AN: Here we go! Off on another misadventure with our new hero. After the last chapter, I hope that you guys are figuring out what exactly Luke's power is. It's not very complex, otherwise I wouldn't be able to come up with it. Also of note, Luke was inserted after the X-Impulse episode.
Either way, let me go ahead and disclaim this compilation of junk so I can keep my 3 dollars and 94 cents safe from lawyers. We all know that they would take it if they could. Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or any of it's characters or ideas used in this story. I only own my OC characters. Or do they own me?
Chapter 3
Heavy
Waking up a second time was a much more pleasant experience. Knowing where he was and not being in pain probably had a large part in that. Plus, he had guests. That was nice too.
The teen mutants had all agreed after their extra DR session that they would go visit Luke to apologize. After all, Logan had drilled it into their heads repeatedly not to leave teammates behind, but they had completely overlooked Luke when that exercise started. So now they were all standing around his bed, with looks that ranged from embarrassment to sympathy.
"You guys didn't have to. There's no hard feelings. It was my fault for not being able to make it on my own anyways."
Scott rubbed his head nervously at this. Luke didn't know that the team hadn't changed the difficulty down from the last time they had done the exercise. The turrets, while not deadly, were still on their hardest difficulty in accuracy and speed. Plus, they hadn't exactly planned for Luke. From the obvious strain he put into staying airborne, his powers weren't flight-oriented. Luke had been flying blind with what was expected of him and what everyone else was doing and could do.
Jean spoke up, interrupting the team leader's thoughts. "We should've been watching out for you. You're our teammate and we didn't even bother to get to know you before we left. We should've at least made sure that you knew what was going on before we left, but I guess we all thought that someone else would do it."
Luke laughed a little, easing himself up from his flat position and making sure he wasn't still sore. He wasn't much to his surprise. Normally after all of that power usage, he'd be sore for at least a day or so.
"How long was I out?"
"About 11 hours. It's close to 5 right now." Kurt said, checking his fancy looking watch.
"Alright. Well while you guys are all in here and I don't have anything else to do, why don't you guys tell me what you can do? That way I can know what to expect next time. And I guess I could tell you what I can do first. It was my idea after all."
The group brightened up after the suggestion. Luke seemed to have already forgiven them.
"What I do is almost like telekinesis, except it's not a mental power. I use a bodily motion to move things with a gray force. The strength of the force is dependent on the force emitted from the motion. I can push, pull, and spin things with my powers. When I was trying to float, I was just pushing off of the ground below. The thing about my powers though, is that after I use them, the muscles I use for the motion tear and hurt. It's hard to continue concentrating with my powers whenever that starts, which is why I dropped like a rock after a while. I have a healing factor that regenerates the muscles quickly, but I'm still sore afterwards. It's a pain, literally, but it's useful."
There was a discomfort in the room after Luke finished explaining, as if the mutants in the room weren't use to the idea of mutations causing the user actual pain with every use. More than likely, they all had powers that were easy to use and control. Scott cleared his throat and started explaining his own gift, going first because he was the leader of the small group of mutants. Lead by example and all that.
"My eyes emit an optic blast whenever I open them. It's like having constant laser vision. The only thing that blocks the blast is red quartz, like my sunglasses and visor. So don't mess with my glasses!" Scott finished his explanation with a mock glare. Maybe he did have a sense of humor somewhere.
Luke mentally crossed 'stealing sunglasses' off of his pranks list. He'd have to get more conniving than that. Jean stepped up after Scott had stepped aside, before starting her self-explanation.
"I have telekinesis and a mild touch of telepathy as well. I'm still working with the Professor on getting full control of my abilities, but he says that I'm getting pretty strong with them. I can use them to fly and levitate other people, to make barriers, or to do practically anything." Jean finished her explanation by lifting a lamp off the tableside near the bed, setting it back gently.
Kurt stepped forward, with his goofy smile on his face, waving his tail happily. "I'm sure you already have figured out what I can do, but I can teleport at will and climb most anything. And with this cool watch the Professor gave me, I can disguise myself as a normal person." Pressing a button on the side of the watch, the blue fuzzy Kurt disappeared and was replaced by a skinny kid with blue hair and dressed in baggy clothes. Luke tilted his head to the side, trying to find Kurt's tail, but it was gone.
"So that's how you go to school! The Professor said you guys went today, but I never thought about how you would go. That's so cool man. I bet you're glad to have it."
Kurt nodded and smiled, but Luke could tell that the smile wasn't real. Then it hit Luke how bad what he had said might hurt Kurt's feelings. After all, out of a house of mutants, he had the most apparent mutation.
"Not that you need it or anything. You look awesome as a blue monkey. A real party animal."
Kurt brightened his smile considerably at this. Stepping aside for the youngest on the team, Kurt flipped a thumbs up, or what looked like one due to his finger situation, and 'Bamf'ed out of the room, leaving behind a cloud of smoke and the smell of sulfur.
"He like totally left that part out about his powers. He leaves behind that horrible smell and smoke too."
Kitty remarked, glaring at the spot Kurt had just vacated, before turning to face Luke with a smile. 'Yeah, she really doesn't like Kurt at all. I hope she gets over her fear quickly for both her and Kurt's sake.'
