Aberrant: Mutant High - Nerves

[Kazuo]

"Oy! What the hell is this?!"

"Uh... those are the mashed potatoes, young man, and you need to watch your language."

"Yeah, whatev- hey, hey, hey! Keep that goop offa my plate!"

"But it's just gravy! It's very good with mashed potatoes. You don't want any?"

"Hell no! Jeezus. You people at least got any rice here?"

...............

For Kazuo, getting food at an American-style buffet was a bit of an adventure - and not the kind he particularly enjoyed. And the Japanese youth was already in a bad mood. Exactly why was up for debate, but it probably had something to do with his ripped and bloodied shirt. The jacket he had slung over one arm looked to be in worse shape. In fact, he simply chucked the shredded thing into a garbage can he passed after he'd finished carefully selecting what other unknown foods he would try today.

The job of selecting food and discarding destroyed clothing done, Kazuo turned to look for a place to sit, preferably with as few other mutant-kiddies around as possible. Spotting one, he made for it with his typical Kazuo-style swagger, which was marred somewhat by the fierce scowl that just didn't seem to want to leave his face. With his scarred profile, one eye, and a shredded and bloodied shirt that provided glimpses of the many, many other scars the young man's body sported, Kazuo provided for quite the intimidating sight. This situation was not alleviated by the fact that he seemed to having a very unpleasant internal monologue with himself as he walked.

*fuckingpsychotickujobitchglowyeyedfreaking--*... *

It was in this frame of mind that Kazuo Kanai sat down at Warren's table, entirely oblvious of the fact that the anti-social mutant had only just cleared it of all of its previous occupants (not that he would have cared much if he had known), and began to poke cautiously at his mashed potatoes with a disgusted look on his face...

*-- Translated from the Japanese.

[Warren Verona]

He'd barely gotten the first bite into his mouth when Kazuo sat down like he was welcome at the table. He didn't notice the glare on him as he poked through his mashed potatoes, but had he it was a look that said "what the hell're you doing?"

He went back to eating, digging for another bite as the people around them at the nearby tables started clearing away. The two had 'establish dominance' written all over them and didn't take a mega-egghead to notice that worlds were about to collide.

"I eat alone." Warren said, calmly and matter-of-fact. "Leave."

[Stargaizer]

It was about that time that someone with keen ears would be able to hear the sound of a power chair coming from down the hall, making it's way towards the cafeteria.

Mere moments later, it could be seen turning the corner and coming into the cafeteria, bearing a young, skinny boy along with it. He looked to be in his mid teens, 15 or 16, and he was still wearing a white lab coat with his safety goggles hanging from one of his armrests. He was average looking (except for the power chair, of course), with short cropped brown hair, green eyes and pasty white skin. It was apparent that he didn't get out much.

Students that weren't new but had been at the Academy less than 3 years would know Josh as a staple of the school. As far as they knew he'd always been there... at least in the science lab. Students who had been at the Academy more than 3 years would've remembered him coming in, and would be privy to the accounts of the car accident that sent him here and the rumors that he was in the legal custody of the school.

But, seeing as how the cafeteria was mostly full of brand new people, they just know him as a teen in a lab coat and a wheelchair.

He deftly made his way up to the serving line, maneuvering the power chair with a grace that came from years of practice. His tray and plate seemed to move of their own volition as he moved down the line, loading up on the meats (including the dreaded meatloaf) and starches and going light on the veggies.

[Kazuo]

"I eat alone." Warren said, calmly and matter-of-fact. "Leave."

Kazuo Kanai stopped poking at his potatoes just long enough to spare Mr. Mega-Social a brief, disinterested glance before going back to his potatoes again. "Yeah, I bet you do. Baka...", he muttered sarcastically, and then shoved a mound of potatoes into his mouth with a look of (over)confident self-satisfaction on his face.

His expression changed almost as soon as the potatoes were in his mouth however, and for a few seconds all Kazuo could do was scrunch his face up in disgust and try not to vomit. He finally managed to swallow it all down with a look of stoic fatalism in his eye.

"Kimoi!", he said with total conviction, and then promptly readjusted his fork's aim so that it was pointed at the green beans. He seemed to have forgotten entirely that Warren was even there.

[Warren Verona]

"Ya know what, I just lost my appetite." Warren said coldly, pushing his tray away from him. "Enjoy, Scarface."

