WITCHE: Evolution

by Sokai

[WITCH/X-Men: Evolution X'Over, sort of] A group of young women discover one by one that each possess extraordinary, and radically unique superpowers. While they gradually learn to better harness these tremendous gifts, however, a yet to be detected evil vies to make the ultimate power his own. . . .

15. Chapter Thirteen

W.I.T.C.H.E.: Evolution

By: Sokai

Disclaimer: I, Sokai, do not claim ownership to the workings of W.I.T.C.H. - I leave that honor up to Elisabetta Gnone. Nor do I own Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's X-Men series franchise (even though this story isn't even really related to the series, at least not super super directly, anyway. Just don't want to hear law suit claims LoL). However, I can and DO claim to own this story and its inspired ideas FROM both series.

Note: Two flippin' years, are you kidding me? UGH, it's just getting harder and harder to keep as up to date as I'd like with these, man, I'm tellin' ya. . . . I am soooo sorry, all the same, My Lovelies! Originally, this chapter was pretty much ready to come out at least a few weeks after the previous, but besides life happening, I'd run into the disgustingly disgusting Writer's Block. . . .

No, wait. Not EVEN that. Not like the usual kind, anyway, because everything was there. Chapter outlines made, like usual, and skeletal pages drafted out, blah blah. But it was just, at one point or another, there was a stupid little snag . . . which turned into a stupid, kind of bigger snag, and then, here we are. TWO bloody years later, after finally having a proper chance to sit down and finish this, which honestly made all of this both triumphant, yet so very irritating.

I mean, since, when I was able to come back to this chapter and looked it over, ALL I'd needed to complete it in all this time was a measly FOUR pages.

Horrible, dude. . . . LoL

Anyway! You don't wanna hear all my chaotic nonsense, though I am ALWAYS happy to hear from all of YOU, new and old, and to know that you're all doing fine and keeping it truckin'! =)

In the meantime, Happy Belated Holidays, Happy New Year, Happy Lunar New Year, and now, Happy Belated Valentine's Day! =)

---

This chapter was created in April 2023, and rewritten and edited in February 2025.

---

Chapter Thirteen

To say that it had been rather jam packed the past few weeks would have been a severe understatement, and it was still only the month of September.

Now was usually around the same time most within the city of Bayville were still coming down from their summer vacation highs, if anything.

Certainly, by now, majority of those still within the school system, especially high schoolers, had managed to carve out some sort of habitual 'day to day,' be it alone, with newfound or familiar cliques as they each more or less simply went with the expected flow of the new school year.

Not at any time during this did anyone expect the atypical inclusions of earthquakes, or structural damage of near cataclysmic proportions, and now, apparently . . . ghostly haunting?

Since word appeared to travel rather quickly within the city she now called home, that was the latest piece of gossip Taranee and her friends randomly heard circling throughout the halls of their high school that week.

Naturally, she hadn't been privy to the typical goings on of Bayville High during the previous years, so she honestly couldn't place much of an opinion upon the overall matter.

However, considering how it's just been one 'calamity' after another within just a two week span, alone, Taranee wasn't surprised within the slightest that her fellow peers were now scrambling to the conclusion that some malevolent entity was wreaking havoc within their city.

After all, from the outside looking in, what else could be said, given the otherwise inexplicable chaos Taranee, Will, and the rest of their mutual companions had been forced to leave behind whilst in the middle of what they'd all understandably believed to be a life or death situation?

It was still a little hard to believe that any of it had even transpired, and it was only just two days ago.

True, Elyon was already swiftly on the mend, or so it seemed, at least, having since regained consciousness and able to carry her own once more.

Of the five of them, Cornelia appeared to be the most informed of Elyon's current condition besides Elyon, herself, of course, though Taranee and Will had both made interchanging efforts to keep the other up to date whenever going to check in on the kind girl.

As far as either of them understood, Elyon would be excused from her classes at Bayville High for the remainder of that week as a precaution, but would still be allowed to attend the remainder there at the institute.

And as for her powers, Taranee, at least, hadn't seen Elyon using any of them, whether the reason being she was still unable to as efficiently as usual, or was simply asked not to.

Taranee wasn't certain.

Despite doing her best to remain as in the know regarding her friend's overall progress, Taranee had been making the effort not to pry too much about it whenever she would run into Elyon.

After all, she imagined nearly decimating an entire building with sheer thought alone wouldn't really be something anyone would wish to dwell on.

So instead, Taranee had kept to small or school related talk the past two days since, and had merely kept any worried or curious pondering over the matter to herself.

And in the meantime, she and the rest of her new friends had been using the rest of the week as a much needed opportunity to detox.

If Professor Kandrakar hadn't already asked the six of them, his premiere X-Men to begin forging their bond as teammates by hanging out together, they had certainly taken the initiative all on their own, yesterday especially.

As it was finally, finally a rather quiet and slow paced day for them, each girl had readily decided to catch up either on some sleep, or general relaxation.

Even Professor Kandrakar had also seen fit to reward them accordingly, graciously exempting them from any Danger Room exercises . . . if only for one day.

"It is the least I can do for the ones who'd helped save my Elyon's life! Truth be told, I wish I could do much more, though I'm afraid doing so would only invoke an understandable feeling of unfairness amongst your peers," Professor Kandrakar had kindly explained to Taranee and the others yesterday morning, prior to their having left for Bayville.

Will, in particular, had been especially pleased by the news, as she had so far experienced only one Danger Room session by that point, and what she had gone through with the rest of them down in the now dilapidated infirmary was, as she'd later put it, "Quite possibly a hundred Danger Room sessions put together, I'm sure!"

So, while Irma had decided to lounge around the pool that now free afternoon and "do absolutely nothing," as she'd stated, Hay Lin had taken advantage of her own free time by diving into the latest pile of comic books Taranee hadn't before known she collected.

In the meanwhile, Cornelia, of course, had chosen to stick closely to Elyon, though the smaller blonde had gently protested to this, suggesting that Cornelia not waste her newfound unrestricted time 'babysitting.'

She had, it seemed, to have lost that so called argument, as the last Taranee had seen before leaving the pair within the library where they'd been was Cornelia defiantly settling into the seat next to Elyon, while the other girl merely smiled within apparent defeat.

Beyond that, Taranee was left to assume that each girl had had a great rest of their day, as both Taranee and Will had been granted permission to eat their dinner within their now shared dorm room instead of the usual dining hall, as part of their own plans of recuperation.

They'd spent the remainder of that afternoon, and then later on that evening essentially holed up inside their room, streaming random movies or just simply talking.

It had reminded Taranee, and Will, she was sure, a lot of the slumber party Will had hosted a few weeks prior, although this time there hadn't been anything potentially ruinous to interrupt their thankfully uneventful evening. . . .

Now that it was Thursday, the week seemed to thankfully be continually moving at a satisfactory pace, making Taranee all the more eager to give diving back into her Sociology project a proper go – This time, without incident.

Even Will, it seemed, was actually within agreement with her new roommate this time around when Taranee had openly made the suggestion right before going to sleep the previous night, having also concurred that "if losing sleep or free time because we're buried under a pile of homework rather than a pile of rubble again is the worst we'll have to deal with this weekend, then I'm definitely in!"

Both girls were currently getting ready for yet another new, hopefully yet another uneventful day that early morning, finding themselves already seeming to fall into a comfortable routine of sorts between them as dorm mates.

During the past three days alone, each had quickly observed the other girl's so called pros and cons to now being together within the same living space, though so far seeming to also provide a nice, overall balance as well.

Even though Taranee noted how far less . . . organized Will was by comparison, at least where keeping her collective laundry or schoolwork tidy was concerned, anyhow, it so far wasn't threatening to mess up Taranee's otherwise meticulous nature.

After all, their dorm room was quite large by default, so it wasn't as though Will's strewn about belongings would suddenly pose a threat to Taranee's side of the dwelling any time soon.

And besides, judging by the way Taranee was now beginning to catch Will seemingly second guessing where she'd carelessly leave a few belongings, before then replacing them within their proper place moments later, she didn't really think she'd have to worry about the 'Will Cyclone' much longer.

Still, both girls found themselves feeling incredibly pleased to have one another as roommates, Will having even taken the very bashful opportunity to openly express this at some point during their relaxing afternoon together the other day, and Taranee reciprocating the sentiment every bit as shyly.

. . . . So with all this renewed sense of positivity and overall hope for the better, what reason really was there for Taranee to still secretly thinking about leaving the institute?

". . . . Ughh . . . am I ever grateful to be living with such an early bird like you now, Taranee, or else I'd still only just be making it onto the shuttle bus each day as I have since I've been here," Taranee listened within amusement to Will's sleepy confession as she watched the redhead lazily roll off of her stomach, and regrettably climb out of her bed. "I did the same back home, too, though, to be fair: Just kept smacking the crap out of my alarm clock, hitting that 'snooze' button over and over until my mom had to practically drag me out of my bed to get going. School should totally start at noon, so we wouldn't have to get up at disgusting six a.m. every day!"

Taranee lightly giggled at this, blindly reaching down to gently smooth out the front of the pumpkin colored and pristine turtleneck she'd laid out the night before.

Catching this, Will let out a pained groan as she pointed toward the other girl with one hand, and gestured toward the frog shaped alarm clock now perched silently upon her new nightstand.

"A-Ah, c'mon, maaan! It's only . . . six-sixteen, and you're already dressed and ready to go? You're starting to make me rethink moving in with you, seriously," she teased with a shake of her woefully messy bedhead, giving one final stretch to hopefully leave her continued sleepiness behind as she made her way toward the unoccupied bathroom.

"Well, if you want, I could act as your mother apparently would and start telling you to iron and lay out your clothing for the next day as I do, and take both of our laundry down to the laundry room before getting up at five o'clock each morning, instead," Taranee responded in kind with another chuckle, before making her way toward her backpack to double check that she had everything ready for the day.

At this, Will, who had already disappeared into their shared bathroom, briefly poked her head back out as she gave her rapidly close friend an incredulous look before stating, "You wouldn't dare! If nothing else, I can consider being here like a mini getaway from all my mom's admitted nagging! But, fiiine! I can take the hint: I will take some time this weekend to finish better organize my things, no worries!"

"W-Wha –? N-No, I don't mi - !" Taranee stammered sheepishly as Will already vanished behind the now closed bathroom door once more, her cheeks growing incredibly warm as she also just then realized her lack of subtlety within her overall jest.

Guess it was starting to bother me a bit more than I thought, she mused with a defeated exhale and soft smile to herself, as she somehow found herself feeling at least a tad assured that the other girl wasn't actually offended.

Sure enough, when Will emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, hair more or less detangled and mouth now beginning to froth as a result of her vigorous tooth brushing, she was grinning ear to ear as she quickly whizzed past her now slightly befuddled comrade.

"Wha? I jus remembered I need tuh let Kitty borrow muh notes for da Bio quiz we have tuhday! Be wight back!" Taranee was able to quickly decipher as Will snatched the lone, green colored notebook from off of Will's new study desk and scurried out the door without another word.

Merely shaking her head toward the already resealed door, Taranee smiled to herself as she resumed gathering her own school belongings before moving back to her neatly made bed to put on her shoes.

She'd made it back just in time to see that her cellphone, placed carefully upon her nightstand to charge overnight, had briefly lit up to notify her of a missed phone call.

"Hmm? Who would be calling me this early in the mor . . . oh, boy," Taranee openly wondered within genuine curiosity, before quickly reading the display name with a sinking feeling immediately forming within the pit of her stomach.

Perhaps everything had become a bit too lax the past few days, after all, because Taranee had honestly forgotten that she'd essentially left her entire family hanging regarding her ultimate decision to stay, or leave Kandrakar's School for Gifted Youngsters. . . .

The thought did momentarily cross her mind just mere minutes ago, naturally, but outside of having spoken to Peter about it on Monday, Taranee had admittedly taken the coward's way out by doing her absolute best to strategically distract herself from it.

And even now, right within that present moment, she still wasn't fully certain how she truly felt, overall . . . though she had honestly wondered if she shouldn't just confide within Will, at least, about it, since she would definitely understand the fear of having a previously unforeseen ability suddenly spring up on her. . . .

However, at any time the otherwise sound suggestion had crossed her mind, it only made Taranee that much more ashamed to even feel that way in the first place, especially not after hearing the entire 'backstory' of Will's manifestation, coupled with what Elyon had just gone through a few days ago, herself.

How could Taranee still wish to flee, when she'd managed to accomplish something so incredibly brave, and with the very gifts she found herself fantasizing on and off that she could somehow trade with someone else?

Granted, she had made the conscious decision to use her already nurtured Thermokinetic abilities during that very unexpected rescue mission, and thankfully hadn't had any further incidents with the Pyrokinetic side of her gifts since they'd first manifested.

And even though Professor Clarkson had informed her during the end of her Elemental Manipulation 101 class yesterday that she could seek the older woman out for any guidance, or even private tutorial sessions regarding her sudden advancement if she wanted, none of the other professors had actively pushed Taranee to try tapping into her newfound fire wielding capabilities.

