X-Men: New Class

by Ambaryerno

Set in the Earth-10005 Universe, a new class of students arrives at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Inspired by Agents of SHIELD, X-Men: New Class loosely adapts Kyle and Yost's New X-Men as a hypothetical live-action television series. (Note: This story only accounts for up to X-Men: Days of Future Past, and will not be updated for Apocalypse)

2. 1x02 - Wallflower

1x02

Wallflower

###

Act I

###

The sun had not yet risen when Laurie Collins made her way through the empty lounge. The world beyond the windows on the Western wall was still dark, illuminated only by a few lights on the grounds, and the security lighting indoors provided just enough to see by as she crossed the room to avoid the couches, chairs and tables. Most of the student body was still asleep at this hour, though she'd heard some sort of commotion from one of the boys' dorms as she slipped out of the room she shared with Sofia.

For now, though, the school was hers alone, and Laurie relished the brief peace.

As she entered the dining hall, however, she paused, and wrung the tail of her sweater in her hands. The kitchen light was on and she could hear the sound of a pan sizzling on the stovetop, and the fragrance of cooking food and spices hung in the air. Laurie considered retreating back to the lounge until whoever was up had finished, but curiosity got the better of her. She took a firm hold over her powers to keep them under control, and peeked around the doorframe.

Laura stood over the stove with her back to her, her lithe figure clearly defined by a pair of black skinny jeans and a close-fitting tank top, with detached half-sleeves covering her arms from elbow to wrist. She was fiddling with a small pan, a bottle of Tabasco sauce at her elbow, and a number of other spices set out on the counter near at hand. She didn't appear to be following any sort of actual recipe, and it seemed to Laurie that she was adding whatever came to mind, particularly from the jar of red pepper.

Not the sort of encounter Laurie desired at this hour, she started to back away.

"Good morning, Laurie," Laura said flatly, without even turning. It had barely been a week, but the girl's habit of greeting people approaching her in such a manner, when she spoke to them at all, was already proving unnerving to her classmates.

"Good morning," she replied hesitantly. "I didn't mean to disturb you…" Excuse given, Laurie prepared to retreat.

"You did not."

Laurie chewed her lip, the offered explanation for bolting declined. "Oh, ok, good," she said instead. "Um…what are you doing up so early?"

"Making eggs," she said. Laura tasted them as she responded, then stirred in a generous amount of Tabasco sauce before letting them simmer a little while longer.

"Yes, I see that," Laurie said, still not accustomed to the other's habit of short and obvious responses. "But why at four in the morning?"

"You are awake as well," Laura noted. She took another experimental bite, and satisfied with the result turned off the burner. Laura scooped her eggs onto a plate and cleaned up her mess before making her way to the kitchen table to eat.

"Oh… Well, I kind of like it at this time of day," she said as she went about finding her own breakfast. "It's less busy in here. And you didn't answer my question."

Laura hesitated as she prepared to take a bite, and watched Laurie fix herself a bowl of cereal and a glass of milk.

"No, I did not," she said.

Laurie winced at the brusque dismissal of her question, stung by the other's rejection of friendly conversation. She was trying to help her feel at home, after all. As if in response Laura's own expression turned sorrowful.

"Please, do not do that," Laura said.

Laurie looked away from her bowl in confusion. "Do what…?" Laurie trailed off in sudden realization that her grip on her power had faltered after the other girl's dismissal of her question. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, sometimes it just…happens."

She concentrated to regain control, and Laura's expression returned to her typical stoniness. The two resumed eating in awkward silence for a few minutes, before Laura finally spoke again.

"I am here for much the same reason," she said quietly.

Laurie paused mid-bite and glanced up at her. Laura's voice had been so quiet she barely heard her over her own chewing. "What's that?"

"I prefer the solitude."

"Oh," Laurie said. "Some of the others have been giving you a hard time, huh?"

Laura did not answer, and just went on eating her eggs. Laurie watched her for a moment before the silence started to make her a bit jumpy.

"Sofia mentioned it," she continued, more out of a need to fill the quiet than anything. "It's kind of her thing to try and help everyone be friends, you know? But I've…uh…I've been the new girl, too, so I know it can be kind of hard to, well, to belong."

Laura merely shrugged and continued eating, leaving her to fidget uneasily in the silence.

"That's…uh…that's a pretty locket," she said after a few more minutes. The other paused and self-consciously reached up to finger the locket hanging from the choker around her neck. "I've noticed you never take it off. Um, not that I'm trying to pry, or anything."

A distant look passed across Laura's green eyes. "It was a gift. From…" She trailed off with a nearly imperceptible hitch in her voice. For a moment Laurie's control over her power slipped under the brief surge of emotion from the other girl, and she felt…pain. It took a great effort to regain control and prevent the sensation from overwhelming her. "They were important to me," Laura continued, and just as quickly the distant look was gone and the expressionless mask was back in place.

Laurie ran her fingers through her blonde locks in an effort to steady herself from what she had just felt. "A boy?" she asked.

"No."

"Think about it, Laurie," came a tired and familiar voice behind her. "Can you imagine the queen of darkness getting cuddly with anyone?"

Laurie glanced over her shoulder as Julian entered the kitchen, bleary-eyed, his black hair and clothes—something pretentious from somewhere equally pretentious she really didn't care about—an uncharacteristic mess, as if he had not slept at all. He headed for the refrigerator and began digging through it.

She scowled at him, his unexpected arrival taxing her control. "That's…that's not nice, Julian," she snapped. "What are you doing up, anyway? Don't we have a class in a couple hours?"

"We're running a big all-school Team Fortress tournament," he said. "Hey, have you seen that case of Bawls Victor picked up last night?"

Laurie glanced at Laura, who ignored his comment and continued eating.

"I think it's at the back of the bottom shelf. How come we weren't invited?"

"Well, you never play," he said. "And there's no powers allowed, which makes you a bit of a wildcard in a group."

Laurie's mouth hung open at the accusation. "That's not fair!"

Julian emerged from the refrigerator with the case of Bawls triumphantly in hand and set it on the countertop. He leaned against it and folded his arms across his chest with a patient expression that still didn't help ease the sting of being excluded. "So's scrambling the emotions of the competitors during a tournament. And as for her…" he nodded towards Laura. "No one wants her around, anyway. And what the hell are you eating, it stinks!"

Laura just ignored him. When Julian saw no answer was forthcoming, his hand began to glow and he telekinetically ripped the fork from her and sent it flying across the kitchen.

"Hey, Wednesday, I'm talking to you," he snapped irritably.

"Julian!" Laurie said in shock.

"Excuse me," Laura said, pushing away from the table and hurrying from the kitchen. Laurie gasped as the sheer weight of the hurt of Julian's actions washed over her as Laura passed, overwhelming her ability to filter out the wave of pain, and tears filled her eyes. She only just managed to avoid breaking down crying entirely, and it took some moments for her to regain control.

Julian grabbed a clean fork and dropped into Laura's vacated seat. "God she is such a freak," he said.

Laurie glared at him, still struggling to regain her composure. "I should make you feel that, you ass," she said.

"Oh give me a break, you know she's just a robot."

Laurie wasn't sure what made her angrier at him, that he'd hurt the other girl's feelings at all, or how callously he dismissed that she even had them. It took all of her focus to hold back her pheromones and not level him with a concentrated blast of Laura's pain.

Julian took a bite of what remained of Laura's eggs. Almost immediately his eyes began watering and he frantically fanned his mouth, sucking in air in an attempt to stop the burning. "What the hell did she put in these?" he managed as he vainly tried to suck in enough air to cool his mouth. Laurie rolled her eyes and passed him her glass of milk, which he quickly drained.

"Serves you right!" she snapped, and in a huff she pushed away from the kitchen table and left him there with a bewildered expression on his face.

"What'd I say?" she heard him call to her back.

###

Act II

###

Dawn came bright and clear, the sun shining through the windows of her room along with a cool early autumn breeze. Noriko Ashida stood in front of her bedroom mirror, artfully arranging the fall of her electric-blue hair, turning her head one way and then another as she checked for spots where the dye needed retouching, and smiled in satisfaction. By the time she finished grooming Sooraya had already covered her head with her niqab and was straightening out the folds of her abaya. Nori rolled her eyes at the sight and sat on the edge of her bed while she slipped on her shoes. Sooraya gave her a flat look.

"What is it?" she asked impatiently.

"Nothing," Nori said in her Japanese-accented English, standing again to adjust the fit of her low-waisted jeans and short-cropped tee, showing off the toned abdomen and arms she took great care to keep up on. Her gauntlets remained problematic as ever, but unfortunately it was either wear them and ruin the look, or spend the day a babbling and incoherent mess.

"You are thinking it again."

She gave Sooraya an exasperated sigh, and let the thought she had been keeping out in the open. "I just don't get it," Nori said. "You're free here to be…well, whatever you want to be, but you insist on clinging to this?" She waved at the abaya.