"Anyways, I can phase through things if I concentrate hard enough. I only recently discovered my powers and it's like still new to me and everything."
Luke nodded his head before saying "I could tell. You don't act as confident of your powers as the others do."
Again, he realized how bad that sounded after it came out of his mouth. If he kept this up, it was going to be just like his old school, except he'd have to live with them. He corrected himself quickly, by adding "But that comes with time. Before long, you'll be strutting through things without a care in the world."
She giggled again at this, but Scott tapped her shoulder and jerked his head towards the door, a silent dismissal. The three remaining mutants left the med bay so Luke could rest in peace again. Luke wouldn't have it and quickly got up, wincing every now and then when he found a still sore spot on his body. Luckily, they hadn't changed him into a stinkin' hospital gown or something like that. He hated those things.
Leaving the room and setting off down the hallway in hopes of finding his housemates, he soon became lost. No footsteps were heard, no talking or anything for him to recognize. It looked like he was in the above ground of the mansion, but he wasn't sure.
"Hello? Anyone around?"
"Luke, are you sure that you should be up so quickly?"
After jumping high enough for his head to scrape the ceiling and turned to sheepishly look back to see the Professor watching him, amused by his reaction. The man had rolled up silently in his wheelchair, as impossible as it seemed in Luke's mind. 'That takes talent. Dude is rollin' in it.' A small snicker at his sad little joke got a curious glance from the telepath, but thankfully he didn't question it.
"I'm fine, Professor. A little sore, but fine. I told you my healing powers healed my muscles quick. From there, I'm operational, if a little uncomfortable."
The man nodded, before asking "Well, since you're right next to my office, we could go and talk. I'm quite curious about your history, if you're willing to elaborate. Maybe I could understand just how your powers work if you were to explain how you first used. That, or you could eat supper first."
A tad bit of apprehension rested on Luke for a moment, before he answered. "Let's go ahead and get it done. I'll eat later."
The man turned and went back down the hall, with Luke following him while trying to familiarize himself with the area. Luke recognized the area right when they got to the door of Xavier's study. The two entered, with the man rolling behind the table and Luke sliding into on of the comfy chairs in front of it. The two stared at each other in silence for a moment, before Luke broke it.
"What exactly did you want to know about me again?"
"The situation that your powers emerged. For them to emerge at such an early age usually requires a very emotional experience. I can understand if you don't want to talk about it, but if you are willing, I'm sure it will help me understand your powers better. If you want to leave out the people involved, that's fine. I just want your physical actions, your emotional state, and any thoughts that were dominant in your head."
'That's kinda asking a lot, isn't it? Oh well, let's see what I remember.'
"I was 7. 4 whole weeks before I turned 8. I remember because there was always a silly calendar tacked up in my room. I was home, watching TV while Hailey was coloring a purple elephant. Hailey is my half-sister, by the way." Luke said, clarifying for the telepath, who was just about to ask.
"Nothing good was on, so I was just flipping through the channels when my mom came home. After an argument, I wound up being locked in my room for the night. I threw a temper tantrum and before I knew it, I was bleeding out of my mouth and my favorite toy truck, the kind you wind back and they roll forward, was halfway through the wood in the door. Mom was furious, but she took me to the hospital anyways. The doctors cleaned me up and ran a whole battery of tests on me, but they never found the problem. In the end they concluded that it was a valve leak in my heart that went to my lungs and coughed it all up before the valve sealed it back up. The good news made Mom even more mad because she had to pay for all of those useless tests. After that, it would start happening whenever she made me mad. A pout in the grocery store would cause cans to fly off the shelves and me to hurt, but Mom never took me back to the hospital after that."
Charles didn't say a word, watching Luke carefully as he told his story. A very mild telepathic link between the two showed Charles the emotions held behind the words, as well as some of Luke's stronger thoughts. Most of them weren't nice thoughts, especially the ones that involved his mother. When it seemed Luke was finished with his story, Xavier asked carefully "When did you start consciously using your powers?"
Luke's face paled as he glanced at the clock, then back to the patiently waiting listener. "I was 10. Can we go get something to eat now? I guess I'm kinda hungry after all that power-napping."
Before the mutant could answer, a knock was heard at the door. A quick "Come in." revealed Kitty at the door, a nervous look on her face.
"Um, Professor, we have a serious problem. Luke's not in the med bay and we haven't found him in the mansion. What should we do?"
"He's been here with me for a while now, Kitty. Don't worry. We're just about to go eat supper if you'd like to join us."
The girl quickly examined the room, finding a still pale Luke standing up from his seat.
"Oh, there you are. I guess I got the others worked up over nothing. Are you sure you should be up and everything. You looked bad hurt in the med bay."
Was that concern in her voice? It was a scary thought to Luke. 'I've been here for one full day and she's worried. I'm not gonna fit in around here with all these soft-hearted people. I'm too big an ass.'
"I'm fine. A little hungry, but I think we can fix that. So are you coming or what?"
