Disclaimer: The X-Men and Brotherhood aren't mine, they're Marvel's. All the OCs are either of my imagination or my reviewers (check my profile for full credits).
Author's note: I hate school dances.
So I figured out romance is not my forte. So it turned into action about half-way through. WHAHAHA! Okay, so it mostly focuses on the Haven mutants, but I figured you all have seen the X-Men at dances before so I changed the focus. I hope you like it.
Oh and happy 4th of July. And in that awkward moment where you're not from America: happy just another day!
Enjoy. Read. Review. And DO NOT press the red button.
"So who are you taking to the dance, Leo?" Benj asked his brother. The two were attempting to finish homework in their room after a killer Danger Room session. Benj was reading a book for English upside down on his bed and Leo was finishing a lab report for his Biology class on the floor beside him.
The other mutant sighed and laid the paper beside him. It was the Tuesday right before the dance. He was desperately out of time. "Well let's see… no one." He grumbled.
"Oh come on, there's gotta be someone you could ask!"
"I'm outa time, bro. There's no one left."
Benj looked over at his brother, the blood rushing to his head from being upside down so long. "What about the Institute girls?"
Leo laughed. He began counting on his fingers. "Rogue is goin' with you. Kitty's with Lance. Amara's been asked by every guy here, and frankly I'm not interested. And Tabitha, I slightly am, but I know it would hurt Amara's feelings. Besides, she's more insane than I am. There's no hope for me!"
The blonde laughed. "There is no hope. Maybe a Haven girl, or… someone in one of your classes?"
"Yes, me going out with a Haven mutant wouldn't be suspicious… and none of the girls in my classes want to go out with a mutie." Leo grumbled.
"Well, there's Claire Darth…" Benj suggested.
The two brothers met each other's' eyes and burst out laughing.
"As great as that could possibly be, I think that would be a disaster. Dating the principal's daughter is dangerous, even for me!" Leo chuckled. "She's not a big Leo Dyson fan anyways, I kinda… crashed into her, you know?"
"So you're gonna just go alone?"
"No, I'll be with friends, and then I'll chill in the background during slow dances and gag to myself." Leo muttered.
Benj laughed. "Right, not like you enjoy the music they play anyways."
"There's nothing wrong with—" He stopped suddenly, his phone was ringing.
Benj hushed up and watched. His brother answered, after briefly looking at the caller ID. "Hello?... Mr. Walkman! Yes, Seth mentioned it… really? Well… yeah, yeah, I got it… Monday? Yes-yes sir! I'll be there!" He hung up the phone and jumped into the air.
"Hmmm, now I wonder what that was about…" The blonde chuckled, sitting up. "I didn't have to read your mind for that one."
Leo was too busy cheering and bouncing around the room to care. "THE END OF FOR A WHILE! YEAH!"
A puff of smoke accompanied by Kurt flashed into the room. "What is going on in here? It sounds like a herd of baby elephants."
Leo grabbed the blue boy's shoulders and shook him with every word. "I get to go back to the zoo!" He was so excited it all came out in Spanish.
Kurt tried to settle himself as Leo went back to freaking out. He shook his head. "I'm not sure what that means, but great!"
It was after school on Wednesday, and Ash was getting her books from her locker. She was supposed to meet the rest of the Haven mutants outside in a few minutes so they could go home.
Suddenly someone came up behind her and extended a crimson rose out. The unknown student was standing in a position where Ash could only see their arm, so she was very confused.
"Hey there." The voice was soft and sounded a tad nervous.
Ash turned around and looked up. It was Julian Hans, one of the mutants from the Xavier meetings. Her black hair was straight and framed her pale face. Her pale blue eyes looked over the smaller girl, and Julian smiled.
"I saw that you got my note."
Ash nodded, a little embarrassed herself. It had been awhile since someone asked her out.
"So… uh…" Julian rubbed her arm as Ash took the rose from her. "Would you… like to go to the Fall Dance with me?" The last part came out a little faster than she intended.
Idiot! Why can't you do anything right? Julian scolded herself.
Ash nodded. "Sure."
"Do… uh… do you want me to pick you up? I mean… cuz you know… uh…"
"Yes." Ash said quickly. "That would be nice." She gave Julian Seth's apartment address, that was where all the other Haven mutants that were going to use as there jumping off point.
"So meet you there around seven?"
The small girl nodded.
Julian smiled. "Yeah. Could I walk you to class?"
"Of course." She paused. "Of course if we had class."
The black haired girl slapped her forehead. "Oh, duh! I'm just getting all tongue-tied around you. I'm sorry, I'm such an idiot."
"No, you're not." Ash said simply, placing a hand on the taller girl's arm. "It's kinda cute."
Julian smiled and took her hand. "Well then I'll just walk you outside."
The Haven
"So who's all goin' to the dance?" Clay asked as the group of mutant students arrived back at their home. They managed to not topple on top of each other this time. Everyone was settling into the common area, sitting in the chairs and couches. The leader smirked as she looked at Ashley. "You know, besides Ash."
