Disclaimer: The X-Men and Brotherhood do not belong to me, but they belong to Marvel. The OCs featured are either mine or a reviews (check my profile for a full write-up)
Author's note: Meh.
Haven't had the best week (one of the scenes spells out my life) and came down with writer's block when I got to the last portion. Not much to the meeting in this chapter, but it'll get better.
Some promises are made to keep, others undoubtedly to fail.
Read. Enjoy. Review.
Darth stood by the large window in his office at Bayville High. The sky was graying with a promise of rain and the air outside was heavy with moisture. He thought back to the smell after it rained in his hometown, thinking how different it was from here in Bayville. The progress made in both places was also alarmingly different; perhaps equality could be achieved and the silly premonitions set aside.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by a tapping on the door. Without turning he called for them to come in and watched the students mill about outside.
He saw Enrique Oculto and Portia Manderson side-by-side sitting on the steps. They seemed to be in deep conversation and they both looked up as the Xavier students walked by.
"Sir?"
Darth stifled a sigh and turned smiling. Two teenagers were in his office, both Haven affiliated.
"Ah, Miss Idnez, Mr. Fae… how nice to see you!" He said cheerfully. "Why don't you get the door Zendi?"
Zendi nodded and quietly shut the door before returning.
Darth extended his hands. "Please, sit."
His face slightly darkened as he took his own seat. "Mr. Fae, I know why you are here… but—"
Zendi sat forward in her chair and interrupted. "Clay and Xander came down with the Flu. Cla… Claire," Zendi paused, making sure she used Clay's human name now that she was in the school building, "is sorry she can't come to Xavier's first meeting." She stopped again, tapping her fingers on her leg. "Who do you want there and what do you want us to do?"
Darth straightened his dark purple tie and ran a hand over his jet black suit. "Everyone is to attend, even Enrique I have worked it out with the coaches to ensure and demand attendance of mutant athlete." He sweetened his tone. "You are there to learn, both about control from Proessor Xavier and as much about your fellow students as possible. I will make a point to the professor not to ask too many questions of you, but any possible security breach should be dealt with… delicately." He smiled at the girl. "I trust you can relay this information Zendi?"
The tan girl nodded. "Of course Mr. Darth. Oh, and Rena won't be shadowing anyone today, she stayed back to take care of the sick."
Darth chuckled. "Is that the only reason?"
Zendi pulled a face. "Probably not. Personally I don't think she can handle school and being human all day."
The principal laughed again and sat back in his armchair. "You're probably right. I will talk to her when I get back." He paused. "If there is nothing else Miss Idnez…"
She got up and nodded. Silently she left the office, closing the door softly behind her.
Sionnach squirmed in his seat. Being alone with Darth freaked him out. The man was dark and his surroundings only proved a point. His eyes wandered the room.
"Mr. Fae." Darth said calmly, returning the fox mutaznt's attention back to him. His purple eyes met sionnach's gold, htough his reflective sunglasses stood in the way.
"I know this has been a tough couple of weeks for you, and I am happy to see you want to return to school."
Sionnach rolled his eyes and slouched in his chair. "Don't have much of a choice do I? It's either this or die of boredom."
Darth smirked. "I tend to get that response. Now, the school's dress code doesn't allow for sunglasses or hats, but I can make an exception for your glasses. The hat? It must go." He stated simply.
Sionnach frowned, but removed his blue baseball cap and shoved it in his bag. His fox ears poked up a above his maroon hair, which was tied low out of his face. His glasses glinted dangerously from the room's electric lights as he drummed his nails on the arm of the chair.
"Anything else? Are my socks breaking dress code too?"
The principal cracked a smile, he had long ago figured out how to deal with a student's poor attitude. "I don't know, are they green?"
The teen raised an eyebrow. "Green? Hell no! Why would they be green?"
"Just checkin'." Darth replied. He rummaged through his desk and pulled out a piece of paper.
"Here's your schedule, I can get someone to help you find your classes if you like."
"Nah, I'll manage." Sionnach said. He tried not to get angry at his schedule as he thought of the running and confusion in his future.
