Aberrant: Mutant High - What Could Go Wrong?!

[Doryoku]

Sakurako smiled. Wiping away her tears. They were more happy tears to be honest. "This a day trip, Sonja? Perhaps I would like to get a lay of the land as it were... if my roommate is interested."

She smiled. "I should look into getting a proper wardrobe. I didn't pack much in terms of clothing that would be... useable... off campus. I prepared more for different projects, and for school mostly."

[Sunstar]

Natalie looks over at Mori and raises a eyebrow.

"Someone seems awfully happy"

She looks over at Saku

"That sounds like a good idea. Packed clothes and a couple consoles and games, but I'm gonna need to get a desktop pc rig. Folks wouldn't let me take mine."

Her stomach growls.

"But can that wait till after we've eaten?"

[Doryoku]

"Oh of course."

She adjusts her glasses as her stomach growls in agreement. "So again, do we phone a pizza order in or does someone here handle that for us?"

[GDP_ST]

"Well, we could always hit up a drive-through burger place or something on the way to town." Alex suggested to the two girls, giving them both a winning smile. "And there's bound to be a pizza place out there." He wandered over to where Josh, Ari and Sonja were standing with Morri, chewing on his slice of the pie.

"Hey guys." he said by way of greeting as he ate. He also tried not to stare at Sonja: she'd been a lot of girl before her growth spurt... now she was kind of overwhelming. But it wasn't cool to stare: after all, when it came to eye-catching, he wasn't exactly low-profile. "We taking the van?" he asked the Amazonian beauty around a mouthful, the crumb or two of pastry on his lips causing some distraction, especially when a swipe of his tongue cleaned them off. While Josh and Curtis hardly noticed, the girls (other than Morri) mentally despaired at Alex's cluelessness - charming as he was, the guy couldn't be deliberately sexy to save his life. But just watch him sip his coffee, or eat a pie, or absently tug a strand of his golden hair out of his face, and he could raise pulses and lower necklines from across the room. May womankind beware if he actually managed to get that under control.

[Doryoku]

Sakurako fanned herself, opening her sweater. "Something... tells me the heating in this academy isn't very energy efficient."

She blushed as she was finally able to get a good look at Alex. She was also a horrible liar.

"But, this sounds like a brilliant idea... who knows how to drive among us? Since I am 15, I am unable to carry a Driver's Licence."

[z-The Morrigan]

“No!” Morri exclaimed suddenly. “Drive thru food bad! Make more Pie!”

“That takes too long,” Alex said patiently. “Remember it takes an hour to cook? We’re hungry now.”

“Drive thru food bad!” she whined as she reached out and grabbed his arm. Tugging urgently on it, she cajoled, “Alex need good food!”

“We can get pizza-”

The look on her face suggested that pizza was of the devil, and her words confirmed that. “Pee za bad!” She cast about desperately for the words she needed. “Has pee per ronis! Sau sage! Full of… monos! Full of… cals. Ciums! Fossy fates!” Eileen had warned her that these kind of foods were very bad for her; she shouldn’t ever eat them. If poor, weak Alex ate them, he might die! Sak ur rak oh would probably die just from getting close to them!

It was up to Morri to save her friends, apparently from themselves!

[Doryoku]

Sakurako takes her glasses off and stares Morrigan in the face. For the waifish Sakurako to suddenly show a spark of confidence was... brave.

"I have spent 14 years... fourteen... living a life of being told don't eat that... don't play... don't go out without your surgical mask... don't go out... being practically shackled to a wheelchair and forced to eat the most bland... most irredeemably distasteful cuisine that would be considered a pitiable existence if anyone was forced to eat it!"

"By god, I have my freedom, and that freedom means I can eat Pizza whenever the bloody hell I wish. Understood?"

She starts breathing heavily from her rant. "I'm not made of porcelain. And I doubt a Pizza will shorten any of our lives!"

She flips open her glasses. "And I..." She puts her glasses on. "...am going to enjoy it."

[SalmonMax]

Kia covered her mouth to keep from giggling at Morri's outburst, and put a hand on the other girl's shoulder.

"Pizza is a kind of pie though," she reminded her. "And don't worry, there are lots of different kinds of pizza. Some are bad, and some are not so bad. There was a place I used to go to that had these organic pizzas that were SOOOOO GOOD." Kia closed her eyes and rocked her head back in an exagerrated expression of delight. "Anyway, I'm sure New York has something like that too! It's famous for its pizzas, isn't it?"

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia was also forced to suppress a giggle at the outburst, but at Sakurako's rant, she rolled her eyes.

"First of all, how about a Valium with your pizza? Daaamn."

She turned to Morri, and smiled wryly at her.

"Obviously, someone has told Morri that pizza and fast food are bad, and that she shouldn't eat them. Morri, who told you that?"

The young feral didn't answer - she was staring intently at the new girl in a way that made several of the students who were more familiar with her nervous. Sonja glanced at Morri, then at Ari.I

"Probably Ms. Gomez.. she's been working with Morri on some stuff."