Thus, it was very much becoming an 'out of sight, out of mind' mentality . . . at least, until now.

". . . . I knew I should have finally emailed Peter back, or texted Mom and Dad some sort of follow up last night," Taranee mumbled guiltily to herself, nervously turning on the speaker to her previously silent cellphone as she began to listen to her mother's voicemail.

"Taranee Mildred Cook! Do you have any idea how worried sick we've all been about you?" Taranee visibly cringed at the sound of her mother's familiar, no nonsense voice blaring through the speaker, regrettably invoking her daughter's full name to let her know she meant business. "You don't just tell your brother that something major happened – In this case, you gaining the ability to make fire, of all things, for God's sake – literally cry about how you desperately want to come home now because of it, and then just . . . just . . . ghost us for several days thereafter! And yes, I know that expression: I've heard you and Peter say it enough times over the years, thank you!

"How could you think that it would be all right to only let your brother know, but not us? I-I know that you two always believe that your dad and I can be a bit overly protective of you – Of you, especially, I know . . . but we are your parents, sweetheart! It's our job to look after you, and make sure no harm comes to you! And now, this, out of everything, and with you out of state when it happens? A-And not to mention, that crazy commotion we'd read happening to the amphitheater near your school a few weeks ago, too?

"My God! I knew I should have followed my initial instincts and never let you enroll at that so called school! If you still want to come home like you said, then you just call us right back, right now – O-Or fine, after school, since I do know you're getting ready for it at the moment. . . . B-But, then, after school! And don't think that your headmaster can stop me from picking you up, either, even with all his mutant abilities! I'm a mom – And a judge, to boot! Let him try! J-Just . . . Just call us back, and tell us that you're at least feeling a little bit better by now, all right? . . . . I love you, Taranee."

Taranee felt positively dreadful after having listened to her mother's understandably frantic, and heartfelt message, wishing tremendously that she somehow instead possessed a teleportation ability, much like Elyon, so that she could give the worried woman the biggest hug of her life within that moment.

She was just screwing up left and right now, wasn't she?

In an uncharacteristic move to be a bit selfish for a change and focus more on her desire to enjoy herself and not stress as much (for the remainder of that week, at least), she ultimately caused an untold amount for the ones she truly cared about, instead.

". . . . Oh, Mom . . . I'm so sorry," Taranee whispered to herself with continued remorse, brown eyes now beginning to water from behind her glasses as she put down her cellphone, at the same time that a sudden, though meek sounding cough sounded toward her forgotten bedroom door.

Whirling around within surprise, Taranee's now glistening eyes regrettably locked with Will's, watching within stunned silence as the redhead awkwardly closed their dorm room door behind her, before flashing a very wooden smile.

". . . . T-That's that, then. That I managed give my notes to Kitty before she headed down to breakfast, I mean," she swiftly elaborated, her words sounding incredibly weighted and voice devoid of all vigor previously possessed prior to her brief absence.

Evidently having finished brushing her teeth while out in the hall, Taranee observed Will slowly begin to clutch tightly at her now cleaned toothbrush within her hand as she approached, making her way toward the bathroom to put it away.

Taranee did her best to use the other girl's sadly brief moment within their bathroom in order to think of a proper excuse to give, just in case Will had heard even a fraction's worth of Taranee's otherwise private voice message.

While normally quick on her feet when it came to analytical conclusions if need be, where lying or generally deflecting was involved, she was sorely lacking within proficiency.

And so, when Will returned just a few moments later, with Taranee being keenly aware of the lack of eye contact as she passed and made her way to her dresser drawer in order to find something to wear, Taranee said nothing. . . .

What could she have said, even if it had been the truth, like she'd originally wanted?

Will clearlyhad heard some, if not even all of the message, after all, judging by the way she was currently behaving.

If Taranee somehow managed to explain absolutely everything before they then had to catch the bus, she highly doubted that that would immediately mend the chasm she could already feel beginning to form between the pair. . . .

Before she could say anything at all, however, both girls were temporarily spared any possibly awkward interaction by the unexpected sound of four chimes reverberating through the institute's honestly forgotten about public address system, followed by Professor Kandrakar's now very familiar voice.

". . . . Good morning, students, and faculty! I certainly hope all of you have had a wonderful night's sleep and are ready to have a great day today," the institute's headmaster greeted within his usually kindhearted tone, an admittedly welcoming change by comparison to how utterly beside himself he had been earlier within the week regarding Elyon, and of her overall recovery.

While both girls were simultaneously pleased to take note of the apparent change, each were now secretly more so thankful for the unexpected, albeit well timed interruption of what would undoubtedly become a rather strained conversation.

"As you all continue preparing for your day, I will take this opportunity to share with you now the bit of news I had just received, myself, and about which your Principal Knickerbocker will most probably also divulge upon your arrival at Bayville later this morning," Professor Kandrakar continued, his calming voice further reverberating within Taranee and Will's, indeed each student's dorm room, as well as the remainder of the vast mansion. "As the majority of you are aware, mid-October is when our school would normally hold our annual 'Family Weekend.' Again, this is when your family members are eagerly invited to the institute and, for two days, are provided the opportunity to experience what goes on within your daily lives as students!

"However . . . ahem, in light of a series of events most recently, I have made the conscious decision to push the event up to next weekend, instead," both Taranee and Will, now sat within equally uneasy silence upon their own beds, momentarily glanced at one another knowingly at this, before Will was the first to break their eye contact and moved over to her dresser once more to this time pull out some random clothing to wear. "I apologize if this news is such short notice; while it just may be, upon discussing this in full with the rest of your professors, we have all agreed that this move, while normally unprecedented, will be very beneficial for us all.

"You have all been through quite an unexpectedly trying time within the past few weeks, after all, and thus such an event which is traditionally used as a means for you and your families to touch base and reconnect is a perfect way for all of us to hopefully decompress, accordingly. . . . Now, then . . . falling in line with all this is my next announcement! I have naturally been within steady communication with those who have been recently contracted to commence rebuilding the 'Bayville Lakeview Amphitheater,' for those who may not have been previously aware. And I am pleased to reveal that, alongside my own donation toward its reconstruction, our community has also wonderfully rallied together and have informed me that they plan on holding an upcoming carnival in order to help raise even more funds toward this goal!"

At this, both Taranee and Will could hear several distinctly excited squeals echoing sporadically within the hallway, even behind their sealed bedroom door, directly, as clearly that particular piece of news was very agreeable for their fellow housemates.

Even Taranee, with her naturally reserved demeanor, felt a small, but growing kernel of excitement slowly bubbling up from within in spite of it all, and she couldn't help but look toward Will and wondered if she might have also now felt the same.

The redhead appeared to be making an avid point to keep her back to her, however, as she purposefully moved like molasses while noncommittally rummaging through her top drawer.

If only The Professor had delivered this news a mere five minutes earlier, then Taranee was fairly certain that she and Will would have been in the middle of biting back eager grins, before the one or both of them suggested that the duo should maybe go check out the upcoming festivities together.

Now, however, not only was Taranee feeling unsure of how Will was altogether feeling, but now with the added news that Taranee's mother was evidently going to get her wish and would be coming to the institute to see her daughter, after all had all but completely dismantled the overall good mood she'd previously been attempting to maintain.

"This fundraiser, succinctly named the 'Fall Carnival Fundraiser,' will be held within two weeks time – So one week after our 'Family Weekend' – and again, proceeds will be raised in order to help remake the amphitheater," Taranee forced herself to fully return her attention back onto Professor Kandrakar's ongoing announcements, before deciding she could no longer just simply sit there, and essentially do nothing while Will was apparently now giving her the cold shoulder.

And so, as their headmaster carried on with, again, a thankfully pleased sounding tone of voice overhead, Taranee moved toward her backpack in order to now triple check that the school items she knew fully well to be there were, all the same.

"I must openly confess how very grateful I am by this turn of events, mostly due to how swift the overall permit process had been, as I understand that it normally takes at least a month in order to organize such an event, otherwise. Still, it has been an absolute joy to see firsthand our neighboring community be so swiftly united in this way, and without question. It naturally further instills your professors' and I with our greatest hope that one day soon, we mutants will be received peacefully by the world overall. . . ." Professor Kandrakar further revealed with initial exultation, before suddenly trailing off with a notably pensive air.

". . . . A-Anyhow! To finally wrap up these announcements so that you may all go and enjoy your breakfast: Again, Principal Knickerbocker will also be sharing this news to you later this morning, but note that the carnival will be held within 'Hope Park,' with several local businesses already having volunteered to help with the set up and its running, alongside the six schools within our district! And so, as a result, there will be sign up sheets made available at each school for you students to volunteer, as well! And finally, it was actually just announced, via her social media, that despite what she had personally gone through, Karmilla wishes to return to Bayville in order to provide some acoustic entertainment during the event!"

Taranee's thoughts immediately shifted toward Irma as Professor Kandrakar concluded his morning announcements, as Will now quickly made her way back into the bathroom in order to change out of her pajamas.

Taranee had no doubt that the brunette was currently over the moon by that particular piece of news, most probably already making active plans to somehow ingratiate herself 'with the people in charge' in order to get a one on one with the rock singer this time around.

She, too, was once again beginning to feel her previous excitement faintly returning by the overall news, the more Taranee continued to think about it.

Admittedly, however, it also made her double down within wonder over how she would ultimately go about hopefully resolving the blatant conflict now brewing, sorely unwanted, between Will and herself in time before maybe enjoying the occasion together.

Whatever, or however she did it, Taranee knew that she didn't wish to sever all communication with the redhead, whether she'd decided to remain there at the institute in the end . . . or if her family were successful in making her leave, after all. . . .

---

It was still early morning and Cornelia felt like she'd already experienced a week's worth of information all crammed into one day, alone.

And speaking of, thankfully the rest of her week had been rather uneventful by comparison to the living hell she and her friends had gone through trying to save Elyon . . . from herself, essentially.

Never before had she felt so grateful for the so called monotony of the every school day, waking up and heading to class without any lingering fear that Professor Kandrakar would suddenly infiltrate her mind with frantic telepathic messages alerting her to Elyon's unforeseen relapse.

She didn't need them, though, to be fair, as in all truthfulness Cornelia had spent pretty much every free moment since that Tuesday checking in on Elyon, herself, in between receiving or giving updates to and from The Professor, as well.

Even doing so, she still didn't fully understand what had happened, or what it ultimately meant for Elyon moving forward.

Sure, Elyon would do what she always did and politely reassured her best friend that she was feeling stronger after each passing day, and that while she hadn't initially been a fan of the idea, staying home from BayvilleHigh the rest of that week had been the right call.

Still, it honestly felt like trying to put together a puzzle with blatantly incorrect pieces to Cornelia, what with how cagey Professor Kandrakar kept being about everything despite his overall delighted demeanor toward his adoptive daughter's ongoing recovery.

And given that Cornelia, herself, was also making sure not to speak too heavily about the incident whenever she had hung out with Elyon since then, it wasn't as though she could have discerned anything of real value that way, either.

Overall, it had just been a rather interesting line Cornelia felt herself straddling since that day, not wanting to upset her best friend, nor her headmaster by properly getting to the bottom of things . . . especially as it forced Cornelia to fully come to terms with the fact that she honestly didn't have as firm a grasp over just how powerful Elyon truly was . . . .

Figuring out the secretive information she now shamefully found herself wondering whether or not her revered headmaster quite possibly held would unfortunately have to be put on hold, as Cornelia now suddenly found herself preparing for the very unexpected early arrival of her family in just a week's time.

And not only that, but a carnival, on top of that.

A fundraiser, to be fair, but a carnival, all the same.

Cornelia supposed it might end of being a bit fun to go or get involved in some way, seeing as both Professor Kandrakar and then later, Principal Knickerbocker had each made the proclamation essentially coaxing their mutual students to do just that, anyhow.

Besides, considering she'd soon have to put up with her mother and father – In particular, her mother, and be the 'gracious hostess' she usually attempted to be every 'Family Weekend' each year, Cornelia suspected that a carefree festival soon after would quite honestly end up being just what the doctor ordered. . . .

But if I can endure seemingly 'endless bedlam' lately, alongside somehow managing to hold back my ongoing, immense desire to tear a certain brunet's head clean off his body, I think that I can handle dealing with Mom, Dad . . . and even Lillian a few weeks earlier than normally anticipated, Cornelia mused with a heavy exhale, nonetheless, as she dismally made her way out of her Russian class at the end of Second Period.

The halls within Bayville High once again began to refill with the steady outpouring of her fellow peers, alongside the steady outpouring of the latest news to pique their interest.

It honestly felt as though there would never be a 'dull' day within those walls again to Cornelia, or at least, not any time soon, with indirect thanks mostly given to her, as a result.

She briefly wondered if she had somehow been written into a reality television series unbeknownst to her, the way the past few years – Hell, just that past summer, had been so peaceful, and quiet.

