[IC] X-Men: The Divided

[MistressCyanide]

"You are the one who spoke,” her voice was soft and smooth, gentle yet guarded, "You guided me here."

Xavier: “Yes that was me, I guide any and all who want to be safe and want to understand their gifts.”

Charles, Beast and Cyclops gazed at Asha’s hand and watched, it was a wonderful sight and they understood why she hid herself like she did. They watched the colours she made making Beast think upon her mutation. Before long she said something else before putting the glove back on.

"I hide because I do not want to anger or sicken anyone. And this way...I feel safe."

Beast: “You don’t have to hide here, we can’t make you do it but please remember we are all special. You need to be proud of who you are and never let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Xavier nodded at what Beast said as he watched her a little longer before turning his attention to Cyclops for a moment. He did not say anything and only an exchange of looks were seen. Xavier soon turned his attention to Asha once more. Cyclops soon took a few steps closer towards the young mutant.

Cyclops “Learn, live, train, become an X-Man and maybe one day you will be on my team. Be strong and you will make it.”

Xavier and Beast were surprised by Scott, for the last few months he had been rather negative since the death of Jean. Cyclops gave the new member a smile, something only a few X-Men had seen recently, Plasma, Emma and Kitty being the other few. Cyclops did not stick around any longer as he made his move to do what he, Professor X and Beast talked about. He would gather up with the rest and wait for the Black Bird to come back.

Beast “Should I show you you’re new room young miss. Maybe then we can have you meet some of the others?”

Xavier nodded to the idea; Beast was capable of looking after her making him smile at Asha before moving on. As he passed by he said something to her through the use of his powers.

Professor X: “If you need anything come and see me, I am here for all of you.”

Soon the professor was out of sight.

---

Back on the Black Bird the jet tore through the sky like the beauty she was. The Black Bird was the pride and joy of the X-Men and for good reason. Wolverine was still angry as he gritted his teeth though he was not as angry anymore. X-23 was right and she had certainly become a better mutant in the time he knew her. At the speed they were going they would be home in a matter of hours. The jet was mostly quiet; all that could be heard was the breathing being made by him and the others on board. Logan had a soft spot for some of the X-Men such as Rogue and Plasma was also a member he had a soft spot for.

Plasma was in a state of uneasiness as she laid out cold, her mind still active as the Shadow King went deeper into her mind to make it harder for her to resist him and make it harder for the professor to remove him. The Shadow King had to learn about her quickly as the body was not usable in the state it was in because of what Bamf did to her.

((Time Passes By))

A few hours later and the rookies were home, the Black bird docks where it always does. The jet is turned off and the rump drops so the members could leave. The docking bay was not empty as Cyclops and his team were there. Cyclops was being rather friendly with Emma though he was in a relationship with Madelyne Pryor. The students would most likely disburse before Wolverine even left his sit.

Logan: “OK blue boy”

He said jokingly.

Logan: “I will take Plasma to the holding area, you can take Storm to the med bay so she can recover then you are off the clock kid.”

Wolverine had calmed down completely now though still felt bad about Plasma and the others. He soon went to where Plasma was and picked her before leaving the Black Bird where he saw Blue Team waiting to use the jet for a mission. Logan’s and Scott’s relationship was a little rocky at the moment and so all they did was give a look to each other. Cyclops saw Plasma in Wolverines arms as he passed by, Logan gave Scott no time to ask what happened.

[LovelyAnastasia]

Asha's head was bowed, not really wanting to see how masked their disgust might be with her. Her gloved hands anxiously intertwined fingers over and over, her eyes on the ground. Asha's image of herself was incredibly distorted, but she had been secluded from the world and only really had her father's reactions to her to understand what was happening to her. No one had explained anything to her and the only person she had major interaction with had demonized her. After a while she just accepted his logic of what she was. An abomination. She was almost brainwashed into thinking so.

She looked up at the Beast spoke, her glowing golden eyes a bit surprised they were not going to make her leave. But she smiled under all her coverings, her golden eyes shining like stars, showing all the happiness it brought to hear something so kind and accepting. With the palm of her hand she pressed her over joyed eyes, threatening tears, a small musical and enchantingly wonderful laugh escaping her. It was the first time since her mutation had showed itself that she had laughed.

"Thank you," her voice was almost a whisper, but held so much emotion, it reverberated in the hall. The the man with the odd sunglasses stepped forward. Asha looked up at him.

“Learn, live, train, become an X-Man and maybe one day you will be on my team. Be strong and you will make it.”