"Morri, sometimes adults say we shouldn't do something ever, because they're afraid we're gonna want to do it all the time. Pizza isn't good to eat all the time, but it tastes really good, so Ms. Gomez - Eileen - probably told you not to eat it at all, because she thought you wouldn't want to eat healthy food anymore. But it's okay to eat sometimes, just like fast food. We eat plenty of healthy food here at school, so it's okay to eat something not-healthy sometimes, for fun. But we can ask Ms. Gomez first, if you want."

They were, after all, probably going to have to ask for approval to go out with so many people.. It was the only way to get van keys, and this many people were going to require a van, even without the wheelchair.

Man, this was supposed to be a quick trip in to town to hang out, just a couple of us. Talk about major inflation ...

[Doryoku]

Sakurako cleared her throat, adjusting her collar like it got hotter in the room, she looks to Aradia.

"Sorry... Morri touched a nerve, that's all. I'm a little touchy regarding hen-pecking. That's all."

She knows she just lost her cool. No wonder people are reacting to her like that...

"Sorry, Morri. I shouldn't have gone off like that." Sakurako says with a bow to Morri.

[z-The Morrigan]

The pink girl locked gazes with Morri and began to speak. Within two words, Morri wasn't even hearing the actual words; like most animals, she no longer understood anything but what Sakurako's body language was telling her. And it was telling her that Sakurako was challenging her.

Morri had been delightfully cute all day. It was easy to forget that she was a feral when she was bouncing around singing about pie. It was very easy to forget that the petite nova wasn't just suffering from a lack of social graces but that she was actually, in many ways, a wild animal. Kia's hand drew a soft growl from her, but it was so quiet that Kia's happy bubbling words washed it out. Kia noticed, after she was done talking, that Morri's body was incredibly tense. Aradia's words were likewise lost in the background roar of Morri's blood pounding through her veins. Her instincts demanded she do something, but she did nothing, bound by another's will.

Last week, Morri would have known how to deal with this. She would have pulled a blood weapon and done as she'd done to Jeremy. But this wasn't last week, and the feral had gotten into a lot of trouble with Eileen for that bit of dominance. So now, the feral had no idea what to do, nor the vocabulary to speak her feelings. She had no way of expressing her dominance because Eileen's Rules didn't allow for her to threaten students into submission. So she did the next best thing. She left.

As Sakurako dipped into a bow, Morri took off. By the time that the new student was rising again, she found her apology had been delivered to empty air. The only answer she got was the cafeteria door banging open as the feral exited hastily through it - before she broke one of Eileen's Rules.

There was a second of shock. "Hey, no one's bleeding or on the floor expecting to be bled," Curtis said into the silence. "Definite improvement."

[Doryoku]

Sakurako looked dumbfounded for a moment. Then she turned pale.

"Wait... what do you mean bled? You mean she attacks people? Like physically? Murder-Death-Kill style?"

She trembles... "Oh god..." she whispers... using every ounce of will just to keep from peeing herself in front of her peers.

[Sonja Bahaar]

Dammit!

Like a delicate soap bubble, Morri's bouncy and bubbly attitude popped and she fled/withdrew/left. Sonja sighed - it wasn't anybody's fault, it was just the nature of the beast when people didn't know each others issues. Sonja might have been able to hold it off before getting to this point, or at least would have tried, had she not been a touch - maybe more than a touch - distracted by the summery warmth of Alex standing right next to her.

He was handsome, more than reasonably athletic, played the guitar, was charming and just plain nice, and Barbie and Ken comments aside, he would be an excellent choice for a boyfriend, if she had been looking for one. Glancing down at him, she had to admit the Barbie and Ken comments might have been exchanged for others, now that she towered over him, the top of his head barely reaching her chin. And that was another thing, he was far better than most at not staring at what right under his chin or level with his face than most guys. Mom and Dad would really like him...

Sonja sighed, then leaned over, placing a reassuring hand on Sakurako's shoulder, practically engulfing it with the size disparity between them. "I wouldn't have let it get that far, Sakurako," Sonja assured the new girl, and maybe it because Sonja was so big and developed it made seem more mature, or just something in her voice, a solid confidence, but Sakurako believed her. "Morri has... issues. She's been... hurt bad - it was an alpha-animal-dominance thing. She's been working on it and is making a great deal of progress, really! Not your fault, not her fault - Shit happens, right?"

Sonja straightened up and pulled her pink long-coat closed, then handed her day-pass to Aradia and looked at everyone standing around. "Look, this is just a little hiccup. I'm still up for heading a few hours in the city and I hope you guys are too. How 'bout you go see about getting the van - there's several of us who can drive - at least, I can, if nobody else - and I go find Morri, 'kay?"

With that, the towering blonde - who did indeed have more than a passing resemblance to a certain doll and the more so with her vivid pink coat - followed Morri outside, carefully ducking under the doorway. She caught Morri's lithe form walking briskly - very briskly - down the path, her shoulders tense.