Boring, at times, perhaps, fine, she would admit, given how Cornelia had been living within an elite school filled with a multitude of individuals who could do extraordinary things on a daily basis.

Nevertheless, never within the past four years did Cornelia ever stop and wonder if anything in what had become her new normal would ever change.

That a fair amount of her non-mutant peers would now firmly believe their city to not only be afflicted by the supernatural, but that secretly Cornelia, Elyon, and the rest of their mutual companions had essentially become its protectors was certainly never anywhere near her personal scope of reality, until now. . . .

At least this fundraiser's got most of them focused on that now, instead of all that heavy talk about Bayville being haunted, Cornelia silently reflected with a light frown, carefully maneuvering around oncoming peers as she headed toward her next class. Of course, it won't help distract everyone for long, since the carnival will apparently be held at 'Hope Park' where the 'haunting' happened to begin with. Poor Hay Lin . . . she's probably still feeling pretty guilty about it. . . .

As Cornelia continued to ponder over her absent Aerokinetic friend, and how her otherwise helpful gifts had given birth to the latest rumor to consume their mutual populace, she suddenly felt a light, yet urgent tapping on her left shoulder.

Turning her head toward the source, Cornelia's already pensive mood promptly began to take a turn for the worse as she unexpectedly locked eyes with Caleb. . . .

Although it wasn't a terrible surprise to see him, as the pair did regrettably share the very class Cornelia had just exited, she still felt he had some nerve to dare interact with her at all, considering all the torment he'd put her beloved friend through.

Caleb was honestly quite lucky that he'd been absent the day before, and that Cornelia had been given that same day by Professor Kandrakar to try to emotionally recuperate, or else he most likely would have been pulling back several broken fingers within that moment. . . .

"H-Hey, Cornelia! I'm glad I caught you! I was . . . I was just wondering about Elyon. I mean, how she's doing and . . . if she's okay, since she hasn't been back to school since Tuesday," Cornelia felt her blood pressure threatening to rise to dangerous levels as she forced herself to stay and listen to the boy's incredulous display of so called concern. "I, um . . . I don't know. I've just been left with a really . . . weird feeling, I guess, ever since we'd spoken that day. Well, if you can call it 'speaking,' since Elyon just completely bit my head off when I'd tried. S-Sorry . . . I know she's your friend and all, but that's also why I thought I'd try asking you to see if anything is wrong or . . . i-if I did something wrong. . . . ?"

It was all Cornelia could do to keep her emotions under absolute control, lest she ended up exposing herself as a mutant then and there in front of the masses.

Still, the absolute audacity this utter scumbag evidently possessed, not only to continually try to further pervert Elyon's previously innocent feelings toward him, but to now hopefully rope Cornelia into things, as well!

". . . . Are you freaking kidding me right now?" Cornelia couldn't help but faintly growl before she could stop herself, though she highly doubted she would have.

Her best friend had been through sheer agony because of him, and it was about time someone finally put him in his place. . . .

Caleb did not appear to agree, however, as Cornelia watched as the worried expression he'd previously forced upon his face had quickly given way to what Cornelia believed to be feigned perplexity, of all things.

"E-Excuse me? What's your problem?" he questioned the tall blonde within an immediate, and unwarranted defensive tone, the pair now within a standoff of sorts as their surrounding peers ignorantly walked past.

"My 'problem' is the fact that guys like you think it's okay to go around doing whatever you want, just because apparently no one else ever tells you it's not!" Cornelia heard herself snap back, each word effortlessly laced with the abundant amount of acridity she harbored toward the manipulative brunet. "And I take further umbrage that you honestly believe you could try to take me along for the ride!"

A deep, undeniable glower darkened Caleb's physical features at this, raising both hands into the air between Cornelia and himself within a defensive motion.

"W-Whoa, what the hell? What are you even talking about, Cornelia?" he questioned heatedly, his own demeanor now seemingly just as intense as the offended girl standing before him. "Look, I honestly don't know what either of your deals are, but all I've ever tried to be was nice to the both of you! I've only been trying my best to get to know Elyon this entire time, and still am! But based on the way you're acting right now too, I'm beginning to strongly suspect that Elyon's own weird one-eighty lately might be due to you getting into her head about me as 'the protective friend!'"

"Wanting to look out for Elyon after what you did is what real friends do, Caleb, yes, and -" Cornelia practically bellowed, seeing nothing but red now, dearly wishing that she really could use her mutant abilities for even one precious moment, as that would be all that was needed to trounce the ridiculously bold young man.

She suddenly found herself being timely interrupted by Tabitha, however, and whether or not it was welcomed Cornelia wasn't entirely sure, as she was still quite firmly out for blood.

"Hey, you two! What's up? Trouble in paradise, I take it?" both Cornelia and Caleb listened to the jolly girl tease as she casually approached, causing the pair to simultaneously recoil at the slight implication.

"W-What? No way I-"

"God, no, Tabitha! H-He-"

"Yikes! Back to your corners, you two!" Tabitha timely cut off both of her peers once more with a slightly amused smirk, though her blue eyes began to pool with genuine concern as her focus shifted from Cornelia, to Caleb, and back again.

She then strategically placed herself in between them, before Caleb, seeing this, let out a disgusted grunt before stating, "J-Just – ! Forget I even said anything. . . ."

". . . . I'd forget you even existed if I could," Cornelia muttered to herself as both she and Tabitha watched Caleb's now angrily retreating form, blindly reaching up to vigorously rub at her temples within futile comfort before shifting her full attention onto the other blonde. ". . . . T-Thanks, though, Tabitha. I mean, I still could have handled that myself, but . . . yeah."

Tabitha lightly smiled at this, folding her arms across her chest as she nodded.

"Ohh, I definitely know that you can, Sprout. But I figured that you wouldn't want to risk possible detention over . . . whatever all that was quickly shaping up to be," Tabitha responded within agreement, her smile widening upon catching the light blush forming upon Cornelia's face within that moment.

"I-I . . . yeah. You're probably right about that, at the rate Caleb and I were both going," Cornelia was forced to concur as her face continued to grow hot from the present embarrassment she felt for having the other girl witness her previous upset. ". . . . Soo . . . which class are you headed to right now?"

"Eager to get rid of me, are you? I'm on my way to Study Hall, actually, but remembered that your classroom was around here somewhere, so I thought I'd see if I couldn't manage to catch ya and just . . . check in!" Tabitha remarked with a wink, falling into step with Cornelia as she finally resumed her previous trek down the busy hallway. "Y'know, since I haven't seen you since . . . what happened with Blue, and all. How is she, by the way? Much better, I hope?"

Thankfully feeling herself beginning to relax, Cornelia smiled softly within ongoing appreciation toward her fellow blonde and nodded.

"Well, while we're apparently not counting having seen each other in Gym class yesterday, thank you, again, Tabitha, for your 'check in.' But yeah, Elyon's been doing so much better since then, just sticking close to home the rest of the week while she continues to work with regaining control of . . . 'you know what.' The Professor has her doing additional meditation as a means to further still her mind, as well as emotions, while asking her to essentially take 'baby steps' when using her . . . gifts."

Naturally reading between the lines, Tabitha gave a sigh of relief at the news and grinned, gently slapping at the back of Cornelia's back as the duo continued down the hall.

"Yes! That's great to hear! I knew that Blue was made from sturdier stuff! Bet it must feel a little weird, though, huh, for her to go from one extreme to the other, according to what you just said. I mean, what do they have her doing now, just like . . . only lifting feathers or something versus the usual cars?" she asked playfully, causing Cornelia to raise both eyebrows within brief alarm before quickly looking about their surroundings.

"H-Hey! Shush, will you? What was the point in my speaking within code just a minute ago if you're gonna go and say things like that?" Cornelia quietly scolded as Tabitha merely rolled her eyes and flashed her a confident grin.

"Relaaax, Sprout! Everyone's now too busy talking about ghouls to worry about anything we might be saying! And now that we've got an upcoming carnival on our hands, it's perfect timing, wouldn't you say? Ooh! But speaking of! Are you going? Gonna help out?"

Cornelia couldn't help but chuckle at the other girl's sudden, childlike excitement by the current topic, her eager clapping of her hands lending further credence toward the comparison.

"I-I take it that carnivals are your thing, huh?" she asked in between the pair's shared laughter, Cornelia feeling grateful all the more for the quirky girl's well timed arrival earlier, as her previously sour mood was swiftly dissipating the longer their conversation continued.

"Hell yeah, Sprout! I love how they're always different, no matter how many times you go! Y'know, an end of summer theme, or fall theme, or – Like I'm hoping will be for this one – a spooky theme!" Cornelia listened with genuine interest with a smile as Tabitha carried on with her obvious inside knowledge toward the topic at hand. "And then getting to nosh on all the awesome food at the food trucks, right before going on the 'totally will make you puke' rides like the 'Twirl-a-Whirl!' My mom and I turned it into a joke by calling it the 'Hurl-a-Whirl' instead, because she said I'd never listen to her whenever she'd tell me to wait a bit before getting on when I was younger."

This bit of information naturally piqued Cornelia's interest even further, as that was quite possibly one of, if not the first time she could recall Tabitha Smith openly divulging about her family life.

"Yeah? So . . . does your mom also enjoy going to carnivals then?" she carefully asked, taking advantage of the opportunity as the spunky girl really wasn't ever too keen to talk about her past, it'd seem.

At this, Tabitha's previous glee deflated a bit, though she held onto her smile, nodding slowly as she appeared to be taking a few extra moments perhaps in order to choose her next words carefully.

"My . . . mom and I would go on little day trips a lot when I was a kid, including taking me to the local carnivals going on – Even ones out of town, I remember, she didn't mind," she started as she briefly gave a side glance toward the other blonde before continuing. "Yeah. It was just something we'd do . . . she'd do, for me, y'know, whenever things at home would get . . . intense. So . . . right! Guess the tradition just kinda stuck now, and now I'm a total carnival nut!"

And just like that, Tabitha was right back to her carefree, and usually unaffected self before Cornelia could even blink, watching as her previous excitement returned.

Honestly wishing to learn more about the honestly mysterious girl, especially with her freely opening up for a change, Cornelia knew better than to push it.

She'd lived with a lot of 'Tabithas' over the years, after all, and as a newly appointed Junior Professor, she understood that building up a proper line of trust and communication took time.

And so instead, Cornelia merely followed suit and smiled back at her friend, before stopping near the staircase which would take her to her next class on the second floor.

"Well, I'm glad that this fundraiser's happening all the more, then, Tabitha. They've never really appealed much to me, myself, though – At least, not on the same level as you, that is, but it should be a lot of fun to maybe check this one out," she stated as she slowly climbed up the first two steps before leaning against the metallic railing.

At this, Tabitha impishly raised an eyebrow before taking a step closer to a now befuddled Cornelia, and gently poked at her chest.

"Why, Cornelia, is this you inviting me to go with you? I never knew you cared! Well, not counting you taking care of my wittle boo boo the other day," she suddenly cooed, tapping at the new band-aid draped across her forehead, covering what both girls knew to be the mild abrasion Tabitha had acquired as a result of Elyon's unexpected power surge.

"W-What? N-No! I was just saying – ! Y-You asked me first, you know!" Cornelia regrettably listened to herself stammer like an idiot, face instantly aflame within further abashment.

"Hmm . . . good point! Then it's a date!" Tabitha eagerly rebutted, breaking out into a fit of giggles at her friend's expense before waving her hand into the air. "R-R-Relax, Sprout, will you? I'm just joshing! I swear, you're waaaay too easy to get going! Anyway! We'd better get to class now, like good little children before we're late! Catch ya later at home!"

"H-Huh? Tabitha, what're you -" Cornelia called out toward the already retreating girl within vain, her mind honestly swirling over what had just transpired a mere minute ago.

She didn't really know why she was honestly so surprised, though, considering that the majority of the time lately Tabitha was usually at the ready to inject some sort of flirtatious banter whenever she and Cornelia would cross paths.

And if Cornelia had any doubt remaining that she'd now officially been added to Tabitha's list of interests, for whatever the reason, this certainly further clinched it.

All that remained was for Cornelia to figure out how she felt about that, overall, and what, if anything, she'd actually do about it?

---

A light smile slowly began to spread across Elyon's lips as she breathed in deeply, taking in the cool, refreshing air as she continued on within her meditative efforts.

It wasn't really going too well, in all truthfulness, as her mind kept wandering to various thoughts, though thankfully the majority had been rather innocuous.

All the same, it had been a pretty good move on her part to choose to take her solo exercises outside as a nice change of pace, as Elyon would have otherwise been cooped up either within her dorm room, or sat somewhere within Oracle's office.

It had been a bit hard, at first, to stick around the institute basically round the clock the past few days as she continued on within her overall recovery, though mostly because of how doting and overly protective all of her professors initially had been fresh from Elyon's . . . accident.

Even Professor Starlighter, as stern as she normally was by default, kept wanting to 'double check' that Elyon didn't need any further healing of the physical nature, if she wasn't also too busy reminding her young pupil that her door was always open.