The two other males seemed to be just as surprised as she was. But Asha nodded her head, her eyes glowing bright, showing that she smiled beneath her black cloth. "I will," her voice was warmer, strong and clear, "I will get stronger, so no one ever has to feel like this again." The man left, striding out with purpose. Even though she felt he was possible of many scary things, Asha admired him and his surety and strength. Maybe she could be as confident as that someday. It was what her mother would want. Looking up at the Beast she nodded her head again, eyes smiling.

"Yes, thank you sir," she looked to Xavier and bowed her head in great thanks, "And thank you so much for accepting me here. I will do my best, I promise." As he passed, his voice rang clear in her mind, making her eyes go wide in surprise. She'd need to use to that. It still awed her, his voice so clear inside her mind. She bowed her head in gratitude, sending a mental message of thanks. A part of her wonder if the others would be this welcoming.

_________________

The Beast had done as he had mentioned, showing her to her room. Apparently the rooms were set up like a boarding school, almost, where most other young mutants had roommates. But with her mutation she did not think it wise from someone to try to sleep in the same room with her. They might get sick from lack of sleep, because even in sleep she glowed like a million of stars in the sky. Granted it was softer than when she was awake, but it was still rather bright.

Her suitcases unpacked and what few things she had set the way she liked, she brushed out the front of her pitch black outfit. It had been a few hours since her arrival, but this feeling of welcome, this feeling of freedom, it was all liberating. Her room even had a window that could look up at the night sky.

"Thank you, Professor Hank," she said gently, "I hope the other mutants will be as kind as you, Professor Xaiver and Cyclops are. I can be a bit... guarded, I guess." She looked out the window. "M-Maybe now... I can see the others? I am a bit... curious. I've never really seen anyone my age with mutations before." Asha shifted nervously from one foot to the other, the area around her eyes, swirling and shining brightly, revealing a glimpse of her nerves.

She went back downstairs, letting the Professor lead the way. When they reached a certain area of the school they stopped. Apparently the others would be coming upstairs or just walking through the hallway soon. Asha wondered where they had all been. And why were they downstairs? She felt like she had so many questions, but maybe they'd be answered if she just watched and remained patient.

[knighthawk]

Magnus put his headphones back into the cubby with its built in docking port to recharge. As he got up to stretch, he went into a handstand to put his feet to the ceiling to grab on, when he assumes he is the one being addressed, he bends over backwards to look logan in his eyes as best as he can.

“OK blue boy, I will take Plasma to the holding area, you can take Storm to the med bay so she can recover then you are off the clock kid.”

"Jawohl, Vielfraß"
Carefully he took up the weather witch and cradled her in his arms. The cloth creaked as he adjusted to her weight to carry her to safety and try to calculate their total weight, he would need to talk to forge about a system to gauge his mass followed by a rangefinder to wear on an eye so he could target telelportation locations easier. That was one of the reasons he didn't use his power fighting her, if the debris field didn't block every shot he would have taken at her, all of the matter in the air was way too dangerous to teleport anyone anywhere without risk of popping into the middle of a rock or tree branch the bamf wasn't strong enough to displace the particulate matter. He lacked his fathers innate spatial relation needed to teleport into tight quarters like air-vents and such so he would often use it more as a weapon as he long ago abandoned the moral quandary of amputating someone by popping them near a building with a limb stuck in the wall. Xavier was rather unpleased with that admission of his as such methods were an abuse of their powers.

But that was neither here or there as he came down off the ramp and called out to everyone else scattering. "I'm making sushi in a minute guys, anyone want some meet me in the kitchen." If anyone tagged along, he would have someone to talk too, but otherwise he was trained enough to settle storm into the medical station, no straps because of her claustrophobia but motion sensors set to detect if she left the bed. Yes, he had to undress her to put the leads on but there was nothing lacivious in his actions, she was another 'pretty' mutant who could walk down the street, he left her in underclothes and tossed the uniform in the spectrometer to look for any traces or clues as was standard procedure.

Once storm was settled in, Magnus unzipped his uniform as well to get some fresh air against his azure skin and unzipped his tail which he kept tucked in a protective tube around his waist like a belt, he actually got the idea from that anime about the dragon orbs in space. He tossed his clothes and equipment into the spectrometer as well just for good measure as he had contact with two shadowking victims. and started looking for new clothes to cook in or else he'd have to wander the school in boxers, not that he minded.