She nodded, and the trio of mutants made for the door, when Logan appeared, looking more distracted than normal for him. The look itself made Luke wonder what in the world could trouble a man as rough as Logan. Whatever it was clearly didn't trouble him enough to make him any less abrasive.
"Hey, Charles. You and me need to talk for a minute. You pip-squeaks scram!" Kitty certainly did, but Luke nearly stood his ground and protested, seeing he was a fair bit taller than Logan, but a strong tugging on his arm from Kitty lead him out of the room, which was quickly shut off afterwards.
Turning to his arm's current captive, he questioned "Does he ever become any less… What's the word I'm looking for? I can't swear cause I get the feeling that Xavier would probably flip a wig if I did. What else could describe Logan?"
Kitty laughed a little, which Luke was starting to find annoying that she laughed at everything, before answering "No, he's pretty much always like that. But deep down, I get the feeling he's a big old softie. You should see him around Storm. He's as docile as a lamb."
'Maybe a wolf in a lamb's skin. That man's more of a fighter than most of those monsters I saw in Frankfort. And those guys nearly ripped a guy in half!' Luke thought to himself. He was uneasy around Logan, as the man had an aura to him that Luke only felt in mutants who didn't need a reason to start attacking like animals. If not for sheer luck and his healing factor, then Luke would have a worse scars than what he did.
Shaking his head to clear his mind, he asked the girl "What do you wanna eat?"
Back in Xavier's study
The man in the wheel chair intertwined his fingers as he watched the beast-like man pace the floor. It was indeed troubling that Logan was this disturbed by whatever news he had found. Logan wasn't the kind of person to get worried over a drop of rain.
"We've got someone on the grounds, Charles. I caught their scent this afternoon, a few hours old. I tried to follow it, but it would vanish from one place, then reappear a good bit away. Our defenses never even activated to the presence. And I can't help but feel it's more than just a coincident that this is happening right after we get the new kid in our mansion. I told you that the kid could be bad news because of his line of work. He could bring an army here for all we know about the kid."
"I assure you that Luke as not intentionally brought anyone else to the mansion. He is of good conscience and what little I've discerned from his mind is positive, or at least not detrimental. He's not a model teen, or even a good one, but he has a good heart. He truly did want to leave his previous line of work behind. Did I tell you about when I first met him?"
Logan shook his head negative, staring out of the window and into the tree line, watching for intruders.
"He had a broken nose from being hit by a baseball bat. He had been jumped by thugs after completing a job for a client. Apparently, she wanted to tie up lose ends. But the results of her attempt shook Luke's faith in his ability, as well as his faith in other clients. He was going to quit, regardless of whether or not we offered the school to him. And he needs to be here. For him to be able to beat up goons like that with only a broken nose is pretty considerable for someone with no formal training. And according to Rebecca, he still has much more potential to unlock. If you are willing, I'm going to assign him personal time with you to develop his powers. Since they have such a physical aspect to them, I figured you would be the best to help."
"Fine. I'll take care of the runt in my spare time. But he better shape up quick, because Storm looked eager to teach him how to fly. Apparently Jean learned how quicker than Storm wanted, because she had planned out another month's worth of lessons."
Xavier nodded, before entertaining the notion he had before. "We'll set the defense system on full alert tonight to see if the intruder comes back. But for now, I say we go eat. What do you think?"
A grunt answered him as the two made their way to what once the kitchen. Right now it was a mess. Everyone else was already there and had made their food, with it ranging from ramen, to Chef Boyardee, to a hamburger. Logan smelled the grease off of an empty container of fries in the garbage and glanced at Kurt. He was going to regret eating junk food the next morning when he had to run all of those sessions in the DR.
Storm, Jean, and Scott were all at the table, enjoying their meal with small talk and peace. Luke and Kitty were sitting at the counter, with Luke eating his sandwich and trying to pay attention to Kitty's explanation on how boring her biology class was. Kitty had a bowl of cereal in front of her, but was simply pushing it around in the milk as she talked. Kurt was overhead, hanging over the light fixture by his tail while he ate what looked to be his 3rd fast food burger judging by the wrappers on the countertop. Wendy's was addicting.
The two men looked at each other before they both made their way to the table. Logan sat down and snagged the last chicken nugget off of Ororo's plate, much to her displeasure. Scott caught on to the game and sneakily grabbed one off of Jean's plate as well. When Jean noticed her missing nugget, she blamed that on Logan, who was now in the middle of two angry mutants. Despite the situation, the Wolverine simply leaned his chair back on two legs and stared coolly back at the two women glaring at him.
Luke turned away from Kitty at the new noise coming from the table and noticed what was going on, more importantly, the two legs Logan was propped on. Lining up his finger, he made as if to flick something off his thumb and watched in satisfaction as the leg pushed forward unrepentantly, tilting Logan back farther than expected and crashing into the floor. Jumping up in half a second with unnatural reflexes, he glared at the room, testing it to see if anyone would laugh. Unfortunately Luke was the only one who misunderstood the glare as a serious threat and laughed anyways.
Furry was in the short man's eyes as he stepped forward to the young mutant, who suddenly found it wasn't funny anymore.