In fact it had been thanks to her that Elyon had decided to add a bit of yoga to her scholastic schedule from now on, as the mastered Geokinetic woman regularly partook within the ancient practice for decades now, and had confessed that it was what helped keep her centered like none other.

Elyon found it to be pretty beneficial to her so far already, honestly wondering why she hadn't bothered doing so ages ago, especially with her immense power . . . power which had nearly destroyed her beloved friends, family, and home.

Although the overall events were now rather hazy to her, a blessing or not she wasn't really sure yet, Elyon was at least aware of how much damage her unexpected power advancement had caused, as Oracle had made it known to all of his students that the basement level of the institute was temporarily off limits until further notice.

A part of her wished to somehow sneak down there to see the pandemonium she had wrought firsthand, although the facial expressions given to her by either Professor Kandrakar or Cornelia when Elyon had initially asked certainly spoke volumes.

Overall, it had been an . . . interesting balance of struggling not to wallow within self-loathing and fear over something she couldn't change, at the same time that Elyon had to practically force herself to accept what was and to try her best to keep moving forward.

At least none of her fellow schoolmates appeared to be treating her any differently, all things considered, nothing that she had observed at face value, anyhow.

Because, even though Oracle and the other professors had 'officially' asked her not to, Elyon herself had also already made the active decision not to overdo it using her many mutant abilities for the remainder of that week.

Perhaps it had been the strong concern that a relapse of sorts might have occurred while Elyon was still within the middle of recovery as the main reason.

But it was actually turning out to be a blessing in disguise, the more Elyon had taken enough time for further introspection.

So much had happened within her short life over the years, with her gifts being one of, if not the primary cause.

Elyon found herself reflecting further of everything she had been through, the initial loneliness and despair she'd felt herself positively drowning in when she'd first lost both of her birth parents . . . and of the incredible intensity of survivor's guilt she admittedly still grappled with, even now.

It still was rather difficult at times to try to make sense how someone like her, someone with so much power could have ultimately been so helpless to save them. . . .

It was a conversation which had honestly been put on a loop between Oracle and herself within the years that followed, until Elyon had grown tired of openly asking why she hadn't been strong enough.

It wasn't a time within her life she could readily recall, whether due to age or the natural trauma understandably blocking it, but she could at least remember how hard Oracle tried to be there for her, much in the same way that Cornelia would for her today. . . .

She knew better now that Himerish had meant well, of course, wanting to simply reassure and support her as any guardian would, and had done his absolute best within the first few years to be the best father he could be for her.

She could see it now, but back then the young, angry, and grieving Elyon didn't wish to believe that Oracle wasn't attempting to completely erase her parents from her memory, before ultimately replacing them.

Elyon understood and fully saw the bigger picture today, true, but it still didn't always make things that much easier at times.

But that was precisely why Elyon had made the decision to focus on viewing the latest . . . folly more through a 'positive' lens, rather than wallow within utter defeat as she was sure she probably originally would have.

She was instead now determined in keeping the personal resolve to grow even stronger, not simply via her multitude of mutant abilities, but via her inner core.

Elyon was frankly tired, and even a little ashamed of having those she cared about essentially pick up the slack for her own shortcomings, if this more recent event had certainly further illustrated.

She may not fully remember everything that had happened, no, but Elyon did know that none of it would have even happened if she hadn't let so much . . . someone get to her the way that they had.

While it still cut deeply to think about, Elyon was doing her very best not to no longer shove the moment of Caleb's manipulative treachery deep inside, as having done so in the first place caused her to reach a dangerous breaking point.

No, now Elyon was forcing herself to face it head on, that pain and push past it in order to . . . hopefully come out the other side mostly unscathed.

It was a work in progress, anyway, as she'd only been turning over this new leaf for less than three days or so now, but it was what she truly wished to succeed in, especially if Elyon wanted to make a reliable member of Oracle's X-Men, after all.

No matter what, if she just kept at it, she knew that one day she'd finally be the one to do all of the protecting for a change. . . .

At this, Elyon's mind fell back onto Cornelia, and immediately her body began to grow incredibly warm.

. . . . That had been happening a lot lately, now that she actually sat, quite literally, and thought about it . . . but why?

Of course Elyon would think of her best friend and include her among those she wanted to keep safe, so that wasn't a surprise.

What was was how . . . 'curious' was really the best word she presently had to describe how she felt whenever the tall blonde came to mind nowadays, especially during the last few days.

There no longer appeared to be any lingering tension between them, at least, something which Elyon had taken note of earlier on that same week.

She hadn't actively brought it up to the other girl, though, as it perhaps had simply been due to Cornelia having felt at a sheer loss on how to help Elyon feel better about the whole . . . 'Caleb thing.'

And knowing her as well as she did, Elyon knew that Cornelia wouldn't have mentioned anything about that, herself, unprovoked.

Whatever had been the ultimate reasoning, now, at least, the pair had been right back to being thick as thieves . . . well, for the most part, anyhow.

Cornelia did spend most of what was supposed to be a relaxing day together, just yesterday, in fact, constantly making absolutely certain that Elyon was all right and didn't need anything more to eat, drink or be comfortable.

But at least she was back to being willing to be in the same room as Elyon once more, as well as freely sit next to her like before.

And, just like always, Cornelia had known precisely what to say to better uplift Elyon's spirits throughout, never having lingered too long upon one topic or particular sentiment.

Through it all, Cornelia truly was the one constant within her life. . . .

As Elyon found herself becoming more and more wrapped within her thoughts, the distinct, inviting aroma of roses suddenly infiltrated her senses, causing her to slowly open her eyes.

"Mmm . . . I smell roses," she gently murmured, turning her head toward the ongoing scent and looking in time to see the one whom had been on her mind casually approaching with a beautiful bouquet of yellow roses in hand.

"They're for you," Cornelia revealed with a warm smile before carefully handing them to a now giggling Elyon, who eagerly accepted them.

"They're beautiful, Cornelia, thank you! But what's the occasion? And . . . did you get these straight after your last class at Bayville? I mean, because you still have your backpack on and everything," she wondered aloud, now gently cradling the small, yet impressive arrangement with one hand while shifting a few of the books she'd brought outside with her to read later on in order to make room for Cornelia to sit.

As she did so, Cornelia simply shrugged a moment before replying, "Well, you know that 'Blooming Florist' isn't too far from Bayville High, so I just quickly popped in before getting on the shuttle bus after I was done. I thought you'd maybe appreciate having a few flowers to brighten up your room, and your day . . . well, I hope, anyway, since I know that your favorite flowers are pink roses, but -"

"- N-No, no, Cornelia. I love these just as much, don't worry about it!" Elyon couldn't help but interrupt with another smile, watching as Cornelia began to awkwardly rub at the back of her neck after settling down next to her onto the comfortable grass.

"Well, that's good to hear, then! Because I, uh . . . I had specifically asked the florist what color rose would actually be best to show 'my best friend who'd recently been through something that I am there for her, and that . . . she is cherished,' and she told me that yellow roses would be perfect for that," Cornelia finished explaining with a casual wave of her hand, at the same time that Elyon felt her cheeks growing flushed once again.

What was the matter with her lately?

Choosing not to dwell upon it and instead keep her mind focused on the now, Elyon timidly cleared her throat a moment before stating, ". . . . I think that pink, and yellow roses might be my favorite flowers now! Besides, the smell really is a nice way to finish off my meditation session."

At this, Cornelia immediately flashed the smaller girl a look of guilt as she began to apologize.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry I interrupted you, Elle! When I got back to the institute and went looking for you, The Professor told me that you came here to the courtyard to do your yoga. I probably should have waited until you were finished, though, so as not to break your concentration and -"

"- And you didn't, though, Cornelia. I just said that I was finishing things off, so no worries . . . please!" Elyon couldn't help but interrupt once more, her own nerves beginning to settle as both blondes then began chuckling lightly at yet another merry go round of apologies between them. "A-Anyway! How's your day been so far? Are all the kids at Bayville as excited to hear about the upcoming carnival fundraiser as everyone seems to be around here?"

Elyon watched as Cornelia curiously seemed to tense up a moment, pausing far longer than she probably should have over a presumably simple question, before finally relaxing and gave a quick nod within initial response.

"M-My day's been . . . pretty uneventful so far, yeah – Which, obviously for us, is definitely a good thing," Cornelia started with a faint smile, before continuing. "And as for the fundraiser, I have yet to hear anyone 'complaining' about it, so I think it's safe to say that it's probably going to be jam packed with a lot of people from the community. And since it won't be too far off from 'Family Weekend,' maybe a bunch of parents who live out of town will stay on a bit longer after visiting here in order to check it out and contribute, you know?"

"Mmhm! That would definitely be something to help The Professor feel more reassured about everything since . . . well, you know," Elyon remarked with a mutual nod from Cornelia, momentarily finding it a bit ironic that at least this particular Family Weekend might fill her adoptive father with much apprehension, when it used to be Elyon, herself who would look upon such an event with understandable melancholy.

At least, until she'd finally realized that while she would obviously love more than anything for her birth mother and father to somehow still be within her life, she still possessed a family – A rather large one, in fact, through her professors and even housemates, for the most part.

It was by no means perfect, of course, but then, no family really was.

And remembering this would usually help Elyon not to feel so alone anymore. . . .

As the two continued to catch each other up on their individualized days, Elyon watched as Cornelia gave a light stretch, raising both arms toward the sky before quietly asking, ". . . . So, uh . . . it's been a few days now. . . . What I mean is, you seem like you just keep making a lot of progress every day with everything. I guess I was just openly wondering . . . um . . . how much of it you might remember now?"

Surprised by this, mainly because it usually was Cornelia who had been actively dodging directly addressing the topic if it had come close to being brought up during the past two days, Elyon slowly opened, closed, and then reopened her mouth as she struggled to appropriately respond.

"O-Oh, um . . . that's certainly a sudden change of pace, considering I was getting nowhere fast with all of you when it came to finding out exactly what happened. I-I know, I know: It was always for my own sake and to spare me any further guilt, I get it," Elyon remarked with a light exhale, taking a moment before carrying on as she leaned forward to have another sniff of her inviting roses. "But, well . . . honestly, it's pretty much a blank. And I guess I'm glad about that . . . mostly. I mean, I sometimes feel little sensations like I'm just about to recall something important, you know? Or like déjà vu, almost, I don't know. But otherwise? I can remember waking up that day and feeling a bit off already, and then . . . nothing."

Hearing this, Elyon caught Cornelia's overall posture drop a bit, as though that apparently hadn't been the revelation she'd been hoping for, which only served to confuse the shorter blonde even further.

"O-Oh yeah? That's . . . good then. I just mean that, for the same reason none of us have really wanted to divulge what happened, I doubt you'd want to even think about the whole thing anymore, and just want to . . . keep moving forward," Cornelia quickly clarified, having apparently seen the look of confusion upon her close friend's face.

Elyon was about to openly concur when Cornelia's overall sentiment seemed to trigger what Elyon had previously accepted to be a lost memory, as a familiar string of words suddenly echoed within her mind.

Rather than feel overwhelmed, however, Elyon instead felt a welcoming wave of security and comfort promptly wash over her as she began to generously smile toward the other girl.

Now carefully rising to her feet, bending forward to gather up her books with her remaining free hand, Elyon gazed toward a now crookedly smiling Cornelia as she stated, "You're right. But you know, that's one of the many things I've always liked about you, Cornelia: You know me better than anyone ever has . . . or ever will. . . ."

Feeling as though she was suddenly threatening to run a fever, she was now oddly burning up that much, Elyon quickly began to walk away from her still seated friend a moment, before stopping.

Turning back around in time to see Cornelia's cheeks curiously looking every bit as pink as the roses Elyon traditionally adored, Elyon bashfully called out to her.

". . . . Well? Aren't you coming? We don't want to be late for our next class."

So long as Elyon always had someone like Cornelia in her corner, she knew that she could make it through anything. . . .

---

Now back within the institute after having completed the usual first half of their school day at Bayville High School, both Will and Taranee presently sat, side by side within suffocating silence, inside of their Elemental Manipulation 101 classroom later on that early afternoon.

In actual fact, the two had made little, to no conversation since that morning, not since the start of Professor Kandrakar's lengthy morning announcements.

Of course, by now, the both of them were now keenly aware as to the reason why.

Obviously, she hadn't meant to listen in on anything, especially not such an emotionally charged outpouring as one having been given by whom was apparently Taranee's mother.

But Will had heard it all, nonetheless.

That voicemail. . . .

And, at its core, Will, if not Taranee as well knew that it was rather unfair, even a bit childish for the ongoing quiet which was primarily being spearheaded by the redhead.

After all, Will was all too aware of the at times unyielding trepidation which regrettably went hand in hand with waking up one day and suddenly discovering that you weren't really whom you'd always believed yourself to be.

If it wasn't for having met people like Elyon and Cornelia . . . like Taranee, and when she had, Will didn't honestly believe she'd even still be at this school, no matter how many pep talks her professors collectively threw at her.