With her long legs - undoubtedly the longest in the school - Sonja easily caught up, walking at her side in companionable silence, the snow crunching under their feet. Well, it crunched under Sonja's at any rate. Even irritated, Morri still stalked with hunter-like silence. When Sonja didn't say anything right away - like telling her what she did wrong - Morri glanced questioningly up at her, but only received a mildly arched brow and only said, "When you're ready, I'd still like you to come with us."

Sonja was willing to let Morri go first, and in her own time. As much as she wanted to head into the city and get a bed she could fit in, she wanted to help her friend more, even if it was only as an ear to listen. And Morri needed friends more than most, after what Ms. Gomez had told her.

[Doryoku]

"Hmm..." Sakurako says, almost completely on emotional neutral.

"Perhaps we should let the pink-coated one raise Morri's spirits... god forbid if she was unstable during the trip." She says with a smirk. "And in the age-old teenage tradition... SHOTGUN!"

"C'mon Natalie! Before the best seats are taken!" Sakurako says, grinning from ear to ear, moving as best she could with a run that looked more like a skip as she was at one hand wanting to go full throttle and risk drawing aggro from a random wandering faculty member and on the other... she'd better not get left behind! She's gonna get to the motor-pool garage.

[GDP_ST]

Alex was left to finish his piece of pie and looking from Aradia, to Curtis, to Kia in a state of bemused frustration. Sonja had gone out after Morri, Sakurako had dragged Natalie out after her, and the remaining four potential day-trippers were still standing in the cafeteria.

"You'd think they'd issue a manual with the welcome pack." he said as he finished eating and set the plate on the dirties rack. "'Welcome to Mutant High. Make no sudden moves or loud noises around Morrigan, and you'll get along fine. Enjoy your stay!'" he joked.

"C'mon, Firefly." Ari grinned at him. "You know they'd have to put something in about wearing shades with you around. You guys coming to town too?" she asked Kia and Curtis. As Kia nodded and Curtis shrugged, the green-glowing-eyed teleporter led the way.

"I don't glow that brightly." Alex protested as they walked down the hallway.

"Glow? Who's talking about a glow? The shades make it easy to ogle you without being noticed." Aradia deadpanned, pointedly taking a pair of sunglasses out of her pocket and slipping them on, a sly grin on her lips. Kia giggled infectiously and pulled out a pair of her own. Alex looked from one to the other, his face a picture.

"You guys suck." he muttered with an embarrassed smile, shoving his hands into his pockets and trying hard not to blush.

[SalmonMax]

Kia stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth falling open as an idea struck her. Then she ran to catch up, grabbing both Aradia's and Alex's arms.

"Guys! I know what we should do! We should totally hit a karoke bar! It'd be SO MUCH FUN! And even Morri can do it, she loves music!"

[Curtis Shane]

Curtis snorted loudly shaking his head. "Are you sure about that? I mean, Morri's having to adapt with our way of things here as is. If a lot of people who don't understand make wrong moves- Mutant Karaoke Carnage, News at Eleven." He stopped and paused with the expressions cast his way. "Fine, exaggeration... a little. Also, I can't sing."

[SalmonMax]

Kia's beaming face metaphoically outshone Alex's for a moment as she skipped over to Curtis to give him a playful shove.

"It's not about singing well, really. It's about having fun! The thing to do if you can't sing is not to take it too seriously. Laugh and joke around while you sing. This one guy I knew in Hawai'i loved karoke but he couldn't sing for the life of him. So he'd go up and recite the lyrics just...conversationally, like he was talking to someone. And it was HILARIOUS. You also have to pick the right song. Like, for you, I'd go with that song that goes 'she blinded me with science.' And really ham it up when you go, 'SCIENCE!'"

[Sunstar]

"Hmm..." Sakurako says, almost completely on emotional neutral.

"Perhaps we should let the pink-coated one raise Morri's spirits... god forbid if she was unstable during the trip." She says with a smirk. "And in the age-old teenage tradition... SHOTGUN!"

"C'mon Natalie! Before the best seats are taken!" Sakurako says, grinning from ear to ear, moving as best she could with a run that looked more like a skip as she was at one hand wanting to go full throttle and risk drawing aggro from a random wandering faculty member and on the other... she'd better not get left behind! She's gonna get to the motor-pool garage.

Cries fake tears.

"Aw, you already took the best spot!"

She said smirking

"Guess I'll sit in the back. Any rules we should follow while we're out and a about?""

[Doryoku]

"Well... I'm not sure about protocol." Sakurako says as she puts her jacket on. "But I'm sure the upperclassmen will fill us in if we make mistakes... or if we have a chaperone there will be standing operating procedure to follow."

"I just hope the van has airbags for all passengers, not just for the passenger-side front seat. Perahps I should look into getting the proper equipment, supplies, and gear to install side airbags and check the feasability of back-mounted airbags for the seats for the rear passengers... hmm... I think that would be appreciated by the faculty and would be a good project for the shop class..."

She adjusts her glasses. "...And... I feel like I just dodged a ballistic projectile. Morri seems... an unstable element."