"You think that's funny, huh? We'll see who's laughing when you finish your DR sessions tonight, starting in 5 minutes. Xavier has already given me permission to train you personally, so be ready for your first glimpse into Hell."
With that, he prowled off out of the room, probably off to the DR now to set up some crazy hard course for Luke. As soon as he was out of earshot, Luke mumbled to himself.
"That guy needs to take a chill pill."
The supper was concluded much more mildly after that. The rest of the young mutants saw Logan's personal time with Luke as a sign saying no team DR sessions, much to their relief. They left the kitchen by patting Luke on the shoulder for taking one for the team and wishing him good luck. After that they all said thanks to the heavens for a break in DR runs. Luke finished up what little was left of his food and made his way to what he thought was the right way to the elevator. He eventually found it and made his way down, stopping at the locker rooms to change before heading to the actual Danger Room.
Logan was standing in the center of it. "Well, runt, until you get proficient at using your powers under stressful situations and even while in pain, me ad you are going to be sparring. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you, but for now, just try to survive." And with that, the man charged.
Later that night
Luke made his way back towards his room like a zombie. His arms felt like limp noodles made of molten lead and his legs were just as bad. Falling flat on his face when he reached his bed, he was out like a light before he knew it. But outside, one mutant was just getting his blood pumping. He was back in the trees again, after smashing what remained of a high-tech security system. Apparently, someone had been aware of his presence here this morning. But it mattered little to him, as the security system was hardly a warm-up to him.
His binoculars were in hand, as he watched over the mansion. He had already found his target's room, but much to his displeasure, he found that there were several more security defenses right under his window sill. There was no way to get close to his target from the outside undetected as long as he was in the room. Looking over the mansion for possible entry points, he didn't find a single one that would be useable. Sighing and setting his binoculars down, he glared at the institute, wishing it was part of his powers to melt things with his eyes. Turning his back to the mansion for the second time that day, the mutant hopped out of the tree branch and landed feet first in a crouch. The next second he was gone.
Xavier's Mansion - Thursday morning
Groaning as he rolled over to shut off the alarm, Luke checked the time on it as he pulled himself out of bed. 5:30! What in the hell was wrong with the people around here? He didn't need 2 hours to get ready for school. Luke glared at his clock and thought about going back to sleep, but then he realized why it was set for so early. The morning DR session. Luke rummaged through his drawers, still half asleep and grabbed everything he would need for the bathroom and shower, which was thankfully empty when he got there.
The shower fully woke Luke up, revealing to him all of the nasty bruises he had accumulated last night that hadn't faded away. It also reminded him how sore he was. Logan was a killer, even without trying to be. Luke could count the number of times he had hit the man without a single finger. Stepping out and finishing the rest of his morning hygiene, Luke got dressed and headed down the elevator to the locker room. Kurt and Scott were already inside the guy's half of the locker room, already in their suits. A nod to the still half-asleep boys was all the greeting they got, as Luke grabbed his suit and changed quickly in a corner.
Taking a seat on one of the benches with Scott, while Kurt sat on top of the lockers, Luke waited for the DR session to start. They still had a few minute before 6. The girls emerged from their separate part of the locker room and greeted the guys with a near silent good morning. The guys just grunted and headed to the Danger Room. Wolverine and Storm were already there, suited up and ready to go. Storm instructed them on their task for the morning.
"Now that we've seen what results from a lack of communication between teammates, let's see how you fare against the labyrinth with Wolverine and myself guarding it."
Every single mutant paled at her words. This was going to be one miserable morning. Logan grumbled to himself as the kids decided on their best course of action. The wall began to rise on Ororo's cue and the session started. It was unanimously decided that Kitty would simply run through the course and Kurt would teleport around and watch the other 3 from the ceiling. Jean was going to provide the transportation, Luke the defense, and Scott the offense. It worked rather well, until Storm rose from her spot in the maze and began pelting them with ice and the occasional lightning bolt. Kitty had already made it and Kurt was unseen on the ceiling, but Luke and Scott were having a hard time protecting Jean while she focused on getting them to safety.
But where was Wolverine? No matter how much he may not have liked having to do something he didn't want to, he was going to train the kids seriously. And for him not to be harassing the three airborne students was puzzling. But the question was soon answered when Storm used her winds to send Logan flying through the air in a tackle, aimed at Luke. Luke braced himself and was ready to shove Logan off, but when the two collided, not only did Luke not budge, but Logan immediately dropped like a stone towards the floor. Only an immense effort on Storm's part saved him from a painful fall, giving the trio enough of a distraction to get farther along. Storm set the incredibly heavy Logan down and focused again on the trio, only for a fuzzy mutant to fall on top of her and grab hold of her waist before teleporting her. Disoriented, she missed her chance to attack Kurt before he teleported away to the end. By then, the others had all made it and were waiting on the older mutants.
The session ended and the walls sank back into the ground as Wolverine and Storm made their way over to the winners, albeit slowly in the man's case. Storm gave the team their earned praise for success, but quickly turned to watch her fellow teacher still struggling to make his way over there. Staring at his least favorite teacher, Luke tried to figure out what was wrong with him.
"What's wrong with him? He looks like he's carrying an extra hundred pounds or so."