She would have still been woefully drowning within her despair and self-pity, with her absolute refusal to at least be open to better understanding her newfound mutant abilities . . . while what she had done to her poor mother as a result of their unexpected manifestation continued to weigh heavily within her mind without mercy.

Well, to be fair, that particular bit still would on and off, understandably, in spite of Will being habitually reassured that none of it had been her fault, and that her mom was continuing to "take it easy while healing nicely" whenever the two would speak over the phone since Will's enrollment to the institute.

Still.

That was her mother, her family, the only one she'd ever had . . . and now, one of the main reasons Will felt determined not to permanently give into the anxiety of what her gifts could do, especially as they continued to evolve.

After what she'd witnessed – Survived as a direct result of what sheer, raw power and what its lack of proper control could conjure, Will never wanted to be caught off guard or unprepared like that again. . . .

Which was precisely why now knowing that Taranee was apparently willing to walk away, no . . . run away from a place, maybe the only place which could help her with her own so called demons continued to hurt Will as much as it did.

She still knew, though, at its heart, she was being more than just 'a bit' hypocritical to honestly judge her in this way, and had already previously suspected that something was seriously amiss with her new roommate since the start of that week.

True, Will didn't really know all that much about Taranee and her . . . 'backstory,' of sorts, like perhaps any specific reason why she was so uncomfortable with the very element she was now able to wield.

Taranee had so far not been very forthcoming on that front, and as Will had reassured her when it was first brought up, wishing to be tight-lipped over certain matters really was something she could personally understand.

But . . . to just . . . want to pack up and leave like this, especially without at least giving what Will, that is, believed to be a steadily blossoming friendship a proper head's up was just . . . just. . . .

"Blindsiding," Will couldn't help but mutter aloud, her tumultuous thoughts momentarily spilling out before she could stop herself.

She felt her cheeks grow warm within embarrassment at this, particularly when Taranee, who clearly hadn't expected her newest friend to say much of anything, promptly looked at her within surprise.

". . . . W-What was that? What is 'blindsiding,' Will?" Taranee posed her query with a weak air, though her brown eyes slowly began to reflect a sense of hope that perhaps the pair would finally reopen the lines of communication.

Tilting her head away a bit as a way to hopefully conceal her discomfort, Will shakily cleared her throat a moment before answering.

"H-Hmm? Oh, nothing. I was just . . . thinking about how I hope today's lesson won't be too blindsiding for us – M-Me," she managed to deflect, though the faint frown now forming upon Taranee's previously encouraging face indicated otherwise.

". . . . I see. Well . . . I didn't think you did too poorly yesterday with Professor Clarkson, and I'm sure today won't be any different once Professor Lin arrives and -"

"- Nice! I'm not late! Oh, how ya goin,' Taranee, and . . . new person I haven't actually met yet, sorry! May I never catch the flu ever again," both Will and Taranee craned their heads over their shoulders to watch an unfamiliar girl, at least to Will, hurriedly walking into the classroom.

An apologetic, crooked grin slowly spread across her naturally tawny skin as she tucked a few strands of her shoulder length, wavy and dirty blonde hair behind her ear before settling down within the empty seat placed in between both Taranee and Will.

"Oh! Bella! I'm glad to see you're well again, evidently," Taranee replied within surprise, flashing the blue eyed girl a genuine smile of her own. "I actually was beginning to wonder if you were ever coming back to class, that's how long it seemed that you'd been ill for."

At this, the girl apparently known as Bella chuckled within amusement, and nodded.

"Right? Was nice to finally be able to keep me brekkie down, and not be sneezing 'round the bloody clock and turning my soups into jelly," she explained within her thick accent Will privately assumed might be Australian, perhaps, before bending over within her seat to take out a notebook and pen from out of her shoulder bag.

As she re-straightened her posture, Bella's cheeks immediately grew a deep red upon catching the clearly befuddled expressions from each girl on either side of her.

"O-Oh, sorry! Guess that sounds a bit gone, even in a place like this, yeah? Lemme just start over! First off, g'day, mate! The name's Isabella Hartley, but you can just call me 'Bella,' like Taranee here!" Will weakly smiled and waved back at the blonde who had just done the same, politely listening to her proper introduction. "I dunno if she's said much about me to you or whatever, but I'm from Ireland! Well, actually, I'm originally from Australia, but my parents and I moved to Ireland when I was around nine-years-old for their work. Gone back and forth ever since, though, well . . . up until last year, when my powers first manifested and I ended up coming here to the States about eight months ago! Ended up having to break it off with my boyfriend, Will, as a result and everything. Least we're still friends, though. . . ."

Nodding slowly within vague understanding, Will felt herself secretly grateful for the new, or rather, not so new girl's arrival, as it served as a well placed distraction toward the now pitiable snag within Taranee's and her relationship.

"H-Hi, Bella, my name's Will, too. O-Or, well, Wilhelmina, but I guess, like you, I go by another name," she properly introduced herself at last, before continuing. "Oh, right, and Vandom's my last name, sorry! I-I've actually only been here just a few weeks, myself, as my own abilities didn't surface until right before I came here. . . . But, wait . . . what did you mean by turning your soups into 'jelly?'"

"As I understand it, Bella is Hydrokinetic, like Irma," Will listened to Taranee seize the opportunity softly speak up as the perky blonde in between them eagerly nodded. "Will, here, is actually Electrokinetic, by comparison, Bella . . . so I imagine that it was probably a good thing that you'd caught the flu when you had, and – ! Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it to sound the way that it did! I actually only meant -"

"- No worries, mate! I totally get it! I mean, even if it hadn't been the flu and was just my allergies playing up, I'd probably still need to be confined all the same," Bella cut off the previously worried girl with an amused grin, before turning her attention back onto Will. "Y'see, Will, one 'quirky' drawback to my gifts is that whenever I'm feeling a bit under the weather and sneeze, I uncontrollably turn any nearby liquid into . . . well, jelly, like I said. Imagine how 'fun' that is when you're about to take a sip of water, or step into a nice, warm and inviting bath. . . ."

At this, Will's eyes widened within a mixture of natural perplexity, as well as intrigue.

"W-Wait, wait . . . so we're talking like, straight up, actual gelatin? Can all Hydrokinetic mutants do that? Can Irma? And how's that even possible? I mean, without maybe some sort of absorbent polymer like sodium polyacrylate , o-or agarose and . . . sorry," Will began to ramble before managing to stop herself within mild embarrassment, though her new acquaintance hadn't seemed to mind.

"Like I said, no worries! But I take it you must be some sort of science buff based on all that, though, eh? Good on ya! I'm not too terrible at it, myself . . . I suppose!" Bella smirked with a brief wave of her hand, before shrugging. "Anyhow! I couldn't tell you about the rest of my fellow 'Hydros!' And can't say I really know Irma 'intimately' enough to speak on what she can and can't do, either, but! I can safely state that I am firmly jealous of her, though! Well, not really, not like in a serious way, anyway. I just meant that at least Irma can actually control water, full stop . . . whereas myself, I'm . . . presently working on 'reverse-engineering' things, as I like to call it."

"Bella is a . . . unique case, if you will, Will, as while she does possess Hydrokinetic capabilities, she has yet to firmly unlock them. But then, of course, that is why she is here," all three girls looked over in time to watch Professor Lin entering the classroom, a gentle smile upon her elderly face as she did so. "If you'll forgive my brief eavesdropping, but it is always good to witness my students becoming not only acquainted with one another, but with their gifts, and the knowledge behind them."

Bella's shoulders slumped a bit at this, at the same time that Will felt herself grimace at the older woman's unfortunate choice of words, forcing her to actively recall that she had done the very same to Taranee earlier that day with her mother.

"Well, yeah, Professor Lin, though sometimes I don't honestly feel like I'm getting any closer to having my 'breakthrough' in all this time, as you and the other professors keep calling it. I mean, howis it that I can do something so specific like turn water into gel of all things, and even back again on command – And also unfortunately not on command as I'd just explained . . . yet I still can't seem to grasp the basics and . . . I dunno. Manipulate a simple puddle on the ground and make a ball of water from it, or something," the Australian girl's seemingly endless sunny disposition deflated a bit as she openly aired out her frustration regarding her mutant abilities.

Professor Lin rested a withered hand upon the concerned blonde's shoulder as she approached, then flashed yet another sympathetic smile.

"As previously explained to you since you have been here, Bella, it is not terribly unheard of for the abilities of a mutant to develop at a more rapid rate than they are quite ready for," she replied within her habitually kind, and knowledgeable air, though her dark brown eyes gave a brief, sideways glance toward both Will and Taranee, who immediately understood the true depth to her words. "One can easily find that they have already advanced to Astral Projection, for example, yet are unable to handle the so called 'basic' levels of their telekinetic gifts. And, in your case, you've simply been presented with the unique challenge of finding a way to properly tap into the founding root of your Hydrokinesis, Bella. One I know that, with your continued perseverance, you will most assuredly achieve.

"In fact, that is what you will all be practicing today! Now that you have returned to us, Bella, and with perfect timing, you will be taking what you'd both worked on with Professor Clarkson yesterday, Taranee and Will, by now focusing more upon our endurance. Specifically, what you might acknowledge to be a personal 'weakness' if put up against your gifts. And with you here again, young Bella, Professor Clarkson and I both agreed that now would be the most opportune time to try!"

Will couldn't help but naturally shift a bit within her seat, away from the water wielding or, should-be-water-wielding Bella upon hearing all this, her previously impressive calm at the news beginning to falter a bit as she slowly raised a hand into the air.

"Yes! Will, you have a question?" Professor Lin acknowledged with a knowing sort of stare, before flashing the redhead a sympathetic smile.

"Y-Yes, Professor Lin. I was actually just hoping for some more . . . clarification? That is, obviously you and the other professors already know that I've been doing my best to get the overall hang of my powers and everything, but, uh . . . while I might now be able to take like, two minuteshowers again without getting too wrapped up within my own head about that, baths and pools are still a completely separate story, sadly," Will confessed sheepishly, peering over at Bella within the corner of her eye as, as far as she knew, this was the first time the blonde girl had become privy to Will's own present shortcomings.

Like the majority of her other housemates, however, Bella didn't appear bothered, nor judgmental by the news, as Will now freely turned her head toward her in time to watch her give a supportive smile of her own.

"I am aware of how hard you have been working, Will, yes – We all are, trust. Especially most recently," Professor Lin complimented, shifting her current look of pride between both Will, and Taranee, before continuing. "But you needn't worry! I do not intend to submerge you, unmercifully, within a vat of water, of course! No, no. As I said, I merely intend to have the three of you take turns harnessing the individualized control you've been learning, and use that as fuel to tap into building up a better resistance toward your opposing element! And Bella, as you have yet to master creating water at its basic form, perhaps having Will contend with a bowl full of your . . . 'jelly' in its place may prove to be a rather interesting experience!"

"W-Well . . . I mean, if you're sure, Professor Lin. Although, I gotta say that I'm probably the one at the biggest disadvantage here if I'm honest, since I've now got 'Fire,' and 'Fire-Plus' to defend against," Bella stated with a weak smirk, obviously her own nerves beginning to mount. "Not exactly what I was expecting this arvo when I finally returned to this class, but. . . ."

From where she sat, Will was able to catch the keenly mum Taranee's entire body grow quite rigid upon hearing the news, all color slowly draining away from her face as her . . . no, the both of their minds simultaneously began to stitch together what this particular lesson might now also ask of her, as well.

"U-Um . . . Professor Lin? I'm sorry to speak out of turn like this, but . . . does this also mean that you'll want me to tap into m-my . . . P-Pyrokinesis today, rather my Thermokinesis like yesterday, and the day before?" Taranee barely managed to squeak out, her mouth now incredibly parched as the aged woman promptly gave her a serious, yet understanding glance.

". . . . No, Taranee. It had been a topic of lengthy discussion between us earlier this morning; however, Professor Clarkson and I both agreed that, for now, at least, it would be better for you to begin working with her individually, as she would obviously be better suited in helping you begin to grow more accustomed to your very recent advancement," she explained with a faint smile, causing Taranee, as well as Will, to breathe a sigh of relief. "As for now, just as we've always done at the start of each lesson, we will stand, focus our breath, and start with a few warm up exercises before we truly begin!"

The next several minutes had thankfully gone off without a hitch, as it were, and in fact was nearly identical to yesterday's class . . . except that now, besides the obvious addition of Bella, the only real difference was that Will and Taranee weren't struggling to stifle friendly giggles in between giving one another encouraging glances, right before each activated her separate mutant abilities.

Will honestly began to feel that she would perhaps have put her feelings aside, at least for the time being, in order to presently display the same level of support for her friend . . . if only she wasn't too busy doing her best to steel her own mental state over the very high probability of her experiencing another nasty 'Short-Out' within the next several minutes. . . .