As Natalie and Sakurako start to pass their Dorm, Sakurako quickly darts in then steps back out after she grabbed her backpack.

"Sorry just wanted to grab my backpack for my laptop and snacks... and a spare first aid kit."

They then start to continue on as she puts her jacket on then slips her backpack on, leaving her laptop under arm eventually.

"Oh, and don't worry about getting some prefab model, I can point you to the best cost vs performance choices for a home built."

She scratches her head. "I wonder if there are any army-navy surplus stores where we're going..."

[Cirque]

"That could be cool! But I'll let you guys try and figure that out, and meet you by the vans. I'll grab the keys, and make sure we won't get reamed for taking the newbies out. Meet you guys by the vans?"

"Sure Ari - that's cool!"

She nodded, and the split up - Kia, Curtis, Alex, and a still slightly flabbergasted Josh went one direction, towards the vehicle storage, and Aradia popped out of existence, reappearing in front of the councilor's office. Part of her hesitated to ask Ms. Gomez, the slightly den-mother like therapist for the Academy's screwed-up kids.. which had been most of them, at one point or another. But at the same time, she felt as if she had a pretty strong case. She knocked lightly, and Eileen opened the door, arching a surprised brow at the young prankster. Aradia wasn't one of the kids whom she spent much time with.. she'd certainly suffered some trauma at a younger age, due to the loss of her parents. But in a way, it seemed to have freed the young mutant up to become more of who she really was, and because of the support of her uncle, her transition to mutant-hood hadn't been nearly as traumatic as many of the other students here.. though Eileen suspected that the rejection by people she'd considered to be like family had hurt the young teleporter more than she cared to let on.

"Aradia? What can I do for you - is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Ms. Gomez.. everything's cool. I just, um.. well, here's the deal. Sonja got her day pass cause she needs to go out and get some clothes and stuff for her new size, except Oneca got her some pretty awesome stuff and left it for her. But she still needs some other stuff, if you know what I mean, including a new mattress to fit her size, which I totally think we're gonna have to go someplace special to get - I mean, do they even MAKE mattresses that big? Maybe a king size, but that's totally gonna be too big for the dorm rooms. Anyway, I was gonna go with her, cause it's no fun to shop alone--"

Eileen noticed at this point that Aradia hadn't said anything about having a day pass, but being too amused by the girl's lengthy monologue, she let her continue without interruption, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"--but then we got downstairs, and started talking, and somehow it kind of turned into a group thing. So now we're hoping we can get permission to take the van, so that Josh can go, and we'll have enough room for everybody else who's coming, which includes a couple of the new kids - I hope that's okay? They seem totally hyped about it, and they're all checked into their rooms and everything, so until winter break's over and classes start, they don't really have anything to do, and this would be an awesome way for them to get to know people! Right?"

[Curtis Shane]

Curtis looked at Kia, like she'd suggested he eat human flesh, 'cause long pig was so tangy and tender. "The words and the way you say them make me wonder whether it's customary to drop coconuts on your head back home." Then an evil look filled his face. If Kia wanted to demean science, with campy words- he could retaliate in kind. "However, I am encouraged to sing Aloha Oe and positively ruin it."

[Sunstar]

"Really? She's unstable? I hadn't noticed." she is clearly being sarcastic

"Thanks Saku. Could use the help in picking out what to get for it"

She then raises an eyebrow when Saku mentions what she's bringing along.

"Damn, Saku. You sound like you're getting ready for a war."

[Doryoku]

"No... I should just be prepared if any one of us is injured in an accident or if I am hurt I have the proper first aid kits on me."

She blinks for a moment. "And if there is a kit on the van I can distribute my spare to whoever might be trained in first aid if we split up into groups."

"It's only a prudent precaution..."

Sakurako was used to having any outing be a massive undertaking before her mutation activated... her Aunt literally had to take her raincoat and umbrella away from her after she got better to actually let her experience rain on her skin for the first time. Sakurako felt practically defenseless without some comfort blanket that assured her she was safe.

She blushes when she remembered her Aunt's lesson. "Umm... I'm doing that again... aren't I... the overly-cautious thing..."

[GDP_ST]

"He sounds serious." Alex told Kia gravely.

"I think he is." she agreed, eyes bright with amusement.

"Well, it'll never happen unless we get there, so..." Alex pushed off the ground, motes of light dancing in his aura as his powers told Earth's gravity to take a hike. "Last one to the Mutie-Mobile has to sing a duet with Morri." he told the others with a wide grin, before streaking off at roughly twice head-height. He wasn't going all-out, but at 100 mph was more than sufficient on school grounds.

"Umm... I'm doing that again... aren't I... the overly-cautious thing..."

Just as she was settling her laptop case on its strap over her shoulder, Sakurako and Natalie both saw Alex flash past overhead like a comet, trailing solar radiance and points of light like dancing fireflies. Change the guitar for a harp, the jeans for a robe, and give him some wings and there'd have been some basis for an angel sighting. They looked at each other.