Sooraya folded her arms across her chest. "And what is this?"

"It's barbaric and demeaning is what it is," Nori said.

She shook her head. "Then you do not understand at all."

"No, I understand. I mean seriously, they make you cover yourself and hide your face from your friends out in public? I don't know how much more dehumanizing that can be."

Sooraya raised an eyebrow. "As opposed to a society that tells you that you should step out in public barely-dressed at all?" Her eyes hardened. "'They' do not make me do anything. I choose what to believe. I am happy that I need not be overly concerned by what others think of my appearance, and perhaps I find comfort in knowing the boys of this school judge me for who I am, not how much of my body I show to them."

Nori's jaw dropped, and she glared back. "Wait, did you just…" Words failed her for a moment and she lapsed into a string of Japanese invective. She glared and balled her fists, and the room's lights flickered as she felt the power she drew in from every appliance and outlet in the room begin to dance across her skin. "Are you calling me what I think you're calling me," she continued once her English caught back up with her.

The other's expression softened. "I am calling you nothing. I do not judge you, Nori. I merely ask that you offer me the same respect in return."

She was about to say something suitably virulent in response when there was a knock at the door. Nori scowled at her instead and let the argument die, and allowed her gauntlets to absorb and disperse the energy she had gathered before heading to answer it. Seeing the dark-skinned face looking back at her as she stepped into the hall effectively squashed any lingering anger.

"Hey," she said, throwing her arms around David Alleyne's neck and giving him a kiss.

"Good morning," he replied, his voice colored by his thick Chicago accent, as they parted. "Guess I showed up just in time."

She smirked at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"All the lights in this hallway were flickering. You and Sooraya didn't get into it again, did you?"

"Ugh, you should have heard what she called me," she said as he put an arm around her and walked her down the hall and past the other dorm rooms.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm sure Sooraya, of all people, started calling you names first."

"I just don't get how she can willingly follow a faith that treats women that way."

"Right, because it's not like Christianity doesn't have denominations that do the same, or that it hasn't happened at any time in Japanese history," he said dryly. Nori scowled at him at that. "Have you ever actually read Sharia?"

She rolled her eyes. "What difference does it make?"

"The difference is the letter of the law versus the application of the law. Even in this country the former has often been at the mercy of the latter." David pushed his glasses up as they threatened to slip down his nose. "The Constitution says that all of us are equal, and yet we often find ourselves fighting for our right to even exist, merely because the law never specified what is to be done with mutants. It's the same thing you see with extremist elements in any society."

They reached the end of the hall and turned towards the main staircase leading down to the ground floor. Someone was sitting on the top step, huddled against the railing with her legs pulled up tight against her chest, watching the flow of traffic as students made their way up and down the stairs or passed through the hall below.

Laura didn't greet them as they approached, though Nori didn't doubt she already knew they were coming before they reached her. She consciously pulled David to the opposite side of the staircase, so she could pass as far from the other girl as she could. Laura gave no outward sign of noticing, but Nori caught, or at least thought she caught, a flash of green eyes snapping her way before returning to sweep the floor below.

"What was that about?" David asked, glancing back over his shoulder at Laura.

Nori shuddered. "Nothing. She just gives me the creeps is all. She almost never talks, and when she does it's often just…weird."

He shrugged. "You could try and get to know her."

She rolled her eyes. "Please. Sooraya and Cessily try and it never gets them anywhere. She's an absolute freak."

David regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "As opposed to…?"

"Oh come on, David, you know what I mean. The whole Goth thing, the sitting at the top of the stairs just watching everyone. It freaks me out."

They reached their destination, the classroom in the West wing, and Nori gave David a quick kiss on the cheek. "Anyway, I better get in there," she said. "I'll see you later."

"Have fun," David said, giving her a kiss back. "I'll see you at lunch."

Nori played with the collar of his button-down shirt as she reluctantly parted from him, and waved over her shoulder as she entered the classroom.

###

Kevin Ford made his way across the lounge, long black jacket flapping around him like an angry cloud, dressed all in black synthetics from black tee to pants to boots. His long brown hair fell across his face as he walked, and for now he let it hang there, obscuring his features. The other students steered well clear of him, and he might have been more bothered by it if he wasn't so accustomed to the treatment. The school was supposed to be a place where anyone could feel welcome, but that didn't mean it didn't have its share of outcasts.

And just because he was accustomed to it, that still didn't mean it didn't suck to be treated like a walking plague.

Kevin exited the lounge into the formal sitting room. His first class wasn't for another couple hours yet, but he still had a good bit of work to do to finish his project, and he wanted an early start. Julian hadn't been happy he had to withdraw from his tournament, but he needed to be sharp and fresh this morning.

He turned towards the school's main entry hall and paused when he saw Laurie coming down the stairs from the dorms on the second level above. Hands in his pockets, Kevin started back to meet her. She sidestepped the new girl, Laura, who was watching traffic from above (Speaking of outcasts…) and made her way down, shrinking into her sweater and trying to stay as far from everyone else as she could.

"Hey," he said, and flashed a smile when she reached the landing.

Laurie managed a smile in return. "Good morning," she said.

"You look great this morning." He brushed the hair away from his face to see her better, and his smile broadened as she blushed shyly.

"Thank you." She chewed her lower lip a moment, before she spoke again. "I thought you didn't have class for a couple hours?"

Kevin leaned against the railing of the staircase, arms folded across his chest and ankles crossed. "I don't, but I had some work to do."

"Oh, that's right, you've got that project for Ms. Guthrie due today. How…how's it coming?"

"It's pretty much done, I just had a bit of polishing up to do. Would you like to see it?"

"Maybe…um…maybe later," she said, shifting uncomfortably. "I was on my way to class and I can't be late again."

"Oh," he said, stumbling a bit at that. "Well, ok, maybe later. I'd like to make sure it's finished first, anyway."

"Ok, I really would like to see it," she said. "I…uh…I better go, Dr. McCoy likes to start right away. I'll see you later."

"Right." Kevin stuck his hands into his pockets as she started on her way again. "See you later."

Laurie shuffled past him and he turned to watch her as she disappeared around the corner and headed down the hall leading to the West classroom. Kevin sighed heavily, staring after her for a moment before continuing on his own way again, heading out the front doors and stepping into the courtyard beyond.

The scents of fall were thick on the air, and the breeze was cool and fresh. A few students stood around the courtyard, and he ignored them as he made his away along one of the paved walkways to an outbuilding nestled away in a quiet corner of the grounds. In the past it had been used to store equipment for the groundskeepers, but Kevin had been permitted to repurpose it into a workshop. A pile of scrap metal was stacked up against one outside wall, covered by a heavy plastic tarp to protect it from the weather, though Kevin wasn't too concerned about rust. The best materials he kept inside, anyway, and this pile was comprised mostly of stuff he rejected but didn't want to throw out quite yet on the off-chance he might find some use for it.

A large sliding door—Kevin guessed a riding mower had been stored there at some point—secured by a padlock occupied most of one side, which he unlocked as he made his way in. He closed the door behind him again to shut out the sounds of the world outside.

The inside of the shed was stuffy and musty after the walk through the fresh autumn air. Saws, files, heavy cutters, hammers, coils of wire a blowtorch, arc welder and a welder's mask were carefully arranged on a table along one wall or hung from a peg board above it among other tools, and the best of his scrap was carefully stowed in another corner, smaller pieces sorted into plastic tubs, larger pieces stood upright against the walls. A workbench for finer work occupied the wall next to the storage tubs, and his prized possession, an industrial-weight saw he scavenged from a junkyard and had rebuilt was tucked away in another corner. In the middle of the shed, on a heavy metal dolly, stood his latest work, once a collection of random pieces of scrap, now hammered and welded into the elaborate and abstract form of a man and woman dancing. Piles of trash turned into a thing of beauty.

He regarded the sculpture, studying the lines of the woman's arms and shoulders as they flowed into the form of her partner, her stylized gown of twisted metal floating in the air around her. Here and there he saw a piece that needed a small adjustment: file off a bit of material on an arm, adjust the curve of another piece on her partner's body. He didn't quite like the angle of either figure's head, and there was an empty space that seemed to be in need of filling.

Kevin shrugged out of his jacket and hung it on a hook near the door, grabbed his mask and blowtorch and lit it, and turned to his work.

###

Laurie slunk down in her chair in the back corner of the classroom, as far from the other students as its confines allowed her and not particularly paying attention to the lesson. The class was rather small, only about a dozen students giving her plenty of space away from the others, but even then her control was strained. She hugged herself, focusing her attention on the rough texture of her sweater to distract her mind from the invisible barrage she endured.

Most people didn't give a thought to the pheromones their bodies naturally gave off in response to their emotional states, as human evolution had largely turned away from the scents and chemical triggers their ancestor species relied on for communication. They were still present, but they and the human ability to detect them had atrophied into a vestige of their animal past.