[CrimsonWarrior55]

Literally the second those doors opened, Aya was unbuckled, out of her seat, and down the ramp, keeping her hand somewhat inconspicuously (God, I hope) over her cheeks, hiding the faint burn marks. 'Urgh! I hate when this happens. Christ, the last time, I had been crying so hard it took a fuckin' year for them to heal. Luckily these are small. It should only take a few... hours...' Aya's thoughts came to a grinding halt, as did her footsteps, right at the bottom of the ramp. There was Cyclops' team, waiting to use the jet. And as per usual, there stood the Jean Grey wannabe and the Hellfire Diamond. Dropping her hand, Aya glared daggers at Frost. No matter what anyone said, old habits don't die hard. They stay. Aya knew that better than anyone. Catching Frost and Pryor's eyes, Aya decided to split. Walking over to the wall, she put her fingers to an outlet and concentrated. Soon enough, her body was consumed with electricity and she was gone, into the wiring of the mansion. Unfortunately, while she wasn't a rookie at this technique, she wasn't very familiar with the wiring of the mansion, and she... kinda got lost. Add on top of that, she was tired and not thinking clearly... and you get this little gem...

"FUCK!!!" Aya cried, as her body re-materialized out of the ceiling light in the hallway, dropping her right on her back "Owowowowowowowowowow... my ass... Huh?" Only now did Aya realize she had an audience. It was Professor Hank McCoy. The Fluffy Gorilla-Cat. Or as he preferred, The Beast (Sounds like a ride at an amusement park, right?). But there was also a person dressed in all black rags. She looked like ninja wannabe 'Oh, great. Another ninja'. Standing up, she cracked her back and dusted off her uniform, before noticing the boy... girl... it was still looking at her "What? Never seen a girl fall out of a ceiling light before?"...

[LovelyAnastasia]

"No I have not," she said earnestly, her voice soft and clear. The old skin showing was around her eyes, and it was glowing softly, thin tendrils of changing light passing around her eyes only to disappear under the black cloth and their place taken by another swirling tendril. Her golden eyes gleamed and pulsed almost unnoticeably due to her nervousness. She looked up at Professor Hank, her gloved fingers twining and dancing with one another. This must be one of the others... She should introduce herself.

"Erm, it is a pleasure to meet you," she bowed her head, hands folded in front of her, "M-My name is Asha..." She glanced up, hesitating then finally standing up straight. "Are... are you alright, though? You... you don't normally scream wh-when... you do that, do you?" She looked up at the ceiling, as if expecting to see some sort of hole or something. She nervously glanced at Professor Hank once more, as if waiting for him to tell her she had said something wrong or insensitive.

But it was curious. This girl looked pretty normal. Well, except... "Oh, are you alright?" her voice was quiet, warm and concerned, "Your cheeks...They're burnt..." One of her black gloved hands moved forwards slight, as if trying to reach out to help.

[CrimsonWarrior55]

"No I have not" The pure honesty and naivety that flowed from her mouth (yup, it's a she) just stunned Aya. She couldn't help but chuckle. As the girl introduced herself as Asha, Aya couldn't help but think about how much fun it could be to tease this girl. 'Hm-hmm. Look at her... sooo skittish... she could be really fun to mess with' Aya grin inwardly deviously, while outwardly maintaining an air of calm. At least until Asha mentioned her eyes.

Aya's eyes widened as she remembered the tracks on her face 'SHIT!!!' her mind screamed, her hand automatically coming up to cover them. Aya was about to leave, but then something struck her. 'This girl is new... it's okay... she doesn't know what this means' Aya told herself, turning her head "I-It's nothing... j-just some... er... TATTOOS!! Yeah... eheheh... t-tattoos" she stammered out. "A-anyways. My name is Ayame. Ayame Denzan. And to answer you, no. I don't scream like that... I was just surprised is all. There... was a rat! A big rat. Chewed through the wiring, cutting out the light" (Despite the fact that the light was clearly on) "Cut me off at the pass. But that's not important! All you need to now is I'm a master a manipulating electricity and that's enough about me. What's the deal with your starry-eyed self? Why are you dressed like that? Aren't you hot as balls in here?"

[LovelyAnastasia]

Asha tilted her head to the side. Had she said something funny? Looking up at the ceiling, then back at the other girl, Asha got a bit confused. Had she missed something? Any how, the other girl seemed a bit taken aback when she mentioned her bunt cheeks. Asha's hand wavering in the air, it dropped and took its place, folded with its comrade. Was the other girl ashamed of her mutation, like Asha was? She turned her head away like she was.