He got up and walked away from the table just as purplish trails of energy snaked through the tray and everything on it. Kazuo chewed about twice until he noticed and before his awareness for trouble caught up with him the contents exploded into a vile sounding, gooey mess that he was wearing. Gravy dripped from his nose as mashed potatoes slid slowly down his cheek in a culinary tear before plopping down from his chin into his lap. Perhaps the straw that broke the camel's back was the way the meatloaf had landed perfectly atop his head oozing it's sauce down his forehead.

"Enjoy." Warren said already a couple of steps away from the detonation. He wasn't laughing or grinning and Kazuo knew what that meant: it wasn't about embarrassing him, he was challenging him to do something about it. Especially the way he already has back turned as if to signify that he had nothing to worry about from a guy like Kazuo.

To the credit of the lunchroom, only the strongest and largest even bothered to react and that was just a muffled snicker. A sudden hush descended over the room...

Security was already on a radio for back up.

[Sonja Bahaar]

Sonja had cleaned her plate and had began to finish off Jamie's - she had one hell of a metabolism and she still wasn't sure where it all went (though several guys had theories) - went she heard the muffled splat! followed by a wary silence.

She turned around and stood up, not looking forward to stopping another fight, then paused. The cause of the silence was obvious. One guy who looked like he lost a fight with a woodchipper - by the brand name of Morri - wearing lunch on his face and another guy in a longcoat who might as well have had 'Rebellious Loner' stenciled on his forehead. She didn't know which had started what... Worse she didn't know which was more dangerous or even what the hell they could do!

Still having an itch in the side courtesy of Morri, she thought maybe she'd let the alpha males duke it out - or for security to take care of it. She'd just play damage control.

"Jamie," Sonja bent over and whispered, "be ready to open a portal... just in case, of course. I'm sure nothing will happen." Muscles tensed, Sonja surreptitiously began edging for a table of elementary kids who looked far more excited than worried... Just in case, of course.

[Weft]

Jamie nodded grimly, but to herself she was thinking, If it would diffuse the violence faster, might just send a well-placed singularity at one of 'em. But then she shook that thought away. No. Better not to throw petrol on the fire.

She crooked her fingers, feeling space dance around them, and followed Sonja.

Her eyes never left the two combatants.

[Kazuo]

"AhRegh?!!"*, yelled Kazuo, leaping out of his seat while attempting to wipe off all of the goop that now covered most of his upper body.

Kazuo glared in the direction of the departing Warren and, with teeth bared and a voice that sounded more like a growl, he shouted, "AhonDAHRAH bookoRrrohSheet-eh YAHRROoh!!", trilling his 'r's like a Mexican on amphetamines.

Maybe it was Kazuo's shouting, or something about his posture or his expression, or something, but all of a sudden he had a ROOM-FILLING presence, and that Presence was fucking scary! Kids at surrounding tables had already been in the process of scattering, but now they were nearly falling over each other in their effort to put distance between themselves and Kazuo Kanai.**

The Asian youth himself seemed largely oblivious to the effect he was having though, as his eyes (well, "eye") were only for his new Nemisis. With a sneer that was also a cruel smile, Kazuo shot one foot out and kicked the end of the lunch table he and Warren had just been sitting at, which immediately shot across the floor at high speed - directly at the departing Warren's back!

Originally Posted By: OOC

*-- "Are?" (translation: an exclamation of surprise and - in this context - anger. "WTF?"), "Ahondara" (translation: asshole), "Bukkoroshite yaru" (translation: I'm gonna kick your ass)

**-- OOC: He just turned on the general effect of Rancor, which basically makes everyone in the room want to get away from him. Subjects who wish to resist are supposed to roll Willpower against a difficulty equal to his Mega-Charisma. This is an OW fic however, so I'll trust you guys to just roleplay it out however you think is appropriate for your character, rather than clogging up the thread with silly dice rolls. The point is simply that he just went from being really scary, to piss-your-pants scary.

[Warren Verona]

His expression went from defiance to confusion as Kazuo blurted off profanities in a foreign tongue. I'm guessing that's not 'oh great one, I bow to your awesomeness'.

The racket of the table sliding his way came faster than he had expected; it slammed into his back like he'd just gotten plowed-over by a speeding car. He rolled over it and hit the ground on one knee. Yeah, didn't think so. Coughing, he stood and held out his arms in a challenge. "Think I can't take a hit? Let's go."