For Laurie it was a constant assault on her senses, a quirk of the manifestation of her power and body chemistry she had to fight to keep under control.

She glanced across the room to the opposite corner. Josh Foley sat there, and she spent a few moments studying features she imagined would fit perfectly on the lead of any teen drama on television: Intelligent blue eyes focused on the board as he leaned forward in his chair, intent on the lesson. Blonde hair, not quite so trendily-styled as Julian's, but still nicely groomed. He must have caught her looking his way out of the corner of his eye, as he turned his head slightly to look back at her. Laurie shyly turned away at the first flicker of motion, fighting to keep the embarrassment from her face and struggling even harder to control her pheromones and keep them from leaking into the classroom.

In the middle of the room Julian leaned on one fist, nodding in an effort to keep awake. An angry cloud hung around him; his team had lost the tournament he had been up all night playing. Nori sat some rows ahead of him wearing a wistful expression, her lingering excitement over her lass kiss with David almost as powerful to Laurie as she had once overheard Logan dryly comment her perfume was to his nose.

She sighed and glanced at Josh again, her mind threatening to wander until she forcibly redirected her attention to the lesson once more, silently wishing the class would end.

###

The students filed out of the classroom and Laurie hung back, allowing everyone else to leave before she departed. She braced herself and stepped out into the hall, and was nearly knocked flat by the barrage of emotion outside. She gasped, willing herself to maintain control, and after a few moments the assault passed as she filtered out the rest of the feelings around her, focusing on herself, an island in the middle of the storm.

Somewhere off to the left she heard the booming voice of Santo Vacarro.

"Watch where you're going, will you?" he said. Laurie glanced in that direction and saw Laura thrown down onto her backside against a wall, the big mutant standing over her after an apparent collision. Julian stood next to him snickering, and several of the other students in the hall watched the altercation with amusement. Sooraya and Cessily were both there in a flash, the former helping Laura back to her feet while Cessily's slender, silver figure interposed herself between them.

"Watch out yourself," she snapped. "That was on purpose and you know it."

Laurie felt a rustle like a cool breeze stir her finer hairs and tug gently at the hem of her skirt, and for a blissful moment the assault of all the emotions around her relented. Sofia stepped up beside her and glowered down the hall to where Cessily was delivering a vicious dressing down to the walking rock pile and his partner in crime.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Laurie frowned. "Julian and Santo are harassing the new girl again."

Sofia muttered a bit of Spanish invective. "He just doesn't get it. I don't know why I ever even bothered with him."

Laurie looked at her again, her emotions unreadable, and she smiled inwardly as Sofia's power rippled outward, a gust of wind blowing away the collective pheromones of the dozen-odd students hanging in the air around them. For a moment, at least, she could have a conversation like a normal person.

"Are you ok?" she asked, coloring slightly at the thought she might be intruding on a personal matter Sofia wouldn't want to discuss with her.

"I'm fine," Sofia responded sharply. Laurie recoiled and her control faltered, but Sofia's grip on her own power harmlessly dispersed the released pheromones. Her expression softened as she realized her answer was harsher than she intended. "Julian can just be such a jerk, and it drives me crazy."

Laurie hugged herself. "He…he cares about you," she said, uncertain whether to get involved.

Sofia leaned her head against the wall. Up ahead Sooraya had Laura back on her feet and led her away from Santo and Julian, while Cessily maintained a rearguard to prevent the situation from escalating further. "I know." She let out a growl of annoyance and butted her forehead against the wall. "That's part of why it's so frustrating. I know he can be a good person, and maybe he's even grown up a little since we first met, but he can still be such a child sometimes."

"Have…uh…have you talked to him about how you feel?"

Sofia stopped thumping her head against the wall and gave her a sidelong look. "Every damn day."

"I mean…without the yelling." Sofia raised an eyebrow, and Laurie shied away into her sweater. "It's just…It seems every time you two have a disagreement it starts to get loud."

"We're just so different," Sofia said, turning to press her back against the wall and bouncing her fists off it in frustration. "Maybe it's how we were raised. Did you know when I came to this country, my father wanted nothing to do with me? Our butler, Derek, bless him, showed more concern for my well-being than my own father, and it was a fight just to get him to acknowledge that I was even his daughter in the first place. He arranged two paternity tests! But Julian is always going on about how his parents didn't abandon him, and how he's here by choice. It's like he thinks it makes him so superior to everyone else.

"All his life he got to have everything he ever wanted. In Caracas I had my mother and that was enough, and then she was killed…" Sofia trailed off, tears forming in her eyes that she quickly fought down, a subtle gust of her power scattering the instinctive release of pheromones undetectable to everyone but Laurie.

"My uncle could not take care of me, so I was sent away to my father. Oh, sure, he provided a comfortable life for me, but it was not my father's money I cared about," she continued after a moment. "That was all he was interested in sharing, because he had his business and that was all he really wanted. I wanted a family. Derek helped, but this…" She reached out and laid a hand on Laurie's shoulder, giving her a smile. "This is my family now. But Julian treats it like it's a private club and that he can exclude anyone who he does not want to be part of it. He's such a brat."

Sofia folded her arms across her chest and leaned her head against the wall again. "I don't know." She sighed. "I do still like being around him, because he can be sweet and thoughtful if he wants to. When he's not being an ass, that is, which on some days is more frequent than others." she said.

She looked over Laurie's head towards where Julian stood against the wall, laughing with Santo. Laurie turned that direction as well, and saw Josh coming towards them. She abruptly looked away.

"Good morning, Sofia," he said as he approached. "Hey, Laurie."

"Good morning," Sofia said.

Laurie shrunk shyly towards Sofia and couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with him. "H-hey, Josh," she managed. The butterflies dancing around in her stomach were doing their absolute best to break her control over her powers.

"You and Julian still aren't talking, huh?" he asked Sofia.

"No, we're not. And if he sent you in his place you can just go back and tell him if he intends to apologize he better grow a pair and do it to my face."

Josh recoiled from the heat in her voice and raised his hands protectively. "What? No, he didn't. Believe me, I don't think even Santo is willing to stand in the line of fire. Large things tend to start moving at high velocities when you two get into it."

Laurie giggled. She wasn't even sure why she thought the remark was funny, but hearing it come from Josh… Her thoughts trailed off at the looks from the other two at her reaction, and her face colored.

"Anyway, no, Julian didn't send me. I, uh, was actually coming over to see what Laurie thought of Dr. McCoy's lab assignment."

Her eyes widened in alarm, and once again Sofia and Josh were only saved from her pheromones by the gentle breeze emanating from Sofia. "Um…" She blushed furiously as words failed her for a moment. "I, uh, I don't know if I really understood it."

If Josh noted her flustered reaction he didn't show it, and Laurie was unsure if that put her more at ease or not. "Dr. McCoy can be hard to follow but I think I got it. He said we're free to group up on it, and I was wondering if you'd like to get together later to look it over?"

Laurie's heart practically leapt into her throat at that, and any pretense of maintaining control over her powers failed her in a rush. The pheromones surged out of her, and only a stiff gust from Sofia spared the other two from her reaction. "You…you mean tonight? I…uh…I don't know…"

Sofia gave her a knowing smirk and looked to Josh. "That means she would love to."

Laurie gawked at her, appalled at the betrayal, but Josh only smiled. "Would you like to meet in the library after dinner? Maybe seven o'clock?"

Overwhelmed, Laurie found herself nodding. "I…uh…I don't know…um…ok?"

Josh's grin broadened. "Ok, I'll see you then."

"Ok," she squeaked, as Josh walked away. Laurie spit Sofia with her best "who-asked-you?" look as her limbs started to tremble.

Sofia rolled her eyes in amusement. "Oh come on, sweetie. Everyone sees how you get around him."

"H-how do you know it's not just my power…?" she began, knowing what Sofia's counter would be even before she finished the protest.

"Because I spent the entire time just now blowing your pheromones away," she said, confirming Laurie's suspicions. "Don't worry, it will be fine."

Laurie glared. "No it won't. I don't want…" she hesitated a moment, unsure whether to voice the fear that helped to push her away from her friends. Sofia at least could protect herself, and Cessily was immune—well, not that she really considered Cessily a friend—but the others…

Sofia looked at her expectantly. "Don't want what?" she asked.

Laurie fought back the tears threatening to well up. "I have to go, I have another class in a few minutes," she said instead and hastily retreated, fighting to maintain control of her power.

###

Act III

###

The lounge was a bit fuller than Laurie would have liked, but her growling stomach reminded her that biological needs trumped her desire to retreat back to the solitude of her room during her lunch break. Several students had pooled their money together to order pizza, and a knot were now formed around Mark's stereo, talking and laughing over their lunch while a fast dance number pounded out. Mark flickered the lights in that part of the lounge off and on like a strobe light through the music's influence on his powers.