Ash was embarrassed that Clay would point her out, and buried her face in her hands.
Enrique grinned at her. "Stop it Clay, you are embarrassing her."
Clay laughed and shrugged. "Alright. We need a head count though, so I can…" she pulled a face, making a few of the others laugh, "appease Jaller."
"I think everyone was planning on going." Zendi said, glancing around.
"Can I go?" Nico asked excitedly, he was tired of being cooped up inside.
Their leader sighed, and looked sadly at Nico. "I'm so sorry Nico. It's a high school dance, you can't go." His face fell, his ears nearly folding into his head. Clay came up with an idea. "Buuut, I do need you and Rena to do something."
"Really?" The dragon boy became excited again.
Rena tilted her head in confusion. "What are you up to Clay?"
"A word, please?" Clay didn't answer her question, but instead walked over to the girls' hallway and waited for Rena to follow.
The wolf-dog paddled over, she guessed it would be easier to talk if she was in her human form so she quickly shifted. "Okay, what is it Clay?"
The girl rubbed her wrists. She looked down in confusion when she only felt skin, before realizing she wasn't wearing her wrist guards. She shook her head. "Uh… well, you know Nico's been stuck in here for a long time. He's dying to see the outside world, but you know, he's not old enough to serve on the team and we can't place him in an average elementary school. I was thinkin'… well that you and him could do some look out for us at the school."
Rena nodded. "Yeah, okay."
"I mean, I can do it if you want… oh wait, you're fine with it?"
"Yeah. I wasn't going to the dance anyways, me in a gym with a ton of other people? Bad idea, I don't do crowds. Aaaand I might just morph back to wolf-dog at any given moment." Rena said.
"That would be… unwelcome." Clay stated, before bursting out into laughter. "I'll get it all worked out with Darth. And I think Nico will be overjoyed that he gets to go on a mission."
"But, are you really expecting trouble?" Rena asked. "Or is this just a fake mission?"
Clay's gaze looked past her and her eyes glowed slightly. "Not a fake mission, but I don't want everyone else to have to worry about it. We've had enough craziness."
"But you're not… why are you going then?" Rena was a tad bit confused. It wasn't like Clay to have others do a job she would normally insist on doing herself.
The gray-skinned mutant rolled her eyes. "If I didn't go, they would know something was up. Besides, Zen insists I 'have fun'." She did air quotes for the last two words. "Apparently she doesn't think I do."
"That's because you don't." Rena replied bluntly. Clay scowled, but she continued. "You're always running on high, pushing yourself way farther than you should, and we all think you're gonna end up killing yourself."
Clay glanced at her squad, they were all watching them. Zendi seemed to be paying especially close attention, and she nodded. Their leader grew agitated.
"Just be glad you can't see inside my head." Clay growled, surprising herself and Rena at the tone she took. Her green eyes widened. "Look, I'm sorry… I—"
Rena held up her hand. "Whatever it is get your head on straight." She said bluntly, before turning back to the common area.
Zendi jumped over the couch she was sitting on and looked like she was about to up to Clay. Rena stuck her arm out and caught Knife, turning her around.
"Alright! So here's the plan everyone," Clay began, "Fenris, Wyvern, you two are on look out since you're the only two who don't go to the school."
"And Parselmouth?" Portal asked, sitting up a little straighter.
"We're all leaving from his apartment, well you guys are, my father will escort me. He will remain there, if anything happens return there."
"And she means anything." Rena butted in. "We don't need to have to go after someone who's had a little bit too much to drink." Her eyes drifted to Portal, who squirmed a little under her gaze.
"Just because—" The girl with purple streaks started, glaring at the other girl.
Rena's ears went straight back. "No, I didn't mean—"
As usual, Zendi played mediator. "Stop. No one's blaming anyone. We have to get ready for this dance!" She cheered, jumping up.
Xander shook his head. "I'm not going. I'm not much of a dancer."
Portal rolled her eyes. "Don't stay here and read that damn book." She grinned. "Why don't you go with me?"
The boy stared at her like she'd gone insane. He wasn't one to attract the attention of girls, much less girls like Portal. "W-what?"
The girl smirked and folded her arms. "Are you gonna turn me down? It's a limited time offer."
Xander's face blushed bright red as he shook his head. "I-I… uh…" He stammered.
"Great! Sounds like a plan!" Portal got up smiling. She knew there was no way Xander would go otherwise, and their squad needed some down time.
Realization hit Nico's face. "Wait… Rena… you and I are… IT'S MY FIRST MISSION!" He squealed.
The mutants laughed.
A shadowy figure stood in front of several blinking video screens. On the screens were imagines and security taps of the Haven mutants' attack on the Brotherhood Boarding House.
"Well?" Another dark shape asked behind the first.
The original didn't turn away from the screens, but the bright lights reflected off the metal armor he wore making it seem like he was moving.
"It is time to put our plans into action." The figure replied. He tapped a few things onto the keyboard and brought up a certain scene from the attack.