"You think he's going to get there first?"

"Uh-huh."

"You think he knows about shotgun? Do they have shotgun in Britain?"

As it happened, Alex did know about shotgun, but he was distracted from the straight-line path to the parking lot by the sight of a vivid pink coat. Correctly assuming it was Sonja and Morri, the glowing boy twisted like a fish in mid-air and altered course, slowing and dropping to land with only a slight skid in the snow about ten feet away from the girls.

"Hey Morri." he said, eyes bright with the joy of briefly flying and the stray locks of his hair in his face doing absolutely nothing to lessen his appeal to poor Sonja. "Would you like to come to town with us? Kia suggested we find a karaoke place - people go there to sing. And pizza isn't really bad for us, not if we don't have it all the time." He cocked his head and gave her a big smile. "Come on, it'll be fun."

[Doryoku]

"Well, looks like we can fly here after all..."

She hovers upward. "But... I'll be honest this isn't a race."

She starts to smile and flies forward at a bit faster than a walk pace. "At least at this altitude a fall is more... forgiving."

"I'm... sorry if I seem troublesome, Natalie. I'll... try not to be irritating to you in our dorm."

[SalmonMax]

Kia laughs at Alex's antics and waves her hand at the other girls in a 'follow me' gesture.

"See you guys at the car!"

Then she crouched, bunching up her legs...and leapt.

It was easy to forget Kia was a mutant. She looked and acted so nomal, all the time. Even at the school, she didn't flaunt her powers. Most students didn't even know what her powers were. So watching her jump propel her up and over on a long ballistic trajectory had a kind of semi-real 'was it photoshopped' feel to it. Only for a moment though. This was, after all, a school where things like that happened all the time. Sakurako hovering in mid air nearby drew a line under that.

As for Kia...she noticed Alex change course while she was in midair, but short of growing wings...which would slow her down...she couldn't change direction. She figured he'd be along soon enough anyway.

She landed in the parking lot with a loud pumf, splaying out low to the ground as she absorbed the shock of impact. An instant later she sprang to her feet and looked around to see if she could tell which car was the lucky one.

[z-The Morrigan]

“You have another thing to worry about. To get you all off campus, you’ll need passes,” Eileen pointed out, still smiling.

“Oh… uh…”

“Relax,” Eileen said with a smile as she found a notepad. “Just tell me who’s going.”

Ari began to list everyone involved; Eileen was filling out forms without hesitation until she heard “the Morrigan”. Aradia noticed her pen falter, and the teacher looked up at her. “Morri’s going?”

“Yeah… unless she’s not allowed off campus,” Aradia said hesitantly.

“No, it’s not that… please tell Sonja to keep an eye on her. Morri’s had a rough life and tends to react in unusual ways,” Eileen said, pulling off a pass for her ward as well. “I trust Sonja to watch her.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Morri said nothing to Sonja for a long moment. The giant blonde waited quietly, letting Morri work through whatever it was she needed to work though in her head. “Sick-pink go?” Morri asked suddenly.

“Yes, she’s still coming,” Sonja confirmed.

“No go!” Morri snapped before Sonja could try to persuade her otherwise.

“Why not Morri? She’s sorry. You just were gone before you could see,” Sonja said softly.

Morri bared her teeth. “No go. Break rules. No go!” A red knife materialized in her hand as if to emphasize her point. That defiance disappeared a moment later when Alex dropped out of the sky; the hand holding the weapon disappeared behind her back. Of course, once it was there, she couldn’t drop it. That’d be obvious. Nor could she dematerialize it; her powers didn’t work that way. So the mutant stood with her hand behind her back and tried to pretend she wasn’t hiding something behind her back. It worked about as well as it did for anyone attempting that maneuver.

[GDP_ST]

Alex stopped and blinked as the scene he'd landed in caught up with him, the flash of red almost as vivid as Sonja's pink coat against the drab winter landscape. Morri was not in a Happy Mood, that much was plain. I really don't want to get stabbed. Sonja's bullet-resistant, but I'm not. There's a dozen and one students at this school better suited to dealing with an angry Morrigan than me...

"Morri?" he said gently, stepping forwards and angling between Sonja and the strangely-guilty looking feral mutant. Morri backed up a little, trying to keep her hand firmly behind her back and looking almost pitifully contrite. "Hey, it's okay." Alex said soothingly as his animal hindbrain babbled variations on the theme of RUN! at him. "We're friends, right? You, me, Sonja. You can drop the knife-thing - or keep it, if you want to." Blue eyes regarded her solemnly, small motes of gold dancing in their depths. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, Morri. We would like it if you came and had fun with us, but you don't have to. The important thing is that you're okay." He smiled again, smelling of fear to her senses but also smelling of something else, and cocked his head inquisitively at her.

"Okay, Morri?"

[z-The Morrigan]

“No okay!” He’d seen the blade and she’d scared him. Morri guiltily dropped the blade behind her back, flinching as it splashed to the snow behind her. “No go, break rules, no go. Hurt Sick-Pink.”