She saw Nori there as well, dragging a reluctant David over to join her and moving with him in a way Laurie was certain would appall her mother if she had been watching. Julian and Victor stood towards the edge of the group, and found particular amusement in watching Santo's massive rocky form attempting to move in time to the music.

With most of the students present gathered in that corner of the lounge the rest was blissfully empty, allowing her a measure of relief from the barrage of emotion around her. She kept to the edge of the lounge as she made her way to the kitchen to retrieve her own lunch—she decided to make a sandwich with some of the leftover chicken from last night—and found a quiet, out of the way corner alone when she returned to the lounge.

A few other students trickled in while she ate. Cessily joined in with the others around the pizza, and she was followed a few minutes later by Sooraya, who declined an invitation before heading for the kitchen. A few moments later she returned with leftovers from the halal restaurant in Salem Center, and seeing Laurie sitting alone made her way over.

"Good afternoon, Laurie," Sooraya said pleasantly. Laurie could feel the calm welcome rolling off her, and for a moment allowed it to wash over her like a soothing wave.

"Hello," Laurie said.

"May I join you?"

Laurie nodded, reluctantly forcing herself to cut off her power. Sooraya took a seat partway around the table and opened her takeout box. "How has your morning been?" Sooraya asked.

She shrugged. "Classes are ok. Josh…um…Josh asked me to work with him on Dr. McCoy's lab tonight," she said between bites of her sandwich.

Sooraya lifted her niqab slightly to slip a bite to her mouth. Laurie watched for a moment, fascinated by her skill at managing the juggling act she endured when eating in public. When she realized she was staring she blushed fiercely and returned her attention to her own meal. "Yes, I heard," Sooraya said.

Laurie's face heated even more, and she had to make a conscious effort to keep her power under control. "You…um…you know?"

She nodded. "Sofia mentioned he asked you and that you agreed." The corners of Sooraya's eyes, all that Laurie could see behind her niqab, wrinkled as she smiled. "I think it is wonderful you two will be spending time together."

Her cheek twitched, and she hastily took another bite of her sandwich. "I…uh…I didn't… Sofia agreed for me," she said.

"But you did wish to, yes?"

Laurie chewed her lower lip. "I…" Well, that was just it. She did want to say yes, but how could she? No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't actually go, could she?

Sooraya noticed the consternation on her features and leaned towards her. "What is it? What's the matter?"

She felt a tear begin to roll down her cheek, and it wasn't until she saw the spreading of moisture darkening Sooraya's niqab that she realized her grasp over her power had failed. Laurie struggled to regain control and wiped the tears from her own face. For her part Sooraya didn't show any sign she was aware of being affected, from which Laurie took a small measure of comfort. "I am," she said. "I…I don't think I can do it."

"Why not?"

"Because of me!" she blurted out, dropping her sandwich and burying her face in her hands. "I…I'm afraid of…me…of what I could…might…do." Laurie took a ragged breath. "It's so hard to control myself, and if I'm around him I might… I don't want to do that to him."

Sooraya's dark eyes gazed sympathetically at her. "I think you have been doing a marvelous job controlling your power. We all slip from time to time, you should not be ashamed of it."

"I can't be around people, Sooraya! Even when it's just one or two… If I stop concentrating for even a moment…"

Sooraya reached out and gently took her by the hand. "When you first came here, you would not even leave your room until Sofia practically dragged you out of it by the hand."

"I know," she said. Laurie hugged herself with her free hand.

"Control comes with practice," Sooraya said. "Had you remained in your room, you would never have developed the control you have now." The corners of her eyes wrinkled again as she smiled. "Do you remember the first night she convinced you to come to Salem Center with us, when we went to the movies?"

Laurie managed a laugh. "Julian was trying to score points with her, so insisted we all go to that horribly sappy romance she wanted to see."

"You made the entire cinema cry, and not just our theater. Even the people managing the box office and the concession stand. Even Santo. Julian and Victor would not let him hear the end of it for weeks! And every morning he would wake up with a box of tissues next to his bed."

She smiled. "The movie wasn't even all that good."

"But look at how far you've come since then. You can walk into a room now, and even if you must make an effort you can maintain control. For which I am certain Santo is grateful."

Laurie slipped her hand away from Sooraya's and picked up her sandwich, while Sooraya deftly maneuvered another bite of her own lunch under her niqab. "I know," she said. "But I…I'm afraid that if I'm tempted to, I might…"

"All of us are tempted in our lives," Sooraya said. "What matters is how we face that temptation. I believe that you have grown strong enough to resist it."

Laurie considered her words and nodded stiffly. But as she resumed eating doubt continued to gnaw at her. What if Sooraya was wrong? What if she turned out to be like…like him? She couldn't—wouldn't—do that to Josh. Laurie knew he would never forgive her if she did.

She would never forgive herself.

###

"So she's still not talking to you, huh?" Victor said.

Julian tore his eyes away from the absurd sight of Santo's massive bulk trying to keep up with the song blaring on Mark's stereo, the floor practically shaking with each ponderous step and a stark contrast to the smooth movements of…well, everyone else. Victor Borkwoski, the thousands of tiny, shiny green scales covering his skin glistening in the flashing lights of the lounge, folded his arms across his chest and watched the big mutant's awkward movements with an amused smirk. Ridges of short, sharp spikes covered his scalp instead of hair, and aside from general body plan and proportions his brown eyes were his only identifiably human feature.

"No, she's not," he said, and scowled as the reminder made him forget any amusement he was taking from Santo's failed attempts to impress the girls gathered around the impromptu pizza party with his "moves."

Julian turned his attention back to the others. Nori had to practically drag David away from the crowd to get him to dance, but his power quickly made him probably the best on the floor, and he soon put even Mark to shame. Cessily laughed as Santo stumbled about, then took pity on him and joined him in the middle of the group. Her efforts didn't improve the big mutant's dancing, but at least he looked less awkward with a partner.

"You could always try apologizing," Victor said.

He spit him with a glare. "For what?"

Victor shrugged. "I don't know, I imagine there's plenty of things to pick from. Being yourself, to start with."

"She broke up with me, and you think I should be the one to apologize?"

"Just why did she break up with you again?"

Julian let out a snarl of frustration. Deep down he knew Victor was right. He'd said things he shouldn't have in their last fight, but sheer stubborn pride refused to allow him to acknowledge it. "Why am I even talking to you about this?" he said instead. "What would you know about women, and when was the last time you even had a boyfriend?"

Victor shook his head and chuckled. "First, I actually listen. You'd be amazed what you can learn when you do. Second, it's not my fault the options here are limited. Unless you're offering seeing as you're available now…"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, you're funny. And how am I supposed to listen when she won't even talk to me in the first place?"

Victor chuckled. "You could always try that thing with the boom box from Say Anything."

Julian pinched the bridge of his nose. "Did you really just give me advice based on an '80s movie?"

"Well, either it will get her attention, or just creep her out and drive her away for good. Either way the rest of us will get to stop hearing you whine about it, so it's win-win."

The song ended, and Santo struck an awkward pose that had the entire gathering but Julian breaking out in raucous fits of laughter. "Thank you! Thank you!" he said, sketching a bow before retreating from the floor when Mark switched to a slower number. The big mutant lumbered over. "Hey, sweetheart," he said when he noticed Victor. "Bet you couldn't keep your eyes off my sweet moves."

"Oh, that was deliberate?" Victor said. "I thought we'd need to call an ambulance. For when you fell over and crushed Cessily, not from the seizure you were having."

Cessily, her polished skin reflecting the strobing lounge lights, which Mark slowed with his power to match the tempo of his next song selection, smirked as she joined them. "It was kind of like watching the dancing hippos from Fantasia, wasn't it?"

"I think the hippos were more graceful."

Santo harrumphed. "You're just jealous that I've got it. I didn't see you out there."

"That was in the interest of self-preservation. A guy could get killed with the way you were stomping around. Besides, someone needed to keep Julian company."

The big mutant rolled his eyes. "He's still moping?"

Julian glared. "I'm not moping."

"You've been surly and bitter all morning," Victor said.

"Because I was up all night, and I still say that Nori cheated by inviting David to sub for Kevin last-minute in the finals. He doesn't even like the game, and don't tell me he didn't use his skill-snatching. This was supposed to be a no-powers tourney."

Victor flashed him an amused smirk. "Do you really think that David of all people would cheat at a video game? Same guy who insists on not using his power in all of his classes and still has a 4.0 average?"

"Nori would if it meant beating me." He glared towards where she and David were dancing, her head leaning on his shoulder. The green aura formed around Julian's hand, and he grabbed a can of Coca-Cola from one of the nearby tables, floating it over the heads of the crowd.

"Hey, would you grab me one while you're at it," Cessily said. Julian rolled his eyes in annoyance. He handed the can over to her and flicked one glowing finger to open it before retrieving another for himself. "Thanks."

"Next time no substitutions," he said, popping open his own can and taking a drink. "If a team is short because someone missed their bedtime they either play short or forfeit."