All of the screens showed the same images. Sabretooth and Clay were fighting sword-to-claw when the girl tripped over the ground behind her and fell backwards. The animalistic mutant sprang at her and landed heavily on top of her before being thrown off by rippling sound waves. The camera's focus blurred out then in as it zoomed in. Clay Dune was shaking on the ground, her form literally falling apart from the vibrations. The figure at the screen paused the video.
"I have isolated the frequency of the sound waves. It should subdue her long enough." The figure turned to the other behind him. "We will use the school dance as a cover, get in, get her, and get out."
A crazy laugh filled the room. "Gotcha boss." Small flames stirred around the edges of the room. "But won't they notice?"
"Those with enhanced hearing will be crippled like her, so that should prove as enough of a distraction." The figure responded in a non-caring voice. "Do not fail me." The voice echoed menacingly.
The other figure nodded hastily and ran from the room.
Light and music streamed out of the windows of the school building. A steady stream of students was filing in, the dance was already started and it looked like rain. A yellow pick-up followed by a silver Jeep and a silver SUV pulled into the parking lot. The pick-up and SUV stopped near the front doors and several Institute students jumped out of the bed of the pick-up and back seats of the SUV.
"Thanks Jean!" Amara called as the silver SUV pulled away.
The truck parked alongside Rogue's Jeep (which was a miracle, parking was INSANE), and the Dyson brothers jumped out. Benj smoothed his button-down forest green shirt, and nervously flicked his hair out of his eyes.
"Dude, relax." Leo laughed. The dance wasn't extremely formal; it was pretty relaxed so most of the students wore semi-formal wear. The guys with button-down shirts and slacks, and girls in a mix of blouses, vests, slacks, shirts, and dresses. Leo was wearing a crimson shirt and black slacks with shiny leather shoes. Being at the Institute meant he could afford nicer clothes than he was used to, not that he was trying to impress anyone… but maybe he'd hook up with someone at the dance.
"Rogue already likes you, you're already together… what's up?" The feline mutant asked, fiddling with ivory colored shark teeth on a cord around his neck.
"I don't do dances."
Leo chuckled. "According to Kitty, Rogue's not much of a dance person either. You'll be fine!" The pair turned their heads to see Rogue, Kitty, and Lance walk up to their truck.
Rogue glanced at the couple next to her and rolled her eyes. Lance had his arm around Kitty's waist. "Yall are so damn mushy."
Lance had hitched a ride with Rogue, after saying he didn't want to ride with the Brotherhood.
"Ah can't believe ya just left the Brothahhood, ya're the only one with a car." Rogue laughed, after Kitty pulled a face at her.
"Eh, they'll get over it." Lance replied. "They're on their own."
Just then his Jeep came flying around the corner, honking at the X-Men and Lance. Toad leaned out the side in his awful blue tuxedo and yelled at Lance. "I hope you don't mind, we hotwired your car!"
"Why that little—!"
Kitty pulled Lance back as he lunged toward his Jeep. "Come on, like let's just go inside."
The X-Men headed in, and as soon as they set foot on the gym floor they divided up into their respective groupings.
A new couple walked in a little later after the Institute students, both hesitated at the loud music.
"Well, no turning back…" Julian sighed. She looked down at Ashley at her side, and smiled.
The smaller girl met her eyes and gave her a thumbs up, a sign of her approval. "First steps…"
"Are always the hardest." The taller girl sighed.
None of the Haven girls on Clay's squad could be defined as "girly", the closest was Portal, but even she wasn't one to go all out for a school dance. Reflecting so, none of them were wearing dresses. Ash was wearing a white dress shirt layered over a black blouse and a pair of slacks (all of the Haven's dance clothes were courtesy of two mutants, Designer and Graphic), and her dirty-blonde hair was pulled back in a braid. Her date, Julian, wore slim-fitting black slacks with a royal blue dress shirt and black buttoned vest.
Julian took a deep breath, making Ash wonder what was bothering her so much. The girl seemed pretty laid back, so it was a tad surprising. It wasn't in Ash's nature to ask a ton of questions, but she wanted to know more about this girl if she was going to have any luck in trusting her.
"What is it?"
The black haired girl grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the side of the gymnasium where there were chairs and tables. She sat and motioned for Ashley to do the same.
"Well, uh… I guess you could say I haven't really opened that closet door yet." Julian said, sounding a little miserable.
Ash nodded.
"So, I mean, this is a big step for me, you know?"
Ashley grabbed the other girl's hands and stood (not much of a difference in height from when she was sitting). She pulled Julian to her feet and jerked her head back at the dance floor.
Julian smiled. "You know just what to say."
As they walked closer to the rest of the dancing students, the rest of the Haven mutants came in. Portal had Xander's arm, and was practically dragging him into the room. They made an odd couple, Portal had her own sense of style and wore leather pants with a silver belt, a purple tank-top, and chain and leather bracelets around her wrists; Xander on the other hand, wore a green polo and navy dress slacks. He looked miserable with his sunken eyes and pale skin, but Portal wasn't letting him get away with anything and dragged him to the dance floor. She looked like she was having a blast pushing him around and forcing him to have fun.