"When you and him collided in the air, did you do something to him with your powers?" Storm questioned.
"Not that I know of. When I saw him coming, I just braced myself and tried to knock him off me. Next thing I knew he was falling pretty fast. So you think I did something to make him heavier when he fell? I've never really done that before. I've made myself fall slower, but that's it. It wasn't like I pushed him, because it didn't hurt afterwards."
Storm watched him carefully, glancing over the boy from head to toe. Telepathically, she was calling out to her dearest friend.
'Charles. Are you listening? We have a situation in the Danger Room.'
A presence was felt on the edge of her consciousness, a feeling that only years of experience kept her from shuddering at, and a voice was heard whispering in her ear.
'I'm well aware and on my way. See if Luke can't brace himself as he did before, as I feel that is the key to what is going on.'
Storm turned to the newest student, who already looked deep in thought, tapping on the shoulder and relaying what the Professor had told her. Luke simply nodded and tensed himself up. Nothing happened. Luke thought back to what had happened, but it all seemed a blur to him. Nothing significant stuck out to him that could be related to his powers. Logan hit him, but Luke didn't move. It wasn't that Logan didn't connect hard enough, because Luke could feel the bruise from were the man hit him at. So what was it?
Xavier had arrived at this point, traversing across the floor quicker than Luke would've ever given him credit for. Without a word, the man reached up and tapped Luke's temple and everything felt fuzzy. Luke could still think, but he could feel something else there. Someone. Xavier was going through his head, sifting through his recent memories. Much more vivid than Luke remembered them. He could feel it now. The same force he felt generate inside him whenever he used his powers. But instead of leaving how it normally did, Luke felt it draw out of him when Logan hit. Then, in a moment, the memory was gone and Xavier had sat back down in his chair.
"Luke, go over to Logan and draw your power back. When you come back from school, meet with me in my office and we'll discuss this. For now, try to avoid tensing up like you did."
Still fuzzy from the mind probe, Luke nodded dumbly and walked over to the feral mutant, who was still moving as if he was being weighed down by an unseen weight. The fact that he wasn't talking made Luke think that it was a body-wide weight. Otherwise, Luke would be getting chewed out like a stick of gum.
The man stopped crawling forward when Luke put his hand on his shoulder and closed his eyes in concentration.
'What am I looking for? That same feeling as before, I guess. But what am I gonna do with it?'
The mental questions were interrupted when the mutant found what he was looking for. The feeling was there, the force he tapped into, strong and encompassing. Luke could feel it's presence bearing down on Wolverine, smothering him in its dead weight. Then, it was gone. The presence left, easing off of the man into nothing.
Instantly, the man pushed Luke away from him and got some breathing room, taking in a lungful every breath. Between gasps, he glared at the cause and spit out "What did you do?"
Luke shrugged his shoulders and replied "I made you heavy. Sorry. Didn't know I could do that."
Xavier came over and clasped Luke on the shoulder. "Don't worry about this for right now. You have school to get to. This session is over, so go get a shower and get some breakfast. You've got 45 minutes to be there."
Luke bolted out of the Danger Room, stopping by the locker room to grab his clothes before heading off to his second shower. There were 3 showers for the students to use. But between Kurt's fur and two girls, he was theoretically screwed. After running by the first two showers, both of which were occupied, he made it to the third just as Scott was leaving, his hair still partly damp. Rushing inside before it could become occupied, Luke once again repeated his morning rituals.
Hopping out of the shower and drying himself off, the teen rushed out of the bathroom to the kitchen, already finding the other teen there. They all greeted him and gestured to the ensemble of food already concocted. Luke sat down in one of the few open seats, sitting in between Kitty and Kurt. Scooping some eggs and stealing a piece of toast, the mutant dug in. It was pleasant, at least to Luke, to be elbow to elbow with people he liked over some food. It had been a while since that had happened.
The group finished their meal and Luke started questioning one major problem. "How are we getting to school? Cause I doubt that the bus is coming all the way to the mansion and I personally don't have my motorcycle, so I can't drive myself."
Scott and Jean both held up keys, before saying that they both drove to school. Scott had his own car. Jean drove the school's van. Kurt called shotgun for Scott's car and teleported away and came back with his backpack. Glancing at his new friend, the blue guy grabbed Luke by the wrist and before the kinetic mutant knew which way was up, they were in his room. Fighting to stay upright, Luke glared lightly at his friend and grabbed his bag. In another instant, the two were standing by Scott's red convertible, if only barely for Luke.
"Don't ever 'Bamf' me around without warning again Kurt. Not unless you really have to. Because right now I feel sick as a dog."
"'Bamf'? What is that?"
"It's the sound you make when you teleport. I'm surprised you've never noticed."
Scott and the girls arrived in the garage a second later, looking much less green than Luke looked. The girls decided to ride together and the guys were riding with Scott. That was fine by Luke. Maybe the air would help him out.
The drive to school was rather bland, but Luke tried to learn all of the shops and stores they went by and look for something of interest to him. He didn't see much. They arrived in one of the crowded campus parking lots and as the trio stepped out and the girls followed right behind, Luke could tell that this school was a lot bigger than his old one. They had more kids in this parking lot than they had in his grade. What was worse, was that already rumors were flying about the new kid arriving with the other students that lived at the Xavier School.
