Day Two: Revelations

[Drake 53]

Marcus sat down next to her. "Huh. Sounds like a creeper to me. Did he say what he wanted?"

***

"Alright, suit yourself," said Hailey with a smirk. An instand later, she was in motion. Keeping her legs locked in their crouched position, she reared back a fist then slammed it into the ground in front of her, focusing her powers in a straight line toward the spot where Peter was standing.

A ripple shot through the ground between Hailey's fist and Peter's feet. It was so fast that he barely had time to react. The metal giant started to jump but was caught and propelled upward as a column of earth beneath him suddenly shot into the air. Peter just about toppled backwards but righted himself and jumped down.

He laughed. "Very good. But you will have to do better!" He swung his fist back, smashing the column of earth to rubble.

[Rogue 4]

"He was there to make sure I didn't tell anyone about your being a mutant...and was trying to convince me that I was too, although you can imagine how receptive I was at the time." She looked over to him. "He was a mutant too."

[Drake 53]

Marcus took everything in and mulled it over in his head. A mutant working for a government agency that dealt with other mutants. "His timing probably wasn't the best," he said at last. "You say he was trying to protect my secret? Well, that sounds...alright, I guess. I mean, he wasn't trying to hunt me...or you...down and lock us up, right? That means he's looking out for us, in a creepy kinda way."

[Rogue 4]

"Creepy isn't the half of it." Natalie said, looking to the ocean. "I think he can control gravity...that's how he broke Lance's coffee pots and held me down to the chair so i couldn't run away."

[Drake 53]

"Perfect power for someone who want others to listen to him," Marcus said, nodding thoughtfully. "He didn't happen to leave you any kind of calling card, did he?"

***

Colossus charged forward at Hailey, who had traded her grin for a smirk of determination. Her right hand splayed open and suddenly a sink-hole appeared beneath Colossus' foot. It threw him off balance but he rolled out of it. Barely slowing, he got up and continued running.

Hailey then stamped her feet back and forth, causing pillars of earth around Peter to burst diagonally towards him. He either dodged them or crashed right through. He was several feet away now so Hailey crouched down, planted her hands into the ground beneath her and pulled up.

A wall of earth rose up between Colossus and Hailey and, with a hand motion from the girl, hardened into stone.

[Rogue 4]

"Actually..." She reached over to her bag, digging through it for a moment before pulling out the card that he'd given to her. "He gave me this...it's a list of names and places that he said were safe to go to if I needed help. I haven't even looked at it until now."

[Drake 53]

Taking the card and reading it over, Marcus said, "Some of these are in LA and Malibu." He burst out a laugh. "Stark Mansion? Like Tony Stark? Wild..." He continued reading. "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Huh. Neil was saying something about that place the other night. I don't think he likes them very much."

***

Colossus punched through the think wall of stone. As it crumbled to his feet, he found no sign of Hailey on the other side.

He paused and looked around but still could not find her. After a moment, Colossus realized that there was only one explaination. She was...

The ground suddenly split open directly beneath him, catching the big Russian unawares. He tried to jump but the ground was too loose and he, in his armoured form, was far too heavy. His own weight pulled him down into the trap. His feet touched the bottom of the sink-hole just as the earth around him closed in on him. Only his head was left above the surface.

The ground split open again, a short distance in front of Colossus, and Hailey rose from it. Her closed fists and her arms up to her elbows were plated in stone. She smiled and cocked her head to the side.

"Had enough yet, big guy?" she asked.

[Rogue 4]

"Which must be a point in their favor." Natalie smirked. She was an honest person, when it didn't come to her father, or her being a mutant, so it was no surprise that she didn't like the guy. He was wild and insane, while Natalie was calm and tranquil most of the time. "Xavier's Institute, huh? I think that kid from my science project goes there. Kurt Wagner."

[Drake 53]

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "The German guy? Do you suppose he's a mutant too?" A thought ran through his head. "Now that I think about it, he comes to school with that new exchange student from Canada. I wonder if...just how many are there going to the school alone?"

***

Colossus laughed. "Not quite yet, little one." He pushed one arm up, breaking it through the ground around him, then the other. Once they were free, he pushed himself out of the large hole that was now gracing the lawn.

By the time he was up, Hailey was on him raining blows with her stone-coated fists. He figured that she was putting her powers behind her attacks as the strikes left his metal skin ringing. Colossus brought his hands up to block but she slipped beneath his arms and around to his back. Hailey gave him a series of four quick jabs to his armoured spine then used the ground below her feet to propel herself up and onto Colossus' broad shoulders. Stradling the back of the Russian's neck, Hailey began to rain blows atop his head, causing the metal in his inner ear to vibrate wildly.