Zendi looked ready to dive into the mass of students, literally. She was having trouble not just climbing up the walls, it must have been the mixture of the music and the medley of sugar filled drinks Seth had at his apartment (emphasis on had). She was wearing leather pants as well, with an electric blue shirt under a short leather jacket. In her sugar rush she grabbed Clay's hand and dove into the fray.
Claire wasn't exactly the dancing type but with a friend like Zendi it was hard to just stand there. As usual her outfit was mostly gray: sleek black boots with gray leggings under a short black skirt, and a gray sleeveless buttoned shirt. Soon the elfish girl had Claire working up a sweat, which was saying something.
"Should we join them?"
Sionnach looked glumly at Enrique, who asked the question. The Spaniard was the only one of them wearing an actual suit, with a white jacket and slacks, black shirt underneath and a black tie. His hair was actually slicked off his forehead, and the black zig-zag down the left side stood out more.
"Right. I'll be by the punch if you want me." The gold-eyed boy grumbled. His maroon colored hair was tied back as usual, but he was just wearing a white dress shirt and black slacks, along with his reflective sunglasses.
Cloak shrugged and found a suitable spot along the wall to watch the chaos.
The dance had been going at full blast for about an hour when Claire finally pulled herself out of the foaming center and collapsed on a chair. She wiped some sweat from her forehead and sighed.
Zendi's trying to kill me.
She looked over to the other side of the table and realized for the first time there was someone else there. She sat up a little straighter.
Leo actually wasn't paying any attention to her until she looked at him, at which point he made it known he noticed her. A huge, slightly insane, grin spread across his face.
"Hola."
She snorted. "¿Cómo estás?"
He shrugged. "Okay, I'm just chillin'. How bout you?"
"My friend found it necessary to try to kill me." Claire stated, rolling her eyes. "You been on the dance floor yet?"
"Briefly, I can't stand the music though." He pointed to his ears.
Claire noticed he was cringing at the sound. She listened a little closer, and shuddered. "Well I know you got that crazy hearing thing, but the lyrics are quite—"
"Awful." Leo grimaced. "Seriously, who listens to this?"
As he asked a guy walked by cheering that he loved this song.
"Well, let's start with that guy." Clay said laughing. Leo chuckled and pulled an MP3 out of his pocket.
"Let's see if I can get the DJ to play this song…" He muttered. He bolted up and held his hand out to Clair. "Wait here, I'll be right back."
Claire watched him dash up and talk to the DJ behind the sound booth. The DJ nodded and took Leo's music device, the mutant turned back to his table and gave the girl a thumbs up. He walked back.
"Check it."
After the song ended what Clay could only assume was Leo's song started blasting. Both mutants winced at the concussion of sound.
As the words started Leo pulled Claire up and sang along with the lyrics. She laughed as he danced and sang.
"Have you heard the new sensation? Can I give you some good news? Well, let me tell you what it's all about 'cause it's sure to make you move!" Leo stopped singing and grabbed Claire around the waist and danced with her.
"Family Force 5?" Clay laughed as they twirled around to the heavy beat.
"Do you wanna get supersonic?" They both sang when the chorus came up.
When the song was over both mutants couldn't stop laughing and were breathing heavy. The rest of the dance floor seemed to be in similar states.
After Leo grabbed his MP3 and came back, the two mutants sat back down.
"I don't think my ears will ever stop ringing!" Claire shouted.
"What?" Leo shouted back. The two burst out laughing again. His face cleared. "Hey, I got an idea."
Nico, Wyvern, was trying to remain level headed. It wasn't exactly working though.
"My first mission…" He whispered.
Fenris was next to him on the roof of Bayville High. She had her paws up on the edge of the roof, and was scanning the area at the front of the school.
"Just keep your eyes open." She barked.
Wyvern nodded and squinted out into the parking lot. He tapped his claws on the rail. He knew that the mission was mostly nothing, but there was an awful sense of foreboding in the air.
To keep himself from getting bored he would check-in with his sister from time to time. Like Benj and Leo, Nico and Ashley shared a telepathic link. He and Ash had agreed earlier to leave the link open on both ends, as a way to let each other know what was going on.
'Hey. What's going on Ash?'
'…Uh, nothing.'
'Ash, I can feel some very strong emotions coming from your end.' Nico chuckled in his mind. 'You like this girl.'
'I'm not sure yet.'
'But…'
'She definitely likes me.'
Nico chuckled and went back to walking the perimeter of the roof. Suddenly one of the vents on the roof opened with a clang. He jumped and let out an involuntary yelp, before crouching behind one of the huge air conditioning units. He fumbled a little at his belt, before pulling out his Haven communicator.
"Rena!" He hissed into the speaker.
"Codenames!" She barked.
"Sorry, Fenris! There's someone on the roof! Can you see them?"
There was a pause, and a sigh. "Relax and stay out of sight, it's just two teenagers."
