Chapter Seventeen: Everything's Perfect
Tobi couldn't have asked for a more perfect girl's night. She and Danni sat on Tobi's bed, flicking through the latest magazines and dipping chocolate cookies into cups of milk. Both of their faces were coated in honey-and-oatmeal face masks. Just thinking about it sent a pang of regret through Tobi, remembering her girl's nights with Raven. She shook it off. Things were different now.
"Oh my gosh, look at this," Danni giggled as she flicked over a glossy page and pointed to where a group of people were at an ice-skating rink. "We should totally try that sometime."
Tobi rolled her eyes. "You can't be serious. Can you imagine the boys ice-skating? Knowing Sean, he'd probably fall over and end up getting his fingers sliced off. No way. Stick to roller-skating, I reckon."
Tobi examined Danni critically, wanting to see her reaction to the mention of Sean's name – yet there was nothing. It was excruciatingly obvious that Sean had a huge crush on the new girl, yet did Danni return his feelings? Despite their show of affection at Tobi's eighteenth, they'd agreed not to discuss the kiss they'd shared.
"So." Danni glanced across at Tobi. "You and Alex, huh."
Tobi flushed, knowing that Danni was talking about the fact that everyone knew they'd had sex. Her cheeks were burning hot and Danni laughed lightly at her embarrassment.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Tobi. Not unless you regret it. I mean, I'm pretty sure most people here have done it. Charles might have been surprised, but I bet he saw it coming."
Tobi didn't like thinking about it. Sure, it had been amazing…but it just felt weird for some reason. But it was sort of like – Tobi and Alex had a connection. It had been there before, but after they'd had sex, it had been established. Danni watched her with raised eyebrows and a mischievous smile.
"Don't you dare laugh," Tobi warned, "Seriously, have you looked in the mirror? Your face is covered in…"
She trailed off, realizing that she was in the same situation as Danni, with a honey-oatmeal mess over her face. Danni started to giggle uncontrollably, as she knew what Tobi had been about to say.
"So is yours," Danni pointed out, and all self-restraint the pair had possessed vanished as they both burst out laughing. Tobi didn't think she'd laughed so hard in a very long time. Her stomach muscles hurt and tears of mirth were forming in her eyes.
A knock at the door made them calm down. Sean's ginger head peered in and when he noticed Tobi and Danni rolling around in hysterics. He grinned at the pair of them.
"This looks like fun. Are you going to have a pillow fight in your underwear? Can I join in?"
Tobi and Danni exchanged glances, and Tobi could see the knowing glint in Danni's eyes. The two girls leapt off the bed, rolling up their magazines and charging towards Sean, who quickly ducked back out of the room and closed the door. He didn't mind girls with pillows, but girls brandishing magazines were another matter entirely.
"Your girlfriend's crazy!" Tobi heard him shout out, obviously to Alex, as he raced off down the corridor.
Danni might have been the first mutant to join Charles's Academy, but she certainly wasn't the last. Tobi watched with fascination as over the next month, a small group of young mutants trickled in. She observed them all rather curiously, determined to learn more against them.
There was Max Donohue, the same age as Tobi, who had the power of telekinesis. He came with his fifteen-year-old sister, Lucie, who could light herself up as bright as the sun. The Donohue siblings had fled from an unsupportive family, and by the tired rings around Max's eyes, they had been stuck in a rut until they'd found the Academy.
There was Perry Saunders, sixteen years old and a master of almost every known form of martial arts. Even Tobi, who was known for her speed, couldn't match him when it came to skill. After his father had died, Perry had been completely alone.
There was Elliott Rydeka, nineteen and arrogant. Tobi didn't like Elliott one bit. His power was that of using the ability of the last person he touched. There was a smugness about him that Tobi couldn't stand. His past remained a mystery, so she convinced herself she was right to be suspicious of him.
Last but certainly not least, there was little Zelda Madigan. She was only thirteen and any other person would have thought she just had a beautiful voice – except that she used the power of song to hypnotize people. Zelda had accidentally hypnotized her mother into setting the house on fire, and although the woman had survived, Zelda wanted to learn to master her ability.
"So?" Alex queried, leaning out the window on the second storey. Max, Sean, Hank and Perry were having a game of baseball outside, as Elliott watched with a brooding expression. Alex turned to face Tobi. "What do you think of the newbies?"
Tobi just shrugged. "Some of them are okay. Others are…well, I don't trust Elliott, for starters."
Alex laughed. "He's just a dick. It doesn't mean he can't be trusted."
Tobi remained silent. She'd dealt with plenty of untrustworthy people in her teenage years – heck, she'd been one of them. There was just something about Elliott that didn't quite fit. Perhaps Alex was right and she was just being paranoid. She grabbed him by the hand and tugged him away from the window.
"Come on. I think we should introduce ourselves to the new kids."
Alex raised his eyebrows, but didn't question her. Once they walked outside and crunched across the gravel, the new kids looked around. Max, who was currently batting, lowered the baseball bat and tilted the cap further over his messy light brown hair as he grinned across at them.
"Hey. You guys must be some of the mutants already at the Academy. I'm Max Donohue, but sometimes my sister calls me Deuce. Don't even ask."
He gave a self-depreciating laugh and held out his hand for them to shake. Alex stepped forward, considering him with an impassive expression. Tobi hid a smile – Alex could sure be intimidating when he wanted to be. After a moment of inspection, Alex gripped Max's hand in his and shook firmly.