To Colossus, it sounded as though he were at a concert and the sound system was suffering from feedback. He tried to shake Hailey free but her grip around his neck kept her locked in place and the hammering he was taking to his head was having an effect. Colossus sunk to his knees before finally reaching up and plucking Hailey off with an over-sized hand.

He reverted back to his regular flesh-and-blood self, signalling that the sparring session was over, and stuck a finger in his ear to try and stop the ringing. "Very good, little one. I think I underestimated you!"

Hailey just smiled. "That's what Uncle Logan said after I buried him under a pile of concrete. Well...maybe not those exact words...."

[Rogue 4]

Natalie shrugged. "I don't know...but it seems like we're not as alone here as we thought. As it is...you're not the only mutant I know."

[Drake 53]

Nodding, Marcus said, "Yeah, now we've got who-knows-how-many mutants at school and in town." Then he understood what she was saying. "Oh, do you mean you know another one? Like, one of your friends or something?"

[Rogue 4]

She nodded, speaking quietly. "Yeah. Don't ask though because I'm not telling...just like I didn't tell who you are to them."

[Drake 53]

"Right," Marcus said. "It's only fair."

They sat on the beach in silence, listening to the sounds of the waves as they broke against the shore. Finally, Marcus spoke, "Let's try out your echolocation. I'm gonna go hide and you have to find me. Keep your eyes closed and your ears open. Come find me when you hear me call out."

He got up from where they were sitting and started off down the beach.

[Andy 60]

Danny arrived back at his home, there hadn't appeared to be anyone in at the Brotherhood house. He figured he'd probably have more look if he went along with Neil or Marcus sometime. He walked into the house to be confronted by an unimpressed Chase.

"Where have you been?" Chase asked, "I needed the car."

"You can have it now, I'm knackered," Danny replied.

Chase shook his head and went out to the car. He threw an envelope onto the passenger seat and reversed out of the driveway.

A short while later he was parked up outside the Xavier school, and he picked up the envelope containing the forms signed by his father. He was pretty thrilled that his dad had agreed to let him come here; even if he didn't realise it was a school for mutants.

* * *

Calvin was dying for a drink. He stood up and had a wander around, hoping someone had dropped some change somewhere that he could use to get a Coke or something.

What am I doing? What am I going to do? Maybe I should just go back to Hill Valley...

Kelly and Lance were nice enough people but they couldn't look after him, and he wouldn't ask or expect them to. He wished there was somewhere he could go where he'd be safe. He walked down to the water's edge, just beyond the reach of the waves and sat on the sand, thinking.

The more he thought about it the weirder it got: there were too many accidents happening around him involving fire for it to be mere co-incidence. The first was the fire that killed his parents, and there was the fire today. Then there was the time in class when a bunsen burner flared up and set fire to his teacher's labcoat, and the time a neighbours' cat was being extremely irritating and as he tried to shoo it away it spontaneously burst into flames.

But if I have this power why do I not have control over it?

He made sure nobody was looking then he concentrated on the space in front of him. Nothing was happening, and he was getting frustrated. Just when he was about to give up, a small flame about the size of a baseball flickered into life and shot towards the sea, extinguishing itself.

Calvin sat wide-eyed in surprise for a moment. "Cool," he said eventually.

[Rogue 4]

Jean led the girl to the garage, where the two of them entered her Van and headed off towards the mall. Unlike Scott and Peter, she knew how to drive responsibly, and therefore she was certain Lila felt safe in the car. "So what were you planning on getting at the mall?" She asked, hoping to spark conversation.

[Mara 29]

"Ah, Mr Warren." He smiled. "I just thought I would check after my first day. Before I went home. The transition went rather smooth, but there are always the few who miss Mrs Jones." Sean made sure to keep the conversation light, not knowing if other teachers were nearby.

* * * * * * *

August had stopped at her window after hanging up her latest artwork and was looking out of it towards the skyline where the ocean met the land. She sighed and leaned her elbows on the sill.

Sometimes she almost wished she needed to study or work hard to make passing grades. But she was one of those loathsome students who had the uncanny ability to just remember everything from a lecture and be able to spit it back out months later on a test without any review. It made her evenings completely dull and empty. Even Bridget would try to do homework, and August knew she would be at home. Or at a boy's house on a "study" date.

She blew some hair out of her face, bored. Then she turned from the window, seeing her art supplies. August glanced back to the window.

Quickly she gathered up her pencils and paper and stuffed them in her messenger bag along with he cell phone and purse, grabbing her car keys on the way out of the room. She stopped in the kitchen to write a note to her mother saying she wouldn't be home for dinner. Then she slipped out of the large house and hurried to her car.

* * * * * * *

Joseph dug his feet a little deeper in the sand after switching his physics book for his calculus one. He had gotten some of the problems done during his study hall and just had to finish up a few more.