Darth frowned, his scar scrunching up. "Are you sure? Enrique Oculto has his first period free, but if you—"
"Enrique?" Sionnach asked to clarify, a tiny bubble of happiness surfacing. "Yes, I-uh mean… sure, th-that is if he ain't doin' anything already it couldn't hurt."
The dark man shook his head clear of Sionnach's confusing answer. "I pulled up your transcripts and since you already have most of your credits I also gave you a free first period." He smiled. "It's a major privilege to have, so don't blow it. Enrique can fill you in on what that means for you, but basically check in with attendance before the tardy bell and stay on school grounds." He stood and straightened his tie again. "I will call Mr. Oculto in here, and you can be on your way."
He moved toward the door then halted. "Oh, and your resemblance to a mutant in Arizona by the same name is purely coincidental. The staff won't ask you about it and I doubt any but the X-Men care." Darth turned the doorknob. "And," he said turning over his shoulder, "don't do anything stupid."
"No promises." The teen grumbled.
Enrique watched as the Xavier bunch went by and groaned. Placing his head on Portia's shoulder he sighed.
"What am I supposed to do Porsh?" He muttered, using her nickname that only he used.
Portia petted his head, making a few unruly white hairs lay down flat. "I don't really know, Ricky." She answered honestly. "You could always tell him, the worst he can say is 'no'."
The white-haired mutant sat up and buried his head in his hands. "I do not like this." He whispered. "The matters of the heart are far too painful."
The girl laid a hand on his back and sighed. "He's your friend, right?"
Enrique nodded, head still in his hands.
"And your gaydar is going off?" Portia asked, removing her hand and placing it in her lap.
The boy picked his head up and looked at her. "That is the problem." His deep blue eyes struggled to keep eye-contact. "I do not know."
Portia sighed, and took his large, strong hand in hers. "Some things are meant to be, while others are not…" She looked sadly at him, and again Enrique realized that Portia Manderson was in love with him. Her voice wavered as she continued. "…but we are the masters of our destiny. If you never take a chance, you will never know." Leaning over she kissed him on the cheek then stood. "Come on, we better head inside."
Enrique stood and forced her to make eye contact with him. He saw that a single tear glistened on her cheek. Taking his thumb he lifted her glasses and wiped it away.
"Portia Manderson, you are, and will always be my best friend. This I promise."
"What the hell were you thinking, Kitty?" Kurt hissed as they made their way through the lunch line. "Lance? LANCE? The dude is an imbecile! How can you trust him?"
Kitty ignored him until they sat down. With the larger number of students from the Institute the mutants now occupied several tables. A good thing that many still didn't want to associate with mutants so they always got their tables.
Rogue raised an eyebrow as Kitty sat down, leaving a seat empty in between her and her former roommate.
"Is there somethin' wrong?" Rogue asked.
Kurt scowled and pointed a finger at his sister. "Da. Did you know Kitty was seeing Lance?"
Rogue glanced quickly from Kitty to Kurt. The rest of their table was sitting down at this point. Benj sat on Rogue's right, followed by Vince and Leo. Amanda sat next to Kurt. All of the new arrivals were unsuspecting.
Rogue cleared her throat. "Ah, uh, may have known a little 'bout it."
Kurt threw his hands up. "Has the vhole vorld gone mad?" He grumbled something in German and shoved a roll into his mouth.
Vince laughed, sending a few shivers down the other's backs. "Okay, I obviously missed something." He gestured at Kurt. "What did you do to the elf?"
Leo and Benj were equally bewiledered and exchanged looks.
Before anyone could respond or ask another question another teen came up to the table behind Kitty.
"Uh, hi Kitty…" Lance said, awkwardly waving his hand to everyone else at the talbe. "Do you mind if I sit here?"
"Of course not Lance." Kitty replied, shooting a death glance at Kurt when he opened his mouth.
Lance placed his tray down and sat in between Rogue and Kitty. His actions got the attention of the Brotherhood and other X-Men tables.
"Another good mutant gone to waste." Pietro muttered darkly before tuning back to his lunch.
Lance nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh… so. Uh hi. How's everyone doin'?"
Leo blinked at him. "Aren't… aren't you Brotherhood?"