"Oh, okay!" Nico answered back. He peered around the block of metal to watch the two teens haul themselves onto the roof. His eyes widened as he saw Clay climb out after some boy with red spikey hair.
"Uhhh, Fenris?" He whispered.
This time the reply came from his side, where the wolf-dog now was. "What?"
He turned, a little startled, before pointing. Fenris' muzzle cracked into a wolfish grin.
"Can someone say, 'blackmail'?"
Clay pulled herself up onto the roof after Leo, knowing part of her squad was up there. Hopefully, they'd stay out of sight. She should have wished they wouldn't watch.
"Alright, I'm up here, now what?" Clay asked, pretending to be irritated.
Leo grabbed her arm and tugged her over to the side of the roof. "Look."
He had turned her to where they could overlook the city. The lights glittered crazily and cars streamed in and out of the city along the interstate.
"It'd be better if it was wilderness, but you know, darn humans." Leo grinned. He pulled out his MP3 player again and handed an ear bud to Claire. "It won't be quite as loud this way."
She smiled and put it in her ear.
The two danced for a while to some slow songs before they got bored and cranked up a fast song, and Leo plugged in mini speakers. The pair kept dancing even when the songs changed before they began laughing at a song on the feline mutant's device.
"Seriously, you have some of the strangest music I've ever heard." Claire laughed, clutching her right side. The mix of laughter and heavy dancing was hurting her wound.
"Eh, Christian Rock and Rap, what can you expect?" He shrugged, jumping up onto the air conditioning unit behind them.
Leo couldn't help but think he should've listened to his brother. Claire Darth was a blast. He coolly watched her as she looked out from atop the roof. He noticed that now that she was wearing something sleeveless her arms were a lot more muscular than they first appeared to be. They were built somewhat like a softball player's, and she rubbed her wrists like she was used to something being there. He frowned, the action was familiar. Who else did he know that did that? He waved off the thought as she turned around.
"What?" Claire asked. Leo's amber eyes were fixed on her and it was making her uncomfortable.
He grinned. Her eyes glowed slightly in the dark. "Oh, nothing." Leo eyed the empty spot next to him. She rolled her eyes and hopped up beside him with grace.
"So what?"
Leo leaned back and looked up at the sky. It was inky black, but a bit illuminated by the city lights, making it difficult to see most of the stars.
"In my hometown you could always see the stars…" Clay whispered.
The boy looked over at her. "Where are you originally from?"
Claire looked surprised at the question. She hadn't meant to let anything like that slip. She never talked about her hometown. Too many painful memories from there. Groaning, she shook her head. "Never mind." She mumbled.
Leo rubbed his goatee for a second before exclaiming: "Nebraska!"
The girl raised an eyebrow at him. "You can tell?" Apparently she couldn't get that state off of her.
"Well, I'm a bit of an expert on accents." Leo said nonchalantly. "You make your short 'a' sounds really harsh, a defining characteristic of Nebraskans."
"Really? What about other states?"
The mutant went on to explain a few other states, like how Texans didn't quite have the same southern draw as some other Southerners, but instead a softer version. He laughed when he started talking about some northern states like Wisconsin where 'bag' becomes 'behg'.
"How do you know all these things?" Claire asked, after laughing along with him.
Leo fiddled with his necklace. "Well, my mom was a bit of a linguistics nut, always talkin' about other accents…" His voice faltered.
"She's dead, isn't she?"
He nodded. He looked over at Claire and sighed. "You already know about that, don't you?"
She paused before nodding. "I may be a bit nosy around my father's files."
Leo chuckled, glancing back up at the sky. His gaze fell back to Claire, and he was struck with a crazy idea. Not really realizing what he was doing, the teen leaned over to her and pressed his lips against hers. The girl looked stunned for a second, her green eyes widening, before relaxing.
He pulled back suddenly, muttering. "Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry, I just—" He didn't finish.
Claire grabbed his chin and kissed him back. She wrapped her left arm around his neck and placed her other hand against his chest, touching the crystal. She found it odd that something would be vibrating in his chest, but energy was put out by it and was slightly drawn into her.
Leo was surprised by her actions, even more so by the pure power emitted by her hand when she touched the shirt above the crystal on his chest. He didn't want to think about that though, and pulled her closer to him. As he kissed her his mind drifted to the conversation he had with Logan only a few days before.
"I want to do a lot of things. Go to the dance, find a girl, kiss her, marry somebody, have a few cubs…"
Maybe Claire Darth would fit the role…
He'd be plenty happy if she did. There seemed to be a rawness to her, something none of the other girls he knew had. It was like she wanted someone to share things with, but she hadn't found them yet. He wanted to be that person.
Leo leaned back on the air conditioning unit, dragging her with him. He didn't realize he was so close to the edge until they both toppled off the side.
He groaned a little as he hit the ground hard, but he took most of the impact. Claire sat up and rubbed her head, trying not to laugh or lose control. Leo had sparked something in her she didn't know she had. Other guys had shared crushes with her, but Leo wasn't one of them. Her thoughts were a bit muddled and confused as Leo sat up and looked at her.