"Can you imagine what he could accomplish if he took everything that seriously?" Victor said.

Julian glared, but the retort forming on his lips died as Sofia walked into the lounge. She took one look towards the gathering around the pizza, saw him there, and abruptly turned away and made her way along the edge of the lounge to a table in a far corner where Sooraya was having lunch with Laurie.

"She did it again," he said.

Victor groaned. "Come on, just give it a rest already."

Julian took a long drink from his soda. "No, to hell with this, I'm done being avoided."

"Don't you dare go over there right now, you're just going to piss her off again," Cessily said.

"Who asked you? This is between me and Sofia."

"I'm warning you, Julian. You both need time to cool down."

"I am cool. I couldn't be any cooler."

"Oh yeah, totally cool," Santo said, smiling broadly. "This ought to be good."

Julian glared. "You. Stay."

"Aw." Santo visibly, and exaggeratedly, deflated at the thought he wouldn't get to watch.

Cessily sighed and buried her face in one hand. "Well this is going to end well."

Julian flashed her a dirty look as he stepped away. He carefully measured his stride as he crossed the lounge, finishing the rest of his soda as he approached the table Sofia shared with Laurie and Sooraya. Sofia sat with her back to him, but her two tablemates both saw him coming. He couldn't tell if either said anything, but if not the sudden distress on Laurie's features as he approached was all the warning she needed, and he could see her shoulders rise and fall as she sighed at his approach. He felt the subtle breeze of her power across his skin.

"Hey," he said. Start simple. She can't ignore simple.

"Good afternoon, Julian," Sooraya said pleasantly. Laurie looked between him and Sofia uneasily without a word. Sofia just ignored him.

Julian rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, are you really going to do the whole 'Tell Julian I'm not talking to him' thing? I'm standing right here, so you can at least tell me to my face."

Sofia rounded on him and spit him with a glare. "I'm not talking to you," she said. "So go away. Go back to Santo and Victor and tell them again all about how unreasonable I'm being." She made a gesture with her hands to shoo him away.

He met her glare with one of her own. "I didn't say anything like that, and even if I did it would be because you are being unreasonable."

"Oh am I? And how is that, exactly? By breaking up with an obnoxious, stuck-up, thick-headed pig?"

Sooraya put her hands up. "Julian, Sofia, please—"

"You stay out of this, this is between me and Sofia," he snapped. Laurie flinched visibly at the rebuke, and even Sooraya seemed taken aback.

Sofia stood away from the table and planted her fists on her hips as she stared him down, the slight breeze suddenly cutting off. "Don't you talk to her like that! That's exactly what's wrong with you."

"What, asking people to mind their own damn business is a problem?"

"Oh, so of course it's no one else's business when you start shouting at the top of your lungs in the middle of the lounge."

"Who's shouting?" he shouted. He was distantly aware of the music at the other end of the lounge shutting off, and silence filling the rest of the room. "I'm not shouting."

"Then what are you doing?"

"I came over here to talk to you because you've been ignoring me for a week!" Julian felt his face warming, and the urge to lash out and break something was building. The empty can in his hands crinkled.

Sofia didn't back down, and instead put herself in his face. "I've been ignoring you for a week because I want you to leave me alone." She emphasized that with a sharp poke to his breastbone that managed to make him stumble back. "Why can't you get that through your fat head you…you…" she trailed off into a drawn out and very angry stream of Spanish that he couldn't follow.

"Both of you, enough!" Sooraya snapped and jumped up from the table, what little he could see of her face behind her niqab bunching angrily.

"Oh shut up," he said. "I told you this is none of your business!"

"Stop it," Laurie said weakly, her voice pained, but Julian paid her no attention.

"And I told you don't talk to her like that!" Sofia snapped back. She jabbed him in the sternum again.

"Don't push me," he said, his hand tightening around the can until he felt the aluminum collapse.

"Oh, don't push you? Or what? Huh?" Sofia stepped right up into his face, her own was red as her temper burned, and he felt the air around him begin to stir as she gathered her power. "Or what? You'll hit me?"

"Stop it!" Laurie said again, on the verge of tears.

Julian felt his own power build, and the aura formed around his hands. By now a crowd had gathered and he could feel them pressing in, but all his attention was focused on Sofia. "Push me again and see what happens," his voice icy and dangerous.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" Laurie screamed at the top of her lungs, a shrill, piercing, terrible sound.

And then Julian felt the wall of fear, grief and rage slam into him. The sudden flood of emotion physically staggered him and he fell shaking to his knees. Through the tears welling up in his eyes he saw Sofia—no, everyone in the lounge—in the same state. Except for Laurie, who stood in the middle of the building confrontation, tears streaming down her reddened face, her fists clenched tightly and her body shaking.

"All of you stop it!" she screamed again, and total silence fell over the lounge.

And then she was gone, fleeing from the lounge in tears. As she departed the surge of emotion receded and Julian felt a shock like cold water at the realization of what just happened. At what nearly happened.

Sofia buried her face in her hands as she came to the same conclusion, tears flowing freely. Julian crawled the rest of the way to where she knelt and gathered her into a hug. For her part, she didn't resist.

"I'm sorry," he said, and meant it.

###

Laurie fled the lounge, hot tears burning her cheeks. Her control was gone, the anger she felt in Julian and Sofia's confrontation being recycled in her own pheromones, escalating the conflict further in turn, and building in an emotional feedback loop into potentially lethal rage. She had no choice. She had to release her power. Everything that she was feeling; the despair and helplessness as she watched them, the fear of what was about to happen, the anger she felt from them. The sudden blast of feeling was enough to stop it. It floored everyone in the lounge, letting her escape. She needed to be alone, back to the safety and peace and quiet of her own room, away from everyone.

She didn't make it.

Laurie darted through the sitting room to the grand staircase leading up to the second level and the dorms it housed, dodging past students scattering out of her way as she ran. Up the stairs she went, turned down the hall to the students' dorms, blindly rounded the corner, and that's when she felt the impact.

Laurie yelped in surprise as she ran into someone coming down the hall the other way, and she went down in a tangle of her own limbs. She banged a knee and elbow hard on the floor, but ignored the pain and allowed herself to lie dazed for a moment, upset at allowing herself to so completely lose control.

Then she felt the hand on hers helping her to sit upright, and as she sniffled and wiped the tears away to clear her vision she saw Laura standing over her, her belongings scattered across the floor. How the smaller girl had actually kept her feet Laurie wasn't quite sure.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice wavering as she cried. "I didn't mean to…"

She trailed off at the look in Laura's eyes, and suddenly realized she was still releasing her pheromones as Laura's feelings assaulted her in turn, building together in a massive storm of hurt. She tried to regain control, but somehow it just wouldn't come. Grief and despair overcame her. Something rolling across the floor came to rest against her foot. Laurie seized hold of it, seeking for something, anything, else on which she could focus to try reigning in her emotions and power.

The object in her hand now was long, smooth and eight-sided. A pencil. Laurie lifted it up into view. It was sharp. So sharp.

The grief continued to build. Sooraya was wrong. She would never be able to control her power, and Laurie knew that if she met Josh tonight she wouldn't be able to hold back. She would release it against him. He wouldn't be able to resist her, just like… And when he learned what had happened, when he learned the truth, he would be furious. He would hate her, and he would never want to speak to her again.

Tears began to flow anew as she regarded the end of the pencil, sharpened to an amazingly fine point.

She couldn't do that to Josh. She hated doing it to anybody. Julian and Sofia almost came to blows because of her. Laurie couldn't control it. She was a threat to everyone. If she didn't drive them to fighting amongst each other she would just twist and manipulate everyone around her. It didn't matter whether that was what she wanted, it would just happen. She couldn't allow it.

Laurie tightened her grip. There was only one way to protect Josh. To protect everyone. She…

A grip like steel fixed around her wrist, and she looked away from the pencil and into Laura's green eyes. The other girl didn't say a word as she knelt at her side, and only shook her head in unspoken warning.

Laurie's mouth dropped open with sudden clarity. Laura knew. She…knew what I was about to do… Clarity led to understanding, and she dropped the pencil at the sudden realization of not only what she nearly did, but why she nearly did it. She could only stare in shock at Laura as she released her hand and quickly and quietly retrieved her pencil and the rest of her things from where they fell in the collision.

"Laura," she said, her voice trembling. Laurie felt the tears well up again, the shock over what she had felt snapping her back to her senses, and with an effort she managed to regain control.

Laura paused in her cleaning up and looked over her shoulder at her, before hanging her head, her expression unreadable. It didn't need to be, she already felt it for herself.

Laurie pushed herself off her bottom and to her knees beside her, and reached out to the other girl, gently touching her on the shoulder. Her hand shook after the shock of what she felt and the contact helped steady her. Laura's small frame was tense, the muscles in her arm coiled as if about to spring. "Laura, are you…"

"I must go," Laura said quietly, cutting her off and hurrying to gather up the rest of her scattered belongings. Then she rocked to her feet with feline grace and hurried silently from the hallway.