"Um, well they look like they hurt," she said softly, "I've never seen face tattoos before..." But her eyes showed that she was smiling when the other mutant girl introduced herself. "Nice to you, Ayame. I'm very happy to meet you." The other girl mentioned rats and she looked up at the ceiling again. "Oh...dear... I suppose that would be a bit startling. But rats aren't as all that bad as people make them out to be. They are actually quiet intelligent." The light was still on, but Asha just assumed that there was an explainable reason for that. "You must of scared them off with your scream... The light appears to be fine now."

"Oh, fascinating... Manipulating of electricity," she looked back at Ayame and smiled, "Very impressive. Must be quiet useful." But she winced when the other girl mentioned her eyes. Nervously she dropped her gaze to the ground, a gloved hand touching the small appearance of skin by her eye. It had been so long since she talked to someone her own age, she had nearly forgotten.

"O-Oh, I-I'm very sorry, I d-didn't mean..." she stammered, keeping her eyes on the floor, she winced again when the other girl brought up her outfit, "I...tend to be...a bit distracting. I-I cover up my... m-mutation by wearing light blocking cloth... A-And I don't mind... I've gotten used to it..." She glanced up for a moment before returning her gaze to her feet. "I... shimmer... a lot."

[Assallya]

Sarah couldn't help but notice the rest of her comrades selfishly running from the Blackbird the moment it landed. -And they thought she was callous? You would think they would have helped move Storm and Plasma to the medical bay or at least gone along with them out of concern for their well being. At least she wasn't a hypocrite. Sarah knew she was selfish and probably a fair bit cowardly. More importantly, she was smarter then the others. Sarah saw this as an opportunity to suck up to the great powers without doing any work at all. All she had to do was pretend she was going to help, make the offer and someone else would do the work of lifting the fallen comrades. After all, she got into trouble often enough that a good word from Storm, Wolverine and Cyclops could come in handy.

First stop, Sarah thought to herself, my room and to put on some clothes. After that she was going to head towards the kitchen and grab some food before she headed towards the Danger Rooms for some relaxation. That was the plan in any event. Sometimes things didn't quite go as planned.

At least she got to her room without difficulty and donned a simple black tube dress and some strapless high heels that she could remove in a hurry should she need to get into costume. Later she'd come back for the costume she'd printed in the Shi'ar fabricators for her adventure in the danger room. First she was going to see if there was any leftover pizza or something. Considering there were well over twenty X-Men, not counting the students here, the kitchen was rather large and there must be some sort of leftovers.

[knighthawk]

Magnus felt like he had searched every cabinet in the med bay twice before it donned on him that the clothing was in the depressed closet in the hall near the uniforms. He must be more tired than he thought as he slipped on a set of navy sweats with yellow piping on the hemlines, he'd go barefoot as he made his way to the elevator to head up. With storm sorted, it was time for some food as he pressed the button with his spaded tail.

The elevator seemed to take forever, he must have counted to ten a dozen times before the doors opened. Just for a lark he emerged from the elevator standing on the wall and walked on the side of the building, using the wood molding of the chair line as a balance beam, he waves to those in the hall before coming into the kitchen where he comes down to the cool marble floor.

"Hey shadowtits, can you get me the sushi drawer in the bottom?"

He liked the nickname for her as he circled around the island and took up his sushi kit, laying out all of the parts as he grabbed an avocado from the fruit basket. His love of the fish dish lead him to keeping a drawer full of large primed fish cuts and prepared rice for when the mood struck him on a nearly daily basis. Part of him kept on his toes in case she tried to throw anything at him out of irritation at him, the other part was watching how the dress stuck to her like paint.

"So, whats on your plate for tonight?"

[Zagan]

The Bird landed and docked and the ramp was lowered, Sarah and Ayame had bolted, as well as most of the other students, the only ones left were Bamf and himself, Wolverine had turned to Bamf to ask for help - seeming to have forgotten about John, which at this moment suited him as he followed the veteran team leader and his fellow student down the ramp, he looked up as he had heard more movement then there should of been to notice that Cyclops and his team waiting to head off on a mission, he looked as Wolverine passed Cyclops the tension built quickly but dissipated just as quickly as Wolverine walked off quickly with Plasma in his arms.

John was walking at a slower pace but in time he did reach the bottom of the ramp, he paused as he looked up to Team Blue's leader and spoke quietly in a dejected sort of voice:

"Do you know were the Professor is Mr Summers?"

In the young earth movers mind once he got his answer he would make his way to see the Professor and hope to get some idea of a handle of were his powers were taking him as he had come to the mansion in this state, the medical examination he had undergone had revealed that his rib cage had become stone and his skin had been replaced with a hard compact earth, confusing but possibly not the end.