"Yeah, what of it?" Lance asked quickly, putting on his street face.
Leo held up his hands and laughed. "Nothing, nothing… just, I didn't recognize you without the fruit bowl on your head."
Benj laughed too, and Rogue couldn't help but snort. Kurt scowled some more and shoved more food in his face.
A cool smile spread across Lance's face. "Cute."
Vince leaned in over the table. "Aren't you gonna introduce us, Miss Pryde?" He had started sitting at the table that week after people started calling him a "mutie lover". He'd smiled and proved them correct.
"Yeah, like, sure." Kitty replied. "Like, everyone this is Lance Alvers, my boyfriend." She ignored the gagging sound from Kurt and the weird looks from Benj and Leo. "And Lance, you already know Rogue," she pointed to each in turn, "Benj Dents, Vince Bohr, Leo Dyson, and Amanda." Kurt stuffed in more food as Kitty rolled her eyes. "And of course Kurt."
She whispered in Lance's ear. "Benj and Rogue are, like, going out."
Lance's eyes widened and he smiled. It looked like someone had finally manned up and taken Rogue for a spin.
"Vhat do you want anyways?" Kurt grumbled. Amanda took his arm and whispered something to him. Frowning he gestured at Leo's plate. Leo got the memo and tossed him his roll.
Lance looked across the table at him. "Is there anything wrong with talkin' to my girl?"
Kurt narrowed his eyes. "No."
Kitty put a hand on Lance's leg and he relaxed. Kurt was just being an over protective brother, older or younger he didn't know.
"S, uh… Lance, are you comin' with to the mutant club after school?" Leo asked, trying to alleviate the tension. He knew what it was like to be the negative center of attention and felt kind of bad for him. There appeared to be more under the surface than what lance appeared to be during their brawls.
Lance shook his head. "Nah, Magneto and Xavier don't exactly see eye-to-eye, I can only imagine how he'd react if I went."
The spikey haired mutant nodded and returned to scarfing his lunch.
Most of the rest of lunch went by in a tense silence. That is until Vince's attention was dragged aside by a girl walking past.
"Woah…" He muttered, watching her past. It was Portia Manderson, making her way to her table.
Benj followed his gaze, puzzled by the girl with wavy hair and purple streaks. "Dude, you have a girlfriend."
Vince ran a hand through his short hair. "I had a girlfriend. Turns out Ray was right, she only chose me cuz I wasn't a mutie- err, mutant. She was easily swayed from me…" He sighed and leaned back in the chair. "Anyone know that girl anyways?"
Kitty turned her head and looked. "Oh, that's Portia Manderson. She's, like, in my Spanish class."
Leo and Rogue looked as well. Both narrowed their eyes. Rogue thought she possibly recognized her, but couldn't place it. She really did look familiar…
"She's hot, is she seein' anyone?" Vince said, still in his teenage boy mentality.
"How should I know?" Kitty shrugged. "I, like, don't actually talk to her, you know? She keeps mostly to herself, but, like, I've seen her with that Enrique Oculto a few times."
Vince tore his eyes away and looked at his watch. "Damn, too bad; and it's about time to go too."
As the bell rang to leave Lance grabbed Kurt's arm, and pulled him aside.
"Listen, I care about Kitty." He growled as students swarmed around them. " I don't give a damn what you think about me, but I'm not goin' ta hurt her. I promise."
Tyler pulled on a black polo and fixed the collar in the mirror. His red skin was accented more than usual. He looked down on the dresser and found the wax Kurt had given him. Taking a glob of it he rubbed it over his head and on his horns. The light shone off of them and he smiled, hiding his teeth. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad, exposing himself in public.
Even still… he grabbed the image inducer and slipped it on over his wrist. Tyler hesitated on pressing the button.
There was knock on the door.
"Come on in, it's unlocked." He said, still looking at the watch-like device, trying to decide if he wanted to use it or not.
The professor rolled through the door, followed by Storm.
"Almost ready to go?"
"Yes professor… just…" He looked up at the man in the wheel chair.
Xavier smiled, knowing just what he was going to ask. "You want to know whether or not you should wear your image inducer, right?"