For a moment Laurie remained where she was and dropped back down to sit against the wall. She stared after Laura and watched her head disappear below the floor as she hurried down the stairs to the level below. She was left mercifully alone for a moment, allowing her to reassert full control over her power, but the memory of what she felt lingered.

The tears returned, but this time not entirely for herself.

###

Act IV

###

Cessily left the classroom, joining the crowd gathered in the hallway as they filed towards the stairs leading up to the dormitories or headed for the lounge. With classes officially over for the day, most of the students would soon be gathering in the dining hall for the evening meal. She tried to remember what it was like to be hungry, but it seemed so long ago she couldn't recall the sensation of a growling stomach or even the satisfaction of relieving it. And while she certainly still enjoyed the taste of her favorite foods, it was not quite the same now that she no longer required them. She mentally ran through one of Dr. McCoy's lectures on biology and the characteristics of life.

Homeostasis, organization, metabolism…

Well, that was definitely one right out the window. She still ate and drank just for the comfort of appearing normal, but Cessily didn't need to do so to survive. She didn't breathe, either, (at least as she understood it) and did she even have a pulse?

…growth…

She could certainly change her size by manipulating the liquid metal of her body, but did that really constitute growth? And did she even possess cells to grow in the first place (which would mean so much for organization)?

…adaptation, response to stimuli, reproduction…

Cessily hesitated at that thought, and might even have blushed if she actually possessed the blood to be able to do so. It certainly wasn't something she had put a great deal of thought into, but was it even possible for her to have children?

She did her best approximation of a sigh and paused as she reached the staircase, leaning against the railing. Well, that was at least two, maybe three, of the key characteristics shared by all life forms that she did not possess.

What am I, then? Am I even still alive, or did Cessily Kincaid die when her power manifested? And if she did, what does that even make me?

Cessily forcibly ended the internal philosophical debate before it could actually begin and depress her further. She had no doubts that any number of the faculty would be intrigued by such a discussion, but it wasn't just philosophy, it was her.

"Cessily! Hey, Cessily!" someone called, drawing her out of her private thoughts.

She looked across the sitting room to see Kevin coming towards her from the other classroom. He weaved with exaggerated care around other students, most of whom gave him a wide berth, anyway. He raised his hands to keep them in view and prevent accidental contact as he hurried through the crowd.

Cessily managed a smile for him as he approached. Kevin uselessly brushed his hair away from his face as he stopped beside her, as it just fell in front of his eyes again, anyway. Other students making their way up or down the stairs kept well away from him.

"Hey," she said. "How was class?"

"Pretty good. One of my pieces is going to be put on display at an art festival in the city," he said, and one corner of his mouth twitched into a smile.

"That's great! Congratulations!"

"Thanks. Have you seen Laurie? I wanted to tell her but she wasn't in class this afternoon."

Cessily frowned. "No, not since lunch." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Julian and Sofia got into it again, and she got upset and took off."

Kevin frowned as well. Since it was almost all he normally did, it took Cessily some time to learn to read the other subtle cues that revealed what he was really feeling. His eyebrows bunched in concern. "I'd heard they were fighting again, and Laurie was there?"

She nodded. "She was having lunch with Sooraya and Sofia joined them. As soon as Julian saw her he insisted on going over, and I just knew he was going to cause trouble if he tried talking to her."

He rolled his eyes. "That's great. Come on, she's probably hiding out in her room."

Kevin grabbed her wrist. To anything living that simple touch would have been quickly lethal, but her metal skin didn't react to him at all. She tried not to think of the implications of that.

"Wait," she said, resisting his tug on her arm. "You know how she gets when she's upset about her power."

"Yeah, but how long has it been since she's actually skipped classes over it?"

Cessily shrugged, reluctantly allowing him to drag her up the stairs. "I don't know, a couple months, maybe."

"Well see, there you go."

"Kevin, will you wait…!" she said as her dragged her around the corner and down the hall towards the dorms. She growled in frustration as she hurried to keep up with him. "What is it with you guys not listening to me today?

They reached the end of the hall, mostly empty now as the students either retreated to the privacy of their rooms or made their way downstairs for the dining hall. Kevin stopped at the wooden door to the room Laurie shared with Sofia and hesitated a moment, before glancing at her rather sheepishly.

"It would probably be best if you, uh…" He trailed off, raising a hand and wiggling his fingers.

Cessily approximated a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Alright, but I still think you should probably just give her some space."

She knocked on the door. "Laurie?" Kevin said, his voice soft. They waited a moment, and when no response was forthcoming she knocked again at another nod from him. "Laurie, it's Kevin, are you ok?"

"Go away!" came the muffled response from the other side.

"Would you please talk to me?"

She didn't respond. Kevin scowled in frustration and tried the door handle, but it was locked from the inside and refused to turn. "Come on, Laurie, open up!"

Cessily grabbed him and spun him away from the door. "Hey, enough," she said. "She's probably upset and forcing your way in there isn't going to do any good."

"I'm trying to help, here."

She glared. "Yeah, well you're not, so back off and wait."

Cessily turned back to the door and knocked again. "Laurie, it's Cessily. It's almost time for dinner."

"Just leave me alone, I'm not hungry!" Laurie said.

"Laurie…!" Kevin started, but Cessily silenced him with a sharp elbow to his side and a glare.

"Laurie, can I come in? We can talk, just you and me. Regular talking, no worrying about your power or anything," she said.

Laurie didn't acknowledge her, but she didn't decline the request either. On the other hand, the door was still locked. Cessily turned to Kevin. "You stay put."

Kevin just shrugged innocently.

"And turn around."

He rolled his eyes at her, but did as he was told. When his back was turned Cessily closed her eyes, and she knew it looked for all the world like she was starting to melt as her body liquefied into a pool of metal spreading across the floor. It was a strange sensation, a state of existence wholly different from what she knew before her power manifested. Her field of vision went all fish-eyed on her, and she could see in all directions at once. She still wasn't quite sure how, but in this state she was still capable of locomotion, able to grip the floor with every part of her body in contact with it at once, and she squeezed through the narrow crack between the bottom of the door and the floor.

As she emerged inside the room Cessily reformed her body again, emerging from the pool of liquid metal back into her normal state. Of course, it was just her body that came with her. The unfortunate side-effect of using her power in this manner was that it tended to leave whatever she was wearing at the time behind. Cessily wrapped her arms around her nude form protectively, and quickly looked for something to cover herself with rather than face the embarrassment of opening the door and asking for Kevin to return her clothes.

Something soft and fluffy flew across the room and struck her in the side of the head, covering her face and blinding her. Cessily called out in surprise and fought it off, only recognizing the robe once she was free. She gratefully threaded her arms through it and cinched it closed around her.

"Thanks," she said. Laurie sat on her bed, her legs drawn up to her chest and her chin resting on her knees, watching as Cessily adjusted the robe (it didn't quite fit) and made her way across the room. "Are you ok?"

She shook her head. Her eyes were red and puffy, and tears stained her cheeks. "No," she said in a raw voice.

Cessily slowly took a seat next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't…I don't know." Laurie sniffled and wiped her nose. "I just had to get away, I couldn't be around anyone."

"I'm sorry, Laurie. I told Julian to leave Sofia alone, but he…well, he's Julian. You know that once he gets it into his thick head to do something stupid there's not much anyone can do to talk him out of it. Usually the results are hilarious but…"

"It doesn't matter," she said, the tears threatening to start again. "It's not his fault, it was mine. I envy you, Cessily."

Cessily looked at her incredulously. "You're joking. You've looked at me recently, right? The naked silver girl who just squeezed under your door as a puddle of goo?"

Laurie shook her head. "I'm serious," she said. "At least you can be around other people."

"At least you can pass for normal. I can't hide what I am. Everywhere I go I have to deal with the stares and the whispers, and that's just the ones who are polite about it." She hugged the robe a bit tighter around herself. "And sometimes if I use my power I end up like…well…this. I can't tell you how embarrassing it is to turn up naked in the middle of a room after shifting. And when I manifested I thought I was dying." The thought from earlier returned unbidden. "Who knows, maybe I did."

"But you can control it. You…you don't…shift…when you don't want to."

"Only because it took a lot of practice."

Laurie sighed. "That's what Sooraya says."

Cessily smiled. "And Sooraya's pretty smart, you should listen to her."

"I tried. I tried to believe her, but then earlier with Julian and Sofia… All it did is remind me how little control I actually have. The only way I could stop it was to blast everyone with what I was feeling and get away. Then running into Laura after…" she trailed off and hugged her legs closer to her chest, and she shuddered as she buried her face in her arms. "I nearly…"

She frowned at the other girl but didn't press her. Whatever happened with Laura clearly troubled her beyond her typical anxiety. Cessily did her best to like everyone, and when Laurie first arrived at the school she accepted her as her roommate since her pheromones had no effect on her, but they never quite got along. Not that she would ever stop trying, of course, so she tentatively reached out and touched her on the shoulder, and Laurie collapsed into her, arms threading around her neck as she began to cry into her shoulder. Cessily hugged her back tightly.

