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. . . .

14. Chapter Twelve

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: Ohhh, WOW, has it been absolute ages, My Lovelies! Super unintended, this time, more than any other time before, as surgery stuff had been involved.

Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, to be specific, and my Author's Note at the end of this chapter will kinda go into it a tick.

But, no worries, I'm fine, and I'm back, after twenty-six years of absence. LoL

Know what's so weird to think, too? I'd initially started this chapter all the way back in 2019, a few months before I'd taught myself how to crochet, and now I've a little business selling what I've crafted. Craaazy to realize. =)

Anyway! Thank you, thank you, THANK you all for not giving up on me in all that time, though, as I've still been receiving so many notes or reviews from you during my time away!

And thank you for the most recent influx of new reader and favorites, as well! Your timing is perfect, because here comes a massive chapter update! =)

I hope you all enjoy, review, and have all been super super well!

Missed you all!

P.S. Happy 'Every Past Holiday,' and New Year! =P

---

This chapter was created in July 2019, and rewritten and edited in February 2023.

---

Chapter Twelve

"Honey, I'm home!" she regrettably listened to his voice ring out within such a ridiculously sweet sounding falsetto that it was nearly diabetic.

She didn't know why he even bothered to continue on with the varying pretenses, as if he could ever fool her into thinking he truly cared for her well being.

For anyone's . . . well, perhaps anyone other than himself, of course, given his extremely narcissistic nature.

He was, after all, holding her hostage within her very own home, for pity's sake, completely using her unique services toward his own benefit for the better part of a year, with apparently no end in sight. . . .

No.

No, that wasn't entirely true, was it?

There was a possible end to be seen – Multiple, in fact.

This was her special talent, naturally, and why he had even come to her in the first place.

If only she could have foreseen a way to be much stronger than she was, instead of at last giving into the utter despair her abilities had always seemed to bestow onto her for most of her life, then maybe . . . maybe she'd be free by now.

In more ways than one. . . .

". . . . I don't know why you continue to bother with the feigned pleasantries between us, Phobos. You know that it is all pointless, especially given whom you're talking to, in addition to the fact that you've kept me a prisoner here for so long now," she coolly remarked from her place upon the sofa within her living room, stifling a frustrated sigh.

She peered over the top of the book she'd been reading with resentful, hazel colored eyes as she observed her captor in question casually walk toward her kitchen area before placing the two bags of groceries he'd evidently purchased for her onto the nearby counter top.

"Ah, ah, ahhh . . . not 'prisoner,' sweet Aisling. Think of it more as a tiny bit of . . . 'house arrest," the tall, lengthy young man known as Phobos tutted with a quick wag of his long index finger, his free flowing, and platinum blonde hair gently whipping back and forth against his back as he whirled around to face his detainee. "I'm doing you a favor, though, really! After all, before you and I had crossed paths, you absolutely hated leaving your little dwelling here, thanks to those nasty little visions of yours, remember? Now, because of me, you'll never have to worry about leaving your island ever again! And plus, you get to have your delicious groceries delivered right to your door!"

The young woman named Aisling narrowed her eyes a moment at this before promptly relaxing, averting her now shameful gaze as the familiar waves of self-loathing effortlessly crashed into her core.

Phobos was right, they both obviously knew this.

Were she not such a coward, Aisling would have ended her own life the very moment her mutant abilities of Precognition had first manifested several years ago.

But she was . . . and the only form of respite she'd managed to carve out for herself over time was complete, and utter isolation, having done so upon her previously unassuming island.

Having become more and more self sufficient over the years as a result of her honest curse, Aisling had found the small, but comfortable log cabin she'd built to be the perfect, permanent hideaway, especially with the island's surrounding surplus of overgrown trees . . . and most importantly, an all encompassing lake.

Plus, given that her home was so out of the way, as well as about three hours away from the nearest city of Bayville, the thirty-year-old literally never had any visitors, or regular direct human interaction in over three years . . . until now.

"Hmm? What's the matter, sweetheart? Taking a trip down memory lane?" Aisling listened to the manipulative man correctly guess, a cruel smile slowly spreading across his pale face as he approached.

Aisling frowned back at Phobos within defiance, possibly despising him more than she did own self as she nonetheless nodded within response.

"Yes, actually. . . . I was just thinking that if I hadn't needed to finally restock my pantries and was forced to head back to into the city, you never would have met me," she replied with a disgusted moan as Phobos just then reached out to stroke the side of her brown colored head with deliberate lingering.

"Hmm . . . yes, but then we wouldn't be here, enjoying each other's company for the past year, now would we?" he rebutted with a devilish grin, taking a seat across from the woman within a nearby chair. "You wouldn't have me as your friend, making sure no harm comes to you thanks to my well crafted force field, right? No more worrying about anyone ever happening upon your property, uninvited and bombarding you with a flood of silly premonitions! Now, you only have to worry about having them for me . . . and finally giving me what I seek. . . ."

Understanding the open threat despite the ongoing 'niceties,' knowing that she was regrettably no match for him when it came right down to it, Aisling slowly closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

". . . . It's . . . It's the same as it's been each time you ask, Phobos," she breathed with a slight shiver, unfortunately allowing her multitude of visions to nearly suffocate her as she once again peered into the man's possible futures. "You . . . You will achieve what you seek: Your sister will be returned to you . . . but perhaps not in the way you thought. . . ."

"Yes, yes! I've heard all this before, Aisling: A million and one possibilities of at last getting what I want, which is why I have been toiling away for so many years to make my dream a reality, long before I've begun to receive your inside foreknowledge upon the matter," Phobos couldn't help but growl, clenching his left fist as his strategic, and well crafted lax persona faltered momentarily before continuing. "Now, tell me, woman! Why is it 'not in the way' I think?"

Aisling let out a sharp gasp of blatant fatigue as she reopened her eyes, gazing back at an already relaxing Phobos with terrified eyes.

"I-I – ! You know that my premonitions, though numerous, are only super distinct and much easier to decipher the more certain they are of becoming a reality!" she wearily explained, for what felt like the the thousandth time since their fateful meeting. "It's why it has never changed that you and Elyon will be reunited, because that's always been clear as day! B-But . . . it's the how which remains more hazy to me. . . . I-I did just see, however, a new vision . . . one involving a new person . . . n-no. A new . . . new power to soon come into your life. . . ."

Phobos's well groomed eyebrows raised a bit within intrigue by this, reaching out to claim Aisling's hand with a gentle grasp, which nonetheless felt as though the Grim Reaper had just walked across her admittedly hopeful grave.

"Really, now? Now this is what I like to hear! Come, dear heart: Tell me more. . . ."

---

". . . . and that's what happened. U-Ugh! I-I . . . I still can't believe it, Peter: My worst nightmare, come true! I don't . . . I don't know what to do, now. . . ."

Taranee had been sat, alone within her dormitory for the past twenty minutes or so since the end of her final class for that school day within the institute, nervously recounting every last, frightful detail of her Danger Room training exercise earlier that afternoon to her adoptive older brother via video chat.

She leaned in with a shaky hand to carefully tilt back the screen of the ruby colored laptop sat within the middle of her neatly organized desk, before slowly pulling the appendage back and began to peer down at it with a piercing gaze.

No matter how many times it regrettably replayed within her mind, it was still utterly difficult to believe that this was the very same hand which, just a mere two and a half hours ago, had actually created . . . fire.

It were as though Taranee was experiencing the complete shock of having manifested mutant abilities for the very first time all over again, effortlessly thrusting her back into a seemingly endless spiral of both confusion, and terror.

The far more rational side of her was doing its absolute best to continually reassure, as well as remind her that the recent development had indeed been 'forewarned,' so to speak, for weeks now, and indeed even upon her arrival to the institute a month prior.

And, truth be told, while she had been privately praying every day that it would never happen, that she would somehow become the exception of other fellow Thermo, turned Pyrokinetic mutants out there, Taranee had also been simultaneously hoping that she would somehow possess the mental fortitude to properly handle it, and simply . . . adjust, should it indeed ever come to fruition.

Evidently, however, neither prayer had been answered. . . .

"Oh, wow, Lil' Sis. . . . I can't even imagine what you must be going through right now. I know how tough all of this has been for you in general, especially given your phobia, and having to leave home within the middle of it all," Taranee looked up toward the monitor once more in time to see Peter flashing her a most sympathetic smile, his brown eyes reflecting the sheer sadness Taranee, herself, was presently afflicted with. "B-But, hey, uh . . . I mean, obviously I don't really know much about how any of this stuff works – Y-You know. Being a mutant, I mean. But . . . if anyone can be in the dark one day, and then wake up and suddenly find that they can wield fire from out of their own fingertips the next . . . yet somehow be able to handle it all, it'd be you, T. I'm serious. . . ."

Taranee felt her eyes effortlessly begin to tear up all over again, as she'd been trying her absolute best not to completely lose it throughout the duration of their shared conversation, however found that she could no longer restrain herself.

"T-That's just the thing, though, Peter! I-I really don't think I can anymore!" she confessed in between sharp, already uncontrollable sobs, promptly removing her eyeglasses in order to properly wipe at her now reddening face. "I-I just – ! Y-You know that I never wanted to leave you, Mom, and Dad in order to come here, a-and felt so terrified to do so! B-But, yeah, thankfully, you've all been so completely supportive, a-and . . . and positive about everything turning out all right. . . . A-And I am, and always will be eternally grateful for that, don't get me wrong! Really. But, I-I - ! I just don't know, anymore! Saying it, talking about it is all one thing, b-but actually experiencing it – Seeing it . . . f-feeling it is something entirely different, altogether!"

"S-So . . . wait. What are you saying, then, T? . . . . Are you thinking of calling it quits and coming back home?" Taranee's eyebrows shot up within admitted surprise upon listening to her attentive sibling's honest inquiry, causing her to pause a moment in order to give it some proper thought.

It had truthfully never occurred to her before until that precise moment that she really could simply pack up and go back to Connecticut to be with her family.

Goodness knows she continued to miss them every single day, without fail.

Still, in spite of the lingering sensations of homesickness, Taranee had been doing her best to acclimate all the same, and according to her numerous professors, both within the institute as well as Bayville High School, none would have been the wiser that she was still a new student, she'd already made many great strides within her overall progress.

And even she, herself, was actually beginning to agree with all of them bit by bit, admittedly, the past several days especially.

Taranee had used her gifts to help save a lot of lives . . . she'd single-handedly rescued her friend and housemate, Irma, from greater injury than what she'd ultimately sustained . . . and she'd just been rewarded for her heroic acts by being personally selected by the headmaster, himself, to help oversee his newfound group of secret protectors for their city.

An X-Man.

Indeed, if she really wasn't capable of handling her newest advancement, her overall powers as a whole, then surely she would have crumbled ages ago . . . right?

But, perhaps . . . this is just finally the straw to break the camel's back, Taranee mused morosely as her crying began to die down, a light frown forming upon her face as she continued to mull over her newfound crisis of faith. If I'm no longer enrolled here and go back home, then I'll have a legitimate excuse not to have to keep exercising my gifts. And if I don't and completely stop doing so, then . . . maybe, somehow I'll be able to suppress my evolution, to the point where it will no longer be an issue. . . .

As Taranee was about to speak once more, and give her patiently awaiting brother her answer, honestly feeling a tad confident that this was the right, and only solution for the present problem at hand, a light rapping upon her sealed bedroom door caused her to nearly fall out of her desk chair.

"O-Oh! My gosh. . . . S-Sorry, Peter. It sounds like someone's knocking on my door. I'd better go answer it, i-in case it might be Professor Clarkson or someone, coming to . . . check in on me after what's happened," Taranee breathed with a hand to her chest within continued surprise, quickly reaching behind the open laptop in order to carefully pluck a tissue from out of its box and clean her face one final time.

Peter merely nodded within understanding at this and smiled warmly, causing Taranee to wish all the more that she were back home, right beside him in order to receive one of his patented, 'always-makes-her-feel-better' bear hugs.

"A-Ahhh, I see. No, yeah. Don't worry about it! We can talk more later tonight before your curfew if you want to, since Mom and Dad'll be home from work by then, you know. Either way, we're always here for you, all right, T? No matter what. . . . We love you," Peter reassured his little sister before ending the video chat with a quick wave and air blown kiss, making Taranee only feel ironically worse, as a result.

New tears threatened to escape from out of her eyes once more as she stared hopelessly at her now blank monitor, which only seconds before had featured a possibly hopeful salvation to her newfound predicament.

How on Earth was she ever going to find the strength to get through this if Taranee did decide to stay, after all?

Moreover, how was she ever going to find the strength to say goodbye to her new companions . . . to Will, and quite probably let all of them down if she ultimately decided to leave?

Taranee hadn't any time to ponder away even further, as once more the knocking upon her bedroom door, previously soft and timid, almost, now became a bit more emboldened as it suddenly became much louder.

"O-Oh, man! I'd nearly forgotten! G-Get it together, Taranee! Focus!" Taranee quietly admonished herself with a shake of her head, abruptly rising to her feet and tossing out her used tissue within the trash receptacle on her way to the door before opening it. "I-I'm really sorry to keep you waiting like that, Prof – ! O-Oh! H-Hey, Will! What's . . . What's up? Is it . . . moving day?"

Taranee forced as genuine a smile as she could manage as she gazed expectantly toward the sheepishly grinning redhead, having managed to even throw in a light, honestly coincidental jest as the other girl curiously had several duffle bags within her possession.