Cyclops looked down on John, surprised as ever at the young mutants formality.

"Kid, the names Scott, or Cyclops - non of this 'Mr Summer' stuff okay? Try his office."

With that John thanked Cyclops and then headed off to the office. He knocked on the large doors three times hoping the Professor had time to talk to him.

[MistressCyanide]

The mansion grounds were full of young and old mutants alike. The court yard had at least 10 mutants gathered around it, it was a nice day and so this was a good place to hang. Boom-Boom, Iceman, Box, Jubilee were a few present as another young mutant sat down on a bench close by and pulled out an instrument, an acoustic guitar. The mutant was ready to start playing and when he did the mutants present watched them. The mixture of chords heard sounded upbeat as the song started.

Mutant: “Old man Wolverine”

The words were said in a deep voice, the mutant themselves did not talk in this way though as he kept playing. The song had a very hard rock and blues feel to it.

Mutant: “He is tough and mean”

The mutants watching felt amused though some found it fun one or two found it a little strange that someone composed a song about Wolverine.

Mutant: “Don’t make him mad or he’ll get ya”

The song starts to pick up as chords are played faster than before.

Mutant: “Ada-man-tium bones, he is the Wolverine”

The song went on and a few more mutants joined in. Elsewhere a few mutants were indoors and they were planning on watching a movie they had just got on DVD. Pixie, Cannonball and Sunspot were the said mutants. They had some time off as they had a heavy training session yesterday in one of the danger rooms.

Cannonball: “I heard this is a bad ass movie, some say it is based on a true story but no one really knows.”

Sunspot: “What is the movie called?”

Cannonball: “The girl with the Vibranium hair”

Sunspot: “Sounds like the girl with the dragon tattoo to me”

Cannonball nodded as it did sound like it.

Pixie: “Start the movie already.”

She takes a hand full of popcorn she made for the movie and sat back with Sunspot as Cannonball pressed play.

In one of the hallways within the mansion Colossus, Psylocke, Domino, Multi-man and Magma were chatting about various things.

Domino: “Who you gonna call?”

Multi-man: “Ghostbusters.”

Domino: “What…… No I was thinking the X-Men.”

Multi-man shrugged what he said off as he found it funny and when would such a thing be said again. The group soon go back to chatting about mutant business again.

Back at Professor X’s office Charles heard three knocks on the door. It seemed someone wanted to chat. He thought for a second before saying something.

Xavier: “You may come in John.”

[Zagan]

A moment after the third knock faded out to silence a voice spoke out:

“You may come in John.”

The door slowly opened and in walked the young mutant, still as awkward around those who were in charge, part of it no doubt from the few instances of his powers going a bit over board, but most of it from his own self doubts that he felt that he did not deserve the help the Professor and the other adults had given him. but he shook his head at that, knowing the Professors power was as like many others his was the voice that had guided him here, almost like a guardian angel.

"Sorry to bother you Professor Sir, I was wondering if you had time to talk - I want to gain more control of my power, and I would like some help to try and determine whats going to happen to me."

[Solemn]

Laura watched the others depart from the jet from inside the hangar with a heavy sigh. She pushed her fingers through her hair, a gesture of exasperation she'd learned from watching too many movies about romance with Jubilation. The mission had gone alright, at least alright as could be expected from their unbalanced makeup. She'd have to talk to the Professor about finding another psychic. It's not that the current team wasn't balanced well, but they simply had no defense against the likes of the Shadow King. All they could do was manage, one teammate incapacitated with one of the most powerful psychics in the world trapped inside her body? That wasn't exactly a clear-cut victory.

She moved from the hangar to the locker room quietly, stripping and suiting up without so much as a glance. Sometimes she forgot other people cared about that sort of thing, another mental note to check off for next time. The notes helped, she decided, as she finished putting on her jeans, belt, white shirt and boots. She pulled one of Logan's old beat-up bomber jackets over her shoulders. It drowned her a bit, but she didn't mind - it was comforting.

The hallways were mostly clear by the time she reached the elevator, but less so as they opened up to reveal what looked to be a new student talking with Aya. The smell of fear permeated the hallway like too much cheap cologne, she took a cautious step towards the pair realizing that, well, she could be rather intimidating. Something else was off, though...

"Is everything alright?" She questioned coolly as she could manage with the sound of their rapidly beating hearts in her ears, her hands stuffed in the fur-lined pockets were clenched. Even after everything, her natural reaction the second she entered a room was to pick the most efficient way to kill everyone and escape. Of course, she'd gotten much better at ignoring it, but picturing the severed arteries of the children you're protecting does little to calm one's nerves.