"Well, yeah…"
"Tyler, do whatever makes you feel most comfortable." The professor said calmly.
Storm spoke up. "Perhaps it would be best to wear the hologram. It might make the new students more at ease."
Ty nodded. "Good point, a bright red demon is a little unsettling." He turned the image inducer on and his appearance shimmered. Instantly his skin took on a normal tint, and light brown hair covered his head. "So as far as staff goes, who's coming?" He thought about how it could be funny if Logan came and scared the kids off right away.
Charles chuckled at Tyler's inner thoughts. "Logan is staying here, but Scott is coming back from college classes to assist. Beast and Storm will also be there, and obviously so will I."
"What can I do to help?" Ty asked, brushing off his shirt.
Professor X smiled. "Here's what I have in mind…"
The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Students rushed out of classrooms and ran through the hallways. A couple made excuses to stay after, they were mutants.
Sionnach grumbled his way to his locker. He hated this "mutant" thing. People jabbed fun at him all day, pointing out his tail, his ears, his nails, and his shades. A lot continuously asked him if he was like some "Scott Summers", whoever the hell that was.
Slamming his fist into the metal locker, he spun the lock and flung it open. He grabbed his math book and shoved it into his backpack. He turned slightly, watching a girl approach the locker next to him. He rolled his eyes, shutting his locker, and leaning up against it.
Portia nodded to him and opened up her locker. "How's it going?"
"This place sucks, why would anyone willingly choose to go to school as a mutant?" Sionnach grumbled.
Portia twitched and slammed her locker shut. She opened her mouth to say something when another group of mutants came up behind her.
The Brotherhood.
"Hey," Blob muttered, turning to the other Brotherhood members, "don't we know this guy?"
"Hmmm, he do look familiar." Toad said, hopping closer to Sionnach.
The fox mutant snarled and pushed him away. "Watch it mutie!"
"Do you numbskulls have something better to do?" Portia asked, whirling around and facing the Brotherhood.
Wanda narrowed her eyes. "For once, The Blob is right."
"Whaaat?" Toad gasped. "There ain't no way—" He examined the two mutants in front of him. The one with the angular features and fox additions did look familiar… and the one with purple streaks in her hair… "eek!" He shrieked, clinging to Wanda. "Save me baby! I don't wanna take another bath!"
"Get off of me you moron!" Wanda shouted, prying Toad off and flinging him away.
Pietro pointed a finger at the two Haven mutants, recognizing them. "You two were some of them that attacked us. What are you playin' at?"
Portia shrugged. "You got it wrong kid. Now if you don't mind, we have somewhere to be." She grabbed Sionnach by the arm and turned to walk down the hall.
"We ain't done yet!"
"Sure we are…" Portia whispered, opening her palm. She smiled as she heard Toad shriek as he fell through the portal that opened beneath his feet.
Sionnach frowned. "You aren't supposed to do that!" He growled. Mutants using their powers willy-nilly. Despicable.
"Shhh, shut up. Now although we're meeting the rest of the squad, we have to act like we only know each other…" She whispered. "Well, and Enrique, we've been seen enough together." Her voice caught for a second, causing the other teen to wonder what that meant.
She stopped suddenly before a classroom door. "Well, now or never." Portia sighed, wrenching it open.
Inside was an already large crowd of mutants. Nearly all of the X-Men were in there, and the Haven mutants were scattered all over the room, only Rena, Clay, and Xander were missing; but besides the known were the unknown. At least ten unnamed mutants stood toward the back, or in sections away from the other chatty groups.
The teen with maroon hair raised an eyebrow. There were a lot of students who were mutants, it appeared.
A bald man at the front sat in a wheel chair, and to his sides were older mutants. Sionnach grimaced. It was Charles Xavier; no doubt he would recognize him. Grudgingly he took a seat at a desk by Portia, who waved Cloak over to them. Sionnach's face brightened a little.
Scott watched calmly as more and more mutants walked in. The meeting was to start in a few minutes. He raised an eyebrow as Sionnach Fae walked in the door. He turned suddenly to the professor.
'Is that—?'