"I-I, uh . . . I suppose you could say that, yeah, Taranee. Um . . . meet your new roommate. . . .?" Will stated a tad shyly, her cheeks growing rosy as Taranee's eyes slowly widened within understandable surprise. "I-I know! I know. It was . . . certainly news to me, too. B-But after our last period class, Professor Kandrakar called me into his office and informed me that he'd . . . basically fast tracked my whole new roommate situation, you know. I mean, since normally new students get a brief adjustment period, remember? Y-Yeah. . . . But I guess he thought that I'd 'adjusted' so quickly already – I mean, given everything I've already seen and been through, his words – that it might already be time to bunk me up with someone. And, um . . . seeing as he'd thankfully given me a choice, I . . . picked you. . . ."

Taranee couldn't help but smile broadly at this, this one far more sincere than the last.

". . . . And, I mean, it also helps that I believe I'm the only other 'new person' without a roommate at present, as the upperclassmen evidently receive their own private dorms," she found herself slightly teasing the blatantly embarrassed girl before her, causing her to lightly roll her eyes. "B-But, no, seriously. I'm honestly very touched, and . . . relieved, frankly, about this! I mean, I've been here over a month now, as you know, which meant that I was rapidly coming to the end of my own . . . 'adjustment period,' I suppose.

"So I was admittedly worried who was going to be my roommate. T-That is, I do know that some kids here have three, even up to four people sharing one dorm room, together . . . although I hear it isn't anything like a punishment scenario or whatever, sort of like what had happened to Cornelia and Irma. Just a perk of getting to share the same room as your friends, I guess. . . ."

Will let out a low whistle upon hearing this, before letting out a light chuckle.

"Oh, w-wow! Now I'm really glad that I was given a choice even more, then! Four people? Four strangers, really? But, I mean, honestly these dorms are so gigantic by their own merit, so I highly doubt that it's anywhere close to being cramped for anyone who chooses that setup," she grinned with a brief shrug, gingerly readjusting the strap of the black colored duffle bag draped across her shoulder before asking, "N-Now, um . . . would you mind giving me a hand, p-please? I hadn't honestly unpacked all of my things yet, so gathering everything up really wasn't that much of a problem. But I did also have Irma helping me carry these up to my room when I'd first arrived, and then Hay Lin had had them all . . . airlifted – Literally – before that, soo. . . ."

"Oh, right! Yeah, sorry about that, Will! Here!" Taranee responded kindly, hurriedly reaching out to retrieve the two bags left on the floor upon either side of Will, before opening the dorm room door even further in order to allow her new roommate inside.

. . . . But, for how long? she couldn't stop herself from thinking fleetingly, gently setting down Will's belongings next to the previously unoccupied bed within the room, before blindly smoothing down the small bangs of her current, side ponytail hairstyle in order to hopefully conceal her undoubtedly reddened eyes away from her friend as much as she could.

Clearing her throat before taking a deep breath, Taranee once again plastered a happy smile across her face before turning back around to face the now curiously frowning Will, who was now regrettably observing the slight pile of balled up tissues strewn about her still open laptop.

Taranee silently cursed herself for her uncharacteristic negligence as Will quietly asked, ". . . . Um, i-is . . . is everything all right, Taranee? I mean . . . did I catch you at a bad time? I'm not . . . I mean I'm really not trying to dig into your business, or anything, you know me. O-Or, well, you kinda do, anyway. But, you know . . . if you want to talk, or . . . maybe get anything off your chest, then . . . I'm here to listen. All the time now, too, right? 'Roomies!' Yaaaay. . . ."

Taranee managed a small giggle as she watched the redhead twirl a finger into the air to further punctuate her lasting sentiment, before Taranee then shook her head.

. . . . She understood what Will had been alluding to, after all, naturally having attempted to bring it up during the conclusion of their mutual training exercise just a few hours before, as well.

However, just as Taranee had keenly avoided opening up about everything then, and also during the girls' ice cream break celebration, she did so again, now.

She simply wasn't ready to share her feelings with anyone else, even if that someone else might actually understand better than her brother . . . at least, a tiny bit, and possibly more so where Taranee's overall fear over her powers was concerned.

No.

No, Will didn't possess an honestly debilitating phobia at the worst of times like she did, a fact which was only growing more and more humiliating for her to try cope with the longer she'd actually think about it.

This was just something Taranee was going to have to figure out on her own . . . if she could.

"Noo, no! I am all right, Will, no worries. I'm just – Or I was just still feeling pretty wiped from our training, you know? I mean, that aftermath with the surprise paintball assassination. . . . I guess it just hurt me more than I expected," she verbally stitched together as convincingly as she could, rubbing at her side where she could admittedly feel an unmistakable welt forming from where she'd been pelted earlier on that day.

Taranee watched as Will paused a moment, seeming to have seen through her facade and would possibly call her on it, before thankfully instead grinning back at her and nodded.

". . . . Yeah, I hear you. I honestly shed a few tears myself after I'd first tried to sit down on the toilet in the girls' bathroom after parting ways with you. Never again. . . . Well, at least until I properly heal, anyway," she stated in between renewed giggles, following suit within Taranee's continued tending to her wound by blindly reaching back to gingerly pat her rear end. "Thank God these beds are so soft, though, right? But I'm definitely sleeping on my side tonight, for sure! But, uh, anyway! Any plans for the rest of the day? I mean, you know, after homework, or whatever, since I do know enough about you by now to know that you don't honestly mess about with procrastination."

Taranee playfully scoffed at this, yet smiled gently.

"Yess, yes. I'm a nerd, I get it, it's fine," she chuckled with a dismissive wave of her hand before moving back over to her desk, and attempted to spruce everything up as nonchalantly as she could. "But, um . . . I don't know, honestly. I mean, there is our Sociology project we could maybe get a jump on, if after dinner later you'd wanna -"

"- Ughhh, no! Like you'd indicated, we just got assigned said project, and have a whole three weeks to finish it! I was thinking more along the lines of just general hanging out, or something. I mean, this mansion's certainly big enough to find something to do, as this past weekend during our 'lock down' has shown me," Will interrupted with another smirk and wave of her own hands, before carefully . . . face-planting, honestly, onto her new bed.

Clearly, she really wasn't taking any furthered chances over sitting down properly once again, at least for the time being.

Blinking within surprise at the sudden display, Taranee lightly shook her head after disposing of the remainder of her soiled tissues and asked, "Well, then, fine. As my new roommate, what would you like to do later, as a way to commemorate the event . . . as well as the fact that you'd survived your very first Danger Room encounter?"

Will hadn't the chance to respond, as both girls suddenly heard Professor Kandrakar's increasingly familiar voice sounding within their heads, much as he had done just a few days before.

Taranee . . . Will. . . . If you are done settling into your new dorm room, Will, will you girls both please meet with me within my office? Thank you, the pair silently listened to their headmaster's request before presumably breaking his previously established mental link with them.

Taranee had been gazing upward that entire time, now finding herself doing so out of habit whenever Professor Kandrakar would suddenly infiltrate her mind, as though she could somehow see his face from wherever she was.

She then abruptly looked toward Will's bed as she heard the redhead shoot up onto her hands and knees within obvious surprise.

"G-Geez! Oh! . . . . My God . . . I wish there was some way to be better prepared for whenever he might do that, seriously," Will muttered within embarrassment, swiping a palm down her face a moment before giving a now amused Taranee a crooked smile. "Well, I guess, for now, at least, this saves us figuring out how to spend our afternoon, huh? C'mon, let's get going!"

As long as this meeting won't have anything to do with me, and my having . . . 'graduated' to 'Pyrokinesis,' then I'll be just fine, Taranee couldn't help think as she slowly began to follow after her friend, a worried scowl lightly forming upon her face before exiting the dorm room which may, or may not even be hers for much longer. . . .

---

". . . . They're on their way, Elyon. Irma, Cornelia, and Hay Lin are also en route," Himerish informed his privately admitted, star pupil, giving her a warm smile upon reopening his eyes.

What an honestly trying day he'd had thus far, he wouldn't deny it, feeling nearly tempted to disconnect his telephone due to the overwhelming influx of calls from understandably concerned fellow parents, and guardians.

He'd known it was coming, even said as much to his colleagues, and more or less alluded to it to his students that past weekend.

He just didn't want to believe that it would have been from so many, and all at once, with a good amount of parents already choosing to pull their children from out of his school.

And judging by the way the buttons of his now thankfully muted office telephone was nonetheless still blinking like mad, Himerish greatly suspected that this was simply just the beginning. . . .

Strategically placing his morning newspaper on top it, lest he rouse unwanted concern from his adopted daughter, Himerish then leaned forward against his desk and folded his hands together as he thoughtfully asked, ". . . . Now that we've a few minutes to spare, tell me, Elyon: Is . . . everything all right with you? That is, is there anything you'd wish to discuss with me?"

Elyon promptly snapped back at attention at this, an act which admittedly drew more worry than relief for Himerish, now that her head was apparently back from out of the clouds.

She'd been acting that way from the moment she'd ventured into his office several minutes prior, in all honesty, carelessly plunking herself down onto one of the many, fanciful couches placed within the room before then proceeding to give halfhearted responses any time he'd actively addressed her.

Granted, Elyon had needed to take the remainder of that school day off due to apparently feeling a tad under the weather, an atypical occurrence which had indeed troubled her legal guardian, to be sure; however, by her own insistence (and against ample protest on his own part) she was now there for their upcoming meeting, ready to discuss whatever happened to be on Himerish's mind.

Still, ill or not, this suddenly detached and faraway behavior simply was not within Elyon's core nature at all, and although their upcoming assemblage was still important, it effortlessly took a backseat to . . . his little girl's overall well being. . . .

"H-Huh? O-Oh, no, Oracle, sorry! I'm . . . I'm just fine. I mean, well, not 'fine,' since I'm still feeling a bit . . . rundown, but I'll . . . be okay," Himerish attentively listened to Elyon automatically respond, though she did make the extra effort to force a light smile onto her face as she did so.

Himerish lightly frowned at this, pausing a moment as he wondered how best to broach his followup question without risking upset for the young girl.

"Hmm . . . I see. . . . So, then . . . I suppose the sudden burst within your telekinetic abilities I'd felt earlier today was simply a result of your . . . lack of pep, as you say, yes?" he queried as casually as he could manage, though he was confident that the look within his gray tinted eyes effortlessly betrayed him.

Sure enough, Elyon suddenly found herself reinvigorated with energy, her face growing incredibly pink as she uncharacteristically snapped, "W-What? Have you been mentally 'checking in' on me, or something? You haven't done anything like that since I was a kid! I-I mean, you -"

"- No, Elyon, I have not actively forged a . . . consistent, telepathic link between us as I secretly, or . . . evidently not so secretly had done when you were a child. To be fair, however, I was simply doing as any other parent, especially a new parent, would do, and wished to be certain that you remained safe. Given your . . . beginnings, one could hardly fault me, I don't think," Himerish interrupted with an apologetic smile, doing his best to steer the conversation back toward calmer waters, as he also took care not to dive directly back into Elyon's tragic past, lest he upset her even further. "I'm simply asking if you are all right, because you appear to be . . . well, distracted, both socially, as well as power wise. That surge I'd felt coming from you was . . . how to put this . . . rather curious, and so I'm just trying to touch base with you now, before everyone arrives, to see if there isn't anything on your mind. That's all. . . ."

Himerish watched with a growing, relaxed simper as Elyon did the same, slowly leaning back within her seat as she calmly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before shaking her head.

"O-Oh . . . I see, then. Well, I guess, anyway. . . . But, no. I'm all right. I-I guess I'd just sort of . . . briefly lost control of my powers earlier after hearing some . . . upsetting news. N-Nothing to worry about, though! Just some random, growing pains stuff, that's all," she slowly began to explain, her cheeks notably becoming rosier at this as she nonetheless continued. "Really, though. All I need is a good night's sleep tonight, and everything – My powers, myself – will be back to normal. Promise."

Both brows now furrowed deeply, taking a moment to properly process the information given to him, Himerish's facial expression eased tardily as he lightly nodded, pressing his lips together before responding.

". . . . I . . . All right, then, Elyon. If that's truly all it is, then all right. I won't press any further – Although, if you're honestly feeling that fatigued, then perhaps you should -"

"- You wanted to see us, Professor Kandrakar?"

Both Himerish, as well as Elyon looked toward the office door within surprise in time to watch as Hay Lin timidly poked her head inside, before carefully opening the door the rest of the way to reveal Irma, Cornelia, and Taranee standing on either side of her, with Will bringing up the rear.

Himerish simply lifted up his right hand as he waved his students inside, as the interesting glances presently being exchanged between Elyon and Cornelia admittedly now left him feeling a tad intrigued.

While normally rather eager to see one another, as two best friends generally would be, there was something . . . not quite right with the girls' silent interactions.

Cornelia, whose face and, indeed, entire body appeared rather flush as though fresh from a workout within the institute's basement level gym, curiously found that she could not hold Elyon's honestly . . . engrossed stare, by comparison.

Himerish couldn't quite place a finger upon it, but it were as though something within their overall dynamic as friends had somehow been shifted . . . and he honestly wondered if this was yet another matter he should not be concerned over.

Because if it turned out that something truly was the matter with Elyon, after all, Himerish knew without a doubt that she would need Cornelia's never-ending support now, more than ever. . . .