"She stopped me, but what I felt… It was too much," she said between sobs. "Ev…everything is just too much. You and Sofia are the only people I can even have a normal conversation with, and even Sofia has to actively use her powers…just in case. I…I'm supposed to meet Josh later, but I can't. Not…not like this."

Ok, better keep that from Kevin if he asks.

"You can't avoid everybody forever," she said. "Believe me, there's been times where I wished I could lock myself up somewhere and never come out again. I don't even need to worry about eating. Or using the bathroom. But y'know, it's not worth it."

Cessily patted her back and gently pushed her back to arm's length again and gave her a smile. Laurie wiped the fresh tears away and looked down at her own lap. "I know. I know."

"Think of it as just being one bad day. Others will be better."

Laurie heaved a ragged sigh and nodded.

"So c'mon, how about getting something to eat?" Cessily asked with a smile.

"I'd…um…I'd still like to be alone for a little while. I know we haven't really seen eye-to-eye, but…thank you."

She nodded. Cessily knew it wouldn't do any good to force her, so best she let Laurie come back out when she was ready. "Alright. I'll bring you some leftovers later, when you're ready to eat, ok?"

"Ok."

Cessily gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, then got up and made her way towards the door. As she reached it she paused and turned back, hooking a thumb under the collar of the robe. "I'll…uh…I'll return this after I can get some clothes on."

Laurie managed a smile and nodded, and with that, Cessily unlocked the door and stepped out into the hall, closing it quietly behind her. Kevin was still waiting when she emerged, and stared at her impatiently as he held out her lost garments.

"Is she alright?" he asked.

Cessily took her clothes from him, holding them against herself unconsciously, not quite trusting the robe to cover her properly. "She's upset," she said. "She'll be ok, but she wants some time alone for right now."

Kevin sighed in disappointment, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. "I was really hoping to show her that piece tonight."

She did her best to mask the sudden awkward situation she found herself in. He leaned against the wall with his head bowed dejectedly. "She's not really up for company," she said to skirt around the issue. "Come on, let me get dressed and let's go grab a seat at the table before Santo eats everything."

He nodded. "I'll go ahead. I'll meet you down there."

"Ok. And don't worry, she'll be fine. Just give her some space."

Kevin looked at the door one last time, then turned and wandered down the hall, his black coat billowing around him and his head hanging. Cessily watched him go for a moment, her heart aching with sympathy. Or at least it would be if she knew whether she actually had a heart anymore.

Ugh, stop it, Cessily. You're going to drive yourself batty if you keep thinking about it.

She sighed heavily, or at least her best approximation of one, and hurried for her own room. The sooner she was dressed again the better.

###

Josh sat alone in the library. It was 7:30.

He sighed in disappointment and closed the book he had been reading while he waited, and got up to return it to the shelf. There were a few other students present, all of them focused on some assignment or other. He heard Nori's giggle carry from some other corner and quickly amended that thought: Most of them focused on some assignment or other. Unfortunately, none of them were who he was waiting for.

As he made his way back to his table he saw Cessily there waiting for him, her expression glum, and seeing her something other than cheerful made him nervous.

"Hey," she said when he reached the table.

"Hey. What's wrong?" he asked

Cessily sighed. Or at least made a close approximation of one. Because of the nature of her mutation she didn't respire like most people. Dr. McCoy had theories, of course. His favorite was direct gas exchange via her surface skin, but Cessily declined to be studied and McCoy respected her wishes and didn't press her. Josh couldn't blame her, either. The manifestation of his own mutation had proven…awkward at the time, and at least he could still pass as a normal person.

"I tried to find you at dinner," she said, and he could see the hesitation in her eyes. One thing, at least, hadn't changed when her powers manifested: Her mannerisms were still distinctly human, though he suspected the things that were the same just reminded her even more of what was not.

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry, Dr. McCoy asked me to help him prepare something for the next class, I only just finished in time to head over hear. So what's going on?"

Cessily folded her arms under her breasts and hugged herself. "Laurie is…not coming. I wanted to tell you earlier so you wouldn't be here waiting."

Josh sighed. "Ah. You're a bit late, but I already noticed…" He couldn't quite mask the irritation at being stood up in his voice.

"It's not what you're thinking, Josh," she said when she saw the look on his face. "She uh…had an episode."

He frowned. Because Laurie preferred to spend so much of her time alone he didn't get to see her nearly as much as he would have liked, but even he was familiar with her difficulties controlling her powers. "What happened?"

Cessily made a face. "Julian happened. He and Sofia got into it earlier today. And I mean really got into it. Usually Sofia's pretty good about maintaining her power around Laurie, but Julian must have said or done something to make her forget. Between them going at it and how that affects her, and her feeding what she's feeling back into it, the whole lounge just about blew up."

Josh pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'd been so busy today this was the first I even heard about it. Is Laurie ok?"

She nodded. "She's ok, and was calming down last time I talked to her. Something really upset her this time, though, so I don't think she'll come out again tonight."

He sighed again. So much for getting to spend time with her tonight. "Ok."

Cessily tapped a finger on one of her arms thoughtfully a moment. "Listen, I was going to take her up some of the leftovers from dinner in a bit so at least she eats something. I uh…I don't see any reason why you can't take them to her instead."

Josh managed a smile. "Thanks, but if she's been that stressed out over her power today I don't know if I'm someone she'd want to see."

"Actually, I think you're someone she needs to see right now. She's afraid, Josh. Of what I don't know, but it's more than just her control. It's like she wants to talk about it but then doesn't. It's rare for us to get along alone in the same room together for more than a few minutes so she won't really talk to me, and Sofia hasn't had much luck, either. Maybe she'll actually talk to you about it."

He considered that for a moment. "Why me?"

"She likes you, duh. I don't know, but maybe she'll open up to you."

Josh considered that thought. On the surface it made sense. In his past relationships his partners certainly used him as a sounding board for personal matters. Laurie, on the other hand, seemed like she could barely string two words together around him. "Laurie doesn't exactly have an easy time talking to me when she isn't upset about her powers," he noted. "Is there any reason you think it would be different this time?"

She shrugged. "Not really, but it's worth a try, isn't it?" Cessily smirked at him. "Aren't scientists supposed to keep an open mind."

"Yes, but this isn't science."

"Well, it's a science, with a bit theater thrown in for drama."

Josh rolled his eyes. "You're not going to let this drop until I go up there, are you."

Cessily's smirk broadened into a full smile. "I put together a plate for her already, it's in the fridge.

"Alright, alright, you can stop twisting and give me my arm back."

Cessily threw her arms around him and gave him a swift peck on the cheek. "You're a wonderful human being, Josh," she said.

He gave her a smile, memories hanging over him he would have preferred not to carry around that had she known about them, she would have quickly seen the irony in. "If I come back wearing that plate, just remember this was your idea."

###

Cessily didn't notice him between the aisles not far from where Josh had been working. Kevin leaned his back against one of the bookshelves and balled his hands into fists, hurt and anger over the conversation he just overheard waging a furious and bloody battle for control.

###

Act V

###

Laurie stretched out on her side on her bed and flipped to the next page of the book she was reading on her Kindle. Sofia had stopped by briefly after dinner to check up on her before taking off again to catch a movie with Julian in Salem Center. That didn't exactly help her mood much; it just reminded her she had stood up Josh. But no matter how much she really did want to go, she couldn't let him see her after losing control earlier. Even the thought that he would have heard all about her breakdown by now left her dying of embarrassment.

She sighed and flipped to the next page, not particularly paying attention to what she was reading, which was just as well because she honestly didn't care much for this book anyway. She picked it up because of all the hype about the television adaptation, but frankly it was just too depressing and mean-spirited for her. Any remotely likeable characters died off horribly, leaving the story to be driven by a bunch of selfish and petty jerks and psychopaths too wrapped up in their own greed.

A knock on the door provided a somewhat welcome distraction, and she shut off her reader. While she still wasn't in the mood for company, Cessily promised to bring her dinner later, and her stomach's protest of its empty state was threatening to override her desire for solitude.

Laurie got up, straightened out her skirt a bit, and made her way towards the door. Cessily knocked again.

"I'm coming," she said. "Just a moment."

She reached the door, took hold of the handle and opened it…

"Hey," Josh said.

…and promptly slammed it shut again as her eyes opened wide as saucers in surprise.

Oh my god, what is he doing here?!

It took all of Laurie's focus to reign in her pheromones, while her heart did its best to jump out of her chest and run screaming down the hall.

"Laurie?" Josh said, his voice muffled by the door.

