Perfect Synergy

"Living under a cloud of black...udder a single word and watch the lightning strike...feel the roar of the thunder. Periods of calm are like tears dripping from a rainbow...and life goes on." – Donna A. Favors

Over the course of an hour or so I learned that there was so much more to the mutants around me besides their unique genetic structure. Like anyone else, you can make all sorts of assumptions and judgments, but keep your mouth shut because they will, more often than not, surprise the hell out of you. Take us for example, with Darwin being the oldest at twenty-six and myself the youngest at sixteen, our occupations ranged from poorly paid cabbies to being under the employment of none other than the CIA itself before this whole mutant ordeal even came to light. If you happened by our conversation and had no clue as to our powers and gifts, you'd probably think we weren't any different from the average Joe's. Though it wouldn't stay that way for long. You can't have a room full of mutants and not talk about the origins of our gifts. Sorry Joe. Nothing personal.

"So, who thinks they got their powers first?" Angel asked to start us off.

Sean, Alex, Darwin and I looked at each other, thinking that one of us would've been the youngest. Darwin looked like he was going to speak up when he suddenly stopped. Behind me, I being on the floor now, both Hank and Raven raised their hands tentatively in the air. They looked at each other and hesitantly asked, "Born with it?" They nodded in response to the other's question.

Hank and Raven started to laugh when Sean interrupted them, "So, what, you were born and then you changed into the spitting image of your mom, or something?" He joked.

What Sean said had a good point to it since none of us were aware to the true nature of Raven's mutation. Or, the true nature of herself. And boy was it a doozy. She gave us a nervous shadow of a smile and the blue feathery substance you saw briefly as she changed appearances began to cover her entire body. Inch by inch her flushed skin was coated with a cerulean blue substance that was actually her natural skin, it was such a beautiful hue that I was almost entranced by it. After a minute, before us was no longer a peppy blonde girl with green eyes and rosy cheeks, but a blue skinned girl with blood red hair and piercing yellow eyes. I looked up at her in amazement. Her bare legs next to me were also just as mesmerising and had weird little markings along the sides of her calves. Without really knowing it I found my fingers tracing over the intricate skin of my friend.

"That tickles!" She giggled as her leg jumped from my touch. She was almost like a work of art. I looked back at everyone else to see if they were as impressed as I was. Their jaws were, almost literally, on the floor in shock. Raven took a second to compose herself and said with a gesture of her hand, "I was born like this."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hank, who seemed rather embarrassed. I was guessing it was because he had felt like such an outcast with only his slightly mutated feet when the girl sitting next to him was born completely blue. But he didn't need to feel like that. His struggle was just as real as hers. I placed a comforting hand on his knee and squeezed. He gave me a thankful look but still looked rather uneasy. I leaned my head against his leg when my previous attempt didn't work all that well in some hope that he would relax.

"To get this straight, Hank was born with his feet like that and Raven was born blue as the blue lagoon?" Sean asked, yet again. The two in question nodded.

Sean laughed. "Awesome!" We all joined the red-head's laughter.

Man, is he easily amused or what? I kept to myself. Not that I could talk. You could get me to laugh at the littlest thing.

"So, who's next?" I asked, clapping my hands and rubbing them together. My power had become apparent just before adolescence so I imagined I would be close to last, chronologically.

"Well, I figured out I was 'different' when I was eight. No one else figured out before then?" Darwin mentioned in passing, looking around and waiting for someone to stop him.

Amidst our little group, Alex spoke up. "I was able to shoot out those rings when I was seven. I'm not much of a sharer so you can tell your story first."

Hesitantly, Darwin continued. "I grew up in the Bronx and I was playing stick ball with some kids when my cousin ran out into the street into oncoming traffic. And I decided it would be smart to run after her so we could both get plowed over by an oncoming 18-wheeler. I thank God every day for my mutation just because of that one incident. Instead of turning into a pancake, my body adapted into titanium. And other than the bill my ma got from the truck driver for the damage done to his engine, I came out completely unscathed." Darwin boasted with a large grin on his face. "My cousin got by with a few scratches, but she was more terrified than anything."

"Lucky bastard. I wish that my idiotic blunders ended that well." Everyone gave a small chuckle to my statement. "Now, time for sour puss to tell his tale."

At first, no one knew who I meant by sour puss. They got it though when I actually pointed to him. One by one, heads turned and laughter erupted. Alex gave me a menacing look before letting out a labored sigh and telling his sad story.

"In the foster home I was in, it was eat or be eaten. When I was first put into the system I got into a lot of fights with the older kids. So one day, I don't know what was so different about it; I guess they just got fed up, a bunch of them ganged up on me while I was sleeping and dragged me down the road. They tied me to a fence that surrounded the abandoned factory next door and started hitting me with whatever they could get their hands on. Rocks, garbage, bottles, bats, they didn't care. After I lost consciousness a couple of times I felt something inside of me. At first I thought I was having a heart attack. Next thing I knew, all the kids were being rushed to the hospital for extreme fourth degree burns. Luckily for them it only grazed the tops of their skin so nothing had to get amputated." He said with such nonchalance it was almost frightening.