". . . . A-Ahh. Thank you all for coming. I will . . . do my best to keep this short," Himerish began after each student had taken a seat, briefly taking note that Cornelia, although having settled down next to Elyon, like usual, had done so with such an air of inelegance that it was almost palpable. "Now, then . . . I trust that you all remember the conversation we'd shared over the weekend? About how you six were to be my . . . premiere group of 'X-Men,' correct?"

Hay Lin was immediately the first one to speak up at this, quickly raising her hand out of obedient habit as she grinned.

"Ooh! Yes! And, uh . . . I know that you said that you weren't really looking to switch anything up for what we'd wear while . . . 'out in the field,' I guess. But! I've still been working on a few designs, all the same, and am even about to get started on making a few prototypes later on today, sooo . . . just, yeah! If I show you some of my sketches, maybe after this meeting or something, then maybe you'd consider giving it some more thought?" she asked cheerfully, though her saffron colored cheeks began to grow warm within slight embarrassment, especially once she'd caught sight of her friends each gazing intently toward her. ". . . . W-What? It isn't as though you guys didn't already know about this! Besides! I really do think that being able to have something separate from what we usually wear during our Danger Room exercises will help us feel a little special, and, you know . . . also help remind us that what we're doing – Or going to do – to protect the city is also pretty special, as well as important. . . ."

Himerish couldn't help but laugh heartily, feeling rather thankful for the well timed breath of fresh air, to forgive the slight pun, which was usually Hay Lin.

Her generally jovial demeanor and eagerness was always a delight, and certainly was greatly appreciated, now, more than ever, as it also helped further distract Himerish from the fact that he was presently hemorrhaging students left and right. . . .

"O-Oh! Ohh . . . thank you for that, Hay Lin," he stated in between continued chuckles, reaching up to wipe an honest tear away from his face, he was suddenly that beside himself. "Ohh . . . hm, hm! Excuse me, girls. Today has been . . . rather gripping, to say the least, busy schedules and continually responding to the press as best, yet discreetly as I can, as well. Plus, ensuring that each student has successfully gone through the extra sessions on top of all this and, quite frankly, I am about ready to bid everyone a good evening before retiring to my bedroom. . . .

"Alas, there is still so much work to be done! And that, again, is why I've summoned you all together. It being the start of a brand new week, and with our dear Will having successfully completed her premiere foray into the fantastical avenue of what will become regular Danger Room sessions, I thought that perhaps it would be the perfect time for you girls to begin training together as X-Men. . . ."

"W-Wait, what? A-Already?"

"What about Irma's leg, Professor?"

"But Elyon isn't feeling well today, Professor. . . ." were the separate concerns being voiced all at once toward Himerish by Will, Hay Lin, and Cornelia, respectively before any girl could stop herself, though their headmaster simply raised an understanding hand before nodding.

"Yes, yes. I completely understand how ill timed the varying circumstances each of you had cited must be – At least, you, Hay Lin, and you, Cornelia," Himerish began with another incline of his bald head, before continuing, "however, as I'd already expressed to you all over the weekend, I would not have specifically chosen you six to lead our institute toward its potential future if I wasn't entirely confident within each of your capabilities – Both as students, as well as mutants.

"That said . . . as the majority of you have already undergone some rather . . . rigorous instruction today, when you leave here, I would like you girls to take some time out to come together via the mind, as it were. That is to say, being teammates means far more than simply having one another's backs within a physical manner. You must all be able to understand one another on an emotional level as well, lest you run the risk of falling prey to . . . unforeseen consequences. . . ."

As the majority of the room sat pondering Himerish's words, both Cornelia and Elyon were now unknowingly wondering the same thing: Was he aware of what had truly transpired between them earlier that day?

He was 'the' professor, after all.

And despite having given his word that he had not divined within his charge's mind to find out for himself firsthand, Elyon, specifically, simply could not help but wonder if this was truly the case.

Oracle had never before given her a reason not to trust him, having made the general point to be forthcoming with her about most things throughout the years.

But then, as both she and Cornelia had simultaneously chewed over mere days ago, the unexpected revelation that there were potential stirrings presently taking place within the city, and that Oracle had been aware of this all along had given them unfortunate pause over the man's overall honesty. . . .

Regardless, Cornelia, at least, had managed to resolve her temporary, emotional unsteadiness by returning to her otherwise firm belief that Professor Kandrakar, and indeed the other professors, as well, were always looking out for their best interests.

Elyon, meanwhile, as much as it pained her to realize, still wasn't so sure. . . .

Both blondes managed to come back to the present, just in time to listen to Will's meek inquiry.

". . . . W-Wait, so, like . . . do you just want us to . . . h-hang out or something like that, then, Professor?" she asked hesitantly from where she had chosen to stand, her cheeks becoming a tad rosy as she watched the room's overall focus unavoidably settle down onto her.

True, she was already growing more accustomed to the blatant, community dynamic of sorts of her new school bit by bit – Present company especially included.

But . . . just how far, and how much her headmaster was presently asking her to share with each of them, and quite possibly all at once understandably left Will feeling rather uncertain she'd be able to inevitably comply.

Taking note of the redhead's open discomfort, Taranee, her own thoughts naturally swirling with her own concerns, offered up a light smile of reassurance toward her newest friend within the group before opining, "I . . . think that that's what the Professor is asking us to do, yes, Will. K-Kinda like how you and I were just talking about doing the same for ourselves a little while ago, remember? So, then, perhaps . . . since we'll be getting to know one another on a more personal level, it'll help us all work better as a team – Y-You know, strengths, and weaknesses . . . right, Professor Kandrakar?"

Now it was Taranee's turn to blush profusely as she locked eyes with the older man, watching almost unbearably as his face broke out into a warm, acknowledging smile.

"Astute, as always, Taranee," Himerish complimented with a light nod, his simper deepening as he then caught the previously silent Irma playfully reach out from her place behind the raven haired girl, and gently squeezed her shoulder within furthered emphasis toward the group's blatantly growing bond.

"Yeah, Taranee! With your seemingly never-ending know how, I'd love to see how far someone trying to mess with our city would make it! Well, that, and with my awesome powers to bring up the rear, of course. Hope you know how to swim, you future, cheeky baddies. . . ." she teased with a grin before mischievously trailing off, prompting Hay Lin, who was sat in the chair next to her, to gasp lightly before vigorously shaking her head.

"Irma, quit it! I get that you're probably joking, and are clearly still over the moon – Probably the most – about all this, but remember what The Professor said! W-Well, what he and the other professors always say, about exercising re -"

"- Straint, yes, I get it, chill, Hay Hay. Obviously, I'm not gonna go overboard about any of this which – Excuse me? Why is it always me you guys seem to all point fingers toward regarding that?" Irma interrupted her best friend with a roll of her eyes and gruff exhale, before her momentarily annoyed facial expression then relaxed into one of calm as she continued. "Again, need I remind you guys that I totally showed how serious I can be when it truly matters this past weekend? When it comes to the safety of those I care about, I never joke around with that."

"Well said, Irma. Well said," Himerish openly commended with another smile, taking the brief pause within the room to gaze about each of his students. "I truly do not think Bayville, nor I will have to worry one wit about its safety going forward. . . . Now! I do not wish to keep you any longer! Please, take the rest of the day to decide how the rest of your week will go in terms of your personal training. Elyon, Cornelia? This is where your shared status as Junior Professors will most certainly come in handy, yes?

"Later in the week, the rest of your professors and I will reconvene with you in order to conduct your first physical training regimen . . . in addition to preparing you for patrolling about the city. The when, where, and who with will later be determined, before any of you may ask. There is a lot to prepare and adjust to going forward; nonetheless, I am still ever confident that you will meet any and all challenges head on, together. . . ."

Taking this as a sign that their meeting was now concluded, the seemingly ever mum Cornelia hesitated a moment before slowly rising to her feet, truthfully feeling a bit relieved to do so, as she wasn't quite sure how much longer she could have sat next to Elyon right then . . . especially with it not having been lost on Cornelia that the smaller girl had chosen to mimic her own inaction by also having remained curiously mute.

". . . . T-Thank you, again, Professor Kandrakar. We won't let you down," Cornelia managed to breath out as steadily as she could, nodding briefly toward her headmaster's kind smile before she'd then begun to let herself out of his office.

She was nearly home free when Professor Kandrakar's voice suddenly spoke once more.

"Of course, Cornelia. . . . A-Ah, but, if you, – If any of you girls truly aren't feeling up to doing so this evening, you may instead rest up and start afresh tomorrow," Himerish curiously proclaimed, gray eyes flitting between Cornelia and Elyon, who was now notably trailing behind the pack as the last to leave the room.

Now knowing for certain that something truly was amiss between his adoptive daughter, and her greatest companion, Himerish greatly wished to have both girls hang back in order to get to the bottom of it.

However, thankfully recalling how uncharacteristically bristled Elyon had become at the start of their meeting when he'd only posed loose inquiries regarding her abnormal behavior, he'd quickly decided against it.

At least, for now.

Personal experience reminded him that it was not wise to push the traditionally sweet girl before she was ready to let anyone in, after all. . . .

And so, instead, Himerish did his best to course-correct, especially the moment he'd observed Elyon's side glance intermingling with understandable confusion, as well as an unmistakable hint of suspicion.

"That is, upon even further reflection, today really had been a bit of the mountain to climb for some of you, yes? Full day of school, double the Danger Room ventures, all while getting over colds and the like! Even I, myself, as I'd already briefly mentioned, have had quite the day, indeed!" he declared with a soft chuckle for added effect, successfully appearing to diffuse a potential situation before it even could occur, as Himerish gratefully watched Elyon, and even Cornelia's previously tense demeanor promptly relax. "Now, go on, girls. Go enjoy some supper, and also the remainder of your evening, all right?"

With nothing more than a few, admittedly weak responses, and absentminded nods to officially close out their meeting, Himerish watched with mild satisfaction as his premiere X-Men simultaneously left his office.

He knew that he'd probably left each of them with even more questions than what they'd undoubtedly entered the meeting with, as he was also keenly aware that this hadn't precisely been his finest hour, as it were.

In fact, if he had listened to Yan Lin's specific advisement earlier that afternoon, Himerish could have – Should have left this coming together for later on within the week, perhaps.

However, the way the near tragic events of the now decimated Bayville Lakeview Amphitheater had left him feeling, coupled with the continued deluge of students being withdrawn from his school as a direct result, Himerish hadn't thought it prudent to "sleep it off and rest," as initially suggested to him by his old comrade.

Things had certainly changed within his beloved city of Bayville, possibly forever.

He knew this.

He could feel this.

But if he was to stand a chance of figuring everything out in order to set things to right, the time to act was now.

He just had to continue to hope that his girls . . . his Elyon really would be strong enough to face it, as well.

---

"Sooo . . . speaking of dinnertime, do you guys maybe wanna eat together? I mean, all of us at the same table and stuff, you know, since we've all admittedly kinda been off doing our own thing up until now?" Hay Lin couldn't help but eagerly ask once the six of them had all retreated from Professor Kandrakar's office a minute later. "I know that The Professor kinda went back on his wanting us to get the ball rolling with our official 'bonding' today, after all, but . . . I dunno! We're all headed to the dining hall now, anyway, so why not?"

Gingerly balancing her weight against her crutches as she stood beside her best friend, Irma smirked broadly as she nodded within agreement.

"For sure! Be it yes or no, though, I'm just personally relieved to be free from eating down within the infirmary, like I had to this past weekend! I mean, don't get me wrong: I appreciate you practically spoon feeding me all of my meals down there while you'd kept me company, Hay Lin, I do! But I missed the electric intensity which are the social cliques of our fellow mutant brethren!"

". . . . But didn't you get to eat with everyone else just fine during breakfast this morning, though?" Will innocently questioned at her place directly across from the brunette, arms slowly folding across her chest as the group created a small circle amongst themselves without thinking.

Irma merely scoffed at this, before grinning once more.

"Psshaw! I'll excuse your mild ignorance, Will, as again, you're still new, but that was breakfast! Mostly everyone's still half asleep, and possibly trying to bum off quick answers to last night's homework assignment!" she began to explain with a wave of her hand, at the same time that Hay Lin, and even Taranee were beginning to chuckle a bit toward the ongoing pageantry. "Dinner – Hell, even Lunchtime is different! It just is! You can be coming off of whoknows what sort of epic, teenage drama which may have unfolded for you that day! Down in the infirmary, all I had going on was trying to remember what time I'd taken my medication and – Ooh! Speaking of! We'd better hurry and pick a table, you guys, because it actually is time for my next dose!"

Now joining within the ongoing laughter, Will, shaking her head as though to say 'Classic Irma' (which, the more she'd spent time with the natural jokester, the more it appeared to be the case), was about to openly concede when she'd managed to catch Elyon tense up a bit before hurriedly interrupting.

"U-Uh, you know what? I think I'm gonna pass on dinner, actually. . . . Y-Yeah, I, um . . . I'm just not . . . not that hungry, really."

It was then Taranee's turn to begin observing the goodhearted girl's admittedly off behavior, feeling herself fill with automatic concern as she asked, "Oh, really? Are you sure, Elyon? I-I mean, I know that you weren't feeling well earlier, as Cornelia had let all of us know during our Sociology class together. But maybe if you e -"

"- Yes, Taranee, all right? Can't I just not want to eat, or not be feeling well without the third degree at every turn?" Elyon heatedly snapped, her unexpected and out of place outburst startling her surrounding companions, and indeed even a few passersby from their continued place within the foyer. "First The Professor, and now you guys! A-Am I not allowed to have a bad day, o-or the . . . 'teenage drama' as Irma called it? Or am I just thatspecial that that'd be out of the question?"