Scooping up a random food tray he whipped it like a frisbee right at the Japanese youth as he closed the distance between them. The simple thing should have just bounced right off Kazuo's skin, but not this one. In mid flight it sparked with coruscating violet energy and slammed into him with enough kinetic force to knock him back several steps.

No sooner had he recovered than Warren was on him. Kazuo dodged the first swing and ducked low to avoid the second, coming up and smashing Warren in the gut and following it up with a fierce elbow to the face.

Warren took both shots and was still on him. Rearing back from the elbow he lunged forward and smashed his forehead into Kazuo's nose...

The security guy swallowed hard. This was going to be a long day...

[Stargaizer]

At the sound of the spat, and the following silence, Josh turned around with his tray to see what was going on.

Sheesh... freshmen... do they ever change?

Through the silence, one of the only sounds that could be heard was Josh's power chair moving to the and from the cash register.

Then came Kazuo's scream and entire change of demeanor. Most of the students, especially the younger ones, started to trip over themselves in an effort to get away. If he were honest with himself, there was a part of him that wanted to put his chair on the highest speed setting and get the heck out of dodge. But, years of being a cripple and the trauma of learning how to live again, mixed with his high and lofty ideals for a peaceful coexistance between humans and mutants left him with an inner resolve that let him stay.

He watched the scene unfold, hoping that this was just some strutting that would blow over relatively uneventfully.

Then he had to go and kick the table... rather forcefully at that...

... what the... oh my... jeez... *sigh*

Josh wasn't quick enough to stop the table from hitting Warren, but hopefully there was something he could do to help break up the fight.

Josh sat his try down at the cash register and wheeled towards the fight. He tried to impart enough momentum into Warren to seperate the two of them a fair distance. Then he spoke up, hopefully loud enough to get their attention:

"Hey, GUYS! Break it up! There's nothing here worth killing another mutant over! So if this is a pissing contest, take it elsewhere. Otherwise pull yourselves together!"

Click to reveal..

If I need to roll, I can, but only once I get home. Just figured we could RP it out, and I didn't want to call a hit.

[GDP_ST]

A tall, athletic youth stepped in next to the kid in the power chair at that point, his form surrounded by harsh little flares which danced and flickered in the solar haze of his aura. Alex fixed his blue eyes on Warren, then Kazuo, trying to reason rather than impose. His hands were up and open, palms facing the two combatants. He spoke in a calm and calm-ing tone.

"He's right, there's no point to this, guys. All you're doing is getting yourselves hip-deep in the shit. Whatever the fight's about, it's not worth getting kicked out of here, is it?" Alex kept his gaze moving from one man to the other, hoping like hell to hear the sounds of the cavalry soon.

[V. Vincent]

(Continued from Shining Bright)

Oh, no… He’s not. Violet stared in shock as Alex set his jaw and actually walked towards the two mutants. He seemed intent on intervening, no matter how horrible things looked, though she was at least a little relieved that he’d be taking their attention off Josh.

Unable to move, rooted to the spot by a potent mixture of fear and fascination, she could only wring her hands and berate herself internally for not doing something about it, herself.

I could make them stop, maybe… Right, and then what? They come looking for me later? When I’m alone? No, thank you. Besides… Security’s gotta do something soon, right?

As she watched the conflict escalate, she bit her lip and hoped no one was hurt.

…Right?

[Curtis Shane]

Curtis waited nervously, eying the fight and the attempts to break it up. Things were tense, and despite the truth of the fact, something in him did not want to yell... "People like you are part of the reason mutants are hated, when you act with disregard to everyone else who could get hurt!"

Dang. The words were out of his mouth.

[Kazuo]

Kazuo's head jerked back as Warren's forehead slammed into his nose. Kazuo was pretty sure the little bastard had just broken the thing, but he figured, hey, it'll get better. So, at the apex of his head-jerking-backwards, he tensed his neck muscles, and then slammed his forehead right back into Warren's nose.

Turn about's fair play, bitch.

After that, things got really ugly. Warren had seemed so utterly unprepared for having his own nose broken right after breaking another guy's nose, that Kazuo himself was seriously caught off-guard when he found himself experiencing the sensation of Warren's knee pressing itself forcefully against his testicles at high velocity. It totally sucked!

Taking advantage of Kazuo's temporary regression into infancy, Warren slammed his other knee into the bastard's face with a viciousness that produced an audible wince and groan from the other watching high schoolers, and then followed that up with a few violent jabs to the back with his elbow. And for a moment, it looked like that might be it - that the scarred Japanese kid was gonna go down.