"Well… that was… something?"
"Uh, yeah…" She muttered.
A slight giggling/gagging noise came from elsewhere on the roof, and both mutants turned toward it. Clay resisted the urge to swear. She would kill Fenris and Wyvern later.
The feline mutant stood. "Someone there? It ain't too nice to spy!"
His outburst was greeted with silence.
"Listen, if you won't come out, I'll— ahh!" Leo shrieked in pain and clutched his ears.
"Leo! Ack!" Clay had started to rise when the sound reached her ears. She too clutched her ears and fell back down to the ground.
Wyvern sprung up from behind the metal box, looking to see what was wrong. Suddenly Rena yelped, her ears flattening against her head. She laid on the roof and tried covering her ears, but the pain was intense.
"Wh-what's going on?" Nico cried, looking at the three elder mutants shaking on the ground.
"Cannon's been activated boss." A light-hearted voice laughed into a walkie-talkie.
"Good," A voice over the device said soothingly. "Go now."
"With, pleasure!" Pyro exclaimed. He stood beside a metal device that looked very much like a laser cannon, but it was putting out a high-pitched sound wave. He was completely unaffected since his hearing was average, but that couldn't be said for everyone in the school.
"Rena, Rena!" Nico shouted, trying to get her up. She whimpered and pawed at her ears.
Somehow she managed to speak a simple statement, "Bad sound."
The young mutant ran over to Clay, who was taking the most damage from the sound. He'd never seen her like this, but she was nearly crying, her face scrunched up in pain and concentration. Her very skin vibrated, it lost its average skin tone and was now back to the gray-tan shade she had when not at school.
"Clay…"
"Go!" She grunted, managing to point toward the vent she and Leo had climbed through. "Get... squad! Portal… aaaghh!" She screamed. The pain was intense, her skin burned and shivered. It took nearly all her concentration just to keep her body intact.
Wyvern stood shakily and ran toward the open vent grate.
The dance below was still going strong, but things were about to take a terrible turn.
Zendi was dancing with a few of the other Haven mutants near a group of Institute students. They seemed to all be having fun, ignoring their close proximity and past history.
Very suddenly Zendi froze, a peculiar look spreading across her face. After a few seconds she clasped her hands over her ears and collapsed.
"Zen!" Portal cried, drawing the attention of those around her.
The Haven mutants hurried to her side, and Portal glared at the Institute kids near them.
"You!" She yelled over the music. The X-Men turned, Bobby, Amara, Tabitha, Ray and Sam. "What the hell did you do?" She grabbed Ray by the front of his shirt and glared into his eyes.
Others were starting to take notice, and the humans began clearing away. The elder X-Men noticed and jogged over, separating the two.
Rogue stood in between the groups as Enrique held Portal back.
"What the hell do ya think ya're doin'?"
Portal struggled against Enrique's calm grasp. "You did something to Knife!"
"Did not!" Kurt said, he and Amanda were nearby.
Portal stopped for a second and looked down at the Italian. "Then explain that!"
The X-Men followed her gaze and saw the tan girl sprawled on the floor, clutching her ears and her face scrunched up in pain. She was yelling something in Italian none of the mutants looked eager to translate.
Another scream and a yelp came from inside the crowd, causing more chaos among the students. Some cleared the way as the X-Men moved out to find those clutching their ears.
"Sionnach…" Enrique whispered. He'd looked over to the punch bowls and saw the teenager slumped against the white cloth table, his head down and hands placed firmly against his fox ears.
"What's going on?" Xander muttered, him and Portal were trying to lift Zendi up and move her out of the gym. Ash and Julian ran up, and assisted.
Rogue looked at Benj, who began to pale. "What is it?"
Benj grabbed her shoulder, as he gasped and almost toppled over. She wrapped an arm around him and steadied him. "Leo… something is very wrong."
By this time the gym was in absolute chaos. Students were running around asking questions, making it difficult for the X-Men and the Haven mutants to gather those in pain into a group. They finally succeeded and had a small group of about six students who were cringing and clutching their heads.
"Benj, scan their minds." Rogue said, taking charge.
He nodded and took a deep breath. He looked at Portal, who nodded, and he placed his hands on either side of Zendi's head. He extended a mental probe, and was met with a little bit of restitance at the start, but the normally impentatrible shield was weakened by Zendi's intense pain.
"It's a sound wave, something is affecting those with enhanced hearing." He said, standing. Benj himself looked like he was going to join them he was so pale.
The Haven mutants looked at each other in worry. An unspoken message passed between them, and Xander slumped suddenly. Portal caught his still form before he could hit the ground.
"What the—" Rogue started.
Portal grunted as she threw Xander into a chair, he didn't weigh much but dead weight is nothing to laugh at. "We would love to stay and chat, but we have things to do."
A spontaneous crash from above them drew their attention before they could leave. A silver form fell from an air duct vent, landing basically at their feet.
"Ack! Dragon!" A few people shrieked.
Nico picked himself up and brushed off some dust. "I would not recommend that."