"N-No, that's not -" a thoroughly taken aback Taranee weakly began, utterly at a complete loss before the habitually quiet Cornelia suddenly spoke up, breaking formation within their former circle in order to rush after a now retreating, and visibly upset Elyon.

"E-Elyon, wait!" she called out within alarm, clearly not expecting the smaller girl's open display of heated affliction any more than the others.

Noting this, however, Cornelia strategically lowered her voice as she quickly closed the distance between them before discreetly stating, "I-It's . . . all right, you know. I mean, that you don't feel up to eating with everyone given . . . n-never mind. If you want, you can head up to your room and I can bring you back something, or -"

"- No, Cornelia, it's . . . I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Taranee - Everyone," Elyon managed to rein in her emotions in order to apologize to her obviously concerned companions presently regathering themselves around her.

She'd then taken a few, admittedly labored breaths to further calm herself before continuing.

"I-I guess I just . . . really did have a lousy day today, and . . . well, I suppose it's just all sort of caught up to me. B-But that doesn't excuse my behavior, or taking it out on you, Taranee. I promise I'll be much better tomorrow, though, okay? We can all maybe hang out somewhere after school even! Until then . . . I think I'm gonna turn in early. 'Night, you guys. . . ."

Before anyone could object, Elyon was already off, making her hasty retreat up the grand, main staircase of the mansion.

Despite this, she found that she wasn't quick enough to escape what was on each of their minds, however, as Elyon now unavoidably found her own mind suddenly becoming bombarded with a influx of thoughts which were not hers:

Wow . . . I don't think I've ever seen Elles act that way before. Talk about 'epic meltdowns. . . .'

I really hope she'll be all right. . . . Maybe I can ask Grandma to make some of her homemade Ginger Garlic Soup, and then I can bring some up to Elyon later. . . .

This obviously still has to be because of what Caleb did to her. . . . How am I meant to help her through this when she'll still have to face him again tomorrow, and every day?

Nearly tripping up the stairs as a result of the sudden, psionic wave to batter her mind without warning, Elyon somehow managed to make it up the rest of the way to her dorm room without incident, nor thankfully drawing further attention to herself.

Momentarily cradling her head with one hand, she shakily reached out to open her door with the other, letting out the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding until that moment.

She was grateful to then be greeted by the otherwise calming silence of the bedroom, as the hallway behind her was just then beginning to grow increasingly rowdy as more of her fellow schoolmates headed down to the dining hall to eat.

Elyon was even more thankful that she'd somehow managed to replace all of Hay Lin's and her shared furniture before her lively new roommate could have suspected anything was amiss upon her return from her final class of that day.

Still, it was only a matter of time before the rest of her friends found out the humiliating circumstances surrounding her out of place mood, especially now that Elyon was meant to be spending more time with all of them . . . not to mention that her powers were currently suffering as an apparent consequence, as a result. . . .

". . . . It's okay, Elyon. It's o-okay. Just . . . breathe, try to relax, a-and. . . . It'll be fine. I'll be fine," she shakily whispered to herself, wrapping her arms around herself for comfort as she wearily made her way to her bed for a much needed rest. ". . . . You've got this."

---

It was like night and day . . . literally, in this case, as Elyon had gone to bed feeling so unsure of herself, or as though the world was about to end.

Today, however . . . she still felt a bit unsteady, sure, but at least she'd managed to make it through another school day.

And, without incident - Emotionally, or power wise.

There had been the unavoidable encounter with Caleb during their shared Philosophy class, but she'd spent that entire morning prior to that moment preparing herself.

Truth be told, Elyon hadn't expected to have any sort of direct interaction with the two faced jerk anyhow, figuring that he'd stated everything he'd needed to to her yesterday, after all.

She just wanted to make sure that she'd be able to face him every day going forward, and not wish to instantly bawl her eyes out as she'd already done majority of the previous day, or possibly experience any further hiccups where her mutant abilities were concerned.

Essentially, Elyon simply wished to become invisible to Caleb, and be left alone for good.

Sadly, he'd appeared to have had other plans in mind for the poor girl the very moment Caleb had seen Elyon enter the classroom earlier that day. . . .

It had taken every ounce of willpower to maintain her composure upon initially locking eyes with him, and even more so when he'd flashed her what she'd used to think was quite the charming smile . . . but she'd managed.

However, once Caleb had started talking, with the things he was saying in particular, that was when Elyon knew that she still had a good ways to go before her heart was completely mended. . . .

"H-Hey, Elyon, good morning! I'm . . . glad to see you came back to school today! I, uh, heard that you weren't feeling so well yesterday, and had to leave early. I-I mean – ! Not like I'm stalking you or whatever, no," Elyon had regrettably listened to the voice which had always sounded so mellifluous, now ring out like nails on a chalkboard in her ears as she'd quickly brushed past Caleb, making her way to her seat without responding.

Whatever game he was cruelly continuing to play, Elyon was forced to watch Caleb carry out as he'd gazed back at her with 'perplexed' eyes before speaking once more.

"E-Er, I . . . I just meant that I hope you're feeling better, that's all," he'd stated with a weak smile, moving back to his own seat nearby before resuming the conversation. "I know you already know this, but I really did enjoy our conversation the other day. . . . O-Oh, and I hope that Cornelia gave you my note, too! But like, you know, no rush if you didn't read it yet which . . . doesn't really seem like you did and . . . r-right."

Having sensed that Caleb hadn't appeared to be taking the hint via her cold . . . well, lukewarm-at-best shoulder, Elyon had found that there hadn't been any other option left but to answer him, as succinctly as she could, so that they could just be done with the charade, already.

"O-Oh, I'll bet you 'enjoyed' our conversation, Caleb! Y-You, and every other psychopath out there!" she'd stated as she'd heatedly whispered back to the comically bowled over looking Caleb.

. . . . She'd admittedly felt a bit guilty for swiftly ramping up to an eleven like that, as she'd normally do her best to generally mind her manners.

However, after also having reminded herself to whom she was speaking, and that she was presently within the middle of nursing a severely wounded heart as a result, Elyon had quickly made amends.

"And as for your note, don't expect a response, as you'd already said everything you could have possibly needed! Message received, loud and clear!" she'd carried on, her emotions regrettably churning within her stomach as a mild headache was then threatening to form.

Before Caleb could have opened up his idiotic mouth to spew out some manipulative excuse or joke at her expense . . . and it had appeared as though he'd very much wanted to based upon the oddly annoyed, utterly befuddled expression openly painted across his face, their teacher, Mrs. Sapienti had thankfully walked through the door just then to save them both the trouble.

And that had been the end of that . . . at least for today, anyway.

Elyon couldn't imagine Caleb honestly wanting to bother going yet another round with her after that morning, figuring her open stance of having a backbone, more or less, would simply put him onto another unfortunate soul from now on, instead.

While that particular thought did make her feel a tad culpable, Elyon had nonetheless survived another day, even managing to dodge any furthered bullets from her friends when they'd naturally asked if she'd now been fairing any better.

And considering that Elyon was now presently sat, rather comfortably in fact, between Will and Hay Lin upon the vast lawn of Hope Park, she could say with a decent amount of confidence that the worst was most likely now behind her.

It was just like what Irma usually liked to say about varying things within her life over the years: "You gotta fake it 'till you make it."

. . . . Now, if only Elyon could figure out what was going on inside Cornelia's mind as of late, then everything would be just perfect.

Immediately realizing the irony within her own thoughts, Elyon discreetly shook her head as she fleetingly debated whether or not she should take a telepathic peek into her best friend's psyche.

Obviously the answer was a resounding 'no,' of course.

She hadn't gone back on her promise not to invade any of her friends' privacy in all that time, after all, and she wasn't about to start now . . . if she could help it, at least.

And unless there was suddenly another unexpected flare up of her mutant abilities today like there had been yesterday, Elyon was definitely in the clear.

Thankfully everything appeared to be back to normal on that front again, and so she supposed she would simply have to figure out how to do it the old fashioned way.

The thing was, though, there was a reason why Elyon wasn't sitting next to Cornelia like she normally would be during . . . pretty much every outing the two would share together.

Cornelia had practically catapulted herself onto the cushy grass and laid claim to her chosen spot next to Taranee and Irma, if one could be believed, before Elyon had a chance to even make a move to sit next to her.

True, they had sat together on the shuttle bus on the way to Bayville High and back, like always, and had even made small talk here and there.

But it just hadn't felt the same . . . like the energy was off, somehow.

Maybe it was Cornelia still getting over her cold which was presently placing her mind within such a distracted fog, that was all.

However, given how naturally protective of her she had become during Elyon's unfortunate meltdown yesterday . . . in addition to the thought Elyon had unexpectedly become privy to, she wasn't entirely sure that that was all there was to it.

It was almost as though Caleb had ripped out Cornelia's heart, as well, the way the other blonde had taken the news the day before, especially how incensed she'd become upon learning of his overall manipulations.

But . . . Elyon didn't know.

It just seemed more than that . . . more than the usual, caring best friend foundation the two have shared for the past four years.

Something had definitely shifted between them, that much was for sure . . . Elyon just wish she knew what.

And that she was a little less good at keeping promises, so that way she could take a quick, psychic gander inside Cornelia's mind to know once and for all!

"See? I told you it was a great setting for our Sociology assignment, you guys! I mean, lookit! What better place than the park to sit back, relax, and literally watch life go by, you know? Plus, we're also doing Professor Kandrakar's . . . personal assignment for us, as well!" Elyon tuned back into her friends' ongoing conversations in time to listen to the ever effervescent Hay Lin gush at her side, before she blindly fell backward onto the inviting grass beneath them.

"Kinda hard to do the first part if you're now looking up at the sky, Hay Lin, but I get ya," Will couldn't help but tease, clearly becoming more and more acculturated into her new group of friends as each day passed, Elyon observed. "But, a-anyway! What was it we're supposed to be doing again, exactly? Just sit around and watch a bunch of people doing stuff, and then write that down? Sounds kinda 'stalker-y,' now that I say it out loud."

"That's because it is, my sweet Will, it is! But like, since it's for school, I guess it's . . . okay?" Irma smirked with a slowly raised eyebrow at the shared observation, gently massaging her carefully outstretched, and bandaged leg before leaning back against the large, vibrant elm tree towering proudly behind the group.

Although it had only been a few days since her accident, Irma was gratefully already making great strides within her overall recovery as each one had passed – Even faster, it seemed, than what was originally projected by Doctor Chacon.

She still needed assistance here and there whenever getting up or sitting down within certain areas, sure, but the super active use of her crutches was swiftly becoming less and less of a thing . . . for the most part.

And all this, too, without even possessing an active healing factor . . . well, that she knew of, anyway.

Either way, Irma would be over the moon when she was finally free of her at times quite itchy, but overall helpful cast.

Taranee politely cleared her throat within that next moment and smiled lightly, before gently tapping her pencil against the open notebook laid out before her.

"While I suppose that I can see where you both would get that impression at face value, based upon the instructions, it says here that we're meant to go around the city and interview people . . . 'to get a better understanding of what their overall perceptions and stereotypes of what our school district demographic looks like,'" she explained, leaning forward in order to directly read from the coursework. "But it's meant to be people – Adults, as well as our peers, by the way – outside of our school district. Well, that makes sense, or else how would we achieve a better, more accurate understanding over how we're perceived? And then, of course -"

"- Aaand, we've lost her," Irma pestered playfully with an added poke into the studious girl's shoulder, promptly snapping her out of her scholastic reverie.

"H-Huh? What? Oh, sorry! I guess I was just making a few mental notes aloud, there," Taranee bashfully apologized, before nonetheless proceeding to hurriedly scribble something down onto the corner of her open page. "A-Anyhow, I will say, though, now that I'm looking this over even further, it . . . it's a pretty daunting assignment. I-I mean, at least for me, and perhaps Will, as well. . . ."

At this, Will immediately nodded within thankful agreement, before making a swiping gesture toward the surplus of individuals milling about within the far distance.

"Y-Yeah, tell me about it. Before now . . . before y-you guys, I guess I'll admit with extreme embarrassment . . . the whole going up to people and striking up initial conversation has never really been my thing," she timidly confessed, blindly reaching up to untuck the few strands of hair which had previously been behind her ears in order to 'conveniently' hide away her face. "A-And then, add that to the fact that Taranee and I are both the newest ones living here, and I'm afraid that we're definitely out of our element on this one. . . ."

Cornelia, whom had been making a bit of small talk here and there since their initial arrival to the park, in between the longer stretches of strange silence, that is, had at last seemed to perk up upon hearing this as she spoke.

". . . . Maybe, Will . . . but maybe not," she started, a bit quietly at first, before carrying on within her typically surefooted sounding voice. "I mean, true you don't yet know Bayville the way Elyon and the rest of us do, no . . . and you're both clearly more on the introverted side a bit, as well. And that's fine. That's what makes doing this assignment as a group so perfect. We'll all be able to help one another out wherever each of us may be lacking, and support the strengths we'll bring to the table, like Taranee said yesterday. Just like a real team is supposed to do."

"Just like a real team is supposed to do," both Cornelia and Elyon's eyes immediately locked as the entire group unexpectedly listened to the smallest girl simultaneously mirror her friend's thought process.

