powers, not because we plan on fighting anyone, but so we can be prepared for real situations where our abilities might be the only defense we have."
"I guess that makes sense." Noah said, looking at John who was staring quietly, obviously lost in thought. "But I've never used my powers while fighting someone. Not really. I can only slow one or two things and if I lose control it gets a little ugly. I can't stop mutants either so-"
"I believe you have more potential than simply stopping one or two things at once." The Professor stopped just as the elevator doors opened into a metallic looking hallway with florescent lights and no windows. "Try to relax and remember, this is just to gauge your abilities. This way John." He said as he rolled into the hallway and to the right.
"Follow me." said Storm as she walked past the Professor. "Do you have any questions first?"
"Um yeah," Noah seemed a little nervous, "I'm going to fight you right?"
"Yes." She replied with a smile on her face.
"What exactly can you do?"
"I can manipulate weather, hence the name Storm." She smirked at Noah.
"We're ready Storm." The Professor's voice came over a speaker as the door they were standing in front of opened.
Storm walked into the middle of the room and turned to face Noah who was walking in slowly and observing the large room. The door closed behind him and a computerized female voice filled the room. "Activating Storm-Student Training Program: Class 3", The room suddenly changed into the roof of a sky scraper. There was enough room for two helipads and an elevator on the opposite side of the roof from Noah. Storm stood in the middle, her eyes were white and dark clouds were swirling above her head.
"Your goal is to get to the elevator," she started to fly upward much to Noah's surprise, "I'm going to try to stop you."
Noah smirked as he took a running stance. Thunder pierced the air as a bolt of lightning crashed down on Storm. Noah was running across the first helipad. She extended her arms in his direction and a bolt flew toward him. Just as it was about to hit he flipped into a front hand spring and dodged the lightning. Once on his feet again he turned to her let out a pulse of energy and started running again. The energy struck her and she began to fall, the color returned to her eyes only for moment before she began to spin around like a tornado and recovered to an upright position.
Noah was halfway to the elevator about to hit the second helipad, when it started to hail. It was obvious she was holding back, the hail didn't hurt him, only slowed him down while creating a slippery surface, preventing him from using any acrobatics safely. He flipped around at the sound of thunder and extended his hands, stopping the bolt inches from his anatomy. He quickly rolled to the side and sent another pulse of his power at her, the hail stopped as she began to fall again, this time her eyes remained white, as she summoned another air current to lift her. Noah saw her eyes weren't changing back and continued to send pulses of energy toward her, while running toward her estimated landing point. She gave up and focused on landing. As soon as she landed she had to block a kick to her head. Standing up quickly now, she saw that Noah was right in front of her, in a fighting stance. She assumed a similar position and right before she landed a blow, Noah started back flipping toward the elevator. She paused only briefly before her eyes went white and she began floating after him again. He was half way through the second helipad when the sound of thunder made him stop flipping just enough to see a bolt crash down right where he would have been, had he kept moving. He tried to send a pulse at her, but she quickly began climbing higher and higher, soon she was out of his range, but he wasn't out of hers.
Hail started again, slightly harder than the last time, he quickly turned and sprinted toward the elevator. There was another crash of thunder behind him and he flipped around to stop the blot, but he wasn't fast enough. The bolt crashed down just below him. The pain that tore through his body was brief but intense enough to bring him to his knees. When it finally subsided, he screamed as loud as he could and threw his hands up in the air. There was a visible ripple of energy around him. His voice got louder as the energy flew away from him, ripping the hologram apart, sending the hail upward, and when it hit Storm, she began to fall. The air around her was rippling, making it difficult to see the floor below her. Noah saw her tumbling and immediately ran underneath her. His knees buckled as she landed in his arms. When the ripple of energy dissipated and the hologram repaired itself, Storm softly spoke with a smile on her face. "End Session."
"Ending Storm-Student Training Program: Class 3"
The room began to shift back to its regular form as the Professor spoke over the intercom. "Logan is going to escort John back upstairs. Storm, would you kindly show Noah into my office?"
"Of course Professor." Her smile grew even wider as she motioned for an out-of-breath Noah to follow her through the halls. "That was impressive Noah, where'd you learn to fight like that?"
"My Dad insisted I take martial arts classes, I insisted I needed gymnastics. As a result I'm almost a black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do and Ju-Jit-Su." A long inward breath, "That can do black flips, handsprings, and cartwheels to dodge."
She laughed, and stopped in front of another elevator. "Press the second floor button and you'll be in his office," She smiled at him, seeming to sense his nervousness, "I'm sure he just wants to go over a few things with you."
Noah smiled and entered the elevator, pressing the button for the second floor. The doors closed and the elevator sprung to life.
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Author Notes: Once again I give my special thanks to Spiras Stargate for Beta Reading my stuff.