Luke just grit his teeth and walked, following in close behind Kurt, who was splitting off from the main group and heading towards his own friends. 'Great. I get to make friends right off the bat.' Luke complained to himself internally, and prayed that he didn't say something too offensive.
Kurt held out his hand for a high five, as what looked to be a normal custom for him, but the bell rang as soon as Kurt and the other kid hit. Luke wanted to ask Kurt where he needed to go to get his schedule, but it seemed the disguised teen was too busy talking with his real buddies to pay him any attention. Looking around for someone to ask for directions, he saw Kitty talking with some of her friends as they headed towards the main building. Striding off towards her, Luke ran into an oncoming girl, knocking her on her butt. A pretty girl.
"Hey, watch where you're going!"
"Sorry. I was trying to get to… well never mind, she's gone. I'm sorry, here." Luke said, holding out his hand. She grabbed it and was about to pull, when she found herself already on her feet. Blinking at the change in height, she glanced at the teen who was standing there rubbing the back of his head. 'He's strong.'
"I'm new here and I was trying to find my way around. Since I've already knocked you down, I guess it would be to much to ask you to show me around? I'm Luke, by the way."
"Crystal. And sure. Anything to get me out of Mrs. Barnes' class for a while longer. We need to get you to the office so you can get your schedule, then we'll go from there."
Crystal stopped to dust herself off, giving Luke the well appreciated time to look her over. She was a very light blonde, with long hair trailing past her shoulders. She was tall and slender, a slight athletic build to her and had the legs to back it up. She had a very pretty face, now that Luke really looked at her. Sparkling blue eyes and a bright smile…Wait. Why was she smiling?
"I'm not sure where you come from, but it's considered rude to stare here. And if you must stare, keep it above the shoulders. Got it?"
If red described a color, it would be Luke's face. It took him a second but he started spluttering out "I wasn't trying to stare or anything like that, but I was just trying to memorize you. You know, in case I need you to show me around or something."
That didn't sound creepy, did it?
Her smile turned to a less serious, more joking one as she slapped Luke playfully on the shoulder.
"I was just messing with you. You're new here, so get used to it. And you're nowhere near as bad as some of the guys around here. It could make a girl scared to walk around alone, for fear of… less courteous things happening to her."
"Not that you'd mind." Luke chimed, smirking now that he had his comeback. No body messed with him and got away clean. She glared at him for a second, before a smirk settled on her face as well.
"I get the feeling me and you will get along good here. You should hang out with me and my friends. You'll fit in pretty well with us."
With that, she started walking, sashaying down the hall. Luke stood there until the tardy bell rang, jarring him to attention as he picked up his pace and followed his guide. She led him to the main office area and to a dark wooden door that gave off bad vibes. Knocking on it three times, Crystal pushed Luke closer to the door as it opened, revealing a middle-aged woman in a blue women's suit and glasses.
"Yes? What've you done to get sent here this early in the morning?"
"He's the new student, Mrs. Darkholme. He needs his schedule."
Glancing over he glasses at the boy, she spoke to herself for a moment before turning to her office to grab some papers.
"So this is the newest Institute kid, huh? You seem to have quite the history with referrals and ISS, brat. You'll fit right in with your new girlfriend, Amanda here."
Luke stood in silence, a tad bit embarrassed as well as angry. Turning to the blonde, he gave a look asking 'Is this what' she's like all the time?' A nod was given in return, before Mrs. Darkholme was in front of him with a sheet of paper held out. Luke took it and watched in near appall as the door was slammed in his face. Turning to the other student, he glanced back at the door before saying "I didn't even get a chance to talk to her before she started hating my guts. What did I do?"
Crystal shrugged before shooting back "She doesn't seem to like the Institute kids and you're one of them, right? What's the school for, anyways? What do you guys do up there on that hill out of town?"
Luke rubbed his nose at the question, before answering with the best lie he could pull out of nowhere.
"All the students there are smart or troubled, like me. Lots of history with getting in fights and things like that."
She seemed to buy it, so Luke called it victory, glancing down at the paper, he called out his schedule to her. "English II, Geometry, Ancient History, and Computer Lab."
"You have 1st period with me. You're gonna hate Mrs. Barnes, but there's a seat by me that you can have. It'll make things more fun."
"Great. We'll go there last. Show me where my other classes are first."
"Please?"
"You're welcome." Rolling her eyes was all the satisfaction the teen needed. Finally, someone who enjoyed his unedited version of humor. He had to keep everything toned around everyone else, but if she started it, then he was gonna make her regret ever starting this war of words. She started off down the hall, quietly contemplating some witty comeback, he was sure. Reading over his schedule again, Luke lifted his eyes up from the paper and to the girl in front of him.
She could possibly be the prettiest girl he had ever seen. Even considering Mrs. Anderson. Or maybe he was getting gushy again. He did that a lot around girls. Watching her walk onwards and enjoying the view, he almost was too slow in pulling his gaze up when she stopped and turned.