Irma couldn't help but smile warmly at the display, holding back a chuckle and watched, a bit unsurprisingly, as Cornelia promptly began to shift awkwardly at her place next to her, before then looking away from a now . . . blushing Elyon.

While she still hadn't directly confronted either of them about it, and honestly doubted she ever would as she really wasn't her place, anyways, Irma was now even more confident that there was definitely something going on between the two blondes.

. . . . It just sucked that she was such a loyalist, or else Irma could, at the very least, let Hay Lin in on it and finally be able to openly discuss her thoughts upon the matter!

As Irma allowed herself to become lost within her own mind some more, her thoughts were broken into by the sound of a familiar, albeit generally off putting voice wafting from behind.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't our favorite bunch of people all hanging out together! Right, Bess? And we were just thinking of them, too! Well, of you, Elyon, anyway," Irma couldn't help but groan dramatically as she turned her head toward the right in time to watch Courtney and Bess Grumper casually make their way over to the previously insouciant group.

While she didn't really have much of a direct experience with them, instead seeing the twins off and on around the city or within the halls of Bayville High, Irma had both redheads upon her radar here and there, nonetheless, given the slightly similar circles the three of them ran within.

She regrettably wasn't as popular as Bess, or certainly not Courtney by comparison, no, the two of them being 'perfect cheerleaders' and all, but Irma liked to think that she was doing pretty all right for herself all the same.

Generally speaking, Irma would usually let the girls 'have' Bayville High's limelight, knowing that she at least had the 'unfair advantage' of doubling the chances to make a daily splash – No pun intended – within her social network of both her schools.

As a result, the Grumper Twins usually stayed out of Irma's hair, and vice versa . . . which was probably why she continued to be at an absolute loss over why, no matter what she did or didn't do, Elyon just never appeared to be as lucky.

It was obviously a piece of history perhaps only Elyon, and maybe even Cornelia were privy to, and considering Irma was still in the middle of getting to know either girl on a far deeper level than ever previously ventured up to now, it wasn't much of a surprise.

Still, what the hell could such a pleasant, and mild mannered girl as Elyon ever have done to almost 'eternally' piss off Courtney, especially, it always seemed, that the rude girl just had to go out of her way to antagonize her . . . like right now?

Irma watched with great affinity as Elyon's entire body instantly seized up upon hearing her name being called out by her apparent bully, causing Cornelia to finally dislodge herself from her chosen place next to the brunette, and moved around the circle in order to sit next to her closest friend.

Seeing this, however, appeared to do something to Courtney from within . . . at least for a moment, as her peach gloss covered lips immediately puckered up within obvious upset, before carefully parting in order to let out a labored exhale.

"What do you want, Courtney? As you can see from the backpacks and all of our notebooks scattered about, we're kinda in the middle of doing our homework. You know, a concept I'm sure which is pretty foreign to you," Cornelia derided with a deep frown, not hesitating to rest a reassuring hand upon Elyon's shoulder, whom still appeared to be a bit visibly shaken by the overall turn of events.

Initially glaring right back at her former friend, Courtney allowed her freckled face to relax into an eerily chipper sort of smile as she replied, "Mmm, nice one, Cornelia. I'll have to remember that one! But, first! Bess and I saw you guys over here and we just thought we'd say hi, that's all! I mean, it is a nice day out after all, so it's pretty great to see Elyon out enjoying the day with everyone, as well! Right, Bess?"

Bess nodded eagerly at this and grinned, almost like a cartoonish sort of villain, before responding.

"Oh, yeah, for sure! 'Cause we'd heard that you weren't doing so hot yesterday, Elyon, and had to leave school early and everything. Had us worried there for a second that maybe . . . something was seriously wrong," she explained, a bit too cheerfully given the present focus of conversation, before catching the curiously pointed stare her sibling was just then giving to her. "B-But here you are, totally fine, and that's amazing, my God! Isn't it, huh, Court?"

"D-Definitely! I mean, I know that we've never been like, besties or anything, Elyon, but when one of Bayville's top students suddenly has to be taken out of school out of nowhere like that . . . it gets around," Courtney finished with delicious relish, doing her best to put on as concerned a face as she could muster, even placing a hand over her heart for added measure.

Finally managing to find her voice, Elyon, who truly was no longer feeling so great since the moment of the twins' arrival, sheepishly stated, "I-I, um . . . I'm all right, Courtney . . . thanks. Just had a . . . a weak spell and had to go home for the day, t-that's all."

"How do you even know Elyon went home in the first place? You don't have any classes with her," Cornelia smartly queried, her natural suspicion whenever either Grumper sibling was involved obviously taking over, as she slowly rose to her feet in order to properly meet both redheads head on.

At this, Courtney merely shrugged, suddenly finding the well manicured fingernails of her right hand to be especially intriguing.

"Yeah, well, like I said, she's such a star pupil and all, I'm willing to admit. So her sudden lack of attendance apparently seized the attention of not just the teachers, that's all. . . ."

"Huh? What are you ta -"

"- All riiiight, it's time for 'Round Bajillion-and-One' in the never-ending cat fight between 'Kandrakar's' 'Super Achiever,' and 'Bayville High's' 'Resident Bitch!' Color mesurprised!" Cornelia heard herself be crudely interrupted by the unwanted, and traditionally vexing voice of Uriah suddenly calling out from behind.

"What did you just call me, you ass-hat?" Courtney whirled around within understandably heated offense, even if secretly Cornelia couldn't help but find herself within slight agreement with the greasy haired boy for a change. "And who invited you into our conversation, anyway? Get lost!"

Seeing as they were now unexpectedly surrounded, the remainder of Cornelia's companions also now rose from their previously comfortable positions upon the ground with mounting unease.

That is, with the exceptions of Irma, who'd chosen to use that particular moment to make use of her obvious injury in order not to . . . and Elyon, who was now curiously cupping at her head and wincing a bit in pain, as though within the middle of experiencing a terrible headache. . . .

"Hey, it's a free country, and a free park, babe! We can be here if we wanna," Uriah smirked as he stood defiantly before the now seething Courtney, before making thumbing gestures between his constant companions on either side of him, Kurt and Laurent. "And besides! Like I told ya yesterday, if you knew what we knew, I don't think you'd be in such a rush to dismiss us like this anymore! Ooh! Y'know . . . kinda like how Cornelia dismissed you for the little shrimpette there, Elyon! Right, Cornipoo?"

". . . . W-What the hell's going on, Taranee?" Will found herself whispering next to an equally flummoxed Taranee, who could only vigorously shake her head within furthered disbelief toward the new direction of what had originally been a rather peaceful afternoon.

Hay Lin, meanwhile, and indeed even Bess, suddenly appeared to be upon the same wavelength as Hay Lin's natural desire to maintain harmony kicked in, while Bess gingerly reached out for her twin sister's arm and began leading her away.

"U-Ugh, whatever! Let's just go, Courtney! We can finish our chitchat with these rejects another time," she suggested within annoyance, although her olive hued eyes now shimmered with open concern for her sibling, knowing that there was a very good chance that Uriah was most likely successful within pushing the buttons he was blatantly trying to.

"W-We should probably head back to the mansion, ourselves, right, you guys? Don't want to be late for our training," Hay Lin had simultaneously offered to her own group with a weak smile, bending forward and extending a hand out in order to help Irma onto her feet.

She was so busy trying to defuse the situation, or at least break away from it herself before it even became one, that she hadn't even noticed that her still open textbook was now slowly, yet surely beginning to levitate from off of the ground. . . .

They all were, in fact, each girl's textbook and other such school belongings they'd previously taken out of their backpacks, as Elyon's head felt more and more like it was going to split open at any moment.

It was just too bad that everyone around her was now too distracted to readily take notice. . . .

"Why don't you back off, Uriah, all right?" Cornelia hissed as she took a step toward the pimply faced cretin with a menacing stare, one which regrettably made the boy in question temporarily lose his nerve, as he felt his body doing as it was told due to his natural cowardice.

Laurent, however, surprisingly appeared to have other plans in mind, as he clearly didn't wish to see his friend lose the fight for a change.

Suddenly advancing toward Cornelia, as well as a now positively bloodthirsty, albeit stunned silent Courtney, the obese blonde loomed over them both with an uncharacteristically baleful air before asking, "Why don't you back off, Cornelia, before things get a little . . . messy?"

So used to dealing with an honestly bumbling idiot, to put it bluntly, majority of the time, Cornelia was truly at a loss for words, as well as action, simply peering up at the now smirking Laurent with disbelieving eyes for a few moments.

She was very well aware that that was a threat, obviously, effortlessly reading in between the lines given what the incredibly large boy's mutant abilities happened to be.

Cornelia just simply didn't know where the unforeseen grit was coming from, that's all, as Laurent was thankfully none too bright on the whole to have ever lashed out toward anyone with his superhuman strength.

At least, until now.

Briefly beginning to wonder what exactly was going on with everyone all of a sudden, Cornelia hadn't long to do so, as Elyon's sharp cry of unmistakable pain startled her – Startled all of them, from out of their present drama.

"A-Ahh! G-Get . . . out . . . of my head!" Elyon cried, now crumpled over into a helpless ball upon the ground, as all of her friends' belongings were now simultaneously lifted and began to swirl about.

At the unexpected sight of a fellow mutant's abilities being used within the open public, Irma and Hay Lin both swiftly sprang into action, as Irma did her best to pluck a few of the girls' notebooks from out of the air, her balance naturally unsteady due to her splinted leg.

Hay Lin, meanwhile, smartly began using her Aerokinesis as discreetly as she could, summoning up a large, billowing wind to strategically cascade through the surrounding area, thereby hopefully downplaying the otherwise abnormal display.

Catching on to the urgency of the situation, both Taranee and Will now followed suit, collecting whatever they could as well, at the same time that Bess and Courtney ducked out of the way before getting pelted in the face by a previously oncoming backpack.

"E-Elyon? Elyon, what's wrong? What's the matter?" Cornelia asked frantically upon swiftly descending onto the ground beside her dearest friend, her heart already racing a mile a second as she nonetheless did her best to remain calm.

But it was becoming far too difficult to do, as she'd never before seen Elyon's face contorted within such obvious affliction, not even including during all of their previous Danger Room training sessions, no matter how dicey some of them had become. . . .

The other girl looked as though she were about to perish at any moment, she was within that much agony, letting out sharp, sobbing gasps for relief which clearly would not come.

"C-Cornelia, help me! I-I can't stop it!" Elyon wailed within continued torment, causing the entire cluster, Courtney, included, to react within open sympathy . . . though she wasn't honestly sure what she could do to help her otherwise rival.

. . . . If she'd wanted to, that is.

Within that same moment, it appeared as though Elyon's telekinetic abilities were beginning to expand further beyond just their immediate vicinity, as everyone was forced to watch as several, unattended bicycles from nearby commercial bike racks effortlessly lifted themselves from off of the ground. . . .

Even Laurent, with his massive girth, was suddenly at the mercy of Elyon's awesome power, as well, as he too suddenly found himself being elevated several inches into the air, causing both Uriah, and Kurt to let out shrieks of understandable alarm.

"H-Hey! Put me down, man! T-This ain't funny! I'm scared of heights!" Laurent freely confessed, arms flailing around as Elyon's Telekinesis then rotated him flat onto his back like a spit roast, causing him to unavoidably look up toward the ironically peaceful looking sky.

Unbeknownst to them all, Elyon's unintentional chaos was mounting every bit as much on the inside as it was the outside, as it was now impossible for her to successfully block out the ongoing barrage of varying thoughts from not only fellow park goers, but her companions, as well.

"I-I can't! I – !" was the last thing she'd just managed to get out, before abruptly going limp within Cornelia's arms.

"E-Elyon!" her friends unanimously cried out at the sight, at the same time that Laurent let out a scream of his own as he precipitously fell onto the ground, nearly crushing Courtney in the process had Kurt not swiftly pushed her out of the way in time.

As a result of her evidently having lost consciousness, every levitating object previously controlled by Elyon's Telekinesis within the proximate area also took an unceremonious tumble, causing an unsightly mess . . . in addition to even more stares of wonder than what they'd all already been receiving, despite Hay Lin's best efforts to successfully dampen the situation.

"C-Clubber, you okay, buddy?" Kurt asked the dazed blonde within concern, struggling to help his woefully hefty friend up, while Bess did the same for her now disheveled, and well flustered twin.

"Forget the questions, man! L-Let's just get out of here before shit gets even weirder!" Uriah interjected before there could be a reply, already leading the way, like always, toward a swift, and sound retreat.

Courtney, meanwhile, felt a sharp pang within her heart as she was forced to watch her former best friend once again choose Elyon over her, not even seeming to have noticed that she'd nearly become a Laurent-Pancake just seconds before.

Cornelia, a bit shakily at first, managed to eventually lift the still unconscious Elyon into both arms before blowing right past the emotionally wounded redhead without even a glance, her focus clearly being on reaching the nearest exit to the park as soon as possible.

"C-Court, are you okay?" Courtney could hear Bess naturally ask with her own care, causing her to feel a momentary sense of gratitude, before the tremendous fury she'd otherwise been feeling that entire time reclaimed her without resistance.

". . . . Whatever happens to that bitch next is too good for her," she ruthlessly declared with a stone cold expression now etched upon her face, angrily watching as everyone: Uriah and his cronies, as well as Cornelia and her insufferable new clique hurriedly departed, and left her behind. . . .