"Nice to meet you, Max. I'm Alex Summers, or Havok."
The others had been cautious upon seeing Alex confronting Max, but when Max was met with positive reception, they slowly headed over as well. Perry, dark-haired and grinning, clasped Alex's hand in his own.
"Perry Saunders. You can call me Judo though – I guess it's better than being nicknamed 'karate'."
They introduced themselves one by one, apart from Elliott who remained slightly apart from the others, as though he didn't really want to get involved. Alex examined the boy out of the corner of his eye. Elliott didn't seem to care.
"Oh, by the way, I nearly forgot to introduce you guys. You've obviously met Sean and Hank." Alex grabbed Tobi's hand and propelled her forwards. "This is October Sutherland."
"Tobi," she retaliated, glowering at Alex, "It's just Tobi."
Alex, still subtly examining Elliott, clapped Max on the shoulder.
"Do you reckon I could have a bat?"
Max examined the bat, before he shrugged and handed it over.
"Sure thing. You can't be any better than Perry, though – the guy's a baseball legend."
Alex smiled, but there was a hint of coldness there. Tobi wondered what he was playing at.
"I played baseball in middle school. Let's see if I've still got it."
Alex stepped up to bat and Max stood beside Tobi as she moved forward with her arms crossed over her chest and her green eyes narrowed. Max examined Tobi, then turned his gaze upon Alex as Perry stepped up to bowl.
"Am I right in saying you and Alex are dating?"
Tobi groaned. "Please don't tell me you're a telepath as well."
"No, no," Max laughed, pulling off his cap and raking a hand through his unruly hair, "Just stating the obvious. I'm right, aren't I?"
Tobi couldn't help but like Max. His attitude was friendly and he seemed to mean no harm by the questions he asked. Unfolding her arms, she laughed, too – although she remained tense. Alex was up to something, and she'd bet ten bucks it involved Elliott.
"Alright, you got me. Yeah, we're going out. Why do you ask?"
Max shrugged. "Just to make sure I'm not only making assumptions. It's embarrassing to think something about a person only to find out later that it's wrong."
The metallic chink of the ball hitting the bat made Tobi whirl around. She watched as the ball spun in a wide arc – and hit Elliott in the head. He clambered to his feet, irritated, as Alex, Perry and Sean struggled to restrain their laughter. Perry ran across with a hand held out for the ball.
"Sorry, man," Alex called across to him, although by the amused glimmer in his eyes, Tobi could tell that he'd done it on purpose. "Guess I don't know my own strength."
"Can I have the ball back?" Perry asked, his hand still outstretched.
His teeth gritted in fury, Elliott ditched the ball at the ground, where it bounced and landed at Perry's feet. Elliott stalked across the grass towards Alex, who was laughing openly now and surrendering the bat back to Max. He shoved Alex in the chest and immediately, the laughter died.
"You think it's funny?" Elliott snarled, his eyes blazing with anger. The grin across Alex's face had faded and was beginning to get annoyed as Elliott shoved him violently again. "You think you're a riot, don't you?"
"Ease up, mate," Sean called, clearly troubled by what might be the beginnings of a fight, "It was an accident."
"Bullshit," Elliott spat, enraged eyes focused solely on Alex, "You think you're such a tough guy, huh?"
Tobi rolled her eyes. Boys. Why did they have to be so immature? She was annoyed at Alex for picking on Elliott, but also irritated at Elliott for taking things so seriously. She whizzed across the grass at the speed of sound, appearing between Alex and Elliott a moment later.
"Hey, boys. Why don't you knock it off, okay? Just leave it."
Elliott was a little surprised at Tobi's presence for a moment, before he smirked across at Alex.
"Oh, I get it. You have to get your little girlfriend to intervene on your behalf, is that right?"
Everyone started talking at once. Alex and Elliott were shouting obscenities at each other, while Tobi tried in vain to get them to be quiet. Max was marching across the grass towards them, but it was Sean who got the message across, opening his mouth and unleashing a high-pitched sonic scream that made them all grimace and block their ears.
"I think everyone should just stop arguing," Sean put in rather meekly as everyone stared across at him.
Elliott spared Alex one last withering glance, before he turned and stormed off towards the mansion. The doors slammed behind him and Alex looked at Tobi, who had her hands planted on her hips.
"Yeah, I think you're right, actually. I don't like him, either."
Tobi responded by smacking Alex on the arm.
Bishop was all set. With his allies, he would infiltrate Xavier's mansion and steal the records of Shaw's contacts. It was almost laughable, really. What sort of threat could Charles Xavier, a lame man, possibly pose? Or what about his school of teenage mutants? Bishop smirked at the thought.
"So what's the plan?" Ghost asked, approaching Bishop. It would only be the two of them taking Xavier's mansion, yet Bishop was confident that they could do it. Ghost's power would prove devastating for whoever dared confront him.
"I want you to negate all their powers. That way, they won't be able to stop him. Xavier won't risk the snivelling brats he's teaching. He'll hand over the records, I'll make sure of it."
Despite Bishop's certainty, which bordered on arrogance, Ghost was a little more concerned. Even if he negated the powers of Xavier and the young mutants, they may prove to be troublesome. It was the teenagers and not Charles Xavier who was his main concern.
"I don't know, Bishop. It's going to be a big risk. You're relying very much on the fact that the kids are going to be scared into submission. What if they rebel?"
Bishop's smile was one of sinister promises. "Oh, they won't. I am the bishop, remember, and they are but pawns."