"All right, well done, ladies! Especially you, Bella! Very nice to see that your former illness could not slow you down," Professor Lin complimented the now blushing girl, before moving toward the middle of the classroom. "Now, then. Bella, I would like you and Will to move over to that corner there, where you will now see that I have a generously sized bowl already filled with water awaiting the both of you. What I then want you to do is, obviously, do what you presently do best: Shift its contents into a gel, Bella, so that you, Will, will then . . . and, apologies, place your hands within before -"

"- W-What?" Will couldn't help but interrupt, before quickly apologizing, herself.

"Hm hm . . . it is quite all right. As I said, I wasn't going to suddenly have you be drenched, head to toe as you actively used your powers, Will, no! However, as we are presented with a very unique opportunity here, let us see how well you might fare with minute doses! As I have gradually come to observe about you, perhaps if you viewed it more favorably as a science experiment to start, it might help place you within a calmer mindset!"

"Soo, then . . . we'll just take it nice and slowly, like say: One finger at a time or something, instead! No pressure on me right now either, or anything," Bella softly murmured to Will within a vague attempt at sarcasm as the pair walked toward the small desk near the back of the room, where their possibly mutual doom awaited them. "J-Just, you know . . . I know we just met and all, but do remember that I'm every bit as 'weak' against you as you are against me, so. . . . Yeah! Here we go, mate!"

Will let out an anxious chuckle in spite of herself at this, and nodded.

"Y-Yeah! Well, we'll see about that, Bella. Whatever its form: gel, ice, steam or 'regular,' I'm sadly still fairly confident that I'm about to get my butt handed to me at my present 'skill level. . . .' Sigh. Infirmary, here I come again," the redhead remarked with a bit of dry humor of her own, as the girls now hesitantly stood across from one another.

Taranee, meanwhile, apprehensively turned her attention away from her understandably worried classmates, and back onto the smiling Professor Lin standing, a bit expectantly, next to her.

"So . . . what would you have me do in the meantime, Professor Lin? A-And . . . are you going to be my . . . 'opposition?' How so?" she asked, quietly at first, before the naturally analytical part of her personality effortlessly took over, though it appeared as though her present trepidation temporarily made her forget precisely how, if at all, Professor Lin's Aerokinetic abilities could 'somehow' foil her Thermo based gifts.

"Why yes, Taranee! Or, at least, I certainly intend to try, if you'll have me," the older woman remarked, a bit cryptically as she gently rested a hand upon Taranee's back and led her closer to the classroom's unlit fireplace. "Firstly, if it's all right with you, I would ask that you focus specifically upon your Thermokinesis in order to light this hearth for me. After which, I will then use my Aerokinesis to actively disperse your embers, while you, of course, do your absolute best to combat against this!"

While her habitually jolly, and wise professor unknowingly helped to successfully jump start her mind into remembering one of the shortcomings her element possessed against a powerful, air-wielding mutant, Taranee could not help but to mentally linger upon the very specific request of her igniting the fireplace. . . .

Normally, at least whenever she'd been there, the classroom's mantle would remain thankfully inactive, most probably due to Taranee's professors having been made unfortunately, yet understandably aware upon her enrollment of her otherwise private, crippling phobia.

And perhaps, in spite of this, Taranee might have been able to handle such an otherwise 'menial' task during any other time, considering the overall great strides she'd been making with her gifts.

But, now . . . with all of her stress, worry, and guilt over perhaps leaving the institute and, as a result, the fallout she was obviously already beginning to experience with those around her, Taranee honestly wondered if she could get her head in the game long enough to muster up even the tiniest bit of control over her Thermokinetic abilities, like normal. . . .

Meanwhile, in contrast, although feeling continually flustered, herself, with shaky hands did Will triumphantly manage to generate several sparks of electricity throughout her fingertips, causing Bella to slightly jump back with a start.

"W-Whoa! Shoot, sorry, sorry! Obviously, I know it's what you can do and are all about, yeah, but again: Hi! Supreme weakness over here!" Will halfheartedly listened to her new acquaintance ramble on within blatant jitters as Will tried her best to maintain her focus. "I am so not looking forward to when it's my turn and you start zapping me up with those hands of yours. . . . B-But, well, here goes nothin'!"

Now shifting her own attention onto the large, steady glass bowl full of water resting upon the table between them, Bella inhaled, quite deeply, through her nose, before slowly releasing her breath between her slightly parched lips.

All right, Bells. You've got this! It's just like any other time you've turned liquids into gel . . . except this time you might potentially electrocute your new friend in the process! she privately reflected, failing miserably at pumping herself up as she'd originally intended. W-Wait, no. Or was it the opposite, I think? Whatever it's called again when Electros get too soaked during active power use! Glad that isn't on our next exam . . . hopefully. F-Focus, Bella! Focus!

Shaking her head with a frown and taking yet another calming breath, Bella extended her right hand out toward the water filled bowl in front of her.

Slowly rotating her outstretched fingers clockwise, almost as though she were turning an invisible dial, Bella couldn't help but smile rather proudly as both she, and now a wide eyed Will watched as the clear liquid suddenly became a translucent, yet undeniably gelatinous substance.

"N-No way. . . ." Will trailed off within awe at the sight, once again being blown away by the seemingly never-ending feats her newest residence has yet to fail in presenting her on a near daily basis. "So I guess I-I'll just . . . yeah. . . ."

Stomach honestly now performing a series of violent somersaults and threatening to bring back up her snack from earlier, Will, with positively zero confidence going in, nonetheless slowly dipped a few fingertips of her electrically charged hands into the now gooey matter.

Gruffly releasing the breath she hadn't released she'd been holding until that precise moment, Will couldn't help but then let out an utterly relieved chuckle over the fact that, for now, at least, she wasn't about to be 'Shorted-Out,' after all.

And so, with perhaps one percent of assurance now at her disposal, Will carefully fully submerged both hands into the glass bowl, absolutely refusing to take her eyes off of it as she continued to maintain her concentrated flow of electricity through them.

"H-How . . . how does it feel? I'm assuming not too terribly, if at all, since you just did . . . well, that," Will heard Bella asking within blatant concern, before taking another step further away from the table for her own safety.

"I-I . . . I'm still trying . . . to get the hang of . . . talking while actively trying n-not to possibly . . . die, sorry, b-but . . . it's . . . pretty tingly? O-Or like . . . like a low, but constant . . . vibration . . . going all the way back up . . . my arms, as well," Will responded within a slow, methodical manner not unlike the way she'd done while creating her newly learned force field during her quite unforeseen rescue mission to save Elyon's life just the other day. "I-It's . . . sort of like . . . how it felt when I . . . I got 'Shorted . . . Out' for the . . . the first time, but . . . decreased by like ninety percent, I guess because of . . . of your jelly. I will . . . say, though . . . that on the flip side . . . it's getting . . . getting tricky to keep a str . . . strong . . . enough current in here like this. . . ."

Bella couldn't help but give a light smirk, clearly remembering something from earlier.

"Well, if you want, I can always pop into the dining hall and snag some table salt and bring it back here for you, since you're definitely taking Professor Lin up on her advice to come at this as more of a science experiment if it'll help your overall nerves, Will," she playfully remarked, before calming down and continuing on within a more serious manner. "But, no, honestly, you're doing great! I hope I'll be able to keep it together once it's my t -"

"- A-Ahhh!"

Both nearly jumped out of their skin at the unexpected sound of Taranee's ear shattering screech piercing through the otherwise quiet of the classroom.

If Will hadn't been so laser focused upon her own matters, she would have been able to look up in time to catch Taranee's blatant diffidence in lighting the fireplace, as Will had momentarily managed to listen to Professor Lin make the request prior to shifting all of her energy back onto her own lesson.

She would have also witnessed Taranee's face becoming increasingly writhen with unmistakable anxiety and positively drenched in sweat as she slowly raised a hand toward the cold hearth . . . before the unlit logs before her suddenly exploded into a merciless ball of flame.

"Taranee!" Will cried out as she watched the utterly petrified girl fall backward, the uncontrollable flames she'd regrettably created rapidly gaining strength and angrily spilling forth from out of its momentary containment of the fireplace, now toward the fanciful rug laid beneath her bottom.

Before she even realized what she was doing, Bella quickly turned her attention back onto the bowl full of gelled water at the same time that Will had thankfully pulled her now dormant hands out of it, and promptly did what she said she could do.

Effortlessly shifted it back into its original, liquid state.

What she also did promptly within the following moment, however, was something Bella repeatedly stated she could not do . . . until now.

As Will rushed past her and toward her utterly panic-stricken roommate, Bella felt her body taking over as she held onto her critical urgency to put out the fearsome fire, raising her hand once more toward the vessel full of awaiting water and . . . miraculously lifting it into the air before concentrating a forceful, direct blow toward the lit fireplace.

"R-Rargh!" Bella grunted as she obviously gave her all into Hydrokinetically hurling the inexplicably growing stream of water into the fiery mantle, refusing to let up until every last flicker was successfully extinguished.

For her own part, Will had swiftly managed to scoop up Taranee from off of the floor before the fire, and now the water could have reached them, clumsily falling on top of the now almost catatonic girl as Will had aimed for the nearby couch in front of them.

Throughout all of it, Professor Lin had kept her composure, Will was increasingly becoming less surprised by to observe, as with swift, yet ever elegant movements did the redhead once again watch the eldest woman demonstrate the honestly envious control she possessed over her own mutant abilities.

As Bella's makeshift deluge was appearing to successfully douse the now whimpering flames within the fireplace, those remaining and had only just begun to build momentum upon the rug were swiftly snuffed out by the sharp, slicing motion of Professor Lin's arms from where she stood.

The gust of quite frigid wind now abruptly hitting Bella within the face as a result seemed to be what finally snapped her out of her very successful breakthrough, as she then tightly squeezed her eyes shut before dramatically falling to her knees within blatant fatigue.

"I-I . . . was I . . . did I just . . . make actual w-water?" she panted as she slowly reopened her eyes, looking down at her clenched, and now inert hands.

She then looked up toward the now quiet, positively drenched fireplace and let out a sigh of relief that the immediate danger had been sorted effectively, before shifting her attention onto her fellow classmates now curled up on the couch. "I-Is everyone . . . everyone all right?"

Bella worriedly watched as Professor Lin gave her a quick, yet firm nod of acknowledgment, before gingerly descending onto a now stammering Taranee, as both she, as well as Will began doing their best to soothe the affected girl's devastated nerves.

"Shhh, child. It is over now, Taranee. It's over, now. . . . You are safe," Will gratefully listened to Professor Lin almost coo out within reassurance, a sentiment yet to reach her own heart as it was admittedly still beating a mile a minute. "I think that it would be most prudent to end our lesson here. . . . Will, will you and Bella be dears and fetch Doctor Chacon and Professor Clarkson for me on your way out, please? You should find both ladies possibly finishing up their afternoon meals about now within the dining hall. I will obviously stay with Taranee in the meantime. . . ."

Sensing the redhead's immense reluctance to leave her clearly distressed companion's side, particularly now that Taranee's previous incoherent words devolved into silent, yet unmistakable tears, Professor Lin gently rested a warm hand upon Will's arm as she slowly stood to leave.

". . . . Do not worry, Will. I won't let anything more happen to Taranee. I promise," the older woman avowed with a small nod, before taking Will's place on the couch next to the still sobbing Taranee and gently beginning to cradle her within her arms.

Taking a few more beats to remain where she was, Will nodded within eventual compliance before slowly dislodging herself from her spot and began to make her way toward the classroom door upon having gathered her belongings alongside an equally flustered Bella.

". . . . Professor Lin is right, Will. I'm . . . I'm sure Taranee will be just fine," Bella threw her own hat into the ring of support as both girls exited the classroom, flashing Will as bright a smile as she could muster, all things considered.

Will could only nod once more within response, her crimson brows beginning to stitch themselves into a light frown as her mind began swirling within a multitude of thoughts . . . most prominently, if perhaps leaving Kandrakar's School for Gifted Youngsters really would be for the best for Taranee, after all. . . .

---

It had been barely two days later since Elyon's frightening relapse of control over her tremendously powerful gifts, and already those either present at the time while at Hope Park when it had happened, or had simply heard about it later on down the road, were now choosing to run wild with a barrage of varying theories all about it.

While obviously grateful that the conclusion the majority seemed to have settled upon was that the park was now being deemed an absolute hotbed for supernatural activity, it still hadn't done all that much to assuage the guilt Hay Lin was admittedly feeling about it, as she, specifically, was technically the cause for the latest rumor mill charging through the halls of Bayville High School.

True, Hay Lin and her friends had done their absolute best to minimize the possible fallout from the open display of their mutant abilities, and overall have remained convinced they had done precisely that.

After all, the girls had managed to get through the past few school days without being directly confronted over having been at the speculative scene, nor were even really dragged into any associated conversations.

And so, overall, it appeared as though they were in the clear, at least where the sudden existence of super-humans living amongst the so called 'regular' populace was concerned.

It still didn't make Hay Lin's personal feelings any better about it, though.