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, Kazuo had a grip on Warren's ankles and quicker than most in the room could follow he'd flipped Warren onto his ass. Once he was down Kazuo tried to field-goal kick the poor guy right in the nuts, but Warren not only managed to block the kick with both hands, he actually seemed to use the momentum of the kick to get himself back on his feet. Immediately, he lunged at Kazuo in an attempt at getting another swing in, but Kazuo stepped to one side and got one arm up under Warren's, and the other he wrapped around his neck, effectively locking him into a rather painful-looking hold.

And then the fuckin' Preacher Squad chimed in and completely ruined the vibe:

Originally Posted By: Josh

"Hey, GUYS! Break it up! There's nothing here worth killing another mutant over! So if this is a pissing contest, take it elsewhere. Otherwise pull yourselves together!"

Originally Posted By: Procyon

"He's right, there's no point to this, guys. All you're doing is getting yourselves hip-deep in the shit. Whatever the fight's about, it's not worth getting kicked out of here, is it?" Alex kept his gaze moving from one man to the other, hoping like hell to hear the sounds of the cavalry soon.

Originally Posted By: Curtis

Curtis waited nervously, eying the fight and the attempts to break it up. Things were tense, and despite the truth of the fact, something in him did not want to yell... "People like you are part of the reason mutants are hated, when you act with disregard to everyone else who could get hurt!"

Dang. The words were out of his mouth.

Kazuo and Warren both stopped their struggling, and for an instant, there was hope that the fight had been averted.

But then, eyes still bulging from the force of Kazuo's arm against his neck, Warren's one free arm shot straight out, while Kazuo partially released his hold of Warren's other arm and shoved his hand as far in the direction of the 'preachers' as it would go.

And in that moment, as the two thugs stood proudly, with their middle fingers pointed straight at the sky, they were united in heart and purpose.

Then Warren shoved the back of his head into Kazuo's nose again (which had to've hurt like a motherfucker), which caused the scarred asshole to lose his grip on the greasy haired bastard, and the whole cycle of violence started all over again.

[Sonja Bahaar]

As Sonja neared the elementary kids, she saw the look on the one-eyed Japanese guy's face and swallowed at the rage she saw, not helped in the least by his string of gibberese. She stood in front of the younger kids, intent on keeping the action away from them, but no way in hell was she inclined to intervene.

After some of the kids swore at her for being in the way - Filthy mouths on them - and two girls remarking on the Real Life Barbie Doll, she was considering tossing the lot of them into fray and see how fast they would be made into Badass Paté, but stifled the impulse.

Damn, they're really kicking the shit out of each other! She watched several others try to intervene, then saw Badass One and Badass Two's joint response. Then they proceeded to pummel each other once more.

Despite herself, she snickered. Then she looked around, hoping no one noticed during the continuing fracas.

[V. Vincent]

Crap. Crap, crap, crap, Violet fretted, biting her thumbnail as she glanced frantically from the kids scrambling to escape, to the fascinatingly brutal young warriors, and then to the few who were attempting to stop the fighting. It was so much worse than she'd thought it would be, and she couldn't help but wonder what it would take to slow them down.

Riot gear? Short supply. Tear gas? Mmm, there are a lot of bystanders... Tasers? Yeah, because security is moving so fast to use 'em. Fire hose? Sure, if we had-

A thought suddenly occurred to the young mutant, and she kicked herself for not having tried it sooner. Without worrying about being inconspicuous or graceful- and almost losing her footing as she slid through upended trays of food- she ran full-tilt toward the outer exit doors, pausing only briefly when she found them wide open and hanging limply from their twisted metal hinges.

Oh-kay, not gonna ask about that just now. Priorities.

She took a deep breath and, grabbing the small white lever in the bright red box, tugged on the fire alarm. Immediately, lights began to flash throughout the cafeteria, and klaxons wailed in piercing shrieks that drowned out the shouting of the assembled crowd. Within moments, the overhead sprinkler system engaged, drenching everyone present.

Wincing as her hair and clothes were quickly plastered against her skin, Violet hoped it would be enough to help.

[GDP_ST]

Alex was stepping away from the two brawlers, mentally shrugging even as he tried not to laugh at the synchronised finger-flashing, when suddenly an alarm sounded and water sprayed everywhere in the cafeteria.

Someone hit the alarm. he realised, grinning at the ridiculousness of it all as he motioned to the chair-bound kid beside him to move back from the fighting duo. Looking around, he saw Violet by the broken(?) outer doors, looking increasingly bedraggled (but no less lovely) as the water came sheeting down. Now that's a good idea.