“Sakurako?” Alex guessed.

Morri nodded. “She…” words failed her, and in desperation, she held up both her hands. She pressed her fingertips of each hand together as if making shadowplay on a lit wall. The two hands faced each other for a moment, Morri growling softly. Then the hands went back and forth like they were arguing before the right hand jumped at the left and savagely ‘attacked’ it. “No! Bad!” Morri snarled to the right hand. “Break Rules!” The hands went at it again, only this time the right hand ran away, hiding behind Morri’s back. “Good. Good.” Sad but proud red eyes locked with Alex’s bright blue ones. “Morri good. Morri no break Rules.”

[GDP_ST]

"Yeah, you are good." Alex nodded. "And Sakurako was being... well, herself I guess. You were right not to attack her, Morri, but she was wrong to be mean to you. I think she's sorry now, and she won't do that-" he mimicked her pantomime of a face-off with his hands "-again. If she tries, we won't let her, will we Sonja?"

"That's right, Morri." Sonja nodded definitely. "We'll look out for you."

"Like you look out for us." Alex added with a wide smile. "And we can show you how to stand up for yourself without hurting people, too. Like when sick-pink, uh, Sakurako, was being aggressive with words. You can defend with words. Tell her to 'calm down' or, if she makes you angry, say 'back off'. Unless the other person is a total wanker... that's like a jerk, I guess." he amended as he heard a snort from Sonja. "Well, unless they're a jerk, they'll stop. I don't think Sakurako's a jerk, I think she was just sick for a long time, and that's like being in a hospital where everyone tells you what to do and what to eat. And now she's better, she wants to be free. And she gets angry when she feels she can't be free." Alex searched Morri's face for comprehension, smiling hopefully. "You see?"

[Sunstar]

"Well, looks like we can fly here after all..." She hovers upward. "But... I'll be honest this isn't a race." She starts to smile and flies forward at a bit faster than a walk pace. "At least at this altitude a fall is more... forgiving." "I'm... sorry if I seem troublesome, Natalie. I'll... try not to be irritating to you in our dorm."

Natalie lifts off herself, with a slight crackle of electricity.

"Nah, it's fine. I can see you're just having a little problems adjusting to being healthy."

Poor girl, she thinks. I really need to help her lighten up and learn to live a little.

She proceeded to fly close to Saku

[Doryoku]

Sakurako and Natalie fly down the halls to the doors and eventually to where the vans and other school vehicles are, where she sees Alex and the rest talking to... Morri again.

Sakurako lands near the van and starts investigating it. Now she wishes she had a pressure gauge to check the tire pressure. She kicks the tires a bit to check how firm they were and looks underneath for any rusted bits that looked like a potential safety risk.

Seeing none that were glaring... although the underside could use a good cleaning... she felt safe enough to ride in it.

[Curtis Shane]

Curtis continued up to the van, and blinked as he saw Sakurako inspecting the van. "I didn't know we were in need of inspection." He dryly commented to the freshman. "Or are you an aspiring car mechanic?"

[z-The Morrigan]

Morri made a frustrated noise. It wasn’t being attacked. “No know words!” she huffed angrily. “Sah Kuu Rock Ow… make higher! Do eyes! Higher hurt lower! Morri be higher! Morri need higher!”

“I don’t understand,” Alex said, that hopeful smile fading.

The words weren’t there. They just weren’t and Morri gave a small scream. Alex jumped but Sonja understood, quickly saying, “It’s okay, Morri. I know you’re trying to explain. Take as long as you need. We’re going to keep trying to understand.” She carefully put her hands on Morri’s shoulders, hoping the touch soothed the wild girl.

It worked a little. Unfortunately, it sparked something else in Morri – the reminder that she had more than words. She could show Alex what she meant. She stepped forward, seized the collar of his coat and pulled his head down. Alex had a terrified second where he wondered if he was about to be forced to do to Morri what she had done to Sonja. Then her arm curled around his head and her hand firmly cupped his chin, holding his face in place as she leaned down. Alex’s next thought, She’s going to rape-kiss me! was wrong too.

Morri bit his nose.

It wasn’t a hard bite or painful, but it was bite. Morri held it long enough to make sure he’d felt it; then she released him. “Morri higher Alex,” she stated. “Sah Kuu Rock Ow higher eyes. Morri need higher. Morri go make higher. Morri need words make higher. Morri fight make higher if no words.” She waited for them to provide her with the words to gain dominance over Sakurako.

This is what Morri did to Alex:

[SalmonMax]

"Maybe she's thinking about buying it," Kia said mischievously as she walked over, spotting her friends from across the lot where she'd landed.

She grinned at Sakurako and changed her tone, injecting a parody of used-car-salesman smarminess. "What do I have to do to get you driving off the lot in this van TODAY? Hey, did you see the vanity mirror? Great for putting on makeup while on the go. And check the dual-row seating...perfect for when you have to bring the kids!"