It took me awhile to realize that he wasn't being indifferent because he was heartless; he was down playing his experience because it actually caused him severe emotional pain. Alex may have been a tough guy on the outside, but I could tell that was purely his survival and primal instinct showing through. He told us that he was a street fighter so I could see why he thrived; it was eat or be eaten.

"That's harsh, man. They all okay now?" Sean asked lightly and quietly.

Alex gave a bit of a shrug. "One died a year later, from a completely unrelated incident, and I think the rest of them formed a gang and are still in Virginia." He said without a hint of remorse. "Who's next?"

I gave everyone a minute to absorb all of that before, tentatively, I raised my hand. "Probably me. I was eight or nine. Maybe ten; can't really remember."

Next to me, Raven laughed. "How do you not remember when you first used your powers? I know I was born like this but it's still a memorable moment if you ask me!"

I looked up at her and stuck my tongue out. "Bite me, Madame Bleu. And I wasn't born with my awesomeness visible for everyone to see, thank you very much!" I said very matter-of-factly. "I was about eight when my older brothers all dared me to stick a pair of scissors in an electrical outlet." Took everyone a second to grasp how quickly I changed topics.

"You refused, right?" Hank asked me from behind me to my right.

I looked up at him and winked deviously, earning me an alarmed look in return. "Of course not. Once you dare Maxine Dugan-Fuller to do something, she sure as hell is going to do it! Not that it mattered anyway. I was electrocuted and it didn't hurt one tiny bit. I probably would've forgotten all about that if I wasn't static shocking everyone for the next year. That's why I'm not so sure if my powers manifested then or when I simulated a lightning strike. Besides, my childhood's pretty fuzzy around that time anyway." I paused briefly and was about to continue until Hank practically leapt off the couch in excitement.

"You can simulate lightning?" He exclaimed with a loudness I hadn't ever heard come from him. I smiled at his outburst and he turned a red that rivaled Raven's natural hair color.

"Uh huh. It takes a bit of effort, but it's definitely doable." I offered, hoping the subject would be dropped if I pretended that the conversation wasn't happening.

And by looking at the expectant faces around I knew that my tactic completely failed me. I never was very tactical, or successfully tactical. I gave a sigh before standing and edging towards the courtyard. The mutants rose from their chairs and followed me. Once I was in the courtyard I gave them all a regretful look. I clapped my hands together and began rubbing them furiously. Several large sparks jumped from the resulting friction but I wasn't going to do anything too spectacular until I had charged myself completely. I could feel it, so much kinetic energy flowing through my circuits. God, it was better than any artificial high out there. I aimed my hands at the remains of the statue Alex had desecrated and let the electricity escape in one large burst. Briefly, the whole area was illuminated, almost to the point to blind a man. Then the statue exploded, his shoes being the only thing intact anymore. Applause sounded from behind me. I turned and gave a sly smirk.

Little did they know the electric blast had completely exhausted me. I was having extreme difficulty keeping my eyes open let alone standing up straight. That was something that had been worrying me; no one else seemed to be tired after using their powers. Maybe it's because my electricity runs through my veins and there's- I have no idea how their powers coursed through them. Disregarding my theories, I walked back through the glass and nearly collapsed on top of Hank who was just standing there with a gaping hole for a mouth. I gave him a weak smile.

He grabbed me by the shoulders. "Can I do some tests, or something? Please?"

I, being much too tired to object, nodded my compliance. I still had the energy to joke though. "At least buy me dinner first." I smiled weakly. :But we're… we're uhh... we were sharing our age... power... whatever..." I muttered before plopping down on the floor in front of the couch Raven and Hank had been sitting on. Everyone soon returned to their seats as well, but not before giving me a worried look. They had noticed my sudden lethargy; well, they'd have to be blind not to!

I ignored their glances. "So, who's next?"

"I think that would be me." Angel said with a smile. "I woke up one morning when I was twelve with these "tattoos" on my shoulders." She said motioning to said body parts. "My mom freaked out thinking that I had actually gone out and had them done in some sleazy parlour or something. After getting in a screaming fight with her I just wished I could fly away... and that's just what I did. I flew away."

That was extremely cool. But her story wasn't done there.

"So, that's the story of my wings. The story of my 'spitfire', as Max called it, is a bit funnier. I was thirteen... and I was with my first boyfriend..."

"Oh shit." I mumbled, covering my mouth, having connected the dots before some of them were formed.

"I was with my first boyfriend, experiencing my first kiss, when he started screaming. I was so shocked... I had acid saliva. It was soooo grooooss!" She whined while laughing. "He was fine, and in the end I learned how to separate my two... you know!"