Laurie squeezed her eyes shut tight and leaned her back against the door. It took her another moment or two, but she managed to slow her breathing and get her power back under control.

She took a breath to steady herself, and opened the door a crack, just enough to peek her face through. Josh held a plate in one hand and leaned his other shoulder against the door frame. He smiled at her in mild amusement as he extended the plate to her.

"Cessily couldn't make it," he said, "so she asked me to bring this up to you."

"Thank you," she stammered, but she didn't open the door any wider for him. They just stood there staring at one another for a few awkward moments.

Finally he spoke again. "Um…Can I come in? Or do would you like me to feed you through the door?"

Laurie blushed fiercely and stepped back, opening the door the rest of the way and allowing him to come inside. Oh god oh god oh god he's in my room…!

"I'm…um…I'm sorry. About the door," she said as she closed the door again behind him. "And about earlier. I…"

He smiled. Laurie expected to see him angry, or at least upset, but seeing that expression was…comforting. There was understanding in that smile and behind his blue eyes, and for a moment Laurie relaxed. "It's ok. I know that things come up." He paused and looked around. "Uh, where would you like me to put this…?"

"Oh!" she said, suddenly remembering the plate. She hurried across the room to a desk pushed up against one corner near the bed, and cleared a space among the papers and other odds and ends stacked on it. God, I wish I'd have known he was coming, oh god it's such a mess in here… "H-here is fine."

Josh followed and set the plate down, and watched her expectantly. Laurie chewed her lip a moment, and beckoned for him to have a seat. He dropped onto the edge of the bed while Laura sat in the desk chair. He folded his hands in front of him and regarded her thoughtfully for a moment.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. "I heard what happened, and I just wanted to be sure you're ok."

Laurie hugged herself, but the genuine concern in his voice helped put her at ease. "I'm…better," she said. "Again, I'm sorry about earlier. I…um…I was…looking forward to it, but I…" she trailed off as tears of shame threatened to well up on her again. Josh reached out and took one of her hands in his, and her heart fluttered a bit at the touch.

"It's ok," he said softly. "I'm just glad you're feeling better."

She nodded, and the immediate threat of breaking out into sobs passed. But was she really feeling better? Laurie withdrew her hands and shrunk back into her sweater as far as she could. So far her control over her power was holding, but…

"I have a confession to make," he said. "When I asked you about working on the lab earlier, it wasn't really about the lab."

The fluttering started up again. Laurie felt her power build, and it took all her concentration to force it back down again. "Oh…?" she squeaked.

Josh shook his head and flashed that smile at her again. The butterflies in her stomach joined the flutter. "I know we haven't spent a lot of time together. Well, Just you and me, at least. But I like you. You're pretty, I like the way you blush and shrink into your sweater when you're flustered, I like your power and the potential for the things that you can share with it…"

"Josh," she said, interrupting him before he could say more. She felt tears start to well up. "Please, don't…"

He frowned at her, and images of…of him loomed up from the dark place in her mind, and fear gripped her. No, I can't do this.

"I…I can't," she continued. "Please, I need…I need you to go."

Josh didn't move, and instead took her hand. "Laurie, I know you like me, too."

Her heart thudded hard against her sternum, and it was all she could do to maintain control. "Th…that's why I can't do this."

"Can you please at least tell me what's wrong? Why not."

"Because of him!" she said, and the tears began to flow freely. "Because of my father."

He blinked in confusion. "He wouldn't approve of me?"

She shook her head. "No, because of what he did." Laurie tore her hand away from his and buried her face in them. "And I don't want to do it to you, too."

"Do what?"

There was a hint of command in Josh's voice as he tried to coax the truth from her, and Laurie couldn't deny he deserved to hear it. After all, here he was saying he liked her for what she was, how could she hold that back? But what if the truth frightened him away? She didn't want to risk losing him that way, either.

"Laurie," he repeated softly, his hand pulling hers away from her face. "What don't you want to do?"

She drew a ragged breath. Somehow in the outburst she had managed to maintain control of her pheromones, so she supposed that was something. Or maybe as her control slipped she picked up Josh's patient calm. She honestly couldn't tell. Laurie weighed the consequences of coming clean with him, then took a steadying breath.

"My father is a mutant as well," she finally said after ending her deliberation. "He…I share his power, but my father uses it on people." Laurie hugged herself tightly. "If he wanted a woman he used it on her. He…he did it to my mother."

Laurie risked a look at Josh, and his expression was set in a curious blending of being appalled while understanding her fears. "He loved her, I think, because unlike the others once he seduced her he stayed with her, but no matter how you look at it she still wasn't with him by choice." She sighed. "Maybe a month or two before I was born, his power over her, I don't know what happened exactly, but it broke. It suddenly stopped working, and my mother almost immediately realized what happened. Maybe…maybe it was me. Maybe because I inherited his power, it…it made her immune somehow. I don't know, maybe Dr. McCoy would know more about it but it…it always seemed too personal to ask him."

Josh nodded in understanding. "What happened then? After your father's power stopped working."

She sniffed and wiped the tears away. "She…uh…she left him. She realized that the only reason she was there was because of what he did to her, so she left him. Then I was born, and it was just us, and she refused to let him have contact with me. And when my power manifested she brought me here. I…uh…I still talk to her, a lot. And I've visited with her in Salem Center. My power doesn't affect her, either, I guess, maybe I made her immune to me, too. My father didn't have someone to teach him how not to use his power, and she didn't want me to be like that. To do the things he did, so she wanted me to be helped by people who…who understood, because she didn't know how to raise someone like…me…like us."

Laurie sighed and looked sadly into his bright blue eyes. She didn't want to hurt him like this, but she had no choice. She couldn't risk being like her father. "That's…" she continued, the tears threatening to start again. "That's why. That's why I can't do it. I…I don't want to be like him. I can't do that to you. Because then you'll be mad just like my mother, and will never want to see me again. I…I can't live with that."

"You're not like him," Josh said. "He wasn't responsible with his power, and just used it for his own gain. You make every effort to control it."

"It doesn't matter!" Laurie said. "I try. I do. But there's always days like today, where I just can't stay in control. Julian and Sofia could have hurt each other for real today."

"But you stopped it."

"But what if next time I can't? What if I lose control with you? I don't want to make you feel anything you don't want to."

Josh gave her a small smile. "So that's why you avoid people. It's not about you, Laurie, or your power. It's about your father. But you're not him, ok? Don't be afraid of yourself just because of what he is. I mean, I know how hard this must be for you to talk about, but look, you're in control right now, right?"

Laurie hesitated in responding, and realized he was right. The power was there, waiting, but…it was just waiting. For the moment. "Y-yes," she said.

His smile broadened. "Good. So you can definitely say that, right now, you're not affecting me with it."

She nodded.

Josh leaned in suddenly, and his mouth met hers. Laurie froze in surprise and her whole body tensed up as he kissed her. It was soft and gentle, a brief touch before he pulled away again, and her heart and the butterflies began bouncing wildly off each other. Her limbs trembled and she suddenly felt very warm.

"Um…" she said. "Wow…" Laurie laughed giddily.

He laughed with her, and Laurie almost didn't hear him through all the noise the butterflies were making.

###

Kevin regarded the shapeless pile of scrap sitting in the middle of his workshop. His other piece had been loaded onto a truck earlier in the evening to be taken downtown, leaving him with space once again to work, but somehow the motivation wouldn't come. The conversation between Cessily and Josh in the library echoed in his mind, and he silently fumed.

He picked up his torch, lit it, and began to cut, more out of a need to distract himself from thoughts of Laurie than any real creative drive or inspiration.

He worked deep into the night, alone in the darkness.

---

A Note From The Author

As a general story note, I'm still trying to decide exactly how to categorize it. Obviously it's an X-Film fic, but stories and characters are going to be drawing from NXM. For now I've decided to make it a Crossover of both, so we'll see how that works.

This episode is very much focused on characters and their relationships, (mainly Julian/Sofia and Josh/Laurie) so there's not a lot of action. Though if this were to ever be a series I probably just blew the SFX budget for the season on Cessily's transformation sequence...

And before anyone starts, yes, I know that in the books Wallflower's power is limited to just influencing the emotions of others. But when you consider the ways the X-Films deviated from the books this is pretty mild in comparison. I also thought that it would be a natural extension of her power if Laurie could detect and was affected by pheromones from OTHER people as well. Besides, I just wanted to use "emotional feedback loop" in a sentence.

Wither was actually a fairly late addition to the cast I wasn't intending at first, but besides helping advance Act IV I kind of like him as a foil for Elixir. With Kevin's introduction, this leaves one more "main" cast member in the first season to introduce, which I hope to bring on in 1x03 or 1x04.

And no, I don't care much for A Song of Ice and Fire, why do you ask? For that matter, I'm rather disappointed I didn't find a way to destroy that Kindle, either. I hate e-readers. If you're going to read a book, you should be holding a BOOK.