[GDP_ST]

Alex blinked, his hand reflexively checking his nose as he absorbed what had just happened. Make higher... she sees it as a dominance issue? Shit, where do we even start...?

"Morri, it's not like that." he started. "In school, we don't bite each other to make higher. That's against the rules. It's called being a bully. And you can bully with words, but it's still wrong. The first thing you should do if someone acts like Sakurako did is tell them that they upset you. Sometimes that's all it takes, and they'll say sorry."

"If not say sorry?" Morri asked patiently.

"Then you ignore them. They can't make you do anything. If they keep being jerks, then you find a teacher, or go to Ms Gomez. Or you can come and find Sonja, or me, and we can deal with them." Sonja nodded agreement with a smile, and Morri looked up at the amazonian young woman, then somewhat critically at Alex.

"Sonja, yes." She pointed at the glowing boy. "Alex no. Alex sick. Weak. No fight."

"I wasn't... Wait." Blue eyes narrowed. "You weren't just demonstrating, were you?" He tapped his nose. "You think you're higher than me?" He wasn't sure whether to scowl or laugh.

"Alex nice. No fight. Let Curtis touch. Curtis higher Alex. Alex too weak fight." Morri shifted her footing slightly. Alex was looking at her in a strange way, and he smelled... angry.

"You're pretty inoffensive, Alex." Sonja said with a smile, trying not to laugh. "Not that that's a bad thing." Alex's golden-tinted features darkened.

"I did not-" he took a deep breath, then another, his expression one of a man struggling for patience, before his mouth snapped tight in a thin line. "You know what? Forget it." he said curtly. He felt angry, and wasn't sure why he was angry. There was something that really irked him about this, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. "I get it. I do."

"Aw, c'mon Alex." Sonja began. "She didn't mean-"

"Yes! She did mean it." Alex raised his voice, anger thrumming underneath it as he turned away, then turned back. "And why should she think different?" he demanded. "After all, I don't go around dragging my fucking knuckles on the goddamned ground looking to punch someone in the face to prove how manly I am, do I?!" He was pacing now, waving his arms as he vented at the world in general. "I don't dress like a thug and swagger like a tomcat needing his balls cut off and generally act like a fucking ape. So of course I'm the weak guy! I'm not strong, or fast, or tough. I don't heal like Morri or Kazuo. As far as Morri is concerned, Alex's mutant power is flight and god-damned glowing."

"Alex-" Sonja tried to interrupt, but Alex wasn't having it.

"There's a good reason I don't square up to other guys and get into mutant pissing-matches." he told Morri. "There's a reason I'm nice, other than the fact I can't stand dickheads. Here. I'll show you." He turned, looking around angrily, and spotted a large, moss-covered rock amongst the trees 20 feet away. He knew he was being an ass, and that Morri didn't mean any harm... but his pride had taken a few knocks recently, what with his parents and Violet dumping him and now Morri treating him like the pack omega. The anger, angst and resentment mixed explosively with teenage testosterone and by God, he wanted to break something. He felt that hot knot of violence and released it all at once.

To the watching Sonja and Morri, Alex's soft glow flared, the firefly motes of light becoming molten sparks seconds before seeming to catch fire, surrounding the youth with a corona of golden fire that flickered and danced all over his body. The nimbus brightened around his head, a literal halo, and a beam of solar radiation so concentrated and bright that it went from gold to almost-white ripped the air open between him and the rock with a sound that was somewhere between a sizzle and a roar. This was different from the light gold beams which he'd used to incinerate hockey pucks and light candles, Sonja realised. Standing ten feet away and to the side, she and Morri felt the heat of that blast like an oven door opening.

The top half of the rock exploded in a shower of molten stone, droplets falling around the sheared-off stump, and the searing white-gold light winked out, leaving afterimages in the air. The snow under the path the energy had travelled had evaporated, and the earth under that was scorched black but for a line of glass in the exact middle.

"There." Alex said with some grim satisfaction as he looked over at Sonja and Morri. "How's that?"

There was a groan of protesting wood as, behind the rock, three trees that had been incidentally sliced clean-through slid over with a staccato crash, their stumps smoldering slightly. Alex blinked as he beheld this collateral damage, mild chagrin mixing with his satisfaction.

[Doryoku]

Sakurako brushes off her jacket.

"Ah... actually that was for my own benefit. It helps my own peace of mind."

She holds out her hand. "Sakurako Hino. And you are?" She says with a smile.

[z-The Morrigan]

There was no ‘Sonja and Morri’. There was only Sonja and a path of broken snow showing where Morri had been. There were also some swaying branches, marking where she’d entered the thick pine woods. But of the girl herself, there was no sign.

Morri ran. She could keep a hard pace for a long time and she was moving as fast as she’d dared.

What Alex had done had been terrifying. Morri had felt safe around the school, assured that she was strong enough to fight any comers. She needed to be dominant, to keep herself safe. But there was no way for her to fight that. She’d seen dozens of physical mutants and she knew how to fight them. But that was just light and fire and death. There were no moves to deflect it, no ways to slice that light, and no way to defend herself.