"Yeah, but would you relax about it already, Hay Hay? I mean, of course people are gonna be talking about it, considering this place was pretty sleepy – Up until recently, anyway," Irma managed to break through Hay Lin's continued train of distressed thoughts as the pair continued on within their after school shopping trip later that Thursday afternoon. "But, as I've said for the bajillionth time now, this was why I made sure we went back for all of our stuff. And has anyone directly pointed fingers at any of us yet about it? No! And they're not gonna, so no worries, all right? Let them gab away about how that area of the park's now brimming with ghosts and goblins, and how now they need to hold seances or conduct a few paranormal investigations! Better that than the alternative, I say."

Hay Lin faintly nodded at this, biting down onto her bottom lip a moment before responding.

". . . . Y-Yeah, I guess so. I mean . . . yeah, you're right, Irma! While I do still feel a bit bad about it, sorry, like you said, all of that definitely beats the alternative!" she slowly began to finally come around, having no choice but to ultimately agree with her best friend's words of rationale, especially when she'd put it all like that. "A-And the most important thing is that Elyon's safe and sound by now and been on the recoup, so I guess . . . we can call this a 'win-win,' right? R-Right. . . ."

"Ugh, there goes that doubt creeping back in again! And just when I thought I'd finally gotten through to you," Irma groaned with a playful roll of her eyes, stopping within her tracks a moment in order to gently seize Hay Lin's wrist with one hand, and carefully balancing her now trusty crutches underneath both armpits. "You're a hero for what you did, babe, seriously. If you hadn't, I imagine Elyon would probably be dissected into several test tubes somewhere within Area 51 by now, or – O-Oh, c'mon, that was funny! Don't gimme that look . . . even though aliens and whatnot are so totally your 'thing,' too. . . . Okay, okay, so it wasn't funny . . . ish, but you still know my point! It's over now, she's safe – We're safe, and now, thanks to all that, everyone has a fun activity for Halloween next month! Y'know, in addition to our now upcoming carnival, that is! I, myself, have got to bring my A-game if I'm gonna somehow get a chance this time to meet the fantabulous Karmilla, up close and personal. . . ."

At this, Hay Lin promptly felt herself letting go of the remainder of her anxiety and squealed within renewed delight by the reminder, indeed the very reason both girls were even at their local Wallymart in the first place.

"Oooh, I know! I can't believe I actually forgot about that for a sec! Well, no, I can believe it, given the gravity of our . . . n-never mind, never mind! But, yeah, seriously! It's just so awesome that we're having one, and that Principal Knickerbocker asked me to help design and paint some of the booths they're gonna have!" she gushed within her patented rapid succession whenever immensely excited, as the pair resumed their stroll within the relatively populated supermarket. "Well, I mean, not to make it sound like I'm the only one she'd asked, or like I'm the only 'good artist' at our school either, but -"

"- 'But' nothin', Hay Lin, my gossshhh! You are a freaking, amazing goddess, with equally amazing skills, talents, and great bod, to boot! Well, next to mine, anyway, but, hey. No competition, right?" Irma teased with a soft chuckle, watching Hay Lin's cheeks grow flush at the vast compliments, before she then 'curiously' sped up her walk, much to Irma's chagrin. "H-Hey, slow down, wouldja? I may be finally in the clear to get this damned boot off this weekend, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to go run a flippin' marathon!"

"Sorry, what was that, Irma? I can't hear you over my leaving you in the du – !" Hay Lin called over her shoulder as she began to round a corner toward a new aisle, mischievously within the middle of dishing the same level of playful torment that she'd found herself usually on the receiving end whenever hanging around the ever jesting Irma.

She was sadly unable to stop herself, for the second time, now, from colliding into someone she admittedly didn't believe she'd actually see again (well, outside of randomly doing so for preciously fleeting, yet miraculous seconds within their school's halls), though secretly was rather glad she did . . . if only it could have been under better circumstances!

"O-Oof! W-Whoaa, there, sorry! A-Are you all right? I – Hey! It's you, again!" Hay Lin, and now Irma, as she'd just then managed to rejoin her friend, heard the familiar looking boy happily state as he slowly released his hold of Hay Lin's arms upon having prevented her from toppling onto the ground.

It was funny that the park had been the girls' previous topic of discussion, considering that that was precisely the first, and last time Hay Lin had literally bumped into the still yet-to-be-identified-past-being-ridiculously-handsome guy then, as well . . . though the time apart, so to speak, had done little to prepare her for what she might say if she ever did get the chance to speak to him.

Because there she was, yet again, staring back at him like a complete nimrod, without a single train of thought forming within her mind!

No, this wasn't entirely true, as Hay Lin was currently mentally yelling to herself: Say something this time, Hay Lin! Anything! Even if it's a freaking grunt, just say something before he makes it a point to never come into contact with you ever again!

About the only consolation to the ridiculously mortifying chain of events was the fact that, so far, anyway, Hay Lin had yet to turn invisible on him again.

So that was something, least.

That, and thankfully this time she wasn't alone, as Irma, clearly sensing Hay Lin's dire need for rescue, quickly butt into the honestly one sided 'conversation' while beginning to stitch the overall pieces together.

"H-Heyyy, it's you! I mean, I don't actually know your name, but I've seen you in passing at school, sprinkled around here and there!" she grinned within amusement at the perplexed expression now etching itself onto the 'nameless' guy's face . . . though, judging by the continually flustered nature of her best friend, Irma was becoming increasingly confident that this just so happened to be the apparent, 'mysterious' man of Hay Lin's dreams she'd only finally divulged about just a few days ago, in fact. "The name's Irma Lair, by the way, hiya!"

Sure enough, the suspected young man slowly nodded before letting out a surprisingly good-natured chuckle as he confirmed, "U-Uhh, hi, then, Irma! I'm Eric Lyndon, nice to meet you! I'm guessing you're a friend of . . . ohh, my gosh, do I feel like a jerk that I still don't actually know your name! I mean, this is the first time since . . . the last time we'd 'met' where we're seeing each other again like this, but still! I'm really sorry about that. . . ."

Irma gently nudged Hay Lin's side as discreetly as she could after this, quickly flashing the now painfully shy girl an encouraging glance before the other girl finally, finally found her voice and responded.

"H-Hay Lin! O-Oh, uh, sorry! Woww, t-that was reallyloud! U-Um, I . . . my name is Hay Lin . . . Eric. Nice to finally know your name! E-Er, uh, or, you know! Nice to finally meet you, too!" Hay Lin did her very best to sound unaffected as she flashed a crooked smile toward a now curiously beaming Eric which, to Irma, was a very good sign.

She was sort of an expert in these matters, after all . . . more or less.

And based upon the way the 'couple' had been basically mirroring the other in terms of awkward, yet bubbly mannerisms, it was becoming pretty clear to Irma that she soon might have to put aside some time within her schedule in order to give Hay Lin a bunch of 'do's and don'ts' for her soon to be first date with the previously elusive Eric Lyndon.

"Oh, well! Right back atcha, and nice to meet you, too, Hay Lin! G-Great name, by the way! U-Um, well, you both have really great names, and . . . yeah!" both girls listened to Eric adorably ramble before apologetically trailing off, causing Irma to irresistibly tap against the back of Hay Lin's shoe with one of her crutches as if to say, "Would you hurry up and ask this dude to hang out some time, already, Hay Lin?"

Although he most confidently did not know why she did this, Eric nonetheless did notice Irma's gesture, and as though seeing them for the very first time asked, "O-Oh, man! Are you all right, Irma? The crutches, I mean, sorry! Do you need help with anything? I mean, like, I can go grab a shopping cart for you girls to use, or -"

"- Awww, no, you're sweet to ask and offer, Eric, but I'm good, actually, thanks! Yeah, I was actually just reflecting earlier how I'm finally gonna be free of my fashionable accessories by the end of this coming weekend – Hopefully – so there's no need! I'm a pretty quick healer, anyways," Irma happily explained with a playful wink at a now blushing Eric, as Irma was absolutely certain that Hay Lin was further observing the boy's overall characteristics, including that of his apparent thoughtfulness.

And bonus points that it was over someone she truly cared about, as well.

At this, Hay Lin suddenly found herself mustering up enough courage to finally have a proper conversation with the otherwise stranger, figuring she better do before her apparent luck run out and she regrettably became see through right before the group's eyes.

"S-So! U-Uh . . . what . . . brings you to Wallymart, Eric? I-I mean, you know, not to get all p-personal, or anything, sorry! N-Never mind. . . ." she unavoidably listened to herself trip over her own nonsensical words once more, very quickly losing the steam she'd somehow found herself originally possessing.

Surprisingly or, not surprisingly, based upon what both friends have been slowly taking note about their fellow schoolmate, Eric merely smiled at this and shook his head within initial response.

"No, no, that's cool, no worries, Hay Lin! Yeah, I actually just got here. I was gonna pick up a few groceries for my grandpa on my way home, and then I gotta head to the music store to get a new neck strap and mouthpiece brush for my saxophone," he eagerly explained, his own flustered emotions apparently settling down as he began speaking about something which seemingly meant a great deal to him.

Irma watched with admitted pride as Hay Lin also appeared to perk up just then, slowly backing up a bit as slyly as she could in order to give the potential lovebirds their own space.

"Oh, y-yeah? You play an instrument? That's pretty cool, Eric! A-And, that's really nice of you to do some shopping for your grandfather like that," Hay Lin complimented with a tiny smile, timidly reaching up to tuck a strand of her free flowing hair behind her ear.

Seeming to take notice of this, Eric honestly appeared a bit mesmerized to Irma for a few moments there, before he quickly cleared his throat and blindly shoved both of his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"W-What? Oh, no! W-Well, I mean, thanks, Hay Lin, but I wouldn't really call it 'nice' so much as that I live with my gramps, soo. . . ." he clumsily stated with a sheepish grin, before continuing on. "But I don't mind, obviously! Even if I didn't live with him, I'd still help out like this as we've always been pretty close! A-Anyway! Right, your other question! Yep, I play saxophone! And since Principal Knickerbocker just made that announcement about the fundraising carnival coming up, my band teacher also announced that we'll be breaking up into quartets to perform as part of the live music portion that day."

At this, Irma couldn't resist not tapping back into the conversation, as she now saw the perfect opportunity to further prop up her close friend in front of her blatant crush.

"You don't say, Eric! Sounds like everyone's getting involved in some way or another with the carnival! That's great! Ooh! Speaking of, Knickerbocker actually just asked Hay Lin personally to use her fantastically phenomenal artistic talents to help design some of the booths they're gonna use!" she gushed, admittedly laying it on a bit thick, although she genuinely was excited by the news. "So I guess that means that you two will be working together, sorta! Right, Hay Lin?"

Hay Lin abruptly turned her head to look at the other girl as though she suddenly now possessed two heads, her obvious embarrassment over being put on the spot like that blatantly showing, and now struggling to find her voice once more in order to properly respond.

Thankfully, though, Eric came to the proverbial 'rescue,' answering in her place as his own eyes widened within apparent delight.

"Oh, wow, you're an artist, Hay Lin? That's so awesome! What types of mediums do you work with? I-I'm in no way an expert, myself, but I can draw a mean stick figure, especially whenever playing 'Hangman!'" he joked with another grin, causing the three of them to simultaneously begin chuckling within goodhearted nature at his expense.

Feeling her nerves relaxing a bit, Hay Lin lightly shook her head before answering.

"I-I'm sure your . . . stick men are something to behold, Eric! But, n-no, as for me, I . . . sort of dive into it all, I guess? That is, I never really thought about locking myself into just one medium, or actually even put a label on it. . . . ?" she trailed off a moment with a faintly growing blush, as she clearly really hadn't before thought about this particular topic within such a manner. "I've just kinda always done some type of artwork since I was a kid, and then over time as my interests grew, I guess . . . so did the different kinds of materials I've found myself learning to use! Um . . . r-right!"

"So then, from the sounds of it, you're like a superwoman of the artistic world! You can do it all! E-Er . . . that came out the wrong way, didn't it? I just meant that it just sounds like if someone plopped a chunk of clay in front of you, you could probably craft a masterpiece, before shifting your attention onto painting a beautiful self portrait. . . ." Eric sincerely complimented with yet another smile, before all three teenagers realized the last of his words, and of its possible indication.

He then immediately began to let out abrupt coughs as a poor cover up, at the same time that Hay Lin, effortlessly sensing that Irma would most definitely pounce upon the moment as an opportunity to further hassle her, was at last quick on the draw with, "O-Oh, thanks, Eric! I-I . . . do my best, a-anyway! Anyway! We'd actually better get going, though, right, Irma? We still have to get a few supplies for the carnival, ourselves! But it was really nice talking with you, Eric!"

Struggling with herself not to burst out into a fit of laughter over the continued display, Irma had to sharply purse her lips together as she instead only nodded and gave a quick wave of goodbye to the now befuddled looking Eric, watching as the two girls began to make their now hasty retreat.