"This is the computer lab. You probably won't be here that often."
"Why not? I have this class till the end of the semester."
"Yeah, but the teacher will randomly leave school some days. She gets sick a lot or something. But if she leaves, go home."
Nodding his head, he simply proceeded with the call of "Next!"
Walking side by side with her now, in order to avoid starring again, he decided to question something from earlier. "Why did Mrs. Darkholme call you Amanda? Is Crystal your last name or something?"
"My actual name is Amanda Stone. But I got the nickname Crystal and it's stuck ever since. Even the teachers call me that whenever I'm not getting on their nerves."
Taking in the new information, the teens continued on until they made it to the Geometry classroom.
"Mr. Philby teaches this class. He's pretty cool and really easy to pass. I have his class 3rd period."
The duo finished their tour of the school with the Ancient History classroom, which Luke swore that he could hear the snores from that classroom through the wall. The two laughed at the sound before heading back to their first period. Mrs. Barnes seemed ready to melt their faces off when they knocked on her door. Fortunately, Crystal was a better sweet talker than Luke, otherwise they would both be sitting in the ISS room all day. Luke took his seat next to Crystal after the situation had been explained and watched the other kids take notes on stuff he had done weeks ago in Mrs. Anderson's class. He sat and glanced around the room looking over all the students in the room, wondering if he would get to know any of them.
'Probably not. With my kind of luck, they'll want to mob me before the school year is over.'
Luke sat in his seat, twiddling his thumbs as the others all copied an exceedingly large amount of information. Who really cared what the origin of the word 'predicate' was? Time ticked by and eventually the first bell rang. Looking over his schedule, the teen started off for his Geometry class. He made it just as the bell rang again, and spotted Kurt in the middle of the room. There wasn't a seat near him, but at least there was a friendly face in the class. It seemed everyone had taken the back of the class, so the only seat left was front row. Yay. The large and jolly teacher quickly scooped him up out of his seat and had him introduce himself to the class.
"Hey, folks. I'm Luke, I just started here after moving from Virginia, and I hate Geometry."
The last part was a lie, but no one needed to think he was nerdy or whatever just because he was cursed with the ability to retain knowledge. The teacher seemed quite upset by that, though, and made a little mark in his grade book. Then the work started. Worksheet after worksheet on the proofs of Geometry were assigned. Luckily, they were all easily completed.
The bell rang again before Luke knew it was time for a class change and he was off to his Ancient History class. Throwing his bag down by an empty desk, Luke watched all thee other kids file out of the classroom, talking about food. So naturally, he followed them till he arrived at the lunchroom. Not any people were in the room yet, so Luke made it through the line quickly. Paying the lady at the counter, he turned to the tables and tried to find a place to sit. The back of Scott's head was in the back corner of the room at a round table, so Luke decided that was his table of choice. Plopping down in the seat beside the tall redhead, he also saw Jean there as well.
"Hey. How are your classes so far?" Jean asked, a smile on her face.
"Yeah." Luke grinned back, unraveling the paper bag his food was in and pulling out a cold sub. "I made a friend already and I've got Kurt in my second period class. Things are good."
"Who's the new friend?" Scott asked, taking a sip out of his milk carton.
"Amanda Stone. She goes by Crystal though."
If there was ever a more perfect time for milk to come squirting out of a nose, it would be now. But the young man held it in barely, and swallowed before gasping for air. Jean rolled her eyes as the senior tried to pull his composure back together.
"THE Amanda Stone? The worst kid to ever pass through the doors here on a daily basis? The only girl in this school with more than 10 referrals in one semester? You sure know how to pick 'em."
Luke rolled his eyes at Scott's obvious exaggerations. "You make it sound as if those were bad qualities in a friend, Scott. At least she was nice enough to show me around. Neither of you guys did."
Scot had the courtesy to look bad for a second, but Jean wasn't bothered by the shot at them. She was much more focused on her own shot at Luke's new friend.
"You're lucky that all she showed you was the school. There are some pretty nasty rumors flying around her and I wouldn't want to see if any of them were true."
Before Luke could start thinking about what she said, a tray slammed down right beside him.
"You know, I swear my nose is burning like crazy all of a sudden. I guess somebody's talking about me somewhere." Luke smiled at the familiar voice, turning to the new girl at the table.
"Hey. You've got first lunch to?" A nod from the blonde confirmed it. Scott and Jean shared a look and stayed quiet for the rest of lunch, which was also part of their 15 minute break, oddly enough, while the other two talked around bites of their meals. As the herds of students left the cafeteria by a teacher's signal, Luke threw away his trash and went back to his class, feeling happy after the time he got to spend with such a notorious girl, according to his housemates. Having someone like that around would be troublesome, but worth it. Plenty of fun things to get into when he was bored.
Luke made it back to the classroom, but when he looked for his bag, he didn't see it. Looking around, he found it in the back of the class. He saw a broad blonde guy in his previous seat, but rather than start something on his first day, Luke let it slide. No need in picking fights. Luke walked down the aisle of desks toward his bag, but was tripped by the same blonde guy in his old seat. Turning after catching himself from the stumble, Luke glared at the guy and growled out "What do you want?"