She’d had two choices; jump Alex while his back was turned, just after he’d unleashed that attack and hope she got a lucky shot, or run like hell before he made himself higher and hurt her. In her experience, those who were higher hurt you. If they defeated you in combat, they left you broken and beaten – or they put you in a cage.

She’d die first. But for now, running was an option.

She was leaving tracks in the snow and the young mutant ducked under a branch, forging deeper into the trees, where there was no snow and it’d be harder to track her. Her mind was surveying the grounds; she’d been over most of them and knew them inside and out. The stream was somewhere ahead and Morri angled a bit east, seeking it for cover.

If Alex could do that, what could Sonja do? What could any of them do to her? Curtis she was sure was lower than her, but that was only one person. Eileen she’d have to kill fast but she could take her. Alex had shown her that she wasn’t safe here, that anyone could reveal themselves to be suddenly higher. It was better to go, better to be with the animals. She could go South. She wasn’t sure where South was, other than it was warmer and in front of you if you put your left shoulder to the rising sun. But Eileen had said it was warmer. Of course, Af Rica was south, too, but Eileen had said it was across a lot of water, so if Morri didn’t cross any big bodies of water, she’d be safe. Thoughts of leaving Eileen brought a pang of sadness, but the young feral was ruled by her fear and didn’t stop.

The steam was in a gully; Morri could have jumped it easily but she dropped into the stream instead. The landing threw water up over her, drenching almost everything below her waist and instantly soaking through her boots. Worse, she slipped on the bottom and plunging deeper, soaking most of the rest of her. But she didn’t stop running; she simply clambered to her feet and began to use the stream to hide her path. If she remembered, right, this stream ran mostly south and would take her off of school property. Surely that would cover Alex’s territory, and he’d let her go if she got off the grounds.

If not, she would die rather than be lower, than be beaten.

[Sonja Bahaar]

Sonja's eyes widened in shock as in a fit of pique, Alex unleashed a torrent of searing, destructive sunlight. Note to self, don't get Alex mad at you... the blonde bombshell thought irritably. With afterimages dancing in her vision, Sonja glanced down to share a look of mutual disapproval of Alex's actions with Morri, only to find her gone. Dammit! With her nose-biting and top-dog/bottom-dog mentality, Morri's just been knocked for a loop... As the trees crashed down behind Alex, Sonja's irritation began rising to disappointed anger.

"Feeling all manly now, Alex?" Sonja commented sardonically, crossing her arms beneath her breasts and frowning down at the sheepish Alex with the weight of her disapproval. Barbie-Doll figure or no, no one had ever accused of Sonja being a lightweight and at seven-feet tall and built with it, that was an awful lot of weight. Alex's satisfaction faded under increasing chagrin as Sonja skewered him with one of a woman's deadliest weapons - a sharp sniff.

"Congratulations. You can act like a douchebag." She snorted as she unfolded her arms and rolled her shoulders, beginning to turn to chase after Morri, again, to explain, if she could. "Dickhead," she muttered over a shoulder, but her anger at Alex was softening under his expression of honest contrition. "Yeah, I know, I know, just... whatever. I'm gonna catch-up to Morri and try to explain... somehow."

"We'll catch-up," Alex emphasized, the golden aura flaring as he rose off the ground and brought himself eye-to-eye with the Amazonian teen. "This is my fault, I should be the one to explain."

Sonja held up a restraining hand, the other fishing in her pocket for her iPhone. "Not so fast. I don't think that's such a good idea, Alex. I don't think Morri's gonna want to... talk with you, not yet. Let me talk to her first, see if I can swing her around to where she does, 'kay?" Reluctantly, Alex nodded and Sonja gave him a brief smile of commiseration. "How 'bout you fly straight up and give me a call, leading me to where she is, if I can't find her?"

"Alright."

With that, Sonja pounded off into the woods, each long stride faster than the one before it. The trail through the snow was easy enough to follow, the trail under the trees where snow was sparse was... less so. Well, if she couldn't track like a hunter, she'd do it the brute force method, of which she had plenty. Already going faster than any car, Sonja began accelerating to jet aircraft velocity, canvasing the woods and calling out Morri's name, insisting she wanted to talk, to explain, that yes, Alex was being bad and was very sorry about it.

Her phone began ringing with REM's 'Shining Happy People'. "You see her, Alex?"

"I think so, running down the stream. I think that's her, hard to pick out details this high up, but its moving fast. It has to be her."

"On it."

"Other way down the stream, Sonja."

"Right."

Running so swiftly water tension was letting her skim the surface, Sonja raced down the stream, slowing down as soon as Morri came into view around a bend and began pacing her with long, effortless lopes. Morri tried to surge ahead, but Sonja kept up easily. "Morri, please, stop running. You can't keep running from me, and you can't keep running from this. Let me try to explain, 'kay? There is no higher and lower, as you say. We all stand on the same ground. It's how they act and how you see them that determines where they stand. What Alex did, that made him, uh, stand lower. And he wants to apologize."