Dancing lights flared in his lazy golden aura as he moved to stand next to Violet, the shirt clinging to his skin not diminishing his visual appeal in the slightest as he leaned down closer to one delicate ear so she could hear him over the whooping alarms.

"Nice one. Hope it works better than my attempt." His aura was still warm, despite the frigid cold of the tanked water as he grinned at her from under the wet tumble of his hair.

[Warren Verona]

They rolled to their feet and Kazuo's hand lashed out like a striking snake, seizing Warren's neck and threatening to snap it like a dried twig. With his opponent thus "subdued," he threw a short, brutal jab at Revenant's face: a loud "smack" rang out as Warren's palm stopped it just short of its target, wincing slightly at the impact.

His grip tightened and Warren felt the pressure threaten to force him into unconsciousness. Slowly, sparks of energy crackled up Kazuo's arm, swiftly enveloping the rest of his body as every molecule in his frame fell under Warren's control. If Kazuo knocked him out, he'd go too and it'd be messy, but vice versa, the moment Warren let go and tried to harm Kazuo... his neck would snap like tinder.

Suddenly, sheets of water poured down from the ceiling and the alarms started screeching. People quickly lost interest as they all swarmed away from the scene, looking for some way to escape the sudden frigid shower. A few die-hards used trays as umbrellas and one idiot forgot to empty the tray first, much to the amusement of his peers.

"Warren!" Ms. Child's piercing voice called out over the alarms. She and the faculty- Prof. Jensen, Dir. Drumm, and Ms. Gomez- walked in, heedless of the water. "Warren, stabilize his molecules and let him go," she ordered curtly from beneath the relative safety of an over-sized black umbrella.

"Well, there's something you don't hear everyday," Director Drumm said softly, grinning crookedly at the two sodden delinquents. "People wonder why I love this school."

Slowly the purple glow receded and the tickle that Kazuo was feeling was gone. Ms. Childs looked to the other combatant. "Kazuo, let him go."

Kazuo's grip loosened with obvious reluctance and they each took a step back from each other. "You two." Ms. Childs's tone was firm, sexy, and evil all at once. "My office. Now."

[Sonja Bahaar]

Perfect.

The cold water started spraying and instantly, Sonja was wet, chilled to the bone, her long silver-blond hair plastered to her face and back. Her white, cashmere turtleneck was soaked, clinging to her curves in a grand display. With a frown, she looked down and noticed the bright magenta of her sports bra beginning to show through.

Perfect.

Crossing her arms to maintain whatever dignity she had left, and hoping on not getting a lecture on dressing standards from Ms. Childs - who seemed to have suddenly appeared with the chill water (which sort of made sense, really) - Sonja quickly shuffled over to her table, picking up her two jackets, skates, and hockey stick. Then she beat a hasty retreat through the doors she had broken earlier.

She passed by Violet, giving her friend a long suffering look, trying to ignore Alex as much as possible (which wasn't much).

"Thanks for that, V," she pouted, her teeth starting to chatter from the gusting of winter air, then continued on to her dorm-room before the entire school knew what colour her bra was today.

[Stargaizer]

Josh was about to send the combatents flying in opposite directions when everybody got a shower, whether they wanted it or not. Then came the Calvery, and the fight was over.

If he'd been able to react sooner, the table would've never hit, and this mightn't have ever happened... if he could reacted sooner, or more forcefully, maybe he'd have been able to stop the fight before the admins arrived.

Oh well.

Josh rolled over to the cash register, picked up his tray of food, and went over to the nearest table, in the rain, and ate his lunch. In the rain, it was evident that there was some sort of spherical 'shell' around him that kept him dry.

Even without the 'shel', the rain fit his mood... he'd failed... this time...

[Jor]

Jor was no stranger to school fights and had a file at his old school several pages long, but this was taking it to a whole new level. These two guys were flat out geared to fight. When things had started to go down Jor had instantly turned into his black metal form and stood before the chair could collapse beneath his weight. He began moving to the other side of the table to protect his fellow students but everything happened so fast. Big glowy Ken and the kid with wheels tried to intervene and then the chick with purple hair rained on everyone's parade. He had just shifted his long coat into a raincoat with a hood when the faculty came busting in and stopped everything.