'Yes.' Xavier interrupted Scott's mental question. The older mutants serving as teachers were already connected mentally. 'It's Sionnach Fae.'
'Should we ask him—?' Scottbegan again.
'No.' Ty interjected firmly. 'The kid may have gotten himself into trouble, but he's here to make a fresh start. He wouldn't be in Bayville if he meant only to cause trouble.'
Xavier glanced over at the disguised red mutant. 'Tyler is right Scott. We should give him a fair shot, and perhaps he will uncover some answers about this mysterious Haven.'
The professor looked at the clock, it was three o'clock exactly, now was a good time to start.
"Hello, and welcome to the first mutant power control club. Please, take a seat." Professor Xavier paused long enough for the teenagers to sit. He smiled. "I'm sorry we don't have a nifty name for this club, perhaps you guys can help me think of one." Several kids chuckled. "Now, I am Professor Charles Xavier. I will be in charge of this club, and will work with all of you personally and in groups. My helpers here are-" he extended his hand to his left where Storm was standing.
"I am Ororo Munroe, I will be one of your power advisors." Storm said. "I believe Benj can tell you how that goes." She said, smiling.
Benj nodded. "Ms. O's awesome."
Scott introduced himself. "I'm Scott Summers, I used to go to school here but now I attend a local community college. I'm one of the professor's oldest and longest students. I won't be here all the time, but when I am I can show you how to practically use your powers." He shrugged. "Just don't hassle me about my shades and we'll get along fine."
Now it was Tyler's turn. He looked shyly into the audience. "I guess I'm next… I'm Tyler Dyson, but I also go by Ty or Spades. I haven't been with Xavier for that long, but seeing as I had nothing else to do…" He smiled. "I get the negative effects of powers, and can help you guys with that."
Xavier nodded. "Now I know a lot of you are part of the Institute, but many of you are not. Let's take a moment to introduce ourselves, and if you want, say your power." He looked at Leo, who sat in the front off to the side. "Leo, do you mind starting?"
"Sure!" He grinned. "Hola. Me llamo Leo Dyson. I have a form of shape-shifting that allows me to turn into a lion humanoid. I also have enhanced senses and an advanced healing factor." Leo stood and flicked his tail. "Oh! And I have a nifty tail!" He laughed.
They continued around the room in similar fashion. The Haven mutants answered cautiously, a few simply passing on mentioning their powers. Some of the unknown mutants simply said their name as well and added something like, "I don't really know what my full powers are."
One girl with long, straight jet black hair, a black T-shirt and skinny jeans merely shrugged when it came to her. "I'm Julian Hans. I can make flowers." She stated dully.
The introductions finished up with Enrique Oculto, and the professor took over again.
"Thank you, all of you. I will separate you into four groups and we can work a little more personally with you right now, and just get to know you." The professor stated. "If it's okay with your parents you are to practice small exercises at home that we give you. If not, we will work something out." He smiled and divided the room, mixing the Institute students in with the others.
In the professor's group were Leo, Rogue, Zendi, Portia, Sionnach, the new Julian Hans, and another new mutant. He smiled as they gathered chairs into a rough circle.
As the clatter in the room died down, he nodded to the other leaders to begin.
"Does anyone want give us a demonstration of their powers?" The professor asked.
"What about you, Professor Xavier?" Portia asked. "You didn't tell us what your power was."
Charles smiled. "So I did not. I am a telepath."
'Meaning I can speak mind-to-mind.' He added telepathically. A few of them grimaced, but Zendi didn't react at all.
"Sir, I can show them a sample of my power." Zendi suggested. She was growing bored, and climbing on the walls would spend some of her growing energy.
"Go for it!" Leo grinned, flashing his canines.
Zendi complied. She walked over to the wall behind the professor and began to scale it. She then crawled across the ceiling back to the circle and stood upside-down.
"Tada!" She cheered, before flipping down.
"Thank you for that example. How is everyone's control?" The professor asked. None of the new guys were willing to share so Leo started.
"Well, I guess mine is better than it was—" Leo started.
Rogue snorted. "Ya guess? Ya tried ta kill us… repeatedly."