"What is it Wyvern?" Portal asked, ignoring his startling entrance. Ash appeared at his side quickly, leaving Julian very confused.
"On the roof, Rena… and—"
"Like them?" Portal pointed at Zendi and Sionnach.
"Worse." The boy responded.
Pyro was scaling the wall of the building in order to reach the roof. He left the sound cannon back on the grass lawn behind the building and figured the mission would be very simple.
He hauled himself onto the roof, muttering something about stupid school dances. He scanned it quickly and saw the form he was looking for.
"Well there, Shelia, I guess this is our rematch." He laughed, flames spiraling out from his dual flamethrowers strapped to his wrists. "Too bad ya ain't up for the fight!"
The flames stopped and he continued on, kicking Rena's whimpering form aside when she tried to rise.
Leo noticed him as well but was unable to move. The pain of the sound was worse for him than it was to Rena due to his healing factor. Imagine your ear drums being blown out by a sonic boom, or a guy with a sharp pointy stick. Then imagine it healing, then as soon as it heals seconds later the boom happens again, or the man stabs you in the ear again. Yeah, that's how Leo felt.
The Aussie crouched next to Claire Darth and scooped her up into his arms. "Now see, no fight, no worries, eh?" He laughed. "Sound cannons, who knew?"
Pyro frowned. He wasn't sure why he'd said sound cannon, but he shrugged it off thinking it was nothing.
Yeah right, I'm not nothing!
The Acolyte jumped. He laid Clay on the edge of the roof, she was now unconscious and limb. The sound had done its job.
"Who's there!" He yelled, whirling around in a circle.
Xander Green smiled, well his "ghost"-self smiled. His mind was extended out into the Astral Plane, where his body took shape. It left his physical body vulnerable, but he left himself in capable hands.
Whisper floated behind Pyro, to him and probably telepaths that extended their minds into the Astral Plane he looked just like himself, only tinted light blue. He kind of figured he looked like a ghost Jedi from Star Wars, or maybe a hologram. He fished around inside himself and summoned some of his emotions.
Honestly, he was pissed off. This clown was messing with his family, and he didn't take that lightly.
"TURN IT OFF!" He shouted at Pyro.
The fiery mutant froze like he was making up his mind. Slowly he drew a small remote out of his pocket and pressed a button in the center.
The tension in the air lifted, and Leo dragged himself up. He was surprised to see a man with orange-ish blonde spikey hair, wearing a red and orange suit.
"Who the hell are you?" He asked groggily.
His question snapped Pyro back to reality. He stared at the remote in his hand, and then swore. "I ain't of no worry to you!" He cackled and released flames from his pack.
Leo's eyes widened and he rolled aside as a flaming rhino charged at him. "You seem worrisome to me…" He muttered. He glanced around and saw Claire's still form draped over the edge of the roof, her arms touching the roof and legs dangling over the side. Fire burned inside of him as he turned on Pyro. With a wild roar he leapt at him and knocked him to the ground.
Pyro stopped laughing. He struggled under the teen's arms, but Leo shifted quickly adding intense weight to his hold on Pyro.
"Ah, well if ya want to do it that way…" The man muttered, spreading the flames dancing on parts of the roof to engulf the whole roof. "Ya can't stop me know kid!"
Leo looked up in a panic, all Pyro needed. The Aussie kicked both legs into his chest, knocking the teen off of him and into the fire surrounding them. The man rose and dispelled some of the flames and calmly walked over to where he left Clay.
"Come on Shelia, we got to go."
"Get up!" A voice yelled into Leo's mind. The mutant's eyes snapped open and he looked around to see Pyro take Claire in his arms again and hook a cable to the rooftop.
The teen sprung up and shoved Pyro off the building, barely managing to grab Claire's arms.
"Waaah!" Pyro yelled, falling over the side of the school; luckily for him he'd already secured the cable around his waist so his fall came to a jerky stop a few feet from the ground. In typical Pyro fashion the man burst out laughing. He unclipped himself and stood on the ground, positioning himself directly beneath the two teens.
"Nice try, ahaha!" He cackled, pressing the button on the remote.
The screeching noise came back and sliced through Leo's ears again. He cried out in pain, but refused to drop Claire. The girl groaned and she came to, dangling in the air.
She almost screamed, but quickly composed herself. The sound hit her in waves, but somehow this time she remained strong.
"Hold… on!" Leo grunted, trying to haul her over the edge.
"There!" Cloak pointed. He was leading a small group of mutants out of the school building to try and find this "sonic cannon".
The group (Enrique, Portal, Kurt, and Kitty) sprinted out onto the grass. They stopped as the oldest mutant examined the machine. "Wow, this is very impressive."
"Less admiring, more stopping!" Kurt scolded. He really wanted to go back to the dance.
Kitty looked up and saw the roof on fire. "Uh… guys? I don't think we'll be going back into the dance!" The others looked up and cringed. Kitty tapped the white-haired teen on the shoulder. "May I?"
He stepped aside.
After a quick glance Kitty phased her hand through some of its circuitry. The machine sparked and smoked; then the cannon collapsed, accompanied by a whirling sound.