He looked to the tray with a little regret, but he'd had most of the pie anyway and it wasn't like he wasn't going to get dinner in a few hours. He was almost surprised to realize that he was full for the first time in nearly a month.

He took a second to look around and see the scene. It was complete chaos. Food everywhere from spilled trays turning to multi-colored mush. Kids from elementary to college age soaked to the bone with their hair plastered to their faces, well except for the green dude that didn't have any hair, but he was just as wet as everyone else. The janitor was looking very unhappy indeed at the mess knowing that he would have to clean it all up when the kids left.

Jor took it all in and just shrugged. This was going to be a strange new life here.

He looked to Jamie, Sonja and the others he'd been eating with, "So lunch is pretty much ruined. Anyone wanna show me the dorms? I still don't have a clue where I'm rooming."

[Glacia]

During the winter, Diana knew that folks found her company less then desirable, unless Daniel was around her. Still, at times she found that particular aspect of life here at the school rather annoying, she had chosen just about now to step into the cafeteria, much to the dismay of some of those already there. Especially sense the already cold water that had been falling from the sprinklers now became freezing cold. "What the hell happened here?"

[Hotstreak]

Daniel had been watching the fight with resigne amusement. He'd done the same thing, when he first got here. Then everyone tried to break it up, and he almost laughed. He'd been about to intervene when someone hit the fire alarm. Soaked quickly he sighed and began making his way from the cafteria just as Diana made her appearance. He walked up to her and took her hand, leading her back out. With the overlap of their auras he actually felt the ambient temerature of the cafeteria.

"I'll tell you, but I need to go change first. Suffice it to say we've got alot of interesting new students this term."

"Ms. Child is there, and I think it best if we not be."

[Curtis Shane]

Curtis mentally groaned when the two kept at it. They'll never learn. When the sprinklers came on, well, he didn't care much about the fight anyway, so dignity be damned, he ducked under the table he'd been sitting at, and so as he popped back out, had only as much water on him as he would spending 10 minutes in light rain.

Glancing at Jor, he gestured ahead. "I believe I know where your dorm, if not room is." Then he began leading Jor out of the swamp pit that used to be called a cafeteria.

[Stargaizer]

After Josh had finished eating, he imparted his tray with enough kinetic energy to place it neatly on top of the rest of the stack of trays gathering near the trash can, and then used his control over motion to pick up his power chair and 'fly' it to a part of the floor that wasn't sopping wet before touching back down.

Thanks to his 'shell', he was almost completely dry, and thus decided to head on back to the science lab to continue on the experiment that he and Prof. Jensen had been working on before they had decided to take a lunch break.

That'd get his mind off of the events that had just transpired... as soon as his wheels stopped squeaking because they were damp.

[Jor]

Jor nodded at Curtis and adjusted his hood again to keep the rain from running into his face. "Lead the way McDuff."

[V. Vincent]

The cavalry arrived, and led off the two delinquents as she watched their sullen, bedraggled exit from the chaos of the cafeteria. Relief washed over Violet as surely as water poured down in chilly sheets, a sudden mid-winter rainstorm to dampen the tension.

And everyone's clothes, she sighed, crinkling her nose in discomfort. I hope none of that was expensive.

With an apologetic smile at Alex, she plucked pointedly at the sodden front of her sweater and raked slim fingers back through her hair.

Not fair. He's even better looking soaking wet! she groused internally.

"Okay, so this wasn't what I had in mind when I asked for a rain check," she quipped blithely, "so I'm going to head back to my room and clean up. It's been really, really nice meeting you, Alex Andrews from England."

Yeah. This was totally worth it.

Reluctantly, she offered up a tentative little wave and picked her way through the debris, heading off to warm towels and dry clothes with a much lighter heart than she would've thought possible.

[GDP_ST]

"See you later." He called after Violet as she waved, his own expression not so different from hers. Reluctant to go, but acknowledging the need to NOT stand around in freezing, soaking wet clothing. He shivered a little then; despite the warmth of his aura, this water was fucking cold.

The shiver was enough for him to shake out of the Violet-based reverie and make the young mutant move. Stepping out through the outer doors, he took a half-step, half-jump and soared up into the air roughly fifteen feet before changing attitude and closing the distance between him and warm clothing at roughly half the speed of sound, a golden line of light trailing his body. Touching down outside his dorm building, the young Brit disappeared inside, teeth chattering.

Okay, moving at high speeds through cold air when wearing wet clothes is very, very stupid!

But I have to admit, that lunch date was totally worth it.