---

"D-Did you really . . . have to make Will and I go back for all of our stuff, Irma? I-I'd say that getting Elyon back to the mansion is a lot more urgent, don't you think?"

"A-About as urgent as people rifling through our left behind shit and seeing our names, a-and precisely where we live, yes, Hay Lin! Because try as we did, there's just n-no waysomeone isn't going to talk about what they might've just seen, o-or what they think they did!" Irma huffed tiredly as she did her best to keep up with the gradually splintering group minutes later.

Cornelia, and surprisingly even Taranee were practically miles ahead of the rest of them as the tall blonde kept up a vigorous sprint, even with the still blacked out Elyon laboriously within her arms.

As frantic as the five of them were naturally all feeling, Irma still had managed to be mindful of the aftermath to whatever . . . this was, having randomly selected Will, and then specifically Hay Lin to double back to their momentarily forgotten belongings.

She knew that if her best friend could manage to lift random, much heavier objects in the past with her Aerokinetic gifts, then a few backpacks would surely be no sweat for Hay Lin . . . with the bonus of Will tagging along for added muscle and subterfuge, just in case.

Regardless, it had truly turned into an honest blessing that the girls had conveniently settled upon a spot not too far off from the entrance they'd originally entered earlier that afternoon, or else Irma didn't think her now chafing underarms could handle another demanding limp, thanks to her now murderous crutches.

"G. . . Good thinking, I-Irma! A-And I know that it seems p . . . pretty empty over here, but I gotta say I'm sur . . . prised that no one's yet offered to literally take Elyon o-off Cornelia's hands and -" Will panted right as she'd passed on Irma's left, smartly having strapped her backpack onto her back and Taranee's onto her front, while carrying what appeared to be the more lighter belongings of Elyon's within her right hand.

While the redhead naturally had a point, something which Irma as well had already wondered, herself, in reality the unfolding pandemonium had actually only been occurring for maybe no more than a few minutes, rather than the prolonged eternity it'd truly felt like.

All the same, it sure would be nice to rely on the kindness of strangers right about . . . oh. Tabitha. That'll work, Irma tiredly mused, before her teal colored eyes landed upon the reason why Will had stopped speaking so abruptly.

"T-Tabitha, thank God!Take us back to the mansion – Now!" the group listened to Cornelia plead frantically to an understandably taken aback Tabitha, whom had just appeared to have arrived at the park, herself, as she hadn't even finished placing her car keys into the pockets of her jeans before suddenly being bombarded by the admittedly unsettling scene.

"W-Whoa, slowww down, Sprout! You could at least buy me dinner first if you're gonna boss me around like that," she couldn't help but jest, very Irma-like, indeed, as Tabitha also appeared to need to inject a bit of comedy into otherwise serious situations in order to cope. "B-But, uh, s-sure . . . I think my pickup can handle shuttling the lot of ya. Irma, babe, I can see you're still having a go with the whole leg healing thing, but I'm unfortunately gonna have to shove ya in the back with the rest of the ladies seeing as B-Blue's . . . you know, not even conscious right now. . . ."

"You could strap me to the hood for all I care, so long as I can finally sit down!" Irma couldn't help but joke in turn with an understandable nod, regardless, grateful for the new means of transportation.

She – All of them, in fact, had been previously wondering if they'd really have to take the public bus back to the institute, in the same the way that they'd done to get to the park in the first place.

When this was all over, Irma definitely needed to start saving up properly for a set of wheels of her own from now on.

. . . . But first, and more importantly: Save Elyon.

---

By the time they'd made it back to the institute, Professors Kandrakar, Lin, and Clarkson were already waiting expectantly for them at the main entrance.

As expected among them, Professor Kandrakar in particular looked positively devastated, for once abandoning his usual, open composure as he could not stop from rushing ahead of his comrades in order to cautiously take the ever unconscious Elyon from out of Cornelia's, and surprisingly, Tabitha's arms.

Himerish had not seen his former pupil in person for at least a few months now, as he'd still do his best to keep the lines of communication open between himself and any student who had once walked within his halls.

To see her now, though, and within the midst of willfully coming to the aid of one of her fellow peers filled Himerish with untold esteem, given her known preference to disassociate from anything deemed too grievous.

Several students randomly milling about the grounds nearby naturally looked upon the unsettling sight within intermingled curiosity and dismay, most wondering whether or not they should help as well, before Halinor instead began ushering them away.

Yan Lin, meanwhile, immediately pulled her openly distressed granddaughter aside in order to give her the chance to explain the developing situation.

A quite winded Irma followed after her closest companion, heading to the closest wall once inside the mansion, before tiredly sliding down against it for a much needed reprieve.

"Everyone, come with me. Doctor Chacon and Professor Starlighter are already waiting down within the infirmary," was all Himerish offered to his understandably rattled pupils, leading the way toward the elevator which would take them to the much needed medical facility.

He didn't wait for neither Yan Lin, nor Hay Lin to catch up before pressing the button in order to close the sliding doors, knowing that they'd inevitably do so once the older woman's grandchild had completed bringing her up to speed.

And a fleeting glance showed Himerish that Halinor was now tending to a repeatedly nodding Irma, whom appeared to be within the midst of shared conversation with her instructor, and so she, too, was now accounted for.

In furthered truth, he shouldn't have even allowed his remaining students to have piled into the normally spacious compartment all at once like that, he was feeling that anxious to reach the infirmary.

Still, it was thankfully only one floor down, and he knew that Cornelia, especially, would never have allowed being left behind, even at his own behest. . . .

A few moments later and the metallic doors of the elevator reopened, allowing Himerish to continue charging a path toward the health facility, where he was relieved to see both Cassidy, and Kadma still awaiting patiently for his return.

"H-Here, Professor . . . lay her down onto the bed," Cassidy breathed within unavoidable affect, very clearly taken aback by the unusual sight.

As he did so, it was only then that Himerish had at last taken a proper look at his adoptive daughter. . . .

Had he not been so focused on getting Elyon the necessary care, he might have noticed how clammy and warm she'd felt within his arms, as she now certainly looked it . . . or how ghostly pale her complexion eerily was.

No one else within the now crowded room had very long to also reflect upon the sight, however, for the very moment Elyon's head had touched the pillow of the bed she'd been placed onto, the entire infirmary instantly resembled that of an honest cyclone.

Thankfullyempty bed pans, medical trays, and even a few of the more weighty storage cabinets glided about the room with abandon, causing the group to quickly dive for cover.

"O-Oh, no! It's happening again!" everyone turned in time to watch as both Hay Lin, and Yan Lin entered the now tousled infirmary, Hay Lin gasping at the sight before hurriedly seeking shelter alongside her grandmother.

At this, Cornelia vigorously nodded as she looked toward her headmaster with pained, tearful eyes.

"H-Hay Lin's right, Professor! I-It was like this at the park, as well, and – !"

"- I-I understand, Cornelia. I had sensed that something was gravely amiss prior to your arrival. . . . P-Please, all of you, give me a moment so that I may assess Elyon's mind in order to have a better understanding of what precisely is happening," Himerish interrupted the emotional girl as calmly as he could, he, himself, taking a few, cleansing breaths before cautiously rising back onto his feet.

Already having a very strong suspicion toward the reason for Elyon's present condition, Himerish nonetheless slowly reached a strong hand out toward the incapacitated girl and placed it onto her flushed forehead, at the same time that the previously floating objects around the room thankfully cascaded onto the ground.

Eyes now closed, Himerish effortlessly tapped into his vast, telepathic abilities as he allowed himself to delve deep into the very mind he had just earlier assured he would not. . . .

Himerish immediately gritted his teeth a bit the instant his own cognition became inundated with random flashes of Elyon's previously well guarded thoughts, and memories.

E-Elyon! Elyon! Can you hear me? his voice telepathically echoed out within desperation, already beginning to feel, in spite of his immense power, the strain of maintaining their mental link as it was truly becoming quite the special circumstance.

This time . . . was very much like the last time, many years ago, only now Elyon was far stronger than before . . . and with somehow even more on her plate, if the torrent of memories Himerish was desperately continuing to sift through were any indication. . . .

Still not receiving any sort of mental response as he normally would have by now, Himerish worriedly pressed on, redoubling his efforts to continue pushing past the rapid flurry of his daughter's previously personal experiences.

Elyon! Answer me! I can help you through this – Just like before! he continued to psychically cry out, now more determined than ever to achieve a breakthrough, willing himself to ignore the surplus of increasingly wounding words and moments now ruthlessly bombarding his own psyche, and threatened to overtake him the further he traveled into Elyon's mind.

Flashes of random faces sailed past his mind's eye, some Himerish could not recognize, while others he could; however, all were either verbally, or privately passing judgment toward the kindhearted girl within some form or another:

"There goes 'Teacher's Pet,' with her awesome grades and awesome life up at that big ol' mansion. . . . ."

Man, I bet if I had a million mutant abilities like Elyon, then I'd definitely kick the Danger Room's ass every time, no problem! She's so lucky. . . .

Don't know why her artwork has to keep getting so much praise! I so totally draw way better than that. . . .

She acts all super mousy, but I bet underneath she's some know-it-all diva, like that Cornelia girl. . . .

"I just . . . came to the conclusion that all . . . this is a lot more trouble than it's worth, sorry. Maybe even bad luck. . . ."

That final thought appeared to hit an especially striking chord, Himerish could distressingly sense, a brief glimmer of a tall, brown haired young man now peering toward him with a halfhearted smile . . . just as Elyon's desperate screams abruptly rang out, effortlessly drowning out all other noise as it pierced through the all encompassing darkness.

A-Aaaahhhh! Himerish could hear Elyon's disembodied voice screech all around him, nearly breaking his heart in twain, before suddenly he felt his own essence being forcefully ejected from out of the girl's mind, severing their link.

"A-Arghh!" Himerish cried out verbally, snapping his eyes open in time to witness Elyon's previously limp body immediately grow rigid and glow a near blinding white, as the blow back from their premature disconnect violently released a blast of psionic energy throughout the infirmary.

Himerish could only watch as his companions, both colleague and student alike nearly resembled a string of rag dolls, as each were effortlessly lifted from off of the ground and blindly hurled back by several feet . . . himself, included.

"Ahhhh!" everyone screamed within effect, each one of them flying every which way within the vast, although now completely decimated room.

Even still, Yan Lin, in spite of her advanced age, had reacted fleetly enough by creating a blast of Aerokinetic wind in order to push away some of the heavier equipment which could have threatened to add even further injury to the group.

She was unable to prevent the impending impact each of her students would unavoidably feel upon hitting the ground, however . . . that is, before Kadma had also shared her similar line of thinking, thankfully manifesting several vines, and even a few abnormally large flower petals in order to securely catch the remaining party.

"G-Grandma! A-Are you all right?" Hay Lin wailed within blatant alarm, one of the first to shakily rise back onto her feet and rush to the older woman's side, who was now stooped over and appeared to be nursing a wound at her side.

"O-Oh – ! I-I – ! Yes, m-my Hay Lin, yes . . . th . . thank you," Yan Lin breathed, pausing within synchronization to the swell of pain now pulsating alongside her left thigh. "M-My hip might . . . currently disagree with me, b-but I'm fine. What about you? And the others?"

Both Lin women quickly looked around the dismantled infirmary to see that, besides the two of them, only three others had managed to remain inside, as they watched the traditionally stoic Kadma become visibly shaken as she blew past in order to help Himerish become upright.

Now half buried beneath debris, their headmaster and longtime friend swiftly shook his smoothly shaven head as he grunted, "N-Never . . . mind about me, Kadma. We must help Elyon regain control of her powers before it is too late!"

It was true.

As he said this, and as though to prove a point, Elyon, whose body no longer emitted its previous, almost ethereal sort of aura, now slowly rose from her utterly destroyed bed, and began hovering several feet into the air.

Although she still appeared to be very much unconscious, Elyon's mutant abilities had nonetheless continued to take over, her Telekinesis in particular taking point as many objects within the once well kept room once more began swirling around her body with makeshift protection.

"W-What we must do first is regroup! 'The Three R's,' remember?" Kadma growled within combative dissent, her no-nonsense temperament regaining the upper hand over her previously rattled nerves as she quickly lifted the random bits of metallic rubble from off of her old friend Ferrokinetically.

Wishing to remain by his daughter's side, Himerish knew the stern woman was ultimately right and so nodded, abruptly then cradling Kadma's head against his chest within protection, just as two swivel chairs had nearly connected with the back of her head as each levitated past.

"P-Professors! Hurry!" suddenly Tabitha was frightfully calling out to them by the now former entryway, as Elyon's unfortunate destruction had extended past the infirmary, having completely blown the metallic doors apart and straight across the hall.

This was where the remainder of the group had evidently ended up, the hallway, as Himerish could now see Cassidy busily splitting her medical attention onto the now unconscious Will and Taranee in the distance.

Meanwhile, a jolted Cornelia bit down onto her lower lip as she lifted herself up, pressing her back against the wall she'd apparently collided into upon being jettisoned from the room.

"Y-You're all all right! Thank goodness!" Cassidy breathed a sigh of relief as she briefly gazed up at her longtime companions, before nodding toward an already advancing Kadma. "The rest of us are, as well, though these two seemed to take the brunt of that unexpected blow. It's a good thing Irma isn't also down here. . . . Kadma, will you?"

Cassidy watched a moment before confidently leaving the thankfully already rousing Taranee and Will within Kadma's literally healing embrace as she, too, now went to work.