---

Melodic, heavily distorted and trudging music played in the green house like an evening drive on opiates. The lyrics were something vague about unrequited love, but the imagery and the way the songstress cooed the words out over the instrumentation was like a white dove flying over a battlefield where both sides lost. The plants loved that sort of music and, well, Bloom tended to agree.

Appolina sang along at parts, in between stopping to converse with some clematis and making sure her daisies had enough to drink. The flowers were much easier to care for than the vegetables, but veggies tended to have a sardonic bite to them that she adored. Of course, who wouldn't be a bit facetious if their sole purpose in life was to die painfully? Well, truly, they couldn't feel the pain, but she had to imagine it. They were all dear to her, after all.

She wiggled her bare toes against the dirty concrete with an airy laugh, singing out the chorus at a low whisper punctuated with a giggle. It was hard to leave this place, but she knew she must. There was only so much she could do for her friends every day, but the peaceful air about the green house, the smell and the warmth of life. It was a retreat in and of itself, her own shangri-la.

After a begrudging foot scrub, she pulled on a pair of beat up cream-colored canvas sneakers and headed back into the mansion, through the kitchen. Whose occupants she recognized immediately. "Hey guys, did it go okay?" She asked with a lofty, almost sing-song tone; switching from speaking to plants to speaking to people was always a bit odd for her (and the people she spoke to, she imagined).

Bloom opened the fridge door, while lightly scratching an exposed tattoo of a ruby throated hummingbird on her athletic waistline - she was wearing a faded grey t-shirt tied up in a knot as per usual. It wasn't a promiscuous thing, though some people might take it that way. She felt more and more like her skin was akin to petals and the sunlight felt like energy, but that wasn't really a preferred explanation. Even around there. She still felt crazy sometimes, but she didn't really mind that if she was the only one that thought that way.

She grabbed a container of milk and moved to the sink after grabbing a small porcelain bowl and the kettle. "Would you guys like some tea? If you don't want black, I'll just heat up the water."

[LovelyAnastasia]

Asha was getting a bit...fidgety. More voices were ringing in this vast place. More people seemed to be coming out of the wood work. She looked at Aya. Coming out of the ceilings too. Was it getting hotter in here, or was it just her? Suddenly she felt like it was getting harder and harder to breathe. N-Need air her thoughts raced, chanting over in over in her mind, Need to get out. Need to get air! She stumbled backwards, her legs feeling shaky, her breathing turned to panting gasps for air.

Dark dark very dark. Why is it so dark? Why? Need the sky. Need to get to the sky!

Asha's black cloth started to pulse with light from beneath it. A gloved hand gripped the front of her black tunic and she glanced up at the other two girls, eyes pulsing through so many colors, it was like a light from a rave. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Giving them a panicked look, her eyes searching for a way out, she dodge past the intimidating girl. The world was swirling and she couldn't breathe! Stumbling into another person every so often, she'd recoil, trying to hide herself from their view.

Why were there so many eyes swirling around her? Where was she? Where could she go to be alone?! She needed to hide! She needed to be alone! Don't ever let anyone see! Don't you dare let anyone see! Monster! Monster! the preaching of her father swirled inside her head. Asha had done something horrible! She let them see! She needed to be alone! A window... Yes! A window! Shedding her black shoes, tearing off her gloves, she shot towards the window.

What was she doing? She didn't know. Her panic had over taken her. Nothing but panic. Her body was moving on its own. She needed control. Anything, anything at all! Before she even knew what she had done, she was jumping out the window. A flash of realization came over her, but before she could react like a sane being she was... flying... She could fly? Never mind! Have to find a place alone! At least for moment!

Rainbow light shooting out of her body in swirls and she was flying across the sky. It was like learning to breathe all over again. The world stopped swirling. She felt in control. For once, control was hers. Asha didn't go too far away from the school. She just dropped down low, finding a nice tree a bit away from the mansion, but she could still see the roofs of the mansion.

She felt suffocated all of a sudden, that was all. Asha didn't know what had come over her... Was that a panic attack or something? It felt awful... She pulled off her head covering, a mess of shimmering locks falling into her starry face. Her breathing was starting to slow. Her heart was no longer racing. Hugging her knees she buried her face in her arms.

"What's happening to me?" she whispered to herself.