"Meh, it happens." Leo shrugged. When the newer mutants gave him freaked out looks he explained. "My powers are partially based on animal instinct and if you don't know what you're doin' you can really hurt someone. I had an inner lion to tame, and I'm still working on it."
"Not all mutations are good," Rogue said. "Ah hafta wear gloves and clothin' ovah mah skin or risk hurtin' othahs." She shrugged. "Ya get used to it."
Zendi guessed it was her turn. "I've had some time to work on mine… so I suppose they're under control… but I'd love to see what else I could do with them." She added excitedly.
Portia sat back in her chair. "I'll pass for now."
Xavier raised an eyebrow and gently pricked her mind. His eyes widened as he discovered who she was, but it was not the time to point it out. He would just have to keep a closer eye on her.
Julian Hans was next. She simply opened her hand and a small daisy grew out of it. Rolling her eyes she crushed it. "That's all I can do, at least as far as I know."
The other new mutant just set his hands a glow then shrugged, saying he had no idea what he was doing.
Then all the eyes in the group turned to Sionnach.
He was lounging back in his chair and barely mustered up a look of interest. "Yeah, I got powers. I don't use 'em though. Mutants are criminals and freaks." Portia elbowed him hard in the ribs, causing him to snarl and snap at her. "Watch it!"
Portia fought the itch to open a portal above and below him and watch him fall repeatedly from the ceiling through the floor. Instead she met what she assumed was his eyes (it was hard to tell behind the glasses).
"Watch yourself Foxy." Portia growled back.
"Stop." Xavier said with authority, the two mutants turned and looked at him. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples for a second. "I don't know what you two have against each other, but put it aside. You are here to make progress with your powers, and to find new friendships. Promise me you will stop."
Portia and Sionnach grudgingly turned away from each other and muttered promises.
Somewhat satisfied Xavier continued. "What happened to decrease your outlook on mutants, Sionnach?"
The boy debated answering. Finally he did. "My dad wasn't a big fan of mutants."
Xavier nodded. "How do everyone else's parents handle the fact that you're mutants?" He looked around at the group.
Portia squirmed under the professor's gaze. "My parents don't know." She said suddenly, then instantly regretted it. Of course her family didn't know! She'd left before the big mutant reveal.
Silently cursing herself she met the professor's eyes. They crinkled around the edges in mild humor. She realized he was reading her mind and the cursing got worse. At this point he actually chuckled a little.
"We'll work out a way for you to practice your powers." He said. "You could come by the Institute tomorrow and we can see what we are working with."
Portia nervously flared her hands and a portal opened under her chair.
"Damn it!" She yelled, falling through the floor, chair and all.
The teens sat forward to look at the bare floor where she had been. Leo and Rogue exchanged knowing glances. Zendi closed her eyes in agitation. Maybe it was a good thing Darth was making them attend, they still needed some work.
Seconds later a portal opened behind the professor with a very unhappy Portia walking through. This caught the whole room's attention.
"Sorry about that…" She grumbled, wanting to wipe the smirk from Sionnach's face. "Sometimes…" Portia stopped. "I've been having a bad day, okay?"
Xavier frowned, a little bewildered. "Come by tomorrow."
The rest of the meeting went by without accident. The professor documented the powers of the new mutants, and made arrangements to meet with several of them.
"Now I know we didn't do a whole bunch this week, but next week we will look at some control techniques many of my students have found helpful." The professor paused. "If you need anything during the week, you can either call or come to the Institute, or send word through Principal Darth and I can come meet with you."
As the students gathered their things he made one more comment. "And try not to get into any trouble."
So? What ya think?
Expect a delay on updates for D-Factor, I'm going to work on the Rena/Fenris chapter for Havens Chronicles (so beware AvengedVeralin, I may be PMing you soon). And I really need to go back and perfect edit some chapters so that might take a little while. I'm getting close to the breaking point of D-Factor, but don't worry, the story keeps going afterwards.
Also if you haven't noticed there's this whole new "picture" thing that goes up with your stories now. I'm not much of an artist but I can slap something together. Anyone have any ideas/suggestions? I'm at a loss here.
Finally, special thanks to San child of the wolves, who's working along with me on Julian Hans.
~Keep writing strong.