We all laughed and turned to Sean, the only person left, who was inconspicuously eating some brownies; guess he had them stuffed in his pocket. But he was almost trying to hide them and being the sister to boys who liked to dabble in recreational drugs, I was suspicious. I yanked the brownie out of his hand and nibbled at it. I remember it tasted… like cannabis. Sean was eating pot brownies? What the hell! I know it was the 60's but I totally forgot about this until just now I'm sorry!

"Sean? The fuck?" I yelled while laughing.

"Shhhhh." He whispered, giggling a bit. "Why're you guys all looking at me, anyways?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "You're the only one who hasn't gone, dumb ass."

"Ohhhh... well... uh… where haven't I gone?" He drawled, though you could almost say he slurred it.

"Your powers, Sean. We were sharing when we first got our powers." I tried to remind him without smacking him.

He smiled. "Oh yeah!" The pot brownies were clearly taking effect already. "Oh yeah, I was fifteen... I think. I was at a cousin's wedding and I was dancing with another cousin... heh... and she stepped on my foot. And she dug this real skinny heel into me and I screamed, and screamed, and screamed." He laughed. "It was so funny! The cousin I was dancing with lost consciousness in no time at all! A few other family members did too, but the real funny part was when the groom got so delirious that he smooched the best man. It took a shouting match and an absence of about two hours to prove that he wasn't in love with the guy." Sean said before laughing so loud I had to cover my ears. Damn boy was already high as a kite. How many did he eat? In his fit of drug-induced-laughter he kicked his glass of Coke at Angel and Darwin. The glass narrowly avoided her as she was nestled against the back of the couch while the projectile connected with his knee and shattered.

"Sean!" Raven gasped from the other side of the table, half expecting Darwin to be howling in pain.

Darwin looked at Sean and smiled. "That the best you got?" He then banged on the side of his knee with his knuckles and a metal sounded resonated. Of course, he adapted to survive even the dumbest of Sean's antics. Now that's what I call a superpower.

We all looked at Sean to see if he was going to accept Darwin's challenge. Of course he was. He grabbed Alex's drink right out of his hand and chucked it at the older man. The drink shattered on his chest which had turned into some sort of metal scales. Everyone around quickly shielded their eyes, just because Darwin could survive it didn't mean we could.

"That tickled." Darwin scoffed with an overly confident tone.

Suddenly, Alex stood up and shoved off his jacket. "I want in." He said. But first, he punched Sean in the shoulder.

"Dude! You're supposed to hit him, not me!" The redhead complained.

"That was for smashing my Coke." Alex replied with smirk before grabbing a broom that was by the swinging doors. He raised it high when Raven, who had long since returned to her blonde form, stood up, and got in his way.

"You think you could take that over there?" She said, gesturing to the open area behind her. The three boys looked at each other, shrugged, and headed over to perform their shenanigans out of everyone's way.

Once they were a safe distance away I turned towards Hank. "So what else can you do with those magnificent feet of yours?" I asked, hoping to make Hank feel more comfortable while sating my incurable curiosity.

"Nothing really..." He mumbled.

"Nothing? Are you forgetting what you showed us in your lab? That wasn't nothin'!" Raven said, nudging him in the side.

Hank blushed something fierce. He then stood, looked at his feet, and trudged over towards the dining tables. I thought he was going to jump on one of them. Man was I surprised when he flipped upside down and gripped onto a dangling light fixture with his hand-feet. I watched all the blood rush to his face before asking, "How long can you stay up there?"

"I'm not sure..." He said with a bit of struggle.

"You should test it!" I said with a tap to his nose. I then turned back to the girls. "Who's for turning up some tunes?" I got an excited response from both Raven and Angel. We then jumped over to the juke box and began sifting through the records.

Raven paused on one. "Hippy hippy shake! I love that song!"

So, that is what we played. Angel quickly ran over to the bar and poured herself another Coke, Raven jumped onto the couch Angel and Darwin had once occupied, and I jumped onto the coffee table. When Angel returned with her drink in hand her wings immediately lifted from her shoulders and she began flying in time to the music. I looked behind me to see how the boys were doing. They had since moved the other couch to give them more room to make a mess. To my left, Angel had knocked over a table, and Hank was rocking out while hanging upside down. I decided to add to the ambience by playing with the lights. All around us lights were flickering, giving one the feeling being in a club. Back in front of me I could see Sean wielding a chair and barreling towards Darwin. Darwin's back, shoulders, and head was covered in the scale like armour, so we didn't fear for his safety. But when the chair practically ricocheted off the adaptable mutant we all burst into laughter. Alex then proceeded to start beating Darwin with... a leg from a table? I looked back at the dining tables, sure enough, one was missing a leg. I continued to laugh until I heard, "What are you doing?"

We all halted our merriment to turn and look into the most pissed off brown eyes we had ever seen.

Shit.