[Assallya]

Shadowtits again? With a snap of her fingers which resolved itself into a gesture with her index finger and thumb up like a gun she brought a small globe of darkness around Magnus' head. It blinded him only for the briefest of moments. All he had to do was move his head to be free of it but the result was as intended, he'd flinched, expecting some sort of follow up blow or an attempt at tripping him.

Once that was settled, Sarah opened the indicated drawer and pulled out a small matt made up of miniature bamboo sticks. For some reason the sticky rice didn't adhere to such matts. Silently, as she grabbed several other items, she rather hoped that it wasn't actual sushi. She far preferred California rolls.

"I was going to hit the Danger Room," she said afterwards and then hopped up onto the counter so that her legs dangled, "I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. Maybe some Assassin's Creed for stealth training or maybe the Star Wars program for recreation."

Forge did an excellent job setting up the mainframe's tools but it was the students with some technical ability or artistic flair that kept creating new holographic assets. Moonstar, for instance, seemed remarkably good at crafting such pieces. At first the Professor hadn't really approved of the Danger's Room's usage but after seeing a demonstration of Mortal Kombat he begrudgingly admitted that the combative nature of the program helped hone the student's martial abilities. In particular since many of the programs encouraged participants not to use their powers it helped develop combative and survival skills.

"In the Assassin's Creed one I'm a pirate on the high seas. In the Star Wars one we're currently planning on how to infiltrate Jabba's Palace to help free Han Solo like Lando did when he pretended to be a guard."

[CrimsonWarrior55]

As Laura walked up behind Asha, Aya's whole demeanor seemed to calm down completely. So enraptured by the brunette that she didn't even notice Asha having a mini freakout. By the time Aya noticed, the curious little runt began to fidget ridiculously. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Asha had leapt out the freaking window "Huh... well, that just happened" she murmured, heading to the window to see her on the ground... but what she saw dropped her jaw. Asha was... floating "What the... hell?"...

(Sorry for the weak post, but I have no idea what to do to respond to that)

[knighthawk]

Magnus flinched at the snap of the fingers and everything went black, he dropped into a crouch to where just his onyx eyes peeked over the counter. Seeing no other forthcoming reprisal, he nodded in point to her. He had a feeling that if she had sufficient training, she could fill someones lungs with the black stuff. "Hey, not bad! Spontaneous summon you didn't have to throw." He poked at the ball with the knife for a moment before she spoke, turning his attention back to her just in time to watch her hop up on the table and her bits bounced like her hair.

"I was going to hit the Danger Room, I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. Maybe some Assassin's Creed for stealth training or maybe the Star Wars program for recreation. In the Assassin's Creed one I'm a pirate on the high seas. In the Star Wars one we're currently planning on how to infiltrate Jabba's Palace to help free Han Solo like Lando did when he pretended to be a guard."

He tapped the tip of his finger to the mat and dragged it closer to him as he began to work the avocado with knifed hand and tail. He made a soft scoff at the first explained program, hands down feeling an urge to mock the one oh so different but similar to him.

"My dads all into the swashbuckling thing, I never got into the need for feeling seasick and overdramatic attacks that Errol Flynn uses. But if you want a hand with jabba, I promise not to wear the brass bikini again."

He tried to disarm her with the odd mental image just as another came into the kitchen, it was the residential flower child. She was always a sliver off in the way she seemed to do everything, but that was okay by him since it hedged her to the side when it came to social interaction, her power needed her head to be in two places at once, too bad she wasn't actually half plant, that would be pretty hot. Not that he choice in clothing didn't help show off just what the earth mother gave her.

"Hey guys, did it go okay? Would you guys like some tea? If you don't want black, I'll just heat up the water."

"Hey 'Apple'. Good enough, Storm and plasma are sleeping it off but we got who we went for." Half truths are the greatest lies and allowed him to talk without saying anything. "I'm making up some sushi, so I think tea would be great. You want in one some? What kind do you want Sarah?" His avocado was slivered and folded inside out in display for him to dab into it as he started to pull out some wonderful red tuna to start slicing it up. For a moment he wondered if Appolina/apple was a strict carnivore since she could talk to plants. it would make sense since most animal talkers and shifters didn't like to eat what they knew too well and were vegetarians to vegans.

[LovelyAnastasia]

Asha was watching the sun slowly sink in the sky, the water of the lake behind the school changing in color. Pulling her tunic over her head and taking off the heavy black cloth, she dropped down to the ground, in her sleeveless undershirt and black pants. She was bear foot, but being able to float came in handy for things like that. Setting her dark clothes aside, she looked at the water, wondering if she could match its changing colors. Staring at her hands, she willed for herself to change color. Nothing. Just the same old rainbow dance of stars under her skin.