"W-Well, wait! U-Uh . . . seeing as we don't apparently share any classes together and all, maybe we can try to catch each other at the carnival! Sounds like we'll both be there, anyways, I mean . . . unless you're only just helping out with the booth designs, and not the actual running of any of them," Eric openly suggested with a light smile, looking between a now very surprised Hay Lin, and an openly beaming Irma. "Both of you, that is, r-right? Y-You're both totally welcome to come check me out when I play! C-Check us out, I mean! The quartet, like I told you about!"

"We'll totally check him out, won't we, Hay Lin? 'Till then, catch ya later, Eric!" Hay Lin regrettably listened to Irma playfully reply with another wave of her hand and wink for good measure, as Hay Lin could only smile apologetically back at a softly chuckling Eric, before the Aerokinetic girl then abruptly did an about face and practically sprinted away within the other direction.

"H-Hey! You're doing it again, chickadee! Wait up, wouldja?" Hay Lin heard Irma calling out from behind within surprised huffs, the sounds of her crutches 'click clacking' loudly against the well polished floor of the vast supermarket. "You do know that he's still watching you right now, yeah? So enjoy looking like you suddenly have to use the bathroom in front of lover boy!"

"W-Wha – ? I-I do not! I'm – ! Oh, God! He really is still standing there!" Hay Lin initially defended within embarrassment as she whirled around to finally wait for the brunette, before letting out an utterly stunned squeal the moment her brown eyes locked with Eric's within the distance, whom remained firmly planted within the spot both girls had left him.

At this, Irma, too craned her head over her shoulder as discreetly as she could, before then raising both eyebrows within honest surprise.

"Huh! I'll be damned! So he is! And I was just making up shit so's you'd slow down, but hey! 'Win-win' for us like you'd said earlier, right?" Irma confessed in between sudden giggles, reaching out to seize one of Hay Lin's now rather clammy hands. "Oooh, my wittle Hay Lin totally has her first boyfriend! Oh, man! This must be what proud mothers feel like! Good on you, girlie!"

Not wishing to have an open audience over what was honestly a more mortifying experience than it was exhilarating, Hay Lin immediately did her best to drag Irma into the nearest aisle she could reach as carefully as she could before hissing, "Shh! Shush, would you? My gosh, Irma! W-What if Eric happens to be a . . . 'you-know-what' like us and just so happens to have enhanced hearing as his gift?"

"Then that just means you two will have even more to talk about the next time you see one another, won't it?" Irma confidently fired back with a casual shrug, before breaking out into a renewed fit of laughter. "Ugh! But I'm just, like . . . sooo glad I was here to witness all of this, man! I'm both super excited for you, and also very much ready to tease you into oblivion about it for the foreseeable future! Especially over such gems as Eric hoping you 'check him out' at the carnival, and how you'd make such a 'beautiful self portrait!' I-I mean, those are wedding speech references right there, hands down!"

Hay Lin could only slap both hands roughly against her extremely reddened face at this, knowing full well that there really was no stopping the other girl once she got going like this, although her own insides were also now percolating with profound jubilation at the possibility.

That . . . Eric might actually be interested in her, that is.

He was, wasn't he?

Again, that really was their first, real interaction, and Hay Lin was positively wet behind the ears about all of this romantic stuff, true.

And, up until about fifteen minutes or so ago, she hadn't even known Eric's actual name, let alone anything else about him.

But even she, with or without Irma there to have translated, had somehow been able to more or less read between the lines Eric had been kind enough to generously space out for her.

. . . . Now all Hay Lin needed to figure out was making sure that she didn't mess anything up by once again acting like a floundering fish when she eventually saw him at the upcoming carnival.

Just as Irma was about to dive into round two of playfully ridiculing her best friend, both girls found themselves suddenly overhearing a rather heated debate permeating within the next aisle between a pair of voices which sounded very familiar. . . .

Immediately recognizing them to regrettably belong to the Grumper Twins, both Irma and Hay Lin, whom by now had her face uncovered, shared a look of agreement to keep walking down their own aisle and distance themselves from the honestly troublesome sisters as swiftly as they could.

That is, until one of the redheads began uttering a few key words which honestly intrigued the pair, causing them to promptly stop in place as they now found themselves unexpectedly eavesdropping. . . .

"O-Okay, but like, I just don't get the hang up, Court! You won, you know? So why continue to be so upset about anything when you still have the video of Elyon being utterly humiliated by Miranda? And clearly her little meltdown at the park did more lasting damage than we thought – A-And you'd originally hoped, since she hasn't been back to school since! It's over!" both girls carefully leaned in closer against their thankfully empty aisle as they listened to what was apparently Bess's voice effortlessly carrying out into the surrounding atmosphere from the other side.

Although neither girl could see her, they both knew how honestly . . . fed up, in addition to more than just a little bit concerned she sounded within that moment, as Hay Lin turned her head toward Irma and silently mouthed, Video? before a now frowning Irma quickly waved a hand into the air within temporary dismissal.

"Yeah, well, like I just said, it isn't enough! Because no matter what it is, or how long things have passed, it's just allllways Elyon, and how Cornelia rushes to her rescue without fail! I mean, look at how easily I was forgotten about when that lummox Laurent had nearly flattened me that day! Did she hurry to help me back up, or anything? No! And -"

"- No, she didn't, Courtney, but I did! J-Just – ! Argh, I get that Cornelia was like, your super best friend in the past, okay? I do! She used to be a pretty good friend to me, too, you know! But things change! People change, and sometimes you just gotta move on! I-I mean, seriously, Sis! We've still got each other, as well as our many other friends, right? Our lives are totally sweet without Cornelia, and her shitty new taste in companionship!" Bess hurriedly interrupted her continually bristling sibling on the other side of the shopping aisle, clearly wishing to diffuse the overall situation as she was, apparently, the more rational of the two.

Both Hay Lin and Irma waited on bated breath a few more moments after this, though the sudden silence from the adjacent aisle appeared to signal the end of the escalated discussion.

They were then about to make a strategic, albeit hasty retreat before suddenly hearing what they'd assumed to be Courtney's voice sounding out once more as she stated bitterly, ". . . . Maybe . . . but no one gets away with tossing us to the side like some piece of trash the way Cornelia did. . . ."

At this, Irma quickly gestured her head toward the end of their aisle, signaling to Hay Lin for the both of them to at last make their exit, wishing to put as much distance between the blatantly fired up twins and themselves as possible before discussing what they'd just overheard.

Once they were confident that they had not been detected, nor would they, themselves, be eavesdropped, Hay Lin led the way into the much quieter section of lawn and garden care items before either girl dared speak once more.

"Ohh, my God! What was that about? Video? What video?" Hay Lin was the first to blurt out within heated whispers, watching as Irma took a seat onto one of the outdoor sofas put out on display.

"R-Right? And Miranda? As in Senka? Now she's involved in this weird ass feud the Grumpers clearly have with Elyon and Cornelia, too? What the hell did she manage to do to her, and when?" Irma angrily whispered back, the mounting surge of protection she didn't even know she specifically had all that much for both blondes before now effortlessly breaking to the surface. "I-I mean, I knew something was obviously going on between all of them, based upon their blowup on Tuesday, but now it just sounds like full on obsession!"

Hay Lin nodded vigorously at this, beginning to wring both hands together within obvious concern.

"So, then . . . what should we do? Do we tell the others what we'd overheard? I-I mean, if what we heard was truly legit, then it's essentially the Grumpers' fault – Or, at the very least were a partial trigger within Elyon's . . . 'incident!' I don't think it'd be a good idea to let her know that there's now also a video somewhere within Courtney's possession, if she's not already aware!" she laid out her valid argument as quietly as she could, her previously good mood over having bumped into Eric completely out the window as she now felt as though she might honestly throw up.

Pausing for a few moments, Irma carefully stood back up from her temporary seat as she responded, ". . . . Yeah, true, Hay Lin. Then . . . for now, at least, we should probably keep this to ourselves – O-Or from Elyon, rather, and maybe pick the right time to at least let Cornelia in on all this. 'Forewarned is forearmed,' right, seeing as it's clear that Courtney is not going to let any of her sickening animosity go anytime soon. And besides, Cornelia obviously knows Elyon best out of all of us in our group, so she'll most probably know exactly how best to proceed moving forward. . . ."

"Yeah, that, and we should all definitely keep the twins, as well as Miranda on our radar for the time being, at least until we can find out how she's now involved in all of this, too. . . ." Hay Lin added with another nod, her facial expression now so painfully riddled with seemingly never-ending anxiety that Irma just had to suddenly reach out to tickle at her side in order to break the tension. "A-Aack! W-What was that for?"

"You needed that, if your face just now was anything to go by!" Irma stated within explanation and a smile, although it was admittedly weak as her own thoughts were still unavoidably now plagued by the recent turn of events. "L-Let's just do what we've planned, and in the meantime try to relax, all right? Keeping up appearances seem to mean everything to those two, that much I have observed on and off about them. So I highly doubt Bess and Courtney will do anything too drastic within their ongoing vendetta, no worries!"

Hay Lin let out a frustrated, and purposefully drawn out groan at this as the pair began to leave that particular aisle and at last returned to their own, originally simple venture of supplies shopping.

"As if all of us didn't already have enough on our plates to worry about with our upcoming 'patrols,' but now we've got some epic teenage drama to contend with! And worse yet: It's mutant teenage drama, to boot!"

- End of Chapter Thirteen

---

(A.N. Woooo, twenty-seven pages outta here! Yay! LoL I actually wanted, 'like always,' to continue on past this as originally planned, hence the sort of 'abrupt' ending, in my opinion, anyway. Yeah, I was originally going to have the next scene be the end of the school day back at the institute featuring Cornelia and Elyon, before eventually meeting up with Irma and Hay Lin and the two discreetly let Cornelia know what they'd just overheard from the Grumper Twins, etc. And then AFTER that, I was gonna feature...ya know what? We'll just shut our mouths here and leave it for the next chapter, duh. LoL

Anyway! Again, I don't really know how many of you have watched "X-Men: Evolution" prior to checking out this story – Which, as always, thank you – but if you haven't, number one: What are you waiting for? LoL Sorry, that's just my childhood nostalgia creeping back up, there. =P …..Point still stands, though. LoL

But, no, seriously, whether you have or not, I again did some allusions and outright quotes from a few episodes, just as I'd done in the previous chapter. It's still from the same episode of Season 2, "Power Surge," but during the aftermath of when Jean is recovering, and Scott brings her roses, etc. Well, Jean's boyfriend Duncan had, and Scott brought them, but whatever. LoL

All that, plus Jean's little comments at the end of the episode is what I'm on about, and what I'd mimicked a bit with Elyon and Cornelia. But I did want to change the color of the roses here, just for Cornelia's sake and that it wouldn't have been too 'on the nose' if she suddenly was buying roses, of all things, for her best friend.

What else...oh, yes! For all you fellow "H2O: Just Add Water" fans, I'd decided to drop in Bella Hartley into the mix. Dunno if I'll feature her again, but originally I was just struggling to think of whom the 'mystery' flu girl had been in their class prior to Will's arrival to the school this whole time. LoL Was just going to make someone up but then decided to use her as I was actively forming the girls' next powers lesson. =) Plus, even though at first/at the time I did miss Emma and thought the 'jelly-water' power was 'lame,' I definitely now find Bella's abilities to be pretty interesting and wroth with future story ideas. In general...not from me, I mean. LoL

Again, I say I really wasn't a fan when I was first writing out this chapter and its outline, mainly because I didn't really like the whole "Oh, great, so now we've got TARANEE being all 'Ohhh, wahh, I wanna leave the school and can't do this!', the way we'd only JUST stopped reading Will complaining about?" angle. True. But then as I came back to everything and added, or took away some things, and especially also thinking of Elyon and how in here, at least, I'd ALSO made her a victim of sorts to fire, I think it turned out all right. At least, for now. LoL In general, I just enjoy being able to take the appropriate step back and give the characters a chance to properly process anything which might have happened, you know? And especially with them being teenagers, mutants, AND Elyon had nearly killed them all, I do think it was well timed. LoL

But getting to write out action scenes, or them actively using their powers is still always at the top of my list. =P

Was that it...? I think so. Oh, wait! Right, the carnival. That's also inspired from "X-Men: Evolution," "Bada-Bing Bada-Boom" episode, which directly follows after Jean's "Power Surge" episode. Yes, yes...clearly, I enjoyed watching that show. LoL

Still, as THEIR school had been forced to do a fundraiser to help rebuild their school's gym, and the amphitheater in my story is also still pretty well shot, I figured I'd just feature a future episode holding a carnival, as well. And as for their apparently annual 'Family Weekend,' that I was inspired by a lot of different boarding schools...since I guess, technically, that's what their school is. In particular, I'd landed on Canterbury School in Connecticut, actually, as the initial inspiration, before further writing what I ultimately hope to lay out, alongside the fundraiser. Figured it was 'about time' everyone sees the girls' families, anyway. =P

Uhhh...yeah! Think that was everything! I always forget something, anyway, but meh. LoL Till next time, My Lovelies, which should...SHOULD be much, much sooner now that the block has been vanquished. =) Stay safe!)