[center][h2][color=ed1c24][i][b]Drake “D” Edwards[/b][/i][/color][/h2]
[img] http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x105/ShatteredCovenant/drake3post_zpsrxjdemys.jpg [/img][/center]
[hr][center][color=ed1c24][b]Location:[/b][/color] Ashford Institute for the Gifted > Courtyard  [color=ed1c24][b]Interactions/Mentions:[/b][/color] 
[@KatKook][@Bounce][@Damo021][@BoyMom69035][@webboysurf]
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	Drake’s eyes began to squint as he was listening to Cleo’s story.  Uná had already gone to the nurse with the others.  The redhead she was referring to must’ve been Sally.  Drake recalled seeing Professor Pierce in the background, before he took his leave.  A wave of guilt fell over him in learning that he had walked away right before Isaac attacked again. He looked toward the doors of the institution.  I hope she’s alright, he thought.  After his mind went passed Sally’s safety, it again fell upon the notion that he was in a potentially hostile environment with very little possibility of being able to protect himself or others.  Even if he hadn’t walked away, what the hell was he going to be able to do to Isaac to prevent him from hurting anyone?


	His attention fell back on the others around him and, with a look of displeasure, he excused himself.  “[color=f7976a]I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go,[/color]” he stated simply before turning to the entrance of the building and walking in without waiting for anyone’s response.  His mind fell on the lighter again and the incident that occurred before.  He made his way to his dorm room and shut the door behind him.  It was time to experiment.
	
	He moved to his bed and sat himself before pulling out his lighter.  [i][color=f7976a]How in the hell did it do that last time[/color][/i], he asked himself, referring to when the flame on the lighter grew to a raging 5 feet tall. He flicked the lighter again and was met with unsuccessful sparks just as before.  [i][color=f7976a]There has to be something to this[/color][/i], he thought as he tried to concentrate.  It couldn’t have been a manufacturing glitch.  That flame from before was because of something else.  Drake was hoping that it was him; that he was the reason the fire reacted the way it did.  It would mean a ticket out of mediocrity, a means to both defend and protect himself and the people he cared about from other mutants.  It would mean a lot, and while Drake was still uneasy about being a mutant at all, if he was going to be one regardless then he’d prefer to be one that had an active power instead of just a passive one like being fireproof.

	Drake stared at the top nozzle of the lighter and willed it to ignite. He flicked the friction wheel once more.  Sparks, then nothing.  He tried again.  Same result.  Drake scratched at his forehead with his free hand, a nervous tick, as he tried to figure out what he was doing wrong.  [i][color=f7976a]Everything is exactly the same as it was before.  Why is it not working now?[/color][/i]

	[url=https://fontmeme.com/grunge-fonts/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180929/cb371f37a7eb676bb2e5e398a192d3d0.png[/img][/url]

	His red eye twitched just as he heard the voice in his head. Drake pushed himself to his feet in a panic and quickly surveyed the room.

	“[color=f7976a]Who was that?![/color]” he shouted.  It was debatable whether there was fear or fury in his voice.  A moment of silence passed before he decided to sprint out into the hallway, looking in both directions for the culprit.  The hall appeared empty.  Hesitantly, he made his way back into his room.  He was in an institution full of mutants.  [i][color=f7976a]A telepath[/color][/i], he concluded.  [i][color=f7976a]’Are you still in my head?  If you are, get the fuck out!’[/color][/i] he mentally demanded.

	[url=https://fontmeme.com/grunge-fonts/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180929/540561cb3e48f44bd2775a595052afc3.png[/img][/url]

	Again, Drake’s eye twitched, but harder this time, so much so that Drake had to harshly rub it to make it feel correct again.  He was about to go off on this mental intruder, using every curse word in his repotiore, but he hesitated.  He was worked up the first time he tried this trick and it worked.  He still wasn’t a fan of having an unwelcome visitor poking around in his mind, but it seemed best to address the things he could control rather than harp on the things he couldn’t. 

	He sat back on the bed, still looking around the room as if he were going to catch this intruder hiding in one of the corners.  Eventually his multi-colored eyes fell back to the lighter in his hand.  [i][color=f7976a]Use anger...[/color][/i] he thought as he tried to recall every memory he had that left mental scars.  Every thought of being made to feel little, every injustice he ever witnessed, every fight of which he had ever been a part.  His grip on the lighter began to tighten and his teeth started to clench.  His face began to get flush and hot as the blood rushed up through his neck.  [i][color=f7976a]...make fire.[/color][/i]  Drake flicked the friction wheel.

	[i]PHOOM![/i]

	The massive flame produced hit the ceiling and began spreading outward, looking like an inverted waterfall from hell as the overhead plaster began to warp and blacken.  Drake’s eyes went wide as he looked on, but this time he didn’t release the feelings he had summoned right away.  With sheer force of will, he tried to dial it back slowly and as he did, the flame reacted accordingly, gradually losing contact with the ceiling and shrinking to a manageable size.

	It was hard to maintain his state of mind.  It was the fury that produced the blaze but all he could feel now was excitement.  He just kept going back to his memories, trying to embrace the violent passion.   As he stared into the heart of the flame in front of him, he felt a sudden urge to touch it.  With his free hand, he did so, putting his palm right in the middle of it.  His other hand was still holding down the igniter of the lighter.  It dawned on Drake that there was no way that lighter had enough fuel in it to have kept this flame going for any length of time.  [i][color=f7976a]It’s not the lighter...[/color][/i] he thought.  He released the igniter.  A twisted grin slowly spread across his face as the blaze remained, only this time it appeared as though it was originating from Drake’s hand.  His palm tingled in the best way possible.  He stared at it and tried to memorize the sensation.  He discarded the lighter with his other hand and raised it palm up in the air, parallel to the one that was currently aflame.  His eyes shifted between the two as he tried to replicate the tingling sensation from his left hand to his right.  The latter was beginning to get warm and he could feel his nerves beginning to stir.  With one final push of forced anger, his right hand erupted and became engulfed.
	
	[i][color=f7976a]You can control fire[/color][/i], Drake thought to himself.  The joy was too much to push away now.  Drake closed his hands into dual fists and the fires extinguished simultaneously. “[color=f7976a]Yes![/color]” Drake exclaimed, raising both fists victoriously into the air as he looked up... and saw the ceiling again, a rectangle of white tarnished by one large black, charred spot just above his bed. “[color=f7976a]Shit![/color]”  [i][color=f7976a]Oh well[/color][/i], he thought.  [i][color=f7976a]Surely Nik will understand[/color][/i].