But when the night time stars started to peek out, Asha could feel a change in her. Her wide eyes turned up to the sky, she could feel it. Her feet lifted higher off the ground, her eyes enchanted by the stars, who were slowly revealing themselves. It rushed through her, pulsing through her veins and when she looked down she let out a surprised cry. There was a tendrils of rainbow energy trailing behind her like the tail of a shooting star. She willed herself forwards, till she was over the water. Looking down into the dark water she couldn't help but laugh a little bit. She spun around in the air, admiring the way the stardust-like shimmer and the brilliant swirling colors were following her and making designs behind her.

Letting out a laugh she shot up into the air, spinning her body as she went higher up. Then with a gleeful cry she dove down, pulling herself up only just before touching the lake's surface. The starry night sky was a perfect back drop in the dark depth of the lake for her own personal show. She was glimmering and shimmering and it just felt so good to not have to suppress it or try to hide it. Asha raised her hands, the multicolored and shimmering energy building up around her, spreading out, like a cloud of holographic galaxies. And then with a joyful cry she lowered her hands, directing them to the lake. All of the energy building up around her, it all streamed down in a waterfall of color, covering the surface of the lake under her, it not only seeping into the water, but bouncing up from it as well and swirling in a wonder of designs.

Had she always been able to do that?! She let out a laugh, the colors on her body sparkling and glowing bright in response to her elation. Asha shined bright like a multicolored star against the night sky and dark lake, as her energy dissipated from the water. Flinging her hands into the air, she watched as she shoot brilliant firework-like swirls of starlight, the 'explosion' of those beams spreading out into massive designs, like flowers blooming against the night sky. She was in awe of it. She had never known she could do this, any of it! It was incredible!

[Assallya]

"What do I want? A lottery win, chicken pasta florentine and a spa day," Sarah answered Bamf's question like a champion smart ass, "but the Pollock is fine. I don't like fish."

The fact that Pollock was just as much fish as the others escaped Sarah. Pollock was a white fish, named so for the meat of its flesh and was used to simulate, with the addition of artificial flavouring, various shellfish. All she knew was it tasted like crab and had a very different taste and consistency.

The plant girl arrived around the same time, traipsing about with her shirt hiked up to show off her tattoos. Sarah didn't understand why people got the bloody things. She'd had one started, it was meant to be a vine of roses around her ankle but the moment the needle hit her skin she'd flinched away. This girl had an entire sleeve! Oh wait... she was saying something, asking if they wanted tea.

"Well, I could make green tea," Sarah offered, "it'd go better with the sushi, provided any of us get any before Magnus here wolfs them down. I think I can manage boiling water without killing anyone."

[Zagan]

Night time had once more descended, and with the dawn of another night Jax woke up; he had found a large branch to sleep in - it was another uncomfortable sleep; but by this time he didn't really care as long as he was not disturbed after stealing a few bits from the bins but had been a disappointing haul (again). With the street lamps lit and the stars shining the young man dropped from the branch and walked away from the tree, his movements billowing out his trench coat as he moved swiftly towards a small opening with in the small copes of trees.

he flexed a few times before his four wings slipped through the back of his worn and very tatty coat and started to move, before long they were beating fast enough to lift him up and above the trees and out of sight of the normal mutant hating humans. He shook his head to dislodge that thought as he concentrated on the latest dream he had had which had showed him that he would arrive at his destination by sun rise - and although he was not holding out much hope for this, what ever it was he was being drawn too - he figured it would be better then living rough like he had been doing.

He had been flying for a couple of hours when he had come to rest just next to the clock tower when he first saw the building that his dreams had been calling him too - it was huge, a mansion. His thoughts first settled on to breaking in for some food, although his eye sight was much improved over most others he couldn't make out if there were any open windows or obvious points of entrance but that was before he saw the flash of colours that shot up from behind the mansion. Wanting to investigate to see what was causing the impromptu light show to see if that would impede on his mission of food gathering. So once more taking off he flew over to the roof of the mansion and lightly landing to see what was going on, even though it was night time Jax had to reach into his pocket to don his shades as the bright lights were hurting his eyes, once his shades were on he was able to discern a person in among the lights but whoever he or she was did not seem to pose a threat to his detection, he noticed something else in the sky but his stomach had just reminded him that he was on a mission and with his wings beating he took off looking for an open window which he found and quickly darted in hoping no would be around, but as he remained in the air he looked around he saw two girls looking away from him, he hovered over to them and was about to move to knock them out....