"I'm just introducing myself, new guy. I'm Duncan Mathews, and this is my seat. This is my class. This is my school. So now that you know who's at the top, we'll see where you fall in line at."
A bunch of the guys in the class snickered at this, finding it oh so funny when Duncan picked on someone, as long as it wasn't them. Luke clenched his fists, biting his lip to hold back his tongue. No. He wasn't going to do this on the first day at school. He just needed to make it through the rest of the day without causing a fuss. Then the second day of school came. THAT was when he could start making trouble. Taking his new seat in the back of the class, he watched as the teacher shuffled in a few minutes later and started the class. It was a bunch of notes on Phoenicians and a worksheet.
'How do these guys get a job teaching when all they do is assign work? It seems so counter-productive to make a kid do work to learn about what he was working on.'
The class dragged on by, with plenty of commentary by Duncan and his crew of lackeys. What an idiot.
The bell rang, signaling the last class of the day and Luke made it out of the door and to the computer lab without incident. The room was dark and the door locked, but a note taped to the door gave instructions for the student. 'Go home.'
Luke glanced at the note, almost curious as to whether or not it was serious. He thought Crystal was joking. Glancing around and not seeing any other students coming towards the lab, Luke looked back to the note, then left. He headed towards the parking lots and wondered how he was gonna get back to the mansion. Maybe Scott or Jean left early because they were seniors? When he got outside, he was disappointed to see nobody he knew around. He stood there for a moment and thought about what to do, when a finger tapped his shoulder. When he turned around and saw that kind of grin, he should've known something was up.
"Heya, buddy. Fancy meeting you here. I take it your teacher is sick today?" If he kept bumping into her, he was gonna say she was stalking him. Crystal just grinned at him, twirling a bit of hair around her finger.
"Yep. Do you leave early everyday?" Luke hoped it didn't sound like he was implying she was skipping.
"Thank goodness I do. Perks of being a smart junior and everything. But I have to come back for practice later."
"Practice? You play a sport?" It explained why she looked to be in better shape than most.
"Kind of. I'm a cheerleader here."
'Wow. A cheerleader and a troublemaker. What an odd combination.' Luke thought to himself.
"So are you waiting on a ride or something? What are you standing here for?"
"Well, I guess I'm waiting for the end of school. I don't have my motorcycle, so I need to wait on Jean or Scott to leave before I can go." That was depressing. He got a free pass out of 4th period and he had to spend it waiting on the class to end so he could leave."
"I could take you to the Institute if you like. Everyone in town knows where it is."
Luke was shocked by her casual offer. He may not of had many friends, but he was pretty sure they didn't offer rides to people they knew for only a day. And he also knew that he shouldn't accept rides from people he only knew for a day. But he had done it before with people he had known for less amounts of time. Just because they were paying him didn't make them any more trust worthy. And truth be told, Luke wanted as much time as he could have around her. It wasn't every day a pretty girl like her took interest in him.
"If it's not a big deal for you, then ok. That's better than just standing around." She nodded and grabbed his arm, leading him to her little Camry. Luke put his bag in the floorboard and buckled up as the girl barreled out of the parking lot, hitting 40 before she left the campus grounds. The entire way through town, she went two speeds. Stop or flying. Luke was clinging to the door handle with a white-knuckle grip the entire way to the mansion. Never in his life had he been more scared of a girl behind the wheel.
After screeching to a halt by the mansion's gates, Luke swore he smelt burnt rubber. Thanking the mad driver and waving good bye, Luke turned to face his home. Opening the gates and going down the walkway to the mansion, he was greeted at the door by the school's owner. The bald man's eyes gleamed with hidden thoughts as Charles greeted him
"Hello, Luke. How was your day at school?"
"You're a telepath and you're asking me how my day was? It was pretty good."
The door behind Xavier opened wider to reveal both Storm and Wolverine in full combat gear.
"Good. That means you're fresh for our newest training we have in mind, pipsqueak."
Luke paled as Logan grabbed his shoulder and started frog-marching him back out to the front yard.
AN: It's done! This chapter ran way to long and I still didn't finish where I was supposed to. That means that next chapter I'll start following the main series progression. I promise! (Fingers are crossed.) I'm sorry if the classroom setting seems kinda rushed, but it was. Not much of the series is spent inside the actual classrooms, so I'm treating it like regular school. And nothing cool ever happens on the fist day.
I hope you guys like Crystal, as she's one of my OC characters that will play a more important role later down the line. For now, she's just a troublemaking cheerleader that drives like a bat outta hell. I'm sending this to my Beta, who will hopefully clean this mess up better than last time. I felt like pretty dumb when I saw some of the mistakes I made in that writing. (One of them was pointed out to me, thankfully.)
As always, thank you for reading my story. I'm so ecstatic that I've gotten 6 nice reviews so far and a few favorites and alerts. I get so jipper (Love that word!) when I get an e-mail now, because I'm hoping for another alert or review. Thanks for that. Title came from a Gucci Mane song (If you can call them that). Or at least I THINK it was him. Not sure about that. I'll see you guys next time, Big Willis out!