Quickly reaching a slightly hobbling Yan Lin's side, Cassidy faintly smiled within reassurance toward the now openly crying Hay Lin, who'd remained beside them both in order to continue helping her grandmother along.

"P-Pro . . . fessor Kandrakar! What is going on with Elyon? I-Is she going to be okay?" Cornelia asked with great urgency, still feeling a bit dazed as she briefly clutched at her head for good measure.

She then took an unbalanced step toward a smartly crouching Tabitha across from her before helping her up, worry further gnawing away at her insides upon noticing the other blonde's small, yet open head wound.

Instinctively tearing at her already tattered jeans, Cornelia swiftly, although gently placed the makeshift compress over her friend's lesion with one hand, before lightly squeezing at Tabitha's now partially bare right arm with the other in comfort.

"No, she is not all right, Cornelia. Elyon's powers are evolving far too rapidly for her to control," the remaining collective listened to Himerish explain with concern as he slowly approached. "T-There's . . . so much chaos currently going on within her mind. . . . What she needs is something to focus on. Perhaps then I will be able to reforge a much better mental connection with her. . . ."

Making a quick motion with her free hand, Cornelia delicately passed the bandage to a gradually sobering Tabitha before rushing past and toward the now gaping hole where the infirmary's entrance used to be.

Cornelia's previous, involuntary position had clearly been a blind spot for her, as she then let out a terrified shriek upon witnessing the sheer anarchy her incapacitated best friend had wrought.

"N-No! Elyon!" she cried, nearly rushing back into the dismantled room without thinking, before Doctor Chacon, as well as Professor Kandrakar smartly stopped her . . . though he, too, desperately wished to do the same. "S-Stop! Let me go! I have to get in there! Look at her!"

Himerish knew he had to do what Kadma had aptly reminded him of, and set aside his personal feelings long enough to do what was best for everyone involved. . . .

"C-Cornelia, enough – Enough! Please . . . if you carry on this way, if any of us do, then we all lose," Himerish stated firmly, though his continued hold of the normally levelheaded young woman remained pacifying. "Every second counts, and we have wasted enough of them as it is."

"T-Then . . . let's take care of this mess, Boom-Boom style," Tabitha suddenly piped up as she carefully turned to properly face her former headmaster, lightly clutching at her now partially bloodstained compress. "What? I-I'm serious! Look, I know you professors weren't always so keen on the varying methods to my 'madness,' a.k.a. my explosives . . . but hey! This place is already turned upside down, anyway! May as well make a splash while we go in there and help save Blu – I-I mean, Elyon."

". . . . It's worth a shot, Professor," Cassidy nodded within obvious approval as she slowly released Cornelia and backed away, at the same time that she saw both Will and Taranee, now thankfully awake, being carefully sat up against the wall with Kadma's assistance. "It's like you said: The longer we stay out here, debating about what to do and how to do it, the less chance you have of actually helping her, like before. . . ."

Momentarily taking note of the curious exchange between the two, Cornelia then flashed Tabitha a grateful smile before looking upon the rest of her teenage companions.

"Guys, I-I think I have an idea. Professor Kandrakar says that Elyon needs something to focus on, right? Well, if I can somehow get her to focus on me . . . m-maybe that will be long enough for her to clear her thoughts, so that The Professor will be able to fully settle them!" she finished explaining her brewing plan with mounting sureness, peering expectantly upon each of her newfound teammates before then settling her gaze onto the man in question. "Professor . . . I know this will work. I know that I'll be able to get through to her. . . ."

"C-Count us . . . in," Taranee piped up suddenly, sharing an apparently knowing glance with Will at her side, who merely nodded with a heavy exhale before standing. "Will can provide you with the appropriate cover, while Tabitha, Hay Lin and I back you up. T-This way, should anything happen, Doctor Chacon and Professor Starlighter will still be out here, ready to assist. . . ."

She was presently scared out of her mind, wishing more than ever now to be home, safe and sound with her family back in Connecticut, instead of remaining there at the institute with its suddenly back to back,and possibly near fatal incidents.

Taranee still wasn't honestly sure where she stood going forward, whether or not she'd inevitably inform her friends of potentially withdrawing her enrollment, as the fear over her evolving mutant abilities was still regrettably that crippling, even then.

And it certainly was ill-timing to be witnessing firsthand what too much power could look like if left unchecked.

Regardless, whether or not she'd ultimately decide to stay, or leave, Taranee was still going to do her absolute best to help rescue her friend, as it was the right thing to do. . . .

Now hesitating a moment, in spite of his previous words of necessity, Himerish then lightly nodded as he reluctantly acquiesced.

"Very well, then . . . thank you all," he replied, taking a step back while watching with intermingling emotions as his students, Tabitha included, slowly assembled into the damaged entryway to the infirmary.

---

Temporarily without Irma, although having Tabitha's added firepower as a welcomed substitution, Professor Kandrakar's newfound X-Men now did their best to fall into formation before commencing what had unexpectedly become their very first mission.

Although presently feeling understandably petrified, Will found that she was somehow handling everything rather well, all things considered, even after having come fresh off of an unexpected nap.

Despite the ongoing chaos, Will's mind was quickly compartmentalizing the situation by instead doing its best to treat it as though it were yet another training session, figuring that this present 'misadventure' easily paled in comparison to that of last weekend's. . . .

And so, continuing her previously mutual train of thought with Taranee, Will smartly drew inspiration from her first Danger Room event as she concentrated . . . before then thankfully summoning up her electrically charged force field, something which was quickly becoming her favorite 'trick' to do with her Electrokinetic gifts, she had to admit.

Will did her best to carry on within her immersion, managing to expand her 'bubble' as far out as her newfound ability would presently allow in order to this time better accommodate more than simply two people, like before.

"I-I . . . I don't think I'm there yet with m-maybe being able to move around while keeping this thing up some day, s-sorry everyone!" she openly declared to the surrounding group with very stilted speech, obviously still not feeling quite ready to even speak at the same time, as well.

Will then promptly fell silent thereafter, gazing down at her now electrified hands with almost laser like focus, at the same time that Cornelia nodded toward her remaining friends, with Professor Kandrakar taking the helm with her by his side.

"It's all right, Will! Your shield's doing a great job keeping us safe from all this flying debris! Everyone else, let's do this!" she stated, watching with ongoing appreciation as each girl had already begun tapping into her specific, mutant abilities.

The next few moments had become a near blur, as Cornelia, and of course Himerish each did their absolute best to ignore their beloved Elyon still hovering perilously within the middle of the razed infirmary just a few feet away.

Chairs, desks, even several beds threatened to make quick work of them all as Elyon's out of control Telekinesis ruthlessly volleyed each one their way.

Regardless, Will's essential cage of white hot electricity had managed to successfully handle some of the more smaller objects, impressively disintegrating a few of the seating.

Meanwhile, Taranee let out a tiny noise as the Thermokinetic side of what was still lamentably now her Pyrokinesis managed to melt the remainder of the previously oncoming furniture in time.

She momentarily watched as the now unrecognizable trays and bedpans fell rather raffishly and skidded onto the floor, privately feeling quite satisfied that they hadn't instead burst into an unintended ball of flame. . . .

Following suit, Hay Lin swiftly handled the bigger objects as she found herself mimicking her grandmother's efforts from earlier, channeling a grand, current of wind from out of her outstretched hands in order to change their approaching trajectory.

"W-Whoa! I'm on it!" Tabitha somehow called out above all of the elevating dissonance with her naturally keen eye, carelessly tossing Cornelia's torn dressing onto the ground before both her hands began to glow a warm amber.

Barely a second later did the troubled teen effortlessly generate what her former headmaster knew to be a sphere of plasma energy within her palms, concentrating a mere beat longer before it swiftly doubled in size.

Without hesitation, Tabitha then hurled her personally dubbed 'Time Bomb' out of Will's carefully maintained shield, apparently confident that she'd even be able to do so, if Hay Lin's continued cyclone going on right next to her was any indication.

"T-Tabitha, what're you -" Tabitha listened to Cornelia initially freak out, before both blondes watched as Tabitha's Time Bomb expertly collided into the repelled desk which would have otherwise plowed into Elyon, and exploded.

Random bits of shrapnel fell every which way within the room as the party did their best to handle it accordingly, before Professor Kandrakar placed a steadfast hand onto Cornelia's shoulder.

"All right, Cornelia . . . concentrate," he instructed as his student simply nodded, already understanding what was needed of her in order to allow the wise man to join her thoughts with his own, before proceeding to hopefully connect both with Elyon's.

As her friends continually did their best providing damage control, Cornelia took a deep breath before closing her eyes and telepathically called out, Elyon, it's Cornelia! I'm here! We all are! P-Please . . . please, listen to my voice! Focus on it!

As Cornelia was about to repeat her psychic message, her heart skipped several beats, it seemed, as she felt the familiar consciousness of her best friend slowly beginning to enter her own.

It was faint, dangerously faint, but it was there, nearly causing Himerish to prematurely sever the reformed mental link with his daughter as he, too, could thankfully feel her return, he was that relieved.

He said nothing, however, maintaining his concentration in order to continue sustaining the trio's telepathic joining as Elyon at last replied.

". . . . C-Cornelia? Where . . . Where are you?" she unexpectedly responded verbally, surprising everyone within the room as each person promptly looked toward the young woman's still floating form.

Though her eyes remained squeezed painfully shut, her facial expression not failing to convey the ongoing anguish she was clearly still experiencing, Elyon's now dry, cracked lips repeatedly began to open and close before wearily attempting to call out once more.

"H-Help me, Cornelia!" she croaked in between sharp winces, her voice sounding ever so withered and full of fear as Cornelia did her best to fight the urge to physically rush to her aid. "I . . . I can't . . . It's all too much! I-I . . . I'm losing you!"

"No! I-I'm here! I'm right here, Elyon!" Cornelia stated emotionally, feeling herself developing honest tunnel vision as the entire room fell away, and only they remained. "Don't you tell me what you can't do! I know you better than anyone ever has . . . or ever will! Come on, Ellie . . . you can do this. Come back to us!"

Slowly raising both eyebrows upon having come to the revelation he admittedly felt a tad embarrassed he hadn't in that entire time until that precise moment, Himerish swiftly pushed it away as he thankfully felt the breakthrough he'd previously been hoping for.

"C . . . Cornelia. . . . Ahh!" Elyon feebly murmured from above, before letting out a strangled grunt and abruptly began falling to the ground, as her Telekinesis had apparently released its uncontrollable hold upon her at long last.

"Elyon!" her companions cried out unanimously, Will quickly reacting in time as she'd managed to drop her electrified force field, watching Cornelia charge ahead and nearly take an active dive in order to break the other blonde's fall.

"G-Gotcha!" she nearly yelped upon successfully catching Elyon before she could hit the floor, her arms now howling in agony as she once again found herself bearing the full heft of her best friend for the third time that day.

It didn't matter, though, as at least it appeared she'd been successful at taking away some of the pressure, easing Elyon's mind long enough for Professor Kandrakar to hopefully finish the rest.

Momentarily watching as his remaining pupils did their best to avoid the remaining pieces of now falling detritus, Himerish immediately closed the distance between himself and his Elyon, who was now lightly beginning to stir within Cornelia's protective arms.

He said nothing as he placed a soothing hand upon her perspiring forehead, not wishing to waste this window of opportunity as he maintained the telepathic union still miraculously remaining open between the two blondes and himself, in spite of the bedlam.

Tempted to speak, Cornelia fought against it, knowing that her headmaster was presently doing everything within his immense power to heal her best friend from within.

Instead, she simply held securely onto Elyon's hand, periodically stroking the back of it with her thumb as she gratefully watched the smaller girl slowly, yet surely beginning to come around. . . .

A moment longer and Elyon was finally awake, vision naturally foggy and breathing quite ragged as she weakly gazed about the honestly unrecognizable room . . . before her blue eyes immediately welled up with tears as they settled upon the one person she truly wished to see.

She said nothing, however, instead reaching up as she managed to wrap her tired arms around the taken aback, although very much relieved blonde and hugged her, squeezing as tightly as she could manage.

". . . . Thank you, Cornelia. Thank you, everyone," Elyon could hear Professor Kandrakar express from behind within gratitude, a tad breathlessly, before she could then feel the familiar sensation of his warm touch as he gently rested a hand against the back of her head.

"N-No . . . sweat, Professor. And, hey: Thanks for the invite, you guys – This was some 'party,'" Tabitha was the first to respond in between fatigued breaths of her own, a faint smirk slowly painting itself onto her face as she continued to unintentionally act as 'the Irma' of the group temporarily.

Cornelia found herself releasing a light chuckle rather than be annoyed by the honestly unfunny words, she was simply feeling that overjoyed to have everything return to normal . . . and even felt her cheeks growing a bit warm as the naturally carefree girl awarded her with a knowing wink, very similar to the one given to her just yesterday during the girls' shared gym class. . . .

"Professor! Elyon, thank Heavens!" Professor Starlighter's voice suddenly rang out into the now settled infirmary, as both she, as well as Doctor Chacon hurriedly rushed inside, while Hay Lin turned in time to watch her now standing upright grandmother walk steadily toward her.

"Grandma! Are you okay?" Yan Lin heard her beloved grandchild ask for what felt like the umpteenth time that afternoon before nodding, smiling warmly toward her before the two embraced.