Edited May 21, 2008 by Mara

[Rogue 4]

"Ah yes, of course. Well, Mrs Jones was a well-loved teacher." Mr Warren said, before walking back into his office, leaving the door open in case Mr. Reynolds wanted to be annoying and follow. "She's been an establishment here for nearly ten years."

[Mara 29]

He nodded. "Yes. Any more word on her and her baby? Perhaps I should have my classes make her a card."

[Rogue 4]

"Yes, I'm sure she'd love that." Mystique rolled her eyes under the guise of Mr Warren, her back turned to the substitute teacher. "Perhaps more so if she taught kindergarten."

[Vergere 1]

Lance quickly finished up the interview and, with a smile and a handshake, got up and left to head towards the back room to where Kelly was doing some more homework, and left the manager, Phil, in charge of the Cove.

*******

Brett had learned over the last few months that he was able to unconciously affect the light around him. Now, he tried to do it conciously. He didn't want to be found during the airsoft game, so he hid in the trees just behind the treeline and darkened the light around him so that he would be more difficult to spot.

*******

Catalina talked with her instructor for a while before grabbing her things and heading back home to change and head over to the Cove for an afternoon shift. Although she'd have rather practiced more with actual people, she needed the money that a job at the Cove provided her. She glanced around the empty house, and sighed. It definately wasn't like it used to be in Mexico, where she'd come home at any time of day to a house filled with people, oftentimes baking for the next meal. Now in the US, both of her parents had to work, and her siblings were out trying to make friends or enjoy the California lifestyle.

[Ayingel 24]

Lila shrugged. "I dunno...I was thinking about a cell phone...and maybe some new shirts or something." She looked over at Jean. "Dad wired some money into my account and I took it out the other day." She nervously played with her thumbs. "Mind if I turn on some music?" Lila reached for the radio.

[Rogue 4]

"Go ahead." Jean said, wanting to make the girl feel comfortable. The van stopped at a light, and Jean found herself tapping a finger on the steering wheel. "You know, I know that the situation with your parents must be hard. I just want you to know that if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here."

[Drake 53]

Sam was driving along Waterfront Drive, the road that ran alongside the beach and passed the entrance to The Cove. He had some AC/DC turned up and barely heard the computerized voice alert him. After the alert repeated a second time, the music turned down by itself and the female voice repeated itself, "Pay attention, Sam."

"What is it Cadie?" Sam asked. Cadie, or C.A.D.I.E. which stood for Cybernetic Artificial Dynamic Intelligence Engram, was an artificial intelligence program. It, and others like it, was created by Stark Industries and given to SHIELD for use by its operatives. Cadie was installed in both Sam's car and in his house and would cross-update herself whenever the car was near the house.

"As I was saying," said the AI, "I have detected an unidentified mutant signature nearby...and it just used its powers."

Sam's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "A mutant that's not on file? Usually SHIELD's all over that. Whereabouts was it detected?"

Cadie's voice switched to the much more computerized voice of a GPS guide. "Make a left at the next turn." She was certainly programmed with Stark's sense of humour.

Sam looked up ahead and saw the entrance to a parking lot and the cluster of familiar buildings beyond. "The Cove, huh? It's like some kinda mutant...nexus...thing."

"If you say so, sir," came Cadie's slightly sarcastic reply. "The mutant signature was detected 31 metres North-by-Northwest of the structure, on the shore."

Sam drove the Impala into The Cove parking lot and parked in a spot closer to the buildings. He left his weapons hidden in the car. As he was getting out, Cadie blurted out a sarcastic, "Let's hope this one takes it as well as the last one."

"Funny," said Sam. "Arm security." He closed the door and the car locked down.

Making his way around behind The Cove buildings, he walked to the shore and spotted a scruffy-looking kid who was probably only around 16 years old. He looked as though he had just rolled out of bed and into a forest fire. His clothes bore soot and scorch marks and his skin was dirty and scratched, as though he had walked bare foot through the forest. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this kid didn't belong around here.

"Hey, man." He said, in greeting. He didn't want to mess this one up like he did with Natalie Brook. "You look like crap, if you don't mind my saying so. Rough day?"

[Andy 60]

Calvin looked up at the newcomer as he heard the sound of soft footsteps on the sand.

"Nice to meet you too," he replied cautiously, "but yeah you could say that. What's it to you?"

* * *

Chase walked into the lobby of the institute. Apparently he'd just missed Jean, as she had driven out of the garage as Chase had reached the door. "Helloooo," he called, "anyone in?"

[Ayingel 24]

"Thanks, but, I've dealt with it. I'm dead to her and I'm okay with that..." Lila trailed off and looked back at the radio. Without touching the dial, she turned it on and found a classical station she liked. She sat back and looked out the window. "I use to live by the mall, you know. Though, I haven't been there for a few years." Especially since the last time I went shopping was in San Francisco last summer.