"We need to get everyone out of the gym!" Kitty shouted, dashing back to school building. Kurt followed.
"Go." Portal commanded to Enrique. "Help them out, I'll get Rena off the roof."
He nodded and followed the X-Men inside.
Portal waved her hand and a portal opened. She stepped through and arrived on the fiery roof, choking and sputtering.
"Fenris!" She shouted. It was nearly impossible to see anything through the smoke and flames. A small yip sounded a few feet away.
Leo's grip was slipping. The piercing sound was making him loose concentration, and his senses were too sensitive in his lion shift. He shifted back to human, and struggled to keep from dropping the girl below him.
Then… the sound stopped. His ears stopped crying out in pain.
Claire grasped his arms more firmly and hauled herself up, using his arms like a rope. The mutant below shouted curses before running off.
She focused on making her skin look normal again, hopefully in the confusion Leo hadn't noticed. And then she noticed the fire. "Uh, Leo? We're on a flaming rooftop."
The boy nodded warily. "Yeah. There's that."
"You should've let me fall."
He shook his head. "Now don't talk like that, we need to go. Now."
"Good thing I'm here!" A strained voice behind them coughed. Portal half-carried, half-supported a girl with wolf ears and tail. Portia waved her hand wide and a portal opened at their feet. "Jump."
Xavier and Logan arrived just in time to see kids stagger out of the school building. The roof was in flames, but Storm put a stop to that. The X-Van pulled up alongside the curb and the adults watched the students emerge.
Many were on cell phones yelling things, but a lot just looked dazed. The X-Men helped those that were crippled by the sonic cannon walk over to the X-Van, where Jean and the professor were calming them down and inspecting their ears.
Leo, Claire, Portal, and Rena staggered over to the van. Leo nearly collapsed, exhausted and angry, but instead he just sat on the curb. Claire sat next to him, and placed a hand on his charred shoulder.
She nodded at Portal who was straining to keep Rena upright. The curly haired girl nodded in return, and looked back at the school.
The rest of their squad was emerging just then, Enrique was supporting Sionnach, and Xander was helping Zendi along. Sionnach looked like he was going to die (not literally, of course), a mix of pain and bizarre happiness etched on his face.
"Professor Xavier?" Portia asked quietly, her voice raspy from the smoke. Rain was falling heavily now and students were running for cover under the trees.
The man looked up at her, a caring smile on his face. "Miss Manderson, I'm glad to see you okay."
"Thank you… sir." She coughed. "I'd like to make a report to you on what happened."
He nodded, then glanced at the girl leaning against her. "Do you need medical attention?"
"She does, but Ash can handle it." Portal stated. She looked back to the school were Ashley and Julian were running toward them. "Rena…" She whispered softly. "You gotta morph."
Rena shrunk instantly into her wolf-dog form and laid on the sidewalk. Ash ran up to her side and took a deep breath.
Reaching her hands out, they became encompassed in a purple glow which extended and surrounded parts of the wolf-dog's body. Julian was watching with intense curiosity as Ash continued her healing process.
The purple glow retreated from Rena's body and flashed in the exact same spots on Ash's form. She had a quick intake of breath and the girl gritted her teeth.
"Amazing…" Xavier breathed.
Portal nodded. "Ash is the best there is, but there's always a cost."
The small girl's face was extremely pale, and she trembled slightly. Julian knelt beside her and grasped her hand.
Xavier nodded. "Thank you for your help."
She shook her head. "Think nothing of it, we're not the bad guys, you know?" Portal glanced around her, the Haven mutants had assembled together. "I believe I'll be seein' you tomorrow." She smiled and bowed, a portal opening behind the group.
Rena got up, surprisingly fine and nosed Ash. The small girl squeezed Julian's hand and shook her head.
The other mutants left.
Claire watched them go and sighed. The night had been insane. She looked at Leo, who was staring off into the distance.
She grabbed his hand, and then stood, forcing him up. Leo met her eyes.
"Thanks for everything…" She muttered, kissing him on the cheek. "Next time, let's not have supersonics." She walked away to where Principal stood watching.
He stared and absently watched them walk over to a sleek black car.
"Sooo, you and Claire?" Benj came up next to him and asked the question.
"I'm so dead."
Silly Leo, this isn't going to end well. Yeah romance? Pheh, who cares? Crazy Pyro? MUCH MORE FUN!
What some of you are calling: "Breaking point" is only a few chapters away. Two, maybe three. I might take longer updating because I'll probably put it down on paper then work toward getting there.
Oh and that song? Supersonic by Family Force 5.
(And because some asked: A Runza is a specialty sandwich kinda sorta thing at a fast food restaurant called Runza, and it's only found in Nebraska. At the tables there and on the back of receits are stories of silly people who drive/fly all the way to Nebraska just to have one. It's understandable that if you aren't from, or have never been to Nebraska it would just make no sense. I visit quite often and felt adding that in would be delightfully hilarious for some.)
~Keep writing strong.