"Yes, yes, Hay Lin, I am quite all right, now, thanks to Professor Starlighter and Doctor Chacon patching me up, as it were," she revealed within reply, giving Hay Lin an extra squeeze, perhaps for furthered emphasis. "It'll take much more than a silly little bump on my hip to keep me down, no worries!"

"Here . . . I can fetch the extra medical supplies from out of storage in the next room, and then we can set Elyon up within Hay Lin's and her dorm room for the time being," Cassidy diligently declared upon concluding her initial examination of her patient, carefully helping both Himerish and Cornelia lift Elyon off of the dirtied floor.

"I-I . . . Did I . . . do all this?" Elyon whispered haltingly as she at last looked upon the once orderly infirmary and surveyed her unintentional demolition with stunned eyes.

Not wishing to risk another relapse of sorts, Himerish immediately shook his head at this, gently shushing her as he spoke.

"Shh, shh . . . it does not matter, Elyon. The only thing which does, naturally, is you, and that you are all right," he nearly cooed as everyone around him nodded within agreement. "Now, come. Let's get you upstairs . . . ."

---

Night soon fell, as the rest of that day carried on as though nothing had even occurred.

Of course, it had certainly helped that the totality of the proverbial carnage left within the wake of Elyon's intense power had taken place below the rest of the institute, further lending to the illusion that all had been well.

Still, there were at least a fair amount of students, mainly those who had been present at the start of the overall chaos who might have still been asking questions, possibly spreading an unfortunate rumor mill their professors would later need to quell at some point.

In the meantime, more important matters had been tended to, with Elyon now resting peacefully within her room upon being looked over by Doctor Chacon, and after having been lightly sedated.

Professor Starlighter had naturally offered her own assistance, as well, though her colleague, in addition to Professor Kandrakar both informing her that what the young girl needed most right now was sleep.

And thus, Hay Lin had graciously offered to give up her bed for the night, allowing her new roommate to have the whole dorm room to herself so that there wouldn't be any risk of waking Elyon up during the night . . . especially given her admitted tendency to snore on occasion.

Both Cornelia, and Irma had then opened up their own bedroom to the raven haired girl a as result, although Irma was happy to do it more so as an built in excuse to hear every last detail of the harrowing first mission she'd regrettably missed.

She was none too pleased to have realized this, of course, but was definitely far more grateful that her fellow teammates and friends had gotten the job done, all the same.

Happier, still, that none of them had sustained any serious injuries, as well, as Irma had by now learned about how both Taranee and Will had been temporarily down for the count.

It was to be expected, though, in all honesty, as the pair had yet to properly build up better resistances during 'combat' like the rest of them.

However, each girl had bravely stuck her neck out for a friend without any sort of hesitation, something which didn't surprise Irma within the slightest to have later heard about. . . .

And speaking of acting without hesitation, Tabitha was a regular MVP today as far as Irma, as far as any of them had been concerned, as without her, the girls wouldn't have even made it back to the mansion in the first place.

In fact, she'd become basically the guest of honor, what with the way Professor Kandrakar, as well as Cornelia would repeatedly express their appreciation for the remainder of that afternoon, straight into dinnertime, where Tabitha had happily been invited to stay for.

And after the day she'd unexpectedly just experienced, the freewheeling girl had been all too eager to accept, having proceeded to make a few rounds within the dining hall and carrying on various conversations with several of her former schoolmates as though she'd never left.

Yet now there Tabitha was, finally finished saying goodnight to her old pals before leaving the institute once more, casually jingling at the car keys already within her hand as she suddenly found herself being escorted down the long path to the front gate by Cornelia.

It wasn't really that sudden, to be fair, as her fellow blonde had more or less stuck by her side for most of that evening . . . in between quietly creeping upstairs in order to check on a now thoroughly knocked out Elyon, anyway.

At least the poor girl was asleep for the right reasons, this time, Tabitha's heart filling with admitted relief to have seen this for herself when she'd gone to check in on the smaller girl a few moments before leaving.

Seeing that giant needle thrust right up there into her vein via the infusion pump Doctor Chacon had evidently wheeled into the dorm room at some point did make Tabitha want to hurl chunks, sure, but at the end of the day it was for the girl's own good.

And best of all, it wasn't for Tabitha's, as all she'd thankfully needed was a bit of peroxide, antibiotic ointment and a band aid to help protect the pesky little 'scratch' on her previously unblemished forehead.

Overall, she'd say that today hadn't failed to entertain her, that much was for certain. . . .

"Tabitha, really . . . I just want to tell you again how thankful I am for all your help today. We really couldn't have done it without you," Tabitha listened to Cornelia humble herself for the fiftieth time that evening, as the pair continued their leisurely stroll down the elongated walkway.

"Hey, hey, heyyy, Sprout. While I'm generally not above it, I think all this open praise from everyone is gonna make me become my own 'Time Bomb' and combust from embarrassment," she chuckled with a light wave of her free hand within dismissal. "Besides, you know . . . it was the right thing to do, and all that. Etcetera, etcetera."

At this, Cornelia curiously grew a bit serious as she momentarily stopped within her tracks.

"It may have been the 'right thing to do,' but it doesn't mean that everyone would have realized this and done the same, Tabitha. You did," she declared with an affirming nod, her eyes briefly possessing a faraway gaze as her mind clearly became clutched by a thought Tabitha naturally was not privy to.

Shaking her head, Cornelia managed to snap herself out of it as she gave her friend a warm smile, before reaching out to gently squeeze at the top of her shoulder.

"Seriously, though . . . thank you – L-Last one, I promise," she managed to state lightheartedly, the dark cloud of anxiety which had been looming over Cornelia's head for majority of that afternoon seeming to at last leave her. "A-Anyway . . . The Professor says that Elyon has her powers back under control, and that he'll now be working with her every day to keep it that way. . . ."

Tabitha smiled back with genuine relief flashing across her face at the news, before the two resumed their walk.

"That's great to hear, Sprout. And I'm sure that with you around, Blue will be back to lifting up entire buildings and casting planets out of orbit in no time," she couldn't help but joke as a way to help further lighten the mood, her grin broadening even further upon seeing that Cornelia had thankfully seen it as one, and merely shook her head with another light smile of her own.

"Yeah, yeah. . . . Oh, hey, I've been meaning to ask: I know why you regrettably call me 'Sprout,' Tabitha, but why is Elyon 'Blue?' Doesn't really sound like a positive nickname . . . then again, neither does mine, but whatever," she commented with a fleeting roll of her eyes, before feeling her cheeks become incredibly flush the moment she'd caught Tabitha suddenly gazing at her with much intent.

"Because of her eyes. . . . Yeah. I mean, sure, Bayville apparently has the 'blonde hair, and blue eyes' population down pat, like the three of us, right? But . . . I don't know. Elyon's eyes are . . . well, they're something different," Tabitha confessed unexpectedly, a soft, knowing sort of smile forming which honestly made the usually spunky girl look a way Cornelia had never seen before. "They're just so kind, and . . . I dunno. Sweet. Maybe even magical, if ya wanna also throw that in there."

Cornelia felt herself swiftly snapping out of whatever previous uneasiness she'd been feeling right then, as she couldn't help but giggle at the other girl's final description.

"'Magical?' Well, I guess it isn't so funny given we have students like Megan, who does possess magical abilities, but -"

"- 'Magical,' yes, Sprout, because thanks to them, thanks to Elyon, I get to see a whole other side of you," Tabitha calmly interrupted, her own blue eyes practically piercing straight into Cornelia's soul from the way she was now looking at her. "No, really. You've always been so . . . 'by the book' and hard to get to not be so . . . serious all the time! But then, whenever Blue's involved and you've gotten to spend even like, five minutes with the girl, you're suddenly all sunshine and daffodils! I love that . . . I really, really do. . . ."

Cornelia woefully found herself at a loss for words as she was once again put on the spot, just as she'd been during their gym class the previous day, only this time she didn't have the school bell or a game of badminton to interrupt the exceedingly awkward conversation.

"I-I, uh . . . I mean, y-you -" Cornelia heard herself stammering like an honest buffoon, desperate to find the words, any, in fact, to effectively change the subject, before Tabitha gratefully cut her off and managed to do it for her.

"- I'm just gonna stop you right there, Sprout, no worries. . . . Besides! It's getting late, and if I don't head out now and get a jump on my essay for English 'like a good student,' then I'm toast," Tabitha stated with a casual shrug, now walking alone the rest of the way to the front gate as Cornelia had yet to find her legs.

She then stopped a moment before turning back around, a tiny smirk now forming as she added, "And ya know, this whole communal thing has never really been my cup of tea – This place, I mean. It's the reason I ended up ditching, in case you didn't know. Well . . . one of the reasons. . . . B-But, anyway! After today, though, helping you all out like that and just . . . totally coming together? I dunno. Maybe I haven't given this school a fair shake! Plus . . . I think I might have another, even better reason to come back. . . . Sweet dreams, Sprout."

Cornelia was positively grateful that it was presently nighttime, her face was dangerously now on fire.

The past several days had been an honest roller coaster ride for her, that was for certain; however, having the now unmistakable, seemingly out of nowhere romantic attention of Tabitha on top of that left Cornelia feeling utterly beside herself.

She could only watch as Tabitha now let herself out, walking the rest of the way with a purposeful swing of her hips, Cornelia was sure, and blind wave of goodbye as the other girl raised a hand into the air as she did so.

That girl was quite possibly going to be her schoolmate once again, which would mean not only sharing the halls of Bayville High together, but also Kandrakar's day in, and day out.

If this truly ended up being the case, then Cornelia would now have her hands positively full dealing with that assertive young woman . . . as if they weren't already full enough as it was.

Until then, Cornelia would be able to sleep peacefully tonight, taking comfort within the knowledge that Elyon was in one piece, safe and sound.

And at the end of the day, that was all which truly mattered. . . .

- End of Chapter Twelve

---

(A.N. YAYYYYY, finally! Twenty-eight stinky little pages, done! That editing process took far longer than I'd wanted, as well, thanks to Tornado Not-So-Much Babies flying in and out of the office, alongside my usual every day responsibilities. Bleh... LoL Anyway!

SOOOO happy, all the same, to finally get this chapter out, especially getting to do a bunch of action scenes in this one, which I always enjoy writing!

Like I said before, I'd been sitting on it for literally years now, but just never had time to properly sit down to go over it again and eventually edit it all. Hopefully this momentum, AND my hand will continue its niceties and I can get the next chapter out FAR sooner than, say, eight years from now or something. LoL

Again, not really sure how many of you have watched "X-Men: Evolution," but several lines delivered during this chapter had been featured there, specifically the "Power Surge" episode of Season 2, which is also obviously where the inspiration for this chapter came from.

If you HAVEN'T watched it, I won't spoil anything, of course, but you'll eventually see which lines I'm speaking of, and whom said what, and to whom. =p

Oh! And also from the series finale, I'd used the last blurb Tabitha speaks there, when she tells everyone 'thanks for the invite' to the 'party.' Figured I'd keep on with her "Evolution" adaptation, while also throwing a bit of my own ideas, as well. =)

What else, what else... Right, right. My Aisling, while completely made up and named after a character from the book I'm writing, is still basically the Destiny/Irene of this story, what with her Precognition abilities. And since the name also means "dream" or "vision," I figured it'd be appropriate.

And her character, or 'nature' apparently being sadly suicidal I'm truly not attempting to make light of, trust. It's just unfortunately necessary to maintain for HER 'driving force,' as it were, considering her powers. As I was developing her some more before all this, I'd realized she also reminds me a lot of Lyseria from "Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth," as Lyseria also hated herself for the powers she unavoidably wielded...until she did end up taking her own life... =(

But...at the risk of sounding insensitive as I move on, I'm only doing so so as not to further focus on an obviously painful topic, sorry... =/

The island Aisling lives/hides away on, though, was also inspired by Dry Island on Upper Saranac Lake in New York. It's about four-plus hours away from Westchester County where Xavier's institute is, so I'd just shaved an hour off for MY fictional island/location to not make it super 'identical.'

Also, can I just say that I'm really, REALLY relieved to have finally hammered out the damned shared scene between Aisling and Phobos, as THAT was my original main reason for not having released this chapter years back? I didn't want to proceed before I'd completely finalized every last angle to HIS personal story and motivations, lest I'd end up trapping myself in a corner later on down the road.

And then, like I'd briefly mentioned up there in my first note, life, drama and first time surgery had gotten in the way as well, and BAM. It was all put on unintentional ice. =(

But! It SHOULD be cool now, the whole crap with Phobos, I mean – Oh, and my surgery/physical therapy. We're good. LoL

Have a thankfully-not-so-gnarly scar along the inside of my right elbow now, but we're good! =D

Uhhhh...I've probably missed a bunch of stuff, like always, you guys know me, but if I had, I guess I'll just cover it in the next chapter's notes!

Ooh, ooh! Remembered one more! LoL Taranee, yes yes, and her 'oh noesss, I gotta go!' feeling now.

Since it's literally only a day between this, and the previous chapter – In THEIR timeline, anyway LoL – I did have to at least begin mentioning her fear over having now become officially Pyrokinetic, and what that would mean for her future at the school.

But given that the overall focus of this chapter had been about Elyon's out of control powers, I did temporarily sideline Taranee's dilemma for its remainder.

I WILL have her reflect upon it some more in the future, before making the final decision we obviously know she's gonna make. =)

'Till then, I really, really, REALLY hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the return back to 'my' Bayville!

Stay safe, My Lovelies! Mwa mwa!)